The fastest electric car of 2012: The Tesla Roadster Sport

The title of the fastest electric car of 2012 goes to Tesla Roadster Sport. It's the first zero emissions electric car that can do 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds and still has a range of 245 miles fully charged.

Tesla Motors is a Silicon Valley-based company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle power train components.

It is by far the quickest accelerating and the most exotic looking electric car ever to be produced in 2012.

The Tesla Roadster has the industry's best battery containing a staggering 6,831 lithium ion cells and at max speed its motor can rev up to 14,000 RPM.




Specs and Features:

• Weighs only 2723 lbs.
• It is 155.4'' long, 73.7'' wide and 44.4'' tall.
• Uses a 375 volt AC induction air-cooled electric motor.
• Which produces 299 horse power and 295 lb-ft of torque at 5,100 rpm.
• Top speed is 125 mph and 0 to 60 takes only 3.7 seconds.
• It is a rear mid-engine car with rear-wheel drive.
• Lithium-ion battery provides 245 miles of range.
• The expected battery life is about seven years of normal use or 100,000 miles.
• Exterior is composed of carbon fiber which adds structural rigidity and saves weight. 
• Uses a high-power wall connector to use at home which can charge from empty to full in less than 4 hours and a universal mobile connector which can be used on the go to nearly any outlet in the world.

Technology involved: 

• The Roadster is powered by a 3-phase, 4-pole induction motor.
• It's maximum torque can be obtained at 0 rpm and is almost constant up to 6,000 rpm.
• It uses a 53 kWh Lithium-ion battery which consists of 6,831 lithium ion cells (largest in the industry).
• Since Tesla Motors is a company that is based in the heart of Silicon Valley, they have the direct access to the best and brightest software engineers in the industry. The advance software they have developed called "firmware" in the Roadster is developed with an intense focus on rapid, agile innovation.

Interesting facts:

• Costs $109,000 dollars.
• First ever production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production BEV (all-electric) to travel more than 200 miles per charge.
• Battery has to be replaced every 7 years which costs $36,000.
• Based on the Lotus Elise
• Television show Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson described the driving experience as "God almighty! Wave goodbye to the world of dial-up, and say hello to the world of broadband motoring!" and "This car is biblically quick!"

The Tesla Roadster definitely takes the crown for the most innovative and quickest zero emissions electric car of 2012.

It has set the new standard for performance electric cars and most importantly broke the stereotypes of electric cars of being very sluggish and boring.

The most luxurious car of 2012: The Maybach Landaulet

 
The title of the most luxurious car of 2012 rightfully belongs to the Maybach Landaulet. Landaulet by definition means an automobile that has a roof in the front seat and a convertible top for the back seat.

The Landaulet body style was popularized in the 1920s and 30s from cars like the Mercedes-Benz 300d Landaulet shown below.

The idea is for the passengers in the back to be able to enjoy the clear, blue sky above while the chauffeur's compartment remains completely enclosed.

If you are one of the lucky few in the world that want the ultimate luxury chauffeur car, then look no further than to the Maybach Landaulet.

Specs:

• It weighs a staggering 7,187 lbs
• It is 242.7'' in length, 78.0'' in width, and stands 61.9'' tall.
• It uses a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-12 engine.
• Which produces 620 bhp and 738 lb-ft of torque at 2000~4000 rpm. 
• The transmission is standard in all models as a 5 speed automatic.
• It is rear-wheel drive

 
Technology Involved:
 
Maybach Landaulet does cost an arm and a leg but it comes loaded with technology and features.
 
Standard equipment includes: 

• electronically controlled air suspension
• stability control
• traction control
• 10-way power front seats with heat and massage 
• La-Z-Boy-style footrests
• bi-xenon high intensity headlights
• multi-contour heated power front and rear seats with memory
• power telescoping and pivoting lower leg support with pivoting footrest for rear seats
• hand-fitted leather seat trim
• four-zone climate control
• Bose sound system with 21 speakers
• rear audiovisual system with dual video monitors and DVD player
• navigation system
• Parktronic parking assist with rear camera. 
• rear refrigerator
• folding tables
• electronic rear door closing
• champagne flutes
• battery trickle charger
• trunk-mounted umbrella
• partition wall between front and rear cabin
• intercom system (front/rear)

 
Interesting Facts:

• Costs $1.38 million dollars.
  
• First to revive the Landaulet car body style from the 20s and 30s. 
• Maybach will cease to be a brand by 2013 due to poor sales. The decision was reached after a decade of trying to make Maybach profitable rival to Rolls Royce and Bentley.

 

The Maybach Landaulet definitely takes the crown for the most luxurious and technology-packed car of 2012. Since the brand will no longer exist from 2013, the Maybach Landaulet is destined to become a classic. There is simply no other car in the world that will give its riders the executive and one-of-a-kind feel that a Maybach Landaulet will provide.

The most ludicrous street-legal rally car of 2012: The Local Motors Rally Fighter

 
 The title of the most ludicrous street-legal rally car of 2012 goes to the Rally Fighter by Local Motors. This is the most ludicrous car ever built because it was designed on the internet by an online competition.

It is considered the first car ever to be openly developed and built using crowd-sourcing. This means that an online community participates on every single aspect of the design (exterior, interior, parts, and even the name) and once there's enough support for the design, Local Motors will develop it openly. During the competition to build the Rally Fighter, there were a total of 35,000 designs entered by 2,900 community members from over 100 countries.

The Rally Fighter is therefore is the most unique rally car to be ever produced and it is one of the very few vehicles in the world that is both street-legal and can enter into rally competitions.

Specs and features:

• Weighs 3800~4000 lbs; according to the different features that the customer chooses from
• Length is 189'', width is 80'', and height is 69.25'' (high ride) or 61.25'' (low ride)
• It uses a 6.2 Liter GM E-Rod V8 Engine
• It produces 430 horse power at 5,900 rpm and 424 lb-ft of torque at 4,600 rpm
• Mid engined, rear wheel drive
• 4-speed GM 4L85E automatic transmission
• 17''x8'' aluminum alloy wheels
• 4-wheel dis brakes
• Vinyl wrapped exterior
• Available with custom seats, bumpers, roof racks, tires, wheels, wraps, trims, transmissions, and suspensions.

Technology Involved:

• Part of a unique and growing process called collaborative manufacturing. Manufactured by designers, engineers, and car hobbyists.
• Majority of the parts are off-the-shelf components: Chevy Corvette engine, Mazda Miata door handles, Ford F-150 rear end & steering wheel, Honda Civic tail lights, and a transmission from Chevy.
• Local Motors can take a new vehicle from sketch to market in 18 months. (considered very quick compared to major car companies)

    


Interesting and ridiculous facts about the Rally Fighter:

• Costs about $60,000 
• Overall design is influenced by a P-51 fighter plane.
• Customers have to go through a complicated online process to order one.
• Once the order is complete, the final assembly will be done by customers themselves in a local assembly centers as a part of a "build experience".
• The chief designer was Sangho Kim, a 30-year-old graphic artist and student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Although there was no official monetary reward for the winner of the design, Local Motors decided to give Sangho a $10,000 prize anyway.  

 
The Rally Fighter by Local Motors takes the crown for the most ludicrous rally car of 2012. It is a very unique vehicle and the process that it went through to build it from a sketch into an actual car was innovative, to say the least. The concept of collaborative manufacturing is growing and we can expect to see more interesting products that are a result of which, like the Rally Fighter, in the near future.

The biggest and baddest street-legal armored vehicle of 2012: The Marauder by Paramount Group

The biggest and baddest street-legal armored vehicle of 2012 is undoubtedly called the Marauder by Paramount Group in South Africa. It weighs over 10 tons and can drive away from high explosive explosions and shrug off rocket propelled grenade attacks.

It is a military spec vehicle but any civilians can own it if they can pass a background check and can shell out a whopping $500,000.

As if by the shear appearance wasn't intimidating enough, the name, by definition means to roam or go around in quest for plunder; make a raid for booty.

Specs and features:

• Weighs 21,780 lbs
• Overall length is 20ft., width is 8ft. and height is 9ft.
• Uses a 6 cylinder Cummins ISBe4 Turbo Diesel Engine
• Which produces 300 brake horse power and 1100 Nm of torque
• Top speed of 70 mph
• Maximum range of 420 miles
• Can carry up to 10 passengers including a driver and a commander
• Comes with either a 4x4 or a 6x6 model

What makes this tank, I mean armored personnel vehicle the baddest vehicle on the planet is the ridiculous armor that it is surrounded with. Along with it's capability to be customized with machine guns, turrets, and missile launchers.

Technology involved:

• Double-skin monocoque hull armor provides protection up to  STANAG 4569 level III ballistic projectiles and STANAG 4569 3a and 3b mine blast explosions.
• Interior is not very flashy, but has many buttons for offensive and defensive measures.
• Can be equipped with light to medium machine gun turrets, cannon turrets, mortars, and missile launchers.
• Can fit with various control systems to compliment any weapon customization.
• Can also be equipped with a surveillance system.

Interesting and ridiculous facts about the Marauder:

• Costs $500,000
• Is used by the Azerbaijani Armed forces and for peacekeeping in Africa.
• Voted the #1 Vehicle for the top 10 Vehicles for the End of the World by MSN Autos.
• Drivable in almost any terrain
• Can blast through just about any obstacles standing in its way
• Outlasted a high explosive explosion which demolished its competitor, the Hummer to pieces. 
• Can protect against lion attacks!!!

 
The Marauder by Paramount Group ruthlessly snatches the BFL Crown and crowns itself as the biggest and baddest street-legal armored vehicle of 2012. There is almost no terrain that it cannot handle and almost no obstacle that it cannot simply blast through, whether by ramming it's staggering 10 ton weight against it, or by blasting through it with it's missile launchers.

Fastest street-legal car in the world as of 2012: Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

The title of the fastest street-legal car of 2012~2013 is still owned by Bugatti. The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport holds the world record for its top speed of 267 mph or 429km/h. It can do 0 to 60 in 2.4 seconds!



How do you exactly categorize the most amazing production car in the world?

By the fastest top speed and acceleration?

By having the most horse power?

By being the most expensive ?

Well if you one of the very few people in the world that are lucky enough to own a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, then all of the above are true.


Let's look at the official specs for this fascinating state of the art automobile we call the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.


Specs and features:

• Weighs 4,162 lbs
• Overall length is 175.7'', width is 78.7'', and it's height is 45.6''
• 8.0 liter quad-turbocharged W16 cylinder engine which produces a staggering 1200 horse power (equivalent to two narrow-angle V8 engines) 
• Maximum torque of 1,106 lbs.-ft
• 7 speed fully or semi-automatic transmission with computer-controlled, duel-clutch direct-shift gearbox ($120,000 USD)
• Shift time of less than 150 milliseconds
• Permanent all-wheel drive using the Haldex Traction system
• Michelin PAX run-flat tires designed specially for the Veyron's top speed; ($25,000 USD per set) which can only be mounted on the rims by a company in France, a service which costs $70,000 USD.
• Carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide composite discs

Technology involved:

• Bugatti merged two V-8 engines onto one another, which shares the same crankshaft. The configuration creates the world's first W-16 of the 20th century. (The two V's create a W)
• Tail wing creates downforce at high speeds which helps keep the car grounded.
• Lowers it's frame from it's normal 4.9''of ground clearance to 2.6'' in order to achieve top speeds.
• Michelin PAX run-flat tires allow the Veyron to run flat for approximately 125 miles at 50 mph. It monitors it's own pressure and informs the driver when it loses it's pressure, ultimately eliminating the need for a spare tire.

Interesting and ridiculous facts about the Veyron Super Sport:

• Costs between 1.5 to 2.7 million dollars.
• At top speed, you get 3 mpg, and it consumes about 1.4 gallons per minute.
• At top speed, it consumes 9,900 gallons of air per minute (as much as a human breathes in four days)
• Holds the Guiness Book of Records by reaching the maximum of 269.80 mph or 434.20 kh/h
• Named the "Car of the Decade" by BBC's television program, Top Gear.
• After James May from Top Gear gave an attempt at the Veyron's top speed, he stated, "... It's a bit disorienting doing that sort of speed, because after I came off the banking, I was slowing down to stop, and you know how you get a bit impatient and think 'I'll just open the door'; fortunately I looked back at the speedo, and I was still doing seventy."

In conclusion, with all these impressive figures and it's thundering engine, the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport definitely takes the BFL Crown for the fastest car of 2012~2013.Will there ever be a car that will be worthy enough to break the Veyron's top speed and acceleration? Only time will tell.