The "Random" Thread

Factoids, stories, gossip. Fun, wierd, or just crazy cool. Any thing that's not FerrariChat-specific, but is a "must see" - well, let's post 'em here for the EC Crew.

 

Murcielago Roadster Review on Top Gear (full text, as opposed to link). By Peter Grunert.

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On the tightest roads winding across the hills north of Bologna, in the widest, most extravagant supercar Lamborghini presently makes, I know that God is on my side. A priest looks in my direction, smirks and crosses himself. As I bellow off into the distance, he appears to be saying a Hail Mary on my behalf. He hasn't so much seen the light as just heard the racket that a Murcielago Roadster is capable of creating. Little else sounds quite so loud or brutal as it launches. All that separates the vast 6.2-litre V12 from my ears is a mesh-covered bulge in the engine cover that completely fills the rearview mirror. And there is no roof or insulating material to moderate the immense aural impact.

The cacophany signals the arrival of 571bhp, delivered at a peak of 7,500rpm. This is sent to the four driven wheels via the combination of a viscous centre coupling and limited-slip diffs at the front and rear. Turn the traction control off in damp conditions and the unleashing of such power would threaten to instantly parboil the Pirelli P Zero Rossos. Even in the baked-dry heat of an Italian summer, a cautious right foot is called for.

This isn't a car to risk fidgeting about in, either. Just poking my head an inch above the sharply cut-off windscreen leaves me exposed to a high velocity bombardment of bugs and other debris. The rush of air is so severe that if I stretched up a little further and dared to take my shirt off, my nipples would be blown right back into my armpits. That's a measure of the intensity of experience this fastest-ever open-topped Lamborghini provides. It shrugs off 0-62mph in just 3.8 seconds, or precisely as frantically as its solid-roofed equivalent can. Soon after, it will explode onwards to a top speed of 199mph. The narrowness of the lanes I'm threading along only exaggerates the sense of lung-crushing speed. As if that needed doing...

One calming thought is that, should the unhappy moment arrive to say arrivederci road and buon giorno ditch, two roll-over hoops set behind the seats are capable of popping up in milliseconds to provide some element of protection. These are taken from the Audi TT Roadster - a product of Lamborghini's parent company. The Murcielago Roadster's dramatically angular carbon-fibre bodywork shrouds additional strengthening built into the windscreen pillars and sills, aiding crash protection and structural stiffness in the absence of a proper roof. A web of rigidity-enhancing steel tubing has also been spun above the engine bay, alternatively available in carbon fibre - for £2,200 extra. Over rough surfaces, remarkably little flexing or rattling intrudes inside the car as a result.

The Roadster sits 70mm lower than the Murcielago coupe, most of the height having been shaved from the tops of its windows. The glass area arcs sleekly around the interior, much like the visor of a crash helmet. To this a soft-top of sorts can be attached. This is intended to work like an Elise's, with a pair of separate side spars providing bracing front to rear, joined by a canvas centre section. In practice, it's about as effective as a travel rug draped loosely overhead - Lamborghini advises a maximum roof-on speed of a piffling 99mph, for fear of it taking off. I've left the hood neatly, compactly tucked away in the boot, set at the far front of the car. There's plenty else to focus on. The freshly introduced (yours for £5,000 extra) 'E-gear' semi-automatic 'box is fitted to the car I'm in. Its steering-column-mounted paddles flick between each of the six ratios, on down-shifts the Minigun bursts of sound generated by the robotized blips of the throttle threatening to shake all the olives from the surrounding trees.

The Murcielago's extraordinary proportions alone are enough to keep my concentration fully fixed. At least other road users are given a selection of warning signals to stay well out of the way. They'll have heard this car several hairpins before they see it. They may well also have witnessed the cooling pods sliding menacingly out from its flanks, a clear indication that I haven't been travelling slowly. Then there's the matter of this particular example's hazard-yellow paintwork, the colour of choice, apparently, for 40 per cent of Murcielago owners. I would take mine in acid green.

Alongside the pressing matter of attempting to thread a car the size of an HGV along roads with the dimensions and layout of a kart track, here there's a frequent need to haul its 1,665kg bulk to a near halt. Thankfully, like the E-gear transmission, uprated brakes have also recently been introduced for the Murcielago. With huge eight-piston calipers at the front and four-pistons at the rear, they work aggressively, repeatedly effectively. In truth, the Murcielago Roadster isn't quite so terrorising to drive as its evil looks suggest it should be. The all-encompassing seats are incredibly comfortable, the pedals are light in their action and the small, fat steering wheel is set well within easy reach. I find myself finally learning to trust its extreme reserves of grip and stability.

Time to relax a tad then. Also, to put the intimidating thought of this car's £223,250 asking price to the back of my mind. Instead, I bask in the knowledge that I'm now one of a select few to have driven the most ostentatious, exhibitionistic Lambo ever. While he's succeeded in acquiring three superyachts and a Premiership football team, even Roman Abramovich can't claim to have done that yet.

The bespoke Lamborghini

The fact that a mere 200 Murcielago Roadsters will be built each year still doesn't provide exclusivity enough for some. Take a stroll around Lamborghini's Sant'Agata factory and some truly bespoke trim combinations are being lined up. Like alligator or ostrich skin, in place of regular leather. Also for an extra consideration (p.o.a.), customers can provide a sample of any material and the paint shop will attempt to spray the car the same colour. The first Roadster for the UK was coming off the production line when we visited, finished in a fetchingly patriotic combination of pearlescent white bodywork matched to a red driver's seat - peculiarly, with a black passenger's seat.

 

Link posted on FChat, but I thought it would be better to preserve the full-text, as AutoWeek routinely "de-links" its articles.

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Comic Relief: Jay Leno talks about his new Supercars
MARK VAUGHN
Published Date: 8/30/04

There aren’t very many of us who could ever hope to own a supercar, especially a new supercar. The number of people who could buy three of them at once—the Mercedes SLR, Porsche Carrera GT and Ford GT—is even smaller. But of that group, those who will actually drive them, and happily talk to you about the experience, it comes down to one guy—Jay Leno. ¡ At one point Leno was supposed to take delivery of all three of those cars on the same September day. What a day that would have been. Which one do you drive? The Ford came early, though, and as of press time the Carrera GT and SLR are still on their way. ¡ Leno has already driven all three at various venues around the world. Mercedes let him loose with an SLR on the (unfortunately named) Idiada test track in Spain, Ford had him driving the GT at Laguna Seca, and Porsche gave him a Carrera GT for a few days in Los Angeles. We spoke to him recently by phone.

Q: What, no Enzo?
A: It doesn’t interest me. I don’t like the paddle shifter. I like to
shift myself.

Q: You still have the Carrera GT loaner, how do you like that?
A: I put 500 miles on it. I bought it because of the clutch. What is it, a 60,000-mile clutch? The McLaren clutch [Leno also owns a McLaren F1] is 3000 or 4000 miles. I love the fact that [the Carrera GT] has no paddle shifter. I have not met anyone who loves paddle shifters. I think there’s a great deal of satisfaction in mastering the proper shift of a car. If it’s going to shift for you, get the video.

Q: Wasn’t the Carrera GT clutch difficult to get used to?
A: I didn’t have any problems. I read one road test that said, "Oh, it’ll really build up your thigh muscles." Well, how lazy are we getting? I have a Hispano-Suiza and that thing has a clutch—you operate that for a few blocks and you’re sweating. But this car, it’s like, "Oh shut up, are you really mentally and physically exhausted from shifting?"

The real trick to driving the car is you put it in gear, don’t give it any gas, release the clutch and it goes. I find it’s one of those things that gives a car character. Just as it was mastering the earlier 911’s handling characteristics.

I have a number of W.O. Bentleys and that is a hard car to shift. You grind gears. I called the guy I bought the first one from and he says, "You’ll get the hang of it," and he was right. You just feel a great amount of satisfaction from learning and performing the mechanical process of shifting.

Q: You really love that carbon clutch, don’t you?
A: It doesn’t smoke, it doesn’t smell. Any other car, you do a burnout and, "Sniff, sniff, uh oh." Let’s face it, if you’ve got a Countach and some kid comes up to you in a ’57 Chevy, you say, "Yeah, I could beat this kid but it’ll cost me $4,700 in clutch repairs." With the Porsche it’s not like that.

Q: How’s it handle?
A: It’s rear-drive, you give it a little gas on an on-ramp or someplace and the tail end comes around. You’re not endangering anyone, you’re just having fun.

Q: Have you had other Porsches?
A: This is the first Porsche I’ve ever bought. I didn’t come to it as this huge Porsche enthusiast and, "Let’s help the home team."Most supercars are sort of old-fashioned, they have a tube frame and a big engine. And this is a [with dramatic, newscaster tone] technological tour de force.

Q: How does it compare to the Mercedes SLR?
A: The Porsche is a sports car. With the Porsche you can go from point A to point B, assuming you have a locked garage at each point. With the Mercedes you can drive it as you would any Mercedes. The SLR is 95 percent sports car. With that extra 5 percent you can park it, you can get in and out of it, you can drive down the street. With the GT you can’t park, you can’t see and you don’t want to scrape the wheels on the curb.

The Porsche is extremely rewarding. Getting in and out of the Porsche is not as easy as the other cars. On a racetrack the Porsche would probably win. The SLR would be an all-around road car. You could give the valet the SLR. You couldn’t give the valet the Porsche.

Q: How was it to drive the SLR?
A: It feels very much like a sports car. I drove the SLR at over 200 mph in Spain and you couldn’t break it. We had 12 guys there beating the s*** out of it; you’d be going 212, 213 mph on the speedometer and you’re thinking, "Hmmm, let me turn the air conditioning down."

One of the guys pulled into the pits and the brakes were on fire. The Germans were like, [Schwarzenegger voice] "That is okay, that is normal, they will cool down."

The SLR is probably the more real-world, everyday driver car, [though] I commuted every day with the Carrera.

Q: How’s the Ford GT?
A: The Ford GT, to me, is just like an emotional experience. I am not a big sports guy, and I am told the greatest moment in sports history is when the U.S. team beat the Russians in hockey at the Olympics. For me [the greatest moment] was the Ford GT40 winning Le Mans. The idea that my mom’s Fairlane had the same DNA as the car that just won Le Mans was amazing.

I think they’ve done a wonderful job. It’s what, 13 percent bigger than the original? Hey, I’d like to be 13 percent bigger than I was in 1966; that’d be fine with me.

When I look at the three of them, emotionally the [Ford] GT has the strongest pull.

It was the last car you could drive at Le Mans and also, possibly, drive on the street. I think it’s the bargain of the century. Look, $150,000 is a lot of money, but when you realize that the Ford GT is within, what is it, a tenth of a second of the Enzo? And it’s a Ford! So you could fix it yourself if you had to.

Q: Anything else?
A: Do me a favor and don’t make me seem like some sort of rich-guy, showbiz a******, okay? I just like cars.

 

Somebody's having a bad day. 2005 Mercedes SL500 totaled.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6338&item=2488736025&rd=1

 

A$$es. Don't worry Hubi - I've got a few extras. I'll bring 'em next time.

 

"LOL"

 

SWEET! Yeah, I do remember that. If he's buying yours as an adjoining apartment so he can knock down a couple of walls, then CHARGE that mo' fo' some $'s son!

Glad to see that the Hubi on Hubi for Hubi with Hubi who has a Hubi is coming along well. We're all waiting for the house warming.