nismo270r
01-18-2002, 02:43 AM
Well...Today was a day that will be etched in my mind forever. Not only did I get a chance to drive an AMG C32, but also a 1997 Lotus Esprit V8 Twin Turbo. On with the stories:
AMG C32 Supercharged V6:
I was utterly amazed with this car. I don't know how MB does it, but this 3,540 lb. hunk of sport sedan can scream the 0-60 in a mere 4.9 seconds...And yes, I can vouch for that. The AMG intercooled supercharged V6 skyrockets this machine down the road with ease. Producing [email protected],100rpm and 332 [email protected],400rpm, you had better believe this will get you where you want to be in style, and fast. I have yet to ride in or drive an E46 M3, but from what I've heard, this is quite a comparable car. I must say, for a luxury performance sedan, it was just as much of a blast to drive as the Lotus. The C32 would be a much better candidate for a daily driving car than the Lotus, but there is a very good reason for that. The pictures of the C32:
Here is the frontal view (No I didn't drive the showroom car, but it was freezing out, so we opted to snap the pics of the showroom vehicle):
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/C32-1.jpg
Here's the rear shot of the C32:
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/C32-2.jpg
Get a load of the AMG 4-pot brakes up front!
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/C32-3.jpg
The lovely C32 Interior:
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/C32-4.jpg
1997 Lotus Esprit V8 Twin Turbo:
Well...Just the name sent shivers down my spine as I drove to the dealer today. I was about a half an hour early, so the car wasn't back from being warmed up yet. After a short wait, we heard the rumble enter into the car wash bay, so we went to check it out. Sure enough...that unmistakeable roar of the Lotus V8 was growling in the wash bay...I could already feel my knees getting weak. He opened up the door and told me to jump in...It's more like fall in. Once I got situated in the driver's seat, you could feel the car was stuck on like a glove. It took quite sometime just to get used to how the clutch engaged, because it was so stiff. Also, the reverse was quite different than I had seen before. There is a small "switch" on the shift lever itself directly underneath the shift knob. You grasp it, pull it up, and pull the gear lever all the way left and back. After finding reverse and getting it out of the wash bay, the challenge began. The gear shifter felt so odd, because in most 5-speed cars, one is used to pushing all the way left and up for first. Well, all the way left, is TOO far left, because reverse is over there. So, I had to quickly learn not to push quite as hard to get it into first. After that was accomplished, and bringing the rpms up to 2000 just to get the car moving, we were off. Just cruising around town for a bit, 3rd gear was all that was needed. It's amazing the amount of people who stare at a Lotus...EVERYONE! People walking, driving, standing on the sidewalk all stop dead in their tracks and gawk. Anyway...down to the nitty gritty of it all...Acceleration is an understatment...Sitting at idle, if you punch the gas to the floor and immediately let off, it will jump the rpm's right near redline. The DOHC twin turbo V8 redlines right around 7500rpm, spitting out [email protected],000rpm and [email protected],250rpm...and for it to jump up to that redline so quick, is plain scary. Even scarier than that...1st and 2nd gear DRIVE like that. If you are in 1st or 2nd with the rpms around 2000-3000 and mash the throttle, you will be at redline in no time at all. When the car pulls a 4.4sec 0-60, and a 13.0 1/4 mile stock, it's to be expected. Weighing in a 3,045 lbs., you can barely tell it's that hefty of a car besides the solidness. I was rolling in 1st gear and mashed the throttle...Instantly the back end was wagging like a puppy's tail. Slammed it into 2nd gear and as soon as the tires gripped up...we were right at redline...It's rather easy to get the tail end around a corner as I found out as well...although it was quite easy to get it to come right back. The handling in the car is unbelievable. The slightest twitch of the steering wheel is instantly felt by the driver. It is the most precise handling I have ever experienced...And to slow you down from all the insane power, the brakes have absolutely no problem with that. Brembo calipers up front bring you to a halt in no time at all. I let a car take off from a stop sign in front of me. They were about to the next intersection while I was rolling in first to let them increase the gap. After punching it through 1st and 2nd, I found myself quickly approaching their rear bumper. This is when we decided to see what the brakes would do. I locked up the brakes and the ABS chattered a bit and we came to a halt with plenty of room to spare. Although I had to scrape my eyes off the inside of the windshield after that, it was worth it. The interior left quite a bit to be desired, as most supercars' interiors do. I have never been a huge fan of "buttercream" leather, but I couldn't let that stop me! The previous owner slapped on a Momo shift knob, which I thought looked quite tacky in a Lotus. I could have done without the wood trim dash as well. He also swapped off the factory 17x8.5/18x10 OZ Wheels for new OZ Mitto Modulars. Well, how about some pics...
Ahh...My new car (I WISH!<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'>:
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/Lotus-1.jpg
Those meaty rear tires are so much fun!
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/Lotus-2.jpg
The famous supercar buttercream leather interior:
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/Lotus-3.jpg
To show you how low and flat the car is Rob(KoukiS14) is posing (and wishing he could fit in the #### thing to drive it) on a knee. Yeah, Rob is like 6'4", but even kneeling down he's right at headlevel with the roofline!
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/Lotus-4.jpg
Ahhh...Taking delivery of my new car:) Take into consideration, I'm only 5'8"/180lbs...I make the car look tiny. The interior is rather cramped I must say, and I don't think it would make for a very comfortable daily driver.
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/Lotus-5.jpg
It's been a fun week driving an S2000, new WRX, AMG C32 and a 1997 Lotus Esprit V8 Twin Turbo...My first supercar! WOO HOO! Now it's time to hit up Continental Ferrari on Ogden Ave!! :biggrin: After that, all I'll need to do is drive an R34 and a McLaren F1 and my life will be complete! Until then...
(Edited by nismo270r at 4:58 am on Jan. 18, 2002)
AMG C32 Supercharged V6:
I was utterly amazed with this car. I don't know how MB does it, but this 3,540 lb. hunk of sport sedan can scream the 0-60 in a mere 4.9 seconds...And yes, I can vouch for that. The AMG intercooled supercharged V6 skyrockets this machine down the road with ease. Producing [email protected],100rpm and 332 [email protected],400rpm, you had better believe this will get you where you want to be in style, and fast. I have yet to ride in or drive an E46 M3, but from what I've heard, this is quite a comparable car. I must say, for a luxury performance sedan, it was just as much of a blast to drive as the Lotus. The C32 would be a much better candidate for a daily driving car than the Lotus, but there is a very good reason for that. The pictures of the C32:
Here is the frontal view (No I didn't drive the showroom car, but it was freezing out, so we opted to snap the pics of the showroom vehicle):
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/C32-1.jpg
Here's the rear shot of the C32:
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/C32-2.jpg
Get a load of the AMG 4-pot brakes up front!
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/C32-3.jpg
The lovely C32 Interior:
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/C32-4.jpg
1997 Lotus Esprit V8 Twin Turbo:
Well...Just the name sent shivers down my spine as I drove to the dealer today. I was about a half an hour early, so the car wasn't back from being warmed up yet. After a short wait, we heard the rumble enter into the car wash bay, so we went to check it out. Sure enough...that unmistakeable roar of the Lotus V8 was growling in the wash bay...I could already feel my knees getting weak. He opened up the door and told me to jump in...It's more like fall in. Once I got situated in the driver's seat, you could feel the car was stuck on like a glove. It took quite sometime just to get used to how the clutch engaged, because it was so stiff. Also, the reverse was quite different than I had seen before. There is a small "switch" on the shift lever itself directly underneath the shift knob. You grasp it, pull it up, and pull the gear lever all the way left and back. After finding reverse and getting it out of the wash bay, the challenge began. The gear shifter felt so odd, because in most 5-speed cars, one is used to pushing all the way left and up for first. Well, all the way left, is TOO far left, because reverse is over there. So, I had to quickly learn not to push quite as hard to get it into first. After that was accomplished, and bringing the rpms up to 2000 just to get the car moving, we were off. Just cruising around town for a bit, 3rd gear was all that was needed. It's amazing the amount of people who stare at a Lotus...EVERYONE! People walking, driving, standing on the sidewalk all stop dead in their tracks and gawk. Anyway...down to the nitty gritty of it all...Acceleration is an understatment...Sitting at idle, if you punch the gas to the floor and immediately let off, it will jump the rpm's right near redline. The DOHC twin turbo V8 redlines right around 7500rpm, spitting out [email protected],000rpm and [email protected],250rpm...and for it to jump up to that redline so quick, is plain scary. Even scarier than that...1st and 2nd gear DRIVE like that. If you are in 1st or 2nd with the rpms around 2000-3000 and mash the throttle, you will be at redline in no time at all. When the car pulls a 4.4sec 0-60, and a 13.0 1/4 mile stock, it's to be expected. Weighing in a 3,045 lbs., you can barely tell it's that hefty of a car besides the solidness. I was rolling in 1st gear and mashed the throttle...Instantly the back end was wagging like a puppy's tail. Slammed it into 2nd gear and as soon as the tires gripped up...we were right at redline...It's rather easy to get the tail end around a corner as I found out as well...although it was quite easy to get it to come right back. The handling in the car is unbelievable. The slightest twitch of the steering wheel is instantly felt by the driver. It is the most precise handling I have ever experienced...And to slow you down from all the insane power, the brakes have absolutely no problem with that. Brembo calipers up front bring you to a halt in no time at all. I let a car take off from a stop sign in front of me. They were about to the next intersection while I was rolling in first to let them increase the gap. After punching it through 1st and 2nd, I found myself quickly approaching their rear bumper. This is when we decided to see what the brakes would do. I locked up the brakes and the ABS chattered a bit and we came to a halt with plenty of room to spare. Although I had to scrape my eyes off the inside of the windshield after that, it was worth it. The interior left quite a bit to be desired, as most supercars' interiors do. I have never been a huge fan of "buttercream" leather, but I couldn't let that stop me! The previous owner slapped on a Momo shift knob, which I thought looked quite tacky in a Lotus. I could have done without the wood trim dash as well. He also swapped off the factory 17x8.5/18x10 OZ Wheels for new OZ Mitto Modulars. Well, how about some pics...
Ahh...My new car (I WISH!<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'>:
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/Lotus-1.jpg
Those meaty rear tires are so much fun!
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/Lotus-2.jpg
The famous supercar buttercream leather interior:
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/Lotus-3.jpg
To show you how low and flat the car is Rob(KoukiS14) is posing (and wishing he could fit in the #### thing to drive it) on a knee. Yeah, Rob is like 6'4", but even kneeling down he's right at headlevel with the roofline!
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/Lotus-4.jpg
Ahhh...Taking delivery of my new car:) Take into consideration, I'm only 5'8"/180lbs...I make the car look tiny. The interior is rather cramped I must say, and I don't think it would make for a very comfortable daily driver.
http://home.insightbb.com/~nismo270r/ZilviaPictures/Lotus-5.jpg
It's been a fun week driving an S2000, new WRX, AMG C32 and a 1997 Lotus Esprit V8 Twin Turbo...My first supercar! WOO HOO! Now it's time to hit up Continental Ferrari on Ogden Ave!! :biggrin: After that, all I'll need to do is drive an R34 and a McLaren F1 and my life will be complete! Until then...
(Edited by nismo270r at 4:58 am on Jan. 18, 2002)