The Opel Zafira is a compact MPV engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel. The Zafira is branded as Vauxhall, and Chevrolet, depending on the market. In Japan, the Zafira was sold as Subaru Traviq. The car first appeared in 1999, and a second generation model was introduced in 2005. The Opel Zafira is produced in Bochum in Germany. The Opel Zafira has seven seats arranged in three rows, the back row of which can be folded into the floor to create more space, individually or together, rather than requiring that the extra seats be physically removed from the vehicle. The system was named Flex 7.The first generation of Zafira is usually referred to as Zafira A, as is customary for Opel models. The car was based on the same platform as the 1998 Astra G/B and shared much in common with that car. The Zafira A body was used in GM's concept hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle the HydroGen3. The Opel Zafira A was replaced by Zafira B in Europe and Japan from 2005, but is still sold in most other markets, except for Australia and New Zealand, where the model was cancelled altogether. The Zafira was sold in the Philippines from 2001 to 2005, being the last European-based Opel car to be sold in the Philippines after they stopped selling the Opel Astra in 2003.The Opel Zafira comes with a variety of engines adopted from the Astra. For Europe, there was a CNG-powered version and a 200 hp turbocharged version by the Opel Performance Center. In Brazil, the Zafira is also available with a flexible fuel engine. European versions of the Zafira had these engines:
* 1.6 -- 4-cylinder,(ECOTEC) 74 kW (101 bhp) - Fuel economy 9–10 km/litre in the city, and 14–15 km/litre on the highway.
* 1.8 -- 4-cylinder,(ECOTEC) 92 kW (125 bhp) - Fuel economy 6–8.5 km/litre in the city, and 11–12 km/litre on the highway.
* 2.0 Turbo—4-cylinder, 147 kW (200 bhp; OPC/GSI version) - Fuel economy 5.9–8 km/litre in the city, and 9.5–11 km/litre on the highway.
* 2.2 -- 4-cylinder, 108 kW (146 bhp) - Fuel economy 12.2 litre/100 km in the city, and 7.0 litre/100 km on the highway.
* 2.0 -- 4-cylinder turbo diesel, 74 kW (100 bhp) - Fuel economy 11–12.5 km/litre in the city, and 13–15 km/litre on the highway.
* 2.2 -- 4-cylinder turbo diesel, 92 kW (125 bhp) - Fuel economy 11–13.5 km/litre in the city, and 14–15.8 km/litre on the highway.
* 2.2 -- 4-cylinder turbo diesel, 107 kW (147 bhp) - Fuel economy 12–14 km/litre in the city, and 14–15.8 km/litre on the highway.
The Zafira B debuted in Europe in 2004, and sales started in 2005. It also shares the platform and mechanicals with the Astra, this time the H/C model. In February 2006, Zafira B was launched in Singapore. By March 2006, the model had only been introduced in Europe, Singapore and Japan, superseding the previous Zafira and the Subaru Traviq, respectively. In April in Mexico and later in September 2006 in Chile, this model was introduced, branded as Chevrolet Zafira. The Zafira B's engine lineup is partly adopted from the previous Astra/Zafira generation, but Opel replaced the old 2.0 and 2.2 turbodiesel I4 engines with 1.9 L common-rail turbodiesels developed by Fiat (Multijet). Opel Performance Center developed a turbocharged 240 hp (180 kW) 2.0 L performance version of the Zafira B as well. A CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) version of the new Zafira with a 1.6 L engine is also available. Zafira B's marketed in Europe are equipped with the following engines:
* 1.6 -- 4-cylinder Twinport, 77 kW (105 bhp) – To be replaced by an improved, 115 bhp (86 kW; 117 PS) version in 2008.
* 1.8 -- 4-cylinder, 103 kW (140 bhp)
* 2.0 Turbo—4-cylinder, 147 kW (200 bhp)
* 2.0 Turbo—4-cylinder, 177 kW (240 bhp; OPC/VXR version)
* 2.2 -- 4-cylinder, 110 kW (155 bhp)
* 1.9 -- 4-cylinder turbo diesel, 74 kW (100 bhp)
* 1.9 -- 4-cylinder turbo diesel, 88 kW (120 bhp)
* 1.9 -- 4-cylinder turbo diesel, 110 kW (150 bhp)
The third generation Zafira will be previewed in concept form at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, with the prodcution version debuting at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The Zafira is then expected to go on sale in early 2012. In Mexico the Opel Zafira was discontinued after the 2006 model year, and replaced by the 5-passenger Chevrolet HHR (discontinued in Mexico since 2009). It has so far been a huge sales success in the United Kingdom, proving even more popular than its predecessor. In 2006 it was the UK's tenth best selling new car, proving more popular than the Vectra that just eight years earlier had been the brand's best selling product. By 2010, however, reflecting both its status as a run-out model and adverse consumer reaction to uncertainty over Opel's future, the car was being outsold in the ratio of nearly 3:1 by the more recently face-lifted Volkswagen Touran on the German market, with 2,568 Zafiras sold in the first two months of the year against 7,270 Tourans.
The Caparo T1 is a British mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-seat automobile built by Caparo Vehicle Technologies, founded by design director Ben Scott-Geddes and engineering director Graham Halstead, engineers formerly involved in the development of the McLaren F1. The T1 was inspired by Formula One design, and intended as a relatively affordable street legal race car. The T1 was scheduled for production in mid-2007 for a price of GB£235,000 (approx. US$480,000 or €328,000, c.2007), with approximately 25 cars per year built.The T1 has a dry weight of 470 kilograms (1,000 lb), an overall length of 4,066 millimetres (160.1 in), an overall width of 1,990 millimetres (78 in), an overall height of 1,076 millimetres (42.4 in), and a wheelbase of 2,900 millimetres (110 in). It has a fuel tank capacity of 70 litres (18 U.S. gal). On November 11, 2007, the T1 surpassed the Top Gear Power Board leader's time of 1:17.6, then held by the Koenigsegg CCX, with a time of 1:10.6. Immediately after having declared the time and placed it on the Power Board, presenter Jeremy Clarkson removed the record because it did not meet the show's rule that the car must be able to go over a speed bump. However, Ben Scott-Geddes of Caparo has stated that, "the model we supplied to Top Gear was one of our final engineering vehicles without adjustable ride height and electronic active driver control systems which are standard on our production models. When drivers select the 'road' setting, the car is more tractable in slower speed conditions and the ride height is fully adjustable to bring the car up to 90 mm clearance, making it more than capable of driving over speed bumps."
The exterior of the T1 closely resembles that of a racing prototype or Formula One racing car. It features a carbon fibre aerodynamic low drag body design, composed of individual sections, with an adjustable twin element front wing, single element rear wing, and fowler flaps, and a ground effect diffuser, allowing it to create 875 kilograms (1,930 lb) of downforce at 240 kilometres per hour (150 mph). The wings are replaceable with road and track variations.The interior of the T1 is a two-seat configuration, lacking any amenities and luxuries to reduce excess weight. The passenger's seat is set back from the driver's seat slightly, allowing the seats to be placed closer together, thereby reducing the overall width of the T1. Offered are a head protection system, six-point harnesses for the driver and passenger, compatible with a HANS device, and is designed with a central safety cell made of a high-strength steel roll hoop with a fire system. The dashboard is multi-function with race data logging and speed sensors for traction control and launch control.The chassis of the T1 is composed of a carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb monocoque with a front composite crash structure and a rear tubular space frame construction. The suspension is of a double wishbone design with tunable anti-roll bars, front and rear, and five-way adjustable race dampers. The braking system is composed of 355-millimetre (14.0 in) steel brake discs, with six-piston and four-piston callipers front and rear, respectively. The brake bias pedal box is fully adjustable and brake pads are available in various compounds. The wheels are all-aluminum 10-by-18-inch (250 by 460 mm) and 11-by-19-inch (280 by 480 mm) front and rear, respectively, with Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres. Magnesium 10-by-18-inch (250 by 460 mm) and 11-by-18-inch (280 by 460 mm) wheels front and rear, respectively, with Pirelli slick and wet track tyres are available as optional equipment.
The T1 sports a 116-kilogram (260 lb), 32-valve, 3,496-cubic centimetre (3.5 L), all-aluminium, naturally-aspirated, Menard V8 engine with cylinder banks mounted at 90° and lubricated via a dry sump oil system. The engine has gone through several designs, previously including a smaller 2.4-litre supercharged unit. The production design generates a maximum power of 575 horsepower (429 kW; 583 PS) at 10,500 revolutions per minute and a maximum torque of 310 pound-feet (420 N·m) at 9,000 revolutions per minute, giving the car a power-to-weight ratio of 1,223 horsepower per tonne (912.8 kW/t). In addition, the engine has been reported to successfully reach 700 horsepower (520 kW; 710 PS) of power on methanol fuel. The engine is controlled via a fully tunable Pectel SQ6 engine control unit and the throttle is controlled via a throttle-by-wire system. The T1's gearbox is a 6-speed sequential made of a magnesium and carbon construction that has a variety of available gear ratios and utilizes a pneumatic actuator to shift, able to upshift in 60 milliseconds and downshift in 30 milliseconds. Furthermore, the drivetrain incorporates a limited slip differential and equal length hollow tripod driveshafts. The T1 has an estimated maximum speed of 205 miles per hour (330 km/h) on a low downforce setup. From a standing start, it has an estimated 0–100 kilometres per hour (0–62 mph) time under 2.5 seconds and onto 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph) in 4.9 seconds, depending on tyre setup. It is also capable of an estimated lateral acceleration of up to 3 g and braking deceleration of 3 g, depending on tyre setup. When driving the Caparo, Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of the British car show Top Gear, had stated that limited aerodynamic downforce is created at slow speeds. As a result, the car had low levels of lateral traction while cornering if it was not being driven rapidly. Aerodynamically, this vehicle is designed such that air passing over the body at high rates of speed "pushes" the vehicle against the road (allowing for higher cornering speeds). Clarkson criticized the handling characteristics proposing that if the vehicle was better at negotiating corners and bends in the track at higher speeds than at lower speeds. On a wet track or cold road surface, the slow speed handling would deteriorate further.
