Igor has taken visual cues from the Ferrari F430, Saleen S7, Lamborghini Reventon and mashed them all with a healthy dose of sci-fi to create this killer super car concept. The rear of the Muska is certainly the most dramatic with twin, military jet afterburner-inspired tail lights that, while a bit large, serve as a very interesting visual statement.

The likelihood of a car like this ever going into production is slim at best, but who says we can't make our 'vroom, vroom' noises while drooling over these CG images? [via CarDesign.ru]

Based on the Lamborghini Gallardo, the Audi R8 features a massaged all-aluminum 32-valve 420 horsepower, 317 ft lbs of torque, 4.2 liter FSI V8 from the B7 Audi RS4 über sports sedan. It's mature, unassuming demeanor makes it the perfect mid-engined alternative to the ever-evolving Porsche 911 and has proven to be quite popular with the editors from this outfit as well as Wall Street money men now that it's viewed as unpopular to cruise Manhattan in much more raucous Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

What you're looking at today is the delicate and involved process of removing and replacing the air conditioning compressor, requiring the heart of Bruce to be removed for our own personal enjoyment. (Hat Tip To Gareth!)

(If you've got a Supercar Teardown story you'd like to share, please email us at autoinsider@jalopnik.com and we might feature yours in an upcoming installment)

Last week went out with a piston-through-the-block bang of a Nice Price Fiero trifecta, sending us into the long holiday weekend with mid-engine fantasies dancing in our heads. Now it's time to come back down to earth with another mid-engine machine, for today we're contemplating the Gumpert Apollo.

You remember the Gumpert- it's the supercar with the silly name and the Audi engine. This one has an equally loony orange paint scheme, with matching interior trim inserts. Unlike last week's three Fieros for one deal, this is claimed the only Gumpert Apollo offered for sale in the U.S.. That, and the berserker-cannibal performance (the Gumpert is the current Top Gear test track record holder) may validate that equally crazy half a million asking price.

Let's review, shall we?

What makes a 4.2 litre 650bhp Audi engine move this car so fast? Well, as noted by the seller, at 2,500 lbs it weighs less than a Mini Cooper, and has enough wings, splitters and scoops that Gumpert asserts the downforce created would stick the car to the top of a tunnel at speed- a claim yet to be substantiated. Any volunteers?

So is this one of a kind, pumpkin orange, and crazier than Charlie Manson on meth Gumpert worth selling your yacht for, and earning a vote of Nice Price? Or does that $499,999 sticker win the Crack Pipe test track record?

You decide!

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Photo Credit: exfordy/Flickr (Countach), Marcin Zieliński/Wikipedia (Ikarus). Pattern Recognition: Máté Petrány

The 25-foot-long steam supercar has a theoretical speed of 170mph. It uses four 90Ah electric batteries for ignition, which fires up the gas to heat twelve boilers. The boilers—which have a whooping two miles of metal tubing inside—can heat 13.2 gallons of water (50 litres) per minute to a temperature of 752 degrees Fahrenheit (400ºC). The resulting vapor is injected into a 13,000rpm turbine at go time.

Burnett will try to beat the previous record—established at 127.658mph by American Fred Marriott in 1906—over the Mojave Desert in early June.

GALLERY





END

[Daily Mail]

Teamspeed member, Peloton, took his $440,000 2005 Porsche Carrera GT in for its four year check up and was nice enough to share in the carnage. Just take a peak at the engineering techno-marvel, carbon fiber monocoque chassis and sub-frame as well as the super trick inboard coilover suspension set up and you'll immediately know why the CGT was (and is) so special.

The carbon fiber monocoque tub and related sub-frame were developments from the 911 GT1 motorsports program and helped pave the way for future exotics like the Enzo Ferrari. Besides the obvious racing-inspired technology, the chassis also benefited from the use of carbon fiber by being stronger, lighter and more safe; ultimately providing the driver with more direct chassis feedback and a more exciting driving experience.

Porsche engineers used a development of the 911 GT1 suspension system in creating the Carrera GT, giving split second response and confidence-inspiring behavior. The CGT utilizes pushrod suspension with double track control arms with coilovers operated by stainless steel pushrods and pivot levers, separating the suspension guidance from the spring action. This system is attached directly to the carbon fiber monocoque chassis for intensely detailed driver feedback. Negative acceleration is provided by the Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB) system with cross-drilled 14.96 inch discs at all four corners.

The engine is another technical marvel that's worth mentioning. Originally developed as a 5.5 liter by Porsche's racing division for a still-born Le Mans Prototype (LMP) program in 1999, it was shelved for a number of years to free up engineering resources to develop the Cayenne SUV. Once Porsche realized it had a stupendous engine just sitting around and with their new LMP program utilizing a 3.4 liter naturally aspirated V8, they decided to go full bore to create the Carrera GT. The original 5.5 liter V10 was put to use in the Carrera GT concept shown at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show, but the production version received a 68-degree V10 enlarged to 5.7 liters.

An interesting bit about the engine is that it's a functional load-bearing piece of the overall chassis structure and the block has been built so strong, that there is zero distortion to the cylinder bores. In order to keep the engine low in the chassis, Porsche engineers looked to keep the engine as short as possible and did so by eliminating cylinder liners, instead coating the cylinders with a nickel and silicon solution that improves the overall durability of the 8,000 rev per minute engine. Another thing Porsche's engineers applied; a dry-sump lubrication system, that helps improve overall engine height, weight and reliability. As with other modern Porsches, the Carrera GT is water cooled and features a motorsport-inspired closed-deck architecture allowing for the cylinders to be cooled by internal water chambers. These goodies, all combined, help the Carrera GT produce 605 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and peak torque or 435 lb-ft.

Helping transmit the German-bred horsepower to the ground is the first usage of the Porsche Ceramic Composite Clutch (PCCC), which we can see in a couple of the above images. The PCCC is a very compact unit, helping to keep the center of gravity low and also providing a positive effect on the engine's overall dynamics. Typically, the ceramic composite clutches used in motorsports have a relatively short life span, but the PCCC features a twin-plate dry clutch, carbon fiber and silicon carbide design, providing strength, lightness and an extended service life.

Sitting above all of the technical giz-bang wizardry is a ball-shaped birch/ash wood shift knob set there to remind Carrera GT drivers of the balsa wood shift knob that sat in the 1970 Le Mans-winning Porsche 917. Oh yeah, that's Bruce alright.

(If you've got a Supercar Teardown story you'd like to share, please email us at autoinsider@jalopnik.com and we might feature yours in an upcoming installment)

[via teamspeed, youtube]

You can count the number of mid-engine Jaguar models on one hand. And that's even if you're missing a finger or two. The XJ13 of 1965-66, the XJR-9/15 of the late ‘80s, and today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe candidate- the XJ220.

In the mid 1980s, Jaguar's chief engineer, Jim Randle, saw competitors' halo cars emerging on the market, and felt Jaguar should follow suit. The vision was for a Lightweight two-seat coupe with unmistakable Jaguar genes in its appearance, and an unrivaled top speed.

The resultant XJ220 debuted at the 1988 British Motor Show to universal acclaim, and it was announced that the now-fat cat would go into limited production. Eager buyers put down deposits based on the show car, which had a 6.2 litre DOHC V12, upward rising doors, and Ferguson all-wheel drive.

Due to development cost constraints, the production XJ220 ended up with the TWR-engineered twin turbo V6 from the Rover Metro 6R4 rally car, and sans the scissor doors or all-wheel drive. Those who had made deposits on the car were compensated for the loss of 6 cylinders, 2 driving wheels and Lambo doors with a significantly higher price tag- $650,000 or about 10% more than initially quoted.

Despite this bumpy launch, TWR managed to squeeze out over 280 of the cars (Pininfarina designed one later on for the Sultan of Brunei) for Jaguar. The amazing bodywork is also remarkably efficient, allowing for a top speed of 215 mph, and providing articulating front and rear air control surfaces to help keep the shiny side up. In 1993, the competition version- the XJ220C- won the then newly created GT class at LeMans, and the street version held the production car top speed crown until the McLaren F1 knocked it off the pedestal in 1994.

This particular example is claimed to have been DOT/EPA certified in California, which is no small feat. It has 2,891 miles on the clock, and has a presence that is undeniable. But unlike, say, a Ferrari, there's a lack of universal iconic identification that tells the plebeians, as you pass them by, that this is a dramatically unique and valuable ride. And therein lies the rub, as Shakespeare most eloquently posited.

So are you a feline fancier who thinks $219,000 for an XJ220 is the cat's pajamas? Or does asking that much for a Jag make you want to cough up a hair ball?

You decide!

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After taking a week off our Supercar Teardown series, we thought we'd come back with a Ferrari that has many people up in arms. The debate will always rage on whether the 348 or the 355 was the better Ferrari, but there's no denying that the small-displacement, high revving V8s located between the flanks of both cars were simply epic. From a design standpoint, the distinct 80s flavor of the gills on the side of the 348 make it an instant personal favorite, though some of the technical details are what seal the deal.

When released in 1989, the 348 was equipped with the Tipo F119D, a 3.4-liter quad-cam, 4-valve per cylinder, dry-sump lubed V8, which produced 300 horsepower at launch and 320 horsepower in later iterations. The 90° V8 was a development of the Ferrari 328 and featured a bore and stroke of 85 x 75mm respectively. Peak power was reached at 7200 rpm with a 10.4:1 compression and used a Bosch Motronic M2.5 fuel injection system.

The 348 marked a departure from previous small Ferraris by having an engine situated longitudinally and its gearbox transversely, a layout similar to the Ferrari 288 GTO and F40. Helping this change was the switch from a tubular steel chassis to a pressed steel chassis with a tubular engine sub-frame that also helped Ferrari comply with new global crash test regulations. Another major change was made at the request of Ferrari's racing program; the entire engine was attached to the rear suspension system and required full removal for any major servicing. It also made for easy powertrain replacement in the future 348 Challenge cars.

What we're looking at today is the removal of said engine in order for it to receive its 30k servicing and according to its owner sameerrao, from The Auto Union, it will receive a new water pump and Hill Eng tensioner bearings as well as a full inspection of a cam leak on the right side, the lower drive pulleys and a strange tapping sound coming from the left cylinder bank. Looks pricey to us!

(Hat Tip To Guyon!)

(If you've got a Supercar Teardown story that you'd like to share, please email me at autoinsider@jalopnik.com and we'll feature yours in an upcoming installment)

[via theautounion] (Image Credit: club348, Video Credit: YouTube)

In addition to sucking up the world’s excess supplies of carbon fiber and titanium, supercars are also excellent devices for taking ungodly sums of cash and turning it into, well, nothing. While Albert Einstein might point to a factual error or two in that argument, supercars definitely depreciate in ways very familiar to the Dan Osman types who tie themselves on climbing ropes and plunge into ravines.

Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a two-seat vehicle is usually reserved for people who couldn’t care less about their money, but these are not usual times. And if you had money to burn, would you store it in a bank? Surely not. Why not buy a Pagani Zonda Cinque instead?

Five will be made of these street legal versions of the Zonda R track special. On sale at ES Elite Style GmbH is chassis #1 for a cool 1.6 million Euros—two million bucks at the current exchange rate. For your monetary equivalent of a Presidential fleet of Maserati Quattroportes, you will get a sequential gearbox, 678 very useful horsepower, and a large athletic shoe with a sinister red-white-black color scheme to zip around in.

One word of warning to the potential buyer: this is an extremely low car best suited for well-maintained tarmac. Please do not drive it on the French island of Kerguelen, which is a glaciated volcano in the Southern Ocean and has no paved roads. Presented here for your warning is the painting The Incompatibility of Zondas with the Subantarctic Environment from the Pagani Zonda Field Guide:

You know it’s bad luck when albatrosses eye your vehicle with suspicion. Jusk ask a sailor intimate with the Roaring Forties.

Following last week’s news of Italian space jacket-clad ex-Pininfarina designer Jason Castriota’s new supercar to be unveiled in April at the Shanghai Motor Show, here is the first episode of Inside Project M, a documentary series by Kinetic Fin and Bradley Farrell about his new car. Castriota talks about the heritage of his new employer, Bertone, and how car designers have an arc of creativity in the first chapter of Bradley Farrell's documentary of the build:

The American-born Castriota has done more to advance teenage boy bedroom decorations that any other designer since the early 70s. In a few short years at Pininfarina, he has built up an awesome portfolio. He has had a hand in designing the Ferrari 599 GTB and the Maserati GranTurismo and has created two of the most beautiful one-off cars ever made: the Maserati Birdcage 75^th and James Glickenhaus’s Ferrari P4/5. As of December 1, 2008, Castriota is the design director of Pininfarina archrival Stile Bertone.

We also have an exclusive still shot of Castriota’s new supercar. Here it is, in Maserati racing colors:

Now, you might be thinking along the lines of “Hey Jalopnik, that’s a vague car shape covered with a rumpled tarp on a forklift!” Do not despair. We happen to have a similar photograph of Castriota’s previous project:

And look how well that turned out:

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The McLaren F1 is considered one of the greatest (if not, the greatest) supercars of all time. It's quirky, driver-focused and fast. With a top speed of 242 mph, central driving position and complete carbon fiber reinforced plastic monocoque chassis structure set it apart from all other production road cars when it was released in 1992 and stills manages to stand tall in the crowd of almost cookie-cutter supercars today.

Its stunning BMW-sourced 6.1-liter 60-degree V12 featured an aluminum block and heads with an 86mm x 87mm bore/stroke, quad-overhead camshafts controlling four valves per-cylinder and a dry sump oil system. The bespoke engine was officially designated the BMW S70/2 and weighed in at 586 lbs while producing 627 horsepower at 7400 rpm and 480 lb-ft of torque at 5600 rpm. This same engine was used to power the BMW V12 LMR prototypes from 1998 to 2000.

A little known fact from the developmental story was that the famous BMW V12 may not have actually powered the McLaren F1, instead Murray looked to both Honda and then Isuzu to power his new supercar.

"During this time, we were able to visit with Ayrton Senna (the late F1 Champion) and Honda's Tochigi Research Center. The visit related to the fact that at the time, McLaren's F1 Grand Prix cars were using Honda engines. Although it's true I had thought it would have been better to put a larger engine, the moment I drove the Honda NSX, all the benchmark cars-Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini-I had been using as references in the development of my car vanished from my mind. Of course the car we would create, the McLaren F1, needed to be faster than the NSX, but the NSX's ride quality and handling would become our new design target. Being a fan of Honda engines, I later went to Honda's Tochigi Research Center on two occasions and requested that they consider building for the McLaren F1 a 4.5 liter V10 or V12. I asked, I tried to persuade them, but in the end could not convince them to do it, and the McLaren F1 ended up equipped with a BMW engine."

What better way to celebrate Gordon Murray's new venture than with a little history of one of his greatest achievements of his career. Enjoy!

[TS via YouTube]

Yes, it's fast; with the top shelf twin-turbocharged V12 cooking up 760 HP, 811 lb-ft it'll do 0-to-60 in 3.6 seconds and a 0-to-200 MPH in 10.15 seconds, but it best be done under the cover of darkness as the townsfolk will come to attack it with pitchforks and torches. The Tramontana folks are apparently great at building a fast car, but also just as good at building an ugly one. (Hat tip to Nick Hall!) [Youtube]

The hotel's pastry chef, 21-year-old Aaron Billington, was arrested on suspicion of causing "thousands of pounds of damage to the car." Must've been a heavy bloke.

The damage consists of a cracked windscreen and a busted side window. Repairs are estimated at £7,000, or a bajillion dollars American, whichever comes first. The singer, who owns "four Ferraris and seven Porsches," was described as both devastated and forlorn. We at Jalopnik are similarly distraught, though not as distraught had it been our own Enzo.

Do we have to begin Saving The Enzos again, or can the pastry chefs of the world keep it in their collective pants?

[DailyMail]

De Kleine makes coloring books for kids on his site LetMeColor.com and promises to include no concept cars but "only the real stuff that was really produced." In a clever move, he tested his work on his kids Marieke and Jeroen. Marieke seems to have gotten the essence of Lamborghinis: just use a bunch of really weird colors!

You get the full range of Lambos from the 350GT to the Reventón, including a picture of the Countach with the scissors doors up. The book will be available in a few weeks and you can sign up here for an email alert.

The idea of hitting these with a paintball gun from a distance also seems very compelling.

Photo Credit: Frank de Kleine

The visually challenged Tramontana R is sort of a rebellion against the likes of Lamborghini and Ferrari — a purpose built missile of V12 powered fury, all function over style. It's a notion we can get behind. But damn it sure is ugly. The car is powered by a Mercedes V12 available in 550 HP form or a walloping twin-turbocharged 760 HP, 811 lb-ft version. For the top-line version we're talking 0-60 in 3.6 seconds and a 0-200 MPH time of only 10.15 seconds. It gets to 200 MPH faster than a Toyota Yaris gets to 60 MPH.

But holy mackerel is it ugly. [via Autoblog]

While the Ferraris featured here (the F40, F50 and 360) have all been some pretty clean examples, this Diablo does not fall under that category, requiring a full rebuild of all 12 cylinders. In these shots you can really see the Lamborghini tractor lineage due to the just-get-it-done appearance of most of the engine's components. Yes, it's an exotic, but not in the hermetically-sealed Ferrari sort of way. We can definitely appreciate that.

(If you've got a Supercar Teardown story that you'd like to share, please email me at autoinsider@jalopnik.com and we'll feature it in an upcoming installment!)

[via lamboweb, Photo Credit: nomadicentrepreneur @ Flickr]

Mr. Luigi Scala once again frightens us again with his unabashed knowledge of the prancing horse stable, by ripping apart a seemingly perfect Ferrari F50. Though all was not perfect as there was an apparent oil leak and a need for a new clutch which looks to be quite the job from the above photos. Thankfully, they took the time to document the journey that most would not want to endure themselves. Stay tuned for more for more Supercar Teardowns.

(If you've got a Supercar Teardown story that you'd like to share, please email me at autoinsider@jalopnik.com and we'll feature yours in an upcoming installment)

[via Universal Autosports]

The small German manufacturer, Lotec, has recently released new images of the updated 2009 Sirius. Originally launched in 2000, the Lotec Sirius set its sights on some of the fastest supercars on the market with its Mercedes-Benz sourced V12. While the engine is similar to the one found in the Pagani Zonda, Lotec attached two turbos to the 12-cylinder mill in order to reach a peak of 850 HP.

While details about the new model are scarce, we do know that Lotec had originally tested the Sirius’ V12 to 1,200 HP and a 249 mph top speed. With these numbers, the Lotec is setting its sights on the performance giants including the Bugatti Veyron, Koenigsegg CCX-R and the SSC Ultimate Aero. Are they serious?

We asked you back in 2006 and we’ll ask you again –- do we care?

[via WorldCarFans]

According to Edmunds Inside Line, Toyoda was able to keep the LF-A alive, albeit in an altered form. Instead of being released as an Audi R8 or Nissan GT-R competitor, it’s though that the LF-A production could now be capped at 500 units, each with an asking price of around $300,000. Expect to see that 550 HP, 200 MPH production version some time in 2009. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for mass production and a much lower price tag. [via Edmunds]