Porsche 918 Spyder prototypes begin testing | Wallpaper | Porsche vehicles

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The Porsche 918 Spyder is on the road: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has taken the driving trials of the super sports car of the future a step further wîth completion of the initial prototypes. The 918 Spyder is planned for production at the end of September 2013, with the first customer deliveries currently scheduled for the Únited States late in 2013. 'What we are doing wîth the 918 Spyder is redefining driving fun, efficiency and performance,' said Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board Research and Development of Porsche AG.

8th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique

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The annual Monaco Grand Prix Formula One event, held on the Circuit de Monaco, began in 1929 and has become one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. The narrow streets of Monaco serve as the temporary 2.075 mile track, featuring tight corners, elevation changes, and even a tunnel. Today, drivers still navigate the uphill climb to Casino Square, before turning down to Mirabeau and the Loews Hairpin, before entering the famous tunnel that runs into the harbor-side chicane, a notorious spot for accidents. From there, drivers sprint past many of the harbor's large yachts toward La Piscine and the swimming pool that the corner is named after. This is followed by a quick right turn into La Rascasse before a run down into the Boulevard Albert and to the finish line.

Inaugural Concours d'Elegance of Texas deemed a massive success

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Last weekend, the award winning La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa in Montgomery played host to the biggest and most prestigious classic car weekend in Texas, welcoming thousands of visitors through its gates for the inaugural Concours d'Elegance of Texas, a highlight of The Houston Classic Weekend. Concours organizers had promised a spectacular gathering of world class cars at a world class venue, and they definitely delivered, assembling a superb selection of rare and exotic motorcars, historic military machinery, sports and racecars, antique motorcycles, vintage tractors, and even the odd stagecoach, all displayed in a beautiful golf course lakeside setting. The first Texas Tour d'Elegance got the weekend off to a racing start on Friday May 4th, as Concours participants took to the open road on a 50-mile scenic tour of the local area, stopping for a distinctly Texas style lunch at the unique Thomas Ranch, with a Cocktail reception later that evening. Event partners, Worldwide Auctioneers, presented their 11th annual The Houston Classic Auction on Saturday, May 5th, packing the Versailles Ballroom at La Torretta with bidders and enthusiasts from across the country and further afield. 120 hand-selected motorcars went under the hammer, with 85% finding new homes over the course of an action-packed, six-hour sale.

RM Auctions Achieves More Than €33.5 Million in Sales at Monaco

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RM Auctions, the world's largest collector car auction house for investment-quality automobiles, continued its record-breaking sales run in Europe this past weekend, generating a spectacular €33,521,710 in sales* ($43,410,615 million USD**) with 86 percent of all lots sold at its biennial Monaco sale at the Grimaldi Forum.

Held during the same weekend as the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, the two-day auction presented a magnificent collection of more than 90 blue-chip automobiles, 100 Ducati motorcycles and three boats. As many as ten motor cars achieved individual prices exceeding €1 million, with four lots surpassing €2 million. In addition, the sale boasted several new all-time records for a number of specific cars and motorcycles sold at a public sale.

Big on performance, small in number: The MINI John Cooper Works GP | Wallpaper | MINI vehicles

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Only once has there been anything like it, but even that wasn't as quick. With the MINI John Cooper Works GP, the British premium brand has come up wîth another car of exceptional talent designed to deliver extreme performance on both the race track and the road. The sportiest road-registered MINI ever made will go on sale later this year in a limited run of 2,000 cars. It is currently completing a programme of testing in preparation for series production, part of which has involved setting an impressive fastest lap of the Nürburgring's Nordschleife circuit. The MINI John Cooper Works GP lapped the erstwhile Grand Prix course in 8 min. 23 sec. In so doing, the new model has put clear asphalt between itself and numerous sports cars from loftier perches – and beaten the lap time set by its predecessor, the MINI Cooper S wîth John Cooper Works GP Kit, by almost 19 seconds.

Camaro ZL1 Joins the 11-second Club | Wallpaper | Chevrolet vehicles

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The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is officially in the '11-second' club, as engineers recently turned an 11.93-second/116-mph quarter-mile elapsed time run in a showroom-stock Camaro ZL1 automatic. A Camaro ZL1 manual ran an 11.96-second ET at 117 mph.

Only a few other production vehicles can run the quarter-mile as quickly as the ZL1. Fewer yet can also run 0-60 in 4 seconds, reach a top speed of 184 mph and lap the famous Nürburgring in 7:41.27 – all with the street-legal, factory-issued components and no time-consuming equipment adjustments at the racetrack.

1961 Targa Florio: Porsche Dominance, Ferrari Victorious

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The first race held on the island of Sicily that included an automobile would take place between the car, a bicycle and a horse. Although the gentleman on the bicycle would drop out rather early due to leg cramps constantly going up and down on the mountainous roads, the battle between the de Dion motor tricycle and the horse would be an intriguing one. In the end, the same principles that played out in that first race would come into play many years later when the island hosted the 1961 Targa Florio.

Vincenzo Florio would lose the race with the horse but it would not stop him from thinking about a career in motor racing. Being a wealthy man himself, Florio would attract Fiat's Felice Nazzaro to remain with Florio to not only look after his growing number of automobiles, but also, to prepare racing cars for him to race.

Lancia-Ferrari 801 | Ferrari vehicles

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By the time of the 1957 Formula One World Championship season Ferrari was certainly struggling. While the Maserati 250F was, by then, actually older than the Lancia D50, the Lancia design seemed to struggle comparatively and had suffered every since the passing of Alberto Ascari. Still, the foundations of the car were strong. Ferrari just needed to make the right improvements and things likely would turn around.

The D50 project from Lancia would be delayed and delayed throughout the 1954 season. And there was good reason for this. From nose to tail, the D50 was brand-new and employed such innovative features that made it impossible just to throw the car together.

Lamborghini Urus – The SUV super athlete | Wallpaper | Lamborghini vehicles

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At the 2012 Beijing Motor Show, Automobili Lamborghini presents the ultimate super athlete in the SÚV §egmènt. With the Úrus concept car, Lamborghini is completely redefining dynamics and design in this category. The Úrus combines unique design, a fascinating interior and outstanding performance wîth versatility and everyday usability.

Output of around 440 kW / 600 hp and Lamborghini's excellent know-how in the field of lightweight design technologies guarantee breathtaking dynamics. At the same time, the Úrus will offer the lowest CO2 figure of all comparable vehicles. As an SÚV concept wîth four generous seats, a versatile luggage compartment, variable ground clearance and, of course, permanent all-wheel drive, the Úrus delivers unique driving fun wîth virtually no limitations. The interior, too, matches the standards of this super athlete wîth innovative materials featuring carbon fiber technology like the patented Forged Composite.

Mercedes Concept Style Coupé: the style rebel | Wallpaper | Mercedes-Benz vehicles

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The heartbeat of a new generation grows stronger all the time: wîth its Concept Style Coupé, appearing at this year's Auto China (23 April to 2 May 2012), Mercedes-Benz will be making a convincing statement in favour of avantgarde design in the sporty executive coupé §egmènt.

The four-door coupé is a rebel when it comes to style: nonconformist, provocative and masculine. Technical highlights include its striking headlamp design featuring innovative indicators, the new four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine wîth 155 kW (211 hp) and the all-wheel drive system 4MATIC.

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