• down on the street bonus edition

    Citroen Palm Beach Basks In Basque Country

    Having just read Mark Kurlansky's book about the Basques (after being dragged into Kurlansky-land by his excellent histories of cod and salt, the way marijuana leads to heroin), I thought it was pretty cool when LivingAbroad70 sent in these shots of an incredibly rare Citroën DS Palm Beach convertible found parked down on the Zarautz street. Make the jump to read LivingAbroad70's description. More »
    10/14/08
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    Comment by sos10: As a child, every weekend I was always cycling from one dealer to the other and "study" all the... 7 Responses | Other threads

  • custom cars

    Vandenbrink Design GTO, Now on Video

    Dig the haunting piano theme, or just sit back and admire the digital rendering of Vandenbrink Design's coachworks project. It's in honor of the Ferrari 250 GTO. Production starts on the first of five cars next year, with a top spec model producing 750 horsepower. Otherwise, think of the millions of dollars it'll take to put something like it in your driveway, either original or reproduced, and laugh maniacally.
    10/10/07
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    Comment by bloodsweatandgears: Viper GTS via Shelby Cobra Daytona. more » | Other threads

  • custom cars

    Vandenbrink Design to Build Coachworks Homage to the Ferrari 250 GTO

    Back in 2006, when Michiel van den Brink revealed his designs for a tribute to the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, Ferraristi were taken by its curvilinear sex appeal. So taken, that some offered their deep pockets in exchange for one in three dimensions. Now, it appears the designer's turned the spec project into a real, coachbuilding exercise. His company, Vandenbrink Design, announced today five of the GTOs will be built, each one based on the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. The price for the rebody job will start at a stout 993,000 Euros or $1.4 million, which includes interior specialization by Henk van Lith. Two models are in the offing: a 599 GTO with stock 6.0-liter V12 producing 650 hp, and the 630 GTO, which offers some manner of engine tune by EDO Competition to produce 750 hp. Production will start in 2008, the company says, though there's no confirmation that the first buyer will be descended from one of the guys on the Dutch Masters cigar box. [UPDATE: Now, there's video.] [Vandebrink Design] More »
    10/10/07
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    Comment by Shapeshifter: You wanna know what? I think i like the 599 more than this. Maybe if i saw it in real... more » | Other threads

  • detroit auto show

    Fisker Coachbuild and Quantum Technologies Team up on Luxury Plug-In Hybrid

    What happens when you pair up a design and coachbuilding firm with an alternative-energy startup? We're not sure yet, but a joint venture is on between Quantum Technologies and Fisker Coachbuild, a company founded by former Aston Martin and BMW designer Henrik Fisker. Fisker is most recently known for the Tramanto and Latigo — rebodied examples of the Mercedes SL and BMW 6-Series, respectively. Quantum says its progress in plug-in hybrid technology means the company's ready to team up on a limited-production vehicle to debut at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. We're not sure exactly what the have in store, only that it'll be luxurious and expensive in a manner befitting a car whose major technology is in the early-adopter stage. Maybe they'll even beat Porsche to the punch. More »
    09/05/07
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    Comment by skierpage: @LuciferV8: Yes. If you own multiple vehicles and only live 10 miles from the Hollywood clubs, a 50 mile... more » | Other threads

  • fakes

    Eight-Legged Fraud: Zagato 575 GTZ "Spyder" a Fake

    Zagato would like to inform you the supposed Zagato 575 GTZ Spyder is a fake. A rep from the venerable Italian design firm says the shot we ran earlier this week — the one that triggered some puzzled stares around the Jalopnik virtual campus — is an "illegally photoshopped" spec of the Zagato 575 GTZ coupe, a one-off coachbuilding project Zagato undertook for Japanese Ferrari collector Yushiyuki Hayashi. The prevailing cover story had Qvale Automotive Group — a US distributorship of exotic cars and entity behind the erstwhile, Ford-powered Qvale Mangusta — as the supposed distributor of the roofless rebody. Although we've always believed where there's smoke, there's fire, we still wouldn't bet on any of this panning out.
    09/01/07
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    Comment by Mike Spinelli: @Shapeshifter: I don't think anyone is, but thanks for asking. more » | Other threads

  • coachbuilt for your protection

    Callaway Reveals Speedster: Latest Corvette C16

    If you're planning a junket to Pebble Beach for the Concours d'Elegance next month, pack your seersucker fedora and don't forget to stop by Callaway's tent. That's where the longtime 'Vette tuning shop and coachbuilding house of late is rolling out the latest and flagship model in its line of reskinned Corvettes. It's the C16 Speedster, a take on the short-windshield roadster construct introduced in 1954 with the Porsche 356 Speedster and a throwback to the 1990 Callaway Speedster. A supercharged, intercooled 6.2-liter V8 produces 700 horsepower and 660lb-ft of torque, and Callaway's touting a v-max number in the 250 mph range. The Speedster also introduces a new, customizable suspension setup that uses Eibach coilovers. But before you hike up your skivvies and start writing a check, make sure you've got at least $305,000 in your piggy bank. More »
    07/25/07
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    Comment by smokyburnout: well, chevy doesn't give you the option of a Z06 covertible...but i would rather take a plain convertible vette (2008... more » | Other threads

  • custom cars

    More Photos: Maserati GS Zagato at Villa d'Este

    Zagato's retromodern reskin of the Maserati GranSport Spyder, the Maserati GS Zagato, is getting a once-over by crowds at Italy's Villa d'Este Concorso d'Eleganza this weekend. The car was tailor made for Italian custom-kitchen king Paolo Boffi, a fan of the mad-hot 1954 Maserati A6 G Zagato. Zagato's released new fashion shots of the couture coupe at the Villa, along with early design renderings of the GS. Opinion may be split, but whatever you think of it, we really do need more cars that look like this — not fewer. – Mike Spinelli More »
    04/22/07
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    Comment by Turboner: @jonnylieberman: Harbor Freight has a parking lot? I thought their stuff just gets magically piped from www.harborfreight.co to your... more » | Other threads

  • custom cars

    Flying Coach: The Maserati GS Zagato

    Another year, another italian motorcar reskinned by Zagato. This time, it's been commissioned by Paolo Boffi, Italian custom-kitchen magnate. He's employed the Zagato team to work up his Maserati GS Spyder. The de rigeur historical antecedent is the Maserati A6 G Zagato of 1954, a car whose period sexiness is likely irreproducible. Still, Zagato is giving its best attempt in the GS, which will debut at the Concours d'Elegance Villa d'Este next week. Will it capture the original magic, or wind up looking like a slick appliance in a Milanese loft building? Stay tuned. – Mike Spinelli More »
    04/16/07
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    Comment by lascauxcaveman: No pictures of the front end? Is this the automotive equivalent of the hot chick who only remains a... more » | Other threads

  • custom cars

    Custom Concordamino? The DiMora JX Coupe

    It started out as a 1999 Chrysler Concorde LXi, which was presumably minding its own business. But the guys at DiMora Designs, part of a larger coachworks company, lured the the four-door, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger family sedan into their machinists's lair and had their way with it. The result is the JX Coupe, a two-passenger, El Camino-like glossmobile with a covered bed and a 260-hp, 3.2 liter V6 built by ATK. They fused the rear passenger doors permanently to the body and chopped the factory roof so the rear glass assembly would fit. But don't bother asking the price. The company's only built this one as a show car. But if you ask nicely and wave your checkbook over your head in an attempt at semafore, maybe they'll build one just for you. – Mike Spinelli More »
    03/22/07
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    Comment by concorde_lover: Well, what it really needs, is a big 'whale' tail on the back. ******** For the love of god, take off the... more » | Other threads

  • custom cars

    Geneva Showcase: EDAG LUV

    Egad! Ok, that's the last time we use that joke in a post about German engineering and design firm EDAG, and only because it was a request. But the Mercedes GL-based LUV the company's devised is no laughing matter. It takes itself very seriously, what with Brabus-tuned motor and more teak than in a thousand Scandinavian-designed bookshelves owned by bachelors named D rk. The teak is a reference to expensive yachts, which informed the coachbuilt truck's design theme. A Honda Ridgeline appears to have been involved in some capacity as well. – Mike Spinelli More »
    03/07/07
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    Comment by weatherman: In profile there's something very familiar about it - almost Bentley-like. Arnagamino? more » | Other threads

  • custom cars

    Geneva Pre-Show: More on Zagato's Diatto Ottovu Project

    Zagato let fly with a new set of images of its Diatto Ottovu project, a commemorative plate vehicle signifying 100 years of the Diatto marque. That company was once the builder of royal transport and proto track-day rides. Zagato plans to show off its tribute at the Geneva motor show next week. We'll see how it stands up next to the Fiorvanti Thalia. – Mike Spinelli More »
    02/26/07
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    Comment by my favorite car is a motorcycle: I like it. It's exactly what a gran turismo should be. Smooth, curvaceous, poised. I don't exactly know how... more » | Other threads

  • custom cars: hot rods

    My Ferrari! My Jaguar! My Corvette! My Anteros! Coachbuilt Roadster, Targa Coupe Coming to SEMA

    Building slinky sports cars over Corvette running gear is only a new concept if your idea of state-of-the-art couture is wearing pastel shirts under white linen suits. Any gearhead worth his obsession remembers the early seasons of "Miami Vice" were marked by the presence of a faux Ferrari Daytona body atop a C3 platform. Now, coachworks Anteros Marketing is introducing three new models based on the Corvette C6 (or Z06): the XTM Roadster, XTS Targa and XTR Hardtop. The three cars, versions of a body design recalling Brits and Italians in equal measure, feature carbon fiber engine covers, inner fenders, electric bonnet, and a custom leather interior. Anteros's charter is to recreate and interpret classic sportscar coachbuilding, and it would appear they're doing so — by way of late-1970s kit cars (not that there's anything wrong with that). [Gallery] – Mike Spinelli More »
    10/16/06
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    Comment by rejected360: looks like a aster martin db9 to me. no matter what its gonna be ugly as shit more » | Other threads

  • custom cars/hot rods

    Another Ferrari Ferrari Didn't Build: The Vandenbrink GTO

    The trend toward coachbuilding houses ripping Ferrari product apart and rebuilding them to different spec continues, largely unabated. Well, it will, once Vandenbrink Design of the Netherlands renders their GTO design study in sheetmetal. The company, started by an automotive designer and an entrepreneur who's worked in aerospace engineering, plans to court potential customers who aren't satisfied with the looks of their 599GTB, then have Dutch coachbuilding house Hietbrink do the grunt work. Now all they need is a billionaire with a 599GTB to spare. Who wants to be first? More »
    09/25/06
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    Comment by TheGuinnessTooth: EEEWWWW!!! more » | Other threads

  • custom cars: hot rods

    Tailfin Magic: The Antas V8

    Our beaux fr res over at Le Blog Auto offer up this distinctive machine built by Italian restoration house Faralli & Mazzanti. It's the Antas V8, a design study that shows what might happen if a team of designers from Panoz and Morgan stared too deeply at a Tatra T87 after inhailing an eighth of 150-proof grappa. The V8-powered prototype will make its public debut at the Top Marques event in Monaco this week, where it'll be drooled on by tipsy, southern-European viscounts in scarves that cost more than Manhattan real estate. Tres gauche! More »
    04/19/06
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    Comment by FutureCarDesigner: This is a love it or hate it car. Just like the car it seems to be based on. The... more » | Other threads

  • news

    He Called for His Pipe and Called for His Bowl: The Bufori MKIII La Joya

    The kingly Bufori MKIII La Joya could be the only car that's ever made us want to use the word "festooned" in a descriptive sentence. Outfitted with more burled walnut than a Pall Mall club room, and offered with options like Persian carpets and precious stones embedded in the instrument panel, the Bufori could be one of the most accurate examples of traditional haute riche coachbuilding left on the planet. The two-seat coupe is powered by a rear-mid-mounted 2.7-liter quad-cam V6 (engine geeks, any ideas?) with Tiptronic slushbox, and comes with ABS, nav system and front and rear audio-visual parktronic system. They're even available in the US. Consult the parking lot at the Palm Beach Neiman Marcus for details. More »
    03/09/06
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    Comment by x23: looks like someone Zimmer'd a random compact car. $110K? i don't think so. hmmm... 2.7L V6... all i can think of... more » | Other threads

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