Something for the family, sir?In the 2000s JSC was focusing more and more on series production and on expanding its road car lineup. Following what they started almost 30 years ago, in 2008 a new sports saloon was intruduced, called JSC Veloggio. The name was an amalgam of Italian words "Veloce" and "Viaggio" roughly translated to fast travel. The car was marketed as an alternative to Mercedes' and BMW's more expensive mid-class products. What JSC brought into the game was an elegant, high quality grand tourer that could sit five people in comfort but deliver enough speed to still be interesting to even hard core drivers. There were two model variants available, the Veloggio 8S and the Veloggio Turbo. Using their "customer spec" engines JSC was able to provide plenty of unstressed V8 power without breaking the bank.
Intruducing the 2008 JSC VeloggioThe 2008 JSC Veloggio offered a premium grand tourer in a very compact size. Low drag coefficient helped the Giancarlo Zotti -styled GT reach speeds of over 280 km/h.BODYHigh-strength steel was used for the Veloggio's unibody frame. On the sheet metal, it was steel again but with aluminum doors, bonnet and roof. The structure was very strong but not the lightest body seen on a sports saloon - total weight was 1717 kg despite all the aluminum parts. Only 4.5 meters long, this was definitely a compact family GT. The styling by Giancarlo Zotti achieved a very low drag coefficient which helped performance immensely. Styling language implied power, prosperity and classical elegance.
The radiator grille was a heavily influenced by 1966's Predator 3750 C. Headlights had a new design with xenon projector full beams and led half beams.CHASSISThe suspension layout was an evolution of JSC's "Tempesta" grand tourer design introduced in 1983. At the front there were double wishbones and rear had semi-trailing arms. The system was simple and relatively light while providing enough sporty feel for enthusiastic drivers. Progressive coil springs were utilized with anti-roll bars. The shock absorbers were adaptive according to road conditions. Brakes came with Brembo's new 3-piston calipers in the front and all-round ventilated discs. Altogether the Veloggio offered high speed stability and ample comfort. It was not a sports car but what it did was combine the needs associated with family sedans and grand tourers. The simple suspension layout also made sure the upkeep costs would be reasonable.
There was adequate cargo space available for family touring. The rear seat had a folding mechanism and the shock absorbers had a load-sensing function to improve handling when fully loaded.POWER TRAINEngine was straight from JSC's customer lineup, the 8C35. Fitted here in its 2004 iteration (or Generation V) specification the 3.5 liter all-aluminum V8 made 350 horsepower normally aspirated. Although the redline was a supercar-like 8200 rpm, that was just variable valve system saying we've got power in the upper register too. In fact there was a minimum of 285 Nm available from 2000 rpm all the way to redline. At 4800 rpm the "sports" cam timing came on giving sports car performance with it but below that rpm the engine was docile, smooth and extremely responsive. It ran on normal 95-octane fuel and had no special service requirements. Together with the slippery body a fuel consumption figure of 9.4 liters /100 km was achieved on the combined cycle.
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viewtopic.php?f=34&t=9311The Veloggio was rear wheel drive only, like all JSC's grand tourers. By fitting the engine as far rearwards as possible, almost touching the firewall, a near-perfect 51/49 weight distribution was achieved. The rear differential featured a viscous coupling for increased grip and naturally there was also traction control and ESP. Gearbox was ZF's 6-speed double-clutch sequential system. To emphasize the car's grand touring nature the gearbox was used in fully automatic mode exclusively. Manual mode with paddle shifters was available as an extra. 19-inch alloy wheels had 235 mm tires all round.
The Veloggio Turbo had widened wheel arches and larger front intakes to allow airflow to the intercooling system. Wheels were now in 20-inch size with 265 mm rear tyres. 450 horsepower provided sufficient performance.PERFORMANCEThe Veloggio didn't have a top speed limiter so it went all the way up to 282 km/h before running out of steam. 0-100 came up in 5.5 seconds and quarter mile took 13.7 seconds. Braking from 100 km/h to zero was accomplished in 34 meters.
The rear differential was upgraded to electronic control in the Turbo. Paddle shifters were standard as were sports tires. The Turbo would run a standing kilometer in under 23 seconds. Veloggio TurboThe 44VT450 version of the 8C35 V8 engine was used on the Turbo variant - basically it was simply the same 3.5 liter unit used in the 8S but with different pistons and twin turbos. Liquid intercooling allowed running a 10.0 compression ratio which translated to excellent low-rpm responsiveness. Max power was 450 hp /7700 rpm and max torque 441 Nm /6600 rpm. Top speed rose to 293 km/h and the improved rear differential helped the Turbo accelerate to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds and a quarter mile in 12.8 seconds. Bigger brake discs were fitted and the suspension was re-tuned. The Turbo could still do 10.7 liter average consumption on the combined cycle.
SPECIFICATIONS - VELOGGIO 8S