Think this is just another GT40 replica? Take a closer look and you’ll see it’s a late-model Ford GT packing more than 800 stampeding horses — and the ability to outperform any other endurance vehicle in the land.

If you know your supercars, you’ll know that even though it doesn’t hail from Europe, the Ford GT is up there amongst the best ever made. The remarkable machine went into production in 2004 to celebrate 40 years since the GT40’s historic Le Mans win.

At first glance the modern GT looks similar to those legendary racers, yet it doesn’t share a single common part. Instead it was constructed with the latest methods available over the model’s three-year lifespan.

Like any hand-built, high-powered supercar, prices for the GT were out of most people’s reach, yet demand meant it sold at well over its recommended retail price of US$139,000 (NZ$196,500). Many cars sold for close to double that, especially early versions such as number 612 off the production line, the one you see here.

Why would someone spend that much on a vehicle only to turn it into a race car? Surely no one locally is that brave or stupid? No, they weren’t. Brave, yes; but stupid? Far from it. Quite the opposite in fact. (more…)

When it comes to modern muscle car news it’s all been about the Camaro this week. First the Camaro ZL1 set a smoking hot time of 7:41.27 at the Nurburgring closely followed by Chevrolet announcing that the Camaro ZL1 convertible will be launching next month (read news). Now, to cap it all off specialist tuner Hennessey has revealed its latest special edition the 20th Anniversary Edition Camaro.

It’s clearly not the Camaro’s 20th birthday, but it is Hennessey’s 20th birthday so the tuner is going big with this celebratory Camaro. Officially named the HPE650 Camaro, this muscle car packs 655 horsepower achieved by fitting a TVS2300 supercharger. There’s also a new cam, replacement headers and intake and exhaust upgrades.

The upgraded engine can be matched with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission and the hot Camaro will sprint to 100 km/h in around 3.8 seconds and cover the quarter mile in 11.7 seconds. (more…)

Having 470 horsepower under the bonnet means you’re going to move with some gusto but when there’s 570 rabid ponies up front, things can get wild.

Chrysler knows the difference and is planning to step things up a notch with a new top tier of SRT vehicles with upgraded powerplants. If recent rumours prove true later this year, the Dodge Charger SRT8 and Chrysler 300 SRT8 will be made available with an Eaton-sourced supercharger. This blower will boost the output of these machines to somewhere around 540-570-horsepower.

The supercharger option may be a dealer install job and will be offered on 2013 model year cars. What’s more Chrysler may fit its new eight-speed auto transmission to its four-door sports cars next year. (more…)

When a normal Cobra just doesn’t do it for you any more, what do you do? Build yourself a Daytona with a twist of boost, of course.

Im the ultimate Cobra fan,” says Keith Lane, the creator of this beautiful supercharged Daytona. He’s not kidding ”  the swoopy hard top coupe is his third Cobra.

“Number one is still in the shed but soon to be sold to pay for the Daytona, number two was a race car that met its demise at Pukekohe Park Raceway and this is number three,” he reveals.

So what drives a guy like Keith to the cars? “I used to have British sports cars ” Triumph TRs, Austin Healys and the like, but the Cobras are just something different.” If a common-or-garden variety Cobra is different, then Daytonas are really something else.

The story of how this car came to be is a lot longer than it should have been. In theory it would have been on the road about six years ago, all going to plan. But when the body first arrived from America in 2002, Keith was bitterly disappointed. “The doors and bonnet didn’t fit and the rear wheel arches were a different shape to each other,” he says. And that was merely the tip of the iceberg. The fact the car wasn’t a kit as such, in which all parts were provided, also adds a great deal of complexity.

(more…)

Not everyone likes their power delivered in the same way and this is especially true for muscle cars. Even with a vehicle as specific as the new 2011 Shelby GT350, customers want to have options.

When this modern piece of muscle was first unveiled earlier this year it only came equipped with a six-speed manual transmission and a Ford Racing supercharger good for 500 horsepower, but according to Shelby it’s now offering both a naturally aspirated and an automatic version to customers. The famous tuning company says qualifying the GT350 for American SCCA racing is the main reason for offering a non-supercharged model, but the customer-tempting price point may have been a factor also. By leaving the supercharger off the options list GT350 buyers will save $7,000 USD, and they will still have a healthy 412 horsepower to play with from the 5.0-litre V8 engine.

Supercharged or natural breathing, automatic or manual, there’s no doubt each GT350 will be a serious performer. The car comes standard equipped with a Shelby-tuned Ford Racing suspension system, Baer front and rear brakes, Borla exhaust and special Goodyear tyres. Each GT350 is only available in the legendary White with Guardsman Blue stripes colour-scheme, and all will be built as a special program at Shelby’s Las Vegas facility.

The full upfit package (base car not included) is $26,995 USD for the naturally aspirated model and $33,995 USD for the supercharged variant.

Global buyers trying to lay their hands on a Corvette ZR1 will probably find them in short supply. Now, German tuner of American cars GeigerCars is ready to save the day with the next best thing. Geiger has taken the lesser Corvette Grand Sport and blown and boosted it to near-ZR1 levels of power and performance.

Starting with the Grand Sport’s 6.2-litre LS3 V8, Geiger has strapped on a fat supercharger with a 2.3 litre capacity. This increases output from the stock 430 horsepower to a prodigious 588 at 6,490 rpm. This extra juice helps the Geiger GS hit 100 kph in under four seconds. This still isn’t as quick as the  ZR1′s supercar numbers, with its 638 horsepower and 3.3-second sprint, but it’s still a lot of go.

Aesthetic upgrades include wider front and rear guards with additional vents to accommodate larger brakes, and special emblems. Connecting power to the road are 18 and 19-inch alloy rims with 275/35 and 325/30 tyres.

See below for a full list of technical specifications.

Technical Specifications – Geigercars.de Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport

Engine: 6.2 litre V8
Output: 588 hp at 6,490 rpm
Torque: 738 N m at 4,030 rpm
Top speed: 337 km/h
Supercharger with 2.3 litre capacity and 0.6 bar charging pressure
Transmission: Six-speed manual transmission (5th and 6th gears modified)
Light alloy wheels - 18 inch front / 19 inch rear
Tyres: 275/35 ZR18 front / 325/30 ZR19 rear
Base model: EUR 66,900
Performance upgrade: EUR 16,450
Modified transmission ratio: EUR 2,800

The New 2010 Range Rover Sport Supercharged 0mph to 100mph and back

Take one standard SS Commodore. Add a dose of Harrop¦

It’s 1am in the morning and it’s been a fruitful night fishing. Having distributed the haul I now have to drop off a couple of fishing buddies back home. As we are travelling down the motorway we notice that the west-bound lanes have been totally blocked off for, you guessed it, ‘road works’. Now this would normally send me into a tail spin, as I am not the most patient of people at the best of times, particularly when all I want to do is get some shut-eye. However in this case I was remarkably calm, and it may have had something to do with the fact that I had just taken delivery of a Holden Commodore SS — and not any old SS but a Harrop Enhanced SS, complete with a supercharger, upgraded brake package and an upgraded differential. Having to take the alternative (longer) route home suddenly wasn’t such a chore, and a 10-minute journey down the road turned into a 30-minute trip back, but hey, who’s counting.

Having been for a ride in Harrop Industries general manager Ken Nunn’s car in Melbourne, I had an appreciation of what it would be like driving a Harrop supercharged V8, but you wonder what it would be like owning one. Or in this case living with one for a couple of weeks. The short answer is, it’s a lot of fun. This car is just like any other SS on the road, and other than a discreet Harrop badge on the rear and red Harrop callipers tucked behind the alloys, you would not pick it from the crowd. In fact it doesn’t even have a big-bore exhaust. This is the type of performance car that can quite happily trundle down to the supermarket and can be used as a daily runner around town.

S is for Supercharger

The only time there is a hint of what lies beneath is when you depress the accelerator ever so slightly, and you notice that you are accelerating slightly faster than you thought you would, as the supercharger is quietly doing its job from the word go. Push the throttle a bit further and you start to hear the whine of air being forced down the scroll. Floor it and all hell breaks loose as Clark Kent turns into Superman in an instant.

S is for Stunning

The supercharger turns a fast car into an impressively fast car. Whereas the standard 5.7-litre Gen III struggles a bit down low, this car has power constantly on tap. It is quite happy to pull at low revs and so it’s not as critical to be in the right gear. The torque allows you to use sixth gear more comfortably on the open road, even for overtaking. More often than not, with a six-speed LS1 you find yourself having to drop down from sixth to fifth for hills or slower traffic, but not in this car. If you need to overtake quickly it is just fantastic. Chop down to third and floor it, and you feel the instant torque pull you past the obstacle in front and you are back in the safe zone in no time, especially good for avoiding stone chips from fully laden trucks leaving a trail in their path. You do have to be judicious with the accelerator when engaging the clutch as the accelerator is quite sensitive, and to be honest, it did take an hour or so to get used to the electronic throttle/ supercharger combo.

S is for Short Shift

Harrop has also fitted its short shifter upgrade kit, which is designed to reduce the dreaded ‘missed gear’ problems associated with the Tremec T56 Holden six-speeder. The throw for both forward and rear from neutral has been reduced by approximately 30¯per cent, making the gear shift feel more positive but without reducing the height of the standard gear lever. Combined with the extra torque, gear changes become effortless and happen more rapidly.

Having spent a week driving around town, the fuel computer was displaying 15.1¯litres per 100km which, considering the type of conditions, was a reasonably good figure. You find yourself using the supercharger all the time, whether it’s to merge comfortably with traffic or to get out of a hazardous situation, and it’s nice to know the extra torque is there when you need it. On a day trip out of town this figure dropped to 12.1¯litres per 100km and was showing a total distance to fill up of 700km, which is exactly what you would expect from a standard SS.

This article is from NZV8 issue 11. Click here to check it out.