Fashion Designers Makeover MINI Models for 'Life Ball' Event

Francisco Costa from Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg and Kenneth Cole will create three special Minis to raffle off at this year's edition of "Life Ball", the biggest HIV/AIDS charity event in Europe that will take place in Vienna on 17th July 2010.

On behalf of Calvin Klein, US fashion house's creative director Francisco Costa will be designing the new Mini Countryman crossover. US fashion designer with Belgian roots Diane von Furstenberg, will artistically enhance the MINI Hatch, while New York's Kenneth Cole apply his style on a Mini Convertible.

This year marks the BMW Group owned automaker's tenth consecutive involvement in the charity event. Previous Life Ball Mini specials have been designed by Missoni (2003), Ferré (2004), Versace (2005), Diesel (2006), Mario Testino (2007), Agent Provocateur (2008) and, last year, The Blonds for Katy Perry.

According to Mini, proceeds from the sale of the special edition models over the years total around €500,000 or about US$620,000.

Über Cool: Audi 200 Turbo Quattro Trans-Am Racer up for Grabs

If you're a fan of Audi race cars then you may want to read on. This here retired Audi 200 Turbo Quattro Trans-Am racer is up for sale by an independent dealer in Las Vegas. It's not only the real deal but furthermore, the seller claims it's the actual vehicle that won the 1988 American Trans-Am series in the hands of Hurley Haywood who steamrolled the competition by taking eight out of 13 wins.

From what we could find out about the car during its racing career, the Trans-Am-spec 200 Turbo Quattro used the same turbocharged inline-five found in the company's world rally championship cars, reportedly producing a menacing 510-horsepower.

You can check out a few Audi 200 Quattro racers in action just below the photo gallery of the actual car that's for sale.

Link: Auto Collections

Seller's Description:

1989 AUDI 200 QUATTRO
TRANS AM RACE CAR
ID# 44JA000013
This car was purchased directly from Audi sport in Ingolstadt, Germany. The car was built for the sports car Club of America (SCCA) Trans Am Championship. This is the vehicle that won the Championship, driven by Hurley Haywood.

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Minor Upgrades for 2011 Toyota Tacoma, Priced from $16,365

The Toyota Tacoma pickup truck is entering the new model year with additional features and a revised lineup. For the 2011MY, the Japanese automaker discontinued three manual transmission models and added five four-cylinder, four-speed automatic models including the Access Cab 4x2 PreRunner, Double Cab 4x2, Double Cab 4x2 PreRunner, Regular Cab 4x4, and Access Cab 4x4.

Added features for the 2011MY Tacoma include a newly designed grille on all Base, SR5, TRD Off-Road, TRD Sport and X-Runner models. Regular Cab models now come with standard air conditioning while the 4x2 versions also gain standard 15-inch steel wheels.

Tacomas equipped with the available six-disc CD changer now come with integrated satellite radio (subscription required), while the company also introduced a new Convenience Extra Value Package for Double Cab models with cruise control, a sliding rear window with privacy glass, remote keyless entry and steering wheel audio controls.

The Japanese firm's pickup truck is available with two engines, a 2.7-liter four-pot with 159HP and 180 lb-ft of peak torque, and a 4.0-liter V6 pumping out 236 ponies and 266 lb-ft of torque.

The base MSRP (not including destination and handling fees) for the 2011 Tacoma will range from $16,365 for the Regular Cab 4x2 equipped with a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission, to $27,525 for the Tacoma Double Cab 4x4 long bed with a 4.0-liter V6 and five-speed automatic.

Toyota said that the first examples of the 2011 Tacoma will begin arriving at U.S. dealerships in late July.

*All Tacoma Photos are of the 2010MY as Toyota has not yet released pictures of the 2011MY

GWA-Tuning Stylizes the New Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Estate

Designer Arturo Alonso from GWA-Tuning strikes again, this time with a cosmetics package for the 2011 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Estate. The proposed kit seen in these chopped images includes a new front bumper with integrated LED daytime running lights, a unique grille, a massive rear diffuser housing quad tail pipes, fender vents, side skirts, roof spoiler and carbon fiber trimming.

The AMG load-lugger also gets a set of spiffy deep-dish alloy wheels (19-inch up front and 20-inch at the back), a suspension lowering module as well as brushed aluminum pedals with foot rest and illuminated logo door sills.

GWA-Tuning says that the price of the bodykit is estimated at around €15,000 or about US$18,500, while the fully optioned models seen in the photoshop pics, close to €22,000 or US$27,200.

If you dislike 'estimates' and would like more specific details about the kit, you can contact GWA-Tuning directly at info[at]gwa-tuning.com.

Source: GWA-Tuning , Via: GTSpirit

Audi S5 Sportback Grand Prix with 375HP by Senner Tuning

The Grand Prix is Senner Tuning's take on the new Audi S5 Sportback. Starting with the engine, the German company brings output from the standard 3.0-liter TSI's 333 horsepower and 440Nm /325 lb-ft of torque to 375HP and 495Nm / 365 lb-ft. The power boost comes from a reconfigured ECU, the addition of a performance air filter as well as a custom sport exhaust system with four tail pipes.

The S5 Sportback Gran Prix also gets a set of sport springs that lower the ride height by up to 40mm or 1.58-inches and new two-piece 20-inch alloy wheels shod in 245/30 R20 tires up front and 295/25 R20 at the back.

Finally, the Audi's interior is revamped with a carbon fiber trim package.

Styling of Future BMW GT/Hatchbacks Previewed in Video Shot?

We're not entirely sure of what to make of these BMW drawings for what looks like a proposal for a future compact GT or maybe a hatchback model that we captured from a recent official video released by the Bavarian automaker.

For one, we don't remember seeing these drawings before, however we could be mistaken, in which case, don't hesitate to let us know in the comments section below.

Recent or not, the car or cars appear to incorporate the many styling cues of the latest bimmers such as the 2011 5-Series, including the strong beltline crease and the headlight / tail lamp design, but with a entirely new interpretation of double-kidney grille that harks back to the pre-Bangle-era BMWs. See the rest of the pictures after the jump

Edo Competition Transforms Aston Martin DB9 to DBS for Russian Client

Reason says that if you're wealthy enough to buy an Aston Martin DB9 and for whatever reason you want to upgrade to a DBS, you either replace the first one or simply add the second model to your collection. But that wasn't the case with an unnamed Russian owner of a five-year-old DB9 who approached Edo Competition to turn his car into a DBS.

The German tuning house agreed and after six months of work, the DB9 had been transformed into a DBS... replica. The conversion involved replacing the car's steel body panels with lightweight carbon fiber pieces, and adding new 20 inch wheels and numerous aerodynamic parts, such as a carbon fiber front skirt and rear diffuser.

The DB9's interior was also refinished. Edo Competition says that the choice of materials and colors was left to the customer, who, in this case, went for an Alcantara/leather interior with carbon fiber inserts and metal accents. A new high-end audio-system completes the interior makeover.

Rather than just performing cosmetic changes, Edo Competition upgraded the mechanicals and customized the car according to the wishes of its owner.

The modifications to the DB9's 5.9-liter V12 engine bump output from 470 to 550-horsepower allowing the DBS replica to sprint from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in around 4.1 seconds and top out at 320km/h (199mph) instead of 295km/h (183mph).

A programmable control unit for the exhaust system, an upgraded adjustable sport suspension and a new braking system with 405mm disc and 6-piston calipers up front and 380mm discs and 4-piston calipers at the rear, complete the transformation of the DB9 to a DBS replica.

Engine Specs

Engine V12 cylinder engine
Power 550 hp / (404 kW) at 6,800 rpm
Max torque 600 Nm at 5,500 rpm

Performance Specs

Top speed 320 km / h
0-100 km / h approx 4.1 s