1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:03,560 Speaker 1: Get smarter in sixty seconds with brain Stuff from how 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: stuffworks dot com. Hi, I'm Marshall brain GM has announced 3 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:11,959 Speaker 1: the two thousand nine Corvette z R one and it 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: looks spectacular. The most obvious thing that you can see 5 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: from the outside is the amount of carbon. The hood, 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: the front fenders, and the roof are all made of 7 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 1: carbon instead of fiberglass. All that carbon makes the car lighter. 8 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: The second thing you see from the outside of the brakes, 9 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: which are massive and made of carbon ceramic compound. The 10 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: third thing you see is the engine, part of which 11 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: is visible through a small window in the hood. Opening 12 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 1: the hood, you can see it in all its glory. 13 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: It's a six point two leader eight cylinder power plant 14 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: able to produce six and twenty horsepower. The key to 15 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: producing that much horsepower is a supercharger. Think of a 16 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: supercharger as a big air pump that pressurizes the air 17 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: coming into the engine. More air coming in means that 18 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: the engine can burn more a saline per stroke. To 19 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: make it even better, there's an intercooler attached to the supercharger. 20 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 1: The intercooler is a system that cools down the pressurized 21 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 1: air to make it even denser. Add all this together 22 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: and you have a light car with huge power that 23 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,320 Speaker 1: can go over two miles per hour. It should be 24 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: able to go from zero to sixty in less than 25 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: three and a half seconds. Do you have any ideas 26 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,400 Speaker 1: or suggestions for this podcast? If so, please send me 27 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: an email at podcast at how stuff works dot com. 28 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics, go 29 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: to how stuff works dot com.