360 DEGREES Weblog

Based on the company’s standard Evora, the new Lotus Evora S ($TBA) ups the ante with a mid-mounted, 345 hp 3.5L Toyota-sourced V6, a zero to 60 time of just 4.8 seconds, a top speed of 172 mph, a sport button that gives the driver more control over the throttle response, a higher rev limiter, modifies the stability control settings, and activates an exhaust bypass valve, 18-inch front and 19-inch rear wheels, Eibach springs, Blistein dampers, a forged aluminum double-wishbone suspension, and an Alpine-branded media system with a 7-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, iPod connectivity, and video playback. No word yet on the price but this we will know soon as it will be announced on the Paris Autoshow.

You may not have believed it if we told you a few years ago, but Hyundai of all automakers is making serious headway into the premium market, taking on the Japanese luxury marques with aplomb. The Genesis coupe and sedan and the recently launched Equus make for sound arguments, but buyers discounting the rear-drive, premium Korean automobiles for their lack of all-wheel drive – an increasingly popular option on luxury vehicles – are rapidly running out of excuses.

Hyundai has now confirmed that the next-generation of both the Genesis and Equus will be available with all-wheel drive, putting the high-end Hyundais up against Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volvo, Infiniti, Acura, Cadillac and other luxury marques that offer full traction on their sedans and coupes.

One automatically thinks of printers when you hear the Epson name. Some Epson workers put the gobs of printers available at their company to the most awesome use of work time in history with the creation of a full size 1:1 replica of an Acura/Honda NSX Super GT race car from cardboard and paper.

The race car recreated is naturally an Epson sponsored car. The entire car was made from cardboard and paper with no metal anywhere. I can’t image the work and time that went into building this thing.
If Epson had to pay retail price for all the ink used in creating this project it would have nearly cost as much as a real race car. The car was first seen at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January, but the build photos have just recently surfaced.

For the uber-rich kids who are born with an inherent taste for the finer things in life, the PlaySam Saab Roadster is a great activity toy. Suitable for children over 12 month of age, the Saab Roadster wooden toy car has a clean and simple design inspired by the very first Saab-Sixten Sason’s prototype 92001. The car comes with a high gloss finish and looks as cool as the original Saab cars from the ‘40s and ‘50s. Designed by Ulf Hanses, the toy has a steering wheel made of wood and metal, just like the one usually seen inside the old sports car. The PlaySam Saab Roadster is priced at €295 (around $390).

There are businesses that let you glaze your own pottery, cook your own steak or pick your own strawberries, but when it comes to the hands-on experience, a new offer from General Motors has them all beat. If you order a 2011 Corvette Z06 or ZR1, you have the option of traveling to GM’s Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan, and hand-assembling your car’s LS7 or LS9 engine. It’s called the Corvette Engine Build Experience, and is believed to be the first program of its kind (if any readers would like to dispute that claim, please do so). If you don’t like the idea of providing GM with your mechanical expertise for no cost, don’t worry - you’ll have to pay an extra $US5,800 for the privilege

One might question the sanity of buying a full-size SUV in an age of crossovers and ever-higher gas prices, but for those that really need the… utility, the 2011 Ford Explorer ($28,200 and up) looks mighty nice. Powered by either a 2.0-liter EcoBoost I-4 engine good for 237hp or a 3.5-liter Ti-VCT V6 engine with 290hp, the new Explorer offers impressive fuel economy, as well as a six-speed automatic transmissions, intelligent four-wheel drive electric power-assisted steering, the MyFord Touch and SYNC systems, and a new weight saving design. Not included is a shield to deflect all the eco-hate being thrown your way for driving around in such a conspicuously large vehicle.

It’s getting to the point where it’s not terribly easy to keep track of all the in-car entertainment initiatives our wondrous connected future has in store, but here’s two names you’ll want to remember: GENIVI and MeeGo. The former is an industry alliance that now includes automakers GM, BMW, Hyundai and Peugeot Citroen alongside the likes of ARM, NVIDIA, Nokia and Intel, and MeeGo is the Linux-based OS that they’ve just decided will soon be powering our cars. Don’t expect this to affect your daily drive anytime soon, but in the long run we wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the Moblin-Maemo base underpins future revisions of Terminal Mode and OnStar.

One of iOS4’s tentpole features—right up there with multitasking and folders—launches today. It’s called iAd, and it’s coming to hog your screen and your bandwidth. Here’s what one of the first looks like.

This walkthrough of a Nissan Leaf iAd is itself a bit of a plug for Leaf and for iAds, which is fitting! iAds themselves are lurking in your apps, blurring the line between content and advertising. And to be honest, the features are fun and useful—if you’re interested in a car. If not, well, it’ll just sit dormant on your screen like any other banner ad.

Overall, it doesn’t look like the iAd experience is going to be as onerous as you’d think. Product strikes your fancy? You can find out more in an interactive way. And if it doesn’t, well, just keep on ignoring it like you always have.

We were always amazed by Scaramanga’s flying AMC Matador in The Man With The Golden Gun, and now you can own your very own flying car. Or is that driving plane? Actually, it’s the Terrafugia Transition ($195,000). This “light sport” aircraft features electrically-powered folding wings that, when paired with the rear-facing propeller, allow it to fly at 115 mph for up to 460 miles. But should inclement weather strike, or you just decide to drive, the wings fold up and the Transition becomes a street-legal car that gets 30 miles to the gallon. It’s the ultimate getaway vehicle, provided you, your sidekick/henchman, and your loot don’t weigh more than 450 lbs.

Jaguar is celebrating its 75th birthday this year with a special limited edition of its stunningly beautiful XKR coupe, called, fittingly enough, the XKR 75. What sporting Jaguar would be complete without a compelling drivetrain? No worries in that department, as the British marque has managed to squeeze 20 more horsepower from its 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine.

The total of 530 horsepower and 483 pound-feet can push the luxury coupe to 60 miles per hour in just 4.4 seconds (.2 seconds quicker than the standard XKR) and on to a governed top speed of 174 mph. Of course, the upgrades extend past the powertrain.

A new Stratus Grey finish is used on the XKR 75, along with red brake calipers that contrast the 20-inch gloss Vortex forged lightweight alloy wheels. Finally, there is an optional body graphic that runs from the front bumper to the rear haunches rounds out the package.

Inside, the XKR 75 gets charcoal leather with ivory stitching, a dash and center console finished in gloss piano black and a Jet suedecloth. Just 75 of these special edition models will be built. The car will debut at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed and will be made available to order from July 2010 in the UK priced from £85,500.