Hot Cars

Tramontana Sports Car

A relatively unknown Spanish company called Tramontana has developed a monster. They took a Mercedes-sourced twin-turbo 5.5-liter V12 producing 720 horsepower and placed it in a completely carbon fiber chassis, then covered it in a body made completely from carbon fiber.

Top speed: 201 mph.

There will only be 12 of these made per year, and expect to pay a rather hefty sum of about $500,000 each.

Also see Audi R8 Sports Car

VW Chico Efficient Green Car

In its most economical form, the new VW Chico will return a class-leading 141 MPG and emit less than 60g/km of CO2 - all without hybrid drive.

The three-door hatchback is set to compete with the Smart and Toyota iQ.
It could cost as little as $9,000 when it goes on sale in the UK in 2011.

Also see Cars with their MPG

New Camaro 2009

What was originally the 2009 Chevrolet Camaro will now debut in the first quarter of 2009 as a 2010 model. The 2010 version shares some of its basic design with the Pontiac G8.
Camaro comes in three trim levels: LS, LT, and high-performance SS. Two engines are available - a V6 and a V8. The V6 is a 3.6-liter unit that produces 300 hp. It’s available on LS and LT.
SS versions with a manual transmission get a 422-hp 6.2-liter V8.

See the large Camaro SS Pictures

2009 Porsche 911 Carrera Changes Not Just Skin Deep

The Porsche 911 has been in production for forty-five years, and it’s durable, distinctive design, originally based on the same air-cooled rear-engine platform as the Volkswagen Beetle (at least through 1998) has been one of its trademark features since the beginning. This car has been in continuous development since 1963, though it was neglected somewhat during the 1970s and ’80s. This year, there’s a new version of the 911, the 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera, and while its makers insist the changes are largely cosmetic, we feel the changes are a bit more than skin deep.

There are four versions of this year’s 911: the Carrera coupe, Carrera S coupe, Carrera Cabriolet, and Carrera S Cabriole. Each comes with a new engine featuring direct fuel injection and an optional seven-speed, twin-clutch transmission. The base model will have a 3.6-liter flat-six providing 345 horsepower, and the S model sports a 3.8-liter version of the same engine, offering 385 hp – increases of 20 and 30 horsepower, respectively. As well, fuel efficiency has been boosted by about 13%, to 18 mpg in the city and 25 on the open highway.

The big news about the 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera, however, is not the engine, but that optional double clutch transmission, which supplants the Tiptronic transmission used in previous models. The twin-clutch system allows extremely rapid gear shifting and is 0.2 seconds faster when accelerating to 60 mph than the standard six-speed model. In fact, when the double-clutch is combined with another option – the Launch Control system – the top speed of acceleration from zero to sixty is an incredibly speedy 4.1 seconds.

Despite the big news under the hood, the outside of the 2009 911 Carrera doesn’t look significantly changed from previous models to the casual observer, though enthusiasts will notice that the side mirrors now sport dual arms, and the front bumper had larger air intakes. As well, there are now LED daytime running lights, and tail lights.

While those who buy sports cars don’t generally choose them for the safety features, or car insurance quotes, it’s worth noting that the 2009 Porsche 911 Carreras come with an antilock braking system, and standard ventilated disc brakes, while Porsche’s own ceramic composite brakes are available as an optional upgrade. There are also dual-front airbags as well as airbags for side protection of the head and thorax, as well as an anti-theft system that includes an immobilizer.

Officially on sale this month, the base model of the 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera has a starting MSRP of $75,600.

Also see: Porsce 911 GT

Voisin Concept Sports Car

The Voisin Concept sports car is a high performance car inspired by the Avions Voisin French brand from the 1920s and 1930s. It was created by Portuguese car design studio LusoMotors.

Also see: Bugatti Streamliner concept sports car

Hennessey Venom GT Super Sports Car

Hennessey released details of their upcoming supercar. It has massive power, coming from a twin-turbo version of the already powerful 8.4L V10 from the Dodge Viper.
The Venom GT should push out at least 1000 horsepower.
In a body weighing 1500 pounds lighter than the Bugatti Veyron, the Venom GT could be breaking the top speed record.

With either a six-speed manual or sequential gearbox, the Venom GT should run from 0 to 62 mph in less than 2.5 seconds. We could see the Venom GT in the concept stage in early 2009.