Spotted! Ferrari 456M, Birmingham MI
Posted: June 18, 2012 Filed under: Exotics, SPOTTED! | Tags: 436, 456, Birmingham, Car, design, Detroit, Ferrari, Gran, GT, GTA, hp, Italian, M, MI, Michigan, Mind, motor, Over, sexy, sleek, Sports, spotted, Super, Turismo, V12 1 Comment »
The 456 is one of the most underrated Ferraris of all time, but it is also one of my favorites (at least visually). Just look at the thing. It has a pure form of beauty, more of a sculpture than a car. Sleek and sexy, yet elegant and tasteful. I love current Ferraris, but they could all be a bit better looking if they could find the balance that the 456 had. Yea I know you can have the same kind of power in a Camaro now, but with this you get that glorious V12 sound on top of the style. I was ecstatic when I found this just tucked away in a Birmingham car park this past weekend, and the pictures came out quite well. Enjoy the gallery.
Yes, this is a real Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
Posted: June 11, 2012 Filed under: Classics, Exotics, Obscure Autos, SHOWCASE, SPOTTED! | Tags: and, Aston, British, Cars, Classic, Cruise, DB4, GT, GTZ, Hopewell, Martin, Mind, motor, Night, NJ, original, Over, real, Specialist, Sports, Steel, wings, Zagato 1 Comment »
Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
At a recent cruise night in Hopewell, NJ I noticed this extremely rare machine in the garage of Steel Wings. This DB4 GT Zagato, one of just 19 remaining I’m told, is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $8-10 million; although the current owner has supposedly turned down offers of far greater amounts. Being friendly with the people at Steel Wings, I was allowed the privilege of accessing the car for some photos (thanks again Ed). During the cruise night event, they raised the Aston up on the lift so it would be visible through the window in the showroom. The insurance risk to display the car outside would’ve been far too much, but the car was enjoyed be everyone nonetheless. Seeing this car in person is nothing short of a breathtaking experience, it is surely among the most beautiful cars of its time. More below…
Spotted! Porsche 993 Carrera RS, Stuttgart Germany
Posted: May 18, 2012 Filed under: Exotics, SPOTTED! | Tags: 300, 911, 993, Car, Carrera, Flat, Germany, H6, hp, Mind, motor, Over, Porsche, Red, RS, six, Sports, spotted, Stuttgart Leave a comment »
993 Carrera RS
Parked near the Porsche factory in Stuttgart, Germany. We never got the Carrera RS in the US, and this is the first one I have ever seen in person. Quite a great package in this car, 300hp, naturally aspirated, air cooled. The Carrera RS was like the GT3 models of the 996 and 997 to the 993 range. I was ecstatic to see this RS up close, enjoy the pics. (PS: lots more good material from Germany so far, so stay posted)
3 years on, are the Japanese still lost in the dark?
Posted: February 24, 2012 Filed under: MEDIA RESPONSE | Tags: Baruth, Big Three, GT86, Honda, Jack Baruth, Japan, Media Response, Mind over motor, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opinion, Profit, Reputation, Sports, Subaru, The Truth about Cars, Thoughts, Toyota Leave a comment »
Back in the Eighties, Toyota was making stuff like this iconic AE86. Thankfully the GT 86 might bring back the glory of yesteryear, but what about the rest of Japan?
Back in 2009, The Truth About Cars editor Jack Baruth wrote an article on how the Japanese auto industry is losing its heritage to the point where its products are a shell of what they used to be. He talked about how Honda had lost its roots as a maker of cars with flair and engineering excellence, and how Nissan and Toyota were becoming too close to one another on retail lots. He reposted it on their website (thetruthaboutcars.com) and I found it to still be relevant today. But, in these three years, a few things have changed in the market. My question is this: Does Baruth’s argument still hold water, and is there any more evidence to support his side of this debate? I took a look into what the market is like today, and there are arguments for both sides. Read the rest of this entry »
Because we love Paganis so much
Posted: December 21, 2011 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 7.3, Car, climb, Exotic, France, hill, Italian, Mind, motor, Over, Pagani, S, sound, Sports, V12, Zonda Leave a comment »Here is a video of a Zonda S 7.3 partaking in an event in France. Just listen to that glorious V12.
-Nick
Road Review: Nick’s 1993 Mazda MX5 Miata
Posted: December 15, 2011 Filed under: Photography by Dan Valanzola, Road Review, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 1.6, 1992, 1993, 4, 92, 93, Beat, Car, Cat, catback, Convertible, Cruising, driving, exhaust, Flyin, four, full, fun, girly, great, handling, HFC, Inline, joy, magnaflow, Mazda, Miata, Mind, mine, motor, my, N1, NA, Over, own, photos, racing, review, Roadster, Sport, Sports, stage 2, Suspension, Test, Thoughts 1 Comment »
My ’93 Mazda Miata
The Mazda Miata is, in many ways, a controversial car among auto enthusiasts. On one hand it has a huge enthusiast following and is one of the best selling sports cars of all time, and on the other hand there are many people who wouldn’t call it a sports car at all. The later often likes to stigmatize the Miata as a “girls car” that is more of a fashion accessory than a driving machine. For a while I was one of those people, I thought the Miata was too slow to offer any excitement. However, a few years ago, I got my hands on EVO Magazine’s piece on the 100 greatest driver’s cars of all time and I was shocked to see the Miata in the top ten. I read their reasoning on their choice, and their general thoughts on the car. They said it was like many faster sports cars, but the whole experience is in slow motion, and that it really allows you to both savor the experience of driving and work on your technique. My mind was forever changed about the Miata, so much so that I decided to buy one a few months later to have as a fun second car. I have now owned it for around a year and a half, and have tried to sum the car up for you below. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: Porsche Cayman R
Posted: December 8, 2011 Filed under: High End & Exotic, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 2800, 3.4L, 330, 6, Beach, CA, California, Car, Cayman, Drive, engine, Fast, Flat, fun, H6, handling, hp, lbs, mid, Mind, Monterey, motor, Over, Pebble, pictures, Porsche, Quail, R, rear, review, RWD, six, specs, Sports, Test, video, wheel Leave a comment »
Porsche Cayman R
The Porsche Cayman has been heralded as one of the best handling cars money can buy. Sure it is the “baby” Porsche, but these days even the little ones have gotten pretty serious. The Cayman R is to the Cayman line as the GT3 is to the 911 series, so solid performance is a given. Porsche was offering test drives of various models during Concours Weekend, but once I saw the Cayman R on the list I knew where to place my priorities (Video after the jump).
Test Driven: Jaguar XKR-S, Al’s Take
Posted: November 15, 2011 Filed under: High End & Exotic, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: Grand Touring, Jaguar, Mind over motor, Sports, Supercharged V8, Test Driven, UK, XK, XKR-S 1 Comment »
It wants to kill you. This is no ordinary Jag.
Jaguar has been known for building luxurious cars with plenty of grunt and scads of English class for decades, but the XKR-S represents somewhat uncharted territory for them at this point. The XKR is already a very good luxury sports car, but the boys at Coventry spared no expense in making this hardcore version a delightful, yet still very scary, piece of machinery. If the XJ I drove before I left for Pebble Beach was similar to Dr. Jekyll, this new XKR-S was Mr. Hyde–wide, scary, and aching to cause me personal injury. So, I gladly grabbed the keys and hopped in. Read the rest of this entry »
The business of renting your dream car: Part 2
Posted: November 9, 2011 Filed under: AUTOMOTIVE INSIGHTS | Tags: area, Aston, attraction, Car, Cars, Classic, Dream, Exotic, Exotics, Ferrari, for, future, Gotham, hire, instruction, Jersey, Lamborghini, Las, Luxury, Market, Martin, Mclaren, Mind, motor, Motorsports, Muscle, Nevada, new, NJMP, NV, Over, Park, Porsche, race, racing, rent, Rental, review, school, Speedway, Sports, state, Superleggera, to, Track, tri, Vegas, where, York, your 1 Comment »
The Mercedes SLS AMG, you can have one for a day if you call up Gotham Dream Cars
After discussing some of the current realities in the exotic rental industry it is now time to consider what needs to be done in the industry and where it could be headed. Having experienced what two of the leading companies have to offer, I have thought for a while about this subject. These two companies, Exotics Racing and Gotham Dream Cars, are almost opposites in a few regards of their operations, and a lot of me believes that the best answer to the problems of this industry lie in between them. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: Lotus Evora S
Posted: October 20, 2011 Filed under: High End & Exotic, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 345, Beach, California, Car, Concours, d', Drive, Elegance, Evora, hp, Lotus, Mind, Monterey, motor, Over, Pebble, review, S, Sports, Super, Supercharged, Test, V6 1 Comment »
Lotus Evora S
Ever since I heard Lotus added some much needed power to the Evora I have been itching to try it out. The only real universal complaint about the standard Evora was that it was very underpowered. Lotus has added a supercharger to the Toyota V6 and power is now up to 345hp, in a car that weighs just 2700lbs. Needless to say, I knew this was going to be a lot of fun going in. Read the rest of this entry »
The new Toyota Supra
Posted: September 28, 2011 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: 2013, 2014, 2015, 6, Car, cylinder, engine, FT-86, Lexus, LFA, Market, Mind, motor, new, Over, planned, possible, rumored, RWD, Sports, supra, Toyota, turbo, Upcoming 2 Comments »
Unofficial rendering as seen on Jalopnik, boy does it look good though
Toyota seems to maybe be on the verge of ending their tasteless vow of mediocrity. There is much talk about the possibility of a new Supra that is brewing, some say it will be a hybrid, others say it will be a supercar like the Nissan GTR, and some even would say both. Toyota will be on thin ice with this project though, they have vastly disappointed enthusiasts all over the world with their modern “beige” attitude, and the quality of their cars has greatly suffered for it. A new Supra would grant them the chance to hop back in the ring with the big boys, and hopefully get their engineering back on track because it is performance and racing programs that drive technological progress over all else. Toyota must get it right, let’s see what that would mean. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: Mercedes SLS AMG, Nick’s Take
Posted: September 8, 2011 Filed under: High End & Exotic, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 563, 6.2L, AMG, Beach, Benz, California, Car, Drive, German, Gran, grand, Gullwing, hp, Mercedes, Mind, Monterey, motor, Over, Pebble, review, SLS, Sports, Super, supercar, Test, Tour, Turismo, V8 Leave a comment »
Mercedes SLS AMG
It is hard not to be excited when you find out you are going to drive a supercar. When I got to the Mercedes booth at Pebble Beach and found out they were indeed doing SLS test drives excitement would put the feeling lightly. The new Gullwing is a car I have seen in magazines and videos all over, but now it would be me behind the wheel. When you approach the car with its glorious doors lifted to the sky you know you are about to get into something very special. The Gullwing takes the usual right leg first, then ass in seat, then left leg approach to entry over its wide door sill, but once you are in the car everything is very comfortable, well spaced, and supportive. Once situated, I reach up, pull the door down and get ready to go. Read the rest of this entry »
