Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Lancia gets wet in Venice with model Catrinel Menghia and Martini Racing [w/VIDEO]]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/06/lancia-gets-wet-in-venice-with-model-catrinel-menghia-and-martin/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/06/lancia-gets-wet-in-venice-with-model-catrinel-menghia-and-martin/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/06/lancia-gets-wet-in-venice-with-model-catrinel-menghia-and-martin/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Lancia di Lancia launches in Venice - Click either image for high-res image gallery

Considering that somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of the earth's surface is covered by water - and that, if the global warming alarmists are right, that proportion of aqua to terra firma will only increase - it should come as no great surprise that the world's automakers and their designers have been setting sail on the open sea. Recent examples have included 28-foot speedboats and 135-foot catamaran megayachts penned by Porsche Design, sailboats and motor yachts from BMW DesignWorks USA, and speedboats from former Jaguar and Spyker supercar designers. The list goes on and on, and probably will continue to grow until we get the go-ahead to spin off Aquablog.

The latest pair - both rigid inflatables measuring over 40 feet long and packing ludicrous power - come from the collaboration between Italian shipyard SACS Marine and the Fiat Group: a white, outboard-powered open-plan tender for Abarth and a sleek black vessel for Lancia. The latter shares its nautical name with the motor launches that navigate the canals and waterways of Venice in the place of cars on any other city's streets. And that's just the venue the Italian automaker chose to launch - in every sense of the word - its stunning speedboat, during the international film festival it sponsored there this weekend.

As we reported a couple of weeks ago, the Lancia di Lancia is a 13-meter rigid inflatable speedboat packing a pair of 560hp 6.7-liter 24-valve common-rail six-cylinder turbodiesels from Fiat Powertrain Technologies. It's capable of carrying 11 passengers on board in unparalleled style and topping out at 55 knots - impressive for an eight-and-a-half ton vessel, and easily the most dramatic vehicle to bear the Lancia name in decades. So much so, in fact, that Lancia and its onetime iconic sponsor Martini Racing rekindled their relationship for this speedboat. And just for kicks, they brought along Romanian supermodel Catrinel Menghia - the face of Giorgio Armani and Lise Charmel lingerie - for a cruise around the picturesque canals. You can enjoy the results in the high-resolution image gallery below and in the quartet of videos embedded (along with a press release) after the jump.


Gallery: Lancia di Lancia speedboat launches in Venice

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[Source: Lancia]

Continue reading Lancia gets wet in Venice with model Catrinel Menghia and Martini Racing [w/VIDEO]

Lancia gets wet in Venice with model Catrinel Menghia and Martini Racing [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>boatcatrinel menghiaCatrinelMenghiafiatfiat groupfiat powertrain technologiesFiatGroupFiatPowertrainTechnologiesfptlancialancia di lancialancia veniceLanciaDiLanciaLanciaVenicemartinimartini racingMartiniRacingnauticalribsacssacs marinesacs powershoreSacsMarineSacsPowershoreshipspeedboatvenicevenice film festivalvenice international film festivalVeniceFilmFestivalVeniceInternationalFilmFestivalwaterSun, 06 Sep 2009 18:37:00 EST<![CDATA[Ferrari breaks speed records ... on water]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/20/ferrari-breaks-speed-records-on-water/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/20/ferrari-breaks-speed-records-on-water/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/20/ferrari-breaks-speed-records-on-water/#commentsFiled under: ,

click above image for a few more pics of Molinari's Ferrari boat

So the prancing horse is having a little trouble on the track, but its engines aren't having any problems at all on the water. Speedboat designer Eugenio Molinari, using a production engine from an F430, broke the running kilometer world records in two categories on Lake Como, Italy. At 1,100 kg, he ran the kilo at 123.3 km/h, and at 1,450 kg, he did 122 km/h. The feats were dedicated by Molinari to Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari CEO, and the marque during its 60th anniversary year. A bit of trivia: 35 years ago, Molinari designed the first boat to house a Lamborghini engine taken from an Espada.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Gallery: Molinari Ferrari Boat


Ferrari breaks speed records ... on water originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>boatcomof430lakeMolinarirecordswaterWed, 20 Jun 2007 16:37:00 EST<![CDATA[Autoblog Night Watch: Water powered jet car]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/12/autoblog-night-watch-water-powered-jet-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/12/autoblog-night-watch-water-powered-jet-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/12/autoblog-night-watch-water-powered-jet-car/#commentsFiled under: ,



We really don't know where to begin with this one. We thought we'd seen every conceivable form of motivation, then this comes along and it seems to defy description. The video is courtesy of Streetfire.net, who contends that beneath all that pimperific body work, lives a water-propelled, jet-powered Peugeot 206. Our minds are reeling in an attempt to understand the technical hurdles of such a vehicle. Check the video, then speculate in 'comments'.

[Source: Streetfire.net]

Autoblog Night Watch: Water powered jet car originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Oct 2006 01:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>jet carJetCarpeugeotwaterThu, 12 Oct 2006 01:51:00 EST