NEW TECHNOLOGY

Posted Yesterday, 2:54 PM by Alex Kaufmann

The supercar that almost wasnt, and still might not be - the Lexus LF-A, or LFA as it's known to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, will get a special kind of exhibition in Milan during Fashion Week. Truly putting itself on display, the fully transparent model will show the inner workings and design elements behind the Japanese supercar.

The Lexus LF-A has already been spotted in real-world testing on the Nurburgring, so it's well past the 'pure concept' stage, but its production future remains murky at best. That's not stopping the Japanese company from milking their investment for all its worth at the Milan Fashion Week, however, and the display promises to be a sight to see.

These dark preview photos give a taste of what's to come, but it will surely look more splendid in the full light of a proper presentation, the prismatic passage of light illuminating the car's internals.

If the LF-A does go into production, it is expected to cost more than $200,000, sporting a 5.0L V10 engine rated at over 500hp (373kW). Limited production is also the name of the game, with only about 100 units expected unless demand proves high enough to support more.

Gallery: Lexus LF-A carbon-fiber cabin

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Posted Yesterday, 6:31 PM by Ralph Hanson

Posted Yesterday, 4:34 PM by Nelson Ireson

In January Corvette put a price to its new Competition Sport appearance package designed to appeal to hardcore Corvette racing fans. Now another similar package called the GT-1 Championship Edition has emerged, though Chevrolet won't yet confirm if it's official.

The key elements of the GT-1 Edition Corvette package are a ZR1-style full-width rear spoiler, forged chrome wheels, a yellow and black color scheme (black with yellow racing stripe or vice-versa), unique race-inspired graphics including the driver's name on the roof, the 'Jake' racing mascot, and blacked-out headlights. Body colored door-handles, carbon-fiber-esque engine covers and other small accents complete the C6.R-look.

But the GT-1 Edition package, like the Competition Sport before it, is an appearance package only, despite the racing inspiration. When applied to the base model Corvettes, the packages include the price of the Z51 upgrade, but otherwise they affect only the looks, not the performance, of the car. The cars are intended to represent the C6.R racing Corvettes, however, with the yellow model filling the role of the #3 car and the black doing duty for the #4.

Inside, the interior gets upgraded to include GT-1 embroidery, unique yellow stitching accents on ebony leather and a special console trim plate. This last item is where the unique number and VIN sequencing is located, marking the car as part of a limited-edition run, also like the Competition Sport package.

While the Competition Sport package costs a mere $3,350 (Z51) and $2,750 (Z06), the GT-1 Championship Edition will run a cool $7,840 on top of the purchase price of a Corvette Coupe 4LT, Convertible 4LT or Z06 3LZ. A total of 100 of each color and body style will be sold for a grand total of 600 cars.

Gallery: Corvette GT-1 Championship Edition package

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Posted Yesterday, 7:05 PM by Kenneth Hall