SMS Ford Mustang 25th Anniversary Concept with 720Hp by Steve Saleen

Even though Steve Saleen and Saleen Inc. parted ways last year, the 59-year-old continues to work on Ford Mustang projects through his newly founded company SMS Limited. The Ford Mustang 25th Anniversary Concept, which was created by Saleen in celebration of his 25th anniversary in the niche manufacturing business, is the company’s first actual vehicle. Though SMS doesn’t intend to put the Mustang concept into production, it demonstrates the company’s capabilities.

The Mustang concept features a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 that develops 720Hp at the crank and 612Hp at the rear wheels. Other mechanical upgrades include the cross-drilled brakes and the billet aluminium watts link suspension. Saleen enhanced the Mustang’s looks with an aggressive bodykit as well as with a few unique details like the LED taillight and the induction system on the hood scoop that allows the butterflies to crack open under throttle. -Image gallery after the jump

Key functional and aesthetic innovations:
SMS 720 HP Supercharged 5.0L Aluminum Block V8
SMS CNC Ported Saleen Supercharger
SMS CNC Aluminum Heads
SMS Red Butterfly™ Induction System
SMS Light Blade™ LED Tail Light System
SMS Billet Aluminum Watts Link System
SMS Cross Drilled 15" 6-Piston Front Brakes
SMS Cross Drilled 12" Rear Brakes
SMS Two Piece Billet Aluminum Hood Vents
SMS Carbon Fiber Side Splitters
SMS Carbon Fiber Diffuser Fences
SMS Red Butterfly™ Quarter Intakes
SMS Chromosome™ Silver Paint
SMS Leather Grip Billet Aluminum Shifter and Shifter Bezel
SMS Leather Dash
SMS Leather Two Tone Door Inserts
SMS Leather Two Tone Seats
6-Speed Transmission

Performance:
720 HP/612 WHP
667 TQ/565 WTQ

Via: Autoblog.com

ΑΒΤ Audi A3 Convertible with up to 270Hp

Although ABT is still working on the A3 Convertible’s optic package, the German tuner has revealed details on the available mechanical upgrades for Audi’s newest soft-top that competes against the BMW 1-Series Convertible. Starting off with ABT’s basic “Power” pack, the 1.8 TFSi’s output is raised to 200Hp (from 160Hp) while the 2.0 TFSi delivers 240Hp (from 200Hp). For those who want more, ABT offers the “Power S” kit that increases the 1.8 TFSi’s output to 240Hp and the 2.0 TFSi’s to 270Hp. -Image gallery after the jump

Ford Focus RS 300Hp: 22 High Res Images and Full Technical Details

It is by far the most important debut at this month’s London Motor Show and perhaps the most anticipated attainable performance car of the year; Ford’s scorching hot 300Hp Focus RS. Following an earlier leak today, we managed to get our hands on the high resolution image gallery along with the official press release.

You may have noticed that we haven’t mentioned the word concept this time; that’s because neither does Ford as the London Show’s Focus RS is actually the production version that will go on sale in Europe in early 2009. Although the new RS is based on the recently revised Focus ST, Jost Capito, Ford Europe’s Director for Performance Vehicles, and his team, performed many mods to the car, starting with the 2.5-litre 5-cylinder turbocharged engine.

Revisions include unique camshafts, a revised cylinder head and gasket and new intake and exhaust manifold system. According to Ford's engineers, the improved 2.5 Turbo is targeting a power output of 300PS and over 410Nm of torque (ST: 225Hp). Although the hot hatch is still under development, Ford supports that early performance testing indicates a 0-100km/h (0-62mph) time of less than 6.0 seconds. -Continued

Like its predecessor, the first generation Focus RS that went out of production in 2002, Ford’s newest hot hatch retains the front wheel drive set up of the Focus ST. In order to put 300PS on the road through the front wheels in a civilized manner, Capito and his team of engineers performed several modifications, starting off with the addition of Quaife Automatic Torque Biasing limited-slip differential.

Moreover, the RS gained an innovative front suspension system known as a ‘RevoKnuckle’, which is designed to reduce unwanted steering disturbance and torque steer. According to Capito, the results are staggering and it eliminates the need of an AWD system that would add extra weigh to the car.

“Our work has shown clearly that our approach in combining a tuned RevoKnuckle with the Quaife differential is an ideal solution for a high performance front-wheel-drive road car like Focus RS”, said Jost Capito.

“As you would expect, we gave all-wheel-drive careful consideration, but by combining and tuning these elements and learning from Ford’s expertise in industry-leading handling, we have managed to eliminate the weight of AWD from the car and still have been able to target a class-leading balance of traction, handling and performance. The result is a lightweight set-up, that will deliver the right blend of traction and razor sharp controllability” Capito concluded.

Other improvements for Focus RS include a 40mm wider track, stronger, longer driveshafts, revised springs and dampers, a thicker, longer rear anti-roll bar, retuned steering system and most importantly, a special version of Ford’s ESP system designed to allow a very sporty driving style before activating. The Focus RS also boasts uprated brakes, with 336mm ventilated front discs and 300mm rear discs.

In terms of styling, we think the pictures speak for themselves. The Focus RS is one hatch you definitely won’t ignore on the road, even without the provocative bright green paint that brings to mind the 1970s Le Mans Green of the Escort RS1600 era. The Focus RS is equipped with an aggressive bodykit that includes a new front bumper, a twin-element black roof spoiler echoing RS models of the past and a newly designed rear bumper that incorporates a large venturi tunnel and two chromed exhaust tail pipes.

Moreover, the widened front and rear quarter panels have been revised to incorporate wider wheel arches that house 19-inch alloys, wrapped in 235/35 low profile Continental tires. Other notable features include the styling details highlighted in gloss ‘piano black’, the RS-badged vents behind the front wheel arches and the two 80’s RS-style bonnet louvers.

Admittedly, the Focus RS’ cabin is less impressive than car’s outside as the most notable differences between the ST concern the bi-colour sculpted Recaro bucket seats, the brushed aluminium highlights and the carbon-look trim on the centre console. However, having driven the 225Hp Focus ST, that’s the last thing we’d care about once we got behind the wheel of this green monster.

Lumma Design CLR X650 Based on the BMW X6

Lumma Design, notorious for its extreme tuning propositions (remember the M5 based CLS 500 RS?) is getting ready to strike again; this time with the BMW X6 based CLR X650 that will make its first public appearance at the forthcoming Paris Auto Show in October. Aside from the teaser sketch, the German tuner hasn’t released any official details on its lime-green monster crossover but we gather it’ll pack plenty of more ponies under the hood than its stock siblings. -Continued

From what we can tell by looking at the teaser sketch, the CLR X650 will get a wide bodykit that includes new front and rear bumpers along with 20+ inch black alloy wheels wrapped in high performance tires.

Via: Le Blog Auto

Ford Focus RS Concept – First Official Images?

After the premature leak of the new BMW 7-Series, the second crack in the dam today comes once again from Germany. This time it’s the highly anticipated Ford Focus RS Concept that will be revealed to the public for the first time at the British Auto Show in London on July 22.

We traced these pictures -that look pretty official - back to the German car magazine “Autozeitung”. We remind you that a couple of weeks ago, Ford released a set of official images featuring a lightly camouflaged Focus RS on the Ring along with the initial details on the car’s specs - click here

Ford had told us then that the Focus RS will be equipped with a revised version of the Focus ST’s 2.5-liter turbocharged 5-cylinder engine generating over 280PS and more than 400 Nm of torque. According to Autozeitung, the RS will deliver exactly 300 Hp to the front wheels along with 410 Nm of torque. -Continued

We’re not so sure about the lime-green color of the concept, but the Focus RS sure looks menacing. As for the interior and apart from the bi-color bucket seats, we can’t see any visible changes compared to the Focus ST’s cabin.

G-Power G4 3.0i EVO III: Supercharged BMW Z4 3.0i with 375Hp

German tuner G-Power has introduced a new performance kit for the BMW Z4 3.0i (231Hp) that adds an ASA T1-12 supercharger to the 3.0-liter straight-six engine. Along with the new ECU system and a complete exhaust system with racing-headers and catalysts, the result 375 hp at 6.450 rpm and 420 Nm torque at 4.650 rpm.

With a sprint time from rest to 100 km/h (62mph) of 4.9 sec and to 200 km/h (124mph) in 15.1 sec the G-POWER G4 is at par with the BMW Z4M. The roadster’s top speed is an impressive 300 km/h or 187mph. The conversion of the standard engine to the G-POWER EVO III configuration is €18,850 or $29,900 including installation. -Continued

In addition to the engine kit, G-Power offers a complete tuning program for the Bavarian roadster consisting of: aerodynamic body kit, 20-inch light-alloy wheels, suspension modifications, high-performance brake system with eight-piston fixed callipers and 380 x 34mm brake discs on the front axle and exclusive interior components.