Aston Martin V12 Zagato – production car images out

February 10, 2012 at 2:13 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Aston Martin, Cars, International News

The first images of Aston Martin’s production V12 Zagato, which is scheduled to enter the market in the fourth quarter this year, have been released. The car – of which only 150 examples will be built – will make its first European appearance in Geneva.
Last May saw the V12 Zagato make its world debut at the prestigious Villa d’Este concours, and with consumer demand the decision was made to build a strictly limited run of cars.
Each Zagato, constructed from a combination of hand crafted aluminium and carbon fibre, will take approximately 2,000 man-hours to complete. Four unique colours have been created for the car, these being Scintilla Silver, Alloro Green, Alba Blue and Diavolo Red.

Inside, the car will feature Seven Bridge of Weir hides in a semi-aniline finish to offer durability while preserving the natural texture of the leather as trim material. Workmanship details will include hand-stitched quilting of a unique design to create a flowing pattern across the seats and headlining as well as ‘Z’ embroidery in the headrests and rear parcel shelf.
Elsewhere, the dashboard and centre stack wears satin-finish carbon fibre, with piano black accents and satin black rotary switchgear and carbon fibre sill plaques, with a ‘V12 Zagato’ inlaid metal script providing a distinctive finishing touch.

Audi TT RS Plus: 5-cylinder turbo with more power!

February 10, 2012 at 2:57 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars

Audi has added a new model to the TT range – the Audi TT RS plus, available in both roadster and coupe bodies. The plus in the model name denotes the extra 20 horsepower and 15Nm of torque the RS plus has over the normal RS, which results in 360 horsepower and 465Nm of torque from the car’s 2.5 liter 5-cylinder TFSI engine.
As a result, the TT RS plus Coupe can do the 100km/h sprint in 4.1 seconds with the 7-speed DSG box – the Roadster does the same in 4.2 seconds. With a 6-speed manual, the TT RS plus Coupe does 4.3 seconds and the Roadster – 4.4 seconds. About a third of a second better than the non-plus TT RS 6-speed manual numbers – 4.6 seconds for the Coupe and 4.7 seconds for the droptop.

The Audi TT RS plus is fitted with 19-inch cast wheels of five-arm “Rotor” design; they are painted black with contrasting red rim flanges. The wheels are fitted with 255/35 tires. A large, fixed rear wing increases downforce at the back of the car. The Singleframe radiator grille also sets the Audi TT RS plus apart visually: Its diamond-pattern mesh is in highly polished anthracite, its trim frame has a matt aluminum-look finish.
The housings of the exterior mirrors are made of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP). The dual-branch sport exhaust system has black oval tailpipe trims. A sound flap further intensifies the sound of the engine. The Carbon design package gives the engine compartment a more exclusive look. The knob on the gear or selector lever features an aluminum-look trim ring and a TT RS plus badge.