Most vehicles that are referred as sports cars are rear-wheel drive, have two seats, two doors, and are designed for acceleration and aesthetics. While buying a sports car, customers generally give importance to brand name. Some of the important brand names include Ferrari, Porsche, Lotus and Lamborghini. Performance modifications of regular production cars, such as sport compacts, sports sedans, muscle cars, hot hatches and the like generally are not considered sports cars, yet share traits common to sports car. A sports car does not require large, powerful engine.
Tags: Shipping, SportsFreestream: A Small Sports Car That Out-Accelerates The Biggest And Best
Latest super-sports car from England is the Caparo Freestream supercar, which will have a power-to-weight ratio of 1,000 bhp per ton! The Bugatti Veyron which has 1,001 bhp manages about 560 bhp per tonne, so how you can see that the Caparo is streets ahead of any other supercar in power-to-weight ratio, and that is what makes cars accelerate fast. And fast acceleration is very exciting, and can also improve safety of the car in some circumstances.
So how does the Caparo do it? Not with 2,000 bhp because the car would weigh at least 2.5 tons, which would miss the target. In fact, Bugatti has demonstrated that sheer power means a lot of weight, particularly in the transmission and brakes.
To get a high power-to-weight-ratio you need a light car. And why is a high power-to-weight-ratio important? Because it dictates how fast the car accelerates flat out. A car with a high power-to-weight-ratio can cover the ground quicker because it gets out of corners fast and accelerates up the straights faster. So long as the handling is good, the car will be very fast anywhere.
Lightweight solution
Instead of going for a big engine with masses of power, the designers, who worked on the McLaren F1, have gone for ultra lightweight and a compact V-8 engine based on F1 technology. The result is a pencil-slim car with 480 bhp at 10,500 rpm from a supercharged 2.4 liter engine, and a weight of under 1,100 lb. Both the new engine and transmission are very light, as are all the components. The very narrow body without fully enclosed fenders also reduces weight.
The whole design concept has been aimed at reducing weight, ore not putting in things that add weight. First, the power train is very light compared with mass-production units. Then, the carbon fiber body/chassis is also much lighter than most, as designers without Grand Prix experience tend to over-design their structures. Also, because the power train is light, the loads on the body are lower, so again less weight does not need to be built into the structure.
It has a very narrow cockpit, with the passenger sitting slightly behind the driver to reduce width, so this is more of a track racer or trackday special than a road car. Even so, this car changes the concept of exotic cars to where it should be – ultra-lightweight, compactness and exciting performance round twisty roads or circuits.
To save weight they have adopted a narrow coupe body with cycle-type front mudguards, and side-mounted radiators which flow into the rear fenders.
In fact, these are all factors used by Colin Chapman to design the early Lotus cars, and since used by all racing car companies. In other words, the Caparo Freestream really takes advantage of Grand Prix technology to build a supercar.
The Caparo Freestream looks very unusual, but if you want sheer performance this is it! The makers say the car will hit 200 mph, and accelerate from a standing start of 100 mph in 5.5 seconds!! Holy mackerel that is fast. Oh, and they also say that owing to the downforce available, the T1 will be able to corner and brake at 3g – incredible. This tremendous cornering power and braking would not be possible without the use of Grand Prix design principles.
On top of all that, Caparo, which produces a lot of components for the auto industry, have priced the Freestream at about $320,000 (£176,000).
Tags: Best, Biggest, Freestream, OutAccelerates, Small, SportsSo how does the Caparo do it? Not with 2,000 bhp because the car would weigh at least 2.5 tons, which would miss the target. In fact, Bugatti has demonstrated that sheer power means a lot of weight, particularly in the transmission and brakes.
To get a high power-to-weight-ratio you need a light car. And why is a high power-to-weight-ratio important? Because it dictates how fast the car accelerates flat out. A car with a high power-to-weight-ratio can cover the ground quicker because it gets out of corners fast and accelerates up the straights faster. So long as the handling is good, the car will be very fast anywhere.
Lightweight solution
Instead of going for a big engine with masses of power, the designers, who worked on the McLaren F1, have gone for ultra lightweight and a compact V-8 engine based on F1 technology. The result is a pencil-slim car with 480 bhp at 10,500 rpm from a supercharged 2.4 liter engine, and a weight of under 1,100 lb. Both the new engine and transmission are very light, as are all the components. The very narrow body without fully enclosed fenders also reduces weight.
The whole design concept has been aimed at reducing weight, ore not putting in things that add weight. First, the power train is very light compared with mass-production units. Then, the carbon fiber body/chassis is also much lighter than most, as designers without Grand Prix experience tend to over-design their structures. Also, because the power train is light, the loads on the body are lower, so again less weight does not need to be built into the structure.
It has a very narrow cockpit, with the passenger sitting slightly behind the driver to reduce width, so this is more of a track racer or trackday special than a road car. Even so, this car changes the concept of exotic cars to where it should be – ultra-lightweight, compactness and exciting performance round twisty roads or circuits.
To save weight they have adopted a narrow coupe body with cycle-type front mudguards, and side-mounted radiators which flow into the rear fenders.
In fact, these are all factors used by Colin Chapman to design the early Lotus cars, and since used by all racing car companies. In other words, the Caparo Freestream really takes advantage of Grand Prix technology to build a supercar.
The Caparo Freestream looks very unusual, but if you want sheer performance this is it! The makers say the car will hit 200 mph, and accelerate from a standing start of 100 mph in 5.5 seconds!! Holy mackerel that is fast. Oh, and they also say that owing to the downforce available, the T1 will be able to corner and brake at 3g – incredible. This tremendous cornering power and braking would not be possible without the use of Grand Prix design principles.
On top of all that, Caparo, which produces a lot of components for the auto industry, have priced the Freestream at about $320,000 (£176,000).
» Read more: Freestream: A Small Sports Car That Out-Accelerates The Biggest And Best
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Rebadging and Platform-sharing
In today’s car market, some models within the same range are just so similar to one another that the average buyer will always come confused at some point or another. While some cars just look like others, be the design intentional or not, some are literally the same car underneath despite having different logos emblazoned into the middle of the car’s front fascia. This is due to the exercise of badge engineering or quite simply rebadging for short and those who are not familiar with car companies practicing this are those most prone to the kind of confusion faced when identifying or choosing a car.
Rebadging is a great way for car companies not willing to invest too much into the research and development field to launch a new car under their brand. While this does of course involve purchasing rights to do so as well as certain strict agreements, it is a widely practiced form of car manufacturing as the mutualism is positive for both ends, with the one giving the rights of manufacturing the result of their design and engineering getting large monetary gain as well as affirming their reputation as a reputable car maker. An example of a rebadged car is Isuzu Oasis, a rebadged Honda Odyssey, done so as Isuzu were looking for an MPV to complete their lacking line up.
Nowadays, most rebadging practices are done under brands of the same owner to increase and adjust marketability for different markets all over the world. General Motors provides a fine example for this scenario. With brands like Pontiac, Chevrolet and Daewoo under a very long list, it will astound some to know that half of the Chevrolet models marketed globally are basically built by or in collaboration with Korean partners Daewoo like the Aveo which is essentially a Daewoo Kalos right from the beginning. The highly acclaimed Pontiac G8 is also not really a true American muscle car as people might think as it was GM’s Australian division Holden which designed and engineered this monster of a sports car which is also marketed as the Vauxhall VXR8 in Europe. Apart from GM, Toyota and Volkswagen are among companies which practice badge engineering extensively due to their wide range of sub companies at their disposal.
While not leaving a carbon copy effect as strong as rebadging, platform sharing is also widely practiced in the automotive industry which gives about the same mutualism effects with a better sense of approval from the ‘purer’ car makers around the world. Ford’s latest generation of the European sensation Ka for example is built upon the platform of Fiat’s famous 500. The electrical wonder known as the Tesla Roadster has Lotus to thank for the body frame and chassis as it is taken directly from the Lotus Elise.
While not exactly platform-sharing, even super car makers like Pagani looked elsewhere for an engine to power its magnificently built Zonda, which explains why the words Mercedes Benz is engraved on the top if its 7.3 liter power plant. These are just examples of the car industry practicing a more mutual development scene and even if it means that some brands might lose out on originality which used to make them what they were, great cars are still being built and sold in the process.
Tags: Platformsharing, RebadgingRebadging is a great way for car companies not willing to invest too much into the research and development field to launch a new car under their brand. While this does of course involve purchasing rights to do so as well as certain strict agreements, it is a widely practiced form of car manufacturing as the mutualism is positive for both ends, with the one giving the rights of manufacturing the result of their design and engineering getting large monetary gain as well as affirming their reputation as a reputable car maker. An example of a rebadged car is Isuzu Oasis, a rebadged Honda Odyssey, done so as Isuzu were looking for an MPV to complete their lacking line up.
Nowadays, most rebadging practices are done under brands of the same owner to increase and adjust marketability for different markets all over the world. General Motors provides a fine example for this scenario. With brands like Pontiac, Chevrolet and Daewoo under a very long list, it will astound some to know that half of the Chevrolet models marketed globally are basically built by or in collaboration with Korean partners Daewoo like the Aveo which is essentially a Daewoo Kalos right from the beginning. The highly acclaimed Pontiac G8 is also not really a true American muscle car as people might think as it was GM’s Australian division Holden which designed and engineered this monster of a sports car which is also marketed as the Vauxhall VXR8 in Europe. Apart from GM, Toyota and Volkswagen are among companies which practice badge engineering extensively due to their wide range of sub companies at their disposal.
While not leaving a carbon copy effect as strong as rebadging, platform sharing is also widely practiced in the automotive industry which gives about the same mutualism effects with a better sense of approval from the ‘purer’ car makers around the world. Ford’s latest generation of the European sensation Ka for example is built upon the platform of Fiat’s famous 500. The electrical wonder known as the Tesla Roadster has Lotus to thank for the body frame and chassis as it is taken directly from the Lotus Elise.
While not exactly platform-sharing, even super car makers like Pagani looked elsewhere for an engine to power its magnificently built Zonda, which explains why the words Mercedes Benz is engraved on the top if its 7.3 liter power plant. These are just examples of the car industry practicing a more mutual development scene and even if it means that some brands might lose out on originality which used to make them what they were, great cars are still being built and sold in the process.