2008 Subaru Impreza and Impreza WRX - Official Photos & Info

The all-new WRX is bigger and roomier—and lighter. (There’s a new base Impreza, too.)
BY ERIK JOHNSON, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JARED HOLSTEIN

Six years ago, when we first looked deep into its big, round bug eyes, we fell hard for the WRX, the ’roided-up version of the basic-transportation Subaru Impreza. Yes, we were smitten, and we emoted to the tune of two consecutive 10Best awards. But something’s gone sour. The WRX hasn’t aged well, particularly on the inside, and these days there’s a bunch of younger, hotter models we’d rather make a mixtape for, like the VW GTI and the Mazdaspeed 3. But the WRX has been calling us again—it’ll be different this time, I swear, it says—in hopes of rekindling the flame with an all-new 2008 version.

Holy bejeebus—what happened to its face?

The ’08 WRX will again be offered in two body styles, a sedan and a five-door. The five-door looks more like a traditional hatchback this time around, so fans of the old wagon might be disappointed. Disappointment only begins to describe our reaction to the new car’s looks, however: If the WRX was hoping to win us back with its exterior make-over, it can forget it. The styling can at best be called a derivative of a copy—check out the Sebring-meets-Saab-meets-smiling-samurai front end—and at worst a total disaster. The new sedan in particular is disappointing, with a rear end that looks like it’s in heat and a high beltline that screams cheap-ass econocar. Here’s hoping the new styling grows on us as quickly as the 2006 model’s Tribeca-inspired nose job did.

Getting bigger but losing weight

New sheetmetal means new dimensions, and the wheelbase has stretched by 3.7 inches, the roof is now 1.4 inches further from the ground, and overall length—for the sedan, at least—is up by 4.5 inches. (The new hatchback is two inches shorter than the wagon, however.) Almost all of the extra space will go toward making the interior roomier, which is fantastic; driving the old car was like squeezing into a sardine tin. Besides more space, the WRX cabin gains better materials and aesthetics, too, with matte finishes replacing hard, glossy plastics. There will also be available navigation.

The best chance for a happy reconciliation between us and the WRX, however, is the news that the latest version will weigh 50 pounds less than the outgoing car in spite of the increase in size. (There is one caveat, though: narrower tires could negate any handling gains from the lost pounds, as the ’08s will ride on 205/50 rubber versus last year’s 215/45.) Power will come from a mildly updated version of the familiar 2.5-liter turbo flat-four, which gains a new turbocharger and intake. Output still tops out at 224 horsepower and 226 lb-ft of torque, but you’ll now reach those figures at 5200 rpm and 2800 rpm, respectively, compared with 5600 rpm and 3600 rpm last year. The turbo four hooks up, as before, to either a five-speed manual or an optional four-speed automatic. Subaru has swapped to a more compact control-arm rear suspension in place of the previous struts, and larger front brakes from the Legacy GT go on duty in 2008.

The base price is expected to stay the same—around $25,000—when the WRX hits streets this September. There’s no information yet about a pulse-pounding STI version, but we bet it’ll be unleashed early next year.

New base Impreza, to boot

The basis for the WRX, the regular Impreza, is also all-new, and will be offered as both a sedan and hatchback as well. Its naturally aspirated flat-four now puts out three less horsepower, for a total of 170, but torque has nudged incrementally higher from 166 to 170 lb-ft. The transmission choices are identical to those in the WRX, and the suspension is similarly revised.

2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR - Official Photos & Info

The “King of the Road” returns to rule over all of Mustangdom, or at least until the next special edition comes along.
BY JARED GALL, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JARED HOLSTEIN

With the successful launch of the Shelby GT behind it and retiree GT-H Hertz rental Mustangs selling as high as $90,000 at auction, the Shelby leviathan continues to chug forward and spew forth special-edition Mustangs. In New York, Shelby launches the 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR, a special-edition GT500 commemorating the 40th anniversary of the original “King of the Road.” The GT500KR is the second product—after the GT500—to wear the almost-defunct SVT badge, reminding us that Ford still claims it has a performance division.

In 1967, the New York auto show played host to the launch of the original GT500KR, a version of the Shelby Mustang powered by a 428-cubic-inch Cobra Jet V-8 rated at 335 horsepower.

With the ’08 model’s supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 underhood wearing a Ford Racing Power Upgrade Pack (revised ignition timing and throttle calibration, plus a cold-air intake), the 2008 KR outdoes its predecessor by 205 horsepower—a margin greater than the entire output of some V-8 Mustangs of the 1980s—with 540. That herd travels rearward through a six-speed manual with a short-throw shifter to a shorter 3.73:1 rear end (stock is 3.31:1) for quicker giddyap, while snorts and whinnies get an extra edge from a revised exhaust system.

The King knows that some of its subjects wind and dip, so the GT500KR gets a unique Ford Racing suspension tune. “The production Shelby GT500 was maximized to deliver the perfect balance between ride and handling,” says Jamal Hameedi, chief nameplate engineer, Ford SVT.

“In that same ride-versus-handling continuum, the KR will lean heavier toward all-out handling while still making it drivable on the street.”

Beyond the yawning hood vents and racing stripes already in place on lesser GT500s, the GT500KR gets the signature hood, reminiscent of the original KR, in carbon fiber with two forward-looking mail slots at the leading edge of the hood feeding the blown 5.4’s appetite for air and twist-down hood pins for a more secure racer flair.

The stick-through pins on the Shelby GT we tested recently actually vibrated out of their posts on rough roads. The Cobra badges in the grille and on the fenders add wings proclaiming them as the badges of not just any Shelby Mustang but the 40th-anniversary GT500KR. Rocker stripes on the Shelby mimic those on the original car, right down to the typeface used for the lettering.The Triton engine uses four valves per cylinder (versus three in the iron-block truck version) and the cylinder heads from the Ford GT, which has an aluminum block.

Ford will begin selling the new Mustang in the spring of 2008 and will only build 1000 examples. We figure the S-word on the hood and the slight power bump below should be good for about a $12,000 premium, putting the King of the Road solidly into the mid-$50,000 arena. Prepare your checkbooks now, Shelby enthusiasts, or gird them for a bigger hit later, for all things Shelby appreciate.Carroll Shelby and Ford officials smugly say, much as they did 40 years ago, that with the introduction of the GT500KR everybody else will be trying to catch up again.

Hermann Salenbauch, director of Advanced Product Creation and SVT, says the Shelby GT500 is the most successful vehicle SVT has ever done—by almost every parameter including profit and performance.

There still will be a 2008 GT500. The KR is in addition.

And for those who can’t snag one of the 1000 GT500KRs up for grabs by starting to make nice now with their local dealer, aspects of the King will be available to those with a Shelby GT500 through Ford Racing and Shelby Automobiles.

There will not be a convertible King, but the convertible version of the Shelby GT-H, customized for Hertz, is to be unveiled this weekend. Like the first GT-H, the car will be shipped to Shelby in Las Vegas to be modified.

And Ford officials still promise the return of the Bullitt.

2008 Honda Accord Coupe Concept - Auto Shows

Honda’s next-gen Accord will be in your neighborhood showroom this fall.
BY JARED GALL, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY G. RUSSELL

The absence of any of the usual concept-car glam such as hidden door handles, trick lighting, or oversize wheels, and the fact that the release date for this vehicle is this fall, leads us to believe that, in typical Honda fashion, the Honda Accord Coupe concept is less a concept than a production prototype.

Appearing to have been styled as a coupe from the beginning, the Accord concept has a much bolder, more distinct look than its predecessor, a car that merely looked like a truncated sedan, an afterthought. A strong, upright grille and front fascia on the concept are flanked by long headlamps that wrap around deep into the fenders, seemingly stretching all the way to the center of the wheel opening. The roofline begins its descent almost from the A-pillar, meeting the abbreviated, sloping trunk atop a moderately bulging rear fender with the rear-window beltline kink that seems to be popping up everywhere.

At launch, the ’08 Accord will again be offered with a choice of in-line four and V-6 engines – no new ‘clean’ diesel until 2009 – but with a hybrid following soon after. Despite flat-lining sales of the current Accord hybrid, Honda is sticking with a green version so as to stay in the game with the new Camry, Altima, and Saturn Aura gas-electrics.

Quadruple exhaust outlets set into the bumper of the concept signal the performance potential of the coupe, which Honda says will be offered with a more powerful and fuel efficient V-6 than the mill in the current car—possibly a version of the new, 300-hp 3.7-liter V-6 that’s in the Acura MDX—as well as Variable Cylinder Management, Honda’s cylinder-deactivation system when the '08 Accord hits showrooms in the fall of 2007.

2008 Cadillac CTS - Auto Shows

Art and Science, Take II

BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY JEFFREY G. RUSSELL

The sedan that jump-started Cadillac’s recent renaissance has undergone its own renaissance for 2008. Thoroughly reworked from its cheese-grater grille to its twin tailpipes, the CTS is snappier-dressed and better endowed for ‘08, with a new interior and available all-wheel drive to boot. Could we have a true BMW 3-series fighter on our hands? We’ll have to drive it to find out of course. In the meantime, this is what we know about the newest baby Caddy.

More brazen on the outside, softer on the inside

The new CTS’s newfound beefiness starts with a two-inch wider track front and rear that lends some real athleticism to its stance. The wheelbase is unchanged from ‘07, but overall length grows by an inch and a half and width expands by two. Also contributing are the CTS’s faster rear window, more elegantly sculpted flanks, LED ancillary lighting elements, and, oh yeah, that two-dozen-jumbo-size-egg-crate grille. Though we’re not fond of unnecessary glitz (such as the “side air extractors” that are popping up on everything from the Ford Focus to the Jaguar XK), Cadillac’s “art and science” design theme nonetheless seems to be maturing well, if this second version of the CTS is any indication.

Also new is the interior of the 2008 CTS, which is designed with far more elegant shapes and rendered in upgraded materials throughout. Cadillac is promising a more premium feel, thanks to hand-crafted interior fittings, French stitching, and other tokens of refinement. The former CTS’s PC-inspired center stack has been replaced by a more cockpit-like arrangement. Rear seat legroom and shoulder room are both increased by more than an inch, though most other dimensions are roughly the same.

Better performance promised

Always a competant, rear-drive handler but a few paces behind the leaders in the powertrain department—the 400-hp CTS-V notwithstanding—the first-generation CTS never mustered the strength to put up a serious fight in the compact sport sedan class, especially now that such slick sedans as the Infiniti G35 and, of course, the BWM 335i are dancing in the ring. The 2008 CTS, however, is lacing up its gloves backed by a much more comprehensive—and competitive—line of engines, transmissions, and now, a choice of rear- or all-wheel drive.

The current model’s 255-hp 3.6-liter V-6 will carry into ’08, and the 210-hp 2.8-liter six is dropped for the U.S. market. That makes the base motor for North America the 3.6, which gains 3 horsepower (to 258) and holds steady at 252 lb-ft of torque. Even bigger news, however, is an amped-up version of the 3.6 that, thanks to direct injection, produces a much juicier 300 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque. All motors will be available with manual or automatic transmissions, each with six forward gears (last year’s auto was a five-speed unit). On-demand all-wheel drive will be offered with the 258-hp 3.6-liter-and-automatic combo.

A limited-slip differential will also be offered, as will a performance suspension package that will include 18-inch wheels in place of the standard 17s. The braking, suspension and steering systems have also undergone extensive changes said to increase responsiveness and feel, a claim we look forward to verifying on our own.

Upcoming models

It is almost certain that Cadillac will offer a coupe version of the second-gen CTS, as well as a wagon. The wagon would slip in below the crossover SRX in the U.S. market, but would be of most interest to European Cadillac dealers who have struggled to meet sales targets. About 18 months down the road, Cadillac will introduce a replacement for the fire-breathing, Corvette-powered CTS-V that’s won over many a heart and mind here on Hogback Road. Expect at least 500-horsepower, because that's the number mustered by the BMW M5 and AMG 63 Benzes.

There would also be a V-series coupe, which would square up against the upcoming V-8-engined BMW M3.

Look for the new CTS at your local Cadillac dealer this December.

2007 Nissan 350Z - Car News

An 80-percent-new engine adds six ponies while sipping less fuel.

The only exterior change to the 2007 350Z may be subtle—a new hood with a slight center bulge—but there are big changes under that hood. Power is increased to 306 horsepower, a modest six-hp bump for manual-transmission Zs and 19 for automatics, but Nissan claims that 80 percent of the Z’s prolific 3.5-liter VQ engine has been changed. This is the same update—and the same engine—that powers the Infiniti G35 sedan. The changes were extensive enough that Nissan renamed its celebrated V-6 “VQ35HR” (just rolls off the tongue, eh?).

HR stands for "high-revving," reflecting the higher redline for the manual-transmission model, which increases from 7000 rpm to 7500. (The less-fortunate driver of an automatic 350Z can only rev to 6600 rpm, as with the previous engine.)

Specifically, the changes to the engine include a higher block deck height, which also results in longer connecting rods, hence the taller hood and a redesigned front strut-tower brace. The VQ35HR also has a new dual-intake system, revised cylinder heads, variable valve timing that operates over a wider range, and a higher compression ratio (10.6:1, up from 10.3:1).

Other highlights are asymmetrical piston skirts and a stiffer cast aluminum engine cover and oil pan.

The benefits are twofold: In addition to the few extra horsepower, the fuel economy is improved by 1 to 2 mpg in EPA city and highway ratings for both manual- and automatic-transmission versions of the coupe and roadster. Engine smoothness is improved as well, and the wider torque band should result in slightly better midrange acceleration.

2008 Audi A5 and S5 - Official Photos & Info

Coupe scoop! Audi's new two-doors are based on the next-generation A4 and S4.

BY STEVE SILER AND JON YANCA, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JARED HOLSTEIN

Look out, BMW 3-series coupe, Infiniti G37 coupe, and Mercedes-Benz CLK, the 2008 Audi A5 and Audi S5 are poised to make their debuts later this year. Derived from the next-generation A4 platform, dubbed B8, the A5 and S5 coupes have just two doors—go figure—bucking the silly four-door-coupe trend that marketers at other manufacturers have dreamed up recently. By year’s end, the A4 cabriolet is expected to defer to a convertible version of the A5, and there’s even talk of a five-door A5 “spaceback” model sometime thereafter.

The four-seat A5 will have a 3.2-liter FSI (direct injection) V-6. We expect a rating of at least 260 horsepower in U.S. trim. The engine also will be pushed farther behind the front wheels for a more favorable weight distribution. (Rejoice! The next A4 is sure to boost its skidpad numbers.) Although diesel and four-cylinder engines will be offered in Europe, the 3.2-liter is the sole U.S. powerplant. Initially, six-speed manual and continuously variable transmissions (with eight nominal ratios in manual mode) will be offered. U.S. specifications aren’t yet finalized, but we expect front-wheel drive will be standard and all-wheel drive will be optional. As in all recently redesigned and new Audis, power distribution in all-wheel-drive A5 and S5 models will be rear-biased with a nominal 40/60 split.

The S5 will get the same 4.2-liter V-8 found under the hood of the S4 and S4 Avant, updated with direct injection, as found in the current A8, and rated at 354 horsepower. The S5 will route power through a six-speed manual transmission to standard all-wheel drive. The current S4 offers a conventional automatic transmission as an option, and the lack of that option on the S5 lends credence to the rumor that a new sequential manual is in the works. The A5/S5 line would be the first from the brand to mate a dual-clutch sequential manual transmission to a longitudinally mounted engine. Such a transmission also would have to be far more robust than the current sequential manual, which hasn’t been mated to anything more powerful than a 250-hp V-6.

Although the A5's styling isn't terribly original, we can find little fault with it—the latest Audi is pretty stunning. As with every other Audi, the A5 wears the corporate single-frame grille. The detailing in the lighting, particularly the optional LED daytime running lamps, recalls the Audi R8 supercar. The upper-body coke-bottle sculpting also reminds us of the R8, although the lower-body rise is a TT-ism. Somewhat surprising, however, are the formal, notched roofline and the thick C-pillars. The rear end reminds some of us of the 3-series coupe, only executed with considerably more elegance. The S5 packs a bit more visual punch in the form of an egg-crate grille insert, a lower stance, a more pronounced integrated trunklid spoiler, and wide-set quad pipes in place of the lesser A5’s duals.

The interior, as expected, is swank. The photos clearly show lots of aluminum trim, Audi-typical gauges, and what appear to be comfortable and supportive sport front seats (but we’ll have to wait until we climb in back to see if we can say the same about the rears). An electronic parking brake and a push-button ignition system will also be standard. And, of course, the capable but complex MMI is there to serve and confuse.

We also wouldn’t be surprised if an RS 5 appeared sometime during the 2009 model year with the RS4’s direct-injected 4.2-liter V-8 with 420 horsepower.

The A5 will be priced between the A4 and A6, so you will be able to scoop one up for between $35,000 and $40,000. Pricing of the forthcoming S5 is less clear, but we expect it to be in the low-$50,000 range to slightly undercut the 400-hp 2008 BMW M3. Oddly enough, the S5 goes on sale first, this October, while the A5 doesn't make its way here until spring 2008. But one thing is certain: Audi’s new coupe will give empty nesters another alluring option.

2008 Ford Taurus

Ford slaps a once-successful nameplate on its refreshed and reinvigorated Five Hundred.
BY STEVE SILER AND MIKE DUSHANE, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARY SEELHORST

If you follow such minutia (or read all 80 pages of our Detroit auto show coverage), you probably already know that the Ford Five Hundred is slated to get a Fusion-style, three-chrome-slat grille and a 260-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 for 2008.It also shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that the Five Hundred name has garnered precisely zero brand equity in its three years on the market.

Blame it on the car’s inadequate power, its lack of competitive safety features, or its utterly forgettable styling.

You might also know that the Taurus, which was once America’s best-selling car, is now out of production after years of neglect and sales that dropped in direct proportion to the number of times Ford cost-cutters said “Put off those Taurus updates for another year.”

The obvious solution (even to people with a marketing degree, apparently) is to ditch the Five Hundred nameplate and revive the Taurus designation for Ford’s big sedan. Why didn’t we think of that? We’re not going to be too hard on ourselves, as Ford itself apparently got this bright idea after it had already introduced the vehicle as the 2008 Five Hundred at the Detroit auto show in January of 2007.

The only problem with this name shuffling is that long-time Taurus buyers may be confused by the re-badged Five Hundred, as it’s a much bigger and more expensive car. But what do we know, Ford has confirmed that it won't de-content the Taurus and chop its $24k price to be competitive with the smaller Toyota Camry and Honda Accord which start around $20,000 for four-cylinder models.

When we pitted the Five Hundred against its peers in a $30k family sedan comparison test, it placed mid-pack. We liked the vast interior and supple ride, but the bland exterior and meager 203-hp V-6 left us yawning. We’re happy that Ford has addressed these specific issues.

The 2008 Taurus’s 3.5-liter V-6 is shared with the Edge crossover and produces a competitive 260 horsepower, up more than 25 percent from the 2007 Five Hundred. Final torque figures weren’t announced, but Ford did disclose that the new 3.5-liter would offer the first PZEV application for a V-6 engine. The six-speed automatic is also new for this car, as is the power-steering pump. Front shock towers supposedly impart smoother ride quality. All-wheel drive continues as an option.

The new, more powerful Taurus can be identified most easily from the front, which is much more interesting this year thanks to the fitment of Ford’s three-bar chrome grille and sexier rectangular headlamps. Like more and more Fords, the Taurus also gets available chrome side vents on the front fenders. They’re the tailfins of this decade. Taillamps feature horizontal graphics to relate them visually to the front end.

Minor interior revisions round out the changes for 2008. Ford’s stance is that major changes are in store for the Taurus’s driving character. Will it be enough to make it a true competitor to the Toyota Avalon and Chrysler 300? We’ll tell you once we drive it.

The Outsiders: 2007 Noble M400

A 425-hp kit car that might be worth insane money.
BY TONY QUIROGA

This one is hard to believe. Here we have a kit car that is livable, refined, stupid fast, and just might possibly be worth nearly six figures. For sure, that’s an insane amount of money to spend on a car that requires lengthy explanations at every stop, but dealing with a curious public turns out to be the most trying part of the Noble experience.

Get used to answering the following queries: “What kinda car is that?” Followed by, “Who makes it?” Then the inevitable, “How much does it cost?” And finally, “How fast is it?” And if you’re interested in the M400 as a tool to chat up the ladies, remember this: Only men seem interested.

Here’s the information you’ll need to answer those questions: It’s a Noble M400. To which one can add that the M400 is a component car designed and engineered in England, although its frame and body are built in South Africa and it’s sold by 1g Racing of Hamilton, Ohio.

For the I-really-didn’t-want-a-911 price of $67,900, you get a painted and assembled Noble M400 with an interior but no drivetrain. Aside from the addition of a front anti-roll bar, new springs and shocks, sticky Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber, and more boost from larger turbochargers that deliver an extra 65 horses and 32 pound-feet of torque, the M400 is essentially the same as the Noble M12 GTO-3R we tested in March 2005.

To get past the hurdles of emissions and safety standards, the M400 is sold sans engine and transmission, making it a kit car. Fortunately, the goods that make it go are readily available. AER Manufacturing of Carrollton, Texas, puts together a custom-engineered Ford 3.0-liter DOHC V-6 for $4400; Roush, in Detroit, supplies the mapped ECU (included in the $67,900); and for $17,700, Snakebite Performance out of Ross, Ohio, provides the transmission, the turbo hardware, and the rest of the pieces that make everything sing. With assembly costs, generally a 40-hour affair and estimated at $3500, and a few options such as metallic paint and air conditioning, the price stretched to $98,351.

Put it all together, and you get a 2500-pound car with 425 horsepower that rips to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds, matching the time of the last Ferrari Enzo we tested [C/D, July 2003]. The acceleration is disorienting and terrifying at first, like when you wake from the dream where you’re falling and you let out an embarrassing yelp. From behind the fire wall, the twin-turbo six delivers a raspy exhaust note accompanied by whistling turbos and a waste gate that cracks like Indiana Jones’s whip. Changing gears is probably the least pleasant part of the experience, as the gearbox occasionally refuses to shift quickly and fights attempts to shift into sixth gear. Underfoot is a pedal box that can make heel-and-toe downshifts challenging as the brake pedal sinks too far to the floor to easily hit the throttle pedal.

On the road, some drivers whined about the disconcerting murkiness of the steering, but on the track it was complimented for its trusty feedback and directness. As a whole, the M400 feels like a slightly larger, more powerful Lotus Exige S and would make for a great Lotus Esprit. Although the grip and the speed available are intimidating, the M400 never missteps and in turn inspires confidence. The long-travel throttle makes it easy to dial in the right amount of power, and when the M400 finally relinquishes its grasp of the road, it does so gracefully and predictably. Actually, Lotus should count itself lucky if the next Esprit is this good.

2008 Gumpert Apollo Sport

If you think Ferraris are for poseurs, we have a supercar for you.
BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

We remember a time when people bought sports cars solely for their performance qualities, not for the luxury, attention, or status they brought. German boutique carmaker Gumpert, however, takes us back to those days with its 2008 Apollo Sport, a car with a single-minded purpose: to go very, very fast.

Scoring zero to little on the name-brand value scale (and with a name like Gumpert, it’s bound to stay that way), the Gumpert Apollo Sport offers pure speed in return. The Apollo Sport is the successor to the Gumpert Apollo, which debuted two years ago in much the same form, albeit without the Sport’s racing-style rear wing that appears to have been sourced from Boeing. Certainly exotic in proportions, but starkly unemotional in the details, the Apollo Sport looks less like the stuff of the Greek gods than something a teenager would have doodled during sixth-period civics class.

That having been said, few teenagers are capable of developing their dream cars into actual, drivable automobiles, let alone supercars with mind-blowing performance. Powered by a mid-mounted 800-hp, 4.2-liter V-8 that started life in the Audi parts bin before Gumpert added twin turbochargers, among numerous other mods, the 2650-pound Apollo Sport is said to hit 62 mph in a Murciélago-humbling three seconds flat. Gumpert claims that aerodynamic enhancements have raised the Apollo Sport’s top speed to 223 mph.

The Apollo Sport also boasts a more comfortable interior, finished in Alcantara and offering air conditioning, navigation, and a CD player. But make no mistake, this is a sports-car environ of the purest variety, making 599GTBs, SLRs, and 911 Turbos feel like Maybachs by comparison.

Like the Apollo, the Apollo Sport is built on a tubular-steel space frame wrapped around a carbon-fiber monocoque, thus yielding safety and weight savings in equal measure. However, don’t expect NHTSA to be running any Apollo Sports into walls on our shores to find out, since the Apollo Sport won’t be offered in the U.S., no matter how many gazillionaires here could afford its near-$400,000 price.

2008 Tesla Roadster

A new electric toy — batteries included, no assembly required.
BY AARON ROBINSON

After remaining dormant for several years, electric cars are surging back into the news. First, there was the summer debut of the documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? followed soon after by the announcement in Los Angeles of the Tesla roadster, a $100,000 electric sports car built by a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.

The battery-powered Tesla is based on a modified Lotus Elise chassis. Its maker, Tesla Motors, of San Carlos, California, claims it’ll zap 60 mph in four seconds, juice it to 130 mph, and spin the meter for up to 250 miles between charges (the GM EV1 did up to 150 miles). And, unlike the Lotus, the Tesla Signature One Hundred Collector’s Edition (the first 100 cars, in other words) will have a cup holder.

The company is named after inventor Nikola Tesla, who patented the first induction electric motor in 1888. Deliveries of the fully federalized two-seater are due to begin in mid-2007. Tesla claims it has deposits for 50 so far, no doubt because co-founder and CEO Martin Eberhard delivers a convincing sales pitch with the rapid cadence of an Uzi.Eberhard is a Silicon Valley millionaire, having cashed out his interest in two startup companies he co-founded. He has since made a deal with Lotus to produce the electric roadster.

“We’ve got to change the way people think about electric cars,” he interjects between elucidations of off-peak electric-grid capacity and the economics of small-car production. “This car won’t be a punishment with bad styling and a terrible range.”

Changes to the Elise structure accommodate the Tesla’s higher curb weight — it’s 2500 pounds, says the company, about 500 more than an Elise — and allow a larger cockpit and a comfort level above that of a kielbasa casing. Lotus Engineering performed much of the rework, and the Tesla will be assembled on the Elise line in Hethel, England.

The proliferation of hand-held electronics and the subsequent development of small, stout lithium-ion batteries to power them for days without charge are what make the Tesla possible, says Eberhard. Think of the pack as 6831 batteries measuring 1.0 by 2.6 inches, about the same size as a C battery. With a 220-volt, 70-amp charger made by Tesla that is hard-wired into your garage, the roadster will go from flat to flat-out in 3.5 hours. The car will be offered with a cord and a conventional 120-volt wall plug, should you be away from home, but charging time stretches to 33 hours. The pack will be warranted for five years or 100,000 miles.

The Tesla has a three-phase, 248-hp motor with a 13,500-rpm redline. A solenoid-operated two-speed manual transmission performs gear reduction and torque multiplication. A/C, anti-lock brakes, and airbags are part of the standard kit.

Criticism that electric cars are hardly green considering that amps have to be made, usually by burning coal or in the production of radioactive waste, is “bullshit,” Eberhard declares. “The amount of actual pollution put into the air per mile is much smaller.”

Check the company’s Web site, www.teslamotors.com, for documents to back him up, as well as information on how to purchase the Signature One Hundred Collector’s Edition.

2007 Lotus Exige S

Lotus addresses the Exige's biggest flaw by adding a supercharger. Its organic responses were already among the best, so how sweet is it now?

BY DAVE VANDERWERP

The Exige is a very strange car. Almost no other four-wheeled anything produces such polar-opposite responses from our staff as does the Exige, which is essentially a more-track-ready version of the already extreme Elise that Lotus brought to market last year. An announcement of an Exige purchase could be met with anything from a jealous congratulation to a sour, scrunched-up face that could be confused with the reaction given a Buick Lucerne.

For eight grand more than an Elise, the 2006 Exige added stiffer suspension settings, and hand-laid bodywork and a rear wing to increase downforce. But it offered no additional horsepower. For $57,915 (an increase of $6055) the new-for-2007 supercharged Exige S addresses that horsepower problem and replaces the Exige. It’s available in the 50 Lotus dealerships nationwide as of November 2006. The special bodywork limits production to about 300 to 400 cars per year in the U.S.

Since when did a supercharger only add 30 hp?

To the Toyota-sourced 1.8-liter four-cylinder that powers Lotus’ entire lineup, the company has added a Roots-type supercharger making 7 psi of boost and an air-to-air intercooler fed by the roof-mounted air scoop. Horsepower is up 30 to 220 at 7800 rpm and torque swells from 133 pound-feet to 165 at 5600 rpm. That’s not a huge gain, but Lotus doesn’t want to overstress the engine internals that are identical to the naturally aspirated version. That, and Lotus wouldn’t want to out-do the non-street-legal, limited-edition, 243-hp, $78,990 Lotus Sport Exige Cup that has essentially the same supercharged powertrain. The Toyota six-speed manual in the Elise and Exige is carried over.

While the power gain is just 16 percent, on the street, the Exige S feels at least 50-percent stronger, especially in the mid-rpm range. That’s because at 2500 rpm the new engine makes as much torque as the old engine’s peak. The previously feeble mid-range in naturally aspirated form was (and still is for the unchanged Elise) the worst part of the car and a fault of the peaky Toyota engine that doesn’t wake up until the 6200-rpm switchover point for the variable cam timing. The Exige S still uses the same two-position cam, but with the added torque, the switchover point is no longer perceptible. To the soundtrack, a dose of supercharger whine has been overlaid on the already fervent shriek of the high-revving four, and the redline remains at 8500 rpm despite the boost. Good luck keeping a light foot on the throttle to achieve fuel economy near the EPA 23/29 city/highway ratings.

Lotus predicts the 2100-pound Exige S (a claimed 62-pound gain) will hit 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, an improvement of 1.1 over the last Exige we’ve tested, and expect the quarter-mile to be similarly improved at about 13 seconds flat. Even better, there’s no more 8000-rpm clutch drop to get a quick launch. Somewhere around five grand should now do the trick. Around Lotus’ 2.5-mile road course at its U.K. headquarters, the Exige S is about 1.5-seconds quicker than the Exige according to Principal Vehicle Dynamics Engineer Matt Becker. And he would know.

Details, details.

To pick out an Exige S from last year’s Exige will take a sharp eye as there are no styling changes. The only differences are that the front splitter, side scoops, and rear wing are now body color instead of black. A single, oval exhaust tip replaces the two smaller round pipes, and there are a couple Exige S labels. That’s about it.

Everything else remains, including unequal-length control arms at all four corners, black forged-alloy wheels, and extra-sticky Yokohama A048 tires (195/50-16 in front, 225/45-17 in back).

Optional equipment is also carried over, including the $1350 Touring Pack, which adds leather to the seats, power windows, and an Alpine CD player, $495 engine-only traction control, a $1790 limited-slip differential (includes traction control), and the $2495 Track Pack, which adds 10-way adjustable Bilstein shocks (softest setting is more relaxed than a stock Exige S, stiffest is far more aggressive), five-way adjustable front anti-roll bar, and a racing-harness mounting bar behind the seats.

Same flaws, and the same fabulous driving experience.

Getting in and out is a contortionist act: Climb up and over the wide doorsill to the extremely low resting place. How low? Your left armrest is that same door sill you just climbed over. Out front is a spectacular view over the Exige’s shapely front end, where the pavement whizzes by at what appears to be about 12 inches in front of your toes. However, what’s happening out back will remain a mystery as the new intake plumbing and intercooler block the view entirely.

Trunk space? If we said it didn’t have one, you’d be pleasantly surprised at the four cubic feet available. That said, visually it appears more spacious—and certainly more useful—than the paragon of trunk inefficiency, the Pontiac Solstice, and its five cubic feet.

However, any reservations about any of the above or the minimalist interior, the thinly padded seats that only adjust fore and aft, or somewhat narrow footwell fades away as soon as you experience the first corner. The Exige’s non-power-assisted steering is among the world’s best in terms of feel, and feeds back nuances in the road you never knew existed. The brakes—11.5-inch, vented, cross-drilled discs front and rear—offer extremely linear feel and are predictable all the way to the ABS-intervention threshold even if they don’t have quite as much initial bite as we might like. And while the transmission is decent, it’s not the most precise six-speed.

Track day, anyone?

We mercilessly flogged Exige Ss for a full day at the 1.5-mile, 10-turn South Road Course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and perhaps the most impressive thing is how well the cars held up to that abuse, not to mention Becker’s frequent drifting demonstrations. The tires didn’t even need replacing. Few, if any, other street cars would fare so well. The only perceptible degradation during lapping was that the brake pedal went a touch soft, but that was after 15 or so hard laps.

Of course, also impressive is how quickly the Exige S turns, stops, and, even more so now, goes.

And it’s always happy to bring the rear end around with a little trail braking. No other street car is this connected to the driver, Ferrari F430 and Porsche 911 GT3 included.

And that’s the point, as this is exactly what it was made for. If you’re not interested in track time, the Exige S is all wrong for you. Maybe you should try a 911. Or a Lucerne.