Whether you love it or loathe it, Chrysler’s PT Cruiser was a running success for the Detroit automaker and over its ten-year lifespan, we saw countless projects cars and tunes based on the retro-styled compact model. However, ask any true Mopar fan what the ultimate modification is for any Chrysler Group model, and you’ll most likely get the answer an engine swap with the Dodge Viper’s ferocious V10 powerplant.

Here at Coolpictures, we’ve shown you plenty of Viper-powered cars ranging from a Chrysler 300 and a Dodge Challenger to a Saab 9-3 and a Jeep Wrangler. Now it’s time to add the Chrysler PT Cruiser to our list of venomous engine swaps with this eBay find.

The PT/10 Cruiser Pickup Truck is said to have been built in 2000. It is based on a custom chassis with power coming from the Viper’s V10 engine churning out 500 ponies. Other goods sourced from the Dodge sports car include the 6-speed transmission, rear suspension, steering rack and seats.

The seller claims that only two examples were built and that this one “has never been driven on the street and has only been used as a show car, there are some minor things that need completing like putting in a set of analog gauges, and some minor wiring tweaks”, adding that “it does start and run great”.

However, if you’re interested, we’d advise you to go check the car in the flesh for yourself before you make any move as a quick search on the internet revealed that some of the photos shown on the eBay page are quite old dating back to January 2006 (see the flickr page here).

Link: ebay

Renault’s eminent 4 is turning 50 this year, and in recognition the French automaker and website Designboom are holding a special competition to see who can design the best Nouveau Quatrelle. Anyone can enter, though registration is mandatory, and the top prize is a 1965 Renault 4L driven by ex-F1 driver Michel Leclère in the 2011 Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo. Works can be submitted through June 20, 2011, with the winner to be announced in July 2011.

More than eight million Renault 4’s were sold over a thirty-one year period, starting in 1961 and ending in 1992. Renault’s approach was to offer a functional, minimalist “everyman’s car” with low running costs and a sturdy five-door body. Think of it as a Gallic precursor to Toyota’s indestructibility mantra of the 1980s and ‘90s.

The Renault 4 is credited with popularising the front-wheel-drive four-door with top-hinged tailgate bodystyle – what we’d now call a hatchback. There were numerous other versions (of course) including the 4x4 Sinpar, Plein-Air convertible and Fourgonnette bread van.

We don’t have any competition entries available to show you just yet, but we'll bring you the concept designs as soon as they come out.

By Tristan Hankins

It may not be anywhere close to being a historic model for Cadillac, but for some, the outgoing DTS has a special place in their wish list. In fact so special that Nicola Bulgari of the renowned Italian jewelry, perfume and more recently hotel chain family, decided to add the last DTS to roll off the production line to his personal car collection.

“Is it important?” Nicola Bulgari asked. “Is it the number or the quality that matters? It’s the quality. I like the DTS because it’s a great sedan,” said Bulgari. “It’s the last of an era. I thought it would be wonderful to own the last Northstar in a DTS. It’s one of the best engines ever designed – reliable and a performer.”

The full-size sedan that is more widely known around the world for being the U.S. presidential car will join an impressive range of vintage American models in Bulgari’s collection housed at facilities in Rome, Italy and Allentown, Pa. The grandson of a Greek silversmith who opened a jewelry shop in Rome in 1884 owns several other Cadillac and LaSalle cars, the latter of which was a sister brand to Cadillac from 1927 to 1940, his first being a 1938 Cadillac V-16 Town Car that he bought when he was 25 years-old.

“It was quite an experience to drive that car because the quality was second to none,” Bulgari said about the V-16 Town Car. “The suspension design, the power, the engine… Everything was built with extraordinary quality.”

Bulgari’s collection of Cadillac and LeSalle models include:

• 1932 Cadillac 355B V-12 Fleetwood Limousine
• 1934 Cadillac Model 355B Series 20 Sedan
• 1934 LaSalle Coupe
• 1940 LaSalle Convertible Coupe
• 1940 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible Sedan
• 1941 Cadillac Series 61 Sedanette
• 1947 Cadillac Model 7533 Limousine
• 1949 Cadillac Model 7533 Limousine
• 1949 Cadillac Convertible Coupe
• 1954 Cadillac Series 54-62 Fleetwood Sedan
• 1970 Cadillac Coupe DeVille

The Roman-born vice chairman of the Bulgari Group and honorary president of the Italian Government Tourist Board is also the owner of three recent Cadillac models including the 2009 XLR-V Coupe equipped with a special Bulgari speedometer, a 2010 CTS Wagon and 2009 CTS-V Sedan.

“Of the three, the Sedan, Coupe and Wagon, the Wagon stands out in front of all the competition,” Bulgari said. “It makes the competition look ludicrous.” Talking about the CTS-V, Bulgari added: “I have news for you with a V. I want to see some Ferrari or Lamborghini on the road and I will give him a lesson. They’ll never expect it.”

The Villa d'Este Concorso d'Eleganza was definitely the place to be for those who love rare classic cars and have the necessary cash to indulge in such an expensive passion. The event, which took place in Italy this past weekend, was packed with a stunning array of classic production and concept models in mint condition. One of the studies that caught our attentions was the strange-looking DAF 55 Siluro.

Back in the days when Dutch company DAF was still building passenger cars (Volvo bought its car making business in 1975), Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti was assigned to create a study for the brand that would be the pride of Daf's booth at the 1968 Geneva Motor Show.

The DAF 55 Siluro was based on the Daf 55, a small passenger car sold in The Netherlands. The coupe concept owed its Siluro name (Italian for torpedo) to its rather unusual shape. It must have looked stunning in 1968, as it was a car well ahead of its time. It was the first wedge-shaped car designed by Michelotti, who also penned production cars for Triumph, DAF and BMW. The Siluro predated Bertone's 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero and 1971 Lamborghini Countach concept studies, paving the way for wedge-shaped supercars that took the '70s and '80s by storm.

However, unlike those powerful supercars, the DAF 55 Siluro had a modest powertrain comprising of a 50HP 1.1-liter water-cooled engine from the Renault 10 and a Variomatic transmission The two-seater never made it to production and the only example was kept by Michelotti in perfect condition until his death in 1980. His son inherited the car, but its condition deteriorated through the years and the Siluro needed a thorough restoration.

Michelotti's son eventually sold it to a German car dealer, which in his turn offered it to the DAF Museum in the Netherlands. Finally, the car received a much needed restoration and became a permanent exhibit at the company's museum in Eindhoven in 2005.

More than four decades after its Geneva debut, the DAF 55 Siluro made a very rare public appearance at the Villa d'Este Concorso d'Eleganza, where the following photos were taken. Scroll down to check them all out.

By Dan Mihalascu