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SteveD said:
Well the article was published yesterday and makes very interesting reading.
Since I was sitting in each of the cars when the laptimes were set, I know Jethro gave equal commitment to the task. So, both Cayenne and ML63 were quicker on track than the Lotus Elise S. Ok, once you've let that sink in let me then tell you that the Elise was running on 'R' spec tyres, whilst the ML63 was running on all-season 4x4 tyres..
Later in the day I was riding with Jethro in the Elise, whilst experiencing the surreal feeling of the ML63 closing on us around the lap. He had to give it everything it was worth just to stay ahead.
What doesn't come across so clearly from the article is that the ML63 was quicker than the Cayenne Turbo around a lap. Because the Cayenne's ESP system could be completely turned off it managed to carry more speed through the fastest corner, otherwise the ML felt quicker, sounded quicker and reached higher speeds along the straights.
Putting these lap times in perspective, both ML63 and Cayenne lapped Bedford's west circuit as quickly as the latest M5. Think about that. All of them with over 500bhp on tap, but one of them a genuine 'sports saloon' and indeed one of the fastest saloon cars in the world. Yet the SUVs lapped as quickly.
The supposedly inept 4x4 ML lapped as quickly as an SL600 or SL55. And quicker than an S65 AMG. So in other words, next to the SLK55 the ML63 is thus far the quickest AMG yet tested on the circuit.
Other scalps worthy of a mention include; new Jag XK, Nissan 350Z, Mitsubishi EVO 260, Bentley Continental GT, Golf R32, Monaro VXR, Lotus Europa. A Porsche 997 was just over 1 second quicker on a lap, likewise a Roush Mustang 420RE.
As far as outright acceleration is concerned;
0-60 (mph) - 4.7s - 4.6s (Cayenne TT - ML63)
0-100 (mph) - 11.4s - 11.0s
0-120 (mph) - 16.8s - 15.9s
That latter time by the way is faster than any M-BMW except the latest M5/M6.
1/4 mile - 13.2s - 13.1s
@108mph (Cayenne TT)
@109mph (ML63)
and finally;
0-100-0 (mph) - 16.46s - 16.62s (Cayenne TT - ML63).
Although by the time I had finished with the Cayenne its brakes were glowing red-hot and felt crap.
Some other factoids that I haven't mentioned;
Lap times; (circuit length 1.8 miles, punctuated by two hairpin bends)
Cayenne TT - 1:29.55
ML63 - 1:30.05
Elise S: 1:30.20
The lap time for the ML63 is slower than it should be because we were sharing the track with a corporate race experience event and the marshalls had placed cones back on the track when we came to set the ML's time. These made entry to the slowest corner too tight and lost around 3-4 tenths of a second.
When we weighed the cars, we got the following results;
Cayenne TT - 2476kg (54% front, 46% rear)
ML63 - 2313kg (56% front, 44% rear)
Elise S - 863kg (38% front, 62% rear)
The Cayenne was riding on Michelin Diamaris 20" tyres, the ML63 was riding on the Continental 4x4 tyres, and the Elise was running on R-spec soft compound Avons.
Top speeds reached around the Milbrook banked oval were;
Cayenne TT - 164.6mph (if you add around 5% more for driving on the flat then this validates the claim of 171mph)
ML63 - 159.8mph (speed limiter intervened, but there was plenty more to come)
The conclusion from this test was that the Elise was the more natural track partner (no surprise there), but that the two uber-SUVs, especially the ML63 are genuinely fast and sporting cars in their own right and deliver the same level of performance as a 997 C2S.
Read the full article in Issue 104 of EVO.
Interesting data, but not really surprised, given modern chassis tech/tires, tranny shiftspeeds, stab ctrls, CCM, etc allow 4000lb 599s to prob rival/beat tracktimes/N-ring times of many lighter, more one-dimensional alleged sports/supercars....
Some 5 yrs ago, several jaded guys who then owned 4300lb SL55 and 3200lb 360 in their fleets would often observe that SL55 was just as engaging/entertaining in mtn twisties as 360....
...N-ring times of SL55 vs 360/430 vs 997S Coupe (let alone Cab) are always amusing to compare
.....and I suspect many at FNA observed how many frequent-repeat F buyers seemed to also be addicted to their humble SL55, as F considered its objectives for 599....
Dial fwd 5 yrs of motor/tranny/stab ctrls/hardware/software/braking/tire tech advances....and it's not at all surprising that those same jaded buyers now will do own back-to-back comparo drives of 4000lb 599 vs 4600lb CL63 in mtn twisties....
BTW, are the SL55 lap times you cite those of '07 SL55 w/030 Package(w/ABC 2.0, LSD, upgraded brakes, 15 more hp/lb-ft, etc)? And are the S65 times achieved w/'07 w/paddleshifters (in manual mode) and 20" wheels/tires? (I vaguely recall an evo issue w/'07 S65 w/19" wh/tires and wood/leather, non-paddleshifter steering wheel).....
Also, any thoughts on translation btwn N-ring times and evo track times? I vaguely recall last-gen CTT as having a rather pathetic N-ring time (?8:40ish).....would you speculate that new ML/CTT would have comparable N-ring times to SL55/S65?? If not, why? Does chassis damping/stab ctrls of SUVs not fare well vs bumpy mtn twisties, as opposed to a smooth, flat track?
