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VOL. 65, NO. 12
TABLE of CONTENTS JUNE 2020

26
ROAD TEST
2020 Porsche 718
Cayman GT4
Porsche installs a six-
cylinder in the Cayman
32
F E AT U R E
The Car and Driver Bug-Out Guide
Whether you’re fleeing society or the
46
F E AT U R E
The Cars Are
the Stars
A tiny shop in North
Carolina builds
meticulous replicas
58
F E AT U R E
The Fear of Failure
For millions of
Americans living
paycheck to paycheck,
owning a car is both a
and returns what the
current model is missing. miasma of news, you’ll find your escape of iconic movie cars. blessing and a curse.
By Jared Gall plan here, with a list of supplies, a rundown By Talon Homer By Jason M. Vaughn
of our favorite U.S. roads, a review of
that $300,000 SWAT truck you’ve been
eyeing, and an off-road test of your
mall-crawler to see just how tough it is.
By the Editors

“WHEN I STOP TO INSPECT THE FRONT END, I EXPECT TO SEE A YARD

SALE OF UNDERBODY TRIM IN MY WAKE. BUT EVERYTHING’S FINE. OKAY, TRD.
RESPECTABLE. NOW LET’S SEE HOW YOU HANDLE SOME MUDDIN’.”
—Ezra Dyer, “Going Where No Crossover Has Gone Before,” page 40
CAR A ND D R IV E R 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
JUNE 2020

COLUMNISTS
6. Sharon Silke Carty
The best medicine.
22. Ezra Dyer
Hell of the sell.
24. Elana Scherr
Lingua franca.

UPFRONT
11. Is This Real Life?
E-racing takes over.
14. Violators Will
Be Ticketed
Fighting disability-
parking-placard fraud.
16. Imitation Games
Inside an $80 million The joyful noise of the commentariat,
driving simulator.
18. Warm Bodies
rebutted sporadically by Ed.
These not-so-new cars
refuse to call it quits.
20. Suck It SHELBY UNCOVERED and with a small, usable, tang on the track anyway,
Gordon Murray revives Kudos to you for the beauti- practical V-8 would do. save $40,000 and enjoy
the fan car. ful March 2020 issue. It just Forget 760 horsepower. I the 392 everywhere else.
might be the most striking just need 390, tops. Ford, —Brooks Fenton
T H E R U N D OW N C/D cover I have seen. take a Fiesta- or Focus-sized Oakley, CA
65. 2021 Porsche —Claude Frank body and put a small-block It’s weird when an argu-
911 Turbo S Denver, CO in it. Same to you, Chevy. ment for a pony car with
Sneaky fast. Two seats are plenty. Then less power sort of makes
68. 2020 Cadillac Yes! It was totally correct I’d buy one. sense, isn’t it?—Ed.
CT4- V to put the Mustang front —James McCracken
Velight. and center on the cover. Twin Lakes, WI As a future Ford Mustang
70. 2020 Honda It is by far the best-look- GT500 owner, I am curious
CR-V Hybrid ing car of the three. You guys tested the wrong about the features and
Better with a battery. —Marek Winiarz Dodge Challenger. Every- amenities I’ll be missing
72. 2020 Kar Tunz Jamul, CA thing you don’t like about the that put it seven points
Lamborghini Urus Redeye goes away with the behind the Dodge and
The golden calf. COMPLAINT DEPT. R/T Scat Pack and its 392. six below the Camaro.
74. 2020 Mercedes- Okay, guys. The Ford Mus- Supercharger whine? Nope. —Jim Bridges
Benz CLA250 4Matic tang Shelby GT500 should Just a big V-8 with a satisfy- Shelby, NC
Star power. have won first place on looks ing bark from the exhaust. There’s a shockingly long
76. 2020 Audi S8 alone [“!!!” March 2020]. Too much power overwhelm- list of features that we
Who’s the boss? The Chevy Camaro looks ing the rear tires? Nope. check for—motorized seat-
77. 2020 Audi S7 like something the man- The 485 horsepower from belt adjustment is on there,
Prestige ager of an auto parts store the 392 is almost perfectly for example. Relative to
Give and take. would park out front with a matched to available trac- the others, the GT500 was
sign that says: “Everything tion. As for the seats, while missing the following: a
E TC . you see on this car can be not ideal for the track, they back seat, navigation, blind-
5. Backfires picked up from aisle six.” shine on the highway, as you spot monitoring, a heated
You pick ponies and —Joe Mac noted. With a car’s sticker steering wheel, heated
designers explain San Francisco, CA price at about $50,000, and cooled seats, wireless
their screens. you can have plenty of fun charging, and memory-
80. What to Buy: These pony cars are all too without breaking the bank. seat settings. That’s just
1979–93 Ford big. Something the size of the Since the Redeye can’t keep some of what accounts
Mustang 5.0. original Camaro or Mustang up with the Camaro and Mus- for the difference—Ed.

CAR A ND D R IV E R ~ J U NE 2020 ~ SI C YOUR DOGS ON US AT: EDI TOR S@CARAND D RIV ER.COM OR JOIN: BACKF IRES.CARAND D RIV ER.COM 5
 Backfires Editor ’s Let ter

I just don’t comprehend how

anyone could spend close to
$100K on any of these three cars
that don’t have the performance
or the handling of the C8 Cor-
vette, which starts at $59,995.
The Best Medicine
The Vette will hit 60 in 2.8 sec-
onds and do the quarter-mile
in 11.2, and that’s with only 495 s the world grapples with some really heavy questions, we

A
horses! Just wait for the Z06 here at Car and Driver face a conundrum of our own. How do
and ZR1. The muscle cars will go we put together a car magazine, in the midst of a pandemic,
back to their mommies crying! without any cars?
—Corvette Brock It’s not that we haven’t had access to new cars. We’re
Prescott, AZ still doing a handful of reviews, but the drives are close to
home, the testing is a bit more difficult to carry out, and our
The comparison test had me debates about the merits (and demerits) of each vehicle hap-
thinking what we might have pen on Slack and Zoom.
thought 30 years ago about the We assembled this issue in April, but we started planning
last-place Challenger Redeye run- in February, just as events like the Geneva auto show began falling off the
ning the quarter in 11.6 seconds, calendar. We dropped stories and assigned new ones, then the pace of the
holding the skidpad at 0.98 g, and crisis quickened. We canceled those new stories and started over again.
stopping from 70 mph in 153 feet. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that circumstances in the broader world
Ain’t it great to be alive in 2020? affect ours. We know many of you come to us for distraction and enter-
—Ken Chapman tainment, but there are times when it can be really hard to block out what’s
Advance, NC happening in the outside world.
But there will always be a place for lightness and humor. In 1996, in
I almost fell off the pot when the middle of a hot, humid July, my 48-year-old dad died suddenly, and
I read that the GT500 has a my life imploded. I’ve been thinking about the day of his funeral, which

SIC YOU R DO GS O N U S AT: ED ITORS@ CARANDDRIVER.COM OR JO IN: BACKFIRES.CARANDDRIVER.COM

rotary dial to control the auto- was awful but also quite lovely. On that sunny summer afternoon, after
matic transmission. That’s the service was over, I sat on my parents’ front lawn surrounded by four of
blasphemous! Carroll Shelby my favorite people in the world. I don’t remember what we talked about,
must be turning in his grave. but I recall that we laughed. A lot. It was the right medicine for the time.
—T. Tucker Ultimately, we hope that the work we do in the magazine and online at
Bloomfield Hills, MI caranddriver.com will remind you that there is life beyond this moment.
Yes, we’d like to think he’s And how awesome it will be when
turning the rotary dial we can finally get back to living that
to drive and then select- life. Of course, we will continue to
ing manual mode—Ed. present you with beautiful cars to
look at and enjoy, and we’ll share
Why do you test three great our thoughts on them, much as we
pony cars at Willow Springs and ever have. We hope to drive and test
not provide any lap times? as many vehicles as possible in the
—Jim Campisano coming months. Rest assured: It
Lithia, FL will always be all about cars (and
We thought we’d wait to see SUVs and even trucks) around here,
how these cars match up no matter what.
PHOTO GRAPH BY JE NNY RISHE R

at our annual Lightning Lap So stick with us. And for the love
test at Virginia International of God, wash your hands.
Raceway, but you’re right;
we probably should have
timed a few of our laps—Ed. S H A R O N SI L K E C A R T Y
E D I TO R - I N - C H I E F
Both left- and right-side hood
struts are visible in the shots

6 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER

 Still waiting for your C8 Corvette? Well, build one yourself.
Go to caranddriver.com/papercorvette to learn how.

of the engine bays in the

Camaro and Challenger.
However, none can be seen
in the picture of the Ford’s
engine, which shows what
appears to be a single hood- they build. Why not test
prop rod. Please tell me that something we can afford? I read your article regarding would just use his business
for $94,000, Ford doesn’t —Roy Wood the 40,000-mile evaluation mileage (the IRS allows 57.5
have us holding up the hood West Monroe, LA of the 2019 Volvo XC60, cents per mile in 2020).
with one hand while pulling where it was noted that the Since it costs him about
the dipstick with the other. You awarded these flagrantly XC hit 40,000 miles sooner $0.15 per mile driven for
—Derrick Wilburn uneconomical sports coupes than most long-termers gas, he really wins on the
Colorado Springs, CO either a nine or a perfect 10 [March 2020]. That made mileage deduction. This
Wilburn’s keen eye finds in your objective fuel-econ- me wonder, What car took reduces his taxable income.
another contributing factor omy scores. Time to update the longest time to complete —Bill Nemeth
to the Ford’s low features your algorithm for the 21st the same evaluation? Atlanta, GA
and amenities score—Ed. century so gluttonous vehi- —Paul Bryant
cles like these don’t wind up Mount Holly, NC RUBBER MATCH
Unfortunately, we all don’t on the frugal end of scale. There was a 2003 Porsche Um, I think the bill is likely
drive every day at a desert —Mark Kaplan 911 Carrera 4S (996) a lot more than just the
racetrack, so the minutiae Cambridge, MA that took two years to hit $722 for tires [“Academic
on every tech detail may Kaplan, the scores are 40,000 miles. Embar- Burnout,” March 2020]. How
have been overkill. Having relative to the vehicles in rassingly, Porsche was much for new rear brake
said that, ignoring the looks the test, not Priuses—Ed. already selling the next- pads, rotors, and probably
of each vehicle was a grand gen (997) 911 when we calipers and hardware? Were
failure. At the end of the Been reading Car and Driver finally wrapped it up. And any items like ABS sensor
day, we could all build a fast, pony-car matchups for a 1999 Volkswagen New wires, brake hoses, and park-
good-handling Pontiac Vibe, decades and—bam!—there Beetle took 21 months to ing-brake cables torn up by
but we may not be proud it is: The Chevy beats the cross the finish line—Ed. the flailing tire pieces? How
of the way we look in it. Ford and Dodge and it’s much for all the damage to
—Bob Wagstaff 100-plus down on horse- TAX TIME fender liners, fender flares,
Toronto, ON power! Dare I say we’ve I thoroughly enjoyed the and bumper covers?
reached the point where the article by Eric Tingwall —Michael Melton
As a longtime reader of your horsepower in pony cars [“What Can Flame Job Do Hobbs, NM
magazine, I am appalled by is becoming less relevant? for You?” March 2020]. We were uncharacteristi-
how much anti-Ford bias Wait. I need a moment. He spoke about the cost of cally careful not to damage
has clouded your publica- —Bob Nocera putting gas in the Eclipse. the Charger or any of the
tion. You have continued to Atlanta, GA The IRS has a much more hardware you mention—Ed.
be shamefully and overtly
biased in favor of motorized Gig work is tough work, even when your shirt KRAFTWERK
Asian rickshaws and GM. You matches your Eclipse and Cheetos of choice. After reading Daniel Pund
love Asian cars and SUVs, on Porsche’s sensors [“Tin
but have you not closed Ears”] and Jason Fenske on
their doors and felt how Mercedes’s E-Active Body
flimsy they are? How could Control system [“Won’t
you put the Camaro ahead Catch Me Rollin’”] in the
ILLUSTRATIO N BY CHRIS PHILPOT

of the Mustang? If you con- March issue, I’m reminded

tinue this bias, you will keep of something an old German
losing the respect of neutral machinist told me years ago:
enthusiasts like myself. If Germans had invented
—Judge George E. Khouri the paper clip, it would
Toronto, ON have had 11 moving parts.
You sound quite —Paul Thornbery
neutral, Judge—Ed. Calgary, AB

7
 READER POLL
Backfires
The Screen Test: Which design do you prefer?

EZ D
Ezra Dyer recently recom- Nonintegrated
mended a YouTube video in his
column [“Grand Totaled,” March
2020]. After watching Randy
Nearly
800
7%
Trout’s video on supercharger Votes
Integrated
replacement, I have an idea for
Dyer and his next career move:
If he ever decides to become a
93%
redneck rapper, his name could
be EZ Radyer or maybe EZ Rad.
—Nate Smith
Buffalo, NY BALLOT BOX an upright-chair height,” says Ryan
Thank you, Backfires readers, for Nagode, chief designer for Dodge and
END TIMES participating in our great infotainment Ram interiors. “The cabin is tall, and
I subscribed because my poll [March 2020], but really, you can it’s a wide vehicle. Some things that
14-year-old son has become stop now. Seriously, that’s enough. go into setting up the basic structure
very interested in cars. We Given how passionate some of you that the screen fits into are larger and
have enjoyed your reviews, are about this subject, we decided taller in a pickup truck.”
but I am disappointed in the to dig a little deeper, interviewing an Ram pickups use touchscreens
cursing that appears in several interior designer from each side of that have to be within the driver’s
articles. I have to consider the screen-integration equation and reach. In the latest Mazdas, the
canceling because of it. asking them to explain themselves. screens are purposely kept out of
—Douglas Falt Here’s what the teams at Mazda, reach. “We believe that a remote
Wylie, TX which uses a “floating” display input is less distracting,” explains
atop its dashboard, and Ram, which Valbuena. “I can easily drop my hand
I’m in the market for a tow crams its big screen into its trucks’ to the knob on the center console
vehicle for my 2007 Cayman S center stacks, have to say—Ed. and, just by feel alone, know if I’m

SIC YOU R DO GS O N U S AT: ED ITORS@ CARANDDRIVER.COM OR JO IN: BACKFIRES.CARANDDRIVER.COM

track car and would appreciate pushing the entertainment button
inclusion of the tow ratings for THE GEOMANCERS or the navigation button or adjust-
the SUVs you review. While “Mazda’s HMI (Human Machine ing the volume knob. I can take short
you’re at it, cargo volume is also Interface) philosophy is centered glances at the screen to see when I’m
worth noting and more relevant around minimizing driver distrac- selecting certain elements. But I
to most readers than the time tions” says Matthew Valbuena, one don’t have to follow my finger to see
it takes to reach 120 mph. of the brand’s engineers working on where it is on the screen.”
—Eric Suber integrating digital technology. “The We’re told that Ram sees its
Yardley, PA screen placement is about minimiz- massive display as a signifier of the
Think of the 120-mph time ing visual distractions. We place it toughness that the brand wants to
as an indicator of how well high on the dash so that it’s much project. “We like the fact that it looks
an SUV will tow—Ed. closer to the driver’s natural line of unbreakable,” Nagode says.
sight. It minimizes the glance angle.” As screen tech develops, OEMs
My wife just bought a Subaru How far your eyes have to pan to will surely adapt to it. No one appears
Outback. Should I divorce her? see a screen differs between the two to be married to any one design or
—Brian Mayer brands’ products. Relative to Ram’s tech strategy. What won’t change,
Powersville, IA pickups, Mazda’s vehicles are small though, is buyers’ desire for technol-
ILLUSTRATIO NS BY PE TE R O UMANSKI

and low. Rams have more dashboard ogy. And wherever the screens are,
Just got the January ’69 real estate to work with. “In a truck, they’ll have to evolve to keep up with
issue, the one with Dick you’re sitting at a little bit more of that desire. —John Pearley Huffman
Smothers’s column. “Six Econo-
Racers”? Where’s the 442?
—Rick DeFlorio Using Shell V-Power® NiTRO®+ Premium Gasolines and diesel fuels appropriately in all Car and Driver
test vehicles ensures the consistency and integrity of our instrumented testing procedures and numbers,
Somewhere in IN both in the magazine and online.
You ever get one of those CUSTOMER SERVICE Call 800-289-9464, email [email protected], visit service.
caranddriver.com, or write to Customer Service Dept., Car and Driver, P.O. Box 37870, Boone, IA 50037
emails from 1969?—Ed. for inquiries/requests, changes of mailing or email addresses, subscription orders, payments, etc.

8 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER

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CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Is This Real Life?

With live events off With four laps left, NASCAR driver Timmy Hill bumped
the schedule, we’re fellow racer William Byron’s car to overtake him and
ready to watch clinch victory at the Pro Invitational Series O’Reilly Auto
zeros and ones race Parts 125. Had this been a normal race, his win would have
around a track. launched a celebration with confetti and mobbing fans. But it
wasn’t a normal race. So instead, for his 674th iRacing victory,
Hill chugged a glass of milk and
chatted online with his friends and
crew chief, all from a homespun sim
racer in the comfort of his house.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXAND ER WELLS 11

 CRISIS MANAGEMENT

The coronavirus pandemic has put the

brakes on traditional racing. NASCAR, For-
mula 1, IndyCar, and other series have post-
poned races and, at press time, some were still
weighing whether to scrub the entire season
to comply with government mandates regard-
ing large gatherings. As cancellations stack
up, virtual alternatives have emerged in their
stead, offering not only outlets for fans stuck
at home and hungry for entertainment but also Chase Elliott (left) and Lando Twitch allows fans to watch
a glimpse at the future. People who flocked to Norris (right) favor large curved professional drivers compete on
screens to create an immersive
Twitch—a streaming platform from which experience. Drinking Mountain Dew a console game that viewers may
professional and amateur gamers can broad- while racing is strictly optional.already own or can buy for $60.
cast their performance in real time for fans all The Bahrain Virtual Grand Prix
over the globe to see—discovered that some took place in the game F1 2019, which can be played on a PC, PlaySta- NASCAR AND INDYCAR IMAGES BY CHRIS GRAYTHEN/GE TTY IMAGES,

well-known racers have been online for a while. tion 4, or Xbox One. While the professionals and hardcore gamers
Lando Norris, a McLaren driver in F1, is one often use complex racing seat setups complete with a steering wheel
such Twitch regular. He already had a strong fol- and pedals [see “Gear Up”], the causal gamer can pick up a controller
lowing on the platform but has seen a 66 percent and run on the same track as the pros. At least virtually, games like
uptick in subscribers to his account during the F1 2019, Forza, and Gran Turismo have leveled the playing field in a
first few weeks of the pandemic. He streamed way that other sports-based video games can’t.
a game with 107,000 live view-
ers, a personal best and a sign
that fans are still looking for an GEAR UP
—
F1 fix. “We’ve seen an influx of Like most hobbies, gaming comes with its own gear.
new viewers—each time some- For racing games, that often means a rig that includes
one like Lando or another ath- a seat, pedals, and a steering wheel. You can go the
budget route—we recommend sourcing your seat from a
lete or team streams,” says Jane junkyard Miata—or highbrow. This $650 Porsche 911 GT3
Weedon, Twitch’s head of new R replica wheel from Fanatec is in the latter category.
verticals. “It’s exciting to see so It has magnetic actuators in the carbon-fiber-plated
shift paddles, weighs less than five pounds, and is
many sports fans discovering compatible with multiple gaming platforms. File it on
Twitch for the first time.” your taxes as an improvement to your home office.

12 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR AND DRIV ER

 Even under normal circumstances, professional drivers use these pany, says 454 million people were occasional or
games to learn the corners and the sequences of tracks. The skills frequent esports viewers in 2019 (a figure that
they pick up can translate to real on-track results. NASCAR driver includes viewers of nonracing but still com-
Byron got behind the wheel of race cars at the relatively late age of petitive games such as Fortnite and League of
14. But before that, he was racking up wins in what is the now one of Legends). It projects that number will grow to
the top simulation-racing games available, iRacing. 518 million this year. That’s a big opportunity
With laser-scanned tracks and a set of proprietary physics-based for NASCAR and F1, both of which have seen
models designed to accurately replicate a car’s behavior in various declining viewership in recent years.
circumstances, web-based iRacing has become the gold standard for “At the core of this whole concept, it was
anyone who wants their at-home racing simulator to feel like the real honestly about just trying to provide a rest
thing. It’s what many pro racers train on when they’re not in their for our fans in a very challenging and anxiety-
cars, but there’s a higher barrier to entry than in some other games. ridden time in everyone’s life,” says Scott War-
It works only on computers running Windows, and nearly everyone field, NASCAR’s managing director of gaming.
is playing with a steering wheel and pedals rather than a controller. Once races are back up and running and the
iRacing is robust enough that NASCAR has hosted virtual races rubber that’s melting is real, we don’t expect
in the game and broadcast them on television. According to analyt- NASCAR-sanctioned sim racing to go away.
ics firm Nielsen, the first such race, which aired March 22 on Fox “We’d be foolish if we didn’t look at some of
Sports 1, drew 903,000 viewers; 255,000 of them hadn’t yet watched these numbers and think about what they could
a NASCAR Cup race in 2020. During the second race (which Hill mean,” Warfield says. —Roberto Baldwin
won), the number of viewers climbed to 1.3 million.
Both NASCAR and F1 are taking advantage of an existing audi-
ence for simulated racing. iRacing runs
When cars collide in a its own championships every year, with WHO’S
virtual race, each car’s
performance is nega-
hundreds of thousands in prize money LAUGHING
tively impacted based on and a dedicated fan base. And Newzoo, NOW?
complex algorithms. a gaming marketing and analytics com-

During lap 11 of a virtual NASCAR race

at Bristol Motor Speedway, drivers
Bubba Wallace and Clint Bowyer
collided in two consecutive corners.
Frustrated and out of damage resets
for his car, Wallace disconnected and
left the race, earning a DQ/DNF in
BUBBA WALLACE PHOTO BY B RIA N LAWDE RMI LK/GETTY IMAGES

the event. Then Blue-Emu, one of

Wallace’s real-life sponsors, tweeted
at him, saying, “We’re interested in
drivers, not quitters.” The company
followed up with a gif of Donald
Trump during his Apprentice days.
The message: You’re fired.

13
 RULE OF LAW

Violators Will
Be Ticketed
States and municipalities are
looking for ways to shut down an
active underground market for
disability parking placards.

Since the passage of the Americans with

Disabilities Act in 1990, those ubiqui-
tous blue parking permits have allowed driv-
ers with disabilities to park in prime spaces,
often for free and with no time limits. It
didn’t take long for scammers to realize that
disability placards could also be a valuable
commodity for those whose only affliction
is a distaste for following the rules. Across
the country, the rampant illegal use of these
placards makes life even more challenging
for disabled drivers, as it leaves fewer spots
available for those who need them.
The black market for disability placards
exists online as well as on street corners,
and placards can sell for anywhere from $50 to $2600 each. Tif- One proposed solution aims to disincentivize
fany James, communications manager at the Parking Authority abuse by granting free parking only to those with
of Baltimore City, says that before the city got a handle on the disabilities that restrict their ability to use common
situation, “If you needed cash, you could find a car displaying a payment infrastructure (e.g., they can’t insert coins
disability placard, smash the window, grab the placard, and sell into a meter due to a lack of fine motor control or
it for $100.” For the buyer, that permit could be worth $10,000 readily approach a kiosk due to a wheelchair). Under-
a year in free parking in a big city. standing that this would face a lot of pushback from
In the absence of federal standards, states and municipalities the disabled community, advocates suggest that any
are writing their own rules to discourage placard theft, but the revenue earned from this change be invested in safer
regulations are all over the map. Massachusetts, New Mexico, and sidewalks, better curb ramps, and audible devices
South Carolina require ID photos on disability placards. In New at pedestrian crosswalks. They also point out that
Jersey, drivers caught using a placard illegally may be subject to a advancements such as meters that take credit cards
fine of up to $10,000 and 18 months in prison. In Los Angeles, offi- and smartphone parking apps have made paying
cials conduct compliance checks four times a month throughout for parking easier. James says that within a month
the city. Deputy chief of parking enforcement Richard Rea says his of requiring placard holders to pay for parking and
team confiscated 702 fraudulent placards in 2019. And in April of adhere to time limits as part of a 2014 initiative, “Bal-
last year, the city council voted to hit violators with an $1100 fine. timore’s problem dried up.” —Cari Shane

PERMIT POLL
85% 52% 80%
Lack of accessible parking of respondents turned back believe that
has real consequences, as said they when they enforcement
evidenced by the responses had problems were unable of placard
to a national survey of people finding to find an abuse is inad-
with disabilities conducted accessible accessible equate or
in late 2017. parking. spot. nonexistent.

14 ILLUST RAT ION BY DARCY MUENCHRAT H ~ JUNE 2020 ~ CAR AND DRIV ER
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 SIM CITY
—
LIVING IN THE SIMULATION The simulator can show
a diverse range of
environments, including
open two-lane highways and
urban construction zones
populated with computer-
generated tailgaters.

Imitation
Games
We act as the guinea pigs in an
$80 million driving simulator.

At the University of Iowa’s National

Advanced Driving Simulator
(NADS) research center, more than 40
faculty, staff, and students use a 93-ton
moon-lander-looking machine and a
variety of vehicle cabs to study the way
people drive. This test rig—called NADS-1—rides on seven and steering resistance and feedback. Sixteen video
belts (six on the x-axis, one on the y). All in, this costs about projectors display images of different environments on
$80 million, but it allows researchers to perfect today’s auto- the inside walls of the NADS-1. This provides the driver
mated driving tech in a safe, controllable way. with a 360-degree-horizontal, 40-degree-vertical field
The team does some testing on public roads (they’re of view. The platform underneath the rig can reach up to
leading the charge to make rural-road-capable automated 14 mph, and the dome can pitch 25 degrees, spin in nearly
vehicle systems that can detect farm equipment), but that a complete circle, and accelerate at just over 0.60 g, lat-
real-world work validates the 10,000 simulator drives erally or longitudinally, allowing the NADS-1 to scale
logged in the NADS-1. On the day we visited, they were using the movements of a real car into a space the size of two
a seventh-gen Toyota Camry to study how human drivers basketball courts.
interact with Level 3 automation—in particular, how drivers Depending on the simulation, test drivers may sit
respond when the system quits or tells them to take over. inside the rig for hours. “The goal is to study human
Inside the rig, the Camry’s wheels have been removed behavior, not vehicle performance,” says deputy direc-
and the wells stuffed with actuators to replicate body tor Omar Ahmad. The NADS team logs hundreds of data
motions. Motors simulate brake- and accelerator-pedal points, from eye movements to heart rates. Because the
test scenario is repeatable, researchers
are able to directly compare the behav-
ior and responses of different drivers,
THREE’S COMPANY
— which allows engineers to better refine
There are three simulators in the the safety algorithms.
NADS facility: the NADS-1, NADS-2, After a simulation where we had to
and miniSim. The NADS-2 (left) has a
fixed base and a limited field of view. take over from a self-driving system, we
It’s a more cost-effective way to run let loose with the NADS-1 on the (fake)
studies that don’t require the open highway. The graphics are a bit
NADS-1’s motion capabilities, such as
one on night-vision tech. And the dated, but the simulated dynamics are
miniSim is portable; it uses a 42-inch impeccable. Road vibration, wind noise,
display and a partial vehicle cab. perspective, brake dive—it’s all remark-
ably close to real life. —Clifford Atiyeh

16 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR AND DRIV ER

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Warm
Bodies
No matter how bad
the reviews, these
vehicles keep rolling
well past their
expiration dates.

At Car and Driver, we spend most of our time focused on what’s new. But despite our THE WALKING DEAD
love of fresh sheetmetal, some manufacturers continue toiling away at the same —
Even when a car is
old, same old. Why are so many relics still rolling out of factories? Well, you don’t see KFC discontinued, it can
revising its original recipe. If the engineering, design, and tooling costs of a product were sometimes linger in
paid off years ago, and if customers are still putting down money, the savvy businessper- showrooms for years,
as was the case for
son stays the course, even when the vehicle starts to look like an antique. Here are some of these hangers-on:
the longest-lasting examples of that passive strategy. —Annie White

DODGE JOURNEY NISSAN FRONTIER TOYOTA 4RUNNER DODGE GRAND

— — — CARAVAN
The Journey is every- There will be a new Before you get mad, —
where. U.S. sales Frontier on lots know that we love Despite spending DODGE VIPER
of Dodge’s mid-size sometime next year, 4Runners, too. But beaucoup bucks Discontinued in 2017,
five sold in 2019.
ute peaked at more but the fact remains this Toyota is doing developing the
than 106,000 in that you could walk all its rock- and Pacifica, FCA contin-
2016, eight years into a Nissan dealer- mall-crawling with ued to sell the Grand
into its run. And ship today and buy a 11-year-old tech. Caravan—new for the
dealers still moved mid-size truck that If Jeep can build a 2008 model year—for
94,000 Journeys in was introduced when new Wrangler, and budget-conscious
TOYOTA VENZA
2018, even though we thought Howard Mercedes a new people who needed Discontinued in 2015,
the model has seen Dean might be the G-wagen, surely a minivan but not a nine sold in 2019.
minimal improve- next president. And Toyota can build built-in vacuum. And
ments since its yet, the Frontier’s a 4Runner for the it’s no wonder why:
introduction. Dodge many anachronisms modern era. Then FCA sold 26 percent
dropped the V-6 for have done nothing to again, there’s not more Grand Caravans
2020, leaving just slow sales. In 2019, it much incentive to than Pacificas last
one powertrain: a outsold not only the change it: Toyota year. But it looks as
2.4-liter inline-four Titan but also every sold more 4Runners if FCA finally got the Discontinued in 2017,
58 sold in 2019.
with a four-speed SUV in Nissan’s lineup in the U.S. last message. The Dodge
automatic. Yes, not named Rogue—and year than Mitsu- will retire for the
a four-speed. most of its cars, too. bishi did vehicles. 2021 model year.

18 ILLUST RAT ION BY DIEGO PAT IÑO ~ JUNE 2020 ~ CAR AND DRIV ER
Secrets of a Billionaire Revealed
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 OLD THING BACK

Suck It
Gordon Murray’s F1 successor
is bringing the fan car back
from the dead.
THE NEXT
GENERATION
Tribute bands know the songs,
but it’s the rare Elvis imper- The T.50 takes heavy influence from Murray’s legendary
sonator who earns his own audi- Formula 1 fan car, but the McLaren F1 is its most direct ancestor.
ence. Gordon Murray hopes his Here’s how the new car lines up against the old one.
forthcoming T.50 supercar, inspired
by the McLaren F1 he also designed, McLaren F1 Gordon Murray Automotive T.50
— —
will do just that. The new car will hit Engine: 6.1-liter V-12, 618 hp, Engine: 4.0-liter V-12, 650 hp,
many of the same notes as the origi- 7500-rpm redline 12,100-rpm redline
nal, and Murray says his goal is to Transmission: 6-speed manual Transmission: 6-speed manual
Weight: 2579 lb Weight (mfr’s claim): 2161 lb
build “the last analog supercar.” But Units Produced: 106 Units Planned: 100
we’re most excited about the prom- Base (Inflation Adjusted): $1.4 million Base: $2.6 million
ise of active aerodynamics driven by
the T.50’s 15.7-inch fan.
Murray had already designed a
fan-assisted car. He developed the
BT46B for the Brabham Formula 1
team’s 1978 campaign. It won the
only race in which it was officially entered, the 1978 works to make the downforce-generating rear dif-
Swedish Grand Prix, by a lengthy 34 seconds. Before it fuser more efficient.
could repeat that performance, Brabham’s then boss “Every designer on the planet would love to have a
Bernie Ecclestone, who was angling for power within F1 very aggressive diffuser like this, but the air will just
and wanted to appease angry team owners, withdrew say ‘no thanks,’ so you end up with a pool of stagnant
the BT46B from further competition. air where the diffuser has stalled,” Murray explains.
According to Murray, the T.50’s fan system is consid- The fan sucks this layer of air away from the top
erably more clever than the race car’s. The 48-volt elec- of the diffuser. “Once that is out of the way, the air
tric fan sits at the rear of the car. At about 20 pounds, its has to follow the surface,” Murray says. This design
motor, blades, ducting, and valves weigh less than the allows the T.50 to develop peak downforce at lower
hydraulic actuators required for an active wing. The speeds, the opposite of conventional aerodynam-
fan isn’t powerful enough to create a partial vacuum on ics, giving the car extra bite in corners and lower
the car’s underside the way the BT46B’s did. Instead, it drag on the straights. Air sucked through inlets on
the rear flanks creates what Murray describes as a
virtual longtail. “Drag drops by 10 percent, which
FAN SERVICE is massive,” he says, “and you’re no longer creating
downforce you don’t need.” —Mike Duff
The T.50’s fan is multitalented,
improving downforce and cooling
while also reducing drag and Active Spoiler Flaps
fuel consumption. Six different Ram Air Engine Intake
drive modes determine the control Oil-Cooling Inlet
of the fan and various flaps
and ducts, some of which are
labeled here.
Engine Bay Cooling Outlet

Fan
Diffuser-Control Ducts

Engine Bay Cooling Inlet

Drag-
Reducing
Duct

20 ILLUST RAT ION BY PET E SUCHESKI ~ JUNE 2020 ~ CAR AND DRIV ER
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Hell of the Sell
Buying a car is fun, so why does selling one have to be such a headache?

“Is this still available?” By the 10th time I fielded my cul-de-sac fantasizing about taking a classic S-class on the
that question, I figured a spam bot was open road. Sometimes, I’d just go out and look at it—it’s cool
attacking the Facebook Marketplace listing for my to have a Bruno Sacco car in your driveway. Anytime you want,
Benz. But then I discovered that when you’re on you can pretend you’re a plastic surgeon in early-’90s Beverly
the buyer’s side of the page, the first thing you see Hills. Just climb in, pop your collar, and pound the wheel: Your
is a button that asks, “Is this still available?” Gee, I neighbor, Raoul, just pulled up in a 560SEL. Curse you, Raoul!
don’t know. There’s an ad for it, and photos, and a But eventually, I admitted that I wasn’t going to tear down
description that begins, “This is definitely for sale.” the engine or commission a repower. So I snagged a set of stock
You don’t go to a fish market, point at a haddock, and rims, pulled the AMGs—perhaps a plan will materialize for
say, “Is this still available?” But for some reason—an those—and listed the W126 for $1000. First up, Craigslist.
ironclad commitment to bumbling malevolence?— If it’s been a while since you’ve sold a car on the List of Craig,
Facebook decided that this question is a great ice- it may come as a surprise that posting a listing costs $5. Even this
breaker. And I decided to ignore all the people who trivial amount of money incentivizes scamming. It didn’t occur
asked it. So Facebook deleted my ad and kicked me to me that anyone would try to con me out of my own listing,
off Marketplace. Ignoring dumb questions from which is probably why that happened.
craven idiots must violate its terms of use. Humans Initially, the responses to the ad followed a familiar trajec-
annoying one another is, after all, Facebook’s whole tory: scam, scam, “Will you take $500?” scam, an earnest note
business model. And yet, Facebook Marketplace is a admiring the car while professing no intention to buy it. Then
digital utopia compared with the geyser of untreated the ad got flagged as fraudulent. Sometime thereafter, I got an
sewage that is Craigslist. email purporting to be from Craigslist, claiming that it needed
I actually bought this car on Craigslist last sum- my confirmation link to verify that the ad was legit. Yes, the
mer. It was a flawed beauty, a black 1990 300SE with email address seemed a little funky—it had a hyphen in it—but
excellent paint and a dialed-up interior, sitting on it wasn’t a Romanian domain or anything, and real Craigslist
W210 AMG monoblock wheels. Everything worked emails tend to come from wildly nonsensical addresses any-
except one thing: the engine. The 3.0-liter inline- way. So, yeah, I got phished. I didn’t suspect anyone would go
six ran, but it made noises suggesting a crankcase through the trouble of pirating an ad to save five bucks. But the
filled with rebar. Harboring delusions of mechanical next day, my Mercedes was replaced by a photo of a 2005 Jeep
prowess, I towed it home and got to work. By which I Grand Cherokee with an email address pasted across the image.
mean, I cleaned it up and sat in it and drove it around Classic! What kind of a sucker would fall for that?
I imagined the hilarity of scammers
responding to that ad, an infinity loop
of sketchy claims about bank wires and
Calling all tire kickers, lowballers, and scammers: Dyer is selling this car. cashier’s checks. I reset my password and
bid farewell to Craigslist’s hive of scum.
Meanwhile, over at Facebook, one of my
friends saw the ad before I was banished. He
has a short-wheelbase W126, a diesel with a
ratty interior and a body marred by a deer
strike. He came over to evaluate whether
ILLUSTRATIO N BY BRE TT AFFRUNTI

he could transplant his powertrain into my

car and create one primo machine. A couple
days later, he sent a message: “I’ll take it.”
That was two weeks ago. He has to finish
another project to make room for the 300SE,
and I told him I could wait. The car’s in my
driveway, the cover snugging down on the
three-pointed-star hood ornament. I’m
starting to ask myself: Is this still available?

22 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER

Host DAN ABRAMS and analysts TOM MORRIS JR. and Sergeant SEAN ‘STICKS’ LARKIN
serve as your guides in this new book—taking you on set, sharing their favorite moments from
the show, and offering in-depth insights into the real world of LIVE PD.

Available now on

SEE THE SHOW

I
FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS
AT 9PM EST
 El ana scherr

Lingua Franca
I’m Elana, the new columnist, and I wanna talk about cars.

I need an icebreaker. Not the Russian Arktika- Despite my early interest in car collecting, I didn’t get a
class variant, not that I don’t want a 75,000- license or a real car until my senior year of college, when I had
hp ship capable of busting through 16 feet of solid to buy the latter to practice for the former. I ended up with a 1973
ice, but where would I put it? My neighbors already Plymouth Duster, and my roommate used to have to move it for
look askance at the oil stains in my driveway. Also, I me on street-cleaning days, since I was still working on my par-
don’t think I could get away with nuclear reactors. allel-parking skills. When your first car is an old car, you learn
I need the other kind of icebreaker, the one for some wrenching as well as safe following distances, so I found
parties where you have to talk to strangers but myself collecting a small tool kit along with my learner’s permit.
nobody’s drunk yet. Well, some of you might be, but There are only two ways to go with a classic car. You either
for those who aren’t, I’m going to lean on the experts grow weary of pegged temp gauges and monthly mechanic visits
in long-distance communication. or you find satisfaction in learning bolt sizes and tool names and
I was launched the same year NASA sent the Voy- fall in love with the community you find at car shows and race-
ager spacecraft in search of extraterrestrial life, so tracks and among early-morning canyon adventurers. I worked
let’s look to them for tips on making new friends. for several years in shops, both car and motorcycle, and started
Voyager’s goal was to map the outer regions and to expand my interests from classic muscle cars to classic cars in
then leave our solar system, carrying a “Hello from general. And then to any combination of wheels, engine, motor,
the children of planet Earth” into the vastness of rubber band, and peroxide rocket. If it moves, I probably like it.
space. Voyager’s recorded message included animal I wasn’t the worst with a wrench, but my tendency to nap
sounds, photographs, and greetings in 55 different under a car during oil changes meant flat-rate mechanic work
languages. Since my grasp of whale song is rusty, was a poor long-term career choice. If only there were a job that
I’ll attempt initial contact in our shared language combined my desire to learn how things work and my mediocre
of cars owned, cars driven, and cars much desired. talent for doing those things myself and that would allow me
My first car was a Chevrolet Impala. It was gold, to share the delightful stories of people who build and race and
it was missing an axle, and I found it in the sandbox design and create the cars we love. We’ll come back to that.
at the park. My mom drove a ’68 Impala, at that point The Duster was followed by a Challenger, then a better Chal-
already an outlier amid 1980s station wagons and lenger, then a truck, then an Opel GT, and most recently, an ’81
brand-new minivans, and I was delighted to find a Pontiac Trans Am. “What is your normal car?” people often ask
miniature version. “This car is important enough to at this point. Uh, yeah, I don’t have one. Between my husband
be recreated,” it said to me. “Cars can be important.” and me, we have a dozen vehicles; of them, only two are fuel
injected, and those are 30-year-old diesels.
Lest you think us Luddites—only he
is—I’m a big fan of A/C and Apple CarPlay
ON FIRST CARS and I get my tech fix driving and reviewing
cars for publications like this one. Remem-
“My first car was a ber that desire I had for a job where I could
celebrate people’s engineering skills and get
Chevrolet Impala. It was paid to do things like sleep on a Viper wing?
Turns out there is one with exactly that

gold, it was missing an description, and sometimes, if you work at

ILLUSTRATIO N BY BRE TT AFFRUNTI

it, it turns into a C/D column where you can

try to explain how you got here and what
axle, and I found it in the you plan to do now that you’ve arrived. I
come in peace, everybody. I want to tell you
sandbox at the park.” about a world of wonders, technological
marvels, great moments in history, and the
people and places along the way. For now, I’ll
take a page out of NASA’s book and simply
say, “Hello. Hi. Hey. Greetings.”

24 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER

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26 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER
 Porsche installs a six-cylinder
in the Cayman and returns what
the current model is missing.
~
By Jared Gall
Photography by Marc Urbano

27
In a turbocharged
world, the 718 Cayman
GT4 is a naturally
aspirated breath of
fresh air. Its 4.0-liter
flat-six bristles with
personality.

28
 to balance wear. Does it work? Can ones linking it to other GT Porsches.
you feel it? On the highway, the acti- If you think of this as a GT3 chassis
vation sounds a bit like an exhaust transplanted into Porsche’s mid-
leak, which led us to reflexively dis- engine car, you’re not too far off.
able it by deactivating the stop-start The front axle is shared between the
system at startup. This comes with GT3 and GT4, as are many compo-
the added joy of listening to a natu- nents of the rear suspension.
rally aspirated flat-six’s raspy idle. A stock 718 Cayman is far from
The 4.0 reaches its 414-hp peak a donk, but the GT4 sits 1.0 inch
at 7600 rpm and makes 309 pound- lower on a stiffer suspension. That
feet of torque at 5000 rpm, hitting and its more aggressive front fascia
the rev limiter at 8100 rpm. That’s and manually adjustable wing give
an increase of 49 horses over the it an awesome predatory look—
most powerful four-pot Cayman fitting for something named after a
Emotion is often collateral damage to and no gain of torque, but there’s member of the alligator family. It’s
the grind of technological progress. a world of difference between four not just for the sake of appearance,
We’re not implying that cars have turbocharged cylinders spinning either. The aero package on this car
feelings—at least we wouldn’t say it a crankshaft and six cylinders is good for 50 percent more down-
publicly, because that’s a fast track to breathing atmospheric pressure force than the last-gen GT4 but with
a padded room—but the best cars stir unencumbered by turbo plumbing. virtually no effect on drag. Much of
emotion in their drivers. The brute force of turbochargers is the credit goes to the redesigned
But damn it, even though they can undeniable, but the linear crescendo muffler that opened up space for a
spin at more than 100,000 rpm, turbos of output and the shriek of the six functional diffuser, which contrib-
aren’t great at stirring emotion. The way are vastly more engaging. There’s utes about 30 percent of the down-
they square off (and, yes, loft) torque finer control here than in most force on the rear axle.
curves and muddy exhaust notes tends turbo cars, with palpable differ- The GT4 moves like a predator,
to homogenize something so import- ences between squeezing and stab- too. All the lowering and stiffen-
ant to vehicular identity. Rather than bing the accelerator. ing results in a car with reflexes so
engines having the distinct character The engine differences, though, quick, it might as well be part of
of an inline-four, a flat-six, or a V-8, tur- only toe into the gulf between the your central nervous system. The
bos have a way of reducing the critical GT4 and the rest of the 718 fam- steering reacts to the tiniest finger
specifications to just torque output. ily. The bits separating this most flex and facilitates unprecedented
They push cars away from individual extreme example from other Box- intimacy with the road. The pave-
personalities and toward conformity. sters and Caymans are the same ment confides in you about that
So when you hear the Porsche 718
Cayman GT4’s naturally aspirated
flat-six howling toward 8000 rpm, you
find yourself taking a deep, refreshing Counterpoints
breath. The hairs on the back of your
neck stand up, goose bumps trickle With the 992, Porsche continued the 911’s pivot
down your spine, and—thanks to the from a sports car just comfortable enough for
dynamic powertrain mounts that firm everyday life to a grand tourer that does a believable
up when the car is pushed—the frenetic impression of a sports car. That leaves the 718 line to
vibrations of the 4.0-liter behind your carry on the old 911’s ethos, and boy, does this GT4 do just that.
back course through the car. This thing The GT4 achieves its greatness by channeling its great-grand-
around you feels alive. dad, the 997 GT3. Both cars feature 400ish-hp flat-six engines
The flat-six at the heart of this car, that rev past 8000 rpm, a manual trans, and all the tactile
while it displaces 4.0 liters like the one in feel one might ever want. Four wheels and an engine doesn’t
the temporally discontinued 911 GT3, is get better than this. Certainly not for $100K. —K.C. Colwell
not at all related to that engine. Instead,
it is a naturally aspirated development of The GT4 oozes driver involvement and tickles all
the twin-turbocharged family that pow- the right senses, plus a few awkward ones. The
ers the 911. Porsche did a lot more than one-piece bucket seats look racy and do their job,
just pull off the snails before shoving it but they’re only good for daily use if your commute
into the 718, though. Increases in bore passes through Sebring or Lime Rock. The seatback angle
and stroke swell displacement by a liter, doesn’t adjust, and the aggressive thigh bolsters require acro-
and the heads, manifolds, crank, and batics before you can settle into the seat. Drop in too early
other internals are new. Cylinder deacti- and the rigid thigh support delivers a surprise prostate exam.
vation shuts down one bank under light Plus, the $5900 pocketed by not optioning the race seats will
load, alternating banks every 20 seconds be money well spent on tires and track days. —David Beard
CAR A ND D R IV E R ~ J U NE 2020 29
 to Instagram “fitness models” and
other masochists. After just a couple
hours in them, our toes started to go
numb and our hips felt as if they’d been
hammered with a meat tenderizer. A
mild panic that we were never going to
be comfortable again set in. If you see a
GT4 parked on the side of the road and
the owner walking, it’s not necessarily
because the car’s out of gas. The driver
might just need a break.
But the GT4 is otherwise something
you’ll want to binge. That steering is
just the beginning. Every primary con-
trol is a lesson in perfection. If there’s
an automotive engineer active today
developing anything—anything, any
model, any type of vehicle—who hasn’t
driven a 718, then that person doesn’t
really understand what good is. That’s
how perfect this car is. The clutch pedal
alone is an experience richer than you’ll
get from most vehicles in their totality.
The sole of your foot detects the grain-
ing on the disc as you let the pedal out.
And there are few, if any, better shift
levers on the market. The weight, the
certainty of its movements, the spac-
ing of the throws—it’s the pinnacle of
automotive evolution. As far as manual
transmissions are concerned, it’s time
now for a rapture—or a meteor strike.
Plus Wide-open channels of communication from every primary The GT4 is not the Cayman for
control, the sound and feel of 8000 rpm. Minus [This space everyone. Depending on road condi-
intentionally left blank.] Equals Tachometers typically report tions where you live, its ride may be
engine rpm, but the GT4’s takes the car’s pulse. too harsh as a daily driver. The GT4 is
not happy merely puttering about. On
the highway, the Michelins thrum and
overloaded gravel truck that went But the meathead Mustang can’t reverberate over impacts, the exhaust
by last March and the harsh freeze- even keep up with this svelte GT4 drones, and the engine whirs behind
thaw cycle in the spring of ’13. in a straight line. The Cayman hits your head. The steering requires con-
But the GT4 bends that world 60 in 3.7 seconds, shortly after the stant attention, and even small ruts
to its will, its Michelin Pilot Sport shift into second gear. And whereas and bumps jostle occupants. Under
Cup 2s clinging to the road like an 11-second quarter-miles were once part throttle, there’s a little vibration
alligator to its prey in a death roll. solely the domain of the all-wheel- through the structure from the engine.
Increasingly, the industry is produc- drive 911 Turbo, this rear-driver The whole car is just so taut, so tightly
ing cars that can’t be fully exploited trips the lights in 11.9 at 120 mph. strung. But this is not a negative. It’s a
on public roads—cars that need a Its handling limits are even less reminder of what a real, raw experience
racetrack. We’d set that threshold at street-friendly, as a 1.10-g skidpad you’re having. Because that’s what this
about 500 horsepower, not because performance equates to doubling or is: an experience. The Cayman GT4 feels
it’s all about acceleration, but even tripling recommended speeds alive. Heck, it’s more alive than most
because cars with limits that high on freeway cloverleafs. A 148-foot people—certainly more alive than the
tend to have similar outputs. But the stop from 70 mph corresponds to ones who don’t love dogs. It makes you
GT4 made us reconsider that scale. thoracic bruising and significant want to call someone you haven’t spo-
It’s not just power. It’s the ratio of next-day neck pain. ken with in too long and tell them you
weight to power, and each of this More than anything else, the love them. And then get them in the
Cayman’s 414 horses is responsible $5900 Full Bucket seats seem to passenger’s seat and go do something
for just 7.6 pounds. For reference, a exist to facilitate such bruising. extremely dumb and illegal. Get carried
526-hp Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 They will be instruments of tor- away. That’s what emotional beings do,
has 7.3 pounds per horsepower. ture for most people and best left and it’s what emotional cars encourage.

30 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER

2020 PORSCHE 9K
SHIFTS Gearing

718 CAYMAN GT4 8K

TOP SPEED

7K
Price
$118,600
As Tested .......................
Base ................................................................ $100,550
6K

7
5K .2 .7 1 .1 24 .
14 :1/ 17 95:1/ 2 . 8 1:1/

.1
Vehicle Type: mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive,

.3
RPM

1 : 1 /6
1 / 0

/ 10
2-passenger, 2-door hatchback 1: 1 .1 3 0.
4K 1 .4

5:1
3.3
Options: Porsche Ceramic Carbon Brakes,

1 .9
$8000; Full Bucket seats, $5900; navigation 3K 1 2 3 4 5 6
with Porsche Connect, $2320; dual-zone
climate control, $770; auto-dimming mirrors, Ratio/MPH per 1000 RPM
2K
$700; Apple CarPlay, $360
Audio System: satellite radio; 11.0-GB media 1K
storage; minijack, USB, SD-card, and Bluetooth-
audio inputs; Apple CarPlay interface; 8 speakers 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Engine MPH
flat-6, aluminum block and heads
Bore x Stroke ....... 4.02 x 3.21 in, 102.0 x 81.5 mm electronically controlled dampers, 3-position
Displacement .............................. 244 in3, 3996 cm3 anti-roll bar TEST RESULTS
Compression Ratio ........................................... 13.0:1 R: ind; strut located by 1 trailing link, 1 lateral
Fuel Delivery: direct injection link, and a toe-control link per side; 2 coil
Valve Gear: double overhead cams, 4 valves springs per side; 2-position electronically Acceleration
per cylinder, variable intake- and exhaust-valve controlled dampers; 3-position anti-roll bar 20.4
150
timing, cylinder deactivation
Redline/Fuel Cutoff ..................... 8100/8100 rpm Brakes 14.0
Power ............................................ 414 hp @ 7600 rpm F: 16.1 x 1.4-in vented, cross-drilled carbon- 130
Torque ..................................... 309 lb-ft @ 5000 rpm ceramic disc, 6-piston fixed caliper 120 1/4-MILE
R: 15.4 x 1.3-in vented, cross-drilled 11.9
Drivetrain carbon-ceramic disc, 4-piston fixed caliper
Transmission: 6-speed manual Stability Control: fully defeatable, 100

MPH
Final-Drive Ratio ................... 3.89:1, helical-gear competition mode 8.3
limited-slip differential
Wheels and Tires
Chassis Wheel Size ............... F: 8.5 x 20 in R: 11.0 x 20 in
60
unit construction Wheel Construction: cast aluminum
Body Material: steel and aluminum stampings Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 F: 245/ 3.7
35ZR-20 (95Y) N1 R: 295/30ZR-20 (101Y) N1
Steering 30
rack-and-pinion with variable ratio and Exterior Dimensions 0 22
variable electric power assist Wheelbase .......................................................... 97.8 in 1.5 SEC
Ratio ................................................................ 17.1–13.2:1 L/W/H .............................................. 175.5/70.9/50.0 in
Turns Lock-to-Lock ............................................ 2.6 Track, F/R ................................................. 60.6/60.4 in Rollout, 1 ft ................................................ 0.3
Turning Circle Curb-to-Curb .................. 37.5 ft Ground Clearance ............................................. 3.2 in Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ....................... 4.3
Top Gear, 30–50 mph .......................... 6.6
Suspension Interior Dimensions Top Gear, 50–70 mph .......................... 6.4
F: ind, strut located by 1 diagonal link and Passenger Volume ........................................... 49 ft3 Top Speed (mfr’s claim) ........... 188 mph
1 lateral link, coil springs, 2-position Cargo Volume, F/R ........................................ 5/10 ft3
Handling
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad ........ 1.10 g
COMPETITORS Understeer ...................................... minimal
BASE,*
Braking
CU

$ x 1000
The GT4’s greatness isn’t found in an
RB

70–0 mph .............................................. 148 ft

WE

Excel sheet, but here are a few

65

IG

100–0 mph ............................................. 281 ft

HT

numbers for perspective.

,L
B

Weight
TIO ILE

85
11.
SE N,
RA - M

0
C

Curb ...................................................... 3149 lb

LE 1/4

Chevrolet
0 0

Per Horsepower ................................. 7.6 lb

11.

31

Camaro ZL1 1LE

CE

105
4

WEIGHT TO POWER,
AC

Distribution, F/R .................. 44.0/56.0%

00

650-hp 6.2-L V-8,

11.

34

Center-of-Gravity Height ........... 19.0 in

8

10-sp auto
125

00

LB PER HP
12

37

Chevrolet Fuel
.2

Corvette Stingray Z51

00

Capacity ............................................. 16.9 gal

40

2.8 3.4 4.0 4.6

495-hp 6.2-L V-8, Octane ......................................................... 93
8-sp auto
ACCELERATION, SEC
60-MPH

9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0

Porsche 718 EPA Fuel Economy (C/D est)
3
15

Cayman GT4 Comb/City/Hwy .................. 22/19/26 mpg

305

1.0
7

414-hp 4.0-L flat-6,

14

C/D Fuel Economy

1.0

6-sp man
1

ID G,
290
14

Observed ............................................. 15 mpg

G SK DIN

Porsche 911
-
D, FT OL
1.1

Carrera S
5

PA 00- DH

Interior Sound Level

13

3 OA
275

443-hp 3.0-L flat-6,

R
1.2

Idle ....................................................... 58 dBA

0

8-sp auto
70 RAK

Full Throttle ...................................... 93 dBA

B
–0 IN

260
-M G,

70-mph Cruising ............................. 77 dBA

PH FT

*Includes performance-
enhancing options. 100–0-MPH
BRAKING, FT

T EST E D BY K.C. CO LW E L L I N C H ELSEA , MI 31

 JUST
DRIVE
Car and Driver’s favorite
roads in the U.S. are perfect
places to RUN AWAY FROM
a chaotic and noisy world.
THE

T
he instinct to explore must
— Car and Driver — be hardwired into the human
subconscious, like breathing
or finding the open container

BUG-OUT of cookie dough ice cream at

two in the morning. As our
personal worlds shrink to the immediate vicin-
GUIDE ity around our homes, there has never been a
better time to go for a Sunday drive. Or a Mon-
day, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or
Let’s say you need to flee civilization,
Saturday drive.
or maybe just outrun the miasma of To spark your next travel adventure, we’ve
cable news and social media. Either way, assembled nine of our favorite roads from across
when it’s time to bug out, a vehicle this beautiful country. Some of them are bound
is your ticket to escape from reality. to be out of reach for many. Even the closest one
to you may be hours away. But we promise that
every one of these roads is worth the drive.
It really doesn’t matter what you drive; Car
and Driver’s favorite U.S. roads deliver the BANNING-IDYLLWILD PANORAMIC HIGHWAY
same mind-focusing curves and breath- California Route 243 starts just off I-10
taking panoramas whether you’re at the in the town of Banning and races into the
wheel of a Porsche or a Buick. Find the clouds and on to the resort village of Idyllwild.
It’s outrageous. Outrageous because it clings
one nearest to home—or farthest from
to mountainsides for much of its 25-mile climb
it—and leave everything else behind. to 6200 feet. Outrageous because the pave-
Dealing with a heavy situation? The ment wriggles and bucks in a torrent of lumpy
Alpine Armoring Pit-Bull VX, driven on switchbacks, many with clear sightlines that
allow you to push hard. Outrageous because
page 36, will make your neighbor’s Ford
traffic is almost nonexistent and stunning
F-150 Raptor seem like a Huffy if it comes panoramas of the San Jacinto Mountains
time to ride out the apocalypse. abound. Cadillac’s engineering team drove
“But wait!” you shout, tripping over Route 243 to tune the ATS in 2011. Flogging
preproduction ATSs up and down the road
the sweatpants around your ankles as you
against a pair of BMW 3-series conjured
jump up from your porcelain throne. “You memories of a similar escapade the engineers
claimed it doesn’t matter what I drive!” conducted on a German forest road called the
True. For that story, turn to page 40, Nürburgring. Heard of it?
where Ezra Dyer tails a Jeep Wrangler MOKI DUGWAY
Rubicon through a gnarly trail of obstacles
PHOTO GRAPH BY JIM FETS

Not all great roads are paved. The Moki Dugway

in a Toyota RAV4. Need to get off the grid? on Utah Route 261, just north of Mexican Hat,
Your crossover can likely carry you farther is one example. About three miles long with
a 1000-foot climb and 10 percent grades, this
than you’d normally push it. But if things
gravel and dirt road has more than its share of
were normal, you wouldn’t be bugging out. switchbacks and not an inch of blacktop. And
FOLD

Ready to go? Read on and escape. while the Dugway might be slow going (the

32 ~ J U N E 2 02 0 ~ C A R A N D D R I V E R I L LU ST R AT I O N S BY P E T E R O U M A N S K I
CORONADO TRAIL SCENIC BYWAY
The section of U.S. Route 191 in Arizona known as the Coronado
Trail Scenic Byway is not for the faint of heart. It traverses thou-
sands of vertical feet over about 120 miles, and there aren’t
always guardrails to protect you from the cliffs. You’ll pass a
wildlife preserve, see an open-pit copper mine, and drive
through several corners with 10-mph speed limits that, for once,
we suggest you observe. A 2.8-mile stretch of road at Four Bar
Mesa is the only place straight enough for you to punch the gas.
The rest of the trail is a mix of twists and turns.

33
speed limit is 15 mph), the views are unbeatable. an uphill left with a disruptive midcorner bump.
From your perch atop the red sandstone cliffs, you Don’t panic. Let us be your guide. Eyes up, inhale
can see across miles of Utah desert that’s almost on corner entry, hold your breath as the tires
indistinguishable from the more famous Mon- load, let the chassis balance itself, then exhale as
ument Valley. Check the forecast before you go: you pick up the throttle and unwind the steering
This road is impassable in wet weather. wheel. All other thoughts are set adrift. If this
sounds like meditation, that’s because it is. A road
ANGELES CREST HIGHWAY that gets you to meditate: How L.A. is that?
Angeles Crest Highway took 27 years to carve into
the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles. HOCKING HILLS
The result is . . . overwhelming. It feels like a lab- The Midwest is short on great driving roads. But
yrinth as you turn onto the road, which is full of angle toward southeastern Ohio, near Hocking
distractions and corners that roll in like waves. Hills State Park, and the undulating pavement of
FOLD

Here’s a tight one, then a big sweeper, followed by Ohio Routes 664, 374, and 56 weaves through the

CHEROHALA SKYWAY
The Tail of the Dragon, some of most celebrated pavement
east of the Mississippi, runs a too-short 11 miles and gets all
the attention, but the Appalachian region is full of roads that
are just as good. Just south of the Dragon, Cherohala
Skyway stretches nearly four times as many miles through
the mountains—and there’s less traffic.
The Cherohala draws its name from the Cherokee and
Nantahala national forests it winds through. Heading west
from Robbinsville, North Carolina, the switchbacks start five
miles in. Over and over, the road curls away from the moun-
PHOTO GRAPH BY MARC URBANO

tainside just long enough to provide glimpses of the valleys

below before pinching back on 20-mph hairpins. As you near
Tennessee, the curves come quicker. The road widens, the
turns open up, and there’s more runway to gain and maintain
speed. In the right car, even 43 miles feels too short. Just
remember: The road ends but the mountains don’t.

3 4 ~ J U N E 2 02 0 ~ C A R A N D D R I V E R
 SURVIVAL SKILL N o. 1
surrounding forested hillsides as if it were
purpose-built for pleasure cruises. The three CHANGE A TIRE
roads form a 13-mile loop with big elevation
changes, blind crests, and increasing- and
—
We’re not talking about bolting on the spare.
decreasing-radius bends. The scenery can be This is how you replace your worn rubber in a world
gorgeous. Runoff room is minimal. Agility, without Discount Tire. Note: It’s a lot
good steering feel, and decent suspension harder if you’re rolling on low-profile tires.
compliance are all precious commodities
here. It’s a playground for a Mazda Miata but
Loosen the lugs, opposite from where
a bit less fun in a muscle car. And watch out
for weekend traffic at Old Man’s Cave.
1 jack up the vehicle, you’re prying is in the
and remove the wheel. wheel’s drop center
(i.e., the small-diameter
AU SABLE POINT TRAIL section of the wheel’s
Bleed the air from
The dearth of great driving roads in the mid-
dle of the country is partly due to topography
2 the tire. With the barrel). Kneeling on the
tire lying flat, slide it tire will help. Repeat the
(there isn’t any) and partly because so much
under the car so the process for the second
of the land was split up into square parcels as
sidewall is beneath the bead, pulling it over the
people pushed west during the 19th century.
sturdiest low point of same side of the wheel.
For good driving, go where the farmers didn’t
the underbody. Lower
go. We suggest H-58, a.k.a. Au Sable Point
the jack. The car’s To install the
Trail in northern Michigan. There are broad
corners and serpentine curves. The trail
weight will push the 4 replacement,
tire bead off its seat. reverse step three,
meanders through a forest that’s lush and
Raise the car and repeat using the crowbar to
green in the summer and fiery red and gold in
the process, spinning force the new tire over
the fall. The speed limit isn’t high, but there’s
the wheel each time the wheel. Lubricate the
no one around to take notice if you push it.
until the bead is free. beads (WD-40 works
Flip the wheel over and well) to make it easier.
DELAWARE RIVER repeat on the other
New York City can be stifling. Some 9 million
bead. Pro tip: Place a With the tire on the
people live within its 303 square miles, and
if you’re among them, you’re likely too close
wood block or a brick 5 rim, shoot a few
between the vehicle and squirts of an explosive
to someone else right now. But head upstate
the tire to focus the aerosol into the tire
over the George Washington Bridge and
weight on the bead. cavity. Ignite this from a
you’ll find a spiderweb of twisty, lightly traf-
safe distance—the flame
ficked roads. New York Route 97, which leads
Insert a crowbar should be farther from
you from Port Jervis to Hancock, is a partic-
ular favorite. It winds hundreds of feet above
3 and a long-shaft you than just at the end
screwdriver between of your fingers. There
the Delaware River, matching the curves of
the tire and the rim. Pry will be an explosion.
the waterway and the rock wall it’s carved
the bead to the outside
into, providing beautiful views of the wild
of the wheel with the You’re still alive?
Catskills. It’ll make you forget that the
J train even exists.
crowbar and hold it 6 Congrats! Check
there with the screw- the tire pressure and
driver as you work your adjust if necessary.
CARD SOUND ROAD way around. Make sure Refit the wheel to the
The drive from Miami to Key West is
that the bead directly vehicle and drive.
famous—famously boring, that is. That’s
why you should hang a left in Florida City
and follow Card Sound Road over to North
Key Largo. A few miles into the marsh, you’ll
come to Alabama Jacks—long may it last—a
legendary restaurant and bar nestled near
the base of the Card Sound Bridge. From
there, it’s a straight (read: unexciting) shot
across the water, but the peak of that tow-
ering bridge gives you the most expansive
views of the Keys, and the stretch of road on
the far side wends through the mangroves in
a sequence of blind corners. The Card Sound
toll costs $1.54, the best money you’ll spend
FOLD

in Florida this side of feline-park admission.

 ROLLING
FORTRESS
The Alpine Armoring Pit-Bull VX
can take a grenade. Just
don’t ask it to take a corner.
—
By Ezra Dyer
Photography by Andi Hedrick

Y
our pilot stole your plane. So much
for flying to New Zealand. To say you
should have seen it coming is inaccu-
rate: You did see it coming, because the Pit-Bull is normally sold to police departments,
you plan for all eventualities. So when militaries, and foreign governments. But Alpine
it was time to escape the city, your decision tree was will also sell it to private buyers who can afford the
decidedly more bountiful than most. Scratch the $250,000 base price, which is a bargain for a bullet-
Gulfstream G650 to Auckland; head instead to your proof 10-passenger SUV. Of course, that’s before
converted missile silo in upstate New York, hun- you add up the options.
ker down, and spend a few years sipping your way You’d probably want all the stuff that comes on
through the wine cellar until something like civiliza- the $298,000 VX model. Take, for instance, the
tion is reestablished. But first, you have to get there. hydraulic battering ram on the front bumper: You
Fortunately, your Alpine Armoring Pit-Bull can use that to breach a door or wall or whatever else
is just the thing for a road trip through the apoc- needs ramming, lending new meaning to the term
alypse. An armored personnel carrier built on a “drive-through.” Once you’ve made your entrance,
FOLD

previous-generation Ford F-550 4x4 chassis cab, you can greet your new friends by deploying a tear

3 6 ~ J U N E 2 02 0 ~ C A R A N D D R I V E R
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 The Pit-Bull VX plays both defense
and offense with its gun turret,
hydraulic battering ram, and armor
that can withstand a grenade.

the numbers
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear/4-wheel-drive, 10-passenger,
5-door armored personnel carrier • Base: $298,000 • Engine:
turbocharged and intercooled pushrod 32-valve 6.7-liter diesel
V-8, 330 hp, 750 lb-ft • Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Dimensions, Wheelbase: 140.9 in • L/W/H: 239.0/97.6/100.0 in
Curb Weight: 19,750 lb • Performance (C/D est), 60 mph: 20.0
sec • 1/4-Mile: eventually • Top Speed: 80 mph

gas canister from the dispenser at the end of the

ram. Look, you’re not looting a Starbucks. You’re
making sure the Starbucks is clear of looters! You’ll
leave money for the dozen bags of Komodo Dragon
Blend you’re grabbing. Not that money means any-
thing now, but it’s the thought that counts.
Should any roadside bandits pick a fight, they’ll
need some fairly heavy artillery to slow down the
Pit-Bull—especially one with the VX’s reinforced
armor, rated to stop a .50 BMG round and with-
stand a grenade. Or 20 kilograms of TNT. Wrapped
around the 20-inch wheels, the 41-inch Continental
off-road tires have run-flat functionality. And since,
as everyone knows, offense is the best defense, Pit-Bull doesn’t avoid traffic; traffic avoids the Pit-
there are seven-inch gun ports built into the doors Bull. There are very few rules now, but everyone
and rear quarters, plus one in the rooftop turret. seems to understand that one.
That turret spins 360 degrees and its roof flips up, From the driver’s seat, the Ford Super Duty dash
so you can use it as a shield. As always, watch out for looks familiar. The Power Stroke 6.7-liter diesel is
flanking maneuvers. also old and in a milder state of tune than you’d
The Pit-Bull VX isn’t quite as agile as your find in current pickups. Its 330 horsepower and
armored Mercedes-AMG G63, a stock-looking 750 pound-feet of torque are up against, oh, 19,750
Alpine product that—like the brand’s Escalades, pounds or so of armored truck. The VX moves out
S-classes, and Camrys—blends in with traffic. Or like an F-350 towing a large boat, determined and
at least did, back when there was traffic. Now that inexorable. And as with that setup, you can do 80
the roads are empty, save for marauders and pos- mph but probably shouldn’t. For one, going that fast
ses, you can let the Pit-Bull stretch its legs a little. might dent your fuel economy, which typically runs
You just want to be mindful that the VX’s center of about 8 or 9 mpg. No big deal, though. Fuel stations
gravity feels like it’s about halfway to the moon, so are out of commission, but you can siphon diesel
even with the slow steering and huge anti-roll bars, from the locomotives at the train yard.
a quick tug of the wheel can make you feel as if you’re Maybe one day trains will run again, but in the
pole-vaulting on the deck of a Bering Sea crab boat. meantime the roads are owned by anyone with the
Fortunately, there’s really no need for emergency foresight to invest in a SWAT truck. Probably should
FOLD

steering maneuvers when you’re driving this. The have invested in a pilot’s license, too.

3 8 ~ J U N E 2 02 0 ~ C A R A N D D R I V E R
 SURVIVAL SKILL N o. 2

FOL D
To siphon fuel from a positioned lower than
SIPHON FUEL 1 modern vehicle, the fuel tank you are
— you’ll need a semirigid
tube to make it past the
siphoning from.
Whatever you do, don’t drink the fuel.
internal valve. PEX or Insert half of an
That should be easy, because the best way
to siphon it involves blowing
polyethylene tubing 2 18-inch-long tube
works well. Insert a into the filler neck
10-foot-long, quarter- or alongside the other tube.
half-inch-diameter piece
into the filler neck until Wrap a rag or
it bottoms out. If it 3 plastic bag around
catches as it’s inserted, the tubes and stuff it
rotate the tube as you into the top of the filler
push. Blow into the tube neck to create an
to confirm that the end airtight seal.
is submerged. You
should feel backpressure Blow into the short
in your mouth and hear 4 tube until fuel
bubbling from the tank. comes out the long line.
Place the free end of the Fuel will continue to flow
tube in a jerrycan that’s after you stop blowing.

The Bug-Out Trunk

You may be familiar with the idea of a bug-out bag: a • A Schrader-valve bike • An LED flashlight and a
backpack or duffel filled with essential medications, pump, which works on headlamp
clothes, firearms (if you are so inclined), food, and car tires, too, though it • Compatible recharge-
other necessities. But if you’re really fleeing a hairy takes longer able batteries and a
situation, wouldn’t you take your car? So why limit • A tire-pressure gauge solar-powered charger
yourself to a backpack? Assemble the following in a • An atlas and a compass • A come-along plus
corner of your garage so you can toss it all into the • A four-foot piece of snatch straps
trunk at a moment’s notice and ensure that your car pipe to slide over a • A compact shovel
continues to serve you long into the apocalypse. ratchet handle to act as • 300 feet of paracord
a breaker bar • Five quarts of engine oil
• A selection of sockets • Duct tape and WD-40 • A spare tire and a jack • A five-gallon gas can
and wrenches (these do-alls may (if your car doesn’t • Five-gallon buckets, as
• Persuasion tools become the bullion of already have them) many as you need to
(hammers, Vise-Grips, apocalyptic currency, • A hand-operated pump store everything on
pliers, pry bars) so pack multiples) and tubing to transfer this list, plus one that
• A voltmeter, wire strip- • A tire-patch kit and a fuel quicker than can be filled with
pers, and electrical tape few cans of Fix-A-Flat siphoning drinking water
 GOING

I
FOL D
magine a rugged trail leading to a
wind-swept mountaintop. A small
crossover pulls up to the summit
WHERE NO and its driver steps out and inhales
the crisp mountain air. Ah! Now this

CROSSOVER is why you bought one with all-wheel

drive: adventure. Then the director
yells, “Cut!” and everyone climbs
HAS GONE into the helicopter that airlifted
the ute to this spot. And sure, we all

BEFORE know that’s how it got there, but that’s okay. Suspen-
sion of disbelief allows millions of Americans to buy
the cars they really need dressed as the trucks they
If you had to go off-road in think they want. Just get in the Kia Sportage and
your family crossover, how far don’t harsh my mood board, Chet.
Could you get? To find out, But let’s say you wanted—or needed—to make
the cosplay real and steer your family crossover
we head into the wild with a into a mud bog, a sand pit, or a pond. Can a faux off-
Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road, plus roader’s performance remotely match the promise
a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited of its attitude? Or will you end up on an unsched-
Rubicon, just in case. uled hike, contemplating man’s hubris, the trees
disturbed only by the force of your profanity? We
— grabbed a Toyota RAV4 and decided to find out.
By Ezra Dyer Now, the RAV4 in question is a TRD Off-Road
Photography by Marc Urbano model. But lest you think this Toyota was made for

4 0 ~ J U N E 2 02 0 ~ C A R A N D D R I V E R
 FOL D
the desert-racing grounds of Baja, consider that it us concerned. What if it decides to disconnect while
has no place to attach a tow strap. No tow hooks, not we’re headlight deep in a pond? Hold that thought.
even a screw-in eye hook. So although it does have For a body-on-frame counterpoint, we also
some TRD-specific equipment—Falken Wildpeak brought a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. The
A/T Trail all-terrain tires, TRD-tuned dampers— Rubicon has live axles, a two-speed transfer case,
it seems as if Toyota didn’t think this all the way locking diffs front and rear, and a front anti-roll bar
through. Because when you go off-road, you get that you can electronically disconnect. Our think-
stuck. That’s how you know you’re trying. ing is, if we have a recovery vehicle like this on hand,
And where we’re going—a vast off-roading perhaps we won’t need it. Plus, the Wrangler will be
park in North Carolina—anything can get stuck. a frame of reference for ultimate off-road badassery.
There’s thick mud that’ll pull the boots off your feet, The RAV4 is not expected to hang.
whooped-up Mint 400 high-speed sections, steep First up, some light calisthenics: the Baja rhythm
climbs, and sharp break-overs. Ever see a silodrome, section. Let’s test those red springs, twin-tube
one of those circular stunt tracks on vertical walls? dampers, and TRD bump stops. The undulations
Imagine one made out of sand. Back off the throt- vary in both wavelength and amplitude. Drive at
tle and it’s like tossing your crossover to the sarlacc maybe 8 mph and you settle into a jaunty bounce,
from Return of the Jedi. trotting across the ruts. But go a little faster and
My expectations are low. The RAV4 has decent the suspension starts running out of travel, until
ground clearance—8.6 inches—but no low range the front end is cycling through max droop and full
or locking differentials. Its all-wheel-drive system, compression as the chin spoiler detonates showers
dubbed Dynamic Torque Vectoring All-Wheel of sand across the front end. Whoa, RAVVY!
Drive with Rear Driveline Disconnect, can send Now, I’m not confusing the twee Toyota with a
a maximum of 50 percent of the engine’s torque Chevy Colorado ZR2, but it actually handles some
rearward. That’s fine, because that’s what a locked wheels-up action with reasonable aplomb once I
center diff would do, but the “disconnect” part has remove the Styrofoam-encased jack that’s crashing

41
 If Toyota calls it TRD
Off-Road, then we’re
obligated to drive
it into the deepest
puddles and thickest
mud we can find.
Jeep could build a
Wrangler Pottery Barn
Edition and we’d still
treat it like this.

momentarily. In the RAV4, I direct stability control

to take a break, engage Sport mode, and manually
select first gear. The TRD Off-Road has a Mud &
Sand mode on its terrain selector, but I’ve got my
own terrain selector: my right foot. If I start to get
stuck, I’ll select more throttle.
In mud, as with sand, you want to go aggressive
from the start. Momentum is your ally. So it goes for
the RAV4, which digs in its Falkens and hounds the
around under the rear floor. When I stop to inspect Rubicon around the wallow, even playfully hanging
the front end, I expect to see a yard sale of under- out its tail. The TRD Off-Road, like the Adventure
body trim in my wake. But everything’s fine. Okay, and Limited flavors of RAV4, uses clutches in its rear
TRD. Respectable. Now let’s see how you handle diff for a torque-vectoring effect, and you can feel
some muddin’. it working, adding agility in the slop. But enough is
As a veteran of this brand of off-road idiocy, I enough. It’s time to get stuck. So I aim straight for
understand the value of pre-mudding preparedness. one of the deepest holes and auger in.
First, I pull on my hip waders. Then I grab my tow The bottom, somewhere under the inky water,
strap. I plan to hook it up now, before the plunge, drops off sharply on the driver’s side. I feel the RAV4
and shut the length of it in the cargo hold until it’s heel over as the underbody drags on the soft earth
needed. That way I won’t be fumbling around in the and the front tire disappears entirely underwater.
cold black soup searching for the tow hook. That’s it: I’m mired. If I roll down my window, I
Except there is no tow hook. So I crawl under the could dangle my fingers in the sludge. Guess I’ll just
Toyota and hook the strap’s claw to a hole in the rear have to hope the door seals hold while I crawl out the
subframe and cross my fingers that the Jeep doesn’t passenger’s side.
perform an unscheduled differential-ectomy when But first, let’s try reverse. Just to be sure. The
I need a tow. TRD’s 203-hp 2.5-liter inline-four grumbles and lugs,
The Wrangler is first into the muck, its torquey the tires spinning fruitlessly. But then: movement.
turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four spinning those The Toyota begins inching backward, slowly at first
big BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2s and immedi- and then gaining speed as the tires find traction. I’m
ately enameling its Hellayella paint with a chocolate out. Apparently, the RAV4’s backup plan is to back up.
candy shell. I observe the lines and the depths, and I All right, unibody Houdini, on to the pond.
FOLD

figure my tow strap will be getting its first workout Again, the Jeep goes first. Taking a line not far

4 2 ~ J U N E 2 02 0 ~ C A R A N D D R I V E R
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 Splash enough mud on 2020 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon
a Wrangler and a RAV4
and you can hardly As Driven: $56,935 • Base: $43,690 • Engine: turbocharged
tell them apart. Or at and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 270 hp, 295 lb-ft
least that’s how the Transmission: 8-speed automatic • Driven Wheels: rear/all
guy at the carwash 4-Wheel-Drive System: part time with electronically locking
sees them: both too front and rear differentials and a two-speed transfer case
hard core for his Suspension, F: live axle located by four leading links and a
suburban operation. Panhard rod, coil springs, electronically disconnecting anti-roll
bar R: live axle located by four trailing links and a Panhard rod,
coil springs, anti-roll bar • Tires: BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2
LT285/70R-17 116/113Q M+S • Curb Weight: 4650 lb • Performance
(C/D est), 60 mph: 7.1 sec • 1/4-Mile: 15.8 sec • Top Speed: 100
mph • EPA Fuel Economy, Comb/City/Hwy: 21/21/22 mpg

from shore, our enthusiastic Rubicon driver gets a Width: 73.8 in

tidy bow wave pulsing out ahead of the bumper. It’s 73.6 in
deep but managea—oh, there goes the front end.
About halfway across, water surges over the Jeep’s 10.8 in 30.0 in
headlights, sluicing across the hood. This might be 43.9° 22.6° 37.0°
118.4 in
a sensible time to grab reverse, but it is flank speed 188.4 in
ahead for the good ship JL, which casually paws its
way up the opposite bank, cleaner than when it went
in. That’s one way to save money on a carwash. 2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road
There’s no way the RAV4 could take that route, As Driven: $41,880 • Base: $36,400 • Engine: DOHC 16-valve
but the Jeep did serve as a sounding line, showing me 2.5-liter inline-4, 203 hp, 184 lb-ft • Transmission: 8-speed
where not to go. So I splash in and start tracing arcs, automatic • Driven Wheels: all • All-Wheel-Drive System: full
time with automatic rear-axle engagement and open front and
farther from shore each time. I can’t really judge the rear differentials • Suspension, F: ind, strut located by a control
depth until the parking-distance warning system arm, coil springs, anti-roll bar R: ind; 1 trailing arm, 2 lateral links,
PROFILE ILLUSTRATIO NS BY PE TE SUCHESKI

alerts me of water that’s up to the forward-looking and a toe-control link per side; coil springs; anti-roll bar
Tires: Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail 01A 225/60R-18 100H M+S
camera, just under the Toyota badge on the grille. Curb Weight: 3700 lb • Performance (C/D est), 60 mph: 8.0 sec
From the rear, a muted burble confirms that the 1/4-Mile: 16.2 sec • Top Speed: 120 mph • EPA Fuel Economy,
exhaust is underwater, too. Still, I’m not stuck. Comb/City/Hwy: 27/25/32 mpg
But when I circle around for another pass, the TRD
can’t climb the banking. It feels like the rear end is Width: 73.4 in
no longer in the game, an impression confirmed by a
gauge-cluster message warning that I’ve overheated 68.6 in

the all-wheel-drive system and we’re now rolling 8.6 in

front-wheel drive only. Which presents a dilemma, 19.0° 21.0°
FOLD

105.9 in
because if I open a door to retrieve the tow strap, 181.5 in

4 4 ~ J U N E 2 02 0 ~ C A R A N D D R I V E R
 SURVIVAL SKILL N o. 3

HOT-WIRE A CAR
—
If you’re trying to hot-wire something built more
than a few years into the 21st century, forget about
it. If you’ve got a really old vehicle with coil ignition
and without a steering-column lock, all you need to
do is run a wire from the positive battery terminal to
the positive side of the coil and cross the poles of
the starter solenoid with something metal. This
step-by-step guide will help you hot-wire any of the
tens of millions of vehicles in between.

Remove the trim one power to the

1 around the ignition body control module
switch and locate the and the other to the
I’ll be having a very unpleasant conversation bundle of wires con- electronic one.
regarding flood-damage deductibles. So I wait. nected to the switch.
Identify the
If the all-wheel-drive system is overheated, sit-
ting in this frigid bath ought to restore its chill.
2 Identify the wires 5 starter wire(s).
And within a minute, it does. The TRD ambles that bring power If there are two, cut
out of the drink, unscathed once again. to the switch from them, strip back the
What follows is a series of increasingly ill- the battery. They’ll insulation, and touch
advised exploits, each one preceded by my con- generally be larger them together just
fident declaration that this time we’re really in diameter than the long enough to start
gonna get impossibly stuck. I pitch the RAV4 up other wires in this the engine. If there’s
onto a steep break-over that seems to guarantee bundle. (What? You only one, cut the wire,
a high-center scenario, but it just drags its belly didn’t do any research strip the end, and
and keeps going. I drop into the sarlacc pit and on this model to figure touch it to one of your
the RAV4’s rear end slides down toward certain out what colors the two powered circuits.
doom. But I punch the throttle and the little important wires are?) Wrap the end(s) to
Toyota that could crabs back up onto the wall, prevent accidental
Identify the wires contact as you drive.
where torque-vectoring theatrics hold harm at
bay. On a wide trail, I ignore a bypass through 3 for the body and
electronic control If there’s a steer-
the trees and ford another menacing water haz-
ard, tailing the Wrangler. modules. They, too, 6 ing-column lock,
This, I didn’t expect. I figured most of the should be thick wires. you’ll have to break
RAV4’s day would be spent on the end of a strap, it. Do you have a long
Strip the insu- pipe to wedge into the
the Jeep disabusing the Toyota of its off-road
delusions one obstacle at a time. Instead, the 4 lation from the spokes and crank on
RAV4 proved that it can actually survive some two power wires and the steering wheel?
seriously dumb off-pavement exploits. Sure, the two control-mod- No? Well, then that’s a
all-terrain tires help a ton—we would not expect
a lower trim’s highway-focused rubber to pro-
vide the necessary traction for my antics. Never-
theless, this thing is legit. Yeah, I could’ve gotten
stuck if I had followed the Jeep into the deepest
slop, and I would have destroyed the vehicle in
the process. In this case, it turns out the cross-
over off-road fantasy is pretty real.
On the way home, I pull into an automatic
carwash, the Wrangler right behind me. As I’m
choosing a wash, the attendant rushes out. “You
can’t go through here!” he yells. “This thing’s
too muddy. You’ll break the carwash. You have
to find a place with pressure washers that can
handle 4x4s.” I steer into the exit lane leading to
the parking lot, annoyed but also kind of proud.
FOLD

Yep. Gotta find a place that can handle 4x4s.

45
 THE CARS ARE THE STARS

IN RURAL NORTH CAROLINA, A SMALL ,

UNASSUMING SHOP BUILDS
ME TICULOUS REPLICAS OF ICONIC
MOVIE CARS.
By Talon Homer
Photography by Marc Urbano

46 J UNE 2020 ~ CAR A ND D RIVER

THIS IS
HEAV Y
—
The first of
Razorfly’s vehicle
transformations,
this Back to the
Future DeLorean
DMC-12 follows
the movie car
to a T with
one notable
exception. Can
you spot it?

47
S ome 2300 miles due east
of Hollywood and a meta-
phorical world away from
the silver screen sits Whit-
tier, North Carolina. In the
heart of the Great Smoky
Mountains, this town with
fewer than 6000 residents
is surrounded by natural
beauty as rich as any movie backdrop. That it
could pass for a small-town set doesn’t make
it any less surprising when you come upon a
humble residential garage here that makes
replicas of Tinseltown’s most famous cars.
That shop, Razorfly Studios, has built a
cast of pop-culture icons that includes the
Back to the Future DeLorean DMC-12, the
Dodge Monaco from The Blues Brothers, and
a trio of Jurassic Park SUVs. An AMC Pacer
that’s in the works soon will be fitted with
flame decals, a killer sound system, and a functional licorice events. From Washington, D.C., to Atlanta, movie
dispenser, exactly like the one found in Wayne’s World. A Jeep fans line up to pose beneath the DeLorean’s gull-
J10 pickup is due to get a RadioShack’s worth of electronics in wing doors and catch a glimpse of the flux capacitor.
a nod to the movie Twister. A third in-progress project involves The business is a labor of love for Mark, who
a jet engine and tall black tail fins. Three guesses what that is. inherited a passion for building model cars from
Razorfly’s recreations are so accurate, they look as if they his father. Although he studied automotive courses
were built on a Hollywood budget rather than in a 25-by-55-foot in college, Mark launched a career wiring home
garage with no lift. The shop brings to life stories most of us theaters and security systems. He began making
have experienced only in theaters and from our couches, worlds props and costumes from his favorite sci-fi series as
where cars are as memorable as the main characters. a hobby in the 2000s. As he toured East Coast comic
The studio is run by the husband and conventions, Mark’s passion for building models
wife team of Mark and Angela Zoran. Mark grew in scale until it was 1:1. “I always wanted some-
handles the bulk of the wiring, paint, and thing life-size,” Mark says. “Something real.”
TIME FLIES
— fabrication for the cars, whereas Angela His first vehicle replica was Doc Brown’s time
The clocks are set focuses on the costuming side of the oper- machine. He bought his stainless-steel wedge from
to movie-relevant ation. While the company has sold a few of a used-car dealer in 2011. The car didn’t run very well
dates. Remember
Part II, with the its turnkey replicas for prices ranging from but was in otherwise clean condition, and the dealer
hoverboards and less than $20,000 to as much as $50,000, took a trade on Mark’s old Jeep (plus a couple grand).
Mr. Fusion trash- the heart of Razorfly’s business follows Mark spent a year fixing it up and amassing the
powered reactor?
That’s what 2015 the convention circuit. The shop rents its parts required to convert the DMC-12 into a Back
should have been. vehicles to numerous sci-fi and pop-culture to the Future replica and another two years driving

48 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER

it around to get comfortable with the car’s lack of
rearward visibility. At that point, in November 2014,
he took it into the garage and spent the next four
months completing the DeLorean’s transformation.
As is the case with all his replicas, Mark endeav-
ored to make his time machine as close to the movie
car as possible, either sourcing the exact hardware
the film studio used or making resin castings of the
original parts. Helicopter engine-intake hoses and
sizable industrial capacitors adorn the DeLorean’s
engine cover, while the cockpit is packed with func-
tioning LED displays. The switch that turns on the
STAR CARS
time machine’s electronics is made from the same —
battery-terminal brush that the movie car had. The Top left: No guaran-
base of the Mr. Fusion reactor is cast from a 1960s tee that the trans-
parent roof is T. rex
missile-guidance hard drive, while the top piece is resistant. Top: Party
a plastic 1980s coffee grinder. A double-bell Bulova on, Wayne. Fender
alarm clock from the ’30s sits atop the dashboard, flames still to come.
Above: That’s a
the same as you see in the movies. Canadian air-raid
Other aspects were designed from scratch, siren on top of the
including the giant welded aluminum tail vents and Bluesmobile, same as
the movie car’s. Left:
the blue exterior lights powered by a second battery [Jurassic Park theme
installed in the car’s spare-tire well. The signatures plays in your head.]
of some of the movies’ actors—Christopher Loyd,
Lea Thompson, and James Tolkan—grace the inside
of the frunklid. To get those, Mark had to carry the
unwieldy stainless-steel panel across a crowded few buddies—strips them down, rebuilds the major mechani-
Dragon Con floor. Mark notes there is plenty of cal components, and removes any rust. Paint is either refreshed
space left for Michael J. Fox to add his name. or resprayed to match the color of the car’s on-screen counter-
The DeLorean that launched Razorfly’s vehicle- part, and any major seat-restoration work is farmed out to a local
replica arm of the business and the nearly dozen upholstery shop. Then the modifications begin. The tasks range
vehicles that followed pay painstaking homage to from installing simple elements such as light bars and stereo
American pop culture. Every vehicle undergoes a equipment to making complex body and cabin changes.
monthslong build process that starts with finding Razorfly’s handiwork is most evident in its three custom
a relatively complete donor car—all of which, so Jurassic Park trucks. Two Jeep Wranglers, designated numbers
far, have been decades old. Then, a small team of 18 and 29 like in the film, bear relatively straightforward mod-
part-time mechanics—consisting of Mark and a ifications. The shop outfitted both vehicles with film-accurate

49
winches, CB antennas, and light bars. The
standard Sand Beige Low Gloss exteriors
have also been augmented with door decals
and a red “JP” livery.
The alterations required to recreate
a Jurassic Park Ford Explorer were more
extensive. It got similar off-road mods as
the Jeeps as well as a full custom interior.
Mark installed early-’90s CRT screens into
the front and rear console to play either the
Jurassic Park tour video or clips from the
movie itself. The Ford also has subwoof-
ers beneath each rear seat to give the film’s
action-packed moments an even bigger
Through a Different Lens
kick. Look up and you’ll see that they’ve cut Mexico-based artist Felix Hernandez captures the larger-than-life
away the steel roof, replacing it with a clear personas of iconic movie and TV cars in his images of surprisingly
plexiglass dome so you can better peer at a small replicas. He starts by photographing 1:18 model cars that he’s
Tyrannosaurus rex towering overhead. The augmented with similarly scaled-down special effects. A rotary
Explorer, within the film’s narrative, was an cutting tool against a metal rod showers a DeLorean in sparks,
automated vehicle, designed by the park’s while cigarette smoke blown over the General Lee becomes a cloud
creator. To sell this idea, the shop installed of dust. Hernandez then manipulates and layers the photos digi-
security camera equipment on the SUV’s tally, blurring reality and fantasy into moody, dreamlike tableaux.
exterior and removed the gauge cluster. In His portfolio can be seen at hernandezdreamphography.com.
the interest of keeping things street legal,
though, a digital Summit Racing gauge dis-
play can be plugged in when needed. first address the rust born from many Midwestern winters.
Razorfly’s Blues Brothers clone even has the back They made sure the car was structurally sound but kept
story to match the movie. In the film, the title characters the overlying body panels as ratty as purchased. Screen-
use a decommissioned Dodge Monaco cop car in a race accurate details include a missing D in the Dodge badge on
against time to play a couple gigs and save their child- the tail and rattle-can black paint covering the police decals.
hood orphanage. Fittingly, the Monaco that Razorfly The shop also doctored a replica of the massive loudspeaker
owns is also a retired cruiser; it may even have been part that gets installed on the car’s roof.
of an Illinois-based police department’s fleet. (Mark The Dodge’s engine deviates from its inspiration in the
found it near Chicago, complete with the requisite steel name of power. Engine builder Dave Heitz of Advanced
bull bar.) After picking the Dodge up, the shop had to Transmissions bored the 440 big-block, upped the com-
pression, and installed a Mopar Six Pack
camshaft. Mark says the engine now makes
around 450 horsepower. All we can confirm
is that the car rips effortless donuts.
Mark is not one to keep his life-size
toys packed away. He drives them to the
local grocery store and to shows hundreds
of miles—and even oceans—away. Most
notably, a 1970s Camaro and a Saleen-kitted
Mustang made up as Bumblebee and Barri-
cade from the first Transformers movie now
reside in the Movie Cars Central museum
in Paris. Razorfly’s nonvehicular props have
appeared on a sci-fi series that earned an
International Academy of Web Television
award for best costume design in 2014, and
Mark dreams of someday creating original
custom cars for the big screen.
Razorfly’s story is now in the hands of
a Hollywood production company, which
is pitching networks on a TV series that
would chronicle the process of finding old
cars and building them into rolling movie
memorabilia. If it’s greenlighted, it’ll put
these movie stars back on the screen.

50 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER

 Looking forward to things is
half the pleasure of them.
— L. M . M O NT G O M ERY

A HIGH-OCTANE, HIGH-STYLE
DRIVING ADVENTURE THROUGH
CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY

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FOUR SELECT
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Offer Valid April 1 - June 30, 2020

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Designed to deliver a combination of civilized

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help provide confident handling and resist
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See www.tirerack.com/specials for complete details and rebate form.

Rebate paid in the form of a Goodyear Prepaid Mastercard®. This Prepaid Card is issued by Sunrise Banks N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard is a registered
trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. This Prepaid Card may be used everywhere Mastercard debit cards are accepted. Registration, activation, acceptance, or use of this Prepaid Card constitutes ac-
ceptance of the terms and conditions stated in the Prepaid Card Agreement. Prepaid Cards will not have cash access, expire after 6 months, and other terms, conditions, and fees may apply. See Prepaid Card for details.
Additional terms and conditions apply.
*Get up to $75 back by online or mail-in rebate on a qualifying purchase of a set of 4 select Goodyear tires with any form of payment method. Plus get an added rebate of up to $125 more when the purchase is made on the
Goodyear Credit Card. Subject to credit approval. Rebate amount varies depending on select tires purchased. Above rebates are on a set of four tires. If your vehicle requires six tires, rebates are available on a prorated basis for
the two additional tires. The prorated rebate amount, per additional tire, is 25% of the rebate amount listed above. The minimum purchase is a set of four tires and the maximum purchase is six tires per invoice.

©2020 Tire Rack

800-981-3782 M-F 8am-8pm EST
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 18 19 20

FAST FREE SHIPPING on All Orders Over $50*

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Sparco Assetto Gara Sparco DRS Sparco FF-1 Sparco FF-1 17 Sparco Pro Corsa Sparco Terra Bremmer Kraft BR17
15 16 17 18 19 17 18 15 17 17 18 15 16 17 18 17 18 19

What About TPMS?

We can assist you in
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www.tirerack.com/mcgard Enkei Racing RPF1 Sport Tuning T24 Sport Tuning T8-2 LP Aventure LP5 LP Aventure LP7
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ON ORDERS OVER $50 *tirerack.com/freeshipping
 Grand Touring All-Season
Luxury Cars, Family Sedans, Coupes, Crossovers and Minivans
Developed to deliver premium comfort plus confident all-season

the tire cut through standing water, while lateral notches and wide grooves
evacuate water from the footprint. Straight sipes in the shoulders and zigzag
sipes in the center ribs create biting edges to improve traction in snow and
on ice, and the full depth tread pattern helps maintain performance longer
into the tire’s life.

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Developed for drivers looking for high-speed capability Developed for drivers who want enhanced off-road capability
and predictable handling combined with all-season when they need it, but don’t want to sacrifice comfort and
mobility, even in light snow. The asymmetric tread on-road performance to get it. The balanced, on-/off-road
pattern is optimized to deliver confident handling and tread design features large, independent tread blocks with
impressive braking in dry or wet conditions, in addition deep lateral notches and sipes to provide grip on soft or
to minimizing airborne noise for quiet operation. slippery surfaces and in light snow.

Shop by vehicle at www.tirerack.com/bridgestone

©2020 Tire Rack M-F 8am-8pm EST

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 Grand Touring All-Season
Designed to deliver a quiet and luxurious ride
combined with an athletic feel, in addition
Ultra High Performance All-Season to sure-footed traction in wet and wintry
The ADVAN Sport A/S+ is the new flagship tire in Yokohama’s Ultra conditions. Angled grooves and wide, lateral
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mixing process that focuses on enhanced wet traction. The density in the shoulders and inboard rib create
asymmetric tread design includes large, outboard shoulder biting edges for grip on slippery surfaces.
blocks for responsive handling and lateral grip, while
Streaming Z-Grooves and Serpentine Grooves
improve traction in light snow.

Max Performance Summer*

Built to be the pinnacle of performance, the ADVAN
Apex V601 is engineered to deliver maximum
grip, precision handling, and a quiet ride. 3+1
Circumferential Grooves are designed to provide
optimal performance in dry or wet conditions,
and the wide, outboard rib maximizes contact
with the road for impressive lateral traction.
* Like all summer tires, the ADVAN Apex™ is not intended to be
driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.

Shop by Vehicle at

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 Get A

Tire Rack Prepaid Mastercard® when you purchase

a set of four Kumho tires shown below.
Exclusive Offer Valid May 1-31, 2020

MAX PERFORMANCE SUMMER

Emphasizing handling, steering response and
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compound enhanced with Max Grip Performance Resin
and molded into an aggressive, asymmetric pattern.

ULTRA HIGH PERFORMANCE ALL-SEASON

Designed to combine responsive handling with all-season
capability, the high-stiffness compound improves
handling performance, while high-grip resins in the tread
rubber further aid wet and dry traction. Variable Pitch
Sequence Technology helps minimize noise to meet the
requirements of demanding drivers.

CROSSOVER/SUV TOURING ALL-SEASON

The Crugen HP71 is designed for drivers who want refinement and
comfort in addition to reliable all-season traction. The symmetric
tread pattern is optimized to provide a quiet and comfortable ride,
while notched intermediate ribs and sipes in the independent tread
blocks aid traction in wet and wintry conditions.

*For complete offer details, visit www.tirerack.com/specials . Tires must be purchased from Tire Rack’s in-stock inventory
between 12:00 a.m. EDT May 1, 2020, and 11:59 p.m. EDT May 31, 2020. Offer not valid if tires are returned.
Prepaid Mastercard is given to you as a reward, refund or rebate and no money has been paid by you for the card. Card is issued by
MetaBank®, N.A, Member FDIC, pursuant to license from Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard is a registered
trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. No cash access or recurring payments.
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the
fe ar
of
failure
58 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER
 MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
DON’T HAVE ENOUGH IN SAVINGS
TO COVER A CAR REPAIR.
THEY ALSO HAVE CARS REGULARLY
IN NEED OF REPAIR. WHAT’S IT LIKE
WHEN YOUR CAR IS A
BLESSING AND A CURSE?

JASON M. VAUGHN
TELLS THE STORY OF OLIVER,
HIS FAMILY’S 260,000-MILE SUBARU.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY
BLAKE GORDON

59
TURNING THE KEY HAS
BECOME AN ACT OF FAITH.
AS THE ENGINE GRUMBLES
TO LIFE ON THIS FINE
SOUTHWEST COLORADO
MORNING, THE YELLOW
eral Reserve in 2018, 27 percent of participants claimed
CHECK-ENGINE LIGHT they would be unable to cover a surprise $400 expense
without borrowing money or selling something, and
COMES ON, AS IT HAS 12 percent said they couldn’t come up with that amount
at all. And according to a study by Bankrate, an online
EVERY DAY FOR THE PAST financial services company, 28 percent of U.S. adults
have no emergency savings. Those numbers become
FOUR YEARS, AND especially alarming when you consider that the price of
a car repair—which by nature tends to be a surprise—is
THE SAME QUESTIONS typically between $500 and $600, according to AAA.
Finally, consider that at 11.8 years old, the average
SWIRL IN MY MIND. age of the 278 million vehicles on American highways
has never been higher: According to research firm IHS
Is this the day that tiny head-gasket leak turns into a gusher? Markit, that figure is up nearly 4 percent from just five
Is this the day the catalytic converter chokes closed for years ago. One reason for this may be that modern cars
good? Is this the day that one speck of sand too many works are simply built better and last longer than before. Just
its way into that cracked CV-joint boot, causing it to seize up as likely is the possibility that many Americans—in a
at some bend in the road and send me spinning into a ravine, time of stagnant wages combined with soaring con-
not to be discovered until spring? sumer debt and a high cost of living—can’t afford to
I baselessly reassure myself that everything is going to be replace their old beaters. Or if they can get another vehi-
fine and pull onto a narrow Montezuma County back road, cle, they’re only able to replace it with another beater.
headed to the nearest “big” city, Cortez, for supplies. It’s a It’s never been more expensive to buy and operate a new
40-mile round trip. The concern now is less about my car’s vehicle in the U.S. than it is today. Per AAA, the aver-
specific ailments than the overriding reality that if I break age annual cost of owning a new small SUV—based on
down on one of the more desolate stretches of this road, I 15,000 miles driven and taking into account financing,
likely won’t be able to find a usable cell signal, much less any- repairs, maintenance, fuel, insurance, depreciation,
where to get help for my car. and licensing and registration fees—is nearly $8400, a
I intimately know everything wrong with this car. I feel prohibitive amount for many.
the squishy brakes and the engine straining to get up a hill, There are now a lot of high-mileage cars being driven
and I hear the ominous grinding sounds coming from under by people for whom even a minor repair bill could be
the right-front wheel well. But I can’t afford to do anything ruinous. It’s a great and horrible irony that in a society
to ward off those looming disasters. where so many working-class people are forced to rely
And I’m not the only one. There are a lot of folks in this on their vehicles to get to work, the last thing most of us
predicament. According to a survey conducted by the Fed- can seem to afford is a working vehicle.

60 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER

 The author’s 2004 In this case, though, the name fits.
Subaru was purchased Oliver’s grille and headlights form
new as a birthday gift.
Now showing 260,000 a dopey, endearing grin, and he has
miles, the reliable always loved to play in the snow and
Impreza Outback mud, just like a big happy dog. Back
Sport is the gift that
keeps on giving. when our financial state was better,
I daydreamed of turning Oliver into
some weird off-road rally car that could
somehow also be a daily driver. But now he’s pushing 260,000 miles.
And thanks to too many lean years of unemployment or underem-
ployment—last summer, my wife and I were both laid off from our
respective and not very lucrative jobs on the same day—we can’t
afford to keep up on his current maintenance, much less fix all the
stuff we’ve put off.
Which hurts, because my wife and I courted each other, went on
our honeymoon, attended weddings and funerals, moved multiple
times, brought our newborn son home, and had adventures from
Florida to California in Oliver. He’s as beloved a part of our family
as any pet. Entropy catches up to everything at some point, but I
genuinely believe that with some care, Oliver has another 100,000
miles in him. Of course, sentimentality is often the first sacrifice
when you’re broke. We’ll probably need another 100,000 miles out
of Oliver whether we can properly care for him or not.
Despite the popular notion that poor people are poor because
they’re “bad” with money, most poor people I know actually have a
grossly underappreciated knack for budgeting the little money they
My wife bought our white 2004 Subaru do have down to the penny. We can stretch a dollar in ways that many
Impreza Outback Sport wagon new as a birth- middle-class consumers could likely never imagine. But that also
day gift for herself. By all measures, it has been means we have to make choices that middle-class consumers will
a brilliant vehicle. It’s been steady and reliable likely never have to face. Even a $30 oil change can be a bridge too
on every surface one could encounter—rain, far when you know that same $30, with a little creativity, can buy
snow, ice, mud, sand, bare rock, and everything enough groceries to last our family of three for a week. Or it could
in between—and in temperatures ranging make the difference when it comes to being able to pay our rent on
from 20 below zero to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. time. Or it could mean new school clothes, another present under
And except for a tornado-wrecked hood and a the Christmas tree for our young son, or simply another tank of gas
couple dead batteries over the course of its life, to keep us limping along. Thirty dollars is a hell of a lot of money
the Subie has always started and safely delivered when that’s all you’ve got.
us wherever we needed to be. We even gave it a It’s a subject that Linda Tirado knows all too well. In her 2014
name, Oliver, because, yes, we watched that one book, Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America, Tirado describes
episode of Top Gear just like everyone else. the often perilous existence she and many other Americans face on a
daily basis: the soul-numbing, low-wage
jobs that can disappear in a heartbeat;
the endless string of plain, gritty apart-
ments with bugs, balky appliances, and
shady landlords; the brutal truth of how
quickly even those basic things can van-
ish when you lose your only means of
transportation.
In one chapter, Tirado details how
her pickup truck was impounded after
she admittedly—but unknowingly—
parked it illegally. “I was 19 and from
Cedar City, Utah,” she says now with a
laugh. “I didn’t know how cities worked!
Where I came from, nobody got towed
unless they got in a wreck or were pulled
over for a DUI or something.”
She writes that when she called
the towing company, she was told she
owed a couple hundred dollars for the

61
impound fee. What she wasn’t told was
that in the interim until her next pay-
day, when she might be able to pay that
fee, she would also be charged a couple
hundred dollars a day in storage fees.
When she went to retrieve her truck,
she was presented with a bill for over
$1000—nearly three times her pay-
check. The tow company told her that it
would hold the truck for a few months to
give her some time to come up with the
mounting storage fees, but then it could
sell it at auction. Should that happen, it
would give her any of the proceeds from
the sale after deducting its fees, if there
was anything left.
In the end, she lost her truck and, Owning an old car on a shoe- best, spotty. And for great swaths
along with it, her and her husband’s only string budget means learning of small towns and rural areas, it’s
to wrench whether you want to
realistic means to get to work on time. or not. YouTube, parts-store completely nonexistent.
The couple soon lost their jobs. Not long clerks, and strangers are the The problem is often one of dis-
after that, they lost their apartment. best free help you can find. tance and population. For example,
One of the hardest ironies of all for getting our son to and from school
the working poor is the often unspo- adds up to 80 miles, and we do that
ken truth that in America, you usually have to already have four days a week. It takes around seven hours to drive
money to even get an opportunity to make money. And sim- from Cortez to Denver—a seven-hour drive from New
ply moving someplace with better jobs and higher pay isn’t York City could get you to Cleveland, Ohio.
really an option when you’re broke. Effective public transportation is difficult—if not
Improved public transportation would probably help impossible—to create when you’re planning usable daily
take some of the pressure off the working poor. It’s difficult routes in a sprawling place like Montezuma County,
to imagine the nightmarish perpetual traffic jam New York which is roughly one quarter the size of New Jersey.
City would become without its flawed but vital subway sys- It’s also almost impossible to pay for when the entire
tem. But outside of major cities, public transportation is, at population of the area numbers less than that of most
Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Tirado says that she’s often been required to take a
long and hazardous hike to get to work or to go grocery
shopping. She says that people in the West might have
a difficult time imagining the population density in the
East, but people in the East seem to have no concept of
the distances involved out west.
“It blew my mind when I first went to New York,”
Tirado says. “I was like, ‘You mean you can just take
the train and they run everywhere? What are you peo-
ple bitching about?’ When I moved to Chicago, people
would tell me that the buses there suck. I was like, ‘Why?
Because they’re a few minutes late sometimes? Do you
know what a miracle it is that you can just step outside of
your house, walk a block, and then just stand there and a
bus will pick you up?’ ”
To keep Oliver running on schedule, I’ve taught
myself some basic maintenance and repairs using only
YouTube instructional videos and a collection of ran-
dom tools I’ve accumulated over the years. I know how
to decipher an engine-code reader. I can install new
brake pads, change the oil, replace spark plugs, change
headlight bulbs, and do many other minor tweaks.
Admittedly, those “fixes” sometimes have more than
a twinge of desperation to them. I once found a bottle of
some sort of oily goop that promised to “flush out cata-
lytic converters” for $25 at a local auto parts store. Oliver
had begun sputtering and stalling frequently, especially

62 JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER

OWNING A CAR living and enjoy a high quality of life. With simply feel-good stories of human resil-
few exceptions, such as in Manhattan, the ience. Rather, they’re evidence of how
IS EXPENSIVE. inverse is also true: If you don’t drive, it is important cars are to everyday people.
IN THE U.S., harder to get ahead and stay there. American cities offer public transit as a
According to a 2018 survey, 8.7 percent of bare-bones service in many cases, but
NOT OWNING ONE U.S. households have no access to a car. automobiles are widely viewed as a
IS EVEN MORE The economic differences between those luxury rather than critical infrastructure.
with and those without cars is stark. From These attitudes are starting to
EXPENSIVE. 1969 to 2013, the inflation-adjusted change, however. One intriguing concept
Decades of policies that made driving median household income of Americans is universal basic mobility (UBM), which
easier in the U.S. also made not driving with access to a car rose from $55,000 to promotes the use of existing and
harder. Governments built and widened $62,000 while the incomes of those emerging transportation options to
roads, cities surrounded development without one fell from $26,000 to $17,000. ensure that everyone can get where they
with parking, and low gas prices made In 1960, the likelihood that a household need to go. In urban areas, UBM could be
operating a vehicle fairly affordable. would be in poverty was about the same implemented as a monthly stipend for
Because of this, those who could buy a whether or not its members had a vehicle. transit, bike-sharing services, and
car did, and in turn, cities allocated more Today, carless households are 75 percent ride-hailing networks. In the country, it
space to accommodate those vehicles. In more likely to be in poverty than those could mean Uber credits, more buses, and
Phoenix, for instance, 36 percent of land with access to a vehicle. even subsidized car-sharing. This solution
area is devoted to either roads or We’ve all heard stories about co- may be hard to realize, but providing
parking. In Los Angeles, it’s 41 percent. workers chipping in to buy a car for a access to transportation may just be the
With a society built around cars, a colleague who would otherwise walk best thing we can do to help struggling
vehicle is essentially required to earn a hours to work each day. These aren’t communities. —David A. King

$80,000 $70,646 90%

$70,000 80%

70% AS PERSONAL VEHICLES BECAME

$60,000
COMMON THROUGH THE ’50S AND ’60S,
$62,187 60%
$50,000 TRANSPORTATION BECAME A LARGER
$54,992 NO PART OF AMERICANS’ EXPENSES.
DATA 50%
$40,000
$26,492 40%
$30,000
30%
$20,000
20%
$10,000 10%
$17,237
$0 0%
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

MEDIAN INCOME (NO CAR) MEDIAN INCOME (HAS A CAR) HOUSEHOLD INCOME SPENT ON TRANSPORTATION HOUSEHOLDS WITH NO VEHICLES

after fill-ups or when the engine was cold, and I knew after has roughly 250,000 fewer miles on it than Oliver. The
consulting a mechanic that Oliver’s catalytic converter Mazda doesn’t have a name, though.
wasn’t long for this world. I asked the clerk if the stuff worked, It’s hard to get that youthful sentimentality back once
and he gave a suspiciously enthusiastic “Shoot yeah!” you’ve come face to face with real-world realities. When
So, with time running out and looking with despair at you can’t count on your car, you’re often forced to count
a potentially disastrous bill for a new catalytic converter, on other people. Out here in the West’s vast open spaces,
I invested the $25 and gave the cleaner a try. Oliver hasn’t that’s actually somewhat comforting. You aren’t really
sputtered or stalled in a while, which is a good sign. But I as alone as it seems when the engine rattles. If you’re
have no clue if the additive actually did anything to lengthen clearly in distress on the side of the road (provided that
the life of the catalytic converter or if it instead damaged road isn’t too far out of the way), eventually some decent
some other expensive part I’ve yet to discover even exists. I soul will stop to help with water, jumper cables, a can of
guess that’s just another leap of faith, too. gas, or a ride back to town. Sometimes you’ll even get a
Last fall, we got a second vehicle to take some of the helpful “Ah, now, here’s your problem . . .”
pressure off Oliver: a new Mazda CX-3—a very generous Because when you live in a place where the distances
gift from my father who was worried about our ability to are great and the money is short, you understand that
safely haul our son around out here. Adding another vehi- there but for the grace of God—or whatever cosmic
cle to our insurance was a hard pill to swallow, but the CX-3 force holds dominion over head gaskets—go you.

63
 A P P LY N O W !

FALL FOLIAGE AT ITS FINEST

Navigate the Northeast with the editors of Road & Track and
enjoy fall foliage through a sequence of curated routes through the
Hudson Valley, the Catskills, and the Berkshire Mountains.

Compete for the Hudson Honors Second Annual Awards by

autocrossing at historic Lime Rock Park, and experience hot laps
in 2021 Performance Car of the Year finalists.

Immerse yourself in a journey of extraordinary excursions—including

pit stops at Hillrock Distillery, the spa at Miraval, and more!

APPLY AT
EXP ER I ENCES . R OA DA ND T R ACK . CO M
S PA C E I S L I M I T E D

@ R OA DA ND T R ACK _ EXP ER I ENCES

THE RUNDOWN
An expert look at the newest and most important vehicles this month.

For those who think a stock

Urus is staid, check out this bull
with more bling, page 72.

Swollen with boost,

the Turbo S stretches
1.9 inches wider than a
911 Carrera. Porsche
calls the new engine
a 3.8-liter. We did the
math: It’s a 3.7.

2 02 1 P O R S C H E 9 1 1 T U R B O S ~ BY T O N Y Q U I R O G A feeds a left-right ramp that enters California Route 2.

The 2 heads up the mountain toward the Angeles Crest

Sneaky Fast Highway. If the ramp is empty, you get a couple seconds
at full throttle as you dash toward the banking. In most
cars, navigating that takes a light dab of the brakes while
The new 640-hp 911 Turbo S does what 911 Turbos downshifting before turning into the ramp and merging
have always done, only better and quicker. with authority. On the short straight, we hit the accel-
erator on our 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S and then glance
down at its speedometer. We are going 94 mph.
A few thoughts crash the moment. Beginning with:
It’s happened before, but it’s been awhile. You see, C/D test This is a German-market 911 and someone must have
drivers tend to acclimate to hard acceleration. Seat time in forgotten to change the digital speedo from kilometers
Teslas, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and AMGs will do that. Our to miles per hour, because there’s just no way. Then: No,
inner ears take so much violent g-force abuse that even the wait. It’s not a mistake. These are mile readings, and
monstrously quick begins to feel perfectly normal. they’re about 30 mph higher than anticipated.
Just over the Los Angeles River, east of Hollywood, Like we said, we’ve had this happen before. But that
there’s a two-lane straight about an eighth of a mile long that was over a decade ago, and we were in a Bugatti Veyron.

CAR A ND D R IV E R ~ J U NE 2020 ~ P H OTOG RA P H Y BY JESSI CA LYN N WA LKER 65

 If we’d read the materials Porsche had sent us, instead the last-gen GT2 RS. There’s really nothing like turbo lag
of just getting in and driving, we might have been bet- happening here. Even in its weakest moments, this engine
ter prepared. Here’s what we should have known: The is a blink away from burying your shoulder blades into the
new Turbo S has 640 horsepower and 590 pound-feet seatback. Punch it and, even through the turbos, you hear
of torque, improvements of 60 and 37, respectively, over the mechanical grit, bellow, and rasp of a flat-six.
the last generation. Those bumps come from a heavily We need to slow down. At least a little. The Turbo S comes
revised version of the flat-six that shares its basic archi- standard with 16.5-inch carbon-ceramic rotors clamped by
tecture with the 3.0-liter in the Carrera and Carrera S. 10-piston calipers in front (up from 16.1-inch discs and six-
A shorter stroke than in the 991 Turbo’s 3.8 relegates pot pinchers), and a hard pedal drops the speedometer to
this 992 engine to 3.7-liter status, but there’s more than reasonable numbers in an instant.
enough boost—22.5 pounds’ worth—to make up for the The capital-T Turbo versions of the 911 have always been
dip in displacement. The intercoolers are 14 percent the widebody, no-neck punks of the 911 world. The new-gen-
larger and are fed ambient air more eration Turbo’s 62.3-inch front track is
efficiently than before, through the 1.7 inches greater than the previous car’s.
scoops in the rear fenders and by the numbers In back, where the 315/30ZR-21 Pirelli
two large vents in the decklid. And Vehicle Type: rear-engine, all-wheel- P Zero PZ4s live, the body is 1.9 inches
the intercoolers do a better job of drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door coupe wider than a regular 911’s.
chilling the pressurized air created Base .............................. $204,850 When it’s time to turn onto the ramp,
Engine: twin-turbocharged and
by the turbochargers. intercooled DOHC 24-valve flat-6, the Turbo’s wide stance cuts and holds
The new turbos are larger than aluminum block and heads, direct hard. No drama, just cling. Ease into that
before and are now mirror images fuel injection left-to-right transition and, whoa, that
3
Displacement ...... 229 in , 3746 cm 3
of each other in the interest of pro- Power .................. 640 hp @ 6750 rpm Civic trundling along in the right lane
ducing equal and quicker responses. Torque ............. 590 lb-ft @ 2500 rpm looks scared. Unfortunately, we didn’t
Each is bolted to a cast exhaust man- Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch get to perform instrumented testing, but
automatic
ifold inspired by the ones used in Dimensions we do know that your passengers will be
• Wheelbase .............................. 96.5 in
• L/W/H ........ 178.5/74.8/50.9–51.3 in
• Curb Weight .......................... 3700 lb
Performance (C/D est)
• 60 mph .................................... 2.5 sec
• 100 mph ................................... 6.1 sec
• 1/4-Mile ................................. 10.5 sec
• Top Speed ............................ 205 mph
EPA Fuel Economy (C/D est)
• Comb/City/Hwy ....... 19/16/23 mpg

66 THE RUNDOWN
 begging for mercy well before you approach
the car’s handling limits.
Our 911 arrived with the optional PASM
Sport suspension that drops the car 0.4 inch
on stiffer springs and recalibrates the adap-
tive dampers. On certain bumps, the chas-
sis shoots us out of the saddle like a rodeo
bull. Yee-haw-ouch. And that happened in
Normal mode, not in the more unyielding
Sport or Sport Plus. Yet in the canyons, the
Turbo S doesn’t feel abusive. It simply flows
from corner to corner, the rear-wheel steer-
ing working its magic, the dampers keep-
ing everything grounded, and the gearbox
selecting the right gear before turn-in.
As in the last 911 Turbo, there’s no man-
ual option. While having that connection
Doing its best Dodge with this engine would bring tears of joy to
Neon impression, the the air-cooled faithful, it might be hard to
911 Turbo S says, “Hi.”
Porsche builds the grab the shifter with the Turbo’s accelera-
friendliest-looking tion flinging you back. Every Turbo S comes
640-hp sports car in a with an eight-speed dual-clutch auto, allow-
world full of pissed-off
performance cars. ing you to keep your hands on the wheel.
This automatic does have a playful side.
To engage playtime, switch the knob on the
steering wheel to Sport Plus, which enables launch control. Hold the
brake with your left foot and press the accelerator with your right
until the engine revs to 5000 rpm. Look as far down the road as you
can before releasing the brake. Turbo models get reinforced clutches
with additional discs to cope with the extra engine. There’s a certain
brutality as the blast of an engine turned up to 170.8 horsepower per
liter cranks through the drivetrain and into the road. Tires screech.
Passengers screech. Maybe you even screech. At least a little.
We can hear the lawyers now: Do you suffer from heart, back,
or neck trouble or have to take medication for high-blood pressure?
Have you or a loved one been exposed to a Porsche 911 Turbo S? If so,
call this number. Except Porsche probably has better lawyers than
most amusement parks. Sign here, here, and initial there. Have fun.
Porsche claims the Turbo S will bring you to 60 mph in 2.6 sec-
onds. Its numbers are generally conservative—lawyers again—and
we’d guess we could take a tenth or two off that time. But it’s not that
initial acceleration that is shocking. Inner-ear toughness and years of
911 Turbos have skewed our cilia and expectations. What surprises us
is how the acceleration just doesn’t let up. There’s an empty freeway
ahead. We glance at the speedometer, smile, and dream of an empty
autobahn in the summertime. Oops. Back on the brakes.

CA R AND DRIV ER ~ JUNE 2020 67

2 02 0 C A D I L L A C C T4 -V ~ BY J A R E D G A L L
the numbers

Velight Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear- or all-

wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
Base ...................... $45,490–$46,590
The Cadillac CT4-V loses nearly a third of its predecessor’s Engine: turbocharged and intercooled
horsepower and is, in many ways, better for it. DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block
and head, direct fuel injection
Displacement ................ 166 in3, 2727 cm3
Power ........................... 325 hp @ 5500 rpm
Torque ..................... 380 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
The decades following your centennial are an unusual time for teenage self- Dimensions
discovery, but that’s exactly where Cadillac finds itself. Multiple reinven- • Wheelbase ...................................... 109.3 in
tions in recent years and regular product reengineerings have brought about • L/W/H ........................... 187.2/71.5/56.0 in
• Curb Weight ....................... 3650–3800 lb
dramatic model repositioning as well. The CTS went from being a tweener Performance (C/D est)
betwixt established luxury segments as defined by the BMW 3- and 5-series • 60 mph ...................................... 4.9–5.1 sec
and Mercedes C- and E-classes to being a direct competitor to the 5 and E and • 100 mph ................................. 11.6–11.8 sec
• 1/4-Mile ................................. 13.4–13.6 sec
then back to being a tweener and now called the CT5. (Follow that?) And the • Top Speed ..................................... 165 mph
brand’s headquarters moved from Detroit to New York City and back. EPA Fuel Economy
The ATS’s transition into the CT4 has been less dramatic, with the vehicle • Comb/City/Hwy ....... 23/20/28–29 mpg
retaining even its wheelbase, but Cadillac’s reinvention of the V label worn
by this example is perhaps the most jarring of all.
Where the ATS-V packed a 464-hp twin-turbo
V-6, the CT4-V has a four-cylinder. Yes, it’s tur-
bocharged and, at 2.7 liters, it’s a beefy four. But
325 horsepower is a sad drop from 464.
It hurts less if you think of the CT4-V (and its
CT5-V stablemate) as a V-lite. Which is no bad
thing, as the CT4-V accomplishes the miracu-
lous feat of making an ATS-V feel oversprung.
This car is vastly more compliant and friendly,
engaging and playful without making you regret
it two hours into the drive. The steering is quick
and nicely weighted, and the firm, progressive
brake pedal is among the best you’ll find this side
of $100,000. GM’s chassis-development team is
one of the underappreciated success stories of
the last decade, its primary benefactors being

68 THE RUNDOWN PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL SIMARI ~ JUN E 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIV ER

 A MATTER
OF MILLIMETERS
—
The CT4-V’s dual-volute
turbo (a volute is a
spiral-shaped object)
operates on the same
premise as the more
common twin-scroll
turbo. Each design uses
two ducts in the turbine
housing to separate
the exhaust gases from
certain cylinders. This
separation allows the
exhaust pulses to arrive
at the turbine with
more energy, which
improves response time.
In a twin-scroll,
Cadillacs, the Corvette, the Camaro, The trans calibration seems a little the ducts combine just
and—oddly enough—GM’s pickups. off in Tour mode, displaying inconsis- before reaching the
Speaking of pickups, Chevy’s tent shift behaviors such as revs that turbine, allowing a small
Silverado donated its engine to the sometimes climb mid-shift and other amount of the exhaust
CT4-V. Once upon a time, that would times don’t. But in Sport, gearchanges and pulse energy to
have meant an iron-block 454 doing happen so fast that there’s no time for leak into the opposite
unthinkable things to the CT4-V’s them to be slurred. The way the Caddy channel. In a dual-volute
claim of 50/50 weight distribution— automatically engages the aggressive design, the two ducts
and probably would have necessitated shift map in the right kind of driving feed the turbine from
box flares on the front fenders. But in and the wide-open-throttle shifts in opposite sides, deliver-
2020, it means an inline-four with an this mode and are pleasant remind- ing more energy to the
aluminum block and head and a trick ers that this Hydra-Matic 10-speed turbo. The gaps between
turbo [see “A Matter of Millimeters”]. is related to the one offered in the the turbine wheel and the
This engine joins the Bentley Mul- Camaro ZL1 track marauder. ducts in the CT4-V’s turbo
sanne’s 6.8-liter in the growing club The CT4’s downsides have noth- measure just one millime-
of gas engines with nominally higher ing to do with it being a V or not. The ter (0.04 inch). The same
peak torque than horsepower. cramped interior carries over from gap in a twin-scroll turbo
With a 380-lb-ft peak between the ATS, and while we love the deep is typically five times
2000 and 4000 rpm and a redline at maroon of the $1000 Sangria interior, greater. —Eric Tingwall
6000, the 2.7 feels good and strong, that it’s just on the seats, console, and
and smooth at part throttle. At higher a few bits of trim makes it feel like an
speeds and in higher gears—there are afterthought, rather than the better
a lot of those with a 10-speed auto— realized (and more spacious) interiors
the engine’s flattening output above of competitors like the BMW 3-series,
5000 rpm becomes more apparent. In Genesis G70, and Volvo S60.
those gears, you find yourself manu- But even as an unofficial V-lite, the
ally short-shifting to keep things mov- CT4-V delivers driving pleasure that
ing. It’s easy to be caught off guard by a few others in the class do. And don’t
strip of collapsed pavement over a cul- get too down on the power; Cadillac
vert or when approaching a railroad will rectify that with a new model
crossing a bit faster than intended, above this one, likely powered by a
especially on the sort of bumpy two- version of the same twin-turbo six
lanes you find around central Mich- its predecessor had. We’re not yet
igan farmlands. There, an avenue is sold on the name change—some-
sometimes—surprise!—dirt, and the how, “CT4” sounds even less alluring
CT4-V’s more compliant suspension than “ATS”—but it’s looking as if the
masks greater speeds. recasting of V is going to be just fine.

69
 the numbers
Vehicle Type: front-motor, front-engine,
all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door
wagon
Base ....................................... $28,870
Powertrain: permanent-magnet
synchronous AC motor, 181 hp, 232 lb-ft;
DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle
inline-4, 143 hp, 129 lb-ft; combined
system, 212 hp, 232 lb-ft; 1.4-kWh
lithium-ion battery pack
Transmission: single-speed direct-drive
Dimensions
• Wheelbase ...................................... 104.7 in
• L/W/H ........................... 182.1/73.0/66.5 in
• Curb Weight ................................... 3700 lb
Performance (C/D est)
• 60 mph ............................................. 7.6 sec
2 02 0 H O N DA C R -V H Y B R I D ~ BY S C O T T O L D H A M • 1/4-Mile .......................................... 15.9 sec
• Top Speed ...................................... 115 mph
EPA Fuel Economy

Better with a Battery • Comb/City/Hwy ............. 38/40/35 mpg

Hybridization finally comes to the CR-V, making Honda’s

best-seller even better to drive. highway cruising) or works in collabora-
tion with the drive motor (e.g., for max
acceleration). The juice generated by
the engine is sent to that motor to move
It’s surprising that Honda is only now the CR-V, but it can also be diverted to
THE COMPETITION
introducing a hybrid version of the charge the modestly sized battery.
CR-V in the U.S., a full 15 years after There is an electric-only mode, but
Ford Escape SE Sport
the hybrid Ford Escape’s debut and Hybrid AWD range is limited to a mile or two.
23 years after the first CR-V went Honda CR-V Hybrid LX AWD The hybrid system’s operation is
on sale. Currently, Honda’s hybrid Kia Niro LXS smooth, quiet, and unobtrusive. Engine
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid LE AWD
lineup consists of three sedans: the drone is kept to a minimum, even at full
Insight, Accord Hybrid, and Clarity Base, $ throttle. Compared with the base car,
Plug-In. All together, just 59,000 of 31,010 the hybrid’s extra power and added
them were sold here last year. But 28,870 responsiveness improve the driving
27,110
now that the top-selling CR-V joins 29,470 experience, and the electric motor’s
them, we have no doubt it’ll quickly torque makes it feel livelier. That’s espe-
take Honda’s hybrid sales crown. EPA Combined, mpg cially true in Sport mode, as the power-
With its refinement, competitive 40 train quickly reacts to small accelerator
38
pricing, and decent EPA fuel econ- 49 inputs. Maximum acceleration feels
omy, it’s out to prove good things 40 about the same as it does in the regu-
come to those who wait 23 years. lar model—the last CR-V we tested hit
Passenger Volume, ft3
This CR-V uses the same power- 60 mph in 7.6 seconds—but the hybrid
101
train as the hybrid Accord but with a 105 is punchier around town. And of course,
few tweaks to smooth its operation. 100 there’s an argument to be made for effi-
It consists of a 1.4-kWh lithium-ion 99 ciency: EPA fuel-economy estimates
battery, an Atkinson-cycle 2.0-liter Cargo Volume, ft3 jump from 27 mpg city and 32 highway
inline-four, and two motor-gener- 31 to 40 and 35, respectively.
ators, only one of which helps with 33 The hybrid hardware adds about
propulsion. The setup is good for 19 200 pounds to the CR-V’s curb weight,
38
a combined 212 horses. Unlike the so Honda firmed up the suspension,
Accord, though, this hybrid comes giving the ute a substantial feel on the
with standard all-wheel drive. road. It showed exceptional stability
This model could be considered a performance ver- and secure and capable manners on Arizona’s wavy two-
sion since it makes more power than the base CR-V, lanes, its ride always compliant.
which has a 190-hp turbo 1.5-liter four. In the hybrid, Just 7 percent of Hondas sold worldwide in 2018 were
Honda primarily uses the 2.0-liter to generate electric- electrified, but the company expects that will grow to 15
ity. There are a few conditions when a clutch engages percent by 2030. We can only hope all its future hybrids
and the four-pot takes over (e.g., under low load: think and electric vehicles are as good as this CR-V.

70 THE RUNDOWN JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER

 Let’s not
Party
Meet up
Bro-hug
Defy

Let’s
Stay put
Binge watch
Video-happy-hour
Save lives
Visit coronavirus.gov for the latest tips and information from the CDC.

#AloneTogether

TOGETHER, WE CAN HELP SLOW THE SPREAD.

Out: gold chains.
In: 23-inch gold
wheels. The Kar
Tunz Urus sits half
an inch lower than
stock, and its V-8 is
juiced to a claimed
725 horsepower.

2 02 0 K A R T U N Z L A M B O R G H I N I U R U S ~ BY S C O T T O L D H A Mrenamed the company OpenFlash Perform-

ance and has since dialed up the Ferrari 458

The Golden Calf Italia, several motorcycles, and twin-turbo

3.5-liter V-6-powered Ford F-150s. This is
the first Urus he’s uncorked.
Highs: Quickest SUV we’ve ever tested, simple yet effective
Pathak says his tuning increased the
mods, maintains stock refinement and drivability. Lows: Gold
output of the Lambo’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter
wheels can be seen from Mars, modifications void factory
V-8 from 641 horsepower at 6000 rpm
warranty, should be called the LM003 or maybe just Cheat-ah.
and 627 pound-feet of torque at 2250 rpm
to 725 horses and 750 pound-feet. There
are no hardware changes under the hood.
Boost from the two turbochargers is up,
We don’t have the sex appeal of Adrienne Barbeau climb- and Pathak tweaked the fuel and ignition maps. “We’re at
ing out of a Lamborghini Countach [Speak for yourself, the limit of the hardware and California’s 91-octane fuel,” he
Oldham—Ed.]. Even if we did, we left our skintight span- says. “To add more power, we would have to start changing
dex jumpsuits back at the hotel. But we are hauling ass turbos, downpipes, and cylinder heads.”
through the California desert in a black Lamborghini, Kar Tunz performed other modifications. A louder and
specifically Robert Patel’s modified 2020 Lamborghini lighter Novitec exhaust system with a crossover pipe hangs
Urus. It all feels very Cannonball Run. under the car, the tips of which are powder-coated satin
Patel has owned Kar Tunz since 2015, establishing black. The team also fitted Ghost Motorsports’ self-named
the Pleasanton, California, shop as a one-stop Bay Area lowering links, which dropped the SUV about a half-inch.
go-to for performance, appearance, and tech upgrades. And they sprayed the faux diffuser, side skirts, grille, fender
“We work on anything and can do anything. Whatever flares, and brake calipers black.
the customer wants,” he says. “We do a lot of Raptors, Then there are this Urus’s $8800 23-inch forged
911s, Audis, Corvettes, McLarens. Muscle cars, too. wheels, which are perhaps the goldest set since the ancient
Right now, we’re working on a 1969 Camaro.” Mesopotamians began using the material for decoration.
Although Kar Tunz performed most of the mod- Lamborghini offers rims in this size, but these have a differ-
ifications on the Lambo, the owner of OpenFlash ent offset, which pushes them outward for a more aggres-
Performance, Shiv Pathak, is the one who upped the sive look. And according to Patel, they are a little lighter,
SUV’s power. We’ve known Pathak since 2003, when too. The Pirelli P Zero PZ4 tires, 285/35ZR-23s in front and
he brought a quick and refined Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 325/30ZR-23s at the rear, are the factory fitment. Patel says
VIII to our four-cylinder supertuner challenge. His he has $277,904 in the Lambo, including $243,596 for the
Vishnu Performance Systems company quickly estab- factory Urus. OpenFlash’s engine tune is a serious value
lished a reputation for its ability to crank up power and at $2495. For reference, that’s about $650 less than what
torque levels without sacrificing drivability. In 2014, he Lamborghini charges for electric Comfort seats.

72 THE RUNDOWN PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES LIPMAN ~ JUNE 2020 ~ CAR AND DRIV ER
 the numbers
Vehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive,
5-passenger, 4-door wagon
Base*/As Tested ......... $234,102/$277,904
Engine: twin-turbocharged and intercooled
DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and
heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement ........................ 244 in3, 3996 cm3
Power (mfr’s claim) .......... 725 hp @ 5700 rpm
Torque (mfr’s claim) .... 750 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Dimensions
• Wheelbase ................................................. 118.2 in
• L/W/H .................................... 201.3/79.4/64.0 in
• Curb Weight .............................................. 5140 lb

test RESULTS
Rollout, 1 ft ................................................. 0.3 sec
60 mph ........................................................... 2.7 sec
100 mph ........................................................ 6.8 sec
130 mph ....................................................... 12.0 sec Kar Tunz’s mods
150 mph ........................................................ 17.5 sec aren’t just about
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ........................ 4.2 sec making numbers and
1/4-Mile ................................. 10.9 sec @ 125 mph attracting attention.
Braking, 70–0 mph ..................................... 150 ft The company did
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad ................ 1.04 g an impressive job
retaining drivability on
par with a stock Urus.

With its launch-control system acti-

vated, the Urus leaps off the line and clears
60 mph in 2.7 seconds. The quarter-mile
hits in a blistering 10.9 seconds at 125 mph.
That makes it not only the quickest SUV we’ve ever tested, promised the Urus’s practicality or easy-driving nature.
beating the stock Lamborghini by 0.4 second in both meas- It’s significantly louder than the unmodified ute at idle
ures, but it’s quicker to 60 mph than a Porsche 911 Carrera S and maintains a strong growl at wide-open throttle, but
and dusts a mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette at the drag strip. it’s far from obnoxious or aggravating. The noise level
Keep your foot down and the 5140-pound SUV beats the fac- inside at a 70-mph cruise remains a pleasant 65 decibels.
tory Urus to 150 mph by nearly two seconds. The V-8’s power delivery and throttle response, even at
Patel’s suspension tweaks and other modifications more than 3000 feet of elevation, are also as good as
don’t improve the Lamborghini’s handling or braking anything from Lamborghini, as is the SUV’s ride quality.
performance at the test track, but they haven’t hurt any- The Urus’s air springs shrug off the lowering kit as if it
thing, either. With its massive tires, all-wheel drive, and weren’t even there. And you could still race this Lambor-
torque-vectoring rear differential, the Urus produced ghini from sea to shining sea in complete comfort. Even
1.04 g’s of grip on the skidpad and stopped from 70 mph in in a spandex jumpsuit.
150 feet, basically matching the stock version’s results.
Most importantly, none of the modifications have com- Kar Tunz, kartunz.com; Open Flash Performance, openflashtablet.com

LAMBOR

2019 Lamborghini Curb Weight, lb

Urus Stock Tuned
Base: $203,995
As Tested:

$243,377 5314 5140

0–60 mph, sec 1/4-Mile, sec @ mph 0–150 mph, sec
2020 Kar Tunz Stock
Lamborghini Urus 3.1
Base: $234,102* 11.3 @ 121
As Tested: 19.4
Tuned
$277,904 2.7
10.9 @ 125
17.5

*Includes performance-enhancing options. 73

 the numbers
Vehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-
drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
Base/As Tested ...... $39,645/$52,830
Engine: turbocharged and intercooled
DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block
and head, direct fuel injection
Displacement ................. 122 in3, 1991 cm3
Power ............................ 221 hp @ 5800 rpm
Torque ...................... 258 lb-ft @ 1800 rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch
automatic
Dimensions
• Wheelbase ...................................... 107.4 in
• L/W/H .......................... 184.6/72.0/56.7 in
• Curb Weight ................................... 3535 lb

test RESULTS
Rollout, 1 ft ....................................... 0.3 sec
2 02 0 M E R C E D E S - B E N Z C L A 2 5 0 on the wheel). More than most cars, 60 mph ................................................ 5.6 sec
~ BY E Z R A DY E R the CLA250 cares about preventing 100 mph ............................................. 15.0 sec
deep vein thrombosis. 130 mph ............................................ 30.3 sec
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ............... 6.1 sec

Star Power If you use the MBUX infotain-

ment system’s virtual assistant, you
might also convince yourself that it
1/4-Mile ......................... 14.2 sec @ 97 mph
Top Speed (gov ltd) ..................... 130 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph ........................... 166 ft
Highs: Inexpensive to start EPA Fuel Economy
cares about you. Imbued with just • Comb/City/Hwy .............. 27/23/33 mpg
(for a Benz), highbrow interior,
a touch of AI, the assistant under- C/D Fuel Economy
stocked with high-tech gadgets. • Observed ......................................... 21 mpg
stands natural speech and makes
Lows: Options quickly inflate • 75-mph Hwy Driving .................. 33 mpg
inferences. Bored? It’s easy to get • Hwy Range ...................................... 430 mi
the price, engine and transmis-
her cracking wise about BMW or
sion would rather not rush.
German engineers. Yes, really.
While you can order the CLA250
with AMG-branded frippery, the The CLA Trio
turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four, The CLA-class welcomed a new
When the Mercedes CLA-class debuted making 221 horses at 5800 rpm, is member to the family for 2020.
in 2013, the debate was whether it certainly not an AMG piece. As that Sitting between the CLA250 and
would be accepted as a real Benz. sub-6000-rpm power peak implies, the AMG CLA45 is the AMG CLA35.
Based on our experience with the this is a car that likes to loaf along on Each is powered by a turbo-
second generation, that question its 258 pound-feet of torque rather charged 2.0-liter inline-four, but
has been answered. Unless you’re than race to redline. The CLA’s the performance differences are
traversing the type of gruesome 6.1-second run from 5 to 60 mph—a significant. Of the top models,
locale where the citizenry is well half-second longer than its 60-mph the 35 gets an “AMG-enhanced”
drilled on the model hierarchy at time—reflects the fact that it takes engine while the 45 gets the
Mercedes, you’ll find the public the turbo and the seven-speed dual- complete hand-built treatment.
is generally impressed with the clutch automatic a beat to get roll-
CLA250. Then again, when a vehi- ing, but it’s certainly not the laggiest CLA250 4Matic
AMG CLA35 4Matic
cle with a star on its nose costs thing we’ve tested, either. AMG CLA45 4Matic
more than $50K, as our test car did, If you want a truly hot CLA, look
Base, $
maybe there wasn’t ever much rea- at the Mercedes-AMG CLA35 or 39,645
son to wonder if it’s a real Mercedes. CLA45 [see “The CLA Trio”]. This 47,895
Our richly bedecked all-wheel- version is on a different mission: It 55,095
drive CLA250 began at $39,645. seeks to broaden Benz’s base with- Horsepower
From the outside, it can be hard to out diminishing its brand prestige 221
302
distinguish the new model from its (otherwise known as “pulling a 382
predecessor. But inside, it’s all the Jaguar X-type”). And at that, it
Torque, lb-ft
latest. Feeling achy during a long succeeds better than the original, 258
drive? Activate the seat kinematics, offering high design and plenty of 295
which occasionally adjust the seat tech to buyers who neither know 354
so you’re not sitting too long in one nor care whether their engine is 60 mph, sec
position. Or try the exercise coach, mounted north-south or east-west. 5.6
4.5 (est)
which talks you through activities Some C-class drivers may still look 3.8 (est)
you can do while driving (e.g., roll down on the CLA, but they’re not
that shoulder but keep your hands looking very far now.

74 THE RUNDOWN PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL SIMARI ~ JUN E 2020 ~ CAR A ND DRIV ER

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2 02 0 AU D I S 8 ~ BY E L A N A S C H E R R the numbers
Vehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive,

The Grateful V-8 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

Base/As Tested ............ $131,795/$148,045
Engine: twin-turbocharged and intercooled
Highs: Effortlessly powerful V-8, beautifully finished cockpit, DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and
heads, direct fuel injection
high-tech chassis hardware helps it drive smaller than it is. Displacement ........................ 244 in3, 3996 cm3
Lows: Easily mistaken for an A8, priced for upper management. Power ..................................... 563 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque ............................... 590 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Dimensions
• Wheelbase ................................................ 123.2 in
You can’t immediately tell the status of the folks sitting in a 2020 Audi S8. • L/W/H ................................... 209.0/76.6/58.6 in
Even in this big executive sedan, it’s not a safe assumption that it’s the • Curb Weight ............................................. 5256 lb
boss in the back seat. The smart boss would be behind the wheel.
test RESULTS
What is it about a big fast car that is so empowering? Does it engender
a sense of invincibility, or tap into the notion that might makes right? Rollout, 1 ft ................................................. 0.3 sec
60 mph ........................................................... 3.2 sec
Whatever it is, it’s unquestionably satisfying to floor a 563-hp sedan and 100 mph .......................................................... 8.1 sec
feel 5256 pounds’ worth of quilted, massaging seats and carbon-fiber- 130 mph ....................................................... 13.9 sec
inlaid door panels hunker down and move forward with minimal lag or 150 mph ...................................................... 20.7 sec
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ........................ 4.6 sec
drama. The S8’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 shoots the car to 60 mph in 1/4-Mile ................................... 11.6 sec @ 119 mph
just 3.2 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at 119 mph. Top Speed (mfr’s claim) ...................... 155 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph ...................................... 162 ft
Even without the $9900 carbon-ceramic brake rotors, this big boy Roadholding,
comes to a stop from 70 mph in 162 feet with zero signs of fade. If we 300-ft Skidpad ........................................... 0.94 g
spent our time on the autobahn repeatedly blasting up to and back down EPA Fuel Economy
• Comb/City/Hwy .......................... 16/13/22 mpg
from the claimed 155-mph top speed, we might want the optional brakes, C/D Fuel Economy
but here in speed-limit world, the standard iron rotors are enough. Fitted • Observed ................................................... 12 mpg
with $1200 21-inch wheels and 265/35R-21 Pirelli P Zero PZ4 summer
tires (20-inchers are standard), the two-and-a-half-
ton S8 clings to the skidpad with 0.94 g of grip.
Off the track, the S8 is a pleasure to drive. With
590 pound-feet on tap, it accelerates with the effort-
lessness of a torque-rich muscle car. Shifts from its
eight-speed automatic are elegantly sorted. And
while its bulk and sheer size don’t allow it to handle
quite the way a lithe sports sedan does, this Audi
moves through traffic like a fullback who majored
in dance. One secret to the S8’s graceful on-road
behavior is its standard rear-wheel steering and
its active suspension that “reads” the road and can

S8 PHOTOG RAPHY BY JESSICA LYNN WALKER, S7 PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL SIMARI

even tilt the car into corners. You can’t always feel
it happening from the driver’s seat. What you can
feel, though, is the car’s unerring stability and ease
at high speeds. You also notice its undisturbed ride.
The S8’s most attention-grabbing design piece is
the massive hexagonal grille, which could be kindly
described as giving the car the look of an art-deco
steam engine. The rest of the body is sleek, straight,
and tightly creased. Our car lacked the $1800 Black
Optic package, which tones down the brightwork
with darkened trim and wheels. It also did without
the $500 red brake calipers. No big loss there.
For all the tech at play in the $131,795 Audi, what’s
remarkable is how seamlessly the systems work to
create a serene yet sporty experience. Behind the
noise-insulating glass and ample sound deadening,
there’s not a whisper from the outside. And despite
its limo-like size, the S8 combines the driving
engagement of a smaller, sportier car with the grunt
of a big-engine performance sedan. Sit this one out,
James. We’ll be driving ourselves home today.

76 THE RUNDOWN JUNE 2020 ~ CAR A N D DRIVER

 The electric components don’t
increase peak horsepower, but they
do add to the overall weight. Tip-
ping the scales at 4640 pounds, the
new S7 outbeefs its predecessor by
132 pounds. The eight-speed auto-
matic’s shifts aren’t as snappy as the
competition’s nor as crisp as those
made by the seven-speed dual-
clutch it replaces, and it shows. The
S7 runs a 4.1-second 60-mph dash,
0.3 second slower than the old car.
Though some personality and
acceleration are lost, the honest
driving dynamics remain. The
2 02 0 AU D I S 7 P R E S T I G E ~ the numbers ride quality on the optional coil
BY DAV I D B E A R D
Vehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel- springs—part of a $4350 S Sport
drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback ensemble—is on the firmer side of
An 8-to-6 Shift Base/As Tested ..... $90,495/$101,340
Engine: twin-turbocharged, super-
charged, and intercooled DOHC 24-valve
the spectrum, and our car’s $1000
21-inch wheels do little to dull sharp
Highs: Rewarding to drive at V-6; aluminum block and heads; direct impacts. Easier-riding air springs
the limit, strong brakes. fuel injection and 20-inchers are standard.
Displacement ............... 177 in3, 2894 cm3
Lows: Packed on some pounds, Power ........................... 444 hp @ 6700 rpm The portly S7 is eager to hustle,
not as quick as the old V-8 model. Torque ...................... 443 lb-ft @ 1900 rpm though. The four-wheel steering
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Dimensions coupled with the torque-vector-
• Wheelbase ....................................... 115.3 in ing rear differential of the S Sport
• L/W/H ........................... 196.0/75.1/55.8 in package makes the S7 feel like a
• Curb Weight .................................. 4640 lb
Less is more, or so they say. But they rear-drive car even though all four
are not us. After sitting out a season, test RESULTS wheels are driven. And it’ll stop with
the inconspicuous Audi S7 returns the best of ’em. Massive 15.7-inch
Rollout, 1 ft ....................................... 0.2 sec
to the roster wrapped in sharper 60 mph .................................................. 4.1 sec front rotors clamped by six-piston
sheetmetal, overflowing with tech, 100 mph ............................................... 9.9 sec calipers bring the S7 to a halt from
and sporting two fewer cylinders. 130 mph ............................................. 17.6 sec 70 mph in a heady 151 feet.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ............. 4.8 sec
We take issue with that last bit. 1/4-Mile ........................ 12.5 sec @ 112 mph The downsized powertrain does
We like V-8s and the music their Top Speed (mfr’s claim) ............ 155 mph offer one consolation: efficiency.
Braking, 70–0 mph ............................. 151 ft
pistons mosh to. When we first EPA Fuel Economy The EPA says the new S7 will return
learned of the downsized engine, • Comb/City/Hwy .............. 22/18/28 mpg 22 mpg in combined driving, 4 mpg
it seemed like Audi was trying to C/D Fuel Economy better than the previous one. Oh,
• Observed ......................................... 16 mpg
convince us we’d really enjoy a Hall • 75-mph Hwy Driving .................. 28 mpg and the V-8-powered luxo-hatch
& Oates concert instead of the Rage • Hwy Range ...................................... 540 mi
Against the Machine banger we’d
come to expect. No thanks.
The new twin-turbocharged and
supercharged 2.9-liter six replaces JUICED
the fiery growl of the old twin-turbo Audi’s 48-volt electric supercharger is plumbed
4.0-liter with a more flatulent note. between the two turbos and the single air-to-
liquid intercooler. The goal is to eliminate lag,
Its 444-hp rating is down six from a fundamental byproduct of turbocharging.
the former V-8’s, but peak torque The unit idles at 5000 rpm and can quickly
swells by 37 pound-feet, to 443. A spin up to 70,000 rpm, generating boost
while the turbos work their way to a maximum
48-volt motor-generator smooths 21.5 psi. Once the turbos are up to speed,
auto stop-start operation while the the liquid-cooled supercharger returns to
electric supercharger rouses throt- idle. Audi says the system adds 22 pounds.
tle response [see “Juiced”].

CUSTOMER SERVICE Call 800-289-9464, email [email protected], visit service.caranddriver.com, or write to Customer Service Dept., Car and Driver, P.O. Box 37870,
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CAR AND DRIVER® (ISSN 0008-6002), VOL. 65, NO. 12, June 2020, is published monthly, 12 times per year, by Hearst, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019, U.S.A. Steven R. Swartz, President & Chief Executive Officer; William R.
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 Bad to the Bone
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WHAT TO BUY: 1979–93 FORD MUSTANG 5.0
The Fox-body Mustang, produced from 1979 to 1993, enjoyed a long and success-
PROBLEM AREAS
ful run and earned three 10Best trophies. Over the years, Ford offered a range of
power options, but the lustiest models wore “5.0” regalia. Which, as the name Any Rust Belt car deserves a close
implies, meant that when you popped the hood, you’d find a . . . 4.9-liter V-8. At underbody inspection, especially at
least the cars’ performance could back up the marketing embellishment, lead- the base of the strut towers. The
ing Ford back to pony-car credibility after the Mustang II debacle of the ’70s. Fox-body platform wasn’t known for
The Fox-body models, particularly the minimalist LX trims, aged well and still stiffness, so if a car has been driven
deliver an entertaining shove in the back. They were built by the millions, so hard, the body may be deformed.
despite their appeal, a plentiful supply keeps prices reasonable. —Ezra Dyer The torque boxes (where the rear
suspension links mount to the body)
can bend or crack. Consider getting
ENGINE VALUE
torque-box reinforcements and
The 4.9–liter—or in cubic-inch parlance, The LX notchback, one of the cheapest additional bracing to keep the car
the 302—really rounded into form in trims during the Fox-body’s tenure, has from wringing its body like a wet
1985, hitting 210 horsepower with a become one of the most expensive. It towel. But a Mustang 5.0—particu-
four-barrel carb. By 1987, the fuel- is lighter and stiffer than the hatch and larly one with the BorgWarner T-5
injected Windsor V-8 made 225 horses thus prized by speed freaks. (The notch- manual—is a rugged machine as long
and 300 pound-feet of torque. But then back 5.0 was also the basis for the as horsepower remains stock. Or at
Ford lowered those ratings to 205 and police-issue SSP.) You can get a drivable least within the realm of reason.
280, respectively, in 1993, giving rise to car for under $5K, but it’ll take closer to
conspiracy theories that the engine was $10K if you want one that’ll really comple-
1989 FORD MUSTANG LX 5.0
either overrated in its 225-horse heyday ment the mint condition of your letter 225-HP 4.9-LITER V-8, 3187 LB
or else sandbagged to provide some jacket. Between $10K and $20K, a car’s
Test Results*
distance from the 235-hp Cobra. In any trim or body style doesn’t matter as • 60 mph ��������������������������������������������� 6�2 sec
case, from 1987 on, performance was much as condition and mileage. Low on • 100 mph ������������������������������������������ 16�7 sec
pretty consistent. We clocked a 1987 GT funds? Look for the “four-headlight” cars • 1/4-Mile ����������������������� 14�8 sec @ 95 mph
• Top Speed �������������������������������������� 141 mph
at 14.7 seconds in the quarter-mile; a from the early years. They’re not as quick • Braking, 70–0 mph ������������������������� 177 ft
1993 Cobra ran a 14.3. as later cars, but that’s easily fixed. • Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad ��� 0�84 g
*From C/D, July 1989.
Acceleration times using 3-mph rollout, not
our current rollout standard of 1 foot.
1982 FORD
MUSTANG GT

RECENT SALES

1991 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 (3/22/20, ebay.com)

$9000
123,000 miles “You could fall
1987 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 SSP (2/20/20, bringatrailer.com)
$13,750
for this car for its
95,000 miles
1987 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 (3/20/20, bringatrailer.com)
engine alone.”
$14,000 — RI CH CE P P O S , C / D, J U N E 1 9 8 7
47,000 miles

80 J UNE 2020 ~ CAR A ND D RIVER

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