The concept for the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 was born when the question of “What can we do with the Corvette if we allowed the price tag to exceed $100,000?” GM’s answer to that question was a highly capable ZR1 version of their Corvette that stood alone in the American Supercar class. That was until the performance division of Dodge, SRT, decided to make a new Viper. I wouldn’t be surprised if the SRT engineers bought a ZR1 to use as a benchmark because many of the performance specifications are nearly identical. Naturally we have to see which is the better car. Thankfully Motor Trend’s Johnny Lieberman and Randy Pobst are on the job with some hot laps around Laguna Seca.
Cadillac just debuted the ELR extended range electric vehicle last week at the Detroit Auto Show. The ELR is the production version of the Converj concept and is based on technologies from the Chevrolet Volt. Csaba Csere from Car and Driver interviews the engineering, design and marketing minds behind the ELR to get to some of it’s finer details. Right off the bat, this new model is a lot more than a badge swapped Chevrolet Volt. Even though the drive train shares components, the controls programming allows for more power output due to a better understanding of the battery discharge profiles. Cadillac has also decided to add more driving modes including one where the battery energy can be saved for a specific part of your journey. This is great for people whose commute starts on the highway and ends in the city where the electric motor is more efficient. A version of the hold-mode was first available on the European version of the Volt, the Opel Ampera. The ELR will also allow the driver to dial in specific amounts of regenerative braking with shift paddles located behind the steering wheel. The exterior of the ELR was specifically styled “not to scream electric car” which is to say it looks sporty and aggressive. It’s a 2-door coupe that will be about the size of the ATS (which is almost the exact same size as a BMW 3-series). The chassis has also been upgraded with 20 inch wheels, wider tracks and different suspension components for better handling. Cadillac thinks they’ll be pioneering a new market segment with the premium sport luxury extended range electric vehicle. Lets hope they’re not the only ones.
There are a plethora of things that I could talk about that make this Porsche 917 significant. The only one that I will mention is the fact that it combines two very incredible things: Bacon and Race Cars:
Ford has got a serious jump start on GM and Chrysler with their EcoBoost technology. Their monster 3.5 liter twin turbo direct injection V6 outperforms the naturally aspirated V8’s in almost all areas while delivering significantly better gas mileage and longevity. It’s a no sacrifice win-win situation brought about by good engineering. Unfortunately sales to the masses don’t always follow proper logic. Ford knew they had a good engine, but they weren’t sure it would be accepted by their core customers. The EcoBoost V6 has seen good sales in the F-150, but Ford was hesitant to pair it with their halo-model Raptor. I think that’s also the reason why we have yet to see an Ecoboost Mustang (though that would be incredibly awesome). The fear was that too many people associated Ford performance with V8’s, but hopefully that will start to change.
One argument for the paradigm shift is this SDHQ built Eco-Raptor. The truck started life as an EcoBoost F-150 whose frame and body got swapped out for Raptor parts. Apparently it was cheaper to do it that way since an EcoBoost crate engine is $17,000. It seems like a lot of work, but the results speak for themselves. The DRIVE crew use a regular 6.2 liter V8 Raptor as the camera platform for this video and they got 11.6 mpg while the EcoBoost equipped truck got 16.8. That’s more than 5 mpg difference with the EcoBoost model making more power while having equivalent offroad capabilities. Like I said, it’s a win-win no compromise situation. More power with less fuel. It is possible to have fun, save money and be environmentally responsible all at the same time. You know we are fully behind these types of movements here at Flux Auto.
When Porsche first introduced the Boxster, the concept was for the car to be an inexpensive entry level model for the lineup. Turns out a reasonably priced mid-engine Porsche was a great formula for success. That being said, the Boxster had some shortcomings having to work around hand-me-down parts and Porsche’s mandate to keep its performance level significantly short of the bread and butter 911. Now that the Boxster and Cayman have proven themselves as strong sales successes, Porsche’s attitude towards them has reversed. The twins now get their own designs and parts in order to have the top of the line S models have almost identical performance stats with the base model 911. Motor Trend’s Carlos Lago also reveals that being the entry level model has the benefits of tuning focus. What I mean is that the Boxster is under less pressure to deliver specific 0-60 or Nurburgring times than the 911. The result is chassis balance that makes dialing in some oversteer more of a priority than outright grip. Cars tuned for fun are starting to become a rarity these days, but I’m glad to see some people still get it.
