Speaking of racecars…no list of the world's top sports cars is complete without the Enzo Ferrari. Built with Formula One technology around the same time as the Murcielago, the Enzo also features an aggressive V12 engine and a top speed of over 200mph. But there's one major difference: this bad boy costs north of $1 million.
For 2011, Renault
is launching an all-new version of its Megane coupe-convertible. Like
the last generation model and most of its European market competitors,
the Megane gets a folding hardtop, but somewhat like its competitor the
Volkswagen Eos, this one lets the sun shine in even when closed. The
Megane gets an all-glass roof, which, while letting you see the world,
will probably do nothing to help the car's center of gravity. On the
other hand, the black finish does help to visually hide the roof when
it is raised, a stylistic windfall that partially alleviates the
peculiar proportions of such hardtop convertibles. That said, this
doesn't really appear to be a high-performance proposition, so we're
guessing that more potential customers won't care about the extra
weight up top anyhow...
The clearest photos yet of the lake-crashed Bugatti Veyron, purportedly taken by the insurance adjuster, indicate it's bee stripped down post-pelican. Yes, the owner may have moved on, but we're still morbidly fascinated with the super car accident.
As you'll remember, Andy House of Lufkin, Texas was driving around Galveston County when the $1.6 million car went into the drink. This was a reasonably big story until it turned out someone snagged video of it crashing. After the video showed up online everyone pretty much lost it.
The initial post crash pictures
showed the car fully intact. These photos, purportedly from the
insurance adjuster, show the car stripped down without much of its
interior, headlights or wheels. Has someone swapped this into a Mk III
GTI yet? ...
Renault has just released information on its diminutive new roadster dubbed "Wind," a car they will debut at next month's Geneva Motor Show. At just 150.7 inches long, the Wind is just about five inches longer than a Mini Cooper.
In keeping with the current fashion for hardtop convertibles, the wind
doesn't use fabric for the lid. Because of its small size, the complex
mechanized lids found on cars like the Volkswagen Eos or even the larger Renault Megane simply wouldn't be practical.
Instead, the roof panel of the Wind simply flips over 180 degrees to
stow under its rear deck. If this sounds familiar, think back about
five years ago to the Ferrari 575M Superamerica,
which used an almost identical system, albeit with an electrochromatic
panel called "Revcromico." Renault hasn't released any details about
the mechanicals or when the Wind will be available. Hopefully, we'll
find out at the show...
It's hard to find an angle on the Dutch-built Heynsdyk 2500SF
that isn't inspired by, or completely ripped off of, another car. If
there's one it's the front, which is an aesthetic challenge. But hey, Porsche 944 guts, right?
The
Heynsdyk 2500SF is built on the Porsche 944, not exactly the brand's
most respected offering, but it's at least galvanized so it's both
rust-proof and heavy. Atop that car's chassis rests a, ahem,
uniquely styled new open-top body that borrows styling from the
Mercedes-Benz W196, the Porsche Carrera GT and Mr. Snuffleupagus. The
car can be purchased piecemeal or as a finished unit with up to 250HP
when a turbo gets slapped on. 0-60 MPH comes in six seconds, which is
convenient since you'll have to outrun the ugly.
The connection between Tesla Motors and Daimler is certainly electric. Tesla supplied the batteries for the Smart Ed and Daimler invested about $50 million in Tesla. Now that Tesla has announced its plan to go public,
analysts are taking a second look at the electric car start up and are
trying to figure out what the future holds. It's not every day that an
automaker files for an IPO, after all (it's been decades since one did
in the U.S.). There's no recent precedent to look at here, especially
one with an all-electric powertrain.
Green Car Advisor
talked to a handful of automotive analysts about the situation and the
general consensus is that Tesla's future is clouded. There is a decent
chance, they say, that Daimler will one day straight-up buy Tesla,
which is certainly something we've heard before. Considering Tesla's
negative income stream - GCA calculates the company has lost $236.4
million since its founding in 2003 - and the fact that the losses will
continue until Model S production is ramped up in like three years,
there are more questions than answers in this case.
If there’s one car that probably doesn’t need any more advertising and promotion, it’s the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing.
Ever
since it premiered at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the SLS AMG has pretty
much been an attention magnet, becoming the toast of the town
everywhere it goes.
That being said, Mercedes has apparently
decided that their new supercar still needed a little bit more
attention so they came out with a new integrated marketing
communications campaign for the SLS AMG that’s centered around
the question, “is it still a car?”
Now if
you’re basing it on the traditional definition of a car –
that it has an engine, four wheels, and can move – then yeah,
it’s still a car. But if you’ve been watching some of the
promotional videos surrounding the SLS AMG – especially the one
where it makes a full revolution on a tunnel – then you can probably have valid reason to ask yourself that question without sounding like a loony...
Check out extreme dirt bike racer #800 Mike Alessi of Makita Suzuki Racing. Mike explains the difference between a Super-Cross race and a Motor-Cross race. Mike further elaborates his goals, views and expectations for this competition season.
Determined to allay any concerns that the Pontiac Vibe - a clone of the recalled Toyota Matrix - has safety issues with its brakes, General Motors
conducted its own vehicle tests over the weekend at its Milford Proving
Grounds. "We ran the Vibe wide open at 60 miles an hour and the brakes
were able to bring the vehicle to a safe stop within 169 meters,
consistent with our internal requirement for brake performance," said
Martin Hogan, GM director of brake systems.
While the tests may have successfully exonerated the Vibe's braking
capability in a controlled unintended acceleration scenario, they did
shed some light on the increased distances required to bring run-away
vehicles to a stop. According to a recent Edmunds road test
of the 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT, their test vehicle panic-stopped from 60
mph in just 127 feet. Converted, GM's quoted stopping distance is 507
feet - meaning the full-throttle Vibe took four times the distance to come to a safe stop when fighting both inertia and engine power.
The National Geographic Channel's
"Humanly Impossible" is a showcase of freakshows, and Austria's Franz
Müllner showed off a pretty impressive feat of strength by holding
back a Mustang GT500 as it performed a burnout in his face.
As you'll remember, this is the same guy who holds the world record for holding back a Lamborghini Diablo for a full seven seconds. He only held back the GT500 for 6.7 seconds. Is he getting weaker or is the 'Stang just stronger?..
Despite receiving clearance on a fix for the company's sticky gas
pedals, the automaker is straining to resolve what has become a public
relations nightmare. NBC’s George Lewis reports. (Nightly News)
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