Aston Martin One-77

After numerous concept presentations, Aston Martin has finally presented the first fully completed one-77. New British supercar presentation was held at the exclusive car show Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy. The concept car exterior design was already seen in pictures, but now it was posible to see the car interior.

There will be made only 77 Aston Martin One-77, and each car will cost at least 1,8 milion dollars. Very soon they will make the first custom-made copy. All the small series production will be completed by the end of the next year. Moreover, as Aston Martin representatives have pointed out, each car will be made in close conjunction with its next owner, and the manufacturer will use its best efforts to be sure that none of 77 unique cars is coming into the so-called profiteers hands.


Like F1 racing car, the One-77 design is based on the ultra-light and highly resistant carbon fiber moncok (continuous body structure). At moncok there has been attached the four wheel doble lever suspension and it is almost the same as it is on F1 racing car, where the vertical suspension is converted into horizontal. It is also the first time when a street car has recieved DSSV technology, which allows to adjust damping characteristics very precise whitout removing the suspension elements off the car.


The One-77 engine is also unique. Although it on Aston Martin popular 6.0-liter V12 engine's base, its capacity has increased to 7.3 liters, meanwhile the engine weight has been reduced by 25%. In the result the engine has more than 700 horse power. The car also has specially developed six-speed automatic gearbox.


Aston Martin One-77's maximum speed exceeds 2oo miles per hour, while acceleration from 0-60 miles per hour will take around 3.5 seconds. For stopping the car it has carbon-ceramic composite brakes to minimize the brake fluid heat system.

Holden Torana GTR-X, a car which never got to the production line

When you see a picture of this car it is hard to say that it has been developed 40 years ago. Clean and straight lines are still the reason to consider Holden Torana GTR-X as a very beautiful car. And for us it is hard to imagine that a car like this have been developed in Australia.


In the middle of 1969. the Australian branch of General Motors engineering department was given a task of developing small series sports car that would be cheap enough in the production. Moreover, as the basis for this car is needed to be used existing components of the available models.

And so in 1969. The Holden Torana GTR-X was born. For the base of creation of this car was used the serial car GTR-Xu, which was derived from the Vauxhall Vivas model, which was very popular in Europe in sixties. The two seated Torana GTX-R was planned to be equipped with 3.0 liter six cylinder raw engine, which developed 160 horse power and 285 Nm high torque. Wheel power was transmitted to the rear wheels with a four-speed manual transmission.


In the tests Torana GTX-R was able to reach 210 km per houre. The 160 horsepower engine in those times was a very good achievement. But the most important character was the Torana GTX-R weight. It was 1043 kg (2300 pounds) only, which made it possible for this car to ensure comparable dynamic performance.


Car body was mostly made of fiberglass, and its design provided the unusual purity of lines for those times. Similarly the style was retained in interior where all required gages were placed in a simple design aluminum panel. In addition, the vehicle occurred some quite revolutionary solutions for sixties - ergonomic seating with high back and very good lateral aid, as well as a height adjustable steering wheel.


Torana GTX-R was already very close to get on the production line and there were built several models for pre-production tests and even had a video advertisement. But after all the company decided not to produce it. They were not convinced of the project's financial success.

Gemballa Tornado 750 GTS

To most of us a SUV and a fast sports car might seem as two completely different things, but the Porsche developing Cayenne Turbo has proved the contrary. But to go even further tuning atelier Gemballa tries to make the supercar out of the German manufacturer SUV. Latest Gemballa preparation is limited, only 50 vehicles will be delivered to costumers from the upcoming series of Tornado 750 GTS.


Gemballa intention to make a SUV a real competitive super car once again is quite serious this time. It is so because at first their engineers are reducing the weight of the car. Tornado GTS 750 is about 250 kg lighter than the stock Cayenne Turbo. In addition, diet does not necessarily imply an ascetic sports interior - Tornado 750 GTS interior is a combination of sportingly elegant Alcantara leather and carbon fiber.

Another and very important factor in ensuring a decent super car dynamics is the engine. Gemballa professionals have increased its power to 750 hp, but the engine torque now reaches 1050Nm. After this Gemballa Tornado GTS 750 is able to accelerate to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, but its maximum speed is 300 km / h.


Adjustable suspension, which is designed exclusively for this edition of Cayenne, allows it to adjust the clearance in range of 2.5 inches. Exterior has been changed by 22 inch wheels covered by 335/25 size tires. But for stopping the Tornado it carries huge brake discs (diameter: 420mm front and 380mm rear) with six-piston brake clamps.

And at the end there is another one thing. It is the factor that Gemballa Tornado GTS 750 brings super car status - car price is around 500 thousand dollars.

Hartge BMW X6

German tuning atelier Hartge have made their tuning program for BMW X6 SUC (Sports Utility Coupe). Vehicle now can have some visual adds and also some new technical improvements for more driving fun.

"Hartge" developed "BMW X6" aerodynamic body kit is made of lightweight polyurethane plastic, which includes the original design front bumper with wire mesh air catching holes, decorative thresholds and rear bumper with diffuser. It has carbon casings for the side-mirrors too. Sporting shape concludes a 22-inch wheels and a set of sports springs that lowers the overall ride height by up to 30mm.


Initially, technical improvements will be made available to "BMW X6" variant "xDrive35d" for the three liter biturbo diesel engine. The engine have benefited from a bit of ECU (Electronic Control Unit) tuning. Its power has increased from the stock 286 hp up to 328 hp and the maximum torque - up from 428 lb-ft to 498 lb-ft, which is already available from two thousand revolutions per minute. Add to that it gets better fuel economy than stock and is actually lighter. Later the 3.0L diesel engine from the xDrive30d will get pumped up to 275hp (+40hp) and 441 lb-ft (+115 lb-ft).

Despite the mass of 4409 pounds it makes 0-60 in 6 seconds, which is a second better than stock. Since Hartge has disabled the factory set for maximum speed electronic limiter, the improved BMW X6 diesel will be able to reach the top speed of 159 MPH.

Full program by „Hartge” will cost you 38'000$. So maybe there will be ability to reduce the 38'000$ asking price and just supply the powertrain upgrades.

Tata Nano: Worlds cheapest car available!

The low-cost Tata Nano from India is on market since 9th of April. It's supposed to be the car that will change the car market in the whole world. Can you imagine a car for 2500$? Even if it only has a two stroke 623 cc (38 cu in) engine, no power steering, no power windows and no air-conditioning? It's something we can't imagine. But now you can buy it. Of course, you'll be able to buy it only if you live in India. The rest of the world will need to wait a bit. In 2012 it will be sold in Europe. Till the first sales Tata will have to meet Euro 5 emission regulations and crash standarts. It's not the easiest job to do because car has no airbags and it consumes a lot of gas. Of course if Tata wants to have success in Europe the car has to be much more comfortable as it is in India. It has to have at least power windows and air conditioner. So in Europe they won't be able to sell it for 2500$. In India Tata showrooms are full of potential buyers. We will se waht will happen in Europe in 2012. And they are talking something about US too.