evo UK – September 2019

(Axel Boer) #1

FUTUREICONS


Audi


A1quattro


EngineIn-line 4-cyl, 1984cc, turboPower253bhp @

6000rpmTorque258lb ft @ 2500-4500rpmWeight

1420kgPower-to-weight181bhp/ton0-62mph5.7sec

Top speed152mphPrice whennew£41,020 (2013)

Valuetodayc£34,000

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BMW


M2Competition


EngineIn-line 6-cyl, 2979cc, twin-turbo

Power404bhp @ 5250-7000rpmTorque406lb ft @

2350-5200rpmWeight1550kgPower-to-weight

265bhp/ton0-62mph4.4secTop speed155mph

(limited)Basicprice£51,150

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Mercedes-Benz


SLS AMGBlackSeries


EngineV8, 6208ccPower622bhp @ 7400rpm

Torque468lb ft @ 5500rpmWeight1550kg

Power-to-weight408bhp/ton0-62mph3.6sec

Top speed196mphPrice whennew£229,985 (2013)

Valuetoday£420,000-620,000

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character of subsequentmodels, answering the perhaps justified


call for a little morerazzle-dazzle and sonic stimulation. I’m


familiar withthose cars, soitwillbedoubly fascinating to


samplethe first fruit ofthe originalblueprint, the car charged


withrealising McLaren’s pure, unadulterated vision.


Officially,thiswas soldasanunprecedentedtransferof


F1construction, technology andcomputersimulation-aided


development fromtrack toroad.But Ferrari usedthatline too.


What it boileddowntowas you don’t needa big, noisy engineto


gofast and you don’t havetoput upwitha hardrideif you want


tocornerlikecrazy.


The 12C (Cfor CarbonMonoCell) was thuspoweredbyan


all-new, purpose-built 3.8-litre,dry-sumped, twin-turboV8


developing616bhp(595bhpinitially)and 442lb ftoftorque.


Slung lowin the chassis it revved to a Ferrari-matching 85 00 rpm


and poweredthe rearwheelsvia a seven-speed dual-clutch


transmission. Suspension?Classic racing practice–double


wishbones and coils allround,but withdampers hydraulically


interconnectedtoprovide threelevelsofroll control, thereby


makinganti-roll barsredundantand adjusting rollstiffness


inreal time.


The upshotisa dynamic paradigmthatwas uniqueeight


years ago and isuniquenow,deliveringanalmost magical


separationofrideand roll stiffnessand therefore comfort and


cornering power. Broken, lumpy surfacesare dismissed with


the pliantpanache ofanold-schoolPeugeot, but tearintothe


twistystuff and the McLarenchanges directionand gripswith


the low-inertiaalacrityand sticky-tyredtenacityofa single-


seater. This is rare, toweringtalentand utterly absorbing. Time


and againthe Macca flipsbetween ‘states’, onemomentalmost


sleepy, the seven-speeddouble-clutchtransmissionextreme


short-shiftingtothe resonantdrone ofthe exhaust. Then, ina


heartbeat, the inductionhowlfromhell (weirdly, allinduction


withnomechanicalcontent), sequenced pulsesofthrust asthe


DCT ripsthrough its ratios, and a chilledchassis withsinewsof


steel. It’s beena long wait, but I likethe McLarenMP4-12C a lot.


McQueen-gradeunderstated potency is brilliantly served.


One more to go. The last timeI saw a Mercedes SLS Black Series

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