Cool Fast Cars

It’s another drag race from our UK colleagues from Carwow and this time, the Kia Stinger GT goes up against the Volkswagen Arteon R Shooting Brake. Although both cars compete in the same segment, they are propelled by very different drivetrains. Will more power and torque prevail over less weight, all-wheel drive, and a DSG gearbox?

The first automobile was invented in 1886 and since then many great cars have emerged. But even nearly 140 years after the automobile’s invention, there are very few cars that have a cult following as zealous as that of the Porsche 911. This is especially true for the air-cooled models, which are all-time classics. If we combine the significance of an air-cooled 911 with the cocaine-snorting excess of the 1970s, we can see how a one-off 1979, guards red, modified Porsche 911 Turbo can be listed for $599,000 by a Florida dealership.

We are all familiar with the tuning potential of the 2JZ engine, which makes it one of the more popular engine swaps. That said, there are certain boundaries one should not be crossing. This is exactly what Mike Finnegan, from Finnegan’s Garage YouTube channel, did, as he took the rustiest 1968 Dodge Charger and put a 2JZ GTE engine in it. While it’s up for debate whether that’s worse than putting an LS into it (at least it’s a V-8) some MOPAR fans are sure to blow a fuse or two over Finnegan’s build.

Nowadays, there are plenty of startup companies cooking up an EV hypercar. Thanks to the electrical revolution, the hypercar industry has become like the watch industry – come up with a provocative design and then outsource the electric powertrain from somewhere else. However, internal combustion engine hypercars are still alive and it seems the next big thing isn’t coming from Bugatti, Pagani, or Koenigsegg, but….from Greece.

Cyberpunk 2077 came out in December 2020 and quickly got a lot of flak for its numerous bugs and broken promises. Be it as it may, the game offered a very unique perspective on what cars would look like in the dystopian future. But for some, playing the game isn’t enough, which is exactly what we see on the YouTube channel Burning Wrenches, where the host has an affinity for fabricating stuff. One of its creations is a real-life replica of the Quadra V-Tech, featured in the game.

Honda gave us a glimpse of the upcoming Civic Type-R a few days back. The company released two images of the hot hatch that were wrapped in camouflage, but gave us a fairly good idea about its styling cues. But, to us enthusiasts, two images aren’t enough. So, here are some more shots of the Civic Type-R taken by our photographers. The only fly in the ointment is that this car has got red skin as well. Nevertheless, we get to see it in action this time and with fewer clothes than the first time it was spied.

When we talk about performance versions of the Honda Civic, we usually mean the Type-R. With that being said, Honda recently teased us with some videos of the current, eleventh generation of the Civic. The eleventh-generation Civic debuted in April, and now we are looking at the Civic Si, which will follow soon. The car was spotted testing around the Thunderhill Raceway, in California, where it would compete in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill.

A while back, we talked about how Mazda is in the process of reinventing itself. The Japanese carmaker shared, on its official newsroom that three new SUV models are coming out by 2023 and that the expansion of its lineup will be accompanied by upgraded dealer facilities. Mazda’s transition to a more upscale image has never been more apparent and we are going to see the first models with longitudinally-mounted inline-six engines debut as early as 2022.

The Corvette E-Ray has never been spied before, but the company has been working on it for a very long time. The fact that GM trademarked the ‘E-Ray’ name back in 2015 shows that the automaker has had it in its plans for the better part of the last decade. Fast forward to the present day, the automaker is still tight-lipped about it, but it has been spotted testing at the Nurburgring. If you had even an ounce of doubt, this proves that the car is certainly not a myth.

In 2012, the Mercedes A-Class finally became what it should have been from the beginning – a proper hatchback. With the W177-generation, the A-Class improved upon the traditional hatchback body type even more and now, a facelift is in the making. The latest spy footage suggests that the mildly hot AMG A35 is out testing and, given the amount of camouflage, the hot hatchback is almost ready for a debut.

Our UK colleagues from Carwow have come up with another interesting drag race. This time, two versions of the Porsche 992 go head to head. You can probably tell, which of the two is going to win since we are talking about a base Porsche 911 Carrera and a 911 GT3. Racetrack performance aside, the question here is how much quicker the GT3 is, and will it be able to justify the enormous price difference?

Audi has made some changes to the R8’s lineup. For starters, the entry-level all-wheel-drive ‘Quattro’ model has been sent into oblivion, which the R8 RWD is replaced with the R8 V-10 Performance RWD. It makes roughly 30 horses more than the standard RWD model that it replaces, and the new power output is the same as the outgoing entry-level Quattro model. Can it help pump up the sales?

When you think of Porsche, most often you think of the Porsche 911. Saying that the rear-engine sports car is the brand’s most definitive model has turned into a trite cliché. A while back, we covered Frank Stephenson’s guide to Aston Martin’s three greatest designs. Now, as part of his YouTube series, he is giving us his take on the three greatest designs from Porsche.

When the Lotus Emira launched, we classified it as a bit of a mixed bag. We praised it for its tech-happy interior and the AMG powertrain is definitely a plus but, at the same time, there’s a little too much of that typical Lotus DNA – especially for a vehicle that marks the end of Lotus’ gas-powered lineup forever. We recently learned how much the Lotus Emira will cost and, while the flagship, V6-powered Emira First Edition will command a wallet-hitting price that nudges beyond six figures, the entry-level model is much more affordable, putting in the company of some strange competition.

The Ariel Atom needs no introduction. This little dynamite is quick, fast, and gets all the attention on the road it deserves. The good folks at ’AutoTopNL’ recently took a supercharged Atom to the Autobahn where it could flex its legs. The result? Well, it could go as high as 151 mph, which is very impressive for a car like Atom. A hair-raising experience… quite literally!

Ferrari has been working on the LaFerrari’s successor for quite some time now. It has been spied many times in the past, but our spy photographers have spotted it again; this time, with the production body. Called the Icona, the car was spotted in Maranello, Italy, right outside Ferrari’s facility.

What has the world come to? Just a decade ago, you wouldn’t think much of pick-up trucks in terms of straight-line acceleration. Sure, we’ve had things like the Ford Lightning or the GMC Syclone, but nowadays, you can buy a pick-up truck with well-over 600 and even 700 horsepower out the box. On today’s drag racing video from Sam CarLegion, we have a RAM 1500 TRX going up against a Ford F-150 Roush. The goal is simple – to find out who’s quicker at the quarter-mile.

The current generation Chevrolet Corvette made its American debut back in 2019, and it went on sale shortly after. In fact, for the American market it already saw a few updates. But in Europe the mid-engine Corvette Stingray is just now going on sale. It will be offered in both coupe and convertible versions, and, for the first time in Corvette’s history it will be offered in both left- and right-hand drive.

Prices will vary depending on the market. For example in Germany the coupe is priced at €86,900 and the convertible at €93,400, while in UK the coupe is priced at £74,200 and the convertible at £79,200.

If you follow the tuner scene, you are, most likely, familiar with the Rocket Bunny body kits. Originating from Japan, the Rocket Bunny body kits are as striking and as aggressive as possible for a road-going car. Kei Miura’s wide-body designs can make even the most docile-looking car look like a road-going predator. As soon as we learned of the new Toyota GR 86, we knew it was a matter of time before a dedicated Rocket Bunny kit was in the making. Now, we finally have images of the Rocket Bunny 86, and we like what we see.

When you think of iconic, classic American cars, Cadillac Coupe DeVille, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, and Dodge Challenger are, often, some of the first to come to mind. And while each of them has had their fair share of special editions, we can’t help but wonder what classic American cars can be like, with a European twist. Whether it’s their design or an unusual engineering solution, these are the most obscure American classic cars ever to exist.

While drag races aim to showcase the straight line capabilities of comparable cars, sometimes they just happen for the fun of it. This is exactly the case with this Carwow drag race, as we see a Bentley Continental GT V-8 Convertible and a Ferrari GTC4 going at each other. The simple truth is, our UK colleagues just happened to have the two cars on sight and decided to make the best of it, despite both vehicles being very different.