So awesome to see— sort of an ‘old cars only’ track day. Images by MCB friend and recurring contributor Amaury Laparra.
Sometimes, a single image says it all
•November 8, 2011 • 19 CommentsThis should tell you everything you ever needed to know about the state and trajectory of the BMW 6-Series.
This sounds promising (the Subaru BRZ/Toyota FT-86)
•November 7, 2011 • 13 Comments
As per reporting from Car und Driver:
- The target curb weight was 2800 pounds, distributed with a slight bias toward the front axle. Even so, the handling benchmark was the mid-engine Porsche Cayman (which has a 45/55 weight split), and Masuda says the AS1’s center of gravity is 17.7 inches high, one inch lower than a Cayman’s.
- “The goal was to keep it basic and make it a real handling car,” says Masuda. “Horsepower was not our focus. If you want horsepower, we have the STI.”
- The BRZ feels more like a joint venture between Subaru and Lotus than a collaboration with Camrys-By-The-Billions, Ltd.
- The FB20 flat-four is said to make “200-plus” horsepower, so figure about 210 to 220 with a power peak that feels like it’s at 6500 rpm.
- No doubt because of the direct injection, the flat-four revs far more lustily than any non-turbo Subaru
- At this point, the BRZ appears to be the car we’ve been waiting for—the inexpensive, rear-drive sprite the industry has somehow managed to avoid making for generations. It’s the spiritual descendent of the old-school Z, BMW’s 2002, the rear-drive Celica, and all the other lesser saints of bygone days (source).
We could have a potential winner on our hands. It doesn’t appear it’ll be much of a looker, but then again it’s designed by Toyota— what did you expect? Still, much will be forgiven if it turns out to be nearly the driver’s car that the above suggests it will be.
Assorted grab bag of stuff we like
•November 7, 2011 • 8 Comments
Cinematic cars: 1987 Ferrari 412 in “Daft Punk’s Electroma” (2007)
•November 4, 2011 • 10 Comments
We never paid much attention to the 412, but we must say, it looks pretty darn good in 2007’s “Daft Punk’s Electroma.”
Daft Punk’s Electroma is an odyssey of two robots who journey across a mythic American landscape of haunting, surreal beauty on a quest to become human. Their symbolic quest takes them from endless two lane highways to small idyllic towns to the arid desert.. (source).
Not actual music from the movie, but the highest-def clip online that features sweeping footage of the 1987 Ferrari 412 that was later auctioned off for charity:
Another remix, this one featuring the musical stylings of Daft Punk’s Thomas and Guy-Manuel (not featured anywhere in the actual movie):
Actual scene:
Trailer:
New steering wheel— installed!
•November 4, 2011 • 12 CommentsAs much as we preach the virtues of OEM, the thin-rimmed BMW M-Tech I we had left a bit to be desired in the sportiness category. Enter the Momo Monte Carlo. It’s a great wheel for this car— it’s chunky, feels great in one’s hands, and doesn’t look out of place (as much as we love the Momo Prototipo, it would be painfully mismatched in an E30). The aftermarket horn button is unfortunate, but we’re looking to rectify that with a replacement BMW button that’s on order— hopefully it’ll fit.
This is now the third wheel we’re on (after small diameter M-Tech I and II wheels), and it feels the best by a significant margin. We think steering wheels are so important, so we don’t mind having taken the roundabout way to get to this point. We’re just glad we don’t have an airbag to deal with.
Gratuitous Momo pics:
And in contrast, here’s the previous wheel that was on— a small diameter M-Tech I. Period correct OEM goodness, but lacking in the ‘feel’ department— it’s a trade-off we decided was worth making. We’ll hang on to this for when it becomes time to sell the car.
Your moment of zen
•November 3, 2011 • 6 Comments
Pacific Raceways in Kent, WA doesn’t resemble a race track so much as it does a great winding mountain road
•November 2, 2011 • 10 Comments
What the heck?
•November 1, 2011 • 5 CommentsNever even heard of it before, much less seen it— you are looking at an Alpine M63. Very little information about it online— most notably, three of them appear to have been campaigned at the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans. None finished, and one claimed the life of Brazilian driver Christian Heins when his car was involved in a fatal accident early in the race.
The car has a fascinating teardrop shape and the characteristic weirdness that you expect of Alpines. You can also see how low it is— again, reminiscent of the A110.
Odd, yet absorbing.
Hat tip to reader Alexandre for the images, as well as for the inspiration behind this post.
Motoring Con Brio 