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| Sep 19, 2009 |
| Hyundai's aggressive new Sonata |
 The 6th generation Hyundai Sonata, codenamed YF, has just launched at its home market. Hyundai sets an ambitious sales target of 450,000 cars annually, a figure most rivals will jealous. Most of the cars will be sold in the USA, while Korea and Europe will also take considerable portions. In Europe, it will be renamed to i40 following the company's new nonmenclature. The new Sonata adopts an adventurous styling theme dubbed "Fluidic Sculpture", which shapes it like a 4-door coupe. This profile is clearly influenced by Mercedes CLS and Volkswagen Passat CC, if not as elegant as them. Hyundai hopes the radical styling can lift its image above its dull-looking predecessor, as well as conventional rivals like Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.  The new car runs a 2795 mm wheelbase, 65 mm longer than the outgoing car. Despite that, its overall length and width gain a modest 20 mm and 5 mm respectively, while height is reduced by 5 mm. I expect improved legroom, if not headroom, for rear passengers. Pictures show that the interior is much more stylish and is built with much high quality than the past. It could lure many customers from its Japanese rivals. In the mechanical side, I am surprised to see the Sonata gives up its double-wishbone front suspensions for a pair of MacPherson struts. This could cause torque steer if a powerful V6 is introduced in the future. The rear suspensions remain to be multi-link setup. Like Genesis, the car now employs Amplitude Selective Dampers - a kind of mechanical adaptive dampers - to improve ride quality and handling.  At the moment, the Sonata offers only a 2.0-liter Theta II four-cylinder engine in Korea. It is equipped with dual variable valve timing and conventional multi-point injection. Rated output is an amazing 165 horsepower and 146 pound-foot of torque. Later on, there will be a direct injection 2.4-liter Theta II and a new V6. There are two choices for transmission - a 6-speed manual or a brand new 6-speed paddle-shift automatic.  The new Sonata reaffirms our observation in recent years: Hyundai is on the rise to become another automotive superpower, very much like what Toyota did in the past 20 years. |
| Sep 19, 2009 |
| Bugatti Galibier's clock: special function |
    These pictures tell you: if you can afford a million-dollar car but not a nice watch simultaneously, buy Bugatti 16C Galibier. |
| Sep 16, 2009 |
| Bugatti 16C Galibier |
 Bugatti has unveiled the 16C Galibier concept saloon to test the water. If public reaction is good, it will be developed into production model sometime around 2013, taking over the space left by Veyron. Details are scarce, although we know it is powered by a twin-supercharger version of the Veyron's 8-liter W16. Losing quad-turbo will obviously drop its horsepower, but anything north of 800hp and 200mph should be enough for a super saloon. The car is enclosed with polished aluminum front fenders and doors. The rest of the body is made of carbon-fiber. What constructs its chassis is unknown yet, but more likely to be an aluminum spaceframe in my opinion. Power from the W16 is channeled to all four wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission.  Personally I am not pleased with the exterior design of the concept. Its central spine, running from the roof to the tail and splitting the rear window, tries hard to imitate the classic Type 57SC Atlantic, as is the two-tone paint job. The chromed finish of doors and fenders is too flamboyant to me, while the two-piece, centrally hinged engine bonnet is gimmicky. The car's profile is not perfect, feeling too front-heavy. The front end has some nice details but it is somewhat out of sync with the simple and soft tail. The wheelbase looks too short for a luxury saloon, so I doubt how roomy its rear passenger compartment could be. The small rear doors don't help access.  If it really get the greenlight for production, you can expect a price of around £900,000, Bugatti said. That will be an awful lot of money for a performance saloon not much quicker than Porsche Panamera Turbo.  |
| Sep 16, 2009 |
| Lamborghini Reventon Roadster |
 Lamborghini Reventon has never caught my heart. What can be more absurd than selling a reskinned Murcielago for €1 million? The answer is Reventon Roadster, because Lamborghini is going to offer 15 units of this car at €1.1 million. Yes, the price premium alone will buy you a nice 911 Turbo ! The Roadster is powered by the latest iteration of the 6.5-liter V12, offering 670 horsepower like LP670-4 SV. Due to its less efficient aerodynamics, its top speed drops to 205 mph. 0-60 mph is claimed to be 3.3 seconds. That must be the slowest €1 million supercar in the world. At 1690 kg dry, the Roadster weighs just 25 kilograms more than the coupe. That sounds remarkable... until you know it gets no fabric roof at all. The extra weight comes mainly from two pop-up rollover protection bars and chassis reinforcement behind the rear seats.   |
| Sep 16, 2009 |
| Volkswagen Golf R replaces R32 |
 The call for environmental concern has killed the niche Golf R32 and ceased the application of VR6 engines in Volkswagen group's C-segment models. In place of VR6, the new Golf R employs a highly tuned 2.0TSI engine with direct injection and turbocharger. Pumping out 270 horsepower, it is slightly more than the recently released Scirocco R and Audi S3 (both offer 265hp but the same 258 lb-ft of torque as the Golf). The result is vastly improved fuel economy, up from 26 mpg to 33 mpg. Performance is also improved due to the 20 hp advantage over the old car. Now it takes 5.5 seconds to go from rest to 60 mph. In case of DSG gearbox is selected, the time is reduced further to 5.3 seconds. Both versions top a regulated terminal velocity of 155 mph.  As before, the Golf R is equipped with 4motion four-wheel drive system, lowered suspensions, stronger brakes, sportier tires and larger alloy wheels. We shall see whether it can give the more powerful Ford Focus RS a good fight. It had better to be so, otherwise it would be difficult to justify the premium price of £28,500. For your reference, the Ford starts from only £25,000. |
| Sep 16, 2009 |
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| Bentley Mulsanne trumps Rolls-Royce Ghost in torque, loses in horsepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  When Bentley released the first details of its new Mulsanne last month, it did not reveal its engine output figures. The same went for Rolls-Royce Ghost a few months back. Now their figures are finally available: the Bentley's heavily modified 6.75-liter turbocharged V8 will pump out 512 horsepower accompany with 752 pound-foot of torque, that is a bit more than the outgoing Arnage T (500hp / 738 lbft), if not Brooklands coupe (530hp / 774 lbft). Rolls-Royce Ghost will produce 570 horsepower and 575 lb-ft from its BMW-sourced 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12. Once again, the Bentley trumps its rival in terms of torque, but loses in the fight for horsepower. Interestingly, both cars will adopt ZF's new 8-speed automatic gearbox.
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| Sep 16, 2009 |
| Audi R8 Spyder |
 Given the polarity of open-top versions of Ferrari and Lamborghini, it is not surprising to see Audi joinning the market with R8 Spyder. More surprising, however, is that the car will be available with V10 engine only, skipping the entry-level V8. Nevertheless, don't rule out the possibilty of V8 in the future. The Spyder gets the usual chassis strengthening at sills, underfloor, bulkhead and windscreen pillar. Together with the 19-second power soft top, total weight gain is 100 kilograms over the equivalent coupe. Performance suffers just a little. Styling-wise, in my opinion the Spyder is better looking than the coupe, especially the stylish hood cover, chromed windscreen pillar and the loss of black side flaps.  |
| Sep 16, 2009 |
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| Aston Rapide production form released | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The production spec. Aston Martin Rapide has been unveiled. Below is the key technical data:
Compare with the 2+2 DB9, it is 290 mm longer and 190 kg heavier. The V12 is more powerful and torquier. However, hauling the 2-ton weight, performance is barely adequate.         |
| Sep 16, 2009 |
| Mini Roadster |
 Apart from the Mini Coupe we have reported, BMW is also going to produce Mini Roadster, the cabriolet version of the 2-seater Coupe. In place of the rear seats is a cross brace reinforcing the chassis and space for storing the manually-operated fabric roof. It shares the Coupe's fast windscreen, but the engine shown is the standard 175hp 1.6 turbo of Cooper S.  |
| Sep 16, 2009 |
| Volkswagen L1 - the 1-liter car |
 
The above pictures are taken from the my News Archive backup of April 2002. They showed Ferdinand Piech and Bernd Pischetsrieder drove to work by Volkswagen's first generation "1-Liter" experimental car. 7 years later, Volkswagen tried again with the second generation 1-Liter car called "L1". As you can see, its design and build quality is thoroughly upgraded. However, the basic configuration remains unchanged, i.e. a jet fighter-style 2-seat cockpit and a rear-mounted engine.  The sleek-looking L1 has a very low drag coefficient of 0.195. In addition to its narrow width (just 1200mm thanks to the special seating layout), CdA is only 0.199 m2. The chassis and body is constructed entirely from carbon-fiber reinforced plastic as Volkswagen claimed it has found ways to reduce its production cost to acceptable level. No wonder its kerb weight is only 380 kg. The power unit is a diesel hybrid, combining a 799cc twin-cylinder common-rail injection turbo diesel (basically half of the production 1.6 TDI engine), a small electric motor and Li-ion battery. The engine produces a maximum 39 hp, or 29 hp in eco mode. Max torque is 74 lb-ft. The electric motor is sandwiched between the engine and the 7-speed DSG gearbox. It produces an additional 14 hp and contribute to 40 percent of the total torque. Overall, the car can top 100 mph and accelerate from 0-62 mph in 14.3 seconds. EU combined fuel consumption is 1.38 liter per 100km (or 205 mpg). Not exactly a 1-liter car, but very close.  Will it see the light of production? Volkswagen is seeking to develop a production version in 2013. That's still 4 years away. Many things can changed between now and then. Just like our old pictures proved, nothing is impossible in Volkswagen group, including a retired-CEO-turned-chairman sacked his hand-picked successor. |
| Sep 10, 2009 |
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| Mercedes SLS AMG | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Since 2003, Mercedes-McLaren sold over 2,100 units of SLR, making it the highest selling supercar ever made. However, that figure still falls short of the 3,500 units originally planned. In usual way, the German blamed its British partner for the unsatisfactory sales result. They did not realize that McLaren and Gordon Murray had already done their best to offset the compromising components mandated by Sttutgart, such as the outdated supercharged 3-valve V8, the 5-speed automatic transmission and the exterior design approved well before McLaren put it into wind tunnel. They refused to admit their faults, kept saying they could do better if they took the project in-house. This voice was echoed by the AMG boss. As a result, the Anglo-German partnership broke up. AMG started developing SLS, the successor of SLR, while McLaren worked on its own MP4-12C supercar.  On September 8th, McLaren stunned the world by unveiling its car to the public. It will cost around £160,000-£170,000 when it goes on sale in 2011. In less than 24 hours, AMG responded with the release of its SLS. Costing an estimated £150,000, it will inevitably compete with the McLaren supercar as well as established rivals like Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, Porsche 911 GT2 and Audi R8 V10. However, I suppose most comparison will be drawn with the new McLaren. Now both companies are given full freedom to make their cars, which one will be better? This will be an interesting topic.  At the first glance, the SLS does not look like a proper supercar. This is because it has an ancient appearance that looks closer to the 1950s 300SL Gullwing than a modern supercar. It has a long long bonnet, followed by an upright windscreen and a small cockpit that sits near the rear axle. This profile speaks little about speed and aerodynamic efficiency. Moreover, its low, sloping tail clearly works againt the requirement for downforce, so it needs a pop-up rear spoiler to compensate. Modern aerodynamics usually shape supercars like wedges. In contrast, this car looks like a German sausage ! especially in red ! In terms art, the German car is clearly inferior to McLaren. What about engineering, i.e. the pride of German? It sounds more satisfying.  The SLS is well balanced with 47:53 weight distribution front to rear. This is easily understandable when you see its engineering drawing. First of all, the whole engine is mounted well behind the front axle (that explains why the bonnet is so long). Then the transaxle is mounted at the rear to counter balance the engine. Linking between them is a strong torque tube made of aluminum, inside which a lightweight carbon-fiber drive shaft is spinning at engine speed. It's no more revolutionary than every front-engined Ferrari or manual-gearbox Maserati, but this arrangement always work well to deliver excellent balance and low polar moment of inertia. Talking about the latter, I must point out that the gearbox of SLS is mounted just behind the rear axle, unlike the aforementioned Italian cars that put their gearbox before the rear axle. This mean the AMG layout is not yet optimized for polar moment of inertia.  The transmission itself is a dual-clutch 7-speed unit supplied by Getrag, so it is a close relative - if not the same - to the one employed by Ferrari California. The gearshift program is different to Ferrari's version, of course. In the AMG, it has so-called "Speedshift" and "Race start" mode, just like some other existing AMG models. Unlike the carbon-fiber-chassis McLaren, SLS AMG employs a more conventional aluminum spaceframe chassis. It is constructed from aluminum extrusions, castings and pressed sheets. The outer skin is again aluminum panels. Overall, the whole car weighs 1620 kg (DIN), compared to the 1300-1400 kg estimated for the McLaren. It is also much heavier than Ferrari 458 (1480 kg estimated) and Lambo LP560-4 (1500 kg). The only class contender heavier than it is... well, the outgoing SLR, which weighs between 1649 and 1693 kg. Oddly, some magazines claimed it 200 kg lighter than the SLR without looking at the figures !  Powering the car is again AMG's 6.3-liter V8. More precisely, it displaces 6208 cc. However, this version of the engine is given a new codename - M159 instead of M156 - because it received further enhancement. First of all, to lower its center of gravity it is converted to dry-sump lubrication. Secondly, its intake manifolds, intake ports and exhaust have been reworked to smoothen breathing. Thirdly, hotter camshafts and valve train are adopted. Lastly, lighter forged pistons are employed to cut weight. Overall, the engine weighs 206 kg - although my old figures said M156 is actually lighter at 199 kg. Sometimes don't believe everything manufacturers said.  With these modifications, the new engine has its output raised to 571 horsepower at 6800 rpm, 46 horsepower up from M156. Torque inches up 14 pound-foot to 479 lb-ft. The latter appears at 4750 rpm instead of 5200 rpm. The SLS claims 197 mph top speed and 0-60 mph taking 3.6 seconds (or 3.8 seconds for 0-100 km/h). This put it close to, but below the level of its rivals. For example, Ferrari claims 202 mph and 3.3 seconds for its new 458. I expect similar or even better figures for McLaren MP4-12C. Most worrying is that the SLS trails its predecessor, SLR 722 by 12 mph. This mean it won't replace the SLR as the fastest Mercedes in history.  However, I expect it will be stronger in handling than straight line performance. The car has a low center of gravity, long wheelbase and wide stance. Its all-round aluminum double-wishbone suspensions, specially developed tires and optional ceramic brakes should benefit handling as well. Most important, its 47:53 balance should be an inherent advantage to its heavily rear-biased mid-engined rivals. Whether its ride quality can match its handling is quite doubtful, because its suspensions are not offered with adaptive damping.  Like its predecessor, the cockpit of SLS is rather tight. The occupants sit close to the windscreen and are tightly surrounded by large transmission tunnel and high door sills. Fortunately, the gullwing doors, which open the roof as well, helps easing access to the cabin. Once on board, you will find the ambience quite enclosed, as the windows are small, and front view is hampered by a long bonnet. Besides, there is virtually no luggage space behind the seats. The cabin design is classical, a sharp contrast to the high-tech interpretation of McLaren MP4-12C. It tries to link back to the days of 300SL Gullwing.  To conclude it, I would say the Mercedes SLS AMG does not break any new ground or bring any surprises to us. Maybe it is too retro. Unfortunately, retro interpretation never works for supercars.
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| Sep 10, 2009 |
| iCentre: Gordon Murray's seating layout |
 The "revolutionary" seating layout of Gordon Murray's T.25 city has been revealed. This official drawing shows the car can seat 3, with the driver located centrally like McLaren F1. Frankly, I can't see anything revolutionary here, at least compared with our Gordan Murray T-25. |
| Sep 10, 2009 |
| Alfa Romeo Mito Multiair |
 Alfa Romeo has released its innovative Multiair engines in Mito. 3 Multiair units will be offered: - 1368cc normally aspirated, 105 hp and 96 lb-ft; - 1368cc light turbo, 135 hp and 133 lb-ft (152 lb-ft with overboost); - 1368cc big turbo, 170 hp and 170 lb-ft (184 lb-ft with overboost); Compare with the existing non-Multiair engines, the normally aspirated unit produces 10 more horsepower, while both turbocharged unit produces 15 hp more. This match the claims that Multiair can improve output by 10 percent. Besides, the highly flexible variable valve lift mechanism can cut fuel consumption by 10 percent. With the 170hp engine, the resultant Mito Cloverleaf will hit 136 mph and sprint from 0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds. This will be the hottest Mito you can buy until the much-delayed Mito GTA arrives. |
| Sep 10, 2009 |
| FIAT 500 in Ferrari |
 25 years ago, FIAT marketed its Uno Turbo i.e. as having Ferrari genes. Now the same marketing strategy applies to a special edition FIAT 500 called "Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari", whose pictures are shown below.  Predictably, the car is based on Abarth 500 SS, with its 1.4 turbo engine tuned to 180 horsepower (same as Abarth Grande Punto SS). Power transmits to a paddle-shift 6-speed automated manual gearbox. Stiffer suspensions, stronger Brembo brakes, 17-inch Ferrari-style lightweight alloy wheels and a few cosmetic tweaks complete the modifications. The car is said to be the work of Abarth and Ferrari's technicians.  |
| Sep 10, 2009 |
| Koenigsegg partners with Chinese |
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Beijing Auto's main business is a joint-venture with Hyundai to produce Elantra in China. If you have been to Beijing, you will find most of the taxis on the streets are produced by it. The company does not have its own R&D capability, so investing in Koenigsegg could give it access to the technology of Saab. Will General object to the sale ? |
| Sep 9, 2009 |
| McLaren MP4-12C |
 This could be one of the headlines of the year ! McLaren has unveiled its contender in the junior supercar league. This car will compete head to head with Ferrari 458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 in the price segment spanning from £125,000 to £175,000. CAR magazine and Autocar reported it to cost around £160,000 and £170,000 respectively. Some 1,000 cars are planned to be built annually from year 2011 in the elegant factory at Woking, England, the headquarters of McLaren Automotive. The new McLaren supercar is called MP4-12C. Interestingly, this name is even more closely related to its formula one root than the mighty F1 supercar. In fact, Mclaren used the label MP4/12 on its 1997 race car driven by Mika Hakkinen. What does MP4-12C mean? MP4 is the default designation of McLaren's race car since Ron Dennis' Project 4 team bought out McLaren in 1981. 12 is the performance index of this car - expect to see an MP4-10 and MP4-16 in the future. Finally, C refers to the carbon-fiber chassis it employs.  While its Ferrari and Lamborghini rivals employ aluminum spaceframe chassis, the McLaren has a more expensive carbon-fiber tub - after all, the maker of F1 and SLR had never manufactured a metal chassis. The tub is built in-house, of course, by the same facility manufacturing formula one chassis. Called MonoCell, the carbon-fiber tub is made in one piece, unlike conventional carbon-fiber chassis which are made in dozens of components bonded together. This save manufacturing time and cost significantly. McLaren said its production cost is just 7-8% of that of the previous F1 supercar ! The carbon-fiber tub provides direct mounting for the double-wishbone front suspensions. At the back, an aluminum engine subrame supports the powertrain and double-wishbones rear suspensions. Aluminum subframe is also presence up front, but it is used to provide crumple zone. For cost reasons, MP4-12C abandons the carbon-fiber crash structure pioneered by SLR.  Having learned from the mistake of the previous F1, which was made in loss, cost is a key factor in the development of the new car. McLaren set a cost limit to avoid pushing up its price beyond the level of its rivals. As a result, it decided to use SMC (sheet moulded compound) and aluminum instead of carbon-fiber to construct the body panels. Now let us turn to the exterior first. The design of MP4-12C is responsible by ex-Mini / FIAT / Ferrari designer Frank Stephenson. It is a subtle but handsome design. Not as aggressive as Ferrari 458 or Lambo Gallardo, because Stephenson prefers timeless and functional design. In my opinion, its appearance has a lot in common with Ascari KZ1. On the contrary, it has little family resemblance with F1, with the exception of the butterfly doors perhaps.  The most prominent feature of the car is the huge side air scoops. They draw air to cool the rear-mounted radiators. While Ferrari / Lambo / Porsche favour nose-mounted radiators (which maximize cooling and improve weight distribution), McLaren chose to place the radiators adjacent to the engine in order to save the weight and complexity of piping and fluid. Which configuration is better depends on your view point. A little bit disappointing though, McLaren has not released any weight figures yet. In fact, the technical specifications is yet to finalize because there is still one year before delivery. Prototypes are still undergoing extreme weather tests all over the world. Considering Ferrari 458 weighs 1480 kg wet, I estimate the McLaren will tip the scale between 1300 and 1400 kg. That is of course a lot heavier than the mighty F1, whose 1138 kg record will probably stand forever.  Now the biggest question is what engine it employs. Contrary to previous rumors - fortunately AutoZine wasted no time to report the guesstimations from so-called "insiders" - it is not an AMG V8, but a dedicated 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8. McLaren said it is built in-house, but I have some reservation about this, because Woking has never designed or built a single engine by itself, no matter road or race cars. It might just be easier to subcontract the development and casting/assembly of the engine outside. After all, Britain has plenty of engine consultants, such as Al Melling.  From the limited information released by McLaren, we know the V8 is a 90-degree flat crank design like Ferrari's V8, so it is not based on any existing production engines. It features dual variable valve timing, Nikasil cylinder wall coating and dry sump lubrication. Composite intake manifolds and cam covers help saving weight. With twin-turbochargers, McLaren believes the production engine will produce around 600 horsepower and 600 Nm (442 lb-ft) of torque. On the one hand, some 80 percent of the maximum torque will be available from 2000 rpm upward. On the other hand, the V8 can rev to as high as 8500 rpm. No performance figures have been given, but you can easily expect 200 mph+ and 0-60 mph in the low 3-second range.  Interestingly, McLaren claims the engine will deliver the highest power and torque to CO2 ratios in the world, despite of its lack of direct injection. The transmission is equally unique - an Italian Graziano-built 7-speed double-clutch transaxle. Gearshift is actuated by a pair of rocker switches mounted on the steering wheel. McLaren contributed its "Pre-Cog" technology to the transmission. When the driver half-press the gearshift switch, the transmission will energize the electohydraulic circuits to prepare for the next gearshift, so once the switch is fully pressed, gearshift can be made in lightning speed.  Another special feature is the suspension's variable damping. Revolutionary to sportscars, MP4-12C abandons conventional anti-roll bars and employs suspension dampers hydraulically interconnected each other - much in the same way as Citroen's Hydractive suspensions. By releasing or limiting the hydraulic flow, it can vary damping rates and roll resistance. As a result, the suspension can provide normal / sport / high-performance mode for the driver to select. The steering is electrohydraulic-assisted, sharing the same pump with the variable suspension to save weight. Braking is provided by dual-cast disc brakes, whose aluminum hubs save 2 kg per corner. Ceramic brakes will be offered as option, but they will be actually heavier than the standard brakes.  The "airbrake" also assists braking from high speed. Like McLaren F1, its rear spoiler can raise to increase drag and counter-balance nose dive. The car will not employ limited slip differential as it is equipped with "Brake Steer", a technology it claims to be transferred from the 1997 MP4/12 race car. What is it ? basically, it utilizes braking at the inside rear wheel to counter understeer. Nice name it might be, I would simply call it ESP. McLaren stresses that its handling will be benefited by its lightweight and compact size. It will be much narrower than its rivals. This is made possible with a snug cockpit. Its design owes very much to Porsche Carrera GT, but more sophistcated thanks to a 7-inch touch screen on the floating console. All controls are positioned close to the driver. The two occupants sit very close to each other. The foot well is barely wide enough for two pedals.  McLaren said this car takes no parts from other cars. Every component is bespoke. If so, then I would say the price tag of £160,000 or £170,000 will be a bargain.  As aforementioned, MP4-12C will be only the beginning. In the next few years, McLaren Automotive will launch two more models, one position lower than this car and will rival the likes of 911 Turbo, another will compete in the ultimate supercar league. Its total production volume is projected to be 4,000 cars. Hopefully by then it will become an established sports car maker like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston. |
| Sep 9, 2009 |
| More pictures of MP4-12C |
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