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Bugatti Veyron is already the utmost reference in automotive technology, luxury and power, but there are some competitors trying to beat it at least in the last item. According to AutoBlog.nl, that is about to change in March 2009, when Bugatti will release the Veyron GT, an incredible machine able to reach more than 425 km/h with its 1,350 bhp and 1,380 Nm. How do our Dutch friends know that? Because of the document below:
This piece of paper could have been created by anyone, but AutoBlog.nl says it is real. Let's wait for an official confirmation, but it is not something hard to believe. After all, this power upgrade is apparently simple, considering it would only demand more turbo pressure from the four turbochargers that feed the W16. So simple the GT specs would be available to other Veyron owners. Let's wait until March 2009 to confirm that.
The world of the cars is changing and we are privileged to witness the changes. When we thought all the new stuff about personal transportation would be electricity, hydrogen and energy recovery, there comes a new idea: smart polymer technology. All things made of this smart polymer, also known as electro-active polymer, behave as muscles when they receive an electric current. In other words, they flex and extend themselves. In a car, that would mean the vehicle would be able to change its shape depending on driving conditions. Create different aerodynamical conditions, if you prefer. Wouldn't that be useful in a race car? This is what the Indian designer Anupam Tomer thought. And the answer he found was the Morflex, the 2050 race car.
Check below the stages of transformation the car would go through:
Besides the aesthetical aspect, the changes help increase down-force with the use of spoilers made of electric-active polymer. Since these spoilers work like muscles, less material is needed to produce the same effects, what keeps the car light. Imagine that in a race track, where the pilot needs less down-force in straight line and more on curves. It is a pity Anupam Tomer has projected that only for 2050. Most of us would like to see a Morflex on race tracks tomorrow. Today they would also be great!
Fiat and Iveco have presented today in Italy the "Nuova Campagnola", or the new Campagnola, in English. Based on Massif, the new utility vehicle intends to compete in the same market segment nowadays dominated by Land Rover Defender. And you will understand why when you see the pictures.
The new Campagnola will be sold in Europe under the Iveco logo, although Fiat is historically connected to this name. Fiat will be on Campagnolas grille in other countries, mainly in South America, where the company intends to start offering utility vehicles.
Produced in Spain by Santana Motors, owned by Iveco, Campagnola will have only four seats and two doors. This configuration will put it to fight directly the Defender 90. Powered by a 3-litre turbodiesel engine, the 3.0 HPT, a four-cylindre able to produce 176 bhp and 400 Nm. The first 499 units of Campagnola will be numbered and sold as the special limited edition "Opening Edition". They will surely become collectors' pieces.
Kia is one of the few imported car brands in Brazil that has resisted the huge importation tax of 35% and, even so, managed to sell its cars at a competitive price. Anyway, considering the car market is growing at a very high speed, the company has decided to build a plant in the country, more specifically in the city of Salto, in Sao Paulo, along with the Gandini group, Kia's official representative in Brazil and Uruguay.
The new plant will depend upon tax exemptions and waivers, the same ones obtained by Toyota for its new plant in Sorocaba. Toyota intends to produce a small car in Brazil by 2010. Yaris tends to be the new Brazilian-made Toyota.
Kia, on the other hand, wants to have the new Soul as its first Brazilian product. Considering the plant will only be ready by mid-2010, it will not be that new, but it will surely be sold in the Brazilian market as an imported vehicle. At least for a little while.
Have a good look at the vehicle in the picture below and start to get used to this front end. This will be the new appearance of the next-generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class, about to be anticipated at this year's Paris Motor Show with the ConceptFASCINATION.
Mercedes-Benz does not try to hide the car's origin and states it uses the underpinnings of the "future E-Class", including a new four-cylinder diesel engine with BlueTEC and AdBlue technologies in order to make ConceptFASCINATION a greener car. The 2.2-litre engine develops 204 hp. What the German carmaker does not admit is the fact that the front end of the car is just like the one found in E-Class prototypes caught dozens of times.
As for the ConceptFASCINATION, it is a shooting brake with no B column, loaded with high quality materials, such as wood, aluminium and smoked glass in the load compartment. Luxurious details of a car that won't make it into production, but will give birth to others that will.
Citroën has recently informed it will present a new concept in Paris which gathers many auto industry tendencies, such as a crossover body and hybrid drivetrain. This is apparently an idea that is shared with its main competitor in France. Renault presented the Ondelios, a vehicle that is also a crossover and also uses a diesel-hybrid propelling system, but much more conceptual, what does not mean it will not be produced.
Vel Satis also seemed distant from a production vehicle when it was presented and it ended in a production line with little changes, so we can expect the same from Ondelios. Renault presents this concept as a flagship and, guess what, the French automaker does not currently have a flagship automobile. It has presented a new Safrane not long ago, but this sedan will be sold in few markets.
Ondelios is a big vehicle (4.81 m long, 2 m wide and 1.61 tall, with a wheelbase of 2.90 m), but it is also very effient. For a start, it is very aerodynamical, with a cx of only 0.29. It also has two electric engines combined to a 2-litre turbodiesel engine. One of these engines is at the back and operates when there is a loss of traction, what makes Ondelios a 4x4. When the engines work together, Ondelios emits only 120 g/km of CO2. Ondelios also presents a seven-speed dual-clucth gearbox. We can expect it to be in Renault production vehicles very soon.
In the interior, six individual seats with individual Samsung screens provide flagship confort. The dashboard employs the new Touch Design approach, with interactive features that resemble a computer and, according to Renault, provide better ergonomy.
Supercars have the right to be green. This is what the Australian automaker Bolwell intends to prove when it releases the full electrical version of its supercar, the Nagari. Check it in action in the video below.
While the company does not have concrete plans for this ecological version of the car, they have focused on this objective. Let's just hope the electrical Nagari can also accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h below 4 s and have a top speed of 300 km/h.
The new Renault Mégane III has been presented this week and we took a long time to write about it, but we had a very fair reason. Besides the pictures of the car, which we have already published, we wanted you to check the video. Seeing this nice car in many angles and in motion was worth the delay.
The new mid-size hatchback is 4.30 m long and it has a generous wheelbase, of 2.64 m, prone to make its passengers pleased with the room in the interior of the car, especially the ones that had the previous model as a reference.
According to Renault, by 2010 the New Mégane family will have six members. The French automaker does not reveal which, but we may say they be a new Scénic, a sedan, a station wagon, a coupe-cabriolet and three and five-door hatchbacks. The company also does not mention plans for the new vehicle in other countries, but it mentions the cars will have differences from the Mégane built for Europe.
Seven diesel variants will be offered in Europe, while only five petrol engines will be available, two of them with a turbocharger. Flexible engines, such as the ones used in Brazil, will be sold in Europe as well.
Tesla has created the first electric sportscar of the modern era, the Roadster, but the company was facing a huge problem: no gearbox was able to stand all the torque of the engine and the first units did not prove to be trustworthy. Since it would be troublesome not to start delivering the cars, the company decided to have some units with the transmission that was available and to look for a new supplier in the meantime. It took Tesla less than expected to replace the fragile two-speed gearbox for a one-speed transmission created by BorgWarner.
The new gearbox allowed Tesla to improve the powertrain. Now it produces 380 Nm instead of 286 Nm and its range has increased from 356 km to 393 km on a single charge. Produced since March, the Roadster currently has 27 owners, which can have the new engine and transmission in their cars for no costs. Production figures will reach ten cars a week, what states the company is now confident to mass-produce its revolutionary vehicle.
In an interview for Car magazine, Artega executives said that the new German rear-engined sportscar will be sold in the USA by 2010. Powered by a V6 Volkswagen engine, the car runs as good as it looks, as you can see in the following video, recorded at the high-speed Nardo track.
If you still do not know much about Artega GT, it is worth to know a little about its story. GT was first presented at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show and it had a lot of attention not only due to the beautiful design, but also because of its engine position. Only Porsche keeps an engine at the rear of a sportscar nowadays, in 911.
Created by a gauges supplier, Paragon, Artega GT has a unique gauge that works both as a speedometer and a rev counter. Both needles are out from the center, what must have a nice effect when the car is running and engine revolutions fall slightly after each gear change, while speed keeps going up.
In 2008 only 99 units of GT will be produced. They will be named Intro 2008 and will be the individually numbered. After that, 500 units will be produced each year. By 2010, Artega expects to have a new vehicle, lighter and powered by a 2-litre TFSI engine, also from Volkswagen. This is the car that will be exported to the USA. If it keeps the nice design used for GT, plant expasions will soon be needed.
