Race of champions

Paolo

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A tad hard to understand in German but you get the story at the end.


Race of Champions
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Photo: Rossen Gargolov24 images


The series winner, the lightweight queen, the reigning handling hero, a master of hearts and the crowning glory of the compact class - I'll put it this way: There are bigger prizes that are less popular. Then: on your marks, ready ...

But now the preliminary skirmish is pressing: the anthems have been played, the grid girls are already stumbling hastily towards the pit wall. So let's go: Welcome to our big Coupé Cup. Or to put it more pathetically: to the play-offs in the league of exceptionally sporty gentlemen!

Six representatives have qualified for this final round in the past tests, but only five will compete. Unfortunately, a start box remains empty - that of the TT RS. Has anyone got cold feet? Rather less, after all, the Audi has been officially allowed to call itself the M2 winner for several editions, which is definitely one of the better references in the industry. In fact, the cancellation has logistical reasons: slow test vehicle replenishment, limited workshop capacities - Corona stop.


But it doesn't matter now. Because the five-minute board is up. High time for one last quick run through the starting grid: Pole position, alias the favorite role, is, well, who else, the Porsche . The Cayman that has not lost so much in its long career. Except last, fans, which is why the new GTS has made a conceptual U-turn. Bye-bye four-cylinder turbo, servus six-cylinder vacuum cleaner: four liters instead of the last two and a half, 400 instead of 365 hp. Or as the critics of the realignment put it: emotion instead of torque.

His neighbor traditionally has both. In excess! At the front six cylinders brew the mixture, at the back it is poured. And always a few parts per thousand more than the body can handle. We are talking - logo - of the BMW M2, which we also adore because it never literally took the competition additive that was given to it two years ago together with the biturbo engine.


Tart or fine?
Further on in the grid, which also contains an eccentric: the (or that) - I quote - Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S 4Matic + Coupé. That's right, it has four doors and is therefore actually out of place ... Stop! In Affalterbach, they say that we have now left ourselves enough about inconsistencies between the inscription and the content. We say: Okay, if it wants to be a coupé, then it has to compete with coupés! It definitely has what it takes: At 1,689 kilograms, it weighs 86 more than the M2, which is not exactly dainty in itself, but it knows how to make its wamped stature legs: with a hearty 421 hp and all-wheel drive, which to a certain extent make up for its deficits compact classic anatomy.

The Toyota is different. He doesn't have to get in shape first, he is. Its sportiness comes from within, from the genes that were created in the spirit of the sports car bible. Value creation story, top priority: "You should distribute your axle loads in a brotherly manner!" And speaking of brotherly: Technically, the Supra largely corresponds to a BMW Z4. Except for: the coordination, which develops its own flavor here - the finer one, as we think.


Still too bitter? Well, then bienvenue in the Alpine, in the stealth candy. At first glance, the little thing always looks a bit like Playmate, but after a while of being together it turns out to be a girl for almost everything. New in the repertoire: serious sportiness, which results from a larger brake, stronger stabilizers, wider tires and a power injection and
now gives the delicate figure a few masculine contours. Has Mademoiselle gained weight? Of course nothing! The 292 hp are still only compared to 1,122 kilos, with which they robbed a fair bit of the dizzying performance figures of the competition.

How close It turns out right away, because things are slowly getting serious: The clatter of the launch controls shoots out of the CLA and A110S, gas dose and grinding point are played in again in Porsche and BMW, while the converter-automated Toyota presses against the brake with a clenched torque fist. Incidentally, the sprint rating went to the AMG, which rages to 100 in 4.2 seconds - three tenths faster than the hand-torn BMW M2. But our race starts on the fly. Means: introductory lap and a few more moments of calm before the storm.



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Rossen Gargolov
With the S upgrade, the Alpine swaps the summer dress for the combat suit. Unfortunately, the stricter chassis set-up on the racetrack lacks penetration.
All the stability programs are now paralyzed, the drives armed, the adaptive chassis of the Cayman, CLA and Supra tense to the maximum. Then the imaginary safety car pulls out, and the gang rattles on an imaginary line across the start-finish line in order to immediately make its way across the north curve. The Porsche simply ticks off the hook, BMW and Supra brush over the top of his head, the Benz presses through, while the Alpine jumps over the hub of the inner crank on two legs - the chick.

Whereby: The A110 doesn't feel as sexy as it looks from the outside from the driver's seat. No more. The road contact has increased in intensity due to the S additives, the steering has increased strength, the 1.8 liter turbo has increased emphasis. The result: the happy driving fun chatter gives way to a concentrated mood that also rubs off on the handling.


Dance on the jelly
While the standard Alpine dances like a lemon slice on the bubbly flow of power, the cheekier little fruit tries to anchor itself to the ground. Try because it has not yet worked as planned. See in the most recent comparison with a 718 Cayman T. The A110S managed to squeeze out a better lap time at the time, but the cornering behavior got a bit off balance due to the solidified kinematics. But: As you can hear, the good was not in top form at the time - especially when it comes to the axle geometry.

And now? Let me put it this way: The hope of a David-Triezt-Goliath scenario disappears before the Parabolika. Until then, the Alpine will play happily in concert with the bigger ones. But when the bunch threads its way through the right-left bend onto the long (im-) straight line, it suddenly dangles from the furthest corner of the string of pearls.


Causes? The traction is a bomb, so it is eliminated, as is the engine, whose performance deficit only hits the top - where the weight advantage gradually dilutes. No, it's the curves again that bring you to your knees. When braking, just as firm and lively as you imagine an S-model, the Alpine lapses into its cured behavior pattern the moment you turn in - into this hack of understeer and oversteer under load. Result: Driving at the limit turns into a ride on a jelly.

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Rossen Gargolov
Competition additions or not, the BMW M2 always tends to be fun to drive, even at the limit. This does not win any comparison tests, but the hearts of all test editors.
What a contrast to the BMW M2, which seems to really expand its driving characteristics - as a playground under the red-blue-white sky. However, there are two things to consider before entering. First: Talent has to be brought along, after all, the performance begins where the rear wheels stop. Oh, and beware of the lure! Immediately after the border area begins Quermanien - a strange parallel world, where it smells of black alcohol and the average fly dies from side impacts.

In other words: The M2 requires a healthy balance between load and pleasure, which is a real challenge depending on the type of curve. In the fast arcs, the active rear axle diff knows that there is no room for foolishness here. In the narrower corners, however, it leaves the accelerator to tip the scales. The crux of the matter: the stern must neither sit still nor jump out, because both require momentum. And that's essential.

First file, then hammer
In this sense: Turning in with taste, the front axle can do just fine. After that, however, sensitivity is required: balance power and steering angle, while gliding nicely along the edge of the grip - until the Michelins are locked back in there. Holds? Hold! Then away with the file, out with the hammer and into the glory of the three-liter engine. Its twin loader not only responds mercilessly, it also shovels forward massively. Sure, his pronunciation was more concise, back then, before two particle filters were stuffed into his airways. But it's still enough to keep the mood high. And: the M flags!

In principle, the Supra is in the same direction, but unravels the typical BMW character traits differently. Point one: ergonomics. The seats may be a little too weak to grip, but they are in the right place: deeply integrated in the car, in the immediate vicinity of the rear axle and so that you have a wonderful view over the front end, which looks so bulky, but so unheard of directly on the steering hangs.

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Rossen Gargolov
Technically, the Supra largely corresponds to a BMW Z4. Except for the coordination, which develops its own flavor here - the finer one, as we think.
In short: the Supra tastes like a sports car, while in the M2 you always have one foot in the middle class. And the driving experience also shares: the M2 is the prototype of a man in the urban Bavarian sense, the Supra moves feminine. He has the softer knees, builds up less body tension, so that the ideal line feels more like a liana than a rope. So the classic hanging game? Think! Even if the road holding is more relaxed, it does not derail. At least not by itself.

If you manage to keep the latent slope towards Quermanien within a productive framework, the looseness even solidifies into an extremely stable lateral dynamics foundation. Nevertheless: Entrance Turn 9 - this is the right left corner in front of the Mercedes grandstand - the Asian Bajuware is fighting for connection. Instead of mixing up the 400-hp squad, he slams his fickle Alpine for fourth place, which means that despite the worst power-to-weight ratio in the field, he is well below expectations.

At best, the AMG is still within reach. But a straight ahead threatens the Motodrom, the frills that bring the Hockenheimring back to start-finish and should actually play into the cards of the traction-insured artistry of the CLA drive. Its pronounced hip articulation arises from the rear axle drive. Specifically: two clutches that literally convert the rear wheels into torque vectors. Or more figuratively: to chisels. In left turns they push the force to the right, in right turns to the left, logically. The whole thing works tremendously well, but - and the dog is buried there - only under load, of course.

Means: When turning the CLA is first on its own. To be more precise: on its front axle, which gets the engine off the ground. Obviously, the top-heaviness is due to the vehicle concept. In addition, the two-liter should and must not be seen as a bogeyman, after all, the four-cylinder is not only the most powerful of its kind, but also a real entertainer. But none of this changes the fact that the power pack has to be balanced around the corner as a tray. The entire way to the apex accordingly has more to do with waiting than with partying. And that in turn means that the area of influence of the propulsion miracle drugs is reduced to the relatively short phase of acceleration.

Sensation in disguise!
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Rossen Gargolov
The elaborate two-liter, four-cylinder turbo in the small AMG is both its heater and stumbling block.
Unless the all-wheel drive comes into play beforehand. And that can be done: knowing that both the turbocharger and the clutch choreography need a moment to take effect, you simply shift the chain of command forward. In other words: You steer too early too far, accelerate earlier and harder than you would - and ta-taa, the CLA is already flexing through the corner in the Powerslide.

The effect is resounding, but not enough to defend third place. Even before the Sachskurve, the simpler knitting, but more sharply steered Toyota crawls into the trunk, only to pull past and away. What remains for the CLA is slipstream and the question of being and not being. I mean: is AMG really sailing past the coupé destination with fourth place in our racing? Or are we not rather witnessing a small sensation here? Sure, such an M2 is just as impossible to pack as the Supra.

On the other hand, a de facto compact, which the CLA is despite all the contortions, only loses 2.6 seconds on the Cayman GTS, which is then completely different. I'm just saying: 276 kilos less. And: mid-engine.

In any case, the switch inevitably leads to a culture shock. The skin-tight AMG sports seats can, to a certain extent, keep up with the perfect Porsche shells. And even the roar that the AMG Zwoliter unleashed from above has, in its own way, a similar appeal to the heroic roar of the Porsche organ. However, driving behavior and feel in the Cayman reach a completely different level. The Porsche is built more wiry, the road holding more delicate and fuller at the same time, the feedback more concrete. The drive, on the other hand, looks downright banal in comparison: rear wheels, lock in between, topic done.

So you don't first have to translate technology theory into practice in order to separate out the maximum performance. No, presence and four functioning limbs are completely sufficient! The rest of the work is done by the equipment, which also works in real time. With each of those present, actions always have to be weighed against the reactions of the car, while the Cayman squeezes against driving intuition. And this bond has now been further strengthened by the comeback of the naturally aspirated engine: loud response, revving until the end of the day. No doubt about it: the underarm hairs that were lazily lazily on the skin are now back in business. However, the booted four-cylinder is not as bad as it is being talked about everywhere. In our eternal lap times table, the turbo - look at this - even BEFORE the new 4.0.

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Rossen Gargolov
The braking performance helps the Supra to a stalemate with the M2, costing the CLA fourth place. Uncatchable ahead: the expensive 718 Cayman GTS.
How did that happen? Well, temperature differences between the reference lap and the current one play a role. The main reason for the inverted hierarchy is in the gear. Since the PDK is not yet available for the six-cylinder Cayman, the GTS started with manual transmission. This not only has to get by with one gear less, but also with overstretched gear ratios, which together with the upward shifted torque peak increase to the disadvantage. Something like the spark of a fireworks display of emotions on the country road, the manual switch dims the explosive power of the six-cylinder engine on the racetrack: the third gear is simply too long for most corners, the second does not reach all the way around, so that you are either in the air or like a sip of water hanging on the gear stick. Hmmm.

Otherwise? Can you only reproach the Cayman with little nonsense: For example, that the automatic double declutching is linked to certain modes. Oh, and then there is the unfortunate fact that it makes the race, which is now being waved off in the order Porsche, BMW, Toyota, AMG and Alpine, into a rather one-sided one.

Conclusion
The Cayman GTS not only dominates the race, it also lifts the mood the most - despite or because of the manual transmission. But: The fun is very expensive, which is why the real winner has to be called Supra. It is practically the same speed in the winding passages and handling is more spectacular. AMG and M2 are in their respective ways not good enough for big surprises in the end, the Alpine comes in below value because of its coordination. Again.


Stefan Helmreich
08/17/2020

https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de...-45-s-porsche-718-cayman-gts-toyota-gr-supra/
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