Lamborghini Miura

Launched in 1966, Miura was probably the best Lamborghini of all time (though some choose the Countach). First of all, the beautiful Bertone (M. Gandini actually)-designed body was one of the best-looking in automotive history, with sexy curves and perfect proportion. Countach might be more appealing, but Miura looked far more comfortable and was more practical.



Then we are going to examine its chassis structure. Although central monocoque plus tubular sub-frames structure was not the most advanced then, it had an extraordinary layout: mid-engine, which was first ever used in a pure road car (Porsche 550 Spyder and Ford GT40 were built for racing purpose first). The chassis was designed by Italian chassis expert G. Dallara under the inspiration of GT40. To obtain better weight distribution, Dallara requested a very compact V12 plus transmission to be installed transversely behind the cabin and completely in front of the rear axle. So the engine men created a 3929 c.c. 4 cams V12, upgraded from the 400GT, whose sump incorporated with the 5-speed transmission. Maximum output was 350 hp and 278 lbft.

This original Miura called P400 (means approximately 4 litres). Having a superb look, technology and performance, it immediately became the favourite supercar of the riches. Like the earliest Porsche 911, P400 still need some more tuning to become a perfect machine - serious drivers criticised the lack of chassis rigidity and high-speed instability caused by aerodynamic lift. These problems did not stop it from selling well, since few millionaire customers were serious drivers. But if it had to become an all-time classic, it should receive more rework ...



In 1969, Lamborghini finally did it. The revised version, P400S, received structural reinforcement, fatter tyres, ventilated brakes and 20 more horsepower by means of faster cams and larger carburettors. Autocar magazine recorded 172 mph for the P400S - the fastest ever recorded for a road car !

But it was still nothing when compared with P400SV, which was launched 2 years later. SV was the peak in Miura's life. It was benefited from the racing technology gained in developing the Miura Jota race car, especially was aerodynamics. P400S did not cure the high speed lift problem, leaving SV to solve it by lowering the nose slightly while raising the rear end. More chassis reinforcement made it a really rigid car. Again, the V12 was further tuned up to 385 hp and 294 lbft. Finally, for the benefit of racing, the lubrication system of engine and transmission was separated. All these modifications resulted in great handling and performance that people will never forget.

Miura had a rather short life compare with Countach. Production stopped in 1972, not because of slow-selling but because it should give road to the new Countach. In fact, during its life, Miura was so popular that demand was always greater than the supply. A total of 764 cars were built.

Specifications

Lamborghini 350GT / 400GT (1964)

Today, Lamborghini is famous for producing exotic sports cars. However, back to 1964, its first car 350GT was actually a Grand Tourer (GT). In order to establish the reputation of the new company, Ferruccio Lamborghini was serious to adopt as much sounding technology as possible in his first car. Therefore, all-independent suspensions, aluminium body and quad-cam V12 were incorporated in this car, thus gave it an advertising advantage over contemporary Ferraris.

Surprisingly, 350GT was more refined and quieter than the Ferraris, if not faster or wilder. Production was very limited, only 120 cars were made. Since the aluminium panels were more complex and costly to produce, they were replaced by conventional steel panels 2 years later. This added 150 kg so that the engine had to be enlarged to 3.9 litres. As a result, it was renamed to 400GT. Although less advanced than its predecessor, 400GT was even more refined and practical, at least it got 2 tiny rear seats instead of the strange 2+1 layout in the 350GT.

Both 350GT and 400GT were far from being the classiest Lamborghini, but they really helped Ferruccio Lamborghini's dream came true : beating the Ferrari.

Model

350GT

Year of production started
1964

Total no. produced
120

Layout, gear box
Front-engined, Rwd, 5M

Chassis
Space frames

Engine
V12, dohc, 2v/cyl.

Capacity
3464 c.c.

Power
280 hp

Torque
232 lbft

Weight
1150 kg (dry)



Year of production started
1966

Total no. produced
273

Layout, gear box
Front-engined, Rwd, 5M

Chassis
Space frames

Engine
V12, dohc, 2v/cyl.

Capacity
3929 c.c.

Power
320 hp

Torque
261 lbft

Weight
1300 kg (dry)

History of Lamborghini

Before founding his own sports car company, Ferruccio Lamborghini was already a successful tractor maker. His business had already expanded to oil burners and air-conditioning units. Having owned the best examples of luxury cars including American and Ferraris, he had his own idea of what an idea GT was.

He always had much respect for Enzo Ferrari. However, it is said (and himself did not really deny) that he had trouble with his Ferrari and went to Maranello to complain. However, he did not receive the respect he expected, therefore he decided to build his own GT cars to beat the Ferrari.

Lamborghini was highly motivated. He poured countless money into his new advanced factory in Sant’Agata and employed some ingenious engineers and designers, these including Giotto Bizzarrini (who designed the engine of Ferrari 250GTO), Giampaolo Dallara (chassis engineer and the founder of Dallara Racing), Paolo Stanzani (who was going to serve Lamborghini for more years, during which created Countach) and Bertone’s rising designer Marcello Gandini. With these people and the funding by Lamborghini himself, the first car, 350GTV, debuted in 1963 Turin motor show and immediately became the star of the show. In a few years’ time since then, the Sant’Agata factory created a lot of world-class supercars, such as 350GT, 400GT, Miura, Espada, Islero, Jarama, Countach and Urraco. In particular, the Miura and Countach were among the all-time greatest cars.

When Lamborghini's future seemed to be promising, it was actually suffering from continuous loss, because of high cost for supercars as well as oil crisis. F. Lamborghini’s enthusiasm cooled down quickly and finally sold the factory in 1972. As a result, production ceased for 2 years. Since then, the control of the company shifted to different hands many times and financial instability remained unchanged.

In 1987, it was taken over by Chrysler and enjoyed sufficient fund again. Most money was put into the Diablo project, which made it better developed than any previous models. Besides, an unknown amount of investment was put into the Formula 1 engine program, which saw some potential but finally ended when Chrysler pulled out. Anyway, the US giant maker sold Lamborghini to Megatech, a Malaysian company, in the early 90's. Meanwhile, the owners became Malaysian company Mycom Setdco and the Indonesian company V'Power. In the new owner's hands, Lamborghini started to find its momentum and strengthening itself. In 1998, Volkswagen group bought the supercar specialists via its subsidiary, Audi. Given the financial strength and the ambition of the German empire, hopefully the future will be brighter.

Porsche 959

Porsche 959 is said to be the first serial car with top speed more than 300 km/h.There had never been anything like the 959 – an everyday sports car with a top speed of 315 km/h, costing 420,000 DM, and packed with technology. The roof, the wings and the back of the bodywork were made of Kevlar. The front skirt was polyurethane and the bonnet and doors were made of aluminium.
Under its outer skin the 959 throbbed with the finest technology. The all-wheel drive was on all the time but depending on the preloaded driving program, different amounts of torque were applied to the front and rear axles. The driver could choose any one of four programs depending on the road quality: dry, wet, ice and traction, the latter of which settings would enable the Porsche to extricate itself from off-road difficulties.

The technical highlights also included three possible settings for shock absorber recognition along with automatic speed-dependant shock absorption correction. A ride-height controller enabled the driver to raise the 959 body for driving over uneven terrain and lower it for motorway driving. To enable drivers to brake the 959 safely at any speed, a special anti-lock system was fitted which controlled each wheel individually.
Depressing the accelerator was guaranteed to put a smile on the face of the 959 driver. The rear-mounted six-cylinder, 2848 ccm engine with water-cooled cylinder heads produced 450 HP thanks to two turbochargers and intercoolers. These combined to catapult the car forward with a barely credible vehemence. ”It reached 100 km/h after just 3.7 seconds” according to the calculations of auto motor und sport and that put the 959 into a class of its own.
Only a very few came to enjoy its qualities, however: 113 exemplars were delivered in 1987 and another 179 in 1988. The sports package offered was very rarely requested. Nearly all buyers preferred to enjoy their 959 on the roads.
Technical Specifications
Engine: six cylinder Boxer, water-cooled cylinder heads, two upper camshafts on each side, four valves per cylinder, two turbochargers with intercoolers
Power: 450 HP (330 kW) at 6500/min
Displacement: 2884 ccm
Fuel system: Bosch Motronic with pressure gauge, tank capacity 85 litres
Transmission: six speed gearbox
Chassis: self supporting plastic and alloy bodywork, independent suspension front and rear on double transverse links, coil springs, variable telescopic shock absorbers and stabilisers
Dimensions and weight: wheel base: 2,272 mm
length: 4,260 mm
width: 1,840 mm
height: 1,280 mm

weight: 1,450 kg
Performance: 315 km/h

1960`s 911

The 911 was premiered at the IAA in Frankfurt in 1963 as the Porsche 901. But a French car company claimed copyright over the use of all model numbers with zero in the middle. Porsche therefore renamed the 901 the 911 – that three figure number which still raises the heartbeat of every sports car fan.

Porsche had been working on the shape of the bodywork for the 911 as early as the fifties, in the days when the 356 was still the marque’s crowd puller. The prototype mutated over time to a four-seater but was not approved by Ferry Porsche. The final shape was the work of Porsche’s son Ferdinand Alexander.

It was decided from the start that the successor to the 356 should also have a rear engine. The choice fell to the six-cylinder Boxer engine with axial fan and – due to the greater speed reserves – an upper camshaft on each side. The camshaft was driven via chains after vertical shafts and toothed belts were disregarded. The 356 frame and chassis were replaced by new designs. The result was a car about which Ferry Porsche later said: ”The 911 stamped the unmistakable character of the Porsche sports car”.
Technical Specifications
Engine: six-cylinder Boxer, air-cooled, one upper camshaft each side
Power: 130 HP (96 kW) at 6,100/min
Displacement: 1991 ccm
Fuel system: two Solex downdraft carburettors,
tank capacity 62 litres
Transmission: five speed gearbox
Chassis: self-supporting bodywork with front independent suspension on transverse links and damper struts, longitudinal torsion bars, rear independent suspension on lateral links and transverse torsion bars
Dimensions and weight: wheel base: 2,211 mm
length: 4,163 mm
width: 1,610 mm
height: 1,320 mm

weight: 1,080 kg
Performance: 210 km/h

1972 Carrera RS

1972 Porsche Carrera RS


The Porsche Carrera RS 2.7 celebrated its premier at the Paris Salon in October 1972. It was developed to meet Porsche’s need for a competitive motor sport vehicle. For inclusion into group 4, the vehicle had to be one of a run of 500 and, of course, sold, which appeared to be a problem to the Porsche sales experts of the period. Who wanted to buy a car like the Carrera RS which had been rigorously designed to an optimal performance weight?

In fact things turned out very differently. The demand was so great that the planned 500 exemplars had been sold by November 1972 and Porsche had to produce a second run. In the end they made 1580 exemplars, which actually allowed homologation into group 3. Nevertheless, not all models left the factory in the lightweight version, most customers chose the touring package which was fitted out like the 911 S.

The signature of the Carrera was its rear spoiler, popularly renamed Enten-Bürzel (duck’s tail), and which, in combination with the front spoiler, significantly improved the handling. The Carrera set the trend for aerodynamic driving aids.
Technical Specifications
Engine: six-cylinder Boxer, air-cooled, one upper camshaft each side
Power: 210 HP (154 kW) at 6300/min
Displacement: 2687 ccm
Fuel system: mechanic injectors, tank capacity 85 litres
Transmission: five speed gearbox
Chassis: self-supporting bodywork with front independent suspension on transverse links and damper struts, longitudinal torsion bars, stabilisers, rear independent suspension on lateral links and transverse torsion bars
Dimensions and weight: wheel base: 2,271 mm
length: 4,102 mm
width: 1,652 mm
height: 1,320 mm

weight: 960 kg
Performance: 245 km/h

1978 Porsche turbo 3.3 (930)

1978 Porsche Turbo 3.3


The model year 1978 brought a technical refit for the turbo. Extensive modifications were carried out to the engine, whose capacity was bumped up to 3.3 litres and the installation of an intercooler pushed the previous 260 HP up to the magic figure of 300.

Changes were also made to the clutch and the gearbox whose fourth gear ratio was now lengthened since the new turbo reached a maximum speed of 260 km/h.

To better control its temperament a new brake system with four-piston brake callipers from the Porsche 917 was introduced. The brake discs were internally air cooled and perforated.
The turbo 3.3, with a much larger rear spoiler, was therefore optimally equipped and the Porsche boss Prof. Dr. Ernst Fuhrmann described it as ”a technical miracle, which on the one hand is able to glide unhurriedly through the busiest city traffic, and on the other is designed to power along at racing tempo”.
Technical Specifications
Engine: six-cylinder Boxer, air-cooled, one upper camshaft each side, turbocharger with intercooler
Power: 300 HP (221 kW) at 5500/min
Displacement: 3299 ccm
Fuel system: K-Jetronic, tank capacity 80 litres
Transmission: four speed gearbox
Chassis: self-supporting bodywork with front independent suspension on transverse links, damper struts, stabilisers, longitudinal torsion bars, rear independent suspension on lateral links and transverse torsion bars, stabilisers.
Dimensions and weight: wheel base: 2,272 mm
length: 4,291 mm
width: 1,775 mm
height: 1,310 mm

weight: 1,300 kg
Performance: 260 km/h