So you think you are gonna drive: to a Ski Resort

If you don't live up in the foothills or mountains, you probably think that you need a lifted 4x4 or a very sophisticated four wheel drive to get any where when there is a millimeter of snow on the ground or when it is raining very hard. Well truth is, you don't. The famed British TV show, Top Gear, has showed the world several times over that all you need is some good tires and you can go just about anywhere. However there are some cars that will make you trip to the mountains when it is snowing a little bit easier. Of course, there are the SUVs like the Nissan Xterra, Toyota FJ Cruiser, and Jeep Wangler which are meant to be off the beaten path more then on it. There is a wide variety of affordable, economical cars that do well in snow, but those cars are boring so I am going to cover the more expensive, flamboyant cars. The three flamboyant cars are the Audi A8, Toyota Land Cruiser, and the Bentley Continental V8. The Audi A8 is the top of the line AWD of Quattro Audi has to offer. It has a AWD system that is proven in both in the Rally and normal world. A8 has 60-40 split AWD that offers supreme traction. The car itself is quite flamboyant with leather seats and a wood trimmed interior. You can get a W12 with 500 hp and 436 ft-lb torque. With that massive engine it can go 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds and has a top speed of 155 mph and mpg at 14/21 its not completely out of the bucket until you get to the $72,200 base price.
Next is the Toyota Land Cruiser which might seem like its not flamboyant enough, but I think when it starts at $78,225 it is quite flamboyant. The Land Cruiser evolved from a work mule in the 60's called the FJ40. Over time it got more and more luxurious and eventually turned in to what we know to day. With very advanced traction control systems and a center diff lock, this fluffy mule is hard to get stuck. You will also be in maximum comfort with minimum work in evolved in hard off road situations. The Land Cruiser comes with a 5.7 liter, V8 with 381 hp and 401 ft-lb of torque. Its 0-60 time is a monumental 11.6 seconds and a top speed of something I could not find. It may only get 13/18 mpg but what do you suspect from a 5765 lbs mule.
Finally there is the Bentley Continental V8. Now this is a vehicle that I would never suspect to be decent on the snow, but with good tiers this monster is actualy prety good for a sports car. It does have an advanced permanent AWD that makes it possible to control all 500 hp and 487 ft-lb of torque in a slippery situation. The V8 can switch to run on only 4 cylinders to save gas. But when all 8 cylinders are ponding away the Continental can do 0-60 mph in just 4.4 seconds and go all the way up to 180 mph. The Bentley Continental V8 cost only $176,275 with 17/24 mpg.

The last Lexus LFA

Yes I have never done a blog on the famed Lexus LFA until know when the last of the 500 is rolling out of the factory. Of course they are not just making the last LFA a normal LFA but instead a one car special edition LFA. This Nürburgring-spec LFA get more hp 562 instead of 552 with the same 4.8 liter V10. It also has a lowered suspension by 10 mm and bigger front spoiler. Lets talk about why this car should be remembered for an eternity to come if the world does not end on the 21st. This is the car that has to have a digital rev counter because it gains and loses revs so fast that an analog gauge can not keep up. This is the car that could accelerate from 0-62 mph in 3.7 seconds and will top out where the law and bravery permits at 202 mph  using materials from all corners of the world. Lexus says that 175 people worked on one car a day in a dedicated factory in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The chief engineer, Haruhiko Tanahashi, said: "I've lived and breathed supercars for the past decade. Specifically, one supercar, LFA. Very few people have the opportunity we had to create a world-class supercar from a blank sheet of paper." Losing the LFA is not a complete loss, because it gave Lexus new ways of using carbon fiber, which the LFA was almost completely made of, on vehicles like the new super car that is coming out from Lexus hopefully soon, the Lexus LF-LC. I guess that this price is no longer accurate but the LFA cost $375,000. Goodbye to yet another great super car.

the last one

Nürburgring-spec 

Normal LFA

Tesla Model X concept

In 2012 when the Model S began production Tesla also released its next car in is,t line up, the Model X. The Model X is a crossover SUV that is all electric like the Model S. It can seat up to seven people and carry gear for all seven people. It can do that thanks to is 60 or 85 kW-h battery lying flat under the floor boards. It will also have an AWD system which works by having an electric motor at each end of the SUV, each motor will power two wheels. The really amazing thing about this SUV is that with the 85 kW-h battery the Model X can go 270 miles on a charge and do a 0-60 mph time of 4.4 seconds. On the inside it looks identical to the Model S except for two more seats with falcon wing  doors to make it easier to get to the second and third rows of seating. The Model X will start production in 2014 but Tesla is already taking reservations for this $60,000-$100,000.

Model X and the CEO of Tesla Elon Musk

Jaguar F-TYPE 2014

Jaguar recently released there newest car to join there line up in 2013, the F-TYPE. It is a covetable sports car that is hopefully going to fallow in the E-TYPE's path. With the help of an aluminum body the F-TYPE will weigh 3,521-3,671 lbs, and to help it move along there are three engine options. The first two are 3.0 liter V6 Supercharged engines. The confusing part is that one has 340 hp and 332 ft-lb of torque where as the other on has 380 hp and 339 ft-lb of torque. The third engine option is a 5.0 liter V8 Supercharged engine. The V8 has 495 hp and 460 ft-lb of torque. The V8 S F-TYPE can do 0-60 in 4.2 seconds and go all the way to 186 mph. One more thing is that the door handles retract to give the car a slipstream design. The F-TYPE starts at $69,000.

Spyker Spyder C8/C12

The Spyker C8 is one the weirdest cars I have ever seen. It is Dutch which might explain something but I don't quite know. Since 2000 the C8 has comes in many shapes and forum meaning 11 different engine roof combinations. The chassis and body are original from Spyker but all of the engines used are from Audi. The base model C8 is the Spyder with an Audi 4.2 L V8 hence the 8 after the C. That 4.2 L V8 has only 400 hp but the Spyder can still go 186 mph and 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds. The next model up is the Spyder T. The Spyder T has  the same engine has the Spyder but with two turbo chargers thrown on it now has 525 hp which gets the car up to 199 mph and 0-60 mph in just 4 seconds. After that you have the Spyder Laviolette. The Laviolette has the same engine as the base model but instead of a soft or hard roof the Laviolette has a glass canopy. The next jump up is the double 12S and 12R. The 12R is the racing version designed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and the 12S is the same car for the street. The 12S has the same glass canopy as the Laviolette but an optional 620 hp engine that will get the 12S up to 214 mph and will go from 0-60 mph in under 4 seconds. The Most recent Spyker model to cole out is the C12 LaTurbie. Instead of the Audi V8 it has an Audi 6.0 L W12 with 500 hp which makes no sense because it is bigger then the V8 but has less power. The base model Spyker cost $288,000 and only weighs 2750 lbs.

C8

C8 convertible

C8 Laviolette

C8 Laviolette

C8 Laviolette

C8 Double 12

C8 Double 12

C8 Double 12

C12 LaTurbie

C12 LaTurbie

C12 LaTurbie