Sunday, November 23, 2008

First Look: 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder

2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 4 Spyder Front Three Quarters View
Now Entering Into the Ring is the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder

By Kirill Ougarov

From the first day Lamborghini announced its new and improved Gallardo LP560-4, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it was only a question of time until the Gallardo Spyder received the same treatment.

That time has come. Now entering into the (Raging Bull) ring is the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder, which is making its world debut at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show.

Like the coupe, the LP560-4 Spyder loses 44 lb and gets 200 cc added to its V-10 engine -- a new, 5.2L aluminum unit with 552 hp, 398 lb-ft on tap. Mated to the updated engine is Lambo's reprogrammed e.gear six-speed transmission that Lamborghini claims shifts 40% faster in the sportiest "corsa" mode. The improvements led to a claimed 0-to-62-mph time of 4.0 sec and a top speed of 201 mph for the LP560-4 Spyder according to the automaker. At the same time, Lamborghini points out that both fuel economy and CO2 emissions are substantially improved. The outgoing Gallardo Spyder achieved 10/15 mpg with the stick and 10/16 mpg with the e.gear, but the LP560-4 gets 12/20 with the stick and 13/20 with the e.gear. Impressive numbers for a supercar.

The LP560-4 Spyder's brakes have been upgraded as well. The standard brake system consists of 14.4-in. vented discs with eight-piston Brembo calipers up front and 14.0-in. vented discs with four-piston calipers at the rear. If that's not enough, Lamborghini offers a carbon-ceramic brake package consisting of monster 15.0-in. discs up front and 14.0-in. discs at rear.

One thing that hasn't changed is the Spyder's roof design. The Gallardo remains a softtop convertible. Its canvas top, available in four colors -- black, blue, gray, and beige -- opens or closes in just 20 sec, a remarkable contrast to the infamous afterthought top on the Murcielago Spyder. With the top down, the rear glass can be left up to serve as a wind deflector, or it can be folded independently with the top up. Rollover protection is provided via a pair of spring-loaded bars behind the seats that deploy within 250 msec if necessary. According to Lamborghini, the extra flexibility associated with the lack of a fixed roof is compensated for with structural elements within the frame designed to increase rigidity.

Standard features include dual side curtain airbags, dual-zone climate control, leather seats, HID headlights with LED driving lights, and a stereo with a USB input. Optional features include Bluetooth, a navigation system and a rearview camera. Also available are Alcantara-upholstered seats and various carbon trim options. Still no scissor doors though.

Lamborghini couldn't have picked a more suitable of a place to launch its new drop-top model than Southern California, specifically at the 2008 Los Angeles International Auto Show. With supercar-friendly weather virtually year 'round, it's little surprise that the area is a huge market for the Raging Bull. Earlier this year, the company announced it would be setting up its North American headquarters in Santa Monica and until recently, Southern California was home to the world's number-one Lamborghini dealer, the now-closed Lamborghini of Orange County, which accounted for about 10% of Lambo's global sales annually. Dealer drama aside, the 2009 Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder should start at around $220,000 when it goes on sale sometime next year.
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First Look: Honda FC Sport Concept

Honda's Hydrogen-Powered Vision of Its Sports Car Future

By Scott Evans

At the 2007 Los Angeles auto show, Honda raised the bar for hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles by unveiling the 2009 FCX Clarity, a production-ready vehicle presently being leased by a select group of customers. One year later, the company has attempted to upstage itself with the introduction of the Honda FC Sport concept, essentially a reinterpretation of the FCX Clarity as a sports car.

In much the same way the FCX Clarity stands out as a unique vehicle while still strongly resembling other Honda sedans, the FC Sport is obviously unlike any other car we've seen from Honda and yet is still identifiable with the FCX Clarity. The key difference is in the sharpness of the car's lines. While the FCX Clarity and FC Sport share the same basic shape, the FCX Clarity is smooth and rounded, whereas the FC Sport has gone the opposite direction, instead using straight lights and sharp geometric shapes. While the side profiles are nearly the same, the nose and tail of the FC Sport give it away as an all-new car.

This radical, futuristic styling is meant to reflect the car's performance orientation. Where the FCX Clarity demonstrated how a hydrogen-fuel-cell car can be practical and easy to live with, the FC Sport seeks to demonstrate the performance possibilities of an electrically driven, hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered car. Honda says the driving idea behind the design of the FC Sport was to showcase the possibilities of an electrically driven supercar using a powerful electric motor, perfect weight distribution, and lightweight materials -- all while producing zero emissions.

Passengers in the FC Sport sit in a triangular pattern, similar to that of the McLaren F1 supercar. The driver sits in the middle of the vehicle, much as does a race-car driver, while two passengers sit behind and to the sides. The fuel cell has been moved from between the driver's and passenger's seats in the FCX Clarity to between the rear passengers' seats in the FC Sport and is mounted as low as possible to give the car a low center of gravity. The battery pack is also mounted low and amidships, while the electric motor is mounted just ahead of the rear axle. This keeps a majority of the vehicle's weight between the axles and as close as possible to the ground, giving the car a low center of gravity and what Honda says is optimal weight balance for the best possible handling. Two hydrogen tanks, likely the same 5000psi units as used in the FCX Clarity, sit directly above the rear axle and cooling radiators for the fuel cell hide in the rear bodywork.
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Where the FCX Clarity is practical, the FC Sport is decidedly not. The three passengers enter and exit through a front-hinged canopy, and there doesn't appear to be any space for luggage. That isn't the point, though. American Honda executive vice president John Mendel sums it up best: "The Honda FC Sport explores how to satisfy automotive performance enthusiasts in a world beyond petroleum. People who love sports cars will still have a reason to love them in a hydrogen-powered future."

Despite its supercar aspirations, the FC Sport is still an eco-friendly car at heart. Honda claims that when the source and conversion of hydrogen for fuel-cell vehicles are taken into account, the FCX Clarity is responsible for just one-third the well-to-wheel emissions of a gasoline-powered car and half the emissions of a good hybrid. The FC Sport utilizes the same powertrain as the FCX Clarity, albeit in a different orientation, so it should produce similar numbers. In fact, the FC Sport is likely to have a greater range, as well as better performance, than the FCX Clarity, thanks to the extensive use of lightweight materials. The body panels, for example, are expected to use plant-derived bio-plastics.

Shortly after the Clarity made its debut last year, Motor Trend technical editor Kim Reynolds was able to test-drive the car and came away impressed with the production-level fit and finish, the flawless performance of the fuel cell, and the ease of living with the hydrogen-powered sedan. As the FC Sport is still a concept, we'll likely not be able to test it as we did the FCX Clarity.

Some say hydrogen-powered cars are an expensive exercise in futility and that efficient production and delivery of hydrogen will never materialize. Those people do not work at Honda. By spending the massive amount of money needed to engineer multiple models of hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered cars, Honda believes it has demonstrated the technology does have a future. Only time will tell if it has bet wisely.
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2009 Infiniti G37

2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible Front Three Quarter View Top Down

First Look: 2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible

After a Half-Decade of Success, the G Cuts Loose and Goes Topless

By Kirill Ougarov

When the famous Nissan Skyline finally arrived on North American shores in 2002 as the Infiniti G35, replacing the front-drive Nissan Primera-based G20, it gave the Japanese automaker's luxury brand a fresh face and a serious shot in the arm in terms of sales and popularity. It proved so worthy an entry in the U.S. market that it earned our 2003 Motor Trend Car of the Year award for its efforts.

For the second generation, the Infiniti G lineup has received numerous revisions, a bigger, more powerful 3.7L engine, and now, a drop-top version in the form of the 2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible. Infiniti's second convertible might as well be its first, since few remember the short-lived M30 produced during the brand's formative years.

Arriving next spring, the hardtop G37 Convertible, which is making its debut at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show, will have several differences from its coupe relative. Infiniti says the design from the A-pillar back is all-new, including structural reinforcements in the chassis, a modified rear suspension, a wider rear track (62.8 in. with 18-in. wheels, 62.6 in. with 19-in. ones versus 61.4 in. for the coupe), and an extra 1.1 in. of overall width. The convertible hardware also adds a good chunk of extra weight, with the drop-top weighing between 4095 and 4110 lb versus the coupe's 3616-3668-lb weight range. The switch from top up and top down won't be lightning fast, either, with Infiniti saying that raising or dropping the top will take about 30 sec.

Other convertible-only modifications include pop-up rollbars, an adaptive climate-control system that adjusts with vehicle speed and top position, and a special type of aluminum interior trim that can be switched out for African rosewood. Convertible-only options include a wind deflector, climate-controlled seats, and a 13-speaker Bose Open Air sound system that features two speakers in both front headrests. Designed specifically for the G37 Convertible, the system uses digital signal processing and a noise-monitoring microphone to adjust sound to compensate for wind and other ambient noise.
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There are some changes on the powertrain side as well. The 3.7L V-6 in the convertible has a slightly lower output of 325 hp and 267 lb-ft versus the G Coupe's 330 hp and 270 lb-ft. Like the coupe and sedan, the convertible will receive Infiniti's new seven-speed automatic transmission with available paddle shifters or a close ratio six-speed manual.

The G37 Convertible will be offered in just two trims, base and Sport 6MT. The base version comes with the seven-speed automatic transmission and 18-in. wheels with all-season tires standard as well as countless features including dual side impact and side curtain airbags, keyless ignition with push-button start, active head restraints, and cruise control. The Sport 6MT obviously comes with the six-speed manual transmission plus 19-in. wheels with summer tires, sport-tuned steering, upgraded four-piston front and two-piston rear brakes, sport seats with adjustable bolsters for the driver, and aluminum pedals. All performance upgrades found on the Sport 6MT are available for the base model as part of a sport package, but neither sport version can be had with climate-controlled seats. Also available are Bluetooth, a navigation system with a 9.3 gigabyte hard drive instead of a six-disc CD changer, and intelligent cruise control.

Fuel economy has not been finalized, but mileage should be slightly lower than the coupe due to the extra heft. The automatic-equipped 2009 G37 coupe is rated at 18/26 mpg city/highway and the manual at 17/25 mpg. Pricing has not been announced, either, but the convertible should carry a decent premium over the coupe. For comparison, a BMW 3 Series convertible costs about $8000 more than a comparable coupe.


2009 INFINITI G37 CONVERTIBLE
Base price N/A
Vehicle layout Front engine, RWD, 4-pass, 2-door convertible
Engine 3.7L/325-hp/267-lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6
Transmission 7-speed automatic, 6-speed manual
Curb weight 4095 lb (auto), 4110 lb (man)
Wheelbase 112.2 in
Length x width x height 183.3 x 72.9 x 55.1 in
EPA city/hwy fuel econ N/A
CO2 emissions N/A
On sale in U.S. Spring 2009



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