The Detroit Auto Show is just around that corner, and Jaguar will show the world the new XFR. This will mark the premiere of Jag’s enlarged 5.0-liter supercharged V8. But now that Jaguar has finished development on the 500 hp engine (which is also already earmarked for other Jaguar cars), what’s it supposed to do now to occupy the time? Why not make the XF’s handling razor sharp?
It’s rumored that Jaguar is working on a new version called the XFR-S. Just like the XKR-S of last summer, its expected to focus strictly on suspension and ride characteristics. The engine should remain untouched.
No word yet if the XFR-S will make it to the U.S., because there’s no official word that the car exists. The XKR-S never made it to the U.S. because our culture wants speed added into our special edition cars. Hopefully we’ve all changed our minds if/when the XFR-S makes its official debut.
Turns out Suzuki was just doing a Monty Python impression with the Kizashi sedan. Yesterday we reported that the car had been killed off, but instead the Kizashi is saying, “See you in New York, suckers!”
In an interview today with the Automotive News, Jeff Holland, spokesman for American Suzuki Motor Corp., confirmed the Kizashi. "The production version will debut at this year’s New York auto show in April."
While everyday sedans are usually not TopSpeed material, the Kizashi just has a cool and aggressive look that is refreshingly sporty for a segment that sometimes does duty as company cars. A 3.5-liter V6 engine wouldn’t hurt either.
In more good news it seems the Kizashi isn’t the only new Suzuki scheduled for the 2010 model year. The company may be poised for a good comeback in the U.S. as the Swift hatchback will also be arriving on these shores. While the small Swift may not seem like an exciting car at first glance, it provides a lot of cheap fun.
It seems we’ve got a lot of news about cutbacks and bailouts lately. Now we finally have something to get excited about as a cool car is doing well: 10,000 pre-orders have come in for the Chevrolet Camaro.
Back in October, Chevy had already received 6,000 orders in the first month the car was on sale. While that was impressive, those orders were mostly for the V8 cars. What worried some industry floks was would the car be able to go mainstream. But it seems the last few months have seen runs on the smaller engine. "We are getting a considerable amount of V6 orders," said Mark LaNeve, GM’s head of marketing and sales.
The entry-level V6 Chevrolet Camaro uses a 3.6-liter V6 unit producing 296bhp and 273lb ft of torque, while the range-topping SS will produce 416bhp from its 6.2-liter V8. Prices will start from $22,995 MSRP for the V-6 powered LS model, and $30,995 for the V-8 powered Camaro SS. Deliveries should begin in February.
It’s the basic tactics of tough economic times. Cut all ties to the low-volume driver’s cars and aim for the mom ’n pop middle of the market. Hondas is not a company full of dummies, but it hurts to see it cut this deep.
Last month we got official word that the NSX was DOA, but as it turns out the same decision that killed the supercar also took down a few other good cars with it.
First off Acura’s plans to be a real German rival are not on indefinite hold. Honda was developing a V8 to go into a rear-wheel drive BMW 7-Series competitor. Plans also scrapped to have rear-wheel drive spread 3 and 5-Series sized rivals.
While some will be happy that rear-wheel drive and V8 power won’t spread into the Honda sedan bloodline, two other deaths will have plenty of mourners. The replacement for the S2000 roadster has had the plug pulled. The hybrid CR-Z will still arrive, but the roadster version will not see the light of day.
As Honda plans to downsize its investment in development, it may also mean getting back to making one Accord. No word yet if that means the U.S. will be introduced to a more svelte Accord (already sold here as the Acura TSX) or if the rest of the word will see their next generation Accord go on a high calorie diet.
All this means is that Honda is cutting the fun cars. Now that its more focused on smaller economy cars like the Fit, hopefully we can at least get a Fit Si.
General Motors was always great about sneaking cars out the back door. Pontiac was especially good at it with cars like the 1963 Pontiac Lemans Super Duty and the 1964 GTO. But when Chevrolet sold a secret racecar with the help of the father of the Corvette, that’s something really special.
1963 was already a special year for the Corvette. It was the first year for the Sting Ray, which meant it was the only year for the split rear window. 1963 was also when the Automobile Manufacturers Association ban on factory-backed racing was still in full effect. But Zora Arkus-Duntov knew that he needed to make something special to make sure that the Ford powered Shelby Cobras would not show up his Corvettes.
From this need came the Z06 program (forerunner of the Grand Sport program). It was an unadvertised optional package that raised the price of a Corvette by nearly 50 percent. What the owner got in return was a factory-fresh racecar. Only nine were built in 1963, and one is up for auction at the Mecum Kissimmee Auction on January 24th.
This Z06 is known as “Gulf One” and was originally owned by Dr. Dick Thompson AKA "Flying Dentist". The car features a 360-bhp V-8, four-speed transmission, Positraction rear axle, heavy-duty shocks and springs, and cast-aluminum finned wheels.
Is this going to be a record setter? We’ll be at the auction later this month in Florida to find out.
Every once in a while we hear new rumors about a sedan coming from Bugatti. This has been going around for a few years, and while there hasn’t been any recent news, we though we’d have a little fun anyway.
Yes, this is a quick and easy rendering. We just did it to give ourselves a little boost and remind everyone that there may still be hope for fun and eccentric cars in tough economic times.
Nicholas Cage may have raced around the Los Angeles area in a 1967 Shelby GT500 for the remake of Gone in 60 Seconds, but it seems his heart really belonged to 1970 Hemi ’Cuda Hardtop.
Like all relationships, this one is coming to an end for Cage. The car is now up for auction Russo And Steele’s event later this month in Scottsdale, Arizona. The options on this car include its original 426ci Hemi engine, 4-speed manual transmission (1 of 284 installed that year), Argent Shaker, Super Trak-Pak, Rallye instrument cluster, rim-blow steering wheel, Rallye wheels, and Triple Black package: black paint, black interior and black vinyl top.
The price of a ’Cuda all on its own can get pretty high. Then factor in that it is a celebrity car, and it has been dynoed to confirm the 426 Hemi makes 425 hp. We won’t bother to guess how much this Plymouth will go for, but we’ll bet it rivals oceanfront property.
Audi learned its lesson with the A2. The unloved bubble car never made it to the U.S., but we never noticed. That will likely not be the case with the upcoming A1 and its hotter sibling the S1.
Like most projects from the Volkswagen Group, the A1/S1 will dig deep into the parts bin for most of its goodies. The car will share a platform with the Volkswagen Polo, but it doesn’t stop there. For the S1, Audi will utilize the same turbocharged 1.4-liter engine as the VW Polo GTi Cup Edition. It currently makes 178 hp in the VW, but Audi is likely to upgrade the engine to the point of about 200 hp.
The engine will be mated to a seven-speed S-Tronic twin-clutch gearbox. The 0 to 60 mph sprint will be made in 6 seconds, while top speed will be limited to the German gentlemen’s agreement of 155 mph. This kind of performance should give the John Cooper Works Mini, Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA and Fiat 500 Abarth all something to keep an eye on.
The S1 will be offered with flared arches, 19-inch alloy wheels, roof-mounted spoiler, and a front end with a low front splitter and deep air intakes. If all this looks good, keep your fingers crossed. Audi still has not confirmed the A1/S1 for the U.S. yet.
We’re not quite sure if its a good idea to mess with the Nissan GT-R. Nissan spent about seven years getting the car right, so there should be little or no room for improvement. But that’s not stopping tuners from showing off plenty of versions of the car at Tokyo Auto Salon this week. When it comes to Japan’s equivalent to the SEMA show, Godzilla is the crown jewel for any customizer trying to show off its skills.
One of the more complete designs is the aptly named Zele R35 GT-R Complete Edition. The car starts with the Zele body kit that includes trademark orange paint and and an aero kit consists of carbon fiber bumpers, lip spoiler, side skirts, rear wing, modified air ducts, grill, side mirrors and roof.
The performance upgrades for the GT-R Complete Edition include an ECU reprograming that increases the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 from 485 hp to a reported 550 hp. It also comes with a height adaptable suspension conversion kit and upgraded brake pads. Zele will begin taking orders for the R35 GT-R Complete Edition starting 9th January, but it will max out at eight complete cars. Anyone else will have to order the individually parts from Zele’s catalog.
While this is an attractive package, is Zele just messing with perfection?
Wanted to buy a Bugatti Veyron, but you wanted to buy something domestic instead. Fear not, because now RDP Performance has tuned a Dodge Challenger to give a very Veyron-like 1,000 hp.
RPD took a stock Challenger SRT8 and added a Twin Bullet/RDP Harrop Supercharger system and a nitrous boosting system from Nitrous Express. The other revisions consist of a new fitted rear end with custom half-shaft and a quaife center, a 4,000 RPM RDP Street/Strip Torque Convertor, long tube from Kooks and a custom exhaust system. The full result took the stock 425 hp, and boosted it to the grand mark.
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