Common Rail Diesel Engines - The Big Comeback of the Diesels

20 years ago this was the deal. If you want a fast car, do not buy a  Diesel. Same goes for if you wish to hear your own thoughts while driving, if you need to see something other than loads of black smoke coming from behind you, if you worry about the environment, and if you do mind asking yourself whether it will start in cold winter mornings and, when it does start, if you do mind waiting for about 15 minutes for it to warm up enough to run normally.

The only reasons they existed were a lot better fuel efficiency, high expected mileages (some old Mercedes diesels were known to run more than 600,000 miles) and the fact that they could run on almost anything oily, including used cooing oil. 

But more strict laws about emissions and ever-improving fuel efficiency of petrol cars made the developers do something to improve the diesels. Common Rail diesels are what they came up with. And they are great. Remember all those downsides of diesels from the first paragraph? Forget them all. And still keep the better fuel efficiency.

Keep reading at: http://www.mendaily.com/common-rail-diesel-engines-the-big-comeback-of-the-diesels/

Zenvo ST1 – Beast From the North

Danish company Zenvo is just celebrating their first decade of existence, but they already have a hypercar that is actually able to compete with the most revered names in the industry. With somewhat different philosophy and complete dedication, Zenvo is quickly making a name for themselves in one of the most difficult niches out there. How is this possible?

The design

Design is always important for a sports car. Paying huge amounts of money for a car should provide you with the looks that are outstanding, or at least distinctive and thought provoking. The first thing Zenvo had in mind while constructing the ST1 was the design. They say that all sports cars out there at the moment look the same and that they wanted to make a car like no other. While we could argue against this point of complete uniformity in design, we can also agree with it to some extent. So, let’s have a look at the ST1 and see what they came up with.

The ST1 prototype is actually more like a completely finished car rather than a prototype. It is smooth, with beautiful lines and believable looks. Keen attention to detail is evident wherever you lay your eyes and it by no means looks like a work in progress.

Looking at the front of the ST1 we can see the headlights groups consisted of three angled circular lights at each side that direct the view towards the honeycomb grille that is placed very low. Above it there are massive gaps that look like air intakes which are also angled towards the grille. The inconspicuous fog lights are cleverly placed low below the headlights.

Zenvo ST1 front view

The back is also great. The cars lowering roof line falls below the line of the rear wheels thus leaving room for a non-protruding spoiler which connects the two sides. The spoiler is subtle, but effective. Despite all this, the back seems like a one-piece movement that is cleverly saved from clean monotony by the lights and exhaust grouping on each side.

Zenvo ST1 rear view

However, side view is simply amazing. Even the sharp lines neatly flow  from one shape to the other, always following the same pathway and rounding up the appearance in every respect. We can see how confident they were from the fact that the ST1 is usually shown in white, which is the color that fails to mask design flaws. If a car is white, it needs to be beautiful.

Some might say that Zenvo did not entirely succeed in creating a different car. We could find some similarities with other sport cars – namely the LFA, and even the R8 and – but the ST1 is hands down the best looking one of them all. Somehow they managed to make it screamingly aggressive and elegantly subtle at the same time.

The 'screamingly aggressive' part

Interior

The interior is sleek and everything is easy to operate and instantly readable, which is very important for fast information processing and reacting the significance of which you will understand when you read what’s under the hood. The steering wheel seems massive, but it leaves clean view of the five-piece instrument cluster.

The seats are amazingly supportive and comfortable enough, having in mind that this is an extremely fast car (wait for it).

Other than that, not much else is going on that could distract you from the road. The central part begins with the two vents, continues down towards the multimedia screen and central console that consists of a protruding transmission stick, three large dials and a strangely placed parking brake.

Still, you can choose to customize the interior features deciding from a variety of colours, leather or Alcantara and aluminum and carbon fiber details.

Under the hood                                                                 

I barely sustained myself from telling you what’s in the heart of this beast. The engine is a 7l V8. Now, you might wonder why it is just the V8, and not V10 or even V12. The reason for this lies in the reduced length of the V8. More cylinders would require the wheels to be taken further back and this would impair the design greatly.

But, trust me, the ST1 lost nothing due to this. The engine is turbocharged and supercharged and it produces a mind-blowing 1,104hp at 6,900rpm and road-melting 1,050 lb-ft of torque at 4,500rpm. And they said that the design was the main focus. Having in mind the amazing weight reduction that brings the ST1 to weigh only 1,376kg (3,033lb) the car is able to reach the top speed of 233mph and enjoy the accelerations to 62mph in 3 seconds and to double as much in 8.9 seconds. And the sound is just amazing.

The engine is paired with a single-clutch 7-speed transmission that has the mentioned stick shifter, but also the F1 paddles that are available in automatic mode. Stopping power is entrusted to Brembo carbon fiber disks.

Final word

It is difficult to take the words of the creators seriously when they say that they did not aim to create the fastest car in the world so as not to ruin the design when you look at the figures and 1,000+ horsepower, but in all fairness, the ST1 is far more than just a fast car. The design is definitely more than successful and you will be pressed to find a more beautiful and complete supercar. Add to this the house-built engine and the stunning performance and the highly regarded competitors will have to start worrying about the sales, right? Well, not entirely. Only 15 ST1s will be made so, even though the car certainly poses a threat to other cars in its niche when it comes to design and technology, it is not very likely to hurt anyone’s sales.

Photos: http://www.netcarshow.com/

2015 JAGUAR F-TYPE COUPE

Jaguars have always been something else in automotive industry, very distinctive and often a subject of that love-it-or-hate-it story, just with far more people who love them. The same goes for the new F-Type Coupe. Still, times have changed for everyone and Jaguar needed to comply. The XJ220 from the beginning of the nineties was one of the first steps in the modernizing direction and it turned heads of the entire industry. From then on, the Jaguars have become more and more acceptable for larger groups of consumers with their design and price alike.

Jaguar F-Type Coupe

Today, even sports cars from Jaguar follow the same route. They are not as distinctive as they used to be and they follow the modernized design route, but they have managed to perform the transition perfectly. The modern Jags are not like the old ones, but they are absolutely lovely. Their 2011 hybrid concept called the C-X16 is the proof of this. The following year they announced that the design of the C-X16 will be basis for the non-hybrid F-Type. The same year they presented the 2013 F-Type Convertible and the 2013 LA Auto Show was the setting for the first unveiling of the 2015 model F-Type Coupe.

The design             

Now, the convertible is pretty cool. Sleek and powerful looking, it is a great car to enjoy on a sunny day, but the simple addition of a roof for the Coupe model changed the appeal of the whole car. And this for the better. The roof made the car seem more robust – not that the convertible seemed fragile, mind you – and it added a wonderful roof line and rear windows.

Jaguar F-Type Convertible

The Coupe side view

The rear windows, though small, make a huge difference in the side view of the new F-Type. They lead the roof line towards the rear of the car, making the roof seamlessly connect the front and the rear, and the ascending line at the windows’ bottom, that abruptly rises after the door window ends, strongly accentuates the muscular nature of the section above the rear wheels. Relative lack of B pillars makes all the glass surfaces at the side seem unified.

The roof facilitates an impeccable transition from the front to the rear. The car is highest just above the seats and the curve rapidly brings the roof down as it reaches the rear where it connects with the ascending line of the rear window. The back of the car, looking from the side, seems abruptly cut but this just adds to the aggressive looks.

Coupe with the aluminum roof

From the front, you can see the large grille at the centre at whose sides there are four air intakes in total. Above the intakes sit the headlights which are placed widely apart which leaves lots of room for the hood that seems massive.

The back starts off with a narrowed top and spreads as the view goes down ending with four round exhausts and a prominent diffuser.

F-Type Coupe back view

Interior

First the roof again. There are aluminum and glass versions and both provide identical rigidity.

The steering wheel is covered in leather and filled with easy to use buttons near the place where your thumbs should be. The round central part with the horn, airbag and the Jaguar logo is somewhat strangely lowered making the instrument cluster very visible, but also creating an unusual effect that some may not like.

The central console is large, easy to operate and tastefully designed. It is dominated by a large screen and three dials which lead the view towards the transmission stick.

With top materials, great finish and clean design, the interior looks like a cockpit where the driver is the main guy and everything revolves around him. Even the separating bar that hugs the transmission stick hiding it from the passenger bluntly shows this. The leather seats are comfortable and they provide great support in bends.

Under the hood

There are no compromises with the Coupe. Jaguar puts great amount of trust into this car calling it “the fastest, sportiest Jaguar road car in history” in a very tough competition. This might come as a surprise having in mind the mentioned XJ220 with the top speed of 217mph, and the Coupe does not run that fast. But, it actually beat the XJ220’s Nurburgring lap of 7 min 25 sec by six seconds.

Just like with the Convertible, there are three engine options. The most powerful one is the 5l V8 that goes inside the Coupe R and it is a beefed up version of the one from the Convertible. It produces 550hp at 4,500rpm and 502lb-ft of torque from 2,500 to 5,500rpm all of which make the Coupe run to 60mph in 4 seconds and reach the top speed of 186mph. The weaker options are the 3l V6 ones with 340hp for the Coupe and 380hp for the Coupe S. These versions have the 0-60mph time of 5.1 and 4.8 seconds and top speeds of 161 and 171mph respectively.

All engines are paired up with the ZF ‘Quickshift’ eight-speed automatic transmission and you run through them using paddle shifters.

The handling is aided by the improved Electronic Active Differential and new torque vectoring system, modified spring rates, adaptive dumping and probably optional ceramic brakes with amazing pre-fill feature that increases pressure when you release the throttle thus making breaks more responsive when driving more aggressively. All of these features make the Coupe a lot more precise, responsive and fun to drive than the Convertible.

Final word

The Coupe is definitely a greatly improved Convertible. It is so much better that it actually presents a capable competition for the leaders in the market such as the Porsche 911 Carrera S. It has more power, more torque and a similar price, but it is about 550lb heavier as well. Having in mind that the new Carrera is a misleadingly smooth beast, some might even prefer the more energetic F-Type Coupe R. Speaking of price, the starting MSRPs of the Coupe, Coupe S and Coupe R are $65,000, $77,000 and $99,000 respectively.

Photos: www.jaguarusa.com