Gumpert Tornante 700 HP Supercar Coming in 2012

The German company that brought us the extreme Apollo hypercar teamed up with Italian coachbuilder Touring Superleggera to create the Tornante, a more refined, GT-style version of the Apollo, that will go on sale in 2012.

The design and body engineering are the work of Touring Superleggera, a company which is also known for the Bentley Continental Flying Star shooting-brake. The 2-seater Tornante builds on the style of the Apollo, yet its appearance is less edgy and more luxurious.

Details that underline its Gumpert DNA, such as the huge frontal and lateral air intakes have been reshaped in a more pleasant way for the eye, while the racing-style cabin, the high-sitting rear-view mirrors and the gull-wing doors have been retained. At the rear, the Apollo's huge wing gave way to an elegant extension of the cabin, whose main attraction is the split rear window.

Design refinement aside, Touring Superleggera also worked on improving passenger and luggage space, comfort, access and ventilation, and noise levels.

Gumpert's engineers used an Apollo-derived space frame chassis with the same central engine layout for the Tornante. Thanks to various weight saving measures, the Tornante tips the scales at only 1,300 kg (2,866 lb), which means its should be only marginally slower than its more extreme sibling.

It has the same Audi-sourced 4.2-liter V8 biturbo engine that has been completely reworked by Gumpert engineers, producing 700 ponies. Mated to an automatic six-speed gearbox that changes gears faster than the blink of an eye (40 milliseconds), the unit produces a hefty 900 Nm of torque (663.7 lb-ft) at 4,000 rpm. Performance figures have not yet been revealed, with Gumpert only saying that the car can reach speeds of over 300 km/h (186 mph).

By Dan Mihalascu

TECHNICAL DATA

2-seater sports car with a mid-engine arrangement, chrome-molybdenum steel chassis with an integrated safety cell, doors and the boot lid open with gullwings, carbon body, 100 l stainless steel tank behind the passenger cell with integrated catch tank, long and pushrod-operated double transverse control arm suspension with fully adjustable dampers front and rear and anti roll bar in front, ground clearance adjustable between 60 and 140 mm, two circuit ABS brake system with six piston callipers, inside ventilated discs (378 x 32 mm) at front and rear.

Dimensions and Weight

Length - 4,475 mm

Width - 1,971 mm

Height - 1,215 mm

Wheelbase - 2,700 mm

Track front / back - 1,648 / 1,600 mm

Boot volume - ca. 200 liters

Kerb weight (depending on equipment components) - 1,300 – 1,400 kg

Engine

V8-cylinder-Biturboengine with 90° cylinder angle, Closed-Deck light metal crankcase, light metal cylinder heads with five valves per cylinder, four overhead camshafts, variable time of ignition (Vario Cam direct) on the intake, hydraulic valve clearance compensation, dry sump lubrication, double-flow exhaust system with 3-way catalytic converter, four Lambda probes for gas mixture and diagnostics, On-board diagnostic system, 2 Intercoolers, electronic ignition with a rested ignition distribution (eight ignition coils), sequential multipoint fuel injection, electronic accelerator system (drive-by-wire)

Cylinder / type / valves per cylinder - 8 / 90°-V/5

Cubic capacity - 4,163 cm³

Stroke – Bore - 93 / 84,5 mm

Nominal output (kW / HP at rev / min) - 515/700 at 6,500

Max. torque (Nm / lb ft at rev / min) - 900/663.7 at 4,000

Maximum rev – 7,400 rpm

Litre performance (kW/l / HP/l) - 123.7 / 168.1

Compression / recommended fuel type - 9.3 / 98 ROZ / 88 MOZ

Emission standard - Euro 5

Gearbox - Automatic six-speed gear box TT40e with synchronization and oil cooling, operated with paddle shift controls, twin plate clutch configuration (diameter 240 mm), Torsen differential lock

Wheels/Tires - Michelin Pilot Super Sport front 265/35 ZR19, back 345/30 ZR20

Wheel dimension- front 10 J, back 13 J

Wheel rim type - Aluminum cast or forged wheels with centre lock

Performance Figures

Top speed (est.) - above 300 km/h (186 mph)

Gumpert Tornante 700 HP Supercar Coming in 2012

The German company that brought us the extreme Apollo hypercar teamed up with Italian coachbuilder Touring Superleggera to create the Tornante, a more refined, GT-style version of the Apollo, that will go on sale in 2012.

The design and body engineering are the work of Touring Superleggera, a company which is also known for the Bentley Continental Flying Star shooting-brake. The 2-seater Tornante builds on the style of the Apollo, yet its appearance is less edgy and more luxurious.

Details that underline its Gumpert DNA, such as the huge frontal and lateral air intakes have been reshaped in a more pleasant way for the eye, while the racing-style cabin, the high-sitting rear-view mirrors and the gull-wing doors have been retained. At the rear, the Apollo's huge wing gave way to an elegant extension of the cabin, whose main attraction is the split rear window.

Design refinement aside, Touring Superleggera also worked on improving passenger and luggage space, comfort, access and ventilation, and noise levels.

Gumpert's engineers used an Apollo-derived space frame chassis with the same central engine layout for the Tornante. Thanks to various weight saving measures, the Tornante tips the scales at only 1,300 kg (2,866 lb), which means its should be only marginally slower than its more extreme sibling.

It has the same Audi-sourced 4.2-liter V8 biturbo engine that has been completely reworked by Gumpert engineers, producing 700 ponies. Mated to an automatic six-speed gearbox that changes gears faster than the blink of an eye (40 milliseconds), the unit produces a hefty 900 Nm of torque (663.7 lb-ft) at 4,000 rpm. Performance figures have not yet been revealed, with Gumpert only saying that the car can reach speeds of over 300 km/h (186 mph).

By Dan Mihalascu

TECHNICAL DATA

2-seater sports car with a mid-engine arrangement, chrome-molybdenum steel chassis with an integrated safety cell, doors and the boot lid open with gullwings, carbon body, 100 l stainless steel tank behind the passenger cell with integrated catch tank, long and pushrod-operated double transverse control arm suspension with fully adjustable dampers front and rear and anti roll bar in front, ground clearance adjustable between 60 and 140 mm, two circuit ABS brake system with six piston callipers, inside ventilated discs (378 x 32 mm) at front and rear.

Dimensions and Weight

Length - 4,475 mm

Width - 1,971 mm

Height - 1,215 mm

Wheelbase - 2,700 mm

Track front / back - 1,648 / 1,600 mm

Boot volume - ca. 200 liters

Kerb weight (depending on equipment components) - 1,300 – 1,400 kg

Engine

V8-cylinder-Biturboengine with 90° cylinder angle, Closed-Deck light metal crankcase, light metal cylinder heads with five valves per cylinder, four overhead camshafts, variable time of ignition (Vario Cam direct) on the intake, hydraulic valve clearance compensation, dry sump lubrication, double-flow exhaust system with 3-way catalytic converter, four Lambda probes for gas mixture and diagnostics, On-board diagnostic system, 2 Intercoolers, electronic ignition with a rested ignition distribution (eight ignition coils), sequential multipoint fuel injection, electronic accelerator system (drive-by-wire)

Cylinder / type / valves per cylinder - 8 / 90°-V/5

Cubic capacity - 4,163 cm³

Stroke – Bore - 93 / 84,5 mm

Nominal output (kW / HP at rev / min) - 515/700 at 6,500

Max. torque (Nm / lb ft at rev / min) - 900/663.7 at 4,000

Maximum rev – 7,400 rpm

Litre performance (kW/l / HP/l) - 123.7 / 168.1

Compression / recommended fuel type - 9.3 / 98 ROZ / 88 MOZ

Emission standard - Euro 5

Gearbox - Automatic six-speed gear box TT40e with synchronization and oil cooling, operated with paddle shift controls, twin plate clutch configuration (diameter 240 mm), Torsen differential lock

Wheels/Tires - Michelin Pilot Super Sport front 265/35 ZR19, back 345/30 ZR20

Wheel dimension- front 10 J, back 13 J

Wheel rim type - Aluminum cast or forged wheels with centre lock

Performance Figures

Top speed (est.) - above 300 km/h (186 mph)

Panzer on Wheels: Audi Unveils the Armored 2011 A8 L Security

As any self-respecting luxury car manufacturer, Audi is also offering its customers BRVs or Bullet Resistant Vehicles, with the latest such model being the W12-powered 2011 A8 L Security. Set to go on sale in late summer, this...panzer on wheels will also be available with another, as of yet unspecified powerplant, starting from 2012.

To the untrained eye, the 5.27 meters (208 inches) long sedan is almost identical to the standard A8, but looks are definitely deceiving as the Security is said to comply with the strictest standards in ballistic protection and can even withstand an explosion and still offer adequate protection for its passengers.

The armored sedan is built in roughly 450 hours in a special facility at the Neckarsulm plant in Germany, where the use of cell phones is prohibited in order to prevent any technology leaks.

At the heart of the A8 L Security is the Audi Space Frame (ASF) aluminum body, which holds a safety cell built using extremely tough materials, such as hot-formed armored steel, aramide fabric, ceramics, special alloyed aluminum and multilayer glass. Many of these overlap at the joints for added protection. The safety cell alone weighs 720 kg (1,587 pounds), but engineers didn’t stop there.

The side sills have also been reinforced, complemented by the armored floor, 300 kilograms (661 lbs) of special glass with polycarbonate coating and strengthened doors that weigh an additional 360 kg (794 lbs).

In case of an attack, the optional emergency exit system, built-in fire extinguisher system and smoke extractor can provide additional protection.

The A8 L Security is powered by a 6.3-liter W12 engine, which churns out 500HP and 625 Nm (461 lb-ft) of peak torque. Despite the added weight, the direct-injected naturally aspirated unit is capable of propelling the vehicle from standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in a very respectable 7.3 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 210 km/h (131 mph). Power is sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission and the company’s trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system.

With its projected average consumption of 13.5 lt/100 km (17.4 US mpg), the armored luxo-barge needs 3 liters of gasoline less than then the previous 450HP model. Furthermore, the second engine is said to further reduce consumption to 10-11 lt/100 km (23.5-21.4 US mpg), which could point to a diesel powerplant.

To better cope with the extra weight, the chassis, brakes and electronic control systems have been revised, while the 19-inch forged wheels are shod in high load index tires that allow the vehicle to continue traveling at speeds of up to 80 km/h (50 mph) even if tire pressure is lost.

Inside, the A8 L Security offers the same levels of quality and comfort as any 2011 Audi A8 and can be equipped with a bevy of high-tech optional features, ranging from the state-of-the-art Bose sound system to the fast UMTS Internet connection module.