Short Throw Shifter: Bye Bye Bugatti

That's right, Bugatti, this Porsche is pulling away. It has 10 fewer cylinders, 100 more horsepower, twice the looks, and a fraction of the required maintainence costs of the Italian hypercar. The famous Porsche tuner 9ff has taken a 911 and used the stock engine to create a 4.0 liter 6 cylinder monster that produces 1120 horsepower. All those ponies can take this GT9-R to a near warp top speed of 257 mph, and it's on track to take the world production car speed record.

It's already reached a speed of 254 on a test run, putting it 1 mph faster than the Bugatti, and just about 1 mph shy of the speed record set by the SSC Ultimate Aero. God speed, 9ff....God speed.

Thanks for reading.
-Biggs

Joyride: Maserati Cambio Corsa

Call me spoiled, but the Maserati I rode in today was hardly a joyride. The ride was rough and loud (although that might have been caused by the decaying rubber being used as tires), and the acceleration was less than stellar. The interior was already falling apart, and the buttons for windows and locks were peeling away. You think that being a high end sports car, the Maserati would hold together a little better than that. It also has an F1 transmission, which is essentially an automatic with paddle-shifters that doesn't "crawl" when you let your foot off the brake. There is no shifter, which is strange, and a "park" option is mysteriously missing.

The guy who owned it traded it in for a BMW 335i Coupe, which is now to be his daily driver. That's reasonable, especially since he also owns two Ferraris and a Porsche 911 Turbo. But the sad thing is that he paid $104,000 for this Maserati back in 2004, only to trade it in for a measely $20,000. Shocking? I wasn't really surprised, to be honest. I think Maseratis are an overpriced hunk o' junk, which is proven by their horrible resale value. In comparison, a Toyota Supra Turbo (10 years older, I might add) will trade in for around the same price.

Sounds like Maserati needs to join the ranks of carmakers that have gone the way of the buffalo. I'm sure that Saturn and DaLorean are feeling pretty lonely right about now.

Thanks for reading.
-Biggs

Short Throw Shifter: What is Sport? (part 2)

So last time I compared the Toyota Corolla S against the Honda Civic Si. If you've read the post, you now know which one deserves the title of "Sport."

Now, aside from size and fuel economy, the next two cars don't have much in common. One is German, the other Japanese. One handles like a go-cart, the other, more like a mini van.

Enter the Mini Cooper S and the Toyota Yaris S...

First, the Mini Cooper S adds a turbocharger to it's already spunky base model, turning the little sled into a rocket ship for 2+2. Mini also adds a hood scoop to the hood, larger wheels, a sport tuned suspension, and a little red "S." You might not notice a huge difference on the outside, but drive the two, and you'll know.

The Toyota Yaris S, on the otherhand, has the same power output as the base model. The only additions come in the form of a different color scheme for the tach and speedometer, a different cloth pattern for the seats, and some outside body pieces. Oh yeah, and it also has a little red "S."

I imagine you have already figured out which car handles like a go-cart and which one flops like a dead fish. Again, Toyota, you fail to impress with your "S." What does that "S" mean, anyway? Slow? Standard? Sub-par? Take a hint from Mini, drop in a Toyota Racing Development supercharger (unless they only make stickers now), and then we'll talk.
Thanks for reading.
-Biggs

Kickin' Tires: All New Porsche Boxter Spyder

All new to the Porsche lineup is the 2010 Porsche Boxter Spyder. Compared to the Boxter S, the new Spyder gains 10 horsepower (up to 320 now) and sheds 176 pounds of extra weight.

Porsche went to great lengths to get this Boxter back into shape, removing the radio, air conditioning, and even the inside door pulls. The result? The trimmest and quickest Boxter yet.

With a price of $62,000 plus, they don't come cheap, but if you're looking to do some carving on those mountain roads, there aren't many better choices out there. If this thing drives anything like a Cayman S (and if I had $62,000 to spare), I'd be first in line for this guy, and I don't usually like Boxters.

Thanks for reading.
-Biggs