Old-car values have skyrocketed in recent years, and once again, too many of us now get another chance to feel like sorry losers who've missed the last boat to fun and prosperity. Forget about the $27 million Ferraris at Pebble Beach. Be gone, noble but second-tier 1930s Alfa Romeos selling for $9 million plus. I'm talking about the bottom end of the spectrum, where forgettable $2500 '60s and '70s cars that we couldn't afford are now $12,500 cars we can't afford. I'm talking about the whole rest of the brave new world of $15,000 slant-six Dodge Darts, $25,000 Triumph TR6s, $35,000 Citroëns, and $45,000 BMW 2002tii's.
Click image for full article.

2013 Ford Explorer Sport by Forgiato at SEMA.

If you're a sports car racing fan, you've probably looked at the incredible machines roaring by you at tracks such as Road Atlanta or Sebring and thought it would be a dream come true to drive one of those cars. Starting this month, Panoz LLC can make that dream come true, as the company begins producing road versions of the famous Panoz cars.

Surrounded by the cars that made the Panoz name famous at the world's most celebrated circuits, racing media got a sneak peek at the new Panoz showroom and museum in Braselton, Ga., Wednesday night. Dominating the company's 10,000 square foot showroom and museum are reminders of the Panoz racing heritage – and now, clients can purchase street legal versions of any of these amazing cars.

“We will be producing all these cars, on a one-off customer basis, for the street,” explained John A. Leverett, Panoz LLC Vice President of Sales. “If you want a Panoz GTR-1 for the street, we will produce one for you. If you want a Panoz roadster, we'll make one for you. Each car will have an all-new carbon/aluminum chassis, new powertrain, all new custom interior – but we won't do full run production. Customers will get to choose enough on the car to make it uniquely theirs.

“To have a car with the Panoz racing heritage, with all the bodywork and substance that regulations will allow on the street, will be a very distinctive experience.”

In addition to the showroom and museum space is 20,000 square feet of production facility, housing all the components necessary to build each car in-house, including a paint shop, welding area and space for aftermarket tuning and restoration.

The driving force behind the project is Dr. Don Panoz, Managing Partner of DeltaWing Racing Cars, founder of the American Le Mans Series and owner of the nearby Chateau Élan Winery and Resort. Panoz looks forward to re-introducing the Panoz road car experience to clients looking for an incomparable motoring experience.

“It's a privilege to reintroduce the Panoz cars,” said Panoz. “I think everyone will be surprised and interested when they come to see the museum, which we have dedicated to the history of Panoz cars. We look forward to working with those clients who want their personal vehicle – one that they actually build themselves – to be a Panoz.”

Just as important to the Panoz family is the charitable aspect of the operation. The museum is available for local functions, with all proceeds from the facility rental to be donated to charity (Chestnut Mountain Ranch and Eagle Ranch for boys, and the Braselton library).

“It's a good community service,” said Panoz. “Local car clubs, civic or school organizations can use the facility for their functions and all the proceeds will go to these organizations.”

The Porsche 918 Spyder configurator – including pricing – is live on Porsche’s consumer site. With a base 918 Spyder starting at $845,950 (including $950 destination), adding every option quickly approaches, but just misses, the $1 million mark. The 918 Spyder with Weissach Package brings the base price up to $929,950, while options can bring the price past $1,000,000.

Automakers from the world over bring their future products to Germany’s Nurburgring for testing, so it’s not too surprising that our spy photographer caught the 2015 Lamborghini Cabrera – the replacement for the aging Gallardo – on the Nordschleife.
The 2015 Lamborghini Cabrera prototype testing on Nurburgring rear view 300x199 imagephotographer describes these images as the “best look yet” at the new “entry-level” Lamborghini model, but that doesn’t mean we’re looking at the final form. From a distance, it almost looks as if the Gallardo’s replacement looks a bit soft and doughy, but a closer look – especially around the front and side air intakes – reveals these black panels are merely camouflage placed over the Cabrera’s bodywork.
Judging by the LED headlamp assemblies and the shape of the front air inlets, expect the finished product to bear a close resemblance to its big brother, the Aventador. The Cabrera’s beltline is much more rakish than the Gallardo, and appears to be bisected by a large air intake, placed just aft of the doors, which wraps up and into the roofline. Whether that intake is real or merely elaborate camouflage remains to be seen, but it does appear the Lamborghini Cabrera gains a pair of small air intakes placed along the rocker sills, just forward of the rear wheels. Most details out back are obscured fairly well, but the cover over the rear window suggests the Cabrera will don a louvered rear backlight much like the one used on the Aventador.
Like the current Gallardo, the next-gen Cabrera is again believed to be developed in concert with the next-generation Audi R8, and share a new aluminum and carbon fiber spaceframe with the new R8. Early reports suggest the Lamborghini model will be slightly shorter and lighter than its Audi sibling, and perhaps even lighter than the present Gallardo, which tips the scales at 3109 pounds in LP 560-4 form.
2015 Lamborghini Cabrera prototype testing on Nurburgring front three quarters view 300x199 imageAlthough Lamborghini has previously hinted that its pursuit of lighter vehicles could lead to downsized engines, that may not be the case with the Cabrera. The new Lamborghini is believed to use an updated version of the Gallardo’s 5.2-liter V-10, tuned to deliver somewhere close to 600 hp. A six-speed manual transmission will likely be standard, while a new seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, shared with the next R8, will be optional. All-wheel drive is expected to be standard, but as was the case with the Gallardo, rear-wheel drive Cabrera variants may be offered on occasion.
As for the Cabrera name? Though it may conjure images of MLB sluggers here in North America, the word actually refers to a breed of bull that, like the Gallardo breed, helped give way to the famed Miura line of fighting bulls – which, in turn, lent its name to Lamborghini’s first mid-engine supercar back in 1966.
Expect further information to emerge soon, as the Lamborghini Cabrera is expected to debut early next year, before going on sale in late 2014.
Photo Source: CarPix

Read more: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/2015-lamborghini-cabrera-prototype-spied-on-nurburgring-247377.html#ixzz2fqByMSHG

wildly tricked out VW Bug. Looks like engine is offset?

The Crawford BRZ Subaru makes 490 hp and 550 lb-ft AT THE CRANK!!! Image: Motor Trend.

Running on Natural Gas, Magnolia Special Roadster Completes Cross-Country Drive. Courtesy The New York Times.

Now that the Cadillac CTS has a baby brother to cover the 3 Series/C-Class market properly, it's free to move up in size, style, and stature to confront the 5 Series/E-Class segment head on. To that end, Cadillac design director Mark Adams says his team was guided by "the three Ls: longer, lower, leaner." Hence this third-generation car is lengthened by 5.0 inches, with only 1.1 inches of that in the wheelbase, and much of it in rear overhang. It's also lowered by 0.8 inch, and thanks to extensive use of aluminum and savvier use of high-strength steel, the base car is 250 pounds lighter (V-6 models weigh around 175 pounds less) for a claimed best-in-class curb weight of 3600 pounds. The impressive 7 percent weight savings is attributable to myriad savings, large and small. Cadillac's first use of aluminum doors saves 55 pounds all around, while the 8-pound front bumper beam saves 13.1 pounds, and the rear suspension cradle drops from 69 to 54 lbs. Other tricks include tailoring the B-pillar sheetmetal thickness to vary from 1.4mm at the top to 1.9mm in the middle, scalloping away the metal in between the spot welds, and fitting aluminum brake calipers all around. To ensure that the lighter weight makes the new CTS one of the most agile cars in its class, Cadillac equipped it with a longer-armed version of the ATS' front suspension. It locates the front struts using separate arms that are bushed to isolate ride events (fore/aft) softly and handling ones (laterally) more rigidly. This new geometry (plus wheels with a 0.4-inch greater offset) help widen the front track by almost 1.9 inches (the wheels widen the rear track by 0.8 inch). Magnetic Ride Control will be offered for the first time on the base suspension (with upgraded 18-inch wheels -- 17s are standard). All CTS models will get Brembo brakes all around, with an up-level package available on more performance-oriented versions.
The biggest news on the performance front is the addition of the new Vsport model, which corrals all the performance gear (18-inch staggered tires, 245 front/275 rear -- optional 19s wear 255-series rubber all around), a quicker steering ratio (15.4:1 versus 16.5:1), larger front brakes (13.6 inch versus 12.6 inch), an electronic limited-slip differential, a track-rated engine-cooling package, and Cadillac's spanking new direct-injected, twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V-6. Rated at 420 hp and 430 lb-ft, it's GM's most powerful V-6 ever, and we're promised it will set a new benchmark for responsiveness thanks to the ultra-short trip the compressed air makes from the quick-spooling turbos, up through the manifold-mounted intercoolers, and down into the cylinders. Spinning through a new Aisin-Warner eight-speed automatic, the Vsport should be good for 0-60 times in the 4.6-second range, with stops from 60 taking fewer than 130 feet. The 2.0-liter turbo, naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V-6, and six-speed automatic will carry over; a new V-8-powered V model is expected later in the model run. Exterior styling takes ATS cues and stretches them for a look that's more muscular and upscale with longer rear doors and the rear window touch-down point moved aft. The new "landscape format" grille is wider and lower, and is flanked by lower-profile headlamps. Maintaining Cadillac's vertical lighting signature are LED daytime running lights in the lower fascia that align with those flanking the slim headlamps. The hood shut-line is entirely on the horizontal surface, to simplify execution of the target 3mm panel gap (when that gap lands on a vertical surface, you need more gap for over-slam). The new lower hood passes current U.S. pedestrian-protection standards, but European regs require pyrotechnic hood hinges. Laser welding is used on the roof joint and deck lid. Interior design manager Keith Fisher's stated goal was to balance sport and luxury in a driver-focused cockpit. The result looks classy and will offer an unprecedented (for Cadillac) level of owner personalization, encompassing a range of eight interior color schemes, ranging from the standard black, tan, and grays (light and dark) and branching off into Twilight Blue and Moreno Red. Four choices of dash and door-panel trim are offered: an open-pour matte-finish walnut burl, a lighter ash burl, an anodized black aluminum (done in a dipping process that makes the panel black all the way through), and carbon-fiber. And the neat part: If you love the tan interior but would rather have the anodized black or carbon trim, the dealer will be able to swap it for you in 20 minutes. All interiors get machine stitching, several get suede trim, and the three extra-cost ones get semi-aniline leather. The rear seat is deeply bucketed to get heads down under that lower roof, but it fits normal-size adults fine. We very much look forward to sampling the new CTS Vsport this summer, and to pitting it against its heavier, shorter rivals from southern Germany. Stay tuned.

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1303_2014_cadillac_cts_first_look/#ixzz2Oh1qmrsn