Autoblog

Richard Owen of Supercars.net recently visited the Marconi Museum in Tustin, California and discovered one of its hidden gems, a Sultan of Brunei custom Ferrari FX. Richard explains the history of this technological tour de force and gives us some insight into the bizarre story of the Sultan and his massive collection of one-offs, custom-builts, exotics and supercars that numbered in the thousands. The whole collection was estimated to have cost some $28 billion. This particular jewel started life as a Ferrari 512M but was so extensively modified that the new FX nomenclature was used. And being the Sultan, this is just number four of seven nearly identical models he had commissioned. Pininfarina redesigned the body and the Williams F1 crew was tabbed to do some mechanical tweaking.

The cars started life at Pininfarina where the new aluminum and carbon fiber bodies were mated to a 512M platform. The Sultan's brother, Prince Jefri, then took the car to Williams where it was fitted with a sequential gearbox similar to their Formula 1 unit. But this car never finished the cycle. The Sultan's buying days had come to an abrupt halt while the car was still at Williams and that's where Dick Marconi came in. The sole dark blue FX in the bunch, it was purchased by Herbalife founder, ex-boxer and sometime racer, Dick Marconi, for his Southern California museum. And there it sits for anyone to see. Check out supercars.net for more photos and details. And if you're ever in Southern California, make sure you stop by the Marconi Museum. All Museum donations go to support the Marconi Foundation for Kids, which provides funds to at risk youth.

[Source: Supercars.net]

The dual-clutch gearbox's popularity has grown immensely over the past three years and that popularity only stands to grow. Average motorists have enjoyed the DSG's smooth shifting and economical fuel consumption, while enthusiasts appreciate the trick technology and uber-quick gear changes. Volkswagen already announced that they plan on replacing all their automatic transmission vehicles with DSG in the next five years and here's a stat for you -- half of all GTIs sold are equipped with paddle shifters.

DaimlerChrysler has recognized the benefits of the DSG over conventional, torque converter-equipped automatics and has decided to invest $560 million in a new assembly plant in Kokomo, Indiana to manufacturer their own version of the DSG. Partnering with Getrag, the automaker plans on creating 700,000 units annually, with production set to begin in 2009. The models that stand to benefit from the new transmission are primarily front-wheel drive vehicles, including the Avenger, Sebring and all manner of minivan. Additionally, the transmission will find an ideal partner with D.C.'s new Phoenix V6 engine, which will also make an appearance in 2010.

Industry analysts recognize that the greatest source of competition with DSGs are the continuously variable transmissions (CVTs), but one expert cited in Automotive News expects that the number of DSG-equipped vehicles in the U.S. will rise from it's current 0.2-percent to 3.3-percent by 2012. The more the merrier in our eyes.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]