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.
At the 2011 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, Zagato teamed up with Aston Martin and to come with a very impressive V12 Zagato supercar. But this year, the Italian design company changed its course and teamed with BMW to provide an equally fabulous Zagato Coupe.
The first collaboration between the two companies was in 1939 with the creation of the first BMWs sporting tailormade Italian metalwork: a coupe based on the BMW 328 for the upcoming race season. Zagato was responsible for designing impressive cars like the BMW 3200 Michelotti Vignale (1959), the BMW 700 (1959), the BMW 3200 CS Bertone (1962), and the BMW M1 (1978). The new Zagato Coupe continues this impressive tradition.
The BMW Zagato Coupe combines design cues from both companies and has been entirely hand built. You will notice that the car’s extremely long bonnet is definitely a BMW element, but the radiator grille and the headlamps have definitely received the Zagato treatment. The car features a very cool Rosso Vivace paint that ranges from something close to black all the way to a brilliant red, depending on the light.
Hit the jump to read more about the new BMW Zagato Coupe.
Plans to revive the Alpine name have gone back and forth like a tennis match for years, but Renault may finally be giving the project a green light, for a concept version at least. A few days ago, we reported that the first concept version for the Alpine line would be unveiled at the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix, and now we have the first image of the upcoming Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept.
The Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept was named as such because it pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Alpine A110. Its exterior design was inspired by the Renault DeZir concept unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show and its technical side was borrowed from the Renault Megane Trophy, meaning we will see a V6 engine with an impressive output of 400 HP and 315 lb-ft. of torque.
The original Alpine A110 debuted in 1961 and lasted through the 1977 model year. It had a rather Porsche-like design and had a number of engines ranging from a 66-horsepower 1,108 cc engine to an impressive 140-horsepower 1,605 cc engine.
If the Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept sees the light of production day, we’re guessing it will be sometime in 2014. For now, we’ll wait for the concept to be unveiled on Friday, May 25, 2012 to get a better idea of the Alpine’s future.
UPDATE 05/24/12: A new teaser video of the Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept has made its way online, courtesy of a joint collaboration between the French automaker and Yahoo! Check out the video after the jump! Motorsport magazine is also offering new images of the concept before the car’s official debut tomorrow.
After Polestar got their tuning hands on the Volvo C30 a few years back, we knew they were the real deal. Thanks to the firm’s racing know-how, they were able to extract 405HP from the small 2.5-liter T5 engine and send that power through an incredible all-wheel drive system which featured adjustable suspension and Brembo brakes, but unfortunately it never made it to production simply because the exercise was too expensive to make production viable.
However, Polestar hasn’t let that disappointment get the way of its most recent plans to tackle the super-sedan market with a rival for the BMW M3, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, and Audi RS5. Swedish automotive magazine, TeknikensVarld started the rumors and they definitely have intrigued us, and will undoubtedly intrigue you also.
The magazine claims that Polestar will tackle the Volvo S60 in order to make an M3-killer, and could implant a 4.4-liter, Yamaha-sourced, V8 engine into it – the same unit as fitted to the XC90 and Noble M600 – be it without the two massive turbo’s found in the Noble.
In naturally aspirated form, this engine is said to deliver in excess of the 311 horsepower found in the M3, and if Polestar had their way with the engine, they could easily pump out 400 or more horses if they wanted to really show its German competitors how to create true performance sedans. The prototype caught testing was powered by a T6 AWD with 304 HP, but the final version will deliver much more.
Additionally, this unconfirmed car could come fitted with a Haldex all-wheel drive system and a sequential gearbox and would obviously feature more aggressive styling over the stock car.
Despite all of this sounding very appealing, we have serious doubts that it’ll ever make it into production, unless Polestar and Volvo can work out a cheap way to develop and produce a true rival to the BMW M3.
A few days ago, there was a pretty cool picture gallery released featuring the Ferrari 599XX Evo at the opening round to the European Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli at Monza. Today, Youtube user Shmee150 is offering up an equally cool video shot at the same event.
The stars of his video are a series of 599XX, 599XX Evo, and FXX models presented at the event. It shows behind the scenes shots and shots in and around the paddock before the cars headed out and blasted away. These are coupled with numerous clips of flybys, epic downshifts, the glowing brakes, and plenty of eye candy!
Their next stop was at California’s Laguna Seca circuit, a few miles from the attractions of Monterey, which hosted the third Ferrari Racing Days of the season on May 20, 2012.
Back in April 2012, Jaguar officially confirmed that the F-Type sports car wold be coming, except they only confirmed it in a coupe version and a roadster version. Now, recent spy shots have revealed that an R version is also under development. Come on, anyone knows that all Jaguars come with their own R version, so this little development shouldn’t have taken anybody off-guard.
The future Jaguar F-Type R will be powered by the usual supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine used in almost all the other R models, but detuned to around 450 HP, which is still pretty impressive for such a tiny sports car.
Compared to the standard F-Type, the R version will get a set of quad exhausts, more prominent front and rear bumpers, a new set of wheels, and a sportier interior.
It is believed that the R version will be launched at the same time as the standard version, so expect to see the new F-Type in all its glory later in September 2012.
Now all we need to complete the lineup is for the Jaguar F-Type RS to get picked.
The last time we saw or heard from IFR Automotive was back in 2008 when they introduced the Aspid sports car at the 2009 London Auto Show. If you recall, the Aspid was presented as a 700 kg/1543 lbs sports car that was designed like a futuristic Morgan and packed a walloping 400 horsepower, good enough to produce a 0-60 mph time of just 2.8 seconds.
That was four years ago.
This year, the Spanish automaker is returning with a new version of the Aspid sports car, one that has come with a new teaser and a rather intriguing tag of "Keep watching your mirrors, a new Aspid is coming."
Details are scarce at this point, but we do expect the car to look like a bigger version of the 2008 Aspid to go with a more powerful and technologically advanced engine than the 2-liter engine its predecessor came with.
More details are sure to follow when they become available.
Collaborative efforts aren’t anything new in the car world. Companies have been borrowing bits and pieces from each other for years, but lately it seems as though full blown projects are being split between companies to develop almost identical vehicles. Take Subaru and Toyota, for example. They joined forces to develop the new GT 86/BRZ sports car that carry identical parts with different maker flares. Now Fiat and Mazda are jumping on board the team builder wagon to produce a new small roadster based on Mazda’s next-generation MX-5 rear-wheel-drive architecture.
The two companies will have to develop two differentiated, distinctly styled roadsters and each variant will be powered by specific proprietary engines unique to each brand. Both models will be built at Mazda’s Hiroshima, Japan, plant with production for Alfa Romeo envisaged starting in 2015.
"Establishing technology and product development alliances is one of Mazda’s corporate objectives and this announcement with Fiat is an important first step in that direction. It is especially exciting to be collaborating with such a prestigious marque as Alfa Romeo on a new roadster based on the next-generation MX-5, which is such an iconic vehicle for Mazda and recognized as the best-selling roadster of all time." said Takashi Yamanouchi, Mazda’s Representative Director and Chairman of the Board, President and CEO.
"This agreement clearly demonstrates our commitment to Alfa Romeo and the determination to grow it into a truly global brand. By partnering with Mazda, we will be co-operating with the recognized leader in compact rear-drive vehicle architectures in order to deliver an exciting and stylish roadster in the Alfa Romeo tradition. We are appreciative of this collaboration with Mazda and look forward to maintaining a fruitful and continuous relationship." said Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.
Back in 2008, Mercedes was looking to expand its market to include the younger population and they decided that the best way to do that was to offer a C-Class Coupe alternative. That project led to the birth of the CLC whose success in the market was more lackluster than bedazzled. Now, Mercedes is at it again with a much more simple approach to meeting the needs of the younger generation. This simple - in the best sense of the word - vehicle is the C-Class Coupe, and Mercedes is even taking a stab at an AMG version. This is certainly a good thing because, well, the BMW M3 Coupe needs a real competitor, right?
The new C63 AMG Coupe will join the current AMG Coupe and will be put on sale this July in Europe, while on the US market sales will begin in September 2011. The first units will be sold as the "Edition 1" and will be offered with exclusive equipments.
UPDATE 05/24/2012: Mercedes’ "Thank You - 2 Million Times" video generated some positive feedback and many people have requested to see the uninterrupted drift footage. Questions were even asked as to if the C 63 AMG Coupe actually drifted the corkscrew or if it was creative editing. Mercedes is offering the answer to this question with a new video. Enjoy!
Aston Martin is intensely preparing their new DBS for its official launch and in the past few days, the future DBS was spotted running a very quick lap around the Nürburgring with its sticky Pirelli tires.
According to our spy photographers, the sports car was very fast! That speed comes from its previously used 6.0-liter V-12 engine delivering somewhere between 550-600 HP. Add that to the fact that it was built on a lighter chassis and extensive use of lightweight materials, and you have the recipe for a very successful - and fast - sports car!
As for the design of the DBS, Aston Martin clearly took inspiration from its One-77, visible on the front of the vehicle with its reshaped headlights. The rest of the design seems to be a direct evolution of the current DBS with sportier touches here and there. The rear of the vehicle was more refined with adjustments made to the rear bumper and exhaust.
Expect to see the new Aston Martin DBS launched at the 2012 Paris Auto Show this September.
Ferrari has unveiled a very impressive tribute video to Mille Miglia 2012 - one of Italy’s most famous road rallies. For Enzo Ferrari this was "the most wonderful race in the world." But the times and the ways change, because the last real Mille Miglia was held in 1957, today it is a historical re-stage. But the ingredients are the same: unique cars, enthusiastic spectators, 1,400 kilometers from North to South and back on the mist beautiful roads in Italy.
As a tribute to this amazing race, Ferrari put 140 models from 1958 until today on an impressive trip from Brescia to Rome and back. The first car starting the race was a 1986 328 GTS (race number 501) and every 20 seconds another car has started the race.
Let us know what do you think about this impressive race.
