It may be a bit on the pricey side, but you’d be hard pressed not to want to cruise around in James Bond’s very own Aston Martin DB5.  And, assuming money is no object of course, you can very soon.

That’s because in October the 1964 DB5 featured in Thunderball and Goldfinger is going up for auction in Battersea Park in London.

What’s more, its still got the toys, including tyre shredders, smoke machine, revolving number plates and machine guns (while details are scant, I doubt these are fully operational, but still…).

And as for the price – well, it’s an auction so who knows, you might get a bargain!  You can dream anyway…

James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 at RM Auctions

Although it’s only a concept at the moment, this beauty is set to become the Veyron’s four-door big brother.  Initial suggestions claim that it will be no less exciting than it’s record-breaking sibling – and no less expensive either.

Powered by the same 8.0-litre W-16 engine as the Veyron, but with dual superchargers instead of four turbos, and the engine mounted up front this time, the Galibier is certainly going to be no slouch in the performance department.  Transmission is said to be an 8 speed automatic box rather than the 7 speed DSG employed by it’s “little” bro.

Style wise Bugatti have gone all out, with an interior to put the most exquisite of private jets to shame and a spine feature running right down the centre of the car from nose to tail.  LED lighting and no less than 8 tailpipes finish off the exterior.

The big question is will they actually put it into production, but either way you can feast your eyes on all the photos over at autoblog.

Looking for your next weekend track day rocket?  Got deep pockets?  If the answer to either of these is no they you’re probably better off skipping BMW’s latest monster.

I know what you’re thinking, that’s a Z4 with a bodykit.  You’d be right, but this is no Max Power hairdresser’s car.  Sporting a 4-litre V8, racing wheels, and a spoiler you could do your ironing on, the GT3 is sure to answer all the allegations that the Z4 is a bit, well, girly.

This is strictly for the track though and not for a trip to Waitrose – even if it does end up being road-legal when it is released in Q2 2010 you can be sure that enormous front splitter isn’t speed bump friendly…

The damage?  If the pre-release european pricing is anything to go by don’t expect much change from £315,000.

More info on the BMW website

Struggling what to get as a Christmas present for a driving-mad bloke who has already done a Ferrari track day?  Struggle no longer!  For £100 Firebox is offering the ultimate in mad driving experiences.

Remember Wacky Races?  Well, you don’t get to drive the Bouldermobile or chat up Penelope Pitstop in the driver’s lounge but this is probably as close as you can ever get to being Dick Dastardly in real life.

Drive around a track on an office desk (shirt and ties provided), blast around the countryside in a street-legal double bed, pilot a 87mph leopard-print sofa around a track and take the controls on the “double decker”, a bizarre creation which is steered from the top deck and powered from below…

It’s not likely to be quite as serious as kissing the apex in an Aston Martin, but I’d be hard pressed to decide which sounds like more fun…

Wacky Racers Driving Experience – £99.99 from Firebox

You’d be forgiven for thinking that you’re looking at a photo of a Lamborghini Murciélago, but you’re not.  That’s real in-game graphics from the latest in the Xbox 360 racing franchise, Forza 3 – a game which is prompting comments such as “the very best racing game there is on the console market” from reviewers (IGN).It’s not just the graphics which set this game apart though, each and every car featured has been modeled painstakingly, to get the driving experience as close to perfect as possible.

This is a game for car lovers as much as for gamers – boasting an army of 400 cars and 100 tracks you’re going to have to be pretty unlucky if your dream car isn’t in there somewhere!

Forza 3 is available now from Amazon for £34.99.

]]> http://www.mantrends.co.uk/2009/11/forza-3/feed/ 0 http://www.mantrends.co.uk/2009/11/veritas-rs-iii/ http://www.mantrends.co.uk/2009/11/veritas-rs-iii/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:26:37 +0000 admin http://www.mantrends.co.uk/?p=182

You may have already seen this car – or the pre-production version at least – being hammered around the Top Gear test track by Richard Hammond.  In the year or so since then it’s been given a facelift to make it look more like the lunatic it really is, and has finally been put on sale.

This demonic looking single-or-2-seater is built at the Nürburgring in Germany and pushes out just over 500bhp courtesy of a 5 litre V10 engine from a BMW M5.  0-62mph is done away with in 3.2 seconds, and the top speed is a blistering 215mph.  It’s kitted out with Brabham brakes, leather racing seats and… er… that’s about it.  Equipment levels are reassuringly sparse.  The production run is limited to just 30 cars (of which 5 are already sold) and delivery will start in January 2010.

So what’s not to like?  Well, nothing if you approve of your car grinning like a serial killer and costing around £300,000…

Veritas RS III – found via Uncrate

Many are saying that the e-Wolf e2 takes it’s styling cues from Lamborghinis and the angular Ferrari Enzo, and you can see their point.  What sets this particular (and at the moment theoretical) supercar apart is what’s under the bonnet.

Rather than a roaring V12, the e-Wolf uses 4 134bhp electric motors – one for each wheel.  This should give it a 0-60 time of comfortably under 4 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph, without shouting about it it all.  In fact you’ll probably only hear the road noise from the tyres.

Fuel-wise the e2 will run on 84 lithium ion batteries, and the creators claim that it should manage 300km (just under 190 miles) on a single 30 minute charge.

No news on pricing yet but if they ever put this into production my guess is that you should probably start saving now…

via Autoblog

McLaren have unveiled what they are calling an “F1 car for the road” – the 240mph MP4-12C.  Drawing on their heritage in Formula 1, McLaren claim to have employed technical innovations usually only found in racing cars, while using adaptable suspension technology to make it usable day-to-day.

Lining up as the successor to McLaren’s 1990s F1 – at the time the fastest production car in the world – is a hard act to follow, but the MP4 doesn’t seem to be lacking in the performance department.  The engine is a 3.8 litre V8 twin turbo pushing out 600bhp, allowing a 0-60 time of just 3.4 seconds.  The 2-seater’s body is made primarily from carbon fibre to reduce weight and increase rigidity, and the all-important supercar gullwing doors are present.

The bad news?  Even if your pockets are deep enough to handle the “affordable” £150,000 price tag, you’re still going to have to wait until 2011.  The good news?  It’s made in Surrey, so if you need an excuse, buy local.

McLaren website