TAS 2010

The new Porsche Panamera has become the new Tokyo-center commuter over the last couple of months so I wasn't surprised to see quite a few of them on display at TAS. This one was running on 22-inch Forgiato Maglia GTR wheels.

Gotta dig the Hyper Forged wheels on this 997 Turbo, but I'm a sucker for matte bronze wheels!

Being Italian I couldn't pass up the opportunity to stop by the FIAT Abrath stand to check out the Punto Abarth...

BMW with Toyota power! 

Camaros

Outerplus with Ti Racing Exige at the Super Lap Battle last month, a mighty fast car around Tsukuba.

Had a chance to have a nice look at the tuned Toyota 2ZZ in the back which thanks to a remap, bigger throttle and intercooler develops 275 HP.

Thought the For-Two looked pretty good with those 17-inch wheels. Make sure you watch out for Carlsson's new 735 HP SL based C25 supercar that will be unveiled at the Geneva show in March.

The Golf is one of the most popular imports in Japan so it wasn't a surprise to see quite a few at the show like this Voomeran GTI.

SL65 AMG Black Series in the Dunlop area. Outrageous looking thing!

While the green Libery Walk Murcielago entertained me with its constantly rising and dropping air suspension for all of twenty seconds, it was the little Lambormini that really caught my attention. I've been seeing these funny ATVs at import shows for years now but I've never noticed how cool they can look! The perfect way to complement your supercar! And like their full-scaled counterparts they are only for the very well off costing just under $21,000! And if you are feeling especially exuberant you can add the $3,500 audio kit!

YARIS ON TWENTIESSSS

Natural progression or a fluke? You can't open a ‘pic of the day thread' on a random forum without getting confronted with cars that have a killer stance. Normally you would see cars like a Impreza or Evo and of course the S-chassis cars. But we can't forget the little guys, like this Toyota Yaris or Vitz as it is known in other countries.

This particular car has its roots in Indonesia and is rolling round town on a set of 20" Weds Kranze Bazreia wheels. There isn't a lot of info about the car itself but I did spot a few items that aren't standard.

Thanks to an airbag system the wheels are tucked inside the wheel wells. When driving the owner lifts the car up for better clearance, but it surprised me to see that it still looks good when doing so. You can see a small video clip of the car on the highway here.

In the rear we see a modified bumper with two exhaust tips molded into it. It makes for a very clean look. I'm also guessing that the owner has painted the rear lights red.

It looks like a real life Jada Toy car in this picture. I mentioned that the wheels are made Weds, they come in size 20x9" +38 in the front with 235/30/20 tires and 20x10" +12 in the rear with 245/30/20 tire

If this ain't tucked then I don't know what is. I thought it looked pretty cool and its definitely refreshing to see. Will we see more of these small cars with excessive sized wheels in the future? Or is this car a freak of nature?

The Art Of Zip~Tiess

Lexus LFA

Manufacturer	Lexus
Parent company	Toyota Motor Corporation
Also called	Lexus LF-A (concept)
Production	Dec 2010 – Dec 2012 (planned, 500 total, 20 monthly)
Assembly	Motomachi, Toyota City, Japan
Class	Sports car Racing car
Body style(s)	2-door coupé 2-door roadster
Layout	Front-mid-engine, rear-mid-transaxle, rear-wheel drive
Engine(s)	4.8 L 1LR-GUE V10
Transmission(s)	6-speed Automated Sequential Gearbox
Wheelbase	2,605 mm (102.6 in)
Length	4,505 mm (177.4 in)
Width	1,895 mm (74.6 in)
Height	1,220 mm (48 in)
Curb weight	1,480–1,580 kg (3,263–3,483 lb)
Designer	Haruhiko Tanahashi

Gumpert Apollo

History

In 2001 Roland Gumpert proposed a new generation sports car. One of the first concerns of this car was that it be a street-legal car, ready for the race track. Gumpert returned to Germany at the end of 2001, after more than three years in China. There he was the head of sales and marketing, responsible for the development of the dealer network of the Audi-VW joint enterprise. Just after he returned to Germany, Roland Mayer asked him if he would assist him in building a prototype sports car. Audi approved Gumpert's involvement in this project, on the condition that, if they did eventually develop a new sports car, it would not be a prototype, but a series product.^[1]

The company, located in Altenburg, Germany, was founded in 2004 under the name GMG Sportwagenmanufaktur Altenburg GmbH. The technical guidelines were defined and the first designs of the car were drawn by Marco Vanetta. Upon Vanetta's completion of this process, the first 1:4scale model of Gumpert's car was produced in 2002.

Gumpert continued with the development of the Apollo, along with the Technical University of Munich and the Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences. They have assisted with the constructional work, computer simulations, and wind tunnel tests. This research and development helped forming the blueprint for the first 1:1 scale model. Finally, two prototype Apollos were constructed.^[2] The production of the Apollo started in October 2005.^[3]

Motorsport

The Gumpert Apollo used theLeipzig-Altenburg Airport as a test track.

During April 2005 the Apollo made its racing debut in the Divinol Cup. This Apollo was driven by the Belgian race driver Ruben Maes. Maes finished third on the Hockenheimring race track. Three years later Gumpert announced that they would enter a hybrid version of the Apollo in the 2008 24 Hours Nürburgring, driven by 2004 winner Dirk Müller and ex-Formula One racer Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Three months passed between the first discussions and the finished hybrid Apollo. The Apollo was driven in the 24 Hours Nürburgring in May 2008. The hybrid Apollo can deliver up to 382 kW (519 PS; 512 hp), powered with a 3.3 litre V8 twin-turboengine coupled with a 100 kW (136 PS; 134 hp) electric motor. The car has the ability to recharge the battery under braking.

On July 27, 2008 an Apollo Sport was featured on the UK show Top Gear. Richard Hammond and The Stigdrove the Apollo Sport.^[4] With a lap time of 1:17.1, the Apollo Sport is the fastest on the 'Power Lap Board' as of December 2009.^[5]

[edit]Design

The Apollo is a 1,100 kg (2,400 lb) to 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) (depending on options), street-legal race car. It is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive two-seater constructed on a tubular chromoly frame, with fiberglass or optional carbon fiber body panels. The manufacturers, Gumpert, claim the design of the Apollo is optimized so that the car could drive upside-down in a tunnel if driven at sufficiently high speeds (over 190 mph),^[6] though this remains to be tested. Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond claims that Gumpert have already found a suitable tunnel and have made all the preparations necessary and are simply waiting for a volunteer driver willing enough to do the test.^[7]

Engine

A 4163 cc bi-turbo intercooled V8 engine powers the Apollo. The 90° V8 has a closed-deck light metal crankcase with dry sump lubrication. The light metal cylinder heads have five valves per cylinder, four overhead camshafts, VarioCam Direct variable valve timing on the intakes, and hydraulic valve clearance compensation. The double-flow exhaust system has four oxygen sensors to monitor the gas mixture, and a 3-waycatalytic converter. Modern controls include an on-board diagnostic system, eight-coil electronic ignition, sequential multipoint fuel injection, and an electronic (drive by wire) accelerator system.

There are 3 engine types available, a base version with about 478 kW (650 PS; 641 hp), a sport version with around 515 kW (700 PS; 691 hp) and a race version with around 588.4 kW (800 PS; 789 hp) Top speed is 360.4 km/h (223.9 mph) with 0-100 km/h (62 mph) reached in 3.2 seconds and 0-200 km/h (120 mph) in 8.8 seconds.

[edit]Dimensions

• Length: 4,460 mm (176 in)
• Width: 1,998 mm (78.7 in)
• Height: 1,114 mm (43.9 in)
• Wheel Base: 2,700 mm (110 in)

Weight

• Curb Weight: under 1,200 kg (2,600 lb)
• Total Allowed Weight: 1,500 kg (3,300 lb)
• 
  

Zenvo ST1

The ST1 is a prototype of a supercar created by Danish company Zenvo. It features an aggressive racing-like design, is powered by a 7.0 liter V8 engine and can reach a top speed of 375 km/h. It will be hand built in a limited series of 15 units.

Created by Danish company Zenvo, the ST1 is powered by a 7.0 liter V8 engine with more than 1,100 hp and a max torque of 1430Nm. These impressive figures allow for a top speed exceeding 375 km/h and a projected 0-100 km/h time of 3 seconds.The research and development of the concept started in 2004. The final prototype has now been completed and the car has entered it’s last stages of performance testing, where according to Zenvo it has achieved a 0-100 km/h time of 3.2 seconds and a 0-200 km/h time of 8.9 seconds. Zenvo plans to start a limited series production of 15 units within 2009.

Design

The design of the ST1 was developed by Hermann & Brandt Design studio. The brief was to design a sportscar with an aggressive mix of typical supercar styling cues and race car elements.

Started with the first rough sketches in August 2006, the final design was approved in February 2008.

The design of the car is made from free flowing accelerating lines creating the shape of the wheel arches, the roof line, side line and the lower side air intake.

The sharp lines are connected by muscular organic surfacing creating dramatic reflections. Contrasting the general surfacing the design features a race car inspired lower carbon splitter.

The front is designed around the hexagonal trademark Zenvo grille flanked by the large front air intakes used for brakes and engine cooling. The intakes are raked back to minimize drag and at the same time making the side impression of the car more compact.

The theme of the front is repeated in the rear which is designed around the big diffuser necessary for high speed stability. As on the front the center volume is flanked by large air exits extracting hot engine air as well as housing the exhaust and rear lights.

The rear spoiler mandatory for a car capable of extreme high speeds is partly integrated in the rear wing. It has a unique aerodynamic design following the raked shape of the rear end.

Zenvo ST1 - Technical Specifications

• Engine: V8 7.0 liters
• Transmission: 6-speed manual gearbox, rear wheel-drive, hydraulic limit slip differential
• Dimensions
  
  
  
  • Length (mm) 4665
  • Width, without mirrors (mm) 2041
  • Height (mm) 1198
  • Wheelbase (mm) 3055
  
  
• Weight (kg) 1376
• Output (kW/hp/min) 810 / 1104 / 6900
• Max. torque (Nm/min) 1430 / 4500
• Top speed (km/h) 375 (electronically controlled)
• Acceleration 0–100 km/h (s) 3,0
• Power-to-Weight ratio Hp/weight 802 bhp per tonne