Gear Patrol

Car guys dream of acquiring their own personal track monster. Some are bare bones beasts, as comfortable as a ride on the Coney Island Cyclone; others bear witness to modern sport-luxury. The Jaguar XKR-S GT clearly falls into the latter category, and the automotive world is a better place for it. Check out the nifty bits that $174,000 buys the fortunate in our breakdown of this masterful vehicle.

The Geneva Motor Show always showcases some of the most original (and still tasteful) automotive works out there, and the Italdesign Giugiaro Parcour is one of them — though no one’s quite sure what category it falls in. Part Lambo Gallardo, part SUV and all badass, the Parcour was designed as an “all-terrain GT” car.

The wraps just came off the Corvette Stingray Convertible, which will be sold alongside the hardtop in the fourth quarter of 2013. Powered by the same potent 6.2-liter LT1 V8 engine with 450 hp, the convertible sheds the metal for a fully electronic top that can be deployed or retracted at speeds of up to 30 mph. It’s the perfect new recipe for fast, top-down driving, American style.

Just introduced at the Geneva Motor Show, the Spyker B6 Venator Concept should prove to be a step in the right direction for the Dutch exotic car maker. With more pronounced design features than the C8 Aileron, the Venator houses a powerful 385+ hp V6 engine that’s positioned behind the cabin for optimal performance and balance. It also may possess the most beautiful interior this side of a Bentley.

If the 991 isn’t enough for you, look to the all-new 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 to satisfy your greedy longings. The GT3 delivers some serious firepower in the form of a 3.8-liter flat six engine that puts 475 hp to the rear wheels, giving the GT3 a 0-60 time of 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 195 mph. The question isn’t whether the GT3 is right for you, but are you man enough for it?

Your loyalties may lie with other sports car brands, but the Corvette garners respect from all automotive circles for its remarkable capabilities, especially in light of its price. The Corvette is truly an American automotive icon and easily qualifies as America’s supercar, though it didn’t always boast the performance numbers of today. For at least the past three generations, it has been widely considered a bargain, as far as supercars go — with the speed, handling and track chops to make cars costing three times more quake in their brake shoes. Follow the Corvette as we detail its humble C1 inception to its modern automotive exotica in the recently released C7.

As happy as we are to see a smorgasbord of automotive selections at the Detroit Auto Show this year, our pulses raced especially fast for sports cars. But even the definition of a sports car has changed. They don’t always have two doors anymore, and they may never even set tire on a track. But some things never change; what they still can do (at least the good ones) is perform and put a crick in your neck from looking too hard. Here are some of our favorites from NAIAS 2013.

The Bowtie has pulled the wraps off its pride and joy, the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, and the result is impressive: design language is evocative of past Corvettes, while embarking on a more aggressive, more sophisticated look.

The new 2013 Porsche Cayman borrows plenty of tricks from its droptop Boxster brethren, including double stacked headlights, an integrated rear spoiler, gaping side-scoops as well as a new front clip. Combined with a slightly longer wheelbase and wider track – this evolution of the Porsche progeny is a raw and visceral looking little beast…

Visiting a foreign country is always an experience, but doing it behind the wheel of a bespoke, high-performance automobile like the $200,000+ Bentley Continental GT leaves a deeper impression than usual. To say that the GT has presence is an understatement. The updated design captures the best of both worlds with its elegant lines and…

If ever there was a car that could make you an instant superhero with the neighborhood elementary school boys (and girls, for that matter), it would be the Porsche Cayman R, specifically painted in Peridot Metallic (a.k.a., Chernobyl Green). Consider it the ultimate Hotwheels sports car, come to life. We had the chance to toss…

Toyota’s sports car submission has been woefully absent from the automotive scene since the MR-2 Spyder bit its last customers in 2005. Well the Scion FR-S ($24,930) has something to say about that. Recently introduced with its sister vehicle, the Subaru BRZ, the FR-S is a game changer for the automaker. Initially, Toyota wasn’t too…

Stick a random sampling of certified “car nuts” into a room with instructions to create a top ten list, and you’ll likely find the 1989 Porsche RUF CTR, better known as the Yellowbird, on that list. While we usually don’t consult eBay for you, our discerning readers, one of only six aluminum Yellowbirds ever produced,…

The current Ferrari California, we confess, is a might overstyled and definitely gravitationally challenged. Nevertheless, it’s a Ferrari and we don’t besmirch many of them (except perhaps the Mondial). For 2013, they’ve improved upon it with the Ferrari California Handling Especiale, which bumps up the power output by 30 horsepower and drops nearly 70 pounds….

“What happens if we mix the sound of a classical orchestra with the modern tones of a powerful motorsound? What’s the outcome if we try to use the momentum of a melody and blend it to the deep sound of a V8 or the high tone of a biturbo engine?” These are the questions the…

Okay, so it sounds like an Italian pasta special, but the Arrinera is a bonafide high-powered supercar out of… Poland. Though it certainly doesn’t break any new ground, design-wise, except for possibly the insanely busy and somewhat disjointed rear end, it does echo some of the same elements from recent Lamborghinis, such as the Murcielago….

Jaguar has officially sloughed off the traditional designs that stood for decades. The new design era is officially in full swing, and they’ve not only penned but created the next star in their lineup, the Jaguar C-X16 Concept, which will show up in Frankfurt next week. This one’s got some big shoes to fill, as…

When you think of the classic British sports cars of the 1950s and ‘60s, MG, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Triumph tend to come to mind first. But arguably the most beautiful of the genre was the series of roadsters made by Austin Healey during the company’s short run, with their long sweeping haunches, short rear…

The Chevrolet Corvette is pretty much as American as it gets. Although the current C6 is a head-turner, a classic 1960′s vette is that much more noticeable. Well, Karl Kustom Corvettes combines the best of both worlds, taking the svelte body of what are referred to as the “Mid-Years,” 1960′s coupes and convertibles and incorporating…

Fact: silver is not the new black. Black never left. One need only look at the numerous special black edition cars emerging from the darkness these days for confirmation. Porsche is clearly no exception to this, with the new 2012 Cayman S Black Edition. With a 10 horsepower bump to 330, the 3.4 liter flat…

Porsche churns out versions of its classic and never long-in-the-tooth 911 like the Alien mother drops chest-bursters, furiously. Now, they’ve come up with their final iteration of the 997 chassis, the 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 ($185,000), the most powerful naturally aspirated 911 today. Let’s do the numbers. 4.0 liter 6-cylinder emitting an overly…

Following in the footsteps of its positively stunning predecessor, the Alfa Romeo 4C Concept is both lighter and smaller in dimensions than the 8C Competizione. The 4C Concept is built from carbon fiber and aluminum and manages to keep an ultralight weight of 1,873 lbs. Not nearly as powerful as its bigger brother’s V8, the…

Why be satisfied with a mere 500 horsepower in a four-door sedan when you could bump it up to 750. That seems to be the mindset Edo Competition had when they schemed up this “Moby Dick” modification to the Porsche Panamera. All of that added power allows their version of the luxury sedan (if you…

The yet-to-be-released 2011 Shelby Supercar Ultimate Aero II is the kind of vehicle Maverick might hop in to dogfight Jester, only to realize after hitting 275 mph that the vehicle doesn’t actually take to air. At least that’s the impression these newly released photos by Top Gear convey.

There’s no doubt that smaller cars are hot right now (finally). With the Geneva Auto Show around the corner, Mazda has thrown out a few teasers to the Mazdaspeed3, a devilish vehicle powered by a 263 horsepower 2.3 liter DISI turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Sure, it might not qualify as the best method of transportation for…

“This Car Can Drive Across Denmark In About 18 Minutes” Image & Quote Courtesy: The Truth About Cars Economic downturn be damned, I want 1,104 horsepower. I want it delivered through a manual gearbox to a pair of rear wheels that will vault me to 60 in about as long as it takes to say…

Porsche Discovers Rear Doors Courtesy: Porsche North America Porsche (pour-sha) is calling the Panamera a “Four-Door Grand Touring Sports Car.” We suppose they deserve the right to call it whatever they want, but we’ll fondly refer to it as a Porsche for the unselfish father. Throw in a couple of child seats in the rear,…

By: Daniel Mader | The Truth About Cars The California is a bit like my first girlfriend: pretty from the front, but a little frumpy at the rear, especially in the wrong clothes (sorry Sarah). This is Ferrari’s softer side. Huh? How can you mess with the classic GT recipe? Sorry Ferrari but the California…

By: Jay Shoemaker |

Somewhere Between Hot and Scalding The 2008 Paris Motor Show is well underway and there have been a few stars and duds. The XKR-S does not belong to the duds. Nay, it belongs to the fu$#ing hot category. Of course, buying a car is probably the last thing you’re thinking about doing now. Not that…