Auto Clerks

Being shown off at the same Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este where the BMW M1 Homage was recently unveiled, is this tasty Maserati Quattroporte wagon-ization. Though perhaps with the addition of the hatchback, we should call it a Cinqueporte. But you can call it whatever you want, we just love the way it looks. Designed and constructed by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, the Bellagio has a swooping fastback rear end that’s tapered oh so delicately as opposed to a traditionally squared-off wagons.

galleryPost(’maseratibellagio’, 3, ‘Belissimo Bellagio’);

Personally, I’ve never been a huge fan of the standard Quattroporte’s styling. Yes, the car has a cool demeanor. My problem was I always saw the portholes as gaudy, the C-pillars as awkwardly chunky, and the entire front end as particularly unflattering in anything but dark colors. So for me, the Bellagio doesn’t just have the inherent awesome-ness of being a wagon, it also addresses all my quibbles. The portholes have been replaced by a singe vent on each side, the C-pillars have been swept into graceful shapes, and the whole thing is covered in slick deep charcoal paint. Do want.
[Car Body Design, autoblog.nl]

Original post by Mark Arnold

Since helping our Czech friend BobAsh get a Malaise Corvette from California to his homeland was so easy, I agreed to keep an eye open for a nice Crown Victoria Police Interceptor for him. After all, roaring through the streets of Prague in a genuine California cop car would be almost as much fun as roaring through the streets of San Francisco in a genuine Tatra 603. Last weekend I stopped by the auction yard at which I bought my Crown Vic a few years back, and found that the inventory included quite a few early 70s Ford Thunderbirds. In fact, the inventory was almost entirely 1970 and 1971 T-Birds. Make the jump for more photos and the rest of the story.

galleryPost(’ThunderbirdAuctionTop’, 6, ‘Time For Deals On Early 70s Thunderbirds’);

It turns out that I was looking at the estate of a recently deceased collector of ‘70 and ‘71 Thunderbirds, with at least 35 examples going under the auctioneer’s gavel. Some two-doors, some suicide-doors, all with 429 engines… and every one of them had been sitting for at least a decade. Several were in great shape, several were hideous beaters, most had pretty good interiors, and many had fresh, if cheap, paint jobs. Many 8-track players. Most could be made to start and run (after a fashion), but it was clear that fuel systems, transmissions, and brakes had all felt the impact of a decade or more of inactivity and major sweat and money would need to be invested to get any of these cars into driving shape. Still, I was tempted to pick one up for a personal Hell Project, especially after it became clear that the ratty ones were going for $300 and the nicest ones were fetching under two grand. However, cowardice reason had the final word and I left in a T-Bird-less condition.

galleryPost(’ThunderbirdAuctionJump’, 21, ‘Time For Deals On Early 70s Thunderbirds Continued’);

Original post by Murilee Martin

As much as we like open wheel racing and modern car designs, there’s something far more awesome about vintage racing cars. This is undoubtedly the opinion of one Jim Rogacki, an engineer from Buffalo, who, while digging around for vintage car parts, managed to run into an amateur Indianapolis 500 historian. After shooting the breeze for a while, Jim convinced the man to let him scan his fantastic collection of photos for all 33 cars in the 1952 starting grid. We swiped a couple, but go take a look at the very neat complete collection and the story behind it over at Jalopy Journal.

galleryPost(’indy1952′, 6, ‘Some of the Starting Grid of the 1952 Indy 500′);

Original post by Ben Wojdyla

Is there anything that the whacky tuners at BRABUS won’t put a V12 into? Our favorite has to be the BRABUS Bullit Black Arrow which is V12 + C-Class + matte black paint. Though, we also love the SLR McLaren + Smart Car combo. And who can forget the S V12 S-equipped Brabus Maybach 57, which hit 205 mph at Nardo? By comparison, tweaking the already V12-equipped Mercedes-Benz SL seems like a no brainer.

galleryPost(’brabussv12s’, 9, ‘The Extra S Is For Stupendous’);

Advance pics and details from eMercedesbenz show a look similar to previous BRABUS SL’s, though with slightly revised front/rear aprons and side skirts, as well as new wheels. There’s no word yet on the revised power, though the previous generation was good for 730 hp, enough power for a 0-62 mph trip in 4 seconds and a top speed in the 217 mph range. [eMercedesBenz]

Original post by Matt Hardigree

newVideoPlayer(”newmazdacrush.flv”, 494, 400,”");
We thoroughly enjoyed Joshua Davis’ thrilling tale of the salvage operation of the Cougar Ace — a subject we’ve covered on these pages more than once. Finally, we’ve now got the answer to the question of what you do with a boat-wrecked shipment of Mazdas. You take the 4,700 formerly brand-new automobiles and send ‘em to the crusher. Although we knew this already, we still think they could have at least sent them out to hoons like us as, after all, it’s not like we’re the types to really give a damn about a warranty. Or they could have started the “Shipwrecked Mazda Cup.” They could’ve done something epic, but no, they shredded up all those poor little zoom-zoom’ers for scrap. Damn you, Mazda! Damn you and your silly liability insurance concerns and your million-man attorney army. [WSJ via CarDomain]

Original post by Mark Arnold

newVideoPlayer(”Honda_jetboy.flv”, 494, 371,”");
Take a bunch of Kiwi hoons, a high-mounted Garrett JFS100 gas turbine jet engine, and a gutted Honda Z600 - what do you get? Fun, that’s what. While it’s not going to set any land speed records, it certainly is entertaining to watch the Honda “Jetboy” evolve from having a raw engine, to fixed nozzle, to turboprop that manages to rollover on it’s side in a corner. These guys probably have very understanding wives.

galleryPost(’hondazjet’, 3, ‘Jet Powered Honda Z600′);
[Aardvark and Youtube]

Original post by Ben Wojdyla

Any way you cut it, GM is going for blood with the new and improved 2009 Cadillac CTS-V and word from engineers of an unofficial rating of at least 550 HP only furthers that point. It takes a lot to make the BMW M5 look like a chump, but a 50 HP advantage will do a thing like that. Of course, the engine hasn’t gone through SAE certification yet, and based on GM’s history of underselling the power output on its recent engines, Edmunds Inside Line is extrapolating a 567 HP figure out of the LS9 mill. We would never go so far as to speculate on numbers, but we will wring our hands in delighted anticipation.

galleryPost(’2009CadillacCTSVPress’, 6, ‘Cadillac CTS-V’);

Original post by Ben Wojdyla

I enjoy the nice, shiny, well-preserved cars in this series, of course, but I really love me some beaters! Cars that haven’t been coddled for one minute of their decades-long lives! This Cyclone is one of my all-time favorite Alameda cars; an original 289/4-speed machine, it’s been roaring around the island for at least the last 15 years and probably longer. It sounds good, looks mean, and lives on a busy street. Sure, it’s slowly rusting away, but it’s got decades to go before the slow-motion California-style rust finally brings it down.

I’ve talked to the owner of this car a few times (we were neighbors for a couple years in the late 1990s) and he’s extremely proud of his wheels. As I recall, he’s either the original owner or the second owner, and he has plans to get the body and paint done… someday.

There’s some rust-through on the hood, but you figure it took 44 years to get this bad… plenty of time to fix the body!

The Cyclone name was later applied to a separate Mercury model (the Merc version of the Fairlane/Torino), but in ‘64 it was the high-performance package for Mercury’s Falcon clone. You got the 210-horse 289, some racy-looking emblems, and bucket seats when you opted for the ‘64 Comet Cyclone.

I’m puzzled by this car’s vanity plate. There was a slot-car shop in town for a while, so perhaps the Cyclone’s owner was the owner.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you’re viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

galleryPost(’DOTS64Cyclone’, 18, ‘1964 Mercury Comet Cyclone Down On The Street’);

First 200 DOTS

Original post by Murilee Martin

We’ve already gotten a look at the twin turbocharged, V10-powered, 580 HP Audi RS6 Avant, but now a camo-free Audi RS6 Sedan has been spied making the rounds in Germany. The new sedan über alles shares a lot of the ultra-Bruce styling present in the wagon version, but also gets revised tail lights and the upturned trunk lid from the RS4. We’re wondering what the implications are of an Audi running with the Porsche Panamera when the Porsche boys manage to get their sweaty little hands on a controlling share of VW. [WorldCarFans]

Original post by Ben Wojdyla

Chrysler’s top spokesman, David Barnas, is leaving the Auburn Hills automaker to take an executive position at a Saginaw-based spinoff of Delphi.

Original post by Ray Wert