Article:Scandinavian Handling Day
Just picked up the latest issue of "Bilmagasinet" (The Car Magazine) which is Denmark's leading automobile mag.
They have just had their annual Handling day at Knutstorp raceway in the south of Sweden along with colleagues from other scandinavian magazines, and here is a short recap.
I wont scan the article (at least not yet) cuz the scanner is packed away for moving.
The cars tested were:
*Ford GT
*Porsche 997 Carrera S
*Ferrari F430
*Maserati Gran Sport
*Kleeman SLK K55 S8
*Corvette C6
*BMW M5
*BMW M6
*Cadillac CTS-V
*Renault Megane Trophy LE
*BMW 330i
*Ford Mustang GT
*VW Golf GTi
*Subaru Leagacy 3.0 Spec-B
*Opel Astra GTC Turbo 147kW (Vauxhall in UK)
*Citroen C4 VTS
*Ford Fiesta ST
*Mitsubishi Colt CZT
*Citroen C2 VTS
*Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG
This was also the rank they had for fastest lap time.
Here are the times:
*Ford GT: 1:12,9
*Porsche 997 Carrera S: 1:13,4
*Ferrari F430: 1:13,4
*Maserati Gran Sport: 1:15,4
*Kleeman SLK K55 S8: 1:16,3
*Corvette C6: 1:16,7
*BMW M5: 1:17,2
*BMW M6: 1:17,2
*Cadillac CTS-V: 1:17,7
*Renault Megane Trophy LE: 1:18,4
*BMW 330i: 1:18,5
*Ford Mustang GT: 1:19,7
*VW Golf GTi: 1:20,6
*Subaru Leagacy 3.0 Spec-B: 1:20,6
*Opel Astra GTC Turbo 147kW (Vauxhall in UK): 1:22,5
*Citroen C4 VTS:
*Ford Fiesta ST
*Mitsubishi Colt CZT
*Citroen C2 VTS
*Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG (wet tarmac)
It's worth noting that the 911 equalled the 430's laptime with 135BHP less.
Also notice the S65 AMG's sucky time - even considering the damp surface.
Verdict:
Cars in the final.
(My VERY short recap of the article. Forgive me if details get lost)
9th: Renault Megane Trophy: "More effective than fun"
8th: Ford Fiesta ST: "Most fun in its class (...) good value for money"
7th: BMW 330i: "Perfectly finetuned, reliable, unsurprising, too civilized, lacks raw appeal"
6th: BMW M6: "Balance, power, grip, steering lacks involvement/nerve on the real streets"
5th: Maserati Gransport: "Charismatic imperfection=fun, involving, leaves impression, little imperfections are its strengths and weaknesses (gives the car charisma but makes it less of a great sportscar).
4th: VW Golf GTi: "easy and straightforward, loads of fun, great suspension, steering not sharp enough, too heavy, not nimble enough, would never beat the next three no matter how hard they tried cuz those are built only focusing on riving pleasure and not the practicalities of having a family".
3rd: Porsche 911 Carrera S: "Impressive handling, as fast as F430 with a lot less power, rear engine setup an advantage on this track, better exitspeeds out of corners, minute flaw is understeer, engine responsive and powerful, precise and enjoyable manual 6-shift, not as exotic as GT or F430 but delivers world class drive appeal and excellent everyday-car which makes it even better, very close to beating the GT that costs three times as much (in DK) tells us just how right this car has been built.
2nd: Ford GT: "Violent excess of power, great suspension, bites and tears into the asphalt with a zest that is contageous, fantastic communication between steering wheel and front wheels, nice heavy steering, entertaining, fun and beautiful, GT beats the F430 on the highway and freeway, grips the asphalt and grabs your heart, owning it and driving it for more than just a Handling Day it might very well prove an even better and more fun car than the F430.
1st: Ferrari F430: "Delicate handling, intense in everytning it does, like driving a 490bhp Lotus Elise, precise steering, differential makes power delivery less nervous and erratic than the F360, not as much rear grip as the P911, only car here that seems to be built as a thouroghbread racer, more driver appeal than the other cars.
They have just had their annual Handling day at Knutstorp raceway in the south of Sweden along with colleagues from other scandinavian magazines, and here is a short recap.
I wont scan the article (at least not yet) cuz the scanner is packed away for moving.
The cars tested were:
*Ford GT
*Porsche 997 Carrera S
*Ferrari F430
*Maserati Gran Sport
*Kleeman SLK K55 S8
*Corvette C6
*BMW M5
*BMW M6
*Cadillac CTS-V
*Renault Megane Trophy LE
*BMW 330i
*Ford Mustang GT
*VW Golf GTi
*Subaru Leagacy 3.0 Spec-B
*Opel Astra GTC Turbo 147kW (Vauxhall in UK)
*Citroen C4 VTS
*Ford Fiesta ST
*Mitsubishi Colt CZT
*Citroen C2 VTS
*Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG
This was also the rank they had for fastest lap time.
Here are the times:
*Ford GT: 1:12,9
*Porsche 997 Carrera S: 1:13,4
*Ferrari F430: 1:13,4
*Maserati Gran Sport: 1:15,4
*Kleeman SLK K55 S8: 1:16,3
*Corvette C6: 1:16,7
*BMW M5: 1:17,2
*BMW M6: 1:17,2
*Cadillac CTS-V: 1:17,7
*Renault Megane Trophy LE: 1:18,4
*BMW 330i: 1:18,5
*Ford Mustang GT: 1:19,7
*VW Golf GTi: 1:20,6
*Subaru Leagacy 3.0 Spec-B: 1:20,6
*Opel Astra GTC Turbo 147kW (Vauxhall in UK): 1:22,5
*Citroen C4 VTS:
*Ford Fiesta ST
*Mitsubishi Colt CZT
*Citroen C2 VTS
*Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG (wet tarmac)
It's worth noting that the 911 equalled the 430's laptime with 135BHP less.
Also notice the S65 AMG's sucky time - even considering the damp surface.
Verdict:
Cars in the final.
(My VERY short recap of the article. Forgive me if details get lost)
9th: Renault Megane Trophy: "More effective than fun"
8th: Ford Fiesta ST: "Most fun in its class (...) good value for money"
7th: BMW 330i: "Perfectly finetuned, reliable, unsurprising, too civilized, lacks raw appeal"
6th: BMW M6: "Balance, power, grip, steering lacks involvement/nerve on the real streets"
5th: Maserati Gransport: "Charismatic imperfection=fun, involving, leaves impression, little imperfections are its strengths and weaknesses (gives the car charisma but makes it less of a great sportscar).
4th: VW Golf GTi: "easy and straightforward, loads of fun, great suspension, steering not sharp enough, too heavy, not nimble enough, would never beat the next three no matter how hard they tried cuz those are built only focusing on riving pleasure and not the practicalities of having a family".
3rd: Porsche 911 Carrera S: "Impressive handling, as fast as F430 with a lot less power, rear engine setup an advantage on this track, better exitspeeds out of corners, minute flaw is understeer, engine responsive and powerful, precise and enjoyable manual 6-shift, not as exotic as GT or F430 but delivers world class drive appeal and excellent everyday-car which makes it even better, very close to beating the GT that costs three times as much (in DK) tells us just how right this car has been built.
2nd: Ford GT: "Violent excess of power, great suspension, bites and tears into the asphalt with a zest that is contageous, fantastic communication between steering wheel and front wheels, nice heavy steering, entertaining, fun and beautiful, GT beats the F430 on the highway and freeway, grips the asphalt and grabs your heart, owning it and driving it for more than just a Handling Day it might very well prove an even better and more fun car than the F430.
1st: Ferrari F430: "Delicate handling, intense in everytning it does, like driving a 490bhp Lotus Elise, precise steering, differential makes power delivery less nervous and erratic than the F360, not as much rear grip as the P911, only car here that seems to be built as a thouroghbread racer, more driver appeal than the other cars.
