It seems that not only the streets car are catching on fire lately! The same flaming fate happened to this Chevrolet Corvette driver at a Sports Car Club of America event at Elkhart Lake’s Road America. Whatever it was that came loose underneath the car to start the mishap is still a mystery. What we do know is that unaware his fiberglass bodied race car was burning and his tires had melted, the driver when full speed into the turn and well just follow the link to see the slideshow.
Mercedes waited for the Shanghai Auto Show to debut the AMG versions of the 2010 S-Class sedan.
The big difference for any AMG car is the engine, and while both engines are carried over from the 2009 cars, they still offer exception performance in a full size sedan. The S 63 AMG 63 gets the 6.3-liter V8 that makes 518 hp (525 hp in European cars) and should keep the 2009’s 0 to 60 mph time of 4.5 seconds. The S 65 AMG gets the 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 that makes 604 hp (612 hp in European cars) and should keep the 2009’s 0 to 60 mph time of 4.2 seconds.
The largest exterior upgrade is the LED lighting package also given across the S-Class line, so there are no surprises here. Other feature such as the wider air intake on the front lip, special wheels, and quad exhaust pipes are all AMG mainstays.
Both sedans are governed by the German gentleman’s agreement to 155 mph. European sales will begin in June and spread quickly to other countries though the end of the year.
The new Porsche Spyder will be based on the Volkswagen Bluesport Concept, as well as the future Audi R2. The roadster will measure in at 3.99 meters long and feature the same folding canvas roof.
Under the hood Porsche will use a 200 HP 2.0 Liter TFSI power plant borrowed from the VW Golf GTI, that will be mounted behind the driver and in front of the rear axle. An S version should be good for 280 HP. The new model will be inspired by the original Porsche 550 Spyder, unveiled at the Paris Motor Show back in 1953. The smallest member of the Porsche family will be priced starting at around £28,000 ($46,000) when it hits showrooms a couple of years from now.
Motor Trend has ben given top clearance to put the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 up against an F/A-18 Hornet being flown by a seasoned Blue Angels pilot. Both driver and airman get a feel for each other’s machines before putting them to the final test. Who won? Check the video to find out.
The SZ will separate itself from normal LS models by a pair of redesigned more aggressive front and rear bumpers as well as lower side sills. However the touch that sets the SZ apart from the rest of the LS sedans will be the black chrome grille. Keeping in line with the sporty theme, the sedan will also feature a Brembo high performance braking system and a set of stylish BBS alloy wheels.
According to the Japanese magazine, the car will be priced at around 9,000,000 yen (that’s about $95K). It seems like Lexus is trying to single handedly bring back the VIP trend with this factory hot rod. It appears that the LS wearing an SZ badge is nothing more than an appearance package with a nice set of shoes, but we are positive that a company like Lexus, with the racing history of Toyota, has something very special planed to go under the hood.
Ferrari unveiled a new image gallery of their special edition 599 GTB HGTE. The handling package includes a modified set-up with stiffer springs and rear anti-roll bar as well as new calibration settings for the magnetorheological shock absorbers when the manettino is at its sportier settings. The ride height has also been lowered which in turn lowers the car’s centre of gravity. This combined with the new set-up helps improve body control. The package also includes specifically optimized tires featuring a compound that offers even better grip.
The Ferrari California has only been on the market for only a short while, but that doesn’t mean that aftermarket tuners haven’t had a chance to modify the new drop top from Maranello. Edo Competition has developed a program for the new California Spyder for those owners who wish to personalize either the looks or the power of this exceptional sports car, or both.
Starting with some 21 inch eye candy, Edo has come up with a few different wheel and tire combinations to suit a variety of Ferrari owners’ tastes. The California also sits a little closer to the ground thanks to a lowering kit that focuses on redefining the car’s ride height, while Edo is also offering a sport suspension complete with fully adjustable shocks in order to carry the maximum speed through any corner.
Edo Competition started by massaging a few extra ponies out of the high revving 4.3 Liter V8 by recalibrating the ECU to maximize the air, fuel and spark mixture. A unique feature for the Edo California is a high performance exhaust system that uses an adjustable butterfly valve to control the tone as well as a set of high flow catalytic converters to produce an impressive 500 HP and 369 ft-lb of torque. This much brute force allows the Edo tuned Spyder to go from 0 to 60 MPH in just under 3.9 seconds and clock a top speed of 196 MPH.
The history of American sports car racing has seen its fair share of world-class vehicles and those also-rans that failed to live up to any sort of expectations. The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Trans-Am Race car is one of those that has not only lived up to the hype, but has far exceeded it.
Judging from the documents surrounding this particular ’69 Z28 Camaro, which includes HMSA and SCCA log books, the car’s racing resume shows that this was one of the fastest, most developed first generation racing Camaros to race in America. The lofty tag placed on the car is indicative of the sheer dominance it exhibited in the American racing scene back then.
In the world of high-performance automobiles there are two kinds of owners. First, there are those who buy an exclusive vehicle, only to hide it away, parked inside an enormous warehouse filled with the rest of their toys. Occasionally, those owners invite a friend or two inside to show off the pieces of automobile and maybe even take the classic out for a Sunday drive. Then there is the kind of sports car owner that just so happen to be a driver. These enthusiasts appreciate their vehicles in a way that the previous group only dreams of. There is nothing like fully stretching your super car’s legs or seeing just how deep into a turn your prized possession can go. For those drivers, there are these magical things called track days, a place where speed junkies can get full use out of their big boy toys.
Top Speed recently attended one of these Saturday afternoon visits to one of our local race tracks where we joined up with Henry Gilbert and got Hooked on Driving. The problem with most track days and even racing schools is the price. Not only is participating in one of these programs expensive, but the amount of actual seat time is rather limited. Most instruction programs will have you sitting in a class room for half of the day and then make you wait around amongst all the other pupils for your brief opportunity to make good on everything you learned earlier on in the day. Not at Hooked on Driving, they do conduct a brief chalk talk for first timers, which are always a good idea, but this track day program is geared towards giving clients the most seat time possible in a safe, responsible environment.
The Bavarian automaker, BMW, is working hard in order to get the next generation of everyone’s favorite high-performance sports sedan, the M5, ready for an unveiling sometime late in 2011. We have just learned a few new details about the future four door, some very interesting ones at that.
First, the F10 BMW M5 will incorporate an power regeneration unit similar to the KERS system found in the Formula 1 race cars that will help the to improve fuel economy as well as give the future M car an electric boost that the driver can request with the touch of a button, just like the F1 car. Similar to GM displacement on demand system, the BMW’s power plant will also be able to shut down a number of cylinders while driving at a relaxed pace around town and use the electric motor for a slight assist.
The next big story is the power plant. The 2011 M5 will feature a design similar to the twin-scroll turbocharged V8 engine found in the X5M/X6M. This is the forward thinking V8 that places the compressors inside the V, making for a much more compact layout for the engine. The big new is that in order to create a V10, two more cylinders must be grafted onto the existing block. The BMW built engines will then be mated to either a dual-clutch gearbox (DCT) or a more advanced sequential manual gearbox (SMG), but no matter how they are shifted, there will be 8 gears for each. The new M5 is shaping up to be an even more powerful replacement for the already impressive 500+ HP M5.
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