h1Nissan 370Z Roadster: new details/h1
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Posted on 07.20.2009 09:00 by kirbygarlitos
Filed under: Nissan[/url] | sports cars | roadster | Nissan 370Z

The other day Top Speed reported the pricing for the new Nissan 370Z roadster, we now have a few more details. Get your bank accounts ready, fellas. The pricing for the all-new Nissan 370Z Roadster is finally out.
Since its debut at the New York Auto Show last April, a lot of people have wondered when the car would finally be rolled out of the production line and be made available to the public. That time has come.
Nissan officially priced the car at $37,690 for the six-speed manual transmission and $38,990 for the optional seven-speed automatic. Other variations of the Z370, including a Touring model, goes for $40,520 with a manual transmission and $42, 540 for the automatic gearbox.
The car has drawn comparison from its predecessor the 350Z and while both models have striking similarities, the 370Z has taken some of the elements of the 350 and made it even better. For one, the wheelbase of the 370Z is nearly four inches shorter at 100.4 inches compared to the 104.3-inch wheelbase of the 350. Likewise, the 370’s overall length was also reduced by 2 inches compared to the 350, 167.2 from 169.8 inches.
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The car’s exterior also comes with an aluminum hood, door panels and trunk for reduced weight. Nissan also tinkered with the body structure, giving it more rigidity and stability, including the addition of A-pillars and side stills, making it even stronger and sturdier than its earlier incarnations.
The 370Z Roadster doesn’t lack in speed and power, either. With 332 horsepower at 7,000 rpm sitting under the hood, the car has indeed been built for those who prefer their rides to be fast and furious.
As we’ve mentioned, the new 370Z Roadster comes in two variants: a six-speed manual or a seven-speed automatic with the former having Nissan’s revolutionary SynchroRev Match, a new technology that allows drivers to experience the thrill of breakneck gear shifts. In addition to that, the SynchroRev also acts as a control center where it can adjust the car’s speed depending on what the next gear position will be. The seven-speed automatic also has a technology to call its own in the form of the Downshift Rev Matching and the Adaptive Shift Control, which allows the car to adapt to manual-like settings when it is operated in manual mode.
We’re pretty sure that a lot of people have been clamoring for the release of this car since it was first unveiled in New York last April. Now that the car is finally out, we don’t expect anything less than a queue of long lines at Nissan dealers all over the country.
h1Porsche GT3 Supercup Race Car @ Russo and Steele/h1
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Posted on 07.20.2009 10:00 by kirbygarlitos
Filed under: Porsche | sports cars | Porsche 911 | Russo and Steele

How often do you come across a car that is already considered a must-have classic without even being more than ten years old?
Well, when you chance upon this 2002 Porsche 993 GT3 Supercup Race Car, be advised that you’re looking at one.
Despite being similar to thousands of other 996 models, this particular GT3 race car holds a special place in the hearts of collectors for its stirring performance during the 2002 Porshce Supercup series. Driven by no less than Stephane Ortelli, one of the three drivers of the victorious Porsche GT1 that raced during the 1998 24 hours Le Mans, this particular Porsche was able to accomplish what no other Porsche has ever done, winning its series in its very first year with Ortelli, one of the best drivers of that period, sitting behind the wheel.
The car, by most accounts, is pretty similar to most other 996 models that carry the same 3.6 liter displacement of the 996’s horizontally-opposed six-cylinder engine. With the added element of water-cooling to the first 996 production car, the GT3’s engine is closer to that of the 962 racing engine, which was completely water-cooled. However, unlike the 962, which used 6 individual cylinder heads, the GT1 and GT3 used 2 cylinder heads like the 959.
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As far as race performance was concerned, this car more than held its own against a tough field of cars that were faster and more powerful than this particular Porsche. Nevertheless, the car became an easy favorite because of its loud exhaust sound when driving in 1st gear down the pitlane, which, if you were there, you would’ve compared to an ex-Judd Formula 1 engine. The car ended up racing under the German Manthey Racing Team and finished a respectable 13th overall place, topped only by two Vipers that came with engines that were twice as powerful as the one it had under its hood.
Today, the car is considered a marquee item, not only for its rich racing history, but also for the illustrious line of Porsche race cars it traces its roots from. It may not have been one of the most powerful cars off the grid, but it still commands the same amount of awe and respect as it did six years ago. Whatever the case, this 2002 Porsche 993 GT3 SuperCup Race Car remains one of the few cars that can whole-heartedly represent Porsche’s racing legacy that has spanned close to 60 years.
h1Fifth Gear crew involved in serious crash/h1
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Posted on 07.20.2009 10:45 by Terence Keon
Filed under: | Celebrity Cars | car crash

Sometimes accidents happen high performance machines are pushed to their limits. Recently such an incident occurred in England. A popular television star, John Barrowman, was filming a slot for the English automotive program Fifth Gear when he and co-driver Tiff Needell were involved in a very serious crash in which their rally prepped Subaru went end over end multiple times before paramedics pulled Barrowman and Needell out, and removed shattered glass from Barrowman’s eye before he was taken to hospital.
The £120,000 Impreza slid down a verge, flipped four times and almost went into a lake at the bottom of the hill, luckily both of the television stars survived the crash suffering only minor cuts and bruises.
h1AV-X10 Dearborn Doll Ford Mustang/h1
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Posted on 07.20.2009 12:00 by Simona Alina
Filed under: Ford | coupe | Ford Mustang | muscle cars

The American automaker Ford is preparing a special edition Mustang for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s “Gathering of Eagles.” The unique pony car will be known as the AV-X10 “Dearborn Doll” and will be auctioned off during the 2009 EAA Air Venture Oshkosh fly-in, a gathering of aviation enthusiasts from around the U.S. which will take place this July 27th thru August 2nd.

The AV-X10 "Dearborn Doll" started out life as a 2010 Mustang GT with the canopy inspired acrylic Glassroof option. The pint scheme is a tribute to WWII fighters made up of a custom Satin Silver base coat complete with a yellow nose cone and white stripe on the tail that goes along with this road going experimental aircraft’s “AV-X10” call letters.
However the beauty of the AV-X10 goes further than the sheet metal, under the hood of this special edition Mustang GT is the factory 4.6 Liter V8 that you would expect to find, except that thanks to the Ford Racing supercharger kit and FR500S performance exhaust this pony car now has the power of 550 raging galloping horses. Making the drive a bit more enjoyable is a short throw shifter inside the cabin, while a Ford Racing derived handling package made up of new dampers, a set of lowering springs and a new anti-roll bar all work together to keep this Mustang headed in the right direction.
h1BMW 5 Series GT on display at the Munich International Airport in Germany/h1
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Posted on 07.20.2009 13:00 by kirbygarlitos
Filed under: BMW | new cars | BMW 5-Series | Germany

Airports are hardly the place you’d find a car being on display but that’s exactly the case at the Munich Airport where the new BMW 5 Series GT is proudly displayed for those taking flights at the German airport.
The method behind BMW’s madness comes on the heels of its new campaign of promoting its vehicles in a number of seemingly oddball locations with the intention of piquing the interest and curiosity of those present in the location.
Talking about terms, there aren’t that many places in the world that generates as much people traffic as one of the largest and busiest airports in Europe: the Munich Airport. The number of passengers – and that’s not even counting the employees and family members that drop off and/or pick up their kins – that walked through the airport in 2008 was a staggering 34.73 million, so you know that this airport is no slouch when it comes to human traffic.
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With that many people passing through, it’s pretty obvious that the BMW 5 Series GT is going to turn a lot of heads, and with good reason. The car is stylistically sexy and comes with all the features and innovations only a highly-respected auto maker like BMW can provide.
Who knows? The 5 Series GT that’s on display at the Munich Airport may even attract a potential buyer or two. But believe us when we say that with that many people passing through the airport, two just seems like a pretty low number since the BMW 5 Series GT is one car that is becoming more and more popular by the day.
h1Audi A1 will enter production this October/h1
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Posted on 07.20.2009 16:00 by Terence Keon
Filed under: Audi | hatchback | Audi A1

In a recent interview with the CEO of Audi Brussels, Dintner Alfons, he confirmed that the compact Audi A1 city car will definitely go into production this October and the three door version will be the first of the space efficient Audis to hit the market. In order to prepare for the new wave of manufacturing, Audi’s plant in Brussels is planning to hit the stop button on the assembly line and scheduled to close its doors for five days while the German automaker retools the production facility to accommodate the new vehicle which is expected to be in showrooms sometime early in 2010.
The production version of the A1 will remain close to the concepts that preceded it, like the Metroproject Quattro and the A1 Sportback Concept. The compact city car will be powered by a range of engines made up of a pair of four cylinders displacing either 1.2 or 1.4 liters that will burn both gasoline and diesel fuel, while the top of the line version will be the 200 HP S1.
h1Mitsubishi EVO X by AMS Performance/h1
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Posted on 07.20.2009 17:00 by Terence Keon
Filed under: Mitsubishi | sports cars | Mitsubishi Lancer | car tuning

It has been a while since we have heard anything about a modifiedMitsubishi EVO X here on Top Speed, so we were ecstatic when the American tuner AMS Performance shared the news about their new tuning program for the rally bred rocket. The AMS package transforms not only the appearance of the turbocharged all wheel drive diamond star powerhouse, but refines every aspect from handling to horsepower.

The exterior modifications include a carbon fiber rear spoiler made by the lightweight experts at APR as well as a trunk, made from the wavy black stuff. Up front air is motivated away from the underside of the car resulting in an increase in down force thanks to a Voltex front splitter. The carbon fiber theme continues with the hood, but the piece de resistance are the 18 inch rims wrapped in so much Dunlop Direzza rubber that AMS had to spend some time rolling then fenders. Inside of the oversized rollers AMS decided to go with a big brake kit from Stoptech consisting of a pair of six piston calipers up front and two more four pod units in the rear.
Under the hood AMS reworked the 4B11 to handle big amounts of boost by starting out with a set of stronger valve springs to eliminate any possible power robbing valve float, a set of ARP head studs to keep the two machined aluminum ingots together no matter how much compressed air pushes them apart. After significantly strengthening the engine, AMS focused on making power. A reprogrammed ECU controls four 800 cc injectors that are fed by a CNC fuel rail that supplies enough go juice so that the Forced Performance Red turbocharger can compress enough air to make 385 HP.
h1Aston Martin opens first retail store at the Nurburgring/h1
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Posted on 07.21.2009 07:00 by kirbygarlitos
Filed under: Aston-Martin | industry news | Nurburgring

The Nurburgring is steeped in racing history, having hosted some of the world’s most storied races for close to 90 years.
Lately, however, the track racing fans simply call ‘The Ring’ has been making headlines in the auto industry for an entirely different reason. A number of the world’s most prestigious car brands have recently opened their own retail stores inside the track, including Ferrari, which opened its latest specialty store at the fabled racing track.
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The latest car maker to make their retail debut at the track is Aston Martin, who showed off their One-77 super car at the German Grand Prix a few weeks ago, is joining a list of other marquees that have put their brands at the heart of one of the world’s most famous racing tracks. The move comes in the middle of the track’s reinvention with the objective of broadening the destination as more than just a race track, but, apparently, also as a shopping destination.
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For Aston Martin, the new store is also historical in context. The UK-based auto makers responsible for some of the fastest machines in the world, not to mention a number of James Bond’s thrill rides, is making its first foray into the fashion and accessories industry and their new store at the ‘Ring marks the first time Aston Martin is opening a dedicated outlet for its merchandise.
According to Dr. Ulrich Bez, the CEO of Aston Martin: "During every visit to the Nurburgring we have experienced tremendous support from fans, who have shown a great affection for our brand. We hope that the opening of the Aston Martin store here at the Nurburgring will offer these supporters of our company a chance to get a little closer to the brand."
The new Aston Martin store is expected to cater to a wide variety of audiences, thanks in large part to the number of merchandise it is expected to have on sale. Among these include fashion items, luggage, luxury gifts, and of course, the company’s exclusive line of 007 merchandise.
The store, which covers an area of 2,582 square feet, can be found right smack in the middle of Grand Ring Boulevard, together with all the retail stores of rival manufacturers.
In a day and age where the market for car buyers has dried up greatly, automakers are finding new and different ways to market their goods for profit. For Aston Martin, it’s setting up shop at one of the world’s most-visited race tracks with the hope that people who visit the Nurburgring in the future go there not just for the races anymore, but also to shop at these exclusive stores.