It's red, it's sleek, it's the Scorpion from the newly formed Ronn Motor Company. It's main features include the fact that it goes from 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and gets 40 mpg. So what's so special about that? How about the fact that it's also a hydrogen burning hybrid?
I'm no mechanic (couldn't be farther from it, actually) but the description on AutoblogGreen of how the engine works is really interesting. This car sounds like a really satisfying way to satisfy both a need for speed and an interest in preserving the planet (too bad it looks like a refurbished Viper).
The Scorpion will be manufactured in Texas and should be available to consumers this fall.
Over in the UK there's a new company in town called Liberty Electric Cars, and it's looking to turn the electric car industry on its head. Liberty Electric Cars has plans to take £30 million and use it to convert "tens of thousands" of luxury vehicles over to electric power. The world's first zero emission electrically powered Range Rover will be among their offerings, and depending on the model the Rovers will be priced at £95,000 - £125,000 (or about $187,000 - $246,000). Apparently the electric power technology they plan to use is cutting edge and will result in cars with more power and longer time between charges. Sounds cool but too good to be true? Guess we'll find out!
The Weber Sportscar's faster one is being billed by its Swiss manufacturer as the world's fastest street legal sportscar. It can reportedly go from 0 - 62 mph in 2.7 seconds and 0 - 124 mph in just 6.6 secs. It's a lightweight two-seater with a V8 engine and has serious aerodynamic styling including doors with no external handles, a smooth underfloor that flairs into an upturned Venturi tunnel, and an electronically controlled deployable rear wing.
It might be fast but to me it's a little "flimsy" looking. And for almost $1.6 million dollars I want something both fun to drive and fun to look at.
Cute, streamlined, and boasting zero emissions, the new electric Bentley Greenpower tops out at 40mph while running on two 12-volt batteries that power its lightweight motor. Built by a group of Bentley factory apprentices (who are now referred to as Team Bentley) the one-wheel-drive car is comprised mostly of carbon fibre and features a bright chromed grill, Bentley leather interior and a custom Bentley-branded steering wheel. The car will participate in several races throughout the summer with the final one happening at Goodwood in October.
Do luxury markets really hold up better than others during an economic crunch? Many experts say no, and it would seem the steady decline in luxury auto sales is backing them up. Estimates say that automobile sales fell in March, which would mark the 5th straight month of decline and could result in the lowest numbers since 2005. Analysts speculate the drop in auto buyers has to do with several factors, including higher-end buyers holding onto their vehicles longer (waiting for the market to improve) and fewer entry-level lux auto owners being able to afford to buy right now due to increasing costs in other areas of their budget.
Iconic Motors is a company that's looking to redefine the luxury sports car market, and the car they're planning to start with is the Iconic GTR. Besides having all the usual supercar mechanics under the hood, the Iconic GTR boasts an interior loaded with jewelry-grade stainless steel accents along with synthetic sapphire actuators and gauge faces. It also has patents pending on its gas cap control system, door hinges, and shifter. No idea how much the Iconic GTR costs yet, but considering it looks like a modernized Batmobile I'm sure it won't be cheap!
So the economy has been taking a hit lately, but as a general rule the highest of high end products haven't really been affected -- apparently those with money up to their ears haven't been feeling the pinch, until now.
Numbers are streaming in from luxury car brands reporting serious sales drops this year from 2007 -- Jaguar sales fell by 52% (whoa!), BMW by 27%, Porsche by 13%, and Land Rover by 17%. Even Ferrari (surprisingly) reported a decline for this past January, although they claim the drop from last year was both planned and expected.
It will be interesting to see what the rest of 2008 brings for the luxury car market.
Think "wooden car" and images of an old-fashioned toy or model car are more likely to pop into your head than a real-life sleek fast supercar. The Splinter, however, is changing that by not only being a sportscar made of wood that's stylish and sleek but also by being fast -- faster than a Porsche or a Lamborghini.
It's fast partly because of the goodies under the hood and partly because it's just so much lighter than its steel and metal counterparts. Built of a combination of maple, plywood, and MDF it can turn out 700bhp and has a top speed of 240mph. Not too shabby.
There's no price set for this wooden beauty just yet, or color options (I say if you're going to buy a wooden car then don't hide it with a paint job at all), but look for more info as the car is scheduled for release later this year.
Luxury cars are usually about a fast engine, a smooth ride, and extra features for comfort and convenience, but this luxury vehicle is all about the bling. It's a Fiat 500 Pepita and it's all decked out with a 24k gold paint job, Swarovski crystal studded gear shift, hand brake, and foot pedals, cashmere floor mats (cashmere on the floor?!), and gold painted alloy wheels. Plus you get a choice of seats made of crocodile, snake, shark, skate or lizard leather and an assortment of precious gems to add to the interior. €60,000
Tina Turner wasn't messing around when she went shopping for a vehicle. In true rock-and-roller style, she opted for a Lamborghini (a LM002 to be exact) and had it retro-fitted and personalized with a Mercedes E500 V8 automatic transmission, a 1500-Watt Blaupunkt stereo, and lots of other aesthetic touches. The big news here is not that Tina Turners owns this vehicle, but that she's selling it. It's currently on the market for Є179,000, and although I'm hardly an expert at appraising vehicles that seems like a pretty good deal.
Fast high-end sports cars are generally not considered to be eco-friendly, with their gas guzzling turbo engines and energy-sucking luxury features. But that's not to say they aren't trying -- Ferrari for example, revealed their F430 Spider Bio Fuel model earlier this week in Detroit. It burns a mix of 85% natural ethanol and 15% gasoline, which results in +10hp (meaning its got a solid 500hp to work with) and a 5% increase in gas mileage over its gas-only counterpart. As for now the F430 Spider Bio Fuel is only a concept, but Ferrari says they'd like to put it into production as part of their efforts to cut emissions by 40% by the year 2012. Like the looks of it? See more photos here.
Although the first thought that comes to mind when thinking "luxury vehicle" is probably not "bargain shopping," that doesn't mean that people with taste and money aren't also looking for a good deal. So besides the obvious value to be found in features like premium leather, a fast engine, a smooth ride, and fancy electronic gadgets, what makes a luxury car a good deal? Forbes recently compiled a list, taking into consideration things like initial cost, dealership service, the complete ownership experience over several years, and depreciate/maintenance costs over the life of the vehicle.
The winner? With its company's legendary service coupled with features that aren't always offered on entry-level luxury vehicles, the Lexus IS250 came out as the #1 best value. See the runners up below:
The oldest surviving Rolls Royce went up for auction this past Monday and sold for a record-breaking $7,275,000. Over 100 years old (built in 1904), the 10hp two-seater Rolls went to a private British collector who was obviously willing to pay more than twice the initial estimate for the vehicle -- after two phone bidders drove the price sky high. And it didn't only break the record for highest price paid for a Rolls Royce, but it also broke the record for highest price paid for any veteran (pre-1905) vehicle.
Koenigsegg has, due to popular demand, created limited edition versions of its CCX and CCXR cars. And they mean it when they say "limited," as there will be only 14 of the Koenigsegg Edition CCX and 6 of the Koenigsegg Edition CCXR built. Each Edition model gets a boost in performance over their standard counterparts (from 806hp to 888hp for the CCX) and both cars can go from 0-60mph in just 2.9 seconds. If you're seriously interested you better get moving since 2 of each limited edition model has already been sold, and get ready to shell out somewhere between 1,330,000 and 1,500,000 Euros.
Simon Cowell blew some serious cash on some serious wheels recently when he had some spare time on his hands (and apparently some spare cash) due to a week off work for the Rugby World Cup. He dropped over £1,000,000 in LA on two new cars: a £750,000 Bugatti Veyron and a £400,000 Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe.
Somehow this doesn't surprise me. Simon Cowell hardly seems to shy away from flash and attention, and although fast cars don't necessarily mean an ego problem (I would love to have a Veyron myself!) I think in his case they might!
