Welcome to the Hooniverse News! As always, this is a weekly recap of some of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or bull. There’s also just a little opinion of mine because I can. This week:
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Ferrari replaces F12 with new V12-powered monster with appropriate name
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Pagani reveals advanced Huayra Roadster after nearly 7 years of development
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Jaguar adds new four cylinder engines, in-car fuel payments to 2018 models
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McLaren confirms new engine and some performance data for new Super Series
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Mitsubishi still hates fun and now hates our memories of fun cars they once made
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Chevrolet Cruze diesel achieves impressive EPA numbers
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What’s your automotive news?
Ferrari 812 Superfast
It was almost exactly 70 years ago that Ferrari built their first V12. The first one was stuffed under the hand-formed hood of the 1947 125 S racer and it was a 1,496.77 cc, 60° V12 which produced 118 horsepower. That engine powered several victories in its first race season and its success helped pave the way for a long line of other more powerful V12s throughout the company’s illustrious history.
That ultimately leads us here to the all-new Ferrari 812 Superfast unveiled yesterday. It’s a replacement for the desperately beautiful F12 Berlinetta and F12tdf and what’s most important about it is that it hasn’t lost the V12 as has been rumored – it just got a better one. A bigger one.
Excluding the LaFerrari’s V12, the 6.5-liter naturally-aspirated V12 in the 812 Superfast is the most powerful road going V12 they’ve ever produced (it actually ties with the LaFerrari). 789 horsepower and 530 lb.-ft. of torque is what this car gets to play with. That’s all sent to the rear wheels but it has enough traction to knock out the 0-60 sprint in just 2.9 seconds and it won’t stop going until “over” 211 mph. For what may be the last naturally-aspirated, non-hybrid V12 Ferrari ever (though we’ve been saying that for a while), it’s one incredible way to go out.
The 812 does of course get numerous updates to its chassis and that includes an improved Virtual Short Wheelbase (rear-axle steering) with a quicker response time, side-slip control, and the company’s first ever electric power steering system. Until we’re given a chance to take the helm (lol) we’re just going to assume it isn’t as good as the old steering.
Its design may be more controversial than the EPS though. As with the last few cars Ferrari has redesigned like the 488 and the GTC4 Lusso, there are a lot of similarities between this new design and that of the older F12s. It has a similar silhouette, similar proportions, and the wheels seem to just be a more swoopy design of the F12’s wheels, but it’s distinguished by new details at all corners. The main difference is in the front fascia with its new headlights and grille area, the side panels with a different… thing to them, and the business end with new quad tail lights and lower diffuser area.
So there you have it. Here’s the next Ferrari coming to those fake 1%er Instagram accounts near you. It’ll make its first public appearance at the Geneva Motor Show this March.
[Source: Ferrari via Autoweek]
Pagani Huayra Roadster
Because it’s impossible for Pagani to build anything normal, here’s the new Huayra Roadster that was unveiled this week. Taking the roof off sounds simple but Pagani’s immense attention to detail means this is way more than just a chop job. The Huayra Roadster is a more advanced car in general compared to the Huayra Coupe and it’s actually even faster as well.
Starting with the obvious first, the Huayra looks incredible as an open top car. Work on this car began in 2010 but the design was scrapped completely in 2013 in favor of what ultimately became the reimagined car we’re looking at now. As Horacio Pagani puts it,”if we think of the Huayra Coupe as a personification of elegance and timeless lines, the Huayra Roadster was to be the rebellious sister, shapely and beautiful, but with a sharp edge for those who are careless.”
They say every single part of the car got redone by designers to some extent, including the more aggressive and pronounced mouth of the car, wider wheel arches, the roll bars, and even the interior itself. One of its most defining features is the new bonnet which serves as “an elegant vitrine” for the high tech V12 stored beneath it.
The lack of a roof typically means chassis rigidity is compromised, but it’s the exact opposite in this case. Pagani engineers set out to produce a roadster that was lighter and stiffer than its hard top counterpart and that meant a more advanced carbo-titanium frame was needed.
It wasn’t easy, but they managed to keep the roadster’s dry weight down to 2,820 pounds, 176 pounds less than the coupe (which was already among the lightest cars of its kind) while also improving rigidity by 52%.
Then there’s the engine. Pagani has of course stuck with Mercedes-AMG power but opted for the most powerful option. The 6.0-liter M158 twin-turbo V12 (which Mercedes-AMG builds exclusively for Pagani) produces 754 horsepower and over 734 lb.-ft. of torque, the same as the top-of-the-line Huayra BC. That power is sent to the rear wheels through a seven-speed automatic built by X-Track for the Huayra BC.
Helping tame all that force is a new lightweight suspension designed specifically for the car based on research done for the Zonda R and Huayra BC, new 15″ front and rear carbon ceramic brake discs built using a new compound from Brembo, and lightweight six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers which Pagani helped design themselves for reduced unsprung weight.
As you can see, the car is absolutely mental. It’s of course ridiculously expensive at $2.4 million. It’s also limited to 100 units and they’ve obviously been sold before it was even announced to us plebs. But if you can ever track one of these down and take a look in person, they’re like true works of art. It’s like a rare painting that sells for millions – even if it’s owned by someone richer than you, it’s still possible to appreciate it.
[Source: Pagani]
BLIPS
Jaguar announced a new four-cylinder engine option and new in-car tech which will soon be available on the XE, XF, and F-PACE. The new engine which will serve as the entry point for each of those 2018 models is a 2.0-liter Ingenium turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine with 247 horsepower (and is denoted by 25t badging). 2018 models will also gets more adjustable front seats, Forward Traffic Detection, Forward Vehicle Guidance (the last two require the optional surround camera package), and the XE will now be available with a 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster with 3D navigation. One of the biggest new additions to XE, XF, and F-Pace buyers in the UK is the world’s first in-car cashless payment system which works at Shell fuel stations. That tech will roll out globally by the end of the year. 2018 Jaguar models launch with these improvements and more this May.
[Source: Jaguar]
McLaren confirmed the new engine destined for the all-new Super Series along with some incredible performance data. The old engine that was used in pretty much everything since their first MP4-12C was a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8. It was a great engine, but the new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 “M840T” aims to be even greater. Power, torque, and responsiveness are all improved but we don’t have numbers for any of that yet. Whatever the output is, we know it’ll propel the car from 0-200 kph/124 mph in just 7.8 seconds and that it can run the quarter mile in 10.8 seconds. The best feature though has gotta be the engine bay illumination that operates on vehicle unlocking.
[Source: McLaren]
GUESS WHAT GUYS! GUYS! GUYS GUE– GUYS. GUESS WHAT? THE ECLIPSE IS COMING BACK. Except it isn’t, only the name is. Mitsubishi confirmed that the saddest debut at the Geneva Motor Show this year will be the new compact crossover that they’re unveiling called the Eclipse Cross. They’re promising a design that’ll be as stunning as the astronomical event it’s named after, but from what I can tell from this teaser, it’ll look like a dressed up Outlander. Mitsubishi hates fun and they hate the memories we had of their once fun cars.
[Source: Mitsubishi]
Chevrolet’s diesel-powered Cruze just reminded us what an actual clean diesel can really do. The Cruze with GM’s 1.6-liter Ecotech four-cylinder and a six-speed manual just earned a 52 mpg highway, 30 mpg city, and 37 mpg combined rating from the EPA. With the nine-speed automatic those numbers are 47 mph highway, 31 mpg city, and 37 mpg combined. For a car that starts at $24,670 with the diesel option, it’s hard to beat that kind of efficiency.
[Source: Chevrolet]
What’s your automotive news?
That’s all I’ve got for you this week, so now it’s your turn. If you saw anything, fixed something, broke everything, or otherwise did anything even remotely car related that you want to share with your fellow hoon, sound off in the comments.
Have a good weekend.
[Image © 2017 Hooniverse/Greg Kachadurian]
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