EVO magazine insults 360 CS and Enzo

I think that this is unfair criticism. I think that I read in the same issue that in the end all they can write about is how the cars compared in the particular environment/conditions, and use the Stelvio 993GT3/360CS and ECOTY stories to illustrate that.
The chaps drive cars, stop by and record how the drive felt, period. No rationalisation, no bias to preserve consistency. Subjective. That's what there is love or hate about Evo, it's not a german mag. Nobody forces you to buy or agree.

As for the Carrera GT comparison test with the F1, I think that the issue simply stems from the difficulty to gather these cars on the same days at the same location. They wanted to beat Car & other europ mags who came out this week with a Carrera GT comparison test, they did.

Their story on 288 vs F40 vs F50 vs Enzo was heavily debated too on this board.
Note that their car of the decade was the 550, not the Elise ... (in spite of the fact it's probably one of the most innovative car concepts (revival) in the decade.

 

Cause it's a big car relative to the Lotus. The Lotus will be like a gear driven go-cart. Which is cool.

I drove a Stradale over the weekend (my super thanks to the un-named owner who is high on my cool-guy list). It is way beyond what I would expect. And drive-able.

Having said that...EVO is cool...but the best mag is Octane. Actor Rowin Atkinson (of Mr. Bean fame) says because of performance, there is no reason ever to own anything past an M3 or a Carrera. Beyond $100K, it is ego.

I would call it pride of ownership, and the hobby. The best watch is a quartz Casio for $10. There is no reason to own a mechanical watch. Or a vacuum tube stereo. But what fun.

FWIW the Lotus is an ugly car. Looks like a Mothra movie on magic mushrooms.

 

Robertb, great comments. I personally think EVO is the best Auto Mag currently in Publication and really look forward to each issue. I think as a whole that magazine loves Ferrari's but on each different test the results are different.

 

I was in a CS recently, and asked the experienced and long time Ferrari owner if there was anything he didn't like about the car - his view (and he races currently) was that the car's steering lacked a bit of feel - particularly at low to medium speeds, perhaps due to a little too much power assistance. Perhaps this explains Evo's view?

The new Exige is monstorously good - I've driven the old one on track, and that was simply stunning. It's an amazing package - as are all Elise variants. Ask a few of the UK guys who were on the run out last year with me if you're uncertain! I've not driven anything that turns in like an Elise, nor anything that communicates the road so well. It's stupendously good.

Final point - I agree somewhat with Andrew (Amenasce) - Evo is a truly biased piece of journalism - this is coming from a UK guy - I'd take anything they say with a big pinch of salt and tongue firmly in cheek. However, to my GT3RS owning buddy, Evo is his bible...

 

Ironic quote from a guy with a McLaren F1!!

At least he admits his huge ego then .

 

can anyone explain differences between elise us/europe vs exige? and is there going to be an exige here? thanks

 

As far as I know, there is only one Elise variant homologated for the US, which is essentially the same as the UK spec 111R (Toyota 1.8VVTi engine, 190bhp).

The Exige is a more track-focused car - it has the same powerplant, but is a fixed head, has aerodynamic effects to the chassis and a wider track. It also sports a different suspension set up, a unique ECU and a closer ratio box.

It's quite a different car from the Elise S2 111R, just as the Mk1 Exige was to the standard S1.

 

Robert,
Generally, I agree with your comments. But as far as the f40 goes, celebration is a good term and in this case, reason and purpose in and of itself. Sometimes that is enough.
Also thanks for the vocabulary expansion, as I had never heard or seen the work pastiche used. Gotta love a car site that also expands our language horizons!
John

 

Amen to that!

 

At least he can drive it. Hats off to him. But reading his column a couple times he seems to be the "anti-snob".

On the Stradale. It is so invloving. Like the 355, it feels lower and hunkered down. Not as light...or ready to lift as a standard 360.

And the interior is not loud like I thought it would be. Very reasonable. The only real downside is ground clearance.

 

Car mags are NOT delivering consumer information, they are delivering entertainment for the readers and money for the mags share holders.

Any Ferrari ads? P/F-owner-rate of readers? Any prepared cars? Can the journos drive a car properly? etc. Its just business.

 

Well the guy was probably a poor driver. Im sorry but dont think an SL55 will run away from a Stradale on a twisty road...On the drag strip ok ..but on twisties..no way..Ur car doesnt have the better brakes...

 

Not even on a drag strip. I raced one a few days ago (on the street) and beat it easily, owner was very surprised - didn't even know what a CS was.

I don't think a lot people realize quite how heavy an SL55 is.

 

I am surprised that EVO would ever say a bad thing about any Ferrari. Last time they put the GT3 ahead of the 360 for PCOTY Ferrari got upset, banned them from using any company demos and snobbed them for 10 months. That's why Autocar is such a good read, they loved the CS but when the ENZO started falling apart on a gentle cruise around NY it was all there in photos.

 

An M3 and Carrera are nice cars, but nothing special, Rowen Atkinson's statement, it true, is as stupid as his charecter, Mr Bean.

 

Sorry but gotta call BS on this one. I raced my 550 against a standard E55 last weekend. The E55 slowly but surely pulled away. Now given your CS is faster than my 550, you STILL won't "easily" beat it anywhere.

 

The M3 and Carrera are both VERY special. And on the track nearly as fast as very exotic cars costing much more. And a rush to drive. And drive-able. Never heard of anyone replacing a clutch on an M3. A Lambo or Ferrari you can get 20k if you are lucky.

Having said that, don't get me wrong. I have a 360, and I am (assuming a couple things) getting another F-car. I love it, love the passion, love the exotica, but got no problem-o celebrating other great cars.




IMHO Mr. Bean is funnier that ****.

 

Everyone knows him as Mr. Bean. No way. He will forever be Blackadder.

 

Perhaps they haven't driven one?

[/QUOTE]
Barker has it (the Lotus Exige) second and equal with the Ferrari, but Bov and I nudge is ahead of the 360 purely because when you strip away the 'Ooh it's a Ferrari effect,' you're left with a car that DOESN'T INVOLVE AS COMPLETELY, NOR DOES IT COPE WITH THE DEMANDS OF FAST ROAD DRIVING AS CONVINCINGLY. (As the Lotus)" [/QUOTE]


This is true. The Lotus is a MUCH more tactile car that involves the driver like the cars of yesterday. But it's apples and oranges. If you love the Lotus, get a 246 or 328. Ferrari makes nothing today that is like a Lotus Exige (or Elise); which to say small, light, tossable. This isn't a knock on the 360; just to say it's not trying to do what Lotus is doing.

Ken

Ken

 

An E55 is lighter and quicker than an SL55. It has a lower rated horsepower, but that is BS, it is close to if not the same as the SL.

Maybe "easily" wasn't the right word. How about "decisively?"

 

an sl55 weights 4700 lbs, the cs will blow it away in any performance measure... check with any car mag... it is not close!!!!!!

 

I am a partner in a business that specialises in modifying the SC'd Mercs, so drive and perfromance test these cars regularly.
The SL55 has shorter gearing than the E55 and the real world weight difference is marginal. Also the SL55 does produce on average about 20RWHP more than the E, but it is easy to "de-restrict" the car.
In regular street usage the MB's will beat all standard Ferraris barring the F40,50 and Enzo, if the driver actually uses full throttle.
The cars however are made for highways and fast sweeping turns (read autobahn). Steering feel and turn in are not exactly their strong points.

 

Too much reading, not enough driving!
BTW the SL55 weighs 4200lbs with roughly (I can't be bothered doing the metric/imperial conversion properly) 16 gallons of fuel, 35lbs of luggage, 145lb driver, as per EU standards.
You obviously didn't read EVO where they rated the SL55 extremely highly, it saw a top 3 result on PCOTY from memory.
Before anyone starts up, I am not suggesting the SL55 is superior to the Stradale, just that the statement that a Stradale would "blow the SL55 away" in a street acceleration race is patently wrong. An SL will do a mid 12 all day down the 1/4 without missing a beat.

Back ontopic, I read the article and cannot see where you could construe any insults against the 360. They loved the car, just concluding as a pure sports car the GT3 R was better on the day.

 

In trying to figure out why you would call BS on what I said, I pulled out some Car & Driver magazines. I know magazine racing can get ignorant but if you stick to one magazine that uses a standard test procedure for all their test vehicles you can get a decent idea of what certain cars will do vs. another.

01/04 - 360CS 0-60: 4.0 0-100: 9.5 1/4 mile: 12.4

11/02 - SL55 0-60: 4.5 0-100: 10.9 1/4 mile: 13.0

Both cars were tested on full tanks of fuel, which hurts the Ferrari more than the Benz because of its low torque and curb weight and a 25 gallon tank.

I also checked the E55

05/03 - E55 0-60: 4.3 0-100: 9.9 1/4 mile: 12.5
These times are a little quicker than the test of an E55 in 03/03


Are these numbers hard and fast proof? No. But is a CS quicker than an SL55 up to a 1/4 mile? Most likely yes. Is a CS quicker than an E55? Too close to tell. I do know that my 360CS feels extremely quick in a straight line especially when it is light on fuel, and it was indeed light on fuel when I raced the SL55. I'm not knocking the AMG Benzes, as a matter of fact I think they are awesome machines and I may get one to replace my S8. But will they destroy every single car they come across on the road? No.

Did I beat an SL55 in a silly street race? Yes. I don't know why you find that so hard to believe. I guess next time I'll just have to videotape it.