Archive for the ‘car tuning’ Category
July 29th, 2010 | 
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Pagani has been making the headlines recently and for all good reasons. After setting the fastest lap at the Nurburgring race track with the Pagani Zonda R– okay, it’s not a road legal vehicle, but fast is fast, right? – Pagani just might have another one-off supercar in the works.
These teaser photos, which come courtesy of the folks from Teamspeed, look to be a special edition Zonda called the ‘HH’ and will, apparently, be owned by an American who is currently collaborating with Pagani to build his own personal dream car. Wow.
The supposed owner also gives a few details about the supercar, including the custom paint job that will come with it. From what we heard, the custom supercar will come in a Monterey Blue paint finish or something resembling it.
The Zonda HH will be powered by a Mercedes-Benz AMG V12 engine that produces over 680 horsepower that’s similar to the output of Pagani’s other super machine, the Zonda Cinque.
As for the materials found on this one-off machine, they include a carbon titanium tub, a ceramic-titanium exhaust, and a carbon-ceramic braking that will make the Zonda HH even lighter – somewhere in the neighborhood of 30% – than the standard Zonda.
We didn’t know that someone could design his own supercar with the help of Pagani. But hey, that’s what having tons of money will do for you…
US-based customer to get special one-off Pagani Zonda HH originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 29 July 2010 21:00 EST.
Posted in Pagani, Pagani Zonda, Supercars / Exotic cars, car tuning, cool fast cars, coupe, future cars | 
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Does your need for speed leave you wishing there were more options to boost power and create that exhilarating feeling you get when you are whipping past everything leaving behind blurred images of what once was? Yeah, we think Techart feels the same way. Apparently the Porsche Panamera Turbo left something to be desired in terms of horsepower so Techart took it upon themselves to create a fun little button in the center console.
What does this button do? Well, once pressed by the driver, the button allows the Panamera Turbo to get a jump of 80 horsepower. Yeah, just with the touch of a button. Pretty cool, huh? The package is called the Techtronic, or TA 070/T1, and allows the Panamera’s 4.8L V8 engine to jump from 500hp to 580hp. It also increases the torque to the top range of 830Nm at somewhere between 3200rpm and 3600rpm. This little button brings down the Turbo’s 0-60mph time to 3.8secs from 4.0 and increases its top speed from 188mph to 195mph. The 0-124mph sprint is made in 12.5seconds.
So, do you have a Porsche Panamera Turbo that you feel needs a little jumpstart? If you do then you should definitely give Techart a call. This package is available starting in August.
Porsche Panamera Turbo gets boost courtesy of Techart originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 26 July 2010 11:00 EST.
A few months ago, tuning house Lingenfelter ran their LS9-powered 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS to a quarter-mile run of 10.46 seconds at speeds of 139.95 mph. Pretty impressive, right?
Apparently, it wasn’t impressive enough for the boys at Lingenfelter.
The tuning house brought their beast of a machine out once again at the Muncie Dragway over the weekend and proceeded to set three staggering 9-second quarter mile runs with a top time of 9.974 seconds at a speed of 141.64 mph. The other two recorded times were 9.993 seconds at 140.38 mph and 9.979 seconds at 142.04 mph.
To make things even more impressive, the entire run was done on a race strip with an altitude of 3,600 feet and a temperature of 88 degrees with 75 percent humidity.
Talk about stomping your old record and kicking it on the curb, which is exactly what the boys from Lingenfelter did and did so convincingly.
Lingenfelter LS9 Camaro SS breaks 10-second quarter mile time – three times! originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 21 July 2010 10:00 EST.
Every time we see Chris Harris inside a car, we can’t help but wonder how this dude managed to score a job like that. Not only does he get to drive some of the fastest and most beautiful cars on the planet, but he also gets paid to do it. Can’t say that he hates his job, can he?
This time, during the launch of the BMW M3 GTS at the Ascari race track in Spain, Harris, together with a number of other surprised auto journalists, was given a treat of a lifetime by being given a chance to ride shotgun with Frank Isenberg, BMW Driver Training’s top dog on board a prototype version of the new BMW 1M Coupe. This particular BMW is an off-shoot 1-Series that traces its direct lineage to the Bavarian automaker’s M line of sports cars.
During Harris’ turn in the passenger seat, he tried to coax Isenberg to divulge the specifications under the 1M’s hood to which Isenberg expertly deflected the question by saying, “Listen to it.” Nevermind that Harris and the rest of the auto scribes weren’t given the full lowdown on the car because most of them seem to think that the 1M Coupe is being powered by an N54 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged straight-six engine that produces about 340 horsepower.
One thing we do know after watching this video: Chris Harris is a lot more talkative when he’s behind the wheel of a car than when he was riding shotgun. But the man still knows his cars and most of his observations while Isenberg was driving the camouflaged 1M Coupe were spot-on.
Chris Harris rides shotgun in a BMW 1M Coupe with BMW’s Frank Isenberg originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 20 July 2010 20:00 EST.
Tuned versions of the Chevrolet Camaro are quite a fashion statement for SEMA and this year’s show will be no exception. CGS Motorsports is currently working on a tuned up version of the Camaro that will step up its popularity and give it some more flare to compete with the Mustangs of the world.
The CGS Camaro will be distinguished by a unique custom paint, a ZR1 influenced hood, and body kit by ACS. The CGS team is also designing and building handmade chrome moldings. IT will also include custom leather from Pecca Leather, one of CGS’s Cat-Back Exhaust Systems, and Whipple Ind’s new Camaro twin screw supercharger producing close to 500hp.
The package will be finished by 22″ wheels up front, a set of 24″x15″ rear wheels by Genuine Boyds, and Pirelli’s new 405/25/24″ rear tires. The suspension will also receive some work as it is being replaced with Chris Alston’s Fab 9 rear end with latter bar and coil over suspension.
Press release after the jump.
2011 Chevrolet Camaro by CGS coming at SEMA Show originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 19 July 2010 12:00 EST.
Posted in Chevrolet, SEMA Auto Show, car tuning, chevrolet Camaro, coupe, muscle cars |
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The Renault Megane RS is already a pretty cool, but as we have seen time and time again, cool cars can always get cooler after an experienced tuning firm get their hands on it. The Megane RS, in particular, has competitors such as the Golf GTI and Focus RS, making it an ideal vehicle to tune up as a sportier model. Corniche Sports Wheels is the latest tuning firm making an attempt at creating a sportier Megane RS.
The sporty and elegant five-star wheel attracts attention with its multi-part optics, based on suggested screw threads, and its cosmopolitan design language – and holds that attention for some time. The Megane RS is provided with 8.5 x 19 inch ET45 wheels on the front axle and 9.5 x 19 inch ET50 rims on the rear axle. The vehicle also comes in a rich and sporty white paint with a contrasting Higloss-black-polished / Inox Lip version and stainless steel lowered center.
The Renault Megane RS is powered by a new-generation 2-liter 16-valve turbocharged petrol engine which boasts maximum power of 250hp at 5,500rpm and peak torque of 340Nm from 3,000rpm.
Press release after the jump.
Renault Megane RS with Corniche Sports Wheels originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 14 July 2010 21:00 EST.
We have all seen our fair share of matte black and pink wraps lately. Of course, those colors seem to be pretty ordinary when pinned up against the latest wrap craze. What’s hotter than a matte black wrap? Well, to some owners, it would be the rich color of gold. The last sports car featuring this new trend was the Audi R8 spotted in Moscow, Russia. Maybe the gold wrapping is no longer as unique as it once was considering we have seen plenty of cars with a golden touch. Until now we have seen a golden Ferrari Enzo, a golden Bugatti Veyron and a golden Ferrari 599 GTB by Hamann. We just hope that people will not believe the wrap to be real gold so the Audi R8 doesn’t see the same fate as did a golden Porsche that was stolen last year in Moscow.
The Audi R8 features a mid-mounted V8 FSI engine, quattro permanent four-wheel drive, and Audi Space Frame aluminum body. The engine delivers a total of 420 HP and sprints the car from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and can hit a top speed of 187 mph.
Golden Audi R8 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 12 July 2010 23:00 EST.
Since time immemorial – or at least since the automobile was invented – man has found countless ways to push the envelope when it comes to super cars. Yet despite their dissimilarities, supercars generally hold a couple of things in common, chief among them are their awe-inducing power and their gaudy price tags.
That being said, it’s hard to mistake a Ferrari for a Lamborghini and vice versa, thanks in large part to the distinct features both Italian supercar makers have from each other. But as is the case with the bold and the ingenious, Japanese tuners Auto Veloce have found a way to infuse design elements found in the Lamborghini and put them into a Ferrari F430.
Not exactly the holiest of collaborations, but the whole Ferrari-Lamborghini look by Auto Veloce works wonders on both the untrained eye of a regular Joe and the steely and scrutinizing mind of a gear head. Notice that this particular F430 now comes with Lamborghini’s distinct front air dam, quarter panel intakes, and rear wing that look suspiciously inspired by a Lamborghini Murcielago Super Veloce. We don’t know if that was the look Auto Veloce was hoping for, but judging by the Lambo-Ferrari mash-up, we pretty much figured what kind of look the tuning house was aiming for.
Auto Veloce gives Ferrari F430 a Lamborghini treatment originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 12 July 2010 13:00 EST.
Posted in Lamborghini Murcielago, Supercars / Exotic cars, car tuning, ferrari 430 |
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In the show that takes lunacy and awesomeness and fuses them together to create things that are out-of-this-world comes yet another creation that’s definitely not suited for road use.
We’ve all seen Rob Dyrdrek’s ingenious show ‘Fantasy Factory’ perform some wicked stunts over the years, but never have we seen anything remotely close to what they’re about to do. And the best part is they have even invited Vaughn Gittin Jr. to join in on the fun.
The two are teaming up for an episode of Fantasy Factories, which will take a 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 and modify it for a nice run along a skate park, complete, naturally, with ramps, rails, and just about anything you’ll find in the daredevil location.
This video is just a teaser of what’s to come on the show, and judging from what it’s already showing, we figure that there’s more – a whole lot more – where that came from.
Video: Vaughn Gittin Jr. ramps a Mustang GT inside a skate park originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 11 July 2010 06:00 EST.
How’s this for awkward?
A customized Audi S5 Coupe popped up on eBay recently with a host of upgrades making it a pretty desirable ride, even at a price of just over $61,000 – it’s $61,465 in case you’re as interested as we are.
Now, in spite of all the tunings this particular S5 Coupe received, what really struck us was what color it came in, or rather what the color description was used to name it.
“Porsche Lime Green?”
If that’s not an ode to one of Audi’s fiercest competitors, I don’t know what is. Apparently, the owner of this S5 personally ordered this paint finish at a price of $2,500 and, while we think that the color isn’t that particularly bad, the lime green exterior/orange interior combination doesn’t catch our eye the way it’s supposed to. And using a paint finish named after a competitor certainly doesn’t cast a vote of confidence from us.
But hey, to each his own, right? After all, colors – and the subsequent names of these colors – notwithstanding, this tuned-up Audi S5 Coupe is still one fine piece of road machinery.
Audi S5 Coupe being sold on eBay with "Porsche Lime Green" exterior originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 9 July 2010 12:00 EST.
ABT Sports has announced that they have already started to prepare a tuning package for the new Audi A1. The new ABT A1 will make its world debut on July 28th, 2010.
ABT announced that the new kit will include ABT POWER for the engines of the A1, new suspension components, dynamic aluminum wheels, and other sports accessories. Brochures, an online configurator, fact sheets with technical data, and much more will be revealed in August, the month of the ABT A1.
The tuner will offer three different designs for the fans to choose from. The fan’s choice will be the one that walks away with a victory and a plan of action.
It will be interesting to see the adjustments that ABT makes on the long awaited Audi A1. The A1 already has a fresh design that was inspired by airplanes with a choice of four engines ranging from 111 MPH to 124 MPH. A sleek looking car, no doubt, but it looks like it is going to get a lot sleeker after ABT has their way with it. We look forward to seeing the final project and will keep you posted as soon as the three choices are revealed!
Press release after the jump.
ABT prepares tuning package for Audi A1 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 8 July 2010 20:00 EST.
Ohio-based tuner Switzer Performance has unveiled a new tuning package for the Porsche 997 Turbo. The tuner worked on reprogramming the Porsche’s transmission control unit (TCU) software to increase the torque limits, but they needed more than that if they wanted to obtain a total of 700 HP.
Switzer disassembled, upgraded, and rebuilt the Tiptronic transmission to meet customer demands for higher hp projects. The first builds produced transmissions that were stronger and sharper than the factory unit, but not strong enough to contain Tym’s hard-hitting P800. So the tuner kept on working. They added more clutches to eliminate slippage, additional friction surfaces to ensure more efficient power delivery, a modified valve body to improve shift speed, and (last, but not least) another round of transmission programming which enabled the Tiptronic to have a tremendous boost in power and live up to its potential.
The result? A sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds on standard tires and standard air pressure while running on pump gas. The price for the package is $7990.
Porsche 997 Turbo P800 Tiptronic by Switzer originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 8 July 2010 18:00 EST.
It only takes a few items to hold together a friendship for a lifetime. In this case, it’s the love of cars, which should be pretty obvious because if it were anything it wouldn’t be on this site.
It starts with two friends from high school who have grown up around the cars they love. What could possibly be better? Simple, what if those two friends could create masterpieces out of ordinary vehicles. Lucky for us, that’s just what they did with a Nissan 240SX.
We all remember the old Nissan well. It was created in 1988 and it replaced the 200SX. Every single model had the same 2.4-liter inline-four engine, although they were slightly different after the 1995 model year.
The car sold fairly well in its first six years and, in total, Nissan sold around 251,410 examples of the 240SX. It wasn’t the sales numbers or the reliability or even the looks that made this car famous, it was the ability for tuners and people who love cars to modify it to make something special.
Welcome to one of the best-modified 240SXs we have seen.
Hit the jump to read to on.
Two Friends Make A Nissan 240SX Masterpiece originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 8 July 2010 14:00 EST.
The Chevrolet Camaro is a muscle car that should have nothing to do with gull-wing doors. That kind of stuff is for sports cars right? Apparently not. The tuner LSD is offering you the chance to customize your Camaro SS with a cool set of gull-wing doors. That if is, of course, if you are interested! The price for the set is 1599 Euro.
It’s probably a little scary to think about putting a set of these doors on the Camaro, but, don’t worry, the doors were tested by the Federal German Transport Authority who confirmed in a side crash-test that the LSD-doors were as safe as any serially fitted door.
The LSD plates are fitted to the original door attachment points of the dismantled original plates. After the assembly the otherwise unchanged original door opens outwards first and then is securely guided and damped upwards. Adjustable plates stop doors from opening too far or from falling inwards or downwards when opened. And it also only takes one grip to close the doors.
Press release after the jump.
Chevrolet Camaro SS gets LSD gull-wing doors originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 8 July 2010 08:00 EST.
If you are into tuning even the most powerful supercar, then this probably isn’t the first time you’ve heard about Performance Power Racing. This tuning firm is based in West Palm Beach, Florida and is famous for their 2006 Ford GT that has become the fastest car in the world to break 250mph in the Standing Mile. Now the tuner is offering the public a chance to make their Murcielago look like a Reventon.
The body kit includes a new panel, headlights, and taillights with twin and quad turbo systems available. In fact, almost every part is replaced with a new one to give it a full Reventon styling. The tuner is also offering horse power levels from 800 to 1500 HP.
The performance power custom hard top for the Murcielago Roadster is the only full top available. This will enable the roadsters to exceed 100mph. The factory soft top cannot be supported at such high speeds so Performance Power Racing has brought the full top as a perfect solution. The full top is available in Carbon Fiber or Fiberglass.
Make your Lamborghini Murcielago look like a Reventon originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 7 July 2010 09:00 EST.
Posted in Lamborghini, Lamborghini Murcielago, Supercars / Exotic cars, car tuning, coupe |
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MWDesign unveiled a new tuning package for the BMW Z4 Roadster inspired by, well, golf. The package is called Slingshot and comes with an updated ECU that adds an extra 78 HP and 116 lbs-ft of torque. And if this is not enough for you, the new Z4 can be also offered with STETT’s FMIC intercooler rated at 620 HP.
Next to this impressive engine upgrade, the Z4 Slingshot also gets 20" H1 three-piece wheels finished in a gloss black, the exhaust system painted in matte black, green, grey and carbon fiber inserts, a polyurethane front lip spoiler by AC Schnitzer with a custom made carbon fiber splitter, a new rear spoiler in carbon fiber, a matte carbon fiber fin and lime green accents strategically added to the front bumper air ducts, underneath the rear diffuser, wheel lip striping and to the roll bar backs.
Press release after the jump.
MWDesign Project E89 Z4 3.5 Slingshot originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 5 July 2010 17:00 EST.
The first running of the Goodwood Moving Motor Show was the scene of a horrifying car accident that occurred when a spectator sitting inside a running Honda Civic Mugen R accidentally stepped on the gas pedal, causing the car to plow straight into two pedestrians and two parked Jaguars, the oldest surviving Jaguar E-Type and a new Jaguar XKR.
Not exactly the kind of start it was hoping for.
Details are still limited, but witnesses present during the entire incident suggested that the driver of the Civic Mugen R was sitting cozy on the driver’s seat of the car before mistakenly revving up the running car and sending careening across the main pedestrian hallway and straight into the Jaguar booth before crashing into the back wall on the other side of the pavilion.
It took a while for the scene to be cleared up but in the end, the show eventually reopened to the public except for one event: the much hyped ‘Ride and Drive’.
Incidents like this could have been avoided if people just exercised a little sense of caution. But since it already happened, the most important thing is that while a number of people were hurt, it doesn’t appear to be too serious to have caused any serious injuries.
Runaway Honda Civic Mugen R crashes in the Goodwood Moving Motor Show originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 5 July 2010 16:00 EST.
Ordinarily, building Italian supercars with your bare hands is always a recipe for disaster. We’ve seen it time and time again and it seems that our world will never be without these enterprising and creative fellows who think that building close - some aren’t even close by any stretch of the imagination - proximities to the real thing equates to having your machismo level flying straight through the roof. Sorry to burst your proverbial bubbles, but more often than not, it’s not even close.
That being said, we chanced upon this one man, Ken Imhoff. Ken is just like all of us. He loves his cars and holds a great deal of passion towards one brand in particular, Lamborghini.
Despite not having the financial capabilities to purchase his own Lamborghini supercar, Ken was undaunted. He had to have one and if he couldn’t buy one, well, might as well build one. And the difference between Kem Imhoff and all those Lamborghini knock-offs we’ve showed you before? Ken’s hand-made Lamborghini Countach is about as real as a Lamborghini that’s built by hand can get.
Continued after the jump
Ken Imhoff's hand-built Lamborghini Countach is truly one-of-a-kind originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 5 July 2010 12:29 EST.
Buying a car can be great fun, but no matter how good your new vehicle is, there is always room for improvement. Most car and truck manufacturers leave room for us normal people to improve, or ruin their products. That’s not to say the original vehicle isn’t good, but in that good old American fashion, we always want to better our situation, in this case, our cars.
One of the easiest and cheapest upgrades one can do is an exhaust system. Sadly, many people add exhausts to cars that don’t need them, like Dodge Neons. A performance exhaust can free up some of the power in your engine by allowing the gases to escape a bit easier. When the gases can escape, your engine runs smoother.
Anyway, when the exhaust flows better, the fuel and air exit the combustion chamber faster and new fuel and air can be burned to create more power.
This works well for certain cars, but for some, the only effect that a bigger exhaust has is more noise. Putting a performance exhaust on a 1.8-liter Honda Civic won’t help the power all the much, but it’ll make it sound like a fart can.
Hit the jump for the rest of the article.
Should you buy an aftermarket exhaust for your car? originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 3 July 2010 18:00 EST.
Posted in Ford Mustang, car tuning, chevrolet Corvette, cool fast cars, guide, honda Civic |
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What makes a a tiny car like the Smart Fortwo priceless? No, not the fact that it has a very low fuel consumption. It has nothing to do with that, but lots to do with the newest accessory glittering all over the little vehicle: Swarovski Crystals. Yes, they could have chosen a bigger car to cover in ice, but there’s a financial crisis in the world for goodness sakes. Any additional square footage would just be crazy!
The Smart Fortwo was created for the Chinese market. It gets no less than 283,960 eye-blinding Swarovskis on the exterior, plus a few on the interior, but who’s counting? In the interior, you will find these little stones applied on the leather, drink holders, shift knob, mirrors, seat buckles, and pedals.
The car was created by Anjuny Eyes China who has yet to unveil the asking price for the blinged out ride. Regardless of the price, however, there would be no amount of haggling that will bring it down enough for us to be able to afford it. And, come on, our money would be better off spent on a more reasonably sized car!
Smart Fortwo covered in Swarovski Crystals originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 2 July 2010 22:00 EST.
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