Welcome back to the Rescars Weekly Round-up.
This week’s news has been dominated by tuners with ABT, Liberty Walk and Novitec all revealing new upgrades to existing cars. We’ve also seen the return of a V8 and a switch to electric power. Let’s dive in…
The Fiat 500 goes electric
As someone who is still a bit of an EV-sceptic and has never liked the Fiat 500, this one got off to a bad start. Overall, though, I was very impressed with the initial details released by the manufacturer.
The 42kWh battery adopted by the 500 gives it a very respectable 199-mile WLTP range, can build up enough charge for an above-average daily commute in just five minutes and fast-charge to 80% of its capacity in an equally impressive 35 minutes.
A 3.1 second 0-31mph time makes it perfect for weaving out of city traffic and its Normal, Range and Sherpa driving modes ensure the 500 is ready for any type of journey.
To find out more about the new 500 and, more importantly, what on earth ‘Sherpa’ means, click here.
Novitec tunes the F8 Tributo
I don’t know about you but I would have thought 710bhp is more than enough for a £200k supercar. Apparently not…
Novitec, who state that “there is no such thing as enough power”, have decided to bump the F8 Tributo’s 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 up to 791bhp and 662lb ft of torque.
That’s the Stage 2 package. If that’s a bit too much for you, Stage 1 offers just 776bhp which is still a substantial increase over the standard engine.
In terms of the F8’s appearance, the modifications are very tame compared to Novitec’s full-fat N-Largo models. Don’t worry, though – they’re working on it.
For more information on Novitec’s tweaks to the excellent F8 Tributo, click here.
Liberty Walk reveal new bodykit for A90 Supra
This was another one that I didn’t necessarily have very high hopes for. I’m not usually a fan of the big, excessive bodykits produced by companies such as Liberty Walk, especially when they’re fitted to Ferraris, Mclarens etc – it just seems pointless to me
Having said that, I think their new widebody kit for the A90 Toyota Supra looks absolutely amazing. Maybe it’s because the Supra is a car I would already associate with tuning and modifications, maybe they’ve just done a better job than usual.
The flared wheel arches and extended track give the Supra a much wider and lower stance and that rear wing looks like something off a spaceship. Combined with the rear diffuser and front splitter, the Supra gets a much more aggressive appearance.
Click here to find out how much the kit costs and whether or not you can get hold of one.
Audi S8 gets tweaked by ABT
Given the sheer size of the thing, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Audi S8 isn’t a particularly fast car. You’d be wrong, however, and it’s now even quicker thanks to German tuning company, ABT.
Their new ECU has boosted the S8’s 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 to 690bhp and 650lb ft of torque. That’s a massive 127bhp more than the standard S8!
Thanks to this new power, Audi’s executive limousine will now do 0-62mph in a Carrera 4S-beating 3.4 seconds and continue on to a top speed of 167mph.
ABT has mainly left the S8’s appearance alone at the request of Audi who wanted to maintain its “elegant, understated appearance”. Find out what changes they did make here.
Cayenne GTS goes back to V8 power
We got to see the new Porsche Cayenne GTS for the first time this week and it came bearing good news. The previous model’s V6 has been ditched and in its place is a downtuned version of the top-of-the-range Turbo’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.
Perfectly bridging the gap between the S and the Turbo in terms of both price and performance, the GTS comes in both SUV and Coupe forms and will cost from £85,930 and £88,750 respectively.
One of the main additions to the new GTS is the Lightweight Sports package. This comes with a new central twin-exit exhaust system, carbon fibre roof and a 22-inch wheel and tyre package amongst other cosmetic tweaks.
To find out what other upgrades the new GTS benefits from, and there’s a fair amount of them, click here.
So that’s it for the third edition of the Rescars Weekly Round-up. Make sure you stay tuned next week for more of the latest news, pictures and opinions from the car world.
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