Caresto V8 Speedster

Sometimes talking about normal cars can get a little annoying, I mean there are so many rules and regulations and most of the time, any performance cars real potential can either be truly experienced on the track, or very briefly experienced on the road followed by a trip to jail. Now just close your eyes and imagine driving down your street in this beauty:

If you like attention, then this is the car for you. No, don’t worry its not all show, this piece of engineering marvel is powered by a V8 motor which drinks carbon-free ethanol. That’s right the V8 Speedster legally drinks and drives. The engine is tuned with the environment in mind, and has been converted to ethanol by Scandinavia’s leading car tuning company BSR.

Of course the engine is a V8, but this narrow 60-degree all-aluminium V8 is from Volvo. The car is constructed entirely in aluminium and carbon fibre with an advanced sports car upper and lower A-arm suspension fitted with Öhlin shock absorbers.

So is it a hot rod or a sport rod?

“Actually, it’s a sports car with a design idiom that is a further development of the classic hot rod. Perhaps it could establish a new school of thought and coin the term sport rod. My idea was to build a car that is as much fun to drive as it is to look at. Road-holding characteristics have never been the hallmark of traditional hot rods,” says Leif Tufvesson one of Sweden’s most skilled specialist automotive artists and the cars designer.

So it looks good, and it goes like hell, but how does it handle? Well the V8 Speedster is designed with handling in mind and hence come with an an ideal 60/40 (back/front) weight distribution. So the 6 million dollar question, exactly how much does it cost?

If you were in Sweden, you’d be looking at around 2.5 million Swedish kronor, but since your not in Sweden, it costs around $500,000 AUD. Why so much? Well its a hand-fabricated, high-tech and high performance sport rod. Besides look at all the cool things you can tell your friends:

• A removable composite hardtop
• three integrated rear-view cameras,
• the advanced techniques of the rear lights as well as the CAD-milled aluminium wheel spindles, exhaust panel, interior details and the lamp housing for the Hella Xenon headlights.
• the temperature controlled bonnet that opens automatically for additional cooling

Technical specifications:

Chassis: custom-fabricated tubular-steel frame with front and rear sub-frames.
Front suspension:double A-arms, polished stainless steel with Öhlin coil-over shock absorbers, mounted inboard.
Rear suspension: double A-arms, polished stainless steel, Öhlin coil-over shock absorbers.
Body: hand-shaped aluminium with carbon-composite removable hard top
Engine: Mid-mounted V8, 4.4 litres, Volvo