All posts by ndubs77

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Motor Trend snags some numbers from the McLaren P1

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Motor Trend got some brief quality time with the McLaren P1 hypercar at the Top Gear Test Track recently, and they managed to get some performance numbers that we’ve all been eagerly awaiting. Watch the video for the full effect, but they measured 0-60mph in 2.6 sec, 0-100mph in 4.7 sec, and the 1/4 mile in 9.8 sec @ 148.9mph.

So basically, to put things in perspective,  the McLaren P1 does 0 to 100mph in the same amount of time it takes for a Subaru STI to reach 60mph, and it reaches the STI’s claimed top speed in around 10 seconds. There are fast cars, and there are hypercars. DAMN!

-Nick

Car Shows

1967 Bizzarrini Spyder S.I. 5300 Targa at Hershey

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Bizzarrini Spyder SI 5300 Targa at Hershey 1

This gorgeous 1967 Bizzarrini Spyder S.I. 5300 Targa was present for The Elegance At Hershey last Summer. It is one of just three Bizzarrini Spyders built, and the second I’ve been lucky enough to lay eyes on in person. I saw the 5300 Spyder Prototipo at the Concours d’Elegance of America in Michigan back in 2012.

Another result of Enzo Ferrari pissing people off, these Bizzarrinis are breathtaking automobiles that utilized the knowhow of one of the foremost automotive engineers of the era, Giotto Bizzarrini. Before founding the company bearing his name, Giotto Bizzarini masterminded the Ferrari 250 GTO and designed the Lamborghini V12 that was in use until 2011.

These Bizzarrini 5300s were serious performers of their day. When a Ferrari 275 GTB had a 330hp, these Bizzarrinis made use of a 420hp V8 sourced from the Corvette Stingray. This is Italian and American work in perfect harmony. Enjoy the photos.

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Opinions

VW, we beseech thee, give us the Golf TDI Sportwagen 4Motion!

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Golf Sportwagen TDI 1

This may well be the perfect daily driver. It’s got wagon practicality, all-wheel drive safety and control, the wonderful fuel economy of a diesel engine, and the driving enjoyment of a manual gearbox. This is the new Volkswagen Golf TDI Sportwagen 4Motion, but the one you see here is just a “concept.” That means the corporate big-wigs may water it down quite a bit before it reaches showrooms, which would be most unfortunate.

The biggest question mark is the 4Motion all-wheel drive, a feature that is worth its weight in gold for those of us living in places where it snows. The bean-counters at VW may not think that enough units will be sold to justify offering 4Motion as an option, so they put this “concept” together to gauge if us Americans would be interested.  

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Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

The LaFerrari reviews are finally here! Here’s Autocar’s…

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Autocar’s Steve Sutcliffe is the first journalist to wield the new LaFerrari, and he brings up some very good insights about the car. I’ve seen a few of the other reviews now, as well, and the consensus seems to be that the LaFerrari feels a lot like a 458 Italia with an extra 360 Modena under the hood… just take a second to digest that.

I’ve been lucky enough to sample both a 458 and a 360, and both were quite rapid in their own right. Imagining the LaFerrari as being the sum of both is just mind-boggling to me. It must be an unbelievable experience. Enjoy the video!

-Nick

Car Shows

Lamborghini Aventador at Amelia Island

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Amelia Aventador 3

Lamborghini brought this snazzy red Aventador to the Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island for test drives. As you might imagine, the list was pre-booked, but we got ourselves on the waiting list in case someone decided they didn’t want to have an awesome day. Well, nobody skipped their drive, but I still needed to find a use for the photos I took of this stunning car, so here they are!

I maintain that the Aventador is the best looking Lambo since the Miura. There is just something ohh so right about its sculpted, angular shape that will make a Murcielago seem obese by comparison. Red is also a fairly uncommon color on an Aventador, so as it sat there, looking like a luscious red pepper, I was compelled to snap a few pics of it. Enjoy!

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Car Shows

Saleen S7 at Hopewell Cruise Night

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Saleen S7 in Hopewell 6

Everyone attending the Hopewell Cruise Night this past weekend was treated to the awesome spectacle of this Saleen S7. The car belongs to a local exotic car dealer who routinely spices up cruise nights with the jewels from their inventory. The owner was nice enough to stop in traffic for me to get a few pictures, even opening one of the S7’s flamboyant gullwing doors.

I caught up with the car later after it had been parked, and it was covered in people. A car like an S7 has a special effect on the mood of an event, turning a “good” evening into a “great” evening. It is one of the few proper American supercars out there, and it took on the likes of the Ferrari Enzo and Porsche Carrera GT when it first came out. This particular car  also happens to be one of only four naturally aspirated S7s outfitted with Saleen’s performance competition package, which adds another 100 horses to its stampede of speed. A very rare car, indeed.

This cruise night could’ve been a forgettable one because the weather deteriorated about halfway through the evening, but this Saleen S7 made sure that wasn’t the case. Check out the photos for more info!

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Car Shows

Highlights from the 2014 New York International Auto Show

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Lamborghini, Lotus, and Bugatti
Lamborghini Aventador, Lotus Evora S, and the obligatory Bugatti Veyron, of course.

We made it out to the New York International Auto Show to see some of the new cars that have come out recently. The industry has been very exciting in the last few years, as we move out of the global recession, with many great ideas taking shape, as well as a few that leave us scratching our heads.

Check out the gallery below, and let us know what you think of the new style we are trying out with some of our photos. Enjoy.

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Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Drive looks at the epic wheels on the Koenigsegg One:1

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Drive takes us inside Koenigsegg, this time giving us a look at the design and process behind their new One:1’s special carbon fiber wheels. As stated in the video, the wheels are one of the most important parts of a car to make light, but they also require a lot of strength. Carbon fiber seems the perfect material then. Enjoy.

-Nick

Cars We've Seen

Ford GT spotted in New Hope, PA

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Ford GT NH

While out and about with my family on one of those beautiful spring Sundays, I caught this Ford GT rolling through New Hope, PA. The design is classic, and it never gets old seeing a GT in traffic.

-Nick

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Chris Harris takes us out in his Citroen 2CV

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Anyone can get excited about driving a viciously fast Ferrari or a swaggin’ Bentley, but the mark of a true car or driving enthusiast is their equal excitement at the thought of driving something quirky, like a Citroen 2CV. Chris Harris has one, and in this episode of his segment on the Drive Network, he takes us out in it to show us what the 2CV is all about.

And now I really want one….

-Nick

Car Shows

Lamborghini Murcielago LP-670 SV at Festivals of Speed, Amelia Island

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Lamborghini LP-670 SV FOS 1

One of the stars of the Festivals Of Speed, Amelia Island this year was this bright orange Lamborghini Murcielago LP-670 SV. There were a number of flashy Lambos vying for attention on the show field, but somehow this “Super Veloce” edition of the Murcielago always seemed to stop people in their tracks.

This bull is a beast. With a 661hp 6.5L V12 under its hood, it can hit 60mph in 3 seconds flat, blast through the 1/4 mile in 11.2 seconds, and go on to a v-max of 209-213mph (depending on the aero settings). In addition to its incredible performance, the SV is a proper Lambo with all of the “machine guns” fitted, as Clarkson likes to say. It has that silly-awesomeness that seems to give it a strong gravitational pull on everyone’s attention. The SV is also an extremely rare bird with just 350 units produced, however there are rumors that as few as 186 units were actually produced before the factory had to be revised for Aventador production.

It is always awesome to be in the presence of a Lamborghini of this caliber. Bella Machina!

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Cars We've Seen

Alfa Romeo 2600 Coupe spotted in Englishtown, NJ

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Alfa Romeo 2600 Coupe

There’s something special about the allure of this classic Alfa Romeo that made me put a halt to my busy day for a few minutes so I could snap a few photos of it. I cannot pretend to be an expert on every nuance of the Alfa Romeo brand of this era, but my online research has told me that this car is a 1960’s (1963?) Alfa Romeo 2600 Coupe.

I spotted it just sitting there on my way from Waterfest last summer to another car show later that evening. I don’t know if the owner intentionally left it out for car show attendees to enjoy, or if it was there for some other reason, but it managed to captivate me in the setting of that day. The car had a wonderful patina to it that made it seem that much more special. I had to capture it.

Enjoy!

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