By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

They’re building a Ferrari theme park in the capital city of Abu Dhabi–yep, some parts of the world really have that much money. The four-seater F430 roller coaster is only one of the array of automotive thrills that the park will offer–another, according to Jalopnik, is an F1 coaster that’ll do 149 mph, handily beating the piss out of the NASCAR roller coaster at the Sahara in Vegas that I made such a big deal about last time we were at SEMA, and which turned out to be such a disappointment to Rob. Stay tuned.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

It didn’t take long for the 2010 Cobra Jet Mustangs to start showing up on eBay. In fact, the first one hit just after the cars shipped. That one turned out to be shady and was quickly pulled down. We found this ad working off a tip from a BangShift.com reader and discovered one of the super rare (only 16 out of 50) automatic transmission cars is up for electronic grabs.

Personally, we’re more fond of the manual transmission cars but we’re not going to pretend that the manual valve-body automatic would be a disadvantage, in fact it will probably run quicker once it is all sorted out.

Adding to the fun of this car is the fact that it has the “good” motor. Meaning that it is equipped with the all aluminum, 4.0L blower equipped 5.4 engine that is an upgrade. It is rated at 475 hp and if you believe that, we have a bridge to sell you.

We’re guessing that Bill Talley Ford in Virginia is hoping to see a bidding war break out for this car on eBay. Most of the dealers we know that got these cars had them pre-sold or at least had a list of potential buyers. If you have $80,000 laying around, you can get in on the action and make a bid. Pay up sucka!

Thanks for the tip BangShift.com forum member OldRustyCars!

Source — eBay Motors — 2010 Mustang Super Cobra Jet

By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

While the tuning world waits for the release of the Toyota FT-86, the CR-Z is quietly becoming the latest hot tuner car in Japan. Already HKS has outfitted a CR-Z and run the car at Fuji Speedway (I suspect quite slowly). As an old Honda tuning lover, I cant help but get a little excited seeing the evolution of the beloved CR-X with this CR-Z. I never really imagined a CR-Z existing back when I first started modifying my Honda Prelude…and you know what, I have to admit the CR-Z looks pretty cool to me!

At the moment Mugen as expected has the jump on the CR-Z tuning as they already have released a complete tuning package. At the moment Mugen has come out with a full aero kit, suspension, wheels, an intake and a very curious looking exhaust.

Continue reading "Honda CR-Z Tuning Begins In Japan" »

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

I’m spending this week driving around Tokyo in a brand new Fiat 500 Abarth esseesse. I haven’t had a chance to drive it much but I’m already getting used to its tiny dimensions and massive fun factor. It reminded me of the great cars that have worn the Abarth badge in the past and I had to post some pictures of this 131, my favorite of them all. I spotted this very rare example quite a while back at Super Autobacs, parked up like it was any regular car!

The Bertone designed 131 Abarth Rally was a very special car, powered by a 2L twin-cam 4-cylinder developing 140 HP at 6,400 rpm. 500 examples were built in 1976 to homologate the cars that participated in the World Rally Championship, which it won in 1977, 1978 and in 1980 in the hands of a certain Wlater Röhrl! Continue reading at Speedhuners

Dino Dalle Carbonare

By David Clarke

highspeedhijinks

For the last several decades the Ford Crown Victoria has ruled the roost when it came to police-issued transportation. The only thing more antiquated than the 33-year-old “Panther” chassis it ran on might be the horses used by mounted police. So needless to say, this platform was long overdue for an upgrade. With more powerful and fuel-friendly competition out there already in the from of the Dodge Charger and Chevrolet Impala, Ford found it necessary to bring out their big new shiny gun: as of 2012, the Taurus will be the vehicle of choice for Ford’s Police Interceptor program. The base model police package will use the 3.5L v6 that puts out a respectable 263hp and 250lbft of torque. The pursuit vehicle, on the other hand, will be rocking all-wheel drive and the 365hp twin-turbo Eco Boost 3.5 found in the SHO.  Beefed-up brakes, a recalibrated stability control system, and doors that swing 10 degrees wider are just a few of the amenities Ford included to make the Taurus more police friendly. See more pics below the jump.

Continue reading "New Taurus Cop Car" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

I’ve seen a lot of drag strip close calls where a driver winds up crossing the centerline and barely misses the other car, but this isn’t one of those. It took split-second timing to produce this wreck, and drives home how sketchy drags are. So what happens after a wreck like this? Do the drivers just shake hands and call it good? Or is the guy who crossed the centerline expected to pony up for the damage. I’d assume once you commit to racing, you realize somebody might wreck you…

BIG DRAG CRASH VID.4858

By Mike Bumbeck

Clunkbucket

The American Heritage Dictionary defines jalopy as a word used to describe an old, dilapidated motor vehicle–especially an automobile. The origin of the word itself is hazy. The Ultimate Hot Rod Dictionary goes further, suggesting the word may have come into being as a result of many dilapidated automobiles sent to the Mexican city of Jalapa. The second definition of the word is the very automobile seen here. Any rough, oftentimes crudely constructed early-vintage automobile used in circle track operations during the ’40s and ’50s. Once driven by Benny Hofer, this is not just any jalopy, but a genuine 1940 two-door Ford coupe full race jalopy. More Full Race Jalopy over at Clunkbucket

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

“If you want to get in the business of street racing, souping it up, or driving it, this is what’s going to happen to your car. We’re going to take it away from you, and we’re going to destroy it.” So if I modify my car for high performance you are going to crush it even if I don’t race? What do you all think about this trend towards preemptively seizing and destroying modded vehicles? Read more at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

John Fluevog’s shoes are a bit flashy for my tastes—back in the day I was a Doc Martens guy—but I still appreciate his designs. These pics of his hyper-custom ’65 Jaguar Mark X have been floating around for a while, but I just saw them when they popped up on VWVortex on Monday. Who knew he was such a total car guy? Now, most of the time, I’m for leaving classic Jags alone, but I really like what he’s done with this one. It was his father’s car, and the old Kitty was a rusting hulk before he turned his attention to it. During the build, the original mill was swapped for an unspecified V8—I’m assuming a Chevy 350—the roof was chopped and the interior was upgraded in  true Fluevog fashion. Hit the jump to see a couple of shots of him showing it off at a car show, and head over to the John Fluevog website for more pics and the whole story on this pretty Kitty. Love how his boots match the interior…

Continue reading "John Fluevog’s Custom Jaguar Mark X" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Today’s pic is from Bogdan’s Ford Model A ride page. Keep those photo of the day PMs and e-mails coming!