Like a doctor examining the brain of an insane person, Peugeot has revealed details of its mental 208 T16 Pikes Peak prototype.
And trust us, if you think this car looks bonkers, it’s nothing to what’s under the bonnet.
This thing is a monster.
Capable of out-accelerating a Formula 1 car, the 208 T16 will hit 0-100km/h in just 1.8 seconds.
Keep it pinned and 0-200km/h is done in 4.8 seconds – the same time it takes a Porsche 911 to reach half that speed.
A massive 652kW (875hp), mid-mounted, twin-turbo V6 provides the 208’s grunt, with the whole car weighing just 875kg.
Yep, that’s one horse for every kilo.
A 208 in appearance only, underneath the T16 is a bespoke endurance racing prototype, boasting Peugeot’s latest racing tech.
That means four-wheel-drive, pressurised dampers, double wishbone and pushrod/rocker suspension, torsion bars, anti-roll bars, vented carbon brakes and magnesium wheels ‘derived from F1 technology’.
As you’d expect, a special driver is required to drive such an insane car at Pikes Peak.
Luckily, Peugeot has employed nine-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb.
We think he’ll be up to the job.
Mention ‘electric car’ and most people fall asleep.
Mention Formula 1 however, and things are a little different.
So how would you react if we told you Renault is building an EV using Formula 1 technology?
Interested?
We are, but sadly, we can’t give you any more details.
Renault is remaining tight lipped about its new project, releasing only this shadowy teaser image and an even more cryptic message.
“This prototype vehicle, which features muscular styling and impressive performance credentials, provides a bridge between the world of Formula One and that of electric vehicles. It’s a concept car that will make a lot of noise… but, in total silence.”
So Renault is building an F1-inspired EV. Happily, we won’t have to wait long to see it, as the French company is revealing the new concept in Spain tomorrow.
We’ll keep you posted.
Meet the latest piece of automotive technology to come out of Germany – the VOI scooter.
Far from the horsepower hungry sedans Germany is famous for, the VOI is a more…practical solution to the daily commute.
Built by students at the Technical University of Munich, in alliance with Singapore’s Nanyang Technical University, the VOI is essentially a scooter with a roof.
Designed to offer a cheap and convenient option for commuters in densely populated cities, the electrically-powered VOI has a range of 80 kilometres and a top speed of 45km/h.
The enclosed front cell can keep one passenger dry in wet conditions, but can also be swapped with a cargo box or even a ‘mobile kitchen’.
Oh and if you’re wondering about the strange name? VOI means elephant in Vietnamese, which is “a symbol of a safe and intelligent means of transport”.
Of course.
A Formula 1 car for the road isn’t a new concept. Ferrari, and even McLaren, have been doing it for years.
But not like this.
Renault, in conjunction with its tuning arm Renault Sport, has upped the ante by jamming its Formula 1 tech into…its electric city car – the Twizy.
Basically, Renault has dropped an electric bomb into its tiny car, by hooking up an F1 KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) to its existing dual electric motors.
In normal running the Twizy RS Concept produces the same 13kW as the standard road car, until, that is, you detonate the KERS system.
Do that and Twizy produces an additional 72kW for 13 seconds – a lot of extra grunt for a car that weighs the same as a paper clip.
To put it into perspective, the Twizy RS has roughly the same power to weight ratio as Renault’s Megan RS 265, allowing the little city car to hit 0-100km/h in six seconds flat.
Top speed is 110km/h, at which point the electric motor will be spinning at 10,000rpm and the KERS unit at 36,000rpm.
But F1 isn’t the only open wheeler category Renault has borrowed technology from.
The Twizy’s steering wheel is lifted from the Formula Renault 3.5 series, while other tech is borrowed from the Formula Renault 2.0 category.
Oh, and don’t think the Twizy RS Concept is purely a publicity stunt.
Renault is going to use it to tackle the Goodwood Hillclimb event during the Festival of Speed in July.
Meet the fastest, angriest Audi TT ever – the Ultra Quattro Concept.
Built for parent company Volkswagen’s annual tuning festival in Worthersee, the Ultra Concept is basically a TT that’s been hitting the gym. Hard.
It’s 300kg lighter, has 228kW (that’s 28kW more than the old TT RS) and 400Nm.
Power is sent to the wheels through Audi’s famous Quattro system, while a six-speed manual, not a dual clutch ‘box, shifts the cogs.
0-100km/h is completed in 4.2 seconds, slower than the recently announced TT RS Plus, but it’s the lightweight construction that makes the Ultra Concept the fastest and most focused TT ever.
Originally designed as an internal study into lightweight materials, the Ultra concept weighs just 1111kgs thanks mostly to a new, optimised aluminium space frame chassis and the extensive use of carbonfibre reinforced plastics.
A titanium exhaust and aluminium wheels also keep weight low, but the concept retains creature comforts such as leather seats, air conditioning and electric windows.
Nice.
Forget the iPhone. Forget the iPad.
Apple and Volkswagen have joined forces to produce this – the iBeetle.
Yep, as its name suggests the iBeetle is basically a giant, petrol powered smartphone, with the car able to be pair to its driver’s iPhone through an all-new app.
A specially-designed docking station can connect the phone, or it can be paired wirelessly, allowing a driver to call, text and listen to music on the move.
The car, and the new docking system, will be available to public sale in early 2014.
Is this the most insane Toyota 86 ever?
We think so.
Built by 62-year-old Pikes Peak legend Monster Tajima, this bespoke racer – dubbed the ‘Super 86’ – has the performance to match its bonkers looks.
Gone is standard 86’s front-mounted 2.0-litre 147kW boxer engine, with Monster instead fitting a massive 3.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 producing 500kW.
Of course, four-wheel-drive puts all that power to the ground, with the entire car weighing in at just 1080kgs.
They’re impressive performance stats, but numbers that can’t match Peugeot’s mental T16 prototype – a car tipped to be the Super 86’s main competition at this year’s Pikes Peak hillclimb.
Click here for the T16’s specs and images.
To be piloted by rally legend Sebastien Loeb, the T16 boasts 652kW, weighs just 875kg and can shoot from 0-100km/h in just 1.8 seconds.
The R8 supercar is the best thing that has ever happened to Audi.
Even now, seven years after it launched, the R8 has the street presence and sporting clout to hold its head high among its competitive set.
And if you want proof of how well the R8 has aged, what we’re about to discuss are details of its first facelift. If you could call it that.
Only truly devoted trainspotters will notice any major visual change. The single-frame front grille is new, apparently, and the front and rear diffusers have been altered to improve aerodynamics. The V8 gets a new style of forged-aluminium 19-inch alloys and the full-LED headlights have been re-drawn with an ‘angrier’ graphic outline for the daytime running lights, which makes the R8 look meaner than ever.
Click here for the full review.
It’s a move that will cause purists to break down and cry, but the new Porsche 991 Turbo – like its GT3 sibling – will not be offered with a manual transmission.
The news, broken by Road & Track magazine, is part of a host of new information sourced on the blown 911, which also includes the revolution the new car will boast active aero.
The race-bred technology, which adjusts the car’s aerodynamic efficiency on the move courtesy of an inflatable tube in the front splitter, is designed to ensure the Turbo’s nose won’t lift at higher speeds – a common problem in previous, high-performance 911s.
Like the GT3, the new turbo gets rear active steering, allowing for greater manoeuvrability and stability.
Power has been upped too, with more boost and more revs pushing output to 388kW for the Turbo and 418kW for the Turbo S.
As expected the Turbo is also 13 percent more fuel efficient, but that hasn’t stopped the new model being significantly faster – with testing at the Nurburgring seeing it eclipse the time of the current model by up to nine seconds.
The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is toast.
So too the Hennessey Venom GT.
At least that’s the message coming out of SSC which has just released dyno figures of its new 450km/h Tuatara.
The new car, which is a successor to the SSC Ultimate Aero TT, is churning out…1007kW.
That’s considerably more than the Veyron’s 882kW and scarily, SSC says the Tuatara can produce even more.
The company says its 7.0-litre twin-turbo V8 could produce 1268kW, if a customer lived in a country not concerned with regulation or emission standards.
And as for speed? SSC is predicting 450km/h – easily outstripping the Veyron’s 431km/h record.
When that record breaking run will take place is yet to be decided, with the Tuatara currently entering its final stage of development.
