Mc Enterprises Custom Saddlebag Guards 596309 on 2040-parts.com

Woven in the Fabric of Enthusiasm

Editor's note: This article was first published in the April 30, 2000, issue of AutoWeek. Single chauffeur/single passenger two-door steel/aluminum/canvas/crocodile-embossed hide custom tourer 92 hp @ the shaft, 207 lb-ft @ 1,600 rpm 323.50-cid Chrysler L-head inline-eight Rear-wheel drive Four-speed, clutch-free semiautomatic 0-60 mph: 10 seconds EPA combined mpg: 8+ mpg Base price, None. Built for owner's use Or you could buy: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang II ($1,100,000+) It has been 79 years since Count Louis Zborowski, a Polish nobleman, created the glorious Chitty Chitty Bang Bangs of which only one survives.

BMW looks to patent seven-speed lockout manual transmission

The intrepid Bimmerphiles over at www.e90post.com have uncovered a few drawings from BMW's latest patent request. The drawing shows a new transmission linkage and what looks to be a seven-speed manual transmission. Like the new Porsche 911, the BMW gear shifter has six gears in standard H pattern, with a seventh gear out to the right.

Caterham Supersport R extends Caterham 7 range

Caterham has added the Supersport R to its range of ’7′ models with a 2.0 litre Duratec Ford engine delivering 180bhp. In the meantime, Caterham’s core road car business is the old Lotus 7 range of Caterhams, so it makes sense to keep that more appealing and relevant until new cars start to arrive, so we get the Caterham Supersport R as an addition to the range to slot in between the Supersport and the Superlight models. The Supersport R gets a Ford Duratec 2.0 litre engine which produces 180bhp, which doesn’t sound a huge amount, but when you consider the Supersport R weighs in at just 535kg it starts to look plenty.