Automobile - March 2014 USA

MARCH 2014 AUTOMOBILEMAG.COM
We drive the King Porsche 1082 miles
across Europe, and live
The original rally car for the street
is better than ever
FIRST DRIVE: NISSAN NISMO GT-R // HYUNDAI GENESIS
FIRST LOOK: CADILLAC ATS COUPE // CORVETTE Z06
2015 RC
-
F GUNS FOR AUDI RS5, BMW M4,
AND MERCEDES
-
BENZ C63 AMG
STRIKES BACK
LEXUS
SUBARU WRX PORSCHE 918 SPYDER
YES,
WE ARE
THERE
YET
i ntroduci ng the 201 4
RLX Sport hybri d SH-AWD
The most powerful and technologically
advanced vehicle in Acura history.
Three electric motors for instant acceleration.
Think about power beyond horsepower.
THI NK BEYOND THE MACHI NE
3
3.5
V-6
377
30
ELECTRI C
MOTORS
LI TERS
ENGI NE
COMBI NED
HORSE -
POWER
COMBI NED MPG
RATI NG*
ACURA.COM
© 2014 Acura. Acura, RLX Sport Hybrid, SH-AWD, and the stylized “A” logo are
trademarks of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. *28 city/32 highway/30 combined mpg rating for
RLX Sport Hybrid. Based on 2014 EPA mileage ratings. Use for comparison purposes only.
Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.
COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM FRENAK
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64
inside
MARCH 2014
AUTOMOBILE (ISSN 0894-3583) March 2014, Vol. 28, No. 12. Published monthly by Source Interlink Media, LLC., 261 Madison Ave., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016-2303. Copyright © 2014 by
Source Interlink Magazines, LLC. All rights reserved. Periodicals Postage Paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing ofces. SUBSCRIPTIONS: U.S. and U.S. Possessions $19.94 for
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and adjustments, write to AUTOMOBILE Magazine, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, Florida 32142–0235, or email [email protected] or call 800–289–2886 (U.S.),
386–447–6383 (international). Please include name, address, and telephone number on any inquiries. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Manuscripts, photos, and other mate-
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76
155 MILES IN WASHINGTON
By Jason H. Harper
From Seattle to the Cascades
in a Lexus IS350.
4 Automobile | March 2014
Automobile FEATURES
80
I’VE DIED AND GONE
TO MOG HEAVEN
By Evan McCausland
A pilgrimage to the birthplace
of Mercedes-Benz’s
legendary Unimog
off-road truck.
44
2015 LEXUS RC-F
By Michael Jordan
Lexus is dreaming big
again, and the 450-hp
coupe shows that
it means business.
50
2015 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06
By Greg Migliore
This “Stingray on steroids” is
ready to flex its muscles.
56
2014 CHEVROLET
CORVETTE CONVERTIBLE
By Ronald Ahrens
Peeling back the top on the
C7 Corvette.
64
PORSCHE 918 SPYDER
By Georg Kacher
1082 miles in Germany,
France, and Spain—the
first-ever road trip in the
887-hp hybrid supercar.
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30 2015 SUBARU WRX
Everyone’s favorite hooligan
goes to finishing school.
34 2015 NISSAN GT-R/GT-R NISMO
For the good times.
38 2014 ACURA RLX
SPORT HYBRID SH-AWD
Narrow-casting high technology.
39 2015 HYUNDAI GENESIS
An impressive sophomore efort.
6 Automobile | March 2014
Upshift
86 FOUR SEASONS WRAP-UP
2013 Acura ILX: waiting for Integra.
92 FOUR SEASONS LOGBOOK
We welcome a Honda Accord coupe
and a Mazda 3 hatchback.
94 COLLECTIBLE CLASSIC
The 1956–74 Volkswagen Karmann
Ghia: sex appeal trumps speed.
96 AUCTIONS
The cars at the RM/Sotheby’s
New York City auction brought
six- and seven-figure prices.
102 VILE GOSSIP
By Jean Jennings
On Mary Barra’s ascension
at General Motors.
Ignition
10 NEWS
Cadillac’s ATS coupe, the wackiest
AMGs, and a car for Kenya.
18 BY DESIGN
By Robert Cumberford
Chrysler 200: Better, but not great.
22 NOISE, VIBRATION & HARSHNESS
By Jamie Kitman
Future non-classics futures.
24 DYER CONSEQUENCES
By Ezra Dyer
The Bird and the Bentley.
26 LETTERS
What a long, strange trip it’s been.
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Smar t Luxuri es—Surpri si ng Pri ces
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Rare African Emerald Find
Shocks Colombian Cartel
U.S. jeweler seizes more than 10,000 carats and makes history by releasing
the One-Carat Pride of Zambia Emerald Ring for UNDER $100!
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA - A recent find of high quality emeralds in this African republic has
thrown the luxury gem world into tumult. For hundreds of years, Colombians have
controlled the high-end emerald market and sent prices soaring to over $15,000 per carat
for top graded stones. But the history-making discovery of Zambian emeralds has
revealed a green gemstone with mesmerizing clarity that simply changes everything.
Tis important find led Stauer, a major gem dealer and importer, to bid on over
10,000 carats. Stauer designed a classic 1-ctw ring for people who love the
gem but don’t love outrageously priced luxury. Because of their timely buy,
Stauer is releasing this exclusive, natural emerald ring—aka “Te Pride of
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Discover a Different Kind of Emerald
“For the price, these natural gemstones were the most magnificent
emeralds that I’ve seen in 30 years,” said Michael Bisceglia at Stauer.
“Te value of Colombian stones can’t compare.”
Industry experts back him up. Lab tests prove that Zambian
emeralds are less porous and brittle than their Colombian
brothers. And gem cutters have found Zambians so brilliant
that they lend themselves more to high-luster cuts than
traditional emerald designs.
Unfortunately, the window on this exciting emerald
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Te rise of emeralds is more than just a passing trend. An
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year pointed to the reason. In “Emeralds: Shades of Green
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emerald demand is soaring worldwide even as diamond
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW TRAHAN
Ignition
10 Automobile | March 2014
These guys, and the new ATS coupe, hope
to keep Cadillac’s winning streak alive.
BOB BONIFACE
Chief exterior designer
A GM veteran who joined
Cadillac in 2011. The ATS
coupe is the first Cadillac
developed entirely during
his tenure.
DAVE MASCH
Chief engineer on the ATS
Has been working on
Cadillac’s Alpha platform
since 2007.
DAVID LEONE
Executive chief engineer,
performance luxury cars
Joined Cadillac in 1979.
Led development of
the second- and third-
generation CTS and CTS-V.
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 11
NE W ME TAL
12 Automobile | March 2014
THE I NDUSTRY
The pieces are falling into place at General Motors
In less than twenty-four
hours, the world’s second-
biggest automaker
transformed itself from
“Government Motors” to the
first automaker with a
woman CEO. One recent
Monday afternoon, the U.S.
Department of the Treasury unloaded the
remainder of its General Motors stock as it
climbed past $40 per share. The Treasury still
lost more than $10 billion of its $49.5 billion
bailout of the automaker, made through the
Bush and Obama administrations’ Troubled
Asset Relief Program, although any alternative
would have been far worse for the economy.
GM announced the morning after the sale
that sixty-five-year-old Dan Akerson would step
down as chief executive ofcer. Mary Barra,
fifty-two, the executive vice president for global
product development, replaced him to become
GM’s fifth CEO since the Lehman Brothers’
collapse. The day after that, a columnist for the
Wall Street Journal quoted recruiting experts
that other companies would compete to hire
away GM North America president Mark Reuss.
No. Reuss won’t go.
Many of our fellow enthusiasts expressed
consternation when Akerson, who also was
chairman, promoted Barra over GM’s top car
guy. They hadn’t trusted Barra since Akerson
promoted her to global product chief from
head of human resources in 2011. But like
fifty-year-old Reuss, the son of a former GM
president, Barra is a GM lifer. She joined the
Pontiac division at age eighteen as a Kettering
University co-op student, from which she
graduated with a bachelor’s in electrical
engineering. Barra went on to several
engineering and staf jobs at GM.
Reuss’s promotion to Barra’s previous job
as global product chief is perfect, say people
who know him well. By not becoming CEO,
Reuss can concentrate on developing the right
mix of architectures, powertrains, and
resultant cars and trucks. Barra will be busy
answering to GM’s board, and she’ll have
ultimate say on what Reuss puts forward. It’s
like the Wagoner/Lutz relationship, only far
superior, with the potential for much better
products from the new GM. Reuss’s new title
may not be the one car guys wanted for him,
but it is the title that ensures the best potential
future products from GM.
by TODD
LASSA
IT’S GOOD TO BE CADILLAC RIGHT NOW. Annual sales
are up 25 percent. The brand boasts two very good sport
sedans, a new electric car, and a redesigned Escalade. And
people are still buzzing about the Elmiraj concept.
“I’ve seen the best of times and the worst of times, and these
are on the better end of that scale,” confirms executive chief
engineer David Leone, who joined the brand thirty-four years ago.
The 2015 ATS coupe aims to keep the good times rolling. It
will be the first Cadillac with the new wreathless badge that
was previewed on the Elmiraj. Chief exterior designer Bob
Boniface says the conventional rear quarters yield more rear
headroom and visibility than the stealth-fighter-like CTS coupe
(it’s still more cramped than the already tight ATS sedan,
though). We hear it also makes it easier to turn the ATS into a
convertible, although that project is currently on hold.
The 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder, upgraded to 295 lb-ft of
torque, is standard—no base 2.5-liter. ATS chief engineer Dave
Masch says the electric power steering in both the coupe and
the sedan has been reprogrammed for a heavier feel.
Cadillac isn’t there yet. The brand transacts at lower prices
than its German competitors, and there remain many segments
—a flagship sedan and a large crossover, to name two—where it
does not compete at all. Cadillac promises there’s more to come.
“It’s going to keep going,” says Leone. — David Zenlea
The ATS coupe is roughly an inch lower
than the sedan, and its rear fenders
flare about an inch and a half wider.
Most of the exterior panels and even
the windshield are coupe-specific.
PHOTO BY PHIL MOORE 14 Automobile | March 2014
AFRICA’S OWN CAR COMPANY
AFRICA NEEDS WHEELS. Mobius
Motors, a four-year-old start-up based in
Nairobi, Kenya, thinks it has a homegrown
solution. It’s working on the Mobius Two,
a utility vehicle set to go on sale in Kenya
for about $11,500. Eventually, the
company hopes to sell cars all over Africa.
Mobius is the brainchild of twenty-
eight-year-old British expat Joel Jackson,
whose management-consulting
background brought him to rural Kenya to
work with the forestry industry.
“In that role, I witnessed and
experienced a lot of the types of
challenges the people face every day here
without appropriate transport,” he says.
There are indeed many challenges.
Government policies conspire to keep
prices of foreign transport high—figure
duties of about 75 percent depending on
the specific vehicle and its condition.
A new auto rickshaw (a.k.a. tuk-tuk) will
run some $4500. A clapped-out minivan
previously used somewhere in the
Middle East will cost twice as much.
Meanwhile, the roads across much of
Kenya, which is about twice the size of
Nevada, would rip apart cheap new cars
like the Tata Nano. No wonder there were
only 720,000 light vehicles registered in
Kenya as of 2009, the most recent year for
which data is available.
The key to Mobius’s plans is the fact
that Kenyan import duties don’t apply to
individual components. It plans to source
running gear and suspension parts from
global automakers and assemble them in
Kenya. Jackson is hesitant to name
suppliers (think Eastern Europe), but the
parts are standard cheap-car fare: A
1.6-liter gasoline four-cylinder, a five-speed
manual, and front-wheel drive. Brakes are
discs in front and drums in back.
“There was a reliance [on] picking
known components that had a proven
track record,” says Greg Bellopatrick, a
retired General Motors engineer who
advises Mobius. The challenge for Mobius,
ignition Kenyan cars
Mexico
Chevrolet Matiz
$8300
United States
Nissan Versa
$12,800
United Kingdom
Dacia Sandero
$9900
Russia
Daewoo Matiz
$7500
China
Jiangnan TT
$3400
India
Tata Nano
$2400
Romania
Dacia Logan
$9300
South Africa
Chery QQ3
$8200
Brazil
Fiat Mille
$9800
No power windows? How about no
windows at all? Every component on the
Mobius Two, shown here in prototype
form, has been selected for low cost,
durability, and ease of replacement.
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March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 15
he says, was integrating those components
and protecting them over rough terrain.
The Mobius Two has a tubular frame, a
front skid plate, and nine inches of ground
clearance. Mobius tested an independent,
coil-sprung rear suspension from a Toyota
Corolla but ditched it in favor of a
proprietary tubular axle and leaf springs
when prospective customers fretted about
load-carrying capability and the cost of
replacement parts. Four-wheel drive was
never an option—Mobius will leave serious
bush crawling to far more expensive Land
Rovers and Toyota Land Cruisers.
The vehicle is, no surprise, rather basic:
no door handles, no air-conditioning, no
power steering, no glass other than the
windshield (drop-down canvas side panels
take the place of windows). The few
“features” are meant to appeal to the rural
entrepreneurs who constitute the target
audience. The load floor is flat—a must for
those who will run businesses out of the
back of the car. Slam latches stand in for
locks and door handles, but the hood does
lock, and an interior lock box will keep
owners’ favorite small items out of the
hands of strangers. The car seats eight—
two in front buckets and six in a pair of
side-facing benches in the cargo area that
can be flipped up or removed. The vehicle
has a catalytic converter and purports to
meet European ofset-frontal crash
standards, although Kenya requires neither.
For all the economizing, the Mobius
Two is far from a cheap item in a country
where per capita income hovers around
$865 per year. (Mobius hopes to lower the
price over time.) Still, Deepesh Rathore,
director of India-based consulting firm
Emerging Markets Automotive Advisors,
sees potential.
“I would rather look at what is the per
capita income of the top ten percent of
that population, because that is where the
automotive market is,” he says. Mobius
expects that some owners will be co-ops
whose members pool their money.
A bigger challenge will simply be
getting the car into production. Mobius
has repeatedly pushed back its on-sale
date. The latest plans call for a run of
about fifty vehicles in late 2014.
“It’s very worrying,” says Garel Rhys,
director for Automotive Industry
Research at the University of Cambridge.
Rhys wonders about the company’s
financial backing. “A slippage of this
nature also suggests that they are finding
it very, very difcult to get the product
right in the first place,” he adds.
The company recognizes the business
challenges and has thus sought investors
and advisors interested in the Mobius
Two’s potential to be a force for good in
Kenya. “For me, the broader interest is in
serving a business opportunity while
making a social impact,” says Jackson.
— Matt Jancer
THE WORLD’S CHEAPEST CARS
$865
Entry-level means something diferent depending on
where you live. Heavy regulations in Western markets
drive up prices, as does competition from used cars.
Annual income per capita
in Kenya, according to
the World Bank.
Several works focused on the egoist persona
of American cars, including Keith Haring’s
playful 1963 Buick Special [1] and Kenny
Scharf’s fantastical 1961 “Ultima Suprema
Deluxa” Cadillac [3, 4]. They contrasted with
“compression” pieces like Ron Arad’s
six-inch-thick Fiat [2] and César’s “car brick” [5]. C
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16 Automobile | March 2014
Art Cars and
1
2
3 4
MIAMI BEACH IS NO STRANGER to exotic cars
and contemporary art, but it has never seen
the two combined in such spectacular fashion
as Piston Head: Artists Engage the Automobile.
The exhibition, which coincided with Art
Basel—a prominent contemporary art fair—
featured fifteen cars, a motorcycle, and a
charcoal rubbing of LaFerrari. The works
ranged from functional, like the Ernie Triplett
Special that artist Salvatore Scarpitta has
actually raced, to conceptual, like Lucien
Smith’s rusted, shot-up Ford pickup truck, to
brand-new, like Richard Phillips’ NASCAR-
inspired 1972 Dodge Charger. Even the setting
fit the theme, as all of the cars were parked
in a modernist open-air garage on Lincoln
Road that was designed by Swiss architects
Herzog & de Meuron.
Organized by New York gallery Venus Over
Manhattan, Piston Head was the first full
exhibition for cars during Art Basel (pieces
such as BMW’s Art Cars have been displayed
at past events). — Tamara Warren
BOOK: PATRICK M. HOEY
P
O
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E
R
LUNACY
AMG 45: The Story, The Cars
2013
|
$95
|
mercedes-benz-classic-store.com
1961 AMG
300SE 6.3*
1986 AMG 560 SEC 6.0
2013 SLS AMG
(above)
1999 SL73 AMG
1979 AMG 280GE
5.6 Sport
2014 G63 AMG 6x6
*AMG MODIFIED PRE-1967 MERCEDES VEHICLES
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 17
Art Basel
5
Our own relaunched channel
(Youtube.com/automobile)
Mazda’s clever drag race Volvo and Jean-Claude Van Damme’s
epic split (and several epic spoofs)
Prada and Wes Anderson’s
“Castello Cavalcanti”
IT’S HAMMER (STORY) TIME
WHAT HAS 468 PAGES, SPANS FORTY-FIVE YEARS, and weighs as much as a
G63 AMG? Look no further than AMG 45: The Story, The Cars, which is the
comprehensive history of Mercedes-Benz’s performance arm. AMG freaks
will geek out over a detailed corporate history; an interview with founders
Hans-Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher; and a well-illustrated encyclopedia
of AMG products, running the gamut from a massaged W110 “Fintail” through
the infamous AMG Hammer 6.0 and the electric SLS AMG E-Cell.
— Evan McCausland
What makes AMG diferent from the typical German tuner is its outrageousness,
which remains undiluted even under Mercedes ownership. Some highlights:
What we’re watching this month
FRONT 3/4 VIEW
1
Obligatory BMW
reference shows up on
all sorts of wannabe
designs. Doesn’t help,
doesn’t hurt. And it is
a good line.
2
Side-glass profile
is simple, elegant, and
unobjectionable. And
rather unnoticeable, too.
3
Creases in hood are
much simplified from the
dreadful Crossfire of a
decade back. More like a
BMW 3-series, in fact.
4
The most original,
and most successful, part
of the design is the artful
integration of lamps and
upper grille, actually
quite a lot better than the
current BMW solution.
5
This subtle crease
across the nose is very
nicely done, as well,
fading as it intersects
the side-treatment ridge
along the fender.
6
Well-executed trim
piece underlines corner
lamps and loops up
over the downturned
mouth of the main
cooling inlet below the
bumper strike face.
7
Unnecessary goiter
on the side is all the
rage among stylists now
but really adds nothing
desirable visually as it
completes the indented
side treatment.
8
Sharp-edged detail
continues softly behind
the wheel opening. It
complicates the sideview
composition to little
positive efect.
9
It shows a lot of
courage to let the fuel
door incorporate
concave and convex
surfaces as well as a
hard line that must
align perfectly.
REAR 3/4 VIEW
10
Spoiler line is too
roundly curved. Kink
above lamps could have
been sharper, line flatter
to good efect.
11
Upper edge of
backlight defines roof’s
transverse section,
doesn’t correspond with
other transverse lines
below it.
12
Hardly original, it’s
still very nice to see
side-marker lamps set
into a flat band around
the wheel openings.
13
A fairly full
sheetmetal radius
extends the fender-
highlight line into the
taillight transparency,
making the car look
usefully—in the styling
sense—longer.
14
The side-indent
profile line is cleanly
drawn but unfortunately
evokes less-than-
successful predecessors.
15
Bright amber line
within the rear lamp
clusters is shaped to
emphasize the solidly
horizontal datum line
in the sheetmetal
between them, but
the composition is
inconsistent above and
below that reference.
16
Perimeter of lower
indentation on the
rear rises in the center,
pinching the panel
between it and the lower
deck opening, which sags
downward.
17
Reflectors in corners
of the rear are well
integrated but a bit low
for maximum safety.
18 Automobile | March 2014
ignition
by design
by ROBERT
CUMBERFORD
backlight is curved, in keeping with the
roof’s transverse section, but the built-in
spoiler is arced up in a much fatter curve,
one that contrasts unpleasantly with the
horizontal surface change running
between the good-looking but still rather
banal taillights. And then the lines change
again, with the bottom of the deck lid
sagging down while the “difuser” below
curves upward again. If you plotted a dead
rear view, all of those basically horizontal
lines are simply not in harmony. The side
treatment is only OK; the indentation on
the rear fender, deriving from a hard line
through the door handles, looks entirely
too much like the lines on a Maybach. And
we all know how that turned out.
To quote our appreciation of the
outgoing 200: “Is the 200 automotive
perfection? Clearly it isn’t.” But this one
has come a very long way toward that
goal. Let’s hope that’s far enough for now.
unfinished early prototype, left me with
that “nice, but no cigar” feeling that comes
from something that just doesn’t quite
measure up to what it could and should
have been. There are almost no bad lines
on it. The band across the nose—including
the headlamps, some terrific LED daytime
running lamps, and a tiny grille with
Chrysler’s traditional winged badge—is
excellent. The bottom-feeder, catfish-
mouth lower grille, flanked by nicely styled
foglamps, is executed well, with a chrome
band over the top, but it’s also a bit sad. A
smile on the face can be overdone, as
Mazda has shown, but something not
quite so much like a Japanese theatrical
mask would have been welcome.
There’s not too much “let’s copy
BMW” about the car, although there is the
obligatory Hofmeister bend in the nicely
profiled side-glass trim, but the ensemble
falls apart at the rear end. The top of the
TOCK-MARKET TOUTS
(who PREFER to be called “financial
advisors”) have three key words to
characterize any given company’s
shares, meant to clearly advise their
clients: buy, hold, and sell. Our 2013
Ultimate New Car Guide was overly
generous in praise for the first Chrysler
200, saying that the transformation of the
dismal Sebring was “nothing short of
breathtaking.” The redesign was
definitely welcome, but the 200 was
hardly inspirational. Adequate, yes, if you
didn’t much care about driving. I’d have
rated it “sell.” Now the greatly revised
200, based on a much more modern Fiat/
Alfa Romeo modular platform, is here. Is
it better? Definitely. The exterior styling
is notably improved and nicely refined,
but it is still lacking in excitement. The
interior, the part an owner sees most of
the time, is not exciting, either, but it is
vastly better than anything that has come
before from Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler,
or Fiat/Chrysler. Too bad photos weren’t
available for us to share here.
A brief look at two examples last fall,
one just a model, the other a drivable but
NOW THE GREATLY REVISED 200, BASED ON A
MUCH MORE MODERN MODULAR PLATFORM,
IS HERE. IS IT BETTER? DEFINITELY.
CHRYSLER 200
HOLD. MAYBE.
3 4
2
5 6 7 8 9
1
12 13 14 15 16 17
10 11
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 19
*205 hp @ 7000 rpm (SAE net). civic.honda.com ©2013 American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Introducing one more thing to love about today.
Or, considering it has 205 horsepower,
*
18-inch alloy wheels, a 6-speed manual transmission, limited-slip
differential and a 7-inch tablet-style touch-screen, maybe it’s actually several more things to love about today.
The redesigned 2014 Honda Civic Si Coupe. Start something special.
ILLUSTRATION BY TIM MARRS
noise, vibration & harshness
22 Automobile | March 2014
Sportabout as an American BMW 3-series
wagon that doesn’t like to rev and barely
handles. But it goes and it still doesn’t cost
very much, while influential styling from
the pen of AMC whiz Dick Teague has
aged nicely.
Alfa Romeo 164 (1991–1995)
The Milanese firm’s reputation for
fragility might be ruined if only people
knew that these safe, sporty (DOHC V-6),
and supersolid front-wheel-drive
four-doors will run to absurdly high
mileages if decently maintained—try
250,000 miles plus. My own, purchased
with 174,000 miles for $1000, has no rot,
looks Pininfarina good, and runs like a
train. Some mistake, surely?
Saab 99, 900 (1969–1994) Head
turners that still make fine daily drivers,
these are the cars that blazed a successful
seam of Swedish style and earned the
company its reputation for greatness. Of
the two, the less plentiful 99 is the
superior car, the one that had to better
BMW for Saab to grow, and it did.
BMW 5-series (1989–2003), 7-series
(1988–2001) Looking back at any artistic
life, there is a moment of peak relevance,
LD- CAR VALUES HAVE SKYROCKETED in recent
years, and once again, too many of us now get another
chance to feel like sorry losers who’ve missed the last
boat to fun and prosperity. Forget about the $27 million
Ferraris at Pebble Beach. Be gone, noble but second-
tier 1930s Alfa Romeos selling for $9 million plus. I’m
talking about the bottom end of the spectrum, where forgettable
$2500 ’60s and ’70s cars that we couldn’t aford are now $12,500
cars we can’t aford. I’m talking about the whole rest of the brave
new world of $15,000 slant-six Dodge Darts, $25,000 Triumph
TR6s, $35,000 Citroëns, and $45,000 BMW 2002tii’s.
For gearheads, this moment is quite unlike some of the other
boom opportunities we’ve failed to capitalize on in the past. How
could we be expected to know that Apple stock was coming back
from the dead? But that pretty, clean, granddad-issue 1962
Pontiac Tempest sitting in the neighbor’s garage, the one that
could’ve been yours for practically free for most any of the last
twenty years? Maybe you should’ve busted a move.
Those who pass time with the great Internet Satan, search
engine humming in the Cars for Sale corner, will know the
self-recrimination to which I refer. And, yeah, you probably were
an idiot, but I’m here to make you feel better, not worse. For, even
against a rising tide, there remain cheap cars for, say, less than
$10,000, with plausible upsides. Or at least good undervalued
ones that are done depreciating. Which, after all, is where upsides
begin. So here are some suggestions.
This list is not remotely exhaustive, because, well, that would
be exhausting. But here’s an initial handful of cars about which
you can say you won’t be throwing your money away. Rest
assured, none of these machines will ever head to the lawn at
Pebble Beach—unless it’s with some unauthorized drunk guy
ripping donuts in the middle of the night. But don’t worry.
Inflation, which will inevitably return, is going to be your friend.
Even after the old-car bubble bursts, all old cars, even the lowliest
of the low, will climb in value as money’s value decreases. Put
another way, the more worthless your money is, the more money
your worthless car is worth. Watch out for rust and you can’t lose.
Unless, of course, you do. In which case, any one of these would
make an excellent pizza-delivery vehicle in the event you’re
looking for supplemental income.
Acura Integra (1994–2001) The unique genius of Honda’s
high-tech engineering for the impecunious was never in starker
relief than with this sharp-handling variant of the Civic platform.
It would, in preferred Type R spec, rev to an unheard of 8500 rpm.
Honda reportedly lost money on every adrenalized, hand-fettled
Type R, but you likely won’t because they’re undervalued.
AMC Hornet Sportabout/Concord/Eagle wagon (1971–1988)
Laugh if you must, but there’s no cheaper entrée into old-car
ownership and the world of hip vintage wagons than one of these
reliable and strangely handsome AMC warhorses. Think of the
FUTURE NON-CLASSICS FUTURES.
ignition
by JAMIE
KITMAN
sufered in its too-short life from extreme failure to market
and/or develop. Stylish and plausible yet cheap, the way we like it.
Mercedes-Benz E-class (1986–1995) The taxicab W123s that
came before them are already fully priced and, for better or
worse, less car. The W124 E-class was a prime representative of
the modern era of Mercedes brick-house construction. Which is
why I also recommend . . .
Mercedes-Benz S-class (1981–1999) Built to a standard, not a
price, the S-class of the 1980s—the W126—was impossibly good.
The car that followed in 1992—the upright, mean, and nasty W140
Benz of the ’90s—was also a slab-sided bank vault of a ride that
often cost more than $100K new. Not cheap to run or repair, but
so fine and so very cheap to buy today.
Jaguar XJS (1976–1996) The XJS ran forever (that is, it was
sold for twenty years basically unchanged), but its charms appear
larger in life’s great rearview mirror than they may actually have
been. Economics and chronic frustration dictated that these big
coupes be junked with extreme prejudice, so those making it to
the present day deserve to be brought along for the future.
Volvo 140 series/164 (1968–1975) Hurry while they last. The
first of the boxy Volvos, survivors that haven’t returned to meet
their maker—rust was a ruthless killer—are suddenly starting to
get their due, and prices are heading north. Coupe versions of the
earlier 122S are approaching $20,000, and wagons are worth even
more; these won’t be far behind, especially the very hip 145 wagon.
(TO BE CONTINUED) AM
relative to the competition, and these
successive generations of BMW 5- and
7-series cars (E34/E39 and E32/E38,
respectively) hit the nail on the head.
Solid and sporty yet not unsubtle—if only
BMW had kept it this real.
Old-school sport-utility vehicles
(1946–1991) They all work, but now that
Ford Broncos and Toyota FJ40s are
new-car expensive, try early Jeep
Wagoneers, Willys wagons, and
International Travelalls, or choose among
the many decades of Chevy Suburban.
Their simplicity and honesty bespeak the
utility of these trucks. And they are often
capable of towing your house. Ditto
old-school pickups. Prices are moving up,
but stick with oddball brands and there’ll
be a little way to go before you need to
walk away from the category, shaking
your head and muttering.
Ford Thunderbird (2002–2005)
Sharing a platform with Jaguar’s S-type
and the not-horrible-at-all Lincoln LS,
here was, at long last, a handsome and
fine-handling personal T-Bird that
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ILLUSTRATION BY TIM MARRS 24 Automobile | March 2014
unscathed. “This has a nice rumble to it,”
he declares.
We walk into Panera, where both wives
look perplexed, having just witnessed
strange men emerge from what they
thought were their cars. Christy hands his
wife the chunky ingot of a Bentley key and
declares, “Honey, I got us a new car!” She
shoots him a look that says maybe this sort
of thing is not entirely unexpected.
We return one another’s keys and bid
farewell, with Christy in a significantly
better mood now than he was a few
minutes ago. Henry Ford, Henry Schmord
—we’re driving Bentleys and confusing
our wives while they buy sandwiches.
It’s funny to think how, were I driving
something more mundane than a Speed
convertible (which is to say, most cars), I
might never have known I was gassing up
next to one of the designers of the original
Thunderbird. Interesting cars are catalysts
for conversation, and the big British
droptop with the unusual license plate
sparked everything that happened next.
And that’s the story of how George
Christy quit Ford for Chrysler and traded
his Avalon for a Bentley. AM
THE BIRD AND THE BENTLEY.
ignition
dyer consequences
by EZRA
DYER
’ M GASSING UP the Bentley Continental GT Speed
convertible when the guy at the opposite pump leans over
to take a look. I’m prepared to recite the key talking
points—616 hp, 202 mph, $273,000 for this particular
one—but he’s not interested in the car. “Why’ve you got a
manufacturer plate?” he asks.
It’s a question that indicates a car-biz insider, someone who
already knows this isn’t my personal six-figure rocket sled. I explain
that I’m a writer and the car belongs to Bentley. Then I ask why he
keyed on the funky Michigan tags, and he replies, “I used to work
for Ford. I was a designer on the Thunderbird. I had to quit because
of Henry Ford, the prick.” This fill-up just got way more interesting.
The man introduces himself as George Christy and tells me he
was a young designer at Ford during the heyday of the original
Thunderbird, in the 1950s and ’60s. “And now look what I’m
driving,” he says, gesturing toward the Toyota Avalon on his side
of the pumps. I ask him to elaborate on his Henry Ford comment.
What did Ford do to drive him away?
“It was Henry Ford II,” Christy says. “We were at the studio at
about 4 p.m. on Good Friday, and Henry Ford comes in and looks
at a mock-up that we’re working on.” It was a rear taillight or
some such minor rear-end restyle. “He says, ‘You need to stay the
weekend and come up with something better by Monday.’ So we
work all weekend, and on Monday morning we’ve got a new
design sitting next to the old one from Friday. He points at the
original one from Friday and says, ‘Good work. If you’d come up
with that in the first place, you wouldn’t have had to work all
weekend.’ ” And that’s when George Christy quit.
Christy went to Chrysler and never looked back, but he
nonetheless has some fond memories of his Ford days and a lot of
respect for his former boss, Damon Woods. “We’d work sixty or
seventy hours a week, so they’d give us a per diem for dinners. We
didn’t spend much of it on food. But after a few martinis, when
you’re loose as a goose, that might be when you come up with
some good ideas.” I don’t know if Christy watches Mad Men, but
if he did he might think it’s a documentary.
Gas pumped, Christy jokes that we’re both heading north on
I-95, so we should just trade cars for a couple hours. Well, it turns
out that both of our wives are across the parking lot at Panera
Bread, so I strike him a deal: he can take the Bentley back over to
Panera and I’ll drive his Avalon. I am not in the habit of swapping
cars with strangers I meet at gas stations, but Christy seems like a
good egg. I hope he’s also a good driver, since he’s about to helm
$273,000 worth of Bentley across a crowded parking lot.
He gooses the Speed away from the gas station as I follow in
the Toyota. About 100 yards later he steers smoothly into a vacant
spot and shuts down the W-12 while I develop a case of nerves
backing the Avalon into a space next to the curb. What if I grind
his rims on the curb? I’d have to yell, “And that’s for Henry Ford!”
and act like I did it on purpose. Fortunately, both cars emerge
Mike Valentine
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26 Automobile | March 2014
FROM VEGA TO CORVETTE:
AUTOMOBILE OF THE YEAR
I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED CARS, AND THE CARS I GREW UP THINKING
were beautiful, sexy, and powerful were Corvettes. The Corvettes through the 1960s
were everything a boy could want. Then the 1970s came along, and GM built junk for
forty years. Other than 1960s-era Corvettes, I have never thought of owning a GM
product. I know there are many GM diehards out there who have been making excuses
for their favorite brand for the last forty years, but they don’t need to make excuses
anymore. When the Cadillac CTS-V came along, I muttered under my breath, ‘That is a
cool car.’ Then there was the C6 Z06, and I was more interested. And now, the C7. I
thought I would never say this, but I want a new Corvette and a Cadillac CTS-V.
To Man of the Year Tadge Juechter and his team, you made a car that I want to own.
JAMES DANIEL
SUSANVILLE, CALIFORNIA
THERE’S NO DOUBT THE NEW
Corvette is a fine car. I just wish GM
would require potential new owners to
have no paunch and be current members
of the Hair Club For Men. It’s a little
ironic when these guys step out of their
sleek, fast, and sexy testosterone machines
to reveal human examples the exact
opposite of any adjective used to describe
their cars. Such a pity. They remind me of
the aging rock stars still singing about sex,
drugs, and rock and roll. Never mind
they’ve been in rehab, have been sober for
years, and lately need the help of that little
blue pill.
BRYAN CHARLES
VIA INTERNET
OVER THE YEARS I HAVE FOUND
myself lusting after the 2001–04 C5 Z06
Vette and the 2008–09 C6 Z51, despite
their image or stigma. Thank you, Chevy,
for freeing me from this dilemma and
curing my occasional Vette fever for good.
Despite being 150 pounds heavier than its
steel-framed predecessors, which is never
good for a sports car, the new C7 might
drive well. But it looks even worse in
person than in pictures, be it that
bass-mouth front, the Ferrari-esque side,
or the rear that must be the ugliest on any
car, period. A true sports car must look as
good as it drives.
CHRIS GEUTING
DURHAM, CALIFORNIA
ignition
letters
WHAT A LONG, STRANGE TRIP IT’S BEEN.
i
8
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M
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BMW i8
BMW i3
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 29
ignition
letters
TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR
SO, YOU NAMED AUTONOMY THE
Technology of the Year [January]. I
thought Automobile Magazine was for
the driving enthusiast. The reader who
actually enjoys the very act of driving.
This ridiculous award only encourages
manufacturers to continue their
misguided need to keep us from driving!
This has got to be a joke of some sort.
Who is calling for this technology? It
certainly isn’t the automotive enthusiast.
Someone help us if they legislate this into
our future vehicles. You can bet there will
be millions who won’t be enthusiastically
jumping on that one. I truly hope this
silliness stops very soon. Until then, I’ll
keep my three-pedaled, non-traction-
controlled, non-Bluetooth-equipped
vehicles on the road forever.
DARCY WINCH
POINT EDWARD, ONTARIO
YOUR COVERAGE OF THE
development of autonomous vehicles is
informative and interesting. There will be
social implications as these vehicles get
closer to reality. Ask senior citizens about
their concerns and fears of old age, and
many will tell you about the fear of losing
driving privileges and, as a result, much of
their independence. Autonomous vehicles
give tremendous hope to those seniors
who love cars and their independence.
I’ve not read much about this being
factored in when autonomous vehicles are
discussed or written about. However,
there are also some disconcerting social
implications. When cars can drive
themselves home, do we allow drivers
who are under the influence of alcohol
or drugs to go along for the ride? Will
there be a dedicated “drive me home”
mode for intoxicated operators? These
scenarios are plausible and will certainly
add to the debate in regard to approving
the widespread acceptance of this
technology.
DON LABRIOLA
MOKENA, ILLINOIS
WE STILL DON’T REGRET IT
REGARDING THE CARS YOU’ VE
named Automobile of the Year over the
last twenty-five years [“No Regrets,”
January]: How on earth did you choose
the Chrysler 300C over the Lotus Elise in
2005? Acura NSX, Chevy Corvette twice,
Porsche Boxster, Mitsubishi Evo, Subaru
WRX, Volkswagen GTI, and even the
Mazda Miata were all worthy cars, but the
Elise wasn’t? Trick question: How many
people point camera phones at a 300C?
Kitman will tell you that it’s a daily
occurrence in his Elise. I guess you didn’t
really mean “No Boring Cars.”
BRUCE OBLAD
NORTH SALT LAKE, UTAH
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST?
JUST A SMALL CORRECTION TO
your report on the new BMW i3 [Driven,
January]. You wrote, “It feels like the
future when you’re in the i3, as BMW
designers have consciously chosen to make
the car look like a very stylish science
experiment.” Of course, you really meant,
“It feels like the future when you’re in the
i3, as BMW designers have consciously
chosen to make the car look like a very
stylish science experiment from which
seventeen clowns are about to emerge.” I
am sure that you regret the oversight.
FREDERIC SVOBODA
FLINT, MICHIGAN
and shame on your layout people for
killing the beauty of the Aston Martins.
SY FISCHTHAL
VIA INTERNET
IT’S NOT JUST A GIRL CAR
THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I
would have pooh-poohed the whole Miata
thing [Vile Gossip, January]. “It’s a girl
car” was my standard response. Then I
started looking for a track car that would
be fun to drive and inexpensive to operate.
I found a salvage-title white Miata in
perfect condition with the exception of the
two deployed airbags (I guess they are
really expensive to replace). Perfect! Of
came the windshield (Sawzall) and in
went the roll cage (which cost more than
the car). There is nothing like holding of a
Lamborghini in a $2000 1994 Miata with a
totally stock motor. Or having the Porsche
guys come up after the session and ask
what you have under the hood. You can
drive it all day, bouncing of the rev limiter
and laughing at all the people who paid so
much more and can’t quite keep up. And
then you change the oil, buy a set of tires,
and do it again. Nothin’ better than that!
RICHARD MALZAHN
VIA INTERNET
THE RUST WAS BAKED IN
YOUR AUCTIONS REPORT ON THE
Lambrecht sale caught my attention. As a
Chevrolet area service manager during the
’70s, I can perhaps enlighten you. To
answer your question, “Did Chevy Vegas
start rusting at the factory?” The answer is,
absolutely yes! As I recall, we were advised
that the Lordstown assembly plant had a
problem with the bare-sheetmetal cleaning
process, so rust began forming under the
primer. On top of that, the caulk-type
sealer used between body panels became
acidic during the top-coat baking process.
It seems there was a “beyond warranty”
policy adjustment for afected model
years. Keep in mind that the Lordstown
assembly plant was the newest, most
modern in General Motors. “Wildcat”
strikes were so prevalent that the company
threatened to close the plant. I trust this
will give you some historical insight.
THOMAS E. MORRIS
WHITSETT, NORTH CAROLINA
Write: Automobile Magazine, 1995 Highland Dr., Ste. A
Ann Arbor, MI 48108 E-mail: [email protected]
Letters may be edited for clarity and length.
IN ALL THE YEARS I HAVE BEEN
reading Automobile Magazine, I have
never set eyes on such a horrendously
ugly vehicle! Even the plastic-clad Pontiac
Aztek looked better. To think that the
same company that designed and built the
absolutely gorgeous BMW i8, your
Design of the Year, could cobble together
the BMW i3 disaster! Then to make
matters worse, you display the pregnant
BMW i3 opposite the graceful and
beautiful Aston Martin duo on the
following page. I looked at the i3 and
immediately renamed it the Pregnant
BMW! Shame on BMW for the eyesore,
30 Automobile | March 2014
ubaru’s gritty, turbocharged,
all-wheel-drive WRX has
been a favorite ever since it
arrived on our shores for
2002 (and we pined for it
even before then). The WRX ofers
unbeatable performance bang for the
enthusiast buck, but it has sufered some
not-inconsiderable faults, chief among
them sloppy steering, awkward clutch/
shifter action, and a low-rent interior.
With the all-new 2015 WRX, Subaru
has delivered the most changed version of
its enthusiasts’ standard-bearer, and the
The Specs
ON SALE: March
PRICE: $27,500 (est.)
ENGINE: 2.0L
turbocharged flat-4,
268 hp, 258 lb-ft
DRIVE: 4-wheel
EST. FUEL MILEAGE:
21/28 mpg, 19/25 mpg
(manual, CVT)
EVERYONE’S FAVORITE HOOLIGAN GOES TO FINISHING SCHOOL.
2015 Subaru WRX
N A P A , C A L I F O R N I A
comprehensive update has efectively
addressed the items on our punch list.
The new car’s polish and refinement will
surprise some current WRX owners, but
the formula hasn’t been altered so much
as it has been elevated.
One big change that might upset some
of the faithful is that Subaru is dropping
the hatchback model. It’s an unexpected
move given that the hatchback/sedan split
has been running about fifty/fifty. Subaru
product planners explain that they had to
sacrifice the second body style in order to
get the greater degree of diferentiation
from the Impreza that they were seeking
with the new WRX.
Indeed, the WRX enjoys more
separation than ever from its Impreza
starting point. The list of WRX-specific
pieces includes the wide-body front and
rear fenders, the front and rear fascias, all
four doors, the headlights, and the hood.
You’ll recognize only the roof, the glass,
and the trunk lid as shared with the
Impreza. Impreza has even been dropped
from the WRX’s full name.
Of course, the mechanical package is
unique, and it starts with a 2.0-liter turbo
boxer four-cylinder. Replacing the
previous car’s 2.5-liter, the new engine is a
version of the unit that premiered in the
Forester XT. Modifications for the WRX
Driven
The move to the
new Impreza
platform yields a
roomier and airier
cockpit, but we’re
more pleased by
the WRX’s
upgrade in
materials.
A flat-bottom steering wheel is new,
as is an optional automatic transmission.
allow the 2.0 to rev higher (6500 or
6700 rpm, depending on transmission)
and increase output slightly. With 268 hp
and 258 lb-ft of torque, the 2.0-liter barely
exceeds the old 2.5-liter’s 265 hp and
244 lb-ft, but it does so with 20 percent
less displacement.
That should lead to an increase in fuel
economy, and with the manual
transmission—which has gone from five to
six speeds—it does. EPA ratings are
expected to jump by 2 mpg in the city and
3 mpg on the highway, to 21/28 mpg. For
the newly reintroduced automatic, testing
conducted in its middle (sport) mode
should achieve 19/25 mpg. Subaru
contends, however, that drivers who use
the more efcient “intelligent” mode
could do better by 4 or 5 mpg.
The automatic, by the way—the first in
a WRX since 2008—is a CVT, again
borrowed from the Forester XT. Its
intelligent (I) and sport (S) modes ofer
stepless shifting at light throttle openings,
but at larger throttle openings they imitate
a conventional automatic with six
speeds—as they also do if you flick the
lever into manual and start playing with
the shift paddles. In sport sharp (S#),
there’s no stepless shifting and the
transmission is always a virtual automatic,
this time with eight speeds. It all sounds
complicated, but the idea is that you get
the smoothness and efciency of a CVT at
moderate throttle openings, which won’t
trigger the droning that is such a CVT
turnof. Calls for greater acceleration
bring responses similar to a conventional
automatic. The automatic also ofers
launch control, and it’s far more accessible
here than in most cars: just brake-torque
it and let ’er rip. In practice, it all works
quite well, and we have no doubt that an
automatic option will open up the WRX
to a wider audience—even if Subaru is
expecting only one in five WRXs to be
so equipped.
Subaru has delivered the most changed
version of its enthusiasts’ standard-bearer,
and the comprehensive update has efectively
addressed the items on our punch list.
The WRX’s signature functional scoop
is set lower into the hood, giving the car greater
visual distinction from the Impreza. The brakes
are larger than before. The manual gearbox is
now a six-speed. LED taillights are new.
32 Automobile | March 2014
We still prefer the stick shift, however,
more so now that it’s easier to row. The
shift action still isn’t as Teflon-slick as
you’ll find in a Honda, but we like the
shorter throws and friendly clutch takeup.
The manual version is also a bit quicker.
Subaru estimates that it will reach 60 mph
in 5.4 seconds (the automatic does the
deed in 5.9 seconds). The manual time is
the same as the outgoing car’s, which is
about what you’d expect given that the
slight increase in horsepower corresponds
to an equally modest increase in mass—
59 pounds, with the base car now
weighing in at 3267 pounds.
With either transmission, the WRX
feels plenty quick. Although the new
engine’s power and torque peaks arrive
slightly lower in the rev band, this remains
an engine that relies heavily on the muscle
of its turbocharger, which has been
relocated to beneath the engine for
quicker response. It’s not huge of the line,
but the turbo quickly comes into play and
you’re of to the races. Passing maneuvers
are particularly invigorating.
As we bombed from corner to corner
on the mercifully empty and endlessly
twisting two-lane roads near Napa Valley,
the automatic even in sport-sharp mode
wasn’t quite as aggressive and intuitive in
its gear selections as one might hope
(think Mercedes-Benz Speedshift MCT);
shifting for yourself is the best way to
keep the engine on the boil. What came
Driven
into sharper relief on those roads,
however, was the improved chassis.
The front and rear suspensions feature
all-new components: subframes, springs,
struts, antiroll bars, and bushings. With
the car’s stifer structure, Subaru was able
to firm up the suspension considerably
(the front springs by 39 percent, the rears
by 62 percent). An un-sports-car-like
amount of body roll was the price you
paid for the old WRX’s long suspension
travel, but no more, as the new car stays
flat through corners. (Subaru claims that
body roll is reduced 20 percent.) The ride
can be busy and impacts are fairly sharp,
but the way the WRX turns in
aggressively and shrugs of midcorner
bumps is impressive.
The transformed steering may be the
greatest improvement. Never mind that
this is now an electric setup; the looseness
has been banished, the ratio quickened,
and eforts firmed up. Oh, and the new,
flat-bottom steering wheel is smaller in
diameter and features a thicker rim.
The nicer steering wheel is just one
component of a much-improved cabin.
The new seats have terrific lateral
support. An available power driver’s seat
and keyless ignition are new. The interior
isn’t a design knockout; it’s businesslike,
but the cheapness is gone. Three round
knobs control the HVAC, and the non-nav
stereo has an easy-to-use traditional
layout. The navigation unit (optional on
Premium and Limited trim levels) is
unfortunately the same one you’ll find in
other Subarus, with tiny buttons and
touch points. A separate, 4.3-inch central
LCD screen displays the image from the
standard rearview camera, as well as other
functions. With the move to the new
Impreza’s body shell, the WRX gets a
one-inch-longer wheelbase that translates
into greater rear-seat legroom. There’s
also a lower cowl and beltline that make
for better visibility.
More pleasant and more polished, the
new WRX is definitely less raw—but not
at the expense of fun. Devotees of the
hatchback will be disappointed, but
otherwise Subaru’s high-profile, low-
volume sport sedan expands its appeal
with this redesign. We expect all of this
will come at some cost; how much the
price will rise from the current $26,790
we’ll find out closer to the car’s on-sale
date this spring. Look for a new WRX STI
to follow shortly after. — JOE LORIO
It’s not huge of the line, but the turbo
quickly comes into play and you’re
of to the races. Passing maneuvers are
particularly invigorating.
A
fter leaving the local cinemaplex and watching
the latest superhero smash through walls, fly at
the speed of sound, and crush the mutant aliens all
done with the latest in computer graphics I was left
a little cold. I checked my TAC-7 watch and that was
two hours and four minutes wasted. What would a
real hero do with those precious minutes?
We Only Need to Look Around Us to See the Real Thing.
We know those movies aren’t real. The honors need to go to
our live action heroes where every second carries risk: The
firefighter in a 3 alarm blaze, the police officer racing to the
scene, an ambulance driver trimming lifesaving seconds at break-
neck speed, the nurse in the emergency room timing heart rates,
and the Coast Guard rescue in 20 foot seas.
And without a doubt, there are over 2 million Action heroes who
sign up for danger from the minute they enlist in our military.
Each rely on their training every day so that they synchronize
their actions and save lives.
Real life action heroes live next door and down the
street and in our own homes. Some are overseas and some
are in peril at this very minute. No capes or super powers, only
bravery, sacrifice, and precision.
We will not pay a licensing fee to the movie studio so that we can
say this watch was worn by a fictional spy or by a guy wearing
spandex hanging from a wire in front of a green screen and then
charge you big money for the privilege.
The TAC-7 was made for our real action heroes.
It is made from super tough stainless steel with
luminous hands and markers that can be seen in any
dark spot. The precision movement oscillates at 32,768
Hz for astounding accuracy. The timepiece is water
resistant and carries a two year warranty on the
movement so there is no reason to treat it gently.
And since we never really pay our heroes anywhere close to
enough, we price the TAC-7 for the real world. The watch was
originally $299 but for the next few weeks, the TAC-7 is only $59.
The TAC-7 is for the real action heroes among us. And because of
that we will be donating part of the proceeds to the USO and the
Red Cross. To the real heroes.
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Action Heroes Wanted
Rating of A+
:08.679 seconds.
For Nissan, that string
of digits—seven minutes,
eight seconds, and change—
was the mantra of the
GT-R Nismo, chanted at the recent Tokyo
motor show reveal by everyone from
Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn to test driver
Michael Krumm. For the world’s sports
cars (excepting a couple of million-dollar
babies), the Nissan’s lap time at Germany’s
Nürburgring Nordschleife course
represents a fearsome new bogey.
For all the tiresome obsession with
’Ring times—the simplistic, reductive
refuge of fanboys the world over—the
The Specs
ON SALE: Now/mid-2014
(GT-R/GT-R Nismo)
PRICE: $101,000/$150,000
(GT-R/GT-R Nismo, est.)
ENGINE: 3.8L twin-turbo V-6,
545/600 hp, 463/481 lb-ft
DRIVE: 4-wheel
EST. FUEL MILEAGE:
15–16/22–23 mpg
Driven
FOR THE GOOD TIMES.
2015 Nissan GT-R/
GT-R Nismo
S O D E G A U R A , J A P A N
Nissan’s time, a record for a volume
production car, says something objective
about its real-world capabilities. That lap
is fifty seconds quicker than Cadillac’s in
2008, when the 556-hp CTS-V became the
first showroom sedan to run below eight
minutes. The Nismo’s lap beats the GT-R’s
previous best by ten seconds.
So a pit-lane, champagne hose-down
for the Nissan, yes. But also caveats: The
stratospherically expensive McLaren P1
and Porsche 918 Spyder have smashed the
seven-minute barrier at the ’Ring. And the
GT-R Nismo ain’t cheap. The 600-horse
bruiser will start at about $150,000
beginning this summer, and it should
surpass 160 large with the track package
that helped Krumm escort his
camouflaged “time attack” GT-R so
stirringly around the 12.8-mile course.
That’s a lot of dough for a Nissan that,
when standing still, might get confused
for a Tokyo-tuned Ford Mustang. It costs
decisively more than a Chevy Corvette
ZR1 and is on par with a Porsche 911 Turbo
or an Audi R8 V10, to name three sports
cars that add refinement to the endorphin
rush. And it’s double the price of the first
Godzilla to stomp ashore in America,
which came in at $70,850 for 2009.
But fear not, PlayStation pushers. A
modestly reworked 2015 GT-R is now
hitting showrooms. Compared with the
Nismo’s Hyde, lying in wait to murder
unsuspecting exotics, the standard GT-R
isn’t exactly Jekyll, not with the carryover
545-hp, 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-6 and
idiot-proof all-wheel-drive system.
Hiroshi Tamura, the GT-R’s chief
product specialist, did focus on the “GT”
The GT-R Nismo
sinks its talons into
the Sodegaura track
(above). A carbon-
fiber wing sprouts
like a beanstalk,
helping justify the
Nismo’s giant price
hike over the regular
GT-R (not pictured).
The cabin adds spit,
polish, and suede,
along with sound
deadening and
noise cancellation
to soothe
mechanical racket.
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 35
side of the name, aiming for a more
mature, less punishing car without
sacrificing a jot of supercar performance.
That goal has been met, although
visible changes are subtle. New adaptive
LED headlamps and four-ring taillamps
flare to life on start-up. Interior fit and
finish are improved, although the
available ivory leather seems almost efete
for a child wild enough to rock a loincloth.
Nissan actually softened stabilizer and
damper rates of the adjustable Bilstein
shocks to reduce load fluctuations among
the wheels and to boost suspension stroke
at high g’s. Steering efort is lighter at city
speeds. Brembo brakes are recalibrated
for more linear response and improved
wet performance.
In tandem with twenty-inch Dunlop
SP Sport Maxx tires with stifer sidewalls
and a new compound, the added
compliance translates into more grip and
confidence by better pinning the tires to
undulating pavement—as experienced on
the ’Ring, one reason that it’s the world’s
leading gauntlet for handling development.
Captain Nismo’s ship makes 481 lb-ft
of torque, up from 463 lb-ft in the base
GT-R, and spools up its 55 additional
horses by using larger, GT3-racing-
derived turbos, a higher-pressure fuel
pump, and revised ignition timing.
A carbon-fiber wing flips a salute from
the carbon trunk lid. There’s a ground-
scraping lower front fascia and flaring
bumpers, with more carbon fabric
wrapping the Nismo’s nether regions.
The body changes generate an extra
220 pounds of downforce at 186 mph.
Stifer adjustable Bilstein dampers join
revised front links and more rigid
wheel-hub bolts. The body is adhesive
bonded. A hollow, 0.7-inch rear antiroll
bar trims weight and adds stifness.
Inside, the Nismo has carbon fiber this
and Alcantara that, including a suede-y
three-spoke steering wheel. But some
obligatory materials, even the stellar
Recaro seats, can’t paper over the general
impression: in contrast with other
six-figure supercars, the Nissan’s interior
is like Carl from Caddyshack guzzling
brews in the Bushwood dining room.
GT-R fans, of course, would choose
Carl over pompous Judge Smails any day
and would take the Nissan over some
precious Porsche 911. To them, the
GT-R’s kill-the-rich personality is integral
to its charm.
To gauge the Nismo’s charm attack, we
were granted some teasing test laps.
Clawing around Japan’s cozy Sodegaura
Forest Raceway, the Nismo felt insanely,
unstoppably fast. What else is new? We’ll
await side-by-side testing of both models
to ofer judgment.
On two-laners, a standard, right-hand-
drive GT-R showed its near-criminal
talent—contributing to the delinquency of
grown-ups—but with welcome gains in
civility and ride quality. Added sound
deadening and noise cancellation via the
Bose audio system quells nasty powertrain
frequencies. Shift quality from the
six-speed, dual-clutch automatic will no
longer provoke panicked calls to the
dealer. The driveline feels less lashy, noisy,
and mechanical.
Some diehards, we suspect, will accuse
Nissan of wimping out. But two miles on
brutalized pavement in the 2015 GT-R
should quell complaints, along with
extraneous whirring, clacking, and
trembling. Now—giving the Nismo its
numerical due—if we could only shut
down the white-noise ’Ring debates, the
world would be a better place.
— LAWRENCE ULRICH
Clawing around Japan’s cozy
Sodegaura Forest Raceway, the
Nismo felt insanely, unstoppably fast.
cura imagines the target
buyer of its new RLX Sport
Hybrid SH-AWD to be a
forty-eight-year-old married
male tech fanatic who works
in financial services, real estate, or health
care and has a household income of
$200,000-plus. Perhaps Acura should
narrow-cast it even further and throw in
“San Francisco resident.” Before we could
reach the Golden Gate Bridge for a drive
on twisty roads around Bodega Bay, the
RLX Sport Hybrid took us silently
through three miles of the city in its quiet,
pure-electric, rear-wheel-drive mode.
Eco-conscious locals would approve.
That’s not what this hybrid is about,
though. It has three electric motors: one
in front integrated with a seven-speed
dual-wet-clutch automatic transmission
working with the direct-injected, 3.5-liter
transverse V-6, and two behind the rear
seat (intruding into the trunk slightly and
deleting the base car’s rear-seat center
armrest pass-through) that serve as a very
active torque-vectoring handling
enhancement and an all-wheel-drive
system free of a conventional driveshaft.
When the car is cornering, the motor for
the outside rear wheel provides power
while the front and rear inside wheels use
their motors for regeneration.
The Specs
ON SALE: Early 2014
PRICE: $60,000/$65,000
(Technology package/
Advance package, est.)
ENGINE: 3.5L V-6/electric hybrid,
377 hp, 377 lb-ft (net)
DRIVE: 4-wheel
EST. FUEL ECONOMY: 28/32 mpg
Driven
NARROW-CASTING HIGH TECHNOLOGY.
2014 Acura RLX
Sport Hybrid SH-AWD
S A N F R A N C I S C O
Although respectable, fuel mileage
is short of a Lexus GS450h’s by 1 mpg in
the city and 2 mpg on the highway, and
Acura doesn’t consider comparably
priced diesels, such as the BMW 535d, as
competition. The hybrid model handles
better than the base, front-wheel-drive
RLX with Precision All-Wheel Steer
(P-AWS), but Sport Hybrid is not code for
“sport sedan.” This full-size premium
sedan is built for smooth comfort more
than handling.
In trafc on the way to Bodega Bay, the
RLX Sport Hybrid cornered neutrally,
with smooth and mild body roll, but the
electrically assisted power steering is
devoid of feel and feedback. This was in
Sport mode, which sharpens the seven-
speed’s upshifts and downshifts, curbs
nanny intervention, and shuts of the auto
stop/start feature. The car is very quiet,
smooth, and comfortable, and it has a host
of luxury, comfort, and safety amenities—
including limited self-steering/
autonomy—packed into a minimalist body
shell. The cool, jewel-eye LED headlamps
are the only outstanding premium
exterior feature.
When trafc opened up on a snaky
ribbon of road, the rear tires met their
limit rather suddenly, and the oversteer
felt inorganic, as if the rears had turned
in more quickly than the fronts, despite
motor-driven AWD replacing the base
car’s P-AWS. The chassis and stability
control saved us after the initial
oversteer snap.
This car is an interesting preview of
the technology that will go into the new
mid-engine Acura NSX, and if costs aren’t
too prohibitive, we may see it trickle down
to a mid-size TLX sedan. But at an
expected price of $60,000 to $65,000, the
Acura RLX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD will
hold limited appeal for anyone but the
premium car shopper who likes tech for
tech’s sake. — TODD LASSA
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 39
hen the Hyundai Genesis
sedan debuted for 2009, it
drew comparisons with
Mercedes-Benz and Lexus,
but those were really
backhanded compliments. No one knew
what a Hyundai luxury car was supposed to
look like, and the Genesis lacked a distinct
identity. That’s a problem when you want
to build a luxury image out of nothing.
“We were trying to find our own
direction, our own unique way of
designing cars, and I think now it’s
evident,” says Casey Hyun, Hyundai’s
creative design manager.
The 2015 Hyundai Genesis sedan has a
prominent, distinctive hexagonal grille
design that will be used across the Hyundai
lineup. A touch of chrome accents the
The Specs
ON SALE: April
PRICE:
$37,000–$50,000 (est.)
ENGINES: 3.8L V-6, 311 hp,
293 lb-ft; 5.0L V-8, 429 hp,
376 lb-ft
DRIVE: Rear- or 4-wheel
EST. FUEL MILEAGE: 18/
27 mpg, 15/23 mpg (V-6,V-8)
AN IMPRESSIVE SOPHOMORE EFFORT.
2015
W
N A M Y A N G , S O U T H K O R E A
Hyundai
Genesis
greenhouse, but it’s brushed rather than
shiny, conveying elegance over showiness.
“We feel that this will be a defining car
for our brand for the next five years,”
Hyun says.
Dramatic profile lines and creases run
the length of the car. The classic rear-
wheel-drive layout features a long hood
and a short deck, along with a more rakish
fastback-style C-pillar. The cabin has real
wood and aluminum trim and napa
leather upholstery. The efect is more akin
to a purposefully put-together Mercedes
than a Hyundai playing dress-up.
The new, optional all-wheel-drive
system uses an electronic transfer case
with a multiplate clutch to actively
control torque distribution, allowing up to
90 percent of the torque to go to the front
wheels. Rack-mounted, motor-driven
electric power steering with variable gear
ratios is another Hyundai first, adding
stability at high speeds and improved
response at lower speeds.
It’s a lot to consider as we hit 135 mph
on Hyundai’s high-speed test oval in a
rear-wheel-drive V-6 Genesis. The car is
composed as we navigate the top line of
the track, blast through corners, and then
mash the throttle on the open straights.
The Genesis feels like a big, fast,
buttoned-down car. On the handling
course, an all-wheel-drive V-8 ofers
precise, direct steering as we try to make
smooth lines and generate optimum speed
in the short straightaways.
Hyundai suggests the notion of the
Genesis as a sport sedan, but this big car
doesn’t fit that category from a dynamics
standpoint. Really, the V-6 and V-8
powerplants are the car’s sportiest
elements, and they work efectively with
their eight-speed automatic transmission.
The engines have been revised to provide
more low-end punch, enabling quicker
sprints to 60 mph than in the previous
Genesis. That’s why the V-6 actually loses
horsepower but is more drivable.
Five years ago, Hyundai grabbed our
attention with its first attempt at luxury,
and we’re impressed at how far the
automaker has come. Based on our short,
controlled drive, it seems the second-
generation Genesis is worthy of Hyundai’s
luxury-sedan aspirations.
— GREG MIGLIORE
44 Automobile | March 2014
IN YOUR
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 45
FACE
LEXUS IS DREAMING
BIG AGAIN, AND THE
450-HP 2015 LEXUS
RC-F SHOWS THAT IT
MEANS BUSINESS.
AUDI RS5, BMW M4,
AND MERCEDES-BENZ
C63 AMG, LET’S SEE
WHAT YOU’VE GOT.
BY MI CHAEL JORDAN |
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JI M FRENAK
EXCLUSIVE 2015 LEXUS RC-F
high-performance evolution of the newly
introduced 2015 Lexus RC350 goes on sale
across the United States (and Europe, too).
The Lexus people are a little tired of
being overlooked, as if they were some fly-
over state in the land of prestige brands.
Back in 1989, their LS400 stomped the Ger-
man prestige brands flat with new stan-
dards of comfort, drivability, and reliability,
and yet Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz
still dismiss Lexus with a casual wave of the
hand, just as they did twenty-five years ago.
Instead of just sitting on its success in
the American market, Lexus decided to
make an international statement. The RC-F
is part of that statement, and it’s a message
that has been on the way to us for a while.
It wasn’t a coincidence when Toyota cre-
ated its own Formula 1 racing team from
scratch and hit the track in 2002, even be-
fore BMW and Mercedes-Benz bought
pre-existing F1 teams. The Lexus LFA
wasn’t just a high-tech toy when it debuted
as a show car in 2005. The Lexus IS-F
sedan wasn’t simply an imitation BMW M3
when it came on the market in 2008. By the
time the LF-LC concept arrived at the 2012
Detroit show, it was clear that Lexus was
serious about building sporty cars.
Now the production-ready RC-F finally
lies before us, although it’s wearing show-
car colors and the specifications aren’t
quite finalized. (RC stands for “radical
coupe,” and F is a traditional Toyota code
for special projects, notably the F1 that be-
came the LS400.) We embrace the classi-
cism of the rear-wheel-drive coupe’s pro-
portions, the long, dramatic sweep of the
hood matched with an upright cabin at the
rear. The RC also has real style. The shape
t seems like a dream as you’re blast-
ing up the 412 highway from the
Frankfurt–Cologne autobahn. Actu-
ally, you know it is only a dream, but
even so you’re thinking about filling
up with high-test at the famous gas
station across the road from the en-
trance to the track and then pulling
up to the little tollbooth that will admit you
onto the Nürburgring Nordschleife. You
can almost feel this radical coupe under
you, and it’s got a 450-hp V-8, a track-ready
chassis, and big tires. And then it comes to
you that you’re in a Lexus.
Whoa, you awake with a start. Is this a
dream, or is it some kind of twisted night-
mare? Really, a Lexus?
As we’re looking at the 2015 Lexus
RC-F in this photo studio in Los Angeles
just a few weeks before the car’s unveiling
at the 2014 Detroit auto show, we’re con-
vinced that as dreams go, this is likely to be
a good one. And it’s all the better because it
will become reality in the fall when this
46 Automobile | March 2014
A stifer
steering-wheel
rim enhances the
tactile connection
with the RC-F.
Specially shaped
sport seats deliver
support at speed.
setup in the rear, and the F iteration gets
aluminum suspension arms and firmer
bushings. Up front, you’ll find the six-pis-
ton brake calipers familiar from the old
IS-F sedan, but you’ll also find thicker,
larger 15.0-inch rotors. At the rear, new
four-piston calipers are matched with
thicker, larger 11.4-inch rotors. Forged-
aluminum wheels with nine-inch rims
carry high-performance 255/35YR-19
front and 275/35YR-19 rear Michelin Pilot
Super Sport tires.
Of course, everyone really wants to
know what’s under the hood. You’ll find
the same cast-aluminum block that’s now
doing business in the IS-F, but everything
else about this DOHC 5.0-liter V-8 engine
Beneath the styling, the RC-F gets
tough. It’s built on a version of the Lexus IS
platform, and the wheelbase has been made
2.8 inches shorter to match the 107.5-inch
wheelbase of the outgoing IS-F sedan. The
RC structure mixes high-strength steel,
laser screw welding, and structural adhe-
sives for optimum rigidity, while the F gets
further structural braces for even more
strength. Overall weight distribution is bal-
anced toward the front, and it is not a bad
strategy because it gives the car a surer
sense of direction when the speedometer
numbers start to get scary. The weight tar-
get is a rather husky 3970 pounds.
As with the IS, the RC has a control-
arm suspension in front and a multilink
has been revised. Lightweight titanium
valves are again matched with strong,
forged connecting rods, but there are new
cylinder heads that still incorporate vari-
able valve timing on both the intake and
exhaust cams. The polished crankshaft is
smaller in diameter to reduce friction,
while the pistons reduce friction as well.
Naturally the intake manifold and exhaust
headers are new, and the exhaust barks
with a sharper, louder note. The dyna-
mometer numbers aren’t yet final, but
we’re told that this engine spins faster
than before to deliver at least 450 hp and
384 lb-ft of torque.
We shouldn’t be surprised that an
eight-speed automatic transmission is part
of the high-performance program, as it de-
livers the drivability Lexus wants as well as
the necessary durability. It’s calibrated to
lock up in second gear and above for
crisper response, it delivers gearchanges
from the shift paddles in less than 0.2 sec-
ond, and it blips the throttle automatically
for quicker downshifts. Just as important,
the electronic programming for the trans-
mission, chassis, and stability control in-
cludes no fewer than three modes suitable
for track driving, plus there’s an optional
torque-vectoring rear diferential. The
array of sensors that operates stability con-
trol even includes a rear-ride-height func-
tion for those times when, you know, the
seems as if it’s interacting with the flow of
air around it instead of simply pushing it
aside, and you can almost see the vortices
swirling of the sheetmetal.
While some dismiss this look as “ori-
gami styling,” we like its futuristic newness.
In comparison, cars from the European
nameplates often look as if they are simply
diferent lengths of each brand’s corporate
sausage. The upcoming Lexus RC350 has
much the same look as this, yet the RC-F is
notably unique for its carbon-fiber roof and
optional carbon-fiber rear wing. This is the
largest version yet of the spindle grille that
has become the signature of Lexus, and we
can now see it and no longer hear Darth
Vader saying, “Luke, I am your father.”
Within the RC-F’s cabin, you find the
same architecture as the RC350 in the
sweep of the dash and the swoop of the cen-
ter console. The F is set apart by the TFT
display for the instruments, which allows
you to change the array in a way that suits
the moment, whether it’s street or speed.
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 47
THIS IS THE LARGEST VERSION YET OF THE SPINDLE GRILLE,
AND WE CAN NOW SEE IT AND NO LONGER HEAR DARTH
VADER SAYING, “LUKE, I AM YOUR FATHER.”
Speed with
style—sleek
aero comes from
clever ducts in the
fascia, a smooth
underbody, and
a rear wing
that deploys
automatically
above 50 mph.
Elaborate
surfacing works
with the air yet also
speaks of distinctly
Japanese style. The
TFT instrument
display can be
customized.
EXCLUSIVE 2015 LEXUS RC-F
car is airborne after crossing a crest at the
Nordschleife.
The benchmark for the RC-F has been
the Lexus IS-F CCS-R, the winged spe-
cialty car that Lexus raced at the Pikes Peak
International Hill Climb in 2012. RC-F
chief engineer Yukiko Yaguchi smiles con-
spiratorially at us during our video confer-
ence call with Toyota’s engineering center
in Nagoya, Japan, as he notes that the RC-F
has been tested at Autopolis Circuit, Fuji
International Raceway (which is owned by
Toyota), the Nürburgring Nordschleife, and
Willow Springs International Raceway in
California. Even so, Yaguchi still says em-
phatically, “Our competitors tune their cars
for track driving, and only expert drivers
are comfortable. With RC-F, the car shows
outstanding performance on the circuit, but
it is drivable for anyone, and you don’t need
special skill to enjoy this car. It is about the
human experience of the driving, not just
the performance of the machine.”
The RC-F fits into the ongoing transi-
tion of Lexus into a brand with more aspi-
rational overtones. As Brian Smith, the
brand’s marketing VP, tells us, the RC-F
supports the new Lexus F Sport models
that have been rolling out, giving the brand
a pyramid of premium cars for customers
to climb. The RC-F sits near the top of the
pyramid, and we hear that a version of the
supersporty LF-CC concept car is also on
the way.
All this has much to do with Akio
Toyoda, the president of Toyota Motor
Corporation since 2009 and a member of
the board of directors since 2000. He em-
braced the LFA when it first appeared as a
concept car, and he has been around the
Nordschleife a few times himself. Toyoda
has driven in endurance races staged at the
Nürburgring several times since 2007, and
he has become friends with Ulrich Bez,
Aston Martin’s president, who also regu-
larly races the Nordschleife. In fact, they
swapped cars with one another in the last
driving stint of a 2011 event, so Bez crossed
the finish line in an LFA and Toyoda drove
across in a V12 Zagato.
You might say that the dream of driving
to the Nürburgring in a Lexus is Akio Toyo-
da’s own, and now, with the 2015 Lexus
RC-F, he wants to share it with us. AM
48 Automobile | March 2014
EVOLUTION OF THE SPECIES
2013
RC350
New coupe with
314-hp V-6
appears at
Tokyo show.
2012
LF-LC
LC concept
displayed at
Detroit and
Sydney shows.
2005
LFA
Sports car
concept
introduces
newlook.
2001
SC430
Hardtop
convertible is
great for golf,
not for driving.
1991
SC400
U.S.-designed
coupe reinforces
success of
LS400 sedan.
EXCLUSIVE
2015 LEXUS RC-F
The changing shape of the Lexus coupe reveals
a growing seriousness about performance.
2012
IS-F
CCS-R
Pikes Peak racer
is benchmark
for RC-F tuning.
50 Automobile | March 2014
icture this scenario: It’s early in the development of the 2015 Chev-
rolet Corvette Z06. The chassis hasn’t been fully calibrated, but en-
gineers decide to perform a test run. Just to stretch her legs. Nothing
formal. They slap on tires and wheel the car out for a dash around
the challenging road course at GM’s Milford Proving Ground. No
one is expecting anything remarkable. That’s usually when things
go wrong. Or really right. In this case, things went well, to put it mildly.
“Track record. We were really surprised,” Corvette chief engineer Tadge
Juechter says with a snap of his fingers.
It was hardly that simple. The latest generation of the Z06 is the culmi-
nation of years of development. It’s where the cutting-edge technologies
and refinement of the C7 Stingray blend with the competition-derived
breakthroughs of the vaunted Corvette Racing program.
THE CORVETTE Z06 IS READY
TO FLEX ITS MUSCLES.
THE HEART OF THE CAR
REMAINS A SMALL-BLOCK
V-8, BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME
EVER, THE Z06 WILL HAVE A
SUPERCHARGED ENGINE.
OUTPUT WILL EXCEED 625 HP
AND 635 LB-FT OF TORQUE.
BY GREG MI GLI ORE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY A. J. MUELLER
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 51
“What we’ve got is Stingray on steroids,” Juechter says.
The heart of the car remains a small-block V-8, but for the first time
ever, the Z06 will have a supercharged engine. With an output of 625 hp
and 635 lb-ft of torque “plus,” it enables the new Z06 to truly tread in su-
percar territory. Those ratings aren’t final, but you can put a “big emphasis
on the ‘plus,’ ” Juechter says. That should reduce the sting of losing the
intoxicating normally aspirated V-8 engine that has traditionally powered
the Z06. The supercharger yields more low-end torque, which will make
the car more responsive on the street and on the track. Expect a sprint to
60 mph in 3.4 seconds (the 2013 ZR1’s posted time) or less, easily quicker
than before. The blower also allows Corvette engineers to wring more
power out of a smaller engine. The 2015 Z06 uses a 6.2-liter LT4 V-8, com-
pared with the 505-hp, 7.0-liter LS7 in the last Z06.
Rear fenders are extended more than
three inches to house larger tires. The
taillights have been pushed apart, too.
P
H
O
T
O

C
R
E
D
I
T

P
H
O
T
O

C
R
E
D
I
T

P
H
O
T
O

C
R
E
D
I
T

P
H
O
T
O

C
R
E
D
I
T
52 Automobile | March 2014
sium, and Chevy claims that it can crack of shifts under wide-
open throttle quicker than the PDK dual-clutch automatic in the
Porsche 911.
While the automatic transmission is in keeping with contempo-
rary trends, Corvette engineers threw in another wrinkle. There
has never been a full Z06 convertible (although the 2013 Corvette
427 used the C6’s Z06 powerplant), but the new Z06 will come
standard with a removable roof panel. The C7’s aluminum frame—
designed and built in-house—was created with this use in mind.
Because the frame will be used throughout the C7 family, including
in the C7.R that will compete in the new Tudor United SportsCar
Championship, it ofers limitless possibilities for open-air variants.
Still, a fixed-roof body structure was a hallmark of the Z06, and
an open top in any form could be cringe-inducing for the faithful.
As with the Stingray, the Z06 gets modern technologies to aid
fuel economy, although engineers are quick to point out that per-
formance wasn’t compromised in pursuit of this goal. Continu-
ously variable valve timing, direct injection, and cylinder deacti-
vation migrate from the base C7, allowing for “surprising” fuel
efciency, Chevy says.
For the first time, Z06 buyers can choose to pair their V-8 with
an automatic transmission or opt for the rev-matching seven-
speed manual gearbox. Purists might blanch, but the eight-speed
automatic with paddle shifters is clearly a nod to the times. Nearly
every supercar maker—from Porsche to BMW to Ferrari—has mi-
grated to high-tech, high-performance automatic gearboxes. The
Z06’s eight-speed is nine pounds lighter than the six-speed auto-
matic in the Stingray thanks to the use of aluminum and magne-
THE ULTIMATE TRACK
CORVETTE
Chevy co-developed the Z06 with the C7.R race car.
Corvette Racing’s newest toy shares its aluminum
frame, as well as similar splitters and cooling ducts,
with the roadgoing Z06. Corvette Racing will
campaign two C7.Rs this year in the unfortunately
named Tudor United SportsCar Championship,
newly formed after the American
Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports
Car Series merged last year. The C7.Rs will compete
in the GT Le Mans class in eleven races around
North America. — Christopher Nelson
Every piece styled
for the Z06 had to
“earn its way onto
the car,” says
exterior design
chief Kirk Bennion.
That means a
carbon-fiber hood,
wider wheel arches
to fit the larger
tires, and
aluminum wheels
that measure
nineteen inches in
front and twenty
inches at the rear.
The Z06’s performance-oriented
interior features a flat-bottom steering
wheel, leather-wrapped surfaces, and
a steel-reinforced grab bar.
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 53
Chevy argues that the new Z06 has 20 percent more structural
rigidity than its predecessor—without the carbon-fiber roof panel
in place. With the top installed, it’s 60 percent stifer than the old
Z06. That could mollify the traditionalists, and Z06 enthusiasts
will find familiarity in the styling, which was crafted with perfor-
mance as the top priority. Even though there are plenty of design
cues that look cool, or flat-out fantastic, they all have a purpose.
“It’s got to earn its way onto the car,” Corvette exterior design
manager Kirk Bennion says. “Every part that we do has to have a
viable purpose.”
For example: The fenders are flared in a sinister manner, but
that’s to accommodate the wider, stickier Michelin tires. The con-
spicuously large vents on the car are functional, helping to cool
the engine, the Brembo brakes, the transmission, and the elec-
tronic limited-slip diferential. In fact, the grille is designed to
funnel more air into the engine compartment than if there were
no grille at all.
There are three aerodynamic options. The “standard” Z06
uses a plastic front splitter, a carbon-fiber hood, and a rear spoiler
that is borrowed from the Stingray’s Z51 performance package.
The carbon-fiber aero package (available in black or with an ex-
posed carbon-fiber finish) swaps in carbon fiber for the front
splitter and rocker panels, and it adds a larger rear spoiler. Hard-
core track rats will want the Z07 package, which adds large front
splitter winglets, carbon-ceramic brakes, Michelin Pilot Super
Sport Cup tires, and an adjustable spoiler for maximum perfor-
mance on the track. The Z07 package creates the most downforce
of any General Motors production car in history.
The Z06’s racy design, including the
vents on the rear fenders and the rear
difuser, was conceived to improve
aerodynamics and aid cooling.
HARD-CORE TRACK
RATS WILL WANT THE
Z07 PACKAGE, WHICH ADDS
LARGE FRONT SPLITTER WINGLETS,
CARBON-CERAMIC BRAKES, MICHELIN
PILOT SUPER SPORT CUP TIRES,
AND AN ADJUSTABLE SPOILER.
54 Automobile | March 2014
Although the interior is the most refined element of the Z06—ofering napa leather, suede,
and aluminum trim—it still communicates the athleticism of the car thanks to a flat-bottom
steering wheel, carbon-fiber finishings, and a steel-reinforced grab bar. “Competition Sport”
seats with added bolstering are available, or buyers can select the more comfortable GT seats.
Both setups are mounted in magnesium frames to reduce weight.
All of this should sound familiar. The Z06 has always been a track car. The very first one in
1963 was developed by Corvette godfather Zora Arkus-Duntov, who created the Z06 as a brak-
ing and handling package for track-happy customers. Fast-forward fifty-one years, and the C7
has become a vastly evolved, sophisticated creature. But make no mistake, when enthusiasts
seek out the track-focused Corvette, it’s still the Z06. This is the Stingray with bite. AM
performance numbers. The last
piece is an SD-card slot in the
glove box that can record video
and performance data.
The purpose of the PDR is to
give drivers a better
understanding of their driving. Take your
Vette to the racetrack, run the PDR system
as you turn a few laps, then review the
footage on the car’s eight-inch touchscreen
as the Chevy cools down in the paddock. You
can configure the display to show graphic
overlays of speed, lateral grip, lap times,
steering angle, and the like. For more
detailed information, you can take the SD
card out of the car, plug it into any Windows-
The Performance Data Recorder (PDR),
available on the Z06 as well as the 2015
Corvette Stingray, was designed in
conjunction with Cosworth, the
engineering company that provides the
Corvette Racing team with its data-
acquisition systems. The first piece of the
PDR package is video. A 720-pixel,
high-definition camera is mounted
behind the rearview mirror and records
through the windshield; a dedicated
microphone picks up cabin sounds. The
second piece is a telemetry recorder. Its
5-Hz GPS receiver is five times faster
than the car’s navigation system, so it
provides more precise positioning and
based computer, and upload the data in a
simplified version of Cosworth Toolbox,
a software application included with the
package that provides more in-depth
data analysis of your driving so you can
bore your friends at the bar. Pricing for
the system is not yet available, but
Stingray and Z06 buyers who frequently
hit the racetrack will want to pony up.
— CN
The Specs
2015 Chevrolet
Corvette Z06
ON SALE: Early 2015
BASE PRICE: $79,000 (est.)
POWERTRAIN
ENGINE: 16-valve OHV supercharged V-8
DISPLACEMENT: 6.2 liters (376 cu in)
POWER: 625+ hp (est.)
TORQUE: 635+ lb-ft (est.)
TRANSMISSIONS: 7-speed manual,
8-speed automatic
DRIVE: Rear-wheel
CHASSIS
STEERING: Electrically assisted
FRONT SUSPENSION:
Control arms, transverse leaf spring
REAR SUSPENSION:
Control arms, transverse leaf spring
BRAKES: Vented discs or carbon-ceramic
vented discs
TIRES: Michelin Pilot Super Sport, Michelin
Pilot Super Sport Cup (standard, Z07)
TIRE SIZES F, R: 285/30R-19 (87Y),
335/25YR-20 (94Y)
MEASUREMENTS
L x W x H: 176.9 x 75.9 x 48.6 in
WHEELBASE: 106.7 in
TRACK F/R: 63.5/62.5 in
WEIGHT: 3400 lb (est.)
PERFORMANCE
0–60 MPH: 3.4 sec (est.)
TRACK-TIME SELFIE
The Z06 uses a grille
that aggressively
funnels air toward
the engine. The roof
panel is removable,
a first for the Z06.
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Actual size
is 40.6 mm
F
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F
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2
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1
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56 Automobile | March 2014
PEELING BACK THE TOP ON THE
CORVETTE STINGRAY CONVERTIBLE
MAKES THE NEW C7 THAT MUCH MORE ENTICING.
invitation
open
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 57
BY RONALD AHRENS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY A. J. MUELLER / CHEVROLET
s surely as darkness falls, as
mountains have avalanches, as
the North Star is fixed in the em-
pyrean, the Chevrolet Corvette
Stingray will be made into a con-
vertible. Long before the coupe
was ever revealed, the 2014 Stingray’s con-
vertible top was fixed in the minds of Chevy
engineers. Now that we have lowered it and
driven the Stingray convertible through the
fresh air of mountainous places in Califor-
nia’s Riverside and San Diego counties, we
can say that they got it right.
We used the key fob to remotely lower a
white convertible’s fabric top, which at
48.6 inches reaches the exact same height
as the Stingray coupe. The first benefit was
beholding the beautiful interior. We had
been so accustomed to the flea-market aura
of past Corvettes that our initial sight of all
the brown leather and suede trim inside
the car nearly resulted in a head-first tum-
ble. Rawlings, MacGregor, Wilson, and all
the other old-time makers of baseball
gloves would dof their hats in salute. Own-
ers of older Vettes, particularly the previ-
ous two generations, will gnash their teeth.
Our choice for a test drive came from
the lineup of red, white, and blue cars in
front of the Parker Palm Springs hotel,
which opened in 1959 as California’s first
Holiday Inn and has been owned by Gene
Autry and Merv Grifn. More recently, de-
signer Jonathan Adler bestowed it with an
interior worthy of 1963, when Autry’s Los
Angeles Angels baseball team lodged here
for spring training. Every one of them
probably wanted to buy the first Sting Ray.
Back then, Angels pitcher Dean Chance
made $18,000 and the four-on-the-floor
was a pricey $188 option. Today’s 2014
Stingray convertible is equipped with a six-
speed automatic with paddle shifters.
Inserting two fingers through the gap
under the door seam, we squeezed the
soft-touch door opener and took our places
in the bucket seats, reaching way back over
the shoulder for the harness. At a touch of
the dashboard’s starter button, the 460-hp
V-8 eagerly barked; then it began to prattle
dismissively about the new Ford Mustang.
Lower the top with
the key fob, and the
inclination is to dive
face-first into the
beautifully crafted
interior. Wheels of
eighteen inches
(front) and nineteen
inches (rear) are
standard.
58 Automobile | March 2014
And so we set of, staying in the Tour
driving mode (over Weather, Eco, Sport,
and Track), which paid of as soon as we
traversed patchy, fractured asphalt on
Route 111 in Cathedral City. Yes, magnetic
ride control makes a positive diference.
“Hey, trade you!” the driver of a yellow
C6 coupe with British Columbia plates said
at an intersection. If he only knew the level
of content, he would have started adding
loonies and toonies into the bargain. The
$4210 2LT options package includes heated
and ventilated seats and the supercool
color head-up display.
Climbing up the mountainside, we
switched to Sport mode, which adds a rev
counter and gear indicator to the projected
speed display. What’s more, Sport activates
the electronically controlled valves of the
optional $1195 sport exhaust. Our entrance-
ment grew.
Nevertheless, despite the rising and fall-
ing soundtrack that would put any ballpark
organist to shame, we could always con-
verse, and no hat ever blew of a head. As
rock walls scrolled past, we remarked on
the well-weighted steering and the perfect
line the 73.9-inch-wide (but only 176.9-inch-
long) Stingray would hold through bends
that ofered no margin for error.
After this ascent and some frolicking in
the highlands, we were wondering why
anyone would bother with the seven-speed
manual. Returning to Palm Springs, we de-
cided to sample the manual gearbox in a
red-on-red Stingray convertible. The clutch
pedal, we found, has just the right tafy con-
sistency, and shoving the gear lever around
proves to be as much of a sure thing as as-
sembling an Ikea kit.
We stayed in third and fourth while as-
cending the mountains, and when the road
leveled out and crossed an interior valley,
we could redline the engine at 6500 rpm
in third and upshift at 105 mph, which made
some cows wonder what was going on while
also making our driving partner, a neophyte
from a gear website, squeal with glee and
The Specs
2014 Chevrolet
Corvette Stingray
convertible
ON SALE: Now
PRICE: $56,995–$67,800
POWERTRAIN
ENGINE: 16-valve OHV V-8
DISPLACEMENT: 6.2 liters (376 cu in)
POWER: 455–460 hp @ 6000 rpm
TORQUE: 460–465 lb-ft @ 4600 rpm
TRANSMISSIONS: 7-speed manual,
6-speed automatic
DRIVE: Rear-wheel
CHASSIS
STEERING: Electrically assisted
FRONT SUSPENSION: Control arms,
transverse leaf spring
REAR SUSPENSION: Control arms,
transverse leaf spring
BRAKES: Vented discs
TIRES: Michelin Pilot Super Sport ZP
TIRE SIZES F, R: 245/40R-18 (93Y),
285/35R-19 (99Y); 245/35R-19 (89Y),
285/30R-20 (95Y) [standard; optional]
MEASUREMENTS
L x W x H: 176.9 x 73.9 x 48.6 in
WHEELBASE: 106.7 in
TRACK F/R: 63.0/61.7 in
WEIGHT: 3362 lb
PERFORMANCE
0–60 MPH: 3.8 sec
EPA MILEAGE: 17/29 mpg, 16/28 mpg
(manual, automatic)
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 59
demand a repeat for the sake of video.
Whereas he had depended on the auto-
matic rev-matching for his downshifts—an
excellent feature for the young buyers
Chevy expects to attract—we did it the old-
fashioned way, with our feet, ultimately de-
ciding the seven-speed manual gearbox is
in fact our preference.
The convertible will be preferred by
many to the coupe—which, by the way, gets
a standard removable targa-style top. In
performance, the droptop gives up nothing
you would ever miss. (The coupe weighs
64 pounds less.) Chevy says the new alumi-
num spaceframe is 99 pounds lighter and
57 percent stifer than the previous drop-
top’s, and no additional reinforcement is
required for toplessness. The chassis never
once became discomposed, the windshield
never rattled, and the cowl was Gibraltar.
With the fully automatic and well-lined
top in place, the cockpit is serene and you can
actually make use of the ten-speaker Bose
audio system. Even with 33 percent less
cargo room than the coupe, there remains
enough trunk space for two carry-on roller
bags and a couple of satchels. The Stingray
convertible is a practical, usable car. The only
other sacrifice is limited vision through the
small, heated-glass rear window.
Casting eyes ahead, we noticed a few
things on our driving route that had noth-
ing to do with the car. There were the fast-
fanning wings of the Costa’s hummingbird;
the self-assertion of a crested vermilion fly-
catcher perched on a stop sign; and, im-
plausibly for early December, the orange-
blossoming plant where the Pacific Crest
Trail crosses Route 74, some 4900 feet
above sea level.
Along with the deep blue sky, every-
thing was perfect—matching the impres-
sive sports car that Chevy has created, an
astonishing value at a base price of $56,995.
It seemed logical to assume that the cas-
cade of natural wonders we observed be-
fore twilight’s rapid descent must some-
how have been Chevy’s doing as well. AM
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P ORSCHE
918 SPYDER
1082 MILES—THE FIRST-EVER ROAD TRIP IN
THE 887-HP PORSCHE 918 SPYDER.
by Georg Kacher / photography by Jürgen Skarwan
Shakedown Cruise
66 Automobile | March 2014
hybrids and almost everything about the
918. The low, wide, and outlandish two-
seater commenced the first leg of the jour-
ney in E-Power. In this mode, the two elec-
tric motors (one for each axle) whir and hiss
a happy duet, which sounds unexpectedly
subdued from inside the car and catches
pedestrians by surprise. In tandem, the
compact power packs muster 286 hp and an
impressive aggregate torque of 398 lb-ft.
Depending on one’s driving style, E-Power
ofers a maximum zero-emissions range of
eighteen miles or a top speed of 93 mph.
On the entrance ramp to the A81 auto-
bahn, a bomb suddenly dropped on our
tozero winter tires. That promptly led to an-
other minor complication, namely the need
to find space for four wheels with summer
tires, not to mention the noncollapsible,
four-foot-long torque wrench required to
mount them.
Despite these snarls, the factory gates
opened promptly at 10:30 a.m. and released
a highly exclusive three-car convoy: first out
was the Cayenne chase car with driver, pho-
tographer, and luggage; second in line was
the chrome blue (a $63,000 option) 918; and
third was a Volkswagen Touran minivan
driven by a chipper mechanic who would
swap the Pirellis for ultra-high-performance
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires at the end
of day one.
It takes about fourteen hours to drive
nonstop from Stuttgart to Valencia, but we
chose the scenic route, which was 1082
miles long and called for 22 hours and 48
minutes of wheel time. My passenger was
Sebastian Rüger, a thirty-one-year-old
whiz-kid engineer who knows a lot about
t was doomsday weather in
Stuttgart. The temperature
gauge read minus two de-
grees Celsius (28 degrees
Fahrenheit) as the swollen
skies emitted a mix of rain,
sleet, and snow. Could it be
that the whole adventure
was in jeopardy? The day
before, Frank Walliser, the
Porsche 918 Spyder’s high-
strung project leader, had
called an emergency meet-
ing. There was no way that
this triple-hearted roadster
could be unleashed in such
adverse conditions on un-
compromising, low-profile
summer tires. Officially,
Porsche does not yet ofer winter rubber
for the 918. Unofcially, however, a friend
of a friend of Walliser’s who works in the
prototype shop produced a set of black
wheels shod with brand-new Pirelli Sot-
Wintry weather in
Germany necessitated
winter tires and diferent
wheels for the first leg of
our journey. A very long
torque wrench secured
the center-lock wheels.
P ORSCHE
918 SPYDER
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 67
SWITZERLAND
ITALY
GERMANY
FRANCE
Barcelona
Lyon
Stuttgart
Valencia
SPAIN
A BOMB SUDDENLY DROPPED ON OUR
ACOUSTIC IDYLL AS THE V-8 ENGINE ENTERED
THE SCENE LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL,
LOUD AND HARSH AND FURIOUS.
Nearly 1100 miles
over three days of
trekking across
Europe proved that
Porsche’s new
technological marvel
works very well as a
real car and not just
a racing car.
68 Automobile | March 2014
was tapped whenever it made sense, we
nonetheless had to make four stops to fill
the 18.5-gallon fuel tank with a total of
56 gallons of premium unleaded.
The next morning, S GO 9182 followed
the river Rhone south in whisper-quiet
fashion, elegantly swooshing past slower
trafc, repeatedly soaking in applause and
thumbs up. When fully charged, battery
power alone can whisk the 918 from 0 to
62 mph in a brisk 6.2 seconds. Twelve
miles down the road, the black box sum-
moned Hybrid mode, signaling that the
V-8 will now cut in and be phased out ac-
cording to throttle orders. Not sufciently
inspiring? Then twist the thumbwheel one
notch clockwise into Sport, and try to sup-
press a big smile when the powerplant
grabs you by the neck and tacks your torso
to the seat. In Race, the Porsche morphs
acoustic idyll as the V-8 engine entered the
scene like a bat out of hell, loud and harsh
and furious. Up to 3000 rpm, the angry, flat-
crank, direct-injected 4.6-liter V-8, which is
a direct descendant of the RS Spyder racing
car’s powerplant, sounds rough and rau-
cous. Between 3500 and 6500 rpm, the
gasoline feed, firing order, and valve timing
finally agree on a slightly smoother rhythm
and pace. But it’s only from 7000 rpm to the
cutout at 9150 rpm that one gets the full
hammer efect that also harks back to its
race car roots. “In essence, the 918 is a
street-legal track tool,” says vehicle devel-
opment leader Eugen Oberkamm. “This ap-
plies not only to the drivetrain, but also to
the chassis, the steering, and the brakes.”
Too true. The racing seat makes you
painfully aware of your love handles, the
racing suspension vigorously kickboxes the
occupants of the cabin, and the racing
brakes decelerate with unabashed grinding
noises. The visibility to the rear is also
race-car-like, compromised by all those
gills and louvers and the XXL wing. The
noise level at highway speeds matches a
race car for pungency and persistence. Fuel
consumption, on the other hand, is more
akin to the modesty of a family sedan. Our
observed average of 22 mpg was not bad at
all for a 214-mph supercar. Depleting a full
load of electric juice is dead easy: just ig-
nore the detent in the throttle pedal or
push the red “hot-lap” button—and don’t
forget to brace yourself. Restoring the en-
ergy to its 6.8-kWh peak is equally simple:
keep the engine spinning at medium revs
for about fifteen minutes in Sport mode—
or better still in Race—and the green dots
will duly light up again.
Lyon, France, welcomed us with ankle-
high speed bumps, narrow lanes, and the
tallest curbs this side of the Eiger’s north
face. Although tackling the down ramp to
the hotel parking garage was a thirteen-
minute nerve-wrecker (even while employ-
ing the front-axle-lift system), we success-
fully completed the slalom course and
found the solitary charging point thankfully
unoccupied. Whereas a high-speed wall
charger would have performed the act in
twenty-five minutes, hooking up the car to
a (s)low-voltage charger extended the pro-
cess to about four hours. The batteries al-
ways keep a 25 percent emergency charge—
unless you make an impromptu detour to
the racetrack, where the entire energy res-
ervoir can be depleted at a push of the hot-
lap button. Although the E-Power reservoir
DEPLETING A
FULL LOAD OF
ELECTRIC JUICE
IS DEAD EASY:
JUST IGNORE THE
DETENT IN THE
THROTTLE PEDAL
OR PUSH THE
“HOT-LAP”
BUTTON—AND
DON’T FORGET TO
BRACE YOURSELF.
P ORSCHE
918 SPYDER
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 69
into a real road rocket, and the ultrafast
urge is matched by an even more aggres-
sive shift strategy. The seven-speed PDK
dual-clutch automatic hammers the gears
through the gate like a firing pin on ste-
roids, the electric motors howl breath-
lessly at their ambitious redline, the V-8
keeps bursting noisily into brief charging
spells. This car runs concerted attacks on
your senses. It dries your throat, moistens
your palms, and fills your nose with the
sweet smell of fast-flowing electrical cur-
rent. In a way, it even reduces carbon-diox-
ide emissions by making you hold your
breath in a mix of astonishment and awe.
The arrow-straight and suspiciously
empty Autoroute du Sud is the perfect
place to check out the infotainment sys-
tem. We like the comprehensive content,
the quick response time, and the clever er-
gonomics. We don’t like the reflections on
the shiny screen, the marginally intuitive
coordination of the two monitors, and the
lack of any haptic feedback. Rolling at a
steady 80 mph through radar-infested ter-
Warmer conditions
in France and Spain
meant that the 918’s
targa top could
finally be removed—
and Kacher could
attain his preferred
wind-blown look.
The red hot-lap
button on the
steering wheel works
only if the dial
surrounding it is set
to Race mode.
70 Automobile | March 2014
ritory, we killed time rating the Burmester
sound system (sensational, and it doesn’t
even cost extra), the “authentic” leather
seats (but are they really $26,000 nicer
than the smoother standard leather?), the
body-color ignition key to the left of the
steering column (why does the wheel tele-
scope but not tilt?), and the auxiliary elec-
tric heating (a whopping $6000). Despite
the numerous extras, our 918 still lacked
the heavily promoted Weissach package,
which adds an astonishing $84,000 to the
grand total while taking out about ninety
pounds of weight. We applaud the achieve-
ment, but a similar efect could be reached
formance of the hybrid braking system,
which can pull up to 0.5 g.
We approached Barcelona in balmy
weather that felt more like early June than
late November—high time to convert the
coupe into a spyder. Even with the roof
stowed in the tiny (3.9-cubic-foot) cargo
bay, the carbon-fiber body feels as if it has
been hewn from solid. The downside to
this granite-like rigidity is a rock-hard sus-
pension that feels like it could loosen fill-
ings. Only professional masochists would
dare to switch the damper calibration from
Have Mercy (standard) to Last Rites
(sport). The push of a button will also
freeze the large tail rudder for either maxi-
mum downforce or maximum speed. Even
with the energy packs depleted, the plug-in
supercar can top 200 mph, but Spanish
jails are damp and cold, so we didn’t even
try. Through tunnels, 90 mph in third gear
was enough to crack the plaster and cause
paint chips to drop from the ceiling long
after the villain had vanished.
We arrived at el circuito Ricardo Tormo
on the western outskirts of Valencia in time
for a quick trackside lunch. Were we ready
to put this Porsche to the real test? Sort of,
except that the guy in the leading 918 kept
pulling away while messieurs Kacher and
Rüger were still debating brake points,
turn-in points, and gearchange points.
Sadly, all it takes to put your driving skills
into perspective is one fast lap with Walter
Röhrl, who ran the entire track in D and still
got to the finish line light years before the
distant number two. Lesser mortals clearly
need more time to practice, and eventually
we did learn to late-apex most corners, to
The 918’s chrome blue
paint, a $63,000 option,
looks almost as good as
the Mediterranean’s blue.
by buying this driver $1000 worth of
Weight Watchers vouchers.
The most demanding section of the en-
tire voyage was the winding coast road be-
tween Perpignan, France, and the Spanish
border. Although the pavement is narrow,
bumpy, and dotted with blind crests, the 918
tracked with the precision of a fighter jet,
clung like a magnet to the tarmac sprayed
dark gray with mist from the Mediterranean
Sea, and decelerated like an accordion, only
to reach out for the next straight with ex-
pandable elasticity. As soon as the hinter-
land opened up and the menacing rock
faces gave way to rolling hills, the Porsche
readily beamed us into a parallel universe
with relentless forward thrust. The 2.6-sec-
ond acceleration from 0 to 62 mph very
nearly ended in cardiac arrest, and the
speedometer showed 124 mph a mere 4.7
seconds later. Scared by my own courage, I
hit the brakes and immediately wished for
a four-point belt, stronger forearms, and
eyeballs capable of staying inside their sock-
ets. This mind-boggling, energy-squashing
performance comes via carbon-ceramic
discs the size of manhole covers, custom
Michelin tires boasting a top-secret com-
pound, and the riveting regeneration per-
P ORSCHE
918 SPYDER
918 SPYDER
P ORSCHE
ONLY PROFESSIONAL MASOCHISTS WOULD DARE TO
SWITCH THE DAMPER CALIBRATION FROM
HAVE MERCY (STANDARD) TO LAST RITES (SPORT).
a déjà vu of the Carrera GT, which found a
mere 1270 takers despite a production tar-
get of 1500 units? “No, I don’t think so,”
says R&D chief Wolfgang Hatz. “First test
drives have only just begun, and as soon as
word gets out about the breakthrough dy-
namics and the unique engineering con-
cept, the 918 will sell out quickly.”
Just in case you are in the market for
one of these rare automotive dream tickets,
bear in mind that there are two diferent
seat choices (standard or racing buckets),
that plug-in charging really is only icing on
the cake, and that in real life, this car is so
much more than the sum of its parts. Al-
though it’s packed to the detachable roof
with extraordinary technology, the Porsche
we lived with for three days was not an un-
approachable monster machine. Quite the
contrary: this is a thrilling and surprisingly
unpretentious blend of supercar and race
car. It’s also a vision of the future. AM
step on the gas early, to anticipate the dia-
logue between rear-wheel-drive dominance
and front-wheel-drive support, to brake
eerily deep into certain bends, to open up
the steering much sooner, and to pay atten-
tion to the tires rather than understeer into
oblivion and thereby convert the stern-
faced minders in their brand-new black
outfits into lifetime enemies.
Although the track closes at 5 p.m.
sharp, we refused to say good-bye to our
travel companion just yet. Instead, we
pointed the Porsche’s low-slung nose to-
ward the open road one last time, through
local villages and onto the wide-open bar-
ren plains, which glow in diferent shades
of brown, amber, and gray. Although I am
strapped to more than $900,000 worth of
supercar, the fear factor has shrunk to 911
GT3 levels since we left Zufenhausen less
than three days ago. The 918 Spyder may
not be as easy to drive as a 911 Turbo, but it
certainly is not a naked razor blade on
wheels, either. The diference between the
standard model and the Weissach edition
we briefly drove on the track is marginal
unless you’re a pro. Porsche will, however,
wrap the Weissach edition in matte black,
Martini Racing livery, or the striking Salz-
burg Racing design, at no extra cost.
Ferrari sold all 499 LaFerraris even be-
fore the first car was completed, and all 375
McLaren P1 coupes are also spoken for.
Porsche intends to manufacture 918 units
of the 918, but so far only two-thirds of the
cars have customer names attached. Is this
Excellent on the
road, the 918 Spyder
really shines on the
racetrack. We tried it
on Spain’s Ricardo
Tormo circuit. The
918 Spyder currently
holds the record for
street-legal cars at
the Nürburgring with
a sub-seven-minute
time (6:57).
P ORSCHE
918 SPYDER
2014
BASE PRICE: $847,975
POWERTRAIN
ENGINE: 32-valve DOHC V-8/plug-in electric hybrid
DISPLACEMENT: 4.6 liters (280 cu in)
POWER: 608 hp @ 8700 rpm
TORQUE: 390 lb-ft @ 6600 rpm
MOTORS: Two permanent-magnet AC synchronous
ELECTRIC OUTPUT: 129/156 hp (front/rear axle)
BATTERIES: 6.8-kWh lithium-ion
TOTAL OUTPUT: 887 hp
TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic
DRIVE: 4-wheel
CHASSIS
STEERING: Electrically assisted
FRONT SUSPENSION: Control arms, coil springs
REAR SUSPENSION: Multilink, coil springs
BRAKES: Vented carbon-ceramic discs
TIRES: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2
TIRE SIZES F, R: 265/35R-20 (95Y),
325/30R-21 (104Y)
MEASUREMENTS
L x W x H: 182.8 x 76.4 x 45.9 in
WHEELBASE: 107.5 in
TRACK F/R: 65.5/63.5 in
WEIGHT: 3715 lb
WEIGHT DIST. F/R: 43/57%
0–60 MPH: 2.5 sec
TOP SPEED: 214 mph
ELECTRIC-ONLY 0–62 MPH: 6.2 sec
ELECTRIC-ONLY TOP SPEED: 93 mph
ELECTRIC RANGE: 18 miles
CHARGE TIMES: 7 hours at 120V,
2 hours at 240V, 0.4 hour at 400V
PORSCHE
918 SPYDER
PORSCHE AND WEBBER RETURN TO LE MANS
Will the 918’s hybrid powertrain go, too?
B
ETWEEN 1970 AND 1998, Porsche
scored a record sixteen overall wins at
the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Thanks in
part to the superfast 917 of the early
’70s, Porsche became synonymous with
France’s storied endurance race.
Porsche ended its prototype sports car
efort after its dramatic win over Toyota in
the ’98 24 Hours, and in the years since, Audi
has dominated the LMP1 class. Shortly after
it unveiled the 918 RSR concept at the 2011
Detroit auto show, Porsche announced that
it would return to Le Mans with an LMP1
prototype sports car (and join the nascent
World Endurance Championship).
Speculation is that the LMP1 car will be
heavily based on the roadgoing, hybrid-
powered 918 Spyder.
The team will run two WEC LMP1 cars,
with Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, and
Neel Jani as works drivers and testers Marc
Lieb and Brendon Hartley trying out for two
more spots. And then there’s Australian
Formula 1 veteran Mark Webber.
He isn’t the first retired F1 driver to go to
Le Mans, but he may be the most
enthusiastic. Webber jumped into a Porsche
LMP1 test car at Portugal’s Algarve circuit a
few weeks before his F1 contract with
Infiniti Red Bull had ofcially expired.
Webber first raced Le Mans in a GT1
Mercedes-Benz in 1998 and ’99; in ’99 his car
took air and crashed, both in qualifying and
on the warm-up lap. He began his F1 career
in 2002, racing for Minardi, Jaguar, and
Williams before joining Red Bull Racing in
2007. From his first victory at the 2009
German Grand Prix, the year Sebastian
Vettel became his teammate, through last
year, Webber scored nine F1 victories,
including two at Monaco. Although Vettel
won four championships in the same period,
there’s little doubt that Webber was more
popular with fans. His 2013 season was his
toughest, with two poles and eight podiums
but no wins. Now, joining Porsche at age
thirty-seven, Webber’s racing career may
just be getting started. — Todd Lassa
©2013
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76 Automobile | March 2014
Early morning
brought the smell of
the sea and Pike Place
Market’s famous
neon signs blurring
in the thick, wet air.
Still, the rain held of
as we got crumpets
and a cofee at the
original Starbucks.
Seattle
Pike Place Market
Mountains
Bavarian Town
Starbucks
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 77
155 MILES IN
Washington
Seattle
Clockwise from far left: The Lexus
shines in Pike Place Market’s bright
lights. Leavenworth’s Bavarian delights.
An enchanted forest. Snowy Cascade
mountains. A too-early morning at the
original Starbucks in Seattle.
he naked woman was a surprise. A cold blustery day, some twenty-five miles
out of Seattle, and we wanted to warm up with a hit of hot cofee. We tooled
our red Lexus IS sedan up to a roadside espresso shack; the window slid
back and, voilà! Naked woman.
Nearly, anyway. She was wearing a Seattle Seahawks jersey tied above
her navel and barely-there underwear. It turns out that bikini baristas are a
thing in the Pacific Northwest. Just one of many surprises that Washington
State would dole out over a three-day road trip. (Did you know that the
capital is Olympia? Nope, I didn’t know that, either.)
It was Washington’s weather that brought us. We were looking for snow and rain
and a wintry mix. Our $49,600 IS350 had all-wheel drive, and early winter promised
worthy conditions to try it out. A rather sober plan, but we didn’t account for the popu-
lace’s prodigious intake of cafeine and beer. The state may present fifty shades of gray,
but the locals are colorful. Washington, as it turns out, is a wacky place.
T R A V E L : Washington
From Seattle to the Cascades in a Lexus IS350.
BY JASON H. HARPER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW YEADON
78 Automobile | March 2014
Meanwhile, Lexus’s latest gambit is
similarly surprising: the company wants to
make interesting cars. Crazy, huh? The IS
is a prime example, an entry-luxury sport
sedan with the LFA’s attitude-meets-archi-
tecture grille. It’s aimed at the younger set,
which in Lexus’s case means under retire-
ment age. The 350 has a 3.5-liter V-6 with
306 hp. Ours had the F Sport package,
which gives it an adaptive suspension and
better bolstered seats. The funky grille
works nicely with the IS’s modest size.
Our car cruise began in Seattle, where
we took in downtown’s sites through a
rain-speckled windshield and eventually
parked for the evening. I’d never given
thought to Seattle’s timber-logging begin-
nings until accosted by a local with a flow-
ing white beard inside a rather beat-up bar
on Pioneer Square. “They used to roll the
trees down this very street and into the
river,” he told us. We followed this history
lesson with oysters, local brews, and cock-
tail toasts with a bachelorette party.
Early morning brought the smell of the
sea and the Pike Place Market’s famous
neon signs blurring in the thick, wet air.
Still, the rain held of as we got crumpets, a
cofee at the original Starbucks, and then a
better cofee elsewhere. We then headed
northeast toward the Cascades. Worse
weather beckoned, after all. We skated up
US 9, encountered our naked latte, er, lady,
in Snohomish, and then turned onto squig-
gly US 2, passing through villages called
Sultan, Startup, and Index. There we
veered of onto a random road into the for-
ested hinterlands, just for a go-see. A sign
promised a dead end in fifty-four miles.
Wet, wet, wet. The narrow road glis-
tened as if it never dried of, ever, with a
riot of flora closing in on either side. The
trees were furred over in moss so green as
to seem phosphorescent. A mineral-white
river rushed past powerfully, and we never
saw another car. A few houses, guarded by
“No Trespassing” signs, were tucked far of
the road, barely visible. The people who
live out here seem unlikely to relish drop-in
visitors, so we were careful to avoid going
of-road and getting stuck in the tacky mud.
The Lexus moved surely in the wet, sur-
prisingly confident, but I was concerned
about the tires. They were all-seasons, thank-
fully, but we were headed up 4000-foot-high
Stevens Pass, and word was that it was snow-
ing up there. We’d see just how the all-wheel
drive fared. Meanwhile, I had a few quibbles:
the trunk was small, the shifter caught in neu-
tral every time shifting out of park, and the
direct-injected engine made little real noise,
even under hard throttle.
We had a second breakfast of biscuits and
gravy and berry pie in the town of Skykomish
before we tackled the pass. The rain was se-
rious now, and as we climbed higher, it
turned to snow. Winter tires or chains were
recommended. Yet the Lexus pulled gamely
up the mountain, channeling through fresh
snowfall with no undue slipping or drama. I
relaxed. We crested and then wended down.
I tried to pull a few donuts in a parking lot,
Winter tires or chains were recommended. Yet the Lexus
pulled gamely up the mountain, channeling through fresh
snowfall with no undue slipping or drama.
Seattle Leavenworth
9
2
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 79
but the IS was less game for getting side-
ways. Call it a sport-lite sedan, tuned for
weather over wildness, but that will be just
fine for many buyers.
We stopped at the side of the Wenatchee
River for a break, only to find four men
dressed in hot-pink suits and cowboy hats
taking photos on the bank. Er, hi guys. A
Latino-music band, it turned out, named
Komando M-1. They were friendly fellows,
despite the paramilitary name and Palm
Beach–via-Texas outfits.
And then, our destination, Leaven-
Hotel Max
620 Stewart Street,
Seattle,
866–986–8087,
hotelmaxseattle.com.
This modest hotel in a
1920s building makes
easy walking to bars
and restaurants. Free
draft beer for guests.
Rodeo Espresso
17820 Route 9 SE,
Snohomish,
rodeoespresso.com.
These drive-in cofee
stands are ubiquitous,
often serving up quite
good espressos.
Rodeo’s staf lends
extra entertainment.
Enzian Inn
590 US 2,
Leavenworth,
800–223–8511,
enzianinn.com.
You’ll need a place to
lay your head after all
those sausages and
beer, and the Enzian is
well situated and
comfortable.
worth, the final oddity. It is as if a Bavarian
village had been picked up wholesale and
dropped into Washington. Every business,
from Starbucks to the bank, is done up in
the German style, many with peaked roofs
and names like Das Copy Shoppe, for all
your faxing needs. The mock architecture
is over the top, but the location framed by
mountains is lovely.
We thought we might finish of the
day being served by fräuleins in classic
Oktoberfest-style getup but settled instead
for stellar sausages at the München Haus.
The Lexus positively stormed through the
weather, and it wasn’t such a sober trip
after all. AM
Clockwise from
top left: It looks
like Germany but
ain’t. Morning
tunes at the Enzian
Inn. A symphony in
pink. Yes, she does
have a heater in
there. Below left:
Trying to get the
Lexus IS sideways.
Washington
I’VE DIED AND GONE TO
80 Automobile | March 2014
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 81
A PILGRIMAGE TO THE BIRTHPLACE OF MERCEDES-BENZ’S LEGENDARY OFF-ROAD TRUCK.
BY EVAN McCAUSLAND //
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARTYN GODDARD
M O G H E A V E N
HOW CAN I USE A UNIMOG?
COMPETE IN A
DESERT RALLY
RESCUE A STRANDED
COMMUTER TRAIN
82 Automobile | March 2014
hen my wife, Victoria,
asked me to help plan our
dream European vacation,
she didn’t think we’d be
spending an entire day at a
truck factory. But that is what’s on the
docket for our second day in Germany.
To be fair, this isn’t just any truck fac-
tory. This is the Mercedes-Benz Special
Trucks assembly line. This is the line that
produces some of the most capable of-road
vehicles in the world. This is the line that
builds one of the most storied, significant
nameplates in the Mercedes-Benz portfolio.
This is the home of the Mercedes-Benz
Unimog.
Unimogs might be classified as me-
dium-duty trucks, but dismissing them as
simply big trucks is like brushing of
da Vinci as “some painter.” Each Unimog is
handbuilt, like an AMG engine. Each truck
packs perhaps more technology than an
S-class—but don’t look for a hot-stone
massaging seat. And depending on what
options are selected at the factory, a Uni-
mog might look more like a tractor, a train,
or a tank than anything you’d consider to
be a truck.
A quick stroll through the Unimog Mu-
seum, located near the plant in Gaggenau
that built Unimogs for more than fifty
years, gives us a good idea of how versatile
this Mercedes truly is. We’re surrounded
by ’Mogs of all ages, shapes, and sizes, each
equipped for diferent tasks. Farming, fire-
fighting, forestry, snowblowing, wood
chipping, rally racing—the possibilities are
seemingly endless. Hans-Jürgen Wischhof,
who ran the Unimog division from 1990
through 2003 and now serves as a consul-
tant to the museum, tells us “the Unimog
can do anything but fly or swim.”
Once upon a time, the Unimog’s pur-
pose was rather simple. Although the Mor-
genthau Plan was never fully implemented
after World War II, its proposal to trans-
form Germany into an agrarian state reso-
nated with Albert Friedrich, an aircraft
engineer working at Daimler-Benz. Fried-
rich envisioned that Germans would need
a versatile agricultural machine with seat-
ing for two, four-wheel drive, ample cargo
room, a trailer hitch, and a mounting point
for powered attachments that could be
used on the farm. Portal axles, which place
the wheel hubs below the actual axle
shafts, were considered essential because
they increased ground clearance—a key
element when driving in a plowed field.
After convincing Allied authorities that
he wasn’t building a military vehicle,
Friedrich and his team of engineers pro-
duced the first Universalmotorgerät, or
“universal motor vehicle,” in late 1946. The
first production models, built by the Boeh-
ringer machine shop, rolled of the line in
1948, but by 1950 Daimler had purchased
the production rights and moved Unimog
assembly to its own facility in Gaggenau.
Shortly after, the Unimog lineup split in
two: a smaller, multipurpose model sold
to farmers, municipalities, and industries;
and a larger model that catered to cus-
tomers—often foreign military powers—
TEND FIELDS CLEAR SNOW FIGHT FIRES A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 83
seeking a vehicle with unrivaled of-road
capabilities.
That dualistic model line continues
today. The Unimog U4000 and U5000, de-
rived from the models launched nearly
forty years ago, are known as the “of-road-
ers” and boast extreme approach and de-
parture angles plus ground clearance that
makes a G-class seem like a lowrider. The
Unimog U300, U400, and U500 are consid-
ered the “implement carrier” models and
are aimed at municipalities, utility compa-
nies, farmers, and so on. These trucks can
have up to four implement-attachment
points, three PTOs (power-takeof shafts),
powerful hydraulic circuits, and insane
24-speed semiautomatic transmissions
complete with fold-away clutch pedals.
Of course, the implement carriers still
retain the hallowed portal axles, locking
diferentials, and massive ground clear-
ance. As Wischhof says, “No one will buy a
Unimog if he or she cannot have that of-
road capability.”
The models share a common assembly
line in Wörth—which, in turn, is shared
with two other uncommon Mercedes-
Benz trucks: the low-entry Econic cabover,
and the massive Zetros of-road truck. All
three trucks are assembled in Building 20,
which Daimler calls the “factory within
the factory.” The plant at large employs
some 12,000 workers, but only 865 are as-
signed to the Special Trucks line, and only
after they’ve completed a yearlong training
program on top of their normal three-year
apprenticeship. Basic cab structures and
engines are shipped in from elsewhere, but
every other part of a Unimog is hand-as-
sembled at the facility.
We arrive at the assembly line during
a transition period: not only has produc-
tion of the new Euro 6–compliant models
begun in earnest, but some of the very
last cab-forward U20 models—which are
being discontinued after the 2013 model
year—are also moving slowly down the
line. After walking along the entire pro-
duction line, we head to the back of the
property. Nestled between a storage lot for
recently assembled trucks and a finger of
the Rhine River is the Piglet, a small of-
road course used for customer demonstra-
tions. We’re ogling the terrain when a sil-
ver U4000 cargo hauler whips around a
corner and stops in front of us. It’s time for
a quick ride.
The truck has two doors, but there are
also two passenger seats. Victoria and I
climb some three and a half feet into the
cab. The cab is six and a half feet wide, but
as the middleman, I’m brushing shoulders
with both the driver and my wife.
“You’re in good hands,” our guide tells
us. “Your driver, an employee on the Uni-
mog line, vacations at Dakar.”
“Oh, he visits Senegal?”
“No,” we’re told. “He uses vacation days
to compete in the Dakar Rally.”
We make our way slowly around the
soupy stomping grounds, the Unimog’s
4.8-liter, four-cylinder turbo-diesel clatter-
ing loudly against the subtle whine of the
gearbox. A little knob on the dashboard, to
the right of the gauge cluster, commands
the four-wheel drive. Click it one stop, and
the center diferential locks, turning a rear-
wheel-drive ’Mog into a four-wheel-drive
vehicle. Crank it to the next stop, and the
rear diferential locks, splitting power
evenly between both rear wheels. Dial it to
the fourth position, and the same efect is
applied to the front wheels.
For most of our brief romp, the U4000
is kept in four-wheel drive, but our driver
rarely—if ever—uses the other dif locks as
we crawl our way around the sloppy
course. He nudges the passenger side of
the truck up an embankment next to the
path, demonstrating the Unimog’s ability
to travel on 38-degree side slopes—and, for
that matter, the usefulness of the ceiling-
mounted “Oh, Scheiße!” handle above my
head, which you can grab when you’re try-
ing to avoid crushing the person seated
next to you. Crawler gears allow us to
creep slowly down a steep embankment,
Highlights of the Unimog Museum include
a test track with a 30-percent grade (below)
and an incredibly clean agricultural-spec
1972 Unimog 406 (bottom).
DISMISSING UNIMOGS AS SIMPLY BIG TRUCKS IS
LIKE BRUSHING OFF DA VINCI AS “SOME PAINTER.”
EACH UNIMOG IS HANDBUILT, LIKE AN AMG ENGINE.
M O G H E A V E N
HANDLES
SIDE SLOPES
UP TO 38°
FORDS UP TO
4' OF WATER
PORTAL AXLES;
ARTICULATE
UP TO 30°
OPTIONAL CENTRAL
TIRE-INFLATION
SYSTEM
18.7" OF GROUND
CLEARANCE
CLIMBS SLOPES
UP TO 45°
44° APPROACH
ANGLE
SEMIAUTOMATIC
GEARBOX WITH UP
TO 24 FORWARD AND
REVERSE GEARS
PORTAL AXLES;
17.4" OF
GROUND
CLEARANCE
HYDROSTATIC
SECONDARY
TRANSMISSION
FOUR
ATTACHMENT
MOUNTING
POINTS
THREE POWER
TAKEOFFS
AVAILABLE
VARIOPILOT SWITCHES
BETWEEN LEFT- AND
RIGHT-HAND DRIVE
IN MINUTES
CARBON-FIBER
COMPOSITE CAB
TECH HIGHLIGHTS
MODELS U4023 AND U5023  MODELS U216----U530 
“OFF-ROADER” “IMPLEMENT CARRIER”
leaving us hanging in our seatbelts like
giant marionettes.
This track takes advantage of only a
fraction of the Unimog’s abilities; the truck
isn’t even breathing hard. Victoria and I,
however, are laughing hysterically. Our
driver, who speaks little English, interprets
this as a sign to increase our pace seven-
fold, especially over a series of jumps that
wouldn’t be out of place on a motocross
track. The ride isn’t rough, but the fre-
quent change in both yaw and pitch means
it’s a good thing we’re going through these
motions before eating lunch.
Interestingly, there’s one piece of land
the Unimog has trouble tackling: North
America. Although of-road enthusiasts
have independently imported vintage mod-
els, ofcial attempts at selling the Unimog
in the United States and Canada have been
spotty, at best. J. I. Case sold Unimogs as
agricultural machines from 1975 to 1980,
and a handful of independent importers
hawked Unimogs in the States after Case
washed its hands of the machine. Daimler
itself gave it a try in 2003, selling the then-
new U500 through select Freightliner deal-
ers in North America. Citing upcoming
changes in emissions standards, it withdrew
the U500 from the market in 2007, having
sold no more than 200 U.S.-spec ’Mogs.
“We didn’t exactly have the success we
wanted in America,” admits Wulf Aurich,
product manager for the Unimog line.
“The truck is ideal for the confines of Eu-
ropean cities. In the States, operators can
use big trucks, big trailers, big machines,
multiple machines, and it’s not a big deal.
Here in Germany, an operator or agency
will have one garage, and there’s no room
for multiple pieces of equipment. They do,
however, have room for one Unimog and a
range of attachments.”
Emissions compliance poses a bigger
headache for the Unimog. Aurich says
refederalizing the U500 wouldn’t be too
difcult since most of the work has already
been done, but certifying the Unimog’s
diesel engine to North American EPA stan-
dards would cost millions. As volumes
would be well below 100 trucks annually,
there’s no chance Daimler could amortize
the development cost.
“I can’t predict the future of the Uni-
mog in the U.S.,” Aurich continues. “But so
long as there’s no common emissions stan-
dards, I think the last U.S.-spec U500 will
be the last new Unimog for America.”
As far as Aurich is concerned, the Uni-
mog’s future isn’t in North America but in
efcient powertrains and efcient packag-
ing. “Customers are always asking for a
smaller Unimog,” he says. “There’s always
lots of work to do on walkways, pathways,
and so on, but on the other hand, we can’t
add complexity to the product. Likewise,
we need to look at transitioning the diesel
driveline to something else. Natural gas?
Electric? A mixture of the two? It’s a ques-
tion we will need to face.”
Since Daimler is in the process of
launching a new family of Unimogs, these
dreams are still some way of. “We have a
new product family, and its life cycle
should be ten to fifteen years,” Aurich
points out. “We don’t know what custom-
ers will be asking for at that point.”
Perhaps not—but I do know when I’ll
be talking to Victoria about a return trip to
Wörth-am-Rhein . . . AM
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PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER NELSON 86 Automobile | March 2014
2013 Acura ILX
WAITING FOR INTEGRA.
The notion of a Honda Civic made nicer and
sportier doesn’t seem so complicated, really. Our
year with the ILX, however, suggests that it is.
FOUR SEASONS WRAP-UP
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 87
he Acura Integra was one of the seminal sporty
compacts and a star of the brand’s early lineup. The
Integra eventually went away, and when Acura’s
most recent entry-level model, the TSX, floated up in
size and price, it left space once again for a youthful
entrée into the brand. It was with fond memories of the Integra
that we ordered a new Acura ILX for a yearlong test. Maybe
things were simpler back in the late 1980s and early ’90s (which
is starting to feel like a long time ago), but the notion of a Honda
Civic made nicer and sportier doesn’t seem so complicated,
really. Our year with the ILX, however, suggests that it is.
Things started of on a good note. We opted for the larger,
2.4-liter engine, which is paired with a six-speed manual
transmission and comes standard with the premium package.
Efectively, this version of the ILX uses the Civic Si as its
springboard. This powertrain won friends right away, and it
seemed that everyone who slid behind the wheel marveled at
Honda’s ability to create a slick, user-friendly manual gearbox.
“The clutch and transmission are absolute joys to use,” began
associate web editor Jake Holmes, in a missive about the ILX’s
stick shift. “Changing gears is so efortless that it requires no
more thought than driving an automatic,” he continued. “You
never wonder when or how the clutch will engage, and it is light
enough that it won’t tire your leg in city trafc. The shifter is
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PRICES &
EQUIPMENT
BASE PRICE
$30,095
PRICE AS TESTED
$30,095
TRADE-IN VALUE
$20,700*
STANDARD
EQUIPMENT
Dual-zone automatic climate
control; cruise control;
HID headlights; foglights;
power sunroof, windows,
mirrors, door locks, and
driver’s seat; heated front
seats; leather sport seats;
tilting/telescoping steering
column; passive entry;
push-button ignition;
seven-speaker AM/FM/
CD/MP3/SiriusXM audio
system with auxiliary input;
Bluetooth; rearview camera;
split-folding rear seats;
hill-start assist; front, side,
and side curtain airbags
OUR OPTIONS
None
*Based on information
from intellichoice.com
88 Automobile | March 2014
deliciously precise in the way it slips from
gear to gear, and each gate is exactly
where you expect it to be.” Others were
equally enthusiastic, if less verbose.
“Happiness is a Honda stick shift,”
quipped copy editor Rusty Blackwell.
This was just as we’d remembered
from days gone by. So, too, was the
rev-happy Honda i-VTEC four-cylinder.
Its 201 hp comes on at 7000 rpm, and its
peak torque of 170 lb-ft isn’t within reach
until 4400 rpm. The engine’s large
displacement, high-revving nature, and
linear throttle response give it a retro
appeal that holds considerable charm.
Drawing a contrast with many of today’s
turbo fours, which have all their torque
down low, associate editor David Zenlea
said, “The Honda 2.4-liter still loves to be
revved past 6000 rpm.” Another
commenter added: “I love to wind out
the engine and hear it snarl all the way
to the redline.”
The powertrain is definitely the hero
of the ILX story, but it is a hero that’s not
without flaw. For one thing, this version of
the ILX is an outlier. The vast majority of
ILXs are equipped with the much more
humble 150-hp 2.0-liter and a five-speed
automatic. Others have the fuel-sipping,
but soul-sapping, 1.5-liter four-cylinder
hybrid. The 2.4-liter might find more
takers if Acura ofered it with an
The ILX takes over as Acura’s
entry-level ofering. Our test car
had the best-scenario powertrain,
a 201-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder
and a six-speed stick.
Upshift
automatic—yeah, we know, everybody
should drive a stick shift, but the reality is
that most people don’t. As it is, the 2.4
comes only with the manual.
The other issue is that, while it’s fun to
run this engine into the far reaches of the
tach, its droning becomes a drag when it’s
spinning away at 3000 rpm or better on
the highway. We’re not saying that Honda
should ditch this normally aspirated
four-cylinder; we would suggest, however,
a taller sixth gear. With a linkage this
The interior’s tech
features disappointed,
but in characteristic
Honda fashion the
ILX cabin gets the
important things right.
FOUR SEASONS WRAP-UP
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 89
slick, we wouldn’t mind dropping down a
gear or two when it’s time to pass.
And it’s not just the engine. There’s a
fair bit of road and suspension noise, as
well. “I think they forgot the sound
deadening,” wrote one commenter. Maybe
that was true; for 2014 Acura has added
active noise cancellation to the ILX.
The lack of refinement might not be
such an issue if Acura presented the ILX
as an enthusiast’s machine. The chassis,
though, is confused on that front. The
lifeless steering gives lie to that notion.
“There’s no indication that the steering
wheel is actually connected to anything
behind the dashboard,” Holmes said, “and
that’s a pity because the zesty powertrain
deserves a fun-to-drive package.” Senior
web editor Phil Floraday wished for a
firmer suspension but acknowledged that
he didn’t mind trading a measure of body
control in order to stave of impact
harshness.
After a time, we noted that the rear
Our ILX spent some time in the city but
racked up more miles on the highway, which
probably explains how we bested the EPA
combined fuel-economy rating of 25 mpg by
3 mpg. Below: Everyone loved the slick shifter
and the smooth clutch, but there was no such
afection for the crummy rearview camera.
The ILX’s styling failed to
excite. Some speculated that
Acura has been chastened by
the criticism leveled at the ZDX
and the brand’s corporate grille.
Pros & Cons
+ Delightful shifter
and clutch
+ Rev-happy four-cylinder
+ Decent interior space in
a compact footprint
- Engine drone on
the highway
- Lifeless steering
- Some poorly realized
tech features
suspension wasn’t damping bumps very
well and was being excessively vocal in its
work. Floraday even crawled underneath,
wondering if the car had a beam axle at
the rear (it doesn’t; the ILX has an
independent multilink rear suspension).
Finally, a vigilant service technician
discovered that a damper had gone bad,
and it was replaced under warranty. Ride
quality was restored, but the suspension
noise wasn’t totally eradicated.
Noise wasn’t the only aspect of the
ILX that had us questioning its premium-
compact credentials. The fact that
navigation (part of the technology
package) is not ofered with this
powertrain, even as an option, drew a fair
bit of criticism. So did the fussy Bluetooth
system. Also, the voice-command button
“is a bit of a ruse,” because it can’t operate
any infotainment features beyond very
basic phone functions. And everyone
complained about the rearview camera’s
image quality. Deputy editor Joe DeMatio
likened it to “a fuzzy black-and-white
movie on a crappy old TV.” Here again,
Acura has made a change for 2014 with a
new multiview camera as standard
equipment.
The interior’s tech features
disappointed, but in characteristic Honda
fashion the ILX cabin gets the important
things right. The switchgear is of high
quality, with an unfussy layout and clear
functionality. More than one staf member
gave a shout-out to the radio controls,
which are easy to use and minimally
distracting. The seats received mostly
good reviews, but tall drivers felt too close
to the headliner even with the seat at the
lowest position. Overall, though, the cabin
doesn’t feel cramped, unlike others in this
class. As associate web editor Joey
Capparella observed, “This Acura
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90 Automobile | March 2014
manages to be relatively roomy inside
while remaining compact on the outside.”
For some of us, this all added up to a
compelling mix of virtues. “The ILX is for
those of us who grew up loving Honda
Civics of the ’90s to early 2000s,” said
twenty-something videographer Sandon
Voelker. “It’s a Civic that has grown up
and put on a suit. No, it’s not the most
refined or classy car in this segment, nor is
it a sports car with four doors. To me, this
is a car guy’s daily driver. It’s quick and
involving enough to make me take the
back roads to work on occasion. It’s roomy
and comfortable enough to bring your
friends on a weekend trip. And it’s stylish
and handsome enough to take your boss
out to lunch or to pick up a date.”
But more of us felt that the ILX was
too short on refinement to be a convincing
premium compact car and not sporting
enough to be a dressed-up sport sedan. In
truth, the notion of an upmarket compact
is a relatively recent one, and the oferings
so far—ranging from the Lexus CT200h to
the Buick Verano to the Mercedes-Benz
CLA—are all over the map. “Clearly, every
automaker is struggling to figure out what
buyers in this segment want,” argued
Zenlea. We think that Acura had a pretty
good handle on it back in the day with the
Integra. We’re still awaiting its return.
— Joe Lorio
2013 Acura ILX Premium
RATING
Overview
BODY STYLE 4-door sedan
ACCOMMODATION 5 passengers
CONSTRUCTION Steel unibody
Powertrain
ENGINE
DISPLACEMENT
16-valve DOHC I-4
2.4 liters (144 cu in)
HORSEPOWER 201 hp @ 7000 rpm
TORQUE 170 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm
TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual
DRIVE Front-wheel
Chassis
STEERING Electrically assisted
LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.8 turns
TURNING CIRCLE 36.1 ft
FRONT SUSPENSION Strut-type, coil springs
REAR SUSPENSION Multilink, coil springs
BRAKES F/R Vented discs/discs
TIRES Michelin Pilot HX MXM4
TIRE SIZE 215/45R-17 87V
Measurements
HEADROOM F/R 37.9/35.9 in
LEGROOM F/R 42.3/34.0 in
SHOULDER ROOM F/R 55.6/53.5 in
L X W X H 179.1 x 70.6 x 55.6 in
WHEELBASE 105.1 in
TRACK F/R 59.4/60.3 in
WEIGHT 2935 lb
WEIGHT DIST. F/R 61.3/38.7%
CARGO CAPACITY 12.3 cu ft
FUEL CAPACITY 13.2 gal
EST. FUEL RANGE 370 miles
FUEL GRADE 91 octane
Our Test Results
0–60 MPH 7.1 sec
0–100 MPH 18.5 sec
1/4–MILE 15.4 sec @ 91 mph
45–65 MPH 3.6 sec
PEAK ACCELERATION 0.60 g
SPEED IN GEARS 1) 34; 2) 54; 3) 76; 4) 102;
5) 131; 6) 138 mph
SKID PAD 0.80 g
60–0 MPH BRAKING 126.3 ft
PEAK BRAKING 1.15 g
RUNNING COSTS
MILEAGE 24,687
WARRANTY
4-yr/50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper
6-yr/70,000-mile powertrain
4-yr/50,000-mile roadside assistance
5-yr/unlimited-mile corrosion
SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE
8127 mi: $43.46
16,199 mi: $43.46
24,127 mi: $167.86
WARRANTY REPAIRS
10,257 mi: Replace rear suspension dampers
RECALLS
None
OUT-OF-POCKET
3504 mi: Purchase, mount, and balance four
Continental ExtremeWinterContact winter tires,
$744.00
11,892 mi: Balance and remount Michelin
all-season tires, $100.00
17,034 mi: Four-wheel alignment, $137.45
FUEL CONSUMPTION
EPA city/highway/combined
22/31/25 mpg
Observed 28 mpg
COST PER MILE
(Fuel, service, winter tires) $0.19
($0.57 including depreciation)
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LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount
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You don’t often see
a stick shift and a
V-6 in an Accord,
but we wanted to
make this Honda an
enthusiasts’ special.
FOUR SEASONS INTRO
92 Automobile | March 2014
During our year with the Accord, we
hope to learn whether this coupe, with its
sporty powertrain and upscale finishings,
serves a viable niche market, dwindling
though it may be since competitors such
as the Nissan Altima coupe have recently
been discontinued.
Early on, the Accord has earned
praise—as expected—for its powertrain,
although some editors think that the V-6
engine sounds coarse as the revs build
during acceleration. The infotainment
system is also vexing, with two screens
and confusing controls, including both a
rotary dial and a touchscreen. Then
there’s LaneWatch, one of Honda’s newest
2014 Honda Accord
The Specs
PRICE: $33,190
ENGINE: 3.5L V-6,
278 hp, 252 lb-ft
DRIVE: Front-wheel
EPA MILEAGE:
18/28 mpg
ometimes, you have to do
something for yourself—treat
yourself, if you will. And so
we’re indulging ourselves
with the 2014 Honda Accord
EX-L V-6 coupe that we’ve introduced
into our Four Seasons fleet.
That’s right, we said coupe. As in two
doors. Yes, some companies still make
coupes as non-luxury, non-sports cars,
and we’ve selected one of the nicest that
you can buy. A true enthusiasts’ special,
it’s running a 278-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 engine
paired with a six-speed manual
transmission. This combination accounts
for only a small fraction of Accord sales
but is easily the most fun, and it fits the
tastes of those around here who like to
row their own gears.
Our coupe stickers for $33,190, a lofty
figure for an Accord, but the car is loaded.
The EX-L is the top trim level (the base
LX-S starts at $24,415) and includes
dressy features such as LED daytime
running lights, chrome exhaust tips,
eighteen-inch aluminum wheels, and a
spoiler. It also adds creature comforts like
leather seats and a leather-wrapped
steering wheel, a multiangle rearview
camera, heated front seats, a power
sunroof, and passive entry. We added the
navigation package for $1775.
Upshift
CAN AN ACCORD BE AN INDULGENCE?
features, which uses a small camera
mounted in the passenger-side exterior
mirror to enhance your view of trafc to
the right, when turning or changing lanes.
It’s activated when you hit the right-turn
signal and is particularly useful for
detecting bicyclists and small cars that
might be hidden in your blind spot. As
road test editor Christopher Nelson says,
“It might keep people from merging into
me and my old Mazda Miata.”
That would be unfortunate and ironic.
As our choice of a Four Seasons Accord
coupe illustrates, we’re very passionate
about keeping fun-to-drive two-doors on
the road. AM
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Although we’ve already had some major
problems with the Mazda 3’s electronics, we
have enjoyed its simple, sporty interior.
seats, a seven-inch touchscreen, a
nine-speaker Bose audio system, and a
rearview camera.
The s Touring comes well equipped, so
we added only scuf plates ($125), a rear
bumper guard ($100), and a cargo mat
($70). Since it arrived just before winter, we
almost immediately fitted the Mazda with
Pirelli Sottozero winter tires ($896).
Power comes from the uplevel engine,
a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that makes 184 hp
and 185 lb-ft of torque, which is plenty of
juice to propel a car that weighs
3031 pounds. We normally prefer manual
transmissions in our small cars, but our
2014 Mazda 3
The Specs
PRICE: $26,185
ENGINE: 2.5L I-4,
184 hp, 185 lb-ft
DRIVE: Front-wheel
EPA MILEAGE: 27/37 mpg
Mazda 3 has a six-speed automatic.
Fortunately, it has paddle shifters that we
can use to entertain ourselves a bit. The
so-called Skyactiv powertrain is EPA rated
at 37 mpg on the highway. We’ve already
put that figure to the test, as the 3 has
been used for road trips to Iowa City,
Philadelphia, and Chicago in its first
several weeks in our fleet.
Although we’ve been eager to stretch
out the 3, it’s had some early issues.
During graphic designer John Kalmar’s
run to Philly, the audio system stopped
working for no apparent reason, leaving
him with a silent soundtrack for a
nine-hour drive. “It’s a good thing I
actually liked my road-trip companion,”
Kalmar said. On the return trip, the radio
worked properly but the navigation didn’t.
Others reported similar incidents. The
Mazda dealership performed a system
update, and we think (hope) the
electronics are permanently fixed. Adding
to the early drama, we also managed to
blow an all-season tire shortly after we
took delivery of the car.
Despite these hiccups, we’ve enjoyed
the 3 for the same reasons we’ve always
liked the model: It looks good, and it has
an identity in a bland segment. It drives
with real character and a proper blend of
comfort and athleticism.
We’re looking forward to the rest of the
year in this Mazda 3, as long as—fingers
crossed—the radio keeps working. AM
The Mazda 3 looks good, and it has an
identity in a bland segment. It drives
with real character and a proper blend
of comfort and athleticism.
HATCHING A FRESH IDENTITY.
hen it came time to add a
small car to our Four
Seasons fleet, we knew
exactly where to look:
Mazda. The Mazda 3 has
been a favorite for years—it’s a three-time
Automobile Magazine All-Star—and it
received a major redesign for 2014.
Naturally, we had to have the new one.
The Mazda 3 is based on the same
architecture as the CX-5 crossover and
the Mazda 6 sedan. It has significantly
diferent proportions than the previous
generation, thanks to a longer wheelbase,
a wider stance, and a shorter overall
length. It’s wrapped in a classier design,
eschewing the leering front end and bold
lines of its predecessor for a tailored,
premium look similar to the rest of the
Mazda family. We selected a hatchback
model over the sedan for its style and
functionality.
Small doesn’t have to mean cheap, and
our model, an s Touring, stickers for
$26,185. It looks slick with bixenon
headlights, LED daytime running lights,
bright beltline trim, a glossy black grille, a
spoiler, and eighteen-inch aluminum
wheels. Inside are heated leatherette
94 Automobile | March 2014
Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
SEX APPEAL TRUMPS SPEED.
the Beetle platform, which wasn’t exactly
a thoroughbred sports car, but Karmann
production engineers made it work. In
fact, they made astonishingly few changes
to the platform. They simply widened the
floor pans, lowered the steering column,
and hacked of a bit of the shift lever. The
company spent most of its time shaping
the exotic body from Ghia. The car’s front
end alone consisted of five separate pieces
that needed to be welded together.
The finished product looked like
something that rolled out of a factory in
Italy, not northern Germany, but no one
would confuse the engine sitting under
1956–1974
or people who can’t
stand the sight of a
Volkswagen.” That’s how
VW marketed the
Karmann Ghia, a beautiful
car born from one of automotive
history’s most fruitful love triangles.
In 1949, Karmann, a coachbuilding
company based in Osnabrück, Germany,
was contracted to build the convertible
version of Volkswagen’s hugely
successful Beetle. A year later, Wilhelm
Karmann, Jr., tried to convince the
automaker to let Karmann build a
sports car for them as well, but
Volkswagen wasn’t interested.
Undeterred, Karmann teamed up in
1953 with Luigi Segre, head of the Ghia
design studio in Turin, Italy, to create a
concept for a sleek VW sports car. This
time, Volkswagen bit. After seeing the
mock-up, Heinz Nordhof, VW’s
managing director, immediately
approved the car for production.
Karmann would manage the build
process, and Volkswagen would handle
engineering and distribution. The car
would be called, simply and logically,
the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia.
Out of necessity, it would be built on
the rear deck lid for anything other than a
Beetle flat-four. The 36-hp 1.2-liter had
only a sliver of the performance that the
Karmann Ghia’s racy styling suggested,
but the car was easy to drive and
inexpensive to own, thanks to an
abundance of cheap replacement parts. It
turned out that sex appeal trumped speed,
because the Karmann Ghia became a huge
success: over its long lifetime, about
443,000 were built. A fifth of them were
convertibles—a body style introduced for
1958—and a majority of those were
shipped stateside.
Holly Fischer’s 1972 Karmann Ghia
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
I
PATRI CK M. HOEY
COLLECTIBLE CLASSIC
From its Austrian
leather-trimmed seats to
its Moto-Lita steering
wheel, this Karmann Ghia’s
interior is much nicer than
it was when it left the
factory in 1972.
March 2014 | Automobilemag.com 95
The Specs
ENGINES
1.2L OHV flat-4,
36–40 hp, 56–64 lb-ft
1.3L OHV flat-4,
50 hp, 69 lb-ft
1.5L OHV flat-4,
53 hp, 78 lb-ft
1.6L OHV flat-4,
57–60 hp, 82 lb-ft
TRANSMISSION
4-speed manual
DRIVE
Rear-wheel
FRONT SUSPENSION
Trailing arms,
torsion bars
REAR SUSPENSION
Swing axles,
torsion bars
BRAKES F/R
Drums/drums or
discs/drums
WEIGHT
1725–1975 lb
was one of them. Her late father, John,
bought the car in 1990 so that Swiss
relatives would have transportation during
their honeymoon in America. Five years
later, he gave the VW to his daughter,
who drove it around her hometown of
Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a decade before
deciding to fix it up. After an eighteen-
month restoration at a local shop, Fischer’s
Karmann Ghia convertible isn’t so much a
perfectly restored example as it is a
restomod, an old car that’s been
modernized with upgraded mechanicals.
The floors and rusted sections, mostly
at the back of the car, were replaced. So
was just about everything else, aside from
the windshield, gauges, shift knob,
bumpers, door handles, and seat and
convertible frames. The interior, originally
worn-out vinyl, is now trimmed with rich
Austrian leather and intricate German
square-weave carpet. When the electrical
system was redone, about thirty feet of
wiring was done away with. The
convertible top sits lower when it’s folded.
The front suspension is fully adjustable,
and there’s an upgraded audio system and
better sound insulation, as well as new
wheels and tires. The shop scrapped the
car’s 1.6-liter flat-four—the largest engine
to make its way behind the tiny rear seat
of any Karmann Ghia—in favor of a Mid
America Motorworks 1.8-liter flat-four
with two big carburetors and a free-
flowing exhaust. It produces about 90 hp,
a 50 percent jump in power output.
Fischer makes no apologies for her
nonstock droptop. “I used to take the car
no further from home than I could walk
or call a friend for a ride if it broke down,
and I never, ever, went near the highway,”
she says. “Now I keep up with 85-mph
trafc and have everyone check me out.”
No longer relegated to the slow lane, as
most Karmann Ghia drivers are, Fischer
drives her car everywhere. She put 3500
miles on it last year and couldn’t be more
pleased with her hopped-up ride.
She should be pleased. It has a much
nicer interior than the original car, an
engine that’s far more engaging than the
stock one, and a lot of modern amenities.
But thousands of shop hours and dollars
spent couldn’t improve on her car’s best
feature—its exterior. Its sheetmetal that
fits like a slim-cut shirt. Its soft body lines.
Its sex appeal. That’s why the Karmann
Ghia sold so well, and that’s why people
still gawk at the car.
Whether today or nearly sixty years
ago, it doesn’t matter that the Italian-
designed sports car shares its
underpinnings with the pedestrian
Volkswagen Beetle. It only matters that it
doesn’t look like a Volkswagen.
— Christopher Nelson
The Info
YEARS PRODUCED
1956–1974
NUMBER PRODUCED
443,466, of which
80,881 were
convertibles.
ORIGINAL PRICE
$3099 (1972
convertible)
VALUE TODAY
Coupes:
$7000–$15,000.
Convertibles:
$12,000–$25,000.
WHY BUY?
The thought of owning
a Karmann Ghia is
alluring—an indulgence
that’s both beautiful
and relatively easy and
cheap to maintain.
Replacement parts are
readily available. As
ever, it’s important to
buy from a dry climate.
These cars’ shapely
bodies aren’t simple
to repair. If you think
Karmann had a hard
time piecing together
the Ghia-styled panels,
imagine what it’ll be
like for you.
The car’s best feature is
its exterior. Its sheetmetal
fits like a slim-cut shirt.
The upgraded
1.8-liter engine
provides enough
power for highway
driving. The front
intakes pipe fresh
air into the cabin.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF RM AUCTIONS
Upshift AUCTIONS
96 Automobile | March 2014
RM Auctions/Sotheby’s
FEATURE CAR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK | NOVEMBER 21, 2013 | by Dave Kinney
1954 PEGASO Z-102
SERIES II COUPE
SOLD AT $797,500
SN 01021500148. Pearl white
with gray metallic roof over
gray leather interior. 195-hp,
2.8-liter V-8; five-speed manual
transmission. Nearly flawless
opalescent paint; well-done
trim is all polished and present.
Interior has excellent seats and
door panels, great gauges and
dash, and a Nardi wood
steering wheel.
THE STORY BEHIND THE SALE
A Spanish manufacturer based in Barcelona and Madrid, Pegaso was much better known for
its trucks than its automobiles. The assets of prewar automotive and aviation company
Hispano-Suiza became the basis for the state-owned business. Pegaso trucks disappeared in
the 1990s after the company was absorbed by Iveco. The cars had a much shorter life span, as
their production ended in 1957.
A total of eighty-four Z-102s were built. Pegaso manufactured the chassis and drivetrains,
but the bodies were installed by various coachbuilders. Chassis 01021500148 is one of
eighteen that was built by French coachbuilder Saoutchik.
Is it fair to call Pegaso Spain’s Ferrari? Absolutely, as the cars competed for many of the
same customers and in some cases used the same coachbuilders. As with every exotic-car
manufacturer, some of the body styles are considered hits and others are considered, well,
interesting. Like a Ferrari, a Pegaso is a serious car with complicated mechanicals. No one at
the auction was surprised when this car sold for less than $800,000, on the low end of its
estimate. Cars that need an explanation rarely bring as much as those whose names resonate
over the crowd. Whereas Ferrari, Maserati, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, and a handful of others
put an image in your brain, Pegaso is more obscure.
1958 OLDSMOBILE NINETY-EIGHT CONVERTIBLE
SOLD AT $258,500
SN 589M12628. Black with black top over red and
white leather. 312-hp, 371-cubic-inch V-8;
automatic. Indicated mileage: 54,776. Tons of
1950s power and convenience options, including
“New-Matic” air-ride suspension and J-2 engine
with triple two-barrel carburetors. Exceptional
paint, outstanding trim. Interior is what you would
expect from a multiple-award-winning show car; in
other words, perfect.
The best of those outrageous options is likely
the “Trans-Portable” radio, a unit that you could
slip out of the dashboard and take with you to
listen to those Hi-Fi hits. If you’re thinking this
is a lot of money for this car, you’re right. If you
think you could restore one to this condition for
less, you’re probably dreaming. Turning a
full-size American luxo-cruiser from the ’50s
into a show car can make the price of a college
education seem cheap.
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98 Automobile | March 2014
1958 BMW 507
SOLD AT $1,650,000
SN 70180. Silver with black hard and soft tops
over green leather. 150-hp, 3.2-liter V-8;
four-speed manual. 87,917 miles on the odometer.
Nardi wood steering wheel, racing-style seatbelts.
Shows some small flaws in both paint and chrome
but still a handsome presentation. Green interior
looks better than it sounds.
In regulation German silver paint and without
the optional and desirable Rudge wheels, this
example didn’t have the visual knockout that
some do. No matter, it brought top money.
A Series 1 car would be eligible for the Mille
Miglia, but the more common 507 Series 2—
like this ’58—has a slightly bigger cabin that
was originally intended to cater to Americans.
1932 FORD V-8 CABRIOLET
SOLD AT $319,000
SN 1881392. Dark green with tan top over dark
green leather. 65-hp, 221-cubic-inch V-8;
three-speed manual. Indicated mileage: 37,290.
This ten-year-old restoration is just starting to
show age wear but is still quite nice. Very good
green painted wire wheels. Extremely nice fit and
finish throughout.
This is said to be the only “Classic Era” Ford
built with custom coachwork by Pinin Farina
himself; it was commissioned as a study for
potential designs for the 1933 model year.
Unlike many of the cars in this sale, this isn’t a
“grande marque” or an instantly recognizable
one-of—it’s an interesting variation on a
popular and afordable car from the 1930s.
1960 MERCEDES-BENZ 300SL ROADSTER
SOLD AT $1,650,000
SN 19804210002562. Blue metallic with blue hard
and soft tops over cream leather. 250-hp, 2996-cc
in-line six; four-speed manual. Indicated mileage is
35,500. Two owners from new. Well optioned with
fitted luggage, hard top, and tool kit. Nearly flawless
paint with excellent brightwork. An excellent
presentation in an attractive, rarely seen color.
Condition and color can make a huge diference
in collector-car prices. Add in the right venue,
such as this, and the result was spectacular.
The 300SL roadster, like its slightly older
sibling, the 300SL Gullwing, is one of the key
cars to have in a well-rounded collection. This
was an unheard-of price one year ago. Expect
to hear more numbers like this from now on.
BEST BUY
Upshift AUCTIONS
1961 FERRARI 250GT SERIES II CABRIOLET
SOLD AT $2,035,000
SN 2473. Red with red hard top over black
leather. 240-hp, 2953-cc V-12; four-speed
manual. Paintwork and brightwork showed slight
scratches under the bright museum lighting at
this venue. Attractively finished interior. Said to
be the only Pininfarina Series II cabriolet with
covered headlights. Originally painted white over
blue leather interior. A few-year-old Italian
restoration, Ferrari Classiche certified.
Although it looks good, this Ferrari’s concours
days are likely past. This car is more suited for
driving events like the Colorado Grand and the
Copperstate 1000. Classic Ferraris have been
as hot at auctions as Justin Bieber selfies are
on twelve-year-old girls’ smartphones. More
than just the flavor of the month, such Ferraris
are now seemingly everyone’s idea of what
should be in their investment portfolio.
1970 PLYMOUTH ROAD RUNNER SUPERBIRD
SOLD AT $363,000
SN RM23ROA170172. Alpine white with black
vinyl top over black vinyl. 425-hp, 426-cubic-inch
V-8; four-speed manual. Indicated mileage of
16,360 said to be correct. Remarkably good paint
on this older restoration, although the vinyl top is
starting to show its age. Very good chrome.
Interior, which includes bucket seats, appears
untouched since restoration.
Remember that time when you showed up at a
formal afair wearing a Hawaiian shirt and
board shorts? That must’ve been the way the
Superbird felt in this esteemed crowd, although
it didn’t appear to hurt its selling price.
Whereas the market for almost every other car
in this smallish sale included potential
European and Asian buyers, chances are very
good that this—or any—Superbird will be
staying in North America.
1936 DELAHAYE TYPE 135 COMPÉTITION
COURT TEARDROP COUPÉ
SOLD AT $2,420,000
SN 47242. Black over red leather and ostrich skin.
115-hp, 3557-cc in-line six; four-speed manual.
Right-hand drive. Very good paint. Chrome will
require a good bit of work to be concours ready.
Interior detail is both elegant and sparse;
blue-faced gauges contrast nicely with wood,
leather, and polished metals.
Not the most dramatic Figoni & Falaschi
design, but this coupe would still likely make
the cut into the top ten. The backstory contains
the usual information about having been
hidden away in France during World War II,
getting separated from its original engine, and
being reunited with one that appears to be the
original. Even after peeling away those onion
layers, it’s nonetheless worth a bit more than
the auction price achieved.
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vile gossip
Upshift
A huge win for GM:
Mary Barra and
Mark Reuss share
the excitement of
the Cadillac ATS
winning 2013 North
American Car of the
Year. With them, GM
has two young,
smart, passionate
lifers who have been
with the company
since college.
102 Automobile | March 2014
T IS TRUE THAT I expected to see a woman president of
the United States before I ever expected to see an automaker
name a woman as CEO. That the company making the
earthshaking, glass-ceiling-shattering move is General
Motors? Nope, I never would have guessed that. This is the
definitive answer to the question, Just how far has GM come
since the bottom fell out of Detroit in 2008? Well, General
Motors has named the first woman CEO of a major car company.
Of course I’m excited about Mary Barra. I’m a woman in a
man’s world. (Maybe the most manly of men’s worlds!)
Obviously, I wanted Mark Reuss, GM North America
president, to get the job. I’m the editor of an automotive
enthusiast magazine, and he is one of the most passionate car
guys that I know. Outgoing CEO Dan Akerson forgot to consult
me, but there you have it.
Now then. How is this going to work?
Pretty well, I’m thinking. Mary Barra has been quickly
gaining gravitas. Quickly, as in over the course of thirty years.
She started at eighteen as a student at General Motors Institute
(now Kettering University) in 1980, the same year I became an
automotive journalist. She graduated and went on to become an
electrical engineer in the Pontiac Fiero plant in 1985, the same
year I left Car and Driver with David E. Davis, Jr., to start
Automobile Magazine.
Barra made a steady ascent through some very important
positions at GM, among them running the massive Detroit-
Hamtramck assembly plant, which opened the year we started
this magazine; serving as executive director of Competitive
Operations Engineering; and even heading global HR for a year
and a half. Early on, Barra was tapped for a GM fellowship to
Stanford Graduate School of Business, from which she got her
MBA in 1990.
She ascended to the massively powerful role of running
global engineering, design, and purchasing—which is pretty
much everything—with the rallying cry, “No more crappy cars.”
Mary Barra is no lightweight.
I know her, and I like her. She has personality, wit, charm,
and presence. I feel like a lumbering harridan in comparison. I
don’t have a sister, but if I did, I would want her to be just like
Mary. I would want Mary to be my boss. Her personality is calm
in the eye of a storm. She loves General Motors and the people
who work there. In fact, she recently blew out the stodgy GM
dress code, explaining the move at the Fortune Most Powerful
Women Summit: “So I can trust you with a ten-million-dollar
budget and supervising twenty people, but I can’t trust you to
dress appropriately?” Respect.
The only other candidate for this job in
our eyes was Mark Reuss. He is a
consummate product guy, which is really
what this business is about. It makes sense
to keep your product guy in a position
where he won’t be burdened by the
compromises that frequently have to be
made in big business. As enthusiasts, we
were pulling for him, but the argument
against putting him at the top was, in
fact, his own father, a great product guy
who took a fall as a scapegoat for the
problems of General Motors. When Lloyd
Reuss lost his position on the board,
General Motors and all of its customers
lost something very valuable.
So, Mary Barra it is. She only has to do
a couple of “simple” things. The cars can’t
break; she has to manage production at
the right pace; and she has to manage
incentives so they don’t take over and ruin
the gains that have been made in the past
few years. But think about it. She would
have to work pretty hard to do as much
damage as some of the men in that
position have done.
Mostly, she has to count on fellow GM
lifer Mark Reuss, who will step into her
current job. When Mark tells me he is
overjoyed at Mary’s appointment, I
believe him, because that’s who he is. I
appreciate both of them, and I believe that
they have the makings of the best team to
run General Motors in decades.
And the fact that the company is going
to be run by a woman is one of the most
amazing feelings I have had in a really,
really long time. AM
You Call Them GM Lifers
Like It’s a Bad Thing.
by JEAN
JENNINGS
The Subaru Forester.
®

Motor Trend’s 2014
Sport/Utility of the Year.
®
Forester.
®
Well-equipped at
$
21,995
*
Subaru and Forester are registered trademarks. *MSRP excludes destination and delivery chargers, tax, title, and registration fees. Dealer sets actual price. 2014 Subaru
Forester 2.0XT Touring pictured has an MSRP of $35,395.
The 2014 Subaru Forester
®
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Utility of the Year
®
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IS 350 F SPORT
CAR AND DRIVER’S
TOP PICK OVER THE
BMW 335i M SPORT AND
THE CADILLAC ATS 3.6
*
306 HORSEPOWER
†
3. 5L V6
277 LB-FT TORQUE
†
SPORT-TUNED SUSPENSI ON
l exus. com I #LexusIS
2014 IS350 F SPORT shown.
*Source: Car and Driver (June 2013).
†
Ratings achieved using the required premium unleaded gasoline
with an octane rating of 91 or higher. If premium fuel is not used, performance will decrease. ©2013 Lexus.