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Sunday, September 21, 2008

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Thursday, September 18, 2008

Porsche Cayman (Porsche 987c)

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S P E C I F I C A T I O N S
Manufacturer : Porsche
Production : 2005 -
Assembly : Uusikaupunki, Finland (Valmet Automotive)
Predecessor : Porsche 968
Class : Sports car
Body Style : 2-door coupe
Layout : RMR layout
Engine : 2.7 L flat-6, 245 hp (183 kW), 3.4 L flat-6, 295 hp (220 kW)
Transmission : 5-speed automatic, 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual
Wheelbase : 2416 mm (95.1 in)
Width : 1801 mm (70.9 in)
Length : 4372 mm (172.1 in)
Height : 1305 mm (51.4 in)
Curb weight : 1340 kg (2954 lb)
Price (est) : $69,900
Designer : Pinky Lai

General Information
The Porsche Cayman is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive 2-seat sports car produced by Porsche AG of Germany. First launched in the 2006 model year , the Cayman is a coupé derived from Porsche's second generation Boxster convertible. Like the Boxster, the Cayman is assembled in Finland for Porsche by Valmet Automotive. Porsche's Deputy Chairman, Holger P. Harter confirmed that their contract with Valmet Automotive will end 2012, and Cayman's production will be outsourced to Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik of Granz, Austria. (Panorama, 2008).

After two years of development, the first model of the coupé to be released was the Cayman S (type 987.120). Photographs and technical details were released in May 2005, but the public unveiling did not take place until the September Frankfurt Motor Show. The S suffix (an acronym for Sport or Special) indicated that this was a higher performance version of a then unreleased normal model. That model, the Cayman (987.110), went on sale in July 2006. A motorsport-tuned model, the Cayman RS, is rumored to have been tested at the Nürburgring that same year.

The Cayman coupé (project 987c) and the second generation Boxster convertible (project 987) share the same mid-engined platform and many components, including the front fenders and trunk lid, side doors, headlights, tailights and forward portion of the interior. The design of the Cayman's body incorporates styling cues from two classic Porsches; the 550 Coupé and the 904 Coupé. Unlike the Boxster, the Cayman has a large hatchback for access to luggage areas on top and in back of the engine cover. The suspension design is fundamentally the same as that of the Boxster, but features revised settings appropriate to the increase in chassis stiffness resulting from the Cayman's fixed roof.

The 3.4 litre flat-6 boxer engine (M97.21) in the Cayman S is derived from the 3.2 litre powerplant (M96.26) that was used in the Boxster S, but features cylinder heads from the Porsche 997 S's 3.8 litre motor (M97.01) which have the VarioCam Plus inlet valve timing and lift system. A less powerful but more fuel efficient version, the 2.7 litre M97.20, powers the base model. The use of these new powerplants exclusively in Caymans ended in MY 2007 when Porsche upgraded the the Boxster (987.310) and Boxster S (987.320).


A 5-speed manual transaxle is standard on the normal Cayman (G87.01), while a 6-speed manual (Getrag 466) is the default for the S (G87.21) and an option on the normal (A87.20). An electronically controlled 5-speed automatic transaxle (Tiptronic) is also available on the S (A87.21) and the non-S version (A87.02). Other options include active shock absorbers (ThyssenKrupp Bilstein GmbH's DampTronic, rebadged as PASM by Porsche), ceramic disc brakes (PCCB), xenon headlights (Hella's Bi-Xenon) and an electronically controlled sport mode (Sport Chrono Package).

Cayman S Porsche Design Edition 1
It is a model designed by Porsche Design, commemorating 35th anniversary of Porsche Design. The all black car features black leather and Alcantara upholstery, black center console, dashboard, and door trims, black Alcantara steering wheel, the gear lever, the handbrake grip, and the roof lining, standard Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), 19-inch 911 Turbo wheels with 235/35 ZR 19 front and 265/35 ZR 19 rear tires. Body is lowered by 10mm. Standard equipment includes an elegant briefcase containing the Flat Six Chronograph, a pocket knife, a pair of sunglasses, a pen, and a key ring – all in black, even the knife blade. 777 vehicles were produced as 2008 models. It went on sale on November 2007 in Germany, followed by the US in January 2008. Base price is 58,600 Euros.

Cayman S Sport
Porsche also announced the production of limited Cayman S Sport, to be available on October 2008 as 2009 model. It features freer-flowing exhaust, which raises power from 295 hp at 6250 rpm to 303 hp at an identical 6250 rpm. Cayman S Sport comes in Bright Orange or Shining Green from Porsche 911 GT3 RS, or in Carrera White, Speed Yellow, or Guards Red, as well as Black and Arctic Silver. The Cayman S has striping on the sides, black 19-inch wheels, as well as an alcantara steering wheel directly from the 911 GT3 RS. The instrumentation loses its hood. Body is lowered by 0.4 inches, and the performance exhaust system is louder. 700 are to be made for worldwide market, with 100 for the U.S. and Canada. It cost $69,900 USD.

The performance of the Cayman S approaches that of Porsche's flagship sports car, the 911 Carrera. Rally legend Walter Röhrl lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife track in a Cayman S equipped with optional 19" wheels, PCCB, and PASM in a time of 8 minutes, 11 seconds. The time for a standard Cayman S, as published by the manufacturer, was 8 minutes, 20 seconds. In contrast, Röhrl recorded 8 minutes, 15 seconds in a 911 Carrera. The similarity in performance between the two cars has led to speculation about whether the Cayman S will cannibalize sales of the Carrera, as the basic Carrera's recommended retail price in the United States is $12,400 higher than that of the Cayman S.

A Cayman prepared and run by privateers Jürgen and Uwe Alzen finished fourth overall (of 220 entrants) in the 2007 Nürburgring 24 Hour race, ahead of two flagship Porsche 997 GT3 RSR's, a 997 GT3 Cup, and a 996 GT3 Cup. Another two privateer Caymans, entered by CSR and MSpeed, finished 22nd and 117th overall, respectively. Porsche disclaims support for the Cayman teams, while supporting some or all of the 997 teams.

A sports car feature which is not offered by Porsche for the Cayman is limited slip differential (LSD). Some commentators have speculated that LSD is not offered, even as an option, because the Cayman S's performance would then be too close to that of the 911 Carrera (see Crippleware). Several tuning companies offer Cayman buyers the ability to retrofit an LSD. Also the biggest engine (3.8l) or the turbo engine is not available in the Cayman.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Bugatti Veyron 16.4

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S P E C I F I C A T I O N S
Manufacturer : Bugatti Automobiles SAS
Production : 2005 - present
Assembly : Molsheim, Alsace, France
Predecessor : Bugatti EB110
Body Style : 2-door coupe
Layout : Mid-engine, four-wheel drive
Engine : 8.0 L quad-turbocharged W16
Transmission : 7-speed Direct-Shift Gearbox sequential manual
Wheelbase : 2710 mm (106.7 in)
Width : 1998 mm (78.7 in)
Height : 1204 mm (47.4 in)
Curb weight : 1888 kg (4162.3 lb)
Fuel capacity : 100 L (22.0 imp gal/26.4 US gal)
Price (est) : $1,000,000 - $2,000,000
Designer : Hartmut Warkuss, and Jozef Kabaň

General Information
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car produced by Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen AG) (VWAG) subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS introduced in 2005. It is the second fastest production car in the world, behind the SSC Ultimate Aero TT.

Powered by a 736 kilowatts (1,001 PS/987 hp) W16 engine, it is able to achieve an average top speed of 408.47 km/h (253.81 mph).[5] The car reached full production in September 2005, and is handcrafted in a factory Volkswagen built near the former Bugatti headquarters in Château St Jean in Molsheim (Alsace, France). It is named after French racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm. Two examples of the Veyron are known to have been wrecked since production began.

Development of this vehicle began with the 1999 EB 18/4 "Veyron" concept car which itself had a chassis based on that of the Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept car. Introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show, it was similar in design and appearance to the final Veyron production car. One major difference was the EB 18/4's use of a W18 engine with three banks of six cylinders. The Veyron's head designer was Hartmut Warkuss with exterior designed by Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen rather than Giorgetto Giugiaro of ItalDesign who had handled the three prior Bugatti concepts too.

Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piëch announced the production Veyron at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show. It was promised to be the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car in history. Instead of the W18, the production model would use a VR6/WR8-style W16 engine. First seen in the 1999 Bentley Hunaudieres concept car, the W16 would get four turbochargers, producing a quoted (metric) 1001 horsepower (see engine section for details on the power output). Top speed was promised at 407 km/h (253 mph), and pricing was announced at €1 million.

Development continued throughout 2001 and the EB 16/4 Veyron was promoted to "advanced concept" status. In late 2001, Bugatti announced that the car, officially called the "Bugatti Veyron 16.4", would go into production in 2003. The car, however, experienced significant problems during development. Achieving the required high-speed stability was difficult - one prototype was destroyed in a crash and another spun out during a public demonstration at the Monterey Historics event in Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. Production of the Veyron was delayed pending resolution of these and other issues.
A silver and black pre-production Veyron on display at the 2004 Paris Motor Show.
A silver and black pre-production Veyron on display at the 2004 Paris Motor Show.

Piëch retired that year as chairman of the Volkswagen Group and was replaced by Bernd Pischetsrieder. The new chairman promptly sent the Veyron back to the drawing board for major revisions. Neumann was replaced as Bugatti president by Thomas Bscher in December 2003, and substantial modifications were made to the Veyron under the guidance of former VW engineer, Bugatti Engineering head Wolfgang Schreiber.

Each Veyron is being sold for €1,100,000 (net price without taxes), prices vary by exchange rates and local taxes (like value added taxes). Prices for the UK or the US are over £800,000, or around $2,000,000.

The Veyron features a W16 engine—16 cylinders in 4 banks of 4 cylinders, or the equivalent of two narrow-angle V8 engines mated in a "W" configuration. Each cylinder has 4 valves for a total of 64, but the narrow V8 configuration allows two camshafts to drive two banks of cylinders so only 4 camshafts are needed. The engine is fed by four turbochargers and displaces 8.0 L (7,993 cc/488 in³) with a square 86 mm (3.4 in) by 86 mm (3.4 in) bore and stroke.

Putting this power to the ground is a dual-clutch Direct-Shift Gearbox computer-controlled manual transmission with 7 gear ratios via shifter paddles behind the steering wheel boasting an <150 ms shift time, designed and manufactured by Ricardo of England. The Veyron can be driven by full automatic transmission. The Veyron also features full-time four-wheel drive based on the Haldex Traction system. It uses special Michelin run-flat tires designed specifically for the Veyron to accommodate the vehicle's top speed. Curb weight is estimated at 1,888 kg (4,160 lb). This gives the car a power to weight ratio of 529 bhp/ton.

The car's wheelbase is 2710 mm (106.7 in). Overall length is 4462 mm (175.7 in). It measures 1998 mm (78.7 in) wide and 1204 mm (47.4 in) tall.
The Veyron's hydraulic spoiler.
The Veyron's hydraulic spoiler.

The Bugatti Veyron has a total of 10 radiators.

* 3 radiators for the engine cooling system.
* 1 heat exchanger for the air-to-liquid intercoolers.
* 2 for the air conditioning system.
* 1 transmission oil radiator.
* 1 differential oil radiator.
* 1 engine oil radiator.
* 1 hydraulic oil radiator for the spoiler

Top speed was initially promised to be 407 km/h (253 mph) but test versions were unstable at that speed, forcing a redesign of the aerodynamics. In May, 2005, a prototype Veyron tested at a Volkswagen track near Wolfsburg, Germany recorded an electronically limited top speed of 400 km/h (249 mph). In October 2005, Car and Driver magazine's editor Csaba Csere test drove the final production version of the Veyron for the November 2005 issue. This test, at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track, reached a top speed of 407.5 km/h (253.2 mph). The top speed was verified once again by James May on Top Gear, again at Volkswagen's private test track, when the car hit 407.9 km/h (253.5 mph), which equated to precisely one-third of the speed of sound at sea level. When getting close to the top speed during the test he said that "the tires will only last for about fifteen minutes, but it's okay because the fuel runs out in twelve minutes." He also gave an indication of the power requirements, at constant 250 km/h (155 mph) the Veyron is using approximately 270 to 280 horsepower (200 to 210 kW), but to get to its rated 407 km/h (253 mph) top speed required far more from the engine.

Aerodynamic friction or drag is proportional to the square of the speed; for example doubling speed quadruples drag. Work is a product of force applied over a distance travelled. Comparing a vehicle travelling at 100 mph (160 km/h) with one travelling at 200 mph (320 km/h), over a given period of time (e.g. 1 second), the faster vehicle must overcome 4 times the aerodynamic drag, and travel twice the distance of the slower one. Thus it does 8 times the work of the slower vehicle in that period of time. As power is work done / time taken it follows that the faster vehicle, travelling at twice the speed requires 8 times the power of the slower one. German inspection officials recorded an average top speed of 408.47 km/h (253.8 mph) during test sessions on the Ehra Lessien test track on 2005-04-19.

The car's everyday top speed is listed at 375 km/h (233 mph). When the car reaches 220 km/h (137 mph), hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about 8.9 cm (3½ inches). At the same time, the wing and spoiler deploy. This is the "handling mode", in which the wing helps provide 3425 newtons (770 pounds) of downforce, holding the car to the road. The driver must, using a special key (the "Top Speed Key"), toggle the lock to the left of his seat in order to attain the maximum (average) speed of 407 km/h (253 mph). The key functions only when the vehicle is at a stop when a checklist then establishes whether the car—and its driver—are ready to enable 'top speed' mode. If all systems are go, the rear spoiler retracts, the front air diffusers close and the ground clearance, normally 12.5 cm (4.9 inches), drops to 6.5 cm (2.6 inches).

The Veyron has the greatest acceleration of any production car to date, reaching 60 mph (97 km/h) from a standstill in 2.46 seconds. It reaches 100 km/h (62 mph) in approximately 2.5 seconds, which equates to an average acceleration of around 1.18 g. The car is greatly aided in achieving such impressive times by the presence of a four-wheel drive system that permits the transmission of such large amounts of power in the initial stages of acceleration.

The forward acceleration in a Veyron may also be strong enough to cause head-up illusion, which gives passengers the impression of driving up a slope, very much like what is commonly experienced in a jet liner that accelerates for take off. This could arguably lead to false perception of stopping distances.

The Veyron reaches 200 and 300 km/h (124 and 186 mph) in 7.4 and 16.7 seconds respectively. According to the February 2007 issue of Road & Track magazine, the Veyron accomplished the quarter mile in 10.2 seconds at a speed of 142.9 mph (230.0 km/h). Other tests, however, have the Veyron hitting 150 mph (240 km/h) in 9.8 seconds (see below), so the quarter mile time is actually faster, making the Veyron the most rapidly accelerating production car in history.

The Veyron consumes more fuel than any other production car, using 40.4 L/100 km (6.99 mpg imp/5.82 mpg US) in city driving and 24.1 L/100 km (11.7 mpg imp/9.76 mpg US) in combined cycle. At full throttle, it uses more than 115 L/100 km (2.46 mpg imp/2.05 mpg US), which would empty its 100 L (26 US gal/22 imp gal) fuel tank in just 12 minutes 46 seconds.

The Veyron's brakes use unique cross-drilled and turbine-vented carbon rotors which draw in cooling air to reduce fade. The front calipers have eight titanium pistons and the rear calipers have six pistons. Bugatti claims maximum deceleration of 1.3 G on road tires. Prototypes have been subjected to repeated 1.0 g braking from 194 to 50 mph (312 to 80 km/h) without fade. With the car's acceleration from 50 to 194 mph (80 to 312 km/h), that test can be performed every 22 seconds. At speeds above 124 mph (200 km/h), the rear wing also acts as an airbrake, snapping to a 55-degree angle in 0.4 seconds once brakes are applied, providing 0.68 g (4.9 m/s²) of deceleration (equivalent to the stopping power of an ordinary hatchback). Bugatti claims the Veyron will brake from 400 km/h (249 mph) to a standstill in less than 10 seconds.

Lamborghini Diablo GT

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S P E C I F I C A T I O N S
Manufacturer : Lamborghini
Production : 1999 – 2000
Assembly : Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy
Predecessor : Lamborghini Diablo SV
Successor : Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0
Body Style : 2-door coupe
Layout : Mid-engine, rear-wheel drive / four-wheel drive
Engine : 6.0 L V12
Transmission : 6-speed manual
Wheelbase : 104.3 in (2649 mm)
Length : 176 in (4470 mm)
Width : 80.3 in (2040 mm)
Height : 43.9 in (1115 mm)
Price (est) : $309,000
Designer : Marcello Gandini

General Information
Lamborghini Diablo GT is a powerful sports car. With V12 engine, bored out to 6.0 litres and producing 575 hp, make this car one of the fastest car on earth.
The body parts of this car are made of carbon fibre (excluding the doors and the roof). “Wing shaped “ rear bumper and newly designed front bumper give a catching-eye view for this cool four-wheel sports vehicle.

The brake and the ABS systems are derived from the well proven high performance systems of the Diablo range with self ventilated large diameter discs (355 mm front, 335 mm rear) with high performance calipers and last generation ABS system. For Lamborghini Diablo GT even better performances are achieved, all because of the reduced car weight.

Inside this car, racing seats, racing 4 point safety belts, sports steering wheel, leather and alcantara upholstery, carbon fibre parts (most components), are elements that add to the already sporty feel.

The air conditioning system is standard equipment to maintain a high comfort level. A dual air bag system is available as an option. As of the International Automobil Show of Frankfurt (September 1999), an optional rear wing mounted camera system became available to assist with reversing. The system comes complete with a display on the centre console which can also be used for GPS navigation.

Lamborghini Diablo GT was only and officially sold in Europe. Available in four colors only : Orange, Titan-Silver, Black, and Garish Yellow. Want one?

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