Techart Cayenne Needs Even More Power

I blogged about the Techart Cayenne and pointed out that the relationship between drag and speed was a squared one meaning that a Cayenne would need four times as much power to double its speed.  As my clever son pointed out the relationship above 200 mph or so is actually cubed meaning that it would need eight times as much power to do 400 mph or 5440 HP at which point it would spontaneously explode, scattering the Zuffenhausenian elves to the four winds.  For the love of God Techart don't do it!

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Another New Species in the Greater Mekong

I have written before about the discovery of new species and the irony of this occurring when extinctions are happening with increased frequency.  I have even raised the possibility of a species becoming extinct before we even know it exists.  Here is one new species, an exquisite tiny leaf warbler, to which this won't apply.  And it is most welcome because on the Mekong birds are not very prevalent.

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He's Back!

Schuey is back.  With a conjunction of Schuey,a M-B full works team with Ross brawn as technical director, and with World Champions Hamilton, Button and Alonso to be overcome together with no refuelling heralds the best F1 season for a very long time.  I have moaned about the current state of F1 previously.  Hopefully I won't have to next year.

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Monterey 2009: Blastolene's twin-supercharged V12 Peterbilt hot rod — Autoblog

When I was young, in my teens, I had a very strange psychiatric disorder.  You see at the time I was engrossed in F1, Le Mans and Ferrari 250LMs, a perfectly respectable interest for a 15 year old, I was also secretly grooving to US hot rods - something only coarse and common boys were into.  It is hard to imagine how different these two categories of vehicle were.  I have to confess that this split personality, this automotive schizophrenia, has never quite left me.
So it was with quivering excitement that I read the story in Autoblog of the Blastolene V12 Peterbilt hot rod.  What a machine, what a concept, what a name, wowee! Such a fantastical concoction so beautifully made couldn't help but stir the blood.  So see for yourself....isn't it quite something!
Monterey 2009: Blastolene's twin-supercharged V12 Peterbilt hot rod — Autoblog

Photo copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

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Speed Limits

I see that the Government is wanting to introduce more 20 mph speed limits.  So this should help the sale of Techart Porsche Caynene Turbos then (see previous post)!

Techart Porsche Cayenne Turbo closes in on 200 mph at Nardo — Autoblog

This article tells how Techart have made a Porsche Cayenne Turbo reach almost 200mph.  On the face of it this sounds really clever but it is nothing of the sort.  It is merely basic Physics at work.
The maximum speed of a car occurs when the power available equals the power required to overcome the rolling resistance (the friction of the tyres and moving bits in the engine) plus the drag of the car travelling through the air.  The drag in turn has two parts: skin friction and form drag due to the size of the front of the car and the overall shape.  In aeroplanes there is a third type called "lift induced drag" which hardly matters here because the prospect of a 200 mph Cayenne lifting off is too terrifying to contemplate.  So to make a car go fast you need it to have lots of power, a small frontal area and a slippery shape.
For a Cayenne there is not much you can do about its frontal area or shape so the only way to make it go faster is by giving it more power - hence the 680 bhp of this one.  So theoretically one might imagine that doubling the power would double the speed so a Techart Cayene with 1,360 bhp might do 400 mph.  But it doesn't work like that because drag also increases with speed and not directly. It is a squared relationship so at 400 mph the Cayenne would need four times the power required at 200 mph or a whopping 2,720 bhp!!!    I suppose you could build a 2,720 bhp Cayenne but it would be like an AA Fuel Dragster.  It would need to run on nitromethanol and  would only last 10 seconds before either running out of fuel or exploding!
So you can see how silly this sort of thing is because it depends on only producing more power.  And for what?  Such a car offers nothing remotely useable over the highly capable standard Cayenne.  I suppose Jezza and the Hamster might be able to persuade little boys that it's wonderful but not me.

Techart Porsche Cayenne Turbo closes in on 200 mph at Nardo — Autoblog

Revealed: the new Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta one-off

One-off custom Ferraris seem to be alive and well.  Following the recent  Zagato 550 GTZ Barchetta comes this little beauty based on the 599 GTB Fiorano and similar to the equally exotic 1961 250 GTE Fantuzzi NART Spyder, the Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta is in the great tradition of the Carrozzeria-built Ferraris of yesteryear on which I have blogged previously.  These one-off cars were built for not only the rich and famous but also for the true tifosi.  They are what Ferrari is all about.

Revealed: the new Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta one-off: "The first shake-down has been held at Fiorano of a very special one-off, the P540 Superfast Aperta"

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The Flight of the Turkey

Well it's finally happened!  It flies!!  But will it do the things we want it to and will it be good value for money?   More importantly how will we we pay for it?
And at the present rate of progress it should reach IOC about 2024.
(Article from FlightGlobal.com)
PICTURES: Airbus celebrates as A400M gets airborne: "The A400M took off on its first test flight at 10:15 local time from San Pablo airport in Spain ..."

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Infection Control: a huge joke.

I had occasion today to visit a large hospital in the Central Belt of Scotland.  I was waiting outside a clinical area which was accessed by a double door.  Only patients and hospital staff were allowed through into the area.  On the double doors were three prominent signs telling everyone who entered the clinical area to wash their hands with the alcohol gel that was provided from a dispenser on the wall next to the door.
I waited for about half an hour and during that time about a dozen people entered the area.

NOT ONE OF THEM WASHED THEIR HANDS

Infection control in this hospital is clearly a joke.

Clostridium difficile on Blood Agar

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Pot Calling the Kettle Black

So Iraq "amateurs" were to blame!
Army chief blames Iraq 'amateurs': "A senior official tells the inquiry into the Iraq war that 'amateurs' with limited experience were put into key roles in the country."

This is a bit rich coming from the  man who was "taken by surprise" and "unprepared for the speed of victory" in the Second Gulf War. During the First Gulf War the Iraqis were crushed in no time.  Did he think it would be any different the second time around?

Image from The Telegraph

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Airbus confirms A400M first flight this Friday

Almost there!  I've started holding my breath in eager anticipation.  Never in the field of aircraft development has so little taken so long.  As I have blogged before a hi-lo mix of C-17s and C-130Js would be better and cheaper. This is a purely political aircraft and it's now almost too late to save the taxpayer humungous sums of money.  Do you realise that if this aircraft didn't exist we could buy 67,983 IED-proof armoured vehicles and 6 million sets of body armour and put them to good use saving lives?  (Actually I made up the numbers for effect but I'm sure you get the point).

Airbus confirms A400M first flight this Friday: "Airbus Military has confirmed that its A400M transport is scheduled to make its first flight on 11 December, with aircraft MSN001 due to lift off from San..."

Source:

 

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Bullfinches

We had some bullfinches in our garden today.  So what?  Well we seldom get bullfinches despite them being described as "a common garden bird", and it has been shown that the UK population is decreasing so when we do see them it is a great joy.
Usually they appear as small mixed-sex flocks of up to 20 or so.  Today it was a male and two females only. They gleaned the plants on the garden archway for insects and then in a trice they were gone, rapidly zooming across the open ground to the West. Now you see them now you don't!

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Rumormill: Ferrari preparing hardcore 599 GTO?

The fabulous Ferrari 250 GTO of the early Sixties was a true iconic sportsracing car along with others like the Mercedes-Benz 300SLR, D-Type Jaguar and Ford GT-40.  Every schoolboy knew all about the 250 GTO. Its designation, originally standing for Gran Turismo Omoligato, meaning it was approved for GT class racing by the FIA, was hijacked by lots of other cars in a show of the sincerest form of flattery e.g. the Pontiac GTO and the incredibly unlovely Mitsubishi Gallant GTO etc, none of which were remotely as great.  Ferrari used the designation only once more for the 288 GTO, an over-hyped ancestor of the great F40.  Ferrari GTOs don't come round too often!
So it is little wonder that the rumour of a a new GTO sets the automotive world's collective pulses racing.  Following on from the FXX Evoluzione, itself a road going derivative of the Enzo, the 599 GTO would be based on the gorgeous 599 GTB.  If it were to happen it would bring back some much needed style to fast Ferraris.  The Enzo and its ilk might be the last word in technology but they look like they belong in a Transformer movie.
So let us hope...
Rumormill from Autoblog
Rumormill: Ferrari preparing hardcore 599 GTO?: "
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari, Rumormill

Ferrari 599XX - Click above for high-res image gallery

Ferrari often uses its World Finals event to unveil exclusive new versions of its most enticing road cars. The FXX Evoluzione was unveiled there a couple of years ago, and the 16M Scuderia Spider made its debut at the event last year. But aside from a mishap involving Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Luca di Montezemolo in a California convertible, this year's event at Valencia came and went with nothing new to offer. However, the latest churns from the rumormill indicate Maranello could be working on an exciting new project.



Supposedly leaked pre-order sheets reportedly refer to a '599 GTO Limited Edition', named in deference to the iconic 250 GTO (to say nothing of the ground-pounding 288 GTO). Based on the 599 GTB Fiorano, the GTO could be Maranello's answer to arch-rival Lamborghini's Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce.



Incorporating design cues and technologies from the 599XX program, the 599 GTO could benefit from a weight-reduction program to cut some 100-150 pound off the curb weight thanks to the extensive use of carbon fiber, while squeezing out as much as 700 horsepower from the Enzo-derived 6.0-liter V12. Pricing would be expected to jump by as much as a quarter to nearly $400,000, and if the reports prove accurate, the 599 GTO could be ready for debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March with the first of just 500 examples slated for delivery by this time next year.

Gallery: Geneva 2009: Ferrari 599xx

[Source: Autogespot]

Rumormill: Ferrari preparing hardcore 599 GTO? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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