“Getting late in the day with Fredric Aasbø in his Speedhunters GT86 and Mad Mike in a borrowed silvia s13 pushing harder and harder at the end of the long straight at Rudskogen, Norway. Hitting 220kph/136mph before initiating agains the wall with the airpressure actually breaking the 150m sign! These guys are f****** MENTAL!”
Via Vimeo
Ever wondered what it’s like to drive/be a passenger of a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta? Well wonder no more as YouTube user, Marchettino, provides us with a first person view of what it’s like to ride in the F12 around the roads of southern France. No matter what you like, whether it’s muscle, import or milk floats, just devour yourself with the accelerations, downshifts and revs of that Ferrari 730bhp V12 engine echoes throughout the French hills.
Throughout 2013, we saw some proper sexy concept cars. Whether they’d make it to production or not is the million dollar question, but in terms of design and admiration, just look at them, friggin’ awesome no?
Last year was an epic year. We saw hypercars battle it out, and many new debuts such as the Jaguar F-Type and the Porsche 991 GT3.
So, what’s exciting about this year then? Below we have listed cars you should be anticipating this year.
Mercedes-Benz will soon be discontinuing the iconic 300SL’s successor, the SLS AMG, in favour of a smaller, lighter and more compact uber sportscar. Dubbed the GT, it’ll pack a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that’ll break the 500 horsepower barrier. It’ll weigh much less too, in this case, 3,300 lbs thanks to an aluminum space frame.
With ‘Benz only just revealing the all new 2014 C-Class, it’s no secret that AMG have their hands on one. The new C63 AMG will have power coming from an all-new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that’ll produce at least 454 horsepower. Rumors say it’ll go up to about 493 horsepower. This power will be transferred to the road via a MCT SpeedShift transmission.
Even before production, Mercedes-Benz has sent the S Coupe off to AMG, their in-house tuner, to work their usual magic. Yep, you’ve guessed it, it’s the new S63 AMG Coupe! It’ll be powered by the same 5.5 liter twin-turbo V8 which produces 577 hp as the S63 AMG Saloon. Expect the S63 AMG Coupe to have a top speed of around 186 mph and achieve 0-62 mph in around 4 seconds.s
Over ten years ago, Jaguar attempted to take the 3 Series’ crown by developing a whole new model called the X-Type. Fair to say it wasn’t a successful attempt. However, looking at Jaguar now, their evolution has proved they can now build a proper 3-Series fighter, and it’s coming sooner than you think. The car will be built on a stretched version of the F-Type’s rear-wheel-drive platform made from lightweight aluminum. The F-Type’s supercharged V6 engine will be available in the new model.
The Range Rover Sport 5.0 is already super-fast. However, it just isn’t up there with the big boys such as the ML63 AMG and the Cayenne Turbo S, until now. JLR seem to be testing a more powerful variant of the Sport which will possibly be dubbed the RS. The Sport RS will feature the same 5.0-liter V8 supercharged engine found in the Jaguar XKR-S, XFR-S and XJR. It’ll produce a whopping 542 horsepower. It’ll be expected to hit 0-62mph time of 4.5sec.
With the Jaguar Sportbrake only coming in diesel variants, it’s about time Jaguar let loose on it. This time, it’s not an XFR, or XFS, it’s the range-topping XFR-S. Under the bonnet, the XFR-S uses a 5.0-litre V8, supercharged for 542bhp and 502lb ft and channelled through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. It’ll hit 62mph in 4.4sec, top speed of a limited 186mph, and cost £79,995.
The long awaited 991 Porsche 911 Targa will be offered with a 3.4-liter flat-six engine which produces 350hp and a 3.8-liter flat-6 which produces about 400hp in the 4S variant of the Targa, somewhat similar to the 991 Carrera 4 and 4S powertrains. These engines will be bolted directly to a 7-speed PDK transmission which will drive all four wheels.
Lexus has finally got round to making a proper BMW M3/4 rival, and it stacks up pretty well. Under the hold is a 5.0-liter V8 which will push around 455hp. Also an electronic-cylinder-deactivation system which deactivates 4 cylinders of the V8 under partial throttle to save fuel is also a possibility.
Mazda/Alfa Romeo (Collaboration) Roadster/Spyder
BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe
BMW X5M
BMW X4
Audi Q7
Volvo XC90
Audi TT
Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake
Jaguar C-X17 Production Version
Those are words from Ferrari CEO Luca Di Montezemolo. He has the dreams to compete in the LMP1 and they are coming closer as the first pictures showing a possible Ferrari prototype for Le Mans have emerged.
The pictures follow a recent video of a modified LaFerrari model racing around the Fiorano test track (shown below). Early speculation suggested that car would have been a new turbocharged V6 destined for Formula 1, however, it seems more likely now that it could have been a different powerplant destined for prototype racing at Le Mans. Something within the likes of a supercharged V8 hybrid suitable for racing at the 24 hours of Le Mans.
If Ferrari were to enter the P1 prototype racing class at Le Mans it wouldn’t likely be until the 2016 season, though by then the field would be increasingly competitive. Along with the dominant Audi team, Toyota has been competing for the past several years and both automakers will be joined by Porsche this coming season. Di Montezemolo’s ambitions to race the P1 class at Le Mans don’t come out of the blues. Ferrari’s last win in this class was in 1965 with the Ferrari 250LM.
