It’s been a year-and-a-half since Maserati lifted the wraps off a drop-top version of its GranTurismo coupe at the Frankfurt Motor Show in late 2009, and now the Italians are getting ready to expand the range of the GranCabrio with the presentation of a sportier variant at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show.

The new GranCabrio Sport follows in the footsteps of its hardtop sibling offering an improved chassis, more horse power and optimized gearshift response. The convertible is motivated by a more potent and fuel-efficient version of the firm’s all-alloy 4.7-litre naturally-aspirated V8 churning out 450HP and 510 Nm or 376.2 lb-ft of peak torque, an increase of 10HP and 20Nm respectively over the standard GranCabrio. The top speed of the GranCabrio Sport is 285km/h or 177mph.

The company said the engine benefits from what it describes as “Maserati’s Friction Reduction Program”, without providing any specific details, but claims a 6% reduction in fuel consumption.

The V8 is coupled to an upgraded ZF six-speed automatic transmission equipped with the MC Auto Shift software from the Quattroporte Sport GT S, which promises faster shift times. Maserati’s engineers also revised the car’s Skyhook active-suspension system and added grooved and drilled dual-cast brake discs.

On the outside, the GranCabrio Sport receives some mild tweaks in the form of a black grille, smoked headlamps with white sidemarks, new front corner splitters and redesigned side skirts. There’s also a new shade of red called Rosso Trionfale, said to have been inspired by the red Italian national colors used on 1950s racing Maseratis.

Sales of the GranCabrio Sport will start from summer 2011.

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Next year we should see the birth of the Gillet Vertigo .5 Spirit, a supercar with amazing styling and Belgian roots. The looks will not be changed much, and the best mod can be found under the hood. The current Alfa Romeo V6 engine will be swapped out with a 4.2-liter V8 from Maserati. Resulting in 420 bhp through the six-speed sequential gearbox to the rear wheels. Now that may not sound like a lot of power, but when you match it up to the Gillet Vertigo that only weighs 990 kg with its carbon fiber design, you have a power to weight ratio matching some of the best exotics out there. However, this is still the factory Maserati engine, and extra tuning can be performed if needed.

In: Fancy Tuning

A couple of weeks ago, Chrysler announced details on the Dodge Mopar 10′ Challenger special, but kept the pictures under wraps simply teasing us with a single illustration of the muscle car.

Today, the company published a full set of images on the Mopar ’10 Challenger, which is available for pre-order now in a limited production of 500 units with pricing set at $38,000 for an automatic transmission and $39,000 for a manual gearbox.

The limited edition model is based on the 2010 Challenger R/T with the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine. Mopar, the parts and accessories arm of Chrysler, has spruced up the car with a raft of cosmetic and performance enhancements.

“Mopar ’10 has a wicked, sinister appearance that will turn heads.” said Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of Dodge, Chrysler Group LLC. “The Mopar brand resonates with hard-core enthusiasts, and this car will too.”

The car comes equipped with a hood-venting system, a cold-air intake, a front strut-tower brace with shock caps, and a unique engine cover plus a rear strut-tower brace that stiffens the chassis to improve handling.

The Mopar ’10 Challenger is available exclusively in black with blue, red or silver strips on the outside and matching accents inside. Exterior features include 20-inch forged heritage gloss-black wheels, black-chromed grille surround and a functional, vented T/A-style hood with vintage hood pins. And let’s not forget the Mopar logos that can be found just about everywhere, inside and out – we get it, it’s a Mopar special…

As for the interior, there’s Katzkin leather seating and a custom leather-wrapped steering wheel with baseball-style stitching, while nostalgia fans will surely dig the Mopar shifters (T-handle for automatics and Pistol Grip for manuals).

As a bonus, all owners will receive a unique cover and a special kit that includes a certificate with the vehicle identification number (VIN), date of build completion, and build number, and a limited-edition sketch of the car signed by Chrysler Group design boss Mark Trostle.

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In: Carscoop

This here conceptual proposal for a mid-engined supercar is the AMV-R (an acronym for Automotive Visual Racing) and it’s the brainchild of Alexei Mikhailov, a third year design student at the Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning in Toronto, Canada. The renderings were not accompanied by any details on the car, but we could easily see the AMV-R wearing the Pagani logo. More photos after the jump.

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In: Carscoop

For the first ever, Subaru is offering its top-of-the-line Impreza WRX STI in two body styles with the return of the four-door saloon model that’s aimed directly at the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X.

In addition to the new sedan model that’s distinguished by a large rear wing, the 2011 Impreza WRX STI features a series of improvements including revised suspension tuning, lighter 18-inch wheels and cosmetic tweaks.

Up front, the revised Impreza WRX STI hatchback gets sharpened bumper corners and wider, blacked-out fog lamp nacelles, a newly designed front grille with black base and blacked-out wing highlights.

The 4-door sedan model also benefits from newly designed wider rear fenders stretched out on the side beyond the tail lamps.

Inside, the 2011 MYs feature dark cast metallic trim panels and a new audio system with single-disc CD player, Bluetooth audio streaming and hands-free calling, iPod control capability, a USB port, 3.5mm aux. input jack and XM/SIRIUS satellite radio.

To further improve handling, Subaru reworked the Impreza WRX STI’s suspension. Aside from the lower ride height, the 2011 models also feature new pillow-ball bushings in front and stiffer bushings for the rear subframe.

Both the front and rear suspension systems now employ higher-rate springs and thicker front and rear stabilizer bars than the 2010 model (21 mm vs. 20 mm in front and 19 mm vs. 18 mm in rear), while spring rates have increased by 15.6 percent in front and 53 percent in the rear.

The 2011 Impreza WRX STI sedan and hatchback models are scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. later this summer.

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In: Carscoop

As a possible precursor of things to come, Toyota displayed a customized version of the all-new 2011 Scion iQ prepared by Five Axis at the New York International Auto Show.

The car’s exterior appearance has been beefed up with an aero kit that includes front and rear aprons, side skirts and fender extensions that allow the use of eye-catching 18-inch alloys wrapped in 215/40R18 Yokohama tires.

Inside, the special iQ show car gets custom leather-trimmed seats and door inserts and an Ultrasuede EcoDesign headliner.

As for the performance upgrades, Five Axis installed a TRD Custom Big Brake Kit and a Tein sports suspension.

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In: Carscoop

Hennessey Performance officially revealed the first images and full details about the Venom GT, a supercar based off the Lotus Elise and Exige models. Powered by a 6.2-liter LS9 V8 engine from a Corvette ZR1, the tuners were able to boost the output to 725 hp. Hennessey Performance also plans to offer a twin-turbo version of the V8, with numbers well beyond 1,000 horsepower. The Venom GT car you see here weighs only 1,071 kg thanks to the carbon fiber body, and wheel package put together with the lightest parts. With this light of a car, Hennessey claims the 1,200 hp model can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just 2.4 seconds with a top speed of 440 km/h. It should destory the factory Bugatti Veyron, since its top speed is only 408 km/h, and the Venom GT is significantly lighter.

If you’re planning to grab one of the limited Hennessey Performance Venom GT’s, start shopping for the cheapest car insurance because the car alone will empty your pockets. The base price of the 1,000 hp model is $600,000, and four out of the 10 that Hennessey will build each year have already been sold. Since the Venom GT is extremely fast, the engineers installed a high performance braking system from Brembo with 6-piston calipers in the front, and 4-piston calipers in the rear. Carbon ceramic rotors measuring 15-inches assist the Brembo brakes while stopping the modified sports car. The vehicle also features a six-speed gearbox from Ricardo, full adjustable suspension, Michelin PS2 tires wrapping the carbon wheels, and a programmable traction control system.

In: Fancy Tuning

Now this is a Hummer! We’ve seen some interesting things done to the Hummer H2, however GeigerCars latest build definitely tops them all with this Mattracks rubber tracking system. Called the Hummer H2 Bomber, the tuning company swapped the regular 20×8.5 wheels with a Mattracks 88M1-A1 rubber track kit that can handle almost any type of terrain. The rubber tracks are 40 cm wide and 150 cm long and powered by the 398 hp V8 engine. Torque numbers show 574 Nm, so the new wheels package on the GeigerCars Hummer H2 should be similar to a war tank. I’m just wondering if they took this idea from the Subaru Impreza WRX STi Trax.

GeigerCars has always loved the American cars, and this isn’t their first Hummer project. Last year we got a taste of the pimped out Hummer H2 Latte Macciatto, but this build beats all Hummer tuning kits by far. The interior was customized and finished in matte silver, while the exterior received an army style rack with extra headlights. Inside you will find a sunroof, navigation system, Kenwood DVD player, roof monitor, and rear view camera monitoring system. GeigerCars offers a LPG Autogas fuel tank system that can hold 155 liters, and a few extra enhancements to the sporty Hummer.

In: Fancy Tuning

This is the latest Range Rover Sport project from the tuning firm Hamann, which they call the Conqueror II package. The Hamann Conqueror II features several styling and performance upgrades with a stunning new aero kit. Consisting of a new front bumper with integrated LED daytime running lights, the Range Rover also received wing extensions, a carbon bonnet, new rear apron with diffuser look, and a new roof spoiler. Hamann then installed large 23-inch black wheels with a stainless steel chrome lip that come wrapped in high performance tires.

In the power department the most important upgrades were made to the Hamann Range Rover Sport with the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine. After the tuning, the sport SUV now delivers 560 hp at 6,500 rpm with a maximum torque of 685 Nm, which is 50 hp and 60 Nm more than the stock Range Rover Sport HSE.

These performance gains come from the installation of a stainless steel exhaust system with four end pipes, metal catalysts, high performance manifold, a center pipe set, and tweaks to the electronics. For those with the 3.0-liter TDV6 base model engine, Hamann offers a tuning program to increase its performance numbers to 280 hp and 660 Nm of torque.

In: Fancy Tuning

CFC, which stands for Car Film Components, is a German based tuner who decided to pimp out this Hummer H2 with several chrome accessories. They claim this build to be pretty sexy, but honestly I could only see popular rappers such as Lil Wayne or Drake driving a car like this. Their tuning firm decided to wrap the Hummer H2 SUV in chrome vinyl, and black out the windows with tint before adding the CFC stickers on the side. The most attracting feature on the vehicle are definitely the huge 28-inch light alloy chrome wheels from TunerShop, which come wrapped in 325/35 R28 tires from Kumho. Moving to the interior however, CFC went over the top on this Hummer H2.

Inside the CFC Hummer H2, you will find 17 LCD screens, HDTV, DVD player, a powerful 1.360w RMS sound system, mini bar, black leather seats, and a new sofa in the back with yellow trim all around the dashboard to match the stitching. I don’t really see the purpose of adding 17 LCD monitors, it’s sort of like asking someone to steal your car, since that many electronics would be considered a shop over a functioning vehicle. But at least we can say the tuners attempted to improve the performance. CFC was able to increase the power output to 480 hp with some tuning. They even installed a new exhaust system, chrome side guards, and Lambo style doors, which you don’t see too often on a Hummer H2.

In: Fancy Tuning