German | SuperForza.com

Dec 29, 2009

Porsche wants to challenge Audi at Le Mans

Despite being settled comfortably in the Volkswagen Group family, Porsche aims to win the number one spot at Le Mans for a 17th time, rivaling Volkswagen’s Audi. New Porsche CEO, Michael Macht allegedly wants Porsche take home more overall victories as well.

However, Porsche has not had an overall victory since 1998, but with the resources of VW to back it up, Porsche could develop a prototype similar to their soon to debut hybrid to take the coveted first place.

Audi e-tron electric drive puts out 3,319 lb ft?!?

Audi is standing by it’s claim that the e-tron elective drive supercar has 4,500 Nm (3,319.03 lb ft) of torque. The guys over at Automotive Magazine didn’t believe that claim, so they did some of their own calculations and came up with 252 lb-ft. Now that’s a huge discrepancy, no matter how you look at it. The main difference is how Audi measure the torque output. The astronomical 3,319 is the torque as measured at the wheels after being geared down and multiplied. So, why the disparity between the actual torque of the motors and the figure espoused by Audi to the motoring press?

Well, besides the obvious answer that 3,319 lb-ft at the wheels sounds much more impressive, Audi’s engineers apparently thought the larger number was more indicative of the actual feeling of all the push generated by the four electric motors when accelerating from a dead stop, as the maximum torque figure is achieved right from zero RPM.

No matter what the torque is, the concept, based on the current R8, looks absolutely fantastic. Let’s hope we’ll actually see it hit production in the new few years.

Cargraphic brings Airlift system to Audi R8

The Audi R8 is undoubtedly awesome. It is also undoubtedly low, as in to the ground. Not low enough to prevent you from getting around, but you pay close attention anytime the word “driveway” comes up. Cargraphic has engineered an airlift system to address the issue that can raise the car 72 mm (2.8 inches) in 15 seconds. The best part about it is that it doesn’t alter the dynamic performance of the car’s suspension.