Performance car choices circa £30k

March 3rd, 2010

Having been firmly in the BMW M3 corner for a number of years, I fancy a change. What I’m after is not just performance, looks and excellent build quality, but good resale value, long service intervals, minimal known manufacturer faults and something unique about the car. Of course, I am sticking German!

So, the current line up includes: -
BMW M3 (E46 CSL)
3.2 litre straight six with around 360 bhp, fantastic handling, acceleration but not very comfortable but only available with an SMG box.

BMW M6
5 litre V10 with 507 bhp, comfortable, good looking, high quality interior but looks boring standard and have heard of issues with the vanos and again SMG box.
M6 on BBS LM's from the M5 Board forum


BMW Z4M Coupe
3.2 litre straight six with 340 bhp (same engine as E46 M3), 2 seater, real sports car feel, fantastic handling, available with a manual. No complaints really, a bit more noise would be nice as can be said from the E46 M3,

Mercedes SL55 AMG
5.4 litre V8 with 500 bhp, amazing acceleration noise (sounds like thunder!), good looks, very comfortable but Mercedes build quality which includes issues with wheel sensors, interior trim rattle, pumps and very minor parts. I could live with this for the noise alone.
Carlsson tuned SL55

Porsche 911 (964 turbo)
3.3 or 3.6 litre engines ranging in power from 330 bhp – 380 bhp, phenominal road presence (Bad Boys film), little known faults with the car but you sit very close to the windsreen and in right hand drive, sit a little sideways.

Porsche 911 (993 C2s, C4s or turbo)
3.6 S engines with 285 bhp and the turbo with 380 bhp, last of the air cooled 911’s and prices seem very stable to on the increase. Not much interior differences to the 964 but everything feels very well made and nearly over engineered – certainly not a complaint.
993 Carrera S


Porsche 911 (996 GT3 or Turbo)
3.6 litre 380 bhp (GT3), 420 bhp (turbo), 3.6 litre engines of similar design to the 993 engines and therefore no engine issues. Not a fan of 996 interior quality or the over sized head lights but at current prices these cars offer alot for the money.
996 GT3

Porsche 911 (997 C2s)
3.8 litre 380 bhp, best looking 911 in my view with very good interior quailty and finish – feels like the old air cooled days of over engineering. I hear some problems with early Carrera S engines on Pistonheads that suffer similar problems to the 996.
997 Carrera S

There is certainly, good reasons to stick with the E46 M3 or move to the E90 as I’ve never had any problems but I do fancy a change.

Any thoughts or other recommendations welcome.

Posted in Car Reviews | 1 Comment »

F1 2010

January 26th, 2010

The team that I suspect will receive the most press world wide leading up to the first race is Mercedes GP – http://www.mercedes-gp.com

Not only do they have Ross Brawn, they also have Michael Schumacher, albeit now 41, he is reported to be in better shape than ever for this year. He is not back just to have a seat again, Schumacher’s only concern will be the world championship! Partnered with Nico Rosberg, it is officially England vs Germany according to the papers. Have they forgotten Ferrari still exist?

Mercedes GP F1 Car


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Goodwood FoS 2010 – VIP

November 27th, 2009

GSO welcomes you to Goodwood!

http://www.gso.co.uk/motorsport.html

Three action packed days:

  • Friday       2nd July
  • Saturday   3rd July
  • Sunday     4th July

VIP Tables

The Festival of Speed is now the biggest motoring garden party in the world, attracting film stars, rock stars and royalty to the beautiful grounds of Goodwood House. You will see the latest Formula One cars and their superstar drivers, as well as the greatest legends of decades gone by.

The Festival of Speed is a fantastic place to do business, to entertain and reward your clients and customers.

There is simply nothing like it anywhere else in the world.

Mingle

THE ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE, new for 2010 is a bespoke experience created to ensure you get the very best out of your day. Based in the Gurney Pavilion, you will be able to entertain 30 people and enjoy all the privileges of being one of our VIP guests, including enhanced menus and wines, your own private viewing and chill out area, VIP shuttle service and wi-fi for your laptops. The Goodwood House Butler will ensure you have everything you need and a Goodwood Event Planner will co-ordinate your day including theming the pavilion and branding opportunities. You will also enjoy free transfers to the Land Rover and Porsche action arenas, a guided tour of the paddock, advertising in the programme and visits from star drivers. It doesn’t get any better.


HILL and GURNEY PAVILIONS offer a classic entertaining experience with any combination from a table for two in the restaurant, a table for 10 in a shared pavilion to your own private pavilion for
30 guests and upwards. Whatever your choice, you will enjoy a delicious three-course lunch and have magnificent views right onto the track.

LIBRARY LAWN is offered exclusively to our hospitality guests on Friday and Saturday. Entertain in a traditional marquee, or sit out on the secluded lawns away from the crowds. Library Lawn offers tables of 2 to 12 and is perfect for private or corporate entertaining.

A short walk from here takes you to your private grandstand at the Crossroads corner where you will have a great view of the cars and motorcycles on the track.

Enjoy

Whatever entertaining option you have chosen, all guests, valued clients, customers and friends will receive the following:

Light breakfast on arrival
Champagne reception
Three-course lunch with 1/2 a bottle of wine per person
Beer and soft drinks throughout the day
Afternoon tea
Admission tickets
Reserved car parking label
Event programme and Goodwood Radio earpiece
Prices for each entertaining experience are per person and exclusive of VAT

  • THE ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE Price available on request
  • HILL AND GURNEY   £520 per person
  • LIBRARY LAWN       £420 per person

BOOKING INFORMATION

For more information, to check availability or to make a booking please call our hospitality team on 01403 753178 or email events@gso.co.uk

A day at the Festival of Speed is the perfect way to entertain friends, clients and customers. The Golf & Sporting Occasions team is dedicated to helping you get the very best out of the excitement and spectacle that is so often described as the ‘greatest show on earth’.


Make it a date in your diary for the summer of 2010.

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End of Season Grand Prix Event

November 6th, 2009

Powered by Mercedes-Benz Live, the Brooklands brand experience center will be hosting the End of Season Grand Prix Event on Sunday 8th November. Four tickets have been past to FastGerman.com – a big thank you from us!

Pictures will be uploaded after the weekend and can be viewed from the homepage.

Mercedes-Benz World F1 Event


Special appearances from Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen and the Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes Grand Prix car

Driving action from the Brawn GP team

Special appearances from David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen

DTM driving action from the Mercedes-Benz Team

Live action from the Formula 3 Euro Series

Live interviews with the Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes Grand Prix and Brawn GP Teams

Autograph sessions

Live outdoor action on the tracks

Fun driving activities for all the family including AMG hot laps, kids driving, off-roading and blindfold tests

Videos of the day

Posted in Events | 1 Comment »

Ruf Porsche 911 electric (eRuf)

October 15th, 2009

Well the times are a changing as they say, many a Porsche fan will acknowledge the last proper 911 as the 993 model due to the fact it was air cooled. The 996 isn’t that popular in the styling front with the oversized headlights and numb steering but the 997 seems to have pulled back the majority with the original 911 style lights and some improvements on the handling front. Those of you who like your German tuning companies such as Hamann, Dinan and Ruf will know these are the ultimate in performance upgrades. So why on earth have Ruf produced an electric 997?! The name appears to be something along the lines of eRuf Greenster, Bon Choice…

Walking to Tower Bridge, London on 13/10/09 I was suprised to see a dark green 911 with what looked like a cheap, clear plastic convertible roof pinned in place, German plates and a film crew. After a search on the net I’ve found some more info: -

eRuf Greenster 997


“This isn’t just some farfetched concept as RUF full intends to start selling its electric vehicle as early as next year.

The electric powertrain, called eDrive, was developed by technology company Siemens and consists of an integrated electric motor and generator, electronic control module, and a lithium-ion battery array. In the Greenster, the powertrain is rated at 362hp (270kW) and 700lb-ft (950Nm) of torque and is mated to an automatic gearbox with only forward and reverse gears. The entire vehicles weighs in at 1,695kg and can accelerate to 100km/h from rest in just five seconds. Top speed meanwhile, is a claimed 320km/h.”

Posted in Porsche | 4 Comments »

What are Mercedes up to

September 16th, 2009

So Mercedes think they can produce more exotic, exciting, exhilarating and better accelerating cars than their German rivals do they?

Well lets take a look at the latest efforts from Merc: -

The fabulous Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has a 6.3 litre V8 engine which delivers 571 BHP and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. This monumentous partnership translates into chest crushing acceleration from 0 – 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. This performance is matched with a stunning body and of course, Gullwing doors.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG


You may have also noticed the latest track prepared SL keeping the F1 cars at bay on the safety car laps. A volcanic roar that perhaps the road version doesn’t have, but you can have the same looks and similar performance.

Mercedes-Benz SL F1 Pace Car

Mercedes really is on form this year, I would put them above BMW and Audi in terms of looks and performance but not quite sure if the handling is there yet. There is a sense of the traditional Mercedes-Benz comfort element retained with automatic boxes fitted even in their sports models.

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Porsche best moments

August 27th, 2009

The latest news I read from Porsche is all to do with their hopes of buying Volkswagen, then getting into too much debt, being refused a loan by the Government and then selling back up to Volkswagen. Not to distract away from their business as a stock broking company, we have seen some real dogs released such as the Panamera and the new Cayenne. Lets try and breath some racing pedigree back into the name and look at the best moments by one of my favourite sports car makers:

911 Turbo (930 LE)


The movie Bad Boys really showed off the perfectly spec’d 964 turbo in black with the Porsche Cup splits. A close competitor to the 930 in terms of Porsche’s finest moments:

911 Turbo (964)

The porsche 968 one of the favoured starts to Porsche track days due to a near 50/50 weight distribution, front engine rear wheel drive layout and exceptional handling escpecially in Club Sport spec. A brief spell of motorsport in a turbo spec club sport brought a very limited run of the 968 turbo:

968 Turbo

Ah the Carrera GT:

Carrera GT

Let us hope Porsche start producing more cars like these worthy of the bedroom wall poster caliber!

Posted in Porsche | 3 Comments »

What is the best M3 to date?

August 11th, 2009

The BMW M3 is one of the best all rounders on the market today. Available in Saloon and Coupe form, the E92 M3 can frighten the life out of you on country roads pumping out in excess of 400 bhp through the rear wheels but it’s also perfectly at home on the daily commute or pootling around towns. This seems to have caused a problem – is the latest Munich Monster too accomplished that it has lost some of the ‘rawness’ of the E30 and E46?

BMW M3 Convertible (E92)


I’m still partial to a bit of E46. The E36 had good power and handling but it was a bit too smooth and soft to be a real sports car. The E30 is one of my all time favourites and one of our users has this meticulously maintained example:

E30 M3
BMW M3 Evo (E30)

Which does make me run for the nearest copy of Top Marques or login to Pistonheads to see what’s up for grabs!

The last two M3’s I’ve owned are here:

E36 & E46 M3 Convertible

Yes, they’re convertibles and I have just been talking about the E92 loosing some of the rawness. So really we have a variety of sports saloons, coupe’s and convertibles for anyone to enjoy.

So the question is:

What is your favourite M3 and why?

The real drivers choice must be the E46 CSL.

Posted in BMW | 2 Comments »