Lambo Miura reborn
The Lamborghini name is well known to
motoring enthusiasts everywhere, but not too many have
driven these cars, or even seen one in the metal. Unlike
Ferrari, Lambos are fairly thin on the ground.
I have been fortunate to have driven a few Lamborghinis, but
have to admit I have had somewhat of a love-hate
relationship with them. However, the Miura will remain an
important piece of automotive history, as it was the first
transverse engined V12 supercar of the day – and that was
1966.
The
chassis was reminiscent of the Ford GT40, itself a
development of Eric Broadley’s famous and radical Lola GT Mk
VI. But it was the body design that stunned the world in
1966. Bertone was commissioned to design the shell and it
was done by Marcello Gandini (who also designed the Diablo),
who was then only 25 years old. The signature for the Miura
design in my opinion was the ‘eyelashes’ around the
headlights. Something never seen before.
However, Lamborghini (now owned by Audi) stunned show goers
at the Detroit Auto Show this month with a remake of the
Miura classic. Lamborghini says the latest Miura – meaning a
particularly fierce breed of Spanish bull – is “… a
retro-inspired look” as well as “a modern interpretation” of
the 1966 original. They also said that it is “strictly a
concept with no firm date set for its production launch.”
This ‘new’ car is the work of Audi’s head of design, Walter
de Silva, and the Miura Concept is apparently a faithful
reproduction that has been redesigned in every aspect.
Again, according to Lamborghini, Walter de Silva has
“retained the extraordinary purity of line characteristic of
the original” but refined the contours and eliminated “any
superfluous detail in order to enhance the clean, simple
lines and perfectly-balanced proportions of the original.”
Unfortunately, in that enhancement, the eyelashes seem to
have been lost. Great shame!
The
production original is 40 years old this year, prompting de
Silva to mark the occasion with the concept. “Over the last
two years I have often dreamt of redesigning the Miura. Now,
thanks to my new position at the head of Lamborghini design
and the enthusiastic support of the Lamborghini CEO, I have
been able to turn that dream into a reality,” he said.
The original Miura was displayed as a concept at the Turin
motor show in November 1965 before debuting in production
form at the 1966 Geneva show the following March. It
remained in production until 1972, after 762 had been built.
Autotrivia
Quiz
Last week I mentioned that in 1968 two turbine driven cars
looked like winning the Indy 500, but with nine laps to go,
both cars retired. I asked what was the cause, and why did
they not run in 1969? The reason was that both their fuel
pumps gave up at the same time. The reason they did not run
in 1969 was because the turbines were outlawed for that
year.
So to this week. Since we have mentioned the Audi owned
Lamborghini marque, think back to the Diablo, which was
released in 1990. For my money this was probably the most
flawed Lambo ever built, and the thumping and banging
suspension (or lack of it) probably gave me a bad back for
life. But didn’t it look great! When the Diablo was built,
the design and development costs were reputed to be USD 84
million. Who picked up that bill?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Ride like Rossi
I had a mate in Australia who raced a motorcycle.
Like all riders involved in motorcycle racing Down-under,
you got given a nickname. Mine was “Sawbones Sam” and I’ll
tell you why over a beer one day – you’re buying. His was
“Autumn leaves”. The reason? Because he was always falling
down!
If you are interested in gaining better skills, or just have
had the burning desire to throw your leg over a race bike,
there is now an opportunity available for you. HighSide
Tours, run by an affable Brit Graham Knight, can show you
the way round the Bira circuit outside Pattaya. The costs
are very reasonable starting at B. 16,000 for one day, and I
suggest you check the website www.highsidetours.com to get
more details.
The dates this year are:
January 16, 17, 18
February 20, 21, 22
March 20, 21, 22
April 17, 18, 19
May 22, 23, 24
June 19, 20, 21
July 17, 18, 19
August 21, 22, 23
September 18, 19, 20
October 16, 17, 18
November 20, 21, 22
December 18, 19, 20
An oil-burner for Le Mans?
Audi has recently revealed an all-new
diesel-powered Le Mans 24 hour race challenger.
The V12 TDI-engined racer will go by the name R10 and
replaces Audi’s very successful R8 Le Mans prototype, which
notched up 61 wins - including the Le Mans 24 hour five
times and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) six times in
succession.
The R10’s 5.5-litre 485 kW twin-turbo diesel, which produces
an enormous 1100 Nm of torque, makes Audi the world’s first
car maker to try for a Le Mans victory with a diesel-powered
racecar.
Diesel
Audi Le Mans racer
The R10’s all-new, all-aluminium V12 turbo-diesel represents
a renewed focus on diesel technology for Audi, which is
expected to filter down to its road cars. “With the A8 4.2
TDI quattro, Audi already builds one of the most powerful
diesel cars in the world,” said Dr Martin Winterkorn,
chairman of the board of management of AUDI AG at the R10
presentation in Paris. “The Le Mans project will help our
technicians to extract even more from TDI technology.
Nowadays, every second Audi is delivered with a TDI engine.
We expect that the percentage of diesel engines will be even
larger in the future.”
The power produced by this Audi diesel is quite
mind-blowing, with the 5.5 litre eclipsing the AMG 6 litre
(item above) with its 450 kW and 1000 Nm (see S65 AMG item
above).
Featuring two diesel particulate filters, common-rail fuel
induction and injection pressure exceeding 1600 bar, the 90
degree, 48 valve DOHC V12 offers peak power between just
3000 and 5000 rpm, while its 1100 Nm torque peak required a
chassis rethink for the R10, whose carbon-fibre monococque
frame employs a much longer wheelbase than its R8
forebear’s.
“This engine is the specifically most powerful diesel there
is in the world and, up until now, the biggest challenge
that Audi Sport has ever faced in its long history,” said
Ulrich Baretzky, head of engine technology at Audi Sport.
“There has never been anything remotely comparable. We
started development with a clean sheet of paper.” However,
he is conveniently forgetting that there are more powerful
diesel engines available, but these are used to power oil
tankers and the like, and are a little too large and slow
revving for Le Mans!
R10 successfully completed its first test at the end of
November and will take on the 12 hour race at Sebring (USA)
on March 18, before heading to Le Mans for the 24 hour on
June 17-18.
“The R10 project is the biggest challenge ever to have been
handed to Audi Sport,” said head of Audi Motorsport Dr
Wolfgang Ullrich. “TDI technology has not been pushed to its
limits in motorsport yet. We are the first to confront the
challenge. The demands of such a project are accordingly
high. Long-term technology partners such as Bosch, Michelin
and Shell support us in our quest. Together we have the
chance to write new chapters in the history books of motor
sport and diesel technology.”
However, rest assured you will never see a massed field of
Thailand’s black smoke belching baht busses coming down the
main straight at Le Mans. Mind you, it is a pity that
Thailand has not embraced the European diesel engines for
local passenger cars. It would certainly help as far as oil
stocks are concerned, and the performance from the road
engines is superb these days.
The fastest road-going Mercedes-Benz
The Detroit Show certainly brought out the
heavyweights in the auto industry, with Mercedes-Benz
unveiling its new S65 AMG, which DaimlerChrysler claim is
the world’s most powerful series-production car.
That claim is probably correct, because the new S65 AMG
delivers 450 kW and has a peak torque figure of 1000 Nm –
more than any other vehicle in its segment.
Its
ultra-powerful AMG 6.0 litre V12 biturbo engine has been
further worked upon to produce the shattering performance
that this S-Type saloon can return. Try zero to 100 km/h in
4.4 seconds and 0 to 200 km/h in just 13.3 seconds, but it
has an electronically controlled top speed of 250 km/h.
The 12 cylinder biturbo engine uses motor racing know-how to
give the car a power figure of 450 kW from 4750 to 5100 rpm,
while the maximum torque of 1000 Nm can be called on from
2000 rpm to 4000 rpm. Even as low as 1000 rpm, the AMG V12
biturbo engine already delivers 570 Nm of its available
torque, while 750 Nm is on tap at 1500 rpm. That’s the kind
of torque figures that would allow you to tow the Dusit
Resort down Beach Road!
The AMG V12 has a precision-balanced crankshaft made out of
high-strength alloys, forged pistons made out of special
material that is extremely resistant to temperature and
pressure, a more effective oil-spray cooling system with a
separate individual nozzle for each piston plus larger
piston pins. The main and big-end bearings are also made out
of improved materials to compensate for peak temperatures
and pressures more effectively.
The S65’s styling is understated, as all the AMG variants
are, but has pronounced flared wheel arches, a redesigned
AMG front apron with enlarged air intakes while two slanted
struts and integrated round fog lights set in chrome rings
make the S-Class look even wider and lower.
According to the Automotive News correspondent who has seen
it in the metal, the discreet side skirts emphasize the
dynamic feel of the side view; all reinforced through the
“V12 biturbo” lettering on the front mudguards.
The standard specification list is also long and includes a
new AMG sports suspension based on Active Body Control,
unmistakable AMG body styling, multi-piece 19-inch AMG
light-alloy wheels, Mercedes five-speed “Direct Select”
gearshift with AMG steering-wheel gearshift paddles as well
as a new AMG main menu with racetimer.
All this will set you back around (my guesstimate) 35
million baht, but don’t shoot me if I’ve got it wrong.
Whatever, it will be out of my price range!
