At some point, every family takes a summer vacation in the mountains. It’s inevitable, as was the case with my family. This past June, we loaded up our brand-new Lincoln MKX rental (review to follow) and made for Rocky Mountain National Park and the nearby town of Estes Park, Colorado.

After spending a week at 9,000 feet, we decided to ease ourselves back to sea-level by staying in Denver for a couple days, at a modest 5,000 feet. Out of sheer luck, our hotel ended up being only ten minutes from the Caterham USA base-of-operations.

If you’re not familiar with these cars, they’re basically the result of years spent perfecting Lotus’ 7-series roadster. In the early ‘70s Caterham purchased the production rights to the super light-weight Seven from Lotus when they decided to discontinue their own line. Not much has changed in the original design. Today most models weigh in at a little over half a ton, but pack more than enough power to tear up a track while at the same time a maintain a statement in minimalist design. This pushes the car market to an extreme where there is as little as possible to get between the driver and the experience of driving.

I just had to see if I could visit, so I picked up the phone and called. I spoke with Ben, part of the father-son team that manages both Caterham’s US operations and Rocky Mountain Sportscars. He said they really didn’t have what you would call a showroom, but something much better…

I entered their sales office and continued through an open door into a seemingly ordinary garage, the closest thing to a Caterham Mecca this side of the Atlantic: Inside there was a new Caterham in various stages of assembly, a pre-owned Roadsport SV, a stripped-down Lotus 7 body, and a Lotus Type 61. As I walked in Ben was finishing up work on one of the cars. For the next hour we talked as I made my boyish obsession with the cars more than obvious.

Following is one of the more interesting bits of our conversation:

CARBUFF: Whenever I see the price of a new Caterham, it says without an engine…

Ben: Because it’s a kit, you can’t bring it in with an engine, because of the EPA regulations. If it has an engine with it, and it’s disassembled, it’s considered a vehicle and has to pass all the EPA and NHTSA requirements. So then we have to have six airbags, we have to have five mile-per-hour bumpers, we have to have full emissions certification. Whereas these pass an emissions tail-pipe test, they don’t have the certification, which is pretty expensive to get. So, we sell them as kits and then you can buy the engine from your Ford dealers. They’re about $3,000 brand-new, or you can get one used for $600 or $700. We sell everything but the engine, so all the parts that are on this engine, all the covers, nuts and bolts, tensioners and belts, everything all from the kit. You just need to buy the aluminum engine from Ford and then put the Caterham parts on, and it’s ready to go. And it doesn’t include the transmission. It’s just the Caterham six-speed or the five-speed, which you can find from all different sources. Five-speeds are around $1,100. Six-speeds, with the exchange rate right now, there probably around $3,400.

CB: I remember there was this one Top Gear episode where they tried to assemble…

Ben: Where they built one before the Stig got there, yeah. My buddy, who’s the sales technician, he does car delivery, inspections, all the press cars, he said that chassis had to go back to the fabricator to be re-skinned, those guys messed it up so bad.

CB: They did!

Ben: They just trashed it, yeah. They said that car had to go back to the guys who built the steel space-frame. So they took all the aluminum off, re-blasted it, re-powdered it, re-skinned it, and started over…

CB: Because, I remember, Clarkson kept on taking the washers and hiding them so that James May couldn’t put it together the right way, which would take more time. I thought it was hilarious.

Ben: Yeah, those guys are pretty, pretty goofy. I think the sales office wasn’t too pleased with that one.

As I later found out, the new Caterham I saw as I walked in wasn’t some run-of-the-mill model. In fact, it was the first US-spec R500, the fastest Caterham yet, which can accelerate to 60 mph in less than three seconds, leaving other supercars in its dust. In fact, Caterham is giving all other supercar manufacturers a run for their money. The average price for a new Caterham is $50,000, and since the number of new ones that get sold in the US each year number in the tens the rarity is above and beyond a Lamborghini or Ferrari.

But what really seals the deal here is the level of exclusivity. While driving one in Britain will undeservedly single you out as a kit-box gear-head, driving down an American street will have two different effects: Admiring car buffs will know what you’re in while the clueless will gawk out of amazement.

Spec summary:

Caterham R500
2.0 L 4-cylinder RWD
263 bhp, 177 lb-ft
150 mph top speed (governed), 0-60 mph in 2.9 s
MSRP £37,995*

* When the first US-spec R500 goes up for sale, expect it to fetch about $80,000

Pero como es posible? fue mi primera pregunta despues de ver que el Catheram R500 era mas rapido en la pista de Top Gear que un Bugatti Veyron. Despues de ver  las especificaciones es muy facil ver  porque: con un motor que produce 263 caballos de fuerza y pesando tan solo 500 kilos, es todo un monstruo!

Basado en el clasico Lotus 7 este carro tiene un estilo muy peculiar.

Tiene una aceleracion de 0 a 100 km/hr de 2.88 segundos.

 Para hacerlo tan ligero el equipo descarto el uso de frenos asistidos (ABS) y opto por frenos convencionales de disco.

Por eso mismo su interior es sencillo con solamente lo necesario para manejarlo; lo que lo hace un magnifico ”driver’s car”

Y los dejo con un video de mi programa favorito top gear donde le hacen un resumen al carro…

Y para mas informacion pueden ir a la pagina web http://www.caterham.co.uk/

Daar is namelijk de Auto Sport International Racing Car Show op 10 en 11 januari. Zelfs in deze cristijd dus nog aandacht voor de geldvretende autosport. Gelukkig maar. Caterham staat er prominent met de R500.

FRANK SINATRA JR. E ORQUESTRA EM SP
Quando: 04/08
Onde: Via Funchal – r. Funchal, 65, Vila Olímpia
Informações: 0/xx/11/3044-2727

Em apresentação única na Via Funchal o show “Sinatra by Sinatra” é uma homenagem aos 10 anos da morte do ídolo, considerado um dos maiores cantores de todos os tempos.

No show, Sinatra Jr., que estudou música na Universidade da Califórnia, recria em interpretações primorosas grandes clássicos como “My Way”, “New York New York” e “Blue Moon”.

Sinatra Jr, também se rende aos encantos de nossa cubanacan Marina de La Riva e a tem como convidada especialíssima em sua turnê pelo Brasil que acontecerá nos dias 31 de julho no Teatro Nacional em Brasília, dia 02 de agosto em Curitiba no Teatro Positivo, 04 de agosto é a vez dos Paulistas, no Via Funchal, dia 07 de agosto na casa Vivo Rio no Rio de Janeiro e encerrando sua passagem pelo Brasil Frank Sinatra Jr, se apresenta aos mineiros em Belo Horizonte no Arena Vivo. Vale lembrar que Sinatra Jr, inicia sua excurssão brasileira em Manaus no Festival Amazônia Jazz dia 27 de julho.

Os ingressos para a apresentação em São Paulo, começaram a ser vendidos na última segunda-feira, a platéia VIP já se encontra esgotada… Mas ainda é possível encontrar ingressos mais aquicessíveis na platéia que começam no valor de R$ 120,00 e até para os mais abonados que poderam se deliciar no camarote com os módicos R$ 500,00.

Selasa kemarin, produsen notebook Toshiba mengeluarkan laptop terbarunya yangdiklaim merupakan laptop terringan dengan media penyimpanan 128GB SSD (solid state disk)

Protégé R500-S5007V ini dilengkapi dengan DVD SuperMulti dan layar lebar 12,1inci (1280×800) transreflektif LED yang mampu memberikan penampilan terang walaupun dipergunakan di dalam atau luar ruang. Menggunakan prosesso Core 2 Duo 1.33 GHz U7700 dan RAM 2GB

Tebal laptop yang hanya 1,96cm laptop ini cukup mudah untuk dijinjing. Dibandrol dengan harga US$2.999 laptop ini masih tergolong mahal.

Spesifikasi:

Operating System : Genuine Windows Vista® Business (32-bit) with downgrade media for Windows® XP Professional

Processor : Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor U7700

Processor Type : Core™2 Duo

Processor Number : U7700

Processor Speed : 1.33GHz

Front Side Bus : 533MHz

Memory Size : 2048MB

Memory Speed : PC2-5300 DDR2 667MHz SDRAM

Display Size : 12.1″ widescreen

Display Type : WXGA, Transreflective type

Display Resolution : 1280×800

Graphics Engine : Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950

Solid State Drive (SSD) : 128GB

Optical Drives : DVD SuperMulti (+/-R) drive supporting up to 9 formats

Wireless LAN : Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965 AGN (802.11a/g/n)

Bluetooth : Bluetooth® V2.0 + EDR

Input Devices : 85 key US keyboard, TouchPad pointing device, Toshiba Outdoor Display Switch

Security : Finger Print Reader, Password Security, Security Cable Lock Slot

LAN : Intel® PRO/1000 – 10/100/1000 Ethernet

Audio: Built-in microphone, Built-in monaural speaker, Microphone jack (mono), Headphone jack (stereo)

AC Adapter : 45W (15V 3A) 100-240V AC Adapter

Battery Type : Li-Ion (5800mAh)

Battery Life : Up to 7.5 hours

PC Card Slots : 1-Type II PC Card Slot

PC Express Slot : No PC Express Slot

Media Port : 1-SD Slot

USB Ports : 3-USB (2.0)

iLINK : i.LINK™ IEEE-1394

Docking Connector : Docking Connector

Software : Infineon® TPM Software Professional Package, Ulead® DVD MovieFactory® for Toshiba, Microsoft® Office Ready Suite 2007 (60-day trial), Google Picasa™, AuthenTec EntréPad® TruePrint® technology, Trusted Platform Module (TPM v1.2), InterVideo® WinDVD®, TOSHIBA Recovery Disc Creator, TOSHIBA ConfigFree®, TOSHIBA Disc Creator, TOSHIBA Security Assist, TOSHIBA Management Console

Weight : Starting at 2.4 lbs.

Color : Aluminum Silver

Warranty : 3-Years Parts, Labor and AC Adapter; 1-Year Battery

Caterham R500 vs Ducati Hypermotard

Sound like to me like Man vs Beast! But you get the idea here. Car vs Bike! Cars just never have a chance vs bikes usually. Bikes having a power to weight ratio usually makes them sure winners. But how about you put a Caterham R500 vs. bike. Can the car win this time? Watch!

Michelle drives a classic old Landrover and despite her love for Olivia (the Landy’s name) she lusts after something sleeker, faster and more fuel-efficient. Her first lustlove is the Ariel Atom but her eye is now turning towards the Caterham Superlight R500. Perhaps something like the Ferrari FXX would be more suited for someone that runs Virgin Earth, whose site states “We strive to minimize our impact on the planet while providing quality services and products at affordable prices”.

Caterham R500 265HP Goodness! With the sucess of the R400 why not make a better version! Sounds like a great plan to me. With a Duratec 2.0L engine producing all the ponies, the power is delivered thru a 6-speed gear box in your flavors H pattern or sequential. R500 is coming in a lovely price of $75,000US. Save your penny’s!

Check the rest of the pix HERE!

Il sito Gizmodo che si occupa di novità hardware e gadget curiosi , ha compilato un’interessante tabella comparativa con 4 modelli di laptop confrontati con il nuovo MacBook Air di Apple. La fascia di mercato è la medesima e si contenderanno il titolo di portatile più conveniente il MacBook Air, il Dell XPS M1330, il Toshiba Portégé R500, il Fujitzu LifeBook R500 e il Sony Vaio TZ150N.

La tabella prende in considerazione una serie di parametri come la grandezza, il peso, il processore, la RAM, l’hard disk e naturalmente il prezzo. A voi il piacere di trarre il vincitore di questo confronto. Io ho già scento … ho il mio DELL XPS 1330 da ottobre e mi trovo benissimo davvero !!

via: Gizmodo 

Confronto, test, comparazione, notebook, laptop, gizmodo, MacBook, Air, Dell, XPS, M1330, Toshiba, Portégé, R500, , Fujitzu, LifeBook, R500, Sony, Vaio, TZ150N