| Author | Message | ||
| rick ramage (720)
Junior Member Username: 720 Post Number: 90 Registered: 7-2003 |
hi paul, my local news stand doesn't have that issue any longer  i'm probably on your list already, but pleasze email the scan when you get a chance. thanks! btw, if the stradale would have rated high on the "practicality" score i would not be as interested in buying one! are any ferraris "practical" LOL | ||
| Paul Loussia (Bumboola)
Junior Member Username: Bumboola Post Number: 197 Registered: 3-2003 |
The BMW won the "practicality" score and the Porsche won the "value" score. The Ferrari came in 5th and 4th out of 7 cars, respectively. Not too bad, really. Compared to the Pagani it is a bargain. Compared to the Porsche, it's too expensive, but that's always been the case with these two brands. This was the September 23rd issue. When I get a chance I will scan the article and e-mail to all who request. | ||
| J.D. Smythe (Jeff)
Member Username: Jeff Post Number: 285 Registered: 2-2001 |
Paul In the "practicality and value"section, what did the article say about "value"? | ||
| MFZ (Kiyoharu)
Member Username: Kiyoharu Post Number: 340 Registered: 2-2003 |
Hey Abangdin, sorry for not sending you any more questions by mail anymore, I've been busy.... Anyway, do you subscribe to the British Autocar or the Asean one? This month's Asean Autocar has a feature on Ferrari's Corse Clienti department, really cool! Incidentally, was the Gallardo test drive at Sepang? Who are the official Malaysian importers for Lamborghini? Remember to give me a ride on your Challenge Stradale once you get it from the factory! ;-) | ||
| N'din (Abangdin)
Junior Member Username: Abangdin Post Number: 88 Registered: 7-2003 |
Thanks Paul. I am still waiting for my subsription issue. Takes too long to arrive. After reading your post, I am even more anxious to get my hands on my Challenge Stradale. I test driven the Gallardo toady. It's an impressive car. This is a pre-production model and it is already very good. Imagine the production car will give the Modena a damn hard time. | ||
| N'din (Abangdin)
Junior Member Username: Abangdin Post Number: 87 Registered: 7-2003 |
Thanks Paul. I am still waiting for my subsription issue. Takes too long to arrive. After reading your post, I am even more anxious to get my hands on my Challenge Stradale. I test driven the Gallardo toady. It's an impressive car. This is a pre-production model and it is already very good. Imagine the production car will give the Modena a damn hard time. | ||
| MFZ (Kiyoharu)
Member Username: Kiyoharu Post Number: 338 Registered: 2-2003 |
What is the date for this issue? I got to keep a look out for it. | ||
| rick ramage (720)
Junior Member Username: 720 Post Number: 87 Registered: 7-2003 |
thanks for posting this review paul  i'll be in maranello next weekend, and i hope to see/hear the stradale myself at the factory and/or at the fiorano circuit. i've ordered a stradale, and i can't wait to get it! | ||
| Paul Loussia (Bumboola)
Junior Member Username: Bumboola Post Number: 196 Registered: 3-2003 |
OK, first thing I go to are the acceleration tests. Good news and bad news. Good news: They pulled a top speed of 194mph, way more than I thought it would do. Possibly the Stradale is geared differently than the Modena? Now, the bad news: the acceleration sucked. The text explains it somewhat: "If a direct correlation between decibels and forward motion could be formed, then the 360 Challenge Stradale wouldn't simply be the fastest car in this test, it would be the fastest car ever made. It would also be a faster and more competent car with a manual gearbox, because standing starts bring far too much wheelspin and poor results ( if 2.3sec to 30mph, 5.3 seconds to 60mph, 10.5 seconds to 100mph can be considered poor ). You can interrupt the computer-initiated bonfire though, and come out of the throttle to trim crucial tenths off the times. Our best run included a first-to-second change so slow it registered as a massive crevasse on the speed trace. The Stradale needs revs. Above 5000rpm it romps along, below that it is merely brisk. By keeping the revs up we managed 194mph; expect better acceleration figures when we road test a car with all megabytes functioning." They previously clocked an 8.8 second 0-100mph time with a standard Modena F1 on a grippy surface and I expect better results than that from the Stradale when they perform a full road test. Anyway, the Stradale won. The Pagani broke a driveshaft and VW suddenly summoned Lamborghini's fleet up to Wolfsburg, so no Gallardo. The cars were: Pagani Zonda C12S, BMW M3 CSL, Caterham R500, Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG, Noble M12 GTO 3R and the Porsche 911 GT3. Results were based on lateral g's, acceleration, top speed, brakes, noise, race track ability, on road appeal, value, styling and practicality. The Ferrari placed first in brakes, noise, on road appeal and styling. The only weak spots were acceleration (see above), value and practicality. These two paragraphs from the "on road appeal" section sum up the car pretty well: "Nothing here, not even the Zonda can keep up ( with the Caterham ) and the Ferrari is the only car in which it even seems worth trying. Partly it's because driving the Challenge Stradale flat out is just about the most thrilling thing any of us can remember doing for quite a while. It might boil down to a 360 with a loud exhaust, stripped out cabin and stickier tires, but the modifications have quite clearly unleashed the beast within. The extra noise, bite, response, grip and braking power- those ceramic stoppers are immense- have made an already addictive driving experience completely intoxicating and almost unbearably exciting. The stronger scream and shove of that extraordinary V8 would be enough to strike a crucial difference, making the Stradale officially the most savage-sounding road car ever built." "But it has an absolutely blinding chassis, too. At speed, steering that had seemed slightly sticky about the straight ahead becomes fluid and scalpel sharp. Cornering forces compress your torso against the pronounced wings of the bucket seat, positively urging exploration of what you blithely assume must be the chassis' outer limits. But on dry roads, you don't even get close. It's then that the stark honesty of driving the thing hits you. On one side, an almost indescribably exciting mid-mounted engine, rear-wheel drive and 425 horses. On the other, you, a steering wheel, throttle and brake pedal. It's driving pared and hardened until all the frills and peripheral distractions have been excised. You, the Ferrari and the road. It's that simple." And this from the "practicality and value" section: "Most uf us would plump for the Ferrari. All right, it gives every impression of being a road-going race car. Its exhaust note at full chat is loud enough to melt the circuits of a decibel meter. Its two seater cabin is as bare as a prison cell, all dull brown carbon panels, rubber mats and uncompromising seats. And although there is a boot in the nose, it's not a big one. But you'd fire it up for a trip to the news stand without giving it a second thought. Interior storage is generous, visibility get-away-with-it good, the ride far from fatiguing and , in non-race mode, the paddle-shift transmission smoother than you might imagine. Go easy with the loud pedal and the Stradale can just about do user-friendly supercar." And one more quote from the "winner" section: "The 360 Challenge Stradale is the best Ferrari since the F-40 and, right now, the most exciting car on the planet." Sounds good to me. |