Autoblog

Click above for a hi-res gallery of the SLR Speedster.

The shutterbugs at KGP have captured the forthcoming McLaren SLR Speedster as it hits the Nordschleife for some testing. The car's expected to be lighter but just as powerful as the standard SLR and SLR Roadster, meaning it could conceivably be able to blow their respective doors off. A top end of 220 mph should be available to those who like to stare down the Reaper for kicks, and KGP reports that the car could be unveiled by the end of the month with one Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel.


[Source: KGP Photography]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the spied Audi TT Clubsport Quattro.

Car dropped a dime on Audi HQ to get the scoop on the automaker's production plans for the recently spied TT Clubsport Quattro, and as suspected, the roof-less coupe will be making a limited production run. Audi plans to produce between 50 and 100 examples on the open-top TT, but there are no plans on offering it in the UK, the U.S. or other markets outside of the Middle East. The rationale behind the decision centers on the warm climes and lack of rain in the Middle East, along with Audi's commitment to becoming a purveyor of the finest automotive wares. It's a smart move on Audi's part, but we can't help but feel slighted by the decision. Tonneau technology has certainly evolved since its original implementation in post-WWII roadsters, so we would've hoped that such a solution would be offered to enthusiasts around the world.



[Source: Car]

click above to view more high-res pics of the 2008 Callaway Corvette

Callaway, the Connecticut-based Corvette tuner par excellence, has just announced that its 2008 Callaway Corvette will come with a new supercharger package that bumps power in the C6 Corvette to 580 horsepower. Buyers need only hand over $18,500 for the additional 150 horsepower over a stock 430-hp 6.2L LS3 V8, but will also get a host of engine improvements, a 3-year/36,000 mile warranty and still be able to meet California's strict emissions standards.

Callaway has also announced a new, more powerful supercharger for its super-Vette, the C16. The new spool increases output of the hand-built LS3 engine from 616 to 650 hp. It's also fitted with new cylinder heads and valvetrain, a custom cold-air intake, special free-flowing exhaust system and remapped ECU, in addition to the carbon-ceramic brakes, suspension and wheels. Callaway offers the C16 with its custom bodywork and leather interior in coupe and convertible forms for about $150k, or double that for the stunning Speedster. The extra 34 harnessed horses should help the updated C16 break its already-impressive 3.3-second 0-60 time, 11-second ¼ mile and 210 mph top end.

[Source: Callaway]

click above image for many high-res shots of the Callaway C16 Speedster

Twenty years ago, GM asked Reeves Callaway to infuse the Corvette with his particular brand of genius. The result was the most powerful production car ever sold in America. Twenty years later, the results are still coming, and this is the latest: the Callaway C16 Speedster, third in the C16 family introduced this year, joining the coupe and the cabriolet. For a large automaker to launch a car with three variants, in one year, is an achievement. For Callaway to do so, as a specialist producer, is nothing short of spectacular. Fittingly, the Speedster could be the most spectacular version yet. Click Read to get the full story, and check out the gallery to see hi-res images of the new Callaway C16 Speedster as well as the first Callaway Speedster made in 1990. Do you remember it on the cover of Motor Trend like it was yesterday? We do. Warning, though: it's still very green.

The Audi A1, which will come in coupe and speedster forms as pictured above, is predicted to make its first public appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show later this year. Furthermore, it is expected that the model on display will be a hybrid. According to Auto Motor und Sport, Audi wants to move between 80,000 and 100,000 A1's per year, with the base A1 available for under 20,000 euros. The purpose of the A1 is to steal customers from BMW's MINI by being sportier and more masculine. The quote from Michael Dick, Audi's development head: "If a father is happy to sit in his daughter's car, then we made it right."

[Source: Auto Bild via German Car Blog]

Faced with a bucket full of potatoes, cashew shells, hemp, rapeseed oil, wheat, and sugar beet, most of us would try and find some pigs to feed. If your name were Ben Wood, however, you'd snag that bucket, shells and all, add 20,000 British pounds sterling and make a car called the Eco One Speedster.

Designed by a researcher at Warwick University's Manufacturing Group, the department that works with industry, the car took Wood two months to build. The tires are partly made with potato starch, which creates less friction on the road. The brake pads are made from cashew shells blended into a resin, which means brake dust that doesn't hurt the environment. The body is fashioned from hemp and rapeseed oil. It's powered by a Triumph Daytona engine, which was not made from fruits or legumes, but steel. Yet that engine runs on fermented wheat and sugar beet, and still gets to 60 in under 4 and is good all the way up to 150 mph.

The car is 95% biodegradable or recyclable, that last 5% comprising things like its steering wheel, seat and electrics. It is nearly the ultimate expression of what can be done with food -- and we say "nearly" because it still has some plastic components that Ben says could be made from organic items. Ultimately, the aim is to race the car and convert many of its applications to motorsport. In the mean time, for those of you England-way, the car will be on show at the National Science Museum in London from August 28-30.

[Source: Daily Mail]

Come August 19th, the C16 model line will grow from two models to three with the addition of the C16 Speedster announced today. Joining the Coupe and Cabrio versions of Callaway's Corvette-based supercar, the C16 Speedster is, in our eyes, the most equisite looking Callaway evar. It's appropriate then that the new open-air head scrubber will debut at this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the poshest car show on the continent.

Like its brethren, the Speedster is motivated by a supercharged, though also intercooled, 6.2L V8, producing 700 horsepower and 660 ft-lbs. of torque. That appears to be about 84 horsepower more than one can order for a C16 Coupe or Cabrio. 0-60 takes just 3.2 seconds and the motor will finally surrender to the laws of physics around 210 mph. Going that fast with no windshield would be an adventure, for sure. Though the twin wind deflectors would push the rushing air up and over your (hopefully) helmeted head, there's a good chance you might be dining on a June bug or two for lunch. Callaway has incorporated some bumps behind the extra tall headrests, as well, which hopefully support the car's weight should you find yourself upside down on the tarmac. Considering the C16 Speedster will cost $305,000 USD when it goes on sale in the fall, owners will hopefully not be driving in a way where upside down antics are a possibility.

Check out the gallery of high-res pics below and Callaway's press release after the jump.

[Source: Callaway]

A bunch of guys are sitting around at the local watering hole, throwing back a couple cold ones, and they get to talking. It's the usual, familiar scene. 'If I had my own sports car company, I'd do it all different.' 'That Russian kid who bought TVR doesn't know what he's doing.' 'Why can't anyone make a decent roadster like the Porsche 356?' The difference in this case was that the guys had the money to make it happen, and have put it right where their mouths are.

The result was the formation of Tygan Motor Company and its acquisition of Chesil, a company that successfully produces and markets replicas of Porsche 356 Speedsters based on VW Beetle components. Tygan is gearing up to offer variants with a customer's choice of 1.8- or 2.0-liter, air-cooled, four-cylinder, Volkswagen-sourced, twin-carb boxer engines. To back it up with competent handing, Tygan is fitting an independent rear suspension, and to back up its reliability, a one-year warranty. Buyers can chose a two-seater or – shock! – a 2+2 configuration, at a projected cost of £28,750 in the UK.

After acquiring Chesil Motor Company's assets, Tygan expanded the production facilities to double output, while retaining Chesil's staff. Tygan is aiming to become the UK's and Europe's biggest producer of classic sportscar replicas, and with an injection of capital and a driven new management, they stand more than a half-decent chance.

[Source: PistonHeads]

While we're not exactly sure where Britney plans on (incorrectly) mounting her son's baby seat, Ms. Spears has just picked up a pretty 1956 Porsche 356A Speedster. So says sister-site Luxist, which notes that as the Toxic driver can't negotiate a manual transmission, she's seen in the photo above taking instruction from her unidentified co-driver. Glam on, Brit... glam on.

[Source: Luxist]