The SLR might not be the most breath-taking car in the world, but if you were to drop $3.7 million into one, you would expect it to come out looking a tad better. This red and gold monstrosity is the work of Ueli Anlicker of Winznau, Switzerland. Anlicker is well known for his customized red-and-gold vehicles and electronics including motorcycles, Ferrari cars, laptops, a Playstation 3 and more. He even owns a museum devoted to his…ahh…works.

This eyesore is described by Anlicker as the “absolute highlight” of his career. So what did he spend the $4.3 million on? The car, of course, the custom body work, approximately 500 rubies, and gold plating from the wheels to the steering wheel; we can only imagine how much weight, including unsprung weight, this has added to the car.

[via Jalopnik]

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I guess we couldn't expect much less from the people at Underground Racing.

[via 6speedonline]

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What normally happens in the movies:

We have seen it on television and the Need for Speed video game built a franchise on it, but running from the law in a $200,000+ sports car at triple-digit speeds is not something that really happens, right? Well, one Canadian did it and even came pretty close to getting away. 

A police officer in Port Moody, British Columbia, crashed his cruiser Wednesday afternoon after chasing a Ferrari on the Barnet Highway. The officer noticed the red Ferrari driving erratically and dangerously fast. After taking chase and while trying to close the distance between him and the Ferrari, the officer lost control of his cruiser and sideswiped a van.  No one was hurt in the crash.  

Although the Ferrari was able to get away, the driver has since been identified and the investigation is continuing.

What normally happens in real life: 

An Oregon trooper pulled over six exotic sports cars driving well over the speed limit on Thursday. The best part is he was able to pull them all over at the same time. The cars included a Gallardo, F430, NSX, 599 GTB, F40, and another not-pictured Ferrari. Senior Trooper David Peterson cited all the drivers for Speed Racing. (Take notice of the personalized plates)

[via AutoEvolution and Salem News]

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The owners of a Long Island, New York, Aston Martin dealership are being charged with spying on a rival Ferrari dealership by accessing its e-mail server from February to September of 2008. The information on the e-mails included the names, addresses, and phone numbers of customers; the dealership’s inventory; and employee compensation.

According to the complaint filed by the FBI, Giacomo Ciaccia, 43, of Bronx, New York; Leka Vuksanaj, 42, of Mahopac, New York; and Michael Lussos, 40, of Coram, New York, are charged with one count each of “conspiracy to access a computer without authorization and obtain information for commercial gain and to further an intended fraud”.  The maximum penalty if they’re found guilty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Ciaccia and Vuksanaj owned the Universal Autosports dealership; Lussos worked there as its creative director.

Universal Autosports opened its doors in February 2008 in the space formerly occupied by the Ferrari dealership. Ciaccia worked for the Ferrari dealership as its general manager and Lussos as its webmaster until they were let go in March of 2007. It is speculated that Lussos used his knowledge of the Ferrari’s system to secretly forward all employee e-mails to an unauthorized e-mail address.

[via Bloomberg]

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Usually reserved for the back streets of New York City, a knockoff was showed at the Shanghai Motor Show by the Chinese-manufacturer Geely. Called the GE and clearly inspired the Rolls-Royce Phantom sedan, the concept has obtained the attention of Rolls-Royce, in particular its legal team, which is considering action against the company. Unfortunately, although certain aspects—like the grille and the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament—are protected, basic design might be harder to guard. Besides, hasn’t Kia been doing this for years?

[via Telegraph.co.uk]

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Lamborghini wedges under SUV. [ via iReport.com]

Beverly Hills crash on March 23, 2009 [ via TMZ]

A Gallardo plummets off a cliff in Spain [via Jalopnik]

Lamborghini Gallardo (yellow Lambo # 1) plows into a Fiat in Hungary. [via Autolabor.hu]

LP640 (yellow Lambo # 2) in Ukraine. [via GTSpirit]

LP640 (yellow Lambo #3) in Russia. [via GTSpirit]

Black LP640 in Poland. [via GTSpirit]

To celebrate 45 years of Mustangs and 25 years of tinkering with them, SMS has unveiled the 460 and 460X, which will be based off the 2010 Ford Mustang. The 460’s 4.6-liter V-8 will develop 470 hp and 427 lbs.-ft. of torque and pass that power through either a five-speed automatic or manual. The 460X’s engine grows to 5.0 liters and acquires a supercharger to produce a less-pedestrian 655 hp and 600 lbs.-ft. of torque. The 460X will only be available with a six-speed manual.

[via SMS]

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Porsche unveiled the Panamera for the first time to the public at the Shanghai Auto Show. The car will be available with either a 400-hp naturally-aspirated V-8 or an optional 500-hp twin-turbocharged V-8 when it goes on sale on October 17, 2009; a V-6 and hybrid model should show up a year or two down the road. The naturally-aspirated engine will be available with either rear-wheel or all-wheel drive. The forced-induction Panamera Turbo will come standard with all-wheel drive. A 7-speed Porsche PDK transmission will be stock on all models.

Also at the Shanghai Auto Show, Jaguar introduced more details on the upcoming redesigned XJ. Like the previous generation, the new XJ will utilize an aluminum frame to save weight and increase both fuel mileage and performance. Available engines will include the new 510-hp 5.0-liter supercharged V-8. Unlike previous redesigns, which have stayed unreasonably close to their predecessors since 1968, the new XJ looks like it will take a dramatic step in a new styling direction; at least that is what the one photo Jaguar released leads us to believe.

Rolls-Royce was also in attendance, revealing the production name of “Ghost” for its baby 200EX concept. In the same spirit as the Phantom, which comes in a variety of body configurations, the Ghost will make its debut with four doors, but may lose two doors, its top, or both in the future.

“This car will be the first in a new generation of models to carry this evocative name and will give us two pinnacle product lines - Phantom and Ghost.” Said Rolls-Royce CEO Tom Purves.

The Lamborghini display took the wraps off the Murcielago LP670-4 SV for the first time live.

[via Jalopnik and eGMCarTech]

The first official photo of the Aston Martin Rapide has been released along with some details on the car. Power for the Aston Martin Rapide will come from a 6.0-liter V-12 making 470 hp and 443 lbs.-ft. of torque. Price for the newest Aston Martin has yet to be declared, although we hope it will stay close to its competition—including the Porsche Panamera and CLS63 AMG—and be priced around $100,000.

[via Aston Martin]

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Photos of the upcoming 2010 S63 and S65 AMG have hit the internet due to an accidental release on the Mercedes-Benz web site. The S63 will be powered by a 6.2-liter V-8 making 518 horsepower and 465 lbs.-ft. of torque. The S65 utilizes a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-12 making 604 horsepower and a tire-shredding 738 lbs.-ft. of torque. Power will be transferred through a 7-speed in the S63, while only a 5-speed automatic will be tasked with dealing with the S65’s torque. Click here for more Mercedes-Bens S65 AMG pictures and Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG pictures.

[via Car and Driver]

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