Howdy Webriders! Dr. VW here for some foreign friday love. This week is going to be a sweet sweet new ride outta Italy. Oddly enough… it’s named after our wonderful state of California. If that’s not international cooperation I don’t know what is. Hit the jump to check out the Ferrari California!

Feast your eyes on some serious Automotive sex drive.

Oh yeah baby. The Ferrari California is by far the hottest car to come from Europe in a good long while, and it’s a unique car in a lot of ways. For one thing, it represents several firsts for Ferrari: front-mid engine V8, Direct Injection, 7-Speed Dual Clutch Tranny, Multi-link rear suspension, and a folding metal convertible top.

Yeah. You read that right. Hard top convertible Ferrari. DAMMMMMMNNNNN. That’s not all though, this rear wheel drive beauty is capable of a top speed of 193mph and 0-60 in under 4 seconds. Go ahead and drool.

If that’s not enough, SURELY you’ve seen the lines on this thing. I mean, old world styling has always been a forte for European auto manufacturers but lets face it, the last few Ferrari’s were relatively narrow and boxy. The California is such a sharp departure from that design mentality and a return to traditionally rounded, flowing body lines that I can only hope that everything old is new again– welcome to the beginning of the automotive Renaissance. In this case, the Ferrari clearly takes some design aspects from Lotus and Aston Martin, as well as the Tesla (also designed by Lotus). However the look certainly works and fits in well with Ferrari’s of the distant past; a return to its roots if you will. Whatever the source of the design, Dr. VW heartily approves! If only I had the dough to drop for one of these sweet rides…

*sigh* I’ll just keep dreaming. Be sure to head down to the forums and check out the Gallery- thanks net car show! That’s all for this week Webriders, this is Dr. VW, signing off.

The Porsche Panamera

First, as usual, a little history lesson. In the early 90’s the chief of R&D at Porsche was a man named Ulrich Bez. He left Porsche around that time partially over disagreements with the board of directors over the development of the 989, a 4 door sedan prototype. Although the 989 never saw production, it would provide a dusty blueprint a decade later for the Panamera, Porsche’s first production 4 door sedan.

The Panamera, set for release in 2010, is arguably one of the strangest good looking cars ever designed. From the front and back it’s all Porsche, but from the sides… it looks as though someone took a Carrera and stretched it into a proper sedan; Motor Trend’s “gotta have cars” section had the newest prototype spyshots. However the trick here is that lines are retained, and the body still flows like a proper Porsche. Current R&D chief Wolfgang Durheimer has promised that the body lines aren’t the only thing thats going to stay true to the Porsche name, promising that performance will not be noticeably affected by the added weight. The Panamera will probably run a modified version of the Cayenne’s 3.6L V6, leaving the door open for a Porsche hybrid sedan… an interesting and revolutionary concept.

Now, the fact that the Panamera is being made at all is news in of itself, but there is an ironic twist to the story that made the news all the more interesting. Porsche was stunned when Ulrich Bez, now chief at Aston Martin, announced the plans in 2006 for a production 4 door Aston Martin sedan; the Rapide. It appears as though Ulrich never quite got over his denial at Porsche, and decided his revenge would be to produce a car that would compete directly with the Panamera. Ulrich has gone so far as to claim that the DB9 based Rapide will beat the Panamera into production! Now there’s a good old fashioned European showdown. It looks like WW3 might just be on the way for the automotive world… Do I smell shootout material?

Hope you guys enjoyed that juicy bit of sports car drama. Make sure to swing by the Forums and join in on the discussion. This is Dr. VW- out.

Howdy Webriders! Dr. VW here. Today’s Auto Adventure is something of a preview. If you’re anything like me, then you know that Car Show Season is now in full swing. Spring is that time of year when the classic cars get rolled out of their winter hibernation across the country and get buffed for the show circuit. So in the spirit of spring, I’m gonna talk about my two favorite classic car shows of the season. Hit the jump to find out about these sweet events!

Goodguys Auto Shows

One of the biggest promoters and sponsors of the classic car scene is the Goodguys Rod and Custom Association. This group is the world’s largest classic and custom rod association, with over 70,000 members! With a monthly magazine and a nationwide show circuit under their sponsorship, chances are if you’re a hot rodder or a domestic car owner you’ve been to one of their shows or at least heard of them. One of the great things about this group is that they sponsor shows all over the US, and not just in Southern California. Although Southern California is arguably one of the best environments for classic rides, Goodguys lets the entire country get in on the fun without forcing them to drive hundreds or even thousands of miles to show off their pride and joy. Not only that, but different areas of the country bring different kinds of rides to the table, and the variety seen at the Goodguys shows is refreshing in a way that most Southern California shows are not.

In Socal, a lot of the rides we see are the same cookie cutter resto-customs of classic 50’s and 60’s rides. The Midwest and East Coast shows on the other hand, see a good sprinkling of the sometimes undervalued and under-represented 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s rides that get sidelined at the Socal events; there’s nothing like seeing a Smokey and the Bandit Burt Reynolds ed. Trans Am next to a classic stingray Vette, a sight seldom seen in Socal shows. Here at Webridestv, we love the Goodguys shows, and frequently cover them and their exotic rides, like the Corvette and Camaro videos that came out a few days ago.

And of course:

The Volkswagen Classic

The Volkswagen Classic in Irvine California is one of the largest and longest running shows for Volkswagens in California. For the last 23 years, VW owners from across the globe have come to gather for the Classic. While the Classic is only one show, its sponsors, Socal Imports and Bugorama, have put together shows across the country for both aircooled and watercooled VW’s. Events in Irvine, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Texas, and Arizona have had the largest draw, as the southwest has the largest surviving population of these vehicles. However events in Florida, Illinois, and Long Island have also had large turnouts. However the de facto “big event” is definitely the Classic in Irvine, where local VW shops throw open their doors and do some wild events of their own in the days leading up to and the days trailing from the big event. Shops across LA and San Diego host “dyno day” challenges, rally races, drag strip runs, and swap meets at various locations, giving people things to do before and after the actual show.

This is one of the aspects of this show that really makes it stand out from other events, as the entire Southern California area seems to come alive for about 5 days, crawling with little VW’s from all over the country; some even bring their cars from Europe! The showing is pretty diverse too, featuring VW’s from as early as 1949 to as late as 2008. Classic Bugs, Busses, Ghias, Things, and Type 3’s are the bread and butter of the classic, while later Jetta’s, GTI’s, and Eurovans make the event as well. Hopefully this year yours truly will be covering the event from inside his ‘71 squareback!

Hopefully all you Webriders will make it out to one of these events; Goodguys has shows all summer long all over the country, and if you live in Socal, you should definitely check out the Classic in Irvine. Of course if you can’t, you can bet Webridestv will be bringing you the scoop on some of the great cars at these events and others, as the summer season really starts in earnest. Remember, if you know about a show that should get some street cred, tell us about it down in the forums! As always, leave a comment- you know you want to. This is Dr. VW- signing off.

Part 3 brings you:

• Audi RS4
  • 420hp @ unknown and 317 lb. ft.@ unknown
  • Price: $67,000
• Huge group of random cars
• Porsche Carrera GT
  • 605hp @ 8000 RPM and 437 lb. ft. @ 5750 RPM
  • Price: $440,000
• BMW E92 M3
  • 414hp @ 8300 RPM and 295 lb. ft. @ 3900 RPM
  • Price: $54,000
• Nissan 350Z
  • 306 hp @ 6,800 RPM and 268 lb-ft @ 4,800 RPM
  • Price: $28,000

Part 4 comes at you with tons of variety be it European, American, Asian, production or race car, it is all here.

This video features:

• BMW E92 M3
  • 414hp @ 8300 RPM and 295 lb. ft. @ 3900 RPM
  • Price: $54,000
• Cargraphic Porsche 911 GT3
  • HP and Torque unknown
  • Price: Unknown
• Formula 1 car
  • 780hp+ and redline of 20,000RPM
  • Price: $15-200(two hundred) Million
• Quick Clips – Will do my best here
  • Modded Honda Civic Hatch
  • Unsure about the Blue car
  • Porsche 996 Turbo
  • Porsche 993 Carrera S
• Ferrari F430
  • 483hp @8500 RPM and 343 lb. ft @ 5250 RPM
  • Price: starts at $170,000
• American Muscle – Will do my best here
  • Chevy Corvette C5
  • Chevy Camaro (Teal colored)
  • Chevy Corvette C6
  • Saleen Mustang
  • 3rd gen Chevy Camaro Drag Car
  • NASCAR
  • First Gen Chevy Camaro
• Lamborghini Murcielago LP
  • 640 – 640hp @ 8000 RPM and 487 lb. ft. @ 6000 RPM
  • Price: $313,000
• Ferrari Heaven
  • F40
    • Price: $400,000
  • F50
    • Price: $550,000
  • 355
    • Price: $140,000
  • 360
    • Price: $160,000

Today brought something for everyone from all over the world. Tomorrow promises the same. I won’t give it all away, but you can expect some more F1, the FXX, the RX7 and plenty of turbo charged audio pleasure.