Automotive News

Filed under: Etc., Porsche

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According to English Russia, our favorite site of kitschy Russian culture, this unique form of self-imposed vehicular vandalism is all the rage in the former Soviet country. This particular example was caught in Moscow, and appears to be the wheel of a Type 996 Porsche 911 Carbriolet that’s overflowing with flora. Hmmm… hippies used to rave about flower power, perhaps the colorful decoration adds a few horsepower.

[Source: English Russia]

 

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Filed under: Economy, Sports/GTs, Etc., Euro, Hatchbacks, Opel

Click image for a gallery of the Opel Corsa OPC

During the same round of the OPC Race Camp that saw the introduction of the Opel Astra OPC Nürburgring Edition, former Opel works driver Manuel Reuter decided to update the official Nordschleife record book. He did this by taking a production-spec Corsa OPC and lapping the course in 8 minutes, 47.99 seconds — a new record for superminis on The Green Hell.

The Corsa OPC is no stranger to the Nordschleife, as Opel uses the track regularly during the development of its automobiles. The little hot hatchlet is driven by a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that delivers 192 horsepower. Its peak torque rating of 169 lb-ft can be bumped up an additional fifteen percent thanks to the car’s Overboost function. We sit here waiting patiently for the next Corsa revision, so that we can see a Saturn-badged version take on the forthcoming Ford Fiesta/Verve/Whatever when both ultimately arrive Stateside. If the Detroit automakers cooperate, we’ll get a Red Line vs. SVT duel, too. (Fingers crossed.)

[Source: GM]

Continue reading Opel Corsa OPC sets Nordschleife record

 

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Filed under: Motorsports, Ferrari, Lifestyle

For many motorsports aficionados, allegiance to Ferrari transcends the lines of age and social class. Young and old, from the everyman to captains of industry, on race days the differences are tossed out the window and they gather en masse, a sea of red in the stands, as tifosi. Ferrari knows this, and as a result, its strength as a merchandiser is unparalleled in the automotive landscape. Leveraging its iconic logos, rich history and legions of owners and fans, it has created a machine that churns out collectibles and accessories designed to fit almost any budget.

And now, the tifosi have a new bauble to fight over, and it’s priced for the deeper-pockets crowd. In honor of the 1-2 podium finish at the Turkish GP for Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari has offered 50 signed baseball caps. Each lid is autographed by both Felipe and Kimi, arrives in a big red Ferrari cardboard box, has a certificate of authenticity, and costs a whopping €400. On the Ferrari Store website, the conversion to USD is helpfully provided. $526.20 (plus VAT) worth of available credit on your plastic of choice is all it’ll take. We don’t recommend wearing this one to go out and mow the lawn. For that, we suggest the vastly more economical (yet still pricey at $33 USD) un-autographed version.

[Source: Ferrari Store]

 

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Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, Tuners, Acura, Honda

If you’ve spent any amount of timing tweaking the B16 in your EK hatch, you’re probably all too familiar with Hondata. The firm specializes in providing easy-to-use, plug-and-play components for the world’s Acura and Honda owners, and has proved invaluable on at least two past project cars of ours.

The So. Cal.-based tuning firm decided to take to the Bonneville Salt Flats a couple of weeks back and came away with four new class records, all behind the wheel of a heavily modified 2003 Acura RSX. The stock two-liter K20 was built by Prototype Racing and was able to produce 270 naturally aspirated horses running VP Racing fuel, and 390 HP when injected with everyone’s favorite go-juice, nitrous oxide.

When the salt settled, the Hondata crew set a one-way speed of 190.1 MPH in the G/FCC class while running the NO2, and 172 MPH in the G/GCC class with the aforementioned racing fuel.

You can follow the jump for Hondata’s press release and check out its website for more information on its products.

[Source: Hondata]

Continue reading Hondata sets four new records at Bonneville

 

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Filed under: Green, Tech, Aston Martin

Few factors affect fuel economy more than individual driving style, and anyone who’s gotten behind the wheel of a modern vehicle equipped with an onboard computer has inevitably played the consumption game. Audi is taking the concept of an insta-mile-per-gallon gauge to the next level by developing a system that analyzes driver behavior and then tips off drivers on ways to reduce consumption.

The system was presented at the TechDay 2007 seminar in Germany, where Audi sought to draw focus on drivers, fuel usage and emissions reduction. The automaker contends that just by changing the habits of the driver, fuel economy numbers could be boosted by as much as 30-percent, without having to sacrifice “speed and dynamism.”

The system also incorporates the vehicle’s sat-nav to make route suggestions based on traffic and road conditions, something that should be available in next generation “digital road maps.”

[Source: InsideLine]

 

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Filed under: Aftermarket, Tuners, Hatchbacks, MINI

If you’re a U.S. citizen hankering for a factory-tuned R56 MINI Cooper S, you’re officially in luck. MotoringFile has received the press release on the new JCW tuning package, and according to our friend Gabe, some dealers already have demo vehicles and you might be able to score a ride in one later this week.

The primary difference between the Euro kit we’ve reported on before and the kit to be sold Stateside is the exhaust manifold. Apparently, U.S.-spec vehicles are already equipped with the new exhaust plumbing, making the addition to the kit irrelevant.

The kit boosts power to 189 hp and up to 207 lb.-ft. of torque between 1,750 and 4,500 RPM, and while MINI admits that the package equipped on the last generation hatch was cost prohibitive, both with respect to parts and labor, this new kit will come in at $2,100 with only two hours of shop time to install.

The gains in power are provided by a new air filter housing, exhaust and a revised ECU tune, which supposedly provides faster throttle response. On the outside, tuned MINIs also get John Cooper Works badging on the front grille, trunk lid and atop the air filter housing.

After the jump you can scour through all the details, including comparisons in performance times between the stock and JCW-equipped R56.

[Source: MotoringFile]

Continue reading U.S. R56 MINI Cooper S owners finally get the JCW treatment

 

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Filed under: Tuners, Sedans/Saloons, Euro, Mercedes Benz, Brabus

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BRABUS has announced its D3 S POWER XTRA tuning kit for Mercedes-Benz’s new C220 CDI sedan. The Euro-market oil-burner sees a marked improvement in performance after installation, with power jumping from 168 hp/295 lb-ft to 217 horses and a stout 354 lb-ft of torque. On the road, this shaves a full second off the run to 100 km/h (62 mph), which takes 7.8 seconds post-modification. The car’s top speed increases to 149 mph, a 6 mph gain. Despite the added performance, emissions remain at the same Euro IV-compliant levels as the factory-stock C220 CDI. Installation can be performed at any Mercedes-Benz dealer’s service department. Naturally, BRABUS would love for buyers of the power kit to pony up for additional accessories like the tuner’s sport exhaust and bodywork modifications, but they’re certainly not required.

Follow the jump for BRABUS’ full press release.

[Source: BRABUS]

Continue reading BRABUS punches up the Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI

 

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Filed under: Car Buying, Maintenance, Etc., Buick, Cadillac, GM, GMC, Lexus, Pontiac, Saturn

The General’s chief product guru, Bob Lutz, responded to questions regarding GM’s reliability in the company’s FastLane Blog’s most recent video Q&A chapter. According to Lutz, who cites comparisons to company “H” and company “T” as being perpetual reliability yardsticks, GM has aimed at making every component throughout the automaker’s brands “bulletproof,” including the engines, transmissions and every mechanical part imaginable.

The move began about four or five years ago, and despite high ratings in J.D. Power and Associates initial quality reports, Lutz explains that all the money spent was in an effort to “shoot for infinite life,” as opposed to what Lutz calls, “100,000-mile bogies.”

Lutz goes on to recount his aim of making Buick the American equivalent of Lexus, which was just confirmed with the recent release of J.D. Power and Associates long-term reliability ratings. Buick sat pretty, right next to Lexus. Mission accomplished Bob. Congrats.

[Source: GM FastLane Blog]

Continue reading VIDEO: Maxiumum Bob Lutz answers questions about GM’s reliability

 

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Filed under: Sports/GTs, Euro, Hatchbacks, Opel

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Opel pulled the wraps off the Astra OPC Nürburgring Edition at Round 4 of the OPC Race Camp, a competition that will ultimately produce a driver team the Automaker will send to next year’s Nürburgring 24-hour race. Opel and the Nürburgring go way back, with test stints on the Nordshcleife a standard part of production models’ development process. The Astra OPC Nürburgring Edition is a nod to the legendary track. Like its “regular” Astra OPC kin, the Nürburgring Edition is a 150-mph hatchback powered by a 240-horsepower turbo four mated to a six-speed manual.

The special edition is finished exclusively in white with an offset checkered-flag graphic that runs along the hood and roof and fades away on the hatch lid. A high-mount spoiler, carbon fiber accents on the b-pillars and mirrors, and lightweight white wheels complete the visual. Inside, the full-leather interior is accented with an embroidered track map on the headrests and special numbered badging on the glove box.

Meanwhile, all we think while looking at this is “Saturn Astra Red Line.” Please make this happen soon, General.

[Sources: GM, Autoblog Spanish]

Continue reading Opel unveils Astra OPC Nürburgring Edition

 

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Filed under: Etc., Jaguar

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If you look across the back of any current Jag, you’ll see a chrome strip on the rear end with J-A-G-U-A-R spelled out across it. According to the marque’s design honcho, Ian Callum, that bit of branding is going away. To see where things are heading instead, you need only look at the posterior of the newly-unveiled XF.

While the XF sports the aforementioned chrome strip, a new “leaper” badge is positioned above it. In the next 2 to 3 years, that new badge will supplant the more traditional text-based brand verbiage. In fact, the reason the name was retained on the XF at all is because Callum and company believe that the public won’t know what the car is at first sight, and leaving the prominent “Jaguar” badging in back will solve that problem. At the same time, people will be exposed to the new rear-end leaper. A couple of years down the road, the “Jaguar” text will be redundant and expendable since the leaper badge will presumably be familiar to everyone. Of course, whether Jaguar exists as a strong brand by then depends heavily on the success of the XF, new tush leaper notwithstanding.

[Source: HeadlineAuto]

Continue reading Jaguar’s new leaper badge to replace text-only name tag

 

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