Kahn Gives the Classic Land Rover Defender a Thorough Makeover

British design house Kahn has presented a new take on the original Land Rover Defender under the guise of the Chelsea Truck Company, which is one of Kahn's sub-brands for off-road vehicles. Aptly named the XS 90, the revamped three-door Defender is finished in an Orkney Grey color with contrasting satin black details that include the mesh headlamp and front grille protectors, side steps, bumpers, mirror caps and the Kahn design 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in BF Goodrich tires.
A lot more work went into the interior that was refashioned from top to bottom sporting front and rear racing car seats in quilted red leather and contrast stitching, with the same material also used on the door panels, the padded armrest, gear lever, roof lining, sun visors and sections of the dashboard.
The steering wheel rim is dressed in grey Alcantara while Kahn added a red fascia to the speedometer and rev counter.
There are no upgrades under the hood with the XS 90 offered with the stock 2.2-liter turbo diesel rated at 120hp (122PS) and 265 lb-ft (360Nm), coupled to a six-speed manual transmission.

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Fox Marketing Putting Together Supercharged Takata Racing FR-S

Weeks back, we saw Fox Marketing throw up an image on their Facebook page regarding a Yonaka Motorports built Scion FR-S for this year's upcoming SEMA show. Today, Fox Marketing has announced that a second build is in the works. This time it will carry the Takata Racing apparel and a not so orange paint job.
As for now, the tuning brand says that more details will be released in the upcoming weeks, but from what we can see, the Yonaka version will carry a similar body kit including new front grille, side splitters and massive rear racing wing. This car will also feature the only HKS powered supercharger in the U.S.
Fox says that this FR-S will debut in the Toyo Tires booth at this year's SEMA show in Las Vegas, as soon as they "find a white six-speed to build."
More to come, so stay tuned…
By Jeff Perez

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BBM Motorsport-Tuned VW Golf GTI All Wrapped Up and Boosted to 271-Horses

Even though a replacement is due in less than a year, the Volkswagen Golf GTI remains a darling of the tuning industry. This latest proposal comes from Germany's BBM Motorsport, which has combined forces with other aftermarket brands to create the car you see pictured here.
By reconfiguring the ECU and adding a custom exhaust system, BBM Motorsport was able to pump an extra 63 ponies and 100Nm (74 lb-ft) out of the GTI's 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder engine, with total output now standing at 271Hp (275PS) and 380Nm (280 lb-ft).
A new braking system with four piston calipers painted in red from StopTech along with tauter suspension parts from KW and new 20-inch alloy wheels shod in tires size 235/30R20 provide an upgraded ride and handling.
CFC-Styling station covered the car in a matte-blue foil wrap while the mirror caps, bonnet and rear diffuser are made out of carbon fiber.

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New Volkswagen Beetle 2.0 TDI ABT Souped up by ABT Sportsline

The minds at ABT Sportsline have turned their tuning guns on the diesel version of the new Volkswagen Beetle that benefits from a power upgrade as well as the usual cosmetic and chassis improvements. "It is really the right engine for this car," says Hans-Jürgen Abt, CEO and founder of ABT Sportsline. "Particularly people who use their car quite a lot will really value how economical but also torquey it is," he added.
The German firm tweaks the 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit to increase power from 138hp (140PS) and 320Nm (236 lb-ft) to 168hp (170PS) and 370Nm (273 lb-ft) and as a result, acceleration to 100km/h (62mph) drops from 9.4 seconds to 8.8 seconds.
ABT then fits the Beetle 2.0 TDI with a lowered sports suspension and a larger brake kit for the front axle with black painted calipers.
An available styling kit includes a front spoiler, a rear apron that encompasses a diffuser and the new twin oval exhaust pipes, head- and tail-lamp covers and a license plate insert.
Customers also can select from a variety of alloy wheels, in diameters from 18 to 20 inches shod in performance tires. 

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Anderson Germany gets Jiggy with Porsche Panamera GTS Sports Saloon

Created by Porsche to fill the gap between the 394hp (400PS) 4S and 493hp (500PS) Turbo Panamera models, the GTS comes with a mildly tuned naturally-aspirated 4.8-liter V8 engine delivering 424hp (430PS) and upgraded chassis components and looks. According to Porsche's own words, the Panamera GTS is the "sportiest model in the range", but that did not deter Anderson Germany from making a few changes of its own to allegedly improve the sports saloon.
The German tuner's engineers started off with the V8 engine that gains a software upgrade and a three-stage adjustable sports exhaust system that boost output to 501-horsepower (508PS).
A new electronic module allows the driver to drop the Panamera GTS's height-adjustable suspension by an additional 30mm, while the car now rides on massive 22-inch alloys wrapped in 265/30-22 tires at the front axle and 295/25-22 at the rear.
The exterior is then dressed in a new body kit that includes a restyled front bumper with an apron, headlamp surrounds, side skirts, new rear bumper trim, a rear apron housing a diffuser and tail light décor.
For the final touch, Anderson Germany takes on the interior, which is redone in a combination of leather and Alcantara with white diamond stitching.
Other upgrades include the white carbon trim package, new entry sills on the doors, footwell lighting in the front and the back with a dimming function and a high-end sound system with amplifier, subwoofer and a number of speakers.

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S.W.A.T. Volkswagen CC is Not What You Think

What does acronym S.W.A.T. stand for? Well, for most people it's the short form for 'Special Weapons And Tactics' used to describe an elite tactical unit in various law enforcement agencies. In this case, however, S.W.A.T. stands for 'Special Wagons And Tuning', which is the name of a German tuning group comprising the KBR Motorsport, Cover EFX, SH CarCare and CFX companies with the Volkswagen CC being one of its newest projects.
S.W.A.T. says that it crafted the CC to "act natural" through the use of a special camouflage-themed matte foil wrap.
In our book, camouflage means that a vehicle is dressed up in way that it remains unnoticed by blending with the environment, but unless we are living in a monochromatic jungle and we don't know it, we can't see the tuning firm's CC staying under the radar, quite the opposite actually...
Besides the new wrap, the Volkswagen saloon rides on a lowered sport suspension with shortened coilovers and colored 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped in tires size 225/30ZR20 on all four corners.
As a final touch, the German tuner says it upgraded the (unidentified) engine and exhaust system to lift output to 276hp (280PS).

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Superchips Electronically Boosts Ford's 1.0-liter EcoBoost Petrol Engine

Through the use of new software for the engine control unit (commonly known as ECU), UK's Superchips has been able to improve the performance of Ford's new 1.0-liter three-cylinder, direct injection turbocharged Ecoboost engine found on several European market models such as the Focus and the B-MAX. In stock trim, the three-cylinder gasoline unit is officially rated at 123hp (125PS) and 169Nm (125 lb-ft) or 200Nm (149 lb-ft) with the overboost function. On the dyno, Superchips found that the engine is slightly more powerful delivering 127hp.
After the company's engineers updated the ECU, the 1.0-liter engine was dyno-tested at 145hp (147PS) at 6,169 rpm and 227Nm (167 lb-ft) at 2,656 rpm.
The British tuning firm claims that the remap doesn’t detract from the standard Focus 125PS Ecoboost’s 56 mpg UK (46.6 mpg US or 5.0lt/100km) average fuel consumption, just as long as the car is driven in a "like for like" manner.
Superchip's ECU upgrade is priced at £455 (about US$713 or €580) including VAT and can be fitted on all arch 2012 onwards variants of the 125 PS (123 bhp) Ford Focus 1.0-litre Ecoboost models. 

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MR Car Design Spends €130,000 to Turn Rare BMW M3 CSL into a Racecar

Among the numerous limited edition M3s produced by BMW over the model's 26-year long history, the 2004 M3 CSL (for Coupé Sport Leichtbau, which translates to Lightweight Sport Coupe) holds a special place in the hearts of bimmer fans. Only 1,383 cars were produced for its 2004 model year run, with the emphasis being put on reducing weight over the regular model. The CSL had a curb weight of 1,385 kg (3,050 lb) making it 110 kg (240 lb) lighter than the normal M3, while other enhancements included a more powerful engine and a re-tuned suspension.
One of the M3 CSLs landed into the hands of German tuning firm MR Car Design, which turned the Bavarian sports coupe into a track racer for the REIL Performance racing team.
After gutting out the CSL's interior, the German crew began work to further lower the car's weight by replacing the side and rear windows with Plexiglas.
The CSL's bootlid was replaced by a carbon fiber version modeled after the regular model's boot as the tuner added a huge wing sourced from a Porsche GT3 racer.
MR Car Design then proceeded to upgrade the engine and exhaust boosting output to 386hp (392PS). Changes were made to the suspension and the braking system as well.
The car rides on a new set of BBS Motorsport alloy wheels wrapped in special Yokohama tires, while the tuner added quick release mechanisms for the hood and boot and finished off the exterior with a new wrap and livery.
The stripped interior of the M3 CSL was fitted with race-spec bucket seat, steering wheel and roll cage.
All told, the MR Car Design M3 CSL tips the scales at 1,260 kg (2,778 pounds) and according to the tuner, it can lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:43 minutes, or seven seconds faster than the time recorded by German car magazine Sport Auto in a stock M3 CSL.
The cost of the conversion is €130,000 or about US$160,000 at today's exchange rates.

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Color Me Orange: Dave Doetsch's Jeep Wrangler Unlimited "Crush Recovery"

We still have a long way to go before the 2012 edition of the SEMA Motor Show, which runs from October 30 to November 2, but OMIX-ADA, an independent manufacturer and wholesaler of Jeep parts and accessories, is trying to grab our attention with a new concept model scheduled to debut at the Las Vegas show. Named "Crush Recovery", the project car is based on the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 4x4. It is the work of Jeep builder Dave Doetsch and will be displayed at the OMIX/Rugged Ridge Off-Road Success Center.
Doetsch says he designed the Crush Recovery to be ultimate off-road vehicle to recover 4x4s stuck in the toughest terrain.
The go-anywhere Jeep Wrangler will be outfitted with more than 60 of the latest products from OMIX’s family of brands including, Alloy USA's high-strength chromoly axle shafts and Rugged Ridge's XHD Modular Aluminum Bumpers and new half doors.
A CGI of the 'Crush Recovery' concept follows below the jump.

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700HP Twin-Charged Ariel Atom Makes the Bugatti Veyron Look Tame

We'll be honest, the Ariel Atom is a favorite of ours. It's good looking, powerful and can put some bugs in your teeth.

Strangely though, we've never had the thought of what kind of automotive monstrosity the Atom would be if it had even more power. Thankfully, there are people in this world crazier than we are.

DDMWorks out of South Carolina has decided that the standard Atom needed a heluva lot more power, so they went ahead and added both a turbocharger and supercharger to the mix creating the monster you see in these pictures.

With some added work to the engine including Darton mid sleeves, ceramic-coated Wiseco pistons, H-beam Carrillo rods and ARP hardware, the heavily modified Ecotec 2.0L engine is now good for an earth moving 700bhp.

Weighing in at only 1,450 lbs (657kg), this puts the power to weight ratio of 2.07 lbs (1kg) per pony lower than most all million-dollar machines, including the Bugatti Veyron.

To manage all this newfound power, DDMWorks threw on a few extra inches in the rear with new 275-mm wide tires and custom 17x9 wheels.

The full Atom upgrade comes complete with three engine options of 450bhp, 575bhp or for the brave, the 700bhp flagship.

By Jeff Perez

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