Aston Martin V12 Zagato-first official pics

At the 2011 Frankfurt autoshow the British will present the production version of the V12 Zagato.The new V12 Zagato will be powered obviously by a V12 engine making 517 HP and 570 NM of torque.

    Each of the 150 units sold will be hand crafted with exotic materials like carbon fiber and other kinds of fiber.The starting price on all versions will be
505.365 US Dollars.

TVR Cerbera

The TVR Cerbera is a sports car manufactured by TVR between 1996 and 2003. The name is derived from Cerberus the three-headed beast of Greek legend that guarded the entrance of Hades.
The TVR Cerbera was the third car manufactured by TVR under the leadership of Peter Wheeler (the first was the Griffith and the second was the Chimaera). The car represented three firsts for the Wheeler-led company:

• The first hard-top—the Griffith and the Chimaera were both convertibles


• The first 2+2—TVRs were traditionally two-seaters


• The first to be driven by TVR's own engines—historically, TVR had purchased engines from mainstream manufacturers like Rover, Ford and Triumph

The prototype was introduced at the 1994 Birmingham Motor Show.

Prior to the Cerbera, TVR had purchased V8 engines from Rover and then tuned them for their own use. When Rover was purchased by BMW, Peter Wheeler didn't want to risk problems should the Germans decide to stop manufacturing the engine. In response, he engaged the services of race engineer Al Melling to design a V8 engine that TVR could manufacture in-house and even potentially offer for sale to other car-makers. In an interview for the television programme Top Gear, Wheeler explained "Basically, we designed the engine as a race engine. It was my idea at the time that if we wanted to expand, we ought to make something that we could sell to other people. We've ended up with a 75-degree V8 with a flat-plane crank. The bottom-half of the engine to the heads is exactly as you would see in a current Formula One engine."
Wheeler was quoted at the time of the car's launch as saying that the combination of light weight and high power was too much for a road car, a quote which ensured much free publicity in the press. Enthusiasts still argue about whether this was a typical example of Wheeler's legendary frankness, or an equally typical example of his PR chief Ben Samuelson's knack for saving on advertising costs by creating a story.

The result was dubbed the "Speed Eight" (official designation 'AJP8') after Al Melling, John Ravenscroft and Peter Wheeler, a 4.2 L V8 producing 360 horsepower (268 kW). A larger version of the engine was later offered that displaced 4.5 litres and output rose to 420 horsepower (310 kW). This larger engine was also fitted with a crankshaft that was made of steel for added strength and reliability. The smaller motor allowed the Cerbera to still achieve up to 185 mph (297 km/h).
The AJP8 has one of the highest specific outputs of any naturally aspirated V8 in the automotive world at 83.3 hp/litre for the 4.2 and 93.3 hp/litre for the 4.5. Later models of the 4.5 litre engine were given the option of being to the 'Red Rose' specification, which increased its output to 440 bhp (97.7 hp/litre) when fuelled with super-unleaded (high octane) and the driver pushed the unmarked button on the dashboard which altered the engine mapping to suit.
In some cases, real-world outputs for production V8s (4.5 in particular) were down from TVRs quoted output. Some of these have seen some form of modification (ECU, induction, exhaust etc.) to bring the power back up to the factory quoted output.
One of the attractions of the V8 Cerberas for many owners was the loud backfire produced on over-run, particularly at low speeds. In fact this was the result of an argument at the factory between one of TVR's executives and the engineers mapping the engine. The engineers wanted to map out this "irregularity" to improve fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions, whilst the executive insisted it was exactly the kind of thing owners would like. In the end a compromise was reached in which the popping and banging remained on the 4.5 L cars.
The engine is also unusually compact for a V8. According to TVR, the total weight of the finished engine is 121 kilograms (267 lb).
With the success of the Speed Eight program, Wheeler also undertook the design of a "Speed Six" engine to complement it. This engine also made its debut in the Cerbera. Unlike the Speed Eight, the new engine is 4.0 litre inline slant six (I6) design. It also differs from the V8 in having four valves per cylinder to the Speed Eight's two.

The car

The car itself was designed from the start as a four-seater. The rear seats are smaller than the front, a design commonly referred to as a "2+2". However, the interior is designed so that the passenger seat can slide farther forward than the driver's seat. This allows more room for the person sitting behind the front passenger. TVR have referred to this as a "3+1" design.
TVR maintained its tradition of building cars that were not only exceptionally powerful but also very light for their size and power output. The Cerbera's weight was quoted by TVR at 1100 kilograms, although customers claimed the weight varied between 1,060 kg (2,337 lb) and 1,200 kg (2,646 lb).
The dashboard was designed especially for the Cerbera and uses a two-spar steering wheel as opposed to the typical three-spar previously found in most TVRs. The reason for this is that minor instruments are located on a small panel below the steering wheel and a third spar in the wheel would have made them difficult to read.
Like all TVRs of the Peter Wheeler era, the Cerbera had a long-travel throttle to compensate for the lack of electronic traction-control and very sharp steering. The V8 powered cars were two turns from lock to lock and the Speed Six car was 2.4 turns. This made it easier for experienced drivers to maintain or regain control of the car in the event of a loss of traction but some less experienced drivers complained that it made the cars feel "twitchy" and more responsive than they would otherwise have preferred.
In 2000, TVR changed the styling of the car slightly by modifying the headlights to more closely resemble those seen in the TVR Tuscan. The "facelift" features were available with all three engine configurations. In addition, the cars equipped with the 4.5 liter engine were offered with the "lightweight" option, reducing the overall weight through the use of lighter body panels and a slightly reworked interior.

The Last Cerbera

In August 2006, TVR held an online auction for what it billed as "The Last Cerbera". According to thelastcerbera.com, the website that TVR created especially for the auction, TVR's owner and chairman, Nikolay Smolensky (spelled "Nikolai Smolenski" on thelastcerbera.com site), brought the design out of retirement for one more unit as an homage to the "beautiful but brutish bygone British sports car." The "last Cerbera" was a 4.5 LW right-hand drive car in Pepper white with Prussian blue leather interior trim. The auction failed to meet its reserve price but TVR still decided to sell the car to the high bidder. The final bid was under £45,000 to which 5% plus 17.5% VAT would be added.^{[citation needed]} This car is currently for sale at Racing Green Cars in Ash Vale

Performance

Speed Six 4.0L model

• Engine type: straight-6 DOHC 24v


• Power: 350 hp (261 kW; 355 PS)


• 0-60 mph: 4.4 seconds


• Top speed: 180 mph (290 km/h)


• Torque: 330 lb·ft (447 N·m)

4.2L model

• Engine type: V8 OHC 16v


• Power: 360 hp (268 kW; 365 PS)


• Torque: 320 lb·ft (434 N·m) at 4500 rpm


• Redline: 7000 rpm


• 0-60 mph: 4.2 seconds


• 1/4 mile time 12.4 seconds


• Top speed: 185 mph (297 km/h)

4.5L model

• Engine type: 4475cc V8 OHC 16v


• Power: 420 hp (313 kW; 426 PS) at 6750 rpm


• Torque: 380 lb·ft (515 N·m) at 4500 rpm


• Redline: 7000 rpm


• 0-60 mph: 3.9 seconds


• Top speed: 195 mph (313,7 km/h)

Video:New Bentley Continental GTC

Bentley will officially introduce at the Frankfurt autosho the new super luxury cabriolet Continental GTC.This car takes over the main elements of the coupe introduced last year but is bigger,more powerful and faster !

20 Inch rims will be standard.The engine is a 6 liter W12 producing 575 HP of 700 Nm of torque.The new Continental GTC gets to 60 in 4.8 and to 100 in 10.9 secs and has a top speed of 195 Mph.

The starting price announced for the moment is of 244.937418 U.S. dollars.I still don't have any official info about the time when the car will be available for purchase in the US but its gonna be probably sometime in the spring of 2012.

McLaren MP4-12C

The McLaren MP4-12C is a sports car designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. It is the first production car wholly designed and built by McLaren since the McLaren F1, which for a long time held the record for the fastest production car in the world. The car's final design was unveiled on 8 September 2009, and it is set to be launched in 2011. The MP4-12C will feature a carbon fibre composite chassis, and will be powered by a mid-mounted McLaren M838T 3.8-litre V8 twin-turbo engine developing approximately 592 bhp (441 kW; 600 PS) and around 443 lb·ft (601 N·m) of torque. The car will make use of Formula 1-sourced technologies such as "brake steer^[2] ", where the inside rear wheel is braked during fast cornering to reduce understeer. Power will be transmitted to the wheels through a 7-speed Seamless Shift dual-clutch gearbox. When tested on the British motoring show Top Gear, the MP4-12C completed a lap of the test track in 1:16.2 to become the second fastest car on the lap board, 1.1 seconds slower than the Ariel Atom 500, and 3.1 seconds faster than its key performance rival, the Ferrari 458 Italia.^[3] However it was slower at three other comparisons: at an EVO magazine test it was over a second slower than the Ferrari around the Bedford Autodrome West track,^[4] it was also slower in Fifth Gear and Car Magazine. The MP4-12C will be sold at a price of £168,500 in the United Kingdom.^[5], and $229,000 for the US market.^[6] To celebrate the launch of the car, McLaren F1 partner Tag Heuer will release the limited edition Carrera MP4-12C watch, available only at McLaren dealers.

Design

As with the McLaren F1, carbon fibre (Carbon MonoCell) is used extensively in the vehicle to minimize weight. The MP4-12C will weigh only 1,300 kg (2,866 lb) dry.^[8] The chassis is based around an F1 style one-piece carbon fibre tub, weighing only 80 kg (176 lb).
The car will have a conventional two side-by-side seating arrangement, unlike its predecessor the McLaren F1 which featured an irregular three seat formation (front center, two behind either side). To make up for this however, the car's central console is narrower than in other cars, seating the driver closer to the center.
Interior trim and materials can be specified in asymmetric configuration - known as "Driver Zone".

Engine

Main article: McLaren M838T engine

The car is powered by the M838T 3.8 litre twin-turbo V8 engine, McLaren's first ever engine design. It was designed and developed by McLaren in partnership with Ricardo. ^[9] The design of the engine was based on the Nissan VRH35 racing engine used in Le Mans in 1998. However, other than the 93 mm bore, little of that engine remains in the M838T.^[10] It produces 592 bhp (441 kW; 600 PS) and 443 lb·ft (601 N·m) of torque. It has a redline of 8,500 rpm, with 80% of torque available at just 2,000 rpm.^[8][11] When first announced McLaren claimed that it would have a higher horsepower to carbon dioxide emission ratio than any internal-combustion engine available at the time.^[12]

Transmission

The engine is connected to a 7-speed automatic dual-clutch gearbox made in Italy by Graziano. Dubbed the "Seamless Shift Gearbox" or SSG, the gearbox features a system dubbed "Pre-Cog" that allows the driver to preselect the next gear by lightly tapping the paddle.^[13][10]

Performance

McLaren have stated the MP4-12C can accelerate from 0 to 200 km/h (124 mph) in 8.9 seconds.^[14] The car will have a top speed in excess of 322 km/h (200 mph) and will be able to brake from 200 km/h (124 mph) to a complete stop in under five seconds. Braking from 100 km/h (62 mph) to zero can be done in under 30 metres (98 ft), around seven car lengths. It is expected the 12C will complete the standard quarter mile in slightly less than 11 seconds.^{[citation needed]}
On July 10, 2011, on the BBC programme Top Gear, the MP4-12C set the second fastest lap around the Top Gear Track, posting a time of 1:16.2 ^[15] The car was developed and tested on the Top Gear test track before its appearence on the show. The MP4-12C finished second behind the Ferrari 458 Italia in Car Magazine's July 2011 group test. It was also beaten into third by the Porsche 911 GT2 in the lap times set at Rockingham Speedway by racing driver Ben Collins.^[16]

Nomenclature

The name of the new McLaren sports car is MP4-12C. 'MP4' has been the chassis designation for all McLaren Formula 1 cars since 1981. Since 1997, "MP4" has stood for McLaren Project 4 (from 1981 to 1996, when McLaren's title sponsor was Marlboro, the "M" stood for this), resulting from the merger of Ron Dennis' Project 4 organisation with McLaren. The '12' refers to McLaren's internal Vehicle Performance Index through which it rates key performance criteria both for competitors and for its own cars. The criteria combine power, weight, emissions, and aerodynamic efficiency. The coalition of all these values delivers an overall performance index that has been used as a benchmark throughout the car's development. The 'C' refers to Carbon, highlighting the unique application of carbon fibre technology to the future range of McLaren sports cars. The elements of this name represent everything that the McLaren MP4-12C stands for:
MP4-12C shares its name with the MP4/12 Formula 1 car that raced in the 1997 season. This car featured a second brake pedal discovered by photographers to counter understeer on the exit of the corners by selecting the inside rear wheel, similar to the computer controlled "brake steer" system of the MP4-12C.^[17]

Variants

Convertible

In addition to the coupe, a convertible version of the MP4-12C is under development at McLaren. The convertible is planned to have a retractable hardtop that will be made from either aluminium or carbon fibre. McLaren is working to preserve the coupé's 200mph top speed. Meanwhile, the unique butterfly wing doors of the coupé will be retained.^[18]

Motorsports

GT3

In December 2010 McLaren announced that they would produce a small number of MP4-12C cars in order for them to compete in the FIA GT3 European Championship. McLaren stated that they will provide maintenance for the cars and will begin racing in 2012 with the CRS Racing team.^[19] The MP4-12C will be the first car to compete in sportscar racing for the company, since the F1 GTR.^[20]. It received its début with a single car entry for the Spa Francorchamps round of the British GT championship. This was followed by a three car entry in the 2011 [[Spa 24 Hours]. ^[21]
Compared to the road car, the MP4-12C GT3 produces less power with only 493 bhp (368 kW; 500 PS) due to homologation. The car features a new bespoke 6-speed gearbox that is 80 kg (176 lb) lighter than the road car's 7-speed, developed with Ricardo. The steering wheel is lifted straight from the McLaren MP4-24 Formula 1 car.