German Car Scene

Month: August 2012

  • 900 hp Heffner Gallardo driven


    In this new episode of DRIVE, The Smoking Tire’s Matt Farah heads over to Sarasota to visit Heffner Performance, the first tuning company to bolt a pair of turbochargers onto Lamborghini’s glorious V10 engine. While there, Matt chats with Jason Heffner about some of the insane machines that have passed through his doors, and also samples the delights of a 900 hp Gallardo LP560-4. All in a day’s work.
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  • Lamborghini Gallardo PD-L800 by Prior Design


    Kamp-Lintfort styling specialist Prior Design has revealed its new PD-L800 widebody program for the first generation Lamborghini Gallardo.

    Constructed from Dura-Flex FRP (Fibre Reinforced Plastic), the aero package includes later style bumpers and diffuser, widened vented front fenders, side skirts, rear wheel arch extensions, a GT rear wing and that questionable roof scoop.

    Pricing for the kit has been set at €12,900.
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  • Porsche GT3 Cup car rebuild


    This new episode of DRIVE, hosted by Leo Parente, provides a fascinating insight into what it takes to keep a racecar on the track. The film captures the immediate aftermath following Bryce Miller’s accident whilst practising for a Porsche IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge round, and how the Effort Racing team managed to rebuild it in time for the following morning’s qualifying session.
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  • Senner Tuning Audi S5 Coupe


    Ingelheim am Rhein’s Senner Tuning has updated its range of options for the current Audi S5 Coupe model.

    Visually, the aero package consists of a body-coloured boot lid spoiler along with a carbon fibre front lip, subtle side skirts, rear diffuser and mirror casings. The Work VARA T1S, which measure 9 and 10.5 x 20 inches and come wrapped in 245/30 and 295/25 Vredesteins, have Flash Red centres to match the majority of the carbon body pieces, while an adjustable KW Variant 3 inox-line kit replaces the factory suspension set-up.

    Moving inside, the cabin has been fitted with a full carbon fibre trim set, which also covers the Audi R8 steering wheel, and door handles and lighting borrowed from the RS 5.

    Senner’s performance upgrade for the car’s 3.0 TFSI engine involves remapping of the ECU software, performance air filters and a stainless steel exhaust system with four 100 mm tailpipes, resulting in a hike from 245 kW (333 hp) and 440 Nm (325 lb/ft) of torque to 277 kW (377 hp) and 500 Nm (369 lb/ft). The new top speed is 270 km/h (167 mph), while the delay that can experienced in fly-by-wire accelerators has been dealt with thanks to the fitment of a power converter.

    Ready-tuned Audi S5s can be purchased directly from Senner, with prices starting from €92,900.

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  • MINI John Cooper Works GP’s design explained


    Here’s a new video with the Head of MINI Design, Anders Warming, going into detail about the company’s new MINI John Cooper Works GP model. We like the carbon fibre rear wing and that purposeful diffuser, but we’re not so keen on the baboon’s bottom red mirrors.
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  • Bentley Mulsanne Vision Concept announced


    Bentley has released these sketches of the Mulsanne Vision Concept that it débuted at Pebble Beach this weekend. Sadly, the Volkswagen-owned company wasn’t allowing any photography so, for now, these images will have to do.

    Designed to fill the gap left by the démodé Azure Convertible, no doubt the rag-topped Mulsanne will make use of the same 377 kW (505 hp) twin-turbocharged V8 engine as its Saloon-bodied counterpart and enjoy paralleled levels of handcrafted elegance.

    “The modern, luxurious, high-tech Mulsanne saloon provides a perfect foundation on which to create the world’s most elegant convertible. The Convertible Concept will extend the appeal of the Mulsanne family, while enhancing the profile of the Bentley brand, particularly in new and emerging markets,” commented Bentley’s Chairman, Wolfgang Dürheimer.
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