Tech.Wapline

Both Ferrari and Lamborghini’s CO2 emissions right now exceed 400 g/km. The EU has set a goal of 120 g/km for a carmakers’ fleet average by 2012. Last week, Ferrari said it planned to at least get down to 280-300 g/km by 2012, which, while still more than double the target, represents a 30% decrease. It said it would do that by exploring more efficient engines and different body panels to make cars lighter.

Lamborghini’s response to the same issue, from CEO Stephan Winkelmann, came to a similar conclusion but in a slightly different way. Winkelmann said that the DNA of the brand — “the design of the car, the sound of the engine, the top speed and the sprint from zero to 100 kilometers per hour” — cannot be sacrificed, else they aren’t really making supercars any more, which means they’re not really making Lamborghinis. And that can’t happen.

Also echoing Ferrari, Winkelmann said that Lamborghini owners really only drive their cars on the weekends, and they only sell a handful of them, so “If we look at the real impact, it is close to zero.” From the sounds of it, Lamborghini has no intention of messing with the sounds or sizes of its engines, suggesting only (so far) that it will look at using lighter construction techniques, such as more carbon fiber. Take that, EU.

Koenigsegg has released some full-on shots of the production CCXR — probably a new one, and not the 1-of-a-kind CCXR crashed by Top Gear. The biofuel-powered car has a twin supercharged 4.8-liter V8, and will put out 1,018-HP at 7,200 RPM, and you’ll get 740 lb-ft of torque out of it.

And if you want to break those numbers down, you’ll get from the stoplight to 60 in 2.9 seconds, and the good Swedes claim you can take it past 248 MPH. However, in order to make any use of those numbers you need to first get past this one: €1,575,000, plus taxes and fees, to take it home. Check out the gallery of pics below, and check out the full specs on the car after the jump.

That’s right kiddies. According to the LA Times, preorders for the 1,500 U.S.-bound Nissan GT-Rs will begin on the January 1st, 2008. As a reminder, the cost of entry is just over $70,000 and whatever your local dealer decides to tack onto the bottom of the sticker — possibly upwards of $15k. Somehow we doubt there’ll be a line forming a few days before the calendar change (those who can afford it have people for that kind of thing), but we could think of worse ways to spend New Year’s Eve – like queuing up for a Versa.

Thanksgiving is when I put the snow tires back on the cars. Here in New England, you never know what’s going to happen; we’ve had our first snowfall already. Freezing temperatures also tend to herald the end of convertible season, though there still may be one or two Indian Summer days where dropping the top without freezing your earlobes is possible. Sadly, the BMW 335i convertible left our driveway long before the first frost, leaving us only memories.

The Thanksgiving holiday also heralds the beginning of the special hell that is the holiday shopping season. Don’t know what to get that special someone? Drawing a blank when composing your wish list? Pencil this in: BMW 335i Convertible. Done and done.

The Corvette is no stranger to being used for pace car duty, having led racers around tracks like Indy countless times over the years. Come February, NASCAR will be staging its flagship Daytona 500 race for the fiftieth time, and the two-seater from Bowling Green will be making regular trips out the track to create the appearance of competition whenever an empty beer cup or stray hot dog wrapper lands on the racing surface. In honor of the anniversary status of next years race, the Z06 pace car will blind onlookers with a special, super-blingtastic gold paint job.