Monday April 25, 2011
You knew this was coming -- the Bentley Continental Supersports ISR edition commemorates its recent ice speed record (ISR, get it?) for fastest convertible on ice. It's a strange record, sure, since convertibles are rarely the car of choice in icy conditions, but Bentley is going for it. Why not, when world rally champ Juha Kankkunen propelled the car across the Baltic Sea at 205 mph?
The special-edition ISR comes in three colors -- Beluga (that's a whale), Quartzite, (a mineral), and Arctica White (natch). Buyers can add the ISR Mulliner package at no charge, with red accents and ISR graphics. The car in the picture has been so kitted out. Price is set at $312,000, so throwing in those red bits is quite a bargain.
Friday April 22, 2011
The Rolls-Royce Ghost Extended Wheelbase debuted at Auto Shanghai 2011 this week, with nearly seven extra inches added to the car's length. Those extra inches show up in the rear seat, where the distance between your knees (should you be lucky enough to be chauffeured about in one) and the back of the seat in front of you has been doubled. Otherwise, the car is what you'd expect from a Ghost, with a 6.6-liter twin turbo engine with 563 hp and 0-62 mph time of five seconds.
At the same show, Rolls unveiled its China-only editions of its Spirit of Ecstasy Centenary Collection cars, which were produced to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the famed mascot on the hood. Only 100 examples of these anniversary cars will be built, and Rolls expects the largest proportion of these cars to end up in Chinese garages.
Wednesday April 20, 2011
Lamborghini sent out a press release this morning with this interesting little statistic:
China is an extremely important market for Lamborghini, achieving over 150% sales growth in 2010 compared to 2009. In 2011 Lamborghini will expand its dealership network to 20 dealers from fourteen today.
It seems that China is now the number-two market for the Raging Bull after the U.S. Surprised? I didn't think so. The new Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 made its Chinese debut at the Auto Shanghai 2011, giving wealthier Chinese businessmen a new toy to covet -- and probably snap up fast.
Another non-surprise, given that we're talking about Lamborghini, is the addition of a new special-edition Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Tricolore, which will debut not exactly at the Shanghai show, but nearby at the offsite Shanghai Expo. Lamborghini didn't have too much to say about this latest Gallardo, but given it's name, it's probably similar to the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni that came out a couple years ago.
Monday April 18, 2011
Porsche has been in the hybrid game for a long time -- over 100 years, by official count. But it's taking hybrid gasoline-electric systems to a whole 'notha level with the 2013 Porsche 918 Spyder Plug-In Hybrid, which has one V8 engine, two electric motors, and a total of over 700 hp. It's got a price tag to match: $845,000. Speaking of matching, lucky new 918 owners will be able to purchase a Porsche 911 in livery to match their 918. Of course, buying that 911 will put your total investment at over $1 million, but if you're in this game in the first place, that number won't make you flinch.