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    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Upsa:

    Wow, what a waste of money. unless one is a multi billionaire, then its pocket change 

    Futch, one of our Rennteam moderators and friend, drives his F1 GTR pretty often...he loves this car. Smiley


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    RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Lamborghini Huracan Performante (2019), Mercedes E63 S AMG Edition 1 (2018), Mercedes C63 S AMG Cab (2019), Range Rover Evoque Si4 Black Edition (2019)


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Is it road legal in the US?


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    Assume most people are stupid and hope they surprise you.


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    nberry:

    Is it road legal in the US?

     

    Under show and display. early cars is past the 25 year mark.


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    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    For those unfamiliar with the attractions of the original McLaren F1, watch this video... Smiley

    McLaren F1 vs P1 vs Senna (Autocar)

    (1 August 2019)  

    For many, the McLaren F1 remains the greatest hypercar. “Never-bettered.” “Ground-breaking.” “The pinnacle.” These are just three of the labels given to the McLaren F1 in the Autocar office.

    In 1994, we exclusively road tested the famous hypercar, taking it to 211mph at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground. 

    Twenty-five years later, we’re in the exact same car, chassis XP5, to see how far the Ultimate Series lineage has come with two of the F1’s descendants: the McLaren P1 and Senna.

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    Autocar Link:  https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/video-mclaren-f1-vs-p1-vs-senna-ultimate-series-review

    Video Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haVCTy8mfsQ

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    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Major fan of the original McLaren F1.  Have a copy of the limited edition book on the car produced by McLaren and finished in the same leather used in the car.  Every copy of that book included an original blueprint used to fabricate the car.  Haven't looked at the book in several years and will have to take it out for review later this week.


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Celebrating 20 years of the Porsche 911 GT3

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    08/07/2019

    Closer to motorsports than any other: The six generations of the purist sports car Porsche 911 GT3 introduce themselves.

    The unveiling of the first Porsche 911 GT3 in March 1999 at the Geneva Motor Show signalled the start of a new era for discerning sports car drivers. Like no other Porsche 911, the GT3 embodies the hallmarks of Porsche Motorsport. Developed by two-time World Rally Champion Walter Röhrl, race engineer Roland Kussmaul and the Porsche Motorsport specialists from Weissach, the Porsche 911 GT3 brought race track agility to the road. Since then, this road-going athlete has become even faster, more precise and more dynamic with every generation — and with a naturally aspirated engine, manual transmission and rear-wheel drive, it remains the most popular Porsche 911 among purists up to the present day.

    The race versions of the Porsche 911 GT3 have written motorsport history. In addition to countless class wins, the GT3 achieved numerous overall victories in the major endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Spa, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours Nürburgring, which it won seven times starting with the year 2000. It is part of the recipe for success of the Porsche 911 GT3 that the experience and innovations from motorsport are always incorporated into the development of the next road version. It is no wonder that around 80 per cent of all 911 GT3 ever produced are regularly driven on the race track.

    Successor to the 911 Carrera RS 2.7: the first GT3 made its debut in 1999

    Shortly before the start of the new century and featuring advanced racing technology, the Porsche 911 GT3 continued the tradition that had started in the 1970s with the legendary Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7. For the first time, the model was not given the designation “RS” for Race Sport, but the name GT3 — a reference to the GT class in which the motorsport versions of the model were to compete. The water-cooled 3.6-litre six-cylinder boxer engine of the new sports car delivered 265 kW (360 PS). Therefore it was hardly a surprise that the Porsche 911 GT3 had already earned its first laurels even before its debut in Geneva: with Walter Röhrl at the wheel, it completed the 20.8 kilometre Nürburgring Nordschleife in less than eight minutes — and in so doing set a new benchmark for road-going sports cars.

    911 GT3, Automobil Salon Geneva, 1999, Porsche AG

    The first Porsche 911 GT3 followed in the footsteps of the legendary 911 Carrera RS 2.7 in 1999

    Such exceptional performance was made possible not just by the race-proven boxer engine, but also thanks to a precisely tuned overall package: the chassis was lowered by around 30 millimetres and the brakes uprated. The six-speed manual transmission originated from the Porsche 911 GT2. The gearbox ratios, axle geometry, anti-roll bars and springs could be adapted depending on the circuit conditions. Lightweight construction came before comfort. A distinctive sign of its motorsport origins was the fixed rear wing of the 911 GT3. As an option, customers were able to order their 911 GT3 as a Clubsport variant, which also included a bolt-in roll cage.

    The first Porsche 911 GT3 vehicles rolled off the production line in Weissach in May 1999. As a homologation basis for motorsport, the new model also provided the foundation for the successful 911 GT3 Cup and the higher-positioned race versions — the 911 GT3 R and GT3 RSR, which achieved brilliant results in one-make and GT racing in the coming years.

    New generations in quick succession

    After the great success of the first 911 GT3, Porsche presented a new evolution stage of the road-going sports car with racing genes every three to four years. In 2003, the power of the boxer engine increased to 280 kW (381 PS) thanks to the use of the VarioCam continuously variable camshaft control system. The GT3 could also now be ordered with the ultra-high-performance Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB) system. The next increase in power, to 305 kW (415 PS), followed three years later. For the first time, the Porsche 911 GT3 featured an active suspension with the sporty Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM). In 2009, the engineers increased the displacement of the six-cylinder boxer engine to 3.8-litres and the power to 320 kW (435 PS). The all new rear wing and full underbody panelling produced such a substantial increase in downforce that this was more than doubled in comparison to its predecessor.

    911 GT3 (997.2), 2019, Porsche AG

    In 2009, the Porsche engineers raised the GT3's output to 320 kW (435 PS)

    On the 50th birthday of the Porsche 911 in 2013, the fifth generation of the 911 GT3 celebrated its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show. The engine, transmission, body and chassis were completely new. The drivetrain consisted of a 3.8-litre naturally aspirated engine with 350 kW (475 PS), mated for the first time to a Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) dual-clutch transmission. Also for the first time, this was complemented by active rear axle steering. By way of introduction, the new 911 GT3 completed the Nürburgring Nordschleife in just 7:25 minutes —more than half a minute faster than the first 911 GT3 on its record lap in 1999.

    The latest version of the 911 GT3 was launched in 2017. The focus of development had been on the six-cylinder boxer engine: its displacement increased to 4.0 litres and the power output was 368 kW (500 PS). Porsche also had two treats for purists: on the one hand, a manual six-speed transmission was now available as an alternative to the PDK. On the other, the 911 GT3 could be ordered with a discreet Touring Package, in which the fixed rear wing was replaced by an automatically extending spoiler — pure understatement. And so things come full circle: the designation “Touring Package” was a reference to the more restrained version of the legendary Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 from the 1970s.

    Link:  https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2019/products/porsche-20-years-911-gt3-jubilee-six-generations-18311.html

    Smiley

    20 Years of the Porsche 911 GT3... 

    Video Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21eAPWXPlEQ

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    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Got to love Porsche Marketing, they missed out the 2.7RS immediate successors the 964 and 993RS models and skipped straight to what suits their current narrative indecision


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    997 GT2 2014 3.9 Mezger, 800PS @ 1.2 bar

    2018 McLaren 720S 

    993 Turbo, 2006 built 3.8, 577PS/797NM, 1440kg DIN sold to a worthy enthusiast.


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Porsche Type 64 driven by Chris Harris... (Top Gear)

    (9 August 2019)

    Ladies and gentlemen, this is it. This is the very beginning of Porsche; the start of one of the world’s most famous sportscar (and now SUV) makers on the planet. Chris Harris details the story of the simply incredible Type 64…

    Chris Harris drives the Porsche Type 64:  https://www.topgear.com/videos/chris-harris-drives/chris-harris-drives-type-64-first-ever-porsche

    Video Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaDWPBco07w

    Smiley


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Cars and Coffee: Porsche 911 GT3 RS... rise and drive! Smiley

    Video Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhbtKNHZTJo

    PH Link:  https://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features/porsche-911-gt3-rs-997-2--rise-and-drive/40743

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    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Do we know when the 992 GT3 will be introduced? Geneva 2020 or later?


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    June 2020 according to my source... so probably FoS.


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Dane:

    Do we know when the 992 GT3 will be introduced? Geneva 2020 or later?

    Given that Porsche have just proudly announced the 20-year anniversary of the 911 GT3, many are expecting the new Porsche 992 GT3 to be unveiled at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show (in September) as a 2020 model year...  1554541446878image.gif

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    Keep in mind Porsche have indicated that GT and RS models are expected to be an increased portion of sales, given the track record. For example, the new Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder are not limited production models.

    It would be complimentary to the Porsche Taycan official launch, proving the brand successfully covers both ends of the sportscar spectrum! Smiley

    You can expect quotes from Porsche executives about how building the Taycan EV allows them to keep selling the GT3 and RS models! Smiley

    There will be more GT and RS models to follow, so plenty to unveil at subsequent motor shows... Smiley


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Aren’t they still building 991.2 RS’s?


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Boxster Coupe GTS:

    1994 McLaren F1 'LM-Specification' 

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    $21,000,000 - $23,000,000

    RM | Sotheby's - MONTEREY 15 - 17 AUGUST 2019 - Offered on Friday

    Serial No: 018

    • One of only two examples modified by the factory to LM specifications
    • Equipped with unrestricted GTR racing engine and Extra-High Downforce Kit
    • One of 64 road cars built; total of only 106 examples 
    • Benefits from regular service and attention from McLaren Special Operations
    • Documented with invoices dating to 2007, plus written history and evaluation by MSO
    • Impressively maintained and presented; displaying less than 21,500 km (13,352 miles)
    • History’s most celebrated modern supercar

    The McLaren F1 is that rare supercar that knows no critic. From its aesthetic appeal to its technical merit and competition record, the F1 is nothing short of perfect. So seldom achieved, perfection in design almost always commences with a singular vision, and the F1’s vision belonged to Gordon Murray, the former Brabham Formula 1 designer poached by McLaren in 1987. Murray received a rare dictum from McLaren boss Ron Dennis that would have prompted great envy from any other automotive designer: to build the perfect production sports car, without limitations.

    THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION

    With input from Dennis and TAG principal (and McLaren co-owner) Mansour Ojjeh, Murray created one of automotive history’s most successful designs, a perfect harmony of form and function. In true racing fashion that has since become an industry standard, a carbon-fiber-and-aluminum honeycomb cell was the basis of a lightweight monocoque chassis that was mounted with breathtaking carbon-fiber coachwork, in this case penned by Peter Stevens. The F1 famously featured a three-seat configuration with center driver’s position, vertical dihedral scissor doors, a roof-placed engine intake, and distinctive diagonal side-vent diffusers.

    Considerable discussion with the manufacturer’s F1 racing partner and engine supplier, Honda, eventually fizzled when McLaren remained steadfast in the pursuit of a naturally aspirated motor of larger displacement. BMW was eventually contracted to design and build a bespoke V-12, which was tuned to develop 627 hp and 479 foot-pounds of torque. Rather than being a continuation of BMW’s concurrent 8 Series–based 12-cylinder motors, this V-12 was a purpose-built engine that shared more in common with the inline-six the company had raced so successfully over the years.

    McLaren built just 64 production examples of the F1 road car through 1997, and they have enjoyed favored ownership among the world’s most accomplished and discriminating collectors. Despite the presence of so much advanced technology in the F1, their owners generally agree that the design’s emphasis on pure road connectivity makes it particularly rewarding to drive, as the car lacks anti-lock brakes or modern traction control systems.

    While it was designed as a street machine, the F1 was nonetheless built with specifications worthy of racing, prompting several early buyers to approach McLaren about factory support for privateer outings. After initially attempting to dissuade the owners from competition, Dennis soon decided to join the fray properly, and an F1 GTR version was developed with enhanced racing specifications.

    Dennis’s goal was to win the BPR Championship and take victory in the ultimate barometer of sports car success, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The F1 GTR achieved this rather effortlessly, winning the BPR Championship three consecutive years from 1995 to 1997, and winning the 1995 Le Mans outright, along with 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-place finishes. Results at the Circuit du Sarthe over the following years proved nearly as successful, with the GTR finishing as high as 4th in 1996, 2nd in 1997, and 4th in 1998, a testament to its longevity in the face of more freshly developed competition.

    Following the F1’s victory at Le Mans in 1995, the manufacturer launched a short batch of commemorative road-capable cars that were dubbed the F1 LM. Among other improvements, these cars were equipped with full-specification, unrestricted GTR racing engines good for 680 hp, and a High-Downforce Kit (HDK) of aerodynamic effects consisting of a revised nose with front fender vents and a huge rear wing.

    McLAREN SPECIAL OPERATIONS

    In addition to its supreme design and domination in competition, the F1 is notable for its customer service program. Supervised by a dedicated division that has since been re-titled under the aegis of McLaren Special Operations (MSO), this program involves to this day a fastidious schedule of 18-month maintenance visits for as-needed service, all tracked by a meticulous multi-point evaluation. For owners dedicated to completely commit, the expensive program ensures that each and every F1 will always be optimally maintained and thoroughly documented, providing an almost unmatched level of factory service for a production model.

    With a total output of 106 examples, including 64 production road cars, 28 F1 GTR race cars, five F1 LM examples, and two F1 GTs (as well as seven prototype and development cars), the McLaren F1 boasts a degree of rarity that is commensurate with its other sterling qualities. It also claims the distinction of being the world’s fastest naturally aspirated production model after setting a record at the Ehra-Lessien Proving Grounds in Germany in 1998 at 240.14 mph.

    CHASSIS NUMBER 018: LE MANS SPECIFICATION

    Following completion of the full production run in 1997, McLaren upgraded two “standard” F1 road cars to LM specifications, including upgrading the engine to unrestricted 680 hp GTR specification. Serial no. 073 (which RM Sotheby’s also had the honor of offering for sale) and the featured car, serial no. 018, were additionally equipped with the Extra-High Downforce Kit that included (and exceeded) the coachwork effects of the LM examples, including the front air vents and rear wing. Notably, these two cars retain their more comfortably outfitted interiors over the more spartan LM trim.

    This F1 was built in 1994, and it was originally finished in Midnight Blue Pearl over a black interior and dispatched to its first owner, an enthusiast residing in Japan. In 1999 the F1 was sold to a collector in Germany, and he returned the car to the factory in Surrey in 2000 to commission a series of upgrades to LM specifications.

    This work was conducted in two rounds, the first during 2000 and the second a year later, and also included the installation of the HDK, a transmission cooler, two additional radiators, and a modified exhaust system. The air-conditioning was upgraded, a radio was added to the CD player, the headlamps were changed to gas-discharge units, and the steering wheel was exchanged for a 14-inch unit. The exterior was refinished in the current livery of platinum silver metallic, and the interior was re-trimmed with cream leather highlighted by beige and brown Alcantara, cream Wilton carpets, and a beige Alcantara headliner. The dampers and springs were also upgraded to race-spec units and adjusted to their softest setting for comfortable road use. Finally, the standard 17-inch wheels were replaced by special 18-inch GTR wheels mounted with Michelin Pilot Sport tires.

    As McLaren exists first and foremost as a racing team with the purpose of being on the cutting edge, it should therefore be understood that these upgrades are not a deviation from the car’s original specification, but rather an extension of McLaren’s design ethos—which is to say, to be the best of best.

    THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PERFECTION

    In 2004 the F1 was acquired by a well-regarded marque collector based in Singapore, and he only minimally drove the car over the following three years. The McLaren was carefully garaged while enjoying the company of the owner’s other F1. “You could not ask for a more dedicated owner,” wrote F1 service program manager Harold Dermott in a letter to the consignor.

    In October 2007 the LM-specification McLaren was acquired from the Singapore collector by the consignor, a marque enthusiast and knowledgeable racing connoisseur based in New Zealand. As part of the purchase, the car was shipped to Woking, Surrey, to be evaluated and serviced by MSO as needed per the department’s strenuous checklist. Mr. Dermott remarked during the transaction, “F1/018 is one of my favorite F1s and one of the most heavily developed cars that we have ever built” —no small endorsement of 018’s quality.

    A thorough file of documentation during the consignor’s ownership demonstrates how he was very active in gently testing the F1 upon deliveries back from MSO, carefully weighing in on subjects like the tire and brake system setups, exhaust flow, and engine response. During his ownership the car was driven on three McLaren F1 Owners Club tours organized by the 1996 BPR champion and Le Mans veteran Ray Bellm, including the 20th Anniversary Tour on Lake Garda, Italy, in 2012, the 2014 Tuscany F1 Tour, as well as the 25th Anniversary Tour in Bordeaux in 2017. On each occasion, the car was submitted to MSO before and after the events for full preparation and servicing, as well as delivery to and from the rally locations, in another display of the McLaren’s outstanding customer service and attention.

    F1/018 currently remains in outstanding condition, with a thorough record of regular service by MSO, including several replacements of the fuel cell on its 18-month schedule. Modestly driven but thoroughly enjoyed, the F1 displays less than 21,500 km (13,352 miles).

    Incredibly rare, 018 is one of only two production road car examples to be equipped by the factory with the incredibly powerful F1 LM racing engine, which is effectively a derestricted 1995 GTR racing motor. Furthermore, with the factory-conducted body modifications, “the car is estimated to have more downforce than the Le Mans–winning 1995 GTR race car,” as the 2006 summary of 018 by MSO concludes.

    Offering all the performance of the outrageously powerful and hyper-rare F1 LM at a fraction of the investment, F1/018 is an extremely desirable example. It is quite simply la crème de la crème, the best imaginable iteration of an already-perfect machine. The awe-inspiring McLaren would make a crowning addition to any collection, offering a distinctive and top-shelf example of the celebrated F1 so legendary among all motoring enthusiasts, from gawking fans to the most distinguished of collectors.

    Addendum

    Please note that an import duty of 2.5% of the purchase price is payable on this lot if the buyer is a resident of the United States.

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    Auction Link:  https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/MO19/Monterey/lots/r0164-1994-McLaren-F1-LM-Specification/792832

    Smiley

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    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    A relaxing Sunday drive in the countryside...  1554541446878image.gif

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    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    A well known Rennteam contributor pops out for a Sunday drive...  1554541446878image.gif

    ...would you like your flat-six served up  "old school" air-cooled naturally aspirated, or latest gen water-cooled turbo?  Smiley

    Video Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtloLlRKrAw

    Smiley


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    "Driving the Ares Panther ProgettoUno" (Top Gear)

    Want a car none of your millionaire friends will have? Ares has the solution: a Lamborghini Huracan transformed into a Seventies homage...

    “Complimenti…Bellissimo” mutters the Italian woman who has emerged from nowhere as we park the Ares Panther ProgettoUno in a quiet church square to duck out of the searing heat of the hottest day of the Italian summer. While this reads like a scene straight out of central casting, it isn’t. In this part of Italy – the hills above Modena – the love of cars runs deep.

    “È un Ferrari?” she asks, in between shooting myriad pictures and calling her grandson. It seems a reasonable question, given the Panther’s striking appearance and the noise ricocheting off the medieval walls as it’s fired up and repositioned for the next shot.

    My broken Italian struggles to articulate precisely what the Panther actually is. I offer ‘Ares’ and ‘Carrozzeria’. She shrugs. I complicate things further by lobbing Lamborghini into the mix… confusion turns into an assumption that this moronic Englishman has had too much sun. So, it’s probably time for a recap.

    The Panther ProgettoUno is the first in the ‘Legends Reborn’ series from Ares Design, Dany Bahar’s Modena-based carrozzeria, which is looking to capitalise on the zeitgeist for personalisation in the supercar marketplace. Inspired by the original De Tomaso Pantera, the Panther echoes its key design cues but catapults them into the modern era. And, given the amount of air being sucked through the teeth of the onlookers – and the surge in the local area’s social media activity – the design has won approval in Italy’s motor valley.

    While beauty is famously said to be only skin deep, the good news is that what lies beneath the Panther adds to, rather than detracts from, the overall sales pitch, and is at the heart of the Ares ‘rebirth of a legend’ mentality. Beneath the bespoke carbon-fibre bodywork lies a Lamborghini Huracán. What particular grade of Huracán is left at the owner’s discretion but, if you’re keen to be a Panther owner, the team at Ares will help you find a suitable donor car and then set to work transforming it – a process that goes far deeper than simply rebodying the car.

    While the bodywork looks like it would fit directly over the Huracán’s hard points, it’s never that easy. To give the Panther ProgettoUno the visual impact of the original, the team had to relocate the A-pillar, leading to a sizeable revision of the chassis and the addition of an all-new roll cage. Move the A-pillar back and you have to revise the wiper mechanism and blades, too. And, given one of the Pantera’s key visual touchpoints was pop-up headlights, those had to be worked into the job list.

    So, while the revisions to the aesthetics of the car are substantial, the engineering required to deliver them is more involved than first impressions might suggest, given the underpinnings. To be extra certain of its engineering, all of the revisions are tested and approved by the TÜV, Germany’s network of safety inspectors. The finished product delivers suitable visual impact and feels like a fitting interpretation of a modern Pantera.

    Beyond the bodywork, the team at Ares hacked into the Lambo ECU and remapped it, adjusted the DCT transmission to provide smoother and faster gear changes, revised the suspension settings and angles to reduce initial understeer – to make the car feel more agile and responsive – and fitted a bespoke stainless steel exhaust system designed by Capristo.

    We’ve arranged to meet Bahar and the team from Ares on one of Ferrari’s test routes to the northwest of Modena. The region is currently recovering from a thunderstorm two days before our arrival, which rained golf-ball-sized hailstones down at skull-cracking velocity, leaving the majority of the early Nineties Fiat group products in Modena with a hammered finish while somehow leaving most of the German brands and their thicker-gauge steel largely untouched. Call it nature’s impromptu audit of automotive build quality.

    For us, the storm’s effects are threefold: searing heat as the temperature spikes at 44ºC, unbearable humidity, and a camera giving up the ghost to heat exhaustion. Keen to avoid the same fate, Rowan and I duck into an underwhelming-looking restaurant that, as ever in Italy, prefers that the food, rather than the decor, does the talking. Fed, watered and rapidly googling if it’s possible to buy gnocco fritto in the UK*, our research and the sticky humid stillness of the Italian countryside is punctured by the distant yet familiar sound of a V10.

    The Panther’s arrival is followed by that of Bahar in another of his creations: a Porsche GT3 RS Targa, the third of which is currently in production. “It’s a niche within a niche, but people really love it,” he says.

    Full of his usual enthusiasm, Bahar shows us around the car before throwing us the keys with little more than a “Hope you enjoy it” and heading off in his GT3-based creation.

    Inside the Panther, the layout is familiar Huracán, but the whole interior has been revised – with varying degrees of success. The instrument cluster, with its square surrounds, and the swathes of Alcantara that span the main dashboard are nicely reminiscent of the De Tomaso. A modified Porsche steering wheel takes the place of the standard Huracán unit, and, thanks to its reduced girth, feels more appropriate in this retro-modern environment. Overall fit and feel are impressive, with Connolly leather, Alcantara, carbon fibre all featured.

    The less successful elements are the sports seats, which look good but rather overfill the cabin and position you slightly too high. And the buttons, all of which remain in the same location as they do on the Huracán, have been revised – some to toggles that lack the solidity of the originals, and some to push buttons, remade with an aluminium overlay to make the touchpoints on the Panther unique to Ares.

    “Buttons are so hard, and we’re still finessing these,” Bahar admits later.

    The TFT screen and infotainment are all currently running familiar Lamborghini data and graphics, but a bespoke Ares interface is being developed for the first production car. The standard Lambo sound system has been replaced by a Daniel Hertz system, so, if you want to drown out the sound of the V10, you can. Why you’d want to is beyond me.

    Rowan and I fire the Panther into life via the familiar Lamborghini starter button and head off into the hills. First impressions are of a surprising solidity, given that this is a prototype. Considering that anything I disassemble and rebuild sees me left with a handful of spares and a final product with the structural rigidity of wet loo paper, the Panther is impressive.

    It’s also a fascinating exercise in how fundamental key touch points are in your engagement with a car. Having been fortunate enough to run a Huracán for six months, it’s staggering how different the Panther feels. The reduced diameter and girth of the steering wheel make the car feel dramatically different in your hands.

    The revised ECU settings, faster shifts and more responsive front end all help to make the Panther a sharper tool than the original standard Huracán. The time and work devoted to digging into the ECU, creating a bespoke set of parameters for the Panther’s Strada, Sport and Corsa settings has paid dividends.

    And the intensity of the experience – and the soundtrack delivered through the Capristo exhaust – rise in intensity with a greater step up than the standard car. Should you want to cover ground in relative comfort, and enjoy the compliance of the car in its softest setting, Strada mode makes the Panther a relaxed long-distance device. If, however, you prefer to announce your arrival from a few miles out, you’ll want Corsa mode, with its rapid shifts and artillery crackle on every downshift.

    As the heat and miles build, the Panther makes a strong case for itself – if you’re in the fortunate position of looking for something unique to add to your vast car collection. It looks sensational, feels well built and, thanks to the finessing of the chassis and electronics, feels more agile than the standard car that lies beneath the surface. Ares appeals to the stratospheric end of the market, where exclusivity carries a cachet that skews the normal metrics of value out of proportion.

    Personalisation, the chance of having or creating something that none of your mates have, reigns supreme in the one-upmanship stakes. Ares charges €415k for taking your Huracán donor car and turning it into a Panther, an eye-watering sum for all but the exclusive few. But those exclusive few do exist, with nine coupes ordered and in production this year, and a further 12 planned for 2020 to complete the production run. So, if you’re in the market, the chances of turning up to your local cars and coffee meet and seeing another one are fairly remote.

    We head down the hill and park up in the church square where we began our adventure. The woman’s grandson has arrived and is poring over the Panther. The rarity of the car, its exclusivity, is what will drive most of the buyers. But right now, that quality is burning this chance encounter into one young Italian’s memory bank and onto the modern-day equivalent of the bedroom wall poster: his social media profile. I had a Countach and Blu-Tack; he’s got an Ares Panther and who knows how many likes. It’s easy to deride the exclusivity of limited-series production cars, with their oligarch-orientated pricetags. But, if their existence captivates and inspires the next generation of car fans, surely that’s something to celebrate. 

    Link:  https://www.topgear.com/car-news/big-reads/driving-ares-panther-progettouno

    Smiley  


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    angel that is stunning


    --

    GT Lover, Porsche fan

    991.2 GT3 manual, 991 GT3 2014(sold)

    Cayenne GTS 2014


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    I love the concept :)


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    What an excellent idea. 


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    As a kid , the Panther was one of my favourite car. Had a little matchbox toy car of it. Was the fastest 😎


    --

     964 Carrera 4 --  997.2 C2S , -20mm -- 991.2 GT3 RS 


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Porsche 911 GT2 RS vs Ferrari 488 Pista (by PistonHeads)

    (12 October 2019)

    Take one 700hp Porsche and one 720hp Ferrari, add one wet Wales and stand well back...

    Though it's been said before, it's worth repeating: we live in a purple patch for supercars. Oh sure, there are grievances about availability, cars being flipped for profit, the demise of the manual gearbox and the inexorable rise of the turbo, but never before have there been so many cars offering such prodigious talent - and yet such relative approachability.

    Those sufficiently monied could drive a McLaren Senna to any old track day, listen to podcasts and pick up a coffee, then blitz racing cars on the circuit. The Aventador SV J has one of the world's greatest V12s, with 100hp more than a Lambo flagship of just a decade ago, yet is a pussycat compared to any Diablo. Bugatti makes a car that'll do 300mph; Koenigsegg says it has a car that will accelerate even faster. For those with the cash, they've never had it so good.

    Furthermore, anyone taking issue with any perceived lack of involvement, engagement or excitement should try a 488 Pista or GT2 RS, on the M4, at night. In rain that would call off a Rugby World Cup game. The modern supercar feels plenty senior enough then, thanks very much, the Porsche's front end worryingly light at points, truck grooves playing havoc with the aggressive camber of both, the Ferrari spinning its wheels in fifth gear...

    Why GT2 RS against Pista? Because we could, largely, and because there's nothing better to properly contextualise a great car than a great rival. They're also both the first of their kind to breach 700hp, which remains a bonkers number even in 2019, they've both confounded expectations for this type of car and they've both proven utterly exhilarating in isolation - why wouldn't you drive them together? As such, there won't be a winner; the GT2 RS and Pista are both five-star cato a previously unknown level. There will be a conclusion, a personal preference, but be in no doubt: both the Porsche and Ferrari are phenomenally, exceptionally good. Finally, and perhaps most relevantly for this discussion, the classifieds show that you won't get in a GT2 RS for less than £300k, or a Pista for £350k; buyers could likely have both of these, not either.

    Judgement day (and a bit) begins in the Pista, because the Porsche has to be collected later on. There have been suggestions that the 488 Italian-for-Track isn't far enough removed from a GTB to warrant the premium but, harnessed into a car shorn of both radio and carpet, it feels more than focussed enough. The lack of any entertainment proffers chance to concentrate on other elements, too; how dated the 488 interior looked by the end of its life, how much noise emanates from apparently everywhere, how the seating position isn't quite as perfect as you remembered.

    Even at moderate speeds and commitment levels, however, the Pista's genius is blatant to the point of being indisputable. Another 50hp on top of 670hp doesn't sound like much, but don't forget how it's achieved: the crank is lighter, the rods are now titanium, the turbos are from the Challenge car - this is not just an ECU and boost job. Therefore even beyond a GTB engine that won back-to-back International Engine of the Year titles, the Pista's 3.9 V8 is insatiably urgent, responding to every blip of the throttle like a naturally aspirated car - perhaps better - and yet backing it up with titanic turbocharged torque. Its automatic is better calibrated than many a luxury saloon and the low speed ride - a key supercar metric, surely - is sumptuous. 

    With Porsche picked up, M4 and the borders just about navigated - both cars have very good wipers, it turns out, as well as excellent headlights - and a night's rest, the next day dawns a little less apocalyptically wet. It's raining vertically now, rather than horizontally - thank goodness.

    Even in these conditions though, the Pista is just sublime; arguably its performance in grizzly conditions is all the more impressive than its dry weather form, because of how much can be exploited and enjoyed when everything suggests it shouldn't be possible. The fabled Bumpy Road mode delivers both peerless comfort and unerring, delicate control, the car gliding across the surface in a way the Porsche can't, yet keeping you perfectly in touch with the road's changes. Even if you forget to press the damper button, Race is never crashy or intolerable. The ability to put power down is borderline unbelievable for a car of such performance, yet any traction transgression is communicated with such clarity that such an event is much less intimidating than would be imagined.

    And that's the Ferrari's genius: it's a car of unparalleled eagerness, intensity and agility, one that's borderline feral at points, but also one that matches it with a sufficient sliver of usability and friendliness to ensure that any driver can get exactly what they want from it. That oft-discussed steering is freakishly fast, but the rest of the car is so in tune with and reactive seems almost to make your inputs swifter and more decisive, daft though that sounds, ably assisted by driver aids that remain unsurpassed in their subtlety and effectiveness. To drive a Pista quickly, or even as quickly as is reasonable on the public road, is an experience like no other. 

    The Porsche is right there with it, though, for tangible ability and subjective exhilaration. There are elements that improve upon the Ferrari, too: traction is even better, which is jolly useful, despite comparable power, torque and tyres. There's nothing to choose between gearboxes, either, the Porsche PDK perhaps even more decisive at points than the F1-DCT; the former feels more responsive to downshift requests, the shift speed of the latter may be a little quicker - both are exemplary. And both are better for their automatics, too; a manual would surely feel too laboured and sluggish in cars of such laser guided precision.

    Where the Porsche succeeds is in feeling more immediately amenable and natural than the Ferrari, which is initially as welcoming to drive fast as juggling grenades. The Porsche does this with more relaxed, more communicative steering, less immediate turn in despite the four-wheel steer, and longer ratios, making it come across as just that bit less frantic to start with - handy when the rain returns.

    The GT2's brilliance - and it really is brilliance, even by the standards of this test - is similar to that of so many Porsche Motorsport 911s; by paring back where needed, tinkering, stiffening and rose jointing where required, the driver is exposed to the sort of rear-engined Porscheness that Carreras have long since abandoned. But because it's so expertly, thoroughly, meticulously done, the fear factor is largely eradicated. The 911's quirks and idiosyncrasies can be explored and enjoyed, without feeling like they - or 700hp - will get the better of you. 

    The fear's not entirely gone, however; turn in where you did first time for the Ferrari and the Porsche just won't, pushing for a frightening split second before committing to the bend. Better to hold those impeccable brakes a little longer, lock the front end to an apex with great accuracy and make the most of the traction on the way out, which feels absolutely superb.

    That engine is a fine accompaniment to the chassis, too. Perhaps it lacks the final per cent of response compared to that supernatural Ferrari, a tad less exotic overall, but once the flat-six has paused for breath momentarily it punches just as hard - if 700hp and 553 lb ft can ever feel conservative, it's here. Moreover, if the Ferrari's is the engine of greater potency, making more power and revving higher, it's the GT2's that might be more memorable, chuffing along with a 935-esque soundtrack (good news for the new one) and giving it a discernible, likeable character over the screaming 4.0-litre cars.

    That the GT2 can do regular, do-it-all 911 almost as well as any other - road noise notwithstanding - makes its achievement all the more staggering. It demands, challenges and rewards like 700hp and rear-wheel drive always will, with a uniquely 911 tinge to that character, while also being civil enough to spend hours behind the wheel of. One morning in Wales isn't enough, naturally; such are the 911's reserves of talent, the layers of dynamic intrigue there to unravel, that it would keep a driver willing to use it captivated for months - years, hopefully. 

    Succinctly, the GT2 RS's combination of talent is such that it makes a Turbo S feel a little aloof, a GT3 inert and a GT3 RS slow - it really is sensational. GT2s may once have had a reputation for being spitefully handling cars, or mere straight-line blunderbusses, but no longer. By combining the very best elements of the very best 911s - raw but not unmanageable, demanding but not unruly, intense but not intimidating - then shoving it along with all this power, the RS sets a new bar for the turbocharged 911. Believe the hype.

    Amazingly, though, it's the Ferrari that leaves the more lasting impression, which really is saying something. The Ferrari takes longer to understand, requires more of its driver and occasionally frustrates in a way the Porsche doesn't, but - you guessed it - will deliver moments of ecstasy the 911 can't quite match. It's that bit lighter, that bit faster, that bit more utterly absorbing to try and get the very best from; fractionally so, yes, but a noticeable amount nonetheless. The Pista brings together a mid-engined chassis of inexhaustible poise, a turbocharged V8 of unmatched ferocity and Ferrari's peerless mastery of dynamic tech; the end result is, if anything, more spectacular than that sounds.

    There's a train of thought, one that would be very easy to subscribe to after this experience, that says the GT2 RS is the best 911 of recent times, combining GT3 RS focus with scandalous performance; the Pista, by comparison, might just be one of the best mid-engined supercars of recent times. As such, therefore, it's our choice here, by a margin as slim as its carbon seatbacks. Those with access to one, or indeed both, of these two for any amount of time should cherish every second - fast cars really don't get much better.

    SPECIFICATION - PORSCHE 911 GT2 RS

    Engine: 3,800cc twin-turbocharged flat-six
    Transmission: 7-speed PDK, rear-wheel drive
    Power (hp): 700@7,000rpm
    Torque (lb ft): 553@2,500-4,500rpm
    0-62mph: 2.8secs
    Top speed: 211mph
    Weight: 1,470kg (DIN)
    MPG: 24
    CO2: 269g/km
    Price: £207,506 (as standard; price as tested £235,557, comprised of Miami Blue paint for £2,525, Leather interior in black for £2,147, Reversing camera for £464, Headlight cleaning system covers painted for £143, Weissach Package (carbon roof, carbon anti-roll bars, magnesium wheels, titanium cage instead of steel, carbon shift paddles and steering wheel trim) for £21,042, Chrono Package and preparation for lap trigger for £336, Wheels painted silver for £168, Cruise control for £228, Auto dimming mirrors with integrated rain sensor for £387, Instrument dials in white for £417 (!) and Silver Grey seat belts for £194). 

    SPECIFICATION - FERRARI 488 PISTA

    Engine: 3,902cc, twin-turbocharged V8
    Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch automatic, rear-wheel drive
    Power (hp): 720@8,000rpm
    Torque (lb ft): 568@3,000rpm (in 7th gear)
    0-62mph: 2.9sec
    Top speed: 211mph
    Weight: 1,385kg (Ferrari kerbweight)
    MPG: 23.9
    CO2: 263g/km
    Price: £252,765 (as standard; price as tested £294,281, comprised of 4-point harnesses for £2,112, Black brake calipers for £864, Front air vents in carbon fibre for £1,440, Carbon fibre underdoor cover for £5,664, Carbon fibre floor plates for £4,512, Carbon fibre instrument cluster for £2,880, Matt painted inner carbon fibre for £2,400, Carbon fibre side mirrors for £3,500, Alcantara dashboard for £1,056, Colour upon request for Alcantara lower dash for £960, Embroidered prancing horse on headrests for £720, Floor mats with embroidered logo for £768, Carbon fibre rear moulding for £2,880, Two-tone stripe for £8,640, Sport seat lifter for £1,440, Colour upon request for standard stitching for £336 and Colour upon request for Alcantara upper zone for £1,344). 

    Link: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-features/ferrari-488-pista-vs--porsche-911-gt2-rs/41109

    Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYlT7GIFcjM


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Alfaholics GTA-R 290 vs JIA Jensen Interceptor R vs Tuthill Porsche 911 (Autocar video)

    The Alfaholics GTA-R is an Alfa Romeo 105-series coupe that has seen the mother of all makeovers. With 240bhp and weighing just 840kg, its power-to-weight ratio is some 290bhp/tonne (hence the name) and fully seam welded, with carbonfibre panels and bespoke engine and gearbox internals and suspension, it's a true track car.

    The Jensen Interceptor R by Jensen International Automotive is more road car than track car. But don't think that this reworked Interceptor is slow: JIA has squeezed a supercharged ChevyLSA engine under the hood, making more than 550bhp. But, as we'll see, it may be more cruiser than sports car.

    Sitting somewhere between the two, in ethos, is a Porsche 911 modified and modernised by renowned specialists Tuthill. They'll do almost anything you want to a 911 but here they've taken an early 70s 911 E and made it all-round lovelier. It's a terrific blend of road and track performance...

    Video Link: https://youtu.be/3rA-HK501OQ

    Smiley


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    What engine will the next generation Porsche Cayman have...

    5DC522AD-3BF3-454F-B3CE-937B0DC31796.jpeg

    ...would you like a flat-four turbo, flat-six naturally aspirated, EV battery or maybe hybrid?  Smiley


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    No chance for a flat six n/a engine... angry


    --

    RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Lamborghini Huracan Performante (2019), Mercedes E63 S AMG Edition 1 (2018), Mercedes C63 S AMG Cab (2019), Range Rover Evoque Si4 Black Edition (2019)


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Cars and coffee weekend gathering with a few Rennteam members...

    31247484-35B2-4867-BC0A-F791B7FBD5DE.jpeg

    Smiley


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    One of our Rennteam members has the good fortune to drive a Light Car Company Rocket... Smiley

    Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQPIBFz1ZJo

    Smiley


    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Gordon Murray interview by PistonHeads

    If anyone else told us they planned to improve the McLaren F1 we'd laugh...

    (10 December 2019)

    Gordon Murray isn't just a great engineer, he's also a superb communicator. He explains complex concepts in simple, everyday terms, and from the effortless perspective that comes from having long since mastered every important principle of performance car design. Chatting to him makes the difficult seem easy and turns the obscure apparently obvious; after a couple of hours discussing the forthcoming T50 at the headquarters of Gordon Murray Automotive near Guildford some of his nonchalance is starting to rub off, and I'm beginning to wonder why nobody has got here sooner.

    But then glancing at the spec sheet for the T50 reiterates just how off-the-wall it is going to be. Any of the following facts can fairly be considered staggering on their own merits. This is a hypercar set to weigh just 980kg yet capable of carrying three people and luggage, it will be powered by a 650hp 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated V12 capable of revving to 12,100rpm, it will have a manual gearbox. Oh, and it will also boast an active aerodynamic system based around a powerful 48V electric fan. More importantly, the majority of the 100 road cars that will be produced - for £2m each - have already been sold, well before anyone has seen a physical car.

    The basic details of the car were announced back in June. GMA has now released a single image of what we can expect the finished T50 to look like from the rear, a diagram indicating how its active aero system will work and - to the delight of engineering geeks, but the likely confusion of most of us - two images to illustrate the effect the fan will have when running at speed. The company has also confirmed that Racing Point will be its Formula 1 development partner, giving access to the team's wind tunnel and aerodynamic expertise.

    Chatting to Murray shows just how important the project is to him, but also how much of his passion for cars and engineering has been poured into it. For many senior executives, interviews are a chance to spout platitudes and try to stick to PR-crafted points: to talk well without actually saying anything. But with Murray it's pretty much all gold. The edited transcript from my time with him is 6,800 words long; the challenge has been deciding what to leave out.

    The project began as Murray started to think about an exhibition to celebrate what would be his 50th anniversary of working in the car industry, one that ended up with 42 cars, including multiple examples of the McLaren F1. "I know this will sound big headed, but I started to think that nobody had really done anything like the F1."

    While hypercars had become faster and more capable in the decades that followed, very few had come close to matching the F1's remarkable 1,100kg kerbweight. But Murray also reckoned that speed and outright performance had become more important than driver involvement - and the sense of otherworldly uniqueness the F1 encapsulated.

    "One of the big reasons the F1 was iconic was because everything was bespoke, there were only a very few carry over parts like the column stalks and window switches," he says, "but the aircon was from scratch, the speakers were from scratch. Even the smallest and most obscure parts were beautifully drawn and engineered. You don't do that these days because it doesn't make commercial sense."

    Murray started to think about what his optimal supercar would have, with several elements coming straight from the F1. "I just thought, let's bookend it," he says, "the modern supercar started with the Miura in my view, which was quite small, lightweight and beautiful with that 4.0-litre V12. The F1 was the central milestone - very sexy, pure lightweight, nothing it didn't need. So I thought why don't we do the last, great analogue supercar?"

    Weight, rather than power, was the most important goal. Murray is still disappointed that the McLaren F1 went beyond his original 1,000kg target, largely as a result of the switch to a heavier BMW engine than the Honda V10 or V12 it was originally envisaged to use, and also because the team couldn't get carbon-carbon brakes to work. The first target for the T50 was 900kg, but GMA soon realised that was too optimistic, so it was revised slightly upwards. The team has been carefully tracking the mass of every component, down to individual bolts and fasteners, and Murray is confident it will come in at 980kg.

    Murray didn't even consider using turbocharging to achieve power, approaching Cosworth with a brief to create a naturally-aspirated V12. While Cosworth has also done the Aston Martin Valkyrie's hybrid-assisted V12 powerplant, the T50's 3.9-litre powerplant will be smaller, lighter and - most important to Murray - rev happier. "I didn't give Cosworth a power target, but I did say it had to be as light as possible," Murray says, "they've done a fantastic job - it's 60kg lighter than the F1 engine, which is phenomenal. I also said I want more than 12,000 revs because that is a first for a road car - although the LCC Rocket I did went to 11,500 with its Yamaha FZR engine, and they delivered on that, too."

    The speed at which the engine responds was equally important. "It's the engine pick-up speed," Murray explains, "when you talk to owners of the F1 it's one of the things they love most about the car. It's schoolboy stuff - sit in the car and blip the throttle and it just goes wang-wang up and down. It's adding 10,000rpm a second, that's what people really loved."

    Obviously the T50 would have to better that. "I told Cosworth that and then I got a rather facetious email from them back in January saying 'we think we've beaten your target' - 28,000 revs a second. Even as an engineer my head can't go there."

    The engine will have two maps. In its normal mode it will still produce a peak of around 600hp, but will move torque down the rev range and - as Murray cheekily puts it - "runs out at what we call Ferrari revs, so around 9,500rpm. It's for when you're going to work or dropping the kids off at school." The full-fang mode then shifts everything upwards "it's the one for when you say to your mate 'do you want to hear 12,000rpm through the tunnel?'" Murray says.

    While the screaming engine will be the T50's starring attraction, the active aerodynamics are the really clever bit. While Murray was pitching his explanation to the limited technical knowledge of his audience - me - the basics are actually pretty easy to understand. Murray pioneered fan-blown aerodynamics with the Brabham BT46B "fan car" in 1978 - which sucked air from beneath its skirted underside to replicate 'ground effect' aerodynamics, and which easily won the only race it ever competed in. The T50 uses a much more sophisticated system based around a 400mm 48V electric fan at the rear of the car - the one clearly visible in the rendering - with this allowing a much more aggressive diffuser shape.

    "Normally diffuser air won't follow anything more than a gradient of about 7.5-degrees, it just separates," Murray explains, "so your diffuser shape has to be gentle... every designer on the planet would love to have a very aggressive diffuser like this, but the air will just say 'no thanks' and you end up with a pool of stagnant air where the diffuser has stalled, and the flow will just do its usual thing."

    "The concept here is that the fan removes all of the dirty air and this boundary layer, and once that's out of the way the air has to follow that surface. At lower speeds you can generate much more downforce because the fan does the work - it's not literally sucking the car down, it's creating a much more efficient diffuser."

    GMA isn't releasing peak downforce numbers yet, although Murray assures me that they are going to be impressive. But he says the system's fundamental strength isn't the size of its numbers, rather its ability to vary the amount of downforce it creates. As well as an Auto mode the T50 will have a high downforce mode, producing around 30 per cent more downforce than the base level, as well as a braking mode that will deploy two rear aerofoils and add downforce to dramatically reduce stopping distances: GMA claims the system will take 10 metres out of the T50's dropped-anchor stopping distance at 150mph.

    But the system will also allow the car to run with less downforce when required. The high speed Slipstream mode will shut valves to reduce the ground effects and divert effort to suck from two inlets on the rear flanks, reducing drag and creating what Murray describes as a "virtual longtail". "Drag drops by 10 per cent, which is massive," he says, "you're no longer creating downforce that you don't need, so cruising is more efficient as well." As on the BT46B the fan also has a secondary function - extracting hot air from the engine bay.

    Amazingly, Murray reckons that the weight of the fan's motor, blades, ducting and valves is less than 10kg; vastly less than the mass added by the hydraulic actuators for a conventional adjustable wing.

    There will also be what Murray terms push to pass - officially known as Vmax mode - which adds power to the engine through the 48V starter-generator required for the fan and electric aircon compressor. That will give about 30hp which, along with some ram effect from the engine's high-level intake, means a peak of around 700hp. Not bad for a car that isn't designed for a headline grabbing power figure.

    The active fan and ability to adjust downforce has also allowed the T50 to do without the weight and complexity of an active suspension system. There is no need for helper springs or even switchable shock absorbers, with double wishbones and coil springs at each corner, as well as passive dampers. "One of the problems with the F1 was that it was quite softly sprung and at higher speeds the downforce just eats up all the suspension travel," Murray says. His personal Alpine A110 was pulled to pieces so the GMA team could benchmark its dampers - "they're passive and it's the best ride-handling compromise out there at the moment. It used to be the Evora, but the Alpine is better."

    Like most supercars of its era the McLaren F1 didn't have power steering; the T50 will have low-speed assistance from a 12V electrical motor, but this will fade out above a certain speed to improve feel and feedback. "It's basically parking assist," Murray says.

    The manual gearbox is another huge difference from other contemporary hypercars; an ideological as well as a mechanical one according to Murray. "This isn't a car that's designed for lap times. It will obviously be fast anywhere you choose to take it, but that really isn't the point of it," Murray says. His original plan was to use a sequential manual box, but buyers were soon lobbying for a more conventional H-pattern with X-Trac charged with developing it. "A lot of people said please make it a manual, that's one of the things they liked the most about the F1," he says, "if you want the purest interface, the clutch pedal and H pattern is still the best, there's nothing better."

    There will be a non-manual version, with plans for a limited-to-25 track-only version that will have a sequential 'box. "That's going to have three times the downforce of the road car, and at the speeds you're going to be doing around a track it doesn't make sense to be worrying about gears." The track car will also have fixed wings and a much simpler algorithm for the fan - basically giving maximum downforce most of the time. 

    Perhaps surprisingly, Murray says the manual-only gearbox has barely been an issue with potential buyers, despite 40 per cent of customers being under the age of 45. "We've only had one person who asked to have the track car gearbox on the road car, which would be very difficult because of the electrical architecture," Murray says. Existing McLaren F1 owners are also heavily represented in those who have raised their hands.

    "Why do you want one of these if you've already got an F1?" Murray asks, rhetorically. "But you have to think about the practicality. I had an F1 for a while and when they start getting up to $10m, $15m, now even $25m you're not sure about taking them out in the wet and sliding them around to show your friends what fun it is... I'd be very surprised if there were more than a handful of F1s in daily use now, even monthly use."

    "The T50 will deliver everything the F1 delivers from a driving experience, but better," Murray says, "it makes perfect sense - they've still got the F1 and it's a great investment, but here's one for a fraction of the price they can go and thrash to death. Several buyers have told me that's exactly what they are going to do with it." A sentiment we can all get behind.

    Link: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-features/gordon-murray---ph-meets/41455

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    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Cars and coffee weekend gathering with a few Rennteam members celebrating 20 years of the Porsche 911 GT3...

    438EE947-65DF-4654-A131-31ACAF7142AA.jpeg

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    Re: Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos)

    Top Gear: “27 things Gordon Murray told us about the T.50”

    Everything you need to know about his McLaren F1 successor, in his own words

    (21 December 2019

    01 - It’s the first true successor to the McLaren F1

    “I don’t think anybody truly understood the McLaren F1 formula. And I don’t think anybody’s done a McLaren F1 since the F1. Honestly, I really don’t. It’s for lots of reasons, the most logical one is that it was absolutely a clean sheet of paper car. Nothing was carry over, and one of the reasons why it became iconic is that every component is engineering art. And as light as it could be.

    “If you’re Ferrari or McLaren, or even the smaller guys like Koenigsegg or Pagani, you’ve already got a powertrain, you’ve got driveshafts, you’ve got an engine, a gearbox, you’ve got hub carriers, wheel bearings, wishbones, an air-con system. If you want to do a new car and you want it to be commercially successful, you’re going to use all that stuff.

    “OK, the Aston Martin Valkyrie is bespoke, but its targets are so totally opposite. The Valkyrie is designed to beat a F1 car or go around the circuit quicker than anybody else. Full stop.”

    02 - The McLaren Speedtail almost killed it

    “We almost stopped the whole project when McLaren announced the Speedtail. I got the team together, we’d only just come up with the concept, and McLaren announced a three-seater, central driving position sports car. I told them ‘be prepared to stop because McLaren is surrounded by F1s, they have the template right in front of them, they can sit in it, drive it, measure it, scale it.’ And then when we saw it. We went ‘fine’, the project’s on again because it couldn’t be more different.”

    03 - It’s an anniversary present to himself

    “I suddenly realised at the end of 2016, beginning of 2017, I’d been in cars for exactly 50 years. It started as a low-key party for me and the company and some of my mates, a little exhibition and a few drinks. And then we started putting it out there and Bernie said, ‘you can have all the brands in it, there’s 15 brands’. McLaren said you can have your three world championship F1 cars and you can have all the variants of the F1. Before we knew where we were, we had 42 cars.

    “So that happened in November ‘17 and that was the time I started thinking ‘nobody’s really done an F1’. So as we head towards turbos, hybridisation and then full electric at some point, why don’t we do one – it’ll probably be the last great analogue motor car.”

    04 - The T50 is benchmarked against his Alpine A110

    “For the F1 we benchmarked the Honda NSX because that was the best ride and handling compromise I’d ever driven at that point. Up until now, the best handling car I’d ever driven was a Lotus Evora - that’s including all the supercars - and then I bought my Alpine and it’s even better.

    “So we benchmarked that, put it on the rig and measured torsional rigidity. It’s fantastic to drive - passive dampers, coil springs, double wishbone suspension and an absolute rigid focus on weight. I wish I had a manual ‘box and it’d even better.”

    05 - The design is all about purity

    “I’m getting a little bit sick and tired of these supercars that appear with huge holes in the side and back - the BMW i8 was the first one - and they tell you it’s all about moving air from here to there. Give me a break, really.

    “I wanted to get back to something like the F1. You know it’s 30 years old when you see it, but it’s retained a certain balance, it’s proportions are good. It’s aged, but it’s aged gracefully. This time around the proportions are the same, because the architecture is identical. Actually, it’s 15mm wider for crash regs and it’s 60mm longer, but it’s still a smaller footprint than a 911 and I’ve managed to keep it clean.”

    06 - The interior is pure analogue and (almost) a screen-free zone

    “Everything was analogue on the F1, and this is even more so. There’s not a touchscreen in sight. On the F1 the instruments were all stainless steel, hand etched, hand painted. The rev counter needle was machined from aluminium, the hub was an aluminium machined part and glued together, and I used a stepper motor so it looked like an old rev counter and trailed just a little.

    “For the T.50 I’ve found a military switch with the most delightful click and zero play. And, I mean zero play. I measured them all in the spindle. So if you want anything to do with the engine, the aerodynamics, the windscreen wipers, it’s all click, click, click. There are two screens for information, but I’ve buried them so far behind the rev counter until you switch something on, you can’t see them. And the rev counter… I’m getting a watch company to make that.”

    07 - Gordon’s Cosworth V12 has nothing to do with the Valkyrie’s Cosworth V12

    “Ours has nothing to do with the Valkyrie engine (pictured) whatsoever, apart from fantastic background knowledge. I went out to three people for the motor and we went with Cosworth. I’ve worked with them before, my first Grand Prix win was Cosworth, and after doing the Valkyrie they must have learned a hell of a lot. So we’ve got the next generation. It’s got a lot more titanium in it, it’s 60kg lighter than the F1’s engine.

    “If you want to boast that you’ve got one horsepower per kilogram, you need a big engine, and electric motors and batteries, and suddenly you’ve got a 1,250kg car. And then you need wider tyres, and bigger brakes, and bigger driveshafts. Keeping things light is a virtuous circle.”

    08 - Gordon originally wanted a 3.3-litre V12

    “Originally I wanted a 3.3-litre V12, but to be quicker than anything else out there, to be up there with the very best power-to-weight ratios, we needed it to be under 900kg. We spent a month trying to trim everything and we couldn’t do it. So then we went to 3.6, and we still couldn’t make the sums work. You have to be realistic on the weight because beyond a certain level you can’t make the wheels any lighter or the brakes any smaller. So we ended up with 3.99 - I wanted it to be under four litres for sure, and that meant the total weight had to be under 1,000kg.”

    09 - The engine doesn’t just rev high, it revs fast

    “It’s the lightest road V12 ever made, and it’s the highest revving. I didn’t set many targets for Cosworth - one of them was weight, the other was revs. The current record is the LCC Rocket, which is 11,500 rpm and Cosworth’s initial calculations - for four litres, conventional valve springs -  said maybe 11,600 rpm. I thought ‘no, let’s go for it. 12, it has to be more than 12.’ And they’ve done it.

    “I went through every F1 experience in my head, asking myself what do owners still talk about? One of them is engine pickup in neutral. I know it’s boys toys stuff, but if you put the F1 in neutral and blip the throttle, it just goes. If you didn’t know you’d say it was a one litre engine, honestly, and that picks up at 10,000 revs a second.

    “I said to Cosworth, you have to be better than 10,000. In January I got an email saying, ‘I think we’ve met your targets. 28,000 revs a second’. Even as an engineer, my head can’t go there. That’s idle to 12,000rpm in under 0.3 of a second.”

    10 - It has two distinct engine maps

    “We’ve got an analogue switch where you’ve got map A, which is driving to work, going on a rally with mates, taking somebody to school or whatever. That runs out at what we call ‘Ferrari’ revs, so about 9,000 to 9,500 rpm, but it moves all the torque down the bottom so the thing is just drivable. You’ve still got 600bhp and 9,000rpm and everything down the bottom end.

    “Then imagine you’ve got your mate in the car and go ‘you want to hear 12,200?’ Click, and it remaps the thing completely. I couldn’t do that with the F1 - it had a throttle cable so the map they did at BMW was the map you got. If you moved the throttle from here to here then the engine did ‘A’ and it would never do ‘B’. This is a whole new ballgame.”

    11 - It’s going to sound spectacular

    “Yes we’ve got exhaust valves on the T.50 but 90 per cent of the sound will be intake. One of the things that F1 owners talk about endlessly is the growl from the V12. But it’s nothing to do with revs, it’s to do with throttle opening, which is fantastic because when you’re cruising and you’ve only got the throttle open a bit it’s relatively quiet in the cabin. But when you’ve got a passenger and you give it any sort of throttle, it just comes alive.

    “That is the intake pulse from the ram intake above your head coming back. I thinned the roof panel down on the F1 so it acts as a loud speaker, and I tuned the thickness in the same way people tune exhausts, to pick up the resonance. And we’ll do the same thing on this new car.”

    12 - It nearly didn’t have a manual gearbox

    “I have an admission… I was going to use a sequential manual gearbox up until last summer. And then when customers started coming in I was lobbied to make it an H pattern. I went ‘really?’, and now we’re getting compliments. We’ve only had one customer out of all the cars sold ask for a paddle-change ‘box. They’ll have to go for the track car, that gets paddles.”

    13 - The gear lever should be something special, and the linkage will be exposed

    “The F1’s lever is aluminium, and because it’s so short I wanted a really chunky look. It’s extremely thin wall aluminium, machined from solid on the F1. I styled it myself, it was a bit 90s.

    “This time around I want a skinny look, I want to differentiate it. I’m trying to make everything look lighter, as well as be light. It’s titanium, but very spindly with a simple round knob on the top.

    “With the F1 when customers had a service done and saw the mechanism of the gear change, how everything is so beautifully hand machined, they couldn’t believe it was hidden. Once you bolt it into the tunnel, you can’t see it. So this time, I’m tempted to leave it out on display so you can see everything.”

    14 - The steering is assisted, but only at very low speeds

    “Manual steering, it’s a pain in the arse for parking, but once you get going you just can’t beat it, however good you get with hydraulic or electric assistance. The problem with designers is that if you know you’ve got power steering, you don’t get the basic parameters correct because you know you can work around them.

    “I have very strict rules for the steering geometry. If you keep it within those, it’s going to give you just beautiful feedback. No kick back. For the T.50 we’ve designed it as a manual steering, so we’re well within all those parameters. It’s a pain in the bum, but if you try hard enough you can get it right.

    “Once you get above 10 or 15mph the steering changes to manual. We’ve got a new patented system which kicks in for parking and then kicks out again, but the clever thing is it’s all designed to work around what is essentially a manual steering setup.”

    15 - It will be comfier than you think

    “The F1 is quite soft, I bet the natural frequency is below most fast German saloon cars these days. The T.50 is also very compliant. I mean the F1 is basically a Sports GT - it’s got luggage space, air-con, it’s got a sound system. The T.50 will be the same.

    “I’m hoping people are going to be using this car properly because it’s got more luggage space than the F1, a bit more cabin volume, a bit more interior stowage, better air con, better lights, better brakes, better gear change. I’ve tried to make it do everything the F1 did but slightly better.”

    16 - Top speed will be lower than the F1, but who cares?

    “We’ve got a lot more downforce on this, which kills the top speed, but we’re not aiming for top speed. It’s got to do 220mph+ probably, but who cares?

    “With the F1 people said: ‘you must’ve known it’s going to do 240mph?’ I calculated it would do 235mph to pick the sixth gear ratio and it ending up doing 240mph, but it was always going to be a quick car. The new car is light and it’s powerful, it has a better power-to-weight ratio than a LaFerrari, it’s got a better power-to-weight ratio than a McLaren P1 GTR. So, I mean, what more do you want? If it does 0-60mph in 2.9 or 3.5 seconds, who cares?”

    17 - The track version will allow some tinkering

    “One of the reasons I’m doing the track car, is I hope people will leave the road cars pure. If they want to play, come and stick some more wings on the track car. I think every one of the 25 track cars we’re building will probably be different.

    “I’m making them adjustable and part of the deal is you get two or three days at a track with me, and we set the car up for you. If you’re uncomfortable with the level of downforce, for example, we’ll knock some off and re-spring the car.”

    18 - The T.50 could go racing

    “It’s still very early, but we’re talking to the ACO and the FIA. We’re interested in their hypercar series, or whatever it would fit in. The problem I’ve got is the current weight limit is around 1200kg. So to put over 300kg worth of steel on the car is dangerous, really. So if they want us in there, we’re going to have to come to a balance of performance compromise where maybe we run less power but we run lighter. I honestly don’t know yet, but we wouldn’t be able to run the fan.”

    19 - It definitely won’t have carbon wheels

    “I wouldn’t touch carbon wheels with a barge pole… they’re just too dangerous. With an alloy you can give it a good old gouge, one and a half millimetres deep, and you’re fine. With a carbon wheel if you break through one layer of fibres with a scratch or a stone or a lever or anything, the failure mode is catastrophic.

    “There’s no such thing as crack propagation with carbon. One minute it’s fine, then the next it’s in a thousand pieces. We could find 1.2kg on the front and 1.6kg on the rear with carbon, but it’s just not worth the risk. With forged aluminium we’ve hit our weight target.”

    20 - The tyres aren’t enormous or bespoke

    “The other thing about the car, because it’s 980kg and there’s not ridiculous amounts of downforce, the tyres are reasonable. They’re 235 at the front and 295 at the rear.

    “We’re working very closely with Michelin, and that’s all we need. It uses standard tyres, they’re not £25k a pop, or anything silly. Also, narrower tyres means more feedback, less inertia and quicker acceleration.”

    21 - When Gordon explains aero, it makes sense…

    “One of the problems with any downforce, whether it’s fixed wings or ground effect, is the downforce goes up with the square of speed. So something like a Valkyrie is going to have to run hugely stiff springs to just support itself at 170mph.

    “So really where you want the downforce is having fun at 70, 80, 90mph, and when you get to 150mph or so you actually want to bleed it off because you just get uncomfortable. You’re down on the bump stops. You’ve got no ride height left. And then at 200mph it’s ridiculous. Any one of the supercars suffers from the same thing.

    “So to counter that we’ve got a reasonable amount of downforce, but we can enhance it or lose it with the fan. That’s the basic premise. So in auto mode, when the fan’s off, you’ve just got a conventional ground effect car like McLaren, Ferrari or Aston.

    “The other auto mode is braking - we monitor car speed and deceleration and when it decides you need assistance, the wings pop up to 45 degrees. And the fan spools up to maximum speed, about 3000rpm, and valves in the diffuser open. That removes all the dirty air, the boundary line, which forces the air to follow this really aggressive diffuser. And that’s boundary load control, that’s the trick, and we double the downforce. Braking from 150mph that means you can stop 10m shorter, which is a hell of a lot.”

    22 - The ‘High Downforce’ aero mode is for wet B-roads, not just track attack

    “So it’s slippery, it’s wet, you want to have a bit of fun on a back road… it’s another analogue click to access the High Downforce mode. The spoiler comes up by 10 degrees, the fan spools up to about half speed and we open the diffuser valves, which gives us around 30 per cent more downforce. And that’s downforce you can make work at lower speeds - 50, 60, 70mph.”

    23 - But the coolest aero mode is definitely ‘Streamline’…

    “This is where it gets fun. Imagine you’ve got a long straight, you’re doing 90, 100, 120mph wherever you happen to be, and you want the car settled down. You select ‘Streamline’ mode, the spoilers go to minus 10 degrees, which reduces the base suction behind the car. The fan goes up to absolutely maximum speed, but we leave the diffuser valves shut.

    “Instead of taking air from underneath the diffuser, the fan takes all the air from the flanks so in plan we have a long-tailed car. On top of that, because the fan has so much air going through it, we fill the trailing wake with the output from the fan, creating this virtual long tail - we effectively add a metre on to the back of the car.

    “That reduces overall drag by 10 per cent so the whole car settles down, you get wheel travel back, the car feels steadier, you get better fuel consumption, it’s quieter and calmer. If you were driving to the South of France, you’d probably leave it in Streamline the whole way.”

    24 - … actually, no, it’s ‘Vmax Boost’

    “When you’re going really quickly and you want to get another little whoosh, you click the Vmax Boost mode and we switch around 30bhp from the integrated starter generator so it feeds straight back into the crankshaft, leaving the fan to run off the normal battery for a couple of minutes. It’s not hybridisation, it’s completely different.

    “The thing I loved in the F1 was coming onto a straight at about 70mph in third. You could get to 200mph really quickly, then you trail the throttle at 200mph and bang it back again and it still gives you a big kick in the back. People loved that, I wanted to do something similar.”

    25 - OK, final answer, it’s the show-off ‘Test’ mode

    “Because the F1 was the first car with active aero, I had a test mode. So when you stopped at the lights or had your mates around you could go into test mode and the various bits popped up and back. With this test mode, we open the valves, it fires the fan up to absolutely maximum speed and the flaps pops up to 45 degrees. It’s theatre.”

    26 - The T.50’s timeline looks like this

    “The first gearbox arrives next month, and the first engine arrives in April. So we build up our first prototype - we’re calling it George - around May, June. We’ll be running in June, which means we’ll be running full prototypes around September. I have literally just signed off the production tooling for the first bit of the monocoques in fact. We’re targeting first deliveries at the start of 2022.”

    27 - It’s nearly sold out… but not quite

    “We started the project in February 2018, it really picked up momentum last summer. Then we went on sale very, very quietly and the first big chunk of cars sold on the spec alone, exactly like the F1.

    “We’re making just a hundred road cars and 25 track cars. We’ve done it in three thirds if you like. We’re in the final third already so now it’s process time. I like to meet everybody, or at the very least have a few conversations on the phone if they can’t get here.

    “We’re in a position now where we’ve got much more interest in the remaining cars than we’ve got cars and it’s about processing the people, how quickly we can see them. I don’t have a sales team, it’s just me and Pam, my PA.”

    Link: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/supercars/27-things-gordon-murray-told-us-about-t50

    Smiley


     
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