2012 Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Roadster

As soon as we learned that Mercedes-Benz had commissioned its AMG performance division to build a Gullwing redux, we knew a convertible version wouldn’t be far behind. For one thing, its progenitor, the 1950s-era 300SL, was offered in both hardtop and roadster varieties (though never at the same time). Each was beautiful in its own right, and both are pricey collectibles today. And Mercedes-Benz itself repeatedly spilled the ragtop beans, at media gatherings that took place before the launch of the coupe, by dropping the yet-to-be-revealed car into a Super Bowl commercial, and by recently offering its own “spy” shots of the car. But only now has the complete body of information on autodom's worst-kept secret, the 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG roadster, been made public.

The convertible be built around an aluminum space frame, just like the coupe.  Mercedes-claimed 3661 pounds, the roadster weighs just 88 pounds more than the company reports for the bewinged car. This is in spite of added bracing around the windshield, the rear axle, and the base of the doors, as well as an additional crossmember to support the fixed roll bars behind the seats. Mercedes-Benz claims that the space frame weighs less than five pounds more than its hardtop counterpart.

The frame for that top is composed of steel, magnesium, and aluminum, with the cloth skin presenting a profile that appears just as sleek as that of the coupe.



The SLS AMG roadster would get the same glorious, AMG-designed, 6.2-liter V-8 as the coupe, sending the same 563 hp at 6800 rpm and 479 lb-ft of torque at 4750 rpm to the rear axle via the same carbon-fiber driveshaft. Likewise, the coupe’s seven-speed dual-clutch transaxle serves as the roadster’s sole gearbox, with four driver-selectable shift modes and a “Race Start” launch-control feature (though we hope that AMG heard our cries for quicker shifts in manual mode).

The roadster will offer an optional active suspension with three-mode, driver-selectable adaptive shocks; the options are Comfort, Sport, and Sport Plus. According to Mercedes-Benz, the feature will be offered on the coupe in the future, although for now the roadster alone offers this upgrade over the standard suspension (which is already rather capable). With no powertrain changes of consequence, then, the roadster’s minor difference in mass and—presumably—weight distribution may only slightly affect its ability to match the coupe’s 3.5-second 0-to-60 time and 151-foot 70-to-0-mph stopping distance. Of course, we won’t know for sure until we strap our test equipment to it, but for the record, Mercedes-Benz states the SLS AMG Roadster’s 0–60 time as 3.7 seconds, and its top speed as a very breezy 197 mph (same as the coupe).



Another feature that debuts on the ragtop is the “AMG Performance Media” system that combines driver-programmable displays for the car’s navigation-, climate-, and sound-system controls with a new suite of performance-oriented displays. The latter include lateral and linear acceleration figures, engine data, and lap times. On the touchy-feely side of the order form is a new Designo package with exclusive brown paint, leather-lined roll bars, and brown mono- or two-tone leather upholstery. Also available on the SLS AMG roadster is AMG Sepang brown metallic paint and matte black 10-spoke wheels.

Mercedes will release U.S. pricing sometime closer to the car’s market introduction this fall, but we expect prices to start at about $225K, roughly $20K more than the coupe commands.



 

Dodge Super Bee 1968 SPECIAL ARTICLE

The original Super Bee was based on the Dodge Coronet. It was a two-door coupe model only and was produced from 1968 through 1970. It was priced at $3,027. The name "Super Bee" was derived from the "B" Body designation given Chrysler's midsized cars which included the Coronet.

The show car was introduced at the 1968 Detroit Auto Show

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Although the two cars are very similar in external appearance, the Super Bee was slightly heavier (approx 65 lb (29 kg)) and rode on a 117-inch (3,000 mm) wheelbase compared to the Road Runner's 116 in (290 cm) wheelbase. The Super Bee also used actual die cast chrome plated "Bee" medallions.

The interior of the Super Bee borrowed the race car–inspired and more sophisticated gauge and speedometer dash cluster from the Dodge Charger while the four-speed manual cars received an actual Hurst Competition-Plus shifter with Hurst linkage.

The Super Bee, like nearly all Chrysler muscle cars of that era, was available with the Hemi engine, however this option raised the price by 33% and only 125 were sold. The 1968 model only came as a two-door coupe and two engine options, the base 335 hp (250 kW) 383 Magnum, and the 426 Hemi rated at 425 HP.

1969 Camaro Pace Car SPECIAL ARTICLE

 The 1969 Camaro was chosen as the Official Pace Car for the 1969 running of the Indianapolis 500 and as the Official Car of the ‘500’ Festival. This was a repeat performance for Camaro since it had also been chosen as the 1967 Pace Car.

To help them stand out on the large expanse of track, the 1969 pace cars were designed to be visible: Dover White RS/SS convertibles with Hugger Orange Z28 style stripes and orange houndstooth cloth seats. All were equipped with the recently released fresh air hood (aka: cowl hood).

 

 

Indy Festival and Courtesy Cars

The pace car was announced to the media at a February press conference in Indianapolis, aided by a display vehicle that showed off the pace car colors. Chevrolet supported the race by providing the actual pace car, a backup pace car, a pace car replica (with air conditioning, power top, and show car finish) to be presented to the winner of the race, and a fleet of courtesy and support vehicles. This fleet included an additional 130 pace car replicas, 16 Impala station wagons, 18 pickups, two Suburbans, and one van. 

The Real Pace Cars

The two cars built to actually pace the race, the pace car and the backup car, were both ordered with the L89 aluminum head 375 hp 396 engines, automatic transmissions, power steering, sport-styled steering wheels, consoles, gauges, and AM radios. After assembly, they were shipped from the Norwood plant to the GM Tech Center.

Several external and internal body modifications were made for the pace car duties. Grab handles for the passengers were installed and flag brackets were mounted on the rear bumper. A two-way radio was installed to communicate with the tower. Hood pins and special convertible top boot fasteners were used to keep things in place at the 130 mph pace speeds.

The pace cars were driven by Jim Rathmann, winner of the 1960 Indy 500. Both pace cars were used to pace the race. 

The #1 car was used for the initial pace lap. The #2 car was used when the pace lap was rerun due to an accident. Both cars still survive.  

1967 Shelby Cobra GT350 Mustang SPECIAL ARTICLE

In 1965 Ford commissioned Carrol Shelby to build a high performance race car based

on the production Mustang fastback. The early Shelby's are distinguished by twin

"Guardsman Blue" racing strips, as found on this 1967 model.

 

 

 





The rear got a complete facelift, using 1967 Cougar lights and incorporating a rear spoiler.

 

 

 

















The '67 Shelby dash is taken from that years stock Deluxe Mustang, but adds a real wood steering wheel and three spoke center.

 

This example sports a beautiful detailed engine with upgardes, including electronic ignition and a Supercharged 302 block.



 

 



















Correct Kelsey-Hayes Mag Star - chromed steel rims with BF Goodrich T/A tires.













Thanks for the article  to: http://www.mustangdreams.com/Shelby-Cobra-GT-350.htm  

Aston Martin V12 Zagato Race Car Concept No Longer Sketchy, Official Photos and Info Released

What once was a car-shaped smudge of a sketch is now real: Aston has released official images of the V12 Zagato concept, the British marque’s latest collaboration with the Italian design house. One dash beautiful and several jiggers of weird—plus a dollop of Nissan GT-R—the model previews a racer that will compete in the wild-’n'-wooly 24 Hours of the Nürburgring on June 25 and 26.

The V12 Zagato’s beauty comes from the classic proportions, borrowed from the V12 Vantage that served as this car’s starting point, and the muscular haunches. The weirdness lies in the details, like the taillights and lower rear fascia that appear as if they’re being extruded through the back end, Play-Doh–style. Thick racing pipes jut out of the carbon diffuser, with the on-track night/rain light mounted between. The roof, cantilevered like the GT-R’s, carries Zagato’s traditional double bubbles, originally intended to extend a roofline skyward to accommodate helmets and/or people with giant heads. Forward of the A-pillars is where things get especially funky. The giant fender vents, chrome spears, and multiple hood strakes look fussy, and the gaping Aston grille, which looks awesome on the firm’s DBR9 racers, makes this car look like a smoked-up carp. We do dig the way the front fender peak runs below the windowline and beyond, though, and the car looks pretty sweet on the whole.

The exterior panels are aluminum, and were hand-formed just like your grandpa did it, with an English wheel and body bucks. Achieving the car’s complex shapes required several pieces of aluminum to be formed and then combined; Aston says each front fender is comprised of seven individual pieces and the roof five. A 510-hp fusillade feeds the rear wheels from the front-mounted 5.9-liter V-12, which also thunders out 420 lb-ft of torque. Unlike the regular V12 Vantage, which is available solely with a six-speed manual transaxle, this car uses a six-speed single-clutch automated gearbox; the V12 feeds it via a carbon driveshaft within a magnesium torque tube. The clutch is uprated to a twin-plate racing piece, the suspension is adjustable, and the huge front brake rotors are pinched by six-piston calipers. (Four-piston calipers grab the smaller rear discs.)

BMW Introduces the 328 Hommage, Inspired by the Classic 328, at the Villa d’Este Show

To commemorate the 75^th anniversary of its beau ideal 328 sports car, BMW is going full force. As if opening the archives and sending 12 historic examples to the Mille Miglia rally wasn’t enough, the company has created the 328 Hommage, a modern interpretation of the 328. Using the company’s recent Vision ConnectedDrive concept car as a starting point, the 328 Hommage features modern materials and lightweight design techniques. The original 328 weighed just 1720 pounds, and in its honor the Hommage uses lightweight materials almost obsessively; the structure, bodywork and most of the interior is rendered in exposed and unpainted carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. The only other visible materials are aluminum and leather in the interior. The concept is powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six engine, bolted to an automatic transmission.

The Hommage thus isn’t much of an aesthetic homage—it looks almost nothing like its tiny silver 1930s-vintage inspiration. In comparison with the original artifact, the 328 Hommage is low, angular, and downright mean looking. Mixing styling cues from BMW’s upcoming i8 (the front end), Z4 (the flanks), and the newest 6-series (the rear), the designers also threw in several details that hark back to the 328’s era.



There are leather straps woven into the bodywork behind the front wheels and on the hood near the base of the windshield, small windscreens in lieu of a formal windshield, and alloy wheels with circular holes and spinner hubcaps that recall the original 328’s steel wheels. One of the cooler details is the lighting; the headlights appear to sport black tape crossouts like so many vintage racers do, but in fact the “tape” really consists of blacked-out, criss-crossed indents that separate the lamp into four individual backlit-LED units.



The interior is equally sculpted, and supremely driver-oriented. The interior is separated into two separate pods—one for the driver and one for the “co-driver”— and everything that isn’t brown leather or aluminum is carbon fiber. The driver’s pod features a sweeping console and a windscreen that is larger than the co-driver’s, which actually makes the hood and its powerdome slightly asymmetrical. The only instruments are a tachometer and oil temperature, oil pressure, and water temperature gauges. In front of the co-driver are mounted two iPhones in aluminum cases that look like chronometer watches from the future. The functional and racy interior is rounded out by a kill switch for the vehicle electronics.

The concept is set to debut at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este next week, and we cannot think of a more sensational 75^th birthday present.

Ferrari Builds One-Off Superamerica 45 Based on the 599, It Debuts at Villa d’Este

Here to put beauty and Ferrari droptop back in the same sentence, we present the Ferrari Superamerica 45, a one-off roadster based on the 599. Ferrari’s Special Projects division has specially fabricated the roadster for a wealthy client, Peter Kalikow, an American property mogul, and the Superamerica 45 will debut at this year’s Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza in Italy. Although it exposes occupants to the blue sky, the Superamerica is not a ragtop, and it doesn’t have a folding hardtop either—instead, the Superamerica has a rotating hardtop. A movable roof panel is mounted on hinge along its trailing edge, allowing it to rotate 180 degrees backwards until it lies on the rear deck. Ferrari’s last Superamerica-badged roadster, the 575M, utilized this innovative and simple roof design as well. (We should add, to Ferrari’s eternal pain, that a tiny front-wheel drive Renault, called the Wind, uses a similar system.) While the 575M’s roof used an electrochromatic glass panel, the Superamerica 45’s roof is carbon fiber.

To accommodate the roof, a carbon fiber decklid has been fashioned, with a slightly different shape than what comes on the standard 599s. Flanking the new rear deck are two “flying buttresses” that are flatter and lower than the 599GTO’s—and set wider on the body—making the 45’s roofline seem lower and sleeker. One touch we’re quite fond of is the chromed egg crate grille, an homage to classic Ferraris. The Superamerica 45′s wing mirrors, A-pillars, and door handles are finished in brushed aluminum, nicely matching the machined-face five-spoke wheels with body-color inserts. The whole ensemble is set off by a bright blue paint job, with a darker blue hue covering the roof, rocker panels, rear diffuser, front spoiler, and the carbon-fiber interior trim. The blue was more than just a pretty color for Kalikow; he also owns a 1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica in the same shade.

While we’d imagine the right number on a check would convince Ferrari’s Special Projects team to build another Superamerica 45, potential customers will probably be satisfied with the production 599 roadster, debuting at this August’s Pebble Beach show. That means two new open-top Ferraris will be introduced this summer. We can’t wait!