Last week was one filled with serious amounts of horsepower. Porsche announced their mad 911 GT2 RS, BMW followed with the most hardcore M3 now available and I sampled Chevrolet’s Lumina CSV CR8 at Killarney race track in Cape Town.
$%@! could very well be the best way to describe Porsche’s latest 911 supercar. The 911 GT2 RS is the fastest, most powerful 911 to date. Since 2000 the Porsche Carrera GT, with its V10 engine and 450 kW, has retained the title of ‘top dog’ in the Porsche stable, but its been superseded by the GT2 RS. What have Porsche done to achieve all this? Well, Porsche put the regular GT2 on diet to the tune of 90 kilograms less, they’ve used a carbon fibre bonnet, air intakes, side mirrors and a pair of carbon fibre seats. Power from the 3,6-litre 6-cylinder engine to a massive 462 kW and naturally the performance figures are equally as impressive, with the 0 – 100 km/h sprint achieved in just 3.4 seconds. Only 500 units will be produced and in US Dollar terms the car will set you back around $245 000.
BMW have performed a similar reworking of their current M3 performance coupe in the form of the M3 GTS. The car has been stripped of any unessential items, such as the rear seats, which have been replaced with a roll cage. In addition to the standard carbon fibre roof, the BMW M3 GTS is fitted with a titanium exhaust silencers, polycarbonate side windows at the rear and a polycarbonate rear window, lighter door panels and centre console. These weight saving measures managed to shed 70 kilograms over the standard M3, for a total mass of 1 530 kg. The V8 engine has been given a capacity increase to 4,3-litres and now produces 331 kW and 440 N.m of torque – an increase of 22 kW and 40 N.m over the standard M3. The sportier M3 also has a transmission and suspension configuration that have been optimised for the racetrack. Power is sent to the rear wheels via BMW’s M-DCT 7-speed transmission and suspension has been lowered over that of the standard M3 by 16 mm at the front and 12 mm at the rear. BMW claim a top speed of 305 km/h, a zero to 100 km/h sprint of 4.4 seconds and a that the M3 GTS will cover a kilometer from a standing start in 22.5 seconds.
Volkswagen brought two special Golf GTI’s to this years Worthersee festival in Germany. Worthersee is the largest Audi and VW festival in the world, where fans come together to show off everything from custom rides to originals in immaculate condition. Having gained such popularity over the years, the manufacturers and associated industry suppliers are now also present at the event, using it as a platform to launch new products or test the publics response to a potential product. As such, Volkwagen launch the Golf GTI Adidas model, as well as a concept called the Golf GTI Excessive. The GTI Adidas features an interior inspired by Adidas footwear, including two-tone sport cloth and leather seats with the shoe brand’s three-stripe trademark. The brand’s logo is also emblazoned on the exterior of the car, at the B-pillar. Aside from the GTI’s standard equipment, the car comes with smoked lenses over the rear LED lights, adaptive cornering bi-xenon headlights and unique 18-inch ‘Serron’ alloy wheels. The ‘Excessive’ concept includes a new, thin front spoiler that leads to the 30 mm wider flared wheel arches. New side sills were also bolted on, as well as a new rear diffuser that “lights fire-red when braking,” according to the company. Larger disc brakes measure 370 mm in the front and 310 mm at the back, and are covered by 19-inch CH Black Edition BBS wheels. A new rear spoiler was also fitted. Power was boosted by just over two percent, thanks to the Akrapovic exhaust. Depending on its reception at Worthersee, the GTI Excessive’s accessories may become available as part of VW’s accessories catalogue.
I recently tested the 2010 Honda CR-V 2.2 i-DTEC, the results of which you can read here.
Last week I also joined Chevrolet at Killarney race track in Cape Town for a sneak peak of their upcoming Chevrolet Spark, Cruze diesel and Lumina CSV CR8 muscle sedan. The CSV CR8 was the star of the show, with 317 kW, 550 N.m of torque and looks that’ll frighten little children, the CR8 offers M3 performance with M5 practiality. A couple of instructor-led hot-laps on a wet race track in the CR8, highlighted the levels of grip on offer, as well as the performance of the brakes. As you can imagine, the Lumina CSV CR8 requires little provocation before turning into a hooligan. Our afternoon drifting session was great fun – the damp circuit and the Lumina CSV’s V8 fire power meant it was a fine balancing act. There are currently only 5 Lumina CSV CR8′s in the country. Chevrolet engineers are currently scrutinising one of them, while the others are being used to test the response to the car. Chevrolet are tight lipped on whether they will be offering the car for sale in SA, but judging by the smiles at the race track and the interest shown while the car was on display at the Top Gear MPH shows earlier this the year, I’m fairly confident we’ll hear an announcement within the next couple of months.
This week I’ll be attending arguably BMW’s most important launch of the year, that of the BMW 5 Series sedan. Stay tuned for this and other news next week.
