2008-03-14 13:00:47
I’m proud to admit that I’m a track-time hog. One of the reasons I’m an automotive journalist is to get on the track with the latest high-performance cars. Every minute I’m on the track makes me feel a day younger—hey, it adds up.
Every November the the Motor Press Guild holds a track day at California’s Willow Springs Raceway. The manufacturers bring out their highest performing cars, and autojournos drive the bejeezus out of them for two days, including a full day on the 2.5-mile circuit, where I go back to 1968, racing a 250cc Aermacchi Harley-Davidson motorcyle, an Italian road racing chassis with Harley power. I was a 20-year-old sailor in San Diego. My equally young wife and I went to Household Finance and borrowed $450 to buy the racing bike. We told the loan officer that my father had died and we needed to fly back to Pennsylvania for his funeral.
Environmentally aware people (like me) might look at the pursuit of high performance as misguided, but no; such cars are testbeds for safety and efficiency that affect cars all the way down. And there’s been a leap in the capabilities of sports cars and sports sedans over the last few years.
On the pre-grid at Willow Springs, they lined up about two dozen of the best and fastest cars sold in America.
We could drive two laps in each car, from 9 a.m. to noon, and 1 p.m. to 3. For every minute of all 5 hours, I was either on the track driving as fast as I could within intelligent limits, or rushing from car to car like I was late for the bus. The strategy for maximum track time: jump in any car that’s available. Never wait, not even for the Viper or new Audi R8 supercar.
Here’s my Top 20. My preferences are objective and subjective, recognizing performance and engineering while factoring in my own thrill level. Not all the pics are up yet, but I’ll get there.
1. Mustang Shelby GT (drove it 4 times)
I’m in love, without a doubt. I show my true throwback colors with this choice. It’s hard to believe that the Shelby GT is made from bolt-on parts, meaning you can take your own Mustang GT and give it the Shelby’s 325 rumbling horses, its brakes and suspension, and its fantastic Hurst short-throw shifter. It’s that easy to feel the pure evolution of a ‘60s Muscle car. Even easier, go rent a Hertz Mustang GT-H.
2. Nissan Nismo 350Z (3 times)
The new 3.5-liter engine revs to a sensational 7500 rpm, while making 306 horsepower. Nismo (Nissan’s performance division) adds the suspension, brakes and aerodynamics, and yes indeed it’s track-ready, as they say. It totally inspires confidence. On the final two laps I ran the Nismo on the tail of the Shelby GT, driven by Gary Witzenburg, a racer like me--we go back to '82 in Formula Fords at Riverside. It was the best four minutes of the day, racing into the low desert sun.
3. Honda Civic Si (2 times)
At last year’s track day I drove the Civic Si so hard its brakes caught fire. I think they fixed that for the ’08 model. It does everything right. It’s an impressive achievement, for a car this small to finish on the podium in this field. Hitting 8000 rpm gets you every time, with this screaming 2.0-liter engine making 197 horsepower. Precise turn-in, without oversteer. The cloth bucket seats are great. The throw of the six-speed gearbox is too long, but I bet there’s an aftermarket fix. For $22,000 delivered, it’s the best bang for the buck I know of. It blew past the Mini Cooper S, and cornered circles around the Dodge Caliber SRT4.
4. BMW Z4M Roadster (2 times)
The Z4M felt amazingly like the Nismo350Z, although the Beemer is an inline six (3.2 liters, 330 horsepower) and the Nissan a V-6—both engines have won many awards. Revving to 7900 rpm, the Z4 took the same turns in the same gears at about the same rpm as the 350Z. The Z4 suspension was less rigid and more roadworthy, but that didn’t seem to hurt its handling on the track.
5. BMW M5 (3 times)
You know it’s a good day when a BMW M5 around Willow Springs is only your fifth favorite. I pushed this 500-horsepower V10 to the point where it twitched and wobbled a bit. The 7-speed Sequential Manual Gearbox with paddle shifters is smoother and quicker than before. I hit about 140 mph on the front straight, same as in the Mercedes E63 AMG.
6. Volkswagen R32
The reborn R32 is magic. It’s got all-wheel-drive, a 250-hp V6, and DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox), which is a clutchless manual transmission like the SMG in the M5 only smoother--because it can be, having less horsepower to handle.The DSG never fails to make smile and say, "They did it!" In this case, "they" is Audi engineers. The suspension is a bit soft for track days, but the R32 remains a wonderful unique machine.
7. Lexus IS-F
Lexus enters the light-heavyweight division of the high-performance field and takes on the BMW M3 with this new model. (Another new challenger, the Mercedes C63 AMG http://www.sammoses.com/roadtestblog-Mercedes-C63-AMGthe-first-badass-Benz-totally-built-by-AMG-4.html , was introduced in March.) It uses a 5.0-liter V8 making 413 horsepower, and an 8-speed manual automatic transmission that obeys the driver. Its bulging hood and aero nose shout Hot Rod. The IS-F handles. Would a BMW person ever switch over to Lexus?
8. Infiniti G37 Coupe (2 times)
I knew it was great when I drove the G35 Coupe at the launch in Seattle, and it’s gotten even better, with flawless track manners, and a solid six-speed gearbox or worthy manual automatic. For my second two-lap stint in the car, I turned off the electronic stability control, to see if it was balanced as well as it felt. It got a little looser and loved it. I gave this car my Samo Award for Car of the Year, in the column I wrote for the Portland Tribune, until they killed the car section for lack of advertising. It's a free city newspaper, and cars aren't part of the city's culture. That's one of the reasons I love it. I’ll continue the Samo Awards on this Road Test Blog.
9. Audi S5
Last year my favorite car was the Audi RS4, using a 420-horsepower version of Audi’s 4.2-liter V8. The S5 uses that engine, detuned to 354 horsepower. It’s compromised from the RS, for the sake of comfort and civility. Intended to be driven in the real world. Still works well on the track. The quattro all-wheel-drive system is worth a lot.
10. Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG
It’s supposed to be an M5-beater, with its 6.2-liter V8 making 507 horsepower to edge the M5 in 0-60 acceleration. But it can’t match the M5 anywhere else. It’s a shame the 7-speed manual automatic transmission shifts itself. And why is the tachometer so tiny? It’ll take time to get used to the automatic bolsters that goose you in the corners. It’s a car for power junkies, not technical drivers. But it hit 140 at Willow, so I’ll take it.
Second Ten:
11. BMW Alpina B7 (supercharged)
12. Mustang GT 500 (supercharged)
13. Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 (Hemi-charged)
14. Jaguar XKR Coupe (supercharged)
15. Lexus IS 350
16. Jaguar XJR (supercharged)
17. Mini Cooper S (turbocharged)
18. Nissan Sentra SER
19. Dodge Caliber SRT4 (turbocharged)
20. Cadillac CTS
Two new Audis probably would have been in the top 5, if I had gotten them on the track: the R8, a mid-engine supercar; and the S6, with a sensational V10. I had driven a lot of laps in the R8 at Infineon Raceway in October, and it was both dazzling and disappointing—the balance was beautiful, but the exhaust note was less than it should have been, and the gated shifter clanked.
As for the S6, I got about 40 miles on isolated back roads around the track, located in the Mojave Desert. It has the best bucket seats in the universe, and the feel of its V10 is in a league of its own. It only makes 435 horsepower compared to the 500 horsepower from the BMW M5’s V10, but the Audi feels both more visceral and higher tech.
I’m looking forward to the 2008 Motor Press Guild http://www.motorpressguild.org/ track day at Willow.
Sam Moses
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