New Zealand's Hulme CanAm Supercar Opens for Orders

The developers of the Hulme CanAm have announced plans to produce a limited-run of 20 units of the New Zealand-designed and built supercar, each priced at £295,000 (plus local taxes), equal to US$423,200 and €346,300 at today's exchange rates.

Named after the 1967 F1 World Champion, Denny Hulme from New Zealand, the road-legal Hulme CanAm features an ultra-lightweight carbon composite tub and bodywork, and race-orientated chassis, suspension and braking. The supercar tips the scales at 980kg / 2,160 lbs.

Power comes from a mid-mounted 7.0-litre (427cu.in) Chevrolet LS7 V8 developing 600bhp and 600Nm torque, fed through a close-ratio, six-speed CIMA manual gearbox (paddles or sequential shift are optionally available).

The Kiwi-maker promises a sub-three and a half second sprint to 100km/h (62mph), and top speed in excess of 322km/h (200mph+).

According to the company, all 20 customer cars will be coach-built and equipped to customer order, with delivery commencing in the UK in Autumn of 2011 and into 2012.

Bummer... Rally Driver Crashes After Spectator Moons Him [with Video]

A cheeky spectator, known only by the color and shape of his buttocks, is said to be responsible for rally driver Mark Tapper's crash at this past weekend's Rally New Zealand.

As you can for yourselves in the video after the jump, the Auckland rally driver lost control of his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO racer when an unknown individual flashed his crack (33 seconds into the video) ahead of a tight corner causing him to crash and rollover the car.

"A very white bottom that was beside the road put me off for a fraction of a second, then I just ran wide and rolled," Tapper told news reporters.

Via: Jalopnik

SPY SHOTS: 2011 Chevrolet / Holden Captiva SUV with Aveo-esque Fascia

Chevrolet's European arm is moving along with the development of the facelifted Captiva that's due to go on sale on the other side of the Atlantic later this year. Judging by these spy photos, if not all, most changes appear to be concentrated on the SUV's redesigned front end that looks heavily influenced from the Aveo RS concept we saw at this year's Detroit show.

Details remain scarce for now, but it is possible that Chevy might also perform some upgrades to the 2011 Captiva's interior and mechanical hardware.

The same changes will also pass on the compact SUV's siblings, the Australia-market Holden Captiva 7 that's sold alongside its sister model, the Opel Antara-based/rebadged Captiva 5 (known in the States as the Saturn Vue) and the South Korea-market Daewoo Winstorm.

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Current Chevrolet / Holden Captiva

The Folden: New Zealanders Create Half Holden HQ, Half Ford Mustang Mechanical Frankenstein

Is it a Holden? Is it a Ford? Well, according to the folks from the New Zealand music radio station, 'The Rock', neither. They say it's a Folden and it was born from the unholy -or so to speak- union of a Holden HQ and a 1969 Ford Mustang.

The culprits are The Rock's Drive show announcers, Robert Taylor and Jono Pryor, who claim that they created the Folden because they were "fed up with the ongoing battle between their listeners over who is mightier - Ford or Holden."

Their goal was to fuse the rear 3/4s of a 1970's Holden HQ sedan with the front-end of a 1969 Ford Mustang with power being provided by 302 cubic inch V8 Ford engine.

After 3 months and more than 800 man hours involving a couple of dozen of businesses, and not to mention a total cost ranging somewhere between NZD$85,000 to $95,000 (about US$62,000 to $69,500), the project was finally completed.

Other treats include one-off Chip Foose 20-inch alloy wheels, a gun metal gray paint job with orange racing stripes, a custom interior fully rebuilt, high-end audio system, and last but certainly not least, a cool badge that puts the Mustang horse and Holden lion together.

And what now? New Zealanders have the chance to bid for the Folden as the car is being auctioned on "Trademe" with proceeds to be donated to the NZ Mental Health Foundation for Out Of The Blue, an organization set up to help combat depression in men.

At the time the article was written, the highest bid on the website was NZ$62,700 or close to US$45,800 at today's exchange rates. The auction will end on May 6, 2010.

Links / Source: The Rock & Trademe