News: Ferrari 458 Spider: the world’s first mid-rear engined berlinetta equipped with a retractable hard top

Maranello, 23rd August – The new 458 Spider joins the 458 Italia, widening the range of Ferrari’s mid-rear engined V8s and offering the same uncompromising technological solutions, handling and performance in a refined open-top configuration. It is equipped with a Ferrari patented, fully retractable hard top, a world first for a sports car with this lay-out.

The 458 Spider is powered by Ferrari’s naturally-aspirated, direct-injection 4.5 litre V8 which was nominated as the 2011 International Engine of the Year for its engineering excellence in terms of driveability, performance, economy and refinement. The power is transferred to the road by Ferrari’s class-leading dual-clutch F1 paddle-shift transmission through the sophisticated E-Diff, itself integrated with the F1-Trac traction control and high-performance ABS for maximum handling dynamics.

Certain of the car’s features, such as its accelerator pedal mapping and the damping of the multilink suspension, have been calibrated to guarantee maximum sportiness and absolute driving pleasure with the top down, in line with Maranello’s exclusive spider tradition. Even the engine soundtrack has been honed to ensure that the car’s occupants are completely captivated by the drop-top driving experience.

Entirely in aluminium, the hard-top solution adopted for the 458 Spider offers a number of advantages over the traditional folding soft-top, including a reduction of 25 kg in weight and a deployment time of just 14 seconds. Fully integrated into the styling of the car, the hard-top was engineered to fit neatly ahead of the engine bay without compromising aerodynamics or the performance of the car. The small space needed to house the roof enables the designers to include a generous rear bench for luggage behind the seats.

The rear of the car is characterised by innovative forms with the buttresses designed to optimise the flow of air to the engine intakes and the clutch and gearbox oil radiators. For maximum comfort whilst driving top down the 458 Spider features a generously-sized adjustable electric wind stop. The design was perfected to slow and diffuse the air in the cockpit, enabling normal conversation to be held even at speeds over 200 km/h.

New technical solutions adopted for the chassis guarantee identical levels of structural rigidity with the roof up or down. The result is a car that is truly exciting to drive, blending extreme performance with the responsiveness that has always characterised Ferrari’s open-top berlinettas.

458 Spider technical specifications

Dimensions
Lengt	4527 mm (178.2 in.)
Width	1937 mm (76.3 in.)
Height	1211 mm (47.7 in.)
Wheelbase	2650 mm (104.3 in.)
Dry weight	1430 kg (3153 lbs)*
Weight/power ratio	2.51 kg/CV (7.42 lbs/kW)
Weight distribution fr/r	42%/58%
Engine
Type	90° V8
Displacement	4499 cc (274.5 cu in.)
Maximum power	570 CV (425 kW)** @ 9000 rpm
Maximum torque	540 Nm (398 lbs/ft) @ 6000 rpm
Specific power output	127 CV/l
Compression ratio	12.5:1
Tyres
Front	235/35 ZR20 8.5”
Rear	295/35 ZR20 10.5”
Performance
Maximum speed	320 km/h (198 mph)
0-100 km/h	3.5 s
Fuel consumption + emissions
Fuel consumption***	11.8 l/100 km
Emissions***	275 g CO2/km
Gearbox
Dual-clutch, 7-speed F1
Electronics
E-Diff3, F1-Trac, high-performance ABS   source: Ferrari

News: Ferrari Enzo found abandon in Dubai

Here’s an unfortunate find. Remember the destruction of Saddam Hussein’s epic car collection, many of which included the destruction of a Porsche 993 Turbo S, an extremely rare Lamborghini LM002 SUV and supposedly a Mercedes-Benz 500K worth more than millions? Well this one is a little something like that.
A journalist stumbled upon a Ferrari Enzo rotting away in the desert of Dubai. Supposedly, the reason as to why cars like these end up sitting in the dust are from entrepreneurs who returned home after their business or real estate ventures failed.
It was said to have been found in a police impound, which means that the car will most likely be auctioned off and sent to a new owner who could fix it up. But they’d better have some deep pockets and lots of cash to spend because the Enzo is sitting in a part of the world where exterior temperatures often exceed 115 degrees F.

Only 399 Enzos have been officially sold to the public. With already a considerable amount of them dead from careless actions of their owners, the Ferrari Enzo could slowly be disappearing off of the face of the Earth.

- By: Chris Chin
Source: MotorAuthority

More Picture of Abandon Enzo in Dubai

Info :Photo of Ferrari Accident

Unscheduled bodywork: What remains of a Ferrari F40, which ended up looking a lot less impressive after a Houston mechanic made a clumsy conversion while on a test drive

Instant convertible: The owner of this F430 Scuderia was lucky to escape with his life after an accident led to a roadside guardrail almost sheering the roof off

 

 At least the indicator still works: The owner of this Ferrari 599 GTO lost control and ended up flipping the car over in a ditch. Thanks to the car-maker's safety features, however, nothing other than pride was hurt

Flooded engine: A Ferrari 360 Spider is half on and half off the Croatian island of Pag after a van pushed it into the water. While it was professionally retrieved it may not see its former glory

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2029691/Mechanics-cheeky-spin-Ferrari-F40-owner-away-ends-300-000-disaster.html#ixzz1W8v8vmqS

News: Insurance firm faces record £300,000 payout over Zonda supercar crash

An insurance company is facing a record payout for a car crash after a motorist caused £300,000 damage to a Pagani Zonda S supercar during a test drive. 

The driver was borrowing the £528,000 sports car from its owner when he spun out of control on a narrow country lane near Aberdeen.

The Italian-made vehicle, which can reach speeds of 220mph, hit a telegraph pole before smashing through a fence.

The motorist, whose identity has not been revealed, escaped the mangled wreckage unhurt.

But Aviva, the insurance firm picking up the pieces from the crash in September last year, has been lumbered with a six-figure bill for repairs to the car.

It is thought to be the highest ever British insurance payout for repairs to a car.

 

2011 Gemballa Mistrale Porsche Panamera S with 700Hp Tweaks

Gemballa starts with the Panamera, strips away most of the steel body panels and replaces them with carbon fiber — hood, front fenders, doors, front and rear bumpers and valances all are replaced with bespoke designs.

The tuning house then fits its own multispoke 22-inch forged alloy wheels and a Brembo high-performance brake system, with cross-drilled, vented discs, six-piston monoblock calipers in front and four-piston calipers in the rear.

Gemballa offers customers a choice of two engine-upgrade kits, the first of which nudges output to 610 horsepower and torque to 627 pound-feet.

The full-house Stage 2 kit pumps output to 700 hp and torque to 738 lb-ft, thanks to the addition of larger turbos with high-efficiency intercoolers, modified intake, remapped ECU and sport exhaust with free-flow catalytic converters.

 source: Inside Line Porsche Panamera S Gemballa Mistrale

Ferrari FF 4wd 4 seater launch in Malaysia for RM2.8 Million

FF stands for Ferrari Four. The FF is a four-wheel drive (a first for the brand) four-seater GT with its engine in a “front-mid” position under that long hood. The powerplant in question is a direct injection V12 displacing 6,262 cc. It makes 660 horses at 8,000 rpm and 683 Nm at 6,000 rpm, 500 Nm of which is available at just 1,000 rpm.

Needless to say, performance is staggering – the 0-100 km/h sprint is covered in 3.7 seconds on to a top speed of 335 km/h. The FF weighs in at 1,880 kilos by the way.
Coupled with a seven-speed F1 dual-clutch gearbox, efficiency has been significantly boosted too, with fuel consumption standing at 15.4 litres per 100 km and CO2 emissions at 360 g/km. This is 25% lower compared to Ferrari’s previous V12s, thanks to the HELE (High Emotions- Low Emissions) System that incorporates Stop&Start technology. Yes, even Ferrari has to think green in today’s landscape.

source and more picture at Paul Tan

U.S. Blocks $1 million Italian Supercar Pagani Huayra 2011

Italian automaker Pagani was to begin selling its $1 million, 700 horsepower Huayra supercar in the U.S. later this year but federal safety regulators have said "Not so fast."

Pagani had applied for an exemption from federal auto safety rules requiring child-safe "advanced" airbags, arguing that complying with the rule would have caused "substantial economic hardship," according to documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

NHTSA denied the request, essentially blocking the car from sale in the U.S., because Pagani failed to show that installing the airbags on the twin-turbocharged 12-cylinder carbon-titanium car would cause the company undue financial strain. Also, the Italian carmaker didn't show that serious efforts had been made to comply, the agency said.

The auto safety agency sometimes grants temporary exemptions from specific safety rules, especially for automakers that plan to sell only a small number of cars.

Pagani created the Huayra as part of the automaker's plan to break into the U.S. market. The car was engineered and crash tested to meet safety standards in both the U.S. and Europe.

Pagani insists it will sell the car here, just not in 2012 as it had planned. The Huayra will now go on sale some time in 2013, Paganai spokeswoman Sanaz Bakhtiari said.

Advanced airbags are designed to sense when children or small adults are in the vehicle and adjust the force with which they deploy accordingly. Early airbags were found to injure -- and even kill -- small children.

Much of the Huayra's structure, particularly the area around the driver, is made from a strong, lightweight material called carbon-titanium. The fuel tank, made from "different composite and ballistic materials," is integrated into the body just behind the cabin, according to the company.

At about 3,000 pounds, Pagani boasts that the Huayra is the lightest car in its class, enabling it to go from a zero to 60 miles per hour in about 3.5 seconds.

With it's seven figure price tag the Huayra would have competed in the rarified pricing sphere of cars like the Bugatti Veyron which is finishing its sales run just as just the Huayra was preparing to enter the market, or the quickly sold out Lamborghini Reventon.

With a total of only 60 employees, Pagani's small factory can only produce so many of the largely hand-built cars, so initial sales in the U.S. were to be limited to about five cars a year during 2012, the automaker said in February. After that, a planned factory expansion would allow for sales of as many as 10 cars a year here.

The Huayra, pronounced "why-rah," is named after the ancient Andean wind god Aymara Huayra Tata.

More info about Pagani Huayra



source: Yahoo Auto US blocks $1 million italian supercar

Car Info: 2011 Ford Shelby GT350

Vehicle layout Front engine, RWD, 4-pass, 2-door coupe  
Engine 5.0L/550-hp (MT est)/490-lb-ft (MT est) supercharged DOHC 32-valve V-8  
Transmission 6-speed manual; 6-speed automatic  
Curb weight (f/r dist) 3950 lb (mfr est)  
Wheelbase 107.1 in
Length x width x height 189.6 x 73.9 x 55.8 in  
0-100 kmh 4.2 sec

Read more:http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/112_1003_2011_ford_shelby_gt350/viewall.html#ixzz1V2l2fAe5

Malaysia VIP: Bentley Continental GT with Black Bison Bodykit by WALD

Malaysia VIP: More Picture of Malaysia Buggati Veyron

source: Carigold

News: Johnny English Ultimate Rolls Royce With 9.0 V16 Engine

Rowan Atkinson, who is the famous British actor widely known for his “Mr. Bean” roles, goes on Top Gear to not only promote his latest flick, “Johnny English”, but also to talk about a special Rolls Royce Phantom used in the movie.

To make the luxurious car even more interesting than it currently is, he revealed that not only did Rolls Royce engineer a V16 engine to fit perfectly into a Phantom, but they even produced a select few prototypes before deciding to tone down the production engine options.

The 9.0 liter V16 engine was meant to turn the rolls into the “Ultimate Luxury Car for the 21st Century” with the ultimate engine. They apparently made three or four of these engines that produced “unbelievable power and torque.”

Moreover, Atkinson reached out to Rolls Royce and requested to use one for his “Johnny English” movie (due August 18th in the United States).

Rowan Atkinson Crash his Mclaren F1 for the second time

Source : http://www.car61.com/2011/ultimate-rolls-royce-with-9-0-v16-engine/

Spyshots: 2012 Porsche 911 (991) Carrera at Porsche Factory

Once again new spyshots have been revealed showing the 2012 Porsche 911 (991) Carrera almost completely undisguised. The photos were made in the same street where a red 991 Carrera S was spotted last week close to the Porsche factory in Stuttgart.

The main design philosophy has not changed a bit, and is still boring. It is more a formula of subtle design changes rather than a ground-breaking rethink. Some details changed. New LED detailing at the front is inspired by the 918 Spyder concept, at the back the number of openings in the engine cover has been reduced from five to three.

The wheelbase has been lengthened with the front and rear overhangs reduced to minimise the increase in overall length. At 4491mm long, 1873mm wide and 129mm high, the new 991 will be 56mm longer, 65mm wider and 11m lower than the 997.

The power comes from a 400bhp version of the 3.8 liter flat six found in today’s 380bhp Carrera S. The entry-level Carrera model is powered by a 3.4 liter flat six rather than a 3.6. It produces more power than today’s 997, going from 341bhp to 350bhp. Another difference between the Carrera models is the twin exhaust pipes at the rear. The Carrera S models get quad pipes.

Stay tuned for the final release the IAA 2011 starting the second week of September.

Car Info: Gold Plated Armored Rolls Royce Phantom Valued at $8.15 Million design by Stuart Hughes

Stuart Hughes, based out of the United Kingdom, is known for its bespoke customization of high-end luxury products from iPhones to yachts, liquor to furniture, and everything in between. But this Rolls-Royce Phantom may just be one of the company’s most extravagant creations, featuring over 260-lbs of 18-karat gold on the outside and inside of the of the armored luxury limousine.

Originally commissioned by an anonymous Middle Eastern businessman, Eurocash AG based out of Switzerland teamed up with Stuart Hughes to create this one-of-a-kind, over-the-top Phantom. The entire vehicle has been reinforced and armored to protect against some of the world’s deadliest weapons including AK47 gunfire and a pair of hand grenades. Highlights of 18-karat gold are also featured inside the cabin.

According to its Jameslist.com listing, the Phantom EWB is available for sale with 50-miles on the odometer. Everything around the Phantom is a tad confusing, since Stuart Hughes’ website claims it was delivered to the anonymous businessman for around $8.15 million, yet it’s for sale on Jameslist right now stating that it’s in Switzerland – possibly at Eurocash AG. Perhaps they’re just marketing in hopes to create yet another one of these magnificent… we mean, absurd, beauties.

source

Car News: Rowan Atkinson aka Mr. Bean crash his Mclaren F1 for the second time

 


Comedian Rowan Atkinson has crashed the £650,000 sports car he bought to celebrate the success of his movie in the role of Mr Bean.
The front of the McLaren F1 supercar was wrecked in the collision with the rear of a Rover Metro in Lancashire at 1400 BST on Monday.

The star's brother says it is his first accident

The driver of the Metro, Margaret Greenhalgh, suffered minor whiplash injuries, while Mr Atkinson was unhurt in the accident on the A6 at Forton.
The star, also famous for his role as Edmund Blackadder in the eponymous TV series, reportedly asked police not to name him following the accident in the 230mph supercar.
Mr Atkinson's brother Rodney said the star - whose Mr Bean character drives a Mini rather than a high-powered sports car - was "an absolute fanatic" about cars.
He said: "The faster they are the more he likes them. He's a very good driver, there's no doubt about it, and this is the first accident I have heard of involving him.
"Obviously, we are relieved he is uninjured."
Mr Atkinson's sports car, which can travel from 0-60mph in just 3.2 seconds, is not the only prestige vehicle he has owned.
He has also driven Aston Martins, Rolls Royces, Lancias and Mercedes.
The McLaren car was delivered to his Oxfordshire home in 1997. 

source: gtspirit, bbc news

Car Info: 2011 Koenigsegg Agera R

The latest 1099Hp Super Car from sweeden the Koenigsegg Agera R

The roof can be detach and can be stored in the front bonnet and there is also a ski package that can be replace on the roof.

Koenigsegg Agera R Specification

Koenigsegg Agera R Special Features