The Responsible Sports Car

Fisker Karma

Revealed in 2008 at the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit, the Fisker Karma is the first production car from a relatively new manufacturer Fisker Automotive, founded August 1^st 2007. The Karma is the first car in the world to be truly electric with an extended range.

Fisker is new company. It doesn’t have the attitude that other manufacturers have developed from past success. This allows all the engineers and designers to express themselves and add their ideas to solve previously unsolved problems. The designer of the Karma, Henrik Fisker, has previously designed cars such as the BMW Z8 and the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage! A sedan with a coupe like appearance, the Karma shows a distinct athletic and aggressive stance most highlighted by a long hood, short deck, low roofline (accustomed to sports cars), pronounce fenders and 22-inch wheels.

 The Karma is the first production car in the world to have a purely electric power train. It is powered by a 20 kWh lithium ion battery, which was developed by A123 systems. The nanophosphate technology increases power, safety, energy and reliability. The battery, which is rechargeable, can be charged in about six hours and the battery alone can cover about 80 kilometers in a single charge. The power train is known as True EVer (Electric vehicle with extended range). The battery is directly connected to the wheels and provides driving force to the wheels. The on board 260 bhp, 2.0 litre 4 cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine is used for extending the range of the Karma by 403 kilometers. This also is activated in sport mode for achieving top speed. This adds up to about 483 kilometers in total. Along with this the Karma has a solar panel integrated in its roof and regenerative brakes that supply the power back to battery whenever the brakes are applied.

The Karma has two drive modes: Stealth mode and Sport mode. In stealth mode the Karma minimizes power consumption as it uses just the lithium ion battery for power. This enables a top speed of 153 kmph and achieves 0-97 kmph in 7.9 seconds. With this the range is 80 kilometers. In Sport mode the engine kicks in along with the battery powering the Karma to achieve a top speed of about 201 kmph and gets from 0-97 in 5.9 seconds which is significantly fast for an electric power train (the engine doesn’t directly power the wheels, it just charges the battery!). In Sport mode the extended range of 403 kilometers is achieved.

It is the first American car made for the markets of the world. With the ability to drive with no emissions, the Karma is the responsible luxury car of choice for such luxury buyers. It is competitive with other luxury sedans such as BMW 750i active hybrid, Porsche panemera S, Audi A8 TDI, Maserati Quattroporte and Aston Martin Rapide. The Karma is designed for higher efficiency and reduced environmental impact, thus providing responsible luxury.

Fisker automotive implies the Sustainable and Accountable design philosophy in its cars and this is clearly visible in the Karma as its cabin is host to many eco friendly features. The cabin is made from reused materials and those that aren’t recycled are made through low energy impacting processes. The wooden dash is made from wood from bottom of lakes or from forest fires, first time ever in the automotive industry. The leather used in the trims is either high grade textile leather or high quality hides. The process of leather making used is low pigmentation and free from chrome, significantly dropping the energy required to make the leather and is relatively new in car making. Optional Diamond Dust paint is available for the Karma; this is yet another first in the industry. The centre piece of the dash is the Fisker Command Centre, a haptic force feedback touch screen that enables the driver to use controls for climate, audio, telephone, navigation and other controls. It also displays the power output of the battery, engine and regenerative brakes along with power gain from roof integrated solar panel.

Technical Specifications

• Motors: Two rear-mounted electric traction motors, mid-mounted lithium ion battery pack and front/mid-mounted range-extending gasoline engine/generator set
• Battery: 20 kWh, 180 kW lithium ion w/Nanophosphate™ technology (A123 Systems)
• Range-extending gasoline Engine/Generator set: 2.0-liter, 260hp, low-emission, four-cylinder direct fuel-injection w/ turbocharger (GM Ecotec®) and 175 kW generator
• Traction motors: 403 hp (300 kW) total [2 x 201.5 hp (150 kW)]
• Torque: 981 lb.-ft (1300 Nm)
• Transmission: Single-ratio gearbox/Limited Slip Differential combination
• Dimensions
  • Overall Length: 196.7 in. (4996mm)
  • Overall Width: 78.1 in. (1984mm)
  • Overall Height: 52.4 in. (1330mm)
  • Overhang [f/r]: 35.9 in. (913mm) / 36.3 in. (923mm)
  • Wheelbase: 124.4 in (3160mm)
  • Track [f/r]: 66.6 in. (1692mm) / 67.0 in (1701mm)
  • Cargo Capacity: 6.9 cu. ft. (195 l)
  • Curb Weight: 5600 lbs. (2539 kg)
  • Fuel Capacity: 9.5 US Gal. (36 l)
  • Turning Radius: 40.4 ft. (12.3m)
• Performance
  • Stealth Mode
    • Lithium-ion battery power only
    • 0-60mph (97 km/h): 7.9 sec
    • Top Speed: 5mph (153 km/h)
  • Sport Mode
    • Lithium-ion power with Engine/Generator
    • 0-60mph (97km/h): 5.9 sec
    • Top Speed: 125mph (201 km/h) electronically limited
  • Range
    • Total Range: 300 miles (483 km)
    • Electric only: 50 miles (80km)
    • Extended range: 250 miles (403 km)

Pagani's Wind Demon

Pagani Huayra

The Pagani Huayra is the successor to the Zonda and it debuted online on January, 2011. The world debut was at the Geneva Auto Salon, March 2011. The design o the Pagani has been inspired by the element o air and so is the name as it is named after the Inca’s god of wind and air ‘Huayra-Tata’. The car has more then met the requirements of such an inspiration. It is classified as a super car and for good reason.

The Huayra has a monocoque build and is made from carbotitanium alloy. This advance composite was first used in the Zonda. The Huayra features gull wing doors that cut deep into the roof and to achieve this much research was done focused mainly on achieving high rigidity. To achieve maximum weight reduction resulted in numerous new features one being that all the ventilation ducts are integrated into the monocoque and therefore external air ducts aren’t required. This detailed focus on weight reduction has resulted in the Huayra being 1,350 kg, meaning it is the lightest sports class in its class.

The Huayra also features active aerodynamics meaning it can adjust its flaps so that air flowing over it does not encounter drag. This allows greater down force and thus the car goes faster and moves with more control. The flaps and the suspension can also be adjusted so that during hard braking the weight shift is counter acted. The active aerodynamics is handled by a control unit that has data feeds from the ABS and the ECU. The car has engine intake on the sides of the body. This allows undisrupted flow of air to the engine. The air vents for the radiators are also carefully planned. They are made in such a way that the hot gases are used for greater performance, one example being that the central radiator’s air flows through the wheelhouses thus heating the brakes if cool.

The Huayra is powered by the Mercedes-Benz AMG ‘M158’ twin turbo V12. This has been modified with a different intercooler configuration, reduced turbo lag, improved response and a reprogrammed ECU all at the request of Pagani. This allows the Huayra to churn out 700bhp and 1000nm o torque. The Huayra like many other high performance cars uses dry sump lubrication. The benefit to this being that it prevents oil surges during extreme lateral acceleration and the engine can be mounted lower thus reducing the centre of gravity of the car. A seven speed, dual clutch gearbox from Xtrac that weighs only 96 kg is Huayra’s secret to high performance. Xtrac made the Zonda’s gearbox and so it was definitely the choice for a new high speed gearbox. It offers far better comfort than race car gearbox and has a better behavior during a case of rear impact.

The Huayra gives its drivers everything in less than an arm’s reach. The gear shifts have been placed on the steering wheel making sure that the driver always has his car under complete control. The seats are designed to provide comfort along with counter acting G forces that are likely to build up during extreme driving.  With the Huayra, emphasis has been made it being a living breathing being as it is of course inspired by air. The gearshifts and the dashboard are made from aluminum. The dashboard takes its inspirations from Swiss watches and has a central multi function display screen that displays performance relevant information during SPORT mode and trip related information when in COMFORT mode.

The Huayra has strict safety features (some not even required by the law). This helps maintain passenger safety at high speeds. It also has specially designed tires thanks to Pirelli. These are the ‘Bespoke P Zero’ tires made to be able to handle speeds of more than 370kmph and G forces of 1.5 G’s. They also help reduce the emissions of the car.

Technical Specifications

• Engine: Mercedes-AMG M158 V12 twin-Turbo
• Displacement: 5980 cc
• Power: >700 CV
• Torque: >1.000 Nm
• Transmission: transverse sequential seven speed gearbox; AMT robotyzed system with driving programs
• Dimensions
  • Length: 4605mm
  • Height: 1169mm
  • Width: 2036mm
• Dry weight: 1.350 kg
• Weight distribution
  • Front: 44%
  • Rear: 56%

Dawn Of The New Generation McLaren

McLaren MP4-12C

Announced on 8 September 2009 and launched in the year 2011, the McLaren MP4-12C is its new generation super car. It is the second road car that is completely produced by the McLaren team at their award winning McLaren Technology centre in Surrey. It is made up by a carbon fibre chassis and is powered by a mid mounted V8 twin turbo engine. It uses the technologies developed through Formula 1 racing such as brake steer and has a 7 geared seamless shift dual clutch gearbox transmission. It has a sleek design and cutting edge aerodynamics.
The name for McLaren MP4-12C is one with an interesting background.MP4 has been the name given to the chassis designed for the McLaren formula 1 since 1981. Since 1997 has stood for McLaren project 4. 12 refers to the internal rating scale used by McLaren to rate its cars performance and also rate rival car manufacturer's vehicles. The C refers to carbon highlighting the importance of carbon fibre technology to the performance of the car.

It is aimed at the “core” segment of the super car market where it stands in the highest rank of the segment: the “Ultimate group”. Here it will compete against cars such as Mercedes McLaren SLR, Buggati Veyron, Pagani Zonda, Koenigsegg and its key rival the Ferrari 458 Italia. McLaren believes that there is still a lot of potential in the “core” segment as its chairman pointed out that the sales of this segment in particular have increased from 8000 units in the year 2000 to 28000 units in the year 2007. This clearly marks out the increase in the market for high performance super cars.

At the core of this McLaren monster is a carbon fibre composite chassis: the Carbon Monocell. It is based on the F1 car design of a single carbon fibre tub. It weighs only 80kg and is made by a set of different processes and uses biaxial and triaxial carbon fibre fabric. This reduces the time required to produce a carbon fibre Monocell from 5000 hours back in the 90’s for McLaren F1 to just 4 hours for the McLaren MP4-12C.

The MP4-12C is powered by a M838T 3.8 litre twin turbo V8 engine designed and built by McLaren through partnership with Riciardo. It produces 592 bhp horsepower and 601 Nm of torque. This propels the car to a top speed of 333km/h. it uses a seamless shift gearbox for its transmission that allows the driver to preselect the next gear just by slightly tapping the paddle. The main performance feature is its aerodynamics and road grip that allow the car to “make the corners bend around it” and thus maintain high speed.

The 12C’s inside is aimed to make the driver and the passenger feel more comfortable and safe. The interior trim can be specified in an asymmetrical configuration known as the “Driver zone”. The interior includes portrait touchpad and multiple controls such as cruise computer, active dynamics panel etc. The 12-C was designed with emphasis on aerodynamics, performance and efficiency while also remaining elegant and sleek. The bonnet (not having to house any of the engine components and radiators) is placed low. This provides excellent storage space while also allowing for more road grip.

Technical Specification

• Engine configuration: V8 twin turbo
• Compression ratio: 8.7:1
• Redline: 8,500 rpm
• Engine displacement: 3799 cc
• Power: 600 PS / 592 bhp @ 7000 rpm
• Torque: 600 Nm / 443 lb-ft @ 3000-7000 rpm
• PS per litre: 158
• Transmission: 7 Speed SSG with Pre-Cog
• Wheelbase: 2670 mm
• Length: 4507 mm
• Width: 1909 mm
• Height: 1199 mm
• Wheel sizes
  • Front: 19" x 8.5" J
  • Rear: 20" x 11" J
• Tyres: Pirelli PZero
  • Front: 235/35 R19
  • Rear: 305/30 R20
• Maximum speed: 330 km/h (205 mph)
• 0-100 km/h (62 mph): 3.3 s
• 0-200 km/h (124 mph): 9.1 s
• 0-400 m / ¼ mile: 10.9 s @ 216 kph (134 mph)
• 0-1000 m: 19.6 s @ 272 kph
• Braking
  • 200-0 km/h: 123 m
  • 100-0 km/h: 30.5 m
  • 62-0 mph: 100 ft
  • 124-0 mph: 403 ft
• Power to weight: 461 PS (455 bhp) per tonne
• CO2: 279 g/km
• Fuel consumption (combined): 11.7 l/100 km / 24.2 mpg (UK)