3,000hp Bentley Continental GT

Yes you read that correctly, at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend a 3,000hp Bentley Continental GT will be hitting the drag strip. This Bentley is the creation of Webster Race Engineering in Northamptonshire, with a twin-turbo 10.2 litre Chevrolet engine as the source of the 3,082 horses. That is five times the power of a stock Continental GT or three times the power of a Veyron!

The engine is not the only modification that has taken place, although the body is still made of steel some serious weight saving has happened inside the Bentley. The normal plush leather and wood has been replaced with swathes of carbon fibre.

This Bentley is the £250,000 brainchild of Steve Nemantas, a 48 year old Yorkshireman and it is expected to do just seven seconds for the quarter mile at a top speed of over 200mph when it races in the Street Eliminator class. Oh, and its street legal!

What do you get when you cross a Qashqai with a GT-R?

No this is not the start of a bad joke, Severn Valley Motorsport in Telford have created the worlds fastest SUV. Have a look at the video below from SWNS TV to see the result

The Nissan Qashqai R, a hybrid of the Qashqai and the R35 GT-R, uses the complete running gear and floor plan of the GT-R. This is transplanted into the Qashqai to give it the same 3.8 litre twin-turbocharged engine as a GT-R, SVM then put the engine through one of their power conversions. SVMs power conversion, to the tune of 1100bhp, creates one of the most bonkers five-door hatchbacks ever!

This combination means that it is quicker than a Bugatti Veyron. 0-62mph takes only 2.7 seconds, 0-124mph only 7.5 seconds, the quarter mile is dealt with in a swift 9.9 seconds at 144mph and the SVM Qashqai R goes on to a top speed of over 200mph. For comparison the Bugatti Veyron has a quarter mile time of 10.3 seconds.

And the cost for all this super car killing SUV madness ... £275,000.

Would you pay that much for a practical family friendly dragstrip killer?

New BMW Vision Gran Turismo race car

BMW have joined the list of manufacturers who have created cars exclusively for the PlayStation®3 game Gran Turismo® 6. The new 550hp three-litre six-cylinder BMW Vision Gran Turismo race car has taken to the track. BMW's designers and engineers have been let loose in the virtual world and this is the spectacular result.

With an engine developed by BMW's M division the Vision Gran Turismo promises blistering lap times. The three-litre six-cylinder twin turbo engine puts out 549hp between 6,200 rpm and 7,300rpm. It also delivers its torque from just 1,900 rpm, all spine bending 680 Nm of it. All this inside a car that weighs only 1,180 kg (350kg lighter than the M235i) that also has a perfect 50:50 weight distribution. I have driven it in the game and it definitely does not disappoint. Inch perfect steering, mountains of downforce from the front and rear spoilers and brutal acceleration make for a fun ride. As much as I love the BMW M livery it also comes in straight black which is brilliant, in this outfit it looks like a cross between a DTM car and the Batmobile which to me is a very good thing.

The Vision Gran Turismo combines BMW's extensive motorsport experience with signature design and takes cues from "successful BMW touring cars of the 1970s" and "future racing trends" to create "an uncompromising road racer for the modern era" that everyone can enjoy.

Have a look at the trailer below and let me know what you think. Does this belong with Munich's finest?

Classic Convertibles Collection

As summer is getting closer the weather is improving and it is approaching the time to get the roof down on your car and get the wind in your hair.

Every year as the weather picks up in the UK the roads fill with some beautiful cars. I have been trawling through ebay to find some of what I think are the best classic convertibles that are on sale just now.

With a selection of classic british sports cars, german engineering and american muscle there is something in there for everyone. The cars in this collection in my opinion contribute to some of the best looking cars of all time and I would happily use any of them for some al fresco motoring this summer. 

Have a look at the full collection:

Classic Convertibles Collection

If money were no object which would you buy? What do you think is missing from this collection?