Roadster cars are convertible compact sport cars, more or less luxurious but with a bold look and providing lots of feedback to the driver. they are the fun fast cars by excellence
Lotus Australia has just received an addition to their lineup fresh off the heels of delivering their first truly all new car in years, the Evora, and the release of a hard core track tuned Lotus Exige Cup, the lightweight English sports car builder has just revealed another version of their compact thrill machine. The Lotus Elise Club Racer is a very simple and straightforward sports car that borrows a few shades of paint from Colin Chapman’s personal pallet from the 1960s, colors like Elite Yellow, Carbon Grey, Sky Blue and Old English White.
According to the Director of Lotus Cars, Luke Bennett, "Special Editions of the award winning Elise have always proved popular with our customers around the world, and I expect the Elise Club Racer to be no different. We have taken colour schemes from our past, used on the Elite and Elan in the 1960s and cleverly brought them up to date with a modern feel to the interior. The whole design package is modern with a classic twist, which of course matches the peerless ride and handling of a Lotus and the convertible experience of the Elise perfectly."
Called the Elise Club Racer, the new lightweight English sports car is based on the 134 HP version of the Lotus Elise S and is scheduled to arrive in showrooms on September 15th and go on sale for around $40,000. The car makes use of silver and black highlights in the interior as well as an anthracite anodized gear knob and handbrake with the Club Racer "CR" logo embroidered everywhere. The Lotus engineers even saw fit to incorporate a smaller diameter steering wheel and a set of lightweight six spoke alloys for that extra sporty look and feel. The Elise Club Racer will make its official debut in February 2010 and will be priced at $72,990.
Tesla revealed today a right-hand-drive version for its successful electric Roadster. The model made its debut in London and is priced at £86,950.
"The right-hand-drive model is our response to growing demand from high-performance car buyers in the UK who are also interested in their impact on the environment," said Cristiano Carlutti, Tesla’s Vice President for European Sales and Operations. "Tesla is dramatically expanding its retail footprint in Europe, we look forward to building our community of owners and fans throughout the continent."
The 2010 right-hand-drive Roadster includes a suite of unique noise-reduction materials, an upgraded sound system and other enhancements that make it ideal for daily commuting or weekend drives.
The long-rumored Twingo CC will make its world debut on March 2nd at the Geneva Motor Show. But Renault decided to call it "Wind", a model that "brings a completely different take on a car for drivers who enjoy wind-in-the-hair motoring."
The new Wind is a two-seater coupe-roadster with a length of 3.83 meters and an electric roof that can be opened in just 12 seconds. The model is aimed at motorists who lust after a car that is not only distinctive and compact, but also convertible yet practical enough for everyday use.
Mazda of Japan has just revealed a special edition MX-5 in celebration of the lightweight roadster’s 20th Anniversary as a member of the automaker’s lineup. Since its inception, the Mazda Miata has been awarded the title of world’s highest production two seater roadster by the Guiness Book of World Records. All of the double decade Miatas will be covered in Crystal White Pearl Mica, True Red or Aurora Blue.
Mazda will unveil the special edition MX-5 20th Anniversary Edition in March at the Geneva Motor Show with plans to produce only 2000 units being sold exclusively in the European market. This special edition Miata is based on the 1.8 Liter powered soft top production roadster and is distinguished from ordinary MX-5’s by a special exterior styling package complete with chrome accents on the grill, door handles and headlight fascia; along with silver look fog lamp frames, specific 17-inch alloy wheels and bespoke 20th Anniversary logos.
The Lamborghini Murcielago LP650-4 Roadster, by its very nature the V12 powered Italian super car is a limited edition vehicle, especially with only 50 units of the special edition open air Murcielago in existence around the world. However the owner of of one of these high performance power houses has taken an extra step to ensure that his LP is truly a one of a kind machine.
The Murcielago owner opted to cover the car in a matte black finish complete with gloss black highlights as well as a set of custom GFG three piece forged Narkid wheels measuring 19 inches in diameter, with orange accents to match the massive brake calipers, wrapped in a set of sticky Pirelli tires. Meanwhile the Murcielago’s interior gets a one of a kind custom audiophile sound system from Al & Eds Autosound as well as an Escort SRX "Ticket Avoidance System" to help with the consequences of having 650 HP on tap.
The Porsche Boxster lineup saw the addition of a new member last December at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The new Boxster Spyder will tip the scales at 2,811 pounds becoming the lightest model in the entire Porsche range with sales beginning in February 2010, starting at $61,200. The Porsche Boxster Spyder is inspired by the legendary 550 Spyder, the first sports car from Stuttgart developed specifically with racing in mind that was also homologated for road use. The new sports car features a lightweight soft top, has a lower center of gravity for enhanced as well as an all new sport tuned suspension.
Mounted in the midship position, Porsche has placed a 3.4 Liter direct injected flat six ahead of the rear axle that delivers a total of 320 HP, 10 HP more than the current top of the line model in the Boxster lineup, the Boxster S, while still getting as much as 30.4 MPG. Like all the other current Porsche models, the Boxster Spyder comes equipped with a seven speed PDK gearbox and a Sports Chrono Package. This allows the Boxster Spyder to sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in 4.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 166 MPH.
Updated 01/29/10: Porsche revealed the official promotional video for the Boxster Spyder that will go on sale next week. Enjoy it!
When BMW revealed the new Z4 Roadster, the new retractable hard top came with some bad news: there will be no M version. However the Z4 sDrive35is that is set to be revealed in January 2010 at the Detroit Auto Show is just as good as any other M model.
The new Z4 sDrive35is is faster and better than any other model in the Z4 line-up: powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six with increased air flow and more boost pressure. The result is an output of 335 HP at 5,900 RPM and a peak torque of 332 lb-ft from 1,500 RPM to 4,500 RPM. The sprint from 0 to 60 MPH is made in just 4.7 seconds, while the car’s top speed is limited to 155 MPH. The engine is mated to a 7 speed Double-Clutch Transmission with SPORT and SPORT+ modes for crisper shifts and more performance driving.
The Z4 sDrive35is borrows the M Aerodynamics and adaptive M Suspension from the larger cars. The new Z4 rides on lightweight 18 inch five spoke alloy wheels, a striking front bumper with a matte aluminum trim bar in each outer air intake, a rear bumper with accentuated surrounds on the tailpipes, and a rear diffuser finished at top in body color and black textured surface underneath. On the interior BMW added a new M leather steering wheel with gearshift paddles, an M driver’s footrest, and sport seats.
Updated 01/29/10: BMW today announced prices for the Z4 sDrive35is. Sales will begin in the Spring at a price of $61,925 including $875 Destination & Handling. By comparison, the MY2011 Z4 sDrive30i and Z4 sDrive35i start at $46,875 and $52,775 respectively.
For the past twelve years, the Boxster has been playing the chase-the-911 with its styling. Now the 2009 refreshed Boxster gets more of its own look, sorta. Instead of taking its styling cues from the 911, it looks a little more like the ultra-fast Carrera GT.
The new Boxster features a newly designed front and rear ends. The new halogen headlights with their integrated direction indicators are reminiscent of the lights on the Carrera GT, the new LED rear lights tapering out to the outside and integrated elegantly in the modified rear end of the car.
Under the hood, Porsche placed a 2.9-liter engine that delivers 255 bhp (an increase of 10 hp). The S version gets a 3.4-liter power unit that delivers 310 hp (up 15hp). Mated to a the standard six-speed manual gearbox, the new Boxter makes the 0 to 60 mph sprint in 5.9 seconds. Equipped with the PDK double-clutch gearbox, the sprint will be made 0.1 seconds faster.
As it turns out the increase in power will not mean worse fuel economy. The Boxster equipped with PDK averages 26.3 mpg, and 25.5 mpg for the Boxster S. That’s about a 4 mpg improvement from the Tiptronic automatic transmission cars.
Chevrolet has only made the Grand Sport option available two other times in the Corvette’s history. The original Grand Sport was a track-only special with a 550 HP V8, and the 1996 version was the only Corvette to use the more powerful LT4 engine. So our biggest concern when we heard rumors of the return of the Corvette Grand Sport was that Chevrolet was not going to be able to deliver a car that lived up to the historic name.
For the third edition Chevrolet reached into the Corvette part’s bin and pulled out sort of a “best of” package for the standard Corvette. Even though there is no new engineering on the latest Grand Sport, we are now happy to report that it is still an intriguing option.
The standard 430 hp 6.2 Liter V8 is untouched, making 436 HP with the two mode exhaust system. What was added includes parts like the Z51 performance suspension (the GS replaces this option package), wider fenders, wider tires (18-in front, 19-in rear), and larger brakes. It also borrows elements from the Z06 like the front bumper, rear spoiler and rear brake ducts.
The 2010 Grand Sport can be ordered with 1LT, 2LT, 3LT and 4LT trim packages and in four exterior colors, as well as two-tone seats with Grand Sport embroidery. It can be had as a coupe or convertible. Prices for the Corvette GS rage from $54,770 to $62,475.
Peugeot’s new SR1 hybrid roadster concept is scheduled to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, which is still in March, but as far as the French carmaker is concerned, a little pre-emptive teasing of the SR1 wouldn’t hurt anyone.
A few weeks after releasing the first batch of photos of the SR1 hybrid, Peugeot has followed that up with a promo video of the car, complete with laser lights, techno music, and a touch of digital effects here and there.
The SR1’s noticeably sleeker design – a stark change from what Peugeot is known for – is a testament to the brand’s attempt in streamlining a new and edgier direction for the company, which, as far as we’re concerned, is a welcome change for a car brand that hasn’t exactly wowed us with their car’s aesthetic designs.
As far as we’re concerned, the sexy SR1 hybrid roadster concept is definitely a step in the right direction.
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