While the Chevy Camaro may be the official car of the 2008 SEMA show, neither Ford nor Dodge seem willing to cede the title of unofficial musclecar of the show without a fight. Dozens of vintage Camaros, like this…
Original post by info.rss@cro.consumer.org (Consumer Reports)
While the Chevy Camaro may be the official car of the 2008 SEMA show, neither Ford nor Dodge seem willing to cede the title of unofficial musclecar of the show without a fight. Dozens of vintage Camaros, like this…
Original post by info.rss@cro.consumer.org (Consumer Reports)
Here in the UK, we don’t tend to do muscle cars. They really were born in the US, out of good times in Detroit and even earlier. So, is this a bizarrely-timed April fools’ joke? Not a chance. James Martin (not the famous chef) has to my mind at least created something very special indeed. Just look at the thing! It is clearly based on the 1960’s Shelby Cobra, but brought right into the 21st century with more style than you can get from your Prada handbag.
Let’s talk about the original Cobra for a moment. It was designed by British firm AC and US company Shelby – providing something of a rather manic and definitely unique motoring icon to the times. There’s also a rumour that this is the very car that managed to scare the hell out of the police and government – so much so that it led to the 70mph speed limit. Whether that’s true or not, the AC Shelby Cobra is iconic in every sense.
This new car (the Venom) has a 4.6 litre supercharged V8 churning out a whopping 524bhp. This will be enough to do the old 0-60 sprint in around 3.4 seconds, which should certainly be enough to put hairs on your chest (or remove them if that’s your thing). This is a serious machine – not choice in the looks department either, where it appears to be an amalgamation between an original AC Cobra and a BMW Z4.
Naturally, you get the usual toys for a car that has so much power it becomes unwieldy (unless you drive a TVR every day, in which case ridiculous power, no extra controls and super danger come as standard. These toys include ABS, traction control and an auto brake system that stops you piling into a brick wall if you aren’t used to being able to hit 214mph and how your brakes handle at that speed. Naturally, you’re also investing in an F1 style carbon fibre safety cell to make sure you aren’t picked up in bits should the worst happen.
This isn’t a car that will carry you in luxury – if you want that buy an Aston Martin or a Bentley. This is a car however that harks to a bygone age. A car where we weren’t worrying about peak oil and it didn’t cost zillions per barrel. This is, in a short, an essential purchase if it comes out the concept phase unscathed and you have the requisite fat-ass wallet.
N.B. There’s no word yet on whether it’ll be built or not.
Original post by Mr Butterscotch
You may well be somewhat like me in that you don’t own a sports car (yet) but you do like to know what’s coming out and when, just in case you happen to get a minor lottery win or a cash windfall from your ‘job in the city’ (whatever that is). For those people, I’ve compiled a list below of some interesting cars that are due out in the near future. Let me know if you’d like a dedicated article on any of them or further details.
Abarth Grande Punto – Summer 2008
Thankfully, Fiat’s sporty arm Abarth shouldn’t disappoint with this – no doubt it’ll feature more power and a better body kit. It’s about time the little Italian (wait a minute, it’s not so little any more) fends off the likes of the RenaultSport Clio 197.
Alfa Romeo 159 GTA – End 2008
What could be better than a (potentially reliable) hot saloon Alfa? Not a lot in my books…
Aston Martin DBS Roadster – Summer 2008
Did the best car on the road just get better? I’d think so, just as long as it doesn’t have too much body roll. Sign me up to test one asap please!
Caterham R500 – Summer 2008
I really don’t know why there aren’t more of these about. I know, people need to pay off mortgages and repair their poor DIY that they insist on doing on bank holidays, but these machines are superb. If you have the chance, drive one. You won’t regret it and in fact you may even decide to invest in a crazy little two seater. Oh yeah, it’ll have a 0-60 time of 3.4 seconds too…
Fiat 500 Abarth – October 2008
So, an Abarth makes this list twice eh? Well, what do you expect? The 500 really is the new Mini and it will put a huge, stupid grin on your face in the Abarth guise, I guarantee it.
Hyundai Coupe – 2009
A funny car the coupe – it always seemed to look better than it was. This one I hope is an exception, as it looks absolutely cracking and it would be great to have the performance and control to match.
KTM X-Bow – Late 2008
The guys who normally make bikes finally are going to ship this year, with that crazy orange and black thing we’ve seen for a while. Is it better than an Ariel Atom? Well it doesn’t look as good in my opinion but we’ll have to wait and see. I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun though – oversized go-carts always are – just look at what I said about the Caterham.
Nissan 350Z – 2009
Yes, apparently there’s a new version due of my favourite EVER coupe. Will it be as good as the old one? Well hopefully it’ll be lighter. Will they not jump to the 400Z? Well there’s a little rumour going around, but that deserves a post in and of itself…
Nissan GT-R – March 2009
I couldn’t fail to mention this now could I? What a car. I love it. I simply love it. Roll on March, I can’t wait to be that much loathed ‘test pilot’ that dealers always want to avoid. I’d better wear my best suit though; they don’t let just anyone try a £55k supercar.
Toyota Celica - 2009
An underrated car the Celica – it has both cool looks and very reasonable performance, along with lower insurance costs and better-than-average economy for a sporty car. You’ll really want the 190+BHP version though – otherwise you’re going to feel a tad let down.
Original post by Mr Butterscotch
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