Cars Delight

2008 SLR McLaren Roadster

2007-10-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

Klaus Nesser, CEO of Mercedes' Maybach and SLR divisions stood in front of a room, facing a gaggle of eager journalists waiting to hear the details on Mercedes-Benz's newest and most highly anticipated supercar, the 2008 SLR McLaren Roadster. He seemed to be searching for the right approach with which to begin his presentation. Then, as if having been struck by a moment of clarity, Nesser grinned and got right to the point. "Well, we took the top off." And with those words, we were introduced to the fastest convertible on the planet.

Built at McLaren's Woking, England facility, the new roadster, aside from its ability to drop its top, differs very slightly from its coupe counterpart. And that's the most important point Nesser intended to make. Mercedes wanted this roadster to be as close to the coupe as humanly possible. Both share virtually the same carbon fiber body structure, aside from the roadster's fixed rollbars and steel-reinforced A-pillars.

And just like the coupe, the roadster embodies the spirit of the SLR racers from the 1950s blended with the today's Formula One engineering. Demonstrative of this synergy is the fact that the roadster is assembled just fifty meters from where the F1 racecars are put together. Practically side-by-side.

Mercedes' decision to outfit the roadster with a fabric top makes good sense. Not only does it spare the car from the unnecessary weight of a heavy retractable hardtop, but it gives the roadster a classic, throwback feel - it even locks down manually. Made from a new ballistic-like material, the top is not completely soft; it has a harder squared-off section directly overhead to prevent it from ballooning at very high speeds. But its best feature is that it goes up and down in ten seconds flat, which will prove invaluable every time a mild spitting turns into a sudden downpour.

With an expected half million dollar sticker price - about a ten percent premium over the coupe - Mercedes claims to be offering more than just a car. "We're selling a lifestyle," Nesser proudly states. For five hundred grand, it's a lifestyle few will ever be lucky enough to get acquainted with.

But what really seems to be for sale here is pure, open-air exhilaration, brought to you by AMG's 5.4-liter supercharged V-8. Yielding 626 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque, this is the only Mercedes powerplant that actually breathes through the three-pointed star up front. It's tied to an AMG speedshift R five-speed automatic transmission. And with that, Benz claims a 0-to-60 time of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 208 miles per hour.

From our time spent on the Autobahn with the roadster, we have no doubt that these numbers are right on the mark. If this car shines anywhere, it's on long, open straightaways with no speed limit - which will certainly make it difficult to fully enjoy here in the States. But as we made our journey from Frankfurt to the hamlet of Geisenheim, there were those moments when the traffic in front seemed to just part like the Red Sea. Taking the cue as divine intervention, my right foot pressed down until it could go no more.

Letting out a raspy growl, the roadster rocketed toward the horizon. It wasn't long before the speedo's needle climbed past 300 kph, and stayed there for a good twenty seconds. The chassis felt glued to the road even at these speeds. The tires - 245/40 ZR 18s up front and 295/35 ZR 18s out back - became one with the road. The cockpit was exceptionally well-shielded from the wind, despite having the top down, and the SLR was so smooth and firmly planted that I actually felt relaxed. It wasn't until later, over dinner, that I broke out into a sweat - when I stopped to make the calculation from kilometers to miles per hour. 300 kph is 186 miles per hour. Yikes.

Now when it comes to normal motoring, the McLaren roadster proves to be a very different animal. Its handles corners with competency thanks in part to its front and rear double wishbone suspension, but doesn't deliver the elevated precision of many high-end sports cars. As far as slow speed maneuvering goes, the SLR is an absolute bear. Three-point turns are cumbersome due to its long front-end and wide turning radius. And very high-effort steering and limited visibility add to the overall difficulty when weaving through tight parking lots. Of course, since most SLR owners will never find themselves in parking lots, this will only be a source of frustration for disgruntled valet attendants.

Visually, the roadster's lines are every bit as wicked as the coupe's. Its shell looks like an exoskeleton with its ribcage-like air vents. And the side exhaust pipes are integrated just behind the front tires. The raised butterfly doors look even cooler when the top is down. You'll feel like a superhero getting into this thing, but climbing out is another story. It's difficult to look cool when you have to fight to exit a vehicle (I clumsily stumbled out and then looked around to see if anybody saw me). It's not as bad as the Lotus Exige, but it definitely takes some effort.

Inside the SLR, passengers find superb fit and finish. After all, this is a tremendously expensive automobile. But for its price tag, the interior does not engage you like you think it would. The racing-style cabin features a two-tone color scheme and unites such materials as carbon fiber, aluminum, and leather. But the sport bucket seats are not beyond anything found in the AMG performance car line-up. And aside from the McLaren badging, the gauges look common, as do the controls. The most attractive interior feature seems to be an old-style navigation system. It does not have a map display, but instead, straightforward "arrow indicators" that still do a fine job in keeping you from getting lost.

Mercedes has not released production numbers for this vehicle, but one thing is for certain: the model will be very limited in availability.
The SLR roadster is a lot of things. It's a status symbol. It's a supercar. It's also a lot of money - it'll cost the same as a pair of Lamborghini Gallardos. But in the end, it's something automotive enthusiasts have been salivating over for quite a few years: It's an SLR McLaren. And as Klaus Nesser will tell you, it's one with the top off.

Source- http://www.automobilemag.com

Volkswagen Up

2007-09-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

Volkswagen’s rear-engined up! concept previews a 21st century version of the peoples’ car. Volkswagen's up! concept aims to take the brand back to its roots.

Volkswagen has taken clear inspiration from its iconic Beetle in creating a new rear engine, rear-wheel drive concept car. Unveiled prior to the official start of the 2007 Frankfurt motor show was the new Volkswagen up! Called Volkswagen up!, the contemporary looking three-door hatchback points the way to an affordable new entry level model to be sold around the world from 2010.

The up! is part of a program aimed at seeing Volkswagen going back to its roots and concentrating its efforts on producing volume selling models with wide customer appeal.
That’s a dramatic turnaround after Volkswagen’s recent flirtation with the luxury car segment.
By opting for an unfashionable rear-engine/rear-wheel drive layout for its latest small car, Volkswagen is seeking to achieve dramatically reduced production costs and clear packaging advantages over the small car competition, the majority of which rely on a more conventional front-engine/front-wheel drive layout. The move is not without precedent, though. The smaller two seat Smart due to go on sale in North America early next year is also based around a rear-engine/rear-wheel drive design, leading to rumours in Frankfurt that parent company Mercedes-Benz may be interested in seeking a co-operation with Volkswagen on the development of a new small car platform for a possible four-seat Smart model. The up!, which Volkswagen chairman Martin Winterkorn hints could eventually be sold under the Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda brands as part of a concerted three-pronged attack on the small car ranks, was styled at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg headquarters in Germany under the leadership of Walter de Silva.

Well known for his transformation of the look of the Audi line-up in recent years, the talented Italian designer has given the up! a highly modern appearance with a clean and uncluttered look that is aimed at appeal to buyers of all ages and ensuring classless appeal. At the same time, he has also provided new interpretations of Volkswagen’s classic badgeplate, including one that sits under the clear plastic screen at the rear and lights up when the tail lamps are in operation.The up! is just 3450mm in length and 1630mm in width. Despite these compact dimensions, Volkswagen claims to have provided it with class leading interior space. By adopting a similar mechanical layout to the original Beetle (as opposed to today’s front-engine model) and positioning its engine and other components low down at the rear, VW’s latest concept provides accommodation for four adults along with a limited amount of cargo space under the stubby bonnet up front and over the engine at the rear.

Source- http://www.drive.com.au

Bugatti Veyron 16.4

2007-09-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

After four years of development, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, as it will now be called, is ready for series production. The most exclusive sports car of all time is following in the footsteps of the legendary Bugatti, those universally-coveted limousines and unbeatable racing cars of the 1920s and 1930s which today are among the most sought-after creations from the early days of automobile construction.This brings to an end the era of design models and concept cars which since the late 1990s have signposted possible paths to the Bugattis of the future. Design and technological concept have finally become reality in the Veyron model’s final form and will be available from the beginning of 2004 as a strictly limited edition of just 300 cars. Technologically futuristic and packed with creative engineering, the first Bugatti of the 21st century has arrived.

Merging the Past and the Future

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4’s home is in Molsheim-Dorlisheim, the French town where, almost 100 years ago, Ettore Bugatti began to realize his lifelong dream of being a car manufacturer. The new workshop is not just where the engine and vehicle are assembled and tested, it is also the place where customers collect their Bugattis and drive them out onto the streets for the first time.The aim is to turn Molsheim into an all-round Bugatti center once again. While up to 70 new vehicles a year are built by hand in the new facility, neighboring specially-equipped workshops are the scene of expert restoration work on historic Bugatti vehicles. Both past and future have found a new home here.

High Performance

The car’s safety systems have been designed to cope with its extraordinary performance, acceleration and speed. The single-piece carbon-fiber monocoque alone scores maximum points in crash tests, while airbags give the driver and passenger additional protection. The high-speed tires designed specially for the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 (for vmax. > 350 km/h), sizes 265-680 ZR500A (front) and 365-710 R540A (rear), incorporate a further innovative safety feature in the form of the PAX System fitted to the wheels and tires, ensuring safe handling even after sudden pressure loss. Another Bugatti Veyron 16.4 component with a safety element is the rear spoiler. As well as providing the necessary downforce during high-speed travel, it acts as a kind of ‘parachute brake’ during emergency braking. Once precisely-defined deceleration forces are registered the spoiler tilts and the additional air resistance this generates reduces the braking distance to that of a lorry.

The Art of the Machine

The W16 alloy engine developed by Bugatti for the Veyron 16.4 will have a special and absolutely unique place in the history of sports car construction. Its design employs the space-saving VR principle with two particularly slender eight-cylinder blocks arranged at a 90° angle to each other.1001 horsepower equip the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 with a level of acceleration unheard of in the sports car segment, propelling it from 0 to 62 mph in just 2.5 seconds and past the 200 mph mark in a mere 24 seconds. Thanks to its 923 lb-ft, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4’s enormous propulsive power is not exhausted until it reaches 252.3 mph (406 km/h): the maximum speed for which chassis and drive train have been designed. Any further performance escalation is limited by current design and construction.Also unique is the power transmission via an innovative directshift gearbox. Without any interruption in the power flow, the sequential seven-speed gearbox transmits the engine’s power to the wheels via permanent four-wheel drive. Put simply, this means uninterrupted acceleration from a standing start to maximum speed: a feeling previously known only to jet pilots.

Exclusive, Classical, Functional

Both exclusive and highly functional, the interior of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 will transport you to a world of your own. Superb leather, also two-tone if desired, quality metallic trim and beautifully designed and ergonomically laid-out controls characterize the Veyron cockpit.The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 instruments, with a large central rev counter surrounded by four smaller additional instruments also conjures up memories of the marque’s legendary motor sport past. The deliberate avoidance of superfluous instruments and modern extras are an unmistakable statement of the car’s uncompromising sportiness.Unchanged on the series version of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is the classical two-tone paintwork. The designers have selected five separate color combinations for the car: Each of the combinations features the bonnet, roof and rear in the darker of the two colors, with the sides and front wheel arches in the lighter color.

Source- http://www.rsportscars.com/

Lamborghini Reventon Revealed

2007-09-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

The Volkswagen Group threw a major shindig in Frankfurt earlier tonight at which it showed off all the new wares its introducing to the public at the Frankfurt show beginning tomorrow. The car that has assuredly generated the most heavy breathing is the holy-crap-that-thing's-effing-badass Lamborghini Reventon (click for Engadget's perspective). Named for the bull that killed toreador Felix Guzman in 1943, the Reventon is basically the ultimate Murcielago in all respects, including price. The super-limited (only twenty cars are being built) supercar costs a cool $1,000,000, and all of them are already sold. Power from its V12 is up around 20 horses over the regular Murcielago LP640, so you get a little extra juice for the added dough.

The Reventon's carbon fiber bodywork is all-new and aeronautically inspired. That explains the pointed beak up front that's flanked by a pair of gaping intakes that swallow air in gulps to cool the brakes. Given the look of the car, you could probably tell people they're feeding a Pratt & Whitney mounded aft of the passenger compartment and they'd believe you as long as you kept a straight face. In fact, the expected handbuilt V12 resides in that spot, proudly displayed under angled & vented glass panels that look like reptile scales from above.

Up front, Lambo combines LEDs and Xenon headlamps to create a lighting effect essentially equal to turning on the sun, and in back, the highly-styled taillamps are illuminated by specially developed heatproof LEDs. The cars are coated in a new paint color called Grey Barra that's unique to Reventon, and the black wheels are accented with carbon-fiber inserts.

Climbing in through the scissor doors reveals a cockpit awash in every expensive material imaginable -- leather, carbon fiber, Alcantara, etc. -- and highlighted by a digital configurable display in lieu of analog instrumentation. A modern, road-shaped readout on the left displays speed and engine revs. To its right, the driver looks at an airplane-style g-meter. If the Reventon's pilot is more comfortable with instrumentation that doesn't look like it could be used to assault the Death Star, he can switch the display to a traditional mode that features round gauges. The virtual needle on that virtual speedometer moves from the number 0 to the number 62 in a scant 3.4 seconds and doesn't stop moving until it hits the number 211.

Is the Reventon excessive? Yes, in every way. And if we had a million bucks to lay down on a car, we'd be looking to snag one, too. Lamborghini's press release follows below. For pictures of Monday's live reveal, head over to Straightline. We'll have our own live shots and impressions for you from our guys on the ground tomorrow.

Source- http://www.autoblog.com/

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2007-09-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

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Ferrari F430 Spyder

2007-09-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Ferrari F430 Spyder

Ferrari’s new drop-top includes a number of important technical features which give hints of the car’s F1 pedigree, starting with the innovative electronic differential (E-diff) - first developed by the racing division for the Scuderia’s all-conquering F1 cars – which improves traction and roadholding under all conditions. The Spider also features the steering wheel-mounted rotary switch, known to the Scuderia’s drivers as the ‘manettino’, which allows the car’s set-up to be adjusted easily and quickly.

Formula 1 is again the inspiration for the development of the company’s road cars. Designed by Pininfarina, the F430 Spider’s sinuous lines, in fact, were fine-tuned using state-of-the-art computer aerodynamics simulation programmes usually employed exclusively by the F1 team.

The F430 Spider’s shape is the result of lengthy testing and features a pronounced rear lip spoiler which is integrated into the end of the engine cover, new bigger rear air intakes that emphasise the car’s muscular stance, and a new rear valance that incorporates a diffuser of competition derivation. The engine itself is attractively set below a glass cover.

Just like the berlinetta, the new Spider incorporates two elliptical air intakes that feed the front radiators. The shape of the intakes is inspired by Ferrari’s racing cars from the 1961 season, especially the 156 F1 which Phil Hill drove to that year’s F1 Championship title. The spoiler that joins the two intakes at their bottom edge is highly effective in directing the central air flow towards the flat underbody.

The F430 Spider boasts a compact, fully automatic electric hood that allows the engine to be seen in all its glory at all times and which, once lowered, takes up relatively little space, despite the uncompromising central-rear engine layout.

The F430 Spider is powered by Ferrari’s new 490 hp, 4,308cc 90° V8 which is capable of pushing the car to a top speed of over 193 mph and covering the 0-62 mph sprint in just 4.1 seconds. This lightweight and highly compact power unit produces a specific output of 114 hp per litre with a weight-to-power ratio of 2.9 kg (6.4 lbs) per horsepower (dry weight).

Source - Ferrari