The world’s oldest retailer of the lightweight English sports cars, Bell & Colvill Lotus are offering some very reasonable special edition of the automaker’s Elise model. The new Elise Black & White Editions are available in both the R or SC spec and offer quite a bit of kit for the money. The more sinister Lotus Sport Black version and comes with a trio of Phantom Black stripes running the length of the car, while the Aspen White version wears the same stripes in Ice White. One would think that the combination of choice would be white with black stripes or black with white stripes, but the black on black and white on white treatment sets these Elises further apart from the Lotus crowd.
The interior features a microfiber trimmed dash and similar treatment on the sport bucket seats and door skins. The value package also adds a set of black forged wheels wrapped in ultra sticky rubber while out back there is an all new diffuser. Other additions are traction control, air conditioning and a compulsory option for the Lotus Sport base paint. The retailer sells this package for about a $3,000 premium over a standard Elise R or SC, but I all the options were added individually, the sum would be closer to $8,200. Whether you choose Black or White, these dealer direct special edition Elises are a tremendous savings over buying the options one by one. Bell & Colvil are now taking orders.
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It is lamentable that European Nissan enthusiasts don’t have the opportunity to try out the Nismo 370Z. However, they are receiving a special edition that looks pretty good! The new Nissan 370Z Yellow will be available in limited numbers starting in September with prices ranging from a manually shifted £31,650 to £33,050 for an automatic.
The 370Z Yellow is painted in the sun inspired color and wears a set of 19 inch RAYS forged alloy wheels, but what really sets this Z car off are the 1970s Porsche RS inspired side stripes that spell out exactly what is driving down the road. Both items set off the gleaming yellow body to perfection.
The interior is another story all together, consisting of black leather and suede, the inside of the Yellow 370Z is both comfortable and grippy. Electronics consist of an integrated satellite navigation system and a BOSE audio with eight speakers and a built in six disc CD changer. Touches like illuminated entry plates and special mats greets the driver as he or she enters and sits back in the heated racing buckets. This 370Z includes the speed limiter and all the other features from the 370Z GT Pack on which the special Yellow model is based.
Press release after the jump.
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The Dutch built Spyker C8 Aileron was unveiled back at the Geneva Motor Show in production trim. The first models have already made their way out the showroom doors and on to the streets of Europe. This particular cherry red metallic Aileron managed to be caught by the trigger happy automotive paparazzi.
The C8 Aileron is powered by a Audi 4.2 Liter V8 engine that delivers 400 HP and is available with two transmission options. The first one is a 6 speed Getrag manual gearbox, with ratios perfectly matched to suit the FSI power plant. The other option is a ZF 6 speed automatic gearbox, which comes standard with paddle shifts behind the steering wheel, giving you that Formula 1 feeling as you shift up through the gears. This particular C8 is able to go from 0 to 60 MPH in just 4.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 187 MPH.
Check out the gallery on the right after the jump.
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If there is one thing we can say about the 2009 Infiniti G37, it is that we liked it. We really liked it. Our Athens Blue Coupe could put a smile on your face and instantaneously make you forget about any troubles that might be clouding your day.
The car is beautiful on the inside and out, the handling is amazing and the exhaust note is nicer than the VQ35 powered Nissans, especially when you get higher up in the rev band. Our four passenger GT car is powered by a 3.7 Liter V6 with VVEL variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust camshafts to make an astounding 330 HP and 270 lb-ft of torque and shifted through a 7 speed automatic transmission.
Once you are behind the wheel you forget about the 19 inch sport rims or the chrome front grill, even the HID headlamps won’t seem impressive when you are sitting in the Stone leather seats, gripping one of the most comfortable leather wrapped multifunction steering wheels on the market, because all you will be able to think about is the road. The G37 engages you in a way that only a fun car can.
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Of course the Audi R8 is a car every one is dreaming about. Bt not many of us can afford it. But if you own an Audi TT take it to the Prior Design and you will have a car that at least looks like your dream car.
The tuner kept everything unchanged under the hood (3.2-liter Quattro with 250 hp), but on the exterior added new spoilers, headlamps, bumper, rear bumper, side skirts.
The Italian super car manufacturer, Ferrari, recently released a Handling GT Evoluzione (HGTE) package for the 599 GTB Fiorano, the automaker has also started testing the possibilities of incorporating the HGTE package into their drop top California.
Like the larger V12 powered GT car, an HGTE package for the California would include a modified suspension with a lower ride height to give the car less body roll and a firmer feeling through the turns. The California HGTE would also wear specially developed rubber to make the most mechanical grip possible as well as a recalibrated seven-speed twin-clutch transmission.
On the Ferrari 599, the HGTE package also includes: loads of carbon fiber, a set of 20" split spoke rims and a matte black diffuser to inconspicuously create a low pressure zone behind the car, sucking it to the pavement. The interior of the superior handling 599 will be dressed up with even more carbon fiber accents on the interior and a pair of back Alcantara covered sport buckets.
The ex-English automaker, Jaguar, has prepared a very special version of their two door coupe, the XK, for this weekend’s Festival of Speed. On July 3-5, the Earl of March will open up his estate to almost 200,000 automotive enthusiasts and spectators. The Jaguar XKR Goodwood Special will be powered by a supercharged 5.0 Liter V8 pumping out 510 HP. The sleek Jag will also feature a throatier exhaust note thanks to a some free flowing pipes.
It will be hard to miss the hardtop XKR painted in a shocking lime green when it has a go at this hill in the Sunday Times Super Car Run up the 1.16 mile course. The equally menacing front fascia made up of a new satin graphite grille, headlamp surrounds, flat painted mirrors and even the louvers on the forward opening hood set this ferocious feline apart from other Jaguars. The XKR Goodwood Special also receives some upgraded rolling stock in the form of a set of signature 21 inch rims.
John Greenwood’s contributions in cementing the legacy of the Corvette as America’s Sports Car should never go unnoticed. As one of America’s most feared race-car drivers at that time, Greenwood took his Corvette racing operation nationwide and proceeded to win two consecutive Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) A/Production National Championships in 1970-71. This, of course, comes after he made a name for himself as a legend in Detroit with his street-racing exploits in an Impala and a Corvette.
Greenwood’s reputation as an ace driver landed him a sponsorship deal with B.F. Goodrich, which turned out to be the first of many sponsors who would come knocking at his door. With his tire sponsorship in tow, Greenwood set out to make his very first full-modified Corvette racers, which he aptly called his ‘Swing-Arm Cars’. Greenwood once again proved that he had the Midas Touch with Corvette’s when he raced in IMSA’s Camel GT Challenge and subsequently took home 3 wins in the SCCA’s Trans-Am Series in 1972 and 1973.
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The GT field will look a little different in the 2010 Le Mans Series because a few teams will be both moving up and down in class. The Corvette Racing Team, hot off their GT1 win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will be stepping down into the GT2 category in order to compete on the track with the same vehicles that the production car competes with in showrooms. Meanwhile, the Dutch super car builder Spyker, who has been competing in the GT2 category since 2002, has bigger dreams of entering their new C8 Aileron as a GT1 racecar.
The new C8 super car will make its production car debut at the Geneva Motor Show early next year, but on the racetrack the Spyker Squadron plans on entering two machines, while a privateer team will handle the older C8 Laviolette.
The C8 Aileron is powered by an Audi sourced 4.2 Liter engine that delivers 400 HP and will be available with two transmission options. The first is a 6 speed manual gearbox built by Getrag with a set of gear ratios perfectly matched to the FSI powered eight cylinder. If you want to shift your Spyker with paddles, you get a ZF 6 speed automatic. The Spyker C8 Aileron can go from 0 to 60 MPH in 4.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 187 MPH.
We here at Top Speed have been eagerly awaiting the return of the original four-wheel drive performance machine. The Ur-Quattro was mix of parts from the Volkswagen parts bin that Audi’s Group B engineers used to develop what at the time, most said would be too heavy and bulky an idea to be worth it. Today, all vehicles that compete in the top tier of rally racing are all wheel drive.
As you know Audi is preparing to bring back the Ur-Quattro. A first concept will be unveiled in 2010, with the production version following soon after in 2012. The production model will be available with stylish rims sized either 19 or 20 inches housing ceramic brakes and a newly designed aero package with an active rear spoiler, larger air intakes for additional cooling, wider sills and a magnetic-ride suspension. Of course the new model will come with a set of quattro sport differentials.
The new model will combine a sharp appearance with advanced technology and offer it in an affordable package just in time to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Ur-Quattro’s original rally success. Under the hood Audi will use a variety of power plants. Ranging from a V8 to biturbo V6, there is even talk of a twin charged 2.0 Liter four cylinder engine making an impressive 300 HP and the proven 2.5 Liter five cylinder from the factory tuned Audi TT RS.
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