A gearhead fairy tale: a wistful mechanic and a wealthy benefactor create a 1600-hp Ultima-based road demon.
BY STEVE SILER
The invitation was brief, but intriguing. “Philanthropist and businessman David McMahan unveils the world’s newest, fastest, street legal supercar, officially certified by the World Records Academy. Please join us for breakfast and viewing this remarkable, beautifully crafted, [...]
Maranello gifts its 599 with better handling and as much cutting-edge tech as it can handle.
BY DAVID GLUCKMAN
Ferrari will use the 2009 Geneva auto show to share some 599-related news.
599GTB Fiorano HGTE
A new package for the 599GTB Fiorano, called Handling GT Evoluzione (HGTE), aims to up the car’s handling prowess. Judging from the image seen [...]
Pontiac’s roadster gets a roof—and not much else.
Keep Reading: 2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe – Video
Pontiac’s roadster gets a roof—and not much else.
BY MIKE SUTTON
Pontiac faces a tenuous future as General Motors restructures its many fiefdoms. The automaker has said the brand once known for excitement won’t be dragged out behind the barn anytime soon, so expect Pontiac to atrophy towards a purveyor of niche vehicles outside the core [...]
Think of it as a GTO sedan.
BY JOHN PHILLIPS
It won’t be long before Camaro owners line up in Decatur, Indiana, slavering for bonus horsepower at Lingenfelter Performance Engineering (LPE). Until they do, however, the company is tinkering with a Pontiac G8 GT. Even with Pontiac’s Premium and Sport packages tacked on, this 361-horse six-speed automatic [...]
The base Cooper pegs the fun-o-meter, if not the speedometer.
BY STEVE SILER
What can we say about Mini’s convertibles that we haven’t said before? They’re fun? Said that. Terrific handling? Countless times. And now we’re awfully close to saying that the base Cooper convertible is just as entertaining as the turbocharged Cooper S convertible.
With only [...]
Wherein a famous Italian design house produces “the world’s fastest hybrid.”
BY NICK KURCZEWSKI
Building on the sporty greenness of its wicked Quaranta concept from last year’s Geneva show, Italdesign Giugiaro has now revealed what it claims is the “world’s fastest hybrid.” Called the Namir (which is Arabic for “tiger”), the car will debut during the 2009 [...]
What’s new, highlights, and safety info for the 2009 Subaru Legacy and Outback.
Introduction
Subaru’s Legacy and Outback are largely identical, but the Legacy is a sedan and the Outback wears station-wagon sheetmetal. Beyond the wagon body, though, the Outback earns its adventurous name with some three additional inches of ground clearance.
Station wagons at a middle-income price [...]
What’s new, highlights, and safety info for the 2009 Toyota Avalon.
Introduction
Toyota’s Avalon is a full-size car for those who have graduated from the Camry. In fact, the Avalon is basically a stretched version of the previous Camry and uses that car’s 268-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 paired with a six-speed automatic transmission with manual shift mode. No [...]
We introduce a new generation of C/D hotshoes to the Nelson Ledges 24-hour race. We win our class. We don’t win much respect.
We knew going in we couldn’t win. Even if we finished first. We knew this because it said so, right there in the “supps.”
Supps is Sports Car Club of America shorthand for the [...]