Motoring News

As you may have read, the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport has just become the fastest production road car clocking up a staggering speed of 264mph. I am sure you all know that when Bugatti launched the Veyron they focused on the inescapable fact the Veyron was the only car in production that had over 1000bhp. At the time I can remember being blown away by the figures of the new 1million Euro uber-car and the fact that Bugatti and VW were going to be making a loss on each car sold was just a staggering thought to behold.

After the Veyron was released I shed a tear thinking that this could be the last ‘mad’ uber-car we could every see, with climate change becoming an ever more talked about subject and all of the big car manufactures (wisely) investing their R and D money into researching hydrogen and electric cars I had a feeling that the Veyron may very well be the last of generation.

Oh how wrong i was. As well as Bugatti tweaking the Veyron making it even faster, there is a new kid on the block boasting even crazier power, acceleration and speed figures.

The car in question is the new TranStar Racing Dagger GT which houses a whopping 2000bhp engine. The power is produced by a 572 multifuel (petrol/methanol/hydrogen/ethanol) twin turbo racing engine produced by Nelson Racing Engines. The engine will also produce 2000lb/ft of torque which is delivered to the wheels by a 6 speed gearbox.

The amazing figures don’t stop with the power, the Dagger GT is set to rocket to 60 in only 1.5 seconds and complete a quarter mile in a staggering 6.7seconds. The top speed is as equally as mad as the other figures surrounding this car, with the Dagger GT being able to reach 300mph, nearly 40mph more then the new Veyron’s record.

As you could expect the Dagger GT is constructed using a mixture of strong but light materials including high-strength 4130 Chromoly Steel for the chassis and carbon fibre for the exterior body work.

Unlike the Veyron the Dagger GT is almost cheap, priced at $450,000. Though with only 5 units planned for 2011 and 10 units planned for 2012 you better get your orders in fast if you want one.

The car looks great in the pictures, but i have my doubts about how ‘good’ it will actually be. All supercars are built to be fast, but the Ferrari’s and Bugatti’s of this world are also comfortable and refined at the same time. With a race spec engine and a super light body I can’t really see the Dagger GT offering the same package. Also, with an engine as finely tuned as the Nelson Racing multifuel engine in the Dagger I doubt you will be able to many miles before you have to pay for a pricey overhaul. Though I guess if you can afford it as a toy you can afford the bills.

Here are some photos.

Dagger GT Rear

Dagger GT Rear Quarter

Dagger GT Front

Dagger GT Front Quarter

That’s right, the title has ‘Porsche’ and ‘hybrid’ in it together. To be honest, Porsche have been playing around with the hybrid car idea for a while and have been looking to release a hybrid version of the Cayenne 4×4 to try and please those who want a massive Porsche but don’t want to feel like they are harming mother nature… Silly i know.

The Cayenne is not the focus for this post though. I wanted to write about another part of Porsche that is using the idea of adding an electric engine to a car to increase the performance instead of just replacing the petrol engine.

Porsche Intelligent Performance have taken a step back and looked at the whole hybrid car package from another angle. Instead of having the electric motor power the same wheels as the petrol engine and having it take over at low speeds they have decided to do something very different. The 911 GT3 R Hybrid was developed by Porsche Intelligent Performance to do one thing, Go Fast. The car sets about this by using a normal 911 GT3 engine, mounted in the normal place, powering the rear wheels but the car also includes an electric motor, mounted in the center of the car (for weight distribution) and powering the front wheels. The electric motor only comes in when a special button is pressed by the driver to give him that little extra power he/she needs to overtake or power out of a corner. When the electric motor is not being used it get recharged by the turning of the front wheels.

The car is fully focused on performance and racing, so you can forgive the fact that there is no saving of petrol to be found in the 911 GT3 R Hybrid. To test the new hybrid Porsche Intelligent Performance decided to throw the car in at the deep-end and enter it into the Nürburgring 24hr race. Known as one of the most demanding endurance races in the world the Porsche 911 GT3 hybrid ended up retiring after 22 hours and 15 minutes with engine damage after leading its class. Wolfgang Dürheimer, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG, gives an outlook to the future: “The 911 GT3 R Hybrid has proven that highest performance and a unique efficiency don’t exclude each other. The vehicle shows the technological path to racing in the future.”.

I can see the idea behind the Porsche 911 GT3 hybrid catching on in the future. You could say that McLaren have already been using something similar in last seasons F1 car, but with mixed results. Anyway, here are a couple of videos of the 911 GT3 hybrid in action at the ring.

As I said on Friday, the Mclaren unveiled their new team and car at the end of last week in preparation of the new formula One season that will kick off in Bahrain on the 12,13,14 March 2010. The new car in certainly no Van, but looks very different to last years car with the air intake carrying on all the way to the rear spoiler and the back of the car looking bigger to incorporate the new bigger fuel tank. I think it looks great and i cannot wait to see all of the cars in action in just under 39 days time. Here is some shots of the new car and of the launch.

Mclaren MP4-25 F1 2010 car

Mclaren MP4-25 F1 2010 car

Mclaren MP4-25 F1 2010 launch

Mclaren MP4-25 F1 2010 launch Lewis and Jenson

Today Mclaren are set to launch their new look F1 team with the 2010 car. I am sure there is no one out there that doesn’t know that last years F1 World Champion Jenson Button will be joining the team for the 2010 season, but i am looking forward to seeing the new car and the awkward body language between the two British World champs.

This season is shaping up to be one of the most interesting seasons for a very long time, with last years championship winning and constructors winning team being bought out in the off season by Mercedes and michael schumacher joining the fray once again. The most interesting change for the 2010 season is the new rule of no fuel stops. It sounds simple, but with out fueling stops to help pass the car in front drivers will be forced to try and pass each other on the track (or so the theory goes). This isn’t a new idea, the sport has had the no refueling rule in place before. We all know that F1 rules and regulations are like fashion trends, they seem to just go round in a circle, with what was fashionable in the 60′s coming back in fashion again now.I am not complaining though, should make for a good season.I might even make it across to Europe this year for the France or even Spain GP, for now I will just have to enjoy the amusing rivalry between Lewis and Jenson.