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Zagato Raptor
The Zagato Raptor, sometimes referred to as the Lamborghini Raptor, is a concept car design created in 1996 by Zagato in partnership with Alain Wicki for Lamborghini. The body features the Zagato "double bubble" design and an innovative door design where the whole middle section of the car swivels up and forward. The chassis is borrowed from a 4WD Lamborghini Diablo. The design was completed and a sample vehicle displayed at the Geneva Auto Show in 1996. At the time of showing, it was believed that the car was ready for production. Utilizing the drivetrain and V12 engine from the Diablo, but eliminating the Anti-lock braking system (ABS) and traction control system, as well as the extensive use of carbon fiber for the body work made the vehicle significantly lighter than the Diablo, thus potentially faster. To make up for the lack of ABS and the higher potential speeds, an upgrade from the Diablo's braking system was used. Most media sources speculated that it would have been an e ... [...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' ... [...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 pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to evaluate a new design to enhance precision by system analysts and users. Prototyping serves to provide specifications for a real, working system rather than a theoretical one. In some design workflow models, creating a prototype (a process sometimes called materialization) is the step between the formalization and the evaluation of an idea. A prototype can also mean a typical example of something such as in the use of the derivation 'prototypical'. This is a useful term in identifying objects, behaviours and concepts which are considered the accepted norm and is analogous with terms such as stereotypes and archetypes. The word ''prototype'' derives from the Greek , "primitive form", neutral of , "original, primitive", from πρῶτ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon Fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon composite, or just carbon, are extremely strong and light fiber-reinforced plastics that contain carbon fibers. CFRPs can be expensive to produce, but are commonly used wherever high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness (rigidity) are required, such as aerospace, superstructures of ships, automotive, civil engineering, sports equipment, and an increasing number of consumer and technical applications. The binding polymer is often a thermoset resin such as epoxy, but other thermoset or thermoplastic polymers, such as polyester, vinyl ester, or nylon, are sometimes used. The properties of the final CFRP product can be affected by the type of additives introduced to the binding matrix (resin). The most common additive is silica, but other a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traction Control System
A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from german: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit=drive slippage regulation), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicles, designed to prevent loss of traction (i.e., wheelspin) of the driven road wheels. TCS is activated when throttle input and engine power and torque transfer are mismatched to the road surface conditions. The intervention consists of one or more of the following: *Brake force applied to one or more wheels *Reduction or suppression of spark sequence to one or more cylinders *Reduction of fuel supply to one or more cylinders *Closing the throttle, if the vehicle is fitted with drive by wire throttle *In turbocharged vehicles, a boost control solenoid is actuated to reduce boost and therefore engine power. Typically, traction control systems share the electrohydraulic brake actuator (which does not use the conventional master cylinder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-lock Braking System
An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintaining tractive contact with the road surface and allowing the driver to maintain more control over the vehicle. ABS is an automated system that uses the principles of threshold braking and cadence braking, techniques which were once practiced by skillful drivers before ABS was widespread. ABS operates at a much faster rate and more effectively than most drivers could manage. Although ABS generally offers improved vehicle control and decreases stopping distances on dry and some slippery surfaces, on loose gravel or snow-covered surfaces ABS may significantly increase braking distance, while still improving steering control. Since ABS was introduced in production vehicles, such systems have become increasingly sophisticated and effectiv ... [...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 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drivetrain
A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components of a motor vehicle that deliver power to the drive wheels. This excludes the engine or motor that generates the power. In marine applications, the drive shaft will drive a propeller, thruster, or waterjet rather than a drive axle, while the actual engine might be similar to an automotive engine. Other machinery, equipment and vehicles may also use a drivetrain to deliver power from the engine(s) to the driven components. In contrast, the powertrain is considered to include both the engine and/or motor(s) as well as the drivetrain. Function The function of the drivetrain is to couple the engine that produces the power to the driving wheels that use this mechanical power to rotate the axle. This connection involves physically linking the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geneva Auto Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, and is considered an important major international auto show. First held in 1905, the Salon has hosted almost all major internal combustion engined models in the history of the automobile, along with benzene- and steam-powered cars from the beginning of the century. Exotic supercars often steal the spotlight during their debuts at the show. Prototypes, new equipment, technical breakthroughs, international partnerships, as well as political and social debates, have been announced at the exhibition. The show is regarded as a level playing field for the world's automakers, aided by the fact Switzerland lacks an auto industry of its own. Sections Areas of the show: #Motor cars, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chassis
A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart of a motor vehicle, on which the body is mounted; if the running gear such as wheels and transmission, and sometimes even the driver's seat, are included, then the assembly is described as a rolling chassis. Examples of use Vehicles In the case of vehicles, the term ''rolling chassis'' means the frame plus the "running gear" like engine, transmission, drive shaft, differential and suspension. An underbody (sometimes referred to as " coachwork"), which is usually not necessary for integrity of the structure, is built on the chassis to complete the vehicle. For commercial vehicles, a rolling chassis consists of an assembly of all the essential parts of a truck without the body to be ready for operation on the road. A car chassi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alain Wicki
Alain Wicki (*6. July 1962) is a Swiss skeleton racer who competed from the 1980s to the early first decade of the 21st century. He won a complete set of medals in the men's event at the FIBT World Championships with a gold in 1989, a silver in 1998, and a bronze in 1982. Wicki won the overall men's Skeleton World Cup The Skeleton World Cup season is a yearly competition first organized by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally known by the French name ''Fédération Internatio ... title in 1988-9. Before his career in skeleton racing, he played several years in the Swiss basketball team as teenager, but never broke through. References *FIBT men's skeleton results: 1928-2005 (link invalid as of December 6, 2007).List of men's skeleton World Cup champions since 1987. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zagato
Zagato is an independent coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ft)- 11,000 of which is covered. History The 1910s: Aeronautics Ugo Zagato was an Italian automotive designer and builder. He was born in Gavello, near Rovigo (June 25, 1890). He began his coachbuilding career in 1919 when he left Officine Aeronautiche Pomilio to set up his own business in Milan. His intent was to transfer sophisticated constructional techniques that combined lightness with strength from aeronautics to the automotive sector. Cars of the time were still bulky and heavy. Ugo Zagato conceived them as lightweight structures, with a frame in sheet aluminum similar to an aircraft fuselage. The 1920s: Classic models During the 20s Zagato concentrated on racing cars. At the beginning of the decade he was asked by Alfa Romeo to dress s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
