The 3.8-liter, twin-turbo V8 engine shows through the rear lid of the car.

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It isn't clear what caused the fire, but Arturo Montiel, a spokesman for the highway patrol, said the fire was concentrated in the rear of the car, and not in the engine column.

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It's just hard to score in the luxury market when you refuse to do an eight-cylinder engine, wear undistinguished styling and don't offer a rear-wheel-drive car.

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The car uses two electric motors at the front axle to supplement the 480 horsepower rear-mounted engine.

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The winning design was submitted by Sangho Kim of Pasadena, California, and the result is a car with a 6.2-liter engine, eight cylinders, automatic transmission, rear-wheel drive and 430 horsepower.

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Mathematical models are used to simulate the rest of the car, from the gearbox and rear differential to the force exerted by the road, so that the engine is subjected to the same demands and forces as it would be in a real car.

ECONOMIST: Car design