Discussion
You are obviously the silver blur on the special edition subscribers front cover.....
I noticed the car was not in the group pic....were you late
....also couldn't understand how the Z06 only finished fourth overall when it comes 2nd in the top speed, 2nd in the 0-100 and 4th on the circuit lap....worst it should have finished would be third in my book, and probably 2nd behind the Ascari at mega money
I like the look of the new Noble M15 in the same issue BTW...but the ground clearance looks way too high in the studio pics.
I noticed the car was not in the group pic....were you late
....also couldn't understand how the Z06 only finished fourth overall when it comes 2nd in the top speed, 2nd in the 0-100 and 4th on the circuit lap....worst it should have finished would be third in my book, and probably 2nd behind the Ascari at mega money
I like the look of the new Noble M15 in the same issue BTW...but the ground clearance looks way too high in the studio pics.
It looks like the league table/hit parade was worked out on the number of Green Dots in the chart rather than an average of the scores, hence the Caterham coming near the top dispite its 15th place in the vmax section.
As an impartial outsider it was good to see the Z06 scoring well and posting a decent mark on the weighing scales too.
As an impartial outsider it was good to see the Z06 scoring well and posting a decent mark on the weighing scales too.
Hats off to the EVO boys, they were much friendlier than I expected (I've done some tests with other mags before which were hugely disappointing) and they did let me drive some of the cars and be involved in what was going on. John Hayman is a good bloke, I enjoyed smoking loads of fags with him as we watched the cars being tested.
I did get to drive the Aston V8 Vantage, and the Mitsubishi EV0 FQ340 (you can see me next to Mr Barker in the Evo doing the 0-100-0 test), and also went along for the ride in the Audi RS4 and Jaguar XK. Really wanted to drive the Caterham CSR but wasn't able to blag it! The Caterham was awesome.
I think that the Aston is absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, my opinion of the interior went down when I got in...the buttons for the stereo are really hard and "clicky" like a £30 radio from Dixons. Total rubbish. The Z06 interior is far beter quality despite all the "plasticky" jibes I've read. Also, the Astons handbrake was broken, and the gearshift was placed on the far side of the gearbox tunnel, not so easy to use. It sounded fantastic, but didn't go anywhere near as fast as it sounded. However, I don't think that Astons potential clients will car that much; they will be far more bothered about looking good and cruising around at low speed, can't see these being used for track days somehow.
Mitsu Evo was fast, John Barker used the secret Ralliart method of launching the car.
Rev to 6,000rpm, handbrake on, then drop the brake and clutch together, and go.
Works a treat. The following weekend I watched a similar car at Santa Pod try to launch from what sounded like 3,000 rpm, engine bogged, and hence made a slow mid 14 second 1/4 mile pass. So the Ralliart method works! The ABS brakes felt awful (but were effective) like someone was sticking a lump of metal between the spokes of the wheels! It is actually because each individual brake is working by itself to maintain balance, rather than evenly, but it feels and sounds horrible. Car is Amazing value at £30k. Audi was nice to look at and quite fast, but dull to be in really. Those two managed about 140mph down the mile straight, where the Z06 was making over 165...
The reason my car wasn't in the main picture was that I actually had to leave early after the lapping at Bedford, as I had bunked off work to be there when I wasn't supposed to have! But whats more importent eh?
I am pleased at how high it ranked though, no matter how they worked out the final rankings. The 0-100-0 could even have been quicker than the Caterham with better reactions. The corner weights showed 1442kg total (51F/49R) with a full tank of fuel. The car looked awesome coming through the final corner at Bedford drifting sideways in 4th gear! John thought that the traction control was very well judged, being so close (0.2 second) to his best times without it on. I can't stop thinking how fast it would lap with some Nitto 555Rs instead of the run flats it wears as standard...
Directly after they finished lapping it I had a few laps myself and then drove straight back to work in Canary Wharf (2 hours through hideous traffic). Not a problem at all for this awesome all rounder.
Lets face it though, the three cars that were placed above it in the test are either miles more expensive (Gallardo 125k, Ascari 235k) or a Caterham, which I always expect (and want) to win given how much better they are than anything else at going fast (And cos it's British!). I won't hear of anyone saying that 7s are not real road cars - they are. I ran a Sylva Fury for 6 years as my only road car (it's now a race car though), they're pretty similar to a 7 in the cold and wet stakes, and it didn't affect me in any way. Nurse? Nuuuurse!
I did get to drive the Aston V8 Vantage, and the Mitsubishi EV0 FQ340 (you can see me next to Mr Barker in the Evo doing the 0-100-0 test), and also went along for the ride in the Audi RS4 and Jaguar XK. Really wanted to drive the Caterham CSR but wasn't able to blag it! The Caterham was awesome.
I think that the Aston is absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, my opinion of the interior went down when I got in...the buttons for the stereo are really hard and "clicky" like a £30 radio from Dixons. Total rubbish. The Z06 interior is far beter quality despite all the "plasticky" jibes I've read. Also, the Astons handbrake was broken, and the gearshift was placed on the far side of the gearbox tunnel, not so easy to use. It sounded fantastic, but didn't go anywhere near as fast as it sounded. However, I don't think that Astons potential clients will car that much; they will be far more bothered about looking good and cruising around at low speed, can't see these being used for track days somehow.
Mitsu Evo was fast, John Barker used the secret Ralliart method of launching the car.
Rev to 6,000rpm, handbrake on, then drop the brake and clutch together, and go.
Works a treat. The following weekend I watched a similar car at Santa Pod try to launch from what sounded like 3,000 rpm, engine bogged, and hence made a slow mid 14 second 1/4 mile pass. So the Ralliart method works! The ABS brakes felt awful (but were effective) like someone was sticking a lump of metal between the spokes of the wheels! It is actually because each individual brake is working by itself to maintain balance, rather than evenly, but it feels and sounds horrible. Car is Amazing value at £30k. Audi was nice to look at and quite fast, but dull to be in really. Those two managed about 140mph down the mile straight, where the Z06 was making over 165...
The reason my car wasn't in the main picture was that I actually had to leave early after the lapping at Bedford, as I had bunked off work to be there when I wasn't supposed to have! But whats more importent eh?
I am pleased at how high it ranked though, no matter how they worked out the final rankings. The 0-100-0 could even have been quicker than the Caterham with better reactions. The corner weights showed 1442kg total (51F/49R) with a full tank of fuel. The car looked awesome coming through the final corner at Bedford drifting sideways in 4th gear! John thought that the traction control was very well judged, being so close (0.2 second) to his best times without it on. I can't stop thinking how fast it would lap with some Nitto 555Rs instead of the run flats it wears as standard...
Directly after they finished lapping it I had a few laps myself and then drove straight back to work in Canary Wharf (2 hours through hideous traffic). Not a problem at all for this awesome all rounder.
Lets face it though, the three cars that were placed above it in the test are either miles more expensive (Gallardo 125k, Ascari 235k) or a Caterham, which I always expect (and want) to win given how much better they are than anything else at going fast (And cos it's British!). I won't hear of anyone saying that 7s are not real road cars - they are. I ran a Sylva Fury for 6 years as my only road car (it's now a race car though), they're pretty similar to a 7 in the cold and wet stakes, and it didn't affect me in any way. Nurse? Nuuuurse!
Caterham's certainly quick and great fun (for 20 minutes) although I think the Vette might score a couple more wins over it if the group test was extended to include braking from 80 mph in the wet and side impact crash protection, both of which rate as important on my list of road car requirements.
I'm all in favour of magazine test ignoring things like crash protection.
Objective measurements, such as crash statistics, luggage space, depreciation etc, can be researched independently and each buyer can decide how important such things are to them.
The magazines should concentrate on the subjective issues, such as handling, noise quality, ergonomics etc. and present their finding in an entertaining manner.
Objective measurements, such as crash statistics, luggage space, depreciation etc, can be researched independently and each buyer can decide how important such things are to them.
The magazines should concentrate on the subjective issues, such as handling, noise quality, ergonomics etc. and present their finding in an entertaining manner.
Gazboy said:
Caterham's certainly quick and great fun (for 20 minutes) although I think the Vette might score a couple more wins over it if the group test was extended to include braking from 80 mph in the wet and side impact crash protection, both of which rate as important on my list of road car requirements.
That's something that always 'got me' on these road tests- why (without going all Mary Williams on you) is impact protection never a consideration in these magazines? ok it's the trill of driving first and foremost, but having a single sheet of steel more suited to housing air conditioning units between you and a lamp post is quite worrying for me....
If people were really concerned about their safety, then they would have an FIA spec roll cage fitted to their road car, would carry a certified fire extinguisher (or better still have one plumbed in), wear full safety harnesses not those awful diagonal inertia seat belts, and wear a helmet.
But no, the uneducated public think that a standard Volvo is safe. It is not. No standard road car is legal for racing, so why do people care so much that some standard road cars are "safer" than other standard road cars? I reckon you can make a Fiat Panda, master of the wafer thin bodywork, safer for the ocupant than a new Volvo or whatever, by preparing it to race standards.
Gazboy said:
but having a single sheet of steel more suited to housing air conditioning units between you and a lamp post is quite worrying for me....
Dear Gazboy......have you become gayboy or is this some sort of wind up? Since when did you worry about crash protection? As to your comment about lampposts, well I have never ever seen a lamppost in the middle of any carriageway so they really don't bother me. The only crash protection anyone should need is a good pair of eyes, a delicate right foot and a brain to connect the bits together.
99% of accidents are caused by a human failure and no amount of crash protection will stop someone from either killing themselves or more worryingly killing someone else.
We need better drivers not better protected cars.
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