World’s Leading Sports Cars

An updated replica of the classic Lotus 7 has hit the South African market, and may become available for export to Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Inspired by Lotus founder Colin Chapman's original design, twenty units of the Millennium 7 have already been completed, or are in assembly.

The car is the brainchild of aeronautical engineer Chris Carstens, who created the car to fulfill a friend's request for an uncommon sports car. The friend, Kobus van der Walt, has worked with Carstens on the project for the last six years. The duo have been advised by former Honda F1 chief mechanic Alastair Gibson.

The Murcielago comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission, but it is also available with an e-gear auto-shifting manual transmission, akin to what F-1 racecars use, with paddles mounted on the steering column that allow for instant shifting. Murcielago also boasts an electronic traction control with an electronic adaptive suspension.

No matter what the weather or terrain, the car’s suspension will automatically adjust so the handling will be much easier for whoever’s driving the powerful beast. Not only are these features convenient, but they’ve worked to make the Murcielago safe to drive.

Lightweight carbon ceramic brakes are optional on the car. Carbon ceramic offers many advantages over the old style brakes used. For starters, they don’t wear out like conventional materials.

The environmental impact of India's Nano car

It may be the world's cheapest car, but is this the direction that India's promising engineering industry should be taking?

Tata Motors this week launched the Tata Nano, a compact, shoe-boxy sort of car, with four tiny wheels and one wing mirror.

Environmentalists are already crying murder, saying that this will just encourage more pollution and congestion in a nation that is already suffering severely from both. So I thought I would have a quick look at how things stack up.

The Tata Nano will meet European emissions standards on exhaust. If you want to see details, check out the Euro IV line in this table. Bear in mind that exhaust emissions standards regulate the particles that make up smog, not emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (which the EU does not currently regulate, although it's trying).

The numbers come out in favour of the Tata Nano. Euro IV standards are more stringent than those in place for the motorcycles and scooters, which make up a big chunk of India's motorised traffic.

The new Opel Astra GSi will be unveiled in October at the Paris Auto Show and will go on sale later this year or early in 2011. The 2011 Opel Astra GSi will feature various new design elements, including a re-styled front bumper, new wheel arches, a small rear diffuser and double exhaust pipes.