Gumpert Nathalie EV Runs on Methanol, Not Battery
There’s no shortage of electric supercars and sports cars from small automakers on the horizon. How many of them will actually make it to market is another story. But one that caught our eye is Gumpert Aiways’s Nathalie. It has an electric powertrain, but instead of putting a large battery pack underneath the passenger cabin or using hydrogen fuel cells, the Nathalie runs on methanol.
CEO Roland Gumpert (who, in his previous work at Audi, helped come up with the automaker’s Quattro system) wanted a vehicle with all the power and torque afforded by an electric powertrain without making drivers deal with the delays of charging or having to find somewhere to plug in their car.
The Nathalie uses the methanol fuel cell to produce hydrogen and convert that into electricity. The vehicle still has a battery, but it acts as a buffer between the methanol fuel cell and the four motors. That way if the driver wants more power to the wheels than the fuel cell can immediately provide, the battery pack sends the electricity needed. While driving through the city or on cruising over long distances, the battery doesn’t need to be used, according to Gumpert Aiways.
The result of this dual source of electricity for the motors is a vehicle with 536 horsepower that, the company claims, can do zero to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds. As you would expect for a product from a veteran of the Quattro’s development, it is an all-wheel drive vehicle, and each wheel is blessed with its own motor.
The styling is more Nissan GT-R than Lamborghini Aventador, with a roll cage and carbon chassis to create a track car that’s also at home on the street.
According to the automaker, the Nathalie has a range of 510 miles, can reach a top speed of 184 miles per hour, and can refuel in three minutes. That’s if you have access to a methanol refueling station—which is a big “if.” While charging does take longer than refueling and the hydrogen infrastructure isn’t as large as some automakers would like, methanol isn’t as easy to come by as gasoline, to say the least.
The automaker’s solution is build a network of methanol gas stations in cities where the car is sold. It initially intends to sell the Nathalie in Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Scandinavia, and Belgium/Luxembourg/Netherlands. Swiss buyers are in luck; there are already stations being built.
As for anyone living outside a metropolitan area, Gumpert will have an overnight delivery service. All of these solutions are free for the first year of ownership.
By: Roberto Baldwin, March 12, 2020
For more cars, visit: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a31406874/nathalie-methanol-powered-electric-sports-car/
Source: https://www.caranddriver.com/
The Aston Martin V12 Speedster is Here!
Great news, Top Gear readers and millionaire car collectors! Welcome to a limited-edition supercar that – get this – isn’t yet sold out! You can have your very own Aston Martin V12 Speedster. One of 88 examples, to be precise. And you only have to find a mere £765,000 for the privilege. Great news indeed.
That makes the V12 Speedster about six times as common as the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar – which is another new, British, 12-cylinder, two-seater speedster. But, the Aston costs exactly half as much. Which one you’d have rather depends on how taken you are with the Aston’s spec
Now, there was a new Vantage Roadster about five minutes ago. What, then, is the point in this open-topped trinket?
Chiefly, its engine. All engine. Under the many-louvred bonnet, there’s no AMG-sourced bi-turbo V8. You’ll actually discover the full-fat 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 used in the DB11 and DBS Superleggera. Which is a bit like putting a cruise ship engine in a pedalo.
In this application, it’s been ordered to develop 691bhp and 555lb ft, which is a mighty total for a car that’s about as well-protected from the elements as a Himalayan goat herder.
It’s faster, mind you. Reckon on 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds. Top speed? Limited, for reasons of cruelty to coiffured hairdos, to a mere 186mph. Gear-shifting along the way is managed by Aston’s eight-speed automatic ‘box. And it’s rear-drive. So if the windchill hurricane doesn’t wake you up, exiting a roundabout surely will.
Because the Speedster is the brainchild of Aston Martin’s bespoke ‘Q’ branch, they’ve been able to go a bit bonkers with the materials. Apparently there’s 3D-printed rubber in that cabin. As you can see from the F-18 motifs, this Skyfall Silver example has some fighter jet inspiration to it. And while there are no missiles or machine guns, there is practicality. Sort of.
Instead of a glovebox, you get a removeable carry-on bag that lives ahead of the passenger, and there’s more luggage stowage beneath those trademark rear humps. Bet the heater’s half-decent too.
You want more wanton silliness? Allow us to walk you round to the back. See that diffuser? Aston says the stainless-steel exhaust, which exits centrally through the panel, now generates ‘an even more rousing, characterful sound’. It’s warranty-guaranteed to melt the numberplates of cars behind you from twenty paces. Fine, we slightly made that up, but frankly Aston doesn’t say it’s not true.
So, this or the Bentley? Well, it’s not a decision you need to ponder – the Bentley is sold out, and this one isn’t. Yet.
But it gets better than that. Because the Speedster proves that with some elbow grease and a new humped bonnet, the big, bruising Aston V12 can squeeze into a sub-DB11-sized car. New V12 Vantage, anyone?
By: Ollie Kew, March 4, 2020
For more cars, visit: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/geneva-motor-show-2020/aston-martin-v12-speedster-here-ruin-millionaire-hair
Source: https://www.topgear.com/
The Koenigsegg Gemera Is a 1700-HP Hybrid With a Camless Three-Cylinder
Koenigsegg has always built two-seat super- and hypercars. But that’s now changing. This is the Koneigsegg Gemera, the Swedish company’s first four-seater. It’s a remarkable new direction for the brand.
The Gemera has a 2.0-liter twin-turbo three-cylinder with 600 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque. And it doesn’t have camshafts. Yes, this tiny triple uses Koengisegg’s remarkable Freevalve technology. This is also a FlexFuel engine designed to run on renewable alcohol. It combines with a hybrid system for an astonishing 1700 horsepower and 2581 lb-ft of torque. Koenigsegg claims it’ll hit 62 mph in 1.9 seconds, which is bonkers.
“Electric cars are great, and it’s difficult to produce cells quickly enough for worldwide implementation,” said company founder Christian Von Koenigsegg. “This is a parallel track, where you get a lighter car, more performance, C02 neutral, basically emission free…if you fill it up on renewable alcohol and fill it up with electricity, you can be as C02 neutral and as environmentally friendly as a pure-electric car.”
This is also Koenigsegg’s first all-wheel drive car, with an electric motor driving the front axle. There’s a hydraulic clutch at each output shaft, which allows for torque vectoring across the axle. Each rear wheel has a 500-hp electric motor, too, because one is simply not enough.
“The chassis of this car is truly state of the art,” Koenigsegg said. “We can play with so many variables to make it steady as a freight train on the Autobahn, and agile around the corners around the track.” In addition to the torque vectoring, the Gemera offers rear-wheel steering for extra agility and stability.
Of course, the monocoque and bodywork are made entirely from carbon fiber. It will be a bit heavy though, which isn’t a surprise given the large interior, batteries and electric motors. Koenigsegg is aiming for around 4144 pounds.
The small engine allows for an interior that Koenigsegg says is as big as any GT car’s, plus two trunks for your luggage. Those swing-up doors allow for easy rear-seat ingress—and are fit with sensors so you don’t bonk them on your low garage ceiling—and the rear seats have child-seat anchor points. So you can bring your kids along. In your Koenigsegg.
Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, nor have production figures. Don’t expect it to be cheap, and do expect all to sell out.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm Is A 540-HP Quadrifoglio With Two Seats and a Massive Wing
The Giulia GTA was made to celebrate Alfa Romeo’s 110th anniversary. GTA stands for Gran Turismo Alleggerita (the Italian word for lightened). The name was first used on the Giulia in 1965, where it saw immense motorsport success throughout Europe. Now the storied name is back. The Giulia GTA gets carbon fiber upgrades inside and out to save weight. There’s a carbon fiber roof, hood, front bumper, wheel arches, diffuser, driveshaft, and interior trim. Other lightweighting upgrades include Lexan for the rear door windows and rear windscreen, and lightweight aluminum used in the engine, doors and suspension components. Weight is a claimed 3350 pounds—a weight-savings of 220 pounds compared to the standard Giulia Quadrifoglio.
2021 Aston Martin DB11 V8 Shadow Edition Debuts, Limited To 300 Units
The Aston Martin DB11 arrived for the 2017 model to replace the aging DB9. Fast-forward to today, and the British marquee has announced a new limited-edition package for the sports car called the Shadow Edition. It’s available now to order worldwide, but Aston is limiting production to just 300 examples, so act fast if you want one. Those looking for both styling and power upgrades should look elsewhere, though. This package adds darkened visual enhancements only, leaving the V8 untouched.
Those upgrades include gloss black bonnet blades, 20-inch gloss black directional alloy wheels, unique black Shadow Edition sill plaques, and polished chrome wings and script badges. Inside, there’s a sports steering wheel wrapped in pure black Alcantara and obsidian black leather. An optional package includes gloss black features on the supper greenhouse, replacing the body-color panels with black ones.
“We have carefully selected the Shadow Edition design elements to subtly yet noticeably alter the DB11’s appearance – moving it further towards a more assertive and purposeful GT style,” said Marek Reichman, Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, Aston Martin Lagonda.
The package is available on either the DB11 V8 Coupe or the convertible DB11 V8 Volante. While many of the DB11 V8 Shadow Edition’s darkened features are fixed, there’ll still be the opportunity for a buyer to customize the model, including six exterior colors and different available colors for the brake calipers.
By: Anthony Alaniz, February 26, 2019
Source: https://www.motor1.com/
For more cars, visit: https://www.motor1.com/news/400817/2021-aston-db11-v8-shadow-edition/
This Limited Edition RS4 is an Ode to Bronze
Bronze. A colour associated with the second-fastest loser, an Age of people smelting swords, and now a limited edition fast estate from Audi. Ladies and gents, say hello to the Audi RS4 RS4 Bronze Edition.
With the new RS6 taking all the headlines, this is that other fast estate from Audi, just freshly-facelifted, in a stealthy spec and with contrasting bronze wheels. Oh, and limited to just 25 examples. So it’s properly rare. Unlike bronze.
Cloaked in Vesuvius Grey paint with black detailing, Audi Sport obviously instantly forgot the stealth memo by putting a set of ritzy 20-inch bronze milled wheels on it – which is a bit like a member of the SAS going on a mission but wearing a pair of fluro Air Max 90s. There’s also a black grille and air intakes, matte carbon lip spoiler and mirrors, black roof rails and a sports exhaust. Inside, it’s pretty much business as usual, just with the newer 10.1-inch MMI touchscreen infotainment system and some bronze stitching. Fair play, Cupra has been dining on that stitching being exclusive for the last couple of years.
Disappointingly, the standard RS4’s 2.9-litre turbocharged V6 is unchanged. So you’re still getting 444bhp and 443lb ft, which is good for 0-62mph in 4.1sec and a limited top speed of 155mph.
Prices start at £82,395, which is a lot considering the standard car starts at £64,600. But the Carbon Black RS4 is £71,000 and the Vorsprung is £82,200, and the Bronze has all the options they do (Comfort and Sound pack, sports exhaust etc) so you’re basically paying £200 for some wheels a Viking would want to steal and some exclusivity.
Now, we’d hate to be cynical, but could this just be a bit of PR to remind people that the RS4 is still a thing? Y’know because its bigger, bootier and faster brother – the RS6 – is currently the talk of the town? We’ll let you decide. Either way, it’s on sale now.
Source: https://www.topgear.com/
By: Rowan Horncastle, Feb. 18, 2020
For more cars, visit: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/first-look/limited-edition-rs4-ode-bronze
Behold: The New Aston Martin Vantage Roadster
As you can see, the major difference to the two-seat, twin-turbo V8 sports car is that there is no longer a roof. Well, technically there actually is one, it’s just made of fabric, and is retractable. In fact, the powered Z-fold mechanism is claimed to be the fastest fabric roof in the game, capable of lowering itself in 6.7 seconds and raising in 6.8 seconds at up to 31mph. Aston claims this is the fastest full operating cycle of any automatic automotive convertible system. To be honest, we didn’t know anyone was keeping tabs, but you’ll be thankful they are when it starts chucking it down mid-August.
Because of a shallow design, this new retractable roof still leaves plenty of room in the back for whatever you want to throw back there. 200 litres of the stuff. Which, we’re told, is enough to stow a full-sized golf bag and accessories. We’re guessing those accessories include: golf balls, excuses and freshly-signed divorce papers.
Mechanically, it’s business as usual. The Roadster features the same AMG-sourced 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 (but recalibrated by Aston) to produce 503bhp and 505lb ft of torque. Still bolted to an 8-speed ZF automatic ‘box, the Vantage Roadster can get from 0-60mph in 3.7secs and charge on to 190mph with the roof up. Aston hasn’t given a figure for the top speed with the roof down, so we’re going to have to test that for ourselves.
Due to that new roof mechanism and increased chassis strengthening to make sure it doesn’t wilt at the first sign of a corner, the Roadster has put on 60kg. It now weighs in at 1,628kg dry. Underneath it’s still the bonded and riveted aluminium structure descended from the DB11, and still shares the same adaptive damping, dynamic stability control, torque vectoring and electronic rear diff as its hard-top Vantage brother. But there is a bespoke rear damper and ESP map.
Visually there are minor changes. You might have noticed the grille. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Vantage nameplate, Aston has brought back the ‘vane’ grille as an option on both Coupe and Roadster as an alternative to the track-inspired ‘hunter’ grille featured on the Coupe from its launch. As you can see, the ‘vane’ grille is softer, more sculpted – like the recent limited edition Zagato projects. It’s more shark than catfish, and a lot more like Bond’s DB10 which of course inspired the latest generation of Vantage in the first place.
Other than that, same as, same as: the same cracking proportions, stubby aggression and anger at the back. You’ve still got four pipes, a dramatic diffuser and a full-width light strip. Though now you can hear that exhaust clear its throat and turbos whistle a bit easier. Inside, you can still see the bits borrowed from Merc (screen, pointless mouse-style touchpad) as it’s exactly the same as the coupe.
Lifting the lid on the twin-turbo V8 sports car is the latest step of Aston’s ambitious plan which it set out back in 2018. Y’know, that of delivering seven new standalone models (one every nine months) by 2021. Since then, the company has been caught in a financial storm, held up by a £500 million rescue package, and sprouted an F1 team. So in the grand scheme of recent Aston Martin news, stripping the roof off a car is somewhat small fry.
Prices for the Roadster start at £126,950, making it quite a lot more expensive than a 911 cabriolet that starts at £92,438. But the Roadster also brings a few updates to the Vantage range as a whole. Aside from the optional grille outlined earlier, you can now also get a normal Vantage coupe with a seven-speed manual ‘box, not just the AMR. And given that’s possible, don’t be surprised if that gearbox makes its way into the Roadster later down the line.
For more cars, visit: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/supercars/behold-new-aston-martin-vantage-roadster
Source: https://www.topgear.com/
By: Rowan Horncastle, Feb 12, 2020
The 2020 Ford GT has More Power and Less Paint
Happily, the upgraded 2020 Ford GT doesn’t look any different from the car that went on sale back in 2017. Besides its total lack of paintwork.
You can still have your GT in whatever hue you fancy (or the blue/orange ‘Heritage’ livery), of course, but new for 2020 is the option to forgo an actual colour in favour of nowt but a clear coat, thus leaving the GT’s carbon-fibre body panels exposed for all to see. Ford calls the finish “Liquid Carbon”, and says each car so specified will also come with carbon-fibre wheels. Looks tremendous, doesn’t it?
Other changes for 2020 include more power. Only 13 more horsepower admittedly, but more power all the same, thanks to revised engine calibration, gallery-cooled pistons and higher-energy ignition coils. Moreover the once optional Akrapovič exhaust is now standard, saving weight and adding noise, while new buttress air ducts and larger intercoolers improve cooling. Tweaks to the suspension’s Track setting are said to improve handling on “high-speed transient sections of closed-course circuits”. Loving the specificity, Ford.
Production of the GT is set to end in 2022. Ford is notoriously picky about who it lets buy them, too, so odds of getting your hands on a brand new one (presuming you don’t already have an allocation) is unlikely.
The company makes owners sign a contract saying they won’t sell for two years after taking delivery, meaning happily, early cars are now starting to come up for sale (for vastly more money than they cost new). Buy one, strip the paint, job done.
Source: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/supercars/2020-ford-gt-has-more-power-and-less-paint
It’s a Brand-New Porsche From 1959 – 356 Zagato Coupe
Benjamin Clymer’s Porsche 356 Zagato Coupe, photographed in Bedford, N.Y. The car is a 1959 Porsche 356 with a new body hand-hammered by the Italian firm Zagato. Sasha Maslov for The Wall Street Journal.
Benjamin Clymer of New York City, 37, founder and CEO of Hodinkee, a lifestyle and luxury watch website and e-commerce platform, on his Porsche 356 Zagato [pronounced Zah-GAT-oh] Coupe, as told to A.J. Baime.
When I was young, I was obsessed with the Volkswagen Beetle, and as I matured, a desire for speed and style crept into my psyche. My passion for the Beetle turned into a love for the Porsche 356, essentially a more interesting and faster version. (Both cars sprung from the imagination of Ferdinand Porsche and his son Ferry, decades ago.)
At the same time, around 2015, I bought my first coachbuilt car, a Lancia with a custom body made by the Italian firm Zagato. A coachbuilder is a company that builds bodies for cars in traditional ways. My Lancia, for example, has a right door that is half-an-inch shorter than the left. It was handmade. I love things that are made by artisans. Hand-wound watches, handmade glasses, shoes, suits…that is what my business is all about.
Mr. Clymer is founder and CEO of Hodinkee, a luxury watch website and e-commerce platform. He had this 1960 Heuer Super Autavia timepiece built into his car’s dashboard.Sasha Maslov for The Wall Street Journal.
Four years ago, I was at a watch show in Basel, Switzerland, and the coachbuilding firm Zagato was there exhibiting car designs. I met with them and they had this project they wanted to share with me. That is when I learned about the 356 Zagato Coupe.
The story goes that in 1958, Zagato built a lightweight, open-bodied 356 for a gentleman racer named Claude Storez. Storez crashed it and was killed, and the car then disappeared. Around 2013, Zagato found out that they had designed a coupe version of this open car, and they still had the drawings in their archives. The car had never been built. With Porsche’s blessing, Zagato set about building nine versions of this coupe, exactly as they would have done were it still the late 1950s. For a guy who cares as much about how something is built as the object itself, this was a dream come true.
It took almost three years to build this car and it cost roughly what a new Porsche 911 GT2 RS would cost. In the summer of 2019, I began putting it through its paces. I keep it in Bedford, N.Y., and when I need to escape reality, I go up there and drive. Last fall I sent the car to Los Angeles, met some friends, and drove some 1,200 miles.
This car is the culmination of all that I love. It was made the old-fashioned way, but it was made today and it was made for me.
Aston Martin DBS Customized by Daniel Craig Makes 2019 Neiman Marcus Catalog
Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus’s annual Christmas Book is a holiday tradition that’s entering its 93rd year. Mixed in with the usual gift ideas this year is something we’d love to see under the tree in December: a customized Aston Martin DBS Superleggera.
The special Aston has been designed by Daniel Craig, currently the star of the blockbuster James Bond film series, and it rather fittingly carries a price of $700,007. For that frankly eye-watering price (the standard DBS Superleggera goes for $307,820), the lucky seven recipients of this fantasy gift will enjoy the car’s 715-hp twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter V-12 engine that absolutely howls when pushed hard—as we found out during our test drive in the Austrian Alps in July 2018.
Seven examples will be produced, each accompanied by a platinum Omega Seamaster Diver 300M wristwatch–itself a fantasy gift for many–as well as tickets to the world premiere of No Time to Die, the next James Bond movie. In addition to the gifts, Neiman Marcus will donate 12 percent of the sales price from each of the seven Aston Martins to The Opportunity Network through the company’s Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation.
If Neiman Marcus’s list of gift ideas is a bit too rich for your blood, we’ve compiled our own list of automotive-related products we love that can be had for a tiny fraction of the price. They won’t be the Christmas Day knockout that Bond’s Aston Martin would be, but we think they’ll make the car lover in your life very happy.