5 by Peugeot 508 Concept
February 15, 2010
Looks like Geneva will be packed by concepts and other showcases. After the string of crappy auto shows last year (thanks to the industry crash), it looks like things are picking up again.
Here’s Peugeot’s offering for Geneva – the 5 by Peuegot concept. The car’s considered to be the preview for the new Peugeot 508 that will succeed the 407.
The car will be powered by Peugeot’s Hybrid4 technology and will involve a 2.0L engine that dishes out 163 bhp and an electric motor that dishes out 37 bhp to give the car 200 bhp on tap.
Like many contemporary hybrids, the car can run on pure electricity for low-speeds. It helps the car get 74.3 mpg.
The car is set to slug it out with the Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall Insignia and Renault Laguna. With Hyundai also gunning for that market segment, it’d be surely an interesting battle.
Formula 1: Lotus F1 Racer Unveiled
February 14, 2010
The Lotus comeback is nearing its completion. All it has to do is to make it to the starting grid and across the starting line.
Just less than half a year since Lotus was awarded its position, Lotus F1 is now ready to race. The car sports the famed green and yellow livery – a proud reference to the years of Lotus racing.
Team principal Tony Fernandes and technical director Mike Gascoyne are both hopeful that the team will be a great revival of the Lotus tradition.
Piloting the Lotus car are experienced drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen.
The car was unveiled at the Royal Horticultural Hall in front of 400 people.
Source: Autocar
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid
February 11, 2010
Here come the high-performance hybrids! Check out this Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. One more reason why you can’t call hybrids pansies anymore.
The hybrid is still essentially a GT3 R racer with two electric motors slapped on to power the front axle. The electric motors dish out 60kW which nicely helps out the 473 bhp from the flat six.
911 hybrid is only a semi-hybrid though. It sports an electric flywheel power generator to dish out short bursts of juice to power the electric motors.
The generator sits beside the driver so forget about having a passenger. (At least that’d probably keep the car balanced with the driver inside.) The generator stores energy mechanically and is charged during braking. Yeah, it’s a bit complicated fit for a James May boffin explanation.
The car will be showcased at the 2010 Geneva show.
Source: CAR
Porsche 911 Turbo S
February 8, 2010
Check out this new Porsche 911 Turbo S – a car that Porsche promises to bee the fastest and most powerful 911 Turbo ever.
The car’s powered by a 3.8L flat six with two turbochargers slapped on. The unit churns out 523 bhp up by 30 from the old 493 bhp that it produces. The torque gets boosted as well for 515 lb-ft.
The power is sent to all four wheel thanks to a seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission. Flappy-paddle are standard for the first time as well. The car’s also equipped with traction control, torque vectoring, and a mechanical limited-slip diff.
Added systems include launch control and dynamic engine mounts. All that lets the car sprint from 0-62 mph in just 3.3 seconds and go all the way up to 196 mph. But we all know that, in a good day, 911s can go past 200 mph.
And the car’s relatively a fuel sipper too with 24.8 mpg (provided that you don’t max out the power on tap). The car’s available both as cabrio and coup.
Ferrari to Produce 599 GTO
February 7, 2010
Ferrari just recently launched the 458 Italia so we can expect a few lulls in their release cycles. They can sure keep teasing us though.
The company just announced that they will be making a 599 GTO slated for later this year. Ferrari aims for the car to be a “more focused” version over the GTB (pictured) and HG TE models.
As for the power figures, the car is expected to dish out not less than 650 bhp and added torque is to be expected . The car will be put on a diet as well to lose a few more kiloframs.
We just hope that the road cars they’re building will be any good. For some reason, there’s an inverse relationship between the quality of their road cars and their F1 cars and it looks like they built one heck of a car for this coming season.
For no geek gearheads out there, GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omologato which means the car’s “homologated” or certified by several racing bodies to be qualified for racing.
Formula 1: Alonso Continues Ferrari Roll
February 3, 2010
Day 3 of Formula One testing and it’s Fernando Alonso’s turn to take the Ferrari out for a spin on his home track in Valencia.
The Spaniard did not disappoint his fans, clocking the fastest time of the day and keeping the Ferrari roll going. Looks like the Massa-Alonso tandem will be hard to beat with that new Ferrari of theirs.
Surprisingly, it just might be BMW Sauber’s season as well as Pedro de la Rosa came in second again in the lap time board continuing its second place streak from Day 1. Kamui Kobayashi clocked in second in Day 2 as well.
Michael Schumacher clinched 3rd yet again in his Mercedes. We can all just hope that he’d find his pace to match the Ferrari boys this season.
Jenson Button came in 5th in the day which gives doubt to his real skill as a driver. Lewis Hamilton was fast enough to clinch 3rd in Day 2.
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