Jaguar C-X75

The jet-powered C-X75 will propel Jaguar into the future when it goes into production in 2013 - but the first examples won't be powered by the gas turbines that wowed observers at the Paris motor show last year.

The British car maker - owned by Indian company Tata - has confirmed it will limit production of the all-wheel-drive super-coupe to 250 examples, most of which will instead use a boosted small-capacity internal combustion engine combined with powerful electric motors, one on each front wheel.

The engine is likely to be a version of the 400kW 1.6-liter four-cylinder unit being developed by Formula One team Williams for the 2013 season. Jaguar and Williams recently joined forces to collaborate on future technology.

Reports in Europe say the final 50 C-X75s will carry gas turbine engines. Jaguar itself has said that at least 50 of the 250 models will be racing versions.

The show car measures 4647mm long, 2020mm wide and 1204mm. It rides on a 2725mm wheelbase and turbine-themed polished alloy wheels measuring 21 inches at the front and 22 inches at the rear.

Jaguar has priced the production C-X75 at between £700,000 and £900,000 ($1.45 million and $1.87 million) and invited expressions of interest on its website.

Jaguar's last supercar was the XJ220, recognized as the world's fastest production car - until the McLaren F1 came along.

The new Ferrari 599-GTO

This is the fastest street-legal car Ferrari has ever built, Its a limited-edition 6-liter V12 flyer with a top speed of 335km/h

A number of Ferrari's most valued clients have already expressed interest in the 599 GTO, Pictures and details about the car were kept under lock and key at the Ferrari headquarters in Italy until the 9th of April. It will make its global debut later in the month at the Beijing motor show and will go on sale in Europe later in the year.

It is regarded as a road-going version of the 599XX, the experimental track car that set all sorts of records during development in Italy and Production of the 599 will be limited to 599 examples.

Ferrari says its engineers borrowed from the company's Formula One technology to blend high-end electronics with handling that "results in an almost complete absence of under-steer and a truly communicative chassis."

Apart from new springs and a stiffer rear anti-roll bar, the car also gets a second-generation magnetically controlled suspension system.

It works in tandem with the car's dynamic control unit and the latest F1-Trac traction control. Says Ferrari: "This makes the car extremely responsive to driver inputs - thanks in part to the adoption of a very direct steering ratio."

It is also "very stable under braking, sharper on turn-in, more precise in cornering and quicker out of corners."

Also appearing for the first time on a Ferrari road car are second-generation carbon-ceramic brakes, which bring the car to a stop from 100km/h in a claimed 32.5m.

New aerodynamic touches include the wheel doughnuts, which increase aerodynamic efficiency as well as improved brake cooling.

There's a different Tyre set-up on the 20-inch rims. The front tyres are wider than in the past for greater road-holding.

The driver-car interface is also new Virtual Race Engineer (VRE) provides the driver with real-time information on performance.

The 599 GTO weighs in at 1495kg, thanks in part to a mix of aluminum and carbon fiber in the body. The V12 engine complies with Euro5 emissions requirements.

It punches out 500kW at 8250rpm and 620Nm at 6500rpm and drives the rear wheels via a six-speed paddle-shift gearbox. Ferrari claims a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 3.3 seconds.

The 599 wears the GTO moniker as a tribute to two special Ferrari's: "The 1962 250 GTO, which dominated GT racing in the 1960s and is now a highly prized collector's car, and the 1984 GTO, which basically invented the entire modern supercar genre."

Kumeu Classic car festival

Just a quick post, The photos are from the recent Kumeu classic car festival just out of Auckland , New Zealand. Ive been attending this event for many years, It just gets bigger and bigger all the time.

Enjoy the photos.

Boys day out.

Last weekend was the annual speedshow exhibition, A great day out for the boys in Auckland. This year had a line-up of cars and motorcycles - new, performance, classic and customs.

This year's event saw Speedshow fill to capacity with three main halls of the showgrounds, and an extensive outdoor display and activities to add to the attractions for the speed lovers. And the new children's area called Speedshow 4 Kids proved very popular with Roary the Racing Car shows at 10am and 12pm each day.

Some of New Zealand’s best drift cars were alongside historic racing cars and bikes and New Zealand’s best race car simulators.There were new cars and motorcycles from some of the world’s leading manufacturers and exhibitors with a wide range of motoring and motorsport-related products and services, but honestly there’s too much to mention so if you like cars and motorbikes, Speedshow was the place to be.

This year's key draw-cards included the world's fastest NASCAR and the original movie Batmobile from the original Batman movies courtesy of Warner Brothers Movie World on the Gold Coast, The motorbike from the movie "The worlds fastest Indian" as well as the world famous Britten motorbike.

The oldest exhibit was a 1903 Ford that cost 180 pounds when brand-new while nearby was a DTM-spec Mercedes Benz AMG supercar, one of only 100 in the world that cost well over $500,000 new.

This event has only been running 3 years in New Zealand and has already moved venue because of space, It doubles in size every year so next years event should be better again.

Top photo is my 5 year old son with former superbike rider, Aaron Slight.
2nd Photo is the bike from the movie "Worlds fastest Indian"

Ellerslie car show 2009

I had many requests from my recent post entitled Rod and custom weekend for pictures of some of New Zealands old classic cars aswell as some supercars etc so i thought i would post some pictures from the ellerslie car show a couple of weeks ago.

If anybody wants full size and full resolution pictures, Please contact me.

The most extreme Mercedes SL yet.

The SL65 AMG Black Series will offer the same performance as an SLR but is set to cost £100,000 less than the £300,000 supercar.

Powered by the SL65's twin turbo V12, the SL Black Series will be subject to a serious weight loss programme and use new turbos to up power to over 650bhp, all of which should see it match the SLR's 0-60mph time of 3.8sec and come very close to its top speed of 206mph.

Almost entirely made of carbonfibre, only the doors are standard SL and with the rear wings made from metal the car should weigh around 300kg less than a normal SL65. Only the rear quarter-panels remain rendered in steel.

The SL's folding roof has been replaced by a fixed carbonfibre assembly; removing the electric motors that operate the roof and the folding mechanism helps to save weight.

The bespoke body is necessary not only to cut weight but also to cover the car's enormous front and rear tracks. As with all Black Series cars, much of the technology used in this one will find its way into future AMG products; these axles will be fitted to Mercedes' forthcoming SLC supercar that AMG is helping to develop.

The SL's new grille is more squat on the Black Series, and the hood is apparently exempt from new European pedestrian safety laws, thanks to very low volume production.

The SL65 Black Series is scheduled to make its debut at the German Grand Prix in July. The car itself will be officially launched at the end of the year.

20th anniversary HSV W427

Holden Special Vehicles is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with a V8-powered show car that redefines Australian muscle machines and will become the fastest car ever produced in Australia.

Revealed at the Melbourne motor show, the HSV W427 is a Commodore based four-door with a 7.0 litre engine producing 370kW of power, which is almost 500 horsepower in the old scale.

A mildly different production version of the W427 show car – a one-off concept created for the motor show – will go on sale towards the middle of 2008 priced somewhere between $A140,000 and $A170,000, The Unique styling gives the HSV W427 a more aggressive nose characterized by a V8 Supercar-inspired bumper and larger grille designed to feed more air into the engine.

The HSV W427 can accelerate to 100km/h in about 4.7 seconds, matching similar explosive acceleration figures from more expensive vehicles such as the BMW M5, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and upcoming Audi RS6.


The HSV W427 is fitted with a US-sourced 7.0-litre V8 which is also used in the Chevrolet Corvette and a unique two-mode exhaust system is designed to improve the characteristic V8 engine sound. The 20-inch alloy wheels partially hide even bigger six-piston AP brake calipers said to provide supreme stopping potential. The HSV W427 is also fitted with the latest Holden safety features, including an electronic stability control system and six airbags.

"W" InW427 is a reference to Tom Walkinshaw who was the HSV (Holden special Vehicles) Founder, And the number 427 relate to the size of the engine in cubic inches.

The interior is all covered in leather, Including, Seats, Steering Wheel, Parts of the dashboard, Door handles and gear lever surrounds.


There will only be Four HSV W427s produced per week and each is made to order only. They will all be individually numbered and accompanied by a unique customer loyalty program.
There’s little doubt in my mind that the HSV W427 is destined to become the most desirable, and one of the most exclusive HSVs ever built. I'm sure the Ford fans will beg to differ though.

Going Topless.

Alfa Romeo 8C going topless.

Alfa Romeo, Fiat's sports car brand, plans to commemorate its centenary in 2010 with a new model, a special edition of which only 500 are being sold.

Alfa Romeo have always been known for a style and speed, Alfa Romeo's sales have been mediocre for mant years and it struggles to gain more than one per cent of its main European market and it has been losing money for quite some time. A history of poor parts and service gave it a bad name which it has found hard to get rid of and denying it the premium status enjoyed by rivals like Volkswagen's Audi and BMW.

The 8C is definitey an upmarket Alfa, With a hefty price tag of $240,000, That makes it the most expensive Alfa Romeo road car ever built. The engine is a 4.7 liter Maserati V-8. Alot of the suspension components are also from Maserati, This would explain why its built in the Maserati factory instead of the Alfa Romeo factory. But wait----- the engine comes from Ferrari, and it comes from F430 technology. So the Alfa Romeo 8C represents three of Italy's greatest car manufacturers (all Fiat owned) sports car manufacturers.

technology

McLaren Mercedes supercar 2008

You might think that Mercedes wouldn’t have a need to be developing another supercar, Some might think why bother but they have anyway: With the 612-bhp SL65 AMG on the one hand and the 626-bhp SLR on the other, there’s hardly any room for a car in between. That is if you’re taking performance alone. But as design and packaging matter, too, the Stuttgart-based firm is in fact thinking about a “baby” McLaren offering SLR-like supercar-feeling at the cost (and power) of an SL55. With a newly developed 5-litre V8 performing some 400 bhp, this light-weight mini-SLR will reach top-speeds of beyond the latest SL65 and will outrun the latter from 0 to 100 km/h. Being a pure two-seater with a rigid metal roof (rather than a 2+2-seater roadster like the SL), the “baby” McLaren will point at a totally different range of customers and will certainly be a success as an uncompromising driver’s car.
However, Will Mercedes ever to be able to compete with other supercar manufacturers in terms of technology, They always seem to be a step behind the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini when it comes to performance and aerodynamics. But they produce very reliable running gear.