It's not often we get excited about a car getting new bumpers and side markers, but when it means that the new Koenigsegg CCX is ready for U.S. sale, excitement is an understatement. After all, this new model--the third Koenigsegg, following the CC8S and CCR--will go from a stop to sixty mph in just 3.2 seconds, and will make a quarter mile seem shorter that a McDonald's drive-thru, running it in just 9.9 seconds at 146 mph. Yeah, wow.
CCX stands for Competition Coupe X, and the model is a commemorates the ten years that have passed since Koenigsegg's first prototype test run. For the first time, is complies with U.S. crash and emissions regulations, with new bumpers side lights, and a redesigned, California-approved V-8 pumping out 806 hp and 678 lb-ft of feet. Another unrelated but notable change is the engine cover, which is now made of glass. As with the CCR, the industry's first carbon fiber wheels are optional, and when combined with carbon-ceramic brakes (using eight- and six-piston calipers front and rear,) they allow the CCX to boast the lowest unsprung weight of any supercar built today. Welcome to America, Koenigsegg.
2008 Dodge Viper SRT10
In the perpetual scuffle for supercar supremacy, there is no such thing as too much power, torque, or performance. After watching Chevrolet Corvettes, Porsches, and Ferraris scorch tracks across magazine covers, team SRT is keen to retaliate. Packing nearly twice the Ferrari F430's piston displacement, 50 percent more power than the original Viper, and a laundry list of refinements, Dodge's serpent stirs from a year's nap (there is no 2007 model) hungry for action.
Without flames, wings, or fender flares to draw attention to its business, the Viper has slithered to 600 hp. Michelin run-flat tires have been superseded by Pilot Sport PS2 rubber, and new forged, ten-spoke wheels are optional, but the only obvious hint that something is up is a more aggressively vented hood.
The 8.4-liter V-10 under that bonnet borrows pistons and connecting rods from SRT's 6.1-liter Hemi V-8 to rev higher and to hiss harder. Twin throttle bodies and mass airflow sensors feed a larger intake plenum. A compression ratio boosted from 9.6 to 10.2:1, larger valves, CNC-machined combustion chambers and valve bowls, and smoother ports all help squeeze more energy out of each breath. New hydroformed exhaust headers route spent gases through four catalytic converters and two resonators housed inside the Viper's side sills. Thanks to a new camshaft configuration (see Techtonics sidebar) and a smarter electronic controller, the world's largest sports car engine idles more smoothly and meets pass-by noise requirements without the 2006 model's cumbersome, crisscrossed exhaust pipes.
More low-end torque was the last thing the Viper needed, so powertrain engineers used this opportunity to extend the V-10's high end. Lifters and rocker arms are lighter and intake valve stems are hollow in support of a 6200-rpm redline. At 3900 rpm, the new torque curve sweeps past the old one while surging to a husky 560 lb-ft peak at 5000 rpm. The power plot crests at 6100 rpm with a 300-rpm cushion before fuel delivery is interrupted.
The added impetus in the engine room prompted various other upgrades. A swinging oil pickup keeps lubrication pressure stable during high-g operation. A new dual-disc clutch combines higher torque capacity with lower inertia and reduced pedal effort. The six-speed Tremec transmission has ten percent wider gears, higher-capacity synchronizers, and plumbing to ease the task of prepping this box for track battle. A new hydraulic-type limited-slip differential engages more progressively to minimize tail wiggle when accelerating out of tight bends.
To throw a bone to the Viper faithful, the SRT team has added five new exterior colors, two fresh center-stripe configurations, and four new ways to spec out the interior trim. In the power-to-weight game, adding 90 hp while holding the weight gain to three pounds hurtles the Viper a notch up on the Corvette Z06. Which of these will be the first to break the 125-mph quarter-mile and the 200-mph top-end barriers? The only way to know for sure is to stage a showdown, a top-priority item on every tester's to-do list.
2008 Nissan Nismo 350Z
The Nissan 350Z has been around for over four years now, and you know what that means. . . time for a new special edition! For those unfamiliar with the NISMO name, the acronym is short for NISsan MOtorsports, the brand's in-house aftermarket tuner. The name has been seen on a special off-road edition Frontier over the past few years here in the States, and NISMO performance parts are available around the world. Like the NISMO Frontier, the NISMO 350Z will top the model range, but it's obviously meant for race tracks rather than two-tracks.
For onlookers, the most obvious cues for the NISMO will be the new front and rear fascias, side skirts, and functional rear diffuser and wing, along with the NISMO-branded Ray's Engineering wheels. Painted in gunmetal grey, they measure eighteen inches in diameter at the front while nineteens squeeze under the car's rear. All will be shod with Bridgestone RE050A tires.
For drivers and passengers, the familiar NISMO badges will adorn new black and red cloth seats with red stitching, along with new white and gray gauges. Each NISMO 350Z will have a serialized aluminum plaque on the center console, just to make owners feel even more special.
While the car does get new suspension tuning, Brembo brakes, and NISMO exhaust, the 350Z's 3.5-liter V-6 sits unmodified at 306 horsepower and 268 lb-ft of torque. The stock car's six-speed manual transmission and viscous limited-slip differential also go unchanged. Production will most likely be quite limited, and deliveries begin in July of 2007.
2008 Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works
The John Cooper Works (JCW) edition of the new Mini was unveiled earlier this year at the Geneva Auto Show. Just like the last generation Mini, this new JCW kit should make an already sporty small ride a bit more fun.
The kit, which sells for just over $2200 in Germany (U.S. pricing is not yet available), includes a sport suspension that lowers the car by 10mm (0.4 inch), cross-drilled front rotors, and revised engine management. Instead of 172 horsepower, the JCW's 1.6-liter now puts out 189. And while 17 horsepower may not seem like a lot, it's still a ten percent gain. Torque is also up, from 177 lb-ft to 184.
The JCW Mini has a body-color aero kit that includes front and rear fascias, side skirts, a carbon-fiber covered, roof-mounted rear spoiler, and eighteen-inch, double-spoke wheels. Inside, passengers are held tightly in place by John Cooper sports seats.
As a mathematical argument, the JCW makes lots of sense. With a price premium of ten percent, you get ten percent more power. And likely more than ten percent more fun.
2008 Lexus IS-F
The speculation and hearsay is finally over. Lexus, having failed to match the basic BMW 3-series with the IS, is going straight for the big dog M3 with its new IS-F. Under the massively bulged hood you see here is a 5.0-liter beast of a V-8 engine putting out over 400 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. Behind big nineteen-inch BBS front wheels lie six-pot aluminum Brembo calipers--the first ever with "Lexus" written across them--squeezing down on 14.2-inch perforated discs that hope to also clamp down on the lips of Lexus-doubters.
The IS-F borrows its far-beyond-necessity eight-speed transmission from the LS, but unlike in the LS, gearbox can be controlled via wheel-mounted paddles. Lexus claims that upshifts are popped off in a tenth of a second, and downshifts are met with automated blips of the throttle to match engine revs.
The IS-F rides up to an inch lower than other IS models, and is wider overall thanks to flared wheel surrounds and ridiculous brake vents behind the front wheels. At the rear, the IS-F is distinguished by unique, stacked quad exhaust outlets. Aluminum trim and sport seats--finished in black or white leather--define the interior, along with a special button for a new three-mode version of VDIM, Lexus's stability control system. Like similar systems from BMW and Cadillac, the driver can chose from a full-on stability mode, a sport mode that allows for some hoonery, and a full off mode that opens the flood gate for full drift action.
And full-on drifts won't be a problem with all that power. Lexus estimates a 0-60 mph time of less than 4.9 seconds for the IS-F, which is the first Lexus "F" cars. "F" will be the designation for sporty Lexus cars, much like "M" is to BMW, "AMG" to Mercedes, and "S" and "RS" are to Audi.
Lexus general manager Bob Carter says that "the intent of creating the IS-F was not to be a competitor to other performance-sport sedans. Rather, the goal was to create a true performance sedan in a uniquely Lexus way-one that is totally authentic with a unique interpretation of raw driving thrill at all speeds and provides a whole new definition of 'usable power.'" We hope that this unique interpretation is something brand new, because the Lexus experience we think of leans toward the numb, soulless side of the scale. With the debut of the IS-F, the task of creating a real performer appears to be complete for Lexus engineers. But now the real test begins. Can the fusing of the words "Lexus" and "performance" capture the hearts of the enthusiasts who matter? We'll find out when the IS-F arrives at dealerships in early 2008.
2008 Lamborghini LP640 Murci
6 months after the hardtop Murci�lago LP640 debuted, Lamborghini has come to Los Angeles with the roadster version. Lambo's LP640 designation means this is the even higher performance version of the Murci�lago. LP stands for the engine's mid-engined, longitudinal position - "longitudinale posteriore", and the numeric part means it has 640 horses crammed back there behind the very lucky passengers.2008 Aston Martin Rapide
At the 2006 Detroit auto show, Aston Martin stunned the gathered crowd with a breathtakingly beautiful four-door styling exercise called the Rapide. Named for the legendary late-1930s Lagonda flagship engineered by W. O. Bentley, the Rapide is the second four-door Aston project initiated under Ford ownership. The first, the 1993 Lagonda Vignale show car, was designed by Ghia and later mothballed. The Rapide, however, is all set for production in 2008, just ahead of its direct rival, the Porsche Panamera. We drove the concept car in Gaydon, England.
"Our goal was to make the most beautiful four-door car in the world," says design director Marek Reichman. The team succeeded from an aesthetic point of view, but the rear-seat packaging is unacceptable. Although the wheelbase was stretched from the DB9�s 107.9 inches to 117.7 inches, which matches that of the standard Lincoln Town Car, tall passengers will find it very difficult to squeeze through the narrow aperture defined by the low roofline and the restricted door opening. "The rear doors will swing open much farther in the production car," promises Reichman. "Slimmer seats will provide more legroom, and we may even alter the platform to lower the hip point, but that would require a $3 million investment." We say it would be worth it. The rear seats are beautifully sculpted, and we�d like to be able to sit in them.
Because it's a show car, the Rapide is replete with glitzy features such as power-folding rear seatbacks, a collapsible chessboard, and a bar with crystal champagne flutes. The four leather-clad bucket seats are separated by a substantial full-length center console, which eats up precious rear legroom. We hope Aston keeps the spacious, beautifully finished cargo deck, the practical liftgate, and the variable-tint polycarbonate roof. At the push of a button, the electrochromatic roof changes the in-cab atmosphere from airy to moody. The interior trim is equally impressive, with skillfully chosen matte poplar accents, blue sharkskin, and green-beige saddle leather.
The shiny chrome controls grouped around the custom Jaeger-LeCoultre clock are a bit over the top, but we're drawn to the starter button, which fires the 5.9-liter V-12. It's the same engine as in the DB9 but with its output bumped from 450 to 480 hp. Here, unfortunately, the mighty V-12 is castrated�it's limited to 4000 rpm. Mercifully, the car's character remains intact, and the engine's beautiful noise is further accentuated by large-diameter tailpipes and a pair of intake louvers reminiscent of the DBR9 race car�s.
Derived from the DB9 platform, the Rapide will take relatively little investment and time to complete its journey from show car to production model. If anything, the four-door treatment enhances the presence and beauty of the coupe's form language. How much will the newcomer cost? We hope that the narrow price gap between the $161,100 DB9 coupe and the $174,100 DB9 Volante (convertible) will accommodate a third model. If money were no object, would we join a queue to be guaranteed early delivery? Absolutely�if Aston can fix the packaging problem without altering the Rapide's elegant shape. If not, then forget it. Or rethink the marketing gambit and call the Rapide what it is: a four-door sport coupe.
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