Caterham Seven Supersport

 

What‘s it? This is actually the latest new model from Caterham Seven Supersport, and when you wish your fun simple and furious, you’re visiting adore it. The car’s known as Supersport and it also slots straight into the range underneath the Superlight R side from the Caterham family. First thing you have to know is the value, and that is seriously tempting. Send Caterham a cheque for £19, 995 and also a Luton van will come round within your house and fall off a big pile of boxes. Send £22, 995 and you may collect a ready-made Supersport from Caterham. What’s it like? Beneath the bonnet is Ford’s 1. 6-litre Sigma engine tuned to 140bhp as well as on the rear of it‘s a five-speed gearbox fitted with sprint ratio gears. At another end from the propshaft, there’s a limited-slip differential.

This spec alone gives clues towards the Caterham Seven Supersport’s intended role, however the four-point harness, minimalist bucket seats and lack of the windscreen confirm that it Caterham is supposed for trackdays, sprints and hillclimbs. It’s not the lightest Seven ever, but at 520kg it’s still a robust performer. Caterham says 0-60mph in 4. 9sec and also a top speed of 120mph. It’s a brilliant package. Around 130bhp to 140bhp is that the perfect power output for any Seven, even when it’s carrying full weather gear and comfort options as a heater and soft seating. During this car it’s greater than enough. The Supersport is fitted with Avon CR500 tyres as well as for an open road I’d be happy with a group with slightly less stickiness. Using the LSD behind, the Supersport has terrific grip from slow corners. There’s a touch of understeer in quicker corners but that may be dialled out using a slight change of driving style. The very best fun I’ve had inside a Caterham was each day hillclimbing at Shelsey Walsh inside an R300.

Drive there having a helmet upon the passenger seat, compete, then drive home via a rustic pub for supper. No KTM, Elise, Atom or another trackday special has ever been in a position to improve upon that experience. Should I buy one? The new Supersport is from the identical mold ; the difference is it’s very affordable. I’d say it’s perhaps one of the best packages that Caterham has ever develop. Caterham Seven SupersportPrice : £19, 995 (kit ) ; Top speed : 120mph ; 0-60mph : 4. 9sec ; Range : Na ; CO2 : Na ; Kerb weight : 520kg ; Engine : 4 cyls, 1595cc, petrol ; Power : 140bhp at 6900rpm ; Torque : 120lb ft at 5790rpm ; Gearbox : 5-spd manual Caterham Seven Supersport

Caterham Seven 1.8 SV

 

Caterham Seven 1.8 SV technical director Jez Coates doesn’t look happy. He wasn’t particularly pleased about adding a windscreen to his 495kg Superlight (an £855, 14. 4kg option ), but add my, ahem, 100kg-ish bulk and it is 283bhp per tonne drops to under 230. No make a difference, this remains a really quick car, though not inside the universe-rearranging manner from the loonier R400s and R500s. Also different to more extreme Caterhams will be the tyres. The 13in rims look tiny, but 175-section rubber provides just the ideal level of grip to exploit the Superlight’s delicate balance. Talk of oversteer and understeer is largely irrelevant, since with adjustable spring seats and anti-roll bar means it’ll do either depending in your individual setup. If this looks familiar, that’s since the Superlight was initially introduced ten years ago, but as more powerful versions arrived the fundamental car dropped from the price list. 

Using the R400 and R500 replaced from the new CSR, demand for any cheaper trackday Caterham Seven 1.8 SV has returned, and thus has got the Superlight. But it’s not really a clone of the initial. A stock 1. 8-litre K-series replaces the old car’s tuned 1. 6. The headline figures are little altered –140bhp and 124lb ft plays 138bhp and 118lb ft - but where tuned K-series lumps often are likely to cough and stutter around town, this one feels docile and tractable like a base-model MG TF’s. 

The ride, too, is surprisingly friendly. The fundamental car runs a less aggressive anti-roll bar than R versions, so its surprising compliance means you don’t got to fret about scarred roads and can also concentrate instead upon the tactile immediacy from the steering, brakes and six-speed gearbox. But drive it really quickly over a bumpy back road and also the back end does skip over the tarmac, highlighting the restrictions from the Superlight’s de Dion rear axle when compared with the new CSR’s double-wishbones. As to the cabin, it’s familiar narrow-cockpit Caterham fare - fine if you’re under 5ft 10in, less so in case your height begins having a six. Excellent news for the greater generously built is for £1500 you may also obtain a wide-cockpit Superlight SV. Coates frowns - bad news is it weighs an additional 20kg. Now there’s an incentive to follow a weight loss diet. Alastair Clements Caterham Seven 1. 8 SV

Caterham Seven 1.6 Sigma 125

 

What’s new? Earlier in 2012 (2006 ) the Porsche Cayman S won our Best Driver’s Car title, but look past the overall rankings towards the lap times and you’ll find a little, hand-made British sports car absolutely demolished the very best Germans and Italians around Oulton Park - Caterham Seven 1.6 Sigma 125’s CSR Superlight. And that is very impressive, but might be also just slightly irrelevant, because for many its areodynamic trickery and in-board independent suspension, the CSR costs £34, 000 – and that is plenty to cover a car with no roof, windscreen or heater. The Caterham experience is much easier to stomach whenever you pay out lower than half that amount - £15, 995 in kit form, or £17, 495 factory assembled - to the new, Ford powered Roadsport. What’s it like? The demise of Rover meant Caterham needed to get yourself a replacement to the K-Series engine - a search ending with 1. 6-litre Sigma engine coming from the Ford Focus.

Remapping the engine management, retarding the cam timing and changing the intake manifold has increased power from 100PS inside the Focus to 125bhp. Although just 5bhp greater than the Rover unit, from anything above 3000rpm the new engine produces more torque which makes it noticably quicker for road driving. Using this added midrange flexibility you’ll rarely be calling upon the 6100rpm needed for peak power – and that is handy, as during the last 1000rpm the Sigma engine feels slightly reluctant ; our test car had covered just 600 miles though, therefore the engine could well loosen with use. As you needed any further excuse to jettison the canvas roof, the Sigma Roadsport sounds far better topless.

The driver-side-exiting exhaust brings some encouraging rortiness as well as just a little throttle-body-sneezing with every energetic stab from the right pedal. Overall it provides an enigmatic mixture of old-school drama, modern day flexibility, and (we assume ) Ford-derived reliability. As the 125bhp Roadsport won’t be setting any lap records at next year’s ‘Handling Day’ event, for road use it’s entertainingly quick without unduly risking your licence. Not content with a brand new engine supplier, Caterham Seven 1.6 Sigma has also outsourced chassis construction, adopting MIG-welding to extend torsional stiffness. During the deepest potholes, the bobbing front wheels can lead one to expect the worst, however the stiffer chassis actually minimises intrusions to some level you can almost call comfortable. Should I buy one? For many it technical excellence the CSR Isn‘t at the guts of Caterham’s business ; that’s where this characterful, fun and affordable little sports car is available in. It offers all however the most visceral facets of the same fastest Caterhams, but with a price and that is easier to justify. Actually, this Sigma-engined Roadsport serves like a timely reminder of what Caterham does best. Jamie Corstorphine Caterham Seven 1. 6 Sigma 125

Cadillac STS-V

 

General Motors Performance Division engineers will certainly be the very first to tell you just how their pride and joy, the 2006 Cadillac STS-V, is much more in an autobahn rocket when compared to a hyperactive track star. Unlike its race-bred sibling, the CTS-V, this latest model in Cadillac’s performance lineup Isn‘t intended for hard cornering, hard braking, hard accelerating or hard anything. That’s to not say the car can’t handle hard charging, or it won’t match up well against the posh performance competition ; it’s simply not visiting beat anyone up simultaneously. So just what does $30, 000 over a base STS buy inside an STS-V? Beneath the sheet-molded composite hood lies a highly refined 4. 4-litre supercharged Northstar V8—the first supercharged production Cadillac engine. With 469 bhp at 6400 rpm and 439 lb-ft of torque at 3600 rpm, it’s easily the foremost potent production Caddy powerplant ever.

Power is routed towards the rear wheels via an all-new six-speed adaptable automatic transmission. Chassis upgrades support the powertrain, with stiffer springs, bushings, wheel bearings and antiroll bars ; a steering gear tuned for quicker on-center response without overreacting off-center ; Brembo four-piston disc brakes, 14 inches front and 14. 3 inches rear ; and 10-spoke painted aluminum wheels, 18x8. 5 inches in front, 19x9. 5 inches inside the rear, fitted with Pirelli Euphoria run-flat tyres. Cadillac stylists resisted the urge to hammer home STS-V’s performance credentials, instead choosing functional bodywork and discreet V Series and Supercharged badging. Performance Division resident hotshoe engineer John Heinricy compares the STS-V’s performance to some base C6 Corvette.

Our drives support Heinricy’s assertion—the car proved virtually as quick like a C6 on GM’s Milford, Michigan, Cadillac STS-V test track, with little body roll, solid consistent braking and enough wiggle room to let you steer the tail by flexing your right ankle. For all those attempting to find a BMW M5 in Cadillac clothing, that may not be enough. Except for those seeking Corvette performance inside a well-mannered, full-size rear-wheel-drive American luxury saloon, STS-V is really a dream become a reality. Bob Gritzinger Cadillac STS-V

Audi Q5 review

 

When it is available to economics, Ingolstadt has its own law of supply and demand : in case a market niche exists, sooner or later a brand new Audi model will arrive to fill it. Arriving following the Q7 and until the Q3, the Audi Q5 shows Audi's continuing determination to cover all of the SUV bases.

Matt Burt Deputy editor The Audi Q5 isn‘t any rock-crawler but full-time 4wd traction still impresses in very slippery goingAs using its larger sibling, the Q5 Isn‘t a significant off-road tool, but instead the Audi for people who need a mid-sized estate but prefer a heightened driving position and enhanced ability in slippery conditions like snow or sand. 

The model is Ingolstadt’s response towards the Land Rover Freelander 2, BMW X3 and Volvo XC60. The petrol options are two flavours of 2. 0 TFSI, the greater powerful of which has got the a seven-speed incarnation of S-tronic dual-clutch gearbox, as conduct the 3. 2-litre petrol V6 and the wider of the 2 diesels, the 3. 0-litre V6. Wish to change gears yourself? You will want either the lowest-powered TFSI or perhaps one of the two 2. 0 TDIs.

Audi R8 5.2 V10 FSI

 

What‘s it? This is actually the Audi R8 5. 2 V10 FSI - baldly, an Audi R8 having a 5. 2-litre V10 motor beneath the engine cover. More specifically it’s the quickest and the majority expensive production Audi ever, the very first proficient at a sub-4sec 0-62mph time and also a car which was a scheduled to carry a six figure price tag until Mr Darling’s VAT cut. Comparisons involving the Audi R8 V10 and also the Lamborghini LP560-4 are inevitable, not least because, internally, the engines are identical, right right all the way down to their uneven 54 and 90deg firing intervals.

 But different intakes and exhausts means the Audi is restricted to some mere 517bhp, the better-breathing Lambo manages 552bhp. Still, inside a car weighing just 1635kg (only 60kg more when compared to a V8 R8 despite a considerably higher spec, this still leads for an impressive 316bhp per tonne power to weight ratio to the Audi R8 V10, superior even to that of the 911 Turbo, the car which when it comes to price and pitch it probably most closely resembles. Interestingly, as the Audi R8 V10 has received a good deal of attention in certain areas due to its 100bhp-plus power gain – its springs are 20 per cent stiffer in the front and 22 per cent stiffer in the rear, it features a thicker rear roll bar and also a fresh group of suspension bushes – in others it’s barely been touched. Whether you specify steel or carbon ceramic brakes they’ll be a similar which you find on the Audi R8 V8, the tyres are no different as well as one‘s body has needed no further stiffening to manage the performance potential. The six-speed manual and semi-automatic gearboxes happen to be left untouched, with only a raised final drive ratio to support a high speed that rises from 187mph to 196mph. Visually you’ll spot an Audi R8 V10 by its badging, intricate ten-spoke 19in wheels, wider sills, enlarged air intakes and different exhausts while, inside you’ll got to spot the now-standard Nappa leather as well as little ‘V10’ badge upon the tacho.

The Audi R8 V10 is likewise the very first production car to possess wholly LED lighting front and rear. But when this all sounds a little too forensic, the presence of a relatively enormous V10 beneath the transparent engine cover is a thing of the giveaway too. What’s it like? Expect the Audi R8 V10 to become towards the standard R8 exactly what a 911 Turbo is to some standard 911 and you’re likely going to be disappointed. As the turbo Porsche is and always is an entirely different proposition to its normally aspirated sister, a V10 R8 is basically rather similar to some V8 R8, just with measurable performance points re-established on the higher level. And were the eight-pot Audi R8 lower than one among our very favourite cars of any description, this might come as something of the let down. In case it’s like being given not only the keys towards the chocolate factory however the deeds also. All of the superficially mundane qualities that actually result in the Audi R8 so special – it’s ride and refinement, the functionality of their interior and simple use – have survived the transition intact. Perhaps greater than other supercar, whenever you think in an Audi R8 You Think That not simply how great It‘s to drive, but just simply the amount greater even than it should be to own and endure day by day.

And also the V10 shows you are able to have all this, complete with truly epic performance to not mention a howling V10 soundtrack and an 8700rpm rev-limit. No, it’s almost so unhinged like the Lamborghini LP560 (and for the blame its extra 225kg around any power deficit ), however the gap is narrower compared to the £40, 000 price gulf between them would suggest. Best of Audi has stuck to its decision not to allow greater than 35 per cent of available torque be delivered with the front wheels so it effectively feels more rear-wheel drive than ever, while its ultra-long wheelbase and dazzlingly well-controlled suspension with magnetic adaptive damping means its handling can be as benign as ever. Should I buy one? Some people, some people included, predicted the Audi R8 V10 would prove a step too far. The V8 car never felt lacking in performance and had this type of delicious think that it seem inevitable that whatever the V10 brought in extra performance could be greater than offset by actually lost in balance and delicacy. This appears not as being case, by pricing the Audi R8 V10 so near the R8 V8 (once you’ve added the Nappa leather, sat-nav, carbon side panels, LED lights and magnetic ride there’s lower than ten grand inside it ), It‘s produced a good more desirable and better-value version of one among our favourite cars from the 21st century. No wonder Audi thinks 70 per cent of R8 sales will now be V10s. There probably hasn’t been a worse time for them to sink one hundred grand into your supercar, but when there is one available worthy of that a commitment, it’s hard to consider another more deserving than this.

Audi Q3 2.0 TFSI

What‘s it? The top-spec version of Audi’s compact soft-roader ; driven inside the UK for the very first time. Petrol-engined variants from the Audi Q3 2.0 TFSI will certainly be greatly outnumbered by their diesel counterparts, and Audi expects the foremost powerful derivative in order to make up just five per cent of sales. However, musclebound SUVs have always proven popular halo vehicles even if they should fail to locate buyers in large numbers. The allure is power and prestige, and also to that end the current range-topper gets a 208bhp take upon the 2. 0-litre TFSI lump. That’s sufficient to propel the Q3, via all four wheels, to 62mph in 6. 9 seconds - which makes it quicker than comparable BMW X1 or Range Rover Evoque. Starting at £28, 610 to the SE trim, it’s slightly cheaper too, but that’s before beginning ticking Audi’s lengthy options list, which includes several items - Drive Select, adaptive dampers - which are essential. What’s it like? Before we think about the specific attributes from the petrol engine, a little bit of advice upon the Q3 experience inside the UK.

Prospective buyers already enticed by another slickly packaged Audi affair will certainly be pleased to listen to the model takes to potholes and manhole covers reasonably well. There’s a perhaps a touch that once again the manufacturer has opted for any slightly over-firm setup, however it takes some seriously troubled tarmac for that thought to occur. Otherwise the Audi Q3 2.0 TFSI saunters along inside a quiet, unruffled type of way - particularly with comfort mode appointed on Audi’s Drive Select. However, equipped with the butch petrol engine, it’s hard to not constantly reach for the greater aggressive Dynamic setting. As ever using the self-appointed ‘quick’ car from the range, poking the TFSI is practically obligatory, and flat out, the Q3 delivers the straight-line, linear oomph you’d expect coming from the figures. Unfortunately, additional performance doesn’t necessarily equate to increased enjoyment of the merchandise.

Hooked as much as Audi’s twin-clutch S Tronic ‘box, the gearshifts are breakneck, however the transmission includes a habit of making powerplants characterless and sterile. And people same descriptives could possibly be applied towards the Q3’s handling prowess. At moderate speeds the condensed SUV is precise and really simple to endure. Push on and also the superb body control and quattro traction ensure it remains competent - it just doesn’t become anymore fun. Should I buy one? Perhaps. This type of Q3 largely achieves what Audi intended it to - namely, it goes fast - but there’s never any impression the model deserves much recognition beyond its niche audience. That’s because, like much from the manufacturer’s range, there isn’t a tremendous level of reward to become had from torturing the TFSI aside from arriving at the destination marginally quicker. If that’s good enough for you personally probably the premium can be justifiable, but we’d happily settle to the improved economy and lower price from the better-suited 175bhp 2. 0-litre TDI. Audi Q3 2. 0 TFSI QuattroPrice : 28, 610 ; Top speed : 143mph ; 0-62mph : 6. 9 seconds ; Economy : 36. 7mpg ; Co2 : 179g / km ; Kerbweight : 1565kg ; Engine type, cc : 1984cc turbocharged four-cylinder petrol ; Power : 208bhp (5000rpm - 6200rpm ) ; Torque : 221lb ft (1800rpm - 4900rpm ) ; Gearbox : Seven-speed automatic.