When we think of the production of a supercar, we usually don’t think of the Land Down Under as being any part of it. In 2004, all of that changed as Australia-based Joss began working on their first exclusive supercar, the Joss supercar. Apparently, they are saving all of their originality for the actual vehicle and not the name.

Earlier this year we were able to get a few pictures of the prototype for the Joss supercar, but now the company has revealed its first teaser photo. Shaped using physics and not aesthetics, the Joss supercar should have superior aerodynamics and heat dissipation when it finally goes on sale, hopefully in 2011 as originally projected.

Power for the Australian supercar will come from an all aluminum engine provided by a European automaker. This engine is said to produce more than 500hp and will be mated to a five-speed manual transmission with a reverse via linkage system. Stopping power will come from six piston brake calipers in the front and four piston system in the rear with ventilated dics all around. The Joss supercar brags of carbon fiber construction causing it to weigh less than 2,200lbs. It runs the 0-60mph sprint in under three seconds, the quarter mile in 11 seconds, and the estimated top speed is 186mph.

Pricing for the Australian supercar is expected to be around $500,000. Ouch.

Australia’s Joss supercar teased originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 4 August 2010 16:00 EST.

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The sixth round of the Redline Time Attack took place in the hot California desert. It was called the “Liberty Grand Prix” and it took place on America’s birthday, July 4.

Despite the fact that it was like the surface of the sun outside, a gusty wind helped keep the temperatures from climbing into the 100-degree range. The intense heat had a big impact on the cars that were competing on the track.

The time attack cars were sprayed with water and packed with ice before their runs in an effort to keep them cool and some were even running without hoods and bumpers.

Saturday’s practice session and Circuit Battles went flawlessly. Most of the fans withstood the tremendous heat in order to watch film star Paul Walker take his supercharged BMW E92 M3 around the track. With 500 horsepower on tap, Walker’s road car did battle with an ABF Performance Mini Cooper S.

One would think that the M3 driven by Walker would dominate the Mini, but if you look deeper, you will discover that this is no ordinary Mini. Under the hood of the Cooper S is a 650 horsepower motor that allows the car to run the quarter mile in 10 seconds. Needless to say, it beat Walker with sub 1:30 times.

Hit the jump for the rest of the article.

Round Six Of The Redline Time Attack originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 7 July 2010 13:00 EST.

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The Chevrolet Camaro is no doubt a car with lots of potential so it’s really not a surprise that someone has decided to get their hands dirty in preparing it for the drag racing scene.

The car belongs to racer, Mike McCracken, who took his Camaro SS and underwent a project that took four months to complete. The drag racer was on a mission to create a door car. He traded the dragster for a door car that had already been started and called it a day.

“I went online looking to buy a new ’69 Camaro body. Well, I got to thinking about it and thought, hey, the new Camaro is out, why don’t I just buy a new Camaro body?”

And that’s exactly what he did. Now, the vehicle features a 600 cubic inch, alcohol-injected Big Block Chevy that delivers 1,013 HP, backed by a three-speed Powerglide transmission. It delivers the power to a 9” Ford rear-end with 4.30 gears.

The car displays a new front end and hood along with brand new door panels, all of the side glass, power windows, the original trunk, grilles, front fascias, headlights, and fog lights, among other original factory parts all coming from GM. It ended up being a little heavier than McCracken anticipated weighing in at about 2,900lbs., but that doesn’t bother McCracken. He says, ““But I gave up the weigh for the look,” he said. “When we took it to the track the first weekend, people just went, wow!”

The car will debut at Super Pro competition; it will also compete in a few NHRA Super Gas races.

Video after the jump.

Camaro dragster runs the quarter-mile in 8 seconds originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 7 June 2010 19:00 EST.

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How about a Scirocco that can make the 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3,4 seconds and the quarter mile in 11, seconds? Yes we are talking about a hatchback here. Ad this amazing numbers have been revealed by HPA Motorsport when they announced the Scirocco FT565.

The Canadian tuner announced the FT565 will use a twin-turbo3,2 liter V6 engine with an output of 550HP and a peak torque of 813 NM (that’s more than impressive considering the most powerful Scirocco develops a total of 200HP).

Besides the engine upgrade, HPA Motorsport will also offer new brakes and 19″ wheels.

Stay tuned for more details.

Volkswagen Scirocco by HPA Motorsports originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 9 April 2010 18:00 EST.

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AMS Performance is usually known for customizing Lancer EVO models. But with their latest project they will become famous. The tuner developed a tuning kit for the Nissan GT-R that helped the sports sedan to brake the 9 second barrier for the first time.

They used a SR850 Package and made the engine to deliver an impressive 763 bhp. The result is a quarter mile made in 9,89 seconds.

Video: Nissan GT-R by AMS Performance does the quartermile in 9,89 seconds originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 25 March 2010 16:24 EST.

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Full Article and Photos: www.insideline.com Mercedes E550 Full Test: www.youtube.com Porsche Panamera Full Test Video: www.youtube.com BMW M5 Spy Video: www.youtube.com More Articles: www.insideline.com Car Prices & Info www.edmunds.com Twitter Feed twitter.com Facebook Page www.facebook.com Hi-Res Videos: www.hulu.com side-line Consider that the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG is nowhere near as quick as the 2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo and you might be disappointed. With four doors and a power figure beginning with the number five, the E63 should be capable of a toe-to-toe showdown with the sedan from Stuttgart, right? But it’s not even close, because the Porsche is 0.7 second quicker in the quarter-mile and embarrasses the Benz to 60 mph by a merciless 1.1 seconds.

The 2009 Dodge Caliber SRT-4 is a bona fide mini muscle car and it is looking as good as ever. The Mopar engineers have done an excellent job transforming the this plus sized traditional two box hatch into an extremely aggressive pavement pounder. This Bright Silver Metallic clear coat SRT-4 differentiates itself from standard Calibers thanks to a very stylish body kit consisting of everything from a big mouth front bumper and vented hood all the way to an oversized spoiler and 19 inch rims on the outside while the interior benefits from bits like sport buckets and an Autometer boost gauge so that you can keep tabs on what the go fast compressor is doing.

The heart of any true muscle car is the power plant, and the SRT-4 won’t disappoint horsepower junkies. The 2.4 Liter turbocharged four cylinder offers plenty of torque due to its rather large displacement while the hairdryer under the hood ensures that you will have fun all the way to redline at 13 PSI. The mill is good for a total of 285 HP and 265 lb-ft of torque and will accelerate the SRT-4 from 0 to 60 MPH in a mere 5.4 seconds and complete the standing quarter mile in 14.4 ticks at a very fast 103 MPH, all while returning 19 MPG around town and as many as 27 MPG while cruising at highway speeds with the turbo singing.

Starting at $25,470 the Dodge Caliber SRT-4 is very well styled, from the vents in the hood to the diffuser out back this car had enough show to match the 285 HP worth of go and proved to be one of the best examples of affordable speed on the market today and despite consumers leanign towards fuel economy over fun for their new car purchases we just hope that Mopar continues to do what they do best by sticking SRT badges on Chrysler’s compacts.

Continued after the jump.

Dodge Caliber SRT-4 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 31 December 2009 10:00 EST.

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Three-point-four seconds. That’s how long it takes the 2007 Porsche 911 Turbo to hit 60 mph. That’s 3.4 SECONDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our neck muscles hurt just typing it. Keep it pinned and the 480-horsepower, all-wheel-drive 911 annihilates the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at 118.5 mph. That makes it the quickest car we’ve ever tested. Line it up next to a Lamborghini Gallardo and it’ll make mincemeat out of the fighting bull.

Packing a monstrous 1500 horsepowered-engine, this Lamborghini Gallardo “Race Version” is unlike any Gallardo you’ve ever seen in your lifetime.

Fine-tuned by Underground Racing for one of its clients, the twin-turbo Gallardo – called the TTG – is the personification of a monster on wheels. While 1500 horsepower is staggering enough, if you account for the drivetrain loss, the horsepower should spike up even more to around 1900 hp. Staggering, isn’t it?

After completing the modifications, Underground Racing gave Jonah – the owner of the car – the keys to the wheels – so he could give his new amped up baby a ride. The result? A sub-ten second time through a quarter mile at speeds of well over 160 mph. Unbelievable!

Here’s a video of the TGG being undergoing the modifications. Hear that monster roar!

Video: Underground Racing fine-tunes Lamborghini Gallardo originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 24 November 2009 07:00 EST.

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