By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

This time the real Nürburgring production car lap record has been broken. Although commonly thought to be owned by the Ferrari 599XX at 6:58.16, the real record was held by the Radical SR8LM at 6:48.00; the difference is a matter of opinion. What you define as a “production car” determines who’s record was shattered. When you get to the price and level of these exotics, none of them are hardly “production”. Either way, the Pagani Zonda R still pwned both of those cars with a lap time of 6:47.5!  Read more at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

O’Gara Coach specializes in Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti and Rolls-Royce, and the showroom is even more mind-blowing than you’d expect an exotic car dealership in Beverly Hills to be. Seriously, just check out the photo below. A Koenigsegg CCX is on the left, a Bugatti Grand Sport is on the right, toward the center of the shot there’s a Lamborghini Reventon and a Pagani Zonda R, and in the back corner, there’s another Veyon and an LP670 SV. I mean, come on. Aside from SEMA, I’ve never seen so many rare high-dollar exotics in one place, and it was really cool watching the staff shuffle all the million-dollar metal around. One thing that struck me was how mild-mannered the Grand Sport sounded. Apparently, Bugattis are total pussy cats until you mash the throttle, at which point you produce a sonic boom. But even in the midst of such distinguished company, I was totally hypnotized by the track-only  Zonda R. It looks like something that escaped from Area 51, and when I closed the carbon fiber door, it was so light I was momentarily disoriented, like if I’d gone to move a boulder and discovered it was made of foam. When it was being pushed into the showroom, one of the folks on hand described it perfectly: “It looks like the Batmobile just did a line of coke.” I wish I’d come up with that. Watch some videos of these awesome machines after the jump, and head over to the events section to check out all my photos.

Continue reading "O’Gara Coach: So Much Awesome it Hurts" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Even discounting the hardware in the Giovanna Wheels booth—which was so dark I couldn’t get decent shots of anything—there were plenty of killer exotics at SEMA this year. As you can imagine, a car has to be pretty special to get attention here, because while a stock Lambo or Ferrari might turn tons of heads on the street, in this sea of insane customization, a machine has to be pretty special to stand out—regardless of its pedigree. All of these machines jumped out at me, but only one of them can win the exotics category. So what should it be, Pagani’s Zonda R, Gumpert’s Apollo, Devon’s GTX, Underground Racing’s twin-turbo Gallardo or Lexus’ LF-A? Vote now!

[slideshow id=3458764513857185131&w=426&h=320]

[polldaddy poll="2263559"]

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

There are few things in life I love more than exotic cars, and they aren’t things I can mention here. But as funny as it sounds, at a show life SEMA, your garden variety Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Aston Martins don’t really pop like they do back in the real world. Pagani’s Zonda R, on the other hand, stands out like a nun in a strip club. The presence this car has simply can’t be underestimated… It looks less like a race car than it does a manifestation of technology from a hostile alien race, and it out Batmobiles any Batmobile in history. Ever. Just getting to stand next to this car gave me butterflies. More pics after the jump.

Continue reading "The Pagani Zonda R Makes Me Dizzy" »