Auto car sports

The Volo Auto Museum in Illinois has put up for sale this matte gray 1970 Dodge Charger RT, which it claims was one of the cars driven by Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto in the 2009 Fast and Furious movie. The muscle car has all the expected custom touches like a sports steering wheel, stripped and customized interior and massive bonnet scoop. There isn't much information on the dealer's site, other than the fact it's an automatic V8 and that the appraised value is US$200,000. That's rather high, given that Hemmings values a 1970 Dodge Charger RT around the US$28,995 to $74,900 mark. Then again, those vehicles didn't make it to Hollywood. Fortunately, this one is selling for the low, low price of $129,998, or about $55k over a pristine non-movie car for the privilege of owning a vehicle that may or may not have had its seats caressed by Vin Diesel's tushie. Link: Volo _______________________________ GALLERY _______________________________

Do you want a car that, "look deferent and feel deferent [ sic ]"? If so, this Australian tuner - whose skill at vehicle modification is in line with his comprehension of the English language - has the car for you... The third generation Ford Taurus was not a very pretty car to begin with. Its ovoid shape, which extended to the taillights, rear window and even the dashboard was not especially attractive and made the car look like it was slowly melting. This enterprising owner has attempted to fix that by adding an ill-fitting body kit, hood and roof scoops and a generous amount of black and gold paint (which makes the car look like a tin of Lyle's Golden Syrup). The result is...well, you can see for yourself. Underneath that hideous façade the Taurus appears pretty stock with a 3.0 L V6, automatic transmission and 164,321 km (102,104 miles) on the clock. It looks like it even has the stock wheels and tires. For the enterprising buyer in Blacktown, NSW, this...thing could...

Americana Manhasset, a high-end shopping center located in Manhasset, New York, is hosting the 6th annual Concours d'Elegance on Sunday, October 10. Organizers said they expect around 200 privately owned vehicles to make their way to the show and compete for the 'Best in Show' and 'Best in Class' titles. This year's theme is, "Salute to Classic Coachbuilders of the 20th Century". To reflect that, Americana Manhasset has invited Tom Tjaarda, an automotive designer who has worked for such design luminaries as Pininfarina and Ghia Among the cars to go on show is the 1971 Momo Mirage, an Italian bodied American GT car owned by its co-creator Peter Kalikow. There are only two of these cars in existence, due to the venture going legs up during the '70s energy crisis. A wooden prototype will also be on display, though it's unclear whether this will be 1:1 scale or not. Showgoers will also get the chance to see the Baja Boot that Steve McQueen famous d...

Styling trends come and go, but if there's one thing that has remained relatively unchanged in the past 105 years of personal motoring: the steering wheel. Although plastics have replaced iron and wood and airbags (1970s) and radio controls (1990s) have been added, the basic design remains the same: a circular ring with spokes connected to a central hub. Some cars had horns in a ring circling the hub (Mercedes-Benz 300SL), others had oblong steering wheels (Austin Allegro) and a few had only one spoke (Citroen DS). At the end of the day though, they all had some sort of steering wheel... except this car. At Mercury , engineer Bob Rumm produced this one-off 1965 Mercury Park Lane convertible with so-called "wrist-twist" steering controls. The standard steering wheel has been replaced by two 5-inch, wrist-operated dials, that the promo claims frees up knee room, improves visibility and makes parking easier. Now take a moment to consider why Mr. Rumm is an "ex-"mis...

A Ferrari F40 with just 10,500 miles (16,898 km) on the clock is set to go under the hammer at the Historics at Brooklands Auction in Surrey, England. Organizers believe interest in the vehicle will be high, valuing this particular example between £280,000 and £320,000 (US$439,432 and US$502,208). Once the world's fastest street-legal production car, the F40 was the most powerful, most expensive and fastest car Ferrari had produced at the time. It was also the last model commissioned by company founder Enzo Ferrari, built to celebrate 40 years of production at the brand's Maranello factory. 1,315 were built between 1987 and 1992. This example - appropriately finished in red - was built in 1989. The F40 featured a 2,400 lb (1,089 kg) body made from a combination of carbon fibre, Kevlar and aluminium and a mid-mounted, twin turbo V8 that was good for 471 bhp (346 kw) and 200 mph (322 km/h). It had an impressive-for-1987 Cd figure of 0.34, which it shares today with the more down...

Last week, Carscoop asked you what your favorite TV or movie car was. Many of you expressed a fondness for the Lincoln Futura-based Batmobile used in the Adam West TV series of the late 1960s. One of our readers tipped us off to this sweet, '66 Batmobile replica in Saint-Eustache, Quebec. You'll no longer be the "uncool dad" when you drop your kids off at school in this baby, old chum. But before you rush out to buy some grey tights and adopt a young, orphaned acrobat consider this: it has the rather un-sweet price tag of CA$176,995 (US$172,779). You could easily get into an Audi R8 V10 for that money. Heck, we even found a 2003 Lamborghini Murcielago for roughly the same price. And it pains me to remind you that under that svelte body are the aging Ford V8 and 3-speed-automatic transmission from a 1974 Lincoln Continental. Sure it's appropriate for the era, but then so were headbands and paisley and nobody wears them anymore. What we really want is the Batmob...

Whether you're a fan of Adam West or Roger Moore, you have to admit: cars and television go together well. The Saint had the Volvo P1800. The Dukes wreaked havoc with the General Lee. The Caped Crusader and his sidekick did the "vra-vra-vroom" in the Batmobile . The Hoff had the Knight Industries Two Thousand (a personal favorite, if only for Will Daniels' quips). Heck, some of these cars are more loved and remembered than the stars that drove them. Except maybe for David Hasslehoff. I hear he's big in Germany. Then there are movie cars: The Aston Martin DB5 from the early Bond movies; the screaming Pontiac TransAm from Smokey and the Bandit (another favorite); the DeLorean from Back to the Future and Steve McQueen's Mustang in Bullitt. So tell us, dear readers; what's your favorite movie or TV car? If you can't think of just one (heck, we couldn't), just tell us all. By Tristan Hankins

Classic cars come with classic car problems. The sort of reliability we take for granted today was unheard of thirty years ago. Classic cars don't start in cold weather They overheat in hot weather. They leak brake fluid. Their wiper motors break. Bits of trim fall off them. Their clutches fail. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. And it's not like you can take it down to your local mechanic and have them fixed. Parts are expensive or unavailable. In the days before eBay you had to go to swap meets and scrap yards in the hopes of finding the part you needed. It was Hell. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though, at least for those who own a Bentley built between 1955 and 2002. To ease the burden on its U.S. aficionados, Bentley Motors is planning a road trip across the U.S.A., bringing with them over a thousand heritage parts and genuine accessories. Dubbed the Bentley Heritage Roadshow, the idea is that Bentley owners will be able to get specialist and hard-to-find parts, a...