Automotive

ThomasM
[PuristS]
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"Thomas, you're delusional." or more bluntly, "You're an idiot."

Several people have emailed me telling me I'm a complete idiot;

"How can you love the Corvette 427 so much, but HATE the Mustang GT500, with over 100 more hp?"

"How can I complain the DB9 is too soft and not really like the DBS - "meh" - yet like the Virage so much?"

"How can you hate on the SL63BT, calling it "too smooth, civilized, and almost boring," and yet be blown away by the CL65BT?"

Certainly I would never argue against my own innate idiocy or ignorance, but hear me out -

In one sense, autosports (well, any sport) are ultimately about performance - fastest tape at the dragstrip; quickest lap times; crossing the finish line first.

"Show me the tape and shut up."

But in the world of street car ownership, many other tangibles and intangibles come into play -

Balance

"Feel"

Seat of the pants acceleration or grip that is hard to measure with an accelerometer or chronograph.

For me, this "balance" is often as important, sometimes more important, than raw numbers or purely quantitative metrics.

And like love, sometimes, despite the best intentions and highest standards of intellect and rationality, we just gotta throw it all out the window and go with our heart.

One paradigmatic example is my respect and affection for the CL65 (similar to SL65 and S65 but for me, the CL epitomizes this mindset) -

The CL65 is the poster child for over-engineered, over-controlled, over-weight excess. Usually the flagship of the M-B standard lines, the CL is the model range M-B rolls out their latest and greatest, which usually means glitches and gremlins and, too often, less and less feel and more and more "layers" between the driver and driving.

The funny thing about the CL65, though -  while every manufacturer, including M-B, is trying to wring every last horsepower and ft-lb of torque out of their creations, AMG actually put in limiters to REDUCE the natural maximum power and torgue output (ostensibly to save the transmission, because no current production transmission extant can handle the full power and torque the engine is capable of.)

It is this very absurdity - voluntarily and intentionally tying one hand behind one's back before stepping into a cage fight - that appeals so much to me. In a hyper-rationalized world that inherently is still basically random and maddeningly unpredictable in the most frustrating ways, this absurdity, the stupid but stupendous, insane, utterly ridiculous amounts of power on tap, delivered in an oh-so unexpected, almost ludicrously civilized way, just rocks my world.

In a world of unearned and too often empty superlatives, the CL65 deserves superlatives in spades, in that one single metric - raw power and speed - yet is mostly dismissed by those that don't know or haven't experienced it. 

So how, then, can I dismiss the McLaren 12C, or the new 63BT's from M-B, which arguably are close or even better in so many respects, as being borderline boring?

Real life calls,

"I'll be back"

ps: I just spent two full days at the F1 track in Shanghai with Lamborghini, following the VAG single make race series finales for VW, Porsche, Audi, and Lamborghini. I was fortunate to have had several lap sessions, including four sessions in the Aventador, and two in the Gallardo (560-4 and 550-2, back to back)  As much as I respect the Aventador; as much as I have always had a soft spot for the scissor doored V-12 powered Big Bulls...

Dare I say it?

I actually prefered the 550-2 above all

(more in an upcoming feature on the 550-2)