If money isn't an issue, vinyl wraps allow you these days to transform the appearance of your car from one look to the other in a matter of days, sometimes even hours. This British owner of the Nissan GT-R took may have taken delivery of the Japanese sports car only in July but he's already in his second vinyl wrap.

At first, he tried out a matte white look with smoked tail lights and black alloys. The owner says that the white wrap took two days to complete and cost him about £1,600 plus VAT (US $2,640 or €1,780 at today's exchange rates).

Shortly after, he changed his mind and went for a chrome look. According to the GTR forum member /owner, the chrome wrap was more complex and took a lot more time to complete than the matte-white (around two weeks to get it perfect, he says) while it also cost more money.

We'll keep an eye on the forum as something tells us that the color-experiments are far from over...

Via: Gtrok - Hat tip to Marcus!

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How much sense does it make to offer a performance package for an eco-friendly diesel car model that has been specifically designed to deliver maximum fuel efficiency and low CO2 emissions? Not much if you ask us but anyways... This here is Heico Sportiv's tuning package for the recently unveiled 2010 Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe.

In factory form, the new Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe is powered by a 1.6-liter diesel with 109HP and 240Nm of torque. Combined with a wide range of fuel saving technologies such as start/stop system with brake-energy recovery and aerodynamically optimized components, this C30 returns an average fuel economy of 3.9 liters/100 km or 60.3mpg US.

Heico Sportiv's package includes new software for the diesel unit's ECU that increases output to 125HP and 280Nm. As a result, the tuned C30 1.6D DRIVe sprints from standstill to 100 km/h in 9.2 seconds, beating the series-production model by 2.1 seconds while achieving a top speed of 200 km/h (124mph), 10 km/h more than the series version. The tuner did not release any fuel economy figures for the model.

Also available is a sport suspension that lowers the vehicle's ride height by about 30mm.

The Volvo tuning specialist gives the C30's exterior a new look with a front spoiler that replaces the original lower base section of the bumper and a rear apron with an integrated diffuser housing quad tailpipes. Five or ten-spoke alloy wheels in sizes 18- and 19-inch that are available in various colors complete the looks.

The interior can also be decked out with numerous applications in aluminum or leather, such as the door pin set, shift stick grip, parking brake handle, pedal set and foot rest.

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The all-new 2010 ZDX four-door-sports-coupe-slash-crossover (take your pick...) goes on sale at Acura dealerships across the U.S. on December 15 with a starting price of $45,495 plus, plus a destination and handling charge of $810. The ZDX will be offered exclusively with a 3.7-liter VTEC V6 that makes 300 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque, and is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, while Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system is also standard.

According to Acura, the new ZDX achieves an EPA-rated fuel economy of 16mpg in the city and 23mpg on the highway.

The 2010 ZDX will be available in three trim packages: the base ZDX, ZDX with Technology Package and the ZDX with Advance Package.

Priced at $46,305, the base trim-level comes equipped with what Acura describes as 'the world's longest panoramic glass roof' and hand-stitched leather dash, center console and door panels as standard.

In addition to the above features, the ZDX with Technology Package that is priced at $50,805 (including destination and handling fees) gets a Navigation System with Voice Recognition, a full VGA display screen, a multi-view rear camera, an upgraded Acura/ELS Surround 415-watt audio system with a built-in 15GB media storage system, a GPS-linked, solar-sensing, dual-zone automatic climate control system and Keyless Access System.

The ZDX with Advance Package ($56,045 including destination and handling fees) adds a blind spot information system (BSI), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Collision Mitigating Braking System (CMBS), an Integrated Dynamic System (IDS) active damper system, heated and ventilated front seats with Perforated Milano Premium Leather seating surfaces, premium brushed tricot headliner material and a sport steering wheel.

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The official, live unveiling of the 2011 BMW 5-Series, which carries the internal codename F10, isn't due until Monday, November 23, but the first batch of photos of the executive sedan with the 'skirt' lifted just high enough so we can get a good peak of the front-end design, have already made their way to the internet.

To no one's surprise, the wide, prominent kidney grille and the shape of the headlights of the new mid-size sedan are almost identical to the 5-Series GT "cross-thingy" which in turn was inspired by the latest 7-Series limousine.

When it goes on sale in 2010, the new BMW 5-Series will be offered with a mix of four-cylinder and straight-six turbo diesels as well as naturally aspirated and turbocharged six-cylinder, and V8 turbo gasoline engines.

Unless someone drops the lid on sixth-generation 5-Series earlier, we'll have the 'Full Monty' on the Bavarian automaker's Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz E-Class rival on Monday.

Via: Bimmerpost -Thanks for the tip Tim!

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The first official shots of the U.S.-spec version of the all-new 2010 Lexus GX460 have surfaced online ahead of the luxury 4x4's world premiere at next week's 'Auto Guangzhou 2009' motorshow in China. If the GX470's replacement looks familiar that's because it is based on the 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser sold in Europe and other markets.

On the outside, cosmetic differences over the Toyota-badged model include the Lexus grille, reworked headlights and tail lamps, re-profiled bumpers and the chrome trimming on the side windows and lower door moldings.

In the same way, the interior has been upgraded with a more luxurious trim while the instrument panel and center console design are unique to the Lexus model.

The Japanese automaker has not disclosed any information on the new GX460, but as the nomenclature suggests, the 2010 GX will be most likely be powered by Toyota's new 4.6-liter V8 engine that makes 310-horsepower and 327 lb.-ft. of torque in the Tundra pickup. The current generation GX470 features a 4.7-liter V8 with 263HP and 323 lb.-ft. of torque.

The redesigned GX460 is due in U.S. showrooms in early 2010.

Via: es.autoblog.com

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At the Frankfurt Motor Show this past September, BMW launched a new M Sport package for its latest generation 7-Series sedan. While this sport kit is now available for anyone that orders a new 7er in the U.S., those that already own the car may want to take at this proposal from European Auto Source (EAS). The California-based parts distributor has unveiled its take on the flagship bimmer using various OEM parts.

These include an M-Sport front bumper with matte black trimming, BMW Style 312 21-inch alloy wheels finished in matte black, a rear diffuser, body-colored door handles and trunk trim, and matte black finish for the front kidney grille and side trim.

Not bad overall, though we wish somebody would do something -anything- about those oversized kidney grilles that look completely out of place. As matter of fact, here's an express-chop (it was done in a few minutes so don't expect a high-quality job...) on how the 7er would look like with smaller sized kidney grilles.

Source: Bmwblog and EAS

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Audi has released a new video teasing its 2011 A8 luxury sedan ahead of its world premiere at the Audi Pavilion in Miami on November 30. The word teasing translates here to a few cryptic shots of the Audi flagship sedan such as the grille and front quarter panel. Nothing really to get excited about but if you must, hit the jump to watch the teaser film.

Via: Autoblog.it

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You never know what you'll stumble upon in and around the famous Nurburgring circuit in Germany. It may be a heavily camouflaged prototype model performing test runs like the ones we often post here on Carscoop, or in this case, a pair of privately owned cars dressed in a eye-catching police uniform (okay, most likely a vinyl wrap). The M3 Coupe and Audi S3 faux police cars appear to belong to a group called 'Ring-Police' details of which remain unknown for the time being. More photos after the jump.

Via: Autogespot

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Together with the 2010 Cube, Nissan released pricing for its new model year 370Z Coupe today. The changes for the 2010MY 370Z include an enhanced navigation system, the addition of heated mirrors and in-cabin microfilter, one new exterior color (Black Cherry) and a limited edition 40th Anniversary Package with unique features and an exclusive exterior/interior color combination that will go on sale in the States next Spring.

The entry-level 2010 370Z with a 6-speed manual gearbox starts from $29,990 which represents a $60 increase over the 2009MY, while the Touring model rises $200 to $34,660. Finally, the price of the sportier 370Z Nismo has been increased by $60 to $39,190.

Pricing for the commemorative 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition will be announced closer to its launch date.

2010 NISAN 370Z COUPE PRICES

	Transmission	MSRP
370Z	6-speed manual	$29,990 USD
370Z	7-speed automatic	$31,460 USD
370Z Touring	6-speed manual	$34,660 USD
370Z Touring	7-speed automatic	$36,130 USD
NISMO 370Z	6-speed manual	$39,190 USD

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And the exotic supercar slaughter continues. However in all fairness, unlike the recent Bugatti Veyron and Ferrari California incidents in which their respective drivers were to blame, this crash that allegedly occurred in Warsaw, Poland, and involved an Aston Martin DB9 (or at least it looks like a DB9), may very well have been caused by the rain and slippery road conditions. If you pay attention in the beginning of the video, you'll see a DB9 in the top left corner slipping out of control and smashing into a tree and cutting it in half. Luckily the tree did not fall on the Aston Martin nor on any other car. Watch the video after the break.

Via: Wreckexotics

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