Need For Speed World: Aston Martin V12 Vantage

2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage

It's the best car to be released in NFS World to date: the Aston Martin V12 Vantage. I just love this car for many things. First off, it's the best looking car in the game with sleek curves, a sexy rear end, awesome 19" shoes, and a lovely front nose. Second, it's the best car I've ever driven in this game. It has the grip of the 911 GT3 RS, but it isn't as crazy as it. It's composed, daft, punctual. It's like trying to do Le Mans in an old luxurious Bentley. Third, it's fast. It certainly gives the Porsche a run for its money. It's not the fastest car in the world, but it will make mincemeat out of most Tier 3 cars, including the M3 GTR. I've spent sometime reviewing this car to see what it's like. If you're a "Spot the Dev" winner, take a look at the videos below to see what your prize is like.

Italian Compromise

2012 Pagani Huayra (U.S. Spec)

Huayra fans rejoice! Horacio has decided to respect the regulations set by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and spend $5.7 Million on an advanced airbag system. What does this mean? Well, the Huayra won't be here 'til 2013. But, at least it will be making sales here, in the glorious United States of America. It seems that there are changing winds these season.

A New Wind has Come

2012 Pagani Huayra (U.S. Spec)

Some say that due to an airbag fault, it wouldn't arrive here til 2015, and that the equipment inside it was deemed unsafe by U.S. Regulations. All we know is, it's here, it's been approved by the U.S., and they're accepting pre-orders. Pagani's newest supercar, the C9 Huayra, has officially arrived in the U.S. The car made it's official North American debut here in Pasadena, California, at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design. Why bring Pagani over here? Well, the CEO, founder & owner of the automaker, Horacio Pagani, said that it wasn't for the lack of customers over in Europe. Trust me; there have been many wealthy Americans who've always wanted to add a Pagani to their collection, but unlike most supercars, Pagani isn't in a rush to expand its market. Also, unlike most supercars, the Pagani considers the Huayra a very sophisticated car. So, customers won't only get their supercar. They'll also receive super attention, service, and pampering, all of which the staff is ready to provide. Of course, this means customers won't receive their cars for a while, even after models start selling at the end of 2012. Horacio says that customers must be attended to before orders from new markets can be handled. As of now though, the car is in huge demand in North America, and outside of the continent, so let's see if this works for Pagani. As for the car, each customer will be overjoyed when they receive their copy of this fantastic looking car. Under the hood is a 6.0-liter Twin-Turbocharged 730 horsepower AMG V12 engine. Pagani say it will do 0 to 60 in 3.0 seconds flat on its way to a top speed of 230 MPH. Sounds quick, but is it better than it's closest rival from Lamborghini: the Aventador LP700-4? We'll just have to find out.

Zagato Greatness

2012 Aston Martin V12 Zagato Concept

It seems that the V12 Zagato has attracted some aspiring Aston Martin fans. Of course, Aston Martin intended for this car to be a Nürburgring Endurance racer, in which it was. Both cars that ran during the 24 Hour event managed to finish without faults. Aston Martin was very pleased with this that they've decided to create 150 examples, each for £330,000. This will make it twice as much as the DBS, and almost three times as much as the V12 Vantage, even though all three have the same 6.0-liter 510 horsepower V12 engine. As a matter of fact, with the correct conversions, you might have one here in America for $500,000. That's quite expensive for an Italian V12 Vantage, so let's see how this plays out.

Racetrack Beauty

2012 Aston Martin V12 Zagato GT

It seems that Aston Martin wasn't fooling around when they said that it was going to be their newest race car. Last weekend, they took their newest creation, the V12 Zagato GT racer, out on the Nürburgring and put in some practice laps in preparation for the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race later next month. This is the second concept car turned racer to hit the 'Ring only to race at the 24 Hour event. The first, as most of you may remember, was the Lexus LFA. How will this V12 malarkey cope with some V8 and twin-turbo monsters in its way? We'll find out later next month when the race begins.

S is to Sport as Rapide S is to Sexy Sport

2011 Aston Martin Rapide

I've often sung praises to the Aston Martin Rapide, mostly comparing it to the Porsche Panamera by its looks, power, grace, stance, price, reasonableness, the list goes on. It seems that the only categories in which the ugly Panamera is superior are power and speed. But, not for long as Aston Martin have recently announced that they're working on an S version of the mighty Rapide, which has been rumored to be fitted with the DBS 6.0-liter 510 horsepower V12 engine for more umph and speed. Let's see the Porsche cling on to victory now as the Aston charges for him.

When Britain meets Italy

2012 Aston Martin V12 Zagato Concept

What do you get when you mix the Aston Martin V12 Vantage and the Zagato designer house together? You get my car of the week, which is the recently revealed Aston Martin V12 Zagato Concept. Unlike the last Zagato, which was a road-legal DB7, this particular Aston is not for the road, so you won't be able to see it posing near some rich Italian art. But, you will be able to see it hit 200 MPH on the back-straight of the Nürburgring as Aston Martin plans to put this car on their racing team. This is both good and bad. Good because it'll be nice to see another race car from Aston Martin out there instead of the regular V12 Vantage and DBR9. Bad because this car is so gorgeous that I actually want one now. Strangely, the power output remains the same: 6.0-liter 510 horsepower V12. But, since it's lighter, it will do 0 to 60 in less than 3.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of about 200 MPH. But honestly, I really don't care about it's performance. It just looks very, very, very pretty. Today, the car took it's majestic stance at the Concorso D'Elegance in Villa D'Este, Italy and won the design award there on the spot, defeating all the Beamers and Audis that were there. It's sexy. It's fast. It's red. It's my car of the week!

Droptop Prancing Horse

2011 Ferrari 599 SA Aperta

Summer's almost here and yet more droptops are appearing on the streets. Here's Ferrari's latest droptop, the 599 SA Aperta. You may have seen one of these last year when it was secretly revealed to some wealthy businessmen. Well, Ferrari has decided to put finally put 80 of these on the market. The SA Aperta is basically the 599 GTO with a removable top. It still has the powerful 6.0-liter 661 horsepower V12 engine which takes the car from 0 to 60 in 3.6 seconds with a top speed of 202 MPH. The name SA Aperta is Italian for open and refers Sergio and Andreas Pininfarina, the father and son team that once led the famed Italian coachbuilder (Pininfarina). Aperta stands for the car's manually removable convertible top. Only 80 of these will be made, all of which have been spoken for, so if were thinking about buying one, I'm sorry but you were too late. Anyway, some footage has surfaced the internet of the car in real life at a car dealership. Check out the video below to see the car in all of its splendor.

If James Bond Ever Did FIA GT3 Racing

2012 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3

Say hello to Aston Martin's new GT3 racer: the V12 Vantage GT3. Based off the remarkable V12 Vantage and set to replace the DBRS9, this British track screamer will be using an upgraded 6.0-liter V12 engine from the standard V12 Vantage. Horsepower has been increased from 510 to 600. The engine has been mated to a 6-speed Xtrac paddle-operated gearbox and race-honed ABS and traction control. The car will weigh less than 2.5 tons and hit top speeds of about 194 MPH. Only 26 examples will be built with deliveries starting in early July. Unfortunately, James Bond won't be driving any of them. But, if he were to drive one, it would look like this: no drama, no decals, no nothing. Just pure Quantum Silver metallic paint so that he can blend in with the crowd in order to achieve first place. How cool would that be?

The Cheapest Lamborghini in the World

ASUS Lamborghini VX7 Laptop

If you think I'm fooling, you better think again. This is, by all means, a Lamborghini. The only difference is that it has no wheels, no massive V12 engine, and no expensive price tag of $200,000. Instead this Lamborghini can be used in the office, in your game room, or at an important business meeting, and it will only cost you $2,269. ASUS is to Lamborghini as Acer is to Ferrari: a company that supplies exotic computers to fans of the raging bull or the prancing horse. This one, in particular, was inspired by the late-great Lamborghini Murcielago. For those tech savvy kids who want one of these, let me give you the specs: 2.0-GHz Intel Quad Core i7 Processor, 16GB DDR3 1333MHz Memory, 1.5TB Hard Drive, Blu-Ray Player + Burner, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GB GDDR5 Graphics Card, Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, and a 15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) Display. So basically, Asus wants this computer to run as fast and clean as a Lamborghini, but cost about 1/10th as much. I can dig that. How about you? Check their website for more info or here if you want to buy it now. 

Don't Talk. Just Listen

2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4

Turn off your TV. Put your headphones on full blast. Calm your mind. What I'm going to show you now will require complete silence and a sound mind. It features this car, the Vallelunga race track, and a V12 engine flyby that will leave you speechless. That's all I have to say. Just watch it.

Crazy meets Crazier (Photos)

[Source: James Lipman]

Crazy meets Crazier

2011 Ferrari 599 GTO vs 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS (Courtesy of James Lipman)

How's this for a photograph? Two of the craziest supercars out there from Italy and Germany battle it out in the rain at the Nürburgring for crazy rights! The gray one has 661 horsepower out of an all new 6.3-liter Ferrari V12 engine. The latter has 620 horsepower out of an all new 3.8-liter Twin-Turbocharged Flat-6 engine. Both will do over 205 MPH and 0 to 60 in under 3.5 seconds. Both are extremely exclusive and cost over $300,000. Both have their own ways of approaching corners and leaving grins on drivers' faces after a few minutes of driving. Both are just absolutely bonkers!! Anyway, James Lipman recently posted pictures of these supercars on his website. I'll have them up here and on my Facebook page in a bit. Don't look for too long now. They might turn you into a speed freak!

The World's Fastest Office

2012 Brabus 800 iBusiness 2.0

Some of you might've seen me post something about this car. That was only last year. Brabus has now decided to bring it back along with new tech and a much bigger engine. So welcome everyone, to the all new iBusiness 2.0, the world's most powerful and fastest office. What is it? It's a Mercedes-Benz S-Class that was been tweaked and tuned to be your workplace on the road. Under the hood is Brabus' own 6.3-liter Twin-Turbocharged 800 horsepower V12 engine producing 1,047lb.-ft. of torque. The result is a 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 219 MPH. That's electronically-limited. This car could reach 240 MPH if it wanted to. This is definitely the world's fastest office. It's rival, built by some engineer, had a top speed of 80 and broke down most of the time. Since this is German, and part of it was built by Mercedes-Benz themselves, it won't break down so easily. And inside, it really is an office.

Backseat View

A luxurious office, I should say. All the tech in the backseat is from Apple: the iPads, the iPods, the Video headrests, the TV screens, even the Mac Mini powering most of the technology in the car. All of this Apple stuff has been fine-tuned by Brabus so that the car and the tech are in sync while in work. How's this for an office; there are three iPads in the car. 3! Two in the back, and one in the front. And these aren't ordinary iPads. These are iPad 2's. Yep! So while you're on your to way to the airport or the conference center, you can have a little FaceTime chat with your co-worker or business partner, to make sure everything is in tact before you get there. And get this! Brabus have even created an app for each iPad 2 which allows you to control every bit of the Benz COMAND system, from the Radio to the Navigation System.

Front Seats View

Now, of course none of tech would be in sync if there was no internet. So, Brabus personally fitted the car with a Wi-Fi Network comprised of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and HDSPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) networking to wirelessly wire everything together. A 64GB iPod Touch is mounted in the rear center console and sends music through the Harmon/Kardon sound system or a pair of $500 Sennheiser Sound-Isolating Headphones, which can also be used to surf through 100 channels thanks to a built-in wireless DVBT (Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial) TV Receiver.

Rear View

So, as you can see, this car was meant for the Trumps and the Hiltons and the Patels and the Jobs because it really does stand out. The iBusiness 2.0 Tech Package is available for every S-Class model, from the S350 BlueEffieciency to the S65 AMG. For the full package, which includes the 800 horsepower engine, you're gonna need either the S600 or the S65. Those are the only cars that will do the job. What is else is their to say? It's a fantastic car!

Reaching Mach Speed

2008 Racer Motors Mach 5

I'm afraid I have another fictional car that has been brought to life. If you've seen the Speed Racer movie back in 2008, you've probably seen Emile Hirsch in the driver seat of this car wearing a blue shirt, leather racing gloves, a red bandana, and a helmet with an M on it. Thanks to Computer Generated Images, we were supposed to believe that the Mach 5 was a real car. The one he sat in while filming the movie was a model. But, a company known as Racer Motors brought the actual car to life.

GO! Speed Racer GO!

Believe it when I say this: this car is as fast as everyone thinks it is. Under the hood is a real 8.0-liter Quad-Turbocharged 1,700 horsepower V12 engine. Racer Motors says the car will do 0 to 60 in less than 2.4 seconds and over 300 MPH. Road & Track took this car to an oval circuit and averaged 271 MPH. That's faster than the fastest production car in the world, the Bugatti Veyron SuperSport. The wheels are 5-spoke circles fitted with Yokohama Supercar tires. The gadgets work as well.

Buzz-saws under the bonnet

When will this car come out? How about never. Racer Motors only made one, and that one was for the museums. So, there you are: another fictional car brought to life.

Fresh from the Stable

2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4

Here it is, Ladies and Gentlemen; the official Official pics of Lamborghini's newest bull, the Aventador. Might I say that from every angle, this car looks absolutely monstrous! You just don't want to mess with it. Actually, if you do look long and hard, you may find that this car bares some resemblance to the Million Dollar Lambo, the Reventón, with F-22 Raptor-like sharp edges and dazzling design. And it's no different on the inside either.

Interior View

Look at this! Just spectacular! Who wouldn't want red leather seats in their F-22 Raptor Jet? Anyway, you might've noticed the new steering wheel. It actually features buttons for entertainment system use. Here's another view of it.

Central View

The console looks something from the future. Everything looks sort of cube-ish. You might've noticed the red latch near the entertainment buttons. In fighter jets, this was used to cover a big red button that would release a nuke or blow up Morocco or something or another. In this car, it's used to apply the handbrake (a very useful feature). The dashboard is equally useful.

New Tachs

The speedos and tachs are now much brighter and more colorful to keep drivers aware of what how fast your going or if you need gas in the next half-in-hour. As always, the Aventador features flappy paddles behind the steering wheel to operate Lamborghini's new and unique 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. 

L539 V12 Engine

And, of course, what good is the transmission without the actual engine. Lamborghini's new 6.5-liter V12 produces 691 horsepower which is sent equally to all four wheels. Because of this, 0 to 60 is done in just 2.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of 217 MPH. Actually, the 0 to 60 time matches that of the new Nissan GT-R, but because the GT-R's gear ratios are much shorter and the engine is less powerful than the Lambo's, the Lambo will have it beat in the long run. 

They didn't forget the scissor doors

So, there you are: striking looks, new engine, faster speed, more technology, more agile, and strangely affordable. Obviously, you might've read my last sentence and said, "How is this car strangely affordable? It's $371,000. That's more than I make stealing Google accounts in Morocco." Ahh, yes that is the price, but this car has graduated from supercar to hypercar. Which means, it has the potential to take on the Pagani Huayra and even the Bugatti Veyron. These cars both cost, in essence,  $1.5 Million. Then, there's the hypercar it's predecessor failed to beat, which was the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition. Now, this car will run circles around it. Now, the SLR costs about $500,000. So, compared to all three of those cars, this is the bargain of the century. And, as always, what good is the car without the name, Aventador. Lamborghini normally names their cars after famous bulls from bullfights in Spain. Aventador was the name of a bull that was owned by Don Celestino Cuadri Vides. It was at the peak of its career in 1993 when it went toe-to-toe with a torero in Saragozza, Spain. Well, that bull can put a smile on its face, wherever it is, because his name has been put on the fastest and most powerful Lamborghini to date. Well done Lamborghini, the Murcielago can finally rest in peace. Here are some more pics.

Flowing with the Wind

2012 Pagani C9 Huayra

And here it is! After weeks of teasers and spy shots, Pagani have finally released photos of their Zonda replacement. The all new C9 Huayra still keeps the Zonda flare, but now has front LED lights, some Zonda R styling, Gullwing doors, jet-like fins, and air conditioners placed in the most reasonable of places.

Nutsack Air Conditioner

Under the hood of this italian beast is a new 6.0-liter 700+ horsepower Twin-Turbocharged AMG V12. 0 to 60 is done in 3.2 seconds on its way to a top speed of 230 MPH. Not mention that this car weighs less than 3,000 lbs. making it very light. This car also comes with loads of carbon fiber, some Italian-rich luxury, and some very powerful brakes which give it the possibility of braking from 124 MPH to 0 in an eye-popping 4.3 seconds, just like the Zonda. This is an epic turnout from what car magazines describe as the potential Ferrari-beater. No word on the prices yet, but expect it to be very expensive. The car will make its official debut in Geneva in March.