The Porsche Cayman is a rear mid-engined, rear wheel drive 2-seat
luxury sports car produced by Porsche AG of Germany. First
launched in the 2006 model year, the Cayman is a coupé derived
from Porsche's second and third generation Boxster roadster. Like the
Boxster, most Caymans were assembled in Finland for Porsche by Valmet
Automotive (the rest are assembled in Zuffenhausen, Stuttgart, Germany).
Porsche's Deputy Chairman, Holger P. Haerter stated that their contract with
Valmet Automotive will end in 2012, and the Cayman's production will be
outsourced to Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik of Graz, Austria.
(Panorama, 2008). More recently, as Volkswagen assumed ultimate control of
Porsche AG, that agreement fell through, and the production of both Caymans and
Boxsters after 2012 will be in the former Karmann plant
in Osnabrück, Germany, now owned by Volkswagen and used for production of
the new 2012 Golf Cabriolet. Cayman is an alternate spelling of caiman, a reptile in
the same family as the alligator. The car is not named after the Cayman Islands;
rather the islands also derive their name from the caiman. On the same day that
the first Caymans arrived at dealerships for sale, Porsche adopted four caimans
at Stuttgart's Wilhelma Zoo. Porsche has been
protective of their Cayman trademark and in 2009 the sports car maker brought
an infringement lawsuit against Crocs, the maker of the popular rubber shoes.
At issue was the footwear company's clog name also called Cayman. An injunction
was granted against Crocs Europe, a division of the Longmont, Colorado based
shoe company preventing their use in Germany of the Cayman name. After two
years of development, the first model of the coupé to be released was
the Cayman S (type 987120). Photographs and technical details were
released in May 2005, but the public unveiling did not take place until the
September Frankfurt Motor Show. The S suffix (for Sport or Special) indicated
that this was a higher performance version of a then unreleased normal model.
That model, the Cayman (987110), went on sale in July 2006. A
motorsport-tuned model, the Cayman RS, is rumored to have been tested at
the Nürburgring that same year. The Cayman coupé (project 987c)
and the second generation Boxster roadster (project 987) shared the same
mid-engined platform and many components, including the front fenders and trunk
lid, side doors, headlights, taillights and forward portion of the interior.
The design of the Cayman's body incorporates styling cues from classic
Porsches; 356/1, the 550 Coupé and the 904 Coupé. Unlike
the Boxster, the Cayman has a large hatchback for access to luggage areas on
top of and in the back of the engine cover. Curiously, the entire aft portion
of the Cayman is manufactured from stainless steel which
provides the resistance to cracking needed to manufacture the many curves. The
suspension design is fundamentally the same as that of the Boxster, but
features revised settings appropriate to the increase in chassis stiffness
resulting from the Cayman's fixed roof. The 3.4 litre flat-6 boxer engine (M97.21)
in the first generation Cayman S was derived from the 3.2 litre powerplant
(M96.26) that was used in the Boxster S, but featured cylinder heads from the Porsche 997 S's
3.8 litre motor (M97.01) which have the VarioCam Plusinlet valve timing and
lift system. A less powerful but more fuel efficient version, the 2.7 litre
M97.20, powered the base model. The use of these new powerplants exclusively in
Caymans ended in MY 2007 when Porsche upgraded the Boxster (987310)
and Boxster S (987320). A 5-speed manual transaxle is
standard on the normal Cayman (G87.01), while a 6-speed manual (Getrag 466)
is the default for the S (G87.21) and an option on the normal (A87.20). An
electronically controlled 5-speed automatic transaxle
(Tiptronic)
was also available on the S (A87.21) and the non-S version (A87.02) (The 2009
models replaced this option with a seven-speed "PDK",
Porsche's dual-clutch robotic
manual transmission). Other options
include active shock
absorbers (ThyssenKrupp Bilstein
GmbH's DampTronic, rebadged asPASM by Porsche), ceramic disc brakes (PCCB), xenon headlights (Hella's Bi-Xenon) and an electronically controlled
sport mode (Sport Chrono Package). The first generation Cayman ceased
production in November 2011.
Monday, 9 June 2014
Sunday, 8 June 2014
Peugeot RCZ
The Peugeot
RCZ is a coupe manufactured
by the French car company Peugeot. It was launched in April 2010 and
is available in almost 80 countries as of 2013 (except the US). It was
officially introduced at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2009 and was
initially announced as the 308 RCZ concept car at the 2007 Frankfurt
show. It is assembled by Magna Steyr, a subsidiary of Magna
International. Petrol engines are based on Prince platform while
diesel is part of the HDi project. RCZ was developed under code name
"T75". The 30,000th RCZ came off the assembly line on June 21,
2011. The 50,000th RCZ was built on 14 February 2013 and was
painted in Moroccan Red, a new red on the facelifted vehicle. The RCZ was
originally planned as a simple concept car but it received critical acclaim,
capturing the imagination of the public and professionals. Peugeot decided to
take the leap from concept to actual car and began production. The car's lines
and style have remained very close to the original concept so as not to disappoint
public opinion, however a series of changes were made to the central dual
exhaust system which was replaced by a dual exhaust to the left of the rear
bumper. The RCZ has double-bubble roof inspired by Zagato. The RCZ is 4.287 m (168.8 in) long, 1.845 m
(72.6 in) wide and 1.359 m (53.5 in) in height and a wheelbase
of 2.612 m (102.8 in). RCZ Hybrid4 HYbrid4, incorporating the principle of the
HYbrid4, or all-wheel drive, 3008 technology with a 2.0 l HDi FAP 120 kW
(163 PS; 161 hp) at the front and an electric motor 27 kW
(37 PS; 36 hp) mounted on the rear and 6-speed prundletronic gearbox.
Announced fuel consumption: 3.7 litres per 100 kilometres (76 mpg-imp; 64 mpg-US) in mixed cycle.
CO2 expected is 95 g/km. In November 2012, Peugeot announced their
intention of building a more powerful, performance oriented RCZ. In July 2013,
the first official pictures of the car were released. The RCZ R will have a
turbocharged 1.6l engine capable of producing 270 bhp (making it the most
powerful engine of this displacement in any production car) and 330NM of
torque, allowing it a 0-62 time of 5.9 seconds and a top speed limited to
155 mph. It will also feature uprated 380mm Alcon brakes and suspension, a
significantly reduced curb weight and a Torsen front differential, like that
found on the mk2 Ford Focus RS, to reduce the inevitable torque steer faced by
a front-wheel-drive car with this level of power output. The RCZ R went on sale
in January 2014 at £31,995. The RCZ Allure is a special edition of the 1.6
THP156 with 6-speed Tiptronic transmission and 18-inch wheels. The Asphalt
is limited edition (500 units) version of the RCZ. It includes 19-inch black
and silver alloy wheels, black leather sport seats. The RCZ Brownstone is a limited edition available exclusively
in Germany in metallic brown paint with silver racing strips. Inside, the
special version is also in brown, with Cohiba leather and Alcantara trim. The RCZ Magnetic is available exclusively in Britain, with
production limited to 170 units. Models are available in pearlescent black with
Flame Red leather sports seats or white with black leather sports seats, with
matte black roof arches and a black grille, brake calipers and door mirrors.
They also feature a soft touch leather sports steering wheel and gearshift
paddles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)