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Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport unveiled at Pebble Beach

Tuesday August 19, 2008
Pebble Beach saw the world premier of Bugatti's newest Veyron model, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport. A removable roof adds open top motoring potential to the Veyron's list of capabilities. A lightweight transparent removable polycarbonate roof panel is fitted, necessitating a raft of changes to the monocoque of the Veyron to attain the requisite chassis stiffness, as the original fixed roof of the closed Veyron had provided some of its structural rigidity. There is no place to store the roof panel in the car when it is not in place, so Bugatti have supplied a folding canvas cover in the event that weather protection is needed once a journey is under way. Keeping the weight as low as possible was also a primary objective, and the roadster incurs just an 80 kg penalty. Other changes include redesigned front lights with daytime running LEDs, and a higher windscreen. Interior fittings have also been tweaked, with a new sound system being a prominent feature.

Power is unchanged from the "normal" Veyron, the mid-mounted 8 litre W16 engine pumping out 1001 PS (736 kW) at 6000 rpm and 1250 Nm (922 ftlb) of torque between 2200 and 5500 rpm, thanks largely to 4 turbochargers assisting the breathing. The gearbox too is unchanged, a seven speed sequential gearbox with a fully automatic mode channeling that power to all four wheels. With the roof closed, Bugatti claim a top speed of 407 km/h for the Grand Sport, identical to its fixed top brother. the 0-100 km/h sprint is claimed to take under 2.7 seconds. When the folding canvas top is in place, top speed is limited to 130 km/h.

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Audi RS6 Saloon

Monday August 11, 2008
The Audi RS6 Avant was launched some time ago already, and Audi have now released some details about the forthcoming Audi RS6 saloon.

The saloon shares the overall dimensions with the Avant - a 2846 mm wheelbase, 4928 mm length and 1889 mm width. It is 4 mm lower than the Avant, at 1456 mm. It is also 50 kg lighter at the kerb, but still a heavyweight at 1972 kg.

The brakes are ventilated discs fore and aft, with a diameter of 390 mm in the front and 356 mm at the rear, housed within 9J x 19 wheels. Tyre sizes are 255/40 R 19 on all four wheels.

The engine is unchanged from the RS6 Avant, with a slightly undersquare (84.5 mm x 89.0 mm) 90 degree V10 sitting up front, with twin turbochargers helping the 4991 cc unit to provide 580 PS (427 kW) between 6250 rpm and 6700 rpm. Torque is an impressive 650 Nm (479 ftlb), achieved in a broad range from 1500 rpm to 6250 rpm. All this power is transmitted to all four wheels via a six speed Tiptronic gearbox. All this adds up to an electronically-limited 250 km/h top speed (optionally, it can be set to limit the maximum velocity to 280 km/h) and a 0-100 km/h sprint time of just 4.5 seconds.

• Audi RS6
• Audi RS6 Avant

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New Lotus Evora Preliminary Specs

Friday July 25, 2008
The details of the new Lotus Evora have been released, albeit for the prototype version. Performance and consumption data are not yet known, although Lotus estimates a 257 km/h (160 mph) top speed and CO₂ emissions of under 255 g/km.

The Evora is a completely new Lotus model, featuring a 3.6 litre V6 engine mounted ahead of the rear wheels. The chassis has been developed on Lotus' Low Volume Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA) system, which allows Lotus to develop various wheelbases, lengths and widths on one basic platform for different applications. The interior has 2+2 seating, although a purely 2 seater will also be available, accommodated within a 2575 mm wheelbase. Overall length of the body is 4342 mm, and it is 1223 mm high. The prototype has a kerb weight of 1350 kg, distributed 39%/61% between front and rear. A 0.33 coefficient of drag is claimed.

A 3456 cc Lotus-tuned Toyota 2GR-FE engine, with Toyota's intelligent variable valve timing (VVT-i), is transversely mid-mounted. Lotus supply their own T6e engine management and a new exhaust system to provide power of 280 PS (206 kW) at 6400 rpm and torque of 342 Nm (252 ftlb) at 4700 rpm, as fitted in the prototype. A Toyota-sourced six speed manual gearbox is used. Front tyres are 225/40 ZR 18 and the rears are 255/35 ZR 19, with Yokohama having supplied a rubber unique to Lotus for this application. Stopping ability is catered for by ventilated discs front and rear, 350 mm and 332 mm in diameter respectively. An ABS system developed by Lotus and Bosch is fitted.

The production Lotus Evora is expected to hit showrooms sometime in 2009.

• Lotus Evora

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The Phenomenal Lancia Stratos

Thursday July 24, 2008
In the early seventies, Ferrari, Lancia and Bertone teamed up to create one of the greatest rally cars ever, the Lancia Stratos. The head of Lancia's competition division, Cesare Fiorio, was the driving force behind this project. Bertone had sown the seeds for the project in the Bertone Stratos concept car of 1970. This was an impossibly flat wedge-shaped body, just 846 mm high, housing a mid-mounted Lancia Fulvia V4 engine of 1584 cc capacity, with a driving position requiring the pilot to be lying almost flat on his back, and a lift-up windscreen through which entrance and egress were to be made. It caused a sensation at the 1970 Turin Motor Show. A year later, Bertone presented another Stratos styling exercise, this time badged as a Lancia. The Lancia Stratos HF concept was much closer in shape to the final product, which was to be running as a rally prototype a further year later.

Lancia's rallying ambitions were completely satisfied by the Stratos. It dominated international rallying for more than five years, and when it was retired by the decision makers at Fiat and Lancia, it was still at the pinnacle of the sport. The Stratos won three World Rally Championships, had victories on the Monte Carlo Rally and in the Targa Florio, and numerous others. Notable campaigners of the Stratos included Sandro Munari, Markku Alen and Bjorn Waldegaard.

The road-going Lancia Stratos came into being due to the homologation requirements at the time, which stipulated that at least 500 examples be produced in order to be eligible for certain competitions. Production of the road-going Lancia Stratos began in 1974. The engine was sourced from Ferrari, which was by that time under the Fiat Group umbrella alongside Lancia. The transverse mid-mounted 65 degree V6 had already found use in the Ferrari Dino 246 GT and the Fiat Dino Coupé and Spider. As utilised in the Lancia Stratos road car, it featured 3 Weber twin choke carburettors, and a relatively low compression ratio of 9.0. From its 2419 cc swept capacity it produced 190 PS (139 kW) at 7000 rpm and 225 Nm (166 ftlb) of torque at 4000 rpm. This power was transmitted to the rear wheels via a Ferrari five speed gearbox, running a 3.824 final drive ratio. 205/70 tyres were fitted front and rear, mounted on 7.5 x 14 inch rims. Overall kerb weight was just 980 kg, distributed 46%/54% front/rear. This relatively light weight and short gearing made for a rapid device, with the 0-60 mph (96 km/h) sprint taking just 6.0 seconds, the standing quarter mile being dispatched in 13.5 seconds, and an overall top speed of 230 km/h.

The body was a short, stubby wedge, just 3710 mm long, 1750 mm wide, and with a 2180 mm wheelbase. Extremely low, it measured just 1110 mm high. The other-worldly looks were enhanced by the use of a radically curved windscreen, which formed a bubble-like enclosure around the cockpit; heavy rear louvres; bright firecracker red, lime green or Dayglo orange paintwork, and gold-painted 5 spoke Campagnolo wheels. The dramatic shape and wild colours gave the Stratos a visual impact to rival Bertone's other seventies extravaganza, the Lamborghini Countach.

• Bertone Stratos
• Lancia Stratos HF
• Lancia Stratos

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Megane R26.R - hot hatch, Renault style

Wednesday July 23, 2008
The details of the latest front wheel drive rocket from Renault have been released. The Renault Megane II Renault Sport R26.R, to give it its full title, is based on the Renault Megane II Renault Sport F1 Team R26. The engine remains unchanged, with the 1998 cc twin cam 16 valve four cylinder turbocharged unit mounted transversely in the front. The power and torque figures for this engine are 230 PS (169 kW) at 5500 rpm and 310 Nm (229 ftlb) at 3000 rpm. With the rear seats removed and various weight saving measures in place, the lighter R26.R shaves a claimed 0.5 seconds off the 0-100 km/h sprint, now 6 seconds dead, and 0.7 seconds off the standing start kilometre, now covered in 25.7 seconds. Renault are the latest manufacturer to boast about a Nürburgring lap time, claiming the record for the fastest lap for front wheel drive cars, with a lap of 8:17 for the R26.R. To honour this achievement, each R26.R has the Nürburgring course outline and the lap time etched into the rear side window glass.

Only 450 examples of the R26.R are to be produced, with the UK getting the lion's share of production, with 230 examples earmarked for their market. France gets 126 units, and the remainder will go on sale in other European countries.

• Renault Megane II Renault Sport R26.R
• Renault Megane II Renault Sport F1 Team R26

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2010 Chevrolet Camaro details released

Monday July 21, 2008
Chevrolet have officially announced the specifications of their 2010 Chevrolet Camaro models. Two engines are on offer initially, a 3.6 litre V6 with direct petrol injection and a pushrod overhead valve 6.2 litre V8. A six speed manual or six speed automatic gearbox are available for both engine variants.

The retro-styled Camaro body measures 4836 mm in overall length, and sits on a 2852 mm wheelbase. This is slightly bigger overall than the original Camaro, which had an overall length of 4689 mm and a wheelbase measuring 2746 mm. A conventional front engine, rear drive platform is used.

The 3.6 litre V6 has a 94.0 mm bore and a 85.6 mm stroke for a displacement of 3564 cc. The 24 valves are operated by a dual overhead camshaft per bank, and fuel is delivered via a high pressure direct injection setup. Variable valve timing helps keep emissions lower and improve power. The engine features an 11.3 compression ratio. Power and torque for the 3.6 litre is said to be 300 bhp (224 kW) at 6000 rpm and 273 ftlb (370 Nm) at 5200 rpm. This engine is standard on the Camaro LS and LT models.

The 6.2 litre V8 has a bore of 103.25 mm and a stroke of 92.0 mm. Multiport indirect injection and a 10.7 compression ratio endows the Camaro SS with 422 bhp (315 kW) at 5000 rpm and 408 ftlb (553 Nm) of torque at 4500 rpm, for the manual version. The automatic makes do with Active Fuel Management, which allows the engine to run on just four cylinders in suitably undemanding circumstances, reducing consumption and emissions. This engine is known as the L99 and produces 400 bhp (298 kW) at 5000 rpm and 395 ftlb (535 Nm) at 4500 rpm.

A convertible Camaro is slated to join the lineup at some stage.

2008 Chevrolet Camaro LS

2008 Chevrolet Camaro LS Automatic

2008 Chevrolet Camaro LT

2008 Chevrolet Camaro LT Automatic

2008 Chevrolet Camaro SS

2008 Chevrolet Camaro SS Automatic

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