McLaren in Paris

Take a moment and enjoy this beautiful footage of this spectacular yellow McLaren P1, captured in front of the famous Royal Monceau Hotel, which just happens to be owned by the car owner’s daddy.

The WorldSupercars team says the bodyguard of the rich man was glad to open the car and even lightly rev the engine several times.

Under the hood, the P1 features a hybrid powertrain consisting of a V8 3.8-liter, twin-turbo, mid-mounted engine producing 737 PS (542 kW) and 720 Nm (531 lb-ft) and an electric motor with 179 PS (132 kW) and 260 Nm (192 lb-ft). The combined maximum output is 916 PS (674 kW) and 900 Nm (663 lb-ft).

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McLaren in Paris

The World’s Fastest Police Cars

Most highway patrol squads around the world drive standard, mass production cars with go-fast police stickers down the side and flashing lights up top. But not in Dubai…

The Emirati city of Dubai made big waves last year when it started purchasing supercars and turning them into police cars. First there was the Lamborghini Aventador police car. Then, the Ferrari FF. Before we knew what was happening, Dubai then added an Aston Martin One-77, and the pièce de résistance, a Bugatti Veyron.

Since then, Dubai’s exotic police fleet has only expanded, and this new video goes into detail as to why the city has the world’s fastest police cars. Many were quick to criticize the Dubai police force when news broke about the city’s exotic police fleet for what was perceived as just a massive showing of wealth, but the Bugatti and Lamborghini police cars actually serve a very important purpose in the city — the supercars break down the barrier between the police and the country’s citizens.

As one of the police officers points out in the video, the supercars bring the people to the police, making them altogether more approachable. It seems that behind the wheel of a Veyron, a police officer is no longer intimidating.”

While the Dubai police force has a fleet of regular police cruisers including the Dodge Charger, Nissan Pathfinder, and Toyota Land Cruiser Prado for patrolling the majority of the city, the supercars spend all their time patrolling Dubai’s tourist districts.

The fleet, which is estimated to have cost the city $6.5 million, includes over 12 different types of sports cars and exotics. The fleet includes a Bugatti Veyron, Brabus-tuned Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG, McLaren 12C, Ferrari FF, Lamborghini Aventador, Audi R8, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Aston Martin One-77, Bentley Continental GT, Nissan GT-R, Chevrolet Camaro SS, tuned Ford Mustang GT, and a custom Harley-Davidson Softtail.

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The World’s Fastest Police Cars

Rare Volvo Sport P1900 Celebrates 60 Years

The Volvo P1800 has its’ roots in Sport which ceased production after just 68 units were made. Here’s how Motortrend.com records its fascinating history.

The Volvo Sport roadster made its debut on June 2, 1954, and unlike the svelte Volvos we’re used to seeing today, the Sport was short and fat, measuring 8 inches shorter than the Volvo PV 444. The roadster made quite an impression with a large grille that resembled a turbine, and underneath the hood was a version of the 1.4-liter PV 444 engine, except in this application, the engine was tuned to make 70 hp and reach a top speed of around 95 mph.

The two-seater was pretty much a research project by the company’s founder Assar Gabrielsson in the early 1950s. Garielsson frequented the U.S. in an effort to research the market before launching Volvo in the ‘States, and during one of his trips, he crossed paths with a company called Glasspar in Montecito, Calif. Since 1951, Glasspar had been building hulls for boats and bodies for sports cars using fiberglass, which was a newer material at that time. Gabrielsson was fascinated with the manufacturing process, and while he wanted to introduce the material to Sweden, he also wanted to build a small European sports car for the U.S. since he noticed there was a huge interest in them. As a result, he asked Glasspar to design and build a sports car prototype, in addition to training Volvo’s staff on how to design and manufacture fiberglass bodies. Meanwhile, engineers in Gothenburg were in charge of developing a chassis that would fit the body.

Fast forward to 1954 and Glasspar delivered the first drivable prototype to Volvo. The prototype wasn’t fully developed, so it’s no surprise that the prototype didn’t perform well in internal testing: the chassis was too weak, the plastic cracked, the doors weren’t fitted correctly, and the three-speed gearbox didn’t prove to be sporty enough for the sporty-looking roadster. That aside, two more prototypes were built, and Volvo later announced the sports car would be available in 1955 as an export only, and with about a 300-unit run. The automaker also took three cars to Sweden to show them off to dealers. In 1956, Volvo started delivering the roadster to customers in South Africa, Brazil, Morocco, and the U.S., and although Volvo said the roadster would be an export only, some customers in Sweden were able to take delivery of their very own fiberglass-bodied roadster.

Only 44 units were made the first year, and in 1957, another 23 were built. But as quickly as the car came, it left. The car’s demise came after newly appointed Gunnar Engellau drove the Volvo Sport for a weekend, which was when he decided the car didn’t live up to Volvo’s quality requirements and that production should stop immediately. Volvo was also losing money with each roadster it sold. In just that short time, only 68 units were built, though there are only 67 unique VINs as two cars were accidently given the same chassis number. Volvo knows the whereabouts of 50 of those Sport roadsters, and even though it sounds like a flop, the roadster wasn’t a complete failure — four years later, Engellau used the roadster as inspiration for the iconic steel-bodied P1800, which the automaker says is its most “internationally renowned model ever.”

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Rare Volvo Sport P1900 Celebrates 60 Years

The Huracan makes it"s UK Debut.

Why should the Italians have all the fun?

During the Lamborghini Super-Trofeo event at Silverstone, on display was a beautiful Lamborghini Huracan finished in Rosso Mars making its first UK public debut.

The 2014 Lamborghini LP610-4 is the Italian brand’s all-new, entry-level supercar. It’s a direct replacement for the Gallardo, its best-selling model ever.

 

Photos by: elliottrawr

The Huracan makes it"s UK Debut.

There are no SuperSport"s left, but don"t let that stop you

The Bugatti Veyron Super Sports have been sold out and there’s only the  Grand Sport Vitesse range of special editions still available for sale.

So here’s what one Bugatti owner decided to do to give his car the SuperSport look. He just added some new parts.

 The new parts include a new front bumper, redesigned NACA ducts on the roof, aerodynamic engine cover and rear exhaust pipes, the paint job is one of the most striking parts of the car, giving it the two tone green and black.

However, the engine upgrades from the Super Sport doesn’t make its way here. Still, the 1001-bhp W16 engine can still deliver a mighty blow, so that the owner need not shell out more to make it perform like an SS too.

 

Amazinguy1000

There are no SuperSport"s left, but don"t let that stop you

Japan Leads the Way

Take a look at the future….right now in Japan, the major car makers have joined together to make EV charging stations widely available.

Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation jointly established a new company, Nippon Charge Service, LLC, (NCS) on Monday, May 26, to promote the installation of chargers for electric-powered vehicles.

The goal is to help build a charging network that offers more convenience to drivers in Japan.

In a press release sent out today, today, all four automakers, stated the new company would promote the installation of chargers, for the good of society and to expand the use of electric-powered vehicles. Related industries are also expected to benefit. Development Bank of Japan Inc. (DBJ) will support the joint effort of the four automakers by investing in the new company with its “Fund for Japanese Industrial Competitiveness.”

Electric-powered vehicles are playing a major role in driving next-generation energy policy, added the quartet. On November 12, 2013, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi jointly announced a plan to financially assist installers of charging stations and began taking applications from prospective charging station installers. Together with Government subsidies the grants will cover the entire cost of installation for successful applicants.

This program is said to target charging facilities recognized to have high public value under the next-generation vehicle charging infrastructure plans drawn up by local governments and authorities. Financial assistance will be made available to businesses and operations to establish charging spots in key locations, such as at commercial facilities and lodging facilities, as well as en-route charging spots at highway service and parking areas, and convenience stores and service stations on regular roads.

NCS said under the program, a number of commercial facilities, hotels, convenience stores and highways have started installing charging stations. NCS will manage the chargers and the installers of EV charging stations will be asked to participate in the charging infrastructure network.

Through the new company the four automakers explained they would also provide car owners with a universally-accepted charging card. The system is expected to be up and running by the end of the year and will enable convenient access to the chargers operated by the new company.

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Japan Leads the Way

Subaru Goes Blue

To differentiate themselves from their Toyota clone, Subaru have gone Blue!

The co-developed and largely identical Toyota FR-S and Subaru BRZ sports cars have had sort of a quiet rivalry since they were introduced. And so color us less than surprised to see the Subaru’s new 2015 BRZ Series.Blue Special Edition introduced just a month after the 2015 Scion FR-S Release Series 1.0. (Another reason we’re not surprised: We reported back in February that such a model was coming.)

Like the Scion, the BRZ Series.Blue features aerodynamic enhancements, special black wheels (STI-branded in this case) and is extremely limited in production (just 1000 units versus the Scion’s 1500-car run). Unlike the FR-S 1.0, which is offered only in screaming yellow, the BRZ Series.Blue can be ordered in WR Blue Pearl or new Crystal White Pearl, both colors being contrasted by red brake calipers. While the Series.Blue does not ride on a modified suspension like the FR-S 1.0, its aero mods and smoother underbody do contribute to a drop in its coefficient of drag from 0.28 to 0.27, says Subaru. And like all other 2015 BRZs, the Series.Blue model features fatter tailpipes and a new shark-fin antenna design.

Inside, the BRZ Series.Blue starts with the BRZ Limited’s generous equipment list, and features its own black and blue leather/faux-suede upholstery with blue contrast stitching. The floor mats get the BRZ logo and blue stitching, too. Other minor changes include a frameless rearview mirror, simulated carbon-fiber center dash trim, and a red illuminated engine start button with an STI logo.

 

Subaru Goes Blue