Top Luxury Cars | First Test: 2010 Audi R8 V-10

What's the difference in the V-10 engines that power the top Audi and Lamborghini's crown prince? As it turns out, not much. Both share the same basic components and architecture: a 90-degree V-angle, DOHC 4-valves per cylinder top end, mostly aluminum construction. The forged-steel crankshaft and connecting rods and forged aluminum pistons providing a 12.5:1 compression ratio are also shared by both sports cars.

According to Volkswagen AG's powertrain head Wolfgang Hatz and Audi's V-8 and V-10 chief Jurgen Jablonski, the differences are subtle and restricted to intake and exhaust details. Engine mapping-combinations of ignition timing, fuel delivery, valve timing, and operation of the muffler bypass valves-differs to give the Lamborghini engine a more urgent and aggressive personality versus the Audi's slightly steadier, more sedate characteristics. Minor differences in the shape of the intake ports and the configuration of the twin intake plenums topping each engine are also present. While exhaust headers are basically the same, the layout of the mufflers differs significantly according to the space available under each car and the auditory flavor desired by each brand.

Lamborghini chose an untamed in-your-face howl that starts early and lasts until the revs run out at 8700 rpm. Audi R8 engineers selected a deeper, less frenetic voice. Stand on the gas in the Gallardo and the V-10 overwhelms the cockpit with an Italian serenade. In the Audi, triggering the throttle hurtles you expeditiously away from a wake roiling with dust and commotion.

The stats tell the rest of the story. The Lamborghini engine tops at with 552 versus the R8's 525 horsepower at 8000 rpm. The more expensive Gallardo also tops Audi's torque with 398 lb-ft versus the R8's 391 lb-ft at 6500 rpm. While both cars are quick, R8 drivers will enjoy a clear view of a rapidly shrinking Gallardo's rear bumper when the green flag drops.

2011 Audi R8 5.2 FSI Specifications and Test Data

Power: 525 hp @ 8000 rpm
Torque: 391 lb-ft @ 6500 rpm

Weight: 3583 lbs
Weight distribution (percent, front/rear): 45/55

0-60 mph: 3.8 sec
0-100 mph: 8.5 sec
0-110 mph: 10.3 sec
0-120 mph: 12.1 sec
0-130 mph: 14.9 sec
0-140 mph: 17.0 sec
0-150 mph: 20.0 sec

1/4 mile pass: 12.1 sec @ 120 mph

Peak acceleration g: 0.87

30-70 mph "passing:" 4.0 sec

70-0 mph braking: 151 ft
Peak deceleration g: 1.19

Power: 525 hp @ 8000 rpm
391 lb-ft @ 6500 rpm

Speed in Gears:

-1st: 48 mph
-2nd: 78 mph
-3rd: 109 mph
-4th: 140 mph
-5th: 169 mph
-6th: 196 mph

Top Luxury Cars | 2011 Chevy Volt - From Show Car to Showroom

The 2007 Chevrolet Volt concept dazzled, even more than General Motors expected. For 2010 production, however, it has to use existing component sets, which naturally make the Volt more mainstream and cheaper to build. The changes also give the car lower drag, more cabin space, and a tighter turning circle. The designer of both vehicles, Bob Boniface, says that concept cars are "not a contract with the general public" and that the commercial product is a much better car. We tend to agree with him. Polarizing design can impress but lose sales. GM needs this car to succeed. So do we all.

From Concept to Production

1 The deeply inset grille and the sharp crease from the lower lamps were terrible for aerodynamics, and the recessed lamps were neither adequate for illumination nor legal.

2 Multiple hard surface-change lines on the front of the concept tended to confuse and retard oncoming air molecules. Smoothing the front end helps aerodynamically and simplifies production.

3 Saab 99-like, the tank-slit wraparound windshield was deemed likely to compete with plans for future Saab products. But GM may sell Saab anyway.

4 The sharp break from windshield to roof was likewise considered too Saab-like, and it was also aerodynamically undesirable, thus the change to uninterrupted flowing glass.

5 Big bulges for oversize - 21-inch - wheels were another drag-increasing styling element that had to go for the production car.

6 The grille shape was retained, but air flows into the engine compartment only through peripheral slots around the grille shield, which retains its diamond texture. Most air enters below the bumper.

7 Headlamps had to be bigger for adequate lighting, and wrapping them around the front end let side markers be incorporated.

8 The impossible-to-clean transparent fairings from the show car have been replaced by painted sheetmetal, which visually extends the height of the side glass.

9 These 17-inch wheels look much like the show car's 21-inch units, but in fact, they have been refined to reduce aerodynamic drag. Small details count when there's not much power available.

10 The continuous sweep of glass from windshield to roof is excellent for aerodynamic drag reduction, but it also gives the car a softer, safer appearance, desirable for a family car.

Top Luxury Cars | New and Future Lexus Cars

 

2011 Lexus LF-A

Recession or not, here I come!

Just like you, we always want to know what's coming next from Detroit, Tokyo, Stuttgart, Munich, Los Angeles, and all the other places where automotive engineers and designers dream and scheme on our behalf. Car companies, of course, are loath to share information on new products lest their competitors try to copy them--or you decide not to buy the cars they already have on dealer lots. Car companies, though, are simply groups of people, and some of them have a hard time keeping secrets. So, we poke, we prod, we cajole, and we uncover information that becomes the basis for our annual Sneak Preview issue. As always, some of our information is educated guesswork based on hints, insinuations, hunches. Make no mistake, though, these cars are on their way, even though details may change. Ladies and gentlemen: our list of 136 cars coming over the next few years Did you think that the worldwide economic meltdown meant that Toyota was canceling its long-planned LF-A supercar project? Think again. The LF-A is a pet project of new chief Akio Toyoda and therefore remains very much on track. In fact, we'll finally see the production-spec car at the Tokyo Motor Show this October, and the V-10-engined coupe will go on sale late in 2010. With the car's development costs ballooning way beyond initial estimates due to increased use of carbon fiber and other exotic materials, a very limited production run is planned. After the LF-A is introduced, the company will take orders for about a year, deliver a predetermined number of cars (fewer than 1000 units is a good guess), and then cease production, going out on a high note. How much money are we talking? Well over $300,000, which puts the LF-A firmly in Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano and Lamborghini Murciélago territory.

Actual performance statistics remain murky at this point, but we know that the LF-A will look essentially like the front-engine concept from the 2007 Detroit auto show, and it will be powered by a V-10 making in excess of 500 hp.

Top Luxury Cars | 2009 Sneak Preview: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

The first alimony check rolls in.

Ironically, it's only years after the big divorce that the Jeep brand finally benefits from the DaimlerChrysler marriage. An all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee debuts for 2011, and it now shares its underpinnings with the Mercedes-Benz M-class SUV. Better late than never, we suppose.

A new 3.6-liter replaces the previous 3.7-liter as the base V-6. It produces 280 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque (up significantly from the old lump's 210 and 235) and returns 11 percent better fuel economy, thanks in part to variable valve timing. The optional 360-hp, 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 returns to the playground, and both engines are paired with a five-speed automatic transmission and either rear- or four-wheel drive.

An optional Quadra-Lift air suspension (inherited from Mercedes) can raise the Grand Cherokee's ride height, increasing approach, departure, and breakover angles for even more off-road credibility. No longer constrained by the Commander, Jeep's mainstay family hauler has room to grow - and so the new Grand Cherokee is 1.8 inches longer, 3 inches wider, and, most important, rides on a wheelbase that's 5.3 inches longer. That last measurement contributes to a significant increase in rear-seat room, a welcome improvement over today's cramped bench. Jeep promises more soft-touch plastics and a higher quality interior, as well as an available Alpine sound system.

STAYIN' ALIVE, AT LEAST IN SOME FORM: The Grand Cherokee's styling is purely evolutionary, but Chrysler knows not to mess with a good thing - as the company faces extinction, it's Jeep that's most likely to survive.

Top Luxury Cars | Land Rover Discovery 4 (2010) : Land Rover Range Rover is awash in new power and tech

Land Rover Discovery 4 (2010): first official photos

By Tim Pollard

First Official Pictures

Land Rover is today unveiling a family of gently chiselled full-size 4x4s – think of it as Solihull’s answer to the changing zeitgeist and the next step in Land Rover’s greening of its range. The new Discovery gains a clean new diesel and can now claim a 30mpg average; there’s also a new interior and an exterior facelift – enough to warrant a new Discovery 4 badge.

The big news under the bonnet of Discovery 4 is the arrival of the new Jaguar Land Rover 3.0-litre V6 diesel. It’s an evolution of the current 2.7 TDV6 (which continues for base-end versions) and is equipped with the very latest in common-rail technology and a particulate filter to trim emissions to 244g/km, meet EU5 exhuast limits not due in until 2011, and hit an average of 30.4mpg.
So the new Land Rover Discovery 4 is a tad cleaner… hardly an eco saint though!

True, but the Discovery 4 gobbles around 10% less fuel than before; remember these 4x4 behemoths weigh in at a sturdy 2.7 tonnes or so. That kerbweight hasn’t really been addressed in this facelift – lighter weight Land Rovers won’t arrive until the next generation of all-new models arrive in the next decade, utilising lighter weight construction methods.

Only the two turbodiesels will be sold in the UK, although overseas markets will be offered the new naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8. The 3.0 TDV6 offers an impressive range of talents, with 29% more power (242bhp) and 36% more torque (443lb ft) than the breathless 2.7. That’ll be why it chops a quarter off its 0-60mph time, now achieved in 9.0sec.

It’s a new Land Rover. Guess it’ll go off road?

You bet. The Terrain Response system is updated with a new soft-sand setting. Perfect if you happen to live near a desert or are a part-time lifeguard. A new rock crawl setting is added (handy for any lizards out there), while the stability systems are retuned to hold the car on hills. But there wasn’t much wrong with the Disco’s off-road mud-slinging antics – and we’re sure the new one will keep the standard high.

Land Rover is claiming better on-road dynamics for Disco 4; new suspension knuckles, bushes and dampers are fitted to reduce the roll centre and a recalibrated steering rack is used. We’re driving the new models in summer 2009, so we’ll soon know for sure.
How will I notice the new Land Rover Discovery 4 on the road?

Quite an easy facelift to spot, this one. The front end adopts a more Range Rover style with a hexagonal-patterned twin-bar grille and LED-trimmed lights front and rear, there are body-coloured door mirrors (at last!), and  the interior gains a serious makeover with an all-new cabin sporting a noticeably improved material quality. It’s seriously comfy in here: the Disco still seats three rows of seven adults in genuine comfort – not bad considering it has a smaller footprint than a Jaguar XF or Mercedes E-class.

Being a mid-life facelift, Land Rover has added a smattering of new tech too: there’s a 360deg camera system to avoid kerbs and rocks off-road, a hill holder, a system to guide you to your towing trailer, auto-dipping headlamps and keyless entry. All of this enabled by a new electrical architecture shared on all three new large Land Rovers (improved e-reliability is one claimed advantage).

The new Discovery 4 arrives in showrooms in September 2009. Don’t expect prices to change much from today’s levels. There’s little to criticise in the tech update, but are we alone in missing the architectural purity of the outgoing Disco? Design director Gerry McGovern admits Discovery 3 is too brutal for some markets and he’s had to tone it down. So there has been plenty of work to minimise the visual mass of this car, although the actual dimensions tell another story.

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