Tag Archives: Sports Cars

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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Car Shows, Obscure Autos, SHOWCASE

1967 Sabra at the 2013 Scarsdale Concours

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Sabra Front

Here’s some news for you.  At one point Israel had a short stint building cars.  No, not tanks or army Jeeps.  They had a little sports car they could call their very own.  This car, shown here at the Scarsdale Concours last fall, is called the Sabra.  This is a 1967 model.  The Sabra was named because the colloquial meaning of the phrase in Hebrew is “born in Israel” and the cactus logo is known as the “sabra”.  Israel manufactured another car before this known as the Sussita–Yitzhak Shubinksy requested Reliant Auto produce a small sports car (yes, the same Reliant Auto that produced the hilariously incompetent Reliant Robin and Reliant Regal), which they did in a scant 9 months’ time.  Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1967, production was cut short.  A total of just 171 were made during its life, and a scant 41 made it to the United States.  The owner was gracious enough to show it at the Scarsdale Concours this past fall.  While it isn’t the prettiest car in the world (far from it), it is certainly unique and drew a solid crowd of its own that afternoon.  Enjoy the pictures. Continue reading 1967 Sabra at the 2013 Scarsdale Concours →

Car Shows

Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta by Touring at Amelia Island

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While I was waiting to sign up to drive a Porsche, and while Nick was busy driving the bewitching new SRT Viper, I spent most of my brisk Florida morning at Amelia Island chasing after cars that were entering the hotel grounds.  While I was running around, I found myself chasing down this gorgeous little number.  This marks only the second time I’ve found myself close to a 212, one of the first well-known cars Ferrari produced.  This particular car is a 212 Export Berlinetta wearing its original Touring coachwork in a deep, rich burgundy hue with a rather Spartan tan interior, wire wheels, and details that kept my attention for a solid amount of time.  It may have been parked among a Lamborghini Aventador, Porsche 918, and a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, but the little 212 had absolutely no problem drawing a crowd to itself in front of the Ritz-Carlton. Enjoy the photos.

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Opinions

The case for the diesel sports car

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Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid
Le Mans winning #1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid. Photo courtesy of www.emotorsportnews.com

For the last eight years in a row, a car with a diesel engine has won the 24 Hours of LeMans. Seven of those eight victories belong to Audi, and Audi is a part of the larger Volkswagen group that has brought us such supercar marvels as the Bugatti Veyron, Lamborghini Aventador, and most recently, the Porsche 918 Spyder. If supercars are supposed to be “race cars for the road” then it is high time for VW to set the precedent for true oil-burning supercars and sports cars. 

As it turns out, they’ve already come damn close a couple of times. The first one came in 2008 in form of an Audi R8 with a 5.9L Turbo-Diesel V12 under the hood. The second was a promisingly realistic diesel Boxster with a VW badge called the “Concept BlueSport.” In both cases demand was deemed to be too low, and the timing also happened to coincide with the global economic downturn. I agree that the climate was probably wrong for both models at their respective debuts, but having said that, the world has changed a lot in the last few years.

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Cars We've Seen

Morgan 3 Wheeler spotted at Amelia Island

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Morgan 3 Wheeler at Amelia Island 5

We went out to grab some things from the car during the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, and we found this stunning Morgan 3 Wheeler sitting in the media parking lot. I’ve seen a few of these things around now, but this orange 3 Wheeler has to be the most striking one yet. I just love the fighter plane inspired bits. It gives the car a fun and exciting character that is irresistible. I had to snap a few pics of it, and I think they came out well. Enjoy!

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Cars We've Driven, Exotic Supercars

SRT Viper Review (7.5/10)

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SRT Viper Review 1

What is it?

The SRT Viper, formerly known as the Dodge Viper, is the iconic American sports car for people looking to get more out life than a Mustang or a Corvette can offer.

Intended to be a modern incarnation of the legendary Shelby Cobra, the Viper was developed by Chrysler with the help of Carroll Shelby to try and decimate the Chevrolet Corvette in the early 1990s. Where the Corvette of the time had a 300hp V8, the Viper went for the jugular with a 400hp V10. That was just the beginning, and as you will see, things have gotten even crazier since.

But has the Viper become too crazy for the times? Those of you who follow the car industry will know that Viper sales are in the toilet, so much so that Chrysler has actually had to halt production and even pull its Vipers out of racing competition. The Viper could have a serious problem here, and its survival may well be on the chopping block as we speak. Having finally sampled a Viper for myself, I will will use my experience with the car to muse on why it is that the sales of this beast are struggling.

It may seem cold and heartless to us car enthusiasts, but sales are the end-all-be-all in the car industry, especially for low volume production cars such as this. Ferrari and Lamborghini no longer offer manual transmissions in their cars because, plainly, nobody bought them, and now the Viper may be facing a similar situation.

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Car Shows

Fiat Dino Spider at Amelia Island

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Fiat Dino Spider at Amelia Island

We caught this blue Fiat Dino Spider at the cars and coffee event during the Amelia Island car weekend. This is a rare car with the same Ferrari V6 under its hood as found in the Dino 206, and Dino 246 for later models. We did a post featuring Petrolicious’ video on the Fiat Dino a few months ago, and it was awesome to get to see one up close in person.

-Nick

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Petrolicious makes us all want a Saab Sonett

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It doesn’t get too much more offbeat than a front wheel drive sports car with a two-stroke engine, and that is exactly what the Saab Sonett is. Petrolicious, as usual, has produced an incredible motion picture that will make you lust over a car you may not have considered before. I swear, if they did a video on a four cylinder Toyota Camry, I would probably want one quite badly after viewing it. Enjoy.

-Nick

Car Shows

Alpine A110 1600S at Amelia Island

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Renault Alpine at Amelia Island

This is an Alpine A110 1600S, often referred to as the “Renault Alpine,” though Renault did not actually own Alpine until 1978. The Alpine A110 was produced from 1961 to 1977, and saw major rally success in the early 1970s. In fact, the Alpine A110 holds the honor as the first World Rally Champion, winning the inaugural WRC season in 1973.

The “Renault Alpine” designation comes from the fact that Alpine used Renault engines in the A110. The top-spec 1600S model you see here had a 1.6L inline-four producing 138hp. That may not sound like a lot, but at just around 1,600lbs the A110 1600S was capable of doing 130mph. Keep in mind, this is a rally car, not a supercar, and 130mph is a lot of speed on a winding rally stage.

We caught this classic french rally car at the cars and coffee event held during the Amelia Island car weekend. This car actually flew past us the night before, but all we could see then was its yellow headlights and enjoy the sound its lovely engine echoing off the trees as it disappeared into the dark abyss. I was thrilled to see the Alpine in daylight the next day, and it was great to get some shots of it. Enjoy!

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Car Shows

Highlights from the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance (Post 1950)

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Ferrari 330 P3/4 and Ferrari 335 Sport
Ferrari 330 P3/4 and Ferrari 335 Sport

Here is the second part of our highlight reel from the 2014 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. It includes everything from the magnificent Ferrari 330 P3/4 you see above to the brand new McLaren P1 and Lamborghini Huracan. Also featured are the best in show award winners, a Horch 853 and a Scarab Mark II. The cars at this year’s show were truly incredible, and we literally were shooting photos from sunrise to sunset.

Enjoy the photo gallery.

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Cars We've Driven, Exotic Supercars

Jaguar F-Type V8 S, Nick’s Review (9.5/10)

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Jaguar F-Type V8 S

What is the Jaguar F-Type V8 S?

This is Jaguar’s return to building a true sports car. For a long time, under Ford, Jaguar really only built luxury sedans and coupes. You could maybe get away with calling the early 2000s XKR a grand touring car, but it wasn’t even remotely close to being a proper, driver-focused sports car. Much of Jaguar’s brand image has been built on racing success, and building iconic sports cars, such as the E-Type, so the new F-Type is a much needed return to form.

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Cars We've Driven, Exotic Supercars, Luxury Cars

Jaguar F-Type V8S Review, Al’s Take (Grade: A)

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Considering how much I enjoy the V6S version of Jaguar’s F-Type sports car, dropping a supercharged V8 engine in it reminds me of what Carroll Shelby used to say, “Too much is just enough.”  He was right.  But, just to be sure, I took the wheel of this Polaris White 8-cylinder out on the same roads as the black V6S, a few days after taking the other car out for a spin, to get a closer look at the top engine offered in Jaguar’s newest chassis. Continue reading Jaguar F-Type V8S Review, Al’s Take (Grade: A) →