La Dolce Veloce

The rapidly growing segment of ‘entry level’ sports cars (Aston Martin Vantage V8, the forthcoming Alfa Romeo GTA, and the rumored Ferrari Dino) has not escaped the notice of Lamborghini. Indeed, the market segment of ‘entry level supercar’ is following the path typical of any car segment. Namely, the cars get bigger and more expensive with each succeeding generation, until the manufacturer finds they’re missing out on a large number of potential shoppers. Lamborghini has looked at this and decided to introduce a less expensive version of the Gallardo. Cost would be reduced mainly by switching to the V8 from Audi’s RS4 (a very potent beast) and making the car rear wheel drive only. The price is expected to be around one hundred thousand British pounds, which sadly does not convert very favorably into US dollars. (source: Pistonheads)

Here’s some great news on another fabulous European coupe, the Lamborghini Gallardo. Reiter Engineering, the same company that modifed the Murcielago for competition in the FIA GT Championship and the American LeMans Series, has done the same to the Gallardo. It’ll be positioned in the GT3 category, and will be available in February 2006. The Gallardo GT3R will feature some engine tweaks (~500hp), two or four wheel drive, and all the aerodynamic modifications one would expect on a race car like this. (source: Italiaspeed)

Italiaspeed has a picture of what looks to be a forthcoming ‘GTA’ version of the gorgeous Alfa Romeo Brera coupe. The picture is fairly crude, having been hurriedly taken with a cameraphone, but it was good enough to assist italiaspeed in creating the rendering shown here (follow the link if you want to see the original pic). The GTA will be powered by a new 4.2 liter V8, that will be shared with Maserati (as will the platform underneath the Brera, it’ll form the basis for the new Maserati Spyder). It’ll be coupled to an all wheel drive system, and will include the usualy goodies you’d expect – bits of carbon fiber, bigger wheels, etc. Pricing is around seventy thousand Euros, which will be sure to lead to some fantastic comparison tests of this car versus the Porsche 911 Turbo versus the Aston Martin Vantage V8!

Italiaspeed reports that Ferrari is working on an all wheel drive drivetrian. No, no need to fear, this doesn’t mean they’re jumping on the SUV/crossover bandwagon! They’re merely addressing the problem common to supercar manufacturers, namely one of having too much power for a two wheel drive system. Porsche and Lamborghini have both developed all wheel drive systems long ago, I’m surprised it’s taken Ferrari this long to catch up. It’s not just any ‘ol all wheel drive system, though, but rather one called a ‘connectable drive system’. Basically, it has the ability to send 100% of the power to the rear wheels, something I don’t think any other AWD system can do. It accomplishes this using a combination of hydraulics and an oil-bath clutch pack. The one limitation to this system is that if you’re in fourth gear or higher, it can only be engaged for short periods of time (<30 seconds) lest the oil in the clutch pack overheats. This is a grossly simplified explanation, for the details I suggest reading Italispeed’s full article here. There’s a good chance we’ll see this system offered on the replacement for the 575 Maranello (codename F139) when that’s released, and it’s sure to make it into the 612 Scaglietti as well.

CarTV has a video of the forthcoming Z4 coupe. While not exactly thrilling to watch (unless you’re a set-the-cruise-at-60-and-point-the-wheel-straight kind of person), the way the camera pans around the moving car gives you a great view of it from most angles, and really shows how rounded the rear is. Officially, the car is just a concept, but it is the most production-ready concept car I have ever seen. Considering how it does not directly compete with any car BMW offers, I’d say production is a certainty and you’ll see it next year as a 2007 model. Next year will also bring some interesting road test comparisons of this BMW Z4 coupe versus the Porsche Cayman versus the Lotus Exige (with the Exige possibly having that rumored supercharger option in the US by then).