General Automotive Thread

i'm pretty sure most car magazines usually tests quarter mile times along with 0-60 and 60-0 times during their performance tests

Key part: "along with", and other handling characteristics and the top speed. It would be one lazy review that only gave the drag race.

I actually looked for more all-round results but the only one I could find for the Model 3 was Laguna Seca Raceway, and that's all over the place on what's driven there. IIRC, it has lap times on par with the Audi R8 and BMW M4, which are similarly priced. Impressive, but not superb.

Edited by RainehDaze on Nov 1st 2019 at 10:19:58 AM

So, about that racing (cross-posted from EV thread)...

Clean Technica: Tesla Model S Plaid Prototype Laps the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:13

Notes:

• This is 10 seconds faster than the Model S Plaid clocked in September.
• The Model S's laps used race tires, which give an approximately 10 second advantage over street tires, so the adjusted lap is still 19 seconds faster than the Porsche Taycan Turbo's August time. (Porche either has not raced its Taycan Turbo S variant, or has not posted its times.)
• As before, the lap was hand-timed. It is expected that Tesla will seek official certification of its times prior to the release of the final Plaid variant next summer.
• With its tire-adjusted lap time, the Model S Plaid has now unofficially beaten the record for 4-door production sedans, regardless of engine type.
• Porsche is rumored to be working on a variant of its flagship Panamera (an IC car) to retake the top spot, targeting a time of 7:11.

Not in the article but from earlier ones on the subject:

• The next-generation Tesla Roadster, also expected to launch in 2020, is intent on beating the all-time track record at Nürburgring.

Edited by Fighteer on Nov 5th 2019 at 4:32:38 AM

does that include the 919 EVO lap?

Unclear. Data in the article are based on this list from fastestlaps.com. The comparison is against "4-door production sedans", meaning the vehicle must be available to the general public and not a purpose-built racing variant. AFAIK, it includes official times only, not manual times. The Taycan Turbo is also not listed in those statistics as its lap time was not official.

Edited by Fighteer on Nov 5th 2019 at 2:21:03 PM

So it does handle well too. Good.

However, why the hell is it called Plaid? Who names a car model after a fabric pattern?

Spaceballs. As in Ludicrous Speed: "She's gone to Plaid!"

So it's a thirty year old movie reference... on a production car. That they plan to make a faster car than anyway. Sigh.

Between this and Gigafactory...

Someone please stop Tesla from naming their own things. It's painful.

Edited by RainehDaze on Nov 5th 2019 at 7:51:16 PM

in other news, Doug De Muro finally reviews the coolest truck of all time, the Dodge Ram SRT-10:

I mean, if that's what bothers you, knock yourself out. The high performance setting on Tesla cars has been called Ludicrous Mode for a while now. Elon Musk is King Geek.

There's a certain point beyond which something becomes tacky.

two new videos from Doug De Muro: first a review of the Jaguar XE SV Project 8

and the other is of the Pagani Huayra Roadster

Aging Wheels is a pretty good channel if you want to see old electric cars, here are two of his recent ones:

and Donut Media just posted this video:

and Lamborghini just revealed their Vision Gran Turismo concept

i think it looks awesome

Yeah, but that's what it is to be a true Lamborghini: look absolutely stunning — ask later about being worthwhile.

I thought that was Alfa Romeo; lamborghinis at least work for a while.

I would argue that working and being worthwhile aren’t really the point of a Lamborghini.

Lamborghini, Ferrari, etc are like Patek Philippe of cars, in that if you want and can afford them, functionality probably isn't your priorities.

If your top priority is functionality, there are tons of more affordable options.

Shit, the people who buy these luxury cars probably don't even drive them most of the time.

Well, of course not. Sure, I've seen cheaper Porsches occasionally and high-end BMWs or the like, but outright supercars? They're not something really intended for practical driving—though they've been made a lot better in that regard. Track performance is a different matter.

Or simply looking good.

I don't even think they take the cars out to tracks. They just leave them on display.

some new reviews from Doug Demuro:

Porsche 911 Speedster:

Ferrari 599 GTO:

Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet:

My dream cars are the Ford Shelby Cobra, the 1938 Jaguar SS 100, and the Delorean, in that order.

my dream garage would be: SSC Ultimate Aero TT (could possibly be switched out with the Tuatara), Nissan GT-R Nismo, 2017 Ford GT, Koenigsegg One:1 and an Ariel Atom V8

Doug De Muro has just reviewed one of the most hyped cars that's coming out in 2020, the Porsche Taycan: