You know you’ve made it big when a parade of some of the world’s most exotic cars runs in and around your streets.
That’s exactly what happened after over 100 Ferraris, including the newly-released Ferrari California - paraded around the streets of the UAE before ending up at the brand-new Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The parade was part of the inaugural opening of the new Ferrari dealership in Dubai, which, incidentally, is said to be the largest Ferrari dealership in the world.
Among those participating in the parade included no less than some of the most important and influential personalities in Ferrari, including company chairman Luca Di Montezemolo, seven-time F1 champion, Michael Schumacher, current Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, and Giancarlo Fisichella, and the region’s ambassador to Italy, Claudio Doniosi.
The parade around the UAE is the latest example as to how serious Ferrari is in establishing a strong footing in the local market. Nobody can blame them either, especially since a lot of the world’s richest fellows have permanent residences in the area.
While most of us are drooling over the prospect of driving off into the sunset with the supercar of our dreams, two people who attended the recent RM Auction in London went home with their own supercars that they can now proudly call their own.
Two of the main attractions at the said auction were a pair Mercedes-Benz CLK GTRs – one was a 2005 Coupe version and the other was of the 2006 Roadster variety. Expensive and rare – only 20 coupes and five roadsters were ever built – at the same time, the CLK GTRs sold for a combined £1.1 million – a ‘somewhat’ bargain price considering the ‘beyond exclusive’ tag attached to these two cars.
While the two new – and lucky – owners of these cars were not identified, we do know that the 2005 CLK GTR Coupe sold for £522,500 while the 2006 Roadster version fetched a pretty cool £616,000.
It also goes without saying that the GTRs are not your prototypical Mercedeses. Fine-tuned by no less than HWA, the cars come with a 6.9-liter V12 engine that’s capable of churning out up to 612 horsepower. In addition to that, the two models also came with reinforced features including a six-speed sequential manual gearbox, a dual independent double-wishbone suspension, and carbon fiber brakes.
For the record, we don’t have that kind of money so the very idea of purchasing these cars shall, and will forever be a pipe dream for us. But in the wishful scenario that we did have £1.1 million to throw around, then investing on not one, but two cars of this stature is something that we’d also do in a heartbeat.
The US launch of the new McLaren MP4-12C may have hit a pretty serious stumble block after Inside Line reported that concerns over the car’s viability in the US has turned off a number of US dealership networks into giving the MP4-12C the green light in the US.
Taking the stance of these dealers and given the penny-pinching a lot of Americans are doing these days when it comes to their next auto purchase, the feasibility of selling a supercar – and a six-figure McLaren at that – in the US just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
McLaren was supposed to bring the MP4-12C to Los Angeles for the L.A. Auto Show in December, but with the recent turn of events putting a cloud on the car’s future in the US, the UK-based company has decided to cancel its appearance in the event, giving further credence to the growing uncertainty of the MP4-12C’s future across the Atlantic.
All things considered, the car is still scheduled to make its arrival in the US sometime in the middle of 2010, although expectations should be tempered. For now, at least.
Now that McLaren has revealed the MP4-12C supercar, its greatest competitor has also leaked on the internet, even if Mercedes announced the SLS AMG supercar will make its world debut tomorrow. Sales will begin in early 2010, with prices starting from €177,310.
The SLS AMG will be powered by a 6.3-liter V8 engine located front-mid that will develop 571 hp and up to 650 Nm of torque. The engine will be mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and will sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, while top speed will go up to 197 mph.
As previously reported the SLS AMG will feature an aluminum, double-wishbone suspension, and will have a 47/53 weight distribution, with a low center of gravity. It will be offered in either Alanite Grey, Alubeam Silver, Syvanite Grey, and a shade of red for the exterior colors, with leather and alcantara on the interior.
This should not be an introduction to the aftermarket tuners Wheelsandmore, that is because if you are a Top Speed regular then you most certainly have heard about the Wheeladmore Audi R8 customized by the German tuner, and today they have gotten our attention once again with this special edition Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 called “YarroW”.
This wild Lamborghini wears a bright yellow paint job with a nice black stripe running down the middle as well as a set of their 6Sporz wheels measuring 20 inches in diameter and hide a racing derived coil over setup with adjustable rebound and compression dampening as well as a hydraulic lift that raises the front axel up by 1.77 inches and allows the slammed super car to easily enter or exit any steep inclines that it may encounter. Thanks to a special stainless steel exhaust system with a remote controlled valve, upgraded ECU and a carbon fiber air box; the 10 cylinder engine now makes a total of 620 HP, that’s up from the standard 560 HP offering, not to mention 580 lb-ft of torque. Wheelsandmore has once again shown us that a few simple thought out modifications can go a long way towards completely transforming the drop top Italian super car.
This is incredible video shows off a super car lineup that any automotive enthusiast would feel privilege to witness first hand, leading up to one of the most expensive sidewalk displays of all time. The list includes an Aston Martin, Ferrari 612, Ferrari 430, a trio of Mercedes SLR super cars, a Pagani Zonda, a Ferrari 360 and a gold Bentley Continental GT.
We recently found ourselves in the paddock at the Homestead Miami Speedway Speedjam, and like almost all racing events, there were plenty of high performance machines running laps on the track and there were some pretty high dollar exotics sitting in the infield. This particular quartet of super cars must have either been the property of a few of the Rolex Grand Am and IRL drivers or some other big ballers that were in attendance.
For all the raves the praises the Lexus LF-A has received since it was launched, it looks like Toyota isn’t optimistic about the sales of its new supercar, even saying that it would take a miracle for them to break even.
According to the company, the €375,000 price tag for each of the 500 LF-A’s that were produced wouldn’t be enough to offset the insanely expensive costs – including a plethora of technological features - the company incurred from the development and construction of the supercar.
For all intents and purposes, the materials used on the LF-A have never been used before. Of all the materials used in the car, only five can be found in the rest of the Toyota and Lexus fleet of cars. Toyota even used a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic for the LF-A’s chassis construction and body panels, as well as a powerful 552 bhp 4.8-liter V10 engine. It’s not exactly a typical car, is it?
Despite the expected losses Toyota is expected to sustain, the company made it clear that the primary objective for the creation of the LF-A was to jumpstart interest in the brand and use the supercar as the precursor for Toyota’s mission of producing better vehicles in the future.
So for now, despite the overwhelmingly positive reaction for the Lexus LF-A, Toyota has resigned itself to the growing possibility of not making a profit with the car. Nevertheless, Toyota is optimistic that the technology behind the LF-A will become the measuring stick for which all other Toyota and Lexus vehicles will be based from.
After the global financial crisis threatened to torpedo its existence, P1, the ultra-exclusive British supercar club, has finally risen from the ashes and will be re-launched at the tail-end of 2009.
The club, which allows its members to use a roster of some of the world’s fastest and most expensive cars, is ready to accept memberships again after suffering through some financial difficulties as a result of the global recession, which affected a variety of industries across the board.
The downside of P1’s return is that most of its original members will have to resign with the prestigious club, although P1 is trying to alleviate the unexpected added costs by offering the original members all their outstanding tier points, which are used by members in exchange for a supercar rental.
According to P1 founder, Michael Breen, "In the event that they come back, our old members will be able to transfer all their benefits and unused mileages on top of their new annual quota."
With a fleet of over 30 supercars, including newly-released exotics such as the Ferrari 458 Italia, the McLaren MP4-12C, and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing, in addition to club mainstays like the Aston Martin DBS, the Ferrari 430 Spider, and the Nissan GT-R, Breen is hoping that the allure of driving these cars without any financial risks will be enough for customers – old and new – to apply for memberships. As it stands, at least 50 members have renewed their membership to the exclusive club. While the figure is a hopeful start, it still falls way short from the company’s peak of having 240 members.
The exotic machines that come out of Lamborghini’s Italian workshop are automotive works of art, however it takes a German tuning shop to make it into the wild ride that it can be. While the Gallardo LP560-4 is a very impressive car from the factory, this LP560-4 GTV from IMSA is truly fantastic. We first heard about this modified Gallardo back in February but today IMSA is giving up all the juicy details about this white on gold super car.
The IMSA GTV Gallardo features new front and rear bumper with larger intakes and aerodynamic diffusers. A set of side skirts round out the ground effects package while a larger rear wing keeps the Gallardo planted at speed while the fender flares give it a bit more menacing stance. Under the skin is a height adjustable sports chassis that sets the body down nicely on the 20 inch lightweight alloys and also allows owners to easily enter steep ramps and clear curb stones. After all, you won’t want to worry about the small things in life when you are surrounded by carbon fiber, sitting in soft leather and grasping onto Alcantara. The LP560’s high revving V10 has already been tuned by Lamborghini over the standard model, so the 5% that IMSA found bringing output up to 590 HP is extremely impressive. While we may be suckers for the way a set of gold wheels sets off a white paint job, but there is truly something special about this GTV Gallardo from IMSA.
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