The 2010 Geneva Motor Show has given us our fair share of exotic and very expensive supercars including the new Gumpert Apollo S and the Lamborghini and Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera. Koenigsegg even wow’d visitors with their new 910 horsepower Agera.
But wait- why stop at a car that doesn’t even develop horsepower in four-digits?
For a second time at Geneva, Koenigsegg dropped some jaws after they introduced the one-of-a-kind CCXR Platinuss- a car that can only be described as an expensive tire shredder. Why? The CCXR Platinuss was specially developed for a Brazilian dealership to run on Bio-ethanol E100, a tweak that results in an absolutely incomprehensible 1100 brake horsepower!
This arena of horsepower is so seriously beyond comprehension that the only way to remotely understand what 1100bhp means is a simple comparison. Lets look a new 2010 Toyota Corolla. At 2811 lbs, the Corolla sports an average 132 horsepower from its inline-four cylinder engine. Now take the CCXR Platinuss. At a curb weight of 2822lbs- just eleven pounds more than the Corolla- this Koenigsegg is eight and half times more powerful on paper than your average, everyday car. Eight and a half!
But we’re sure it feels like a hell of a lot more off paper and behind the seat.
[GTSpirit, Chad Waite]
March 5th, 2010 by Chad Waite. 2 Comments.
First VW introduced the Scirocco and gave us here in America the proverbial “naa, naa, na-na, naaa” by saying “no soup for you!” and not releasing it on our shores. Even though all of us here at DailyDerbi agree it is truly a hot hatch, VW has no plans to bring it here. Well, VW is at their teasing ways again with the new Polo GTI recently debuted at the Geneva Auto Show as covered by the blokes over at Autoblog.
The Polo GTI is the original MK1 Golf GTI reincarnated providing the same lightweight, peppy fun of the original but for the modern age. The peppiness comes thanks to a twin-charged, meaning both a super AND turbo charged 1.4 liter 4 cylinder that cranks out 178 hp and an impressive 184 lbs/ft of torque. Lighter than its bigger brother, the Golf GTI, but with similar power numbers means the little Polo should be good times on both road and track. The Polo GTI also benefits from the excellent interior fit and finish that VW has become famous for with modern displays and nicely appointed throw-back plaid seating.
There may be a light at the end of this tunnel as VW execs are considering bringing the Polo, and possibly it’s pepped up GTI version, to the U.S. Let’s hope they do, fingers crossed!
March 4th, 2010 by Brandon Christiansen. 1 Comment.
Readers- if up to till this very moment you’ve been unable to figure out the point of a BMW X6 let me make one thing clear: you are not alone. For the most part the entire motoring world cannot see rhyme or reason in this large, powerful and surprisingly incapable SAC (yes, that’s BMW’s own acronym for Sports Activity Coupe). Oh ya- and its expensive. Like $60,000 expensive.
So it was an understandable moment when our jaws hit the floor after seeing the Hamann Tycoon EVO M for the first time at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Its outlandish, carbon fiber draped looks beg for attention but the real story lies under the hood (carbon fiber) where 670 furious aftermarket horses wait. 670 horsepower!
As the always sharp guys at AutoBlog pointed out, this is the exact same horsepower as the most powerful Lamborghini ever made, the Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce. And that got its 670hp from a huge 6.5L V12. This X6 (if you can even call it that anymore) is “only” packing a 4.4L twin-turbo V8.
You know, we could go into specs, details, pricing- the lot, but instead I am just going to leave it at this: the Hamann Tycoon EVO M is just like a Las Vegas prostitute. It may be interesting to look at from 50 feet away but if you take it for a spin you’ll probably end up dead.
[Autoblog, Chad Waite]
March 4th, 2010 by Chad Waite. 1 Comment.
While the Geneva Auto Show may be stealing the world’s attention with exotic supercars and crazy concepts, another, perhaps more important, automotive story developed on Monday in South Africa. During a brief meeting regarding the upcoming series of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May were thought to be English astronauts by South African president Nelson Mandela.
Needless to say, when Clarkson revealed that the closest he had been to space was a brief brush with a homemade Reliant Robin space shuttle, there was a bit of confusion.
“This was tricky. I couldn’t say that we made a pokey television program about cars because then he might wonder what on earth we were doing wasting his valuable time,” Clarkson said.
We just hope that the awkward moment that had to have followed was documented by Top Gear cameras…
[One India, Chad Waite]
March 3rd, 2010 by Chad Waite. No Comments.
