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AUTO MANIA: by Dr. Iain Corness [email protected]

 


An even more ‘brutish’ Viper

SRT Viper.

A few years ago, I was given the opportunity to drive a Dodge Viper on one of the Australian race circuits. Any time I think about it now, I cannot help smiling. That big V10 engine up front delivering unlimited horsepower and with brakes that would be hard pressed to slow a pram, steering by the right pedal, it was a brute.
For those who lament the increasing electronic emasculation of the muscle cars, lament no longer - the brute is back, now called an SRT Viper, the Dodge brand name being dropped by Chrysler in favor of SRT. And it is even more ‘brutish’ than before!
The big V10 is still there up front with sodium-filled valves and forged pistons. All 8.4 liters of it delivering 477 kW at 6200 rpm, with 813 Nm at 5000 rpm torque all delivered to the rear wheels through a six speed manual gearbox.
With those sorts of numbers, the zero to 100 km/h time of 3.5 seconds is more than feasible. However, the torque spread is such that select any gear at any speed and your head is snapped back. Top speed? 331 km/h according to the factory.
 


Performance figures to sort the men from the boys

Ultimate Corvette.

These performance figures are a couple of years out of date, but to set this comparison test up took some doing then, and probably too difficult to organize now, but the results are interesting.
Zero to 100 kays is not the yardstick you need when dealing with supercars. It is zero to 200 miles per hour (320 kays) to sort the men from the boys. Yes, only in America could a magazine come up with such a comparison test, but Road and Track rose to the challenge. They took over the 15,550 foot runway of a US Navy air station in California and brought together six of the world’s fastest and rarest supercars to see how quickly they could get from a standing start to 200 mph. And the results were startling.
The first startle came with the Lamborghini Murcielago and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Their zero to 200 mph times were unrecordable! They couldn’t get there. Scratch two, only four left.
Next up was the Ruf 12, basically a Porsche Turbo on steroids. This rocketship took 35.5 seconds to reach 200 mph and according to the tester, it was a very comfortable drive. If you are not au fait with the Ruf name, Alois Ruf has been modifying Porsches for 33 years in the quaintly named Bavarian town of Pfaffenhausen. I have raced a Porsche Carrera against a Ruf Porsche and can only tell you what the rear end looks like. I didn’t get to see any more of the car.
Faster than the Ruf 12 was the Lingenfelter C6 Corvette. Similar to Alois Ruf, but on the left hand side of the Atlantic, John Lingenfelter has been taking US muscle cars and giving them even more muscle for 24 years. The Lingenfelter C6 Corvette has a 7.0 liter 650 kW V8 in the business end of the car and only took 26.5 seconds to get to 200 mph.
The Bugatti Veyron was next, and with 740 kW under the bonnet did zero to 200 mph in 24.2 seconds, which is around the time my Daihatsu Mira takes to 100 kph (downhill with a tail wind).
The big winner had 814 kW and a V10 up front, showing there’s no substitute for cubic inches. This was the John Hennesy prepared V10 Dodge Viper which did the 0-200 mph in 20.3 seconds. Apparently, according to R&T, it will sit on 400 kph, and costs $300,000 ex-factory in Houston.
However, if you are looking at doing the ‘double ton’ on a budget, the Lingenfelter C6 Corvette will only set you back around $160,000. So, what will it be, Sir? One Viper or a pair of Corvettes?
 


Joseph Lucas - The Prince of Darkness (1842-1903)

Anti-smoke anti-leak devices.

This item came via a circuitous route including Max Stahl, a senior journalist in Australia through to our Editor-at-large John Weinthal in KL. As nobody knows where it came from originally, I re-publish it here, and of course it is sheer fiction (but fun).
Positive ground depends on proper circuit functioning, which is the transmission of negative ions by retention of the visible spectral manifestation known as “smoke”. Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work. We know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of an electrical circuit, it stops working. This can be verified repeatedly through empirical testing.
For example, if one places a copper bar across the terminals of a battery, prodigious quantities of smoke are liberated and the battery shortly ceases to function. In addition, if one observes smoke escaping from an electrical component such as a Lucas voltage regulator, it will also be observed that the component no longer functions. The logic is elementary and inescapable!
The function of the wiring harness is to conduct the smoke from one device to another. When the wiring springs a leak and lets all the smoke out of the system, nothing works afterward.
Starter motors were considered unsuitable for British motorcycles for some time largely because they consumed large quantities of smoke, requiring very unsightly large wires.
It has been reported that Lucas electrical components are possibly more prone to electrical leakage than their Bosch, Japanese or American counterparts. Experts point out that this is because Lucas is British, and all things British leak. British engines leak oil, British shock absorbers, hydraulic forks and disk brake systems leak fluid, British tires leak air and British Intelligence leaks national defense secrets. Therefore, it follows that British electrical systems must leak smoke. Once again, the logic is clear and inescapable.
In conclusion, the basic concept of transmission of electrical energy in the form of smoke provides a logical explanation of the mysteries of electrical components especially British units manufactured by Joseph Lucas, Ltd. And remember: “A gentleman does not motor about after dark.”
A few Lucas quips:
The Lucas motto: “Get home before dark.”
Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three-position Lucas switch - Dim, Flicker and Off. The other three switch settings are Smoke, Smolder and Ignite.
The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics.
If Lucas made guns, wars would not start.
Back in the ’70s, Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which did not suck.
Q: Why do the British drink warm beer?
A: Because Lucas makes their refrigerators.
And as a footnote, one of the other senior Aussie motoring journalists added “Do you know there is no such person as Joseph Lucas? The name Lucas is an acronym standing for “Left Us Cold And Stranded”!


New E-Class Benz on the horizon

E-Class Mercedes-Benz.

Due to be released at the Detroit Motor Show in January (and I would imagine in RHD at the Bangkok International Motor Show at the end of March) will be the face-lifted Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
According to M-B, as well as the revised styling, there are up-dated engines and a host of other features. The most obvious, however, is at the front of the car with the corporate grille included in this restyling.
The up-dated engines include a new turbocharged 2.0 liter unit in two states of tune: 135 kW in the entry level E200 and 155 kW in the E250. Performance figures are 0-100 km/h time of 7.9 seconds, combined cycle consumption of 5.8 L/100 km for the E200 with the E250 returning zero to 100 km/h at 7.4 seconds and the same 5.8 L/100 km.
Moving up-market even further is a 245 kW twin-turbocharged 3.0 liter V6 petrol engine in the E400 model with 0-100 km/h in 5.9 seconds. There is also the carry over twin-turbocharged 4.7 liter V8 in the E500 returning 0-100 km/h in 5.2 seconds.
Top of the performance E-Class models will be the E63 AMG, with its twin-turbocharged 5.5 liter V8 engine. Performance figures are not available yet, but expect sub-5 second times for the zero to 100 km/h sprint.
There will also be diesel options with the E220 CDI returning 4.7 L/100 km through a seven-speed automatic and a theoretical range of up to 1278 km on the E-Class’ 60 liter fuel tank.
Among the new safety systems incorporated on the new mid-range Mercedes-Benz is collision prevention assist, a radar-based collision warning system with the ability to brake the car to reduce the severity of an impact. Also on board is a revised version of attention assist, which is now able to warn of drowsiness across a wider speed range.
A range of new and/or improved optional systems includes Distronic plus with steering assist that helps to keep the car centered in a chosen lane and tracks traffic jams. That should keep the electronics busy in Bangkok and Pattaya these days.
There is also a brake assist plus system with junction assist that is able to detect cross traffic and pedestrians and boost the braking power if insufficiently applied by the driver to avoid an impact.
The two systems are made possible by the adoption of a stereo camera positioned behind the windscreen with the mounting for the rear-view mirror. It records two sets of images at an angle of 45 degrees that produce a three-dimensional view of the area up to around 50 meters in front of the vehicle, allowing the various systems to react faster than with the previous camera arrangement.
How many of these new features will be incorporated in the E-Class models due to be released here, I do not know, but since the local cars will most likely be built at Sindelfingen initially, you might be in luck.


Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I asked which supercar manufacturer became involved in a racing bob-sleigh project? It was the tractor company Lamborghini.
So to this week. In 1893, legislation was passed relating to cars, before cars were available. What was this legislation?
For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected].


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