TopGear: 1 Gallon race, 599, Murcielago, R8, McLaren, DBS

[Bodhii]

TopGear: 1 Gallon race, 599, Murcielago, R8, McLaren, DBS

R8

ps.. Why no Porsches in this race?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSbXZZ_ilKM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSbXZZ_ilKM[/ame]

[AnOutsider]

haha, slow and steady wins the race I guess. Poor R8 played the back of the pack for pretty much the whole race.

[randombloke]

ps.. Why no Porsches in this race?

because topgear has become a magazine/entertainment show rather than really catering to car lovers these days.

[harrison]

That was great! Now when people ask what kind of mileage I get ...

[mfsc]

because as we all know a 911 is not a supercar it just doesnt have the looks.

[Bodhii]

because as we all know a 911 is not a supercar it just doesnt have the looks.

Not sure who you think "WE" are, but some morning you may try waking up with an actual clue to reality.

[Orion Quest]

Great to know that my cars came in 1st and 2nd! WOOT!

[harrison]

Mr. Bodhii,Would you have any pics of a TRICKED out 959 ? As I recall this was a supercar-- and with all wheel drive!!!!! Porsches' work on this 959 resulted in 1st,2nd,3rd finishes at Paris to Dakar. (all terrain racing ) Lets see how R8s' are doing at Pikes' Peak.Anyone Know?

[randombloke]

that animated gif of the r8 vs 911 perfectly illustrates what I meant about top gear putting "entertainment" ahead of useful/factual comparisons (other than their track lap times).

[Bodhii]

Randombloke, I agree completely about Top Gear. Especially their anti-Porsche bias. But the show is good fun, and not much more. I'm sure they will LOVE the R8 V10. And I hear much speculation that there will be a USA version of Top Gear starting on a major TV network starting this Spring.

Here's the Porsche 959
The 959 was the test bed, so to speak, of much of the technology used today, from AWD to the use of twin turbos as used on the 993, 996, and 997 turbos, and watercooled heads as found on 996 and 997 turbos, GT2s and GT3s. The twin turbos were sequential, whereas the newer turbo cars (993, 996, 997) use one turbo dedicated to each bank of three cylinders. The motor, like all the old-style v-bottomed motors uses a true dry-sump oiling system.

The AWD system is different in the 996 and 997 AWD drive cars, more of an evolution of what was used in the 959. The 959 used a 2.85 L twin turbo motor that put out 444 hp. So it's got about 90 HP more than the current C4s. It's much smaller, and weighs about 250 lbs less. the 959 is faster, too. Top speed was 198-202 mph depending on what your source is... 0-60 mph was 3.6 sec. The car was a homologation for the Gruppe B racing series, which as it turned out was never initiated. Only 268 were built, none for use on the road in the US.

Here's a good link to even more info. This was a very special car that was WAY ahead of its time.
http://www.carlustblog.com/2009/01/porsche-959.html