March 12th, 2010 - 54th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts World of Wheels

March 05th, 2010 - 48th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts World of Wheels

March 05th, 2010 - 35th Annual Parts Plus Autorama

February 26th, 2010 - 48th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts World of Wheels

February 26th, 2010 - 58th Annual O'reilly Auto Parts Autorama

February 19th, 2010 - 50th Anniversary O'Reilly Auto Parts Autorama

February 12th, 2010 - 50th Anniversary O'Reilly Auto Parts World of Wheels

February 12th, 2010 - 51st Annual World of Wheels

January 31st, 2010 - Military Vehicle Show Phoenix

January 30th, 2010 - Military Vehicle Show Phoenix

January 29th, 2010 - 35th Annual O'Reilly AutoParts World of Wheels

January 22nd, 2010 - 49th Annual World of Wheels

January 22nd, 2010 - 40th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts World of Wheels

January 10th, 2010 - 4th Annual Open Car & Truck Show

January 08th, 2010 - 50th Anniversary koi Auto Parts Cavalcade of Customs

January 08th, 2010 - Championship Auto Shows Car Shows

November 26th, 2009 - Championship Auto shows Car shows

November 21st, 2009 - Nickey Chicago Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals Presented by Bill Stasek Chevrolet

November 19th, 2009 - Daddy Katz Thursday Night Kruze — In

November 12th, 2009 - Daddy Katz Thursday Night Kruze — In

Besting Prodrive: Autodelta unveils tuned Alfa Brera S and 159 J4 3.2 Compressore at MPH09

Filed under: Aftermarket, Coupe, Sedan, Performance, Alfa Romeo, UK

Alfa Romeo has proven itself capable of crafting some of the most achingly beautiful automotive works of art on the road today. Unfortunately, their driving dynamics and performance numbers rarely seem to cash the checks written by their sumptuous bodywork. Nowhere is that schism more evident than with the Brera, a fantastically angular design with disappointing dynamics.

That's where aftermarket tuners come in. Over a year ago, Alfa teamed up with Prodrive to create the Brera S. The venerable British house of motorsport tightened up the suspension and steering and yanked out the heavy all-wheel-drive system to bring the sport coupe's drive closer to the aggressive level of its styling. Some evidently felt the result was a good starting point, but that it needed a little more oomph, prompting Autodelta to join the fight with the Brera S 3.2 Compressore.

By bolting a supercharger to the 260-horsepower, 3.2-liter V6 and remapping its ECU, Autodelta - one of the world's foremost Alfa tuners - has coaxed out an impressive 347 stallions. But while removing the all-wheel-drive system helped shave 220 pounds off the Brera's curb weight, the London-based tuning house felt it needed a substitute, so they've fitted a limited-slip differential to handle the extra power. They'll also soften the suspension a touch from Prodrive's hard line at a client's request.

Customers looking for the convenience of a four-door can also get most of the same modifications in the form of the Autodelta J4 3.2 C, based on the 159 sedan. Both models were unveiled in London at MPH09, the live-action auto show where Autodelta exhibits its latest offerings each year. Follow the jump for all the details in the press release and have a stroll through the photos in the high-resolution image gallery below.



[Source: Autodelta]

Continue reading Besting Prodrive: Autodelta unveils tuned Alfa Brera S and 159 J4 3.2 Compressore at MPH09

Besting Prodrive: Autodelta unveils tuned Alfa Brera S and 159 J4 3.2 Compressore at MPH09 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Très Exclusif: French Abarth importer creates special edition Cinquecento

Filed under: Aftermarket, Europe, Hatchback, Fiat

The Fiat 500 Abarth is a pretty sweet little retro rocket all on its own, but the Italian automaker's performance division hasn't stopped churning out a seemingly endless stream of special editions, from the Opening Edition to the 695 Tributo Ferrari. We can now add to that list the 500 Abarth SpeedGrey by Neubauer.

Unlike the Competizione edition made specially for the Dutch market, the SpeedGrey is actually an undertaking of Neubauer, the official Abarth distributor for France. Starting with the up-rated EsseEsse spec, the Neubauer edition gets a special Monza exhaust system for an extra five horses (boosting output up to 165), a pair of Sabelt bucket seats, tinted windows, Blue&Me navigation system and special Maserati gray paint job. Looks pretty sweet, but Neubauer will only be making 10 examples exclusively for the French market, so we'll just have to bide our time until the stock hot hatch arrives Stateside.



[Source: Neubauer]

Très Exclusif: French Abarth importer creates special edition Cinquecento originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEMA 2009 Worst of Show: This car stinks...

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA Show, Sedan, Dodge, Specialty

Stinks. You might think that we're talking about the overall design of this shockingly orange scissor-door/scissor-trunk Dodge Charger R/T. Or the build quality, what with panel gaps that you can insert your index finger into, wheels so large the tie-rods can't hold them and the world's saddest piece of vinyl covering the trunk's goofy hinge. You might even be under the impression that we're referring to the poor Charger's taillights, which set a new SEMA low. But you'd be mistaken. While this poor, 26-inch dubbed Charger has no doubt been beaten to death with the SEMA stick, we're actually talking about its odor. Quite literally, it smells like synthetic cat urine.

The why and the how of this particular example of aftermarket hubris and wretched, mindless - and let's not forget pointless - excess don't really matter now, as the poor thing will spend the next 15 years quietly rotting in the side yard of some shop in Joliet, Illinois waiting to either shrug off this mortal coil or get turned into a fine LeMons car right around 2025 - whichever comes first. Despite the poor design and execution, the pointy end of our query-arrow is pointed straight at the heart of where the offending aroma came from. Did they finish off the interior with a nice shellacking of formaldehyde? Or, is this rough, slouching-towards-Bethlehem beast already sleeping outside, doors scissored up with cats as tenants? Who knows. But it's easily the Worst of Show; a sad, unfortunate offering at an otherwise entertaining and action-packed event.

SEMA 2009 Worst of Show: This car stinks... originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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