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| Overfinch takes Range Rover over the top Posted: 04 Jul 2008 07:59 AM CDT  These Rage Rover specialists had announced a pair of new models of the Sport version and a £144.000 “Country Pursuits” vehicle. With a TDV6 HSE SuperSport and a 10-pice styling kit, unrated wheels and tyres (22-inch option), vents, mirros and assorter trim, what can you ask for more ? Well, for an extra £4000 Overfinch offers a bespoke nappa leather interior. Of course, in some places you get the Overfinch logos and also tread plates, an ECU upgrade, tailgate lettering and bonnet, and a sports instrument pack with red needles. However, the most interesting car from Overfinch is the Country Pursuits Concept. According to Overfinch this cars is “the most sophisticated and impressive Range Rover in our 33-year history”. Inside you can find a hand-made olive ash veneered centre console, drinks tray, a fridge and a removable gun box. Another stylish thing is the crystal glass drinking set. The diesel SuperSports model costs £66,495 and the supercharged version £69,995. If you think about the Country Pursuits, then you will find a scary price of £123,495 for the diesel version and £143,950 for the supercharged variant (including VAT). More photos after the jump.   | ||||
| Renderings: Renault Alpine Concept Posted: 04 Jul 2008 07:49 AM CDT  If the first design was somehow realistic, this one, created by Russian artist Arseny Kostromin during an internship at Renault, is far more futuristic. And, if you ask us, we see a little to much Audi R8 influence but the concept still looks awesome. Of course, we know that the more futuristic a concept is, the less chances we have to see it one day on the streets. But that’s not a problem, cause we don’t mind dreaming from time to time. More photos after the jump.
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| Corvette S-Limited edition for Japan Posted: 04 Jul 2008 06:56 AM CDT  GM Asia-Pacific announced that, in celebration of GM’s 100th Anniversary, a special edition of the Corvette will be available in Japan. With only 30 units (15 black and 15 white) available, the Corvette S-Limited features two-tone leather interior, rear lip spoiler, perforated inner exhaust tips and mesh wire screen for front bumper grilles and rear bumper. The price for the Corvette S-Limited is ¥7,980,000 (around $75,000) and, probably to make sure everyone knows where the car is coming from, the car will go on sale on the 4th of July. More photos after the jump.
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| Ferrari 360 Modena limo for sale Posted: 04 Jul 2008 06:29 AM CDT  Remeber the Ferrari 360 Modena limo? After we wrote the article, last year, we’ve been receiving a lot of emails from our readers asking us whether they can buy or rent the car. Over here at Auto Unleashed we don’t sell cars, but great news for some of you, the Ferrari is now for sale. The car is listed on eBay and you can get it immediately for $250,000. No bids were made so far, but for those interested, the car is quite a bargain, considering that it cost Dan Cawley £200,000 only to build the car (without considering the money paid for the Modena). However, you must know that the car has some legal problems, Ferrari pressing charges against Dan for infringing their trademark. Click here to go to the eBay auction page.  | ||||
| Mercedes ends the marriage with McLaren Posted: 04 Jul 2008 05:21 AM CDT  Just as you were enjoying the new SLR spy shots, here I am to burst your bubble. The two companies will part ways in 2009. A Mercedes official said that they will not renew the agreement when it expires. AMG will be making the new performance coupe from 2010, renaming it SLC. Just to confuse you a little bit more about all the Mercedes acronyms I guess. Seems that Mercedes wants to focus on its core values again. After ditching Chrysler, they’re trying to get back to basics and be less distracted. They probably feel that their aura of engineering excellence is a bit dented after the reliability problems of the las few years. The SLR had a moderate success, mainly due to a proce tag of around 452,000 Euros. They sold 1,577 of them, but they were plagued with technical problems. We can only salute Mercedes returning to its old ways. Remains to be seen what the results will be.  | ||||
| The next Bugatti will be launched in 2011-2012 Posted: 04 Jul 2008 04:17 AM CDT  Everybody knows that the Bugatti Veyron is a brilliant car and very sought-after, the producer setting a limit of only 300 cars that will be produced, this number including the Pur Sang, Sang Noir and FBG by Hermes versions. Such a limited number has made the specialists wonder about the plans of future models conceived by the France-based manufacturer, these questions are beginning to be answered because reports are emerging that a successor to the Veyron will be coming most probably in 2011 or 2012. Details about this model are scarce, the performance specs even non-existent. All that is known, from the words of Franz-Josef Paefgen, CEO of Bugatti, is that the car will be a true successor to all the Bugatti models so far, an evolution of the Veyron, and that it will continue the rich history of the manufacturer. He also stated that the direction followed when they conceived the Veyron will be maintained, in layman’s terms, if it works, don’t change it. One of the key aspects Bugatti need to figure out with the future model, is the new and more strict emission and pollution regulation. The ideea of smaller, more fuel efficient engines is really killing the whole super-car market. Also, another fact stated by Paefgen, is that they will consider taking this new model onto the car racing scene, probably to prestigious events like the LeMans, which would fit the image of a high class super-car of this model.  | ||||
| Posted: 03 Jul 2008 05:41 PM CDT  Dacia, Renault’s economical brand, unveiled the refreshed Logan, dubbed the New Logan, which sports some interior and exterior changes as well as some minor mechanical upgrades. There is a new front facia more in line with the also new Sandero, and redesigned taillights and bonnet. The interior gets the Sandero dash as well as some of it’s trimmings. It also gets a new Bosh 8.1 ABS as well as a slightly longer wheelbase. No changes on the engine side but a 105hp dCI engine is rumored. All of the prices will remain the same though that was somewhat expected. A full list of changes below: More photos after the jump.
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| Posted: 03 Jul 2008 05:33 PM CDT  Ron Harbour, a partner with the Oliver Wyman Group and author of a widely respected annual report on auto factory productivity believes that Honda are better positioned than anybody in terms of the products. The No.2 Japanese automaker had 1 percent sales increase in June. It isn't a great increase? I agree with that. But, just remember the fact that in the same time its major competitors reported double-digit sales declines. The Honda's top managers said that they aren't geniuses. All their secret consist in, guess what, "consistency" . The Honda's factories are very flexible and can quickly make more of the vehicles that are in demand. The Civic and Accord are the industry’s top sellers. Sounds good in my opinion. I think in this way because John Mendel, the vice president of the company declared that they can reprogram the factories to make it build more Civics. And that’s their main competitive advantage. That's the condition which enables the company to operate in a more efficient or higher-quality manner than its competitors. And that's the victory's sign. It's all about strategy here. Strategy brings the money! "He who has a thing to sell and goes and whispers in a well is not so apt to get the dollars as he who climbs a tree and hollers." - Author unknown  | ||||
| Mercedes McLaren SLR Speedster: The headless horseman Posted: 03 Jul 2008 05:22 PM CDT  Before Mercedes and McLaren split up, they’ve decided to make a last release with a 75 units, small series, of the SLR Speedster. Today, some spy-shots and short video of the SLR hit the Internet, and it’s rumoured that they’ve been “leaked” by the manufacturer, as a teaser. While most of the manufacturer’s limited editions cars are presented with more gadgets than standard, or special luxury equipment, Mercedes and McLaren’s special edition has taken away some of the SLR’s equipment such as roof, side windows or air conditioning unit. Yes, the SLR Speedster is roofless and has a small wind deflector in front of the driver, pretty similar to Formula1 cars. The same treatment for the passenger. With the weight loss speculated at about 200 Kg, the “rocket” will top out at 350km/h (13km/h more than the 722 version). Than, the Speedster will, quite literally, rip your head off. We were wondering, if instead of the “Air Scarf” system on the SLK and SL, the roofless SLR will be provided with racing helmets as standard equipment. It should, since the price of this model is estimated at 450.000 Euros. The official unveiling is said to take place at the end of this month, and Lewis Hamilton will be attending the event. Check out more pictures and video after the jump. Check out the video after the jump. Source: Autoblog  | ||||
| 2009 BMW 7 series photos leaked Posted: 03 Jul 2008 05:12 PM CDT  Photos of the upcoming 2009 BMW 7 series popped up all over the net so we can assume that an official press release is imminent and is due perhaps over the weekend. The Bangle design of the current generation 7 series was almost controversial with opinions going only in the hate it or love it categories. I for one loved the quirkiness of the design so I’m sad to see the the next generation will be a lot more tame and unassuming, though this wasn’t entirely unexpected especially after the 2006 facelift. BMW’s have never been ugly but they never stood out to much either, perhaps in true German manufacturer tradition. That all changed with the current generation Bangle designed BMW’s first the 7 series then the 5 and 3 which you couldn’t help but notice. It seems that BMW is done experimenting as the new 7 series is much more mainstream. That is not to say it’s not good looking. The general line is simple and elegant, the headlamps are much more like what we are used to in any other car though the taillamps are a bit odd. The whole thing has a sort of american feel much in the way of the Mercedes C-class. The interior is what you would expect form the top of the line of a German luxury car with leather and wood as far as the eye can see. There is also a redesigned iDrive one that will hopefully give it’s owners less headaches as the first iDrive introduced in the current generation was notoriously frustrating. More photos after the jump. Full Photo Gallery: New BMW 7 Series Leaked Photos
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