SEMA 2010: LSA E-Rod powered Superformance Grand Sport Coupe

General Motors has grown its E-Rod family by two, adding a 505-horsepower 7.0-liter LS7 and a 556-horsepower 6.2-liter LSA to its line of emissions-friendly V8s. The General chose to show off the new forced-induction engine by plopping the mill in a Superformance Grand Sport replica. With a feathery light curb weight of just 2,500 pounds and a potent 551 pound-feet of torque on tap, this machine should be an absolute tarmac terror. Behind that supercharged small block sits a Tremec six-speed manual transmission and a four-wheel disc brake system designed to bring the whole party to a stop in a hurry.

GM says that it is currently working closely with the California Air Resources Board to ensure that the E-Rod LSA can be used in pre-OBD-II vehicles, allowing specially constructed cars like the Superformance Grand Sport to receive CARB certification.

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SEMA 2010: Bisimoto Honda CR-Z is a 533-horsepower madhouse

The team from Bisimoto has taken to curing the Honda CR-Z hybrid of its anemia by prescribing massive doses of forced induction. The stock 1.5-liter four-cylinder was extracted and rebuilt using Arias pistons and a Bisimoto valvetrain, but the star of the show is that massive billet Turbonetics turbo. It shoves ample amounts of air through a 70-millimeter custom throttle body at a rate that has to rival most jet engines. The whole kit and caboodle is good for a staggering 533 horsepower, which helps explain why a car that started life with a 0-60 mph time of 10 seconds now requires a parachute to reduce its inertia.

Is this proof positive that the CR-Z has the kind of tunability that made the CRX legendary, or simply an example of cash conquering all handicaps?

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SEMA 2010: Stasis holds its own with Signature Series S4 and S5

This may be Audi's first year at SEMA, but that doesn't mean other tuning houses haven't worked up some four-ringed hotness just for the Vegas show. Stasis, for example, shows off its Signature Series S4 and S5 which get by with 'just' 410 horsepower and 370 pound-feet of torque from their supercharged V6s, otherwise normally rated at 333 hp and 344 lb-ft.

Stasis says the 25 percent boost in power comes from nothing more than an ECU tune and its own free-flow exhaust that uses "cross flow pulse scavenging technology." The wheels are pulled from the Stasis well, either 20-inches of lightweight, cast spokes or the same diameter in ultra-lightweight forged spokes. Together with the power and the Yokohama rubber, both cars are said to be capable of achieving 1.0 gs in the corners. Suspension and brakes get some love as well.

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SEMA 2010: Honda brings a surplus of custom CR-Zs

Honda has a grand total of 12 different CR-Zs on display at this year's SEMA show. In addition to the Mugen and Hybrid R we showed you earlier, the Japanese automaker has created the CR-Z with Genuine Honda Accessories and HPD CR-Z Racer, and eight other companies have put their spins on the compact hybrid hatch.

Big name companies like Bisimoto Engineering, DSO Eyewear, Eibach Springs, Fortune Motorsports and Konig Wheels have created their own one-off CR-Zs, accounting for a little less than half of Honda's overall showing. Two special project CR-Zs are on hand, as well, done up by the folks from Honda Tuning Magazine and the Los Angeles Auto Show.


[Source: Honda]

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SEMA 2010: Local Motors puts five Rally Fighters on display

Just like it promised, Local Motors has come to the 2010 SEMA show with five ready-to-rock Rally Fighters. The crowd-sourced design is paying off, because LM says that another five should be done before we switch the calendar over to 2011.

On hand are the two prototype vehicles, known as Beta 1 and Beta 2, while the other three Rally Fighters represent the first vehicles going to customer homes. Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors, naturally scooped up the first example and he uses it as his daily driver. (Awesome.) The other two customer cars are going to face two very different lives; the one going to Jay Zuppardo and his family will be turned into a sand rail, while the other going to John Domolky will be used as a daily driver vehicle in his hometown of Boston.

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SEMA 2010: Stasis R8 V10 Spyder and Autonomous Audi TTS say hello to Vegas

What happens when tuners cast eyes on the Audi R8 is symptomatic of the basic and inherent awesomeness of the R8 proposition, both design- and driving-wise. See, there isn't much that happens on any tuned Audi R8 – all of them look like Audi R8s, maybe with a little more carbon fiber and a new set of wheels. There is simply nothing else to be done to it that could make it better, or, at least, we haven't seen it, and so almost all hyped R8s are known by their rims.

Stasis has joined that club, with an R8 Custom Spyder blessed with up to 7.5 psi of supercharger boost good for 710 horsepower, some suspension mods and a 20-inch set of its trademark wheels. An independent cooler keeps the supercharger chilled, and a lighter, more open exhaust runs out of larger tailpipes. It certainly looks good, and that's mostly because the R8 looks good on its own.

Of all of the high-dollar cars in Audi's first-ever space at SEMA, only the autonomous TTS was behind a barrier and untouchable. Pikes Peak dust still coated its antennas and inertial sensors, and the open hatch revealed just how much computer hardware is necessary to replace a human.

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2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid to hit U.S. dealers in November

2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid will be arriving after a few more days. It will carry a $21,000 premium over the V6 Porsche Cayenne, but for your $67,700 you will hold onto the performance and gain a economical help. The six cylinder supercharged, 333 horsepower with the help of battery does 0 - 60 in 6.1 seconds and it gives 25 miles per gallon. In addition, you will get a max speed of 37 mph in electric operation.

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