Ferrari SP12 EC, 2012

• Ferrari SP12 EC, 2012

For a Ferrari enthusiast and great musician like Eric Clapton a one-off car just had to be produced. Designed by the Centro Stile Ferrari in collaboration with Pininfarina and the engineers from Maranello, the Ferrari SP12 EC was created as homage to Clapton's career and his long lasting experience as a Ferrari owner.

The world-famous guitar player has been attached to one particular Ferrari model: the 512 BB, of which he has owned three over the years. So his desire was to drive a car inspired by this model, with influences from the multi-award winning 458 Italia. Exclusively in the latest issue of the Ferrari Official Magazine Eric Clapton talks about his passion and how the idea of a one-off car was born.

Meticulous attention in terms of style and technology was paid to the proportions and architecture of the SP12 EC - which is part of Ferrari's One-Off Programme - making this exceptional car even more significant. Just like music is created, applying the right notes in the right places to build a musical score, so was the creative process behind the Ferrari SP12 EC.

For Eric Clapton, following the project through from what was, essentially, a blank canvas, was 'one of the most satisfying things I've ever done." Unique and irreproducible like the final car.

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FM Auto Evantra, 2012

 

 

 

• FM Auto Evantra, 2012

The production-ready version of a new supercar - the F&M Evantra - is born from the project "Mugello".

The F&M tradition the name comes from the ancient etruscan language and it represents the concept of an object which is unique and exclusive, in fact, Evantra for the etruscan was the goddess of immortality.

F&M Evantra produced in a limited series, only 5 examples per year, of which the first has already been commissioned and will be presented in mid 2012.

The extreme personalization by its future owner of each car produced will be supervised personally by its creator, Mr. Luca Mazzanti in the new atelier "Mazzanti Automobili" in Pontedera.

The lightweight steel chassis, the low center of gravity, the low kerb weight and the performance of the engine - available as naturally aspirated or biturbo - all add up to the spectacular dinamism of the F&M Evantra besides the balance of the car makes it absolutely at home on any racetrack or on a remote mountain road.

The body is a 2 seat coupe
The bodywork is produced in two different steps, the first called PRO-BODY: made of composite materials, which is always available, or the second, called ONE-BODY: entirely hand crafted, all aluminim body, personalized by the client. With this option the client can have a project dedicated exclusively to the single vehicle, virtually building a One-off.

Technical specifications
    Engine & Power
        Engine layout: 6 cylinders, flat
        Engine capacity: 3.5 l
        Power output: 403 HP (naturally aspirated) / 603 HP (twin turbo)
        0-100 km/h: 3.7 sec

    Dimensions
        Length: 4325 mm
        Height: 1225 mm
        Width: 1955 mm
        Wheelbase: 2550 mm
    Kerb weight: 1200 kg (PRO-BODY)

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Eterniti Artemis, 2013

 

 

 

•  Eterniti Artemis, 2013

Eterniti Motors, the London-based boutique luxury carmaker, unveiled the engineering prototype of its first car at Beijing's Auto China 2012 international motor show.

The vehicles on display are in-use, running prototypes so do not represent the final finish quality but do closely reflect the definitive interior and exterior styling.

The car, named Artemis, is the world's first Super-SUV - a term created by Eterniti for a new class of vehicle providing the higher levels of luxury, performance and exclusivity demanded by today's wealthy car buyers but which have not been available until now.

The car's production by summer 2012, beating Bentley, Lamborghini and Maserati's luxury SUV offerings to market. Orders can be taken now through Eterniti's sales operations in Europe (London) and Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong and Taipei), for deliveries starting in autumn 2012.

The car has a limousine-like rear cabin featuring up to 100mm of additional legroom, twin reclining rear seats with heating and cooling, iPad-ready holders with electronic reveal, and a drinks chiller. This satisfies a specific need, particularly in Asian markets, for a car suitable for both being chauffeured in and driving for pleasure. Unlike a conventional limousine, an SUV can offer excellent handling and driver appeal, and the ride height and ruggedness are suitable for poor road surfaces which can make limousines and conventional high-performance cars completely impractical. The Eterniti Artemis is the ultimate crossover.

The interior is lavishly handcrafted, with a specification also including the finest leathers, quilted undercarpets and boot trim, lambswool rugs, veneers including natural woods, piano black and carbon fibre, a choice of sunroofs and starlight roof lining, and a state-of-the-art audio system.

The body panels are carbon composite and hand-built, and finished in a large choice of paint colours, complemented by different chrome trim styles. Ultra-low profile 315/25 tyres sit on dedicated 23" super-lightweight forged alloy rims in a variety of styles.

The 4.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine produces over 600bhp (441kW) and 750Nm (553 lb ft) torque, can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 4.5 secs and can exceed 290 km/h. Performance and handling have been developed by a race-bred British engineering team led by Alastair Macqueen. Macqueen previously developed to production the Jaguar XJ220, then the world's fastest road car, and has engineered three outright Le Mans 24 Hour race wins for Jaguar and Bentley.

The car has been test-driven by F1 Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert, who will play an ongoing role in product development as well as being an ambassador for the brand.

With a similar specification to the Beijing show vehicles the Eterniti Artemis is priced at the local currency equivalent of £210,000 plus local taxes in all markets except China, which will have a unique pricing strategy. A fully bespoke service will also be offered for customers wanting complete personalisation.

Eterniti is establishing a network of wholly-owned showrooms in key centres. Its London headquarters also has an atelier and a build facility where vehicles can be created and hand-built on-site to any specification. The facilities will be completed by July 2012, followed later in the year by Eterniti-owned showrooms in Taipei and Hong Kong, which will serve as the company's Asia-Pacific hub, with Tokyo following in 2013. The company is actively looking for retail partners to develop representation in China during 2013.

Cars covered by a full two-year, 100,000-mile warranty including servicing, and UK customers will have access to finance and insurance.

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Citroen C3 Picasso, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

•  Citroen C3 Picasso, 2013

Making its world debut at the Paris Motor Show, the new version of the Citroën C3 Picasso, which has sold in over 320,000 units, is more distinctive than ever with its bold styling and innovative architecture.

New styling features include a new front bumper with the new chevrons along with LED daytime running lights for a sportier feel. Two new body colours are on offer, Nacré white and Encre blue, accompanied by new upholstery choices (new cloth for Confort trim models and optional Mistral Claudia leather). The Citroën C3 Picasso also gets new 15-inch and 16-inch light alloy wheels.

The new Citroën C3 Picasso is available with the eMyWay satnav system including jack and USB sockets and a Bluetooth hands-free kit. The system can be hooked up to a reversing camera for easier manoeuvres. Other new features include fog lamps with static cornering lighting, an electrochrome interior rearview mirror and a front ceiling console with LED ambient lighting.

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Chrysler 300 Glacier, 2013

 

 

 

 

• Chrysler 300 Glacier, 2013

The new 2013 Chrysler 300 continues to show the numerous personalities that are capable from its elegant and iconic design. Beginning with the ultimate in muscle - Chrysler 300 SRT8, the ultimate in luxury - new Chrysler 300C John Varvatos Luxury Edition, the ultimate audiophile - Chrysler 300S with Beats by Dr. Dre, and now arriving in time to tackle winter, the ultimate all-weather athlete - the new Chrysler 300 Glacier.

From cruising through the city, to escaping away to a snow-covered ski resort, the new 2013 Chrysler 300 Glacier has a commanding design presence and the power and all-weather capability to carve through some of the most snow-covered landscapes.

With its state-of-the-art eight-speed automatic transmission, steering-wheel mounted paddle shifters, and a more powerful 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine with new sport-tuned exhaust and cold-air induction system delivering 300 horsepower — the new 2013 Chrysler 300 Glacier delivers best-in-class fuel economy (18 mpg city / 27 mpg highway, while providing maximum all-weather traction, efficiency and driving performance through the segment's most advanced AWD system. For even more power, the new Chrysler 300 Glacier offers the legendary 5.7-liter HEMI® V-8 engine with four-cylinder mode Fuel Saver Technology to deliver 363 horsepower and up to 23 mpg highway.

The Chrysler 300 Glacier's AWD system features a segment-exclusive active transfer case and front-axle-disconnect system to improve real-world fuel economy. No other major automotive manufacturer offers the combination of these two independent technologies. Chrysler 300's innovative AWD system seamlessly transitions between rear-wheel drive and AWD with no driver intervention. When AWD is not required, the system automatically disconnects the front axle to maximize fuel economy while still providing the outstanding fun-to-drive performance and handling inherent in rear-wheel-drive vehicles.

Building on the avant-garde appearance of the Chrysler 300S model, the new 300 Glacier features contemporary exterior and interior styling elements for a flagship sedan that delivers refinement within its landmark design. Hinting that this Chrysler 300 sedan was born with an ice-cool demeanor - unique body-color fascia accents, along with Gloss Black mirrors, headlamp bezels and Black Chrome sculpted horizontal grille blades give the Glacier a low-key street presence. Emphasizing the Chrysler 300 Glacier's iconic silhouette and head-turning proportions even more is an all-new Gloss Black painted roof option. Filling this AWD sedan's wheel wells and aiding in its world-class handling are unique 19-inch eight spoke aluminum wheels finished in Satin Carbon with P235/55R19 all-season performance tires. Exterior paint colors for this Chrysler 300 include Bright White, Billet Silver Metallic and exclusively to this model, Glacier Blue Pearl Coat.

The interior of the Chrysler 300 Glacier exudes an athletic-luxury theme with 12-way power driver and passenger sport seats featuring black "Falls" cloth in the seat centers and leather-wrapped bolsters in black and finished with black French-seamed stitching. Exclusive use of Piano Black on interior center stack, instrument panel, steering wheel, gauge cluster and door panel elements provide a uniquely lacquered and highly detailed appearance. For even more spirited driving die-cast steering-wheel mounted paddle shifters with "sport mode" are ergonomically designed behind the 300 Glacier's black leather-wrapped thick-rimmed steering wheel. Completing the enthusiast-designed interior are matte carbon hydrographic accents and black floor mats with black velour binding and "Glacier" logo embroidered.

The 2013 Chrysler 300 Glacier is available in U.S. dealerships now, with a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $36,845 (excluding $995 destination).

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Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Bernar Venet, 2012

 

 

 

• Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Bernar Venet, 2012

French artist Bernar Venet has been invited by Bugatti, legendary supercar-maker, to create a work of art that combines the artist's vision and passions with Bugatti's celebrated Veyron Grand Sport. Through a congenial synthesis of artistic concept and technical possibilities, Venet has created an object that integrates the symbol of speed with a fascinating, painterly exterior and an interior that alludes to haute couture. This one-of-a-kind sculptural work will be on view at the Rubell Family Collection in Miami during Art Basel Miami Beach.

Bernar Venet remarks, "A Bugatti is already a work of art in itself, one that transports both its beholder and its driver into new dimensions of reality. I realized how I could translate my passion for mathematical equations and scientific treatises into three-dimensional form. My works are usually self-referential. So I found the idea of translating the equations of the Bugatti engineers onto the bodywork of the car very appealing. It was, so to speak, a logical conclusion and a new challenge in terms of the specific form of collaboration and implementation. To me, the result is also exceptional when measured by artistic standards and bestows the object with a mythical character."

The artistic avant-gardes of the first half of the twentieth century found inspiration in the car as an object of desire; they depicted it in drawings, paintings and sculptures that projected absolute speed as their point of orientation. In the 1970s, the car served as an unconventional canvas for many artists, such as Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, who painted what became known as "art cars". This practice continued to be embraced in the 1980s.

Since the 1990s, international artists have concentrated on exploring the shifting cultural historical significance of the car. This has resulted in sculptural and conceptual responses such as those by Erwin Wurm, Gabriel Orozco, Christoph Keller, Olafur Eliasson and Damian Ortega, which tend to contextualize the car as a paradigm for the acute social and cultural changes of a globalized world.

Bernar Venet´s approach is radically different from these movements and art works. He takes on the Bugatti Grand Sport by selecting a totally original solution, which distinguishes itself from the more traditional work of his predecessors. The application of mathematical formulae calculating the enormous power of the Bugatti engine on the car itself, allows him to implement the self-referential character inherent for his paintings. In doing so he pays tribute to the genius of technological science as well as the German Know-How of automobile production.

In his 2012 artistic adaptation and exploration of the Bugatti Grand Sport Bernar Venet has combined image and object to highlight the fascination with this model's absolute beauty and speed. His work unites a conceptual approach and sculptural craft on equal footing. In this work for Bugatti, Venet links the Pop artists' claim to the car as a canvas with the utilization of every technical and aesthetic means available for designing the fastest and costliest car in the world today. Venet incorporates signs taken from the realm of production into his visual idiom and creates a total work of art that harmonizes object and outer surface, interior and exterior, and evokes the exhilarating speed of the Bugatti Grand Sport.

Achim Anscheidt, Chief Designer at Bugatti, states, "Our collaboration with Bernar Venet, one of the most demanding artists of our time, has led to creative impulses and inspiration that will continue to motivate us in the fields of concept and design. We are pleased that this collaboration has resulted in the creation of a significant, collectible work of art. The self-image of the Bugatti brand derives from an artistic identity that unites sketch, drawing, technical planning and realization into an intermedial whole. Bernar Venet doubly honors our brand by making reference to the technical formulae of our engineers without fully revealing their secrets. It is an homage to the principle of dialogue and to the human capacity to question and redefine established boundaries. Venet is always focused on the essentials and so is Bugatti."

The Rubells have a long history with the artist, and Mera Rubell notes, "Our friendship with Bernar Venet began in the mid-1970s. Our young families bonded over dinners and great conversations in his SoHo loft. The children played and the adults engaged in endless talk about contemporary art. Don [Rubell] and Bernar have always shared an obsession with the beauty and complexities of mathematics. When we met Bernar he was already an accomplished artist and a very intuitive collector of emerging art. We benefitted from his generous insight into the artist's perspective and his artwork has been part of our collection since the 1970s. Bernar's life-long, signature obsession with mathematical formulas has found a ready-made canvas on the Bugatti, which is both original and dynamic. We're proud to present the Venet/Bugatti collaboration at our Foundation's museum."

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