The Lotus Elan was one of five concept sports cars presented by Lotus at last year's Paris Auto Show while it also made a quick stop at the LA motorshow that followed in November. Now that the concept studies have made it back to the England, the folks over at Paultan visited the British firm's headquarters in Hethel and shot this video showing the Elan's digital instruments in action. The panel consists of a large LCD screen flanked on either side by two smaller components. You can watch the video clip after the jump.
And you thought your latest weekend track race was adrenaline-filled... Enter the realm of Jonny Reid, one of New Zealand's top racing drivers. The 27-year-old Kiwi put a brand new 2011 Volvo S60 to the test around Hampton Downs raceway in Auckland. Nothing spectacular there you say? How about if we told you that he did it blindfolded? Yes, that's right; the young racing driver couldn't see a thing.
According to the promo event's organizers, it took Reid more than one try but in the end, he managed to return a lap time of 1:28 with a top speed of 193km/h (119 mph). "He was guided only by the feel of the car, his knowledge of the track, and co-driver Earl Bamber's voice," said Volvo. Pretty neat, though we're not sure who was the bravest of the two; the driver or the co-driver... Scroll down to watch the clips.
We've shown you the spy shotsand told you about the Oprah gig where the famous TV host gave away 275 examples of the yet-to-be-revealed New Beetle to her audience. Now, the 2012 model was caught on video towing a pretty big trailer during a series of tests carried out in Europe. VW has promised that the new generation of the retro-styled hatch, which will arrive in May next year, will be a “driving machine" but did not elaborate further. Video after the jump.
Just prior to World War II Jaguar, known then as SS Cars, started using a numbering system beginning with the letter X for internal projects. X meaning experimental, XB for military chassis projects and XF to XK for engines. This numbering system has never been consistent and there appears to be many omissions and duplications.
Number Project XJ3 3.4-litre and 3.8-litre S-Type saloon cars (known to the Pressed Steel Company as 'Utah') XJ4 Designation of the project which led to what was publicly announced as the XJ6 XJ5 Modifications to the Mark Ten for air-conditioning XJ6 A V12 racing engine with four-overhead-camshafts XJ8 E-type 2+2 version XJ13 Jaguar sport-racing mid engined prototype XJ16 Jaguar 420 saloon XJ22 & XJ23 E-type Series Two XJ27 The Jaguar XJS XJ40 Second Generation Jaguar XJ6 (1986-1994) (as opposed to Series 2 version of First Generation) XJ41 Prototype Coupé replacement for the XJ-S XJ42 Prototype Drophead replacement for the XJ-S XJ50 Jaguar XJ12 Series Three XJ57 & XJ58 Jaguar XJ-S 3.6 litre XJ81 Second Generation Jaguar XJ12 (1993 - 1994)
The 612 is Ferrari's second all-aluminium vehicle, the first being the 360 Modena.
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
Its space frame (developed with Alcoa) is made from extrusions and castings of the material, and the aluminium body is welded on. The chassis of the 612 forms the basis of the 599 GTB.
General Motors has cancelled the planned replacement for the GMT900 SUVs.
The automotive press has speculated that the Escalade nameplate may move to the Lambda crossover platform.
However, GM has announced it has resumed work on its fullsize SUV's. Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac Escalade
The Lambda based Cadillac will still go into production however, to compliment the new Escalade.
On February 13, 2010 according to a report on Autoblog.com, GM has reissued an redesign on the GM fullsize SUV lineup, including the Escalade, for a 2013 release due to increased SUV sales.
The GT2R is the latest racing model of the car and has 450 PS (331 kW) and an open top with a metal rollcage. The Spyker C12 LaTurbie is the most recent road model and also has a long wheelbase but comes with a new 12 cylinder 6.0 litre Audi W12 engine producing 500 PS (370 kW). Despite the changed designation, C12 instead of C8, the car's appearance is still similar to that of the C8 models. C12 refers to the twelve cylinders, while the C8 has only eight.
The VW Golf R32 IV may be an old model but there's no shortage of tuners willing to step up to the challenge and mod the hot hatch like there's no tomorrow. The latest tuning proposal for the Golf R32 IV comes via German specialist MTE in the military-theme wrapped R32 BiTurbo2.
The stock R32's 3.2-liter V6 makes 241bhp and 320Nm / 236 lb-ft, but thanks to a series of modifications including -but not limited to- a pair of Garrett turbochargers with intercoolers, a custom exhaust system, recalibrated ECU, new pistons and cylinder heads, output has been lifted to 790HP and 1,200Nm / 885 lb-ft. That's 50HP more than MTE's previous Golf R32 IV BiTurbo1.
Thanks to these modifications, the tuner claims that the BiTurbo2 now runs the quarter mile in 10,7 seconds at 216km/h or 134mph.
The car also gets a revised transmission as well as new suspension bits and a high-performance braking system, while it rides on 18-inch wheels shod in semi-slick tires.
Because of reliability problems and rough shifting with the Ferrari based semi-automatic transmission, a full automatic transmission with 6 speeds (by ZF) was presented at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2007 with the first cars delivered right after the launch, marketed as the Maserati Quattroporte Automatica.
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati Quattroporte
The Automatica was made available with paddle-shifters on the Sport GT model as standard, but on the base model and the Executive trim levels paddles became an optional extra.
With the Automatica, Maserati completely redesigned the under pinning of the car to fit the new conventional automatic transmission and torque converter right behind the engine. They also converted to a wet sump oiling system for cost saving purpose
