Arrinera Supercar, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Arrinera Supercar, 2013

Arrinera is a British-Polish supercar, which in terms of driving parameters, quality of workmanship and performance can compete with other cars from the same market segment.

Arrinera's design assumptions aim at fulfilling all the following conditions, which distinguish a supercar from mass-produced sports cars:

•     very good traction throughout the speed range
•     brake deceleration of 1,1-1,3 g (10,79-12,75 m/s²)
•     power/weight ratio of 1,1-2,9 kg/1HP
•     acceleration 0-200 km/h below 10 seconds
•     acceleration 0-300 km/h below 30 seconds
•     acceleration 0-100 km/h below 4 seconds
•     braking from 300-0 km/h below 7 seconds
•     the 0-300-0 km/h test below 40 seconds
•     cornering g-force over 1
•     1/4 mile time below 12 seconds
•     centrally positioned engine

Lee Noble, a famous British car designer will lend his name to the project. He is currently a member of the supervisory board and a shareholder in Arrinera Automotive S.A. He will be responsible for technical aspects related to the supercar as well as for the design and production of the rolling chassis.

Lee Noble is a British entrepreneur, designer and automobile engineer. He has been acclaimed as the most prolific British car manufacturer ever. Across three decades, he has manufactured almost 2000 cars based on his own designs. Almost all of them produced innovative performance. Lee's cars are more concerned about handling and performance ability. The first of them - Ultima - was used as a test mule for a model which was to become the fastest production car in the world - the McLaren F1.

As part of implementing its strategy, the management of Arrinera Automotive has signed an exclusive deal for negotiations to buy a 50% stake in Fenix Automotive Ltd from Great Britain, which is involved in the construction project of the Fenix sports car. Arrinera plans to complete the transaction by the end of the third quarter of 2011. This investment will enable Arrinera to carry out the strategy for building a group of companies with a very strong position in the world market of low-volume production of supercars and sports cars, gaining access to foreign markets and technology/know-how while operating in a prestigious and elite market. Fenix Automotive is controlled by Lee Noble.

Arrinera Automotive plans to commence production of cars in Poland. Instead of creating its own manufacturing facilities, the company is concentrating on finding suitable subcontractors in our country and talks with potential partners having necessary expertise in car manufacturing are well advanced.

Arrinera Automotive expects the target volume of production will be from 600-700 cars a year. Arrinera Automotive S.A. is preparing for its first quotation of shares at the New Connect market. The majority shareholder of Arrinera Automotive is the VENO S.A. venture capital fund, listed on the New Connect market for 3 years.

Appearance of Arrinera
The car body styling is characterized by sharp and dynamic lines, which clearly indicate the massive potential of the supercar. The front of the car is close to the ground which vastly improves its aerodynamic properties. When looking at the car from the side, one cannot help the impression that the car is surprisingly asymmetrical: the passenger cabin is moved forwards and the door line rises distinctively - these features are something that we do not see very often in everyday traffic. At the back of the car, unique muffler housings with diffusers resemble the exhaust nozzles of a jet airplane. The Arrinera supercar will be equipped with a 650HP engine. The car body will be unique and its aerodynamics and lightweight construction will make it possible to maximize the output of the engine. The stylist responsible for Arrinera's lines is Pavlo Burkatskyy.

Chassis and body
The chassis designed by Lee Noble will be made from high-strength steel of variable section and considerable torsional strength. It will be extraordinarily light and characterized by high deformation resistance. The expertise of the British designer (over 30 years in the industry) ensures a suitable level of protection for the cars in this category. Optionally, the body, interior and floor can be made of Carbon/Kevlar fiber composite materials.

Interior
Individual elements will be made of high quality leather and composite materials. The car is equipped with an audio system, electric windows and mirrors and air conditioning. For safety reasons - in case of a rollover - reinforced roll bars have been positioned behind the seats and both seats are equipped with 4-point seat belts.

Engine
An 8-cylinder 6.2-litre engine with a maximum power of 650HP and 820 Nm torque.

Wheels
19-inch wheels create additional space for an expanded braking system. Light-alloy wheels with 255/35 R19 tyres (front) and 335/30 R19 (rear).

Brakes
Front wheels are equipped with 6-piston callipers and 350 mm brake discs. Rear wheels with 4-piston callipers and 330 mm brake discs.

Suspension
Independent, multi-link, designed and optimised by Lee Noble.

Thermal vision camera
The car can be fitted with a thermal vision camera option, which monitors the area in front of the car at the distance of a few hundred metres. If the camera detects an object with a temperature exceeding the ambient temperature (presumably an animal or a human), the driver can see a bright and clear image of this object on a display located in the central console within normal sight line. This may significantly improve the safety level at night and when driving in fog as compared to xenon headlights.

Technical specifications
    Length: 4450 mm
    Width: 2056 mm
    Height: 1190 mm
    Wheel track front: 1744 mm
    Wheel track rear: 1744 mm
    Wheelbase: 2695 mm
    Engine capacity: 6.2 l
    Engine: V8
    Power: 650 hp
    Maximum torque: 820 Nm
    Gearbox: Graziano
    Weight: 1300 kg
    Weight/power: 2.0 kg/1 hp
    0-100 km/h: 3.2 s
    0-200 km/h: 8.9 s
    0-200-0 km: 14.3 s
    200-0 km/h: 133 m
    1/4 mile time: 11.0 s
    Top speed: 340 km/h
    G force in curves: 1.3G
    Base price: 100.000 GBP

Bentley Continental Flying Spur Series 51, 2012

 

 

 

• Bentley Continental Flying Spur Series 51, 2012

Series 51 represents Bentley design at its most vibrant. It allows customers of both Continental Flying Spur and Flying Spur Speed to order 'off the peg' from an innovative and exclusive range of recommended combinations created by Bentley's colour and trim designers at the company's headquarters in Crewe, England, as Dirk van Braeckel, Bentley's director of design comments:

First offered on the Continental GT and GTC in 2009, Bentley's colour and trim team has now created no fewer than14 unique Series 51 designs for the Continental Flying Spur and Flying Spur Speed, enabling customers to tailor their cars to their individual tastes as Melinda June-Jenkins, manager of colour and trim, explains:

For Series 51 designs, the Bentley styling team operates on a 'rule of three' principle to create complex but harmonising colour schemes of depth and beauty, inspired by a customer's simple choice of three contrasting colours. With luxurious wood veneers and leather hides as the main canvas, the colour and trim specialists begin with a main interior colour (typically a darker shade) and then select a second insert colour to provide an eye-catching contrast. A critical skill is identifying the third 'accent' colour for the stitching and piping.

The selection of wood veneers or aluminium panels for the dashboard either complements the overall look or provides even greater contrast if the customer so desires.

Bentley has reserved the limited-edition Sapelli Pomelle veneer (which provides a rare, naturally occurring quilted effect in the wood) for the Series 51 Flying Spur and a range of further options, including Bentley's leather trimmed child seat and scatter cushions for the rear seats, may also be specified to further complement the exclusive design.

Whilst the 14 options for the Series 51 Flying Spur provide customers with the opportunity to select some of Bentley's most eye-catching design work, the colour and trim team is also more than happy to create even more bespoke designs, knowing they have only shown a fraction of the possibilities, as Melinda-June Jenkins explains:

Striking range of Series 51 duo-tone paint options
The same imaginative use of colour is extended to the coachwork of all Series 51 Continental Flying Spurs. A range of striking John Blatchley-inspired duo-tone paint options, with one accent colour sweeping from the bonnet, over the roof and onto the bootlid, may be specified.

The paint range encompasses cool and crisp hues through to rich and fiery shades and everything in between with the Bentley colour and trim team recommending one of the three selected interior colours to complement and highlight the relationship between inside and out.

Bentley has also created a unique Series 51 graphite-finished nine-spoke, 19-inch sports alloy wheel, while twin Series 51 wing badges, positioned behind the front wheel arches, complete the bespoke look.

As a further sporting touch, all the latest Continental Flying Spurs, including Series 51 models, may now be specified with distinctive blue brake callipers and front wing vents styled by Bentley's head of exterior design, Raul Pires. These sleek vents, positioned to the rear of the front wheel arches, are set into a uniquely tooled wing panel and feature a black or chrome mesh finish.

Advanced and intuitive touchscreen infotainment technology
All 2012 model year Bentley Continental Flying Spur and Supersports coupe and convertible models are now equipped with a new, highly-advanced touchscreen infotainment system that provides rich map imagery and a 30GB on-board hard drive.

An 8-inch screen displays the car's audio system, telephone, ride and comfort settings as well as the very latest navigation system, which uses both an in-car hard-disc drive and a DVD player to access route data. It also utilises dynamic navigation to avoid heavy traffic spots, locates destinations using geo-tagged photos from an SD memory card and is Google Maps-compatible for most markets.

The infotainment system, with 7-digit postcode entry, combines touchscreen controls and classic Bentley knurled rotary switches to offer instant usability and crystal-clear feedback. The graphic interface of the screen was specified by Bentley's interior design team to ensure its visuals are wholly in keeping with the classic, handcrafted interior. The 'knurled' switches on the screen for example, are 'virtual' echoes of the knurled texture of the jewel-like rotary switches below.

The latest Continental Flying Spur and Supersports models also benefit from telephone and music player connectivity, digital television (where available) and DVD movie playback. Music can be played and controlled directly from an iPod as well as from a six-disc CD changer, SD card reader or directly from the car's hard-disc drive, which can store up to 15GB of music.

The new infotainment system is complemented by a new driver information panel (DIP) located in the main instrument cluster. The new wide-screen DIP employs TFT technology and enhanced graphics provide the driver with clear and easily accessible information about a wide range of car systems. These include the setting of head lamp 'coming home' controls, door locking and mirror functions while providing significantly improved control of such features as phone pairing and bluetooth media connectivity.

The new 2012 model year Continental Flying Spur, Flying Spur Speed and their Series 51 design options, together with the 2012 Supersports coupe and convertible models go on sale from March 2011.

Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Touring Concept, 2012

 

 

•  Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Touring Concept, 2012

The Disco Volante 2012 by Touring Superleggera, designed as a two-seater coupé with front-central engine and transaxle drivetrain, was presented at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in the form of a full scale style model. The car will be produced as a very limited series for discerning customers: collectors, sporting drivers and design aficionados with appreciation for a tailor-made car based on individual passion and taste.

There exist very few models that rouse fascination like the Alfa Romeo C52 'Disco Volante'. The briefing at Carrozzeria Touring in 1952 mentioned the need for a shape that was 'insensitive to wind'. The unique basic design, featuring an oval cross section, evolved in different versions, and was even registered as 'design patent'.

Using Alfa Romeo 1900 C elements, the car received a new aluminium crankcase, a new tubular chassis, and a very light, striking and efficient aluminium body.

Initially aimed at races in the Sport category, the C52 Disco Volante soon reached the status of design icon. It is one of the most important models in the history of Touring, so innovative that it influenced the automotive design for decades. It also is one of the best examples to illustrate the credo of Touring's founder Felice Bianchi Anderloni "Il peso è il nemico, la resistenza dell'aria è l'ostacolo" (weight is the enemy, air resistance the obstacle).
So significant is the Disco Volante in the history of automobile design, that Alfa Romeo has chosen this Touring design to celebrate its own 100th anniversary with a bronze sculpture now exhibited in Milan.

Design
The Disco Volante 2012 design briefing required to blend ingredients as innovation, emotion and aerodynamic properties into a timeless and essential shape. The design language is that of a sports berlinetta by Touring, in this case extrovert, clearly pronounced, and tempting.

The integrated front bonnet and wings result in a dramatic monolithic frontal area, while the pronounced muscular rear end treatment leaves no doubts about the car's intentions. The overall teardrop shape reflects classic volumes with respect for aerodynamic values.

Hints to the past can be found in subtle details, when aesthetical solutions were judged to be congruent with the new design. These include the pronounced waist line underlined by the aluminium profile, the partly covered front wheels, and the prolonged lines of the rear section ending with round shaped tail lights.

The final result is a rear-oriented design, with an extended rear overhang, a retracted greenhouse, and a limited front overhang. It combines power and elegance, integrating a balance between potent and fluid lines and the use of refined proportions in the best Touring tradition.

Rolling Chassis
The hard points of the Disco Volante 2012 are dictated by the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione chassis, chosen for its light and rigid structure and the outstanding dynamic properties. It forms the perfect basis to receive the totally new, coach built bodywork conserving integrally the rolling chassis and drivetrain.

The front-central engine, transaxle transmission and rear wheel drive layout offers an optimal weight distribution of 49-51% between the front and rear axles.

The steel space-frame is engineered for weight reduction and improved torsional stiffness.

Further feature for top class handling is the front and rear double-wishbone suspension scheme combined with hub carriers of forged aluminium, and additional trailing arms for the rear suspension.

The light and compact V8 engine with 4.7 litre displacement delivers 450 PS and 470Nm peak torque. It is coupled to a 6-speed sequential transaxle gearbox with electronic control and paddle-shift gear selection. A limited slip differential and a state-of-the-art brake system with large diameter, ventilated discs complete the package to endorse precise, dynamic and proactive drive.

The Disco Volante 2012 is a tribute to the best Italian sports car philosophy: refined mechanics dressed with light and exciting bodywork.

Manufacturing Process
Prior to any construction phase at Touring, every new component is CAD designed and documented. The meticulous engineering programme covers feasibility, safety, homologation, aerodynamics and structural analysis. In this process, the most advanced IT tools and simulation techniques are used. Special attention is paid to the underbody structure, a critical factor for quality, torsional stiffness and noise reduction.

Touring has preserved and developed the use of hand-beaten aluminium panels. Today, this traditional way of shaping body parts responds not only to the design requirements, but also to the strictest precision standard.

The weight advantage of aluminium is one of the assets of Touring Superleggera's construction methods. However, carbon fibre is used for specific components such as bumpers and a number of substructures for further weight saving and strength gains.

The entire manufacturing process is fully documented and digitally logged, to guarantee consistent quality levels and accurate reproduction.

3-dimensional reference and measurement tools are used to ensure the highest precision in the assembly stage. Many key detail components and ornaments are entirely manufactured by hand.

The original 8C interior is basically maintained, but modified and upgraded according to the personal preferences and taste of the customer - as an exponent of Touring's automotive tailoring philosophy.

Each unit requires more than 4,000 hours of highly skilled artisan and engineer work to be completed.

The delivery time for a Disco Volante 2012 is eight months after the reception of the donor vehicle.