Porsche 918 Spyder

Unless you have been living Greece, where all you would be doing is crying about how your economy is dead, I am sure that you have heard of the Porsche 918 Spyder.

Firstly, go ahead and watch this video.




Impressive, eh?

Porsche have gone to great lengths with their engineering, wait I'm doing this wrong isn't this what every review starts with?. From now on I will be writing my blogs a little differently so you can actually look at the stuff you want to know about.

Style

For a layman to spot a difference between a 911 and a Boxster would be very difficult, I promise. A person like me, who can tell which car it is from miles away is not able to spot the difference between a 911 Carrera S and a 911 turbo. Basically all you're paying for is performance. Honestly, most Porsche's have never looked good.

A couple Porsche's did stand out and some new ones such as the Boxster Spyder are beautiful and there is a distinct difference between the normal Boxster and the Spyder. However, the 918 Spyder is really a looker!, it could easily be mistaken for a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. Hats off to Porsche for this one. The front is very elegant and non-Porsche-like If I may say so!. It actually looks like the F430 16M from the front. The rear, I see hints of the Audi R8 and the LP560-4, this is not surprising as Audi, Lamborghini and Porsche are owned by Volkswagen so they have plenty of inspiration for looks!. I think style-wise this is quite the break Porsche needed and I am sure this means they are going to change the game, that is, If they apply such clever design to all their line-ups.



Performance

The Porsche 918 Spyder with plug-in hybrid provides the performance of a thoroughbred super sports car (no, seriously) on fuel consumption of just 3 litres/100 kilometres in the New European Driving Cycle, equal to a CO2 emission rating of 70 g/km.

The 918 Spyder is powered by a mid-mounter V8 developing more than 500 bhp at 9,200 rpm as well as electric motors on the front and rear axle with overall mechanical output of 218 bhp (160 kW).

This car does not lack in performance it has achieved a time of less than 7:30 on the Nurburgring, for those who understand this time, yes, it's really really good for a Hybrid supercar.

Not talking about negatives yet, YES, i have spotted a lot. But let's just say its Brilliant!.





Will it work?

Sadly, no. Despite being a successor to the legendary Porsche Carrera GT this will be considered as another concept. The reason being that every person who understands this car will get the point that the car is confused. Let me explain, the system of the Hybrid (electric) engine will work for 25 km at maximum. So, firstly its impractical. Secondly, Tesla would be a better option, being the first ever Hybrid supercar attempt from Porsche means they lack experience in such vehicles. I say Tesla because they are a very reputed brand, at present the only brand that comes to mind when thinking of Hybrid or Electric Supercar. If you have enough money to afford a Porsche 918 Spyder, then the opportunity cost is very high as you could buy a lot of cars which look better and have greater performance, however greater environmental impact. Thirdly, and finally, electric hybrids are not accepted world-wide; for such a technology to be accepted it will take years and years, having an electric charging meter on every street has its costs and many developing countries would not even consider it, so really it's just the Europe and USA which will ever be entitled to such technology and cars.

If you liked the post or have any questions, please comment.

P.s. I love haters. :D
Oh yeah and tell me if I should add more/less pictures.

Peaceeee.

Back from the grave

Hi guys,
Firstly, I am sorry for leaving the blog in the mess it was but I had no choice, choosing between blogging and IB (International Baccalaureate) was a tough one but I had to give it to IB since, well frankly it was going to get me into university so might as well :). Secondly, the site is now only on blogspot as www.ultimateturbo.com has expired but I will renew it in a couple of days. Thirdly, I am going to blog at least once everyday as of 13th June 2010 as I have regained passion for cars, well not that it was lost or anything, but as I mentioned I have had no time at all for this blog but now its going to come back to life! XD.



Anyways stay tuned and Peaceee.

Prateek B.

p.s. follow me on twitter- www.twitter.com/prateek03
add me on facebook, if you want!?!?- Prateek Bachwani

Video: Paolo Pinifarina on Ferrari 458 Italia's Form & Function

Form versus function - it's a classic debate, and one with strong arguments on both sides. As much as sports cars are tools for going fast, they are dynamic works of art as well. In the case of the Ferrari 458 Italia, it is both, and in this video Pininfarina president Paolo Pininfarina explains why.

Along with the glut of new information and interior shots released this morning, Ferrari has also released a new video of the 458 Italia, explaining how the car's elegant styling and close attention to detail also perform real aerodynamic functions.



Though we'll take any excuse to get more close-up looks at a well-executed Italian supercar, it's also an object lesson that form and function aren't always mutually exclusive.

Check out the video to see for yourself, and pay attention around the 1:00 minute mark to see how F1 technology may have trickled down to the front wing/intake area, allowing the aerodynamic surfaces to deform under load to increase the angle of attack and improve downforce.

Rendered: 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia Spider

In just a few weeks Ferrari will show to the world for the first time its stunning new 2010 458 Italia supercar, which is set to replace the outgoing F430 at the end of the year. Like the F430, which also came in a Spider convertible version, Ferrari will eventually launch a new open-top version of its latest, which has been previewed here in this latest computer generated rendering.



Likely to be called the 458 Italia Spider, the new model is expected to be launched one year after the hard-top, which pegs its release for sometime late next year as a 2011 model. While Ferrari has a adopted a folding hard-top roof for its most recent convertible model, the California, the 458 Italia Spider is likely to retain the lightweight soft-top roof seen on the F430 Spider and high-performance Scuderia 16M.



Apart from the roof and some chassis reinforcements, the 458 Italia Spider should be identical to its hard-top sibling, which means power will come from a 4.5-liter V-8 engine rated at 570 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque and sending torque to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Dimensions should remain at 4,527 mm in length, 1,937 mm in width, and 1,213 mm in height, though weight will almost certainly be higher than the hard-top's 1,380 kg measurement.

2011 McLaren ‘P11’ Supercar

When the McLaren F1 first hit the streets it almost immediately catapulted to the top of the performance car scene, taking home the title of world’s fastest production car in 1998 and holding it up until 2005. Building a car better than the original F1 was always going to be a difficult challenge, and perhaps that is why for its successor McLaren isn’t setting its sights too high.



While the original F1 competed with the best supercars of its time - cars like the Ferrari F40, Jaguar XK220, and Porsche 959 - its successor will be competing with more ‘entry-level’ models. Rather than chasing Enzos and Veyrons, the McLaren F1 successor will go up against cars like the Ferrari F430 and Lamborghini Gallardo, and as such it will be priced accordingly.

Prototypes for the new model, which is currently going by its ‘P11’ project name, have been spotted testing recently near McLaren's factory in Surrey, UK, as well as at Germany’s Nurburgring for the first time. Spy shots of the prototypes reveal that the new P11 will feature a much more chiseled appearance that its McLaren F1 predecessor. Though heavily masked, the prototypes also reveal a mid-engine layout, a tall, squared-off tail, short overhangs, and tapered back headlights. The car will also sport a pair of vertically-lifting scissor doors.



Expect an advanced carbon-composite chassis, a lightning quick F1-style paddle shift gearbox and carbon-ceramic brakes. While Mercedes’ partnership with McLaren will soon come to end, the German automaker is tipped to be supplying its 6.2-liter AMG V-8 engine for application in the P11. McLaren engineers, however, are expected to work over the engine to the tune of 550 horsepower.

With an estimated kerb weight of about 1,250kg, the new P11 should easily accelerate from 0-62 mph in less than four seconds and reach a top speed in excess of 200 mph. First deliveries are expected to start in late 2010, and in the following years a Spider convertible and high-performance GTR version could eventually be launched.

First Bentley Mulsanne sells for $550,000 at auction

Getting your hands on any Bentley is generally a sign that things have gone well for you, but for one lucky buyer at the recent Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, things are going swimmingly. That's because the person - whose identity is being held secret - has taken home the Chassis Number One 2011 Bentley Mulsanne.

That's the very first Mulsanne built, and it went for a price of $550,000 according to Gooding & Company, the auction house that sold the car. There are no plans to release the identity of the buyer, though it will be rather difficult to slip out in public with the Mulsanne while staying under the radar.



The new Mulsanne was sold alongside cars that dwarfed its price, however, including a 1962 Ferrari 250GT SWB California Spider that brought in a tremendous $5.115 million, a 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Drop Head Coupe that sold for $4,180,000, and numerous others that sold for prices between $1 and $3 million, including a 1953 Aston Martin DB 2/4 Drop Head Coupe.



Total combined haul for the sellers of the 129 lots: $50,759,350. And for those that missed out on the action, you can keep abreast of future Gooding & Company events with their custom iPhone app, which you can download from their homepage at the link below.

Gumpert Apollo Sport Posts 7m 11.57s Nurburgring Lap Time

German automaker and motorsports company Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur (yes, that’s how you spell it) manufactures some of the most extreme vehicles on the planet and has recently proven the merits of this claim with a new Nurburgring lap time for its supercar. The Sport is a mid-tier option for the company’s Apollo line of supercar models and for the run the car was optioned with a 700 horsepower version of its regular Audi-sourced 4.2-liter V-8.

The time set by the Apollo Sport is an independent recording noted by German magazine Sport-Auto and comes in at 7m 11.57s. Gumpert is claiming the 'road car' record for the ‘Ring but it’s well known that the Radical SR8 in road legal trim has clocked a blistering 6m 55s lap time.



The Apollo Sport was piloted by 26 year-old driver Florian Gruber on August 13, edging out the Donkervoort D8 RS06, which posted a time of 7m 14.89s back in November 2005, as well as the more recent Nissan GT-R and Corvette ZR1.

As for the car itself, the Apollo Sport comes with a tubular space frame of chrome-molybdenum steel with an integrated safety monocoque structure fabricated in carbon-fiber. The huge air intakes on the roof and side panels feed cold air to the twin-turbo mid-engine powerplant.

The Sport edition is differentiated to the standard Apollo thanks to the addition of a full racing aero package with a huge GT wing and lower front spoilers, while the interior gets comfort mod-cons not usually found in such vehicles. The list includes Alcantara trim, air-conditioning, a CD player and sat-nav, and even a reversing camera as standard. The list price for the Apollo Sport is €299,500 ($423,167) plus taxes.