Would you love to buy a brand new Stingray? Soon you will be able to

Many kids (and grown-up men) dream of owning a Corvette Stingray, but there are no new cars to sell. At least until Christian Cyrulewski manages to bring his ideas for a C6-based Stingray to the real world. And the designer has promised to do so next year. If you wonder what his ideas would be like, there is no need to try your imagination out. Here they are:



This gorgeous vehicle is currently under development in order for its body to fit Corvette C6 chassis. The car will be presented at the 2009 Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit, which will happen in August, and, later, it will follow to next year's SEMA Show. According to Cyrulewski, if there is enough interest, his company will start to develop kits. If he manages to make his kits look as good as his renderings, there should be little doubt about it.












Source: C3Retro

Chevrolet Opala is recreated by Brazilian designer

There is a Brazilian vehicle closely related to the old Opel Rekord. In 1968, GM presented Chevrolet Opala, its first vehicle built in Brazil. Forty years later, the car appears again, but not as a real model, but rather as a college conclusion project done by Cauê de Mattos in the 40th anniversary of the car presentation.



According to Mattos, his idea was to bring back the same bounds old cars used to create with their owners. Just to exemplify, he has remembered people that once bought a model, such as an Opel Ascona, and has stuck with it through all the car's life span. He has also seized Opala's 40th anniversary to pay an homage to it, especially to Opala Coupé, created in 1978, since lots of important cars, such as Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger have emerged again. It is a pity Opala will surely not get that chance. As a good rear-wheel drive luxury car, it would not manage to find a place in current GM Brazilian production lines, most of them dedicated to compact or subcompact vehicles.
















Source: Cauê de Mattos

Ronn Motor Company presents Scorpion at SEMA Show

Production will only commence at the beginning of next year, but Ronn Motor Company could not spare the chance to present its new Scorpion in a better stage than Las Vegas, more precisely at SEMA Show. And what makes this car so special is the fact that it will be able to reach speeds of up to 320 km/h in its twin turbo version, HX, with a fuel consumption as low as 17 km/l on the road. In a cleaner way. The answer for this car's miracle is elementary: hydrogen.



Ronn Scorpion is not powered by hydrogen, at least not solely by it. It uses petrol as its main fuel and the company has recently informed the press it will develop a flexible version of the engine, able to use ethanol as well. When these developments have come to an end, Scorpion will be able to run both on petrol or ethanol mixed with hydrogen (up to 50% of this gas). This is why the car can be so powerful and, at the same time, clean.

Hydrogen will not be stored at Scorpion, but rather produced in it. The system, called H2GO, has been created by Hydrorunner and converts water into the gas through electrolysis. Water is stored in Scorpion by a tank with 11,3 l, enough to run for at least 1,600 km with no need of "rewatering".

Surprisingly, its engine is a an Acura V6 3.5-litre engine, the same one used by TL TypeS. In is regular version, it will generate 293 bhp. The car, built with carbon fibre and a lightweight chassi structure, made of chrome-molybdenum, weighs only 950 kg. This version will cost US$ 150,000. The stronger one, HX, will feature twin-turbos (one for each three cylindres) and reach 456 bhp. This baby will cost US$ 100,000 more, or US$ 250,000.

Production in the first year will be of only 200 units. Scorpion reservations, once said to cost US$ 50,000, are at a reasonable US$ 1,000. If the car is well received at SEMA Show, we will have a new, clean and powerful North American supercar to admire.









Source: Ronn Motor Company

Dodge Challenger SRT10 is a Viper disguised in muscle car clothing

Muscle cars have always been strong vehicles with an affordable price, but there always were some there were stronger... and less affordable. Considering the recent generation of muscle cars, one of the most inaccessible surely is Dodge Challenger SRT10. Not only because of its Viper V10 8.4-litre engine, but also because it has been presented as a concept car at SEMA Show. The event will last until November 7 in Las Vegas, USA.



Although it is not unlikely Chrysler may give the car a go in production lines, current economy matters may help the company hold all 608 "horses", or bhp, of the V10 engine, but it would be really nice to know they have reached the streets, even if in a small number of Challenger cars. Torque is as massive as power: 633 Nm at 5,100 rpm.

And why would someone want a Challenger when a Viper is also for sale? That's easy to asnswer. Unless you race every single day to work (or work as a racer), a Viper may not be the right choice, especially if you have to face speed-reducing street obstacles, such as bumps. Going to the supermarket is also you would not do with a Viper. A Challenger SRT10 would be an every-day means to hear that V10 roar when you want, but also to take your kids to school.

Engine is not the only change the donor Challenger SRT8 has faced. It has also had an upgrade on suspensions, with stiffer spring rates at the five-link independent arms at the rear and the multi-link short and long arms in the front suspension. All shock absorbers are from Bilstein.

Brake calipers from Brembo, with six pistons in front (to stop 275/35 R20 tyres) and four in the rear (here, tyres are 275/40 R20), are responsible for holding 390 mm vented rotors in front and 355 mm vented rotors in the back. All the engine power is sent to the rear wheels by a Tremec TR-6060 six-speed manual transmission. Gear ratios are the same ones used for Dodge Viper.

Since some of the ideas presented at SEMA manage to find a way into the real world, this car is one we hope to have the same fate, even if Chrysler decides to sell Viper as a separate brand or if GM buys Chrysler. This would be the classic muscle car for the future, if not a classic right away.















Source: Chrysler