What we learn from specialized publications is that all cars have their flaws, no matter how expensive they are. So could there be such a thing as a perfect car? Autocar believes it so, with the British magazine going as far as creating renderings and specifying a driver�s ideal set of wheel. Editor-at-large Steve Sutcliffe's vision of the perfect sports car goes like this: an open-top two-seater with a mid-engine layout, rear-wheel-drive, less than 1,000 kg (2,204 lbs) and with a price of �35,000 ($56,800).
�As the world of cars gets ever more complex and produces machines that are increasingly sophisticated in their design and engineering, there�s still a desire for something at the other end of the scale. A sports car that�s simple to understand and interact with. And, most of all, dead good fun to drive,� says Sutcliffe.
Digging further into the details, he thinks the British Sportscars 1, or BS1 for short (someone made a poor choice of letters here�), should offer the performance and driver appeal of cars that normally cost twice as much and offer a Le Mans type driving experience. Namely, there should be lots of torque, a paddle shift gearbox and no ESP. �It will look low, wide, mean and beautiful, and will be utterly irresistible to its intended audience,� Sutcliffe adds.
The BS1 would have a space frame chassis built from aluminum and steel, with body panels made from glass fiber-reinforced plastic and carbon fiber. The mid-mounted engine would be a VW 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel engine tuned to produce 250 horsepower and 475 Nm (350 lb-ft) of torque. The sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) shouldn't take more than 4.5 seconds, while top speed should be 147 mph (236 km/h). Average fuel consumption would reach 4.7 liters/100 km (50 mpg US), with CO2 emissions rated at 199 g/km.
Jamie Corstorphine, the magazine's Features Editor, said: �I�m loving the images and I�ll definitely be first in the queue if Sutcliffe�s blueprint reaches production, but he has his work cut out to meet his twin targets of 1000kg of kerb weight and a �35,000 price tag.�
Though commenting on the design of the BS1 would be subjective, we can't help but wonder what a diesel engine is doing in the perfect driver's car.
Read more In Cars
�As the world of cars gets ever more complex and produces machines that are increasingly sophisticated in their design and engineering, there�s still a desire for something at the other end of the scale. A sports car that�s simple to understand and interact with. And, most of all, dead good fun to drive,� says Sutcliffe.
Digging further into the details, he thinks the British Sportscars 1, or BS1 for short (someone made a poor choice of letters here�), should offer the performance and driver appeal of cars that normally cost twice as much and offer a Le Mans type driving experience. Namely, there should be lots of torque, a paddle shift gearbox and no ESP. �It will look low, wide, mean and beautiful, and will be utterly irresistible to its intended audience,� Sutcliffe adds.
The BS1 would have a space frame chassis built from aluminum and steel, with body panels made from glass fiber-reinforced plastic and carbon fiber. The mid-mounted engine would be a VW 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel engine tuned to produce 250 horsepower and 475 Nm (350 lb-ft) of torque. The sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) shouldn't take more than 4.5 seconds, while top speed should be 147 mph (236 km/h). Average fuel consumption would reach 4.7 liters/100 km (50 mpg US), with CO2 emissions rated at 199 g/km.
Jamie Corstorphine, the magazine's Features Editor, said: �I�m loving the images and I�ll definitely be first in the queue if Sutcliffe�s blueprint reaches production, but he has his work cut out to meet his twin targets of 1000kg of kerb weight and a �35,000 price tag.�
Though commenting on the design of the BS1 would be subjective, we can't help but wonder what a diesel engine is doing in the perfect driver's car.
PHOTO GALLERY
Advertisements
ARead more In Cars
No comments:
Post a Comment