Tags: AMG / ATS-V.R Twin Turbo / BMW M4 / Cadillac ATS-V coupe / CUE / Driven By Dan Scanlan / Recaro / Turbocharged

‘16 CADILLAC ATS-V: TORQUE IS KING!

- Senin, 28 Desember 2015 No Comments

The ATS-V Coupe’s aggressive looks plus a nimble chassis and powerful high-tech V-6 make it a match for BMW’s M, blogs Dan Scanlan.

The holy grail of sports coupedom is the BMW M4 – 425-horsepower and 60-mph from a standstill in 4.1 seconds, and the dance moves of a prima ballerina combined with a cheetah. And until now, maybe only Mercedes-Benz’s varied AMG products could take on the Bimmer for the golden ring of sports coupes. That was until now. Say hello to my new best friend – the ‘16 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe. It’s a compact two-door with twin-turbo 464-horse V-6 aimed right at BMW’s M4 coupe!



The base ATS has a 202-horsepower 2.5-liter Four, with a 2-liter turbocharged Four with 272-horsepower and a 335-horsepower V-6 available. But the compact Caddy king is our test coupe’s 464 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque through the rear wheels, below. You get a six-speed manual with rev match, no-lift shifting (keep the pedal down for full turbo boost as you change gears) and launch control. Or you can have our coupe’s eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shift. The only issue – some second-to-first downshifts clunked.

The engine, suspension and eight-speed have four drive modes - Touring, Sport, Track or Snow/Ice. Dip deep in the throttle in Sport mode and our 5,000-mile-old V-6 growls mightily to about 6,200-rpm, spinning its rears briefly before hooking and hitting 60-mph in 4.5 seconds and 100-mph in 9.6. The on-board performance data recorder showed a quarter mile of 14.6 seconds, and 0-100-0 mph took 16 seconds.



Inside, active noise cancellation quiets down the interior, but Cadillac also funnels augmented exhaust noise inside to make the V-6 sound snarlier. Full throttle sounded like a meaty little V-8 with some V-6 snarl, and a nice overrun exhaust crackle. Sport and Track modes also blip the throttle on fast downshifts, and power is there almost anywhere across the band with no turbo peakiness. As for fuel mileage, we calculated about 15 mpg on premium.

The ATS-V’s Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires ride on the same 109.3-inch wheelbase as other ATS models. But it gets a revised multi-link double-pivot MacPherson-strut front suspension with 50-percent greater roll stiffness. The five-link rear suspension gets stronger lateral control and anti-squat geometry with stiffer bushings, higher-rate springs and a stiffer stabilizer bar. And with more bracing, there’s 25-percent greater structural stiffness.



Magnetic Ride Control’s Sport or Track settings firm up suspension and steering feel, speed up throttle and engine response and lessen traction and stability control parameters. Touring gave us the most compliant ride feel, firm but with a softer edge over bumps during quickly managed rebound. In Sport, there was a firmer edge, but it still had a nice buffer on quick rebound over bumps.

The ATS-V was a willing corner carver, with just a touch of understeer when pushed into a turn, but easy to neutralize with throttle going out. It easily stitches successive corner together, never unsettled as we jinked left, then right. The coupe stayed fairly flat and neutral on our skidpad, a subtle bit of stability control to keep the nose or tail from straying the course when we pushed. In Track mode, we could power the tail out a bit more as the transmission stayed in the gear we wanted, but Stabilitrak was still there.



Or tap the steering wheel button to disable stability and traction control and smoke them if you want to. But even then, the balanced chassis and responsive throttle plus quick steering could catch the tail. The data recorder showed 1.25 Gs in lateral grip in the skidpad in second gear.

Turn-in was immediate, the steering feel precise, direct and full of feel. Sport and Track both offered almost a manual feel that communicated very well. With 14.5-inch front brake discs with six-piston calipers and 13.3-inch-diameter rears with four-piston calipers, the ATS-V stopped flat and straight from 100-mph. Repeated simulated panic stops from 60 mph showed no fade. The ATS-V’s wedge shape is augmented with an optional carbon fiber track package that added some serious-looking downforce-generating bits that make a hell of a statement in an arresting Red Obsession Clearcoat.

Cadillac says almost every exterior panel is unique on the ATS-V, and each element has a purpose - lift reduction, enhanced cooling or reduced mass. The V-shaped nose gets a big steel mesh upper grille with thin air intake at the hood’s leading edge. There’s a wide-mouth lower intake with dark accent above. Below, a deep glossy carbon fiber splitter wraps around the edges to reduce lift at speed – and catch a driveway or curb, so be careful. Functional side vents frame the lower intake. The lightweight carbon fiber hood gets a glossy weave vent that pulls hot air out and reduces lift by channeling air through the radiator and over the car.

Halogen headlights flow along the fenders’ outer curve, while bladed LED taillights bring an upper design line to a halt. A lower door sill flares with black aero pieces. The semi-fastback raked rear window flows into a short deck with NASCAR-style near-vertical spoiler. A carbon fiber lower aero piece houses four steel exhaust tips.

 The ATS-V is an inch longer and wider and about 1.5 inches lower than the regular ATS Coupe. It lives on grippy, wide 18 x 9-inch front/18 x 9.5-inch rear Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber on 10-spoke polished alloy and gray alloy wheels with red Brembo disc brake calipers visible inside.

Step inside and you’re greeted by deep, supportive and comfortable high-back leather and suede Recaro bucket seats, 16-way-adjustable and trimmed in leather with suede inserts. The driver faces a central 200-mph speedometer, 8,000-rpm tach and gas and temperature gauges, with a center color trip computer that shows navigation, audio and fuel mileage, engine information and turbo boost. The power tilt/telescoping steering wheel gets a thick leather rim with long magnesium paddle shifters that are easy to access behind it.

Buff carbon fiber weave sweeps around the cabin. Dashboard center lives an eight-inch touchscreen for navigation, audio, climate control and telephone, part of CUE (Cadillac User Experience). When on, the navigation screen stays blissfully clear of buttons. But move your hand close and proximity sensors activate four main system “buttons” on top, and secondary ones on the bottom. Touch controls for volume, dual-zone temperature, fan speed, defrost and seat heaters live under the screen and work fairly well. Each touch is rewarded by a “thump” of haptic feedback. Voice command also worked well. What still doesn’t is the touch control to close the center dash panel that motors up to reveal a USB port and a smartphone inductive charging plate. I would tap and tap, and the door wouldn’t close.



The 10-speaker AM/FM/SiriusXM Bose surround sound system was powerful and free of distortion. It can pair entertainment and information data from up to 10 Bluetooth-enabled devices, with two USB slots, an MP3 input and SD card slot under the center armrest. The back seat is tough to get to past front seatbacks that don’t flip all the way and leave a shoulder belt to step over, the form-fitting seats offering minimal adult head and leg room. The seat backs split and fold to expand the narrow trunk, where the battery lives for weight balance.



What about that Performance Data Recorder? Slip an SD memory card into a slot in the small glove box, and a camera mounted behind the rear-view mirror captures on-board video with data overlays of speed, gear position, rpm, lateral G-loads, throttle and turbo boost, even 0 to 60 mph, 0 to 100 mph, quarter-mile and 0-100-0 times. It can record racetrack lap times. Pop out the card and watch your "hot laps" anywhere, or on the screen when parked. A 32 GB card promised 787 minutes recording time.

A base ‘16 Cadillac ATS Coupe with the 3-liter turbo four starts at $37,995, while our ATS-V with 464-horsepower twin turbo V-6 starts at $62,665 with lots listed above standard. Our test coupe’s $6,195 track performance package added a carbon fiber Aero package with front splitter, rear diffuser, tall tail spoiler and black rocker extensions as well as lightweight battery with floor mats, tire pump and sealant deleted. The Recaros were $2,300; eight-speed automatic was $2,000; navigation with Bose surround sound and a 110-volt plug another $1,085; $995 red metallic paint; $900 alloy wheels; $595 for red brake calipers; and $305 to replace the deleted tire sealant, pump and floor mats. Final price - $78,035 with destination.



For more information about Cadillac’s world challenging V-Series models, please visit http://www.cadillac.com/v-series.html

Tags: 300SL Gullwing / AMG / Autobahn / Driven by Howard Walker / Mercedes-AMG GTS / SLS / sports cars

’16 MERCEDES-AMG GT S: FLIGHT OF THE SILVER ARROW!

- Kamis, 03 Desember 2015 No Comments

Mercedes-Benz throws down the gauntlet to Porsche’s 911 with its breathtaking new AMG GT S super-coupe. Road Test Editor Howard Walker takes it for a spin.

There’s driving. And then there’s driving!

   

The kind of driving that gets your heart pounding like a supercharged jackhammer. Driving that has high-octane adrenaline fire-hosing through your veins. The kind of driving that has you shrieking like a sugar-rushed five-year-old riding Space Mountain for the first time. To experience all of the above, simply strap your bones into Mercedes-Benz’ new fire-breathing projectile, the 503-horsepower AMG GT S.

   

Here is the demonic descendant of Merc’s short-lived SLS supercar - the one with those funky gullwing doors, wrath-of-Thor soundtrack and $200,000-plus sticker. With this new AMG GT S however, Mercedes is targeting a broader demographic: sports car lovers with around $130,000 burning a hole in their chinos! Buyers with class acts like Porsche’s latest 911, Audi’s R8, Jaguar’s F-Type R and Aston Martin’s Vantage on their shopping list. The Merc scores huge on looks alone. Drink-in for a second all the sweeps and swoops of this piece of automotive art.

   

From those air-gulping intakes up front, to its mile-long hood, to that sensuously sculpted rear-end, this car gets more dropped jaws than Amal Clooney in Oscar de la Renta. Just standing still, it looks as if it’s clocking a buck-ninety on the Autobahn!

Thankfully the GT hasn’t inherited the SLS’s cormorant-drying-its-wings gullwing doors. They may have looked sexy, and given a nod to Mercedes’ legendary 300SL Gullwing from the 1950s, but they made getting in and out of the car a lesson in physical origami. That, and I whacked my head on the things every time I clambered out.

    Not that this latest AMG rocketship is that much easier to slide into. With its roof just over four feet off the asphalt, you need the flexibility of a limbo dancer to drop down into the racecar-inspired cockpit. And once inside, you don’t so much sit in the car as wear it, with seats that grip you so tightly as to be verging on intimate. But grab-ahold of that salami-thick,

suede-covered helm, gaze out along that supertanker-long hood, and you could be on the front row of the grid at Sebring.

   

But who the heck decided the gear selector should be in the back seat?

Seems there wasn’t enough space for cupholders and the stubby shifter at the front of the center console. Unbelievably, especially for the purists at AMG, the cupholders won and the shifter was pushed just far enough back to be irritating. Thankfully the engine start button is where it should be, and a quick press ignites one of the most magical powerhouses in the auto kingdom.

   

It’s Mercedes-AMG’s new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 packing 503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque . It’s one impressive piece of design that squeezes those dual turbochargers tightly into the center of the “V” for compactness.

  The compact size, together with its dry sump lubrication, allowed the designers to mount the V-8 well behind the front-wheel centerline and low in the chassis. This, along with bolting the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic at the back of the car, makes for truly awesome handling.

   

And boy does this car fly. Stomp on the throttle and it will catapult you from standstill to 60 in just 3.7 seconds, and not quit catapulting till the speedo needle is kissing the 193-mph mark. With every one of those 479 turbocharged torques on tap from just 1,750 rpm, the GT delivers mind-blowing mid-range thrust.

   

You can also tailor the car’s engine responses to your mood swings. C-for-Comfort tones down the exhaust thunder for morning commutes, while full-on Race mode makes you feel like Vin Diesel in Fast and Furious 7. It’s crazy!

    You’d need a racetrack, however, to come anywhere close to exploring the upper echelons of the Merc’s handling prowess. On our Floridian highways and by-ways, this car is so agile, and so freaky fast through curves, that it never feels like it’s breaking a sweat.

   

No wonder then that the hot shoes at Motor Trend mag recently awarded the AMG GT their coveted ‘Best Driver’s Car 2015’ accolade.

I love this car. Love it for its race-focused character, its bad-boy, blunt-instrument demeanor, the pure driving excitement it offers, and its truly breathtaking looks. At $130-grand, it’s a steal!



For more information on the latest luxury-performance vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, please visit https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/future/model/model-All_New_2016_C190_AMG_GT

Tags: AMG / Driven By Dan Scanlan / IWC Schaffhausen / Mercedes-Benz / S65 AMG / Twin-Turbos

’15 M-B S65 AMG: KING OF THE ROAD!

- Minggu, 19 Juli 2015 No Comments

Dan Scanlan finds the S65 AMG to be an amazing car – half ultimate flagship and the other half muscle car king. And both halves behave beautifully.

Doing a smoky burnout in a luxury flagship that can cocoon its passengers in massaging heated or cooled seats with a sound system that rivals most homes, seemed sacrilegious. Yet a tap of the right alloy pedal and our ‘15 S65 AMG spun its rear rubber and did a classic muscle car doughnut, then launched to 60-mph only 7/10ths-of-a-second slower than a Corvette Z06!



So what do we make of this flagship, with more power than even the uber-luxurious M-B S600 Maybach? To find out, we fire up the twin-turbo V-12, burn some asphalt, then pull over and sip sodas from the champagne cooler as we watch a DVD from the reclining back seat with foot rest and a cooling breeze on our S.

You can’t see much under the bonnet, just a carbon fiber shield that hides the 6-liter twin turbocharged V-12. This locomotive puts out 621 horsepower and a formidable 738 pound-feet torque at full thrust. Engine builder Steffen Hahn (signature on the engine build plate) must be proud of this one.

 


The AMG Speedshift Plus 7-Speed dual-clutch transmission has three modes - Controlled Efficiency (C), Sport (S) and Manual (M). The last two shorten shift times and tighten throttle reaction and steering feel, while C backs off on those and engages a start/stop engine function at stop lights to save fuel. 


This chauffeur had fun putting pedal to metal. The S65 immediately hooked up, its 4,969 pounds hitting 60-mph in 4 seconds and 100 mph in 10 seconds, sometimes with subtle wheelspin. No turbo lag – passing was immediate. The exhaust gave a mellow bellow as we sped forward. Yet the car was very quiet at speed. The dual-clutch quickly shifted with muffled “whoomps” from the exhaust at each shift. Even set in C, our 7,000-mile-old Benz never saw more than 17 mpg and had to fill up twice on premium in our week-long test. 




The S65 is big, but tries to be as light as possible with an aluminum hybrid bodyshell which lives on a four-link front axle and multilink independent rear suspension. The Magic Body Control and active damping immediately softens or firms up the air suspension to absorb bumps. A stereo camera reads the bumps ahead, then body control adjusts the suspension in advance to smooth out the disruption.

With "Comfort" mode, the ride was soft yet controlled, still firm enough to mask the car’s size. “Sport” made the car more eager to play in a curve, yet still supple, ironing out bumps with taut suspension control. The car also had a cornering assist system that provides torque vectoring on the inside rear wheel to make the rear end behave better and minimize understeer in a high-speed corner.




This 16.5-foot-long sedan can handle. It wafted around curves with minimal body roll and almost no understeer as its electromechanical AMG speed-sensitive sports steering offered great feel and a stiffer precision in “Sport,” and just enough feedback in “Comfort.” Push hard and adaptive seat bolsters held me in. The car felt neutral in our skid pad, just a hint of understeer if pushed that was controlled by ESP. Power into a corner and the rears slipped a touch, then ESP held them in.



Cornering assist also gave the inside rear just enough to rotate the car more precisely into the turn. Looking over my skidpad shots, the car has almost no body roll as it carves the curves. Turn off ESP and we could get the tail out in the skidpad, leaving some serious rubber in a smoking powerslide. Those 15.4-inch front/14.2-inch rear vented and cross-drilled disc brakes with AMG calipers had precise feel and solid bite, bringing the car down from huge velocities time and time again with no fade and minimal nose dive. 




For safety, a PRE-SAFE system detects pedestrians and starts braking. A lane-keeping system vibrates the steering wheel if you drift across a lane, then nudges the car back. The cruise control maintains speed and distance. And while these are just a step away from driving hands and feet-free, the car will flash a warning if it thinks you are letting it do the driving!

Our Magnetite Black test car looked stealthy and gray, but got a lot of attention as people stopped and stared at the things that make an AMG stand out. The flagship’s 2013 redesign saw its radiator grille wrought larger and more upright, the three twin-bladed chrome bars the AMG touch. Sweeping dual LED strips accent the all-LED headlights - almost 500 LEDs handle interior and exterior lighting. 




To change a S550 into an S65AMG, the nose gets a deep chrome mesh center intake under that main grille with alloy lower air dam, flanked by chrome-edged side intakes. The high trunk has a subtle spoiler crafted in over an AMG-specific lower alloy bar with twin exhaust tips. A “V12 biturbo” badge on the front fenders catches attention. The chrome lower sill accent visually lowers the car. Within the gentle flared fenders lie slim AMG brushed alloy 5-spokes and shod with P255/40ZR20-inch front/P285/35ZR20-inch rear Continental rubber.

Many who looked inside our S65 AMG said it was like a luxurious home - one said it was roomer than their home!
 The dashboard face is done in a diamond-patterned perforated brown leather with intricate dual stitching. Deep weave carbon fiber sweeps through the centerline, with a Swiss-made IWC Schaffhausen clock with carbon-fiber face.




Floating between the leather are two 12.3-inch wide high-resolution color displays. The left is a virtual 220-mph speedometer with a percentage fuel left display – I’d rather have a gauge. The right side is an 8,000-rpm tach with engine temperature. In between, almost any infotainment or comfort functions you want on the trip computer screen. You can tap on Night View Assist PLUS and get an infrared view of people in front of you on a dark road. A head-up display projects vehicle speed, navigation and cruise control distance, gear selection and an upshift bar in manual shift mode.


 The right display is the “everything else” screen. Display a- huge satellite navigation screen or owner’s manual. You can show front seat heat/ventilation/massage and side bolster support features, or CDs with cover art plus all radio and media, telephone functions. The climate control has "active perfuming,” its scent bottle clipping into an illuminated slot in the glove compartment. Seven colors can be called up on accent lighting on the door-mounted tweeters, dashboard screens, center console and doors.




All of the above are activated via the center console’s COMAND touch-sensitive top and its twist/nudge/tap alloy rotary pushbutton, surrounded by buttons for seat, radio, media, navigation, phone and car settings. The top is a touchpad that lets you use smartphone-like squeeze, tap and slide moves to handle menus. It sometimes didn’t work. We would use voice command, navigation entries spoken in one shot - easy.


The front seats had stitched and embossed Nappa leather with superb comfort and support. Embossed atop the center armrest is the ornate AMG seal honoring its headquarters town of Affalterbach. Under a center gloss black panel was a six-disc CD changer and twin cup holders under a rubberized floor that blocked the CD slot when used. That CD and the AM-FM-SiriusXM-MP3 and Bluetooth audio is heard through a Burmester High-End 3D-Surround Sound system with 24 speakers all over, even on the headliner, done in artfully perforated aluminum. The door-mounted tweeters twirled out as the car fired up with a snarling burp from its exhaust. Take it from me – full volume ROCKS your world without distortion.




Long rear doors open wide onto a veritable palace – twin reclining seats separated by a wide console with compartments for twin folding alloy tables. Another panel hides cooled or heated cup holders, with climate controls nearby. Between the seats is the three-bottle wine cooler with a CD/DVD player. Front and rear seats each have three memory presets. Like the front seats, the rears have side bolsters that inflate in turns to hold you in. Twin screens offer videos, seat control graphics, even the navigation route, all controlled via door-mounted buttons or a very comprehensive remote. 


The seat behind the driver gets a 37-degree recline and heat, ventilation and massage. But the best seat is behind the front passenger - a full 43.5-degree recliner with extending leg support. It’s truly comfortable, with soft suede pillows on the head restraint. As for the trunk, waving a foot under the rear bumper activated the power opener. But don’t look for a lot of room since the wine cooler and a big subwoofer take up luggage space.



The base S550 starts at $94,400, then our top-line S65 starts at $222,000. Options - $3,700 carbon fiber and piano black interior trim; $1,100 refrigerator; $1,950 executive rear package w/power rear seats, folding tables and heated/cooled cup holders; and a $1,700 gas guzzler tax. With delivery, $231,375.



Words & Photos: Dan Scanlan.



For more information about the latest luxury-performance vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, please visit  http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/index

Tags: AMG / European vehicles / Mercedes-Benz / shooting brake / wagons

Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake!

- Rabu, 26 November 2014 No Comments

2015 Mercedes CLA 45 AMG, Photos courtesy of Daimler.

Mercedes is continuing to generate an insane amount of new models as it quests to take over the whole world. This time the company has developed a shooting brake version of the CLA-Class, which if you don't know is the new entry-level offering that's supposed to draw in Millennials who have a fat trust fund.

There is a hot CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake, which is a modified version that is essentially just like the CLA 45 AMG four-door coupe. That's not all a bad thing, because it's great that AMG can squeeze 360 horsepower from a little 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine.

The setup means you can do 0 to 60 in under 5 seconds while also carrying quite a few groceries home. If that isn't sexy, then what is?

Most Americans have little idea what a shooting brake is. We in general don't like wagons here, myself being one of the few exceptions, which is why this car won't be sold stateside. A shooting brake is a three-door wagon. Since the CLA is technically called a four-door coupe, it mimics the look of a shooting brake, even if it does have two extra doors that make it more practical.

Is this car another sign of how out-of-control Mercedes has become when it comes to making too many niche vehicles? Is this the ultimate sleeper car, or is it just a wagon version of a mediocre car that doesn't live up to Mercedes' standards of quality? Drop a comment and let me know what you think.

Tags: AMG / Biturbo / Mercedes-AMG GT / Mercedes-Benz / Twin-Turbos

MERCEDES-AMG-GT: A RACE CAR FOR THE STREET!

- Selasa, 09 September 2014 No Comments

Mercedes-AMG GT boasts racetrack performance combined with superb everyday practicality. Is this the ultimate GT?

The first Mercedes was a racing car and its most recent successor carries this heritage forward. With the new GT, the Mercedes-AMG sports car brand is moving into a new sports car segment. The GT is the second sports car developed entirely in-house by Mercedes-AMG. It’s a front mid-engine design with a rear transaxle and use of lightweight intelligent aluminum construction, forming the basis for a highly dynamic driving experience.

Power comes from a newly developed AMG 4.0-liter V8 biturbo engine, underscoring the hallmark of AMG driving performance. The first sports car engine from AMG with internally mounted turbochargers and dry sump lubrication, it is available in two power ratings: as a GT with 456 horsepower and as a GT S with 503 horsepower. The new GT combines driving dynamics and first-class racetrack performance with superb everyday practicality and efficiency that sets new standards in the segment.

It has everything you would expect from an authentic Mercedes-AMG sports car – from characteristic styling and thoroughbred motorsport technology to optimum weight distribution. The drive system is tailored to consistently deliver driving dynamics. The centerpiece of the Mercedes-AMG GT is the new 4.0-liter V8 biturbo, which responds instantly with extreme power at low revs and delivers outstanding overall performance. Preliminary tests show sprints to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 193 mph, with outstanding driving dynamics and extremely fast laps on the racetrack.

At the same time, this two-seater is a comfortable and reliable for everyday motoring thanks to its easily accessible luggage compartment and high level of interior comfort. It also features an extensive list of Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive assistance systems, which ensure the high level of safety, expected from Mercedes-AMG.

"With the new GT we are positioning Mercedes-AMG even more aggressively than to date as a dynamic sports car brand", says Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG GmbH. "With its technological substance, the Mercedes-AMG GT fulfills our high aspirations with regard to driving dynamics, agility and sportiness. The new GT is the second sports car developed fully independently by Mercedes-AMG. The car is manufactured according to the motto 'Handcrafted By Racers' – which perfectly encapsulates our heritage and our spirit."



For the full story on the new AMG-GT, please visit http://www5.mercedes-benz.com/en/vehicles/passenger-cars/the-new-mercedes-amg-gt-handcrafted-by-racers/