2014 Porsche 911 Turbo

 

Another Good Car Based On A Legend

 

    

 

     Everyone knows that the Porsche 911 drives good and is well balanced despite having its engine in the rear. Perhaps the most popular and well known 911s are the Turbos. The Turbo I'll be writing about today will be the 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo.

     The 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo is a German rear-engine,all-wheel drive supercar, equipped with a turbocharged 3.8 liter six-cylinder engine that has direct fuel injection. In the standard version the engine delivers 520 hp while the S version delivers 560 hp. Top speed of the 2014 911 Turbo is a comfortable 197 mph. Naught to sixty is anything but comfortable as it reaches sixty mph in 3.2 seconds through Porsche's Sport Chrono Package. The S version reaches sixty in 3.1 seconds. The engine is coupled to a seven-speed dual clutch transmission (PDK) as well as an auto start/stop mechanism combined with engine shutoff. The engine sends power to all four wheels through what Porsche calls Porsche Traction Management that has electronically controlled and activated multi-plate coupling.  

     The 2014 911 Turbo is said to be the widest of the 911s being 22 mm wider than the Porsche 911 Carrera 4 models. The 2014 911 Turbo is also equipped with Porsche Active Aerodynamics (PAA), that include a retractable three-stage front spoiler as well as a deployable rear wing that has three adjustable wing positions. Other features on the 2014 911 Turbo include full-LED headlights with four-point running daylights and dynamic, camera-based main beam control, a brand new front fascia with redesigned headlamps as well as bigger air intakes, new taillights, a new exhaust system with four tailpipes, and a fixed rear wing that gives the car increased stability at high speeds.

     The brakes used on the 2014 911 Turbo are PCCB ceramic brakes. The car also uses a PDCC active anti-roll system which makes this the first 911 turbo to use such technology. The 2014 911 Turbo also comes equipped with rear-axle steering for racing and normal driving purposes. The system has two electro-mechanical actuators as opposed to the conventional control arms on the left and right of the rear axle.   

     The price of a 2014 911 Turbo is $149,250 for a regular Turbo and $182,050 for the S version.

     I wonder if Richard (Hamster) Hammond of British Top Gear has considered buying either one of these cars for himself. Wouldn't be surprised if he has.

The 2017 Ford GT

Ford's Second Attack On Ferrari Since The GT40

       

     Earlier I did a review of what would become a 2016 model of the Ford GT. Apparently that one wont be made for buyers. Instead what you'll get is an extremely Italian looking 2017 model with...hold on...Lamborghini-style swing-up doors and Ferrari F1 style flappy paddle shifts!? Ford what have you done!? Is Luca di Montezemolo of former Ferrari fame secretly working for you!? Even if he isn't this car looks and sound phenomenal. Only the rear of the car doesn't seem too pleasing to the eyes. Traditionalists of the GT40 and regular Ford GT might get angry over the new looks and technology of this redefined Ford GT but I wont. I say "Ford." "Go as Italian as you want and show Ferrari who's boss once more." But enough of this. Time once again for a random American to talk about car facts.

     The 2017 Ford GT is an all-American supercar with rear-wheel drive. It's equipped with an Ecoboost V-6, not the standard supercharged V-8 from the original, that delivers over 600 hp and a top speed of over 200 mph. Naught to sixty is said to take 3.2 seconds which is just ok in the modern supercar world where some supercars are reaching the under 3 second bar. The engine has 3.5 liters and is coupled to a 7-speed dual-clutch transaxle. Sorry traditionalists but there wont be manual in the new Ford GT. This surprisingly bothers me as well as I was quite pleased using a manual stick shift on the original Ford GT in Forza Motorsport 4. But then again I've always been a fan of F1-style paddle shifts for being so freaking fast on shift times, especially the ones used by Ferrari. Anyway the 3.5 liter Ecoboost V-6 uses 2 turbochargers. Let's pray the engine sounds awesome with the 2 turbos. The tires used are unknown Michelins. They could possibly be Pilot Sports but that's just an assumption.

      The 2017 Ford GT uses a carbon fiber body. Everything on the car has been made sharper, more aerodynamic, and more Ferrari-like, possibly just to mock Ferrari over their defeats at Le Mans to the GT40. The interior is more modern and made to be comfortable to drivers of most body types.

      The guessed price of the 2017 Ford GT is said to be about $125,000 which is slightly more expensive than the original. Love it or hate it you can't deny the new performance numbers. 

 

 

The 2008 Vector Motors WX8

 

Vector's Comeback Hypercar

 
 

    You would think Vector had died out long ago but no. They are still alive and as ambitious as ever. What's better is that the aircraft theme is back in their cars or should I say car. Their latest creation, the WX8, is said to be based around the F-22A Raptor and is even said to have F-22A-style military-grade switches in the interior. Sounds cool but if I were a WX8 owner I'd probably be confused with such technology. Anyway let's talk more about this awesome and insanely powwaaaaaahhhhhful car.

    The Vector WX8 is an American hypercar with rear-wheel drive and is equipped with a big-block V-8 that is either normally aspirated or supercharged. The horsepower from the normal version is said to be around 600 to 700. The supercharged version get's up to a whopping 1,200 hp. Top speed is above 270 mph. Naught to sixty takes either 3 or 3.3 seconds.

     The engine features titanium valves while the engine itself is made of aluminum to protect against the extreme heat the engine produces. The WX8's body is made carbon fiber combined with E-glass structural panels. The instrument panel is apparently hewn from billet aluminum and fitted with the so called F-22A-style switches.

     For aerodymics the WX8 uses a large integrated inlet and exhaust ducts used as heat exchangers, an extended tail that has a high mounted, low drag symmetrical inverted high down-force airfoil wing that increases high speed stability with aeroflaps.
     Believe it or not the estimated price of the WX8 is actually not crazy expensive but expensive nonetheless. It's estimated to be around $450,000 which for a car with this level of performance is not that bad. Let's hope it drives good.     



 

 

The 2016 Ford GT

 

A Smoother, Faster, More Italian-like remake of the Standard Ford GT.

 

  (speculated product image of the car. If you're the owners of these pictures and want them removed please let me know and I'll remove them. Thank you.)

 

     While the original 2005 Ford GT performed well it tended to break down, and the power apparently wasn't fast enough for buyers who got so angry they gave up on their cars. After a long eleven year wait Ford has decided to make a new Ford GT that has a smoother body, is faster, and even looks a little more Italian. However I've heard that this new Ford GT will be $125,000 approximately. This makes it about fourteen or fifteen thousand dollars more expensive than the original. However I think this extra price is reasonable not just because of the extra power and new look but because it has...hold it...Lamborghini-style swing up doors. Some might say this is sacrilege since it was the old GT40 that showed the Italians, particularly Ferrari, that we can compete on their level or sometimes better. But you have to remember the GT40 had a British body making it not all-American. But enough of this. It's time for you to read what a random American bloke has to say about this controversial car.

     The 2016 Ford GT is an all-American supercar equipped with what's believed to be twin-turbochargers for Ecoboost reasons or a modified version of the 5.2 liter flat-crank Shelby GT350 engine with more powaaaahhhhh. Nobody really knows at the moment. However what I can tell you is that it's estimated that the 2016 Ford GT will have 200 plus top speed and get to 60 mph in approximately 3 seconds. The engine, whatever it will be, will either be coupled to a manual gearbox possibly with a stick shift or a paddle-shift automatic for competition purposes. The car will most likely be rear-wheel drive.

    Another interesting and also very scary thing people are saying about this car is that it will abandon the old GT40 aviation look of the interior for something more modern and technological. This is likely to anger traditionalists badly. The interior will probably have leather, aluminum, and a carbon fiber trim. One or two LCD screens are also expected.

    Let's hope this car appeals to the majority of people who see it. I honestly like that America is becoming a little more European, specifically Italian, with their cars but I'm sure there are also a lot of people on Earth who don't like that.