Archive for category Audi
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 »
World’s Fastest Cars – Audi R8
Posted by in Audi on June 17, 2011
Audi, as part of the Volkswagen Group, wasn’t always known for their sports cars. Most Audis are sleek, stylish and fast, but they never really stacked up against legitimate sports cars like models from Ferrari and Porsche. All of this changed in 2006 with Audi’s introduction of the R8 V10 road car.
The R8 V10 road car wasn’t exactly a new design idea by Audi. In fact, the R8 was nearly a decade old by the time Audi decided it should be produced for basic road ownership. There were two models of Audi R8 built in 1999 for the 24-hour Le Mans, the R8R and R8C. There was also the Audi R8 racecar built in 2000, and there’s an Audi R8 Le Mans Concept 12-cylinder diesel in the works.
Audi announced its plans to transform the R8 into a V10 road car in 2005 and had planned on it being available by 2007. The idea was to create something unique and original while not completely abandoning the R8 concept that made Audi’s racecars so successful. The production went to one of Audi’s subsidiaries, quattro GmbH.
The end result of quattro’s involvement was a mid-sized, 2-seater sports coupe with a longitudinally-mounted mid-engine and the patented permanent four-wheel drive system. The R8 is said to be very similar to the Gallardo from Lamborghini, and the V10 engine it uses certainly earns it a top slot in the high performance category.
There have since been other versions of the R8, including the R8 Spider and a V8 version of the automobile. The original R8 V10 by Audi was available in most locations around the globe by the end of 2008, and the car is still in production today.
The similarities found between the R8 V10 and the Lamborghini Gallardo models are present for a reason – Audi AG owns Lamborghini. So they decided to use some of the same parts and design features, including the chassis, floorpan, transmission and the large, powerful engine.
Audi’s R8 V10 is also unique in many aspects. The body’s aluminum-composite construction is a newer material that provides the ultimate strength with a lighter weight than most other carbon materials. There’s also a thorough safety feature on board, called the Bosch ESP 8.0 Electronic Stability Programme. This includes ABS, distribution, regulation, differential and airbag features. Read the rest of this entry »