Dang! Great new sportscar

[audio amateur]

Lamborghini isn't the only car manufacturer to use scissor doors. Also, in some Lamborghinis it actually makes getting in & out less than ideal. I know we're nitpicking here, but if you're going to spend $200K for a car, they could at least engineer this a little better.

Actually, I can't think of any car manufacturer that uses scissor doors like the ones on Lamborghinis. The actual door keeps parallel with respect to the side of the car, whereas other scissor doors usually end up perpendicular to the side of the car when they are open.
I haven't had the priviledge of testing Lamborghini doors, so I can't comment on ease of getting in/out but at least you don't have to worry about hitting it against another door!

[Feanor]

For you Feanor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e01YD...ayer_embedded#

Thanks, a a. I see you posted a few days ago but I guess I wasn't paying attention.

The Mclaren looks good in black, but much prefer the gold-bronze -- or the Eclipse tone as 'Flier would have it.

[Feanor]

aa, I applaud all the research & performance, but I do hope they do something about the ho-hum looks of the new McLaren. Still looks like an Eclipse to me and that can't be good on the showroom floor. From across the street, people can't see the badge and a distinctive look is key, especially at those price points.

P.S. I know I said I was going to sell my Saab, but now that it's a Saab-Spyker, I think I'm going to hold onto it for now. Who knows, maybe I'll save up and buy one of these - I don't think this will be mistaken for an Eclipse, even in the rear-view mirror:



Actually, I like the convertible even better, and seems to fit in nicely here in SoCal (78 degrees this past weekend - you'd think it was early summer):
...

You sadden me, 'Flier. The above is a design travesty. Are you implying it's more distinctive than the Mclaren? It's not unless you consider that a bunch of unintegrated bumps & lumbs makes it distinctive. Well maybe, but not in good way.

[nightflier]

Feanor, I happen to like way the Skyker convertible looks. I'll grant you this: I'm not that crazy about the scoop on the roof of the hardtop, but the convertible works for me. I was a fan of Spyker's long before the Saab spotlight, but also for other design factors. The Spykers march to the beat of their own drum, design-wise. They seem to do the best job of merging the chrome-infused designs of 50 years ago with high performance. This isn't so easy to do and while this may be considered quirky for some, it actually makes for a very distinguished and unique looking car. Lots of people have seen Ferraris, Bentleys, and even McLarens, but how many people have seen a Spyker, much less driven one? It's a head-turner, more than many other cars.

A note about quirkyness: this is something that both Spyker and Saab have been saddled with, for better or for worse. What distinguishes the two philosophies is that the former is performance-driven with a sense of history/tradition, and the latter is Swedish practicality and futurist minimalist driven. That these two companies should merge opens up a world of opportunity for both. The hope is that Saab will gain some much needed performance and that Spyker gains some greater practicality in the process. I can't say that this will happen overnight, but the new designs that are coming out of the brain trust of the merged company are certainly exciting.

Speaking of the Lamborghini scissor doors, Spyker is one company that incorporates them:



As well as some Bugattis, like the EB110. I'm sure there are others. The problem that I've run into on the Lamborghinis is that with such a low car, there's very little to hold onto when you're trying to climb under that thick door. What happens is that the tendency is to grab onto the door when you're getting in.

Speaking of comfort, I've driven a Countach as well as a Diablo, and I've sat inside a Spyker (though never driven it). When you're in the market for a $300K car, you're either a baller or in your 60's, and if I was either, I'd choose the Spyker, I think. This has nothing to do with exclusivity, either, but rather the feeling that your nuts are scraping way too close to the road when you're driving that Lambo. Something about that just doesn't feel right, even if they're already shriveled up from over-use, age, or both (which is quite likely if you're in that select group).

[audio amateur]

I've driven a Countach as well as a Diablo

I REALLY need to move to California...
Seriously though, how did they drive? Were you able to floor it and extract every last pony from their glorious V12s? I want to know!

[nightflier]

Never got out of 4th gear in the Diablo. Kind of hard to do more than that with the owner sitting right next to you. It's funny how some people love to ask you to drive their sports cars and then when you get to, they are critical about every little thing you do. Of course, with that kind of car, I suppose you have to be.

The Countach has an interesting story. When I was younger I used to hang out with a different crowd, the kind that lives in places like Hollywood Hills and Newport Coast. I got to go to a lot of parties and every once in a while even got to drive the nicer cars when someone needed a sympathetic driver who was willing to make puke-stops every three lights. Most of the cars were BMWs and Mercs, but one time it was a beautiful Lamborghini.

One night I was asked to drive home a woman who's date had stood her up. She was pretty wasted, was falling out of her dress, and could hardly walk - she was a good friend of the family hosting the party, so they wanted to make sure she got home safe and they asked me to drive her home - I was there with another group, but I wasn't drinking that night and I had a reputation for being the responsible one (kind of funny, really). I figured I'd grap a cab back and return in a half hour. The thought that she might be in a nice car didn't even dawn on me, but when we walked out to the valet, he drove up in a gorgeous white Countach with the reverse front scoop. Sad to say, but I carefully drove her home because I really didn't want anything to happen to it and also because it was a lot harder to drive than I ever expected, actually.

But the story gets better. When I dropped her off, her father was very nice to me because I had brought her home safe. He insisted I drove the car back and leave it at the party - he'd come by to pick it up in the morning as he was too tired to drive that night (it was pretty late). I suppose I could have given it a good workout, but frankly I was way too scared to. Anyhow, a cop tailed me for part of the way back and I had a feeling I had been "noted." So sorry to disappoint, but I didn't punch it, drove it extra carefully, and left the car at the party as requested.

All that being said, Lamborghinis really aren't my kind of car. They are far from comfortable and while the performance is supposed to be hair-raising, I have a hard time getting comfortable in one to experience that. There's something very stiff about the way they drive and they don't seem to work well for me. I'm also a big guy, so that's probably part of it too. Again for that kind of coin, I'd rather drive something more comfortable.

[audio amateur]

What an awesome story! Good on you for being responsible. If I ever owned an exotic I would happily let you drive it

I can understand how they would be a handful to drive, especially the Countach. It probably didn't even have power steering...

Last summer I got to drive a Ferrari F-430 on a track, and although not 'hard' to drive, it wasn't the most comfortable. The ride was very bumpy, and the throttle was ever so responsive no matter what the engine speed, which means it was hard to drive smoothly. That was in a modern Ferrari... so I can imagine driving an F-40 would be more like driving the Countach.
However, I also got 4 laps in a Lamborghini Gallardo, and that I have to say was so much more enjoyable. The ride was smooth, and although the V10 was responding quite nicely to my right foot it wasn't uncomfortable. Generally speaking it was less of a handful to drive than the ferrari, and so was the stick shift Porsche GT3 that i also drove (the other two had the steering mounted paddle shifts).

[Feanor]

Feanor, I happen to like way the Skyker convertible looks. ...



....

It's pointless to argue with another person's esthetic taste.

I like the McLaren for it's feline, almost feminine grace; it's sleekness and what I might call "integration", i.e. all design features working together. And while the McLaren's performance might be strong, (I never even looked into that), my main motivator was the esthetics. We've see some other, very handsome cars here too; (the Lamborgini being maybe my favorite next to the McLaren). (I will never own, nor is it remotely like that I will ever even drive, any of them; my experience will be limited to looking at them.)

But speaking purely esthetically, my observation is that the majority here are more attracted to "edgy" or (intangibly) "masculine" or tough/rough-looking designs. What else can explain the appearance here of the Mercedes SLS for example? One may like it, but surely it has few of the design attributes I attributed above to the McLaren. As for the Skyker, no doubt it's an "attention grabber" as Nightfier says, but I'm still attracted to a more graceful, integrated esthetic.

[nightflier]

Maybe this is a silly observation, but there seems to be some common ground between us audio guys and cars. I wonder if there is a correlation between an interest in auto aesthetics and audio gear aesthetics?

[audio amateur]

Another for Feanor (or whoever else for that matter)
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/18032010/36...-beater-0.html

[Feanor]

Another for Feanor (or whoever else for that matter)
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/18032010/36...-beater-0.html

For me it's still very much the looks of the car that matter, though it's nice to know it can drive with the competition.

I still like the orange-gold ...



But orange haters how have options ...



Does that above look less like an Eclipse??

[nightflier]

OK, I'll grant that it looks a little less like an eclipse now that I've seen more pics, but there is still something very Japanese about the design elements. I don't know how to describe it, but maybe it's just the apparent size of it that looses any of the more muscled and dare-I-say, aristocratic appearance that other European car manufactures have. Perhaps it's just the lack of a distinctive grille? I don't know.

[Feanor]

OK, I'll grant that it looks a little less like an eclipse now that I've seen more pics, but there is still something very Japanese about the design elements. I don't know how to describe it, but maybe it's just the apparent size of it that looses any of the more muscled and dare-I-say, aristocratic appearance that other European car manufactures have. Perhaps it's just the lack of a distinctive grille? I don't know.

There is certainly something to be said for the "aristocratic appearance" of European automobiles:

[nightflier]

My point exactly. That front grille and other design queues, while not what we see on today's super cars is still reflected on them:







All these cars have design elements that hearken back to their roots. But Japanese cars strive more to break with their traditional past and if it weren't for the logo, you wouldn't know if you were looking at a Toyota, a Honda or a Datsun inherited design. For example:

[audio amateur]

What a gorgeous red 599! The SLS Mercedes doesn't have the round headlights (probably another prototype). As for the Bimmer, never seen that and I hope it nevers goes to production!
I see what you're saying about Japanese styling.

This week-end, I had my sister and her husband take me to a Ferrari dealer. There was a gorgeous F430 Scuderia convertible in the showroom, which he decided to sit in I did the same afterwards. I think it's the first time I sat in such an expensive car. It's worth £200 grand, so probably a good $250-300 grand. The bucket seats were just amazing and I can imagine they keep you right in place no matter how hard you are cornering. They are definitely not for fatties though, as even I felt quite snug in there!
The Scuderia is actually devoid of any type of carpeting to reduce any superfluous weight. It's a Ferrari stripped to its bones. A true track car. I heard one last summer, the engine note from the high-revving Ferrari V8 is unmistakable. Only in the Scuderia, it's 10 times louder than usual
I'll post a couple pics later if I have time.

[Feanor]

What a gorgeous red 599! ....

I've gotta admit I love the Ferarri ...

[audio amateur]

No wonder it looks so good. It was prepared by Novitec Rosso...

[E-Stat]

There was a gorgeous F430 Scuderia convertible in the showroom...

I remember seeing a 360 Spyder at the Indy F1 years back parked in the infield. What I like most is the clear decklid showing off its pretty parts.



Whoops, these parts:



rw

[audio amateur]

I'll take either

[audio amateur]

The F360 is still one of the best looking Ferrari's ever to me, especially the race bred Challenge Stradale declension (sorry about the pic size):



And here you can hear it (end of video):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KB2-ZT0u3w

[Feanor]

My point exactly. That front grille and other design queues, while not what we see on today's super cars is still reflected on them:
...



...

This Mercedes is a Gullwing prototype, I guess. It's more than slightly remenisant of the original. I like it better.

[E-Stat]

The F360 is still one of the best looking Ferrari's ever to me, especially the race bred Challenge Stradale declension.

That was the warm up race at the now defunct USA F1. They sound pretty cool, but just not in the same league as the older V-8 F1 motors.

rw

[audio amateur]

V8's are back in style in Formula 1. And yes, the sound is very different still to a production Ferrari V8 but that might just be because F1 V8's rev to 18000 rpm
They are two very difference sounds and personally I think I prefer that of a normal Ferrari V8.

[audio amateur]

This Mercedes is a Gullwing prototype, I guess. It's more than slightly remenisant of the original.

You're right, there's definitely a connection, even the doors

[nightflier]

That ought to become a collectors item. What do new gull-wing puppies cost?

Back here on earth, there's a BMW Z-8 for sale in my neck of the woods for a mere $90K. No it isn't a practical, but dang, that's a nice ride and it's one of those "collector's items" I could see myself owning someday:



http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false