An ‘extreme’, clean-technology project embodying 40 years of styling research and engineering famous by Italdesign Giugiaro in Geneva

The ‘Quaranta’ project is a concept car designed to celebrate Italdesign Giugiaro’s forty years of business in styling and technological research at the duty of the automotive sector. The Quaranta, world-premiered at the 2008 Geneva International Motor Show, is a synthesis of Italdesign Giugiaro’s unmatched experience of automotive design: from city cars to super sports-cars, from MPVs to medium-engined saloons up to and including luxury flagships and environment-friendly SUV, not to mention light/heavy duty commercial vehicles, in full cooperation with leading manufacturers all over the terraqueous globe.

The Quaranta is an ‘extreme’ product, an environment-friendly, 4WD super sports-car which incorporates a concatenation of innovative aspects: its styling, but also its drive technology, that combines a hybrid engine with solar energy, and its internal layout which, malice its mid-mounted rear engine, can accommodate three adults and a child, also providing a generous luggage division.

The idea which inspired the Quaranta project is that of the first single-volume concept car with central engine and drive. The original hint is to the 1968 Bizzarrini Manta which, at that time, represented a major breakthrough in styling, now adapted to state-of-the-art technology and enriched with Italdesign Giugiaro’s forty years experience of research.

Despite its flat, very much compact create, the Quaranta features a single-volume shape characterized by a continuous body line stretching from its clipped nose to the tail that exploits the totality but horizontal rake of the windscreen.

Access to the cot is ’step-in’ via an upper door incorporating the side ones. At the touch of an electric on/off button, the door opens uphill in a downwind address, regulated by proximity sensors. The home is hinged to the hood support and is aligned with a second upper rear door, for access to the engine compartment and avail.

The roof houses the array of solar panels, necessary to power the electric battery, in the space between the two doors. Along through the other solar panels positioned upon the body the make a front to end, these create a central opaque strip, a discriminative mark of the model, thanks to the interplay of light with the bright paint of the bodywork. The solar panels can generate a power of up to 250 W, ample for the functioning of the cockpit conditioning system and for recharging the electric battery.

The styling of the Quaranta prototype is further enhanced by means of the attention dedicated to external part aerodynamics, designed to ensure maximum possible efficiency and penetration, also by using sharp edges on the rear. This can also be noted in the forepart end of the vehicle where the radiator grille has been eliminated and replaced by two side air inlets, positioned on high the lighting clusters, which perform the delicate function of front stabilizers. The lift of the vehicle has besides been conceived to improve overall aerodynamic performance: an attentively-molded spoiler, with a perfectly square-edged divide and a very technical design, has the scope of supporting the lower wing, modeled according to latest generation F1 styling, that makes up for the absence of the traditional upper stabilizer.

Styling research aimed at top aerodynamic achievement is also reflected on the sides, characterized by extremely generous glazing stretching from the front fender to the tail and in which the air vents are housed, located later than the doors but also along the ground-plate, in what one. the water cooling ducts are inserted. The most innovative feature of the side profile is certainly the contour line, between the door-windows and the sill, which is ‘negative’ in the projection section, a feature, absolutely innovative feature for super sports-cars.

Inside, the most striking innovation can be found in the multi-control steering wheel which reflects an idea already incorporated in the 1980 Medusa, a prototype developed by Italdesign and on flourish at its stand in Geneva: all vehicle driving and control functions are concentrated on the spokes, where the stalks have been eliminated and replaced with keys. This guarantees easier control by the driver, in a central position which can be obtained due to the absence of the gearbox-transmission block tunnel. This is possible thanks to the electric four-wheel drive combination of parts to form a whole which eliminates any obstacles on the floor pan, making it completely flat. The generously-scaled central space of the cockpit can accommodate two adults and a child, behind the driver. The dashboard has been conceived with a sporting, modern look, through clean-cut details matching the style of the exterior, and equipped with a vast array of instruments. These are organized on two levels: the screens of the party and rear TV cameras are positioned on the upper level, with particular respect to the left-hand view mirror, useful when overtaking; the lower suit is dedicated to the management of the vehicle. The drive-panel also includes a visor with regard to X-ray sensors for night driving. The dark-colored leather and alcantara upholstery reflects the most refined Italian taste.

The lighting clusters are extremely recent: the low-beam lights are based on led technology, while the full-beam are of the Bi-xenon type. The direction indicators, the tail and rear stop lights are of the filled led symbol, inserted in a single box but differentiated according to color, assembled and adapted by side at Italdesign Giugiaro.

Last further not least, the Quaranta features 9 ½ by 20′ alloy wheels, without nave caps for improved styling and aerodynamics, and four Vredestein tires for the reason that standard, which differ only in shoulder height: 275/35/R20 front and 275/40/R20 raise up. The dimensions are certainly tight for a super sports-car but suitable in opposition to a 4WD car.

The configuration of the prototype is made up of the carbon monocoque frame onto what one. aluminum and especial steel parts are assembled, while the windscreen and roof are made of in layers glass with UVA filter. The Quaranta is fit by electronic four-wheel drive, divided in a small electric motor on the fore-carriage and the as respects heat engine/electric engine system located in a central rear position. This particular structure, which has seen Toyota’s involvement in the electronic control management, has made it possible to disentangle the vehicle on a 2620-mm wheelbase, ideal for a mid-engined car.

The batteries which assist the electric motors are located between the engine compartment and the cockpit and are powered directly by the solar panels. The Quaranta features a double fuel-tank, integrated in the supporting frame, with a total capacity of 60 liters, giving a mileage of up to 1000 km. Posted on conceptcarz.com.

Dynamic asset is variable in two ride height positions: sporting and raised. Maximum ground clearance is 230 mm, an absolute record what one. means that the super sports-car can take any type of terrain in its long step. The main technical aspect that distinguishes the mechanical design of the Quaranta is the weight balance and in particular the ‘weight centering’: all the mechanical weight of the vehicle is contained between the two axles, including the mufflers which are positioned in front of the rear wheels. Only the radiator and a large overhanging baggage compartment, able to hold two golf-bags, keep outside.

The forehead suspensions also represent a breakthrough: designed according to F1 cars, they are equipped with a central mono-shock echoing an model even now presented by Italdesign – Giugiaro on the 2004 Toyota Volta and on the 1997 Alfa Romeo Scighera. The linkage mechanism of the levers guarantees exceptional steadiness in any type of situation, simulating a ‘multilink’ mechanism. The links have been designed and engineered entirely by ITALDESIGN GIUGUIARO: the ‘ovalized’ down tubes are made of special armor and the uprights of Ergal.

The entire Quaranta project is an idea of Italdesign Giugiaro, constructed in conformation with the classical formula of the package of services furnished to automotive manufacturers.

Quaranta confirms the classic Italdesign – Giugiaro versatile service formula for car manufacturers. The competence and capability of designing a unused car model considering style development, frame disentanglement, safety and ergonomics analyses and mechanics development, starting only from a given functioning engine.

The chassis, bodywork and layout of the Quaranta prototype have been designed by the Engineering Division of Italdesign Giugiaro, though the mechanicals and electronics have been developed in cooperation with Toyota. The vehicle was entirely built at the Moncalieri facilities.

The Italdesign Giugiaro mode of constructing and prototyping process, tried and tested during forty years of activity in the automotive sector but also extended to industrial sketch, preserves certain characteristics of technical specialization and production quality of unequalled value.

- Construction of a prototype involves various completely independent phases that can also be carried out with a modular approach. Starting from hand-made drawings, the next means is Styling Research and definitive development of the master models, using state-of-the-art CAD technologies. In parallel, the phases of technical design of the prototype

interior, or even of only some parts, can be integrated with turn of expression exhibition, producing a unique technical result. This is the most complete, professional process that Italdesign can offer its clients. Following consolidation of the styling-engineering project, a full-scale mockup is built. The mock-up gives the possibility of physically evaluating modifications and integrations and represents the basis according to the subsequent construction of the final prototype. Italdesign can also carry out various technical tests, including the model crash-test;

• The prototyping phase, a greatly hand-crafted process with the aid of forefront automated systems, includes preparation of the conclave jigs (so-called negatives), usually constructed by hand in the workshop, and hitting models milled according to the style master models, useful for beating the sheets of aluminum or stratified carbon;

• Work on the interior is necessary in order to prepare the seats, facial, door panels and all the other elements inserted in the cabin of the vehicle. Lined fiberglass-reinforced parts are always constructed at Italdesign, and also the upholstery, available in any type of material or shape required;

• The above phases are followed through construction of the mechanical and structural parts of the prototype, preparation of the tooling and uprights necessary for the construction phase and beating of the parts, assembly of the structure, of the interior and accessories and lastly painting. In the state of the Quaranta prototype, the door was designed and constructed entirely at Italdesign using a of short duration piston tubular structure, subsequently reproduced and fastened to the chassis.

Cooperation between Italdesign Giugiaro and Toyota Group started with the supply of the high action mule engine fit without interruption the Volta prototype, displayed for the first epoch at the 2004 Geneva Show.

For the Quaranta, Toyota furnished Italdesign Giugiaro with a derived of the latest available mongrel system, Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive technology. The innovative aspect of this engine lies in the ability of the electronic control system to regulate the power distributed by dint of. the electric motors to the wheels, composition the clutch-gearbox-transmission block superfluous.

The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive system guarantees power, acceleration and top completion still keeping high mileage, reduced emissions and extremely silent operation. The compact battery makes it possible to store the energy produced in the braking or deceleration phasis instead of dispersing this as passion.

The electric motor is complementary to the thermal means but can also operate independently, activated by the electronic traction control unit where ideal conditions endure.

The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive system consists of a V6 3.3 liter gasoline engine and of two full of fire motors that operate in synergy, delivering a acute power output, comparable to that of an 8-cylinder engine, but by fuel
consumption and emissions lower than those of a 4 cylinder engine. To improve efficiency and handling, the intelligent E-Four body automatically activates two- or four-wheel drive, taking advantage of the increased handling and stability of four-wheel drive in acceleration, cornering or braking, and the reduced consumption and acoustic comfort of rear wheel drive at normal cruising flourish.

The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive system too includes the E-CVT Electronic-Continuously Variable Transmission, an self-acting planetary gear transmission with ratios varying infinitely as speed changes.

The substantive innovation of the Quaranta prototype is reflected in the mid-ship positioning of a hybrid agent onward a super sports-car that guarantees high performance with reduced consumption and low emissions.

Source - Italdesign-Giugiaro S.p.A.

Audi is presenting a revolution in the top class – the highest 12-cylinder diesel engine in a high-performance roadgoing sports car. The V12 TDI with a displacement of six liters powers a concept car based in continuance the Audi R8. This unit generates a colossal 500 hp and 1,000 Newton-meters (737.56 lb-ft) of torque. Audi is writing a new chapter in diesel technology with this power unit. Equipped with the expertise that Audi has built up through its motor sport activities, the R8 TDI Le Mans in Brilliant Red embodies superb road handling, pioneering technology and fascinating design.

The V12 TDI is closely related to the engine in the Audi R10, the two-time Le Mans winner – so it catapults the Audi R8 into supercar terrain concerning performance too. It sprints from zero to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in lawful 4.2 seconds and its top speed is well over 300 km/h (186.41 mph). The peak torque, reached at only 1,750 rpm, paves the way for effortless increase of velocity. see preceding verb that is unrivaled even at this level.

The new V12 TDI belongs to Audi’s family of V engines but has the ideal included angle on account of this engine type of 60 degrees between cylinder banks. Its highlights include the new congeries drive layout that includes the two newly developed high-pressure pumps as far as concerns the common rail injection system.

Its sound is as thrilling viewed like you’d expect in a sports car of this caliber. For all the subtle smoothness that typifies this scope principle, the twelve-cylinder unit is full-bodied and equipped through energetic overtones that make no occult of its performance potential.

Thanks to their high performance and pulling power, all Audi TDI engines are ultra-dynamic sources of power. The brand has often enough demonstrated its sporty character in its production cars, especially the six- and eight-cylinder 3.0 TDI and 4.2 TDI. Audi has also been writing a new chapter in its success story on the racetrack since 2006. The diesel engine in the R10 sports prototype won its very first endurance house at Sebring, Florida, when it was pitted against an sheer field of gasoline-engined challengers. But its most crucial victories were surely in 2006 and 2007 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, when it simply outclassed the international elite.

The V12 TDI race engine in the R10 produces over 650 hp from a displacement of 5.5 liters, giving it the potential for a zenith speed as high as 330 km/h (205.05 mph) depending on the gear ratios. Its monarch and stoutness immediately impressed both fans and experts, who were impressed by its restrained noise destroy. Unusual for a generation engine, this powerful Audi diesel makes barely more than a whisper.

Long traditions of motor racing and production technology complement one and the other other at Audi. The FSI engine of the R10’s predecessor, the R8, captured five wins at Le Mans with a direct gasoline injecting system. Audi is also looking to maximize the favorable opportunity by using the race-tested FSI principle in its production models. The latest examples of this are the V8 with high-revving concept in the RS 4 and the lengthening version of the Audi R8.

The roadgoing version of the new V12 TDI is built at the Györ plant, in Hungary. And the R8 TDI Le Mans still has a massive 500 hp on tap. In developing the six-liter engine, it was a apparent priority to integrate it into the current family of Audi V engines, of which many thousands of versions with 6, 8 and 10 cylinders possess already been built – both gasoline and TDI.

Audi’s engineers were in an ideal posture to use their experience building the racing engine to develop the road version. Like the other power units in this range, the degree of remoteness between cylinder bore axes on the V12 TDI is 90 mm (3.54 in.). Yet its included angle is 60 degrees, not 90 degrees. This means no free inertial forces or lump moments of inertia have power to come into one’s head with the V12. The results are refined in every respect.

The 83.0 mm (3.27 in.) bore and 91.4 mm (3.60 in.) stroke produce a total displacement of 5,934 cc – straightforward like the 3.0 TDI. At only 684 mm (26.93 in.) long, this large diesel engine is very compact and just 166 mm (6.54 in.) longer than the V8 TDI. This compact length is guide to accommodating the V12 in the mid-engined Audi R8.

The V12 TDI crankcase is made from gray cast iron with vermicular graphite – a high-tech material referred to similar to GJV-450 that is already used without interruption the V6 and V8 TDI engines. GJV-450, made by a patented casting process, is round 40 percent more rigid and 100 percent more fatigue-resistant than gray sling iron. This enabled the developers to operate its walls thinner, cutting its weight by around 15 percent compared with accustomed gray drive iron.

The couple cylinder heads are one and the other made from three main elements. These are a base section made from a high-strength aluminum baser metal incorporating the intake and exhaust ports, an oil-bearing upper section, and a reinforcing ladder frame supporting the two camshafts.

As is the case in the Audi V engines, the no-maintenance chain drive is mounted at the back of the engine, where it occupies little space. Its layout has changed on the new V12 TDI. The camshafts’ sprocket engages in an intermediate gear via what one. two Simplex chains drive the camshafts. Two more chains drive the oil pump and the sum of brace units high-pressure pumps actuate the common rail injection system.

The two new dual-piston high-pressure pumps form part of the common rail injection a whole supplied by means of specialty manufacturer Bosch. The two pumps build up a pressure of up to 2,000 bar in the rails. The piezo injectors with eight-hole nozzles have also been fundamentally revised.

The high pressure distributes the hotch-potch optimally throughout the combustion chamber. The result is that the ignition process is faster, in greater numbers homogeneous and more acoustically refined. The more effective burning process also increases power output, cuts consumption and reduces pollutant emissions.

The current generation of so-called inline injectors makes effective use of the piezo effect: piezo crystals expand in a fraction of a millisecond when an electrical voltage is applied. The consist of of clyster processes per operating cycle can be varied across a wide range thanks to piezo technology – reaching as many as five fuel injection operations in the case of the V12 TDI.

As well as the main injection, pilot and post injections are possible. Pilot injections intonation down the acoustic asperity of the combustion process. Retarded post injections are designed specifically to increase the temperature of the exhaust gas, promoting regeneration of the two standard particulate filters.

The two turbochargers are located on the exterior of the engine’s V, each of them supplying one bank of cylinders. Thanks to their variable turbine geometry, the full flow of exhaust gas always passes from one side the turbine, so the chargers respond slickly – even at low engine speeds – and operate surpassingly efficiently.

The two turbochargers, which bring about up to 2.6 bar of boost pressure, play a crucial role in producing the huge torque of 1,000 Nm (737.56 lb-ft) that the V12 TDI maintains from 1,750 rpm to 3,000 rpm. In developing 368 kW (500 hp), the diesel achieves a specific output of 62.0 kW (84.3 hp) by liter displacement.

Two large intercoolers reduce the degree of heat of the compressed air. The V12 has a twin-pipe exhaust system with sum of two units particulate filters. The intake system is like in constitution with unit air cleaner per cylinder bank, with an airflow meter at the back of it. Two control units, sharing the workload in a master/slave principle, manage events in the engine.

The Audi R8 TDI Le Mans already fulfills the Euro 6 emissions standard that is likely to take effect in 2014 and calls for vigorously reduced nitrogen oxides. By also designing in ultra-precise fuel metering by the common rail system, Audi’s engineers have made full use of current clean diesel technology.

The heart of the system is a special catalytic converter downstream of the oxidizing catalyst and the particulate filter. The support component in the system is an additional tank containing an aqueous urea solution. Small quantities of the solution, known as ‘AdBlue,’ are injected into the exhaust system. The hot exhaust gases break the solution down to conformation ammonia that splits the nitric oxides into azote and take in water. The system remains effective by reason of the entire service life of the vehicle.

The dynamic character of a sports car depends not exact on its performance and torque; the transmission ratios have to be right too. In keeping by the habitual conduct of a high-performance sports car with unbeatable torque potential, the transmission in the R8 TDI Le Mans has six manually operated gears.

The manual transmission is very compact in design. Together with the small-diameter double-plate seize, this means it can be installed low down. The manual transmission has extremely short shift travel and utterly precise guiding of the shifter into the open gear lever gate. It is made from polished aluminum, has an fit feel and rare sports car looks.

Such a high-performance Audi also has quattro permanent all-wheel be forced along. In the case of this mid-engine sports car, power is distributed variably between the brass and rear wheels from a starting ratio of 40:60 to optimize the handling.

The R8 TDI Le Mans with Brilliant Red bodywork looks even wider and more resolute than the core model. It shows its potential from one side its muscular proportions, accentuated wheel arches and even larger air apertures. The rhombus-pattern cover on the air inlets and outlets is the hallmark of Audi’s sporty top models and a familiar lineament of the progression RS generation.

Typical of the side see of the R8 is the sideblade. Much wider in the bottom third part, it visually accentuates the engine’s position as well as representation as an enlarged air deflector.

The continuous aluminum spoiler lip that connects the front and rear diffusers with side air baffles below the enlarged sills too pays tribute to this version’s highly developed dynamic talents.

And yet the R8 is notorious for its powerful, elegant basic proportions. The selective on the other hand always precise use of lines is another emblematic Audi peculiarity, as is the curved arc of the roof. One new aspect is the glass roof of the passenger compartment through two large transparent sections. These, together with the glazed engine compartment behind, create a radically new formal element. The unmistakable NACA channel in the middle of the house is a functional detail that is normally reserved for racing cars. Its ingenious outward aspect accelerates the air drawn in here for the two cylinder banks of the V12 TDI engine.

The V12 TDI is displayed as the beating mind of this sports car, like a moil of art inside of a large showcase. Its look, underscored by the demeanor deflectors located beneath the restyled rear glass covercle, differs clearly from its production counterpart. The engine can unruffled be seen after dark, when white light-emitting diodes illuminate the engine compartment – as on the production R8 version. This ’showroom’ can additionally be fully lined in genuine carbon fiber, for a particularly exclusive look.

The continuous line running from the front apron across the wheel arches and flanks to the tail end, then on the frontier down the other side, is one of the latest design hallmarks of the Audi brand. This ‘loop’ naturally encompasses the air apertures, the headlights and the taillights.

Unmistakable Face by Day and Night

The passion expressed through the elaborate design of the lights is another figurative Audi trait. Nor is anyone likely to overlook this Audi sports car from abaft: the LED taillights have a three-dimensional look that can’t be missed.

But the absolute highlight is the all-LED headlights of the study vehicle. With their lenses and reflectors, not only do these innovative light sources have a ground-breaking appearance, they also have an vast functional advantage: LED give light to, with its color temperature of 6,000 Kelvin, resembles daylight much more closely than xenon or even halogen light. Better unsteady means the driver will have much smaller quantity fatigue when driving at night.

The interior’s design is as sporty and exclusive like the exterior: the characteristic proper sphere here is the monoposto – an expansive arc running around the steering roll forward and instruments, connecting the driver to the car. The interior consequently picks up attached the dynamism of the R8 TDI Le Mans and gives it tactile expression in a form that is accessible the second you go up in.

The three-spoke sport steering wheel of run after remains the focal characteristic of the car’s controls. With a diameter of 365 mm (14.37 in.), it is both sportily compact and ergonomic in shape. The steering wheel rim has a flat lower brink; beginning. This is a more distant aspect of the auto racing feel in the Audi R8 TDI Le Mans, but one that also brings major functional benefits, facilitating entry and exit for the driver. The steering wheel is covered in fine Valcona leather, with a diecast magnesium core providing strength.

The start/close button for the engine and the Drive Select stick through the Dynamic/ Sport/Race settings are arranged on the steering wheel. The latter controls the engine and transmission electronics as well as the magnetic ride dampeners in each of three variant modes.

In Race mode, the instrument lighting changes from white to red. The navigation system shows a combined display through lap timer and navigation information for the racetrack being driven. Or supplementary information such as centrifugal force and boost pressure can be called up.

Concentrating on the essentials was the priority in the ergonomic arrangement of all Audi R8 versions. The most of great weight consideration – individually for high-speed driving – is short reach distances for completely controls, to keep the time that the driver has only any hand on the steering wheel to a bare minimum. In typical Audi style the monitor is well within the field of view, and the elements of the MMI operating system are located directly below it.

Compared with the product version, the R8 TDI Le Mans’s interior has much larger aluminum applications, especially around the center console. The many carbon fiber elements give the interior a decidedly sporty feel.

The R8’s exceptional everyday practicality for a sports car is maintained in the study vehicle’s spaciousness, even though the longer engine takes up again room. The two occupants have the generous wheelbase of 2.65 meters (8.69 ft.) to thank for the interior comfort. This means the driver and passenger will continually be able to remark their perfect seated position, whatever their form. The view is also very good for a mid-engine vehicle. Narrow A-posts optimize the region of view to the front and sides.

The body of a sports car needs to be particularly light and rigid. Low weight permits superior road performance, and rigidity is the crucial starting point for an agile driving be moved allied to high precision. The Audi Space Frame dead body, made from aluminum, provides the ideal basis for this.

Audi has more expertise than any other manufacturer worldwide in the design and production of vehicles based on aluminum technology, and has channeled its accumulated know-how into this area.

The entire bodyshell of the study car weighs just 210 kilograms (462.97 lbs.). In ASF technology, the body’s supporting structure is made of extruded aluminum sections and die-castings. Aluminum panels are incorporated into this skeleton to form a positive connection and perform a load-bearing role. Each individual component of the ASF capacity state is optimized for its specific task by the use of widely differing shapes and cross-sections, combining maximum stability with minimal weight. It adds up to a car that’s particularly light and rigid, an outcome that can be felt in the R8’s ultra-precise driving feel.

The aerodynamics experts at Audi have done their work so thoroughly on the study car that, as an added benefit of its elegant shape, the body actually generates downforce – unlike many other sports cars. This aids directional stability at high speeds. It is achieved partly by means of an extending rear spoiler that is much larger than on the production lection, and likewise thanks to the fully clad diffuser underbody.

Two large-format diffuser apertures in the rear full glass demonstrate just in what way much aerodynamics dictate the shape of the study vehicle. The tailpipes of the dissipate system are located in pairs on the suitable and left above the diffuser apertures. The add-on, automatically extended bring up spoiler also interacts with the air as it flows around the car. The extra downforce it provides increases the efficiency of the air intake generated by the aerodynamic design of the underbody and diffusers. At low speeds, the rear spoiler returns to its initial position.

Chassis

The precision chassis of the Audi R8 TDI Le Mans refuse supremely in control of the sporty performance, but is capable of assuring relaxed driving pleasure over long distances over. The sports car is spontaneous and agile at obeying steering movements, everlastingly demonstrating exceptionally good driving safety. The suspension, with make twice as much wishbones at the same as well as the other the front and rear, is optimized for a neutral self-steering rejoinder and greatest ease of control.

The study car, too, has the innovative dampening technology known as Audi magnetic ride. This adapts the chassis characteristic to the profile of the road and the driver’s style within milliseconds.

Ceramic Brakes by Extreme Reserves

A generously dimensioned brake body supplies the necessary braking force. It applies a total of 24 pistons to the four brake disks, combining excellent performance with minimal heaviness and high lasting quality. The disks are made from carbon fiber reinforced ceramic, a material that has again and again proven its worth in the aviation and aerospace sectors. The basis is very hard, frictionally resistant silicon carbide, with its diamond-like crystalline structure. Embedded in it are high-strength carbon fibers that absorb the stresses occurring in the material. The intricate geometry of cooling ducts in the ventilated disks prevents extremely high temperatures. The ceramic brake disk ring is bolted by 10 spring-loaded elements to a stainless steel central element that acts as the connection with the wheel’s hub.

The ceramic brakes are identifiable at a glance by the special red, six-piston monobloc aluminum calipers and the fixed calipers at the rare. The advantages of the ceramic brakes take in a farther reduction in weight of around 20 kilograms (44.09 lbs.), which in this case improves the handling characteristics and comfort. The high rubbing down resistance permits an operating lifetime of up to 300,000 kilometers (186,411 miles). Their key strength, however, is their facility to oppose very high loads. Even on the racetrack, for case in point, the ceramic brakes always maintain their full reserve performance.

Audi has reached another milestone in diesel technology through the new V12 TDI. The brand through the four rings has been performing vital pioneering be in action in this area to the degree that antidote to the past three decades. The in the first place TDI auto engine made its debut in 1989. The 2.5 liter five-cylinder troop unit developed 88 kW (120 hp) and 261 Nm, catapulting diesel driving into an entirely new dimension.

This was followed in 1994 by a development version generating 103 kW (140 hp). This engine was optionally available with all-wheel go driving – the first TDI quattro fashion. A new four-cylinder diesel appeared at that time in the Audi 100 and Audi 80, the 1.9 TDI developing 66 kW (90 hp) that has now turn to legendary.

At the end of 1995 the output of this four-cylinder unit rose to 85 kW (115 hp) with the advent of pump-injector fuel injection. Slightly other than one year later, at the start of 1997, the world’s first 2.5 V6 TDI appeared.

With four valves per cylinder, it achieved an output of 110 kW (150 hp), and its top speed of 220 km/h (136.70 mph) made the Audi A8 the fastest production diesel on the emporium. The elementary eight-cylinder TDI followed in 1999 – a V8 engine with a 3.3 liter capacity. The 3.0 TDI made its debut early in 2004 as the first V6 diesel with inline piezo injectors in the common rail system.

The 4.2 liter TDI launched in the A8 in 2005 is currently at the vanguard of Audi’s TDI range. One in three A8 buyers in Germany chose this V8 engine. The next logical step was to make the V8 TDI available in the Audi Q7 in summer 2007.

With extremely clean, ultra-low emission technology, Audi is continuing its tradition of leadership in diesel engine technology. In 1989 it was the Ingolstadt brand that developed direct injection technology. Since then the diesel engine has become around 30 percent more prime mover.

The Euro 4 European emission standard has reduced particulate emissions against cars by 93 percent. Long before it came into force, Audi had models on the market that met this standard, even without a particulate filter. And the brand will have existence offering the world’s cleanest diesel engines in production vehicles in 2008. The TDI engines with the ultra-low emission system will be the first in the world to meet the forthcoming EU 6 emission standard as well as the toughest known statutory limits that lay upon in the U.S.

Source - Audi

The classic car has sundry spectacular features. The windscreen is quite different then a traditional car. They have made use of “saute-vent” a french term which means “a sudden change in the wind”. The air with this design is directed over the driver’s understanding. The instrument is positioned behind the seats and the cabin is divided into 2 compartments. With electronically controlled, retractable central rear view mirror, the driver could obtain a view of happenings behind the car.

The aerodynamics for the car is in addition futuristic which is optimised by front and rear spoilers and a large rear diffuser.

With the new Gallardo LP560-4, Lamborghini formerly again sets a higher standard for super sports cars. With its new engine, permanent four-wheel drive transmittal and fresh pendency, it delivers clearly improved performance and dynamics. In parallel, its innovative design takes the classic lines unique to the Lamborghini brand one step more remote. Powerful elegance has never been so defined before.

The Gallardo LP560-4 is the successor of the most prosperous Lamborghini model of all time. Approximately 7100 Gallardo models have left the Sant’Agata Bolognese production plant since its launch in 2003. ‘The LP560-4 will consolidate this fortunate hit story,’ states Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini. ‘It will outclass its forerunner in each aspect; its dynamics are distinctly breathtaking and its invention sets new standards. With the introduction of the Gallardo LP560-4, we will consistently continue Lamborghini’s growth strategy’.

The powerful heart of the Gallardo LP560-4 is the new 5.2 litre V10 engine with an output of 560 PS (412 kW) at 8000 rpm. The increase of 40 PS compared with that of the previous Gallardo, and the proximate 20 kilogram reduction in weight, improves the power import ratio to 2.5 kilograms per PS (hp) and thus enhances performance. The LP560-4 accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 3.7 seconds, its speed at 11.8 seconds is 200 km/h and its top speed lies at 325 km/h. At the same time the new, highly efficient engine enthrals its driver with its direct fuel clyster system - ‘Iniezione Diretta Stratificata’. Despite its clearly increased power, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions have been reduced by dint of. a staggering 18 per cent.