All posts in “carbon fiber”

Carbon Fiber options for the Shelby GT500

I’m a big fan of clear carbon fiber on a car, and while I’m a Lamborghini guy, I don’t really like their Forged Composite lightweight material, it looks add, I’m old-fashioned, just give me a nice, old school carbon fiber weave with a satin or high gloss topcoat and I’m happy.

So when Ford Performance Parts released some amazing clear carbon fiber parts for the already impressive Mustang Shelby® GT500®, they got my attention, I rather like a GT500, I think it really is an impressive Ford Mustang, these amazing looking carbon fiber parts were shown at the GT500 track tour event at Texas International Speedway outside Dallas.

In total there are four carbon fiber parts being available now, a front hood vent and rain tray kit ($1,185), front lower spoiler replacement complete with undertray ($1,820), complemented by a stunning front bumper insert ($1,150) and a very nice rear decklid trim panel that fits between the taillights ($575).

“Authenticity and personalization are what our Mustang Shelby GT500 customers want, and our new carbon fiber performance accessories provide an elevated track-proven look from every angle,” said Mark Wilson, Ford North America vehicle personalization, planning, and operations manager. “Beyond leveraging this high-performance material to reduce weight, we track-tested and validated its durability at Ford Performance Racing School in North Carolina.”

Most of the carbon fiber parts achieve a reduction of almost 50% on the standard parts they replace, in total 9 pounds gets taken from the original weight of the GT500, these new parts provide additional authentic carbon fiber options for Shelby GT500 buyers to supplement the existing Shelby GT500 Carbon Fiber Track Package, which includes 20-inch carbon fiber wheels, an exposed carbon-fiber instrument panel and GT4 track wing, splitter wickers and more.

GT500 and Shelby are registered trademarks of Carroll Hall Shelby Trust.

April 17, 2021 / Comments Off on Carbon Fiber options for the Shelby GT500
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Hennessey Venom F5’s carbon chassis weighs as much as Steph Curry

CEO and founder of Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) John Hennessey has pegged the famous Quail Motorsports Gathering during the 2020 Monterey Car Week for the debut of the production version of the Venom F5 supercar. Only 24 examples will be built for the world, and each one will cost at least $1.8 million. HPE has already shown the the conceptual shape of the car, as well as its (claimed) 1,800-plus-horsepower engine, and now for the first time, the public gets a glimpse at the car’s skeleton, a carbon-fiber chassis that weighs less than 200 pounds.

As of January 20, 2020, Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) has three customer-bound Venom F5 supercars in production, with testing scheduled to begin in the second quarter of the year. Under the skin of each will be this structure, an all-new clean-sheet chassis made up entirely of carbon fiber weave impregnated with polymers. The entire thing only weighs 189.6 lbs, or about the listed weight for NBA superstar Steph Curry, and Hennessey claims its torsional rigidity is approximately 38,353 lb-ft of torque per degree. It’ll need every bit of strength for what HPE has in mind for the supercar.

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The initial goal with the Venom F5 was to break 300 mph, but during the time the car has been in development, Bugatti went ahead and broke that mark by hitting 304 mph in a Chiron. Not one to be outdone, Mr. Hennessey now says he wants his creation to reach at least 310.7 mph, which equals a nice, round 500 kph. 

In order to do this, the car needed something bigger and badder than the 1,600-plus-horsepower engine shown back in 2017. Powering the current Venom F5 is a bespoke Hennessey Specialty Vehicles twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V8 with custom lightweight internals and 3D-printed titanium compressor housings. Hennessey says it makes 1,817 horsepower and 1,193 lb-ft of torque, and it has been dubbed Fury. 

When the car is complete, 12 will be sold to the American market, and the other 12 will go to international clients. Lucky for interested parties, Hennessey says there are still open slots for U.S. customers. Once the initial run of F5 coupes is distributed, Hennessey will likely shift its focus to altering the chassis you see here to accommodate the demands of a Venom F5 Roadster.

Oh, one last thing: Turn the volume down before watching that video above or your ears might start bleeding.

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January 20, 2020 / Comments Off on Hennessey Venom F5’s carbon chassis weighs as much as Steph Curry
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One-off Koenigsegg Agera RS Gryphon supercar crashes again

Almost exactly a year after a rare $1.5 million-plus Koenigsegg Agera RS crashed during testing in Sweden, it’s happened again. To the same, repaired supercar.

Swedish outlet Teknikens Varld reports the crash happened last week after the Agera RS crashed into a ditch in a rural area near the National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) headquarters where Koenigsegg test-drives its cars. It confirms it’s the same vehicle that crashed in May 2017 after the driver lost control of it on the wet track.

According to The Drive, it’s an Agera RS Gryphon, an all-carbon fiber, 3,075-pound beast with 24-karat gold leaf trim that does a ridiculous 1,360 horsepower and 1,011 pound-feet of torque. It was originally built for U.S. car collector Manny Khoshbin before it wrecked last year shortly before delivery.

The Swedish supercar maker reportedly set to work on a replacement Gryphon following that wreck while pledging to repair the crashed model for use as a factory test and demonstration car.

It’s not clear what caused the most recent crash. The reader who submitted the photo said it was clear from skid marks the car had been on both sides of the road. It also wasn’t clear whether the driver suffered any injuries.

Teknikens Varld says it’s believed to be the first time the repaired car had been driven in the open since the 2017 crash.

The Agera RS is the world’s fastest production car.

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May 22, 2018 / Comments Off on One-off Koenigsegg Agera RS Gryphon supercar crashes again
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McLaren Senna Carbon Theme, ‘surprise announcement’ at Geneva

McLaren will bring its hardcore, 789-horsepower Senna road car to the Geneva Motor Show, and all 500 examples are already spoken for. One of the five themes, a bespoke version created by McLaren Special Operations (MSO), is the “Carbon Theme” Senna. As one would expect, it’s covered in carbon fiber, and the interior echoes the theme with Carbon Black Alcantara trim.

The car’s body is covered in 67 Visual Carbon Fiber parts, which took almost 1,000 hours to produce. The glossy black weave is accentuated with Solar Yellow and Laurel Green detailing, as a nod to F1 Legend Ayrton Senna’s helmet livery and home country of Brazil. McLaren says the Carbon Theme adds almost £300,000 (about $415,000) to the Senna’s £750,000 (nearly $1.04 million) price tag.

McLaren says it will also offer the ultra-lightweight MSO 7-Spoke Hybrid Carbon Fiber wheels as an option to Senna customers. These center-lock wheels feature a forged aluminum and carbon fiber construction, reducing weight by 10 percent and rolling inertia by 10 to 15 percent compared to the standard wheels. This translates to better acceleration, braking and steering response.

“The McLaren Senna customers in the process of specifying their own, personalized cars are almost without exception commissioning an elevated level of MSO content,” said McLaren Special Operations Managing Director Ansar Ali, “so we are definitely appealing to our target audience. With the car having generated so much interest since its unveiling in December, we knew we needed to produce something very special in order to showcase the unique talents of McLaren Special Operations.“

In its press release introducing the Carbon Black Senna, McLaren also hinted at something special at the Geneva Motor Show. Tucked at the very end of the text, McLaren says that in addition to introducing the Senna, the company will make some sort of “surprise announcement.” Speculate away.

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February 28, 2018 / Comments Off on McLaren Senna Carbon Theme, ‘surprise announcement’ at Geneva
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