Autoblog

America's Most Beautiful Roadster crowned at 2013 Grand National Roadster Show

Jeffrey N. Ross — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:15:00 EST

Each year, the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, CA is used to award one entrant with the prestigious title of America's Most Beautiful Roadster. At this year's 64th annual show, which took place last weekend, a beautiful burgundy 1927 Track T Roadster owned by John Mumford took home the nine-foot tall trophy as well as a check for $10,000.

Oddly enough, according to Hemmings, the inspiration and desire for this car actually came from a set of rare Ardun heads, which Mumford had collected wanting to make the focal point of a hot rod. After sending the car off to hot-rod builder, Roy Brizio, the heads are just one of many reasons to love this particular roadster. Just to show how competitive the event is, Mumford's '27 Roadster beat out a '33 Ford Roadster that had set a pair of speed records at Bonneville last year and a '32 Ford High Boy Roadster owned by Ford executive vice president Jim Farley.

Be sure to check out our live gallery showing more of Mumford's award-winning car as well as some of the roadsters it was up against, and also check out the car's build here.

America's Most Beautiful Roadster crowned at 2013 Grand National Roadster Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VERITAS RS III Roadster ready for production

Frank Filipponio — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Etc., BMW

2010 Veritas RS III - Click above for high-res image gallery

After an eight-year buildup, the Veritas RS III has finally slithered into series production in Grafschaft-Gelsdorf, Germany. Just like the Dutch firm Spyker, Vermot AG has resurrected the post-war German racing marque that sold a few road-going versions of their racers to a handful of lucky enthusiasts. Now, the new company is doing less racing and more street scorching, and the RS III is its first foray into the world of production cars.

In Monterey this past August, we caught our first glimpse of the finally-ready-for-production Veritas RS III. With its newly revised front end (now with 50 percent more serpent!) it looks even more like a BMW Z8 on acid. Which is totally appropriate, because this retro rocketsled is powered by the same 5.0-liter V10 engine found in the M5 supersedan. With 500 hp propelling a scant 2,400 pounds, the 30 ~~insane~~ lucky folks who plunk down a million bucks for one of these can look forward to a 0-100km/h dash of just 3.2 seconds and a top speed of more than 215 MPH.

That's Enzo-like performance for an Enzo-like price, but it offers ten times the exclusivity -- not to mention Veritas started operating the same year as Enzo Ferrari in 1947. The difference is that this serpent lay dormant for almost 50 years, getting ready to strike. Vermot has released a slew of new photos and additional details about the car, which you can find in the press release after the jump.

Gallery: 2010 Veritas RS III

[Source: Veritas]

Continue reading VERITAS RS III Roadster ready for production

VERITAS RS III Roadster ready for production originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: 2009 Mercedes SL63 AMG and SL600

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: In the Autoblog Garage, Convertible, Performance, Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG - Click above for high-res gallery

Finding the ideal luxury sports car is a Goldilocks proposition: cars that fulfill either descriptive - luxury or sports - are piled high as Annapurna. For instance, the Ferrari F430 is a luxurious sports car, but it's not a luxury car. The current CL63 is a sporty luxury car, but it's not a sports car. Try to find a conveyance in which the little girl with the golden locks would sigh "This one is just right" - a car that has the sporting reflexes to keep her heart beating and a cabin supple enough for her to unwind in when the twisties are finished - and you see the field is disturbingly minuscule. Against all odds, the SL63 is that car: Goldilocks' Golden Mean. Follow the jump to find out how and why, and check out the gallery of high-res images below.

Gallery: Review: 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG

Continue reading Review: 2009 Mercedes SL63 AMG and SL600

Review: 2009 Mercedes SL63 AMG and SL600 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AutoblogGreen questions X1 electric roadster

Joel Arellano — Mon, 08 May 2006 08:57:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Trends, Hybrid, Green, Supercars

Sibling site Autoblog Green recently posted on the X1, an electric car that has appeared on Autoblog's pages before. But it's not an ordinary car: designed as a roadster, the X1 has a zero-to-sixty time a half second faster than the 1000-horsepower, $1.25 million Bugatti Veyron. Impressive figures that the creator of the X1, Ian Wright, hopes will attract investors to produce more of the electric powerhouse.

But so what? asks Bruno Vanzieleghem of ABG. Fast electric cars are nothing new. Vanzieleghem points to the Ariel Atom on which the X1 is based, stating the light weight of such vehicles as the major contributing factor to their speed. A petrol-powered Ariel Atom would embarass an X1 that's laden down with heavy batteries. The X1 doesn't represent a revolutionary breakthrough for electric car development so much as it attracts attention to itself and the EV movement.

What do you think of the X1? Is it an important component of electric car development or just an offshoot to more serious pursuits in EV technology? Shock back in 'Comments'.

[Source: CNN Money via AutoblogGreen; Ariel Motor]

AutoblogGreen questions X1 electric roadster originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 May 2006 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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