The movie franchise may not have some of the most compelling story lines, but when it comes to raking in the moolah, NBC Universal’s Fast & Furious franchise is certified box-office gold.
Fans of F&F will then be ecstatic to know that producers are currently developing not just one, but two follow-up movies to Fast Five, which by the way grossed a delightful $626 million in the cinemas all over the world.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dominic Toretto...err...Vin Diesel was quoted as saying that with the inclusion of new characters and the deepening plot line of the movie, there wasn’t enough space to fit everything together in the "sixth-quel," hence the decision to spread the story out to accommodate a "seventh-quel."
Though nothing has been finalized, screenwriter Chris Morgan is currently writing the storyline with the intention of covering two movies, giving director Justin Lin the option to shoot the two movies simultaneously.
Should this end up being the case, we expect a lot of the race boy fans of the Fast & Furious franchise to be jumping up and down right now.
Gotta love those leaked documents! Whether this document was actually leaked by a stealth insider or Toyota is trying to get ahead of Subaru in the FT-86 game, the new Toyota FT-86’s (or Scion FR-S as it will be sold in the US market) specifications have been secretly released to the world. This comes about two months ahead of the official Subaru and Toyota/Scion debuts in December at the Tokyo Motor Show.
The new FT-86 will be powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with a total output of 197 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 150 lb-ft of torque at 6,600 rpm, as well as a fuel economy of 31.52 mpg. The numbers are a bit disappointing, but what’s impressive is the car’s total weight: only 2,662 lbs.
The FT-86/FRS will be offered in two versions: High Spec and Low Spec. The top version has front LED lights, a leather steering wheel, 6 audio speakers (low spec has 2 speakers), a white rev counter with shift light, and sport pedals. The High Spec model also has "smart entry and start" and 17" wheels. The Low spec model gets 16" wheels.
That’s all she wrote for now, but stay tuned as the official debut in Tokyo gets closer and Subaru and Toyota get more anxious to reveal their secrets!
The Toyota/Subaru FT-86 creation has been buzzing about the internet since the two announced their partnership, but after months of concepts and hearsay, a Subaru source has provided a bit of official information about the new sports car. The FT-86 will be arriving in the U.S. badged as a Scion FR-S and will feature one of the lowest centers of gravity of any vehicle out on the market. It will actually be right behind the Porsche GT3 and the Ferrari 458, thanks to the boxer engine provided to Toyota by Subaru. Subaru’s boxer engine has a flat, low profile that balances weight efficiently and provides quick handling response and flat, confident cornering.
We’re expected to see debuts of all the FT-86 variants when the Tokyo Motor Show opens its doors in December 2011 so we’ll have more details on those models at that time. Subaru’s version of the FT-86 is also being considered for an STI version which could come sporting a new generation, naturally aspirated (not turbocharged as with other STI models) 2.0-liter, four-cylinder boxer engine.
Speaking of the STI, Subaru sources also say that the new STI will take at least two years before coming to the market and will be drastically different from the base Impreza. In fact, this is part of Subaru’s plan to separate their conventional models from their performance models. The Impreza was put together with an eye out for economy, but the STI will be a different beast altogether. It will get its own engine, one that will have nothing to do with the Toyota engine created for the FT-86 project and will make it easier for Subaru to market the vehicle as a performance model. No specific figures were given, but we expect the new STI to carry a turbocharged version of the 2.5 liter boxer engine with more than 305 HP on tap. The engine will be mated to a fully synchronized close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission.
For most potential new-car buyers, the formula for test driving a car is a tried and true, yet somewhat unfulfilling, method: arrive at the lot, pick your car, take it for a 10-minute spin on some local roads and highways, then bring it back and haggle with the dealer. During this time, you can never really push the limits of the car because you are bound by local safety laws. However, the town of Naperville, Illinois has begun to usher in a new way for the general public to test their cars before they buy: the city has developed a closed track for those who want to test their new wheels on a circuit.
This idea stemmed from a joint venture between the city of Naperville and the Naperville Development Partnership (NDP) in order to reduce the number of test-drives through local neighborhoods. Through this venture, an alliance was born and brainstorming began on what could be done to remove the tests from out of the city streets and onto a controlled environment. When Centerpoint Properties acquired an old auto storage facility from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, the sale immediately prompted the NDP, the city and Centerpoint to form a partnership and build a track facility.
Full story after the jump.
Full story
Last Monday, we brought you news that the first U.S. bound Pagani Huayra had been delivered to a customer in the United States. Now it seems like Pagani may have jumped the gun in selling cars on U.S. soil, thanks to a requirement that automakers implement advanced airbags beginning with the 2000 model year. In the past, low volume manufacturers such as Lamborghini and Tesla had been granted an exception to the regulation, which lead Pagani to believe they’d be granted the very same exemption. It was a logical assumption, since Pagani’s production is far less than Lamborghini’s, and Pagani lacks the technical support of Lamborghini’s parent, Volkswagen/Audi.
Pagani learned the hard way what happens when you assume. Ignoring Pagani’s low-volume manufacturer status and limited technical resources, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has denied the automaker’s request, which gives Pagani only two choices: either develop the required airbag system for the Huayra before deliveries can begin, or forgo the U.S. market entirely as they did with their Zonda supercar. Pagani estimates that designing an airbag system to meet NHTSA requirements will cost them some about $5.7 million, which surely means that the price of U.S. spec Huayras will be raised to cover development. That doesn’t bode well for buyers who’ve already put money down on Pagani’s latest, since the best they can hope for is a higher purchase price. The alternative, sadly, is that the U.S. again loses out on the opportunity to experience one of the world’s premier supercars.
