The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster is built on the premise that both the technological advancements of auto racing, and the power and long distance endurance of Gran Tourismo cars can be brought together in one classic, extremely high performance street car.
The AMG V8 compressor engine delivers 626 hp and rockets the car from 0 to 100 km/hr (62 mph) in 3.8 seconds, and pushes it to a top speed of 206 mph. This makes the Mercedes SLR McLlaren the fastest automatic transmission car in the world.
The car is produced jointly by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive. Mercedes has indicated that the company plans to make only about 500 cars per year for seven years, for a total production of 3,500 cars.
McLaren Automotive is a UK-based automaker, established in 1989 to produce road cars based on Formula One technology. That technology is evidenced in the carbon-fiber body composition of the car, which results in a lower weight vehicle, with excellent energy absorption and torsional stiffness.
While you’d likely want to avoid rolling a $700,000 vehicle, the body material, combined with steel-reinforced A-pillars and two fixed roll bars does provide a high degree of occupant safety in case of extreme indiscretion. Other safety features include adaptive airbags, knee and sidebags, seat belt pre-tensioners and a tire pressure monitoring system.
While the Mercedes SLR McLaren performs like a race car, it also provides luxurious touches. Standard equipment includes semi-aniline-leather bucket seats (with seat pads that can be changed to fit specific drivers), dual-zone automatic air-conditioning, a BOSE premium sound system, a multifunction sport steering wheel with gear-change paddles, and a navigation system with integrated radio and CD player.
During the car’s development, the competing interests of McLaren and Mercedes became apparent—McLaren wanted performance and the Mercedes team insisted on making a car that was sophisticated, practical and safe for road driving as well. After all, even poseur personalities like Paris Hilton drive the Mercedes SLR McLaren.
The Mercedes SLR McLaren Roadster will be available for sale in September, 2007 for £350,000, or about US$700,000 at today’s exchange rate.
If you want to drive the fastest version of Ferrari's best-selling Ferrari F430, it's likely you're already too late.
Australian Ferrari importer Ateco has taken 30 deposits for the 430 Scuderia, which will cost about $500,000 when it arrives down-under from mid-2008.
The Ferrari 430 Scuderia was unveiled by Michael Schumacher at the 2007 Frankfurt motor show. It is a lightweight, more powerful version of the Ferrari F430, the company's best-selling model, and is the successor to the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. The Ferrari F430 Scuderia starts from $389,000 in Australia.
Ferrari says the F430 Scuderia, which is Italian for 'team', is "aimed specifically at Ferrari’s most passionate and sports-driving oriented clients".
Ateco spokesperson Edward Rowe says more F430 Scuderias will be available to Australian customers than was the case with the the F360 Stradale, of which only six were imported.
Thanks mainly to liberal helpings of carbon-fibre, the F430 Scuderia weighs 100kg less (1350kg kerb weight) than the F430 coupe, and features a more powerful version of its naturally aspirated 4.3-litre V8 - 375kW versus 360kW. Torque increases 5Nm to 470Nm.
Schumacher was involved in the development of the 430 Scuderia, and he claims it laps Ferrari's Maranello test track in Italy as fast as the company's V12-powered Enzo supercar.
The F430 Scuderia's V8 is mated to Ferrari's six-speed 'F1-SuperFast2' paddleshift-operated gearbox, and the Prancing Horse brand claims gearchanges take 60 milliseconds. That's 40 milliseconds faster than the company's acclaimed Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, and on par with the gearchange performance of Michael Schumacher's 1999 Formula One race car.
The two-seater F430 Scuderia is claimed to sprint from standstill to 100km/h in 3.6 seconds - four-tenths faster than the F430. It reaches 200km/h in 11.6 seconds. Maximum speed is 320km/h, and the Scuderia drinks 15.7 litres of petrol every 100 kilometres.
Wider front tyres deliver more grip, and bigger brakes contribute to improved stopping performance.
The standard grey stripes are the most obvious visual change to the F430, although the sills are more flared, the rear lip spoiler slightly larger, and the exhausts higher in comparison.
The latest Aston Martin DBS, a glimpse of which we've already seen in "Casino Royale" James Bond flick, has finally been officially revealed. The two-seater will feature a mighty V12 engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox and capable of producing up to 510 bhp and enormous 570 Nm of torque. The DBS jumps from zero to 620mph in just 4.3 seconds reaching a top speed of 191 mph (302 km/h).
Starting at a reasonable (although not yet officially confirmed) ~€200,000, the Aston Martin DBS will sport carbon-fiber hood, splitter, front bumper, boot lid, rear diffuser and door pulls. Its lightweight seats are also made of carbon-fiber and Kevlar, saving about 20 kg of total body weight, although these are not available at the North American market.
The car also features adaptive damper controlled suspension, optimized air intake system with 'by-pass' port, bonded aluminum inner body structure, carbon ceramic brakes, advanced refinish process with epoxy and glass beads and an Aston Martin 700W stereo system with Dolby Pro Logic II, mp3 players connectivity and a slot for the six-CD autochanger located at the top of the console.
The car was unveiled last Thursday at the famous Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Its price stick will be shown to the public in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
A large carbon-fiber wing. Two carbon-fiber bucket seats. A four-point seatbelt harness. No radio. No cupholders.
These five items succinctly sum up Lamborghini's newest model, the Gallardo Superleggera. The superleggera moniker (pronounced su-per-le-JHEH-ra) comes from Lamborghini's illustrious past, as it was used on two of the company's earliest models, the 350 GT and 400 GT 2+2. Back then, superleggera referred to a coachbuilding technique noted for avant-garde styling and, most important, light weight. It's the latter quality the word references when applied to the new Superleggera. Lamborghini has shaved over 200 pounds off the standard Gallardo's weight, thanks to liberal applications of carbon fiber and the deletion of a few key components. Dry weight is now a factory quoted 2992 pounds.
The most prominent use of composites is a new, feather-light rear decklid with a window made of transparent polycarbonate; the view of the engine is maintained. Carbon fiber also is used on such other items as the rearview mirrors, door panels, rear diffuser, and transmission tunnel.
The interior of our test car had the aforementioned Alcantara-covered carbon-fiber seats, no radio, no storage pockets anywhere, and an Alcantara-covered carbon-fiber steering wheel with an F1-inspired flat bottom. The result is a stark, businesslike air, yet with a certain warmth.
That's most appropriate, for the Gallardo Superleggera is all business on the road, the most memorable aspect being its 523-horsepower, 4961cc V-10. Though this charismatic powerplant's output has just 10 horses more than the standard Gallardo coupe and Spyder, the way it goes about its business is much more mesmerizing.
By massaging the intake manifold and modifying the exhaust system, this V-10 shows two noticeable changes in character when your foot is buried on the floor. Hit 3000 rpm, and the engine and exhaust note deepens, the V-10 pulling with greater purpose.
Cross 6200 rpm and it delivers a breathtaking second surge. You're now firmly buried in that bucket seat, and you hit the 8000-rpm redline in the blink of an eye. A quick flick of the e-Gear paddle starts the fun all over again, and a never-ending pull in fourth has you clearing 140 mph on short, deserted straights almost at will.
At triple-digit velocity, you appreciate the steering. Feeling a bit heavy at rest and lower speeds, it lightens up considerably, yet the turn-in is softer. It still matches your inputs, without feeling nervous or darty.
It's easy to use most of those 523 cavalli on slower roads, thanks to the AWD's prodigious grip. We found a road made just for television commercials: Only two lanes, it wound through peaks and valleys, a 10-plus-mile joy ride that was sparsely used at the time of our assault. The Gallardo Superleggera ate up the tarmac and begged for more. Our speed varying from 15 to 100 mph, at lower speeds the steering was incredibly direct, its crisp turn-in rescuing us more than once when we misjudged the decreasing radius of a turn. Dial in more steering and, coupled with the AWD, the nose obediently obeys, tucking right in on the new line.
Such roads focus you on the Gallardo's responsiveness. Not carrying that extra weight and with its glue-like AWD traction, the Superleggera responded like all-pro running-back LaDainian Tomlinson, bursting out of the backfield and changing direction without missing a step or reducing speed.
Throughout it all, the sport-minded buckets keep you comfortably in place during hard cornering. Unfortunately for drivers six feet and taller, there's no adjustment for rake, making the seat uncomfortable for long stretches. This won't matter for American drivers, though, for these seats won't be offered here.
What to make of the Gallardo Superleggera? Like Ferrari's 360 Challenge Stradale and Lambo's V-12 barnburner, the Spartan Diablo GT of several years ago, this is one focused machine that'll get your adrenaline pumping the instant you fire it up.
Although Lamborghini says you conceivably could use it for commuting, it wouldn't be your first choice - it's too raucous for such mundane duties. Rather, view the Superleggera for what it is: superb entertainment for a day or a weekend, something to relish when you want to get your body buzzing with excitement any time you light it. And nobody does a car like this better .
Base price : $220,330
Vehicle layout:Mid-engine, AWD, 2-pass, 2-door coupe Engine :5.0L/523-hp/376-lb-ft DOHC 40-valve V-10 Transmissions:6-speed auto-clutch manual; 6-speed manual Curb weight : 3150 lb (mfr) Wheelbase:100.8 in Length x width x height : 169.3 x 74.8 x 45.9 in 0-62 mph : 3.8 sec (mfr est) EPA city/hwy fuel econ : 12/19-20 mpg
