La Dolce Veloce

Audi is rumored to be working on an ‘S’ version of its A8 sedan. The S8 is supposedly being powered by a version of the V10 used in Lamborghini’s Gallardo! (more here)

Is Ford planning to produce a roadster version of its GT supercar? Tough to say, but this thing is so darn ugly I’d say they’ll produce it, it’s just the sort of thing Ford would do to screw up a perfectly good design. The roadster concept car will be shown at the upcoming SEMA show in Las Vegas (photo courtesy of LeftLaneNews).

Longtime Italian car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro celebrated the 50th birthday of Italdesign by designing and having built this beautifully reskinned Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, known as the GG. It’s just a one-off, unfortunately, but is refreshing to see more Ferrari-like designs, as things have been a bit quiet in Maranello lately with not much news. Picture courtesy of Italdesign, more pics can be found at that link (or read more at AutoExpress).

Volkswagen has unveiled an interesting sports car concept. Weighing less than 2000 pounds and powered by their torquey 1.5 liter diesel, with power being routed through a DSG transmission (dual clutch, for near instantaneous shifts), this speedy roadster can scoot to 60 in 6.3 seconds, and when driven miserly, achieve 100mpg! Aesthetically, it reminds me of a mutated Honda S2000 a bit, but is not an ugly design (though I’m hesitant to call it beautiful). While there’s no official word on production, you can count on it hitting showroom floors in a year or so. You can read a lot more about it over at VW Vortex.

The Z4 is getting a few minor updates for next year’s model. Basically, minor cosmetic freshening (taillights, interior), some new engine options for Europe (not sure if those’ll make it to the US), and some new paint colors. More at AutoExpress.

Sorry for the lack of news this past week on La Dolce Veloce. I was offline, exploring various beaches in Kauai. About the only automotive-related thing I did that week was to do an exhaustive road test of the Chevy Cobalt, but I can sum that up by saying that car hardly even deserves mention on a blog dedicated to fast cars (though for what it is, I found it quite decent and was pleasantly surprised at how well it did on the rutted, muddy back roads on the island – proving that the ultimate off road vehicle is…a rental car). I missed a heck of a week with the Tokyo motor show, too, and will attempt to get caught up in the off chance that you didn’t hear the news elsewhere already…

Want a ride in an F1 car, but you can’t drive worth a darn? If you’ve got connections in Marnello, work on getting a ride in this new three seat Ferrari F1 demonstration car (no, there’s no race series, this car is just for publicity purposes!). More info, and a picture, here at NSXprime.