A BMW 850i with a Chevy 350 in it? Does it exist? Would it be awesome, or a sacrilege?

The BMW 850i was one awesome looking car. BMW's flagship of the early '90s looked like nothing else in the Bavarian automaker's lineup, and had more than a few styling elements borrowed from BMW's only supercar, the M1. The lines on the car look so perfect. It's a design that holds up well, even 25 years after the car graced a BMW new car brochure.

It also had a V12. A 5.0L torquey beast that put out 300hp and 330lb/ft of torque. Those numbers may not seem like much now, but for an early 90's grand touring car, it was a lot. Or at least, par for the course. (the Corvette of the same era also put out 300hp.) This engine was also the basis for McLaren's world destroying F1 supercar. The 850i's V12 was basically two inline-6's put together. This could make it a slightly complicated power plant.

With two computers, two PCV valves, and two of almost everything, the engine was basically Noah's Ark. Reliability was never going to be a strong suit. Which brings me to my question: Taking a Chevy LT1 or LS1 and dropping it into another car for stronger reliability seems to be all the rage lately. Has anyone ever taken one of these engines and dropped it into an 850? Would it be awesome? Impossible? A sacrilege that would get hit by lightning emanating from the BMW gods? 

I've seen people talking about it, but haven't heard of anything ever happening. Would it make for an awesome car, even if it had lost some of its V12 character? I'll take one with the AC Schnitzer body kit please...

EDIT: Looks like someone out there has done it. What a monster that thing is.

Music videos featuring awesome cars: Mike Luck - 'Cityscape'

Ah the DeTomaso Mangusta. Once a forgotten supercar, this late 60's beauty featuring Italian design and Ford power (not to mention a crazy opening hood) is featured beautifully in maxmana's music video for Mike Luck's 'Cityscape'. 

Watch as the classic DeTomaso takes a morning drive through a beautifully animated futuristic 3D landscape.

Nothing like a scenic drive on a glass highway past weird prisms, towards a futuristic city. It's just like driving to the in-laws! 

One Year, One Highway

My parents live about 3 hours north of us, up a highway, called highway 400. It's not a super scenic highway. There are no amazing switchbacks, and no panoramic views.

But what Highway 400 does have, is weather. Last year during my family's numerous drives up highway 400, I tried capturing a little footage of that weather throughout the seasons:

I thought the Lotus Elise was the perfect car in its stock form, until I saw this one.

The Lotus Elise seems like the perfect car stock. (At least for short distances.) Awesome looks, awesome handling, awesome power to weight ratio. Awesome, awesome, awesome. I didn't think it could get any better, until I saw this fender flared, deep rimmed monster. It might defeat Colin Chapman's vision a little bit, (which was "add lightness" and not "add deep-dish rims") but who cars, it looks awesome. Check out Stanceworks for the full story.

A Lexus dealership in Quebec has a brand new LFA for you...

…but it will cost you. A Lexus dealership in Laval, QC by the name of 'Lexus Laval' has a 2012 Lexus LFA advertised in Autotrader with supposedly only 15kms on it. The catch? She's pretty pricey. $456,815 (plus applicable taxes) will get you into this sweet 560hp beauty.

That price is about $50,000 or so more than the LFA cost new, (when you could pretty much only lease them.) But you'd expect to pay a price like that considering they are only about 500 of these babies around and there aren't exactly many for sale. (Some examples in the U.S. are selling in the $350,000 range, but they have more miles.)

If you've got an extra half mil laying around, you could do a lot worse, head on down to auto trader and make a deal!

Ford GTs without stripes are just the best

You already know that Camilo Pardo's modern Ford GT creation is the best thing since sliced bread. The 550hp supercharged behemoth was manufactured between 2004 and 2006, and sold for around $150,000 US. That may seem like a Wal-Mart special deal now, as prices have skyrocketed in the last few years, with most examples currently trading around the $260,000 range. I bet your Gallardo hasn't appreciated that much!

On top of all that awesomeness, have you seen a GT without stripes? The very rare "stripe delete" option may not be historically accurate, but the GT just looks so much lower and massively wider without the stripes to break it up. 

Check out eGarage's take with a stripe less black Ford GT with sexy HRE wheels: 

Does Dodge's 707 horsepower sedan go too far?

With Dodge's announcement that their crazy/awesome 707hp Supercharged 6.2L Hellcat Hemi will be finding its way into the Charger next year, I'm left wondering if they've gone a little too far. I love fast sedans as much as the next person, but does a 204mph sedan that costs $70,000 strike anyone else as a little bit dangerous in the wrong hands? Maybe I'm just getting old, but I worry about the amount of teenagers who may find themselves behind the wheel of one of these things. Will they try to reach that 204mph top speed? Will they find the ditch in the worst way?

I love the idea of a car like the Caddilac CTS-V, especially the rare wagon, but I feel like the CTS-V's 556hp will fall into less youthful hands, given that brand's 'older' image.

In the end, Dodge's new sedan is probably not any more dangerous than the sports cars of the 80's. The Hellcat will have traction control, anti-lock brakes, and airbags. A far cry from the teenager's IROC Camaro of the 80's. 

Testarossa Heaven - Kavinsky's 'Protovision'

Oh the Ferrari Testarossa. One of the coolest cars Ferrari has ever made. It was a bold design statement and an awesome looking car. Those radiator fins on the doors alone should have made it the number one car on teenagers' bedroom walls during the '80s.

Unfortunately, Ferrari's neighbours in Sant'Agata put out the Countach, and then added a crazy wing to it. The rest is history.

Still, there are those who would vote for the Testorossa over its 'louder' Lambo challenger. If you're in that category, this video is for you: