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Making its premiere in final production trim at the2012 Detroit Auto Show is the limited run Falcon Motor Sports F7 sports car, a prototype of which you may remember seeing at the 2010 edition of the North American International Auto Show.Based in Holly, Michigan, which is about an hour's drive from Detroit, Falcon began working on the F7 in 2009 and completed development in late 2011.Falcon says that the F7's exterior design drew its general inspiration from the 1980s-era supercars, while the interior was crafted to accommodate drivers up to 6'4 (195 cm) in comfort.The F7 is well equipped for its category with standard features including several amenities such as an iPod docking station, Bluetooth device connectivity, Garmin GPS, premium audio system, keyless locking and ignition system, power windows, and air conditioning.The hand built sports car rides on a unique tig-welded aluminum chassis with an integrated carbon fiber structural tunnel, as well as carbon fiber reinforced floor pan and firewall. Like many exotics, the F7's body panels are made of lightweight carbon fiber.The mid-mounted V8 engine and most parts of the suspension are sourced from the Corvette. The naturally aspirated 7.0-liter V8 LS7 is rated at 620 horsepower at 6,600 rpm and 585 lb-ft of peak torque at 5,400 rpm, and is linked to a 6-speed manual gearbox driving the rear wheels.Depending on the configuration, Falcon says that the F7 can go from zero to 60mph (96km/h) in 3.3 to 3.6 seconds, reach a top speed of 190 to 200mph (305 – 322 km/h), achieve 1.1-1.3g maximum lateral acceleration and come to a complete stop from 60mph in less than a 100 feet.Production of the F7 Series 1 will be limited to 10 units with prices starting from $225,000.PHOTO GALLERY
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Australia’s claim to performance cars revolves mostly around V8-powered sport saloons such as the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon. Powerful? Yes, especially the Holden HSV models but they are as far from the world of supercars as Australia is from the North Pole.Enter the world of Varley evR450. Billed as "Australia’s first-ever electric supercar", the yellow-mellow sports car was unveiled at the third Electric Vehicle Conference in Brisbane on October 26.If you’ve never heard of Varley, that’s because it’s not really a car company but rather an industrial group with a 125-year history that manufactures all kinds of vehicles ranging from airport tugs and hospital bed movers to urban search and rescue models and transportable aircraft landing systems.This is about to change as its Varley Electric Vehicles division is going all Mad Max in the electric supercar arena with the evR450. Its specifications are quite impressive: 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) comes in just 3.8 seconds, top speed is electronically limited to 200 km/h (125 mph) and its range is 150 km (93 miles) or 300 km (186 miles) with the optional range-extension pack.Moreover, this is not just a flight of fancy, but a real car that has a price estimate of around AU$200,000 or US$211,000 and is scheduled to hit the streets early next year.“You could expect seeing it on Queensland roads as early as January 2012”, said John Bettini, Varley Electric Vehicles division manager. We are proud of its technology based on Varley’s long experience in electric vehicles and out close relationship with Tritium and Ultramotive, two other local technology companies.”Story References: Varley Group via Autoblog.Green
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Who can forget the wonderful wedge-shaped concept and production cars, initially from Bertone and then from Pininfarina, Italdesign and other studios in the late 1960s, and which influenced car designers from all around the world well through the 1980s? The most impressive of these wedge-influence cars where shaped like they could fit right under a gigantic door.Even today, young designers look at concepts like Bertone's 1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero concept for inspiration in their work. Mohammad Hossein Amini Yekta is one such designer who wanted to bring "wedge: into the 21st centurywith a new concept study for a Lamborghini sports car named the Ganador.Yekta created the project in collaboration with Lamborghini during his first semester of the 2011-12 Academic Year of the Masters Program at Milan-based SPD."The idea is very simple - designing a super sport, having in mind the design values of Lamborghini and at the same time keeping the simplicity while all the designs are going to be over complex," says Yekta.According to the designer, the main feature of the concept is the division between the lower and upper section "with a very powerful line which goes around the body".Yekta explains: "This line gives the pointy and aggressive look to the car and also appears as if the upper part is reflected on the lower. The transparent "see trough" upper body part with clean surfaces, sharp edge and crystalline volume in contrast with the muscular and athletic form in the lower part and a powerful heart underneath resemble a gentleman with a muscular body, wearing a tuxedo."Designer: Mohammad Hossein Amini Yekta, Story References: CarbodydesignPHOTO GALLERY
