Cars on Show

As the Frankfurt show is on, here are a couple of the eye catchers………

lambo4First up, the 1Million pound Lambo, the Lamborghini Reventón is based on the LP640, it has a 6.5Ltr V12, pushing out 650Bhp. So with only 10Bhp more than the LP640, why the price difference?

Well it’s the technology involved, the car has everything that is available from the racetrack that is possibly road ready. It also weighs nearly nothing. With 20 of them going to be made, they are true Lamborghini fanboy cars, and look amazing.

VW Group (the owners of Lamborghini) now have two million pound ‘production’ cars on their books, I would still have the Veyron myself, but hey, that has a massive (by comparison) 300+ cars being made.

RS6070002 Next on the list is another of the VW group brands. This time it’s the Audi badge on show (Audi are the part of the company that look after Lamborghini incidentally).

RS6070010The Audi RS6 Avant is the fastest estate on the market. The car packs a very pretty 580Bhp (although apparently it’s closer to 600Bhp) V10 Twin Turbo under the bonnet, so it goes like stink (4.6 to 62 and 120mph in 14.9), and you can still get the kids and dogs in the back (and have fun making them sick, as leather is wipe clean after all), and will corner like it’s on rails thanks to the 4WD Quattro system with a 40 front 60 rear split.

Honda S2000 CR Prototype Next comes Honda. The S2000 is an aging car now, aging well, yes, but aging. So Honda are coming out with a nutter edition. The S2000 Type-S hit’s Japan next month at the Japanese Motor Show.

It’s got all the wheels and fairing’s of the S2000 Cup Racer that has been shown off before, but manages to keep the folding roof. No details on engine mods etc, but I would imagine that the power has been hiked a bit, and with some luck, we will see the engine back running again at above 9000RPM, for all that in your face screaming that we love with the S2000.

subie_wrc_live_1280_04 Subaru have shown off the WRC ‘concept’ for there new Impreza. The strange thing is that it’s not Fugly? What have Subaru been up to? a decent looking Impreza? no way! It just cannot happen…. Next thing we will hear is that they have re-hired Colin McRae for a race drive….

gtr_proto_30lo Other news (car related) is that Nissan have decided the engine for the GT-R (Replacement for the Skyline GT-R).

The VR38VETT will be a 3.8Ltr 6 cylinder Twin Turbo lump, figures are said to be 480Bhp (or there about’s) with 62 in sub 4 seconds.

The engine is basically a sister to the Cosworth Engineered 3.5Ltr V8 VRH35L that is found in the R390 LeMans car. So some trick components are going to be used, stuff like the turbo impellers being integrated into the exhaust chambers (might be hated by tuners, but keeps weight down), as well as extremely light internals for things like the crank shaft, Piston’s and con rods. Should be a right screamer when it’s released, so the Porsche 911 Turbo will certainly have to watch it’s back.

Ferrari 430 SCUDERIA Ferrari showed of it’s ‘Stradale’ version of the F430, the cunningly named F430 Scuderia (so that’s an F430 Team, who’s bright idea was that? anyhow….). As with most modern Ferrari’s it looks the part, and will undoubtedly be very quick around the track, but Ferrari are so passe……

So there is a lot of pretty hardware coming our way soon. Still nothing here want’s me to change my mind, I would still take the Audi R8……. Well, perhaps the Lambo would be nice…..

Forbes ’sexiest cars’

Sometimes I'm not sure about our friends over the pond. Forbes have published 'The sexiest cars of 2006". For a start we are not even half way through said year,  and they have certainly not picked the cream of the crop anyhow!

Range_Rover_Sport_Supercharged.jpgYes I know the yanks love there 'pickups' but for gord sake the Sexiest Car For "Country Living" is a  Dodge Ram Power Wagon! What? That monstrosity could not be considered sexy under any conditions, the thing certainly hit every branch of the ugly tree on the way down. What's wrong with the Range Rover Sport or the M5. If you do need a 'pickup' then the Toyota Hilux is a much nicer looking creation.

Mx5.jpgSexiest Car For College Students is the Saturn Sky, So I cannot really comment on this one as we don't have the Sky in Europe, in fact we don't have the brand, the closest thing we have to the Saturn is the VX220. However Forbes should have chosen the new MX5 anyhow! it's cheaper to buy and run, more reliable and better looking.

lancerfq40005_03_1024.jpgSexiest Car For Desperate Housewives is the Subaru WRX STi Limited. Well yes this is a good car, another car that fell out the ugly tree, but a good car never the less, the European version is a 2.5ltr turbo charged Boxter, not sure if the American's get that one yet. However I would have gone for the Mitsubishi Evo FQ400 here, it's just nicer looking.

Sexiest Car For Hip-Hop Moguls is the Rolls-Royce Phantom, well I would not call the Phantom sexy, but it sure has presence. I could think of a few other's. But they would be too sexy for your average rapper. So yeah this is a good choice, the only other option is the Bentley Arnage.

Ford_GTX1_Roadster.jpgSexiest Car For Hollywood Agents is the Lexus RX 400h, what do I know about Hollywood? this car was probably chosen due to it being a 'hybrid'. The people who drive them missed the point though, the electric engine is in there to give the car V8 levels of performance, whilst using a V6 engine.

ZondaC.jpgSexiest Car For Miami Beach Plastic Surgeons is the Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster, Can't argue here, sexy gorgeous car with attitude. Possible others would be the Zonda or the GTX.

Sexiest Car For Mobsters is the Cadillac Escalade, well lets be honest, mobster and gangsters do not usually have a brain, so a slow, overweight, thirsty, rolly polly piece of rubbish is just perfect for them.

Jaguar_XK_Convertible.jpgSexiest Car For Newly Divorced Dads is the Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, well OK, at least this one does look nice! however it's not in the slightest way about to challenge any of the European cars for driving. I would recommend that if you want a bit of fun as well as wind in your hair joys, then get the new Jaguar XK Convertible.

Sexiest Car For Newly Divorced Moms is the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG, well OK then, good car. A bit expensive for my taste but never the less.

gp_four.jpgSexiest Car For People Living In Their Cars is the Honda Element. Another car we don't have in the UK so cannot really comment. I would possibly go for a Volvo XC90, or if you don't want to spend that much then the Smart Four-Four has a very clever interior.

Sexiest Car For Washington Lobbyists is a Cadillac CTS, now again I would not know what a Washington Lobbyist is let alone what they drive. The CTS has not gone down all that ae_Maserati_4porte_791_01.jpgwell in Europe, something to do with the styling I think. Yes the CTS is meant to b a decent car, let down by it's 'tacky' interior. I would probably go for the Maserati Quattroporte. It's sexy, quick, handles well and it's Italian.

So then, it looks like the US market certainly has a different taste to the European market when it comes to cars. I tend to think that the US market is all about Cubic Inches and us Europeans really don't care about that. We know size does not matter, it's been proven that the old adage "There's no replacement for displacement" is just not true any more. We have 2ltr engines that out perform 5ltr V8's, and diesel lump's with more torque.

Let me know what you think, have I left anything out?