Autoblog

UK-based CAR magazine teased over the weekend that super secret photos of a mystery car would be published on its website today, and that car has turned out to be the McLaren P11. While P11 is just a code name, the actual car and its real name are still around 18 months away. CAR's photos show a styling buck of the new McLaren, which is said to be a volume supercar to compete with the likes of the Lamborghini Gallardo and Ferrari F430. Recent job listings for McLaren suggest that its body will be made of lightweight composites and the engine will likely be sourced from the company's most visible partner, Mercedes-Benz. Expect a version of Merc's 6.2L V8, possibly turbocharged, to produce upwards of 500 bhp behind the P11's seats. Ex-Fiat designer design chief Frank Stephenson is leading the styling charge for the P11, or will be any day now, and as you can see, it mixes a little Ferrari with some Lotus and throws in a dash of McLaren F1 for the sake of continuity. A 200+mph top speed and sub-4-second trip to 60 are likely performance targets for McLaren's new baby, which could be produced in relatively large numbers for such a small company, around 5,000 units per year or so. Click the source below to check out all three pics of the McLaren P11.

[Source: CAR]

I feel so affirmed right now after reading Jeremy Clarkson's latest car review in the Times of London. After the rightfully-deserved savaging Clarkson gave the Chrysler Sebring last week in addition to some of the things he 's saidover the years on Top Gear, you might have the impression that the man hates American cars. Apparently, nothing could be further from the truth. He just hates bad American cars. Put the guy behind the wheel of a truly great car built here and he might just fall in love. So when the time came for Jezza to recommend a new car for the tamed racing driver known as the Stig, the obvious first choice was the vaunted BMW M5.

Well, it's obvious until you start considering gas costs nearly $10 a gallon in Britain now. Since any suitable car would not get significantly better fuel economy, the other option was to go with a less expensive machine, in this case the Cadillac CTS-V. While the first-generation CTS-V was not as sophisticated as one might have expected, the new model can reasonably be said to be better than the M5 in almost every respect. Equally important in this context is the £19,000 savings compared to the M5. The slightly light steering is easily overlooked given everything else it does so well and so quickly that Clarkson affirms our first driving impressions of the CTS-V. Thanks to Mike for the tip!


[Source: Times of London]

Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

For most of us, once we're able to sweet talk our way into Lamborghini Gallardo, going 192 mph isn't that difficult. But Luc Costermans has at least one more major obstacle to overcome: he's been blind for four years.

Despite that, he managed to borrow an orange Gallardo for an attempt on the Blind Speed Record. Congratulations are in order for both Luc and the Gallardo's owner, as the record was broken and the Gallardo apparently wasn't. Luc set the Blind Speed Record at 192 mph, Saturday, at an airstrip in Istres, France.

"I'm very, very happy. It's a team effort," Luc said after the run. His co-pilot, Guillaume Roman, wasn't quoted in any of the stories we read, but we assume he breathed a deep sigh of relief. Seriously, who volunteers to ride shotgun with a blind driver in a Gallardo doing almost 200 mph?

Luc can't rest on his laurels. Previous record-holder Mike Newman is hoping to hit 200 mph in a
Keating TKR. Anyone got a Veyron Luc borrow? Anyone?

See video of the record-breaking run here. Be warned that it's not in English.


[Source: BBC]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Arash AF10

Britain's history is punctuated in no small part by the proliferation of its cottage industry. And while the industrial revolution may have taken care of that to a large degree, it's still alive and thriving in the realm of the supercar. Small independent exotic automakers abound, including names like Ascari, Ultima, Noble, Farboud, Farbio and Arash, to name just a few. Trying to keep track of them all is enough to make your head spin, especially when the same guy is behind the latter three. After selling off Farboud, the new owners changed the name to Farbio and founder Arash Farboud started a new outfit under his first name. What you see here are the first proper images of his latest creation, the Arash AF10.

The carbon-fiber body, which (aside from the adjustable front wing) bears a startling resemblance to the Ferrari Enzo, is laid over a carbon fiber chassis for a sprightly low curb weight of 1,200kg (about 2,600 lbs). Power is provided by the 7-liter pushrod V8 out of the Corvette Z06, tuned from the stock 498 hp up to 530 thanks to new intake and exhaust systems, driving the rear wheels through a manual Graziano gearbox and kept in check by AP Racing brakes. The supercar is expected to sell for about 170k pounds sterling – a fair bit less than the £220k a Lamborghini Murcielago will cost a British customer – and begin delivery sometime next year. A sequential gearbox is expected to join the catalog, as well as the potential for dropping in the supercharged V8 from the Corvette ZR1 a year and a half down the line. In the meantime you can check it out in the gallery below.

[Source: Arash]

You never what you're going to spot when you go for a little joy ride across America. Just moments ago as we crossed from Missouri into Arkansas on Interstate 55, a low slung black car with a big wing rolled by. After a quick double take I grabbed my camera and snapped off a few pics of the first Porsche Carrera GT I've ever seen on the street. If I was going to see one of these I certainly wouldn't have expected it in eastern Arkansas.

Word has it there is an eight-month waiting list for the Audi R8 in the car's home market of Germany. Here in the good ol' U.S. of A., the 50 units we get per month are not nearly enough for all of the interested buyers. Well, with V10, convertible and possibly diesel versions in the works, we can't imagine that demand will subside anytime soon. You might think that Audi would be smart to amp up production to handle the high demand, especially with those new versions coming soon, but that isn't gonna happen according to Audi. Seems they can only make 27 R8s a month day and no more. That should keep the R8 variations very scarce and very dear.

For those lucky enough to have the coinage and a place in line, there is more news. Car and Driver talked to Michael Dick, Audi's member of the board of management for technical development, who told them the company expects to sell around 80% with V10 flavor. That version goes on sale next year, with drop-tops following soon after in Europe. Yanks will have to wait another year with 2011 models showing up in '10.

Other tidbits gleaned from the interview: Pricing hasn't been set, the diesel might be Euro-only if it even makes it to production, and a little brother R4 was never in the cards with the TT-RS and possible Audi R3 version of the VW roadster filling out the dance card well enough. We'll keep our fingers crossed that there are enough V10s available so we can get one in our garage at least.


[Source: Car and Driver]

Saying that "only a fool would ignore" the emissions of a new vehicle and the current global economy, AMG head-man Volker Mornhinweg realizes that it can't keep building gas-guzzling supercars with reckless abandon. Not that the company will lose its performance edge, mind you. In fact, hybrids and diesels could offer a meaningful performance boost if tuned properly. How so? Torque. Diesel engines are known for their massive axle-shreading twist, and electric motors, an essential part of any hybrid powertrain, make maximum power right off idle, allowing for an internal combustion engine that's tuned for stratospheric revs.

In a recent interview with CAR, the notion of fitting a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter oil-burning V6 inside the C class was kicked around. Mornhinweg suggests such a vehicle is a distinct possibility as AMG moves forward. Hybrid technology could be based on the new drivetrain powering the recently-unveiled S400 BlueHYBRID. No matter what the future holds, we can be sure that the AMG crew is obviously not made up of a bunch of fools, and will therefore continue to offer cars with the highest performance pedigree, regardless of what's underhood.


[Source: CAR]

Despite the fact there is no real "Official 'Ring Record" for production cars, manufacturers never miss the chance to time their fastest cars as they lap the famous German race track. After all, there's a great bit of marketing to be had by claiming that your car is faster than everything else. Maserati realizes this just as much as the next company, and the Italian automaker's MC12 is still 'super' even though it's now three years old. Perhaps even more so, as it recently managed to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in just 7:24.29. Not only is this an extremely fast time, it betters the marks set by such enviable performers as the Ferrari Enzo, Koenigsegg CCX, Pagani Zonda F Clubsport and Porsche Carrera GT. All of these cars are owned by one (very lucky) man and were tested with the same driver (American Le Mans Series racer Marc Basseng) at the same time and under the same conditions, while lap timing duties went to Europe's evo magazine. All of this lends a dose of credibility to the Trident's accomplishment that's lacking from the incredible 'Ring times that automakers have been claiming lately. So, while not all 'Ring times are created equal, some bragging rights now belong to Maserati.*

*The only car we know of that claims a faster time is the Dodge Viper ACR, which unofficially managed the deed in just 7:22. Your lap times may vary.


[Source: Maserati]

The whisperers have it that Bugatti may be borrowing from Bentley for a new sedan. What they can't seem to pinpoint is exactly what kind of sharing the two marques will be doing, and whether or not the resulting super Bug will be a supremely high-powered four-door to compete with the Rolls-Royce Phantom. If the two brands do indeed share something, like the next Arnage's platform, for instance, that might make sense. But just a few months ago, Bugatti said that its next product would be even more expensive than the Veyron, and lead man Josef Paefgen has also said that there will be no inexpensive Bugatti.

A $400,000 sedan wouldn't be inexpensive, true, but compared to $1.6 million for a Veyron, it's a flat-out bargain. Besides, the $242,000 Arnage T, after all the bespoke options, would come perilously close to a $400K Bugatti in price, and the next Bentley Arnage is growing in order to fight the Phantom. So if a Bugatti sedan with Bentley underpinnings were that close in price to a Rolls Phantom... then who's Bentley meant to get in the ring with?

[Source: TopSpeed via German Car Blog]

Click above for our high-res ZR1 burnout gallery!

Car and Driver recently strapped its test gear to the new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and, as expected, recorded some impressive numbers. All eyes have been on the supercar Vette as it enters the boxing ring to duke it out with the heavy-hitting Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR, Nissan GT-R and Porsche GT2 (among others), and it looks like the latest Corvette will more than hold its own. According to C&D's trusty electronic gear, the supercharged 638-hp beast knocked off a 0-60 mph time of just 3.4 seconds as it continued towards a blistering 7.6 second 0-100 mph run. The quarter mile was cracked in 11.5 seconds @ 128 mph (Chevrolet claims 11.3 seconds, but the guys at C&D didn't believe in "...that sort of drivetrain abuse" to get lower numbers). The top speed also remains unverified as the team "ran out of room" before they could hit the claimed 205 mph. Under braking, the ZR1 set a new C&D record as it hauled itself down from 70 mph in just 142 feet. Of course, we must mention the obligatory claimed Nürburgring lap time of 7:26 (at the hands of Chevrolet). So you don't have to Google the competition's best-claimed Ring times yourself, here they are: Porsche GT2 - 7:32, Nissan GT-R - 7:29, and the Dodge Viper ACR - 7:22. Of course, we'd like to see all four on the track under identical conditions, and with some digital timing gear!

[Source: Car and Driver]