Monday, June 4, 2012

VW Passat Variant 3.2 V6 FSI 4MOTION

VW Passat Variant 3.2 V6 FSI 4MOTION

VW Passat Variant 3.2 V6 FSI 4MOTION
4MOTION offers more safety, better dynamics, and the ability to tow up to 2 200 kg

4MOTION and DSG standard in the 250 PS Passat 3.2 V6 FSI

4MOTION optional in the Passat 2.0 FSI (150 PS) and Passat 2.0 TDI (140 PS)

4MOTION, the four-wheel drive system from Volkswagen, offers enhanced active safety and driving pleasure. In 2006 the new Passat will be available in three different engine versions with the latest 4MOTION system. The top model of the Passat range, the 184 kW / 250 PS Passat 3.2 V6 FSI 4MOTION, has the most effective form of power distribution as standard. The 4MOTION drivetrain is available as an option with the Passat 2.0 FSI (110 kW / 150 PS) and the Passat 2.0 TDI (103 kW / 140 PS). The permanent four-wheel drive system is available for the Passat saloon and estate in combination with all equipment lines (3.2 V6 FSI 4MOTION: starting with the Comfortline).

4MOTION took over from syncro

Permanent four-wheel drive also enhances the handling of the Golf, Sharan, Multivan, Phaeton, and Touareg. Volkswagen has been building Passat's with four-wheel alongside front-wheel drive for over two decades; the first model, the Passat estate GT syncro, was launched in 1984. To date over 256,000 Passat drivers worldwide have opted for four-wheel drive.

4MOTION is powerful

The Passat comes equipped for the first time with a 4MOTION system featuring Haldex coupling. The coupling, which is fitted directly in the rear axle, is considerably more compact and the system works quickly, sensitively, and quietly. Four-wheel drive also delivers major advantages for towing trailers. The Passat 3.2 V6 FSI 4MOTION, for example, pulls a hefty maximum trailer weight of 2 200 kg on uphill grades of up to 12 percent. Its gross weight rating for the rear axle is 1 220 kg. For the Passat 2.0 TDI 4MOTION a maximum trailer weight of 2 000 kg is allowed on uphill grades of up to 12 percent and 2 200 kg on up to 8 percent grades - in each case 200 kg more than with the front-wheel drive Passat 2.0 TDI. All Passat's with a towing attachment also have ESP with special trailer stabilisation as standard.



2006 Volkswagen Passat Variant 3.2 V6 FSI 4MOTION
4MOTION is adaptable

The central element of the 4MOTION system is a multi-plate wet coupling (in an oil bath). It is called the Haldex coupling as it was developed together with Swedish systems partner Haldex who have worked with Volkswagen for many years. The Haldex coupling has the major advantage of being electronically controlled and having a very fast response. This allows it to work very effectively in conjunction with the anti-lock braking system (ABS), the traction control system (TCS), the electronic differential lock (EDL), and the electronic stability programme (ESP) - all these assistance systems are fitted as standard in the Passat.

4MOTION is always active

As soon as differences in the speeds of rotation between the front and rear axles occur two annular piston pumps are activated which build up pressure in the multi-plate coupling (Haldex system) thus "coupling" the two axles to each other. The transmitted torque can be varied by adjusting the pressure on the coupling plates, thus controlling the flow of power between the front and rear axles. The coupling provides an infinitely variable torque transfer between the front and rear axles. In extreme cases up to 100 percent of the available torque can be transmitted to the rear axle. In the normal case with the vehicle travelling in a straight line at a constant speed with no differences in the wheels' grip, 90 percent of the available torque is transmitted to the front axle and ten percent to the rear axle. The Haldex coupling is driven by the propshaft.

4MOTION is fast

The coupling responds to "commands" from the 4MOTION electronic control unit extremely quickly. As soon as the Haldex coupling registers front axle slip, the required torque is transmitted to the rear axle. The compact coupling can transmit a torque of 3 200 newton metres to the rear axle.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

pics of GM EN-V






















Saturday, June 2, 2012

Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione

Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione

Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione
The definitive version of the gorgeous exclusive Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, Gran Turismo car that is to be produced in a limited edition makes its debut in Paris. The car, designed by Alfa Romeo, is directly derived from the concept car that aroused such admiration at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show and has benefited from the best technical and industrial know-how that the Alfa-Maserati Sports Centre can offer. The cooperative venture between both manufacturers was conducted with a view to ensuring integration between the Alfa Romeo design departments and the Maserati production departments.

The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is inspired by Alfa Romeo's glorious past, projecting its brand values of technology and emotion into the future. The historical allusions begin with the evocative name, recalling the great sporting tradition of Alfa Romeo. The 8C code was used to identify cars (racing and on-road) of the Thirties and Forties equipped with the revolutionary eight cylinder engine produced by the famous designer Vittorio Jano. The term 'Competizione' is intended as a homage to the '6C 2500 Competizione', a sports coupé driven in 1950 by the duo Fangio and Zanardi in the famous Mille Miglia race.

The name, '8C Competizione' is not an arbitrary invention but a distinctive mark of Alfa Romeo's own sporting history. A veritable legend that has arisen out of the innumerable victories won on circuits throughout the world through the skill of men and their passion for racing, engine research and advanced technology and a reawakened taste for new challenges.



2007 Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione
This link with the values of Alfa Romeo's history adds extra poignancy to the term 'Competizione'; when projected into the future it represents the sense of constant dynamism that distinguishes a brand engaged in a quest for excellence, increased competitiveness and technological innovation. This is the explanation behind the role of the new car, which is not a point of arrival but a point of departure designed to reaffirm Alfa Romeo's unique place in the world: its ability to match a thrilling shape to driving satisfaction.

Styling and aerodynamics: tradition and innovation

The attractive shape created by the Alfa Romeo Style Centre makes this car with its two bucket seats unique in the Gran Turismo scenario. The designers have worked hard to ensure that the aerodynamic and performance demands have not altered the car's original concept. The style maintains an incredibly clean shape, uncluttered by any element interfering with the overall harmony.

The solutions introduced on the Alfa Romeo 8C to achieve the highest levels of aerodynamic efficiency are not limited to the shape. Air wraps around the car and follows its natural course, unhindered by corners and unevenness. All the pillar and glass surfaces and profiles together with the door mirror shape and position have been optimised by mathematical modelling and also by wind tunnel tests and tests on actual models. Much attention has been devoted to the creation of a ground effect that has allowed a negative Cz (lift coefficient) to help increase stability at high speed, as on racing cars.

The compact dimensions concentrate the aggression of a car designed to ensure maximum driving efficiency.

The car surfaces are highly sculpted and skilfully moulded. In detail, the body is given extra dynamism by the horizontal furrow cut into the side above the front wheelarch. The big wheels and powerful musculature of the rear wings emphasise the model's personality and strength without detracting from the lines that flow smoothly, almost as though to underscore the formal good looks of the individual exterior details: the drop-shaped headlight embedded, gem-like, in the front wing, the led tail-lights that are a blend of technology and rationalism, the spare door handle. The front end still displays the distinctive Alfa Romeo traits, with a new interpretation of the 'whiskers' and shield.

The innovative shape heralds the details and proportions of future Alfa Romeo cars but is also redolent with past thrills and historical allusions: the 33 Coupé Stradale, the Giulia TZ and many other great names of motoring history. The Alfa Romeo style centre also developed new colours to emphasise the shape of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione that match the car's sinuous shape while also suggesting modernity and a hint of technology.

8 cylinder 4.7 engine: Italian 'belcanto'

The engine is the beating heart of any Alfa Romeo. In this case it takes the form of a brand new 90° V 8 cylinder unit with a cylinder capacity of 4691 cc that was designed with one aim in mind: to ensure extraordinary performance while still offering a smooth drive and being usable in all circumstances, from the track to city traffic.

The top engine performance figures may be summarised as a maximum power output of 450 bhp at 7000 rpm, a peak torque of 470 Nm at 4750 rpm and a top speed of 7500 rpm.

The layout of internal fluid movements and the cylinder head cooling system is designed to achieve high duct permeability and effective intake load cooling to maximise volumetric efficiency and engine performance.

Harmonisation of the intake and exhaust geometry together with the introduction of continuous variable valve timing on the intake camshafts and optimisation of the combustion chamber and engine calibration means that 80% of torque is available from 2000 rpm.

In sporty driving conditions over mixed routes, the power unit offers impressively short response times due to the high permeability of the intake duct and the low inertia of the flywheel-twin plate clutch system.

A crankshaft with counterweights at 90°, fully balanced through careful selection of connecting rods and pistons, ensures the engine runs with low vibration levels.

The engine block and base assembly is in aluminium with 5 main bearings to ensure the structure is very rigid with little loss due to friction. The cylinder heads are also in aluminium alloy.

All the ducts (water, oil, secondary air) are cast directly into the engine to produce a system with great rigidity, low dimensions and guarantees of safe installation, i.e. great reliability.

Casting accessory systems into the main engine casting and the use of very rigid, thick-walled components ensures that little noise radiates from the engine and the components are very reliable.

Longitudinal engine packaging has also received particular attention, as evidenced by the introduction of a single chain timing system that guarantees exceptional lifetime dependability.

Special attention has also been devoted to the acoustic definition and tuning of the intake and exhaust in the quest for a sound timbre that enhances the car's character and makes it unmistakable. The result is a full, distinctive sound, emphasised by the permeable intake system and an exhaust system with electronically controlled valves that enhance the car's sound without infringing any type-approval or environmental constraints.

Transmission, robotised gearbox and self-locking differential

The engineers used a layout familiar from other Alfa Romeo cars on the 8C Competizione: the transaxle architecture with gearbox at the rear that is an acknowledged asset of Alfa Romeo cars. This layout allows outstanding dynamic performance while also offering the active safety for which Alfa Romeo cars are fabled.

The engine-gearbox unit is designed in accordance with a transaxle configuration that ensures the weight distribution is very effective for vehicle handling. Due to the small axial engine size and the integration with frame components from the drawing board, the entire power unit can be housed well back to ensure the required sporty configuration.

The 6-speed gearbox with computerised speed selection by means of levers behind the steering wheel is designed to ensure ultra-slick gear shifts and may be used in Manual-Normal; Manual-Sport; Automatic-Normal; Automatic-Sport and Ice modes. The self-locking differential allows acceleration and stability to be managed with extraordinary efficiency in all situations.

Suspension, wheels and braking system

In the very best Alfa Romeo tradition, the engineering is directly derived from the race track. The suspension on the new model is no exception, with a double wishbone layout, forged aluminium axle carrier and arms and extra strut for toe-in control.

The braking system offers perforated, ventilated discs with aluminium brake callipers to ensure prompt, effective braking even with heavy use. To ensure the car stays glued to the road, it is fitted with 20" tyres specially developed to ensure outstanding performance: 245/35 at the front and 285/35 at the rear, fitted on perforated rims in fluid moulded aluminium to ensure lightness and maximum brake ventilation efficiency.

To ensure the car is entertaining and safe in any driving condition, the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione comes with the latest Alfa Romeo VDC, an advanced stability and traction control system to ensure the driver feels at one with his car.

Rigid, light structure

A rigid, light structure is the rule when configuring a good high performance car. This is also the guiding principle behind the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. In detail, the compact frame is in steel to achieve the greatest torsional rigidity to ensure an accurate, safe drive at all times while the body is in carbon fibre. This choice was motivated by the need to minimise weights while also optimising the car's centre of gravity for better agility and handling on demanding routes.

Interiors: personality and technology

The car's distinctive look comes from extensive use of composite materials on the facia and interior panels. This is a technical choice but also reinforces the car's spirit and emphasises its personality. The same thinking lies behind the adoption of anatomical seats made out of carbon fibre that can be adjusted and customised on the basis of the driver's physical characteristics (a facility previously reserved for racing cars).

Everything is designed and produced to ensure the greatest user-friendliness for the driver and whoever is lucky enough to share the thrill: relaxed driving position, intuitive instruments that are always visible, robotised gear levers secured to the steering column and easy to reach without removing your hands from the sporty steering wheel.

The carefully-crafted and detailed finish naturally allows the car to be customised to the driver's taste and a choice of different interior environments is available.

The absolute satisfaction of a sporty drive

To see it is to love it: wide tyres, low-slung ride and styling of poised aggression. To die for, in fact. Hear the engine and weep: a full, convincing throaty roar. Now all that remains is to sit behind the wheel, engage first gear and you are off to try out your Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. You are left with one doubt: how will you drive a sports model whose bonnet conceals a 4700 cc eight cylinder engine hat unleashes 450 bhp of power and 470 Nm of torque when you touch the accelerator. The unexpected answer is: with great ease - even more easily, simply and instinctively than your normal car in fact. Provided you allow yourself the time and satisfaction (because this is about pleasure, after all) of getting used to the more direct controls and prompter responses: the sort you could only expect from a true sports car on mixed routes or - even more so - on the track where speed and transverse acceleration are much more controllable.

The new Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is self-avowedly an Alfa in its uncompromising sense of control and driving satisfaction. Driving comfort and dynamic behaviour have always been specific features of Alfa Romeo cars: on this car, they amount to a real strength.

Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione: a legendary name for a unique car

Since the very beginning, the Alfa Romeo spirit has been driven by a constant quest for technical perfection, achieving performances that are better and better. This is all about the engine: the beating heart of every Alfa Romeo car. Racetracks throughout the world have provided the perfect backdrops for truly unique technical and technological progress, with Alfa Romeo always occupying the highest position on the winners' podium.

The key to Alfa Romeo's engineering prominence was the 8 cylinder engine developed during the first half of the Twenties by a young engineer named Vittorio Jano. His original brief was to revise the 6 cylinder engine to meet the needs of standard production model buyers and also to stand up to the competition offered by rival manufacturers in races.

The first 8C was tested in 1923, with the P1, already fitted with a compressor and twin spark ignition, and then the P2. Its debut could not have gone better: in 1925 the Alfa Romeo P2 won first place in the first World Championship. The positive effects of these innovations were not restricted to the engines of production cars but the glory of this result was included in the 'Alfa Romeo - Milan' badge in the form of the laurel crown that was to adorn all Alfa Romeo cars from that day on.

At the beginning of the Thirties, the powerfully reliable 8 cylinder engines - now in light alloy - purred like cats under the bonnets of stylish cabriolets and coupes (whose bodies were built by the Milanese Zagato and Castagna) and roared like lions in the dust of races such as the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio, that added to the impressive list of victories. The thrilling wins achieved by the Alfa Romeo 8C in 1931, 1932, 1933 and 1934 at Le Mans deserve special attention (the car was later called the 'Le Mans' in the wake of these great successes).

The 8 cylinder engine achieved its technical peak in the Alfa Romeo Tipo B engine, known as the 'P3' to highlight its technological relationship with the P2. Campari, Nuvolari, Caracciola, Borzacchini, Marinoni, Guidotti and Fagioli were just some of the champions who owed their successes to the 1932 and 1934 versions of the 8C engine in the face of the challenges posed by the most prestigious circuits in the world.

The continual progress and consistent technical research culminated in the 8C 2900, the unbeaten star of racing from the Mille Miglia to the Le Mans 24 hour. The car, an extremely stylish 8C with its body built by Touring especially for Le Mans, was driven peerlessly by its driver Biondetti. This engine was exceptionally long-lived: an 8C 2900 B driven by Biondetti and Romano won the Mille Miglia again in 1947, proving yet again and over an exceptionally arduous route, that Alfa Romeo engines were possessed of truly extraordinary power and reliability.

World War II only halted the victorious progress of the 158 for a short period. The legendary 'Alfetta', a distillate of superlative automotive engineering qualities, first saw the light in 1946. In the words of Juan Manuel Fangio, driving this 8 cylinder car was like 'holding the bow of a Stradivarius in your hands'. First the 158 and later the 159 brought Alfa Romeo laurels in the first two modern Formula 1 world championships, with Nino Farina in 1950 and with Fangio in 1951.

After the Formula 1 victories, Alfa Romeo decided to withdraw from racing to devote itself to the demands put on it by its latest arrival, the 1900 and later the Giulietta range. 1967 saw the return of the powerful 8 cylinder engine fitted to racing 33 models and responsible for the attractive, resolute shape of the road version of the 33. This car also enjoyed a very encouraging racing debut, with Teodoro Zeccoli taking top position on the winners' podium after the uphill race in Fleron, Belgium, in a 33/2 Sport Prototype.

Other 33 cars met with considerable success on tracks and circuits throughout the world during the Seventies. This technical perfection was transferred to standard production cars such as the Montreal, a car of great prestige and performance, whose 8 Cylinder engine was derived from the unit fitted to the 33 models used for racing. In 1977, the 8 cylinder engine was fitted to a limited series of the Alfetta GTV, produced by Autodelta which thus continued the sporting tradition applied to engine production.

Now the legendary heart of that engine comes back to beat under the bonnet of the new Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Rover 75 V8

Rover 75 V8

Rover 75 V8
The new full-depth open grille is reminiscent of the archetypal Rover P5B. Like the P5 and other V8-powered Rovers since, the imposing and distinctive appearance of V8 derivatives is matched by a motoring experience that has no peers in this segment of the market. The Rover 75 V8 four-door saloon is derived from the company's much-respected large car platform. Driving the rear wheels, the in-line mounted 4.6-litre engine is matched to a smooth automatic transmission to offer refined yet effortless performance entirely in keeping with the long-distance, no object associations of this famous marque.

Rover's famously comfortable seats have been trimmed in leather, designed to complement Rover's new Light Oak theme on Connoisseur SE, or Dark Oak on Contemporary SE models.

Under the bonnet, the flagship V8 power unit develops 260Ps and 410Nm of torque that is fed to the road through the rear-wheels. Cruise control and traction control systems are standard equipment. The traction control ensures that the considerable torque is deployed to good effect, whatever the conditions, while delivering rapid acceleration up to a top speed of 151mph.

The proven 4.6-litre engine is now mated to a smooth automatic transmission. A new electronic engine management tune and unique exhaust and intake systems provide an impressive combination of refined cruising and an assertive soundtrack under hard acceleration.

The V8 chassis is derived from the acclaimed rear drive MG ZT platform, launched last year. However, substantial revisions to chassis tuning have delivered a more compliant ride without sacrificing the inherent confidence and stability of the basic platform. In keeping with the immense reserves of V8 torque, the chassis has been tuned to deliver a rewarding yet relaxing driving experience.



2004 Rover 75 V8
Rob Oldaker, MG Rover Group's Product Development Director, says: "This new derivative is an impressive addition to a distinguished Rover product range. The car's performance and poise will shorten any long-distance journey, though on arrival occupants will be reluctant to leave the luxury of this sumptuous interior!"

Overview

The Rover 75 V8 is the antithesis of the accomplished ZT 260 V8, for while the MG can capably deploy its power for performance and deliver high levels of driver involvement, the Rover is a wholly more refined experience. While the experience of the ZT has permitted the clever installation techniques of the large capacity engine and rear-wheel drive power train to be incorporated within the robust body shell, the change was to produce a car of supreme comfort, refinement and power-in-reserve characteristics.

Powertrain

The Rover 75 V8 utilises the proven 4.6-litre V8 engine, widely used in North America to power the iconic Ford Mustang. Modifications have been made to the Powertrain to assist in packaging the engine while MG's engineers have also developed new intake, exhaust and emissions control systems to ensure the vehicle complies with stringent European noise legislation with no loss of power or torque. A new electronic engine calibration helps ensure the car exceeds current European emissions legislation. The automatic transmission has four speeds and is manufactured in North America.

The exhaust system, twinned for most of the length of the car, has four subtly mounted tailpipes, kept below the rear bumper. Outside the system produces a classic V8 burble, while inside the cabin remains quietly subdued, yet retains the note of a thoroughbred V8.

The Dana Hydratrak® limited slip differential system option, utilises vane-pump principles to ensure continuous and seamless torque transmission to both rear wheels in the event of wheel speed differential.

Steering and Suspension

The Rover 75's steering and suspension systems have evolved radically to match the performance of the V8 power unit. Developed by driving enthusiasts for enthusiasts, the team focused their efforts on honing the car's classic rear-drive handling to provide progressive control under the widest range of conditions. The result is a car that blends day-to-day ease of use with the driver-rewards of a true thoroughbred.

Power steering is now via a new forward mounted rack layout providing excellent feel and driver feedback to the leather-bound wheel.

The geometry of the 75's MacPherson strut front suspension has been tuned to the requirements of the new chassis. A new design of upright is matched to Eibach linear rate springs and a new, larger diameter anti-roll bar. Wheel response is controlled by Bilstein monotube struts, which combine a large piston area for fine tuning resolution with very high bending stiffness for improved camber control.

A new multi-link rear suspension has been evolved from the design created for the ZT 260 V8. A new six-mount subframe houses the rear drive differential, while each wheel is located by three lateral links (two steel and one light-alloy) and a light alloy trailing arm. Compound rate springs, sourced from specialist Eibach, work in conjunction with Bilstein monotube dampers to provide excellent wheel control.

Wheel designs are available in a 17" Star-spoke design with 215/50 profile tyres provides supreme comfort levels, and in 18" with Contisport 225/45 R18 tyres. Both have a unique machine-faced feature.

Braking

The Rover 75 V8 has a new H-split braking system providing excellent stopping power. At the front, proven large capacity 325mm ventilated discs and sliding-pin callipers are specified. At the rear a new AP-Racing sourced brake system is specified with 332mm ventilated discs and opposed piston alloy callipers.

Interior environment

A new HEVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioning) unit is fitted to the V8. The new unit is a water-blend design featuring a dedicated electronic control unit to drive servo-motor valves to regulate the water flow around the heating circuit. This system has been refined to offer similar levels of response and control to the existing 75's acclaimed air-blending system. All models feature ATC (Automatic Temperature Control), using the familiar user-friendly interface of other 75 models.