Autoblog

With all the news surrounding the Nissan GT-R V-Spec, the progress on the Godzilla tuning front has been largely overlooked. According to a recent article in Japan's BestCar magazine, the Amuse team has broken the 600 hp mark (at the crank) with a combination of a high-flow exhaust and a tweaked ECU. There were no details on how the GT-R's computer was hacked, but Amuse was able to up the boost to 18 psi, resulting in an increase in output to 602.73 hp and 576.95 lb.-ft. of torque.

However, tuners are beginning to question how the stock gearbox will hold up under the strain of additional output. MCR, which brought out its GT-R for filming of Hot Version 93, has been exacting its own brand of punishment on its tuned GT-R and is worried how long the transmission will last. It's not clear if the tranny woes are due to the clutch plates or something else, but it's been all but confirmed that dual-clutch gearboxes have an issue with additional torque since the friction surface is much smaller than on a stock (read: single plate) clutch. MCR's best guesstimate is that the stock 'box might only be able to hold up to the additional power for 12 months before problems begin arise. Now, we're particularly interested in how Nissan is beefing up the tranny on the V-Spec to handle its rumored 600 hp.

[Sources: GTRBlog, NissanGTRProto]

From the Mustang to the Viper and Veyron, Hennessey Performance has spread its abilities across the performance car spectrum. And with hi-po vehicles like the IS F, ZR1, and GT-R on their way to buyers' garages, John Hennessey says he is working on packages to make all of those cars even higher-po.

The IS F looks to be the first in line, with the experiment subject arriving at Hennessey's shop next week. The car will be a test bed for "headers, exhaust and air induction systems first. Then maybe a blower." He's also got his eye on the baddest boy Corvette ZR1, for which his website advertises "700+ HP coming soon!" The physics-defying GT-R is in the crosshairs as well, and if he can make it better than it already is, that would be among the best testaments for his services.

Coming down just a notch -- but still up there -- the Cadillac CTS-V and Camaro will get their chances for glory as well. While all of this sounds great, what we really hope is that none of this extra work causes Hennessey not to give us the Venom. That's the package we are truly dying to see.

[Source: Inside Line]

Arden, the German tuning firm that's been tweaking Jaguars for decades, is teasing us with this concept shot of its new Jaguar XF AJ 21. We just drove the 2009 Jaguar XF and felt the sheetmetal was lacking some excitement. In a good manner, it appears that Adren has addressed some of our concerns with its aerodynamic sport package including new front and rear bumpers, new side skirts, and a more aggressive wheel package. Look closely and you'll notice the cat is back on the hood (maybe too much redundancy, considering the badge is just below it as well?). Expect more photographs, specifications and pricing in the near future.

[Source: CoolBrit]

Proof that Italians can design some that aren't sexy is at hadn: the Intercar RX 400 pickup. Intercar, a recently self-anointed car design firm near Modena, took a Ssangyong Rexton and added a pickup truck bed. Why you would start your tuning enterprise with a Ssangyong, and why you would make it even less attractive than it already is (a feat that should be recognized as difficult, for sure, but not desirable), are questions we simply can't answer.

The company's background is motor homes and campers, and it shows. That might also explain why Intercar thinks you'd want a 90.5-inch goiter permanently attached to the back of your Rexton. Sure, it can fit all kinds of recreation vehicles, and a wheelbarrow and load of of dirt, as well... but if you bought an SUV, isn't that what trailers are for? Intercar's other tuning forays aren't nearly as bad, and its 2-seater sidecar is just plain kooky.

[Source: Inside Line]

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There was a Seinfeld episode once that explained the problem with bathroom sprays. Jerry's issue was that the spray didn't get rid of the offending odor, it just tried to cover it up with an even more offensive odor, and it didn't even really do that, so now you had two terrible smells that had combined to form one truly awful stench.

That explains the quandary with cars like the one you see above. Take one Daewoo Cielo -- alias Nexia, alias Asuna, alias Racer, alias Maepsy -- which was a small hatch based on the Opel Kadett. Then add one stupendously malproportioned after-school-project bodykit that's meant to be an Alfa Romeo Brera. Voila. You have the opposite of a Reese's Cup: two unpleasant flavors that taste even worse together. We give it's maker an A for effort. And the wheels aren't terrible. As for execution, well, the grade we give for that is going to require some summer school courses...

[Source: Carscoop]

The first assessment of the John Cooper Works tuning package is in, and the verdict is a qualified "Buy." According to the JCW site, the kit has an air filter ,a remapped ECU, and a central twin exhaust. The test car was kitted out with a host of other JCW fittings, including an aero kit, 18" wheels, and lowered suspension. The now-turbocharged (instead of supercharged, as on the first-gen MINI) S gets 17 more horsepower at 6,000 rpm, but the effect is more massage than it is a Frankenstein job. The traction is great, the exhaust sounds the same from inside but blurbles nicely outside (there are a couple of videos on which to feast), and the car is certainly fast. While he's sure it will beat any R53, it didn't give him the kick in the pants that the old supercharged engine did. In the end, his advice is to buy -- unless you want to wait for the Stage II kit....

[Source: MotoringFile]

Momo, that Italian house of motoring delights, has created a set of steering wheels and harness pads especially for drifting. The steering wheels come in two versions: a 330-mm diameter, suede-covered wheel with anthracite spokes and yellow trim for drifting, and a 350-mm diameter, leather-covered wheel with orange spokes and trim for tuners. Both wheels, at the request of the tire-smoking set, have 90-mm of dish "for maximum oversteer control." And in case you ever forget why you bought the wheel, it conveniently has the word "Drifting" embroidered on it. The harness pads come in two versions to match the wheels. Andiamo!

[Source: Momo]

ZAZ, or Zaporozhsky Avtomobilny Zavod, was the people's car for the USSR, built in the Ukraine, sturdy enough and just ugly enough to tackle anything the Soviet climate could throw at it. It's still got a bit of a following, conjuring for some the same nostalgia over there as the Beetle does over here. It is also, in the workshops of few folks with itchy hands and lurid paint schemes, a veritable artist's palette when it comes to transformation. The folks at English Russia have a gallery of ZAZ vehicles that have been transformed into the kind of cars used by the creatures in Where the Wild Things Are. There's one that's been turned into the wackiest Mk 1 M3 clone you've ever seen. When the inevitable Transformer's sequel comes, we'd like to recommend the producers consider creating a class of Autobots that all start out at ZAZ automobiles. They could be Eastern European mercenaries with thick accents. It'd be like having Dolph Lundgren back again...

[Source: English Russia]

Tuners just can't get enough of the 997 Turbo, with a list so far including SpeedART, TechArt, Edo, Rinspeed, and 9ff. That latter tuner even rings three bells by winning the HP competition, the top speed run, and being a convertible. The Swiss modifier fiddles with the ECU, swaps out the stock turbos for its own units, installs a high-flow exhaust, new air filter, and a strengthened clutch. Sportech also adds hi-po brakes with 6-pot calipers, a sports suspension, and a new front spoiler and rear wing -- and some hot wheels. Then it tunes the entire thing in four stages: from a 530-hp Stage 1 package to a 580-hp Stage 4 time-bender that digs holes in the road with 564-lb-ft of torque. Top speed is 210 mph. We never complain about anyone who adds to the already fantastic 997 Turbo, but in such a crowded and nandrolone-infused field, this latest entrant could sound, well, excuse us for saying so, but... tame.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Our minds are cluttered enough, so we try to keep the inside of our cars debris free. Unfortunately, that hasn't been possible during the tuning process of our new project car. Between the handheld control module, our cheap, serial-equipped laptop, the yet-to-be-mounted standalone ECU and the wire connected to our wide-band 02 sensor, the interior of our project is beginning to look like the rats nest behind our desk.

Innovate Motorsports seems to have the answer, with a new line of Bluetooth adapters, co-developed by BradaTech, that allows the entire Innovate line of wares to be connected wirelessly.

The suite of products can transfer information to laptops or Pocket PCs and have a range of up to 100 feet, expanding the possibilities of what we can do both inside and outside our ride. Now if we can just get that damn idle issue fixed, our world would be complete. Well, that and when our coilover setup arrives...

[Source: Innovate Motorsports via Jalopnik]