2012 Lotus Evora GTE by Swizz Beatz

The evolution of the Lotus Evora GTE, most extreme Lotus vehicle ever, went by rather quickly. After debuting a concept version at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August, Lotus then went on to put out the production Evora GTE in September at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. This quick turnover has now been followed up by a special edition GTE courtesy of Swizz Beatz.

Swizz Beatz is an American record producer, DJ, rapper, and painter, although some may only know him as the husband of R&B superstar, Alicia Keys. He, along with

Lotus Design, came together to create a special Evora GTE unveiled at Alvin Ailey’s Opening Night Gala in New York. This special edition is noted as such because it is finished in a chrome ruby red paint. Everything else is strictly standard GTE. It features the typical rear brake cooling ducts, modified rear wing, enlarged intake vents behind the B pillar, and intense use of carbon fiber for the roof, sill detailing, and other carbon accessories. These elements help reduce the Evora’s total weight by about 231 lbs.

Being since this was a creative collaboration, no changes were made to the power source of the Evora GTE. It is still working with a race-tuned 3.5-liter V6 engine that delivers a total of 444 HP, which still makes it the most powerful Lotus Evora road car ever built.

No details were given on the car’s prices just yet, but prospective buyers will surely have to dish out more than the $180,000 price tag of the standard Evora GTE.

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2012 Range Rover Evoque HFI-R by Marangoni

Filed under: Landrover | crossover | luxury cars | car tuning | Bologna Motor Show | Range Rover Evoque

Italian tire manufacturer, Marangoni, has been down the tuning road before, having performed some previous projects on vehicles like the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

Today, Marangoni is back with another program, this time for the Range Rover Evoque. As comprehensive projects go, this one’s definitely right up there and the unmistakable work done on the Evoque speaks volumes about the talent of these guys.

For the exterior’s styling, Marangoni collaborated with TRC Italia in dressing up the Evoque with a special fine grain Titanium Fluid Metal paint finish. The front grill, hood vents, and door handles were then painted in gloss black to provide a contrasting look to the body of the Evoque. Other panels that were modified include the front bumper fascia, door lower moldings, and rear bumper fascia, which were also given a carbon diffuser. Speaking of carbon, Marangoni also gave the Evoque plenty of that, particularly to the wheel arches, fender vents, and mirror covers. Rounding out the exterior changes on the crossover are a set of 20" Oz Racing Dakar wheels wrapped in Marangoni’s exclusive ruby red M-Power EvoRed tires.

For the interior dress-up, Marangoni enlisted the help of Italian fashion house, Conte of Florence, who came out with the genius idea of dressing up the interior with a special golf inspired quilted upholstery with a large embroidered Tour Line emblem on the seats.

Under its hood, the Evoque was fitted with an "HFI" Hybrid Fuel Injection dual-fuel system, an upgraded turbocharger, a carbon fiber air box, and a larger stainless steel exhaust, all of which gave the crossover’s existing 2.0-liter turbo engine a spike in output. With the modifications in place, the Evoque’s output shot up from the standard 240 horsepower all the way up to 300 horsepower.

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2012 Range Rover Evoque by Kahn Design

Posted on 12.2.2011 15:00 by Erik Filed under: Landrover Project Kahn | crossover | luxury cars | car tuning | Range Rover Evoque

There’s no question that Azfal Kahn and his peeps over at Kahn Design have a soft spot for the Range Rover, so much so that they seem to come out with a new program for the luxury SUV about as often as any car we’ve seen in recent history.

Apparently, their fascination for Range Rovers is now expanding, courtesy of their very first program for the new Range Rover Evoque. True to their reputation as one of the premier tuners for the British luxury SUV, Kahn Design went to work on the Evoque with one clear picture in mind: offer it with a whole new breadth of excitement and take it to a whole new dimension.

The A. Kahn Design Evoque is an unmistakable piece of work, decked with a variety of external modifications that serve to provide better looks and coax greater performance from the car.

Kahn Design’s styling package for the Evoque is a testament to their creativity, providing a slew of new elements consisting of a lowered suspension (35mm), yellow calipers, aluminum pedals, an orange roof, full body color coding/detailing, privacy glass, and adaptive front headlamps. Inside, Kahn Design deftly worked their bespoke magic on the Evoque, providing it with luxurious character that expresses a customer’s individuality. As with most of their projects, the interior can be customized depending on the whims and preferences of the customer.

And then there’s the final piece of the Kahn Design puzzle: the wheels. With an inventory of some of the most impressive wheels on the market, Kahn Design went and used their unique RS600 wheels that are available in a variety of sizes - 20", 21", 22" - creating even more opportunity to imprint his tastes on the luxury Range Rover crossover.

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Audi eTT ron: Lean, Mean and Green Sporting Machine

eTTron Coupe—Based on their recent eTron Roadster, this is my idea of what a third generation TT coupe should look like. The first TT from the late 1990s, was an iconic design, still a "looker" today. The second generation was a very cautious evolution of the first design, not bad, just not as strong a design as the first. For a third generation, I propose not only a groundbreaking new platform, Audi's eTron drivetrain, but an entirely new body architecture. I think this car could be just as iconic for the early 21st century, as the original was for the late 20th century.

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2012 BMW B6 Biturbo Coupe by Alpina

Filed under: Alpina BMW | coupe | BMW M6 | BMW 6-Series | sports cars | BMW M-series |

While many are sitting back, patiently waiting for the arrival of the BMW M6, German tuner Alpina has been hard at work on a project that will shed some light on the future model. Their new B6 Biturbo Coupe may not be as impressive as the upcoming M6, which is rumored to deliver about 600 HP, but it’s here now. Plus, we’re sure Alpina left enough room for a new tuning package for the M6.

But back to their Alpina B6 Biturbo Coupe. The B6 is an evolution of the old 507 HP B6 cabrio, but uses an aluminum twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8, equipped with MAHLE pistons and a high-performance cooling system. This setup is give for a total output of 540 HP and 516 lb-ft of torque. With the extra power, the B6 Biturbo will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and will hit a top speed of 198 mph. Alpina has also opted for a Akrapovic titanium exhaust system that will make the car sound better than ever and, of course, a new set of 20" Alpina Classic rims fitted with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires.

For the aerodynamic updates, the B6 BiTurbo Coupe has been fitted with a front spoiler, an integrated carbon fiber front splitter, and a rear spoiler with an optional rear wing. The interior was also revamped with a sport steering wheel, hand-stitched in LAVALINA leather, blue illuminated entry sills, a navigation system with preparation for Bluetooth mobile phone, USB audio interface, Xenon lights, and LED fog lights.

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Return to its RWD Roots: Corolla SR7 Coupe

With this small 4-passenger coupe, the Corolla SR7, Toyota returns to the rear-wheel-drive small car arena. Or what used to be the rear-wheel-drive small car arena; only the BMW 1-series currently uses that design in a compact car these days. This time around, with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, the model name is SR7, but evokes the classic SR5s of the late '70s. From a massaged front end with a longer hood and longer steering wheel-to-front wheel length, to house a longitudinal inline engine, to a reproportioned rear bumper, this Corolla nicely evokes its roots at the same time it's clearly at home in the 21st century.

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2012 Audi A1 Samurai Blue

Posted on 11.30.2011 18:00 by Kirby Filed under: Audi | hatchback | Audi A1 | Tokyo Motor Show | special editions

In the middle of all the concept debuts and race prototypes being unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, one car that’s neither of those things is fetching some serious attention.

The car is a special one-off Audi A1 that’s inspired by the Japanese National Soccer Team. Affectionately called the A1 Samurai Blue, the one-off car has been dressed in the official colors - blue and white - of the Samurai Blue, the nickname given to the country’s soccer team. Complimenting the two-color exterior paint finish is a red color - the same hue as that of the Japanese flag - that was used on the rear spoiler and the set of 18" wheels provided. The exterior also sports the logo of the Blue Samurais on both sides of the car, as well as on the roof.

The interior equipment of the A1 Samurai Blue has been dressed in black with contrasting blue stitching. Colorful accents are also found on various parts of the interior, including the air vent nozzle, the inlays, the center console, and the floor mats.

Under its hood, no performance enhancements were done on the car so the A1 Samurai Blue is powered by a standard 1.4-liter TFSI engine that produces 122 horsepower. No surprise there.

The whole purpose of the A1 Samurai Blue is for Audi to sell the one-off model and have part of the profit donated to charity. So if you happen to have a heart of gold and fancy a one-off Audi A1 like this, you might need to get to stepping and be the lucky one to go home with this ultra exclusive piece of A1 eye candy.

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