What do you think is the coolest car ever?

[Brian SD]

For the record, I posted the Toyota 2000 GT like 3 pages back and no one cared. For the record, that's all. EDIT: My bad, I didn't post pictures, I just wrote it out. Whoops

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by briancl

I've thought this was the coolest car ever when I heard about it a few months back, but I was just reminded when I watched Sunday's new Top Gear. It's the platform of Subaru's R2, with the guts of a Prodrive tuned STi. And it could be built and sold for about 70,000 USD or so. Unfortunately, only test cars will be built. But the car exists!



http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...hp&carnum=2653

http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-20...A-1024x768.jpg

Hey briancl, do you know if Andreas Zapatinas, the former Alfa Romeo designer who is now with Subaru, was involved with this project?

 

[Full Canvas]

Originally Posted by Brian SD

For the record, I posted the Toyota 2000 GT like 3 pages back and no one cared. For the record, that's all.

EDIT: My bad, I didn't post pictures, I just wrote it out. Whoops

Duly noted.

Did you ever see all the 2000 GTs at Kearny Mesa Toyota? I'm not sure if the little collection of five remain there or not. As I mentioned in my post (#99), five of them sat beneath an awning for several years.

This place is like Playboy Magazine. Nobody reads. They only look at the photos!

_______________________________________

 

[Brian SD]

Originally Posted by Full Canvas

Duly noted.

Did you ever see all the 2000 GTs at Kearny Mesa Toyota? I'm not sure if the little collection of five remain there or not. As I mentioned in my post (#99), five of them sat beneath an awning for several years.

This place is like Playboy Magazine. Nobody reads. They only look at the photos!

_______________________________________

No I haven't. I drive by that dealership every day but I rarely ever stop by one to just look around. Are they there in the show room? Perhaps I can make a stop tomorrow on my way up to Mitsuwa.

 

[Full Canvas]

Originally Posted by Brian SD

No I haven't. I drive by that dealership every day but I rarely ever stop by one to just look around. Are they there in the show room? Perhaps I can make a stop tomorrow on my way up to Mitsuwa.

The cars were on the side street across from the Veterniary Hospital. They belonged to the dealership owner. A portable awning was erected and the cars sat beneath the canvas shade.

Since the dealership remodeled several years ago, I'm not sure where the cars are located. In fact, I don't even know if the same fellow owns the dealership any longer. But, it was really quite a sight to see them all lined-up there outside, under canvas, and simply behind a chain link fence without any special protection. Of course, few (if any) people knew what they cars were.
________________________________

 

[briancl]

Originally Posted by skalogre

Hey briancl, do you know if Andreas Zapatinas, the former Alfa Romeo designer who is now with Subaru, was involved with this project?

No.. it was designed by Peter Stevens..

P2's exterior and interior styling were created by Peter Stevens, who has worked with Prodrive on numerous road car and motorsport projects. His team produced a full scale clay model of the car to develop the styling and from this P2's composite body panels were formed.

Peter Steven's is known also for designing the McLaren F1, Lotus Espirit, and Subaru STi (the body style that predates Zapatinas design.. PS = 04/05, AZ = 06)

 

[Huntsman]

This always worked for me:

Regards, Huntsman

 

[johnapril]

The Thing

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by briancl

I've thought this was the coolest car ever when I heard about it a few months back, but I was just reminded when I watched Sunday's new Top Gear. It's the platform of Subaru's R2, with the guts of a Prodrive tuned STi. And it could be built and sold for about 70,000 USD or so. Unfortunately, only test cars will be built. But the car exists!


It's not possible to sell that car as an everyday car. It utilizes an anti-lag mechanism, which keeps the turbo boost always on, and while it works well and has an awesome sound when it kicks on, it severely degrades the turbo blades and usually runs the engine much harder than normal. This is fine on Rally cars, which oftentimes get their turbo blades replaced every couple of races, but on an everyday car, which doesn't have a support team of mechanics behind it, it wouldn't be too feasible.

However, the AWD split differential system is very cool, and can be applied to other cars.

Jon.

 

[briancl]

I still think its the coolest car

Originally Posted by imageWIS

It's not possible to sell that car as an everyday car. It utilizes an anti-lag mechanism, which keeps the turbo boost always on, and while it works well and has an awesome sound when it kicks on, it severely degrades the turbo blades and usually runs the engine much harder than normal. This is fine on Rally cars, which oftentimes get their turbo blades replaced every couple of races, but on an everyday car, which doesn't have a support team of mechanics behind it, it wouldn't be too feasible.
Of course. Reliability aside there's another, taller hurdle. Anti-Lag is generally implemented by marsupialing the timing to extreme amounts during low boost moments (standing still or off-throttle) to open the exhaust valvles early and let some of the pre-combusted air/fuel mix into the exhaust manifold. This unburned fuel pretty much precludes any possibility of passing cold start factory emissions testing in the States.

However, the AWD split differential system is very cool, and can be applied to other cars.

This is pretty much incorrect. Not that you're wrong, but Top Gear is wrong. Just like everyone who quickly glances at the DCCD (Driver Controlled Center Differential) on the Subaru STi. Everyone assumes torque ratio can be changed; however torque split is constant and never changes. The locking ratio of the center diff can be changed from fully open to fully locked with 4 or 5 other settings in between. Torque is always 35/65 f/r (41/59 for 06+).

Of course, how torque is transferred between two shafts spinning at different speeds can be controlled instantaneously while driving, but this is definitely not the same as controlling the actual torque split, which is mechanically decided at design time to be 35/65 or whatever.

If you listen carefully to the Prodrive Engineer on Top Gear discussing how the diff works, you can assume he is discussing how the standard DCCD works utilizing steering angle (new on 06+), throttle position, yaw angle, etc etc.. nothing new there. His brief synopsis of the actual workings of the differential describe nothing new with regards to torque split.

This topic has been discussed at great length.. here a couple quotes from people who know what they are talking about..

The DCCD does not alter torque split. Torque split is a fixed property of the planetary center differential. For any DCCD setting it will be 41/59 (except for lock, which kinda renders the idea of torque split meaningless).

There are two limited slip devices in the 2006 center differential -- a mechanical one, with no means of control, and the DCCD one

It's not that the system waits before intervening, really -- it always acts immediately. It's how much of the torque from the faster rotating shaft is transferred to the slower one.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by briancl

I still think its the coolest car

Of course. Reliability aside there's another, taller hurdle. Anti-Lag is generally implemented by marsupialing the timing to extreme amounts during low boost moments (standing still or off-throttle) to open the exhaust valvles early and let some of the pre-combusted air/fuel mix into the exhaust manifold. This unburned fuel pretty much precludes any possibility of passing cold start factory emissions testing in the States.

This is pretty much incorrect. Not that you're wrong, but Top Gear is wrong. Just like everyone who quickly glances at the DCCD (Driver Controlled Center Differential) on the Subaru STi. Everyone assumes torque ratio can be changed; however torque split is constant and never changes. The locking ratio of the center diff can be changed from fully open to fully locked with 4 or 5 other settings in between. Torque is always 35/65 f/r (41/59 for 06+).

Of course, how torque is transferred between two shafts spinning at different speeds can be controlled instantaneously while driving, but this is definitely not the same as controlling the actual torque split, which is mechanically decided at design time to be 35/65 or whatever.

If you listen carefully to the Prodrive Engineer on Top Gear discussing how the diff works, you can assume he is discussing how the standard DCCD works utilizing steering angle (new on 06+), throttle position, yaw angle, etc etc.. nothing new there. His brief synopsis of the actual workings of the differential describe nothing new with regards to torque split.

This topic has been discussed at great length.. here a couple quotes from people who know what they are talking about..

Well, I never claimed to be an engineer.

Jon.

 

[visionology]

Good looking may be debatable, but definitely cool in my opinion.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Originally Posted by visionology

Good looking may be debatable, but definitely cool in my opinion.

Crazy, it has no wheels or engine, instead, the front-load washing machines on the side of the car open and release a hundred overgrown mutant bees that are tethered to the car with dental floss. This is the propulsion system, and is measured in mutant bee power instead of horsepower. It's the future of eco-friendly travel. You have to steer by opening the doors, which act as an air brake, thusly increasing the drag on two sets of bees and making them slower on the turning side of the car.

 

[visionology]

Wheels are soooo over rated.

 

[LabelKing]

The Bertone and Pininfarina cars are all nice: