Porsche’s latest 911 GT3 R is technically a hybrid, but don’t let that fool you into thinking they’re giving up speed and going green. Instead, this track monster features a system that’s similar to the KERS system that was developed for F1 racing, and which is designed to give the car a speed boost during acceleration through the use of small electric motors that assist the main engine.

If the technical terms don’t get you all hot and bothered, then maybe you should just let Porsche explain the car in their own unique way:

[Porsche Intelligent Performance]

A typical Renault Twingo makes 75 horsepower. A typical Renault Twingo V8 Trophy that has gone through the Lazareth shop makes 180 horsepower. If that formula doesn’t spell success, then nothing will!

The added power comes from a 3.5-liter Range Rover V8, which gets stuffed between the rear subframe and turns the French tuner into a terror. Along with the extra engine, the Twingo Trophy gets a fully custom widebody kit, new rims and tires, and a heaping helping of flat matte paint.

The result is supercar performance in a package that’s just larger than a go-kart, proving once again that you should never judge a book by it’s teeny tiny cover.

[Lazareth]

I LOVE carbon fiber, so when you take an already beautiful car like the Aston Martin DB9 and cover the entire thing in space fabric, my mind struggles to process the level of awesome.

Called the Mansory Cyrus, it’s from the shop that never fears to improve on a supercar, regardless of how rare, and will tack on a few $100k to the sticker; though I’d argue that beauty like this can quickly approach priceless.

[Mansory]

If Darth Vader had a supercar, it would probably be this Gemballa tuned Ferrari Enzo, called the MIG-UI.

Though no official details have been released, it’s not hard to tell that this is no ordinary Enzo. For starters, there’s a custom widebody kit, a new roof scoop, and a whole collection of extra vents. Looking closer, you’ll see Porsche Carrera GT inspired exhaust tips, a custom quilted red interior, and a menacing black and white satin paint scheme that was pulled directly from the dark side.

Expect the price and the exclusivity to be stratospheric, but you’ve gotta pay if you want to play, and especially when your toy of choice is an already hyper-exclusive prancing horse.

[Via: The Real JDM]

Just one year ago, Ken Block debuted what is still one of the most amazing pieces of automotive art ever created: Gymkhana Practice.

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the video, DC Shoes teamed up with YouTube sensation Marina from Hot For Words to explain Gymkhana, and while it lacks the tire smoke of the first video, it does make up for it with gratuitous eye candy:

You’ve already seen Ken Block do his thing a few times with Gymkhana 1 and Gymkhana 2, but now he’s teamed up with Rob Dyrdek from the Fantasy Factory to bring you Gymkhana 2.1, and it’s filled with the same great antics, just in a little less car:

[DC Auto]

I got a chance to check out the Roadster Shop’s C1-RS Corvette this past weekend at the Goodguys West Coast Nationals, and was AMAZED by the level of detail in this award winning street machine. (Street Machine of the Year to be exact.)

Under the hood lies a 618 horsepower LS7 with a T-56 transmission that does its best to transfer all 640ft lbs of torque, while Detroit Speed & Engineering suspension keeps the tires planted and 14” Brembos bring everything to a stop.

Outside, the ‘vette features carbon fiber side louvers, a front end that was entirely customized out of aluminum (including all grills, grille surrounds, front bumper and grille bar) and a rear end with enough carbon fiber to make an F1 team jealous.

Inside, it’s all luxury, with Italian leather, Alcantara suede, a hand-sculpted aluminum dash, and Classic Instruments carbon fiber gauges all around.

In sum, it’s a car that has been thought through, massaged over and customized to perfection, with few peers and no substitutes.

[Roadster Shop]

The Blastolene Brothers don’t do small, which is why their latest creation, called Piss’d Off Pete, is difficult to comprehend.

The ‘hot rod’ began life as a Peterbilt Model 351 cab, which was then chopped and mounted behind an 852 cubic-inch, two-stroke, V12 Detroit Diesel that is fed by two superchargers to the tune of 500 horsepower and 1000 lb-ft of torque at the redline of just 2,800 rpm. Power is then fed into an Allison 4-speed transmission out of a Greyhound bus, and then out through a customized rear end out of a semi truck.

Other details include seats that were built by a saddle maker, Baer brakes, and a custom built boat-tail gas tank.

If you happen to catch this thing in your rear view mirror, I suggest you get out of the way!

[Blastolene Brothers - Piss'd Off Pete]

[Via: Autoblog]

Will Roegge is the best of the best when it comes to documenting the automotive world on video, so it should come as no surprise that his latest work, called Climb Attack, which documents Rhys Millen’s record setting run up the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb, is nothing short of spectacular:

[Will Roegge]

The Mansory Chopster is what happens when Mansory gets their hands on a Porsche Cayenne, and the carbon fiber factory has a sale.

Both the exterior and the interior have been thoroughly reworked to include carbon fiber on almost every surface, with the exterior getting a widebody kit and a roof chop in the process.

The engine also got reworked, and now has 710 hp and 900 Nm of torque thanks to a new engine management system, bigger turbos and reworked air intakes.

The Chopster is definitely not a car that will appeal to everybody, but if you want to stand out from the crowd, then this is definitely one way to do it.

[Mansory]

For Toyota’s new iQ, they wanted to do something a little different with the car, so they used it to create a font. (Yes, you read that right. A font.)

The process involved a lot of stunt driving and some interesting software to put it all together, but the end result is actually pretty good looking:

[iQ Font]

What’s the fastest way to give your 2005 Ford F-150 STX 2,700 extra horses?

Easy: Mount a $10,000 Motorlet M-701 turbojet engine in the bed and hold on!

The engine, which makes 2,700 HP and 1962 pounds of thrust at 15,500 rpm, weighs just 728 pounds and runs on kerosene. (Though to be fair, it would have to be going 516 mph to make all that power.)

Unaided, the Ford’s 231 HP V8 will get to 60 mph n 14.5 seconds, and the quarter passes by at just 73 mph. (Topping out at 85 mph.)

With the jet providing extra power in ‘hybrid’ mode however, 60 mph happens 6 seconds sooner, and the quarter mile speed jumps a full 30 mph. Plus, when you’re up to speed, you can actually GAIN extra speed by shifting into neutral and letting the jet do all the work.

It might not be the greenest vehicle around, but it sure is the most fun you can have in a hybrid!

[Via: Automobile Magazine]

The Goggomobil isn’t exactly an awesome car, and 360 horsepower is no longer an inspiring figure, but when that horsepower comes from a 10,220cc, 9-cylindar radial engine that was originally commissioned for 1930’s airplanes, and it’s rear mounted in a custom Goggomobil, the sum is much greater than the parts.

To put these two together, Uwe Wulf had to build almost everything from scratch, including a custom-built two-speed transmission and independent rear suspension.

It might not be the flashiest car in the world, but I challenge you to find one that’s more impressive.

[Radial Engine Goggomobil]

[Via: Jalopnik]

Chrome has been the king of car plating for a long time now, but if Born Rich is to be believed, then Gold could soon be replacing it as the car cover of choice for the uber-rich.

The gallery that they put together includes gold plated Bugattis, BMWs, Porsches, Bentleys, Rolls Royces and DeLoreans, and each one is a show of gaudy excess.

Gold chain, greasy hair and 80s flashbacks not included.

[Born Rich - Gold Plated Cars]

Porsche’s GT2 is already a pretty stellar supercar, but the folks at 9ff aren’t satisfied with just stellar, so they wanted to make their version spectacular.

The result of their work is a car called the BT-2, which takes a car that’s nicknamed ‘The Widowmaker’ and turns everything up to 11. Power jumps from 520 to 850 horsepower, torque rises to 678 pound-feet, and zero to sixty times drop from a scary 3.7 seconds to an unbelievable 3 seconds flat. Top speed is also increased to 240 mph, and you’ll pass by 200 in just 19 seconds on your way to the top.

Just don’t forget to blink…

[9ff]

[Via: Wired Autopia]

It might not look like much, but this 1972 Datsun, nicknamed White Zombie, will blow the doors off just about anything on the road today; and it’ll do so without burning a drop of fuel.

That’s because the White Zombie is a fully electric vehicle, and uses 60 batteries and an electric motor to run the quarter in under 12 seconds at speeds in excess of 110 mph.

The team that put White Zombie together goes by the name Plasma Boy Racing, and their goal was to show people what electric cars are capable of. Considering the numbers they’re putting down at the track, I’d say it’s mission accomplished.

[Plasma Boy Racing]

Jesse James might be known for his bad bikes and monster machines, but when he set his sights on the world land speed record for hydrogen powered vehicles, he didn’t take no for an answer.

After reworking the body on the Dees Milodon Engineering Davis B Streamliner and packing in a 572-cubic-inch Chevy big block, Jesse took it to the salt flats and set a new record speed of 199.7 mph. (Just shy of his goal of 200 mph.)

When asked about the project and why he didn’t just build a car from scratch, Jesse said (in a very Jesse way) “I think it’s way cooler to take an old hunk of shit that many considered useless and make it haul ass. It has built-in soul and history. Plus, it’s recycling.”

Other details include a Liberty airshifted 5-speed transmission, Winters quick-change differential, and three tanks to hold hydrogen at an impressive 5,000 PSI. In all, it makes more than 780 horsepower and 900 foot-pounds of torque.

“I’m not so blinded by the things I build that I can’t see change is needed,” he said. “I’m in love with anything with wheels and a big engine. I hope my son will be able to love the same things. They’ll just be running on a different kind of gas.”

[Wired - Inside Jesse James' Record-Setting Hydrogen Racer]

Ferrari’s new California convertible isn’t exactly the most aggressive looking car to ever come off of the Maranello assembly line, but for drivers that are looking for hard top convenience with hard edged looks, Edo Competition is more than happy to take over from where the Italians left off.

Features include a bump in horsepower and torque thanks to a remapped ECU and a pair of high-flow cats, a set of custom rims, and the ability to trick out the suspension and the interior if you should find the stock options unsatisfying.

By Edo standards, this job isn’t made of the most aggressive modifications on the planet, but when you’re starting with a canvas as flawless as the Ferrari California, it’s hard to do much to perfection.

[Edo Competition]

[Ferrari - California]

[Via: Autoblog]

The Zenvo ST1 is a supercar. From Denmark. Seriously.

Despite coming from a country that’s not known for its supercars, the ST1 certainly looks the part and has specs to match, with the 7-litre V8 using both a supercharger and a turbocharger to make more than 1,100 horsepower and 1,430 NM of torque.

Specs on paper are one thing, but actual real-world performance is often another, so Zenvo gave one of their prototypes to Bil Magasinet TV for a test drive, and judging by their reaction, it’s going to be a hit:

[Zenvo]

The 638-horsepower LS9 from Chevrolet’s new Corvette ZR1 is the most powerful engine GM has ever made. The 1969 Camaro is (arguably) the most beautiful car GM has ever made. Combine the two, and you have a match made in heaven known (lovingly) as Jackass.

Made by Mark Stielow, the Jackass Camaro not only features the engine from the ZR1, but the GIGANTIC carbon-ceramic brakes as well.

Rounding out the package is a Tremec T56 six-speed out of a Viper, and an Art Morrison subframe to hold it all together.

In all, Mark says that it would have been “cheaper to just buy a ZR1”, but then you wouldn’t have the baddest car on the block.

[Via: Inside Line]