McLaren F1 (240.14mph/392 km/h)

The McLaren F1 was the first production to use a complete carbon fiber chassis and body. Such lightweight construction, combined with the BMW S70/2, 620 horsepower engine, helped the McLaren achieve 240.14mph in its XP5 pre-production trim.The engine is a 6.1 litre quad-cam, 48-valve V12 which produces no less than 627 bph and a top speed of 231 mph.Some other features are the intelligent brake cooling and Ground-Plane Shear'suspension geometry'

McLaren F1

The McLaren F1 is one of the fastest, most powerful and most expensive road cars ever. It was developed by McLaren Cars Ltd, a subsidiary of one of the world's leading Formula One Teams. The philosophy behind the F1 road car was simple - to be the finest drivers car ever built, or ever likely to be built.
That is the opening statement McLaren Auto offers on their officle homepage. To make that statement true, McLaren set out to produce the McLaren F1;a car that would be suitable for everyday use plus weekend trips to the racetrack.
The F1 features an all carbon composite monocoque and body structure. McLaren chose this material because it offers lightweight for maximum speed and strength to protect its drivers.

McLaren F1 Data
Base Price	$1,050,000
Power	627 hp
Zero to 60 mph	3.4 s
Zero to 100 mph	7.7 s
Top speed	240.14 mph

History

Emphasis on the design was to get the highest power to weight ratio possible in a comfortable, road worthy machine. Lightweight F1 composites and metals were used throughout the car. Every detail, such as weight and response of the Kenwood stereo components, were given close attention.

The McLaren F1 was the first production to use a complete carbon fiber chassis and body. Such lightweight construction, combined with the BMW S70/2, 620 horsepower engine, helped the McLaren achieve 240.14mph in its XP5 pre-production trim. The success didn't stop on the road however, with special GTR versions winning Le Mans outright in 1995 and taking two FIA GT World Championships.

After the initial production run 100 cars, McLaren have continued to maintain and add custom appointments to customer cars. Treatments such as new aerodynamic packages and custom interiors have been ordered by customers and McLaren has been happy to comply for right price. One such car is chassis #073 which has recently been sold by Christies Inc.

Technology

To power the car McLaren uses the BMW S70/2 engine, designed and built specifically for the F1. The engine is a 6.1 litre quad-cam, 48-valve V12 which produces no less than 627 bph and a top speed of 231 mph.
Some interesting features included on the McLaren F1 are a central driving position which offers space for two passengers and one driver, of course. Some other features are the intelligent brake cooling and Ground-Plane Shear'suspension geometry'.

McLaren Cars official website

McLaren F1 (240.14mph/392 km/h)

Japan plans world's fastest maglev train: firm

Japan plans world's fastest maglev train: firm

A Japanese rail operator said Wednesday it plans to introduce the world's fastest train in the next two decades, a next-generation maglev built at a cost of 45 billion US dollars.

"Maglev," or magnetically levitated, trains travel above ground through an electromagnetic pull. The only maglev train now in commercial operation is in Shanghai.

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Central) plans to build a maglev linear-motor train between Tokyo and central Japan at a cost of 5.1 trillion yen (44.7 billion US dollars) by the 2025 financial year, a company spokesman said.

"It will be the fastest train ever -- if it beats the one in Shanghai -- with a velocity of about 500 kilometres (310 miles) per hour, travelling a distance of 290 kilometres," he said.

The Shanghai train, launched in 2002, travels at 430 kph for the 30.5 kilometre run from Pudong airport to the financial district, according to the Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co.'s website.

JR Central's magnetic-levitated train hit 581 kph in 2003 in a trial run on a test course in Japan's central Yamanashi prefecture, the spokesman said.

The maglev train would enter service at a time when Japan looks for a successor to its famed "Shinkansen" bullet trains, which were first rolled out to the world's awe for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Japan's fasted train remains the Sanyo Shinkansen run by JR West in western Japan, which travels at 300 kph.

The world's fastest train using conventional railway technology is currently France's TGV, which runs at 320 kph.

While the JR Central did not specify the exact location for the maglev, the company in its last annual earnings report wrote of a "first phase" between Tokyo and the central industrial hub of Nagoya.

JR Central said at the time it envisioned eventually building a second phase to link Nagoya with Japan's second city of Osaka.

The company's board approved the plan this week and estimated that it would leave the company with a five trillion debt when the train goes into service in the financial year to March 2026.

The firm projects the train will bring in five percent additional revenue in the first year, shrinking JR Central's debt to the current level within eight years of operation, a statement said.

JR Central initially had waited on the plan in hopes of government subsidies.

"The reason why the plan has not moved even a bit is because the government isn't able to bankroll it," JR Central president Masayuki Matsumoto said, as quoted by the Nikkei business daily.

Market players were less convinced.

JR Central shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange plummeted 100,000 yen or 8.85 percent to 1.03 million yen, despite a gain of 0.65 percent on the benchmark Nikkei-225 index.

A series of other maglev projects are being planned around the world.

Bavaria, Germany's richest state, said in September that it would build the country's first commercial maglev train line by 2014, connecting Munich with its airport 37 kilometres (23 miles) away.

The approval of the maglev, made by engineering groups Siemens and ThyssenKrupp, came despite a test last year in which it crashed into a parked maintenance vehicle, killing 23 people.

China has planned to extend is maglev from Shanghai to Hangzhou, 170 kilometres (105 miles) away, by 2010, although state media reports this year said the project could be delayed or cancelled.

The United States has also been studying locations to build its first commercial maglev service, with one proposal to construct a line between Washington and Baltimore.

© 2008 AFP