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Sunday, February 24, 2008

Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera

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With the Gallardo Superleggera, Lamborghini presents an uncompromisingly high-performance sports car. Thanks to 10 additional horsepower and a 154 lbs weight reduction, the new range-leading Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera offers even more excitement and driving pleasure.

The Superleggera also has the fastest acceleration in its class. It needs only 3.8 seconds to go from 0 to 62 mph; 0.2 seconds less than the basic model, and boasting speed and grit under other driving conditions.

The Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera is an extremely high-performance car: it includes a standard robotized mechanical ‘e-gear’ gearbox that guarantees shifting without removing hands from the steering wheel.

The car can be ordered through the dealer network starting March 2007. Production volumes will be restricted to lower numbers than the standard Gallardo.

The Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera’s engine is the latest version of Lamborghini’s well-known 5.0-liter V10. The increase in power (to 530 bhp) was made possible by the engine’s improved volumetric efficiency through reduced intake load losses and by exhaust backpressures, together with optimized electronic control.

Advanced Technology Helps Reduce Weight.
Lamborghini engineers decreased the Lamborghini Gallardo’s already low weight when empty by another 154 lbs using advanced materials and technologies.

The engine hood is made of visible carbon fiber and transparent polycarbonate, a type of material that guarantees lightness and also shows off the magnificent V10.

The rear diffuser and underbody covering, the rearview mirrors, door panels and the central tunnel’s covering are also made of carbon fiber. Further reductions in weight were achieved by replacing certain glass surfaces with transparent polycarbonate.

For the interior, monocoque carbon fiber sports seats covered in Alcantara were chosen to ensure restraint of the driver and passenger during the intense lateral accelerations that the Gallardo Superleggera is capable of achieving around curves.

Exclusive Options
A comprehensive specification and extensive range of options will be available, with some exclusive to the Superleggera. The Superleggera comes with robotized mechanical e-gear as standard; a sports package including shock absorbers; and special suede-covered steering wheel.

The car is available in four colors: Midas Yellow, Borealis Orange, Telesto Gray and Noctis Black. Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires (standard) on new Scorpius forged rims accentuate the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera.

A few of the options that can be requested include the multimedia system with navigator and CD-changer; a rear video camera to make parking easier (with optional rear wing only); a Carbon accessories kit for the interior; a fixed rear spoiler; a four-point seatbelt (not for USA); tubular rear frame or fitting points for later inclusion (not for USA, Japan or Middle East); and carbon-ceramic brakes.

Video Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera
Test Drive from Fifth Gear

Test on Top Speed - 340 km/h

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Ferrari 430 Scuderia

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The new Ferrari 430 Scuderia will join the road-going V8 line-up alongside the F430 coupe and the F430 Spider. The 430 Scuderia is a truly high-performance 2-seater berlinetta which demonstrates how Ferrari's Formula 1 know-how is carried across to its production cars.

The new model is a special series based on the F430 and is aimed specifically at Ferrari's most passionate and sports-driving oriented clients.

Development focused on light weight, minimum trimmings and innovative technology. All this to exalt the car's extremely high-performance and ability to thrill the driver.

The new car can count on an extremely low weight-to-power ratio of just 2.45 kg per bhp thanks to a low dry weight of just 2755 lb - 220 lb less than the F430 - and to the naturally-aspirated 4308cc V8's 510 bhp at 8500 rpm.

Superb performance both on and off the track is assured by a series of cutting-edge solutions. There is the latest software - F1 Superfast - which reduces gearchange times to just 60 milliseconds, and new traction control which, for the first time, combines the E-Diff electronic differential and the F1-Trac traction and stability control in a single integrated system.

Vehicle dynamics, control and performance thus represent the zenith of Ferrari's achievements in terms of developing road-certified sports cars.

The 430 Scuderia will be officially unveiled by Michael Schumacher at the IAA Motor Show in Frankfurt in September 2007.

Video Ferrari 430 Scuderia
Test Drive from Fifth Gear


Test Drive from Autocar

Drive....must see!!!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Audi R8

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The Audi R8, into which Audi has incorporated the name and the genes of the five-time Le Mans winner, is a spectacular sports car. Three years after the unveiling of the Audi Le Mans quattro concept car, the production version will be making its debut at the Paris Motor Show in the guise of the new Audi R8 mid-engined sports model.

It is a fascinating driving machine and the sporty pinnacle of the Audi brand. The mid-mounted 420 bhp V8 FSI engine, quattro permanent four-wheel drive and Audi Space Frame aluminum body form the basis for truly outstanding driving dynamics.

The Audi R8 will be available to order from 28 September 2006; first deliveries will be made in the first half of 2007.

As the first Audi mid-engined sports car, the Audi R8 combines Audi's experience gained from numerous motorsport triumphs with groundbreaking design and the acknowledged technological expertise of the brand.

This expertise has led to the slogan 'Vorsprung durch Technik' becoming a byword for leading-edge technology both on the race track and on the road.

Even at first glance, the caliber of the Audi R8 is plain to see. The car sits broad and squat on the road, the strongly accentuated rear end appearing to flex its muscles like a sprinter ready for the off.

The characteristic proportions of the vehicle are dictated by the location of the engine behind the cockpit. This layout is a typical feature of race cars.

One of the most striking examples of this design – and as such one of the legitimate antecedents of the Audi R8 – was, and still is, the Auto Union Type C Grand Prix car.

The central position of the engine is above all a boon to driving dynamics, as it allows for a weight distribution, as on the R8, of 44 percent to the front and 56 percent to the rear.

The car's body is highly compact in appearance. The front end and the gently curved roof arc are drawn in a sweeping line; a line which immediately marks the two-seater out as an Audi.

The side view also reveals familiar contours. The dynamic line above the wheel arches and the shoulder line interlink the front end, side and rear, imbue the doors and the transition to the side air vent with a strong presence, and even more emphatically highlight the typical Audi rounded wheel housings accommodating the big wheels.

The cabin of the Audi R8 is pushed far forward – a typical feature of a mid-engined sports car, and as such a visual cue linking it to the race car of the same name.

Behind the cabin, positioned in front of the rear axle, is the V8 FSI engine, a sculptured piece of engineering visible both through the large, shield-shaped rear window and from inside the car.

The full aluminum body is constructed in the Audi Space Frame (ASF) design. Its perfect synthesis of minimal weight and maximum rigidity provides the ideal foundation for optimum driving dynamics, as well as delivering an outstanding power-to-weight ratio of just 8.18 pounds per bhp.
Turbine-like power up to the highest rev ranges, a high maximum torque, all combined with a fascinating sound, are the characteristics of a perfect sports car engine. An engine that is fascinating both in terms of its enormous power potential and its suitability for everyday use.

In the high-revving 420 bhp eight-cylinder engine, the evolution of FSI petrol direct injection technology has reached a new high. This technology has also enjoyed many triumphs in the Audi R8 race car.

The Interior
The sporty interior is dominated by a totally driver-oriented cockpit architecture, integrating the driver between the dashboard and the high centre console.

The instrument panel above the console is angled slightly towards the driver. The flat-bottomed steering wheel is a typical feature of the sportiest Audi models, and also enables comfortable sports car entry and exit.

Form follows function: this design principle is implemented throughout the R8. Alongside the driver-oriented architecture, also reflected in the styling of the side window sills, the choice of materials also makes for a highly functional look and feel.

Looking around when in the driving seat makes one thing clear: just like in the R8 race car, the styling and placement of all the elements in the cockpit of this driving machine is focused on the essentials. The center point of everything is the driver.

The Power
The figures illustrate the outstanding potential of the eight-cylinder unit. At 7,800 rpm the 4.2-liter engine delivers 420 bhp of power output.
Peak torque is 317 lb-ft from 4,500 to 6,000 rpm. And no less than 90 per cent of this maximum torque is maintained consistently throughout a wide engine speed range from 3,500 all the way to 7,600 rpm.

As a result of these qualities, the eight-cylinder power unit provides maximum thrust in virtually any driving situation.

The performance figures are equally impressive: the R8 accelerates from a standstill to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and reaches a top speed of 187 mph.

Two transmissions are available: a manual 6-speed gearbox or optionally the Audi R tronic sequential-shift gearbox.

Here, too, the influence of the motorsport world is clearly evident, with a joystick gear-shift on the centre console and, most especially, the paddles mounted on the steering wheel, which are a long-established ergonomic feature in motorsport.

The best illustration of this is once again the Le Mans winning Audi R8, which also enables the driver to change gear on the steering wheel.

The Audi R8 is being built on a small-lot production line in a specially constructed new block at the Audi plant in Neckarsulm, Germany.

Video Audi R8