But this is not the only piece of good news to come from the Prancing Horse at the Paris Show as we will also be announcing the extension of the One To One Personalisation Programme, debuted last March solely for the 612 Scaglietti, to the 599 GTB Fiorano. Read the rest of this entry »

Porsche has just run its own back-to-back tests with the Japanese company’s GT-R supercar and says it could not get within 25 seconds of Nissan’s claimed record time of seven minutes 29 seconds in April.

It also found its 911 Turbo and GT2 were both quicker than the GT-R.

“This wonder car with 7:29 could not have been a regular series production car,” says August Achleitner, the 911 product chief for Porsche, speaking to the CARSguide at the Australian press preview of the latest 911 Cabrio.

“For us, it’s not clear how this time is possible. What we can imagine with this Nissan is they used other tyres.”

He believes the time achieved by Nissan with ex-Formula One driver Toshio Suzuki would only be possible with a semi-slick race-style tyre.

Achleitner says Porsche took a standard GT-R, running on regular road tyres, and ran it around the Nurburgring within two hours of its own cars, on the same day with exactly the same weather conditions.

He says there was no tweaking of any kind and the GT2 and Turbo both ran on regular Porsche road tyres, the Michelin Sport Cup.

“We bought the car in the US. We drove a GT-R with new tyres,” he says.

via Carsguide

Renault will unveil the new Kangoo be bop this year at the Paris Motor Show. The Kangoo be bop features open-top motoring thanks to its glazed sliding roof and rear tailgate window. The model also comes with fully adjustable individual seats and is available with either a petrol or diesel engine. The dCi 85 emits just 138g of CO2/km, making it one of Renault’s most environmentally friendly vehicles. Available video includes exterior and interior b-roll as well as driving shots of the Kangoo be bop. Read the rest of this entry »

The new Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster 722 S opens up astonishing dimensions when it comes to open-top driving. Delivering 478 kW/650 hp, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds and a maximum speed of 335 km/h, this two-seater cabriolet surpasses the existing benchmark among open-top super sports cars – the SLR McLaren Roadster. Both vehicles feature a fully retractable folding soft top capable of withstanding the high speed and are made of carbon fibre. This endows both models with a very high degree of safety and extreme torsional stiffness. In addition to increased power, the new SLR McLaren Roadster 722 S features even more dynamic suspension tuning and improved aerodynamics. While enjoying exceptional performance, the new roadster’s occupants in no way lose out in terms of comfort or the vehicle’s suitability for everyday use. With its sporty, premium-quality interior appointments and distinctive motorsport pedigree, the new SLR McLaren Roadster 722 S is limited to 150 vehicles and will inspire the most discerning automotive enthusiasts. Read the rest of this entry »

Transport authorities in Brazil have caught up with a speed-loving Brazilian driver who clocked up nearly $2 million in fines, local media reported.

Police intercepted the driver of a 12-year-old car in Sao Paulo at the spot he most frequently committed infractions, the O Globo daily said Thursday.

For seven years he had been speeding and running red lights but was not arrested earlier because he never registered the car in his own name.

The paper said the car, worth around $6,500, would be auctioned if the driver, unnamed, did not pay the $1.8 million in fines in 90 days.