Porsche to buy stake in VW
Tags: Porsche, Volkswagen
It looks like Porsche is planning on buying a 20% stake in Volkswagen in order to prevent a hostile takeover from investors. Why would Porsche care you ask? Porsche and Volkwagen already work together on developing hybrid vehicles and recently worked together to produce the Cayenne.
“The reason for this step is the fact that Volkswagen in the meantime has become not only an important development partner for Porsche but also an important supplier for some 30 percent of Porsche’s sales volume,” Porsche said in a statement.
Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Tags: Chevrolet, Corvette
505 hp, 7.0-liter V8, 198 mph top seed, are you kidding me? This is probably one of the most anticipated releases for an American car maker in a long time. The performance stats on the Corvette are just mind boggling.
By almost every performance standard, the Z06 is a supercar. A few days after our trip, we took a Z06 to GM’s Milford proving ground and tested it. It ripped to 60 mph in only 3.6 seconds, hit 100 in 7.9, and 150 in 17.5. That’s on par with or better than the performance of the $153,345 Ford GT (and good luck getting that price) and $180,785 Ferrari F430.
Even though the list price is only $65,900, if you want one of these expect to pay around $15K over sticker. eBay already has pre-order listing for amounts that you are willing to pay over sticker. If you want some American muscle at a little lower price, don’t forget about the Ford Shelby GT500.
Mercedes S-Class BRABUS
Tags: Mercedes, S-Class, Press Releases
BRABUS Press Release:
Powerful, individual and exclusive: Concurrent with the start of sales of the new Mercedes S- Class BRABUS (www.brabus.com) presents an extensive tuning and accessories program for the new luxury sedan.
BRABUS offers the world’s most extensive engine tuning program for Mercedes-Benz automobiles which is also available for the new W 221 series. The lineup starts with the BRABUS PowerXtra D6 (III) performance kit for the S 320 CDI, which boosts power output of the V6 common-rail turbodiesel engine by 48 hp / 35.3 kW to 272 hp / 200 kW and increases peak torque to 590 Nm.
For the S 350 BRABUS offers the B7 performance kit for an additional 15 hp / 11 kW or the BRABUS 4.0 displacement engine. With it the V6 gasoline engine delivers a maximum power output of 332 hp / 244 kW. Peak torque grows to 420 Nm at 4,200 rpm.
A displacement increase to 6.1 liters is currently under development for the eight-cylinder engine of the S 500. It will be available shortly.
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Top 10 Most Expensive Cars
Tags: Top N Lists
Just in case you didn’t know what cars you will probably never own, Forbes has put out a list of the most expensive cars in the world. It is interesting to see how there is a nice mix of ultra luxury (Maybach, Phantom) and ultra speed (Zonda, Koenigsegg). Anyway, here is the list in order of price in the U.S.
- Pagani Zonda C 12 S 7.3 Convertible $598,025
- Koenigsegg CCR $562,659
- Saleen S7 Twin Turbo $555,000
- Koenigsegg CC8S $522,120
- Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren $450,000
- Porsche Carrera GT $440,000
- Maybach 62 $375,000
- Rolls-Royce Phantom $328,750
- Spyker C8 Double 12 S $325,560
- Maybach 57 $324,000
Spy Photos: Ford Focus C-Max
Tags: Ford, Spy Photos, Focus C-Max
Is this a mini-van or an economy car? I guess these are the kind of cars we are going to be seeing more often with the gaining popularity of small “people carriers.” The Ford C-Max also gets around 40mpg, so there is no doubt this will sell well with the rising gas prices.
Rolls-Royce Designers Leaves
Tags: Rolls-Royce, Phantom
Marek Djordjevic, the design head at BMW’s DesignworksUSA, most known for his exterior designs of the Rolls-Royce Phantom, has decided to leave BMW Group to start his own design firm. I would leave Rolls too after I designed something as beautiful as the Phantom, because I wouldn’t want to feel the pressure of having to outdue myself.
This way Djordjevic gets the best of both worlds. He will get the opportunity to design more cars, but it looks like he will still be able to sell his services back to Rolls. Not bad, not bad at all.
New Porsche to Take On Mercedes CLS
Tags: Porsche, Panamera
Porsche’s management in Stuttgart recently announced it is in development of a new “4-door coupe” model. The new car is expected to be molded along the lines of the Mercedes CLS, although it won’t necessarily compete with it as the Porsche “Panamera” is expected to start at upwards of $125,000. It should be released as a 2009 year model.
After proving successful with the Cayenne, this could be exactly what Porsche needs to diversify their model lineup. Who knows, Porsche might even hit us with a huge flagship luxury sedan in the next few years.
Ford Jumps on the Hybrid Bandwagon
Tags: Ford
On the heels of Porsche, Volkswagen, and Audi announcing their plans for hybrid SUVs, Ford says they plan on producing hybrid versions of at least half of their vehicles. First up in this new initiative will be the Mazda Tribute, Ford Fusion, and the Mercury Milan.
“We will continue to cut our costs and improve our efficiency, but we cannot win the hearts and the minds of a new generation with efficiency alone,” Bill Ford told company employees at a research laboratory in Dearborn, Mich. “We will win them by delivering the next generation of vehicles for the American roadway.”
What will win us producing cars that don’t cost $60 to fill up at the gas station. Let’s hope that Ford can save us a little more than the 15% Porsche is planning on saving us.
No Pagani Zonda C12 F for the U.S.
Tags: Pagani, Zonda
Pagani has decided to dedicate the Pagani Zonda C12 F to Juan Manuel Fangio, a 5-time Formula One world champion (1951,54-57). As far as I can tell, this C12 F truly defines the term “Supercar”. The numbers associated with this car are mind-boggling.
Unfortunately though for us over in the U.S., we will not have the luxury of driving this car on our streets. The first delivery of an F was in Singapore in July. Over the next year or so just 25 will be built. Twenty are anticipated to get full Clubsport treatment.
Specifications
| Price | |
|---|---|
| Base Price | $585,000 (est.) |
| Engine | |
| Type | 7.3L V12 |
| Horsepower | 594 hp |
| Torque | 549 lb-ft |
| Performance | |
| 0-62 | 3.6 |
| Lateral acceleration | 1.4 g |
| Drag coefficient | 0.37 |
BMW Z4 Coupe Concept
Tags: BMW, Z4 Coupe
Could this be the Porsche Cayman killer for BMW? I doubt it will have the performance on the track that the Cayman will, but this coupe Z4 is definitely impressive. The Z4 roadster’s new engine, a 3.0-liter straight-six that puts out 261 hp and 232 lb-ft of torque, resides between the front fenders of the Z4 Coupe. BMW estimates the concept will perform 0-to-62-mph acceleration runs in 5.7 seconds and reach an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.
Could you imagine this car with the M3 engine in it with about 400 hp? It would absolutely fly. And, I know this is a demo model, but those black rims sure look like nice with that silver paint job.