Body kits and tuning are nothing new to fans of Japanese imports, although they tend to remind us of Supras and Civics, rather than the fuel sipping hybrids of the 21st century. Hybrids, by nature, are not the speedy performance machines generally associated with aggressive body styling and over sized rims, so this seems like an unlikely market for tuner accessories.

Japanese tuner, Tommy Kaira has taken a chance that hybrid owners will still pay to make their green cars look mean. They have introduced cosmetic and performance upgrades for Japan’s hybrid hot shots, the Pruis and Insight. Accessories include body kits, suspension components and custom wheels.

So why bother to to make them look more sporty than they are designed to be? Well why not? Why can’t the forerunners of the hybrid consumer market feel like the cars they drive are fast and furious? Even if they’re not, I see no reason not to make them look that way. Although I’m generally a fan of European sports cars and American muscle cars, I actually don’t think the kitted Prius looks all that bad… for a hybrid.  What do you think?  Are hybrids too dorky for upgrades like this, or do the Tommy Kaira kits make you want to want to see a drifter slide around in an Insight?

Source: Tommy Kaira [via AutoBlog]

If an Alfa Romeo 8C is too far out of your range, you may take consolation with the SV Motor Company’s SV9 Competizione.

As the name suggests, this custom-build sports car mimics the Alfa’s appearance, but carries enough different cosmetic features to prevent a lawsuit.  The SV9 is actually based on a Corvette platform, and is re-skinned, adorned with a fresh interior, and tweaked for higher performance.  The upgrades include Pirelli sport tires, four exclusive wheel combinations, composite panels, an upgraded intake, and a tuned V-8 delivering 400 hp.  The SV team is promising a four-second run to sixty and twelve for the quarter-mile.

Pricing for the SV9 is set at $100,000.

The Mansory Vincero may be the most expensive tuner work ever created.  The Vincero is a smoothly freshened up Bugatti Veyron with new fashionable accessories and an even more power quad-turbo W-16 engine, now rated at around 1,100 hp.

The price for this French blessing?  The upgrade alone is over $980,000.  So you’ll be coughing up more than two million dollars when all is said and done.

It still beats that $11,000,000 Shelby.

Tired of all the gloating from the middle-aged and balding men who pre-ordered a C6 ZR1?  Techco has an answer for you.

The Anaheim tuner, which has experience working with Mopars and Saleens, is offering a large-displacement blower (three liters in all) and a dual “AFrame” intercool system as part of an $8,500 performance package.

I know…eight grand isn’t cheap, but it is a bargain when you see the numbers: horsepower from Chevy’s LS3 V-8 is increased by 40% to 600 and torque is pushed up 11% to 535 ft-lbs.  That goes for the LS3, but the upgrade can be hooked to any C6 engine (LS2 and LS7) without any exterior adjustment to the hood.

If you could call one ‘Vette a sleeper, this’d be it.

Specter Werks’s C6 GTR is just flashy enough to win us over at CarVersation.  While its appearance may echo polished aluminum, the body is made up in large part of light composites.  The aesthetics have been altered with a new splitter and rear-diffuser, 19″ alloys up front and 20″ out back, and a vented hood.  The Chevy LS3 V-8 has its displacement raised from 6.2 L to 6.8, pushing up horsepower to 615 and torque to 578 ft.-lbs.

Shelby’s put out official pics and specs for the 2010 GT500 Super Snake.  The Super Snake, unlike the regular GT500, is an actual Shelby project undertaking directly by the company staff.  (The GT500 uses the Shelby name pretty much for marketing purposes.)  The benefit of having the Ford/Shelby name running side-by-side is that Shelby’s own tuners can market their specials as being almost factory-grade.

There shouldn’t been much need for marketing with the refreshed Snake.  This GT500 uses a juiced supercharger instead of a needle in the ass.  With an upgraded intercool and exhaust system, the Super Snake will put out 630 hp in stage one trim, or an unfathomable 725 hp with the stage two setup.  (The regular GT500′s max output is 540 hp.)

All this power requires added tweaks to support the extra muscle.  Suspension’s been extensively modified with stiffened springs, reinforced struts, and strengthened antiroll bars.  Baer six-piston ventilated disc brakes bring in the necessary stopping power for the SC’d 5.4 L V-8.

So just how much does all this serpent glory come in at?  The Super Snake is considered a performance package: stage one is $29,500; two is priced at $33,500.  With the GT500′s approximately $45,000 sticker, expect to be doling out $75,000 for the 630 hp package and $79,000 for the 725.

If George Michael had pulled this out at that park restroom years ago, we can all be sure he wouldn’t have gone to jail.

The Edo tuner house has released its gallery for a worked-over California Spider.  The Edo Spider is a pretty open-ended offering, with interior customization up to the customer’s imagination.  Buyers will have a choice of a lowered, ghetto superstar suspension, or an adjustable sport setup that will change depending on the driver settings.  The car’s internal ECU has been recalibrated to put out 500 hp, pushing the top speed to 196 mph and the 0-60 time under four seconds.

The Galpin X1 evokes the name and appearance of the legendary Air Force test plane.  With all the equipment we can see here, this X1 may be just as able to hit Mach 1 as the jet it’s named after.  The X1 is more about style than it is about substance–the actual cockpit is hooked up with special monitors and a flight stick.  That’s hardly legal–but still pretty cool.

Galpin’s Vapor custom is a reworked Challenger, emplying a blacked-out color scheme to help convey a stealth image.  The analogy is proper, for the Galpin is a promo stunt for the US Air Force.  Headlamps are of the hidden kind, putting the Vapor in-line with Dodge’s famed Charger coupe of the 1960s.  Also matching the Air Force style are the Vapor’s hi-po nitrous system and neon lights.  Raw stats are unknown, but this is easily the finest job done on a Challenger yet.  Thumbs up for that cabin display too.

[Images by J. Julius]

I know the post title is long, and many of you may be complaining about us wasting our time covering another “limited edition” Mustang.  But this time things are different.  Lee Iacocca, the father of the Ford Mustang, is attaching his name to a commemorative edition Mustang, available exclusively through Southern California’s Galpin dealer network–of which only forty-five will be produced.

The “2009 1/2″ special features a Gaffoglio coach-built body, hand-crafted to exquisite detail.  One can note a blend of both the 2003 Mustang concept and the later Giugiaro custom in Michael Leone’s design.  The base 4.6 L V-8 is uprated to 320 hp, but an available dealer-installed supercharger will push output to the 400 range.  A downside will be that the engines are linked to Ford’s rather flat 5-spd. stick.  A Ford Racing performance package will add stiffer springs and uprated shock absorbers; a 14″ brake package is also available.  Interior decor is flooded with specially embroidered and hand-stitched leather.  Special Iacocca lettering and appliques are spread from the seats to the dash to the 20″ chrome rims.  Even the door sills are specially plated.