MotorTrend October 2005

Show Time! Frankfurt Motor Show Preview sets the stage for the new show season, with comprehensive live coverage posted daily in mid-September, including breaking news, first looks, and photo galleries. Discuss your favorite concept and production vehicles in the Motor Trend forums. 100 Reviews Teaming with IntelliChoice, we've posted 100 mainstream vehicle reviews at motortrend.com, supplementing more than 3000 articles already on the site. Thoroughbreds by the Dozen Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, Aston Martin DB9, Continental GT, or Mercedes-Benz CL65 Poll: Which do you think is the ultimate GT? Wallpaper: Adorn your screen with your favorite 12-cylinder GT. 2006 Buyer’s Guide Tour the online buyer’s guide for the facts and figures on every mainstream make, model, and trim on the market, as well as used models from the last two decades.…

PROBABLY ONLY aging Cold War commandos and space scientists old enough to have used a slide rule will remember now, but on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy asked America for a date with destiny. In a speech to Congress, he asked that the United States commit to achieving the goal of putting a man on the moon—and returning him safely to earth—before the end of the decade. Kennedy had no detailed knowledge of the practicalities involved; indeed, even the most optimistic dreamers within the fledgling NASA, founded less than three years earlier, had little more than theories to work with. But that didn't stop him from challenging the nation. Nowadays, Monday-morning quarterbacks look at NASA‘s troubled Space Shuttle program and ask whether the effort was worth it. But…

PORSCHE HAS officially confirmed it'll build a four-seat, four-door poor coupe for the 2009 calendar year (2010 model year). To be called Panamera (supposedly for the Carrera Panamericana race), it'll become the fourth car in Porsche’s lineup (911, Cayenne, Boxster/Cayman) and will not share its platform or development with any other carmaker. Its V-8 engines are from the Cayenne, the 340-horsepower naturally aspirated and 450-horse, 4.5-liter twin-turbo, although Porsche certainly has the capability to raise the power for each by the 2010 model year. Porsche’s Leipzig factory will build the front-engine, rear-drive Panamera alongside the Cayenne SUV and the Carrera GT supercar. Porsche will fund the $1.2-billion-plus project on its own and expects annual worldwide sales of at least 20,000 (it had previously said it could break even on 10,000).…

A YEAR after it quietly announced that the 2005 Acura NSX—a car originally launched way back in 1991—would be the last, Honda has revealed plans to introduce its successor. The new car may not be named NSX, however, a source says, and it is set to make its debut in late 2006 as a 2007 model. And—get this—this next-generation version is likely to be powered by aV-10 engine. Performance will be strong. In addition to a more powerful engine, sources say Honda plans to trim the car’s weight to less than 3000 pounds, with extensive use of aluminum alloy and other lightweight composites, such as carbon fiber for the hood, fenders, roof, and the doors. You can still look to the 2003 Tokyo HSC concept as an indication of the…

THE LATEST to follow the steel-topped convertible trend that the Mercedes SLK launched a decade ago is the new S40-based C70. The roof is split into three sections, allowing a long coupe-like roof over a full four-seat interior. Developed with Pininfarina/Webasto and to be built in iltaly, the C70 has "comet-like" styling, round at front and chopped off at the rear, ending in Volvo-signature taillamps. NEED TO KNOW: At 180.3 inches long, it’s more than three inches shorter than the 1998-2004 S80 based C70.U.S. engines includes 140- and 168-horse, 2.4-liter fours and a 220-horse, 2.5-liter inline-five with manual or automatic. BUT: With black rubber grommet at the roof seams, pick a dark color. LIKE THE new Passat sedan, the wagon is longer, wider, and taller than its predecessor. VW claims…

“BULLITT” has the best chase scene of any movie ever made. Okay, that’s a given. The 1968 Steve McQueen — cop film rated as thenumber-one car-guy movie In an online survey that Haggerty Insurance conducted in anticipation of the “Dukes of Hazzard” movie. But“Gone in 60 Seconds,” the remake, ahead of “The French Connection” and “Ronin”? And the tepid remake of “The italian Job” better than those original Minis racing through Italy in the 1969 version of “The Italian Job"? Proof, it seems, that too many people have access to the Internet. Here’s Haggerty’s full list: “Bullitt” (1968) “Gone in 60 Seconds” (2000) “Smokey and the Bandit” (1977) “The Blues Brothers” (1980) “Gone in 60 Seconds” (1974) “The French Connection” (1971) “Ronin” (1998) “Vanishing Point” (1971) “The Italian Job” (2003)…