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The guys at the German tuning firm Novitec Rosso just couldn’t leave well enough alone. Not content to let Maranello build what is the fastest drop-top Ferrari ever, they took a Scuderia Spider 16M and gave it more power and quicker acceleration. Ferrari built the 16M, a convertible version of the awesome F430 Scuderia, to commemorate winning its 16th Formula 1 constructors championship last year. Just 499 are being built, and Novitec Rosso got its hands on one to make the cavallino rampante a little more rapido with a pair of superchargers. Force-feeding air to the prancing horse gives it 696 horsepower at 8,400 rpm, and boy we’d love to hear that engine sing. It also puts 503 pound-feet of torque under your right foot, which is enough to smoke those 20-inch Pirellis. The Rosso will do zero to 62 mph in 3.5 seconds and hit 205 mph. For the sake of comparison, the stock 16m produces 503 horsepower and 347 pound-feet. It takes 3.8 seconds to reach 62 mph from a standstill. A car that quick isn’t cheap. Once you hand Ferrari a check for $313,350 to buy the 16M, you’re looking at another $66,400 to have Novitec Rosso perform its magic. In exchange you’ll have one of the quickest convertibles on the planet. Oh sure, the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport is faster, but for the $2.1 million we’d need to buy one we could have a Novitec Rosso and enough money left over to pay the speeding tickets. Photos: Novitec Rosso. More pics after the jump.

Lamborghini is releasing what has to be the umpteenth variation of the Gallardo, this one called the LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni. The answer to the first part of your question — why LP 550-2? is easy. The car sports 550 horsepower and two wheel drive. Answering the second part of your question — who the hell is Valentino Balboni? — will take a bit more. Normally, Lambo doesn’t name its cars after people. It names them after bulls, and the special jobs get kind of dull names like Jota. So for Lamborghini to name a car for someone must be a special deal. It is, and so is Valentino Balboni. Balboni has been the factory test driver out of Sant’Agata Bolognese since old man Ferruccio was building tractors. You got any complaints about turn in with your Miura or the lift-throttle response on your 5000QV Countach, go talk to Balboni, because he’s the guy who dialed it in. If you’ve ever been around Lambo types, the stories about Balboni’s skill and his, let’s call it “commitment,” behind the wheel are  legendary. To say he can drive is like saying Joe Satriani can play the guitar. If you’re lucky enough to get a ride with Balboni when visiting the factory, or even better, while picking up your car, it’s a memory you will never forget, assuming your cardiovascular system survived. Many factory test drivers have reps for being mentally unstable. Even those that are well respected former race drivers like Porsche’s Walter Röhrl can be described as having a cavalier attitude towards their own safety, but Balboni is on a different strata all together. No, we have not had the opportunity to meet him, but here at Autopia we have seen footage of him testing Lambos on everyday public roads at psychotic speeds, dodging horse-drawn wagons and delivery trucks using multiple high-speed blips of the throttle instead of the horn to say “ Escalo del mio senso lumaca senza valore! ” So the Lambo named after Valentino must be special. For starters, Lamborghini is making only 250 of them at just under $220,000 apiece. Sure, it’s got lots of gew-gaws and flashy bits on the inside, but we only care about Valentino cares about, and that is “How fast is it?” Fast. Really fast. With 550 hp motivating only 1,380 kilos, the LP 550-2 hurls from 0 to 62 mph in a astonishing 3.9 seconds and tops out at 199 mph. And there’s none of this “it’s safer” all wheel drive on this ride, oh no. All 550 ponies go through the rear wheels only. Why? Because that’s the way Balboni likes it. Photo: Lamborghini

Chris Heath aboard Electric Motorsport's open class winner Photo: Flickr/skyfire Following its amazing success at Isle of Man, the TTxGP motorcycle green grand prix prepares for its debut in the United States with an open call to American “eMoto” entrepreneurs. The invitation to join the tour during the AMA vintage sports events from July 24th to 26th at Mid-Ohio racetrack is to show the public how real the change is. Although KLD Technologies and Geoff Bjorgan have impressed us with their innovative EV two-wheelers, they are the kid too short for the roller coaster this time around. The invitation calls for “electric road racing sport bikes … that can deliver a race performance over a 20+ mile range.” Think that’s exciting?  Sit down, prepare yourself and have a spare pair of undies within arm’s reach - The International Motorcycle Federation (FIM) has announced the creation of a racing series dedicated to electric bikes to kick-off in 2010.  The series is anticipated to fast track e-motorcycle development and to show the cynics green technology isn’t just for the slow-lane. “We are convinced that very shortly the motorcycle world championships will be accessible to non-polluting engines as far as gas and sound emissions are concerned.  Now that this important decision is taken, we have to work on rules and calendar,” says FIM President Vito Ippolito. The inaugural TTxGP saw 13 electric motorcycles compete on the Isle of Man. Rob Barber circled the winding 37.7-mile course in 25 minutes and 53 seconds to win the pro class. Chris Heath took first place in the open class with a time of 34:17 and an average speed of 66.02 mph. We expect great things of TTxGP, so long as they don’t take a page out of Formula One’s management book . Check out all our coverage of the TTxGP here .

A Dallas inventor says your smelly car is the reason you’re high-strung, overweight and terrible at your job. Suzy Batiz , the co-creator of bathroom deodorizer Poo-Pourri (”It keeps your dirty little secret”) has unveiled a line of automotive aromatherapy products that promise to “transform your driving routine into a rejuvenating experience with mood-enhancing scent.” Scents described as “spa-like” are diffused from an essential oil filled pendant, most likely displacing the fuzzy dice that previously adorned your rear-view mirror. Though driving to work in a spa sounds lovely, we’ll buy anything that keeps our car from smelling like that skunk we hit on the freeway a few weeks ago. Dubbed “Karoma” — we imagine it’s a portmanteau of “Karma,” “Car,” and “Aroma,” and not the tiny Zambian town — Batiz says the scents will do more than just cover up the smell of your laundry in the backseat. “Karoma neutralizes the air while providing mood enhancing properties,” she said in a statement. “Instead of enhancing road rage, Karoma provides a spa-like experience.” Batiz is marketing Karoma toward busy professionals beseiged by stress. According to a press release, scents include “Peace Baby!” for stress relief; “Just Hope!” for optimism; “Have Faith!” for mental clarity; “Love is in the Air!” to, um, revitalize; “Drive your Headaches Away!” for headache relief and “Curb Your Cravings!” for appetite control. We’d consider a purchase if they unveiled scents tailor made to calm our personal worries — such as, “I Don’t Have To Answer That Text!”, “It Was Yellow, Officer!” and “My Prius Is Fast Enough!” Photo: Flickr/ Christina Welsh (Rin)

The first A320 stamped “Made in China” has rolled out of the factory Airbus opened in Tianjin. It is the first time a major manufacturer has fully assembled an airliner in China, a major landmark for the country’s rapidly growing aviation industry. Hoping to satiate China’s voracious appetite for passenger airplanes, production at the factory, pictured above and called the Final Assembly Line, will rise to four aircraft a month by the end of 2011, Airbus said. “Our Final Assembly Line here in Tianjin and this first aircraft delivery outside Europe mark an important milestone in our strategic long-term partnership with China and the Chinese industry,” Tom Enders, Airbus president and CEO, said in a statement . “This FAL is state of the art, second to none in the world. And so are the aircraft manufactured here in Tianjin.” Airbus delivered the plane to Dragon Aviation Leasing on June 23. Dragon will lease it to Sichuan Airlines, which has been flying A320 airplanes since 1995 and was the first airline in China to use them. And as Andrea James of the Seattle-Post Intelligencer notes in a recent blog post , the planned growth in production at the Airbus factory in Tianjin has the company’s employees in Europe worried they may soon be out work. The first A320 airliner built in China made its initial flight on May 18. The A320 aircraft is the world’s best-selling commercial jetliner. More than 6,300 have been sold and about 400 A320 are flying in China. European production of the aircraft was reduced in October from 36 planes a month to 34, according to the International Association of Machinists. It is expect to decline further as production increases in China to cut costs and meet that country’s expected demand of 2,800 passenger jets in the next 20 years. “European unions say the move [to China] only exacerbates fears that more work could be outsourced at a time when European working families need the jobs the most,” the machinists union said . “They also fear the loss of European technology to Chinese counterparts.” Airbus officials see things a little differently. They view the Chinese factory and technology-sharing as a tactical move that could provide an advantage over rival Boeing, which makes components in China but doesn’t have a full production facility there. “No one will benefit more from this than Europeans,” Airbus CEO Tom Enders said recently . Building aircraft outside of current borders “is the future and, with innovation and internationalization, Airbus can win a share of this future.” But if Airbus doesn’t watch out it may have a competitor beyond Boeing to contend with. As the Post-Intelligencer notes, China’s aviation industry includes more than 200 enterprises that produce and manufacture aerospace products and employs 491,000 workers, according to the US-China Economic Security and Review Commission’s 2008 report to Congress . China has also has expressed interest in a domestically designed and built aircraft and is therefore hoping to learn from Airbus’ expertise. The newly built A320 took its first test flight last month with the first Chinese test engineer trained by Airbus, and Airbus engineers in Beijing already are working on carbon-composite technology for the next-generation A350 XWB. This doesn’t mean the Chinese are poised to take over the aviation industry. But the outlook certainly does not look good for Airbus’ European workforce, which seems to be getting mixed signals from Enders. “Right now the UK is the supplier of wings for the Airbus family but that doesn’t mean the Chinese can’t build a good wing,” he told the Telegraph . “If we underestimate our Chinese friends, there will be a problem. Europe is not the only play in town. The UK has got to keep an edge in research and technology.” Photos: Airbus POST UPDATED 5 p.m. Eastern June 29 to include link to Seattle Post-Intelligencer . See Also: China Rushes Into Building Planes China To Compete With Boeing, Airbus in Passenger Jet Game China’s Airport Binge Is Bad Environmental News

Tesla Motors wants a judge to toss out the lawsuit company founder Martin Eberhard filed against current CEO Elon Musk, calling it a groundless personal attack that attempts to stifle Musk’s right to free speech. It’s the latest round in the fight between Musk and Eberhard over the legacy of the company — and the electric car — they ostensibly worked together to create, and it shows the matter won’t be resolved amicably. The squabbling comes as Tesla Motors is gaining traction with a major investment from Daimler and a $465 million loan from the feds to finance construction of the Model S sedan . Tesla’s trip to the courthouse follows Eberhard’s lawsuit accusing Musk of taking over the company and orchestrating Eberhard’s ouster, then publicly disparaging him in an attempt to “rewrite history” and take credit for the Roadster. Rather than file a counter-suit as expected, Tesla Motors on Monday filed two motions asking a judge, in part, to dismiss the case under a California law that bars lawsuits aimed at stifling free speech. Besides arguing that Eberhard was a poor CEO who “left the company’s finances in shambles,” Tesla claims Eberhard’s litany of complaints (.pdf) — which include libel, slander and breach of contract — have no basis in fact. What’s more, the company says, both Eberhard and Musk have a First Amendment right to state, and debate, their versions of the company’s history. Eberhard has wasted no chance to do so, the company claims, and should not deny Musk the same opportunity. “His lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt to curb open discourse on matters of importance to the public and to extract money from Tesla in the bargain,” the motions ( .pdf and .pdf ), filed in San Mateo County, Calif., Superior Court, state. “He also takes the extraordinary (and hypocritical) step of seeking an injunction that would prevent Musk from exercising his free speech rights in public or in private.” Eberhard and his attorneys could not be reached for comment Tuesday night, but one of the lawyers, Yosef Peretz, told Reuters he had nothing to say. “I don’t think we will respond at this time,” he said . “We will respond to the motion.” The legalese aside, Tesla’s motions pull no punches in offering a scathing counterpoint to the version of events Eberhard laid out in his suit. Eberhard says he founded Tesla in 2002 and Musk came aboard as an investor in 2004. Over the next three years, Musk named three members of Tesla’s board, then orchestrated Eberhard’s ouster on Nov. 28, 2007. After pushing him out, Eberhard claims, the company withheld his severance package because of a blog post he wrote, and Musk continuously disparaged Eberhard “and compromised Tesla Motors’ financial health.” “In his zeal to appropriate Eberhard’s legacy, Musk has instead sullied Tesla Motors’ integrity and blemished Tesla Motors’ reputation and prosperity,” the suit states. (Read our report on the suit here .) Musk, of course, doesn’t see it that way. Elon Musk in 2006. Photo: Flickr / jdlasica Martin Eberhard in 2006. Photo: Flickr / The Nickster In the claims filed Monday, Musk says he met J.B. Straubel — who later became Tesla’s chief technology officer — in 2003 after Straubel learned of the entrepreneur’s interest in electric vehicles. Straubel introduced Musk to the guys at AC Propulsion, a California company that developed the tzero electric sports car. Musk encouraged AC Propulsion to produce the car, but the company wasn’t interested and instead introduced Musk to Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning and Ian Wright. According to one of the two motions, the men had little more than an idea for Tesla Motors when Musk came along. “At this time, Eberhard, Tarpenning and Wright, to Musk’s knowledge, were collecting no salary, had no prototype or intellectual property relating to electric cars, had no formal office space and had obtained no Series A funding for the company,” the motion states. “Even the trademark for the company name ‘Tesla Motors’ was owned by a third party.” Musk “agreed to join in the creation of Tesla” after convincing the other men the company should create the Roadster to prove the viability of electric cars and then focus on developing a family sedan. To save money on legal fees, the men “simply copied” the articles of incorporation for SpaceX, Musk’s aerospace venture, according to the motion. Musk says he provided 98 percent of the company’s Series A funding and “more than 90 percent” of Series B funding, then co-led three subsequent rounds. He “has to date invested approximately $75 million in the company,” according to the claim. Once the company was up and running, Musk says in the motions, Eberhard “sought to become the ‘face’ of the company,” publishing a blog, appearing on television, being profiled in magazines and testifying before Congress. But, Musk claims, Eberhard wasn’t minding the store. “Although Eberhard had successfully captured widespread public interest and media attention, he was far less successful at actually doing the work needed at Tesla — developing a production-ready vehicle in a cost-effective manner,” the motion states. “Musk developed serious concerns about aspects of Eberhard’s performance as CEO, and he became increasingly convinced that Eberhard lacked the management skills and judgement that would be necessary to accomplish the complex tasks of turning their shared vision into reality.” The Tesla Roadster. Photo: Jim Merithew / wired.com Those shortcomings became apparent in April, 2007, the motion states, when Eberhard presented a business plan that said the Roadster would cost $65,000 to produce, with costs coming down as production ramped up. A few months later, Timothy Watkins, the managing director of Tesla Investor Valor Equity Partners, “performed an extensive part-by-part analysis” of the car and found the true production cost “would be approximately $120,000, well over the car’s $92,000 sale price,” according to the motion. The problem was Tesla had already accepted deposits from about 450 customers and promised them Roadsters for less than $100,000. Beyond being over budget, the motion claims, the Roadster was behind schedule. (Eberhard attributes the spiraling cost and delays to Musk, whom he says “took a persistent and distracting interest in random details of marginal importance.”) Convinced that Eberhard wasn’t up to the task, “Tesla’s board unanimously agreed that he should be removed as CEO,” the motion states. Michael Marks was named interim CEO and Eberhard was named president of technology on Aug. 11, 2007. Musk says Marks found the problems ran deeper than anyone realized and Eberhard “left the company’s finances in shambles” and “had nearly exhausted its cash resources.” Eberhard left Tesla on Nov. 28, 2007. He claims he was told to take a severance package and resign or Musk would convert enough common stock to name three more board members and push Eberhard out. Tesla says the board voted unanimously to fire him and offered him a severance package of $100,000 and other benefits. Tesla says he forfeited the severance after writing a blog post disparaging the company’s management, a violation of his separation agreement with the company. Musk makes no apologies for anything he’s said about Eberhard, but motion notes “almost immediately after his removal, Eberhard undertook a campaign of publicly disparaging Tesla and Musk.” That’s fine, the company seems to be saying in its response to Eberhard’s lawsuit. The history of the company is something of interest to the public, and a topic that should be discussed. But Tesla doesn’t think Musk should be barred from telling the story as he sees it. The final word on that will rest with a judge. Photo: Tesla Motors See Also: Will The Real Tesla Founder Please Stand Up? Tesla’s Founder Sues Tesla’s CEO Tesla Motors’ Musk: Let Me Run Detroit

Here in the United States, the price of battery-powered scooters is hard to justify when compared to its gas-powered brethren. KLD Technologies wants to change that with scooters it claims offer solid performance and cost about as much as a Vespa. The scooters feature motors with something KLD Technologies calls nano-crystaline technology to improve efficiency over traditional iron-core motors. The company’s Neue drive eliminates the need for a transmission and will propel the scooters when they arrive in the U.S. next year. The Neue motor system uses the nano-crystalline composite material to conduct energy 10 times more efficiently than traditional, iron-core motors, according to KLD. The composite material generates less heat and allows the motor to operate at a high-frequency to low RPM ratio. This, the company says, eliminates the need for a transmission and enables the scooters to attain speeds comparable to gas-powered two-wheelers. The E-165 will be the “highway friendly” model that KLD claims will do 65 mph and offer more than 100 miles of range. The E-140 will be “more suited for urban environments,” the company says, with a top speed of 40 mph and a range of of 50 miles. Up until now, KLD which is based in Austin, Texas, has focused on increasing its market share in Vietnam, where it is working with Sufat , Vietnam’s leading scooter-maker. Christian Okonsky, founder and CEO of KLD Technologies, sees Vietnam as a proving ground for KLD’s technology because there are more than 22 million two-wheelers on the road there. He said the response to the technology prompted the company to develop it for the U.S. market. “The idea to bring our technology to the U.S. practically fell into our lap,” Okonsky told Wired.com. “We’re not interested in selling millions of scooters, but we do want to establish a presence and demonstrate the value of our technology to the American people.” KLD scooters go for about $2,000 in Vietnam. The scooters headed to America will feature lithium-ion batteries and cost $3,288. That is about $5,000 less than the VX-1E by Vetrix , an electric scooter of similar size and ability. Image: KLD Technologies

Tesla, the darling motorcar company of the EV set, promises to have the Model S sedan on the road by 2011. So what does the S bring to the table besides more seats and less cost than the Roadster? The brass answer that question in a video explaining the Model S. Tesla makes a big deal of a point many automotive designers have made about electric vehicles — the drivetrain is easier to package than a conventional engine and transmission, giving designers much more freedom in executing their ideas . In Tesla’s case, that idea is room, room and more room. Company CEO Elon Musk notes, for the zillionth time, that the car will seat seven people (though few believe those two rear-facing seats waaaaay in the back will ever see production). He claims you can fold the seats down and cram a big-screen TV, a surfboard and a mountain bike in the car, though he wouldn’t let us try it when the car was unveiled in March . In any event, talking up the space of the S is quite shrewd, given the preconception that EVs are cramped and Americans love cars big enough to play basketball in. Since there’s no engine up front, there’s loads of storage space up front to go with the storage space at the back. Like Aptera , Tesla is making the car slippery through the use of too-clever-by-half gadgets like retracting door handles and surface detailing and a flat floor for reduced underbody drag. With all this fawning over aerodynamic detailing, it’s almost a shame to point to them that the wheels on the passenger side point the wrong way. Tesla promises the S will have performance and range. The Model S will use a liquid-cooled motor with a peak output of 300 kilowatts, or about 402 horsepower, and offer at least 160 miles of range. We’ll believe it when we get a loaner for a 200 mile blast down the P.C.H. Tesla loves the huge, portrait oriented 17-inch touch-screen monitor that dominates the dash. The company can’t say enough about how cool it is, calling itself “the iPhone of the car world.” As for the styling by Franz von Holzhausen — who designed the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, then worked for Mazda before joining Tesla — the car has drawn comparisons to the Jaguar XF and the Maserati Quattroporte. Not bad. Not bad at all. The Model S, and Tesla’s business plan, was impressive enough to convince the Department of Energy to loan Tesla $465 million to help build the car. Tesla is promising a lot with the S. Now it’s time to deliver. Photo: Jim Merithew / Wired.com

In honor of Canada Day we bring you news from the Canadian capital, where a suburban service station has become the first in the world to sell a blend of gasoline and cellulosic ethanol biofuel. As part of a month long trial, drivers who fill up their Nissan X-Trails or Acura CSXs at a Shell station in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean have the choice of “CE-10″ blend — a mixture of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent cellulosic ethanol from Ottawa-based Iogen ’s nearby demonstration plant. If the test goes well, Iogen hopes to have a full-scale plant running in Saskatchewan within the next few years. Before you dredge up the usual complaints about biofuel, be forewarned: this ain’t just any old ethanol. This is the so-called “second generation” ethanol that until now was never available to consumers. The CE-10 in Ottawa was produced  from an agricultural residue that otherwise would have been discarded. Unlike ethanol produced from corn or sugar, nobody’s converting a potential food source into fuel. Even better, there aren’t any of those pesky nitrous oxide emissions associated with the production of other biofuels, and Iogen estimates that lifecycle CO2 emissions of cellulosic ethanol are 90 percent less than gasoline with no decrease in power or fuel economy. What’s not to love? Well, the fuel isn’t yet ready for full-scale commercial production, but Iogen is hoping the demonstration project will change that. “Building a demo plant is one thing but you then need to go through the process of operating the new technology at scale, learning, modifying and lowering costs,” Iogen CEO Brian Foody said in a statement (PDF). “With the volumes we’re producing today, we’re confident about the future.” We’re pretty confident, too. We were in the area last week and decided to be part of biofuel history by filling up at this very station. Our mileage didn’t decrease, our car didn’t explode and our wallets didn’t get any lighter — though we did get some funny looks from the other folks filling up when we started taking pictures of a gas pump. See Also: More Corn Ethanol Could Boost Cellulosic Ethanol Cellulosic Ethanol: One Molecule Could Cure Our Addiction to Oil Another Argument Against Ethanol Photo: Flickr/ jsloss

Four months ago, the LH4 from Lightning Hybrids was nothing but a mound of clay , but the Colorado company has a running prototype and some video of it on the road. It’s brief, but you can tell the Corvette-inspired, hydraulic hybrid is not your typical hybrid. It sounds like a British sports car with a bad muffler but it doesn’t look too shabby. Lightning Hybrids is making steady progress after working double-time getting the LH4 built in time for the Denver Auto Show in April. It claims the car will get 100 mpg and do zero to 60 in under six seconds. If all goes according to plan, the LH4 will compete in the Progressive Automotive X Prize, and company founder and CEO Dan Johnson is pleased with how things are turning out so far. “It goes pretty good,” he said according to the Fort Collins Coloradoan . “It’s a little bit noisier than we’d like, but for the first prototype, we were pretty happy with it.” Johnson modeled the LH4 after the 1963 Stingray Corvette he restored in high school. The hybrid ditches batteries in favor of hydraulics, mating a 90-horsepower Mazda engine with a 150 horsepower Rexroth hydraulic pump. Hybrid technology like this has so far been limited to delivery trucks like the one UPS plans to roll out sometime this year. Check out our earlier post for an explanation of how it works. Lightning Hybrids plans to produce the LH4 in 2012 and a three-wheeled version called the LH3 next year. The Coloradoan reports the company needs $5 million to make it happen. To come up with the extra money to build the cars — which would cost $40,000 to $60,000 should they see production — Lightning Hybrids is looking for a partnership with Colorado State University and a government grant. It also hopes to pick up some extra cash from the sales of hydraulic hybrid retro fit kits and the X Prize. Photo: Lightning Hybrids See Also: 100-MPG Hybrid Evokes the ‘63 Corvette Lightning (Hybrid) Strikes Denver