The votes from 59 international journalists have been counted and the finalists for World Car of the Year have been named. The Detroit News is reporting that the Toyota Prius, Volkswagen Polo and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class have made the final cut, and the three vehicles will go toe-to-toe on April 1st (no foolin’) at the start of the New York Auto Show, which is where the World COTY award is announced.
On the performance vehicle front, the Audi R8 V10, Porsche 911 GT3 and Ferrari California are jockeying for the big prize. We feel sorry for the judges who have to choose from among these three junkers, but we’re sure they’ll somehow make it fun for themselves.
Design finalists are the Citroen C3 Picasso, Kia Soul and Chevrolet Camaro, and from the green category we have the previously mentioned Prius, the Honda Insight and Volkswagen’s BlueMotion diesel offerings.
Mr Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari’s Chairman, presents the World Premiere of the Hybrid 599 GTB Fiorano Concept Car.
Onlookers green with envy. Waiting twitchingly for the traffic light to turn green. A briefcase full of greenbacks. Even British Racing Green, if you’re talking about a GT. You could find a few ways to associate Ferrari with the color green, but the environmental sense would be a bit of a stretch - historically speaking, at least. But the times, as one Mr. Zimmerman wrote, they are a-changing. Now even Maranello has been forced to get on board the “Heal the World” train. And this is the result.
Called the HY-KERS, what you’re looking at is a rolling test bed. It’s a hybrid, sure, but if you thought this was a haphazard application of a plug-and-play hybrid system, think again. The HY-KERS incorporates a roadgoing derivative of Ferrari’s Kinetic Energy Recovery System - fancy-talk for regenerative braking - from last year’s Formula One program.
Ferrari has worked diligently to optimize the benefits of the system to the 599’s performance. The entire system weighs a modest 40 kilograms, partially offset by the obviation of the starter motor and conventional battery. Integrated into the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and mounted below the car’s center of gravity, the system returns over 100 horsepower, supplementing the V12 engine under hard acceleration and it can even operate under full electric power when puttering around town. Of course, a Ferrari never putters around anything, save for when it takes its owner for a round of golf at the local country club.
Koenigsegg reveals the Agera ahead of the Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari’s 599 Hybrid photos leak online, and F1 gets a new pace car for 2010, it’s the SLS Gullwing, and AMG is happy. Hosted by Derek deangelis.
Every team’s looking at the Ferrari double deck diffuser and see what happened for the Mclaren members.
Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari, Luxury
UPDATE: We’ve removed the pics at the request of Ferrari, who say that the images were not authorized for release. No worries, the 599 Hybrid should officially debut in a couple days at the Geneva Motor Show.
With just a few days separating us from the Geneva Motor Show, the list of surprises continues to dwindle. The latest victim is the much-anticipated Ferrari 599 Hybrid which the automaker has confirmed will appear in Switzerland next week.
The shots appear to have been taken from the show stand, so there’s no hard information to go off of yet. What we do know is that Ferrari will employ a version of its Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) that originally debuted during the 2009 Formula 1 season on the 599. The system captures energy normally lost to the flywheel under braking, sending a boost of energy to the wheels when the driver hits a steering wheel-mounted button. Judging by the size of the battery pack, it’s doubtful that the 599 will be able to operate on electric power alone. We’ll find out soon enough, but until then, check out Ferrari’s green beastie in the gallery below. Top tip John.
Geneva Leakage: Ferrari 599 Hybrid caught on stage *UPDATE originally appeared on Ferrari News on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Novitec Rosso always goes big at the Geneva Motor Show, and this year won’t be any different with the introduction of the 848 RACE, a twin-supercharged version of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.
As its name would imply, those two blowers, combined with a set of water-to-air intercoolers, a new exhaust and an ECU tune, are good for 848 horsepower at 7,900 rpm and 621 pound-feet of torque at 6,300 rpm, allowing the matte white and grey supercoupe to run to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, hit 186 mph in 23.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 214 mph flat out.
In addition to the new 20-inch wheels in front and 21-inch hoops in the rear, upgraded Brembo brakes and an adjustable sports suspension that can lift the front of the 599 by 40 mm, aluminum and carbon fiber accents swath the inside, along with an upgraded flat-bottom steering wheel with a switch that opens an additional baffle in the exhaust. Novitec hasn’t released full pricing on the upgrades, but for this kind of custom kit, we’d expect the 848 RACE to command a $200k premium over the base 599.
GT Racing: Motor Academyof gameloft
Michael Schumacher (born 3 January 1969, in Hürth-Hermülheim, West Germany[1]) is a seven-time Formula One World Drivers’ Champion, currently driving for Mercedes GP. According to the official Formula One website he is “statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen”,[2] he holds many of the formula’s driver records, including most championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season - 2004
