[GoingTooFast]

The Miata saved Mazda, from a financial perspective... the Boxster saved Porsche, from the very same financial perspective.

The Toyobaru is a huge case of sales success... the 4C will put Alfa Romeo in the map again, so what's the fuzz?!

The only three things they all share are 1) they were built with driving fun in mind above everything else, 2) they have succeeded... and 3) they were and are cheaper than the competition.


Cars and cars motosport is all about passion... and passion will always sell if priced right. That's also the reason why Kobayashi with only 26 years old will drive for Ferrari F1 team in 2014... mark my words!

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by GoingTooFast

That's also the reason why Kobayashi with only 26 years old will drive for Ferrari F1 team in 2014... mark my words!

We really need to make a bet about this one. I will multiply the bet by however many points he scores if he does race for Fezza, but if he gets 0, the bet is null. I'll even give partial credit if he gets any ride, Marussia or Toro Rosso.

[GoingTooFast]

The bet is ON! If I loose I will come here and will build a thread such as this one raving about how good your BMW X1 is in the urban utility vehicles scene.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by GoingTooFast

The bet is ON! If I loose I will come here and will build a thread such as this one raving about how good your BMW X1 is in the urban utility vehicles scene.

It's weird. First, I actually own an X1. Second, I don't really post about it that much. Third, it is actually pretty good; there aren't a lot of 300hp wagons available, especially in the US.

You don't own any form of the FT86, you post more than me about it and while it's a good car, it doesn't actually have the separation over it's competition that the X1 does.

But I like Vettel, rooted for Senna as a kid and loved every second of Schumi being at Fezza. I have no illusions that being a good guy or being liked have any thing to do with being a good F1 driver.

[GoingTooFast]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

It's weird. First, I actually own an X1. Second, I don't really post about it that much. Third, it is actually pretty good; there aren't a lot of 300hp wagons available, especially in the US.

I think you have a tough competition there... I mean in the 'heavy pig' +300hp cars category.

AWD CLA AMG, AWD Audi S3 and future M2... just to mention a few.

Originally Posted by Red Bread

You don't own any form of the FT86, you post more than me about it and while it's a good car, it doesn't actually have the separation over it's competition that the X1 does.

For the price of the Toyobaru the separation to the competition is like going from Earth to the Moon. And, when the price difference doesn't exist at all the outcome is always the same...

Originally Posted by Red Bread

But I like Vettel, rooted for Senna as a kid and loved every second of Schumi being at Fezza. I have no illusions that being a good guy or being liked have any thing to do with being a good F1 driver.

I could go on talking about the reasons why for instance a driver like Webber with 36 years old (10 more than Kobayashi) or Massa are still driving for top teams when they are always beaten by their team mates year after year. But I won't because that would be too much off topic here. I only will tell you that Webber's manager is Flavio Briatore who is as you should know a very influent guy in F1.

As for Kobayashi he is now at home among the Ferrari family because he is the most exciting F1 pilot out there and will be driving for the most exciting F1 team of all times.

[GoingTooFast]

And in the exciting cars category this Alfa 4C not only looks the sexiest but also it has the sexiest sounding turbocharged inline-4 engine. Something for Toyota and Subaru to take note... nowadays a turbocharged engine can sound and perform like an equivalent N/A:

[GoingTooFast]

Oh, btw... in 2014 the F1 engines will be turbocharged 1.6-liter V6's. Future turbocharged F1 Mercedes engine...

[GoingTooFast]

This car is absolutely stunning... depending on the weight figures it can become a serious success case. See the comparison between the old STI version, the Megane RS and the Toyobaru on the snow. Arguably the best AWD, FWD and RWD cars that less money can buy:

[GoingTooFast]

[GoingTooFast]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

The other car that's coming out soon (hopefully) that very likely will be very competitive in this market will be the FD Miata and the Alfa Spider/Graduate. They'll almost certainly have better power to weight than the base BRZ and be priced comparatively while being smaller, much better supported for track/Spec events and won't have a fake back seat.

Talking about fake back seats... see how fake the 911 back seats are in comparison with the Toyobaru's... these guys should stop smoking, this is really becoming a serious matter:

[GoingTooFast]

I've been bragging about how crucial the low weight is for the car dynamics and fuel economy, hence emissions, but if the intention is to build a car one can use with the minimum level of comfort outside the track and even on a daily basis that low weight can't be achieved at the expense of the essential car interior features and functionality. The Alfa Romeo 4C I think is at the very minimum of what is acceptable and enough to take it clearly apart from what make the Lotus useless outside the track:

[GoingTooFast]

[GoingTooFast]

The carbon fiber monocoque detail... the secret for the Alfa 4C's VERY low weight:

[GoingTooFast]

How everything comes together...

[GoingTooFast]

Alfa Romeo 4c is designed around the driver. The new Alfa D.N.A. selector has three settings (Dynamic, Natural and All Weather) for adapting the car to the road conditions and the current driving style. What is more, Race mode is designed to further enhance the driving experience on the racing track. Holding the selector pressed in Dynamic position will cut out the stability control system and the ABS handing full control of the car over to the driver. Furthermore, the full digital instrument panel with TFT display changes configuration to provide the information most pertinent to the specific Alfa D.N.A. setting.

This is a very interesting feature of the Alfa 4C... in RACE mode even the ABS is fully disabled. This comes in strong contrast to the Cayman in which you can't switch off completely the electronic 'nannies' let alone the ABS.

[GoingTooFast]

Also, the Alfa 4C was inspired by the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale and if we look closer it is clear that the 4C's front lights are a futuristic interpretation of the front lights of the original 33 Stradale (I think someone has mentioned TVR front lights before but these are from 1967 ):






The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale was a mid-engined car with 230 hp and a curb weight of only 700*kg (1,543*lb)!!!

[GoingTooFast]

I think nothing could suit him better than these colors...

Two Japanese in the heart of Scuderia Ferrari

Maranello, 4 April – Even a normal working day in Maranello always has something special about it. This Thursday, that extra something came in the shape of Kamui Kobayashi, who this year will make his debut on the GT racing stage, at the wheel of a Ferrari 458 GT2 entered by the AF Corse team.

Kobayashi’s visit was even more noteworthy as he had a special guide. It fell to Scuderia Ferrari engineer Hirohide Hamashima to give his fellow countryman a tour of the main areas of the Gestione Sportiva, taking in everything from vehicle assembly to the engine build department. It was also an opportunity for Kamui to soak up some Ferrari history, including the not to be missed visit to Enzo Ferrari’s house in the grounds of the Fiorano circuit, as well as a trip to the Ferrari Museum, where Kobayashi was met by its curator, Antonio Ghini.

Kobayashi was thus treated to a journey into the very heart of the Ferrari legend, personalised in that it was carried out in his mother tongue by Hamashima. However, the visit ended very much on an Italian note with the two of them having lunch at the Cavallino Restaurant, with a rigorously Italian menu, much appreciated by both men. This enjoyable gastronomic treat was a pleasant interlude in an otherwise busy first visit to Maranello.

The previous day was spent running through an intensive test session at the Fiorano track, at the wheel of a Ferrari 458 GT2. Kobayashi took to the track along with some other drivers who are on the Corse Clienti books, including Giancarlo Fisichella, Andrea Bertolini, Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander. The Ferrari novice then ended his day with some physical training, as he prepares for a busy season which kicks off next week, when the Japanese driver will take part in the Silverstone 6 Hours, the opening round of the World Endurance Championship.

[GoingTooFast]

[juventus1979]

viva Alfa 4C

[GoingTooFast]

Porsche to introduce a new turbocharged flat-4 engine within the year

Porsche hasn’t built a four-cylinder engine for decades, but our sources at the automaker have hinted that the company is working on a new turbocharged flat-four engine to serve as the brand’s entry-level sports car powerplant. The powerful, yet very fuel efficient, engine is expected to debut within the next year — perhaps as soon as the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

While details about the new boxer powerplant have not been released, the all-aluminum engine is expected to be based on the current 3.8-liter flat-six (shown above) found under the rear decklid of the Carrera S, yet with two of its cylinders lopped off. Fitted with Porsche’s Direct Fuel Injection (DFI), VarioCam Plus and a single turbocharger, the free-revving 2.5-liter flat-four will likely develop upwards of 350 horsepower and 360 pound-feet of torque as it spins towards a 7,500 rpm redline. Expect the engine to be mated to the automaker’s seven-speed Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) gearbox, with reprogrammed algorithms to make use of the engine’s impressive low-end torque. A traditional six-speed manual gearbox is still under consideration.

The new turbocharged 2.5-liter will find its home in the Boxster and Cayman. Purists need not to worry, as the smaller and lighter engine will be more powerful and more fuel efficient than the current naturally aspirated 2.7-liter flat-six mid-mounted in the Cayman/Boxster (rated at 275 horsepower and 213 pound-feet) and it will even outperform the 3.4-liter flat-six in the Cayman S/Boxster S (rated at 325 horsepower and 273 pound-feet). Expect Porsche’s yet-to-be-announced “Baby Boxster,” an entry-level model due in 2015, to also make use of the powerplant, but without the turbocharger.

Even as Porsche has dug into VW Group’s corporate parts bin for the engine in its Cayenne V6, the oil-burning powerplant under the hood of the new Cayenne Diesel and the 2.0-liter inline-four expected to power its upcoming Macan compact crossover, this all-new engine should remain a Porsche exclusive, much like its current family of flat-six powerplants used in the 911 model range.

[631twentyeighteye]

uhg. Goodbye to every good NA engine. If 6MT isn't an option i'm losing faith in this world.

[GoingTooFast]

Originally Posted by 631twentyeighteye

uhg. Goodbye to every good NA engine. If 6MT isn't an option i'm losing faith in this world.

This is what I can't quite understand... the so-called 'purists' are worried about NA engines being replaced by equally good or better performing more efficient turbocharged engines, worried about manual gearboxes being replaced by their MUCH faster double-clutch manually actuated counterparts AND yet the ONLY single dynamic feature that can NOT be replaced by ANYTHING at all but which drastically influences EVERY other dynamic aspects isn't the FIRST concern of those seeking for the ultimate driving pleasure experience - LOW WEIGHT: