"Turbos are people who can't build engines."
- Keith Duckworth, co-developer of the Ford-Cosworth DFV
Makes me laugh when considering this car. Jalopnik was complaining yesterday that the F50 doesn't get enough love despite an ultra-light, stripped body and a massive F1-derived V12(you know, when manufacturers actually had technical developments in F1 outside of insane aerodynamics).
They stated the turbocharged V8-powered F40 got more of the attention and I think it should. It was the last time Enzo Ferrari would sign off on a car before his death. However, there is a car more rare than the F40 or F50 from the days of 1980's Group B madness: The 288 GTO Evoluzione.
Basically, the 288 is the precursor and basis for the F40 and even more rare considering a handful of 288's were built compared to over 1,000 F40's. Most interesting was that Ferrari himself signed off on a turbocharged car - nearly unheard of considering it was a big deal just for the Dino to carry a mid-mounted V6 - and the Dino wasn't even formally labeled a Ferrari.
However, the Evoluzione was an incredible car and with turbocharging in many levels of motor sports at the time - I feel that I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Duckworth - though he definitely knows his stuff.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Juxtaposition
My buddy Malcolm posted a clip from the newest Top Gear - Episode 3 in which a Camaro SS is pitted against the brute-in-a-suit Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG.
His argument is that the Camaro SS isn't quite a comparable model to the E63 - perhaps with an M5 or RS6 normally serving in that position. I respectfully disagree.
Mercedes-Benz and the AMG branch have never been about setting fast laps or crushing the competition at the Nurburgring - it's just not their cup of tea. But what they can make are very comfortable cars that can go very fast with a bit of flair and style. So, price ignored, that puts the Camaro SS and E63 AMG right back up against each other. The Hamster seems to agree and he's quite the hoon himself despite Clarkson.
Besides, with cars like the C63 AMG on sale - you know AMG is only interested in cars that are hyperspace-capable and good at making 11's - remind you of any other big orange cars from the States?
See for yourself and decide.
Link to Top Gear - Damn non-embedded videos!
His argument is that the Camaro SS isn't quite a comparable model to the E63 - perhaps with an M5 or RS6 normally serving in that position. I respectfully disagree.
Mercedes-Benz and the AMG branch have never been about setting fast laps or crushing the competition at the Nurburgring - it's just not their cup of tea. But what they can make are very comfortable cars that can go very fast with a bit of flair and style. So, price ignored, that puts the Camaro SS and E63 AMG right back up against each other. The Hamster seems to agree and he's quite the hoon himself despite Clarkson.
Besides, with cars like the C63 AMG on sale - you know AMG is only interested in cars that are hyperspace-capable and good at making 11's - remind you of any other big orange cars from the States?
See for yourself and decide.
Link to Top Gear - Damn non-embedded videos!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Function First: The G-Wagen
There's something very attractive about a purpose-built vehicle that manages to make its way into consumerdom for the rest of us to enjoy. Across history there have been some outstanding examples such as the Mercedes 190E 2.3 Cosworth and BMW M3 as homologation specials, The BMW 320Si, The McLaren M6 GT, The Lancia Stratos - good things come from tried and true race car platforms that trickle down to real-world application.
However, purpose-built vehicles aren't restricted to solely race cars. You can also have big, lumbering creatures like SUV's that come from a blue collar background. After all, SUV's were originally designed to carry gear and people for working in the field. My guess would be that larger, off-road vehicles tasked with work duty were simply "Utility Vehicles" and the "Sport" nomenclature was an afterthought. Want an example? The Hummer H1 serving quite successfully for the United States military prior to civilian-ready trucks.
One such vehicle is the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen or G-Wagen for short - meaning cross-country or Jeep. The G-Wagen started life as a product development for military contracts secured by Benz in the 1970's .
What most people in the United States probably don't realize is Mercedes-Benz manufacturers a multitude of vehicles outside of luxury cars. Namely, work trucks, vans and true utility vehicles are also MB products in Europe and other parts of the world. It would seem that Europeans are less caught up on brand prestige than we are here in the U.S. of A.
I digress, the G-Wagen came into life as Mercedes-Benz's(well, Daimler-Benz) answer to the German military's need for a light infantry vehicle. With the design process initiated in 1972, the model was given official approval for production by Steyr-Daimler-Puch(now Magna Steyr) in Austria by 1975. It would not be until 1979 that a civilian-ready G-Wagen would go on sale in a variety of shapes such as short and long wheel-base and a cabrio variant. However, with hindsight being twenty-twenty it almost seems laughable that an SUV of the G's size would initially have engines generating only 72 and 150HP. What nobody could predict at the time was that the G-Wagen would go on to live past a normal life cycle and survive for 25 years - with only one major restyle transitioning from the W460 chassis to 463 chassis in 1990.
What made the G-Wagen so special was the part-time four-wheel-drive but after 1990 equipped with permanent four-wheel-drive, a fully locking center differential and differential locks on both axles. This sort of technical prowess gave the G the ability to navigate extreme angles of terrain. During the design process, the G-Wagen was designed specifically to be highly competent as an off-roader but also functional and with cross-functionality of implementing parts-sharing from the Mercedes-Benz industrial truck lines. The commercial/military spec G showed considerable success after its 1975 debut with countries in the Middle East, Europe and South America placing orders for Teutonic light military vehicle.
Why wouldn't they want a handful of G-Wagens to use? Benz put the original W460 through rigorous trials of 14,000km of sand testing in Tunisia - encountering and overcoming up to 100% inclines. Hence the hardcore, loyal following of off-roading G-Wagen enthusiasts world-wide who still like to push the envelope of what the truck is capable of.
Once the civilian W460 was released in early 1979, many in Europe picked up the trucks which were already serving double-duty as work trucks across the continent. Initially, Mercedes hesitated at pushing the W460 in the U.S. marketplace as the reception of the G was still somewhat uncertain and only handful were imported and federalized through the 80's grey market at exceptional cost. However, with the 1990 restyling of the W460 to the W463, U.S. consumers were privy to the more luxurious but technically competent G when permanent four-wheel-drive was adopted along with a decadentl- revised interior, suiting the prestige of the existing Benz sedan/convertible line. Unfortunately, outside of engaged enthusiasts, the G-Wagen has been recognized less in the U.S. for its ability and more for the brand conscious, look-at-my-expensive-SUV type of buyer.
If the upscale reputation the G enjoyed wasn't enough, Pope John Paul II and the Swiss Guard deemed to W460 a capable enough vehicle to serve as the Pope's personal transport vehicle when greeting the public across the globe, eventually being succeeded by the ML-Class Mercedes-Benz. It's name? The Popemobile, of course.
Whatsmore, the G-Wagen, at the hands of Jacky Ickx and a co-driver took a converted, V6 280 GE and won the historic Paris-Dakkar Rally in 1983. Not hard to understand why the Magna Steyr facility in Graz, Austria has agreed to continue production of the current W463 through 2015 - where the truck is still partially constructed by hand. The current iterations of the G-Wagen comes equipped with an AMG-derived, supercharged 5.0L V8 and 7-Speed automatic transmission to help accelerate the G55 AMG to 60MPH in under 6 seconds.
So, the G-Wagen has won races across some of the most brutal terrain on Earth, served under a man capable of inspiring over a billion people and has served strict duty from the sands of Tunisia to the jungles of Argentina to the valet lines of Beverly Hills - all of which it has successfully conquered. Not hard to imagine how a truck with such a diverse, winning history is still in production after 25 years. The G-Wagen stands as a testament that the thought, design and testing that goes into purpose-built, function-first vehicles can last the test of time and continue to be successful despite the ever-changing needs of the automotive frontier.
We're only hoping to see it run another 25 because vehicles like this only come around once in a lifetime.
However, purpose-built vehicles aren't restricted to solely race cars. You can also have big, lumbering creatures like SUV's that come from a blue collar background. After all, SUV's were originally designed to carry gear and people for working in the field. My guess would be that larger, off-road vehicles tasked with work duty were simply "Utility Vehicles" and the "Sport" nomenclature was an afterthought. Want an example? The Hummer H1 serving quite successfully for the United States military prior to civilian-ready trucks.
One such vehicle is the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen or G-Wagen for short - meaning cross-country or Jeep. The G-Wagen started life as a product development for military contracts secured by Benz in the 1970's .
What most people in the United States probably don't realize is Mercedes-Benz manufacturers a multitude of vehicles outside of luxury cars. Namely, work trucks, vans and true utility vehicles are also MB products in Europe and other parts of the world. It would seem that Europeans are less caught up on brand prestige than we are here in the U.S. of A.
I digress, the G-Wagen came into life as Mercedes-Benz's(well, Daimler-Benz) answer to the German military's need for a light infantry vehicle. With the design process initiated in 1972, the model was given official approval for production by Steyr-Daimler-Puch(now Magna Steyr) in Austria by 1975. It would not be until 1979 that a civilian-ready G-Wagen would go on sale in a variety of shapes such as short and long wheel-base and a cabrio variant. However, with hindsight being twenty-twenty it almost seems laughable that an SUV of the G's size would initially have engines generating only 72 and 150HP. What nobody could predict at the time was that the G-Wagen would go on to live past a normal life cycle and survive for 25 years - with only one major restyle transitioning from the W460 chassis to 463 chassis in 1990.
What made the G-Wagen so special was the part-time four-wheel-drive but after 1990 equipped with permanent four-wheel-drive, a fully locking center differential and differential locks on both axles. This sort of technical prowess gave the G the ability to navigate extreme angles of terrain. During the design process, the G-Wagen was designed specifically to be highly competent as an off-roader but also functional and with cross-functionality of implementing parts-sharing from the Mercedes-Benz industrial truck lines. The commercial/military spec G showed considerable success after its 1975 debut with countries in the Middle East, Europe and South America placing orders for Teutonic light military vehicle.
Why wouldn't they want a handful of G-Wagens to use? Benz put the original W460 through rigorous trials of 14,000km of sand testing in Tunisia - encountering and overcoming up to 100% inclines. Hence the hardcore, loyal following of off-roading G-Wagen enthusiasts world-wide who still like to push the envelope of what the truck is capable of.
Once the civilian W460 was released in early 1979, many in Europe picked up the trucks which were already serving double-duty as work trucks across the continent. Initially, Mercedes hesitated at pushing the W460 in the U.S. marketplace as the reception of the G was still somewhat uncertain and only handful were imported and federalized through the 80's grey market at exceptional cost. However, with the 1990 restyling of the W460 to the W463, U.S. consumers were privy to the more luxurious but technically competent G when permanent four-wheel-drive was adopted along with a decadentl- revised interior, suiting the prestige of the existing Benz sedan/convertible line. Unfortunately, outside of engaged enthusiasts, the G-Wagen has been recognized less in the U.S. for its ability and more for the brand conscious, look-at-my-expensive-SUV type of buyer.
If the upscale reputation the G enjoyed wasn't enough, Pope John Paul II and the Swiss Guard deemed to W460 a capable enough vehicle to serve as the Pope's personal transport vehicle when greeting the public across the globe, eventually being succeeded by the ML-Class Mercedes-Benz. It's name? The Popemobile, of course.
Whatsmore, the G-Wagen, at the hands of Jacky Ickx and a co-driver took a converted, V6 280 GE and won the historic Paris-Dakkar Rally in 1983. Not hard to understand why the Magna Steyr facility in Graz, Austria has agreed to continue production of the current W463 through 2015 - where the truck is still partially constructed by hand. The current iterations of the G-Wagen comes equipped with an AMG-derived, supercharged 5.0L V8 and 7-Speed automatic transmission to help accelerate the G55 AMG to 60MPH in under 6 seconds.
So, the G-Wagen has won races across some of the most brutal terrain on Earth, served under a man capable of inspiring over a billion people and has served strict duty from the sands of Tunisia to the jungles of Argentina to the valet lines of Beverly Hills - all of which it has successfully conquered. Not hard to imagine how a truck with such a diverse, winning history is still in production after 25 years. The G-Wagen stands as a testament that the thought, design and testing that goes into purpose-built, function-first vehicles can last the test of time and continue to be successful despite the ever-changing needs of the automotive frontier.
We're only hoping to see it run another 25 because vehicles like this only come around once in a lifetime.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Things I want: BMW 320Si
With a crazy busy work schedule I've not had the opportunity to finish up the GWagen thing yet plus a few other items on my plate. However, I did want to post this Japan-based BMW 320Si. Based on the current E90 chassis, the 320Si was a limited edition of about 2,600 cars built so that BMW could meet the production requirements for homologation of the 320Si race car with the FIA.
The 320Si has since gone on to do quite well in the S2000 spec of the WTCC and BTCC. What made the production version special was the 2.0L inline-4 under the hood churning out 170HP. Though not much, it was a detuned, non-Valvetronic version of the same engine powering the race car. Oh, and it was also a hand-built engine manufactured in BMW's Landshut plant alongside the Formula One engines when BMW still maintained a presence in the sport with Sauber.
Something about the limited edition, homologation-special 320Si has always appealed to me. Though not a powerhouse by any means it is still very rare for car enthusiasts to see cars built primarily for homologation purposes - especially one priced in-line with most any other 3 Series.
In my search for knowledge on this elusive Bavarian I eventually came across a gentleman in Japan named Yoshina who owned a noteworthy 320Si. I ended up interviewing him for BMWBlog as one of my first articles two years ago but I still absolutely love his car even today. He's managed to take an Alpine White E90 320Si and, through hard work, a lot of money and an eye for detail turn it into an incredible driving replica of the race spec 3 Series. He's caged the sedan, added a wing, custom-built diffusers front and rear, a revamped steering wheel and full BMW Works Team Great Britain 320Si - and that maybe covers a fifth of what's been done.
Honestly, if I had the money, I would probably do the same to a E90 chassis. I love that he's managed to somewhat keep the daily driveablility intact while maintaining a close mirror to the race-spec car. The only real difference I can see is the lack of a wide body front and rear - but STUDIE can make that happen too.
If you're a fan of a unique, cool car or just good automotive photography, check out his Flickr page.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy 4th of July!
Hope everyone is having a happy and safe 4th this year! We'll be out for fireworks and family later but thought we should post something entirely American to celebrate the 234th birthday of our great country.
What could be more 'merican than Steve McQueen, an original Mustang Fastback and an original Charger tear-assing around San Francisco? Nothing. So watch this and enjoy the day!
What could be more 'merican than Steve McQueen, an original Mustang Fastback and an original Charger tear-assing around San Francisco? Nothing. So watch this and enjoy the day!
Top Gear Is Back - but Better...
Finally, Top Gear is back to what I think so many people loved about it. This clip sort of encapsulates much of what makes the show great: Interesting cars, Monty Python-style silliness, and dry, British humor. Makes me think that maybe the last 2 seasons of sort of ho-hum shows are probably a fluke.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Coming Up Soon
I'm going to be talking about these soon. 30 years old, only slightly revised since inception, has avoided cancellation numerous times and was never designed as a luxury vehicle.
What's not to like?
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