Forget fuel misers -
here’s the real man’s car
The Chevrolet Corvette has been an icon in the US automotive
world. Despite that, it has had trouble in garnering the
same respect in the automotive world at large, but that is
all about to change when the 2009 Corvette ZR1 is released.
2009
Corvette
Coming almost two decades after the official launch of the
Corvette ZR1 at the Geneva Auto Show back in 1989, the 2009
ZR1 features a long list of specialized components that
include extensive use of carbon-fiber paneling and an
all-new LS9 supercharged 6.2L V8 developing 620 horsepower
(462 kW) with around 823 Nm of torque. Enough to tow the
statue of Liberty through Manhattan.
Predictions are that the new ZR1 will be the first
production Corvette to achieve a top speed of at least 200
mph, making it the most powerful and fastest automobile ever
produced by General Motors and giving it the muscle to claim
dominance over international competition like the Porsche
911 GT2, the Ferrari 599 and the Lamborghini LP640. That
really is taking on the accepted high flyers!
Highlights of the new Corvette include a six speed, close
ratio manual transmission, a new high-capacity dual plate
clutch, Magnetic Selective Ride Control with race suspension
that can provide more than 1G of cornering grip. The
Magnetic Ride Control is standard and tuned specifically for
the ZR1 and stops axle tramp on take-off as well.
The gages include a 220 mph speedometer (370 km/h) and a
boost gage to let you know what the large,
positive-displacement Roots-type supercharger with a new,
four lobe rotor design. It is boosted with an integrated
charge cooling system that reduces inlet air temperature for
maximum performance. This sixth generation supercharger
developed by Eaton helps the LS9 make big power and torque
at lower rpm and carries it right the way through to 6,600
rpm.
The twin plate clutch system is another racing-derived item
which is needed to handle the torque on take-off, and GM
claim that the pedal pressure is no higher than the current
single plate Corvette clutch.
The braking system features carbon-ceramic brake rotors.
These vented and cross-drilled rotors on the ZR1 measure
15.5 inches (394 mm) in diameter in the front and 15 inches
(380 mm) in diameter in the rear – making them among the
largest carbon-ceramic rotors available on any production
vehicle.
Clamping down on the high-tech rotors are six-piston front
calipers and four-piston rear calipers. The front pads are
equivalent in size to the largest on any production car with
a single-pad design – double that of the Corvette Z06’s 70
sq. cm. front pads. With the 200 mph potential, it will need
these brakes!
Tyres are supplied by Michelin and are the Michelin Pilot
Sport 2 tyres developed specifically for the ZR1, measuring
P285/30ZR19 at the front and P335/25ZR20 at the rear.
How much for one landed in Thailand? Since it is quarter to
half the price of the exotics, I will guess 12 million baht.
The queue starts here.
Doing it in the dark
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the Singapore Grand
Prix for F1 later in the year will be run under lights. The
following information was brought to my attention by Alan
Coates, our roving motorcycle editor, that the opening round
of the MotoGP season on March 10 2008 will also be held at
night in Qatar, starting at 11 p.m. local time.
The reason is exactly the same as for F1, to bring the
viewing time in Europe into the afternoon, to maximize the
number of viewers.
Apparently a group of riders tested under lights in
September 2007, with part of the Losail desert circuit
outside the capital Doha already fully equipped. The MotoGP
assessment group found the experience satisfactory, and work
now proceeds to complete the massive project.
Current World Champion, Aussie Casey Stoner was not at the
tests, but was in favor of floodlit racing. “I used to race
dirt-track under floodlights. It was good fun,” he said.
Night racing has another advantage at the desert venue:
temperatures are cooler than during the height of the day
and the denser air will give the bikes a performance edge.
US-based firm Musco Lighting, with extensive experience in
floodlit sporting applications, undertook the work. The main
lighting comes from 3,200 overhead units, with 500 low-level
beams cross-lighting the track surface.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked which motor sport competitor
competed in hill climbs as both a man and a woman? The
answer was Bob (Roberta) Cowell.
So to this week. When did pneumatic tyres first get used in
a race? And who was the driver?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Should we all step into
a Prius?
Last week I mentioned the move towards ‘green’
cars, as the price for a barrel of crude oil broke through
the $100 barrier. With today’s fixation on fossil fuel
depletion, fuel misers are certainly all the rage as far as
‘green’ technology is concerned. One of the leaders in
hybrid technology is Toyota, with their Prius model, which
was released 10 years ago, updated for 2004 and for a
further update in 2008.
Toyota has sold more Priuses than all other hybrids combined
- and this has to be the result of an increased awareness of
the environment in the last decade, and an increase in
production and availability by Toyota.
Notable landmarks in the 10 year journey of the Prius
include winning the International Engine of the Year award
in 1999 and 2000, becoming the world’s first hybrid vehicle
to finish an FIA-sanctioned rally in 2002 and setting a new
land speed record for hybrid power vehicles by achieving
130.794 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in 2004.
Market demand for the Prius also saw the opening of a new
production center in Changchun, China in 2005 and
interestingly, sales have increased dramatically in the last
two years to almost one million vehicles, since the
half-million production was not reached until mid-2006.
In 2007, the Prius maintained its status as the world’s
cleanest family car according to Toyota, with carbon dioxide
emissions of 104 g/km, and has an official combined cycle
fuel consumption figure of 65.7 mpg.
Prius reminds me of the VW in the 1950’s with the cult
mentality that the car produces. Remember those days? They
flashed their headlights at each other and waved, complete
with a certain smug smile. “Aren’t we clever,” was the
implied concept. Prius is the same. Reported satisfaction
rates are consistently at 98 percent, and the owners have
that certain smugness about them, showing they are doing
their bit to fight global warming.
So it makes ‘green’ sense to buy a hybrid, but does it make
financial sense? The EPA in the US rated the vehicles
available for sale over there. Their number 1 fuel miser was
the Honda Insight. This little gem costs 3.7 million baht
over here. Compare this with the Honda Jazz that costs about
0.6 million baht, a saving of 3.1 million. I will now
consult my crystal ball and suggest that in five years, the
Insight will be worth 1 million baht, and the Jazz 0.2
million. You will have lost 2.7 million baht on the Insight
and 0.4 million baht with the Jazz. So the Insight owner
will have ‘lost’ 2.3 million baht more than the Jazz owner
in the five years (ignoring servicing, insurance and other
standard expenses). That breaks down to 460,000 baht a year.
So will the Insight owner save more than 460,000 baht per
year in fuel costs? This is not possible. Not even the
Porsche Cayenne Turbo owner will spend 38,000 baht a month
on fuel. If you want to be a greenie, you will have to pay
for the pleasure.
Natter Nosh and Noggin
The monthly car enthusiasts meeting will be at
Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR next to the Nova Park
development. The car (and bike) enthusiasts meet on the
second Monday of the month, so this time it is Monday
(January 14) at Jameson’s at 7 p.m. This is a totally
informal meeting of like minded souls to discuss their pet
motoring (and motorcycling) loves and hates. Had an
acquaintance buy a Bentley convertible the other day, but he
won’t let me take it out at night, so bring along any
magazines, photos of old vehicles, old girlfriends or any
interesting car or bike trivia for us all to lust over!
Has Ford said Tata to
Jaguar?
It looks very much as if the Indian conglomerate
Tata has bought Jaguar and Land-Rover. Another two premier
British makes going overseas, and this time to India, once
part of the British Raj. How the mighty have tumbled.
An
ugly Jaguar XF
Whilst it was still not 100 percent at the time of going to
press, it seems fairly likely that the British press reports
are correct, with Tata’s chief executive, 69 year old Ratan
Tata, credited with transforming a sprawling, unfocused tea
to trucks conglomerate into a global player, had long
promised the group would “spread its wings far beyond
India.”
If Tata gets Jaguar and Land Rover, it will be in the
unusual position of manufacturing two of the world’s
prestigious cars as well as one of the world’s cheapest,
having already announced its “people’s car” which has a
sticker price of USD 2,500 (around 75,000 baht).
The Tata Group has 98 firms and began emerging as a force in
the world marketplace in 2000 when it bought Tetley Tea,
Britain’s top tea-bag brand.
The Tata Group, founded in 1868, is a colossus at home in
India, with annual revenues of USD 29 billion, the
equivalent of 3.2 percent of India’s GDP, and is the biggest
private employer, with 289,500 people on its payroll.
It probably is about time that the MD got a Jaguar to drive
around in!
A re-volting tale?
The battery died on the ‘works’ Mira yesterday.
It had been sending messages for the previous two days, but
as usual you ignore the reluctance to spin the engine in the
morning and put it down to the cold weather. After all, I
don’t like starting in the cold weather either.
So, out with the jumper leads, clear away the children, fire
up and drive to the nearest battery shop. There the happy
chappie brought out a new battery and began to remove the
old one. A little voice inside told me to ask the price
before we were too far along with the replacement. “Sam pun,
ha roi,” said the little man. Three thousand five hundred
baht! Did he think that the six inch stainless steel bar
that holds my ears apart was corroded? Since his expensive
battery looked plastic on the outside and not encrusted with
jewels and gold, I declined. However, I did attach my jumper
leads to it to get going, and then drove to the next place.
This one (Nuy Dynamo) suggested B. 1750 and efficiently
replaced the offending dead battery. The moral to the tale
is always to ask first!
If in Pattaya, Nuy Dynamo and Air is at 148/27-28 Sukhumvit
Road, telephone 038 373 184, 300 meters from Pattaya Tai
heading towards Pattaya Klang.
