Description
Contents: Best All-Around Sports Car (What makes a great sports car? Well, high lateral g’s and low lap times certainly factor in, but you wouldn’t want to commute in an Indy car either. We find the best blend of aggression and civility. BMW Z4 3.0i; Chevrolet Corvette Coupe; Dodge Viper SRT-10; Honda S2000; Lotus Elise; Mercedes-Benz SLK350; Nissan 350Z 35th Anniversary; Porsche Boxster S; Porsche Carrera S Coupe) Road Tests – Chrysler 300C SRT-8 (When the regular, 340-bhp Hemi just seems a little feeble…how about another 85 horses, sticky 20-in. Goodyear F1 Supercar tires and a suitably locked-down suspension to match) First Drives – Ford Mustang GT Convertible (Consistent with the “different horses for different courses” way of thinking, Ford’s affordable new pony-car soft-top is the ideal steed for crisp spring mornings and balmy summer afternoons); Mercedes-Benz E350 (The torquey, sweet-sounding 3.5-liter V-6 that earned rave reviews in the SLK is now playing beneath the hood of the E Class, with the new 7-speed automatic in an Oscar-worthy supporting role); Toyota Avalon (Toyota’s version of the Buick LaCrosse takes a step up in both size and prestige, inching ever closer toward Lexus-dom. It’s not exactly an R & T car, but it’s mighty impressive in its own right); Lexus RX 400h (Proving that performance, luxury and ecological sensitivity can peacefully coexist, this Lexus hybrid manages to both out-accelerate and out-miser its purely hydrocarbon-burning counterpart) Features – Brock Superformance Coupe (Forty years after penning the lines of the Cobra Daytona Coupe, Pete Brock has had another chance. And he’s made the most of it with this South African-built, 550-bhp 210-mmph reincarnation); Long-Term Test (Staff ponderings, insights, revelations, musings and epiphanies about the Toyota Prius, Nissan 350Z, Mazda RX-8, Mini Cooper S, Jaguar XJ8, Volkswagen Phaeton and Infiniti G35x) Competition – Race Of Champions (Riding shotgun with Schumacher? It could – and did – happen to our contributing photographer, on hand to photograph the 2004 Race of Champions in Paris. It’s a ride he won’t soon forget) Technical – Is Racing Relevant? (A Who’s Who of racing’s elite (do the names Mosley, Brawn and George ring a bell?) weighs in on the cost of competition, driver aids and why Ferrari beats up on everyone else in F1) Columns – On The Road: Atmosphere And Light (A photograph tells no lies (at least before the digital age), but an illustration can more powerfully evoke the time and setting. In the automotive realm, Barry Rowe’s works have that sort of magic); Ampersand: Super Coupes…And More (Lexus builds a supercar (the IF-A); Chrysler, a Corvette connection (“Firepower” is the working title) BMW shoehorns M5 urge into the 6; plus other previews from the L.A., Detroit and Geneva shows); Side Glances: Deer In The Headlights (Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug. But hitting a deer with an automobile, or motorcycle, is fraught with consequences that don’t merely wipe off with Windex and a rag); Tech Tidbits: Hats Off To Snell (The next time you don your Simpson Bandit and cinch the double D-ring, think of William “Pete” Snell and the helmet safety foundation he inspired. Plus, Goddard on race-car “rocket science”); Sport: Macau! (How a tiny region in Hong Kong’s shadow has risen to prominence as the premier Formula 3 venue: Adam Cooper reports. Plus, Ferrari 360 Modenas on a go-cart track at the 2004 Race of Champions); Pole Position: Apples, Oranges And Kickers (In a precedent-setting move, our Editor-at-Large has willingly agreed to withhold his opinion about who’s the best racing driver in the world, biting his lip till it hurts. I’ll give it about three weeks) Departments – People, Places & Things; Your Turn; Reviews; Road Test Summary; Technical Correspondence; Time & Place; Finish Line; PS
Issue: March 2005
Condition: Very Good