Autoblog

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How do you top a car like the Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster? It's simply one of the most desirable supercars on the market. But while the terms "practicality" and "Lamborghini" don't belong anywhere in the same sentence, the topless Raging Bull's roof is something best considered only for emergencies – just when the contraption's complicated installment procedures prove most frustrating (or so we hear).

Coming to the rescue are the American coachbuilders at Genaddi, who've designed a special roof for the special supercar. If the name rings any bells, Genaddi is responsible for such intriguing open-air conversions as the Corvette LSR Roadster, Maybach 62 cabriolet and the (limited) production version of the Ford GTX1 concept.

Genaddi's design for the Murcielago is far less complicated, but from the description, its simplicity could be its most redeeming quality. Made of carbon fiber, the six panels are designed to fit under the front hood of the roadster so it can be taken along with the car. They can be mounted in different configurations – completely open, completely closed, T-top or targa – and include a rear glass window. Genaddi expects to put the roof into production in May, when it will sell for $26,000.

Yes, that's enough to buy a decent complete car, but it's a small price to pay if it means getting more use out of your Lamborghini. And that's a worthy cause which we here at Autoblog support whole-heartedly.

Check out the press release after the jump and more images in the high-res gallery below.

a 1941 Ford with organic plastic body panels

Okay, let's get the spliff jokes out of the way - there's lots of stuff made from hemp, and it won't get you high. It would be nice to swap plastic off-gassing for an entirely more pleasant type of new car smell, though. Don't get your hopes up for a Ford you can smoke, however. What's really going on is research into building cars from renewable organic materials that are also more easily recycled than the metal and petrochemical parts from which that cars are currently constructed.

The effort has Ford teaming with the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and hemp fiber supplier Hemcore. The DEFRA is throwing about £500,000 (roughly $1 million) at the effort, and Ford already has experience using plant matter to build auto bodies. There was a prototype in 1941 with a plastic body fashioned from plant material. We wonder what a rush to plant matter body materials will do to the price of crops; much the same way the E85 push has caused the price of corn to increase. It would be nice, however, to have plastics that can be more easily reused, and may biodegrade instead of plugging up landfills for millennia.

[Source: Winding Road]

It ain't over till the fat lady sings, and although it promises to be a real screamer, TVR's seductress is anything but fat. We were pleased to bring you earlier information on the upcoming Typhoon, and now more details and computer-generated preview images have surfaced.

Once it hits production, the Typhoon will be TVR's first completely computer-designed car, helping the automaker fine-tune the aerodynamics to a more efficient extent. Power will come from TVR's 4-liter inline-six, only with a big nasty supercharger pumping horsepower up to 600 and torque up to 500 lb-ft. Supercharger or no supercharger, six hundred horses out of a six-cylinder engine is no mean feat, and the engine specialists at Ricardo helped along the way.

Follow the jump for the rest of the story and some additional renderings of the Typhoon.

[Source: evo]