Showing posts with label car design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car design. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Did the Danish Build a Supercar that can Hang With the Big Boys

Every year a few small car companies come along and think they know better than Ferrari and Porsche when it comes to car building. Most of the time these car some up short with quality issues arising with parts that look like they are built by children. The in-dash navigation or car stereo, which in a normal car are built for the specific vehicle in most cases but in small shed built supercars they are pulled from other cars. In other words while the car may look amazing from a distance when you get up close things just don’t seems right.

The curse of all cars is that individual components cost a lot to have them custom built for a truly bespoke vehicle. Recently the Danish company Zenvo has decided to undertake the monumental task of creating a supercar and what’s really amazing it looks stunning. All of the parts for the car are built specifically for this one application hence everything looks like it belongs. The car is known by the name Zenvo ST1 and this beast houses a turbo and supercharged V8 creating over 800HP per ton. This means that this first time supercar can hit speeds of 60 mph in the low 3 second range and a top speed over 230MPH.

While the performance of the ST1 may be staggering the looks are what really sets this car apart in the current field of supercars. The striking looks are reminiscent of something from blade runner and there is nothing else on the road that looks anything like the Zenvo. Sharp angles and an unrelenting quest for aerodynamic style have made the body not only sleek but slippery enough to pass the super-duper car holy grail of 230 mph. So now that you are intrigued and want one, let us talk price. There is no easy way to say this…it’s 1.7 million dollars before options. While this may seem like a lot of money (and it is) keep in mind that the average Occupy Wall street offender can still afford it even though all we can do is dream. 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Concept Cars a Plenty in Frankfurt

Every year there are a host of car shows and events where manufacturers show off their new creations and new ideas. From components like car radio units and car navigation system units to complete concept vehicles the Frankfurt motor show has always been a haven for the automotive ideas of the world. It’s not just cars like the Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradale that take center stage in this arena. Cars like the Ford Festiva ST are huge crowd pleasers because of their real world attainability.
This year was no different with Ford, Subaru, Fisker and many others throwing down some amazing ideas.  Ford showed off their Focus and Festiva ST model’s which are both set for a global release…that means we will actually be able to have them here in the states. This is a big announcement since the US never gets the fun models of cars…type R, Old School Nissan GTR, even the old focus St none of them ever saw US shores, well legally anyway.
One of the most stunning models is the Jaguar C-X16 which is slated for production for the 2013 model year and has to be one of the best looking cars ever built. The great thing about this car …yep it is set to go head to head with the Porsche Cayman so the price won’t be out of this world. Sadly for the US market the Focus ST wagon will not hit our shores so we will have to make do with the Cadillac CTS-V wagon and its petty 600HP. Porsche showed off their new 911 but it is hard to tell the new one from the old, as opposed to KIA who dropped the GT concept on an unsuspecting public. The GT concept is KIAs fist RWD platform and if it comes out looking like the concept it will be a huge head turner. There was also a 1000+HP electric super car that was teased but not that much is known about it yet. For a full list of all the action cars and events at the show hit up Google and look for the Frankfurt auto show then sit back and enjoy the glory. 

Monday, August 22, 2011

This Year’s Monterey was Something Amazing to Behold

There are car shows and then there are CAR SHOWS, Monterey is the latter. This show it the crème de la crème of the automotive world. We are not talking about Ponitiac fuel pump and fuel injector units here. This is a no hold barred brawl of the most beautiful and amazing car that the world has ever seen.  As an example there were a number of cars carrying price tags so high that even Steve Jobs might think twice. Yeah lets be honest it wouldn’t phase him to buy one but still 2.6 Million dollars for one car is quite the asking price.
One such insane car is the new SSC Tuatara which is the latest offering from the Shelby company and the word bespoke is used a number of times when this car is mentioned. This car is a space age material covered high speed monster that will be a contender for the fasted production car on the planet for sure. The Tuatara features a 7.0L turbo charged motor creating more than 1300 HP and is looking to not only top the 270MPH barrier but also capture the fastest time for a production car around the Nurburgring. The best part about this car is it looks like something out a movie based years in the future and yes it is the car in the main image of this blog.
Bugatti had one of the more interesting cars that has been shown in many years but not for the reason you may think. This particular car is in fact a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport that has been custom built with porcelain worked right into the pain and while not everyone may agree with the styling of the car it can be said it is quite stunning to behold even if it is just in high def pictures. One last think about the car it has clear tail lamps and cops love to pull people over for clear tail lamps. Over 2 million for a car and a top speed of over 260MPH and you get stopped for something that trivial. Just saying it would be funny.
If anyone who could not get into the show it-self was feeling left out there was really no need, the parking lot of the even was any car guys dream. Just in a few short minutes walking around the grass lot that was the parking many Porsche carrers GTs and Lamborghinis can be seen. Enough Ferraris, Rolls Royce and Bentlys to make Rodeo drive loot like the poor house and even a Veyron or 2 all making me think why pay for a ticket. The other thought in my head is what do these people do for a living and how nice it must be to have that kind of speed at your finger tips …well toe tips.