Tag Archives: Audi

Woodland For The Tenacious – Spyker Silvestris V8 Prototype

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If innovation were enough to guarantee success everybody would know the name Spyker and quite a few of us would probably be driving one, given that in 1903 Spyker launched a 60 hp racer that was the first motor car with a six cylinder engine, four wheel drive AND four wheel brakes.

Spyker, Goodwood FoS

The company motto “Nulla tenaci invia est via” translates as “For the tenacious, no road is impassable”, to which might be added “even if the way is blocked for 70 years”, for despite building the royal horse drawn ‘Golden’ carriage for the Dutch royal family in 1898, which is still in use today and introducing 6 cylinder powered vehicles, four wheel drive and four wheel braking systems, Spyker went under in 1929.

Spyker Silvestris, Goodwood FoS

Between 1990 and 1996 Maarten de Bruijn hand built the Silvestris (translation ‘Woodland’) V8, seen here at Goodwood, Festival of Speed, with which he and Victor Muller would revive the Spyker brand.

Spyker Silvestris, Goodwood FoS

Many of the design features of the Spyker C8 model which went into production in 2000 can be seen in the Silvestre which has smaller overall dimensions than the production C8.

Spyker Silvestris, Goodwood FoS

Power for the prototype Spyker came from a 265 hp quad cam (dohc) Audi V8 attached to a similarly sourced gearbox.

Spyker Silvestris, Goodwood FoS

The Silvestris weighing just 960 kgs 2,116 lbs is thought to be capable of 0 – 62 mph in 4.5 secs.

Spyker Silvestris, Goodwood FoS

Builder Maarten de Bruijn still owns the Silvestris which won it’s class in the Cartier Concours at Goodwood this year.

Spyker Silvestris, Goodwood FoS

In 2005 Maarten left Spyker to start a new venture Silvestris Aquamotive which builds aluminium space frame speed boats.

Thanks for joining me on today’s Woodland edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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200 mph Viscous Traction – Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0

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When the Diablo was launched in 1990 it was the first Lamborghini capable of over 200 mph and in the process it relieved the Ferrari F40 of ‘the worlds fastest production road car’ title. The design brief set by then Lamborghini owners the Swiss Mimram brothers for the Lamborghini Countach replacement back in the late eighties was relatively straight forward – Minimum speed capability 315 kph / 196 mph.

Marchello Gandini was responsible for the styling but when Chrysler took over Lamborghini in 1987 they were unimpressed and after the Chrsler Styling Centre in Detroit smoothed out the design Gandini was so unimpressed he took his original drawings which later were realised in the form of the Cizeta-Moroder V16T.

By the time this one of 251 penultimate VT 6.0 variants was built in 2000 Audi had become owners of Lamborghini and the Diablo had; acquired 4 wheel drive (Viscous Traction), an upgraded 547 hp 6 litre / 370 cui V12 and been fitted with made under licence Nissan 300 ZX Z32 head light clusters. The title of worlds fastest production car was short lived and handed on to the 213 mph Bugatti EB110 in 1991.

Hope you have enjoyed the Viscous Traction edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again tomorrow for Ferrari Friday, don’t forget to come back now !

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The slowest car they have ever built – Audi R8

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For the 8th day of Christmas and first day of the New Year I present this Audi R8.

According to the on line publicity it takes 70 skilled workers to fit over 5,000 unique parts to each vehicle and build 25 of these cars a day.

These vents direct air straight through the car.

The aluminium space frame which includes 99 meters of welds, 782 punch rivets, 308 self tapping screws, and 113 weld studs takes 45 minutes to manufacture.

The R8 rides on a magnetic damping system which provides the the driver with two modes of ride, comfort or sport.

This is the first Audi to compete with Porsche it is not quite as quick to accelerate but has been demonstrated to have slightly better handling than the 997.

Powered by a 420 hp all aluminium dry sump 32 valve V8 with Fuel Stratified Injection, FSI, the R8 is capable of a 12.8 sec 1/4 mile and a top speed in excess of 185 mph.

Audi use 210 exterior LED’s in the R8, 186 of them as brake lights which run at 5,700 degrees centigrade, they are said to use 50% less energy than conventional bulbs.

Expect to see racing versions of the R8 in two wheel drive form make an impact in GT3 racing in the coming year particularly at the annual 24 hour Nurburgring race.

Hope you have enjoyed to today’s LED edition of ‘Getting a lil’ psycho on tyres and that you will join me tomorrow living the life of Riley. Wishing you all a healthy and happy New Year, don’t forget to come back now !

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