InsideLine brought together two of the coolest cars America makes right now, the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 and the 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt. The Challenger marks the re-birth of a great classic American muscle car, while the Bullitt is seen by many as the best edition of the 2005 Ford Mustang (and trust us, we’ve seen a few). So, which one is the coolest? Check out the video.

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This Ferrari F430 Concept was created by Luca Serafini who is one skilled designer and there’s no doubt about that. We were very impressed with the Lamborghini Embolado, presented by us here, last year. He designed the F430 concept starting from the current model, but also tried to look close at classic Ferrari models. The result is a very impressive concept, with a design philosophy somewhat different from the current Ferraris.

And that’s not all, because Luca, besides suggesting the design to Ferrari, also talked to AliasStudioTools to draw and mill a 1:4 scaled model. Who knows, maybe someday we’ll see his creations on the street.

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Who’d have thought a little gathering in Austria could give birth to three stunning concept cars. This is VW's new Scirocco GT24 concept and it's appearing at the Wörthersee Tour alongside the Audi TT and A3 Clubsport Quattros.

The Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 concept is a road version of the trio of racecars that will compete in this weekend’s Nürburgring 24-hour race. And like the VW Golf GTI W12 concept from 2007, the VW Scirocco GT24 is a runner. According to Volkswagen the GT24 is also a pointer towards how an ‘R’ version of the Scirocco could look.

Spot on, and that forced-induction 2.0-litre makes 321bhp and 251lb ft. It’s mated to VW’s obligatory six-speed dual-clutch ‘box with power going to the front wheels. Why no four-wheel drive? Because even the earliest reports about a hot Scirocco pointed towards an R20 with a tweaked 2.0-litre turbo, rather than the new coupe using a V6.

To beef up the gearbox there are new clutch plates, alongside revised gear ratios and a lightened flywheel.

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Very nice post and pictures about
Auto Motor Show in Ljubljana.

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How do you add a dash of pizzazz to the underwhelming looks of the Laguna saloon? Renault’s answer - in the shape of the new Laguna Coupe - seems like a good one: lop off two doors, drop in a 3.5-litre V6 from the Nissan 350Z and garnish with your own four-wheel steer system. Make the car shorter and wider than the saloon and then get your imposing Lebanese CEO to drive it around the Cannes Film Festival.

Also make sure it goes for a lap or two of the Monaco GP track, and keep the Laguna name proud across the rump so the general public relates the stunning coupe to your humdrum saloon. Orders fly in, brand awareness goes through the roof and all is well at La Regie. That's the idea, anyway.

Ah, here’s the problem. Renault showed off a Laguna Coupe concept at the 2007 Frankfurt motor show. By "Babes Fast Cars" own admission, and the reaction of you, the reader, this was the best-looking Renault in recent memory. Now take a look at the production car pictures (top row) and tell us what you think compared to the Coupe concept.

We're reserving judgment until we see the Coupe in the metal, in natural light and in a colour other than this car's rather drab hue. At at first glance though, it appears that the production car has ignored the concept's potential.

Details from Renault are still scant but it's clear that gone are the shapely rear haunches, flush exhausts, the LED headlights, smoked 20-inch wheels and the silver slivers that were door handles.

In their place are regular headlamps, 17 or 18-inch wheels that look overwhelmed by the bodywork, and big chunky door handles and wing mirrors.

It's not all bad though. The rear still has a touch of Aston Martin to it, the LED taillights remain and the Coupe still has a very curvaceous design. The doors are frameless and while the interior might be standard Laguna it features higher quality materials.

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Babes Fast Cars was first to reveal that the Speedster-inspired TT will be built, and now Audi has officially unveiled the car at the Wörthersee Tour in Austria.

Called the Audi TT Clubsport Quattro, it’s an updated version of the concept of the same name seen at the same festival in 2007. And as well as a turbocharged engine producing 'more than 296bhp', today's press release claims: ‘Small-series production of this model cannot be ruled out’. Quite.

Small-series production has in fact already been confirmed. Audi's marketing director for the Middle East, Bernd Rosenbichler, told Babes Fast Cars: 'We have been asked if we could imagine bringing this car here. We are planning on making the worldwide premiere of this car here and then launching it just for the region.'

We know the basic facts already. Speedster-inspired looks means the roof has disappeared to be replaced by a fixed deck with twin humps and two huge rollbars.

The pumped-up looks include twin air intakes either side of that large single-frame grille that seems to get ever bigger. There are LED daytime running lights from the TTS while twin pipes and a rear diffuser butch up the rear. Behind 19-inch wheels nestle 340mm (front) and 310mm (rear) brakes.

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Nissan's upmarket brand Infiniti has announced it will build a roadster version of the G37 coupe – aimed squarely at the BMW 3-series Coupe Convertible. And the Ferrari California isn't the only folding tin-top being announced this week; the G37 will also be launched as a CC with a multi-piece metal roof that stows at the flick of a switch.

Our artist's impression shows how the new open-top G will look with the roof stowed away. No official photos have been issued yet, but we do know that Infiniti's first roadster will be on sale in the US market in February 2009.

The European business case is being analysed, but we'd say it'd be a shoe-in – especially in the roadster-mad UK market.

The news of the open-top G was buried in Nissan's financial results – and the launch of the new Nissan GT 2012 business plan.

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This is the Ferrari California – the new 2+2 GT unveiled today. There’s a seven-speed twin-clutch transmission, a 454bhp 4.3-litre V8 with direct injection, a folding metal roof and space for four.

The engine is a 4300cc V8, using the existing block from the F430 but with a new head to accommodate direct injection. It’s the first time Ferrari has used DI and helps the California produce 454bhp at a heady 7500rpm. Ferrari currently hasn’t released any torque figures but claims the California has ‘a torque curve that enhances the vehicle dynamics and driving pleasure to the utmost’.

The exhaust gases exit through some very Lexus IS-F looking, stacked pipes – a first on a Ferrari.

Very quick indeed. The California premieres Ferrari’s new seven-speed twin-clutch transmission and the car blasts to 62mph in under four seconds. A manual Porsche 911 Turbo open-top takes four seconds exactly. And because the Nissan GT-R has only a six-speeder, the Ferrari California has the world’s first seven-speed transaxle 'box. Nerds take note.

Ferrari has switched to the twin-clutch ‘box because it can’t get the current semi-auto system to switch cogs any faster, and because the more relaxed GT nature of the California demands a more relaxed and seamless change. The new ‘box is also claimed to reduce fuel consumption and help give the Ferrari California CO2 emissions of around 310g/km.

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Bugatti is still working on the 300 production run it has planned for the current-generation, but that has not stopped the company for offering exclusive special editions of the Veyron along the way.

Joining the Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang and the more recent Bugatti Fbg par Hermes, Bugatti has released yet another special edition called the Veyron Sang Noir. Paying homage to the Bugatti Atlantique 57, the Bugatti Veyron Sang Noir features a new grille, an all-black body, new alloy wheels, headlights with a black background and an orange interior.

Pricing? Well we’re sure you’ll have to drop at least more than $1.5 million for this special edition.

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