Tag Archives: Ferrari

The Grand Tourer

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the Grand Tourer - Aston Martin DB9

the Grand Tourer - Aston Martin DB9

The concept of a grand touring car escapes most Americans these days, for what reason I’m not entirely sure. We have a mass of open roads and long highways that stretch from sea to shining sea, but we also have an abundance of cheap air fair to hop you from state to state. In Europe, they have airlines as well, though, they still have the tradition of grand touring cars. To go ahead and clarify for anyone who I might have already lost, a grand tourer is a special kind of car car derived from the Italian phrase grand turismo. These cars are designed to make long distance trips at high speeds and high comfort. A grand touring car is not necessarily a race car, though most manufacturers race them, it is made to eat the miles in great comfort without sacrificing power. A traditional grand tourer is front engine, rear wheel drive, either a two seater or a two-plus-two configuration, and has a luxurious interior. Continue reading →

My Top 10 Cars at Frankfurt:

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Frankfurt Germany

Frankfurt Germany

The International Motor Show or (IAA) is the world’s largest motor show and is held in Frankfurt Germany. The very first show was in 1897 in a small hotel in Berlin. Since then the show has grown with attendance almost reaching the one million mark. All the big and small manufacturers of the world bring their best and most advanced technology and design to Frankfurt to show to the automotive world.

I know this is a Texas car blog and Frankfurt is a long ways away from Texas and many of the cars displayed there will never see our shoreline. But bear with me as I go through my top picks from the Frankfurt Motor Show.  This is an enthusiast site, so I hope you enjoy the cars as much as I do.

Click the link to see them.

All New Ferrari 458 Italia

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Ferrari F458 Italia

Ferrari F458 Italia

Italian Super Cars and Texas open roads have been living in harmony for decades now. From the racing Risi Competizione team in American LeMans based out of Houston to the plethora of well off enthusiast all around Texas. Well today is a day of excitement for these people as Ferrari comes out with their latest press release.

There has been a lot of speculation of what will be the next big V8 mid engine car, from Ferrari, would be to replace the F430. Today we have the first public shown images of the all new Ferrari 458 Italia and a few early details. This super car will feature a direct injected 4.5 liter V8 pushing 562 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque reaching a massive 9,000 RMP redline.  Weighing in at 3,042 lbs this light weight super car, with the help of the seven speed dual clutch gear box form the California, gets a reasonable 17.1mpg.

No doubt that this will be a quick car, estimates put a 0-62 time at 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 202 mph. in usual Ferrari fashion you get an aluminum chassis and lots of F1 technology packed in and the looks only the Italians can give the world.  There is no pricing information or production numbers released yet but expect this new Ferrari to sell out as soon as they are announced, even in this economy. Expect the car to be shown at this September’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

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[Source: Ferrari]

 

Corvette C6.R GT2 American Le Mans

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source AMLS Corvette C6.R GT2 Class

source: American Le Mans Corvette C6.R GT2 Class

I have been following the American Le Mans Series for a while now and love the excitement of the race. With four classes racing on the track at the same time and 12 hour to 24 hour endurance racing it’s loaded up with what car guys want to see. For the last year and this season the GT1 class has been mostly uncontested as the Corvette team in the C6.R has dominated in the American Le Mans.  Right in time for GM to announce its financial trouble and looming bankruptcy the Corvette team was announcing that it was pulling out of the GT1 class to run in the GT2 class. When the team finished its last race, at Sebring as a GT1 car, there had been speculation if they would even enter back in as GT2. With all the news about GM pulling funding to racing programs and filling bankruptcy their speculation was well deserved.

Then the announcement came today, They are Back! The Corvette team has officially entered in the Mid-Ohio race as a GT2 class racing with more competition with the likes of Porsche, Aston, Panoz, Ford GT, and Ferrari. This does leave the GT1 class empty and brings the American Le Mans down to 3 classes racing, but most enthusiast welcome this change as there will be more competition and fun.

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[source: ALMS]