Turbo Zone

Just recently, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) concluded one of the most exciting events in the motoring industry as the Japanese carmaker spearheaded the Toyota Vios Cup. Fun was driven into newer heights at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga wherein gearheads and racing novices experienced true WAKU-DOKI. In Japanese, this is the feeling of anticipation and that adrenaline rush you get when you are about to do something exciting, such as racing. A grassroots racing competition hosted by Toyota, the Vios Cup catered to motorsports enthusiasts and just about anyone who enjoys the fun in driving.

So this Saturday, tune in as we give you the full coverage of the Toyota Vios Cup only on Turbo Zone, 10:30AM on GMA News TV.

Is that a wide-mouthed Lambo we’re seeing?

At first glance, you might not recognize this as the stereotypical Lamborghini — not sporting its usual fiery red color, and its front fascia is not what we’re familiar with.

Called the Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato, this ride was commissioned by collector Albert Spiess. It is essentially a heavily customized Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 — so it wasn’t made from scratch (!) that was unveiled recently at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Because it was was very well received, this supposedly one-off beauty might evolve into a limited-run production model.

Its carbon fiber body shows off a fairly interesting design although some might say the front fascia sends a bit of a Spyker vibe. Other design highlights include a double bubble roof with a built-in and functional air scoop, along with side intakes derived from Zagato’s 1996 Lamborghini Diablo-based Raptor concept.

If green-lighted for production, Lamborghini and Zagato will probably make only a handful of 5-95s and needless to say each one will cost an arm and a leg.

Faster than you can say 2015 Ford Mustang for sale?

To say that the sixth-generation pony car sold like hotcakes in Europe is an understatement — within 30 seconds after opening up its order books, the first 500 cars were declared unavailable.  The American automotive company opened up the order books during last weekend’s final for the UEFA Champions League, which saw Real Madrid CF beat Club Atlético de Madrid 4-1 after extra time. It proved to be a good move, as Ford earned more than 9,000 orders for the Mustang.

The 500 new Mustangs were allocated across 20 countries. Ford will in the next few weeks contact the buyers from each of these countries who were quickest to place their reservation to let them know they have been successful. Each buyer will then be invited to complete their order at a dealership later this year but will have to wait until 2015 for delivery. Deliveries here are expected to start this fall.

Ford limited the first 500 examples to either Race Red for buyers interested in the coupe or Magnetic Silver for the convertible. The buyers also have to choose from either the Mustang EcoBoost model or Mustang GT. The base Mustang equipped with a V-6 won’t be offered in Europe.

All 500 examples will feature Ford’s latest SYNC system; navigation; heated and ventilated seats; Park Assist; black leather trim; chrome detailing; and 19-inch alloy wheels.

This is the first time in the Mustang’s 50-year history that the car is being sold in Europe by Ford. Previous generations were typically sold in limited numbers by third party importers.

Call it Nissan’s Ghost of the Automotive Future — the Japanese carmaker has posted this mysterious clothed vehicle in its Instagram account, baffling fans worldwide. While the company did not disclose details about the model — which will merit the mystery useless — it confirmed plans to introduce a “special member of the Nissan family” by June 11.

That’s not much to go on but the model appears to be a pickup with LED-infused headlights and a chrome grille.

There’s no word on what the model is but Nissan is working on a new Frontier and Titan. The company has been relatively tight-lipped about the Frontier but the company recently introduced the Frontier Diesel Runner concept to “gauge consumer interest in a next-generation Frontier with a Cummins diesel engine.”

The Titan, on the other hand, is expected to be introduced at the 2015 North American International Auto Show and will be offered with a 5.0-liter Cummins V8 turbodiesel engine that develops more than 300 bhp (223 kW) and 550 lb-ft (744 Nm) of torque.

Any guesses on what this Nissan vehicle may be?

Good news for Nissan Skyline fans: the Japanese car company has just rolled off the Skyline 200 GT-t. While it’s only been introduced in the company’s home country, there’s no harm wishing we’d see this on our roads too, right?

Slated to be available for sale next week, June 5, the car is sporting a new engine, a modified rear suspension and other features that will surely delight its fans. Nissan is only targeting to sell 200 of these per month with a tag price that starts at ¥3,834,000 (including tax).

Set to go on sale on June 5th, the model has a Mercedes-sourced turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that develops 211 PS (155 kW) and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque. The company declined to release detailed performance figures but said customers can expect an “exhilarating driving response and powerful acceleration.”

While Nissan is playing up the performance angle, they also pointed out the engine has been equipped with direct-injection, variable valve timing and an engine start/stop system. This, along with an electro-hydraulic power steering system, enables the car to return 13.6 km/L (7.3 L/100km / 31.9 mpg US / 38.4 mpg UK) in the JC08 cycle.

What do you think of this newest beauty from Nissan?