The object of our unabated RideLust, the Audi R8 V10, is expected to be joined by a drop-top variant later this year in the form of the 2011 Audi R8 Spyder V10. Aside from the fact that it will blow the skin off your face, little is known about the turbocharged rag top or when it will finally grace us with its uncamouflaged presence. Sources hint that the Spyder V10 could make an appearance as early as September at the Frankfurt Motor Show, while others suggest a formal debut could be delayed until the NAIAS in January. So until we receive the official word from Herndon, we’ll just have to settle for this footage filmed of the Spyder tearing up the asphalt around the Nürburgring.
While the French are best known for their valiant defense of their homeland and their love of high-brow American comedians like Jerry Lewis, did you know that they also make the most exciting minivans in the world? Move over, Zafira and Mazda 5, here comes the 5008 (those extra “0s” come at no extra charge). To generate “interest” in advance of the Frankfurt Auto Show, Peugeot has released a stunning series of shots of the 5008 in action! (If you’re wondering if it’s a slow news day, don’t even ask!)
Recruitment is at an all time low for the Air Force. But what to do? How do you embellish a job that involves flying multi-million dollar crater-makers for a living? Answer: You bring it down a notch, and put cockpits in muscle cars!
The USAF hired Galpin Auto Sports to transform a Mustang and a Challenger into two serious supercars in hopes of attracting gearheads to Air Force recruiting events. And boy did Galpin deliver. The “X-1″ Mustang and the “Vapor” Challenger are totally unique interpretations of two of the most widely popular tuner cars in the world.
Now that the calendar reads ‘2009′ and summer is upon us, we can already begin shutting the book on the first decade of the new millenia. All the cars that will be produced have either made it to dealerships or have half a dozen reviews already printed in some magazine collecting dust on your shelf.
This decade closes much like the 1960s, in an atmosphere of uproar and protest, with rumors of war and peace and revolution at hand. The auto industry has experienced a second Golden Age, bigger and grander than the first, and has again sunk into crisis, darker and dimmer than the one Baby Boomers remember. And enthusiasts young and old fear that a similar fate awaits them in the coming years with news of outrageously stringent CAFE standards, and fear-mongering legislators fuel anxieties that we’ve already seen the best cars of the next thirty some odd years.
So it is that we turn back to this decade already a bit nostalgic. Here lie the future legends, the autos of myth and lore. With the future unclear, we ask ourselves which cars made the glorious 2000’s the decade we will all miss more than we know?
Well, you definitely didn’t ask for it. But we’re giving it to y’all anyway. That’s right, as a follow up to yesterday’s post about Edward Smith, enthusiast, dragon, and tailpipe-pumper extraordinaire, we’ve got the interview he broke out of anonymity to appear in.
Past this door lays (or lies, I never can remember) the six part channel Five documentary on Mechaphilia. Finish what you are eating. And make sure you have something decent in another tab on your browser. You know, just in case your mother or roommate walks up on you unexpectedly.
Editor’s Note: Just so we’re clear folks, this is not what we mean by “RideLust.”
If it’s 15 years away from the showroom, you know it had to come from Japan. Last week at the 2009 Automotive Engineering Exposition Toshiba Corp exhibited a system which monitors and tracks driver head and eye movements. It can scold inattentive drivers and even operate the navigation system via manual switches and eye movement.
I love auto show girls. Actually, I love all girls, but still… there is something especially appealing about the auto show girl. Maybe it’s because we see them next to a car and automatically assume they have some automotive knowledge? Or that they’re at least interested in the cars? We love girls who love things we love. Which is also why we love lesbians. It’s a complicated and bizarre thought process going on inside the male brain. Actually, I take that back, it’s not complicated at all.
Either way, the fact remains that men love auto show girls, and last month, the 13th biennial (it’s a word, look it up, it means “every two years”) Auto Shanghai was held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. Classy digs, apparently, and the girls were equally classy. Those Chinamen really know how to throw a party. So we snagged a few pictures of the scenery for you, loyal Ridelusters. Enjoy!
75 large for a Hyundai? I know, it hits like a punch to the gut. *Cough*, Phaeton, *cough*. According to Hyundai though, this car can hang with the big boys at Benz and BMW. In order to gauge market interest, they will be sending 100 Equus sedans to select dealers across the United States. The success behind the Genesis sedan and coupe gives them a strong push upmarket, but I’m guessing they’ll need to establish a luxury brand before giving the Equus a green light.
Apparently, Rolls-Royce drew the same conclusions we did after getting a load of the Geely GE at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show, and they aren’t happy. Presumably citing the huge radiator grill, suspiciously similar hood ornament, and a laundry list of interior accessories as substantive evidence, Rolls-Royce is reportedly discussing the possibility of taking formal legal action against Geely. Feigning innocence, Geely insists their $40,000 GE is merely a budget-friendly interpretation of RR’s famous $365,000 Phantom, as opposed to a blatant knock-off, but Rolls is apparently unconvinced. According to the company, Rolls-Royce is heavily investigating the potential copyright infringement, and although they have yet to take legal action, they are not completely removing the possibility from the table. “Our colleagues in Shanghai are taking a serious look at it,” a Rolls-Royce spokesman told the Daily Mail. “Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is very protective of its brand image and takes seriously any attempt to imitate its products.”
Ordinarily this is the part where we’d draw some sort of humorous parallels between your excruciatingly mind-numbing job in middle management and the excruciatingly boring legacy of the modern Buick, but the Buick Business MPV is actually pretty cool. Granted, as freelancers we tend to hold a rather romanticized view of the “steady” job, but we could still see ourselves discussing Q4 reports en route to a business brunch, comfortably ensconced within the Buick Business MPV’s surprisingly luxurious rear seats.
Unveiled this week at the 2009 Shanghai Motor Show in concept form, the Buick Business MPV boasts a plethora of impressive features, including center-row captain’s chairs capable of swiveling 225 degrees and an extremely hi-tech 3D instrument panel display. Covered from stem to stern in rich leather and suede designed to mimic earth and wood themes, the Buick Business MPV offers an impressively first-class experience for busy Chinese professionals. Explained Cao Min, PATAC (Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Co.) Concept Car Chief Designer, “Through deep burgundy suede carpet, high-quality leather interior decoration with liuli and soft, ice blue ambient lighting, we wanted to create a mobile VIP lounge for passengers.”
