May 13
May 13
Lamborghini Egoista Concept centers entirely on its very fortunate driver (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
Many automakers talk of building driver-focused machines; for its 50th birthday, Lamborghini is taking that idea to its logical extreme through the Egoista Concept. The commemorative supercar centers on a cabin that only allows room for the driver and a bare minimum of instruments, eliminating pesky distractions such as passengers and stereos. Lamborghini isn’t exaggerating when it likens the interior to a jet fighter’s cockpit — the pilot gets a heads-up display as a matter of course, and has to climb over the car body just to crawl inside. We’d certainly like to give the narrow-purpose vehicle a spin when there’s a 600HP, 5.2-liter V10 involved, although that’s sadly unlikely. As hinted by the self-centered name, the Egoista Concept is built to let the company toot its own horn, and won’t be sold — anyone who gets a test drive will be part of a very exclusive (and likely ecstatic) club, as you might gather from the video after the break. We’ll just have to make do with an Aventador, then.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: Autoblog
Source: Lamborghini
Apr 11
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive test-driven, quietly tears up the track (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Sure, Mercedes-Benz is building all-electric vehicles for the daily grind, but none can deny the 750-horsepower SLS AMG Electric Drive is by far its most exciting EV. One lucky test-driver — Chris Harris from YouTube channel DRIVE — recently had the opportunity to point the overtly shiny beast round a track, and filmed it for his online passengers. He’s initially unsure the car will turn petrol-heads on, and talks torque, cockpit layout, driving modes and some behind-the-scenes tech before giving in to the sheer insanity of what’s happening on the track and under the hood. Then he picks the brains of a project manager at MB, discussing E-Cells, the chassis, electric motors and how they’re all responsible for the silent but deadly ride he’s just experienced. If you’ve got close to 20 minutes to spare (it is Friday, after all), we highly recommend you buckle up for the full video below.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: Autoblog
Source: DRIVE (YouTube)
Mar 07
For its next supercar, Lamborghini has continued its exploration of sharp angles. The Veneno was designed as a “hypercar” to celebrate Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary. I’ll take two, please.
The Lamborghini Veneno is one of the most striking street-legal cars that I’ve ever seen. It’s based on the Aventador, and has a 6.5-liter V12 producing 750 horsepower, which will propel you up to 220 miles per hour. It features lots of carbon-fiber reinforced polymer to reduce weight. The crazy angles are there to optimize aerodynamics and include a front splitter, rear diffuser, massive rear wing, and a shark-like fin running all along the spine of the roof.
Sadly, only three people on Earth will get to own it. With an approximate price of $4.5 million (USD) price tag, only petrolheads with vast sums of money to burn will be driving these. Naturally, all three have already been sold.
[via Autoblog]
Mar 06
Rolls-Royce Wraith picks gears using GPS, keeps your Spirit of Ecstasy soaring (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Many Rolls-Royce drivers are used to effortless speed between the big engines and smooth suspensions. The automaker’s new Wraith coupe could iron out what few of those wrinkles are left through a clever use of GPS for the transmission. Its eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox relies on positioning to pick gears in advance, gauging the situation down to the exact stretch of road: it can see the need for a shorter gear at the upcoming corner, for example. Other tech upgrades aren’t quite as fresh, although we’re sure that less traditionalist Rolls drivers won’t mind a heads-up display, voice command support and the infotainment system’s multi-touch trackpad. The Wraith’s €245,000 ($318,745) price and late 2013 availability will likely be too much to endure if all you’re looking for is seamless shifting — they may, however, provide some consolation for missing out on that LaFerrari.
Filed under: GPS, Transportation
Via: Autoblog
Source: Rolls-Royce
Mar 06
The Ferrari Enzo was an amazing car, and Ferrari had to come up with something even more awesome to surpass it. Meet the Ferrari LaFerrari.
The Ferrari LaFerrari was unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show and while its name is a bit odd, it is packed with technology to beat any car on the road. It features a 949 hp hybrid powertrain, which is supposed to produce breakneck acceleration. The power comes from a 789-hp 6.3-liter V12 engine mated with a 161-hp electric motor. This bad boy will rev up to 9,250 RPM and produce 664 lb-ft of torque, reaching a top speed of 217 miles per hour.
The LaFerrari is selling for about €1 million (~$1.3 million USD). But before you get out your checkbooks, Ferrari will produce only 499 models of this car, and there are already about 700 standing orders, meaning that this car has completely sold out.
[via Autoblog]
Mar 05
Ferrari outs 949HP LaFerrari hybrid, gives FF drivers iPad minis and Siri (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Everyone knew Ferrari was cooking up its first hybrid, and that it would be very quick when it was pegged as an Enzo successor. Still, we didn’t quite expect the sledgehammer that is the LaFerrari. Never mind the very redundant naming scheme: there’s a 789HP V12 mated with 160HP of electric power, the 949HP combination of which takes the supercar to 62MPH in less than 3 seconds and makes it the overall fastest Ferrari to date. There’s a nod to eco-friendliness with relatively low emissions, but the hybrid component mostly powers a KERS system that fills out the few weak points in the torque band. You won’t have the chance to buy the LaFerrari — all 499 units of the €1 million ($1.3 million) flagship are spoken for — but there’s already talk of future hybrids that will run solely on electric power some or all of the time.
Don’t be too forlorn if you have money to burn on a tech-centric Ferrari, though. The Maranello crew is also showing the very first results of its Apple collaboration through an upgraded FF. The four-seater GT now has Siri voice integration and ships with a pair of iPad minis to keep backseaters entertained when the 652HP V12 somehow isn’t exciting enough. Ferrari hasn’t said how much the upgraded FF costs, although we imagine that the iOS-linked costs are drops in the bucket next to the vehicle itself. Chairman Luca di Montezemolo hints that it’s just the start of the Apple relationship, too, as Ferrari will be “more precise” about the union in the months ahead.
Filed under: Transportation, Apple
Source: Ferrari
Feb 05
So you think you’ve got it made with your spanking new BMW or Mercedes in your garage? Well, perhaps those are considered to be ‘normal’ rides as you continue to climb up the corporate ladder, and you start to amass the likes of Bugattis, Lamborghinis, Porsches and Ferraris. Perhaps it is time to throw your glance at Beirut-based W Motors’ Lykan Hypersport.
Thing is, this monster on the road will certainly burn a large hole in your pocket. First revealed at the Qatar Motor Show, the Lykan Hypersport will sport (pardon the pun) a massive $3.4 million price tag. Is splashing that kind of money justified? Perhaps if you are a billionaire, and $3.4 million is but a drop in the ocean for you. The Lykan Hypersport intends to be the epitome of luxury with diamond-encrusted LED headlights, not to mention gold-stitched leather interiors. Of course, if you feel that diamonds might be a wee bit ostentatious, then you can always customize your ride by throwing in rubies, sapphires or emeralds instead.
Expect this 750-horsepower Lykan Hypersport to hit 62 miles per hour in just 2.8 seconds, where it can achieve a top speed of 245 miles per hour. Not only that, it comes with a virtual holographic display in place of its instrument panel that will surely up the ante in the coolness factor. Only 7 of these bad boys will be made, so move quick!
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Xkuty Scooter Could Be Confused As Electric Bicycle, DC Fast Chargers To Triple In The US, Thanks To Nissan, 
Nov 29
Just when you thought that having 1,000 horses underneath the hood in the Bugatti Veyron was the epitome of vehicle engineering, that just proved the start to the 2,000 horsepower mark. In the coming year ahead, Koenigsegg and Hennessy will roll out new versions of their Agera R and Venom GT respectively, and you can expect the performance of both to blow the mind away. The Hennessy Venom GT2 has its official details released to date, projecting a possible top speed of 287 mph, which is far more speed than the average driver (and road) is able to handle.
As for the Agera R from Koenigsegg, it tips the scales at a massive 2,932 pounds, and mathematicians would be quick to whip out their calculators, touting that if it were to have a 1:1 ratio, that would mean carrying a cool 1,329 horsepower under the hood to match it’s weight in kilograms (1,329kg). Christian Von Koenigsegg says that the One:1, however, is to be “slightly lighter than the Agera R”, with a power range that will be “somewhere between 1250hp and 1350hp.” I shudder at the thought of its price.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: C-Explorer 5 Personal Submarine, Australian airline company Qantas adds Passbook support for iPhone check-ins,
Nov 07
Apple exec Eddy Cue joins Ferrari board of directors, raises hopes for truly high-tech exotic cars
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Ferrari loves to extol the advances found in its drivetrains, but the unspoken rule is that its interior technology leaves something to be desired; unless you’re thinking of a 458’s manettino, even a less expensive car like the Tesla Model S is virtually in another league. The automaker may be narrowing that gap by putting Apple online lead Eddy Cue on the Ferrari board of directors. Without giving too much away, Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo points to Cue’s experience with the “dynamic, innovative world of the internet” as the motivation — as good a sign as any that the Maranello team wants to take connected cars seriously. Whenever the Apple Senior VP’s experience comes into full effect, we may see one of the few supercar lineups whose cabins are as advanced as the engines. Just don’t look for any tight integration with Ferrari-badged Acer gear in the near future.
Filed under: Transportation, Internet, Apple
Apple exec Eddy Cue joins Ferrari board of directors, raises hopes for truly high-tech exotic cars originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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