2010 BF-performance Lamborghini Gallardo GT600 Sports Car

In the Swiss city Zug, perfection has a different meaning than in the Italian town Sant’Agata Bolognese. While Lamborghini is satisfied with the Gallardo LP560-4, the Swiss have higher demands – at least the engineers at BF-performance.

2010 BF-performance Lamborghini Gallardo GT600

For them, the Gallardo is too innocent and neither dynamic nor individual enough. Therefore, they turn both the Coupé and also the Spyder into the GT600 which has a stronger performance, more self-confidence and looks more aggressive.

2010 BF-performance Lamborghini Gallardo GT600

Swiss tuning firm BF-performance, based in the wonderfully named city of Zug, have developed a comprehensive modification package for the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. And in the process they've also renamed it the GT600.

2010 BF-performance Lamborghini Gallardo GT600

Not content with just making some pretty bits to stick onto the Gallardo LP560-4, the engineers at BF-performance also developed a number of performance enhancements and modification options for the drivetrain. Most significant is the option for a RWD only configuration - just like on the Gallardo LP550-2 Balboni edition. In total the other modifications have also rendered a weight reduction of 43 kgs (95 lbs) which further improves performance.

2010 BF-performance Lamborghini Gallardo GT600

The new body panels, marked out by the fact they're finished in clearcoated carbon fiber, are all situated around the bottom of the car. The BF-perfomance GT600 gets a new front bumper - which is similar in style to the original car's, wider race-inspired sideskirts, and a rather obvious fixed rear spoiler. The rear wing, which provides a significant improvement in downforce over the rear axle, is actually quite fetching and it suits the lines of the car very well indeed.

2010 BF-performance Lamborghini Gallardo GT600

The wing doors render a significant amount of individuality, but are strictly limited to Lamborghini models with twelve-cylinder engines. Due to the refinement by BF-performance, also the GT600 with a V10 engine can be equipped with doors which are so typical for Lamborghini.

2010 BF-performance Lamborghini Gallardo GT600

And of course the engineers also focused on the engine performance. BF-performance has confirmed the performance of the new automobile in an impressive race. On the Sachsenring round course, the GT600 even managed to beat the stronger Lamborghini Murciélago LP640-4 SV by an impressive lead of 0.6 seconds.

2010 BF-performance Lamborghini Gallardo GT600

The interior also follows this dynamic maxim. Apart from the sports bucket seats, BF-performance also offers five-point belts, a roll-over cage and a carbon-ceramic braking system with which the GT600 meets the highest racing standards. BF-performance visually adjusts the interior to the increased dynamics. The manufactory uses carbon on the steering wheel, door handles, ventilation grids and even at the switch casings. The customer can even opt for carbon in his favourite colour.

BF-performance offers the entire car with all components either as the sporty Coupé GT600 or also as the Roadster GT600 Spyder.

2010 BF-performance Lamborghini Gallardo GT600

The entire automobile confirms the perfection and passion for detail applied by BF-performance. The Lamborghini specialist has already gained experience with the predecessor model and now brings its art of engineering into perfection with the GT 600. Also Lamborghini’s design development confirms the talents of BF-performance, as the Swiss specialist is always one step ahead of the Italian manufacturer.

2010 Pininfarina Alfa Romeo Sports Car Spider Concept

Pininfarina, an Italian car design studio, has released to the public the teaser image of their new Alfa Romeo concept. Pininfarina turns 80 years-old this year. As part of celebrating this important milestone the company will unveil this two-seater spider concept pictured here at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March. It will be presented as a tribute to its long relationship with Alfa Romeo. The unveiling coincides with Alfa's 100th anniversary so it is doubly fitting. The design has been managed by Lowie Vermeersch, head of Pininfarina’s style centre, and the rear reflects the old Alfa Romeo Duetto model, with its cuttlefish-bone inspiration.

2010 Pininfarina Alfa Romeo Spider Concept

A revival of the Alfa Duetto is an exciting proposition, and the prototype will be the same two-seater Spider vehicle. It will have a longitudinal engine placed in the front and rear-wheel drive. No production plan has been established as yet, so we can’t say if this could be an eventual replacement to the current Alfa Spider.

2010 Pininfarina Alfa Romeo Spider Concept

Apart from the obvious not much else is said or revealed about the car. But from this solitary sketch it can be noted that the current 8C Spider has some serious styling competition. The long sloping bonnet, two-door configuration and short rear overhangs are the main signs of a classic roadster. Whether this traditionalist approach will be kept intact with a soft folding roof remains to be seen.

2010 Pininfarina Alfa Romeo Spider Concept

Perhaps the Pininfarina/Alfa Romeo relationship is about to receive a new life. Hopefully the concept is as good, or even better than this sketch suggests.

SAAB Spyker 9+ Tribute - SAAB Supercar

Paying his tribute to the SAAB Spyker Automobiles, Swedish designer Eduard Gray has come up with a vehicle concept called the “SAAB Spyker 9+ Tribute” that is not only pleasant to watch but to drive as well. Combining the elements of a mid-engined SAAB with the Spyker platform, the new supercar featuring low down aerodynamics will possibly generate power from an Audi-sourced V8 engine. Touting a big windshield that extends to complete the roof, the Saab Spyker 9+ Tribute allows a wider view to the commuters. His long, lean two-door Saab Spyker 9+ concept car imagines an evolution of Saab's Aero-X enhanced by some of Spyker's exoticism.

SAAB Spyker 9+ Tribute

The ink is barely dry on Dutch supercar marque Spyker’s deal to buy Saab, but speculation as to what sort of alluring automotive offspring might arise from the union has already begun. Eduard Gray, an industrial designer educated at Coventry University in the UK and now based in Trollhättan, Sweden, has come up with a concrete vision.

SAAB Spyker 9+ Tribute

The union of Saab and Spyker presents a unique opportunity to create a design that takes the best of each brand and distills their qualities into a single product," he said. Gray, who is Dutch and English, points out that a truly unique car can be assembled with the low-slung mid-engine Spyker supercar chassis and the design language at Saab. Spyker lends us its supercar chassis with a mid-mounted engine and low down aerodynamics while Saab contributes with the style, character and engineering making for a design that is as pleasant to look at as it is to drive.

SAAB Spyker 9+ Tribute

Indeed, his six drawings of the Saab Spyker 9+ Tribute shows elements of both companies. Gray calls the work "a quick expression of my optimism for the future of the brand."

SAAB Spyker 9+ Tribute

The distinctly Scandinavian design features a Spyker chassis with a mid-mounted engine and low down aerodynamics, including a system to reduce friction in straight line driving whilst increasing traction in cornering and braking. An enormous panoramic glass roof gives it something of a targa feel as well. Envisioned as a 2+2 model in the storied GT tradition, engine-wise it’s speculated to house a V6 bi-turbo capable of producing over 600 hp, perhaps powered purely by ethanol – we’re talking about the future after all.

2010 Touring Superleggera A8GCS Berlinetta Sports Cars Concept

Touring Superleggera A8GCS Berlinetta was revealed in the flesh at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show after being previewed at the Concours d'Elegance. At the Festival Automobile in Paris last month, a panel comprised of designers, car experts and former Formula 1 driver Alain Prost awarded the Maserati A8GCS Berlinetta Touring the most beautiful supercar of the year. Television network Eurosport fielded over one million votes from viewers for the competition. Viewers’ choices included the Bugatti Sport Veyron, BMW 750i and Lotus Evora.

2010 Touring Superleggera A8GCS Berlinetta

Now this is how it's done. The Touring Superleggera A8GCS Berlinetta is a Maserati Gran Turismo rebodied with classic GT proportions and shapes. The result is classically beautiful, like a 1950s Maserati re-interpreted with 21st century technology.

Based on the Maserati Coupé GranSport mechanics, the A8GCS Berlinetta Touring represents the high performance sports car concept, with small dimensions, state-of-the-art constructive technology and perfect stylish synthesis between factory tradition and advanced aesthetic criteria.

Unlike the Bentley Flying Star shooting brake that's also from Touring Superleggera, the Berlinetta isn't destined for a well-heeled car nut. The company created it specifically to showcase its coachbuilding skills. If they have their way, they'll be turning the Maserati Gran Turismo and other exotic cars into vehicles that are even more exclusive, luxurious and personalized.

The new A8GCS Berlinetta Touring has been designed by the young Belgian designer Louis de Fabribeckers, in charge of the Touring styling department. The A8GCS Berlinetta Touring lines are not affected by time or fashion: the car is characterized by a soft aggressiveness originated by the perfect balance between the front end, directly derived from competitions, and the harmonious and fluent flanks reminding of the extraordinary Alfa Romeo, Isotta Fraschini and Lancia Flying Star of the Thirties, an exceptional series created by Touring and still considered the best interpretation of Marinetti and Boccioni’s Futurism.

The Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera style is first expressed through perfecly balanced volumes (reduced front overhang, front central engine and large rear overhang). The result is a dynamic form that doesn’t need a lowered waistline. Moreover, the horizontal development of lines create a natural elegance.

The sporty look of the car is underlined by the combination between bonnet and front grille. An element dashing forward the other volumes. Hence the lateral lines of the body: the lower line ends on the rear wheelarch and the upper line dissolves in the rear end of the car. Together they create a dynamic sail shape, as on Flying Stars.

Of course, also the most successful car design is not enough to make an alive and complete object. It must be combined with excellent dynamic qualities, derived from state-of-the-art technical solutions. For the prototype A8GCS Berlinetta Touring, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera studied and designeda body in advanced composite materials, able to give the car lightness, structural strenght and performance typical of top granturismo and obviously respecting all international safety and environmental rules. The result is clear: the style protoype A8GCS Berlinetta Touring is able to enter small series production, gaining immediately a top place among the best sports cars.

The A8GCS is a strict two-seater, unlike the car on which it's based which features a 2+2 seating layout. Touring Superleggera have made extensive changes to the car's bodywork while still retaining similar proportions. The styling details like the minimalist chrome trim and classic wire wheels give the car a distinctive retro vibe, while also not being unnecessarily nostalgic.

"We wanted a strong project" - says the Belgian Head of Design of Touring Superleggera, Louis de Fabribeckers - "I drew from the stylistic heritage of Touring the work of surfaces and also this sinusoidal line across the side of the Berlinetta".

The Touring Superleggera A8GCS Berlinetta is 4.2 metres long and only 1.2 metres high. The engineers are aiming for a 1,500 kg (3,307 lb) weight for the finished car - 180 kgs (400 lbs) lighter than the Maserati GranSport.

2020 Minotauro Lamborghini Sports Car Concept

Concept cars never cease to fascinate car enthusiasts. If you claim to be a Lambo fan than this latest sports car concept creation is definitely for you. Andrei Avarvarii, a student at Milan's Scuola Politecnica di Design, with assistance from Lamborghini’s design head Filippo Perini, designed this amazing electric 2020 Lamborghini Minotauro concept.

2020 Lamborghini Minotauro concept

The duo worked to achieve three different goals:

1. Aesthetic goal – Explore soft shapes for a new Lamborghini design language,

2. Technical goal – Redefine the Lamborghini supercar as an electric vehicle and

3. Functional goal: Integrate the new vehicle in the reality of the year 2020.

Designed tasty electric sports car concept Lamborghini, uses four electric motors and power sharing 30% / 70% front to rear. 2020 Lamborghini Concept Minotauro designed by a student getting a master’s degree in Milan Scuola Politecnica in Design, Andrei Avarvarii with the help of Filippo Perini head of Lamborghini Design. Li-Tec A flat-cell batteries in the rear and front of the KERS system will provide power.

A breathtaking beauty on wheels imagined for the year 2020, it mesmerizes you with both its looks and features. The concept creation would utilize four electric motors and split the power 30%/70% front to rear while a Li-Tec flat-cell battery out back and a KERS system in the front provide the power.

The Minotauro has two asynchronous 75-horsepower (56-kW, 76-PS) electric motors at the front that provide 30% of the car’s power, and two 175-horsepower (131-kW, 177-PS) electric motors at the rear. The system runs on a Cerio Li-Tec Flatcell battery, with a Kinetic Energy Recovery System also in place.

The press release goes on to explain the bonus of no big V12 out back: The absence of a big V12 engine in the rear creates enough room for a third passenger in a central position, like the legendary Mclaren F1. While the driver’s door would be normal, the passenger side’s would be bigger to provide access to the back seat.

What is more, the absence of the powerful V-12 engine in this concept creation makes room for a third passenger. Keeping this in mind, the passenger’s door would be bigger in order to provide access to the back seat.

But what are sure to appeal to every Lambo fan are the concept’s triangular intakes/exhausts that are not just visually pleasing but serve for battery cooling and act like the tubes of a subwoofer, channeling the sound of the electric motors, placed behind them.

A hi-tech creation, the owners would also be able to upload their own track ghosts to an online community. And if a real racetrack has been / is being covered, the GPS would record car placement / track time, allowing people worldwide to challenge an owner's record.

Guess when it comes to concepts, sky is the limit for the designers.

2011 Pagani Zonda C9 - Pagani Exotic Sports Cars

A decade later, Pagani Zondas remain near the top of the exotic sports car list. They've been tested fast in a straight line, reaching 0–60 mph in the mid-3-second range and proved able to get around the Nürburgring in a video game-quick 7:27.82.

2011 Pagani Zonda C9

Every Zonda features another highly prized quality among exotic cars: rarity, with fewer than 100 in existence.

2011 Pagani Zonda C9

While lacking the classic, flowing beauty of a Pininfarina-designed Ferrari, the Zonda's shape is an attention-getter. It stops you in your tracks. We didn't think the design would age well, but a decade down the line it still rivets attention and holds it — from that low nose with its four small headlamps back to the big center exhaust port corralling four outlets. A photographer's dream.

2011 Pagani Zonda C9

The attractive interior is a mix of modern (carbon fiber), retro (toggle switches) and art deco (the design of instruments and controls) accented with aluminum and fine leather.

2011 Pagani Zonda C9

That Zonda body style is done as a sports coupe or a roadster in three levels, all with a mid-mounted 7.3-liter AMG/Mercedes-Benz V-12. The S version comes in at 555 bhp and 553 lb.-ft. of torque, the F with 602 bhp and 561 lb.-ft., and the F Club sport dynos at 650 bhp and 575 lb.-ft.

2011 Pagani Zonda C9

All use 6-speed manual transmissions, Brembo disc brakes and have the sort of A-arm suspensions you'd expect in a race car. Plus the level of suspension and aerodynamic tuning that allows 210-plus-mph top speeds.

2011 Pagani Zonda C9

Being in a Zonda at speed is a pure exotic-car moment. Like a Ferrari Enzo, there are nicely crafted touches from the museum-quality carbon-fiber finish to air conditioning that keep this from being a race car on the streets. Still, you are not cushioned or coddled or kept from enjoying the unfiltered fun of a truly fast machine. One with a price that likely will soak up $500,000 or more.

2011 Pagani Zonda C9

Sadly, the Zonda is nearing the end of its run. But don't mourn the supercar too much as the next step Pagani takes is pointed at the U.S.

2011 Pagani Zonda C9

Zonda production will round out at 100 with an added model called the R, a track-oriented version in the image of Ferrari's FXX. Looking like a still-more-aggressive Zonda — if you can imagine such a thing — the R will have a 750-bhp version of the AMG V-12.

2011 Pagani Zonda C9

While that project is being wrapped up in the original factory in San Cesario sul Panaro, both a new factory and car are being prepped for 2009. Code-named the C9, the new Pagani will be a carbon-fiber machine, possibly powered by a Mercedes/AMG V-8, so how about the SLR's supercharged V-8 with its 617 bhp and 575 lb.-ft. of torque?

2011 Pagani Zonda C9

Here's the best news: Having been frustrated in attempts to certify the Zonda in the U.S., Pagani will design the C9 for sale worldwide. We might see the new car at the 2009 Geneva show. Although there haven't been any concept drawings yet, we can count on the new Pagani being exciting...and fast. And expensive.

The Zonda nears the end of its run, but a new exotic is in the offing from Horacio Pagani.