2011 Lamborghini Gallardo By Tecnocraft

What happens when an American tuner unleashes a whole lot of carbon fiber on an unsuspecting Italian supercar? Well, for once, disaster does not ensue. Typically, we don’t recommend anyone messing with a beauty such as the Lamborghini Gallardo, but this package by Tecnocraft is worth every penny.

Tecnocraft’s package for the Gallardo includes carbon fiber seats, wings, engine carbon panels, air box, and tons of other stuff. Rounding off the kit is a new set of wheels. The whole shebang us painted in black with yellow highlights scattered throughout.

While everything mentioned so far comes standard with the Tecnocraftpackage, the tuner is also offering a carbon fiber rear splitter and racing harnesses as an option. All of these carbon fiber elements help to reduce the car’s weight by an impressive 300 lbs. This is translated into better aerodynamics and improved performance. It doesn’t get much better than that. They didn’t even have to update the engine’s output because the modifications made to the exterior are more than enough!

2011 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano Comte Noir By Graf Weckerle

Remember the V8 Vantage Blanc de Blancs by Graf Weckerle we brought a few days ago? Well, now we are introducing its sinister cousin, the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano Comte Noir (The Black Count) by the same tuner, Graf Weckerle. And while the Aston Martin model is painted in white, the tuner has opted to go to the dark side for the Ferrari with a sleek black exterior. Of course, if you’re not keen on the exterior color change, maybe the engine preparations will make a believer out of you.

While a standard 599 GTB is powered by a six-liter V12 engine with 620 HP, the Comte Noir edition delivers an impressive 835 HP. In order to handle this amount of power, the car also gets a coilover-suspension with adjustable shock absorbers and the ability to lift the front axle by 40mm.

The most evil component on the Ferrari 599 is the very unique set of 1" forged titanium/aluminum Fleur-de-Lis ornamental wheels painted in a combination of anthracite and black finish. The wheels are definitely different, to say the least, but we think they may just be a little better than the ones featured on the Blanc de Blancs edition. Either way, they take up to 20 days to build and add a special air to the vehicle.

2011 Honda CR-Z Memorial Award Edition

Getting an award is quite an honor, but getting the title of Japanese Car of the Year is apparently something that warrants a little more than a simple thank you. The Honda CR-Z’s success on the Japanese market has led it to this prestigious award, and has led Honda to unveil a special edition to celebrate the event. Appropriately named the Memorial Award Edition, this special edition will only be available in Japan in a limited run of 1000 units.Honda sure seems excited about this title, huh?

The CR-Z Memorial Award Edition will be offered exclusively in Pearl Deep Sapphire Blue exterior paint with Dark Pewter Gray 16" wheels in a five double-spoke design. Onlookers will know exactly what this car is all about thanks to a sticker affixed on the driver’s side quarter glass that lists all of its options.

For the interior, the new CR-Z Memorial Award Edition adds a medium gray finish, sporty aluminum pedals, and a standard navigation system. Other than that, you get the standard 1.5-liter i-VTEC four-cylinder engine with 122 HP and 123 lb.-ft. of torque.

The price for the special CR-Z Memorial Award Edition is JPY 2,794,000 (or about $34,200 at the current exchange rates). So basically, customers interested in the Award model will get to spend almost twice the amount of the standard CR-Z for less upgrades than we can count on one hand. Doesn’t seem smart, does it?

Caterham to debut new model at the Autosport International Motor Show in January

We haven’t seen anything new from Caterham recently as the British manufacturer seems to he content with just producing continuation models of their iconic Lotus Seven models.

All that, however, was bound to change and now Caterham has announced that it has plans of unveiling a completely new model at the start of 2011. Details are still sketchy at this point, but Caterham has made it known that their new model is going to signal “the beginning of a new dawn for the Company, but one that remains true to the lightweight, minimalist DNA of the legendary Seven."

According to Caterham, this new model is going to be powered by a new in-house engine - the next-generation Caterham Motorsport engine - and is going to be built alongside the Seven. There’s no telling what kind of car this is going to be because Caterham is keeping their cards close to their chests. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait too long before we see the cat make its debut at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham, England on January 13, 2011. That’s about a month away so the wait really isn’t that long.

Nonetheless, we’ve already circled the date on our calendars.

Note: The photo above is of the RST-V8 Levante and not of the new concept that Caterham is working on.

Press Release after the jump.

Chevrolet ends 91-year partnership with ad agency Campbell-Ewald

It’s hard to imagine two companies working together without a hitch for over 90 years - 91 to be exact - so when Chevrolet decided to cut ties with ad agency Campbell-Ewald after 91 years, we shouldn’t have been surprised that they did what they did. That being said, their relationship has endured two world wars, two global recessions, and countless other historical moments in history that make this revelation a little alarming.

Now that we’ve gotten over our initial shock - really, it only took one paragraph - the decision to part ways between the two companies is monumental in its own right, especially since Campbell-Ewald was responsible for some of Chevy’s most iconic advertising campaigns including "The Heartbeat of America", "Like a Rock", and "An American Revolution".

According to the Detroit News, Chevy has replaced Campbell-Ewald with Publicis Worldwide, an agency that isn’t a slouch by any stretch of the imagination, currently representing a bevy of heavyweight clients including Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, and Whirlpool.

It certainly goes without saying that a partnership that lasted nine years short of a century must have had quite a falling out, but we’re not here to speculate on the matter. The important thing is these two companies - Chevy and Campbell-Ewald - gave us some of most influential auto campaigns we’ve ever come across. That alone speaks volumes on the lasting partnership they’ve had.

Customized Ferrari 575M is pure ecstasy

The Ferrari 575M went out of production in 2006 after only four years of service, so buying a new model to replace the older one isn’t really an option for any Ferrari fan. Thankfully, a 575M owner has shown us that just because the car isn’t new, doesn’t mean that it can’t sparkle and shine like it just came off of the lot.

The modifications aren’t extensive by any means, but what this Ferrari owner did to renew his ride is cover the exterior of the vehicle in an exquisite white paint, and then add a new set of wheels in a multi-spoke design and painted in black to contrast the body of the car. Take a step back from the 575M and it becomes clear that the front and rear bumper have both been lowered, with a new set of side skirts added to complete the look.

If anyone thought the Ferrari 575M didn’t look good before, then this owner could definitely serve up his ride to prove they are wrong

Video: Porsche 911 GT2 RS vs Carrera

Being that Porsche has successfully created the most powerful street-legal model Porsche has ever built in the form of the GT2 RS, the guys over at AutoCar decided to put this beast to the test alongside one of its more standard brothers: the Carrera.

To figure out that the GT2 RS is faster and more powerful than the Carrera is a no brainer. It pushes out 620hp, and pushes it out quickly with a 0-60mph time of just 3.5 seconds. Stand that next to the Carrera’s 345hp and 0-60mph time of 4.7 seconds, and you begin to question why the heck this comparison was even done. But there is actually a reason behind this seemingly simple comparison. Sure, the GT2 RS is faster, but is it fast enough and powerful enough to substantiate the gargantuan price difference of $100,000 between it and the Carrera? Check out the video and find out!