Video: Inside line drives a trio of Fast Five cars

Filed under: Classics, Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Chevrolet, Dodge, Celebrities, Specialty, Off-Road

1965 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport

Fast Five 1965 Corvette Grand Sport – Click above to watch the videos after the jump

The fifth installment of the Fast and the Furious series, Fast Five, is ready to debut this summer, unleashing another round of “nos”-fed hilarity. In anticipation of the promised vehicular mayhem, they guys at Inside Line caught up with Dennis McCarthy, the man behind the stable of hot rods featured in the movie.

The first is a one-off, tube-frame monstrosity of an offroad car hauler lovingly dubbed “Mongo.” Mongo was designed to assist Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in filching exotic cars from a moving train. To our eyes, Mongo looks ready to do just that, sporting a 600-plus-horsepower 502-cubic-inch Chevrolet V8, 7:10 gears and 18 inches of suspension travel. According to McCarthy, Mongo did his own stunts, completing a 75-foot jump and driving away unscathed. Wow.

The next sample on today’s palette is possibly the most famous car to come out of the Fast and the Furious franchise, Dom Toretto’s 1970 Dodge Charger. Though the car in the film sports a 900-horsepower supercharged Hemi, keeping costs low dictated a slightly tamer set up for the actual workhorses of the film. In stuntman-ready trim, the Charger sported a 400-hp Chevy small block (sorry, Mopar fans…) capped by a gutted BDS blower just for effect. According to IL, it’s loud, scary to drive and uncomfortable, just the way any self-respecting mock up should be.

The final car on the list is the star of the show, a replica of a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport, build by Mongoose Motorsports. It features the ubiquitous Chevrolet 502 big block, backed up by a Borg Warner Super T-10 four-speed stick. The combination rides on C3 Corvette suspension, which struggles to handle nearly 600 horses stuffed into a featherweight frame.

After weeks of abuse at the hands of Hollywood, none of the cars are feeling as healthy as they once were. That said, they all still run, which can’t be said for hundreds of other cars used in the movie. Added to that, they’ll all still burn up the rear tires with poise, showing they still have their dignity. Click past the jump to see all three cars in action.

[Source: YouTube via Inside Line]

Continue reading Video: Inside line drives a trio of Fast Five cars

Video: Inside line drives a trio of Fast Five cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aston Martin finishes year with trio of DB9 specials

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Aston Martin, Luxury

Aston Martin DB9 Carbon Black and Morning Frost editions – Click above for high-res image gallery

It doesn’t take much to crank out a new special edition every once in a while, but Aston Martin has proven itself particularly adept at it. Over the course of the 2010 calendar year, the British automaker has offered up the V12 Vantage and DBS Carbon Black, V8 Vantage N420 and DBS UB2010 (commemorating Dr. Ulrich Bez’s ten years at the head of the company). But before the year draws to a close, Gaydon has not one, not two, but three new special editions.

The latest special Astons are based on the DB9 – packing the usual 470-hp 6.0-liter V12 mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox – and are available around the world in either coupe or Volante convertible body-styles. All three feature unique paint jobs, special 19-inch wheels, piano black veneers in the cabin and custom door-sill plates announcing the edition’s name.

The DB9 Morning Frost differentiates itself with pearlescent white paint, silver brake calipers, and metallic bronze leather interior, while the DB9 Carbon Black (like the Vantage and DBS editions of the same) and the Quantum Silver editions – the former in black and the latter in the same shade of silver portrayed in the latest Bond movies – also get a sports exhaust, leather roof lining and glass switchgear. You can read more about ’em in the press release after the jump, accompanied by the high-resolution images in the gallery below.

Gallery: Aston Martin DB9 Morning Frost, Carbon Black and Quantum Silver editions

[Source: Aston Martin]

Continue reading Aston Martin finishes year with trio of DB9 specials

Aston Martin finishes year with trio of DB9 specials originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Podcast #208 – Explorer, Compass, Ward’s Engines, and a German trio

Filed under: Podcasts, Etc., Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Volkswagen

Autoblog podcast logo

Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!

Episode #208 of the Autoblog Podcast is manned by the terrible trio of Chris Shunk, Dan Roth, and Zach Bowman. We start with the Autoblog Garage and then move on to cover the official-ness of the BMW 1M, Ward’s ten-best engines, the 2012 Audi A6, the Volkswagen Golf R and wrap by coming back to the States to mull the 2011 Jeep Compass and 2011 Ford Explorer. We finish with your questions at the end for an hour and twenty-four minutes total. Thanks for listening!

Autoblog Podcast #208 – Explorer, Compass, Ward’s Engines, and a German trio

In the Autoblog Garage:

2011 Range Rover Sport Supercharged
2011 Kia Optima

News Topics:

  • 2011 Ford Explorer
  • 2011 Jeep Compass
  • Ward’s Ten Best Engines
  • 2012 Audi A6
  • Volkswagen Golf R
  • BMW 1M


Hosts:
Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Zach Bowman,
Runtime: 1:23:58


Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly

Feedback:

Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
Voicemail: 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763)

Review the show in iTunes and take our survey

Autoblog Podcast #208 – Explorer, Compass, Ward’s Engines, and a German trio originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Top Gear trio spotted filming special in Israel

Filed under: Spy Photos, Middle East


Top Gear arrives in Israel – Click above for high-res image gallery

The fellas over at Top Gear have been to just about every nook and cranny in Great Britain and criss-crossed continental Europe in all manner of train, plane and automobile. They’ve driven to the North Pole, scaled an active volcano, crossed the Sahara and traversed South America. They’ve driven through Vietnam, Dubai, Japan, the southern United States… nearly everywhere we can think of, really. Except Israel. But now they can cross the Holy Land off their collective bucket list as reports and photos come in from the tiny Eastern Mediterranean country showing Clarkson, Hammond and May taking in the desert sun.

Apparently filming a new episode in their epic series of cross-country adventures, the Top Gear crew was spotted crossing westward over the border between Jordan and Israel in a dingy trio of roadsters: Richard in a Fiat Barchetta, James in a BMW Z3 and Jeremy in a Mazda MX-5, complete with retrofitted hookah. (Just for tobacco, of course.) The cars appear to be accompanied by a convoy of support vehicles for the production and camera crews, and undoubtedly had to jump through a lot of hoops to get there as the border is typically open only for foot traffic.

We’ll be ordering up some fallafels and tuning in to Arutz Shtayim just as soon as we know when the episode will air to see how James, Richard and Yirmiyahu manage to get themselves out from in between the Dome of the Rock and a hard place. In the meantime, check out the spy shots (courtesy of forum member Dark-Shadow) in the gallery below and the (translated) report from our friends over at Walla! Cars for a closer look at how the blokes are single-handedly re-instituting the British Mandate. Ashrecha for the tip, Nat!

Gallery: Top Gear in Israel

[Sources: Walla! Cars, Rotter.net]

Top Gear trio spotted filming special in Israel originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Trio of FIA GT4 Lotus racers at the ‘Ring

Filed under: Motorsports, Convertible, Performance, Videos, Lotus, Racing

Lotus 2-11 at speed on Nurburgring

Lotus running the FIA GT4 Championship at The ‘Ring – Click above to watch videos after the jump

PistonClash Productions has done its thing at the Nürburgring again, this time capturing some of the best of Lotus racing the FIA GT4 Championship. A pair of 2-Elevens and an Evora play the starring roles, with the sounds of race exhaust, rain, passing and a little bit of driver commentary for support.

You’ll find a teaser, a short and a ten-minute doc after the jump. Enjoy. Thanks to everyone for the tips!

[Source: PistonClash via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Trio of FIA GT4 Lotus racers at the ‘Ring

Video: Trio of FIA GT4 Lotus racers at the ‘Ring originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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