The Bavarian tuner presents innovative concepts for the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante and the new Ford Mondeo

Loder1899 sends two luxury racers to the 2007 Essen Motor Show

For this year´s Essen Motor Show (1.-9.12.2007) the Bavarian Tuner Loder1899 presents the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante and the new Ford Mondeo.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante

The newly created Loder1899 wheel Vertigo Viginti has its debut at the Essen Motor Show. The 20 inch wheel in hyper-alloy look has a fascinating design, and hamonizes perfectly with the luxurious form of the British racer.

Aerodynamic real carbon fiber accessories from one of Germany´s leading tuner Loder1899, embellish the latest Aston Martin. These elegant parts: front-lip, rear diffusor and engine cover are extremely light weight and of the highest quality.

In addition, Loder1899 sport exhaust system includes a stainless steel sport catalytic converter. At 4000 rpm the flap control opens, which allows the engine to breathe out more effectively. Thanks to this optimised exhaust system not only does the sound have more substance, but the power also increases from 385 hp to 425 hp. To finish off the look, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante´s beautiful and dynamic lines are displayed to their fullest by Loder1899´s 35mm lowering kit.

Loder1899 gears up the new Ford Mondeo in a special edition designer outfit
The Ford Mondeo shares the podium at this year´s motor show with the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante. The frost white Ford Mondeo coolly holds its own with a body styling kit made out of real carbon fiber. The discreet front lip and the 35mm lowering kit accentuate the sporty lines of the new Ford bringing it closer to the street. The elegant roof spoiler, the rear skirt and the two branch stainless steel exhaust system (75x105mm), take care of a powerful finish. Rounding off the look nicely is the hand-polished Loder1899 bonnet in a special edition Stainless steel look in a silver, glossy finish.

The wheel/tire combination for the elegant Ford is the 9x20 inch alloy wheel Sins in a shiny, black finish. Alternatively Loder1899 offers the 9x20 inch design wheel W1 in a special edition Polish glam also in a black, glossy finish with polished spokes.

The standard 220 hp Ford Mondeo gains 50 hp, thanks to the up-to-the-minute motor management from Loder1899 and the sport exhaust system.

Loder1899 offers for both vehicles a 4-way adjustable sport suspension system. This enables the driver to adjust vehicle height, gradient, pressure level and strut compression to personal taste and requirements. [Source: Loder1899]

The DUNE Project premieres at the Essen Motor Show 2007

* In less than five seconds from 0 to 100 km/h - no problem for the 499 hp desert racer

The next desert silver bullet is the delta4x4 DUNE PROJECT, based on a Jeep Grand Cherokee. delta4x4 the Bavarian specialist for SUVs maximizes the powerof this striking SUV from 425 hp to 499 hp.

The high performance 4x4 reaches 100 km/h in less than 5 seconds. The harmonic interaction between the specially developed motor-management and a perfectly built sport exhaust system with performance manifold. Combined with the sport cat and modified air feed, add up to even more power gain. The stainless steel exhaust tailpipe completes the jaw-dropping unique look.

Due to the individualized front spoiler (-50 mm), a cool body lift kit (+100 mm) and the custom light wheel Elements IV with 11x23in mounted Continental Cross Contact tires in 305/40 R23, the DUNE PROJECT is allowed to stretch its legs, flex its muscles and demonstrate its athletic skills.

Beautifully intregrated into the front spoiler is the Warn winch, in the unlikey event that this will be needed its good to know you can rely on the best.

delta4x4 presents a brilliant lighting system for its desert racer. The stainless steel roof-rack system and the fender extension contain filigree PIAA main-beam headlights which guarantee absolute visibility on nighttime trips in the dunes.

The DUNE project is covered with a specially painted foil in a hip maroon matt-finish prepared to deal with and protect in extreme conditions.

And the hair! It's as if they made her stick her head of out of the passenger side of an R8 while they did laps around the Nurburgring. "Ja, Deiter, she does not look like she's going fast. Zis is a VeeDub, she must look fast!" But the best part is that facial expression. She hates you and she doesn't care to conceal it anymore. You've spent to many nights out with your friends, drinking Warsteiner and drooling over the fraulines. She's done with you. She's gone. And she's got just the ride to put the most autobahn between you and her. [World Car Fans]

We'll know more when the Essen Motor Show kicks off at the end of this week, but in the meantime feel free to enjoy the uber-white VW. [VW via WorldCarFans]

Most people would be more than satisfied with the fast-as-amphetamines Porsche Carrera GT, which is famous for knife-edge handling and a capacity to test even the best driver. But apparently not everyone is so easily pleased, as Gemballa has now seen fit to strap two turbochargers to the Carrera's engine to create the Mirage GT.

Gemballa isn't known for subtlety, so it should come as no surprise that its range-topping supercar, which comes with a set of Gemballa plates, should be more than enough to satisfy the most ardent adrenaline junkie.

They could have wound it up to 1000 hp, easily, but that would have just been stupid, so they've reined it in to a more politically correct 750 hp, which should keep that expensive 5.7-litre V10 from melting all over the tarmac. The biggest, thickest set of Brembo ceramic discs put the anchors on, but even they'll struggle with a top-end speed of 250mph+ and a car that can scorch to 60mph in 3.4s.

Ruf came along to the party, too, with its brand new RGT based on the 997 GT3. Alois Ruf, arguably the most famous Porsche tuner of the lot thanks to canny PR, fantastic cars and its position in the Gran Turismo games, has produced a masterpiece based on the 1973 Carrera RS.

Bolt-on wheel arches, five huge air dams that leave little room for a front spoiler and a motorsport-style, single-plane rear wing all add to the appearance. A full rollcage clothed in Alcantara, new rear subframe and in-house suspension system make sure it handles the twisty bits as well as the straight-line assault.

The Pfaffenhausen company has pulled 445bhp and 309lb/ft of torque from a 3.8-liter engine rebuilt with hefty amounts of titanium and this little silver number with Viper stripes will hit 60mph in 4.2s, 125mph in 13.5s and on all the way to 197mph.

For those looking for the alternative to the GT3RS, this might just be the one.

AC Schnitzer brought the ACS3 to Essen, too, the 265bhp version based on the three-liter diesel variant. There will be a 335i version in the near future with lots more power, but for now this will have to suffice. The cosmetic kit was more than appealing, though, and this should sell like warm buns when the hotter cars hit the market.

Far more impressive was the production version of the Schnitzer Tension, which spawned from the near ridiculous concept launched last year. Only 50 will see the light of the day and the base car can be anything from a relatively limp-wristed 630i right through to the almighty M6, so there'll be a fair variety in there.

And for those with the small engines Schnitzer will undoubtedly offer its 5.1-liter V8 with 411 hp that works with an automatic transmission — if you're that way inclined. Now you have to wonder who would really want their 6-Series looking like this and that deep front spoiler with the monumental air intakes give it a certain buck-toothed look. I predict major sales in the Russia and the Middle East.

Hartge had the same problem as Schnitzer with the lack of a 335i engine, but they didn't give up so easy and built one themselves with the block of an M, the head of a 3-liter and a biturbo kit. If it sounds like grief, it was, considering all it would have taken was BMW being a bit sharper with the supplies of the transplant engine. But then again it looks more than worth it.

This car comes with 380 hp, a new suspension system, a 0-99 percent LSD that Hartge has become famous for, which allows for monumental powerslides through every bend without throwing this $100,000 weapon into the weeds. Hartge's ability to produce stunningly chuckable cars with even better weight distribution than Bavaria's that rarely actually possess the much boasted about 50:50 weight distribution.

It weighs less than the Z4M Coupe, at 3,075 lbs, looks tougher, comes with copious amounts of torque, and so should be faster throughout the range and through the bends. The 0-60mph time of 4.8s is exciting enough, but the top-end speed of almost 180 mph should leave fun to spare.

Eibach pitched up with a fine interpretation of the Aston Martin AMV8 that has 435bhp at its disposal, despite the rather misleading name of AMV8 400+. That will spirit this car to 60mph in 4.7s and with Prodrive's help on the ride and handling this car should prove a major improvement on the baby Aston when it comes to sticking to the apex. It looks the part, too, with a new aero kit, huge new wheels and a roughed-up aero kit decked out in carbon-fiber and an interior decked out with a much slicker center console.

There were plenty more, some good and some, like the Gulf Racing-liveried GeigerCars Humvee and Sbarro's pink Ferrari 360-based creation, were atrocities against the automotive world. But it was mighty good fun, and there's some enticing beasts to drive in the coming months. – Nick Hall

Related:
Car Hack's Notebook: Covering the Essen Show, Day Two [internal]

Volkswagen Audi Group can feel a bit slighted not to be the first port of call on the Essen show, but even a four-wheel drive, 300 hp battle wagon can't make a huge impression in this company. Still, the Passat R36 is a serious piece of kit in its own right, and should be an enticing alternative for those who want the performance but not the price premium that goes with Audi S4 ownership. It's a near-perfect Q car, especially in Touring form. Only the deep airdams, dinner-plate brake discs and mildly revised aero kit give away the violence held within. There are faster cars in the world, but no faster VW, this one will hit 60mph in 5.6s and go on to the standard 155mph top end.

Audi bought the 3.2-litre TT Roadster, as well as taking the R8 on its world tour, and a second look at the most eagerly anticipated supercar for many a year reveals an "unresolved" front end, as the clever mags like to call it.

It would have only taken carbon-fiber swords, optional extras on the rest of the lineup, to turn the R8 into a butch monster. The cheap matte-black numbers under those evil daytime running lights ruin the entire face of the car, though. It's like a beautiful girl with a thick mustache — you can't help staring at this massive flaw. If you've ordered one, please take note.

Annoyingly for Audi, the Abt TT-R next door looked an even more radical achievement, with duel-fuel and 355bhp — and that's not bad. There are no electric motors here, it's a combined petrol and LP-gas unit that falls under Abt's rather glamorous sounding iF-technology. This increases its range by up to 250 miles, apparently, and Abt claims no discernible difference in performance between the modes.

As well as the carbon-fiber bonnet, bodykit and interior trim that tip the relatively androgynous new TT shape into pure masculinity. No longer is the TT a "girl's car," especially with the vicious supercharger kit installed that should push the chassis to the limits of its almighty potential. The new 0-60mph time of 5.1s is far from shabby, too.

Back in the tuned throng, Mansory's on a mission to offend with a Continental GT Widebody so garish in full black-and-orange people actually plucked out their eyes to avoid staring in the face of pure evil. Actually they didn't, they just left in a bewildered, confused state.

But before dismissing it as dog vomit on wheels, check out the lines. If the car was all black, it would look pretty damned fine. The deep front spoiler, wild extended flanks and that rear wing provide a level of muscularity that would make the folks at Crewe a little hot under the collar. And the power hike will do the same to the driver, as Mansory's tinkering under the bonnet produces more than 630bhp of projectile force that helps the GT storm to 60mph in 4.5s and all the way up to 203mph. – Nick Hall

Related:
Car Hack's Notebook: Reporting on Porsches from the Essen Show [internal]

At a show where pure lunacy struggles to get through the door, it was always going to be tough to pick out a star, but that's the job and ignoring the more obvious option here it is: The Mission 400 Plus. Now why this modified Porsche above the countless others that littered the show? Well how's about the basic figures of 1,069 hp and 921 lb-ft of torque achieved with the delicate act of strapping two dirty great turbos to the 3.8-liter 997 engine for a start?

The 997 Carrera S's aerodynamics have been totally revised with a new roof, shallow-raked screen and smoothed just about everything. It works in the wind-tunnel, but that is all for now and the men behind the project were surprisingly candid when they admitted the road testing will be a whole new world and there's no guarantee that it will work at all.

J rgen Alzen Motorsport is responsible, though, and they know a thing or two about Porsche tuning, racing and everything that goes with it. I would be willing to break the journalistic bank and lay five bucks on this machine hitting Nardo or even Bonneville Salt Flats like a whirlwind at some point and both are already being considered for the run that 9ff has already proven can be done. So has this group, as attested to by the 216 mph, 600bhp+ Audi A4 sitting next to the Mission 400 Plus.

If they can make it work, and keep it on the road long enough to break the magic 400 km/h mark, then the Bugatti Veyron had better watch its back, literally, as this is lighter, cheaper and infinitely more fun. There's that sneaking suspicion it will take the bends about as well as a fast-surfacing scuba diver, but who really cares when a car is this insanely fast.

Cargraphic's 4-liter GT3 RSC, meanwhile, is all ready to go. Resplendent in wasp-style warning colors, this lightweight leviathan is sure to continue the company's near violent reputation when it comes to high performance through natural aspiration. This is a company that produced a 420 hp car that held station with 650 hp GT2s at the recent Tuner Grand Prix. And the 997 variant should be even better.

So with a refined aerodynamics kit, new suspension, lightweight wheels and a dollop of extra horsepower, the company should have a hit on its hands and rivals will not be happy when this car comes to defend the 996's crown at subsequent Tuner Grands Prix at Hockenheim.

Michael and Thomas Schnarr have mastered the GT3 like no other and have learned to bring out its natural character with flashes of color rather than the broad strokes of the brush some tuners just cannot resist — sometimes to the detriment of the end product.

I would include TechArt in that list, but then the truly mad TechArt Widebody kind of makes up for anything that happened before. This is the Leonberg firm's second crack at the mid-engined instant classic after the Cayman GT that won serious praise from some serious places. This one is 8mm wider for improved cooling and aero work, and will be a better car. So forget the fact that it's only marginally more subtle than Russian-bound Sushi, it's going to be almighty.

TechArt's engineers felt the need to fit a 3.8-liter powerplant from the Carrera S and then still weren't happy, so they bored it out some more. The new capacity of 3.843 litres is still some way short of 9ff's 4.1-liter monster, but then this may just be a useable every day road car, if you can handle the attention.

If not, just floor it, as this beast will get to 62mph in less than 3.5s and roar through the gears, although Porsche's gearing means it simply will not go faster than 190mph in any tuners' hands, for now anyway. The Cayman is not about eye-blistering terminal velocities, though, it's all down to the cornering. With the inevitable slip diff that comes with that much power and fully adjustable suspension, TechArt may finally have unlocked the true potential of this gem from Zuffenhausen.

And you can't see what it looks like from the inside anyway... – Nick Hall

Motorsports engineering house Prodrive has turned some of its Aston Martin competitive-tuning knowledge on the general public. Developed by way of partnership with the Aston Martin Racing team, the company's tweakage boosts the V8 Vantage's power source from 380 hp to 425 hp, with torque increased from 302 lb-ft to 325 lb-ft. Other kit includes a driver-adjustable suspension comprised of Bilstein and Eibach gear — with normal and sports mode — modified exhaust (with noisy and "don't wake the baby" modes), an aero kit that reduces lift by 45 percent and forged wheels mimicking those of the Prodrive-built DBR9 racer. A fully-kitted show car is on display at the Essen show this week for tuner freaks who find themselves in North Rhine-Westphalia with nothing better to do. – Mike Spinelli

Related:
Aston Martin Reveals Rally GT Vantage [internal]

Our chap about town, Nick Hall, is hanging around Germany's Essen tuner show (like the US's SEMA), attending to the ladies vehicles on display. While he's there, he'll likely come across Cobra's N+ program as applied to the Nissan Qashqai, the company's new compact SUV currently only available in Europe. The package includes cosmetics like chromed and stainless-steel body components, sport muffler, 18" wheels and interior jewelry. All that stuff gives the ropy ute a bit more heft. We'll get more from Essen tomorrow, after Hall gets off the PR ladies floor and files his first report. – Mike Spinelli

Press Release:

World Premi re at the ESSEN-MOTOR-SHOW 2006

Exclusive COBRA N+ Accessories for the Nissan Qashquai

COBRA N+ offers attractive high-gloss stainless-steel body components for the Nissan. The bumper chrome styling with two 15 millimeter strong apron tubes give the look of the standard front bumper an exclusive touch. In addition the standard grid on the front bumper gets replaced by a chromed COBRA N+ stainless steel bumper grille.

The innovative look for the five-door car is rounded out with the side chrome styling, which is fixed on the side panels, and the chrome molding for the tailgate.

The COBRA N+ sport rear muffler for the Nissan Qashquai offers a more powerful engine sound plus refined looks with its two chrome tailpipes. Best of all, the muffler offers exceptional quality thanks to it being manufactured from stainless steel.

The COBRA N+ program also offers custom-tailored tire/wheel combinations in 17- and 18-inch diameter. The largest possible version is the COBRA N+ CN12 wheel in size 8Jx18.

In the interior the COBRA N+ product lineup adds individual highlights with aluminum foot pedals, various versions of shift knobs and stainless-steel sill plates with illuminated COBRA N+ logo.

A two-year warranty with unlimited kilometers bears witness to the exceptional quality of all Cobra Technology & Lifestyle accessories.

Related:
Nissan Qashqai Revealed [internal]