Man builds his own million dollar Bugatti supercar by hand!

I just had to share this article I found - If I had the skill set of this guy I might build something other than a Bugatti but to each his own, I applaud his ingenuity and tenacity! This article is from Yahoo News Y-Tech by the author Mike Wehner, Tecca.

Hope you get a kick out of it like I did - have a great weekend and hope you all survive "carmageddon" in Los Angeles, I know I still have to get over the hill tonight before it starts! 'I HOPE I MAKE IT BEFORE!!!

The Bugatti Veyron is a modern automotive legend. The sleek speedster from Volkswagen boasts a top speed of over 260mph, making it the fastest road-legal car in the world, and it has a stunningly large $1.5 million price tag to match. Because of this astronomical cost of entry, only a few hundred of the vehicles have ever been built, meaning your chances of owning one are rather slim. That is, unless you're Mike Duff, an ambitious 25-year-old from Florida who decided to build his very own Bugatti with his bare hands.

Starting with a complete 2002 Mercury Cougar coupe, Duff set to work transforming the vehicle's entire exterior into that of a world-class supercar. He used fiberglass and composite material to create the Veyron's iconic lines, and laid it all over a tubular steel frame. After a professional paint job and plenty of buffing, the car was ready for the showroom, but Duff wasn't done yet. He then took to the Cougar's interior, covering everything from the seats to the dashboard in genuine leather. When we spoke with him, he said the project took him a full 9 months from start to finish.

The detailed doppelgänger even sports usable back seats, which is something the real million-dollar ride completely lacks. Speaking of price, that's another area where this fantastic fake beats out its original counterpart. Duff currently has the vehicle up for sale with a price of $89,000 — less than 1/10th the price of a genuine Veyron.

Unfortunately, while that price will buy you the looks of a barely-legal race car, it doesn't buy you the performance. Under its gorgeous exterior, the "Cougatti" is still distinctly pedestrian, and remains equipped with its original 2.5-liter V6 engine that produces roughly 170 horsepower. This is in stark contrast to the 8-liter 16-cylinder powerplant of the real car, which produces a neck-snapping 1,000 horses.

Still, for the price of a Porsche, there's not much you can complain about when the car is a nearly indistinguishable replica of the fastest road car in the world. Not to mention the fact that some other Bugatti tributes can cost an order of magnitude more, and are never meant to leave your office.

Will you look at the tail on that sweet thing!

Well, I was just minding my own business... That's how things usually go in Los Angeles!

But really, I was at Autozone getting new valve stem covers (someone keeps stealing my custom billet aluminum ones!) and on the way out I saw the sweetest, red Buick Riviera I've had the pleasure of seeing in years! Of course I tried to catch up to it but lost her at a red light.

That was that, but by shear luck I pulled into a gas station and there she was in all her glory, pearlescent red paint glistening! I went up to my new buddy George and introduced my self and he was kind enough not to shoot me for oggling his beauty and actually let me have a look inside - perfect custom interior!

Turns out the car is for sale at a great price! If I hadn't just spent my money on building two new web sites she would be sitting in my garage getting attention every weekend! Let me know if any of you are interested and I can introduce you (if you buy it maybe you'll take me for a spin!)

He also told me that The Coachmen host a great car meet in Newbury Park California on the 1st Saturday of each month. "One of the best organized Cruise-In's around." Each car gets a free raffle ticket and a discount coupon for one of the many restaurants surrounding the cars, how cool is that! 

OK then, signing out for now, here are a few more pics of the Buick and George's other cars - Enjoy!

Met up with the COPS Racing Team!!!

How's this for a happy coincidence? I was in a business meeting with a regular client in El Segundo, California and on a usually quite side street we kept hearing a car roaring up and down the street. Of course the sound of that much horsepower always gets me excited so I ran out on the sidewalk to see what was up...

Turns out the the COPS Racing Team is in the building right next to my clients - full bay, cars, equipment etc... Awesome! So of course I did what any speed fan would do - I walked right in and said "HEY GUYS!" Turns out they were a nice bunch of car enthusiasts like the rest of us on My Sick Ride and even though they were getting ready for a big race in Baja this weekend, they were nice enough to chat with me for a bit. 

Me and the "Infamous" Joe Taylor!

The guys I met up with were Zach Langley, Bernie Carr, Mike Howell, Dennis Crowley, Brandon Chrisman, and of course the "infamous" Joe Taylor! I'll be writing more on each of these gents when they get back but for now am posting a few pictures and some details about the team below. Catch you all soon and enjoy reading!

COPS Racing Team was formed in early 2008, when eventual Crew/Car Chief Joseph Taylor approached his long time friend and neighbor John Langley, the Creator and Executive Producer of COPS to sponsor a SCORELite buggy that he was building along with other members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department through a charity to race in the SCORE series. John was so intrigued by the idea of what Joe was trying to accomplish, he not only sponsored the car that Joe was planning to build, but asked Joe to take on the task of putting together a car for him and his sons to drive. The car and the team made their debut at the 2008 SCORE Baja 1000. The fledgling team brought the car home with less than an hour left to spare in the 31 hour time limited event, besting the L.A. County Fire Project car by minutes but nonetheless bringing home both cars in epic fashion that ultimately propelled the team to expand and go on to greater achievements.

In it’s first full season campaign, COPS Racing placed 2nd in Class Points for the SCORELite division and 5th in Class Points for Classs 1 Unlimited. In the first outing for the Class 1 buggy at the 42nd Annual SCORE Tecate Baja 1000, the team took home the big trophy after winning the Class 1 Unlimited race.

The team currently fields three entries with plans to enter five races in the SCORE International off-road racing series.

Thanks for the time Joe, catch you guys in a week or two!

Greg Yamabe, YAMABE RACING: Good friend and Ford Guru!

1965 Mustang 2+2 

I purchase the Mustang (Restomod - Yeap, I named her) locally in 2003 to replace my 64-1/2 Mustang Coupe that was promised to a guy from back east. The car was visually very pleasing with its shiny paint to it's straight body. The interior was going to require a little TLC, but all in all, I had to have her. She was the dream car I let get away back in 1973 (sold my Mustang 2+2 GT). 

Restomod was your basic 65 Mustang 2+2. She had A/C and Power brakes, both removed by prior owner. She came with a mildly modified 351W, C4 trans and a 8" rear end. I had a much hotter set up in my 65 Coupe, which was just waiting for it's new home. As soon as Restomod's front tires hit the driveway, parts were flying off. I knew what I wanted to do. The transformation turned out to be a never ending project. As fast as I added parts, other parts were flying off. 

An interesting side note, the gentleman who asked to take the reins of the coupe bailed when it came time to buy her. I was heartbroken, I ended up with 2 Mustangs!

Here is a quick look at Restomod as she sits today.

BODY-FRAME:

Painted with 2 Stage Fire Red Pearl Metallic paint

4.5" Cowl induction hood scoop molded onto hood

Deleted: Power steering, power brakes and Air conditioning

Granada disc brakes in front

CEE Front Drag Springs

Carrera 90/10 front shocks

Granada 9" disc brake in the rear with 3.70:1 gears - Detroit Locker

Caltrac Traction bars

Rancho RS9000 5 way adjustable rear shocks

INTERIOR:

Quick release steering wheel

3A Racing seats

Rear seat delete

Power Windows (had to have something power assisted)

Full Roll Cage

Catalog full of gauges

ENGINE:

Paxton Novi 2000 Supercharger kit modified to fit my application

351W with 408 CHP Stroker kit

750 BG Mighty Demon Carb modified for blow through system

Edelbrock Victor Jr intake

Edelbrock heads

This is one mean Pony! I have never been for a ride but based on how wicked my 71 Mustang ran after Greg completely rebuilt the engine I am almost afraid to step inside! Check out Greg's YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq4Bv04TSPM

The Fastest Cars Under $30,000

Think you've got to spend big if you want a fast car? Think again.

Plenty of affordable cars will do zero to 60 mph in under six seconds; some are one-third the price of racers from Porsche or BMW.

The Ford Mustang GT, the Ford Mustang coupe and the rally-style Subaru Impreza WRX are just some of the thrifty speedsters that give luxury coupes a run for their money. This list of the quickest under $30,000 from Forbes.com has the others:

The Fastest Cars Under $30,000

Ford Mustang GT

Ford Mustang GT

Engine: 5.0L V8

Transmission: 6-speed manual

Zero-to-60 mph: 4.8 seconds

Price: $29,145

Subaru Impreza WRX

Subaru Impreza WRX

Engine: 2.5L H4 turbo

Transmission: 5-speed manual

Zero-to-60 mph: 5.2 seconds

Price: $25,495

Ford Mustang Coupe

Ford Mustang Coupe

Engine: 3.7L V6

Transmission: 6-speed manual

Zero-to-60 mph: 5.6 seconds

Price: $22,145

Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart

Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart

Engine: 2.0L L4 turbo

Transmission: 6-speed automated manual

Zero-to-60 mph: 5.8 seconds

Price: $27,695

Hyundai Genesis Coupe

Hyundai Genesis 3.8 R-Spec Coupe

Engine: 3.8L V6

Transmission: 6-speed manual

Zero-to-60 mph: 5.9 seconds

Price: $26,750

Gotta have friends, and if they work on cars all the better!

I have friends with all kinds and years of cars, as do most people - but I'm lucky enough to have friends that are always up to really interesting things with their cars! Take my buddy J for example - sure he could just drive his 96 Mustang from point A to point B - but where would the fun be in that?!

With that said... Here is what he's up to! He's used a 95 Mustang as a donor car for his 96; swapped out the k-member, suspension, axle, trans, engine, exhaust and rear control arms - whew! He's also in the process of setting up a Saleen body kit but still needs side skirts, hood and spoiler to complete the transformation - not to mention the turbo charger coming soon.

 
These are pics of his car and the donor car, as well as the engine for the swap. Hopefully we get to see the final "before and after" pics soon so I can post them here! Good luck buddy!

800-horsepower Mustang on the way!

I just finished reading this and it just blew me away! I wish I had $80,000! Jason, I guess I am going to just have to go for joy rides in your modified Mustang to get this kind of excitement! Hope you enjoy Mr Valdes-Dapena's article below, and the picture of course!

The 2012 Shelby GT500 Super Snake will be available with an upgrade kit enabling it to produce 800 horsepower.

By Peter Valdes-Dapena
 

Shelby GT500 Super Snake

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- An 800-horsepower version of the Ford Mustang will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show later this month.

The 2012 Shelby GT500 Super Snake will be built by Shelby American Inc., a Las Vegas-based performance car company. Shelby works with Ford Motor Co. to create various high-performance versions of the iconic Mustang.

While the base Super Snake will produce a mere 750 horsepower, those who feel the need for more power will be able to add an optional upgrade package that will provide 50 more. Shelby provides no warranty on the engine and transmission, in either case.

The base version of the outgoing 2011 Super Snake produces 630 horsepower, although no-warranty option packages have been available in recent months to push horsepower in those cars up to as much as 800, as well.

The 2012 Super Snake will be legal to drive on public roads on all 50 states, the carmaker promised, and it will cost less than $100,000.

Prices for the 2011 Super Snake start about $80,000 in total, including the separate purchase of a car from Ford -- a factory-produced Shelby GT500 -- and the necessary modifications.

"Shelby American has a rich history at the New York International Auto Show," said John Luft, president of Shelby American. in an announcement. "The very first Shelby car was introduced there in 1962, as well as the 1968 and 2008 Shelby GT500KR and the 2006 Shelby Hertz GT-H."

The original partnership between Ford and Shelby American founder Carroll Shelby, one that resulted in Mustang-based performance cars that can be worth millions of dollars today, ended in 1969. Ford and Shelby entered into a new agreement in 2003 that has produced a new line of Shelby Mustangs, some built by Ford Motor Co. and others built at the Shelby American factory.