day Archives | Page 7 of 8

eBay Find of the Day: Porsche-built 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E is the timewarp sleeper of our dreams

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Auctions, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Luxury

1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E – Click above for image gallery

In 1992, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche briefly entered into a love affair that would produce one very special offspring: the Mercedes-Benz 500E. The car was to become the godfather of all super sedans, packing a 5.0-liter V8 with a staggering (for the time) 322 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. Bolted to a four-speed automatic gearbox, the engine could scoot the big four-door to 60 mph in a mere 6.1 seconds. Something tells us that those power numbers were a little conservative. But where does Porsche come in to this dance?

Germany’s sportscar manufacturer was responsible for working the sheetmetal of the 500E into the shape you see above. Those healthy fender arches were all massaged into place by the gurus at Porsche before the body was shipped off to Mercedes-Benz for paint and final assembly. Once done, the whole kit and caboodle was shipped back to Porsche for final inspection. Needless to say, this was an incredibly limited production vehicle, with the two companies only creating around 500 examples per year.

This particular car has a grand total of 587 miles on the clock, having spent the fair majority of its years tucked away in a museum. Bidding is at $35,200 with the reserve not met and less than 8 hours to go as of writing. Follow the jump for jazz-tastic video walk around and check out pics in the gallery below.

Gallery: 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E

[Source: eBay Motors]

Continue reading eBay Find of the Day: Porsche-built 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E is the timewarp sleeper of our dreams

eBay Find of the Day: Porsche-built 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E is the timewarp sleeper of our dreams originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “eBay Find of the Day: Porsche-built 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E is the timewarp sleeper of our dreams”

Crazy Rumor of the Day: Lamborghini Estoque to be built in China

Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedan, Performance, China, Lamborghini, Rumormill, Luxury

Lamborghini Estoque – Click above for high-res image gallery

Hold on to your lugnuts, kids, because here’s a rumor that’s so far out it practically qualifies as science fiction. Taken straight from Gasgoo.com, which has provided plenty of worthy news in the past, is this nugget: Lamborghini “will import its super luxury four-door sedan, Lamborghini Estoque to China for local production in 2012 with a price tag of around 4 million yuan ($589,000).”

To be fair, it appears as though Gasgoo is just reporting on what’s being reported in other Chinese media. However, in case you haven’t been keeping up with the Estoque’s flirtations with production reality, first Lamborghini planned to make it after it was introduced two years ago, then the economic implosion supposedly killed it in early 2009, but Lamborghini quickly said that wasn’t true, then this month company CEO Stephan Winkelmann hinted about how a third model would help the brand.

To us, none of that means the 2008 Paris Motor Show traffic-stopper is going to be built at all. Somehow, though, the Chinese media have heard that not only is it going to be built, but it will be built in China as soon as 2012. On top of that, even though it hasn’t been developed, it’s already been priced, and at that price you could buy almost three Aston Martin Rapide sedans. Or, more accurately, three Rapides and an infinite number of leprechauns, gorgons, drop bears and the latest creature of fable, a Chinese-built Estoque.

Gallery: Paris 2008: Lamborghini Estoque LIVE

Gallery: Paris 2008: Lamborghini Estoque Concept

[Source: Gasgoo]

Crazy Rumor of the Day: Lamborghini Estoque to be built in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Crazy Rumor of the Day: Lamborghini Estoque to be built in China”

Modern-day Lancia Stratos gets real

Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Performance, Ferrari, Lancia

Lancia Stratos

Lancia Stratos – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Lancia Stratos revival project that we’ve been hearing about for the past week or so is much farther along than we thought, as engineers did some running at northern Italy’s Balocco test track in late June. For the first time, we’ve seen the new car alongside an original Stratos and the designers have done a remarkable job in recreating the classic’s unique shape, size and proportions.

This new Stratos arrives during the 40th anniversary year of the Marcello Gandini-designed Stratos Zero concept, whose name was later resurrected for the rally car and homologation special. Like the 1970s-era Stratos, power reportedly comes from a Ferrari engine, this time a V8 probably donated from the F430. (The original used the 2.4-liter Dino V6.) Italiaspeed reports that the new car is so true to the concept of the original that it even has door-mounted helmet storage. The bodywork has apparently been crafted in carbon fiber and as many as five prototypes may already be running. If so, this is not likely the one-off that was originally speculated, but a car that could see a limited production run like the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.

Check out Top Gear’s take on the original Stratos after the jump. For a good history lesson on the Lancia Stratos, pick up the September 2010 issue of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car at your local bookstore, as one of this month’s feature vehicles is a 1976 Stratos, and the article has an informative backgrounder on the car’s journey from design concept to rally icon.

Gallery: Lancia Stratos

Lancia Stratos

[Source: Italiaspeed]

Continue reading Modern-day Lancia Stratos gets real

Modern-day Lancia Stratos gets real originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Modern-day Lancia Stratos gets real”

eBay Find of the Day: Gulf Racing DeLorean is a very bad idea

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Auctions, Specialty, Design/Style

Gulf liveried DeLorean – Click above for high-res image gallery

Don’t get us wrong. We love ourselves some DeLorean, and we’d argue there may not be a more iconic motorsports paint scheme in history than the classic Gulf Racing livery. But sometimes, two rights make one horrible wrong. Such is the case with today’s eBay Find of the Day.

Call us purists if you must, but DeLoreans should all be left in their bare unfinished stainless steel suit. And so it’s a rather good thing that this otherwise fine example of the breed isn’t actually painted at all – the horrid coating you see in the images below is actually a vinyl wrap. Thank God for small miracles.

Looking past the unfortunate wrap, what we have here appears to be a very nice gullwinged coupe with under 10,000 miles. It’s got the preferred five-speed manual transmission, has been updated with an Eibach suspension kit and it’s been otherwise completely refurbished by the experts at DeLorean Motor Company.

At the time of this writing, the top bid sits at just over $15K and there’s five days left. Happy bidding (and happy removal of its vinyl wrap…)!

Gallery: Gulf liveried DeLorean

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: Gulf Racing DeLorean is a very bad idea originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “eBay Find of the Day: Gulf Racing DeLorean is a very bad idea”

X Games 16: Rally practice day reveals new challenges

Filed under: Motorsports

X-Games Practice

X Games 16 Rally Practice Day – Click above for high-res image gallery

The practice day for the X Games 16 Rally competitors is in the books, and despite plenty of preparation the teams face some unexpected challenges at the new venue. The drivers first took to the makeshift dirt track at the L.A. Coliseum early yesterday afternoon and quickly found that the setup isn’t ideally suited to automobiles – or at least anything with bumpers. The course features two major elevation changes, going up and out of the stadium and then back in again, and nearly all of the drivers are having difficulty with the latter. The entrance back into the stadium is so steep that drivers are forced to either come in extremely slowly or catch air and plow the front end of the car into the dirt. To make matters worse, an uneven track surface at the bottom of the descent causes the cars to go airborne again. It may be fun to watch, but it’s undoubtedly frustrating for the drivers.

Interestingly, the one feature of the track that usually gives the drivers trouble – the jump – is no problem at all. Most drivers initially seemed cautious before making their practice runs, but they quickly realized that not too much speed is needed, and soon thereafter they were easily clearing the gap on every lap.

Overall, the current track layout at the new venue is disappointing. The course is essentially one large loop featuring all right turns, with the two elevation changes and the jump thrown in. Much of the course is fairly narrow as well, which will make the SuperRally either very boring (no passing) or very interesting (lots of bumping and crashing). We’ll reserve judgment until we actually see it happen, and we fully expect the addition of actual competition and tens of thousands of fans to make things more exciting. Stay tuned for more live X Games 16 rally coverage this weekend.

Gallery: X Games 16 Rally Practice Day

X Games 16: Rally practice day reveals new challenges originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “X Games 16: Rally practice day reveals new challenges”

Online Find of the Day: Holy Abomination Batman – It’s a customized 1985 Porsche 944!

Filed under: Aftermarket, Classics, Coupe, Porsche, Humor, Specialty

1985 Porsche 944 Batmobile Tribute – Click above for high-res image gallery

This author will be the first to admit that he’s not exactly overflowing with love for the Porsche 944, but don’t expect any amused looks from this camp about seeing this car degraded into a stumpy rendition of Tim Burton’s Batmobile. Sadly, that’s just what seems to have happened with this particular 1985 944. According to the seller, the car still boasts the stock 2.5-liter four-cylinder and a five-speed manual cog box, so you won’t be outpacing baddies anytime soon. A NOS Sniper system has been installed on the car, but thankfully, it’s never been used. We’re guessing hitting the go-go juice would be a heckuva lot of fun – but probably just once.

A few of the movie car’s more outlandish traits have made their way to this poor Porsche, including those wild batwing fins and a pair of replica .223 machine guns that light up for effect. The car does feature the kind of sound system you’d need to drown out the riotous laughter of those in traffic around you, so that’s a plus. The seller says that the front fenders need to be finished, and as such, you can get this puppy for a song. Asking price is a mere $6,500. You can check out the full listing here. Thanks for the tip, Kris!

Gallery: 1985 Porsche 944 Batmobile Tribute

[Source: Kijiji]

Online Find of the Day: Holy Abomination Batman – It’s a customized 1985 Porsche 944! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Online Find of the Day: Holy Abomination Batman – It’s a customized 1985 Porsche 944!”

Unsurprising News of the Day: Ford Explorer Sport Trac is toast

Filed under: SUV, Truck, Crossover, Ford

Ford Explorer Sport Trac Adrenalin – Click above for high-res image gallery

When it comes to a new Explorer Sport Trac for 2011, the only real surprise would have been if Ford had actually opted to build one. With the standard Explorer moving to a unit-body architecture, there are no plans for a new pickup truck version, a vehicle that probably would have been something akin to the Honda Ridgeline.

Since the Ridgeline hasn’t exactly been flying off dealer’s lots, Ford has wisely decided to focus on its full-bodied version, the Explorer. The Blue Oval hasn’t made a habit of breaking out Sport Trac sales from its SUV kin, but the Explorer only totaled 52,190 in 2009, so the pickup’s volume probably wasn’t a huge seller. According to Automotive News’ sources, Sport Trac sales usually totaled about 20 to 25 percent of Explorer sales over the last decade, but that number strikes us as curiously high. Over its entire life, we never saw a ton of them – even on the roads around Michigan where domestic pickups are commonplace.

Gallery: 2008 Ford Sport Trac Adrenalin

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Unsurprising News of the Day: Ford Explorer Sport Trac is toast originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Unsurprising News of the Day: Ford Explorer Sport Trac is toast”

eBay Find of the Day: One-off George Barris 1953 Jaguar XK120 DHC built for… Barry Goldwater?

Filed under: Aftermarket, Classics, Convertible, Government/Legal, Jaguar, Celebrities, Luxury

Barry Goldwater’s one-off George Barris 1953 Jaguar XK120 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Long before Barry Goldwater would suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 presidential election, the politician apparently had a taste for wildly customized cars. Unsatisfied with the exquisite design of his 1953 Jaguar XK120, Goldwater commissioned the legendary George Barris to turn the car into something special. Barris took the time to work in headlight and tailfin assemblies from a ’53 Buick, along with a Lincoln Continental-style spare tire carrier and a shortened Cadillac rear bumper. Inside, the dash was reworked in unfinished aluminum, complete with an array of aeronautical gauges. We’re quite sure we prefer the bog-standard XK120’s sheetmetal, but this car’s interesting history and one-off nature is hard to ignore.

The car has spent the last 20 years of its life tucked away in a California shop and has emerged via the glory of eBay Motors. The body has weathered the years between 1953 and now without too much wear and tear, though the interior has moved on to the great beyond. The car’s 3.5-liter, DOHC I6 is still in place, as are all of those oddball gauges. The car is available in Newport Beach, California with its reserve not met at $15,639 at the time of writing. If you want it, hop on over to eBay and get to clicking. There are only four days left on the auction right now.

Gallery: Barry Goldwater’s George Barris 1953 Jaguar XK120

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: One-off George Barris 1953 Jaguar XK120 DHC built for… Barry Goldwater? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “eBay Find of the Day: One-off George Barris 1953 Jaguar XK120 DHC built for… Barry Goldwater?”

A glass of water a day can help keep your fuel consumption at bay

The idea of driving around with a glass of water on your dashboard may seem ludicrous, but if Toyota told you that a single glass of water could help you reduce your fuel consumption by 10 percent, would you think differently? Now, Toyota doesn’t want you to literally place a glass of water on the dash. Instead, the company is pushing the idea that driving in such a way that a theoretical glass of water there remains full would reduce fuel consumption significantly. To spread the word about this fuel-saving concept, Toyota has created a website appropriately called “A Glass of Water.”

So, how do you keep this imaginary glass of water topped off at all times? Well, provided you aren’t in a hurry to get somewhere, it should be quite simple. Begin by accelerating gracefully, leave plenty of distance between you and the vehicle ahead, brake gently, and apply tactics used by hypermillers.

If you’d like to learn more about Toyota’s “A Glass of Water” challenge and are interested in giving it a try, then click here. iPhone users can also download a virtual glass of water app by clicking here.

[Source: A Glass of Water]

A glass of water a day can help keep your fuel consumption at bay originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “A glass of water a day can help keep your fuel consumption at bay”

eBay Find of the Day: 1979 Lotus Esprit Turbo w/Buick Regal GNX power is inky hotness

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Performance, Auctions, Buick, Lotus, Luxury

1979 Lotus Esprit with Buick GNX turbo V6 – Click above for high-res image gallery

What happens when you’re head over heels for the lethal wedge styling and superb handling of the 1979 Lotus Esprit, but find yourself smitten with the all-out grunt of the turbo 3.8-liter V6 in the Buick GNX? If you’re the intrepid creator of the particular car you see above, you mate the two, forging your very own take on the Esprit Turbo. On paper, the mashup seems like a match made in the lofty spires of the Lotus engineering department. Whereas General Motors’ conservatively rated 276-horsepower six pot tended to suffer by being bolted into the heavy GNX platform, the lithe Esprit could have always used a bump in power over its smaller four-cylinder. At least one creative soul has opted for a sexier looking Yamaha SHO swap to solve the Esprit’s power woes, but we’re big fans of this particular recipe.

If your mouth is already watering at the thought of a mid-engine turbo V6 terror, we’re about to sweeten the deal. The car is currently for sale, and looks about as mint as mint can be. The engine bay is clean, the paint spotless and the attention to detail unmatched for a Frankenstein creation of this caliber. Perfection? Thy name just might be GNEsprit. The running bid is a shave over $16,000 at the time of writing with the reserve not met, so get to bidding. You just might take this sucker home. Thanks for the tip, Al!

Gallery: 1979 Lotus Esprit with Buick GNX turbo V6

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: 1979 Lotus Esprit Turbo w/Buick Regal GNX power is inky hotness originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “eBay Find of the Day: 1979 Lotus Esprit Turbo w/Buick Regal GNX power is inky hotness”