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Mercedes-Benz Sports Car

The new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, which is about to celebrate its world premiere on 15 September 2009 at the In-ternational Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt/Main, embodies a blend of consummate automotive fascination and high tech. The super sports car delivers a compelling mix of purist styling, consistent lightweight design and superior driving dynamics. At the same time, the SLS fully lives up to all the expectations of hallmark Mercedes everyday practicality and optimum safety. In essence, the new 'Gullwing' offers the ideal synthesis of the strengths of Mercedes-Benz and AMG.

The new super sports car from Mercedes-Benz and AMG makes for an al-luring proposition with its unrivalled technology package: aluminium space-frame body with gullwing doors, AMG 6.3-litre V8 front-mid engine develop-ing 420 kW/ 571 hp peak output, 650 Nm of torque and dry sump lubrication, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission in a transaxle configuration, sports suspension with aluminium double wishbones and a kerb weight of 1620 kilograms based on the DIN standard – this superlative combination guarantees driving dynamics of the highest order. The ideal front/rear weight distribution of 47 to 53 percent and the vehicle's low centre of gravity are testimony to the uncompromising sports car concept. The 'Gullwing' accel-erates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, before going on to a top speed of 317 km/h (electronically limited). The fuel con-sumption of 13.2 litres per 100 kilometres (combined) puts it at the front of the competitive field (all figures provisional).

"Mercedes-Benz is presenting an exhilarating super sports car in the guise of the new SLS AMG, which is bound to set the pulses of all car enthusiasts racing that extra bit faster. The brands Mercedes-Benz and AMG have joined forces to create the SLS AMG – which is set to become one of the most al-luring sports cars of all time", says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

"Our customers will experience with the SLS AMG the expertise of Mer-cedes-AMG, built up over 40 years of motor racing. The unrivalled technol-ogy package delivers outstanding driving dynamics coupled with moderate fuel consumption figures – part and parcel of the modern-day AMG," says Volker Mornhinweg, Chairman of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.

"The styling of the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is not only very special because of the exclusive gullwing doors. Our aspiration is to utilise this in-terpretation to create the classic of tomorrow and roll out the most alluring sports car of the 21st century. Our aim is also to create a new design icon, which shapes the incomparable legend of our brand, alongside Mercedes models like the CLS or the SL. At the same time, the new SLS paves the way for the design phi-losophy of forthcoming Mercedes-Benz sports cars", says Gorden Wagener, Head of Design at Mercedes-Benz Cars.
Design: purist, distinctive and passionate
The distinctive styling of the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG enthrals with its passionate sportiness and reinterprets the breathtaking lines of the Mer-cedes-Benz 300 SL – one of the outstanding design icons of the Mercedes-Benz brand. With its purist design the new SLS AMG reflects the philosophy of contemporary sports car engineering: the bonnet which measures just under two metres, the low greenhouse positioned well to the rear and the short rear-end with an extendable aerofoil are just as powerful a reminder of the superlative dynamism as the long wheelbase, the wide track and the large wheels. The short overhangs feed through into the proportions, just as does the design of the super sports car with its low-slung front-mid engine set well back and dual-clutch transmission in transaxle configuration. An un-doubted styling highlight comes courtesy of the gullwing doors which lend the SLS AMG its incomparable charisma – making a unique statement in this vehicle segment.

Audi R8 Sport Car

The soul of the R8 4.2 FSI quattro is the adrenaline inducing 420 hp 4.2 FSI V8 engine. Displayed under a transparent panel, the V8 produces 317 lb-ft of Torque.

Torque is what causes rotational speed to change. Just as greater net forces cause greater linear accelerations, greater torques cause greater rotational or angular accelerations.

Torque and propels the R8 4.2 to 60 mph in only 4.4 seconds on the way up to a top track speed of 187 mph. As part of a race-bred mid-engine design that contributes to superb handling dynamics, the 4.2 V8 features race winning technology such as FSI direct injection, sodium-cooled exhaust valves and is setup for a high-revving 8250 rpm.

As a true supercar the R8 not only offers blistering speed but awe-inspiring handling. Featuring the legendary quattro.

Audi's quattro® permanent all-wheel drive, has had over 25-year-long tradition.

Quattro all-wheel drive system the R8 inspires driver confidence, giving you traction when you need it, where you need it, regardless of road conditions. To accommodate the extreme performance of the R8 5.2, quattro® utilizes a continuously variable torque distribution dynamically adjusting power to the wheels with the best traction. With a significant 85% rear torque bias, this highly specialized quattro® system provides the R8 with a balanced driving experience unlike any car on the road.
Audi Magnetic Ride

With thousands of miles logged on the world’s most grueling test circuit, the North Loop of the Nürburgring, the
Suspension

See 4-link front suspension, 4-link rear suspension, dynamic suspension, stabilizer bar, and trapezoidal-link rear suspension.

Suspension system of the R8 is further enhanced with Audi magnetic ride which offers instantaneous driver control at the touch of a button. By utilizing an advanced magnetically charged fluid whose viscosity continuously adapts to driving dynamics and can be controlled electromagnetically, the driver can select from ‘Normal’ or ‘Sport’ modes to customize the R8 ride and handling.

Honda Acura Advanced Sports Car

Detroit, USA — Honda used the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit to take the wraps off a brand-new sports car, one that promises to entrench the Honda nameplate with the world's greatest sports cars.

Called the Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept, the dull and boring name is nevertheless laying the groundwork for the next generation NSX, which will be badged a Honda outside of North America, and an Acura within.

As Honda states, the dynamically styled concept provides a preview of the design direction for the successor to the Acura NSX.

The Japanese company says that the car was created to take exotic sports car styling to a new level. The concept is designed to incorporate a powerful front-mounted, V10 engine and a new high-performance, rear-wheel-drive based version of Honda's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system.

"The Acura brand will always be a home for people who love to drive," said Takeo Fukui, president & CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. "As we advance toward building a car like this, I can tell you it will feature advanced technology matching our passion for performance."

The idea of a V10 engine makes less sense now because Honda's Formula One race car uses a V8 engine, so to create an F1 parallel between the two will be more difficult. But the prospect of a Japanese-built 10-cylinder engine should be enough to make most followers of the modern car scene weak at the knees.

Honda has relied on 6-cylinder engines as it's biggest and strongest yet, so a switch to a V10 engine would be very interesting, and would be capable of revving to very high levels, perhaps around 9500rpm. Generally speaking, most Honda engines are high revving, typified by the Integra Type S.

The Advanced Sports Car Concept's exterior demonstrates a dynamic fusion of advanced technology and emotion, says Honda, where the long, pronounced hood features deeply sculpted lines and embossed air vents, both of which hint at the powerful engine beneath. The exterior shoulder line runs the length of the body, creating a ribbon-like effect from the front headlights to the rear wheel arches, evoking a feeling of movement and power according to the Japanese car maker.

Although modern in its appearance, the Advanced Sports Car Concept retains the subtle cues associated with its predecessor, the NSX. The concept's slim, LED headlights are pushed wide and designed to mimic the pop-up headlights found on the first generation NSX. Other styling hints include a modern take on wraparound rear taillights and the all black cockpit, plus bold wheel arches and flares add to the concept's aggressive appearance.

"Our intention was to design an exotic sports car that gracefully combines advanced technology and strong emotion," said Jon Ikeda, principal designer at Acura Design Center. "The technical, machined surfaces and keen-edge design are balanced with sweeping curves and dramatic lines, all of which results in the ultimate exotic sports car."

Wide and low to the ground with a 2764mm wheelbase, the concept is anchored by 19-inch front and 20-inch rear performance tyres which are mounted to custom billet-machined, polished aluminum wheels. Powerful, ventilated carbon ceramic brake discs with huge eight-piston calipers accent the wheels, and showcase the improving braking technology that filters down from the Formula One paddock.

The low slung cabin is constructed entirely of tinted glass and sits flush against the body. There are inherent safety concerns with an entirely glass cockpit, but this is still a concept car, and nothing has been confirmed for production yet.

The door handles are also flush mounted, allowing the sports car to retain a clean and aerodynamic appearance, and hinting at its super car status, the vehicle even has a Ferrari-like carbon fibre underbody and the rear is finished with aggressive quad exhaust pipes and integrated rear diffusers, further communicating its high performance potential.

A rear-wheel drive, V10-powered Honda sports car? It would have been an impossibility a few years ago, but with this new concept, the reality just got a little closer. The vehicle also has a subtle resemblance to Nissan's upcoming GT-R, which is expected to change the status quo in the exotic performance coupe segment, something that Honda has now decided it wants to be a part of.

The Advanced Sports Car Concept was designed by the Acura's Los Angeles-based design team that was working at the new Acura Design Center. If built, the car would be marketed as a Honda outside of the United States.

Porsche Sports Car

Forty years ago, on March 13, 1969 at the Geneva International Motor Show, Porsche unveiled a car that would exceed its creator’s wildest dreams, and develop into one of the most iconic race cars of all time: the Porsche 917.

Project 917 began in June 1968 in response to an edict from the international motor sports authority (FIA). They had announced a class for “homologated sports cars” with up to a five-litre engine capacity and a minimum weight of 800 kilograms.

Under the supervision of Porsche family member and gifted engineer Ferdinand Piëch, the FIA-stipulated minimum 25 units of the new race car were to be completed by April 1969 so that the 917 could race during the 1969 international season. Initially, Porsche built six cars and had “all the bits and pieces to build 19 more for the homologation,” according to Rico Steinemann, Porsche’s Racing Manager at the time. Then the FIA decided that all 25 cars would have to be built. As all of the racing department’s resources were being utilized, the workers to build the cars would have to come from elsewhere.

“We put together apprentices, messenger boys, bookkeepers, office people and secretaries,” remembered Steinemann years later. “Just enough people, taught just enough to put together 25 cars!”

The original 25 “Secretary Cars,” as they came to be called, passed the FIA inspection with flying colors, despite the fact they would barely run on the street, let alone a race track. After the inspection, all but two of the cars were completely disassembled and rebuilt by the factory’s race team mechanics.

The engine of the 917 was also unique. While it retained Porsche’s traditional horizontally-opposed, air-cooled “boxer” engine configuration, the 4.5-litre, 520-horsepower, 12-cylinder engine was bigger than any engine Porsche had built before.

The frame, designed more for durability than lightness, was constructed of TIG-welded aluminum tubing (later switched to magnesium), with fiberglass re-enforced resin bodywork.

The 917 shape underwent constant evolution, with Porsche engineers developing different body configurations to best meet the demands of the varied circuits on the World Championship calendar.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s, the World Championship of Makes visited four different continents, all sporting many different styles of racetrack. The so-called short-tail, or “Kurzheck” bodywork was designed for high-downforce tracks, such as Watkins Glen and Brands Hatch, while the original “Langheck” long-tail bodywork was further developed to optimize straight-line speed and stability on the long, ultra-high-speed circuits like Le Mans, with its 3.5 mile long Mulsanne Straight. The ultimate development of the 917 came with the open 917 Spyders, which later dominated both the CanAm and Interseries circuits.

Success was not immediate for the 917. After initially dropping out of its first three races due to technical problems, the 917 success story began in August 1969 at a 1,000-kilometer race at the Österreichring with a victory by Jo Siffert and Kurt Ahrens.

Delays and lack of development time prevented the 917 from winning the championship in 1969. But by the end of the 1970 race season, Porsche demonstrated the superiority of the 917 and the 908/03 models by taking the World Championship of Makes by winning nine of ten possible victories.

This series of victories began with the Daytona 24 Hours and continued at Brands Hatch, Monza, Spa, the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Targa Florio, Watkins Glen 6-Hour and at the Österreichring. However, the season's high point was the long-desired overall win at the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race, a trophy that Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood brought home to Zuffenhausen on June 14, 1970. The number 23, 917K short-tail model, painted in the red and white colors of Porsche Salzburg, successfully fought off the combined factory efforts of Ferrari, Matra and Lola while battling horrible weather conditions during the race.

The 1971 season was once again dominated by the 917, as Porsche defended their World Championship of Makes crown by winning eight out of the ten races on the schedule. For the second year running, a 917 was again victorious at Le Mans – this time with Gijs van Lennep and Dr. Helmut Marko driving, who set world records with an average speed of 222 km/h and a total of 5,335 kilometers driven, records that still stand today. The 917 long-tail coupe also set another record in 1971: car number 21 turned in the highest speed ever recorded on the Mulsanne Straight of 387 km/h.

The 1971 Le Mans race also marked the debut of one of the most fabled iterations of the 917. A cross between the short-tail and the long-tail models produced the 917/20, a car distinguished by its wide cross section and its striking pink color. Although the car, nicknamed “The Pink Pig,” dropped out halfway through the race, its unusual paint scheme made it one of the most famous Porsche models ever, joining the 1970’s “Hippie Car” as a Porsche Racing classic.

When the European FIA regulation for “5-liter sports cars” expired at the end of the 1971 season, Porsche decided to enter the Sports Car Club of America’s Canadian American Challenge Cup (CanAm). There had been exploratory efforts in CanAm as early as 1969, but this was the first championship-level effort from Porsche. Tony Dean, driving his own independently entered 908/2, took a surprise rain-soaked win at the Road Atlanta CanAm race in 1970.

After many months of testing and development in Weissach, done in conjunction with Penske Racing’s legendary driver and engineer, Mark Donohue, the 917/10 made its CanAm debut in June of 1972. Now turbocharged, the 12-cylinder boxer engine pumped out an incredible 1,000 horsepower, but an early season testing accident caused Donohue to sit out most of the season. His replacement, George Follmer, went on to dominate the series and won victories at Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio, Elkhart Lake, Laguna Seca and Riverside, thus clinching the 1972 CanAm championship and virtually chasing the formerly invincible Team McLaren from the series.

For an encore, Porsche and Penske went to work on its 1973 challenger, the 917/30. In what turned into the ultimate development of the 917 platform, the 1,200 horsepower car was the class of the field at every race. The superiority of the car, driven by Mark Donohue, was so obvious that the CanAm series regulations were changed at season’s end in order to prohibit the 917/30 from competing in 1974. The 917/30 did live on in the Interserie series in Europe, where Herbert Mueller won the championship in 1974 and 1975. Also in 1975, at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, Donohue set the World Closed Course Speed Record driving the Penske 917/30 at an average speed of 355.85 km/h.

As is typical of Porsche, the technologies developed during the racing career of the 917 were successfully transferred to its road cars; one of the most obvious examples is the original 911 Turbo, a car synonymous with performance, efficiency and engineering excellence.

The reputation of the 917 is legendary. When 50 international motor sports experts from the famous British trade magazine “Motor Sport” were asked to name the “greatest racing car in history,” they cited the Porsche 917. Overall, Porsche built 65 units of the 917: 44 sports cars as short-tail and long-tail coupés, two PA Spyders as well as 19 sports cars as CanAm and Interseries Spyders with up to 1,400 hp from their turbocharged engines.

Today, seven of the most important 917 models – among them the Le Mans-winning cars from 1970 and 1971 and the 917/30 CanAm Spyder – are currently on exhibit in the new Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. Most of the other 917s are in the hands of proud collectors around the world, and have been seen – and heard – at the most prestigious vintage events, including Goodwood, Amelia Island, Monterey Historics, and Porsche’s three Rennsport Reunions in the U.S. in 2001, 2004 and 2007. Porsche Motorsport North America, the racing arm of Porsche in North America, services, restores, rebuilds and maintains many of these 917s for collectors at its shop in Santa Ana, California.

Lotus Sports Car

The Lotus Exige S 240 and 260
The Exige S 240 and 260 are real sports cars that redefine the term, “extreme performance”.

For their engine size, the Exige S 240 and 260 are two of the most powerful production cars in the world. The Exige is not just a track day enthusiasts’ car, but a sublime sports car that’s equally at home on the backroads, motorways and autobahns as it is on city streets and race tracks.

From pure racing heritage to cutting edge technology and world-leading ride and handling, Lotus’ Exige models are in a league of their own. Lotus’ Exige models are instruments of pure driving bliss.

BMW Z4

When the BMW Z4 replaced the Z3 in 2002, it marked a significant departure in styling for the upscale roadster, due in large part to BMW design guru Chris Bangle's controversial at the time "flame surfacing" look. Love it or hate it, the Z4 has had a successful six-year run, changing little during that period. This time around, for the second-generation 2009 BMW Z4, the updates to the two-seater are decidedly less radical and more evolutionary.

But what an evolution it is. BMW has signaled a clear departure from previous Bangle-era cues across its lineup and the Z4 is no exception. Gone is the awkward line running up the sides of the car and across the front fenders, headlights, and nose. The new headlights are pulled back and sleek, rather than droopy and oddly shaped as on the outgoing car. In fact, combined with the broader twin-kidney grille, the new Z4 almost looks like it has a hint of Aston Martin in the front end. Around the back, the new rear end is clearly related to the one on the new 6 Series coupe.

Though you probably won't notice it from the photos, the Z4 has grown up a bit. The new car is 5.8 in. longer, 0.4 in. wider, 0.3 in. lower, and the wheelbase has grown an imperceptible 0.1 in. Though not much physically larger, it has gained some weight. The Z4 has gained 200 to 300 lb across all models and now ranges from 3241 lb to 3494 lb. Some of that weight comes from the new aluminum retractable hardtop, the first for a BMW Z roadster, which BMW says can be opened or closed in less than 20 sec. The roof is controlled by a button on the center console or by your key fob when equipped with the optional Comfort Access system. BMW says the new car effectively serves as the replacement for both the Z4 coupe and roadster, although a soft top option has been rumored.

The extra girth isn't all bad, though. BMW says that the new Z4 has vastly increased visibility and interior space. All-around visibility is up 14% over the outgoing model, with 40% larger side windows and 52% more see-through area out the glass rear window. Inside, the increased size gives you 0.2 in. more headroom, 0.79 in. more shoulder room and 1.69 in. more elbowroom. The door openings have even increased by 1.02 in. for easier entrance and egress.

While the Z4's new duds are striking, its performance will really get your attention. Gone is the old 2.5L engine, replaced with the same inline sixes found under the hood of the new 1 Series. Standard on the sDrive30i is a 3.0L with Valvetronic variable valve timing laying down 255 hp and 220 lb-ft, enough to hustle the car to 60 in 5.6 sec, according to BMW. If performance is your game, the 3.0L direct-injected twin-turbo in the sDrive35i is the engine for you. With 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque, it will reportedly hit 60 in 5 sec flat. Both models are electronically limited to a top speed of 150 mph with an optional Sport Package or 130 mph without.