Ok, so yes, the name is a little weird, but it’s better than it being named after a Ford pickup truck. The basic details are 963hp, 600 ft/lbs of torqe, around 2900lbs, 0-60 in under 3 sec, and a top speed of 205mph. So it seems all of the same people who criticized the Mclaren for being “slow” will probably hate this because “The Veyron is faster, maaaaan”. For those of us who actually can appreciate real things about cars, we can all revel in the fact that the LaFerrari has taken a hefty 5 seconds off of the Enzo’s lap time at the Fiorano test track. I can’t wait to see, and hear, more about this car, but it definitely seems mighty impressive. Way to go Ferrari!
For those of you unfamiliar with the GTD, it is quite literally a diesel version of the GTI. VW has recently been gauging potential demand for the car in the US, and has just announced, at the Geneva Motor Show, that the GTD will indeed make it to US shores.
You can see the tested specs in the video below, but in a nutshell the GTD will handle the same as a GTI, while trading a little straight line speed for around 30% better fuel economy. Going by EPA numbers for the GTI, that means MPG in the neighborhood of 31 city and 43 mpg highway, with an average around 37mpg… in theory at least. I don’t know about any of you, but I would definitely be willing to make that compromise, especially considering that the handling would still be phenomenal. The GTD isn’t exactly slow either, with 170hp and 258 ft/lbs of torque. It will lag a little from a GTI, but passing and merging will still be easy for it.
I do have a car purchase coming up in the next few months, and this GTD looks mighty appealing. Fun, economical, and supposedly pretty comfortable, what’s not to love? No word exactly on when it will hit showrooms, but I can say that I will probably wait until GTD pricing is announced before I make a decision. If VW is smart, they will price it to start around $22-23k in an effort to steal sales from Ford’s Fiesta ST, Chevy’s Sonic RS, and Hyundai’s Veloster Turbo. To anyone else who is starting to look around, it may be worth waiting out.
Motor Trend recently got their hands on a GTD, and they did well to show the car’s appeal.
Evo Magazine gets the inside scoop on the new Porsche 991 GT3 at the Geneva Motor Show ahead of the car’s official debut. They asked all the right questions, pertaining to Porsche’s decision to the new GT3 PDK only, and other aspects that will affect how the car drives. The answers to all of the questions were pretty convincing, and I now have some high hopes for the new GT3 to be a fantastic, new age driver’s car.
So this whole controversy has erupted over whether Pagani “cheated” to get the Top Gear lap record. In the first episode of the new season the Pagani Huayra managed a lap time of 1:12.8, the fastest they’ve ever had. Now, in order for the lap to count, a car must be road legal. Clarkson defines this as “being able to get over a speed bump”, but it also applies to a car having street legal tires. People noticed that, during the lap, the Huayra’s tires had a different tread pattern than those you see above, and indeed the tires do look sort of similar to the track spec tires seen on a Zonda R.
Jalopnik reached out to Pagani for comment. Because Pagani is full of good people, unlike other companies, they responded nicely, and admitted that two separate tires had been used for the Top Gear shoot. Pagani maintained that the tires used for the lap are indeed street legal, though. Pagani has a very close relationship with Pirelli, and helps them to develop new tires. The general consensus, at this point, is that the Huayra was on street-legal versions of the Zonda R’s racing slicks, tires that were custom made for Pagani. So yes, Pagani did use better than standard tires for the winning lap, but they were street legal, if only just.
Actual racing slicks on a Zonda RThe normal Pirelli tires found on the Huayra
My opinion is that, so long as the tires used were street legal, then the lap should stand. Quite plainly, it is the responsibility of any automaker sending a press car to a big show, like Top Gear, to ensure their car is prepared in a manner that will give the best showing possible for their audience. Pagani was really just doing their job here, and doing it well, I might add. They pushed the rules, but they didn’t brake them, and they wound up with the fastest lap time. That people, is how competitions have been won throughout all of time, and I applaud them for their thoughtful preparation. More to show us all that Pagani possesses an uncompromising commitment to excellence in their work, and not even press car logistics are allowed to be a routine motion. This is exactly why Pagani is my favorite.
Also, the way people are talking about this, you’d think it was some big, important scandal. Everyone is acting like its the F1 World Championship, and the winning driver cut a corner for a pass on the final lap. People, Top Gear is purely entertainment, and this is hardly any sort of serious legal matter. If the tires are legal, the time counts, if they’re found not to be, then I’m sure they will remove it. In the end, it was just a great episode, and a great moment when the Huayra won the top spot. Can’t we all just leave it at that?
Mclaren released the details, and photos, of the production version of their new P1 hypercar today ahead of its official debut at next week’s 2013 Geneva Motor Show. In short it is a hybrid with a combined output of 903hp, it will do 0-60mph in sub 3 sec, 0-124mph in sub 7 sec, and its top speed is limited to “only” 217mph. I emphasize the “only” because one of the first comments I read about the car on Jalopnik was “1.3 mill and its “limited” to 217. Thanks. Pretty much told us its not as fast as the Veyron”. That, right there, people, is the problem I have with both a car like the Bugatti, and your typical superficial sort car enthusiast. Keep in mind, a Formula One car is “slower” than a Veyron as well, yet you don’t see the Bugatti setting lap times even remotely close to the times of Vettel and Hamilton at any circuit. It is this ignorant, one-dimensional mindset, that I can’t stand, and that gives me a big reason to love the Mclaren P1.
This Rapide wagon will be a one off, commissioned by a wealthy collector…. obviously. It is a Bertone design, and was made to commemorate the long relationship between Aston Martin and Bertone. This Rapide Bertone Jet 2+2 is based on the new Rapide S, so underneath it is familiar, but just take a few moments and digest the visual beauty of this stunning machine.
The Mercedes R-Class is not the last word in anything. It’s probably a good example of a blue-chip company laying an egg at the worst possible time. Mercedes-Benz is a full-line automaker in most of Europe but in America, it’s better known for luxury cars. Of course, the top brass at M-B didn’t quite know what to expect when the R-Class came out. Made in Alabama and Mexico, it wasn’t a normal Mercedes. But, once AMG saw it, they couldn’t resist doing what they do best: shoehorn a ridiculous engine into it, put it on wide tires and lowered suspension, and sell it like sliced bread. Only this time, sliced bread sold like New Coke. Continue reading Secondhand Saint: Mercedes R63 AMG→
I’m just not impressed with the 4-Series. Want to know why? Read on below.
BMW has always held a special place in my list of carmakers. After the end of WWII, they were in tatters, like the other German car companies. But, in the 1960s and 1970s, their commitment to making cars that could make the driver grin endlessly (for a price) gave them a reputation of being a bit of an upper middle class car guy’s hero, in that for the price of a Cadillac or a Mercedes sedan, you could get a car that was capable of brightening your melancholy day with just a squeeze of the gas pedal and a turn of the wheel. But that was nearly 40 years ago, and based on what I’m seeing in the news (and what I’ve driven in the past year or two), I’m skeptical of their old motto. Continue reading BMW: The Ultimate Something Machine?→
This pristine Ferrari 250 LM was in attendance for the 2012 Radnor Hunt Concours d’ Elegance. It is owned by the Simone Foundation Museum in Philadelphia, PA. The 250 LM came about when Ferrari finally decided to give up on front-engined GT racing cars. The 250P was the first mid-engined Ferrari that saw major success, and was a contemporary of the legendary 250 GTO in the early 1960s. Seeing the success of their rivals with mid-engined racing cars, Ferrari decided to end the 250 GT cars, and carry on competition with a development of the 250P. And with that, the 250 LM was born.
The 250 LM was very similar to the 250P, except it had a roof and was built from a higher gauge of steel. The LM used an enlarged version of the 250 GTO’s 3.0L V12. At 3.3L the LM’s V12 produced 320hp, and it only had to propel a car which weighed under 1900lbs, lighter than the GTO. The result was a car that was very fast, and despite being denied homologation as a GT class, it still saw success in the Prototype class. 250LMs won 10 out of the 35 races they competed in, and in 1965 the NART team won the Le Mans 24 Hours. This would be the final outright Le Mans victory for Ferrari to this day, ending an era of Ferrari dominance in the late 50’s, early 60’s.
A total of 32 250 LMs were produced, making it on par in rarity with the GTO, and certainly worth a solid fortune in its own right. Seeing a car like this up close, with no barriers to keep people away is a rare treat indeed. I stuck around after most people had left the show, and had the privilege of some quality, un cluttered photo time with this epic car. Enjoy the gallery below.
Ok, the obvious answer for the best snow setup is to have an all wheel drive car that is equipped with snow tires. That’s what I personally have, and it is flawless in winter driving. This is still quite relevant though, if you can only have either snow tires or all wheel drive, then which is better?
Spoiler alert: the snow tires win. Truth be told, all wheel drive is far superior in snow for getting moving and for controlling your car in a skid. However, when it comes to braking and avoiding a skid by having grip snow tires are what you need. Too many people think all wheel drive does far more than it actually does in bad weather. It only helps you get traction when using the accelerator, other than that your car is just like any other car.
So the moral of the story is this: No matter what type of car you drive, if you drive it in snow, get some snow tires for the winter months. Safety first.
Mercedes-Benz isn’t all what it seems. While some may mock it for expanding the E-Class range to a coupe and a convertible, and some may question it for offering AWD on the AMG products, no one will see me on that side of the line. In fact, I’m the one doing the slow clap. Mercedes is taking a lesson from its rivals, Audi and BMW, and using the best of what it’s learning. The German luxury market is changing, and Mercedes is keeping up with it in an exemplary way–but the new E63 is proof that they’ve got their ears to the streets and listening to the good word. Continue reading The new Mercedes E63: Just what the doctor ordered.→
If one day a magical genie came up to me and said “I will give you any classic Ferrari you want”, my choice would be this 275 NART Spyder. Yes that’s right, I would rather have this car than the legendary 250 GTO or 250 Testa Rossa. Why, you ask? Because I happen to be more of a road car person. I like racing cars just fine, but for me, driving perfection is found with the wind in my hair, and the hum of a great engine bellowing off the trees as I cruise by. Going on a real world journey in a great car may be my favorite thing to do, and it is the sole reason this 275 NART Spyder was commissioned by Luigi Chinetti back in the 1960’s. Continue reading Obscure Auto: Ferrari 275 GTB/4 N.A.R.T. Spyder→
Mind Over Motor 