While the worst of winter may soon be over in the northern hemisphere, carmakers continue to roll out snow-theme advertisements, which proved to be rather popular this season as even Ferrari touted the capabilities of its newest offering, the FF GT, on the snow.
This advertisement comes from Audi, which is an automaker with a long tradition in all-wheel drive models. The German company questions the notion that supercars are only good for the track and for flat, dry roads and not for the “biggest snowstorm in recent memory” showcasing an R8 Coupe having some fun on the snow. Watch the video right after the jump.
“What do you do when the power of an engine is no longer sufficient?” asks Stephan Lenior, the man behind Squadra Tuning, on his company’s website. While the solution for the majority would have been a heavily modified or perhaps a completely different engine altogether, for the owner of the Alfa Romeo tuning company based in Holland, the answer to that question was far more radical and complex.
To make a very long story short, Stephan’s solution to u the performance of his Alfa Romeo GTV V6 involved the fitment of a second six-cylinder engine at the back. Easier said than done of course, with the project turning out to be a rather complicated and time-consuming process.
Stephan documented the entire build on his company’s website and if our Google’s translation is correct (any help from our Dutch speaking readers would be appreciated, especially on the matter of the transmission), Stephan took a 3.2-liter V6 along with the sub frame and suspension bits from an Alfa Romeo 166 and placed them in the rear section of the Italian coupe. Together with the GTV’s front-mounted 3.0-liter V6, the two engines produce a combined output of 487-horsepower.
We are not entirely sure on this one, but it appears that the GTV is equipped with two 5-speed gearboxes, both sourced from a Lancia Kappa 2.4 JTD, and controlled by a single gear shifter.
The car also features a set of front disc brakes from the 166 mounted at the back, while the builder tried to compensate for the increased weight of the second powertrain by replacing certain components such as the powered seats and standard alloys with lighter equivalents, and removing unnecessary amenities like the air-condition and sound insulation.
Surprisingly, Stephan kept the GTV’s exterior look stock with the only telling feature about the build being the air vents on the boot.
The owner claims that the Alfa Romeo GTV Bi-Motore can accelerate from zero to 100km/h (62mph) in about 4.5 seconds and to 200km/h (124mph) in approximately 14 seconds, while theoretically topping out at around 290km/h (180mph), though for obvious reasons, Stephan has not yet tried to push the car -and his luck- to the limit.
Engines: 1 x 3.0 24v, 3.2 24v x 1 Total: 6138 cc, 487 hp @ 6200 rpm, 577 Nm @ 5000 RPM Gearboxes: 2 x 5-gears Lancia Kappa 2.4 JTD. Front suspension: Koni yellow with Novitec GTV springs. Torsion rod GTV Suspension rear: Alfa 166 with Koni yellow on height and size. Torsion bar 166 3.0 ABS brakes with original working Brakes front: 330 mm original GTA Upgrade Rear Brakes 278 mm original Alfa 166 2.4 JTD equipped with adjustable maximum brake pressure Hydraulic handbrake. Wheels and tires: OZ Ultraleggera with Pirelli PZero Nero 225/45 ZR 17 94W. Fuel tank 90 liters, 2 fuel pumps Exhaust system: exhaust system with 2 times EPS catalyst, oxygen sensor 4 times. Curb mass: 1680 kg (with half full fuel tank) Performance: top speed probably between 290 and 300 km / h in fifth gear at 6500 RPM 292 km / hour. Acceleration 0-100 + / - 4.5 sec. 0-200: + / - 14.0 sec
Ford has released a series of six videos with the Taurus and Explorer-based police vehicles undergoing various tests performed by police officers. The performance, handling and durability of the Interceptors were tested in a series of real-world police maneuvers and driving conditions and then compared to those of the competitors. The six videos show Ford's police cars taking on the Chevrolet Tahoe PPV and Dodge Charger Pursuit in a series of tests to find out which are the most capable purpose-built police cars.
We will remind you that both models are available with all-wheel-drive and a choice of powertrains, all of them being at least 20 percent more fuel-efficient than the current 4.6-liter V8 of the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor – always according to Ford.
The Exlporer Interceptor has a 3.7-liter V6 engine mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox and delivers 300 horsepower and E85 compatibility, while the sedan is offered with two engine choices, a 280-hp 3.5-liter V6 that is E85 compatible or a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 twin-turbocharged engine with direct-injection developing 365 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque (475 Nm).
Both Police Interceptors will be built at Ford's Chicago plant from the end of this year right after the end of production of the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.
Mercedes-Benz has kicked off a major advertising campaign for its facelifted C-Class series under the tagline “A Class Ahead”. The new model will be promoted across print media, TV, radio stationsa nd the Internet. While the TV advertisements are filmed in rural environments, the print ads put the C-Class in urban settings. Each advertisement highlights a specific feature of the 2012MY C-Class, such as the 20-second commercial called “Souvenir” (view below) that underlines the estate's 1,500-liter load capacity and the “Rocker”, dedicated to the interior of the car. In addition, the German automaker released a new photo gallery of the 2012My C-Class, which you can check out below.
The redesigned Mercedes-Benz C-Class range is claimed to be up to 31 percent more fuel-efficient than its predecessor thanks to the updated engines, all equipped with start/stop function as standard (with the exception of the C 300 CDI 4Matic).
The updated C-Class also benefits from the introduction of ten new driving assistance systems, including the Attention Assist drowsiness detection and the Distronic Plus proximity control. Also available is a new generation of telematics with internet access and 3D navigation display.
In total, more than 2,000 new components have been added to the new model, according to Mercedes-Benz. The new C-Class will be launched onto the European market this month.
