Oh the Veyron, the Bugatti Veyron, one of the most expensive cars in the world, a car that in just a couple of years has become an instant legend. Jonathan Ramsey at our sibling Autoblog recently got to test out the car and delivers an engaging account of what it is really like to drive something worth more than most houses. Jonathan got to live the California dream for a morning, zipping along Pacific Coast Highway where the found that in just two seconds you can zip from two miles per hour to around 40 miles per hour before you even start thinking about going really fast. As Jonathan puts it in my favorite line of the whole review: "And another second after that, hell, who knows how fast you're going. And another second after that, I think time and space take on different properties. I think I became a rhombus." Lucky dude, never have I wanted to be a geometrical shape more. Read about what happens next on Autoblog.
It's practically old news at this point but I would be remiss if I didn't direct you to Autoblog's pics of the Spyker C12 Zagato debut in Geneva. This is one gorgeous and hotly anticipated vehicle. There will be just 24 of these cars available and it has a 6.0L W12 engine that can go to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds and hit a top speed of 193 mph. The cars sell for $648,000. Autoblog has a luscious gallery with details of this unique vehicle.
It's been a while since we had a spectacular Southern California exotic car crash. Nope, not Paris Hilton, who surrendered her Bentley this week after driving down Sunset Blvd. without her lights on. This crash involves a $275,000 Lamborghini which was totaled when the 26-year-old driver drunkenly careened into five parked cars in Santa Monica on Thursday. Witnesses reported that the 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago may have been doing 75 mph. Both driver and passenger were treated for minor injuries and the driver was arrested for drunken driving.
Forget the yellow Lambo when you can have this beauty, the Gallardo Nera. There are just 185 versions of the special Gallardo which comes in two colors "Nero Serapis" and "Nero Noctis", and has special paintwork in matte black on the side mirrors, rear spoiler, rear body panels, roof, selected front panels and other areas for a very unique look. The interior comes in two colors "Nero Perseus" and "Bianco Polar" and the ad personam package lets the owner customize other details. The interior is a study in black and white with rhomboidal stitching on the seats and the roof lining. There is also decorative stitching on the steering wheel and white piping on the seats and mats. Other features include a rearview camera, on-board computer and optional items such as an engine hood with transparent glass panels, a Bluetooth-compatible radio and carbon-ceramic brakes. It's a little less attention-grabbing than the familiar yellow car but so much sleeker.
Our friends over at Autoblog found a beauty on Friday for their eBay find of the day. This sleek silver dreamboat is the Jaguar XJ220, a supercar which hit speed of 217m.p.h, just shy of the 220 that gave it its name. This car, a 1992 has just over 3,000 miles on it. It can be road registered in all 50 states but don't make this your main baby, you will be limited to 2500 miles per year. This auction for this rare beast ends tomorrow and last time I checked bidding was over $143,000.
Now that they keep making more and more Bugatti Veyrons, those needing something a bit more exclusive might want to check out Maserati's latest offering. Inside Line reports that the MC12 Corsa will be a build-to-order, track-only model based on the MC12 GTI racecar. The car will sell for a million Euros ($1,275,000) and you can't even take it to the street. The car has 18-inch wheels and tires, Brembo racing brakes and a 6.0-liter V12 engine that delivers 755 horsepower.
Our siblings over at Autoblog do an eBay find of the day. Their picks are always fun to see but today's entry is truly extraordinary. This beauty is a car created by Mercedes and Lotec called the C 1000. There is only one in the world and it has a carbon fiber body with a twin-turbo 5.6L V8 engine. It has a top speed of 268 mph and does the zero-to-60 hop in just 3.2 seconds. The bidding starts at $350,000 which is a deal considering that it cost over $2 million to create back in the 1990s. The eBay listing has more pictures including shots of the car's candy-apple-red leather interior.
Maserati is following in the footsteps
of Ferrari and Land Rover and
opening a driving school. The Master Maserati North
America Driving School is open to Maserati owners or anyone who wants to drive a Maserati around a world-class
racetrack, Road Atlanta. The school will begin next month and will offer one-and two-day programs and will offer the
GranSport, Quattroporte and Coupe. The school will be managed by Panoz
Racing School and each course is limited to 18 participants per session. One-day courses will cost $1,800 with
two-day courses at $3,400, not including airfare and transportation. Two-day courses will include a dinner and stay at
the Chateau Elan Inn and Resort.
Car clubs are everywhere lately. The latest place?
Evansville, Indiana. The LuxShare Auto Club is a new club which will use
a points system, selling shares which will cost $7,250 to $9,000 per year. The club is located at the Buxton
Motorsports Plaza. Their first purchase was the new Porsche Cayman S and they have their eye on adding a Ferrari, a
Rolls Royce and a Bentley to the stable. There will even be a pickup truck for weekend chores. They are looking to have
only around 50 members with one vehicle for every three or four people.
The man in this picture should look far
happier. He is Ferrari collector Yoshiyuki Hayashi and he is standing next to his own one-of-a-kind Ferrari 575GTZ. The car was
build by Zagato and is based on the Ferrari 575 Maranello and inspired by the first Ferrari special made by the
Ferrari coachbuilder way back in the Fifties. The car gets its official debut at the Villa d'Este concours
d'elegance in Italy later this month. It looks a bit faux vintage ala the Ford Thunderbird but is still a pretty hot
car.
Our sibling
Autoblog is headed to the New York Auto Show and one of the cars that they will be checking out is the
much-anticipated 2007 Continental GTC convertible. The drop-top version of the popular Continental GT coupe, the new
car can hit speed of up to 195 mph and has a 12 cylinder engine. Autoblog has a bunch more press pictures of the car.
Here you go, yet another reason
to envy Paris Hilton, she's traded in her Bentley for a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Sky News has pictures of Paris out at (where
else) The Ivy in L.A. driving the new black beauty. How much does it cost? Well, it isn't a Bugatti Veyron (maybe next
year Paris) but according to the recent Forbes
List of Most Expensive Cars, the McLaren sells for a cool $452,750.
The eagerly anticipated Bugatti Veyron finally went into
production this year. With just 50 cars available worldwide and a price tag of one million euros this car is the
ultimate driving machine for the wealthy and leadfooted. The German Car Blog reports that
those 50 Veyrons have already found their homes. So if you are saving your pennies, you will now have to wait until
2007 for your own beautiful Bugatti.
Update: German Car Blog now reports
that Bugatti is upping the production from 50 to 70 in order to accommodate eager spendy speed racers.
Inside Line has a picture of the latest tuning
kit from BF Performance, a company that makes custom accessories and kits
for the Lamborghini Gallardo and the Murciélago. The kit shown here tricks out the Murciélago in carbon
fiber . On the outside, carbon fiber details include a front spoiler, rear diffuser, headlamp covers, hood and deck
spoiler with a transparent engine cover. The kit sells for around $36,000. Inside there are sport bucket seats,
rearview camera, and a navigation system. Very stealth for those lookiing for the Batmobile look.
This beautiful 1962
Ferrari 250 GTO Spyder was the pride and joy of Frank Beard, the drummer for ZZ Top. ZZ Top's love of cars is
well-documented in all those 1980s videos and this car was part of Beard's extensive collection. It was modified for
Frank Beard by Greg Jones Restoration and Genaddi Design Group and has a signed plaque on the firewall. The custom,
aluminum body was built in 1992 on a Ferrari 250 GTE Chassis that has been shortened and modified to accommodate the
Spyder configuration. The 3L, 12 cylinder engine was converted to accommodate 6 twin-choke Webber carburetors. It also
has a dry sump system, 5 speed manual transmission, fuel cell inside of an aluminum riveted gas tank, and original
Dunlop disc brakes. The engine has just been rebuilt and it has Borrani wire wheels with stainless steel spokes. It is listed for $325,000.
