suspension

Corvette Z07 To Take On The Exotics... Again

The Chevrolet Corvette has always been at the top of the stack in terms of American sports cars, but as Chevrolet sets the bar higher and higher with each new 'Vette, the world is starting to take notice of the car as one of the best... period. No "American" qualifier about it.

Still, eyebrows rose when KGP Photography caught a Chevrolet Z07 (the next all-new, top-of-the-line 'Vette slated for production) testing against a Ferrari 599 -- Chevrolet can't be looking at the Ferrari 599 as the Corvette's competition for real, can it? Maybe, maybe not, but the real juice to this story is the fact that the current standard Corvette (not the high-powered Z06) shares Ferrari's magnetic suspension system, developed by Delphi.

This development is very fitting, particularly since critics occasionally hint that the last big hurdle for the Corvette to clear in dropping the "American" qualifier is the vehicle's handling. Can Chevy/Delphi tune the suspension system to handle the 500+ horsepower the Z07 will offer up? Time will tell, but we're sure many folks out there are looking forward to Ferrari performance in a $100,000 package.

[via Autoblog]

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Tags: 500 horsepower, 500Horsepower, chevrolet corvette, ChevroletCorvette, corvette, delphi, ferrari 599, Ferrari599, suspension

'Matte' the HAMANN Ferrari F430 Black Miracle

by Erin Mays (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Matte finish paint seems to be all the rage these days in higher-end vehicles and concept cars (BMW M-series, anyone?), and HAMANN has no problem jumping on the bandwagon, down to the bright orange 20-inch rims. The company's new modified F430, dubbed the "Black Miracle," features orange and black matte finish, showing off ground effect details, brake calipers, wheels, side-view mirrors and bold racing stripes down the middle in bright orange, with the rest of the body beautified in black. The secret is in the foil treatment, which, if the owner would like to see glossy finish again, can be reversed.

HAMANN decks out the interior as well with the color scheme, and even adds lambo doors for show. Even with the paint job, however, no Ferrari modified this heavily visually could earn the street cred it's due without some performance modifications as well: the ECU and exhaust is modified for 50 extra horses, and special HAMANN suspension completes the low-slung feel.

[Check out Autoblog for a gallery of the vehicle and the HAMANN press release]

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Tags: black miracle, BlackMiracle, ferrari, hamann, lambo doors, LamboDoors, matte, paint job, PaintJob, suspension