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YSSMAN
Personally speaking, I'd prefer to just "go big" and drop the LS7 under the hood and squeeze out a few extra horses the old fashioned way; Free up the breathing, new exhaust, remapped ECU, etc...
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Which would net you less horsepower and far less torque for more money.
 
Probably, but I'm a crazy American who prefers N/A performance. So what do I know?
 
YSSMAN
Probably, but I'm a crazy American who prefers N/A performance.
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As do I, but for the price of the LS7 over here (I can't imagine how expensive it must be over in Europe) I'd happily live with a supercharger.
 
The LS7 is about $15K off the shelf at your local Chevrolet dealer and I believe comes with a three-year warranty (I may be mistaken). It isn't as though the LS2 can't handle a supercharger and still be reliable, but I'd rather have the 505 BHP ready-to-go...
 
Source: AutoCar

KTM X-Bow will cost £38k

Austrian motorbike manufacturer KTM is aiming right at the Ariel Atom with its new X-Bow sports car.

The doorless, roofless machine will start at £31,650 plus taxes when it goes on sale in the UK in spring 2008, which means £37,189 plus delivery.

That puts the 2.0-litre turbocharged X-Bow head-to-head with the British-built Ariel Atom 300 Supercharged, which costs £37,676 and uses a 2.0-litre supercharged Honda engine.

The X-Bow's TFSI Audi engine puts out 237bhp, which means it's unlikely to be as quick as the Atom, unless it is significantly lighter. That'll be a tough challenge for KTM, seeing as the Ariel is a featherweight 540kg.

Earlier this year KTM told us that the X-Bow would weigh in at around 700kg and manage 0-60mph in 3.9sec – a second slower than the Atom.

As standard, the X-Bow has a carbonfibre monocoque chassis and fully adjustable dampers.

Production starts in spring with a limited-edition 'Dallara' model with a limited-slip diff and extra carbonfibre components.

UK sales will be made through selected Audi dealers and from KTM's base in Brackley, Northants.
 
Caterham CSR 260 please.
 
Source: AutoCar

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Seat goes off-road in style

Say goodbye to look-alike Seats. This is the new Seat Tribu concept, which will be unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show on Tuesday (11 September).

The Tribu is the first model wholly styled by design director Luc Donckerwolke since his arrival from Lamborghini. Maybe we're just being fanciful, but we reckon there's a hint of Lambo in the Tribu's crisp, geometrical shapes and trapezoidal headlights, and that's a good thing.

The only elements of Seat's current styling it contains are the strong swage lines running along the flanks from the top of the front wing to the rear wheelarches.

The Tribu blends elements of coupe and SUV styling; it's clearly an SUV, but there's definitely something coupe-like in the car's profile and three doors. The windscreen also continues above the passenger compartment, creating a huge panoramic roof.

There are no obvious external rear lights, because they're hidden behind the rear windscreen and only visible when illuminated.

The wheels are enourmous 20-inch chrome items, with 255/50 tyres – this is a vehicle for tackling the King's Road, not off-road.

Inside, the Tribu has four bucket seats, each with built-in seatbelts. The dashboard, meanwhile, is packed with four information screens for the driver, as well as dials for the speedometer and rev counter.

The screens display different information according to which of three driving modes the Tribu is in – Urban, Sport or Freerun, for the city, motorway or tracks. These change the engine management and suspension settings.

Intriguingly, Seat says that the Tribu "heralds the advent of a new wave of Seat models, and is therefore highly significant."

The Spanish firm has just introduced the soft-roader four-wheel-drive Altea Freetrack, but has said that it is likely to create a new SUV. Such a car would likely be based on the same platform as the forthcoming new VW Tiguan off-roader, making it a rival for cars like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V.
 
Source: AutoCar

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Two more Astons for Frankfurt show

It’s not just the shiny new DBS that will grace the Aston Martin stand at Frankfurt. Joining the new supercar will be two special editions to commemorate the company’s recent racing successes.

First up is the V8 Vantage N400, which is essentially a road-going version of the cars that competed at this year’s Nürburgring 24-hour race.

The N400’s V8 has been fettled to produce over 400bhp, hence the name, and the car also features a sports pack which includes lightweight graphite-finished wheels, uprated springs and dampers and a new rear anti-roll bar. The N400 is available in three new paint colours; Storm Black, Lightning Silver and the appropriately named Karrusell Orange.

Each N400 gets some tasty perforated leather trim and a numbered plaque, and we’re reliably informed that it will lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in under eight minutes.

Completing the Aston show line-up is the DB9 LM, commemorating Aston’s GT1 class victory in the Le Mans 24-hour race this year.

Only available as a coupe and with touchtronic transmission, the car features the optional DB9 sports pack as standard. Sarthe Silver paint, smoked chrome mesh grilles and red brake callipers complete the look on the outside, while yet more perforated leather and a numbered plaque adorn the cabin.

Pricing details for both cars will be confirmed at the Frankfurt show, but expect the DB9 to sell for around £124,000 and the V8 to cost £92,000.
 
Nice Aston

Seat is really kicking ass these days. Id have a seat over a equivelant VW anyday as is evidentential when looking at what car is sitting on my drive :D
 
Source: Auto Express

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The 1,200bhp 14-litre V16 Natalia SL2

Californian firm Dimora is producing a luxury saloon worth keeping an eye on. Development of the £1 million Natalia SL2 can be followed via factory webcams, so buyers can watch the designers and master craftsmen from their home. The car has a 1,200bhp 14-litre V16 engine and aerospace-influenced bodywork, so it should prove compulsive viewing. Click on www.dimoramotorcar.com for more.
 
The power seems very excessive for a luxury saloon, but it looks very striking. I like it from a style perspective. At least, from that pic I do anyway.
 
Could this be Bugatti sedan we have all been so impatiently wishing for?

Nuts. This will be an insane beast. Not exactly something I would really want, though.
 
Source: Auto Express

Lotus’ Eagle to land at UK show

The 2008 British Motor Show has been given a major boost after Lotus confirmed that it will launch an all-new model at the event.

The manufacturer will unveil a mid-engined 2+2 coupé – codenamed Project Eagle – at the show. It will sit between the Europa and the successor to the Esprit in the range.

A source within the Proton-owned firm told Auto Express: "The last Esprit was a £60,000 model, so it’s reasonable to assume its replacement will be in that price bracket.

"The Project Eagle car will cost around £45,000. We think it will be a logical progression for our customers to go from an Elise or Europa to that car, and then to a pricier model." Our spies have spotted a test mule for the newcomer on roads around the company’s Hethel base, while its styling is believed to echo that of Proton’s PM5 study. Power is thought to come from a Toyota 3.0-litre V6.

"Geneva is too early and we won’t be in Paris next year, so the British show is perfect," said our insider. "We also believe the event will only get better the closer we get to the 2012 Olympics, because the transport infrastructure will improve."

Lotus joins Vaux*hall on the list of makers debuting new models at next year’s show. The latter takes the covers off its Vectra replacement at the event, which will be held at London’s ExCeL in Docklands from 23 July to 3 August.
 
This sounds pretty cool. We'll see what it actually is like. I'm not sure whether to expect something amazing like the Elise or some POS like the Europa. Hopefully the former will be true.

I didn't get the part about the olympics. How does moving the debut a few months back make it closer to the Olympics to make a difference? Why is this significant at all?
 
The name makes it sound rubbish already...I mean "Eagle"? Sounds like something American not British...
 
Why am I more excited about the Vectra replacement than this new Lotus?

Oh, thats right, because we can expect to see it (in the USA) in a reasonable amount of time...
 
It shouldn't be anything like the Europa, lets not forget, the Europa was originally a Proton project. It'll be nice to finely put an official face to the Esprit replacement.
 
ExigeExcel
It'll be nice to finely put an official face to the Esprit replacement.
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Wait, What?:confused: This won't be the Esprit replacement, will it? Will we see the Esprit at the same time? Why will we be able to put a face on the new Esprit if this is not it?
 
This is not the Esprit replacement. That will come in a few years, as the project was sidelined to "add more Lotus" to the car. The main problem seems to be the lack of a decent powerplant. The previous BMW variant was deemed a "tractor motor", so something else was needed.

Either way, this will be the first car to feature the new VVH chassis architecture, which is expected to be revolutionary in aluminum chassis versatility. I can't wait to see more of this and other big news from Lotus in the next few weeks.
 
more from our friends at Evo:

New 2+2
Kimberley is clearly passionate about Lotus’s forthcoming models, starting with Project Eagle, a 2+2 designed to sit between the Elise/Exige/Europa and the new Esprit, and due to debut at next year’s London motor show, on sale early in 2009. Teasingly he grants me a quick glance at pictures of the Eagle, which appears to be a mid-engined coupe with (very) occasional rear seating. Think Bertone-bodied Dino 308GT4 with a modern Lotus twist and you won’t be too wide of the mark. Price is likely to be sub-£50K.
Unlike the Europa, the Eagle isn’t based on an Elise platform but it will use a bonded aluminium tub and glassfibre composite body. Kimberley won’t confirm where the engine’s coming from, but doesn’t argue with the logic of our guess at a Toyota unit, most likely a 3.2-litre V6 with about 300bhp.

Aston engine?
Kimberley is less helpful regarding the power source for the next- generation Esprit, set for launch in late 2009, other than to say that he’s very excited about the deal Lotus has sealed with ‘a very well respected prestige car maker’. There’s been much speculation that the engine will be a BMW unit, but given the relationship Lotus has with Aston Martin – it designed and set up the alloy chassis and suspension of the Vanquish – and the desire to be ‘niche’ and ‘exclusive’, an Aston V8 would fit the bill equally well.

When we interviewed Kimberley in 2006, he had just reviewed progress with the Esprit and decided that it wasn’t extreme enough. It seems that the car’s dynamics are now much sharper, ‘more Lotus’, as befitting Hethel’s flagship £70,000 supercar.
 
That is only the project name, just as the Elise was Project 111 back in the early 90s.

The name would most likely be changed, there's a list of historic names they could use, or come up with something else.
 
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