EVO - Fastest ever track test

[marcos_eirik]

Fastest ever track test

Originally Posted by EVO

On one unforgettable day, we gathered everything from an Ariel Atom to a McLaren F1 for the ultimate circuit shootout.

Wouldn’t it be great,’ said associate editor Tomalin, ‘if for the 100th issue we could get the fastest group of road cars we could possibly muster, together, on the same day, and see which is quickest around the West Circuit.’

It was during our ‘Science of Speed’ cover story back in issue 094 that the seed of this compelling idea was sown. As ever, the West Circuit was an element of the test, and, to our genuine surprise, the Carrera GT came within 8/100ths of a second of our fastest ever recorded lap, 1.19.62, set by the rabid Caterham R500 Evo in issue 069.

Having compiled a wish-list of staggering optimism, we set about making the shootout happen, embarking on a charm offensive of unprecedented, er, charm. Ford was happy to stump-up a GT, the habitually generous Paul Bailey was positively bursting to see his Enzo and Carrera GT slug it out, while Iain Litchfield was only too pleased to see his ballistic Type-25 Impreza have a pop at some exotica. Caterham would bring a CSR 260 and the R500 Evo (kindly provided by its owner, Steve Moffat), while Ariel, Radical, Lotus and Dax would also be coming to the party, the latter with the positively scary Rush MC. Oh, and we’d also have a late-20th-century BMW-engined supercar called the McLaren F1. Some of you may know it.

The scale of what we’re doing hits home when I arrive at the Autodrome. There are cars everywhere. Some emerging from transporters, some buzzing impatiently on fast idle, struggling to warm their vital fluids on this chilly morning. Others sit in menacing silence: an unmistakable wedge of scarlet and a fizzing slice of acid yellow marking Paul Bailey’s spectacular brace of supercars, while brooding at the far end of the pitlane is a magnificent blue McLaren F1. Gulp.

Ford GT

The GT may have been our Car of the Year in 2005, but is it too soft for seriously quick laps?

With all the lightweights done, it’s time to try the supercars for size. It’s the stage I’ve been looking forward to and dreading in equal measure, for while huge power always equates to big fun at Bedford, the prospect of binning one of these babies has magazine-closing consequences, thanks to an insurance excess that would make your eyes water.

I climb into the Ford GT first. It feels vast after the skeletal flyweights. Soft too, and quiet, while the power-assisted steering feels all too light for the task ahead. It does its best to reassure me, though, with a slick gearshift, strong brakes and so much grunt I could probably do the whole lap in fourth.

What it lacks is ultimate grip, for while it turns-in keenly it soon begins to wash wide of the apex. It’s also a bit lively on the entry to the chicanes, requiring some correction to keep the tail in line. Through direction changes you can feel the delayed weight transfer, which manifests itself as oversteer once you get back on the throttle, and although it can be balanced relatively easily, you can feel the time slipping away like sand through your fingers. If that’s the penalty for the sublime on-road set-up that seduced us at last year’s eCoty, then so be it. Here and now, though, the Ford GT is fighting with one hand tied, as a 1.22.75 testifies.

Lotus Exige S

Not blessed by huge power, but nimble and smooth through the corners, the supercharged Exige will be in with a chance.

Looking every inch the road-racer in brilliant white with black magnesium wheels, we enter the Lotus Exige S. Dropping through the narrow door opening and into the hard driver’s seat, it feels tiny after the boxy Subaru saloon, an impression enhanced by the snickety gearshift, beautifully tactile unassisted steering and buzzy, small-capacity engine.

Again it takes a good lap and a half to get some heat into the tyres, but once warmed the Exige begins to work. Precise and fluid, it also feels surprisingly soft, with more body-roll than you’d expect. It doesn’t hamper progress too much, though, even through the rapid direction changes at Pif-Paf and Beckham. True to type, the Exige S is tidy, consistent and so easily placed on every apex. It isn’t powerful enough to feel truly fast, but it’s clearly efficient, delivering an easily achieved 1.22.40: a few tenths down on the bombastic Type-25’s best effort, but still one of the quicker cars we’ve ever lapped here.

Litchfield Type-25

Probably the least scary drive here, the Litchfield still dwarfs the performance of a showroom Impreza STi.

With eleven cars to lap in just over half a day, it seems sensible to start with the most familiar and, to be brutally honest, least scary cars first. Kicking off with Iain Litchfield’s all-wheel-drive Type-25 Impreza, it’s my intention to then get stuck into the lightweights, gradually ramping-up the power, and fear, until we reach the supercars, ending with The Big One: the daunting, £1million McLaren.

With Cosworth engine internals, AST suspension, Porsche ‘Big Red’ brakes and Dunlop Direzza rubber, it’s no wonder the 415bhp Type-25 feels little like the UK-spec STi you’ll find in your local Subaru showroom. We’ve said it before, but the statement bears repeating: this is as close to a four-door, four-seat 911 RS as you’re ever likely to drive.

After a lap, the tyres are ‘in’ like a set of fresh, hot slicks, and the turbocharged 2.5-litre engine is hungrily gulping in the damp, cold air. Time to start the first attacking laps of the day. It’s a violent, exciting process, all scrabbling tyres, tumescent rushes of torque and brickwall braking. It keeps you busy, not because it’s a handful, but because you always need to be ready to throw another gear at the acceleration and to play with the balance to bring the tail into play. It’s a fabulous, frenzied machine.

Time constraints mean we have a total of only six or seven laps in each car. With cold track temperatures, that means three flying laps, perhaps four at a push, plus warm-up and cool-down laps. Not long, in other words. Nevertheless, when we return to the pitlane and interrogate the V-Box data, the flying Impreza has laid down an impressive 1.22.25 marker, some 5/100ths quicker than a Koenigsegg CCX. Game on.

Ferrari Enzo

It's the 2nd half of Paul Bailey's £800,000 donation to our Bedford speed showdown.

Who’d be Paul Bailey? ‘Me!!!’ I hear you cry. Okay, so it’s hard to deny he’s a jammy sod, but ask yourself this. Would you allow me to drive both of your prized supercars, worth a combined total of £800,000, flat-out at Bedford? Hmm, thought not.

So, you can imagine the scene on the pit-wall when, on the last of my flying laps, the Enzo kicks sideways at the best part of 100mph, and ‘poor’ Paul clutches his chest in what onlookers hope is a feigned seizure.

Inside the Enzo things are calmer. Yes, it’s hairy (good job Paul didn’t see his pride and joy snap into oversteer at a V-Box-recorded 105.3mph on the exit of the Palmer Curves), but it’s also happier to adopt bigger angles of slide than the tidier but less forgiving Porsche. If you’re comfortable with oversteer (and don’t own the car), it’s the more enjoyable to hustle.

Like the Porsche, the brakes are awesome, but the paddle-shift transmission feels hesitant in a post-599 Fiorano world, and the high-speed oversteer makes you wonder about the Enzo’s much-vaunted underfloor aerodynamics. Even so, it’s a tough call to make a subjective decision on whether the Porsche or Ferrari is quickest, for it’s hard to gauge whether nudging towards the Carrera GT’s limits leaves more time untapped than you waste in the process of exceeding the limits in the Enzo.

By displaying a best of 1.21.30 for the Ferrari, the V-Box hands honours dispassionately to Stuttgart.

McLaren F1

Gordon Murray’s vision, BMW’s power, Peter Stevens’s design and McLaren’s obsessive attention to detail - it can only be the legendary F1.

We’ve got one more roll of the dice left, and it’s the one that I, Harry and doubtless our insurers have been dreading: the McLaren F1.

In truth we’re not expecting even the combined genius of Gordon Murray’s vision, BMW’s peerless power, Peter Stevens’s timeless design and McLaren’s obsessive attention to detail to scare the pointy end of the order, for it’s a decade and a half since the F1 altered our perception of performance, packaging and price tag. Hell, when the McLaren F1 was new I had a 28in waist.

As with many of the cars here, six or seven laps are barely enough to scratch the surface, but thanks to the generosity of this particular F1’s owner (Pistonheaders amongst you will know him as ‘Flemke’) I’ve got the opportunity to throw myself in at the deepest of deep ends. Oh yes, and he’s sitting just behind my left shoulder.

A man of sharp wit and rare comedic timing, as the driver’s door is pushed shut, Flemke decides to give me his unique brand of pre-flight briefing. ‘Err, I think this is a good time to remind you that the chassis stinks, there’s no downforce and the brakes are terrible. But it’s got a great engine!’ Err, thanks, you’ve been a big help.

This is the point at which the day gets serious. The central driving position, the convoluted start procedure, the overwhelming value and the legendary reputation (good and bad) are oppressive. The fact that everyone, and I mean everyone, has gathered on the pit-wall to watch twists my guts into knots. Most of all, I don’t want to let the F1 down.

Once again, the cold manifests itself with the impression that the West Circuit has been surreptitiously smeared with butter. I decide to take a couple of laps to put some heat into the tyres, resorting to race-style zig-zagging down the straights.

When the time comes to get on with it, my heart’s punching a hole in my chest, but strangely the all-encompassing, jagged induction roar of that amazing V12 has a soothing effect on my nerves. This, I decide, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and nothing’s going to stop me from savouring every last moment. Well, nothing except the pant-soiling moment on the exit of O’Rouge that has me reaching for several armfuls of right lock in a desperate effort to save the car, the magazine and, ultimately, my skin. Flemke, to his credit, doesn’t even whimper.

During the three laps that follow I make many major discoveries. The first is that the brakes are indeed terrible. In fact, they’re shite. The second is that the absence of a rear anti-roll bar means you’re always chasing the F1’s tail, be it under power through a corner or under braking into a corner. The third is that the steering really is as heavy as contemporary road tests would have you believe, the fourth that BMW built the finest, sharpest, most beautifully responsive engine ever to grace a road car. The fifth, and frankly unexpected revelation is that despite the obvious and at times unnerving flaws, the F1 remains an intoxicating challenge, a car you could dedicate your whole life to learning.

The sixth is the lap time – a highly creditable 1.21.20 – which eclipses the Enzo, a cutting-edge supercar benefiting from 15 years of engine, chassis and brake development. True, Flemke’s car has had some subtle development of its own, most obviously the bigger wheels and modern rubber (the same type and size as the Enzo), but it’s by no means a complete reworking of the original. To my great relief, the F1’s honour is upheld.

Porsche Carrera GT

It takes a lot of concentration to get the best from the electrifying GT from Stuttgart.

There’s nothing remotely soft-edged about the Carrera GT, as I well know, but it decides to remind me by snapping into evil turn-in oversteer three times during the first warm-up lap. On cold tyres the Porsche takes no prisoners.

Even when sufficient temperature is in the tyres, you don’t attack the lap, rather you methodically, meticulously zero yourself in on the Carrera GT’s limits like a marksman adjusts the sight on his rifle. Only by girding your skill and courage and nudging ever closer to the point where you feel your inputs harmonise with the chassis’ behaviour can you begin to extract the best from the GT, and even then it feels like you’re dancing on a knife edge.

The engine, gearbox and brakes are a sensational combination, the tortured V10 yowl interrupted only momentarily with every punchy up or downshift, the ceramic brakes soaking up the speed without once waking the ABS sensors.

Perhaps it’s the hairy warm-up lap. Perhaps it’s the low track temperature. Perhaps it’s the fact that the tyres, by owner Bailey’s own admission, are past their best. Perhaps I’m just not feeling as brave today. Whatever, the Carrera GT fails to match its previous best, managing a still impressive 1.20.20. The R500 can breathe again.

Dax Rush MC

A mixture of engineering ingenuity and visceral performance from the Caterham-sized curiousity.

From the sublime to the downright ballistic. Rather like the fire-snorting, petrol-spraying madness that was the original Westfield SEight, the Dax Rush MC is one of those fringe cars with such compelling performance even the most dyed-in-the-wool car snob can’t ignore it. Yes, it’s easy to have preconceived ideas about cars like the Dax, especially when you’ve got a McLaren F1 parked down the pitlane. However, ten minutes chatting to its owner, Duncan Cowper, and you see beyond the Rush MC’s ugly Seven-clone looks and appreciate its intriguing engineering.

Beneath, or rather poking through the bonnet is a turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa engine, good for 350bhp+ on its day. A pair of curved metal levers behind the steering wheel reveals a paddle-shift gear system, while the front-end features Dax’s extraordinary camber-compensation front suspension, which maintains the front tyres’ contact patch by keeping the wheels upright even under the highest cornering load.

The car’s only here thanks to Cowper putting in a week’s worth of all-nighters to re-assemble the car; when Henry Catchpole had phoned him, the motor was in pieces on his kitchen table. Consequently it’s not running full boost but should still be good for 300bhp. Enough in a car that weighs just 520kg.

Sticking to our tight quota of laps is hard in a car like the Rush, for it takes some getting used to. Cowper says upshifts are clutchless, and the paddles work well, but as paddle-shift normally means no clutch pedal at all, it’s tricky synchronising your left leg with each pull of the left-hand paddle for downshifts.

The engine is explosively powerful at high revs, but it also thumps out plenty of torque, which makes it more tractable than you’d think through the tighter corners. However, all of this pales into insignificance compared with getting used to the camber compensation front-end. Though it allows the body to roll, the suspension loading remains even, so you don’t have the same tactile reference points to judge when you’re at or over the limit. It’s clever and effective, but a bit spooky to try and master in a few flat-out laps, as the front remains nailed while the tail can be snappier than a Jack Russell puppy and just as hard to catch.

Almost inevitably we end the session on the grass at the exit of Tower, a stab of turn-in oversteer and two attempts at correcting it taking us off the tarmac. It’s a suitably hairy end to a visceral few laps, the best of which yielded a 1.19.70, just a tenth behind the CSR and Atom.

Caterham CSR 260

The latest generation Caterham is more powerful and refined, but carries more weight -can it keep up with its R500 ancestor?

Bigger and heavier than the record-holding ‘old-school’ R500 but more sophisticated and more powerful, the new-generation Caterham posted a 1.21.85 earlier this year, so we’re not expecting it to threaten the R500 Evo, but it certainly has the means to mount a challenge.

Subjectively the CSR isn’t a patch on the old-school screamer. Neater, grippier and torquier, it lacks the sheer excitement and fighting spirit. It doesn’t feel as instinctive either, nor as fierce down the straights, but when we check the times there’s a 1.19.60 staring us in the face! Two-hundredths quicker than the R500’s current record. Blimey.

Ariel Atom

The supercharged superlight Atom will be at the pointy end of things come the final reckoning.

Next up is the Ariel Atom. Still as barmy-looking as ever, in supercharged form the Atom is a unique and uniquely rapid machine. We’ve long been fans of the concept, but only recently has the chassis become a match for the banzai powertrain. This, then, is a chance to fulfil its ample promise.

For the first lap or two, the intensity of the experience is almost overwhelming. The demented shriek from the engine, the gearing that feels like Ariel has fitted a ’box full of second gears, the neck-straining slipstream and the tremendous fast-twitch response from steering and throttle combine to explosive effect.

Where this Atom differs from previous examples I’ve tested is that it has a level of progression and precision earlier cars simply didn’t have.

Consequently, where you’d fight and ultimately fail to tame the spiky stabs of oversteer, you can now drive through them. Likewise the brakes, which, though still more willing to lock than a Caterham’s, can now be modulated to better effect.

From the driver’s seat you’d swear it was by far the quickest yet. In fact an identical time to the CSR is impressive, though the fact that it looks, sounds and feels so spectacular means we’re expecting more. However, a look at our lap time archive reveals it’s gone 1.8sec quicker than it did in the summer. It’s a great result for the innovative and committed Somerset concern.

Caterham R500 EVO

The reigning champ tries to reassert its position at the top of the tree.

And now it’s the turn of our reigning West Circuit champ, the Caterham R500 Evo, still resplendent in its dazzling Rizla livery.

As ever, sliding down behind the sideplate-sized steering wheel is the perfect way to focus your mind on the job in hand. You don’t so much get in a Caterham as put it on, and it’s this snug, tailored fit that breeds such intimacy between you and the car, and what gives you such confidence to drive out of your skin.

In deference to the owner, Caterham asks us to use 8000rpm or so as a maximum; with the 2-litre K-series motor literally £15K a pop, it’s a perfectly reasonable request, and as its maximum 250bhp arrives at 8000rpm we’re not sacrificing any power. All the slightly restricted rev-limit means is a few extra gearshifts during the lap.

A glance at the rims reveals Caterham may have missed a trick by fitting the R500 Evo with the same type of Avon CR500 tyres it was shod with for ‘Fast Club 2004’. Stickier ACB10 tyres would surely steal a second or so from the lap time. We’ll know whether it needs the help in just over ten minutes from now.

There’s something extraordinary about driving this Caterham in anger. It fizzes, sparks and jolts like a raw nerve, your hands, feet and butt cheeks wired to the chassis, sensing the limit, twitching inputs through the steering wheel and pedals almost without conscious effort. Better still, it’s one of those cars that thrive on aggression. You don’t stroke a time out of it like the Lotus, you get stuck right in, catching slides, j-u-s-t locking a wheel here and there, driving on instinct and adrenalin.

A massive buzz, then, but is it quick? You betcha. A best of 1.19 dead, over half a second inside its old record. Aside from the Radical, it’s the quickest yet. But will anything go faster?

Radical SR3 1300

The closest thing a road car can get to track performance, the SR3 makes mincemeat of Bedford.

Calling the Radical SR3 a road car is stretching the description to the limit. Even Radical admits as much. Still, with a number-plate, tax disc and SVA certificate, it qualifies. Just.

While you could be forgiven for thinking the others needn’t have bothered turning up, this SR3 is powered by a 1300cc Powertec motor, rather than the full-on 1500cc we’ve sampled previously.

Reclined in the cockpit with sack- of-spuds Catchpole crammed in next to me, it feels every inch the racer it is. The bike-derived motor and sequential six-speed transmission gnash and chunter like a sleeping John Hayman after four pints of Stella, and the sheer cornering ability generated by the Dunlop Direzza tyres and generous aerodynamic addenda completely change the complexion of the West Circuit.

The Palmer Curves are now a seamless head-lolling sequence of flat-shifts through second-third-fourth-fifth, while the normally tricky Pif-Paf chicane is a dab-and-downshift jink at almost 70mph. And as for the mighty Tower, you don’t even so much as lift.

With a few more laps to fully recalibrate my driving style, it might have gone even quicker. Even so, the Radical posts a quite sensational 1.17.10. Two and a half seconds inside our current record. It may stretch the definition of road car to breaking point, but it’s still awe-inspiring.

Originally Posted by Lap Times

1. Radical SR3 1300 1.17.10
2. Caterham R500 Evo 1:19.00
3. Ariel Atom 1:19.60
4. Caterham CSR 260 1:19.60
5. Dax Rush MC 1:19.70
6. Porsche Carrera GT 1:20.20
7. McLaren F1 1:21.20
8. Ferrari Enzo 1:21.30
9. Litchfield Type-25 1:22.25
10. Lotus Exige S 1:22.40
11. Ford GT 1:22.75

[The_Clincher]

-shiiiiiit radical ownt everyone=P
-guess the extra weight on the CSR was the downfall of it against the EVO afterall
-suprising how the CSR and atom got the same time thought, thought the atom would have been faster
-wooo carrera GT crushed the enzo, which was only abt a second faster than the litchfield=O

[Redliner]

Surprised to see the Lotus being faster than the Ford GT and not much behind the Enzo and McLaren, considering the power and technology differences.

[pfrocker]

I would still chose the Atom, it's just so much cooler and you can see what the car is doing. In a way it reminds of an F1 car. Although it's road legal in Europe, sadly it's considered only a track car for US.

[bartboy9891]

Originally Posted by pfrocker

I would still chose the Atom, it's just so much cooler and you can see what the car is doing. In a way it reminds of an F1 car. Although it's road legal in Europe, sadly it's considered only a track car for US.

you can buy em here and road legalize em. Brammo takes orders, the cheapest is in the mid $40K range and you can spec em all the way past $100K. The difference is that you dont get the Type R engine. Instead you get the GM Eco-tec 4-banger. Though it doesnt rev as high as the Type R and it probably doesnt sound as interesting through the revs, the Eco-tec puts out WAY more torque. Not sure how much of it you can make use of, but its there if you "need" it.

[pfrocker]

Originally Posted by bartboy9891

you can buy em here and road legalize em. Brammo takes orders, the cheapest is in the mid $40K range and you can spec em all the way past $100K. The difference is that you dont get the Type R engine. Instead you get the GM Eco-tec 4-banger. Though it doesnt rev as high as the Type R and it probably doesnt sound as interesting through the revs, the Eco-tec puts out WAY more torque. Not sure how much of it you can make use of, but its there if you "need" it.

hmm will do more research on it, now the problem is the money

[fbc]

Mmmm now I want one of the Litchfield Type 25's even more - it's lap time impresses me more than any of the others.

['CruiserMan]

I've always been a fan of Caterham, and I'm quite impressed with their performances. Bit of a shame we can only get the CSR200 on the road here...

Power to the Radical! That's blitzin'!

[BerserkerCatSplat]

I'm actually kind of surprised they included the Ford GT in the test. It's a great car, but a bit more street-mannered than the rest.

[Paul_The_Aussie]

nice cars, I'd still take the Ford, seems a little more for the both the street and the track. a compromise.

[|ntegr4L]

Shit. The Carrera GT was faster than the Enzo. Bummer.

[marcos_eirik]

Originally Posted by |ntegr4L

Shit. The Carrera GT was faster than the Enzo. Bummer.

Also, the 15 year old McLaren F1 was a tiny bit faster...

[laiders]

I'd like to see how much a Radical SR3 Turbo or SR8 would smash the record by

[Cobol74]

All are great cars. Nice test, any vids about any one know? I like the type 25 very much - surprised? V

[Capacious Boot]

Brammo, the guys that handle Atom in the U.S. is based in Ashland, OR which is just a little ways down the road from where I live. I'm gonna have to go down there someday and see if I can't see what they are all about.

Then I will have to figure out how to steal one.

[niteriyder]

Ford GT was off the Lotus' time It's okay though because its propably the most civil of all those cars on that list, except maybe the Subaru..that actually has four doors and a proper boot.

oh damn i actually typed in boot without thinking twice before it..I MEANT to TYPE TRUNK!!!! FREEDOM FRIES BITCHES!

jk

[Ottobon]

Originally Posted by niteriyder

Ford GT was off the Lotus' time It's okay though because its propably the most civil of all those cars on that list, except maybe the Subaru..that actually has four doors and a proper boot.

actually the Mclaren is arguably more civil, as well its not that stiffly spung, so i'm really suprised it did as well as it did

[SuperStalin]

Im impressed with the Impreza and Lotus.

[trionic]

the 15 year old McLaren F1

which was made at the time of different emmission requirements

[Steve Levin]

As far as the Atom in the US, I see one (the same one) every couple of weeks on my drive hom here in the SF Bay Area.

Steve