amazing cars

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Check out these awesome sports cars! 2008/04/30

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Have you felt that pang of envy when a swanky sports car - be it Porsche or Ferrari or Merc -- wheezed past you and wished you were behind the wheel? Well you are not the only one. There are many other car enthusiasts like you who would love to own or at least be able to drive one. Even though budget does not allow many to be in proud possession of these swanky cars, at least you don't need to shell out moolah to let your eyes feast on such four-wheeled beauties. Let's take a tour of some of the most famous sports cars of the world: Porsche: Porsche, founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, an Austro-Hungarian engineer is headquartered in Zuffenhausen, a city district of Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg. The Porsche currently produces 911, Boxster, Cayman sports cars, and Cayenne sport utility vehicles. Porsche 911 : Acceleration : 4,9 sec. Top speed : 280 km/h. Transmission : 6 - speed manual Displacement : 3824 cc Maximum Bhp : 355 hp / 4600 rmp Length : 4427 mm Width : 1852 mm Height : 1300 mm Weight : 1560 kg The Cayman, a mid-size luxury SUV, is similar to the Boxster but is in a slightly higher price range. Porsche's main rivals are Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW. Porsche has offered consultancy services to other car manufacturers -- Audi, Studebaker, SEAT, Daewoo, Subaru and Yugo. Porsche is one of the few, remaining manufacturers using the rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. Price: Porsche cars are priced at $85,000 to $90,000. Ferrari: Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 as Scuderia Ferrari, the company is based in Maranello and Modena, Italy. Initially, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of road vehicles. The symbol of the Ferrari race team is a black prancing stallion on a yellow shield, usually with the letters S F (for Scuderia Ferrari), with three stripes of green, white and red (the Italian national colors) at the top. 2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia Ferrari also has an internally managed merchandising line that licenses many products bearing the Ferrari brand, including eyewear, pens, pencils, perfume, clothing, high-tech bicycles, cell phones, and even laptop computers. Financial Times named Ferrari number one on its 2007 list of the 100 Best Workplaces in Europe. Ferrari has had a Formula One race team for over 50 years. Ferrari's has been the oldest team in the championship. It is also the most successful. A lean period throughout the 1980's and 1990's ended with Michael Schumacher taking the team to two driver's championships in 2000 and 2001. Price: The Ferrari cars are priced at $100,000. Lotus: Formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd by Colin Chapman, a graduate of University College, London, in 1952, Lotus, based at Hethel, Norfolk, England designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and high handling characteristics. The company acts as an engineering consultancy, providing engineering development -- particularly of suspension -- for other car manufacturers. Some of the popular versions of Lotus are: # Lotus Elise -- It was recently introduced in the US, with a Toyota engine. # Lotus Exige -- A version of the Lotus Elise with a redesigned body. The company remodelled the Exige with Exige S in 2007. # Lotus Europa S -- This is a grand tourer-like two-seater with a powerful engine. # Esprit Replacement -- A new version of the Esprit expected to go on sale in 2009. It is supposed to be powered by a BMW V8 engine similar to that used in BMW's 650i. # Lotus 2-Eleven -- This Weighs just 670 kg (1,500 lb). The car has a top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h). Price: The price of Lotus cars varies between $48,000 to $60,000. Lamborghini : Founded in 1962 by a businessman Ferruccio Lamborghini, the companyis based in the small Italian village of Sant'Agata Bolognese, near Bologna. Lamborghini is now a subsidiary of the German luxury car manufacturer, Audi AG, which is in turn a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group. Lamborghini comes in two main varieties: Gallardo priced at $186,900 and Murcielago priced at $333,000.00. Three variants of Gallardo are availabe in the market: Gallardo Base Coupe, Gallardo Spyder Convertible and Gallardo Superleggera Coupe. Murcielago too comes in two variants: Murcielago LP640 Coupe and Murcielago LP640 Roadster. Famous for the outrageous design, some of its models like the Miura, the Countach, the Diablo, and the Murcielago continue to be a few of the most coveted super cars of all time. Lamborghini cars, mid-engine two-seaters, are known for their great pickup. The car's future models may include a rear-wheel-dr