Following last month's meaner and greener 911 in traditional rear-drive form, Porsche has introduced the four-wheel drive Carrera 4 variant in standard and 鈥楽鈥?guises. CAR has just driven a Carrera 4S with Porsche鈥檚 new 鈥楶DK鈥?twin-clutch gearbox, carbon-backed sports bucket seats and the new PASM sports suspended chassis to see if this is the best 911 Carrera yet. With typical Porsche predictability, it鈥檚 the new technology in a slightly wider body, correct? Yes. The essential Carrera 4 recipe remains the same. That鈥檚 to say, the body from the Turbo version with its 44mm wider hips over the rear axle, now stuffed with the all-new flat six engines: a 3.6-litre for the regular 鈥?鈥?and 3.8 litres for the 鈥?S鈥? These units represent a significant step forward for Porsche, with around 40 percent less moving parts and 6kg trimmed off their bulk. What about the other upgrades with the new car - has that been carried over into the 鈥?鈥? What about the four-wheel drive system - surely they鈥檝e been working on that too?
The 4S is effectively now the son-of-Turbo as it gains that car鈥檚 electronically controlled four-wheel drive system (PTM). Instead of the old viscous coupling for the centre differential there is an electromagnetically controlled multi plate clutch, with a 22 percent limited slip differential now fitted as standard on the rear axle. You can also tell a 鈥?鈥?by the return of a Porsche favourite - the red translucent 鈥榮trip鈥?that spans between the rear lights. So how does it drive? Select 鈥榙rive鈥? breathe on the throttle and the 4S attains a rapid cruising speed with little more than a murmur and slur from engine or gearbox. The steering is weightier than the 鈥?鈥? and the car feels rock steady on the road, inspiring tremendous confidence. You can mooch around like this all day, and despite the sporting focus of this particular car, it isn鈥檛 uncomfortable. And that gearbox really is so clever. Great, but this is a 911 - give it some throttle!
In CAR's August 2008 issue we compared the new Carrera 2 3.6 with the revised 4.7 Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and found there was nothing between them in terms of outright performance. Against this 4S the Aston wouldn鈥檛 have a chance, and despite the carbon-ceramic brakes, seats and suspension upgrades, it鈥檚 worth noting that the 4S still costs less then the Aston. Porsche claims its car will accelerate from rest to 60mph in just 4.3 seconds (with launch control fitted) and that is produces 380bhp, but to be honest, both numbers feel subjectively rather conservative. So are there any downsides? Well, although the gearbox is technically brilliant, the steering wheel selectors are unsatisfying in their operation and we maintain the selection of gears up and down should be the reverse of what it is. The new 鈥楽鈥?engine has a harsh, gritty note that only sounds tuneful when you鈥檙e really going for it and the steering seems to have slightly less to say. And in this particular form it鈥檚 the kind of car you have to drive hard before you expose its character.
The 2015 BMW i8 is a car that can't help but draw a crowd everywhere it goes. Let's take a look at 10 things you need to know about the 2015 BMW i8. The 2015 BMW i8 isn't the first supercar to have emerged from Munich's design studios, but you'll have to take a considerable step back in time to find the original world-beater offered by the brand. That same out-there styling is a huge part of the 2015 BMW i8's package. The car is a slowly-melting sculpture of glass and metal, showing off an aerodynamic shape adorned with details that are simply not found on other BMW models. Although the BMW i8 is certainly a sleek car, it also features sharp edges, numerous creases, and a geometrically-inspired profile that is unique in the BMW family. Throw in its scissor doors and a cockpit that wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi spaceship and you've got a design-first halo car that has buffed up BMW's image across the board. The 2015 BMW i8 represents the first plug-in hybrid sports car to have been built by the company.
The 2015 BMW i8 provides buyers with an interesting take on all-wheel drive. The BMW i8's gas engine is exclusively attached to the rear wheels, which means that the front wheels are motivated by the electric motor that we mentioned as being incorporated into the axle assembly. In regular driving, operation is transparent: the three-cylinder engine makes use of a six-speed automatic transmission, while the electric motor is managed by a special two-speed gearbox to keep it in sync. You wouldn't want to take the plugin-hybrid off-road, but the system does offer better than average grip on wet roads. The 2015 BMW i8 features the kind of performance one would expect from its future-racer looks and German engineering pedigree. With 420 lb-ft of torque on tap, fed through an all-wheel drive system, acceleration off of the line happens to be the i8's specialty. 60-mph arrives from a standing start in just 4.5 seconds, which is not all that far off from what you could expect from one of BMW's M cars.