June 9th, 2008
Texas based Ronn Motor Company (RMC) has unveiled the Scorpion sportscar that runs on a 30-40 percent blend of hydrogen and gasoline, promising reduced emissions and 40 mpg plus efficiency.
Rather than using fuel cells to power an electric motor, the Scorpion would have an internal combustion engine burning both gasoline and hydrogen, achieving 40 highway miles per gallon.
Unlike with a hydrogen fuel cell car, the Scorpion’s “hydrogen on demand” system wouldn’t require a high-pressure hydrogen storage tank. Nor would a driver need to find and fill up at a hydrogen fueling station.
June 9th, 2008
ASI (Accuracy.Spirit.Imagination), car tuning specialist from Japan, has released its tuning package for the Bentley Continental GT. The modified Bentley from ASI is known as ASI Tetsu GTR where its Japanese cherry blossoms paintwork is based on the original Japanese artwork by Nakamura Tetsuei.
Artwork aside, ASI’s Tetsu GTR features an aggressively styled wide-bodykit (+1,800 mm) that includes dry carbon bonnet, trunk and rear wing spoiler along with several mechanical upgrades the most important being the modified 6.0L W12 engine that now produces 800 Hp.
The car is priced at $800,000 and will be manufactured in a limited edition of just 29 units.
June 6th, 2008
The Maybach 57 goes a step further in ensuring you feel like royalty when you ride the car, all the chrome trim rudiments in the vehicle interior are gold-plated with a wafer-thin layer of genuine 24-carat gold.
If muted sophistication (other than wood and leather) is your style then you can ask for the trim elements to be crafted from naturally occurring granite. Maybach also offers Business Packages to their customers as an ex-factory option. The Maybach mobile office system includes mobile Internet access. A printer can also be included in the package should the customer require it.
Wireless Bluetooth technology allows the car owner’s laptop to be integrated on board. While working on it, the computer can be placed on one of the fold-down tables between the rear seats, and when not in use, it can be stowed away in a multifunction compartment on the back of the seats.
The large scope for individualisation of the Maybach saloons starts right with the bodies of the Maybach Landaulet, the Maybach 62 and 62 S, plus the Maybach 57 and 57 S.
As far as the fully closed versions in the two different vehicle lengths are concerned, the customer has a range of roof options: all-metal roof, a solar module and a sliding roof, available separately or in combination – both positioned either at the front or alternatively at the rear. On the 62 and 62 S models there is also the option of an electro-transparent panoramic glass roof in conjunction with the solar module. This means that Maybach customers can choose from no less than ten different body variants when specifying their own personal dream saloon.
People who buy a Maybach do not generally do so on the basis of the brochure and the list of equipment options. The way this luxury car is put together is the result of an extensive exchange of ideas between the customer and the Maybach designers or engineers.
Customers who are unable to visit the Center of Excellence to design and equip their car in person can use Maybach’s video-conferencing facility to talk to the experts in the design, technology and production departments and obtain tailored advice in this way. An innovative computer-aided advice system based on virtual-reality technology makes it easier to view and select the numerous interior trim elements, materials and colours. Every Maybach Center is equipped with this state-of-the-art system.
Base Price: Maybach 57 S - $377,000
June 6th, 2008
For more than 25 years, Michael Dunlap has crafted uniquely original automobile models. Typically they are built to 1:12 scale, hand engraved and finished in 24 Karat gold. They are purchased for different reasons — their beauty as artwork, display in museums and trophies to commemorate special automotive racing events.
Each model is a commissioned order. Therefore, the price is determined by the complexity of the project desired by the client. The Indy cars displayed on the website got sold off for $60,000 and the NASCAR models managed to generate $70,000. Mike Dunlap is currently pricing a yacht, for a potential client in Dubai, for around $180,000.
June 6th, 2008
Porsche Sport Driving School is a high performance driver education program, designed to enhance the driving skills of automotive enthusiasts by focusing on control, safety, situational awareness, and smoothness.
As such, the program teaches skills that have broad application in everyday driving.
There is so much that goes into expert driving that Porsche Sport Driving School divides these skills into singularly focused exercises.
June 4th, 2008
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has just revealed the first design sketches of its next new model. Known as RR4, the car is due to be launched in 2010 and will sit alongside the Phantom model line-up. RR4 will be smaller than Phantom and powered by a new engine, unique to Rolls-Royce.
Rolls-Royce’s plans to build RR4 have been public knowledge since the Paris motor show in 2006, the design was signed off in 2007 and engineering development is now fully underway.
The Goodwood manufacturing facilities are being completely reconfigured to accommodate the RR4, with extended paint, wood and leather shops as well as a second assembly line. Unlike the Phantom, which has its own extruded aluminium monocoque skeleton, RR4 will have a steel body structure shared, in many respects, with the new BMW 7-series. Various chassis, cabin, drivetrain and electrics components will also be shared with the new Seven, but according to one RR source, they’ll be confined wherever possible to those components the owner can’t see.
The new car will be priced in the $250,000-$280,000 range, considerably below the Phantom’s $340,000-430,000 asking price. This more affordable Rolls-Royce model is expected to increase the hallowed British brand’s sales by three to four times from 2010.
Further design and engineering details will be announced during the course of 2009.
Texas based Ronn Motor Company (RMC) has unveiled the Scorpion sportscar that runs on a 30-40 percent blend of hydrogen and gasoline, promising reduced emissions and 40 mpg plus efficiency.
