Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 revealed

Chevrolet unveils the Camaro ZL1, a manic 550bhp muscle car with a supercharged V8 engine

Chevrolet has revealed the Camaro ZL1 at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show. As the most powerful factory Camaro to see the light of day, the American muscle car borrows the Eaton-supercharged 6.2-litre V8 from the Cadillac CTS-V. 
 
With 550bhp on tap, the steroidal Camaro features heat resistant aluminium-alloy cylinder heads, and high strength pistons. Handling the extra power is a beefed up six-speed manual ‘box with a higher torque capacity, whilst a twin-disc clutch and dual-mass flywheel have been developed to make the shift action manageable. 
 
Brakes are suitably uprated to cope with the power increase, 370mm front discs gripped by Brembo six-pot calipers, and 365mm discs with four-pot calipers at the rear.

De Tomaso resurrected with SLC concept

Italian brand returns with luxury SLC crossover concept which debuts at Geneva Motor Show.

De Tomaso is back! The Italian luxury car manufacturer will rise from the ashes with the SLC – Sport Luxury Car – concept, which will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show.

Originally founded in 1959, De Tomaso has a somewhat chequered history of building sportscars and luxury saloons. Ultimately going into liquidation in 2004, the De Tomaso name and trademarks were bought up by former Fiat marketing man Gian Mario Rossignolo in 2009.

Backed by an investment group which has invested €116million (£98 million), he plans to relaunch the company with a new business plan, which was presented to the Italian government yesterday, that will see the firm build 8,000 cars per year including 3,000 of the Pininfarina-designed SLC that’s a rival for the BMW 5 Series GT. An SUV and a two-seater coupe are also planned.

The cars will be built at Pininfarina’s Grugliasco plant in Italy from 2012, and feature an innovative aluminium construction called Univis. One of De Tomaso’s original hallmarks was the use of an aluminium backbone chassis in its car’s construction. 

The SLC will get a new name at launch, and be offered with a choice of 296bhp V6 or 542bhp V8 petrol engines, or a 247bhp V6 diesel, powering all four wheels. Prices are set to start at around €85,000 (£71,000).

Ferrari to use full name of racecar after Ford sues over F150 name

Ferrari said today it will use the full name of its "Ferrari F150th Italia" Formula One car from now on after Ford Motor Co. sued the Italian automaker over the use of the abbreviation "F150."

Ferrari's F150 logo was too similar to Ford's F-150 pickup truck, part of the top-selling vehicle series in the United States, Ford said in a complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

As of noon local time, Ford said it had not yet received formal notification of Ferrari's plans.

"Ferrari has misappropriated the F-150 trademark in naming its new racing vehicle the 'F150' in order to capitalize on and profit from the substantial goodwill that Ford has developed in the F-150 trademark," Ford said in the complaint on Wednesday.

Ford asked the court to bar Ferrari from using the name and is also seeking unspecified damages, including damages of $100,000 under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.

Ferrari response

Ferrari hit back saying it was "very difficult to understand Ford's viewpoint on the matter" because the car for this season's F1 world championship was given the name to celebrate 150 years of Italian unity and is not commercially available.

“Ferrari believes that its own contender in the forthcoming F1 championship cannot be confused with other types of commercially available vehicle of any sort whatsoever, nor can it give the impression that there is a link to another brand of road-going vehicle," a statement said.

"Despite this and to further prove it is acting in good faith...Ferrari has decided to ensure that in all areas of operation, the abbreviated version will be replaced at all times with the full version, Ferrari F150th Italia."

Ford's rival Fiat SpA has an 85 percent stake in Ferrari, and management control of Chrysler Group LLC, in which it has a 25 percent stake.

In a statement issued earlier today before Ferrari's name-change announcement, Ford said it asked Ferrari to change the name of its F150 racecar.

“Ferrari did not respond in a timely manner, leaving Ford no choice but to take legal action to protect its important brand and trademark rights,” Ford said in a statement.

“Through extensive sales and advertising and exclusive use, Ford has earned invaluable goodwill in the F-150 trademark. That hard-won goodwill is seriously threatened by Ferrari's adoption of ‘F150.'”

Ford said it has used the F-150 name on its popular pickups since 1975. The automaker trademarked the moniker in 1995, according to the lawsuit. 

Since 1997, gross revenues on sales of the F-150 have exceeded $180 billion, the suit said.

Ferrari unveils 4wd Scaglietti replacement

Shooting brake-styled FF supercar to debut at Geneva show

Ferrari S.p.A. today released pictures of its first four-wheel-drive model, called FF (Ferrari Four).

The supercar will replace Ferrari's 612 Scaglietti flagship and will debut at the Geneva auto show in March.

The FF will be a crucial model for Ferrari because the company faces increasing competition from high-performance four-seat coupes such as the Bentley Continental GT/GTC and Aston Martin Rapide, as well as sporty coupes from Porsche, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Ferrari calls the FF a revolutionary model that offers “exceptional performance and versatility.” Like the 612 Scaglietti, it has four seats, but it will be powered by a new 660-hp, 6.3-liter V-12 direct-injection engine.

Despite having more horsepower than the 540-hp 5.75-liter Scaglietti, the FF will be more fuel efficient with CO2 emissions of 360 grams per kilometer, compared with the Scaglietti's CO2 emissions of 470g/km.

The FF will go on sale in Europe around May and in the United States in the autumn. Its price has not been announced but is expected to be above 250,000 euros in Europe

The FF has a 335kph top speed and accelerates from 0 to 100kph in just 3.7 seconds.
Pininfarina S.p.A. designed a shooting brake-style body for the FF, which has a station wagon-shaped tailgate that gives access to an extremely roomy cargo area of 450 liters, rising to 800 liters with the rear seats folded down.

Ferrari chose 4wd for the FF to improve safety and road holding and acceleration with the extra horsepower. With 660hp, the FF matches the output of the 2002 Enzo limited edition model and it will be the most powerful regular production Ferrari. The company built just 349 units of the 665,000-euro Enzo from 2002 to 2004, while annual production of 1,000 units is planned for the FF.

Technical innovations introduced on the FF include:

• A patented 4wd system called 4RM, which is about 50 percent lighter than a conventional 4wd system and maintains an almost perfect weight distribution (53 percent over the rear axle)

• SCM3, the latest development of the carmaker's magnetorheological self-adjusting damping system

• Brembo's latest carbon-ceramic brakes are standard equipment. Carbon-ceramic brakes are lighter than conventional cast iron discs and last the entire life-cycle of the car

Although it is 4wd, the FF is lighter than the rwd car it replaces. It has a 1,790kg dry weight, 50kg less than the Scaglietti. The FF is 4907mm long, 1953mm wide and1379mm tall. The Scaglietti was launched late 2003 and had an interior face-lift in 2007. Last year, it was Ferrari's No. 4 seller, behind the California, 458 Italia and 599 GTB Fiorano.