Another even faster Porsche
911 Turbo S
Porsche’s latest road-going 911 is the
fastest the factory has produced and is called the 911 Turbo
S.
With an even more powerful version of the new twin turbo it
develops 390 kW and 700 Nm of torque, the 3.8 liter
twin-turbo flat six covers zero to 100 km/h in just 3.3
seconds. This is quicker than the current 911 GT2, which
used a high-performance version of the previous 911 Turbo’s
3.6 liter engine.
Of course, with the PDK-only Turbo S completing the 0-100
km/h sprint in just 3.3 seconds, putting it among the
world’s quickest road cars ever, one wonders just how quick
the next-generation GT2 3.8 will be - not to mention fast,
with the 327 km/h GT2 still besting the new Turbo S with 315
km/h.
The new 911 Turbo S also sprints to 200 km/h in a claimed
10.8 seconds, yet uses no more fuel than the 911 Turbo, with
an official combined average of 11.4 L/100 km.
Designed to satisfy those in need of the ultimate 911 Turbo,
the S carries over the Turbo’s all-wheel drive layout with
Porsche Traction Management and, exclusively, its optional
seven-speed PDK twin-clutch automated manual transmission,
as well as adding many of its expensive options as standard
equipment.
They include the Porsche torque vectoring system (PTV),
which includes a mechanical limited-slip rear differential,
the Sport Chrono package comprising launch control and
dynamic engine mounts to increase high-speed rigidity,
Porsche ceramic composite brakes (PCCB), 19-inch
central-locking RS Spyder-style alloy wheels, dynamic
bending lights, adaptive ports seats with increased
adjustability and two-tone leather seats in exclusive Black/Crema
or Black/Titanium Blue hues.
Of course, Porsche’s biggest launch for 2010 will not be
mid-year’s 911 Turbo S but the second-generation Cayenne
line-up, including the German sportscar-maker’s first hybrid
model, which will share the limelight at the Geneva motor
show on March 2 with the S-badged 911 Turbo.
I’m off to race F1 this
year for Renault!
Following the verbal OK for the necessary 13
million pound Sterling loan given by the St. Petersburg
branch of the Esarn Rice Growers Bank, I have been
provisionally offered the race seat at Renault F1,
previously occupied by the Russian Vitaly Petrov.
Poor Vitaly, who had to buy his seat with a 13 mill loan
engineered by his father, has had to admit that the money
from Dad’s bank has, so far, not been received. What is
more, Vitaly’s father says that if Renault don’t get the
first installment by March 1, his son’s F1 career will be
over. (I am having my race suit dry-cleaned in preparation
for March 2.)
While I feel sorry, in some ways, for Vitaly Petrov, I do
not feel the same about Renault. Formula 1 is (supposedly)
about the world’s best drivers in the world’s best cars, but
has not been that way for decades. If Renault are willing to
take ‘pay drivers’, it does not say much for the resolve of
the team towards giving the best results possible this
season. Judas Iscariot sold out for 30 pieces of silver…
with inflation over the past 2010 years, it seems that
figure is now 13 million STG.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I mentioned that in one family
there was a very successful racing driver and his sister was
also a very successful rally driver. Who were they? An easy
one - they were Stirling Moss and his sister Pat Moss (Carlsson).
Ivar Hoyem was first in (again).
So to this week. Pope Pius XI’s Nurburg Popemobile was a
present from Daimler-Benz AG. What was interesting about the
wheels?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Six Hour race at Bira
this Saturday
The Six Hour Endurance race is on again this year
for tin-tops. Endurance racing is different from sprint
racing, as the final winner is not necessarily the fastest.
Failure of the smallest component can bring a team undone,
as happened to the Pizza Company Vios a couple of years ago
when the fuse to the fuel pump failed fifteen minutes from
the end.
The
Six Hour Vios
This year The Pizza Company team is using the Vios once
more, with the drivers being Thomas Raldorf, Paul Kenny and
Sandy Stuvik. Entered this year as The Pizza Company -
Yokohama Tires Racing Team, the drivers are a mix of
experience and raw speed. Raldorf and Kenny are both old
hands at the endurance game, but for 15 year old Sandy
Stuvik, this will be a new experience.
The young racer is down as the third driver for the team,
with lead driver Raldorf saying, “Sandy does not have any
prior endurance race experience, so I thought it would be
best with him watching a driver change first when I come in
and Paul gets in the car. Sandy will likely be faster than
all of us, but he needs to learn how it works in the pits.”
With endurance racing, speed is not the answer, but a
trouble-free run will produce the results wanted.
Graham Knight Part 2
Graham Knight from HighSide Tours continues with
his second article with tips on how to survive in the
traffic in Thailand.
Slow riding. Most riding in towns and villages in Thailand
is done at relatively slow speeds (10-30 km/h). And probably
most accidents happen at relatively slow speeds as well, so
this is an important part of your daily riding.
Beware!
Pulling away. One of the funniest sights I see (but also the
most tragic) is the guy who rents a bike on Beach Road, hops
on and when pulling away either stalls it immediately, pulls
off in a series of uncontrolled bunny hops or with screaming
engine and slipping clutch. You do not want to be this guy.
Sit on the bike in the correct position (from last month’s
article). Look up and ahead to where you are planning to go.
Do not look at the rev counter or the instrument panel. Find
something in the distance to focus your attention on. Let
the clutch out until you find the bite point. Then relax,
apply more throttle and release the clutch gradually. Look
up and ahead all the time.
Get those feet up quickly. Dragging your feet as you pull
away or go round a corner is not helping you. By not having
your feet on the pegs you have made the bike more unstable
as your weight is now acting through the bike seat raising
the centre of gravity. By putting your weight through the
pegs you will lower the centre of gravity and make the bike
more stable.
Brake dragging. Have you heard about centrifugal/gyroscopic
forces? The physics that makes you run wide in corners? Well
at slow speed these forces are your friend because they are
also generated in your engine.
If your engine is revving, the movement of the cylinders up
and down or even side to side (BMW) generate gyroscopic
forces that resist being moved out of the plane they are
already moving in. This means that you can ride at extremely
low speeds and still keep the bike upright by keeping the
engine revs high as the gyroscopic forces resist the bike
tipping over. By high I mean around 2-5,000 rpm, not
redlining it.
Try this. Sit on the bike in the correct position. Arms are
relaxed. Now pull away slowly and once you are moving use
the brake to slow the bike down, rear brake is probably the
best to start with but either will do. Counteract the rear
brake by gently increasing the throttle. With a bit of
practice you should be able to balance the amount of rear
brake and throttle so that you can stay upright at less than
normal walking pace.
It will help you to relax and operate the controls smoothly
if you practice looking ahead of you instead of staring down
at the controls or the road immediately in front of the
bike.
Slowing down. We will deal with braking in more detail in
another article but for slow riding practice using the front
brake only.
As for pulling away: look up. Do not stare at the road
directly in front of you as you apply the brake. Now
smoothly squeeze the lever, do not snatch at it. As you feel
the bike weight transfer to the front you can apply more
force to the lever if necessary. Keep you arms bent and
relaxed throughout the process, use your knees or legs to
absorb the braking forces, not your arms.
Choppers with extended front forks will have only limited
weight transfer to the front, another reason why these bikes
handle so badly.
Try to apply the most braking early and then lessen the
braking force as you are slowing down. Squeezing the lever
hardest just as you come to a stop is most likely to result
in a locked wheel and an embarrassing topple into the parked
cars and bikes. Not cool!
OK that’s the basic pulling away, slow riding and stopping.
Next month observation skills. (Graham Knight can be
contacted at graham.knight @highsidetours.com.)
A German rival for the
Mini
With BMW’s Mini series being very popular, it
stands to reason that another European manufacturer would
produce a small car to compete against it. Audi (owned by VW)
has risen to the challenge, releasing the new Audi A1
hatchback at the Geneva show in March.
Audi
“Mini”
According to Audi, they have “shrink-wrapped” everything it
stands for to create the new A1, a more compact and
city-friendly three-door premium hatchback that delivers all
the celebrated quality, design flair and engineering acumen
synonymous with Audi.
The new A1 has the latest, ultra-efficient TDI and TFSI
engines. The new 1.2 TFSI petrol engine linked to a
five-speed manual transmission covers the zero to 100 km/h
in 12.1 seconds and a 166 km/h top speed. The more powerful
1.4 TFSI power unit has the standard six-speed manual
gearbox or the optional seven-speed S-tronic twin-clutch
transmission. Equipped with S-tronic it takes the A1 to 100
km/h in 9.1 seconds. The 1.6-liter diesel is the third
engine option, and via a five-speed manual gearbox covers
zero to 100 km/h in 10.8 seconds.
AFG reviews the Magnate
The Automotive Focus Group (AFG) meets Friday 19
at the Centara Grand Mirage North Pattaya (Soi 18 Naklua) at
5 p.m. with special guest Kevin Gallaghan, owner and founder
of Magnate Automotive.
Magnate
P708
Kevin will inform the AFG members of his SuperCar, the 750
BHP Magnate P708, which was designed and built in Chonburi.
750 BHP is enough to propel anything to super car
performance, and it will be interesting to see the
technology used to produce this vehicle. Further details
from the AFG secretary Maurice Bromley ([email protected]).
