Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Lamborghini Estoque

Lamborghini Estoque Concept
(photo courtesy of Neef - 2)

Lamborghini Estoque is an odd duck in many ways.

Lamborghini Estoque - front
(photo courtesy of Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A.)
For one it's a four-door sedan coming from a car maker famous for its two-seat, mid-engined sports cars.


Secondly, this is the first front-engine Lamborghini since the "Rambo-Lambo" (LM002, an SUV produced in the late 1980ties and early 1990ties).




Estoque was presented in 2008 at the Paris Motor Show and has a 5,2 L V10 engine.


Lamborghini Estoque - side
(photo courtesy of Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A.)



In 2009 there were some rumors that the production of Estoque is canceled. Stephan Winkelmann, the CEO of Lamborghini, has confirmed the rumors by saying that they have no plans to manufacture Estoque, but that the interest shown in this concept car indicates that Lamborghini has a potential in the sports sedan market. 



Lamborghini Estoque - front
(photo courtesy of Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A.)

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Maserati Convertibles

After a series of posts dedicated to Ferrari and Lamborghini, I've decided to make a post dedicated to Maserati, or to be more precise the current convertibles produced in the Viale Ciro Menotti Maserati factory.


The first car I want to talk about is Maserati GranCabrio. This is a convertible version of GranTurismo S Automatic and it has almost identical specs:

  • 4.7L V8 engine
  • 440 HP @ 7000rpm
  • top speed: 175mph (283 km/h)
  • 0-62 (0-100 km/h): 5.3 s
  • a quarter mile run (0 - 400m): 13.9 s

Maserati GranCabrio (courtesy of Joerg-P)

Maserati GranCabrio interior (courtesy of Joerg-P)


The next car I want to talk about is Maserati GranCabrio Sport. It has a slightly better performance than GranCabrio, but as you can see it's basically a bit more aggressive version of the car introduced at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor show:

  • 4.7L V8 engine
  • 450 HP @ 7000rpm
  • top speed: 177mph (285 km/h)
  • 0-62 (0-100 km/h): 5.2 s
  • a quarter mile run (0 - 400m): 13.5 s

Maserati GranCabrio Sport (courtesy of Simon Yeo)

Monday, February 27, 2012

Lamborghini Miura Concept

Lamborghini Miura Concept - front
(photo courtesy of Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A.)


Lamborghini Miura Concept is a brain child of Walter de' Silva, the head of Lamborghini Design. In his own words: 
“Over the last two years,I have often dreamtof redesigning the Miura. Now, thanks to my new position at the head of Lamborghini design and the enthusiastic support of the Lamborghini CEO, Stephan Winkelmann,I have been able to turn that dream into a reality.”

Lamborghini Miura Concept - front
(photo courtesy of Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A.)


Lamborghini has no intention of producing this car. The Miura Concept is made in celebration of its 40th anniversary as a tribute to the legendary car from the House of Raging Bull.


Lamborghini Miura Concept - rear end
(photo courtesy of Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A.)


The original Miura was designed by the legendary Marcello Gandini and had its worldwide premier at the Geneva Motor Show in the 1966, one year after the prototype P400 was presented at the Turin Auto Salon.


Lamborghini Miura Concept - side
(photo courtesy of Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A.)

The Lamborghini Miura concept was presented in New York City at the Paley Center for Media on the 5th of January 2006. Here's the photo taken by  smartvital in 2007 at the Lamborghini Museum:



Lamborghini Miura Concept at the Lamborghini Museum