TopSpeed Daily Update |  |
- Ferrari FF goes on fire in Poland
- Photo of the Week: 2010 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV & Girls
- Scamander Amphibious Vehicle is Complete
- DRB-HICOM Suspends Lotus CEO Dany Bahar
- Nissan Project 370Z
- Spy Shots: 2013 Renault Clio caught during hot weather testing session
- Aston Martin Project AM 310
- Video: Rimac Concept One at the Concorso d'Eleganza
- Video: Audi R8 GT Parade
- Bill Gates' old 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo hitting the auction block
| Ferrari FF goes on fire in Poland Posted: 28 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT
It seems that Ferrari learned nothing from the previous fire problems the 458 Italia had in the past. The new FF is being reported to have the same issues: a number of three cars recently caught fire, with the latest one being located in Poland (previous two were in Germany in November 2011 and China in February 2012). The incident took place on the A4 highway near Krakow, Sunday at 19:23. It seems that the fire started spontaneously and according to the driver it went from the cockpit down to the pedals. Luckily he managed to get out of the car in time, but despite his efforts and the help from two fire brigade, the car was completely destroyed. Ferrari has already recalled a number of FF models from the Chinese market built before December 2011. The problem announced for those models was excessive oil lubrication circuit-processing residues. However, we are pretty sure that a massive FF recall will happen pretty soon. Ferrari FF goes on fire in Poland originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 28 May 2012 15:00 EST.
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| Photo of the Week: 2010 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV & Girls Posted: 28 May 2012 07:00 AM PDT
After last week's photo of the week, we've decided to step things up a bit with a set of shots which will simply blow your mind, taken by Thomas van Rooij in Madrid, Spain early last year. Feel free to check out the full gallery over at his Flickr account, but for now we're just focusing on the above picture and the dozen-odd other ones where a sexy model is showcased on, near and around this stunning supercar. The individual picture in question was captured out the front of the Puerta da Alcalá in Madrid, and features some incredible light streaks from passing by cars, one of which was a Ferrari F430 coupe. Add to that the monument being lite up in an incredible shade of light blue and you have one of the very best shots of the Murcielago SV we've ever seen. However, we didn't feel that was enough for this week and also gathered all of the model & supercar pictures for you guys as we can never get enough of this combination. Despite being a couple years old, the Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV is still the second most powerful Lamborghini production car ever produced, behind the Aventador, with its 6.5-liter V12 delivering 662HP which is enough to launch the supercar to 62 mph in just 3.2 seconds and onto a top speed nearing 210mph. Photo of the Week: 2010 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV & Girls originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 28 May 2012 14:00 EST.
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| Scamander Amphibious Vehicle is Complete Posted: 28 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT
Prior to his death, ex-TVR owner, Peter Wheeler, decided that despite the fact that he no longer owned TVR, he still had the fire to build wild and crazy cars. From that fire began the project that he dubbed the Scamander, which is named after the Greek river god. This amphibious machine came to life just before Wheeler's death, but it was a very rough machine that still needed a lot of work to be perfect. After his death, Wheeler's wife and a group of engineers completed Wheeler's project and made it into something that Wheeler would have been proud of. This RRV, as Wheeler called it, has a V-6 turbocharged engine that cranks out about 300 horsepower and is said to hit 60 mph in eight seconds. To boot, it has an impeller on its rear end for propulsion in the wet stuff. This impeller certainly beats the rear wheel-mounts paddles that were on the original prototype Scamander. Image note: The images provided are of the concept version of the Scamander. Scamander Amphibious Vehicle is Complete originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 28 May 2012 13:00 EST.
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| DRB-HICOM Suspends Lotus CEO Dany Bahar Posted: 28 May 2012 05:00 AM PDT
Typically the CEOs of big companies stay in the background and just keep the corporate wheels turning. Most CEOs also know that it is typically not a good thing when your name ends up in the papers just as often, if not more often, than the brand you are heading up. Well, Lotus CEO Dany Bahar must have a tough time comprehending the fact that no new is good news for a CEO. It came to a head whenever DRB-HICOM purchased Proton, Lotus's parent company, and inherited the Lotus money vacuum in the process. The media then took to speculating about the status of Lotus, given its new owner, and Bahar went on a teenage girl-like rampage via the worst possible medium, Facebook. That post still remains on the company’s page too. At that point, we started speculating that Bahar's time with Lotus may be limited, as DRB-HICOM really has no need for a moody CEO that can't keep his company's head above water. Apparently, we had our crystal ball working that day, as DRB-HICOM has announced that Bahar has been "temporarily suspended" following an operational review and a full investigation of Bahar's actions will take place during his suspension. Several executives from DRB-HICOM will take Bahar's place during his absence. Well, I have been in the corporate world long enough to know that a "temporary suspension" during an "investigation" typically spell out "you’re fired once we find some dirt." Rarely does a suspended employee ever return to their original position and few return at all, so we have a feeling that this will ultimately put an end to the drama of Dany Bahar. Looks like TopSpeed's "Lotus" section is going to be dry for a while… At least until we get word that Dany is now managing a local McDonalds. DRB-HICOM Suspends Lotus CEO Dany Bahar originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 28 May 2012 12:00 EST.
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| Posted: 28 May 2012 04:00 AM PDT
Two months have come and gone since we first heard about Nissan’s Project 370Z. If you recall, the Project 370Z was born after Nissan decided to reach out to its Facebook fans and ask them how they would like to bring some more spice to the already sizzling sports coupe. At that time, Nissan VP of marketing in North America, Jon Brancheau was even quoted saying: "Together we'll create a vehicle that expands on the already outstanding performance and style of the Nissan 370Z with a balance of street and track ready modification". After all the suggestions were read, the Japanese automaker decided to build the car themselves, and so ensued three months of waiting for this day to come. Finally, the Nissan Project 370Z has arrived. As expected, the sports coupe doesn’t lack in new digs. We already caught wind of the performance enhancements given to its 3.7-liter VQ37VHR engine - a Greddy Twin Turbo kit, a Greddy Ti-C catback exhaust, KW Variant 3 coil-over suspension and StopTech Big Brake kit - and we were extremely impressed to find out that Nissan managed to improve the output from the standard 332 horsepower all the way up to 500 horsepower. With the engine mods already done, Nissan then went about and gave the sports coupe a number of aesthetic tweaks, including a matte gunmetal gray vinyl wrap, a new set of ightweight Volk TE37SL wheels, and an interior dress-up that comprises Recaro seats and plenty of suede. About the only downside to this whole project is that the car isn’t expected to go on sale. Nissan hasn’t mentioned where it’ll end up, but it looks like dealerships are out of the question. Nissan Project 370Z originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 28 May 2012 11:00 EST.
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| Spy Shots: 2013 Renault Clio caught during hot weather testing session Posted: 28 May 2012 03:00 AM PDT
  If a few months ago the next Renault Clio has been caught testing under cold winter conditions in Norther Sweden, now Renault went to the other extreme: a new testing session during hot weather conditions in the South of Europe. The car is still heavily camouflaged, but still you can observe it will adopt a new design language including new headlamps, a redesigned front bumper and a new rear. We’re just wondering what’s with that bump on the engine bonnet? The upcoming Clio will be offered with a choice of 1.2 and 1.4 turbocharged tCe four-cylinders along with a new 900 cc three cylinder engine producing 85 HP. Diesel lineup will include a 1.5 dCi i4 which produces between 75 to 105 HP plus a new 1.2 L turbocharged three-cylinder engine delivering 80 and 98 HP that is currently under development. The new generation Renault Clio will be unveiled in September at the Paris Auto Show. Spy Shots: 2013 Renault Clio caught during hot weather testing session originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 28 May 2012 10:00 EST.
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| Posted: 28 May 2012 02:00 AM PDT
During this past week-end at the Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance, Aston Martin has displayed the new Project AM 310 - a preview version of the next generation DBS set to be unveiled in August at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. While Aston Martin is still not offering any official details on this new concept, numerous internet sources are suggesting that the AM 310 will be powered by a 6.0-liter V12 engine with output increased to 573 HP - an increase o 63 HP over the engine currently used in model like V12 Vantage, DBS and DB9. Also, the new AM 310 will be featuring a lightweight construction and comes with a transaxle gearbox and wishbone suspension. The concept is also making intense use of carbon fiber elements, while it is easily to notice lots of design elements inspired by the One-77 supercar - a feature already confirmed for the next DBS. All we can say is that sure the next DBS will be bolder and more aggressive and we can hardly wait to see it on the roads. Hit the jump to watch the Aston Martin Project AM 310 in action at Villa d’Este. Aston Martin Project AM 310 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 28 May 2012 09:00 EST.
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| Video: Rimac Concept One at the Concorso d'Eleganza Posted: 27 May 2012 07:00 PM PDT
This year’s Concorso d’Eleganza brought together some of the most amazing models out there. No doubt that the most impressive ones were the new BMW Zagato Coupe or the Aston Martin Project AM 310. But next to them people could admire supercars previously announced and equally impressive. One of them was the Rimac Concept One - quite an unexpected presence near the Italian lakes. Rimac Concept One is an impressive electric supercar built by Croatians and announced to be put into limited production: only 88 units will be produced, each unit coming with a price tag of €740,000 ($980,000 at the current rates). Concept One features a unique powertrain which is divided into four sub-systems, each consisting of one motor and delivering an impressive 1,088 HP and 2,802 lb/ft of torque. It can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in only 2.8 seconds and up to a top speed of 189 mph. One more video after the jump. Video: Rimac Concept One at the Concorso d'Eleganza originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 28 May 2012 02:00 EST.
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| Posted: 27 May 2012 04:00 PM PDT
Audi only built 666 units (strange number, no?) for their Audi R8 GT Coupe and Spyder versions, so the chance of seeing one on the street is pretty rare. The chance of seeing a parade of them is even slimmer, if not impossible. Then again, if you went to the Nurburgring 24 Hours race where Audi pushed its way to incredible results, you would have seen this aforementioned parade before the race even took place. Talk about some positive energy fueling the racers! As a reminder, both versions are powered by the same 5.2 liter V10 engine that delivers a total of 560 HP and 398 lbs-ft of torque. The R8 GT Spyder will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, while the R8 GT Coupe makes the sprint in 3.6 seconds. Top speeds are 196.97 mph and 198.8 mph, respectively. Video: Audi R8 GT Parade originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 27 May 2012 23:00 EST.
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| Bill Gates' old 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo hitting the auction block Posted: 27 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT
We're all aware of who Bill Gates is as he's remained one of the richest people in the world for the better part of two decades. But just like any other successful businessmen, Gates started off with relatively humble beginnings studying at Harvard University in the early 1970's, before founding the company which has made him so wealthy, Microsoft, in 1975. Just four years after founding the company, Bill gates purchased an awesome Porsche 911 Turbo and registered it in Seattle, Washington. That same Porsche was then sold in the ’90’s, but has recently resurfaced and will be put up for auction with Gates' signed registration details. The auction will be in Vienna, Austria in the coming days and we expect this particular 911 Turbo to fetch a handy amount. The current owner selling the car is said to have repainted the 911 to the bright blue seen in the above picture. He then got Porsche Classic to kick-start additional life into the sports car by uprating its standard 3.3-liter flat-six engine which when stock, produced 300HP. That was a mighty impressive feat for a car in that era. The 911 Turbo is expected to sell for between $55,500 and $71,000 when it's put under the hammer on the June 6,2012. Even though it's unclear how the Porsche made its way to Austria from the U.S., it is clear that it has lived a very privileged life and hopefully it goes to a suitable home. Bill Gates' old 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo hitting the auction block originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 27 May 2012 18:00 EST.
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