[DeTomaso] NPC: excerpts from WSJ's Dan Neil

[Charles Engles]

Dear Forum,

 

 

                    This weekend Dan Neil reviews the BMW i8 and the M4
Dinan S2.   Excerpts follow:

 

            " You pinky-ringed minions of Babylon can ride around in your
Ferraris and Lambos if you want.  Kind of ordinary, though.  For rarity, for
sheer automotive rarefaction, the flagship of BMW's 2 billion-euro I
Division makes those cars look like link sausage. BMW will sell only about
300 of these cars in the U.S. this year, though not for want of trying.  It
is, for starter, wildly expensive.  Our black-and-blue tester cost $152,695,
about the same as an Acura NSX, which on a racetrack would leave the i8 for
dead, blackened, flyblown carrion.  The i8 has charms other than raw
performance, and for that price it bloody well ought to.  

 

        ..Behind the seats is a tiny, purring 1.5 liter turbocharged
three-cylinder gas engine and six-speed automatic transmission, producing
227 hp and 236 lb-feet of torque.

 

            In the nose of the car is AC synchronous electric motor (129 hp,
184 lb-ft of torque) driving the front wheels through a two-speed gearbox.
When the hybrid chakras are aligned, the all-wheel drive system output is
357 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, pitted against the car's dense 3,455 pounds.
..it will hit a top speed of 155 mph, says BMW.  Once in a while you can
hear the turbos chuff, but the engine growl filling the cabin is synthesized
and pumped through the audio system speakers.    ...But the i8 is not
particularly fast.  It might be the slowest mid-engine carbon bodied sports
car with pain-in-the-ass doors I've ever driven.

 

 

             If the i8 is New School BMW, the M4 is the Old School.  ... if
you were to take a factory-fresh M4 for a rage up a canyon road you might
ask yourself, "Could these cars get any better?"  Yes, they could.  All you
need is  (more) money and the name Steve Dinan.

 

            Dinan's plumbers install a resonant stainless-steel exhaust
system and, aft of the catalytic converters, a high-flow cross-pipe,  The
popping, can-full-of-bees din emerges from dual-quad exhaust tips the
diameter of Crisco cans.  Ungawa!

 

           Dinan replaces all the rubber bushings with Teflon-coated
machined ball joints, hardened housings, and billet aluminum rear toe links.
The suspension mods make the Dinan drive hard and thrashy, stiff as a
Bavarian buckboard.  The road static in the steering wheel will make your
hands tingle.  The steering is as sensitive as sunburn.  

 

              Just the way I like it."

 

           

            My comment:  IIRC, this is the second contemporary "sports" car
using a high-end audio system to "enhance" the engine and exhaust sounds for
a more satisfying artificial experience for the modern owner.  I expect the
latest uber-expensive SUVs to have synthetic F1 engine notes.   Appalling.

 

 

                               Warmest regards,  Chuck Engles

 

 

                            

 

 

 

                  

-------------- next part --------------
   Dear Forum,



                       This weekend Dan Neil reviews the BMW i8 and the M4
   Dinan S2.   Excerpts follow:


               " You pinky-ringed minions of Babylon can ride around in
   your Ferraris and Lambos if you want.  Kind of ordinary, though.  For
   rarity, for sheer automotive rarefaction, the flagship of BMW's 2
   billion-euro I Division makes those cars look like link sausage. BMW
   will sell only about 300 of these cars in the U.S. this year, though
   not for want of trying.  It is, for starter, wildly expensive.  Our
   black-and-blue tester cost $152,695, about the same as an Acura NSX,
   which on a racetrack would leave the i8 for dead, blackened, flyblown
   carrion.  The i8 has charms other than raw performance, and for that
   price it bloody well ought to.


           ....Behind the seats is a tiny, purring 1.5 liter turbocharged
   three-cylinder gas engine and six-speed automatic transmission,
   producing 227 hp and 236 lb-feet of torque.


               In the nose of the car is AC synchronous electric motor
   (129 hp, 184 lb-ft of torque) driving the front wheels through a
   two-speed gearbox.  When the hybrid chakras are aligned, the all-wheel
   drive system output is 357 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, pitted against
   the car's dense 3,455 pounds.  ......it will hit a top speed of 155
   mph, says BMW.  Once in a while you can hear the turbos chuff, but the
   engine growl filling the cabin is synthesized and pumped through the
   audio system speakers.    .....But the i8 is not particularly fast.  It
   might be the slowest mid-engine carbon bodied sports car with
   pain-in-the-ass doors I've ever driven.



                If the i8 is New School BMW, the M4 is the Old School.
   ..... if you were to take a factory-fresh M4 for a rage up a canyon
   road you might ask yourself, "Could these cars get any better?"  Yes,
   they could.  All you need is  (more) money and the name Steve Dinan.


               Dinan's plumbers install a resonant stainless-steel exhaust
   system and, aft of the catalytic converters, a high-flow cross-pipe,
   The popping, can-full-of-bees din emerges from dual-quad exhaust tips
   the diameter of Crisco cans.  Ungawa!


              Dinan replaces all the rubber bushings with Teflon-coated
   machined ball joints, hardened housings, and billet aluminum rear toe
   links.  The suspension mods make the Dinan drive hard and thrashy,
   stiff as a Bavarian buckboard.  The road static in the steering wheel
   will make your hands tingle.  The steering is as sensitive as sunburn.


                 Just the way I like it."



               My comment:  IIRC, this is the second contemporary "sports"
   car using a high-end audio system to "enhance" the engine and exhaust
   sounds for a more satisfying artificial experience for the modern
   owner.  I expect the latest uber-expensive SUVs to have synthetic F1
   engine notes.   Appalling.



                                  Warmest regards,  Chuck Engles