A team of young design students from South Korea has beaten out the best from Europe and the rest of the world to win the 2011 Ferrari World Design Contest.The competition invites emerging car designers from 50 universities all over the globe to submit their vision for the Ferrari of the future. And the winning concept, ‘Eternita’, was designed by Kim Cheong Ju, Ahn Dre, and Lee Sahngseok from Hongik University in Seoul.Azerbaijani Samir Sadikhov, who is studying at the IED in Turin, took second with his design ‘Xezri’, while Henry Cloke from the UK and Qi Haitao from China joined forces at the UK’s Royal College of Art to produce the third placed ‘Cavallo Bianco’.In congratulating the winning teams’ creativity and enthusiasm, Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo said, “I am certain that some of these suggestions will come to light in the Ferraris of the future.”
Each team completed a 2D design, 3D computer model and 1:4 scale physical model with detailed interior and exterior. A strong environmental theme was evident in the majority of entries with a focus on reducing fuel consumption through weight reduction and the use of alternative propulsion systems, particularly hybrid drivetrains.
Meet America’s alternative to the Bugatti Veyron. It’s called the Shelby Tuatara, and boasts a 7.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine producing more than 1000kW.SSC (Shelby Supercars) is keeping some details of this super supercar top-secret, but we can tell you that the low-slung, angular body is made entirely of carbonfibre, including a carbon cab and subframes, allied with aluminium crash structures.
Transferring the grunt to the rear wheels is a seven-speed H-pattern manual or seven-speed SMG gearbox.Almost as strangely-named as the Pagani Huayara, the SSC Tuatara – a Maori word for ‘lizard’ – is equipped to eclipse the Bugatti Veyron’s 268mph top speed by 5-7mph and steal its ‘fastest production car in the world’ title.What do you think of the latest Shelby Supercar?
Casey Putsch, an aspiring racing driver from Ohio, has built himself a fully working Batmobile. Based on the 1989 movie version from Tim Burton’s Batman reboot starring Michael Keaton, Putsch built the Batmobile in five months.
As well as successfully recommissioning a military surplus turbine, he’s used racing derived engineering and parts throughout, to create perhaps the most exotic two-seater on the road.
Amazingly, Putsch’s real turbine Batmobile is street registered and insured to be driven on the road in the United States. He’s happy taking it through stop-start traffic, and you control it exactly like a regular car – except that the performance under your right foot comes from a 365hp Boeing turboshaft.
Peugeot is targeting 10,000 sales in Australia by 2013, up 70% on the 6500 unit tally expected in full-year 2011. The bold forecast from the French marque’s local importer, Sime Darby, is built around the launch of five all-new models in the next two years, supported by an expanding dealer network.Following the 508 mid-sized sedan and Touring range (just-launched in Oz) will be the 4008 compact SUV (mid 2012), the 208 light hatch and 508 RXH/3008 diesel-electric hybrids (third quarter 2012), and the 408 small-medium sedan (fourth quarter, 2012).The importer is unashamedly targeting Japanese car buyers in its quest to increase sales volume. Traditionally, European vehicles sell at a price-premium to their Asian competitors, however Peugeot is determined to close that pricing gap.
This month, the RRP of a 207 XR has been reduced to $18,990. A new 1.4-litre 308 has been launched to rival the Golf 77TSI, priced at $22,990. The new 508 range starts from a competitive $36,990. And the Outlander-based 4007 compact SUV has been reduced by $6500, to $34,990 plus on-roads.In 2010, Peugeot sales worldwide tallied 2.1 million, a 16% increase on the previous year. In Australia, however, full year sales dropped 1.9% compared with ’09. Time will tell if a new breed of Peugeots can reverse the local trend.
Comprehensive car insurance can seem like a lot of money, particularly when you’re faced with a large initial outlay. And if all goes well, you may never see a return on your premium. But there are a number of ways to trim your insurance policy, maintain your safety, and save you a bundle.
Park securely
Parking your car on a busy street will almost always set you back more upfront than if your pride and joy is tucked away under lock and key at night. Similarly, parking in potentially dangerous situations – such as under a precariously-hanging tree branch or in a dingy alley – may increase your likelihood of making a claim. Avoidance means less claims and therefore a better no claim bonus discount, so start searching for a secure parking spot.
Shop online
Bargain hunting is another great way to reduce your outlay significantly, because comprehensive car insurance quotes can differ drastically on inclusions and cost. So before you renew with your existing provider, take some time to compare quotes online. By shopping around for a better deal you may find a policy that best suits your lifestyle and shave hundreds of dollars from your premium.
Mileage matters
One of the criteria that car insurance brands base their policy prices on is the number of kilometres you cover each year. So check your current usage and make sure you’re not paying for kilometres that you’re not actually using. It’s best to try and work out exactly how far you’re driving during the year – and whether that increases during the colder months, for instance.
The downside to limiting your coverage based on how much you drive is inaccurate estimates. If your figures aren’t correct and you go over your agreed mileage, your policy may be invalid. Get it right, however, and you may save yourself a decent sum. Take, for example, a female driver in her late 20s with an unblemished driving record and driving a new small car up to 10,000km each year. This driver might be offered a best price $60 less than the same driver covered for more than 35,000km driven each year, so it pays to do the sums.
Alter excess
Finally, when it comes to voluntary excess, the more you’re willing to pay at claim time, the lower the premium. So you may be able to save plenty by increasing the excess on your policy.
By adopting some of these simple money-saving techniques you could slash your premium significantly. The hardest part of the process may be deciding how to spend the extra cash savings!
Take a light hearted look at some of the world’s weirdest motoring misadventures that made us wonder ‘how on earth did that happen?’.
The New Stratos project (covered by Wheels in its Feb 2011 issue) has struck a snag in its bid to produce a limited production run of its modern interpretation of Lancia’s Ferrari powered classic.According to the driving force behind the project, Michael Stoschek, “Over 40 prospective buyers from Europe and abroad have notified us of their interest in acquiring the New Stratos. These additional vehicles could be produced using a Ferrari F360 or F430 as a basis, in a similar production process to that used with our one-off vehicle.”
But he adds, “Pininfarina, however, has advised us that they will only carry out construction of a limited run with the express permission of Ferrari. Despite Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo’s excellent assessment of the New Stratos after his test drive at Fiorano, Ferrari does not consent to construction of the planned limited run by either Pininfarina or any other Ferrari-dependent suppliers.Given this situation, creation of additional vehicles seems possible only via companies that are not dependent on Ferrari, and appropriate contacts are being made at this time.”
The 2011 Australian International Motor Show is in full swing, so here’s our wrap of the best fresh metal that graced the halls of the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.In the dream corner were the Lexus LF-A – 10 of which are coming here priced at $700,000 – and the V12-engined Lamborghini Aventador, followed closely by Audi’s lightweight R8 GT (pictured), and the track-focused Maserati MC Stradale and Jaguar XKR-S. Eco-supercar concepts also were found in the electrifying Audi etron and BMW i8.At the other end of the pricing scale, emerged something of a light-hatch feud – Toyota previewed its all-new Yaris, Holden took the cloak off its fresh Barina, Skoda announced the 1.2-litre turbo Fabia (pictured) will arrive with a sharp $18,990 sticker, Hyundai returned its Accent to market, and Kia’s sharp-looking new Rio will feature 1.6-litre direct injection four-cylinder engine – with 103kW, it’ll be the most powerful in its class.Step up a rung to the small car segment, and a new Skyactive 2.0-litre and six-speed auto were introduced in a new SP20 variant of the Mazda 3 and Holden showed off its Cruze hatch – in snappy SRi-V guise with new alloys and projector headlights. Hoping to muscle in on those model’s sales success is Ford, with the all-new Focus priced from $21,990 for the 1.6-litre Ambiente, extending to $36K through 2.0-litre petrol and diesel Trend, Sport and Titanium models.Peugeot revised its 308, and released pricing for its all-new 508 mid-sized sedan – the latter arriving from a competitive $36,990 for the entry-level 1.6-litre turbo-petrol Active and topping out at $52,990 for the flagship 2.2-litre turbo-diesel GT. Arch German rival, the Volkswagen Jetta, was also previewed, but its pricing will be announced closer to the October launch.Speaking of mid-sizers, the C7-series Audi A6 debuted in $93,300 2.8 FSI, $116,500 3.0 TDI and $121,500 3.0 TFSI guise. It’s without an entry-level diesel for now, something that Jaguar has addressed with its freshly-facelifted XF – a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel/eight-speed auto variant will retail for $78,900 plus on-roads.There were less new SUVs to be found on stands than most years, with the exception of the VW Touareg (pictured – $62,990 150TDI, $77,990 V6 FSI or TDI, and $82,990 TDI with low-range 4×4) and 1.2-litre turbo Skoda Yeti compact SUV ($28,690 front-drive and $35,690 4×4) models.Finally, it was a blackout for our big, burly Aussie-built sedans – specifically the black-painted FPV Concept (with tighter, righter suspension mods and 10kW extra) and the, er, white-painted HSV Black Edition (mostly a series of cosmetic upgrades). The more prosaic dedicated-gas Falcon LPI was also on show … but still no sign of Falcon Ecoboost.For more details on the models featured at this year’s AIMS, see the Wheels August issue, out Wednesday July 20th.
Yes, we all know a quick game of “I Spy” just doesn’t cut it anymore, which is why a team of image engineers and designers from Toyota Motor Europe (TME) and the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) have been working on a “Window to the World” vehicle concept to turn those lengthy journeys into a joyful experience of play, exploration and learning.They’ve turned the windows of a car into an interactive surface, allowing passengers to touch the window and obtain information about objects as they go whizzing past.And that’s just the start of it.The top-of-the-range augmented technology also turns the glass into a canvas. Passengers can draw pictures using their fingers and watch their artistic output integrate with the outside world.Can’t quite make out that object in the distance? Use your fingers to zoom in and out, much the same as you would with an iPhone photo.
CIID have also been working on other concepts for “Window to the World”, including a real-time translator that can tell you what you’re looking at in another language. Plus, you can pinpoint a landmark in the distance and find out exactly how far away it is.Then there’s the view from the sunroof. Normally a blur of treetops and power cables, but with “Window to the World” it’s now a stargazer’s dream, with a panoramic display of virtual constellations (including all the necessary information) which uses the actual sky as a background.Incredible stuff and you get the feeling that the handful of concepts that currently make up “Window to the World” are just the beginning.For now, though, fraught parents will just have to watch and wait for Toyota to fit this kid-calming glass in the latest Camry.Just one thing to remember when the technology does finally launch: NEVER LEAVE ANYTHING VALUABLE ON THE BACKSEAT. A smashed “Window to the World” is going to require a lot more than a quick trip to the local windscreen repairer.
Bugatti has launched a world-first one-off special edition by creating a Grand Sport that uses porcelain in its construction.
The Bugatti Grand Sport L’Or Blanc has unique bodywork and porcelain elements that have been crafted in association with Berlin porcelain art specialist KPM.
“At first, it seems to be an unusual idea to use porcelain in a car, especially in the world’s fastest convertible,” said Dr. Stefan Brungs, director of sales at Bugatti.
“But this is what Bugatti stands for: the realisation of exceptional ideas whilst striving for the utmost in quality and aesthetics.
Needless to say, though, the porcelain-finish new Bugatti Grand Sport L’Or Blanc does not come cheap. Bugatti is quoting a price just under AUD$2.3 million.
