9ff are putting the finishing touches to a big power 997 Turbo Cabriolet.
A video clip on the 9ff site shows the bahn storming 650 bhp cabriolet hit 217 mph.
9ff started up in 2001, but really made a name for themselves, with their missile-like 996 GT2, after it achieved a record breaking 241 mph (in 2004).
[Source: 9ff]
Lamborghinis plans of building an SUV to rival the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, have been dropped by the supercar manufacturer.
Ideas of an uber-saloon, (as a successor to the seventies Espada) have also been shelved. Their president Stephan Winkelmann stated “I’m a fan of SUVs, but making one isn’t on the radar for this decade. We’re such a small company, we couldn’t do one on our own. Still, it would make more sense for us to do one of those than a four-seater.â€
Those people missing the old supercharged 5.5L V8 won’t be upset for too long, once they’ve sampled the delights of its successor.
AMG fans will be more than satisfied with their naturally aspirated 6.2L V8, producing an awesome 514 bhp.This enables the E63 to hit 60 mph in a supercar-like 4.3 seconds (identical to the Ferrari 360 Modena), just under cutting BMW’s M5 time of 4.5 seconds. Impressive for a car weighing in at 4035 pounds.
Volkswagen are sending three Touareg V10 TDI’s to compete in the gruelling ‘Race To The Clouds’.
The Touaregs will be the first SUV’s to run on Shell’s Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) and will be pumping out an almighty 553 lbs ft of torque, from as low down as 2000 RPM. To put that into perspective, a McLaren F1 super car pales into insignificance with ‘just’ 479 lb-ft at 4000 rpm.
America is to receive the Smart Car in 2007, to help motorists combat the spiralling costs of fuel.
The Smart will be up against stiff competition from other fuel efficient (mainly Japanese) cars, including the Toyota Yaris and Nissan Versa and will probably be sold through distributors, rather than dedicated Smart dealers.
Whispers are emerging that Volkswagen will shortly be producing variants of the Touareg, with a coupe version of their SUV available as early as this year, being a direct competitor to the forthcoming BMW X6.
A second pickup model should be in our showrooms by 2007. It’s believed to be based on the AAC concept vehicle displayed at the Detroit Auto Show in 2000.
[Source: The VW Gazette]