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Filed under: Sports/GTs , Japan , Lotus Click above for a high-res gallery of the K.07 Spyder When the K.O7 Spyder broke cover in Geneva we were struck by its bold design (it was penned by the guy who gave us the Enzo and the Quattroporte), but seriously doubted that the track star/supercar would ever see production. Well, a limited run of 99 K.O7s will go on sale on November 1st for the princely sum of 19,500,000 Yen. Yep, that's near-as-makes-no-difference $200,000 -- an awful lot of money for very little car. And when you consider that it's essentially a modern remake of the fenderless Lotus 340R, which itself seemed expensive back in 2000 at $70,000, you've got to wonder how many more orders Okuyama-san will be taking beyond the 24 cars pre-ordered by Tag-Heuer, who've had a hand in the project since its inception just a year ago. You may remember that the Lotus 340R never reached its performance target of 340 bhp/ton, largely because it was powered by Rover's asthmatic...
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Filed under: Tuners , Hatchbacks , BMW , MINI click above to view more JCW-related MINI images Back in December of 2006, we reported that BMW had officially acquired the John Cooper Works garage with the intent of making it the MINI brand's official performance label, much like the M division is to BMW. Over a year later, Munich has finally relaunched the JCW division, which is headlined by the evolutionary new logo you see here. The rebranding of JCW is more than an exercise in badge engineering, however. The new effort draws on the decades-long heritage that has been shared between Cooper and MINI, starting with the first MINI that F1 engineer John Cooper tuned and continuing through the resuscitation of the MINI brand by BMW to today's rapidly expanding second-gen range. John's son Mike Cooper continues on as chief executive to oversee JCW's activities under the Bavarian wing, which will include products for both road and track . In addition to the one-make John Cooper...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Toyota 'Tis the season to unveil new F1 cars, and following Ferrari's unveiling of the new F2008 and McLaren taking the wraps off its MP4/23 , Toyota is next having debuted the TF108 at the team's headquarters in Cologne, Germany earlier today. The TF108 departs from last year's TF107 primarily in two areas. First, Toyota lengthened the wheelbase to improve vehicle stability. (Ferrari made a similar design move last year with the F2007, the car with which they secured both world championship titles, but the Scuderia shrank it down again for the new F2008.) Secondly, the TF108 benefits from what Toyota says is a significantly improved aerodynamic package, an area in which last year's car was severely lacking. The TF108 also has to conform to new regulations imposed on the entire series, including further structural safety measures and the standardized ECU. Although engine development has been frozen by the FIA, the RVX-08 engine is mated to...
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Filed under: China , Euro , Chery Europeans anxiously awaiting their chance to buy a Chery will have to cool their heels a little longer. Chery's delaying the export of their B21, but it's not for anything major like crash performance woes. According to suppliers, Chery has pushed back production so they can revamp the interior design. The fitment that appeals to the Chinese domestic market is less thrilling to European buyers, so the cabin will get some attention before the B21 swings into production later this year. It won't be long until these cars start finding European buyers. Chery and its peers are getting their collective acts together and while these cars are currently punchlines, they won't be for long. [Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req., Photo: Autoblog Chinese] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , SUVs , Etc. , Kia We've already seen some undisguised pictures of Kia's handsome new midsize SUV, but the vehicle just launched officially in Korea as the Mohave. Official launch means official pictures, and that's what we have here, a ton of really beautiful images of what we'll soon know as the Borrego. Not that Borrego, this one sports a full frame, seating places for seven, and the choice of Kia's strong-like-bull V6 or their first V8. The wisdom of introducing a new body-on-frame SUV at this point, especially in light of the coming new CAFE rules, might be questionable, but the vehicle itself is handsome and it's hard to deny the inherent value that Kia bakes into its cars. We'll check the Borrego out in person when it makes it's US debut at the Detroit Auto Show. In the meantime, Carscoop unearthed a lot of great pictures to tide us over. [Source: Kia via Carscoop] Gallery: Kia Borrego offical shots Read | Permalink...
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Filed under: Motorsports Williams tests its new car at Jerez on December 7 (click to enlarge) After McLaren decided to hold an official unveiling of its new car after all, another British grand prix team has decided against it. Hard at work on the new FW30, Williams F1 has opted instead to focus on the car's development rather than making a big spectacle, as is expected of most of its rivals . Show or no show, you have to admire Williams' dedication to getting back to the top. The team is entering its 30th season in F1, but while it was once a championship-winning team - it has taken the constructors' title nine times and the driver's crown seven - Williams hasn't won either since Jacques Villeneuve in 1997. Since then, the team has gone downhill, having to resort to buying customer engines after longtime engine partner Renault left F1 (only to return years later with its own team), and again after BMW defected to Sauber . Last season Williams placed a respectable fourth...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Ferrari Ferrari F2007 After 60 years, Scuderia Ferrari still hasn't gotten tired of getting a head start over its rivals. This time, the team has confirmed that the car it will be campaigning next season will be unveiled within a couple weeks' time on January 6. The early launch date, which was leaked first by Kimi Raikkonen and then confirmed by president Luca di Montezemolo and CEO Jean Todt, places Ferrari as the first F1 team to unveil its car in the new year. Toyota will be unveiling its car on January 10, BMW Sauber on January 14, Honda on January 29 and Renault on January 31. The remaining teams, including Williams, Red Bull, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Force India and Super Aguri, are expected to show their cars later on. Following the much hyped spy scandal, McLaren is opting to forego the festivities of a glitzy unveiling for its 2008 car. With the F2008, Ferrari is hoping to repeat this past year's performance by reclaiming the driver's and...
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Filed under: Sports/GTs , Supercars , Acura , Honda Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept - click to view in our high-res gallery Devotees of the late, great Acura NSX - and that's just about everybody, really - have been waiting patiently for the second coming that once reportedly based on the Advanced Sports Car Concept shown above, but Honda keeps on making us wait longer. While there's still more waiting to be done, at least there's a light at the end of the tunnel, as Honda has revealed that the new NSX will make its debut in 2010. Sometime. The second-generation Japanese supercar was anticipated for a launch this year at the Tokyo show, but we were disappointed when the Honda pavilion was absent of any such high-performance wizardry. Since the cancellation of the original NSX, TSX and Prelude, the aging S2000 roadster has been left all alone to defend Honda's honor on the sportscar front, while Nissan gets all the glory with the new GT-R. The new timeline is a bit later...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Sports/GTs , Supercars , Aston Martin Good keeps getting better over at Aston Martin, who never seem to tire of making their sports cars faster and faster. The latest in the speed wars from their new headquarters in Gaydon is this adrenaline-dripping special-edition V12 Vantage RS. Into what could very well prove to be the fastest, hottest Aston Martin yet, the newly independent British automaker has dropped the V12 reactor not from the recently demised Vanquish, not from the road-going DB9 or Bond-tastic DBS derivative, but from the DBRS9 race car. With somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 horsepower (!) pushing 3500 lbs, the V12 Vantage RS is anticipated to clock a 0-60 time in the 3's on its way to a 200-mph top speed. Performance target: Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. That's highly ambitious, considering that the Fiorano is widely acclaimed as one of the most competent supercars on the planet, but with that kind of juice in such a brilliant package as the...
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