Ultimate Car

2011 Audi A8

Monday, October 20, 2014

The full-size luxury-car segment is a ship constantly steered by a new captain. Indeed, whenever one of the usual suspects—Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, or Audi—releases a new model, it seems the current favorite then drops to second place. The BMW 7-series recently pulled off this feat, topping the previous gold standard, the Mercedes-Benz S550, in a comparison test. The Porsche Panamera then swooped in to knock off the Bimmer. (Granted, the Panamera is a bit of an outlier, given that its five-door body doesn’t fit the traditions of the segment.) Now the 2011 Audi A8 looks like a strong contender to be the next to sit in the captain’s chair.

2011 Audi A8

2011 Audi R8 GT

Remember those rumors about a more powerful and lighter Audi R8 ? Here’s the car we were talking about: the Audi R8 GT, a special edition limited to a total of 333 units and priced at $198,000. We didn’t think Audi would bless the U.S. with this baby, but we are actually getting about a third of those units sent over to us. Sweet!
As we mentioned earlier, the Audi R8 GT is a lighter car. In fact, it dropped about 220 lbs from a total of 3,582.51 lbs. In order to accomplish this weight reduction Audi added a windshield made of thinner glass and a bulkhead between the passenger cell and engine compartment. The window located in the rear hatch is made of strong, lightweight polycarbonate. Other additions that make this vehicle more lightweight are a fixed rear wing, thinner sheet metal and additional cutouts, a long rear hatch, a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) rear bumper and sideblades, lightweight carpeting accounts, and the glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) chassis in the bucket seats.

2011 Audi R8 GT

2011 Audi TT

Audi’s climb up the luxury ladder to a full-bore, take-’em-seriously competitor to BMW and Mercedes has been powered by volume models like the A4 and A6 sedans and Q5 crossover, but the first-generation Audi TT certainly helped the brand skip a few rungs. The sexy coupe and roadster had many noticing the four-ringed brand for the first time, and it’s already regarded as an icon of automotive design.
If the second-gen TT’s styling hasn’t taken a leap forward—although it’s still pretty stunning to behold—its performance certainly has, moving the car toward actual sports-car territory for the first time. The transformation was finally completed with the introduction of the 2010 TTS. Two hundred and sixty-five horsepower can do that.

2011 Audi TT

2012 Audi A5

The 2012 Audi A5 is widely acknowledged to be one of the handsomest Audis sold, and many reviewers just give it the superlative without qualification. Certainly its designer, Walter d'Silva, said it was the most beautiful car he'd ever drawn.

The A5 Coupe is elegant and striking, especially in Audi's characteristic white color. Then, when you lop off the roof, the open-air A5 Cabriolet adds a dash of decadence to the design. If we were spending more than $40,000 on a two-door luxury car from Audi, we'd want it to be the convertible.

2012 Audi A5

2012 Audi A6

There was some disappointment in Germany when the 2012 Audi A6 was unveiled. The seventh generation of Audi’s executive sedan looks an awful lot like the previous A6, not to mention the smaller, less expensive A4. It is an all-new car, but it didn’t take the visual leap forward that some previous A6 generations or their predecessor, the 5000, did. The difference is in details such as the pronounced shoulder line, protruding door handles, and finessed shapes of the grille, headlights, and taillights.
The perception that this redesign relies solely on nuance changes as soon as you enter the car. Audi’s interiors have been best in class for years, but the new A6 raises the bar another very significant notch by integrating much of the interior from the A7. The company is proud of the A6’s optional layered-oak trim, but we’re divided on it; check it out in person before ordering. The overall atmosphere and the attention to detail are simply unbeatable in this segment.

2012 Audi A6

2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage

The 2010 Aston Martin V-12 Vantage is the perfect example of what springs from the deepest urge felt by enthusiastic automotive engineers: Stuff the biggest engine into the smallest possible body. Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez, by all accounts, is truly an enthusiastic automotive engineer.
Proof? At Porsche, he spearheaded the 989 project, a four-door that still looks so right the company won't let the prototypes come near the Panamera. Moving to BMW, Bez created the cultish Z1 roadster. He finally took the ultimate position at Aston Martin in 2000.

2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage

2011 Aston Martin V12 Zagato

There was a time when automobiles were considered works of art, each vehicle customized and hand-built by artisans. The new 2013 Aston Martin V12 Zagato, shown in production-ready form at the Geneva Auto Show, represents a return to that era, but now employing modern engineering and construction using aluminum and carbon fiber. Having made its debut as a concept car at the 2011 Villa d'Este concours, then successfully entered in the grueling 24 Hours of Nürburgring, the Aston Martin V12 Zagato was approved for a limited production run of 150, thanks to enough interest in this exclusive automobile.

2011 Aston Martin V12 Zagato

2011 Aston Martin V8 Vantage S

This is the latest baby Aston – the delectable Vantage S. It should look very familiar to you and underneath the handsome skin Darwinian evolution is the order of the day, too.
The now-familiar 4.7-litre V8 now has 430bhp (up 10bhp) and 361lb ft (up 15lb) thanks to improved breathing and more accurate spark ignition. A new exhaust system is both lighter and (this is hard to believe) even fruitier in Sport mode.
Perhaps most significantly the Vantage S comes with a brand new seven-speed Sportshift gearbox, which promises shorter stacked ratios for greater acceleration and much reduced shift times.

2011 Aston Martin V8 Vantage S

2012 Aston Martin Virage

Sunday, October 19, 2014

The 2012 Aston Martin Virage quite literally fills in the gap between the merely splendid DB9 and the exotic DBS in terms of aggressive styling, engine output, suspension calibration and price. From the layman's perspective, there's not a whole lot of differentiation here, and indeed it'll be tough for even Aston Martin aficionados to tell the Virage apart from its siblings at a glance. But considered solely on merit, there's a lot right about the Virage.

At its core, the Virage is built from the most current, most evolved version of the "VH" platform architecture that began in the DB9 and has since expanded to include every Aston Martin presently sold. Introduced at the close of last year, the V12-powered Virage promotes Aston Martin's design language evolution as well. The sparingly sculpted body is unmistakably Aston Martin, but with a sharper, more contemporary flair that was intended to take the company into the next generation.

As is the case with two-thirds of current Aston Martins, the driving force for the Virage is a hand-built aluminum 6.0-liter V12. Twenty horsepower on either side of the Virage's output will land you in either DB9 territory or the DBS's neighborhood. However, unlike the DB9, the Virage comes with standard racing-inspired carbon-ceramic disc brakes and 20-inch wheels -- just like the more dedicated DBS.

2012 Aston Martin Virage

2009 Alfa Romeo 147 Ducati Corse

Have you had any problems with the car?
Aye - the cruise control works as and when it feels like it. Also minor but irritating are the cheap plastic clips on the beautiful mats that allow them to come away and slide under the pedals. Really Alfa, should do better.
What's most practical about your car?
Seats 5 - ish. Reasonable boot. Diesel economy overall.
Favourite gadget, option or accessory?
Q2 diff. Its electronic but nearly as good as the mechanical one on my Lexus. Punt into a bend at lunatic speed and it will not give up the grip. Great bit of kit.