2010 Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro V10 engine

2010 Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro V10 engine

While everybody and their brother likes the R8, there is a small, but vocal minority that's always thought coupe looked a little funny. Well, that group of naysayers can now put a sock in it, as the R8 Spyder is simply gorgeous. Gone are the carbon fiber side blades, in are sensible but somehow better looking slab sides. Regardless, it's simply hot. Exceptional performance and breathtaking dynamism coupled with the intense sensations of open-top driving: Audi presents the R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro. Its lightweight cloth top opens and closes fully automatically; several body parts are made of a carbon fiber composite material.

2010 Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro V10 engine

The V10 engine produces 386 kW (525 hp) and launches the open-top two-seater to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 4.1 seconds; 0 – 200 km/h (124.27 mph) in 12.7 seconds; on its way to a top speed of 313 km/h (194.49 mph) with the six-speed manual transmission. The 5.2-liter engine features FSI direct fuel injection. Equipped with a manual transmission, the R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro consumes an average of 14.9 liters of fuel per 100 km (15.79 US mpg) – a good figure given its power. With R tronic, this figure improves to 13.9 liters (16.92 US mpg). Featuring technologies such as the Audi Space Frame (ASF), quattro permanent all-wheel drive, full-LED headlights and with an innovative seatbelt microphone available as an option, the R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro is the new top-of-the-range Audi.

2010 Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro V10 engine

Unlike the Coupé, the Spyder does not have sideblades behind the doors. The side panels and the large cover over the storage compartment for the cloth top are made of a carbon fiber composite. Two arched cowls, which extend to the spoiler lip and include large, integrated air vents, give the rear of the open-top two-seater a powerful profile.

2010 Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro V10 engine

The electrohydraulic soft top opens and closes in 19 seconds, even while driving at speeds up to 50 km/h (31.07 mph). When opened, it folds like a Z into its storage compartment over the V10 engine. The compartment cover opens and closes automatically. The heated glass window, which is separate from the cloth top, is lowered into the bulkhead. It can be independently raised and lowered at the press of a switch, with the top up or down. Audi offers the R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro with a choice of three colors for the top. The body is available in eleven paint finishes, with metallic and pearl effect finishes standard. The windshield frame is coated with anodized aluminum. The leather for the seats are colored with pigments that reflect the infrared component of sunlight, which keeps the seats up to 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler.

2010 Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro V10 engine

A worldwide first is the optional seatbelt microphone for the hands-free unit, which makes it possible to talk on the phone even with the top down on the highway. Three small, flat microphones are integrated into both seatbelts. At least one of them is ideally positioned relative to the speaker when the belt is on. There is a fourth microphone in the windshield frame. 

2010 Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro V10 engine

The quattro permanent all-wheel drive features a central viscous coupling and distributes power to all four wheels with a heavy rear bias. It works together with the locking differential on the rear axle to provide significantly greater traction, stability, cornering speed and precision. It is the superior technology – in particular for a high-performance sports car.

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

The result of close technological collaboration between Venturi Automobiles and Michelin, the Venturi Volage, marks a major step forward in the evolution of the Automobile. This new Venturi incorporates innovations which have enabled radical changes in terms of the vehicle’s architecture, style, dynamic behaviour and, more generally, the design of a modern vehicle. All these changes constitute several world premières which, with the presentation of the Venturi Volage, reinforce Venturi’s capability for constant innovation, as well as its position as the most advanced company in the field of electric vehicles.

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

The Volage takes the electric sports car concept and really runs with it — the all carbon-fiber car is equipped with the first application we've seen of the Michelin Active Wheel, the compact unit using in-wheel electric drive motors is installed at all four corners with a suspension driven by a second set of e-motors. With 4 drive wheels with active suspension, the Venturi Volage has no equivalent. “Michelin Active Wheel” technology in fact incorporates 2 electric motors per wheel (1 for suspension and 1 for drive), ie. a total of 8 electric motors piloted in real time by spearhead electronics.

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

Playing down the mechanical aspect in favor of electronics, close to the concept of a robot, this car belongs to a new era, the digital era. Thanks to a dashboard touch screen, the driver can configure the vehicle entirely as he wishes. This total control marks significant progress in terms of management, particularly of the energy stored in the car’s batteries: the driver can, for example, decide to give preference in certain cases to range rather than power, comfort rather than speed, an important factor for an electric car.

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

The only part that the Venturi Volage shares with the Venturi Fétish is its carbon fiber bodywork. Developed by the Venturi Design Office, this body is still a unique concept worldwide, as it is the only one to have been specifically designed to be that of an electric car and thus carry batteries within its very structure. The ideal distribution of the Venturi Volage’s masses - 45% at the front, 55% at the rear – and its perfectly mastered weight of 1,075 kilos enable it to attain 100 km/hr (62 mph) in less than 5 seconds.

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

A real demonstration of spearhead technology, the car presented in its world première is entirely operational and prefigures the production of a limited series of this model, scheduled as from 2012. Like the Venturi Fétish assembled in our workshops in Monaco, the Venturi Volage will be assembled by hand, in the form of very limited production. 

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

The technological repercussions of these two cars positioned at the very top end of the market are to be found on other vehicles bearing the Venturi brand, enabling as many people as possible to benefit from the firm’s advances in the field of sustainable mobility.

2010 Heynsdyk 2500SF roadster from Dutch

2010 Heynsdyk 2500SF roadster 

Once in a blue moon in the automotive industry an unique vehicle comes to play. Such vehicle is 2500SF roadster from Dutch Heynsdyk. The Dutch have always had a penchant for the bizarre and unorthodox. From their unique 'coffee shops', to their individualist sense of style the people of Holland have always liked to go their own way. And that applies to car design as well. Spyker supercars are from Holland, and whether you love them or hate them, they really are very different in style to any other vehicle on the road.

2010 Heynsdyk 2500SF roadster 

A small independent builder in Eindhoven has given further weight to the argument by introducing this, the Heynsdyk 2500SF. Designed and engineered by Ronald Heijnsdijk, the car is based on the Porsche 944 platform and is essentially a kit car which can be ordered in component or fully finished form. However instead of being some sort of generic copy of another the vehicle, the 2500SF has a completely original style which is a mixture of hits and misses.

2010 Heynsdyk 2500SF roadster 

This is the Heynsdyk 2500SF from Holland: a bespoke body placed over the engine, electronics, and drivetrain of a Porsche 944. The design process took years to complete, but the decision to base the car on the 944 was made quickly. 100% galvanized, reliable and readily available. The substantially lighter body, in galvanized steel, takes weight down to 900 kilograms (1,980 pounds) while maintaining 50/50 weight distribution. There are six engine choices, from a basic 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 163 horsepower, to a 2.5-liter four-pot S-motor with a turbo. That one will get you 250 horsepower, and from 0 to 60 in six seconds. Top speed is limited to 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour). The transmission is handled by a 5 speed manual which sends the power to the rear wheels.

2010 Heynsdyk 2500SF roadster 

Specification   

Year               : 2010

Engine             : four cylinder, 2.5 cylinder, Turbo or naturally aspirated

Transmission    : 5 speed manual, RWD

Max speed      : 155 mph (limited)

0-60 mph        : 6 seconds (turbo)

Horsepower    :    250 horsepower (turbo)

weight             : 900 kgs / 1,980 lbs

2010 Heynsdyk 2500SF roadster

The front angle is by far and away the worst area of the vehicle aesthetically. Here a random and mismatched assortment of lights and grilles come together to form a unique but far from pretty face. In profile things start to get better, and the proportions of the car are generally quite pleasing. The car shows off its best side when viewed from the rear. The well thought out mix of nicely sculpted roll bars, beefed up wheel arches, neat taillights and sloping decklid come together very well indeed.

You can buy the car as a kit or a finished product, and prices start at €14,750 ($20,798 U.S.) for the kit, or €36,995 ($52,158 U.S.) for a ready runner. Like its countrymate Spyker, what the car might lack in beauty it makes up for in unique and arresting looks.

Source: Heynsdyk.com

2010 Carlsson C25 Super-GT Concept a beautiful sports coupé

2010 Carlsson C25 Super-GT Concept

At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show the German tuning firm Carlsson, who unsurprisingly specialize in modding Mercedes-Benz models, will unveil the C25 - an insanely aggressive 753 horsepower monster.

2010 Carlsson C25 Super-GT Concept

Carlsson C25 is the first self-developed automobile from Carlsson and are presenting C25 at Geneva Auto Show this March. The concept of this Super-GT is based on the vision of combining maximum driving performance with an entirely new design and high exclusiveness. The result is a breathtaking and beautiful sports coupé with 753 hp in a limited edition of only 25 cars world-wide. Thereby, each automobile will be as individual as its future owner.

2010 Carlsson C25 Super-GT Concept

Carlsson presents an own developed automobile at this year’s Geneva Motor Show – the Carlsson C25 Limited Super-GT. The concept of this Super-GT is based on the vision of combining maximum driving performance with an entirely new design and high exclusiveness. The result is a breathtaking and beautiful sports coupé with 753 hp in a limited edition of only 25 cars world-wide.

2010 Carlsson C25 Super-GT Concept

The performance data of the six litre V12 Bi-Turbo is impressive. The high-performance aggregate with a motor management optimisation patented by Carlsson renders 753 hp (554 kW) and allows fast acceleration as well as smooth travels at lower speeds. Also responsible for the perfect performance evolvement is the elaborately developed stainless steel exhaust system with ends in four edgy pipes at the back. The power catapults the C25 with a torque of 1320 Newton metres at 3750 r.p.m. which is electronically limited to 1,150 Newton metres from 0 to 100 km/h in only 3.7 seconds and achieves a maximum speed of 352 km/h.

2010 Carlsson C25 Super-GT Concept

The Carlsson C25 Super-GT Concept also comes with an ultra-light and forged wheels 1/10 UL in the dimensions 9,5×20 and 12×20 inches have been especially designed for the C25 and are equipped with high performance tyres measuring 265/30 at the front and 325/25 at the rear live axle.