Kief Cars

The Ferrari 458 Italia has been introduced at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, currently ongoing in Germany. The sports car was codenamed the F142 and was long rumoured to be named the F450, but it will be called the Ferrari 458 Italia. The car takes its name from the engine, a 4.5 litre V8. The Ferrari 458 Italia has a 7 speed dual clutch gearbox which directs power to the rear axle. The car’s aluminum structure helps keep weight under control.

The Ferrari 458 Italia will be capable of doing 0 – 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds. According to Ferrari the car is “a completely new car from every point of view: engine, design, aerodynamics, handling, instrumentation and ergonomics, just to name a few”. The Ferrari 458 Italia is just over 4.5 meters long and just over 1.9 meters wide. The car will be able to reach a top speed of +/- 325 km/h (202 mph). Despite the engine being bigger than the ones used in the Ferrari 458 Italia’s predecessors, the emissions are reduced and the car is quite economical. The car is capable of travelling 100 km on 13.7 liters of fuel. This sports car promises to be one of the most memorable Ferrari vehicles, in my opinion. Because of the price tag on this vehicle, it’s highly unlikely that we will see many of these cars on the roads of South Africa. It will probably cost more than R2 million here if it’s ever released here.

The German Auto Manufacturer, Audi has officially unveiled the Audi R8 Spyder at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany. The sports car is powered by a V10 5.2 litre Audi FSI engine which was also recently fitted into the Audi R8 Coupe. The car is capable of accelerating from 0 – 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds and has a top speed of 313 km/h. This 2 seater vehicle is fitted with an Audi Space Frame (ASF for short). The Audi R8 Spyder is not fitted with sideblades behind the doors. The side panels and large cover over the storage compartment is made of a carbon fibre composite.

The Audi R8 Spyder is fitted with a electro-hydraulically controlled soft cloth top which opens and closes in 19 seconds to reduce the car’s weight. The soft cloth top is available in 3 different colours and is even capable of opening and closing whilst the car is travelling at 50 km/h. The Audi R8 can be optionally fitted with the first ever seatbelt microphone, which can serve as the vehicle’s hands-free unit. For this option, 3 small microphones are fitted into both seatbelts. At least 1 microphone is ideally positioned relative to the speaker system of the car, when the seat belt is on. A 4th microphone is fitted into the windshield frame. When the hands-free unit is active, at least 2 microphones combine with a noise reduction system to ensure clear conversations even if the driver is whistling down at top speeds down the highway with the Audi R8 Spyder’s top down. Audi plans to release the Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI Quattro in early 2010. At this stage it’s unclear whether this car will be released in South Africa. Only time will tell if we’ll see this glorious vehicle here. There will be hefty price tag for this car though, so brace yourselves.

Related Links:
Audi – Official Website

The Lotus Evora was developed under the project name Project Eagle and this sports car was launched on 22 July 2008 at the British International Motor Show. The Lotus Evora continues the tradition of naming all Lotus models with names that start with the letter “E” (like the Exige and Elise, etc previously). Apparently “Eagle”, “Exira” and “Ethos” were also considered as names for this vehicle. It’s the first all new production vehicle introduced by Lotus since the release of the Lotus Elise in 1996. The Lotus Evora is larger than the other cars in the Lotus family. The car will weigh between 1350 kg and 1380 kg (depending on body style), has rear wheel drive and is fitted with rear mid Toyota 3.5 L engine. The Lotus Evora will be launched in 2 body styles, a 2 seater and a 2+2 passenger coupe. The Lotus Evora is fitted with a 6 speed manual transmission. The car can reach 0 – 60 mph (100 km/h) in 4.9 seconds and has a top speed of 162 mph (261 km/h). On the 12th of August 2009, the Lotus Evora was awarded Britain’s Best Driver’s Car of 2009 title by British motoring magazine Autocar. It’s expected that the Lotus Evora will be a competitor for the Porsche Cayman. The car has gone on sale in the United Kingdom in 2009 and should reach American shores by next year.

There has been no mention in the South African media of this car. Lotus has a very small market share in South Africa so theres doubt about whether the Lotus Evora will be launced here. I’m sure that there are Lotus enthusiasts in South Africa, but apparently not enough of them. You could probably look in the classifieds for a 2nd hand Lotus since the Lotus Evora could set you back a few hundred thousand Rand.

This mid-engined sports car was produced by Lamborghini from 1974 to 1989. The Lamborghini Countach was the predecessor of the Lamborghini Diablo and the successor to the Lamborghini Miura. In it’s 16 year lifespan 2,042 Lamborghini Countach cars were built. This car was only produced in one body style, a 2 door coupe. The car was styled by Marcello Gandini of Bertone design studio. Gandini and Bertone Design studio is also credited for the design of the Lamborghini Miura.

This truly is a classic car. The Lamborghini Countach has been used in various movies and television series over the years and is probably the best known Lamborghini car in history. Sports Car International ranked the Lamborghini Countach as #3 in a list of the top sports cars of the 1970s. It was also listed as #10 on the list for top sports cars of the 1980s. The prototype / concept for the Lamborghini Countach was first introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1971 as Project 112. Over the years the various Lamborghini Countach models were fitted with 3 different engines. All engines were V12s and varied between 4.0 litre and 5.2 litre. The Lamborghini Countach had 5 generations, the LP400, the LP400S, the LP500S, the LP5000QV and the 25th Anniversary edition. This car is definately one of my favorite sports cars. You’ll probably still pay a huge amount of money for the Lamborghini Countach (if you can find one). Otherwise you’ll probably find a kit car or replica in the classifieds, but that wouldn’t be the real thing though.

The VW Concept R was unveiled at the 2003 Frankfurt Auto Show. The car is a sporty 2-seater roadster with mid-engine and rear wheel drive. The VW Concept R is powered by a V6 3.2 L FSI petrol engine with a maximum output of 195 kW / 261 hp. Apparently this is strong enough to enable this sports car to reach 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds. The VW Concept R was based on the VW Golf Hatchback. The car is 4,1m long, 1,8m wide and 1,2 high. The VW Concept R is fitted with a 6 speed direct-shift transmission and has a top speed of 250 km/h which is electronically limited. This concept car has a Volkswagen logo which is generated digitally by a display and begins to pulsate in the OLED screen when the ignition is turned on by the driver. The pulse stops when the ignition is activated. The seats are not adjustable at all. The correct seating position must be found by electrically moving the polished metal information block of the instrument panel, including the steering wheel and pedal cluster back or forth in order to find the correct seating position. The VW Concept R’s seats are filled with active foam. The active foam adapts to the body shape of the driver and passenger. This is a first for sports car. In 2005 VW confirmed that they intend to build a production car derived from the VW Concept R concept car. It’s 2009, no production model based on this vehicle has been released yet, but the VW Concept Blue Sport was revealed at the 2009 North American Auto Show, which is derived from the VW Concept R.

This is a very stylish looking car. No two ways about it. I doubt that this car will ever be transformed into a production car. And should this become a production vehicle its highly unlikely that it will make it to South Africa. I will keep my fingers crossed though. In the meanwhile I’ll look around in the classifieds for a 2nd hand vehicle instead. The VW Concept R probably will not be within my price range if its released here.