Cars Classic-Car Classifieds

Richard Hammond and James May drives a Mercedes SL600, Mazda MX-5, Toyota MR2, Fiat Barchetta, Mini Cooper Convertible, Vauxhall Tigra, Mercedes SLK and the Audi S4 convertible.

Having a convertible adds another level of fun to the already-entertaining Mini Cooper. Consumer Reports tested the turbo-charged Mini Cooper S convertible. Find out more about the Mini Cooper and other convertibles on our web site www.consumerreports.org

FOR PRICING & SPECS ON THIS CAR VISIT: kbb.com 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster. The 370Z is the current iteration of Nissan’s legendary Z line of sports cars. New for 2010 is a convertible verion called the 370Z roadster. In this video kbb’s Micah Muzio drives the new drop-top 370Z and shares the 10 things you should know if you’re interested in buying one. To follow this editor on Twitter, please visit: www.twitter.com For more new car reviews, interviews and automotive news visit www.kbb.com today.

We’re less than a day away from hearing all the official details on the new 2010 Mustang and bits of information are still dribbling out on the interwebs. The latest is that we now have some purported pricing and option information on at least the Mustang GT Premium package. If accurate, the price of the GT Premium will climb by about $935 to $30,095, a jump of 3.2%. Looking at the equipment list though, it appears some new features are included in that price like 18-inch wheels that were previously optional and SYNC. Other standard equipment includes automatic headlamps, LED tail-lights and body-colored mirrors. If this information is accurate, one other annoyance of the 2005-2009 Mustangs has been addressed with an interior trunk release, something that was previously missing. Ford will be revealing everything very soon, so stay tuned.

This is Scion’s fifth year as a SEMA attendee, and it’s arguably their best. Being the younger, hipper, tunier Toyota it makes sense they show up here with six concepts to spark customers’ imaginations. To that end, they’ve brought several fun and outrageous customs from designers such as Mark Arcenal, Eddie Hahm (above), Drag Cartel, John Pangilinan, Rogue Status, MV Designz, Raging Bull, Blaine Fontana, Kenton Parker, Jeff Soto, and Christian Rado.

There are three xBs, an xD and a few tCs in the official booth alone. Scion distributed three tCs to customizers for the 2008 Scion Tuner Challenge, with the winner to be announced during SEMA. Our absolute favorite is the one done up by Eddie Hahm of “Fast Eddie’s Garage” fame. He took it retro and created an homage to a time when hot rodding meant more than mounting dubs and a bodykit. Fatlace founder Mark Arcenal dreamt up a DTM racer, while John Pangilinan made an even more butch looking tC with his widebody design. Personally, we really enjoyed the most elaborately detailed model, the Ruthless Cartell xD with its completely chopped roof, but it’s strictly for show. The trucklet xDt was pretty novel too. Check out the gallery and pick out your favorite.

The Saab 9X Air BioHybrid said hello to the world on a pedestal full of disco lights at the Paris Motor Show. It did not, however, move. So for now, if you want to see what the 9X Air will be able to do when it finally does get rolling, we have this little video courtesy of GM. The 9X BioHybrid and its Air BioHybrid sibling are supposed to provide clues to a forthcoming Saab 9-1 small car, and the video is quite cool.

The best Ferrari is the next Ferrari. Whether you consider that to be a statement of fact or an opinion largely depends on how you define the term. It’s an opinion like a Supreme Court justice’s ruling is called an “opinion”. Or better yet, like billions worldwide would view the Bible as God’s “opinion”. Coming from the mouth of the legendary Enzo Ferrari himself – famously expressed in response to a journalist’s query – for the congregations of the faithful around the world, it’s the gospel truth.

The Commendatore’s statement was – as it remains to this day – backed up by a spirit of progress, by the constant pursuit of technical perfection that continues to drive his company into the 21st century and which makes each new Ferrari better than the last. Follow Enzo’s declaration to its natural end and you’ll conclude that the best Ferrari must be the new California, unveiled earlier this month at the Paris Motor Show, brimming with the latest in performance automotive technology and ready to hit the market next summer. But some 20 years after his passing, would Enzo Ferrari’s truism still hold true? That’s exactly the answer we sought as we boarded a flight for Italy to drive the new California along the twisting mountain passes, scenic coastal roads and wide open autostradas of Sicily. Follow the jump to read what we discovered.
From a technical perspective, the California certainly lives up to Enzo’s idiom. The product of ceaseless development, racing dominance and collaboration with its technical partners, the California comes standard with all the bells, whistles and bar-room bragging rights you can shake an aluminum-alloy stick at. The brakes, developed with Brembo, are carbon-ceramic. The 460-horsepower 4.3-liter V8, based on the same engine architecture that motivates such lust-worthy machines as the Alfa 8C Competizione, Maserati GranTurismo and Ferrari’s own 430 Scuderia, incorporates direct injection for optimal fuel delivery. The lightning-quick transmission, specially developed by Getrag, features seven speeds and twin clutches. The ingenious roof mechanism is the fastest and lightest in the industry. We could go on and on, but like many of the finer things in life, the whole of a Ferrari is more than the sum of its parts.

The styling of contemporary Ferraris is a divisive issue, some remaining enamored with Pininfarina’s pen, others deriding an incongruity to their design. Critics point to rival Lamborghini’s more aggressive styling, Aston Martin’s more classical design, and Porsche’s cleaner and simpler lines. But telling a Gallardo apart from a Murcielago, a Vantage from a DBS or a Cayman from a 911 remains a relative challenge even for the trained eye, while each Ferrari looks completely different from one another, yet still remaining unmistakably and instantly identifiable as a Ferrari. And that’s no mean feat.

The California, for its part, is not immune to the controversy. Initial public reaction focused primarily on the rear end, which had to rise to the challenge of accommodating the complex folding roof mechanism while retaining a usable trunk. But like its stable-mates, the California’s is a design that grows on you. Although to many, Ferrari remains inextricable from its iconic red livery, the subtlety of the California’s lines comes into its own better in darker hues, a trait it shares with other gran turismo Ferraris of late, including the previous 456 GT and the current 612 Scaglietti. That may be more than mere coincidence considering the ethos behind the California.

Understanding the California’s position requires proper historical perspective. While its racing cars were racking up trophies and championships in the early years on circuits across Europe and around the world, Ferrari earned its reputation on the road with the iconic 250 series of the 1950’s and 60’s – including the eponymous 250 GT California – that remain the epitome of the classic GT. But even after the later Daytona gave way to the mid-engined supercars of the 80’s, Ferrari never lost touch with its stoic GT heritage. The California, for all the cutting-edge technology, is the latest embodiment of that legacy, not as a superfluous sibling to the F430 but as a more compact alternative to the elongated Scaglietti.

Any lingering questions over the vehicle’s purpose or styling instantly slip away as soon as you slide into the cabin, thanks in part to the thousand hours Ferrari’s aerodynamicists spent honing the California’s shape in the wind tunnel. Coddled in the most exquisitely-crafted hand-stitched leather, you’re instantly met with a sense of occasion. A grand tourer it may be – in juxtaposition to the track-focused 430 Scuderia – but it’s clear from the start where the California’s cockpit places its emphasis. The seats are aggressively bolstered. The tachometer dominates the instrument binnacle, framed by over-sized shift paddles. The steering wheel, though fully adjustable, sits right in your chest for optimal control, its prancing horse dominating the hub flanked by the manettino chassis control switch and bright red starter button.

The engine comes alive with the sweetest rasp that only grows more vivacious under way. Feathering the throttle hints at how much power lies under the command of your right foot, and summoning up even just half demonstrates vividly and instantly that the California has earned its Prancing Horse as much as any that have come before. Throttle response is instant and speed builds urgently with the next corner coming up fast as you thank the boys from Maranello for including state-of-the-art carbon-ceramic brakes as standard equipment.

Brake feel is as tactile as its grip is astounding. Speed scrubs off as fast as it built up and you turn in to discover the steering as precise, communicative and direct as the splendid brakes. It’s a sensation with which the driver becomes intimately familiar as the miles pass by like mere meters. The chassis is poised and smooth, but make no mistake about it: the California is eager to demonstrate its pedigree. Even with the manettino set to “comfort”, the tail is all too happy to step out, leaving any skeptics flattened by an arc of burnt rubber. “Sport” mode lets it play even more, but on unfamiliar public roads, we were happy to leave the “CST off” setting to Ferrari’s legendary test drivers Dario Benuzzi and Luca Badoer who joined our team for the drive.

After showing its more playful side, the California is happy to oblige more relaxed cruising, dismissing highway miles with authority. Our minds soon wandered to epic cross-continental journeys, leaving us with little doubt that the California would be a rewarding choice for such an adventure. With the roof up, the California slips through the air like a hot knife through warm butter, only the roaring engine note and a faint whisper of the rushing wind permeating the cabin. With the roof down, the experience becomes more visceral, but not so disruptive as to prevent civilized conversation even at highway speeds.

Ferrari calls the California a 2+. That’s not a typo, and while the California is homologated as a four-seater, the rear seats are severely short on leg room – like those found in the Aston DB9 Volante, Porsche 911 Cabrio or Lexus SC430 – leaving them usable only by small children or for a spin around the block with friends. They’re more useful for extra baggage and can fold flat to allow pass-through from the generous trunk, which together with the trick folding hard-top makes the California the most versatile Ferrari in the company’s range, if not in its history.

A removable wind deflector screen can be snapped into place over the rear seats to reduce wind buffeting, but its removal did little to impede our discourse over the pleasure of the experience. When we stepped out of the car we found the prevailing currents, which hadn’t so much as budged the cap from atop this writer’s head, had comically turned up the collar on our polo shirt like some divine welcome to the world of Italian open-air motoring.

Reluctantly walking away from the car also gave us perspective to answer the essential question: Was Enzo right? Is the next Ferrari really the best Ferrari? After spending a day behind the wheel of the latest to roll out the factory gates at Maranello, we’re left with little doubt. But even that would be erased if one day behind the wheel turned into every day. Of course that’s just one writer’s opinion… but opinion can count for a lot.

Aftermarket companies have plans to take the Challenger in directions that Dodge isn’t willing to go, first and foremost by stripping off its top. Dodge won’t be doing the deed itself due to cost and weight considerations, but for those lovers of open-air motoring with deep enough pockets, anything can be done. We’ve already posted on the first such example that’s headed for the upcoming SEMA Show in Vegas, which will come from Coach Builders Ltd. and appears to be a pretty straightforward roof-removal. Now we’ve caught wind that a second Challenger convertible is headed to Sin City from Group Five Limited. This Challenger ‘vert comes sans top and with a cut-down windshield for that classic “speedster” profile. Other body mods clean up the front and rear fascias for a true shaved, custom look. Take a look at the two renderings below for an early peek at what to expect when we hit the floor of SEMA next week.

We still have to wait a few more weeks for the official unveiling of the Infiniti G37 Convertible at the Los Angeles Auto Show. But in the meantime, Infiniti has announced a Premier Bloomingdale’s-only version which will be limited to just 200 copies. Sharing the same mechanicals as the regular production version (3.7-liter V6 rated at 328 hp), the Bloomingdale’s model will be differentiated by its dark Platinum Graphite paint over Monaco Red leather upholstery. Special 19-inch wheels and a new grille complete the exterior package, while inside a touchscreen nav and Bose Open Air sound system will come standard on the LE. The Bloomingdale’s Premiere model goes on sale November 10th, but pricing has yet to be disclosed.

Audi announced today that pricing for its U.S.-spec TT-S will begin at $45,500 for the Coupe model and $47,500 for the open-air Roadster. The TT-S joins the TT 2.0T and TT 3.2 in Audi’s lineup, settling atop the range with a turbocharged, direct-inject 2.0L TFSI engine producing 265 hp @ 6,000 RPM and 258 lb-ft of torque. That’s 15 more horsepower and 22 more lb-ft of torque than the TT with Audi’s 3.2L V6. The TT-S Coupe also manages to hit 60 mph in an impressive 4.9 seconds while achieving a combined fuel economy rating of 24 mpg. Top speed for both the Coupe and Roadster, however, will be electronically limited to 155 mph. For their money, buyers will also get Audi’s S tronic dual-clutch transmission, magnetic ride suspension and the brand’s trademark quattro all-wheel-drive system.

If the TT-S is still not fast enough for you, the TT-RS is on its way. While it may not make it to U.S. shores, the TT-RS will pack a 2.5-liter TFSI five-cylinder producing 340 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque, which will be mated to a six-speed manual and quattro all-wheel-drive. 0-60 times for the TT-RS are expected to drop even further down to 4.5 seconds. Expect the price to also go up even further in turn.

[Source: Audi]