Take a virtual tour of Auto-Salon Singen, one of the biggest collector car showrooms in the world, in Germany. You will be drooling as you look through their inventory. Few places on earth can you see so many such cars in one place, so it is definitely worth taking the tour if you have some free time. Enjoy.
-Nick
I ran into this beautiful 1948 Triumph 2000 Roadster at the British Motorcar Show in Lewes, DE this past weekend. The car itself was immaculate, but it was the hood ornament, a naked woman posing that really drew me in. I am a major fan of elaborate hood ornaments, and this is one of the finest I’ve seen. Being built in the aftermath of World War II, this Triumph is part of the generation of cars that picked up where the 1930s left off, and began to move things into the coming automotive boom. Around 2500 of these Triumph Roadsters were built with the 2000 being the top spec model. This was a stunning example, so much so that it had been retired from judging at the Lewes event because it has won so many times. Enjoy the photos.
Continue reading Lewes British Motorcar Show: 1948 Triumph 2000 Roadster
Porsche just released official details on the new 2014 991 Turbo and Turbo S, and as with any new Porsche there is of course controversy. Reading through people’s reactions, I have seen a lot of “It’s slower than the old 997 Turbo S” comments, and there are tons of complaints about there being no manual gearbox being offered. I’d like to address these concerns.
Regarding the 2014 Turbo S being “slower than the old one”, you have to realize that Porsche official performance claims are always, and I mean always, conservative. For the 997 Turbo S, Porsche officially claimed 0-60 in 3.2sec and 530hp. In reality, the 997 Turbos S could achieve 0-60 in 2.6 sec, the 1/4 mile in 10.6 sec, and its power was more in the region of 600hp.
Porsche claims the 991 Turbo and Turbo S have 513hp and 552hp, respectively. Add 10-15% to each of those numbers and you can estimate the more realistic power output. The EU has a tax on manufacturers relating to horsepower numbers, so most European cars are a bit underrated on paper. With around 560hp in the Turbo and around 620hp in the Turbo S, I think it is safe to assume these cars will not lose ground from their predecessors in terms of all out, Bugatti Veyron rivaling, performance.
This brings us to the transmission issue. The new 991 Turbos are available with PDK only. Many people are against not having a manual option on pure principle, but having actually driven a 997 Turbo S myself, I’m going to have to side with Porsche on this one. The pace of these new 911 Turbos has gotten ridiculously rapid, everything from raw acceleration to lap times. The simple fact of the matter is that a manual transmission would be a major weak point in every aspect of the car’s performance at this point. An Achilles heel-toe… if you will.
Also, I would venture to say that most people complaining have never sampled a Porsche with PDK for themselves. It is a phenomenally good transmission, in my opinion the best dual clutch gearbox on the market. It feels a lot more mechanical, and connected than a standard automatic gearbox, and it offers a level of versatility that a traditional manual cannot. In reality, most 911 Turbo owners use their car as a Grand Tourer, so this versatility (auto or manual modes) is important. I have sampled PDK on a few different Porsches, and it really is a “do everything” sort of transmission, great for both tearing up corners and sitting in rush hour traffic. The 911 Turbo has long been hailed as the supercar you can use everyday, and PDK only makes it better in that regard.
That said, I do love a Porsche with a manual gearbox, but at this point I think it is better to have it just on the “more pure” naturally aspirated models. In all honesty, I am far more pissed about there being no manual option on the new GT3 because that is supposed to be the “purest” Porsche driving experience.
As for the rest of the 991 Turbo, I think it is exactly what it should be. I love how it looks, and I’m sure the performance will be truly staggering. I cannot wait to get my grubby little paws on one for a road test.
-Nick Walker
I love Pagani, the Zonda and now the Huayra. That is all…
-Nick
We went to the evening cocktail event at the Amelia Island Festivals of Speed event, and they had some cars lit up in som interesting ways. It made for some cool shots, highlighting specific parts of each car. We also went out on the show field, and took a few shots of some supercars with some nightly dew on them. I like how these shots came out so I figured I’d share them. Enjoy.
Continue reading Amelia Island Festivals of Speed: Night Shots
Looking back through my photos from our visit to the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance, I realized there is a ton of solid material that we somehow have not gotten around to featuring yet. I figured I’d kick it off with the fastest car in the world, which we were fortunate enough to see two of, along with few other more plebeian Veyrons. One was even the famous “World Record Edition”, with its orange and carbon color scheme. This was right after the Veyron Super Sport had set the production car speed record of 268mph, so seeing these two 1200hp beasts together was an absolute thrill. I know I may give the Veyron a hard time in the past, but that is mostly because of the types of people who buy them. The car itself I admire immensely for the technical marvel that it is, and yes, I would probably consider doing some terrible things if it meant I could drive one…. if only for a few minutes. But for now, these pics are as close as I’ve gotten, so let’s just enjoy them. These were shot as I was in the process of learning proper photo composition, so they are a but hit and miss, but overall I think they came out well. Enjoy.
Continue reading 2011 Pebble Beach CDE: Bugatti Veyron Super Sport x2
The weather was gorgeous the other day, so I decided to go cruise around for a bit. I went through Newtown because there is usually an exotic or two to be found there on such days. Sure enough, I find this amazing Ferrari F430 Scuderia parked in front of one of the most expensive restaurants in town. Enjoy the pics.
Continue reading Spotted! Ferrari F430 Scuderia, Newtown, PA
I remember when I was first coming down with my major case of the car bug, the Ferrari 360 was the first car I saw that had a paddle shift transmission. While the F1 gearbox was offered in the F355, the 360 was the first model where enough of the kinks had been ironed out to make it a viable alternative to the traditional manual. Technology has come quite a long way since then, and the 360 is no longer on the tip of the technological spear. But once a Ferrari, always a Ferrari, and it still has quite a lot of appeal for buyers on the secondhand market. With this context in mind, I went into my drive in this 360 Modena ready to judge how it stands in our current day and age.
The recession had a serious effect on the American automobile market. We all know what happened to the Big Three. However, there are a few small Japanese companies that are definitely worth mentioning because they seem to hang on either by a thread, or by a sizable rope, in the US domestic market. Subaru, Mazda, Suzuki, and Mitsubishi are the four non-major Japanese players in the US market. Well, they were. One of these four announced late on November 5, 2012 that they were pulling their automotive arm from the US market. So, allow me to say…and then there were three. But soon, I think there will be two. Continue reading Why Suzuki is out of the car market in the USA, and why Mitsubishi is next.
After an early wakeup, an unexpected overnight stay, and a bus trip I’d rather not talk about, I found myself amongst the thousands of others who had also flocked to 2013’s edition of the New York International Auto Show. Having endured the exhausting trials of the trip to the Big Apple and being dragged to a late-night Broadway show by mom (although seeing Ferris Bueller in person can’t necessarily be complained about), I was ecstatic to finally be standing with the sorts of cars that I had only previously seen in pictures and read about in magazines.
One car in particular stood out among the rest; that controversial Porsche 991 GT3 has been the topic of an immeasurable amount of cooler talk conversations. Granted, it doesn’t look all that different from the 997 GT3, but the knowledge of all the differences under the body frame was what made seeing the car in person so special. So, after cramming my cell phone’s memory card full with photos of the car, I took a moment to stand back and examine the car – including a gander into the tinted windows to take a peek at those notorious paddle shifters.
While on the way home from the tuner meet on Sunday, I noticed a red Porsche at a gas station. At first glance it was just a bright red 911, but then I noticed the vents on the bumper….. this was no 911, this was a 959! I quickly pulled into the gas station and snapped this pic. The owner was very nice, and was surprised that I knew it was a 959. This is quite a rare car, with only around 337 being built worldwide. I have seen this particular car before at shows in the area, but it was quite a thrill to catch it out in the wild.
-Nick
I attended the 2013 Tristate Tuners Spring Meet this past weekend. There were cars of all sorts present, but stance definitely ruled the show. Slammed cars of all sorts came out, but like every show I go to I shot whatever managed to catch my eye in the crowd. The show filled up an entire airstrip in Warminster, PA, and there was probably over a thousand cars in total. There was of course a big traffic jam when everyone decided to leave, but things are always entertaining when you get a bunch of tuner cars together. Enjoy the pics.
Mind Over Motor 