No, your eyes are not deceiving you! Ariel have indeed gone completely bonkers and fitted a bespoke V8 engine to the already madly fast, and madly exciting Ariel Atom. The Atom is a refined vehicle that actually works on the road, allowing it to represent the best track day experience. This new V8 version takes crazy to new heights thanks to minimal weight and 500HP – that may not sound like much, but when you consider that the car weighs as much as a postage stamp on a diet, things start to get very extreme indeed.
The Ariel Atom is sort of like a lean, mean, sophisticated bare knuckle boxer that has mastered all forms of martial arts. Lean and mean because of its no frills, barely-there construction; sophisticated because it’s clever; and bare knuckled because it’s raw and uncensored. Something like a Gallardo Superleggera, which can be described in the same context as a WWE Superstar – all drama, flash and very capable - can still be considered slightly under talented in comparison to the Atom. As powerful, but three times heavier than this new Atom V8, anything in the Gallardo’s league, and in fact higher, would flounder against it on pretty much any given stretch of road or track.
Production for this amazing machine will be limited to just 25 units - each getting a commemorative plaque and unique engine to match.
Hit the jump for the full details on the Ariel Atom V8 500
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The midsize sedan game is one of the most competitive areas in the automotive industry. There are so many players and not much room on the all-star team and as of now, the only Hyundai that has ever made its way onto this exclusive team is the wonderfully styled Sonata, a vehicle that has become the benchmark in terms of sedan styling.
The newest redesign from Hyundai comes in the form of the new Elantra. It might not be a sports car, but this machine is in no way boring. It looks brilliant, packs a decent motor, and can offer best in class fuel economy. Hyundai’s goal with this new vehicle is to continue to dominating the sedan game and with two strong players, they just might.
The new Elantra was just unveiled to the public and we have prepared a little preview of what you can expect in the new sedan.
UPDATE 12/19/10: It’s configurator time again! That’s right, boys and girls; Hyundai has just released a new configurator for the 2011 Elantra, which means that you can once again put your ’Configurator Caps’ back on and treat yourself to a fancy car and trim building exercise. Who knows, you just might end up liking your work too much you end up buying the car in the end.
Hit the jump to read on.
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After months of teasing, the mystery has been finally solved: the man who will enjoy all the work done for the New Stratos is Michael Stoschek, a German millionaire. The project has been two years coming and with final testing and polishing complete, the one-off model was given its big sendoff, but not before all who were involved joined together for some good ol’ fashioned celebrating.
This special model is powered by a Ferrari 430 motor producing 483hp. The body is comprised of carbon fiber and the chassis
is shorter than the 430’s.
The one-off Lancia Stratos is far from completing its journey, however. The vehicle will need to undergo further track practice as the final performance figures need to be calculated and transformed into verifiable data. These figures need to be complete and accounted for by the time the new Lancia Stratos is presented to the international press at the Paul Ricard Circuit in two weeks.
Press release after the jump.
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The German sports-car manufacturer Porsche will be unveiling a new “mid-engined sports car” next week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. This new model will be shown along side two new 911 variants, the GTS, and the Speedster. We don’t have any official word on what this new model might be, but we believe it to be the new Cayman CS.
We have written numerous reports on the CS, which will be powered by a 3.4-liter flat-six with 333 horsepower. This model will feature the same characteristics as the Boxster, with lightness being the name of the game. Sources indicate that the CS should shed about 162 to 184 pounds from the stock vehicle. It will do this by ditching door handles and adding lightweight alloy wheels and aluminum body bits. This should make the CS one heck of a track day vehicle.
We should have the official information next week when the car is launched at the LA show.
Hit the jump to see the press release.
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In the United States, trucks are a part of our culture. The same can’t be said in the rest of the world, but here, these vehicles are symbols of freedom and hard work. The big three have dominated this segment, but nobody has done it better than Ford with the F-150.
With the new Dodge Ram being as good as it is, Ford had to step up their game with their newest version for 2011. In order to maintain their impressive bit of marketing gold for a 34th straight year, the Dearborn-based automaker is putting four brand-new engines into their best selling truck.
Reworking an icon isn’t easy, just ask the designers of the new Corvette. When it came out, those headlights were either loved or hated. With the new F-150, if something were to be too radical then you might lose buyers. So, did Ford keep things simple with this newest version, yet at the same time upgrade the winning formula?
Hit the jump to find out.
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