Next year, the Corvette will be eligible for AARP membership.  America’s sports car will be turning 60 years old, and the boys at Chevy have a surprise planned for the anniversary: the 427 Convertible.  Thankfully it’s more than just a stripes and stickers package, (I’m looking at you, 40th Anniversary Corvette!) what with the LS7 under the hood.

The 427 Convertible will be the first time that the Z06′s LS7 (7.0L) V8 will be available in a drop-top Corvette.  Previously, the top dog convertible was the Grand Sport, which featured the LS3 6.2L V8 with goodies like dry-sump lubrication and launch control.  With 427ci of displacement, there’s now a healthy 505bhp and 470lb-ft torque, making it the most powerful convertible ‘Vette they’ve made yet.  A 6-speed manual transmission is the only choice, and the 427 will have the beefier driveshaft and rear axle from the Z06 as well.

Other performance goodies include dry-sump lubrication, GM’s Magnaride adaptive damping system, lightweight staggered 19″/20″ alloys with sticky Michelin Pilot Sport PS2′s, and carbon fiber hood, front fenders, and floor panels for weight reduction.  All told, the 427 Convertible weighs in at 3,355lbs – which works out to a power to weight ratio of 6.64 pounds per horsepower.  GM is not one to leave an accomplishment unnoticed, so they’ve listed some power to weight comparisons: the Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabrio is 6.9, the Audi R8 V10 Spyder is 7.58, the Aston DBS Volante is 7.82, and the Ferrari California is a positively pokey 8.31.  The light weight and massive power means the 427 will be seriously rapid: 3.8 seconds to 60mph, an 11.8 second quarter mile, and a top speed above 190mph.

There will also be a 60th Anniversary model of the normal production Corvettes.  It’s basically a color-and-wheel package, with an Arctic White exterior and Blue Diamond leather interior with suede accents.  Convertibles will have a blue top.  Other little stuff, too: a ZR1-style rear spoiler, badging, grey calipers, and a bunch of “60th” badges and stitching in the seats round out the goodies.

The 427 Convertible will be available this summer, with the first model being auctioned off at Barrett-Jackson in late January.  2013 is the last year of the C6-model Corvette, so one could say it’s going out with a bang.

The yearly SEMA (Special Equipment Manufacturers Association) show happens in Las Vegas.  That’s enough reason to want to go to it.  But more than the exotic locale (way better than, err, Detroit), SEMA is a hotbed of aftermarket parts.  If you’re inclined to think this is a no-big-deal sort of affair, that’s not the case.  The SEMA show attracts so much attention that manufacturers themselves have been getting into the SEMA game for a few years now, whether directly or through various 3rd party companies.

There are so many “new car” debuts prior to SEMA that I would literally flood your RSS feed with them.  I don’t want to do that.  Plus, I can’t write an entire article about a Chevy Sonic with a bodykit.  So here are some of the goods that are coming out at SEMA this year, split up into two convenient posts for your reading pleasure, by manufacturer.

Chevrolet is bringing a whole bunch of Sonics and Cruzes decked out with aftermarket goodies.  This is a definite change from the Sonic’s predecessor, the Aveo – to which the best modification would be the addition of plastic explosives.  Above is the Z-Spec #1, which has Torch Red paint, a mild bodykit, and a vinyl job.  There are also upgraded 4-piston front brakes, a new exhaust, and suspension bits – as well as a short shifter, flat-bottomed wheel, etc.  The Z-Spec #2 (white one) has all the same upgrades but with a more aggressive body kit.

Chevy will also be bringing two other Sonics to SEMA – the Z-Spec 4D (with the same modifications as the two 5-door concepts) and a Sonic Dusk, which is a dark blue with 18″ wheels, etc.  There will also be a Cruze Z-Spec and a Cruze Dusk concept to match the Sonic concepts – both of which get Z-Spec body kits, 18″ wheels, and interior modifications (like the shifter, flat-bottom wheel, and specific trim) as well.

Chevy is also showing a pair of concept Corvettes at SEMA – the Carlisle Blue Grand Sport, and the Ron Fellows Z06 Hall of Fame Tribute.  The Carlisle Blue concept (pictured) features a new paint color that will be available on the Corvette next year, as well as a set of staggered-size wheels (18″ front, 19″ rear) called Torque 2′s that will be available soon.  There are also six-piston brakes, a dry-sumped LS3 under the hood, Magnaride shocks, and a lot of aesthetic goodies.  The Ron Fellows edition Z06 is a Z07 package car built to honor the Corvette Racing driver’s induction into the Corvette Hall of Fame, and features a lot of cosmetic enhancements like a raised carbon hood, black headlight housings, and a custom interior.

Chevrolet will also bring no less than four Camaro concept cars to SEMA.  Two of them are just sticker, paint and alloys type of deals – the Red Zone and Synergy concepts – but the 1LE and ZL-1 Carbon concepts are more interesting.  The Carbon concept (pictured right) is a regular ZL-1 Camaro – all 580 supercharged horsepower of it – with a smattering of carbon fibre trim to liven it up.  Carbon fibre gills in the hood lump and a carbon rear spoiler along with a set of lightweight 20″ wheels (10″ front, 11″ rear) give the ZL1 a meaner appearance, and the massive two-piece front Brembo rotors with 6-piston calipers will probably help the heavy ZL-1 slow down.  There’s also a lot of suede and carbon-fibre (with a flat-bottom wheel, which Chevy is apparently fond of) inside.  The other interesting concept – the 1LE package – combines parts from the SS and ZL1 Camaro to make a more track-ready SS.  It adds a lot of things not normally available on the SS- Magnetic Ride Control, ZL1 rolling stock, the same two-piece front rotors with six-piston calipers, a ZL-1 style active dual exhaust in a diffuser, and some ZL1 interior pieces.  Chevrolet says the 1LE could become a production option, and I certainly don’t see why not – the SS could benefit from the ride and handling improvements that Magnaride offers.

Mopar is bringing a bevy of concept to SEMA as well.  Pictured above is the Challenger ACR concept, made to celebrate the defunct Viper ACR’s recent ‘Ring lap time record.  It has a pile of Mopar performance accessories to make it go, turn, and stop faster: a cat-back exhaust, long-tube headers, and a short throw shifter help with the accelerating, while a set of adjustable coilovers as well as front and rear strut braces help the big Dodge turn.  Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires provide the grip.  The black-on-white color scheme with a single red stripe and mirror caps is pretty menacing, as well.  Inside, the rear seats are gone, and front buckets with harness pass-throughs, a roll cage, and a flat-bottom wheel make it lighter and more focused.  Dodge:  build it!

Less interesting, but far more, umm, orange is the Durango Tow Hook concept.  (Tow Hook?  Why?)  It’s basically a Durango painted really freaking orange with a black roof, huge wheels, and 25mm lower ride height.  There’s apparently a custom orange interior, which I can’t wait to see, and the Hemi makes lovely noises through a Corsa cat-back exhaust.

Since Chrysler and Fiat are now linked at the hip, the Mopar boys are bringing a pair of tuned Fiat 500 concepts to SEMA as well, although they didn’t bother to release any pictures other than a close-up of a headlight.  The 500 Titanium will feature a matte Titanium paint finish, 16″ two-piece alloy wheels, a body kit, and lowered suspension and upgraded brakes.  the 500 Carbon will of course have a bunch of carbon-fibre components attached to it; stay tuned for pictures and info on these two.

In the “not too surprising” category is the Ram SRT 392 Quick Silver concept.  Dodge isn’t exactly unfamiliar with the fast-truck genre; they basically invented it with the late 70′s “L’il Red Express.”  And for a while they were scaring the bejeesus out of unsuspecting passengers with the Viper-powered Ram SRT-10, all 8.3L and 500bhp of it.  The SRT 392 Quicksilver is exactly what you’d guess- a single cab Ram R/T that’s had the SRT Group’s 392ci (6.4L) Hemi V8 shoved under the hood.  With 470 horsepower, plus a cold-air intake and a set of long tube headers with electronic cutouts added (mmm!), this concept truck seems like a no-brainer, considering Ford has abandoned the fast-truck market.  Turning and stopping are improved with custom suspension providing a 2″ drop, while 15″ rotors are pinched by Brembo 6-piston calipers up front.  The truck rides on 22″ alloy wheels with massive meats – 275/45/R22 front and 305/40/R22 rear.

Honda hasn’t exactly been on a roll lately with cars appealing to drivers, but that doesn’t mean the aftermarket is any less fond of them.  The new 2012 Civic Si is just rolling into dealerships now, and here’s a crazy widebody boosted one already.  The biggest change for the 2012 Si was the replacement of the high-revving torqueless 2.0L K20Z3 with the larger 2.4L K24Z7 that can be found under the hood of the Acura TSX.  On paper, I’m not a huge fan – it’s only got 4 more horsepower than the old one, and while the much higher torque output at low rpm’s is nice for a daily driver, I’d rather have my high-winding 8,000+ rpm Honda engine back.

Add in some boost though, and the story is different.  With more displacement and a lower compression ratio, the new K24 is a natural for some turbocharging, which is just what Fox Marketing did.  They claim their intercooled turbocharger setup is good for 450 horsepower (more than double the original amount) while retaining Honda civility and reliability.  I just want to experience how much torque steer a 2.4L, turbocharged Civic with a helical LSD has.

Being a SEMA show car, there is of course a wide-body kit, gigantic wheels and tires, custom paint and interior work, and stickers everywhere.  But I mostly am interested in that boosted K24.  Do want.

Hyundai will also have a pretty full stand.  The Genesis coupe has been with us for two years now, and it’s a great car, but like most other cars, it could use another hundred horsepower or so.  Hyundai (with the help of Magnuson, Rhys Millen Racing (RMR), Harman and Torvec) has just the thing: the Genesis Coupe Hurricane concept.

Beyond the badass matte-black paint and huge wheels, what’s important is under the hood.  The Genesis 3.8′s V6 engine, which normally makes 306 horsepower, is boosted by a Magnuson supercharger breathing through an air-to-liquid intercooler to the result of more than 450 horsepower.  Helping put all that supercharged grunt down is a new IsoTorque limited slip differential and 19″ Enkeis with sticky Hankooks.  (No Goodyears?  Hey, gotta keep it KDM, son!)  A new exhaust provides more growl, and six-piston Brembos with cross drilled rotors help with the stopping.  Finally, an RMR front clip and a Lexicon stereo amp up the pimpin’ factor.

The big news for the slanted H this year is the Veloster, though.  So Hyundai is bringing a few tuned Velosters to whet the appetite of the aftermarket.  First up is the turbocharged, wide-body ARK Veloster.  The engine gets a twin-scroll turbocharger and intercooler, oil cooler, custom turbo manifold, underdrive pulleys, and new exhaust from the turbo to the tips.  There’s also a six-piston braking system, a roll cage, and a pretty comprehensive suspension overhaul – including coilovers, sway bars, camber plates and adjustable control arms, and a strut tie bar.  ARK claims 210bhp for their turbocharged version of the Veloster’s 1.6 GDI motor, up from 138 stock.  Considering the factory Veloster Turbo will have 208bhp, this is right on point.  Then there are the cosmetic modifications, which basically replace everything but the roof.  Looks wicked.

The other Veloster that will be on Hyundai’s stand is a partnership between PM Design and UTI technical school.  This bright-blue on black Veloster was designed to showcase the kind of modifications people can do in their own garages.  To that point, it’s mostly a lot of bolt-on modifications.  Power comes from an AEM intake and a Magnaflow exhaust with high-flow cat, as well as a Nitrous Express giggle gas setup.  Preventing it from blowing up are an external oil cooler, Flex-A-Lite radiator and thermostat, and a SPEC clutch.  There’s also the usual chassis mods – big brake kit, KW coilover suspension, and 18″ Konig wheels.  PM Design claims 163 horsepower for their Veloster; presumably before the hit of nitrous.  On the outside, a custom BASF paint job mixes with some Seibon carbon-fibre goodies to increase the pimp factor.  Nicely done on this one.

Over at the Kia division, work continues (quite successfully, I might add) on ridding Kia of it’s barrell-scraper image.  To help with that, Kia is bringing two concepts to SEMA, a new Rio Hatchback (pictured left) and a Forte (below.)  The Rio is surf-themed, but to me it just looks like a stanced-out Rio Hatch with a roof-rack.  The paint is custom golden-brown, and there’s a wooden front splitter to match the surf board on the roof.  The Rio is obviously dropped to the ground on some sort of aftermarket suspension, with a set of gold-hued 3-piece 17″ wheels.  Is this the first stanced-out new gen Rio?  If so, the future is looking great for Kia’s smallest car, whose previous claim to fame was “cheapest, nastiest new car you can buy.”  Both of these concepts were made in conjuction with Antenna Magazine, who outfitted the trunk of the Rio concept with a custom “entertainment center” that can play 80′s arcade games and records.  Why?  Well, why not I suppose.

The Forte Concept is hockey-themed, which is also odd.  Built off of the newish Forte 5-door hatchback, the concept has the front clip from the Forte Koup SX grafted onto it, which is actually pretty good looking.  On the outside, there’s custom “Aviator Gray” paint and some very blue 18″ alloy wheels along with a custom body kit, a carbon fibre roof, lowered suspension, quad tailpipes (one for each cylinder?) and LED accents.  Inside, a miniature air-hockey table slides out of the hatch – maybe it’s the cargo cover when it’s inside? – and there is of course a hockey-stick holder in the interior.  The rear seats are individual buckets, and there are 7″ LCD screens in the back of the headrests hooked up to a PS3.  Pretty standard show car stuff, but I vote that Kia starts slapping Koup SX bumpers on 5-doors, pronto.

Mazda is bringing a pair of concepts to SEMA as well:  an ultralight-weight Miata concept like they’ve been teasing us with for years, and a turbocharged Mazda 2 hot hatch.  Mazda didn’t give a lot of details on either concept, so I’ll put on my conjecture hat.  The Miata Spyder has a much more aggressive looking front fascia grafted onto the current NC chassis Miata, with a grille opening that looks like it was borrowed directly from the RX-8.  There’s also a Boxster Spyder-style tent where the roof would normally be, presumably because it weighs less.  They say it has a “new, more aggressive look” – and that’s about it.

I’m more interested by the Mazda2 Turbo.  Mazda’s PR department says it combines “one of our most powerful, turbocharged engines in our lightest platform.”  (That’s no lie – the Mazda2′s curb weight is actually lower than that of the Miata, closer to 2,000 pounds than 2,500.)  What could that mean?  If I’m guessing (and I am!), I’d say there’s a 2.3 DISI-Turbo under the hood, the 2.3L direct-injected, turbocharged and intercooled I4 that powers the MazdaSpeed3 and the CX-7.  If the weight is kept around 2,200lbs, this 263bhp motor would make for an absolutely wicked little beast.  More details on this toy very soon.

I’ll cover the rest of the preview posts for SEMA in part II of this, so stay tuned!  SEMA opens it’s doors tomorrow, so there will likely be more cool stuff rolling out afterwards as well.

It’s true.  It’s part of the human psyche.  In a battle between David and Goliath, people are always going to hope that the slingshot wielding man takes down the towering beast.  Perhaps it’s the societal interpretation of “Rage Against The Machine.”  People want to see the scrawny midget kick the stuffing out of the club bouncer.

And so it is, I believe, with cars.  Or at least it seems to be that way.  Case in point:  Nissan’s GT-R.  Now, this is not to say that the GT-R is a Pygmy in a room full of Amazons, or extraordinarily cheap.  In fact, if you point your browser over to Nissan’s website, you’ll see that $89,950 is required to put a new GT-R in your driveway.  If you select the Black package with Super Silver paint (odd), you can bring the MSRP damn near $100,000.  I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot of money.

However, as I’m sure you’re tired of hearing, the GT-R possesses performance figures far above it’s price range.  In a recent Road & Track article called “The Two Second Club,” they put some timing gear on a 2012 GT-R, which has the updated 530-horsepower engine.  It’s an alarmingly fast car.  With Launch Control engaged, it runs to 60mph in 2.94 seconds, 100mph in 7.3 seconds, and plows the quarter mile in 11.2 seconds at 123mph.  To buy another car that can hit 60 in less than three seconds from the factory, you’d have to spend $160,00 and change for a 911 Turbo S PDK.  Or $2.8 million for a Veyron Super Sport.

So, for the price of 31 stock GT-R’s, you can hit sixty about 0.4 seconds faster in a Veyron Super Sport.  I’m not thick-headed, and I realize that people who can afford Veyrons are cross-shopping Lear Jets, not Nissans.  But there’s no way a GT-R could beat a Veyron in, say, a rolling-start mile drag race?  Not possible.  Orr, uhh…

Okay, surely a fluke.  Perhaps that particular GT-R had a prototype engine with valve springs made out of Chuck Norris’ fists.  Come on.  This is a six-cylinder Nissan with an engine that has ties back to the Quest minivan.  Maybe the video was fake.

Alright, the Veyron got the drop on that standing start by more than a second, and there’s not a lot of conclusive evidence in this particular video, considering it’s shot on a highway at night in traffic (presumably “computer generated, in Mexico, professional stunt drivers, do not attempt!”), but this is a 730 horsepower GT-R that’s not far off the pace of a Bugatti Veyron.  Of course, this is not where the GT-R underdog theory ends.  There are scores of videos of GT-R’s just absolutely annihilating vehicles that should be faster.  Shoulda, woulda, coulda.  How about a $273,000 Bentley Continental SuperSport?  The one with carbon fiber instead of a back seat, and a 621-horsepower twin turbo W12?  Errr, nope.

Okay, this is getting ridiculous.  How about an 11-wide drag race including exotics like a Ferrari 458, Porsche 911 GT3RS, Audi R8 5.2, Mercedes SLS AMG, and Corvette Z06?  Nope, no, not at all -- the GT-R is the first across the finish line, beating the quarter-million-dollar Ferrari 458 by a tenth of a second.  The $375,000 Lexus LF-A, the crown jewel of Toyota engineering, the car they had to create a new way to make carbon fiber to produce?  Nowhere close, at 11.9.

How about highway rolls against a 750-horsepower tuned version of the supercharged Corvette ZR-1?  Surely a tuned ZR-1 can pull on a 6-cylinder Nissan at high speeds!  Once again… nope.

Maybe a Dodge Viper, the flag waver of American overpowered rocketships, with a Paxton supercharger strapped on it to make a thundering 750 horsepower.  In a standing mile, where the advantage of a fast all-wheel-drive launch is minimized?  Maybe a blown 8.3L V10 Viper can take out a 3.8L Nissan?  Nope.  In fact, the Viper gets off the line faster, but by the end of the standing mile, it’s a half-second and 9mph behind through the traps.

Ok, so tuned GT-R’s don’t seem to have trouble beating any kind of exotica.  SLS, LF-A, even a Veyron or two, tuned ZR-1′s, what can’t these things beat?  Well, how about one of Underground Racing’s 1200 wheel horsepower twin-turbocharged Lamborghini Gallardo’s, running on race gas?  What out there is faster than a twin-turbocharged UGR Gallardo?  Well, unless it’s an AMS Alpha 12 GT-R.  Which makes 1200 wheel horsepower as well.

The Alpha 12 is pretty ridiculous, though.  It’s a full-interior street car that does the quarter mile in 8.97 seconds (about a second quicker than a Veyron SS), and 60-130 in 3.31 seconds according to AMS, which is about a second and a half faster than said Veyron.  Remember though, even though it’s a hugely expensive modification: it’s still a Nissan.  With a sleeved 4.0L V6, huge turbos, and a professional built transmission by ShepTrans, we’re still hardly even talking about a tenth the value of a Veyron.

Maybe we’re looking in the wrong place for a challenger here.  Maybe the GT-R’s combination of sophisticated launch control and leech-like grip, with the possibility of absurd aftermarket horsepower, is just a bit too much for other cars.  Maybe a sport bike can take the heavy Nissan sports car down a notch -- after all, we’re talking power to weight ratios that aren’t even on the same planet as even very fast cars.  That seems more fair.

Ok, maybe not from a 30 roll.  How about from a standing start, where the GT-R has to overcome all 3,800lbs and change of mass to get moving?  And how about if we put it up against one of the absolute, bar-none fastest production motorcycles in the world: the 197mph Suzuki GSX-1300R Hayabusa?  Again, no: while the Hayabusa gets a decent lead in the beginning against this Switzer R850 GT-R, the Nissan still beats it in the quarter mile (10.71 vs 10.76), and by a wider margin in the standing mile (26.46 vs 26.93.)  Also notice how much higher the GT-R’s trap speed (speed at the time it crosses the finish line) is: 197mph vs 183 for the 1300cc Suzuki.  Damn.

Ahh.  It turns out, if you want to find the car that can beat the invincible underdog, you have to go back to the old underdog: the MkIV Toyota Supra Turbo.  It feels good to watch this 67mm single-turbo Supra walk this modified GT-R like it’s standing still…  much in the same way that it feels good to watch a Switzer P800 pull on a Veyron.  The world comes full circle.

Awesome intro image via MotorTrend.

I always make it out to Raleigh’s Cars & Coffee event the first Saturday of every month. It’s always worth it, even though I abhor waking up early, because there’s always awesome stuff to see.  A lot of the same cars show up, so I won’t show pictures of stuff you’ve already seen – for those you can check previous Cars & Coffee coverage here, here, and here.

For starters, here is one of 337 Porsche 959′s ever built, which was Porsche’s rolling technical showcase that blew everything else out of the water in the 1980′s, and set the standard for supercar performance.  None were ever imported to the US; it’s likely this one has been fitted with the Canepa Design engine kit, which allows the 959 to pass federal emissions regulations for importation, as well as increasing power from 444bhp to 576.

The engine bay of the 959.  Hard to get a picture of this because there was a crowd around it the whole time.  Not really much to look at, engine wise!

First one I’ve seen: the extremely rare Pontiac Solstice Coupe.  These went on sale in early 2009, and the plant closed down in July 2009 – only 1,152 regular production Coupes were made, compared to around 61,000 Solstice Roadsters.  This one is the GXP, with the turbo 2.0L LNF engine – beautiful car, shame about GM killing Pontiac though!

A great license plate, and some more Kappa-chassis love.  This one’s on the back of a Saturn Sky Redline, which also has the Turbo LNF engine.  There was a hilarious sticker on the battery cover, which is slightly NSFW so I just linked to it.

The Lotus-designed, Quad-Cam, 32 valve LT-5 V8 from an über-rare C4 Corvette ZR-1.  So cool to see these!

Super-dropped E46 330i sedan looking great!

A Terminator (03-04) Cobra looking absolutely mean on black wheels, with a huge charge-cooler hiding behind that front bumper.  The 5.0 Fox Body Mustang next to it has a pretty impressive engine bay, as well.

Vortec blower, MSD ignition, and a polished GT40 (SVT Cobra) intake manifold.  This car has to be an absolute handful.

Why would a Viper GTS need a drag parachute?  Well, take a look under the hood.

Extra deceleration abilities come in handy when you have a 1000+whp Twin-Turbo V10 built by Underground Racing.

Cadillac CTS-V Sedan.  Nothing more needs to be said.

I almost walked past this second-generation Eclipse, until I noticed the intercooler that seemed to fill up the front bumper, the 4-piston AP Racing brakes, and the GSX badge.  I found the owner later, and he popped the hood.  Worth the wait.

FULLY built 2.0L.  Rods, pistons, intake manifold, rams-horn exhaust manifold with a Precision GT35, transmission built by Shepard Racing.  The owner – Alex – was a real nice guy, there will be a feature coming on this monster GSX soon.  He’s expecting close to 700 horsepower at all four wheels from this setup once it’s tuned properly.

A brace of badass BMW M Cars – E90 M3, E28 M5, E39 M5 – the best of the best, if you ask me.

Can’t afford a CTS-V?  Just supercharge your G8 GT!

Apparently the trick Boss 302 intake manifold (which is where the Boss gets most of it’s extra power – 444 vs. 412 – from) has been on sale longer than the Boss 302 itself has been.  This is on a modified 2011 GT 5.0, the owner says he’s had it for more than 2 months now.

“My X-Type is too a real Jaguar!”  Look, if your Jaguar is a station wagon with a Taurus engine, no it isn’t.

Three-spoke wheels look good on two things: Saabs, and Italian sport bikes.  Ducati 748, viva Italia!

An Innocenti Mini, owned by a mutual friend.  These are mostly just like Austin Minis, only they’re built in Italy.  A rare spotting in the ‘states, to be sure!

Real Aston Martins have 8 cylinder, 4 cams, 32 valves, and 4 Weber carbs in a plenum.

A pretty cool Volvo 940 Turbo.  This one has the TD04-15g Turbo from an 850 Turbo, big injectors, a large intercooler, a turbo Mopar FPR – most of the turbobrick tricks.  It doesn’t hurt the whole car is flat black with a hood vent cut in, an “I Am The Stig” sticker, and Hella rally lights on the front, either.  It’s pretty quick!

Slightly ratty-looking, but it’s still a twin-cam AE86 Corolla GT-S hatch with the correct wheels.

Before OJ Simpson made it infamous, so infamous they had to ditch the name; hell, before “SUV” was even a term, the original Ford Bronco was a light, simple off-roader.  I’ve never seen an original Bronco in this kind of shape – love the Carolina Blue paint job too!

Even though if you view it logically (they’re overpriced and slow compared to other sports cars in this price range), I still stop and stare every time I see a Maserati GranTurismo – they’re just so gorgeous.  Especially the wheels.

Porsche’s 911 (930) Turbo – a timeless classic, and still a very rapid car by today’s standards.  God help you if you lift in a corner…

Last thing from C&C, this perfect Corvette Grand Sport replica.  I only wish you could hear how tremendous this car sounds through this picture – those side pipes made beautiful music.

This wasn’t at Cars & Coffee, but I saw it about an hour after leaving, and it was so badass I felt the need to include it.  As if a blacked-out Ford GT wasn’t amazing enough, I came back a few minutes later and the rear clamshell was open…

And no, the GT didn’t come with a polished Whipple supercharger stock.

Or these huge titanium exhaust pipes.  When he took off up the road, I had to admit it was literally the best-sounding car I’d ever experienced.  Utterly amazing.  Until next month!

It is good to see the traditional gran turismo coupe alive at BMW, and it bodes well for the upcoming four-door Gran Coupe. To show off the new 6-Series, BMW made two new videos of the new coupe. Action packed they are not – but its great to see the car inside and out from a variety of angles.

Motor Trend Compares Chevrolet ZR1 and Porsche 911 Turbo

Throughout the storied history of the Chevrolet Corvette and Porsche 911 model lines, the two have been pitted against each other. Both are the darlings of the automotive media – and both couldn’t be further apart in approach.

However, comparisons persist between the best of America and Germany. Motor Trend is happy to continue that with its latest video, putting the Corvette ZR1 against the Porsche 911 Turbo. Check out the video below and leave us your thoughts on which one you would choose in the comments below.

Also, they’ve been creating new videos that explain product. This one just so happens to be about the quickest and most universally-liked GM model line, the Corvette.

This is the third episode in a series about the Corvette Racing program. It features Corvette Product Manager Harlan Charles and chief engineer Tadge Juechter talking about the newest special edition Corvette, the Z06 Carbon.

He also talks about the development of racing systems like carbon ceramic brakes on race cars and their eventual implementation on road cars. It is worth checking out.

But all of these tweaked production cars pale in comparison to John’s latest brainchild, which has been in the works for almost as long as I can remember.  Introducing the Hennessey Venom GT, a (mostly) bespoke mid-engine carbon-fibre supercar powered by an obscenely powerful GM LS9 motor.  The basic ingredients are this: take  one flyweight mid-engine Lotus Elise, which normally has a 190bhp Toyota engine, mix with equal parts tuned LS9; stretch, poke, and slam, and what do you have?  A 2,400lb mid-engined carbon-fibre rocketship with a 725bhp V8 as the base engine. Let me reiterate: a Lotus Elise with 725bhp.

Now, as far as the Hennessey – Shelby comparison goes, it makes a lot of sense.  Shelby spent a lot of time in the 80′s making Turbo Mopars go really fast, and these days Hennessey spends a lot of time making boring domestics like the Lincoln MKS go really fast.  (How fast?  Hennessey’s MKS MaxB00st runs 13.08s in the 1/4 mile with minimal bolt-ons and ECU tweaking.)  But going back even further, to the start of Shelby: the Cobra was, at it’s core, a lightweight British chassis stuffed full of a gigantic American V8 (Ford 260′s, 289′s, and later 427′s.)  The Venom GT is the exact same thing, only brought up to modern times: a tiny British chassis mated to an epic American V8.

The regular Venom GT (which is expected to clock in around $600k) uses the same engine as HPE’s versions of the Camaro, CTS-V, and ZR-1: an LS9 (6.2L supercharged V8) gets a larger intercooler, bigger injectors, a smaller supercharged drive pulley and larger crank pulley for more boost, and intake and exhaust modifications.  The changes are good for a whoppping 725bhp and 741lb-ft of torque (at 2,500rpm!) on 91 octane pump gas.  If that much power in a 2,400lb car isn’t insane enough for you, Hennessey has two other engine choices to wet your whistle.  There’s a twin-turbocharged LS9 designed to run on 93 octane that makes 1,000bhp and 900lb-ft, and if you really aren’t concerned with your lifespan there’s a 109-octane race-gas version of that motor with 1,200bhp and 1,100lb-ft.  I’d imagine that much power is largely academic in an Elise, but who knows?

At this point the question is, what’s been done to keep this thing pointed in a straight line?  Well, the basic Elise body/chassis is lengthened, widened, and stiffened at the Lotus factory in England before being shipped to Texas.  The carbon-fibre widebody was developed using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamic) testing to provide maximum downforce at speed along with the adjustable front and rear spoilers.  The suspension is fully adjustable, and 15″ carbon-ceramic brakes with 6 piston front/4 piston rear rotors bring things to a halt, hopefully in time.  The Ricardo 6-speed manual transmission has a driver-adjustable traction control system with integrated launch control so you don’t spin around backwards when you punch the gas.  And finally, each Venom GT will come with free admission to a driver training course so that you’re not totally in over your head.

Hennessey expects to build approximately 10 Venom GT’s a year, and there are already four orders.  While it’s certainly unusual (and certainly the world’s meanest-looking Lotus), the prospect of a 1,000+bhp V8 in a Lotus Elise is hard to ignore.  I have no doubt the man will sell every one his company wants to assemble, even at a half-million plus pricetag.  Look for the official debut of the Venom GT later this year, possibly at Pebble Beach.

The products themselves are easily the best they’ve ever been.  Competition seems to grow stronger and stronger by the day, and that’s nothing but good news for the consumer.  Gone are the days where it was actually a possibility to buy a car that would immediately bite you in the ass.  There is no Yugo or Sterling or Merkur any more.  As much as I miss them, the era of the truly awful car (at least in the US market) is long gone.  Consumers won’t take it, so it doesn’t survive.  Oldsmobile cranked out exceedingly mediocre products for a decade or two, and even a grand-slam like the Aurora couldn’t plug the leak in the ship.  Plymouth had no real place in the market, and despite decades of history, they were kicked to the curb like week-old food.  Mercury’s next; Mitsubishi is feeling the pain of only offering really good cars for insane speed demons.

Things that used to be crap are now good, and good things that stopped existing are coming back into play.  Want some proof?  Here’s a bucket load.

Ford’s new Taurus.  The SHO in particular.

When gas prices started to skyrocket, there were a lot of people that believed Ford wouldn’t make it through intact, with their SUV and truck-heavy lineup and collection of out-of-date, unpleasant regular passenger vehicles.  They had put their money on the wrong number, and people thought they’d be getting what was long due to them.

I guess that won’t be the case, if the new SHO Taurus is anything to judge by.  When was the last time Ford made a mid-sized sedan that people who actually like to drive drooled over?  An argument can be made for the final SVT Contours, but you can’t argue that they were truly great cars.  The original SHO (1989-1995) inspired lust in the hearts of American drivers with it’s Yamaha-sourced screamer under the hood, and now the automotive sphere’s starting to get hot and bothered for the return of the Super High Output.

And with good reason.  5 years ago, would you have predicted that Ford would be putting a direct-injected, twin-turbocharged, twin-cam 24 valve V6 into something called a Taurus? No, because 5 years ago the Taurus was only being purchased by rental fleets.  Now they’re being purchased as daily’s for people who don’t want to put miles on the 911 during the week, and they’re running high 12′ s in the quarter with mild mods.  And with 365bhp and all-wheel-drive, it’s not like stock SHO’s have to make any excuses for themselves.  Although the  inevitable Mustang GT’s they’ll beat off lights when the ‘Stangs driver isn’t paying attention probably should start thinking up some.

And the best part?  There are no excuses to be made for THIS SHO.  It’s got all the tech goodies and luxuries of a 60k Euro sports sedan, more than enough pace to give them a headache, and it’s all-in for around 40 grand.  There’s even a track package. All this in 5 years?  Really?  And the great thing is, as far as comfy family sedans go, the regular Taurus is right up there with the Passats and Accords of the world.  Raise your hand if this makes you even a little proud to be an American.

The Cheap, Fun Sports Car is Coming Back!

It’s been a while since there was really any choice on the market for cheap, light, efficient, and fun-handling two-doors.  The Scion tC isn’t it, the last of the 7th gen Celicas left US dealers in 2005, and the Miata is getting ever more expensive and less fun to drive.  The Z4 is all grown up and pricey (of course), and while Nissan teased us with the 240SX-resurrection Azeal concept back in ’05, nothing ever came of it.

So I’m more than a bit shocked that Honda and Toyota, two of the most boring companies on earth, seem to get it.  When was the last time you got excited about a new Toyota?  I can’t even remember, but the FT-86 concept has got me quite interested.  Based on a bespoke front-mid engine rear-drive chassis, the FT-86 borrows a 2.0L 16v flat-four from Subaru for perfect weight distribution and a low center of gravity/moment of polar inertia, which all equals tidy, responsive handling.  One Toyota brass went so far as to apologize to enthusiasts for not making any remotely desirable cars for a few years, and I’d say this is a good step in the right direction.  An even better step would be an FT-86 with the WRX’s 265bhp 2.5L turbo H4, and how hard would that really be?

And if the FT-86 is a resurrection of the old AE-86 Corolla Sprinter/Trueno’s (which it is), then at least Honda’s not missing out with their modern-day CR-X.  It even looks like a CRX (which I obviously think is a good thing), will hopefully handle like a CRX, and will get great fuel mileage like the CR-X.  Sadly, to make that happen these days Honda had to also add in an electric motor (and you all know how I feel about hybrids) but it’ll be a hybrid with a six speed manual.  It’s about time.  There are also rumors that Honda will offer a CR-Z Type R with the wonderful K20 (found in the Civic Si), which would be an absolute hoot.

With the base models of both of these fun-to-drive lightweight coupes pegged somewhere around 20k, I predict they’ll sell like Evian in the Sahara.  And it’s about time!

GM Actually Seems To Care What People Want?!?

Face it, some of the best driver’s cars these days have been coming out of Government Motors.  The CTS-V is so epic that even uber-Brit slow driver James May liked it.  The ZR-1 Corvette is a genuine world-class supercar.  According to C&D (who’s obviously the be-all-end-all benchmark, right?), the Cobalt SS is quicker arond VIR than an Evo X.  The G8 GXP may be dead by January, but it’s absolutely awesome now.

And not just that, but they seem to actually have their ear to the market.  It might be too late, but they’ve created enough press hype for the Volt that it’ll surely be in marketing textbooks for decades to come.  It’s leading-edge technology, catering to the hyper-green movement sweeping the world, and the General’s got a bragging point.

And more and more products are changing to conform to what consumers want, not what GM thinks they want.  The SRX downsized to where there was a market for it, apparently the Cruze won’t be another completely dreadful compact GM, the Malibu fills the boring family sedan roll quite well, you get the picture.

It remains to be seen if this is real change, but it’s a great sign.

McLaren’s Building A New Car…  That’s Not A Mercedes.

Enough said.

Diesel is Coming Back In A Big Way.

Again, five years ago, who was offering a diesel in the US?  VW and Jeep, and only in extremely limited numbers for Jeep.  Besides that, there were lots of diesel commercial vehicles and HD trucks, but that’s hardly relevant.  Now, you can buy a diesel from VW, Audi, Mercedes, Jeep, BMW, and apparently soon Nissan, Honda, and who knows who else.  If you like good fuel economy but would prefer a fistful of meaty torque to a bunch of stupid batteries, this is good news for you.

BMW’s 335d is massively awesome; it’s got 265bhp (enough) and 428lb-ft of torque (almost too much) from a twin-turbo 3.0L diesel.  It’s got more torque than the howling V8 M3, despite posting mid-thirties on the highway.  It’ll probably do a mile-long burnout, although I know most 3-series driver’s aren’t really about that.  The Grand Cherokee diesel is what it should’ve been all along.  Ditto Audi’s Q7 3.0TDI.  You get the point.

What do you think is the greatest thing about the auto market today?  Leave your comments below!

Proof of the program’s success is in the statistics. Only 100 customers have opted to participate in the program, and out of those 100, only 1 has returned a vehicle – that vehicle being a Corvette. Yes, you heard that right. Someone not liking a Corvette?

Well, it turns out the Corvette’s buyer opted for a manual-transmission and decided 30 days later to return it for an automatic one. Not even a real return! When purchasing a new GM vehicle, you’re allowed to pick between participating in the program or getting a $500 rebate. Customers are overwhelmingly opting for the $500 rebate.

Meanwhile though, regardless of participation in the program, consideration for GM’s products is up and transaction prices have increased dramatically. J.D. Power data says that the average purchase price of a GM vehicle has jumped to $35,069 – up $8,000 from September of last year.

That is a huge increase, and far outpaces the industry average of $30,327, a figure that is up by $3,613. Like the program or not, the buzz around it and customer awareness of it is helping GM significantly.

It’s GM’s Porsche 911, if you will. The debate about its future has always been, and will continue to be, fierce. Should it be revolutionary, evolutionary or heritage-inspired?

Revolutionary would be a huge change, like a mid-engined layout that deviates from the front-engined/rear-wheel drive configuration the Corvette has always had. Don’t expect that to happen. Evolutionary would be like the change from Corvette C5 to C6. Modern styling, revamped interior with no major upsets to the tried and true formula.

The third option could be a standalone, or a blend with evolutionary. That option would be heritage. Most of the signs point to a heritage-inspired next-generation of the Corvette. There is a danger though, GM needs to be careful not to take the Corvette into purely heritage/retro territory.

Because that isn’t where the car is at right now. I’d prefer a thoroughly modern car, but with inspired touches from classic Corvettes. Many have speculated that the Corvette Stingray Concept from the Transformers movie previews the C7 C0rvette, but GM’s head of design Ed Welburn says that is not the case.

“That car (the Corvette Stingray Concept) is not the next Corvette….but the split-window is something that I expect for the next Corvette…..with the back-up cameras and blind-spot detection systems that we have these days, the visibility issue is much less of a problem.” While it was only put into production for the 1964 model year, the split window amazingly has proved to be an iconic Corvette design element.

Some of those classic styling elements with an overall modern design is what I expect GM to do with the next-generation Corvette. I trust that GM won’t mess it up. They have done since the car’s inception, right?

There has also been recent talk about a Corvette hybrid. My response to that? Nonsense. It’s not going to happen – GM doesn’t need to make the Corvette a hybrid due to mileage issues. Work on making other high-volume vehicles achieve higher ratings instead.

Besides, if the Volt really does achieve 230 mpg in the EPA cycle, that will make a big difference in the company’s overall CAFE figure. The current Corvette is already pretty efficient, and can become more so through the proper use of technology.

That’s why the seventh-generation C7 Corvette is going to be very interesting in many ways. GM’s design prowess has improved so much since the current car’s development. If the current Corvette was developed in the same time frame as the 2005 Equinox, imagine a Corvette developed with the improvements of the 2010 model. The C7 could be the most amazing Corvette yet – a car with all the attention to detail of recent GM models, and the world-class interior that the car has always deserved.