Now here’s a much better idea, a Prius convertible .

Unlike a lot of gearheads, I don’t hold a grudge against the Toyota Prius. It’s a little bland and utilitarian for my tastes, but I do like the idea of using less gas, and the few times I’ve poked under the hood or driven them, the engineering is quite interesting. Overall though, they’re like Corollas with a geeky drivetrain.

I think that one of the main problems with a lot of the new, greener cars that are out there (and a lot of green efforts for this or that problem) is how they are marketed. They’re sold to you with a strange sense of approbation and duty, they way your mother or 2nd grade teacher would get you to ingest some God-awful medicine because “it’s good for you.” Now how many cars are you going to sell that way? Sure, maybe to hair-shirts like Ed Begley et al, but if you really want to change things (like lessen green house gasses for example), you’re going to have to come up with a better pitch than, “you can’t have any meat if ya don’t eat your pudding.”

So that’s why I like this Prius convertible: it makes a bland and utilitarian car much more fun.

This one was done as a one off by a Prius Chat forum member to the tune of $46K.

True, that’s a lot, but hey, it’s their money, so who am I to quibble … now, if Toyota were to start doing this, and making a hybrid that is more performance oriented, I bet they’d sell.

There’s more photos after the jump.

Continue Reading…

Question: How do you get a Gorilla into a tuxedo? Well you do what Tamer Kekhia and his boys did at Ground Zero Motor Sport in Tigard, Oregon. They started with a small light sports car and stuffed in enough power to send even the most uptight, rigid man into bouts of uncontrolled school girlesque giggling. Tamer, himself being no stranger to the speed thing, started out with some crazy street bikes to get his rushes of adrenaline. He then decided that he wanted that rush on four wheels and thought that the FD3S RX-7 platform would work out for him. Brian Friend, one of the crew at Ground Zero tells me, “Tamer is crazy into bikes, so he wanted a car to run with the big bore bikes.” He goes on to say, “even though the car is pretty light, it’s built for high speed pulls. You know from like 70 to whatever.” Yes please!

Tamer and the team at Ground Zero started with the relatively stock twin turbo 93 RX-7 and quickly got to work turning it into the monster you see here before you. They ditched the original twin turbo 13b and started with a fresh 13b that got some porting work to accommodate some big horsepower. Brian and the guys then fabricated equal length lower intake manifolds as well as the polished aluminum piping that connects the single Garret GT42R ball bearing turbo. The big old Garret is cramming 36 lbs of boost through a Greddy intercooler that then screams the cooled compressed charge into the Wankle producing 676 hp and 466 pounds of torque at the wheels. In a car that weighs less than 3,000 pounds, that’s just plain freaking brutal! The RX-7 uses a Greddy PRofec B boost controller to monitor the bad boy as well as a Turbo Excesses blow off valve to keep all of that boost in check. When you get that much boost blowing into an engine, you will need to ramp up fuel delivery as well so that the engine doesn’t go lean and self-destruct. To handle this task the team contacted Precision Turbo for a pair of their 850 cc primary injectors, and while they were at it, picked up a set of four 1600 cc for the secondaries to really get the Gorilla to roar. All of that spent fuel and boost then howls it’s way through a full four-inch exhaust.

To address the rest of the drive train, the team decided that a stock 5-speed tranny was up to the task of directing all that rage. They went with a single plate clutch from RX-7.com; Tamer reports that it has plenty of clamp to get all that power to the ground. They also taped RX-7.com to supply them with a little more adjustability in the form of a set of their adjustable control arms for the independent rear suspension. To maximize all of that adjustability they went with HKS Hyperman coil overs on all four corners to get the car down on the ground where it belongs. Hotchkis then followed that up with a set of their sway bars to keep the car level when Tamer hammers the car through the twisties.

Knowing the car was going to make that much power and still be able to corner like it was on rails, Tamer knew he would need to put some serious rubber to the ground. To do this the RX got some custom bling from i Forged, a set of Aeros from their Formula Series. He then went ahead and wrapped them with Pirelli P Zero rubber to plant the car in the corners. Continue Reading…

OK, I’m stealing that title from the original source, the always interesting English Russia.

First off, you can read it two ways:

1 - as a question, and

2 - you can read it like Bill and Ted (from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure): “Bill, look at what I did to my Porsche? Ted, that is a most ugly Porsche modification!”

Anyway … my God, what got into these people?

From the front, it looks like the Audi design department got a hold of it right after eating a sheet of blotter acid.

From the back, it looks like the Pontiac Aztek designers got a hold of it right after eating a sheet of blotter acid. (I know, that’s assuming they weren’t lit already).

I know that money doesn’t equal taste, and I also know that The Former Soviet Union is seemingly awash in lots and lots of lucre, but is there an inverse relationship to money and taste?

There could be … look at the way that chimp Donald Trump combs his hair. Continue Reading…

The fine malchiki over at English Russia bring us this little item about a, um, customized Porsche Cayenne.

Indeed, this is the Porsche Cayenne Turbo “Cannabis” Edition constructed by Russian builder GT-A Tuners. Pretty plain Jane on the outside apart from 20″ wheels. Inside and underneath, there’s a bunch of Rinspeed bits, but it’s the interior that you notice (assuming you can focus your eyes long enough to cognate)

It looks like it was customized by The Wailers while waiting for Bob Marley to get done rolling another spliff.

Honestly, what would you say to the cops when you get pulled over? How about “Ow that hurts! Use more lube!” because this thing has “cavity search” written all over it.

Why do the official names of some of these tuned cars have to be so long? Regardless, the BF Performance Murcielago GT 660 is worth the extra keystrokes. This version of the Murcielago comes with an enhanced aerodynamic body kit including a two-piece adjustable front spoiler which significantly increases downforce, a three-part rear diffuser, new side skirts for aesthetic enhancements, and your choice of two spoilers; a racing-type rear spoiler, and a more traditional Lamborghini-style wing.

In addition to the aerodynamic improvements, BF Performance has increased power by 25 horsepower, and added an impressive 25-piece interior carbon fiber kit. They’ve even went to the extent of offering an optional enhanced entertainment package with 15 new components, a more ergonomically superior steering wheel, and wheels anywhere from 19 to 21 inches in diameter. Continue Reading…

Alex Yao has created a masterpiece, and her name is Alyssa. A stock Nissan 350Z is akin to a Yugo in comparison to this beast. I know comparing a 350Z to a Yugo is blasphemy, but when you see what this man has done to his car, you will agree. No, this isn’t a simple turbo upgrade to a mere 380 horsepower; Alex has started with an upgrade from the stock 3.5L V6 to a monster 4.24L GT Motorsports Stroker Kit.

That’s not all. He slapped on two Garrett turbos tuned to 18psi of boost. That combo would be plenty for most people, but not Alex. Along with his other modifications (listed below,) the Nissan 420Z pushes out a total of 760 rwhp and 713 ft-lbs of torque. the list of modifications include a fully custom exhaust, suspension, brakes, and plenty of carbon fiber all around. Continue Reading…