New Lamborghini Unveiled

Making its debut at the Paris Motor show, and......it's a hybrid......I know I'm surprised too.  But it's true the Lamborghini Asterion concept is in fact, a hybrid.  Yes, the the Toyota Prius, and the new Lamborghini finally have something in common. Both cars produce power from two types of engines, electric and gas.  But that is were the similarities end, thank god. (No offense Prius owners)

Lamborghini is keeping with tradition of naming their cars after bulls.  Asterion is the proper name for minotaur. In greek mythology,  minotaurs are part man, part bull.  The name also plays on the notion of the vehicle being a hybrid, and having two engines, well four kind of.

The four engines combined produce a whopping 897 hp.  The 5.2 liter V-10 engine produces 602 hp by itself.  On top of that, there is an electric motor mounted between the V-10, and the seven speed dual-clutch transmission.  The transmission is located at the back of the car this time around.  There are also two smaller electric motors mounted on the front axil.  The motors send power to each individual front wheel.  All together the electric motors produce 295 hp.  The Asterion has three driving modes, the first is EV. Which, is pure electric mode.  The electric motors in the front two wheels are the only thing driving the car.  The car can run for 31 miles in this mode before it will need to charge its batteries.  The second is Termico, Italian for thermal, in this mode you have the full power of the V-10 engine.  The third and final mode is Ibrido, which is Italian for hybrid.  This Mode gives you all four engines, and the full 897 hp to play with.

This is not the fire breathing super car that we are used to Lamborghini designing.  The Asterion is being built as a luxury hyper gran tour.  The styling of the car, is not the wedge shape of current Lamborghinis.  This car has a taller roof line that allows the seating position to be higher.  The car is built to be comfortable on long trips, and every day driving.  But you have almost 900 hp there if you need it.

Lamborghini has stated that the car is not for sale, and is just a concept.  From experience though, I know that car companies don't usually spend this much effort on concepts unless it's going to production.  We might not see the Asterion on the streets but, I guarantee you that its hybrid technology will make it to one of Lamborghini's future vehicles.

Photo Credit "in order of appearance"

http://image.motortrend.com/f/future/concept_vehicles/1410_lamborghini_asterion_concept_first_look/82380471/lamborghini-asterion-concept-front-three-quarter.jpg

http://image.motortrend.com/f/future/concept_vehicles/1410_lamborghini_asterion_concept_first_look/82380483/lamborghini-asterion-concept-side-profile.jpg

http://image.motortrend.com/f/future/concept_vehicles/1410_lamborghini_asterion_concept_first_look/82380561/lamborghini-asterion-concept-front-three-quarter-07.jpg

http://image.motortrend.com/f/future/concept_vehicles/1410_lamborghini_asterion_concept_first_look/82380573/lamborghini-asterion-concept-rear-end-02.jpg

All Hail The New Merc

Ladies and gentlemen, 

introducing the new Mercedes AMG GT

The car was entirely developed by AMG, Mercedes' in house performance division.  It is the first car in the company history to drop the "Benz" moniker.  The AMG GT will be offered in a "base" and "S" model.  Both models with come equipped with a brand new 4.0 liter twin turbocharged V8.  The base GT model makes 456 hp, and can sprint from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds.  The second model, the GT S makes 503 hp and can hit 0-60 in 3.7 seconds, and will keep on going to a top speed of 193 mph.

With this car, Mercedes is diving head first into the sports cars arena.  Its a competitive segment and Mercedes has its work cut out for them if the want a part of the mind share. Because there are 3 very capable cars in the segment that a ready for new meat.

The first, is the undisputed sports car king, the Porsche 911.  The 911 has held the sports cars crown for over 50 years.  Porsche has no plans for losing that title, any time soon.  Porsche has had 50 years of design and engineering that have gone into this car.  Which is why it is the titan, it is today.

The second is america's darling, the new Corvette Stingray. If anyone can take the 911's title it's this car. Not only does the corvette match or  best the 911 in some aspects of performance, it does it for half the price.  With a base price of 53,000 the corvette is the best bang for your buck when it comes to sports cars.

The last, but certainty not least is the beauty queen, the Jaguar f-type.  Arguably the best looking car released this year, the brit has taken the car world by storm.  One because of its movie star good looks.  Second is because the car goes like a bat out of hell, and sounds like thunder as it drives by.

We will find out next year, when the car is released, if Mercedes has what it takes. Can Mercedes build the sports car to rule them all? We will have to wait and see.  Until then we can all watch the new AMG GT tear up the track and drool. 

        

Photo 1 credit: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/1409_2016_mercedes_amg_gt_first_look/photo_55.html 

Photo 2 credit: http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/911/911-carrera-s/ 

Photo 3 credit: http://www.chevrolet.com/2014-corvette-stingray/exterior-pictures.html 

Photo 4 credit http://www.jaguarusa.com/all-models/f-type/gallery.html?view=overlay&carouselIndex=1&nojs=false&prevPage=