Last month, Autoblog’s long-term fleet (AKA our regular drivers) grew by one when we picked up a thoroughly reworked, late-model German sedan. It’s a masterpiece of modern engineering, complete with the amenities our spouses have we’ve grown accustomed to (heated seats) and over $20,000 in modifications to the engine (new turbo, Inconel manifold), suspension (Ohlins) and brakes (Alcons, anyone?).

But there was a problem. It’s coated in our least favorite color: Brilliant Red. Thankfully, ABT Sportsline has an option that doesn’t involve a full re-spray.

The German tuning firm has partnered with the Kempten Company to create a “foil” for the A4, A7 and R8, which coats the Audis in a high-tech synthetic material that matches the weave of carbon fiber. Judging by the images ABT offered, the application of the “foil” is seamless, matching every crease and curve to the T.

While the intent of a faux-carbon fiber wrap for our rides reeks of poseur, we’re seriously considering a matte black treatment for our new purchase. If anyone knows of a firm based in the Bay Area to do the work, drop us a line in the comments. And if you know of anyone in Ohio, maybe we can persuade John to get his Alero coated in olive and black camouflage.

Continue reading ABT wraps Audi R8 and Q7 in carbon fiber-look vinyl, Alero is next

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HUMMER’s presence at this year’s SEMA show will be typified by a trio of tuned H3s, ranging from a mildly modded Alpha to an H3T ready to traverse the desert surrounding Sin City.

The most sedate of the three is the warmed-over H3 X Alpha concept, which features new 18-inch wheels shod in 35-inch all-terrain tires, black chrome trim, body-colored bumper extensions and clear turn signal housings. The exterior is coated in Canyon Metallic, while inside, the leather seats, armrests and shift knob all receive contrasting orange stitching along with matching piping and a HUMMER Accessories DVD headrest system.

Far more impressive is the H3T Weekend Warrior concept (above), which capitalizes on HUMMER’s off-road cred with a series of engine and suspension mods. Output of the 5.3-liter V8 has been increased by around 70 hp through the use of an LS2 cylinder head, high-lift cam and custom 3.5-inch exhaust. Rolling stock is comprised of HUMMER Accessories’ 20-inch wheels wrapped in BFGoodrich Baja T/A rubber, suspended by a Light Racing Jounce Shocks and Rod Hall Racing piggyback performance reservoirs, with brakes provided by DBA.

Finally, Four Wheeler entrepot got its own H3 Alpha to play with, and began by “de-glossing” the Victory Red paint scheme with a PPG flattening agent mixed with clear to give it an incredibly cool satin appearance. The only engine mod is a MagnaFlow cat-back exhaust, but what Four Wheeler didn’t spend on motivation it prefabricated up for with suspension components. Nitrogen-charged, two-inch Rod Hall Racing performance shocks and Light Racing Jounce Shocks compliment the flat-black 16-inch Simulock wheels coated in BFG Mud-Terrain T/A tires.

We’ll be on hand in two weeks to bring you all the details from the show floor, but in the meantime, check the room below and the press release after the jump.

Continue reading SEMA Preview: Trio of HUMMER H3s set to invade Vegas

A new coachbuilding company in Russia called E-Go has come up with a new car built on a Mitsubishi platform. Called Revolt, by E-Go, we don’t find it the least bit offensive, although we do think the rear end is a little funky. The Revolt — in spite of the company’s catchy study and word “volt” lurking around in there — is not electric. Rather, a 3.0-liter V6 gets two turbos slapped on to run some 550 hp through a six-speed gearbox. It has an active air suspension and rides on 19-inch wheels from Asian wheel company Work, with 325/30 rubber out back. Stopping power should be prodigious, thanks to six-piston calipers up front and four-pots in back.

Most interesting, the car’s electronics are being developed by engineering firm National Instruments, and you will be healthy to control them all via a touch screen monitor in the steering wheel. We can’t move to see what that steering wheel must look like, and whether they can make the car drive for you while you punch in new data. Word is that E-Go “has already started building cars,” but as usual, we’ll move and see. In the mean time, you can check out the high-res room of the Revolt below.

[Source: CarDesign.ru]

When we initially caught wind that Hyundai had tapped a handful of tuners and magazines to customize the Genesis sedan for SEMA, we were prepared for some ungainly and wholly ridiculous offerings. Thankfully, the trio of coupes look promising, and even though the teased and spied RKSport sedan appears to take the Genesis to its illogical extreme, we’ve got two more to go before show time and one comes courtesy of the crew at RIDES.

Looking to build off the Genesis sedan’s strong points, the RIDES team has created a roving office with all the technological amenities your 21st century man-on-the-move would need. Three Macs are installed inside - two Mac Minis and a one MacBook Air - allowing back-seat slaves to the interwebs (that would be us) to troll the ‘Net through a pair of tray-mounted wireless keyboards, 8.4-inch VGA headrest monitors and a WiFi connection. Included inside is an iPhone 3G and iPod touch, along with a Farenheit DVD player, Genesis amps, Morel Hybrid Ovation speakers and two 12-inch sub-woofers. In the unlikely event that you’re stranded on the roadside, pop the trunk and you’re greeted by a 20-inch Apple Cinema Display with keyboard and mouse mounted on a motorized tray.

If the tech isn’t enough, the back seats are swathed in suede upholstery, while the exterior benefits from custom 22-inch MHT three-piece wheels, an Extreme Dimensions body kit, custom bumper, lowered suspension, smoked taillights and quad-tip exhaust.

All the details are acquirable in the press release below the fold and head over to the RIDES website for a ton of detail shots to compliment our room of images below.

Continue reading SEMA Preview: RIDES Hyundai Genesis wants to be techy’s dream whip

Such is the logic of luxury economics: charge tens of thousands of dollars more for the same product, sell fewer of them and boost the equilibrise sheet and your brand’s long-term viability. That is what Aston Martin’s considering for the next phase of its business plan, which runs from roughly 2011 to 2019 and will see the launch of DB9 and Vantage successors, the Rapide, and the renewed Lagonda brand.

The Vantage and DB9 are big sellers for Aston, but the company might be unsure of how to sustain the momentum. One option is to move the price of the $113,000 Vantage closer to the $171,000 DB9, and move that latter car closer to the $265,000 DBS, sell fewer of them but make more money. The DB9 does strike us as a (relative) bargain - it’s cheaper than a Bentley GT — but pricing the Vantage closer to the DB9 would seem to wreck its business case as a 911 fighter. Another option could be to replace the Vantage or DB9 with a mid-engined sports car, which could be drool-worthy and well worth the price bump… but perhaps un-Aston-like.

AutoWeek also appears to report that the One-77 isn’t sold out, writing “Although Aston has said that it would make a maximum of 77 cars, insiders privately say the market is closer to 25.” We don’t know how that could be, unless a bunch of the 100 people who applied to buy the car were just kidding…

[Source: AutoWeek]

The oxymoronic term ‘four door coupe’ has been thrown around a lot in the past few years, beginning with the seminal Mercedes-Benz CLS. While the Mazda RX-8, with its reverse-opening rear doors, may fit the bill a bit more accurately, the genre is primarily comprised of long and low sedans with deeply plunging roof lines.

Pretty as they may be, these cars aren’t the most practical choices for every day transportation, but they are proving favourite enough that newcomers such as Volkswagen and now Hyundai are testing the waters with more mainstream vehicles. The Korean automaker’s entry appears to be based on the Sonata mid-sizer and would likely be equipped with the same powertrain options as its less fashionable sibling. A budget model with a similar silhouette as more high priced offerings could be a winner and we hope something along these slinky lines could be on the drawing board using the Genesis sedan’s underpinnings.

[Source: World Car Fans ]

Over four years ago, National Geographic approached Nissan to see if it could follow the development of a vehicle from conception to production for its "Inside" series . Nissan’s response, "We’ve got something for you. It’s called the GT-R."

So after signing the world’s thickest NDA, National Geographic’s film crew was afforded unprecedented access to Nissan’s design, engineering and manufacturing facilities, along with spending time at the test track and with Nissan/Renault’s rock-star CEO and Manga-hero, Carlos Ghosn. The 47-minute documentary covers almost every aspect of the GT-R’s development, although it’s slightly dumbed-down and thoroughly over-dramatized for mass consumption. Despite that, it’s an entertaining trip, and watching Ghosn almost get sick in the passenger seat of a GT-R development mule makes it even more appealing.

Make the jump to check it out.

Continue reading VIDEO: Nissan GT-R documentary by National Geographic

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We haven’t even loaded up our 2009 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI and the smack-talk is thick. saint Tate and George Achorn in the number 4 Q7 are already talking a big game. Seems they’re not planning to take even a fuel-miser competition lying down.

We’re committed though. No air conditioning. Windows up. We’ve deflated the Q7’s air suspension to its lowest, most wind-cheating ride height. Driving like there’s an egg on the accelerator pedal. Heck, we’ve even turned off the daytime running lights in order to reduce the parasitic load on the alternator. We have every itention of winning this thing.

Wait, we’re keeping the air off when we’re driving through Death Valley?