Beauty captured: Audi R8 Spyder by ABT

Photo credits: Loniek

Talented photographer Loniek took these beautiful shots as of the latest Audi R8 V10 Spyder by ABT in gorgeous red. Thanks to the ABT power upgrade, the R8 V10 spyder now pumps out 600Hp instead of the original 525Hp with 550 Nm peak torque. It has a hugely modified front grille and a rear wing that you can have in beautiful visible carbon fiber. Other modifications include the double exhausts and a modified engine cover. You can have a closer look at all of this in the HD video below don't miss the sound of the V10 at the end!



[source: Loniek via speedhunters]

3:49 PM Read More +

VIDEO: Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera driven by autocar

Skillful autocar test driver Jamie Corstorphine takes you for a road and track test of the latest Gallardo Superleggera. It's a short but entertainting and informative video that's totally worth your time. I couldn't agree more with him when it comes to the sound of the car, it's epic, just like all the other Lambos. The lightweight Gallardo goes through some well controlled powerslides on the track and screams its V10 louder than ever. For more information about the Italian beauty you can go back to this post.






[source: autocar]

10:45 PM Read More +

The new BMW Z4 GT3 race car laps the Nürburgring really loud!

This video is part of the second VLN(*) race at the Nürburgring. In it, Norwegian driver Stian Sorlie takes you for a hot lap round the green hell with the latest customer race car introduced by BMW's Motorsport division, the Z4 GT3. The video features two on board camera views on both the driver and the track. But i'm sure what will catch your attention the most is the beautiful V8 noise especially as driver downshifts when entering the corners. As a reminder, the Z4 GT3 hides under its bonnet the same V8 that you can find in the M3 that now pumps out 480 Hp. The car weights approximatively 1,200 Kg. Enjoy ten minutes of pure racing.

(*) The VLN is the Endurance Racing championship held at the Nürburgring, or in German: Langstrecken Meisterschaft Nürburgring and it has a total of ten rounds all held at the Nordschleife)







[source: axisofoversteer via zerotohundred]

12:17 AM Read More +

The GTO badge is back

Until now, Ferrari have used the GTO badge two very special times. The first was in 1962 with the 250 GTO of which only 38 were made. One of today's most rare and valuable classic cars with prices surpassing 13 million dollars. The second time they used this iconic badge was in 1984 with the 288 GTO (or simply: the GTO) of which they produced 272 of an originally planned 200 units. Once again, the 288 GTO was the fastest, most advanced and prettiest road going Ferrari of its time with a very distinctive pure dose of muscle.

Today, Ferrari is pulling out the GTO badge from the tray again to do what it does best: the fastest and most advanced road going Ferrari ever. And it did. In fact, the newest GTO has officially outpaced the almighty Enzo with a stunning 1min24 seconds round the Fiorano test track.

The 599 Gran Turismo Omologata as its name suggests, is nothing but the road homologated version of the 599XX experimental track car. It has the same 65-degree V12 engine you can find in the 599XX that now produces 670 Hp after the necessary modifications for road homologation.

The 599 GTO went under a diet to loose 84 Kg (184lb) compared to the 599 GTB with a dry weight of 1495 Kg (3,295.9lb). This weight saving have been achived essentially by replacing several body parts with carbon fiber. I have to admit that i am a little bit disappointed knowing that the previous GTO has a dry weight of 1160 kg (2557lb). However, this gives the car a weight to power ratio of 2.23kg/Hp. The result is a 0 to 100 km/h (0 - 62 mph) time of 3.35 seconds and a top speed of over 335 km/h (208 mph).

What makes the 599 GTO so fast round the track is one of the most advanced chassis ever put on a production car according to Ferrari: "The result is the almost complete absence of understeer and a truly communicative chassis". It has also underwent significant aerodynamic enhancements that allow the car have a down force of 144 Kilograms at 200 km/h. The replaced body parts also give the GTO a more distinctive look from the standard 599 GTB.

The GTO incorporates Ferrari's most advanced technological solutions developped on the track like the virtual race engineer, a system that allows the driver to evaluate the car's performance while driving.

The latest GTO will be nearly as rare as its predecessors with only 599 units planned for production but you can still enjoy building your own GTO on the online configurator.




















[Source: Ferrari]

2:20 PM Read More +

VIDEO: Mercedes-Benz's SLS AMG based GT3 racer

Last month Mercedes-Benz unveiled their newest customer race car version of the SLS AMG. The car is under homologation to compete in the 2011 FIA GT3 championship. It has the same 6.3L V8 from that produces 571 Hp in the road going version. But the engine might be detuned in order to match the FIA's current regulations.

From the exterior, the car remains more or less close to the road going version. The racing aero kit includes a huge front splitter and side winglets as well as a massive rear diffuser and a giant rear spoiler in order to have a low drag coefficient and maximum downforce.

In the interior the modifications include a steel roll-over cage, an F1 style steering wheel and gear change. For a closer look to all of these enhancements check out the official high res image gallery and watch the video below to see the SLS AMG GT3 racer make its first wheel turns.
















[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

10:16 AM Read More +

2010 Malaysian GP: One of the best so far this season, exept for one stupid detail

Photo credits: F1fanatic

Happily, it seems that the boring 2010 season opener in Bahrain was just an exeption. Just like Melbourne one week ago, we had a very exiting race with lots of overtaking and different strategies, and this time in dry conditions. The fact that the grid was kind of upside down due to a rainy qualifying session helped improve the spectacle even more. Especially when it comes to the spectacular 6th place finish of Lewis Hamilton after starting only 20th on the grid.

During the race, Lewis had a Fantastic fight for ninth place with the until now discrete Renault driver Vitaly Petrov. Coming out from turn 15, Lewis was trying to defend his position from a more agressive than ever Vitaly Petrov. To avoid the Russian driver taking advantage of the aspiration of Lewis's car, the 2008 world champion changed his trajectory four times in that straight to defend his position. We all enjoyed that moment of good racing... Exept for a group of people whose job is to ruin the sport. After that beautiful fight Lewis received a sanction warning from race control because of his behaviour on the track. In other words, he received a warning for good racing. Pretty sad, isn't it? It seems that there's an invisible hand trying to take all the fun out of F1.

11:19 AM Read More +

Two boxers on the ring

I caught this beautiful couple in the Nürburgring Nordschleife webcam today: Subaru Impreza STI and Porsche 911 GT3 RS. I don't know about you, but i think the title i chose for this post is brilliant! Want to do better? Come back tomorrow and keep an eye on the Ring webcam on the side bar of this page.

12:16 AM Read More +

VIDEO: Ford Focus RS500 on the road

If there is one special paint that car enthusiast don't get tired of seing, it's definetly matte black. And this time, it comes in the shape of the very exciting and long awated Ford Focus RS500. Add to that a wide body kit, a big rear spoiler and a rear diffuser (though i'm not so sure about the effectiveness of this latter) and you have one of the most agressive looking hatchbacks.

Happily, that wasn't the best part of the story. The RS500 hides under its bonnet a 2.5L five cylinder engine delivering 350 Hp and 460 Nm... in a hatchback, really!

To keep the beast rare and precious, the RS500 as its name suggests, is limited to 500 units. So you won't be seing it very often. But at least you can now watch it taking some high speed corners on the road in the beautiful HD video below.


[source: Ford]

2:41 PM Read More +