Ferrari LaFerrari: Why Ferrari Named Ferrari F70 as LaFerrari?

Ferrari LaFerrari is the name of the Ferrari Enzo predecessor. Until now, we all thought that LaFerrari name was not under consideration and F70 or F150 names were rumoured on internet for very long time. I think it was a very good tactic and Ferrari managed to keep the LaFerrari brand secret, it is a bit Apple style. So Why LaFerrari? I will tell you the secret in the last paragraph.

So, LaFerrari is basically a road legal Formula 1 car with an extra seat and proper doors and a boot. All the technology available in LaFerrari is transferred from Ferrari’s Formula 1 experiences. 

LaFerrari is a hybrid vehicle like McLaren P1. The core of the LaFerrari is harmonised with a V12 petrol engine (800 HP and 700 Nm of torque) and an electric motor (163 HP and 270 Nm of torque). V12 engine is capable of 9250 rpm. Combination of the V12 and the electric motor, the total output is 963 HP. Thus, LaFerrari can accelerate to 100 km/h less than 3 seconds, and only needs 7 seconds to reach 200 km/h and 15 seconds for 300 km/h. And the top speed is more than 350 km/h. Unfortunately, Bugatti Veyron is still faster than Ferrari but that’s a different car.

Hybrid system of LaFerrari, the HY-KERS is capable of supplying energy to electric motor and recharging the batteries on braking and excess torque from the V12 engine.

LaFerrari will be sold only 499 units and will cost around €1.3 million. 

And where did the inspiration come from for the LaFerrari name? LaFerrari unfortunately resembles the fashion brand LaSenza and also does not sound that bold. But I know where the inspiration came from; the epic song L’Italiano from Toto Cutugno. If you don’t believe me, just listen the song :) 

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Vauxhall/Opel Ampera: Electric Cars with Generator

Vauxhall Ampera or Opel Ampera, I was waiting for this car for quite long time. I know, I do sound a bit funny, why I should wait a Vauxhall/Opel? Actually, Ampera is the electric car of the Vauxhall/Opel, that’s right they made an electric car that looks like a proper car and with an on-board generator.

You might be thinking there are plenty of electric cars why Ampera is different. Most of the electric cars do not have an on-board generator to charge the batteries, but Ampera does have one. And do not confuse with hybrid technology. In hybrid technology, petrol engine is also connected to wheels but with Ampera, the petrol engine is not connected to wheels and is only designed to charge the batteries when they are out of charge.

The most fundamental problem of electric cars is the charging for long journeys and with the Ampera, you don’t have to worry about this. You can drive as much as you want, until your tank is empty. Or you can charge the Ampera with any electric socket, board computer shows you the estimated charging time.

Today I had opportunity to drive the Ampera with pure electricity. And it was a bit different than the normal driving experience. First of all, when you start the engine there are no engine noise at all. Ampera is more silent than many laptops! 

Driving the Ampera is no different from an automatic car, just move the gear lever into Drive position and depress the throttle. As soon as you depress the throttle, you will feel the torque instantly. The electric motors have an advantage, they can deliver their maximum torque instantly. Ampera accelerates much better than many other cars, consumption is nearly to nothing. Interior comfort is much better than any other Vauxhall/Opel vehicle, sorry to say this. And Ampera features two screens, one for instrument panel and one for navigation. And both them offers very clear image, this is really important with screens.

Honestly, I was expecting a dull driving experience with a senseless steering wheel but it was totally the opposite. I had so much fun! Even though, I don’t like to drive car. Ampera is the future, until we have the hydrogen cars. You experience the electric power without worrying about the battery, this is what customers want!

However, there is a minor problem. Button on the central console are touch sensitive and it makes your life very hard while driving. With touch sensitive button, there are feedback from the button and you cannot be sure whether you pressed it or not. And also, accidental touch is unavoidable.

In general, I couldn’t find anything really annoying with Ampera. If I had the money, I would definitely ordered one today. It is fun, it very economical, it looks very good and it does offer a better experience than any other Vauxhall/Opel. You might be thinking, what about Fisker Karma? Fisker Karma is a luxury electric car with on-board generator and yes it does look better than Ampera and at them same time, more expensive.

Ampera is powered by a 73 PS electric motor, fuel is electric but you need to fill up petrol for generator. Fuel consumption is 1.3 lt/km (217.3 mpg) for extra-urban, 0.9 lt/km (315.9 mpg) for urban and 1.2 lt/km (235.4 mpg) for combined. And CO2 emission is only 27 gr/km.

Ampera Electron features;

Driver’s and front passenger’s airbags

Front seat side-impact airbags

Full-size curtain airbags

Driver’s and front passenger’s knee airbags

Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) with traction control and Emergency Brake Assist

Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)

CD/MP3 CD player with stereo radio

DAB digital radio

USB connection with iPod control

Aux-in socket

Hands-free mobile phone system with Bluetooth®

Multi-function trip computer

Electronic Climate Control (ECC)

Cruise control

Automatic lighting control

LED daytime running lights

Electric parking brake

Electrically operated front and rear windows

Electrically adjustable/heated door mirrors

17-inch five-Y-spoke alloy wheels with aero covers

Remote control security alarm

Leather seat facings with electrically heated front seats

Leather-covered steering wheel

Front and rear parking distance sensors

Rear view camera

Sat nav/DVD player

Sat nav system with voice activation

‘Pseudo 3D’ street level mapping for 20 European countries

Audio/video DVD player

Hard Drive Device (HDD) with 30GB music file capacity

Bose® ‘Energy Efficient Series’ sound system with six high-performance speakers and single subwoofer

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Paris Motor Show: Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Concept

Porsche revealed Panamera Sport Turismo Concept model during the Paris Motor Show. Last one decade, Porsche revealed Cayenne and succeed, revealed Panamera succeed and I am definitely sure that, Panamera Sport Turismo will succeed as well. Porsche is very good at achieving success with interestingly looking cars, such as Panamera Sport Turismo.

Panamera Sport Turismo represent the new path of Porsche's design approach  As you can see there are not exterior mirrors, they are replaced with cameras. I assume, it won't be that practically to check screen instead of mirrors. Full digital instrument panel will be present in future Porsche models, which I really don't like!

Panamera Sport Turismo is a hybrid and powered by 3-lt V6 petrol engine with 333 PS and coupled with 95 PS electric motor powered by a 9.4 kWh li-ion battery. This combination generates 416 PS of power! Sport Turismo only need less than six seconds to reach 100 kph, with 3.5 lt/km consumption level. 82 g/km is the CO2 level for the Porsche. 

From top to bottom, Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo is very interesting :)

Pictures' Copyrights

Porsche

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