Stolen 1956 Ford Thunderbird Recovered After 31 Years!

A 1956 Ford Thunderbird was found after it had been stolen from owner Ronald Leung at his auto-repair workshop in downtown Palo Alto, California in 1976. The car was identified by a woman who purchased the vehicle on e-bay from an Ohio seller and tried to register the car in California. When she discovered the car’s title didn’t exist, a little database searching discovered that the car was identified as stolen. Whoever held onto the Thunderbird took great care of it because it has been fully restored and refurbished. The owner bought it in 1974 for $1,500 and has reminisced about it ever since. He’s flying to Southern California to pick up his long lost Thunderbird this week.

Posted by Dani

Via: aol

Peugeot To Introduce 207 SW Outdoor & 207 SW RC In Frankfurt Show

Don’t you just love “small print”? As we were gazing at Peugeot’s latest detailed press release on the all-new 207 SW we discovered a “hidden” paragraph concerning the French carmaker’s intentions to broaden up the SW’s line-up with two new versions. These are: the sporty 207 SW RC equipped with the same PSA-BMW jointly developed 175Hp 1.6-liter turbo unit found in the 3d RC and the production version of the crossover concept “207 SW Outdoor”.

Since we found both versions extremely interesting we decided to make a few phone calls “here and there”. Our insider informed us that the 207 SW Outdoor and RC will make their public debut at the upcoming Frankfurt Show with sales starting in Europe this November. -Follow the jump for the abstract from the press release

“In the near future ...

Full of ambition, the 207 SW will make every effort to enlarge its potential customer base with a truly rich and diverse range:

The 207 SW “Outdoor”, an off road leisure vehicle ... a rugged, ‘versatile’ design with additional ground clearance - with a greatly accentuated perception of robustness....

The 207 SW “RC”, with a clearly stated sportiness -a spacious, “GT” design and powered by a 128 kW (175 bhp) engine, delivering 240 Nm of torque at 1600 rpm”

Video: FBI Agents Crash A Plane On A Civilian Lamborghini Countach

Ever wake up and just know its going to be a bad day? Marlowe Treit, the proud owner of a flawless '85 Lamborghini Countach, should have listened to his intuition and stayed in bed on this day last spring when an airplane collided with his Lambo. The Cessna plane which was being driven by a trio of heartless FBI agents badly mangled the side of the vehicle. Marlowe had bought the Countach for himself as a 60th birthday present and had only put 200 miles on it. He estimates the crash did about $100,000 in damage and is filing a law suit for $105, 500 in damages on the grounds of negligence.

In my opinion, this was more than just negligence, this was simple stupidity! The three agents that were on a “familiarization flight” saw a small black sports car out the left side window dart from under the propeller and gushing fluid. Investigators said both failed "to maintain an adequate visual lookout and their failure to see and avoid one another". We ask how it is humanly possible to miss something like a Lamborghini on an airfield? First of all, what the heck was it doing there?!

Posted by Dani

Via: Oregonlive

2008 MINI Clubman: Official Images Break Loose!

The first images of MINI’s 2008 Clubman have found their way into the net, two months prior to the car’s public debut at the Frankfurt Show in September. We don’t have the press release in our hands yet, but the four pictures of the Clubman speak for themselves. Maintaining several of the characteristics seen in MINI’s “Traveller” concepts like the spilt rear doors, the Clubman is based on stretched platform architecture from the new MINI range.

The most notable feature of the Clubman -apart from the extended wheelbase which will significantly open up cabin space, is the clamshell side door on the passenger’s side. The reverse-opening door promises to offer easier access to the expanded second row seats. Style-wise, the Clubman has a redesigned rear-end featuring plastic add-ons on the C-pillar. However, what really caught our attention here were the twin-wipers on the split-door; a detail that makes you love those meticulous Bavarian engineers.

As for the engine range, the Clubman is expected to be offered with the same units as the hatch minus the base 95Hp 1.4. Thus meaning, we’ll have the Cooper with the 120Hp 1.6-litre petrol engine, the Cooper S with the 175Hp Turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol unit and finally a diesel version fitted with a 110Hp 1.6-litre unit. As BMW Group announced earlier this year, the Clubman will go on sale towards the end of 2007. -Continued: Click “Read More…” below for more high-res images

Amateurs Film The 2008 Mercedes C63 AMG

Sometimes, being in the right place at the right time pays off. Then again, my internal devil’s advocate says that these guys could have been stalking Mercedes-Benz’s testers, but in the end who cares! All that counts is that thanks to this amateur video we get a chance to see the 2008 C63 AMG up close and in action. Of course, we would have preferred a bit of silence on the amateurs behalf so as to focus our attention on the brutal 6.3-litre V8 melody rather than listen to their namby-pamby babbling, but we can’t have it all.

Via: blog.worldcarfans

BMW 350i: E30 3 Series With A 350Hp BMW V12 Engine!

The definition of a “Q” car or just profound insanity? Who cares, either way, my inner child just discovered a new imaginary dream-toy in the form of a humble looking late 80’s BMW 3-Series Coupe with a V12 powerhouse! Created in Germany the 350i E30 is equipped with a BMW 7-Series /8-Series derived 5.0-litre V12 engine tuned to deliver 350Hp @ 6.000 rpm and a maximum torque of 470Nm to the rear wheels via a 6speed manual gearbox form the 850CSi. And yes, we’re still trying to figure out how the heck the mechanic managed to squeeze a 5.0-litre V12 powertrain in that teeny-weeny engine bay. Amazing.

According to the magician -sorry, tuner, this one of a kind E30 V12 features several other goodies like a BMW Z3 M Roadster rear axle, E34 M5 rims and some other stuff from the E36 M3 which unfortunately, couldn’t be translates from the German-only site. What could be translated though are the 350i’s performance figures: 0 - 100 km/h (62mph) in 4.0 sec, 0 - 160 km/h (100mph) in 9,4 sec and 0 – 200 km/h (124mph) in 15,5 sec! -Continued: Click "Read More..." below

Via: Autoblog.nl , Source: BMW-power

Binz E-Class Limos & Hearses Available With Mercedes CLS Fascia

Sometime ago –actually, ages in internet years, we showed you the Binz CLS Hearse which was nothing more than an E-Class SW with a CLS fascia and a boot larger than life –knock on wood… Well Binz now announced that it’s bringing the “CLS flavor” to all its E-Class extended-chassis range as an extra cost option which means you can have a 6door E-Class limousine with a CLS front-end. According to the German owned procrustean coachbuilder, the cars fitted with this fascia get front wings manufactured from advanced composites and more importantly, they preserve the base E-Class collision performance characteristics. -Full press release after the jump

BINZ Unveils Coupé de Grace

It’s not enough these days to operate the best engineered cars in the world. They have to look good too. Nowhere is this truer than in the exalted world of the top class European coachbuilders, where luxury saloons are hand-crafted into the 6-door limousines that waft government ministers, top executives, and their entourages from A to B. To cater for this growing awareness of style,.

This new ‘face’ of Binz is so-far only to be made available as an extra cost option on its existing E-Class limousine and hearse line-up. Kevin Smith, sales director of the company explains the thinking behind the : “It really comes down to the saying that your fleet is your best marketing asset, and that means having something that is instantly recognisable. In a sense the E-Class has been the victim of its own success. We are not the only coachbuilder using this platform as a base, and operators are increasingly seeing in the Mercedes-Benz brand a quick way of lifting their businesses onto a different plane.

“Though we can boast a myriad of technical innovations and full manufacturer engineering approval, these are all features that in the main only become apparent to the passenger once they have ridden in a Binz vehicle. So by offering our customers this CLS styling option, they now have yet another way of differentiating their service from that of the competition”.

Far from being a simple cosmetic makeover, Binz had to surmount a number of technical challenges when developing this option. Entirely new wings were required, manufactured not from steel – or even aluminium, the traditional coachbuilder’s medium – but from advanced composites. Care also needed to be taken to preserve the base E-Class collision performance characteristics, as well as ensuring that the curves that are so much of the CLS appeal, were to blend seamlessly into the E-Class’ flanks.

Underneath the skin, the CLS version of Binz’s 6-door limousine retains the magic carpet ride of the company’s ‘standard’ model, with AirMATIC suspension and active ride technology recalibrated in concert with Mercedes-Benz to take into account the vehicle’s increases in wheelbase and kerbweight.