gt: the auto mag

GT: The Auto Magazine

Featuring:GTR VS. NSX- Which Power-house Is Better?SLR VS. SL55- Are the Imporve-ments Worth the Money?Custom 86 GT Review- One of Japan’s Best Marvels

2013 NASCAR Improve-ments- Which Manufacturer looks better?And Much More

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Letter From the Editor:This Project has been a blast. To think that this started out as an assignment for a high school class, and then it became something else. I hope you like it. Sincerely, Nick Bernow

Table Of Contents

General Racing News

The Writers’ Rides

My Toyota 86 GT ‘12 Words & Photos- Nick Bernow

SLR: Supercar Of Its TimeWords: Nick Bernow Photos- Nick Bernow & Ian Adams

The 2013 NASCARs, Which One Looks the Best Astetically and Why?Words: Nick Bernow & Ian Adams Photos- Various

Gran Tourismo Upgrade GlossaryWords: Nick Bernow & Ian Adams

GT: The Auto Magazine


General RACING News

NASCAR Mayhem?Due to the actions of Clint Boywer and Jeff Gordon, both have been put on probation until December 31 due to both drivers’ actions at the November 11th race at Phoenix. Gordon has been fined 100,000 dollars and Boywer’s crew cheif wa fined 25,000 dollars for his actions as well. Courtesy of the NASCAR Wire servicePhoto: Getty Images

Formula One: Point StandingsPs Driver Pts1 Sebastien Vettel 2552 Fernando Alonso 2453 Kimi Raikkonen 1984 Mark Webber 1675 Lewis Hamilton 1656 Jenson Button 1537 Felipe Massa 958 Nico Rosberg 939 Romain Grosjean 9010 Sergio Perez 6011 Kamui Kobayashi 5812 Nico Hulkenberg 4913 Paul Di Resta 4614 Pastor Maldonado 4315 Michael Schumacher 4316 Bruno Senna 3017 Jean-Eric Vergne 1218 Daniel Ricciardo 1019 Timo Glock 020 Heikki Kovalainen 021 Vitaly Petrov 022 JÃ©rÃ´me D’Ambrosio 023 Charles Pic 024 Narain Karthikeyan 025 Pedro De la Rosa 0


The Writers’ Rides

Nick BernowActual Ride: 2001 Volkswagen Golf GLS TDiDream Ride: BMW M3Now, I know what your thinking. Oh no, not a Golf. Yes, it’s a Golf diesel, but this thing hammers, with 120 horsepower at the front wheels, this little hot hatchback can lull its way all the way up to about 140 or so. Inside is a Monsoon Premium 8 speaker sound system, heated seats, heated mirrors and some mini subs to boot.

The car I wish I could drive is the new BMW M3. I say this because this car has a V8, rear wheel drive, and a 6 speed manual. Classic sports car at its finest. With almost 420 BHP at the wheels, this car is lightning quick. It also looks very nice as well, sharing many of the same lines of the 3 series coupes and sedans.

In this section, writers Ian Adams and Nick Bernow talk about the cars they drive and the cars they wish they drove.


My Toyota 86 GT ‘12


Words: Nick BernowPhotos: Nick Bernow So you may be wondering, BR-Z, or 86 GT. The BR-Z/86 GT is the new cooperative design from Subaru and Toyota. It is also worth mentioning that Toyota owns a part of Subaru. Stock, they put out about the same power, use almost the same engine and they also use almost the same body. With that boringness out of the way on to my car. My 86 GT is a fully tuned, 377 BHP car. It has all the tuning upgrades available for the car installed and it also has a GT wing from GT Auto installed as well as Racing Soft tires to provide extra grip. This car is well balanced and has very good handling characteristics. At The Top Gear Test Track for example, it carried itself with ease and had very little understeer through the corners and provided for an excellent drive. The accel-eration is quick and responsive and the turning force is good for this rear wheel drive car. You would think it would oversteer immensely, espically in the Hammerhead corner, but because of the wing and front bodykit I installed from GT Auto it is quite nice to see the car perform. We then left the iconic airfield in Surrey and dropped in on Cote’d Azur(Monaco). This course is known for its hills, tight chicanes, and long straights. Surprisingly, as this car pounded around, its little turbocharged 4 cylinder boxer. It was putting out some nice lap times, and it was very consistent in cornering quality. After this quick trip to Monaco, we went to Germany to probably the most famous road course, the Nurbur-gring. Called the “Green Hell” its many twists and corners have claimed lives and it now serves as the pin-nacle of automotive testing. We took the 86 GT to the 24hr layout with no time or weather change. It is worth noting that none of the gearing was changed, just a 6-speed manual installed on this car. With that said, with the transmission fully customizable, meaning that I can change the ratios, I did not extend the gearing ratios on the transmission. This being the case, the car easily reached the top speed of 140 and hit the rev limiter in the top of sixth gear. This resulted in a long lap time of about 9 minutes 30 seconds. This car had to deal with all of the bumps of the ‘Ring and it dealt with them quite well. This track wasn’t as smooth as Monaco and The Top Gear Test Track. This is because the track has been around almost 100 years. This car has a finely tuned sport suspension to compliment its excellent styling. The styling of this car is very cool in my opinion. The standard car looked kind of bare with nothing on the back, like it was made for the wing that I had installed. It also reminds me of when the old Supra roamed the streets, it has many of the same lines and curves. It also looks like it could just get up and go without any hesitation. Final thoughts, I think I did pretty good in choosing the right car. This car is an all around good car, it could just use a little taller gearing, and a little more power. I say this because it drives through the low end of the RPM range too quickly, it feels that the car wants to go, but has too much power and too little gearing. Yes, this can be remedied, but it comes at a price to the acceleration.


Technical DataBHP 377/7900 RPMTorque 254 ft-lb/7400RPM0-60 6.891 Seconds0-100 11.608 Seconds


SLR: Supercar of Our Time


Words: Nick Bernow

Photos: Nick Bernow, Ian Adams

Some think the McLaren SLR is a grand touring car. The other side of the spectrum is that the SLR is the latest supercar to come out of the small, very English facility. We will attempt to figure out if it’s the best of both worlds or if it’s one or the other. With that in mind, lets get to it.

Let’s start off by just taking a look at the car. Yes, I know it has Mercedes badges on it, but if you look just foreword of the doors and on the deck lid, it does in fact say McLaren. Merc does provide the body, and of course, the badge. Ignoring all of that garnish is easy though. This car is striking to just gaze at. The lines of this car are spectacular to just look at in a standstill position. This car is also a pleasure to drive, with the sole upgrade being Racing Soft Tires for maximum grip. The interior feels like you want to drive this car. And, if you’re a testosterone freak like I am, this is the right car for you. There is a steady amount of torque throughout the RPM band and this brings steady acceleration all the way to the rev limiter in 5th gear.

Driving this car on a track will leave you with endless fun. Yes, you have five speeds I know, that’s one rea-son this car is bonkers. This car has around 500 BHP and is a dream to drive. The cornering ability of this machine is immense compared to something else of its caliber. Not that there is anything else of its caliber in existance, exept other SLRs.


Technical DataBrake Horsepower 597 HP/6500 RPMTorque 558 ft-lb/3000 RPM0-60 3.293 Seconds0-100 7.526 SecondsPrice* 634,500 GT Credits

*Price is determined with the base price of the car with the ad-dition of any modifications including any engine tuning, weight reduction, suspension upgrades etc.**- **See Glossary of Upgrade Conversions.


Which 2013 NASCAR Looks the Best and Why

Words: Nick

Bernow, Ian

Adams


Words: Nick Bernow, Ian Adams

Now, being NASCAR fans has been tough as of late. This is due to the fact that NASCAR has been on the fritz with safety and the theory of a “driver cocoon” , more or less a safety compartment in the cabin of the car to help prevent injury. The idea came about after the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. (may he rest in peace) during the Daytona 500 in 2001. In 2006 the so-called Car Of Tomorrow (or COT) was developed to provide better safety. Since its development, manufacturers have complained that the COT looks too uniform, that there was no distinguish between the makes in NASCAR. In response, NASCAR is releasing new cars for 2013. These new cars are, by some, to be considered a step backwards. They still have all of the strict safety standards, but you can actually look at them and say, yes that is a Ford Fusion or a Toyota Camry. Dodge has made the decision to pull out of NASCAR. Chevy just released their entry fleet and it looks like an actual car as well. Chevy has confirmed that whatever they will bring to NASCAR will be called the SS and be sold as a production model.

So the first car up for my evaluation is the Toyota Camry. Now, my overall opinion of a Japanese brand in NASCAR is that it should not be there, but it is, so let’s get to the car. The production Camry un-derwent a slight facelift in 2013 with an added piece to the front fascia, as well as a “tummy tuck” in car terms, adding a slight weight loss to the sides by getting rid of some useless details like a side skirt. The NASCAR equivalent shares these characteristics by losing the boxyness of the COT chassis and replacing it with a more showroom like quality to it. Yes, it is a Toyota, but, as a NASCAR, it is nice to see a showroom like car.

Now before we move on, cue the groans, here comes the Ford Fusion. Now I know, it’s a Ford, GET OVER IT. Now, the new production Fusion underwent a major facelift. It had a major weight loss over the last year. The front has been smashed to pieces and replaced with an Ashton Martin style grille and front fascia, and the rear of the car also had a major tuck by reducing clutter on the rear deck as well as add-ing certain “sportiness” qualities to it. I think with the freedom to create a production looking car has led Ford to creating something worthy of contention.

Let’s move on to Chevy. With their sprawling empire spanning every continent, they were bound to find something in their massive lineup to combat Ford and Toyota. They found it in Australia in the Hold-en lineup. The Commodore is the venerable sports sedan used all over the world in various competitions in motorsports, most notably, the British Touring Car Series. This car is coming to NASCAR and man does it look stunning. It got a minor facelift because Chevy redesigned the grille. In America, it is called the SS and the production car will debut at Speedweeks at Daytona in 2013.


gt: the auto mag

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