1973 Pontiac Firbird Formula 350 on 2040-cars

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2020 Porsche 911 Speedster spied with an angry driver

Porsche gave us details and showed us a concept of the 911 Speedster at the Paris Motor Show. Today, we bring you spy shots of what appears to be the production version of that concept with a few changes on board. They're rather minimal modifications, but the Speedster's driver appears especially angry with our spy photographer as he extends his middle finger directly toward the camera. Sorry, not sorry, Mr. Test Driver. Public testing of pre-production cars always comes with photo risks, and Porsches tend to attract more attention than others. You'll notice what appears to be a Cayenne Coupe prototype we've previously spotted running around with the 911. The Speedster Concept we saw in Paris had epic retro mirrors and fuel cap on the front hood, but both those design touches are absent from this pre-production car. It's tougher to see, but we lost the vents in between the two humps, as well. Everything else appears to have made it to production-spec. We can't say we're surprised these concept car features probably won't show up on the production car, but it is a tad deflating. You'll notice the Speedster is based-off the 991.2 generation of 911 and not the new 992. Porsche did a similar thing when the 997 generation was coming to an end with a Speedster model paying tribute to that car's life. The chassis is said to utilize parts from the 911 GT3, and the wonderful naturally aspirated flat-six engine gets carried over from that car, too. Porsche didn't specify if power will be exactly the same as the GT3, but we'll be expecting about 500 horsepower and a 9,000 rpm redline. We were told the six-speed manual would be offered on the Speedster in Paris, too. Let's just say that we strongly approve of that combination. Production will be limited to only 1,948 cars and begin in the first half of this year. We'll expect a reveal with a full spec breakdown soon, possibly for the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

This KITT replica sold at auction for $32,500

UPDATE: This 1987 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am KITT replica officially sold for $32,500. Here's hoping the new owner has a blast throwin' it into Pursuit Mode. Let's get one thing straight right off the bat: This isn't a perfect KITT replica. The original KITT used in the Knight Rider TV series was based on a 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. The one you see above, which is currently for sale at auction site Bring A Trailer, is a 1987 model, and since it's a GTA edition, it has some extra body cladding that the smooth-sided television car lacked. That aside, most casual observers would probably never notice the difference, and even those who did (like us) are still likely to be impressed by the car's transformation. This KITT replica is powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. It ought to be fairly quick, though quite a bit shy of the fictional car's very fictional 300-mph top speed. We're not exactly Knight Rider experts, but some quick Google sleuthing suggests that the Knight Industries Two Thousand supposedly cost more than $11,000,000 to build in Hollywoodland. This one will surely command a significantly lower sum — as of this writing, it's been bid up to $18,000 with four days remaining on the auction. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. For those truly fanatical about accuracy, here's a video of one of the originals visiting Jay Leno's Garage for reference. There are several videos of the car that detail its modifications inside and out, but suffice it to say it seems to be a well-sorted replica. Here's hoping its new owner keeps it well clear of other KARRs. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

GM recalls 61k more vehicles in three campaigns

Following a stop-delivery order for its new midsize trucks and a rash of recent recalls, General Motors is issuing three more campaigns covering 60,575 vehicles in North America with 57,182 of them in the US. As of October 1, the automaker has issued a total of 74 recalls (see the ridiculously long chart to the right) this year covering 26,495,070 units in the US.
The largest campaign covers 46,873 examples in the US of the 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 and 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle imported from Australia. It's possible for the driver's knee to hit the key and make it move from the "Run" to "ACC" position while driving. GM says its Holden division is developing a fixed-blade key that's supposed to fix the problem by only allowing it to rotate toward the "On" position. There has been one crash caused by this fault but no injuries or fatalities.
The second recall is for 10,005 units of the 2004-2007 Cadillac CTS-V and 2006-2007 Cadillac STS-V because "the fuel pump module electrical terminal may overheat." This can cause a flange to melt and allow the pump to leak fuel. GM specifies that the remedy for the CTS-V is replacing the fuel module and fuel tank jumper harness, but it doesn't specify how the STS-V is being repaired.