Monday, July 11, 2011

It Came From eBay Hell: Triumph TR3 with an Italian Body and an American Heart


Much like Christine in the Stephen King novel of the same name, this 1957 Triumph TR3 Special began life as nothing more than a…car. Since then it’s mutated into this thing that sports a faux-Ferrari body and a Chevy 350 V8 under the hood. Read more »

Siemoneit Racing’s VW Golf R Black Pearl with up to 530HP


While VW’s 270-horsepower Golf R hatchback is hardly underpowered, the engineers over at the German tuning firm Siemoneit Racing felt like it could use some extra ponies.

Siemoneit Racing calls its tuned VW Golf R the ‘Black Pearl’for obvious reasons- and it offers customers a choice of two performance packages. The first boosts the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine’s output from 270HP and 320Nm to 355-horses and 485Nm (357.7 lb-ft) through thanks to the updated ECU software, custom exhaust and a new air intake system.

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Top Gear: McLaren MP4-12C Records Second Fastest Power Lap Time, Trumps Ferrari 458 [with Video]


We have already seen Fifth Gear’s Tiff Needell and Jason Plato pit the new McLaren MP4-12C against the Ferrari 458. Now, it’s time for BBC’s Top Gear TV hosts and in particular, Jeremy Clarkson and the Stig to get behind the wheel of McLaren’s finest and try it on the show's test track.

At Top Gear's famous power lap, the MP4 12C recorded an amazing time of just 1:16.2 minutes, which puts it in second place right behind the insane Ariel Atom V8 (1:15.1) and in front of some of the world’s fastest supercars such as the Bugatti Veyron S (1:16.8”), the Gumpert Apollo (1:17.1”) and most importantly, Ferrari’s rivaling 458 Italia (1:19.1”).

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Paging David Hasselhoff: Sebastian Toddenroth’s High-Tech VW Schwimmwagen


Remember in Baywatch, how the cast used to tool around in canary yellow cute utes with jet skis strapped to their trays? Did you ever wonder why they didn’t just eliminate the middleman and employ WWII-era Schwimmwagens?

German industrial designer Sebastian Toddenroth certainly toyed around with the idea and the result is the Volkswagen Rescue Rover concept you see pictured here.

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Kelleners Sport Tunes the BMW 1-Series M Coupe to 410HP


German aftermarket firm Kelleners Sport is one of the first official tuners to get its hands on the new BMW 1-Series M Coupe and offer a complete conversion. Named KS1-S, the modified 1 M Coupe’s turbocharged straight-six now delivers 410-horses, or a good 20% more than the standard car, and just 10HP short of the E92 M3, while torque is increased from 450 to 550 Nm or 405.7 lb-ft. Read more »

New Photo Gallery of U.S.-Spec 2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class


Mercedes-Benz’s all-new 2012 M-Class (or ML) makes its on-the-road debut in the U.S. this week so the German company decided to drop a new batch of images for our viewing pleasure.

The Stuttgart firm’s new luxury SUV enters the 2012 model year in the U.S. with a choice of two models. First up is the diesel-powered ML350 BlueTEC delivering 240 horsepower and 455 lb.-ft. of torque, while averaging 20mpg in the city and 25mpg on the highway.

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It’s a Man’s World: 7 in 10 UK Women Prefer to Leave Car Servicing to Men


Despite all the talk about equality of the two sexes, there are still some things that even women prefer to be done by men like having their cars serviced – at least in the UK. And we ‘re not talking about getting their hands dirty but actually taking their car to the service station.

According to new research from car servicing network, Bosch Car Service, which surveyed 1,022 UK adults (18+) representative of the UK adult population, just three out of every ten women take their cars for servicing on their own, in comparison to seven out of ten men.

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