Concept Cars

David Rojas, Min Young Kang and Robert Jablonski were the three GM designers who provided a fun, nimble and innovative HUMMER concept, a off-road vision for the future. The new 2008 model should be presented at the North American International Auto Show. The task wasn’t easy for the three young designers, working with such a big brand, numerous challenges appeared, but in the end the model lived up to the market’s expectation of HUMMER off-road capability. Carl Zipfel, an ex-professional motocross racer and director of the HUMMER design studio, was the person giving directions so the design would respect the Hummer brand.

After three months of sketching and sculpting, Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman and Ed Welburn, chose the ultimate design that would become the HX concept. The E-85 FlexFuel capable HUMMER HX was now proud to show off his road spirit in a fully customizable package. Upgrades of the new model offer a pair of removable roof panels above the driver and front passenger, a modular, removable rear roof assembly, a slant back assembly with removable doors and fender flairs and many others.
“Working as a team, you realize it’s more than one person influencing the vehicle,’ said Rojas. ‘You can see the inspiration from each of our designs in the final concept vehicle. We’re all proud to have the chance to see our sketches become reality.”

Next to F430 coupe and the F430 Spider, a new ferrari was born, the 430 Scuderia, a truly high-performance 2-seater berlinetta, bringing the formula 1 feeling directly to the streets where anyone can take advantage. The car is similar to the F430, but with a more sporting look, especifically for the passionate customers. The developers did not forget what formula 1 tought them and applied that knowledge to create a light weight car with innovative technology for extremely high-performance.

With a V8 510 hp at 8500 rpm engine and a power ratio of just 2.45 kg per hp, because of the very light weight, around 1250 kg, the car is better than the F430. Cutting-edge solutions like “F1 Superfast”, new traction control, a single integrated system combining the E-Diff electronic differential and the F1-Trac traction and stability control, all this makes the Ferrari 430 Scuderia to perform superb on and off the track.

When Carroll Shelby and the Ford Mustang got back together after 40 years, they had the great idea to create the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500. This special gift it’s a Mustang collection, that can build 475 horsepower within its 5.4-liter supercharged V8. As we all know, the 1960s Shelby Mustang was a king on the road, so for the Ford Shelby GT500 to be the same, advanced engineering had to be used to attain the same performance.

If you say Mustang you think about a lot of power under the hood, and you are right, because the engine is a force-fed an air-and-fuel mixture via a “Roots-type” supercharger providing 8.5 pounds per square inch of boost. The beast is equipped with a 6-speed manual gearbox that gives a rewarding experience throughout the engine’s broad torque. If you want a car to be the best you have to start with the chassis, the place where the engineers did an exceptional job, thinking always at performance. The biggest brakes in the business were mounted on the Ford Shelby GT500, to match the power and handling ability of the Mustang FR500C who won ts first race in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in February 2005.

The body of the car it’s combining improved airflow and aerodynamics. The hood has heat extractors to let the hot air from the engine compartment to be drawn out through ducts attached to the hood extractors. Also an important detail are the classic Le Mans-style white stripes, also a remember to the classic Shelby Mustangs. Inside you will find leather with interior treatments, snake logos embossed in the seat and much more, letting you chose between Charcoal Black or Charcoal Black and Crimson Red for colors.

“SVT will remain the leader in performance vehicle engineering,” says Thai-Tang. “It will continue to build new, innovative products using advanced processes that will not only provide great enjoyment to the dedicated driving enthusiast, but that also will provide great benefit to other Ford products and Ford Motor Company itself.”

I don’t know why, but I think that the German tuners from Arden will talk with the people from “National Geographic” for making a serial from the “Big Cats” documentary, where the principal actor will be their last creation.

Seriously, the Germans were able to transform the elegant British coupe, which still had a very good motorization. The top model XKR has a V8 engine with 4,2 liters, a powerful compressor that gives the power of 420 HP. At all these, the tuners from Arden, offered the clients Jaguar’s clients the possibility of buying a better Jaguar XKR: Arden AJ 20 Coupe.

The Arden coupe attracts attention because of its very good aerodynamic aspect, made by spoilers in the front, in the back and an aileron. These elements have an aerodynamic role, the spoilers have air admissions.

With 21″ “Arden Sportline Design” wheels, equipped with 255/35R21 tires on the front and 295/30R21 tires in the back, this car is ready to “fight”. The modifications of the engine are that it now has 4,5 liters instead of 4,2. The admissions systems were modified too. The 4,5L engine, now has 480 HP and 640 Nm at 3.850 rpm, and it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4,1 seconds, while the maximum speed it’s 305 km/h. We can say that this car is a true beast!

Six hundred hours are necessary to build a CAV GT from chassis to the road, and under this seamless body you will only find performance and refined power. And for this to happen, every manufacturing process is meticulously planned so the factory will achieve the quality they strive for. A special shaping and spraying process it’s used to create the perfect body, and also baked several times before the final spray painting to make sure it is cured and stable. This is such a long process that 200 men are needed return it to the factory after the paint job, where the body panels are removed and carefully stored.

The chassis features an integrated roll over bar and side impact protection bars for racing purposes. The suspension was adjusted for the road and track so you would have great handling in any condition, all this with the help of bump steer adjustment. The design of the suspension it’s just like the original but this doesn’t mean the handling will be compromised, so featuring 16 adjustable rose-joints, the CAV GT it’s perfect for racing.
The interior it’s full of leather, in the seats, padded dashboard, steering wheel, console, roof lining, doors, everywhere. Extra comfort it’s provided by the air conditioning, increased head and legroom and adjustable pedal box, also chrome bezel and Lucas switch gear just like the 1960s design.

Under the hood a Ford V8 small block 289/302, with approximately 450 hp awaits to roar. If you want to make a race, a “Standard Woven Clutchplate” it’s recommended for a smooth engagement. Copper clutch is used for higher torque featuring 4 button to 6 button plates.

A new special edition Gt Cobra and Cobra Ute was released by Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) at the parade lap of Mount Panorama right at the start of the 2007 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. Maybe you know about the famous 1-2 victory formation at the 1977 Bathurst 1000 race, that took place thirty years ago, and where Ford Falcon XC Hardtop appeared. One year later the Cobra XC Hardtop was released in limited edition.
“The Cobra name involves passion among motoring enthusiasts, and now 30 years after the famous 1-2 win at Bathurst, the new FPV GT Cobra offers the exclusivity of Cobra ownership to a new generation of car owners,” said FPV General Manager Rod Barrett.

The new 2008 model has the latest FPV engineering and performance, but combined with the original XC Cobra, featuring the same blue racing stripes. The coiled snake emblem could not miss the presentation, a symbol for this car. The engine it’s a high performance Boss 5.4-liters quad-cam 32 valve V8, producing 302kW. For the geer box, the car can be equipped with either a close ratio six-speed manual transmission with a high torque clutch or the ZF six-speed automatic transmission with Sequential Sports Shift.

The interior is made by leather seats with Cobra snake logo embedded. 19-inch five-spoke alloy wheels with Dunlop SP Sport Maxx 245/35ZR tires complete the new Ford FPV GT Cobra & Ute.
Being a limited edition, only 400 sedans and 100 Utes will be produced, and a unique Cobra build badge identity will be mounted on each car. The price range will be $65,110 for the GT Cobra, and $61,200 for the Cobra Ute.