Mercedes E-Class Coupe Spied with Glass Roof
It seems Mercedes is taking a few design cues from Peugeot.
Here we have an E Class Coupe with a glass roof. It appears Mercedes will be offering a slew of variants of this model. From a cabriolet with a folding hardtop to a coupe with a glass roof. Hey, how about a convertible with a folding glass roof? Or how about a roof made of wood?
Mercedes has huge hopes for the new E Class range. Germany’s foremost premium brand has even moved up the date for their debut of the new E Class sedan which was slated to take its first public bow at Geneva in March but will now be officially unveiled next week.
As for the Coupe, in recent spy shots we can see how similar it is in style to the CLS Coupe released a couple of years ago. Which is good news because that car looked great.
Gasoline/petrol engines likely on offer for this E Class Coupe, glass roof or not, will be a 3.5 liter V6, a 5.4 liter V8 and an uprated 6.2 liter AMG V8. As for the diesels, which can now easily power a cabriolet given how good they’ve gotten at keeping their voices down, you can expect Mercedes’ new line of cleaner oil burners to be made available. Those are the 200, 220, 250 and 300 CDI, along with the new 350 BlueTec topping out the range.
First Production Ford Mustang Cobra Jet Racer Rolls Off Production Line
Just months after it was officially unveiled at 2008 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the first race ready Ford Mustang Cobra Jet has rolled off the assembly line. The Cobra Jet, also known as the Mustang FR500CJ, joins the Mustang FR500S, Mustang FR500C and the Mustang FR500GT as the latest addition to the Ford Racing family.
Unlike its other Ford Racing brethren, the new Cobra Jet is strictly meant for track and is the drag racing equivalent of the Mustang FR500S. The company says that the Cobra Jet is the prefect NHRA drag car for people interested in racing but may not want to make a major financial commitment.
The car features numerous improvements to make it a competitive racer such as a tweaked 5.4-liter Cobra Jet engine with cold air induction, a Cobra Jet bell housing, stainless steel racing headers, a 9-inch rear axle assembly, a one piece driveshaft, a specially tuned suspension with adjustable dampners, and drag slicks. Owners can choose to outfit their racer with either a 6-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission, depending on their personal preference.
All the cars will feature a white exterior with a prominent hood scoop, flush quarter window louvers, and unique Cobra Jet wheels. The interior also gets the racing makeover thanks to the addition of a 5-inch tachometer, a SVT Mustang short-throw shifter with black shift knob and handle, and a special Cobra Jet seat package.
Since the Cobra Jet isn’t street legal the racer gets to avoid the typical VIN coding, so the limited production run will start with the VIN “FR500CJ” and end with the car’s production number.
С Новым 2009 годом!!!
BMW Museum: Night of the White Gloves Lets Visitors Touch Exhibits
BMW doesn’t mind if you touch their array of classic cars at the BMW Museum in Munich, but they would prefer that you don’t leave any fingerprints.
For a special, one night only event, BMW will host a “Night of the White Gloves” at its museum that will allow visitors to touch the exhibits on display.
The event is being held in collaboration with the Bavarian Association of the Blind. Those attending will be permitted to touch the 120 exhibits while wearing white gloves provided by their hosts. Visitor will also be able to touch the insides of the cabins, engines and luggage compartments.
Jürgen Steinle of BMW Design will be on hand to expand on the hallmarks of the brand’s design heritage, while Ralf Vierlein, head of the Historic Vehicle Collection at BMW Classic, will speak on what makes a BMW a classic.
BMW will also be putting on display for the first time the GINA Concept Car at the event.
“The Night of the White Gloves” will take place on November the 21st at the BMW Museum in Munich.
Litchfield Subaru Impreza STI Type-20 Makes 400 PS
Subaru STI has always had a reputation as a tuner’s dream car thanks to a number of its “natural” characteristics, such as small turbo engines, AWD and superb handling. Litchfield are a prominent Subaru specialist and they now introduce the world - via Autosport show - to Litchfield Subaru Impreza STI Type-20, a hatch as potent as a previous generation BMW M5. At a fraction of the weight and price.
Litchfield owner Iain Litchfield and team began working on the car early this year. It’s based on the rally-based STI but is actually something of a road-going pocket bullet. Using the Subaru 2.0-litre boxer rocker, Litchfield has squeezed a tremendous 400PS/ 298kW from it, in conjunction with a massive 508Nm of torque, 414Nm of which is available at 3,000rpm. For a turbo this STI Type-20 is quite the screamer, achieving its maximum potency at a woozy 7,500rpm. Zero to 60mph is a matter of 3.9 seconds, top speed reached at 165mph.
Of noteworthy importance are the high performance 245/40/18 Dunlop SP600 tyres, not for their size but for their name, for these are the same tyres used by Nissan during GT-R’s famed Nurburgring record run. Other kit items include a revised STI front grille, revised chassis bushes, revalved power steering system for increased feel and weight and Litchfield front strut brace. The package costs £36,995 OTR.
Audi R8 by Project Kahn
Afzal Kahn is a busy guy. He’s CEO of Kahn Design and head of Project Kahn, which brings us this Audi R8. He’s also working on Kahn Pizza delivery, which promises to deliver your pizza in a supercar over 200,000 dollars in value or your money back.
Anyway, Project Kahn does the Audi R8. Kahn lowers the suspension and slaps on 20″ F1-X rims made of lightweight carbon fiber. There are no more details than that, just the pic.
Project Kahn says on its website that, “You do not need to worry about the engine,” referring to Audi’s 4.2 liter FSI, 414 hp (309 kW) V8. Which we can interpret to mean that there won’t be any engine tuning to this Kahn creation.
But maybe Kahn has a point. Sometimes tuning squeezes too much out of an engine and takes away its suppleness and character. A 3.77kg/hp ratio is very respectable territory for a supercar and, to paraphrase the late Paul Newman, avid race driver, its the driver that makes the car.
Rendered: Mercedes E-Class Coupe Convertible
As you know by now, the CLK has been morphed into the E-Class Coupe. You won’t be seeing that production model soon, since it will likely first be shown either at Geneva in March 2009 or the Frankfurt Motor Show later next September.
But we’ve seen the spy photos and now here is an artist’s rendition of what the final product will probably look like.
The E-Class Coupe cabriolet/convertible will feature a retractable hardtop, if we are to believe what we’ve seen in spy shots, as you cannot tell by this rendition.
It will also come with Mercedes-Benz’s new Bluetec diesel with 204 hp and there will also be a 550 hp V8 AMG version. The rest of the lineup of engines for the E-Class are also expected to power this cabrio.
The new E-Class coupe variants will be based on Mercedes’ C-Class platform, as was the CLK, but will be larger and feature more interior refinement to go with bump up in class.
You likely won’t see this convertible until Frankfurt next year.
JAPAN: Lamborghini Gallardo, BMW M5 and a Lancia Stratos turned into manga cars
See these cars right on these pictures? They are owned by one man, a matured gentleman by the name of Yoshida San. Yoshida is an avid gamer, in fact he is President of AGE SOFT, a videogame software house. Note the three customised cars; Lamborghini Gallardo, BMW M5 and Lancia Stratos are decorated Japan manga style. Manga is a cartoon method modernized and popularised in Japan from the 1950s. The cars are adorned with characters from manga and erotic video games. They were exhibited at an itasha event last weekend (itasha is the art of beautifying cars with anime or manga characters)
Yoshida San’s cars have some international exposure already having been featured on Bloomberg.com and famitsu.com. The man is said to drive his Lambo on a daily basis, and even to business meetings as it doubles as a promotional mobile billboard during events.
Thanks to Frankie from Tokyo for this colourfully fast tip.
Fiat 500 Abarth DA 0 A 100 Limited Edition
Fiat have announced the introduction of a new limited edition 500 dedicated to Karl Abarth and his centenary this year. Named the Fiat 500 Abarth ‘DA 0 A 100′, rather tactfully referencing both the celebratory year and the Abarth’s somewhat spritely performance, the limited edition 500 will see just 101 examples and boast a range of exclusive, classically Abarth tribute modifications.
With exclusive ‘da 0 a 100′ branding, the limited edition Abarth boasts hide colour leather upholstery and steering wheel, aluminium gear lever knob, kick plate and build number plate, while even the key fob acts as reminder to the car’s hommage. The exterior touts Nuvolari Grey paintwork and an Abarth stripe along the body and complements 17-inch alloys featuring the Scorpion in relief and chrome-plated hub covers.
The limited edition model features Fiat’s 1.4-litre turbo T-Jet engine, generating 160 hp at 5750 rpm and 230 Nm of peak torque at 3000 rpm, which in conjunction with a fixed geometry turbocharger can propel the 500 to a top speed of 211 kph or 131 mph, while 0 ‘a’ 100 kph is achieved in just 7.3 seconds. Speeding up in fourth gear from 40 to 100 kph now takes 8.5 seconds - gaining ground on the Essessee model by a whole second. Deceleration is also boosted by way of perforated disc brakes front and rear as well as high performance front pads.
A range of further equipment puts safety high on the agenda, with seven airbags, ABS with Electronic Brake Distribution, ESP, Anti-Slip and the new Torque Transfer Control being among the additions. Automatic Climate Control, a high-tech Hi-Fi system with radio, CD and MP3 capability as well as Blue&Me satnav are the principle equipment highlights in the cabin.
Nissan 370Z Photographed on the street in Los Angeles
In a week’s time the world will be able to get a close shot at the new Nissan 370Z in the flesh at LA Auto Show. If the world cannot wait, there are these sneak peak images from GT-R-World which show the car snapping around in Los Angeles suburbs. Good colour too, Vibrant red, so as not to be easily missed by cameras. Those shiny discs are 19×9″ and 19×10″ Rays Forged aluminium wheels for the premium spec cars, with 245/40R19 tires up front and 275/35R19 at the back.
Up 0.2-litres from its predecessor the 350Z, 3.7-litre 370Z forges a throaty 332hp and 265 lb/ft of torque. True to Z car roots, including 350, the 370Z is a pretty practical coupe said by Nissan to swallow up two golf bags with no qualms. The rear brace has been simplified, resulting in better more space by the boot.
