New York Intl Auto Show – Five 500HP Models
The annual New York Intl Auto Show is the place to revel in the future of high performance motoring. Manufacturer production debuts and concept cars join custom creations from aftermarket high-performance titans for a full spectrum display of automotive excellence. Fuel Curve was on the floor at the 2018 New York Auto Show and we rounded up a quintet of performance-oriented automobiles that make it into the 500-plus horsepower club. The current automotive manufacturer horsepower escalation meets and exceeds any muscle car era mayhem and ongoing rumors surrounding the death of the internal combustion engine may have been greatly exaggerated. The V-8 is dead. Long live the V-8.
Hold onto your wallets and read on for maximum performance from the city so great they named it twice.
Jackhammer Roush Mustang
If 500 horsepower is good then 700-plus horsepower is better. The Roush Jackhammer Mustang is good for 710-horsepower with a Roush engineered TVS 2650 supercharger. Horsepower doesn’t mean much if you can’t get a handle on it out on the road or track so the Jackhammer is equipped with Roush adjustable height 1-way coilover suspension, JH front strut tower brace, extreme duty rear half shafts and Continental Extreme Sport Contact tires on standard 20-inch Roush Black Jack wheels. Front chin spoiler, hood mount heat extractors, and rear air foils add thermal and aerodynamic control. Roush 2-way coilover suspension is optional at extra cost. The cockpit is outfitted with illuminated Roush door sill plates, a specially designed gauge cluster, embroidered floor mats and a serialized medallion. Take your choice of any current Ford Mustang factory color but the Jackhammer is available only in fastback trim. Roush hockey stick side graphics and badging sets the Jackhammer apart from the pack. Jack Roush has engineered, built, and raced high performance Fords since the ’70s and today Roush is the only official pre-title company and partner with Ford and Ford Performance. As such the Jackhammer Roush Mustang comes with a 5-year 60,000-mile powertrain warranty to back up its performance engineering and race-bred style. More Specs.
Cadillac CT6 V-Sport
Executive-class luxury and twin turbocharged V-8 performance converge in the Cadillac CT6 V-Sport. The sedan is the first in an upcoming series of high performance Cadillac models and blends modern design from the Cadillac Escala concept with formal American coach built heritage. The CT6 V-sport is powered by the all-new Cadillac 4.2-liter water-to-air intercooled twin-turbo dual overhead camshaft V-8 that the luxury automaker estimates will produce 550 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque. The groundbreaking V-8 features a hot-v turbocharger configuration that puts both turbochargers into the valley of the V-8 for reduced lag and a more compact package. Boosted air and fuel gets pushed into the engine through intake manifolds located where the exhaust manifolds would be on a conventional V-8. The transposed flow hot-v engine is backed up by a 10-speed close ratio automatic transmission that channels horsepower through all-wheel drive and 20-inch V-sport wheels equipped with summer only UHP-compound tires. Mechanical limited slip differential, magnetic suspension, active rear steering and 19-inch Brembo brakes with 4-piston calipers work together to deliver Cadillac-level high performance and luxury road control. The well-appointed sport luxury interior boasts an extensive technology suite and onboard 4G LTE for connectivity in the modern world. More Specs.
Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody
The Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody did not disappoint even if last year’s Demon is a tough act to follow. The Widebody is available now and was displayed at the show along with its Hellcat powered brand mates including the wheelstanding devil from last year’s show. The latest iteration of the Challenger SRT Hellcat is wide for a reason and focuses its supercharged Hemi power on road handling over its demonic straight line drag racing relative. The wider cat shaves seconds off road course lap times and still runs into the 10-second zone on the 1/4-mile with 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. Wider 20×11-inch 5-spoke aluminum wheels with 305/35ZR20 Pirelli P-Zero UHP-compound tires tuck in nicely up under the fenders. Driver adjustable EPS electric power steering and SRT Drive Modes for street, sport or track work with standard 15.4-inch Brembo brakes offer a wide spectrum road control. The front chin spoiler, quad projector headlamps, flared fenders, and a rear deck wickerbill bring a ’70s Trans-Am road racing series style vibe to the Hellcat party. The Widebody on display in New York was wearing what Dodge calls Billet paint – one of 10 available colors. More good news for Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody buyers is that each purchase comes with a full day of professional instruction on and off the track at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. More Specs.
Maserati Levante Trofeo
American automobile buyers have spoken. They want their high-performance luxury SUV. Maserati predicted this trend in 2016 with the Levante and this year the Italian automaker rolled out the Levante Trofeo – the first Maserati sport utility vehicle equipped with a V8. Former Dodge SRT Hellcat honcho and recently appointed Head of Maserati Tim Kuniskis introduced the 590-horsepower twin-turbocharged Levante Trofeo in New York. The most powerful Maserati SUV ever is a limited-edition creation aimed directly at the North American market. Each 3.8-liter twin turbo V8 engine is hand-assembled by Ferrari in Maranello and sends its power down to the road though an automated gearbox, tuned suspension, and all-wheel drive with launch control. A carbon fiber front splitter and matte finish Grigio Lava paint shows off functional aerodynamic sport style. Forged 22-inch wheels and UHP-compound tires and a 50:50 weight balance helps to deliver grand touring road control. As new SUV buyers are more concerned with high-performance luxury than rugged off-road adventure, the Levante Trofeo is outfitted with an exclusive and well-appointed handcrafted sport interior featuring seats upholstered in full-grain Pieno Fiore natural leather with contrast stitching. In case the twin turbocharged V-8 requires musical accompaniment the cabin is outfitted with a 1,280-watt 17-speaker Bowers & Wilkins premium sound system. Production of the limited-edition Levante Trofeo is slated for summer 2018 at the refurbished Maserati plant in Turin, Italy. More Specs.
Trans-Am Worldwide Super-Duty
From the twice as good department comes a selection of the 1,000-horsepower Trans Am Super Duty limited-edition muscle car. The Florida-based Trans-Am Worldwide Company starts with a factory issue Alpha platform Camaro and transforms the stocker into a custom Trans-Am with over 380 new parts from front fascia and body panels to the famous screaming chicken graphics as well as specially-designed alloy wheels. Under the bird-emblazoned hood is a purpose-engineered 455 cubic inch V-8 good for 1,000 horsepower and 1,040 lb-ft of torque with a 2.3-liter Magnuson supercharger, ceramic coated headers, and 3-inch dual exhaust. One of the three customer cars on display at the New York Intl Auto Show was a Super-Duty with Drag Pack and each Super-Duty hand-built supercar is available with a variety of performance and appearance options to suit customer preference. There is even a carbon fiber polycarbonate composite T-Top for full throwback effect. Just add Sally Fields. Only 50 Super-Duty cars will be produced in homage to the 1973-74 Trans-Am Super Duty. Trans-Am Worldwide develops and builds the majority their parts in-house with a few outside suppliers helping out on specialized work. Keep an eye on Trans-Am Worldwide for the return of The Judge. Designer Tom Sawyer didn’t want to give it all away but did say that all body panels on the upcoming Judge will be redesigned before installation on the GM Alpha platform structure so that muscle car magistrates can lay down the law and some rubber with newfound style. More Specs.
