Gordon Murray Designed Electric Sports Car

Gordon Murray Designed Electric Sports Car:

Gordon Murray Design has developed an electric sports car with Toray Industries.

The TEEWAVE AR.1 is the result of a commission from Toray for Gordon Murray Design to design, tool and build a fully functioning prototype vehicle which utilizes many of Toray’s advanced automotive materials.

The 2-seater sports car is designed to use the Toray carbon fiber component system with a process time of less than 10 minutes. A carbon monocoque, one of the key technologies of TEEWAVE, can be applied to all types of vehicles other than sports cars.

Its powertrain is derived from Mitsubishi’s iMiEV. The 62 bhp, 133 lb.-ft. of torque from the electric motor and 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack give the 1874 lbs. car a 0- 62 mph time off 11.4 seconds and a 91 mph top speed.

A full recharge is said to take six hours giving the AR.1 a 116 mile range.

A carbon front crash structure was designed and developed for the car. A full vehicle Euro Ncap O.D.B test was simulated in addition to a rigid barrier dynamic impact. A correlation process was conducted on the front crash structure for both half energy and full energy using physical tests. Quasi -static bend and torsion analysis was also conducted.

Aerodynamics play a key role in the car with a full length undertray and rear diffuser; suspension is double wishbones front and rear. It measures 156.5 in. long, 69.5 in. wide and 45 in. tall.

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Driven: 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe

Driven: 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe:

It’s impossible to review the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe and not immediately talk about the engine, a 556-bhp 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 that launches the car from zero to 60 mph in less than 4.0 seconds. See what I mean? There’s no doubt that this mega motor is the main attraction, its power is addictive and effortless. The CTS-V is available as a sedan, station wagon and coupe. A Tremec 6-speed manual is available in all three, though my test car was equipped with the optional Hydra-Matic 6-speed automatic.

Several times I had to remind myself I was driving a car with more horsepower than a Porsche 911 Turbo, or Aston Martin Virage. That’s not to suggest the CTS-V Coupe was lulling me to sleep, much like the pillow-soft rides of many classic Cads might. Highway cruising is quiet and composed, the rear-wheel-drive CTS-V felt rock solid even when the weather conditions soured. If you’re after a lithe sports car, the steering could leave you wanting to know more about what’s going on at each corner. But for a 4,200 lb. grand tourer, the balance of ride and handling felt just about ideal in my opinion.

The best news is that all the engineering money hasn’t gone only towards the powertrain. We’ve been down this road before: General Motors builds a great performancecar, but the budget seems to have run dry when it came to classing up the cabin. The Corvette has gotten better and better over the years, the current Camaro is improving, but the CTS-V has things spot-on from the start. The leather-lined cabin is handsome and business-like, which is what you expect in a car that costs approximately $64,535 (including destination).

A large and easy to read satellite navigation screen dominates the center console, which is finished in gloss black wood trim and flanked by vents with just a hint of chrome. Some of the buttons are a little haphazard, but come on, you really have to nit-pick to find serious fault with this interior. I personally fell in love with the suede-covered steering wheel – it’s not too python thick like some sports and GT cars. My most serious complaint is the fuel mileage. Cadillac pegs economy at 12/18 during city and highway driving. I managed a feeble 13.7-mpg during my week with the car.

Related posts:

1. Cadillac Returns to Racing with CTS-V Coupe
2. Cadillac to unveil production CTS-V Coupe plus a new concept car at the Detroit Auto Show
3. Cadillac CTS-V Coupe or BMW M6?

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Dodge Viper Regains Nürburgring Record

Dodge Viper Regains Nürburgring Record:

Setting a lap record for a production car around the infamous Nürburgring seems to have become an obsession recently. You may recall that Chrysler Group’s Street and Racing Technology (SRT) team originally broke the record in August 2008 when the newly launched 2008 Dodge Viper ACR went to Germany with driver Tom Coronel and established a new production car lap record time of 7:22.1, a record that stood until earlier this year.

Just recently a Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition set a new record. It didn’t last long though as on Sept. 14, 2011 a Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR recaptured the production car lap record with a 7:12.13 elapsed time – over two seconds faster than the Lexus’ time.

Since there is no 2011 model-year Dodge Viper being produced, SRT joined forces with the Viper Club of America and the ViperExchange by Tomball Dodge team from Tomball, Texas, which supplied two brand-new 2010 Dodge Viper ACRs off their showroom floor for the record-setting effort.

SRT says it learned what tweaks would be needed from its 2008 run and they were implemented for the 2010 Viper ACR. Specifically, it received a shorter fifth gear ratio (changing from 0.74 to 0.80) for improved high-speed acceleration and higher straightaway speeds. According to the team this helped achieve higher speeds down the front straightaway of Dottinger Hohe and past the Antonius Bridge on the Nürburgring course. The rear-wing profile and end plates also were redesigned to further optimize the vehicle aerodynamics and improve yaw downforce, which allowed greater speeds through the high speed turns such as Schwedenkreuz.

Chrysler describes the Viper ACR as the ultimate purpose-built, street-legal, track-ready car. It is powered by a venerable 8.4-liter, V-10 engine with 600 horsepower and 560 lb.-ft. of torque, The Viper ACR offers extreme performance, including 0-60 mph acceleration in less than 4 seconds, quarter-mile time in the mid 11-second range and 0-100-0 mph in 11 seconds flat.

While there are presumably a few 2010 models still available if you want a new Viper you’ll have to wait until the 2013 model hits the road and track.

The Viper Club has posted a video of the latest record breaking run…

• Autobahn Country Club, Joliet, Ill. 2:37.70


• Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Buttonwillow, Calif. 1:55.70


• Gingerman Raceway (1.88-mile original course), South Haven, Mich. 1:26.70


• Grattan Raceway, Belding, Mich. 1:22.70


• Laguna Seca Raceway, Salinas, Calif. 1:33.90


• Miller Motorsport Park (3.05-mile outer loop), Tooele, Utah 1:59.90


• Monticello Motor Club, Monticello, N.Y. 2:26.37


• MotorSport Ranch (3.1-mile full course), Cresson, Texas 2:19.00


• Nelson Ledges Road Course, Garrettsville, Ohio 1:08.90


• New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, N.J. 1:28.08


• No Problem Raceway, Belle Rose, La. 1:16.90


• Nürburgring Nordschleife, Nurburg, Germany 7:12.13


• Putnam Park, Mount Meridian, Ind. 1:12.60


• Sebring Full Course, Sebring, Fla. 2:19.47


• Spring Mountain (2.2-mile layout), Pahrump, Nev. 1:45.40


• Texas World Speedway, College Station, Texas 1:47.56


• Top Gear USA (El Toro), Irvine, Calif. 1:22.00


• Virginia International Raceway (3.27-mile full course), Alton, Va. 2:00.63


• Willow Springs Raceway, Rosamond, Calif. 1:26.00

Related posts:

1. Dodge Viper ACR Breaks Another Track Record
2. Viper Cup Spec Racer Is The 2010 Dodge Viper ACR-X
3. The 2013 Dodge Viper is Coming Soon

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Chrysler Ypsilon

Chrysler Ypsilon:

Chrysler’s in a tricky situation here in the UK and Europe in that it’s trying to acquire market share at a time when it lacks a comprehensive model range.

It might be in the process of investing $23 billion in 21 new products, including seven completely new cars, I was told by Saad Chehab President and CEO of the Chrysler Brand at the UK’s launch of the Ypsilon, but it’s going to take a long time for Chrysler to achieve his aspiration of it becoming “the coolest brand, the fun brand that cares what you do combined with great design.”

At the moment Chrysler is in no man’s land, nobody quite understands if its image is the 300C, soccer mom MPV or cars like the Ypsilon I drove today.

The Ypsilon is built alongside Fiat’s uber cool 500 in Poland as it is based on the same powertrain and mechanical underpinnings. Across the Channel it is badged as a Lancia, but here in the UK that Italian marque had a swift and spectacular fall from grace back in the 1980s over rusting that eventually led the brand to being withdrawn.

The Fiat group toyed with the idea of relaunching Lancia in the UK a few years back, but the global financial collapse put an end to that and with Fiat acquiring Chrysler it made more financial sense to utilize Chrysler’s already established UK dealer network. Hence, the Chrysler Ypsilon and Delta.

A small five-door hatch, Chrysler views the Ypsilon as a contender to the Mini and Audi A1, unfortunately…

Both of those cars, prestige small hatchbacks, offer customers something they don’t get in the likes of Fiestas and Golfs: in both instances there’ a huge range of options, so many, in fact, that both Audi and Mini claim no two cars are the same. They also offer high quality finish and materials.

Frankly the Ypsilon didn’t achieve any of those goals. The fascia with its central speedo and tacho doesn’t match the center stack and in right-hand drive versions the speedo is nearer to the passenger than driver. The overall feel and quality of the interior trim was below par and the seats too high, not helped by the absence of a fully adjustable steering column. And there simply isn’t the choice of personalization Mini and A1 offer.

And while I praised the innovative TwinAir engine in the Fiat 500, its sporty raucous engine note was at odds with a car that is supposed to be displaying sophistication.

While one Chrysler exec said “the alliance is not about badge engineering”, Chehab was more pragmatic and admitted the Ypsilon and Delta are, in effect, just that before adding “But we need product quickly and this is an expedient way of achieving that. Come to the Detroit show in January and you’ll see a new Dodge based on the Guilietta, but it won’t look like it.”

Chrysler has a long hill to haul itself up. Perhaps the Delta is a better start?

Find out tomorrow.

Related posts:

1. Chrysler Grilles 2011 Chrysler 300
2. Goodbye Chrysler
3. Chrysler Jeep UK Relaunch

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