The recently held SEMA Show in Las Vegas saw some awesome tuner cars unveiled but there was also some high-tech crate engines revealed. The big daddy of the lot came from Nelson Racing Engines in the form of a 10.4 litre, twin-turbo V8 unit.

It’s a radical motor that’s 632 cubic inches and produces 1400 hp (1044 kW) of power and 1896 Nm of torque. If those figures aren’t enough for you then fill the tank with racing fuel and output boosts up to a staggering 2300 hp (1715 kW) and 2844 Nm of torque. That’s more than twice the output of a Bugatti Veyron.

It’s a amazing piece of kit and it comes with an equally amazing price tag US$52,000 or $66,900 in NZ currency. Big power always comes with big costs.

Following on from positive feedback at this year’s Australian International Motor Show, FPV has just announced the launch of its most limited edition vehicle to date, the 2011 GT Black.

Based on the black-on-black FPV GT Concept this special Falcon will be put into limited production of just 125 units with only 8 coming to New Zealand.

The GT Black will make use of the standard supercharged Boss 335kW GT engine, but receives a number of styling tweaks.

“We were totally blown away by the positive feedback received from fans and show-goers on our Concept,” FPV General Manager Rod Barrett said. “We knew we had a winner with the black paintwork and we wanted to action something immediately. The GT Black is the beginning of some exciting times ahead as we continue to work on new product and design enhancements to reflect the needs and wants of the market.”

With all black finished styling, black alloy wheels, black tail pipes and all-new matt black striping decals the GT Black sticks to its theme and creates a menacing figure. It will only be available in black. (more…)

Name: Deanna Molony
Car: HSV Clubsport

Hi Deanna. Nice car, how long have you owned it?
I have owned it for about three months, and it’s been the best three months ever!

Most young women don’t drive late-model Holdens, what made you decide to get one?
I had always wanted one and everyone said I was a dreamer, so I said to dad, should we go have a look? I wanted a black V8 six-speed manual or nothing at all!

I saw this black Clubsport and had to have it; the fact that it was black and manual was very rare. It’s awesome having a V8 that many males dream of, ha ha!

Have you done any modifications to it?
I have just had it lowered at this stage.

Any more plans?
I was thinking 20-inch deep-dish wheels wouldn’t go amiss, even a slightly louder exhaust would be awesome, too. (more…)

A brand new sports coupe with a V8 heartbeat will catch the interest of most of us, but what if it’s built by Kia? It’s tough to know but the Korean carmaker might be willing to find out, if recent reports prove true.

Kia has a new K9 sedan coming up in its future with plans to sell it from next year. This K9 platform may lend itself to a rear-wheel-drive layout and even a V8 engine. But Kia wants to get even sportier and apparently will release a pair of RWD coupe concepts to check public interest and reception. Is it just crazy enough to work? Kia plans to find out at the Frankfurt Motor Show with its first coupe and then reveal a second concept at the Detroit Auto Show next January. If the hard-to-please V8 crowd think the concepts are the business then a production model could be ready for 2015. (more…)

It’s not every day you step into the fastest race car you’ll likely ever take a ride in. Just ask NZV8 photographer Croy, who claims the Juno race car to be one of only two cars to have ever scared him.

His ride came recently, when we were invited to the launch of a truly special piece of race car engineering — the Synergy V8-powered Juno Racing vehicle. UK-derived and brought to New Zealand by UK-born Taupo resident Chris Hold, the Juno first popped up on the radar in late 2008. Originally powered by a 2.0-litre engine from late-model Honda Civics and tuned to create around 250hp, the Juno competed in a couple of local races.

However, director Chris says, “After originally wanting Hondas, I realised the Kiwi love for V8s.” Too right.

It just so happened that Chris crossed paths with Simon Longdill, a mechanical engineer who designed and built the Synergy V8 platform back in 2005. As a fellow engineer, Chris looked at the computer designs and needed no more convincing. A deal was struck, and Simon got to work piecing together the 2.4-litre Synergy V8. Built using two Kawasaki ZX-1200 motorbike heads, the Synergy produces a wild 400hp at 11000rpm. Taking into consideration that the Juno Racing chassis tips the scales at around the 600kg mark, the numbers start to get serious.

We weren’t there to be dazzled by the numbers, though. We were there to see how Juno and Synergy met in the middle. (more…)

The Sounds of Chrome Festival is all set for this weekend (26- 27 Feb 2011) and has something for all V8 fans. This inaugural event will celebrate all things V8, including V8s from Australia, Europe, America and Asia (JDM).

There will also be an Auto Trade Show, demonstration racing cars, bikinis, Metalman Burn out Competition, Kids Zone and even cheerleaders as well as a licensed premises.

There is also Radio Hauraki’s Live rock concert on the Saturday evening with Dragon headlining the night with The Jordan Luck Band and Dirty Dozen.

Mothers are the Masters of Metal and they are excited to be hosting the inaugural Mothers V8 Auto Festival at Sounds of Chrome. Mothers loyal customers have been polishing Chrome on their vehicles with Mothers Chrome Polish since Jesus was a cowboy, so they thought it’s only fair to give you a highly polished V8 Auto Festival.

Kicker Car Audio are special guests and will be hosting New Zealand’s largest display of supercharged V8s. A People’s Choice competition will be running on Saturday with fantastic Mothers Car Care Prizes up for grabs. Dr Detail will be on hand offering advice on caring for your car’s interior and exterior. The Pavilion will have a selection of new handpicked V8 powered vehicles from select dealers.

Hampton Downs Motor Sport Park that is located 30 minutes south of Papakura, or 45 minutes north of Hamilton.

Come share in the festivities in what will be a true petrolhead weekend! If you have an immaculate V8, V10 or V12 powered vehicle, bring it along, display it and parade it around Hampton Downs International Circuit! (more…)

The year was 1969 and it was the heyday for American muscle cars but no one predicted the impact the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was about to have. It was a hard-performing monster featuring an all-aluminum engine displacing 427 cubic inches that was originally only intended for racing purposes. Just 69 examples of the ZR1 were built and unsurprisingly, they remain much coveted by car collectors today. To relive the interest and uncompromising performance of the original ZL1 Chevrolet have resurrected the name plate for what it is calling the fastest and most technologically advanced Camaro ever built.

While specifications haven’t been finalised, Chevrolet says that the new ZL1 Camaro will come packing an LSA 6.2-litre supercharged V8 engine that will pump out an estimated 550 horsepower and a massive 745 Nm of torque. The heavyweight engine will be mated to a six-speed manual transmission with a dual-disc clutch system and a short-throw shifter. GM is staying closed-lipped on performance numbers for now, but with 550-ponies packed under the bonnet, the ZL1 will move with some pace.

Away from the supercharged V8 engine and the new transmission, the ZL1 also boasts a series of chassis upgrades including a reworked suspension setting with a Magnetic Ride Control system. Putting down the anchors is a high-performance Brembo brake system with six-piston calipers up front and four at the back. A brand new electric power steering system and 20-inch lightweight alloy wheels cloaked in Goodyear Supercar F2 tyres, finish off the package.

In terms of design there is a new body kit to adorn the ZL1 and separate it from lesser siblings. The kit has a new front fascia and air intakes, there is also a new aluminum bonnet with a satin black-finish and carbon fibre insert that uses an air extractor to increase downforce. (more…)

Last week we reported on the sad news that Formula 1 may make the change from V8 engines to four-cylinder power. Now it’s official, F1 will be trading in its high-revving V8 engines for a new turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine design by 2013. The new rules will, naturally, affect all teams and in addition to the new motors the maximum engine speed will be reduced from the current 18,000 rpm to a maximum of 12,000 rpm.

So why exactly? Well the changes are expected to allow the vehicles to use around 35 percent less fuel than the outgoing eight-pots, while still producing very similar power numbers. While neither the FIA nor F1 organisers have released official numbers, apparently the engines will use high-pressure gasoline injectors that can dump fuel into the combustion chamber at up to 7,251 psi.

As well as smaller engines teams will be allowed fewer of them, because F1 is also moving to limit the number of engines that a team can use during a season. Right now, the rules allow for a group of eight engines used in a season but by 2013, that number will drop to five before falling to four soon after. That in addition to achieving much better fuel economy and still producing high power, the new engines will need to be hardy enough to take the abuse of multiple races without blowing up.