Sports Cars are engineered to go around corners and straight lines as fast as possible. They are usually expensive, dangerous and so much fun that everybody wants one. Owning a sports car is a gratifying experience but it will cost you money and back pain as they are usually expensive to maintain and not very comfortable. But who cares as they look like supermodels at the beach.
Audi has finally let us in on its big secret regarding the 2014 R8. Audi had to tread very carefully with the redesign of the R8, as to not disturb the water too much and scare away the easily spooked sports car lovers. Many auto manufacturers have made the mistake of fully revamping a lineup, only to have traditionalists hate it (see: Toyota MR2 Spyder, Mazda RX-8, and Ford Mustang II).
Audi’s approach in this changeover seems more like a refresh than a complete redesign, as all of the changes to the R8 V10 coupe are minor nips and tucks here and there. Then again, we all know that a nip here and a tuck there can eventually turn into on gigantic facelift nightmare, so we need to really pull apart this refreshed R8 and see what’s doing and whether it can still hang with the likes of Porsche or if it will go the route of the Ford Mustang Pinto and be forever loathed, except by a few enthusiasts.
Updated 08/30/2012: Audi has unveiled today a new set of images for the facelift version of the R8 V10 sports car. Check the picture gallery to see them!
Click past the jump to have a look at the new Audi R8 V10 and see if it still stacks up to the competition.
A few weeks ago, Eibach updated the current 911 Carrera 4S with a new set of Pro-Kit Performance Springs. Today, Now it’s time for another great sports car to catch the tuner’s attention: the BMW Z4. Thanks to its long bonnet and the sporty seating position, the Z4 needs no presentation updates, but Eibach decided to optimize the convertible’s performance figures with new tailor-made suspension components.
Eibach has just unveiled a new Pro-kit Performance Springs kit that lowers the Z4’s center of gravity, thus improving its cornering behavior. There is also a set of B12 Pro-Kit Performance Springs and Shocks that add even more sportiness to the Z4.
As a final component the tuner is offering a Pro-Spacer Wheel Spacer made from high-tensile-strength aluminum that will transform the Z4 into an even more athletic sports roadster. These new wheel spacers also weigh significantly less than steel wheel spacers and give the Z4 a stouter stance.
Click past the jump to read more about the BMW Z4.
Do you remember the RK Coupe unveiled by StudioTorino back in 2006? It was based on the previous-generation Porsche Cayman and developed a total of 440 horsepower.
Now, Studiotorino announced the Moncenisio - a sports coupe based on the new 2014 Porsche Cayman S. First details on the upcoming Moncenisio suggest that it will be heavily revised on both the exterior and interior, but we shouldn’t be too surprised to see some updates under the hood too.
Updates on the exterior will include an extreme aerodynamic kit with all the components made in carbon fiber, a new set of wheels and seven exclusive colors. For the interior, Studiotorino will offer lots of leather-upholstered components and, of course, special Moncenisio logo.
The new Studiotorino Moncenisio will be limited to only 20 units and will be available starting in November. Prices for the conversion will start from €135,000 (about $180,000 at the current exchange rates).
Click past the jump to read more about the Studiotorino Moncenisio.
Everyone is expecting now that we have seen the V12 Vantage S that a Volante version will be launched in the next couple of months. While no official details are offered on this new model just yet, piecing together how it will look isn’t very difficult. All you have to do is take a V12 Vantage S, remove the fixed roof and add a soft top.
Everything else will be carried over from the coupe version, except, of course, that the Volante version will be a little bit heavier because of the changes required by the soft top.
Under the hood, the car will keep the same AM28 6.0-liter V-12 engine that delivers a total of 565 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. The Volante version will go from 0 to 60 mph in a little over 4 seconds, while top speed will drop a little bit from the coupe’s 205 mph.
Click past the jump to read more about the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Volante.
Porsche will continue to celebrate the 911’s 50th anniversary the entire year and the next major event will take place at Silverstone Classic, Northamptonshire on July 26th through 28th. At this event Porsche will try to bring together the largest Porsche 911 parade ever. The initial plan was to have 911 of these rear-engine sports cars, but so far, more than 1,000 owners have answered, and there are still 8 weeks to spare.
According to Nick Wigley, the event director, Porsche "feared achieving 911 Porsche 911s might have been a somewhat over ambitious and idealistic target," but now it looks it’s not the case anymore.
The parade will include lots of models, including Carrera, Targa, RS, RSR, Speedster, GT and Turbo variants, but also some very special 911s and Porsche personalities, including racing legends Derek Bell MBE and David Piper. Other names will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
With this parade, Porsche will try to eclipse Jaguar’s parade that brought together a total of 767 E-Types for the car’s 50th anniversary.
Click past the jump to read more about the 911 Carrera S 50th Anniversary Edition.
Last October, the U.S. market received a special-edition BMW M3 Coupe Frozen, which was limited to only 150 units. Now is time for the Chinese market to get its own special BMW M3 Coupe. It is painted in a sexy Frozen Blue and is limited to only 40 units.
Wondering how much the exclusivity costs? A lot if you ask us: 1.29 million Yuan (about $210,000). On the U.S. market with this kind of money, you can buy three BMW M3 Coupes and you will still be left with lots of money for gas.
For the money the lucky 40 Chinese customers will get this BMW M3 Frozen Blue combined with blacked out trims, kidney grille and side gills, and of course, some special edition badges on the interior.
That’s pretty much all the updates this special edition will offer, as everything else will remain unchanged. Under the hood, the car will retain the usual V-8 engine with 414 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque.
Click past the jump to read about the M3 Tiger - the only Chinese M3 that made us jealous.
In June, the 2012 Audi R8 E-tron became the fastest electric car around Nürburgring with a lap time of 8:09.099 minutes. The problem with the R8 E-tron, however, is that it will never be offered to customers.
This June, Mercedes decided to show what its SLS AMG Electric Drive can do and brought it to the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife test track. The results put the SLS AMG Electric Drive directly into the Guineas Book of World Records.
The electric SLS lapped the Nordschleife in just 7:56.234 minutes, becoming the fastest electric car in the world around the `Ring, but also the first electrically powered production vehicle to have mastered the legendary racetrack in under eight minutes.
This record comes just 2 weeks after the first overall win for the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in the Nürburgring 24 Hours race.
"For the first time, an electrically-powered series production vehicle has lapped the Nürburgring Nordscheife in under eight minutes. The record for the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive in 7:56.234 minutes on the Nordschleife shows the special position of our innovative and unique drive solution," said Tobias Moers.
Click past the jump to read more about the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive.
It looks like these past few days are full of possibilities of winning great cars. If yesterday we told you how you can win a 2014 Shelby Mustang GT500 and today we bring you a chance to win a 2013 Nissan GT-R. Well, eBay is, not us.
eBay is now opening a new part of its website called eBay Garage and, if you sign up for an account you are automatically entered in the drawing for a GT-R. Along with the bad-ass grand prize, eBay will also offer each day 29 $50 eBay gift cards.
There are a few rules that need to be followed if you want to win the GT-R: first create your vehicle profile for your first entry, then add photos and share your profile for additional entries and last enter every day through July 4, 2013.
The drawing will be held on July 15th and the winner will be announced on the eBay Motors Blog on July 22nd, 2013.
Click past the jump to read more about the Nissan GT-R.
As a project of Neal Bailey’s BXR Motors, the Bailey Blade XTR has been in the oven for quite some time now. But the project car has yet to progress into an actual production car because, well, there wasn’t enough money to do so.
But now, the money has been injected into the project and, thanks to a teaser video released by BXR Motors, the Bailey Blade XTR is mere months away from making its official debut at the 2013 SEMA Auto Show.
It’s definitely a long time coming, especially since it has made various media rounds in the past but never got the opportunity to actually get up and running.
Needless to say, we’re all excited to see what BXR Motors has in store for all of us when the Bailey Blade XTR finally makes its debut at SEMA later this year.
Click past the jump to read more about the 2014 Bailey Blade XTR.
A Nissan GT-R Alpha 12 by AMS Performance with 1,700 horsepower under the hood recently became the fastest GT-R in the world when it was capable of hitting an incredible top speed of 382.16 km/h (237.46 mph). This heavily modified GT-R is also capable of running the 1/4-mile in 9.44 seconds and a speed of 161 mph, goes from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.99 seconds, from 0 to 200 km/h (124 mph) in 6.50 seconds and from 0 to 300 km/h (186 mph) in 12.37 seconds.
Updates made by AMS include an updated twin-turbo kit and increased boost pressure. On top of that, AMS also went out and reinforced the block to ensure that the car’s engine could handle all the horses galloping underneath the hood. A base AMS 12 can develop a total of 1,318 horsepower, while in the 12+ version cranks the final output to up to 1,700 horsepower.
Check out the video to see the fastest GT-R in the world in action!
