Ford iosis X Concept Previews New 2008 Niche Model SUV

In his concept vehicle at Frankfurt 2005, Martin Smith and his team revealed the new form language that ultimately will be applied in varying levels across Ford's future European vehicle portfolio, and can be seen in the new Ford Mondeo, for example. The original iosis presented all of the key elements of what Ford identified as 'kinetic design' in their purest form.
Ford has revealed that one of the specific purposes of iosis X is to prepare the public for the introduction of a future Ford of Europe (FoE) niche model. "There's been a lot of speculation about Ford producing a compact crossover or Sport Utility vehicle," said John Fleming, the President and CEO at Ford of Europe. "The iosis X is intended to send a very strong message that we will be entering this market in around eighteen months from now, and that our new model will be both stylish and individual."

In side profile, muscular surfacing and these strong and athletic shoulders run through the car, and are underscored by a dynamic undercut line that gives iosis X an extremely dynamic stance, further enhanced by very bold wheel lips. Air vents aft of the front wheel arches, a key signature on the original iosis, appear also on iosis X, drawing air from the front brakes.
Side doors hinge outwards at the leading edge of the front door and rear edge of the smaller back door and are designed without a B-pillar to give easy access and an uninterrupted view of the stunning interior.
Key elements of kinetic design are trapezoidal shapes and three-dimensional forms and the interplay between them. Whilst the inverted grille at the front is the most obvious trapezoidal graphic it appears in many other interpretations throughout the exterior: the intakes at the front, the chamfers at the base of the windscreen and rear window, within the wheels, in the ‘C’ post kink and the ridges running down the bonnet are all elements of this basic shape

We're calling this car iosis X as a deliberate link to our 'kinetic design' concept car lineage started last year," said Martin Smith, Ford of Europe's chief of design. "The link is not just in the name – there's a strong visual relationship between the two cars, and the 'X' signals the new vehicle's crossover capabilities.
"The iosis X is an exciting 5-door sports-crossover that proves we can extend the boundaries of kinetic design into a niche market vehicle," added Smith. "It takes our 'energy in motion' philosophy even further and shows how different Ford cars will be in the future."
Appropriately for a crossover, the lower grille has been enhanced further by reducing the upper grille to little more than a ram air intake – a horizontal slot bisected by a bright metal bar and featuring a deliberately large Ford blue oval badge that appears to be thrusting forwards from within the engine bay.

Following on from its iosis concept, which first appeared at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany, Ford of Europe's design team has presented the Iosis X concept, where the X - or 'cross' - denotes a rugged, off-road persona.
Interpreted the company's distinctive new 'kinetic design' form language, the new crossover concept made its debut at the 2006 Paris Motor Show, sporting a high ride height, sleek styling and teeny tiny side mirrors mounted high above the window line.

Ferrari F430 Scuderia tries to break the speed of light barrier

Capitalizing on its success in the Formula 1 racings, the Italian company has created its new Ferrari F430 Scuderia street-legal race car. The new coupe is not just fast -- it's built around a set of F1 technologies including a new super-fast gearbox with a gearchange ratio of only 60 milliseconds.

The company plans to officially unveil its Ferrari F430 Scuderia on September 11, 2007 at the upcoming IAA Motor Show in Frankfurt with Michael Schumacher running the show.

The new Ferrari F430 Scuderia is said to be equipped with a more powerful 4.3-liter V8 engine producing up to 510 hp @ 8500 rpm, which is 27 hp more than F430's original motivator can make. And with its dry weight of only 1250 kg (which is about 100 kg less than the standard Ferrari F430) the new F430 Scuderia features stunning 1/2.45 power to weight ratio.

SoMe Of The Car Pics.............!

Abt Enhances the Audi R8

Design milestones of sports car construction do not only come from Sant' Agata Bolognese or Maranello but also from Kempten. Because there, in the picturesque Allgäu region, Abt Sportsline, the greatest tuner for vehicles from the Volkswagen group, is based. With the new Abt R8, the term "improvement" is set one level higher as this car combines technical competence and brilliant design from Abt and results in an automobile masterwork. Not more and not less. The Abt R8 is a fantastic super sports car, playing in the same league as Lamborghini Gallardo or Ferrari F430.

No doubt, even the basis model of the R8 is something special - and therefore a real challenge, emphasizes Hans-Jürgen Abt. "The fluently dynamic form of the car is unique, it looks like having a lot of power, even when standing still," admits the managing director and therewith he raises the bar for his engineers and designers. As it is usual for Abt, the result is quite respectable and can be driven with fascination. The light and sporty high-tech material Carbon well visibly shapes the rear skirt, the side blades and the side skirts. The exciting body kit of the two-seater was developed by the motor sports professionals from Kempten who also optimized the car in reducing weight and in distributing mass evenly. That optical features do not obviate technical sophistications but, on the contrary, lead to perfection clearly show the contours of the Abt R8. Front skirt, side skirts, and rear skirt form a unit in which the rear wing, the side blades and also the exhaust system are harmonically integrated. A special highlight is the front skirt partially made of sight carbon. It is a component of the equipment version "Extravagant". The customer is able to provide his Abt R8 with attachment parts, at his own option with elements of sight carbon. A two tone structure is also possible by request. Another alternative ist the equipment version “Exclusive”, which offers the customer the possibility to beautify his R8 with an Abt body kit made of high-quality GRP (glass fibre reinforced plastic). Also the new BR wheel from Abt with its bi-colour paint perfectly fits the car. The front axis presents it in the size 9x20 inch, the rear axis in 11x20 inch. Thus the R8 appears much more dynamical. With Abt suspension springs and car lowering the team from Kempten improves the road holding even more as Christian Abt and his specialists exactly adjusted the suspension. With the Abt sports brake system (380 millimeters diameter), the fast super sports car from the Allgäu sets standards also in matters of delay.

The new Abt R8 is a car which makes hearts beat faster. It perfectly brings the magic of speed onto the road even when standing still.