2016 Ford GT: A realistic Ferrari rival?

Somehow Ford have managed to keep this a secret for 14 months, until all was revealed at this years Detroit motor show. Journalists were promised a 'fast Ford' but were expecting a Focus RS and not a full on supercar. The reason for its being is that next year is the 50th anniversary of the Le Mans winning streak with the Ford GT40. So, to commemorate, here is a new GT, which loses a lot of GT40 styling clues for a very modern approach. The engine is not the 6.2 V8 from the previous Ford GT of 2005 but instead a new twin-turbo ecoboost V6, which will have purists up in arms. But the new engine is more powerful than the V8 and more high tech, so we won't be too disappointed. 

There is also a lot of aerodynamics at work on the new body. Air ducts everywhere and air channels ensure that the drag is low. And don't go thinking that this is one of the new hybrid cars such as the Honda NSX I talked about in my last post. No siree. The engine (producing around 600BHP) is driving the rear wheels via a seven speed gearbox, meaning no excess battery and motor weight. Ford claim that it will have one of the lowest power to weight ratios around, meaning it could weigh in at around 1,200kg. Unfortunately most details regarding speed have not been released yet, before the cars final production version next year, but expect 0-62 in under 3.3 and a top speed of over 200mph. 

The bad part is that the numbers will be reduced from the previous incarnation, meaning 100s and not 1000s, and the price will reflect this exclusivity, meaning a price of around 200,000-250,000- around the same as a Lamborgni Aventador of Ferrari 458 Speciale. We'll just have to hope it is worth the price when it lands in 2016

Nev

New Honda NSX: worth the wait?

This post is for grandad, who was oh-so-eager for another post. Enjoy!

At last, the promised replacement of Ayrton Senna's favourite car has been revealed in its performance form. And my, does it look good. You can see that Honda haven't been half hearted about this resurrection. 

Basically, it is a four wheel drive hybrid supercar for a cheaper price than its Italian rivals. It incorporates a twin turbo V6 that drives the rear wheels, but also 3 electric motors. Two for the front two wheels, one to fill in for the turbo time. The engine itself bears resemblance to the new Honda formula 1 engine used by Mclaren in this years formula one season ( more on that in a future post). So did Honda plan for this car to incorporate some of its newly discovered racing tech? This new NSX also incorporates A LOT of complicated electric systems, making it all very difficult to simply explain here. Just know that there are a lot of driver assists, distancing it from its old-school predecessor. On the plus side, these systems result in a 0-60 time of under 3 seconds, making it faster than even a Nissan GTR! This is curtesy of over 550 BHP, but this could be combined or purely the V6. 

The use of extremely low weight materials mean that the car has a very low overall weight and centre of gravity. And, even after all the tech, the price will also be very cut-price compared to its rivals. A price of about 150000 when it comes to the UK price. So will this car prove as incredible as its predecessor? We will have to wait and see when it lands in the summer

Nev

Ps. It will have a Honda badge in the UK,as opposed to the Acura badge you see here