Eurosport Volkswagen Golf MK4 1.8t Race Car

Lamborghini Knows Who’s Naughty and Nice

Lamborghini is known for making powerful, exotic, lust inducing supercars. They are however lesser known for their candle making prowess. That may change after this holiday season with the recent release of these Gallardo LP 550-2 Valntino Balboni themed gift sets. You can buy that special someone a set of three ornaments, $83US, a set of two candles with Lambo logos for $65US or even a pack of Holiday cards with envelopes.

No word on whether these candles are guaranteed to stay lit at 200mph, but we would recommend against using them to freshen the interior of your Gallardo. The calender however, may come in handy while you are counting down the days until you get your license back from previous 200mph attempts.

Miramar Air Show 2009 – Air Superiority

Rap Star – Lorinser shows its recent E-Class creation

The new Mercedes E Class has been celebrated as one of the most classy, handsome and understated designs in years. As usual, it didn’t take long for tuners to change that. For those who want to look more like they belong in a rap video or the parking lot of an NFL training camp, tuner Lorinser has released photos of their latest E Class treatment for the W212 chassis. We will admit, we really like the more aggressive front bumper and the rear diffuser, but after that, we would leave it stock. Lorinser may be going for the DTM Racecar look with the vented front fenders, but it instead, screams boy racer. Now that every Civic, Integra and Scion is sporting this look, I think it’s time to let it go. Same goes for the 1990s throw-back boxed side skirts with the vent in back. I don’t car if it is functional, which I doubt, it looks ridiculous and dated.

Pumping Iron – Sharkwerks adds more muscle to the GT3 RS

We love turbo cars. For quick and easy power, economy and power to weight ratio, there is nothing like them. However, for psychic levels of throttle response, sound and overall driving enjoyment, there is no replacement for a well-built naturally aspirated engine. A Porsche GT3RS in stock form is already one of the best naturally aspirated cars on the planet. Getting 415hp out of a streetable 3.6-liters a few years ago would have been nothing short of a miracle, even for a tuner. For it to come with a factory warranty was the work of dark forces.

Sharkwerks Tuning in Fremont California know that your average enthusiast has a very short memory. For those no longer impressed with a mere 415hp, they are offering a 3.9-liter conversion for GT3 and GT3 RS’s to take them to an astounding 500hp.

VF Engineering – Keep that old R8 a little longer

I know a lot of you R8 owners out there are losing sleep wondering if you will need to trade in that old V8 when the V10s start hitting dealerships. The thought of sitting at a stoplight and someone pulling up with a faster Audi just eats away at your very being. Well fear not fans of the one up-manship game, VF-Engineering has just the thing for you. It is not a prosthetic two-cylinder bolt on addition, it’s better.

VF-Engineering has been mastering the art of force feeding German power plants for 15 years. Originating in the UK, VF’s R&D facility in located in sunny Southern California, apparently wet English roads could no longer handle all the power they were creating. They made their name creating supercharger kits for the e46 M3 and MK4 R32. They later moved into turbo kits for the VW and Audi 2.0t and both MK4 and MK5 R32s. Lately they have been moving up to even larger engines focusing on supercharger kits for the new e90 M3 V8 as well as the V8s in both the S4 and RS4.

Heal Thyself – Can VW Dealers Fix Customer Service Issues

I have been told I have a slightly irrational love of Volkswagens. I love their cars, believe in their core values and hopefully, will be a life long customer. I am however no fan boy. I will be the first to acknowledge VW’s few faults and shortcomings. As their biggest fan, I may also be their biggest critic.

The biggest complaint I have ever had with VW isn’t directly their fault. VW dealerships are generally some of the worst in the business. Taking a car in for service quickly turns into a test of one’s patience and restraint. The problem just seems to escalate when you add in factors like performance modifications or little things like expecting them to actually fix the car correctly the first time.

Abarth 500 R3T – Big Thrills, Small Bills

All of us here at MOTORLUST have had our fingers crossed for the last two years hoping that the Fiat 500 will eventually make its way to the United States. We keep getting teased with on again off again news from Chrysler about the viability of the car. We wonder how much longer Chrysler will be around and if there is any other way the car can get here. Please don’t tell us we are going to have to sit in a Chrysler dealership while waiting for an oil change or maintenance work.

This latest press release has us thinking that we might just be willing to put up with 1970s era waiting rooms to get our 500. Abarth has just released photos and specs of the 500 R3T Rally Car. It has been homologated to run in the R3T group, which is classified as forced induction cars with less than 1600cc displacement. It is a stepping stone for many young drivers but is also popular with teams of lower budgets, who still want big levels of competition.

Autotech 1.8t Intake Camshaft – Power Bump Stick

Volkswagen’s 1.8-liter turbo represented a huge step for tuners and enthusiasts alike. The G60 before it had given enthusiasts a taste of the potential of forced induction. The US market only saw it in the Corrado, while the rest of the world could enjoy Golfs and even Passats powered by the little blown four. Sadly the G-Ladder supercharger proved to be unreliable and VW had moved to the larger VR6 at its performance alternative for the MK3.

With the release of the MK4, car companies started to see the fuel economy writing on the wall. Small displacement forced induction engines would have to replace the bigger displacement, thirstier engines. Not only did the 1.8t deliver better economy, but enthusiasts found levels of tuning that just weren’t possible in naturally aspirated engines.

Interbike 09 – What will you be riding next season?

It seems as though us Americans are just about alone in the world still thinking of the bicycle as nothing more than transportation for children and spandex-clad fanatics. Truth is, the bicycle is not only a great transportation alternative, but also an amazing form of exercise, even for casual riders. If you look at the fitness regimen of top racecar drivers, besides karts and supermodels, the next most common piece of training equipment will be a bicycle.

We recently published a cycling 101 guide that would let the average car guy walk into a bike shop without feeling completely out of place. To expand on that, we attended the Interbike Show in Las Vegas. Interbike is the largest bicycling trade show in the States. Think of it as an Auto Show of human powered vehicles. The top manufacturers of bicycles, components and associated accessories all turn up to show off their newest wares to industry insiders and media. As with most trade shows, you find products that are outliers. We stumbled on an electric unicycle that self balances; think one wheeled Segway of death, a few skateboard manufacturers and even a few things that defied description. The show filled the Sands Expo Center to the absolute limit, luckily, several brands of energy drinks; chews and powders were all on hand giving out free samples to keep show-goers moving.