Supercar
April 18th, 2011 at 08:45am
Under Ferrari+ Menufacturer+ Supercar
As I’m driving through hairpin corners in the Dolomite Mountains of the South Tyrol region of Italy, the Ferrari FF’s two-door wagon body style is the last thing on my mind, which is interesting because it’s probably the first thing anyone else would notice about the latest four-seater from Maranello. Instead, my most pressing thought, besides not dropping a $300,000 GT car off a cliff, is the FF’s four-wheel-drive system, which has so tamed the 651-hp V-12 engine that a tail-out hero photo of a drifting FF requires serious commitment with the stability control fully switched off. When the back end finally does come around, though, it does so in a predictable, gentle manner. In sport mode, the sportiest of the five chassis settings accessible via the steering-wheel-mounted manettino knob, the back of the car hardly wiggles on dry pavement.
But the first roadgoing Ferrari to put power to all four wheels doesn’t understeer like so many other four-wheel-drive sports cars. It’s actually mostly neutral through corners. Ferrari engineers repeatedly explained to us that the front wheels are used mostly for traction in bad weather and that power is otherwise shunted to the rear wheels as much as possible. Based on a cockpit display of power to the front wheels (we were told the display won’t be on customer cars), however, that’s not entirely true, as the system activates on almost every uphill corner if you request full power. Without the display, the only clue the FF isn’t rear-wheel drive is the aforementioned lack of oversteer. There’s no torque steer, no power-on push. And so it seems that the biggest compliment we can pay to the FF’s groundbreaking four-wheel drive is, paradoxically, that it’s not really a big deal.
What is a big deal, of course, is the FF’s body, a shape known to most of the world as a three-door hatchback, or a shooting brake. The latter term dates to the days of horses and carriages. In more modern times, it represents a sporty car in which a gentleman has enough room to carry his guns and hunting dogs. But Ferrari doesn’t necessarily prescribe a tweed jacket and a couple of hounds for customers (of which there will be about 1000 per year worldwide); it sees the FF simply as an evolution of the GT car with more cargo space and more mobility than its predecessor, the 612 Scaglietti, had. Heck, this Ferrari even has cruise control and cup holders. How’s that for progress?
Evolutionary Styling…and Chrysler Nav?
The V-12 sits entirely behind the front axle, and it resides within a snout that brings to mind cars like the original BMW M coupe or even the Jaguar E-type. Aside from the rear and its familiar round taillights, the Pininfarina-styled FF is an evolutionary step in styling away from Ferrari’s California and 458 Italia, with headlights that stretch back along the front fenders and functional vents and ducts scattered about. Inside, the nozzle-shaped vents recall those of the 612 Scaglietti as well as the 599GTO. But living among the vents on the dash, we find the FF’s biggest disappointment: a stereo-and-navigation unit common to the entire Chrysler family. It’s not only disgracefully downmarket but also not very good. Primary map functions, such as zooming in and out, must be done with fussy touchscreen buttons. The steering wheel, like the one in the 458 Italia, houses the turn-signal and wiper controls, leaving the giant paddle shifters as the only protrusions from the steering column. The instrument cluster features a giant center-mounted tachometer flanked by two high-resolution LCDs. The right display shows speed as a digital readout or a conventional dial, and it displays the rear camera’s feed when reverse is engaged. The left display shows accessory dials, navigation and trip information, and any warning lights. Front-seat passengers can be entertained by an optional screen that shows engine and vehicle speed or trip information.
The rear seats are accessed by pulling up big aluminum handles on the side of each front seat to move them forward electronically. Ingress to the rear involves basically falling into the snug seat, although once you’re planted, there’s plenty of head- and legroom. Rear passengers sit slightly higher than those up front, stadium-style, and well-behaved sub-six-footers should last a few hours without complaint, or perhaps longer with the optional rear-seat entertainment system. Taller folk will fit, albeit less comfortably. The rear seats fold in a 60/40 split and feature a center-section pass-through. Seats up, the FF’s 16 cubic feet of storage beat the Porsche Panamera’s 15.7, but the FF loses to the Porsche with the seats folded, 28 cubes to 45.
More Space and More Power than an Enzo
The FF’s engine shares its bore spacing and 65-degree -V angle with that of the Enzo and 599, but the FF gets a new block and heads plus direct injection. That and a 12.3:1 (!) compression ratio and an engine stop/start system result in a claimed 25-percent reduction in fuel consumption. We expect the FF to travel a few more mpg than the 612’s 9 mpg city/16 mpg highway EPA ratings. The FF’s V-12 is the most powerful Ferrari road-car engine ever built, with 651 hp at 8000 rpm and 504 lb-ft of torque at 6000 rpm. The latter seems lofty, but 369 lb-ft are available at 1000 rpm. The FF’s engine doesn’t lurch if you lift off the throttle near the 8000-rpm redline. Such behavior is particularly appreciated when you’re jumping on and off the go pedal just to hear the exhaust run through the six-into-one headers as you blast through a tunnel, which we did endlessly—or, for that matter, during a launch-control-enabled acceleration run, which we estimate will propel the FF to 60 in 3.5 seconds. We still have chills 24 hours after returning the keys.
The FF’s seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox sits at the rear of the car and is partly responsible for the 47/53-percent front-to-rear weight distribution. The electronic rear differential has been integrated into the gearbox housing, and all the chassis and powertrain control systems—for the magnetic adaptive shocks, stability control, four-wheel drive, and electronic differential—are integrated into a single module.
At the front of the engine lies a second transmission, and it’s this unit that makes the FF’s four-wheel-drive system so revolutionary. This so-called power transfer unit (PTU) consists of two forward gears (plus reverse) that route power through computer-controlled clutch packs, one for each front wheel. The lower of the two front gears is about six percent higher than second gear in the rear transaxle, and the higher gear is similarly taller than the rear’s fourth. For the first four forward gears, the PTU slips the clutches in low or high gear to match the rear-wheel speed and provide extra traction. At most, 20 percent of available torque can be sent forward.
Exorbitantly Priced Cars, Elaborate Demonstrations
As we mentioned, Ferrari stresses that the four-wheel-drive system is primarily intended to offer all-weather capability, even going so far as to helicopter two cars to the top of a ski slope and build a small winter-weather test track. On factory-approved Pirelli winter tires, the FF moves around without much trouble. In the manettino’s ice-and-snow setting, the FF stays well within the limits of grip, and the stability control acts so smoothly that little of the tussle for traction makes its way to the driver. (In the other settings—wet, comfort, sport, and ESC off—the FF demonstrates a more rotation-happy nature.) In low-grip situations, most cars generally understeer as the front tires lose traction, resulting in frequent car-on-snowbank action. In dry, high-grip situations, however, understeer is generally considered good for less-skilled drivers, in that it can be corrected by a person’s natural instinct to hit the brakes. Keeping this in mind, we find the snow driving reveals a neat trick in the 4WD system’s programming: The FF uses its four-wheel drive to reduce understeer in the snow and keep the handling predictable in the dry.
Absent wetness, the FF moves through corners effortlessly. Actually, the FF does pretty much everything with a smooth effortlessness. Whereas the 599 and 612 exhibit body roll and some reluctance to change direction, the FF’s front end responds sharply, and its cornering attitude is more composed. Some of this is due to the quick (2.3 turns lock-to-lock), perfectly precise steering, although it does lack some feel. Through corners, the steering wheel loads up only slightly, and bumps are completely isolated from the driver. It’s refined and suitable to the long-haul gran turismo driving mission of the FF, but we’d like a little more information for our fingertips. The brakes also want a bit for tactility, with a long pedal travel that requires increasing force to achieve ABS-level stopping. We’d prefer a shorter, stiffer brake pedal. But there’s no shortage of stopping power, and the third-generation Brembo carbon-ceramic discs are as easy to modulate as any carbon binders we’ve tried. Luckily, things like the brakes and transmission (it refused to downshift below fourth gear at highway speeds in full automatic mode) can still be tweaked before North American deliveries start in November.
Not Already in Line? Bummer
Of course, if you’ve been waiting to read our review before putting in your order for an FF, you’re going to wait a lot longer than November, as the first year of production is already sold out. But if you have the money, the FF is worth the wait. It’s not an all-out sports car like the 458 Italia (nor is it even as sporty as the Porsche Panamera), it doesn’t have the all-conquering comfort of cars in the Mercedes-Benz CL-class, and it’s not a wholly emotional car that transcends all subjective measures. But if you consider any of these things a priority, you can look elsewhere and find a number of more affordable and possibly quicker options. Those who remain in the Ferrari camp, however, will be rewarded with a highly exclusive car that has world-class performance, all-day comfort, and newfound all-weather capability. In evolving its GT car, Ferrari has hit the mark.
from : http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/11q1/2012_ferrari_ff-first_drive_review
By admin
February 10th, 2011 at 06:28am
Under Menufacturer+ Nissan+ Styles+ Supercar
Nissan, the dry bones of techno-speak, 2012 Nissan GT-R called the GT-R R35 (12MY M / C). Infectious is not it? R35-to two-door model is now known as Skyline (Japan only in the spirit of the previous R32-R34s). “12MY” model year 2012 refers, of course, and “M / C” “minor change” means to the resident and the chief engineer in accordance with the GT-R god Kazutoshi Mizuno.
That the “substantial change in a small” A little modesty of the Japanese touch can be, but is capable of. The biggest news for the power ‘12 GT-R is a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V-485 is completely ridiculous a jump on all absurd than 6, the USDA-guaranteed-or-what-530 arrests since the torque swells to ? 434, and 448-ft.
Follow-up on the road a large rocket to the steering and suspension tweaks to improve to build around the point is to the body reduced to a number of structural flex to prepare a number of changes to the aerodynamic design is clean, the suspension and electronic stability control systems, a number of changes – 274 pages on, I need you, so read the manual, Z-section ne more money for a number of new packages and.
Speaking of money, it is insignificant price: $ 2012 model year is the key to 2011 is based on more than 5890, which was invited by the Premier starts and $ 90,950. The new version is that the black starts to $ 96,100 is a red and black leather Recaro seats and a lounge, which has six wheels are lighter and, of course, black. body color, in order, black edition buyers choose any color can be a GT-R.
Feel the Rush
Sure feels like R35 GT-R (12MY M / C), the extra power is a six iron from behind and you feel cleansed. Nissan has signed to drive for about three seconds, a-0 – the media crowd gathered in front of the body passes in practice within the show and tried se-60-milia/ora run. The result? Horizontal three seconds. Mizuno is departed, who said that 2.9 was not as cold.
Uh, maybe. Otherwise, in February are aware, we have tried on their own when the time or the other hits ‘12 high model-3.0-old car in the second term.
In addition to the engine, a very minor changes to others. It’s a good thing for Nissan discs and drive to our day and even during a new car, so compare the 2011 model brought a few examples.
Preview the market in a production car, budget development and years of exhausting days after engineers decided to call the last paragraph. Improvements can always be eked budget and more time outside. This is the 2012 GT-R: the old GT-R, and a bit of time, plus three additional years, pretty much sucking wind the last of a sports car market and development because the extra money.
improvements and structural changes do not apply to those few bought him time and money. engine behind the double wall protection wall on the distal part of the bow reduces the cell a new carbon-fiber braces are die-cast aluminum front shock towers along Bondage. The Board cross-car mount and vibration brace can collect additional half a page of the transfusion, he gets the government and the buff-and leather-stitching appliqu coal? Clutch plate, which was a black plastic peasantlike ago.
Minor-Minor external changes, Too
third is the most obvious differences are the GT-R eyebrows are the two bright LED lights front bumper corners. Extra car next to the air longer chin spoiler and bumper corners of the same channel in the same wells at the bottom area of low pressure by increasing the aerodynamic lift and help to reduce the nose. had a wider grille openings above and below is the main and style, air flow and improve that part, but the underhood, brake cooling, to support that. Behind, drop the drag coefficient for the new diffuser extends from 0.27 to 0.26 by pressing the waning more unrest. It’s the fuel economy of 15 mpg city/21 highway to 16/23 to add one.
What is the real power Bump;
45 is actually a feat considering this is a bump VR38DETT hp V-6, an increasing pressure is mainly due to the turbo engine to cool better than it was possible. Peak impulse to 10.9 and 13.1 psi, and the diagram of the fuel mixture and timing grow. Mizuno 1 mm or more indicates the coolant flow path is the thermostat on the cylinder temperature compensation, which will help. airflow over a larger throttle body, depression, and refused.
Mizuno HR asked him how the machine has already hit on some machines, long ago and thought about the blogosphere means that, taking into account the GT-R 500, which is already above the CV. Usually chatty about where the problem was a rare Mizuno silent. However, the absolute bottom is a potential gas if you buy depends on the performance of one quarter mile. 94 octane pump, to be sold is not the problem. California, in 1991, is just picky about where you can dock, Mizuno, says other than some characters are better because. However, 530 is the company behind the HP all 50 states require.
beginning of the transmission are present, engineers have finessed and start performing normal driving promises smoother six-speed link has a dual effect of software Jackrabbit. Start-Control used car warranty covers, the language of the explosion and send stories of warranty caused the barriers and the GT-R debut since. Now, however, the software needed to open the 1.5 four miles for the car on the road easily. Nekbeschermingssysteem Mizuno driver, that’s what it says, and if this change will also move the temperatures of the growing desire to stop the suspect.
Suspension of the response to the edges of the center even more a sense of forward progress of the car in front of the bike business degrees from each other. Suspension flex rather the problem is, the GT-R, moved in front of the terminals of the shock effects on the absorption and stiffness increases the target for change outside the control group, aluminum shocks and is now instead of plastic bags, was extra rigidity. As I said, small details.
What Godzilla public smoking?
Now the front brake rotor diameter is 15.4 15.0 cm, and the GT-R is the spec tire of the world. Before the U.S. market for Bridgestone tires made the world and the Dunlops. But now the GT600 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx DSST run-flat all hams come from the GT-R.
resistance and improve the comfort of the alleged construction of structural change and the tires are checked. In this sense, “nice” GT-R is more relaxed and the suspension has been revised to clarify and Mizuno can say that the cigarette in comfort without shooting mode to follow the circle obviously an important criterion for testing.
We are not trying to test cigarettes a few pounds, but squiggliest models 2012 and 2011 in central California in the streets. As I said, change is a significant difference between the power of h. The Yankees rotation is the GT-R, more urgency is clear, still upset-Yee-ha!-Grip rubber against the Axis.
detection is difficult to send the changes. Street, sidewalk puddles and throw in a vulnerable and a little less nervous about life in 2012. until we checked it was not, but the young and old people back and they go where the GT-R, in the end all is revealed to the suspension of the amendments.
slightly organic feel to turn corners step up action in the area just for a little less robotic, and ’sense of control and stability throughout the more immediate improvements to real parts of the vehicle 12 is less fresh flex brake pedal when the brakes of the most direct, and, of course, but the lapping, a 3800-plus-picture pads quickly enough to start eating away the pounds back.
Big Hit Power, a gradual improvement
R35 GT-R (12MY M / C), semicolon corresponding improvement. The previous owners of the GT-R Message: you’re not ashamed of anything. Wow you have another vehicle alongside the Corvette Killer ballistic and even a new machine. Nissan and updates to help you determine the offer, I would say that the GT-R GT-R from 1.0 to 2.0. Kit is a announced a timetable for bids or not, is available in the U.S. and still undecided.
greatest hope for change, as the market category. GT-R has fallen dramatically in 2009 and 877 cars from 1534 to 1908 cars in 1730 fell to sell in the U.S.. Officially, the company did not criticize or blame, but Nissan is merciless a cash register ring 877 on the struggle for the piggy bank. we are grateful for the age of only Godzilla, more and more to do and live.
By admin
November 20th, 2010 at 07:26am
Under Bugatti+ Menufacturer+ Styles+ Supercar
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: mid-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe
BASE PRICE: $2,426,904
ENGINE TYPE: quad-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 64-valve W-16, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection
Displacement: 488 cu in, 7998 cc
Power (SAE net): 1200 bhp @ 6400 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 1106 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 7-speed dual-clutch automated manual
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 106.7 in Length: 175.7 in
Width: 78.7 in Height: 45.1–46.9 in
Curb weight: 4400 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 2.4 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 5.0 sec
Standing ?-mile: 9.7 sec
Top speed (governor limited): 258 mph
PROJECTED FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city/highway driving: 7/15 mpg
Sun-sopped Andalusia, home to Picasso and the flamenco, is a solitary landscape of rolling cordovan-hued hills stitched by vineyards and olive orchards and best explored on the back of a donkey. At 204 mph, Andalusia sprays at you in a brown and green smear.
At 204 mph, even freshly rolled pavement, paid for with lavish European Union loans, feels perilously lumpy as the subtle mounds and sags that are invisible at sane speeds become terrifying whoop-de-dos. At 204 mph, if you look down to check your speedometer for just one second, you’ll miss the next 299 feet. Our cerebral cortexes flirt with signal overload at 204, but a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is just getting its wind up and will accelerate another 54 mph before tripping its electronic speed limiter. Drop-down oxygen masks and lighted placards over the emergency exits just might make this thing FAA certifiable.
Apparently, it’s because the regular Veyron is such a pansy jellyfish of a car that Bugatti brings forth the Super Sport. The model will be the last word in Veyrons, representing the final 40 cars in a total production run of 300. Price: one hundred thousand trillion billion dollars, or it might as well be.
For the $2,426,904 a Super Sport costs (at the time of this printing), you could also buy 10 Ferrari 458 Italias and have $127,654 left over for lunch. In its quest to build the ultimate stroke job for the super-rich, the Molsheim operatives don’t seem very concerned with pragmatic constraints such as fiscal prudence or, indeed, the laws of physics.
For example, the Super Sport needed more than just another 20 horsepower to separate itself from the $1.7 million rental-fleet Veyron with its piddly 1001 ponies. Why not another thou? Bugatti probably considered it. But it was decreed that a 20 percent bump in output, to 1200 horsepower and 1106 pound-feet of torque is genug. Enough. So say the Germans who run Volkswagen’s crazy-bus subsidiary, and they don’t say that very often.
Consider these facts: Bugatti prices the Super Sport at 1.65 million euros and will charge the 10 to 12 expected American buyers based on the spot exchange rate. Thus, if the dollar softens by a mere cent against the euro, the car’s window sticker jumps more than $16,000.
Every U.S. Super Sport buyer also pays a 2.71 percent import duty, or about $62,000, plus a $51,000 delivery charge and $6400 in federal gas-guzzler tax. Adding an extra year to a regular Veyron’s two-year factory warranty costs about $70,000, though Super Sport buyers get it free.
A set of the Super Sport’s special Michelin tires cost $42,000 and may last 10,000 miles if you’re careful, though they last only 15 minutes at the car’s top speed (at that pace, however, the 26.4-gallon tank is sucked dry in just 10 minutes, and there’s no place on Earth to safely go that fast that long anyway, so no worries). At the third tire replacement, Michelin requires that you also swap out the $69,000 wheels—coincidentally, the only wheels that fit those tires—to ensure a proper bead seal.
Personal touches are available, such as your own initials instead of Ettore Bugatti’s etched into the gas cap. One customer paid for illuminated doorsills with “words that can’t be repeated,” said a Bugatti staffer. If you want the Super Sport’s body finished in clear-coated carbon fiber instead of paint, add $428,180—just a bit more than the price of a new Rolls-Royce Phantom Coup?.
Let’s be blunt: This car is completely mental. At the Super Sport drive in the dusty hills near Jerez de la Frontera, even its chief engineer, Wolfgang Schreiber, admitted that it’s easier to find an honest hedge fund-manager than places to use 1001 horsepower, let alone 1200.
“Most of our customers drive very normal. Actually, slow,” said Schreiber. “So we needed changes you could see and feel at any speed.”
Since 2005, Bugatti has put 243 Veyrons into customer hands, enough to constitute a focus group of sorts. According to Schreiber, the buyers say they would like a skosh more edge to the car’s handling. We feel their pain. Every Veyron we’ve encountered has accelerated like a line drive off the cricket bat of Shiva but has steered no better than your average Lexus. Perhaps that’s why that guy in Texas made Youtube history by driving his into a lagoon. Either that or he is just an idiot.
Whatever. Bugatti says the Super Sport embodies everything it has learned about the Veyron and its customers over five years. No, it doesn’t come with an inflatable dinghy, but the revised shock tuning and stiffer sway bars do help to elevate the driver’s connection and involvement. The nose dives for turns with far more enthusiasm, and body motion is better controlled, giving the pilot a clearer sense of where the threshold lies between acing a fast corner and flying off into low orbit.
That’s rather vital in a hypercar that can easily triple its speed between mailboxes. So are brakes, and the Super Sport’s carbon-composite discs (15.7 inches in front) are literally breathtaking. Should a truck suddenly turn into your lane, you can drag down the Bug from 140 mph to, say, 53.7 with astonishing alacrity and enough foot control to leave a gap twice the width of your front license plate should you desire to cause cardiac dysrhythmia in your passenger.
To get the Super Sport to its 268-mph production-car land speed world record (real production Super Sports are limited to a tire-saving 258 mph), Bugatti did a little smoothing of the Veyron’s Humpty Dumpty shape. Most noticeably, the polished aluminum bazookas on the regular Veyron’s back that sluice air to the engine are gone. In their place is a sort of carbon-fiber turtle shell that forms a tunnel through which the driver sees what he just left far behind and which is cut with flush-fitting twin NACA ducts.
If you want to show off the engine, it takes two trained technicians about 30 minutes to remove the couple-dozen fasteners holding down the shell. Nevertheless, Schreiber says the ducts increase power by creating a greater ram-air effect than the bazookas while also offering reduced drag.
Further, Bugatti opened up the front radiator nostrils, added a pair of slots under the headlights that feed wind directly to the front brakes, and reshaped the front splitter and rear diffuser for increased downforce. With the reprogrammed rear wing deployed, the body generates 882 pounds of downforce at its top speed. At 204 mph, we can report that it feels slot-car stable.
Launch control should deliver 60 mph in 2.4 seconds. Bugatti recommends an oil change every 3000 miles (or once a year) and a spark-plug change at 37,000 miles. All the bodywork aft of the doors comes off for that.
The extra output—199 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque—comes via four turbos that are 10 percent larger and bolted to the otherwise unchanged 16-cylinder warp drive in back. A less restrictive exhaust contributes as well. Fuel pressure is turned up, and an extra pair of in-tank fuel pumps—there are two in the base car, four in the Super Sport—do the juicing. The seven-speed, dual-clutch automated manual drives beefier prop shafts through a reinforced second and third gear and a taller seventh gear, which makes for a claimed 10 percent highway-mileage bump.
With its carbon-fiber outer panels, the Super Sport is 110 pounds lighter than the base, aluminum-bodied Veyron. A new, stiffer carbon-fiber weave is employed in the tub and saves 55 pounds alone. Bugatti also relocates the rear-differential cooler from the passenger-side gill to the rear diffuser, which reduces plumbing hardware, and unique wheels shave a net 25 pounds.
The Super Sport is still much too big and way too heavy to feel like a second skin. With its high sills and dash, it feels more like a really fast Jacuzzi. It’s loud inside—and not the delicious kind of loud you get in a Ferrari. The tires moan oppressively at any speed, and the engine’s voice is mostly a white noise of whirring and whooshing.
It exists mainly as an objet d’art for its owner and a one-car circus parade for the fawning public. It is perhaps the apogee of internal-combustion performance, the final word before the dawning dictatorship of electric pods. It is a Bugatti.
From: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q4/2011_bugatti_veyron_16.4_super_sport-first_drive_review
By admin
July 9th, 2010 at 07:50am
Under Dodge+ Menufacturer+ Styles+ Supercar
The Dodge Viper has been with us for nearly 20 years and will go out of production—at least for now—this summer. We’ve driven almost every variant of the car in that time, our reports often contributing to its reputation as a hairy-chested, have-your-affairs-in-order road weapon. Pity the fool who doesn’t respect 511 cubic inches of V-10 and rear-wheel drive without any electronic oversight save ABS.
In saying goodbye to the Viper, Chrysler invited us to GingerMan Raceway in South Haven, Michigan, for a turn in what will be one of the last iterations of the current car: the 2010 SRT10 ACR-X. Another street-legal, sticker-job special, you say, like the recent ACR Voodoo and 1.33 editions? No, the ACR-X is a proper fire-and-brimstone race car, devoid of the regulatory compromises that, er, water down lesser Vipers for street use.
Pumped Up and Stripped Out
A Viper race car is nothing new. The car has competed in pro-level racing since the mid-’90s and has graced the podiums of both Le Mans and Daytona. The top-rung Competition coupe currently battles in various GT classes around the world. But what sets the X apart is its more direct ties to the ACR street car and how clearly it demonstrates the potency of a civilian Viper configured solely for the track.
As with all 2010 Vipers, the X is powered by an 8.4-liter V-10 that spins the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. The X’s engine, however, has been uncorked by way of headers and a low-restriction exhaust system, which add 40 additional ponies for a total of 640. Torque is up 45 lb-ft to 605. The suspension is fully adjustable and sports higher spring rates that allow the chassis to maximize grip from the special 18-inch-front and 19-inch-rear Michelin slicks. Various aero tweaks, such as additional dive planes on the front fascia, provide up to 1100 pounds of downforce at 150 mph, or about 100 more than on the regular ACR.
Chrysler claims to have reduced the X’s curb weight by 120 pounds compared with the roadgoing ACR’s weight. The new total—about 3200 pounds—was mostly realized by thoroughly gutting the interior. The dash and the center console remain and an eight-point, SCCA-certified roll cage and fuel cell have been fitted, but the cabin is definitely sparse, with no side windows to roll down, a single racing seat and harness, and a removable Momo steering wheel. Other racing add-ons include a fire-suppression system, transmission and differential coolers, and larger front brake rotors fed by ducting that is more efficient than the street car’s.
The X’s improved power-to-weight ratio should be good for taking a 10th or two off the ACR’s 3.4-second 0-to-60-mph time and 11.8-second quarter-mile pass at 126 mph. The slicks will help the race car obliterate the street car’s 1.08 g of skidpad grip, but thanks to the extreme drag of all that downforce-generating aero, expect the top speed to stand fast at about 185 mph.
In Its Element
Chrysler wisely chose to warm us up to the new car by having us work through the Viper ranks on the track, from SRT10 roadster, to the ACR coupe, and then finally to the ACR-X. Although a racetrack is a controlled environment, these cars require your full respect and concentration. The ACR’s considerable downforce and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires plant you to the road and quell much of the nervousness of the base car, but it’s not until after you drive the X that you realize how much has been improved on.
Inside, you sit much lower than in the street car, and it feels much less cramped overall, particularly with the small, airbagless racing wheel offering a clear view of the gauges. The regular car’s slightly offset driving position is less noticeable, as well. Once the sticky Michelins get some heat in them and you get used to the raw, odd-firing bellow of the V-10, a transformation occurs as the car seemingly shrinks around you the harder you push it. Gone is the feeling of potential peril, replaced by the confidence that can only come from a set of grippy, race-spec gumballs. Sure, careless prods of the throttle will have you exiting corners tailfirst, but the chassis responds so quickly to inputs that you can catch all but the most serious twitches with little fuss.
Once comfortable enough to charge the car through corners, we were able to brake later, turn in harder, and power through kinks that we second-guessed in the ACR. Braking hard from speed feels as if it might damage internal organs, and with so much torque on hand—along with less weight and more grip—shifting was more of an option than a necessity. Even on the relatively tight GingerMan circuit, which has only a couple fast bends and moderate straights, the stability from the external aero appendages inspired great confidence, provided we had the courage to corner fast enough for them to work.
We, however, didn’t have the stones to push the ACR-X all the way to its screaming limits, which is why Dodge brought along Kuno Wittmer, an SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge driver who regularly runs a Viper Competition coupe. Being comfortable with racing Vipers and the speeds they’re capable of, he quickly humbled us with his pace. At the end of the day, Wittmer’s lap times around GingerMan’s 1.9-mile short configuration dropped to 1 minute 22.7 seconds in the ACR-X, some four seconds quicker than his time in the ACR.
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!
Currently, only 25 examples of the ACR-X are scheduled to be built before the Viper’s Connor Avenue plant closes this summer (the vehicles go down the same line as other Vipers but are finished off at Roush Racing in Livonia, Michigan). All those cars are spoken for, but Dodge officials say an additional batch of 25 will be produced if demand is high enough. Being a race car, part of that demand depends on how well the racing action is received. Dodge and the Viper Racing League have organized the Dodge Viper Cup, a 10-event, spec-racing series for ACR-X owners. The series will visit several U.S. venues throughout the summer and fall. Cash will be awarded—$6500 for race wins, $25,000 for the championship. The cars will be eligible to compete in various other events sanctioned by the Viper Racing League, the SCCA, and NASA. Now, how about a guest media driver in one of the events so we can wrap up our impressions?
Fortunately, the price of entry into this club is not as significant as you might think and shows how much development has been put into the ACR street car. Whereas the ACR starts at $108,785, the ACR-X stickers at $110,000. The car is sold directly to owners sans warranty, but Dodge says it will offer an “attractively priced” package of spare parts for racing. Compared with the current Competition coupe, which costs closer to $200,000, that figure sounds like a bargain.
What’s Next?
What lies ahead for the next generation of Chrysler’s sports car is still a mystery, but we were assured that the company’s new Italian owners have enthusiastically embraced the Viper and support its continued development. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is a devout motorhead, and the Italians have requested that several Vipers be shipped to the homeland for “study.” Electronic stability control will be reluctantly added due to new safety regulations, and a drop in overall weight is possible given concerns about fuel economy. But regardless of whether or not the next model is based on Maserati underpinnings or shares some engineering tech with Ferrari, as we’ve speculated in the past, we hope the company doesn’t file away all the car’s rough edges. It simply wouldn’t be a Viper if it didn’t have an attitude.
From : http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q2/2010_dodge_viper_srt10_acr-x-first_drive_review
By admin
June 5th, 2010 at 08:41am
Under Menufacturer+ Mercedes Benz+ Styles+ Supercar
It’s a shame that infomercial pitchman Billy Mays passed away just as Mercedes-Benz is launching the performance version of the 2010 E-class, because he would have done an excellent job of touting the many uses for the new and improved 2010 E63 AMG. “The 518-hp V-8,” Mays would say in his booming voice, “rockets you from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, making quick work of sports cars with less than half the seating. And you can still use it every day to pick Junior up from school and drop Grandma off at the library.” Not that the E63 is the sort of car that would be hawked via cable-TV ads, but it does promise a “You won’t believe your eyes!” combination of performance and usability. There are no easy payments, however, despite the fact that when the E63 goes on sale in October, pricing should fall below that of its predecessor. Expect to pay just under $88,000 to start.
Highly Evolved from the Standard E-class
Previous E-class AMGs merely had stiffened versions of the standard suspension, but like its little brother, the C63 AMG, the new E63 gets a seriously reworked suspension compared with that of the standard car on which it’s based. The 2010 version gets an entirely new front axle with a 2.2-inch-wider track. Spring rates are twice as stiff as the regular car’s, necessitating a change from air springs to conventional coils. Load-leveling air springs remain at the rear. In addition, the anti-roll bars and the subframe bushings have been beefed up. And if the standard E63 is too soft for you, a Performance package stiffens up the front anti-roll bar and the tuning on the standard adaptive dampers, adds lightweight 19-inch forged alloy wheels, and raises the electronically governed top speed from 155 mph to 186. With both the 18- and 19-inch wheels, the tire width is 255 in front and 285 in the rear. The steering ratio, at 14.0:1, is 22 percent quicker than in the regular E-class and uses a direct, rather than variable, rack.
Under the hood is the venerable 32-valve 6.2-liter V-8 (the 63 in the car’s name and the 6.3 badges on its front fenders pay homage to an older engine with a true 6.3-liter displacement). Here it makes 518 hp, an increase of 11 over the old E63, mostly due to a freer-flowing exhaust. Torque remains the same at 465 lb-ft. New to this car is a clutch-activated (no, there’s no clutch pedal, but we’ll get to that part in a sec) alternator, which allows the engine to charge the electrical system only during coasting to save on fuel. Overall, the E63 is 12 percent more efficient in the European combined fuel-economy cycle.
The engine is paired to a seven-speed automatic, but it’s coupled to the engine via a wet-plate clutch instead of a traditional torque converter. First seen on the SL63 AMG, this arrangement allows for a more direct connection between the engine and gears and results in quicker shift response. As in the SL63, there are multiple settings: C (for “controlled efficiency”), sport, sport plus, manual, and race mode launch control.
Controlled efficiency mode (can’t we just call it comfort?) starts from a stop in second gear and acts much like a regular automatic, choosing the highest ratio whenever possible. Sport mode is slightly more aggressive and shifts with a little more force. We like sport plus most of all, however, since it holds gears and enacts rev-matching downshifts. Enabling sport plus or manual makes for the quickest shifts, which add a delightful crackle to the exhaust note. New to the E63 is a simplified shift lever with three positions: reverse, neutral, and drive. Park is activated by pressing a button, and manual shifts are actuated via the steering-wheel-mounted paddles.
From : http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q2/2010_mercedes-benz_e63_amg-first_drive_review
By admin
May 23rd, 2010 at 07:22am
Under Alfa Romeo+ Menufacturer+ Styles+ Supercar
Within seconds of launching the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider out of pit lane at the company’s Balocco test track near Milan, in northern Italy, I’m grinning like an idiot. And I’m not even driving.
The first reason is the noise: a manic blare and bark from the 4.7-liter V-8. The sheer volume and ferocity of the sound beats even a Ferrari Scuderia’s or a Lamborghini LP560-4’s and makes one wonder how the 8C gets through tough European pass-by noise regulations.
The second is that Domenico Bagnasco, the car’s chief engineer, pitches the 8C Spider sideways into the first corner he approaches. He holds the car in a long, lurid slide, the rear tires wreathed in smoke. By the third corner, I’m convinced he’s totally expletive-deleted insane.
When Bagnasco hands over this $301,600 roadster to me, it takes all of two corners to see that this is one beautifully balanced car, with delightful, talkative steering. For a few bucks more than 300 large, the 8C Spider had better be special, but I’d rather have one of these than a Bugatti Veyron. The 8C Spider is not as fast, but it has soul. The Veyron, by comparison, lacks tactility and passion.
Like the 8C Competizione coupe, Alfa Romeo is making only 500 of these convertibles. Just 35 will make it to the U.S., compared with 84 coupes. As with the coupe, the Spider is underpinned by components filched from the Maserati parts bin, but all of the bodywork is made from carbon fiber.
The control-arm suspension is lifted from the GranTurismo, as is a dry-sump version of the Maserati 4.7-liter V-8 that produces 444 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. It drives the rear wheels through a rear-mounted, six-speed automated manual transmission. Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, 15.0 inches at the front and 14.2 out back, sit behind 20-inch wheels.
Alfa says the Spider weighs 198 pounds more than the coupe. To offset raising the center of gravity versus the coupe’s, the car has a powered cloth top (rather than a folding metal roof) and a carbon-fiber windshield surround. The claimed top speed of 181 mph is unchanged from the coupe’s, but the 0-to-60-mph performance will likely be 0.2 second slower, at 4.4 seconds.
The convertible is about 30 percent less rigid than the coupe, Bagnasco says, quickly adding that the “rigidity of the coupe is very, very high.” As a result, Alfa recalibrated the springs, anti-roll bars, and shocks. The coupe was criticized for its firmness, whereas the roadster is actually pretty civilized.
Until the man behind the wheel gets serious, of course. Press the sport button, use the column-mounted manual paddle shifters, and the Alfa becomes a beast that will torture its rear 285/35ZR-20 Pirelli P Zero tires. It’s fast in a straight line and exhibits the purest handling balance one could wish for: understeer on turn-in, neutrality with the application of power, and yee-haw oversteer with too much right foot. The brakes are sensational, and the gearshifts are superfast in manual mode.
The driving experience is one reason the car is special. Another is the way it looks. There are plenty of cars that are visually interesting and intriguing—the Veyron and the Audi R8 come to mind—yet very few that are truly beautiful. The 8C is utterly gorgeous whether the top is up or down. Like the Zagato- and Touring-bodied 8C-2300 and 8C-2900 Alfas from the 1930s, the 8C Spider will look fabulous on concours lawns 50 years from now.
The interior is lovely, too, carrying the perfume of Poltrona Frau leather. There’s a sense of old-fashioned artisanship that works toward justifying the price. For instance, the panels that surround the gauges and the heating and ventilation system are machined from billet aluminum just as in a high-end Chip Foose hot rod. The Recaro seats have manual adjustments and are constructed of carbon fiber, a material that also adorns the cabin.
The 8C Spider is a great car, if somewhat outside the Alfa mainstream. Like the coupe, it was built as a halo vehicle and marks a low-key return to the U.S. market, which Alfa abandoned in 1995. When the marque makes a full-blooded return in a few years, it may be with the stylish MiTo, the car furthest in price from the 8C Spider in the Alfa lineup. Alfa is perhaps the only brand that can credibly deliver both a budget subcompact and a $300,000 convertible. There’s a kind of artistry to that, too.
From : http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q3/2010_alfa_romeo_8c_spider-first_drive_review
By admin
May 14th, 2010 at 09:37am
Under Menufacturer+ Nissan+ Styles+ Supercar
Once you behold the 2011 Nissan GT-R, you will have no doubt in your mind that it is one of the greatest supercars ever built. Even more amazingly, the GT-R costs only about half of what most of its competitors do. Although the look of the 2011 GT-R remains much the same, Nissan has tweaked the engine to increase output and adjusted the transmission. Read on to see the results of our road test of the new Nissan GT-R.
Performance
Most of the changes on the GT-R for 2011 affect its performance. For instance, the output of the twin-turbo V6 engine has increased to 485 horsepower from 480. Nissan also reprogrammed the supercar’s transmission control module to allow faster clutch engagements. The 2011 GT-R has also eliminated the launch control feature, which is no longer necessary because of the transmission improvements. Finally, for improved comfort and control, the suspension of the GT-R receives Bilstein shocks. Auto reviews praise the performance of the 2011 Nissan GT-R, calling it more responsive and powerful than the models of previous years.
Safety and Specifications
Nissan has made side and side-curtain airbags standard on all 2011 GT-R models, but all other car safety equipment remains the same. The car insurance industry does not offer crash-test scores for vehicles at this price point. The Nissan GT-R’s specs are as follows:
* Car pricing: $84,060 MSRP; $79,109 invoice
* Fuel economy: 15/21 mpg city/highway
* Engine: 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 engine with 485 hp
* Acceleration: 0 to 60 time of 3.3 seconds
* Competitors: Porsche 911 Carrera, Mercedes-Benz SL, Jaguar XK, Dodge Viper
* Reliability: the 2010 GT-R earned a score of 6.0 out of ten on the J.D. Power Quality Ratings; no data available for 2011 model
* Warranty: three-year/36,000 mile basic warranty; five-year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty
Exterior Features
The large, bulky exterior of the GT-R takes a lot flak in car reviews, but Nissan has largely kept the outer design the same for the 2011 model year. Nissan continues to offer the GT-R in two trim levels: the base level and the Premium model. You can see photos of the new GT-R in our gallery. Standard exterior features include xenon headlights, keyless entry, and 20-inch alloy wheels with Brembo brakes.
Interior Features
As long as you don’t expect ultra-comfortable seats and a marshmallow-like ride, the cabin of the 2011 Nissan GT-R will hold its own. The GT-R comes in a 2+2 configuration, although reviewers say the backseat is only good for storage. Standard interior features on the base model include leather and faux suede upholstery, Bluetooth, automatic climate control, power front seats, satellite radio, and a six-speaker stereo.
By admin
