Automotive Car Info In World: October 2008

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Lamborghini Super Trofeo Gallardo LP560-4 Racing Series: 17 High-Res Photos

Lamborghini Super Trofeo Gallardo LP560-4 Racing Series: 17 High-Res

Following in the footsteps of its Porsche and Ferrari rivals, Lamborghini today announced the “Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo”, a one-make racing series that will kick off in May 2009 featuring a lightweight version of the Gallardo LP 560-4. For the record, Blancpain is a Swiss luxury watchmaker that will sponsor the race-series. The Italian firm intends to build a total of 30 cars that will be available for both individual drivers as well as Lamborghini dealer teams. However, one factory car will be reserved for celebrity ‘guest drivers’.

The Super Trofeo race car that will compete in the series is based on the Gallardo LP560-4 with power being provided by a lightly juiced up version of the standard model’s 5.2-litre V10 engine generating an extra 10HP for a total of 570HP which is channeled to all four wheels Lambo’s e.gear six-speed sequential gear box.

Weighing in at 1,300 kg or 2,870 lbs, the Super Trofeo Gallardo also features a reworked suspension, Pirelli slick tires, a specialist racing brake system and the necessary safety cage. The cockpit includes ultra-light racing seat, racing steering wheel and specialized instruments. According to Lamborghini, the Super Trofeo Gallardo and parts package is priced at €200,000 plus tax and entry fee.

The first competition of the 2009 provisional calendar will run on 3 May, 2009 at Silverstone Circuit in the UK, followed by Adria in Italy on 17 May; Nuremburg’s Norisring in Germany on 5 July; Spa in Belgium on 2 August; Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya in Spain on 20 September; and will end on 4 October in Monza, Italy.

>> MORE About Lamborghini Super Trofeo Gallardo

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Tesla Lifts the Skirt on 2011 Model-S All Electric Sedan

couple of weeks after Silicon Valley's famed electric carmaker Tesla Motors shocked us with the announcement that it's running low on cash and as a result, it had to lay off people and delay the presentation of its highly anticipated Model-S sports sedan until at least 2011, the company surprised us once again with the release of the first ever teaser shot of the four-door electric sedan. The man you see partially lifting the veil off the Model-S in the picture above is Tesla's recently hired design director Franz von Holzhausen who previously worked for Mazda North America and is considered to be responsible for the Japanese automaker's new look.

The teaser shot doesn't reveal any specific design details about the Model-S other than it will boast a carbon fiber diffuser integrated in the rear bumper. Speaking with Businessweek, Tesla's chief investor Elon Musk who recently took over as the company's CEO from Ze'ev Drori, said that the Model S will go up against cars like the Lexus GS 450h hybrid, the diesel Mercedes E-class, and the Chevrolet Volt "Our sedan will crush everything out there," Musk said.

Pagani Zonda R: New Renderings of €1.2 million Italian Supercar

While we've yet to see Horacio Pagani's Zonda R in road-going form, a new set of renderings featuring the €1.2 million (not including taxes...) supercar have made their way into the net. Even though the Zonda R looks very similar in appearance to the company's previous creation, the Zonda F, Pagani claims that the vehicle has been designed from ground up with only a mere 10% of the Zonda F components being carried over. It is also reported that Pagani has ditched its original plans to equip the Zonda R with a 750HP 7.3-liter V12 Mercedes-Benz AMG engine favouring instead a 6.0-liter V12 AMG unit with similar output and torque figures.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Baby Rolls Royce PR4 Spied in Dubai

We might call it the 'baby Rolls Royce', but truth is that there's nothing small about the British marque's forthcoming luxury sedan codenamed PR4 that was spied here on the streets of Dubai. Rolls Royce officially revealed its plans to introduce a new entry-level model in its range back in May when it released the first set of teaser sketches of the PR4 . Though smaller than the Phantom, the new Roller will be slightly larger than the BMW 7 Series with which it shares the same platform and other components.

Despite the fact that it is closely related to BMW's flagship model, sources inside the company have stated that the PR4 will get its own engine. However, since we find it hard to believe that the British brand will develop a brand new engine from ground up, we reckon that the PR4 will most likely get a modified version of an existing BMW powerplant.

The new PR4 is expected to make its world debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show next March with sales following in early 2010.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Honda NSX Based Ferrari 360 Modena Replica up for sale on eBay!

Why would someone go into all that hassle and spend so much money to convert a perfectly fine looking supercar like the Honda NSX (sold as the Acura NSX in the States) into a Ferrari 360 Modena replica is beyond us. To be honest, we thought that these things only happened to cars like the Toyota MR2 and the Pontiac Fiero. Between you and me, what would have really blown our minds is if it were the other way around, meaning a 360 Modena turned into an NSX replica. Now that would have been something worth talking about. But anyways

The Swiss seller of the Acurrari 360 Hondena claims that no expenses were spared during the transformation of the NSX into the Modena. But it gets even better. Here's an extract from the description of the vehicle on eBay:

"For this money you could get a real Ferrari. But everyone can buy a real Ferrari. This genuine Ferrari you can buy only once, as it is the only one in the world. The gasoline consumption is less than half of Ferrari with similar performance, maintenance costs are very much cheaper than Ferrari, and this car has the reliability of Honda ... ( Rust has no chance, in contrast to Ferrari ...)"

Yep, now we're totally convinced that we should spend more than €31,100 / $41,400 -which is the latest bid on eBay as we speak- to buy a vehicle that looks no different than every Tom's, Dick's and Harry's F(i)errari replica.>>MORE...cars-blog.co.cc

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Nissan GT-R in Matte Gold Finish Spotted in Dubai

We're not sure what to make about this Nissan GT-R that was scooped on the streets of Dubai; the lusterless gold paint scheme doesn't look bad but we're not exactly swept off

our feet by it either. Well, maybe you can check out the rest of the pics in our gallery after the jump and tell us what you think.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

BMW M1 (1978 - 1980)

BMW M1 Procar - Nürburgring race track (historical movie)

The Original BMW M1 at Nurburgring

- BMW created the BMW M1, their first and only mid-engined road car.

- The supercar are featured as supporting act prior to each grand prix race during late 70's.

- The BMW M1 is acknowledged as a superbly efficient and easily driveable road car.

- The Giugiaro styled glass fibre body made a perfect partner for the solid, reliable German engineering.

- Only 400 units of BMW M1 left hand drive were built.

- Has a Coupe body type with 2 doors and 2 seat.
- 6 cylinder 3453cc engine producing max power of 277bhp

- Accelerate from 0 mph to 60 mph in 5.4 Seconds

- Claimed top speed of 162 mph

Insecta Concept: Taiwanese Designer Gets Inspiration from Grasshoppers

Design inspiration can come from all around us: a lake, a statue, a tree or in the case of Shao Yung Yeh, even a grasshopper. The 22-year-old Taiwanese design student of the Cheng Kung University created the one-seater Insecta Concept during the 2007-2008 academic exchange with Kunsthochschule Berlin. The structure of the car is suppose to imitate an insect featuring among other things, leg-like suspension systems, which adjust the height of the car in different traffic situations. The Insecta is (theoretically) powered by four independent electric motors located inside a sphere system on each wheel.

Nissan GT-RR by Bulletproof Automotive

Nissan GT-RR is a 2nd vehicle that will be display at 2008 SEMA, jointly with Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, at Toyo Tires stand.

The car is made by Bulletproof Automotive and features endless monoblock 6 piston front-rear brakes, STT exhaust, latest carbon fibre accessories and latest set of BBS LM-DBK-P alloy wheels fixed with Proxes R888 tyres made by the Toyo Tires. SpeedVsLuxurious is proud to present this car information.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Elfin T5 Clubman Unveiled at AIMS

Elfin Sports Car’s T5 Clubman debuted at Australian International Motor Show. It is a follow up of their previous Type 3 Clubman model.

The T5 Clubman is designed by Adam Dean Smithand and Julian Quincey. They combined several design elements of the preceding models of Elfin. To build a sports car to suit for both the tracks and the public roads, the Elfin utilized 18-months to develop a latest model to offer enthusiasts ‘more attachment and convenience to energetic track and road speed.’

The new sports car features 2.0-liter turbocharged engine (also used in Pontiac Solstice GXP), generating 260 horsepower (194kW) and 259 lb-ft (351 Nm) of torque. Due to lighter engine, the new T5 provide considerably enhanced balance and managing compared to V8 powered T4 Clubman.

In addition, the T5 Clubman features power steering, traction control, 6-speed manual transmission, the anti-lock brakes and 700kg total mass.

The New Air Powered Car - AirPod

The new green car ‘AirPod‘ is coming soon in market. The AirPod is powered by compressed air that utilizes the electricity to force an air to power a piston of engine.

The green car will have 40 mph top speed. The AirPod can be refilled making use of regular air compressor. The AirPod will be offered in US by 2010 while Indian and Europeans will catch it sooner. No details about cost yet.

Lexus Bringing GS 460 by Five Axis to SEMA show

For its second appearance at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas Lexus has joined forces once again with tuning specialists Five Axis to prepare a tricked out GS 460 Sedan. The Japanese luxury automaker did not release any specific details, but as you can see in the teaser sketch above, the GS 460 by Five Axis will feature among other things, an aggressive bodykit with new bumpers, side sills and a set of 5-spoke alloy wheels.

Lexus SEMA booth on Tuesd

ay, November 4 will also host the Project IS F that returns to Las Vegas with a newly (and heavily) modified V8 engine bored and stroked to 5.75 liters filling the space under the hood as well as four unique IS F project cars created by Fox Marketing/Artisan Performance, Import Tuner Magazine/TEIN Suspension, 0-60 Magazine and MotorworldHype. Lexus will also display a special LX 570 created by ICON 4x4 Design.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Canadian Pre-Order Sales for 2010 Camaro start on Oct.16

A few days after the Camaro went officially on sale in the States , GM of Canada announced that starting Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008, Chevy dealers across the country will also begin accepting customer pre-orders. Production is scheduled to begin in February 2009 at GM's Oshawa, Ontario Car Assembly Plant, with dealership deliveries beginning immediately afterwards. Canadian pricing and specifications for the 2010 Camaro will be released in the following weeks, but just so you can get an idea, in the U.S. the sticker for the V6-powered LS starts at $22,995 US while the price for the V8-powered SS has been set at $30,995 U.S.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X Police Interceptor

We know most of you are smiling at this one, and we don't blame you. Revealed at last month's National Association of Police Fleet Managers' exhibition in the U.K., the cop-spec Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X will certainly grasp the attention of drivers even without the use of lights or a siren. And who knows, maybe an EVO X interceptor could actually help officers break the ice with speed-hungry youths by giving them a discussion point - we're trying to make a case for U.K. cops to convince their superiors that the EVO X would benefit their department... More pics after t

he jump.

Toyota UK Announces Spicy Pricing for the new iQ

Even though the first batch of iQs aren't scheduled to arrive in the U.K. before January 2009, Toyota has opened its order books to customers and simultaneously revealed pricing for its new minicar. It may be one of the smallest cars on the market measuring just 2.985 mm (117.5-in) in length, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for with its x-large price tag. On-the-road prices begin in the UK from £9,495 ($16,400 or €12,000) for the entry-level iQ 1.0 VVT-i manual and go all the way up to

£11,495 ($19,800 or €14,500) for the fully equipped iQ 2 with a CVT gearbox.

The slightly larger and undeniably better looking Fiat 500 starts from £9,500 for the base 1.2-liter model while Toyota's other minicar, the 3.4m long PSA Peugeot-Citroen co-developed Aygo, from £7,175.

Partially justifying its premium pricing, Toyota has packed its 3+1 seater city car with plenty of standard equipment. Available in two grades, iQ and iQ 2, both come with standard 15-inch alloys, heated

electrically adjustable door mirrors, air conditioning, six speaker audio system with auxiliary socket, nine airbags as standard - including world-first rear window airbag, ABS, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Vehicle Stability Control with steering assist (VSC+) and Traction Control (TRC).

The iQ 2 trim level adds high-gloss alloys, front fog lamps, automatic headlights and rain sensing wipers, smart entry and start system, electronically retractable exterior mirrors and climate control.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Hyundai Develops new 310HP V6 Lambda RS Engine

Hyundai has announced that it has developed a new high-performance V6 Lambda RS (Rear wheel drive Sports) engine which will see its first application in the Genesis Coupe to be launched in Korea this month followed in spring 2009 by the North American market. Based on the current Lambda V6 engine that was first introduced in 2004, the RS edition features a series of modifications which have increased power to a maximum of 310 HP at 6,300rpm and peak torque to 36.8kg/m at 4700rpm.

Comparatively, the current 3.8L V6 Lambda in the Genesis Sedan produces an output of 290 HP. According to Hyundai, due to the lower hood line of the Genesis Coupe the company's engineers had to shave 5cm or about 2 inches off the height of the original Lambda engine design, something that inevitably led to a major redesign of the intake and exhaust system.