2+2s or cool looking 4-seaters...

[Z8Eldred a.k.a. The Mudman]

[Wldeyefoto]

I'd like to point out that the 2 cars pictured are not the same model. The first is an Arnage, the second is the new Continental GTC. The front end styling on the Continentals (GT, Flying Spur, GTC) is quite a bit swoopier than on the Arnage. Having recently purchased a Flying Spur, I can tell you that the car is incredibly well built, the interior is stunning, and it is great fun to drive. The power (torque) is amazing, the car handles much better than it has a right to given its weight, and it has very long legs - effortlessly set my new top speed record in it. I really like this car. If I didn't need the extra room for adults in the back seats, I'd have gone for the GT or the GTC because of the prettier profile, but according to the factory, the Flying Spur is actually the best handling of the three. Another car you might consider is the new Audi RS4 which sounds like a great way to have your cake and eat it too. Or how about a Dinan S3 M3? 0-60 = 4.3 seconds and reported to be the best handling BMW you can buy. Choices, choices!Grease Monkey

[Z8mania]

Jack,
What about the new 3 series coupe? Supposedly it is quite a fantastic car. I have no use for one but I will test drive it sometime in the next month just for fun. 300hp/300 ft-lbs... supposedly very minimal turbo lag. I believe the E90 3 series will get a folding hardtop cabrio so maybe you go to that in a few years when its out....

[Grease Monkey]

Autoweek got to wring out a Bentley Flying Spur and they came away very impressed. Try 0-60 in 4.47 seconds, quarter mile in 12.93 seconds at 108.8 mph, ran their slalom at 43.4 mph which is faster than many lighter cars, achieved 0.82 g on their skidpad while braking from 60 mph in 122 feet with no fade during repeated stops. This is a 5456 lb. car folks! For comparison, when they tested the Z8, Autoweek achieved a 0-60 time of 4.56 seconds, quarter mile time of 13.02 seconds at 108.5 mph, a slalom speed of 45 mph, .87 g on their skid pad while braking from 60 mph in 109 feet. Plus the Bentley seats 5 in sumptuous luxury, has a cavernous trunk, and is AWD so useable year 'round. Not a bad stablemate for the Z8.

[FWK-Z3]

Peter Pan BMW has a silver grey M6 sitting on their showroom floor. Up to now I have not been a big fan of Chris Bangle's styling, but I have never seen a car that captures its essence better then the M6.

The Z8 expresses its capabilities in feline grace where the M6 has a more brutal and dominant presence. The design is masterful in that all of the lines draw your eyes back onto the body. You find yourself studying it for hours, and it leaves absolutely no doubt as to its on-road capabilities.

Despite its chopped top appearance, it has more than enough headroom for me at 6'-2". I don't have to compromise the seatback angle. Controls are the new BMW standard (unfortunately with the infamous i-drive). They are distinctly different than those in a Z8 (I lived with a new 325i for a week while my Z8 was in for service). They tak a bit of getting used to - the signal is a two-step momentary switch. At the first stop, it flashes about 6 times and stops. It locks on at the 2nd detent. At first you saw back and forth from left to right blinker trying to canvcel them in a display guarnteed to eleict an invitation from the local constabulary to blow up ballons. eventually you get used to them (I almost grudginly admitted I liked them). The cruise control has a needle on theoutside rim of the speedometer to inidcate the set speed and also has a two detent switch - the light push takes you up/down in 1MPH increments and the sencond push in 5MPH increments.

As opposed to other BMW SMG's the paddles are recessed behind the steering wheel spokes and work by pulling them toward you, rather than pusing them. One of my dislikes was that it was easy to inadvertently upshift when steering hand-over-hand -- this should eliminate the problem, although I would still wait for a real transmission -probably due out next Spring form everything I have read.

The example on display had the black standard leater interior paired with the dark grey. It was jsut too somber, and owning a Z8 spoils you from ever loving a car with a vinyl dash. I'd probably opt for the Indianapolis red or go for Black Sapphire over Sepang bronze and whine for the Europe only piano finish trim to make it a complement to my black/crema Z8.

If this sounds like a serious case of lust -- it is!

[Jack]

...by the time the lease is up I can get a used 997 Targa for 30 - 40% off MSRP. And it was so cheap. They're really dealing on the '06s because the '07 is coming soon.

All good. Why do I love the Targa so much?

[JOEA2]

[Jack]

...maybe I can find enough change and crumpled bills to buy me a $200K car.

[Z8mania]

2 really fantastic marques in Porsche and BMW. Let the spoiling continue! :-)

[joea2]

[IMG]

[Jack]

There's no way I'd ever spend that kind of dough on a car. $200K on a rapidly depreciating asset...no thanks.

[Jack]

...off my hood. What a fiasco. Didn't notice until I got home and pulled into the garage. Looks like someone took a rotary sander to my hood.

[joea2]

My F430 Spider is worth more now than in March when I overpaid for it(ROFLMAO).[IMG]

[Jack]

[Z8mania]

can you feel the swirls with your fingers? is it just in the clear coat? either way this is not how a new car should be!

[FWK-Z3]

You could probably get it serviced down at you r local VW/Audi dealer - it is one. The Continetal GT and Flying Spur share a chassis and W 12 engine with the departed Phaeton. The drivetrain is Audi quattro.

When RR and Bentley went up for sale, BMW and VW starrted a bidding war over who wuold get them. VW "won" with the winning bid for RR Automobiles. This is why Bentleys will continue to be built at Crewe. As a consolation (or maybe because they were smarter), BMW walked away with RR Aviation who just happened to own the rights to "Nellie"(*) and the radiator she sits on.

(*) "Nellie" refers to Eleanor Thornton, the model for RR's "Spirit of Ecstasy". Charles Robinson Sykes chose Miss Thornton as the model for the famous sculpture as she was the secretary (and mistress) of RR's managing director John Walter Edward-Scott Montagu. She was placed on the radiator leaning slightly forward with her gown billowing in the breeze so Montagu could sit beside his wife with an unobstructed view of a ceratin portion of his mistress' anatomy. Eleanor Thornton died during the First World War when the ship upon which she was travelling (The SS Persia) was torpedoed by a German submarine.

That is part of my docent's pitch on Rolls Royce from the Blackhawk. For school groups, Eleanor remains a secretary and it is an overgarment that is flowing in the breeze.

[FWK-Z3]

[Jack]

Looks to be the clear coat. They took it in yesterday to resolve. Apparently this isn't the first time it's happened.

[Jack]

I'm not even sure what that means but I guess the swirls weren't going to come out with a standard waxing.

[Z8mania]

Im no paint expert but most swirls are actually in the clear coat, not the paint. The way most swirls are dealt with is by first taking the edges off them with a swirl remover and then filling them in with a polish and then covering with a wax. Thats why when a car with swirls has been detailed and some time has past the swirls reappear- as the wax and polish wear off, the swirls return.

Im not sure how they would strip off only the CC- my guess is they are going to add a layer of CC- but again, Im not expert. Just shooting from the hip on this one.