2005 Orca SC7
Orca (much like in Pagani Zonda) uses super-light materials to reduce the weight of this supercar as much as possible. The result is obvious, SC7 weights just 850 kg (1,874 lbs). Its engine produces 738 ft lbs torque (at 4200 rpm) and outputs 850 horsepower (634 kW), which sets power to weight ratio to 1 bhp:1 kg. The production of this Swiss supercar was limited to only 7 automobiles.
Sc7 was made by a supercar manufacturing company called Orca Engineering, which has been founded by René Beck. Sadly the project has died and Mr. Beck has moved on to other projects.
Sc7 was made by a supercar manufacturing company called Orca Engineering, which has been founded by René Beck. Sadly the project has died and Mr. Beck has moved on to other projects.
2007 Ford Shelby GT500
It is certainly one of the most powerful Mustangs to date. This is the new 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 muscle car. To give you a small preview of what this sports car has to offer, let me sum it up with a few numbers and words: 500 horsepower and 5.4-liter supercharged V-8. Did that got your attention? It should have, for someone who likes sports cars with brute strength, those numbers will get them at the edge of their seats. What can I say, this muscle car´s power is classic Shelby. The 5.4-liter, 32-valve V-8 engine has been the result of Ford´s years of tinkering with modular engines. The results are nothing less but remarkable.
The 5.4-liter, 32-valve V-8 engine is nice to read and surely nice to be heard, but how does it perform? Ford made sure that a mixture of air and fuel will be forced-fed into the engine via a "Roots-type" supercharger producing, are you ready for this, 8.5 pounds per square inch of boost. Imagine how the sudden power will affect your speed.
And in order to handle all that power, the Ford Shelby GT500 sports car used a cast-iron engine block drivetrain, reminiscent of the old Ford GT design. The old program aluminum, four-valve cylinder heads, piston rings and bearings system was the foundation for the 2007 sports car GT500' drivetrain. A 6-speed manual gearbox also equips the new Shelby. The heavy-duty transmission has been made to withstand both road and track conditions. Solid Mustang underpinnings and upgraded key chassis components born from a fusion of improved shocks, spring rates and stabilizer bars care-off SVT engineers made the new Shelby strong and stable especially during sudden stops and abrupt turns.
With that V8, you can imagine the sound this baby can make. This sports car roars. And as sinister as the engine sounds, the outside of the GT500 is almost as sinister. Have you seen a Mustang Cobra before? If yes then you´re familiar with the ominous front-end design, the wide upper and lower fascia openings and that functional air splitter. The same goes with the new Shelby. The look of this car can only be described as one mean machine. If you observe the sports car closely, you´ll notice that there´s the presence of an upper intake which made the Cobra logo float off-center. The logo takes the place of the traditional galloping pony that can be found in the center of older Mustangs. Also, the hood has those heat extractors sticking out near the leading edge. This is not just to make the look sinister but to provide engine airflow and create the perfect aerodynamics. Due to this design, the air from the engine compartment is sucked out through ducts that are attached to the hood extractors as the air from the outside passes through the hood.
Definitely, the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 sports car is more than one could hope for after the unique collaboration of legendary Carroll Shelby and Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT). Now being a product of a great union of minds, effort and money, the muscle car sports a "GT500" script on the gas cap emblem along side an updated Shelby classic Cobra logo.
When you look at the interior of the new GT500 racing car, chances are you will be a little surprised. Leather everywhere, that´s what you will see. You will find that the Mustang´s molded-plastic surfaces is covered by uninterrupted layer of stitched black hide. The trimmings found in the door panels are covered by leather as well. So is the steering wheel, the shifter, the parking-brake handle, the dash top, and even the console are covered by no less the genuine hide. The seat center panels themselves are made from red perforated leather, what else would you want? But strikingly different in the new GT500 is the usage of matte-aluminum finish on the shift knob, steering-wheel spokes, instrument rings, and vent registers. In the cars of yore, these parts were made of shiny bright metal decor.
These are considerable upgrades which makes the already legend GT500 sports car more infamous. Base price of the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 has been pegged at more than $40,930.
The 5.4-liter, 32-valve V-8 engine is nice to read and surely nice to be heard, but how does it perform? Ford made sure that a mixture of air and fuel will be forced-fed into the engine via a "Roots-type" supercharger producing, are you ready for this, 8.5 pounds per square inch of boost. Imagine how the sudden power will affect your speed.
And in order to handle all that power, the Ford Shelby GT500 sports car used a cast-iron engine block drivetrain, reminiscent of the old Ford GT design. The old program aluminum, four-valve cylinder heads, piston rings and bearings system was the foundation for the 2007 sports car GT500' drivetrain. A 6-speed manual gearbox also equips the new Shelby. The heavy-duty transmission has been made to withstand both road and track conditions. Solid Mustang underpinnings and upgraded key chassis components born from a fusion of improved shocks, spring rates and stabilizer bars care-off SVT engineers made the new Shelby strong and stable especially during sudden stops and abrupt turns.
With that V8, you can imagine the sound this baby can make. This sports car roars. And as sinister as the engine sounds, the outside of the GT500 is almost as sinister. Have you seen a Mustang Cobra before? If yes then you´re familiar with the ominous front-end design, the wide upper and lower fascia openings and that functional air splitter. The same goes with the new Shelby. The look of this car can only be described as one mean machine. If you observe the sports car closely, you´ll notice that there´s the presence of an upper intake which made the Cobra logo float off-center. The logo takes the place of the traditional galloping pony that can be found in the center of older Mustangs. Also, the hood has those heat extractors sticking out near the leading edge. This is not just to make the look sinister but to provide engine airflow and create the perfect aerodynamics. Due to this design, the air from the engine compartment is sucked out through ducts that are attached to the hood extractors as the air from the outside passes through the hood.
Definitely, the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 sports car is more than one could hope for after the unique collaboration of legendary Carroll Shelby and Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT). Now being a product of a great union of minds, effort and money, the muscle car sports a "GT500" script on the gas cap emblem along side an updated Shelby classic Cobra logo.
When you look at the interior of the new GT500 racing car, chances are you will be a little surprised. Leather everywhere, that´s what you will see. You will find that the Mustang´s molded-plastic surfaces is covered by uninterrupted layer of stitched black hide. The trimmings found in the door panels are covered by leather as well. So is the steering wheel, the shifter, the parking-brake handle, the dash top, and even the console are covered by no less the genuine hide. The seat center panels themselves are made from red perforated leather, what else would you want? But strikingly different in the new GT500 is the usage of matte-aluminum finish on the shift knob, steering-wheel spokes, instrument rings, and vent registers. In the cars of yore, these parts were made of shiny bright metal decor.
These are considerable upgrades which makes the already legend GT500 sports car more infamous. Base price of the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 has been pegged at more than $40,930.
More Ford cars:
2004 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
A blast from the past and a taste of the future, this might just be a good description of the latest sports car that came out from a collaboration of Mercedes-Benz and McLaren, two big giants in the car manufacturing industry. We're talking about the 2004 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. This sports car combines the old yet astounding SLR race cars of the 50s and the latest and meanest technology of high-performance supercars. With the power of race cars and the sleek, curves and designs of a luxury car, the combination from the two car manufacturers is hard to beat.
This supercar is definitely fast. SLR McLaren sports a 626-horsepower supercharged 5.5-liter V8. Also, it has a full carbon-fiber monocoque, features crash structures and body panels. And with the supercharge V8 engine, you can see the 2004 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren go from naught to 60 miles per hour in less than 3.6 seconds. Top speed has been measured to exceed 200 mph, a feat that can only be achieved by very few even among the high performance sports cars. It was the high-performance division of Mercedes-Benz which created the V8s. The AMG were the ones who hand-build the supercharged V8 engines with top notched precision and quality. It is not at a big surprise to see the supercharged 5.5 (5439 cc) liter dry sumped 90 degree V8 engine to produce around 466.8 kW at 6500 rpm (626 hp) and 780 N·m (575 ft·lbf) torque at 3250 - 5000 rpm. The numbers maybe daunting but the sound of the engine will appease the minds of those who long for the perfect high performance cars.
Mounting that V8 engine into the body of SLR exotic car is also not as traditional as one would like to expect. The engine in SLR sports car is placed in a front mid-engine position just behind the front wheels. Instead of using the traditional oil-pan, dry-sump lubricants are used. With this innovation, it is highly possible to mount the engine to a level that used to be unachievable. Because of the low position of the engine in the supercar's body, the results are more than one hoped. The new Mercedez-Benz SLR McLaren race car has better aerodynamics and better handling due to the lower center of gravity.
Not only does the mean features of the sports car that attracts attention but how the two car companies were able to fuse their own traditions and expertise into a single exotic car. For one, McLaren's expertise in Formula 1 has been imbibed wholly by the SLR's design. The composition of carbon fiber material that was used in the body of the new SLR sports car is so Formula 1. Because of this body, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren has become more rigid and surprisingly strong.
But not to be outdone, counterpart Mercedes-Benz has also put a few tricks of its own. The German car maker added features that are deemed essential to the most important part of the vehicle: the passengers. Due to backgrounds in mostly luxury cars, Mercedes-Benz has ensured maximum occupant protection and safety. To my knowledge, the SLR is the only car so far that utilizes front crash structure made entirely of carbon fiber. The importance of this carbon fiber design can only be appreciated in actual crash test simulations. What the front carbon fiber crash structure does is it absorbs crash energy, four - five times more energy than ordinary steel structures actually, during a severe frontal collision. This protects the passengers during such accidents four times more than traditional steel structures found in other sports cars and supercars.
The SLR also has a five speed automatic transmission. There are modes, the Sport, Comfort and Manual which basically covers every known driving style. Sport is for everyday use, Comfort for bumpy or slippery roads, and Manual gives you control over the gears either through the touchpad or the levers on the steering wheel. When you use Manual, you open up three more modes, namely Sport, Supersport and Race. Speed increased significantly as you go up shifts.
Other notable features in this sports car include the high-performance technologies of ceramic brakes. The SLR uses ceramic reinforced with fiber on its brake pads. This technology allows this exotic car to have astonishing stopping power, and extraordinary high resistance to heat, exceptionally strong structure and long service life for the brakes.
With all these features it is not surprising that the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is classified as a sports car and a supercar. Remember to get this right, though, the "SLR" does not stand for "Sportlich, Leicht, Rennsport" which is German for "Sport; Light; Racing" as most people think. Its real meaning is "super-leicht, Rennsport" which means "super-light, racing." The sports car is being sold with a base price of €443,066 £300,000 or $450,000.
As of 8 July 2008 Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive have split up and ceased their collaboration. Looks like McLaren is now on it's own. Mercedes-Benz has started the production of SLS AMG as their top supercar, while McLaren Automotive is working on it's McLaren MP4-12C.
This supercar is definitely fast. SLR McLaren sports a 626-horsepower supercharged 5.5-liter V8. Also, it has a full carbon-fiber monocoque, features crash structures and body panels. And with the supercharge V8 engine, you can see the 2004 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren go from naught to 60 miles per hour in less than 3.6 seconds. Top speed has been measured to exceed 200 mph, a feat that can only be achieved by very few even among the high performance sports cars. It was the high-performance division of Mercedes-Benz which created the V8s. The AMG were the ones who hand-build the supercharged V8 engines with top notched precision and quality. It is not at a big surprise to see the supercharged 5.5 (5439 cc) liter dry sumped 90 degree V8 engine to produce around 466.8 kW at 6500 rpm (626 hp) and 780 N·m (575 ft·lbf) torque at 3250 - 5000 rpm. The numbers maybe daunting but the sound of the engine will appease the minds of those who long for the perfect high performance cars.
Mounting that V8 engine into the body of SLR exotic car is also not as traditional as one would like to expect. The engine in SLR sports car is placed in a front mid-engine position just behind the front wheels. Instead of using the traditional oil-pan, dry-sump lubricants are used. With this innovation, it is highly possible to mount the engine to a level that used to be unachievable. Because of the low position of the engine in the supercar's body, the results are more than one hoped. The new Mercedez-Benz SLR McLaren race car has better aerodynamics and better handling due to the lower center of gravity.
Not only does the mean features of the sports car that attracts attention but how the two car companies were able to fuse their own traditions and expertise into a single exotic car. For one, McLaren's expertise in Formula 1 has been imbibed wholly by the SLR's design. The composition of carbon fiber material that was used in the body of the new SLR sports car is so Formula 1. Because of this body, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren has become more rigid and surprisingly strong.
But not to be outdone, counterpart Mercedes-Benz has also put a few tricks of its own. The German car maker added features that are deemed essential to the most important part of the vehicle: the passengers. Due to backgrounds in mostly luxury cars, Mercedes-Benz has ensured maximum occupant protection and safety. To my knowledge, the SLR is the only car so far that utilizes front crash structure made entirely of carbon fiber. The importance of this carbon fiber design can only be appreciated in actual crash test simulations. What the front carbon fiber crash structure does is it absorbs crash energy, four - five times more energy than ordinary steel structures actually, during a severe frontal collision. This protects the passengers during such accidents four times more than traditional steel structures found in other sports cars and supercars.
The SLR also has a five speed automatic transmission. There are modes, the Sport, Comfort and Manual which basically covers every known driving style. Sport is for everyday use, Comfort for bumpy or slippery roads, and Manual gives you control over the gears either through the touchpad or the levers on the steering wheel. When you use Manual, you open up three more modes, namely Sport, Supersport and Race. Speed increased significantly as you go up shifts.
Other notable features in this sports car include the high-performance technologies of ceramic brakes. The SLR uses ceramic reinforced with fiber on its brake pads. This technology allows this exotic car to have astonishing stopping power, and extraordinary high resistance to heat, exceptionally strong structure and long service life for the brakes.
With all these features it is not surprising that the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is classified as a sports car and a supercar. Remember to get this right, though, the "SLR" does not stand for "Sportlich, Leicht, Rennsport" which is German for "Sport; Light; Racing" as most people think. Its real meaning is "super-leicht, Rennsport" which means "super-light, racing." The sports car is being sold with a base price of €443,066 £300,000 or $450,000.
As of 8 July 2008 Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive have split up and ceased their collaboration. Looks like McLaren is now on it's own. Mercedes-Benz has started the production of SLS AMG as their top supercar, while McLaren Automotive is working on it's McLaren MP4-12C.
