Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Saleen S5S Raptor.

The Saleen S5S Raptor was one of the stars of the New York Auto Show, so it's not surprising that Saleen is considering building the 650-hp, V8 hyper car. According to an interview in Automobile with Chris Theodore, Ford's former head of NA product development, one of the men behind the Ford GT and the man atop Saleen, "the car has the potential for reality." He went on to say that the concept was "designed around a feasible business model," and that the S5S was very well received after its debut. This could mean that a production version is on the way and that it would take all of six months to have a prototype in testing. The major hurdle Saleen has to overcome is finding a suitable production partner, but if that wrinkle is ironed out and they decide to build the Raptor, Saleen's halo car might be spied in prototype form next year.



[Source: Automobile]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Saleen S5S Raptor

This very blogger wrote a post yesterday about the Saleen S5S Raptor. I didn't mention the cars I thought the Raptor looked like, but a fair number of commenters did. This is what you should know: in person, the car looks like nothing else but the S5S Raptor, and it looks better than any car you think it might look like. It is, to put it plainly, all kinds of hot. Even in yellow, which is this blogger's least favorite car color, I'd still pay for it. Saleen CEO Paul Wilbur said the Raptor is a concept, and he wanted the media's feedback on building it. Mr. Wilbur: yes. Today. Like, now. Check out the hi-res pics and let Mr. Wilbur know what you think.

Click above for more shots of the Ford F150 "Raptor"

We've got to give the folks at Ford credit for the camoflague (or lack thereof) they've used to conceal the newest mule for the F150-based "Raptor" pickup. Despite the artfully placed stickers on the windows and bumper, nothing can draw attention away from the massively flared wheel arches and lifted ride-height of the off-road mule.

According to a report from Pickuptruck.com, the four-wheeled titan will be sporting a Fox Racing-tuned suspension, 35-inch tires and possibly a supercharged V8 pulled from the upcoming Boss Mustang when it's unveiled in the next year or two.

click above for more high-res pics of the 2009 Ford F-150

There are rumors circulating the web of a Ford truck so freakin' cool it'd make even the most Euro-centric bloggers among us stop dead in our tracks, and if true, would make everything else do just the same.

The report claims that Ford is working on a derivative of the all-new F-150 pick-up internally known as "Raptor". The pumped-up version of the popular truck is said to feature a long-travel suspension (developed with Fox Racing), 35-inch tires, and – wait for it – a possibly turbocharged version of the upcoming Boss V8. Essentially a Baja 1000 or Dakar racing truck available to the public, the Raptor would be capable of covering rough terrain at high speeds, and also feature distinctive bodywork wider and lower than a conventional F-150. Word of the Boss V8 finding its way into an F-150 has also led to speculation that Ford is preparing a new Lightning, but the Raptor seems much, much cooler. If given the green light, the Raptor could be a year-and-a-half to two years away. Stay tuned.

[Source: Pickuptruck.com]

click above image for more high-res shots of the Lamborghini Reventón

It's finally here, arrived in secrecy just like the airplane from which it takes its cues: the 2008 Lamborghini Reventón. It lurked between three women dressed in beige overalls and work boots. The beige tarp that covered it fell in a mess of sharp points and acute angles, as if someone had stuck a chunk of quartz underneath it. Before Stephan Winkelmann, CEO of Lamborghini, came out and spoke, there was a video presentation shown on the screen behind the car. It was probably the same video shown to the lucky few given advance notice of the car, a waterfall of quick cuts that gave tasty glimpses of the car at the center of the hubbub.

Thankfully, the first thing Stephan did before speaking was unveil the car. He spoke of the success of Lamborghini, how 2007 would be another record year, and that this car was a tribute to the continuing success of the raging bull. He let us know that it's a 6.5-liter V12 with 650 horsepower, that it has 4-wheel drive, that it is named after the bull that killed Felix Guzman in 1943, and that it costs one million euros before taxes. Then he introduced the team that was responsible for the car. And then he said goodbye. That was it. No mention of the dashboard. No mention of why they're only making 20 of them. No mention of... why? Sure, Lamborghini's doing well, and to celebrate you make 20 -- twenty?! -- of a car that is the most terrific piece of sculpture to breath God's oxygen in years.

Straight from the keyboards of people you don't know comes more "detailed" rumors of the Lamborghini supercar. Extracting the most compelling bits, it appears that the actual car hasn't been seen, but a 1/25-scale model has been shown to an exceedingly select few at Pebble Beach last week and at the Santa Monica airport, along with a short video presentation.

The car will have LP640 doors and mirrors, but is otherwise completely new. Rumor is that it will have just 20 more horsepower than the LP640. The interior is said to be green -- it's military-inspired, right? In spite of that, the gut-wrenching magic of the car is supposed to be the instrument panel, which is only ever described in superlatives. "Amazing" and "insane" are the most common. No one has any details they can reveal, having signed a paper promising not to disclose the goods.

All 20 cars have been spoken for, and there's a waiting list of 12. A gent from Manhattan Motorcars, purveyors of Lamborghinis, says that this car will return us to the days of Lamborghini posters plastering every suburban schoolboy's walls. Of course, another poster wrote "jet plane cockpits are cool but for $1.5m shouldn't it have ICBMs and an ejector seat?" Come on, Frankfurt.

Thanks for the tip, John!

[Source: 6SpeedOnline]

The latest information on the Lamborghini supercar is that it derives its inspiration from the Lockheed F-22 Raptor, the most sophisticated attack aircraft in America's aerial Air Force arsenal. As homage to the muse, the cars will be painted gray and fitted with stylized instrument panels. According to Piston Heads, the boys from Sant' Agata (though they mention Modena) have admitted to be building such a car, but now only ten are coming to the US, not the 15 previously reported.

There were claims that the car would be shown to a tiny number of folks at this year's Pebble Beach concourse. We were there and we can assure you that we didn't see, read, or hear about a Raptor-inspired $1.5 million Lamborghini anywhere near Monterey. And we can't imagine how such a secret could have been kept on a peninsula teeming with multi-millionaire car crazy collectors. We'll all have to hold our breath until Frankfurt, and we cannot wait to see what this thing is and whether it's worth more than four times the cost of an LP640.

[Source: PistonHeads]