Alpina is as familiar to German enthusiasts as Shelby, Hurst, Saleen and Yenko are to American gearheads. And like its American counterparts, Alpina has made a business out of taking the best vehicles from one marque and making them substantially better than anything rolling off the assembly line.
The relationship between BMW and Alpina started in 1962 when a German enthusiast named Burkard Bovenseipen realized his BMW 1500 had plenty of untapped potential. Bovenseipen developed a dual carburetor kit for the 1500’s four-cylinder, and as the carbs flew off the shelves, he realized there was a serious market for BMW-based performance parts. Mr. B formed ALPINA Burkard Bovenseipen KG in 1964 and in the decades since, the company has become known simply as Alpina.
But while the name has changed, its mission remains the same, and its line of upgrades have grown considerably since its inception. Bovenseipen’s team continues to recognize the potential in almost every new BMW product, and the small but competent company, now managed by Bovenseipen’s son Andreas (his staff calls him Andy), delivers better, less compromised, higher-performance versions of BMW production cars.
The Corvette is Chevrolet’s — perhaps’ even GM’s — most widely recognized model. The sports car has been in production since 1953, with several variants along the way. Now in its sixth generation, the so-called C6 Corvette Coupe was launched as a 2005 model.
Updated for 2008 and beyond, the Corvette Coupe receives an all-new 6.2L LS3 V8. The bump in displacement — up from 6.0L — increases horsepower to 430 or 436 with an available sports exhaust. Peak torque is 424 pound-feet on the basic model and 428-pound feet with the improved exhaust.
Other engine features include high-flow cylinder heads, enhanced valvetrain, a high-flow intake manifold larger-bore block with structural enhancements.
Channeling that added power to the rear wheels is either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters. The manual features improved manual transmission shift effort for 2008. The automatic delivers quicker shift times and a 2.73 performance axle ratio.
Read more at http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrolet-corvette.html
Like the 2010 Ford Mustang GT, this new GT500 isn’t an all-new car, but rather an extreme development of the previous platform. That old 2007 Shelby GT500 set the world alight with its 500 HP, 480 Lb-Ft 5.4-liter supercharged V8, offering an unprecedented level of straight line performance — running the quarter mile in the low 12-second range — for just $41,675. But it was a one trick pony, floating with dangerous imprecision around corners and offering very little feel on its way to spinning at the slightest provocation. Driving that car was an exercise in point and shoot: slam on the brakes, drive slowly around the corner, then stomp on the gas once the steering’s pointed straight. According to both Ray and Ford representatives, I’m the only person in the world who actually liked its kill-you-at-the-slightest-mistake personality.
Read more at http://jalopnik.com/5199679/2010-shelby-gt500-first-drive
How’s this for culture shock? I’m driving a German-designed Buick alongside a Korean-designed Chevy through the streets of a Chinese city. Welcome to the future of General Motors. GM plans to double its sales in China over the next five years, to two million units. “China remains the centerpiece of our global growth strategy,” GM Asia-Pacific boss Nick Reilly said at the Shanghai show, where the GM stand featured 37 models, including the German-designed Buick and Korean-designed Chevy.
The Buick is the 2010 Regal. It’s an old American nameplate for a brand-new car — a rebadged version of the Opel Insignia, a stylish Fusion-size sedan that’s selling to critical acclaim in Europe, having recently been voted 2009 Car of the Year there by a jury of 59 European auto writers. The Opel-based 2010 Regal replaces the old W-body model that has been sold in China since 2003. Like its predecessor, it’s built in China by Shanghai-GM, the joint venture company operated by General Motors and Chinese automaker SAIC. GM is currently selling 5000 new Regals a month in China. (Here’s a startling contrast: Buick hasn’t sold 5000 a month of anything in the U.S. for some time.)
Read more at http://motortrend.automotive.com/110292/112-0905-2010-buick-regal-drive/index.html
Beneath the glistening lights of the New York Auto Show, BMW officially presented “The Ultimate Gap Filler,” a 3 Series that approaches the power and visual élan of the M3 for considerably less money. It’s called the 335is.
But before we go any further, let’s get this turbo thing straight. The “ordinary” 2011 BMW 335i Sedan and Coupe use a new 3.0-liter inline-6 engine, dubbed N55, that employs a single twin-scroll turbocharger combined with Valvetronic variable valve timing and lift and direct fuel injection. Yet the perfectly good N54 twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 that we’ve come to know and love in the former 335i is still around, and is said to be better suited to higher-horsepower applications.
This is the end of Viper, but in the aptly named “snake pit” here at the Los Angeles show, they’re having a party to celebrate the record-setting lap time at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Only 500 or so Vipers will be produced as 2010 models, and one of the cars shown here—specifically the black and red car—was the actual record-setter from Laguna.
Until a few months ago, a 2008 Dodge Viper ACR held the production-car track record at Laguna. Its mark was eclipsed by an exotic car called the Devon GTX, which just happens to be powered by a Viper engine. Not liking that very much, Chrysler responded quickly, having vehicle dynamics engineer Chris Winkler drive a few laps in a new 2010 ACR and easily knock a second off the record set by Justin Bell in the GTX. Winkler admitted to leaving more time out there, but said he was concerned about getting the car to the L.A. show in one piece.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/auto-shows/los-angeles/2010-dodge-viper
As car enthusiasts, we want to protect the environment, but we also don’t want to drive boring cars. So it’s refreshing that amidst the push for alternative energy vehicles—a push which seems destined to turn cars into mere appliances—there are a few players who recognize it’s important that their green cars must also offer great driving dynamics in addition to good looks.
We were pleased when Audi unveiled the e-Tron electric sports car concept at last year’s Frankfurt Auto Show. Further so when the folks from Ingolstadt allowed us a brief drive in the $1 million show car; better still, Audi recently announced it will build a limited production version in about two years.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/future-cars/audi-e-tron
My hands are cold and clammy, a usual indicator that I’m about to do something either amazingly courageous, or incredibly stupid. For the past hour, torrential weather conditions have been unrelenting, bringing with them waves of doubt that I’ve been trying to ignore. I fight the urge to keep a death grip around the GT3’s tri-spoke Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, as I inch my way up to the tollbooth entrance behind the only other bonehead currently in queue — resolved to do what we came here for. It’s my colleague, Shaun Bailey, and we’ve just committed to taking an unguided first lap around the notoriously difficult (and now very wet) curves of the 12.9-mile-long Nürburgring Nordschleife.
A couple days ago, arriving at the Porsche factory in Zuffenhausen late Friday, our tight schedule originally detailed a simpler weekend. I was issued a Carrara White 2010 GT3 with virtually every option available to the U.S. market, save for the hydropneumatic front lift system that provides the low front splitter an extra 1.2 in. of ground clearance at slow speeds. Naturally we had some envy-worthy European-spec items as well, like the factory bolt-in 4-point rollcage (one of the items included in the no-cost Clubsport package) and optional single-piece, lightweight carbon-fiber racing seats wrapped in flame-retardant fabric. We needed to return the car by Sunday evening, which meant only two days in which to complete testing and photography.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/car/2010-porsche-911-gt3
There they were, lying on my desk, two key fobs sitting atop a small note that read, “Please return by 3 p.m. tomorrow.” The black matchbox-size remotes belonged to a 2010 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster and a 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG, arguably two of the most desirable convertibles in the world, with a combined price of over $300,000. My watch showed 3 p.m., which meant I had exactly 24 hours to do as I pleased with these dream machines. Several ideas came to mind, like a quick jaunt to Mulholland Drive and a late-night cruise through Hollywood. Too predictable. As I mentally rejected one idea after another, Feature Editor Mike Monticello walked into my office. I explained the situation.
“We should drive the living @#%! out of them,” he said.
Bingo.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/comparison/2010-aston-martin-v8-vantage-roadster-vs.-2009-mercedes-benz-sl63-amg
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