Geneva 2011: Sbarro's Evoluzione Shows Lamborghini How It's Done

Swiss automobile builder Sbarro, in league with the Espera Sbarro design school, has brought a very interesting concept to the Geneva Motor Show this year: the Evoluzione. The prototype seen here is an eye-popping mix of various themes: it takes Lamborghini's recent efforts at making drivable razors, puts in a spoonful of motorcycle, and then adds McLaren F1-style seating.

Sbarro's Evoluzione took thirteen weeks to complete with twenty-five students working in teams on both the engineering and design sides of the project. Pierre Guenebaut, a teacher at the design school, explains, "Being present at the Geneva Motor Show is a reward for them. They will have the opportunity to explain their project to the public while investing in relationships and communication."

The delightfully naked rear end houses a 180 horsepower 1.8T sourced from Audi. In front of the engine are three staggered Recaros with the driver front and center, flanked by two "wingman" passenger seats.

Rolling on what appear to be 20-inch OZ's, this funky three-seater makes Lamborghini's Aventador look downright boring.

By Phil Alex

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Geneva 2011: Audi A3 Concept Packs 408 Horsepower, Previews Production Model

Audi has officially unveiled its new A3 concept sedan at the Geneva motor show, teasing us with a new, attractive, entry-level AWD four-door to complement its A3 lineup and put Mercedes' small cars in the closet. The concept measures 4.44 meters long, 1.84 meters wide, and 1.39 meters high, and makes use of a lot of CFRP.

That carbon fiber-reinforced plastic finds its way into the grille, front air intakes, 20-inch wheels, side mirrors, and rear diffuser, while aluminum highlights can be found inside and out.

Under the hood are a 2.5-liter turbocharged 5-cylinder (300 kW / 408 horsepower ; 500 Nm / 369 lb-ft) and 7-speed S tronic transmission which help hurl the car to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.1 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). Efficiency figures go like this: 9.1 liters/100 km (25.85 US mpg), with 212 grams CO2 / km (341.18 g/mile) in emissions.

Chassis improvements are derived from Audi's RS3 pocket rocket, using McPherson struts and a lot of aluminum up front and a four-link setup in back with steel control arms.

Inside the light, conservative interior are four sports seats, a customizable information display between the speedo and tach housed behind the sporty steering wheel, and reportedly plenty of space due to a longest-in-class wheelbase of 2.63 meters. The A3 concept sedan also has 410 liters / 14.48 cubic feet of trunk storage capacity.

The backs of the front seats have one really neat feature for fans of Steve Jobs: iPad holders. After all, this car is a wireless hot spot and surfing the internet on your iPhone is so 2009. Between those front buckets reside the knob and touchpad for the MMI multimedia system, which controls the snazzy screen that raises out of the top of the dashboard.

Scroll on down for live pics, while more official info should be out later this year.

By Phil Alex

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