Autos

Weismann has been building “Retro-Mod” cars since 1985; you ask what a “Retro-Mod” car is?  A Retro-Mod is a term that I think I made up in reference to an automobile (in this case) that takes its design inspirations from a retro car but the drivetrain, powertrain and everything else in the car is modern.

To celebrate the 20^th anniversary of something (maybe the press release had a typo and it should have been 25^th anniversary?), Weismann brought their newest car to the Geneva Auto Show, the Weismann Roadster MF4.  The car looks incredible with classic British styling on the outside and a luxurious and sporty modern interior.  Leather is everywhere, from the steering wheel to the dashboard to the center console and of course on the very supportive looking driver and passenger seats.  If you’re into gauges (like I am), there are plenty of those in the car, seven to be exact.

The brand new Porsche Cayenne 958 by Gemballa can easily be categorized as an F5 Tornado. There are many Porsche tuners out there and all claim to be the king of Porsches. Gemballa has been tuning Porsches for nearly 30 years and have a learned a thing or two over the years. Gemballa headquarters are located only 20 kilometers from the Porsche plant in Stuttart-Zuffenhausen and the place where dreams become reality.

The Gemballa Cayenne Tornado is one of the company’s latest creations and nearly ready to roll off their assembly line. What makes this Cayenne and the company unique is that rather than molding carbon fiber parts onto modified factory steel panels, Gemballa replaces almost all the steel body panels with carbon fiber equivalents. The company is able to shave 70 kilograms in weight by using carbon fiber on the doors, front wings, side sill covers, front bonnet, rear hatch skin cover, and bumper parts.  These replacements do not compromise passenger safety or comfort in anyway.

It has been a year since the updated Jaguar XKR has been in production and now Jaguar has decided to spice things up even more by leaking a few details about the all-new 2012 XKR-S which is to debut at the Geneva Auto Show in March, 2011.

The new XKR-S will be fitted with an upgraded version of the supercharged 5.0 liter V8 capable of putting down 550 horsepower and 501 pound-feet of torque. That’s an extra 40 horsepower over the standard XKR and enough power to give the XKR-S a top speed of 186 mph while being able to complete the 0 – 60 mph dash in only 4.2 seconds. Other upgrades include aggressive aerodynamic changes to the bumper, side skirts, air vents on the hood, quad tail pipes, and a rear wing giving it a bold “in your face” appearance.

2011 marks another milestone for Volkwagen as it has been 35 years since the original Golf GTI was introduced to the world back in 1976. To celebrate, the German automaker has released a special version of the GTI, dubbed “Edition 35”. Not 35^th Edition but “Edition 35” so this has to be pretty good.

So what’s so special about the anniversary edition Golf GTI? For starters, the GTI’s 2.0 liter turbo engine is tuned to perfection and helps in putting down an extra 25 horsepower over the standard VW GTI. The Golf GTI Edition 35 now delivers a total of 235 horsepower. Other mechanical updates are unknown at the time as Volkswagen has not revealed official figures. But as with “Edition 30” back in 2006, expect changes to the suspension and exhaust system.