The Japanese luxury automaker Lexus will unveil the new LF-A super car this October at the Tokyo Motor Show and will start appearing in showrooms around the world shortly after. The first every Toyota designed super car will be limited to only 500 units, priced at around $400,000 each.
Lexus began working on the L-Finesse design language back in 2003 with the LF-X concept crossover. Since then, the 200 MPH LF-A has been taking shape at auto shows starting in 2005 and test mules have been spotted on real world racetracks since 2007, more recently the super Toyota has made its way into the virtual realm. Over the past two years, preproduction versions of the LF-A have been competing in endurance races at the Nürburgring.
When it finally arrives in showrooms, the production LF-A will be built around a carbon fiber tub and feature other high tech hardware like carbon ceramic brake rotors hidden away underneath a set of 20 inch wheels wrapped in high speed rubber. The production version will be powered by a 5.0 Liter V10 engine that will send 550 HP from the car’s nose to the rear wheels via a 6 speed semi-automatic transmission, geared so that Toyota’s future super car will be able to hit a top speed of over 218 MPH.
It takes a Japanese tuner to make a German luxury limousine look this good. This is Wald International’s take on the Merceds Benz S Class; they call it their Black Bison treatment. The body kit gives the Benz a much more aggressive appearance, what normally looks like an oversized boat has been transformed into a menacing machine with its fair share of vents and additional lighting.
The body kit consists of a redesigned front bumper spoiler, lower side skirts, a new rear bumper spoiler, a trunk spoiler, a roof spoiler and sports inspired ducts in the fenders. All made from lightweight fiberglass reinforced plastic. Finishing off the back end of the vehicle, Wald offers a high performance exhaust tuned for either the S350 or the S500. Wald offers a variety of wheels in all sorts of styles and sizes to complete the package.
The German tuners Gemballa have transformed a Porsche Cayenne into a true super SUV, the Tornado 750 GTS. The engine has been upgraded to 750 HP and the weight has been reduced by 250 kg thanks to a healthy diet of carbon fiber.
Press release after the jump.
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History may remember the new Bugatti Veyron, being shown in North America for the first time at the LA Auto Show, as the one of the most powerful cars ever. With 16 cylinders, 64 valves and four turbochargers producing 987 hp, the Veyron is said to surpass 250 mph. A power gauge on the instrument panel tells the driver how much horsepower is being used. While it can’t use more than 987 horsepower it can hit 0-60 in under 3 seconds. Only 300 Veyrons will be built for about $1.2 million each.
UPDATE 06/01/2010: National Geographic has revealed a very cool documentary about the Bugatti Veyron supercar. There are four different episodes, each representing different moments in the building of the car. To take a look at all four episodes, click here.
UPDATE 04/17/2012: Bugatti has unveiled a new promo video for their Veyron 16.4. The video is of Top Gear’s very own Jeremy Clarkson as he discusses the supercar. Definitely a must see!
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Last week we reported that Carroll Shelby was working on a Shelby "R-Model" - a track-only GT 500 car to commemorate Jerry Titus’ 1965 SCCA championship in a GT 350. But it seems Shelby had another trick up its sleeve with the fifth-generation Mustang, because it revealed the STREET LEGAL Shelby Super Snake Don Prudhomme Edition.
Named after 60s top fuel racer Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, Shelby drops a supercharger on the 5.4-liter V8 from the GT 500 to create a beast puts out 800 hp on 110 octane (race gas), or 750 hp on regular 93 octane. The Super Snake also includes a Kenne Belle modified air intake (that big ’ol ting sticking out of the hood), Borla side exhaust, five-point Impact racing harness, and a roll cage.
Shelby only plans to put out 100 of these Super Snake packages. Each goes for $100,000, not including the donor car, or about $150,000 for a complete package fresh from Shelby.
Full breakdown in the press release after the jump
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Audi revealed full details on the 2009 Q7 V12 TDI quattro: the world’s most powerful diesel-engined SUV. The SUV is priced at 130,600 Euros (although no U.S. pricing has been announced, the current exchange rate puts the price at about $184,000.) Ouch!
With a completely redeveloped common rail injection system the twelve-cylinder delivers a mighty 368 kW (500 hp) and 1,000 Nm (737.56 lb-ft) of torque from a capacity of six liters – giving the big SUV the performance of a sports car.
In everyday use the twelve-cylinder diesel is relatively frugal with economy of 11.3 liters of fuel per 100 km (20.82 US mpg). On demand, the six-liter engine catapults the Audi Q7 from zero to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 5.5 seconds like a top-class sports car. Speed is electronically capped at 250 km/h (155.34 mph).
The world’s most powerful diesel-engined SUV will make its way to dealers towards the end of 2008.
The Porsche Panamera was not even launched and we can already tell you it will be offered with a choice of three engines and that the base V6 version will be priced from bout $127,000, while the top version, the AWD V8 will go up to $198,000.
The hybrid version will be powered by a combination of 300 hp V6 gasoline engine and a 100-hp electric motor, enabling the driver to select from any combination of the two propulsion sources.
The car will make its debut early next year. At the launch it will be offered with two engines: a 405-hp 4.8-liter V8 and a 520-hp turbocharged variant of the V8, mated to a seven-speed version of Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch gearbox. Top speed in the range topper is said to be 186 mph.
The third version powered by a 3.6-liter V6 is due in 2010, followed by the hybrid in 2011. Porsche is also considering the V10 engine from the Carrera GT, but only if customers will ask for it.
GM today announced the final numbers for the 2009 Corvette ZR1: a MSRP of $103,300, EPA-estimated fuel economy of 14 city and 20 highway, 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds, 0-100 mph in 7.0 seconds, top speed of 205 mph and Quarter-mile elapsed time of 11.3 seconds at 131 mph! With this performances the ZR1 becomes the fastest Corvette ever produced and ranking it among the global super cars of commensurate performance. None of those other super cars, however, equals the ZR1’s performance-per-dollar ratio.
The Corvette ZR1’s 0-60 performance is 0.3-second quicker than the already-quick Corvette Z06 and the 0-100-mph performance is nearly a full second quicker - 7 seconds vs. the Z06’s 7.9 seconds. It is performance that is equal to or better than many super cars costing substantially more.
And the racetrack isn’t the only place where the ZR1 trumps its super-car competitors – it beats them at the gas pump, too. According to fueleconomy.gov, the ZR1’s EPA-rated 14 city and 20 highway mileage ratings beat 2008 competitors such as the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano (11 city / 15 highway); the Lamborghini Murcielago (8 city / 13 highway) and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage (12 city / 19 highway). They’re competitive with the Dodge Viper (13 city / 22 highway) and the Porsche 911 GT3 (15 city / 22 highway).
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We don’t know when will be released, we don’t know how it will look like (you know what I mean!), but we can tell you that the future Lexus LF-A will be priced over $200,000.
Ben Mitchell, corporate product planning manager for Lexus, confirmed that the price of the carbon-fiber supercar "will begin with a two." And another Lexus source in Japan told Inside Line the price may be as high as $225,000.
The LF-A will be powered by an estimated 500 horsepower 5.0-liter V10 engine. It will be offered in both coupe and roadster forms, the LF-A will first launch as a coupe. Roadster versions will be priced even higher. Both body styles are approximately 2 inches shorter and an inch narrower than the 483-hp Ferrari F430, with a similarly sized wheelbase.
Lotus today announced pricing for the 2008 Elise SC, the newest addition to the 2008 Lotus line-up: $104,990, excluding dealer delivery and government charges and an extra $8000 for the Elise Touring Pack or $7000 for the Elise Sport Pack.
As you might expect of a car with 217 hp and weighing only 903 kg (1987 lbs), the performance of the Elise SC is electrifying – 0-60 mph in 4.4 secs; 0-100 mph in 10.7 secs; top speed 150 mph.
In addition to this extreme performance, the fuel economy of the Elise SC is equally impressive with an estimated combined figure of 8.5litres/100km.
Light weight has benefits for acceleration, handling, ride comfort, braking and the environment. Braking comes from AP Racing callipers at the front and Brembo calipers at the rear linked to 282mm vented and cross-drilled cast iron discs – you’d never call an Elise ‘under braked’.
An advanced ABS system incorporates an anti-lock system which is so unobtrusive, most drivers will not realise it’s working – unless it’s needed, and even then the system keeps a subtly low profile. The ABS system is linked to a lightweight pedal box with steel pedal arms and extruded aluminum pads. This unit also has an electronic (drive-by-wire) throttle for quick, smooth and more linear engine response.
