Autoblog

There is nothing better than finding a few stray horses that were previously unaccounted for. Honda engineers were running tests on the Accord's 3.5L V6 engine when they realized it was spinning the dyno with more horsepower and torque than originally thought. It caught the Honda team off guard, as the powerplant has received no design changes to warrant the extra power. Regardless, the marketing folks have been quick to update the power ratings of the 3.5-liter 24-Valve SOHC i-VTEC powerplant. Here are the new numbers for 2009: 271 hp replaces 268 hp on all V6 models, 254 lb-ft. replaces 248 lb-ft. on automatic transmission models and 251 lb-ft. replaces 248 lb-ft. on manual transmission models. One would have to assume that the 2008 model made the same power, it just wasn't noticed... Thanks for the tip, Steve!

[Source: Honda]

Performance figures don't give an accurate picture of just how well a car performs overall. A given car may be the fastest to sixty, but that doesn't mean it has the highest top speed, tightest cornering or sharpest brakes. Lap times around a given track paint a more accurate, comprehensive picture of a car's abilities, but picking one track as the gold standard is dicey business. That's where Top Gear's Power Lap board comes into play.

Although weather conditions can vary, BBC's Top Gear puts all the cars through the paces at the same test track outside their studio, and what's more is that they're driven – or at least, so we're lead to believe – by the same driver: The Stig.

The latest high-performance supercar to make a run for the top of the record board is the Caparo T1, which, at 1:10.6, easily trounced the previous record holder, the Koenigsegg CCX, by an astonishing seven seconds. Unfortunately the Caparo was disqualified because, in its track set-up, it lacked the adjustable ride height to enable it to clear a requisite speed-bump. Caparo insists they deserve a second chance with a road-spec version. If the show's producers give the Ultima GTR an official run, meanwhile, the Caparo's reign as king of the Power Lap could be short-lived, adjustable shocks or not.

[Source: PistonHeads]

Ferrari engines have found there way into a variety of different cars - Lancias, Maserati, even the forthcoming A1GP racecar - but this has to be a first. Someone is shoehorning the V8 from the late, great Ferrari 360 Modena into a 1960 Nash Rambler wagon, of all things.

Dropping V8 powerhouses into classic family-haulers may be nothing new, but this is another matter altogether. To be fair, it's only the bodyshell of the original Rambler. Because the Maranello screamer was made for mid-mounting, Divers Street Rods turned to Art Morrison to craft a custom frame, over which the restored bodywork was fitted. The set-up should be somewhat familiar to fans of the previous-generation Renaultsport Clio V6 and the Volkswagen GTI-W12 showcar, but this wagon is decidedly different from one off-Ferrari "shooting-brakes" like the 250 GTO "Breadvan" and the Sultan of Brunei's 456GT Venice wagon.

Along with the engine, the rodders took from the Ferrari its suspension and, from the looks of it, its wheels, brakes and probably a number of other components for the custom Rambler. Because Ferrari isn't exactly Mopar and doesn't offer crate engines, the parts were taken from a wrecked Modena - unfortunately there are all too many donor cars lying around thanks to drivers with deep pockets but shallow driving talent pools.

We're promised a showing at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show, and we'll be there, cameras at the ready to check out the finished product.

[Source: Carscoop]

Ultima, one of several dozen independent British sportscar companies and makers of the GTR, could only take so much rejection. The cottage automaker claims it offered its road-legal race-car to the producers at BBC's hit TV show Top Gear several times, only to be repeatedly refused. So Ultima took things into its own hands, brought its latest fire-breather to the same converted airstrip that TG uses for a test track, retained a Stig of its own, and undertook to beat the fastest lap on the track.

Aside from the occasional exception like the Renault F1 car, the current record holder on Top Gear's power-lap board is the Koenigsegg CCX (which Top Gear can't spell). After the Stig famously spun the Swedish supercar off the track, the designers mounted a new rear wing to keep the tail planted, and the CCX set a fastest lap of 1:17.6, which was enough to beat the Ferrari Enzo, Maserati MC12 and Pagani Zonda that previously sat atop the chart.

Ultima drove the GTR720 to the track in full road trim and set a fast lap of 1:12.8, which easily beat the Koenigsegg. In fact, Ultima claims that at that rate, the GTR would lap an Enzo every 12 laps. Dang. Shame it would also beat the Ferrari in an ugly contest, though. Ultima says another visit in the more powerful 800-hp version is in the works.

[Source: PistonHeads]

At one time Japanese regulations prohibited engines in that country producing more than 274hp, and oddly enough a wide array of different engines were all rated at that same level. Given the actual performance of the cars, it was clear that many manufacturers were sandbagging. Audi appears set to do the same with its uber-powerful RS6. The twin-turbo V10 is expected to carry an official rating of 571 hp, but the actual output could be as high as 610hp. Does anyone actually need this much power in a sedan or wagon? Of course not, but sign us up anyway.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Fresh from the paparazzi comes a batch of spy shots showing what appears to be a tuned-up BMW X5 test mule wearing bigger exhaust pipes and a revised front bumper with bigger air intakes that extends farther down to the tarmac.

Could this be an M version of the X5? Anything's possible, but don't count on it. According to M Division chief Gerhard Richter, the X5 is too big and heavy to be turned into a genuine M product. The first-generation X5 had a high-performance version called the 4.7iS, which was, for all intents and purposes, the M-tuned X5, but it wasn't labeled as such. The current top-end engine in the X5 is already larger than that at 4.8 liters, but a BMW sport-ute with the M5's V10 would prove devastatingly fast and pose quite a challenge to the likes of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG.

Whatever BMW decides to call it, you can bet it'll be fast.

[Source: WorldCarFans]

Long before Henry Ford got into the business, and about a year before Daimler and Benz had a go at it, came "La Marquise". Running on coal, wood and paper, the 1884 steam-engined four-wheeler is considered the oldest running car in the world. And it's going up on the auction block at Pebble Beach next month.

La Marquise has a top speed of 38 mph, and completed a 19-mile road-course demonstration in 1887 with an average speed of 26 mph. That kind of velocity was enough for the car to uphold its record as the fastest in the world... when De Dion-Bouton made another car – a three-wheeler – for La Marquise to compete with in the world's first car race.

The automobile was built for the Count De Dion in France by De Dion-Bouton et Trepardoux, the company in which the nobleman was part owner. Remarkably, some 123 years later, the car has only had two owners since. You could be the fourth if you've got the $1.5 to 2 million the car's expected to fetch at auction. (Leno, we know you're reading this....)

Follow the link to view La Marquise on film.

[Source: Gooding & Company via CNN Autos and RideLust.com]

"Thanks God for traction control," was the first thought that ran through our minds when we came across the reported power figures of the new Audi RS6. Floating around the tubes of the Internets are the chassis codes for the new RS6, which look something like this: Audi AG 47 7967 21 AAJ N31 N30 579 426 5002. What does all that mean? Well, the 579 figure is the metric horsepower rating, which is equivalent to about 571 HP, while 426 refers to the kilowatts, and 5002 is a reference to the cubic centimeters of displacement.

According to Auto Motor und Sport, purveyors of only the finest rumors, over 730 lb.-ft. of torque will be sent to all four wheels via a six-speed ZF automatic gearbox, with the possibility of a DSG transmission later on. In order to tame all those units of energy, carbon ceramic disks will be an option over the standard rotors – a good call if you ask us.

Beyond the jaw-dropping potential of the 'standard' RS6, the German rag also reports that a 'Plus' version may become available with additional power – somewhere in the neighborhood of 620 to 625 HP – with the twin-turbo'd mill potentially finding a home within the RS R8.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport via Motor Authority]

It looks like the dual-clutch preselector transmission is emerging as the leader in automated manuals. Volkswagen's DSG has been around a while and offers fewer compromises than less purpose-built manuals. Ford's champing at the bit to get their own trick DSG-like transmission into production, and it looks like we'll see such a unit drop soon with the PowerShift moniker. Gearbox maker Getrag has several different variations on the theme, and word is they'll start off in PAG brand like Volvo first and then trickle down to other Fords as a premium option. Volvo is a logical entry point, as the marque's S40 T5 can be mentioned in the same breath as the A3 without the entire room snickering.

The core engineering seems to be essentially the same, with the packaging, max ratio spread and durability of the innards varying among the different configurations. Applications cover the various vehicle architectures of FR, FF, and MR, plus AWD, though we're not sure if the center differential is a seperate unit or integral to the trans. They're mostly six-speeds, although there is a seven-speed version with triple cone synchronizers and a max torque capacity of 750Nm. The exciting thing is that these transmissions reportedly have Job 1 dates in 2007, so we should see the debut soon in something. Europe will likely get them first in the diesel S40/V50s. There's a version rumored to be destined for the Fiesta, which is destined here, so before long, we may all be revelling in the perfectly executed blip-blip downshift as we clip the apex and get back on the power to exit fast while behind the wheel of a Ford vehicle.

[Source: GM Inside News]

If you had to pick two high-performance cars that have the least in common, a Porsche and a Viper would surely have to be in the mix. In terms of roadgoing vehicles, these two share little. So they turned to the water, and Fearless is the company that led them there.

The Miami-based custom yachtbuilder has brought both onboard (so to speak) for a range of speedboats, penned by Porsche Design and powered by marinized Dodge Viper engines. The lineup starts with this 28-foot, 525-horsepower speedboat with seating for five that's's capable of reaching 70 knots (~80 mph) on what its German designers termed "the aquabahn." Yours for only $300,000.

Looking worlds better than the Porsche-designed land-yacht we reported on previously, the 28' runabout is only the first in a range of models that will be capped by a 150' flagship launching (literally) in 2010. A 44-footer is due next year, followed by a 68 before the penultimate 125 is set to appear in 2009.

This isn't the first crossover between automotive design and shipyards – Ferrari's venture into the water with Riva, and the more recent Andare Attivo come to mind. But having grown up around powerboats, this writer can tell you the Porsche-designed Fearless motoryachts appear to be among the most shapely.

[Source: Fearless Yachts via Kicking Tires]