What happens when Mercedes-Benz really needs to homologate a GT1 racer? They crank out a series of barely street-legal coupes and convertibles with gobs of power and crazy aero treatments. Take the CLK GTR for example. The cars were built so the Silver Arrow could campaign its wicked, championship-winning GT1 creation in 1997 and pack a 612 horsepower 6.9-liter V12 mounted mid-ship. Now it looks like there are not one, but two of the cars up for auction – a coupe and convertible. Both are said to be in new condition, complete with factory ceramic brakes and a sequential six-speed gear box. Strangely enough, both are right-hand drive. The auction’s slated for October 28 and RM Auctions says they should go for about a third of the original asking price. Done. Hop the jump for a look at the race version performing some acrobatics at the 1999 Le Mans. [Source: iMotor]

Way back when Chrysler first announced it wanted to shack up with Italian carmaker Fiat, our minds instantly whipped to the delicious new 500. Low weight, low buck and plenty o’ fun, the 500 is the kind of hotness only Italy can provide. While we’re still hoping we see the MINI fighter here in the States, Fiat’s been busy cranking out a blizzard of special editions. Take the new Abarth 500 R3T. In Fiat-speak, Abarth = fast, and in the rally world, group R3T is built for turbo’d cars under 1.6-liters of displacement. That means you can expect a rockin’ 1.4-liter four pot with 180 horsepower and a six-speed transmission. Brembo stoppers and a six-point roll cage are all part of the package too. Don’t expect this demon in your local Chrysler dealership anytime soon, though. Fiat’s planning to use the Abarth 500 R3T in a special promotional rally. [Source: WCF]

The desire to make new old again is pretty common in the auto world. You may recall the reborn GT350 we featured not too long ago. If reborn pony cars aren’t your slice of pie, check out the newest creation from Singer. It may look like a tweaked long wheel-base 911, but rest assured there’s little left of the original from Stuttgart. The company starts with any ’69-’89 911, hacking out most of the rear engine bay and swapping the old bits for new. The original rear suspension gets swapped for a MacPherson strut and custom coilover set-up, and Singer has worked in a new back bone to increase rigidity. Additionally, the shell’s weak spots all get stitch-welded, and heaping amounts of carbon fiber help the curb weight hover at around 2,400 lbs. Engine? That would be a wicked 3.8-liter flat six with 420 horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque. We love it. [Source: Autoblog]

Now here’s a quandary. If you’ve hung around the WebRidesTV blog for awhile, you likely remember former managing editor Jonny Lieberman. The good doctor has since moved on to the starlit world of Autoblog, where he spends his time cruising around with Lamborghini test drivers and getting foot massages from Bentley’s booth girls. Now we can add racing about in the final leg of the 2009 Targa Trophy Rally in, get this, a 2009 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8. No shame meant to Hyundai’s wicked little two door, but in a rally where the Coupe’s MSRP looks like a monthly payment for most of the metal in competition, the Korean bruiser is a smidge out classed. That doesn’t mean it would be out driven, though. Hop over to Autoblog for the full skinny. [Source: Autoblog]

Most of the time, when manufacturers decide to take on the internets, consumers are rewarded with a site that feels a little too much like your mom designed it. Take GMNext, for example. Lot’s going on over there, but all of it is about as interesting as a bowl of bran flakes. Needless to say, when BFGoodrich announced it was rolling out a site designed to be an online community for tarmac and dirt heathens alike, we were more than a little skeptical. Turns out, the tire company responsible for the awesome All-Terrain T/A KOs on my personal ride has done a pretty kick ass job with their site. You can upload your favorite drives or trials, share pictures and video and even follow your friends to find out where they’re cruising to. Hop over to NationofGo to have a look around. You can dig me up, username ZBowman. Hop the jump for a look at the site’s tutorial. [Source: NationofGo]

What can you do to make the lust-worthy Lotus Exige better? The pinnacle of Chapmanian ideals packs just enough power from a blown Toyota four pot, zero weight and a suspension constructed in the grand Lotus tradition of awesome. Well, if you’re the mad scientists at Specialty Car Craft, Inc., you throw on a custom wide-body kit and turbocharger. That’s right boys and girls, this sucker is a twin-charger beast. Power is an unbelievable 500 ponies in a car that weighs a smidge over 2,000 lbs. We don’t have to tell you this thing is faster than the most popular girl in high school. Hop the jump for a video of the car in action. [Source: JONSIBAL]

Looking to dip your Nissan GT-R in sexy flat black? The wrenches at AVUS Performance can probably help you out. The tuner just unveiled its latest creation called the GT-R Black Edition, and sticking with the company’s theme of all black, all the time, the car’s monochrome through and through. Of course, the get up is more than just a paint job. A set of custom coilovers put the car on the ground and retain the factory adjustable dampers. AVUS has also done some poking around under the hood – rustling up nearly 100 extra horsepower courtesy of a new exhaust and ECU reflash. Dropping the car’s two catalytic converters probably didn’t hurt anything, either. [Source: Sub5Zero]

Well now, here’s something that’s seemed to have slipped through the Frankfurt cracks. While Audi stole the green show with its obscenely-torquey e-Tron Concept E-Wolf brought along a creation that’s much more likely become a reality. Called the e1, the spritely racer weighs 990 lbs and makes 147 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque courtesy of a single electric motor. With a power-to-weight that good, you’re looking at sub five-second 0-60 blasts. Of course, it’s not all posies and puppy dogs. E-Wolf says the car can only carry a single 150 lb passenger and the price tag is a painful $220,000. I can shed the pounds for a little guilt-free hoonage, but no one’s standing in line to hand me fistfuls of cash for doing some cardio. We can only hope that price comes down as EV tech becomes more common. [Source: Sub5Zero]

That’s right – despite initial reports saying the massively powerful Aston Martin V12 Vantage wasn’t fit for stars and stripes consumption, we may just see the car on our soil yet. CEO Ulrich Bez let slip at the Frankfurt Auto Show the epic coupe is being homologated for US safety standards, meaning we’re probably going to get a taste of 100 examples being constructed. That means if you’re really lucky, know what palms to grease and have the scratch, you can lay hands on the 510 horsepower 6.0-liter V12. Hop the jump for a look at the car in action. [Source: MotorAuthority]

That’s no typo, kids. You may remember hearing a few whispers here and there about the gorgeous 45th anniversary edition Ford Mustang worked up by the Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters. Imagine the sexiest 2009 Mustang you possibly can and you’ll have a pretty good picture of the final product. New, sunken headlights, a true fastback rear and massive chrome wheels are all part of the appearance package. You get your pick of a standard 4.6-liter V8 with 320 horsepower or a blown version with closer to 400 ponies, too. Of course, Ford’s only making 10 of these puppies, but that’s still a chunk of change for a gussied up Pony. For perspective, you could have two 2010 GT500s for that kind of coin – one to flog the snot out of and another to seal away for posterity. [Source: 0-60]