Car FYI

Photo Credit:  Maserati S.p.A. For Italian exotic car builder Maserati, 2024 is a year of some major milestones. At the end of this year, the company will make its 110th anniversary producing exquisite sports cars and other various luxury vehicles. Other notable anniversary for Maserati recognizes one of their brand’s classic limited edition supercars with a limited edition release of their current supercar. Spawning as part of Maserati’s Special Series with touches furnished through their Fuoriserie Personalisation Program, the MC20 Icona and MC20 Leggenda pays tribute to the MC12's legacy. Built in 2004 and 2005, the Maserati MC12 is recognized as the company’s fastest production vehicle. While the phenomenal MC12 owed much of its existence to the extraordinary Ferrari Enzo as the Prancing Horse-badged machine was the source for the Trident branded supercar’s chassis and 6.0-liter V-12 engine, Maserati was able to apply some distinguishing traits to their vehicle. Wearing a body ...

Photo Credit: Mike Maez/Gooding & Company untitled Arguably the zenith of automotive engineering in the 1990s and one of the greatest performance cars ever built, the McLaren F1 instantly generated an aura of motoring greatness. Conceived by a championship-winning Formula 1 team with a design first penned by Gordon Murray, the ultimate dream car of its era featured a super-aerodynamic shape sculpted around a unique three-passenger cockpit where the driver is seated in a central position. The McLaren F1's propulsion from a 6.1-liter twelve-cylinder engine supplied by BMW generating 618 horsepower has the capacity of pressing to speeds up to 240 miles per hour (386.24 kilometers per hour) when performance is unrestricted. The creditable pedigree and performance of the supercar would be amplified as the car’s GTR racing variant won in multiple classes of sports car racing with overall victory in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans being a highlight.   Only 64 road-legal e...

Photo Credit: McLaren Automotive For a supercar driver, the greatest sensation is travelling forward at a speed unreachable by a typical passenger car. The McLaren Artura, the latest high-velocity, road-going creation from the British auto racing team that expanded into exotic performance car builder is set to become another desirable machine for those with the style, courage and money to explore the wider boundaries of automobile performance.   Touting acceleration from 0 to 60 miles per hour (96.56 kilometers per hour) in just 3 seconds and a top speed of 205 miles per hour, McLaren’s Artura supercar muscle goes with the sophistication expected for a vehicle in the third decade of the 21st century. Momentum for the Artura is supplied by a new hybrid electric/gasoline powertrain combining a lightweight, twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 engine generating 671 brake horsepower with a 94-horsepower E-Motor that produces 165 lb-ft of torque. Equipped with a 7.4-kilowatt-hour lithiu...

Photo Credit: Maserati North America Inc. Founded more than 105 years ago, Italian luxury car builder Maserati has manufactured creations blending the exclusive, high-end luxury with passionate sports car athleticism. While Maserati spent recent years championing their Levante sport utility vehicle as well as the Ghibli and the heavily-updated Quattroporte premium sedans, fans of the brand eagerly awaited the time more personalized driving experiences connected to the Trident logo. The long-anticipated replacement to the GranTurismo and GranCabrio grand tourer line, excepted to borrow design language communicated with the elegant Alfieri concept car, is planned for sale either next year or 2022. With September 9th MMXX: Time to be audacious” event, Maserati took the covers off their exceptionally powerful, lightweight MC20. Radiant in an elegant yet race car-like appearance, the Maserati MC20 is said to be the start of a new era for the Italian automobile company. The MC20 (a name com...

Photo Credit: Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 aficionados in recent seasons have been witnessing a renaissance of the Silver Arrows in a manner not seen since the 1950s. Returning to the series as a constructor in 2010, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula 1 team hit a masterful stride in the prestigious open wheel racing tour in 2014 when a new series mandate for a hybrid gasoline/electric powerplant came to fruition. As of September 12th of 2017, the Mercedes-AMG team has taken victory in 60 of the 72 events since the current hybrid power unit specifications came into effect. As is the case with any automaker who uses motorsports to define their brand, Mercedes-Benz’s performance division naturally wants to directly transfer success on the track to the street. A single-passenger, open-wheel race car designed to run a main feature race no longer than two hours is starkly different from a production vehicle seemingly limits the amount of technology that could be shared. Unveil...

Photo Credit: Automobili Lamborghini Although 2016 resided in the ‘Year of the Monkey”, one major Italian automaker was lifted by a year of the bull according to sales numbers. A year where Lamborghini spent time to commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Miura, a car that arguably gave relevance to the term ‘supercar’, the exotic vehicle constructor also left 2016 on a joyful note. Lamborghini achieved historic record sales globally through the past 12-month period by sending 3,457 of their latest high-performance vehicles into elite hands of the wealthy and socially affluent. This recent all-time achievement for Lamborghini follows up last year’s successful run of 3,245 vehicles. The 2016 year’s 7 percent increase over the previous year is also the sixth consecutive time where the sports car builder posted growth. According for the majority of 2016 Lamborghini models was the V-10 powered Huracan. Lamborghini Huracan and Spyder variants totalled to 2,353 of the 3,457 vehic...

Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company Almost two years since its initial introduction to the public at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Ford GT has enjoyed some busy duties. The supercar propelled by one of the most powerful twin-turbocharged V-6 engines ever placed inside a North American built production car has been in the spotlight even before the first vehicle was handed to its first owner. An auto show darling and driven in virtual form in Forza Motorsport 6, the racing version of the Ford GT became a quick spectacle in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Taking three class victories in the North American sports car racing series in its debut season in 2016, the year was highlighted by the LMGTE Pro category victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With a modern pedigree established, the first production examples of the 2017 Ford GT will work on cementing its status as a road car.   Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company Taking place in Ma...

Photo Credit: Audi AG It's been more than two years when the beam of some vehicle headlights gained intensity in Europe. In 2014, the first use of laser lighting technology debuted on a pair of niche vehicles (the European BMW i8 and a limited 99-car run of the special edition Audi R8 LMX. Generating a powerful white illumination using an indirect shine of a laser (a laser is projected through a mirror into a phosphorous lens), laser automotive lights may represent the next progression beyond LEDs as a high-beam source. As this lighting concept is slowly becoming a potentially bright opportunity for greater driver visibility during the nighttime, North America has not been involved in the efforts to highlight the use of laser lights. The prohibition on laser lights served as a reminder towards decades where the North American standards for vehicle lighting tends to lag behind European rules. Uncertainty with the technology has prevented its availability at the initial release...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy At the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the most advanced formation of Italian sports car technology and design of its time was unveiled to the world . Called the LaFerrari, the spiritual successor to the Enzo supercar exhibited active aerodynamics and a hybrid powertrain system called HY-KERS. Besides causing a great deal of confusion on how to properly pronounce the vehicle's name (would we refer to it as Ferrari LaFerrari or just the LaFerrari), the hypercar's factory quoted 949-horsepower generated collectively between a gasoline-fueled 6.3-liter V-12 engine and a pair of electric motors was channeled into the rear wheels for spectacular launches to a top speed up to 217 miles per hour. After the 499 planned LaFerrari models were produced, strong demand paved the way to the open-top version. The 2017 LaFerrari Aperta will be officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show at the beginning of October. Every essence of the ultra-performance machine represe...

Photo Credit: Aston Martin The Americas Long regarded as the most prestigious form of auto racing, Formula 1 has been known for creating legends. Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, James Hunt, Mario Andretti and Michael Schumacher are among a few that transcend the borders of motorsport to be seen as sport stars based on their mastery inside the global open wheel series. As impressive as driver instinct and physical nature impacts auto racing, finely-tuned machines have provided the basis for legacies. Teams looking for the competitive edge have developed technologies and philosophies becoming the foundation for most supercars. Fuel injection, mid-engined configuration, carbon fiber construction and semi-automatic transmissions. The technology transfer of Formula 1 cars to road cars has also been accompanied by the teams of the sport. While manufacturer involvement is a cornerstone to Formula 1, the reversal trend has always been popular. The story was that Enzo Ferrari began buil...

Photo Credit: Aston Martin The Americas It seems James Bond is always running or chasing something. Piloting jet aircraft, boats, jet skis and even a lunar vehicle from a fabricated sound stage,  cars are the best known means of moving a world-saving spy  in whatever locale on the globe he lands. British luxury car maker Aston Martin owes their entire company image on their appearance in the movie franchise first with the DB5 and with subsequent models used over decades. Spectre, last year's continuation of the movie saga starring Daniel Craig playing British secret agent codenamed '007', contained a custom-made Aston Martin racing in high-suspense scenes. The Aston Martin DB10 was a hand-built sports car created specifically for the movie. A marriage of carbon fiber and aluminum, the alluring British vehicle is set in motion by a 4.7-liter V-8 engine and six-speed manual transmission permitting top speeds of 190 miles per hour. Despite being a world-renowned super s...

Photo Credit:Chris Nagy It was another wild weather outing for me trekking down to Toronto on Thursday for what is one of the most special annual traditions for me. On the plus side this year, the worst temperature I endured was only -17 degrees Celsius instead of -23 degrees Celsius. You may ask me what propels someone to undertake foot travel when the vile force we call winter is at all might. The 2016 Canadian International AutoShow is the answer I proudly give. Since 2009, my devotion to automotive journalism has been rewarded with an advance viewing of some of the greatest new cars and special displays. Always logging around a healthy weight in equipment for what works out to be roughly ten hours of attendance at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, I return tired but incredibly fulfilled with what has been presented to me. Some would think ten hours is more than enough time to absorb all the information at a display for automobiles. I must beg the pardon of those i...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Technology wastes no time in ringing-in a new year. This week, the CES (Consumer Electronic Show) 2016 edition will provide a dazzling showcase pitching how this recently-arrived year, as well as others following, could be impacted by new ideas. Once a major exhibition for computer companies and home electronics trends, auto companies have rapidly assumed the figurative center stage at CES as a changing driving experience is quickly becoming apparent. Appearing almost as important as Detroit's North American International Auto Show in some aspects, the beginning of the year has Ford Motor Company devoting considerable resources into the 2016 CES. Set to be part of their showcase starting with Tuesday January 5th press conference ahead of the CES' opening, Ford has presented an impressive official show vehicle for the event. The reincarnated supercar that served as an auto show crown jewel in 2015, the 2017 Ford GT represents 2016's new and a...

Photo Credit Shelby American Inc. The Super Snake’s legend was spawned in 1967 when two Shelby Cobras were heavily converted into world-beating high-performance machines. The key modification for the Cobra Super Snake was the addition of two turbochargers to the 427 cubic-inch Ford V-8 engine producing would was estimated to be around 800 horsepower. Projected to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 3.2 seconds and capable of traveling at speeds up to 190 miles per hour, the roadster proved too hot to hold and was never commercially available. In 2007, the Super Snake nameplate has been given a second life as an enhanced version of the GT500 and GT500KR. With the arrival of the Ford Mustang’s sixth generation model, Shelby has made the ultra powerful reptilian an even greater predator. Shelby’s all-new 2015 Super Snake slithers to new heights in street-legal Ford Mustang performance. Based off the Mustang GT, the 2015 Shelby Super Snake is cosmetically treated insi...