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Hyundai has long sweated over their exceptional auto designs, with their new concept car truly embracing their penchant for fluidic sculpture. By combining the latest technology with an urbanized vehicle, Hyundai have shoehorned their brightest ideas into the Curb. By casting aside notions of box-like urban runners, the Curb maintains its own style while showing no apparent shortcomings. The lead designer was quoted as saying that Hyundai wanted an ‘urban tough’ luxury truck.
A 1.6-liter gamma inline-four marks the basis of the Curbs powertrain and an additional turbocharger boosts output to 175HP. The dual-clutch gear system ensures that 50km per liter is achieved in the city, with 60km per liter possible on the highway. 22” Michelin wheels keeps this beast stuck firmly to the road; these wheels are further customised with orange-coloured tread patterns.
As for the advanced technology, we can one day look forward to the Curb treating us to exhaust vents that slide open to display a bike rack, an LCD display that completely replaces rear view mirrors, as well as three-holded A-pillars which improve cornering performance. This Hyundai Concept is unlikely to be in any car dealers until 2015, according to the manufactures. For now, we will simply have to enjoy the glamour shots of the Curb on the showroom floor.
This is the upcoming C63 AMG Coupe that will be introduced next year. Speculations about the engine capacity are still all over the place with some people saying the engine will stay the same, others that the capacity will be reduced to 5.5 L with the addition of turbos.
As I walk towards the Jetta, my first impression is not a good one. It looked like a rep mobile, an appliance. Something that the exact average person would buy. The first impression doesn’t excite, it doesn’t ask the watcher to lust after it’s sexy curves or voluptuous edges – instead it looks like it was designed by someone called Johnathan in a studio without windows or proper ventilation.
Style, aggression, innovation and beauty are just some of the words used to describe Porsche. Whether you buy one, or just undertake Porsche hire for a day, this legendary automobile should be driven at least once in a supercar enthusiast’s lifetime. The timeline below reveals some of the most influential Porsche models in history – enjoy!
1950 Porsche 356 1100
Before the legendary Porsche 365 110 was introduced, each Porsche was hand-built in an old sawmill in Gmund, Austria. Each vehicle was different at the time, but when the production moved to Stuttgart 1950, the company could produce more standardised models. The 1950 model would be the first in a long and illustrious history.
1955 550 Spyder
The successor to the original 365, the 550 Spyder oozed pure racing style. In its heyday, this speedster was one powerful machine. The car boasted a more rigid frame and a lightweight aluminium body which was hand-built. The power output was just 70 horsepower, but the overall design and engineering made it a unique and ferocious package. The limited edition vehicle is best known in the US as James Dean’s last ride.
1965 911 Targa
One of the first in the defining 911 series, the Targa was a solution against threats from the National Highway Transport Safety Association to ban the sale of convertible cars in North America in the 1960′s. Stylishly combining a roll bar in the design, drivers could remove the roof between the roll bar and the windscreen, as well as fold down the back window. This provided structural safety without losing the open air driving experience.
1966 911S
The 2 Litre 911 started a legacy – the 911S sent it screaming into the future. This was the start of Porsche’s decision to produce faster variants of each model, something that has continued throughout the history of the company. The 911S (S for Super) packed 160bhp power output, and adopted two triple-choke Weber 40IDS carburettors and a new exhaust system. The combination of the later created the “wail” the 911 enthusiasts have come to love.
1986-1990 Porsche 959
Originally built to compete in Gruppe B motorsport, the Porsche 959 would become an icon as one of the most advanced and fastest cars to ever be built. Carbon-fibre panels, four-wheel drive, active suspension, tyre pressure sensors, run flat tyres and a six-speed gearbox were all present and contributed to the overall package. Stunning curvaceous lines accompanied the earth-shattering power that could rocket the car from 0-62mph in just 3.7 seconds.
2003 Carrera GT
At this time in their history, Porsche aimed to make a supercar that stood out above the rest – the Carrera GT did just that. Combining innovation and the latest technology, the car was the first to use a carbon-reinforced plastic chassis. This provided a substantial saving in weight. Along with lightweight carbon-fibre and Kevlar bodywork, the GT weighed in at just 1380kg. Add a V10 engine producing 610bhp, and you will understand why this car left competitors in its tyre smoke.
2010 Cayenne Turbo
Many enthusiasts slammed the release of this model, saying that it did not tie in with the brand’s identity. The truth is, Porsche struggled to sell cars in the late 80′s and were almost forced to close their doors permanently after the turn of the decade. The Cayenne was introduced not only to cash in on the SUV craze worldwide, but to attract new drivers to try out their other models at the same time.
2010 911 GT3 R Hybrid
Welcome to the future. The Porsche 911 GT3 Hybrid made its race debut in China in November 2010, and was by far the fastest GT vehicle in the 1000km international Le Mans cup race in Zhuhai. This 480-horsepower monster is propelled by a system consisting of two 60kW motors that rotate the front wheels and a flat-six engine the drives the rear. When breaking, the electric motors store kinetic energy in the electromechanical flywheel, which can be released automatically or on demand. This saves wear and tear, as well as adds to the overall efficiency.
Which revolutionary models would you choose?
A little late this year but it is still happening! The 2010 Autostyle Autotrader motorshowwill take place outside our KZN store on Sunday the 8th August.
This is our 8th year and a highlight in the Kwazulu-Natal motoring calendar. Each year we block off the streets of Umhlanga-Ridge and for one day, we bring some of South Africa’s hottest, loudest and fasted cars together.
The official competitions that will take place include:
All entries open at 8am and cut off time for entrants is at 2pm.
We have a ton of trophies and prizes to give away to winners, additionally EVERY competitor will receive an Autostyle Autotrader collectors medal as a thank you.
Hot-shot photograper, Dylan of www.DylanTog.com will also be there to hook up one lucky car with an amazing photoshoot session.
FREE entrance for the public, we suggest you park at Gateway Shopping Center and will have dedicated points men all over the place assisting with traffic.
We will also have some amazing vehicle displays from our various suppliers including Sony Mobile, Autotrader, Speed & Sound Magazine, Fire Audio, ICE Power and many more. The boys from the VW Club of South Africa have also set a crazy JHB to KZN “Dub Run” which climaxes at the Autostyle Autotrader Motorshow.
Check out the flyer below and if you need directions, click here for directions to Autostyle
Lastly, to give you a taste of what to expect, check out pictures from last years motorshow at our Photogallery
It is almost every hot blooded man’s dream to own a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, but expensive cars come with expensive insurance premiums. Because exotic cars are placed in a high risk category due to their appeal to thieves and incredible cost of repairs, car insurance providers charge a higher rate of insurance premium to compensate.
To illustrate why these premiums are so high, below are a few examples of the most outrageous exotic car insurance claims:
1. Ferrari Enzo: Suleyman Kerimov, businessman and multi-billionaire listed by Forbes as one of the world’s richest people, Suleyman Kerimov bought a luxurious Ferrari Enzo car. When driving the car at extremely high speeds in Nice, he crashed into a tree and totaled the car. The crashed cost $1.2 million.
2. McLaren F1: Known as Mr. Bean from the Mr. Bean British television show and movies, actor Rowan Atkinson has been collecting exotic cars since 1982. Rowan bought the McLaren and used it for the family rides. The speed limit of the car is 240 miles per hour. In 1999, Rowan was driving the car and crashed into a Rover Metro. The car was estimated at $1.2 million US
3. Bugatti Veyron: The exotic Bugatti Veyron is one of the fastest cars and the insurance is very expensive. One of these luxury sports cars crashed in Britain. The crash is believed to be the most expensive individual car crash. It cost 1.6 million bucks.
4. Ferrari 250 GTO: In 2008, an English buyer bought a Ferrari 250 GTO for $28.5 million at an auction which made it the most valuable car in the world. He was involved in a crash and totaled the car. It is the most expensive car crash ever.
5. Bugatti EB110: Valued at $500,000 the Bugatti EB110 is one of the more expensive and powerful fast cars. Famous “feel good” guru Emile Ratelband was the owner of a 1992 Bugatti EB110 and had it in a garage for an annual check-up. A mechanic was test driving it when he claims he hit an oil slick and crashed it into a pole.
6. Mercedes Benz SL 300: The SL 300 “Gullwing” is one of the finest exotic car. An owner of one of these cars valued at about $750,000 decided to race it on the streets of Mexico at the annual “La Carrera Panamericana” race. Unfortunately, he crashed the car at a cost of almost a million dollars
It is always sad when a gorgeous exotic car is damaged in an accident. However, for those who own them, they can greatly afford the costs. Insurance companies, however, probably weep a little when a claim is made for one of these exotic cars.
Let me start this post by saying that I don’t pretend to know anything about creating computer generated concept vehicles. I have no idea what happens from the point where the designer gets an idea into his head to the point where we look at pictures going: “Is this real or is this photoshopped?”
Car designers are amazing and there is no way I would ever be able to create something even remotely resembling the pictures you see here. You see it almost looks like this thing really exists and for that I applaud the designer.
However, there is something very wrong with the car that he has created. Very very wrong.
Ugly doesn’t really do the car justice. I believe the word I am looking for could be hideous or even repulsive. BMW would not like to see their badge on a car such as this. Atrocious could also do.
Unfortunately I believe that this lad might be onto something. Here I am writing about this vile creation, people will no doubt be looking at this car from all the different continents and by tomorrow Mr Khalfi Oussama could be a household name.
If you want to see other projects by Khalfi go to http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_work.asp?individual_id=290807& , sit back and enjoy.
Audi will introduce the S1 to the world at next years Paris motors show with sales to start 6 months later.
The very small very hot hatch segment will certainly be a very exciting segment over the next couple of years with the arrival of the Mito cloverleaf from Alfa and of course the current Mini Cooper S. The S1 is going to be powered with a friskier version of the 1.4 turbo engine similar to the one to be used in the upcoming polo Gti, but undoubtedly a bit more powerful given the S1′s premium positioning.
Sales will start only September next year which means you still have enough time to save the R220 000 – R250 000 the little thing will cost.
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