Bosch European Motors
I drove the 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged LWB last week around New York, and I have nothing to report. No arguments with garage attendants over whether or not they 鈥渉ave room鈥?to keep the big rig for the weekend. No inter-car gestures with highway rowdies about who cut off whom on a blind spot along the FDR Drive. No sweat involving the long-shot parallel park. It鈥檚 a real problem when you鈥檙e trying to write a car review. It鈥檚 also admirable, considering that this Rover is an expensive tank. The LWB on this Range Rover stands for 鈥渓ong wheel base,鈥?123 inches long to be exact鈥?0 inches longer than a Porsche Cayenne. It鈥檚 very nearly as heavy as the 5,800-poundCadillac Escalade, which is the largest in the class. In fact, its rectangular body lines are about as low-key as you鈥檒l get in a six-figure SUV, depending on the color combinations you choose (mine was 鈥淐auseway Grey鈥?outside, with an ebony interior and trim). Its well-tightened chassis and instantaneous steering response make driving it less about elbowing a bull around a china shop than about smoking those truck drivers eyeballing you from across the stoplight.
115,000 Porsche Cayenne Turbo. If you鈥檙e looking for something that can hold its own around a racetrack but won鈥檛 embarrass you on a muddy overland expedition, this鈥檒l do. Sure, those others will do, too鈥攁nd well. Pumping through its eight-speed paddle-shifters feels like commanding a heavy souped-up speedboat. You hear the power initiate in the center of the machine then feel it propel everything forward. If there鈥檚 one thing you can say about the Range Rover Supercharged, it鈥檚 that it instills supreme confidence among its drivers. One of the things I like most about the Rover Supercharged is that from behind the wheel I felt incredibly protected. The car comes standard with front, side, and head curtain airbags, side-door impact beams, power-operated child locks on all doors and windows, front and rear park distance control, rear view cameras, and an anti-trip feature on the windows and sunroof. Failing all that, the 24-hour Land Rover road recovery service comes included.
It has permanent four-wheel drive and hill-descent control, which I found particularly useful on some of the steeper inclines in the East Village's more hidden parking garages. You probably won鈥檛 much notice the enhanced air suspension system with multiple modes (access, standard, off-road, and extended height) in city driving, but it鈥檚 a bonus that places this SUV in off-road-capable territory, despite its luxury pedigree. There鈥檙e plenty of other fun things to get, too. You might as well go all-in. 1,560, you get a Driver Assist package that includes a lane departure warning system that can identify street signs, along with a system specifically developed for flawless parallel parking. These run just slightly more expensive than the options you鈥檇 find in some of the aforementioned competitors, but I recommend getting them because otherwise, the interior of the Rover can seem a bit stark. Plus it completes the idea that when you drive this thing, you鈥檙e untouchable. 63,000 Range Rover Sport. You spend the extra dough on this version for the extra space, not for anything particularly exclusive behind the wheel. That said, it has the well-made feel of maximum, premium utility. I loved using those tailgates. They open up to an enormous trunk space adequate for weeks' worth of jet set caliber luggage, but they also allow for civilized living (nothing so crass as slamming the trunk here). Plus, they鈥檙e beautiful to watch operate. I loaded a massive cow-hide into mine. It鈥檚 a long story. Those doors say a lot about the nature of this bull, come to think of it. The Range Rover Supercharged is big and bulky, yes, but it has an innate grace. It remembers its manners.
The central sports exhaust at the rear features black chrome-plated, twin tailpipes. Exterior colours include Black, Guards Red, Racing Yellow and White as well as Carrara White, Jet Black and GT Silver metallic. Porsche is also offering Lava Orange and Miami Blue as special colours. The Sport Chrono performance package included as standard for the 718 T offers Normal, Sport, Sport Plus and Individual driving modes, which can be selected using a switch on the steering wheel. Some of the weight saving has been achieved by going back to basics. Orders are being take for both now. Sport mode activates more dynamic characteristics in both the engine management system and the accelerator, including an evocative automatic throttle-blip when down-shifting with the manual gears. Sport Plus boosts this dynamic response even further. The T models have been created for 鈥榠ncreased precision and stability during acceleration, braking or dynamic cornering鈥?said Porsche noting: 鈥橳his is achieved automatically by combining the advantages of fixed and flexible gearbox mountings.
Digging In The Crates has now reached our stockpile of old CAR magazines. CAR magazines, not car magazines. CAR magazine was launched in 1962 under the wordy moniker of Small Car and Mini Owner incorporating Sporting Driver . CAR magazine back in the 70's and 80's was a bit of a firebrand; it pulled few punches and took few prisoners; they said what was on their mind and the motor industry frequently didn't like it. They complained all the time, withdrew their adverts, and even stopped CAR getting hold of test cars on occasions. CAR was far ahead of other motoring magazines for the quality of its content. It was a magazine that pioneered a lot ideas that are now commonplace; in the '60s they pioneered the 'Car of The Year' (COTY) competition that was subsequently decided by motoring journalists on a Europe wide basis. CAR was also renowned for its 'scoop' photos and mockup pictures and took delight in the irritation it caused to car manufacturers by revealing significant new models ahead of time. Thanks to the talents of spy shot photographer Hans G. Lehmann, they were almost unparalleled in publishing spy shots of car manufacturers new wares still in development; another area where CAR innovated. Sadly, although CAR magazine still exists, it is but a pale shadow of its former self. Bu anyway, let us not tell sad stories of the death of kings, but celebrate them in full pomp. Witness this article from the April 1984 issue, about 1980's supercar icons (all ironically launched early in the 70's), namely the Ferrari BB512i, Porsche 911 Turbo, Aston Martin Vantage and Lamborghini Countach LP500.