Crazy Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG

If you are going to buy a fast and reasonably priced sport sedan, the best option has always been the BMW M3. Its balance, its power, and its reasonable value for money make it the highest selling sports car in the entire world. Many car companies have tried to compete with it, but none of them have been able to dethrone the Beamer. Some have come close, including the Audi RS4, the Jaguar XFR, the Lexus ISF, and the Audi RS5. None, however, have achieved the well roundedness of the BMW.  The Lexus, for instance, is very good on the track, but it is awful to use on the road and is far too stiff to be enjoyed day to day. The Audis are just not comparable track cars to the M3.  The Jaguar is a comparable vehicle but is much more expensive than the M3. Now Mercedes has made a car that they claim does everything better than the M3.

On the face of it, the Mercedes- Benz C63 AMG seems like a much more capable car than the M3. This car has been given the regular AMG work over. It now has a 6.3-liter V8 engine and a new 7- speed transmission. The new engine kicks out 481 bhp, 67 more than the M3 and an astounding 149 more torques than the bimmer. This power allows the C63 to get from 0-60 in 3.7 seconds. To put that speed into perspective, a $500,000 Lexus LFA would struggle to beat it. In addition, the big Merc only takes 8.1 seconds to smash the 100 mph- barrier. So as far as the track is concerned, the C63 is a better choice. However, the Mercedes is not just a car for a day at your local circuit. It is a little more civilized than that. Compared with the BMW, the interior is a much more comfortable place to sit. It has a large trunk, and much more space than the M3 coupé. The Merc is has been said to be much better in the corners as well.  By this time, it might seem that the Mercedes C63 is comparable to the BMW, but it is not.

            For starters, a sport sedan should be comfortable as well as sharp. The BMW manages to be precise as well as comfortable. The ride in the Merc, however, has been described as nearly unbearable. Also, a sport sedan should be subtle and not brash. As you can see from the pictures, the Mercedes is neither of these things. Then we get to the issue of the price. A base BMW M3 is $55,000. The Mercedes is $65,000. So the choice is simple: go for the slower car.

Porsche Panamera Turbo S

Supercars are not for people who need space. High-end and expensive sports cars are designed to get you to where you are going very quickly. However, your cargo space may be big enough for the hat you are going to wear at the country club. Rich people always have two cars, one for fun, and one for practicality. Now, however, Porsche has created a car that seems to do both jobs. The Panamera has a large hatch-back trunk and plenty of room for four large adults. On the other hand, it also has 550 bhp to rocket it to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. Thats faster than the Ferrari 599, the Ferrari 430, the Pagani Zonda F, and the Ford GT. 

The engine that produces that mind numbing speed is a 4.8 litre twin- turbo V8 that also produces over 550 lbs. of touque. It does not snarl and roar like that of a Maserati Quattroporte because of the turbos. The reason that the 0-60 time is so fast is because of a brand new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The Panamera also has almost perfect weight distribution and sophisticated suspension. Even though it looks like a monster, it is actually not that much heavier than the Jaguar XJ supersport. The new turbo s comes with everything you might need: the new seven-speed flappy paddle gearbox, a gorgeous interior, space for 4 adults, standard 4 wheel drive, a massive engine, and massive bragging rights. It costs 175 grand, which is a lot, but remember that you wont have to buy and take care of two cars. Also keep in mind that it goes from 0-60 faster than a Pagani Zonda F convertible, which costs over 1.2 millon bucks. As a track day car, other choices could be more fun, but as a large grand tourer it is hard to find a match. 

It all sounds amazing, until you get to the elephant in the room. It is very ugly. The Panamera has presence, but it is not pretty. To quote Richard Hammond, "it rather looks like an Austin Maxi, especially from the back."

Fiat 500 Abarth essesse

            Sometimes I wish that I lived in Europe. All of the cars that they drive are just so more exciting than the ones that we have here. Things like the Citroën DS3 racing and the Renault Megan R26R. However, now the Americans have the chance to own a European car with some character. Introducing the Fiat 500 Abarth essesse.  It is a car that the Europeans have had since 2008 but Fiat, who now own Chrysler, have decided to humor us and send it across the pond.   

            The standard 500 has been with us for about 8 months. I have to say that around where I live, I see about one every few days. They certainly have made and impression on the small cute car segment that used to be dominated by MINI. The new Fiat is just so loveable, so cute. It looks like the one from the 50’s, but is a modern car. It is a 50’s throwback without any of the 50’s drawbacks. Especially when you have a 185 bhp engine in it. To quote Jeremy Clarkson, “185 horsepower in a car the size of a shoe, that’s fantastic.” I agree with this statement. Up to now, the 500 has not been given the large power gain that has already been given to the 500 in Europe. The special tuning company that makes the necessary modifications to the car is called Abarth. It is like AMG is to Mercedes. The 500 Abarth has been flying off of the shelves in Europe and there are already many people in the US waiting to get their hands on the is pint-sized track car.

            In addition to the large power gain Abarth give this car much stiffer suspension and a upgraded interior and exterior changes. It is given racing Recaro seats and is swathed in red and black leather and plastic. The ride is quite bouncy but I think that this just adds to the fun factor. Fiat has not released many facts about the new American-spec 500 Abarth, but it should cost less than a comparable MINI. The essesse package, which stands for super sport, boosts the power from around 160 bhp to 185 bhp.  The best things about this car are the way it looks and the price.

This is a car that you buy with your heart and soul. This is a car for people who want to have a fun driving experience and stand out in a crowd. Penny for penny, I think that this is one of the most exciting cars on sale today. I hope to see many of these near my house and I hope that people will consider it as a very fashionable alternative. 

Ugly New MINI John Cooper Works Coupé

Mini Coupé John Copper Works

Long Name. Short Car.  This is the newest and weirdest looking of all of the fantastical creatures that come from the BMW- owned MINI. They say that this new model harks back to the original MINI, a smaller and more direct car. This Coupé has a smaller trunk than the regular MINI Cooper and also only has two seats as opposed to four in the Cooper. There are three trim levels of this car: the standard Coupé, the Coupé S, and the Coupé John Cooper Works. 

            The most obvious difference between this car and the standard MINI is the roof. MINI themselves say that it’s styled to look like someone wearing a baseball hat backwards. Honestly, I cannot think of anything more stupid. It looks like a Cooper had a piano dropped on the top and was rear-ended by a school bus.  To MINI however, the selling point of this car is the speed and how it feels to drive. This car seems to be for people who value driving pleasure over practicality, good looks, space, economy, their dignity, and value for money. This car comes with a choice three power specs: the standard Coupé has 121 bhp, the Coupé S has 181 bhp and the John Cooper Works Coupé has 208 bhp. Also on the John Cooper Works, the suspension has been firmed up to give a sportier ride. When you reach a certain speed, the brim of the backwards hat rises up to reveal a spoiler. The interior is just like any other MINI, retro with lots of modern touches. I think that MINI does a very good job on their interiors and especially this one. Even though this car is very small and comes with a turbocharged four pot engine, it only gets a combined 28 miles per gallon at the best. I guarantee you that it would be hard to get anything more than 25 in this car.  The worst part about this car other than the way that it looks is that it only has two seats. Who in this day and age is going to go out to buy a sporty two-seater and think “You know what, I’m going to get that new MINI.” If you want to splurge please buy something better looking, please. I think that the only thing that this car would be good for is a lap around the ‘Ring but not much else. To summarize, a Mazda MX-5 would do a much better job on the driving experience sector and the new Hyundai Velostar would be a much more practical option that is also funky.

Camaro ZL1

The point of American muscle cars is that you never buy the sock car. They are meant to be given more and more power until they are almost unusable and then they are put on sale. Unfortunately with the new generation of the Chevy Camaro that huge power gain has not really happened... until now. 

This car just spits game. When you take one look at it you know that it means business. You see the new grill and the large front splitter and the outrageous body kit and paint. This car was made for one purpose only: speed. I have driven one of the V6 Camaros and I have to say that i liked it a lot. It paid homage to the last generation of Camaro but had a distinctly modern feel. It had 323 bhp under the hood and had the suspension from the Vauxhall Manaro. It had a few problems though.  Chief among which was that the visibility was horrible. It was like being in a tank. The gear change was extremely tough and the clutch was hard too. 

            This new Camaro, however, will be much different that the one that I drove. It borrows many technologies from the Corvette ZR1, like its groundbreaking traction control system. This system is considered to be top of its class, and it employs five traction control settings. Compared to the RS version, this new Camaro has an entirely beefed-up driveline, and a new 6-speed manual transmission. Compared to the 323 bhp of the V-6 Camaro, the new ZL1 has a reported 580 bhp, which is delivered at 6000 rpm. The new engine also gives out 556-lbs .ft of torque at 4200 rpm (Car and Driver). The engine that gives this power is a huge 6.2-liter supercharged V-8. The engine was lifted from the Cadillac CTS-V and tuned to give 24 more horsepower. This new car will also have 20-inch sport wheels and massive rear tires to put that huge power onto the road. Chevy have also put some carbon fiber into the mix and made the hood largely of the black weave.
            Chevy has not released all of the details about the new ZL1, but we can expect that it will come out in the summer as a 2013 model. More details should be available around January of 2012. It has been said that the ZL1 will cost around 47 grand, but that price could rise. The ZL1s main rival, the Shelby GT500, is 50 grand, which puts them in the right spot to be direct competitors. I think that this car will be a drag-strip monster, but I have my doubts that the chassis can hold all of that strain. This car is a real threat for the Shelby, but it will not be as track oriented as the Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca.

2013 Audi A4 and S4

Here is a look forward to the upcoming Audi A4 and the S4.

I drove a 2010 Audi A4 and it was sensational. It was everything that you expected it tobe : smooth, fast, incredibly well put together, and amazingly stylish. The 2012 A4 had a 2.0 litre inline 4- pot engine with a turbo. I drove the manual A4 and i have to say that the gearbox was very good. I especially enjoyed the interior and the amazing quality feel that came when you got in it.

But that was the past, and this is now. Audi have decided to give the A4 a relatively quick update from its monumental change in 2010. On the exterior we can see that the lights have been changed dramatically and the front face of the car is different from that of the 2010 model. The grill is slightly different and... well... not much else. The grill is very similar to the old ones' and it does not look like Audi had done anything with the rest of the exterior. The engine remains the same as well, pushing out 211 bhp to the A4 and a supercharged V-6 for the S4. The supercharged V-6 gives 333 bhp that makes it go from 0-60 in 5.3 seconds and to a limited top speed of 155 mph. The interior of the new A4 has been updated and from my point of view is gorgeous. The center console is now slightly tilted to the driver, bringing back memories of earlier Audis and BMWs. The steering wheel is new and seems to be inspired from the one in the new Audi A6. In addition, the new touchscreen will allow you to write your own words and input commands. The regular A4 and the S4 are not the only variants of the A4 range. in a few months there will be a new A4 all-road. Hopefully it will be better than the old one. The old Audi A4 all-road was a little bit higher than the regular car but it cost nearly twice as much. Although this is only a facelift i think that this is the best looking A4 that we have ever seen.

Lets Talk Porsche...

After years of painstaking and top-secret development, the new Porsche 911 is here. And it looks even better than ever. By that I mean that they changed the taillights a little bit. Honestly, where do they spend their money...

Obviously, Porsche say that this is the best 911 ever made. Over its 50 year lifetime the Porsche 911 has always been a symbol of middle-age and money. However, over the past few year the 911 has returned to form. It is finally good looking and not bought with old money anymore. As I said before the most significant exterior changes have been to the taillights. Porsche have also given it trendy LED lights that give the front of the car some depth, like mascara. The most significant changes have been in the interior. They have lifted the center console from the Panamera and put it into the 911, which I hate. You need to be a rocket scientist to understand anything that is there. It also make the 911 seem a little bit more family SUV than a track-bred screamer. Underneath, the largest changes are to the engines. Like BMW, Porsche have decided to hed to the future with downsizing the engine of the base model 911, the Carrera. In the previos version of the 911, the base model, the carrera, had a 3.6 litre flat-six engine. The more powerful Carrera S had a 3.8 litre flat-six. In the new versions however, the engine size has gone down. In the new Carrera, the engine is now a 3.4 litre flat-six. The Carrera S still has the 3.8 litre engine. The most notable difference between the new cars and the old ones besides the taillights is the power output. In the  Carrera S the bhp gets a boost to 400 bhp and the standard Carrera gets a boost to 350 bhp. I think that the new 911 is the best looking 911 that we have seen in a long time. Even though this is a new 911, many people are saying that it is very similar in handeling and in feel, which is good. Thus far, only the new Carrera and Carrera S are available. The new standar Carrera is 82 grand and the new Carrera S is 92 grand. You can, however, buy some of the old models for the time being.

New BMW M5!

Alright this will be my first post ever on this blog. This blog will feature new cars of all types but aire on the side of more high-performance vehicles. Don't Hate.

Ok, here goes.

Throughout history, the M5 has always been one of the best sport-sedans. Its signature soundtrack and high-revving engines have captured the hearts and minds of many middle-aged men with stupid bluetooth earphones and massive watches. This generation of M5 however, promises to derive slightly from the usual recipie for the car. Naturally, BMW say that this car is even better than the last one. For one thing, the new M5 looks much better than the last one. My good friend has a new 5-series and I believe that it is one of the best looking cars on sale today. Of course, M5 drivers would like to make it clear that they have bought a fire-breathing track monster and not just an ordinary boring regular 5-series. To achieve this, BMW have given the M5 a fiercer front end and lots of M sport badges. They have also given the M5 larger sills on the side and more exhausts pipes.
These new changes might not be much different than the old M5 was given, but that is not the end of the story. Underneath, this new M5 is much different. The older M5 was powered by a 5.0 litre V10 that is considered one of the best engines ever made. The reason this car was so popular was that it was so crazy. It did not look much different than the normal 5-series but produced 500 horsepower. The car was not happy just milling around town, mostly because of its stupid transmission. It had a manumatic shifter that had an automatic setting, which was rubbish. It delivered quick shifts, but only when you were on a track and were going for the redline. This new M5, however, is not powered by some mental V10 but a twin-turbo V8. This change signifiers the movement in which many car makers are deciding to downsize their engine to allows for better gas milage. Because of this movement, many companies are now favoring force-fed injection rather than a naturally aspirated engine. Even though the engine is smaller, the bhp output is actually more than that of the old M5. The new Beamer actually produces 560 bhp, 60 more than the old one. Early reports show that this car is noticeably faster that the old one, but lacks the sense of theater and frivolity that made the old one famous. Also, a manual transmission has been promised, getting rid of that stupid shitter I mean shifter of old. I think that this car looks amazing and if i ever have the pleasure of driving one i will die a happy man.