Last night’s Fifth Gear saw Tiff Needell and Nurburgring queen Sabine Schmitz heading to the track armed with BMW’s M6 Coupe and the latest Porsche 911 Carrera S.
The M6 uses a 4.4-litre biturbo V8, developing a mammoth 412 kW (560 hp) and 680 Nm of torque; enough for a 0-100 km/h time of 4.2 seconds, while the 991 Carrera 4S is propelled by a 3.8-litre straight-six developing 294 kW (400 hp) and 440 Nm, allowing it to crack 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds.
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Russian tuning specialist TopCar has revealed its latest creation, the Vantage 2 Red Dragon, which is based on Porsche’s chunky Cayenne.
Built as an individual design project, the Cayenne wears the company’s Vantage 2 aero package, which consists of a replacement front bumper spoiler, rear bumper with air outlets and integrated diffuser, wheel arch and sill extensions, tailgate spoilers and an aggressively vented hood. There’s also a quartet of jaunty tailpipes and a set of questionable two-tone alloy wheels.
Moving inside, the largely red cabin has been reupholstered in quilted leather on the seats, with the dashboard also receiving a coating of hide, while carbon fibre elements adorn the door panels, centre console, steering wheel and gear knob.
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The Audi Sport quattro clone created by Netherlands-based High Octane Racing has finally passed the 1000 hp mark, recording a figure of 1005 hp on the rollers at DP Engineering.
The 2.2-litre five-cylinder powerplant, which is fed by a Garrett GT4202R turbocharger, is encased by a pretty convincing replica of the homologation special. As well as the shortened bodyshell, the Coupe also uses the more upright Saloon windscreen section along with Kevlar/carbon panels for the roof, front wings, rear quarter panels, bonnet and bumpers.
The car is scheduled to appear on the quarter mile at Zandvoort this Saturday.
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Skoda has created a limited edition version of its Fabia Monte Carlo model, called the Monte Carlo Tech, which will sold exclusively in the UK.
Available in either red with a black roof or white with a black roof, the exterior gets piano-black body trim, black door mirror casings, a black radiator grille top, smoked headlamps and 17-inch lightweight Trinity alloy wheels in – you guessed it – black.
Moving inside, there’s a black roofliner, while the black sports seats boast additional side support, and the steering wheel, handbrake lever and gearstick gaiter are trimmed in black leather with red stitching. The silver kick plates and steel pedals come as standard, as does Bluetooth connectivity and the state-of-the-art Amundsen satellite navigation system.
There’s a choice of two powerplants: a 1.2-litre TSI and a 1.6-litre TDI both developing 77 kW (105 hp), priced at £11,990 OTR and £12,960 OTR respectively. Just 500 examples of each colour will be produced.
[Source: Skoda UK]
Autoweek’s senior west coast editor Mark Vaughn recently headed to Circuit Paul Ricard in the south of France to stretch the legs of the new Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series.
Weight-saving measures include a carbon fibre driveshaft, 15 kg lighter seats, a 17 kg titanium exhaust system and a featherweight lithium-ion battery; all contributing to the Black Series’ 70 kg reduction to 1,550 kg.
Propelled by a revised version of the regular car’s 6.2-litre V8, the Black Series has 464 kW (622 hp) and 635 Nm of torque at its disposal; enough for a 3.6 second sprint to 100 km/h and a 316 km/h top speed.
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Kamp-Lintfort styling specialist Prior Design has released images of its PD-GT850 program to suit the Audi R8, providing the appearance of the company’s R8 LMS ultra racecar.
Constructed from high quality Dura-Flex FRP (Fibre Reinforced Plastic), the extreme aero package consists of an aggressive front fascia with integrated carbon fibre spoiler, wider ventilated fenders, skirts, sideblades, rear quarter panels, vented rear bumper with combative diffuser and questionable roof scoop. That voluminous motorsport wing completes the conversion.
Price is on asking.
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