2008

2008 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione 13

2008 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione – Gooding Amelia Island 2019 Highlight

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It is hard to predict which supercars will really stop you in your tracks when you find one in real life. We’ve certainly seen a few of these 8C’s in the flesh before but on this day the ultra-smooth, curvaceous bodywork seemed simply flawless. Timeless appeal. Even while the logical part of the brain cries out about the Maserati engine and chassis basis. And even while more modern machines beckon with their simmery LEDs and angular lines. Re-discovering the 8C’s design is interesting. It is even possible to trace its front fender shapes onto the 4C Spider.  Both cars are …

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The Evolution of BMW xDrive – 325iX to 2016 BMW X5 xDrive40e – PHEV M Sport from $70k

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THe BMW eDrive X5 is officially in the USA! This huge advance in AWD tech for BMW is being celebrating with a look back at the first 30 years of BMW four-paw models. We still remember the special body-color aero kit and special wheels from the US-market 325iX. Was just a tiny bit cooler than even the very-chic 325i sedan and coupe of the era. The honor that original look, we spec’ed out a 2016 BMW X5 xDrive40e in M Sport guise.  The truck looks very, very nice on its available 20-inch alloys. Particularly so with the $1,100 adaptive LED …

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Revised Peugeot DKR 2015+ Battle-Testing New Engine/Suspension Setups Ahead of Dakar 2016

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No person (or rally race) should be treated like ‘a means to an end.’ But when that ultimate goal looms larger than anything else in sight, you tend to focus on the main event. All others are just prep work. And so it is for the refreshed Peugeot 2008 DKR 2015+ racecar. That 2015+ coding is the internal tag for the heavy upgrade work done by the racing boffins at Peugeot Sport. The DKR was our clear favorite to win the Dakar rally in 2015, but lost out to the brutally fast MINI Countryman race squad, who are shooting for …

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Tanner Foust VW Passat Formula Drift Car 18-tile

Update1 – Tanner Foust VW Passat Formula Drift Car Pushes 900HP from 7.4-Liter V8!

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Updated with High-Res Photos. Thanks Fred!   450 cubic inches. 7.37 Liters. That is the size of Tanner’s new V8 Formula Drift car from Rockstar Energy and Nitto Tire. Juiced with nitrous, this engine puts out a stunning 900-horsepower. Those dimensions feel familiar and might show some NASCAR roots for the hottest VW Passat of all time. Unburstable engines are an asset in the delicate but brutal world of drift driving, with its stump-pulling torque just a side benefit of all that displacement. Check out the teaser video below to hear it in action!  Tanner Foust VW Passat Formula Drift Car …

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2008 Citroen HYPNOS 35

Concept Flashback – 2008 Citroen HYPNOS Was X6-Sized Missed Opportunity

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  This 2008 Citroen concept is best known for its melted candy interior – with a swirl of wild colors looking a bit like a bag of Skittles left of the dashboard of a car in direct sunlight. But in fact, this crossover was one of Citroen’s first attempts at a soft-roader. Powered by a 2.0-liter HDi turbodiesel making 200-horsepower to the front wheels, plus a hybrid electric setup with 50HP for the back axle. The crossover and SUV space presented and still does present a fantastic opportunity for mass-market brands to achieve premium sales they all crave. Evidence? How …

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2008 Mazda Kazamai 26

Concept Flashback – 2008 Mazda Kazamai Was Crossover Coupe With Rear-Drive Stance

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As a small and independent manufacturer, Mazda cannot really afford to flub the design of one of its main production models. Careful design feedback was solicited on a global scale between 2005 and 2010, when the firm rolled out almost a dozen wild concept cars. As sort of a focus-group-by-fire, these concepts showed some good ideas, some bad ideas, and overall the results informed the latest generation of gorgeous Mazda6, fairly cool Mazda3 and very stylish upcoming MX-5 and CX-3. As a crossover coupe with two massive doors, this Kazamai concept proved two things: that rear-drive proportions are always stunning …

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KISKA_Website_Downloads_KTMXBOWGTR_02

2015 KTM X-Bow GTR Is Reskinned and GT4-Ready To Race via Reiter Engineering

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KTM’s branch-out from its motorcycle core with the X-Bow has created a rapid and fierce bunch of loyalists on and off the racetracks of the world. A simple idea of a carbon-fiber tub, mid-engine dynamics and deconstructed and minimalist panels was such a revolution six years ago — yet today is almost the global supercar template. From the X-Bow — pronounced CrossBow — came the X-Bow GT and the latest one-make race series, increases to 400-plus horsepower, and even a windshield for those days when you can drive without a race helmet. The next step for the X-Bow takes the …

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2015 Volkswagen Tanner Foust Racing ENEOS RWB Beetle 992

2015 Volkswagen Beetle Rear-Drive Widebody by Tanner Foust Racing

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What is the best way to make the VW Beetle a credible sports-car? Make it rear-drive! But a race-prep overhaul and a widebody package from famous Japanese Porsche tuner RAUH-Welt Begriff on top of that? Yes yes yes! 2015 Volkswagen Beetle Rear-Drive Widebody by Tanner Foust Racing   2015 Volkswagen Tanner Foust Racing ENEOS RWB Beetle ft. RAUH-Welt Begriff Widebody This Volkswagen Beetle that represents a collaboration between Volkswagen rallycross driver Tanner Foust and famed Porsche tuners RAUH-Welt Begriff is set to be unveiled this week at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. The Tanner Foust Racing ENEOS RWB Beetle …

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2008 Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster 13

RM Amelia Island 2015 Preview – 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster

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How time flies in the hypercar world! Only seven short years ago, this Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster was the absolute hottest, wildest machine on four wheels. With only 156 miles since new, the original owner clearly thought highly of the car and wanted to maximize its collector potential in the future. But again just seven short years later, he or she is making room in the garage. Perhaps for one of the hypercar class of 2015? 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster RM Auctions Amelia Island 14 March 2015 2008 Lamborghini Murciélago LP640-4 Roadster Chassis no. ZHWBU47S88LA03146

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2015 Peugeot 2008 DKR Rally Racer – Tech Specs and Pre-Dakar Photos

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The Peugeot DKR prototype currently blasting through the Chilean sahara on the 2015 Dakar rally has been a bit of a wallflower before the race. Few official photos of the truck have been seen. The mid-engine, rear-drive off-roader is an evolution of the Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak car, but raised dramatically for its new Dakar mission. The same team that created the LeMans 908 HDi FAP cars have created both of these latest racing Pugs, and all have shared the primary super-diesel engine power. This 3.0-liter twin turbo-diesel is a total torque monster: it pushes out 590 pound-feet of …

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2015 Dakar Rally – Peugeot 2008 DKR – 100-Photo Action Gallery

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In the previous Dakar article today about the MINI Countryman All4 team, we noted how their action photos from the event took the cake for sharing the race excitement with the rest of us. After a bit of digging, we’ve found a real treasure-trove. Photos and videos so amazing they make MINI’s effort look a little silly and amateurish. Who could deliver this? None other than the racing powerhouse Red Bull. Videos, photos, interviews – all numbering in the hundreds. All with production values that are ready for 4K HDTV. Most of the MINI team is powered by Monster Energy, …

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fcv2

2015 Honda FCV Concept + Year of Honda Turbo VTEC and Turbofan HondaJet Arrival

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Honda is very re-energized lately. It will take time for the actual products to catch up with the mood inside the halls of America Honda these days, but when they arrive, they should be terrific. After years of a relatively glum and forlorn outlook, there is a palpable sense of future potential in Honda today. The FCV concept is still in its production-engineering mode, as Honda is keen to perfect every detail before the global rollout. This sense slightly delayed the new Acura NSX as well, but we now see it was worth the wait. Honda is diving head-first into …

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2008 Dodge ZEO

Concept Flashback – 2008 Dodge ZEO Was EV Tesla-Fighter

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The 2008 Dodge ZEO was conceived in a world of $150-per-barrel oil in 2006 and 2007, when the full electrification of the car seemed inevitable. The freedom to run a flat-pack of Li-Ion batteries in the floor of the vehicle offered Dodge a chance to break out of typical packaging constraints. We see some great elements in the ZEO, including its finished four-seat cabin and spectacular doors. But the design is a bit busier than the Dodge ideal, especially around the nose. Lack of air intakes means the ZEO and its crossbar grille just seem a bit scrunched and silly …

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jeep renegade

2008 Jeep Renegade Concept Was Off-Road EV Speedster

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The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles concept parade continues unabated! Here we have the 2008 Jeep Renegade concept — which was a brave look at what a wider, lower and EV-powered Wrangler might look like. The exposed doors and organic surfaces, along with integrated fenders, meld well with the chopped windshield glass. Overall, the Renegade concept showed a modern form language whose lighting elements are seen on the upcoming 2015 Renegade small crossover. 2008 Jeep Renegade Concept

rc hybrid4

Concept Flashback – 2008 Peugeot RC HYbrid4 Finally Turned Design Tide

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After highlighting two of Peugeot’s less-impressive achievements from 2006 in the 907 and 908 RC, we are eager to show how the brand turned its style page — to a far better step in the right direction. The 2008 RC HYbrid4 takes some of the initial sketches from the 908 RC to fruition, but is not burdened by a giant mid-engine package in its proportions. In addition to showing a promising and crisp new style, the HYbrid4 was a showcase for Peugeot’s then-new hybrid AWD powertrain. Running a unique electric motor and battery on the back axle but a normal …

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hoggar

Concept Flashback – 2003 Peugeot Hoggar Was Twin-Engine 4×4 a la 2015 DKR Racer

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Here is a fun look at a dune buggy from Peugeot more than a decade ago. The brand had long ditched its  off-road-race pedigree through the 1990s, and with it any available 4×4 powertrains. The only way they could make this little cabrio a true 4×4 involved some very unique engineering. In what is a strange and exponentially more complex arrangement than a prop shaft, the Hoggar has twin four-cylinder turbodiesel engines. Both mounted transversely – with one on each end. Think of it like the noses of two Peugeot hatchback’s joined by a chromoly chassis in between. It is …

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f700

Concept Flashback – 2008 Mercedes-Benz F700 Was Aggressively Ugly Eco-Limo

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After scathing critiques of Audi’s Prologue concept for LA 2014 and a few other recent machines, we want to balance things out. An equal-opportunity offender here! But the Prologue is just a major disappointment. It is not something that makes you want to gouge your eyes out with a red-hot iron spike. When thinking of other truly fug-nasty concept cars, the F700 leaps to mind instantly. What were they thinking? The low-nose and cab-forward style as a future S-Class-plus limo is hard enough to swallow, but then we have gobsmacking bug-eye lamps, a deeply plunging windowline into the front doors, …

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gmc denali xt gif

Concept Flashback – 2008 GMC Denali XT Is Hybrid V8 Chop-Top!

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How many awesome ideas and cars hit the chopping block during the financial crisis? More than a dozen from each manufacturer, we would estimate. That goes for much of the new engine tech and almost all of the new segment-busting models like this Denali XT. As wide as a full-size truck, but two feet lower — the Denali XT is seriously sexy even as we enter 2015. The ideas shown on this truck are pretty evergreen, and might be up for a revival some day. The Hybrid engine tech shown is paired with a 4.9-liter, direct-injected V8 — the one …

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