Fiat 500 Abarth

A few days ago I already posted some pictures of the Fiat 500, and I promised to post the Fiat 500 Abarth the next day. It has taken me a few days more, but here it is: the Fiat 500 Abarth!

First and foremost, this particular 500 is highly customizable: there are four different trim levels (Naked, Pop, Lounge and Sport), 15 interior trims, nine wheel options, 19 decals and 12 body colours. Add to this a selection of accessories, and you get about 500.000 different possible personalized combinations of the 500! That's literally to each his/her own car, in a way.

Furthermore, there are several different versions available as well: there's the default Abarth 500, the Abarth 500 Essesse (pronounced "SS"), the Opening Edition, the Assetto Corse, the Abarth 695 "Tributo Ferrari", the Abarth 500 SpeedGrey, the Abarth 500 "Cabrio Italia", the Abarth Punto "SuperSport", the Abarth 695 Competizione, the Abarth 695 Tributo Maserati, the Abarth 500 595 Turismo, the Abarth 595 Competizione and the Abarth 500C. Confused yet? I won't be trying to tell them apart...

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the Fiat 500 Abarth (default edition), and one picture of the version built by Hamann - I hope you like them!

Audi S5 Coupé - Eibach project car

I'm a big fan of BMW, but if there's one car that's able to drag me away and over to the Audi camp, it would be the Audi S5 coupé. This is my personal opinion of course, but with the design of the Audi A5 and S5 coupé, I think Audi has nailed it. They simply look stunning whichever way you look at them.

On to performance then - with a 4.2 liter V8 this S5 certainly is no slough. The engine develops 354 hp at 7000 rpm, more then enough to burn some rubber on the track, or do some spirited driving on some B-roads.

Eibach took the S5 even further: they did not touch the engine, but decided to generate more power by improving the car's handling. An optimum suspension set-up was added, and the car was fitted with the Eibach B12 Pro-Kit, the Anti-Roll-Kit Performance Sway Bars and the Pro-Spacer Wheel Spacer. Several different wheel/tyre combinations are available, depending on what you'd like to do with the S5.

For now though, all I'll do is look at it for a bit more...

Jaguar E-Type

Called the most beautiful car ever made (by Enzo Ferrari no less), this E-type started life as a rear-wheel drive grand tourer in coupé and convertible form. It took Jaguar a few years to release the 2+2 four-seater version of the coupé.

Today I'd like to present the original convertible Jaguar E-type: despite the fact that I'm not so fond on convertibles myself, I still think the convertible E-type looks a lot better than the fixed head coupé.

And I'm not the only one who likes the looks of the E-type: because of its good looks, high performance and competitive pricing, the E-type became an icon. A very valuable icon, nowadays. Enough reasons to bask in its glory, so here are the wallpapers!

... young versus old ...

Pagani Zonda F

Back to one of the more extreme animals, today. First debuted at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, the Pagani Zonda F is an extensively re-engineered Zonda. It does share the 7.3L AMG V12 engine with its predecessors though, which now produces 602PS (that is 594 for those of us counting in hp) at 6150 rpm and a whopping 759Nm of torque at 4000rpm. Figures which seem to indicate this is one FAST machine.

Besides the increased power, there are also several exterior changes as well. First of all there's the new bodywork sporting a new front end, a new rear spoiler, and more aerodynamic vents, there's an extra head light and different fog lights at the sides, and there are optional Brembo carbon/ceramic brakes. Weight was further reduced by magnesium wheels, an inconel titanium exhaust system and a hydroformed aluminum intake plenum.

The good news then, is that the Pagani Zonda F is one of the fastest and most extreme cars you'll see for quite a while. The bad news, given the exclusivity of only 25 cars being made and the accompanying price tag, is that we'll probably never see one during our daily commutes, let alone drive one. A shame really, so if anyone wants to lend me their Zonda F, I'll make sure to do something about it!

... a look at the interior - far from dull I'd say! ...

... stuff which makes the Zonda F go "vroooommmm" ...

Volkswagen CC (aka Volkswagen Passat CC)

The Volkswagen CC (originally known as the Volkswagen Passat CC) is a four-dour coupé version of the "basic" Volkswagen Passat. I say basic, because Volkswagen states that the CC is a more luxurious vehicle than the standard Passat saloon car, which in itself is a really good car.

Anyway, the CC suffix stands for Comfort Coupé, and the Passat CC is supposed to fall between the ordinary Passat and the range-topping Phaeton. If it were up to me to decide, I'd say they did a pretty good job: whereas the Passat is a nice saloon (maybe a little bit too bland in my eyes), I absolutely admire the Phaeton for it's features and figures, but I'm not that wild about the looks of the latter.

To me then, this Passat CC, is the perfect middle road - a sleek, modern, good looking "comfort" coupé. But enough drivel from me, it's time to judge for yourselves!