After the demise of the old Automobile thread (at the hands of the WF puppy) I've decided it's time to revive the topic. Behold: THE PETROL-HEAD THREAD! GTi *insert fanfare here*This thread is for all discussion of car-related things, including cars. Just to get the ball rolling, here's a few questions for you to answer: What's your car? What's your favourite car? What's your most hated car? What car do you want for a normal life? What car do you want for a fantasy life? Petrol or Diesel? Aston Martin or Lamborghini? Old Mini or New Mini? Also, I'll be posting news on upcoming cars, and you're all free to do the same. So, I think we should start of wiiiiiiittthhhh... An Aston Martin. Drop Goal “Ah, Mr Bond. I’ve been expecting you. But what the bloody hell is going on with your hair?” That’s the obligatory Aston-Bond reference out the way, then. An apposite one in this case, though, because these are the first pictures of the DBS Volante, the convertible version of Aston’s toughest road car set to be formally unveiled in Geneva next week. The Bond car, in other words, has lost its roof. On one level, this is a bit confusing. Like the Ferrari 430 Scuderia Spider we saw last year, why do you go to all the effort of creating a stiffer, sharper coupe… and then ruin the rigidity by cutting the roof off it? On another level – quite a big level, in fact – it’s going to be ace, isn’t it? A 510bhp, six-litre V12 blaring away in front of you, fluffy clouds skipping above your head, an Eastern European beauty with a highly euphemistic name in the passenger seat… We’re getting carried away. Let’s have some numbers. That big V12 – unchanged from the DBS Coupe and feeding the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox – will haul the Volante to 60mph in 4.3 seconds, exactly the same as the hard-top despite an extra 90kg of weight, with a top speed of 191mph. It should handle, too. Thanks to a new six-point rear subframe, the DBS Volante is 25 per cent stiffer than the wafty DB9 Volante (though 25 per cent less stiff than the DBS Coupe), and features a revised adaptive damper system which allows the driver to select from five settings ranging from ‘Ouch that’s firm’ to ‘Mmm, that’s better’. Those may not be the official names. The DBS Volante’s fabric roof – which contains Thinsulate, that insulating fabric usually found lining the jackets of men who possess hiking boots and emergency whistles – will retract in just 14 seconds at speeds up to 30mph. But let’s be honest here: unless you’re caught in an apocalyse-spec hailstorm, you’re going to drive absolutely everywhere with the roof down, just to hear that amazing engine note. So long as you’ve got £170,000 or so to spare, that is. That’s what we’re expecting the DBS Volante to cost when it goes on sale in the UK this summer. Comb and gentleman’s hair wax not included. Here's another picture: Taken from the Top Gear website. I am not the author. I think my eyeballs just melted. THAT *points hastily upwards* is an absurdly beautiful car. I WANT! If the DBS is the Bada$$ version of the DB9, this is the Bada$$ version of the Bada$$ version. Well that's my opinion anyway. What do we think? (One final note: Please, please, PLEASE! No arguements about global warming, fuel prices, damage to the environment, blah-de-blah-blah. This is a thread for fans of cars.)
I have one of these, but in black and not as shiny. 2001 Subaru wrx By speedyjjj at 2009-02-27 Nothing else matters
I'm an Aussie, so forgive me. I know little about "GOOD good cars" It drives like a dream. 140kph and it purs wonderful. traction is great etc. Takes corners like ....well, it aces them. Tyres are getting bold though, so shes treating me bad lately BTW Love Top Gear, i watch it every week. I wish i saw them early thism onth when they actually came to Australia. Not sure how far behind we are but i just watched the episode they were in Vietnam riding bikes (GREAT episode).
Ahh cool. TG had been a season behind usually (Until we did our our version - let me never talk about that again) Good to hear another program coming in on time!
A car i always thought was "meh at best" was those PRB's (They had one on Top Gear reacently) Buy my step dad (Whos british) actually hand built one for under $5,000AU ($10e). And when he was talking about them i thought he was the biggest geek ever (well lets face it, to drive one you would have to be) Then he let me ride in it....oh my god.....0-100 in around 3.0sec! 160 in 5.5sec Ugly as sin, but fast! By Speedyjjj at 2009-02-27 I dragged him in a quarter mile one night.....i was so left for dead is was shameful. Though i did have bold tyres and well...
BTW, shouldn't this be your can Xeno I mean its a chrysler (Marfia choice of year 05-08) and its pretty pimp Though, not much class. And you look like a man of class, yes? By speedyjjj at 2009-02-27
It's a Chrysler, so no. Sorry, I'm not a fan of Chryslers. I'd have a Lamborghini Estoque, painted black, or The Aforementioned Aston. Actually, I should probably answer my own questions... What's your car? I don't have one. What's your favourite car? Close call behind the Aston Martin DBS, Lamborghini Estoque and the Merc AMG Black Edition. What's your most hated car? Without a doubt, the Dodge Ram. I don't like unnecessarily huge cars. What car do you want for a normal life? Daihatsu Copen. Hardtop as standard, looks cuter than a baby, fairly nippy too. What car do you want for a fantasy life? See favourite cars. Petrol or Diesel? Petrol every time. Aston Martin or Lamborghini? Ooh. Tough call. But, Aston Martin, because it's British. Old Mini or New Mini? Old Mini. It was actually small. BTW Speedy, the PRB things are called Caterhams.
Mine is a 1992 Toyota MR2 (N/A 2.2l) It has been hit by an 18-wheeler and brought back from the dead. I love it. Here I am racing before the paint was applied:
Caterhams, westfields, PRBs, there are a few different models out there. Nice ride Lord, very nice ride.
As a self-respecting Aussie.... Torana ftw! SLR 5000 model, but they are all awesome The Monaro is also mighty fine... Alas, it will be a long time before I can afford one of those. >_>
The friend of a friend, working with 6 parts from 6 different junk-yard donor cars, in his garage. Here are some photos of the car at various points. The ones titles FH00XXXX are AFTER it had come home from being repaired and been drivne as the primer beast for a while. I did the prep work and dis-assembly for the paint shop (who did a **** job anyway) and those are the photos of the car just before paint. http://carpron.com/multisite/v/Upload/album18/Restoration/ This was the photoshop I had made, over a year before I had gotten the car back, as I was deciding what color/kit/rims. I was quite happy with the results.
HAHA! Ouch! That looked almost painful for the car! Especially the ones in the middle where it's in pieces. Looks good, though Lord!
The wreck, insurance battle, sourcing a guy to do the work, sourcing parts, waiting, waiting, painting process was LONG and painful. I have scars from the wreck (airbag tore my septum off my face) and emotional scars from the rest. Love that car though.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Geneva Motor Show has been and gone, sweeping a shedload of cars out from under the carpet. These are just a few examples: [size=+4]Geneva show: Lamborghini SV LP670-4[/size] One word is enough to sum up this Murcielago SV. Insane. Like the Diablo SV of old, the Murcielago is all about drama. Just look at that huge carbon fibre rear wing and the lethally sharp front splitter - we've seen jet fighters with less aero. But its in-yer-face (and very, very yellow) styling is only half the story. The SV has taken the LP640, starved it, beaten it around the face and told it to harden up a bit. Which means it has 30bhp more than the standard car and weighs a whole 100kg less. So it'll do 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds (0.2 quicker than usual) and charge on to 212mph (1mph more than usual). You can choose that rear wing in large or small sizes. Which sounds like a bit of a no-brainer, but the bigger wing will cost you speed. Go for the smaller one to make sure you hit that 212mph maximum, or stick with the biggie if you're happy to settle on 209mph... So on paper it might not be that much faster than the LP640, but we're guessing in-gear acceleration will be brutal enough to give God a bit of a physics lesson. And peel your eyelids back in the process. Only 350 SVs will be made, so start phoning in those deposits now. Taken from the Top Gear website. I am NOT the author. I like. It's stupid, looks like it's been drawn by a nine year old and completely vulgar, but I like. (BTW, Slightly to the right of the Lambo you can see a black Estoque. That one picture is what we like to call CAR PORN. )
[size=+4]Geneva show: Alfa Mito GTA[/size] Alfa unveiled the MiTo GTA today, and it's a little cracker. Officially it's still only a concept, so some of its bits and pieces might go by the time it fizzles into reality. But if it looks anything like this, we'll be happy. Everything you see is functional - from the rear diffuser to the carbon fibre roof and wing mirrors. And those twin-exit exhausts look like a couple of ballistic weapons, which is great news for people who like noise. Official power figures have been announced, too. It will make 240bhp from its little 1.75-litre turbocharged engine, the same one that's in the MiTo already, only tuned up to squeeze out more performance. No sign of a special front diff to filter that power to the road surface, though. We always suspected the GTA might be a little torque steery and now those suspicions have been confirmed. Instead, Alfa is relying on a new active damping system to make sure things don't get too lairy. It will work with the MiTo's ‘DNA' system, which alters steering and throttle severity depending on road conditions and your driving mood. So if you got out of the hooligan side of bed this morning, you're in luck - this one's for you. Let's just hope the production version is as cool as this. Taken from the Top Gear website. I am NOT the author. Okay, I'm not really one for little cutesy cars (except for the Daihatsu Copen) But my god, this thing looks AWESOME. And I don't often use that word because of it's stoner connotations, but right now, it's VERY appropriate. I'd gladly trade the above Lambo or even that Aston Martin on the first page for this thing. 240BHP out of that? The only thing would be the torque steer. Little problem.
Of course, there are those who aren't interested in powerful cars and are just looking for a little thing to get from A to B. So, in the interests of ignoring them, here's a Ferrari. [SIZE=+4]Geneva show: Ferrari 599XX[/SIZE] Bored of your FXX? Thought so. But fear not, because over at the Ferrari stand the wraps have just come off its successor - the 599XX. It's a hardcore track car designed for rich people with lots of time on their hands. And a slight death wish. Like the FXX, your money doesn't just buy the car. It buys you a whole development programme, a team of engineers and time on track. You'll need that, as it's far from road legal. Its 6.0-litre V12 (from the 599) has been given a kick up the bum, so it now revs to 9,000rpm. Couple that with 700bhp and things start to look a bit extreme. Of course, there's carbon everything and it runs on full slick racing tyres, so grip won't be a problem. Unless it's wet, in which case you'll crash hard. The price for all this is yet to confirmed, but best to plan a lottery win before slapping down a deposit. Or perhaps you'll consider a 599 with the new HGTE handling pack, which was unveiled alongside the XX. It has stiffer springs and a rear anti-roll bar as well as new, sharper settings for the magnetic dampers. It also gets grippier tyres and a louder exhaust through which carnage can be unleashed. Amazingly, Ferrari has made the gearchange more rapid too. Considering it's already one of the quickest in the business, we reckon that's deeply impressive. A more entertaining, more hardcore 599? Sounds excellent. We'll have ours in red with those new split-rim alloys, please. Taken from the Top Gear website. I am NOT the author. Right, then. Ferrari. All I've got to say on the matter.
BREATHE, PETROLHEAD THREAD! BREATHE! [size=+4]Big Top[/size] The guys at Lamborghini are keeping themselves busy. Not content with whipping the covers off the awesome Murcielago SV in Geneva a couple of weeks ago, they’ve just shown us the first pictures of this: the LP 650-4 Roadster. Yes, it’s your first look at the new soft-topped Murcielago, and there are two things you really need to know here. One, it’s even more powerful than the coupe, and two, Lamborghini will be building a mere 50. The Roadster is a full 10bhp more powerful than its hard-topped cousin, in fact. Remember that the fixed-roof Murcielago is designated the LP 640-4 – 640 denoting the horsepower of the 6.5-litre V12 engine. The LP 650-4 Roadster (all the numbers making your eyes hurt yet?) gets a lightly uprated version of the same engine, allowing it to hit 62mph in the same 3.4 seconds as the slightly lighter coupe, before topping out at a scary 205mph. If you’re keen on adding the Murcielago Roadster to your garage (your massive, humidity controlled, top security garage under your personal volcano/secret evil lair, that is), you’d better be keen on that orange-on-grey colour scheme: all 50 of the Roadsters will get the same ‘Grigio Telesto’ livery. Orange brake calipers, badging and paddle shifters complete the, er, striking appearance. Price? It’s in the ‘if you have to ask’ category, we’re afraid. But hey, with all those Reventons still unsold, maybe you’ll be able to pick one up on the cheap in a few months time. Maybe. Taken from the Top Gear Website. I am NOT the Author.
Very nice cars, Xeno. I don't know much about cars and stuff, but I sure do appreciate them, as any girl should! In fact, I would probably accept a ride from a stranger if they drove up in that last one. What's your car? '95 Pontiac Grand Am (a VERY bad year) What's your favourite car? A Porsche Boxster or whatever it's called What's your most hated car? Those trucks that can't haul anything (Ford Rangers and Dodge Dakotas for example), oh and just Ford in general. What car do you want for a normal life? Dodge Ram. Sorry Xeno, but I need a truck! Not sure if I really like how the new ones look, but beggars can't be choosers!
Dodge trucks are outfitted with exploding gas tanks. Seriously. Hit one at 65+mph from behind and see what happens. Just spent 2+ hours discussing this with a retired medical examiner.
Whoa, really? I didn't know. Shouldn't Dodge be... I dunno doing something about it? In my Legal Relations class today, we were talking about the exploding gas tanks the Ford Pinto had and the ensuing lawsuits and punitive damages. And note to self: don't get rear ended at high speeds.
