Ford GT40

The Ford GT40 was a sports car and winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans four times in a row, from 1966 to 1969. It was built to win long-distance sports car races against Ferrari (who won at Le Mans six times in a row from 1960 to 1965).

The car was named the GT after the Grand Tourisme category where it was intended to compete; the 40 represents its overall height of 40 inches (1.02 m, measured at the windshield) as required by the rules. Large-capacity Ford V8 engines (4.7 L and 7 L) were used, compared with the Ferrari V12 which displaced 3.0 L or 4.0 L.

Early cars were simply named "Ford GT". The name "GT40" was the name of Ford's project to prepare the cars for the international endurance racing circuit, and the quest to win the 24 Hours of LeMans. The first 12 "prototype" vehicles carried serial numbers GT-101 through GT-112. The "production" began and the subsequent cars, the MkI, MkIIs, MkIIIs, and MkVs, numbered GT40-P-1000 through GT40-P-1145, were officially "GT40s". The name of Ford's project, and the serial numbers dispel the story that "GT40" was "only a nickname."

First LP640 wreck

The first accident involving the LP640 occurred a few months ago. Details on the crash are sketchy, but the car was apparently being tested on public roads when it lost control, hit a guardrail on the highway and rolled over.

Obviously, it's always a concern when a high-performance vehicle is wrecked during pre-production. On the brighter side, engineers do get an opportunity to fine-tune and correct any issues that might be responsible for the accidents.

Safety has become a big issue for exotic car manufacturers lately, especially after a recent lawsuit was filed against Porsche for "selling an unsafe car". The suit claims the Porsche Carrera GT has design defects that make it a poor-handling car, mainly that the rear end can lose traction easily. The suit also claims that the car is too difficult to handle at high speeds for the average driver without instruction. The suit was filed by the wife of Cory Rudl, an internet marketing superstar who was killed when the Carrera GT he was riding in crashed at a track.






 

Lamborghini murcielago LP640

 The LP640 version was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2006, as a facelift for the coupé version. It features a 6.5 L engine, now producing 640 bhp, improving performance substantially. Like the base Murciélago, the engine is mounted "backwards", with the transmission at the very back of the car. There were also a few minor external changes, primarily to the low air intakes. The LP640 has a set price tag of US$350,000.
Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 on display

The front and rear bumpers have been reshaped to channel air more efficiently, and the new exhaust has been shaped into the rear diffuser to minimize aerodynamic lift. The air intake on the left side has been enlarged to accommodate the feeding of the oil cooler. The car's body is made up of steel and carbon fiber, while underneath a revised suspension has been added to keep up with the car's exceptional performance. It also has an all-wheel-drive system that normally distributes 70% of the torque to the rear wheels, but can allocate up to 100% to either end depending on where the grip is running out. There are also new 18-inch Hermera alloy wheels running huge 335/30 tires at the rear. The LP640 retains the original car's scissor-opening doors.

Inside the LP640, the seating has been reshaped to accommodate greater headroom, while an upgraded instrument panel is flanked by an improved stereo system.

The LP640's optional equipment includes ceramic brakes for swifter braking and a glass engine cover which shows off the LP640's 6.5 L V12 engine.

A special edition version of the Murciélago LP640 was introduced at the Paris Motor Show. The Versace edition features a customized all-white exterior and a matching white interior.
Lamborghini V12 engine, with the Murciélago roadster in the background

Lamborghini announced the LP640 Roadster version at the 2006.

Engine

LP stands for Longitudinale Posteriore, referring to the longitudinally-mounted, 6.5 L V12 engine, capable of producing up to 640 bhp at 8000 rpm. Along with a new six-speed manual transmission, which can come in Lamborghini's optional paddle shift "E-gear" package, the LP640 can go from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.4 seconds: 0.4 seconds quicker than the normal Murciélago. The LP640 is accommodated by an electronic launch-control device called "Thrust".


News
The Lamborghini supercar is named after Murciélago, a legendary fighting bull from Spain. Mr. Lamborghini loved Spanish bullfighting, thus the raging bull logo on Lamborghini automobiles (he was also a Taurus, and the bull logo was used to represent his birthsign). The name Murciélago also means bat in Spanish, and is therefore pronounced in Spanish style.

The engineers at Lamborghini included carbon-ceramic brakes in the design of the Murciélago. These carbon-ceramic discs differentiate the Murciélago from other models. Advantages of these discs include improved handling, agility, efficiency and shorter braking distances with reduced pedal effort. Therefore braking efficiency remains constant at both low and high temperature, with no fading, even hard use. This leads to longer lifetime use of the car and a state of the art system.

Vanessa Bryant is the only person in the world to own an automatic Murciélago. The car was given to her as a gift by her husband, but upon realizing she could not drive a manual transmission, Kobe Bryant had the car converted to an automatic. The estimated cost of the car after conversion and customization was US$400,000.

Lamborghini Murcielago

 The Lamborghini Murciélago is a supercar made by Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and designed by Luc Donckerwolke. It was introduced in 2001 as the successor to the Diablo. The Murciélago is a two door, two seat coupé. To celebrate the Lamborghini company's 40th birthday, 50 special edition Murciélagos were built during the autumn of 2003.

An open-top version called the Murciélago Roadster was introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The roadster features similar performance to the coupé with a more aggressive rear flank, as well as a considerably higher price tag.

The Murciélago sports a 6.2 L version of the legendary Lamborghini V12 engine, a six-speed manual or six-speed sequential automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive. It also has a rear spoiler that can be raised to an angle of 70 degrees, side mirrors that fold in to improve aerodynamics, and side scoops that automatically open to the needed size to let in just the right amount of air needed to cool its engine.

The name Murciélago comes from a bull that survived 24 sword strokes in an 1879 fight at the arena of Cordoba, and fought with such passion and spirit that the matador chose to spare its life, a rare honor. In another Lamborghini tie-in, the bull was later presented as a gift to Don Antonio Miura, a noted breeder, and went on to sire a line of famous fighting bulls. Murciélago also means bat in Spanish, and a Murciélago roadster is featured briefly in the movie Batman Begins.

The coupé's base price is US$273,000, which is US$90,000 more than its smaller sibling, the Lamborghini Gallardo.

In 2006 the Murciélago's engine was replaced by a stronger 6.5 L engine and the car's name was changed to Murciélago LP640. For the 2007 model year Lamborghini did the same with the roadster model, which is now called Murciélago LP640 Roadster.

Lamborghini have announced one more powerful model, the XTR, a track-only car with a 700 bhp version of the V12, which probably won't be available as a street legal version.

Porsche carrera GT

 Porsche began developing the Carrera GT in 1999 as a successor to the 911 GT1 car they had discontinued in late 1998 because of FIA rule changes. However, there was speculation that Porsche discontinued development at the behest of VW/Audi chairman Ferdinand Piëch - Piëch was reportedly concerned over the prospect of a Porsche vehicle competing against the Audi R8 race car, which had just been introduced. As a member of the Porsche family, Piëch holds a seat on the company's board of directors and owns a percentage of the firm, so his influence could be exacted from inside. In addition, Porsche needed to free up capital and manpower for development work on the Cayenne, and dropping development of the race car made it possible.

Porsche did however produce one unit, and showed it at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show, mainly in an attempt to draw attention to their display. Surprising interest in the vehicle and an influx of revenue being provided by the Cayenne helped Porsche decide to make use of the car, and development started on a road-legal version that would be produced in small numbers at Porsche's new manufacturing facility in Leipzig. Porsche started a production run of Carrera GTs in 2004, shipping the units with an MSRP of $440,000 USD and a dealer invoice price of approximately $414,800 USD. In addition, the delivery charge could be as much as $15,000 USD. The first Carrera GT went on sale in the US on Jan 31, 2004.

Originally, a production run of 1,500 cars was slated. But Porsche announced in August, 2005 that it would not continue production of the Carrera GT throughout 2006. Porsche announced that this discontinuation was due to changing airbag regulations in the US. However, reports of diminishing sales volumes, relatively high dealer inventory levels, and dealer discounts below MSRP were reported by the automotive press as being the true factors driving an early end to the production run[citation needed]. Despite the early end to production, sales of the Carrera GT were a huge success, with worldwide sales volumes surpassing the combined totals of Ferrari's Enzo Ferrari, Mercedes' SLR McLaren, and Pagani's Zonda models.

As of May 6, 2006, 1,270 GT's had been sold, with 604 being sold in the United States.


Design

The Carrera GT is powered by an all-new 5.7 litre V10 engine producing 612 DIN (605 SAE) horsepower (450 kW) whereas the original concept car featured a 5.5 litre version rated at 558 hp (416 kW). Porsche claims it will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62.5 mph) in 3.9 seconds and has a maximum speed of 330 km/h (205 mph), although road tests indicated that in reality the car could accelerate from 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds and to 0-100 in 6.8 seconds and has a top speed of 336-346 km/h (209-215.2 mph). The Carrera GT has a basic 5 colour paint schemes which include: Black, Guards Red, Fayence Yellow, Basalt Black, GT Silver and Seal Grey. Custom colors were also available from the factory. A six-speed manual transmission is the only available transmission, in contrast to its rival the Enzo Ferrari which is only offered with sequential manual transmission. Attached to this gearbox is a birch/ash gearknob which pays homage to the wooden gearknob used in the Porsche 917 Le Mans racers. With the Enzo Ferrari priced initially around $660,000, the Carrera GT base price of $448,400 makes the dream of owning a piece of Le Mans inspired technology somewhat more attainable. The Carrera GT is also priced at $600,000 in Canadian dollars, and at 390,000 in Euros.

The Carrera GT has large side inlets and airdams that help cool the large V-10 that lies framed by the carbon fibre rear hood. Fitted with Porsche's latest brake system, the 15 inch ceramic pad brakes make a stunning appearance underneath the 19 inch front and 20 inch rear tires. Similar to other Porsche Models, the GT includes an automated rear wing spoiler which deploys in the higher ranges of speed (70 mph).


Technology
The Porsche Carrera GT's carbon-ceramic (silicon carbide) disc brake

Technology of note includes a pure carbon fibre monocoque and subframe, dry sump lubrication and inboard suspension. The carbon fibre monocoque and subframe were produced and assembled by the ATR Composites Group of Italy. The main innovation on this vehicle however is the drivetrain:

The Carrera GT uses a clutch made of a high-tech ceramic material. This is the first appearance of this race car technology in a road car. The clutch, although difficult to master, allows the engine to sit lower in the chassis than in any other super car, both improving its aerodynamics and lowering its center of gravity. Additionally, the engineers successfully avoided the use of a flywheel, which would represent a mass damper stabilizing the engine running, by using a hollow shaft that acts as a torsional damper between clutch and gearbox. Getting rid of the flywheel results in a very direct and quick engine response, as well as freeing up engine power under acceleration that would ordinarily be consumed by spinning up the flywheel.

Despite a seemingly difficult clutch, Porsche incorporated computer management of the clutch when the car is on an incline. Drivers are able to lift completely off the clutch and not stall the car.

Unlike some of its rivals, the Carrera GT does not use the same electronic driving aids such as dynamic stability control, but it does have traction control.

Porsche claims over 75 technology patents have been filed from development of the Carrera GT.

Audi R8

 The Audi R8 is a mid-engined sports car released by the German automaker Audi in 2006. Audi announced in 2005 that the name of the successful Audi R8 race car would be used for a new road car in 2007, the Audi R8, based on the Audi Le Mans Quattro concept car, which appeared at the 2003 Geneva Auto Show and 2003 International Motor Show. The R8 was officially launched at the Paris Auto Show on 30 September 2006. There is some confusion with the name which the car shares with the Le Mans winning R8 LMP. Originally, many thought the car would be called the R9 (as there is a gap in numbering left when Audi announced the R8's successor, the diesel-powered R10).

Technical Details

The Audi R8 will be available in mid-2007 with a 4.2 L V8 making 420 hp, as seen in the Audi RS4. Pricing for the 420 bhp model starts from €104,400 or £77,000 (Approx. $140,000 USD). The R8 has a dry weight of 1560 kg (3439 lb). A 0-100 km/h (0-60 mph) time of about 4.2 seconds is possible with a top speed of about 301 km/h (187 mph).

As Audi owns Lamborghini, the R8's architecture such as layout and chassis is based on that of the Lamborghini Gallardo and the two vehicles share transmissions. The R8 is made distinct by its exterior styling, cabin, engine options, and pricing.

The Audi R8 will also be the first production vehicle to feature all-LED headlights.

Future upgrades

The 2-seat coupe will be made available to the U.S. in the summer of 2007. In addition, an open-top, Porsche Carrera-GT-like model will follow in 2008.

For 2009 a second, more powerful engine variant that uses a 520-hp 5.2 L V10, an enlarged version of the Lamborghini Gallardo's engine and already seen in the Audi S8, is rumoured but not confirmed by Audi. Audi is currently in the process of developing a new turbocharged 5.2 L V10 engine for the future Audi RS6, and there is a possibility that this engine will make its way into the R8, dependent on marketing decisions. Test mules of this vehicle are developing well in excess of 600 bhp with the turbocharged 5.2 L V10. If this were to happen it is almost certain that this would create an RS8.

According to some sources[2] the 6.0 liter V12 TDI diesel engine from Audi Q7 has been confirmed to Audi R8 as well. This would make Audi R8 by far the fastest diesel powered car in the world with 0 - 100 km/h acceleration in less than 4 seconds. However the V12 diesel found in the Q7 is unlikely to make it in due to the fact that the engine will only fit under the Q7's bonnet.

Lamborghini Gallardo

Production year 2004.This yellow monster is powered by 500hp,5.0-liter V10 engine.
It is capable to reach 192 mph top speed.From 0-60 mph needs only 4 seconds.

Engine

TYPE                           5.0 liter gas
DRIVETRAIN            Mid-engine\AWD
CYLINDERS               10
DISPLACEMENT      4.961 ccm
HORSEPOWER(HP) 500 @ 7800 RPM
TORQUE                     376 @ 4500 RPM
REDLINE                    8000 RPM


Fuel consumption:Urban  29.1l/100km
                                Combined:19.5l/100km

Overview
The Gallardo was designed as a competitor to Ferrari's 360 Modena, and now competes with its replacement, the F430. The car is named after a famous breed of fighting bull and is pronounced roughly "guy-ar-do". Gallardo is also Spanish for the word gallant. Although performance is lower than the Murcielago, it is still very high, and the Gallardo has much better rearward visibility and, according to reviewers, is more maneuverable as well as more tractable in low-speed traffic, making the Gallardo a much more practical car to drive. It is also much more practical to use in bad weather than many other supercars, thanks to rear-biased all-wheel drive. Although corporate owner Audi[2] is renowned for its Quattro AWD system, Lamborghini uses a system of its own.

The Gallardo was designed by Belgian, Luc Donckerwolk, who now works for Fiat.

At current U.S. prices, a base Gallardo costs about US$175,000.

The Gallardo uses a V10 engine based on Audi's old straight-5 design. The engine was split again to become the straight-5 engine found in the new Volkswagen Jetta. The 5.0 L engine is a current Audi 4.2 L V8 (featured in Audi's S4, A6, A8, and Q7 models) with two extra cylinders added and a slightly smaller bore diameter.

The Gallardo offers two choices of transmissions, a conventional six-speed manual transmission, and an advanced six-speed electro-hydraulically controlled auto-clutch manual, or, as Lamborghini abbreviates it to, "E-gear". The latter allows the driver to make shifts much faster than an automatic transmission would, with the control that a manual offers. The driver shifts up and down via paddles behind the steering wheel, and does not need to manually actuate the clutch.

Audi, offers its own sports car based on the Gallardo called the Audi R8, which will be available in spring 2007. It will use a V8 in place of the Gallardo's V10 to avoid competing directly with the Gallardo.

For the 2008 model year, the Gallardo will receive a slight facelift with a new front air dam, larger air intakes, dual squared of exhausts (similar to the Murciélago LP640) and new vents behind the front wheel. The Gallardo will also receive new rear suspension as well as a few other, unspecified components from the Audi R8[3]. To the disappointment of many, the Gallardo does not have "scissor doors".