If you are like most car enthusiasts, your true dream car falls into one of two types: muscle cars or high-end exotic cars. Since the dawn of the auto industry, men and women have challenged each other on the open road, eager to build it bigger, faster and more powerful than ever before. Of course, power and luxury come at a price, and in today’s economy many of us simply cannot justify the expense of buying our dream cars. Fortunately, there are several ways to experience your dream ride without making the investment in an exotic car of your own.
Rental Cars
If you are planning a trip to Las Vegas, Miami, New York City or another luxury destination, why not splurge on a high-end ride for the weekend? The travel industry is hurting badly in today’s economy, resulting in some truly amazing flight and hotel deals. With all that money saved on travel and lodging, it is easy to justify a rental car that will make you feel like a true high roller. Gotham Dream Cars and Dream Car Rentals are just two of the many rental agencies that specialize in exotic rides like the Ferrari F430 Spider and the ever-popular Porsche 911.
By now it is no secret that gas prices are out of control, and it looks like they will only get worse before they get better. Pundits have long debated how high gas prices would have to rise before consumers stopped complaining and actively started changing their habits. Now that gas is over $4 per gallon in many places, that time seems to have come.
Dodge Viper vs The Ferrari in a real road test. Let’s just say I’m extremely jealous of these drivers. I wish I had the mad skills it takes to do this. The ending turns out slightly different than you might imagine. Nonetheless I wouldn’t have walked away from this race.
The top gas guzzlers of the 2007 model year read like a veritable who’s who of high end automotive performance. In fact the top seven gas guzzlers of the year are all high performance cars - not a Hummer or SUV in sight. That’s not to say, of course, that the behemoth from GM has suddenly become a green icon. The gas guzzler list for 2007 merely reflects the fact that as horsepower goes up fuel economy generally heads in the other direction.
Of course the price tags of the top seven gas guzzlers on our 2007 list indicate the fuel costs are not the primary considerations of the owners of these fine tuned machines. After all, those who can afford a Lamborghini, a Ferrari or a Bentley are unlikely to fret over the high cost of gasoline.
Those of us with more pedestrian tastes and more limited fuel economy may need to take a hard look at the true cost of our wheels, but for now sit back and take a look at the gas guzzling ways of these high end cars.
Last month we had written about a diguised Ferrari 599 that was spied perusing the streets. This time that same Ferrari test model, that is now rumored to be the next Dino, was caught turning laps on the Nurburbring. Ferrari has decided to remain mum on any talk of an entry-level Ferrari or a Dino model, but evidence is mounting.
The Ferrari Dino is expected to be running a V8 engine, possibly 4.0 liter, that is producing 400-hp. The production range is expected to be about 4000 cars annually. Early reports from previous spottings of what was being labeled the Ferrari 599 had it running much quieter than the current 599 and even quieter than the F430.
To get a visual taste for what all the fuss is about take a look at the video down below. And for more on Ferrari stay tuned for news from the January North American International Auto Show taking place in Detroit. Ferrari is scheduled to unveil their new 2+2 Convertible.
No matter what circuit the Formula One circus visits they are nearly always greeted by a sea of red. The “Tifosi†are the real die hard fans who follow the prancing horse no matter who drives for them or whatever the results, although winning is preferable to coming in second or third!
To reward the fans and also to celebrate their fantastic 1st and 2nd places in the Turkish Grand Prix last weekend, the team have released through the Ferrari Store, a limited amount of signed Ferrari F1 baseball caps, which have been signed by both drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.
For those who have the urge to buy this special limited edition, the cap will be delivered in a bright red Ferrari box and comes with a certificate of authenticity, just so you can prove to your friends that the item is real, and not just a $10 cap that you have signed yourself, (Now that’s an idea!) and all this for around $600.
The signed baseball cap and box etc will be limited to only 50, so for real Ferrari F1 fans time may be as limited as the caps themselves, whether this could count as an investment or not is very debatable, even a limited edition of 50 may not be worth much more than the price paid, however the “Tifosi†would no doubt disagree.
To view the official page and the only pace to buy the caps visit the Ferrari Store.
In Canada the fight against road racing is reaching new heights, as a video circulating the net shows. Owners of high performance and very expensive cars, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini. The video shows four of these cars racing down the province of Alberta’s highways at speeds of over 200 mph.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have received numerous complaints from residents. The video has been produced by Zahir Rana who owns and runs ZR Auto who happen to specialize in selling Ferrari and Lamborghini sports cars. It shows several of these cars doing in excess of 210 mpg as the camera takes in the speedo as well as the road. But later Zahir Rana stated that the video was faked, and that it was just a viral marketing campaign.
The Alberta RCMP did arrest four drivers of high performance cars one of whom just happened to be Zahir Rana of ZR Auto, yet so far there have been no charges made by the police, who say that the case is still under investigation and is not over yet. Because they are not sure whether the video is real or a fake, the outcome of the investigation will no doubt help the police to decide which charges are applicable to this or if no charges should be brought about at all.
One thing is for sure, whether the video is fake or real, its all good for ZR Auto!
The car chasers over at WorldCarFans have captured some images of the test mule for what is expected to be the new 599 Dino by Ferrari. While the body does not expose too much of what the end product might look like it does give out plenty of a tease.
The 599 Dino, if produced, is expected to run between $100,000 and $150,000 and could see a production run of 4000 cars a year. Those could be some lofty figures for an auto maker that only makes around that many cars a year as it is.
To see more of the Ferrari 599 Dino take the leap over to WorldCarFans.
Ever look at those car company logo’s and wonder where they came from? Well there is a convenient listing out there that provides some of the background for the some of the worlds most recognized symbols.
Take for example the Volvo logo. In Latin the word Volvo means “i roll”. The circle with arrow of the Volvo logo is the symbol for iron, which was used to make Sweden’s main industrial product of the country back in the day: steel.
While there is a certain panache that comes from being a person that can just cut a check for whatever he wants, there are others who see savings in leasing and can find better uses for that upfront cash. It is not all about holding the title to the car as much as it is having the keys.
A recent article in the New York Times discussed some of the advantages of leasing exotic cars that those who could still afford to do otherwise are choosing over that cash purchase. Luckily there are a few companies now specializing in providing those leases once the leaser has plunked down 20-25% of the purchase price for a down payment.
