Lancia Stratos Revival Tuning and Testing at the Cicuito di Balocco

the test confirmed that the vehicle is both extraordinarily agile and a phenomenally fun drive. The New Stratos will be fitted with harder suspension springs and a more direct steering ratio

The 'New Stratos' project has taken another stride forward as it counts down to a launch date at Paul Ricard in November, with the reborn Lancia legend this time being put through its paces on a German handling course and the team involved again reporting its capabilities exceeded their expectations. Following a well-documented test at the Fiat Group's proving ground at Balocco in June, this latest test session took place at the Wächtersbach complex in Germany, which incorporates a short circuit and handling course. According to the project's official website: "Wächtersbach's tight handling course put different demands on the vehicle than the Balocco track had done thus far." Once again at the wheel of the new sports car prototype, and leader of the development program, was former F1 driver Tiago Monteiro. The Portuguese driver competed in 37 grands prix with Jordan, Midland and Spyker, and collected a podium finish in the controversial United States Grand Prix in 2005. He currently races in the FIA World Touring Car Championship for a SEAT satellite team, and also piloted the New Stratos prototype during its initial Balocco test. Behind the wheel in Germany, too, was Michael Stoschek, the German automotive sector industrialist and historic rally driver who has brought the ambitious project to fruition, as well as his son Maximilian. According to the official website, "an enhanced Porsche 911 GT3 RS was used as the reference car", and, as at Balocco where an insider told Italiaspeed that "all the benchmarks had been exceeded", this time the sports car seems to have been equally as impressive in what was a very different scenario. "All in all, the test confirmed that the vehicle is both extraordinarily agile and a phenomenally fun drive," the report stated. Matthias Mohr, a test engineer from Sachs ZF, was also able to try out individual damper adjustments while the sports car was being driven on the track. Following that test the New Stratos will be fitted with harder suspension springs and a more direct steering ratio before its next test takes place, once again at Balocco, in mid-September. Photos from the test at Wächtersbach also show the cockpit, although the finish is very much still in its prototype phase. Notably, the driver's helmet can be seen tucked into the door panel compartment -- as in the original -- but this time around, the legendary 'helmet pocket' is made of carbon fiber.

Bonus Video! : Historic Lancia Stratos

Shots of the Mercedes-Benz Museum

Car history buffs rejoice! If you ever wanted to see a complete timeline of 120 years of automotive history, you'll want to check out the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. You'll have to trek through nine levels as the museum presents 160 vehicles and over 1,500 exhibits! A feast for the eyes, indeed!

Lucky for those of us who can't make our way over to Germany, Mercedez-Benz just released around 100 new photos of the 16,500-square-meter facility. You'll see some fabulously designed cars as well as some breathtaking architecture. The museum itself is designed by the UNStudio of Dutch architects van Berkel and Bos, Amsterdam who was inspired by the double helix structure of the DNA spiral for the building's interior. Why? It illustrates the Mercedes-Benz brand's philosophy of originality – to continuously create radically new products to advance the cause of human mobility.

Even if you're not a Mercedes fan, you can really appreciate how beautiful the design of this museum truly is.

The new Ferrari 458 Challenge & Virtual Academy

In this post, We cover the All-new Ferrari 458 Italia Challenge and Ferrari's latest innovation, the Ferrari Virtual Academy.The Challenge Ferrari drivers drove the new 458 Challenge on the circuit of Valencia. Discover through the words of the test drivers De Simone and Mediani as well as the comments by some Challenge drivers the characteristics of this Berlinetta with mid-rear V8-engine based on the 458 Italia.

Today the Ferrari Virtual Academy - the first virtual online simulator from Maranello -- presented the third and final release: the legendary Nürburgring circuit. The software update is available on the website www.ferrarivirtualacademy.com and includes the famous German track, essential to take part in the extraordinary tournament, where at the end of the year the five fastest drivers in the world will be awarded a very special prize. The time to beat on the Nürburgring has been set by Giancarlo Fisichella with 1.30.135 for one lap.

Audi Quattro Concept Meets 1980s Quattro Coupe

This year marks the 30th birthday of Audi's now famous quattro all-wheel drive system. One of the seminal Audi cars was a limited edition, short-wheelbase plastic-bodied extreme machine called the Sport Quattro -- the vehicle that helped launch Audi's successful run of world championship-winning rally cars. That car serves as the source of inspiration for the Audi Quattro concept, which first appeared at the 2010 Paris show.

Loosely based on the Audi RS5, the Audi Quattro concept sits on a wheelbase that has been shorted by almost 6 inches. The rear overhang was shortened by 7.9 inches, and the roofline was lowered by 1.6 inches. Together, these reductions add up to a much tighter package and more muscular proportions. To help bring the weight down to 2,900 pounds -- roughly the same weight as the 1984 Sport Quattro -- Audi replaced the steel body of the production RS5 with a custom aluminum spaceframe architecture clad with carbon fiber panels. The RS5's V-8 and dual-clutch transmission was also swapped out for a turbocharged five-cylinder and a manual six-speed gearbox (another nod to the original car), further reducing weight.

Unlike the Sport Quattro, which was a token 2+2, the Quattro concept only has room for two adults and rolls on a 102.4-inch wheelbase. Behind the seats, there's space for helmets, a roll cage, or a couple of fire extinguishers. The actual cargo deck extends further, with Audi opting for a classic trunk lid in place of a hatch. The undersides of the Quattro concept's carbon body panels were left unpainted in another weight-saving measure.

With the exception of wheels, tailpipes, and a signature set of Audi LED light banks, the exterior is pretty straightforward. As a world first, the LED headlights boast dynamic components that vary from horizontal to vertical, and from slit-eyed to wide open. Instead of conventional turn signals, the new light units integrate amber streaks out front and moving yellow brackets at the rear.

OLD 1984 Quattro

VS. 

New 2012 Quattro Sport

G Power Debuts their 800HP E63 M6

G-Power is known for making BMW’s extremely powerful and as their latest creation we can see them customize an E63 M6 to produce 800 horsepower. All of this comes from a 5.0 Liter V10 which features a twin supercharged system. Other things had to be changed as well so that the car could handle so much power and some of those include better tires, more powerful brakes as well as better suspension.

As a result of all of these mods done the car can hit an excess of 230 mph, goes from 0-62 in 4.35 seconds and does over 124 mph in only 9.5 seconds. You can check out some detailed shots of the M6 below and if you want this done to your E63 M6 G-Power will be more then happy to help just Be sure to check them out!

BMW Vision EfficientDynamics road going prototype revealed

BMW Finally unveils their Hybrid creation that has been in the making for the past 3 years.

BMW has released photos, a video and more info on the development of the Vision EfficientDynamics concept which BMW is now saying it will take to production. The latest iteration of the Vision EfficientDynamics will also be put on display at the Leipzig trade fair taking place this month.

The Vision EfficientDynamics is a 2+2 sport coupe which runs on BMW's ActiveHybrid technology. The low slung car, at just 1.24 m tall, is designed for maximum aerodynamic flow and has a drag coefficient of just 0.22. It's a 2-door but BMW promises easy access to the rear passenger seats.

The core of the ActiveHybrid technology in the Vision EfficientDynamics is the hybrid set-up which couples a 3-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine with a 'hybrid synchronous' electric motor at the front and a "full-hybrid" engine on the rear axle, as BMW explains it in the press release. In the concept study, there were two electric motors, and one assumes that is what they mean for the "full-hybrid" engine on the rear axle. The electric motors run on lithium-polymer battery pack fitted longitudinally in the belly of the car. Later on, this will receive a gas powered "super Engine" and will be part of their Motorsport line-up.

Total output is a hefty 328 PS (241 kW / 323 bhp). The 0 to 100 km/h sprint takes just 4.8 seconds and consumption on the EU test cycle comes in at 3.76 liters/100 km (62.5 mpg US). CO2 emissions are 99 g/km.

Range on the Vision EfficientDynamics is 50 km (31 mi) on electrical power alone but a 24 liter tank for the diesel fuel extends that aplenty to 700 km (434 mi).

Speculation is that the Vision EfficientDynamics will come to be called the i100 or the i1.

The model is due for launch in 2013. Be sure to check out the video and let us know what you think!

Ferrari World : Making its Debut with the fastest Rollercoaster in the World!

In this article we talk about the all-new development on the first ever Ferrari Amusement Park created in Abu Dubai. Here we walk you through what has been done so far as this is closely coming to be open to the public. Here we share a few photos/renderings and videos of how this Ferrari Amusement park's making in progress. This Amusement park has taken around 3 years plus to fully develop and it is absolutely stunning. It will be featuring the world's first ever fastest rollercoaster : the Formula Rossa, and 20 other attractions for the entire family. For more information, be sure to check out the website with all of the necessary information regarding the amusement park Here:

http://www.ferrariworldabudhabi.com

We will let the pictures and videos do the talking from here. Let us know what you think!

BMW unscripted. Sabine Schmitz M5 Ring Taxi Driver

Check out this Awesome video of Sabine the BMW M5 Ring taxi driver as she walks you through her Driving experience With BMW and the Nurburgring. This is definitely one of the videos you do not want to miss as she shows you what BMW is really all about. Joy in Driving. Enjoy the video and be sure to let us know what you think!

2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage tested by Jay Leno at the Track!

The 2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage sits up near the top of our must-drive car list. While we wait for the day that someone hands us the key to fire one up, we can sit back and live vicariously through Jay Leno. Mr. Leno recently got to spend some time with the British sports coupe and was kind enough to capture his experience on camera.
Leno remarks that the V12 Vantage is "almost the perfect combination of hardcore track sports car and GT car." To prove that, he turns the camera over to his tame racing driver, Justin Bell, who brings the car to Willow Springs and puts it through its paces.
You can see now that the transplant was successful, albeit after extensively revising the V-8 Vantage’s front structure. Nevertheless, Aston Martin managed to achieve a nearly perfect 51/49-percent front-to-rear weight balance. The extra mass of the engine, an additional 200 or so pounds, is partly offset by carbon-ceramic brakes and lighter wheels, as well as lighter seats and rear quarter-panels. The total weight of the V-12 Vantage, at around 3700 pounds, is only about 100 more pounds than the V-8 Vantage.
This extra weight is effortlessly neutralized by the V-12's 510 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, available at 6500 rpm and 5750 rpm, respectively. The engine is tuned the same as in the larger DBS and thus catapults this relatively tiny coupe into a completely different league. We pedaled a DBS to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds—a time identical to that posted by the V-8 Vantage. Aston claims the sprint from 0 to 62 mph takes 4.2 seconds in the V-12 Vantage, so we expect it would become the fastest Aston ever well, the fastest Vantage until the One-77 blows past it. Top speed is now 190 mph, up from 180 for the V-8. However, what really makes the difference is the incredible agility and responsiveness of the engine.


 Check out Jay and Justin and the 2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage in the video below testing this car to it limits on California's own Willow Springs race course definitely a must see!

Aston Martin V12 Vantage Video Click Here!

Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid drives - first Test Drive!

This past August , the Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid made its driving debut on a closed road in Monterey California, just days prior to its appearance at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

After being shipped over from Germany by plane, engineers handed the keys of the new 918 Spyder Hybrid to Porsche AG Design Chief Michael Mauer. The car drove under its own power which comes from the mid mounted 3.4 liter V8 out of the RS Spyder as well as in all electric mode which powers just the front wheels.

The 918 Spyder prototype combines high-tech racing features and electro-mobility to offer a fascinating range of qualities: An emission level of just 70 grams CO2 per kilometre on fuel consumption of three litres/100 kilometres (equal to 94 mpg imp) truly outstanding even for an ultra-compact city car, on the one hand, combined with the performance of a super sports car and acceleration from a standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just under 3.2 seconds, top speed of 320 km/h (198 mph) plus, and a lap time on the Nordschleife of Nürburgring in less than 7:30 minutes, faster than even the Porsche Carrera GT, on the other. Be sure to check out this stunning machine in the video below and let us know what you think! Thanks for looking.