TopSpeed Daily Update |  |
- Ford Mustang "Red Tails" Special Edition
- Video: EVO takes the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse for a spin
- Video: Behind-the-scenes of MINI's parallel parking record
- Video: Watch a 17bhp Renault Twizy drift
- Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid
- Video: 60 years of Corvette history in 2 minutes
- Lucra LC470 SC
- BMW and Toyota team up for new sports car
- Jeep Wrangler Military Edition by Kahn Design
- Rumors: Cadillac Revives Talks of ATS-V and May be Considering a Coupe and Convertible
| Ford Mustang "Red Tails" Special Edition Posted: 30 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT
The annual EAA AirVenture event has been, at least for the past few years, a showcase of sorts for the Ford Mustang. That’s because every year, a special edition, aviation-themed Mustang is always in attendance, ready to be auctioned off for the benefit of the EAA's Young Eagles Program. Last, year the "Blue Angels" Mustang was sold for a whopping $400,000 and before that the "SR-71" Mustang fetched $375,000 in 2010 and the "Dearborn Doll" Mustang went for $250,000 back in 2009. For this year’s event, Ford and tuning shop Creations N’ Chrome are teaming up to present the latest auction-ready, aviation-themed Mustang: the Red Tails. The "Red Tails" Mustang was designed as a tribute vehicle to the first African American aviators in the United States Army Air Corps, in particular to the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. As a way to pay homage to them, Ford specifically chose the Mustang model that carried the VIN #00051 in honor of the P-51 Mustangs the airmen flew in their time. The Red Tails Mustang will on display from July 23rd to 26th, 2012. On July 26th, the car will head out to the auction block where it will be sold for charity. Ford Mustang "Red Tails" Special Edition originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 30 June 2012 12:00 EST.
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| Video: EVO takes the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse for a spin Posted: 29 Jun 2012 11:00 PM PDT
When the Bugatti Veyron was first launched, the world was left awe-struck and it's little wonder why. Not only did the original Veyron pack 987 screaming horsepowers, but it's advanced all-wheel drive system and millimeter perfect aerodynamics all played large roles in helping to create the legend which is bound to be talked about decades down the road. However, as the years have flown by, Bugatti has been forced to continually update the car in order to remain at the forefront of automotive technology and the recently launched Grand Sport Vitesse is the epitome of that statement. In a recent road test, EVO magazine was lucky enough to get their hands on what promises to be the world's fastest convertible, if the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder doesn't reach its top speed claim. Before you watch the video, just keep the following figures in mind. The Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse features the same 8.0-liter W16 engine as its coupe brethren and also pumps out 1200HP and 1106lb-ft of torque helping to launch the car to 62 mph in just 2.6 seconds and onto a top speed in excess of 250 mph. Video: EVO takes the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse for a spin originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 30 June 2012 06:00 EST.
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| Video: Behind-the-scenes of MINI's parallel parking record Posted: 29 Jun 2012 09:00 PM PDT
There are some records that you wouldn’t even think existed were it not for great marketing from those that are trying to set it. One of those records is the recent one set by MINI earlier this month; you remember that as the parallel parking record they attempted to promote the special edition Chinese Job MINI Cooper. Well, despite their penchant for quirkiness, attempting to set the record was no small feat - even with a professional driver like Han Yue behind the wheel. In this video, MINI takes us on a behind-the-scenes look on the preparations and hours of practice that went behind the attempts. In the end, Yue managed to squeeze in his MINI with only 5.9" of real estate separating the MINI from hitting the cars. Check out the video and see how everything went down; it’s certainly worth your time to see how somebody is capable of doing something as cool as that when a lot of us can’t even grasp the concept of parallel parking. Video: Behind-the-scenes of MINI's parallel parking record originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 30 June 2012 04:00 EST.
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| Video: Watch a 17bhp Renault Twizy drift Posted: 29 Jun 2012 07:00 PM PDT
When one thinks of a drift car, an electric-powered urban transport vehicle definitely doesn't fit the bill. In an ideal world, one would want a rear-wheel drive car powered by a front-mounted engine producing as little as 200HP like the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ. That being said, the Renault Twizy does have at least one of those aspects with it being rear-wheel drive. It's almost hard to believe just how little power the Twizy has when one really thinks about it. Any car below 200 or even 150HP is often viewed as underpowered in today's modern world of automobiles, but the Twizy only pumps out 17 horsepower from its tiny electric motor which also produces 70Nm of torque which can help propel it to 75 km/h. However, Autocar set out to find out if the tiny 1+1 vehicle could drift when thrown around a drifting circle covered in water, and what would you know, the car turned out to be quite the drift machine. However, due to the fact that the Twizy is almost laughably underpowered, it genuinely seems like the Twizy is drifting in slow motion and the presenter goes onto reveal that under these conditions, its battery would only last 10 minutes. Now we're sure no one out there is going to purchase a Twizy for its drifting capabilities, but it's definitely interesting to know that almost any car out there can drift. Video: Watch a 17bhp Renault Twizy drift originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 30 June 2012 02:00 EST.
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| Posted: 29 Jun 2012 02:00 PM PDT
  Lotus hasn't seen a great share of luck in recent years, but in the past few weeks, its luck has taken a slight turn for the better. First came INDYCAR's approval of desired changes to its IRL engines. Now Lotus is now extending this run of decent luck a little more by announcing that its running prototype for the Evopra 414E hybrid is ahead of schedule and ready for dynamic testing. Lotus first unveiled the prototype at Geneva in 2010, but it was just that, a prototype. It had no engine or motor driving it; it was essentially just a shell. No one in the automotive world expected anything from Lotus in the next year or so, as it seeks a new CEO, fights a rumored lawsuit from its former CEO, and attempts to right this sinking shop. It looks like we were all wrong, as Lotus just sent out a press release detailing all of the Evora 414E's main specifications. So, we did what we do best and used our speculative abilities to put together a review for you to use to make an educated shopping decision, if you are lucky enough to be in the market for this type of car. Click past the jump to read our full review. Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 29 June 2012 21:00 EST.
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| Video: 60 years of Corvette history in 2 minutes Posted: 29 Jun 2012 01:00 PM PDT
The 2013 model year will mark the 60th anniversary of the legendary Chevrolet Corvette and to mark this momentous occasion, Chevrolet has unveiled an interesting video that captures all of the Corvette’s 60 years in just two minutes of film. It’s hard to believe that such a vast history can be captured in just two minutes, but Chevrolet says they hit all of the big events from the past 60 years. The first Corvette arrive on June 30, 1953. It came with only two seats and did not include roll-up windows or exterior door handles. In 2013, Chevrolet will unveil a special edition Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition as a celebration of the car’s 60th anniversary, sending the veteran out with a bang. In 2014, we will finally see the long rumored Corvette C7. Check out the video and see the history of the iconic Corvette unfold in front of your eyes. Video: 60 years of Corvette history in 2 minutes originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 29 June 2012 20:00 EST.
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| Posted: 29 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT
For $2.4 million, you can go out and buy a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport that goes from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds. Alternatively, you can spend a ton less money and end up with a car that's just as quick to 60 mph. What is this magical Bugatti killer that we speak of that is about 5 percent of the Bugatti's price? It's the 2013 Lucra LC470. Well, it doesn't meet the Bugatti's performance in its base model, but its upper level SC model certainly will hang with the $2 million supercar. That's right; Lucra has manufactured a supercar that may actually suit the budget of the slightly above average worker and is not only reserved for those making in excess of seven digit salaries each year. To make it even more bad-ass, this LC470 SC has received the marketing pitch of "STREET LEGAL – but just barely." By the looks of this thing, that marketing pitch appears to ring true and we honestly wonder how this car made it through the NHTSA certification process. Right about now, you are probably wondering just how extreme this car really is. Well, kick back, as Lucra has been so kind as to provide us with a plethora of data and images to pass onto you. Click past the jump to read our full review of the Lucra LC470 SC. Lucra LC470 SC originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 29 June 2012 19:00 EST.
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| BMW and Toyota team up for new sports car Posted: 29 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT
 Toyota must be starting to love collaborative projects. Coming out of a tight relationship with Subaru where they developed the GT 86 (pictured above) and the BRZ, the Japanese company has now established a working relationship with BMW. In fact, the two companies first announced plans to join forces back in December 2011 when they announced a partnership for sharing hybrid systems and diesel engines. Then, in March 2012, they signed a binding agreement on collaborative research in the field of next-generation lithium-ion battery cells. Today, Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation and Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG met again and talked about a new agreement that could lead to developing a new sports car. The two leaders talked about joint development of a fuel cell system, joint development of architecture and components for a future sports vehicle, collaboration on powertrain electrification, and joint research and development on lightweight technologies. BMW will supply highly-efficient 1.6 liter and 2.0 liter diesel engines to Toyota Motor Europe starting in 2014 and, in return, Toyota will share their knowledge on environment-friendly hybrids and fuel cells. The relationship makes sense due to the fact that one of BMW’s strengths is their production of engines and Toyota was the first to push out their electric vehicle - the Toyota Prius - with much success. Hit the jump to read the statements from the two CEO’s. BMW and Toyota team up for new sports car originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 29 June 2012 18:00 EST.
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| Jeep Wrangler Military Edition by Kahn Design Posted: 29 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT
Kahn Design has become a reliable tuning company as far as building programs for a wide variety of vehicles. Unlike other tuners that specialize on a specific automaker, Kahn just tunes anything and everything. Their latest example involves the 2012 Jeep Wrangler, which they’ve bestowed as the Military Edition. The copper paintwork on the utility vehicle adds a rugged look while the set of 20-inch smoked black alloy wheels offers a nice complement to it. Other modifications on the Wrangler include the addition of xenon crosshair headlamps, a black fuel filler cap, a rear wheel cover, tinted windows, mud flaps, brake calipers finished in the same copper color as the body paint, and a new sports exhaust system with twin tailpipes. The British tuner is offering the Wrangler Military Edition for a wide variety of Wrangler models with the entire program priced at £41,875, which is around $65,100 based on current exchange rates. Jeep Wrangler Military Edition by Kahn Design originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 29 June 2012 17:00 EST.
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| Rumors: Cadillac Revives Talks of ATS-V and May be Considering a Coupe and Convertible Posted: 29 Jun 2012 09:00 AM PDT
 There were rumors abound a while back that the new-for-2013 Cadillac ATS would be a new base for a "V" model Cadillac. Then rumors began floating around about an ATS coupe. Both rumors pretty much just faded away and we all tucked them in the back of our brains. Well, TheDetroitBureau has renewed these rumors in a recent report, where they said that Cadillac officials are seriously discussing the ATS-V, and that its production is a near certainty. According to the report, the only squabble preventing a green light is the debate on what kind of engine to put in it. Some Cadillac brass is saying a V-8 engine is the way to go, while other swear by a V-6 engine with forced induction – supercharged or turbocharged. Once that is all hammered out, we can start planning to see the ATS-V shortly. The ATS coupe and convertible options are still in early discussion phase, but are being considered. A convertible ATS would replace the failed XLR Roadster and the coupe version would give the luxury automaker a well-rounded list of cars to compete with Lincoln, Infiniti, Lexus and BMW. As we said, these are still rumors and talk amongst GM higher ups, so there is still a chance that the coupe and convertible will never come. The ATS-V, on the other hand, is almost a near certainty. All the GM brass needs to do is pick an engine that's best suited for the chassis and it's good to go. We'll keep a close eye on this situation and update you as things change. Rumors: Cadillac Revives Talks of ATS-V and May be Considering a Coupe and Convertible originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 29 June 2012 16:00 EST.
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