2009 Bentley Continental GT

This is probably one of the most unusual Bentleys ever seen: a large, happy flower, little stars, squiggles and signs dance on the elegant hood and colourful, comic-like figures adorn the doors. The Continental GT – a static prototype built in 2003 – has become a truly unique work of art created by the world-renowned Brazilian artist Romero Britto.

Raul Pires, Head of Exterior Design at Bentley Motors and like Romero Britto, a Brazilian was central to the creation of the Continental GT. He thoroughly agrees with his countryman: “A Bentley holds the unique combination of exhilaration and relaxation in one package. An automotive sculpture with elegant powerful surfaces. The ultimate in craftsmanship.”



The Romero Britto exhibition, hosted by the Automobil Forum Unter den Linden in cooperation with the Mensing Gallery, will take place from 10 July until 6 September 2009 . In keeping with Britto's wider ideals, at the conclusion of the show, the “Britto-Bentley” will be put up for auction in aid of the Nathalie Todenhöfer Foundation for multiple sclerosis as well as Best Buddies, an organization dedicated to improving the integration of the mentally disabled within society.

Street Legal Batmobile Replica

Perhaps the second best-known Batmobile after George Barris' iconic 1966 Lincoln Futura conversion from the Batman TV series is the Anton Furst Batmobile from Tim Burton's 1989 Batman and 1992 Batman Returns films. We found a rather convincing replica of that car for sale on eBay.



Not only is this example of the 1990s Batmobile nice-looking, it's also street legal at least in the State of Ohio where the seller is based. The Bat-winged replica was built by a company named "Putsch Racing" and it makes use of a tube frame chassis with a Corvette drive-train and an independent suspension.



It comes equipped with a canopy that opens and is fitted with various gizmos including retractable machine guns that fire blanks. Hit the jump for more photos and videos of the car in motion.

Saab Fashionista Concept

This conceptual proposal for a Chevrolet Volt-based Saab coupe from Mayeul Walser, a 4th year Car Design student is a good example. You may or may not like the design, but the idea of an aggressively styled hybrid Saab coupe is more than engaging. Saab Fashionista Project Carscoop According to Mayeul's description, the concept behind the Saab Fashionista's design was to create a luxurious four-seater coupe that blends the futuristic feel of sci-fi movies with the elegance of products from renowned fashion houses such as Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel.

The 24-year-old design student also claims that while based on the platform of the Volt, he designed the Fashionista to be equipped with a hybrid powertrain coupling a V6 gasoline engine to an electric motor for a (purely theoretical) output of around 300HP.

If it was our choice, we would have opted for a more powerful version of the Volt's plug-in hybrid powertrain to make the project more feasible, but then again, since this is only a pipe-dream concept, why not go for a V6.

SAAB 91 Concept

The Saab enthusiast group, which can be found on Facebook, sprung up before the tie-up between Saab and Spyker N.V. with the goal of developing through an open collaboration similar to the Open Source movement a small hatchback model that could potentially save the company. The SAAB 91 concept targets the likes of the MINI and the more recent Audi A1, measuring -according to Ferrante - 3,870 mm long, 1,420mm tall and 1,700 mm wide. Notable styling features -of the admittedly well executed from a technical standpoint- concept include the classic wraparound windscreen, the pronounced wheel arches and the drooping, teardrop rear window that brings to mind the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. For the time being, the group has finished the car's exterior styling and will now concentrate on the interior design. The overall look deliberately avoids any rétro element, adopting the current design language of the brand, inspired by concept cars such as the BioHybrid and Aero X.

The Saab enthusiast group, which can be found on Facebook, sprung up before the tie-up between Saab and Spyker N.V. with the goal of developing through an open collaboration similar to the Open Source movement a small hatchback model that could potentially save the company. That may sound like wishful thinking, but the group is taking the project seriously. In an interview with Virtualcar, Ferrante said the group hopes that the final outcome can inspire the styling and overall character of the small hatch SAAB has reportedly been looking into lately.

McLaren F1 (1993)

The McLaren F1 is a sports car designed and manufactured by Gordon Murray and McLaren Automotive. On March 31, 1998, it set the record for the fastest production car in the world, 240 mph (391 km/h). As of April 2009, the McLaren F1 is succeeded by three faster cars in sheer top speed, but is still the fastest naturally aspirated production car.It features a powerful engine and is somewhat track oriented, but not to the degree that it compromises everyday usability and comfort.Turbochargers and superchargers increase power but they increase complexity and can decrease reliability as well as introducing an additional aspect of latency and loss of feedback, the ability of the driver to maintain maximum control of the engine is thus decreased. Murray initially approached Honda for an NA powerplant with 550 bhp (410 kW; 560 PS), 600 mm (23.6 in) block length and a total weight of 250 kg (551 lb), it should be derived from the Formula One powerplant in the then-dominating McLaren/Honda cars.

Saab UrSaab (1947)

The first Saab automobile was the Saab 92001, the 'Ursaab'.As the Second World War was drawing to a close, the SAAB company, a manufacturer of warplanes, realised that it needed to enter a different market. An automobile project was envisaged. The final decision to start the automobile project was made in the fall of 1945. Development was started in Linköping by a 20 person team led by Gunnar Ljungström. The immediately-preceding Saab production code was for an aeroplane - the Saab 91 Safir - for this reason, the first car project started as the Saab 92 (92001).By summer 1946 the first prototype body was ready, hand beaten on a wooden jig. It had a borrowed 18 hp (13 kW) two-cylinder two stroke engine, which was placed transversely in the front of the vehicle.

Dodge Challenger SRT8 (2008)

The return of the iconic Dodge Challenger brings what pony car fanatics crave: ground shaking performance, unmistakable design cues reminiscent of the original Challenger, world-class ride and handling characteristics and benchmark braking. Dodge will offer the limited-edition 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 in three colors: HEMI® Orange, Bright Silver Metallic and Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl Coat. Each two-door, rear-wheel-drive coupe will be produced with a numbered dash plaque, carbon fiberlike hood stripes and will be powered by SRT's 6.1-liter HEMI V-8 engine that boasts 425 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. of torque.The 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 vehicles will be manufactured at Chrysler's Brampton, Ontario, Canada assembly plant.

Performance targets for the all-new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 include a 0-60 mph time in the low 5-second range, 0-100-0 mph in less than 17 seconds, a ¼-mile elapsed time of less than 14 seconds, 60-0 mph braking distance of approximately 100 feet, and a skid pad performance of 0.88 g.