Given that it runs on scarily bald looking Michelin Pilot Cup Sport tyres you’d have thought this would be time for wailing and gnashing of teeth at fate ruining what should have been the ultimate drive in the ultimate 911.

Actually no. As I discovered when I did a rain-soaked lap of Wales in the standard GT3 these supposedly scary, bite you if you blink hardcore 911s are actually surprisingly usable in the wet. Check out this clip from the aforementioned Welsh roadtrip if you were in any doubt!
   
Two things help. First, the inherent mechanical grip these cars generate is simply incredible, come rain or shine. Second, there’s so much communication through the wheel and the seat of your pants you can feel how much grip there is, or isn’t, which removes a huge degree of the fear factor. It’s not foolproof and I did have a couple of slithers in yesterday’s torrential downpours (yes, I’m glad RS Porsches now have stability control…) but as long as you’re not being an idiot (see above) the GT3 and RS are so honest in their responses there’s a kind of natural comfort zone in which you find yourself.

Like the GT3 though it takes a while to feel entirely at home. Again, I started out tense, wired and more than a little nervy. And then, without really noticing, found I was relaxing into the seat, my grip on the wheel had relaxed a tad, my elbows had dropped and I was actually driving it properly. God it felt good!

And then a man came and took it away. I couldn’t care less that the sun’s now shining!

Dan
—
Links:
911 GT3 vs Clio Cup
"I’m taking the day off"
Around Wales in a GT3
—
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]]> http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/911-gt3-rs-splashes-out/feed/ 2 msncarsuk http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/nissan-370z-on-track-in-the-rain-are-you-mad/ http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/nissan-370z-on-track-in-the-rain-are-you-mad/#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:59:19 +0000 msncarsuk http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/nissan-370z-on-track-in-the-rain-are-you-mad Continue reading →]]>
Pic by Justin Couture
Dan Trent writes:
I’ve always considered the Nissan Z cars to be fun but rather blunt tools. All macho posturing but perhaps lacking that final bit of finesse you’d find in a Cayman or Boxster.

I was dead wrong as it turns out! Nothing shows up a car’s class – or lack of it – like a wet track and a visit to a sodden Brands Hatch yesterday in a 370Z to do my ARDS race licence test had me eyeing the black clouds nervously.

After all, Zs can be a tad skiddy in the dry. But with Paddock Hill Bend looking more like a white water course than a race track I was expecting to see an awful lot of the ESP light and/or slithering about.

Nothing of the sort as it turned out. Bizarrely after all that chest beating on the road – the Z’s diff is grabby at low speeds and the controls seemingly deliberately ‘it’s not for girls’ heavy – it actually mellows when you start going for it and showing surprising composure.

To the point I could happily punt it along a soaking wet track for lap after lap and not see a glimpse of the ESP light flashing – always an indicator of a well sorted car. And no, I wasn’t nursing it either. The fact the Z could be hustled around in those conditions without calling on the black boxes to keep it out of the Armco is seriously impressive, to the point where I was so confident I even switched the stability control off. Sure, I had a couple of slithers but nothing like the riot of oversteer I was expecting. If I’d had the guts that was there for the taking of course. But I didn’t. And the marshals were very quick to black flag any sideways antics, giving me a handy excuse for being a bit of a wuss.

Pic by Justin Couture
A Cayman is, by some way, still the sharper tool. But it’s a whole £10K more expensive (before options) and compared with, say, a BMW Z4 the Nissan is much more feelsome and honest in its responses. I came away from Brands seriously impressed. And the race licence? That’s another story… 

Dan
—
Links:
Nissan 370Z first drive
Porsche Cayman S roadtest
Porsche minimum spend scam exposed
ARDS race licence test at Brands Hatch
—
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]]> http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/nissan-370z-on-track-in-the-rain-are-you-mad/feed/ 0 msncarsuk http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/driving-the-mercedes-%e2%80%98beetle%e2%80%99/ http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/driving-the-mercedes-%e2%80%98beetle%e2%80%99/#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:35:50 +0000 msncarsuk http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/driving-the-mercedes-%e2%80%98beetle%e2%80%99 Continue reading →]]>
Dan Trent writes:
Driving old cars is always an experience. And the three rear-engined Mercedes I drove for the ‘Did Mercedes invent the Beetle?’ story were all marvellous things and brilliant fun to drive.

The 170H – the most modern of the three – was the most refined and easy to drive. And the 150H the most dramatic, thanks to its sporty looks and open cockpit. Who, incidentally, would have thought Mercedes was the first to market with a bright red, mid-engined sports car eh?

But my favourite was the 130. It was the oldest, most basic and, with 26hp, by far the slowest of the three. But when you’re driving old cars like this obsessions with 0-62mph times are of less importance than soul and how it makes you feel.

The inside of the 130 was pretty Spartan, with even the gear and pedal linkages exposed. But it had been beautifully restored and everything worked with incredible precision.

The four-cylinder engine was smooth and responsive too, even if the gearbox took a little getting used to. First was down and to the left – dog-leg as it’s known – second up and right and third straight back. Fourth? Don’t touch the clutch and from third move the stick right and up, back off the throttle, wait for the clunk and there you go.

Even at the time Mercedes was well aware of the handling quirks of rear engined cars, an internal memo at the time noting the “poor road-holding ability of the rear-engine car” and that senior engineers “harboured the gravest concerns for the vehicle”. Another engineer later noted in his memoirs that “after carefully tuning tyre and spring softness … we created a serviceable vehicle out of what was initially a rather stubborn mule.”

I’ve got to say, they must have got it right because the 130 handled pretty sweetly as far as I could tell. Quirky, characterful but almost forgotten entirely, these rare little cars were an absolute treat to drive.

Oh, and fans of a certain fictional online motoring hack will be amused by the quotes from German roadtester Joseph Ganz who, writing of the 130 in 1934, said “In order to test the full potential of the rear-engine car I drove on the snowy and at times icy tracks … the four-day old snow was still virginal. Only on one occasion did the car deviate by a few degrees from the intended direction – the result of a snowdrift – but I was immediately able to bring it back on track again.”

What’s German for ‘a dab of oppo’ exactly?

Dan
—
Links:
Did Mercedes invent the Beetle?
When is a VW Beetle not a VW Beetle?
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]]> http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/driving-the-mercedes-%e2%80%98beetle%e2%80%99/feed/ 0 msncarsuk http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/nothing-back-to-front-about-this-old-merc/ http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/nothing-back-to-front-about-this-old-merc/#comments Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:47:56 +0000 msncarsuk http://msncarsuk.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/nothing-back-to-front-about-this-old-merc Continue reading →]]>
Dan Trent writes:
Over three-quarters of a century has passed since this dinky little rear-engined Mercedes was first shown at the Berlin motor show. Driving it in LA recently was huge fun and a massive privilege too. Sure, I love a fast, sporty car as much as anyone. And with 26hp and a 57mph top speed the 130 is neither of those things.

But it is an interesting one. And characterful too. Relevant though? Yup. Because although not a huge success the thinking behind the 130 is, note for note, pretty much the same tune being played in carmakers’ boardrooms everywhere. Namely, how to downsize a luxury brand into a small car without cheapening it?

The motivation in the 30s was social as much as financial. Financial turmoil meant fewer people could afford big cars and at the same time luxury brands like Mercedes saw the potential in selling smaller, more affordable versions of the big, fancy cars they were known for.

Much like Audi is doing with the A1. And BMW has done with the Mini. And Mercedes with the A-Class and its Smart sub-brand.

Now, as in the 30s, people equated big cars with status, luxury and wealth.  But now, as then, there’s a feeling you can bring all that sense of quality to a lower price point without diluting what makes it special.

Sticking the engine in the back was radical from a technical point of view but a pragmatic solution at the time to squeezing the most passenger space into a small car – see the Beetle and original Fiat 500 as two later cars to follow the same example. And, with the Smart, a tradition Mercedes has continued to pursue to this day, albeit under a different brand name.

Dan
—
Links:
Did Mercedes invent the Beetle?
Top 20 rear-engined cars
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