The Model Spot - SA

Since American toy maker Mattel introduced the first Hot Wheels die cast car in 1968, very little has changed except one major item - the design. The iconic success of the 1/64th scale cars is due to the innovative designs over the years, and to celebrate the brand's 40th Anniversary, Mattel invited auto manufacturers to participate in the Hot Wheels Designer's Challenge. Debuting at last year's Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show, designs from Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Lotus and Mitsubishi were selected and Honda's Racer car will be the first to hit stores in May.

"The Honda Racer combines the excitement of Honda's racing heritage with Hot Wheels' reputation for speed, power, performance and attitude," says Guillermo Gonzalez, senior designer of Honda R&D Americas, Inc., and designer of the Honda Racer. "The core concept is built around our idea for an 'ultimate racecar' and leverages the design freedom made possible by a scale model car."

Key design features (real and imagined) include the Honda “H” body shape which places driver and navigator on either side of the gullet gulping 20.0-liter (yes, you read correctly – that is 2.0-liters per cylinder) Honda V-10 VTEC engine with twisted Medusa exhaust pipes flying out the rear. Other exterior design elements are inspired by Honda's early participation in Formula 1 racing with the livery from its 1967 RA 273(TM) racecar.

The only required element of the design brief was that the car had to fit on the Hot Wheels orange track and perform a loop.

Tuning Ferrari's is always tricky business, these cars are already fine-tuned to the extreme and are left with little room for improvement. But leave it to edo Competition to take the Italian prancing pony to a new level.

Last year November edo Competition set to work on the engine resulting in two engine upgrades, Stage 1 called the 599 GTB with 650 hp with 660 Nm torque (up from factory 620 hp and 608 Nm torque) and Stage 2 630 GTB with 750 hp and 720 Nm torque.

Today edo has revealed a new aerodynamic package for their 599 GTB and 630 GTB in order to adapt aerodynamics to the higher top speed and increased cooling demands caused by the power hike, the 630 GTB Scuderia package.

The new front apron features a larger cooling air inlet improving the engines thermal balance, the larger center inlet provides cool air for the brakes and the front spoiler improves downforce on the front axle. The side skirts reduce crosswind sensitivity and improve wheelarch ventilation. A new 6 blade diffuser enhances rear axle downforce at higher speeds, while the carbon lip spoiler adds to the stability and rear downforce. All the new parts are made of carbon fibre and reduce the weight of the car by 50 kg.

The Concorso D’Eleganza Villa D’Este, in the lake Como, in Italy, is sponsored by BMW since it was revived, in 1999, and the German brand always finds space to show amazing concept cars there. Sadly, none of them has made it into production so far. Some of the stars have been the Mille Miglia Concept and the Rolls-Royce 101EX. In this year’s edition of the event, BMW will pay homage to one of its most important cars, the M1, which celebrates 30 years in 2008. But the Bavarian company did not intend only to cherish its creation, it also wanted to present a modern interpretation of that supercar. Meet the M1 Homage concept. With it, the tradition on Villa D’Este’s concepts may be about to change.

It is not only the concept’s striking looks that may give it a chance to be produced, even if in a small scale. The new car may also have come to life in a proper moment for BMW to give its production a serious thought. Mercedes-Benz has realized it may be a good idea to offer supercars and, when SLR’s production ceases, in 2009, it already has plans to revive the Gullwing, currently being tested under a Viper-like body. Even Audi has given it a try and is not complaining about R8 sales and brand-image benefits. Hence, why would BMW stay out of such a market?

Chrysler has called in the help of tuning experts DUB Magazine to create two limited edition models, one for the Chrysler 300 Touring and one for the Dodge Charger SXT. Both cars will go on sale later this spring with an MSRP of USD 33,140 for the 300 Touring and USD 30,235 for the Charger.

Both DUB Editions receive more than their fair share of chrome exterior details like mirror caps, MOPAR honeycomb grille and door handles. Under the hood both cars use a 250-horsepower 3.5 liter V6 engine hooked up to a five speed automatic transmission with Auto Stick feature. Chrysler has also fitted a performance tuned suspension. Of course DUB logos are found throughout the car, both inside and outside.

The limited edition models both feature leather-trimmed seats, leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, 13-speaker KICKER audio system and a MyGIG Multimedia Infotainment System. The cars sit on 20-inch aluminum wheels with 245/45R20 all-season performance tires.

"The Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 are hot vehicles to begin with. Once people see the 20-inch wheels and listen to the 13-speaker KICKER surround-sound system, they'll feel like they're in a show car, but with a factory-backed warranty," said DUB's President and Co-Founder, Myles Kovacs.