Description
Contents: Road Test: Porsche Cayman S (Apparently, all the good names are taken. But this tin-topped, 295-bhp Boxster doesn’t lack for goodness in terms of style, handling and acceleration. We hook up our test gear and see what she’ll do); Porsche Mid-Engine History (From its Gmund coupe to the Le Mans conquering 956/962 to production cars such as the 914 and Boxster, the company best known for its rear-engine bloodline has a strong mid-engine pulse); Porsche RS Spyder (Partnered with Penske, Porsche re-enters big-time endurance racing with an LMP2 car that will contest the American Le Mans Series. We check it out, and chat with Porsche’s motorsports principals) Road Tests – Aston Martin V8 Vantage (If James Bond ever falls on hard times, he won’t have to pawn his Walther PPK to drive this relatively affordable Aston. It’s priced to compete with the Porsche Turbo, and is as quick as the D89); Audi S4 Avant vs. Dodge Magnum SRT8 vs. Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG Sport Wagon (Pace, grace and cargo space…they can all coexist, as proven by these muscle-bound haulers that transform family transport into fire-breathing objects of lust) First Drives – Subaru Impreza WRX (Questionable move: giving the WRX a grille that resembles the B9 Tribeca’s. Good call: a multitude of mechanical changes, the most prominent being a torquier, 230-bhp 2.5-liter flat-4 for the base WRX); Volkswagen Passat (Think of the new, larger Passat Lite instead of Jetta Cum Laude, as this sumptuously appointed Volkswagen offers upmarket luxury and power, especially with the 3.6 narrow-angle V-6); Morgan Roadster (That wire-wheeled Brit from Malvern Link that just smoked your Porsche Boxster (in a straight line, anyway)? It’s that born-again Morgan Roadster, now with 225 bhp from a Ford 3.0-liter V-6) Features – Star-Crossed Sports Car – The BMW 507 (BMW and designer Albrecht Goertz really started something with the sublime, V-8-powered 507. The V=Baverian automaker celebrates the car’s 50th birthday with a drive from Verona to the Villa d’Este); “Long-Term” Ferrari Enzo (Purists may recoil in horror, but the author has had his Enzo’s doors neatly clipped off to better enjoy the driving experience. And drive it he does, as his second set of Bridgestones will attest); Long-Term Test: Mini Cooper S (Despite some teething problems, the odd creak and rattle and an engine that suffered death by drowning (no fault of the car’s), our Mini was the bee’s knees when it came to buzzing around town) Technical – 100 Run-Flats For All Seasons (Compressed air in tires is highly overrated, at least when your run-flat picks up a nail. And these rubber marvels are ever-improving, now in summer, winter and all-season varieties) Competition – Diesel Record Run (Get in, buckle up and stand on the gas – or should we say diesel? – for 100,000 miles in a Mercedes E320 CDL. Average 139.699 mph over 30 days. And set three outright world records in the process) Columns – On The Road: Mid-Engine Magic (Handling dynamics of cars with engines amidships have advanced mightily since the Maserati Merak. Porsche does especially well with the Boxster and, now, the Cayman S); Ampersand: Beautiful Bodies (A Witness Protection Program for cars? Henrik Fisker’s Latigo CS and Tramorto assume identies far removed from their Mercedes and BMW origins. Plus, the Viper Coupe and early Frankfurt faves); Side Glances: Running With The Big Dogs (Our Editor-At-Large gets in a heated scrap with Rubens Barrichello and Mark Webber, not ensconced in Formula 1 cockpits but astride racing bicycles. Be it 10-speeds or open-wheelers, my money’s on Rebens); Tech Tidbits: Sir Isaac Newton And The Quarter Mile (The drag-racing slick as a continuously variable transmission, exhaust pulses as downforce, SAE Certified Horsepower explained, and why London motorists can expect an even greater Pounding); Sport: The Challenge Of Change (It’s said a great race driver can race anything successfully. That’s true to a point, but time is needed to learn the nuances of, say, Nextel Cup versus Champ Car; Tim Tuttle reports. Plus, super-quick superkarts); Pole Position: Fixing F1 (If it’s broke, fix it. In an open letter to the FIA’s big cheese, Max Mosley, our irascible Editor-At-Large offers suggestions to improve the three-ring circus that is Formula 1. Now, chop-chop, let’s get to it) Departments – People, Places And Things; Your Turn; Reviews; Technical Correspondence; Road Test Summary; Finish Line; Time & Place; PS
Issue: November 2005
Condition: Very Good