The Week in Cars #6
Brabham Automotive has risen from the deep, Porsche records a scorching laptime at the Nürburgring, and two new hatchbacks are driven: the Suzuki Swift Sport and the Mercedes-Benz A-Class.
Brabham BT62
Brabham is one of those names that make a Formula 1 fan spontaneously combust with excitement. Their mix of innovation, cheeky rule-bending and records to their name sets the knees of any petrolhead trembling. Founded by Sir Jack Brabham, he managed to make himself the first driver to win a championship in a car bearing his own name. Their most famous car was the BT04, using a fan to physically suck the car towards the track.
They're back. They're back with this, the BT62, and the headline figures, much like the Dallara Stradale are of high downforce and a tiny dry weight. 972kg is all that keeps the car on the ground at standstill, but at 155mph, an extra 1200kg is happy to help. 1200kg. That is the highest downforce figure ever to grace an OEM car, surpassing the 1100kg Aston Martin Valkyrie and 1000kg McLaren Senna GTR. Pushing along that 972kg is a not insignificant 740bhp, squeezed out from a 5.4l naturally-aspirated V8, so it should sound incredible. That contributes to 760bhp/tonne, so I'm going to speculate a 2.7s 0-62mph time and a top speed over 215mph. Whether the focus is on Koenigsegg-like high-speed-cornering prowess (a lot of hyphens there) or Aston Martin Valkyrie-like track obliteration is yet to be told, but I suspect the latter.
Porsche and their laptimes
Back in 2013, Porsche sent its £625,000, 875bhp 918 Spyder around perhaps the most famous track in the world: the Nordschleife or North Loop at the Nürburgring. It recorded a time of 6:57. And now their £143,000, 523bhp 911 GT3 RS has recorded an outrageous 6:56, making 918 owners ruinously regret buying a 918. Porsche are kind, aren't they? Mind, they also let the 691bhp GT2 RS loose, and it did a 6:48, which is the record for a series production car (NOT fastest OEM car outright.
That honour goes to the 1341bhp electric Nio EP9 [6:45.9], although only 16 were made. The fastest road legal car ever there is the McLaren P1 LM [6:43.8, but made by a company called Lanzante, not McLaren]) They are also going for lap records elsewhere, with one of the craziest creations ever. They took the retired 919 LMP1 car, and they made it as fast as they possibly can, in simple terms. And it has beaten Lewis Hamilton's record time at Spa, so it looks on course to achieve its goal. More news from the 919 Evo soon.
Hatchback heaven?
Mercedes has just made the whole of the internet really angry. Basically, the keyboard warriors of this world love it when a hideous car comes along, and they were in for a treat with the new A-Class. But, just like the new CLS, it just starts looking good when we are about to drive it.
The real talking point here is the interior, though. It is basically a mini S-Class in there, with two 10.25-in screens (an optional extra), a clever augmented-reality sat-nav, and *ahem* intelligent voice control. To drive, it really isn't that great, though. Although the ride and sound insulation is on-point, the steering is dull and the car just doesn't feel right in your hands, like a Golf does. And the engine sounds crap. But the real downside is the price. £30k is waaaay too much for a normal hatch, and you wouldn't spend a fortune on uncomfortable trainers, even if they took your phone calls, laced up by themselves and launched nuclear missiles.
71%
Things look sunnier for another pricey, but this time hot-ish hatch - the Suzuki Swift Sport. 138bhp is just 4 more than its predecessor, but 151lb ft is way more. That's from a 1.4l turbo, which, like the A250 we saw earlier, doesn't sound very good, but this time even more disappointing because of the pleasant sing of the last version.
The real problem with this car is it feels too grown up. It just leaves me cold, which it shouldn't do for £17,000. We await the new Ford Fiesta ST eagerly.
TWiC returns at some point next Sunday.
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| That rear wing contributes to a huge 1200kg of downforce |
Brabham is one of those names that make a Formula 1 fan spontaneously combust with excitement. Their mix of innovation, cheeky rule-bending and records to their name sets the knees of any petrolhead trembling. Founded by Sir Jack Brabham, he managed to make himself the first driver to win a championship in a car bearing his own name. Their most famous car was the BT04, using a fan to physically suck the car towards the track.
They're back. They're back with this, the BT62, and the headline figures, much like the Dallara Stradale are of high downforce and a tiny dry weight. 972kg is all that keeps the car on the ground at standstill, but at 155mph, an extra 1200kg is happy to help. 1200kg. That is the highest downforce figure ever to grace an OEM car, surpassing the 1100kg Aston Martin Valkyrie and 1000kg McLaren Senna GTR. Pushing along that 972kg is a not insignificant 740bhp, squeezed out from a 5.4l naturally-aspirated V8, so it should sound incredible. That contributes to 760bhp/tonne, so I'm going to speculate a 2.7s 0-62mph time and a top speed over 215mph. Whether the focus is on Koenigsegg-like high-speed-cornering prowess (a lot of hyphens there) or Aston Martin Valkyrie-like track obliteration is yet to be told, but I suspect the latter.
Porsche and their laptimes
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| We're late for school! Get in the car now! |
That honour goes to the 1341bhp electric Nio EP9 [6:45.9], although only 16 were made. The fastest road legal car ever there is the McLaren P1 LM [6:43.8, but made by a company called Lanzante, not McLaren]) They are also going for lap records elsewhere, with one of the craziest creations ever. They took the retired 919 LMP1 car, and they made it as fast as they possibly can, in simple terms. And it has beaten Lewis Hamilton's record time at Spa, so it looks on course to achieve its goal. More news from the 919 Evo soon.
Hatchback heaven?
Mercedes has just made the whole of the internet really angry. Basically, the keyboard warriors of this world love it when a hideous car comes along, and they were in for a treat with the new A-Class. But, just like the new CLS, it just starts looking good when we are about to drive it.The real talking point here is the interior, though. It is basically a mini S-Class in there, with two 10.25-in screens (an optional extra), a clever augmented-reality sat-nav, and *ahem* intelligent voice control. To drive, it really isn't that great, though. Although the ride and sound insulation is on-point, the steering is dull and the car just doesn't feel right in your hands, like a Golf does. And the engine sounds crap. But the real downside is the price. £30k is waaaay too much for a normal hatch, and you wouldn't spend a fortune on uncomfortable trainers, even if they took your phone calls, laced up by themselves and launched nuclear missiles.
71%
Things look sunnier for another pricey, but this time hot-ish hatch - the Suzuki Swift Sport. 138bhp is just 4 more than its predecessor, but 151lb ft is way more. That's from a 1.4l turbo, which, like the A250 we saw earlier, doesn't sound very good, but this time even more disappointing because of the pleasant sing of the last version.
TWiC returns at some point next Sunday.
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