My Rotary Diaries: An Owner’s Guide to the Mazda RX-8 Galaxy
“The RX-8 doesn’t just like a drink; it is the founding member of the AA institution for sports car engines”
Are you tired of my RX-8 reports yet? If you secretly nodded your head in agreement, then I have good news for you, because this will be the final one, in which I’ll try to recount the ups and downs of running Mazda’s last rotary sports car – until, hopefully, the next one comes up…
First of all, let me introduce you to the world’s first contemporary four-door coupe. The Mercedes-Benz CLS that supposedly invented the niche? It was launched a year later than the RX-8, which is a coupe and has four doors. True, the Merc and its clones are perched much higher in terms of pricing and none adopted the rear suicide doors that did without the B-pillar, but you get the point.
There’s nothing else like it on the market – period. Its powerplant shuns valves, pistons and conrods for ports and rotors and thus produces 228HP from a capacity of just 1.3 liters and a mad 9,500 rpm redline. I’ll admit, it suffers from a severe lack of low-end torque, but it revs so creamily and effortlessly that a chime has to remind you to change up before you hit the limiter.
This comes at a price. The RX-8 doesn’t just like a drink; it is the founding member of the AA institution for sports car engines. Yes, it really is that bad. No matter how gentle the right pedal is treated, a shocking 16-18 lt/km (15-13 mpg US) average in mixed use is common. Combine it with the 61–liter fuel tank and visits to gas stations are much more frequent than Lindsay Lohan’s to courts and rehab facilities.
On the bright side, it doesn’t get that much worse when it gets a good pasting. Thus, since the tank and wallet are draining at nearly the same rate regardless of speed, better to indulge in it. That’s what it was made for after all, right?
2013 New York: The 2014 Range Rover Sport is here to arouse the NYC urbanite crowd
After many teasers to build up anticipation, the 2014 Range Rover Sport was finally officially revealed earlier today at the 2013 New York International Auto Show.
The 2014 Range Rover Sport goes the way of its lesser Evoque sibling in terms of styling, much in the same way the standard Range Rover did. But the biggest piece of news for this all-new 2014 Range Rover Sport, aside from the new styling, is that this new model benefits from a diet of 800lbs.
The other significant change includes the replacement of the 5.0L naturally aspirated Jaguar-sourced AJV8. In place of that is Jaguar-Land Rover’s new 3.0L supercharged V6. The 5.0L supercharged V8 can still be had in the top of the line Range Rover Sport Supercharged.
Prices start at just $ 63,495 for the base 2014 Range Rover Sport while the top dog 2014 Range Rover Sport Autobiobraphy, complete with the 5.0L supercharged V8, asks for $ 93,295 from its buyer.
For the lengthy press release recap, check it out after the jump.
All Photos Copyright egmCarTech © Chris Chin.
Jaguar XKR-S GT Unveiled in New York
Seeing as the Jaguar XKR-S is a pretty serious bit of kit with 550PS and 680Nm, when it came to making a new, faster version, Jag engineers focused their efforts on making the car lighter and more aerodynamic. The new Jaguar XKR-S GT is the result of those efforts, and it’s a track-ready road-legal GT car.
The car is built by Jaguar’s ETO division – responsible for special and customized models – and it’s limited to only 30 units, making it the rarest model in 25-year history of Jaguar R performance cars. The XKR-S GT comes with lot of highly advanced motorsport features, among them carbon ceramic brake system, bespoke adaptive dampers are eight-way adjustable with race-derived twin spring system, and new camber, bushings and steering ratio.
Add to that a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, active electronic differential, as well as a massive GT3-style aero kit consisting of front splitter and winglets, side skirts, rear diffuser and fixed wing – not to mention the 20-inch lightweight alloy wheels with Pirelli Corsa tires – and you end up with a car capable of extraordinary performance.
The GT goes from 0 to 60mph in just 3.9 seconds, but top speed electronically limited to 186 mph (300 km/h). This is one of the most fascinating cars Jaguar has ever made, even though it does not comply at all with Jaguar’s image as a posh and plush British car.
Jaguar XKR-S GT: track-focused road car a chance for Oz
The most track-focused road car in Jaguar’s history – the new Jaguar XKR-S GT – is a chance to reach Australia despite production initially being limited to just 30 left-hand-drive vehicles.
Jaguar product public relations manager Jonathan Griffiths admitted the hardcore XKR-S GT coupe was designed primarily for North America (25 destined for the US, and five for Canada), but said the British manufacturer would build additional vehicles for other markets if there was demand.
“If we get orders [from other regions], then yes,” said Griffiths, who also confirmed there was nothing stopping Jaguar from building the XKR-S GT in right-hand drive for markets like Australia and the UK.
An evolution of the XKR-S (itself an uprated version of the XKR), the Jaguar XKR-S GT features a host of aerodynamic components and suspension developments designed to increase downforce and optimise the car’s high-speed cornering ability.
Enhancing the XKR-S GT’s aerodynamic efficiency is a racecar-style wraparound carbonfibre front splitter and wheel arch extensions, aggressively styled twin dive-planes, bonnet louvres, and an optimised aluminium front valance to smooth airflow under the car.
LeMons Sears Pointless Day 1: 533i Battles 525i For Lead, XJ12 Chasing Beetle In Class C
With 174 entries, we knew the first day of the 2013 Sears Pointless 24 Hours of LeMons would be wild. Plenty of thrown rods, plenty of lunched transmissions, and a steady stream of black flags later, the race session ended with several very exciting battles that will be resolved on Sunday.
In the P1 position, we have the car that dominated West Coast LeMons racing throughout the 2012 season: Cerveza Racing’s 1983 BMW 533i. This car is on the same lap as the P2 car, the If It’s Not Punk It’s Junk BMW 525i, and ZZZZzzzzzzzz…
British Lyonheart K Officially Priced at $460,000+
If you cast your mind back to early last year, you may recall us reporting on the 2013 Lyonheart K, the strangely named modern-day interpretation of the legendary Jaguar E-Type. Well, fast forward twelve months and the company behind the creation has finally announced the car’s price.
The Lyonheart K will be offered as both a hardtop and convertible with the coupe selling for $ 464,500 while the Lyonheart K Convertible will go for an even more insane $ 483,800.
When the Lyonheart K was originally imagined, the company planned to produce just 50 examples but thanks to higher than expected demand for the sports car, the British based manufacturer will now produce 250 examples.
As a reminder, the Lyonheart K features a 5.0-liter V8 engine from Cosworth which pumps out an impressive 567hp and 516lb-ft of torque. As a result, the Lyonheart K can sprint to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds before hitting a top speed of 300km/h.
[Via Carscoops]
Land Rover Electrifies Classic Defender for the Geneva Motor Show
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to drive the classic Land Rover Defender on the road, you’d be right to think that it’s, if not the, one of the most outdated new vehicles in the world. Take it for a spin off the road, however, and we’re pretty sure that you will quickly change your mind, which is why the British firm continues to offer a vehicle that can trace its roots back to the original 1948 model.
Still, as capable as it may be when the going gets tough, a replacement is long overdue, which is why Land Rover presented last year’s DC100 Concepts. Until the next Defender is ready, though, Land Rover wants to use the current model as an experimental vehicle to test a new electric powertrain.
At the Geneva Motor Show on March 5, the British brand will showcase seven pure electric Defender research vehicles, which will go into service in “specialist real world trials” later this year.
“This project is acting as a rolling laboratory for Land Rover to assess electric vehicles, even in the most arduous all-terrain conditions,” said Antony Harper, Jaguar Land Rover Head of Research. “It gives us a chance to evolve and test some of the technologies that may one day be introduced into future Land Rover models.”
In place of the standard diesel engine and gearbox in the 110 Defenders, Land Rover’s Advanced Engineering Team mounted a 70kW (94bhp), 330Nm electric motor twinned with a 300-volt, lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 27kWh, which provides a range of more than 50 miles (80 kilometers).
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