I hope that your all having a good Good Friday and planing on getting together with friends or family. Since we are not in the office today and the are a little burned out on reporting about the new car releases at this years New York International Auto Show. Instead we though we would share our favourite non auto show video, which was created by the Evo Magazine team.
The premiss of the 12 minute short is to discover if the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta can match the GT credentials of the Aston Martin Vanquish and outperform the wild Lamborghini Aventador? Evo staff writer and now video presenter Henry Catchpole heads to the italian Alps to find out.
Happy Easter everyone and enjoy the below short film.
Last week we enjoyed the Motor Trend the comparison test where they lined up the 2013 SRT Viper head to head with newly released 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. This week we have come a similar comparison video as Car and Driver have pitted the SRT Viper GTS against a face from its past in the form of a heavily modified 1997 Dodge Viper GTS, that has over 650 horsepower at its disposal.
2013 SRT Viper GTS
At a distance, the Viper looks a lot like the previous car, and the two even share the same windshield. But up close, the new car is far more elegant to which you can thank Ferrari. There are no hard creases despite some bold and edgy features, and the hood gives off a menacing look which is not our favorite part of the overal design.
1996 Dodge Viper GTS – Look Familiar?
In comparison, the previous-generation Viper looks dated, even clumsy. There are two Viper models, base and GTS, most obviously differentiated visually by the number of hood vents; the up-level GTS has only two versus the regular car’s six. Every vent or scoop is functional on both models, from the rear brake ducts behind the side windows to the outboard inlets in the front fascia that funnel a drag-reducing curtain of air around the front wheels.
Click the link below to see who will Prevail and come out on top.
Our colleagues from Road & Track are offering us a powerful confrontation featuring three of the best performance cars with a V8 engines on the planet: the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Ferrari 458 Italia and McLaren MP4-12C . Which one will be crowned king? Watch the video below to find out:
Hennessey Performance put together a Lamborghini Aventador and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster for doing several one-mile drag races to see who’s the boss. According to the American tuner, both cars were factory stock without any sort of modifications. As you can see from this clip, the SLS AMG Roadster doesn’t stand a chance in front of the Aventador with the launch control, not even when the SLS has a considerable head start.
As a reminder, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster is motivated by a V8 6.3-liter engine that pumps out 563 hp (420 kW / 571 PS) and 470 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque, while the Lamborghini Aventador is powered by a larger V12 6.5-liter engine with 690 hp (515 kW / 700 PS) and 509 lb-ft (690 Nm) of torque. The SLS AMG Roadster sprints to 62 mph in 3.7 seconds, while the Aventador needs just 2.9 seconds.
There’s a good physics lesson in the results of this drag race, weighing factors like coefficients of drag, frontal surface area, total drag forces, car weights, power, power delivery, gearing, and much more, but there’s also just a good show: an 1,150-horsepower Nissan GT-R going head-to-head with a 950-horsepower Porsche 911 Turbo over a full mile.
The results at the end of the mile are predictable, given the power disparity, but things could have gone much worse for the 911 if the driver hadn’t beaten the GT-R to the punch. We won’t spoil the whole thing for you, as it’s a surprisingly interesting pull.
One of the things all gear heads love about exotic super cars is the sounds produced by their high-horsepower engines.
Of course, as with design, when it comes to engine sounds, everybody has different preferences, which makes this competition between a Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 and a Lexus LFA that met up under a tent at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix 2012 event this month all the more interesting.
The scissor-door Lamborghini model features a mid-mounted 6.5-liter V12 engine pushing out 691bhp (700PS) at 8,250 rpm and 690Nm (507 lb-ft) of peak torque at 5,500 rpm.
The limited-run Lexus model, on the other hand, gets a front-mid-mounted 4.8-liter V10 that generates 552-horses at 8,700 rpm and 479Nm (354 lb-ft) of torque at 7,000 rpm.
The fight for pony-car supremacy has been raging for decades. Chevrolet Camaro versus Ford Mustang is a duel without a definitive ending. Battles are fought and won with every new variant and each model year change, yet there’s never enough momentum in any one direction to decide the war. America’s two newest and at the same time, most powerful series-production muscle cars are the 2013 Ford Mustang-based Shelby GT500 and the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
On paper, the $54,995 Camaro ZL1′s 6.2-liter supercharged V8 produces 580hp at 6,000 rpm and 556 lb-ft. of torque at 4,200 rpm, while the $54,200 Shelby GT500′s 5.8-liter supercharged V8 delivers 662hp at 6,250 rpm and 631 lb-ft. of torque at 4,000 rpm.
So how well did they do on the dyno? For that type of info you’ll have to watch the below video or scroll down to the bottom of this article.
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The Camaro ZL1 returned 497 horsepower and 497 lb-ft at the wheels, while the GT500 produced 105 lb-ft and 98 horsepower more at 595hp and 602 lb-ft.
What you say if I told you that there was a pair of vehicles out there that had over 550hp over 550lb-ft of torque, had the most advanced suspension and handling technology and could easily transport a family of 5 and their Dog without having to strap anyone or thing to the roof Mitt Romney style. Could we sweeten the deal by adding that these rides are also a pair of the most luxurious, comfortable and most Europeans would say stylish cars on the market today. Do I have your attention now? No? Try this fact on for size then as it is my last dales highlight. They are also two of the rarest cars for sale in North America today with total sales far below either of the brands top of the range super/hyper cars, in fact on can only be purchased through a special ordered.
The two cars that we are referring to would be the Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon and the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Wagon. As John Lieberman points out in the Motor Trend Head to Head video below these cars feature all of the accoutrements of their are Sedan and Coupe model siblings with the added benefit of having triple the cargo capacity.
CTS-V Sport Wagon the Cadillac version of the supercharged version of the ZR1 and ZL1 has it power number pinned right in the middle of those two cars. The 6.2liter supercharged V8 is tuned to 556 horsepower and 551 lb-ft of torque. The model tested can with the 6-speed manual transmission and like all of Cadillac’s V models included GM’s magnetorheological shock absorbers, the same ones GM has licensed to Ferrari and Land Rover.
On the Mercedes-Benz side of the coin the E63 AMG wagon employs the now standard 5.5-liter twin turbo V8 that produces 518hp and 516lb-ft torque by default. There is also an engine upgrade package that is now available on AMG models called the P30 Performance Pack, which increases the turbo’s boost and raises the power to 550hp and a whooping 590 lb-ft. The transmission is the same MCT seven-speed wet-clutch automatic found in all other AMG models. Just like in the E63 coupe and sedan E63 AMG Wagon uses a coil and damper suspension up front and air suspension out back.
These wagons are the ultimate sleeper cars and if you acquiring a unique whip is something that you are looking for you won’t find a pair of low volume cars produced by a major manufacture. Seeing cars like this on the road would be a real rarity and make us wonder why anyone would still want to purchase the latest cookie cutter souped-up SUV that the cops can spot a mile away.
Sorry for the slow posting this morning as I had some unexpected flaming jet fuel on my drive way and it delayed my commute into work. This in combination with and having to stay up way later then I should have to watch some guys turn left all night long has lead to a slow start to this morning.
Thankfully Motor Trend is not taking any days off when it comes to their new YouTube channels. To help prove this point we have attached their first of a three part adventure to find 2011 Best Drivers Car Competition. The competition is an 11 cars shootout to determine which car is the ultimate driving machine. As we watched this show we continue to ask ourselves the question, “Why is this show not on US TV some were? This has incredibly high production value and flows better than most of the cars shows that are currently out there on the American airwaves.
You’re going to have to click the link below to find out how Motor Trend’s Downshift show will determine which car is best as they attempt to do the impossible and find the ultimate drivers car.
What can we say it must be shoot out day here are Car Rolodex as we have come across and unusual gem. There is nothing fancy about how the video was shot however the outcome did surprise us and really we can’t figure out why it was such a shock. Doesn’t light weight and agility always beat out high horsepower heavy cars? More often than not it does and this test is no different. To find out the break down you will have to check out the video below.
