SSC Tuatara Production May Finally Get Underway

Get ready for 1,350 horsepower.

It’s been a few months since we last heard anything from SSC, the company behind the upcoming Tuatara hypercar. Its previous insane creation was the Ultimate Aero. Although it’s taken some time to get off the ground, it’s being reported that SSC’s new production facility in West Richland, Washington is on schedule to begin construction this August. Completion should be done early next year. It will supposedly be a 40,000 square foot facility.

However, that doesn’t mean the company will be capable of mass production. As it stands now, just one Tuatara will be built per month. Output will likely increase over time. Overall this is very good news considering SSC had originally hoped to get the Tuatara on the road this year. It would be an outright shame if that 1,350 horsepower hypercar doesn’t get to see the light of day. All of that power comes from a 6.9-liter twin-turbo V8, allowing for a 0-60 mph time of just 2.5 seconds, a quarter-mile time in 9.75 seconds, and a top speed of 275 mph. SSC reportedly already has a few orders from anxious and wealthy customers.

Don’t Be Jealous of This Twenty-Something’s McLaren P1

First of eight P1s coming to Canada.

The first McLaren P1 has arrived in Canada and according to Marcel Lech Photography, provider of these awesome shots, the owner is in his early twenties. No, it is not Justin Bieber. #65 is the first of eight P1s destined for the Great White North, following #63 that went to Jay Leno and #64 that belongs to Ralph Lauren. Like the bulk of McLaren P1s, Mahidar Ah’s model went to McLaren Special Operations first, who added more carbon and finished the car in a stunning shade of blue-tinted white.

Heavyweights: Challenger SRT Hellcat Vs Camaro ZL1

Two somewhat overweight modern muscle cars are still going at it after all these years.

They’re both pretty heavy, especially when compared with the 2015 Ford Mustang. But that’s not really fair now, is it? The Mustang is all-new, while the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro are built on aging platforms, both of which were originally designed for a sedan. Because of that, both cars are heavier than they should be. So let’s stick with the Challenger and Camaro here; they just have the most in common underneath. Both have been heavily updated since their initial debuts several years back.

Just this past week Dodge unveiled its newest Challenger SRT that’s powered by the new 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V8, better known as the Hellcat. It pumps out more than 600 horsepower! Then there’s the Camaro ZL1, with a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 of its own, with 580 ponies on tap. Is this a case of less is more, or simply more power rules no matter what? Which of these would you take home?

Boutique Supercars: Koenigsegg Agera

How one Swedish guy dreamed big and ended up building one of the world's fastest cars.

The Swedish hyper car maker Koenigsegg is another recent success story, owing much of this to their engineering work, which is at a level that would be impressive even for a much bigger company. Cars built by Koenigsegg hold a number of world records, and the company, which is already a major contender in the world of hyper cars, continues to gain momentum. Founded by Christian von Koenigsegg, it is now a publicly traded company, but his family crest still serves as the official logo.

Von Koenigsegg got his start in business as a food exporter, but it is said that he had dreamed of making his own supercar ever since he saw the Norwegian film "Flaklypa Grand Prix" at the age of five. So Koenigsegg was founded in 1994, and the first prototype was built in '96. This was the CC, and it underwent several years of testing and a number of new prototypes were built before the first production-ready prototype was unveiled in 2000. Taking so long to develop a hyper car isn't unusual, and when it's from a boutique company, it's even more normal. What's unusual about Koenigsegg is that they now use their own engines, built in-house.

Lamborghini Veneno Roadster

For those that just can’t get enough of Lamborghini’s most extreme open-top supercar.

Lamborghini unleashed the new Veneno Roadster with only a handful of images, but has now revealed more angles of its 3.3 million Euro supercar for your viewing pleasure. Dubbed by the carmaker as an “open racing prototype,” the 750-hp Veneno Roadster has a strong rollover bar in place of a roof, racing car aerodynamics, a carbon-fiber clad interior and a power-to-weight ratio of 1.99 kg/hp, enabling it to sprint from 0-62 mph in 2.9 seconds and hit a 221 mph top speed. Production will start next year, limited to just nine units.

BMW i8 U.K Pricing Revealed

Reports from a few months back indicated that the brand new and quite revolutionary 2014 BMW i8 would set U.K. buyers back around 150,000 pounds. However, the official price for the BMW i8 has finally been released and it is a lot cheaper than we were expecting.

Prices in the U.K. start at 99,845 pounds for the base model but as with all BMWs and cars of this prestige, add on a few options and that price will skyrocket. As it stands, BMW claims to have received 100 deposits for the sports car in the United Kingdom thus far.

Under the hood, BMW i8 features an aluminium Drive module incorporating a traditional internal combustion engine, two electric motors, a battery as well as all the electronics. That traditional engine is a mid-mounted 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder powertrain pumping out an impressive 231 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels.

However, BMW wasn’t entirely satisfied with those figures and also fitted an electric motor up front which on its own produces 131 hp and 184 lb-ft of instantly available torque. As a result, the BMW i8 produces a total of 362 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque and is good for a sprint from 0-100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.

Fortunately, BMW didn’t focus all their energy on the powertrain and spent a considerable amount of time ensuring the BMW i8 is lightweight. This aim has been achieved thanks to a carbon fiber module making up part of the chassis and weighing 50% less than steel. As a result of this and BMW’s incredible engineers, the BMW i8 achieves a perfect 50:50 weight distribution.

HWA Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing 6.0 V8 in Hong Kong

The Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing is a timeless classic, a car that was drooled over when it was first unveiled way back in 1954 and still is to this very day. Today, the 300SL with its unique doors, technological firsts, and low production numbers is considered one of the most collectible Mercedes-Benz models, with prices generally in the US$700,000-$1,000,000 range, a car to be garaged and maintained to the highest standards, a driven on a crisp spring morning up a twisting mountain pass.

The last thing you would ever do to a gullwing is tear out 212hp V6 and lump in a huge 5,956cc V8 that features in the AMG range. Well brace yourselves, because its been done. Just three special editions by HWA AG in Germany have been created. That huge modern engine in the pretty delicate gullwing frame produces 381bhp via a 4-speed automatic gearbox.

We’re not sure what to think of this project. The purist within wants to scoff and shout in anger as the entire concept of tinkering with such a car seems plain wrong. But that’s just us, what do you think? Oh yes, one last thing. This car is now estimated to be worth a mind boggling $14,800,000 (no really, we haven’t added a zero!).

2015 Ford Mustang Confirmed for December 5 Debut

After months and months of speculation, Ford has finally announced that the 2015 Ford Mustang will officially be unveiled at exactly 12:01am on December the 5th.

What’s more, Ford revealed that the impending debut will take place simultaneously in six cities on four continents. Those are Dearborn, New York, Los Angeles, Spain, Shanghai and Sydney!

Recently, screenshots emerged of an official Ford Mustang survey surfaced revealing some of the new car’s key details. First and foremost, the survey asked which of three engines would be most preferred among existing Ford Mustang owners. The first was a 3.8-liter V6 delivering a total of 300 hp and 290 lb-ft of torque and rated at 19 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. The next engine listed was a 2.4-liter inline-four cylinder engine believed to be from Ford’s EcoBoost family of engines. Despite its smaller capacity, this powerplant produces an impressive 310 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque and is rated at 22 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway.

Finally and most importantly we come to the long-awaited V8 engine available on the 2015 Ford Mustang. If this previous information is to be believed then it will be a 4.9-liter V8 engine pumping out an impressive 430 hp and 396 lb-ft of torque. This engine is then rated at 18 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway. It’s hard to say at this stage, but this could be the engine used in the 2015 Ford Mustang GT350 albeit a slightly detuned variant.

Luxury Supercar Weekend 2013 by Marcel Lech Photography

The annual Luxury Supercar Weekend, in Vancouver, occurred again for the 4th time. Although Vancouver, a rapidly growing supercar city, has its share exotic cars, even they were shocked to see one of the two Pagani Huayra Carbon Editions in their city. The Canadian show is split over the first weekend of every September at the iconic VanDusen Botanical Gardens. The Saturday focuses heavily on modified modern supercars, and the Sunday on classics.

Marcel Lech was on the gardens during both days of the show, capturing highlights of the display. In addition to the exclusive Pagani Huayra Carbon Edition, ZR Auto brought their famous Edo Competition Maserati MC12 and ZXX Edo competition Enzo. Similar to the Pagani, one of the Bugatti Veyron Vitesse’s was from Pebble beach and was flown in specifically for display.

Local exotic tuner, SR Auto had a heavy presence at the show with a stunning thirteen car display which included multiple customized Lamborghini Aventadors, Ferrari 458s, a RWB Porsche 993, a 1500 HP Underground Racing Gallardo, and the only Conquest Evade in the world. SR Auto’s display was such a success they won four of the 11 modified modern supercar awards.

Newly formed Vancouver based aftermarket kit company Attivo Designs, displayed the progress of their projects on their three canvases- Lamborghini LP560, Ferrari 458, and Lamborghini Aventador. Attivo’s progress was significant enough to convince the panel of judges for two of the awards. One award for their Project Inizio, and the second for Project Legato.

Audi R8 Grandoise Body Kit by Regula Tuning

German tuner Regula Tuning released their Audi R8 Grandoise body kit made of aramid (aromatic polyamide). The kit features a new agressive front and rear. They also added a massive rear wing.

The wheel and tire combination includes 20 inch Oxigin wheels model Oxrock with a width of 8.5 inches at the front and 11 inches at the rear and tires of adequate size in the dimensions of 235/30 R20 at the front and 295/25 R20 at the rear.

Regula tuning is offering a chip tuning for the engine up to 560hp costing € 1,398. The body kit costs 7,698 euros and is available for the presented V10 version, as well as for the models V8 Spyder (from May 2010) and Coupé.

2015 SUBARU LEGACY CONCEPT

Cherry Hill, N.J. - Subaru of America, Inc. announced today it will debut the Subaru LEGACY CONCEPT at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show. The new LEGACY CONCEPT celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Subaru Legacy and provides a look at the styling cues for future Legacy models.

Adorned wîth a custom Ocean Silver Metallic paint scheme, the LEGACY CONCEPT features a more coupe-like silhouette. The LEGACY CONCEPT is a modern interpretation of the Legacy and features a more distinguished front design wîth a new hexagonal grille and a sharper hawk-eye headlamp design.

Flared wheel arches cover 21-inch wheels and hint at the standard Subaru Symmetrical all-wheel drive drivetrain. A pronounced character line flows into the short rear deck and ends in the rear tail lamps. The tail lamps echo the hawk-eye headlamp design and enhance the solidity of the overall design.

About Subaru of America, Inc. 

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the Únited States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only Ú.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.

2013 Jaguar XFR-S

PRICE: $160,000

TOP SPEED: 300 KM/H, 186 MPH

POWER & TORQUE: 500 HP, 404 KW (680 Nm @ 2500 rpm)

0-100 KM/H ~ 0-62 MPH: 4,4 sec