Ads 468x60px

This featured Car is Carrera GT

Carrera is a slot car.

This featured Car is Carrera

Carrera dominated the German markets in the 1960s and 1970s, due to using an additional third wire, and effective marketing, also at the nearby Nuremberg International Toy Fair.

This featured Car is Carrera

In the 1970, Carrera offered 1:24, 1:32 and 1:60 scales for slot cars, and the slot-free "Servo" systems which allowed cars to switch lanes, guided by the guard rails on the outside. Due to the many systems offered, and fewer customers (Generation), Neuhierl had to sell his company in 1985, and took his own life. The new owners sold rather cheap products.

This featured Car is ABT

Johann Abt (born December 1935), who continued a horseshoeing tradition of his family with motor cars, was a motorcycling and hillclimbing racer for Abarth factory team until 1970. He later entered cars with his own team, winning the "Trophée de l’Avenir“ and other series.

This featured Car is Koenigsegg CCR

The Koenigsegg CCR is a mid-engined sports car manufactured by Koenigsegg. It briefly held the world speed record for a production car and is currently the fourth fastest production car in the world, behind the Bugatti Veyron, SSC Ultimate Aero and the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

Wednesday, 30 May 2012

McLaren MP4-12C vs. Factory Five GTM: Motoramic TV


Ah, the McLaren MP4-12C. It's McLaren's first in-house road car since the legendary F1. And while the 12C is far less expensive than the F1,
its base price is still $229,400. The car we drove tallied $270,690 and options can push the sticker beyond $300,000. For that, you get an undeniably exquisite machine constructed by the pedigreed craftsman of some of the world's best race cars.
You get dihedral doors that open by sliding your hand along the bodywork. You get a twin-turbo, flat-plane-crank 3.8-liter V8 that howls out 592 horsepower and hurtles the car to 60 mph in about 3 seconds. And you get an ingenious suspension design that uses cross-linked hydraulic chambers in place of conventional shock absorbers, delivering both a shockingly supple ride and race-car roll control. In short, the MP4-12C is a lot of car for the money. But it's still a lot of money.

So what do you do if you want top-tier supercar performance and dramatic mid-engine styling, but you only have $50,000 to spend? Enter the Factory Five GTM. With a 420 horsepower GM LS3 V8 propelling only 2,400 pounds, this is one of the few cars that would hound an MP4-12C on the track. (A 505-horsepower LS7 is also available, but frankly the LS3 seems pretty adequate.) You do have to be handy with a wrench, since the GTM is a component car.

But GTM owner Gary Cheney has built 13 Factory Five cars, including three GTMs, and not only does he still have all his fingers, he insists that the building process is part of the fun. This particular GTM is set up for track duty, but it was surprisingly usable on the street, with deliciously communicative speed-sensitive power steering and Corvette Z06 brakes that are hugely overqualified for a 2,400 car. Plus, look at the thing. It just looks like it belongs in the supercar club.


However, $50,000 is still a considerable sum. Wouldn't it be great if you could have a screaming-fast, reliable, exotic-looking mid-engine sports car for something more like $15,000? Without spoiling the ending, we have a solution for that, too.

Posted by at