2012 Mustang GT500 to have 500hp twin turbo Coyote V8?

The Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 is well renowned for it's power and ability to move quickly in a straight line. About the only thing that folks complain about is the car's porky curb weight. With the car being awfully heavy, it makes it tough to exhibit the type of handling and fuel economy that Ford would probably like to have with the car.

Part of what makes the car heavy is the cast iron block of it's 5.4L V8. With the heft of that, combined with extra equipment, the GT500 is 400 pounds heavier than a GT. We already know that the Mustang is getting powertrain updates in the next couple of years, with EcoBoost engines coming out and the debut of the new 5.0L "Coyote" V8.

Now PickupTrucks.com is reporting that for 2012, the Coyote should spawn a twin turbo variant with over 500 hp for the GT500. With an aluminum block, this engine figures to be markedly lighter than the current engine, which should give the car much better handling. And then there's this report in Autoguide.com that happens to say that there will be an aluminum block 5.4 in the 2011 GT500.

Maybe it's just us, but the latter option sounds a little more realistic. There is already an aluminum version of the 5.4L (see: Ford GT), and a twin turbo 5.0 putting out 500hp would have to be detuned considerably to "only" put out that kind of power.

Mr. Norm builds a new L'il Red Express

In the murk that was the late 70's, there was very little performance to be found. Most "muscle cars" still had V8's, but sadly they were choked with smog equipment and putting out sad levels of horsepower. Car manufacturers left the flashy decals on but took away all the fun in the name of expensive gas and emissions requirements.

One vehicle that managed to emerge through this mess and make a statement was the Dodge L'il Red Express, which was built in 1978 and 1979. The little truck that could snickered in the face of regulations with it's twin smoke stacks sticking up in the sky and ripping off 14.7 second quarter mile times with it's 360 V8. That was good enough to make it the quickest vehicle produced in 1978, and is still pretty quick by today's standards.

Mr. Norm is bringing back the icon of a dark era by producing his own tribute to the L'il Red Express in his own shop, utilizing the new Dodge Ram. The only downside is that in order to keep the cost down, you won't see huge exhaust stacks on the side of the new Express. Turns out fitting a stepside bed to a new Ram would be too costly and pointless. If you want to see a comparison between old and new, check it out here.

Geiger GTS, the German version of a Corvette ZR1

German tuner Geiger has produced it's own version of the venerable Corvette ZR1, dubbed the Geiger GTS. A few tweaks to the powertrain net an additional 63hp, bringing the grand total up to 710, while torque is up to 677 lb-ft.

OZ Racing wheels replace the originals, 19 x 10 in the front and 20 x 12 in the rear, and they are shod in 285/30ZR19 and 345/25ZR20 Michelins respectively.

The stock Corvette ZR1 nose and tail have been swapped out for some Geiger custom parts, and aggressive side sill extensions have been added. The custom paint is color shifting pearl white with black accents.

PRESS RELEASE

Geiger GTS: Extreme sportsman with retro elements

The announcement was clear: "It is very important for Corvette, to offer the strongest, most high performance and best sports car in terms of handling in the USA." With these words the former chairman of General Motors Rick Wagoner set his engineers a clear goal around two years ago, which also included trumping the Dodge Viper SRT10, which was shown at the Detroit Car Show shortly before, in all regards.

The technicians got to work and so the next year the persons responsible were able to proudly unveil the quickest and highest performance series vehicle ever produced by General Motors: the Corvette ZR1.

Under the sheer endlessly long bonnet of the ZR1 lurks a newly developed LS9 6.2 litre small block V8 with compressor supercharging. Pressurised by the Eaton R2300 compressor with up to 0.72 bar, this primitive engine gets up to 647 HP and a maximum torque of 823 Nm.

Further technical highlights of the extreme Corvette are its high performance breaking system with their 394 and 381 mm diameter carbon ceramic discs, as well as the electronically controlled suspension "Magnetic Selective Ride Control" with track level suspension mounting. Bonnet, roof, sill, rear wing and front spoiler are made of super light, but at the same time high strength carbon.

GeigerCars.de from Munich, which has specialised in the import and refinement of US cars for years, has not only brought this extreme sportsman from the United States to Germany, it has also optionally subjected it to diverse tuning measures at the same time – the first example of the Corvette ZR1 "Geiger GTS" will be presented to the world public at the 63rd International Automobile Exhibition at Frankfurt am Main from 17th to 27th September.

The datasheet for the Corvette ZR1 "Geiger GTS" shows 710 HP maximum performance with 6,600 rotations per minute and the car produces gigantic 918 Nm on the crankshaft at only 4,200 revs. Set up in this way the ZR1 storms up to 100km/h in just 3.6 seconds, and at the same time nails the back of the occupants' head to the head rest of the Geiger carbon sport seats. The propulsion only ends at a speed of 342 kilometres per hour.

At these values the hardest work is done by the 10 x 19 and 12 x 20 inch high performance tyres mounted on light metal rims with the dimensions 285/30ZR19 at the front and 345/25ZR20 at the rear tyres.

Of course GeigerCars extensively modified the look of the Corvette, lending it a styling, which is reminiscent of the large Gran Turismos of the 60's and 70's. The front and back were extensively modified; a wide air vent dominates the nose, while a massive diffuser attracts attention at the back. Both the fog and rear lights are based on modern LED semi conductive technology. The three layer mother of pearl varnish of the Corvette ZRI "Geiger GTS" with changing colour play is also a real eye catcher.

Any further information as well as price and delivery information can be found directly at:

GeigerCars.de GmbH
Truderinger Str. 265
81825 Munich
Germany
Tel: +49 89 / 427164 13
Fax: +49 89 / 427164 10
www.geigercars.de
info@geigercars.de