Personally, Ive never really understood car modification. In my mind, why would you bother spending thousands of pounds making a shitty little rot-box go a bit faster? Why not save the money and spend it on a nicer car?
So, you can imagine my bewilderment when I came across this video of a supercharged, methanol-injected V8 Commodore performing what is arguably the world’s most ridiculous burnout. Not only did the owner spend said thousands of pounds on modifying this rot-box, he then destroyed it by strapping on some cheap tires and over revving the engine until it caught fire.
BMW’s M Division, yes, the same people shoe are responsible for the amazing M3 and M5 models, have announced recently that they are going to focus on removing weight from their cars, rather than adding more power. This move comes as a result of the need to increase power-to-weight ratios, but without adding more power, something that is becoming increasingly difficult as a result of tightening emissions regulations.
The new BMW M4
“We want to be in a different league for power-to-weight,” says Carsten Pries, the head of M product management, “but we prefer to have a car that weighs 1,000kg rather than one with 1,000 horsepower.”
This trend can already be seen in the latest models of the M3 saloon, and the M4 coupe. Whilst both of these cars are more powerful than the models that they replace; the increase is only 3 per cent, from 416bhp to 427. Weight, on the other hand, has dropped by up to 80kg, or 6 per cent. Already, the benefits of this move can be seen, with fuel consumption and CO2 savings of up to 28 per cent. Or, in English, potentially another 100 miles on a full tank of fuel.
Adding to the weight-saving crusade is the fact that the front ends of both models are now almost exclusively built from light-weight aluminium, with carbon fibre and magnesium sections in the drivetrain and structure. Further contributing to the regime is the of improved economy and reduced emissions is a new twin-turbo six cylinder engine to replace the older V8 from previous models, and the availability of a double-clutch gearbox.
This desire to save weight is the primary reason why BMW M have decided to ditch the xDrive all-wheel-drive system in favour of rear-wheel drive. “What is the point of taking out 80kg if you are going to put 75kg back through xDrive?” says Pries.
“It does not mean that we will not have xDrive in an M model in future. On Thursday I am going to a customer event in Istanbul, and sometimes these give us early indicators of changing preferences. But many M3 customers like to take part in track days, and they prefer the feeling of rear drive.”
The new M3 and M4 go on sale on June 21 priced from £56,175 and £56,635 respectively. In September a new M4 Convertible, costing from £60,745 and exhibiting a similar weight loss to the saloon and coupe, will join the range. BMW expects to sell around 5,000 M3 and M4 cars over their lifetime, with a peak of 1,200 next year.
Bad news! Ferrari have recently announced that the successor to the awesome 458 Italia will be receiving a turbo-charged engine.
The move has inevitably come about as a result of the increasingly stringent, and frugal emissions regulations placed on car manufacturers by governments and committees around the world. Whilst Ferrari may be seen by 9 year-old boys as being a company that gives the middle-finger to rules regarding what they can and can’t do when it comes to building a car, the fact of the matter is that if they don’t meet new emissions quotas; they may find themselves in a spot of bother.
Ferrari 458 Italia
It is indeed very, very sad that the world will no longer be graced with the presence of the absolutely mental, naturally aspirated V8 that is found in the current 458 Speciale once the updated model is unveiled. But, failure to adopt the industry trends of smaller capacity, turbo-charged engines will see any manufacturer of supercars fall behind competitors not just in terms of sales, but also in terms of performance.
The maths behind the move towards turbo-charging is simple: emission regulations are requiring car manufacturers to reduce the amount of CO2 produced by their cars; the most efficient way to do this is to reduce engine size, and strap on a few turbos. Whilst a company like Ferrari isn’t required to meet the same figures as large scale manufacturers such as Ford or Fiat — because of special small-manufacturer exemptions — if it fails to show a downward trend, they run the risk of having this exemption being pulled.
Not to worry though. While the engine in the 458 successor may lose a bit of the pantomime and panache of the previous models, it is important to remember that Ferrari is not new to the game of turbo-charging. Two of what are the arguably ‘most epic’ models in the company’s history — the F40 and the 288 GTO — both featured twin-turbo charged V8 engines, and both were fire-spitting, road monsters that were crazier than Jim Carrey on LSD. They were fast cars not only by the standards of their time, but by the standards of today as well.
Ferrari 288 GTO
We also shouldn’t forget the fact that the recently released California T also features a turbo-charged V8. It has 560bhp. That is a lot of power in any car, let alone a car that is designed to be a relaxed, comfortable grand tourer. The naturally aspirated engine in the 458 Speciale has already taken the 458 family to over 600bhp. One can only imagine that the replacement turbo-charged V8 that will feature in the 458 replacement will be even higher than that again. A rough estimate might suggest that power will be over and above the 650bhp mark, due to the fact that that is what Mclaren’s new 650S model produces from its turbo-charged V8.
So, while it will be sad to say goodbye to the wild, howling 4.5 litre V8 that currently exists in Ferrari’s 458 family, we can remain safe in the knowledge that the replacement turbo-charged V8 will be just as, if not more wild than the current model. We are talking about the Italians here after all, and Italians don’t really ‘do’ boring.
sjdavis1993 