Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

The reason I'm talking about this car is the fact, that I have seen this car in real life, when I was travelling in Finland some years ago. It was fabolous, but not my favorite, still worth mentioning though. It's a front-engine, 2-seat luxury rear-wheel drive grand tourer as the first Mercedes-Benz automobile designed in-house by AMG. SLS stands for Sport, Light, Super. The SLS AMG was designed to be a modern 300SL Gullwing revival. In case of an accident - roll-over, the doors can be fully detached to allow the occupants to leave the vehicle. The SLS AMG has been said to be one of the cheapest cars on the market with an unusual door design. There are many different versions and upgrades of SLS, but I will mainly concentrate on 4 of them: Coupe, Roadster, GT and Electric Drive. The Coupe has a 6.3 litre V8 engine, which produces peak output of 571HP(420kw) at 6800 rpm and with peak torque of 650NM at 4750 rpm. It accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 3.8 seconds and can go up to 317km/h(electronically limited). The SLS Coupe consumes 13.5 litres of petrol per 100km. It's price starts from 200 000 euros, which seems pretty much, but for that you get a fast car with nice interior - I'm talking about massage seats and stuff like that.
The Roadster, which loses it's trademark doors and roof, converting into a ragtop roadster with conventional doors. It's actually the same as a Coupe but without the roof, but this time it costs about 210 500 euros.
The SLS GT, which comes both as a coupe and as a cabriolet, includes increased engine power to 583HP(435kw) at 6800 rpm and 650NM of torque at 4750 rpm. As both, the cabriolet and coupe are with the same specifications, I will be talking about the GT singularly. It takes it 3.6 seconds to reach 100km/h and can go up to 317km/h(electronically limited). It features a 7-speed AMG Speedshift DCT. The average fuel consumption is 17.7 litres per 100km. It costs about the same as the ordinary versions. The following pictures are all the property of Juergen Zoellter, Brian Farmer, Austin Lindberg

Audi's own vision of a supercar

That's right, I'm talking about the Audi R8. It's available as a 2-door spyder(cabriolet) or as a 2-door coupe. Audi started the production of these in 2006. It's based on the Lamborghini Gallardo platform and the fundamental construction uses an aluminium monocoque, which is built around space frame principles. Even Jacky Ickx, who is a 6-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, described the R8 as the best handling road car nowadays. This car is greatly balanced between power and handling, since it isn't that fast as it's competitors, but is great in handling. The R8 is available with a 4.2 litre FSI V8 or with a 5.2 litre FSI V10 engine – both with the quattro 4 wheel drive system. At first it was available with a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed R-tronic gearbox, which is believed to be not so great, but in 2010 the new R8 came out with a S-tronic gearbox, which is way better than the previous gearbox. The 4.2 litre V8 engine produces 420HP(309kw) and generates 430NM of torque, with average fuel consumption of 17.7 litres/100km. On the spyder version it produces 434HP(319kw) at 7900rpm and 430NM of torque. It takes it 4.8 seconds to reach 100km/h and can go up to 299km/h. The average fuel consumption for this model is 17.7 litres per 100km.

On to the 5.2 FSI quattro...It produces 532HP(391kw) and generates 530NM. It takes it only 3.9 seconds to reach 100km/h and it's top speed is about 316km/h. The V10 R8 included all-LED headlights as the world's first of this kind. The fuel consumption for this model is about 18.8 litres per 100km. The V10 also featured a spyder version, which has 525HP at 8000rpm, along with peak torque of 530NM at 6500rpm. It accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in just 4.1 seconds, with top speed of 314km/h. The average fuel consumption is same as the coupe version – 18.8 l/100km.

There is also a 2013 V10 plus version, which provides 550HP at 8000rpm and peak torque of 540NM at 6500rpm. It takes it 3.4 seconds to reach 100km/h with top speed of 317 km/h. The average fuel consumption for this model is 12.9 l/100km.

And there's a GT version, which is limited to 333 units world wide. It's a 5.2 litre FSI quattro with curb weight reduced to 1.525kg and 560HP(412kw) with top speed of 320km/h, 0-100km/h time of 3.6 seconds. The car also features some visual changes including red brake caliper covers, a fixed rear wing, front bumper mounted winglets and GT badges replacing the V10 ones. The fuel consumption for this model is 13.9 litres per 100km. And the GT doesn't come without a spyder version – all is same about the specifications, except the price.

Price tags:

Audi R8 V8 coupe – 113 500 euros

Audi R8 V8 spyder – 113 500 euros

Audi R8 V10 coupe – 130 000 euros

Audi R8 V10 spyder – 127 000 euros

Audi R8 V10 plus – 153 200 euros

Audi R8 GT – 173 000 euros

Audi R8 GT spyder – 188 000 euros
All of these pictures are the property of carsdata.net, caricos.com and Jim Fets. I do not own any rights for these pictures

 

Back to the 80's

The Ferrari 512 - also known as Ferrari Testarossa. Testarossa means redhead in Italian. There are many different versions of this 512, but I'm going to talk about the 512 TR. It's a two-door coupe with a fixed roof, it premiered at the 1984 Paris Auto Show. All versions of the Testarossa had the power fed through the wheels from a rear-mounted, five-speed manual transmission. The mid-engine rear-wheel drive layout keeps the centre of gravity in the middle of the car, which increases stability and improves the car's cornering ability.The 512 TR was released in 1992 at the Paris Auto Show. It has a 4.9 litre flat-12 cylinder engine, which provide maxium power of 434HP(319kw) at 6750rpm and 491NM of torque at 5500rpm. It takes the car about 4.9 seconds to reach 100km/h and it can attain 314km/h. A serious recall was issued in 1995, regarding fuel hose fitting issues - over 400 models had this defect which was caused by variances in temperature and environment. This wasn't the only recall, as more were issued later on. On the other hand, this stallion's fuel consumption is about 21.7 litres per 100km. Nowadays it costs about 60 000-90 000 euros. I truly dream of driving this car one day, because all the heritage and history it provides...it's just magnificent. All of the pictures below are the property of bestautophoto.com and Michael Sheehan. I do not own any rights for these pictures.

Audi S8

Since I'm a huge Audi fan, I will be doing many stories on Audis. Another Audi, now it's the S8, which is a faster version of a luxury car A8. This S8 has a 4 litre biturbo V8, which produces 520HP(382kw) at 6000 rpm, 650NM of torque at 1700-5500 rpm. 0-100 km/h takes only 4.2 seconds, it's equipped with the quattro system, which makes it four wheel drive. This model has also the COD system, which I talked about earlier. It utilises cylinder deactivation so it can run as a V4 for better fuel economy. The fuel consumption is about 14.9 litres/100km. The S8's engine is shared with the Bentley Continental GT. Direct competitors include the BMW Alpina B7 and Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG, which both also have biturbo V8 engines. This car has all the luxuries of an A8, which include fully adjustable front seats, LED headlights, an enhanced Multi Media Interface(MMI) with touchpad, and an optional 1400 watt Bang&Olufsen sound system. The car's top speed may be limited to a 248km/h, but without the limiter, it's capable of 290 km/h at least, I think. This S8 costs around 112 000 euros. All of the pictures below are the property of Matt Davis, www.s8.ro and I do not own any rights for these pictures

Mulsanne

So on to the next car - a luxurious Bentley Mulsanne. It is powered by a 6.75litre twin-turbocharged V8, which produces 512HP at 4200rpm with 1020NM at 1750rpm. With it's eight speed automatic gearbox with electronic shift interface, sport mode and steering wheel mounted paddleshift it takes this rear wheel drive Bentley only 5.3 seconds to reach 100km/h with top speed of 296km/h, which is very good for a heavy car (2600kg). The Mulsanne consumes 16.9 litres of petrol per 100km, which is not so much for a high class car. There are many features within this car, including a choice of 114 paint colours, 21 carpet colours, 9 wood veneers and 24 interior leather hides. It takes 12 weeks to produce one of these cars. The entertainment specifications with iPad picnic tables and wi-fi hotspot gives you the opportunity to work, catch up with social media or just relax with a movie or your favourite music. The comfort specification includes rear seat headrests with airlane "sleeper" style adjustable wings, foot rest and loose cushions all matched to your vehicle interior. Privacy curtains, electrically-deployable and fully integrated into rear doors and seat surround, give the rear cabin a feeling of opulence and complete privacy from the outside world. What can I say - simply stunning, truly a dream car. It costs about 219 000 euros, which is a lot. All of these pictures were taken from Bobak Ha'Eri, Jim Fets and a german author M 93 and I do not own any rights for these pictures.

The MC Stradale

The next car I'm talking about is the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale, which is a street legal version of a track car. It's looks are astounding and so is the sound of this beast. It may have the best engine sound in the world. This car is powered by a 4.7 litre V8, which produces 450HP(331 kw) at 7200 rpm and 510NM at 4750rpm and is more lighter and aerodynamic than any previous GranTurismo models and still with the same fuel consumption as the regular GranTurismo - 14.5 litres/100km. It's a 2-seater, rear wheel drive, 130 000 euro car. It takes only 4.5 seconds to reach 100km/h and can go up to 301 km/h. The car usually operates in the "auto" mode, but the driver can switch this to "sport" or "racing", which affects gearbox operations, suspension, traction control, and even the sound of the engine. The MC Stradale is the first GranTurismo to break the 300km/h barrier. It features a MC Race Shift 6-speed robotised manual gearbox, which is proved to be a little giddy. Apart from that, I just love this car even though I haven't driven it. The sound of this creature is orgasmic and one of a kind.
These pictures were taken from Wikipedia user mr.choppers and Sami Haj-Assaad, and I do not own any rights for these pictures.

The reigning king

The new Audi RS6(body type C7) - Even though it hasn't gone officially into production, it seems to be the best superwagon ever made so far. The main competitors, Mercedes E63 AMG 4-matic and BMW M5 F-10, which are great piece of automobiles, are not far behind, but that's my opinion. The new RS6 has a smaller engine compared to it's predecessor's V10 and is only available as an avant, which has caused a lot of fuss from customers, who are not keen on the avant version .It has a 4.0 litres biturbo V8 TFSI engine, which develops 560HP(412kw) and 700NM(516 lbft) of torque. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and the top speed is bound to be 305 km/h with the Dynamic Plus package. Audi claims an average fuel consumption of 9.8 litres/100km, result of COD(cylinder on demand) system, which shuts down 4 cylinders, when they're not really needed. As usual, the car has 4 wheel drive from quattro and it uses a 8-speed tiptronic gearbox. It costs around 107 000 euros in germany and it varies by country. To sum it up, it really is a great piece of work, but all of the competitors tend to be most likely the same, so with all of these superb superwagons, it comes down to a person's own taste of cars - which car attracts that person the most.