Lexus Hybrid RX 450H

The hidden car behind the picture is ofcourse the unique

Lexus Hybrid RX 450H

This article is about the Lexus Hybrid RX 450H. In itself it is a very elegant car, with an intriguing design and full of innovative technologies, which produce a unique and sophisticated in it's own genre, car.

Click here to watch a short video of how if you're unaware a hybrid car works

The reason for me introducing a hybrid vehicle is simply because i wanted to demonstrate even though that the car runs mostly on electrical power generators, it is very performant, and reaches outstanding performances compared to other SUV's and Hybrid vehicles.

Since the introduction of the first crossover hybrid this model puts into perspective Lexus with it's competitors. The new RX is situated in between the futuristic line of cars and the Japanese passion for incomparable vehicles. It offers the typical amount of space of a relatively big SUV, and it has 5 seats. This car is said to be at the leading edge of todays modern day cars.

The New RX 450H represents a important step towards a reduction to the impact on the environment and the significant increase in the share pleasure of driving. The reduction of the impact on the environment was possible due to Lexus's second generation two electric motors and one V6 3,5 litre fuel combustion engine. Altogether the car combined with it's threee different power sources creates a maximal horse power of over 299 hp. The RX accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in little less than 7,9 sec. Equivalent to a standard 5,5 litre GL Mercedes. Another very amazing aspect of the car is that even though it is equivalent ti the acceleration of that of a vehicle equipped with a V8 engine, this vehicles innovative Hybrid system permits it to release less than 148 g/km. A little more than the Smart Car Brabus Xclusive which tail pipe emissions reach 127 g/km.

It is equipped with an entirely hybrid system which can due to it's two electric motors can be driven with Zero Emissions. This car can be driven at 100% electrical mode which is a brake through in lexus's technology. The secret of the vehicle lies in it's amazing efficiency. To recharge the batteries it is done by both the fuel engine and the time when the vehicle is undergoing a braking process or simply when it is at a relatively high speed and the conductor is not applying any force on the gas pedal.

This car can be driven either with a SUV 4 wheel drive or a standard 2 front wheel drive. It has one electrical engine in the front and one in the back, as well as a fuel combustion engine in the front. Firstly the front electrical engine is always in use as it is the power source with which the vehicle is permitted to start. Then we have incase of necessity the fuel engine which comes into play incase of demand. Whilst the secondary electrical engine at the back starts at the time when the vehicle is either driven in SUV mode or at a time of peek demand in acceleration, or low charge of the front electrical engine.

The RX presents itself with aerodynamic characteristics which present themselves as the best of cars of the same category. This is very important as a more slick and friction less exterior will diminish the penetration of air, which will in consequence diminish consumption and emissions of fuel. To perfect it's aerodynamic system the engineers have equipped this car with a a hydraulic system which permits the car to level down 10 mm at great speed.

The previous article was about the GL a car which in it's peak performances consumed over 26l per 100 k/m, this car in it's peak performance with the constant acceleration consumes no more than 11l per 100 k/m. This is less then half than that of the GL.

As you can see on the close up of the dashboard here, the car has 3 different stages.

• Green- representing that the car is driving in ECO mode, essentially with electric power only
• Blue-representing when the car is charging, at a time of deceleration, and an applied force on the brakes
• White- representing the time which the fuel combustion engine is being used and the extent to which

It is also available in a array of different exterior aswell as interior colours, ranging from grey metalized anthracite to white metalized quartz.

This is the innovative mouse is one of many unique features this car contains . This mouse permits the user to control the car with a simple click.

Click Here a short video to see what it looks like on the road

At the time of driving the vehicle, in itself it proved to have purely excellent response to commands. It was a very comfortable simple and fluid drive. Amazingly when starting the vehicle not a sound or vibration was made unlike on any standard fuel driven vehicle, only the dashboard came to light. Another feature which i found very useful was that the speed we could not only see on the dashboard but also on the HUD display which is reflected on the front glass, as well we could see a simplified version of the GPS. These additional tools permit the conductor to always stay on focus and not be distracted. I found this tool very useful for manual vehicles which would permit us drivers to be more precise when changing gears if we can't hear the engine when listening to very loud music or when the RPM meter is placed inadequately like in the Smart Car. Unlike on the GL Mercedes with it's automatically controlled folding seats, this car uses a very useful tool, a release handle which would immediately fold the seat and permits a large amount of space to be cleared at a very fast rate, at the rear bagagge compartment of the car. Once again i emphasize i found it very useful and handy. For people which have difficulty parking i noticed that the car contained a back end camera which showed the angles at which you're going in reverse corresponding to the current wheel position, the new feature which i've seen only i this car is the adjustable right side lateral camera (for EU vehicles, inverse for UK). The maximum speed which we were be able to attain was round a bouts 200 km/h equivalent to the manufacturer's tech specs.

Mercedes GL 63 Biturbo by Brabus

This is ofcourse the Mercedes GL with a Brabus Makeover. Sporty yet elegant design the production car's engine has been tuned up to 614 hp. This gigantic vehicle is the father too the ML. It has been enlarged in diameter, length, weight and much more. There is also a new array of seats which were added at the 3rd lane to the back of the car.

Tech. Specs

Performance improves accordingly: Compared to the production car (6.1 seconds of the 550) the sprint time from rest to 100 km/h is shortened to 4.7 seconds, top speed increases from 282 to 300 km/h. The engine also delivers an impressive peak torque of 615 Nm at 3,100 rpm. Compared to the ML 63 by Brabus, it does not lack behind as much as expected, even though it is twice as massive, and twice as heavy. It's maximum velocity is 10 km smaller than that of the ML.



Strong as a bull, sporty yet elegant and with exclusive qualities; The new Brabus GL 63 Biturbo combines these three attributes to perfection. With this luxury SUV Brabus further expands its impressive portfolio of exclusive high performance automobiles. Visually the SUV sets itself apart with the stunningly styled Brabus widestar modification and it's 23 inch wheels. It has an exclusive interior with leather, Alcantara and carbon fiber.




This engine establishes the BRABUS GL 63 Biturbo among the world’s most powerful SUVs.

In combination with a modified speedshift seven speed automatic transmission and permanent four wheel drive this engine delivers performance previously unimaginable for a vehicle of this type. Naturally due to it's shere size if comparing to the ML it has much less aerodynamicity but neverthless it stil reaches very high performances.





The large wheel houses offer plenty of room for three piece Brabus Monoblock plat. edition 11Jx23 wheels.

The luxury equipment of the BRABUS GL 63 Biturbo also includes a premium interior. The interior is custom-tailored to customer specifications from a combination of especially soft and breathable leather and Alcantara.
Brabus's precious wood and carbon fiber are available in a variety of versions. The sporty character of the vehicle is reflected by the speedometer with 320-km/h (200-mph) scale, aluminum components such as pedals and door lock pins and an ergonomically shaped sport steering wheel.






Special consoles for the backs of the front seats each have an integrated seven inch LCD screen, a DVD player and a folding table. They transform the rear passenger compartment into a multimedia studio. The entertainment equipment can be further expanded into a fully functional office on wheels with state of the art communication and computer technology.

I tested the Mercedes Gl 550 which proved to cohere to all of it's supposed performances. Even though it being a very large car, it was an easy drive. In this car i felt very secure and in control. It's definetely one of those gadjets too get.

Like all good toys they come at a price this GL comes at 368,000 Euro which is equivalent to little over 552,000 CHF. Even if you're able to aford this car you'll need to be able to pay for all of it's comsumption which ranges from 18,5 to 34,5 l/100 km. A very big consumption of both fuel and money. But neverthless it stays a unique car in it's own genre.

AMG Ml 63 & Ml 63 Biturbo by Brabus

The AMG Ml 63 is a masterpiece as is its competitor, the Ml 63 Biturbo by Brabus. These two different are make overs of the original Ml from Mercedes Benz, which is the archetype for all mid-size 4-door SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle). In the terms of size it is slotted between the smaller GLK class and larger GL class. This car is famous for it's stability control system which permits the vehicle to always stay on its trajectory. It works with an electronic mechanism which activates selective wheel brakes, and this system is said to reduce by 50% all single vehicle crashes.

The AMG Version

The car is only available in automatic but it does have 7 gears, vastly increasing its potential. The engine comes as 3.5 and 6.2 litre engines. The Brabus version accelerates to 62 mph (100 km/h) in less than 4,2 sec, which is admittedly slower than the Audi R8 V10, where it only takes a mere 3,9 sec., but is quicker than the Audi R8 V8 which does it in 4,4 sec. The Brabus on the other hand, is more livelier than its rival the AMG, which crawls to 100 km/h in 4,8 sec acceleration to 62 mph. The Brabus version is the newer modification, whilst the AMG is 3 years old. But despite its age it is still quite a reasonable performer. These modifications are more apparent when you consider the aceleration to 100 km/h of the original is over 4/5 of a second slower (from 5 the original cars standard feature production car), as well as the 60 km/h potential speed increase from 250 to 310 km/h. In terms of the B63 Biturbo 6.3 litre V8 engine producing over 65o hp equivalent to 478 kW, propels this unique 4x4 to a top speed of over 310 km/h (194 mph), and can generate over 6,200 rpm when engaged in the ultimate gear from the special automatic gear speed shifter. This performance is demands for aerodynamism, tyres, suspension and break, which is made possible due to its elegantly shaped lateral and posterior axles that widens the original production car by over 5 cm.

the beast

Consumption

Urban	24.1 l/100km
Extra-urban	12.2 l/100km
Combined	16.5 l/100km
CO2 Emissions	392 g/km

The front spoiler bumper with its three air inlets, four auxiliary headlights and daytime running lights lends the M Class minimizes lift on the front axle, thus enhances it's grip. The rear apron features an integrated diffuser and cutouts from the chromeplated tailpipes of the BRABUS stainless steel quad sport exhaust system. In combination with the rear spoiler it creates an optimal aerodynamic balance.

The wider stance which was enhanced by Brabus not only benefits the appearance of the M Class, it also improves handling.

The most powerful M Class ever also features numerous exclusive interior highlights. Stainless steel highlighted plates with illuminated Brabus logo's and an ergonomically shaped sport steering wheel are part of the package as is an exclusive BRABUS fully leather interior made from a perfectly finished combination of the finest Mastik and Alcantara leathers (the stereotypical sport car leathers).

Sporty Brabus carbon fiber components for the interior are another Brabus innovation. They have a carbon fiber surface structure made to look like in motorsports vehicles. The front seats can be fitted with custom rear consoles that encompass the headrests. They each house a seven-inch LCD screen with 16:9 aspect ratio and integrated DVD player. These consoles are also available in a version that features a power folding precious wood stand a bit like in a Boeing 700 Business Class.

The Brabus Model comes with the following features;

-Brabus performance kit B63 Sport

-Brabus sport exhaust system

-Brabus speedometer 320km/h

-Brabus light alloy wheel Monoblock

-Special suspension

-Brabus Widestar kit, consisting of: front bumper with additonal lights and daytime running light, rear bumper, flares (back and front), Side skirts with integrated LED illumination under the lateral door pockets

-Brabus aluminium pedal pads

-Brabus Door lock pins

For one the car is relatively performant, which should impact on the reduction of it's safety, as when we increase one the other normally decreases. But amazingly this car earned the highest marks in insurance industry car crash tests. Which proved once more the excellence of this SUV.

After the test of a ulterior model not so enhanced as the Brabus, the first impressions were good as a vehicle of this size we would expect the handling, braking and steering but fortunately it showed none of these defects. I was actually very impressed and thought it's performances were simply outstanding. Thus we can deduce that the Brabus must have been even more dynamic and agile. It adhered to all of its testable tech. specs, as we couldn't perform any crash test's on it. But with the reputation of Mercedes Benz i undoubtedly believe they would conform. A negative aspect to the car was the Command system for the navigation and audio system, as it was and still is a headache to use, and the non standard uniformal European layout of a few other controls like the gear shifter, and cruise control may be a challenge if you're other cars or previous cars were not Mercedes Benz's, too.

If you're looking for a car of "haut de gamme" which can be driven in all conditions and on all terrain this is definetely a possibility to keep in mind. It is both luxurious and a very well performing vehicle. This car is relatively compact, and easily driven, due to it's enhanced hydraulic steering wheel and power assisted steering.

Audi R8

The Audi R8 is a unique sport car. Very elegant and very prestigious. Maybe not as powerful as we would have expected, but it's ferocious look is very impressive. Personally i was very eager to have a go, as it looked very promising.

It comes in two different motor specifications one being the V8 and the V10.

Tech. Specs of the R8 V8;

The car has a very dynamic look. The V8 engine is 4.2L with 8 cylinders. It's a two seater (biplace) as the engine is directly mounted in the posterior middle of the longitudinal which separates the car in two. It's a 4 wheel drive (quattro permanent drive) permitting it to have an excellent advantage to 1/4 mile drag races. It was designed and modified to achieve the best of it's potential by Audi's quattro GmbH team. Like numerous German Sport vehicles it is very rich in aluminum, actually in the R8 the hole monocoque is aluminum. It is available at 2 types of transmissions; manual or automatic which includes a sub-transmissionary mechanism called sequential or also called semi-automatic. More and more often know technology has permitted the automatic gear shifters to be faster and more dynamic then manual cars, thus we see less and less of manual sport cars especially in the US. We can see this in New McLaren Mercedes SLR which is only available in automatic. The R8 V8 weighs relatively little, only 1560 kg, 60 kg less than the V10. Which permits the R8 to have a clear advantage due to its light weight and aerodynamic exterior. It's hand made like the significant amount of performant cars with a unsequential exterior, more than 50 workers add over 5,000 unique parts to it. The new racing carbon ceramic braking system also delivers shorter braking distances and is generally more efficient due to its wight saving.

The side blades are made of the same aluminum that the rest of the body. The need of increased air flow for the bigger engine is compensated & resolved by the bulging out the side scoops which are integrated in the lateral blades.

The V8 engine is supplied by a fuel tank of little over 75 litres. It has a cubic measure of over 4,100 cc. Which is equivalent too 309 kw and over 414 Horse power, four times the power of Smart Ultimate 112 Brabus, and only twice the weight (Smart Car weight; 749 kg). On the other hand the V10 engine has 100 more hpw then the V8, which is equivalent to 391 pound of torc, and a price difference of over 40,000 CHF. It has a 5.2 litre fuel combustine engine, just a litre over the V8. Thus much more performant than it's predecessor. It's acceleration to reach 62 mph (100 km/h) takes 3.9 sec with a top speed of 314 km/h and 301 km/h for the V8. The 3.9 sec acceleration is just after the Porsche Carrera Turbo with 3.4 sec and before the Audi S5 with 5,1 sec, which is the same for the Audi TTR. It is said to be equivalent in terms of performance as the 997 Porsche S. However the handling of the Porsche is much more troublesome to drive, thus we can neglect all the unexperienced drivers in this car.

In itself the V10 engine compared to the V8 in terms of acceleration has a 0.5 sec difference. To reach 200 km/h it takes a mere 12 sec. Which for the Smart Brabus Exclusive 112 would mean only around 110 km/h.

The engine has a accesory of luminescent light which adds a nice finish to its line at night.

Rumors persist that towards the first 3 months of 2010, Audi would have developed a new R8 Roadster open-top model called "Spyder". It's hand made like the significant amount of performant cars with non uniformal exteriors. It has a very distinct Germanic exterior styling. Like almost all rear or mid engine designed sports cars it utilizes wider wheels aswell as its tyres on it's rear axle which contribute to the strong grip the tires produce aswell as traction and stability. Furthermore in the terms of price of this car it costs in the round a bouts of 164,000 CHF (starting price), not as expensive as we would have expected, as it reached the performances of other more expensive cars. However we have other more powerful cars in terms of PSI and Bhp which are less expensive, but they do look less impressive and unique. An example is the Nissan GTR Sport which costs a little more than half of the R8. Its acceleration from rest to 100 km/h is of 3.3 sec beating the R8 by a bare 0.5 of a sec. In terms of Bhp it has over 480 which is significantly over the R8 specs.

The R8 is ofcourse a very luxurious and dynamic car. It is the dream of all young kids, as it is said to be both very easy to drive and very agile. The Hydraulic steering wheel is enhanced to permit the simplycity of drive neverthless not loosing any of its performance capacities, aswell as to be able to use under extreme high performance driving.

To see whether the very promising tech. specs adhered the R8's performances on the road, we gave it a test drive. We tested the V8, for over a day. It was more than enough to be able to see its performances. We also took a Audi S8 of a comrade of mine to be able to compare. Just sat into the Audi we can see the famous Audi interiors. The interior of the car has an excellent finish, with alcantara cuir covering its every edge. We can see from just barely making ourselves comfortable in the car how its pedals and the steering wheel are perfectly aligned with the driver's seat. All controls of the car aswell on the dashboard fall readily to hand including the gorgeous knurled Aluminum shift knob. All the surfaces are finished with aluminum or carbon fiber while the roof is finished in alcantra a aerodynamic frictionless surface. Acceleration wise the car shows an impressive 4,2 sec acceleration to 100 km/h. With it's 4 wheel drive we were able to feel the unique speed as well as control. Finally we wanted to test the car in all terms of specs so we took it on a spin to Rust, Germany where fortunately the speed way is unlimited in terms of speed. The car demonstrated with no doubt its ruthlessness and unforgiving agility in terms of drive at high speeds. The car we were driving had a V10 double exhaust pipe added to it which came of initial cost as 17 K $, with a modulator which increased its top speed by a little less than 10 km/h and slightly enhanced its performances. With this additional tuning we were technically able to reach speeds up to 310 km/h, though due to heavy traffic, and the alternation of speed limits due to heavy weather condition we were at 270 km/h tops. These are ofcourse high speeds but when having a look on the car you would expect something more.

To conclude I would say i found it a very nice sport car with a very beautiful line, really a toy must have for young bussiness man as it can be used on a daily basis for all sorts of drives.

Smart 112 Xclusive by Brabus

Here is the new modification to the new Sport Performance Ultimate Smart 112 by Brabus.

Tech. Specs

It has just over 112 horsepower hence the name Smart 112. It is a specially engineered light weight carbon model. With 112 hp (82.4 kW) and 150 Nm of maximum torque, the Brabus Ultimate 112 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.5 seconds, and to 60 km/h in 3.9 sec and the top speed is electronically limited to 170 km/h (106.25 mph). The Ultimate 112 has paddle shifters on the steering wheel to change gears up or down, as found on today's Formula 1 cars. The bright grey rims on the Ultimate 112 smart car are incredibly 18 inches in diameter and its very low profile tires measure 205/35 R18 at the front, and the rears are 235/30 R18. The Ultimate 112 comes standard with air conditioning, fog lights, a GPS navigation system, a high performance sound system, power steering, a custom stainless steel sports exhaust, and electrically adjustable exterior mirrors. Additionally, there are flared side skirts on the front and rear of the Ultimate 112, a Brabus front spoiler, and a Brabus rear moulding.

In terms of Consumption it does relatively well compared to other small cars of the same horse power;
Urban 6.9 l/100km
Extra-urban 4.7 l/100km
Combined 5.8 l/100km

CO2 emissions 129 g/km

Too see whether the Smart Brabus Exclusive 112 was realy the ultimate small and fast car of all time, i went to try it out at a garage, on the 9/12/09 around mid day. This car is ofcourse said to be the "haut de gamme" one of all the smart car's available. Unfortunately even though the car looked agressive, it failed to show it's agresiveness on the road. Progress is yet to be made. The 9.5 sec acceleration to 60 mph (100 km/h) seemed more like a minute long at the time, aswell as the flap gear shifter enabled after a time lag of 3 sec. Neverthless its compact and small size were proven to be good for parking in relatively small areas.

When you drive a car you are looking for endurance, safety and agility. Regretably the Smart Car showed none of the three essential criteria present in all standard Sport Car's. Safety in the car is practically inexistent with its 23 inch doors. In the unlucky case of a frontal crash over 50 mph the conductor and passenger will have barely no chance to survive, if any at all. There was also something very peculiar about the car, when trying to eagerly accelerate abruptly by applying maximum force on the gas pedal, during a few occasions exerted no motion of the car what so ever. This theory was later proven by a fellow comrade of mine, which experiences the same long-lasting time lags in his car. Finally the RPM meter is placed inadequately, and when is vital for use, limits the vision range of the conductor, as when changing gears with the pedal shifters we need to be able to see clearly the RPM rounds, which is a challenge, when driving this automobile.

Even though the car proved not to adhere to its tech. specs, the car had a very pleasant look, and for an extra 30% of it's intial 34,150.- chf cost can be modified to meet any shape or form to adhere to one's creation.

Here's an example of a reasonable tuning i have made for this car for a comrade of mine, which we want to implement onto his car aswell as a hydraulic bar to enable the vertical opening of the lateral doors;



Here's a official Brabus modification convertable.





It's Interior, has only few differences from its predecessor standard classic Brabus model. The car is a specific prestige modifiction in it's unique orange colour, however all the accessories are the standard Brabus one's.

It has the following features available;

• Brabus front spoiler
• Brabus sports exhaust
• Brabus rear molding
• Brabus side panel with illumination
• Brabus light alloy wheels Monoblock VI -front tyres 205/35 R 18
• Brabus light alloy wheels Monoblock VI -rear tyres 2325/30 R 18
• Brabus fender flares
• Brabus sport suspension
• Brabus sport steering wheel with paddle shifting
• Brabus leather interior appointment
• Door pockets in leather
• Inner door faces in leather
• Dashboard in leather

This modification to this car costs almost double it's intial Brabus Exclusive price. Its price is 38,571.43 EUR which is 58,334.35 CHF. Personally even though the car looks very impressive and agressive it fails to translate it's agresiveness on the road. Thus i think it's performances do not match its price. At this price we could get a much performant, agile, and sportive car. Like for example the Audi TT which initial cost is 44,000 CHF, thus you still would have over 12 thousand CHF to spend on options.