Auto Fans Club

Project Kahn is jumping the shark on the royal wedding bandwagon with a special tune to celebrate Prince William and Kate Middleton's big day on April 29. Traditionally, royal weddings have been marked by commemorative stamps, coins and memorabilia, but times have changed and the British aftermarket specialist’s tribute is a subtly modified Maybach 57 limousine. Read more »

In its third consecutive take on the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, German tuner Kicherer has released a new package with performance and styling modifications for Stuttgart’s supercar, and just to capture our attention, the company threw a beautiful female model into the picture (not included in the package).

There are tuners and there are tuners with some taking the easy way out going for a quick fix while others take up the challenge to create something truly unique. Italy’s Lucarelli-Monza belongs to the second category of tuners. The Monza-based tuning house has revealed details on its newest creation called the 500 Abarth Motore Centrale R230.

As its name implies, the heavily modified Italian hatchback gains a new layout with a mid-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive. Of course, such a radical change is not an easy task with the company having to re-engineer the entire vehicle.

Among other changes, the rear seats of the production model were dropped to create space for the engine while there’s also a new rear suspension set-up and a high-performance braking system with 335mm front- and 305mm rear- discs coupled with four-piston calipers.

Making its debut at the Big Apple is a concept for a high-performance version of the Lexus CT 200h hybrid hatchback conceived and executed in partnership with Fox Marketing.

Starting with a production CT 200h, the tuner modified the 1.8-liter gasoline engine by adding an Eaton supercharger along with a Climax Racing intake manifold and a Yonaka air to water intercooler among other upgrades to push output to an estimated 300HP. Additionally, Fox Marketing said it has boosted the factory batter power, but did not provide further details.

Joining the Kizashi EcoCharge Concept at the New York Auto Show is a second prototype version of Suzuki’s sedan model called the Kizashi Apex Concept. While the EcoCharge hybrid is all about improving fuel economy, the Apex version concentrates purely on the performance aspect of the build while also showcasing the link between Suzuki's automotive division and its championship-winning motorcycles.

In 1986, the Porsche 959 was the world’s fastest street legal product car. Some 337 of these road-going monsters were built but not one of them was a factory-finished convertible. Regardless of what you may have heard or seen on forums, such a vehicle was never sanctioned by Porsche. There was a one-off “Speedster” built by Auto-Becker for the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show but that’s about it.

So is this done and dusted? Of course not; this is the internet we’re talking about. 959 Speedsters are sighted by Porsche enthusiasts as much as Elvis Presley or the Loch Ness monster. If you believe what you’ve read, these things are everywhere. And I do mean everywhere, even in New Zealand.

So our seller throws in the usual platitudes we’ve come to expect from this sort of posting like, “This is one very rare and special car,” and that it was “professionally built”.

If you’re been unimpressed by the second generation of the Porsche Cayenne so far, no need to worry as Stuttgart's SUV has gathered heaps of aftermarket attention in Europe. Following an announcement earlier this year, longtime Porsche tuning house SpeedART has launched a performance package for the latest Cayenne, dubbed the EVO-XL 600.

No, Coca-Cola has not turned Chevy’s upcoming Sonic subcompact into a mobile marketing tool for carbonated soft drinks. What you see pictured here is a Z-Spec accessorized 2012 Sonic and it will debut at the New York International Auto Show to officially launch Chevy’s new line of aftermarket bits that will be available before the end of the year. Chevrolet gave us our first look at its new accessory lineup with the Z-Spec concept versions of the Cruze, Spark and Volt at the 2010 SEMA show.

For the new Sonic, which replaces the Aveo in the States, the Z-Spec range will initially focus on cosmetic improvements.

Available bits will include a full bodykit comprising of front and rear aprons, rocker panel extensions and a silver exhaust tip, contrasting mirror caps and roof spoiler, contrasting upper and lower grille surrounds and a body graphics package like the one you see here.

For 30 years now, German-based tuning house Gemballa has been taking the latest Porsche models and transforming them into custom machines with wild outputs. Despite the recent loss of the firm’s founder, Uwe Gemballa, the company continues to roll new creations. At this week’s 2011 Top Marques Monaco Show (April 14-17), Gemballa is showing off two newcomers, the Porsche Cayenne II based Tornado and the Panamera sedan-based Mistrale.

Both the Tornado and the Mistrale feature a heavily customized body with unique front and rear ends, and an array of bespoke aero parts. According to the German tuning house, the new components not only change the appearance of the two Porsche models, but also help reduce weight.

If you didn’t manage to purchase one of limited edition Ford Focus RS500 before production ran out, you may want to take a look at Anderson Germany’s Ford Focus RS “Black Racing Edition”. The tuner-prepped Focus RS features a matte black paint scheme similar to the one featured on the RS500 adding contrasting red elements like the RS badges, the edges of the rims and the Ford logo.

It seems that the 426HP Chevrolet Camaro SS wasn't powerful enough for German aftermarket specialist Geiger Cars that decided to spice up Chevy’s pony car. The result is the Camaro Super Sport HP 564, an upgraded version of the standard car that attracts attention foremost for its flamboyant black and green paint scheme.

The car sports an aero kit comprising of a front spoiler lip, side skirts and a redesigned rear bumper that features a large air diffuser. The huge 22-inch black alloy wheels as well as the black central stripe and the black racing numbers on the doors contrast with the green paint job. On top of the rear fenders, the Geiger Camaro sports a “Supercharged” logo, which hints at how the engineers managed to increase the output of the 6.2-liter V8 engine.

For its latest endeavor, German tuning company Schmidt Revolution has released a rather modest package for the Nissan 370Z Coupe and Roadster sports cars. The tune up doesn’t include any engine modifications, and instead focuses on the Japanese model’s appearance, sound and handling. Read more »

If Geo had asked Isuzu to design them a car that would appeal to California’s surfer crowd in the mid-1990s, chances are it’d look a lot like the Thunder Ranch Riot. A fibreglass bodied, Volkswagen Beetle-based turnkey kit car, the Riot looks like a Geo Storm that’s been cut, shut and had Dodge Viper parts tacked on to its exterior. And it can be all yours for the low, low price of US$12,000.

Enough is never enough for vehicle tuning houses like Novitec Tridente, which has presented its latest line of enhancements for the Maserati GranCabrio. Bone stock, the drop-top variant of the GT gets a 4.7-liter V8 engine that cranks out 440HP at 7,000 rpm and 490Nm (362 lb-ft) of torque at 4,750 rpm.

The installation of a supercharger system along with a watercooled intercooler and a modified ECU, help boost output to an impressive 590HP at 7,300 rpm and 572Nm (421.9 lb-ft), consequentially allowing for a new 0-100km/h (0-62 mph) time of 4.5 seconds.

The tuners over at Project Kahn have released photos and details on their latest offering based on the Jeep Wrangler. The restrained tuning programme is limited to a cosmetic touch up of the popular 4x4 model. On the outside, Project Kahn’s team added a set of new 20-inch RS alloy wheels wrapped around beefy 275/55 tires. Upon request, the Wrangler can be finished in either black or silver with matching alloy wheels.

Italian aftermarket specialist Lucarelli-Monza has transformed the Abarth 500 into a mid-engined track beast named Motore Centrale R230. The car will be unveiled at the upcoming Top Marques Monaco show (April 14-17), alongside the Spada Codatronca.

The impressive SLS AMG ‘Gullwing’ may have long replaced the venerable SLR McLaren in the Mercedes-Benz’s ranks, but the tuning world is not about let go of the Stuttgart firm’s previous supercar. Edo Competition has revealed a new take on the SLR McLaren called the Black Arrow.

Edo Karabegovic and his team over at Edo Competition started out with the SLR McLaren’s body, which gains a stealthy looking flat black coating and an overdose of red livery combined with new black colored 21-inch alloy wheels with a red ring that are shod in high-performance sport tires. There’s also new exhaust tailpipes and carbon trim.

Why would someone want to upgrade a 451HP Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG remains a mystery to us, but the following car is a good example of the level of performance a C63 AMG can reach with the right aftermarket parts and some very deep pockets. Two years ago, owner Keith Brantley got in touch with aftermarket specialist Modern Horsepower (MHP) and ordered a complete transformation of his C63 AMG.

Challenging the notion that a true Ferrari has to be red, Anderson Germany has whipped up a murdered out 458 Italia with both styling and mechanical upgrades. Starting with the visible modifications, Anderson Germany's Ferrari 458 is finished in a black color and features a carbon fiber package that includes a pair of vents on the front hood, spoiler lips, rear diffuser and exterior mirrors. The German tuner also tinted the Italian supercar’s windows, headlamps and taillights. Read more »

Renowned Ford specialist Shelby announced plans to unleash the latest iteration of its venomous pony car at the upcoming 2011 New York International Auto Show. The 2012 model year Super Snake package will add a mouth-watering 800-horsepower under the hood of the Mustang thanks to a heavily modified 5.4-liter supercharged V8 engine.