Latest
News
30 May,
2008
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Ferrari California: more info
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More
details emerge for Ferrari’s new California. These include new photos
showing a metallic blue California with its roof up and down. The
photos also show the interior with 2 tiny dog seats behind the front
seats, so Ferrari calls it 2+. Other details:
- Length: 4560mm
- Width: 1900mm
- Wheelbase: 2700mm
- Luggage capacity: 360 liters with roof up, 260
liters with roof down.
- Retractable roof closes in 14 seconds
- Aerodynamic design produces 70kg downforce at
200km/h
- Fuel consumption 21.4 mpg according to EU combined
cycle
However, Ferrari still holds many specifications. Expect it will
release bit by bit until the car makes world debut in Paris motor show
this autumn.
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26 May,
2008
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Renault Laguna Coupe
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Renault Laguna Coupe appeared in concept form in last September’s
Frankfurt motor show. After more than half a year, the production
version is finally unveiled. A glance at these pictures will find the
production car has lost a little the sportiness of the concept car,
blame to a higher roofline, smaller wheels and a less aggressive door
shape. Also, an additional intake is opened just under the leading edge
of bonnet, which damages the sleek appearance a little. The chromed
window frames do not help a sporty looks either.
Inside, the change from concept to production version is even larger,
as the latter actually shares the same dashboard with regular Laguna.
We expect it to be as roomy as Peugeot 407 Coupe.
Like the
concept car, Laguna Coupe offers some existing four-cylinder engines
from Laguna, such as 2.0 turbo petrol and 2.0 turbo diesel. On the top
of those are a pair of V6 engine. A Nissan 3.5-liter petrol V6 detuned
to 240 hp and 244 lbft, far short of the 300hp level of Nissan 350Z;
This makes another V6 –Renault’s new 3.0 V6 24V turbo diesel which
produces 235hp and 332 lbft – sounds more appealing. Both engines are
mated with a compulsory 6-speed automatic transmission, so apparently
this car is not designed for keen drivers.
The Laguna Coupe measures 4.64m long (-60mm compare with Laguna
5-door), 1.83m wide (+20mm) and 1.40m tall (-45mm). Its 2.69m wheelbase
is 65mm shorter than the 5-door. These sportier dimensions accompany
with 4-wheel steering system (as recently available to Laguna GT)
should sharpen its handling. Still, we won’t expect a large front-wheel
drive coupe using torsion-beam rear suspension to be really sporty.
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26 May, 2008
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| Industry News |
Toyota Prius sales
exceeds 1 million
Accumulative sales of Toyota Prius has passed the 1 million units mark
at the end of last month. The Prius was born in 1997 and was
exclusively sold in Japan until year 2000. During the 10 years, some
315,000 units were sold at its home market. However, its largest market
is North America, which consumed 592,000 units since 2000.
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24 May,
2008
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Aston V8 Vantage updated
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It doesn't matter if you fail to buy the limited edition V8 Vantage
N400, because from this Autumn Aston Martin will upgrade all V8 Vantage
models with more power, better fuel economy and sportier chassis
setting. Headline is the V8 engine, which is enlarged from 4.3 liters
to 4735 cc by means of 2mm larger bore and 5mm longer stroke. The
former is enabled by using thinner cylinder liners pressed into the
pre-machined engine block. New crankshaft has lighter counter weights
to improve engine response. Other improvements include a higher
efficiency lubrication system, new intake port & manifolds and
larger inlet valves. As a result, the V8 now pumps out 420 horsepower
instead of 380hp (or 400hp for N400). Max torque is 347 lb-ft, a vast
improvement from the previous 302 lb-ft. Aston claims top speed is
raised from 175 mph to 180 mph, while 0-60 mph acceleration is reduced
from 4.9 to 4.7 seconds. Such improvements seem conservative.
A new clutch and lighter flywheel reduce pedal effort and improve
throttle response. The "Sportshift" semi-automatic transmission is
benefited from modified software such that Comfort mode returns
smoother gearshift and Sport mode becomes more aggressive. It can also
hold a gear in corner (by detecting the steering wheel angle) and hold
a low gear during hill descent to facilitate engine braking. With
Sportshift gearbox and the torquer new engine, V8 Vantage now returns
13% lower fuel consumption and CO2 emission, brilliant.
At the chassis, suspensions have received stiffer springs (up 11% front
and 5% rear), revised upper damper mountings and bump stops and
standard low-friction Bilstein dampers. Steering feel and accuracy is
improved by revised steering geometry and a 22% stiffer bushings at
front lower suspension arms. New 19-inch alloy wheels complete the
chassis modifications.
In the cabin, a new center console constructed from die cast zinc alloy
with a graphite silver finish is introduced along with a glass engine
start button (replacing conventional key). Surprisingly, the exterior
of V8 Vantage hasn't change at all. However, considering how good it
looks already, we should have no complaints.
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14 May,
2008
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Spyker to be built by Lotus ?
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 C8
Aileron
Yesterday Lotus Engineering released a news which could be quite
embarrassing to Dutch sports car maker Spyker. In the press release,
Lotus said it has reached a deal with Spyker to supply suspensions,
chassis and steering components to the latter as well as to provide
design and engineering service for the future models of Spyker. It also
revealed that Lotus Engineering involved the development of Spyker’s
forthcoming model C8 Aileron and D8 Peking-to-Paris SUV in the past few
years. For your information, C8 Aileron is the re-engineered version of
the current C8 with a longer wheelbase and 40% stiffer chassis.
If you link this news with the financial trouble of Spyker, whose boss
Victor Muller is facing increasing pressure from investors, you might
come up with the impression that Spyker might stop producing cars by
its own and, instead, outsource major parts of the production (such as
chassis) to Lotus in UK. This could let it to cut a large portion of
its workforce (around 180 people now) and save a great deal of costs.
To Lotus, although making business with Spyker could be risky, it could
be used as an example to promote its engineering services to other car
makers which might be interested to outsource engineering and
production. Lotus wants more clients to employ its VVA (Versatile
Vehicle Architecture) platform, which will be used for its Eagle and
Esprit. No wonder the British company released this news.
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13 May,
2008
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Ferrari California unveiled !
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Ferrari has finally released the first pictures and brief details of
its new open-top GT, which was incorrectly described as "new Dino" by
many journalists. Called Ferrari California, the new car is actually an
American-oriented playboy-style GT. It is more luxurious and versatile
than existing Ferraris, and expected to be more expensive than F430, so
it is by no means a new Dino. The only link with Dino, as I could think
of, is that it is Ferrari's first new line of production model since
Dino - that was 40 years ago ! With the addition of California, Ferrari
will have 4 separate lines of production model (F430, California, 599
GTB and 612 Scaglietti) for the first time. Expect it will add 3,000
units of sales annually to Maranello, bringing total to around 10,000
units !
Like other Ferraris, the California has an aluminum spaceframe chassis
wrapped with aluminum bodywork. A V8 engine sits behind the front axle
(so-called "Front-mid-engined") and drives a rear-mounted transaxle to
achieve perfect balance. The 4.3-liter engine employs lightweight and
rev-enhanced flat crank like F430, as it shares the same engine block
with the latter. Ferrari's first direct injection system enables it to
claim CO2 emission at 310g/km, much better than F430's 420g/km. As the
intake tuning biases towards flexibility, maximum output is slightly
lower at 460 horsepower at 7500 rpm (490 hp / 8500 rpm for F430).
Torque figure is not released yet, but expect torque curve will be
flatter.
As a Ferrari's first, its transmission will be a 7-speed double-clutch
unit in order to provide seamless gearshifts that a comfortable GT
requires. The availability of 7 ratios helps not only reducing fuel
consumption, but also achieving 0-62 mph acceleration in less than 4
seconds, as Ferrari claims. Unusual for a Ferrari, the rear suspensions
gave up classic double-wishbones for a new multi-link setup, which
offers longer suspension travel hence more comfortable ride. As
surprising is that Brembo's ceramic brakes come as standard equipment.
As for electronics, it employs the excellent F1-Trac traction control
system from 599 GTB.
The Ferrari California will be luxuriously trimmed and well equipped in
the cabin. However, the most tempting to American customers is
Ferrari's first retractable metal roof system, likely to be
manufactured by CTS (Car Top System) which makes the roofs of F430
Spider and Opel Astra TwinTop. Another highlight will be its classic
styling, believed to be the last work of Frank Stephenson in
conjunction of Pininfarina. The car will make world debut in Paris
motor show this October, but I expect more technical details to come in
the next few weeks.
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3 May,
2008
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Nissan GT-R lapped Nurburgring in
7:29 !!!
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Last year Nissan GT-R lapped Nurburgring Nordschleife in 7:38, which
was 2 seconds quicker than Porsche 997 Turbo. However, that test was
not conducted under perfect conditions, as part of the circuit was wet.
Now after times of attempt, GT-R test driver Tochio Suzuki has finally
recorded what could be the ultimate result: 7:29 !!
So how fast is that ? Read the following figures:
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Lap time
|
Price (UK)
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| Pagani Zonda F |
7:27 |
£390,000 |
Porsche Carrera GT
|
7:28 |
£330,000 |
| Nissan GT-R |
7:29 |
£55,000 |
Porsche 997 GT2
|
7:32 |
£130,000 |
| Koenigsegg CCR |
7:34 |
£415,000 |
| Mercedes McLaren SLR 722 |
7:38 |
£340,000 |
| Porsche 997 Turbo |
7:40 |
£100,000 |
| Porsche 997 GT3 |
7:42 |
£80,000 |
| Chevrolet Corvette Z06 |
7:43 |
£62,000 |
| Lambo Gallardo Superleggera |
7:46 |
£150,000 |
| Ferrari 599 GTB |
7:47 |
£200,000 |
| Lambo Murcielago LP640 |
7:47 |
£200,000 |
In other words, the GT-R is easily the fastest production car in the
world. Most amazing is that it is just marginally slower than the
super-powerful and super-lightweight Zonda F and Carrera GT. This
proves the GT-R has superior handling to claw back the time it lost in
straight line.
The result makes the forthcoming V-spec version even more promising. It
will have more power (around 70hp more) and lighter weight (around 200
kg lighter). Tracksiders have already timed 7:25 for the development
car. Stay tune to hear even more stunning news.
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3 May,
2008
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Audi A3 facelift
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You have seen this new face in A3 Cabriolet. Now it becomes standard
for the whole A3 range. The more prominent nose means the overall
length has grown by 25 mm for the 3-door A3. The 5-door (“Sportback”)
has less changes, but now it is finally available in S3 form (also with
265hp 2.0 TFSI engine). Other engines remains unchanged, but smaller
engines (up to 1.8 TFSI) can be opted with new 7-speed dry-clutch DSG
gearbox. At the suspensions, the excellent magnetorheological adaptive
damping (from TT and R8) has been added as option for all models
including S3.
Above: S3 Sportback
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3 May, 2008
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| Industry News |
Corvette ZR1 rated
at 638 horsepower
The official SAE power rating of new Corvette ZR1 has been announced:
638 horsepower (up from the previously estimated 620 hp) and 604 lb-ft
of torque (up from 600 lb-ft). That will make it the most powerful
American production car, even more than the 600 hp Dodge Viper.
Bertone design
splits from manufacturing
As Bertone’s manufacturing operation (Carrozzeria Bertone) went into
receivership last year, the Bertone family has decided to split the
design studio (Stile Bertone) and run it as an independent company. It
will be managed by ex-Aprilia CEO Teresio Gaudio and concentrate on
production car design for emerging car makers like Chinese and Indian
car makers. In order to stop bleeding, its work force will be reduced
to 80, mainly by cutting the workers for prototype building.
Pininfarina gets
new shareholders
In order to raise 100 million Euros for new investment, Pininfarina
family is selling some of its stakes in their company to 3 new
shareholders, namely Piero Ferrari (son of Enzo Ferrari and has 10
percent stake in Ferrari), Alberto Bombassei (chairman of Brembo) and
Marsiaj family (owner of Italian seatbelt maker Sabelt). As a result,
Pininfarina's stake in the company will drop from the current 55
percent to around 30 percent. The money will be used to develop a small
electric car and produce it in its Italian plant. Production rate of
the car is planned to be 2,000 units in 2010 and rise to 15,000 units
per year from 2012. Seems like a risky plan. Good luck !
Ford bounces back
in Q1
After losing US$12.6 billion in 2006 and US$2.7 billion in 2007, Ford
finally bounces back. In the first quarter this year, it posted a net
profit of US$100 million, compare with a loss of US$282 million in the
same period last year. Revenue also improved slightly from US$43
billion to US$43.5 billion.
The improvement is mostly due to sharp reduction of loss in North
America (from $613 million to $45 million) and higher profit in Europe
(increased from $219 million to $739 million). Profit in South American
is also doubled (from $113 million to $257 million).
However, condition at Volvo got worse, whose loss widened from $94
million to $151 million, further highlighting the possible sale of the
Swedish car maker.
Mitsubishi
profitable last year
Mitsubishi recorded an operating profit close to US$1 billion last
fiscal year (ended March 31). Revenue increased by 22 percent to US$23
billion, while vehicle sales increased by 10 percent to 1.359 million
units.
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