800hp electric Bugatti?

According to certain sources, Bugatti, the luxury supercarmaker is planning to do something similar to that of sister company Audi with the E-tron. But being Bugatti and having the Veyron to live up to, they need to maintain that excessive amount of horsepower from the powertrain. Thus the power unit they’re looking at is somewhere in the range of 800 horses. Engineers will get some help from the VW Group’s repertoire of electric drive train units.

The car is supposed to have already been built but there are no plans yet to put it into production. It has also been said that the reason that the car has been built is only to showcase the technology, and hopefully will allow engineers to explore the possibilities of production of similar units.

The prototype is supposedly based on the chassis of a Bentley Continental GT and produces an amazing yet typical of an electric motor 2,200Nm of torque from just 0rpm. All this is produced from just two electric motors powered by an advanced lithium-ion battery.

As you can imagine acceleration of an electric car is already incredible, but the problem that the company seems to be facing is the discharge of the battery power after a simple bout of power. You might just have to tow the car back after hitting top speed once!

This wont be the first electric model that Bugatti has produced. Founder Ettore Bugatti built an electric Type 56 that he used to drive around his factory. Never intended for production, due to customer demand Ettore built it anyway. It would be good to see an electric hypercar in production, and hopefully by putting the word out there demand would grow among the insanely rich.

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Ferrari 612 Scaglietti by Novitec Rosso

The 612 Scaglietti is not a very popular member of the Ferrari family. More often than not, the big grand tourer is eclipsed by its prettier, sexier and nimbler sisters. Those shopping for a Ferrari are also likely to already have a “family car”. But famous Ferrari tuner hasn’t forgotten the 612, and has released a tuning package for the successor of the 456.

The 5.8-litre V12 engine gets a horsepower bump to 565 bhp from 530 bhp. Torque has increased to 609 Nm from 588 Nm. These new figures are achieved with the help of a “specially calibrated engine management system” along with Novitec’s high performance exhaust system. This means the Scaglietti’s 0 to 100 km/h time is down to just 3.9 seconds and top speed is 325 km/h.

Other additions include a new taillight design and a new tyre/wheel combination – 275/30 ZR 20 up front and 355/25 R 21 rears. Inside, one can customise the seats to their heart’s content. Leather seats can be custom tailored to body measurements and even the addition of lateral support and lowered seat positions for tall drivers can be done. Customers can go as far as choosing the thickness and material of their steering wheel. Like many supercars today, the steering will be flat-bottomed.

Novitec Rosso has an authorised dealer in Malaysia, Iktikad Raya Sdn Bhd, which brought in the Novitec tuned F430. We’re sure they’ll be happy to specially import one of these in for you.

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New Zealand's first SuperCar.

You are looking at the first Kiwi supercar, and the four-year old company is named after New Zealand’s only F1 World Champion, Denny Hulme. The Hulme CanAm is no ordinary supercar, because it comes with an experience unlike any other.


But first, you should know what you will be getting from your £295,000 purchase. Potential customers can express their interest with a £10,000 fully refundable deposit. This deposit will then be held in a trust account “pending a private viewing and driving experience of the car at or before the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed for those who have purchased an option to order,” said Jock Freemantle, managing director of the Auckland based firm.

When you have confirmed interest in the product (and have paid up in full I imagine), you will then be treated to a host of luxuries. Firstly, each of the 20 limited run CanAms will be customised according customer requests. They will then be flown down to New Zealand via Air New Zealand’s Business Premier along with one week of luxury accommodation, where driver fitting, the finishing touches and road testing will commence. The car is then shipped off to the destination of choice. This “free holiday” makes the purchase price a little more palatable.

The CanAm gets a 7.0-litre Chevrolet LS7 V8 which develops 600 bhp along with 600 Nm of torque channelled through a close ratio, six-speed CIMA manual gearbox. Paddle and sequential gearboxes are options.

Hulme says that the CanAm does 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds, which is helped on by the fact that the car weighs under 1,000kg. Top speed is in excess of 320 km/h.

“Created for both road and track use, the car blends the raw flavour and appeal of a Formula racing car with dramatic design, superb craftsmanship, exceptional performance and a thrilling and achievable driving experience,” Hulme explains.

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Cayenne: From Russia with love.

Old or new, we’ve never been big fans of the Cayenne’s looks. Now, look what Topcar has done to the second-gen yet to be launched Cayenne. The Russian tuning firm has developed three different styling packages for the super SUV. Each model gets a 200 horsepower boost from 550 to 750 bhp and will sit on forged wheels. Other standard offerings include new side mirrors and added LED lighting.

The first of the three packages is the Cayenne Advantage 2, which has Porsche 911 headlights and includes front and rear spoiler bumpers, extended fenders, side skirts, wide door caps and a new bonnet. Only 25 of these cars will be specially built. What do you think of those classic oval headlamps on the Cayenne?

Another limited edition package would be the Vantage GTR 2 which retains the original headlights but comes with wider intakes as part of a new front bumper, front and rear fender extenders, a bonnet and side skirts which gives is said to give the “bird of prey” look. Finally, the Cayenne Vantage 2, which is almost similar but not limited edition.

The upside to Topcar’s packages are that all of the body panels will be fully manufactured from carbon kevlar and carbon fibre, a combo that’s strong and light. The cars will be showcased at the Moscow International Motor Show in August and later at the Essen Motor Show.

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Honda FN type R gets supercharged.

The Honda Civic Type R, whether in JDM or Euro spec, is famous for its howling, rev hungry i-VTEC engine, which makes trips to the redline so addictive. But when faced with turbocharged Euro hot hatches, the Honda driver will need a lot of hard work and commitment to keep pace due to the relative lack of grunt. Forced induction might be the answer, as suggested by Torque Developments (TD).

The tuning house developed three levels of supercharger upgrades for the 197 bhp 2.0-litre K20AZ3 i-VTEC engine that powers the European Civic Type R hatchback. The conversions are based on a proven package produced in the US by CT Engineering, which has required revisions for right hand drive installation, plus the reworking of major components to ensure optimum fit and performance.

The Stage One supercharger was designed to work with the stock air intake and exhaust system, and is a straightforward bolt-on “Roots-style” kit that requires no modifications to engine. This low pressure (4-5 PSI) unit includes a Hondata ECU reflash to optimise ignition and fuel settings plus a carbon fibre fuel rail cover.

Meant to provide “linear boost”, Stage One adds a healthy 75 bhp (to 272 bhp) and bumps torque from 193 Nm to 258 Nm. Weak low end pull is one of the CTR’s weak points; with 90% of max torque available from 3,500 rpm things should be much improved. It costs £4911.50 in the UK, and comes with a 12-month/50,000 km warranty.

Stage Two builds on the above, with the addition of a smaller supercharger pulley to increase boost pressure by a further 3 PSI, larger fuel injectors and extra Hondata ECU remapping, which raises the FN’s rev limit to 8,500 rpm. In addition, a choice of Mugen, Toda Racing or HKS induction kit is “advised” for better performance. Adding 95 bhp (to make 292 bhp) and 85 Nm (to 278 Nm), this kit costs £5955.75.

Stage Three is the same as Two, but with an even smaller pulley for an additional 1 PSI. This ultimate CTR provides 302 bhp and 285-292 Nm of torque to play with. Now that the Honda’s front wheels need to handle significantly more grunt, TD suggests some parts to “retain the cohesive nature of the driving experience”. Cost options include a Wavetrac LSD, Fast Road suspension geometry set up, lowering springs, adjustable coilover suspension and exhaust systems from Toda or Mugen.

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Avus Performance RS4 to rival M3.

There may be no RS badged variant for the current B8 Audi A4, but German tuner Avus Performance has come up with a tweaked S4 that provides RS4 levels of performance to challenge the BMW M3.

In standard form, the S4 is no slouch with a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 engine that makes 333 bhp and 440 Nm of torque. Clearly not enough for Avus, they threw in a series of upgrades that included a custom exhaust system. The end result is 420 bhp and 540 Nm of torque, which compares well with the naturally aspirated M3’s 414 bhp/400 Nm. Avus doesn’t provide performance numbers, but their car should be much faster than the S4’s 0-100 km/h time of 5.1 seconds. Along with the added grunt, Avus added in a new spring kit along with 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped with 255/30 Hankook Ventus S1Evo tyres. Strange rubber choice from a European tuner.

The S4’s looks have been made more aggressive by a new front grille, spoiler, and rear diffuser painted in metallic black. Customers can choose to replace the abovementioned parts with carbon fibre items. Unsurprisingly, the car’s cabin can be specified with carbon trim as well. Gallery after the jump.

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