Showing posts with label Tuning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tuning. Show all posts

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Canada's SR Auto Gives the Scion iQ Some Attitude


According to Canadian design house SR Auto Group, just because the Scion-ized Toyota iQ is the world's smallest four seater, doesn't mean it shouldn't look the part as well. With this in mind, it gave birth to the Project Pryzm.

"This iQ was titled with the name Project Pryzm because of its sharp and boxy exterior," says SR Auto. "The objective behind Project Pryzm was to create a car that would leave you speechless."

The tuner started out with the iQ's exterior that gains a comprehensive styling kit from Japan's Premier 4509, which you may remember from the Bentley-faced Toyota Supra tune.

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Five-Axis Announces New Aero Package for the 2013 Scion FR-S [Video]


The tuning industry is wasting no time getting ready for the U.S. market launch of the 2013 Scion FR-S sports coupe.

Not long after Scion announced pricing for its first rear-wheel drive model, Five Axis via its production arm named FIVE:AD (Five Axis Design) has presented a new styling package that will be soon available through Scion dealerships.

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1971 Plymouth ViperCuda Packs a Venomous V10 Punch Under its Hood


One of the great things about classic American pony and muscles cars is their simplicity, which pretty much allows you do anything your mind sets out to do, with the only restrictions usually being the amount of time and cash you are willing to spend.

Found for sale on eBay, is this 1971 Plymouth ViperCuda, which as the name suggests, is powered by a V10 engine sourced from the modern day Dodge Viper. But there's more than meets the eye to this creation that started life as a four-seater 1971 Plymouth Barracuda Convertible with a 318 cu.in. (5.2-liter V8) engine.

The comprehensive conversion was performed by Time Machines from Hudson, Florida, which begun by acquiring the intact chassis and V10 engine from a wrecked 2001 Viper with 23,000-miles on the odo.

After stripping the Barracuda's body from the original chassis, they then fabricated a hybrid platform incorporating most parts of the Viper's chassis components including the fully independent suspension.

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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

"Mystery" 2012 Porsche 911 Patent Images Show Aerokit and SportDesign Package


A Carscoop reader from France pointed us to L'Automobile Magazine and an article with half-a-dozen patent images, allegedly showing a future addition to the latest 2012 Porsche 911 series since the car featured a fixed rear wing and a different front bumper with an apron.

To make a long story short, the French publication writes that these photos likely show the upcoming four-wheel drive Porsche 911 4S, possibly with a sports package. We dug a little bit further and found two more sets of patent images, with each 911 being equipped with the same front bumper but different rear wings.

Nevertheless, just before posting our finds, we deemed it necessary to check Porsche's official site, and good thing we did. As it turns out, the magazine was only partially right. While it is indeed a 911 equipped with a sports package, it isn't the Carrera 4S but the already available, rear-wheel drive Carrera S.

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MR Car Design Slams Down and Powers up the Opel Insignia OPC


For its next project, German tuning house MR Car Design has selected the Opel Insignia OPC sports sedan, which is the European sibling of the Buick Regal GS, though instead of a 270HP turbocharged four and front-wheel drive, the Opel gets a more potent 321hp (325PS) V6 turbo and AWD.

The first thing you'll notice about MR Car Design's Insignia OPC is how low it sits to the ground, something that was made possible thanks to a height-adjustable G-Ride air suspension from Reil Performance.

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Superchips Gives Volkswagen Polo GTI an Electronic Boost


European owners of the Volkswagen Polo GTI looking for a relatively inexpensive solution to improve the performance of their cars will be interested to know that Superchips has released a new ECU tune for the German hatchback.

The Polo GTI is powered by a direct injection 1.4-liter gasoline four-pot featuring both a supercharger, which boosts the engine until 3,000prm, and a turbocharger that kicks in afterwards, for a maximum output of 180PS (177.53bhp) and peak torque of 250Nm (185 lb-ft).

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Monday, April 9, 2012

ABT Launches New Tuning Program for Audi Q3


After last year's preview, ABT has now launched its new QS3 program for Audi's smallest crossover model onto the market in Europe.

Currently, ABT offers upgrade kits for the Q3 equipped with the 2.0-liter TDI diesel, in which case, output is lifted from 174hp (177PS) to 203hp (205PS), and the 2.0-liter TFSI petrol that lays down 267hp (270PS), up from 208hp (211PS).

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ABT Reveals its Latest Tuning Take on Volkswagen's T5 Passenger Van


Most German tuning firms have a soft spot for Volkswagen's T5 series of vans and ABT is no exception. The VW Group specialist has presented a new package that treats the passenger version of the T5 with more power and upgraded looks.

ABT offers an engine kit for all diesel versions of the T5 starting with the 83hp (84PS) engine that's bumped to 109hp (110PS) and continues with the 101hp (102PS) unit that gets a nudge to 129hp (130PS), and the 2.0-liter TDI with 138hp (140PS) that's boosted to 168hp (170PS).

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Friday, April 6, 2012

Killing Machine: 1973 VW Beetle with a Subaru WRX STI 2.0-liter Turbo Engine


If you believe that even with its run-of-the-mill 44bhp 1.3-liter air-cooled engine, the 1970's Volkswagen Beetle is a tough car to handle on the road, then you can only imagine what it would be like to try and control a Bug fitted with the zappy 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer engine from a Subaru Impreza WRX STi…

To make matters worse, the German dealer who listed the converted Beetle STi on a Romanian car sales website called 'Webcar' doesn’t mention anything about suspension upgrades.

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SpeedART Shows More of its New SP91-R Package for the 2012 Porsche 911


German tuning Speedart has shared some new photos of a 2012 Porsche 911 fitted with accessories and performance parts from its comprehensive SP91-R program that we first told you about back in January.

The exterior bodykit consists of a rear wing designed to be mounted on top of the original spoiler, a rear diffusor, side skirts and a front apron.

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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Project Kahn Unveils Sultry Red Ranger


Red isn't a color you often see on large premium SUVs like the Range Rover, but if properly done, it actually doesn't look half bad. Naturally, as with most other colors, it all depends on the shade of red, which can make or break a vehicle's looks.

The deep red used on Project Kahn's tune, hits the spot in our opinion and creates a nice contrast with the black accents such as the carbon fiber front grille, side air vents, front and rear bumper trims and the quad exhaust tailpipes.

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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Vilner Treats Jeep Wrangler to a Little Bit of Luxury


Bulgarian custom studio Vilner believes that while the Jeep Wrangler is indeed the quintessential off-road vehicle, there's no reason why it shouldn't encompass its passengers in a more luxurious cabin.

Just about every corner of the Wrangler's interior has been upgraded with new, higher quality materials that include various colors of stitched leather for the dash, seats and door panels plus brass and chrome accents.

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One-Off 24k Gold Rolls Royce Ghost Purple by Fenice Milano Poses a $3 Million Question: Why?


They are right to say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in this instance, surely "love must be blind"…

Enter the world of Italian coachbuilder Fenice Milano, which has revealed plans to build a one-off custom Rolls Royce Ghost for an unnamed client with bottomless pockets and a gaudy sense of style.

Fenice Milano's customer was fascinated with the brand's Ghost-based Diva collection, previewed back in 2010, but wanted something a bit more glitzy.

The car will be finished in a deep purple paint job before the Italian firm customizes the exterior with a 24k gold paint and trim accents covering the hood, grille, front and rear bumper aprons, side skirts, wheels and window surrounds.

More gold can be found in the British limousine's interior, which will also be customized in terms of styling and materials to match the outside theme.

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Monday, April 2, 2012

U Spot: Nissan GT-R Station Wagon in Portugal


An estate model isn't something most people would normally notice, unless it rides on huge wheels, sitting very low to the ground and features the front of a Nissan GT-R R35; that's a combo bound to draw the attention of any petrolhead...

One such model rightfully caught the eye of Carscoop reader Daniel Esteves, who snapped a couple of shots and sent them over our way.

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Friday, March 30, 2012

Toyota 86 Coupe Prepped with TRD Parts, Plus Video of Ken Gushi Driving Scion FR-S


In a sort of two for one deal, we present to you one of the first videos of the Japanese domestic market (JDM) Toyota 86 fitted with a selection of parts from the brand's in-house tuning division TRD, and a second clip of its North American twin, the Scion FR-S in both stock and racing forms.

The Toyota 86 TRD model features a different exhaust system plus a sports suspension package and a more powerful braking system. You can read more about TRD's offerings in our previous post here.

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Project Kahn Fashions Up a Wide Bodykit and Interior Mods for Porsche Cayenne


In the British tuner Project Kahn's own words, "toning down the look of the Porsche Cayenne in favour of a sleeker vehicle" equals a wide bodykit and an assortment of spoilers wrenched together with over-the-top 22-inch wheels, but who are we to disagree…

In detail, Kahn's exterior package include wheel arch extensions on all four corners to make space for the 22-inch RS600 rims, integrated LED daylight running lights on the front wheel arch vents, a lower boot lid spoiler, red brake calipers, full color coded bumpers with matt pearl grey inserts, carbon fiber detailing up front, and undercar white LED illumination.

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This Toyota 86 is Powered by a Lexus IS F 5.0-liter V8!


Even though few consumers have actually driven it, many have been…complaining about the lack of power in the Toyota GT 86 and 86, Subaru BRZ and for North America, the Scion FR-S, all of which share a 2.0-liter naturally-aspirated boxer-engine yielding 200-horses at 7,000rpm and a peak torque of 205Nm (151.2 lb-ft) at 6,600rpm.

That's music to the ears of the aftermarket industry, which will happily provide a lot more ponies in all sorts of ways, depending on the depth of buyers' pockets.

Over the coming months and years, we're also sure to see many custom creations with engine swaps. If you're looking for ideas, here are a couple of videos of a custom Toyota 86 that you will probably find extremely interesting.

Made to compete in this year's Japanese D1 drift series with Max Orido behind the wheel, this Toyota 86 ditches the factory four-pot for a 5.0-liter V8 engine sourced from the Lexus IS F!

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Senner Tuning Supercharges the Nissan 350Z to 405-Horses


Despite the availability of the newer Nissan 370Z, the 350Z remains a solid choice for enthusiasts looking for a fast and good-looking sports car with rear-wheel drive dynamics.

Now, if for some reason the stock 3.5-liter V6 with 276hp (280PS) and 363Nm (268 lb-ft) of the early 350Zs seems a little too soft for your tastes, German aftermarket firm Senner Tuning has introduced a new performance package for both the coupe and roadster models of the series.

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

This 1994 Acura Integra Coupe Sports a 6.5-liter Big Block Chevy V8


The Acura Integra has always been a favorite among those looking for an affordable and zippy coupe that can be easily improved with aftermarket bits that are available in plentiful numbers on the market.

However, one owner moved from the traditional type of tuning to a more extreme solution that involved an engine swap, but not of the sort you would expect, as he replaced the standard four-cylinder unit with a massive 396 cubic inch (6.5-liter) Chevrolet Big Block V8.

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Range Rover Evoque SD4 "Horus" Tuned by Loder1899


Named after one of the oldest and most important gods in ancient Egyptian religion, the Range Rover Evoque "Horus" is the work of German tuning firm Loder1899.

The package for the Evoque includes both cosmetic and mechanical upgrades, though Loder1899 offers a performance kit only for the SD4 variant that comes with a 2.2-liter turbo diesel producing 188bhp (190PS) in stock form.

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