Comparison Tests
Fed chairman Alan Greenspan has been tapping the brakes lately, but that doesn’t mean you have to. Summer’s here, Europe’s famous fast-car makers are pushing the envelope harder than ever, and if you make your money the old-fashioned way—that is to say, you’re not a dotcommer—then your checks are still coming, right? So, if you’re ever going to establish ground superiority, now’s the time, before Mr. G. gets into ABS and slides everybody’s plans off the table.
The latest recipe for blurring the fence posts is Porsche’s 911 Turbo, fresh out of the oven and still steaming. This is the first Turbo model of the new-generation, watercooled cars. You expected escalation along with this new hardware, and you’re gonna get it good and hard—415 horsepower from a 3.6-liter six-cylinder that’s derived from the Le Mans winner of two years ago. It has four valves per cylinder, up from just two in the previous model. Twin turbos, of course. And dual intercoolers. The gearbox is a six-speed manual or, optional for the first time in the Turbo, a Tiptronic S five-speed automatic. All-wheel drive is standard, as it has been on all Porsche Turbos since 1996.
As a show of force, how about a rear wing that separates into a biplane arrangement as the coupe climbs through 75 mph, this to add stability on thrusts into autobahn velocities? How about 295/30ZR-18 tires wrapping 11-inch-wide rims in back? How about turbo boost to 12.0 psi?
Since its U.S. intro as a 1975 model, the 911 Turbo has resisted easy classification. Is it the most attainable of the exotic sports cars, or the most exotic of the attainable sports cars? With a base price of $116,818 for this 2001 model, most of us will need a congressional appropriation before adding a Turbo to the personal arsenal. At the same time, any other factory-made sportster with a chance of matching the Porsche’s performance will cost far more.
So this isn’t a comparison in which we round up all the candidates clustered around a price point. Instead, we’ve looked about to see what’s new and what threatens the balance of power among GT coupes.
Attracting the editorial eye—well, why hold back?—arousing the editorial lust is the new Aston Martin DB7 Vantage. Since the DB7’s 1996 debut in North America, the range of adjectives inspired by this classically proportioned coupe have opened with gorgeous and quickly zoomed past the hyperbolic. She is a looker! Now, with the additionof “Vantage”—Aston’s traditional name for its go-fast model—she’s a looker with a 5.9-liter V-12.
Oo-la-la!
The price is $147,988 including destination, gas-guzzler tax, and options. Hey, this test is not about self-denial.
And while we’re indulging ourselves, something from the Ferrari squadron belongs in any fly-off among superpowers. Fresh for the 2000 model year is a new mid-engined coupe, the 360 Modena, which replaces the stirring F355. Think of the Modena as Ferrari’s most popular model, accounting for two-thirds of the company’s output. It’s Ferrari’s most affordable, too, at a base price of $153,500.
That said, it’s also one of the most electrifying cars on the planet. The 395-horsepower V-8 makes a pagan cry. The chassis hustles with an Olympian’s stride. And the influence of Ferrari’s Grand Prix adventures is as close as your fingertips. With the optional F1 gearbox, the shift lever is replaced by two paddles behind the steering wheel—one for upshifts, the other for downshifts. Like Ferrari’s star driver Michael Schumacher, you can flick through the six-speed and keep both hands on the wheel.
In military terms, we’re talking interceptors here, and to give them room to run, we reserved the state of Nevada. California and Arizona served as turn-around room. We successfully eluded radar lock in all jurisdictions, and no ordnance was expended. The following report was prepared for your immediate attention.
