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Mega Monte Carlo
The Méga Monte Carlo is a French sports car. Design and development In 1989, Fulvio Maria Ballabio designed a carbon fibre monocoque sports car under the newly established brand MCAMonte Carlo Automobile. The car being born Monegasque, it was decided to name it the Centenaire for the 100 year anniversary of the Automobile Club of Monaco. Guglielmo Bellasi Joined him with his experience as a F1 constructor. The car was developed in 5 years. In March 1990, Guglielmo Bellasi travelled to Bologna to sign a contract for Lamborghini to supply its V12. In August of the same year, the car was presented to Prince Rainier of Monaco, an avid collector of automobiles. Unfortunately for MCA, the global financial environment meant a lower demand than expected for this type of car; only 5 were built between 1990 and 1992.MCA C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aixam
Aixam-Mega is a French automobile manufacturer based in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie. It was founded in 1983 to make microcars following the acquisition of Arola. On 11 April 2013, US based Polaris Industries announced that it had acquired Aixam-Mega from previous owners Axa Private Equity. History The company can trace its history back to the establishment of Arola in 1975, which was acquired by Aixam in 1983 out of administration. In 1984 Aixam launched the new 325D, followed by the 400D in 1985. In 1992 they started making a range of standard sized cars under the Mega brand, but by 2002 this brand was just being applied to a diesel and electric range of microvans and light utility vehicles. The company currently produces the Aixam A.7XX series (powered by Kubota diesel engines), a microcar comparable with the Smart. A notable difference is that some of the smaller models are restricted to and can be driven without a driving licence in some European countries (including Belgium ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sports Car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by many manufacturers around the world. Definition Definitions of sports cars often relate to how the car design is optimised for dynamic performance, without any specific minimum requirements; both a Triumph Spitfire and Ferrari 488 Pista can be considered sports cars, despite vastly different levels of performance. Broader definitions of sports cars include cars "in which performance takes precedence over carrying capacity", or that emphasise the "thrill of driving" or are marketed "using the excitement of speed and the glamour of the (race)track" However, other people have more specific definitions, such as "must be a two-seater or a 2+2 seater" or a car with two seats only. In the United Kingdom, early recorded usage of the "sports car" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past participle of ''couper'', "cut". __TOC__ Etymology and pronunciation () is based on the past participle of the French verb ("to cut") and thus indicates a car which has been "cut" or made shorter than standard. It was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. These or ("clipped carriages") were eventually clipped to .. There are two common pronunciations in English: * () – the anglicized version of the French pronunciation of ''coupé''. * () – as a spelling pronunciation when the word is written without an accent. This is the usual pronunciation and spelling in the United States, with the pronunciation entering American vernacular no later than 1936 and featuring in the Beach Boys' hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rear Mid-engine, Rear-wheel Drive Layout
In automotive design, an RMR, or rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed with its center of gravity in front of the rear axle, and thus right behind the passenger compartment. Nowadays more frequently called 'RMR', to acknowledge that certain sporty or performance focused front-engined cars are also "mid-engined", by having the main engine mass behind the front axle, RMR layout cars were previously (until ca. the 1990) just called MR, or mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout), because the nuance between distinctly front-engined vs. front ''mid-engined'' cars often remained undiscussed. In contrast to the fully rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, the center of mass of the engine is in front of the rear axle. This layout is typically chosen for its favorable weight distribution. Placing the car's heaviest component within the wheelbase minimizes its rotational inertia around the vertical axis, facilitating turn-in or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V12 Engine
A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The first V12 engine was built in 1904 for use in racing boats. Due to the balanced nature of the engine and the smooth delivery of power, V12 engines were found in early luxury automobiles, boats, aircraft, and tanks. Aircraft V12 engines reached their apogee during World War II, following which they were mostly replaced by jet engines. In Formula One racing, V12 engines were common during the late 1960s and early 1990s. Applications of V12 engines in the 21st century have been as marine engines, in railway locomotives, as large stationary power as well as in some European sports and luxury cars. Design Balance and smoothness Each bank of a V12 engine essentially functions as a straight-six engine, which by itself has perfect primary and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Mercedes-Benz AG produces consumer luxury vehicles and commercial vehicles badged as Mercedes-Benz. From November 2019 onwards, Mercedes-Benz-badged heavy commercial vehicles (trucks and buses) are managed by Daimler Truck, a former part of the Mercedes-Benz Group turned into an independent company in late 2021. In 2018, Mercedes-Benz was the largest brand of premium vehicles in the world, having sold 2.31 million passenger cars. The brand's origins lie in Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft's 1901 Mercedes and Carl Benz's 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen, which is widely regarded as the first internal combustion engine in a self-propelled automobile. The slogan for the brand is "the best or nothing". Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fulvio Ballabio
Fulvio Ballabio (born 8 October 1954) is a race car driver born in Milan, Italy. He raced in Formula Two in 1983, in Formula 3000 in 1986 and 6 starts in CART from 1987 to 1989 for Dick Simon Racing and Dale Coyne Racing. More recently he drove in two races of the 2004 Formula X Sport Series. In 1983 he started the Monte Carlo Automobile car manufacturer. In 1989, he designed the "Montecarlo GTB Centenaire", a SuperCar, built of carbon fiber, the idea came from Lamborghini Countach Evoluzione (first car in the world made in carbon fiber completed in 1986). The engine, a V12 Biturbo with 720 horsepower, was modified by Carlo Chiti, who used to work for Alfa Romeo. The company, "Monte Carlo Automobile" was based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Originally the project was to make 100 supercars, but the project failed with only 5 cars made in the initial period, including the spider car named "Beau Rivage". Article of Auto Capital monthly magazine, March 1991 In 2005 he started as Montecarlo A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bellasi
Bellasi is a Swiss-Italian motorsport company specialized in manufacturing composite parts for racing cars. From 1970 to 1971 it was a Formula One constructor. They participated in six grands prix, entering a total of six cars. Guglielmo Bellasi was one of several car manufacturers to try to establish themselves in Italian Formula 3 circles in the late 1960s. The first Bellasi F3 car appeared in 1966, entered by Scuderia Inter Corse and driven by Guglielmo Bellasi himself. This Ford-engined machine clearly had some potential as it finished third in the Circuito del Lago di Garda race a month later. Bellasi F3 cars appeared again in 1967 with Bellasi and Sandro Angeleri driving on occasional outings, but there was a more concerted effort in 1968 with Scuderia Jolly Club running as many as four cars for Angeleri, Pino Mariella, Franco Conti and others. The best result was a fifth place for Mariella in the Coppa Autodromo at Monza. Similar cars continued to be seen in 1969 with Georg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its metropolitan area is home to more than 1,000,000 people. It is known as the Fat City for its rich cuisine, and the Red City for its Spanish-style red tiled rooftops and, more recently, its leftist politics. It is also called the Learned City because it is home to the oldest university in the world. Originally Etruscan, the city has been an important urban center for centuries, first under the Etruscans (who called it ''Felsina''), then under the Celts as ''Bona'', later under the Romans (''Bonōnia''), then again in the Middle Ages, as a free municipality and later ''signoria'', when it was among the largest European cities by population. Famous for its towers, churches and lengthy porticoes, Bologna has a well-preserved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993), an Italian manufacturing magnate, founded Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini S.p.A. in 1963 to compete with Ferrari. The company was noted for using a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. Lamborghini grew rapidly during its first decade, but sales plunged in the wake of the 1973 worldwide financial downturn and the oil crisis. The firm's ownership changed three times after 1973, including a bankruptcy in 1978. American Chrysler Corporation took control of Lamborghini in 1987 and sold it to Malaysian investment group Mycom Setdco and Indonesian group V'Power Corporation in 1994. In 1998, Mycom Setdco and V'Power sold Lamborghini to the Volkswagen Group where it was placed under the control of the group's Audi division. New produc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rainier III, Prince Of Monaco
Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling monarchs in European history. Rainier was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, the only son of Prince Pierre and Hereditary Princess Charlotte of Monaco. He was crucially responsible for the transformation of Monaco's economy, shifting from its traditional casino gambling base to its current status as a tax haven and cultural destination. The Prince also coordinated the substantial reforms of Monaco's constitution, which limited the powers of sovereign rule. Rainier married American film star Grace Kelly in 1956, which generated global media attention. They had three children: Caroline, Albert and Stéphanie. He died in April 2005 from complications relating to a lung infection as a result of frequent smoking; he was succeeded by hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
24 Hours Of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose winner is determined by minimum time, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is won by the car that covers the greatest distance in 24 hours. The cars on this track can go up to , and in prior events reaching before track modifications. Racing teams must balance the demands of speed with the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without mechanical failure. The race is organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). It is held on the Circuit de la Sarthe, composed of closed public roads and dedicated sections of a racing track. The event represents one leg of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, with the other events being the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix. The 24 Hours of Le Mans was frequently part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
