Entries for March, 2008
March 6, 2008
First Look: 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
First Look: 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
More snort from Lambo's entry-level bull
When the Lamborghini Gallardo was introduced in the U.S. for 2004, it marked the Italian automaker's return to an entry-level model as the Silhouette and Jalpa models had in the 1970s-1980s -- both serving as V-8 brothers to the fire-breathing V-12 Countach. With 495 horsepower originally emanating from the 5.0-liter V-10, the Gallardo could only be considered "entry level" in its relationship to the range-topping Murcielago, as performance was still strong enough to place it in the upper echelon of autodom (we clocked our first tester at 0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds in much less than ideal conditions).
In following years, the Gallardo was treated to a modest power bump -- to 512 horses -- and later, a stripped-down, lightweight Superleggera version -- a car built in the same vein as its boy-racer countryman, the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. Now, with the first examples of Ferrari's 430 Scuderia being delivered, the Raging Bull has once again upped the ante for the 2008 Geneva motor show with the new Gallardo LP560-4. Why 560? That number designates the amount of horsepower the car will have in European trim (we get "only" 552 horses and 398 lb-ft of torque in the States).
The extra power is courtesy of a new, more efficient, all-aluminum engine with a displacement bump from 5.0 to 5.2-liters -- the first volumetric increase the Gallardo has received since its inception. The 0-to-62-mph run is reduced from a Lamborghini-claimed 4.0 seconds to just 3.7, and top speed is up from 196 to 202. Time from zero to 124 mph also is down from 12.3 seconds to 11.8. That's getting closer to our estimated 3.5-second 0-to-60-mph run for the Ferrari 430 Scuderia, though we've not yet performed a full test. Otherwise, the Lambo outguns the Ferrari by 49 horses and 51 lb-ft of torque, but does give up 100 or so pounds to the Prancing Horse, despite a weight reduction of 44 pounds.
But power increases aren't the only name of the LP560-4 game. Lambo says the Audi-developed e-Gear sequential transmission has been improved by reducing shift times a full 40 percent. Changes also have been made to the front and rear valances -- the front now provides for greater cooling and the rear incorporates a diffuser -- and a reduction in C02 emissions also has been achieved, Lambo says. Other upgrades include a revised instrument panel, new headlamps and luggage area, and the claim of better driveability, stability, and handling.
The usual pricing and availability information is not yet available for the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, but we're hoping to fill in the details when we check Sant' Agata's latest creation on the stand at the Geneva show. Stay tuned to Motor Trend Online for live info and photos live from the show floor.
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Written by autopartsware at 07:09 AM.
March 7, 2008
Mazda6 teaser hits the web,
Mazda6 teaser hits the web, set to debut in Frankfurt
Mazda has just released a teaser image of the new Mazda6 that will be officially unveiled next month in Frankfurt. The Mondeo-based sedan gets some freshly styled sheet metal that forms a familial resemblance to the recently released Mazda2, with more sunken front fenders, accompanied by a less aggressive, dare we say, "cuter" front fascia that has a distinctly up-market shape as per autopartswarehouse.
Expect the dimensions to grow, along with displacement, with the new 6 likely packing the 3.5-liter V6 found in its platform sibling, the Mondeo.
We'll be on hand to bring you plenty of live coverage when the wraps are taken off in Frankfurt, but in the meantime, enjoy the teaser above and Mazda's press release after the jump.
[Source: Mazda/autopartswarehouse]
PRESS RELEASE
All-new Mazda6 to Debut at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show
Hiroshima, 07th August 2007. Mazda Motor Corporation will showcase the world premiere of the all-new Mazda6 (known as the all-new Mazda Atenza in Japan) at the 62nd annual Frankfurt Motor Show to be held from Tuesday, September 11 through Sunday, September 23, 2007.
The Frankfurt Motor Show press days are September 11 and 12, and the public days are September 15-23. Mazda will hold its press conference on Tuesday, September 11, at 13:45 (local time).
The all-new Mazda6 arrives as a full redesign of Mazda's first model to embody the Zoom-Zoom product philosophy, offering a thrilling drive to all those who still remember the love of motion first experienced as a child. Following the all-new Mazda2, the new Mazda6 is the second Mazda new generation product to evolve to the next stage, further deepening the emotional connection between man and machine - Mazda calls it "Kizuna". autpartswarehouse
Inheriting Mazda's tradition of responsive handling and performance that has become recognized around the world and evolving the original model's distinctive design and exceptional functionality, the all-new Mazda6 takes a step forward in quality and offers strengthened environmental and safety performance. The result is an exciting and delightful experience that only the all-new Mazda6 can deliver.
autopartswarehouse
Written by autopartsware at 07:33 AM.
March 13, 2008
Three Days in the 2008 BMW M3
Three Days in the 2008 BMW M3
The new M3 is that good. I simply love almost everything about it. (Okay. It seems you can't write a BMW review without knocking iDrive, and I won't skirt the issue here. BMW appears to have simplified some of the iDrive functions, but it's still an annoying interface. Anyone who tells you "you get used to it" is just trying to stand out from the crowd.) But let's forget about iDrive. I assure you: Spend a half-hour behind the M3's salami-thick wheel, and you wouldn't care if the nav/audio interface were a soup can on a string.autopartswarehouse
The 4.0-liter V-8 has to be experienced to be believed. Around town, it's as polite and smooth as BMW's vaunted inline sixes -- albeit with a touch of intriguing edge in the exhaust note. Step on it, though, and it races up the tach as if it's never going to stop. The technology under your right foot is breathtaking: a separate throttle body for each cylinder, ultra-fast variable double-VANOS cam timing, a 12.0:1 compression ratio, a highly rigid crankshaft that weighs just 44 pounds. At 6000 rpm, the engine is screaming and your hair looks like you've just bumped into a Van de Graaff generator -- but you're nowhere near the redline. Keep your foot down hard, don't grab the shift lever, watch the tach needle keep climbing. There's no drop-off in acceleration whatsoever; in fact, the M3 is pulling harder and harder. Peak power arrives at a staggering 8300 rpm (suddenly, you're Nick Heidfeld driving an F1 BMW Sauber). A tick later, at 8400 rpm, finally you nip the redline. Finally you shift. Almost unconsciously, you check that all your limbs are still intact. The car has not exploded. In fact, the engine sounds absolutely delighted to be set free; it's charging for the redline again. Check the speedo. With luck you're on a racetrack, because by now you're undoubtedly breaking every speed law in the country.autopartswarehouse
2008 BMW M3
The racebred M3 obliterates the magic 100-horsepower-per-liter mark, delivering 414 naturally aspirated ponies from its 3999 cc. Torque is a relatively modest 295 pound-feet, but almost all of it is on tap from 3900 rpm to 6500. The M3 loves to wind, but you don't need to wind it. Never once while driving it around town did I feel I was piloting a "peaky" machine. Like Mt. Everest looming above base camp, you can thrill in the climb to the engine's lofty summit, or simply bask in the joy of knowing it's there.
Ah, and then you realize you're only driving in "comfort" mode. Press the center console button, and the M3 snaps into Sport. Instantly, you can feel an urgency in the throttle, a responsiveness that feels as if a 500-pound cheetah is pushing you from behind. Wow. Now the M3 is even faster. What a phenomenal car.autopartswarehouse
Handling is nothing short of brilliant, with surgical steering feel, an unfailingly planted suspension that manages not to beat you up, and a Variable M Differential (which delivers up to 100 percent locking action) to put the power down without a ripple. The close-ratio six-speed feels solid and sturdy yet almost springs from gear to gear by itself (stay tuned: a DSG is coming). Huge compound disc brakes (over 14 inches in diameter up front and nearly as large at the rear) stop savagely hard yet modulate effortlessly. The seats hug you like a loving aunt. You, as the driver, feel like you're operating in a vat of syrup, every control input smooth, every vehicle response a steady surge of torque or shifting mass. This is automotive performance at the highest level -- approachable, utterly useable, polished, perfected, thrilling. BMW is one of a tiny handful of automakers that could build a car like this. Maybe the only one.
And then . . . Monday. The near-perfect sport sedan slips out of my hands and into the warm embrace of another oh-so-fortunate pilot. All I can do is . . . check the bank account. Naturally, a spare $56,000 isn't there.
Written by autopartsware at 06:38 AM.
March 15, 2008
Audi R8 V12 TDI has a "50/50" shot at production, gets driven
Audi R8 V12 TDI has a "50/50" shot at production, gets driven
Autoweek, Fourtitude and autopartswarehouse were able to enjoy some seat time in the Audi R8 V12 TDI LeMans concept before its official unveiling in Geneva last week. Their drive was short (about an hour with a 50 mph speed limit imposed by Audi's boffins), but their time at the airport adjacent to Sebring International Raceway has made an impression.
The crimson beast we saw in Geneva was the same concept that was displayed in Detroit, simply sporting a new paint job, but spending quality time with the R8 V12 TDI revealed a few interesting tidbits about the concept. First, the firewall behind the driver and passenger had to be extended by some six-inches to accommodate the oilburner and although claimed torque output is somewhere in the 737 lb.-ft. range, the few journos asked to take part only got to experience 442 lb.-ft. of twist – a good thing considering that the transmission mated to the engine is an A4 case with modified internals.autopartswarehouse
While the performance was impressive, the short gearing and shorter redline (not disclosed) seemed to make all that grunt superfluous in first and second, but Audi is expecting the R8 V12 TDI to return around 24 mpg and meet the 2014 Euro 6 emissions standards if, and when, it goes on sale.
Written by autopartsware at 07:11 AM.
March 28, 2008
Mitsubishi Eclipse Ralliart Concept
What Is It?
Mitsubishi Eclipse Ralliart Concept
Interior
What's Special About It?
This is an Eclipse done the way we would have done it. It's from Ralliart, the motorsports division of Mitsubishi and unlike the standard Eclipse this concept looks like it could be a serious driver's car.
Gone is the production model's front-wheel drive in favor of an all-wheel-drive setup pulled straight from the Lancer Evolution. Ralliart went ahead and used the Evo's turbocharged four-cylinder engine, too, but cranked it up with a laundry list of HKS performance parts. A new turbo, 264 cams, a high-flow fuel pump, high-flow injectors — it's all there along with a custom intake and 2.75-inch exhaust from the turbo back from autopartswarehouse. Mitsubishi estimates the engine cranks out around 400 horsepower.
We were glad to see a six-speed manual transmission instead of the paddle shifters that every other concept seems to be favoring these days. The rear suspension was borrowed from the Endeavor SUV while Road Race Engineering provided the coil-over shocks. Brakes are eight-piston Brembos up front, four-piston in back with 15- and 13.5-inch rotors, respectively. Overall weight was reduced by using carbon fiber for the roof, front and rear fascias, hood, mirror housings and front fenders.autopartswarehouse
The interior of the standard Eclipse is one of its bright spots and the Ralliart designers didn't fiddle with it much. They replaced the rear seats with storage bins and swapped in Recaro seats covered in leather and Alcantara up front. Auxiliary gauges were added to the top of the dash along with a suede-covered steering wheel pulled from the Evo.autopartswarehouse
source edmunds
Written by autopartsware at 02:35 AM.
March 29, 2008
The new Nissan GTR. Tested
The Numbers the World Has Been Waiting for
We know you want the numbers and we're not going to waste your time. Neither is Nissan. Its 2009 GT-R hits 60 mph in 3.3 seconds, quicker than the last Dodge Viper, Corvette Z06 and Porsche 911 Turbo we tested. Keep your foot pinned, and after another tap on the upshift paddle it will clear the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at more than 120 mph.
We know this because we've just returned from Japan where we tested a privately owned Nissan GT-R on an airstrip outside Tokyo. The car we tested was a Japanese-spec example with 1,500 break-in kilometers on its odometer. It's owned by Japanese journalist Jun Nishikawa and packs the same hardware the U.S. car will get: a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 that generates at least 473 horsepower and 434 pound-feet of torque. It had the same six-speed dual-clutch automated manual gearbox and the same adjustable dampers which, by now, you've read plenty about.
What you likely haven't heard about is this: launch control. Despite its bold 3.5-second 0-60-mph claim, Nissan has been keeping this little bit of technological wizardry a secret. Test a GT-R in the homeland, however, and the need for confidentiality is quickly overwhelmed by the need for speed.
Controlling the Launch
Activating the Nissan GT-R's launch control is a matter of configuring its transmission, dynamics control and damping adjustments properly. The transmission and damping switches must both be set to the R mode and the VDC must be switched off completely by holding the VDC-R button down for a few seconds. Then it's just a matter of pinning the brake with your left foot and wooding the throttle with your right, not unlike the technique used to produce a tire-shredding burnout in that '85 Camaro you drove in high school.
The result, however, is quite different. The computer holds the engine at 4,500 rpm and waits for you to lift your left foot off the brake pedal. When you do the GT-R produces the most crushing acceleration of virtually any production car in the world. Our test was conducted on a fairly low-grip surface that produced lots of rear wheelspin before the GT-R's sophisticated all-wheel-drive system engaged the front wheels and it thundered down the track. Its 3.3-second 0-60-mph run and 11.6 at 120.9 mph performance make the GT-R the quickest car we've ever tested.autopartswarehouse
It's even quicker than the Porsche 911 Turbo Tiptronic, but not by much. The German hits 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and blasts through the quarter-mile in 11.6 at 118.5 mph. Due to their lack of all-wheel drive, the Dodge Viper and Corvette Z06 are held back by traction limitations. Despite its 600-hp V10, the last Viper coupe we tested reached 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and finished the quarter-mile 11.8 at 125.3 mph. The Corvette Z06 isn't even close. Once impressive, its 4.1-second 0-60-mph run and 12-second quarter-mile at 121.8 mph are now well off the pace, which is why Chevy is creating the supercharged Corvette ZR1.autopartswarehouse
In an effort to preserve its drivetrain and relations with the owner, we only activated the launch control twice, but with a few more attempts to calm the violent wheelspin, the numbers would likely have been even better.
Leave the launch control off and the tranny in R mode, and the car is still sick quick. Sixty mph arrives in 4.0 seconds and the quarter-mile disappears in 12.3 seconds at 120.6 mph. All our testing was completed using manual shifting.autopartswarehouse
World-Class Braking
It requires 15-inch rotors, six-piston Brembo calipers and sticky Bridgestone Potenza RE070R rubber to bring a 3,836-pound GT-R to rest from 60 mph in only 104 feet. That's only 1 foot longer than the Porsche 911 Turbo equipped with the $8,800 ceramic composite brake package. It's also the same stopping distance as the last Dodge Viper we tested and 2 feet shorter than the Corvette Z06.
Experience tells us that the Nissan GT-R's conventional iron rotors aren't going to endure abuse as well as the 911 Turbo's ceramic brakes, but in a one-stop scenario like this, we have no reason to doubt them. With a solid, effective and intuitive pedal, braking confidence is high. Plus, we're guessing future versions of the GT-R will get brakes as advanced as the Porsche's.autopartswarehouse
Predictable, Accessible Handling
Our makeshift test facility at the AMI Airport near Tokyo didn't allow room for lateral acceleration testing on a skid pad. However, we did set up our standard slalom for comparison. Again, we were somewhat thwarted by the less-than-ideal surface, which had unavoidable painted lines crossing the course.
This served as an opportunity to witness the GT-R's striking at-the-limit composure. Blasting across the bumpy painted lines between cones, you get the sense that this is truly a special car. Its chassis remains composed and it goes exactly where it's pointed despite the ugly surface. There's none of the puckering that comes with driving a Vette or Viper this fast through a slalom. Nor is there the sense that the rear-mounted engine of a 911 Turbo is eventually going to find its way to the front.
The Nissan GT-R is versatile, with plenty of control latitude, and the difference between the limit of grip and the limit of control is huge. It's probably the most easily controlled car we've slid sideways between the cones. More importantly, its abilities are far more accessible for the average driver than those of its competition.
At 72.9 mph, it's quicker here than the Z06 and 911 Turbo but can't quite match the huge-tired Viper (74.2 mph). Still, it will be interesting to see how these numbers compare when all three cars are tested at the same place and time.
The Best Part
Perhaps more impressive than the Nissan GT-R's brain-cell-punishing acceleration or its stellar handling is its price. At just under $70,000 it's within reach of the upper middle-class enthusiast who insists on spending disproportionate amounts of his income on a car.autopartswarehouse
Plus, it will take an average driver and hurtle them into a realm of speed they couldn't buy with a 911 Turbo. It's world-class fast and relatively cheap. And that's a hard combination to beat.
Written by autopartsware at 02:14 AM.