2011 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350

Recently Shelby released the much anticipated specs for its 2011 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350. With initial hopes of 500hp being tossed around, Shelby have passed this marker with the supercharged version of the car developing 525hp, and totally blown the marker away with a special ‘R’ version of the model, set to produce 624hp.

The standard supercharged model is expected to hit 60mph in an incredibly rapid 3.7 seconds, and run the quarter in 12 seconds dead at just over 121mph.

There is a normally aspirated version for those who cant stomach the cost, or speed, of the supercharged models, though even this version will still be developing 440hp, still enough to see you get to 60mph in around 5 seconds.

We don’t have performance figures for the special ‘R’ version of the 2011 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350, but with the extra 100 horses, and possibly a drop in weight, we have no problem imagining the car being able to hit 60mph in little over 3 seconds.

All versions feature uprated suspension and braking components, ensuring the Shelby GT350 will go around corners as well as it goes along the straights, and of course with so much power on tap, and rear wheel drive, its fair to say an over-zealous right foot (where allowed) will induce huge tail slides guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Coming in at $27k for the normally aspirated version, and $34k for the 525hp supercharged version, on top of the price of the base car, its likely there wont be many spots available to pick one up, obviously Shelby has limited production capacity and there is little doubt demand will be strong for the model, and for those with the cash to spare, there can be fewer better ways to spend it.

2011 HumanCar Imagine PS PHEV

Now when people hear muscle car, they think of an aggressive looking vehicle, fitted with a more than adequate engine. They expect to hear the roar of a booming V8 and chunky tires, but this is certainly not the case with the concept we are talking about today. Instead, the muscle in this car, relates to the people that power it!

The new vehicle in question is the HumanCar Imagine PS. On first glance, it comes across as extremely bizarre, a theme which will stay with the person interested as they find out more.

It seems a lot of manufacturers are looking to do something different these days, which has certainly been achieved here. HumanCar has certainly pulled out all the stops when developing the Imagine PS, although the uptake if it was ever released is not likely to be huge.

So where did the idea begin? Charles Greenwood, an engineer based in the US was the person who had the original idea for the vehicle. His idea worked on the basis of both the driver and passengers working together to power the vehicle. They would use a range of push and pull levers to get up to speed. Now I’m not sure about others, but this certainly does not appeal to me and takes being eco-friendly to another level!

Although the details of the HumanCar Imagine PS have not been confirmed as of yet, there are many rumours. One of the most recent rumours has suggested that passengers and the driver can push the car along thanks to wholes in the floor – much like what we used to see in the Fred Flintstone cartoons!

The unique design of the HumanCar Imagine PS means that it only takes one person to power it. That being said, we can go as far as to assume this is not the ideal candidate for long journeys, or maybe even for journeys that have many hills included. The likelihood is that the people powering the vehicle are likely to get extremely tired – very quickly, but then who said saving the planet, and $$$, was ever going to be easy!

So let’s hear something positive about the HumanCar Imagine PS! Luckily for the people on board, there is a small electric motor that can be used when they finally run out of steam!

Armoured Jaguar XJ Saloon

It seems like yesterday we were talking about the exciting release from Jaguar; the 75th anniversary Platinum Concept car. For now though, we can assume that the hype behind that concept has been lost, thanks to Jaguar and their latest press release.

In recent news, we discovered that they are launching an armored version of its current popular model; the XJ Luxury Saloon. According to Jaguar, the development of this vehicle has been going on for quite some time, and it has come to a point where they feel they are ready to start to push it further.

So what sort of protection can the new armored XJ Luxury Saloon offer? Well, according to Jaguar, this vehicle will now incorporate B7 levels of ballistic protection, something that is not really found in an every day car. So – what is the great thing about this development? People on the outside will find it extremely hard to determine whether the armored vehicle is a standard XJ Luxury Saloon, so it does not draw attention to the people inside!

For people expecting to be driving through a war zone, this might be the most comfortable way to do it! Passengers will be treated to under floor grenade protection and if that is not enough, the vehicle is constructed with a Kevlar backing on the steels and an inner cell that has been modified and armored.

Whilst this does add extra weight to the vehicle, it is not likely that the driver will notice. After all, Jaguar is implementing the popular 5.0 liter V8 engine that they use in the standard XJ (long wheel base). We were worried that the handling would be compromised, but Jaguar has promised that this has also been altered.

Jaguar will be offering buyers a few things with the purchase of the new XJ Luxury Saloon. The first will be a security consultant. They will be able to help the buyer pluck out any extra features they require, ensuring the car is exactly what they need. Along side this, Jaguar is offering all buyers a three years/50,000 mile warranty, in case anything should go wrong. Of course, a lot of things are likely to make this warranty void – like grenade explosions for instance!

Developing 36.000 HP and a lot of smoke and fire, this 6 wheels beast participates at the drag races in the US.

Modifications started from the exterior, where we give you the chance to discover them by taking a look at the photos with this beauty. Regarding the technical part which can’t really be noticed by just looking at some photos, we have to tell you that Hamann worked at the suspension system, lowering the car with 40 mm and installed some Rache Anodized 23″ wheels with 315/25 tires.

About the engine, Hamann is still working at a powerful version of the xDrive50i which can be found on the stock X6 model. This tuning kit is already for sale, so if you are interested and consider you have all the money needed for something like this, don’t hesitate to contact them.

This toy is more expensive than most cars running on streets today. The mini Porsche was manually made by  Porsche engineers and it is propelled by a real engine, unfortunately just diesel, so it can not be considered a perfect replica. However, this model has all the finest details found on the real one (Porsche 550) from design curves to its interior. The only difference is that the mini replica has only one place and costs ten time less.

But I still think that spending $75000 for a toy is too much.