Tag: carbon

Report: Carbon Motors officially files for bankruptcy, lawsuits follow

Filed under: Sedan, Government/Legal, Technology, Police/Emergency, Diesel

Carbon Motors E7 diesel police car - front three-quarter view

So much for Carbon Motors. The would-be police pursuit vehicle manufacturer has officially filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy (read: liquidation) according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. The company officially lists its liabilities at $21.7 million and its assets at a mere $18,976, including one prototype, a few bits of furniture, books and the company’s intellectual property. Some of the largest debtors are investors and suppliers, including BMW. The German automaker claims Carbon Motors owes them some $3 million.

Carbon Motors built a business model around for its diesel-powered E7 police car by securing a Department of Energy loan through its Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program for $310 million, but the US Government denied the company’s application in March of 2012. From that point, it was evidently only a matter of time before the company caved in on itself. The warning signs were already thick on the ground when it was revealed that the company had quietly pulled out of its Connerville, Indiana plant back in April.

Bankruptcy protection shields Carbon Motors from lawsuits against the manufacturer. That’s good news, considering three former executives have already filed a lawsuit against the company earlier this year for $600,000 in deferred wages.

Carbon Motors officially files for bankruptcy, lawsuits follow originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dallara to build its own carbon fiber sports car?

Dallara factory

Italian chassis manufacturer Dallara has built countless racing cars for teams in innumerable racing series, and with the KTM X-Bow on the road and the Alfa Romeo 4C GTA reportedly under development, Dallara has done likewise for automakers. New rumors suggest that Dallara is ready to move beyond helping other outfits develop cars, however.

Word is, Dallara is planning a two-seat sports car to be sold under its own name that’s built on architecture similar to what it developed for the X-Bow and Alfa 4C. With carbon-fiber construction and a low curb weight, it would be targeted at the Lotus Elise but come closer in spirit to the original Lotus Seven. In other words, Lotus had better pay attention.

[Source: Autoblog Spanish]

Dallara to build its own carbon fiber sports car? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Feb 2011 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More Glickenhaus P4/5 Competizione carbon fiber awesomeness

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Europe, Ferrari, Racing

Ferrari P4/5 Competizione

Ferrari P4/5 Competizione – Click above for high-res image gallery

James Glickenhaus is up to some very naughty things with his Ferrari P4/5 Competizione. Forged from the embers of a re-bodied F430 and a desire to wade into the deep end of the 24 Hours Nürburgring, the P4/5 Competizione is insanity writ large. Glickenhaus has been so kind as to share a few visions of his creation with the rest of the world via the wonder of Facebook, and from what we can tell, carbon fiber has never looked so good.

Judging from the photos, Glickenhaus and his team have completed work on the carbon fiber shell – giving the P4/5 Competizione both the low weight and strength needed to do the deed around the Green Hell for 24 straight hours. They’ve also begun snugging in the mechanical bits, and it looks like the roll cage is tucked into place as well. From what we can see, the vehicle will retain many of the sexy lines that Pininfarina first debuted on the showcar, though with the hardware necessary for going fender to fender with some of the world’s greatest racers. Check out the slew of photos on Facebook.

Gallery: Ferrari P4/5 Competizione

[Source: Facebook]

More Glickenhaus P4/5 Competizione carbon fiber awesomeness originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Subaru teases JDM-only Impreza WRX STI tS with carbon fiber roof

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Etc., Japan, Subaru

Subaru Impreza WRX STI tS

Our Japanese may be a bit rusty, but our eyes work just fine. So it was hard to miss this teaser image for an upcoming version of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI tS sporting a carbon fiber roof. When we click to the English-language portion of the site the image and information disappears, so we don’t know what else to make of this STI tS and its lighter chapeau.

For the non-Subaru aficionados reading along, tS stands for “Tuned by STI” and we last saw the crew at Subaru Tecnica International apply wrenches to the Legacy. The resulting Legacy B4 2.5GT tS had us drooling and we expect the WRX STI tS to have a similar affect on our salivary glands.

[Source: Subaru]

Subaru teases JDM-only Impreza WRX STI tS with carbon fiber roof originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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General Motors investing $40 million to offset 2011 carbon footprint [w/video]

Filed under: Technology, Videos, GM

General Motors Carbon Footprint

General Motors invests in green solutions – Click above to watch video after the jump

General Motors is planning to invest $40 million in a host of clean energy efforts in an attempt to offset around 8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. The company says the investments will come over the next three to five years and will involve everything from solar panels for schools to encouraging wind farms and forestry projects all over the country. GM is hoping that these efforts will offset the amount of carbon dioxide put out by the 1.9 million vehicles that the manufacturer is expected to sell in 2011

GM says that it has reduced its manufacturing emissions by 60 percent since 1990, and that a separate effort has seen water use during production drop by 35 percent between 2005 and 2009 worldwide. Additionally, The General operates 75 landfill-free facilities worldwide with a total of 90 percent of the company’s waste being recycled.

These eco investments will be made via third-party organizations that include the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. Hit the jump for a video and the full press release.

[Source: GM]

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General Motors investing $40 million to offset 2011 carbon footprint [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Romeo Ferraris leaves Italy, comes back with a 667-hp carbon fiber Corvette

Filed under: Aftermarket, Coupe, Europe, Chevrolet

Ferraris Vette

Supercharged Corvette Z06 by Romeo Ferraris – Click above for high-res image gallery

Think of the words Romeo and Ferraris and you’re bound to think of Italian cars, right? Maybe so, but the two together form the name of an Italian tuning house. And while many of their subjects have been Italian themselves, Romeo Ferraris has been scoping out foreign territory as well.

The latest is the Corvette Z06. And why shouldn’t it be? The ‘Vette has a long history of customization at Italian hands. But those have mostly been cosmetic coachbuilding jobs. This is another story altogether.

RF has taken the Z06 and fitted a supercharger to the 7.0-liter LS7 V8. The result? 667 horsepower and 607 lb-ft of twist. The centrifugal compressor, aluminum intercooler, high-flow injectors and custom exhaust help it get to 62 mph in 3.3 seconds and up to 211 mph – assuming you can get all that power down – while 380mm/6-pot brakes up front and 345/4-pot brakes out back help it come back to a stop.

A series of exterior and interior cosmetic modifications have also been carried out, including what appears to be a bare carbon fiber reskin, putting Romeo Ferraris’ Z06 toe to toe with Chevy’s own factory ZR1 in more ways than one.

Gallery: Supercharged Corvette Z06 by Romeo Ferraris

[Source: autoblog.it via World Car Fans]

Romeo Ferraris leaves Italy, comes back with a 667-hp carbon fiber Corvette originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Driving Force: Lamborghini and Callaway Golf collaborate on new forms of carbon fiber

Filed under: Performance, Technology, Lamborghini

Lamborghini and Callaway announce their strategic partnership in Paris – Click above for high-res image

Lamborghini is hard at work finding new ways to make its cars lighter as much if not more than any other automaker. Most of that research centers around carbon fiber. Thing is, the stuff is really expensive to make. But on the plus side, although motorsport was the driving force behind the material’s development in the first place, the auto industry is far from the only one working with it these days.

Lamborghini Forged Composite carbon fiberWhile experimenting with the material at the University of Washington, Lamborghini met up with another interested party: Callaway Golf. Since their interests overlap but don’t compete one with another, the two recently announced a strategic partnership to develop a more versatile, cost-effective form of carbon fiber.

The result is called Forged Composite. Whereas conventional carbon fiber is layered down in sheets and bonded together, Forged Composite comes mixed together in a paste of fibers and epoxy that can be squeezed into any shape desired. The application makes it far easier to form complex shapes, and since the fibers come out oriented randomly, the resulting form is apparently stronger in every which direction, instead of fixed ones like in conventional layered sheet carbon.

Lamborghini demonstrated what it has in mind for Forged Composite with the Sesto Elemento concept currently on display at the Paris Motor Show. The concept’s monocoque and suspension arms are made from the stuff. For Callaway’s part, they’re planning on using Forged Composite for a new generation of golf club heads, allowing for lighter weight, a longer shaft and a drives an estimated at eight yards longer than with existing clubs. Callaway Golf plans on phasing out titanium drivers – currently the market dominator – in favor of the new Forged Composite ones within a year. There’s no word yet on when we’ll see the debut of Forged Composite on a production Lamborghini, but we’re guessing it won’t be long.

Gallery: Lamborghini Sesto Elemento Concept In Detail

[Source: Lamborghini]

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Driving Force: Lamborghini and Callaway Golf collaborate on new forms of carbon fiber originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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