mercedez: luxo grande

LaFerrari

Some people say the Ferraris became overrated. They claim they’re too expensive, should always break performance records… But sooner or later a new Ferrari arrives, and everybody else silences. People from all over the world start struggling to acquire one of its own, moving an amount of money which is almost as countless as the wallpapers set by the fans as a symbol of this passion which any other automaker motivates. Having that in mind, how could someone question Ferrari’s title of world’s most powerful brand?

Part of such reputation comes from the fact of the Italians sticking to what made them famous on the first place. Like Land Rover’s typical off-road abilities, Fiat’s expertise at compact vehicles or Volvo’s legendary concern with safety, Ferrari’s difference from the competitor automakers comes from its overall image. LaFerrari once again introduces this worldwide-known set of features starting with the iconic red, but there’s much more worth attention. For instance, its very name goes without the brand’s surname, making this car unmistakable in the same way as Madonna, Sting or Enzo Ferrari, the brand’s founder which was (even more) immortalized with having the company’s previous top-notch car named after him. That’s why the newcomer’s name is the Italian expression for “The Ferrari”, along with official information such as the title of most powerful Ferrari ever built. When it comes to the styling, it’s interesting to observe there are several references both to the present and the past. The car’s overall silhouette leads to think of an evolved Enzo, but at the same time it’s much more futuristic. The sleek headlights took inspiration from recent models such as FF, while the circular tail lights on a Ferrari are nothing but historical. And while F40 and F50 have strongly-wedged fronts, LaFerrari reproduces Enzo’s concept in a taller double-deck element, which juggles with light and shadow to give a very imponent appearance without getting out of proportion

But if all that is some kind of innovation among these supercars, have you noticed something special about that strong line after the side intakes which ends contouring the rear? That’s Ferrari’s way of drawing central engines’ hoods, like at this and this examples. Finally, the glass area had the sheetmetal around it in black for a reason: the colored part becomes hard not to remind of a F-1 vehicle, just like the fascinating interior – the red-and-black room has everything turned into the driver, although a companion is taken with plenty of comfort in this one. As you’ve already read several times, this car brings F12berlinetta’s V12 6.2L improved to achieve 789 hp at 9000 rpm and 516 lb-ft-torque, but paired to an electric engine which adds 161 hp to complete 950 hp and more than 660 lb-ft of torque, using a seven-speed automated transmission. Such power is applied to hand-made chassis with four types of carbon fiber, resulting on much better torsional rigidity than Enzo’s along with amazing 2800 pounds of weight, even with the electric engine and batteries. If you add to that Ferrari’s most advanced technology kit and performance items such as carbon-ceramic brakes, it’s easy to believe in a 98-feet smaller space to a 124-0 mph stop. When you’re moving one of the 499 units the other way, though, you’ll be able to accelerate to 62 mph in less than three seconds, to 124 mph in less than seven, to 186 mph in around 15… and reach the top speed of about 217 mph.

BMW X6 2013

Observar os lançamentos do mercado automotivo nos últimos tempos tem estimulado muita gente a proferir uma frase digna de provocar as maiores doses de agonia nos profissionais do design: “os carros estão todos iguais”. Infelizmente existem mesmo alguns exemplos que validam esta afirmação quando vistos em certos ângulos, mas os que realmente merecem atenção estão no extremo oposto. Um destes ícones mais recentes do estilo automotivo é este crossover cuja nova fase acaba de desembarcar no Brasil.

Comercializado no Brasil pela Eurobike, o mérito do X6 não vem apenas de atrair muitos olhares porque isso se obtém mesmo com carros de aparição mais comum. Sua diferença está em ser um daqueles automóveis que prendem o olhar mesmo das pessoas que não têm tanto interesse nestes produtos. É muito fácil se deter por alguns minutos observando em primeiro lugar os padrões diferentes de formas e volumes, culminando na clássica dúvida entre ele ser um utilitário ou um cupê. Essa curiosidade vem do contraste que a BMW exerceu com muito êxito, ao partir de traços imponentes e volumosos que poderiam gerar qualquer crossover atual (como o próprio irmão X5, por exemplo), mas aliá-los a uma queda de teto digna de um fastback. A outra parte deste encanto dos observadores se expressa em que passar tempo olhando o carro de um lado a outro só melhora a impressão que se teve de início. Não existe um só detalhe que pareça ter sido esquecido, ou recebido menor atenção. São vários vincos e relevos conectando uma forma à outra, criando um conjunto tão fortemente relacionado que entra no clube de exemplos como as fases atuais de Fiat Bravo e Ford Focus: com eles é melhor esperar a época de trocar o modelo por inteiro, porque executar redesenhos parciais sempre tiraria o equilíbrio do design original.

Talvez seja esta a razão de o exterior do X6 2013 não ter trazido mudanças maiores que parachoques re-estilizados e novos farois, que não têm problemas em conseguir a intenção de atualizar o modelo para a segunda etapa do seu ciclo de vida – este crossover foi lançado mundialmente em 2009. Quem teve mudanças maiores foi o interior, cuja maior evolução foi eliminar o túnel da transmissão, o que traz o sempre desejado assoalho plano na região do banco traseiro, criando espaço muito melhor para o quinto ocupante. É este banco que também teve o seu reprodutor de DVD trocado, com a tela ganhando posição central. Isso termina de compor uma cabine recheada do nível de luxo e tecnologia típico dos carros desta categoria, cujo console central traz o mesmo padrão de estilo dos demais BMW e também as várias opções de cor, para combinar com os também diversos tons de couro dos bancos em várias possibilidades. As unidades do novo X6 que vêm ao Brasil estarão disponíveis em duas versões: começando em R$ 344.950, a xDrive35i usa o 3.0 biturbo de seis cilindros, que gera 306 cv. Quem quer ainda mais força pode levar a xDrive50i, responsável pelo 4.4 V8 que passa dos 400 cv e eleva o preço a R$ 414.950.

Land Rover Range Rover 4

Inovação é uma parcela muito grande do conjunto de estratégias de qualquer empresa que tenha pelo menos um mínimo de participação no mercado, mas ainda mais importante que ela é a adaptabilidade. O ato de reconhecer que a vontade do público não só muda com muita facilidade como o faz em uma infinidade de formas. São tantas que várias vezes incluem até mesmo não mudar. Este é apenas um dos intrigantes paradoxos que vêm garantindo o inquestionável sucesso deste fascinante SUV inglês por mais de quatro décadas.

Em outras palavras, essa questão consiste no contraste de vontades vindo da maioria dos clientes com o costume de buscar as opções mais recentes de um produto desejado exercido ao mesmo tempo que preservam certas preferências por muitos anos sem a menor possibilidade de troca. O mercado de perfumes femininos, por exemplo, vende uma série de marcas e modelos mas ainda tem Chanel n° 5 entre os líderes, por várias décadas consecutivas. Situação parecida acontece com Coca-Cola, Nestlé e várias outras, em geral uma marca por segmento. É exatamente isso que mantém a demanda pelo Range Rover inabalável desde os anos 1970. Rivais vêm e vão com os conceitos mais diversos e das mais variadas marcas – incluindo a própria Land Rover, com o Evoque – mas a demanda pelo “Rolls-Royce do fora-de-estrada” permanece sem se abalar. Este aparente paradoxo se torna especialmente interessante porque na verdade é composto por outro paradoxo: se a estratégia simbolizada pelo epíteto mencionado seja seguida atualmente por uma variedade enorme de modelos, quem a criou foi o próprio Range Rover. A receita de tanto sucesso é associar a cabine digna de uma limusine a preparo mecânico suficiente para permiti-lo trafegar nos mais diversos tipos de terreno e com os climas mais adversos sem perder a elegância.

Falar em elegância pode fazer com que muita gente logo lembre dos farois e lanternas claramente inspirados nas luzes do Evoque, mas o fato é que a personalidade do irmão maior é muito mais profunda. Outro símbolo que provavelmente nunca vai mudar é a silhueta do Range Rover, mesmo que a combinação de teto com queda leve associado à traseira inclinada tenha tido seu auge na época da primeira geração. Esta parte guarda um detalhe interessante, aliás: enquanto vários hatchbacks exibem o chamado “teto flutuante” como um detalhe de estilo recente, o SUV inglês já podia trazer todas as colunas em preto desde a primeira geração, obtendo exatamente o mesmo efeito de fazê-las parecer unidas às janelas como um só elemento em preto brilhante, que ao não impedir o teto de manter a cor da carroceria faz este último parecer visualmente desconectado da mesma. Mas assim que você tiver conseguido desviar o olhar do incrível equilíbrio entre passado e presente que é o design exterior deste veículo, começa o momento de estender o fascínio ao interior. A fartura de espaço para cinco pessoas foi exaltada com o aumento de entre-eixos em relação ao antecessor, além de o revestimento em couro se oferecer nos mais variados tons para combinar com a igualmente ampla oferta de tipos de madeira, tudo para compor o ambiente que mais agradar ao abastado proprietário.

Passar à parte técnica do novo Range Rover sempre merece a menção da sua nova plataforma, que recebeu aumento na tecnologia embarcada para não só ganhar em resistência como também para uma excelente perda de peso, que em certas versões chega a 400 kg. Uma novidade ainda mais surpreendente é a evolução do sistema Terrain Response, que abandona a necessidade de o motorista alterar o modo de direção: agora é o próprio veículo que avalia a condição do terreno em que está para escolher os parâmetros mais adequados de estabilidade, suspensão e tração. Em paralelo, o interminável pacote de equipamentos inclui mimos extremos como quadro de instrumentos feito por uma tela LCD e o reprodutor de DVD para os passageiros do banco traseiro. As opções de motorização mantêm o câmbio automático ZF de oito marchas para todas as versões, que no Brasil começam com a Vogue 4.4 V8 biturbo movido a diesel, com potência de 339 cv e torque de 71,1 kgfm e preço de R$ 551.800. Ele também equipa a Vogue SE sob o preço de R$ 575.800 e a topo-de-linha Autobiography, que por sua vez fica em R$ 596.800 – este trem-de-força lhe faz acelerar de 0 a 100 km/h em 6s9 e chegar à velocidade máxima de 217 km/h. Porém, quem desejar força ainda maior pode trocar o diesel pela gasolina que move o 5.0 V8, responsável pelos 510 cv e 63,5 kgfm e pelo desempenho de 5s4 e 225 km/h, este com limite eletrônico. Esta unidade equipa as versões Vogue SE Supercharged, de R$ 583.800, e Autobiography Supercharged, de R$ 601.400.

Lamborghini Veneno

Even though several concept cars are showed at international events to anticipate its company’s short-term releases, they’re usually mixed with the group whose function seems to be only teasing the fans – Citroën Technospace clearly belongs to the first group, while the old Laguna, Mégane and Scénic concept cars don’t have trouble to put Renault in the second team. But how about when what could be a typical member of “the teasers” was actually all the time projected to the streets and is now officially released?

The Italian, Portuguese and Spanish word for poison also names “one of the strongest and most aggressive fighting bulls ever”, a fact which would be extremely hard for this Italian automaker to ignore. But if it was a matter of waiting for a good moment to use it, when would be more appropriate than its fiftieth birthday? But while Sesto Elemento was an entirely new vehicle, this one carries over Aventador’s structure, working as an even more charismatic brother for Lamborghini’s flagship model. Veneno’s proposal is to offer everything from a race car which doesn’t keep it away of being streetlegal. Since this concept doesn’t imply many design restrictions beyond every super sports car’s standards, this machine presents a futuristic styling which some people compare to Batmobile. There are very strong creases and cuts all over the car, creating very complex graphics which may not have the smallest difficulty at distinguishing it from the older models, but surely take it far away from McLaren P1’s elegance, for example – this obviously doesn’t mean that one of those is better or worse, but very different. Specially because Veneno catches anyone’s attention with the little details, such as the 20” and 22” (front and rear) wheels design or the Y-shaped lights both in the front and in the rear, which remind of Aventador’s and finish an unique visual aggressiveness which will certainly scare anyone who sees it through a rearview mirror.

After seeing what was shown with Sesto Elemento, Veneno’s large use of carbon fiber isn’t surprising at all. Actually, it carries over Aventador’s monocoque with aluminum front and rear subframes, and most of the urban brother’s cabin in the same material – since this car’s intention is to reproduce the race cars’ environment, you’ll still see several high-quality materials, but without focusing on luxury or elegance like a Maserati’s interior. After all, the biggest concern of this sports car is obviously the performance: Lamborghini’s V12 6.5L was upgraded from Aventador’s unit to produce 740 hp on the new car, an increase obtained from larger air intakes and modified exhaust system, everything to enable the engine to achieve higher revolutions. Veneno has all-wheel-drive traction paired to the ISR seven-speed automated gearbox, which features the Corsa driving mode to deliver much quicker gear shifts and helps to achieve the 221-mph top speed. The Italian automaker will only produce four units of this vehicle, one of them the exposition unit which is being exposed at these pictures and at the current Geneva Motor Show. The other three will be painted each in one of the Italian flag’s colors, as if it this car needed to assure even bigger exclusivity. Lamborghini has already sold them all by € 3 million each.

Rolls-Royce Wraith

Each one of the most important automakers became known for applying a particular aspect into every car it releases. Every car fan associates Alfa Romeo and Mitsubishi with sportiness, Audi and BMW with technology and Toyota and VW with conservatism, for instance. They could create a model to each available segment, but they would always be different interpretations of that special characteristic. So how interesting would it be if one of the most classy automakers in the world decides to project a sports car?

Rolls-Royce’s difference from most of the other brands doesn’t come from creating the fastest or the more expensive vehicles, and doesn’t even come from its cars being extremely luxurious or having restrictive prices. It actually comes from the English automaker’s unique concern on its customers receving nothing but the best from these cars, in all the possible aspects. It doesn’t worry about redesigning its cars each three years or to break sales records, but to offer the best available materials for the cabin, making the electronic systems easy and simple to use, delivering plenty of power in all driving conditions, and the ability of riding several floor types as comfortably as if the cars were floating. Not to mention the typical structural quality proved with so many previous Rolls running without problems for decades. After completing Phantom’s line some years ago, with extended-wheelbase sedan, convertible and coupé versions, it’s time to give Ghost its own family. But this couldn’t be done only by repeating the first’s variations in smaller scale, because the younger sibling came with a different purpose. Even though Ghost could still be labeled as a limousine without the smallest problem, its cheaper prices symbolize the intention of being a more “realistic” vehicle, directed to many more people and, therefore, to a completely different market from Phantom’s. That’s why the bigger brother’s variations are actually very loyal to the original concept, while the Ghost family allows bigger separations.

While Phantom Coupé follows the true definition of “version”, Wraith turns Ghost’s underpinnings into a very elegant fastback coupe – 2-inch longer and with 7-inch shorter wheelbase than the sedan’s, with exclusive doors which dispense B-pillars. After observing the gorgeous two-colored exterior design there’s an impressive cabin, with a combination of handcrafted chrome, leather and wood details – the center parts in the latter item are specially selected in order to form the perfect chevron scheme, such as the pictures show. There’s a full infotainment system in the central console, whose glass knob helps controlling the 10.2-inch high-definition screen to customize functions such as the Spirit of Ecstasy’s position. The coolest feature, though, is the available Starlight headliner, which uses 1,340 fiber-optic points to simulate the night sky. The large hood covers Ghost’s V12 engine with exclusive settings, to give Wraith 624 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque and enable it to go from 0 to 60 mph in 4s4 and to the limited 155-mph top speed, using an eight-speed automatic transmission. The automaker’s quote of “Wraith is no GT bruiser” is reinforced with having all the many electronic systems working to make the ride as pleasant as possible, rather than quick: the Satellite Aided Transmission uses GPS to locate the car and predict the driver’s following moves, in order to always activate the most adequate gear for the moment.

Volvo S80, V70 and XC70 2014

If you have at least around ten years of being a car fan, this article will give you a very pleasant déjà vu. It is focused on Volvo’s multiple facelifts, but when we have so many involved cars it’s impossible not to spend some time only to think what would be the best way of dividing them into this blog’s articles. So instead of dividing in sedans, wagons and off-roads, there will be two articles. The present one will take you back to those times when Volvos were very elegant square sedans and unforgettably boxy station wagons.

Even though this rear design has made these cars worldwide famous for decades, the reason why it was adopted was purely functional: having such an abrupt end of the roof minimized the aerodynamic drag, which helped to improve both performance and consumption, since there’s less power demanded from the car to perform a given movement. That’s why this design’s pioneer in Volvo, the 140 Series, used these concepts making concessions only to the cargo capacity, which resulted in 1968 Volvo 145’s hearse-inspired styling. The following years received the 240 Series and a younger design, but, like Opel would conclude in the mid-1990s after adopting the same concept, it really required forgetting any wishes of creating design-award-winning wagons. However, if the German automaker started to abandon it in favor of more inclinated rear windshields, Volvo decided to make them its own symbol. The 700 Series showed that the 1980s would only give the Swedish cars cleaner sheetmetal, with less strips and creases, and nothing more. After all, Volvo’s cars were already been very well-received due to the classical incomparable concern with the safety, but pairing it to such a particular design choice made these cars famous and impossible to mistake when seen on the streets – which can be easily interpretated as one of the very first examples of a successful visual identity.

Another case of Volvo’s strong application of a design language has been produced right next to the station wagons, in all these decades: the sedans. Their concern wasn’t having the best aerodynamic or optimizing the trunk space (1983s Volvo 740’s, for instance, could fit an Europallet), but being classy and elegant. Since the 1960s models, it’s interesting to observe that Volvo’s sedans used to feature each and every design element known for avoiding a sporty styling and making the car look classical. Square lines, well-divided volumes with cab rearward, long and low-deck rear, third side window after the back doors… The last line to use this rigid recipe was 850, but both sedan and wagon became most known for a surprisingly well-accepted sporty potential: the turbocharged engines helped the great handling to deliver a very interesting performance that lasted until 1996. This concept would receive some changes only with S80 and V70, which became Volvo’s latest flagship cars. Their most notorious feature was the largely renewed styling, still carrying most of the traditional concepts but in a much more modern interpretation, with more fluid lines and smoother surfaces. Therefore, after presenting this new corporate design in the early 2000s, these cars were expected only to refresh the same style for some more years, just like at the previous phase. The impressive surprise came when the decision was to follow some of the new trends, but in Volvo’s own way.

There were even more “subversive” releases, such as C30 and XC60, but their pioneer was much more discreet, and yet much more surprising: who would expect the first modern-times Volvo to come based on V70, the current phase of Volvo’s most traditional lineage? The 1997 Cross Country version is frequently mentioned at this blog for being one of the precursors of the current crossover trend, along with Subaru Forester. But besides of the always-commented great idea of joining some of the SUV’s off-road potential to a comfortable urban station wagon, the bigger merit goes to the automaker’s attitude of trying some of the new trends, at least as an experiment. The then-called V70 XC appeared as only one more trim level, but ended so well-received that it motivated a true SUV (XC90) and, some years later, even a much more urban crossover (XC60), not to mention the right to follow V70 on its next generations. This turned out a very nice example of how heavy changes actually can give positive results. In fact, following this train of thought some more led Volvo to release a whole group of “new-age cars”, but remodelling the entire line is something every brand is doing in nowadays. What makes the Swedish automaker different is the ability to reconcile the past idiosyncrasies with excellent interpretations of the modern trends.

And now you’ve reached the reason why this was the chosen division for these news. This article’s trio represents the traditional Volvos, which still include several of those mentioned elements, but with modern touches like the very clear narrowing of the transverse section when going to the windows’ height, and even a slight smoothening of the wagons’ rear design. Therefore, facelifting such classical cars could only end at the very nice changes they’ll receive for 2014. Being hard to notice is just one of their good characteristics, because their purpose is to update the cars without taking away their visual harmony. The front bumper was redesigned, featuring more aggressive design and wider grille, along with LED daytime lights for XC70. All of them will also offer 19” wheels, but only S80 received minor updates to both lights. Another addition is the Sensus Connected infotainment system, which uses the central console touchscreen, like usual, but with the interesting possibility of being operated by gloved hands; everyone who has lived at least one harsh winter will be very thankful for this solution. Besides all that, this trio maintains the engine and equipment offers, which consists in the very sophisticated interiors and XC70’s particular off-road items, such as all-wheel-drive and hill-driving control.

BMW Série 6 Gran Coupé

Pode-se dizer que esta novidade foi antecipada pelo Inovar-Auto. Entrar no programa com projeto de fábrica no país trouxe a isenção do IPI de importados para os veículos da BMW, culminando na recente redução de preços em quase toda a linha nacional. Foi a lista deste evento que chamou atenção para ver que a Série 6 teria novidades em breve. A excelente surpresa é nós termos recebido um dos mais novos modelos da marca com menos de um ano de atraso, cujas informações você poderá conhecer neste artigo.

Prosperar no mercado de carros da atualidade é um objetivo que só tem alguma chance de se cumprir se os trabalhos para isso incluírem o ato de inovar. Seja em desenho, tamanho, equipamentos, o espectro de possibilidades sempre foi enorme, mas apenas nas últimas décadas tem sido explorado como sempre mereceu. A estratégia de procurar lacunas para preencher fez o mercado receber diversas categorias de carros que seriam inimagináveis quinze anos atrás, mas assim como criar novos conceitos nem sempre resulta em sucesso, mesmo o ato de apenas seguir um concorrente ao entrar no segmento que ele criou requer cuidados. Como a iniciativa do Mercedes-Benz CLS já foi seguida por Audi A7, Aston Martin Rapide, Porsche Panamera e até Volkswagen CC, mesmo que a BMW tivesse decidido segui-las, o atraso que teve foi compensado pelo conceito que traz o Gran Coupé. Sua dianteira mantém os traços da Série 6, mas seu pulo-do-gato está nas proporções: em vez de esticar o conceito de cupê até comportar as portas adicionais, a ideia aqui parece ter sido partir de um sedã convencional e deixá-lo muito mais casual e esportivo. Fica bastante claro que o objetivo de fazê-lo mais elegante que os rivais diretos foi cumprido, porque a esportividade do Gran Coupé ficou muito mais sutil, sem intenções explícitas como o caimento tipo fastback do A7.

Um traço comum a todos os modelos da Série 6 é que a parte traseira não dispensa o terceiro volume curto, mas bem pronunciado; ver isso no Gran Coupé permite a interessante elucubração de que se a BMW não fosse uma marca de tradições tão fortes, este carro poderia ter vindo como uma nova Série 5 ou Série 7 sem deixar nada a desejar. Mas o porta-malas de 460 litros é apenas a entrada dos fundos ao próximo encanto deste carro: a luxuosa cabine, dedicada a quatro pessoas. A novidade chega ao Brasil na versão 640i, cujo pacote inclui bancos de couro com ajustes elétricos, rodas de 19”, sistema de som com sete alto-falantes e disco rígido de 12 GB e o Connected Drive, a central multimídia que usa uma touchscreen de 10,2” para acessar a lista de funções que inclui navegação GPS e uso da internet 3G de celulares. Já o pacote de segurança inclui farois com LEDs e iluminação inteligente, seis airbags e controles de tração e estabilidade – como opcionais, ele terá controle ativo de velocidade, sistema HUD, novas opções de acabamento e o kit aerodinâmico M Sports. Espera-se a versão 650i para breve, mas por enquanto já se tem a performance do 3.0 turbo de seis cilindros, que entrega potência de 320 cv e torque de 45,9 kgfm, suficientes para que ele esqueça dos 1.825 kg e acelere de 0 a 100 km/h em 5s4 e chegue à máxima limitada de 250 km/h. Custando R$ 399.950, a BMW pretende vender cinquenta unidades do 640i até o fim do ano.

McLaren P1

How good was the car world in the 1990s. Everyone was excited for the long-awaited new millenium finally getting closer, creating a futuristic atmosphere that surely helped the public to receive the then-surprising technology progress in their everyday, including seeing all the big companies’ evolutions. But if the car fans’ desktop images were used to follow only Ferrari or Porsche’s news, a British automaker suddenly stole all the attentions. This article’s car proves that now, two decades later, McLaren’s time arrives once again.

There will always be controversies concerning the first place of some records, but what is known for sure is that after being entitled in 1998 as the fastest production car in the world, F1 was overcome by other vehicles but still makes part of the top 5. So far it isn’t known if McLaren will try to retrieve the golden medal, but the fact is P1 has everything to succeed it when it comes to the image. This goes much further than only the fact of the new coupé being McLaren’s latest flagship car: if one of its goals was to exalt its own brand, there are no doubts that this has been achieved even before the official release (which will be made at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show). The design shows a conceptual mixture, creating visual connections not only with the current design trends but also with the iconic predecessor. There is an astonishing combination of smooth and strong lines, creating a much more organic silhouette than a Lamborghini’s but filled with very well-designed elements whose design boldness isn’t seen even on the latest Ferraris. Everything is intended to improve the aerodynamics, making the vehicle look stuck to the ground just like an F-1. Besides that, using large portions in two contrasting colors helps to make it look nimbler, without the size impression of an Aventador, for example.

Once again the doors have gullwing-opening, but the fans will miss F1’s central position for the driver. Just like most of the other sports cars on their competition-inspired versions, P1’s cutting-edge technologies are more focused on weight reduction than on pampering the couple of lucky occupants. There will be full climate control, GPS navigation and even a Meridian sound system, but having all the controls facing the driver gives enough explanation of who this car puts in charge of everything. Besides, there’s carbon fiber in almost everything, since the MonoCage chassis and the external panels to the console and even the seats, which will be customized specifically for each customer and its favorite “+1”. The weight concern goes to extremes such as the car giving away internal coatings, sound isolation and even some of the seats foam. There isn’t powertrain information so far, but this car is highly expected to bring an improved variation of MP4-12C’s engine. Such power will be controlled by a very interesting fully-digital dashboard, with a large central screen and an auxiliary one on each side. In other words, even when McLaren needs to surrender to the current car trends it is done in style – two other amazing examples are the lights: since the intention was to use LEDs, this rear set must be the most creative ever seen on a production car. And when it comes to the front, what would deserve bigger applause than having the headlights shaped as McLaren’s logo?

Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD

Você lembra do breve período em que a Chrysler esteve nas mãos da Mercedes-Benz? Iniciadas no final da década de 1990, as boas intenções da aliança salvaram a montadora norteamericana de graves problemas financeiros e pretendiam aumentar a competitividade mundial de ambas, mas levaram apenas a uma sucessão de problemas. Nos dias de hoje, a união com a Fiat dá cada vez mais provas de que foi uma decisão bem mais acertada. Para nós, a mais recente é esta versão do SUV que agora chega ao lançamento oficial.

Guardadas as proporções, as chamadas joint-ventures podem ser entendidas com uma breve associação ao conceito de casamento. Mais ou menos como com as pessoas, uma empresa se associa a outra quando se detectam interesses comuns, neste caso para efetivar a ideia de começar dividindo os custos para no futuro aumentar os lucros. Mas com a convivência também surgem os projetos comuns. Começam em geral com uma cedendo veículos à outra para vendê-los em outros mercados, e continua com o uso compartilhado de tecnologias e por fim plataformas – é a evolução que Ford e VW tiveram no começo dos anos 1990 no Brasil, com a Autolatina. Atualmente, a Chrysler está por concluir a separação da Mercedes-Benz, mas já se encontra desfrutando de muitos benefícios da união com os italianos. Ou seja, depois de começarem com carros como Fiat Freemont e mais tarde RAM ProMaster, hoje em dia os benefícios estão chegando também às esferas mais tradicionais. A divisão de luxo Lancia, por exemplo, já expandiu suas operações na Europa ganhando modelos da Chrysler e até vendendo outros com essa marca, em alguns países. Já na América do Norte, a família 500 marcou o retorno da Fiat tanto em hatchback como na inédita versão minivan, chamada 500L. Por outro lado, carros como a versão CRD do Grand Cherokee abandonaram o motor de origem Mercedes-Benz por um de origem italiana.

Estima-se que as primeiras unidades do CRD (anterior ao face-lift que a linha receberá para este ano) chegaram ao Brasil ainda no final do ano passado, mas só agora se faz o lançamento oficial. Ele chega pelo preço de R$ 219.900, e com o mesmo atrativo que sempre garante boas vendas aos utilitários no Brasil: evitar o consumo de um motor grande movido a gasolina mas manter o ótimo desempenho. Trata-se do V6 3.0 24v turbo fabricado pela VM Motori, empresa italiana de propriedade da Fiat. A tecnologia Multijet II atua em parceria com duplo comando de válvulas no cabeçote, bloco de ferro, virabrequim de aço forjado e turbina Garrett de geometria variável. Tudo isso lhe permite chegar a 241 cv de potência e 56 kgfm de torque, força suficiente para fazer o Grand Cherokee ignorar seus 2.347 kg e acelerar de 0 a 100 km/h em 8s2, chegando à máxima de 202 km/h. Tudo isso é comandado pelo câmbio automático sequencial de cinco marchas (com opção de trocas manuais pela alavanca) e, obviamente, tração integral. Como dita a reputação de décadas que este carro exibe com orgulho, esse potencial para enfrentar as mais puras trilhas off-road fica restrito ao lado de fora. Ver a cabine faz pensar que se entrou em um sedã de luxo, seja por causa dos belos revestimentos ou da profusão de itens de conforto e segurança, carregados de tecnologia.

Aston Martin Rapide S

Among all the car brands and models the current market offers, there are lots of very traditional ones and many others which have received much bigger changes through their history. Dealing with this tradition – or its lack – is one of the automakers’ several struggles when creating a new vehicle, because making right or wrong decisions imply receiving excellent or terrible acceptance. After studying press and public’s opinions for Rapide, Aston Martin now gives it the half-age facelift trying to hit the best possible formula.

There are very few brands like Ferrari or Lamborghini, which prefer to stabilish an identity among its cars by implicit items such as the colors, the engine sound or the overall shape of several external parts. On the other hand, the English automaker here referred is much more similar to Porsche, for example. Since Aston Martin maintains even some of the car names through decades, it’s not hard to expect its vehicles to have very little changes. The problem with that is these cars have started to look too much like versions of a single vehicle, even with their size and price differences. So the automaker decided to follow the path of applying small facelifts, in order to avoid the expenses of new projects too early and only give a different look to cars which, as a matter of fact, have already been approved by everyone when it comes to the other aspects. The four-door’s name received the “S” as standard, not as a new trim level. The biggest external update is at the front grille, which changed the two-part design for a bigger single element paired with a new hood. Besides, the aerodynamics was improved with a new rear spoiler. Aston Martin has managed to make its luxury sedan look young again, not as a whole new model but with an interesting renewed impression, pretty much like what Porsche Panamera will receive with its own facelift, planned to the next months.

But a luxury sports car isn’t made only of style. The sophisticated part is made with an improved acoustic treatment and lots of items such as the Carbon Exterior package, which brings rear diffuser, rearview mirror caps and tail light surrounds using the mentioned material. Not to mention the Piano Black package for the interior, sports perfored two-colored leather seats and all the custom options for colors and materials which are usually offered by the high-end automakers. Besides, the performance part is taken care by the V-12 5.9L engine, which is now mounted in a lower position to meet the current European safety regulations. It was improved to achieve 550 hp and 457 lb-ft, an 80-hp and 14 lb-ft increase from the last phase: Aston Martin states its 0-60 mph time became 0s4 better, with the top speed getting to 190 mph – the consumption rate stays at 14.3 l/100 km, though. The driving has borrowed the Adaptative Damping System from DB9 and Vanquish, allowing the driver to select between three modes: Normal, Sport and Track, but operates along with road condition detectors in order to always find the best possible combination of the driving settings.

Audi RS7

Do you remember what Audi used to do with its sporty line until the early 2000s? The only odd-numbered vehicle was A3 which, in turn, was also one of the Germans’ three “exceptions”: A2 never achieved success and TT seemed to be enough among the sports cars, so the several S-number were only sedans and wagons and there was only one RS at a time. The current market has brought enormous changes to this brand’s showroom, though, and one way of illustrating this event is presenting this article’s vehicle.

There’s no argument that Audi can create really good cars, but this one can also be seen as a very accurate example of how the automakers are always getting divided into two groups: it starts when someone comes up with some kind of innovation, whether in luxury, mechanics or even a whole car concept. If it obtains good acceptation, this brand can enjoy some months of excellent sales exclusively for itself, but soon all its competitors start to release their versions of the same idea. Some better than the original and some worse, but all with the same essence, which leads to divide the customers once again. This is what Audi has been doing with its cars for some years, in fact. They’ve followed BMW and Porsche with a luxury crossover and later with creating smaller sizes of it, and also Mercedes-Benz with both the four-door coupes and its own supersports line. Besides, after A7 received the always-expected S7 trim, now it’s time to copy every single urban Audi but A8 and release a RS7. Sports versions are always great, but the problem with this one is that Audi is decharacterizing it. The original strategy was always to give huge powertrain upgrades with slightly visual changes to its urban cars but as the S version, leaving RS as one single very special car like RS2, the very first of them. However, since today almost every Audi offers both sporty versions, they both seem pointless.

After all, the customers who look for high performance cars at Audi’s price range wouldn’t take the “second best” trim only to avoid the price difference in favor of S. On the other side, there are so many RS cars that they’ve lost that uniqueness which in 1994 made that wagon worldwide famous. In other words, it would make much more sense to go back to offering only one line… just like BMW M or Mercedes AMG, by the way. Strategy issues aside, RS7 is the very latest Audi to receive the best performance upgrades these Germans offer. This aggressive design packed with beautiful 20” wheels really go much better with the casual very-high-end Audi than with its sedan sibling A8, also because now there’s a competitor for CLS 63 AMG and the recent M6 Gran Coupé. The driving can be customized with optional air suspension, sports rear differential and variable-ratio steering, stability control with sport option and “off” button and many others, making an already indefectible driving more suitable to each driver’s style. The common item is the twin-turbo V8 4.0L shared with RS6 Avant, delivering here 560-hp power and 516-lb-ft torque commanded by ZF’s eight-speed automatic transmission and quattro AWD system – this car goes from 0 to 60 mph in 3s9. The top speed, in turn, varies with the optional item packages which bring several improvements in style, handling and aerodynamics… and take the car from the 155-mph top speed to 174 mph or 190 mph.

Chevrolet Corvette C7

Here it is. After several months of spied prototypes, leaked pictures of external parts and related material, some official teasers and dozens of computer projections, this is the real deal. Corvette has become one of the most famous symbols of North-American vehicle performance of all times, so its fiftieth birthday deserved that Chevrolet once again faced the task of not only improving this car in every possible way but also of finding the right way to do it. The meaning of this expression is what you’ll discover with this article.

Chevrolet’s task is even harder than Ferrari’s, for instance, because the traditions it maintains are heavier. Some of the sports cars automakers have built their reputation around several vehicles, like the mentioned Italian one, but there are others which prefer to dedicate themselves to improving one single car over the years. These are exactly opposite strategies, but the chances of success and failure are the same for both – it only depends on their execution. Corvette is an undeniable example of the second one, just like 911 is for Porsche. And also like with the German coupe, dealing with such a huge tradition became a true challenge for its brand because whenever it’s time to perform changes the same question appears: “Would it be better if it looks like the previous generations, or is it time to create a whole new car?”. Nevertheless, the last years showed that while the European sports cars started to focus at the future, with new design languages and even new car categories, the North-Americans decided to work looking back. The 2000s were full of past-inspired cars like Chevrolet SSR and Plymouth Prowler, and some of them resist until now: once again it’s possible to decide between Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang and notice that all of them expose retro designs. So it turns very surprising to observe that Corvette wants to break this “rule”, like Dodge has recently done with their own super sports car, SRT Viper.

Some people won’t take long to claim the seventh Corvette looks too much like the new Viper. Others will go further by remembering that since Viper received some criticism of becoming too European, Corvette would have become an US-made Ferrari. But the fact is Chevrolet decided to express this car’s big traditions in a less obvious way. Investing so hard at resembling forty, fifty years old cars reduces the designing freedom, therefore avoiding to improve the car’s performance – which is an extremely important aspect for a sports car. So the new Vette became more aggressive, with plenty of strong creases and a beautiful selection of acute-angled shapes, which all contribute to a very modern look, much different from the smooth lines seen until C6. But the mentioned past references are still easy to observe: the front is elevated at the center but even more at the extremes as in C3, but with the headlights far from the center, as from C4. And the rear windshield creates a triangular shape that ends at an abruptly cut rear only reminds what’s seen since C2. The tail lights, however, brought a fascinating combination: they still use double units like in every Corvette, but lost the round shapes in favor of rectangles, to go better with the overall style and resemble Camaro. Even the front grille’s chrome line could give a hint of Chevrolet’s current design language for this item.

Looking to this car’s roof is another interesting ambiguity, in fact. Although the black spot here means a removable roof, having it next these black-painted A-pillars makes it impossible not to remember the 1990s futurism of Lumina APV. The other meaning is that roof represents the cutting-edge technologies received by this car. The console uses a modern interpretation of Corvette’s typical driver-centered interior design, now filled with some aluminum and carbon fiber details and several coating options. The big touchscreen summarizes that this car now brings all the current trend items, like multimedia sound system, and it’ll be possible to choose between comfortable daily-use seats or competition ones. Even the quickest glimpse at the tech specs sheet will reveal enormous structural improvements, which managed to improve aspects like body stiffness and weight, Brembo braking system, suspension, wheels (with specific tires) and efficiency. C7 Vette proves it deserves using the Stingray name also with the powertrain: the naturally-aspirated small-block V8 6.2L hasn’t left the front section, and produces 450 hp and 450 lb-ft of power and torque. It’ll also features cylinder deactivation with active exhausts system as a standard item – using an automatic six-speed transmission or the manual seven-speed gearbox, the result of all that is a 0-60 mph done in about four seconds and better emissions and consumption rates than C6’s. Pretty good use for those four exhaust pipes, right?

Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible

How about starting the new year reading about what’s claimed as the fastest four-seat convertible in the world? Bentley’s modesty must have expired with 2012, but the fact is this car really stimulates big expectations. The first ones were made some weeks ago, when the first official pictures were released with no technical information. But now the English automaker has finally given the remaining data about this stunning dark-pink cabriolet. That’s what you’re going to read at this blog’s very first 2013 article.

You surely must’ve read about the current trend of the visual identity. This consists in a particular brand applying some design rules to its upcoming vehicles in order to make them look more alike to each other, and therefore more different from their competitors. So if Ferrari decided to use some kind of futuristic shapes, Lamborghini sticks with the folded-paper volumes and Maserati dedicates itself to more organic designs, Bentley seems to bet at imponence. From every angle you look there’s a solidness impression, a big-car look brought by plenty of smooth surfaces and very clean lines. Some may point this design gives a mass impression which could be inappropriate for a sports car, but this big contrast is what makes this brand’s style. They offer the best trim levels and the best engines like every other competitor, but here this package receives a much more classical “wrapping”. Continental GT’s aerodynamics has been continuously improved, but it’ll never lose the simple shapes and the smooth design, completed with the round double headlights. It’s hard to notice, though, the little style updates this car received for this version: both bumpers were slightly redesigned, now using darker grilles and new exhaust tips.

However, this car makes up for the little design investment when its hood is opened. There’s a huge W-12 6.0L with two turbines, capable of producing 616 hp. Increasing 50 hp from the V-8 option’s power doesn’t exactly shower the bigger engine with efficiency trophies, but brings an even more solid performance. The torque is bigger and comes at a smallar rpm rate, helping this Continental to ignore the convertible body’s worse aerodynamics and allowing it to obtain a 0-60 mph in 4s1 and a 0-100 mph in 9s7, not to mention the 202-mph top speed achieved with its gorgeous engine sounds. This performance also gives a lot of credit to the ZF transmission, an automatic eight-speed gearbox who can even skip some gears upon driver’s request. When it comes to the handling, the all-wheel-drive gives traction priority to the rear axle, the suspension became lower and stiffer, the wheels now use 21” and high-performance tires, and the stability-control system was reprogrammed to become more permissive. Everything to match Bentley’s opulent way of ignoring the enormous weights and delivering an addictive performance, capable of match the opulent style which has characterizing Continental GT since its first phase, released ten years ago. This car will hit the streets in a few months.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage

How about starting 2013 with a big photo gallery? The last year gave this car some design updates that surely improved its imponent, unmistakable Aston Martin design but focused at the aerodynamics, in order to achieve better driving dynamics. Besides, the entry-level 4.7L V8 has been reworked to become more efficient. It generates 420 hp now and uses a manual six-speed transmission, but offering an optional Sportshift II seven-speed gearbox. Clicking at the picture will take you to more official photos.

BMW M6 Gran Coupé

The German automakers’ tradition with sporty versions became so solid that in nowadays those are expected right after each new release. After all, while the traditional sedans and coupes are supposed to improve what they’ve been offering in all those years, the market can always create some space for new well-accepted cars, even though they would’ve never been thought of four or five years ago. Few months after BMW announced its debut among the four-door coupes, it’s time to quench the public’s second thirst.

This category’s concept is already known: it’s the same luxury and technology wrapped in a much more casual design, in order to please the customers who need a four-door car but would love to distance themselves from that “limousine look” given by most of the luxury automakers’ sedans. That’s what Mercedes-Benz invented with CLS and the VW group repeated with Audi A5 Sportback and A7 and Volkswagen Passat CC. But BMW not only refused to create a four-door of their own at this initial moment, as also seemed to keep being outside it when those two brands presented those cars’ second phases. Considering all of that and remembering that this is the automaker who created X5, X6 and even dared to develop sporty versions for both, it wouldn’t be crazy to expect that those Germans had bigger plans. So they didn’t lose the opportunity to overcome the cars which inspirated this one. Instead of an innovation attempt which could easily be rejected, such as 5-Series Gran Turismo, this new car focused at improving its original concept. There are plenty of sportiness and casuality all over this car, but without relying on a fastback-wannabe rear design. This one looks much more like a casual sedan than a formal coupé, using smoother shapes combined with strong details to give a classy impression – it may become harder to sell M5 from now on.

The M version brought very similar changes to what was seen at coupé and convertible M6. There are the traditional exclusive bumpers, side spoilers and fiber carbon roof. But that mentioned “discreet sportiness” can be found at items such as the four exhaust pipes, the black-painted roof or even at the Motorsport division’s logo, discreetly placed at the gorgeous 20” alloy wheels’ center. This proves that M6 paid a lot of attention to the details, instead of only the overall impression. This idea becomes even stronger when entering the car, because BMW didn’t restrict itself to create only one more interpretation of their current interior design’s rules. There still are the big console and lots of other elements that highlight this car’s big width, but it also received details such as Merino leather seats, roof coating using Alcantara, Motorsport’s special steering wheel and much more – another big difference between these cars and the conventional sedans is that these ones’ customers would never hire particular drivers, because they are very aware of the additional driving pleasure found at them. M6 Gran Coupé, for instance, will use the V8 4.4 twin-turbo, with 560 hp and using the M Double Clutch seven-speed automatic transmission. This car also brings sporty suspension and active differential to achieve 0-60 mph in 4s2 and two top speeds: there’s an optional item package which will bring ceramic brake system, multifunctional seats, GPS navigator, Bang & Olufsen sound system… and will raise the top speed from 155 mph to 189.5 mph.

Acura RLX

Twenty years ago, who could imagine that LEDs would become such an important component even at car illumination? These little devices have proven themselves resistant enough to bigger uses than at home appliances, while the massive production has taken care of reducing their cost. From a more decorative debut than actually working, their use in cars evolved into providing the daytime lights, and now there’s this Acura enabling them to give one more big step. This article will introduce you to the first car to use 100% LED illumination.

Planned to arrive in 2013, this sedan will replace RL as Acura’s flagship car. This means RLX will be the responsible of competing with Germans like Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Italians like Maserati Quattroporte, Koreans like Hyundai Equus and compatriots such as Lexus LS. Since there’s never enough luxury for these cars, each automaker needs to find other ways of taking the attentions, specially from the Europeans’ and North-Americans’ worldwide huge appeal. That’s why Nissan’s high-end division uses a much more refined interpretation of their design identity on Infiniti cars while Toyota has created an entirely different style for Lexus’ cars using aggressive sporty lines – on the other hand, Hyundai and Kia’s of also creating luxury divisions reveal they seem to have finally understood that it’s impossible to attract wealthier customers with the same brands that sell cheap vehicles. And Honda restrain their Japanese style to their own cars, letting Acura follow a more classic path, being elegant without seeming old-fashioned. And this is the reason you won’t see strong cuts and creases in RLX, for example. Instead of turning all the necks like a Cadillac, this sedan uses imponent volumes created with discreet lines, resulting in a very classy car. The more observant looks may find German inspirations, but the fact is this sedan has its own personality.

Have you seen how many cars are using big LCD touchscreens at the central console? Well, if using one of those has become common for you, RLX uses two: one of them allows you to control the entertainment system, while the other works exclusively for the GPS navigator. This anticipates this car’s trim level, which includes tri-zone air-conditioner, AcuraLink traffic monitor, 18” or 19” wheels and a sound system with up to fourteen speakers. When it comes to the safety, this car brings lane-changing alert, adaptative cruise control, panoramic reverse-gear camera and anti-collision systems. And opening the hood reveals a V6 3.5, which uses direct injection to produce 310 hp, and three-cylinders deactivation to achieve the 23.52 mpg consumption rate, always using a six-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel traction. These are Acura’s first information for RLX, but there was also announced a hybrid version for soon, which will bring a double-clutch seven-speed transmission to command three electric engines and even a rear steering axle. Always with the beautiful headlights which use ten very sophisticated LEDs each, being capable of emitting up to twenty light beams in four different angles… and giving the definitive dismiss to the lamp illumination.

Chevrolet Impala 10

Happy times for the automakers were the 1950s, and they didn’t realize it. There was plenty of space for newcomers, each brand had to please only their homeland and some neighbor countries, and since cars were a luxury item there wasn’t any concern of reducing the costs. However, today’s scenario is so competitive that it’s necessary even to “divide” a car’s release, from teasers to the sales start, to multiply its attention from the media. Here you will see why the new Impala deserves each and every one of these spotlights.

Impala is such an important car not only for the five decades of selling in the North-American market, but for what it represents for GM. While this group has always had Cadillac at the high-luxury market, the car initially sold as coupe and convertible could find its way to the success for being a halfway between what was already offered at that time, using the best quality Chevrolet could offer (it came above the very famous Bel-Air) but without a price overlap with the richer brothers that would stop Impala’s sales in favor of them. Besides that, it’s very nice to observe that this car was always up-to-date with each moment’s conceptual trends: the first generation, for example, offered lots of colors options, both inside and outside. The second one came already two years later and already completely restyled, using a very opulent design characterized by tailfins and huge sizes both in length and engine options. In 1961 there were some style containments which were followed by the fourth generation, making Impala finish this decade with a very classy and elegant style, including the famous Coke bottle trend. The 1970s began with much more straight lines and still lots of V8 engines, but the sixth generation suffered downsizing in order to meet the current demands. At that time, this car was starting to forget the coupe’s origins in favor of the sedan and station wagon’s sales.

However, since Chevrolet had been selling Caprice above Impala since the 1960s, it was needed a whole new strategy to keep both excellent sales. The two sedans received a huge restyling in the early 1990s, dropping the straight lines in favor of a more aerodynamical design. But since they would compete for almost the same public, it was decided to sell Impala only at the sporty version SS, as a high-performance option for Caprice. Both were discontinued after some years without successors, but the Impala badge was resurrected in 2000. There were more efficient engines, reduced sizes and even front-wheel traction, all because the car received a whole new platform. This modern idea was updated with the ninth-generation in 2006, including a new SS version, a 50th anniversary edition and even a Flex-Fuel version, prepared to use E85. But the times started to change very fast in the latest years, and Impala needed to follow them. The original idea was to go back to the rear-wheel-drive, but GM decided to use the very modern Epsilon II platform. This means Impala is able to bring all the cutting-edge technologies already developed by the group and to receive the future ones: this includes hybrid engines, comfort items such as the new MyLink entertainment system and all kinds of safety equipments.

The tenth generation is by far the best Impala ever produced. The new price list wants to reduce the overlapping with Malibu in order to separate each one’s public, giving the more classic customers to what is now the biggest Chevrolet sedan available. This car will start from US$ 27.535 at the LS version, US$ 30.760 at LT and US$ LTZ, initially only with the 3.6 V6 of 300-hp. Later, there will be a smaller 2.5 with 195 hp and even the eAssist version, using an 185-hp 2.4 option, but there isn’t much known about it so far. The pictures reveal a very spacious interior, with a very elegant interpretation of Chevrolet’s double-cockpit concept in two colors. Impala shows that even a classic car can take the advantages of the modern times, including the new MyLink version in a big touchscreen, a very beautiful dashboard and even the blue night internal lights, to give a more creative illumination than what’s usually seen. There are notable price differences between the trim levels, but even the cheapest one dazzles the customers with 18” alloy wheels, ten airbags and automatic six-speed transmission – the LTZ level is the red car seen at some of the pictures. Impala will wait until the next March to hit the streets in this new generation, and it’ll compete with other very traditional sedans: its main competitors are Dodge Charger and the also recently-restyled Ford Taurus and Toyota Avalon.

McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Can-Am Edition

Thirty units. After exposing the concept-car at the last Pebble Beach concours, McLaren has decided to sell a limited edition of their dazzling orange and black car. The fans can go crazy as much as they want because the Can-Am Edition will be almost fully reproduced, and this means an astonishing performance under many aspects. The pictures will show what made this car so adored by everyone since the mentioned North-American event, and what will certainly build its way to increase the super sports cars’ history.

McLaren has always been distinguished from the rival automakers about their focus when building a high-performance car. Since they are a competition constructor who also builds street cars, the differences start when remembering that MP4-12C is only their second street car, succeeding only F1 and SLR, but this one being projected in partnership with Mercedes-Benz. So they don’t have to worry with maintaining a fashion image such as Ferrari or Porsche, following a strong visual identity like Mercedes-Benz or even with sharing another cars’ projects because the brand belongs to a big group, like Lamborghini. It’s undeniable that the English car seen at these pictures is as expensive as those brands’ sports cars, but McLaren Automotive can take advantage from this lack of strings to deliver a different perspective of this kind of car. That’s what they made with F1 in the 1990s, which not only kept the Fastest Production car record for many years as also stills surprise the world by construction exclusivities, such as the central driving position, with two occupants travelling behind the driver. This car’s successor doesn’t bring creative innovations like that, but represents the best of today’s technology when it comes to driving performance.

The Can-Am edition honors Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme taking inspiration from the GT3 competition version. It means that this car uses lots of carbon fiber parts, not only in visual parts such as the rearview mirrors but specially at the structural ones, like hood, side radiator and the big rear airfoil: that size comes to generate 30% bigger downforce. This car shares MP4 coupe and roadster’s chassis but received special track wheels, while the huge changes to the exhaust system illustrates how big are the differences under the hood: the twin-turbo 3.8 V8 received a special configuration to deliver 638 hp, making this MP4 the most powerful one ever made. Actually, this car is so powerful that it was decided to keep it away from the streets: as FIA has licensed it only to tracks, they will receive a car with behavior optimized to them: the race car steering wheel is only the first part of a complete competition-like cabin: there are small side windows and special Recaro seats, with much better body support. This car is expected to hit the customers’ garages (unfortunately not the streets) in next March, under the price of 375.000 euros.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series

It must be impossible to exist a car enthusiast who is indifferent to the sports cars. Each one can prefer off-roads, limousines, crossovers or another particular style, but there’s always a high-performer to build a taste intersection. This is one explanation to the huge expectation created among both the press and the public specially by the big automakers. Now it’s Mercedes-Benz’s time to direct the spotlights to this very important car: it’s the famous Black Series coming to one of their most charismatic products.

Although each and every sports car has plenty of reasons to attract a customer, there are so many brands and models of them that it becomes very hard for a particular one remain taking the public’s attention through the years. This must be the reason to the arrival of so many special series. They can come to celebrate special events, begin the application of new components or only to spice up the car’s sales – Bugatti Veyron already had dozens of them, for instance. But Mercedes’ Black Series is already known due to the reputation brought by being an improvement of the AMG division, which already represents the high-performance versions of all the brand’s cars. This recipe resulted so attractive that has deserved to be extended to several cars. Therefore, after the huge success with the C-Class Coupé, it was time to see what would happen by combining it to the most powerful car of their showroom. These pictures begin to describe the wonderful result achieved, with the addition of imponent spoilers and bigger air intakes which give an excellent first impression: the car does look different from the conventional SLS, but without the cliché of attempting to resemble a race car. However, the irony of seeing those cars’ official pictures in lots of colors but black may come from avoiding too much resemblance with the famous Brabus special adaptations.

The most fanatic enthusiats already know that all this aerodynamic kit has much more functions than to make the car take the attentions at the street, though. The Black Series came with several components made of titanium and carbon fiber (the Germans wouldn’t be cruel to the point of only painting those external details in that particular gray) in order to reduce weight, and at the same time there was an engine improvement. Therefore, these three very effective ways of optimizing the performance have maximized the power of the 6.2 V8, which by the way now delivers 622 hp. Using a seven-speed transmission, this car has lowered its own 0-60 mph record to 3s5 and raised the top speed to 196 mph. All of that comes, of course, with a fully-equiped interior, including racing seats with red belts. But driving a car from this level requires bigger concerns with a perfect handling and even better safety, and that’s when Mercedes answers with items such as the modified suspension, to deliver much better behavior, and ceramic calipers to improve the brake system, because of the excellent reputation of these components concerning their operation in high temperatures. This car will hit the European streets only in next June, so there’s no official price defined yet. The SLS AMG must follow the other Black Series members and be sold as a limited edition.

Maserati Quattroporte

After lots of speculations of many kinds, the Italian luxury automaker decided to release the first official information of their famous sedan. Looking at these pictures leads to think about how nice it is to change some parameters from what we see every day. When something is said about sports cars, for instance, the very first word that comes to many minds is “Ferrari”. And when it comes to luxury cars, the German trio doesn’t take long to appear. But how about finding out what happens when we invert those relations?

Maserati is a very traditional brand, both among urban and race cars. They have decades of expertise not only at their cars’ performance and a irresistible style, most with the urban ones, but specially at conciling it with elegance. Maybe this impression comes also from the fact that this brand was never too much disclosed. There were many Maserati sports cars which became very famous, such as Bora, Ghibli and Merak, not to mention Quattroporte (Italian for “four doors”), but they never became too famous – that point where everyone knows it and has posters, desktop wallpapers and similar stuff with it, like Ferrari F40 and F50 at the 1990s. With that, their cars avoid the excessive exposition, and therefore maintain a distinct value. This is very appreciated for most of the luxury customers, who prefer the discretion when driving their cars, rather than taking all the attentions wherever they go. This makes them deserve a deeper look, because this set of characteristics is very hard to find at the current cars. With Quattroporte you can forget the strong straight lines of the German cars, along with the clean shapes and the names involving letters and numbers. And at the same time, this sedan proves that an Italian car doesn’t need to come in bright red or yellow, and not necessarily uses the coupe or convertible body style.

This sedan brings a very classy design, with organic lines creating all the needed surfaces smoothly, without many cuts and folds, but this description could actually fit the previous Quattroporte without problems. What is impressive to see is how the Italians achieved to reinterpretate that style in a way that looks modern but never forgetting from whom the inspiration was taken. Maserati proves one more time that if a style has earned the customers’ approval, staying up-to-date doesn’t need to imply heavy changes. The biggest changes were at both its front and the rear, whose new lights and bumpers received a more aggressive design than the 2004’s ones, resulting in a more casual look. Those details earn big importance when remembering a constant problem faced while drawing every top-class sedan: the enormous internal space demands a big length, which is hard to draw without making the car look like an old-fashioned limousine. The Germans solve this problem with those strong lines and some spoilers to give a more dynamic look, but Maserati leaves the explicit sportiness to GranCabrio and GranTurismo, and gives to their sedan well-sculpted volumes in order to give both solidness and dynamism to the overall appearance.

Quattroporte has changed its platform, with new materials to lose weight and some dimension changes: it became 6.3 inch longer and 2.5 inch wider than the previous generation. When it comes to engines, the most recent information reveals that the entry trim level will have a gasoline 3.0 V6 with 400 hp, capable of taking this sedan from 0 to 60 mph in 5s1, with 177 mph of top speed. But if you want even more power, the attentions should go to the 3.8 V8 twin-turbo, whose 520 hp takes those records respectively to 4s7 and 191 mph. Both engines will be controlled by an automatic ZF eight-speed transmission using rear-wheel traction, but the smaller option can also use AWD: this will be the first Maserati to ever bring this kind of traction.

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