These days, you just can’t build a fast car without carbon fiber; apparently, the guys at Specter Werkes/Sports know that, and they’ve liberally applied the stuff to their Corvette GTR. Chief among the carbon-y items on this wicked Corvette Z06–based machine are the sweet HRE CF40 carbon-fiber wheels, which are wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires. Weighing in at only 22 pounds each, the wheels reduce unsprung weight, meaning this beast will have even less trouble breakin’ ’em loose and ripping off one massive burnout.
This M3, just captured by our spy photographers, is not circling the Nürburgring without reason. Somewhat based on the M3 GT4 race car, this version will be for those who haven’t forgotten what an M3 is all about: light weight, high speed, and hard driving on tracks.
Although the Nissan GT-R has no alligator bag, and would look rather funny with a top hat to match—who knows, maybe we’ll see one at SEMA next month—it is available in black on black and is quite effective at shuttling Filipino girlies. Catch our drift? No? That’s fine. It’s been a while since we listened to much Mötley Crüe, too.
Before Alpina got into the business of making BMWs faster and more exclusive, the company specialized in office supplies. The move into the car world began more than 40 years ago when company founder Burkard Bovensiepen steered the family business into BMW tuning with a dual Weber carburetor kit for BMW’s then-new 1500 sedan. BMW’s top brass was impressed enough by the quality of Alpina’s work that by the mid-1960s, Alpina-tuned cars were covered under the standard BMW factory warranty. The two companies have been working closely together ever since.
In the midst of the 2009 Tokyo auto show, Automotive News has revealed Mitsubishi’s plans for a small crossover that will go on sale in the U.S. in the fall of 2010. The confusingly named Outlander Sport will be a globally offered CUV based on the Concept cX we first saw at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show. Like the larger Outlander CUV, the Outlander Sport is said to ride on a version of the Lancer sedan platform and will be powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, offering the choice of front- or all-wheel drive.
In developing this six-seater concept, Honda wondered if it could create a package that would appeal to a wide range of ages and lifestyles, a sort of bridge between the extreme-sports crew and the shuffleboard set. To that end, the company threw something at it from every age-related stereotype: nesting mesh seats to cushion the backside of the Miami retiree; Lambo-style front scissor doors for the homies and minivan-style sliding doors at the back for gramps; and, finally, a hybrid powertrain for everyone’s conscience. It’s the last word in intergenerational bonding, and it will never, ever, come to the U.S.