Land Rover Range Rover Evoque

Overview: The Evoque is nothing if not a head-turner, but the visual drama has its compromises. Available in either three or five-door body styles, the Evoque’s chic styling comes at a cost to both cargo space and outward visibility. A 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder paired with a nine-speed automatic and a firm suspension give it the moves to match its sporting character, but the ride is often harsh and raucous. The lavish interior impresses though, with high-quality materials and luxury features abound.

SPECIFICATIONS
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICE AS TESTED: $63,715 (base price: $41,995)
ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 122 cu in, 1999 cc
Power: 240 hp @ 5500 rpm
Torque: 250 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 9-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 104.8 in
Length: 171.9 in
Width: 74.8 in Height: 64.4 in
Curb weight: 4117 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 6.9 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 19.0 sec
Zero to 120 mph: 33.9 sec
Street start, 5-60 mph: 8.2 sec
Top gear, 30-50 mph: 3.9 sec
Top gear, 50-70 mph: 5.3 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 15.4 sec @ 91 mph
Top speed (drag limited): 134 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 173 ft
Roadholding: NA
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway: 21/30 mpg
C/D observed: 19 mpg

Porsche 913

Forgetting the Panamera, Cayenne and Macan, Porsche offer a pretty well-rounded sports car range. Starting with the Boxster and Cayman, and moving up the multitude of variations of the Porsche 911, all the way up to the 918 Spyder supercar. But there is a HUGE price gap between the top of the range 911 Turbo ($250,000 will all the options ticked), to the 918 Spyder ($800,000). Somewhere in that range Porsche could surely offer something to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini. Something like the 913 possibly? Conceived by the fertile mind of Rene Garcia, a professional 3D modeller who has created conceptual vehicles and highly detailed models for some of the biggest movies of the past decade, including the Matrix Trilogy, Transformers, the latest Star Trekthrillers and The Avengers, the Porsche 913 is an exquisitely rendered design in every detail. It has a bit of the 918 Spyder about it, but there’s also a lot of originality to the design. It looks like a Porsche, but a

Lamborghini Canto – What the Murcielago could have been?

Back in the late 1990s, when Lamborghini were starting to realise they needed a replacement for the ageing Diablo, they started reviewing design proposals from various automotive design firms. Zagato’s offering was the Zagato L147 SuperDiablo, or as it was to be later known, the Lamborghini Canto. The Lamborghini Canto first appeared in 1998, it arrived only two years after another Zagato designed Lamborghini concept had been unveiled, the Diablo-based Raptor. The cars shared a number of similar features, including the wraparound windows, triangular lateral air intakes, and trademark double-bubble roof. However of the two, the earlier Raptor was probably the better looking. Clearly Ferdinand Piech – head of the Volkswagen Group – thought so too. After VW bought Lamborghini in 1999, one of his first decisions was to review the Canto’s development and redesign the concept. The car was re-engineered and the rear extensively restyled to include smaller air intakes. The engine was also up

BMW GINA

The BMW GINA changes the design rulebook concept which features clever use of materials and technology. The GINA acronym stands for 'Geometry In "N" Adaptions'. The 'N' stands for infinite. Quite logical really... While at first glance the BMW GINA appears to be nothing more than a modified and stretched BMW Z4. As soon as the doors are opened it reveals its true nature. Covering the lightweight spaceframe of the BMW GINA are not conventional metal bodypanels, but instead an elastic, rubber-like material is stretched across the structural members and wire frame to form an attractive design which follows BMW's flame surfacing styling philosophy. This elastic material has given BMW's designers more options when designing various moving parts of the GINA concept. The doors for example have no shut line along their front edge as the material just moves with the door. At the rear the electro-hydraulic adjustable spoiler rises and lowers under the skin of

Road Strikers

Search This Blog