Crazily Fast and Furious

It takes not only one or two or three people to make a car ready for racing in the NASCAR. You can surely ask the Ford Motor Company about it. After all, they have been sprucing up their new Ford Taurus so as to make it ready to race and leave all other competitors in the dust. And rumors are going around that the latest in auto technology is going to be used in the new Ford Taurus.

Robin Pemberton is the field manager for Ford’s racing team for the NASCAR and he shares, “A lot of times you can build a car that just suits one team’s purpose.” He also does express, “I think the last couple times we had Penske doing one version, Yates doing one and Roush doing one. During that (’98) project, NASCAR would cut templates off of cars and they were different cars that were constructed in different ways and not all the templates fit all the cars at the same time. It was almost impossible.”

Such humble beginnings really did teach Ford’s racing team well. And so they have been able to make the right changes and issue on wonderful designs so as to help out their racing cars take home the gold.

Specht, another one of those who worked for the new Ford Taurus, recalls, “What we have in ‘04 is a re-freshening of the Taurus, so that kicks off a process. After the decision was made, we say to the production guys, ‘OK, what are your thoughts? Show us your sketches and drawings,’ and so on and so forth. With their ideas and goals in place, we went back and started looking at the race car and say, ‘OK, now what do we need to do to the race car to have it look like the production car?’”

Special edition cars. Why are they so special? What makes them special?

Volkswagen’s history all throughout these years has offered special edition models. They decide to make a new one for a lot of reasons. Sometimes it has something to do with celebration - a milestone or an extraordinary happening for the company.

But I think the best reason for that is to give an extra-special significance to the customer. That’s one very special reason indeed.

The VW Passat Wolfsburg Edition continues the custom of providing valuable special edition models. Details told me that the Wolfsburg edition has a 2.0 liter, 200 horsepower turbocharged engine with a six-speed regular automatic Triptronic® transmission. That’s what you call special!

It includes a special badging of “Wolfsburg Edition” on the captain’s seat and passenger front quarter section. From what I saw, in addition, it has 17-inch wheels (made of alloy), leather wrapped four-spoked steering wheel with multi-functions and the latest VW parts. Plus, the vehicle comes equipped with gearshift knob and boot that has leather wrappings, an adjustable driver seat 12-way (full power), a six-disc in-dash CD changer with MP3 capability, heated front seats, a power sunroof, fog lights, heated windshield washer nozzles and the Sirius™ satellite radio.

Now tell me, isn’t that super special or what?

Volkswagen creates model cars to safeguard customers from injurious accidents and giving tranquility to its passengers. The Wolfsburg Edition includes six airbags as part of a selection of vehicle control safety features. These features also include four-wheel disc brakes and Brake Assist with four-wheel ABS anti-lock braking system. This system includes a break wiper that maintains the dryness and cleanliness of the brakes.

VW creates special edition models to give an extraordinary performance and benefits for the customers and this sure is another special reason why Volkswagen has its special place in the industry.

Imagine a viper, a well known poisonous snake, has even more venom on its body than on its fangs! Wow, a perfect killing machine! Specie with the best arsenal on its system can be considered as invincible.

The all-new Dodge Viper SRT10 actually doesn’t kill, okay? What I’m trying to say is that the Viper SRT10 boasts more of what performance fanatics are craving for. Kick-in-the-pants, throw-back-in-the-seat power, combined with standard braking, superb handling and a race-inspired interior and bold exterior styling.

Plus an additional 90 horsepower on tap from a new 8.4-liter Viper SRT10 V-10 engine is given to the vehicle. The whole deal also includes a dramatic new hood with its features restyled, and functional air extractors.

The vehicle has been tested and it looks like it is very much capable of running 0-60 mph in under 4 seconds and 0-100-0 mph in just over 12 seconds, breaking in under 100 feet.

As per the interior, it is quite new. Interior colors which give customers increased customization options are given. Does that bite you already?

On the other hand, every SRT vehicle offers a balanced overall performance and it seems to be that the heart and soul of the new 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 is its marvelous powertrain. For 2008, the SRT boosts up with a new, 8.4-liter aluminum V-10 engine that produces an astounding 600 horsepower and 560 lb.-ft. of torque. A powerful and poisonous creation, isn’t it? I know you’ll agree!

“A legendary big-game hunter once said, ‘Bring enough gun!’ - and with the new 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10, we’ve created some very powerful artillery for sports-car enthusiasts,” said Kipp Owen, the Director of Street and Racing Technology (SRT) Engineering for the Chrysler Group.

The new 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 will be present in Dodge showrooms in North America this summer with a new altitude of customization options, including five new exterior colors, four new interior color combinations and a new wheel design.

The Chevrolet Corvette can be considered as one of the fastest and speediest vehicles we have for years. But of course. It is built and designed as a sports car and since it has been around since 1953, Chevrolet has sure been able to hone this vehicle using the knowledge they have gained with their experiences with the vehicle. Maybe soon enough, Chevy would be adding in Pacesetter exhausts to the whole combo for an added boost in performance and speed.

The Chevrolet Corvette, by the way, is also the very first sports car that is all-American and has been built by a car manufacturer from the US. There is already a museum for the Corvette and it is the National Corvette Museum which you can visit in Bowling Green in Kentucky.

Learn more about the current line of Chevrolet Corvette models for this year.

Indy 500 Pace Car

Base price of $66,995

The exterior car parts are painted with Atomic Orange Metallic Tintcoat and they come with bold and gold graphics

Has a power convertible top

Uses painted aluminum wheels with 10 spokes

Has emblems of Indy 500 on front fenders

2007 Indy 500 logo is found on the each seat’s head restraint

Power comes from an LS2 6.0 L aluminum block V8 engine that can spurt out 400 units of horsepower

Comes equipped with the Active Handling System

Uses a short-throw six speed manual transmission

A six speed paddle shift is made available with automatic modes

Has a Head-Up Display

Equipped with the Bose audio system with seven speakers

Comes with rearview mirrors that are auto dimming

Ron Fellows Z06

Base price of $77,500

The very first Arctic White Z06 model

Comes with exclusive hash marks on the front fenders that are colored red

Has a racing spoiler

Power comes from a 7.0 liter LS7 aluminum block engine that spurts out 505 horsepower

Uses a dry-sump oil system

Makes use of extensive race car technology

Has been built using lightweight components

Comes with massive disc brakes - six pistons for the front and four for the rear

Has an aluminum frame

Equipped with front fenders, floorboards and wheel housings that are made from carbon fiber

The interior comes in red and black.

The leather console cover has an autograph done by Ron Fellows

Coupe

Base price of $44,995

Power comes from an LS2 6.0 L aluminum block V8 engine that spurts out 400 horsepower

Has a removable roof panel

Uses the Active Handling System

Comes with a short-throw six speed manual transmission

A six speed paddle shift with automatic modes has been made available

The Head-Up Display has also been made available

Convertible

Base price of $53,335

Power comes from an LS2 6.0 aluminum block V8 engine that spurts out 400 horsepower

A power top made available

The trunk is completely enclosed

Makes use of the Active Handling System.

Comes with a short throw six speed manual transmission system

Z06

Base price of $70,000

Uses a 7.0 liter LS7 aluminum block engine that spurts out 505 units of horsepower

Uses a dry-sump oil system

Makes use extensive race car technology

Designed and built using lightweight components

Has massive disc brakes - six pistons for the front and four pistons for the rear

Comes using an aluminum frame and magnesium engine cradle

OnStar system made available

The new concept version of the Mercedes-Benz ML63 is heating up the stage of the upcoming Geneva Auto Show as it will finally reveal an even more powerful, more stunning and more nerve racking Brabus Widestar Concept. The wide track Mercedes-Benz ML63 version is perhaps the most apt concept on the most awaited show coming this week.

Figure this out: Inside its hood of its previous model is a V8 which is capable of producing a powerful 510-horsepower filled with Mercedes parts such as sport air filters, high-performance metal catalysts and reprogrammed engine electronics. But now, because the ML63 has retuned, it has an even more powerful V8 of horsepower rises up to 550 and peak torque grows from 465 to 479 pound-feet. With a capability to rush from a complete zero to a high of 62 mph in just 4.9 seconds and also powering up to 171 mph, who would not say its powerful.

The exterior car parts received a retouch as well. Its new front and rear fascias and a front spoiler bumper with three air inlets and four integrated auxiliary headlights gives more eye catching features. Inside the new cabin lies a stainless steel doorsill with illuminated Brabus logos, a sport steering wheel and leather-covered door trim pieces with options like an electric folding table and a high-performance brake system.

Mercedes is like placing what a racing car has on its new road car concept. What a brilliant idea. Now, with more speed and more power, the Brabus Widestar will sure capture the biggest part of the street and would be getting more people attracted to it. I just wish it be sent to production. I’m certainly keeping my fingers crossed.