Top Speed

Video: Nissan's pointed commercial draws Ford's ire

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Over in Brazil, Nissan found itself in hot water after one of their commercials directed at Ford drew the ire of the American automaker’s Brazilian arm.

The music-video style parody commercial that Nissan released features two men representing Ford engineers, dressed to the absolute nines decked with gold chains, rings, and fur coats, while sipping champagne and flocked by a multitude of scantily-clad women. Oh, and if you didn’t notice, there’s also a Ford Focus in the background. Yep, a Ford Focus in a Nissan commercial.

While the TV spot isn’t in English, the lyrics, when translated to Portuguese, translate to something like "All the luxury that I got, I got it with your money" and "Don’t weep because you’re paying extra money — your money was well spent, look what I do with it."

Obviously, the whole commercial didn’t sit too well with Ford, who thought that Nissan was sending a message to consumers that the Focus is overpriced in Brazil compared to the Japanese automaker’s Tiida sub-compact (it’s called the Versa in our neck of the woods). While there’s some truth to it - the Tiida is actually cheaper by a little under $2,000 in Brazil compared to the Focus - Ford didn’t like the way Nissan portrayed their company.

Ford’s lawsuit prompted Nissan to pull the television commercial, but apparently, not before the video found its way on the Internet. With the web being a lot more expansive and lenient than any form of medium these days, Ford’s going to have a hard time curtailing the showing of this Nissan ad.

gallery: 2011 Ford Focus

gallery: 2010 Nissan Versa

Video: Nissan's pointed commercial draws Ford's ire originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 10 April 2011 12:00 EST.

Video: Supercars pounce on Brazilian roads

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Sun, 2 Jan 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Anytime you get the chance to see four exotic cars on the road together continuously trying to one-up one another, it would be a complete crime to not bring out the cameras and videotape the whole proceedings.

Fortunately, the man sitting shotgun inside a Ferrari 430 Scuderia had the wherewithal to take out his camera and videotape the entire action up close and personal. Not to be outdone by the 430 Scuderia, the other three supercars in this video include some of the finest exotic machineries on the planet like a Ferrari 458 Italia, a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, and the only non-Prancing Horse of the group, a Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Balboni Edition.

You normally don’t see a group of cars with this much power oozing out of them together for a joyride along the highways of Brazil, so when it happens, you can definitely expect to have someone recording the action in all its ear-piercing glory.

Video: Supercars pounce on Brazilian roads originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 2 January 2011 12:00 EST.

Sounds of 2010: Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale live in Brazil

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Here in Top Speed, we have every intention of ringing in the new year with a bang. That pretty much means that for the next few days until 2011 rolls along, we intended to keep the noise and decibel level up a few notches with some eardrum-shattering, high-octane videos featuring some of our – and yours too, we hope – favorite exotics on the planet.

First up is a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale screaming along the streets of Brazil. While we understandably dig the whole video game-to-real life effects done at the start of the video, we’re more interested in the sound of that powerhouse engine piercing through its surroundings.

Watch the five-minute video until the end and you’re going to be treated to the joyous sound of the car heading inside a couple of tunnels with the shriek of the engine reverberating and bouncing along the tunnel’s walls.

Ramp up the volume, fellas. This Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale is certainly not for the weak of heart.

Sounds of 2010: Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale live in Brazil originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 30 December 2010 12:00 EST.

Video: Gran Turismo 5's 'Car Parade' invades Sao Paulo, Brazil

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:00:00 GMT

In the weeks that have followed since the release of Gran Turismo 5, Sony has apparently yet to tire of promoting their new racing game. This is probably their way of making up for all the negative press they received for delaying the game’s release so many times in the past.

A few weeks ago, Sony welcomed the release of GT5 by heading over to France for a pretty intense supercar run at the Champ Elysees in Paris. This run featured some of the most desirable supercars on the planet. Sounds like a one-time promotional event, right?

Not quite.

Recently, another GT5-sponsored supercar run took place in Brazil. This time, the cars running roughshod all over Sau Paolo included a Mercedes SLS AMG, a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, a Nissan GT-R, a Ferrari 360, a Maserati 4200 Spider, a BMW M3, and a BMW Z4. All cars were decked in the now-familiar GT5 livery as they raced along the busy streets and thoroughfares of the populated Brazilian city. Just goes to show that GT5’s influence reaches far and wide in this world.

Video: Gran Turismo 5's 'Car Parade' invades Sao Paulo, Brazil originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 20 December 2010 09:00 EST.

Ferrari 458 Italia burns down in Brazil

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:00:00 GMT

Just when you thought that we’ve seen the last of all those burning Ferrari 458 Italias, we wake up to the unsettling news that the ‘458 Curse’ has struck again.

Reports are saying that the incident happened in Sao Paulo, Brazil – that place is getting a lot of news lately – and while details are limited as of the moment, you only need to look at these photos to come to the conclusion that the 458 Italia is not getting the kind of news it was expecting when it was released a year ago.

Make no mistake; the new Ferrari supercar is still awesome by most accounts, except when it comes to reliability issues. We would have thought that Ferrari’s recall of the model two months ago would have already put a stop to these unfortunate incidences. Unfortunately, we couldn’t be more wrong on that end. Let’s just all hope that Ferrari continues to be vigilant in fixing the 458 Italia, otherwise, it would be a waste of an awesome supercar.

Ferrari 458 Italia burns down in Brazil originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 11 November 2010 03:00 EST.

Brazilian Grand Prix marred by robbery attacks

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Tue, 9 Nov 2010 03:00:00 GMT

The 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix may have been the race where Red Bull won the season’s Constructor’s Championship, but the weekend was also marred by a number of scary incidents involving armed attacks directed at some Formula One personalities, including reigning World Champion and McLaren driver Jenson Button.

According to the Press Association, Button, along with his father, trainer, and manager were headed back to their hotel after the qualifying session on Saturday when six armed attackers with machine guns attacked the armored vehicle. Button didn’t say anything about shots being fired at the car, but fortunately, their driver possessed extensive training in avoidance driving, which proved to be extremely useful during the incident as he was able to drive away from the scene by, according to Button, ‘bouncing off about five cars’.

Later on, it was also learned that three engineers from Sauber Motorsports were also given an unfortunate reality check on the rampant number of crimes in Sao Paulo after it was reported that they were robbed after leaving the Interlagos circuit after the qualifying session. This time around, the group was driving in a minivan when, during a stop light, the vehicle was surrounded by five robbers, with one of them wielding an automatic weapon. The robbers ended up stealing a number of items from the Sauber engineers, including two backpacks that had one of the engineer’s passports in it.

Talk about not feeling welcome.

Brazilian Grand Prix marred by robbery attacks originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 9 November 2010 03:00 EST.

Video: Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale goes bonkers inside a tunnel

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 18:00:00 GMT

A few days ago, we showed you a video of a Koenigsegg CCXR blasting through a tunnel, showing off that remarkable power and ear-splitting engine roar to anybody who ended up watching it.

Not to be outdone, we have another supercar doing the exact same thing: a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. Recorded somewhere in Brazil, the driver of the 360 Challenge Stradale waits for the perfect opportunity for the tunnel to clear up before going bonkers and blasting off at full throttle. The resulting sound is so glorious, one look and listen to it isn’t enough to appreciate what’s under the hood of that Italian stallion.

So boys and girls, children of all ages, just like we’ve told you countless times, standard protocol dictates that you put your speakers on full blast, sit back, and enjoy the sound of this Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale lay complete waste to this tunnel in Brazil.

Video: Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale goes bonkers inside a tunnel originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 30 October 2010 18:00 EST.

Lamborghini opens first two stores in Mexico

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 04:00:00 GMT

In a country where bulls are often the subject of cultural spectacles, a different kind of bull is heading to Mexico, only this time, that bull is 100% pure Italian grade.

Lamborghini, those bulls from Sant’Agata, have opened two dealerships in the country, marking the first time the Italian supercar brand has made it’s way to Mexico. The first dealership that opened on October 26th was the “Lamborghini Mexico City” dealership, which is located at the heart of one of the country’s busiest districts on Insurgentes Sur.

A day later, on October 27th, the folks from Lamborghini opened yet another store, “Lamborghini Monterey”, in San Pedro, Nuevo Leon, widely regarded as one of the richest districts in Central America. The two dealerships are owned by a man that’s no stranger to the automotive world in the region, Martin Josephi Wellman, the former CEO and president of Volkswagen Mexico.

Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini’s President and CEO, shared his excitement of seeing Lamborghini break ground on a new country. "These new dealerships represent Lamborghini’s commitment to expanding our presence in North America," he said. "Our Mexican clients love the brand for its unique values of being extreme, uncompromising, and unmistakably Italian."

Lamborghini opens first two stores in Mexico originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 30 October 2010 04:00 EST.

Kia Soul Flex

Bryan@topspeed.com(Bryan) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:30:00 GMT

Today, the Kia Soul Flex, the first Korean vehicle that can run on ethanol, was released. It was specially designed for the Brazilian market where these flex-fuel models make up 85% of new car sales.

The vehicle uses a 1.6-liter four-cylinder motor that cranks out 128 horsepower and 119 pound-feet of torque. The car can manage a 44% fuel economy increase in fuel mileage over the gas version.

The Soul Flex will use a reinforced fuel pump, pillar cap, and fuel line. There will also be a gasoline assistance system that will aid engine ignition at low temperatures. In addition to all of this, the motor will use an adapted fuel injection and catalyst system. There will also be a new engine compression ratio.

The Kia Soul Flex will debut this month, with sales beginning early next year in Brazil. The company is also working on a Sportage Flex that should be unveiled at the end of next year.

Kia Soul Flex originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 28 October 2010 12:30 EST.

Fiat Uno Roadster

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 10:30:00 GMT

Fiat’s got a booth booked for the 2010 Sao Paulo Auto Show and they’re bringing with them a nifty little concept roadster version of the just-revealed Fiat Uno, called the Fiat Uno Roadster.

Powered by a 1.4-liter turbocharged gas engine that produces 152 horsepower, the Fiat Uno Roadster is a bigger, badder, and more powerful take on the Uno hatchback.

The styling of the roadster concept is a lot more aggressive than its standard variant. Fiat also stiffened up the chassis on the Uno Roadster and even installed a set of 17-inch alloy wheels to complete the overall sportier and look of the car.

Since this is just a concept, there’s no word on whether we’re going to see a production version anytime soon. But if we’re basing it on mere looks, this little devil of a ride looks to be one that’s destined for a lot of orders from excited customers. And yes, we’re probably going to be one of them.

Fiat Uno Roadster originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 26 October 2010 10:30 EST.

Rossin-Bertin Vorax

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:00:00 GMT

Posted on 10.25.2010 18:00 by Kirby
Filed under: | Supercars / Exotic cars | South America | Cars | Car News

There are many things you associate with Brazil – soccer, samba, and fine women come to mind – before you describe them as a supercar factory, but that doesn’t mean that the country doesn’t have its share of exotic automakers.

In fact, there’s an upstart company in the country that’s set to introduce a new supercar at the Sao Paulo Auto Show. Gentlemen, we’d like to introduce you to the Rossin-Bertin Vorax.

As the brainchild of ex-GM designer Fharys Rossin and Natalino Bertin Jr., the Vorax is poised to become a Brazilian-born and made supercar that the company is hoping could become an upstart challenger to established European supercar makers.

Details behind the Vorax are still limited but from what we’ve heard, the car is going to come with a carbon fiber body and an aluminum chassis. As for the engine, the Vorax, which will come in two variants, will be powered with a tuned-up 5.0-liter V10 engine, similar to what’s under the hood of the BMW M5.

Continued after the jump

Rossin-Bertin Vorax originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 25 October 2010 18:00 EST.

Fiat Uno Sporting

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:30:00 GMT

The Fiat Uno may not strike a lot of us as a vehicle that’s a certifiable looker, but don’t tell that to the people of Fiat. After all, there’s a thing called ‘variants’ that could turn a mundane looking hatch into a pretty eye-catching ride.

Take the Fiat Uno Sporting for example. It’s got the same 1.4-liter 85 horsepower engine as the standard model, but that’s the only thing the two have in common.

The Uno Sporting was given a sport suspension that’s lowered by 20mm and 15-inch alloy wheels shod in 185/60 tires. In addition to that, the vehicle was given an attractive orange paint finish with a few decals on the side. But the best part of the Uno Sporting are those front and rear spoilers that give it not just a performance boost, but an edgier look too.

The Fiat Uno Sporting is expected to be a production-ready variant of the Uno hatch so you can expect to see one of these orange-clad sport hatches out on the road soon.

Fiat Uno Sporting originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 22 October 2010 20:30 EST.

GM Wants To Expand Opel Brand

Bryan@topspeed.com(Bryan) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:30:00 GMT

The Opel brand has been fairly big in Europe, despite its financial troubles. That being said, the nameplate isn’t that well known outside of continental Europe. That might soon change.

General Motors hopes to use the brand’s brilliant product lineup to attack consumers in China, South America, and Australia, according to Deutsche Welle in Germany. GM hopes to establish Opel as a premium brand.

Last year, the automaker sold 4,000 vehicles in China, as part of its preparation efforts for expansion into the country. The brand will be marketed as a European premium brand, as there are more and more people who can afford such a vehicle in China.

It should be interesting to see what becomes of Buick in China, as they were usually just Opels with a new badge. As we all know, Buick is very popular there, so GM needs to be careful not to hurt that market.

GM Wants To Expand Opel Brand originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 31 August 2010 20:30 EST.

Peugeot bringing new 408 sedan to the South American market

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:00:00 GMT

Earlier this year, Peugeot launched and introduced the new Peugeot 408 sedan to the Chinese market. Now it looks like the French manufacturer is also keen on bringing their compact sedan to another market, South America.

In an announcement made earlier this week, the Lion marquee disclosed its plans of bringing the 408 sedan to the South American market. Peugeot also announced that the 408, the long wheelbase version of the 308, is currently being produced at the company’s PSA Peugeot Citroen Palomar production plant in Buenos Aires, Argentina and will eventually be sold in 27 countries, including Argentina and Brazil.

Peugeot has yet to release information on what kind of variants the 408 will have in South America, although if its something similar to what the Chinese-market 408s are, it could come in two powertrains: a 1.6-liter gas engine that produces around 106 horsepower and a 2.0-liter variant that tops at about 147 horsepower.

Of course, we’re just making a couple of guesses on the matter, but everything should all come to a clear sometime in October when the 408 makes its debut in South America at the San Paulo Motor Show in Brazil.

Peugeot bringing new 408 sedan to the South American market originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 25 August 2010 11:00 EST.

Video: Run-down dog miraculously survives getting hit by a Citroen

Kirby@topspeed.com(Kirby) — Thu, 27 May 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Truth be told, we’ve never seen anything quite like this and the animal lovers that we are, we’re glad that it happened this time. A man that was driving his Citroen along one of Santiago, Chile’s local highways hit a dog a he was speeding along the highway.

Thinking that the dog probably just ran away after it was hit, the man went to a local casa to have his car inspected for any damages. As soon as he arrived at the repair shop, the mechanics working on the car were shocked to find a four-legged guest sitting inside the bumper. It was the dog!

How the dog managed to find itself inside the bumper we’ll never know. We’re just glad it happened because the dog was alive and only had a broken leg to show for his near-death experience. Check out the video and watch how the mechanics were able to free our canine friend from the car’s bumper.

Video: Run-down dog miraculously survives getting hit by a Citroen originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 27 May 2010 22:00 EST.