BMW M3 Competition SMG Coupe--Chicago Cars Direct
Detailed walkaround and test drive of a 2006 BMW M3 Competition Coupe with SMG Transmission presented by Chris Moran of Chicago Cars Direct.
With colors like Laguna Seca Blue and Imola Red, there's no question as to where the BMW M3's aspirations lie. These famous racetracks would be fitting playgrounds for any car that promises such stratospheric levels of power and handling.
Whether blasting up Tamburello at Imola or diving into the corkscrew at Laguna Seca, few cars in the world could attack a road course with the tenacity of those wearing the "M" badge of BMW's Motorsport division. Until the 2001 model year, we had to deal with the fact that as much as we loved those Motorsport machines, our European counterparts were getting versions far more powerful than ours. Their M3s boasted 317 horsepower, while ours made do with just 240. Not that we were complaining.
Even with its detuned engine, the previous-generation M3 was still one of the best performance coupes available anywhere. But the grass is always greener on the other side, and U.S. enthusiasts couldn't help but wonder just how much better the M3 was in its Euro-spec trim. With the introduction of the current-generation BMW M3 for the 2001 model year, drivers had to wonder no more. The M3 is now the same whether you buy it in Stuttgart or San Francisco. Better yet, it's been blessed with an even more powerful 333-hp engine, a sturdier, more responsive suspension and slinkier bodywork that, we think, makes it one of the most stunning cars on the market.
Like so many ultrahigh-performance cars of today, finding the limit of the M3's abilities takes more than just an empty road and the guts to hold the pedal down longer than usual. Fortunately, the 2006 BMW M3 gets along just fine in suburban environments, though be forewarned that the ride walks a very fine line between all-out performance and day-to-day drivability. Enthusiasts will find it pleasantly firm, but poseurs had better hold on to their cappuccinos.
Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options
The 2006 BMW M3 in offered in both coupe and convertible form. Standard features on the coupe include 18-inch wheels with Z-rated rubber, automatic climate control, 10-way adjustable sport seats, leather and cloth upholstery, one-touch power windows, heated power mirrors, a CD player, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers and keyless entry. The convertible adds power seat adjustments and full leather upholstery; these items are optional on the coupe. Additionally, the drop top comes with a fully automatic soft top (with heated rear glass); a removable hardtop is available. There are a number of option packages available, the most interesting of these being the Competition Package, which outfits the coupe with some of the performance upgrades from the coveted European-market M3 CSL, including 19-inch forged alloy wheels, larger Michelin tires, stiffer shocks and springs, a quicker steering ratio, upgraded brake pads and rotors, a less intrusive M Track mode for the stability control system, and unique Alcantara and aluminum interior trim. Choosing this package deletes cruise control and steering wheel audio controls. Among the other extras are a sunroof, seat heaters, HID headlights, a navigation system, a premium sound system, parking sensors, BMW Assist and an alarm system.
Powertrains and Performance
The BMW M3 is propelled by a potent 3.2-liter, six-cylinder engine rated at 333 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed manual transmission is standard, while a six-speed sequential manual gearbox (SMG) is offered as an option. The SMG offers both manual and automatic driving modes, and although it is by definition a manual transmission, its clutch is electronically controlled, such that there's no clutch pedal. Drivers can use either steering column-mounted paddles or the shift lever to change gears in manual mode. Unlike other systems, SMG allows you to alter the quickness of the shifts, and in its most aggressive shift program, it's said to be faster than Ferrari's Formula One setup.
Safety
Safety features include four-wheel antilock disc brakes, stability control, front side-impact airbags, head curtain airbags for the front (coupe only) and a rollover protection system (convertible only); rear side-impact bags are optional. The BMW 3 Series earned a "Good" rating from the IIHS in 40-mph frontal-offset crash testing.
E60 M5 SMG Clutch Gone
Drive your M5 too hard around a track and do far too many launch controls and you'll be rewarded with a disintegrated smg clutch.
E60 M5 SMG Launch Control
A series of videos showing the E60 M5 SMG's launch control.
The first run in the video which produces lots of smoke was filmed by me, that is to say I was not behind the wheel of the car, so the launch procedure was aborted for some reason and that's why there was so much tyre smoke as it was essentially back in manually launch mode whereby the throttle needs to be modulated to keep spin under control.
The subsequent runs were all driven by me, there was one instance where it bounced off the limited when it should have auto changed up through the gears for me, this might be because my clutch was on it's way out and in fact my clutch went by the end of this day (see my other YouTube videos).
Big thanks to Phil & Roy at CA Automotive for inviting me along for the day.
http://www.ca-at.co.uk/
Cadillac CTS-V vs BMW M5 by autocar.co.uk
US super-saloon the Cadillac CTS-V takes on the mighty BMW M5, more videos hi-res pics and full details at http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/Cadillac-CTS/233878/
Porsche 911 GT3--Chicago Cars Direct HD
2007 Porsche 911 GT3 (997) test drive and walk around from Chicago Cars Direct.
The GT3 is the road-going basis of the world's most popular race car (more than 1000 have been built since 1998). That makes it the pinnacle of the Porsche production-car pyramid as well as the homologation special that justifies the existence of the GT3 racing car. The secret to its split personality is Porsche Active Suspension Management, or PASM, which allows drivers to alter the dynamic character of the car by pushing a button to modify the shock valving of the three-way adjustable Bilsteins. "You can never be happy with one setup for both the road and the racetrack," Hartmut Kristen, Porsche's director of motorsport, says from the pit wall while Walter R"hrl rockets past in a screaming yellow GT3. "With PASM, we don't have to compromise."
It's no coincidence that Porsche's motorsports honcho and a two-time World Rally Champion helped develop the GT3. Unlike the Ferrari Enzo, the Bugatti Veyron, and the Porsche Carrera GT, the GT3 isn't an exercise in corporate ego and wretched excess. Nor is it a car whose fundamentally uninspiring qualities have been overcome with heroic surgery, such as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, the Chevrolet Cobalt SS, and various AMG Mercedes-Benzes. The GT3 is the 911 pared down to its essence. As such, it embodies the very soul of Porsche, a company that considers motorsports not merely a marketing strategy but a corporate imperative.
The first Porsche ever built won its first race a month after it was finished. The company established its bona fides during the 1950s with a series of giant-killing sports racers and burnished its image during the '70s with a string of ground-pounding, twelve-cylinder prototypes. Motor racing is so deeply rooted in the company's heritage that the 911 Carrera-the quintessential version of the quintessential Porsche-takes its name from the Spanish word for "race."
The GT3 is the spiritual descendant of the iconic 911 Carrera RS, the pared-down, pumped-up version of the 911 that served as the homologation basis for the Carrera RSR racing car. By the same token, the modern GT3 is the street version of the GT3 Cup car, which competes in international Supercup races and numerous national series. This fall, Porsche will launch an upgraded road car called the GT3 RS, and this, in turn, will be the homologation model for next year's GT3 RSR. To further confuse matters, the GT3 RSR will compete at Le Mans in the GT2 class. Don't mind the alphabet soup. Just think of the four models of GT3 as great, greater, greatest, and way out of your league.
Here in the States, most Cup cars race in Porsche club events and the IMSA-sanctioned GT3 Cup Challenge. This year's first IMSA event, a support race held before the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, drew forty entries. (The enduro had only thirty-five.) Although the rules require all drivers to be amateurs, most cars are prepped to a professional standard, complete with gaudy graphics and trackside support. Arrive-and-drive weekends run about $25,000. If car ownership is your thing, the MSRP is $131,000, plus a $9000 spares package. Believe it or not, that's a sweetheart deal. "I couldn't build a car for that much. There's no way," says Dennis Aase, who prepared four of the cars that raced at Sebring. "Even if I started with a wrecked car, it would cost at least $175,000."
Porsche Motorsport North America president Uwe Brettel, the mastermind behind the series, sees it not as a moneymaker but as a marketing tool. "For sure, we could have made $20,000 more per car. But what for?" he says. "We are not out to make the maximum profit. We race because it's the best way to promote the road car. The link between the road car and the racing car is integral."
The first roadgoing version of the GT3 was built in 1998, but it wasn't exported to the United States. We weren't deemed worthy until 2003. At the time, the GT3 was based on the 996 platform. This, the first of the water-cooled 911s, sold well by Porsche standards. But with plenty of styling cues and mechanical components shared with the d,class, Boxster, it never got the love from Porschephiles. The more highly regarded 997 debuted for the 2005 model year, and the new GT3 is the first GT3 to be derived from it.
The GT3 starts life as a Carrera 4 body-in-white on the production-car assembly line in Zuffenhausen. The space devoted to the front axle in the four-wheel-drive model is used to hold a 23.7-gallon fuel tank, and some structural modifications are made to accommodate the new engine, transmission, and oil reservoir. Thanks to the aluminum trunk lid and doors, not to mention a host of other weight-saving measures, the GT3 weighs in at 3076 pounds
