For a few years now what most expected to be the rebirth of the Toyota Supra, a turbocharged sports car from Japan that was overbuilt and able to compete with the best that the world had to offer, they have even been known to race motorcycles and win. So once we knew that the Japanese automaker was going to once again build a proper sports car, the question then became, what will it be called?
For a while we thought that the future super car from Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus would be called the LF-A. Well the automaker has just come out with a new surprise, the LF-A will now be known as the LF-L to signify the endurance racer’s scheduled appearance at Le Mans next year. Although before we see it in production race trim, the production car is expected to make its world debut this October at the Tokyo Motor Show.
The good news is that nothing is changed under the hood, the LF-L will use a 4.8L “1LR-GEU” V10 engine with a rear mounted transaxle that includes a sequential six-speed gearbox. The Lexus LF-L will be offered with ASG (Automated Sequential Gearbox) that will have four modes, Auto, Normal, Sport and Wet; the cog swapper will be capable of making shifts via Formula 1 style paddles in 0.2 seconds when in Sport mode.
Just the other day a very interesting spy shot of an orange mystery BMW model covered in a large grey tarp rolling out the back of a transport truck surfaced online. At the time it was believed to be the highly anticipated Z Vision Concept that was supposed to be unveiled at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. After a bit of internet speculation the suspicions were denied by an official BMW spokesperson. According to the automaker, what we all saw was nothing more than a five year old design study that was being moved from the studio to a storage facility.
BMW said that they will indeed bring a concept car to the Frankfurt Motor Show, but it won’t be the one from the photos. The concept that will be revealed at the German show will be called EfficientDynamics Vision, and will be on display next to the new 5-series GT and the X1 compact SUV. This new concept will combine the automaker’s driving enthusiast feel with a much more efficient power train resulting in a low emissions fun to drive vehicle.
The English automotive journal, AutoCar has gotten their hands on a few more details about the future BMW 3-Series. The 2012 model is expected to be unveiled at the 2011 Paris Motor Show, and according to a source at BMW, the German automaker will offer class-leading aerodynamics, as well as pioneering the use of three-cylinder engines in the company’s full size premium vehicles.
The engine lineup will include a choice of turbocharged three-cylinder gas and diesel engines. Starting off with a 1.5 Liter diesel engine that will deliver around 150 HP, while the gas burning version will deliver 150 HP and 170 lb-ft of torque. One thing that is for certain is that all of the engines will be offered with BMW’s Efficient Dynamics fuel-saving technology. The car will remain a front-engined, rear-drive model, but will use some sort of hybrid electric assist coupled to the rear axle, meaning it will be able to operate in both hybrid and fully electric vehicle modes.
The engines will be mated to a standard 8-speed automatic gearbox first seen in the 7 Series, while the performance models will be offered with 7-speed DCT. BMW has also announced that the 2012 BMW 3-Series will move through the air with exceptional aerodynamics, the car’s coefficient of drag will measure only 0.24 thanks in part to something called an Air Curtain.
It is common knowledge that the Italian automotive conglomerate FIAT is planning to buy the Carrozzeria Bertone. According to sourced at the top, if they are successful, the Bertone’s Turin manufacturing plant will be used for building "niche vehicles" for FIAT and not mass-produced models as was previously reported.
According to FIAT’s CEO Sergio Marchionne: "We made an honest and industrially rational offer to try to revive the company." Despite the news, Marchionne failed to reveal exactly what models the automaker is talking about. However he did add that they will be sold exclusively in the European and North American markets. That would work perfect with Marchione’s plans for global automotive domination, by picking up Chrysler and making a play for General Motors’ European parties.
The German automaker BMW has announced plans to use diesel engines in their upcoming factory tuned lineup sports cars. Recently, the English journal AutoCar conducted an interview with Albert Biermann, the man who made the American Le Mans Series M3 GTR race car and headed up development of the award winning X5 SUV. Albert is currently serving as BMW’s M product manager and in the sit down he stated that: "With cars like the X5 and X6 M, the torque characteristics of diesel engines would make them the ideal choice, were it not for their unsporting character. I don’t think there’s a proven business case for big diesel-engined performance cars yet … but if that changes, we’ll be well placed to take advantage."
That is quite a bold statement considering that most M’s are sold right here in the good old U S of A and we haven’t been big fans of the less refined petroleum product. So Mr. Biermann is also tasked with turning America on to diesel fuel. He also announced that models like BMW Z4 M roadster and coupe models will not be replaced at the end of their production cycle: "The new Z4 is a heavy car … so it would be difficult to tune it effectively. Such an M car would also be hard to position [in the marketplace]; using the 4.0-litre V8 would position the car too close to the M3 Convertible, and the 3.2-litre, six-cylinder motor is no longer emissions-compliant."
Regarding a smaller more affordable entry level M based on the 1 Series roadster, the man at M had this to say: “I would love to produce this kind of car. It’s very difficult to make the numbers add up, but I know that I’m not the only person who likes the idea.” So hopefully Albert Biermann will succeed in his quest to turn the world onto diesel powered road going sports cars.
There are a host of things you can find under a body of water and while they range from the absolutely meaningless to the downright priceless, the possibilities of what you can find underwater are endless.
In the Swiss city of Ascona, a diving club that goes by the name, Centro sport subacquei salvataggio Ascona (CSSS), went on a routine dive on the Verbano Lake last July 5 found something that none of them were expecting, a Brescia Bugatti.
Nobody knows how the classic car ended up 50m deep on the lake or how long it’s been there. Nevertheless, the team of divers who found it are scheduled to bring the century-old vehicle back up to dry land. Whether or not there’s still value on the submerged vehicle remains to be seen, but we’re quite sure that the question of whether it still works or not has been answered a long time ago.
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The American automaker Dodge has announced that its models might be sold wearing Alfa Romeo badges in Europe. Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said that all Dodge models might be sold as Alfa Romeos in Europe, and all Alfa Romeo models as Dodges in the U.S. The cross breeding of cutures would certainly make for an interesting lineup. It makes sense after all, if an automaker is going to invest the amount of money it takes to produce a vehicle, why limit yourself to just one market.
According to Marchionne: "Dodge is the American muscle car, while Alfa Romeo is the European muscle car. How we dovetail these two brands is very important. The level of competition between these two brands is tremendous because they are both going after the same customer." The man from across the Atlantic had some pretty bold words to say, but it would be nice to have Vipers allowed in the Targa Florio.
Airbags are supposed to protect us from accidents, right?
Tell that to one Dr. Ken Thompson.
In a somewhat reversal of fortune, the good doctor ended up injuring his thumb when the airbags of his 2006 BMW 325xi deployed after a minor fender bender with another car.
While the airbags did their job in shielding his body from the minor scrape, his right thumb wasn’t so fortunate.
“I had what they call a partial amputation," Thompson said. “My right thumb is just basically hanging and that was the only injury I sustained.”
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Although you may have forgotten about the newest 2+2 offering from the English sports car builder, the Lotus Evora, due to all the news about a V10 powered Esprit. Well here is something that might get you thinking about the model that we saw at the L.A. Auto Show last year, because we have gotten a hold of some specs about the upcoming Evora.
Always important with the English automaker is weight; the Lous Evora will weigh in at less than 1.5 tons at 3,046.8 pounds. The 2+2 will be powered by a Toyota-sourced 3.5 Liter V6 making 276 HP and 258 lb-ft of torque when it hits showrooms later this year. The mid engine layout will not only help with handling, but will allow the 2009 Evora to sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in just 4.9 seconds and hit a top speed of 162 MPH. However, power is nothing without control, so careful attention to the vehicle’s braking means that the Evora will be able to grind to a halt from 60 MPH in just 110.2 feet.
The Evora will not only use its lightness for performance, the attribute will allow the next Lotus to be efficient as well. The British engineers figure that the Evora will be good for 32.5 MPG, although they haven’t disclosed whether that is on the highway or combined, but either way, sub 5 second 0 to 60 MPH times, exotic styling and a mid-engine layout definitely make the Evora a sports car. Future sports cars will not only need to be fun to drive, but they will also have to be environmentally friendly while doing it.
It is mid-June, the Nurburgring 24 has passed and the endurance race fans from around the world are gathering at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France. That is because this Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14 racing greats from around the world are competing in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race twice around the clock includes vehicles from the ALMS as well as the LMS racing series which are made up of two classes of GT, production car based racers, and two classes of prototypes, this year’s race will include 20 of the big boy LMP1 machines all fighting each other as well as lapped traffic for an overall win.
The big battles lately have been between Audi’s and Peugeot’s endurance racing teams at these events. The German automaker is competing in their all new R15 racecar and Peugeot is bringing back their 908, except this time it has Formula 1 derived KERS. Reports from the racetrack say that the Audi camp has gotten a hold of some unfound speed from their previous entrant, the R10. The four ringed automaker has an excellent track record at the epic endurance race, with an Audi engine winning every year since 2000. 2003 was the only year that an Audi R chassis didn’t take home the victory, that year Audi’s factory efforts lent their services to fellow members of the Volkswagen family, creating the Bentley Speed 8. Ever since 2006 Audi’s racing team has been taking advantage of the rules regarding diesel powered race cars, a trend that has caught on with Peugeot.
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