Tabla de contenidos para March 2017 en Evo

I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THIS OBSESSION HAS sprung from. Up until three, possibly four months ago my interest in American muscle cars was passing at best. Corvettes were an interesting aside to Europe’s honed sports cars but I never felt the urge to concoct a tenuous feature idea just so I could drive one. An original Plymouth Road Runner appealed because of the lunacy of the damn thing. But that’s where my interest started and ended. Then something clicked. My vision focused and muscle cars started filling my social media timelines. I began to lose hours to Chargers and Challengers and Camaros and even something called a Chevelle. That’s the beauty of this new fascination: every click is an education. This newfound interest resulted in me spending far too…

WATCHES: MICROBRAND CHRONOGRAPHS Straton Curve-Chrono Price: $499 (c£410) From: stratonwc.com Crowdfunded into existence via Kickstarter, the Curve Chrono is Straton’s homage to the lugless drivers’ watches of the 1970s (think Omega Speedmaster Mark II, Heuer Montreal). It’s powered by a thoroughly modern Seiko VK64 meca-quartz hybrid movement (half quartz, half mechanical) and, demonstrating the variety of choice that microbrands often offer, is available in five different colour schemes and two different case sizes (39.5 or 42mm), and comes complete with two additional straps of the buyer’s choice from a range of seven. Phew. Belmoto Track-Day Price: $500 (c£410) From: belmoto.gt Belmoto is a young offshoot of New Zealandbased boutique watchmaker Magrette. Its bias is towards motoring-inspired pieces, and one of its first models is the Track-Day chronograph. It is also…

SINCE THE FIRST examples of Porsche’s first four-door coupe were delivered in 2009, it has been clear that a torque-rich, blown V8 diesel would suit the car well. Such an engine would give the Panamera the perfect blend of range and performance, further enhancing its ability to cover monster miles in one sitting. now that engine is here. For its new Panamera 4S Diesel, Porsche has plucked the same 4-litre V8 from the VW Group’s engine shelf as Audi uses for its SQ7 SUV. Although it foregoes the electric turbochargers of the Audi, it does feature ‘hot-vee’ turbos between the two banks of four cylinders. the resulting 416bhp peak power (2bhp more than a 996 turbo) arrives at 3500rpm and hangs around through to 5000rpm, with the 627lb ft slab…

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN WE BOUGHT CARS safe in the knowledge that they would lose money. It was just a fact of life. Still is with the bread-andbutter stuff. But with money in the bank earning zero interest, in-demand cars have become assets and commodities. Much like buying your first house, this is all well and good if you’re on the ladder, but if you’ve missed the boat, it sucks. Fortunately salvation is at hand, but only if you’re prepared to look where depreciation remains at its most savage. I’m referring, of course, to the particular joy and wonder of the used luxury supersaloon or coupe. Not evo’s heartland admittedly, but the thrill you’re chasing here is the gleeful satisfaction of getting lottery-win metal for lottery-ticket money, and, most…

 TEN YEARS FROM NOW YOU WILL have a very different opinion of Kia. That’s what the execs in their suits and designers with their natty cravats tell me. Looking back, our perception of the company has already changed. Enormously, in fact, because Kia is no longer a bargain brand but a challenger. And soon enough it’ll be an aspirational brand. That’s what they say. In time, buying a Kia won’t merely be a rational decision, but an emotional one, and the day will come when you and I will see a new Kia on the street and it’ll make our hearts beat a little faster. That’s what they tell me. I wonder what sequence of events would have to unfold for that to be true of the typical evo reader.…

 WILLIAMS GRAND PRIX ENGINEERING celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2017. Established by Frank Williams in 1977 from the bones of Wolf-Williams Racing (itself formerly Frank Williams Racing Cars), it has defied its independent status by becoming one of the most successful Formula 1 teams of all time. it sits third, in fact, behind Ferrari and mclaren, but unlike either of those teams, Williams has never sold road cars to fund its racing efforts, instead – as the team itself puts it – it exists purely to race in the top echelon of motorsport, F1. The team has taken nine constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ championships, and boasts a personnel roster that has included some of F1’s biggest names. drivers such as alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, nigel mansell, alain prost and…

 SUNLIGHT IS SPEARING THROUGH the tall pine trees and dappling the long, pale blue bonnet in front of me, mirroring the sky above. Released from the pressure to live up to temperatures associated with summer, the autumn air ruffling my hair and spilling into the cabin is fresh and clean. Roots stretching beneath the road have ridged and rumpled the tarmac so that it resembles a grey blanket thrown across a lumpy duvet, and the Spyder GT’s steering wheel is keeping up a constant conversation with my hands as a result. It sounds almost too good to be true, but Eagle’s Spyder GT has a silverscreen quality that makes you feel like you’re living in some perfect film of your own life. You’re probably aware of what Eagle is, but…

THIS CAR ONLY DOES a couple of thousand miles a year, so it’s rare for it to get a fresh set of tyres. People such as evo columnist Dario Franchitti will renew the rubber on their cars every two years, regardless of condition, and that’s the proper thing to do. But the Lancia doesn’t have the tetchy firepower of a Ferrari F40 and I don’t have the budget of a four-time IndyCar champion, so my cloth is cut with a touch more economy. It means the stakes are high. Astute allocation of funds can pay dividends for a car’s handling. But with a single performance tyre now representing a three-figure investment, crap rubber – or even good rubber that doesn’t suit a car – is a numbing experience. The…

EASY TO APPRECIATE, hard to love. It seems flippant summing up 12 months of driving in six words, but they do neatly encapsulate my feelings for Kia’s most serious performance car to date. Our Yellow Flame Proceed GT arrived in December 2015. We’d only recently let go of our previous Proceed GT long-termer, but a sprinkling of updates combined with that earlier car’s general usefulness meant few of us were disappointed to see one back on the fleet. Those changes were only minor: the 195lb ft torque peak arrived a scant 250rpm earlier, a new sound generator added verve to the 1.6-litre engine’s aural qualities and the interior received some mild quality improvements. But instantly the car felt a little more special, while the previous version’s best qualities (foolproof…

AFTER NINE MONTHS ON Fast Fleet, our Juke Nismo RS has returned to Nissan. The question is whether this SUVcum-hot hatch really delivered on its promise of blending practicality with genuine driving thrills, all for a modest basic price of £22,180. With its quirky looks and interior details, this Juke frequently sparked chatter in the evo office. It was well equipped (our car also had the £900 Tech Pack fitted, which added xenon headlights, lane and blind-spot warnings and a bird’s eye view from the many parking cameras) and was largely trouble-free, with minimal maintenance required beyond a new set of tyres after a setup issue saw the originals wear unevenly. There were some fundamental problems, though. The available storage space (for photography equipment, in my case) was minimal, and…

 New arrival TESLA RIVAL  New arrival 210BHP YARIS  Motorsport REAL DRIVERS  Watches MICRO BRANDS  Tech SUSPENSION GEOMETRY MERCEDES WILL CELEBRATE THE 50 th anniversary of its amG performance division throughout 2017. the company is planning an event at the Nürburgring 24 hours in may, and at the Detroit motor show in January it unveiled a new version of the AMG GT, called the GT C, which slots in neatly between the GT S and the rangetopping GT R (see page 56). much more exciting than a birthday party and a derivative model, though, is AMG’S forthcoming 1000bhp, Formula 1-engined road-legal hypercar. I met up with AMG CEO tobias moers in Detroit to quiz him on the division’s plans for the year and, of course, the car likely to be the…

 THERE’S NO ‘ONE SIZE FITS ALL’ GUIDE TO ALTERING A car’s suspension geometry. Every car reacts slightly differently to each change and different drivers will be looking to achieve different results. So what follows is a look at what’s commonly adjustable and a basic idea of the results you might expect should you start experimenting with your car’s geometry. Manufacturers spend thousands of development hours and substantial amounts of money establishing the perfect angle for each wheel to optimise stability, tyre wear and performance. Diverting from these settings should be done incrementally and with consistency. Why do it at all, then? Because a manufacturer’s geometry settings must accommodate the general needs of a very broad spread of its customer base, but as an individual you may be prepared to tolerate,…

ALTHOUGH WE’VE RATED some variants of BMW’s 2-series relatively highly, they still aren’t perfect. The M235i and its M240i replacement lack focus and aggression, and while the M2 is more fun, its chassis often feels unhappy on UK roads and its engine is uninspiring, especially for an M-car. However, German tuner AC Schnitzer may have a solution with its ACL2. Based on an M235i, its body has been transformed with the addition of 70mm wider wheelarches, a front splitter, dive planes and an unapologetically huge wing. The result is a car that looks more 911 GT3 RS than M2. It even makes BMW’s M4 GTS (see page 80) look a touch subdued. The ACL2’s aero and arches express an intent that is more than just skin deep. The original singleturbo…

AMG builds some immensely likeable products. Of this there is no doubt. Master of the art of endowing entirely practical machines with larger-than-life characters, indecently potent engines and tyre-slaying performance, nobody does fast saloons and estates with more conviction or aplomb. Meticulous Germanic engineering with a wild shot of exuberance, AMG is your mate who drops a Jägerbomb in his pint of pilsner. This maverick streak stems from AMG’s origins as a tuner and racer. Much has changed in the last 50 years – the range now stretches to more than 30 models, and the Affalterbach factory is as far from a small tuning outpost as you can get – but you can see from the glint in boss Tobias Moers’ eye that AMG hasn’t forgotten its success lies in…

The Road. We spend a lot of time discussing The Road. As soon as we know what cars we’re shooting and why, the next topic of conversation is The Road. Strangely enough it doesn’t have to be that long, just quiet and as bent out of shape as possible. I like bumps and compressions to test out body control, a good mix of slow and medium-speed corners and, most importantly of all, no traffic. We love driving but we don’t really enjoy upsetting locals with our noisy engines and big rear wings. Much as the doomsayers predict the end of driving enjoyment, you often don’t have to look too hard to find these quiet, challenging routes – although I have to admit that in the last few years most decent…

IF YOU WANT TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT TRACKDAYS, you need the right car. forget powerful, expensive and rare (particularly if you’re on a learning curve), and buy something that can be moulded to the task and that will have endurance: the right tool for the job. As confirmed in the following advice, it’s the brakes that will be the weak point on most road cars, quickly – and expensively – stopping play. regular road tyres will also soon overheat, damaging the tread; a stickier tyre will not only perform better but last far longer. Upgrading the suspension is likely to be on your list, too, both to make the most of the tyres and also to create a more precise, reactive, enjoyable car. More power, you’ll note, only comes later.…

THIS MAY NOT BE WHAT you’d expect to hear about a car with ‘Clubsport’ in its name, but the overriding thought during my first few weeks with the Edition 40 has been just how easy it is to live with. Yes, it has back seats and five doors and a decent boot, but what I’m really talking about is the way it goes down a road. The Clubsport may have retuned suspension (the optional DCC adaptive setup in the case of our car) and its ride is certainly what most people would call firm, but it’s not the kind of firm that causes you to lose fillings or to wince at the sight of lumps and craters up ahead. Rather it’s the kind of firm that offers excellent control…

HAVING BEEN BUILT IN 2002, my GT2 dates from the days when electronic dampers were still a real rarity. Hence it doesn’t have them. I, meanwhile, have a love-hate relationship with electronic damper systems, much of it born from a chat with a German test driver and engineer who insisted you should never select the Sport suspension mode on any car when driving at the Ring. Another engineer, this time British, explained that the key advantage of selectable damping on some of the supercars he developed was that they made them more tolerable when driving in a city – the place he grudgingly admitted that the majority of the cars he worked on were sold. ‘A GT2 needs an oscillating effect like a phall needs extra habaneros’ So I…

THE SKODA DID ME proud on a recent road-trip to Germany. Staff writer Will Beaumont and I set off on a Sunday afternoon and arrived in Calais at 4pm, and immediately the vRS made life easy by automatically adapting the headlights for driving on the right. We may have underestimated the distance to our first overnight stop, though, as we both did a double- take when the satnav displayed an eight-hour drive to Gerlingen, near Stuttgart. Thankfully the vRS’s fully adjustable leather sports seats are exceedingly comfortable, and Will’s 1990s music mix made for a surprisingly enjoyable schlep. We arrived just before midnight. Over the next seven days we covered serious ground, visiting several tuning companies (one of which, Ruf, is featured in this issue). Despite the car’s decent…

McLAREN MONOCAGE II It might look like a 650S that someone left in an insalubrious area of town, but this is actually the central structure of the car that’s set to replace the 650S. Heralding the next generation of McLaren’s Super Series cars – and the first of 15 new models promised by 2022 – the new carbonfibre MonoCage will result in a dry weight of just 1283kg for the 650S’s replacement. That’s 18kg less than the outgoing car, and a new active rear wing will help generate downforce equivalent to half the car’s weight. There’ll also be more power, and a corresponding new name, when the car makes its full debut at the Geneva motor show (and on evo.co.uk) in March. FARADAY FUTURE FF 91 The electric-powered FF 91…

CHUCK YEAGER SAID THAT if you can walk away from a landing, it’s a good one, and if you can still use the airplane the next day, it’s an outstanding one. My own landing – dropping two tons and 18 feet of pickup onto its skid-plate (see page 162) – certainly didn’t feel outstanding, but given i both walked away from it and subsequently drove the vehicle in question for the next two weeks, i still, technically, met Chuck’s criteria. a cursory look revealed a slight scuff on the quarter-inch-thick aluminium skid-plate but no further signs of misuse. an X5 would probably have set off its airbags and autodialled for emergency assistance. I was already slightly smitten with the toyota tacoma trd Pro even before testing the full extent of…

HERE’S AN INTRIGUING prospect: a Mini estate, in terms of brand if not size, with a 228bhp, 258lb ft 2-litre turbocharged engine hooked up to four-wheel drive and, in the case of this test car, an eight-speed automatic transmission. this could be the answer to a question nobody has ever asked… The latest JCW Clubman boasts useful increases on the 189bhp and 206lb ft of the Cooper s Clubman by running new pistons that lower the compression ratio, enabling more boost from a modified turbocharger. the rest of the mechanical package has been upgraded to suit: there’s a larger intercooler and a second cooling radiator, the suspension is firmer, there are Brembo brakes with four-pot calipers on the front, and fitted as standard is Mini’s all4 all-wheel drive, an ‘on…

 BIG CHANGES ARE AFOOT IN THE WORLD OF top-level motorsport. Formula 1 is without its world champion and is experiencing its most severe regulations upheaval in years. The World Endurance Championship, meanwhile, has lost Audi, the most successful team of the modern era, while Ferrari and Ford’s rivalry has been reignited after half a century. Last year’s accusations of deceit by Ford will overflow into the new season, too. Sounds tasty! Let’s start with F1 hardware. Wider, massively more robust tyres and a lot more downforce are going to have such a dramatic effect on the pace of the cars that McLaren says certain corners will be reclassified as straights. Most teams reckon we’ll see an improvement of four seconds per lap on last year’s cars, and they were no…

‘THE NEW NISMO IS A FURIOUS, RABID, HARD AS NAILS, STIFF AS HELL, WEAPONSGRADE MONSTER OF A CAR’  YOU WOULD NEED a wind tunnel and a pretty good understanding of aerodynamics to tell the difference, or at the very least a few pots of flowviz paint and an awful lot of free time. One of the big technical improvements on this new Nissan GT-R Nismo compared with the previous version is the cleaner, less turbulent airflow around the rear of the car. And as much as I’d love to report that you can really feel the benefit of the improved airflow as the rev-counter needle buries itself into the red in fourth gear like a murderous mosquito’s proboscis plunging into the back of your neck or whatever, I’m afraid I…

 THE ENVIRONMENT IN which we expect cars to be manufactured has changed. The vision of grimy, industrial factories of the ’60s and ’70s has been replaced by clean, clinical spaces. Car factories now look like medical laboratories lined with shiny white tiles. Robots production assemble with little human interference, and the few people who are involved are dressed so uniformly that they are almost unidentifiable from one another. This aesthetic has filtered down to every level of car production, regardless of scale. It’s supposed to suggest efficiency, modernity and that cars are built with the same level of care and attention to detail that you’d find in an operating theatre. So when photographer Aston Parrott and I arrive at Ruf’s factory in Pfaffenhausen, southern Germany, and peek through the slightly…

THE M5 REMAINS THE BIG SPORTS saloon with that magic cachet. although bMW’s german rivals have muscled in on its territory in recent years, when the original E28 model arrived in 1985 it offered Ferrari pace in a sober-suited saloon body, opening up a whole new market niche. therefore expectations with any new M5 are always sky-high. If E28s are now bona fide classics, the later E34 (below right), E39 (below left) and E60 (above) are at differing stages of their lives. With straight-six, V8 and V10 power respectively, each has its own style, and the pricing structure may surprise you. Built between 1989 and 1995, the E34 M5 needs to be treated as a classic purchase, even if values make it hard to justify pouring cash into restorations.…

AT LAST, THE SC IS READY. The rebuilt engine and gearbox are in and the car is MOT’d. However, I’d been holding off on picking it up because I’d had a set of wheels in for a refurb and I didn’t want to drive the car until everything was in place. The idea of changing the huge, Turbo-spec Fuchs alloys (fitted by a previous owner) for a narrower set came about when I realised the tyres generated too much grip. To get the car dancing meant driving at crazy speeds – not ideal. Talking to specialist RPM Technik led me to look at reducing the tyre footprint from a 245-section to a 225 on the rear, and from 225 to 205 at the front. This would mean shrinking the…

IT WAS NEVER GOING to be easy handing the key back to Audi UK. Not when that key opened the door of a £100,000 super-estate and fired up a 597bhp twin-turbo V8. Life with the RS6 was no hardship, but breaking up with it certainly was. I had the luxury of selecting the spec of evo’s RS6, which meant hours agonising over the pros and cons of a carbonfibre engine cover that no one would see, and wondering whether I could get away with another grey long-termer. The answer to the latter was no and I forewent the former, too. The £14,175 of Audi’s money I did spend on top of the £84,675 base price went on a few luxuries such as keyless entry and hands-free boot opening (£750 well…