La Dolce Veloce

Just in time for you Christmas-shopping gazillionaires is this list from Forbes magazine of the world’s fastest cars. True car nuts won’t be surprised by the list, with such beats as the Bugatti Veyron, Koenigsegg CCX, and my favorite, the Pagani Zonda F.

I came across a cool computer generated car video called ‘Overdrive’, a race between an NSX and Diablo. The course reminds me of the video game ‘stunts’ – loops, etc. Neat video, you can find it here.

Jeremy Clarkson, one of the hosts of the TV show Top Gear, is without a doubt my favorite automotive journalist of all time. His latest review is of the Bugatti Veyron, and has some interesting tidbits of information, such as in the R&D phase, they found out that the side mirrors were generating a significant amount of downforce! You can read the whole review at the Times Online.

Sorry for the lack of news this past week on La Dolce Veloce. I was offline, exploring various beaches in Kauai. About the only automotive-related thing I did that week was to do an exhaustive road test of the Chevy Cobalt, but I can sum that up by saying that car hardly even deserves mention on a blog dedicated to fast cars (though for what it is, I found it quite decent and was pleasantly surprised at how well it did on the rutted, muddy back roads on the island – proving that the ultimate off road vehicle is…a rental car). I missed a heck of a week with the Tokyo motor show, too, and will attempt to get caught up in the off chance that you didn’t hear the news elsewhere already…

If you don’t already watch the TV show Top Gear, you really owe it to yourself to check out an episode (you can find links to bit-torrent files of it here). It’s a fantastic British car show, with some hosts that have that wonderfully British sense of humor and make the show FUN to watch, rather than the boring dribble you’ll find on almost any American car show. But anyway, Jeremy Clarkson is one of the show’s hosts (probably the most popular of the three), and in his usual writing style, has reviewed the Ford Mustang in an article printed in the Sunday Times. He does a great job of pointing out some of the inadequacies in Ford’s design, providing a nice counterpoint to the generally glowing reviews I’ve seen from the American press. One quote typical of the tone of the article:

“But by European standards this car is rubbish. Its engine has wasteful, unused capacity that turns fuel into nothing, it couldn’t get from one end of a country lane to the other without running out of brakes and it handles like a newborn donkey.”

Owners of many hybrid vehicles (such as the Toyota Prius) have been surprised to find that their real-world mileage is not nearly as good as what the window sticker advertises. The car manufacturers aren’t to blame here; at fault are EPA test procedures that do not accurately test hybrid vehicles. Responding to this criticism, the EPA has announced plans to change their testing to better reflect real world conditions (such as higher speeds, colder weather, and greater use of accessories like air conditioning).

The new Citroen C4 VTS is shaping up to be a nice, sporty little hatchback. The styling is reminiscent of the early 80′s Honda CRX, a car that drew a loyal following from enthusiasts seeking its nimble handling and decent performance. The September 2005 edition of Sports Car International magazine has a nice review of the C4 VTS (page 28). Vital stats: 177hp, 149 ft-lbs torque, 0-60 in 8.3 seconds, priced a few thousand less than a VW GTi. It’s a nice little car, there haven’t been many French cars lately that appealed to me but this one seems like a great around-town car. (AutoExpress review)