#let max drive in nurburgring | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

formula-one-thoughts · 4 years

Text

What’s going on at Red Bull?

2020 (ignoring the global pandemic) should theoretically be Red Bull’s most comfortable year in F1 for a while. With Ferrari dropping considerably off the pace to the back end of the mid-field, their closest rival of the last few years has effectively been eliminated. Having pushed through the pitfalls of his aggressive driving style and refined his approach to racing, Max Verstappen has barely made a mistake of the kind that hampered his first few years at the team. They have on their hands a man who is widely considered (I believe rightfully so) to be the second best driver on the grid. And the results in part speak for this – they seem to have 2nd in the constructors championship in the bag. But a number of issues are plaguing the team that are making this an increasingly difficult season for them.

Firstly, Alex Albon simply isn’t delivering. It pains me to say this, as I love Alex; he is a genuinely nice guy and a great driver, and wouldn’t have been promoted to F1 and then Red Bull if he weren’t. He has pulled off some of the most exciting overtakes I’ve seen in a while since he landed the seat, braking late enough to make Daniel Riciardo jealous. But he is being majorly let down by his qualifying performance. In Russia for example he could only manage 10th (before a penalty dropped him to 15th), 1.1secs off his teammate in 2nd. Max is beating him 11-0 in the qualifying battle, and whilst Alex did manage to line up alongside him at Mugello and convert that into his first podium, when Max has finished a Grand Prix it has always been above his teammate. Plenty of people have said this isn’t a fair battle, that the team and car is built around Max, and that anyone going up against him will never have a fair chance. Of course the team is going to invest in Max – they would be stupid not to. He has a long-term contract with them and increasingly looks like the only alternate World Champion to Lewis Hamilton whilst the Brit remains in the sport. It doesn’t mater how good the second driver is, top teams have to choose a number one driver and get behind them if they want to have any chance of winning – just look at the mess Ferrari got themselves into last year with Leclerc and Vettel. But the accusations that Red Bull are sabotaging Alex are completely laughable. His success in the car means financial gains for the team, and it would be extremely beneficial for them and Max if Alex was closer to him, allowing for split strategies to attack the Mercedes. We’ve seen plenty of instances where a driver has entered a team built around one personality and managed to succeed: obviously the circumstances are all different but Ricciardo and Vettel, and Hill and Prost come to mind for me.

I think a major factor in this that has been overlooked a little though is the quality of the car, which due to the disappearance of Ferrari from the top has been more difficult to discern this year. Just because the team are second in the constructors championship by quite a way does not mean they have the second best car by quite a way. Even in Max’s hands, the RB16 looks a handful on the track, often more so than the Mclaren or pink Mercedes/Racing Point. Although impossible to tell for sure, I think the gap between the Red Bull drivers is exacerbated by the fact that Max is outperforming the car to quite a degree, whilst Alex is sadly underperforming. The pace of a team’s fastest driver isn’t always a direct indication of the pace of the car (Ferrari are experiencing something similar with their two drivers). The position of P3 that Max so often manages to slot himself into isn’t representative of the strength of the car, but neither is P8 (Albon’s average qualifying position this season). If Alex could consistently qualify and finish around the p4, p5, p6 mark (as he did after joining Red Bull mid way through last season), and on occasion stick together with Max throughout the race, then I think he and Red Bull could be proud of the results. There’s also rookie errors and clashes with other drivers from misjudged moves that end up landing Albon with a time penalty, damaged car, or both. His incident with Daniil Kvyat at the Nurburgring for example was completely avoidable, and reminiscent of the kind of incidents Max was causing in 2017 and 2018 (his clash with Vettel in China comes to mind). But whilst Max was making reckless manoeuvres, he was also getting results for the team, and Albon isn’t.

I don’t think there’s any chance at this point in the season of Red Bull swapping him out a la Gasly or Kvyat, but if things don’t improve his seat for next year is very much at risk. If they do decide to replace him though, who do they choose? For so long Red Bull were at the front of the pack when it came to their driver development programme, reflected in the fact that nearly half (7/16) of the podium sitters on the current grid are from the Red Bull Junior Team. But their talent pool seems to have dried up recently. The shuffling around of drivers between Alpha Tauri and themselves has left them in quite an awkward position, where the sister team they should be able to pick up-and-coming talent from consists of two demoted Red Bull drivers. Moving one of them back up to the number one team would be something of an admission that they fucked up their driver choices. I can’t see Gasly having any more success than Albon is having now, or he had during his first stint at Red Bull, if he makes the move back up (despite his strong form so far this season) and Kvyat definitely hasn't proved himself deserving of a promotion. Out of the nine Red Bull juniors, Yuki Tsunoda is the only driver with a realistic chance of gaining enough super licence points to move to F1 next season (I believe he needs to maintain his P3 in the F2 drivers standings for this), but he would only ever begin at Alfa Tauri. If they want to fill a seat at Red Bull with a new driver, they'll have to look to someone older and more experienced, creating a sort of Mark Webber Sebastian Vettel dynamic. Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez’s names have been thrown around a lot, but a departure from their home grown talent again shows a weakness and a failure in how the entire Red Bull outfit is being managed.

The troubles don’t stop there though. Whilst certainly better than during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, the RB16 is suffering far more reliability issues than its immediate predecessor. In last year’s 21 races, the Red Bull cars only suffered one reliability-based retirement (Gasly in Baku). In the 11 races so far this year they have had four, five if you consider Verstappen’s PU issue in Mugello that dropped him into his crash and would have ended his race anyway. Add to that Honda’s announcement that they will no longer be working with Red Bull after 2021(more on this another time), and the Austrian team’s situation is not looking at all rosy. For the sake of F1 fans everywhere eager for a close fight for the title, I hope Christian Horner and Helmut Marko sort it out.

What do you think about the situation at Red Bull? What do they need to do to challenge Mercedes? Let me know!

#f1 #formula1 #formula one #red bull #max verstappen #alex albon #christian horner #helmut marko #lewis hamilton #mercedes #sebastian vettel #charles leclerc #ferrari #nico hulkenberg #sergio perez #yuki tsunoda #motorsport

25 notes · View notes

formula365 · 4 years

Text

We will always have Portimão

For a moment, during the Portuguese Grand Prix first lap, Kimi Raikkonen must have thought he had jumped into the wrong car. After all, he was supposed to be driving an Alfa Romeo, one of the slowest cars on the grid; he had started P16, a regular occurrence this season, and had only finished in the top ten once in the whole season. So how was it possible that he was breezing past Ferraris, Racing Points and Renaults? He had gained 10 places in the first lap and was glued to the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc down the main straight. If indeed he was wondering about what car was he really driving, he wouldn’t have been the only one. A bit further up the field, as Kimi tussled with Verstappen and Leclerc, Carlos Sainz had just taken the lead of the race. The Spaniard must have been as surprised as everyone watching, as he left Bottas and Hamilton behind him; that was a sight he had surely not expected to see in his rearview mirrors when he woke up on Sunday morning. You would have been forgiven if you thought you had time travelled to 2012: a McLaren leading, another in P4 and Kimi in P6. Alas, it wasn’t to last - of course. There had been some light spats of rain just before the start, and the difficulty of warming up the mediums had thrown the field into pandemonium. Once those tyres were up to temperature, the natural order returned, with the Mercedes on top and Kimi moving backwards (although not as much as expected, the Finn finishing an impressive P11). Nevertheless, the first handful of laps of the race were as exciting as anything we have seen in a merry long time. The history books will tell you this was another typical 2020 podium with Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen, the seventh time it happened in 12 races. Hamilton annihilated the opposition with a blitzing pace. There were some good races from midfield drivers: Leclerc had another strong weekend to finish P4, Gasly bossed his way to P5, Sainz faded from his early lead but still managed sixth, Checo stormed through the filed to get P7, Ocon stretched the medium tyres to last more than two thirds of the race. Plenty of praise can be spread through the field, but the highlight of the race can’t be an individual performance. The chaos of the early rounds, with drivers out of position and unexpected drivers at the front, felt like what F1 should aspire to be. The reduced grip of the early stages transformed the race, levelling the playing field and allowing race craft to come to the fore. Sainz and Kimi, perhaps with some rallying mindset to help, managed to master the conditions better than most, and it was fascinating to witness the trouble an expected lack of grip in a relatively unknown track brought to the grid. Of course, F1 can’t recreate these conditions, nor should that be the aim. But what these conditions provided was an ideal: a vision of what we, as fans, would love to see this sport become. After all, this is why we love wet races: the unpredictability, seeing frontrunners struggle and back markers shine. This is not something that can happen in a constant manner, and at the end of the day some teams and drivers will be better than others. We should, however, expect to have a more balanced field, and more opportunities for teams to evolve and grow and challenge those at the front. Fans went nuts for the opening laps of the race not just because it was crazy and it was fun, but also because deep down we know we just had a peak of the F1 we want to see. Just like Vettel, I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t know if the new regulations can deliver something like this, but in the meantime we can go back and re-watch the early laps of the 2020 Portuguese GP, to have a taste of the F1 we dream of. We will always have Portimão.

Talking points * I dedicated the main text of the Nurburgring review to Hamilton equalling Schumacher’s record, so I decided not to repeat myself in this race, but my oh my did he mark the occasion with a brilliant performance. Hamilton didn’t set out just to win the race, he was out there to show how much better he is than anyone else. Having lost the lead early on, he let Bottas open a small gap for a few laps, but once he turned it on, there was no stopping him. He made light work of Bottas’ defence and, once in front, disappeared into the distance. There were brief complaints about his tyres, and a cramp hampered him close to the end. No matter: he set fastest lap after fastest lap, showing his true pace in a way that, due to tyre and car management, we don’t get to see every weekend. This was pure, unadulterated Hamilton, and it was devastating. At the chequered flag, he was a massive 25 (twenty-five) seconds ahead of this teammate. This wasn’t just a win, or even a record-breaking win; this was a statement. * Watching the post-qualifying and post-race interviews with Valtteri Bottas can be heartbreaking at times. The Finn is a fantastic driver, specially on Saturdays, when he is able to push Hamilton hard for pole. Yet, no matter how hard he tries, he still has no answer to Hamilton’s true pace. When he needs to, the champion-elect switches to a gear above, one that Bottas simply cannot match. Having to face that reality right after he jumps from the cockpit has to be tough: you can almost see the light in his eyes fade weekend after weekend. * After retiring with mechanical issues in the first race in Spielberg, Lance Stroll embarked on the best run of his career, with seven consecutive races in the top 10, including a podium and two P4s. But since the heights of Monza, he has failed to score. After retiring twice in a row, and then missing the Eifel Grand Prix due to catching COVID, he must have been raring to show his pace once again, but never really seemed to show up. He crashed with Verstappen in FP2, was nowhere near the pace in qualifying, had been warned about track limits by lap 12, crashed into Lando Norris in a - let’s use a euphemism - ambitious overtaking attempt, and ended up bringing up the rear of the field until his retirement. His seat is obviously not in danger, but he is now behind his team mate in the standings, who has one less race start. After Monza he was fourth in the championship; after this weekend, he is eleventh. * Renault’s rollercoaster season continued in Portugal. After a mighty impressive run of results between Spa and Nurburgring, they seemed to go backwards again, with Ocon failing to make it to Q3 and then with both drivers failing to challenge the Racing Points and McLarens, or even the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly. Without the crash that took Stroll and Norris out of points contention, they would have left Portugal with just one point and their hopes of clinching P3 in the championship a bit dented. * There are several drivers on the grid racing for their futures, whether that is to retain their seat, claim a better one or just grab one of the last remaining ones. Of these, Gasly and Checo enhanced their claims enormously with tremendous drives. Checo would have probably been P5 had it not been for the team’s strategic mistake of putting him on the softs for his last stint; impressive in and of itself, but even more so given that he was spun by Verstappen on the first lap and ended up at the back of the field. This result continued his streak of finishing every race in the points; Spa and Monza aside, he has known nothing but the top 7. Gasly, on the other hand, continues to make Red Bull management look ridiculous for not wanting to take him back. Another brilliant drive saw him clinch P5 and climb to P9 in the championship, only one point behind Alex Albon. He must have stepped on some mighty toes for Red Bull to refuse to give him a chance… * Albon, on the other hand, might have just lost his seat this weekend. To start P6 and finish P12 on a Red Bull, without crashes or mechanical issues, is not up to the level required, and something has to give. He looked to have turned a corner after Mugello, the relief of finally making it to the podium obvious on his body language, but he has collected only one point in the three races since. I feel for him, as it is obvious that that seat is never going to have the full support of the team, but when you are being lapped by your teammate when he finishes regularly on the podium, something is not working. Albon is a great driver and I hope his landing will be soft, whether in F1 or elsewhere; he deserves another break.

#F1 #portugese gp 2020 #lewis hamilton #valtteri bottas #max verstappen #kimi raikkonen #carlos sainz jr

13 notes · View notes

f1chronicle · 4 years

Text

Turkish GP: What Makes Turkey A Worthy Contender For The Best F1 Race Of 2020?

In an interrupted yet thrilling season, could the Turkish GP be the race to top them all? Monza gave served a sheer thriller, a contest that upheld the triumph of the underdog, and above all – a hero in Pierre Gasly. Mugello gave us multiple red flags, sheer carnage, innumerable race-retirements, and a maiden podium for Alexnder Albon before serving us a reminder why Hammertime is not a product of FORMULA 1 jingoism that shines on social media; but a philosophy only Lewis Hamilton can epitomise.

Then came the daunting Nurburgring, ending rather enterprisingly with a Daniel Ricciardo smile as against fears of ‘what-might’ have happened given the venue’s dangerous past.

And soon after, Imola, marking the triumph of Senna’s biggest fan, amid the overwhelming emotions of racing where the unquestionable great of the sport breathed his last.

All of these contests have, at different intervals, enjoyed the status of being called the best F1 race of 2020.

Truly speaking, in a year where it once seemed a ten-race calendar was probable – if not more – may just have been enough given the season was truncated by the pandemic, having multiple contenders for the best F1 race of 2020 has been simply brilliant.

And guess what?

As the Turkish Grand Prix of 2020, that returned to the calendar, after missing out for nearly a decade (9 years to be precise), gave us a race that prompts the question rather than makes us reconfigure our choices:

Was the Turkish GP the best F1 race of 2020?

For starters, FORMULA 1 fans love wet races. You instantly think of the dominance of greats like Schumacher, Senna at events like the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix, Donnington Park, and the 1993 European Grand Prix, respectively.

The rains, the imposing challenge of mastering the wet and the thrill that comes along at expecting the unexpected.

The modern conception of FORMULA 1 has given us events like the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix where one truly saw Verstappen unfurl a Mad-Max run.

So while the Turkish Grand Prix of 2020 wasn’t fought amid blinding rains, it was nonetheless, an event that was contested amid unpredictable conditions and needless to mention, a sheer lack of grip for the drivers.

Moreover, anyone who saw one of 2020’s most exciting races in entirety could well slice it into two sequences, none of which had any particular bearing on the finality of the result.

For the first 36-laps, Lance Stroll, who had gathered a day ago, his maiden FORMULA 1 podium, led the proceedings.

Driving a controlled race with excellent tyre and pace management at the front, wasn’t this going to be the triumph of the youngsters, everyone wondered?

But that in the end, the now-famous remainder of the contest, saw Lewis Hamilton, who began from a lowly, even uncharacteristic sixth, win, made Turkey a strong contender for the best F1 race of 2020.

With a little over 20 laps remaining, Istanbul Park witnessed a dramatic change in the narrative that would, until the last lap crawled upon us like an unpredictable snake, altered the course of the Grand Prix.

Alex Albon, for starters became the more prominent Red Bull driver, not Max Verstappen.

Vettel, who had from the start shown himself to be the world champion material we’ve known him as continued to defend brilliantly from Hamilton, the eventual race-winner.

For a mighty fine surprise, Car #5 was holding well the hard-earned P4.

Leclerc, all this while, was fighting from the backend of the midfield into the higher end of the grid, showing pace and a desire to overtake.

Stroll, who had fallen back down to Ninth, having led for 36 laps was nowhere in sight of a place among the podiums, let alone a win.

But one man, through the course of it all, having at first failed to pass Sebastian Vettel for no fewer than 15-20 laps, kept fighting.

You know him as Lewis Carl Hamilton. Some call him the greatest driver on the sport. Some, despite his accomplishing a brilliant rarity- 7 world titles, derive fun from reviling him.

Many others hail the man from whom it seems loud and clear, every time he says: “Stil I Rise!”

It’s also the time to make a frank confession.

Perhaps no F1 pundit watching live proceedings seated atop the cozy comfort of the commentary box might have predicted Instanbul’s race-winner.

Hamilton?

Was there even a chance?

At the initial failure to get past Sebastian Vettel’s staunch defences, the likes of which we hadn’t seen all year around, Hamilton even complained over team radio, “the front brakes are dying!”

Surely, predicting that Max Verstappen would end up somber, as the Dutchman went for the highly unlikely, and eventually self-capitulating dive on the inside of Perez (then P2) with just a handful of laps to go, was possible.

But anyone watching a struggling Lewis Hamilton, who was only just hanging on 5th and 6th for the better part of the race, may surely have never imagined the Mercedes driver with the win, an outcome that took the iconic driver to his #94th in the sport.

Equally unpredictable was the sheer margin with which Hamilton roared supreme in the end, akin to a valiant Khalifa who wins much to the delight of a kingdom comprising devotees.

A 31-second gap to second-placed Perez, who earned his best-race finish in 2020, was just the icing on the cake that Hamilton had the biggest piece of.

But make no mistake.

At the returning Turkish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton made his own desert and had it too, but not before demonstrating excellent tyre management and race pace.

His move over the Mexican in the closing stages was impressive. But what was superb and perhaps the headlining material of Istanbul was the decision to not gor for that extra stop when he had all the time on his hands.

He was certain of what might have been a missed opportunity, circa 2007 World Championship.

But what truly makes Turkey a worthy contender for the best F1 race of 2020 is the fact that it returned another of the sport’s greats; a much-loved son to where he belongs: the front-end of the grid.

How heartening was Sebastian Vettel’s P3 in the end?

Perhaps just as strikingly good as the frame where, in the event of the race’s end, the German rushed to congratulate Lewis Hamilton, a worthy opponent and more than that, the man who bullied Ferrari but with sheer on-track brilliance minus shenanigans in the sport’s turbo-charged era!

That the Istanbul City Park became a garden of two titans, standing together victorious on the podium, Lewis the race winner and Vettel, with his defiant third lifted what may just have been another contest to a sublime one.

Even that’s not all.

After no fewer than fourteen Grands Prix, did Ferrari experience the magic of doing what was so treacherously taken away from the fans and the famous Italian team: the simple pleasures of seeing both drivers inside the points.

Vettel, with his P3, garnered 15 hard-fought points, while Leclerc, his younger teammate, who in the fighting final seconds saw his near-certain podium become a fourth in the end, grabbed 12.

But the tireless Monegasque, sad that hey may have been, took it, whilst Ferrari bagged 27 worthy points.

And with it, can you believe it, stand on 130 points; that’s 24 shy of Racing Point in third, 19 behind McLaren and only six behind Renault, who’re stacked on fifth.

For all this and more- wasn’t Turkey a truly unforgettable race?

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); from WordPress https://ift.tt/3lzYSSn via IFTTT

#Formula 1 news

0 notes

robertkstone · 6 years

Text

2019 Hyundai Veloster N First Test Review

Hyundai products’ year-over-year progress seems to improve at an exponential rate rather than a linear or incremental one. The step between one generation of a model and its successor is much larger than most manufacturers achieve. Hyundai’s quality, dynamics, and even styling seem to skip a generation while advancing a generation. The Veloster is no exception. Of the first-generation Veloster, we said, “When Hyundai gives it the engine it desperately needs and tunes the suspension to deliver the sportiness the exterior suggests, [the Veloster] will be the hottest pocket-rocket in the segment.” Well, guess what? For 2019, Hyundai did those things and the Veloster advanced to our 2019 Car of the Year finalist round.

In the meantime, however, Honda sucked all the air out of the room by offering for the first time in the U.S. its enigmatic Civic Type R. After setting numerous front-wheel-drive lap records the world over, including at our 2018 Best Driver’s Car competition, it also earned finalist status in our 2018 Car of the Year contest. If that weren’t enough, in a sport compact comparison test against a Ford Focus RS, Subaru WRX STI Type RA, and a Volkswagen Golf R, we named it the winner and called the Civic Type R “the new world-standard hot hatch.” Does the 2019 Hyundai Veloster N have the goods and the aim to take down the king?

First the Details

From technical director Frank Markus’s exhaustive first drive of the entire three-door hatchback Veloster lineup, we learn that for 2019, the Veloster gets updated styling inside and out as well as new engines, transmissions, and suspensions. The new Veloster is 0.8 inch longer and 0.4 inch wider (the N is another 0.4 inch wider), yet the car rides on the same 104.3-inch wheelbase. “Without changing the [nominal] height,” Markus writes, “the roof slopes more steeply, but savvy packaging adds 0.6 inch of headroom, and seats-up cargo space balloons from 15.5 cubic feet to a CUV-ish 19.9 cubes. And, although the stylists have resculpted the flanks, revised the nose, added LED jewelry, and applied the latest aerodynamic tricks like air curtains at the front and rear tires, nobody will mistake this rig for anything but a Veloster.” So true, but now it actually drives like it looks. Visually, the N is distinguished, riding 0.2 inch lower, with exclusive Performance Blue paint (others include Ultra Black, Chalk White, and Racing Red), a mesh grille with a red front splitter, side sills, and red brake calipers. The triangular brake light located on the N-exclusive hatchback spoiler also differentiates it from any other Veloster. It’s a matter of taste, but the Veloster N’s attention to details doesn’t get out of hand compared to the undisputed hot-hatch benchmark, the Honda Civic Type R, which some say has overwrought styling.

The Veloster N’s $27,785 base price nets a high level of equipment. Highlights include a proximity key with push-button ignition, height-adjustable driver’s seat, 60/40 split folding rear seats, automatic headlights, an LED shift-timing indicator, an intuitive 8.0-inch touchscreen display, an eight-speaker Infinity premium audio system with satellite radio, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, Bluetooth, dual USB and one aux port, a rearview camera with guiding lines, and drive mode selections including Normal, Eco, Sport, and track-focused N. A feature also allows custom calibration of each tunable performance setting from suspension to throttle response. The infotainment system also has cool performance graphics, including G force, turbo boost, torque, and power readings, suspension settings, and a built-in timer. Yet the quality of the apex Veloster’s interior doesn’t quite impress us as much as the quantity of stuff. There are numerous hard plastic surfaces, and the cloth sport seats don’t look or feel any more special than those in lower-tier Velosters. Perhaps a little less restraint and more color and excitement would be nice inside the car.

The only option available on the Veloster N is a thorough and worthwhile $2,100 Performance Pack that ups the 2.0-liter twin-scroll turbo-four’s horsepower from 250 to 275 hp at 6,000 rpm, while torque remains the same at a stout 260 lb-ft at 1,450 rpm. A sportier multi-mode exhaust lets us hear it all better, too. Also included is more aggressive gearing in its six-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential that does an excellent job sending power to the proper front wheels. Instead of 18-inch Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, the package substitutes 19-inch Pirelli P Zero HN tires and bigger brakes front and back, adding vented discs out back. Lastly, electronically adjustable dampers and a smaller-diameter front anti-roll bar are added to quell understeer.

A Short Detour

The first time any of us drove the Veloster N was on the infamous Nurburgring. That’s one heck of a debut and explains one half of its namesake. (N is also the first letter of Namyang, Korea, the location of Hyundai’s global R&D facility, where it was created.) With searing envy, we read features editor Scott Evans’ take on the hottest of the Velosters: “In the two laps I drove at the ’Ring, the Veloster N equipped with the Performance Package felt at home. The Veloster N is fun and confidence-inspiring in corners, and my excitement grew to a different level when I hit the autobahn. The light traffic on a Saturday morning in the countryside made it the perfect day to go fast. How fast? The speedo’s needle moved past an indicated 160 mph, though Hyundai pegs the car’s top speed at 155 mph.” Lucky duck.

Stateside, we first tested the 2019 Veloster N during our 2019 Car of the Year program on its home court, the Hyundai Proving Ground in California City. Alongside the base 2.0, 1.6T, and R-Spec Turbo trims, the N was clearly at the pointy end of the Veloster lineup: quickest to 60 mph, fastest in the quarter mile, grippiest on the skidpad, and most nimble over our industry-exclusive figure-eight test. We needed to get one back and test it on our turf, and in more favorable conditions than the high desert offered.

Testing

Our first stop was the test track where the first order of business was the braking test. In addition to our usual 60–0 mph stops, with high-performance cars, we add a 100–0 stop in every other direction and slice out the 60–0 part. We also use these 100–0 stops to generate half of those telling 0–100–0 times. During brake testing, I found the Veloster N’s attitude flat and straight, its pedal firm, the ABS quick-cycling and smooth, but the car’s attitude rather skittish and skatey. There was a lot of movement happening in the rear that, while it was controlled, wasn’t entirely confidence inspiring. However, the vented discs provided good heat capacity and no brake-pad odor, so there was little fade, even with those 100–0 mph tests added in. In order, the car required 112, 115, 111, and 111 feet to stop from 60, and 4.2 seconds to stop from 100 mph. The Civic Type R needs just 99 feet to stop from 60, and 3.9 seconds to stop from 100 mph.

On the drag strip with the most aggressive “N” mode on and traction control disabled, I found it difficult to carry enough initial wheelspin from a standstill. At first I thought traction control was not fully defeated but soon realized it was due to the immense grip of the P Zero tires. With the engine revving in first gear, coming off the clutch quickly would spin the tires slightly, but then they’d bite and bog the engine down. I found I had to really zing the revs it to produce a smooth, controlled launch with that telltale ch-ch-ch-chirp confirmation. That’s what it needs/wants, and the times improved by 0.5 second—all in the launch. As they say, “drive it like ya stole it.” The clutch pedal’s bite-point is good, but not as intuitive as a Civic Type R’s. The shifter and linkage, too, are good, not great. The Hyundai’s shifter itself is a further reach and the throws between gears are also longer. The results of getting it all just right are 0–60 in 5.9 seconds, 0–100 in 14.0 seconds, and a best quarter-mile pass of 14.3 seconds at 101.0 mph—a slight improvement over the high-desert results but still no match for the Civic Type R with its 5.0-second sprint to 60, and 13.7-second at 105.9 mph quarter-mile pass. The Veloster N’s theoretical 0–100–0 mph time computes to 18.2 seconds, whereas the Civic Type R does it in 16.3 seconds.

The next stop was our figure-eight course, orchestrated by testing director Kim Reynolds. He had a different take on the very same car. Kim said he observed “plenty of understeer, but also several tons of Velcro-like grip.” That’s a good start, and he added, “Power is good, torque is solid, shifter is short and precise (rivals a Miata for sure).” High praise, but he continued, “My only concern is that the brakes aren’t quite a match for the rest of it. I repeatedly overshot after what I thought was a sensible brake point. So I started to intentionally brake a little early.”

We see this sort of thing in some really fast sports cars; because they arrive at the left and right corners at such a high rate of speed, it feels like the brakes aren’t up to the task of slowing for the skidpad. I just checked the data, and Kim was going 71.4 mph before standing on the brake pedal. Any speed over 70 mph is considered pretty exceptional. Kim concluded, “The mid-corner understeer is inescapable but probably safer for the average Hyundai road warrior.” For his efforts, the Veloster N generated a 24.9-second lap and left-right average lateral acceleration was 0.95 g. Again, that’s a slight improvement over its previous results but no match for the Civic with its 73.4-mph V-max, 24.3-second lap, and 1.01-g lateral acceleration figure.

L.A.-L.A. Land

Heading out into the real world of L.A.’s freeways, city streets, and twisting foothills, we get a bigger picture of the Veloster N’s practicality, abilities, and liabilities. We appreciate the whimsy of an unconventional three-door body configuration, but the coolness factor went away as soon as four people wanted to ride in the car, one of whom had to crawl across the back seat. That slightly vague clutch uptake we noticed in testing became more problematic in bumper-to-bumper traffic, as did the shifter throws with wider-than-ideal gates. On the highway, tire and wind noise are well isolated, but so is the better-than-Civic exhaust note. However, roads we once thought smooth grew suddenly bumpier. Even in the softest, Normal mode in the Veloster N, there was too much vertical motion in the cabin. Neither car deals well with sharp tire impacts, but at least the Civic, also with multi-mode dampers, manages to better smooth ripples and undulations, remarkably well, in fact. Lastly, taking on any of the numerous squiggly roads that lead into the hills surrounding L.A. is always a joy in a sporty car—and so it was with the Veloster N. We appreciated the power, the steering, the brakes, and the grip, yet there was just something missing. It’s that sense of unique discovery, like you’re the only one who knows what a great car the Veloster N is. It’s really good, but it didn’t rise to the level of special or extraordinary in the way we had hoped it would. It certainly stands at the top of the Veloster pack, but not by as much as we’d expected it would or should. It turns out its biggest problem is not the Civic Type R, but the Veloster R-Spec.

What About the Veloster R-Spec?

At $23,785, some $6,100 (or about 20 percent) below the price of this N, the R-Spec (pictured in red below) offers about 95 percent the performance of the supposed apex trim, rides far better, and has a more interesting interior. Also with a six-speed manual, the lighter, 201-hp R-Spec is about a half second behind in acceleration, stops just as short or shorter, is just 0.02 g below on the skidpad, and but 0.3 second behind on the figure-eight. It’s hard to justify the Veloster N when the R-Spec is nipping at its heels.

Then, obviously, the $5,710 (or about 20 percent) jump from Veloster N Performance Pack to a Civic Type R is equally big, and one could argue against it for the same reasons: Why get a Civic Type R if its performance isn’t that much better? The way it accelerates is similar, but it’s about a full second quicker across the board, which feels absolutely bonkers in a front-drive car. The Civic’s supercar-like lateral grip and 60–0 braking are noticeable, too, even to non-car people. And the Type R’s shifter, like the one in the long-gone S2000, is one for the ages. The difference is that the 306-hp Civic Type R is in an altogether different class of hot hatch. We’ve called it a game changer and still stand by that judgment.

2018 Honda Civic Type R 2019 Hyundai Veloster N 2019 Hyundai Veloster R-Spec Turbo DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Front-engine, FWD Front-engine, FWD Front-engine, FWD ENGINE TYPE Turbocharged I-4, alum block/head Turbocharged I-4 alum block/head Turbocharged I-4, alum block/head VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves/cyl DOHC, 4 valves/cyl DOHC, 4 valves/cyl DI from PerformanceJunk WP Feed 3 https://ift.tt/2T1sglX via IFTTT

#IFTTT #PerformanceJunk WP Feed 3

0 notes

howardlyontx · 6 years

Text

2018 BMW M4 CS vs. 2018 Porsche 911 GTS – Head 2 Head Ep. 95

youtube

– We’re in Germany, I’m in the brand new BMW M4 CS,and right now I’m doing 270 kilometers an hour. And Jonny, Jonny is right behind me. – And I’m driving the all new 991. 2 Porsche 911 GTS. And if Death Row Jethro here would get out of my way,I’d be in the 300 club. Oh hey, look at that, I’m in the 300 club. (maniacal laughter)Woohoo, oh that is moving, woo!So the bomb and I were on the ultimate Germancar guy holiday, Autobahn, Nurburgring andsome awesome mountain roads up in the alps. This is the stuff you dream about. Usually people ask me, I say the greatest countryon earth is Italy, not this week. This week it’s Germany. (upbeat dance music)- [Jethro] So our contenders for this head to head are thenew, lighter, more powerful, more focused M4 CSand that perennial benchmark, the Porsche 911here in GTS spec. But what makes the M4 CS worthy to stand toe to toewith the 911 GTS?The CS is maybe where finally the M4 starts to fulfillit’s potentially. It’s got a little bit more power than the compact,some of the lightweighting from the GTS. Cup 2 tires and chassis that’s been honedto extract every last little bit from them. All the signs point to this being the best M4we have ever seen. Want proof?Okay, well the three liter twin turbo charged straight sixhas been lightly tweaked to produce 454 horsepower. That’s just 10 more than the competition packagebut torque jumps by nearly 10%. Combined with a 77 pound weight reduction, thanksto a carbon fiber hood, less sound deafening,and some lightweight interior fittings,and the CS dips well below four seconds forthe naught to 60 miles an hour sprint. It also benefits from Michelin Pilot sportCup 2 tires and re-tuned suspension, although it retainscomfort, sport and sport plus modes. The CS is only available with a seven speed dualclutch transmission. The sticking point, well is the sticker price. Let’s call it circa $110,000 which brings us neatlyto Jonny’s car. – And I’m in the Porsche GTS, I’m going to call it theGoldilocks 911. It’s right in the middle of the rank, 450 horsepowerbut just does everything right. Follows the classic GTS recipe, you get a little bitmore power, they lowered the car and every performanceoption you can get on the carrera S, is includedfor a slightly lower price. In this case the Porker makes 450 horsepower,30 more than the standard S engine. Torque is also up by 37 pound feet, from 368 to 405. This particular Guard’s Red GTS has a few more tricksup it’s sleeve, namely, carbon ceramic brakes,dynamic chassis control, PDK and four wheel steering. As such if you were to look up sports car in the dictionary,you’d probably find a picture of the car I’m driving. Meaning that BMW’s got it’s work cut out for it. That’s the other crazy thing man, modern cars are so good. Like if you were going to do this a generation ago,and try to hit 300 kilometers an hour or 302 inthe case of this, that’s 190 miles an hour. You’d have to rebuild the engine that night, the tireswould delaminate, you’d die of heat stroke, everythingwould go wrong, it would never happen. Now, (scoffs) no problem and now I can use Bluetoothand navigation and just everything works. I’m comfortable, they’re amazing, these cars arejust absolutely amazing. – [Jethro] Jonny’s right, both of these carsare pretty amazing on the Autobahn. After a brief spell reveling and hitting near v max,reality sets in. We stop for two hours straight as a crash is cleaned upand then the rain comes and just more frustration. Fortunately that sat nav Jonny is so impressed withwell it’s leading us to a much, much better location. And rumor has it that the sun is smiling on the Nurburgring. – We are here, we have made it, we are at theNurburgring Nordschleife in fact we’re in a cornercalled Brunchen which you’re familiar with becauseif you’ve ever seen a sky shot taken of the Nurburgring,it was taken just over there. Listen, if you are a car guy or girl, you’ve gotto come here, it’s the greatest place on earth. Believe us, we’ve checked. – And the best thing about it, it’s just so accessible. There’s people over here just watching. If you bring your own car, any car, hire car, caravansuper car, doesn’t matter. You pay 27 Euros, you get to do a lap, that’s like30 bucks, and you get to drive on the greatest racetrackthat there has ever been. – So let’s go do that right now. – No no no no, the public laps are great, but it’s a zoo. We want to do it properly. I’ve got a friend called Darren, he runs somethingcalled Destination Nurburgring. No bikes, no caravans, just cars, open pit laneand we’re doing that tomorrow in our cars. – That’s awesome but what are we doing tonight?- Steak on a stone at the Pistenklause- Pistenklause, cool!How many things in life have never disappointed you?I can think of exactly none, save for the Nurburgring. It’s 12. 9 miles of automotive paradise. 2017 marks the ring’s 90th year in business. And it’s still the car world’s benchmark. All serious manufacturers develop their serious cars here. You have to, not only has a vehicle’s Nurburgring lap timebecome as important as it’s zero to 60 number,but it’s said that one mile at speed on the Nordschleife,is the equivalent of one thousand mileson a conventional road. Still, the ring is more than that. The culture that surrounds this place fills me with joy. Even after only a few hours here, you realize you aresurrounded by an entire community of people who havenever said 500 horsepower, when are you ever going to use that?The Nurburgring really and truly is car guy and gal nirvana. Even the gas station, the gas station is awesome. Why?Because in it you’ll find what has to be the besttoy car store in the world. They even had two cars with Death Row’s name on them. Talk about home away from home, and yeah, the steakon a stone of the Pistenklause, 100% worth it. (cheerful music)- [Jethro] And today we get to experience itat it’s best. Destination Nurburgring run open pit lane track days hereand they are fantastic. Unlimited track time, courteous drivers, and thatcommunity spirit Jonny mentioned, is overflowingin the car park packed with fantastic and oftenbattle-hardened cars. Oh and it’s really hot and sunny, this never happens. First up, the M4 CS and Jonny is driving. And he is not hanging around. (car accelerates)So before we start we should have a littleappreciation for the weather. – Oh my God. – This is not normal Nurburgring weather. – No there’s no rain and I said it with confidencethat it’s not going to rain. – Regardless of the weather, this place is still theultimate test so the M4 if it works here, it shouldwork anywhere. And if it’s going to justify it’s price tag,it’s going to be here as well. – I’ve driven a bunch of these M4s, and with theexception of that GTS, which is a whole nother price pointand they only made like 800 of ’em or whatever,this is good. This is good, you know I was really kind of impressedwith the M4 competition. – Yeah I think for me the first lot of M4’s I drovewere just nowhere, they didn’t feel like theyhad control or anything. Then the competition really improved it a lot. I love the GTS when it was set up perfectlywhich was rarely. But it seems to me yeah, they’re trying tobring some of that GTS excitement into the normal car,but make it work on more than likeone specific GP circuit. – Yeah I mean look we’re literally on the Nordschleife,but it’s working man, it’s totally working. – [Jethro] So we’ve got Cup 2 tires,so a lot more grip I’d say than the standard car. – Great grip, once the tire pressures really come up,wonderful grip, they revised the suspension,it’s good, you don’t get much understeer, a little bitin the really hairy stuff. – So I’ve driven all sorts of stuff around here andI can have fun in a 90 horsepower high car or aterrible SUV or whatever, but this is real fun becauseit does feel to me more serious, more capable, more stablethan the competition pack. – It’s a really fast car so the power’s up,it’s what is it 453 horsepower. – [Jethro] Yeah but that almost doesn’t sound a lot butit feels quick and it’s just instant as well. There’s so much throttle response. – Now they’ve done a good job, I used to not care forthis engine but I got to say, it’s really scooting thisthing around the track well. – Yeah and they’ve even made it sound almost good. – Almost good, yeah, heythat’s a huge improvement for a 3700, 3750 hundredpound car, I mean, we’re just whipping around this track. – Yeah I guess that’s it, you only start to feelthe weight over some of the quick bumpsit just feels a bit fidgety, you want it to landand just deal with the compression and sometimesit doesn’t it scoots around a bit on you. – The only time I was having a real problem with itis on like big curving, the back end like hops. – So the other thing for me, I’m slightly disappointedin the brakes, I think you just feel the weightat high speed. The gear box, it’s starting to feel a bit old fashionedsomehow the gear box. – Right the old fashioned dual clutch. – It’s stupid but, to me it feels like they’ve revisedit for this car, made it more aggressive so in top modeit punches really hard. – Yeah, ’cause there’s the three positions for shifting. – Yeah, but it’s too hard and then you dialed it backone position and it’s a bit too soft, a bit too auto-likeso it’s not quite got the sweet spot. – I got to say for an M4 I am very impressed. Was not expecting this. – It starting to justify what it costs,but we need to jump in the Porsche to see if itcan really play with the big boys. – Oh we need to jump in the Porsche?- We have to jump in the Porsche, we have to!- That’s our job man. – Get to the Porsche. (laughing)- Wow, the CS really is a different and bettersort of M4. And it is awesome on the Nordschleife. No wonder it ran a seven minute, 35 second lapin BMW’s testing. Right on the heels of cars named Pagani and Koenigsegg. You know what though?Porsche claims that this 911 GTS can run a seven minute24 second lap, which is quicker than a Ferrari Enzo,and neck in neck with a Gumpert Apollo. But can us normal folks feel the differencebetween the two?There’s only one way to find out. (cars accelerating)- This car just feels so hooked up, straight awayas soon as you leave the powder basically. It’s just got that Porsche thing of absoluteprecision and accuracy but still feedbackand no one else does it like that. That’s my feeling. – Well let’s just cut to the chase, so the 911starts about here, the poor BMW starts about as a 320down here and then they got to like add stuff to makeit quicker, but this one’s already like, this is the GTSso it’s already like, the Carrera S has been on themarket for a couple years, all the options everybody wantsthe performance stuff, they’ve tweaked it, they’velowered it it’s got more power like it’s just,it’s kind of the perfect weapon. – I think as a bridge between a Carrera S and a GT3,it just works really really well. It’s just so smooth. – [Jonny] I got to say though,forget about a bridge between ’em’cause with the extra torque from the turbo,this might be quicker, honestly this might be quickerthan a GT3. – It probably, it probably is for most people, but justit’s just so in control of itself and thatalmost sounds boring but it isn’tso down here in the BM you start to move aroundbecause of the weight, because the dampening’snot quite as good but the Porsche is just completelynailed, it’s just nailed but it isn’t, it doesn’t feelboring it doesn’t feel like it’s doing it for me. – So you just hit a ton of curbing right, soin the BMW, that rear end was not happy, right?You hit the curbing and it would just move aroundand wheels in the air, and then traction wouldkick in, this loves it. You could just abuse the curbing. – It does, I mean there’s a reason why every carin the car park is a 911. I mean it feels built for it, it soaks it up. It’s just, I’m actually shocked at how good it is. The rear wheel steer is an option on this carbut it just, it works. It’s almost invisible, it just means these tight cornersyou don’t need much steering angle, the car’s nailed in. And it just goes exactly where you want all the time. Which is just so impressive. It’s just built to do this. – It starts out as a sports car. – It wants to do it all day, all day just keeps going. The brakes just the pedal is perfect and it never changesno matter how hard you use ’em, it’s the same. – Well there’s that old cliche like a car’sonly as good as it’s brakes, and in this case that’skind of the biggest difference between this andthe BMW, these brakes you just trust ’em inherently. You never think about it. Where the BM the pedal’s getting longer. – I trust the whole car. Everything I touch on this car, feels like it wasdeveloped here for people who want to really enjoythe car at maximum attack and that’s to me,that’s what’s really important. This thing, whatever you do, there’s a test driverwho’s done it before you, twice as fast, twice as good. And it shows. – But we should also talk about the weight advantageis gigantic. And the BMW’s a larger car, the M4 has an actualback seat you can put people in, this is for luggage onlybut there’s about a 300 pound difference,but it feels like a six or seven hundred pound difference. – You just feel a bit more on top of the car. But yes, certainly over the bumps, when you’re turninginto corners, it feels lighter, there’s just a naturallike athletic feeling to the car. – and you just pass everything, it’s hard to explainhow potent this engine is. And it’s like 30 more horsepower than a Carrera S,37 more pound feet of torque, but it feels likea stage up, it really does. That’s always been the case with the GTS right?It’s like the best of the breed, it comes outafter the regular car, after the turbo, after the GT3. Sorry, I was trying to be philosophical and nowI’m like wow we are just hauling ass. But anyways, you know what I mean?They’ve worked the kinks out of everything else,this is they take everything they’ve learnedfrom all the development and that’s what your GTS is. And it’s kind of a good bargain too. What we’re talking about though is around theNurburgring, this is like a very hardcore, differentweird environment, this is not a normal placeto take a car. We’re very spoiled and lucky we get to do this. – This car feels perfect for here. Right on the limit or near the limit. The question for me with these new 991s, does it feelexciting enough on the street when you’re justdriving the car?Does it still feel like a sports car?- Well, there’s a road I’ve been hearing aboutit’s in another country, but it’s close by. – You’re a small man. It’s hard to leave the Nurburgring, it always is. But doing so with the cars in one piece,well that feels good. We bid the guys at Destination Nurburgring goodbye,and head south. To Austria and a road with a glacier at it’s summit. I guess that should’ve been a clue that it couldbe pretty cold and miserable, but hey, we’ve done rainon the Autobahn, sunshine on the world’s best track,so why not snow on a mountain pass with no safety barriers?- So we’re 9000 feet up in the air in a winter stormin late August on a glacier in Austria. So I think in these conditions there’s no way any carcould be boring. So to answer the question is the 911 GTS boring on the road?No, not even a little bit. – Especially not today. Now you’ve spent a lot more time in it than meon the road trip down from Germany, but even the brieftime I’ve spent in it, yeah it’s just not boring. It’s just good, it’s so complete, it’s got so muchgood stuff going for it. And you want to keep picking holes in it, but wheredo you find them?- It’s tough, look so the one knock I can think ofis that it’s not necessarily a 911 in the traditional sense. So rear engine cars, they have a lot of advantages,you’ve got all the weight on the back tires,the acceleration’s better. Braking’s inherently better. – Traction. – Yeah, there’s certain disadvantages they always havethey have this lift-off oversteer, they’ve eliminated that. Really starting with the 997 or 996. And it’s gone with the 991. The car does not behave badly. – I mean I love 991s, I guess my only question mark,if you erase all the foibles of real engine behavior,do you erase some of the character as well?- I think if it was a bad car, sure, we can makethat argument, but it’s not bad, it’s a really exciting car. I cannot get like, dropping in the fox hole or whatever,on the Nurburgring and you can’t say this is a bad car. You can’t say oh I don’t like it, it’sabsolutely incredible, like what a machine. – I think it’s worth saying that even in the lifespanof the 991, they’ve made massive improvements. The steering, just the sense that this car is a 911 again. It’s got some of that back and even when you go turbochargedand everything, the engine doesn’t take away from thefact that they’ve just improved everything up a levelin terms of ability and also I think they’ve dialed backsome of the character as well. They’ve got some of that back. You know everyone was crazy, oh they turbocharged it,but you know there’s so much torque that it’s worthwhatever sacrifice in sound there might be. And with the sport exhaust, it’s good enough,let’s be honest, it sounds good enough. We’ve both driven the new GT3, that starts to get backto a little bit of the classic 911 stuff, you get alittle bit of lift off oversteer. – That’s cause of age. And that engine shames any engine, but you’re talkingabout driving them back to back. In isolation, you might miss the normally (inaudible)engine if you used to have a screamer, an old engine. – This is a wonderful, twin turbo flat six withmore torque than I know what to do with half the time. – Yeah but what’s great is not just a big fat headof torque, it feels like you could meter out the performanceto it, you could still get accurate with it and that’swhat this car’s all about. It puts you in control. This car does everything but there’s no compromise,that’s what’s cool, how does it do that?It covers all these bases, but it isn’t making a compromiseso it still feels like a pure sports car. – Yeah, they’ve done a remarkable job. I guess if there is a knock, and let’s try andreally figure this out is when you’re on a road trip,it kind of becomes a luxury car, not that there’sanything wrong with luxury cars, but it maybe fora couple hours a day, it doesn’t feel special. There are times that I forget I’m driving a 911 GTS. I’m just driving like a shrunken Panamera maybe. It’s just like a nice Porsche. In the M4, I think you always know you’re in an M product. – Yeah, it’s just, that’s the one chink of lifefor the M4 for me, you can forget you’re in a 911in this car, the M4 like you say, it feels special. They’ve found the ingredients to make it feellike a proper sports car the whole time. – Even with rain, snow, hail, goats and God knowswhat else being thrown at us, the CS remainsthe M4 you want to own. It’s the best one, end of story. The question is, whether that’s enough to overcomethe talents and might of the blood-red Porsche. Well Jethro, your British rain has turned to Austrian snow. – [Jethro] It’s gorgeous. I can’t believe it. At least we have got Cup 2 tires, so we’re well-equipped. – Frozen Cup 2 tires. No but I mean you cannot say this is boringin any way, shape or form. – And I think what we were saying in the 911you feel that in this car. You feel that it is compromised to a certain extentby the extreme tires, by the fact it’s got thiscrazy whatever it is hemp door cards. – With nothing to hold on to other than the stupid strap. – And they’re sort of ridiculous, but they give the carsomething different, and it needs that to competewith the 911, is such a complete car now. To compete with it like toe to toe in every area,I don’t think that’s going to happen so this car,it needs to be something different and that’swhat it feels like, it feels like a differentproposition, more extreme, still usable, but it’sgot a just a bit more craziness to it. – To me this feels more like a GT3 than the GTS does. You have less sound insulation, the ride is not likebad, but it’s a firm, flinty right, like it’sup on it’s knuckles. And it feels real sporty even at low speeds like this. And it’s louder, and you get a little tighter,it’s a little angry. It’s kind of a really cool thing. – It is cool and like I say, you have to make somecompromises, but you get little spikes of excitement. (laughter)(crosstalking)- [Jonny] Or a big spike!- But there are not many cars, certainly not any Porscheswhere in a straight line in like third gear, tractioncontrol on, when you hit the torque, it lights up the tires. It’s like, this thing I mean traction limited, yes. But it keeps you awake and it makes you feel likeyou’re in something special. I sort of like that about it. – This is the first M product in a long time,really for me since the X6M where I’m like it’s mental,it’s really crazy and I like that. – It’s got some decent noise, it’s got some spikycharacteristics, but basically it’s trustworthy. Maybe not in snow on Cup 2 tires,but basically it’s trustworthy. It’s fun, it’s actually got that sense of motorsport back. – I wouldn’t say M is back in this car. – It’s just got that feeling that you’ve boughtsomething different and special and you are remindedevery second of every drive. That’s what’s cool and that’s where it does scorea little bit over the GTS actually, I’m surprisedto say that but it does. – [Jonny] Alright so now comes the tricky part, which carwins this head to head?- It’s a lot closer than I thought. – It is a lot closer than I thought, however BMWran up against a juggernaut, right?I mean the 911 is just so damn good. And it’s about as good as a sports car gets,let’s be very clear and very honest about that right?- You judge every car against the 911,then you drive the GTS and you remember why. It’s because it does everything so well. Yeah this gives you little moments of real magic,the 911 is just delivering real high heights fromthe second you turn the engine on to the secondyou turn it off. – Yeah so, the winner of this head to head isthe Porsche 911 GTS. It’s just the better car. – [Jethro] Same old. (car accelerating)

featureBoxVar = ""; from Auto Detailing Services (480)233-1529 Call or Text Now https://cardetailingphoenix.com/index.php/2018/06/18/2018-bmw-m4-cs-vs-2018-porsche-911-gts-head-2-head-ep-95/ from Auto Dealing Services https://cardetailingphx.tumblr.com/post/175028860106

0 notes

5hit-i-l00k-at · 7 years

Text

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Redesign And Price

New Post has been published on https://www.usautorelease.com/2018-porsche-911-gt3-redesign-price/

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Redesign And Price

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Redesign And Price – Enthusiasts grumbled whenever your prior Porsche 911 success your picture providing mainly a twin-clutch system gearbox. Despite the fact that any constant manual pushed the actual performance cover along with more quickly shifts about better lap instances, certain Porschephiles continue to long for a more connected with driving practical experience that is included with about three pedal. For 2018, there exists fantastic news for those hands-on transmission enthusiasts due to the fact the particular GT3 will probably once again often be supplied simply because of a significant stick move.

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Future

Intended for neighborhood traveling, anyone won’t properly at any time come close to help to max outside the car abilities. Their abundant hold, in addition to hefty along with receptive directing, lets Porsche 911 GT3 all rocket via edges during an approach that may attract unwelcome consideration if you are not mindful. The application is without a doubt a massively enjoyable along with communicative auto to get in the streets.

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Exterior And Interior

While your racing-extracted motor, warm body and big mentoring indicate the Porsche 911 GT3 should it’s the greatest focus on back streets and race songs, it is instead livable any time you will not be forcing it hard. Confident, wheel sound locates its way into this cabin, yet the suspensions in Normal method smoothes out and about influences adequate for drive top quality suitable for any everyday motorist. Infotainment centers upon a 7-inch touchscreen. Your system is as well equipped of working Apple CarPlay, yet not Google Android Auto. Since this Porsche 911 GT3 I will be traveling can be European-spec, I will not sample the navigation, in addition to indeed didn’t bother listening to any songs due to the fact the particular electric motor noises happen to be a much better soundtrack compared with anything at all I actually could tune directly into at terrestrial radio.

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Engine

For the counter competitors out there, your innovative engine indicates 60 miles per hour point in time of 3.8 mere seconds and additionally top track velocity for 198 miles per hour with that six-rate manual. When designed with the dual-clutch, 60 mph happens in 3.2 moments as well as high speed is certainly 197 miles per hour. Any normally aspirated beast also bettered it is forerunners Nurburgring clapboard point in time by 12.3 secs through a real seven moments, 12.7 minutes showing. If for reasons unknown you will be questioning about the actual Porsche 911 GT3 gas efficiency, EPA scores are usually not offered, however. Meant for a guide, all of the past GT3 was primarily ranked by 15 mpg found in any area along with 20 mpg on the subject of the freeway, and so do not shock in cases where the brand new truck bears related statistics.

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Price And Release Date

To create the determination slightly more challenging, equally transmissions might carry the same $144,650 platform price, which includes $1,050 about location as soon as any Porsche 911 GT3 strike car dealerships around slip. During your conclusion, I think I might have got some hands-on auto inside my garage due to the fact of its higher exciting aspect at the streets and through open track days where I’m not looking to stick to a pro car owner.

#porsche 911 gt3 0-60 #porsche 911 gt3 awd #porsche 911 gt3 for sale #porsche 911 gt3 rs 4.0 #porsche 911 gt3 rs for sale #porsche 911 gt3 rs lego #porsche 911 gt3 rs price #porsche 911 gt3 rs top speed #porsche 911 gt3 specs #porsche 911 gt3 top speed

0 notes

candello · 7 years

Text

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Redesign And Price

New Post has been published on https://www.usautorelease.com/2018-porsche-911-gt3-redesign-price/

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Redesign And Price

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Future

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Exterior And Interior

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Engine

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Price And Release Date

0 notes

iratefate · 7 years

Text

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Redesign And Price

New Post has been published on https://www.usautorelease.com/2018-porsche-911-gt3-redesign-price/

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Redesign And Price

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Future

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Exterior And Interior

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Engine

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Price And Release Date

0 notes

mrgoodbar25-blog · 7 years

Text

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Redesign And Price

New Post has been published on https://www.usautorelease.com/2018-porsche-911-gt3-redesign-price/

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Redesign And Price

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Future

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Exterior And Interior

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Engine

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Price And Release Date

0 notes

f1 · 1 year

Text

Marko forbade Verstappen from joining Nurburgring Nordschleife demo run | 2023 Canadian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen says Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko refused to let him take part in the team’s upcoming demonstration run at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. Sebastian Vettel will drive the infamous, 20.8-kilometre, 172-turn track in a Red Bull RB7 of the type he used to win the 2011 world championship. Daniel Ricciardo is also due to take part in the event. However Verstappen said Marko made it clear the team’s star driver would not be allowed to take part. “I wanted to do it, but I was not allowed by Helmut because he knew that I would try and go to the limits,” he said. “I would have loved to do it.” F1 cars rarely tackle the formidable circuit, which last held a round of the world championship in 2011. But Verstappen, who is on course to win his third consecutive world championship for the team and is contracted to drive for them until at least 2028, said he didn’t want to “start unnecessary issues” by demanding the team let him take part in the event. “I find it quite funny,” he explained. “I heard this thing was coming up and Helmut, we were sitting at the table when it came up usually, and he said “no, no, no, you’re not doing that.” Asked whether he would have attempted to beat the track record – a 5’19.550 set by Timo Bernhard in the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo, a modified WEC car – Verstappen said “I would have definitely given it a go.” However he pointed out Vettel and Ricciardo will have to use special demonstration tyres for their appearance at the circuit, which limit performance. “You need not the demo tyres, you need some proper tyres, which is not allowed,” he said. Verstappen said he is eager to tackle the circuit one day. “Ideally, that would have been amazing in an F1 car,” he said. “But if it’s not allowed in an F1 car, probably one day in a GT3 car or whatever.” “It’s also risky to drive here,” he said in the paddock at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, “it just depends how you hit a barrier. But that’s normally not the plan, of course. “But hopefully one day I can do it.” Become a RaceFans Supporter RaceFans is run thanks in part to the generous support of its readers. By contributing £1 per month or £12 per year (or the same in whichever currency you use) you can help cover the costs of creating, hosting and developing RaceFans today and in the future. Become a RaceFans Supporter today and browse the site ad-free. Sign up or find out more via the links below: Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2023 Canadian Grand Prix Browse all 2023 Canadian Grand Prix articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

#F1 #Marko forbade Verstappen from joining Nurburgring Nordschleife demo run | 2023 Canadian Grand Prix #Formula 1

0 notes

canadagoosemontebello · 7 years

Text

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Redesign And Price

New Post has been published on https://www.usautorelease.com/2018-porsche-911-gt3-redesign-price/

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Redesign And Price

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Future

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Exterior And Interior

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Engine

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Price And Release Date

0 notes

buildercar · 7 years

Photo

New Post has been published on http://www.buildercar.com/first-laps-nio-ep9/

First Laps: Nio EP9

This May, the all-electric Nio EP9 beat its own Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record by 19.2 seconds, lowering an already exceptional mark to a blistering 6 minutes, 45.9 seconds. Peter Dumbreck drove it through the Green Hell at a pace which looks downright frightening on the video taken by the on-board cameras. Today, we’re here at the Bedford Autodrome with the very same car for an exclusive first drive. That is, if I can stuff myself into it.

Flashback to the Shanghai motor show in April, where the EP9 built for Nio chief William Li — one of seven cars completed so far — awaits me for a fitting. It does not go well. If this carbon fiber garment were a suit, the buttons would have popped: one, two, three. But after a crash diet and a visit to the barber, I just might be able to cram myself in, sardine style. I’m going to find out soon enough.

A small group of experts, engineers, and enthusiasts are forming a circle around the dark blue EP9 being prepped to attack the Bedford circuit. The seat turns out to be a naked, non-adjustable carbon-fiber bucket. Where there once was a cushion is now the same slippery pale-blue protection foil as on the sills and down in the footwell. The meat in this hard-baked composite sandwich is 6-feet, 8-inches worth of Kacher, and that’s before the towering helmet and the protruding HANS (head and neck support) system are in place. This is going to be fun.

For now I’m just a passenger. The man at the wheel introduces himself as Tommy, who turns out to be a seasoned former race car driver and a laid back, happy-go-lucky guy. While my torso is being roped with Sparco straps, my head still has enough freedom of movement to check out the lab-style dashboard. Right in front of me, a tall, full-width rectangular display has just come to life. Further to my left, three more monitors are beginning to glow — the smallest one is attached to the hub of the steering-wheel. Six green lights on top of the windscreen are signaling to the mechanics that the high-voltage system is active. There isn’t a single airbag on board.

Off we go. Bedford’s so-called grand prix circuit is a 3.8-mile cone serpent worming across what was once an army airfield. The track has zero change in altitude. I have zero track knowledge, and zero self-confidence. Thankfully, Tommy knows the track well. He gives me the spiel through the intercom: do not straddle the curbs, do not touch the buttons on the wheel or in the center stack, do not alter the battery mode. In other words, don’t screw up this priceless piece of four-wheeled e-history.

During the warm-up lap, Tommy rattles off some of the NP9’s insane performance numbers. The wide-body racer can allegedly accelerate to 60 mph in less than 2.7 seconds, to 125 mph in 7.1 seconds and onto a top speed of 194 mph. True, the Bugatti Chiron is as quick or quicker off the mark, not to mention it has a higher maximum speed and longer driving range. But for a purely electric vehicle, the Nio’s one megawatt (roughly 1,360 horsepower) max power output and the massive 1,091 lb-ft of estimated peak torque are simply sensational.

About a third into lap two, Tommy starts mumbling to himself. Late apex, late apex, and again. Brake early here. And there. Then out of the blue he slips into total attack mode. Cerebrum and cerebellum start to slug it out in a corner-by-corner boxing match as my spine fights a losing battle against the low ceiling, the shockwaves from below, and the g-force salvos. The EP9’s largest digital display is recording every single second of this assault on body and mind: 2.21 g lateral acceleration, 1.4 g deceleration, 147 mph at detection point two. Whenever a digit lights up green, it signals a new best. Needless to say, the numbers are pinging green for the remainder of this lap. And the next.

Back in pit lane, getting out of the passenger seat and into the driver’s seat are two giant gymnastic embarrassments. The seat acts like a slide, spooning the body into an embryonic driving position: bum too far forward, legs akimbo at an angle that hurts, the head fixated by HANS, the helmet compromising the field of vision. I feel like a piece of human origami art aiming for the bin. But this doesn’t stop the sadists strapping me in from pulling my four-point belt tight, then tighter still. Why don’t you push the pedal box further forward, Georg? Because it’s already about to crack the bulkhead.

Through the intercom, I can hear myself wheezing, loud and clear. Thumbs up? Thumbs Up! With a bit of luck, I should at least better my own lap time set earlier in a Skoda Octavia rental car. But first things first: Hit the big black button on the panel between the seats to select power mode one, put a hoof hard on the brake pedal, then pull the right shift paddle to engage drive. Let’s go!

Never mind the cramped cabin. What makes the mind boggle right now are a staccato of alien noises. Like intermittent driveshaft clutter, yelping transmission whine, tires drumming in all four wheelwells, and the high-pitched hissing of a brace of electric motors, two up front and two in the rear. The EP9 provides electric mobility in its purest and simplest form: on/off, forward/reverse. That’s it. No gears to select but neutral, no driving programs to choose from, no torque vectoring to worry about, no chassis-related trickeries like rear-wheel steering or active anti-roll bars. Braver men might have played with the brake balance, ABS intervention, and ESP assistance. But I’m a coward, we all know that.

Everything OK, Georg? Absolutely. No sweat at all. If it wasn’t for chafing my shin bones, a brooding cramp in the left thigh and my eyeglasses being bump-steered in different directions, everything would be fine and dandy. Since pedal modulation is both physical and delicate, you must start thinking about your brake points before ever flooring the throttle. As soon as the floodgates open, the torque tsunami flattens you in the seat like a mighty breaker. Although the pedal effort required to make the cooled-off Alcon discs perform could easily kick-start a truck engine, the deceleration is mental. Absolutely mental.

One more familiarization lap, and then you may increase the power from 362 hp to 510 hp — per axle — which still is about several hundred horsepower short of the Nio’s no-holds-barred ludicrous mode. Everything is happening faster now. Corners approach at warp speed, working the steering becomes physical, not knowing the track doesn’t help. Hold this pace, Georg, because that’s what it takes to cool the driveline, the batteries, and the cabin. Ignore the numbers on the displays. I know the maximum stopping power is 3.3 g, the maximum lateral acceleration works out at 2.5 g. According to the data recorder, I am painfully slow, so why do I feel like a hero?

The oddly sized 320/705 R19 Avon tires are made of a secret rubber compound which sticks to the pavement like fresh chewing-gum. The cornering grip is simply out of this world, but so is the bone-rattling ride. Sight lines range from okay (straight ahead) to non-existent (rear three-quarter). The adjustable downforce has a noticeable effect, the directional stability is that of a full-size slot-racer, body movements are kept in check by an adjustable damping system, and a hydraulic actuator controls ride height. You guessed it: the Nio EP9 is a hardcore race car, totally electrifying and in no way street-legal, a visitor from a different galaxy, merely passing through.

Back in the pits, a twist of the belt buckle releases the harness — what a relief. While the ECU logs out byte by byte, crackling like a dozen scrunched-up packets of chips, the steering-wheel monitor tells us that the range dropped from 295 to 167 miles after only five laps, while the state of charge fell from 100 percent to 55 percent. No big deal — replenishing the batteries is claimed to take only 45 minutes. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the energy cell containers must come out of the car before the plug-in process can start. Since they weigh almost 700 pounds each, this exercise requires two strong men, an engineer with laptop, and a pair of transport cradles.

Now that the biggest shareholders have taken delivery of their personalized trackday specials, it was decided to manufacture a second batch of 10 more cars which have allegedly already been sold. The millionaires paying for this high-voltage hypercar are reportedly forking out somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5 million plus tax for the car, plus pocket money for incidentals like spare batteries, special toolkits, a high-voltage charger, and the qualified personnel to operate this high-tech toy.

Next on the agenda is the still highly provisional, re-engineered, road-ready EP9 evolution model, of which between 50 and 250 units would be built. If management does decide to convert the EP9 for road use, such a move would of course require a more user-friendly charge concept — ideally, inductive charging. Airbags would have to be added to meet the most basic crash protection requirements, and filling the extra-wide sills with lithium-ion batteries may cause problems as far as side impact performance is concerned. According to the EP9’s instruction leaflet, the driver must remain seated in case of a malfunction no matter what. Why? Because one leg earthed outside the car and the other leg insulated inside could cause a terminal short-circuit. That wouldn’t pass muster with safety regulators if the car were to be homologated for the street.

Although there are still a lot of ifs and buts hovering above the project, Nio wants to keep its options open as it uses the EP9 to boost image and brand-awareness. According to those in the know, producing electric vehicles is only part of Nio’s future business model. If all goes according to plan, stakeholders like Bitauto (digital services), Tencent (Internet, social networks, media), and Lenovo (laptops, smartphones) will use future Trojan horses like the almost production-ready Nio ES8 for marketing purposes, too. Wishful thinking? Well, Tencent has 830 million users who spend 95 percent of their online activities with this particular provider. Which is another way of saying that the future is now, and the Nio EP9 is doing a remarkable job promoting it.

Source link

0 notes

f1chronicle · 4 years

Text

How Lewis Hamilton Mastered Imola To Take 93rd Career Win

Time and again, a pertinent question is raised in the context of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, particularly more so in the light of his recent achievement; where he broke Michael Schumacher’s record for most race wins (beating the record of the mighty driver at the German’s own backyard to raise his ninety-second victory, at the Nurburgring).

Is Lewis Hamilton the greatest driver in the history of the sport, not just the current grid?

Who knows- maybe he’s the best of this generation where he’s seen off significantly more experienced drivers in Alonso and Raikkonen. Or maybe, with sheer race-craft, he’s proven himself to be an all-time great among a tall order of names that you and I still bow in admiration to- Fangio, Senna, Schumacher, with a few more.

But it becomes a different story when the stats speak up, for like hips and wannabe hipsters of the world- they don’t lie and can be spotted easily.

For example, unless you are living under a rock, 1 minus 1 still equals 0. So in Mercedes hero Lewis Hamilton’s case, the stats point to an accumulation that only a man-mountain in the times to come may achieve or better yet, beat.

Wondering how that is?

As he drove past the checkered flag at Imola, that returned to the sport after fourteen long years, Hamilton raised his ninety-third victory in FORMULA 1, his seventy-second with Mercedes, and actually his first at Imola, nestled in Northern Italy.

Though, central to Lewis Hamilton’s Imola was, once again, a key factor that we didn’t see for the first time.

Truth be told, one might call it a combination of excellent race pace management- which we know Lewis possesses in abundance- but also the ‘Overcut.’

Just in case the curious fan wishes to know how that functions, take a look here.

Nothing Goes Right For Lewis Hamilton On Lap 1

But at Imola, where Lewis wasn’t on pole, and actually lost his track position (early on) to Max (very early on), it was the Overcut that engineered another fine triumph.

Well, it’s just that it might not have been the easiest to achieve- not when you slip from P2 (Lewis began from the second row in Lap 1) to P3 with Max Verstappen for company to beat.

Right?

Truth be told, what followed from the onset of lap 21 until the very end of the race- one punctuated by a safety car deployment- was a Hammertime master-class, not that his critics would care.

But first- how about a rewind from the action-packed opening lap?

Seconds from the start where Bottas got off cleanly, defending his track position from the fighting duo of Hamilton and Verstappen, Imola threw up an early change in heirarchy.

Unable to defend from Max’s ‘Bull Run’, Hamilton slipped to third, with Verstappen (beginning from P3) up into second even before the fighting pack approached the Tamburello chicane.

But what followed until the end of Lap 9- a mini time segment- was Lewis Hamilton playing the defender, holding onto his P3 rather well, although his gap to Verstappen ( P2) may have posed a concern, Hamilton trailing the Dutchman by approximately 1.2 seconds.

Of course, what helped Mercedes #44 was that Max was losing time on the straights, Lewis wasn’t.

But with all the pressure of having the opportunity of taking an early shot at Bottas, despite losing early track position, Lewis hung in there.

The next big change of leadership guard at Imola arrived on Lap 21.

This would drastically change the composition of the race.

But before we get into that, how does one define Valtteri Bottas- 9 Grands Prix wins, 55 podiums, 2 wins in 2020, 0 world championships- driving the exact same car as teammate Lewis Hamilton?

That Bottas lost the race eventually to his teammate is something we’ve seen at Tuscany before, albeit much to the chagrin of fans who can’t understand how the Finn loses nearly every time he has the pole advantage.

Nonetheless, we let Mercedes’ Flying Finn answer that.

Lap 21 – 1st Big Change Of Guard. Oh Finn, Why Don’t You Win!

But after holding the led of the race darn well for nearly 21 laps, Bottas dived into the pits for rubber change.

This meant Lewis Hamilton, who hadn’t pitted yet, was the race-leader with Max in third.

Interestingly, Max Verstappen, clearly charging to get closer to Hamilton, was contesting on the harder tyres.

Case in point being neither among the Mercedes or the Red Bull had pitted nor seemed keen to, the latter of which would eventually pave way for a fantastic Lewis Hamilton triumph.

From the onset of Lap 21 until the period of the safety car deployment, brought out by George Russell (weaving a bit too much or maybe needlessly so, aiming to generate more heat into the tyres), Hamilton backed himself to go for the overcut.

And guess what?

It stayed that way. From Lap 21-to -30 and from lap 31-40. Lewis didn’t pit.

Lap 42- “Max”imum Charge = Pressure On Tyres Even If P2

Though, an interesting moment of the race did arrive in lap 42, where Verstappen, then under a second of Bottas, was closing in around Variante Alta.

Immediately at this point with the Finn defending desperately from Max went a little wide after passing a slow but acute left-hander.

Though, the attacking Verstappen, would lunge ahead to take second in a fantastic move around the outside, it would cost him a bit too much, as one found out later.

Max, P2, until such time, had been running a much longer stint on the hards.

But Lewis could care less. Not that he had to, as the Briton had his own race to look after.

But backing himself to go for what one could call was a rather long overcut, pitting only before the safety car deployment, Hamilton still kept hanging in the lead.

And whilst he was doing that, he was at his usual best in race pace and tyre management, the mini skirmish between his teammate and the Red Bull allowing him to open a big gap out in the front.

Lap 50- Max becomes Min, Hamilton Consolidates Grid Position

Finally, with just 13 laps to go but with Imola having already demonstrated a few heartbreaks for the likes of Magnussen, Gasly- came the big game changer with Verstappen retiring owing to a massively stressed right rear

But then- wasn’t it always coming having run an exceptionally longer stint on the hard compounds, with the added pressure of attacking, and finally, passing Bottas?

FORMULA 1, one may note, rewards persistence and that ability to keep cool rather well, quite like life.

But ever heard fortune- for Max’s retirement did play well into the hands of the Mercedes- backs the brave?

At Imola, you were compelled to think, what if Lewis had not taken the brave stance of going for the overcut?

Just imagine what might have been the fate of the 63-lap outcome had the Mercedes driver pitted in the first place?

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

from WordPress https://ift.tt/3oN8P0O via IFTTT

#Formula 1 news

0 notes