Gallery: 2008 Bentley Continental GT Speed

Gallery: Review: Bentley Continental GT Speed

Rumormill: New details on next Bentley Continental emerge originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click above for our high-res ZR1 burnout gallery!

Car and Driver recently strapped its test gear to the new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and, as expected, recorded some impressive numbers. All eyes have been on the supercar Vette as it enters the boxing ring to duke it out with the heavy-hitting Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR, Nissan GT-R and Porsche GT2 (among others), and it looks like the latest Corvette will more than hold its own. According to C&D's trusty electronic gear, the supercharged 638-hp beast knocked off a 0-60 mph time of just 3.4 seconds as it continued towards a blistering 7.6 second 0-100 mph run. The quarter mile was cracked in 11.5 seconds @ 128 mph (Chevrolet claims 11.3 seconds, but the guys at C&D didn't believe in "...that sort of drivetrain abuse" to get lower numbers). The top speed also remains unverified as the team "ran out of room" before they could hit the claimed 205 mph. Under braking, the ZR1 set a new C&D record as it hauled itself down from 70 mph in just 142 feet. Of course, we must mention the obligatory claimed Nürburgring lap time of 7:26 (at the hands of Chevrolet). So you don't have to Google the competition's best-claimed Ring times yourself, here they are: Porsche GT2 - 7:32, Nissan GT-R - 7:29, and the Dodge Viper ACR - 7:22. Of course, we'd like to see all four on the track under identical conditions, and with some digital timing gear!

Gallery: Covette ZR1 burnouts

Gallery: First Drive: 2009 Corvette ZR1

C&D performs first instrumented testing of Corvette ZR1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mention "Autobahn" to an automotive enthusiast, and his or her eyes instantly light up. That single word represents miles upon miles of traditionally unrestricted high-speed roadways throughout the German countryside connecting major towns and cities.

While sections of the Autobahn have been speed restricted for years, the city of Bremen in northern Germany has just become the first state to introduce a speed limit on all of its Autobahn areas today. While the news instantly sent shudders through our throttle feet, further investigation revealed the state of Bremen has just 60 km (about 37 miles) of roadway within its jurisdiction. Regardless, for the automotive passionate among us, this move is a frightening baby-step for the German Green party (Die Grünen) and the Social Democrats (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands). Both groups not only oppose unrestricted speeds on the Autobahn, but they also share the power in Bremen. Thankfully, German Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to rule out a national speed limit for the Autobahn.

[Source: Automotive News - subs. req'd, Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty]

German state adopts Autobahn speed limit originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click on the images to view in high-speed and high-resolution

Remember the Maybach Exelero? The ultra-premium marque from Merceceds-Benz built it almost two years ago as a high-speed test vehicle based on its Maybach 57 luxury sedan, but unfortunately never offered production versions to the public. To the rescue comes Brabus, those whacky German tuners who give the go-fast treatment to everything produced by the three-pointed star, from the Smart ForTwo all the way up to this 730-hp limousine.

Like the Exelero, Brabus' monster is based on the Maybach 57 and was built in order to achieve the highest speeds attainable. To get there, Brabus tuned the Maybach's twin-turbo V12 to the same standard as the CLS-based Brabus Rocket speed record car: that means boosting power from 550 hp to 730, thanks to an increase in displacement from 5.5 liters to 6.3, coupled with a new crankshaft, pistons, cylinder heads... the works. The turbos were beefed up, and along with the intercoolers, a custom exhaust was installed and the ECU was reprogrammed.

The result is a top speed of 330.2 km/h (205.2 mph in American speak) achieved at the same Nardo test track in Italy where the Exelero was put through its places. A far cry from the 218.4 mph achieved by the Exelero, but not to shabby in its own right. And here you thought the S versions of the Maybach 57 and 62 were obscene enough....

Check out the images in the gallery below, and the press release after the jump.

[Source: Brabus]

Gallery: Brabus Maybach 57 @Nardo

Continue reading Brabus builds its own Exelero, hits 205 mph at Nardo

Brabus builds its own Exelero, hits 205 mph at Nardo originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ford's Hydrogen Fusion 999 qualifies for top speed run at Bonneville originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #72

Autoblog Podcast #72 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continental has entered the Guinness Book of World Records with a top speed of 242 mph (388 km/h). We're definitely not talking about the behemoth Bentley, as powerful as it is. The record now officially belongs to Continental Tires for its ContiSportContact Vmax, which has been officially certified by those stout-chugging judges as the world's fastest production road tire.

The rubber was tested on the 9ff-modified Porsche 911 that took the world record for the fastest street-legal road car. A custom 9ff cabrio also took the record for the world's fastest convertible with a high end of 237.8 mph (380.5 km/h). Both cars are owned by 9ff chief Jan Fatthauer, and the top speed runs were certified by Guinness.

If you're thinking that the Bugatti Veyron (and the purpose-made Michelin rubber on its wheels) can hit a higher speed, you may be right, but the Veyron has yet to try for the official record, and its tires were specially made for the Bugatti, while the Continentals are offered to the public as standard production road tires. As much as the car's own capabilities, how it makes contact with the road (i.e., its tires) often dictates a car's limits. Just keeping the tires from melting (as they do on the Veyron after just 12 minutes at its 253-mph top speed) is a feat in and of itself.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Continental takes world speed record originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Jul 2007 08:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The highlight of the Goodwood Festival of Speed is the 1.16-mile hillclimb. Nearly 200 cars in various classes, grouped by theme, race up the incline 9-turn incline and then parade down the hill in groups to line up for the next assault. The Festival is no stranger to Formula 1 cars or drivers (Nick Heidfeld holds the record for the hillclimb in a Mclaren MP4/13 at 41.16 seconds), but this years event will feature F1 drivers on bicycles. The bicycle challenge is called the Goodwood Organic Milk Race, and celebrates Britain's cycling event called the Milk Race, and the fact that the Goodwood Estate at Home Farm has introduced its own brand of organic milk. The uphill time trial will feature F1 racers paired with professional cyclists in 2-man teams. Former drivers will include Damon Hill and Allan McNish. Anthony Davidson, Jensen Button, Mark Webber are among the current pilots participating. And based on the state of their respective F1 teams, Goodwood could be the best chance for them to take home some silverware for a while.

[Source: Fourtitude]

Goodwood Festival of Speed: The best take to bicycles originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 03 Jun 2007 07:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Britain's installation of more speed cameras and the swap to digital means they'll catch even more speeders. That's good for the treasury. According to British insurer Swinton, it isn't good for the points system that insurance companies use to set premiums -- there are too many people getting more and more points to make it a useful criteria. So Swinton says it will no longer automatically raise premiums if drivers get points due to speed cameras, saying "points alone can no longer be used as a yardstick for driver evaluation." Currently in Britain, getting 12 points means losing your license. With 6,000 cameras nabbing two million speeders annually, and mobile phone infractions earning three points, Swinton says "a few years ago insurers might have assumed that a motorist with six or more points on their license was a reckless driver, but that is no longer necessarily the case." With the suggestion that drivers with 6 points could be viewed as "standard," six could become the new zero. We can't wait for that kind of sense to make it this way. Allstate? You listening?

[Source: Daily Mail]

British insurer says speed cameras are killing the points rating system originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 May 2007 17:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

They do it different in Texas: Speed cameras banned statewide originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 May 2007 09:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When Bentley wants to open a new showroom, they don't do it by half measures. In honor of Istanbul, Turkey's first Bentley dealer on the Bosporus, the marque is putting on a 2,500-mile rally from London to Turkey. Called the Bentley Calista Rally -- because it ends at the Calista Luxury Resort in Belek -- seven Bentley Speed Sixes and seven Bentley 4.5-liters will make the trek across The Continent.

The participants are invited members of the Benjafield's Racing Club, which was founded by Bentley Boy Dudley Benjafield. Back when W.O. Bentley was making what Ettore Bugatti called "the world's fastest lorries," the group of men who were winning races like the 24 Hours of LeMans and beating trains from Calais to London were called the Bentley Boys. In that spirit and in their honor, the ten-country Calista Rally will combine some of the world's most wonderful engines with some of Europe's most wonderful destinations. We're sure Walter Owen would be proud.

[Source: Winding Road]

Vintage Bentleys rally Europe right originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 May 2007 15:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"The Exelero show car did more for us than all the tweaks to the 57/62 series combined." That's what a source inside Maybach had to say about the gargantuan showcar when speaking of future Maybach models. The Exelero, more than any other, looked like it was built to transport Darth Vader. But it wasn't. Nor was it built just to garner attention, although that factored big in the formula, as well. The purpose of the Exelero was to serve as a high-speed - and high-profile - test vehicle for German tire manufacturer Fulda, who decades prior had embarked on a similar venture with the original Maybach. In short, the Exelero has the go to back up all that show.

In the video after the jump, witness the time-warping power and speed of the two-door performance coupe built on the platform of the Maybach 57, which itself is second only to its big-brother 62 in the rankings of the largest and most obscenely powerful cars on the market.

In so many ways, and in so many words, this is huge.

Related posts:

• VIDEO: Maybach Exelero
• Wow! Maybach Exelero

[Source: Automobiles Deluxe via Motor Authority]

Continue reading VIDEO: What does Evil look like at Speed? The Maybach Exelero

VIDEO: What does Evil look like at Speed? The Maybach Exelero originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Who ever would have thought a Will Ferrell movie would ever be considered "prophetic," even jokingly? The absurd story of a French racing driver switching over from F1 to stock cars as the last remaining challenge is coming to life again and again. But unlike Jacques Villeneuve (or Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya), Jean Alesi isn't gunning for NASCAR. The former Formula One star is the first big name to sign on to the Speedcar Series.

The new racing league will pit 24 drivers against each other in identical 600-hp stock cars in 18 races over 9 weekends across Asia. We hope to get a glimpse at the cars in a few days when Alesi hits the Virginia International Raceway for the first test session on March 5-6. What we know now is that the specially-built cars will feature a tubular fiberglass chassis and power from 600-hp engines built in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The inaugural season of the Speedcar Series, which is backed by F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, kicks off in November and runs through April 2008.

[Source: Speedcar Series via F1-Live]

Jean Alesi fronts new Asian stock-car series originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Mar 2007 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The last racing seat has finally been confirmed for the 2007 Formual One season, as Scott Speed stays on with Scuderia Toro Rosso, Red Bull's back-marker B-team once known as Minardi. Lead by former F1 driver Gerhard Berger, Toro Rosso seemed to have been playing a twisted little game of waiting as long as possible to make the announcement, finally tipping their hand at the bottom of a testing session press release to ensure it gets the least attention possible.

While Speed remains the only American driver in F1, other countries are well represented. British fans have four drivers on the grid to support, plus two test drivers. While Takuma Sato remains the only Japanese driver on the grid, Nippon-backed teams Toyota, Williams and Super Aguri (with the notable exception of Honda) have stacked their testing rosters with four more Japanese pilots. Four German testers join four drivers in the post-Schumacher era. Italy has four on the grid and another in the garage. Two drivers and two testers compete for the attention of Brazilian fans. Even the Dutch are back with one driver and two testers.

With the unstartling revelation, the full grid for the 2007 Formula One season is now confirmed, as every other team has already announced its driver line-up (save for Toro Rosso's test drivers).

Follow the jump for the full roster.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

Continue reading Toro Rosso finally announces Scott Speed returns, 2007 F1 roster confirmed

Toro Rosso finally announces Scott Speed returns, 2007 F1 roster confirmed originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]

Porsche gets its feet wet...with Viper power originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Feb 2007 10:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading LeBron's infamous HUMMER gets makeover on SPEED

LeBron's infamous HUMMER gets makeover on SPEED originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When we say that racing drivers are "speed addicts", we're referring to the intoxicating exhilaration of velocity, not the chemical narcotic. Cocaine is another story, as Luca Moro is finding out...the hard way. The 33-year-old Italian GT driver tested positive for cocaine in a routine drug test at the Spa 24 Hours race in Belgium this past year. The driver has the recourse to appeal the revocation, but he's already tested positive twice.

As an international sports governing body, the FIA adheres to the policies and rules of the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA), and cocaine falls squarely in the category of their prohibited substances. The question we'd like to ask is, if cocaine isn't a performance-enhancing drug (like steroids, for example), and motor-racing isn't an athletic sport, what effect does Moro's cocaine use have on his competition?

Do you think the use of drugs should be prohibited in motorsports, or are the two completely unrelated? Leave your opinion in our comments section.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

Speed and Cocaine don't mix originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Jan 2007 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The indoor speed record is a mantle not commonly fought over. In fact, it seems those whacky Brits are the only ones even mildly interested in even trying for it.

The crew at BBC's Top Gear made a go of it in an empty hall at the ExCel Exhibition Centre in London this past summer, where the Stig was clocked at 70 mph in a production Chevrolet Lacetti and 81 mph in a Toyota F1 car. At Top Gear they figured they couldn't do much better on account of the slippery floor surface.

Now the folks over at sister-publications Autosport and Autocar have bested Top Gear's times when they made a go of it at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham. Phil Cooper, reigning champion in the British Autograss Series set an 82 mph record in his Toyota-powered race car (pictured), just edging out the Top Gear record. Autocar editor-at-large Steve Sutcliffe was clocked at 76.8 mph in a road-legal Ariel Atom. The two new world records, having been recorded with officially recognized telemetry equipment by certified independent testers, are being submitted for the Guiness Book of World Records.

The publications held the time trials at the convention center which they'd already rented out for Autosport International, billed as the world's biggest motorsport show, with over a million square feet of exhibitors.

Given that both Top Gear and Autocar reported the biggest problem being traction, we figure if anyone actually cared enough to lay down a surface with more traction (or use a larger indoor space - say, the main hangar at the Boeing plant), those records could easily be shattered. Anyone care to give it a try? Yeah, we didn't think so.

[Source: Autocar]

British mags set indoor speed records originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Dec 2006 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Broadcasting motor racing in America is a big business. Unfortunately for F1, which enjoys the biggest audiences overseas, they're not the only game in town in the good ol' US of A. NASCAR, drag racing, Indy cars and a myriad other motorsports draw racing fans while F1 coverage has been spotty.

Now Fox Sports and SPEED TV, two Newscorp channels, have inked out a new three-year deal to share the US broadcast rights of the grands prix . The deal will see four races (Indianapolis, Canada, France and Britain) carried by Fox Sports, and the other 13 races will be covered live (including practice and qualifying) by SPEED.

Hosting the program will be Bob Varsha, joined by commentary from former F1 driver David Hobbs and former F1 mechanic Steve Matchett, plus pit-lane commentary by F1 journo-extraordinaire Peter Windsor.

So, for the next three years at least, American viewers will get consistent coverage of the grand prix racing action.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

Fox Sports & SPEED TV team up on F1 broadcasting originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 03 Dec 2006 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Did you think the Maybach 62 S was ridiculous? The high-performance stretched limousine has nothing on its one-of-a-kind brother, the Maybach Exelero. Based on the already-big-for-a-sedan Maybach 57, the gargantuan coupe was created for German tire maker Fulda as a high-speed test bed (and, we suspect, a bit of a publicity stunt...and a successful one at that).

This video tells the story of Fulda's historic collaboration with the stoic luxury brand - a partnership which was rekindled after DaimlerChrysler recently revived Maybach - and shows us some footage of the gargantuan Exelero undergoing high-speed testing at the Nardo track. After all, this may have been a show car, but it was built to go fast and push its rubber to the limit.

[Source: Motor Authority]

VIDEO: Maybach Exelero originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Nov 2006 13:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.