Search results for: ferrari
Race Preview: 2010 24 Hours Of Le Mans
While the rest of the world may have their eyes on South Africa this weekend, if you are a race fan, your bottom should be firmly planted in front of the television for the greatest endurance race of them all. This weekend marks the 78th running of the 24 Hours Of Le Mans.
Keepers: Pontiac Fiero GT
Ah yes, the glorious Fiero. Nothing says 1980’s poseur mobile better than a cheap version of the same-era Toyota MR2, and that’s not including the countless fiberglass body kits—some of which are truly craptastic—to have graced the pint-sized Pontiac over the years. It seems that even Fiero owners are embarrassed when sitting behind the wheel; what other reason would drive a person to shell out substantial coin for a Ferrari F-40 conversion kit designed by someone without depth perception? Have we totally lost our minds to call this car a Keeper?
Weekend Race Preview
Formula 1 and Indy have some exciting races this weekend. What are your predictions?
2010 World Car Of The Year Winners: It’s A Volkswagen World
On April 1st at the New York International Auto Show, the sixth annual World Car Awards were handed out and the Volkswagen Group made out handsomely.
First Look: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3
Cars with gullwing doors are cool. Race cars are also cool. Following this logic, it can be assumed that a race car with gullwing doors would be extremely cool. Mercedes-Benz seems to agree with that logic.
Fernando Alonso Beats Us To Maserati GranCabrio
Because he can’t drive F10 every day, Bahrain GP winner Fernando Alonso has selected a fine Maserati GranCabrio for himself, in the color of Grigio Granito.
Driven: 2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 CGI BlueEfficiency, E550 Convertible
Two generations ago—the A208 CLK-Class convertible of 1996 to 2002—this was a masculine-looking car. Today’s recently discontinued generation A209 CLK convertible was more leaning toward the feminine side with nearly 65 percent of purchases having been made by the fairer sex worldwide.
Driven: 2011 Aston Martin Rapide
Few companies are as enthroned in their heritage and trying to diversify as is Aston Martin. The (count ‘em) four-door Rapide is finally here, and it could be a hit.
An Open Letter Regarding The Viper
Dear Mr. Gilles,
We were overjoyed to hear you say that the Viper will not disappear down the snake hole next year. After recently putting plenty of miles on a 2009 Viper, we felt compelled to contact you. We hope you’re still open to suggestions regarding the 2011 model.
List: The Ten Most Beautiful Cars Of The Decade
As 2009 comes to a close, we’ve been reflecting on the many cars that have stood out over the past decade. And though many cars are revered for their great levels of performance or their overall presence in the automotive marketplace, a car’s design is easily the most recognizable trait that lingers in our minds. Here, we present to you, the most beautiful cars of the last decade.
Driven: 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
The new aluminum SLS built in Sindelfingen, Germany stays dead even with the carbon-fiber SLR built in the UK until early this year. Though the naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8 in the SLS has 54 less horsepower (down 9 percent) and 96 fewer pound-feet of torque (down 17 percent) than the supercharged 5.5-liter V-8 in the SLR, the SLS weighs 328 pounds less (also down 9 percent), has much finer dynamics, and better technology. Acceleration on both cars to 60 mph therefore stands at 3.6 seconds and both lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in just 7:40. The SLS just does it all with better behavior and efficiency.
First Look: 2010 Lamborghini Reventón Roadster
Lamborghini’s droptop Reventón will be joining the fight for the coolest supercar at Frankfurt, battling with fantastic metal from Mercedes-Benz (SLS AMG), Ferrari (458 Italia), and McLaren (MP4-12C) for eyeballs.
First Look: 2011 McLaren MP4-12C
We’ve been waiting for this one for quite some time. McLaren’s last official entry into the supercar world was the too-hot F1 which ended production in the late 1990s. But now Lamborghini and Ferrari have a new kid to do battle with — the MP4-12C, which has been developed entirely in-house and derived from Formula 1 technologies.
Driven: 2009 Bugatti Grand Sport—Demoralize Thy Neighbor
Many delineate wealth simply as The Haves and The Have Nots. For those who have had enjoyed any sum of money, you know that classifying wealth is not nearly so simple. There are The Have Nothings, The Have Less Than I Do, The Have More Than I Do, The Have More Than I Ever Will, and The Have More Than I Can Ever Imagine.
Driven: 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG
Boy, has the E-Class Mercedes ever come a long way from being the world’s taxi cab. This latest W212 four-door E-Class is a proper executive sedan filled to the gills with technology, luxury, and style. What is already an edgier base model E-Class goes to the edgy-looking extreme here in the 518 horsepower, E63 AMG and you either mind that or you don’t. We do feel the edge is a little overstated, but it’s certainly not heinously so.
Keepers: BMW M3 E46
Let’s be honest, every generation of the M3 is a keeper. Balance, grip, performance, you’ve heard all this before. In 23 years of M3 production, approximately 2863 various adjectives, adverbs, present and past participles, sexually-charged metaphors, and other automotive clichés have been blasted across print and electronic media, describing the greatness of the car. Far be it for us to add to the hype, so we’ll simply say yeah, it’s that good, and the third-generation E46 model is among the finest of the breed, delivering a driving experience that is pure M-ness. M-ness…guess that makes 2864.
Driven: 2010 BMW Z4
Two market segments in particular have been decimated by the Great Recession. First, the Bentley-Ferrari-Porsche 911 area has effectively been castrated in the past six months. Second, there are the smaller two-seater premium Euro roadsters we all love so well in the best of times: Porsche Boxster, Mercedes SLK, Audi TT Roadster, and BMW Z4. For these little guys, emasculation similes do not suffice.
List: The Top 10 Most Futile Formula 1 Teams of All-Time
Ross Brawn—former technical director of the highly successful Ferrari Formula 1 team and last year’s Team Principal at Honda F1—announced last week that he had bought out the former Honda team, restyling the outfit as the Brawn GP team.
Driven: 2009 Saleen Dark Horse
For one reason or another, the Winding Road and NextAutos fleet has been graced with a whole lot of Mustangs over the past few months. Whether it be a simple GT, a stock Shelby, or a tuned up Roush, we’ve driven them all. However, nothing seems to compare to our latest Mustang iteration: the Saleen Dark Horse. This car boasts 620 horsepower, 600 pound-feet of torque, and a sub-four-second zero-to-sixty time, making it the baddest Mustang we’ve driven to date. Still, with a limited production run of only twenty-five cars, the Dark Horse will only be experienced by a select few, and we’re happy to have been part of that lucky group.
Driven: 2008 Maserati Quattroporte
We at Winding Road and NextAutos frequently get the chance to sample luxury offerings from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, et cetera. And while all of those German manufacturers make wonderful vehicles, it’s a rare occasion that some Italian blood works its way into our test fleet. Our Maserati Quattroporte test car proved to be a sporty, elegant cruiser, and can turn heads in a way that none of the German automakers can.
Winding Road’s Top Twelve Cars Of 2009
Over the past twelve months we’ve driven or reviewed (and often both) something on the order of 250 vehicles. Be it on some far-flung and usually stunning road served up by an automaker for a new car launch, or on the slightly more humble highways and byways that surround our Michigan and Texas offices, we’ve had a fair taste of what was on offer in the automotive universe during 2009. We figure the very least we can do is to tell you which ones we liked best.
