Why in the hell would anyone put 1,350 horsepower in a 2,600 lb plastic car? Two reasons actually: 1, to reclaim the world’s fastest street legal production car record. And 2, because life begins at 250 mph.

The new SSC Ultimate Aero II from Shelby Super Cars is possessed with a 6.8-liter V8 with a screaming 9,000 rpm redline. The company expects it to hit 60 in 2.8 seconds and, get this, a top speed of 275 mph! That is certainly enough oomph to squash the current speed record held by its arch nemesis, the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

Of course, Top Gear magazine gets first dibs on pictures and the inside scoop, so for more info, check out their October 2010 issue that hit newsstands yesterday.

In less than a week, Bentley Motors is set to reveal their new Continental GT. And in befitting Bentley fashion, the stately new grand touring coupe is being launched in a stately fashion. The following statement is pulled directly from the Bentley press release:

“Bentley will reveal its new and compelling vision of the Continental GT next month with a unique internet reveal. The studio lights are switched-on and the cameras will start rolling at 1500 British Summer Time on Tuesday 7 September.”

So, if your packed social calendar happens to open on Tuesday, 7 September at 1500 British Summer Time—you’re in luck ol’ chap.

Source: Bentley

Though we’re not too much into electric cars here at the Insider, we are very into fast cars. And the Buckeye Bullet, a student-built, 100% electric-powered land-speed streamliner from the kids at Ohio State University’s Automotive Research Center is both electric and fast—way fast.

On Tuesday of this week, the Buckeye Bullet electrocuted the electric streamliner record at Bonneville with a scorching 291 mph. The next day, they did it again with a buckeye-popping 307 mph average (320 mph top speed in case you’re wondering). Unfortunately on Thursday, the team really tried to push it, but the Bullet succumbed to a severe case of clutch carnage. Check the record breaking run at their blog—The Buckeye Bullet.

Source: DiscoverHybridCars

Highly anticipated to some—mythological pipedream to others, the 2010 Porsche type 301 has finally seen the light of day. And not only has one of these Stuttgart masterpieces been spotted, but the auto-insiders over at RidePros.com actually got their hands on one and conducted a full-blown test drive. Lucky buggers. Due to copyright issues, we can only display the logo here. For images of the type 301 and the entire salivating road test, follow the link to RidePros.

Source: RidePros

Warning, the following video contains shockingly graphic footage of a Datsun 1200 Coupe beating the bejezus out of a Nissan GT-R—watch at your own risk.

If you’re not familiar, the Datsun 1200 is actually a 25 year project in the making—dubbed the White Zombie. It’s a homebuilt, full-electric street/strip car. In fact, it’s the world’s fastest street-legal electric car.

So, hang onto your extension cord, because with performance numbers like this, green-performance is here to stay.

Ferrari’s next Grand Tourer simply sounds bad ass. Heavy camouflage hides the exterior, but there is no masking the high-whine of an Italian-bred V-12 powerplant. Thank you, Enzo’s ghost.