porsche 911 (996)

[RTHolmes]

Yes they are.

no they are not - they were all set by motoring mags in private or test sessions. all road car 'ring times are "unofficial". the only times which could be considered "official" are those taken during FIA certified race or qualifying, or perhaps if Guinness were to time them (pretty sure they dont). the constant moaning about skyline times by other manufacturers is a case in point, and pretty meaningless when none of the cars have to go through scrutineering by FIA officials.

And none of those can hold a candle to the Veyron in terms of luxury, technology, exclusivity (only 300 will be made) and hypercar'ness.

I'd argue that the zonda beats the veyron on all your points - bespoke interiors, lightweight technology, less than 100 produced and brave, extravagant styling (in contrast to the typical, rather bland VAG approach) created by a small team of craftsmen (compared to a bunch of corporate departments.)

whether either is a dream car however is completely subjective, you can guess which would be in my dream garage

[Die Hard]

Official means that the test was conducted by the manufacturer. Porsche, BMW, Pagani, Nissan, GM, Lamborghini and other manufacturers have set official times for some of their cars. The Veyron is not one of them. I'm quite sure the Veyron can be driven faster around the ring by a Lamborghini test driver than by someone from Wheels' magazine.

[CAP1]

Official means that the test was conducted by the manufacturer. Porsche, BMW, Pagani, Nissan, GM, Lamborghini and other manufacturers have set official times for some of their cars. The Veyron is not one of them. I'm quite sure the Veyron can be driven faster around the ring by a Lamborghini test driver than by someone from Wheels' magazine.

ya know what really sucks?

bugastti has let the top gear 3 stooges beat the snot out of their cars. but they STILL haven't let the stig take it on their track to compete with the others.

[Die Hard]

They finally got to do it last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UMxUAV1aq4

A point missed by them: The Veyron was faster around the Top Gear track than everything older than 2008. Faster than the Enzo. Faster than the original Zonda. Faster than the Carrera GT. So if Top Gear had tested it in 2005 when the Veyron debuted it would have stayed at the top of their board for nearly four years. The few cars that are faster around the track are stripped out track versions with little or no creature comforts, and they barely beat the two ton luxury Veyron. That's pretty amazing.

[CAP1]

They finally got to do it last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UMxUAV1aq4

A point missed by them: The Veyron was faster around the Top Gear track than everything older than 2008. Faster than the Enzo. Faster than the original Zonda. Faster than the Carrera GT. So if Top Gear had tested it in 2005 when the Veyron debuted it would have stayed at the top of their board for nearly four years. The few cars that are faster around the track are stripped out track versions with little or no creature comforts, and they barely beat the two ton luxury Veyron. That's pretty amazing.

funny thing.....they take that kit car looking pos(the zonda) through the corners with the back end kicking out, and it's "agile". they take a car that costs a fraction of that car through the corners, kicking the back end out, and it has pre-historic suspension with a "whacking girder" in the back for a differential.......

as for the zonda beating the veyron there........those numbers are sooooo close, it would come down to the driver....and if they ran them side by side from a standing start, the zonda would never catch up.


 and finally......thaks for putting that link up
11 i hadn't seen that until now!!!!

<<S>>

[Die Hard]

You're welcome. <S>

[Grayeagle]

Well .. Cap .. and others:

If you ever want to find a decent C-5 (or C-6, etc) .. the corvette forum for sale section always has some killer machines to peruse.
It's divided by type .. so you gotta look in C-5 for sale/wanted if yer lookin for a C-5

http://www.corvetteforum.com/

..along with all you ever wanted to know about any problems, how-to fixes, where to go or *not* go, etc

-Frank aka GE

[Masherbrum]

Saur--Since you seem pretty passionate about this... Tell me what you think of this one:

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=22&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-|E-|M-_41_|B-35000|H-|D-_386_|N-N|R-75|I-1%2c7|P-PRICE+descending|Q-descending|X-popular|Z-20852&aff=national&paId=295454344&recnum=25&leadExists=true#

I know there isn't much to go on, I'm only asking you to evaluate it from the information available, and assuming that there are no deadly defects.

Dunno what your budget is, but this is a good deal IMO (considering it's a Cabriolet):

http://www.huntingridgemotors.com/cars.php?cat=porsche&carid=2300&subcat=

They always have "cars coming in weekly".   

[Hajo]

<---   proud owner of a BMW Z3 Roadster Convertable.  In 2000 it was my time for a toy.  I wanted a two seat roadster.

I looked at Corvettes ( had experience with them previously good auto)  Looked at a Spyder and drove one.  Went across

the street to look at BMWs.  They had about 10 to 12 Z3s on the lot.  Most with an automatic transmission (which makes no

sense to me in that kind of an automobile).  I fell in love with a steel grey metallic convertible with a 5 speed manual at first

sight.  After I drove it it became a no brainer.  BMW just drives great.  Cornering is spectacular.  Breaking and acceleration

are way above.  You can drive it well enough that you can feel G Forces while going thru turns at speeds that other cars could

not do.  One turn I did (on test drive I actually took the BMW to a road I am familiar with...the Saleman however looked blue)

the turn is a hard left corner , uphill....with downhill after completing the turn.  I managed positive and  negative G forces on

completing that turn.  (The Saleman managed to almost bail out lol).  When I returned to the lot, upon getting out of the BMW

I told the Salesman...I want it.   Drove it from the lot half an hour later.  You actually become one with the machine in a BMW.

I still have it...not driven in winter and covered in garage.  I just turned 18K on the odometer.  I will own it till I die!

[KgB]

<---   proud owner of a BMW Z3 Roadster Convertable.  In 2000 it was my time for a toy.  I wanted a two seat roadster.

I looked at Corvettes ( had experience with them previously good auto)  Looked at a Spyder and drove one.  Went across

the street to look at BMWs.  They had about 10 to 12 Z3s on the lot.  Most with an automatic transmission (which makes no

sense to me in that kind of an automobile).  I fell in love with a steel grey metallic convertible with a 5 speed manual at first

sight.  After I drove it it became a no brainer.  BMW just drives great.  Cornering is spectacular.  Breaking and acceleration

are way above.  You can drive it well enough that you can feel G Forces while going thru turns at speeds that other cars could

not do.  One turn I did (on test drive I actually took the BMW to a road I am familiar with...the Saleman however looked blue)

the turn is a hard left corner , uphill....with downhill after completing the turn.  I managed positive and  negative G forces on

completing that turn.  (The Saleman managed to almost bail out lol).  When I returned to the lot, upon getting out of the BMW

I told the Salesman...I want it.   Drove it from the lot half an hour later.  You actually become one with the machine in a BMW.

I still have it...not driven in winter and covered in garage.  I just turned 18K on the odometer.  I will own it till I die!

I was working for BMW when Z4 came out. Try it, i bet you will immediately sell your Z3.
P.S. How do you like those water leaks?

[Hajo]

KGB no leaks whatsoever.  Since I drive it only during good weather on BMWs recommendation I have Oil changed every other year.

I might get 3K - 4K miles between oil changes.  I take it in every other year for the Oil Change and an inspection.  No leaks!

As to the Z4.......I don't like the appearance of the Z4......I like the looks of the Z3 better.  The Z3 looks like it is moving when

parked...the Z4 doesn't give me that impression.  To each his own.

[Die Hard]

BMW's are always nice to drive. Had a 740i back in the 1990's, but I just couldn't stand the look of the new one. Got an Audi A8 4.2 V8 quattro instead. Great car too. Discrete and powerful.

[KgB]

KGB no leaks whatsoever.  Since I drive it only during good weather on BMWs recommendation I have Oil changed every other year.

I might get 3K - 4K miles between oil changes.  I take it in every other year for the Oil Change and an inspection.  No leaks!

As to the Z4.......I don't like the appearance of the Z4......I like the looks of the Z3 better.  The Z3 looks like it is moving when

parked...the Z4 doesn't give me that impression.  To each his own.

Wow.Every Z3 customer i had was complaining about soft top water leaks and wind noise. Also there was a rear sway bar recall,i wonder if you had done.
Did you know,they used rear suspension from e30? I never understood why, it was very outdated.

[KgB]

BMW's are always nice to drive. Had a 740i back in the 1990's, but I just couldn't stand the look of the new one. Got an Audi A8 4.2 V8 quattro instead. Great car too. Discrete and powerful.

I remember replacing turbo's couple times on A6 2.7, i think i cryed both times:)

[akusher]

I'l still take a f40 scud in exchange....

and the rest in cash.