New Vantage GTR Porsche Cayenne

TOPCAR Company has prepared a limited series Vantage GTR Porsche Cayenne. Only 25 cars will be manufactured, each of them manufactured in compliance with client’s wishes and will have its personal number.

While tuning the car, designers of TOPCAR Company combined aerodynamic kits from Advantage GT and Vantage – each of 25 Porsche Cayenne will have this integrated aerodynamic kit, where front optics remains standard, but the car receives enlarged rear wings with impressive air inlets from Advantage GT. In this way, SUV visually transforms into coupe, but it has no round lights of 911 model in 997 body. It means that in the near future another 25 fierce and aggressive Porsche Cayenne, will be on road, making horror to their standard fellow creatures.

When a new body kit is installed, hood, radiator guard, front bumper, sills, rear bumper are replaced and rear wings are equipped with moldings. Knobs of rear doors disappear. Neat buttons replace them; they are thoroughly hidden in big side air inlets, as in Advantage GT Project. Similar to the previous aerodynamic body kits from TOPCAR Company, Vantage GTR body kits are manufactured of reinforced Kevlar, and some elements are produced of dry carbon.



But TOPCAR Company places its stake not only on exterior of the project. As usual, the interior is also subject to substantial re-development. TOPCAR Company offers even more expensive leather, alcantara, exclusive woods, parts of carbon, and also clear stitches and decorative solutions, including, among other, a plate with individual number on the central console.

German company 9FF is a traditional partner of TOPCAR Company in tuning of engines of Porsche Cayenne.

Within the frame of this project TOPCAR Company has already manufactured 7 cars. The price of aerodynamic body kit for Vantage GTR is EURO 45,000. This aerodynamic kit can be created on the basis of any Porsche Cayenne, even from previous generation.

2009 Mercedes-Benz B-Series Runs on Natural Gas

Natural gas is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to gasoline and diesel in Europe. It's less expensive than these conventional motor fuels and has lower carbon dioxide emissions. Also helping is the growing availability of natural gas, with nearly 800 compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling stations in Germany, 600 in Italy, 100 in Switzerland, and 90 in Austria.

Mercedes-Benz has joined in to lend its emphasis to the viability of natural gas vehicles with a bi-fuel engine option for the redesigned 2009 B-Class. The B 170 NGT BlueEFFICIENCY joins B-Class models powered by 1.5- and 1.7-liter gasoline engines (B 150 and B 170), 1.8- and 2.0-liter diesel engines (B 180 CDI and B 200 CDI), and a turbocharged 2-liter gasoline engine (B 200 TURBO). All are four cylinder powerplants.




Identified by "NGT" - for Natural Gas Technology - on the tailgate, the B 170 NGT BlueEFFICIENCY Sport Tourer delivers an identical maximum output of 116 horsepower on either gasoline or natural gas. A driver selects the fuel using a button on the steering wheel. An electronic control unit switches fuel source instantaneously and seamlessly, even while driving.

Mercedes-Benz added four additional gas injectors on the underside of the intake manifold to handle natural gas. A close-coupled pressure governor with an electromagnetic shut-off valve regulates the supply of natural gas and maintains a constant gas pressure in the system.

In addition to the gasoline tank, there are five compressed natural gas tanks with a total capacity of 35.2 pounds, providing a range of over 180 miles. The B 170 NGT has a total range of over 620 miles on both fuels. The tanks are located in the rear and beneath the front passenger footwell. Trunk capacity is about 25 percent less that conventional models but still sufficient for carrying a family's luggage.
B Class Natural Gas Technology Side X-ray

The B-170 NGT achieves 32 mpg on premium gasoline as measured on the combined European driving cycle. According to Mercedes, the cost of running on natural gas is around 50 percent less than on gasoline.

Carbon dioxide emissions are some 20 percent lower than in the gasoline-powered B 170 at 135 gm/km, with NOx emissions 11 percent less. When calculated on a total lifecycle basis, carbon monoxide emissions are reduced by over 50 percent. While more CO2 is produced in manufacturing the more complex B 170 NGT, this is balanced out by the savings offered when running on natural gas after 10,730 miles. Germany's TÜV Technical Inspection Authority has awarded a "Design For Environment" to the B 170 NGT, the first natural gas-powered car to receive the award.

Also new for the B-Class is an ECO start/stop function that's optional on B 150 and B 170 BlueEFFICIENCY models. ECO automatically turns the engine off when the driver shifts to neutral at low speed while depressing the brake pedal. If the predetermined criteria for engine shut-down are met, a display on the instrument panel informs the driver. When the clutch is pressed or the brake pedal released, the engine starts almost noiselessly and in a fraction of a second. It doesn't have regenerative braking. Mercedes-Benz says the belt driven starter-generator produces a fuel saving of up to nine percent.

The B-Class is available in Canada although only the B 200 and B 200 TURBO are now sold there. There are currently no plans to bring the B-Class to the U.S., although that's a scenario we hope will change as the market for small cars - and of course natural gas-powered cars - increases in response to high gasoline prices and concerns about CO2 emissions.