It’s been a rough winter in almost all parts of Europe, but if anyone se the guts to go out in weather like this then Volkswagen has a little something for them. The company has created a tool to provide some of the best sledding experiences anyone has ever had. Their new toy is a snow sled called the GTI Crazy Bob and with a name like that, it’s bound to be fun.
Crazy Bob is a hot sled, in the truest sense of the word. It was built in the GTI style with high quality, cold-resistant plastic and features ergonomically shaped front and rear footrests. Both sides are worked to offer the highest security and special runners provide excellent glide and tracking. Due to its light weight, the Crazy Bob is easy to carry on your shoulder.
The Crazy Bob can be had for 64,90 €, or about $85 at the current exchange rates. If this is too much, Volkswagen is also offering another traditional wooden sled that is priced at $65.
German tuner, Edo Competition, has unveiled a new tuning package for the Porsche Panamera Turbo S. As usual with their projects, all the modifications were generally made under the hood and were enough to transform the car into the most powerful Panamera Turbo S ever.
The changes made to the engine include a new exhaust manifold, new turbochargers, and high-flow catalytic converters and air filters, as well as a stainless steel high-performance exhaust system with butterfly valves. The engine management system was also re-programmed to get best use out of the new hardware.
As a result, the Turbo S model’s 4.8 liter, V8 biturbo engine now delivers an additional 150 HP and 96 lb-ft of torque. This leaves it with a total of 700 HP and 649 lb-ft of torque, up from the standard 550 HP and 553 lb-ft of torque. The sprint from 0 to 60 mph is made in 3.5 seconds and the sprint to 124 mph in 11.4 seconds. Top speed will now be limited to 211 mph.
In addition to the massive engine upgrade, Edo Competition also put in a new set of 22" carbon-fiber-look racing wheels and an Edo lowering module which brings the Panamera’s body up to 30 millimeters closer to the road. The interior benefited from the finest leather and other high-quality materials.
The Fiat 500 is a great little car for anyone who is going on a solo mission, but anyone with a couple of kids in tow may need to look elsewhere. Fiat, well aware of the gap in their lineup, will be addressing this issue at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March with the 500L- an all-new model that expands the appeal of the brand’s iconic Fiat 500.
The new 500L (L stands for "Large") is a five-passenger model that expands the brand’s style and efficiency in the growing B-segment. It will be 163.0 inches long, 70.1 inches wide, and 65.4 inches tall. Under the hood, Fiat will place a choice of two petrol engines - the 101 HP 1.4 liter in-line four-cylinder engine from the standard 500 and a TwinAir version - as well as one diesel turbocharged 1.3 MultiJet II engine.
The Fiat 500L will be produced at the FIAT plant in Kragujevac, Serbia, and will arrive in the United States in 2013.
This isn’t the first time we hear about a possible Infiniti GT-R model. In fact, this rumor took root as soon as the Nissan GT-R was launched back in 2008, and has resurfaced numerous times since then. Now, it’s making another appearance. According to British magazine CAR, Infiniti may offer a GT-R version after all, hinted by Francois Bancon, Head of Advanced Planning for Infiniti in Tokyo. He stated that the GT-R platform is too good to use for only one model. In fact, he said that the company is taking under consideration ’three or four’ proposals and that an Infiniti GT-R is one of them.
If the decision does lie with the Infiniti GT-R, it would need to counteract the Nissan GT-R’s power with sophistication: "It would have to be softer than the GT-R. And that’s extremely difficult to do. You can’t easily tweak the GT-R to deliver the sophisticated, more refined performance we would need on an Infiniti."
A final decision on the Infiniti GT-R will be made in the next two or three years and, if chosen, a production version should arrive in the next five years.
A few days ago, it was rumored that the Volkswagen Bluesport had been dropped because the company couldn’t find enough sales to justify investing in the model. But, according to British magazine Evo, this simply isn’t true because the Bluesport is still on track.
In a recent interview with EVO, Volkswagen’s engineering boss, Uli Hackenberg, stated that the Bluesport project is still very much alive: "dealers are always looking backwards, not forwards… this is particularly the case when a new model is being considered as they don’t have any reference point to guide them, so they look around at the current market and give an estimate based on that."
Uli elaborated by stating that a production version will arrive in the next three years and will carry a price tag of about £30,000 (about $47k at the current exchange rates). Maybe this means we’ll also see the baby Boxster in the near future?
