The one and only, original 1967 Shelby GT500 SuperSnake is for sale on eBay. They’re asking $3,000,000. Carroll Shelby only built one of these, he did 2 Cobras but only one Mustang. The engine is rated at 520 hp, same as the 427 used in the GT40 LeMans winners. The buyer also gets the website supersnake.org.

Considering that the recent Barrett Jackson auction didn’t bring the huge dollars many expected, this would be quite a sale.

Link: GT500 SuperSnake

How about a 19 foot long, 702 cubic inch V12 custom roadster for your garage? If you’re thinking, “Hey, that’s my car!” head for the Barrett Jackson auction in January, your car is waiting.

Press release follows:

Hailed as a “rolling sculpture” and powered by a mammoth 702cid V12 engine, the famous Blastolene B-702 custom roadster (Lot #1310) will be sold at No Reserve during the 37th Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event on Jan. 12-20, 2008, in Scottsdale, Ariz. The latest creation from the “Blastolene Brothers,” Michael Leeds and Randy Grubb, measures 19.5-feet long and nearly 8-feet wide and will cross the block during SPEED’s live primetime coverage on Saturday evening.

Barrett-Jackson will feature the B-702 on the cover of the 2008 Scottsdale auction program. The program cover will be penned by celebrated automotive artist and president of the Automotive Fine Arts Society, Ken Eberts. Hailed as “The World’s Greatest Collector Car Events™,” the Scottsdale auction will feature 1000 of the world’s finest collector vehicles and lavish lifestyle events. As always, SPEED will broadcast live-coverage of all six auction days.

“I was speechless when I first laid eyes on the Blastolene B-702,” said Craig Jackson, Chairman/CEO of the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company. “Never before had I witnessed such a massive automobile with pinpoint attention to detail and flawless design execution. The ‘Blastolene Brothers’ are justifiably renowned throughout the automotive world for their jaw-dropping creations. When the B-702 crosses the block in Scottsdale, it will be the first public offering of a new vehicle from these dynamic builders.”

The Blastolene B-702 blends America’s passion of high-powered, large displacement engines with refined European design cues, especially those of 1930s French classics. The hand-formed aluminum body flows effortlessly from end to end, accented by a dramatic separation from the pod-style fenders, glass grille bars, Woodlight headlights and hand-blown glass taillights. The sensuous body rides on a custom chassis that is entirely nickel-plated or powder-coated, giving the B-702 a glamorous touch to complement its commanding stature.

The roadster’s 702cid V12 engine, originally produced by GMC from 1960-1965 for their 2.5-ton medium duty trucks, produces 650 ft/lbs of torque at 850 rpm on regular gasoline. A modern Allison 4-speed transmission sends power to the 9-inch Ford Currie rear end, while 4-wheel power disc brakes and power steering make the 4,800-pound beast drive like a dream. The exterior is a mesmerizing midnight blue and the interior is finished in maroon leather. Read the rest of this entry »

The days of the “Police Interceptor” version of a big Ford sedan or any retail car available to the general public may be coming to a close, at least that’s what Carbon Motors is trying to do with a bit of help from Lotus Engineering. Those two companies have teamed up to build a purpose built police patrol vehicle, not a warmed over version of the family sedan, this is a vehicle designed from the start to be driven by law enforcement agencies and suited to their particular needs.

The specs aren’t bad, either. We’re talking about a 300 horsepower diesel with 420 foot pounds of torque mated to a 6 speed automatic. 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, the quarter mile in 14.5 @ 98.0 mph. Top speed is 155 mph. Lateral Acceleration is .85 g and it gets 28 - 30 mpg.

Much more below: Read the rest of this entry »

The Chevy powered Cheetah is a less well known but really great looking car from the early 1960s. Built to compete with the AC Cobra, they produced less than a couple dozen before a factory fire destoyed the tooling. BTM LLC of Arizona has been authorized by Bill Thomas, original creator of the Cheetah, to build this continuation series.

A chrome moly chassis with a Chevy 350 for power and a curb weight of 1550 pounds promises superb performance, however, the car is not street legal but Cheetah Race Cars is ready to provide a track car that will bring a smile to your face.

Link: Cheetah via Autoblog

A Turbonique rocket powered go kart in fully restored running condition is for sale on eBay, one of only three remaining from the five or so known to have been built. These are rarely seen. Turbonique is almost a mythic name from the 1960s when a small company, Turbonique, Inc. of Orlando, Florida, created some of the most amazing rocket powered drive systems for anything you could think of. These devices were connected to cars, motorcycles, go carts, boats, practically anything with an engine that could use an extra 1000 horsepower or so.

Using a fuel called Thermolene rocket fuel, a combination of nitromethane, propane and oxygen, they were essentially a rocket powered turbine which, through the beauty of gear reduction, created monster torque for a fairly short duration. Could any company sell a product like this today? With all of the safety regulations today protecting everyone from themselves, probably not, but there was a time …

Photos, link and early ad below: Read the rest of this entry »

Professional racing teams need every bit of technology available to win races today and if what they need is not available, they build it. NASCAR team owner Gene Haas, also owns a company called WindShear, Inc. that decided they needed a rolling road wind tunnel for testing the aerodynamics of the their race cars. They hired Jacobs Engineering Group to build a wind tunnel with a 180 mph rolling road. Most wind tunnels have static surfaces which don’t reflect the reality of driving over the track at high speed, so what you need is something like you see here.

The car in the photo is no toy or scale model, that’s a full size race car! The “road” surface is a 1 millimeter thick steel belt, 11 feet wide and almost 30 feet long. The 40,000 square foot wind tunnel facility is being built in Concord, North Carolina at the Concord Regional Airport and is scheduled for completion later this year. Hopefully, there will be a floor around that belt when they’re done! Wow!

Larger photo for visual reference and links below: Read the rest of this entry »