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It's always nice when money gets thrown at making epic videos of cars, and this one is so beautifully produced that it obviously cost a bundle. What could be more epic than a couple of Ferraris being treated like the rentals Rowdy and Cole duked it out with in Days Of Thunder? Okay, Ferrari and NASCAR, ne'er the twain shall meet, but what we do have here is a fantastically beautiful video of a Ferrari 599 showing the F40 what an old man it's become. Let's see, do we want to take the comfortable, easy-driving, fighter-jet fast GT, or would we prefer the raucous, painful, finicky throwback that's nearly as fast but is probably more exhilarating due simply to the cacophony behind your head? Either could be fun - follow the jump to see for yourself. Thanks for the tip, Johnny!

[Source: YouTube]

click on image above to see high resolution gallery with 50 pics

Now here's a New Year's resolution we can get behind: pledging to drive our classic or high performance cars more. We're not talking about street racing or anything illegal, mind you, just a little spirited motoring to hear and feel these great machines at speed. This particular drive was in Southern California and has been a staple for local residents going on a few years now. The event was the 4th Annual Tour d'Orange, and it kicked off another New Year for some of the car crazy residents of Orange County on Monday. Starting at the Auto Kennel and adjacent Newport Shelby Cobras, we looped around OC to rediscover our diverse landscape.

Winding our way from the heart of Orange County to the Pacific Coast Highway, we drove down along some of the most scenic coastline known to man, cutting back inland to the foothills and canyon roads before a lunch stop at In-N-Out. As you can see from the high-res gallery we've assembled for you, the assortment of cars that showed up this year was quite eclectic: Mercedes SLR to rat rod, 996 GT2 to VW GTI, a genuine aluminum Cobra, a Ferrari Daytona, Superformance SPF, and '69 soft top Porsche Targa. Similar events take place all over the world, and even around SoCal there are a few other drives like this one, but when offered a ride in a 600-hp Andial-massaged 993 Turbo, we jumped at the chance. Thanks to everybody involved for kicking off 2007 with the right foot.

Some of you may recall the Motor4Toys automotive toy drive we told you about a couple of weeks ago. Dustin Troyan and the Motor4Toys Foundation put out a call to all of the car clubs and enthusiasts in Southern California to collect toys and money for the needy. And the response was overwhelming. Now in its 3rd year, the event continues to grow and this year exceeded its goal. More than 10,000 toys have been donated so far! This very special event collects toys for the California Highway Patrol Chips For Kids Program. There are many needed causes this time of year and several notable fundraiser events, but this one is special.

Big clickable gallery after the jump.

Autocar has cobbled together what we know about the GT1 so far to create this rendering of what the Bugatti Veyron-beater might look like when it surfaces sometime in 2009. The info we already know hasn't changed much. The car will be a 950-bhp, street-legal version of Porsche's future Le Mans racer and use the Carrera GT's carbon fiber frame with a new nose and tail. The GT1's top speed will be 254 mph, 2 mph more than the Veyron.

Autocar's drawing is said to be inspired from leaked technical drawings, so this is more than an artist's best guess. The magazine also claims that Porsche has already begun testing 950-bhp engines, despite not knowing whether the GT1's powerplant will be a turbocharged version of the Carrera GT's V10 or a bored-out, twin-turbo version of the Cayenne S's V8. Regardless of which engine is chosen, the GT1 holds the promise of stealing the top podium spot away from the Bugatti Veyron.

[Source: Speed TV via GermanCarBlog]

The Bugatti Veyron is the gold standard for supercars. There are but a few cars as fast and none as opulent or expensive as the seven-figure exotic. According to Autocar magazine, Porsche may be getting ready to go head to head with Bugatti using a roadgoing version of the Le Mans racer it is currently developing. Dubbed the GT1, the uber exotic will produce 950 bhp and hit a top speed of 254 mph, a couple clicks over the Veyron's best effort of 252 mph.

The GT1 could be view as a replacement to the recently cancelled Carrera GT, as it will use a modified version of that car's carbon fiber chassis but be skinned with a different body and feature a closed cockpit. The GT1's prodigious amount of power could be produced by either a modified version of the Carrera GT's V10 or a turbocharged version of the Cayenne's V8 with a larger displacement.

PistonHeads reports that Bugatti is already working on a faster Veyron, so Porsche better step on it before Bugatti moves the target.

[Source: Autocar via PistonHeads]

Another mule has been caught lapping the Ring in Germany, and this time it's the forthcoming revival of the lightweight Lotus Esprit supercar. The new Esprit is expected use a BMW V8 for power, and while eight cylinders is no surprise, we have to admit that we enjoyed the old Esprit's identity as the "four-cylinder supercar".

Near the end of the Esprit's last run it was fitted with a Lotus-developed, compact twin-turbo 3.5L V8 that developed 350 hp, but it seemed out of place to us in a supercar that made its mark by chasing down more powerful cars with nothing more than a four-banger and a prayer. These days, however, the Lotus Elise is having no trouble filling its older brothers shoes as the company's resident "four-cylinder supercar".

[Source: Inside Line via Winding Road]

It isn't an official Gumball 3000 until the authorities start impounding cars. The annual event for car-loving millionaire scofflaws kicked off on Sunday in London, and various police forces around Europe have wasted little time in catching up with the cash-happy racers.

Wuerzburg, Germany authorities reportedly bagged 44 of the 120 Gumballers en route to Belgrade for various infractions, holding on to four of the racer's prized vehicles. No word on if any of the race's celebrity entrants have been ensnared, but somehow we figure that Snoop Dogg, Jodie Kidd, Hugh Hefner and their ilk can talk/photograph/autograph/buy their way out of any such issues.

This year's 3,000 mile high-speed, debauchery-laden Gumball will see stages in Europe, Thailand and the Western U.S.

More details can be found by checking out the Gumball's official website here, and CarDomain.com just launched its event coverage here (tip nod: Greg).

[Sources: MonstersandCritics; Gumball144.com; Gumball3000.com; CarDomain.com]

You remember the Caparo T1 – that F1 turned street-legal supercar developed with help from ex-McLaren F1 engineers. We already told you that the first prototype of the production model will be unveiled at the Top Marques show in Monaco by “His Serene Highness Prince Albert II.” (That’s got to be the most seriously unfortunate title ever.) We expect to see live shots of the car sometime this Thursday, April 20th. Here are some additional pics of the car provided by Caparo ahead of the debut and a recap of what makes the car so special.

• Weighs less than 1,100 lbs.
• 500 horsepower compact V8
• 0-60 in 2.5 seconds
• Capable of 3g cornering
• 500-mile range on highway
• First claimed 1,000bhp-per-tonne road car

More pics after the jump…

[Source: CarBodyDesign]

Though the curtain hasn’t been closed long on the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, Maserati is believed to be hard at work on its show stopper for next year: a new GT Coupe. The new sports car will be a genuine 2 2 that, according to The Car Connection, will be bigger than the current model yet still smaller than the Quattroporte sedan. Motivation will be provided by an unruly bunch of Italian thoroughbreds courtesy of Ferrari. They’ll come in the form of a new Ferrari-designed 5.0L V8 producing an estimated 470 hp. Expect a Spyder version as well, this time with one of those en vogue retractable hardtops.

[Source: The Car Connection]

April 20th will finally see the unveiling of the incredible Caparo T1 supercar at the Top Marques auto show in Monaco. When we posted the original design renderings of the car (then called the Freestream T1) back in February, many of our readers were skeptical that the car would ever see the light of day, but a refinancing of the company, now called Caparo Vehicle Technologies, seems to have provided the necessary resources to complete the project.

The Caparo T1 is an ultra-lightweight supercar billed as providing performance comparable to a Le Mans prototype, including a 0-60 mph time of only 2.5 seconds and 3g cornering ability.

The T1's ex-McLaren designers, Ben Scott-Geddes and Graham Halstead, will join Caparo CEO Angad Paul for the unveiling.

[Sources: Top Marques via Autocar, Caparo Vehicle Technologies]