BMW i8 Concept - New Car 2011

It’s been nearly two years since BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics concept debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt show, and the car has now officially re-emerged one step closer to production as the BMW i8 concept. As you can see, little has changed in the styling department. In fact, other than a new wheel design, the only other notable change we’ve spotted concerns the doors, which seem to have claimed some territory along their bottoms and thereby reduced the size of the blue body-side accent. Interestingly, the car didn’t show that change when BMW paraded it around for spy photographers this past March, but we like it.
Passenger Compartment + Powertrain = LifeDrive
As with the i3 city car concept that debuted at the same time , the story of the i8 begins with its LifeDrive architecture. BMW says that its experiences in creating the Mini E and 1-series-based BMW ActiveE showed that adapting cars engineered for internal-combustion power to electric propulsion results in a lot of excess weight and compromises in packaging. As a result, both the i8 and i3 are built using two purpose-built modules: one to house passengers, dubbed “Life,” and one for propulsion and suspension components, called “Drive.” Combine them, and you have a car—and marketing-friendly “LifeDrive” branding.
While the i3 and i8 share the LifeDrive architectural philosophy, the cars differ in execution. That’s because the i3 is fully electric, while this i8 is a plug-in hybrid, so its Drive component is actually split in two, with an electric motor at the front axle and a gas engine at the rear. Unlike the i3, which situates its batteries below the passenger compartment, the i8’s lithium-ion cells are actually part of the Life module, stacked through a central tunnel that might house a transmission and driveshaft in a conventional car. Arranging them this way allowed BMW’s engineers to achieve yet another claim of perfect 50/50 weight distribution, thereby preserving peace in the city of Munich. As in the i3, the i8’s Drive components are largely crafted of aluminum, while the life module uses a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic monocoque. Using so much lightweight material essentially cancels out the added weight of the heavy electric drive components, thereby allowing the car to weigh less than 3300 pounds, according to BMW. The rigidity imparted by the carbon fiber also allows for long, dramatic doors that ease access to the two small rear seats, and is a boon to crashworthiness, too.


While most other so-called “through-the-road” hybrids (meaning the propulsion systems each drive their own axle) are based on existing front-drive vehicles—meaning they add electric power to the rear wheels—BMW had the luxury of starting from scratch. Because most braking energy gathers at the front of the vehicle, the i8 has its electric motor up front for the sake of recapturing energy. The motor is shared with the i3, and its peak output is 170 hp and 184 lb-ft or torque. It’s fed juice, of course, by those lithium-ions, which take about two hours to charge and return 20 miles of all-electric driving.
Three’s Company: 220-Horse Three-Cylinder
The original Vision EfficientDynamics concept used a three-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, but the i8 makes use of BMW’s new gas-fired 1.5-liter turbo three-cylinder, which we first reported on in April. It makes 220 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque, helping the i8 to its governed top speed of 155 mph. The run to 60 mph will come in under five seconds, says BMW, who also claims the i8 will return 78 mpg on the European cycle. But that test is notoriously optimistic, and the company says normal driving will realistically result in economy of just half that figure. The engine and electric motor can power the car on their own or in tandem for better traction, with the stability-control system’s whims playing a large part in deciding when to team them up. Each axle also contributes regenerative electricity; the front houses the regenerative braking system, while the engine at the rear has a high-voltage alternator that can recapture energy. No mention was made regarding what type of transmission is installed in the i8.
A button-activated “Eco Pro” mode dulls throttle response, caps speed between 56 and 74 mph, and reduces the load of the climate-control system. (Because the climate-control system also is responsible for keeping the batteries at an operating temperature of 68 degrees, it always runs to some extent, however.) The i8 also features an intelligent navigation system that can decide the most energy-efficient route to a destination.


What i Looks Like
While not much has changed about the i8’s styling, a few themes have emerged now that it has a sibling in the i3. The laying of white panels over a black and clear sub-layer is meant to reference the car’s Life and Drive components. Besides just looking flat-out futuristic, BMW i models will be marked by a BMW roundel with a blue ring around the outside, blue accents on the grilles and side sills, and the “stream flow” C-pillar treatment.
Inside, the i8 concept foregoes traditional gauges in exchange for a more future-tech 8.8-inch display screen for reporting road and engine speed, as well as battery and fuel levels. In Eco Pro mode, the digital gauges glow blue; in Sport mode—details of which were in short supply—they glow orange. A second screen tops the dash above the center stack to display navigation and infotainment functions, and the rest of the interior is clean and simple.

Yes, the i8 is technically a concept, although in typical BMW fashion, it’s pretty well fleshed out and likely very close to what you’ll see when the production car launches in 2014. While the diminutive i3 is certainly intended to capture the attention of the general public, the i8 appears to be an effort to keep enthusiasts under the BMW umbrella as sustainability and efficiency become increasingly important. While it remains to be seen if the i8 will be satisfying to pilot, we applaud the idea, since there’s not much that we want to see more than a long future for driver’s cars.Source : Caranddriver.com

2012 Honda CR-V Concept

Honda has released a picture of the concept version of its next-generation CR-V, and it looks, well, pretty much like we expected based on recent spy photos. The vehicle seen here is, as is typical with Honda’s concepts, a loosely disguised version of the production car.
That’s not to say that when the fourth-generation CR-V arrives at dealerships some time in late 2011, it will be festooned with some of the concept’s more colorful design elements. Items like the smoked-out headlights, prominent front skid plate, gargantuan wheels, and polished black lower trim likely will remain the domain of the show car. Otherwise, though, what you see here is what we’ll get.
Despite a relatively significant change in the CR-V’s design—it’s major by Honda’s conservative standards, at least—the new car will be mechanically similar to the one it replaces. Front-wheel drive definitely will again be standard, with optional all-wheel drive returning to the menu, too. It’s doubtful that Honda will make any major changes in the engine department from last year’s car, meaning that buyers will probably get a 2.4-liter inline four good for about 180 hp. Unlike the 2011 CR-V, which had a five-speed automatic transmission, the new model is likely to receive a six-speed unit. If Honda does go this route, you can expect a modest boost in fuel economy over the current CR-V’s 21 mpg city/28 highway for front-drive models and 21/27 for those with AWD.
While the CR-V has never fully roused the enthusiast’s soul, it has always been one of the more involving small crossovers to pilot. (Pun intended as an excuse to post a link to the face-lifted 2012 Pilot, which Honda also announced.) At the same time, the CR-V has been one of the more practical and easy-to-use small utes, too, a factor we’re sure is of higher importance to most of the people with one in their driveway. (There are a lot of those people: 227,760 CR-Vs were sold in the past 12 months alone.) We don’t expect those traits to change with this next-gen model, although we’ll have to wait until Honda decides to show us the production model to find out for sure.

 

Source : Caranddriver.com

2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Black Series

The latest in a very short but highly distinguished—and completely nuts—line of Black Series Benzes is here. The C63 AMG Black Series is based on the C63 coupe, which we just drove for the first time a few months ago. Following the lead of the not-for-U.S.-sale SLK55 Black Series, the CLK63 Black Series, and the SL65 Black Series, this C63 AMG is amped up visually and dynamically, with a steroidal bump in output to back up the flared nostrils.
In case the 451 hp and 443 lb-ft in the standard-issue C63 AMG or the 481 and 443 offered by that car’s AMG Development Package aren’t quite cutting it, the C63 AMG BS makes 510 hp at 6800 rpm and 457 lb-ft at 5200. Like cars with the Development Pack, the Black Series borrows its pistons, connecting rods, and crankshaft from the be-gullwinged SLS AMG supercar. Behind the motor lives the same seven-speed automatic found in the regular C63, packing four shift modes and a launch-control function for when you really don’t want to linger at this stupid party one more split second. We ran a Development Pack sedan to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds; with wider rear rubber, figure on the Black Series shaving a couple tenths from that and clearing the quarter-mile in around 12 seconds flat.


I’m Going to Eat You
Like the Black Series cars that came before it, the C63 oozes menace and purpose. Air can’t flow through stuff, so there’s remarkably little material remaining in the front fascia, the bumper that once resided there largely displaced by intakes covered by black mesh. A gaping central intake is flanked by two smaller holes through which cooling air enters, and two nostrils atop the hood give hot air a convenient exit from underhood. As if to emphasize its name and purpose, the front splitter comes to a sharp point in the middle of the nose.
Flared fenders widen the car by 2.2 inches up front and 3.3 out back, covering tracks stretched by 1.6 and 3.1 inches, respectively. Vents behind the front wheels and ahead of the rears are both nonfunctional, which somewhat diminishes their awesomeness. The lightweight wheels at each corner have their movements controlled by adjustable coil-overs, while speed-sensitive steering issues directional orders and Black Series–specific anti-roll bars maintain the contact patches during aggressive driving. The brake rotors measure 15.4 inches in diameter up front and 14.2 inches out back. Red paint is standard on the calipers, which have six pistons up front and four in the rear. The rubber measures 255/35-19 up front and 285/30-19 out back—that’s up from 235/40-18s and 255/35-18s on the basic C63 AMG coupe—and a limited-slip diff is standard, as is a stability-control system that will get entirely out of the way if you want it to.


Flat Bottom Girls
You’ll notice hard-shell sport buckets in the accompanying photos, but those aren’t likely to make it to the U.S. We are likely, however, to at least get red stitching on whatever seats we do end up with. Calm down. The rear seat has been dismissed in the interest of weight savings, but can be reactivated if you’d like to frighten more than just one person at a time. And AMG has flattened both the bottom and top of the steering wheel, which makes it way more serious than all those wheels with just flat bottoms. Lest the screaming V-8 deafen your passenger to the point they can no longer hear the V-8 screaming, a Black Series logo on the dash will remind them why they can’t hear.
Those who feel the flared and vented look of the C63 AMG Black Series isn’t quite enough will be able to crank up the appearance even more with an AMG Aerodynamics package that includes carbon-fiber winglets on the front valance and a fixed carbon-fiber spoiler with an adjustable aerofoil. AMG says these bits are functional and increase downforce, but isn’t saying by how much. It also won’t provide photos of a car so equipped, so we don’t know by how much they make it look more menacing and/or ridiculous. The C63 Black’s other major option package is a Track pack that includes even higher-performance rubber of unspecified Dunlop pedigree, as well as a differential cooler.
All Black Series cars to this point have been low-production affairs, the SLK55 AMG, for example, being limited to just 120 units. The CLK63 and SL65 sold in slightly higher numbers, at 700 and 350, respectively. While Mercedes isn’t saying yet how many C63 AMG Black Series it will build, representatives do tell us the number will be capped. Figure on a sticker edging close to $100,000. While that’s awfully steep for a car that shares its basic shape and structure with a coupe starting in the mid-$30,000 range, it is about $40,000 cheaper than the CLK63 Black Series and a whopping $200K less than the SL65 Black Series. So if you’ve got a spot reserved in your garage for what will certainly be the cheapest U.S.-market Black Series car yet, get on the horn to your dealer now. U.S. distribution will begin early in 2012.

 

Source : Caranddriver.com

2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 / 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8 - First Drive Review

Two reminders that great things can still come in big packages.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

BASE PRICES: $47,995 (300 SRT8); $46,620 (Charger SRT8)

ENGINE TYPE: pushrod 16-valve V-8, iron block and aluminum heads, port fuel injection

Displacement: 391 cu in, 6410 cc
Power (SAE net): 470 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 470 lb-ft @ 4300 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 5-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS*:
Wheelbase: 120.2 in Length: 200.3 in
Width: 74.2 in Height: 58.3 in
Curb weight (C/D est): 4450–4500 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)*:
Zero to 60 mph: 4.6 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.0 sec
Top speed (mfr's claim): 175 mph

FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)*:
EPA city/highway driving: 13/21 mpg
*both models

If we made a list of unforgettable cars of the previous decade, the first-generation Chrysler 300 SRT8 and Dodge Charger SRT8 would be on it. They were nutso full-sizers with 425-hp, 6.1-liter Hemis; aggressive looks; and chest-thumping exhausts. Those qualities earned them a pass for their shortcomings—which included occasionally crashy suspensions, plasticky interiors, turret-like outward vision, and a five-speed automatic transmission that could have used an additional ratio (or three).
We wouldn’t find ourselves smitten with the all-new 2012 300 SRT8 and Charger SRT8—each packing a larger, revised 6.4-liter Hemi with 470 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque—if they were to arrive with similar faults. Our first chance to be smote came on the twisty roads north of Los Angeles, and on the quick, 2.5-mile road course at Willow Springs International Raceway near Lancaster, California. (For more details on the new Hemi, check out our 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 test.)
Status Elevated: The 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8
It was at the track that we received our first opportunity to let a preproduction 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 off its leash. Barreling down the front straight, the acceleration was stupefying for a full-size sedan, but is it quicker than before? We won’t know for sure until we strap on the test gear, but we predict a 4.6-second sprint to 60. That’s 0.1 second quicker, with the 6.4’s additional 45 horses and 50 lb-ft likely able to overcome a 150-ish-pound weight gain. Figure on a quarter-mile time of around 13 flat, too, an improvement of 0.2 second. (The Dodge should return identical numbers.)


The five-speed auto carries over as the conduit for the Hemi’s fury. Acceleration could be helped later by the installation of Chrysler’s eight-speed automatic, which will occur in about a year; it also likely will reduce these beasts’ thirst. For now, any improvement in fuel economy—Chrysler says it’s 25-percent better—comes largely from the Hemi’s new cylinder-deactivation system. There’s also an active valve in the exhaust system that allows half the pots to play dead without a conspicuous change to the exhaust note.
At Willow or on the mountain roads, it was hard to forget the 300 SRT8’s mass, but it never felt unwieldy and acquitted itself fairly well on the track’s squiggles. The fully hydraulic steering delivers linear and surprisingly quick response, and its heft means the quickness just off-center doesn’t wreak havoc on straight-line stability. A bit more surface feedback would have been appreciated at the limit, but there’s enough in nearly every other situation.
Even at 130 mph along the back straight—top speed is 175, says Chrysler—the 300 SRT8 remained firmly planted, and there was virtually no wind noise. There was little drama as we approached turn eight, a wide, fast right-hander. There, the 300 SRT8 hunkered down on its suspension, which drops the body by a half inch compared to the workaday 300/300C. The majority of suspension components have been modified or replaced by SRT, with the most consequential change being the fitment of active dampers, which have distinct Automatic and Sport modes, each uniquely tuned for the Chrysler and the Dodge. In the case of the 300 SRT8, the Automatic mode more or less delivers the comfort of the 300C, while Sport is focused on mitigating body roll, locking the dampers into their firmest setting. But even in Sport, the ride quality never approaches the roughness of this car’s predecessor. Stability-control thresholds are set high enough to allow some exploration of the bounds of grip without electro-nanny intrusion.


Rounding out the SRT8’s performance enhancements are seriously beefed-up brakes. All four corners feature silver-painted, four-piston Brembo calipers; they clamp vented and slotted discs that measure 14.2 inches in front and 13.8 inches in the rear. In addition to being incredibly powerful, these are among the most communicative binders we’ve ever experienced in an American sedan.
Combine the sleeker body and faster windshield angle swiped from the regular 300 with the lowered suspension, and the SRT8 looks serious even before you get to the unique front fascia, the darkened headlamp surrounds, and the glossy black grille. Other accents, including side-sill extensions, door handles, mirrors, and the rear spoiler, are painted body color. Out back, the rear fascia contains a darkened lower section punctuated by a pair of four-inch chrome exhaust tips. For customers wanting a more sinister look, a Black Chrome package will be available later, and will bring upper and lower grille surrounds, rear trim, and seven-spoke 20-inch wheels rendered in black chrome.
The first SRT8’s interior utterly failed to deliver on the expectations that come with a near-$50K price, but the new model’s leather-wrapped dashboard, elegant primary gauges, high-res touch screen, and genuine carbon-fiber trim on the center console, dash, and doors should beat back any complaints. Deeply bolstered, high-back sport seats return for duty and are comfortable, although they would benefit from adjustable bolsters to help accommodate narrower bodies. Our favorite new piece is the thick-rimmed, SRT-specific steering wheel that incorporates, at long last, shift paddles behind the nine and three posts.
The SRT8 includes most every 300/300C option as standard. Besides two-tone, red-and-black leather and suede upholstery, the only add-ons are a dual-panel sunroof, the Leather Premium Interior package (leather-covered armrests, door tops, console lid, and dash), a 19-speaker (!) Harman/Kardon audio system, and the Safety Tec package (collision warning, radar-based cruise control, rear cross-path detection, LED rear fog lamps, and exterior mirrors with supplemental turn signals and puddle lamps).


Now for Something Completely, Uh, Similar: The 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
If for all of its dash the 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 seems low on flash, behold “the outspoken one,” according to SRT CEO Ralph Gilles. Indeed, the 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8 couldn’t be more outspoken if Ann Coulter, Keith Olbermann, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill Maher were piled inside. The 2011 Dodge Charger is rather bold to begin with; the SRT adds side skirts, a rear spoiler, a diffuser-style rear bumper, fat chrome exhaust tips, and a gorgeous new hood with a pair of integrated—and functional—vents near its leading edge. The Dodge offers only one wheel design, a split five-spoke forged aluminum 20-incher with black painted pockets.
But the Charger SRT8’s single greatest point of distinction from its Chrysler sibling is the controversial front end. The grille incorporates matte-black upper and lower honeycomb-style air intakes in a single, blacked-out frame, and it’s flanked by smaller intakes. (Of course, if you hate it, you could always just get your Charger SRT8 in black.) It represents a stark contrast to the 300 SRT8’s reserved looks.
Like the 300 SRT8, the Charger SRT8 offers the option of red-and-black seat hides, and likewise gets most of its lesser siblings’ available features as standard, although the equipment list itself varies slightly from that of the Chrysler. A conventional sunroof, for example, is offered instead of a panoramic one, and certain features like rain-sensing wipers are offered a la carte. The 19-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system is on the list, however, and we recommend it for the times you’re not conducting your own concert with the gas pedal.


The Charger SRT8 is mechanically identical to the 300 SRT8 in every respect save the tuning of the active shocks, which are, not surprisingly, stiffer in the Dodge. The Charger shares the 300’s impressive dynamics in every area but one: Driving the cars back-to-back showed that the Dodge better communicates road surfaces to the driver, most noticeably through the wheel.
Vehicle Performance Data the Driver Can Actually See
Both SRT8 sedans feature an 8.4-inch touch-screen display that includes a “Performance Pages” function that displays vehicle performance data, including instantaneous g forces; lap times; eighth-mile, quarter-mile, 0-to-60, and 0-to-60-to-0 figures; braking distances and more. Compared with the small readout of similar data found in the previous sedans and the Challenger SRT8, the large pictogram-style g-force display is far easier to reference at speed. And for the folks who are actually inclined to peruse the data, Chrysler includes a one-day SRT driving school with the purchase of either model. Speaking of purchasing, the Charger SRT8 will start at $46,620 and the 300 SRT8 at $47,995 when they arrive in showrooms this fall.

We’re looking forward to performing full instrumented tests on Chrysler’s fleetest four-doors. But even without the numbers, it’s clear that in most every other aspect—refinement, user-friendliness, handling, and in the engine room—both the 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 and the 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8 are improved by measures, and they’re much more suitable now to tackle the dual roles of weekday commuter and weekend thrill ride. It’s too soon to put the pair on the unforgettable list for this decade, but we’d call this a good start.
Source : Caranddriver.com

2012 Volkswagen Beetle - First Drive Review

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 3-door hatchback

BASE PRICES: Beetle, $19,765; Beetle Turbo, $24,165

ENGINE TYPES: DOHC 20-valve 2.5-liter inline-5, 170 hp, 177 lb-ft; turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 200 hp, 207 lb-ft
TRANSMISSIONS: 5- or 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic, 6-speed dual-clutch automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 99.9 in Length: 168.4 in
Width: 71.2 in Height: 58.5 in
Curb weight (C/D est): 3050–3150 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 6.3–7.5 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.9–15.8 sec
Top speed: 118–130 mph

FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city/highway driving: 22–24/29–31 mpg

Throughout its 73-year history, the VW Beetle has embodied VW’s “people’s car” philosophy, the original Type 1 becoming more than 21 million people’s car before production finally ceased in Mexico in 2003. It was only during the 12-year term of the New Beetle—introduced in 1998 and discontinued after the final 2010 models—that those people became, by and large, female. In its peak year, the Beetle sold more than 80,000 copies in the U.S., roughly 75 percent of them to women, based on our observation. (The other 25 percent going to very effeminate, very confident, or completely oblivious men.) If VW is to make its goal of moving 800,000 cars in the U.S. by 2018, even a percentage of the 83,434 Beetles sold here in 1999 would be a helpful number to add back into the sales charts.
Thankfully, in designing this generation of Beetle, VW started with the right priority: Reshape the car so that it will appeal to more than just people who can get away with wearing skirts in public (Scots excluded). Gone is the syrupy-cute, large-bubble-eating-a-smaller-bubble look, replaced by a design with a flatter, lower roof, a flatter, longer hood, and tauter sheetmetal that looks like someone popped a pressure-relief valve and bled off a couple dozen psi.


The result is larger than its predecessor—7.3 inches longer, with 1.1 more inches between the wheels, and 3.3 inches wider—and spectacularly retro. It is far more faithful to the original than the last Beetle, right down to the wheel designs and delightful ’70s brown paint. VW seems unlikely to follow our suggestion to call this shade “dung,” therefore denying buyers the option of buying a dung Beetle. However, in homage to the numerous entomological nicknames the vehicle has acquired around the world—Käfer, Coccinelle, Maggiolino, to name a few—VW will offer a variety of the monikers as optional replacements for the standard “Beetle” script on the hatch.
That Was it for the Poop Jokes
There are important practical implications for the new shape in addition to the obvious aesthetic ones. While no longer boasting a top-hat-friendly front row ready for Abe Lincoln and Mr. Peanut’s Sunday drive, the Beetle’s interior still offers a spacious front seat. Even in a car with a sunroof—his mortal enemy—this six-foot, seven-inch scribe fits comfortably behind the wheel. The standard telescoping column’s generous reach is a tremendous aid. The Beetle’s sunroof is huge, but the hole it creates when open is small. Early in their ownership, we expect that many drivers will fiddle with its switch, thinking the roof should open farther. It does, however, slide back far enough to get in the way when the rear hatch is opened, which is why it automatically slides forward three inches when the rear portal’s latch releases.


Assuming all are average size, a quartet of adults can comfortably ride in the Beetle—although those much loftier than average height will find their foreheads locked into a cutout in the trailing edge of the headliner. While it does allow for taller riders, it somewhat uncomfortably forces an upright posture lest you constantly rub your forehead on cloth. On the other hand, the cutout is convenient for sweltering summertime rides when you want to wipe your brow on your friend’s headliner. And the simple manual folding operation of the front seats quickly opens a large passage to the rear, while 15 cubic feet of flower vases will fit beneath the rear hatch. (Capacity swells to 30 cubic feet with the rear seats folded.) Buyers wanting a vase in their Beetle will need a solution similar to this, as there is no longer one mounted on the dash. Good.
Soap Bars and German Cars
Structurally, if you think of the Beetle as a Jetta that has graduated from Soap Bars Anonymous, you won’t be far off. It shares much of that car’s platform, including the U.S.-market version’s torsion-beam rear suspension, although Beetles powered by the optional turbo four use a multilink rear setup like that on the recently announced Jetta GLI. On this early drive, the turbo was the only car available to us. The base engine is VW’s unique 2.5-liter inline-five; both it and the four have the same output in the Beetle as they do in its boxier brethren. The five chalks up 170 hp and 177 lb-ft, while the four squeezes out 200 and 207. Transmission choices with the five are a five-speed manual and a six-speed automatic, while the turbo gets a six-speed manual or six-speed DSG. A Beetle TDI, with VW’s 140-hp, 236-lb-ft turbo-diesel, will arrive next summer, as will a Beetle convertible. The Beetle R, with a higher-output turbo four making at least 240 hp, will bow sometime later.
Despite being such a familiar engine, the turbo four-cylinder sounds very different in the Beetle than in other Volkswagens, almost five-cylinder-esque. Its familiar surge of power, though, is just as addicting here as in the GTI. Although we appreciate the DSG transmission’s immediate upshifts and rev-matched downshifts, its takeup at part throttle is still frustratingly slow, making for some unnecessarily anxious moments when darting into traffic. It is very eager to upshift in urban commuting, although the seamless shifts mean the driver notices the change in engine note far more than he feels the gear swap.
The base car comes with 17-inch wheels and can be fitted with 18s, while the Turbo includes 18s and offers 19s. The 18-inchers feel about as big as we’d want on this car, with larger impacts bordering on harsh. But the ride is otherwise smooth, with restrained body motions. All Beetles have a strut front suspension with an anti-roll bar, but the Turbo’s bar is 1 mm larger, at 23 mm. In addition, it gets an 18-mm rear anti-roll bar and an optional sportier tune; the base car does without either of these. Regardless, the Beetle is a resolute understeerer. The XDS brake-based “limited-slip” differential is standard on turbo cars.


The steering weight won’t alienate even the frailest of New Beetle customers, but still requires a touch of effort to operate. It rises predictably with speed, and offers enough feedback to satisfy those trading in their GTIs without scaring off old New Beetle buyers. Like the Jetta, the Beetle feels a bit less substantial than other VW products. It’s not terribly flimsy, just a slightly less-solid feel than we’re accustomed to. (Inside, fortunately, the Beetle betrays none of the cost-cutting so evident in the Jetta.) At German-appropriate speeds on the Autobahn, we noted a very German-inappropriate nervousness above 100 mph or so. This will matter to very few buyers in the U.S.
Beetle Hierarchy
What will matter to buyers here is the Beetle’s value. The very cheapest Beetle starts at $19,765 and includes the 170-horse inline-five, the five-speed stick, disc brakes all around, one-touch power windows, cruise control, very attractive cloth seats that fold 50/50 in the rear, and an eight-speaker stereo with an auxiliary input. If you want an automatic, you’ll have to step up to the Beetle 2.5 trim, which starts at $21,665, or $20,565 with the manual. In addition to unlocking the automatic, the 2.5 adds leatherette seats—heated up front—Bluetooth, and a USB input. For $23,065 ($24,165 with an automatic), the Beetle with sunroof adds a glass-covered hole in the roof, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, keyless entry and starting, and a touch-screen radio. The priciest among the lower-powered Beetles adds 18-inch wheels, nav, and a Fender-branded audio system for $24,865 ($25,965 with the auto).
Equipment groupings for the Beetle Turbo vary only slightly, with the basic Turbo starting at $24,165 and including 18-inch wheels, fog lights, gloss-black mirror housings, a rear spoiler, supportive sport seats with unique upholstery, and a leather-wrapped shift knob and handbrake lever, and aluminum pedals. (The DSG transmission adds $1100 to the price of any Turbo.) For another $3000, you’ll get the sunroof, audio controls and leather on the steering wheel, keyless entry and starting, the touch-screen radio, and the Fender audio. If you want to spend premium-German-brand money on your people’s car, the top-of-the-line car demands $28,765 to add nav and leather seats, as well as dash and door trim wrapped in dead cowskin.

If you think of the Beetle as a recovered soap bar, the treatment was pretty cheap, with prices outpacing similarly equipped versions of VW’s less-stylish hatchback, the Golf and GTI, by about a grand. That seems reasonable to us for a car with scads more panache and a relatively minor drop in practicality. Best of all, the shape doesn’t appeal exclusively to women anymore.
Source : Caranddriver.com

2011 Jaguar XFR Review

By contributing editor David Colman
LIKES:

• Prodigious acceleration


• Effectiveness of Dynamic Mode system

DISLIKES:

• Low 57.5 inch roof height


• Non-adjustable rear seats

The Jaguar XF series marks an epochal advance in appearance, performance and engineering over the fusty sedans formerly produced by this legacy British car maker. Now in its third year of production, the XF is available in 4 distinctive models: 385 hp Base and Premium versions, 470 hp Supercharged offering, and line-topping XFR, with 510 hp. If you’re in the market for a Mercedes AMG 6.3, BMW M5 or Porsche Panamera, you’ll definitely want to cross-shop the XFR because this sports sedan is better looking than the Porsche, more nimble than the BMW and much cheaper than the Benz.


The XFR is the antidote to a line of Jaguar XJ6 and 12 sedans that were designed in the Sixties, vibrant in the Seventies, and calcified by the Eighties. If you’re looking for veddy British chops and ale appeal, you’ll have to look elsewhere, to Bentley or Rolls Royce, for rainforest decimation interior paneling. This R type Jag is all business inside, aluminum-trimmed, driver grade business that is, with nothing woodsy to distract the operator from the art of driving rapidly. After all, when you’re trying to concentrate on harnessing 510 horsepower to do your bidding, you need to make instant decisions about steering wheel position, throttle angle, and gear choice. This 6-speed, paddle-shifted Jaguar will ably assist you in that pursuit. You can select “S” on the shift knob to make upshifts at redline and rev-match downshifts.
If you depress the handily accessible checkered flag button on the center console, you’ll trigger “Dynamic Mode” for your driving experience. This simple step optimizes steering acumen, throttle response and traction control to meld harmoniously into a state of red alert that maximizes driver involvement. Specifically, the Dynamic Mode automatically selects a special traction setting called TracDSC for optimum traction in difficult conditions. When you’re spinning the big cat’s 9.5 x 20 inch Nevis alloys, and igniting its beefy Dunlop 285/30ZR20 SP Sport Maxx tires, you’ll definitely need as much TracDSC assist as you can get.


The beauty of this R package lies in its subtlety. Inside, all 4 seating positions bear headrest “R” logos, but they’re so discrete as to be barely noticeable, thanks to tone on tone graphics. There’s a small “supercharged” moniker on the face of the 180mph speedometer, and a couple of supercharged embossments in the hood mounted air vents. Even the wheels testify inconspicuously to this machine’s special status, with “Supercharged Jaguar” lettering sunken into the circumference of the Nevis alloy hubs. But the “R” pageantry is so muted and skillfully incorporated into the XF’s overall design that no one will shy away from ownership due to brazen braggadocio.
In keeping with its stealth appearance, the XFR is perfectly capable of passing itself off as just another luxury sedan when bidden to do so. You don’t have to drive at full tilt to derive pleasure and benefit from this vehicle. There’s 17 cubic feet of space available in the trunk, so a long trip for 4 is definitely on. It can even be a ski trip, because the rear, foldable center arm rest converts into a ski sack if needed.

On the open highway, the XFR returns over 20 MPG, so a full run on the 18.4 gallon tank will net you close to 350 miles before refill time. The Jag’s low fuel warning light illuminates when you’ve still got 1.5 gallons left to burn. Bowers & Wilkins, the company which sponsored the pole sitting car at Indy this year, makes the XFR’s 14 crystalline speakers. The entertainment system puts out 440 watts, provides Sirius and HD radio, and reads through a 7 inch dash screen that also controls the DVD-based, voice-activated, navigation system. One of the niftiest features of the cross-hatched aluminum dash console is its set of 4 AC/heat vent covers which slide open whenever you activate the HVAC system. After all, you can’t sell an $80,000 car without at least one good parlor trick.
2011 JAGUAR XFR

• ENGINE: 5.0 liter, 32 valve DOHC V8, supercharged


• HORSEPOWER: 510 @ 6,000rpm


• TORQUE: 461 lb.-ft. @ 2,500rpm


• TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic


• 0 – 60 TIME: 4.7 seconds


• FUEL CONSUMPTION: 15 City MPG/21 Highway MPG


• PRICE AS TESTED: $80.475

Source : Carreview.com

2012 Porsche 911: Riding Along for an Inside Look - Future Cars

The Desert Fox: Porsche’s new 911 is in final development in South Africa. We tag along for a ride.

Beyond the lift-throttle oversteer, beyond the repair bills, and beyond the accusations of sexual inadequacy, most Porschephiles’ longest-standing fear is that Zuffenhausen is going to screw up the 911. This is especially true when they know there are big changes coming. Well, this new 911, code-named 991 and set to debut in September, is larger and built to accommodate a hybrid powertrain. How’s that for terrifying? Kinda makes watercooled engines seem like small­-er cup holders, no? But if our first experi­ence with the preproduction car is any indication, there’s nothing to fear.
We have flown to South Africa to join August Achleitner, the man known as “Mr. 911,” responsible for all 911-series cars, and 991 project leader Bernd Kahnan for the car’s final chassis-tune shakedown. First question to Achleitner: “How will you keep the soul of the 911 intact?” He smiles and urges calm. “We sharpened the 911 by making it faster, more responsive, safer, and more environmentally friendly. But we didn’t mess it up!”
That’s certainly true of the bodywork, which is stretched and pulled but still unmistakably 911, even under the camouflage. The car’s body is 2.2 inches longer than the outgoing 997 and sits on a 4.0-inch-longer wheelbase. This is to make real estate available for the coming-for-2016 hybrid version’s electric motor and components. The front and rear overhangs are shorter, by 1.3 and 0.5 inch respectively, and the car’s roofline is lower by 0.5 inch. Because our particular 911 S is outfitted with the sport suspension, it crouches an additional 0.7 inch closer to the pavement.
Dimensional changes to the greenhouse may seem equally small on paper, but they have the effect of making the whole car look sleeker. The windshield is more convex and its rake faster in the interest of aerodynamics—the new 911’s Cd is a claimed 0.29, identical to the 997’s. Porsche moved the base of the A-pillars forward by 1.4 inches. And the center bottom of the glass punches out by a meaningful 3.2 inches so that, in combination with a full-length sunroof and more shoulder room, the cabin feels much airier than before. But the back seat is still only useful for the tiniest of children and dogs. Standing on 19- (regular 911) and 20-inch (911 S, optional for 911) wheels, the 991 looks ready to pounce.
Sliding into the car’s seat is as easy as ever. The shells are made of aluminum and covered with flat, leather-wrapped pads, offering the comfort and lateral support we’ve come to expect from a 911. The major differences inside are the Panamera-like door trim, gauges, and sweeping center console, which sacrifices the 911’s mechanical parking brake to the electronic gods. But thanks to the higher position of the shorter gear lever, the distance your right hand has to move from the steering wheel to the gearshifter is lessened. Small compensation for all the shared parts and the loss of the auxiliary steering control between the seats.
Crank the key with your left hand, and the engine wakes up with a low-frequency belch and a high-frequency whine. Sort of like a mother-in-law. The Carrera S is powered by  the 3.8-liter flat-six with direct injection. It makes 400 horsepower at 7200 rpm, and the rev limiter doesn’t kick in until 7600 rpm. The power is chopped up by either a seven-speed manual gearbox (yes, that’s seven speeds) or the seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic, both made by ZF.
The base 911 loses the 3.6-liter; it now shares the 3.4-liter, direct-injected flat-six with the Boxster S. In the 911, it makes 350 horsepower at 6400 rpm and max torque of 280 pound-feet between 4400 and 6000 rpm. Like the Carrera S, it also offers the choice of ZF’s manual or dual-clutch automatic seven-speed.
Porsche gave us a provisional 0-to-60 time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 186 mph. Launch control, a feature that will no longer be exclusive to PDK-equipped versions of the 911, should shave considerable time from that conservative sprint figure (we launched the previous Carrera S manual to 60 in 3.9 seconds).
Why are we so sure this bigger car will be quicker? Because it’s lighter. Its curb weight is some 55 pounds lower than the 997’s due to more extensive use of high-strength steel. And the hybrid version, with its aluminum chassis components and roughly 80-percent high-strength steel, will shave off an additional 22 pounds.
But, as noted, the hybrid Carrera S is four years away; it is due to arrive with the car’s midcycle refresh. Even without dual-source power, though, the 2012 911 posts significantly better consumption figures than those of the outgoing car: On the European combined cycle, the 991 quaffs between 12 and 15 percent less fuel, depending on the engine and transmission configuration.
Achleitner hops behind the wheel and heads into the Hawequa Mountains on narrow R101 North out of Paarl. He changes throttle position more than is strictly necessary in order to demonstrate the flat-six’s responsiveness. It sounds great—roaring and burbling under increasing load, snarling menacingly after the engine comes on the cam at 3600 rpm. Above 6000 rpm, the sound coming from behind us is like that of a chain saw tearing down an oak. But we were long gone before we could check for sawdust.

A revised back end reveals adaptive louvers to aid engine cooling. The 911’s rear spoiler deploys from below the vents. Its cutlines are just visible.

As with the classic, raunchy engine note, steering sensitivity is one of the things that makes a 911 a 911. The development crew was intent on preserving its feel with the new electric-assisted system. “And yet,” Achleitner tells us, “it does not transmit as much impact from bad surfaces as before.” As we watch his hands work the wheel, we witness no corrections, not even slight ones, at high speed on rough surfaces—a fairly large change from the more nervous 997.
Achleitner also demonstrates the car’s reduced tendency  to understeer at tight ­corner entries. The car reacts more neutrally and does not jiggle over expansion joints anymore due to the fitting of softer anti-roll bars and a 2.1-inch-wider track (60.6 inches) up front. Additionally, the new torque-vectoring differential helps to stabilize the car’s back end during load changes in ­corners. The limited slip provides up to 28-percent lock under throttle and opens completely when you lift.
There was plenty of adjustment work needed in implementing new parts, as Achleitner explains: “For example, carrying over the dynamic engine mounts from the GT3 and the 911 Turbo is relatively simple. But to adjust them to work properly took us thousands of  kilometers to dial in.” It seems to have been worth the trouble. From the passenger seat, the 991 comes across as the most stable 911 ever built, with minimal loss of directional stability during braking and less front-end washout at the limit.
Of course, this new 911 comes with separate buttons for damper adjustment and dynamic driving modes, as well as the special “journalist button” to fully deactivate stability control, or as Porsche calls it, PSM (Porsche Stability Management). The system stays idle as long as the driver doesn’t touch the brake pedal, at which point PSM kicks in again.
But what about the Nürburgring times, Achleitner? No Porsche story is complete without those! The regular 991 does it in 8 minutes 4 seconds, the 991 S in 7:50. “With the best setup, we did 7:37,” he says. For some reason, he doesn’t want to tell us what his best setup looks like. Maybe it’s with the optional carbon-ceramic brakes. Or maybe it’s all the little things adding up, as always.

Look closely, and you’ll notice that the graphics of this new 911 look surprisingly like those of the outgoing model. That’s exactly what Porsche wants you to think. In a novel attempt to camouflage the new car, Porsche used photographic stickers based on current 911 lights and intakes. New rear LED clusters are visible through the adhesive disguise. Fake scoops hide the added length. And for night drives, Porsche cut holes in the headlight stickers. Source : Caranddriver.com

2012 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Sedan and Wagon - First Drive Review

A smaller, twin-turbocharged V-8 for the most muscular E-class.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan or 5-door wagon

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $88,000 (sedan)

ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 333 cu in, 5461 cc
Power (SAE net): 518 or 550 hp @ 5750 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 516 or 590 lb-ft @ 1700 or 2000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 113.2 in Length: 192.4–193.4 in
Width: 75.9 in Height: 56.8–57.8 in
Curb weight (C/D est): 4200–4300 lbs.

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST, AMG PERFORMANCE PKG):
Zero to 60 mph: 3.8 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.0 sec
Top speed: 186 mph
FUEL ECONOMY (MFR’S EST):
EPA city/highway driving: 14–15/21–22 mpg

Call it trickledown turbonomics. Last year, Mercedes-Benz replaced the naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8 found in the S63 AMG and CL63 AMG with a 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-8. Now the 2012 E-class AMG, which goes on sale this fall, receives the downsizing treatment. (As does the CLS63 AMG.) And, yes, that means the misleading and inaccurate “63” nomenclature is now more inaccurate; with its widespread adoption of turbocharged engines, Mercedes-Benz is abandoning displacement-linked model designations altogether.
The new direct-injection engine makes the same 518 hp as its predecessor. Torque is up by 51 lb-ft, however, to 516, and it’s now available at 1700 rpm versus the previous 5200. For an extra $7300, the AMG Performance package increases max boost from 14.5 psi to 18.9; power jumps to 550 hp and torque leaps to 590 lb-ft at 2000 rpm.
Fuel economy is up, too, from 13/20 mpg city/highway to an expected 15/22–high enough to avoid the gas-guzzler tax. In Germany, all this comes with no increase to the sticker price; we expect a similar strategy when U.S. pricing is announced later. Our favorite tidbit: The E63 wagon is once again available here, by special order only. (The wagon takes a 1-mpg hit on both fuel-economy estimates, but who cares when you can dust an Audi R8?)
Same as the Previous One: Good
We were lucky enough to drive the new E63 around the Paul Ricard Circuit in the south of France, and we have little in the way of groundbreaking news to report. To clarify, the old E63 was very good—and has a comparison-test victory under its belt—and the new version is also very good. This is the kind of car that combines the raw power of a classic muscle car with the agility of a modern sports car, plus it seats four comfortably (or five in a pinch). In short, it’s an everyday car that offers Corvette-like performance, albeit a price that could almost buy two Corvettes.
Besides the engine, the 2012 model gets a wet clutch pack in place of a torque converter for its seven-speed automatic transmission. As in other AMGs with this gearbox—the SL63, C63, and CLS63 are among them—gearchanges via the aluminum paddle shifters are fast and crisp. The clutches also allow for a “Race Start” launch-control mode, although a careful driver can achieve slightly better acceleration times without it. We recently put a 2012 CLS63 AMG with the Performance pack through its paces, and managed a 0-to-60-mph time of 3.8 seconds and a quarter-mile of 12.0 seconds, improvements of 0.3 and 0.6 second over the last-gen CLS63. The E63, which shares its architecture with the CLS-class, should post nearly identical numbers when equipped with the Performance pack; 518-hp examples will, of course, return slightly slower times.
Another major change to the 2012 E63 is the installation of an electrohydraulic pump for the power-assisted steering. Steering feel is isolated and bordering on numb, but considering that the E63 is a large luxury sedan, it is possible (and even appropriate) that such tuning was the goal.
Start and Stop For Real, and Give It What You Got
Let’s not forget to mention the new stop/start system. With the transmission set to C (that’s for “Controlled Efficiency”) and the Eco mode active (which depends on various vehicle-monitored criteria such as engine and cabin temperatures), the E63 will shut down the engine at a stop. It’s mostly transparent, although requesting a quick launch, and therefore a restart, results in some lurching. At the very least, the system is easily defeated by deactivating Eco mode or selecting a sportier transmission setting.

Yes, we miss the deep roar of the old 6.2-liter. The new turbo V-8 still makes some pleasant noises, but the volume is diminished. At least wagon-lovers can take solace in the fact that the open cargo area provides more reverberation than in the sedan, and thus more exhaust noise. Otherwise the new engine is just peachy, with very minor turbo lag and more satisfying torque curve from low on the tach. And so Mercedes-AMG’s latest move into the downsized future comes with little sacrifice—and with the sticker price ostensibly standing pat, it shows that progress doesn’t have to command a premium.
Source : Carsanddriver.com

2011 Audi Q7 TDI Quattro - Road Test Update

Date: June 2011
Months in Fleet: 10 months
Current Mileage: 32,700 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 21 mpg
Range: 581 miles
Service: $987
Normal Wear: $0
Repair: $0
Unscheduled Urea-Solution Additions: $14
Damage and Destruction: $458
Just four months ago, our Audi Q7 TDI had fewer than 16,000 miles on the clock. We’re now at more than 32K, numeric proof of the big brown crossover’s popularity.
The esteem and the miles spring from the Q7’s prowess for long-haul road trips and its aptitude for towing, talents staffers often exploit at the same time. On one run to the left side of the country, Tony Swan called upon the Audi to shoulder his Honda S2000 race car; he dropped it off in California and returned lugging a freshly purchased 1964 Volvo 544. The loads were about a ton shy of the 6600-pound towing capacity; with the cruise control set to extra-legal velocities, the Q7 whuffled along with nary a complaint, easily maintaining its speed even up steep hills. Speaking to the overall comfort and supportive seats, it was only at the end of a grueling 1200-mile day that Swan began crying for mercy.
Other long trips include one undertaken by editor-in-chief Alterman, who didn’t tow, but he did haul ass from Detroit to Manhattan and back, covering the 640-mile return leg in just over nine hours. There were a couple of stops, but taking on fuel wasn’t an absolute necessity: We’re regularly getting well over 600 miles per tank on freeway grinds. We’ve also been to Kentucky (twice) and Florida, and spent more than a few weekends exploring the northern reaches of our cartographic mitten. Even so, overall economy has dipped down by 1 mpg to 21 since our last update.
Tire Noise Returns—But So Do the Gorgeous Wheels
The Q7’s winter Dunlops came off around the 25K mark, which meant a return to the summer Dunlops—and the reappearance of the humongous and handsome 21-inch rims. Unfortunately, the swap back to the firmer compound gave road warts some of their bite back, and the fat Sport Maxx tires are as noisy as ever.
More recently, a small rock punctured the right rear, and the process to change it out was more complicated than a simple stop-and-swap. The Vredestein compact spare lives under the cargo floor, but you need to remove the subwoofer from inside the rim before taking out the tire. The spare also comes uninflated. A small compressor is provided to blow in the required 51 psi, but it should be run for only 12 minutes at a time—lest it melt itself into a puddle of brown plastic—so at least one cool-down period is necessary before the spare is ready. Then, if your Q7 is equipped with the air suspension like ours, be sure to activate “jack mode” through the main MMI system. The rest is pretty standard—jack up the corner, remove the five lug bolts, install the spare, and tighten everything back down—but the process took us nearly an hour, including packing up. And that doesn’t take into account the time lost due to the spare’s 50-mph maximum recommended speed. Plan your flat tires accordingly.
The Q7 is for the most part wearing its miles well, although the leather on the front-seat bottoms has wrinkled some and the “Start Engine” button has shed most of the little silver triangles that form each N.
Costs are Piling Up
We’ve incurred $846 in out-of-pocket expenses since our last update, $458 of which went to mounting and balancing ($46) a new right rear tire ($412). The remaining $388 went to the 25K service, which included an oil-and-filter change, a flush and fill of the AdBlue urea-injection system, some wiper fluid, and inspections of the windshield and headlamp washer systems, the brakes, the wipers, and tires.
If any of us were harboring delusions that the Q7 would be an inexpensive vehicle to maintain, the nearly $1500 we’ve spent thus far has well and truly squelched them. Still, the Q7’s versatility, pleasant dynamics, and comfort mean we’re not looking forward to its departure—even if our wallet might be.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 7-passenger, 5-door wagon

PRICE AS TESTED: $70,025 (base price: $51,775)

ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve diesel V-6, iron block and aluminum heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 181 cu in, 2967 cc
Power (SAE net): 225 bhp @ 3750 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 406 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manumatic shifting

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 118.2 in Length: 200.3 in
Width: 78.1 in Height: 68.4 in
Curb weight: 5687 lb

PERFORMANCE: NEW
Zero to 60 mph: 8.3 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 26.6 sec
Zero to 110 mph: 36.7 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 9.1 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 16.4 sec @ 83 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 126 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 162 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad*: 0.85 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 17/25 mpg
C/D observed: 21 mpg
Unscheduled oil additions: 0 qt

WARRANTY:
4 years/50,000 miles bumper to bumper;
4 years/50,000 miles powertrain;
12 years/unlimited miles corrosion protection;
4 years/unlimited miles roadside assistance;
1 year/5000 miles free routine maintenance
*Stability-control-inhibited.
Source : Caranddriver.com

2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 - Short Take Road Test

Highs and Lows

Highs: Good power, great visibility, newly richened interior.
Lows: Chassis pitches and bobs over uneven surfaces, styling doesn’t advance the game.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 4-door sedan

PRICE AS TESTED: $83,095 (base price: $72,175)

ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 285 cu in, 4663 cc
Power (SAE net): 402 hp @ 5000 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 443 lb-ft @ 1600 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 113.2 in Length: 194.5 in
Width: 74.1 in Height: 55.8 in
Curb weight: 4158 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 4.2 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 10.2 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 17.6 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 4.7 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.3 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 2.8 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.8 sec @ 112 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 134 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 163 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.89 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 18/26 mpg
C/D observed: 18 mpg

It's an age-old automotive-design problem—how do you fix what isn't broken? How do you update a timeless shape?
There are two possible answers: One, you tweak it a little, à la Mini Cooper, until your shape is neither new nor old. Or two, you start over, Jaguar XJ–style, throwing everything out the window and starting fresh. Best case, you end up with something revolutionary. Worst case, you get a hacked-up rehash that just reminds you of what you've lost.
Bigger and More Muscular
Well, there is a third possibility: somewhere in between, and that’s what we have here. When it was launched in the United States in 2005, the Mercedes-Benz CLS turned heads; the "four-door coupe" oxymoron suddenly made some sense. Even though the car was little more than a rebodied E-class, 40,000 examples whizzed out of American dealers in five years. Now we have a new CLS for 2012.
Meet the new oxymoron, not quite the old. You will note that it looks different. Kind of. Also note that it’s still fundamentally an E-class. Wheelbase is up, from 112.4 inches to 113.2, and overall length has jumped by nearly an inch. Height and width increase too, as do the front and rear tracks. The biggest difference is the lack of a naturally aspirated powerplant. In place of the old car's 5.5-liter V-8, the CLS550 now sports a 4.7-liter, direct-injection, twin-turbo V-8, the same engine used in the humongous 2011 CL550 4MATIC coupe and proliferating throughout the Merc lineup in the coming years.
Power is down from the CL—402 versus 429—as is torque, from 516 lb-ft to 443. This is still 20 hp and 52 lb-ft more than the last-gen CLS550 offered, and the 4.7-liter goes like the clappers: Hitting 60 mph requires just 4.2 seconds and the quarter passes in 12.8 at 112 mph. Even so, we can’t help missing the CL's extra bit of shove. (Disclaimer: The CL550 thumps its way across the landscape with the kind of seamless urge usually found in booster rockets. We miss its shove in everything.) A smooth-shifting seven-speed automatic is the only transmission available in the CLS550. If you're absolutely desperate for more grunt, a 518- or 550-hp, 5.5-liter twin-turbo V-8 can be found in the CLS63 AMG. And no, we don't understand the naming scheme, either.
Capable but Cautious
This is a big car—it tipped our scales at more than 4100 pounds—and it drives like one. The plushly appointed cabin is comfortable, the heavily bolstered seats seemingly good for thousand-mile days. But the low roofline lends a small-car feel, and you end up tossing the CLS around like you would a much smaller machine.
Chassis behavior is predictable and entertaining but won't surprise anyone. The standard Airmatic air suspension works well enough on winding pavement but doesn’t like being rushed; you spend a lot of time waiting for the nose to take a set, for the back end to settle down, for the rest of the car to make it through the corner. Grip on a smooth skidpad is a commendable 0.89 g, but truly crazed asphalt can bind things up to the point where the car simply gives up and throws in a stability-controlled brake application to yank everything back down again.
The brakes are simply unflappable, with short pedal travel and surprising fade resistance in hard street driving, and they turned in an impressive 163-foot stop from 70 mph. The electric power steering is accurate and possessed of classic Mercedes heft. All in all, it’s a nice, quick package, if not an overly sporty or aggressive one.

Okay, so the styling occasionally seems forced, with too many angry-face fillips and none of the previous CLS’s elegance. But the 2012 CLS550 is still more stylish than the E-class sedan, and if you’re not enamored of the new sheetmetal, consider this: From the driver’s seat, all you see is the road.
source : Caranddriver.com

2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS - Road Test

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe

PRICE AS TESTED: $249,090 (base price: $245,950)

ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve flat-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection

Displacement: 220 cu in, 3600 cc
Power (SAE net): 620 hp @ 6500 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 516 lb-ft @ 2250 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 92.5 in Length: 175.9 in
Width: 72.9 in Height: 50.6 in
Curb weight: 3085 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 3.3 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 6.6 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 10.4 sec
Zero to 150 mph: 14.4 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 4.3 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 7.8 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 6.3 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 11.1 sec @ 133 mph
Top speed (redline limited, C/D est): 209 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 145 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 1.07 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 16/23 mpg
C/D observed: 15 mpg

Porsche’s 911 GT2 RS is a brute, a lightweight, twin-turbocharged, 620-hp bout of madness that stemmed from Stuttgart’s quest to see how high up the sports-car ladder the 911 could punch. Overpowered almost to a fault and with enough grip to peel lane markings off the pavement, it is the most serious roadgoing Porsche ever.
Unlike the previous 996-era GT2, this 997 variant was deemed intense enough to skip straight to the “RS” designation reserved for Porsche’s homologated street-legal racers. That doesn’t mean you’ll see a GT2 RS on a Porsche Cup starting grid, but it illustrates the level of focus the car received.
Making a Rocket
The recipe was simple: put the company’s most powerful street-legal powerplant ever in the back of a GT3 RS chassis and remove even more weight. The engine is a port-injected, 3.6-liter flat-six from the Le Mans–winning GT1 race car of the late ’90s, with a pair of variable-geometry turbochargers huffing a maximum of 23.2 psi of boost into the combustion chambers. The result is 620 hp at 6500 rpm and 516 lb-ft of torque at 2250. Compared to Porsche’s other leading turbocharged rocket, the 530-hp, all-wheel-drive 911 Turbo S—which is fitted with a seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic—the GT2 RS’s six-speed manual gearbox and rear-drive layout invite a significantly higher level of driver involvement.
Weight was pulled from throughout the car, with total savings of about 70 pounds compared to the GT3 RS and 400 or so relative to the Turbo S. Some of the more notable lightening bits include a single-mass flywheel, a carbon-fiber hood and front fenders (the latter a $6840 option), various aluminum suspension bits, lighter springs, single-lug wheels, an optional lithium-ion battery ($1700), less sound-deadening material, carbon-fiber racing seats, and polycarbonate rear and rear-side windows. Deleting the infotainment system and air conditioning—as on our example—is a no-cost option and further reduces mass, but we recommend keeping them if you plan on commuting to the track. A roll-bar where the rear seats used to be adds several pounds back in, as do airbag-equipped seats and actual glass for the rear windows, the latter two included on U.S. models to meet safety regulations.
Lighting the Candle
Power doesn’t so much as build with engine speed as it explodes. The tipping point for maximum thrust is about 4000 rpm, and there’s a slight delay in responsiveness at lower rpm as the turbos violently inhale the atmosphere through the intakes. The mechanical clatter of the engine overlaid with fast-moving, tormented air sounds much angrier than the naturally aspirated wail of a GT3. The lack of boost at low revs actually makes the GT2 RS surprisingly docile to pedal around town—save for the firm yet progressive clutch—but standing starts can be tricky.
Riding the line between bogging out and lighting up the massive rear tires—and doing our best to shift quickly from our tester’s right-seat driving position—we managed a deceptively, um, long 3.3-second run to 60 mph, or 0.5 second slower than our best in a Turbo S with launch control. While that’s still very quick, the GT2’s acceleration intensifies dramatically once the car is moving, and is accompanied by a significant lightening of steering effort as the car squats and squirms about for traction. Keeping both hands on the wheel is advised.
The gap between GT2 and Turbo S narrows at the quarter-mile mark (11.1 seconds at 133 mph to 10.8 at 129) and the GT2 takes the lead by 150 mph, which comes up in a blistering 14.4 seconds—1.0 second ahead of the Turbo S and 2.0 seconds quicker than a 638-hp Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. The unrelenting thrust makes the estimated 209-mph top speed entirely believable.
Advanced Guidance
Based as it is on the already stellar GT3 RS, the precision and feel of the GT2’s chassis is sublime, what with its minimal, 3085-pound curb weight and sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup rubber, sized 245/35-19 in front and 325/30-19 at the rear. Porsche’s adaptive suspension (PASM), carbon-ceramic brakes (PCCB) with center-locking hubs, and defeatable stability- and traction-control systems are all present and do their best to make the GT2 as drivable as possible. The steering is as crisp and tactile as any road car’s, outright grip is phenomenal and among the highest figures we’ve recorded (1.07 g), and the beautifully firm and progressive brakes can stop the car from 70 mph in a disorienting 145 feet, another near-best.
Overlooking the objective figures, the GT2 RS is simply insanely fast on the road and something of a handful when the front wheels attempt to leave the pavement under maximum acceleration in the lower gears. The snug-fitting racing seats and heavy primary controls are all excellent, and the seemingly endless amounts of grip and braking power offered loads of confidence on the fast mountain roads of northern Wales in the U.K. There is no twitchiness or demonic behavior as with previous hard-core 911s, so long as you’re pointed straight before you pin the throttle. Not that it’s a primary concern for such a vehicle, but we also managed an impressive 15 mpg overall during our drive.
ReentryLong stints in the driver’s seat of the GT2 do reveal some annoyances: road noise is brutally loud; the stiff ride is tolerable at best; the semi-slick tires have a terrifying lack of grip on even mildly damp roads; the car scrapes its front splitter on every speed bump (there is no nose-lifting system as on the GT3); and passing maneuvers will always end in speeds fit for incarceration. The GT2 RS feels like a track-day refugee, and with our tester’s bronze-colored wheels, fixed rear wing, and gaudy red-and-black Alcantara-lined interior, it looks like one, too. Factor in the $245,950 starting price (our example’s black paint pushed the as-tested figure to $249,090) and this is a very focused—albeit special—machine of limited use.

Although the recently introduced 500-hp GT3 RS 4.0 has replaced the GT2 RS as the ultimate sendoff for the 997—and is probably our pick for the best all-around track-day 911—it’s slightly less exclusive (600 units to the GT2’s already sold-out 500) and nowhere near as excessive. The GT2 is a wallflower next to the sultry lines of a Ferrari 458 Italia, but piloting it is an extraordinary event on par with nearly any blue-chip exotic. We won’t call it the best 911 ever, but it’s definitely Porsche at its most extreme. Source : Caranddriver.com