Steinmetz Opel GT - The Opel GT just got sexier

German tuner Steinmetz who specializes with Opel cars has set its sites on the new Opel GT with a subtle yet noticeable front end styling package consisting of a honeycomb front grille and two piece front bumper enhancements. No changes for the rear of the car except for a new exhaust which replaces the form fitting trapezoidal exhaust tips to a more traditional dual tailpipes. The car's overall height is lowered by 20mm and there's a choice of three Steinmetz wheels in 18, 19 and 20 inch which is available for this car. The Steinmetz Opel GT made its debut at the Essen Motorshow.

Abt Sportsline AS5 has the looks and performance to match

This is the Abt Sportsline AS5, a car designed to appear as powerful while delivering on the promises of performance its confident styling commits to. The new AS5 was exhibited at the Essen Motor Show in Germany at the Abt stand.

In achieving the balance between elegance and sportiness, while retaining the Audi Coupe's refined character, the AS5 sports a modest Abt body kit with somewhat more extravagant two-toned body panels. Abt Sportsline describes the car's style as that of beauty and uniqueness.

And so with a subtly aggressive front skirt highlighting the front fog lights and Audi grille as well as striking side features, fenders and air inlets, there is little point in arguing. At the rear, a new Abt skirt harmonizes with new 4-pipe exhausts and rear spoiler. Abt recommend complementing new 20-inch alloy wheels with an imposing five-spoke design that creates an illusion of movement at standstill.

But the understated design does not transfer to that of understated performance, with the Essen-exhibited Abt AS5 delivering a powerful 300 hp 3.0 TDI model to visitors of the show.

Abt AS4 sets class benchmarks

The new Audi A4 is the definitive vehicle of the mid-sized sedan market and with Abt Sportsline engineers having refined the new model further. The result is an expressively-designed and exceptionally-engineered vehicle signaling a true victor of the class.

The Abt AS4 is styled to personify strength and agility without losing the A4's sense of elegance and is much a smooth cruiser as the Audi production model it is based on giving a sportier experience and more agile ride into the car. These strengths are primarily accentuated through a new bodykit. Marked new front skirts, highlighting the car's headlamps, flow into new side wings and through to the dynamic rear end, finished off by a new rear spoiler and the addition of quad exhausts neatly-integrated into a new rear skirt.

Starting with a host of enhanced power available from the newA4 range, Abt Sportsline engineers had a superb base on which to build. With the A4's new turbocharged 1.8-litre TFSI unit, Abt Power boosted output from 160 to 200 PS with 310 Nm of torque now available on tap. With the optional Abt Power S upgrade, output from the 1.8 TFSI increases to 240 PS. It is a similar scene across the line-up. An Abt Power kit increases output from 143 PS on the production model 2.0 TDI to 170 PS and 200 PS with Abt Power S. From the 2.7 TDI comes power of 19C PS and 230 PS from the two respective power kits, while the 3.0 TDI generates 300 PS from the Abt Power S upgrade.

A tuned suspension by Abt provides the car with an agile response and excellent road-holding ability at every corner, while specially-developed Abt and Abt Sports brakes enable powerful braking responses. A range of 18", 19" and 20" Abt sports alloys complement the AS4.

Abt tunes the Audi R8... A very cool car indeed!

Abt Sportsline finally displayed their re-worked Audi R8 sports car at the Essen Motorshow. Called the Abt R8, the car features a number of modifications both over the production vehicle and the preview illustrations shown earlier this year. Boasting a drivetrain aimed at inducing faster heartbeats and design elements evoking a sense of dynamism even when standing still, this R8 is a sports car that brings the magic of speed onto the road even when standing still.

No doubt, even the basis model of the R8 is something special and therefore a real challenge, emphasizes Hans-Jurgen Abt. "The fluently dynamic form of the car is unique, it looks like it has lots of power, even when standing still," admits the managing director and therewith he raises the bar for his engineers and designers. As it is usual for Abt, the result is quite respectable and can be driven with fascination.

Producing no less than what Abt describe as an automotive marvel of engineering and design, the Abt R8 features a carbon-fiber dominated body kit consisting of front, side and rear skirts, rear wing and two-piece side blades. Since the release of their orange R8 illustrations, a major styling revision is the change from horizontal to vertical slats positioned on the front side air intakes. With regard to technical aspect, the Abt R8 has undergone fine-tuning to suspension upgrades for improved road holding, featuring Abt springs and a lower stance while an Abt sports brake system with discs of 380 mm diameter sets new standards in braking response. Previous talk of a 530 hp Abt supercharged 4.2-litre V8 has disappeared from the specifications with nothing as yet mentioned in the press release. Based on reports, a top speed of 317 km/h and 0-100 km/h acceleration in 3.9 seconds is achievable.

Two new equipment versions will be available for the Abt R8 called 'Extravagant' and 'Exclusive adding new options such as lighter body panels to further customize the R8.

Skoda Fabia Sport - The sporty one in the family

Skoda has unveiled a new addition to its Fabia line-up, the Sport. It will sit atop the supermini range alongside the current Fabia 3 flagship. The Sport represents excellent value for money coupled with a more aggressive, purposeful look.

This new stance is achieved thanks to a deeper, more sculpted front spoiler, 16-inch alloy wheels, boot spoiler, a chrome exhaust pipe and rear diffuser. Buyers will also find lots of extra kit including curtain airbags, sunset glass, sports seats, front fog lights and a three-spoke leather sports steering wheel.

The Sport is available for the 1.2 12V (70bhp) and 1.6 16V (105bhp) petrol version while there's also the diesel version for the 1.4 TDI (80bhp) and the larger 1.9TDI (105bhp).

The first deliveries are expected at the end of January 2008 in UK. Thereafter, the Fabia Sport will do battle with the likes of the Ford Fiesta Zetec S and Vauxhall's Corsa SXi.

A sportier Chevrolet Captiva

Chevrolet has announced the Chevrolet Captiva Sport edition of the SUV. The Chevrolet Captiva Sport is powered by either a common-rail 2.0 turbo diesel engine or a V6 engine that develops 169 hp.

The exterior styling of the Chevrolet Captiva Sport Matures a boot lid in body color, new 18" wheels, dark headlights and "smoked" rear lights. The Chevrolet Captiva Sport also comes equipped with a new exhaust tips, a revised front bumper fascia, a Chaos Black bumper and side molding finish and a Light Silver finish on rings around fog lights, door handles and roof rails.
The interior of the Chevrolet Captiva Sport features red and black leather with red stitching and Black carbon interior accents.

Since its launch in 2006, 43,000 Europeans have already bought the Chevrolet Captiva making it officially a successful vehicle by them.

Fiat Grande Punto Abarth SS, the hottest Punto yet

The Fiat Grande Punto Abarth SS Concept was shown to the world for the first time at the previous Frankfurt Motor Show. After that the production version of this Super Sport kit will made its official debut a little closer to home at the Bologna Motor Show and will be made available to the public early 2008.

The SS kit can only be installed by Assetto Derso preparation centers only on either the new Grande Punto Abarth's or models less than one year old with under 20,000 km on the meter. What you get is twice the amount of power, 180 hp compared to the Fiat's non-Abarth'ed Grande Punto. This is in line with historic models like the 13 hp 1958 500 and thr 26 hp Abarth version.

Besides the power increase, the SS package also comes with stiffer and lower-slung springs, 18 inch alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero 215/40 18 inch wheels, ventilated brakes front and rear and high performance front brake pads SS stickers and a checkered roof decal.

Voted in France as 'Sport Model of the Year', the Renault Megane F1 Team R26

French motor sport magazine Echappement has singled out Megane F1 Team R26 as the winner of its much-coveted Sportive de I'annee (Sports Model of the Year) award. It is the fifth time that Renault has lifted this highly prized accolade. Previous winners were the Renault 5 GT Turbo in 1985, Clio 16S in 1991, the Spider Renault Sport in 1996 and Clio Renault Sport in 2000. Renault is now the carmaker which has won the highest number of Sports Model of the Year titles since Echappement introduced the award in 1982.

Developed by Renault Sport Technologies, Megane F1 Team R26 is the sportiest member of the Megane Renault Sport family. The 10 short-listed vehicles were tried out on stages used during this year's Rallye du Limousin in the west of France and then round the Mas du Clos circuit in the central French department of La Creuse. During the test drives, the panel of judges assessed the performance of the would-be sports models of the year. Rally driver Bryan Bouffier also took part, bringing his expertise to bear and pushing the cars to the limit.

When voting was over, Megane F1 Team R26 totaled 83 points, ahead of the Peugeot 207 RC which had 72 and the BMW M3 (69). Clio F1 Team R27 was rated a very honorable fifth, ahead of much more powerful vehicles.

Lamborghini Reventon vs. Tornado!

The Ghedi military airport in Brescia Italy was the setting for an extraordinary acceleration race between a Tornado A200-A aircraft provided by the airbase and the Lamborghini Reventon driven by an official Lamborghini test driver.

The Ghedi military base was chosen as the venue at which to present the Lamborghini super car to international TV networks. The ideal environment in which to emphasize the Reventon's aeronautic styling, the airbase was made available to Lamborghini by General Carlo Landi of the Fifth Department of the Stato Maggiore dell A.M and Colonel Aurelio of the Sixth Formation.

The Reventon's design was created entirely by the Centra Stile Lamborghini and perfected down to the finest detail in close collaboration with Lamborghini's R and D management. It drew its inspiration from the world's fastest aircraft in modern aviation. It is from this heritage that the Reventon has drawn its extremely precise, technically impressive style with sharp edges, exact lines and clean surfaces along with b exclusive new matte grey-green exterior color.

There are only 20 Reventon cars available, each with a price tag of 1 million euros plus taxes. All are already sold and will be built and delivered in 2008.

During the run, predictably the Reventon initially took the lead but was then quickly overtaken by the Tornado in the last few meters of the 3000m long runway taking off and flying over the Reventon that was going at a speed of over 340 km/h.

AC Schnitzer makes the BMW M3 even hotter!

When beads of perspiration form on the brow of experienced sports car drivers, it's not necessarily down to a faulty air conditioning system. With the 420 V8-HP of the BMW M3, the ACS3 Sport catapults even its keenest challengers into the rear view mirror. The sporting coupe is ideal for anyone seeking to gain advantage on twisting tracks. A normal M3 would be a tough competitor here, because in comparison with the "civilized" 3-series Coupe it has a totally different axle construction. With racing suspension developed on the legendary Nurburgring, AC Schnitzer has succeeded in refining the handling potential of the chassis even further. And fitted with the Short Shift, the ACS3 Sport becomes the automotive hero of the day: No-one is changing gears faster!

Best of all, the vehicle loses nothing of its qualities as a daily driver. Instead, AC Schnitzer applies even more M-otion into everyday life, for example when their exhaust system :plays its bewitching baritone in a road tunnel, the left/right system with two tailpipes per side, linked into a horizontal figure of eight is however a visual work of art. In a play on the mathematical symbol for "infinity", at the same time it symbolizes the powerful reserves of the vehicle which reaches 100 km/h from a standing start in an effortless 4.8 seconds.

No less carefully arranged are the aerodynamic attachments, which for AC Schnitzer are always more than mere visual decoration. At the rear, a diffuser of visible carbon presses the car down onto the tarmac as if there were magnets below the road surface. The front spoiler is also made from this high quality material and is supported against the front skirt with alloy struts as in motorsport. Further downforce is provided by a subtle rear roof spoiler and rear wing which also give the body exciting new contours. Side skirt extensions, in particular when combined with the white paint of the photo model, give the profile an aura of stature and dynamism.

Finally the AC Schnitzer racing rims Type VI embody pure culture, on the ACS3 Sport in sizes 9.0J x 20" on the front and 10.5J x 20" on the rear. The combination of Y-spokes and contrasting five fork spokes superimposed in two planes; produces a design that is as exciting as it is elegant.

Further highlights of course include the forged wheel Type V in 20". With its strikingly curved, interrupted spokes, it not only looks superb but thanks to the lightweight construction method, keeps the unsprung weight to a minimum. A no less attractive alternative is the Type IV racing wheel in silver and with trendy black finish as "Magic Black".

And naturally AC Schnitzer continues the theme of sports performance in the driver's workplace, offering attractive and economically perfect aluminum controls for the gearknob, handbrake handle, pedals and i-Drive controller. A carbon interior trim and sports airbag steering wheel are also available on request.