Now we here at top speed have a bit of a thing for the Cadillac CTS-V ever since we had the chance to get well acquainted with the supercharged four door sport sedan. Now when we first saw the CTS Coupe concept we couldn’t help but dream that one day General Motor’s luxury brand would incorporate all of the same high performance stuff you don’t see that makes the V Series car so great into the two door version. Well Cadillac made our dreams come true when they confirmed the future CTS-V Coupe and things are looking up even more because they have just announced when we will see the 556 HP M3 obliterator. There is no better venue to show off Detroit’s finest than at the North American International Auto Show, and that is exactly where the CTS-V Coupe will make its debut.
One unlucky Audi R8 owning Californian learned what it feels like to be a piece of meat in when he unexpectedly taken from behind by a BMW 6 Series and sandwiched between it and a much larger (and heavier) Range Rover SUV. Unfortunately for the four ringed super car driver his dream car now looks like it was chewed up and spat out like a rotten piece of salami. The good part is that the Audi’s aluminum skin took the brunt of the impact and everyone inside was fine, however the worst part is that the R8’s aluminum skin too the brunt of the impact and even a slight fender bender looks like quite a bit of damage.
On the upside, if the red R8 owner’s insurance is any good and the adjuster is a nice guy, this just might be the perfect excuse to upgrade his wheels to the new 5.2 Liter V10 powered aluminum super car. Honestly there is no excuse for 4.2 Liter FSI owners to trade in their perfectly good mid engine machines, if it is a bump in output that they are after then the aftermarket already has a plethora of forced induction options that makes the old car even more powerful than the new car and combined with the V8’s weight savings should make for a more nimble machine. That is if you aren’t provided with an opportunity like this guy. This is just another silver lining on a very ominous dark cloud, it just depends on how you look at it.
At some point, our threshold for seeing exotic car crashes is going to be snapped. But until that time, we just have to stomach them and move on. The latest victim of the lethal mix of bad driving and bad weather is an Aston Martin DB9. In this video shot in Warsaw, Poland, the DB9 was speeding along a wet road when it loses control before slamming into a tree, breaking it in half in the process.
The DB9 then spins a couple of times before resting to a stop with the fallen tree just a few feet away from the car. Imagine what would have happened if the impact of the crash forced the DB9 to stop and the tree falling on top of it. Despite the damage done to his ride, the driver was enormously lucky not to have been crushed under a tree trunk.
In 1948 at the Turin Motor Show, Ferrari unveiled the evolution of the 125 S sports race car. Designed by Carrozzeria Allemano, The 166S was produced in only 3 units, all built on the same 2620mm wheelbase chassis, but featuring different design.
The 166 S was powered by a two-litre version of Colombo’s 60° V12 engine that delivered 150bhp at 7000rpm and had a compression ratio of 10.1:1.
The first two models, 001 S and 003 S were designed by Allemano and featured prominent nose grille and headlights. The first one was the winner at the 1948 Targa Florio, and the second one at the 1948 Mille Miglia. Unfortunately both models were destroyed.
In an interview with InsideLine, Kazutoshi Mizuno, the man behind the current GT-R confirmed that Nissan is indeed preparing a SpecM version for the GT-R: "We’ve always planned that after we released the SpecV, we were going to build the SpecM."
It will debut sometime next year and will compete with models from Aston Martin or Ferrari. Prices will start from 18,000,000 yen (around $200,000 at the current rates).
When BMW announced the official exterior colors for the new Z4 Roadster, this matte gray vinyl film wasn’t on the list. But is can be done, everything can be done this days, no? Including also adding a set of BMW 313 performance bi-color (gray-matte/silver-al) rims. Result: cool looking car, no?
The new Z4 comes in two models for North America, both using the same 3.0-liter inline-six cylinder engine. The sDrive30i has 255 hp, and the sDrive35i uses twin-turbos (one turbo designated for three cylinders each) to upgrade to 300 hp. All variants of the new BMW Z4 come as standard with a 6-speed manual gearbox. As an option, the BMW Z4 sDrive35i is available with BMW’s newly developed double-clutch sport automatic gearbox.
The BMW Z4 sDrive35i makes the 0 to to 60 mph sprint in 5.1 seconds with the manual transmission and 5.0 seconds with the seven-speed double clutch sport automatic. The sDrive30i accelerates from a 0 to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds with a manual and 6.0 seconds with the automatic. Both models are limited to a top speed of 130 mph (150 mph with the optional Sport Package).
Nissan today announced prices for the 2010 Nissan 370Z Coupe model. For the 2010 model year prices will still remain under $30k, with only $60 more than the 2009 model.
The 2010 370Z is priced at $29,990 for the 6-speed manual version and at $31,460 for the 7-speed automatic one. The Nismo version is priced $39,190.
The 2010 Nissan 370Z is powered by a 3.7-liter DOHC V6 engine that delivers 332 hp. Standard options include: include an enhanced navigation system, the addition of heated mirrors and in-cabin microfilter, one new exterior color (Black Cherry).
Revealed in 1980, the 208 GTB (and is spider version 208 GTS) features the smallest V8 engine used by Ferrari by that time. The 208 GTB replaced the 308 GTB and stayed into production until 1982, with 160 examples produced, in both right and left drive versions.
The car was designed by Pininfarina and featured a pronounced wedge profile, with a rectangular egg-crate aluminum radiator grille below a slim full width satin black front bumper. A square section indent line ran along each body side between the front and rear bumpers, which was finished in satin black whatever the main body color.
The doors featured scalloped intakes to the engine bay, the right one feeding the carburettor filter box, and the left one the oil cooler. At the rear there were twin circular light assemblies on the vertical recessed tail panel. A single piece lid hinged at the roof covered the engine bay and rear sited boot, whilst the vertical concave rear screen was bounded by buttressed sail panels. Options available were wider 7.5” rims, air conditioning, a radio, a deeper front spoiler, plus Michelin TRX or Pirelli P Zero tyres on special rims.
John Surtees holds the distinction for being the only man in history to become world champion in two-wheel and four-wheel racing competitions by achieving this feat with a Grand Prix motorcycle road race championship and a Formula One championship.
And now, decades after his racing career ended, Surtees has achieved another distinction to add to an already impressive resume: becoming the first man to drive an electric sports car through the Channel Tunnel.
Surtees’ feat occurred as part of the 37th annual Beaujolais Burlington Run, which coincides with the 15th anniversary of the opening of the tunnel that connects the United Kingdom with France and the rest of the European continent.
Surees’ car-of-choice was a Ginetta G50 EV electric sports car and he began his 31-mile run at the Folkestone terminal in the UK all the way to Calais terminal in France. Surees’ momentous achievement also marks the first time a production sports car – electric or not – has been given the opportunity to drive through the Channel’s service tunnel.
For anybody to accomplish that feat is remarkable enough, but for a 75-year old man - never mind that he’s a former F1 champ - to do it without even breaking a sweat is simply awe-inspiring.
Moving onto more modern things, you might remember back in June Top Speed reported on the Japanese tuning house ASI upgrading the Ferrari F430 and more recently proposed a modified 458 Italia. But until Ferrari’s newest mid engine super car becomes readily available ASI will have to settle for meddling around with what they already have, and when what you got is an F430, things cant be so bad. However as is the world of tuning, there is room for improvement on even the most capable of Italian exotics, taking a page out of the Scuderia’s catalog, ASI has fabricated a new high mount exhaust system that spits the spent gasses closer together and through the back bumper of the screaming Ferrari. The unit was developed in collaboration with the track specialists Ito Racing, it is made of stainless steel and features a pair of titanium tips for a more refined appearance. The free flowing exhaust will offer owners more power give the F430 a very unique exhaust note, and all it will cost them is $9000.
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