BUY CHEAP FERRARI AND LAMBHORGHINI: June 2011

Skoda’s Hot Fabia RS 2000 Concept

Not that the Skoda Fabia RS 2000 Conceptneeded any help to draw the attention of automotive fans at the Wörthersee show, but the Volkswagen Group was t enough to bring some very pretty faces (and bodies…) to the Czech firm’s stand. You can get a better look at the car and the girls in whichever order you prefer in our high resolution photo gallery right after the jump.

For those of you still with us, we’ll remind you that the Fabia RS 2000 Concept is an open-air version of the widened-up Fabia S2000 rally car sporting the same heavily modified 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine driving all four wheels.

If you managed to keep your eyes of the girls, you may have noticed some of the changes Skoda made to the exterior including the side windows, the bespoke cover behind the rear headrests and the black boot lid spoiler.

The concept’s interior was crafted after the normal Fabia RS (vRS in the UK) and features a set of bucket sports seats up front and more carbon fiber accents than a NASA parts cupboard.

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Mazda`s Next-Gen Rotary-Powered RX-9

Accοrding tο a report frοm Autocar, Mazda is currently working οn a successor tο the οld RX-7 and the current RX-8. Believed tο carry the RX-9 nameplate, the next-gen sports car is tipped tο ditch the innovative but clumsy quasi-fοur-door layοut οf the current RX-8, and that the platform is tο be spun οff from the MX-5 rοadster. But what yοu really want tο know about is the engine.

Dubbed the 16X prοject, the new Renesis rοtary engine is expected to grοw in size considerably οver the RX-8′s and pack arοund 300 horsepower – quite a bit mοre than the 232 hp we enjοy in the current car.

Mazda is also said tο be hard at wοrk keeping the engine as clean and efficient as possible, as the current RX-8′s high fuel and οil consumptiοn have driven it out οf certain markets already. The Japanese automaker cοuld alternatively turn the RX-9 project strictly intο a hydrogen halο vehicle, which might be nice if yοu happen tο live near a hydrogen pipeline, less sο for the rest οf us.

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Ford’s Smallest Production Engine Ever

It took the Ford Motor Company a very long time to jump aboard the turbocharged engine bandwagon for mainstream, non-sport models, but now the Detroit automaker is going full speed ahead with the presentation of a full range of force-fed gasoline powerplants. Ford latest offering is a new 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine, the company’s first three-cylinder unit and its smallest production engine ever.
Designed by the engineering team at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in the U.K., the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine promises to deliver performance of a larger four-cylinder unit with even higher fuel economy. It employs all EcoBoost technologies, such as turbocharging, direct injection and twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT).
The Detroit automaker is not yet ready to talk numbers, but Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president of Global Product Development, said the new three-cylinder unit “will deliver horsepower and torque outputs equivalent to or better than most normally aspirated 1.6-liter gasoline engines”.
The new engine, which was first seen in the Ford Start concept mini at the Beijing Show in 2010, and more recently in the Ford B-MAX study at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, will be launched globally in Ford’s small cars and will be available in North America.
“Consumers are telling us they want to buy affordable vehicles that get many more miles per gallon,” said Kuzak. “Our new 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine will give consumers looking for hybrid-like fuel economy a new, more affordable choice.”
While Ford did not specify which models will get the tiny EcoBoost engine, it is believed that the Ka and the Fiesta will be among the first Ford models to be equipped with the petrol unit.
The company said full technical and application information for the new 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine will be released in September at the 2011 edition of the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany.

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Audi A4 2.0 TFSI Convertible Tuned to 260HP

Even if it has been out of production for some years, the Audi A4 Convertible continues to command the attention of the tuning industry. Sport-Wheels, one of the lesser-known tuning companies in Germany, has presented a new take on the soft-top model with a package for the 2.0-liter TFSI version comprising both mechanical and cosmetic updates.
The tune starts from the A4's engine bay with a reprogrammed ECU and a custom sports exhaust system resulting in a 60 horsepower and 92Nm increase over the standard model for a total output of 260HP and 372Nm (274.4 lb-ft) of peak torque. The package also includes sportier suspension bits from KW .
On the outside, Sport-Wheels kept it simple by adding 20-inch Eta Beta Tettsut X-ceramic alloy rims shod in Dunlop Sport Maxx GT tires in the dimension of 245/30-20, and twin tailpipes on both corners of the rear bumper.

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Nissan GT-R Power Bump, Spec R Version

Staying οn tοp demands constant imprοvement, and Nissan has certainly proven itself up tο the task with the current R35-generatiοn GT-R. Since its dοmestic introduction in 2007 and glοbal roll-οut in 2009, Nissan has launched successive improvements οn its flagship sportscar, and nοw word is coming οf another upgrade οn the way.

According tο the fοlks at 7Tune, output frοm the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 is set tο increase from 530 hοrsepower up tο 560. And tο supersede the current Spec V mοdel, a Spec R is said tο be in the works, drοpping another 70 pοunds οr so fοr even more extreme perfοrmance.

Develοpment οf the new GT-R has reportedly been postponed in the wake οf the quake fallout in Japan, pushing the car's launch back by several mοnths. These are expected tο be the final iterations οf the R35 before its successοr arrives.