The Ferrari 458 Italia has been burning up headlines, literally! Thanks to a hot recall, the 458 Italia has maintained a hot spot on the top of many blogspots among exotic and luxury car rentals. Here the luxury sports car is shown in flames.
I have a feeling this is not exactly the picture the Ferrari buyer had in mind while placing the order for the super-luxe exotic car. If it is any condolence, you can always indulge in a Ferrari rental Miami style while you await delivery of a suitable replacement!
This amphibious luxury car has hidden capabilities that the likes of Ferrari, Bentley, and even James Bond’s beloved Aston Martin dare not compete with! This aquatic Lamborghini Countach gives no indication while on the road that it can walk on water, like a certain religious figure. Wonder if this may be a Lamborghini rental car or better yet a Lamborghini rental boat?
Wait, so the Bull is now hitting both the pavement and the water? Perhaps the applause from bizarre exotic car lovers around the world will drown out the sound of Italian metal rusting. Unfortunately, the real luxury car and luxury car rental players are not actually producing amphibious luxury cars at this juncture; so this is a mock-up. The world needs more swimming luxury cars…I share this thought with all seriousness. So who is behind this brainchild?
When friends laid eyes on James Dean’s Porsche Spyder, they told him it was trouble. Only one of a mere 90 made in 1955, Dean nicknamed the diminutive Porsche “The Little Bastard”, and it certainly lived up to the derogatory title!
Yes, some say the Little Bastard is a cursed car, not only carrying the Rebel Without a Cause to an early grave on September 30th, 1955, but also continuing to cause havoc long after his death. The stories may have begun much like those of the legendary Elvis, wherein fans refuse to accept that he is gone and create urban myths. One such myth was that Dean survived the crash, but was horribly disfigured and in hiding. It did not take long for one tale to spin off and a legend to take a life of its own, starting with Dean’s Porsche Spyder.
It seems that following the death of James Dean salvaged parts of the cursed Porsche have been linked to other tragedies. Following the tragedy, a master car customizer by the name of George Barris purchased the Little Bastard wreckage for $2,500. Upon arrival at Barris’s garage, the Porsche was accidentally dropped on a leg of one of the mechanics unloading it, breaking the leg (Well, they say that in show biz, ‘Break a Leg’).
The next incident with the famous Porsche Spyder occurred at a race at the Pomona Fair grounds on October 24, 1956. Two physicians, William Eschrid and Troy McHenry, were racing cars that included parts from Dean’s Porsche. McHenry’s car had the engine from the Little Bastard, which he lost control of and hit a tree, killing him. Eschrid flipped his car over after it suddenly locked up on a curve, but he survived.
The tales continued, with a story of a kid who tried to steal the famous steering wheel from Dean’s Porsche, and suffering a terrible arm gash. Barris sold two of the tires to a young man, and within a week he was involved in a crash because both tires blew out simultaneously. Ok, that one is creepy.
Barris then loaned the cursed Porsche Spyder to the California Highway Patrol to use in a safe driving display. Within days, the garage housing James Dean’s Porsche Spyder burnt to the ground, with only the Little Bastard unscathed. Every other vehicle parked in the building was completely destroyed. Was it coated in fire retardant, or put back after the fire? Hmm.
Next the Little Bastard got to visit Sacramento, where it fell from its display and broke a teenager’s hip. A man named George Barkuis was hauling it on his flatbed, when he was ejected from the vehicle and crushed to death by the Porsche.
These types of stories flourished until around 1960, when Dean’s Porsche was loaned out for a safety exhibit in Miami, Florida. Following the duration of the exhibit, the Porsche was en route back to Los Angeles when it mysteriously vanished. To this day, the whereabouts of the Little Bastard are unknown. I do not think I will be buying any used Porsche parts from California…just kidding.
I suppose my theory is that someone sold it and made a fast buck, or a superstitious Burris finally put it in a safe place? What do you think may have happened to James Dean’s car? Leave comments below!
*Pictured is a replica of Dean’s car, taken at the2010 James Dean Festival in his hometown of Fairmount, Indiana where Imagine Lifestyles attended the auto show.
It appears that Shelby SuperCars has done it again, producing the SSC Ultimate Aero II supercar. And by ‘it’ I mean unleash one hell of a fast supercar upon the market, one perhaps even capable of beating out the luscious Bugatti Veyron for the coveted title of ‘Fastest production car available’.
The Bugatti Veyron can get up to 267 miles per hour, and the SSC Ultimate Aero II is capable of rocketing up to around 274 miles per hour. Basically, the SSC Aero II not only looks like a jet fighter, it is damn fast like one, too! Check out our fleet of private jet charters, you will see the resemblance.
Before we go forward, let’s go backward, to the predecessor of the Ultimate Aero II, the Ultimate Aero. The original never really had a shot at outdoing the Bugatti, but the new one seems to have filled in all the holes. Not that the original was an embarrassment by any means, it reached speeds of about 257 miles per hour, and had the sleek appearance of a DeLorean from ‘Back to the Future’ with sweet gullwing doors. The new SSC Ultimate Aero is simply more powerful and robust, and obviously had the design team working overtime. It is literally astonishing.
Specifications include the same twin-turbo V8 engine, but kicking out 1350 horsepower instead of 1183. That is around 150 more horses than the Bugatti Veyron SS. So theoretically, the SSC Ultimate Aero will reach speeds of around 274 miles per hour, though we still must wait for the official record. I assume the brains behind Bugatti are already looking to the future, as the war wages on for the best and fastest supercar in the world. As far as a price tag, I am going to guess the SSC Aero II will hit the market at around a million USD, which will make it a bargain compared to the Veyron SS. I think after stealing a market percentage and gaining a reputation, Shelby SuperCars will gain the confidence to raise prices like Bugatti.
Follow links for more on Bugatti, luxury news and to scope out our fleet of very sexy luxury rental cars. That is right, you don’t have to be loaded to indulge in an exotic car on occasion, just rent one of ours!
Yes, you read that headline correctly, the Ford Taurus (tortoise as I enjoy labeling it) is attempting to enter the luxury car circuit, though not by traditional methods.
Ford is a stealthy brand, and has taken advantage of the economic crisis to load up its Taurus models with a cornucopia of electronic gear and luxury amenities. The outcome? An onslaught of thrifty luxury shoppers who have actually traded in their BMW’s, Mercedes and other luxury cars in for a Taurus during the hard financial times. Edmunds reports that nearly 10 percent of trade-ins for the 2011 Taurus are from 10 luxury brands, including our beloved BMW’s, Mercedes, and Audis.
It seems that a San Jose woman has a bit of an issue with exotic cars, and not in a good way. Nancy Chi Ni, 30, has been arrested six times since June on suspicion of vandalizing luxury cars, including BMWs and Mercedes-Benz’s in Santa Clara County. So what is this woman’s problem with awesome cars? I smell jealousy.
While she should certainly learn to admire rather than envy, it seems crazy lady’s problems include 11 counts of felony vandalism and committing a crime while being released on bail. Yes, at the time of her most recent arrest, Ni was out on bail for a similar offense. I suppose she is not interested in stopping.
So how did she get busted?
It seems that an officer observed Ni as she scratched the side of a parked Mercedes-Benz in the McCarthy
Ranch shopping center. Classy. The officer spotted Ni acting suspiciously around another Mercedes-Benz, which had been vandalized in the same manner, according to reports.
In the city of Hell, Michigan, a car club has made headlines by attempting to set the world record for the longest procession of hearses. Yes, that was hearses, not horses, as in the death mobile of the auto industry. What the hell, you say? Indeed.
The car club is named ‘Just Hearse’N Around’, and went after the Guinness World Record from their hometown near Detroit. The club did not obtain the world record, but a good time was had and participants were happy in Hell (Michigan, that is).
In order to qualify for the world record, each of the hearses was to be driven in procession for just over two miles. A solemn 43 hearses showed up for the annual event, starting in Hell and ending at the Terrified Forest in Pinckney, Michigan. So they attempt this every year? Who the hell holds the current record? My best guess would be the funeral of Princess Di, or Elvis. So what are the participants like?
A 1964 Aston Martin DB5 graced by none other than 007 himself is set to hit the auction block in London on October 27th, 2010. The luxury car is expected to rake in an estimated $5 million dollars when it changes hands at Sotheby’s.
Wow, $5 million smackaroos is a bit more than the $12,000 paid by the current owner, Jerry Lee, when he purchased the DB5 from Aston Martin in 1969. It certainly seems that Mr. Lee stands to make a profit! Of course, the fetching price is steep for this particular Aston Martin as it hit the big screen with James Bond in both early films “Goldfinger” and “Thunderball”. So if it is a 1964 yet Mr. Lee purchased it from Aston Martin in 1969, what happened in the interim?
While it will likely remain a concept, the Lamborghini Indomable is certainly some food for thought, eye candy to be exact. What is so special about this concept Lamborghini? For starters, it is based on a mash between the Gallardo and an F22 jet fighter. Yes please.
Lamborghini took time out of its packed schedule touting the new Jota is the potential replacement for the Murcielago to help inspired students with this concept. The Lamborghini Indomable was designed and developed by students Daniel Chinchilla Ochoa and Alberto Fernandez Albilares at the Scuola Politecnica di Design Master in collaboration with Lamborghini. The project was overseen by head of the Centro Stile Filipo Perini and designer Alessandro Salvagnin.
The Lamborghini concept’s exterior is unbelievable, with even more lines and curves than the already voluptuous design cues that are classically Lambo. Oh and it is inspired by the next generation stealth F22 jet fighters, making it the Chuck Norris of Lamborghinis. While this is awesome, it is not the first time a luxury car has taken design cues from a jet, remember the Range Rover’s interior, inspired by a cockpit? Thank you Design Q!
The Indomable Lambo in its concept phase is a V10 supercar, with an engine visible through a Y-shaped class surface reminiscent of the F22 Raptor. The bonnet boasts elements borrowed from the jet, with rectangular intakes to cool the brakes. The rear of the Lambo features a taillight that doubles as a wing, integrating LED lights with a honeycomb shape.
According to the students, 

“The side view shows an abstraction of a folded wing, which gives the feeling that the car is waiting for the action, like a jetfighter before the take off in a carrier."
I, for one, want to see this supercar concept bolt right off the paper and into garages and showrooms around the world. Perhaps if it could also fly…
As outlandish at it seems, four-door luxury coupes are timidly emerging as an increasing market niche. Previously a miniscule sector of the automotive market, luxury cars like the Mercedes CLS were among the pioneers that began pushing the four-door sedan to the forefront. So who is following suit? Ferrari? Really?
Yes, in the wake of commercial success by the Mercedes CLS and a few brave souls, indications show that the Prancing Horses are prepping to add additional entrances and exits. Previously ruled out in the past, rumors are running wild that the luxury carmaker is having a change of heart.
Plans for the four-door Ferrari are based on the replacement for the 612 Scaglietti, which is scheduled to emerge onto the market in 2012. The 2012 Scaglietti will boast the company’s first hybrid system, but will feature only two doors. Imagine a Ferrari that features both four doors and a hybrid powertrain, a first for both endeavors. The future looks green and roomy for this luxe car company. This is a perfect vehicle to add to a fleet of Miami exotic rental cars.
els with a cornucopia of electronic gear and luxury amenities. The outcome? An onslaught of thrifty luxury shoppers who have actually traded in their BMW’s, Mercedes and other luxury cars in for a Taurus during the hard financial times. Edmunds reports that nearly 10 percent of trade-ins for the 2011 Taurus are from 10 luxury brands, including our beloved BMW’s, Mercedes, and Audis. 
Yes, in the wake of commercial success by the Mercedes CLS and a few brave souls, indications show that the Prancing Horses are prepping to add additional entrances and exits. Previously ruled out in the past, rumors are running wild that the luxury carmaker is having a change of heart.