Archive for category Alfa Romeo
Eccentric Cars Off The Roads
Want the oddballs in the automotive world? Well, brace yourself for the most eccentric cars off the roads. They are exotic. They are intriguing. But they are not for everybody to have and hold.
In today’s auto shows, manufacturers are shelling out a fortune to be part of the specialty market players that introduce the most eccentric cars. The recognition, regardless of the fact that the cars will not be allowed on the roads, is enough to make the automakers elated.
One of the exotic cars ever launched is the Artega, which was penned by Henrik Fisker, famed for being an extraordinary designer. The car is a fresh contribution from a new German automaker that plans to enter in the manufacture of high-performance sports cars for daily use. The 2008 Artega features a 3.6-liter Volkswagen-sourced V6 mated to the DSG twin-clutch gearbox of the company to produce maximum output of 300 horsepower via the rear wheels.
Another odd car is dubbed Carver One, which is said to be the “the world’s first commercially available self-balancing, tilting, three-wheeled vehicle.” Carver One is part motorcycle, part car; it is all about thrills over practicality. The contraption features a removable roof panel, 660-cubic-centimeter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, producing 68 horsepower and 74 pound-feet of torque.
Gumpert Apollo Sport is another eccentric car to behold. Apollo Sport is given the high-performing mid-engine supercar powered by a 4.2-liter Audi V8 engine. It also features a fixed rear wing, rugged body, and gullwing doors that flip up on their roof-mounted hinges. It resembles the looks of a race car straight out of the FIA GT European supercar series.
Make way for the Rinspeed eXasis, a drivable “glass” car that features an aluminum frame with a clear plastic body and floor. The car is powered by a 150-hp two-cylinder engine, which sits on the transmission. To note, the car’s power-to-weight ratio puts it in line with the likes of a Porsche.
The Spanish automaker A. D. Tramontana has set forth a carbon-fiber road missile as a melding of Formula One cars and fighter planes. The company said the Tramontana was “modeled on the streamlined curves of the Costa Brava’s winds.” The car is given a twin-turbo V12 engine that generates 720 horsepower, about as powerful as a race car. The full production version of the car will go on sale this summer in Europe. Read the rest of this entry »
Novitec Tunes the Alfa Romeo 8C
Posted by in Alfa Romeo on June 23, 2011
The German-based car tuning specialists at Novitec have a long history of tuning Italian cars. The company is divided into a number of branches based on the type of cars they modify. There’s Novitec Tridente for Maserati cars, Novitec Rosso for Ferrari, and for the other Italian automakers such as Fiat and Alfa Romeo, there’s Novitec.
One of the most celebrated designs to come from an Italian automaker in the past decade has been the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. The car was built to honor the eight-cylinder racing cars at the height of Alfa’s motorsport success. The 8C proved to be immensely popular, and from this popularity, spawned a convertible variant. Just in time for the warm summer months, Novitec has introduced a tuning program for the Alfa Romeo 8C Spyder.
Since the topless sports car is roughly based on the Maserati GT and uses a similar engine, Novitec called in their Maserati division to tune the engine. The 4.7-liter V-8 engine was fitted with a supercharger driven by the engine’s crankshaft via cogged-tooth belt. The supercharger was designed to provide an even power band, even at low speeds. Maximum boost pressure is set at 0.37 BAR (5.37 PSI). In addition to the supercharger itself, Novitec Tridente has also added a water-to-air intercooler with dedicated radiator and larger fuel injectors. The entire engine upgrade is completed with advanced car tuning, in which Novitec has recalibrated the injection and ignition mapping for the optimum power output.
Since the Alfa Romeo uses a Maserati-based 4.7-liter V-8, it also boasts one of the most attractive exhaust notes in the industry. To make it even better, Novitec has installed a stainless steel sport exhaust with a flap system that varies the volume of the note depending on the engine speed and throttle input.
The result of the engine tuning is an astonishing 600 horsepower (441 kW) at 7,300 RPM and 433.63 lb-ft. (588 Nm) of torque at 5,400 RPM; an increase of 150 horsepower (110 kW) over stock. This added power helps improve the acceleration time for the Alfa Romeo 8C by cutting the 0-62 mph time down to 3.9 seconds. Top speed is also increased from the stock 180 mph (290 k/h) to 189.52 mph (305 km/h), making it the fastest Alfa Romeo model. Read the rest of this entry »