Mercedes in Racing actionMonday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Lamborghini New Models
Thanks to the nice people at Lamborghini, Manchester a pleasant change from eating - driving three latest models from the Audi-owned Italian supercar maker at Millbrook Proving Ground in the Midlands.There were a couple of surprises - the first a chance to meet an old friend, Valentino Balboni, Lambo's legendary test driver and the man who developed the racing Diablo SVR I used to race. This guy is so famous that when he "retired" Lamborghini developed a "Valentino Balboni" special edition of the Guillardo - but more of that later.
The occasion was meant really for potential customers - not liggers like me. So the deal is a professional driver sits alongside as the nervous would be buyer samples 500 brake horsepower around the sinuous curves and ferocious gradients of the alpine handling course. Which is fine, except that I'm not nervous and am soon going much faster than the now nervous pro driver thinks is appropriate.
All fine after some explanations of my cv.
So back to the cars. The basic Galliardo - if that is not a contradiction - is a revelation to someone who last sat in a Lambo before the Germans took over. The Diablo was an incredible bit of kit - but things like the interior, electronics, fit and finish were a bit hit and miss. The whole point of the thing really was to look and sound fantastic and go faster than pretty much anything else on the road. All of which it did supremely well. As a car to use everyday it was, frankly, hopeless.
The Guillardo, quite thoroughly up-dated for 2010, changes all that. For a start it is tiny and beautifully, exquisitely fabricated. To say it is better than anything Audi build themselves is meant as very high praise. Secondly there is a driving position that normal sized people can get comfortable in - another Lamborghini first. There is also a reminder how far the latest paddle controlled gearboxes in supercars have improved over the last five years. The two others I have driven, Aston Martin and Ferrari, were respectively a bit sluggish and unnatural and too ferocious for comfortable driving.The gearbox in the Guillardo is so precise, so rapid and so intuitive that I'm, for the first time, sure I'd take this not a manual. It blips the throttle in down changes to give that authentic racing driver heel and toe sensation.
What else? Well this was a customer day not a race track outing so the handling wasn't properly tested but I can't imagine any customer ever complaining. Whether you'd trade in the Porsche 911 Turbo while adding about £50k to the bill is a difficult question. The fact is that the Lambo is SPECIAL and that costs.
Next up was the Superlegerra - or superlight. This has a bit more or less of everything than the ordinary model. Lots of beautiful carbonfibre inside with lightweight and more controlling seats, a bit more power (562bhp), a bit more stiffness on the suspension settings.
It is more expensive but definitely worth it. Attacking the track there is an immediate benefit with a sharper, dartlike turn-in to corners. My perception - I didn't ask - is that the gearchange is also quicker. A fantastic drive ended with a glimpse of 185 mph at the end of the proving ground straight - about 15 mph more than the standard car.
Then a complete change. To be honest the idea of a convertible, drop top Lamborghini has never appealed. These cars are for driving fast not for posing - well they are to me anyway. And for driving fast you need a roof over your head.
But with those limitations taken on board Lamborghini have made a pretty good job of things with the Guillardo Spyder. Roof down the car looks if anything even more dramatic than its sister models. Scuttle shake is totally absent and 100 plus mph comfortable without too much disruption to the hair-do. The big surprise is how the open-top drives. The suspension is much softer - maybe even a little too soft for me at the rear and gear changes under full-bore acceleration brought a little back-end shimmy as the next ratio slotted in. The result is a surprisingly nice cruiser.
Finally the chance to ride with Valentino is "his" car the Balboni edition. This is one for the purest. Unlike all other Guillardos this is rear, not four wheel drive. It is also lighter and has more power than the basic but not quite as much as the Superleggera models which interestingly is lighter even with 4 wheel drive showing just how seriously they have taken the "lightness" route.
I'd never driven with Valentino before - although tales of his reducing strong men to tears are legendary. As are the insiders' tales of the trail of devastation he sometimes leaves behind him. In the event everything was as I expected. This guy has driven every Lamborghini for maybe the last thirty years. So, of course, he's quick - but not too scary. The revelation to me was the brakes. He was braking far later than I had been doing - utterly confident in the power of the ceramic brakes. I asked him how many laps of the circuit it would take before they faded. He thought for a minute - "never, I don't think."
The racing Diablo used to lunch its brakes in about two laps at Monza so there is real progress when a road car - albeit an extreme model like this - has better brakes than a racing car of 10 years ago.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Latest Sport Cars – 15 Cool New Cars Introduce in 2008
This is an amazing year for cars lovers, so far, 15 new supercars were introduced in 2008 and you can view all of them below. Though these sport cars didn't make the list for the fastest cars in the world nor the most expensive, they are still great to look at and I'm sure you would love to take one of these cars home. Some of the cars below will not be made for public, but the idea and concept is there. The list will start from the beginning of the year to the most recent car that was just introduce.
Mazda Furai Concept
Mazda Furai, Japanese for 'Sound of the wind'. People generally equate Mazda with cheap, this car is here to prove them wrong. This looks more like a drunken Batmobile than a regular sport car.
Audi R8 V12 TDI Concept
Great concept car with a V12 TDI engine, which produces 500 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. It can sprints to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and it is describes as ergonomic and elegant because the interior's design is as sporty and exclusive as the exterior. The precision chassis of the Audi R8 V12 TDI concept remains ultimately in control of the sporty performance, but is also capable of assuring relaxed driving pleasure over long distances. This car looks sweet.
Mercedes-Benz SL600
Mercedes-Benz continue producing it legendary sports cars and will release a new version of the SL600 this spring with a V12 engine. Performance, luxury, refinement, just three of the outstanding characteristics of the SL600.
Gemballa Avalanche GTR 800 EVO-R
This new supercar is the latest upgrade of the Porsche 911 Turbo, extreme tuning takes the Flat-6 turbocharged engine to 850 hp. . The 911 Turbo engine has been replaced with a bigger one of 3.8L and replaced the standard blow dryers with a pair of Garret T035 turbos. Not sure how much this piece of machine will cost yet, but it will definitely be up there among one of the most expensive cars due to it performance.
Maserati Chicane Concept by IED
The graduate students from the Instituto Europeo di Design (IED) unleashed their new design which beat out many competitors and won themselves sponsorship and a spot at the Geneva show to show off their talent.
Morgan LIFEcar
"A concept car with zero emission and also fun to drive." That's what the British said. Who say going green is boring? The new architectural design helps reduce fuel consumption and may create a new trend for the future.
Mazda Furai Concept
Mazda Furai, Japanese for 'Sound of the wind'. People generally equate Mazda with cheap, this car is here to prove them wrong. This looks more like a drunken Batmobile than a regular sport car.
Audi R8 V12 TDI Concept
Great concept car with a V12 TDI engine, which produces 500 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. It can sprints to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and it is describes as ergonomic and elegant because the interior's design is as sporty and exclusive as the exterior. The precision chassis of the Audi R8 V12 TDI concept remains ultimately in control of the sporty performance, but is also capable of assuring relaxed driving pleasure over long distances. This car looks sweet.
Mercedes-Benz SL600
Mercedes-Benz continue producing it legendary sports cars and will release a new version of the SL600 this spring with a V12 engine. Performance, luxury, refinement, just three of the outstanding characteristics of the SL600.
Gemballa Avalanche GTR 800 EVO-R
This new supercar is the latest upgrade of the Porsche 911 Turbo, extreme tuning takes the Flat-6 turbocharged engine to 850 hp. . The 911 Turbo engine has been replaced with a bigger one of 3.8L and replaced the standard blow dryers with a pair of Garret T035 turbos. Not sure how much this piece of machine will cost yet, but it will definitely be up there among one of the most expensive cars due to it performance.
Maserati Chicane Concept by IED
The graduate students from the Instituto Europeo di Design (IED) unleashed their new design which beat out many competitors and won themselves sponsorship and a spot at the Geneva show to show off their talent.
Morgan LIFEcar
"A concept car with zero emission and also fun to drive." That's what the British said. Who say going green is boring? The new architectural design helps reduce fuel consumption and may create a new trend for the future.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
The Best Sports Car in the World?
With the return of the legendary 'GTO' badge to a Ferrari for 2010, the question being asked by most people familiar with sports cars and Ferrari in particular is, 'is this the best sports car in the world?'The model lucky enough to get the GTO treatment and wear the badge is Ferrari's two seat flagship the 599 GTB Fiorano. The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano was introduced in 2006 to replace the 575 Maranello. In it's first year the 599 won the Evo car of the year, Evo being the premiere Magazine in Britain focusing on driver oriented cars and a global authority on performance cars.
So the 599 GTB was already a great supercar when it first appeared in 2006, featuring a 5999cc V12 positioned at the front of the car longitudinally. It develops 611bhp and 448lb ft of torque and all of that power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a 6 speed manual transmission or Ferrari's 6 speed 'F1 Superfast' automated manual transmission with paddle shifters.
The 599 GTB also features magnetorheological dampers which are dampers filled with magnetorheological fluid and controlled by a magnetic field. So by varying the strength of the electromagnet emitting the magnetic field you can adapt individual dampers to continuously altering conditions. This semi active suspension is critical on the 599 GTB in compensating for the basic physics of having the engine out in front of you feeding the driving wheels behind you.
The 599 GTB Fiorano is capable of reaching 60mph from rest in 3.5 seconds and can go on to reach 100mph 2.9 secs later, so from 0 to 100mph in 7.4 secs. It also has a top speed of 205mph.
The only 2 other cars to wear the GTO badge were the race bred 250 GTO in 1962 band the 288 GTO in 1984, both of which are rare and extremely sought after these days. GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omologata and derives from the 2 previous models which were built as homologation specials to allow Ferrari to race them.
The 599 GTO gets the detuned version of the race car spec 599XX 722bhp engine but still produces 670bhp with 457 lb ft of torque. The transmission is a 6 speed paddle shift auto manual with an uprated 60 millisecond gear change time. This will allow the car to hit 60mph in 3.35 secs and will probably be able to hit 100mph from standstill in 6.5 secs and will go on to hit 208mph.
The 599 GTO has a bespoke 6 into 1 exhaust manifold and no doubt will sound fantastic. The underside of the car has also seen some changes to allow the maximum amount of down force to be generated with the minimum amount of drag, so there are no overt or obvious racetrack addenda such as a high rear wing but still the car can generate 144kg of down force at 120mph.
In order to extract the maximum performance from all areas of the car, the Ferrari relies heavily on its VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control) system and it's F1-Trac traction control to exploit the chassis's razor sharp responses. The car relies on the constant adjustments being made its electronic systems to keep everything in check and pointing forward (or sideways if you are a particularly talented driver).
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Buying a Used Acura
The Acura was launched in 1986 as Hondas luxury brand. If you're looking at buying a used Acura the line up includes a large choice of sedans, sports cars and SUV's. Established models such as the TL & CL are available at a wide range of prices.Acura CL
The Acura CL introduced in 2000, as an early 2001 model was a little bigger and heavier than its forerunner the new CL preserved the four seat layout and generally retained its appearance. The "CL" denotes "contemporary luxury" with a host of features as standard including leather upholstery, heated front seats, power sunroof, Xenon headlights, climate control (automatic), heated mirrors and a six disc CD changer (in-dash). Also as standard were anti-lock all disc brakes, traction control and front side airbags. The engine unit was basically the TL sedans 3.2 liter V6 with an impressive 225 horsepower. The only optional extra available was an in-dash navigation system with touch screen controls.
Acura MDX
The Acura MDX was designed to compete specifically with the Lexus RX300 and several other car-based SUV models. The Acura MDX, "Multi Dimensional Luxury" is based on the Honda Odyssey minivan. In the engine department you're looking at a 3.5 liter V6, 240 horsepower with a five speed automatic transmission. Towing capacity is an impressive 3500 pound trailer or 4500 pound boat. The Acura MDX comes with VTM-4 (standard variable torque management 4 wheel drive) designed to sense imminent wheel slippage and upon doing so will send 52% of the power to the rear wheels when required. Also a rear wheel locking device provides maximum traction below 6mph however low gearing was excluded. Standard features include leather interior, powered front bucket seats (heated), powered sunroof, front side airbags, anti-locking all-disc brakes, rear air conditioning, heated mirrors and a CD player. The Touring package came with optional driver's seat and mirror memory, in dash six disc CD and roof rack with the navigation in dash system with touch screen as a factory option. Seating and storage included second and third row bench seats as standard that folded into the rear cargo area, both seats are split so sections can be used as required for passengers and cargo.
Acura TL
The TL is Acura's best-selling car and was upgraded for 2004 with a redesign including new styling, increase in power and more standard safety features. The engine unit in all models 2004 onwards is the 3.2 liter V6 delivering 270 brake horsepower as opposed to 225 and 260 on previous models. Standard features include leather interior, heated front seats, aluminium interior trim, sunroof, front and curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes, anti-skid system and 17 inch alloy wheels. Additionally the Acura TL also came with satellite radio, in dash CD/DVD audio disc player, and a hands free wireless link with the audio system for cell phones. Manual transmission models were available with high performance tires. Voice activated navigation system was a factory optional extra.
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