BENTLEY

The History Of Bentley

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British based manufacturer of luxury automobiles and Grand Tourers. Bentley Motors was founded in England on January 18, 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley, known as W.O. Bentley or just "W.O." (1888–1971). He was previously known for his successful range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later versions of the Sopwith Camel. The company is currently owned by the Volkswagen Group. Bentley as a separate company A group of wealthy British automobile aficionados known as "the Bentley Boys" (Woolf Barnato, heir to a partnership in the Kimberly diamond mines, Sir Henry Birkin, George Duller, steeplechaser, Glen Kidston, aviator, Sammy Davis, automotive journalist, and Dr. Dudley Benjafield) kept the car's reputation for high performance alive. At one point, on a bet, Barnato raced a legendary car from Cannes to Calais, then by ferry to Dover and finally London, traveling on public highways with normal traffic, and won; the special-bodied 6.5 litre car became known as the Blue Train Bentley. Thanks to the dedication of this group to serious racing, the company, located at Cricklewood, north London, was noted for its four consecutive victories at the 24 hours of Le Mans from 1927-1930. Their greatest competitor at the time, Bugatti, whose lightweight, elegant, but fragile creations contrasted with the Bentley's rugged reliability and durability, referred to them as "the world's fastest trucks". Perhaps the most iconic Bentley of the period is the 4.5 litre "Blower Bentley", with its distinctive supercharger projecting forward from the bottom of the grille. Uncharacteristically fragile for a Bentley, however, it was not the racing workhorse that the 6 litre Bentley was. It became famous in the popular media as the vehicle of James Bond in the original novels, but not in any film; rather, John Steed in the television series The Avengers did drive a Bentley on-screen. A great deal of Barnato's fortune went to keeping Bentley afloat and he eventually became chairman; the Great Depression destroyed demand for the company's expensive products, and it was finally sold off to Rolls-Royce in 1931. It should be noted that Bentley was a very serious competitor to Rolls-Royce and that the 8 Litre Bentley was probably a better machine than anything Rolls-Royce at that time had to offer. Early Bentleys 1921–1929 3 Litre 1926–1930 6½ Litre 1928–1930 Speed Six 1926–1930 4½ Litre 1928–1930 Blower 1930–1931 8 Litre 1931 4 Litre 1933–1937 3½ Litre 1936–1939 4¼ Litre 1939–1941 Mark V 1939 Corniche Bentleys of the Rolls-Royce era Rolls-Royce merged the Bentley line into its own, so that the Bentley marque became just a Rolls-Royce without the distinctive grill and with a $300 lower price tag. In the 1980s, however, Bentley became a separate, high performance car line once again. The most notable car in the Rolls-Royce period was probably the Bentley Continental, which appeared in various forms from 1952 to 1965, and again in 1992 with production ending in 2003. The Bentley factory in Crewe, Cheshire, is still known in the town by the name "Royce´s". For more on Bentley Motors from 1931 to 1998, see Rolls-Royce. 1946-1952 Mark VI 1952-1955 R Type and Continental 1955-1959 S1 and Continental 1959-1962 S2 and Continental 1962-1965 S3 and Continental 1965-1980 T-series 1965-1977 T1 1977-1980 T2 1971-1984 Corniche 1984-1995 Continental — convertible 1992-1995 Continental Turbo 1975-1986 Camargue 1980-1987 Mulsanne 1984-1988 Mulsanne L limousine 1982-1985 Mulsanne Turbo 1987-1992 Mulsanne S 1984-1992 Eight — lower-priced model 1985-1995 Turbo R — turbocharged performance version 1991-2002 Continental R — turbocharged 2-door model 1999-2003 Continental R Mulliner — performance model 1994-1995 Continental S — intercooled 1992-1998 Brooklands — improved Eight 1996-1998 Brooklands R — performance Brooklands 1994-1995 Turbo S — limited-edition sports model 1995-1997 Turbo R — updated Turbo R 1996 Turbo R Sport — limited-edition sports model 1995-2003 Azure — convertible Continental R 1999-2002 Azure Mulliner — performance model 1996-2002 Continental T — short wheelbase performance model 1999 Continental T Mulliner — firmer suspension 1997-1998 Bentley Turbo RT — replacement for the Turbo R Volkswagen Group ownership In 1998, Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motors was purchased from Vickers (its owner since 1980) by Volkswagen for £430 million, after bidding against BMW. BMW had recently started supplying components for the new range of cars, notably V8 engines for the Bentley Arnage and V12 engines for the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph. The Rolls-Royce name was not included in VW's purchase; it was instead licensed to BMW (for £40 million) by the Rolls-Royce aero engine company. BMW and Volkswagen came to an agreement whereby Volkswagen would manufacture both Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars until the end of 2002, whereupon the right to build Rolls-Royce cars would be BMW's alone. During this period, Volkswagen reduced its reliance on BMW as a supplier: as of 2003, BMW engines are not used in Bentley cars. Modern Bentleys In 2003, Bentley's 2-door convertible, the Bentley Azure, ceased production, and the company introduced the Continental GT, a large luxury coupe. The car is powered by a version of VW's W-12 engine. Demand has been so great that the factory at Crewe, Cheshire, has been unable to satisfy demand despite producing 4,500 vehicles a year and there is a waiting list of over a year for new cars to be delivered. Consequently there are proposals to produce the new model Flying Spur, a four-door version of the Continental GT (140.000 Euros) in Dresden in the same factory where the VW Phaeton luxury car is made. In April, 2005, Bentley confirmed plans to produce a 4-seat convertible model, the Azure, derived from the Arnage Drophead Coupe prototype, at Crewe beginning in 2006. By the fall of 2005, the convertible version of the successful Continental GT, the Continental GTC was also presented. Bentley sales have been strong in 2005 with 8,627 sold worldwide, 3654 of these vehicles were sold in the United States. 1998– Arnage saloon 2002– State Limousine 2003– Continental GT coupe 2005– Continental Flying Spur saloon 2006– Azure convertible 2006– Continental GTC convertible Current Bentley racing In 2001-2003, the Bentley Speed 8 enjoyed a successful racing streak in the Le Mans series. Timeline From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia More About Bentley

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AUDI

The History Of AUDI

Audi Audi is an automobile maker in Germany, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The company is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. Audi's German tagline is "Vorsprung durch Technik". The tagline is used either in original or in its English translation "Progress through Technology". History The origins of Audi The company traces its origins back to 1899 and August Horch. The first Horch automobile was produced in 1901 in Zwickau, in former East Germany. In 1910, Horch was forced out of the company he had founded. He then started a new company in Zwickau and continued using the Horch brand. His former partners sued him for trademark infringement and a German court determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company. August Horch was forced to refrain from using his own family name in his new car business. As the word "horch!" translates to "listen!" in German, August Horch settled on the Latin equivalent of his name - "audi!". It is also popularly believed that Audi is an acronym which stands for "Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt". Audi produces over 2 million vehicles annually at its main production site in Ingolstadt. Audi has another production plant in Neckarsulm. Audi started with a 2612 cc model followed by a four cylinder model with 3564 cc, as well as 4680 cc and 5720 cc models. These cars were successful even in sporting events. August Horch left the Audi company in 1920. The first six cylinder model (4655 cc) appeared in 1924. In 1928, the company was acquired by J S Rasmussen, owner of DKW, who bought the same year the remains of the US automobile manufacturer, Rickenbacker including the manufacturing equipment for eight cylinder engines. These engines were used in Audi Zwickau and Audi Dresden models that were launched in 1929. At the same time, six cylinder and a small four cylinder (licensed from Peugeot) models were manufactured. Audi cars of that era were luxurious cars equipped with special bodywork. The Auto Union era In 1932 Audi merged with Horch, DKW and Wanderer to form the Auto Union. Before World War II, Auto Union used the four interlinked rings that make up the Audi badge today, representing these four brands. This badge was used, however, only on Auto Union racing cars in that period while the member companies used their own names and emblems. The technological development became more and more concentrated and some Audi models were propelled by Horch or Wanderer built engines. Pause and a new start Auto Union plants were heavily bombed and partly destroyed during World War II. After the war, Zwickau soon became part of the German Democratic Republic and Audi headquarters were moved to Ingolstadt. In that period, the four interlinked rings were used together with the DKW badge. The company focused efforts on the DKW brand, but their two-stroke engines became unpopular. In 1958, Daimler-Benz acquired 88 per cent of Auto Union and the next year became its sole owner. Daimler-Benz developed a 72 hp (54 kW) four-door sedan, with a modern four stroke engine driving the front wheels. This model appeared in September 1965, "relaunching" the Audi brand. Daimler-Benz sold the company to Volkswagen in 1964; subsequently, Volkswagen's purchase of Auto Union has led to the modernization of VW to which it gained expertise in manufacturing water-cooled vehicles. Today, aircooled powerplants once produced by VW are no longer placed into production vehicles since December 23, 2005. In 1969, Audi merged with NSU, based in Neckarsulm near Stuttgart. In the 1950s NSU had been the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles but had moved on to produce small cars like the NSU Prinz (the TT and TTS versions are still popular as vintage race cars). NSU then focused on new rotary engines according to the ideas of Felix Wankel. In 1967, the new NSU Ro 80 was a space-age car well ahead of its time in technical details such as aerodynamics, light weight, safety, et cetera, but teething problems with the rotary engines put an end to the independence of NSU. Presently several lines of Audi cars are produced in Neckarsulm. The mid-sized car that NSU had been working on, the K70, was intended to slot between the rear-engined Prinz models and the futuristic Ro 80. However, Volkswagen took the K70 for its own range, spelling the end of NSU as a separate brand. The modern era of Audi The first Audi of the modern era was the Audi 100 of 1968. This was soon joined by the Audi 80/Fox (which formed the basis for the 1973 Volkswagen Passat) in 1972. The Audi image at this time was a conservative one, and so, a proposal from chassis engineer Jorg Bensinger was accepted to develop the four-wheel drive technology in Volkswagen's Iltis military vehicle for an Audi performance car and rally racing car. The performance car was named the "Quattro," a turbocharged coupé which was also the first production vehicle to feature full-time all-wheel drive through a center differential. Commonly referred to as the "Ur-Quattro" (the "Ur-" prefix is a German augmentative used, in this case, to mean "original" and is also applied to the first generation of Audi's S4 and S6 sport sedans, as in "UrS4" and "UrS6"), few of these vehicles were produced (all hand-built by a single team) but the model was a great success in rallying. Prominent wins proved the viability of all-wheel drive racecars, and the Audi name became associated with advances in automotive technology, In 1986, as the Passat-based Audi 80 was beginning to develop a kind of "grandfather's car" image, the type 89 was introduced. This completely new development sold extremely well. However, its modern and dynamic exterior belied the low performance of its base engine, and its base package was quite spartan (even the passenger-side mirror was an option.) In 1987, Audi put forward a new and very elegant Audi 90, which had a much superior set of standard features. In the early nineties, sales began to slump for the Audi 80 series, and some basic construction problems started to surface. This decline in sales was not helped in the USA by a 60 Minutes report which purported to show that Audi automobiles suffered from "unintended acceleration". The 60 Minutes report was based on customer reports of acceleration when the brake pedal was pushed. Independent investigators concluded that this was most likely due to a close placement of the accelerator and brake pedals (unlike American cars), and the inability, when not paying attention, to distinguish between the two. (In race cars, when manually downshifting under heavy braking, the accelerator has to be used in order to match revs properly, so both pedals have to be close to each other to be operated by the right foot at once, toes on the brake, heels on the gas. US citizens are used to automatic gearboxes and only two well separated pedals). This was never an issue in Europe, as Europeans in general use manual transmission gears, and have a "feeling" for vehicle revs in comparison to the speed of the car. 60 Minutes ignored this fact and rigged a car to perform in an uncontrolled manner. The report immediately crushed Audi sales, and Audi renamed the affected model (The 5000 became the 100/200 in 1989, as in Germany and elsewhere). Audi had contemplated withdrawing from the American market until sales began to recover in the mid-1990s. The turning point for Audi was the sale of the new A4 in 1996, and with the release of the A4/6/8 series, which was developed together with VW and other sister brands (so called "platforms"). Currently, Audi's sales are growing strongly in Europe, and the company is renowned for having the best build quality of any mainstream auto manufacturer. 2004 marked the 11th straight increase in sales, selling 779,441 vehicles worldwide. Record figures were recorded from 21 out of about 50 major sales markets. The largest sales increases came from Eastern Europe (+19.3%), Africa (+17.2%) and the Middle East (+58.5%). In March of 2005, Audi is building its first two dealerships in India following its high increase in sales in that region. Though its brand still doesn't have the global cachet of Mercedes-Benz or BMW, Audi's reputation for quality and understated style has once again made it a highly desirable marque. However, after 2003, with the release of the new A4, and in 2004 with the new A6, Audi's dedication to quality had finally paid off when it started to receive news reports and various vehicle critics praising Audis over Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Auto racing Audi has competed in (and sometimes dominated) numerous forms of auto racing. Audi's rich tradition in motorsport began with the Auto Union in the 1930s. In the 1990s Audi dominated the Touring and Super Touring categories of motor racing after success in circuit racing Stateside. Rallying In 1980 Audi released the Quattro, an all wheel drive turbocharged car that went on to win rallies and races worldwide. It is considered one of the most significant rally cars of all time because it was one of the first to take advantage of the then-recently changed rules which allowed the use of all-wheel-drive in competition racing. Many critics doubted the viability of all-wheel-drive racers, thinking them to be too heavy and complex, yet the Quattro was an instant success, winning its first rally on its first outing. It won competition after competition for the next two years. In 1984 Audi launched the "Sport Quattro" car which dominated races in Monte Carlo and Sweden with Audi taking all podium finishes but succumbed to problems further into World Rally Championship contention. After another season mired in mediocre finishes, Walter Röhrl finished the season in his Sport Quattro S1 and helped place Audi second in the manufacturer's points. Audi also received rally honors in the Hong Kong to Beijing rally in that same year. Michèle Mouton, the first female WRC driver to win a championship and a driver for Audi, took the Sport Quattro S1, now simply called the S1 and raced in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. The climb race pits a driver and car to drive up a 4,302 meter high mountain in Colorado and in 1985, Michèle Mouton set a new record of 11:25.39 and being the first woman to set a Pikes Peak record. In 1986, Audi formally left international rally racing following an accident in Portugal involving driver Joaquim Santos in his RS200. Santos swerved to avoid hitting spectators in the road, and left the track into the crowd of spectators on the side, killing three and injuring 30. Bobby Unser used an Audi in that same year to claim a new record for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb at 11:09.22. Motorsports in the USA In 1987, Walter Röhrl claimed the title for Audi setting a new record of 10:47.85 in his Audi S1 he retired from the WRC in 2 years earlier. The Audi S1 employed Audi's time-tested 5-cylinder turbo charged engine and generated over 600 hp (447 kW). The engine was mated to a 6-speed gearbox and ran on Audi's famous all-wheel drive system. All of Audi's top drivers drove this beast, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Walter Röhrl and the female driver, Michèle Mouton. The Audi S1 enjoys a 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 2.3 s. This Audi S1 started the S-series of cars for Audi which now represents an increased level of sports options and quality to the Audi line up. As Audi moved away from rallying and into circuit racing, they chose first into America with the Trans-Am in 1988, In 1989, Audi moved to IMSA GTO with the 90, however as they avoided the two major endurance events (Daytona and Sebring) despite winning on a regular basis, they would lose out on the title. Touring cars In 1990, having completed their objective to market cars in the United States, Audi returned to Europe turning first to the DTM series with the Audi V8, then in 1993, being unwilling to build cars for the new formula, they turned their attention to the fast growing Supertouring series, which took place nationally, first in the French Supertourisme and Italian Superturismo. In the following year, Audi would switched to the German Super Tourenwagen (known as STW) and then to BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) the year after that. The FIA, having difficulty regulating the Quattro system and what impact it had on the competitors, would eventually ban all four wheel drive cars from competiting in 1998, by then Audi switched all their works efforts to sportscar racing. By 2000, Audi would still compete in the US with their RS4 for the SCCA Speed World GT Challenge, through dealer/team Champion Racing competing against Corvettes, Vipers, and smaller BMWs (where it is one of the few series to permit 4WD cars). In 2003, Champion Racing entered an RS6. Once again, the quattro was superior and Champion Audi won the championship. They returned in 2004 to defend their title but a newcomer, Cadillac, gave them a run for their money. After four victories in a row, the Audis were sanctioned with several negative changes that deeply affected the car's performance. In 2004, after years of competiting with the TT-R in the revitalised DTM series, with privateer team Abt Racing taking the 2002 title with Laurent Aiello, Audi returned as a full factory effort to touring car racing by entering two factory supported Joest Racing A4s. Sports car racing Beginning in 1999, Audi built the Audi R8 to compete in sports car racing, including the LMP900 class at the 24 hours of Le Mans. The factory supported Joest Racing team won at Le Mans three times in a row (2000 - 2002), as well as winning every race in the American Le Mans Series in its first year. Audi also sold the car to customer teams such as Champion Racing. In 2003, two Bentley Speed 8s, with engines designed by Audi and driven by Joest drivers loaned to the fellow VW company, competed in the GTP class and finished the race in the top two positions, while the Champion Racing R8 finished third overall and first in the LMP900 class. Audi returned to the winner's circle at the 2004 race, with the top three finishers all driving R8s: Audi Sport Japan Team Goh finished first, Audi Sport UK Veloqx second, and Champion Racing third. At the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans, Champion Racing entered two R8s along with an R8 from the Audi PlayStation Team Oreca. The R8s (which were built to old LMP900 regulations) received a more narrow air inlet restrictor, cutting power, and an additional 50 kg of weight compared to the newer LMP1 chassis. On average, the R8s were about 2-3 seconds off pace compared to the Pescarolo-Judd. But with a team of excellent drivers and experience, both Champion R8s were able to take first and third while the ORECA team took fourth. The Champion team was also the first American team to win Le Mans since the Gulf Ford GT's in 1967. This also ends the long era of the R8, however its replacement for 2006, called the Audi R10, was unveiled on December 13, 2005. the R10 employs many new features, including a twin-turbocharged diesel engine. Its first race will likely be the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring as a race-test for the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans. Technology Audi is the only car manufacturer that produces 100% galvanized vehicles to prevent corrosion. Along with other precautionary measures, the thus achieved full-body zinc coating has proved to be very effective in preventing rust and corrosion perforation. The body's resulting durability even surpassed Audi's own expectations, causing the manufacturer to extend its original 10-year warranty against corrosion perforation to currently 12 years. An all-aluminium car was brought forward by Audi, and in 1994 the Audi A8 was launched, which introduced aluminium space frame technology. Audi introduced a new series of vehicles in the mid-nineties and continues to pursue leading-edge technology and high performance. The all-aluminium concept was extended to the company's new sub-compact, the Audi A2 which was launched in 2001. In the 1970's, some vehicle manufacturers including Audi (and Subaru) designed their own all wheel drive systems in passenger vehicles. In the 1980's, all-wheel drive systems in cars became a fad, and other manufacturers like Porsche and Mercedes-Benz offered all-wheel drive systems in their cars to compete in the marketplace. Unfortunately, the all-wheel drive system in the Mercedes-Benz vehicles were riddled with problems right from the design sheet. The system also was not popular in Porsche vehicles because owners wanted the traditional performance of the rear wheel drive they got used to in older Porsches. Although Porsche and Mercedes-Benz offer all-wheel drive systems in some cars today, neither manufacturer was able to ride the fad and come out on top like Audi has. Today, after many decades of class-leading technology and engineering, the name quattro is an identifiable symbol and trademark that shows would-be competitors the level of quality they have to achieve in order to attempt to compete with Audi. In the 1980s, Audi was the champion of the inline 5 cylinder, 2.1/2.2 L engine as a longer lasting alternative to more traditional 6 cylinder engines. This engine was used in not only production cars but also their race cars. The 2.1 L inline 5 cylinder engine was used as a base for the rally cars in the 1980's, providing well over 400 horsepower (298 kW) after modification. Before 1990, there were engines produced with a displacement between 2.0 L and 2.3 L. This range of engine capacity was a good combination of good fuel economy which was on the mind of every motorist in the 1980's, and a good amount of power the customer wants. Through the early 1990's, Audi began to move more towards the position of being a real competitor in it's target market against Mercedes-Benz and BMW. This began with the release of the Audi V8 in 1990. It was essentially a new engine fitted to the Audi 100/200, but with noticeable bodywork differences. Most obvious was the new grille that was now incorprated in the bonnet. By 1991, Audi had the 4 cylinder Audi 80, the 5 cylinder Audi 90 and Audi 100, the turbocharged Audi 200 and the Audi V8. There was also a coupe version of the 80/90 with both 4 and 5 cylinder engines. Although the five cylinder engine was a successful and very robust powerplant, it was still a little too different for the target market. With the introduction of an all-new Audi 100 in 1992, Audi introduced a 2.8l V6 engine. This engine was also fitted to a face-lifted Audi 80 (all 80 and 90 models were now badged 80 except for the USA), giving this model a choice of 4, 5 and 6 cylinder engines, in sedan, coupe and cabriolet body styles. The 5 cylinder was soon dropped as a major engine choice, however a turbocharged 230BHP (169kW) version remained. The engine, initially fitted to the 200 quattro 20V of 1991, was a derivative of the engine fitted to the Sport Quattro. It was fitted to the Audi Coupe and named the S2 and also to the Audi 100 body, and named the S4. These two models were the beginning of the mass produced S series of performance cars. The Audi A8 replaced the V8 in 1994, with a revolutionary Aluminium Space Frame (ASF) to save weight. The weight reduction was offset by the quattro all-wheel drive system, however it meant the car had similar performance to its rivals, but far superior handling. The next major model change was in 1995 when the Audi A4 replaced the Audi 80. The new nomenclature scheme was applied to the Audi 100 to become the Audi A6 (with a minor facelift). This also meant the S4 became the S6 and a new S4 was introduced in the A4 body. The S2 was discontinued. The Audi Cabriolet continued on (based on the Audi 80 platform) until 1999, gaining the engine upgrades along the way. A new A3 (based on the Volkswagen Golf) was introduced to the range in 1997, and the radical TT coupe and roadster were debuted in 1998 based on the same underpinnings. Another interesting model introduced was the Mercedes-Benz A-Class competitor, the Audi A2. The model sold relatively well in Europe, however Audi decided not to develop a new model and it has since been discontinued as of 2004. The engines available throughout the range were now a 1.4 L, 1.6 L and 1.8 L 4 cylinder, 1.8 turbo, 2.6 L and 2.8 L V6, 2.2 L turbo-charged 5 cylinder and the 4.2 L V8. The V6's were replaced by new 2.4 and 2.8 L 30V V6's in 1998, with marked improvement in power, torque and smoothness. Further engines were added along the way, including a 3.7 L V8 and 6.0 L W12 for the A8. At the turn of the century, Audi introduced the direct shift gearbox (DSG), a manual transmission driveable like an automatic transmission. The system includes dual electrohydraulically controlled clutches instead of a torque converter. This is implemented in some Volkswagen Golf, Audi A3 and TT models. The engine range was continually upgraded, with a 2.7 L twin turbo V6 being offered in the Audi S4, A6 and allroad, the 2.8 L V6 was replaced by a 3.0 L unit. New models of the A3, A4, A6 and A8 have been introduced, with the 1.8 L engine now 2.0 L and the 3.0 L V6 is now 3.1 L in size. Audi has now introduced FSI on some of their engines, including the 1.6 L 4 cylinder, a new 2.0 L (Audi was the first manufacturer in the world to utilize a turbo charger and FSI on the same powerplant), and the 3.1 L V6. This is a direct fuel-injection technique that Audi had also used on its diesel engines since the early 1980s. As a premium member of the VW Group, technologies are frequently first introduced to the mass market with Audi vehicles before being 'trickled down' to more value oriented brands such as VW, SEAT and Škoda. Recent examples of this include DSG and FSI. Audi now has an impressive range of cars, engines and transmissions available, which continue to lead the way and introduce new technologies into the market. Models Production cars A2 A3 S3 A4 S4 RS4 A6 S6 RS6 Q7 A8 S8 TT Historical models Audi 50 Audi 80/90/4000 Audi 100/200/5000 Audi Quattro Audi V8 Audi UrS4/S6 model Future models The following is a list of models Audi ostensibly plans to offer in the future. A5 RS4 Q5 R8 Concepts The following is a partial list of concept cars. Audi RSQ designed exclusively for the 2004 film I, Robot. Audi Allroad Quattro Concept Audi Shooting Brake, design study for the next generation TT Audi Avus Quattro Audi Quattro Spyder Audi Avantissimo Audi Pikes Peak Audi Nuvolari Quattro Audi Le Mans Quattro Audi Roadjet From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia More About AUDI

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Aston Martin

The History Of Aston Martin

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is an English manufacturer of luxury performance cars, whose headquarters are at Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. The company name is derived from the Aston Clinton hill climb and one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin. From 1994 until 2007 Aston Martin was part of the Premier Automotive Group, a division of the Ford Motor Company. On 12 March 2007, it was purchased for £479 million (US$848 million) by two Kuwaiti investment companies in a deal led by David Richards of Prodrive. Ford retained a US$77 million stake in Aston Martin, setting the total value of the company at US$925 million. History Foundation Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. The two had joined forces as Bamford & Martin the previous year to sell cars made by Singer from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced GWK and Calthorpe vehicles. Martin raced specials at Aston Hill near Aston Clinton, and the pair decided to make their own vehicles. The first car to be named Aston Martin was created by Martin by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini. They acquired premises at Henniker Place in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915. Production could not start because of the outbreak of World War I, and Martin joined the Admiralty and Bamford the Royal Army Service Corps. All machinery was sold to the Sopwith Aviation Company. Inter war years After the war the company was refunded at Abingdon Road, Kensington and a new car designed to carry the Aston-Martin name. Bamford left in 1920 and the company was revitalised with funding from Count Louis Zborowski. In 1922, Bamford & Martin produced cars to compete in the French Grand Prix, and the cars set world speed and endurance records at Brooklands. Three works Team Cars with 16 valve twin cam engines were built for racing and record breaking: chassis number 1914, later developed as the Green Pea; chassis number 1915, the Razor Blade record car; and chassis number 1916, later developed as the Halford Special. Approximately 55 cars were built for sale in two configurations, long chassis and short chassis. The company went bankrupt in 1924 and was bought by Lady Charnwood, who put her son John Benson on the board. The company failed again in 1925 and the factory closed in 1926, with Lionel Martin leaving. Later that year, Bill Renwick, Augustus (Bert) Bertelli and a number of rich investors, including Lady Charnwood, took control of the company and renamed it Aston Martin Motors, and moved it to the former Whitehead Aircraft Limited works in Feltham. Renwick and Bertelli had been in partnership some years and had developed an overhead cam 4 cylinder engine, using Renwick's patented combustion chamber design, and had tested it in an Enfield Allday chassis. It was the only 'Renwick and Bertelli' motor car made. It was known as 'Buzzbox' and survives to this day. They had planned to sell this engine to motor manufacturers, but having heard that the Aston Martin car was no longer in production they realised that they could capitalise on the reputation of the Aston Martin name (what we would now call the brand) to give themselves a head start in the production of a completely new car. Between the years 1926 and 1937 Bertelli was the technical director of Aston Martin, and the designer of all subsequent Aston Martin cars during this period, these being known as the 'Bertelli cars'. They included the 1 1/2 litre 'T-type', the 'International, the 'Le Mans, the 'MKII' its racing derivative the 'Ulster, and the 2 litre 15/98 and its racing derivative the 'Speed Model'. Mostly open two seater sports cars and mostly bodied by Bert Bertelli's brother Enrico (Harry)a small number of long chassis four seater tourers, dropheads and saloons were also produced. Bertelli was very keen to race his cars and he was a very competent driver. One of the very few motor manufacturers to actually sit in and race the cars he designed and built , the competition no doubt 'improved the breed' and the 'LM' team cars were very successful in national and international motor racing including at Le Mans and the Mille Miglia. Financial problems reappeared in 1932 and the company was rescued by L. Prideaux Brune who funded it for the following year before passing the company on to Sir Arthur Sutherland. In 1936, the company decided to concentrate on road cars. Car production had always been on a small scale and until the advent of World War II halted work only about 700 had been made. During the war years aircraft components were made. The David Brown era In 1947, David Brown Limited bought the company under the leadership of managing director Sir David Brown — its "post-war saviour". David Brown also acquired Lagonda that year, and both companies shared resources and workshops. In 1955, David Brown bought the Tickford coachbuilding company and its site at Tickford Street in Newport Pagnell, and that was the beginning of the classic series of cars bearing the initials "DB". In 1950, the company announced the DB2, followed by the racing DB3 in 1957 and the Italian-styled 3.7L DB4 in 1958. All the cars established a good racing pedigree for the firm, but the DB4 was the key to establishing the company's reputation, which was cemented by the famous DB5 in 1963. The company continued developing the "grand touring" style with the DB6 (1965–70), the DBS, and the DBS V8 (1967–72). 1970s - Changing ownership Despite the cars' appreciation in value, the company was often financially troubled. In 1972, it was sold to a Birmingham-based consortium, owned by William Willson, (MBE), and resold in 1975 to North American businessmen Peter Sprague and George Minden. The new owners pushed the company into modernizing its line, producing the V8 Vantage in 1977, the convertible Volante in 1978, and the one-off William Towns-styled Bulldog in 1980. Towns also styled the futuristic new Lagonda saloon, based on the V8 model. In 1980 Aston-Martin had plans, which did not materialize, to buy MG, which they would have utilized as a sister marque, probably building smaller sports cars. Ideas were plotted to design a new model and they revealed to the press their approach to an 'updated' '1981' model MGB. As worldwide sales of Aston Martin shrank to three per week, chairman Alan Curtis together with fellow shareholders American Peter Sprague and Canadian George Minden, had almost chosen to shut down the production side of the business and concentrate on service and restoration. Curtis attended the 1980 Pace sponsored Stirling Moss benefit day at Brands Hatch, and met fellow Farnham resident Victor Gauntlett. 1980s - Victor Gauntlett Gauntlett bought a 10% stake in Aston Martin for £500,000 via Pace Petroleum in 1980, with Tim Hearley of CH Industrials taking a similar share. Pace and CHI took over as joint 50/50 owners at the beginning of 1981, with Gauntlett as executive chairman. Gauntlett also led the sales team, and after some development and a lot of publicity when it became the world’s fastest 4-seater production car, was able to sell with success the Aston Martin Lagonda into Persian Gulf states, particularly Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. Understanding it would take some time to develop new Aston Martin products, they bought Tickford to develop automotive products for other companies. Products included a Tickford Austin Metro, a Tickford Ford Capri and even Tickford train interiors, particularly on the Jaguar XJS. Pace continued sponsoring racing events, and now sponsored all Aston Martin Owners Club events, taking a Tickford engined Nimrod Group C car owned by AMOC President Viscount Downe, which came third in the Manufacturers Championship in both 1982 and 1983. It also finished seventh in the 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans race. However, sales of production cars were now at an all time low of 30 cars produced in 1982. As trading became tighter in the petroleum market, and Aston Martin was requiring more time and money, Gauntlett agreed to sell Hays/Pace to the Kuwait Investment Office in September 1983. As Aston Martin required greater investment, he also agreed to sell his share holding to American importer and Greek shipping tycoon Peter Livanos, who invested via his joint venture company with Nick and John Papanicalou, ALL Inc. Gauntlett remained chairman of the AML company 55% owned by ALL, with Tickford a 50/50 venture between ALL and CHI. The uneasy relationship was ended when ALL exercised options to buy a larger share in AML; CHI's residual shares were exchanged for CHI's complete ownership of Tickford, which retained development of existing Aston Martin projects. In 1984, Titan the main shipping company of the Papanicolaou’s was in trouble, so Livanos's father George bought out the Papanicolaou's shares in ALL, while Gauntlett again became a shareholder with a 25% holding in AML. The deal valued Aston Martin/AML at £2 million pounds, the year it built its 10,000th car. Although as a result Aston Martin had to make 60 members of the workforce redundant, Gauntlett bought a stake in Italian styling house Zagato, and resurrected its collaboration with Aston Martin. In 1986, Gauntlett negotiated the return of fictional British secret agent James Bond to Aston Martin. Cubby Broccoli had chosen to recast the character using actor Timothy Dalton, in an attempt to re-root the Bond-brand back to a more Sean Connery-like feel. Gauntlett supplied his personal pre-production Vantage for use in the filming of "The Living Daylights," and sold a Volante to Broccoli for use at his home in America. Unfortunately, Gauntlett turned down the role of a KGB colonel in the film: "I would have loved to have done it but really could not afford the time." Although the company was doing well, Gauntlett knew it needed extra funds to survive in the long term. In May 1987, Gauntlett and Prince Michael of Kent were staying at the home of Contessa Maggi, the wife of the founder of the original Mille Miglia, while watching the revival event. Another house guest was Walter Hayes, vice-President of Ford of Europe. Despite problems over the previous acquisition of AC Cars, Hayes saw the potential of the brand and the discussion resulted in Ford taking a share holding in September 1987. In 1988, having produced some 5,000 cars in 20 years, a revived economy and successful sales of limited edition Vantage, and 52 Volante Zagato coupes at £86,000 each; the company finally retired the ancient V8 and introduced the Virage range - the first new Aston launched in 20 years. Although Gauntlett was contractually to stay as chairman for two years, his racing interests took Aston back into sports car racing in 1989 with limited European success. However, with engine rule changes for the 1990 season and the launch of the new Aston Martin Volante model, Ford provided the limited supply of Cosworth engines to the Jaguar cars racing team. As the "small Aston" DB7 would require a large engineering input, Ford agreed to take full control of Aston Martin, and Gauntlett handed over the company chairmanship to Hayes in 1991. In 1992, the Vantage version was announced, and the following year the company renewed the DB range by announcing the DB7. The Ford era Ford placed Aston in the Premier Automotive Group, substantially invested in new manufacturing and quickly ramped up production. In 1994, Ford opened a new factory at Banbury Road in Bloxham. In 1995, the company produced a record 700 vehicles. In 1998 the 2,000th DB7 was built, and in 2002 the 6,000th, exceeding production of all previous DB models. The DB7 range was boosted by the addition of V12 Vantage models in 1999, and in 2001 the company introduced the V12-engine Vanquish. At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan in 2003, Aston Martin introduced the AMV8 Vantage concept car. Expected to have few changes before its introduction in 2005, the Vantage brought back the classic V8 engine to allow the company to compete in a larger market. 2003 also saw the opening of the Gaydon factory, the first purpose-built factory in Aston Martin's history. Also introduced in 2003 was the DB9 coupé, which replaced the ten-year-old DB7. A convertible version of the DB9, the DB9 Volante, was introduced at the 2004 Detroit Auto Show. In 2006, the V8 Vantage sports car entered production at the Gaydon factory, joining the DB9 and DB9 Volante. In December 2003 Aston Martin announced it would return to motor racing in 2005. A new division was created, called Aston Martin Racing, which became responsible, together with Prodrive, for the design, development, and management of the DBR9 program. The DBR9 competes in the GT class in sports car races, including the world-famous 24 hours of Le Mans. Sale by Ford In 2006, under mounting financial pressure, an internal review of costs and realisable value on investment, led Ford to consider divesting itself of parts of its Premier Automotive Group. After suggestions of selling Jaguar Cars, Land Rover or Volvo Cars, Ford appointed UBS AG to sell Aston Martin by auction. At the end of August 2006, Ford announced that it would be willing to sell all or part of Aston Martin. Bill Ford said: "As part of our on going strategic review, we have determined that Aston Martin may be an attractive opportunity to raise capital and generate value". The first round of the auction closed on 30 November 2006. One of the four survivors was Syrian-born billionaire Simon Halabi, while the Australian bid included James Packer, Australia's second richest man. The German auto newspaper Autobild reported on 2 February 2007 that the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH had bought the company for an undisclosed sum. The paper cited "anonymous, but well-placed sources" with the information. It was later reported by Autocar magazine that LVMH had denied the news as "rubbish". 2007 - A new era begins On 12 March 2007 a consortium led by Prodrive chairman David Richards purchased Aston Martin for £475m/USD$848m. Prodrive has no financial involvement in the deal. Ford will keep a stake in the company (valued at GBP40million / USD70million). The consortium also consisted of John Sinders, an Aston Martin collector; and two Kuwaiti investment companies, Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co. On 19 July 2007 the last car, a Vanquish S, was produced at the Newport Pagnell plant. Nearly 13,000 cars had been made there since 1955. All production was concentrated at Gaydon, with the old premises in Tickford Road remaining in Aston Martin ownership as the restoration and service department. Aston Martin has also boosted its worldwide appeal by opening more dealers in Europe, as well as branches in China for the first time in its 93 year history in Beijing and Shanghai. This has brought their dealership programme to 120 dealers in 28 countries. Aston Martins on film and culture Author Ian Fleming gave his James Bond hero a DB Mark III in the seventh novel, Goldfinger. A long association between 007 and the marque began on screen with the silver DB5 that appears in Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965). This was James Bond's company car, and in GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) appeared to have become his private car. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) a metallic-green DBS appears at the beginning and end of the movie. After an interlude with Lotus, Aston Martins were again used: a charcoal-grey V8 Volante and Vantage in The Living Daylights (1987). After switching to BMW for several films, the Vanquish appeared in Die Another Day (2002). In Casino Royale (2006), James Bond drives both the classic DB5 which becomes his personal vehicle after winning a poker game, and the new DBS which is revealed to be his new company car in Quantum of Solace(in theaters november 2008) In Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (film), a DB2/4 Drophead Coupe (convertible) is driven by male lead Rod Taylor and figures prominently in the final scene. A black Aston Martin Vanquish appears in The Italian Job (2003 film). In the film Gorgeous (1999) Jackie Chan drives an Aston Martin. Rowan Atkinson's own DB7 Vantage was used in Johnny English (2003). In the HBO series Entourage (2006), Vince buys all the guys an Aston Martin DB9 to celebrate the recent success of "Aquaman". In the TV Series "Las Vegas" James Caan's character Ed Deline drives a DB9 Volante. In the TV series Desperate Housewives, the character Gabrielle Solis (played by Eva Longoria Parker) drives a Maroon DB9 Volante. Models Aston Martin's model naming can be confusing to the uninitiated. In general, high performance models use the Vantage name, while convertibles are called Volante. Pre-war cars 1921-1925 Aston Martin Standard Sports 1927-1932 Aston Martin First Series 1929-1932 Aston Martin International 1932-1932 Aston Martin International Le Mans 1932-1934 Aston Martin Le Mans 1933-1934 Aston Martin 12/50 Standard 1934-1936 Aston Martin Mk II 1934-1936 Aston Martin Ulster 1936-1938 Aston Martin 2 litre Speed 1937-1939 Aston Martin 15/98 1939-1939 Aston Martin 2 litre C-Type Post-war Sports and GT cars 1948–1950 Aston Martin 2-Litre Sports (DB1) 1950–1953 Aston Martin DB2 1953–1957 Aston Martin DB2/4 1957–1959 Aston Martin DB Mark III 1958–1963 Aston Martin DB4 1961–1963 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato 1963–1965 Aston Martin DB5 1965–1969 Aston Martin DB6 1967–1972 Aston Martin DBS 1969–1989 Aston Martin V8 1977–1989 Aston Martin V8 Vantage 1986–1990 Aston Martin V8 Zagato 1989–2000 Aston Martin Virage 1989–1996 Aston Martin Virage/Virage Volante 1993–2000 Aston Martin Vantage 1996–2000 Aston Martin V8 Coupe/V8 Volante 1993–2003 Aston Martin DB7/DB7 Vantage 2002–2004 Aston Martin DB AR1 2001–2007 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish 2004–2007 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish S 2004– Aston Martin DB9 2005– Aston Martin V8 Vantage 2007– Aston Martin DBS Other 1944 Aston Martin Atom (concept) 1961–1964 Lagonda Rapide 1976–1989 Aston Martin Lagonda 1980 Aston Martin Bulldog (concept) 1993 Lagonda Vignale (concept) 2008– Aston Martin Rapide 2007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS (concept) Current models V8 Vantage, V8 Vantage Roadster & V12 Vantage RS Aston Martin DB9 (with optional Sport Pack) Aston Martin DB9 Volante Aston Martin DBS V12 Future models Rapide - Addition to the range in 2009 - a long, 4-seater Grand Tourer A DBX model was mentioned on the call announcing the sale of Aston Martin to the consortium led by David Richards and CEO, Ulrich Bez. No further details were provided. The DBX was later revealed to be a possible new flagship for Aston Martin based on the Zagato to compete against the Mercedes McLaren SLR, with speed over 205mph (330km/h) and a V12 mid engine tuned to produce 700bhp. Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS (600bhp) - Announced at the official opening of Aston Martin's first-ever dedicated design centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire, on Tuesday 11 December 2007. Race cars See also: List of Formula One constructors Whole race cars (post-war) Aston Martin DB3 (1950-1953) Aston Martin DB3S (1953-1956) Aston Martin DBR1 (1956-1959) Aston Martin DBR2 (1957-1958) Aston Martin DBR3 (1958) Aston Martin DBR4 (1959) Aston Martin DBR5 (1960) Aston Martin DP212 (1962) Aston Martin DP214 (1963) Aston Martin DP215 (1963) Aston Martin RHAM/1 (1976-1979) Aston Martin AMR1 (1989) Aston Martin AMR2 (never raced) Aston Martin DBR9 (2005-) Aston Martin DBRS9 (2005-) Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24 (2006-) Aston Martin V8 Vantage Rally GT (2006-) Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 (2008-) Engine supply only Cooper-Aston Martin (1963) Lola T70-Aston Martin (1967) Nimrod NRA/C2-Aston Martin (1982-1984) EMKA C84/1-Aston Martin (1984-1985) Cheetah G604-Aston Martin Lola B08/60-Aston Martin (2008-) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia More About Aston Martin

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Asia Motors, Ltd

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Asia Motors, Ltd

Asia Motors Co. Ltd., founded in 1965, was a South Korean motor vehicle manufacturer of large and medium duty trucks, special military vehicles, lightweight cars, civilian jeeps (a small jeep look-alike called the Rocsta and later the Retona), motor vehicle components, to include engines, and buses and mini-buses. Kia owned 28.28% of issued stock. It was completely merged with Kia in 1999 and Asia Motors currently has no automobile production. The Australian Asia Motors distributors, now an independent company called Asia Motors Australia, continues to use the Asia Motors name but now sources it's products elsewhere.

The Rocsta's replacement, the Retona, was sold under the Kia badge.

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Tiny Cars Are instant hit in Japan

TOKYO -- Driving in this town sucks. The traffic is horrible, gas is astronomically expensive and just try to find parking. This explains why the Japanese love their tiny Kei cars. The lilliputian vehicles are ubiquitous in Japan - and they would be here, if Detroit had any sense. The Kei cars is the future of transportation, and if the Big Three survive they should start cranking them out here in America.

Kei cars (or 軽い自動車) are so compact they make the Mini look gargantuan, and you find them everywhere in the Japanese capital. They trace their roots to the microcars of the post-war era, a time when resources were scarce and money was tight. And though they harken to the past, they also hint at the future. The big Japanese automakers have been building Kei cars for years (and Toyota may bring one to America), and as the struggling auto industry finally realizes fuel economy and low emissions are important, it's learning that small is the next big thing.

To fall into the Kei class, a car can be no more than 11.1-feet long, 4.6-feet wide, and 6.5-feet high, with a 660 cc engine. Americans used to hulking SUVs that weigh three tons and seat eight people (yet rarely seem to carry more than two) will wonder how on earth anyone could drive something so small. But really -- do you need anything bigger when all you're doing is slogging to work or running errands?

Japanese automakers produce more than 50 models of Kei car, and they range from the strictly utilitarian Daihatsu Hijet van to the sporty Mazda Autozam that gets 50 mpg. They're easy to recognize -- they're so tiny you can't help but notice them -- but if you need confirmation that you're looking at a Kei, look for a yellow license plate with black lettering (or if it's a commercial Kei, a black plate with yellow text).

The Kei car rose from the wreckage of World War II, when Japan's economy was a mess and its population broke. Rebuilding the auto industry was essential to getting the country back on its feet, but people were lucky if they had the Yen to buy a scooter. To promote sales, the government offered generous tax and insurance breaks to Kei car customers. It's a practice that has stuck - and stands in stark contrast to America, where tax incentives helped make SUVs so popular.

Kei cars also sip gas -- they typically get 40 to 60 mpg -- which is another reason they're so popular. Gasoline costs $5.79 a gallon in Japan, the lowest price in six months. While new car sales  in Japan were down by more than 13 percent, Kei carssales jumped 6.2 percent. The CEOs of the Big Three would sell their children for sales figures half that good. If Detroit survives its fiscal implosion, maybe it will finally realize small can be big.

And a few from Flickr ...

A Suzuki by Flickr user IwateBuddy:

Honda Beat by Flickr user dave_7:

Daihatsu Copen by Flickr user IwateBuddy:

How small are Kei cars? This photo series by Flickr user mauricedenbosch shows someone almost 7 feet tall getting into a Daihatsu Copen:

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Porsche Rinspeed LeMans

It appears that German tuner Mansory isn't content doing outrageous things toFerraris, Rolls-Royces, Mercedes, Bentleys and Aston Martins. They apparently want to do similar things to Porsches as well. To make things easier on themselves, they have decided to just purchase a firm that already does wondrous things to Zuffenhausen's finest. Mansory has purchased the Porsche-tuning arm of Rinspeed and renamed it Mansory (Switzerland) AG. The deal is a bit complex, but Rinspeed Inc. will continue to operate as a separate entity, and will continue to do additional automotive work in the future, and the Porsche-specific side of the business now belongs to Mansory. So while Mansory will now be able to offer cars like the "Rinspeed" X-Treme Cayenne, Le Mans 600, Imola and Indy 4S, Rinspeed will continue to build its wild and wacky show cars, like the Splash, eXasis, and sQuba. Got it? Good.

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2010 Mustang teasers

Can't make it out to the L.A. Auto Show to see Ford's new pony car? No worries! The Blue Oval and SPEED TV have teamed up to provide live coverage of the 2010 Mustang's unveiling next week. The cameras will be rolling next Tuesday at 11:00 p.m. EST, so either put it on your schedule or set your DVR. Of course, we'll also be there with cameras in hand, so be sure to check back here for plenty of photos and all the latest news on the Mustang and the rest of the LA Auto Show.

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2010 Toyota Prius

Toyota has been scrambling to right its financial ship after cutting its profit forecast by 63% in the face of dismal US auto sales. The Japanese automaker set up an emergency committee to look at areas to cut costs, and all programs are said to be on the table. Though Toyota has announced nothing specific to this point, Japan's Nikkei Business Daily is announcing that the first US-built Priuses may not be produced until 2011. That would mean a one year delay of the opening of Toyota's Mississippi plant, which has already seen a product shift and cost overruns. The new 2010 Prius, which will initially only be built in Japan until the Mississippi plant comes online, is scheduled to be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

Toyota is currently denying that Prius production at the Mississippi plant has been delayed. We're a bit skeptical of the Nikkei report anyway considering the Prius is still in high demand despite the economic downturn.

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Hermes Special Edition smart

Hermes has decided to continue its recent trend of modifying iconic cars and celebrating their birthdays. First it was the Bugatti Veyron Fbg by Hermes, followed by a special commemorative edition of the Citroen 2CV for its 60th anniversary. Now, Hermes has taken on the smart fortwo, issuing a special edition of the diminutive city car, which has now been on the market for a decade. As you'd expect, the Hermes fortwo sees its interior swathed in leather along with a special canvas called Toile H. These two unique textures cover everything from the seats to the car's tridion safety cell. On the inside, the Hermes signature orange is a nice color option, as are nine others including indigo, gold, lime and, uh, pink. High fashion never comes cheap, and the Hermes Smart is no exception coming in at $48,500 in U.S. dollars or 38,000 euros and on sale now in both hardtop and convertible versions. Hey, at least you get a standard umbrella. Thanks for the tip, JW!

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