Autoblog

Click for more images of the Pininfarina Sintesi

Pininfarina has confirmed the three new shareholders who will take stake in the company as part of its 100 million euro capital increase. As we reported previously, Piero Ferrari, son of the late Enzo Ferrari and vice-chairman of the eponymous Maranello sportscar firm, and Alberto Bombassei, chairman of the Brembo brakes company, will take shares, in addition to the Marsiaj family at the helm of Italian seatbelt manufacturer Sabelt.

The increased capital will finance the development and production of the upscale electric minicar Pininfarina will produce together with French industrial group Bollore and Indian automaker Tata. The car is expected to begin production in 2010 with 2000 units, ramping up to a full capacity of 15,000 units by 2012 with sales in the United States, Europe and Japan. Although the size of each new shareholder's stake has yet to be confirmed, the shares will come out of the Pininfarina family's 55% ownership.

[Source: Automotive News Europe - Sub. Req.]

When you build a car with as much velocity potential as a Ferrari, the ability to dissipate kinetic energy is just as important as the ability to accumulate it. Brakes work by transforming kinetic energy into heat energy, at least some of which is absorbed by the rotors and pads. As the temperature of the brakes increases they lose effectiveness. Engineers developed carbon ceramic brakes, originally implemented on race cars, and offer tremendous stopping power with much improved fade resistance.

Carbon brakes have been available as an option on many models from Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari for several years and were even standard on the likes of the Enzo. Now Ferrari is set to be the first manufacturer to make carbon brakes standard equipment across their lineup. At the Bologna Show, Ferrari General Manager Amedeo Felisa announced that starting in 2008, all the cars wearing the Prancing Horse would come out of the factory with carbon ceramic brakes supplied by Brembo.

[Source: CarScoop]

It seems that BMW wants to join the Brembo club, so in an all-too-brief blurb, Reuters is reporting that the Bavarians will begin to equip their vehicles with Italy's famed stoppers. There's no indication about what particular models will be graced with Brembo setups, but in keeping with tradition, expect to find the telltale red calipers behind the wheels of BMW's M-modified models. We can't help but find it coincidental that this news comes mere days after Brembo bought Hayes Lemmerz's North American brake-components division. Apparently the price may officially be right.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Consolidation of aftermarket brake manufacturers seems to be all the rage recently, with Centric consuming both PowerSlot and Stoptech, and now, Brembo has bought out all of Hayes Lemmerz's North American brake-components division. The Italian parts manufacturer dolled out a cool $58 million for both the Homer, Michigan and Apodaca, Mexico facilities, and in the process acquired the company's 250 employees. We're hoping that the deal bodes well for those of us looking to upgrade our current stoppers with beefy, red Brembo calipers.

The full press release is posted after the jump.

click above image for high-res pics of the Lexus IS-F

When the Lexus IS-F debuted at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, it was wearing a set of black painted calipers branded with the Lexus name. When the car officially goes on sale in the second quarter of 2008, it will be wearing a set of gold painted Brembos. Toyota has officially cut a deal with big name brake manufacturer Brembo to supply the stopping power for its high-performance IS-F sedan. It's the first time Toyota and Brembo have partnered, which makes sense considering the only car from Toyota that could go fast enough to require big-name braking power was probably the last generation Supra.

Of course, having your car wear Brembos isn't just about achieving excellent stopping distances, it's also about getting the Brembo name on your calipers, which carries a lot of weight with performance-minded consumers. With this deal, Toyota will be infusing the Lexus IS-F with some instanst cachet right out of the gate, though there are plenty of other areas in which the car will need to perform well to earn its stripes.

[Source: just-auto, sub. req'd]

So, AutoExpress releases information today that says that the new GT-R will come in at £29,000... in Japan. We're not sure how that's going to equate in U.S. dollars (or yen, for that matter), but what was even more interesting was that they divulged the varying levels of trim that will be offered when the GT-R goes on sale next year.

The "entry-level" version will come equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox, four piston Brembos and the aforementioned £29,000 price tag. The next step up would be the £35,000 V-spec version, that gets a seven-speed DSG and six-piston stoppers, while the top o' the line Evolution package will get everything included in the V-spec, but will also come with lots of carbon fiber pieces to reduce weight. The GT-R Evolution will likely be priced over £50,000.

Again, we have no idea where these figures and trim levels came from, as AutoExpress only says that "sources" provided in the information. Whatev, we're still salivating.

[Source: AutoExpress]