The U.S. car market is the biggest and most competitive on the planet. Still, there are several wild, exciting and unique vehicles that cannot be bought here, no matter how much money you are willing to lay down. Many of these rolling wonders are designed and built by tiny boutique automakers that cannot or simply will not shell out the millions of dollars needed to certify their creations for sale in the New World. Others are so radical in design and purpose that they just wouldn't conform to the various U.S. safety and regulatory standards. And a few more are so exclusive and built in such small numbers that they are all spoken for before even rumors of their possible existence reach American ears. Have we piqued your interest yet? Well, here are 10 of the coolest cars you can't get here in the States. As you'll see, they are sexy, powerful and very desirable. Welcome to the world of the unobtainable.
1. Ascari KZ1
This supercar is named after famed Italian race driver Alberto Ascari, the first two-time Formula 1 world champion (1952-53). It's built in the United Kingdom by a small company created by Dutch inventor and industrialist Klaas Zwart. The KZ1 first rolled off the assembly line back in 2003. Midmounted in a chassis made of ultralightweight carbon fiber is a 5.0-liter V8 engine that was first used in the BMW Z8 sports car. It has been retuned to produce 500 horsepower, and will propel the Ascari from zero to 60 mph in a scant 3.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 200 mph. The KZ1 sells for about 235,000 pounds (US$344,000), and owners can drive their KZ1s at the Ascari Race Resort in the south of Spain.
2.Aston Martin One-77
Aston Martin was recently sold by the Ford Motor Co. to a consortium led by Prodrive owner and racing magnate David Richards. In addition to putting the final touches on its upcoming Rapide grand touring 4-door sedan, the slick British automaker is marketing an extremely exclusive sports car that will be built entirely to order and custom-fit and trimmed to the taste of each buyer. The cost: a mere 1.2 million pounds (US$1.75 million). Only 77 of these cars will be built, hence the One-77 moniker. The low-slung coupe, built on a carbon-fiber monocoque structure with hand-shaped aluminum body panels, will reportedly be powered by a front-mounted 7.3-liter V12 engine that should develop more than 700 horsepower. Even at such a price, the One-77 is already sold out.
3.Caparo T1
This is the closest you can get to a Formula 1 or GP2 car for the road. It even looks like a formula car, with skimpy fenders and a bubble cockpit over two staggered seats. The Caparo T1 was created by many of the people who designed the fabulous McLaren F1 road car, and they made even fewer compromises — a considerable accomplishment. Thanks to its carbon-fiber and aluminum chassis, composite body and many other parts made from exotic lightweight materials, the T1 weighs only 1,212 pounds. Not exactly exciting news. But when you consider that it's armed with a 575-horsepower, midmounted, all-aluminum, naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V8, you get a warp-level power-to-weight ratio of 1,000 horses per ton. Quick-shifting, the 6-speed sequential gearbox will take you from zero to 60 mph in about 2.5 seconds. Base price: 240,000 pounds (US$355,000).
4.Covini C6W
At first, the Covini C6W looks awkward and unreal, as if someone had digitally pasted a second pair of front wheels on a classic supercar. But the car with four front wheels and two rear wheels is for real. Italian entrepreneur Ferrucio Covini first worked on a car with four front wheels more than 30 years ago. The claimed benefits of having four smaller, 16-inch front wheels (the rear are 20 inches in diameter) are reduced aerodynamic drag from the smaller frontal area, better braking, a smoother ride and a drastic reduction of understeer and hydroplaning. The downsides are the added weight, bulk and complexity of the front suspension. Regardless, the C6W is powered by an Audi-designed 4.2-liter 435-horsepower V8 driving the rear wheels through a 6-speed manual gearbox. The engine is midmounted in a structure that combines steel tubing and carbon fiber. The Covini C6W is still considered a prototype, albeit one that will soon be production-bound, according to Covini Engineering. However, there's no projected price on the maker's Web site.
5.Koenigsegg CCX & CCXR
This tiny Swedish company, founded by an intrepid young designer named Christian von Koenigsegg, has been designing and building world-caliber supercars since 1994, in very small numbers and with amazing results. Its latest creations are the CCX and CCXR. These low-slung, midengine missiles featuring carbon-fiber bodywork were introduced at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show. Both are powered by a supercharged 4.8-liter V8 engine designed by Koenigsegg himself, but the CCXR's can run on eco-friendlier E85 or E100 ethanol as well as regular gasoline. When fed with E85, the CCXR produces a stunning 1,018 horsepower and a monstrous 782 lb-ft of torque. The sticker for a Koenigsegg CCX is 1.3 million euros (US$1.75 million), and a CCXR goes for a paltry 1.5 million euros (US$2 million).
6.KTM X-Bow
Building on the growing popularity of its motocross and enduro motorcycles, Austrian motorcycle builder KTM has successfully branched out into road-going bikes, ATVs and now the X-Bow (pronounced Crossbow). In the spirit of the legendary Lotus Seven and current Ariel Atom, the X-Bow is ultralight and spare, to offer the utmost in performance, handling and driving feel. It is built around a carbon-fiber monocoque chassis and powered by a midmounted, 2.0-liter turbocharged direct-injection 4-cylinder engine from Audi. With 240 horsepower on tap and a weight of only 1,741 pounds, the X-Bow can streak from zero to 60 mph in less than four seconds and then stop in barely more than 100 feet, with its Brembo disc brakes. The X-Bow sells for about 50,000 euros (US$67,000).
7.Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss
Few sports cars carry more history or heritage than the Mercedes-Benz SL class. In 1954 the 300 SL 'Gullwing' became the first modern supercar. Its racing alter ego, the 300 SLR, sprinted to victory a year later in the Mille Miglia road race classic in Italy, with the legendary race car driver Stirling Moss at the wheel (and famous journalist Denis Jenkinson as his navigator). More than half a century later, Mercedes-Benz is honoring this truly legendary performance with the SLR McLaren Stirling Moss. Only 75 will be built and all are accounted for at a price of 750,000 euros (US$1.2 million). Like the original SLR, this special version has neither a roof nor a windshield — only stubby wind screens not even four inches high. Dual "roll hoops" behind the seats and twin side exhausts are additional nods to the famous forebear. It will be powered by a 5.4-liter supercharged V8 engine that develops 650 horsepower — good for a zero-to-60-mph dash in just over three seconds and a top speed of 218 mph.
8.Morgan AeroMax
The AeroMax is an exclusive, limited-edition model from a small yet famous 100-year-old British automaker. It is, in essence, a coupe version of the Aero 8, a real success story for Morgan since it was unveiled at the 2000 Geneva Auto Show. The AeroMax was revealed in 2005, again in Geneva, as a concept. But reaction was so positive that Morgan decided to build 100 of them for sale to the . . . well, masses. Price: 110,000 pounds (US$163,000). The AeroMax has full aluminum body panels over a bonded and riveted aluminum chassis. The engine is a 4.4-liter double-overhead-cam 325-horsepower V8 built by BMW, which reportedly propels it from "naught" to 100 km/h (62.13 mph) in 4.5 seconds.
9.Pagani Zonda Cinque
From childhood, Horacio Pagani had dreamed of building a supercar. In 1999 he introduced the Pagani Zonda C12, a rakish supercar powered by a midmounted 7-liter 408-horsepower Mercedes-Benz V12 engine built by AMG. Since then the Argentinian-born Pagani has designed and delivered almost 100 cars, all variations on the Zonda theme. The Cinque is designed to be a street-legal car you can take on the racetrack. Its V12 puts out 678 horsepower and is mated to a sequential manual gearbox with automated clutch — a first for Pagani. The Cinque weighs only 2,667 pounds, thanks to the use of a new material combining titanium and carbon fiber, as well as forged titanium wheels and other components made of magnesium and titanium. Only five will be built — hence the name (cinque means five). All have been spoken for at a cost of about US$1.5 million.
10.Venturi Fetish
French carmaker Venturi unveiled its Fetish, the first electric-powered sports car, at the 2004 Mondial de l'auto in Paris, two years before the much-publicized introduction of Tesla's Roadster. In April 2008 Venturi announced that the Fetish was getting a new and much stronger electric motor, the VM300. This new 300-horsepower motor weighs 78 pounds and pumps outs 280 lb-ft of torque, a 72 percent increase and enough to launch the 2,480-pound roadster from zero to 60 mph in less than four seconds. The carmaker claims the Fetish has a range 180 miles, at a steady 55 mph, from a new lithium-polymer battery pack that can be recharged in six hours using the 220-volt, 16-amp onboard charger, or in three hours with an external 32-amp source. Only 25 will be built, all by hand, in Monaco, and sold to an "exclusive and avant-garde clientele" for a mere 297,000 euros (US$400,000) each, roughly the price of four Teslas.
No comments:
Post a Comment