New sport car: September 2009

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Mini Cooper D

This is the classic Mini Cooper, which is available in the U.S., but a diesel version, which is not.

Mini Cooper D

Lotus Europa S Sports Car

Lotus Europa S is one of the few Lotus models not to make it to the United States. With its stealth side air intakes, low overall height, large rims, and concave hood, the sports car reeks of speed.

Lotus Europa S

Lancia Delta Car

Lancia Delta car gives luxury stylings into the low, sleek body of a family hatchback. The rounded sidelines and trunk reflect traditional European car design.

Lancia Delta Car

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Infiniti FX50 S Dressed Up in Styling Package by Brabus' CRD Division

Here's a proposal from this year's Frankfurt Show that somehow managed to escape our radar. Supposedly a concept study, the Infiniti FX50 S Limited Edition was created by Car Research and Development or CRD for short, a subsidiary of the Brabus Group that works directly with automakers and their national importers. Among other cars, CRD was responsible (...) for the creation of the Dodge Avenger-based Startech Starster that appeared at the 2007 Frankfurt Show.

The Infiniti FX50 S Limited Edition show car gets a set of bespoke 21-inch turbine-design light-alloy wheels in a grey finish, while the front grille, side air inlets in the front fenders and the roof bars are also painted grey.

The luxury SUV's cabin is upholstered in high-quality leather with contrasting light brown stitching while the carbon-fiber trim in a dark brown finish and the alcantara trim on the headliner and pillars round off the interior upgrades.

And yes, we too are wondering why Brabus / CRD even bothered to call this creation a concept study...

Lamborghini Reventon Roadster: Details and High-Res Gallery of €1.1 Million Special

Two years after the Reventon coupe was presented at the 2007 Frankfurt show, the Italian automaker is making a comeback at this year's IAA with the unveiling of a roadster model. As with the coupe, less than 20 examples of the jet-fighter inspired supercar will be built for sale, each priced at a whopping 1.1 million euros or 1.6 million USD at today's exchange rates, and mind you, that's not including taxes. Deliveries of the V12-powered Italian special will begin as early as October 2009.

"The Reventón is the most extreme car in the history of the brand," said Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Lamborghini. "The new Roadster adds an extra emotional component to our combined technological expertise – it unites superior performance with the sensual fascination of open-top driving."

Like the coupe, the Reventon Roadster measures 4700 mm (185 in.) in length, has a wheelbase of 2665 mm (105 in.) and is 2058 mm (81 in.) wide and 1132 mm (45 in.) high.

Besides the targa roof, the only other styling differences between the two bodystyles concern the addition of two hidden pop-up bars that deploy upwards in just a few hundredths of a second in the event of a rollover, the new engine bonnet that is virtually horizontal and comes with four glass windows providing a full view of the V12 and finally, a new shade of matt grey.

Lamborghini says that the Reventon's base bodyshell, which is made almost exclusively from carbon fiber elements, with sheet steel used only for the outer door skins, was already so stiff that the Roadster model required only minimal reinforcement. This translates to an extra 25kg (55 lbs) bringing the Roadster model's total dry weight to 1690 Kg (3,725 lbs.).

Inside, the jet-fighter theme is continued with the "two transreflective and one transmissive" liquid-crystal displays replacing the classic analogue instrumentation while the two bucket seats are separated by a large central tunnel covered in carbon fiber and Alcantara.

Heavily based on the Murcielago, the Reventon Roadster is powered by a 6.5-liter naturally-aspirated V12 engine that cranks out 670 ponies at 8,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 660 Nm (487 lb-ft) at 6,000 rpm. That's 20HP more than the coupe's V12 while the peak torque figure is the same. The engine is coupled to a six speed automated-manual transmission that sends power to all four wheels.

According to Lamborghini, the Reventon Roadster can accelerate from 0 to 100 Km/h (62 mph) in 3.4 seconds and reach to a top speed of 330 Km/h (205 mph).

Son of AMC Designer Creates AMX/4 Prototype Sports Coupe

American Motors Company or AMC for short, may be long gone as the firm was absorbed by Chrysler in the late 1980's, but the brand lives on in the hearts of people like Jeff Teague, a designer who happens to be the son of AMC's design vice president for 26 years, Dick Teague. The latter was responsible for an array of Jeep and AMC designs such as the Gremlin, Pacer, Matador coupe, Jeep Cherokee, Rambler American, Javelin and Hornet.

Having penned many sketches for a modern-day AMC in the past, Jeff decided to proceed to the next phase by creating a 1/4 scale clay prototype for a coupe model that he calls AMX/4 and which is a logical successor to his father's AMX/3.

Teague will present his AMX/4 concept to the public for the first time at this weekend's So Cal AMC Classic Car Show and Beach Cruise at the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo, California.

We don't know what the odds are for a full-scale, drivable version of Teague's conceptual proposal, but nonetheless, we salute his efforts and hope that he manages to bring the car to life.

Source: SoCalamc , Via: Hemmings