Mercedes price SLS AMG GT3

With order books now officially open, Mercedes-Benz has announced pricing for its track-only SLS AMG GT3. The race-ready SLS AMG GT3 will carry a base price of $430,190, or $511,925 when VAT is included. Deliveries of the SLS AMG GT3 will begin in February.

Reflecting the SLS AMG GT3’s close relationship to the road-going version of the SLS AMG, the racecar is powered by Mercedes-Benz’ sensational 6.2L V8. Although that beefy V8 makes 571 horsepower under the hood of the standard SLS AMG, the FIA has yet to determine the SLS AMG GT3’s final output.

The bare-bones racer features a number of track enhancements, the most noticeable of which is a more aggressive aero kit. Up front the SLS AMG GT3 sports a revised front fascia with a more aggressive splitter and side winglets, while the rear of the car is highlight by a massive wing. AMG has also fitted the SLS GT3 with a large hood vent and a smooth underbody.

Inside, the SLS AMG GT3 has been thoroughly prepped for racing, with just about everything removed in the name of weight-savings. However, a racing-spec roll cage has been added, along with an integrated fire extinguisher system. 

Wheego Electric Cars to make White House buy 100 plug-in models

When President Obama was wearing his car salesman/economy-spurring hat he made a public promise in March of this year to purchase the first 100 plug-in electric vehicles to roll off of an American assembly line.

That promise, it turns out, may result in the purchase of 100 Wheego LiFes – not the 100 Chevrolet Volts the President likely intended when he made such a promise, according to Automotive News.

How did this happen? Because the Chevrolet Volt isn’t set to enter production until November, while the Wheego LiFe enters production and goes on sale in October.

“We’ve been operating under the radar screen rather than making a lot of media noise,” CEO Mike McQuary told AutoNews. “But we’ve got dealers standing by and expect to have the Wheego LiFe on sale in October.”

Wheego has obviously managed to make it within days of production without a hint of media coverage, something they hope to change by making use of the President’s promise – a promise Wheego fully intends to hold the White House to, “”He was probably assuming they would be Chevy Volts, but they will be Wheego LiFes. We’ve contacted the White House to make sure they know,” said McQuary.

McQuary hopes and believes that this seemingly back-fired promise may mean a whole lot more than 100 orders for Wheego as a visit from the President of the United States of America to the California-based automaker’s facility would sure provide for a heck of a lot of (long overdue) media attention.

About the 2011 Wheego LiFe

It’s a safe bet to assume you likely have not heard of the Wheego LiFe, so we thought now would be as good a time as ever to detail the car.

The LiFe has a Smart Car-like shape and design, with its own unique stylization touches and comes only in all-electric form. The full-speed Wheego LiFe has an approximate range of 100 miles, a top speed of 65 miles per hour. Power can be had in the form of 20 nominal and 60 peak horsepower, along with 95 lb-ft of torque. and has a retail price of $32,995 – before the $7,500 federal tax credit.

The 115V lithium battery pack can be charged from a standard 120V outlet, a 240V outlet or any of the J1772 standard charging stations being installed in public locations throughout the US. Features include both driver and passenger airbags, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, MP3/USB-ready radio and power windows and locks.

It is available in red, white, blue, black, silver or green with a gray interior.

2011 BMW Frozen Gray M3 Coupe not sold out just yet

Over the summer, BMW unveiled a special-edition M3 Coupe known as the BMW Frozen Gray M3 Coupe. With only 30 limited units to be produced priced at $77,600 each, the special-edition model sold out in just 12 minutes… or did it?

According to BMW Blog, there is still one of those limited edition Frozen Gray M3 Coupes sitting at the Vista BMW/MINI in Coconut Creek, Florida. The model is priced at $98,900 and the dealership is also including the one day enrollment in the BMW Performance Driving School that was part of the original deal.

Refresher: The 2011 Frozen Gray M3 Coupe doesn’t have any performance upgrades so power still comes from the 4.0L V8 making 414-hp mated to BMW’s M Double Clutch Transmission (M DCT), which gets you from 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds (4.7 seconds when mated to a 6-speed manual). 

The Frozen Gray M3 Coupe does get a Competition Package, which drops vehicle ride height by 10mm and adds unique 19-inch wheels with wider offset for enhanced stability, standard Electronic Damping Control with enhanced programming, and higher-threshold programming for the M Dynamic Mode.

Bentley Silver Wings Design Study for a Bugatti Veyron Rival

At the 1999 Geneva Motorshow, Volkswagen Group-owned British carmaker Bentley showed a W16 powered supercar concept called the Hunaudières. It was a sleek, cab-forward design finished in British Racing Green and with more chrome than Ludacris’ Escalade.

Like so many concept cars, the Hunaudières never made it past being a one-off and Bentley consigned itself once more to making cars for wealthy Brits and Paris Hilton.

Now, two industrial design students from China’s Tainjin Academy of Fine Arts, Shawn Wood and Guohua Cheng, have resurrected the Hunaudières in the form of a design study called the Bentley Silver [Filver in one pic, but we guess that was a mistake] Wings.

It’s the usual hodgepodge of design elements from Aston Martin, Zonda, Saleen and Bentley of course, but it still has a certain charm about it.

I especially like the Eurofighter-esque foreplanes where the wing mirrors should be and the wheel arches / side profile that emulates the Bentley Speed 8 Le Mans car. It’s not a hideous design by any means, just…more of the same.

Mr. Wood and Mr. Cheng have recently graduated and are looking for work; Subaru: you may want to take note

Funny Car Plate

Malaysians' Pride: Proton Emas - Malaysians' First Hybrid Car

Here we have it, a massive 53 photos of the new Proton EMAS range of concepts, live from the floors of the 2010 Geneva Motor Show! Look after the jump to check out all the photos. For more details on the Proton EMAS Concept, click the link to read our previous launch story. We'll be back with more details if there are any more to be gained from the show floor. For now, enjoy the photos! 

Pictures from TOYOTA Plant in Japan---5S