Monday, May 23, 2011

One-off Ferrari Superamerica 45

Real estate magnate’s bespoke beauty gets first public airing this weekend
Posted by: Matthew Jones, 20 May 2011

This is the latest palpitation of Ferrari’s customer-commissioned Atelier Ferrari service – the Superamerica 45.
Based on a standard 599, its bespoke bodywork was specced by New York real estate magnate and Fez collector, Peter Kalikow, and includes a rotating hard-top. Just like the Renault Wind. Only made out of carbonfibre.
Save for the bespoke roof, matching carbon boot into which it can collapse and some stodgy b-pillars, it’s not massively different from the production 599. There’s an aluminium a-pillar trim here, chrome front grill there and a set of new wing mirrors inbetween. Oh, and that somewhat turgid WKD blue paintwork.
It was painted thus to mach Kalikow’s other Blue Antile Fez – a 1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica. Marnaello’s paintsmith’s set off the unique hue by finishing its lower exterior appendages in a slightly darker shade, then splashing some colour onto its diamond-cut wheels. Inside, dark blue carbonfibre trim and instrumentation clashes wildly with 'cuoio' brown leather trim.
This isn’t Kalikow’s first go at customizing a Ferrari: in 2006 he commissioned Pininfarina to create the 612 Kappa, which is based on a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. Tweaks were modest and included gentle reshaping of the bodywork, Enzo rear lights, chrome headlight bezels and a photovoltaic sunroof, allowing manual adjustment of its tint.
Want to get up close? It’ll be at the 2011 Villa d'Este Concorso d’Eleganza in Italy on May 21 (along with all these incredible cars).

 
Source: www.topgear.com

Koenigsegg's Agera R. The Stig. A frozen lake




The phrase is prophetic, appropriate and recurring. It consists of the first seven words of the following quote: “Be careful, it has eleven-hundred horsepowers. There is sometimes suddenly icy areas of unexpectedness, and the tyres are half as wide at the back as they should be. Seriously, I would be really, really careful,” says Bård Eker in a lilting Norwenglish hybrid accent as he runs me through a checklist of the new Agera R’s intimate buttons. Bård describes himself as ‘chief floor wiper’ at Swedish supercar-maker Koenigsegg, but is, for all his very British sense of humour, a serious stakeholder in the entire operation, a fact borne out by his next statement.
Words: Tom FordPhotography: Joe Windsor-Williams
This feature was originally published in the May issue of Top Gear magazine
Source: www.topgear.com

BMW 328 Hommage concept car revealed





Fact: the BMW 328 Touring Coupe from the 1930s still holds the record for the highest average speed on the Mille Miglia. Fact: it's 75 years old this year.
Fact: the 328 Hommage made in its honour looks astonishing.
BMW has celebrated one of its most famous racing cars by feeding it through a rebigulating machine to create a thoroughly modern concept, and follows the rather glorious and rather orange M1 Hommage from 2008.
 Source: www.topgear.com