Unicorns we will never see the likes of again...
Discussion
0a said:
E46 m3 BMW - unfortunately it seems unlikely we will get a naturally aspirated, manual straight 6 m3 - the perfect combination in my eyes 
They are a lovely overall package. It is a shame they still have their fair share of BMW engineering issues: cracking sub frames, Vanos, etc. vtecyo said:
Re small family rwd. Isn't that a 1 series?
It depends what you call small. Just compare wheelbases for example:1 Series - 104.7
XJS V12 - 102
Aston V8 (original) - 102.8
Morris Minor - 86
Skoda Estelle / Rapid - 94.5
Compared to todays cars the 1 Series is closer to medium than genuinely small.
Compared to even big cars of 20 years ago it is big.
Compared to RWD cars that are actually small it is planet sized.
LP670 said:
straight 6 engines seem to have fallen out of favour. I can only think of BMW that still uses them and my guess is these will be gradually phased out.
I would take a guess that they are too long for most car applications. By the time the cooling package and what ever crash protection at the front of the car has been added you get a very long bonnet. All of the best diesels are straight sixs, V8 diesels are all lousy in my experience, never used a good one. 300bhp/ton said:
Checkmate said:
So a Unimog is a bit agricultural, but a forward control land rover is aok? Unimogs are luxury in comparison.
Still very different vehicles[/URL]
Thread started well, promised goodness and descended into crap fairly rapidly.
To bring it back on track and away from the god awful boxes that in no way could ever be classed as special and a 'unicorn' I propose this beauty..
|http://thumbsnap.com/U5ikqypV[/url]
Had one, hated the gearbox but my god it was and still is a special car, BMW have yet to beat it visualy.[url]
To bring it back on track and away from the god awful boxes that in no way could ever be classed as special and a 'unicorn' I propose this beauty..
|http://thumbsnap.com/U5ikqypV[/url]Had one, hated the gearbox but my god it was and still is a special car, BMW have yet to beat it visualy.[url]
LP670 said:
straight 6 engines seem to have fallen out of favour. I can only think of BMW that still uses them and my guess is these will be gradually phased out.
They are too long for a transverse engine. This rules out most of the mass market volume. Without volume the case to have one at all as opposed to a four or V6 isn't good. For bigger cars the standard is now V8.Most buyers just don't care. I recently searched for a 1 Series six and counted how many there were, massively outnumbered by fours and most of the fours were turbo-diesel.
cymtriks said:
It depends what you call small. Just compare wheelbases for example:
1 Series - 104.7
XJS V12 - 102
Aston V8 (original) - 102.8
Morris Minor - 86
Skoda Estelle / Rapid - 94.5
Compared to todays cars the 1 Series is closer to medium than genuinely small.
Compared to even big cars of 20 years ago it is big.
Compared to RWD cars that are actually small it is planet sized.
Sorry, but what point are you trying to make exactly?1 Series - 104.7
XJS V12 - 102
Aston V8 (original) - 102.8
Morris Minor - 86
Skoda Estelle / Rapid - 94.5
Compared to todays cars the 1 Series is closer to medium than genuinely small.
Compared to even big cars of 20 years ago it is big.
Compared to RWD cars that are actually small it is planet sized.
1 Series was never meant to be a small car AFAIK, it was a Focus/Astra/Golf alternative - which is why I bought one (because it wasn't FWD)!
An XJS may have had a shorter wheelbase, but it was 191.2 inches long whereas the E87 1 Series was only 166.4 inches long! So that may be why the XJS only had room for 2 usable seats and was a barge with massive overhangs......
Why was the XJS wheelbase so short when the car could have surely had the wheels nearer to the corners, which may have allowed it to handle less like a barge and more like a go-kart?
300bhp/ton said:
vtecyo said:
So you're basically saying "poverty spec off roader"
That'll be a hilux then.
Or perhaps a unimog.
Hilux just no. Not enough off road credentials, not simple enough, too much wanting to be like a car inside.That'll be a hilux then.
Or perhaps a unimog.
t.It's the vehicle of choice for mine sites (along with Land Cruisers) and a mine site will kick the s
t out of a car and push it across terrain way more than some muddy hill in Wales.Willy Nilly said:
LP670 said:
straight 6 engines seem to have fallen out of favour. I can only think of BMW that still uses them and my guess is these will be gradually phased out.
I would take a guess that they are too long for most car applications. By the time the cooling package and what ever crash protection at the front of the car has been added you get a very long bonnet. All of the best diesels are straight sixs, V8 diesels are all lousy in my experience, never used a good one. As many others have already said, the Homologation special is a thing of the past. Car makers build volume products and motorsport rule-makers know this and have tweaked rules accordingly so there's no longer a requirement for racers to be based on road cars.
It's a shame, can you imagine some of the cool stuff you'd be able to buy now if they did have to build production versions - a 2.0 turbo RWD Subaru Levorg (BTCC), a massively turbocharged 4WD DS3 (WRC), a 4.0 V8 N/A wide arched Audi RS5 (DTM) and of course a 1.6T Citroen C-Elysee from the WTCC (actually, maybe that last one wouldn't be so great as a road car...)
cymtriks said:
vtecyo said:
Re small family rwd. Isn't that a 1 series?
It depends what you call small. Just compare wheelbases for example:1 Series - 104.7
XJS V12 - 102
Aston V8 (original) - 102.8
Morris Minor - 86
Skoda Estelle / Rapid - 94.5
Compared to todays cars the 1 Series is closer to medium than genuinely small.
Compared to even big cars of 20 years ago it is big.
Compared to RWD cars that are actually small it is planet sized.
Evolved said:
Thread started well, promised goodness and descended into crap fairly rapidly.
To bring it back on track and away from the god awful boxes that in no way could ever be classed as special and a 'unicorn' I propose this beauty..|http://thumbsnap.com/U5ikqypV[/url]
Had one, hated the gearbox but my god it was and still is a special car, BMW have yet to beat it visualy.[url]
A limited edition BMW? I think we are going to see plenty of them in the future.To bring it back on track and away from the god awful boxes that in no way could ever be classed as special and a 'unicorn' I propose this beauty..
|http://thumbsnap.com/U5ikqypV[/url]Had one, hated the gearbox but my god it was and still is a special car, BMW have yet to beat it visualy.[url]
dme123 said:
QuickQuack said:
This might be a stupid question but WTF is a Manfister? Once I stopped giggling, I did google it but I didn't have the guts to click on any of the results 
I admit, I made that one up but considering the "fragile masculinity" names they give pickup trucks it seems sufficiently homo erotic for the target market.Rawwr said:
dme123 said:
QuickQuack said:
This might be a stupid question but WTF is a Manfister? Once I stopped giggling, I did google it but I didn't have the guts to click on any of the results
I admit, I made that one up but considering the "fragile masculinity" names they give pickup trucks it seems sufficiently homo erotic for the target market.
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