While we certainly won't go as far as calling the Boxster the Fiero of the 2010s, thanks to its mid-engine layout and a significant drop in pricing of the first generation models, Porsche's roadster model is becoming increasingly popular as a donor car among replica makers. Recently we showed you a Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster clone based on a Boxster S, but now there's a new project car making the internet rounds.
This time the Porsche model will lend its hardware to a Bugatti Veyron replica that is being built as we speak by a man who goes by the name Orlando M. The replica maker explains that the car will not be put up for sale upon completion but will be used as a personal vehicle. The project is still under development but you can take a sneak peek of the process in the videos after the jump.
How do you replace a motoring icon? In the years leading up to 1968, U.S. automaker Chevrolet was dealing with this very problem with their venerable Corvette. The first and second generation Corvettes, designed by Harley Earl and Larry Shinoda respectively, were stylish and innovative creations that drew countless fans from the automotive community.
The answer lies, in part, with the Aerovette: a mostly forgotten concept that made just two auto show appearances before being relegated to the GM Heritage Museum.
In the late ‘60s, GM engineer Zora Arkus Duntov and his team were toying with the XP-882, a mid-engined design and engineering exercise built on Oldsmobile Tornado underpinnings. Though fascinating from a design and engineering standpoint, Chevy General Manager John DeLorean saw no future for the XP-882 and canceled the project in 1969. It was simply too expensive and too impractical for the impending 1970s America.
When Ford announced it would be selling the Italian designed / American engined De Tomaso Pantera at its Lincoln / Mercury dealerships in 1970, DeLorean hit the roof. He immediately ordered Duntov and GM designer Charles Jordan to dust off the XP-882 and ready it for the New York Auto Show.
Renamed the Aerovette, the XP-882 was a revolution. After being re-engined for the 1973 Paris Auto Salon, the Aerovette now featured four transversely mounted Wankel rotaries, a full five years before they would be popularized in the United States by Mazda’s RX-7. Beneath that sleek glass fibre skin was a steel and aluminium birdcage that was both lightweight and strong.
Innovative features abound such as the bi-fold gullwing doors, V-shaped front windscreen and deformable plastic bumpers. Pop up headlamps, a fully independent coil spring suspension and four wheel disc brakes were also incorporated into the design.
Inside, a digital instrument panel displayed speed and engine rpm, while a switchable screen could show fuel, water temperature, oil pressure or voltage. A second digital display in the centre console could display the date, time and radio station as well as the elapsed time in minute or seconds for time trials.
Though the Aerovette / XP-882 never progressed beyond the concept stage, its design was highly influential in the third generation (C3) Corvette. Many of its ingenious design features would find their way into production cars; though in some cases this process took as long as then years(!).
So there you have it. The Aerovette: a car that was ten years ahead of its time but doomed by the ‘70s oil crisis. Gone, but hopefully, never forgotten.
In keeping with the eco-friendly theme that seems to have swept all types of industries, Sweden's Husqvarna has presented an all-electric plug-in mower concept called Panthera Leo. Made out of recyclable materials, the green concept mower supposedly gives an indication how the future of mowing might come to look. In terms of design, there's no doubt that the futuristic-looking Panthera Leo will grab the attention of your neighbors.
In the Panthera Leo, the traditional gas engine has been replaced by a Lithium-phosphate battery pack that can be charged at any electrical outlet. A full charge offers approximately two hours of working time. The mower comes equipped with five powerful electrical motors partnered with a sound absorbing cutting deck. There are three separate cutters equipped with razor sharp blades that can be controlled to suit wide or narrow lawns (from 85cm up to 120cm).
All functions of the mower are controlled through paddles on the steering wheel while an LCD-display informs the driver about the speed, cutting height, cutting width, remaining battery time, service needs and even warns him about objects that are too close.
A Ferrari F430 went from supercar to 'hotrod' and eventually to an unsalvageable wreck when a driver in Romania lost control of the Prancing Horse model colliding with two oncoming cars and ending up in a ditch. Luckily, the driver and the passenger managed to get out of the F430 before the supercar went up in flames. Shock aside, the passengers of the two other cars were not hurt in the accident. According to the Romanian media reports, the driver of the F430 was fined 180 Leu which comes to around $59 or €43 at today's exchange rates. Watch the video after the jump.
Okay, it may not be a car in the traditional sense but nevertheless, the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe you see pictured above outsold every single car in the United States in 2008 with more than 457,000 units delivered throughout the year. So take that Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Built at a factory in Hudson, Ohio -that's probably even more amazing considering the fact that just about everything today is made in China, the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe has sold more than 10 million units in its 30-year history. Due to its success, the toy was introduce into the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland on June 6, 2009.
In a couple of weeks, on June 21st, the chaps from Top Gear will return on the small screen for the 13th season of the series. And even though the widespread financial turmoil has affected the TV series' budget in a negative way, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are getting ready to pull some stunts that will certainly stir some controversy, laughter, debates (you get the picture) and generally draw attraction to their show.
These photos that come to us from the Lancer Register message board, were shot during the filming of one of the Season 13 episodes. They show a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VII reportedly being destroyed with the help of the British Army. We don't know the details but we gather that it won't be long before we find out - that is if you care..
So what do you do when you have a ton of oil money, plenty of imagination and a passion for anything on four-wheels? Well, for starters, you go and buy any type of car your heart desires. Been their, done that. So what's next? The answer to that question for Seikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan from the United Arab Emirates who is also known as the 'Rainbow Sheikh', due to the fact that he once bought a fleet of Mercedes-Benz in every color of the rainbow, was to build a colossal working replica of a 1950's Dodge Power Wagon.
Created in the mid 1990s, this replica is an astonishing 64 times the original size and weighs in at about 50 tons! It is said to be the largest car/truck in the world. It's so big that it houses four large, air conditioned bedrooms, a living room and bathrooms. In fact it even has a 'terrace' in the pick-up bed! Although it was not designed to hit the road (apparently...) it does come with a 300HP GM diesel engine that helps it move around on its own. The video is from Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld television series that aired on BBC back in the mid 1990s.
If the original Audi TT was the hairdresser's car in some people's eyes, then this lookalike replica of the TT Roadster is beyond doubt, Mickey Mouse's car... Discovered on UK's eBay, the seller does not state on which car it is based, but it's almost certain that the donor car is the Banham X21, a small British roadster which in turn was based on the Austin Metro mini and used a 1.3-liter engine. The X21 already looked a lot like the TT Roadster so if that's the case, then conversion wasn't that hard of a task. Check out the creepy little bugger in the gallery after the jump.
Porsche Classic is a specialized workshop owned by the German automaker, responsible for repairing, servicing and even restoring classic vehicles, like this 1973 911 T Coupe. Every year, a team of 30 highly trained specialists work on around 250 cars, keeping Porsche's heritage alive. According to the Stuttgart-based company, more than 70 per cent of all Porsches ever built are still on the roads today, which is pretty impressive if you think about it. Video follows after the break.
The Nürburgring circuit is called “The Green Hell” for a good reason. Measuring 24.4 km (15.2 miles) in today’s combined version that uses a part of the Formula 1 track, it’s not an easy circuit to master. Complete a fast lap was even more difficult in the late ’60, when Formula 1 was nowhere near the high-tech parade it represents now. Back then, fearless drivers raced cars with skinny tires that had very few, if any safety features and weren't exactly easy to drive.
Check out the video after the break to see 1967 Formula 1 car running the Green Hell. At the time, the Nordschleife measured 22.8 km (14.2 miles) and had 174 turns.
And you thought your latest weekend track race was adrenaline-filled... Enter the realm of Jonny Reid, one of New Zealand's top racing drivers. The 27-year-old Kiwi put a brand new 2011 Volvo S60 to the test around Hampton Downs raceway in Auckland. Nothing spectacular there you say? How about if we told you that he did it blindfolded? Yes, that's right; the young racing driver couldn't see a thing.
According to the promo event's organizers, it took Reid more than one try but in the end, he managed to return a lap time of 1:28 with a top speed of 193km/h (119 mph). "He was guided only by the feel of the car, his knowledge of the track, and co-driver Earl Bamber's voice," said Volvo. Pretty neat, though we're not sure who was the bravest of the two; the driver or the co-driver... Scroll down to watch the clips.
Today, the German railway authority, Porsche and the city of Stuttgart inaugurated the overhauled 'S-Bahn' Neuwirtshausz train station adjacent to the sportscar maker's brand-new museum in Stuttgart that opened its door for the public for the first time on January 31, 2009. The joint project took about six months to complete and as you can see in the photos, the train station's design matches that of Porsche's museum building. For the opening ceremony, Porsche organized a special event that included the presentation of a bespoke sliver locomotive adorned in Porsche livery that carried a freight car packed with eight Porsches including the classic 356 Speedster and the new Panamera Sports Sedan.
You might remember the fuss that was created last November after it was revealed that Detroit's Big Three CEOs flew into Washington to ask Congress for a few billion dollars in loans on separate luxury jets. Well, the "New GM" won't have any jets as the U.S. Bankruptcy court approved the automaker's request to cancel the leases on its fleet of seven private jets and a hangar that was used to store them at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The General's private fleet consisted of two range-topping Gulfstream V jets leased from Suntrust Leasing Corp. since 2001 and five Gulfstream IVs leased from AVN Air LLC since 2007. According to a report from Automotive News, the hanger alone cost GM $488,000 a year to rent. Yep, from now on, it's only commercial flights for GM's executives.
