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Automotive
The 1220 kg 800 bhp 2007 Gumpert Apollo
By Mike Hanlon
February 26, 2007 German manufacturer Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur is one of several new supercar makers to emerge in recent times. The first road car was shown at Geneva last year and a significantly revised version of the barely disguised racecar will emerge at this year’s Geneva show in early March. The EUR 295,500 (US$390,000) Gumpert apollo has an eight cylinder Biturbo Mittelmotor of Audi heritage that catapults the 1220 kg racecar from 0 to 100 km/h in only 3.00 seconds and with 800 bhp available, it accelerates very quickly to its 360 km/h top speed. The acceleration afforded by such a light vehicle and such a powerful motor is at the outer limits of current four-wheeled performance. Its power-to-weight ratio of 0.66 bhp/kilogram is bested by only a handful of cars – such as the Koenigsegg CCX (0.68) and the current world record holder for 0-100-0 mph, the Ultima GTR. That puts it ahead of the Pagani Zonda F, Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari Enzo, Saleen S7 and Porsche Carrera GT and for some perspective, the apollo is almost twice as good (each horsepower has half as much weight to move) as the the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Ford GT and Lamborghini Murcielago. Read More
Kia ex_cee’d Cabrio Concept
By Mike Hanlon
February 23, 2007 Kia will debut an all-new ex_cee’d cabrio concept car at the 77th Salon de l’Automobiles in Geneva in March. Based on the new three-door cee’d hatchback, due to go into production at the Zilina factory in Slovakia from December, the ex_cee’d shares the same platform, but features all-new exterior panels and a powered folding fabric roof. By adopting a fabric roof, the ex_cee’d deliberately goes its own retro way rather than following the trend towards cabrios with folding metal roofs. Kia’s new Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer paid special attention to designing a classic cabrio with a traditional soft-top roof: “I’m convinced that the fabric roof will have a renaissance. We’ve all lived with the romantic idea of open-air driving for a long time and for me, the fabric roof is the quintessential element of a truly rewarding cabrio.” Read More
The 345 km/h Porsche 911 Turbo TechArt GTstreet
By Mike Hanlon
February 23, 2007 German company TechArt Automobildesign has created one of the fastest and most powerful street-legal sports cars available which will see its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show 2007. The new TechArt Gtstreet is based on the 997 series Porsche 911 Turbo and has an extraordinarily powerful engine, having tweaked the 3.6-liter twin-turbo boxer engine to develop 630 hp / 463 kW at 6,800 rpm, up from standard 480 hp / 353 kW. Peak torque has been increased from 620 Nm to 820 Nm at 4,500 rpm, giving it a 0–100 km/h time of 3.2 seconds, 0–200 km/h of 10.9 seconds and a top speed of 345 km/h. The body kit for the TechArt GTstreet was created in the wind tunnel, and offers an optimal symbiosis of aerodynamic downforce, minimized drag and striking design. Read More
Maserati GranTurismo breaks cover
By Mike Hanlon
February 23, 2007 The new Pininfarina-styled Maserati GranTurismo will make its worldwide debut at the Geneva Motorshow, continuing a tradition begun sixty years ago when the Trident Company unveiled its first Gran Turismo, also designed by the great Pinin Farina, at the 1947 Geneva Motorshow. The A6 was the first Maserati road car and only 58 vehicles were produced, but it helped establish one of the great automotive marques. The new Maserati GranTurismo is a high-performance sports car with a 405 bhp 4.2 liter V8 engine, and a weight distribution of 49% at the front and 51% at the rear. Though it has an automatic gearbox, it is equipped with an adaptive control system which adjusts the gear-shifting mode to the driving style and the driving conditions. The Maserati GranTurismo is built with particular attention to comfort, choice of materials and details and with enough room for four people. Read More
Bulging bumper could speed journey to computerised carriageways
By Mike Hanlon
February 22, 2007 Investigations by engineers at The University of Manchester into an extendable car bumper could help speed along the arrival of computer-controlled motorways. A paper presented at the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress and Exhibition recently offers a glimpse of how a high-tech, environmentally-friendly and efficient motorway network could operate safely in the future. The vision is that vehicles would not be independently driven, but regulated and controlled via information beamed from transmitters at the side of the road. Cars would also communicate and co-operate with the vehicles around them to ensure a safe and fast journey for everyone. Read More
Rare Mazda Cosmo 110B Rotary Coupe
By Mike Hanlon
February 22, 2007 Old, rare and beautiful cars are not normally associated with the contemporary Japanese Automotive Industry, but as time moves on, we’ll see more cars such as this fully-restored 1969 Mazda Cosmo 110B Coupe hitting the auction block. One of just over 1,500 examples that were virtually hand-built between 1967 and 1972, the Cosmo Series II has a special place in Japanese automotive history as Mazda’s first true high performance rotary-engined coupe and hence the progenitor of the current RX8. The first Cosmo launched at the 1964 Tokyo Motor Show was the 110S, powered by a bi-rotor engine producing around 110hp and had a four speed gearbox. However the Series II introduced in July 1968 came with a longer wheelbase, a more powerful 130hp engine and five speed gearbox and was a serious performance car, capable of 190km/h and covering the standing 400 metres in around 15.8 seconds. Because of its collectibility and rarity, auctioneers Shannons expect the Cosmo to be sought after in the price range from AUD$96,000 (US$76,000) to AUD$116,000 (US$92,000) Read More
Ford sweeps Norway WRC and enlivens the title chase
By Mike Hanlon
February 19, 2007 With Sebastien Loeb’s almost total dominance in recent years, the World Rally Championship (WRC) has taken on a pall of inevitability, but as we all know, nothing lasts forever on the sporting field. Ford has been forging a dynasty of reliability and competitiveness at WRC level for decades, but had not won a manufacturers championship for 26 years until sheer weight of points finishes overcame Loeb and Citroen last year. This year the BP-Ford World Rally Team has started the season so well that it could be poised to challenge for the dirvers title in 2007 too. The team took a decisive lead in the WRC after dominating Rally Norway with the Focus RS World Rally Car to finish first and second yesterday. Mikko Hirvonen (driver first) and Jarmo Lehtinen (navigator second) led from start to finish to claim their second WRC victory, finishing 9.5sec ahead of team-mates and fellow Finns Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen. It was BP-Ford's second win in consecutive weeks after Gronholm triumphed in Sweden seven days ago and powered the reigning manufacturers' world champions into a 16 point lead after three of the 16 rounds. Gronholm moved to the head of the drivers' series, four points clear of Hirvonen. As always, the Scandinavian rounds with their spectacular yumps (high speeds on ice and snow with sudden dropaways lead to 100 mph flying cars) make for another awesome image library. Read More
Lotus Exige Police Car
By Mike Hanlon
February 16, 2007 Lotus Cars Australia has donated a special new recruit to the NSW Police Bankstown Local Area Command with the arrival of a high performance Lotus Exige. The lightweight, high performance Lotus Exige sports car will be used by Bankstown Local Area Command for a number of community policing roles over the next six months, including most importantly, helping to build better relations between police and local performance car enthusiasts and youth. The precedent for this co-operation with the police was set in the UK where Lotus forged a similar relationship with the Norfolk Constabulary lending the force a Lotus Elise to achieve similar goals. “Following the success of the co-operation with Norfolk Police we saw the chance to link up with NSW Police to help it achieve similar goals,” said Lotus’ Jon Stretton. “The Norfolk Police had similar challenges to Bankstown Local Area Command with performance car enthusiasts and in establishing stronger relations to help prevent unacceptable behaviour.” Read More
The plug-in hybrid carving three-wheeler from Venture
By Mike Hanlon
February 17, 2007 UPDATED IMAGES Venture Vehicles has formally announced in Los Angeles, the development of a revolutionary (not to mention very cool), 3-wheel, tilting, plug-in Hybrid vehicle under the working name VentureOne. It’s a two-passenger Hybrid vehicle that will get 100 mpg, accelerate from 0-60 in 6 seconds, will have a top speed of over 100 mph, while being priced at under US$20,000. In addition to the low-emission, flex-fuel Hybrid model, a zero-emission all-electric version is also being developed that will have an all-electric range of nearly 200 miles. A key feature of the VentureOne is the patented Dynamic Vehicle Control tilting technology from Dutch-based Carver Engineering that allows the body of the vehicle to actually tilt when going through turns while all three wheels maintain firm contact with the road. Carver already sells petrol-engined versions of the machine, and the Phiaro 3-wheeler is also closely based on the Carver. But a plug-in hybrid with a 200 mile electric range and sportscar performance is very enticing. Production is not scheduled until late 2008 and Venture Vehicles will initially offer two propulsion packages for the VentureOne: the hybrid E50 and Q100, and all-electric Venture EV model. The US$23,000 all-electric model will top the range while the E50 hybrid will sell for US$18,000 and the Q100 hybrid is expected to be priced under US$20,000. Read More
Rinspeed eXasis Concept Car: glass-free transparency
By Mike Hanlon
February 16, 2007 Swiss company Rinspeed’s innovation in automotive design has graced our pages many times, each concept car seeking to break the mould, explore new technologies and expand thinking about out primary conveyance, the automobile. His latest concept car designed and built in conjunction with Bayer MaterialScience, is drivable "glass" car with a completely transparent body and floor made of Makrolon. To be shown for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show, 40 years after Bayer presented the first "all-plastic car" in 1967 at the K67 Plastics Fair in Germany, the eXasis is a real eye-catcher with nothing to hide. The outer Makrolon shell, moulded by the Swiss firm Mecaplex and coated with a tinge of yellow by the German hard coatings specialist, KRD, reveals the vehicle's load-bearing aluminium chassis. The chassis looks as if it has been cut from a solid piece of material, and in fact the bulkheads are. Read More
Volvo starts project with hybrid-drive garbage vehicles
By Mike Hanlon
February 16, 2007 Volvo is to receive a SEK 9.8 million grant forom the Swedish Energy Agency in support of a hybrid technology development project for heavy vehicles. The project involves development and testing of hybrid technology in two garbage (refuse) collection trucks in Gothenburg and Stockholm. The aim of the project is to achieve fuel savings of up to 30%. Volvo has been working on research and development of hybrid technology for 20 years. Volvo’s tests and simulations show that hybrid drive for heavy vehicles is most suitable for vehicles forced during operations to make many starts and stops, such as buses, distribution trucks and refuse vehicles. In these cases, fuel savings can be up to 35%. Read More
FLUX wins Peugeot P.L.E.A.S.E. Design Competition
By Mike Hanlon
February 15, 2007 Driven by the desire to design a car that would give an enjoyable experience to each of its occupants, Mihai Panaitescu, a Romanian design student studying in Turin, created the Flux, the winning project in the fourth on-line Peugeot Design Competition. The runners up in second and third places were Njooy (Wesley Saikawa from Brazil, aged 27) and Allscape (Gustavo Ferrero from Venezuela, aged 29). At 20 years old, the youngest ever winner of the Peugeot Design Competition, Mihai submitted a project that fits in perfectly with its environment. The strength of the Peugeot Design competition has grown every time, and previous winners always create a lot of interest - the Moovie won in 2005, and created massive public interest when they built it. Read More
Horntones enables your car horn to play MP3s
By Mike Hanlon
February 14, 2007 We’re reserving judgement on this one, though it definitely deserves comment. Horntones is a Californian company which will begin selling its US$150 car horn customisation tool in April. Basically, it enables your car horn to play any sound file – music, voices, rude sounds, sirens … anything. You’ll also need to pony up the readies for an amplifier and the sounds are loaded to the unit via a USB flash drive. The Horntones unit can be installed in or sit atop the dash and holds eight sounds – more than enough to offend almost everybody, with the constabulary included no doubt. While we think that customising your car horn is kinda cool, we also think it’s kinda scarey that such tools can be sold to people without them undergoing an IQ test first - this device has the potential to cause uncertainty on the roads, or worse. Read More
Passat Bluemotion to debut at Geneva Motor Show
By Mike Hanlon
February 14, 2007 Volkswagen has released first details of the Passat BlueMotion ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show and is claiming that no other vehicle of its size consumes less fuel: the Passat BlueMotion saloon returns 55.4 mpg (5.1 litres per 100 km) and produces just 136 g/km of CO2. The first BlueMotion model was the Polo, launched in Germany in the mid-2006 which was such an immediate success its production figures have already been increased threefold. Read More
Dodge Demon Roadster Concept
By Mike Hanlon
February 14, 2007 To be shown for the first time at the 77th International Motor Show in Geneva next month, the Dodge Demon concept is a compact, nimble “roadster with an attitude,” a balance of classic sports car proportion and simplicity blended with modern design and performance. Pitched as an attainable dream car, the Dodge Demon is powered by a 2.4 litre 172 bhp engine driving through a six-speed manual transmission. Read More
Can-Am Spyder roadster: three wheeled motorcycle
By Mike Hanlon
February 20, 2007 BRP has unveiled its first "on-road" vehicle, the 2008 Can-Am Spyder roadster. This three-wheel vehicle, with two wheels in the front and one in the rear, offers a completely new and stunning look. Powered by a proven 990cc V Twin engine designed and manufactured by BRP-Rotax, Spyder roadster, with its unique Y-architecture, can be described as part motorcycle and part convertible sports car. Later this year twelve selected American states and four Canadian provinces will offer Can-Am Spyder roadsters through BRP's existing dealer network, followed by France and Spain in early 2008. BRP will then expand its Can-Am Spyder offer to more North American states, Canadian provinces, Europe and other countries, and expects to be present worldwide within three to four years. Read More
KTM's 700kg 300 bhp carbon fibre X-BOW roadster
By Mike Hanlon
February 12, 2007 Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM has consistently shown over 50 years that it can create fast, razor-sharp off-road motorcycles with qualities appreciated by the elite yet still evident to the ordinary rider. A better than average rider on a KTM steps up a class – from journeyman to expert, finding it’s possible to carry an extra few mph almost everywhere. There is nothing extraneous on the KTM – it’s uncompromisingly bare bones, just what you need to go fast. The company’s motorcycles have won world titles almost every year in every form of off-road competition, and apart from an ill-fated venture into MOTOGP, it has become competitive at everything it has attempted. The company went through a renaissance in 1992 courtesy of becoming insolvent, and the restructure conceived and built a framework for the future, forging a world class infrastructure to match its core expertise of designing and building no-nonsense, ready-to-race machinery. Over the last 15 years, the company’s average annual sales growth rate has been 21 percent with an even better growth in turnover of 25 percent. In that time, annual production has grown from 6000 to 85,000 bikes, the labour force has grown by a factor of ten and the Austrian marque is now the second largest motorcycle manufacturer in Europe. Its first ventures into roadgoing two-wheeled machinery such as the 950 Supermoto and 990 Adventure received global acclaim from the motorcycling press and sketches of a KTM Quad bike circulated last year. The company’s aspirations are seemingly a long way from fulfilled as it now intends to deliver the same purist, filterless riding experience to four wheels. The X-Bow is a four wheeled motorcycle track car for the road, air-conditioned to perfectly match ambient conditions – that is, when it rains, you get wet. Like most KTM fare, the X-Bow is ready-to-race – the suspension is designed to enable you to drive at ridiculous speeds safely. At less than ballistic speeds, it will be Spartan and uncompromisingly rigid. The sophisticated carbon fibre monocoque chassis probably weighs less than you do at around 70 kg, yet offers superb rigidity and safety. Built in cooperation with tradition-rich racing car specialist Dallara, the chassis is of an ilk currently reserved for use in Formula One and elite street sports cars. Through a new construction and production process, the development partners have created a method of mass producing the technology far more cost-efficiently than previously, cutting the traditional price from US$500,000 plus to less than US$100,000. The engine is a lightweight, compact four cylinder engine made of aluminium boasting the most modern engine technology: four valve technology, FSI direct fuel injection, high pressure injection valves, turbo charge, a smooth, adjustable intake camshaft and two balancer shafts. With this engine, the basic version of the KTM X-Bow will achieve 220 hp and a 0-100 km/h time under four seconds, but there will also be a version with 300 bhp at its disposal. All up, the car will weigh only about 700 kg. The EUR 40,000 basic version will make its first public appearance at the Geneva Motor Show next month and the first production run of 100 units will be available later this year. Read More
The most expensive new car ever sold in the USA
By Mike Hanlon
February 9, 2007 The first Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe destined for the USA has been bought at a charity auction for US$2 million, making it the most expensive new car ever sold in the USA. Rolls-Royce launched the new Phantom Drophead Coupé at the Detroit Motor Show last month. The hand made two-door, four-seat convertible combines the latest in lightweight aluminium technology and is one of the fastest open top four seaters in the world. All of the US$407,000 Drophead Coupés to be built in 2007 have already been sold. Read More
Zeroshift Automated Manual Transmission could be an automotive killer app
By Mike Hanlon
February 9, 2007 One of the most remarkable claims we’ve heard in a long time and it appears to be true – UK-based technology company Zeroshift has developed the killer app for automobiles – an ingeniously simple way of replacing synchromesh in a manual gearbox with a reliable, cheap-to-manufacture mechanism that allows completely seamless gearchanges. Whatsmore, the Zeroshift Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) changes gear faster than any other gearbox (gearchange time is, as the name suggests, zero) and provides improved acceleration, economy and emissions in any vehicle to which it is applied, be front wheel drive cars, rear wheel drive cars, four wheel drive, motorcycles or trucks. For road vehicles, extra refinement is available by combining gear shift actuation with a clutch, and the resultant system is claimed to be more efficient than Audi/VW’s DSG and a cost effective alternative to the traditional torque converter based automatic transmission. Viewed from a performance basis, the Zeroshift has another compelling attribute – it makes the same vehicle faster – when accelerating with a normal transmission, each up-shift requires the driver to cut the torque momentarily by lifting the gas pedal and dipping the clutch. Good drivers can do this very quickly but not as quick as the Zeroshift which enables the gas pedal to remain pressed firmly against the floor, without any torque interruption. Accordingly, if it takes 30ms for each gearchange, and you have 30 gear changes per lap for 60 laps, Zeroshift offers a 54 second advantage if all other factors are equal. There’s an SAE paper on the subject available here and a great article on datalogging during the development of the system here. Read More
International debuts Special Edition MXT Mega Image Pickup
By Mike Hanlon
February 9, 2007 International Truck and Engine is marking the 100th anniversary of its first truck (built in 1907 at McCormick Works in Chicago) by unleashing the ultimate image pickup truck. The International MXT Limited 4x4 pickup (Top Image) is being appropriately showcased at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show – in the same city it all began. Geared toward those who want to make a powerful statement and demand exclusivity, the International MXT provides an imposing presence on or off the road. The 300 bhp V8 engine produces 530 lb. ft. of torque and the unit is capable of towing just shy of eight tons. The MXT was originally displayed at the Chicago Auto Show in 2005 as a concept vehicle. Since then, it has undergone extensive engineering and testing to provide the comfort and amenities of a luxury interior within its behemoth exterior. The normal production version of the MXT (pictured at bottom) is also now available. Read More
Mazda Hakaze Concept Car: 4-seat coupe-style compact crossover SUV
By Mike Hanlon
February 8, 2007 Mazda will showcase its new Hakaze design concept at the 77th annual Geneva International Motor Show (Salon International de l’Auto de Geneve) next month, continuing its ‘Nagare’ design language lineage onwards from the Mazda Nagare and Mazda Ryuga which were revealed earlier this motor show season. Even when standing still, Hakaze seems to be effortlessly cutting through the air. The Hakaze is a four-seat coupe-style compact crossover SUV designed at Mazda’s European Design Centre and aimed at people in their thirties and forties who lead active, adventurous lifestyles. Read More
SAM Automotive Kiosk scans, analyzes and reports on your vehicle
By Mike Hanlon
February 8, 2007 It is indeed curious to think that your car collects and stores all sorts of data, but the analysis of that data is still largely the domain of the people you pay to look after your car. Now a new service threatens to redress the balance. Smart Auto Management SAM taps into a vehicle's On Board Diagnostic system (OBD) and prints an easy-to-understand report that reveals existing or pending problems. Motorists can save time and money by connecting their vehicle to a SAM self-service kiosk that provides vital information about their vehicle, instantly and affordably, allowing them to make smart choices about vehicle maintenance, vehicle safety and the purchase and sale of used cars. SAM taps into the On Board Diagnostic System of a 1996 or newer vehicle; scans and analyzes over 2,000 system codes pertaining to the engine, transmission, safety systems, body, chassis and more; and provides a printed report on the spot. In less than 10 minutes, for US$15, SAM scans a vehicle's On Board Diagnostic system, and prints a comprehensive report on the spot that identifies any existing or potential problems with the vehicle's engine, transmission, safety systems, body, chassis, and more. Read More
The world’s first horizontally-opposed turbo diesel engine
By Mike Hanlon
February 8, 2007 In 1896, when Karl Benz patented the first internal combustion engine, it had horizontally opposed pistons, and the flat boxermotor (the German term for flat engine) has been powering some of the world’s best known automobiles (Porsche, Volkswagen’s Beetle and Kombi f’rinstance), motorcycles (Honda’s Goldwing and BMW’s mainstay Boxer range) and aircraft (Lycoming and Continental) ever since. Japanese automotive company Subaru has used the boxer design almost exclusively and is now pioneering a new phase for horizontally opposed piston engines with the release of the world’s first horizontally-opposed turbo diesel engine. The Japanese all-wheel drive specialist will be displaying an entire drivetrain at the 77th Geneva International Motor Show next month. Read More
The Delica D:5 fuses minivan with SUV strength and 4WD
By Mike Hanlon
February 8, 2007 Mitsubishi has launched a fully redesigned Delica D:5 on the Japanese market - a minivan that delivers monobox roominess and utility together with high levels of performance and stability in on- and off-road driving. The 2.4-liter 4WD Delica D:5 went on sale at affiliated dealerships throughout Japan last week carrying a tax inclusive price tag ranging from 2,614,500 yen to 3,412,500 yen. Although classified as a monobox minivan, the Delica D:5 sports electronically-controlled 4WD and Active Stability Control (ASC) together with ample obstacle clearance angles and ride height to give it improved running performance and stability both on- and off-road. Other features that will instill a greater sense of safety and reassurance in its users include a new hoop-design "rib bone frame" body structure, a driver SRS knee airbag standard on all models, and plastic resin fender panels that are pliant and have superior shape recovery properties. Read More
The re-branded and re-engineered smart roadster
By Mike Hanlon
February 7, 2007 One of the most interesting new cars planned for 2007 is the re-branded and re-engineered smart roadster to be re-launched under the world-famous marque of AC (think the AC Cobra). Last year the oddly-named Project Kimber purchased the rights from Mercedes for the smart roadster and the latest news is that the engineering team will be headed by none other than world renowned Formula 1 and road car designer Professor Gordon Murray. Murray is best known for engineering the McLaren F1 road car (the fastest car in the world for several years) and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren but for the last three years, Murray has used a smart roadster coupe for his personal day-to-day transport. As a result, he not only brings to the project his extensive knowledge of design and engineering, but a unique understanding and experience of the core product. Murray’s team will include chief designer John Piper, formerly of Williams Grand Prix, Benetton and Reynard. Piper led the Visioneering team which supplied the engineering capabilities to JCB for the Dieselmax car which set a new diesel land speed record last year. The new car will be available in both normally-aspirated and turbocharged versions using the latest 1.0-litre, three-cylinder Mitsubishi engine running through a Getrag manual gearbox. Read More
Rex Alfie Lee
- November 9, 2009 @ 12:19 UTC
