Description
Contents: Chrysler Firepower (With the Viper’s skeleton, a heart of Hemi goodness and lines that suggest a blast through the Cotsworlds rather that a static display at Cobo Hall, the Firepower imprsses. Question is, wil they build it?) Road Test – Audi A3 2.0T (Audi’s premium 5-door hatchback looks like a shrunken A4 Avant, channels the TT’s interior and pairs a stout 2.0-liter turbo with the magical DSG sequential gearbox. But, um, 0.71g on the skidpad?); Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren & Beechcraft Premier I (In an effort to get more fiber in our diet (okay, carbon fiber), we look at two exclusive conveyances made of the stuff, their construction and their relationships with lift); Mercedes-Benz ML500 (Shedding its plain, minivan-esque skin once and for all, the new ML wriggles into 2006 with an available 5.0-liter V-8 (a 10-bhp bump, but bodywork and wheels that look fast standing still); Road Test Updates: Nissan Altima SE-R & Pontiac GTO (Syringes of power and style inject new life into the Pontiac GTO Inow with 6.0 liters and 400 bhp) and Nissan Altima SE-R (a 10-bhp bump, but bodywork and wheels that look fast standing still) First Drives – Acura TSX A-SPEC (Have Honda engineers taken to eating stuffed penne and wearing Italian loafers? We ask only because this TSX seems to have the high-spirited heart of an Alfa with, we suspect, better reliability); BMW M6 (The M might as well stand for “Muuuwwwaaahhhhhaaaahhhhaaaa which is what you might yell after uncorking the M6’s 507-bhp V-10 and experiencing its centrifuge-like handling limits on a Spanish racetrack); Bentley Continental Flying Spur (The “Flying” part is no exaggeration as this elegant sedan, which shares its twin-turbo W-12 and awed chassis with the Continental GT, can outpace some small civilian aircraft at its 195-mph top speed); Subaru B9 Tribeca (Some may doubt the wisdom of its name (B9=benign?), but it’s hard to fault the slickness of this 7-seazt sport ute that has a 250-bhp flat-6 and a grille that could come only from a former Alfa designer); Hyundai Sonata (Outwardly it seems a mish-mash of borrowed styling cues, but this Alabama-built sedan impresses with its interior spaciousness, plus handling that’s a cut above that of its prime competitors) Features – The Road To Sebring (Driving a Panoz Esperante GTLM to the Gulf Coast, with a buddy, to take in the Sebring 12-Hour? The bag’s already packed. It proved a memorable trip and, for a Sebring first-timer, a rite of passage); Long-Term Test (Feeding our cravings for high horsepower (CTS-V), classy motoring (XJ8), relaxed touring (Phaeton), high revs (RX-8), all-steel-drive handling (G35x), and ecological one-upmanship (Prius) Competition – Le Mans 1955: Three Who Were There (It was racing’s darkest hour when Levegh’s Mercedes launched into the French crowd. It profoundly affected those who witnessed the aftermath. John Fitch, Phil Walters and Phil Hill remember); Road & Track 250 (If 51 howling, dicing, scrapping Daytona Prototypes and GT cars charging around Laguna Seca’s 2.2-mile circuit doesn’t get your blood racing, check for a pulse and order an EKG) Columns – On The Road: Fast Friends And Fast Cars (Fast Porsches at California Speedway with Hurley Haywood, a fabulous birthday present for a famous guy, an award for a faithful reader’s car and the inaugural Road & Track 250 at Mazda Raceway Laguana Seca); Ampersand: Blasts From The Past (The Acura NSX and Skyline GT-R get a new lease on life, an inexpensive (it’s relative, isn’t it?) Ferrari is arriving. Lotus flowers anew, Lexus goes green, Jaguar has kittens and Rover goes bye-bye); Side Glances: The Cadillac From Cyberspace (In the pursuit of automotive happiness, sometimes you have to break your own rules, like buying a car without first seeing it in person. And so it is with a green 1953 Cadillac, purchased with a single keystroke); Tech Tidbits: NASCAR Would Have Pomeroy Spinning (If you thought Formula 1 piston speeds were high, wait until you read this…it’ll have NASCAR’s connecting rods filing for women’s comp. Plus, 42-volt automotive wiring systems get the electric chair); Sport: Carl Edwards (Dave Argabright reports on the NASCAR Nextel Cup phenom, a personable guy with a gift for self-promotion and the talent to back it up. It just goes to show that nice guys can finish first); Pole Position: Fight To The Finish (Tracy and Bourdais, or Kanaan and Wheldon? Road courses or ovals? Whether your allegiance lies with the Champ Car or the IRL, a reunification of the two series would do much to ensure survival of the species) Departments – People, Places & Things; Your Turn; Technical Correspondence; Road Test Summary; Reviews; Finish Line; Time & Place; PS
Issue: July 2005
Condition: Very Good