(2011?) R8 V10 (5.2) Spyder

Don't know how I forgot to post this. I Was filling up about a month ago and a big Audi pulls into the station. The first thing to flash through my mind was, "...S5 cabriolet?" but I immediately realized it was an R8 Spyder - a 5.2 V10 equipped Spyder, no less. You can see that it has "Vehicle Manufacturer" plates from New Jersey, home of Car and Driver. I don't know any other reason that it would have Jersey plates, but then again, I don't know why there would be a near-production example of a German exotic car that doesn't even have a US launch date driving around Stamford, Connecticut. I'm glad I had my camera with me... right place at the right time. According to exif data I took this on March 14, quite awhile ago.

B7 Audi RS4 4.2 FSI

In the beginning of this month, while walking to the 2010 New York Auto Show, I spotted a great car before even getting inside - a B7 Audi RS4. I always thought of the RS4 as an AWD M3, which is certainly not a bad thing. The color, as far as I can tell, is not a stock one and looks almost exactly like taxi-cab yellow. I sure wouldn't mind getting ferried around in a small 6-speed Audi with a tuned 4.2 FSI V8 - the same base engine that's in the A8, and... oh, yeah, the Gumpert Apollo. Maybe he picks up passengers for $15/mile when he needs to fill up?

Porsche Carrera GT

Today's sighting was a Porsche Carrera GT, year unknown, at the Ferrari wing of Miller Motorcars in Greenwich, CT; Guards Red with a Terracotta interior.

This is a very interesting car - it was Porsche's second purpose-built supercar (the first being the incredible 959) with a specially-designed V10 engine. More interestingly, it almost never came to fruition. The car's engine was first to be used in Porsche's new LMP (LeMans Prototype) car. A focus on the design of the Cayenne and the upcoming Audi R8 - a corporate relative - led to the shelving of this LMP project, however. Only after the release of the Cayenne did the dry-sump 5.7L V10 find a home in the Carrera GT.

The Carrera GT was both ahead of its time and an homage to Porsches past; mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, and a non-synchromeshed transmission give the car a hardcore driving feel, while a carbon fiber monocoque/subframe and carbon ceramic brakes add a modern technological element.