2010 Archives | Page 19 of 23

Monterey 2010: Moal Coachbuilders debuts Ferrari-powered Gatto

Filed under: Concept Cars, Classics, Coupe, Performance, Ferrari, Luxury

Moal Coachbuilders Gatto – Click above for high-res image gallery

Moal Coachbuilders, the shop that brought us the likes of Tim Allen’s one-time Licorice Streak Special, showed up in Monterey with not only that Tool Time-worthy hot rod, but also its new Gatto retro sports car. The bright blue coupe reminds us of something in the vein of an Aston Martin DB4 GT or a Maserati A6 GCS. It’s a beautiful shape that looks like it just stepped out of a ten year restoration… but it’s brand new. Well, most of it is.

Under the hood resides a very special V12 engine – a 300-horsepower V12 derived from a Ferrari 250 GTO. Don’t ask us how that came about, all we know is that the car was created for a wealthy California investment manager, and was built to his specifications. Besides that lustful engine under the bonnet, the Gatto also features a hand-built monocoque chassis, aluminum panels crimped directly onto the subframe to save weight, a Tremac five-speed gearbox, custom Borrani wheels, custom-fitted leather seats and straightforward analog gauges. One of the only modern touches is air conditioning.

It’s a gorgeous car, but the funny thing is, we almost walked right past it, thinking it was another of Bonham’s auction items or something. That’s the nature of McCall’s Motorworks Revival – so many great cars that sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. Thankfully not this time. Too bad we couldn’t get anybody to open the hood… Click below to see our high-res image gallery.

Gallery: Monterey 2010: Moal Coachbuilders Gatto

Monterey 2010: Moal Coachbuilders debuts Ferrari-powered Gatto originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Monterey 2010: Moal Coachbuilders debuts Ferrari-powered Gatto”

Monterey 2010: Lotus Evora Cup GT4 has us shaken and stirred

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Lotus, Racing

2010 Lotus Evora Cup GT4 – Click above for high-res image gallery

While the Lotus booth at the Jet Center Party in Monterey had several outstanding cars on display, two of them had us drooling more than the rest. The first was the all-new, million-dollar Lotus Exos T125 single-seat racer and the other was the car you see here – the Lotus Evora Cup GT4 car. The Evora’s shape is pleasing enough in stock form, but add a few wings and scoops and it is totally bad-ass…especially in British Racing Green.

This Evora will be used in a new single-make series along the lines of the long-running Porsche Cup. The car is also eligible for GT4 class racing against the likes of the Audi R8 LMS and Porsche 911s. While the 4.0-liter, Toyota-based V6 has been bumped up to 400 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, that’s still not earth-shaking power. It’s hoped that the Evora’s relatively light weight and Lotus’s handling expertise, however, will be enough to keep it in the hunt against those more powerful machines.

Lotus hinted it will be lapping Laguna Seca in this puppy later in the week, and we’ve already penciled it in. If that happens we’ll be sure to bring you more pics, but for now, check out the gallery of photos from Wednesday night’s Jet Center Party below.

Gallery: Monterey 2010: Lotus Evora Cup GT4

Monterey 2010: Lotus Evora Cup GT4 has us shaken and stirred originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Monterey 2010: Lotus Evora Cup GT4 has us shaken and stirred”

Monterey 2010: Lotus Exos Type 125 debuts in front of crowd that can afford it

Filed under: Motorsports, Lotus, Racing

2011 Lotus Exos T125 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Our first stop during the annual classic and exotic car feast up in Monterey every year is always the Jet Center Party, more formally known as McCall’s Motorworks Revival. This year was no exception and aside from the copious amounts of food and drink available, there were of course some cars to sate our appetites.

One that immediately caught our eye was sitting right in the middle of the centerpiece Lotus display. It was the just-announced Lotus Exos T125 single-seat racer. Even alongside Takuma Sato’s current Indy Racing League Lotus Dallara, the Exos draws a huge crowd.

This customer car will be available to a select few enthusiasts who wish to part with a million dollars or more to experience the thrills of Formula 1 racing for themselves – or at least a reasonable fascimile. The 650-horsepower Cosworth engine is limited to just 10,300 RPM for longevity, but that should be more than enough to keep the 25 projected customers happy.

We’re hoping Lotus takes this Exos out on the track this week so we can see it in action. If that happens we’ll be sure to bring you more pics, but for now, check out the gallery of photos from Wednesday night’s Jet Center Party below.

Gallery: Monterey 2010: Lotus Exos Type 125

Monterey 2010: Lotus Exos Type 125 debuts in front of crowd that can afford it originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Monterey 2010: Lotus Exos Type 125 debuts in front of crowd that can afford it”

Monterey 2010: McCall’s Motorworks Revival kicks things off

Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorsports, Classics, Misc. Auto Shows

Gordon McCall’s Motorworks Revival at The Monterey Jet Center – Click above for high-res image gallery

The annual Monterey classic and exotic car festivities may culminate in the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, but there are literally dozens of events during the week to keep everyone happy. Check out our official Autoblog Monterey Calendar if you doubt us. Our favorite way to kick off the week is always Wednesday night’s McCall’s Motorworks Revival at The Monterey Jet Center. The Jet Center Party, as it’s more informally known, brings together some of the most significant cars from all of the other events, along with many of the celebs and VIPs, lots of fabulous food and beverages, and an awesome assortment of classic warplanes and new jets for sale. It might sound like an odd mix, but it makes for a perfect start to our week in Monterey every year.

While the Lotus booth was truly a worthy centerpiece this year, with its all-new, million-dollar Lotus Exos T125 single-seat racer, Lotus Evora Cup GT4 car, Takuma Sato’s Indy Racing League Lotus Dallara and a production Lotus Evora, there was plenty more to see as usual. Bonham’s brought over several of their top offerings; a few race cars made it over from the track, some vintage Jaguars snuck over from Quail, and Bentley, Jaguar, Audi, Porsche; and several other manufacturers had their usual grand displays. There were even a few oddball, one-off and fledgling builders on hand, like the Singer 911 and Morgan.

Highlights included the Jaguar XJ13 and XK-SS, Audi Sport Quattro and R10, Lola T220, the bare metal Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Maserati A6GCS, Porsche 550 and 917 Spyders and that super rare drag pack Shelby GT350 Mustang. Heck, we even got to hang out with Takuma Sato who said he’s really enjoying his rookie season in IndyCars and that ovals are a real test of your concentration. He also said he loves the way the Lotus Evora Cup GT4 car feels. Real nice guy.

Click below to check out our gallery of photos from Wednesday night’s Jet Center Party.

Gallery: Monterey 2010: McCall’s Motorworks Revival

Jaguar XK-SS Ford GT in Gulf livery Audi R8 2011 Bentley Mulsanne Mercedes-Benz 300SL

Monterey 2010: McCall’s Motorworks Revival kicks things off originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Monterey 2010: McCall’s Motorworks Revival kicks things off”

Emissions regs to kill Honda Civic Type-R in most of Europe at end of 2010

Filed under: Performance, Europe, Hatchback, Honda

Honda Civic Type-R – Click above for high-res image gallery

Honda Europe has announced that sales of the Civic Type-R throughout most of the Continent will cease by the end of 2010. The 2.0-liter, 198-horsepower hatch debuted as a production model in late 2006, and in its current form the engine doesn’t meet the new Euro-V emissions standards which apply throughout the European Union.

The Type-R is only produced at Honda’s Swindon factory in the UK and production will continue for other markets, including Japan, where it went on sale earlier this year after production of the Type-R sedan ended. If you’re in the market for that rapidly vanishing species known as the hot Honda, you’ll have to move fast.

Gallery: Honda Civic Type-R

Continue reading Emissions regs to kill Honda Civic Type-R in most of Europe at end of 2010

Emissions regs to kill Honda Civic Type-R in most of Europe at end of 2010 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Emissions regs to kill Honda Civic Type-R in most of Europe at end of 2010”

Review: 2010 Acura MDX

Filed under: SUV, Acura, Reviews, Luxury

Overcomes Corporate Snout with Luxury, Technology and Value To Spare

2010 Acura MDX – Click above for high-res image gallery

“Any press is good press,” so the saying goes. With that in mind, the refreshed 2010 Acura MDX, now bearing the automaker’s corporate “beak,” should finally be garnering some much-needed attention.

And the Acura MDX deserves the spotlight. Nearing its tenth year of production, the seven-passenger crossover has flown under the radar, always relegated to yesterday’s news as the segment rapidly expanded and welcomed interesting new competitors. Seemingly tired of watching the competition steal the conversation, Acura threw on the controversial grille and significantly updated the MDX for 2010.

We spent a week with Acura’s big SUV. Pressed into family service, we put nearly 900 miles on our tester, including a one-day, 12-hour journey and more than a few trips with a full load of passengers.

While nearly everyone mentioned its questionable front fascia during the walk-around, we wondered if the Acura’s on-road performance and luxury amenities were strong enough to convince us to look the other way. Follow the jump to find out…

Gallery: Review: 2010 Acura MDX

2010 Acura MDX

Continue reading Review: 2010 Acura MDX

Review: 2010 Acura MDX originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Review: 2010 Acura MDX”

IndyCar: 2010 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio [SPOILERS]

Filed under: Motorsports

2010 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio – Click above for high-res image gallery

With just six races left on the schedule, the IndyCar Series moved to its penultimate road course event: Mid-Ohio. While series leader Will Power was in position to wrap up the inaugural Mario Andretti trophy for the series road course champion, he also had a good shot at putting the overall championship out of reach as well. While that was a pretty big deal, everyone was still talking about the crazy ending to the last race at Edmonton.

To recap, Helio Castroneves was black-flagged for taking the inside line while leading into turn 1 on a restart, but he ignored the order and stayed on track just in case. When he drove into the vicinity of victory lane three laps later, he was deflected aside. Helio jumped out of his car, looking for anyone with a headset who might be able to explain why the race leader would have to give up his hard-fought lead so late in the race. He didn’t get much of an answer – at least not right away. Chief Steward Brian Barnhart reviewed the tapes and stuck to his on-field call. For good measure, he fined Castroneves $60,000 for his tantrum.

While that pretty much eliminated Helio from championship contention, there was still a race to run this weekend. Follow the jump to see how things played out at Mid-Ohio.

Gallery: 2010 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio

[Images: Chris Graythen, Rick Dole, Robert Laberge/Getty Images, Jay LaPrete/AP]

Continue reading IndyCar: 2010 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio [SPOILERS]

IndyCar: 2010 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio [SPOILERS] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “IndyCar: 2010 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio [SPOILERS]”

Spoiler Alert: 2010 ALMS Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge

Filed under: Motorsports

Mid-Ohio 2010

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge – Click above for high-res image gallery

The American Le Mans Series was back in action this weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and as usual the action was hot and heavy on the track. In the Friday qualifying session Johnny Cocker set a storming pace in the Drayson Racing Lola-Judd. Cocker’s best lap was 0.932 seconds quicker than the isobutanol-fueled Lola-Mazda of Chris Dyson. The current LMP championship leading HPD ARX-01c of Simon Pagenaud was third, another four-tenths of a second back.

In the GT class, it was red leading yellow as the two Risi Ferrari F430 GTs edged out the two Corvette C6.Rs. During practice on Thursday, Greg Pickett had a massive crash in his Cytosports Porsche RS Spyder. Fortunately, he walked away, although he did sustain a back injury that will sideline him for the remainder of the season. Read on after the jump for race results.

Gallery: American Le Mans Series Mid-Ohio 2010

[Source: American Le Mans Series]

Continue reading Spoiler Alert: 2010 ALMS Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge

Spoiler Alert: 2010 ALMS Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 08 Aug 2010 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Spoiler Alert: 2010 ALMS Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge”

Autoblog hits the road with Mini Takes The States 2010

Filed under: Convertible, Hatchback, Mini

Mini Takes The States 2010 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Of all the automakers in the United States, perhaps the one with the largest enthusiast following is Mini. Sure, brands like Porsche, BMW and even Subaru have their own clubs and cult followings, but when it comes to eccentricity and personality, no one does it like Mini.

In that spirit, the pint-sized automaker is once again embarking on its Mini Takes The States cross-country road rally, an event that first occurred in 2006 and then again in 2008. This time, Mini is gathering its owners to celebrate the launch of the 2011 Countryman crossover, and we’ve been asked to tag along. We’ll be scoring some seat time in the Countryman as well, so stay tuned for our initial impressions.

Our trip started in New York and will take us to Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Columbus and finally Indianapolis before we hop a plane back home. Many of the other participants will head all the way out to Denver, where they will meet up with other groups doing similar drive routes in different parts of the country. Mini has a full host of festivities planned for the Denver crew, and many other local Mini enthusiast clubs are providing some entertainment along the way.

Mini has provided us with a Cooper S Camden Edition for the trip, which means we’ll experience turbocharged small car thrills along the highways of America. We already spent a considerable amount of time with the Camden-ized Cooper, and we’ve been getting many a thumbs-up from Mini owners out on the road. (We’ve opted to leave the Camden’s Mission Control system in the “off” position.)

Keep your eyes peeled for caravans of Coopers and Clubmans, folks. This not-so-mini road rally is taking America by storm. Want to vicariously join in on the fun? Follow the trip’s progress on Mini’s Facebook page.

Gallery: Mini Takes The States 2010

Autoblog hits the road with Mini Takes The States 2010 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Autoblog hits the road with Mini Takes The States 2010”

Honda announces recall of 2010 Element models with manual transmissions

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Crossover, Honda

2010 Honda Element – Click above for high-res image gallery

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on its website that Honda is recalling 585 2010 Element crossovers equipped with a manual transmission. The vehicles in question may have an improperly set cable that connects the shift lever to the transmission, an issue that could lead to anything from a major inconvenience for owners to the increased risk of an accident.

This defect may cause the gear shift lever to interact improperly with the transmission, leading to the wrong gear being selected. Affected vehicles could also get stuck in neutral, lose the ability to shift into reverse or fail to allow the key to be removed from the ignition.

Owners of the affected vehicles can bring their Element to the local Honda dealership for a free repair. Some owners have already been contacted about this issue, but all 585 will receive a notice from Honda by August 9. Element owners with questions or concerns can contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009. Hit the jump to read over the NHTSA press release.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Honda Element Dog Friendly Package

[Source: NHTSA]

Continue reading Honda announces recall of 2010 Element models with manual transmissions

Honda announces recall of 2010 Element models with manual transmissions originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Honda announces recall of 2010 Element models with manual transmissions”