September 25, 2010
2010 BMW G 650 Xcountry pics 1
2010 BMW G 650 Xcountry pics 2
September 24, 2010
September 23, 2010
September 22, 2010
Lamborghini Jota won’t be in attendance in Paris
We’re going to warn you now; what you’re about to read probably won’t sit well with you, especially if you’re one of those people that have been waiting for the Lamborghini Jota to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show.
According to Auto Guide, the highly anticipated successor to the Murcielago won’t be in attendance when the auto show kicks off in a week’s time. Instead, Lamborghini will only be bringing one concept vehicle to the show, the technology demonstrator concept that has been the subject of all those teaser images Lamborghini’s been releasing.
This latest news is, of course, crushing for everyone – including us – who have been waiting with baited breath to see the Jota completely undisguised. Unfortunately, all of us will just have to wait a little while longer.
Despite that largely deflating news, Lamborghini still has plans to make an impact at the annual event with the new technology concept they’ve developed over at Sant’Agata. It’s still one of the vehicles that we’re mostly looking forward to seeing, but it still doesn’t escape our disappointment that we’ll only be seeing one Lamborghini at the event instead of two.
[Source:Auto Guide]
Cadillac CTS-V Lab At Palm Beach International Raceway
If you’ve read my review of the 2010 Cadillac CTS-V, it’s pretty clear that I loved the car. My only complaint was that I didn’t have an opportunity to drive it on a racetrack, and no sane individual is willing to explore the handling limits of a 565 horsepower sedan on public roads. I had to sum it up by saying the CTS-V was a “stunningly quick but well-behaved sedan”.
At the press introduction for the CTS-V Coupe, Cadillac announced a series of public test days, called the CTS-V Lab. Based upon market research, select members of the general public would receive an invitation to attend a track day session to drive the CTS-V Coupe at the limit. Journalists, we were told, would get a similar opportunity on a different day.
Your mission? Drive this car, as fast as the instructor tells you to.
Imagine my surprise when I received an invite to both sessions. Any guilt I may have had at “double dipping” was quickly offset by the opportunity to drive two track days instead of one; without a moment’s hesitation I jumped at the chance and signed up for both the public and the press test days.
Cadillac knows it needs to attract a different demographic if they’re to be successful with the CTS-V line, and their market research was evident by the vehicles in the parking lot. As you’d expect, there were quite a few BMWs, Porsches and Mercedes, and even an Aston Martin DB9 in the session I attended. Some of us were driving more mundane rides, but one thing was clear – GM was under-represented by the cars in the parking lot. Chatting with a few attendees on the way into the presentation, there was a certain cynicism among them. Did Cadillac really think they could build a car that was the performance and handling equal of the Germans? Going into the session, consensus would have been, “no”.
After presentations from a variety of Cadillac and GM staffers (including John Heinricy, the “godfather of the CTS-V” and the man who drove the 7:59 lap on the Nürburgring), we were given a safety briefing by a senior Skip Barber instructor. We were told to have fun, but respect the capabilities of the car and the concrete walls of the racetrack. We were also told to listen to the instructor who’d be driving along with us, as their job was to keep drivers of various abilities safe. As a former instructor myself, I didn’t envy them at all.
CTS-V Wagon was on display, but wasn't available to drive.
Module one was a drag race and braking exercise with the CTS Coupe in “regular flavor”, with the 304 horsepower, 3.6 liter V6. On a short course (probably 1/8 mile), you lined up against another CTS-V Coupe, launched and raced to a braking chute where you stomped the brakes as hard as you could. Next, you progressed to an avoidance maneuver at instructor designated speeds, before flooring the brake pedal in another panic stop. The exercise was repeated three times, giving drivers a chance to get used to the feel of the car. Even without the Brembo brakes of the CTS-V, stopping distances were impressive, and there was no brake fade or loss of pedal feel throughout the exercise. Handling of the base coupe was surprisingly neutral, and Stabilitrack kept the rear in check even when the driver dialed in a sudden directional change. I’d stop short of calling the CTS Coupe a sports car, but it’s a very capable and sporty coupe, well worth the $38,165 price of admission.
Module two transitioned us to the CTS-V sedan. This time we launched the car from a stop, repeated the heavy braking exercise, then worked into a slalom course. The first run was at a relatively low speed, with the suspension in “Touring” mode. Successive runs were done with the suspension in “Sport” mode, and I’ll say this – the Magnetic Ride Control Suspension developed by GM is an engineering wonder. Think of it as using infinitely adjustable shock absorbers; you just need to tell the car if you want a comfortable ride (Touring mode) or if you prefer maximum handling (Sport mode). The Magnetic Ride Control then monitors your driving and adjusts shock stiffness (using a magnetic fluid and an electromagnetic charge) in milliseconds. There was a significant difference between Touring mode, which had noticeable body roll but neutral and predictable handling, and Sport mode, which virtually eliminated body roll. I was impressed by the suspension in street driving, but I was amazed by the suspension on the racetrack.
Module three put us into the CTS-V Coupe, and turned us loose on a half-track course of PBIR. With the guidance of an on-board instructor (and cones marking braking points, turn in, apex and corner exits), were allowed three laps at whatever speed we were comfortable driving. With a chicane in place on the back straight and a reduced track length, maximum velocity was probably around 100 mph. Still, it was enough to feel how hard the Coupe pulled to redline, as well as how good the Brembo brakes and Magnetic Ride Control suspension worked on the track.
Each track exercise was either preceded or followed by a classroom session with a Skip Barber instructor. I found the sessions informative and well presented, and I have to give Cadillac an enthusiastic thumbs up on the quality of their program. Track time and Skip Barber instruction is hard to beat, especially when it’s free of charge.
There was a noticeably different attitude from the attendees by the end of the day. Every single person who drove the CTS-V came away impressed, and I’d bet that more than a few would consider a CTS-V as their next ride. Cadillac has been so successful with the CTS-V that it’s outsold the BMW M5 and the Mercedes Benz E63 AMG combined, and the CTS Coupe is now second in it’s segment, outsold only by the BMW 3 Series Coupe. Impressive stats, especially since the CTS Coupe has only been on the market for about six weeks.
If I had the bank, I’d certainly consider a CTS-V; in fact, if I have any wealthy fans who want to surprise me for Christmas, I’ll take a White Diamond Tricoat Sedan with the Dark Graphite Wheels, the Recaro seats and the suede steering wheel, please. To make things easier for you, here’s a picture below.
So what about the press track day? I’ll write that up for tomorrow and may even give you some in-car camera footage. Just to keep you interested, I’ll tell you this: my maximum velocity at the end of the PBIR back straight was 133 miles per hour, and that wasn’t pushing the car to the limit. If you can think of something that’s more entertaining while wearing clothes, I’d love to hear about it.
September 21, 2010
Dodge Challenger SRT10 in 2011?
I went to the SEMA show in Las Vegas back in 2008 and one of the first cars I noticed there was a new Dodge Challenger dubbed the SRT10 concept. Obviously the SRT10 denotes that this particular Challenger packed the same 600 hp V10 hammer under the hood that came standard in Dodge’s Viper, but up until now actual production of this car has been just a rumor. Now, according to OntarioStreetCar.com we’re hearing that this V10 monster may actually see the light of day. We just posted that the new 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8′s 6.4-liter HEMI will pump out 475 hp, and while an impressive number it still falls short of Ford’s Shelby GT500 Mustang’s 550 hp. Combine this with news of a new high horsepower Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and Dodge has every reason to produce a car such as the Challenger SRT10.
As of right now there is no word if the car will be produced by Dodge or shipped off to a subcontractor like Roush Performance. Either way we really hope that Dodge has the stones to step up to the plate with this thing and give the boys of the blue oval and the Chevy bow-tie a real run for their money. Let’s just hope that pricing isn’t too far out of whack in comparison to the competition, because if that happens then all this hoopla and the car itself will just be an exercise in futility.
September 20, 2010
Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale
There are pros and cons to two erstwhile rivals sharing the same roof. On the one hand, they can share resources, but on the other, they have to be careful not to step on each-other's toes. Sharing corporate space with Aston Martin meant that Jaguar had to clip its own wings when it came to the XKR for years, as evidenced by the more powerful versions that have come out since the two split.
There's no doubt that Maserati has benefited tremendously from its association with Ferrari, but that has consequently meant that the Trident marque has had to adopt a different approach, catering to a more luxury-oriented market than the raw performance of its big brother on the Prancing Horse. But that doesn't mean they can't push the envelop just a little, and that's what you're looking at here.
Called the MC Stradale, this ultimate version of the GranTurismo bridges the gap between road and race models in the same way the revolutionary Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale did in its day – and as the all-conquering 430 Scuderia did subsequently. To get there, Maserati's tuned the chassis, aero and engine to more closely resemble the levels attained on racing versions like the MC Trofeo spec racer and the GT4 competition model.
Modena claims increased downforce without a commensurate increase in drag, while the engine has been boosted to 450 horsepower as compared to the 430 in the existing GranTurismo S. That's about all the Italians have released at this point, but you're cordially invited to read the brief press release after the jump and check out the images in the gallery below as Maserati prepares the GranTurismo MC Stradale for its debut at the Paris Motor Show next week.
[Source: Maserati]
September 19, 2010
Lamborghini releases third teaser
A few years back, Lamborghini made big promises that it would have a new debut at every major international auto show, every year. That seemed like a big bite to chew for a company with essentially two models in its line-up, but the exotic carmaker from Sant'Agata has managed to keep up brilliantly.
Now, hot on the heels of reports indicating that the Raging Bull marque is preparing to unveil not one, but two new debuts at the upcoming Paris Motor Show comes the third in a series of teasers released by the company in anticipation. The question, then, is which we're looking at.
Well, for starters, it's quite clear that this is the dashboard of the car in question. And a nifty dashboard it looks indeed. But of which car? Given that the last teaser clearly showed a ten-cylinder engine, our guess is that it's not the highly anticipated replacement for the Murcielago, tentatively dubbed Jota, since that would presumably carry twelve cylinders. So your guess is as good as ours, but one way or another, we'll be finding out next week at the Port de Versailles, so stay tuned.
[Source: Lamborghini]
This is the Spartan V Track Car
And yes, it very well could kick you into a bottomless well. The purpose-built Australian racer weighs just 661 pounds and is powered by a 170-horsepower 1200cc Ducati v-twin. It can hit 60 miles per hour in less than three seconds and can growl its way up to 173 miles per hour. It’s made of lots and lots of carbon fiber and the stuff of legend. Fittingly, only 300 will be made. The price for the “most superior fighting machine the world has ever seen?” $84,321. Youch.
2011 BMW Concept 6-Series Coupe
BMW will preview the next generation 6-Series with a special concept car that will make its world debut at the Paris Auto Show at the end of September. The concept features a new design language that will be used in lots of future BMW models.
The 6-Series Concept is defined by stretched bonnet, the short front overhang, a passenger compartment set well to the rear, and a low silhouette incorporating a dynamically flowing roofline. There are also new LED headlights, which combine the typical BMW twin round headlight format with innovative lighting technology.
The interior is defined by functionality, elegance and exclusiveness. There is a new 10.2-inch iDrive Control Display in the centre of the instrument panel, Head-Up Display system and a hi-fi system designed specially for the concept.
BMW revealed no details on the concept’s specifications, but we presume we will get more details closer to the official unveil.
