2009 Audi A4 Sedan Review
October 19, 2007
The biggest change for the 2009 Audi A4 is its new chassis. It uses the same modular longitudinal platform (MLP) as on the new A5 and S5 coupes, which has enabled the carmaker to place the engine further back over the axle, making for shorter front overhang, wider wheelbase and better weight distribution, resulting in improved handling. Only the 3.2-liter V6 engine has been announced for the U.S. market so far, but expect a smaller engine, possibly the acclaimed four-cylinder 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, in base models.
Front-wheel drive is standard, and the companyâs all-wheel drive quattro system will be available. Gear selections will be handled by either a six-speed manual or optional six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission. The well-appointed interior doesn’t deviate drastically from what Audi has been doing over the past five years. The new A4 will most likely hit U.S. dealers next fall as a 2009 model.
2008 Porsche 911 GT2 Review
October 19, 2007
The new GT2 is the fastest-ever 911, said to be able to accelerate to 60 miles per hour in a mere 3.7 seconds and reach a top speed of 204 mph. It can achieve these numbers thanks to a twin-turbocharged 530-horsepower, 3.6-liter boxer engine. The rear-wheel-drive sports car comes with electronically controlled active suspension management and rides on 19-inch light-alloy wheels. Advanced chassis-control systems abound to rein in the power.
Converted from Euros, the base price of the car in Germany is $214,261, which inflates to $255,186 if you factor in Europeâs 19 percent value-added tax (VAT). The 911 GT2 should roll into North American dealerships early in 2008 with a price tag substantially lower than these converted estimates.
Street-Legal Antiques
October 9, 2007
Donald Koleman, president of New Hampshire-based Competition Motors, towers above the robinâs-egg blue Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix racecar parked on the showroom floor. With its horseshoe-shape radiator, excessively louvered hood, spindly axles, and polished aluminum wheels, this diminutive, open-cockpit rocket won 10 races between 1932 and 1937, while setting nine international records for speed and endurance. âItâs the single-most successful Bugatti in history, worthâI donât knowâ$5 [million] to $7 million,â says Koleman, a former attorney who gave up litigation to rebuild and sell vintage sports cars. Itâs for sale, too. âI donât expect it to be driven,â he adds. âItâs just too valuable.â
But hey, you never know. A growing number of private collectorsâinvestment-portfolio manager Jim Glickenhaus (among his holdings: a 1967 Ferrari 330 P3/4); former Microsoft president Jon Shirley (who occasionally takes his 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C for a spin around the racetrack); and Rob Walton of Wal-Mart fame (he just drove his 1965 Cobra Daytona to victory in Monterey, California), to name a fewâlike to cruise the city streets in their museum-quality vintage coupes. Some even drive their cars to the track, then race the hell out of them.
âThe dollar value of these cars can be astronomical,â says Casey Annis, editor and publisher of Vintage Racecar Journal. One Japanese investor paid $15 million for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, and buyers have shelled out as much as $10 million for prewar racers built by Auto Union (the precursor to Audi), Alpha Romeo, and Mercedes Benz. Even the most expensive new models top out at less than $2 million.
States allow classic racecars to hit public highways carrying whatever safety gear they rolled off the factory floor with. If it came without seat belts or turn signalsâwhich is common, especially in prewar racersâno big deal. But rocketing around a track is an entirely different matter. When Ed Archer, of Archer and Associates in Hayward, California, a firm that appraises classic vehicles, wants to race his open-wheel 1915 Model T Ford (which he himself valued at between $30,000 and $50,000), he must have a seat belt, a side-view mirror, and a fire extinguisher. The car didnât need any safety gear when it was racing on dirt and wooden tracks more than 90 years ago. Racing regulations also require him to wear current fireproof gearâa suit, a helmet, and glovesâa far cry from the goggles and white coveralls favored by the original driver.
âOwners donât want to do anything stupid,â says Archer, justifying safety equipment, which is often cleverly concealed. Heâs driven the ancient Ford from California to Indianapolis, cruising down the highway at 70 miles per hour, and then slapped on the protective gear and raced it around the Indy 500 track. âIn a historic racecar if you do something stupid, you may not come out if it.â
Vintage-car racing began in the mid-1970s, when a few California collectors got together at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, to put an end to the bragging and show one another what their classic racers really could do. From a few cars and a handful of spectators, the Monterey Historic has exploded into a two-weekend event. Last year, it drew crowds of more than 40,000; the similar Goodwood Revival, in Chichester, England, brought out 116,000 spectators, many dressed in period clothing. Except the drivers, naturally.
As a finely tuned, finickyâand oldâbeast, the vintage sports car requires infinitely more maintenance than todayâs average Lexus. âCompared with a road car of the same period, racecars undergo five or 10 times more stress,â Koleman says.
The antique models donât handle like a Lexus, either. âItâs a very unfiltered experienceâeverything is raw,â says Michael Gans, a director and co-owner of Swiss food company Supreme Foodservice AG, whose prewar Bugatti Type 35B was originally owned by a Polish count. âThe speeds are not significantly lower than youâd experience in a modern car. But the steering is far heavier. After 10 laps in Monaco, unless youâre a bodybuilder you can barely turn the steering wheel.â With its thin tires and straight axles, the Bugatti slides around corners. The engine always runs roughly, and even the healthiest mill spews lubricant. Since prewar cars such as the 35B were built for smaller drivers, the brake, the clutch, and the accelerator pedal are mounted too close together for anyone wearing a shoe larger than menâs size nine-and-a-half. And the seat canât be adjusted. Despite such cramped quarters, âitâs very exhilarating driving,â Gans says.
Accidents do happen, especially when the vintage ride is hauling ass around curves at well above 100 miles per hour. At Septemberâs Goodwood Revival, professional driver Martin Stretton plowed a red 1963 Bizzarrini AC3âthe first one ever builtâoff the track and into the wall. The race had to be stopped for 30 minutes while emergency crews cut Stretton from the wreckage. He came out of it with just a broken elbow, and fortunately the mangled $1.4 million Bizzarriniâwhich then resembled a half-peeled plantainâcould be rebuilt. During the same event, a Jaguar blew its engine on a curve, spraying oil across the track. The cars that followed, mostly 40-year-old American muscle carsâMustangs, Ford Galaxies, and a Plymouth Barracudaâspun out and hit the grass or the gravel. None were badly damaged. âItâs like ski racing,â Gans says nonchalantly. âSometimes you hit a pole.â
Sports cars donât have to be racing to get banged up, either. During an upstate New York road rally in May, a 1924 Bentley slammed into a late-model coupe that had no taillights. The Bentley sustained $80,000 in damage. The other car? Well, who cares.
Which begs the question: Why would anyone want to take a multimillion-dollar machineâand a museum piece to bootâout for a Sunday drive on the parkway, let alone race it against other vintage sports cars? Itâs simple, says Michael Johnson, of Classiccarguy.com, âSome people find automobiles to be more than just pieces of art.â In other words, even if it costs $15 million, itâs meant to be driven.
Racing-spec Mercedes-Benz 722 SLR GTR
October 3, 2007
This one kind of crept up on us, but it appears Mercedes-Benz has released a new race-spec version of the SLR supercar dubbed the GTR. It’s been revealed that the limited edition 722 SLR released last year was in fact a homologation special designed for a potential FIA GT race car, and the new GTR is a production version of the future racer.
The GTR is loosely based on the 722, but tips the scales at just 2860lb (1300kg), which means it’s roughly 660lb (300kg) lighter. The mechanical package remains largely unchanged but, with the lighter body, the 650hp supercharged V8 should see it reach 62mph from rest in just three seconds flat. Top speed remains at 210 mph.
To shed all that weight, engineers stripped the cabin and replaced most of the parts such as the door panels and dash with carbon-fiber. They also installed a set of 19-inch OZ wheels, removed the front grille and installed a huge rear wing and diffuser.
Only 21 new GTRs will enter production and the first one has already been spotted at a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Germany.
2007 Lamborghini Reventon
October 1, 2007
Clearly a Lamborghini, but nothing quite like it. A super car without equals: the Lamborghini Reventon is a road vehicle with an extreme specification and, at the same time, a limited edition masterpiece â a coherent style, angular with sharp lines, inspired by the very latest aeronautics.
With just 20 produced, each 1 Million Euro (without taxes) Lamborghini Reventon is a symbol of extreme exclusivity, yet still offering the extraordinary performance that makes the Reventon so unrivalled: under the completely autonomous design, the Reventon possesses the entire technical and dynamic competence of the twelve cylinder Lamborghini.
Born in SantâAgata Bolognese
The Lamborghini Reventon has been entirely designed in SantâAgata Bolognese, the original birthplace of the Lamborghini and the native home of every super car born under the sign of the bull. The design drawn up in Lamborghiniâs Centro Stile (Style Center) is fine-tuned in close collaboration with the Lamborghini Research and Development Department. Thus, the Reventon is not only âhaute coutureâ but it also stands out for its elevated dynamism whilst being entirely suitable for every day use.
The Lamborghini Reventon is not destined to remain a one-off. A total of 20 Lamborghini friends and collectors will be able to own this extraordinary car and, naturally, enjoy the incomparable pleasure of driving it.
The name Reventon has been chosen according to Lamborghini tradition. Reventon was a fighting bull, owned by the Don Rodriguez family. It is included in the list of the most famous bulls ever and is known for killing the famed bullfighter Felix Guzman in 1943.
Made of Carbon Fiber
Although it is based on the extraordinarily successful Murcielago LP640, the exterior design of the Reventon is completely new. Just like the base model, the exterior is made of CFC, a composite carbon fiber material, which is as stable as it is light. The exterior components are glued and fixed to the body comprised of CFC and steel.
The front is characterized by the acute angle of the central âarrowâ and by the powerful forward-facing air intakes. Although they do not supply air directly to the turbine like an airplane, bearing in mind the 650 hp, an abundant volume of air is necessary to cool the carbon brake disks and the six cylinder calipers.
Characterised by Coherent Functions
Naturally, both doors on the Reventon open upwards â since the legendary Countach this has also been a symbol of the V12 Lamborghini product line. With their asymmetric configuration, the large air intakes below the doors provide an example of the extreme coherence with which a Lamborghini fulfils its function: on the driver’s side it is large to increase the flow of oil to the radiator. On the passengerâs side of the vehicle, the air intake is flat because in this case, it only has to ensure the flow below the floor. The aerodynamically optimized flat floor structure terminates at the rear with a diffuser featuring an accentuated shape. This guarantees excellent road grip and stability even at 200 mph.
A Masterpiece with Tested Technology
The technology found in the Murcielago LP640 has not been modified. The engine in the LP640 forwards is the classic twelve-cylinder engine with 6.5 liter displacement. Only for this car, Lamborghini guarantees, an astounding 650 bhp at 8,000 revolutions per minute (rpm). The huge torque, equal to maximum 487 lb-ft, ensures a powerful switch from any number of revolutions: even the slightest pressure on the accelerator is spontaneously transformed into thrust. The robotised e.gear changes gear faster than even the most expert driver. In addition, the permanent Viscous Traction four-wheel drive system ensures that every force is constantly translated into movement.
With the Lamborghini Reventon, Lamborghini has done it again; it has created an unequalled super car; the perfect synthesis between the exclusivity and appeal of a limited edition design masterpiece, and the dynamism and driveability of a standard sports car. Thus, the Lamborghini legend is further enhanced by another, stylish future classic.
