Chevrolet rolled into the SEMA show in Vegas with a race-ready Corvette concept built with help from the go-fast gurus at Pratt and Miller.

The Corvette Z06X starts with a Z06 fitted with the CFZ carbon fibre, 1LZ equipment and Z07 performance packages. The alphabet soup simply means a lot of the goodies on this car came from the GM parts bin, and they’re available to you as well.

The carbon fibre hood hides a LS7 7.0-liter V8, which is bolted to a Tremec six-speed gearbox. Brembo brakes clamping carbon ceramic rotors (included in the Z07 package) bring it down from speed. Several suspension mods, including coilovers with adjustable camber plates, improve the handling.

Carbon fibre bits from the CFZ package and a polycarbonate rear window reduce the weight, as does yanking out the radio, carpet and insulation. The adjustable racing wing is from Pratt and Miller, Chevy’s partner in the American LeMans Series. A race-spec safety cage, window net and fire suppression system protect the driver, who sits in a racing seat.

GM says it built the car to show how a car enthusiast can “leverage Chevrolet’s expanding portfolio of performance parts to create a full-on track car.” Assuming that enthusiast has the bucks, of course.

Adapted from WiredAutopia

Kia has just unveiled a new sports version of its Koup coupe at the SEMA car show in Las Vegas. The car was developed through Kia’s main racing partner in the US, Kinetic Motorsports.

The first and most obvious enhancement is the presence of the matte paint finish coloured in the increasingly-popular dark grey. Other features include proper light-weight 18 inch BBS racing alloys, special Type R decals, splashes of green throughout and a chunky bodykit incorporating heavily pumped guards front and back, and a rear spoiler.

There’s also some mechanical enhancements added to improve the car’s performance underneath the car, such as a twin exhaust system, lowered sports suspension and a dampened composite fibre clutch plate and short-throw gear shifter.

Inside the car also gets splashes of green and Type R logos, a Kinetic gear knob and a bespoke interior design using sports seats and matching reupholstered door trims in two-tone green and grey.

The car was developed in America so we assume it will not be available in SA, but it’s interesting to see the Korean brand expanding into motorsports fields, proving it can come up with desirable special editions if it wants to.

via CarAdvice

American fans of the Volkswagen Golf, or Rabbit as known in the US over the years, are still waiting to get their hands on the latest generation of the popular hatch. While the rest of the world, ourselves included, have been driving the car for almost a year already, the new car should be in US showrooms by next year. In the meantime though, German suspension manufacturer H&R decided to bring a sixth generation 2-door TDi to the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas to up the pre-launch heat – after all, ever since a team of top secret VW engineers slapped a GTI badge on the original Mk1 Golf the one thing that these cars have become known for is great handling.

As opposed to some of the more over the top examples of aftermarket influence at this year’s show, H&R has tastefully modified the Golf 6 TDi with a set of thin spoked O.Z. Racing rims measuring 20-inches in diameter with a tasteful red accent on the lip. Being the suspension specialists they are, H&R virtually eliminated whatever unsightly wheel gap VW gave the car from the factory, leaving the H&R TDi with the perfect stance, all before laying down a pair of German flag inspired side stripes unlike anything you have ever seen before.

A top class effort in our books, but an H&R GTI would also look the business.