Rams Eye The Track Guy

Unlike the new 2019 3-series that was officially revealed by BMW , the anticipated 2020 Porsche 992 (911) has not been officially revealed yet. But that doesn't mean a lot about it isn't known already. In a recent prototype drive by Car and Driver, Porsche discussed a lot of the changes. This update is very important in my opinion because the next 911 may have its work cut out for it judging by what we know about the upcoming mid-engine Corvette . The 911 vs Corvette rivalry is nothing new, spanning decades. While there has been very significant and revolutionary changes to the 911 - including switching from air-cooled to water-cooled engines, losing hydraulic power steering, and recently an all turbocharged lineup (short of the GT3) - none have been as revolutionary as the Corvette's planned change to switch from front engine to mid engine layout. So what is the next 911 coming going to be armed with? There are a bunch of changes, although most are just incremental bu...

The wait is finally over (well, it's been over for about 3 weeks now, this is a bit overdue...) but the new 3-series was finally revealed by BMW and there are a lot of changes. I don't know if I am alone in waiting anxiously or not. I have been waiting for a new 3-series for a long time. being a huge 3-series fan but having been underwhelmed by the current generation in two reviews; one was a 2014 335i xDrive M Sport and another was a 2016 M4 DCT . In both cases, I have found them to be hugely capable with almost no compromise on paper but, when you compare them to older 3-series generations, they are missing a lot of the charm and feedback. They are more grown up, more refined, much more capable, but a lot less engaging. My hopes were high for this generation and, judging by what BMW revealed, I have reason to remain hopeful ... I will get the bad out of the way first. This generation is bigger. Again. It's about 3.3" longer but at least it's lighter and ...

The last generation BMW M5 (F10) was the beginning of the end for BMW M manuals in the M5. It was offered without a manual around the world but, after relatively high demand, BMW offered a manual in the US and Canada. The current BMW M5 doesn't offer a manual at all, not to mention going AWD. That doesn't bode well for purist fans of the brand since BMW M has clearly thrown crucial traditions of the brand (i.e. RWD and manual) to the curb in the name of performance and/or efficiency. It looks like that isn't the end of all manuals, though, at least not yet. BMW’s M division boss Frank van Meel told Car and Driver at a press event a couple of months ago that the brand is still committed to manuals. Presumably, he was referring only to the M2 and M3/M4 since all other M cars including the M5 and "SUV" M cars like the X5/X6 M are only offered with automatics now and you can bet that the M6's replacement - the M8 - will be offered with only an automatic. As ...

Cadillac's largest car - the not-quite-a-flagship CT6 - is becoming a little more flagship-y by getting the full V treatment like you can get on the CTS and ATS (for just one more year before they're axed in anticipation of replacements, so grab them while you can). Cadillac calls the CT6 top-of-the-range but won't call it a flagship, clearly wanting to leave that distinction to a larger and/or more grandiose vehicle in the future. It was previously announced in March earlier this year to be getting a high dose of performance enhancements, the highlight of which is a new twin-turbo V8, and was going to join the line-up as Cadillac's skim-V models called V-sport. Think of it like M-performance packages from BMW vs full fledged M models, the only difference being V-sport models typically get unique (and much more powerful) engines. But just a couple of weeks ago, Cadillac announced that it will make it a full-fledged V line model, making the car inch a bit higher in p...

Rumours of a mid-engine Corvette have been around basically since the C2 Corvette, the first Stingray. I've heard some people argue that the Corvette is already mid engine because the engine sits almost entirely behind the front axle, making it mounted midship. But everyone knows that the classic definition of a midengined car is that of an engine mounted between the seats and the rear axle, not the front axle. That's what everyone pictures if you say "mid-engine". Worse still (for the Corvette), a true midengined layout has a lot more traction - all else being equal - than a front-midship mounted engine like the current Corvette, no matter how far back it is mounted. Chevy knows this, and there has been no shortage of Corvette mid-engine concepts for decades. This time, however, it's different. For one, manufacturers these days tend to keep very special/high performance models under wraps for a very long time during development, only revealing them when th...