janstett
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2005
- Messages
- 1,924
- Location
- Chester, NJ
- Car(s)
- 86 944 Turbo, 2000 TA, 09 GC Overland, 11 CLS550
Several months ago I entered a pay-to-drive event and was able to spend about 30 minutes each with a Bentley Continental GT, Aston Martin DB9, Lamborghini Murcielago, and Ferrari F430.
http://forum.finalgear.com/viewtopic.php?t=12021
Unfortunately, at the time two cars were unable to perform -- the Ford GT had been crashed the day before, and the Corvette Z06 had sufferred an engine problem. This past Saturday, I traveled to the Westchester Marriot near the foot of the Tappan Zee Bridge to test drive those two cars.
The Setting
The Westchester Marriott is located a stone's throw away from the Tappan Zee bridge in New York, scantly north of New York City. The area has the beginnings of the Adirondack mountains and the leaves have just begun to change color, so the ride was quite beautiful. There were some decent secondary highways winding their way slowly uphill and there were some twists. Not nearly as good as the roads at the West Point event and certainly not Road-to-Hana twisty, but it would suffice.
It was a cold morning and frost covered all the exotics (in addition to the GT and Z06, there was a Bentley GT, Aston-Martin Vanquish, F430, and an M6. In all the excitement, I missed some gems owned by hotel patrons, including a Viper, Cayman S, and 1970 Camaro in nice shape. You'll be glad to know that all the cars had defroster/defogger equipment, though it was hard to find. It's safe to say one can't reasonably expect such amenities on an exotic.
Ford GT
The day started off with the Ford GT. I was looking forward to driving this rare beast, and was disappointed that some bozo had crashed it the day before the last time. It sure looked good through the frosty mist.
http://img483.imageshack.**/img483/651/img0021yt4.jpg
Walking up to the car, it looked good, and I couldn't wait to slip behind the wheel of the legend... or its reasonable facsimile. Definitely slung very low, but larger than I expected. Not quite a boat, but low and long. I prepared to drop into the seat with the aid of the hole in the root.
http://img60.imageshack.**/img60/1509/img0028or5.jpg
Sliding into position was easy, although the seating position is awkward, very awkward. I'm 6'2" and closing the door was an adventure in not trying to scalp oneself. I just barely had headroom because of the lack of padding in the door overhead, with a helmet I'd have to risk spinal compression I'm afraid. The interior of the Ford GT looked pretty good despite being retro. Once the door was settled in place, I adjusted the manual seat as much as I could to give myself room, and the awkward seating position became more so. The steering wheel is tiny, like a go cart, and there is no room whatsoever for your left arm, and the door is pretty flat so there is no arm rest. Trying to find the clutch, there is a lot of wheel well intrusion so the clutch isn't located in a natural position, you have to squeeze both feet into the space normally occupied by only your right foot. I'm told the Shelby Cobras were like this too. Once I find the clutch, I start playing with the shifter, a nice aluminum ball. There's a little mechanical catch going through the gears, a little flimsy but not bad. Then I notice that it's got the BMW-style layout, with R in the upper left. God I hate that. Worse, the shift base apparently is mounted on an angle; what you would expect to be 1st gear is actually 3rd gear, you have to go very hard left to find first. In fact, most of the time I thought I was hitting first I was in 3rd and stalled the car. This is apparently a common problem, as the instructor told me that had to replace the clutch in 2000 miles the first time, so now they insist on sending an instructor. Further, they have wrecked two cars so far (it has a lot of horsepower and is not easy to drive) and are considering removing it from the fleet. Anyway, with help I find first, and prepare to take off. Adjusting the mirrors, which are pretty much the size of tic-tacs, does little good as the visibility is worse than a Nazi pillbox on the beaches of Normandy. It really is piss-poor. Slip away in 1st gear and we're off, and then onto the highway. First gear is really meant purely for a fast launch (I almost considered launching in 2nd), I can see how people cannot control this car. Going over some washboard pavement on the onramp, the supension is tight (which I like), but too tight, as my voice vibrates when talking to the instructor, like someone is pounding on my back with karate chops. Very much the feel of a go-cart but while wearing a blindfold -- it's really claustrophobic in there. Getting on the highway and coming up to speed, the handling is great, but tricky. Difficult to explain, but more on that later. The steering is ultra-tight. Too tight. I don't think I went more than 1/8 rotation in either direction on some decently winding highway roads. I like tight steering but Ford should have slowed it down somewhat. Doing some quick-flick left-rights the body was nice and flat, but something didn't feel quite right, like something was pushing the rear end a tad.
Then I remember what's sitting behind my right ear. The GT is a great car but the engine starts with modest beginnings. They start with the workaday Mustang 4.6 DOHC, and tweak it (I think it's bored/stroked) and supercharged. This leads to the problem. People complain that pushrod motors (such as the LS7 in the Z06) are antiquated, but OHC motors have disadvantages -- they're more complex, and taller, leading to the higher center of gravity. In the case of the GT's motor, take an already tall motor with four cams and then put a supercharger where the intake manifold usually is, and you have a high center of gravity. So the mid-engine design is great, but the engine unfortunately sits too high and leads to an element of unpredictability in the GT's handling.
Now I didn't push it hard enough to suffer the consequences, but just flicking it back and forth I could tell there was an odd pendulum effect in how the rear of the car settled. I never drove an old (pre-993) 911 but I'm suspecting it's the same phenomenon that leads to deadly handling characteristics at the limit. And the GT's reputation is certainly that it is a hard car to master, and those who underestimate it get bitten.
Pulling into a street for a u-turn, backing up was a test of faith. The tic-tac sized mirrors were about as good as a T-Rex's arms, the rear is impossible to see out of, and the side windows are minimally usable. We opened the doors to see out and it was still an exercise in faith.
Making the return trip, I explored the power band, and let me say, for all the complaining I did about the high-cog design of the motor, Ford did a great job refining it. Power delivery is smooth and linear. The same supercharged setup on a Mustang Cobra is typically very brutal, raw, and loud/whiney. The GT made me forget I was driving a supercharged car with a blue-collar engine.
In the end, it was a nice toy inspired by a great racing legend that's too hard to drive and completely impossible to live with. I have some bones to pick with Jeremy Clarkson, who owns one of these things, but more on that later.
Corvette Z06
Next up was the Corvette Z06. My, it looks good in yellow.
http://img407.imageshack.**/img407/1287/img0086do5.jpg
I've already been for a ride in one (my former boss sold his Shelby Cobra to get it) and want to make a serious run at landing one for myself, so more than anything else this was half dream car and half test drive. I knew what to expect. Getting in the cockpit, it was an easy ingress, and the cabin is open, the gauges easy to read.
http://img505.imageshack.**/img505/719/img0047xv7.jpg
One of the first things people talk about is the fit and finish, so I'll address it first. It's put together well, but it could be better. It's better than the typical GM fare (I have been driving a Pontiac Trans Am for 6 years so I'm very familiar with pleather seats and shiny cheap plastic). Not up to snuff with the other cars, but not awful. Just makes you wish they spent a little more money to cover the dash in leather. The shifter wasn't awful (once you got used to it) and the clutch was a little tricky. Taking off into the highway traffic, the view was unclutterred, the cabin open, almost a complete opposite experience from the claustrophobic GT. It felt natural to drive this 500hp supercar, I could definitely see it as a daily driver. Not hard to drive at all. And the power... such power, in any gear. The handling was good without breaking my spine, the same rough pavement that made my voice wobble in the GT was smooth sailing in the Z06. The steering wasn't as tight as I would have liked but still very repsonsive, only the slightest bit numb. But I think they got the steering mostly right. Tossing it around it felt perfectly controllable, predictable, and flat. Completely comfortable to drive and it didn't feel like it would bite me in the neck if I stepped out of line.
I really don't have much more to say about this car. For the most part, it lived up to my expectations and didn't have that many surpirses. I knew what to expect before I got behind the wheel. I'm finding that I have fewer words to say about the Z06 than I did about the GT.
Then there's the one thing that bothered me. Accelerating, in any gear, around 2000 RPM started to produce a rattle that sounded like it was coming from the passenger front tire. It sounded to me like an exhaust leak, but it could have been something loose in the engine compartment. That little rattle annoyed the hell out of me. And I found myself wondering, if I paid $70k to bring one of these home, how many of these little niggling problems would I have to endure? That's the dilemma with this car, it's such a great car at such a great price, but you know you have to live with warts. If I spent the $70k on a Cayman S instead, sure it would be less powerful and much less car, but the warts would be gone. Then again, I own a Porsche and I know how finnicky they can be, and when things go wrong they go disastrously wrong. Decisions, decisions! After all is said and done, I still want the Z06 but it won't quite be the idealistic vision I had built up in my head.
Aftermath
I'm so glad I had the chance to drive both of these cars. When all is said and done, my favorite is still the Ferrari F430. What an incredible car that is. Nothing else will ever live up to it.
Now, I have a bone to pick with Jeremy Clarkson, who as we know, has owned two Ford GTs. In S8 E2 he reviewed the Corvette Z06 and liked it, complaining only that "only works on a track". it wasn't suitable as a daily driver because the ride can "break your back", "the gearbox feels like it came from a tractor". "As something to live with every day, I'd rather have the bird flu".
The Ford GT is the bird flu, then I guess... Or more like the Plague. Having driven both back-to-back and without being biased because I own one of them, the GT is far, far more inappropriate as a daily driver for so many reasons, not the least of which are the same ones Jeremy complained about with the Z06. The ride in the GT is so much more harsh than the Z06; the shifter in the GT is far more maddenning than the Z06's. In my opinion, the Z06 is a fine daily driver and a fine track car; the GT is impossible to use as a daily driver and is a fine track car if you know how to handle it, otherwise it will kill you.
Full pictures of the day here:
http://rides.webshots.com/album/554873840slRTjl
http://forum.finalgear.com/viewtopic.php?t=12021
Unfortunately, at the time two cars were unable to perform -- the Ford GT had been crashed the day before, and the Corvette Z06 had sufferred an engine problem. This past Saturday, I traveled to the Westchester Marriot near the foot of the Tappan Zee Bridge to test drive those two cars.
The Setting
The Westchester Marriott is located a stone's throw away from the Tappan Zee bridge in New York, scantly north of New York City. The area has the beginnings of the Adirondack mountains and the leaves have just begun to change color, so the ride was quite beautiful. There were some decent secondary highways winding their way slowly uphill and there were some twists. Not nearly as good as the roads at the West Point event and certainly not Road-to-Hana twisty, but it would suffice.
It was a cold morning and frost covered all the exotics (in addition to the GT and Z06, there was a Bentley GT, Aston-Martin Vanquish, F430, and an M6. In all the excitement, I missed some gems owned by hotel patrons, including a Viper, Cayman S, and 1970 Camaro in nice shape. You'll be glad to know that all the cars had defroster/defogger equipment, though it was hard to find. It's safe to say one can't reasonably expect such amenities on an exotic.
Ford GT
The day started off with the Ford GT. I was looking forward to driving this rare beast, and was disappointed that some bozo had crashed it the day before the last time. It sure looked good through the frosty mist.
http://img483.imageshack.**/img483/651/img0021yt4.jpg
Walking up to the car, it looked good, and I couldn't wait to slip behind the wheel of the legend... or its reasonable facsimile. Definitely slung very low, but larger than I expected. Not quite a boat, but low and long. I prepared to drop into the seat with the aid of the hole in the root.
http://img60.imageshack.**/img60/1509/img0028or5.jpg
Sliding into position was easy, although the seating position is awkward, very awkward. I'm 6'2" and closing the door was an adventure in not trying to scalp oneself. I just barely had headroom because of the lack of padding in the door overhead, with a helmet I'd have to risk spinal compression I'm afraid. The interior of the Ford GT looked pretty good despite being retro. Once the door was settled in place, I adjusted the manual seat as much as I could to give myself room, and the awkward seating position became more so. The steering wheel is tiny, like a go cart, and there is no room whatsoever for your left arm, and the door is pretty flat so there is no arm rest. Trying to find the clutch, there is a lot of wheel well intrusion so the clutch isn't located in a natural position, you have to squeeze both feet into the space normally occupied by only your right foot. I'm told the Shelby Cobras were like this too. Once I find the clutch, I start playing with the shifter, a nice aluminum ball. There's a little mechanical catch going through the gears, a little flimsy but not bad. Then I notice that it's got the BMW-style layout, with R in the upper left. God I hate that. Worse, the shift base apparently is mounted on an angle; what you would expect to be 1st gear is actually 3rd gear, you have to go very hard left to find first. In fact, most of the time I thought I was hitting first I was in 3rd and stalled the car. This is apparently a common problem, as the instructor told me that had to replace the clutch in 2000 miles the first time, so now they insist on sending an instructor. Further, they have wrecked two cars so far (it has a lot of horsepower and is not easy to drive) and are considering removing it from the fleet. Anyway, with help I find first, and prepare to take off. Adjusting the mirrors, which are pretty much the size of tic-tacs, does little good as the visibility is worse than a Nazi pillbox on the beaches of Normandy. It really is piss-poor. Slip away in 1st gear and we're off, and then onto the highway. First gear is really meant purely for a fast launch (I almost considered launching in 2nd), I can see how people cannot control this car. Going over some washboard pavement on the onramp, the supension is tight (which I like), but too tight, as my voice vibrates when talking to the instructor, like someone is pounding on my back with karate chops. Very much the feel of a go-cart but while wearing a blindfold -- it's really claustrophobic in there. Getting on the highway and coming up to speed, the handling is great, but tricky. Difficult to explain, but more on that later. The steering is ultra-tight. Too tight. I don't think I went more than 1/8 rotation in either direction on some decently winding highway roads. I like tight steering but Ford should have slowed it down somewhat. Doing some quick-flick left-rights the body was nice and flat, but something didn't feel quite right, like something was pushing the rear end a tad.
Then I remember what's sitting behind my right ear. The GT is a great car but the engine starts with modest beginnings. They start with the workaday Mustang 4.6 DOHC, and tweak it (I think it's bored/stroked) and supercharged. This leads to the problem. People complain that pushrod motors (such as the LS7 in the Z06) are antiquated, but OHC motors have disadvantages -- they're more complex, and taller, leading to the higher center of gravity. In the case of the GT's motor, take an already tall motor with four cams and then put a supercharger where the intake manifold usually is, and you have a high center of gravity. So the mid-engine design is great, but the engine unfortunately sits too high and leads to an element of unpredictability in the GT's handling.
Now I didn't push it hard enough to suffer the consequences, but just flicking it back and forth I could tell there was an odd pendulum effect in how the rear of the car settled. I never drove an old (pre-993) 911 but I'm suspecting it's the same phenomenon that leads to deadly handling characteristics at the limit. And the GT's reputation is certainly that it is a hard car to master, and those who underestimate it get bitten.
Pulling into a street for a u-turn, backing up was a test of faith. The tic-tac sized mirrors were about as good as a T-Rex's arms, the rear is impossible to see out of, and the side windows are minimally usable. We opened the doors to see out and it was still an exercise in faith.
Making the return trip, I explored the power band, and let me say, for all the complaining I did about the high-cog design of the motor, Ford did a great job refining it. Power delivery is smooth and linear. The same supercharged setup on a Mustang Cobra is typically very brutal, raw, and loud/whiney. The GT made me forget I was driving a supercharged car with a blue-collar engine.
In the end, it was a nice toy inspired by a great racing legend that's too hard to drive and completely impossible to live with. I have some bones to pick with Jeremy Clarkson, who owns one of these things, but more on that later.
Corvette Z06
Next up was the Corvette Z06. My, it looks good in yellow.
http://img407.imageshack.**/img407/1287/img0086do5.jpg
I've already been for a ride in one (my former boss sold his Shelby Cobra to get it) and want to make a serious run at landing one for myself, so more than anything else this was half dream car and half test drive. I knew what to expect. Getting in the cockpit, it was an easy ingress, and the cabin is open, the gauges easy to read.
http://img505.imageshack.**/img505/719/img0047xv7.jpg
One of the first things people talk about is the fit and finish, so I'll address it first. It's put together well, but it could be better. It's better than the typical GM fare (I have been driving a Pontiac Trans Am for 6 years so I'm very familiar with pleather seats and shiny cheap plastic). Not up to snuff with the other cars, but not awful. Just makes you wish they spent a little more money to cover the dash in leather. The shifter wasn't awful (once you got used to it) and the clutch was a little tricky. Taking off into the highway traffic, the view was unclutterred, the cabin open, almost a complete opposite experience from the claustrophobic GT. It felt natural to drive this 500hp supercar, I could definitely see it as a daily driver. Not hard to drive at all. And the power... such power, in any gear. The handling was good without breaking my spine, the same rough pavement that made my voice wobble in the GT was smooth sailing in the Z06. The steering wasn't as tight as I would have liked but still very repsonsive, only the slightest bit numb. But I think they got the steering mostly right. Tossing it around it felt perfectly controllable, predictable, and flat. Completely comfortable to drive and it didn't feel like it would bite me in the neck if I stepped out of line.
I really don't have much more to say about this car. For the most part, it lived up to my expectations and didn't have that many surpirses. I knew what to expect before I got behind the wheel. I'm finding that I have fewer words to say about the Z06 than I did about the GT.
Then there's the one thing that bothered me. Accelerating, in any gear, around 2000 RPM started to produce a rattle that sounded like it was coming from the passenger front tire. It sounded to me like an exhaust leak, but it could have been something loose in the engine compartment. That little rattle annoyed the hell out of me. And I found myself wondering, if I paid $70k to bring one of these home, how many of these little niggling problems would I have to endure? That's the dilemma with this car, it's such a great car at such a great price, but you know you have to live with warts. If I spent the $70k on a Cayman S instead, sure it would be less powerful and much less car, but the warts would be gone. Then again, I own a Porsche and I know how finnicky they can be, and when things go wrong they go disastrously wrong. Decisions, decisions! After all is said and done, I still want the Z06 but it won't quite be the idealistic vision I had built up in my head.
Aftermath
I'm so glad I had the chance to drive both of these cars. When all is said and done, my favorite is still the Ferrari F430. What an incredible car that is. Nothing else will ever live up to it.
Now, I have a bone to pick with Jeremy Clarkson, who as we know, has owned two Ford GTs. In S8 E2 he reviewed the Corvette Z06 and liked it, complaining only that "only works on a track". it wasn't suitable as a daily driver because the ride can "break your back", "the gearbox feels like it came from a tractor". "As something to live with every day, I'd rather have the bird flu".
The Ford GT is the bird flu, then I guess... Or more like the Plague. Having driven both back-to-back and without being biased because I own one of them, the GT is far, far more inappropriate as a daily driver for so many reasons, not the least of which are the same ones Jeremy complained about with the Z06. The ride in the GT is so much more harsh than the Z06; the shifter in the GT is far more maddenning than the Z06's. In my opinion, the Z06 is a fine daily driver and a fine track car; the GT is impossible to use as a daily driver and is a fine track car if you know how to handle it, otherwise it will kill you.
Full pictures of the day here:
http://rides.webshots.com/album/554873840slRTjl
on the corvette's interior
