Category: General

Of all the special editions of the inherently special Bugatti Veyron since its much-ballyhooed debut in 2005, including the unpainted Pur Sang and the hide-swaddled Fbg par Hermès edition, the new Grand Sport roadster is surely the most dramatic. Unveiled at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport features a removable hard top of transparent polycarbonate and an integrated roll hoop made of carbon fiber that bridges the engine’s enormous air intakes. Of course, the Grand Sport retains the Veyron’s 8-liter, quad-turbo W-16 power plant, good for a titanic 987 horsepower, but Bugatti has executed a host of under-the-skin modifications intended to ensure that the open-topped Veyron retains the coupe’s safety, structural rigidity, and superb driving dynamics. With the hard top in place, the roadster loses nothing to the enclosed Veyron: Top speed remains a stunning 253 mph. With the top off, terminal velocity falls to a still-astonishing 224 mph. (The hard top can’t be stowed onboard, but the Grand Sport includes a clever “umbrella” soft top — usable to 81 mph — for unexpected downpours.) The Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport is priced at about .1 million, and although Bugatti has promised the first 50 cars to existing customers, the company plans to build a generous 150 examples of the world’s fastest convertible starting in March 2009. (www.bugatti.com)

—Matthew Phenix

Mercedes-Benz is an old hand at diesel-powered cars—the oldest, in fact—with an unbroken lineage of oil-burners dating back to the 260D sedan of 1936. They were noisy, they were smelly, and they were slow—and that’s how their owners liked them. The 2009 GL320 Bluetec (,075) is none of those things, and that’s why we like it. Make no mistake, the gasoline-powered GL450 (,075) and GL550 (,175) are exceptionally fine performers: sumptuous, unwaveringly capable seven-passenger sport-utility vehicles. But the new Bluetec clean-diesel model may be the real charmer of the range, offering a terrific balance of lively response, prodigious pulling power, and unexpected frugality (20 to 30percent better fuel economy than its gasoline-powered siblings, and a cruising range of more than 600 miles).

The GL320 Bluetec features a 3.0-liter 24-valve turbocharged diesel V-6. Matched to a slick seven-speed automatic transmission, the engine churns out 210 horsepower and a rousing 398 foot-pounds of torque (more torque than the top-dog GL550, actually, and more than enough to launch the GL’s 5300 pounds with verve). The new model replaces last year’s GL320 CDI; apart from the catchier name, the real news here is the Bluetec’s remarkable cleanliness. With direct fuel injection and a highly advanced multistage exhaust system that scrubs soot and hydrocarbons from discharged engine gasses, the Bluetec V-6 produces tailpipe emissions as clean as those from a gasoline engine—clean enough to meet air-quality standards in all 50 states.

During our week with the GL320 Bluetec, what was perhaps most striking about the big Benz (apart from the fuel-gauge needle’s stubborn reluctance to budge) was the cabin’s unexpected solitude. Old-timey diesel-engine clatter rises under only the heaviest application of the throttle (and even then, only mutedly), and at 80 mph on the interstate, the Bluetec GL wafts along with S-class-like composure and tranquility. Acceleration is vigorous, from a standstill and during passing maneuvers at highway speed, and the GL320 will tow an impressive 7500 pounds, as much as the GL550.

Historically, fans of diesel-powered Mercedes-Benzes have appreciated these vehicles as much for their defiantly iconoclastic (even occasionally antisocial) personalities as for their more lovable traits: efficiency, durability, and grunt. But the GL320 Bluetec refuses to embrace Old Diesel’s notorious discourtesy. It’s an urbane, thoroughly modern piece, and an admirably good citizen. It holds true to diesel engines’ traditional virtues but summarily renounces their old-fashioned bad behavior. (www.mbusa.com)

—Matthew Phenix

Honda is now the sole engine option for the latest generation of Ariel Atoms. The motor, which comes from a Honda Civic, develops up to 300 hp (245 hp for the non-supercharged version), and will spin as fast as 8,000 rpm.

Arriving on the heels of the breathtaking 8C Competizione coupe, Alfa Romeo’s 8C Spider carries on as a style and performance emissary for a rejuvenated—and recently reintroduced to America—Alfa Romeo. Mechanically, the Spider corresponds with the 8C coupe, with its Ferrari-built 444 hp 4.

Audi’s high-performance RS models have come a long way since the storied debut of the RS2 Avant in 1994, but its mission remains the same: Steal the thunder of BMW’s M cars. To that end, the company is set to unleash its most fearsome RS model yet—the 2009 RS6 sedan, a car engineered with the singular goal of quashing Munich’s vaunted M5. The sedan (which joins an equally sinister RS6 wagon) features a 5-liter V-10 with a host of racing-derived modifications, including direct fuel injection, dry sump lubrication, and twin turbochargers. Belting out a startling 571 horsepower and 479 foot-pounds of torque, the engine meets a six-speed Tiptronic manu-matic transmission and, naturally, Quattro all-wheel drive. Sixty miles per hour arrives in about 4.4 seconds, and top speed is electronically governed to 155 mph—or, optionally, ungoverned to 174 mph. Visually, there’s no mistaking this über A6: Swollen fenders contain wide performance tires around unique 19-inch wheels (20-inch alloys are optional, as are Audi’s huge carbon ceramic disc brakes), and a restyled rear bumper accommodates a pair of gaping oval tailpipes. On sale exclusively in Germany for about 5,000, Audi has no plans to grace its American showrooms with either RS6 model, so speed mongers will have to make do with the more restrained S6 (,350), which packs a normally aspirated 5.2-liter V-10 producing “only” 435 horsepower. (www.audiusa.com)

—Matthew Phenix

The 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is the fastest, most powerful Corvette ever. The ZR1’s 6.

“It has always been my dream,” says Roland Gumpert, Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur founder and ex–Audi engineer, “to have a car with so much downforce, such aerodynamic efficiency, that you could drive on the roof of a tunnel at high speed.” Well, here it is.

Audi’s new A5 and S5 make it hard not to stare. Sensational from any angle, these new coupes from Ingolstadt, Germany, possess a sort of urbanity and easy charisma that is positively magnetic.

We sampled both an A5 3.2 Quattro (,365, as tested) and an S5 (,215), similarly equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox, Audi’s Multi-Media Interface and DVD-based navigation system, and a marvelous 505-watt Bang & Olufsen premium audio system. The standard A5 features a 3.2-liter direct-injection V-6 engine producing 265 horsepower. Decidedly more comfortable in the role of relaxed grand tourer than that of hard-charging autobahn stormer, the six-cylinder A5 still manages to find 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and press on to an electronically limited 130 mph. For those desiring more brawn with their beauty, the S5 packs Audi’s 4.2-liter direct-injection V-8, good for 354 horsepower. So equipped, the coupe will hit 60 mph in a scant 4.9 seconds and cruise to a governed top speed of 155 mph.

The A5 shares its platform and power train with the forthcoming 2009 A4, and that’s no bad thing. But vastly more than a sedan with two fewer doors, the coupe has an identity that is entirely its own. That sensuous, low-slung shape rides atop a surprisingly long wheelbase (fully 4.1 inches longer than the sedan), creating ample space for four adults and imparting impeccable stability at speed and a silken highway ride.

Both cars are generally unflappable during normal driving, thanks in no small part to Audi’s Quattro all-wheel drive and a sophisticated, aluminum-intensive suspension, but with less weight over the front wheels, the A5 3.2 is the more balanced of the two. The V-8-powered S5 (not unlike the current S4 and RS4) can feel a bit nose-heavy during more enthusiastic cornering, although it redeems itself with pony-car straight-line acceleration and a positively glorious exhaust note.

Admittedly, a considerable amount of the attention our A5 and S5 garnered can be traced to a cameo appearance in a certain summer blockbuster, but even without big-screen product placement, this car has genuine star quality. “I am convinced that the A5 is the most beautiful car I have ever designed,” gushed Audi design chief Walter de’Silva. We’re convinced he’s right. (www.audiusa.com)

—Matthew Phenix

Except perhaps to funeral directors, Cadillac is not an automaker known for its station wagons. That may change (a little) with the arrival of the 2010 CTS Sport Wagon, unveiled at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Monterey, California. The Sport Wagon builds handsomely on the sharp style of the CTS sedan (far-and-away Cadillac’s most popular model), with fin-like tail lamps that extend from bumper level to roofline and an edgily sculpted lift back that echoes the car’s V-shaped grille. Concealed cargo rails with removable crossbars help manage larger loads, and the longer profile accommodates a new panoramic glass moonroof. The Sport Wagon will share the CTS sedan’s engine and drivetrain choices, including a 304-horsepower 3.6-liter V-6 with direct fuel injection and available all-wheel drive. Unfortunately, Cadillac’s fuel-efficient and torque-rich 2.9-liter turbocharged diesel engine, which was developed for European and Asian markets, isn’t destined for American showrooms. The Sport Wagon reaches dealerships next spring and, in the autumn of ’09, a third CTS model—a dramatic two-door inspired by the CT Coupe Concept from January’s Detroit auto show— joins the family. (www.cadillac.com)

—Matthew Phenix

On October 29, Sotheby’s and Canada-based RM Auctions will present the second annual Automobiles of London auction at Battersea Park, featuring more than 75 vintage models, including a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM Berlinetta, the 27^th out of only 32 examples produced. The best story of this year’s sale comes from a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante (shown). The car began life as a Stelvio cabriolet before an early owner exchanged the car body with an Atalante coupé in an effort to combine the powerful supercharged engine with a rarer coupé body. The creation was owned by John W. Straus, grandson of Isidor Straus – the man behind the retail giant Macy’s department store – who drove it for years before parking it in his New York garage in 1962, where it remained for 45 years before being recently uncovered and cleaned. The fully restored Atalante is estimated at million. Other jewels include a 1938 Horch 853 Special Roadster; a 1924 Bentley 3/8 liter; and a 1929 Alfa Romeo, each estimated between 0,000 and million. (www.rmauctions.com)

—Alexandra Foster