Review Your Cars

Take a 500 horsepower V-10 engine and unrestrict the exhaust system you've got automotive music. The second installment in the Best Exhaust Sounds series was brought to my attention by an associate of VS Motorsports in Schaumburg, IL. If you like the responsiveness of a normally aspirated engine in a practical 4-door sedan with excellent handling, buy one soon. BMW will be replacing the V-10 with a twin turbocharged V-8 due to emission and mileage goals. Albeit quicker with more horsepower and a likely dual clutch transmission vs. the somewhat jerky single clutch automated manual. The predicted replacement engine, already in the X5M, is a 4.4 liter twin-turbo V-8 currently producing 555hp and 500ft lbs of torque. I would be very curious to know if this engine weighs more than the current V-10. Also, the turbos are in the "V" on the top of the engine along with the exhaust ports and the intakes on the bottom/outside. Just the opposite of virtually every other V-bank engin...

BMW recently announced the 2011 model 335is twin turbo will have power, transmission and cooling enhancements vs. the prior year 335i. I question if these enhancements will enough to sway the enthusiast to purchase the standard 335i with the single turbo. Not giving the car a limited slip differential remains a huge disservice. The 335is will have 320 horsepower with its revised twin-turbo 6-cylinder engine, up from 300hp. Also 7 seconds of overboost will be available raising the torque figure from 332ft lbs to 370ft lbs. This isn't really an improvement over existing aftermarket tuners such as Dinan (which offers a warranty) and Burger Motorsports Juice Box series. Potentially bigger news is the Non-S model now has a single turbo instead of the "twins". Likely significantly larger in size than the twins in the "S" and last year's model, this will mean greater potential for adding power in the aftermarket. The 6-speed automatic is replaced by the 7-speed dua...

Three letters in the March 2010 Car & Driver question the 3.3 second 0-60mph time of the Porsche Panamera Turbo that was tested the December 2009 issue. That makes it potentially quicker than many cars with much more power and less weight including the McLaren F1, Ferrari Enzo and Porsche's own GT-2. Weighing 4409lbs with 500hp, on paper it shouldn't beat any of them. There are three reasons it's so quick. All-wheel drive, the dual clutch transmission and gearing that is probably more aggressive than any performance car in history make it accelerate quicker than much more powerful and lighter cars. The Panamera Twin Turbo is in 3rd THIRD! gear by the time it hits 60mph. Many extreme cars like the Bugatti Veyron, Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 and others go over 60mph in 1st gear. Check out the Bugatti Veyron road test with the top 10 quickest cars they have tested. The all-wheel drive ensures no slippage unlike the others where power delivery has to be managed with available...

The technical aspects of the Ferrari 458 production car are fascinating and surprising. There are multiple articles about the car but a summary is in order due to the sheer amount of notable achievements . There are very few cars with such innovation. Read further, you'll be surprised. The aluminum chassis (frame) is 20% stiffer in it's torsional rigidity (resistance to twist) than it's predecessor, the incredible F430. Also 8% stiffer in resistance to bending. This was done without any weight penalty despite the wheelbase growing 1.4". This means that the suspension is better able to do it's job without geometric compromises that it are not', and can't, be designed for. It also means greater stability than the F430 without a weight penalty. Among multiple aerodynamic enhancements, downforce is higher, up to 794lbs at 200mph and matches the weight distribution of 49% front and 51% rear. Road & Track states 58% rear. Odd. The benefit regardless like an u...

Do you have a favorite exhaust or engine sound? A thunderous domestic V-8? The shriek of a Formula 1 car? The muted roar of a turbocharged powerplant? The big-rig huffing of a massive diesel? My favorite has to be the furious bark of the Global Motorsports Group exhaust installed on the already demonic sounding Porsche Carrera GT. I once heard an '04 CGT being driven after a clutch! replacement. Yes, clutch. The full-throttle howl reminded me of an air raid siren from hell. It was at once obscenely scary yet cool beyond words. This unique system adds 19hp and 16ft lbs of torque at the rear wheels on the dyno. What's another $6,400 on this beast. Click on the video and skip to the 54 second mark. It's THAT good. The mid-mounted 605hp V-10 in Porsche's supercar is a work of automotive art already. Unfortunately having only a 3 model-year run producing 1,270 units, it is quite rare. Some speculate disappointing sales due to it's $440,000 MSRP and not-q...

When the interior of the car you're driving puts a smile on your face and you don't mind you could have another 140 horsepower, it's immensely satisfying. The Audi A5 is a luxury coupe that must be driven to be appreciated. Although not as aggressively styled as it's 354hp sibling, the S5, it has beautiful lines with some classy exterior touches. The headlight and tail light assemblies have LED accent lighting which is quite distinctive and the body lines are subtly aggressive. See the slideshow for some highlights of the exterior. Opening the hood, the 211hp 4-cylinder engine seems properly placed as opposed to past and current Audi models that appear to have too much mass in front of the wheels. Not that Audi's have flawed designs, its that the A5 engine bay with the 2.0 liter engine just looks "proper". See the slideshow for a comparison to the S5 with the V-8 engine hanging over the front axles. The trunk is roomy and nicely finished as well with hidd...

As mentioned in my previous article here , one of the highlights of the show was the South Hall with numerous custom and modified cars, low riders, trucks, etc. There was even some live entertainment and dancing. __________ Have a question about cars you would like answered? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc? Ask me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!

Observations made while photographing the cars and making comparisons. Easily done while being so accessible and in close proximity to each other. Click here for the review of the show. Click here for the slideshow of the South Hall featuring custom and modified cars _________________ Have a question about cars you would like answered? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc? Ask me here: askrobaboutcars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!

Mixed emotions is how I would describe the 2010 San Jose Auto Show. If it wasn't for club participation and the South Hall display of customs, it would have been downright dismal. Lack of manufacturer participation is the biggest reason. San Jose being a 3rd tier market in the auto show circuit with limited show space doesn't help either. It was a sea of drab colored SUVs, crossovers and trucks with no concept cars. Silver is a classy color, but this is a show so lets see some colors in the palettes. Unheard of was a used car section filling space on the main floor. What was missing was especially notable. Audi, Mercedes Benz , Nissan and Porsche were nowhere to be seen so listing them on the auto show program was in poor taste. I went two days and never noticed Infiniti despite the show map. There was no Dodge Viper or ACR (the fastest production car around the famous Nurburgring). Ford didn't have a GT500 or Mustang GT unless it was hidden behind some trucks. Lexus didn...