Alfa Romeo 8C Road Test

Test Vehicle: Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Coupe

The hardest part of this review is knowing where to start. This car is as rare as hen’s teeth.

There are to be only 500 made of the Alfa Romeo 8C, and only about 50 to make it to the US, so the fact that I am about to drive this is not lost on me. Pictures have circulated on the web and their various tubes for a while of this car, but *sigh* good god, it is jaw dropping in the paint.

If there was a naked woman on the 8C’s bonnet, you’d want her to get off it. Honestly, it’s just ridiculous.

Curves everywhere. The body is carbon fiber and is draped over the chassis to create the most delicious shape on the road. Its like Christina Hendricks on wheels, and if you don’t know who that is, Google her (Note by Adnan: Megan Fox on wheels would do the trick too). Christina’s a red head too, so it’s fitting that the red metallic paint accentuates them all, and those wheels look tremendous. Giant circles reminiscent of the wheels on the VW GTi a little.

The way the front centers around the grill is a thing of beauty, with a little circle of white LEDs in the grill.

The rear end reminds me of the old racing Porsches, and the circular rear lights are the perfect touch. I am a little besotted by the looks of this thing as you can probably tell.

It is now my favorite looking car on the road, beating the Aston Martin DB9. I never thought that phrase would ever come out of my mouth…

The interior is also just breathtaking. The leatherwork in the seats alone is something to study, the aluminum on the wheel and the dash, and the long aluminum paddles behind the wheel are in just the right places. The twin cowls on the main gauges separated with a red screen with a number of other supplemental gauges set off the interior beautifully, and the carbon fiber center console just adds to the overall experience. Its a sense of occasion that can barely be explained.

It was the sexiest car I had ever clapped my eyes on…

…and then I started it up.

Holy mother of god, who tuned that exhaust note? That can’t be legal, surely.

A throttle blip rendered me speechless for about a minute. There are loud cars that are just too loud, and then there are cars that you could listen to all day. I’ve never heard a rumble like this outside of a pit lane. It is intoxicating. A low rumble, with the 8 cylinder 4.3 liter engine just bellowing down the exhaust pipes with no regard for public safety.

After some time to compose myself, I put this thing in sport mode, put it in gear, and released the little electric handbrake, and off I went.

It felt a little light to start with, but then I got used to it. Accelerating towards the first corner, the noise is off the charts, but its a beautiful noise. I let my foot off the accelerator for a moment, and the exhaust just cracked and popped in a way that reminded me of the Panoz race cars, crack, pop, rumble…what road car makes that noise?! Oh, this one. I don’t care how many miles to the gallon this thing was getting, that noise had me accelerating and lifting off more times than I should. I was probably waking the dead in nearby cemeteries and people within a 5 mile radius, but it was an orchestra. They probably woke, listened to it, and smiled. How can you not?

Aside from the the noise, the gearbox was great. Changes up and down were smooth, lots of power, great acceleration, not as tight around the corners as the Gallardo, but still a level above virtually all other cars on the road. Its a taller car, even though its still a small car, so there is lots of headroom and shoulder room. Good visibility out all round. Seats were comfortable and held you in place really well as it went over dips and through curves.

The brakes were good too, as you would expect on a car like this, but moving your foot from one pedal to the other caused the thunderclaps out of the exhaust, so I sort of forgot about the brakes to be honest with you. The aural rewards were far outweighing the driving experience.

The team at Centro Stile Alfa Romeo deserve a medal the size of a large dining table for getting this on the road. If this doesn’t get Alfa noticed, then nothing will. An incredible experience. Not the finest drivers car on the road, but if you want to make a statement, this is the one to get, and being one of only 500 will make it an even rarer proposition. I know its basically a Maserati under the skin, but its a totally different animal and improves (if that’s even possible) on the looks of the Gran Turismo.

Hyundai Introduces Equus Long-Wheelbase, Armored Versions

The Equus first surfaced around the beginning of this year. At the time, most thought it was a vehicle slated for Hyundai’s home market of South Korea only. Given Hyundai’s relentless drive upward though, it has proved to be much more than that.

Hyundai tested reception of the car in our market by displaying it at the New York Auto Show and placing the car in various Hyundai dealerships around the country.

One thing that should have came through with all the recent vehicles Hyundai has been launching – they aren’t messing around. Most proper luxury sedans in the segment offer two wheelbase lengths available, standard and extended. As such, Hyundai recently let drop images of the the extended wheel-base model of the Equus, dubbed the Equus Limousine, or VL500.

Now the company hasn’t confirmed if it will be coming to the United States or not, but if the past is any guide of the future I’d say there is a good chance. Imagine, it could be like a bargain Maybach! The neat thing though is that Hyundai is even getting into producing armored versions already.

Three armored Hyundai Equus VL500 were built and provided to the Korean Presidential Security Service for use at the G20 summit held in South Korea next year. The three limousines are the first armored cars to be built in the country.

They’re up to snuff too, able to withstand the blast of 15 kilograms of TNT, a level similar to that of Mercedes-Benz and BMW’s armored vehicles. I’m not sure if there will be an armored Equus that is sold to the public, or if they are just made for the country’s leader. Either way, Hyundai is going all-out with the new Equus.

Ferrari announces the F458 Italia Spider

According to the latest reports, it appears that at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, Ferrari president a.k.a. Luca di Montezemolo announced the new F458 Italia Spider. There is a bad news though: the production version of the F458 Italia Spider, which will feature a stylish soft top, will have to wait a couple of years because, according to its CEO, Ferrari has to recover after the financial crisis. Of course, if you can’t wait the convertible you can choose the new F458 Italia Coupe which will go on sale in January 2010.

Chrysler Brand to Sell Fiat 500 in U.S.

Since it's unveiling many people in the U.S. have been hoping that the Fiat 500 would eventually be sold here. Well now that Fiat and Chrysler have hooked up our wish has come true. Its been confirmed that the Fiat 500 will be sold through Chrysler dealerships when it is released and it will be the only Fiat badged model in the U.S.

Chrysler brand CEO and head of sales for all Chrysler Group brands, Peter Fong stated that the Fiat 500 will likely have a dedicated corner in Chrysler showrooms rather than its own retail network like the Mini. Eventually four versions will make it to the U.S., the hatchback, convertible, a wagon and a high-performance version.

The Fiat 500 is expected to be produced at Chrysler's Toluca, Mexico facility in late 2010 or early 2011.

Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger to Live on Until Late 2012

The Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger midsize sedans were pretty much dead under Chrysler's former owner, Cerberus Capital Management, but now that Chrysler has a new owner, the sedans have a new lease on life.

Cerberus had originally planned to kill the Sebring and Avenger at the end of 2010 and close the Sterling Heights, Mich., factory where they are built. The factory could still be closed, but the sedans will continue to be produced until the end of 2012.

The Sebring is slated to get an extensive face-lift in 2011, while the Avenger is slated to get a milder refresh, which may bring it to the market sooner than the Sebring.

Audi R8 Spyder

A 5.2 litre V10 behind your ears. A massive 386kW (525bhp) at your feet. And the wind rushing through your hair. Does it get any better? Well, yes, if your new R8 Spyder is a more tasteful colour than the one shown in these pics it quite possibly does. Thankfully, there are 10 other colours to choose from. Apart from that, though, this has to be one of the better hardtop to roofless conversions in some time.

The lightweight cloth top opens at the touch of a button in around 19 seconds, and can be operated at speeds up to 50km/h. Despite the lack of a metal roof, Audi reckon the road noise heard inside is only a smidge louder than in the Coupé.

Even with the light roof, the R8 Spyder is still on the porky side, weighing in at 1720kg. That can’t stop rapid progress, however, with 0-100 being dealt with in just 4.1 seconds. Fast!

But, the real beauty in this car is in its styling and details. There’s a big, big photo gallery after the jump, along with everything you wanted to know about the R8 Spyder in Audi’s press release.

Oh yeah, when you get the photo of the seatbelt and you wonder what that’s about, it is showing the seatbelt mounted microphone that supposedly makes phone calls with the top down a breeze, if you’ll pardon the expression.

2010 Lincoln MKT gets the ‘Top Safety Pick’

The luxury crossover 2010 Lincoln MKT has just been recognized a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety. It doesn’t come as a surprise since Ford installed all of its latest safety gadgets into the already structurally sound car. The 5,000 lb MKT is mechanically identical to the Ford Flex.

The MKT scored a “Good” rating in each category, including structure, injury measures and restraints. Dummy movement was well controlled, according to the IIHS. It said, “After the dummy moved forward into the airbag, it rebounded into the seat without its head coming close to any stiff structure that could cause injury.” Standard equipment on the Lincoln MKT is based on an advanced structural safety system that combines octagonal front frame rails, tunnel rails and support members designed to absorb and redirect crash forces away from the passenger compartment. Aside from standard equipment like side curtain airbags, Ford offers optional safety equipment like Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision Warning Brake Control and a Blind Spot Information system.