>You can handle it ... maybe>2015 >650S<

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Jun 20, 2014 | 07:35 AM

BeachBumMike

Thread Starter

Joined: Dec 2005

Posts: 16,095

From: SpaceCoast, Florida

>You can handle it ... maybe>2015 >650S<

First Drive: 2015 McLaren 650S

You can handle it ... maybe. What

By Chris Harris June 18, 2014 / Photos by McLaren

VIEW 12 PHOTOS
VIEW SPECS

At first McLaren told us that the 650S would sit above the 12C (formerly known as the MP4-12C). A week later, it announced that the 650S would replace the 12C altogether.
The 650S may appear to be just a face-lifted 12C, but it's something more: new pistons, new front-suspension top mounts, increased spring rates, and rabid acceleration that dispatches the claimed 0–100-mph sprint in a scarcely believable 5.7 seconds. Yet the conversation will inevitably focus on the styling changes, because they'll have the greatest effect on sales.
It isn't my job to tell you what looks good or bad, but I have always found the 12C's subtle appearance pretty appealing. The 650S's aggressive visage further supports that opinion.
READ THIS: Brace yourselves, a track-only McLaren P1 GTR is coming
The fundamentals are pure 12C: an identical carbon structure that weighs just 165 lbs and is stiffer than any steel or aluminum equivalent; hydraulically linked suspension (or "ProActive chassis" in McLaren chairman/chief whiz Ron Dennis-speak), supported this time by springs that are 22 percent stiffer up front, 37 percent stiffer in back. McLaren says the damping has been retuned so as to not lose the lovely rough-road suppleness that separated the 12C from its rivals. As with all new road-going supercars, there's also a claim of vastly improved downforce—24 percent more than the 12C—that we'll never be able to verify.

McLarenWhat's it like to drive? The most unforgivably glib comment someone in my position can make is to state that a car is about as fast as a driver can handle. Well, guess what? The 650S really is about as fast as you can handle. Is it just me, or has the hierarchy of supercar straight-line seniority been sublimated here? The 650S is likely quicker than a Lamborghini Aventador, though it's merely a Ferrari 458 rival. It gets to 124 mph a full second sooner than an F1, McLaren says. That's silly fast.
READ THIS: It's virtually impossible to total a McLaren F1
But then, the 12C was already silly fast. Calibration changes result in more torque lower in the rev range and 500 lb-ft at its peak reading to work alongside the 641 horses. It's certainly a touch less laggy below 3500 rpm, but the flat-plane V8 still feels heavily turbocharged. The noise is good, if a little synthetic, but blowing hard above 5000 rpm, the 650S cedes only to full-blown hypercars.
Even so, it's not a quantum jump over the crazy-fast 12C. After all, it's only another 25 hp and 57 lb-ft.

McLarenThe chassis is sharper though, especially in the way the electronics differentiate between Normal, Sport, and Track modes. Many of the lessons learned during the development of McLaren's range-topping P1 have been applied here, and it shows. The 650S is more mobile, more fun, less keen to only carve the straightest, most efficient line. Larger front tires (versus the 12C) give a sharper turn-in, and clever use of the rear brakes to replicate the effect of a locking differential makes for more progressive sliding behavior than you'd expect from something with an open diff.
The cabin is mostly identical to the 12C's: high quality, and with exceptionally clear gauge faces. The excellent carbon bucket seats are an $8000 option. Carbon-ceramic brakes are standard. The 458 remains a more immediate and communicative device, but the 650S runs it closer for interaction than the 12C managed and offers a turn of speed the Italian machine cannot match.
READ THIS: Chris Harris on the McLaren 650S

Jun 20, 2014 | 08:24 AM

BeachBumMike

Thread Starter

Joined: Dec 2005

Posts: 16,095

From: SpaceCoast, Florida

>Best or Better Bang 4 your $<
2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

SPECIFICATIONS:

year:2015make:ChevroletModel:CorvetteEngine:V8 (Est.)Transmission:seven-speed manualHorsepower @ RPM:650 @ 6400 (Est.)Torque @ RPM:650 @ 3600 (Est.)Displacement:6.2 L (Est.)0-60 time:3.4 sec. (Est.)Top Speed:200 mph (Est.)

Posted on 06.6.2014 11:00 by Mark McNabb +18The Corvette hit showrooms in 1953 with a 150-cubic-inch six-pot under its hood and a 10-plus-second 0-to-60-mph time. It was no speed demon, but it was the foundation that the greatness that is the Corvette was build upon. The C1 Corvette was also the last time we saw a production model without pop-up headlights before the C6 generation debuted in 2005. In 2014, the C7 and its wild, European styling hit the market, giving Ferrari and other premium brands a reason to check out what’s going on in America. Following that up was the Z06 in 2015 that made all the Euro supercars stand up and take notice.

With the new 2014 Corvette Stingray

already in showrooms, we all knew that we were going to soon see a more

powerful

version. And now that has become a reality, as Chevrolet revealed the potent 2015 Corvette Z06 at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show.
The Corvette Z06

will keep enthusiasts happy until the the new ZR1 model hits the market, if it ever finds its way onto the market.

Just like the previous Z06

, the 2015 model, will be offered with a more aggressive exterior look, a more

powerful engine

, sport suspension and a new, high-performance brake system. General Motors is also offering an optional Z07 kit that will transform the new Corvette Z06 will deliver unprecedented levels of aerodynamic downforce - in fact the best in any GM model ever.

Updated 06/06/2014: Chevrolet officially confirmed today that the 2015 Corvette Z06 is rated at 650

horsepower

and 650 pound-feet of torque - which represents a 29 percent increase on the output level and 40 percent more torque. Also, the company confirmed that the Z06 goes on sale in the fourth quarter of 2014. Full details on the engine after the jump.
Click past the jump to read more about the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.
Continue Reading

Last edited by BeachBumMike; Jun 20, 2014 at 08:27 AM.