Growing up, one of my favorite supercars had to be the Ferrari F40. It was just a gorgeous machine that was remarkably fast. Ferrari is continuing the long-standing tradition with the upcoming Ferrari F70 and, yes, she’s a beauty.

Now, while these may look like real photos of the Ferrari F70 upon some European motorways, they’re not; instead, these are just really, really good renderings of the Italian sports car. The renderings are derived from actual spy shots and should be reasonably accurate. We’ll be able to confirm these kinds of details when the F70 is supposedly revealed to the world at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

As I understand it, this is the successor to the Ferrari Enzo, which was colloquially called the F60 in some circles, since it followed the Ferrari F50. The Ferrari F70, which may receive a new name when it is officially announced, has a rumored top speed of 250mph with a 0-60mph time of 2.5 seconds. People are saying there will be a massive V12 in there to push out that kind of power.

I’m just hoping that the boffins at Top Gear UK get their hands on this car sooner rather than later. Jeremy Clarkson just might say that this is the most beautiful supercar “in the world.”

[Source]

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Tata Motors has gone ‘Mega’, not just in the naming convention, but also in the range and mileage of their latest four-seater range extended electric vehicle (REEV) concept.

The Indian automobile giant unveiled its latest offering – the Megapixel – at the Geneva Motor Show and it has already started making heads turn and all for the right reasons.

The Megapixel, an evolved version of the REEV concept ‘Pixel’ the company unveiled in Geneva last year, uses four 10 kilowatt motors attached to the wheels plus a single-cylinder 325cc range-extending engine that runs on petrol. The engine is capable of generating 22 kw of power while charging the lithium ion phosphate battery and add to that the rather light design of Megapixel means it has a net range of 900km  and an electric-only range of 87 km.

Not bad if I’m planning on running it alongside the marathoners at the London Olympics later this year. But what about the highway sprinters, who constitute more than 99 percent of the drivers, be it in the US, UK or anywhere across the world for that matter? We all love to push our cars a bit once out in the open and Megapixel will be literally out in unchartered, deep waters there.

The single-cylinder “tuk-tuk” of a car simply doesn’t have enough juice to save you from yawning all the while during a 100 km drive through the freeway.

But then Tata’s Megapixel is not meant for speed. It has other tricks up its sleeve.

For starters, its acutely turning wheels give it a turning radius of just 2.8 metres. Yeah, you heard it right, a mere 9.2 feet. Surely Tata might have perfected this design, testing it on narrow Indian roads. But the irony is that the car is not sturdy enough for Indian roads, the focus on cutting weight making it only suitable for the well-maintained tarmacs in Europe and the US, provided they have plans to launch it across the Atlantic.

Another feature is the induction charging pad. You needn’t plug this beauty but just have to park it neatly over an induction pad to get it charged. How convenient is that?  But will it make much of a difference is the question. To plug a car in, it will take just two minutes max. Yeah why not use those two valuable minutes saved to search for your TV mobile once you are back in your drawing room.

Getting in and out of a small car is not that easy, especially for bigger drivers among us. Here Megapixel scores a near perfect 10 for its innovative double-sliding doors. The inside of the car is also rather spacious, claiming that it will sit four adults (not pigmies or kids) with luggage easily.

The layout of the motor and the battery pack is helpful in the leg-space department but one wonders what Tata’s definition of luggage is. If it is an ultra-sleek laptop then Megapixel has more than enough room. But four rugby players carrying their playing kit for a workout session, now that’s a different proposition altogether.

Megapixel, with looks and size borrowed from other REEV models, is Tata’s attempt to push the electric small-car envelope a bit further, at least as far as range in concerned. If, launched, after juicing up the engine a bit further, this could indeed give the bigger players in this segment a run for their money.

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Batman won’t have to go into his cave and hunch on his drawing-room table to design an upgraded ‘Batmobile’. He just needs to walk into Lamborghini.

At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Lamborghini will unveil perhaps its most cutting edge, yet literally down to earth (read: ground hugging design) variant in the Aventador line – the Aventador J.

The Aventador, especially the LP 700-4 launched last year, coupled good old performance under the hood with the cutting edge design Lamborghini is known for. With the Aventador J, the designers and engineers at Sant’Agata Bolognese have pushed the envelope a bit further in materials used as well as shape, coming out with an “open” car.

The obvious thought that comes to the mind after first glance of the ‘J’ is that the engineers have simply cut the top and windshield off the previous Aventador.  But there is more to it than what meets the eye.

The entire bodywork is new, had to be, for the ‘J’ has a lower than low profile, ground-hugging in fact, with just 1110 millimetres (44 inches) of carbon fibre and space age materials separating the top of the roll-over hoops from the ground.  Naturally, it had to be low as it is competing in the ‘batmobile’ segment.

But batman will have to do without the satnav system and air conditioning. Being open to the elements and fresh air, a/c won’t be missed, but satnav? Well, at the speeds the ‘J’ is capable of, who would have time to look into the satellite navigation screen. So the designers disposed of the system altogether to save weight. Lamborghini has also used a lightweight carbon fibre fabric called “Carbonskin” for seats and interior surfaces to take weight-saving to the next level.

The front of the vehicle is narrower than a regular Aventador. The designers could have done away with the rear view mirrors in the front though, which are not likely to be used by the driver, who would be strapped in the cockpit like a jet fighter pilot wearing specially designed helmets to keep the vision clear. Two small glass air-deflectors rise in front of the pilot and co-pilot seats: too small to be windshields, too big to be designer sunglasses!

Like all beautiful creations, the best part of the ‘J’ comes at the rear end. It houses the stock 700 bhp Aventador 6.5 liter V12, topped with a carbon-fibre wing to keep under/over steer at bay. The rear also has massive splitter and grill containing four tailpipes. Wheels had to be made of Aluminium for this baby. The ‘J’ is also armed with carbon wings to cool the brakes.

Though the numbers are not out, it is evident that the speeds this thing is capable of will be insane. The human element on the wheels will probably limit the top speed of this toy meant for the super rich. But apparently even the billionaires will have to keep their fingers crossed to get their hands on this one.

The pictures displayed here are from the one and only car artists from Sant’Agata have made so far and it has already been reportedly sold for Euro 2.1 million ($2.75M).

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a production variant of this one-off wonder from Lamborghini.

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Italian design house Stile Bertone is famous for some of the most beautiful cars in history and none of the company’s concepts are more famous than the 1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero. The futuristic design of that prototype will always be alive in the hearts of many sports car fans around the world. And it appears like the company is planning to keep it that way. They have released teaser sketches of a new concept car which will be shown off at the Geneva Motor Show next month. It has been designed by Michael Robinson, the company’s Design Director.

Named Nuccio, after Giuseppe “Nuccio” Bertone, the son of the founder of the company, the new concept sports car will be part of the company’s centennial celebrations and appears to be possibly inspired by the wedge-shaped mid-engined rear-wheel drive supercar designs of the 1970s, the best example of which is the HF Zero (pictured above).

From the sketches, it looks more like a next generation Stratos HF Zero. Similar to the HF Zero, the new concept sits very low to the ground and has been colored orange. But it has been modernized and features LED single-bar headlights and taillights along with a more curved body.

We can see muscular haunches with massive wheels, and twin rear windows. We definitely won’t have to wait too long to learn much more about it such as what’s under the hood. But since they are modernizing it, a solar panel on the top will be a wonderful addition. What do you think?

After its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, the Nuccio will make its way to other exhibitions including the Beijing Motor Show in April, the Museum of Turin in May, Laguna Seca USA in August, and Florence in September.

The post Bertone Nuccio Concept Car: The Stratos HF Zero For A New Generation appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

If you’re thinking that the three-wheeler thing has been done before, you’d be right. I remember seeing the T-Rex a few years back, or the most recent Manta concept, for example, as well as several other cars that put two wheels in the back and a driving wheel in the back. The Morgan 3 Wheeler continues that tradition, but it’s no copycat.

Morgan was apparently doing the three-wheeling thing before three-wheeling was cool. You could say that Morgan is a hipster of sorts, perhaps without the skinny jeans and indie music as it is a British operation. Perhaps you need a racing jacket, a giant mustache, a pair of goggles, and some scarf flowing in the wind instead.

They’re saying that they’ve designed the new Morgan 3 Wheeler, which made its debut in Geneva this week, with one purpose in mind: to make driving fun. Sure, the 1.9L V-twin engine is only good for 115hp and it uses a commuter-friendly Madza 5-speed transmission, but that retro British motorway appeal is undeniable, even if it’s not the fastest thing in the world.

I’d be a little concerned about the exposed engine and I’m not entirely sure how street legal such a vehicle would be, but it does look like it’d be fun to take it for a spin from Nottinghamshire to Southampton. The 3 Wheeler is being listed at 25,000 GBP before the government gets its cut.

[via Morgan 3 Wheeler]

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Generally speaking, the most efficient cars also happen to be among the smallest. After all, why haul around all that extra weight and size when you don’t need to? And that seems to be the thinking behind the newest Toyota EV Prototype, which is based on the iQ subcompact.

The fully electric vehicle is making its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show and, well, it’s not exactly the most exciting thing to look at; it’s just a super compact hatchback. The electric motor is good for about 64hp and the 270V lithium-ion battery provides about 65 miles of range on a full charge, achieving a max speed of 78mph.

Looking for a speed demon? Maybe you should look at a Tesla instead, because this city dweller takes a full fourteen seconds to rev itself up to 62mph. The good news is that you can get an 80% quick charge in fifteen minutes (full charge takes four hours).

Electric cars may not be the future, but they could be a suitable intermediary until we figure out what to do moving forward. Trials with the Toyota EV commence later this year.

[via Toyota UK]

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The whole concept of what it means to be an electric vehicle has really started to shift in the last few years. From the Tesla Roadster to Nissan’s electric concept, you can’t say they’re not fast anymore. With the annnouncement of the Rolls Royce 102EX, you can’t say they’re not luxurious anymore either.

Set to make its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1, the Rolls Royce 102EX is effectively a fully electric version of the company’s iconic Phantom. That’s the good news. The bad news, at least for electric-friendly wealthy landowners is that the 102EX is a one-off, at least for now.

CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos is quick to point out that the Rolls Royce 102EX is the “world’s first battery electric vehicle for the ultra-luxury segment.” Also known as the Phantom Experimental Electric (EE), the 102EX is being used as a testing bed for differnet drivetrains and other features so that they can refine the ride to suit their market.

Seeing how hybrids eventually made their way into luxury SUVs and other larger vehicles, I’m somehow not surprised that the whole EV thing has started to infiltrate segments that you wouldn’t otherwise consider for an electric vehicle. How the 102EX pans out could point toward an electric Bentley, Maybach, or any number of other luxury vehicles.

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Honda’s latest concept to be shown at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show will stand on only three wheels and produce zero emissions when in use.  The Honda 3R-C is a concept designed by their Milan division, it’s meant for single commuters who need a quick, peppy, and low-emission means of transportation.

It has a covered clear canopy to protect you from the elements. The drivetrain is very low, similar to the subaru boxter, where stabilization is increased by lowering the vehicles center of gravity.

Although it seems green. What isn’t considered is the amount of fossil fuels used in the production of this vehicle. The plastics, rubber tires, and batteries.

Honda RC-3 Motorcycle Concept Photo Gallery

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