By Tony Castellano

Tcassa

Just as show season is winding down in the northern hemisphere, winter has reached its end here in Australia things and the car show schedule is getting back into full swing. Believe me, it couldn’t come any sooner! This particular show here in Melbourne was small, but the quality of rods and customs on show was sensational. It’s a great indication of what’s to come as car show season revs up, and I always enjoy checking out the smaller local events as you often get to see cars that don’t usually attend the more large-scale shows. Follow the jump for more pics!

Continue reading "Goodbye Winter, Hello Car Show Season!" »

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

While at Cars and Coffee the other day I was walking around enjoying the machinery when I heard the distinctive rumble of a V8 from the corner of my ear. Glancing over, I expected to see a fixed up Camaro or Mustang roll by, but to my surprise the sound was coming from an S13 240SX. Now a V8 S-chassis is nothing new, but I figured this car was certainly unique enough to warrant a quick spotlight. Continue reading a Speedhunters.

—By Mike Garrett

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

We were dissapointed Hyundai didn’t leave room for its V8 in the Genesis Coupe, so it’s cool that Rhys Millen is dropping one in. Of course, this is going to be a lot more than a simple engine swap—the new powerplant is going to be mounted in the middle of the car. The 500 beast will make it’s official debut at SEMA, but Bill Wood got a sneak peak.

By Tony Castellano

Tcassa

Swedes love their American muscle, as I discovered last year at Power Big Meet. And it looks like this event was another cracker! Head over to race68 for loads more photos!

Continue reading "Drag Racing, Swedish Style" »

By Craig McAlpine

imotormag

When Vantage owners told Aston Martin that their car needed more ‘oomph’ Aston listened. Say hello to the new 4.7-litre 420hp V8 Vantage. From the outside there was certainly nothing wrong with the V8 Vantage—it’s a stunning-looking car, no matter which angle you look at it. I reckon it looks even better than its big brother, the DB9, too. Check out the full review with tons of pics!

By Craig McAlpine

imotormag

Owners of earlier-generation 4.3L V8 Vantage complained that it didn’t have enough grunt, so Aston made it a 4.7 and added a few tweaks. So I went up to Aston Martin to take one for a few days–and now, parked outside a stunning building in a sea of Aston development cars, is my Peugeot 306. The Vantage sounds awesome with a butterfly valve in the exhaust that engages at 4000 rpm. I’ll keep you posted on how I get on with the new Vantage, and if I actually give it back…

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

This week’s Showroom Showdown started out close, but then the R8 really pulled ahead, winning by a 2-to-1 margin. I really like this photo of Ghost’s R8, which was part of Team Angry on last year’s Bullrun.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Let’s say you have $120,000 burning a hole in your pocket, and you want a classy sports car. Two options that come to mind are the V8 Vantage and the R8. The Aston Martin has the motor up front while the Audi is mid-engined, but both cars have V8s that put out 420 hp, and they both weigh in right around 3,600 pounds. So, which would you choose?

What would you daily drive if you won the lottery? I don’t play the lottery much, but this is still a question I ponder quite frequently. Well, I think I finally have the answer…

This weekend, Aston Martin kindly invited me to sample their new 2009 V8 Vantage. Although the sheet metal is basically unchanged (and seriously, why mess with it?) the car had received some modest updates, and the V8 had been bumped up to 4.7 liters and a very healthy 420 hp. Hey, that’s good enough reason to invite loyal customers and a few lucky journalists to come check out the new car.

Aston Martin had seven or eight cars out on display at the country club when I got there, and three of them were brand new ’09 Vantage demo cars. The Park Place Motors guys asked me if I wanted to drive the Coupe or the Roadster. It was a perfect, sunny 80-degree day, so this was really no question for me. They only had the Roadster in the Sportshift version, but I’d never driven a car with one of these Magneti Marelli systems (the same used by Ferrari and Lamborghini), so I was curious. The particular example I got to drive was white with a dark reddish-brown interior. This wouldn’t be my first color choice, but it still looked stunning. Continue reading…

Continue reading "2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage" »

This clip has been circulating for a while, but I hadn’t seen it. Apparently, Hitler is pretty opinionated about cars. Who would’ve thought? Here’s the news:

• When other companies are scrambling to release gas-sippers or hybrids, Hyundai is dropping its first V8 powered car. Are they clueless, or is there a method to the madness? Auto Express
• The title of this post reads "Some Russian people hate American cars so much that they smash them with a tank for a scrap metal!" That makes sense. After all, if you’re used to radically advanced, high-quality Russian cars, something as simple and sturdy as a Jeep probably just makes you angry. English Russia
• Mussolini’s 1935 Alfa Romeo is set to hit the auction block, and it’s expected to fetch a pretty penny. There’s been speculation one of Hitler’s cars could go for 20 million. How much do you think his buddy’s will command? World Car Fans
• The strike at American Axel means that the General will idle one of its plants. If those workers would just hurry up and let the brass cut their wages in half, this could all be over. Freep