Luxury Sport Cars Dony Blog's

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.

Of course, the stock 505-hp powertrain is perfectly suited to that task even with the factory wheels, but Specter went all nuts under the hood anyway, adding a twin-turbo LS7 from Lingenfelter Performance. As a result, 800 horsepower rumble under the modified hood. StopTech six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers harness all those ponies when its time to slow down.

Backing up the Corvette GTR’s asphalt-annihilating power is one pissed-off and remarkably tasteful body kit, and the car wears attractive custom blue pearl paint from BASF. The headlight housings, front splitter, and mirrors are all matte-finish carbon fiber. A Corsa exhaust system with some rather appalling finishers—really the only misstep to our eyes—rounds out the GTR package, which can be applied to any C6 Corvette of your choice. The Corvette GTR is bowing at the 2009 SEMA show in Las Vegas.

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.

Of course, the stock 505-hp powertrain is perfectly suited to that task even with the factory wheels, but Specter went all nuts under the hood anyway, adding a twin-turbo LS7 from Lingenfelter Performance. As a result, 800 horsepower rumble under the modified hood. StopTech six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers harness all those ponies when its time to slow down.

Backing up the Corvette GTR’s asphalt-annihilating power is one pissed-off and remarkably tasteful body kit, and the car wears attractive custom blue pearl paint from BASF. The headlight housings, front splitter, and mirrors are all matte-finish carbon fiber. A Corsa exhaust system with some rather appalling finishers—really the only misstep to our eyes—rounds out the GTR package, which can be applied to any C6 Corvette of your choice. The Corvette GTR is bowing at the 2009 SEMA show in Las Vegas.

Honda CEO Takanobu Ito told Automotive News that the company would like to offer another sports car that's larger than the new CR-Z hybrid. According to Ito, the car would be "environmentally friendly and have great performance."

"I would like to see Honda have a sports car that symbolizes our technology," Ito said.
Don't, however, expect Honda to create a hybrid successor to the vaulted NSX, even if Ito had previously designed the NSX' chassis. Ito doesn't want the car to mimic the new Lexus LFA - or, for that matter, the V-10-powered NSX successor that Honda shelved late last year. "The era of V-10 engines is gone," says Ito.

We wouldn't be surprised if the car helped fill the gap left by the S2000 roadster. Ito didn't comment, but did indicate development of the car will only occur when Honda has enough capital to invest in such a vehicle.

Honda CEO Takanobu Ito told Automotive News that the company would like to offer another sports car that's larger than the new CR-Z hybrid. According to Ito, the car would be "environmentally friendly and have great performance."

"I would like to see Honda have a sports car that symbolizes our technology," Ito said.
Don't, however, expect Honda to create a hybrid successor to the vaulted NSX, even if Ito had previously designed the NSX' chassis. Ito doesn't want the car to mimic the new Lexus LFA - or, for that matter, the V-10-powered NSX successor that Honda shelved late last year. "The era of V-10 engines is gone," says Ito.

We wouldn't be surprised if the car helped fill the gap left by the S2000 roadster. Ito didn't comment, but did indicate development of the car will only occur when Honda has enough capital to invest in such a vehicle.

Japanese archrivals Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co have just found something else to disagree about: sports cars.

At the Tokyo Motor Show on Wednesday, Toyota took the wraps off the Lexus LFA, a two-seater supercar with a roaring 4.8-liter V10 engine that can reach speeds of 325 km per hour (200 miles per hour) and go from zero to 100 kilometers kph (60 mph) in 3.7 seconds.

It's a car that flies in the face of the automaker's image as a pioneer of greener vehicles but one that Toyota's new boss, Akio Toyoda, says is crucial for cars to remain a product that consumers can get excited about as motorization spreads to more corners of the world.

Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, is planning to limit LFA production to 500 units, between December 2010 and December 2012, taking orders for the $375,000 car starting on Wednesday.

"It's our mission as automakers to offer cars that possess the 'fun' spirit that should be at the base of any car," Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at the unveiling, noting he had been involved in the LFA's development from its early stages.

Ask his counterpart at Honda, though, and the LFA is old-fashioned. The future, Takanobu Ito says, is about clean, sustainable cars, and sports cars are no exception.

"Sure, there are folks who like that 'vroom' of the engine out of nostalgia," Ito told Reuters earlier this month. "But those people are stuck in the past."

Japan's No.2 automaker had been preparing a successor model for its legendary NSX sports car, also with a V10 engine, but ditched those plans last year citing an urgent need to save money amid the economic downturn and the growing consumer shift toward greener cars.

"The era of V10 engines is gone," said Ito, who betrayed no sense of regret over the canned project despite having designed the ground-breaking all-aluminum body on the NSX back in 1990.

Honda's FCx Clarity

Japanese archrivals Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co have just found something else to disagree about: sports cars.

At the Tokyo Motor Show on Wednesday, Toyota took the wraps off the Lexus LFA, a two-seater supercar with a roaring 4.8-liter V10 engine that can reach speeds of 325 km per hour (200 miles per hour) and go from zero to 100 kilometers kph (60 mph) in 3.7 seconds.

It's a car that flies in the face of the automaker's image as a pioneer of greener vehicles but one that Toyota's new boss, Akio Toyoda, says is crucial for cars to remain a product that consumers can get excited about as motorization spreads to more corners of the world.

Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, is planning to limit LFA production to 500 units, between December 2010 and December 2012, taking orders for the $375,000 car starting on Wednesday.

"It's our mission as automakers to offer cars that possess the 'fun' spirit that should be at the base of any car," Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at the unveiling, noting he had been involved in the LFA's development from its early stages.

Ask his counterpart at Honda, though, and the LFA is old-fashioned. The future, Takanobu Ito says, is about clean, sustainable cars, and sports cars are no exception.

"Sure, there are folks who like that 'vroom' of the engine out of nostalgia," Ito told Reuters earlier this month. "But those people are stuck in the past."

Japan's No.2 automaker had been preparing a successor model for its legendary NSX sports car, also with a V10 engine, but ditched those plans last year citing an urgent need to save money amid the economic downturn and the growing consumer shift toward greener cars.

"The era of V10 engines is gone," said Ito, who betrayed no sense of regret over the canned project despite having designed the ground-breaking all-aluminum body on the NSX back in 1990.

Honda's FCx Clarity