How do you fancy the idea of a VW Golf GTI with 650 bhp? No one is saying you
can have one, but VW has built a Golf GTI concept car with a modified version
of the twin-turbo W-12, 6.0 liter engine of the Bentley Continental GT.
The
VW Golf GTI W12 concept is reckoned to have a top speed of 201 mph
and get to 60 mph in about 3.5 seconds. Enough to see off most supercars, and
to keep up with the Porsche Carrera GT! In fact the top speed is only a
fraction above that of the Bentley, but the acceleration is a good deal
quicker owing to the less weight it has to push around.
You might expect that VW would have used the quattro system for this
concept, but, no, they are looking for a more sporty approach, and have opted
for rear-wheel drive.
The twin turbo engine has been tuned to 650 bhp – 100 bhp more than
in the Bentley – at 6,000 rpm and drives through a Tiptronic automatic
gearbox to the back wheels. Torque is limited to 553 lb ft (750 Nm) at 4,500
rpm - that is masses of torque for such a small car.
The engine is mid-mounted, behind the driver, as in the Renault Clio 250.
It would be quite impossible to put 650 bhp through the front wheels, and get
any decent performance at all.
In fact the idea of rear-drive for the Golf GTI is a good one –
let's hope it is not confined to this concept car, which looks pretty good
with great fat tires beneath wide wheel arches, and a big air intake at the
front and the sides. The radiators are side mounted.
The car has a carbon fiber roof – like the new BMW M3 – and
the underfloor aerodynamics have been improved to reduce lift so a big wing
is not needed at the rear. Probably not a very practical design with very
little ground clearance, but still... Tires are 295 section on 19-inch wheels.
By the way, a Golf GTI won its class in the Nurburgring 24-hour race, and
finished eighth - much higher than might have been expected. Not only was it
the first front-drive car by quite a bit, but also finished ahead of many posh
supercars like Porsches and Aston Martins. The Golf GTI R develops 300 bhp and
was driven by a couple of pros who know the Nurburgring much better than most
drivers in the race, but still an amazing performance.
The fastest production car in the world?
Is the
Bugatti Veyron the fastest production car in the world? As I write
this, yes, it is, but its crown may not last long. SSC, which has been
building the SSC Aero TT for some time, has produced the
SSC Ultimate Aero TT,
which is powered by a twin-turbo V-8 developing 1,183 bhp!
With this monstrously powerful engine the company is intent on wresting
the title from Bugatti, and has set its sights on 270 mph. In March, the car
reached 230 mph, but trials on the closed public road – 9 miles long I
believe, and dead straight – had to be called off when it snowed.
Recently, the tests got under way again and this time, the car got to
242 mph – level with the Koenigsegg CCR – and at that point,
they decided that everything was working fine, so they could have a bash at
getting the record. Should happen soon...
Caparo T1 released
At last,
Caparo has released the specification of the stunning T1,
claimed not just to have the highest power-to-weight ratio of a production
car, but also to be quickest to 100 mph, and for the 0-100 mph-0
acceleration-braking test.
We'll be covering this in detail soon, but the naturally aspirated 3.5
liter V-8 engine now develops 575 bhp – that's 164 bhp per liter, which
means that to get that power the engine has to rev to 10,500rpm, just like a
semi-racing motor cycle. In fact, that is the closest equivalent really,
because the Caparo T1 is a very narrow two-seater built for ultimate
performance, a sort of stripped down racer made street-legal. A wide aero
screen is standard.
Actually, the engine is built to the specification for an Indy race engine,
but the speed has been kept down to 10,500 rpm in the interests of reliability.
The car weighs around 1,400 lb, which is very light indeed for a car with
a 3.5 liter engine, but a bit more than was forecast initially.
Caparo claims 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, 0-100 mph in 5 seconds,
and 0-100 mph-0 in less than 9 seconds.
Caterham also gets more power
To celebrate 50 years in business making the Caterham Seven, Caterham
has introduced a special- high-power lightweight version of the CSR Superlight.
Powered by a supercharged Ford 2.3 liter engine, the new car develops 330 bhp
at 7,500 rpm and 221 lb ft (300 Nm) torque between 5,500 and 7,000 rpm.
The power-to-weight ratio exceeds almost everything except the Caparo T1
and the Ultima GTR at around 600 bhp per tonne, or 530 with a driver. This is
a one-off at present, but a limited edition run is likely.
