Final 2009 GP this weekend
The new Abu Dhabi Yas Marina grand prix
circuit hosts the final GP of 2009 this weekend. Somewhat
anti-climactic as both the drivers and manufacturers
championships were won at the Brazil GP two weeks ago, with
Jenson Button taking the World Drivers Championship and
Brawn GP taking the Manufacturers Championship.
Abu Dhabi is the most oil-rich in the region and the 5.55
kilometer Yas Marina Circuit has been built using the
motorists’ money, extracted at the petrol pumps. Roll on
electric power!
Located on Yas Island, the PR blurb says the track is set to
revolutionize the design of future Formula One circuits.
Boasting top speeds of 320 km/h and average speeds of 198
km/h, it features nine right turns and 11 left turns and is
one of the few venues on the calendar to run in an
anti-clockwise direction.
It has been designed by circuit architect Hermann Tilke, and
apparently Yas Marina has a waterfront setting scenic enough
to rival the likes of Monaco and Valencia, but hopefully
will not be as boring as that pair of venues.
All of the grandstands, including the massive hairpin
seating area, are covered to protect spectators from the
desert sun, whilst the state-of-the-art pit building boasts
40 garages.
As well as the waterside marina area, there are high-speed
sections, tight corners for overtaking, and even a twisty
street circuit-style sector.
The race will start at 8 p.m. our time, and I will be
getting to Jameson’s Irish Pub around 7 p.m. for a bite to
eat (carvery is great value) and a glass or two. Come and
join us for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Jameson’s is
on Soi AR, next to Nova Park serviced apartments.
Audi confirms electric
supercar for production
Audi will build a production version of its
e-tron electric supercar concept. The zero-emission sports
car, to be called the R4, could hit the road as early as
2011.
The new car could share a platform with the next generation
Porsche Boxster and Cayman, given that Porsche is now part
of the Volkswagen Group, which also owns Audi.
Audi
R4 electric
The R4 will slot in just above the TT coupe in the Audi
range, and Audi’s US boss Johan de Nysschen told US industry
journal, Automotive News, that “running examples” of the R4
would be on the road in the next two years.
The low-slung, lightweight e-tron concept, unveiled at last
month’s Frankfurt motor show, has four in-wheel electric
motors and covers 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds.
Its lithium-ion battery pack, which was positioned where the
engine would go on petrol versions, could be recharged from
a domestic power point in about eight hours and had a range
of about 250 km.
Audi is also developing a rapid-charging option that can
recharge the battery in about two-and-a-half hours.
Audi will use a lightweight aluminum frame and carbon fiber
components to keep the car’s weight down, while it will also
have regenerative braking KERS system, which capture kinetic
energy usually lost when a car slows down and use this to
recharge the batteries on the move.
No pricing information is available on the R4, but with the
most expensive TT costing about $100,000 and the cheapest R8
going for $260,000, there’s plenty of room for the R4.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked which British Grand Prix
team built their cars to the 3 liter formula, when the
limit was 2 liters? Clue - it was 1922. And the correct
answer was Vauxhall, now part of the beleaguered GM/Opel
group.
So to this week. What car manufacturer began operation
in Thailand in 1960, gave up in 1976 and began again in
1995?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first
correct answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Lexus LFA - the
Japanese supercar
Not to be outdone, the Japanese also have a
new supercar. The Lexus brand is usually associated with
quiet luxury, impeccable build quality and drivers over
60 years of age, but Toyota, owner of the marque, is
boasting a V10 Lexus with a maximum power of 412 kW, and
maximum torque 480 Nm. Zero to 100 km/h is 3.7 seconds
(goodbye Audi) and the top speed is 320 km/h.
Lexus say this LFA is a true “clean-sheet” design, and
was created by a small, passionate and dedicated team of
engineers whose achievement has been to push the
boundaries of technologies materials and engineering at
every stage to produce a car like no other to have
carried the Lexus badge.
Constructed using advanced carbon fiber technology, the
rear-wheel drive LFA is powered by a bespoke,
high-revving 4.8 liter naturally aspirated V10 engine,
matched to a rear-mounted six speed sequential automatic
transmission. This is a purpose-designed six speed
Automated Sequential Gearbox (ASG) that drives the rear
wheels via a limited slip differential. To help achieve
the optimum 48:52 front to rear weight distribution, it
is contained in a transaxle mounted over the rear axle.
The ASG is operated by paddle shifts mounted on the
steering column and is engineered for exceptionally fast
shifts: an upshift can be effected in just 0.2 seconds.
The system has four driving modes: Auto, Sport, Normal
and Wet, activated by a selector dial on the dashboard.
Each mode has a specific gearshift program, and engine
and brake control logic systems to let the driver tailor
the car’s performance to suit driving conditions.
Lexus LFA
supercar
Keeping the car’s weight to an absolute
minimum was one of the defining elements in the development
of the LFA and this led to the decision to switch from using
aluminum for the car’s construction to advanced Carbon Fiber
Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) for the chassis and bodywork.
At four times the strength of aluminum, CFRP gives the LFA
an exceptionally stiff and strong structure, and also
delivers major weight advantages, saving around 100kg on an
equivalent aluminum body. CFRP accounts for 65 percent of
the body-in-white, with aluminum alloy used for the
remaining 35 percent.
With its staggering performance, the LFA has one of the most
advanced and powerful braking systems fitted to any
production car, appropriate to meet the demands of its 320
kays-plus performance capabilities.
The brake discs are made of Carbon Ceramic Material (CCM),
which as well as being lighter than steel, gives fade-free
performance in all conditions. The front discs are 390 mm in
diameter and 34 mm thick, gripped by six-piston aluminum
calipers; the rear discs measure 306 mm across, are 28 mm
thick and are fitted with four-pot calipers. All use
high-friction micron pads, manufactured exclusively for use
with CCM brakes.
Passive and active safety provisions are in line with the
LFA’s exceptional performance. The central carbon fiber
reinforced plastic central structure is extremely strong and
provides excellent impact protection. Crash boxes are fitted
front and rear that are designed to deform in a controlled
fashion in the event of an impact. That at the front is made
of CFRP; that at the rear from extruded aluminum. Side
impact protection includes strong and rigid carbon fiber
side members and door structures comprising an aluminum
inner panel and a Glass fiber reinforced Sheet Moulding
Compound (G-SMC) outer skin.
The LFA is equipped with Lexus’s Vehicle Dynamic Integrated
Management (VDIM) system, which co-ordinates the smooth
operation of the ABS, vehicle stability and traction control
systems as the vehicle approaches its performance limits,
based on critical data on brake operation, yaw and roll
rates, individual wheel speed and longitudinal, lateral and
vertical acceleration
Passive safety features include two-stage adaptive front
airbags and seatbelt airbags for driver and passenger and a
driver’s knee airbag.
In the words of Chief Engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi, “The LFA
is a thoroughbred supercar, a machine engineered to achieve
a single goal - to deliver a supreme driving experience.
Over the past decade we have pushed every boundary in
pursuit of this goal and I believe we have created the most
driver-orientated car we possibly could.”
Even though Lexus will only hand-assemble 500 examples, at a
maximum rate of 20 per month, that should be enough to blow
the ‘fuddy-duddy’ Lexus image away! Yes, I’d have one.
China auto sales jump
78 percent in September
Associated Press - China’s vehicle sales vaulted 78
percent in September from a year earlier, widening a lead
over the US as the world’s top auto market, with sales
spurred by tax cuts and government stimulus spending.
Overall vehicle sales totaled 1.33 million units, while
passenger car sales climbed 84 percent to 1.02 million
units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers
reported.
Total sales for the first nine months of the year rose to
9.66 million units, up 34 percent from a year earlier, it
said.
September was the seventh month that China’s auto sales,
boosted by tax cuts and subsidies as part of Beijing’s
stimulus, exceeded 1.1 million units. Sales in smaller
cities have also been booming as automakers rush to woo
first-time car buyers with new models.
China leads the world in total 2009 sales, with the US in
second place with January-September sales at about 7.85
million units. US sales fell 23 percent from a year earlier
in September to just under 746,000, following a summer
buying spree driven by big discounts to consumers.
Given the weakness in other major markets, global automakers
are looking to China to drive revenues amid sluggish demand
elsewhere.
China, with 1.3 billion people, has long been expected to
overtake the United States as the biggest vehicle market.
But the US economic slump hastened that shift by depressing
American sales while China surged ahead.
“The China market we expect to surpass the U.S. market in
size for both the right and the wrong reasons,” General
Motors CEO Fritz Henderson told reporters in Shanghai on
Tuesday. Henderson predicted a “very modest recovery” in
2010 for the US market, but China, he said, would continue
to enjoy very strong growth. “The China market has benefited
from economic stimulus that has generated primary demand. We
see substantial opportunities in product-driven,
competition-driven growth,” he said.
