AutoWeek Daily Drive — Tuesday, June 8, 2010

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTOSHOWS   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   MARKETPLACE Tuesday, June 08, 2010                  The Panoz Abruzzi is powered by a 6.0-liter V8 making more than 600 hp.... Panoz launches newest sports car, the Abruzzi The spirit of Le Mans--along with the spirit of the out-of-production Panoz Esperante--lives on in Panoz Auto Development's latest creation, the Abruzzi. Named for the people from the south-central Abruzzo region of Italy, the Abruzzi draws its inspiration from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the car is making its world debut on Tuesday, and its styling from the 1935 Delahaye Type 135 tear-drop ...   Drawing the line on vehicle technology Few things in this car world surprise me, but when something does, it is cause for pause. That happened not long ago while behind the wheel of an Acura ZDX, a visually polarizing car/crossover that the company itself calls a concept in its television advertising. Less than a mile into my evening ...   Dealer Demons: Dodge customizes Vipers for select stores and enthusiasts We’ve seen many special-edition Dodge Vipers for the car's final year--the ACR-X, the Vooodoo Viper, the 1:33. It's almost as if every Viper is a special edition. With that in mind, Chrysler is now letting dealerships get into the act. Just 50 total Vipers will be made under a program... You May Have Missed...   The Queen of the 'Ring: Sabine Schmitz will not slow down "I'm a farmer," Sabine Schmitz says, laughing, as she jumps out of her dusty Range Rover to release some of her horses.Some farmer. Schmitz is probably the best known woman in European motorsport, so much so that she is identifiable by only her first name.Schmitz has lived most of her life close to ...   Bizarre Challenge: Räikkönen versus mountain and motorcycle There are weird and wonderful sports traditions that occur around the world. England, for example, rejoices in the ancient tradition of cheese rolling, a sport--if you can call it that--where hundreds of grown men chase a cheese, which they roll down a hill.People laugh at it, but it’s no...   Blogging from Le Mans: AW takes you to the iconic French race this week This year’s 78th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has all the makings of a race for the ages--the Audi-versus-Peugeot battle for the overall victory, and the GT2 class with Ferrari, Corvette, Porsche and BMW is exceptionally strong.This is my 14th time covering this great event. I first...   Second operation for Rossi on Monday Six-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi underwent a second operation on Monday at the Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico in Florence, Italy, as a follow-up to the surgery he had on Saturday to repair a fractured right tibia.Rossi was thrown from his Yamaha racing machine during Saturday's...   Webber stays at Red Bull for 2011 F1 season Red Bull has confirmed that Mark Webber has extended his contract and will stay with the team in 2011. The news comes hot on the heels of the Istanbul controversy and will go some way to calming things down.Over the winter Webber, who turns 34 in August, had been rumored to be contemplating...   DTM champion Ekstrom to make NASCAR debut in Sonoma Two-time DTM touring car champion Mattias Ekstrom will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut on June 20 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.The 31-year-old Swede will drive the No. 83 Toyota fielded by Team Red Bull. He tested for the team at Virginia International Raceway and impressed the team enough ...   IndyCar: Conway thankful to be alive; series to mandate fuel levels? Mike Conway will miss at least three months of the Izod IndyCar Series season because of a compression fracture in his back suffered in the horrifying crash at the end of the Indianapolis 500.Conway suffered the injury, along with a lower leg injury, after his car climbed over the left rear tire of ...   IndyCar expects to announce new chassis by June 30 Izod IndyCar Series officials heard presentations from five potential chassis manufacturers last week, aimed toward a chassis announcement by June 30.Details of those meetings are confidential because of agreements signed by the seven committee members. But new chief executive officer Randy Bernard ...   IndyCar: Simona de Silvestro is cleared to race after Texas fire Izod IndyCar Series driver Simona De Silvestro was re-evaluated by Indy Racing League medical personnel on Monday and has been cleared to resume racing without restrictions.Dr. Geoff Billows said De Silvestro suffered a minor burn on her right hand in a fiery accident when her No. 78 Team Stargate... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the AutoWeek Daily Drive E-mail or to sign up for other AutoWeek e-mail products. IMPORTANT: Please add AutoWeek.com to your E-mail Address Book to ensure you will continue to receive our newsletters. Please DO NOT reply to this e-mail. You will not receive a reply if you use this e-mail address. Crain Communications, 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207.