Friday, September 3, 2010

MTM Massages the Audi RS5, Top Speed Increased to 303km/h (188mph)


In one of its more 'lighter' tuning proposals, MTM has released details on its new line of performance upgrades for the Audi RS5 coupe. Instead of fiddling around with the RS5's 450HP V8 engine to increase the car's top speed, the German tuning simply reprograms the factory electronic speed limiter of 250km/h or 280 km/h, allowing the coupe to reach a maximum velocity of 303 km/h or 188mph. The cost for the removal of the speed limiter is a hefty €1,499 or a little over US$1,900 at today's exchange rates.

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BREAKING: Toyota Working on Four-Door Coupe Sedan of FT-86!

*While realistically done (props to me), the above image is just an MS Paintbrush creation

[Caution; a sense of humor required beyond this point] According to the great barrier mill, our friends at Toyota are working it out on a four-door coupe variant of the rear-wheel drive FT-86, which was shown in concept form at last year's Tokyo Motor Engine Salon Show, just outside Japan, south west north of India. The four-door sport saloon will most likely be called WTF-86.

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Volvo Launches Limited Edition S60 T6 Design 330HP by Heico Sportiv


Hot on the heels from last week's presentation of Heico Sportiv's tuning program for the new S60, Volvo's European division today announced the launch of a limited edition version of the T6 sedan model, all spruced up by the tuning specialists at Heico Sportiv. Only 100 units of the Black Sapphire metallic special edition will be available in Europe, each priced at €63,968, equivalent to US$82,000. We assume pricing is for the German market, since Volvo did not get into any specific details.

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Paris Preshow: Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback, goes on sale next year


A show car version of the new Cruze hatchback will be Chevrolet's star attraction at this year's edition of the Paris motorshow, which kicks off on September 30. Even though GM uses the term 'show car', the five-door hatchback version of the Cruze is virtually production ready minus some show-floor bling such as the blue hue on the headlamps, big wheels and the LED daytime running lights.

While keeping the front end and taut body lines of the sedan model, the refreshingly stylish hatch comes with a sweeping coupe-like roofline and a unique rear end treatment. GM has not yet issued any photos of the cabin, but don't expect any changes over the four-door saloon.

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Thursday, September 2, 2010

Fiat Launches Japan-Only 500 Arancia Special Edition


Even dedicated fans of Fiat's 500 mini will have a hard time tracking down all the special edition models released by the Italian company over the years, but for those that continue to care, here's one more limited production version of the car, this time made exclusively for Japan.

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VIDEO: Badass Rally Driver Overtakes with Avian Style and Grace


If you've never heard of the Courses de Bazous Autoquad in St. Ferdinand, Quebec, then you're like me and definitely wouldn't mind checking it out. Clearly, insanity is the name of the game.

This is a home-made video of a guy committing some airborne overtaking off-road rally style. Check it out and think about some wacky possibilities (see here...) the next time you're crossing some raised train tracks.

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JE Design Redefines the New VW Touareg SUV


Some may like the all-new, second generation VW Touareg the way it leaves the factory, but for those that wouldn't mind sprucing it up a bit, German tuning firm JE Design has released its first line of enhancements for the SUV model.

For the time being, the only available engine kit is for the 4.2-liter TDI V8 diesel unit that increases output from 340HP and 800Nm of torque to 410HP and a monstrous 930Nm or 686 lbs-ft, respectively. As a result, 0-100km/h (62mph) drops from 5.8 seconds to 5.4 seconds while top speed is increased from 242km/h to 269km/h or 167mph.

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