Full Throttle in a couple of Lamborghini Gallado LP560-4’s from Sant’Agata Bolognese to the Italian Alps, and back.

Model Tested:

• 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4: 5.2-litre, V10, petrol, six-speed, sequential e-gear system with shift paddles

Looks, V10 engine and sound, speed and handling…everything
I can’t afford one

CarAdvice Rating:

Words by Anthony Crawford Photography by Jan Glovac

It’s by no means the most expensive or fastest Uberschall supercar we drove during our most recent Full Throttle supercar tour in Europe, but the instant you start carving up the switchbacks in Italy’s Val D’Aosta, Lamborghini’s Gallardo LP560-4 becomes your favourite.

The fact that we were the first media in the world (yes we beat Clarkson) to track test Spain’s new GTA Spano supercar at Valencia’s MotoGP circuit, before a mad dash to Lake Garda in Italy to rendezvous with the insane Veritas RS 111 supercar, didn’t seem to matter one little bit, we had finally arrived at Lamborghini headquarters in the small rural town of Sant’Agata, and the feeling was once again surreal.

This is the second time in two years we have landed here at Lamborghini’s front door, and regardless of the lack of sleep since stepping off the plane in Frankfurt two weeks ago, the anticipation as you’re about to strap yourself into one of the world’s best driver’s cars for a 700km low level flight across the Italian Alps, is just as thrilling.

Parked in the VIP car park, I can see two spanking new Gallardo LP560-4s, and all we have to do to get the keys for a couple of days, is sign a few insurance papers and we are on our way up to the majestic Italian Alps.

And while these two Lamborghinis look almost identical, I’ve spotted the dark coloured carbon ceramic brake rotors on only one of the Gallardos, so that’s the must have car.

Composite brakes tend to be a little grabby until they heat up, but that won’t be a problem as we’ll be moving at over 300km/h on several sections of the Autostrada, as well as some exceptionally demanding brake work over multiple switchbacks.

While the crew are busy trying on their commemorative ‘63’ shirts (that’s the year Ferruccio Lamborghini started his company) with the public relations boss, I’ve taken possession of the keys to this extra special Gallardo.

With the fade proof carbon ceramics, my colleague and 2nd test driver Alborz, won’t be able to stay with me at the pace we’ll be moving at through the 20 kilometres of spectacular bends just above the village of Aosta.

Not much seems to have changed here at Lamborghini HQ over the last twelve months; still the same Italian supermodels behind the front desk, only this time they know our names, well mine at least.

And if you ever do make the pilgrimage here to the Modena region, and the home of the raging bull, then you’re in for a treat if you’re an admirer of such classics as the Miura, Countach and of course, the Diablo.

There’s also a prized Reventon on display, every bit ‘uncompromising and extreme’ and looking more like an alien space ship than any supercar built on this planet.

Every single one of these Lamborghini classics is in mint condition and housed in a glass showroom just metres from reception.

But it’s the Gallardos we’ve come half way around the world to drive, but we’ve already been advised of a slight change in plans.

We were supposed to collect one Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder and one Gallardo LP560-4 Coupe. Instead, we have been handed the keys to two Coupes with the same Bianco Canopus (white matt) paint job and no one’s complaining.

These are truly brilliant looking sports cars although; it’s difficult to describe the real essence of this revered Italian brand without sounding like an over-the-top sales guy.

Lamborghini build more than just supercars, and while I can’t really put my finger on it, I can tell you that they’re so much more than the total sum of their parts.

I could get poetic and say that every car that leaves the Sant’Agata factory has a piece of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s soul built into it, and I wouldn’t be far wrong.

Whatever it is, there is something spiritual going on whenever you are behind the wheel of a new Lamborghini, especially the highly nimble Gallardo model, it’s as if they’ve custom built this car just for you.

Is the LP560-4 a better car than the LP540, which it replaces? No question about that, as soon as you fire up the 5.2-litre V10 with 412kW and tap the throttle, you already believe the words of Lamborghini boss Stephan Winklemann, when he said, “It will outclass its predecessor in every aspect…”

And Herr Winklemann should know. He’s a German-born businessman, raised in Rome, who has essentially brought Lamborghini back from the brink of closure and turned the company around in record time to being a profitable part of the Volkswagen Group.

But enough historical chit chatter, its 10.30am and we are seriously behind schedule. We still need to complete a bunch of set up shots inside the Lamborghini compound prior to our 400-kilometre express shuttle to the alpine village of Aosta.

Two hours later and we were done, but not before we ordered some proper Italian pizzas from the Arab chef at Pizza da asporto, on Sant’Agata’s main square.

These are actually the world’s second best pizzas, and at just six euro each, they slotted into our depressingly small budget perfectly.

Thankfully we ordered the large size, as little did we know, it would be after 1.30am the next morning before we would be eating dinner, but that’s another adventure.

You’ll find the world’s number one pizza restaurant (since 1956) at Maggi, around the corner from Lamborghini and please trust me when I tell you they are without peer. Eating at this esteemed establishment has become a ritual whenever we are here testing the latest from Sant A’gata Bolognese.

By the time we hit the road it was 2.00 pm and although we had the pace to make up some serious ground, there was a bigger problem looming.

George (2nd camera, graphics and general electronic whiz) was driving our Ford Focus wagon chase car, which was screaming its head off at a thoroughly commendable 190km/h, and going through fuel at an alarmingly euro draining rate.

That’s quite a problem, when you’re behind the wheel of two Lamborghini supercars, given these two V10 powered missiles don’t mind sitting on 300km/h whenever the left lane is clear for a stretch.

That meant we lost George on more than several occasions and at one point, figured he was at least 120 kilometres behind us!

Thankfully though, the Focus was equipped with Navman’s latest GPS unit, and with European maps loaded, this thing was faultless across six countries, including Denmark and Sweden.

This meant that we could always pull into a service station and wait impatiently for the Ford to catch up.

To make matters worse, our director of photography was not his usual patient self. Apparently, he was frustrated over our inability to travel in convoy.

Ever tried sitting behind a fully laden Ford Focus wagon for 400 kilometres in two freshly armed Lamborghini Gallardos, I can tell you it’s not humanly possible.

After several prolonged 300km/h bursts, Alborz and I didn’t mind a little traffic, as only then do you get to play with one of the world’s best paddle shifting transmissions, while enjoying the 8000 rpm Lamborghini Concerto.

The more traffic the better I say, as you never, ever, get tired of tapping the paddles in V10 powered Gallardo under full tilt.

I suppose our normally easy going DOP had good cause to loose his cool on this occasion, as he was going to be critically short on time to shoot enough footage of the cars in Italy, should we have any further delays.

Unlike Germany, Italy fully supports toll roads, which is more a nuisance than it is expensive, and absolutely not supercar friendly.

The problem is, the Gallardo like most supercars, are usually designed with an ultra low profile to assist with aerodynamic stability at high speed, so more often than not, we had to completely alight from the car to pay each toll, not so easy with a queue of cars and trucks behind you.

And even with two satellite navigation systems on the go, you can still mess up if there are several routes to the same place. That’s especially so if you happen to take a wrong exit on Italy’s Autostrada network, which can be thoroughly confusing.

The scenery up around the Gran San Bernado Pass is beyond spectacular, particularly when a bumper ski season dumps five-metres of fresh powder on the Alps in May of all months.

The beauty of shooting anywhere in Europe this time of year, is that you can work until 9pm, and that includes still photography. So when we finally arrived in the ski villages of La Thuile/Aosta at 5pm, there was still plenty of time remaining to get more extreme driving footage in the can.

We’re trying to get to the same stretch of road in the Val d’Aosta where the opening scene of the original 1960’s movie “The Italian Job” was shot. You know, the scene when that orange Lamborghini Miura is winding its way through the Alps, to the tune of Matt Monroe singing “On Days Like This”.

Bummer, the famous alpine resort of Zermatt is just 12 kilometres away, but the only road up there is closed due to too much snow on the road. Next time, or perhaps even the Stelvio Pass.

The consolation prize is just ahead though. An endless stretch of snake-like bends climbing up to the heavens and not a car or truck in sight.

Almost instantaneously, the throttle drops to the floor and the two V10’s are flat stick, as we scream up the mountain like two low level Euro fighters before the G-forces take hold, as we brake impossibly late for each hairpin.

It’s a steep climb too, but acceleration out of the corners is explosive, as all of 412 kilowatts and 540 Newton-metres are applied to all four wheels. It also helps that the Gallardo weighs in at a light 1410 kilograms.

I’m not sure motoring journalism gets any better than this, piloting two of the world’s best driver’s cars on Italy’s best driving roads, at speeds more suited to Monza. Add to that, the music of a couple of Lamborghini V10’s playing a composition that would shame anything by Guiseppi Verdi.

Anyone who still thinks an old school six-speed floor shifter is the proper way to go these days, needs to have a brain scan or just five minutes behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 will permanently cure their condition.

The automated e-gear transmission in “CORSA” mode is a quick shifting masterpiece of engineering. Each tap on the paddle shifters means a gear change in milliseconds with little or no time lost between cogs.

And switchbacks like those above Aosta, demand lightning fast changes from 2nd to 4th every five seconds or so, but even then the Gallardo is always in its comfort zone and never feels ruffled.

I doubt if Alborz is having any issues with late braking despite the steel discs on board his car, it certainly doesn’t look that way. And why would he, with standard eight-pot Brembo calipers up front and four down the back, the Gallardo’s stopping power is well and truly sorted.

That said I’m nonetheless pleased to have the optional Carbon Ceramic braking system on this drive route, as I am punishing the brakes remorselessly, trying hard to induce even a hint of brake fade, and surprise, surprise, there is none, zilch.

These may well be the world’s best brakes too; as the heat generated with this level of braking is red hot extreme and they are as effective now, as they were several hours ago.

It’s the same story when it comes to the steering set-up on this latest Gallardo, but then what’s new, every Lamborghini we’ve ever driven has had been blessed with perfectly weighted steering from dead centre to full lock. The secret seems to be perfectly engineered suspension geometry and camber angles, together with the least amount of power assistance for a totally natural feel on turn in.

The steering is also incredibly precise and quick to respond, with great diver feedback through the steering wheel, an absolute requirement when you’re carving up the tarmac at these ungodly speeds.

We were hitting close to 140km/h approaching tight bends and without brilliant brakes and extraordinary levels of grip, disaster would surely have prevailed. The Gallardo possesses both these talents in spades.

That’s a combination of massive 295/30 Pirelli P-Zero rear tyres and the four-wheel drive Viscous Traction (VT), which gets the power down without any fuss.

You can feel the enormous grip as you power out of corners at race car speeds, and the car isn’t leaning a millimetre.

Even better, the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) allows you to hang the rear end out through the hairpins with a 30:70 front to rear split in the driving torque, and 45 percent limited slip on the rear differential.

And don’t think for one minute that this 3.7-second car (0-100km/h) offers anything but a complaint ride over the harshest of road conditions. And that’s despite the ultra stiff spaceframe chassis and spring rates.

With the day’s shooting completed by 9pm, we were headed for the northern Italian town of Biella for some well desrved rest as we had done so the year before, when we had the Superleggera and Gallardo LP540 Spyder on test.

Biella is famous as the home of Ermenegildo Zegna, Cerruti, Fila and a host of other premium Italian fashion brands.

Problem was, we had an issue with the headlights on one of the cars – low beam had packed it in, so we had no option but to sit on a safe 70 km/h in close convoy.

Worse still, we had chosen to follow the wrong route on the Sat Nav, which meant we had committed to another 200 kilometres to our destination and at 70km/h, dinner was looking more like a 2.00am event, rather than our scheduled 9.00pm rendezvous at the hotel Astoria.

The issue was not so much a deal on the hotel rates (always a concern though), but the secure parking of close to one million dollars worth of Lamborghini’s finest.
So there we were, two Gallardo LP560-4s quietly coasting into town at 1.00am in the morning and all five of us, dead tired and starving.

It would be an early start the next day too, as we had some high speed work to complete, as well as a 400 kilometre drive back to Sant’Agata for a photo session before the cars needed to be returned to the factory.

If you ever need to find a secluded road suitable for high speed driving in the Italian countryside, just go to the nearest café in two Lamborghini’s and you’ll have ten volunteer guides fighting for the job.

Our video boss wanted to capture some high speed passes on a three-kilometre stretch of quality tarmac, which we were more than happy to provide.

What stands out more than any other feature of the Gallardo is how utterly stable the car is at 250km/h speed, and that’s during a sweeping bend.

And it’s absolutely no different at 300km/h; the car still feels as if it’s a slot car. We’ve driven the super quick Novitec 430 Scuderia 16M Ferrari and the lethal TechArt GTstreetRS, and they don’t feel like this at 300km/h.

Photographer Jan Glovac, was riding shotgun with me and spotted a fast moving Audi R8 up ahead, so in a split second, we decided to pursue the car and test the in-gear acceleration from sixth.

No need to engage “CORSA” or even the Sport mode, the automatic light is lit, but I’ve hammered the throttle in top gear and the V10 is by now spinning at 7500 rpm and loving every millisecond of it.

It’s such a no-contest as we pass what is simply a blur at 305km/h, but with plenty more on tap, if required. Both of us are stunned at how effortless the passing manoeuvre was.

While the Gallardo stands just a mere 1.16 metres high, cockpit ingress and egress is deceptively easy. There’s also plenty of width between driver and passenger for those extended trips to your Cortina d’Ampezzo chalet.

As hard-core as the Gallardo is, luxury and fine quality materials are synonymous with Lamborghini’s heritage.

The lightweight leather seats with a quilted insert, are as comfortable as they are supportive, and that’s at ten-tenths across the alpine switchbacks.

We struck peak hour on our way back to Sant’Agata, which just proved how adept this supercar is in congestion, with its ability to duck and weave in and out of traffic or coast at 10km/h in automatic mode.

Ferociously fast and impeccable road manners, Lamborghini’s Gallardo LP560-4, may well rate as the world’s best driver’s car.

Ratings:

CarAdvice Overall Rating:
How does it Drive:
How does it Look:
How does it Go:

Road Test the Rivals:

• Bentley Continental Supersports
• Aston Martin V12 Vantage
• Ferrari F430

Specifications:

• Engine: 5.2-litre V10
• Power: 412 kW @ 8000 rpm
• Torque: 540 Nm @ 6500 rpm
• Induction: Naturally Aspirated
• Transmission: Six-speed, sequential e-gear with paddle shifters
• Driven Wheels: Permanent 4-wheel drive with viscous traction system
• Brakes: Brembo 8-pot ventilated discs front, 4-pot rear, optional 6 pot Carbon Ceramic front, 4-pot rear
• Top Speed: 325 km/h
• 0-100km/h: 3.7 seconds
• CO2 Emissions: 327 g/km
• Fuel Consumption: 14.7 L/100 km
• Fuel Tank Capacity: 90 litres
• Airbags: Front Dual Stage driver and passenger airbags, side Headthorax airbags
• Safety: Full ESP System with ABS, ASR and ABD
• Suspension: Double wishbones front and rear suspension system, antiroll bar anti-dive and anti-squat
• Turning Circle: 11.5 metres
• Weight: 1410 kg
• Wheels: 235/35 ZR 19 front, 295/30 ZR 19 rear

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

While I would concede that the looks, which personally don’t overly appeal to me, have stood the test of time, the mechanical package was behind the game from day one.

The 3.6-litre Alloytec V6 port-injected engine first introduced in 2004 always seemed to us to be an unhappy unit, mechanically harsh and mostly sounding a little strangled in its performance.

Now all that has changed with the introduction of direct injection, plus a myriad of other changes, to the MY10 Commodore, plus the long-wheelbase Statesman and Caprice, engines.

The big feature for most prospective Holden large sedan, wagon and utility buyers will be the downsizing of the base engine to 3.0-litres and the inevitable question; “how does it go, mate?”

Well we can tell you right off that it goes pretty darn well, in fact we’d go so far as to say you wouldn’t think it was from the same engine family as the old 3.6-litre.

It revs, it has plenty of power and it has more than enough torque, especially now that it is coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission that is never wanting for the right ration for the job.

And if you think that’s a glowing report the new 3.6-litre direct injection engine fitted to the up-spec models, such as the Calais and he SV6, is an even bigger gem, in fact there’s just one word to describe it “gun”.

At least one senior Holden executive, no we won’t be naming him, told CarAdvice that “this was the VE we should have had back in 2005.”

In GM Holden nomenclature these new engines are Spark Ignition Direct Injection (SIDI) and they now offer the same technology as engines previously used in the likes of the Cadillac CTS that almost made it to our shores earlier this year.

There are SIDI badges on all models to proclaim the new engines and we’ve got to say it’s a badge that Holden can wear with some pride.

The two new engines draw upon the best practices and creative expertise of GM’s technical centres in Germany, North America and Australia.

The Alloytec V6 SIDI engines, both 3.0-litre and 3.6-litre offer advanced direct combustion chamber fuel injection, are made in Melbourne at the company’s Fishermans Bend engine plant, although many of the components, including the blocks, come from GM facilities in other parts of the world.

The engines deliver a balance of improved operating refinement with first-rate noise and vibration control, good specific output, high torque over a broad rpm band, fuel economy and low emissions, exclusive durability-enhancing features and very low maintenance.

In addition to aluminium engine block and cylinder heads the 3.0-litre SIDI engine utilises an exhaust manifold integrated into the cylinder head.

Local development work on the two engines started in 2007, with engine, calibration and vehicle durability testing taking place over a 30-month period.

More than 1.1 million test kilometres and almost 11,000 engine dynamometer hours were clocked up in the process.

Fuel efficiency has become the latest game between local car manufacturers and Holden has certainly upped the ante with its new engines.

Commodore Omega achieves just 9.3 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres in the official ADR81/02 test – up to 13 per cent better than current models – making it more efficient than some major four-cylinder competitors.

The 3.6-litre SIDI engine improves fuel efficiency in the premium models from seven to 13 per cent, which means that in a Calais fuel use drops from 11.2 to 9.9L/100km on the ADR81/02 test cycle.

Carbon dioxide emissions from both engines have also been reduced with the 3.0-litre dropping as low as 221 grams of CO2 per kilometres and the 3.6-litre going as low as 236g/km.

Director of Marketing, Phillip Brook, pointed out that head-to-head with the base model Ford Falcon XT automatic the Omega is 1.2L/100km more fuel efficient and emits 30 grams a kilometre less CO2.

All V6 SIDI models have received a power upgrade, with the 3.0-litre increasing output to 190kW from the 175kW of the previous engine, while the 3.6-litre is up from 195kW to 210kW.

At the same time torque has increased to 350Nm for the 3.6-litre while the 3.0-litre produces 290Nm, and both engines are still tuned to run on 91RON petrol, the minimum fuel rating available in Australia.

On the road both engines deliver performance that is more than up to the job of moving a large sedan, although we didn’t get to drive a Statesman with the 3.6-litre engine.

However, the comments of those who did indicate it is more than adequate for moving such a large car.

An interesting aspect of the new engines is deceleration fuel cut, which seamlessly cuts the fuel feed when decelerating or coasting.

The feature has been in use on VE from its inception but now Holden has refined the operating range of this feature to maximise fuel efficiency.

Low rolling resistance tyres – the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) has even be recalibrated to allow for them, changes to a host of technical aspects of the cars and the addition of the 6L50 six-speed transmission all make driving the MY10 Commodore range a much more pleasant experience than it was in the past.

Going downhill it will automatically shift down a gear and use the engine to help hold vehicle speed, reducing brake wear.

Going uphill the transmission detects when the car would normally be prone to shifting rapidly between gears or “hunting”, and intervenes by holding the right gear for the job.

A Holden executive told CarAdvice that recently departed chairman Mark Reuss had been insistent on the adoption of the six-speed transmission. He reportedly rejected a five-speed option saying that Holden had to do more than be “just adequate, it had to move ahead of the game.”

Overtaking performance in the 3.0-litre V6 is certainly adequate and in the 3.6-litre it is exceptional.

The changes to the MY10 Commodore are al about fuel efficiency and improving the driveability of the car, and besides a couple of new ‘hero’ colours nothing else has really changed.

Holden sees it as evolution rather than revolution and we would have to agree, the same body shape continues – love it or not – and the interior doesn’t get any upgrades or changes, so buyers should continue to expect unrelieved expanses of black plastic and dark upholstery.

CarAdvice will be putting a range of MY10 Commodores through its testing regime in the near future and we’ll also be looking at how the new powertrains stack up against some of the competitors.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

This is one Porsche for which you’ll need your brave pills

Locked away in the German countryside is an unassuming light grey building. It’s two storeys high, and a sloping car park on the right hand side dips away to a few garages at the back. To drive down the road, you’d probably go straight past it. Sure, there’s some glass frontage, but apart from a small sign, you’d be hard pressed to notice what they do there.

A Porsche Cayenne out the front, save the body kit, gives little away. But once you step inside, you realise that this is a grown-man’s creche. You could spend hours poring over the collection of highly modified Porsches. This is TechArt, probably the most comprehensive tuner of the now Volkswagen owned sports car.

After day eight of our Full Throttle tour, we spent four or five hours still locked in a Ford Focus station wagon, pining for a bit of space. Having left Altenahr, and the Brabham BT92 – or M3 on steroids as we like to call it – we headed south-east to Leonberg in Stuttgart.

Well, travelled would be the word for those of us who weren’t being chauffeured in sumptuous comfort, with 507hp at their right foot’s disposal. Yes, George and I had drawn the short straw – it tended to have happened a bit too often for our liking – and missed out on seats in the BMW M5.

All wasn’t lost, however, with our next destination to make up for the strained, but reliable 1.6-litre four cylinder screaming we had to put up with for so many dreary kilometres. That was of course, until we realised that the hotel we were set to stay at had a problem. There were no rooms available. Tempers frayed, and there were expletives uttered.

We had made a booking, but somehow it was mucked up and there was nothing. So we met with TechArt’s PR manager  Tobias Beyer, part way there, who got us to follow him to TechArt’s building. A crackle came over the walkie-talkie.

“Um, guys, Tobias says we’re going to have to sleep on the floor,” said Jan, our photographer, with a distinct hint of concern in his voice.

“The floor of what?” George asked.

“The showroom…you know…in between all the Porsches”, came back the reply.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope. There’s nothing available.”

It was a unique feeling. Having to sleep in the midst of millions of dollars worth of cars that most people only dream about. We would have asked for the keys for all of them, if it weren’t for the fact we were so dog tired. So, the best surroundings, but possibly the most uncomfortable night’s sleep was on its way.

“Man, you take the bait so well,” laughed Jan. He took so much delight in riling us, and at this late stage of the night, we were easily riled. So we followed Tobias until we reached TechArt, where we made introductions, and then he jumped on the phone to the nearest few hotels.

Jan smiled at George and I, with a smug “Gotcha!” look on his face. I’m not sure who was ready to bury him alive first, but after being couped up in a Focus with no CD player and only German radio to listen to, it was a sure bet something nasty was going to happen. Thoughts of murder were quickly broken when Tobias hung up the phone.

“Okay, so there is a place not too far away. It’s the closest we have I’m afraid. Just make sure you set your Sat Nav here, and we go to the hotel now.” Which is what we did.

Of course, the hotel we ended up at didn’t have free wireless internet, and Anthony and Alborz stood at reception, way past midnight, having a stand up argument over the fact that internet access was going to cost an arm and a leg. As it turns out, an arm and a leg would have been much cheaper and easier. I volunteered Jan’s limbs.

Despite this, we had to have somewhere to sleep, and after an hour of settling in and reporting on the day, editing teasers and photos for the BT92, we crashed into bed, dreading the 7am wakeup call. At least George got his own room that night. He seemed to need it!

When time for breakfast came, there was a bit of a buzz around the table. Anthony had received a phone call from Mr Beyer. The smile on Anthony’s face was enough to keep us all very alert.

“So, what did he say?” we all asked, almost as if in unison.

“They’ve got somewhere for us to test the cars,” Anthony replied.

“And that is?….” Alborz asked waiting for a response. Anthony sat there just grinning like a fool. He seemed to revel in the suspense.

“It’s a few kilometres from the factory. I’m pretty sure you’ll like it. But we can only have it from 1pm to 5pm.”

“Yes. Good. But what is it?” said Jan, who was keen to start thinking about the photoshoot. I chimed in, also adding that for the video we needed to know, so we could plan ahead.

“It’s an abandoned runway.” A silent cheer went around the table like a muted mexican wave. “It’s nearly two kays long, and about 100 metres wide.”

George nearly fainted, his motoring dreams having come true. Not only that, but TechArt had also arranged for access to King Ludwig’s summer castle, where we could park the GTstreetRS and GTsport for an epic photo session. From a very nervous start, this was turning out to be one of the best parts of the trip.

We turned up at the TechArt headquarters (again), this time with a much more relieved outlook. We were met by Tobias out the front who escorted us inside to meet Thomas Behringer, the founder of TechArt. We sat down and had a coffee and a chat with him, where he told us that he’s always been a Porsche fanatic, but reckons he could finish them off better. With the GTstreetRS sitting out the front as the pinnacle of his work, it’s hard to disagree.

A factory tour was probably the best way to get an appreciation for the work that TechArt does. It’s a literal maze of rooms and workshops. But the range of abilities and modifications available is staggering. Anything you want to change, you can. Colours, textures, styling, sound – you name it, it can be done.

The range of leathers and where they could be put was what most amazed me. An entire Cayenne cabin was being redone in a crimson carpet and cow-hide. And it was all pulled apart. The guys there know how to dismantle and reassemble any Porsche you care to think of. Time was ticking away, though, and we anxiously wanted  to get out to that airfield.

Once back outside, Anthony and I walk straight past the GTsport, much to the dismay of Alborz, who has taken a shining to the Cayman-based car.

George was happy to pedal the M5 and Jan was clambering into the passenger seat of the GTsport. Its the GTstreetRS I’m interested in. The reason is simple. Take a Porsche GT2, tune the heck out of it, do some aerodynamic mods, and here’s the result.

Anthony started the car. At idle it sounds like any other Porsche. A bit lumpy, gruff, slightly rattly; it certainly doesn’t sound like anything 21st century, and to look at, well, there’s not much to look at. Open the rear hatch – I’m not going to call it a boot, because it’s at the back – all you see is a bright red pipe which splits in two, and a whole lot of wiring and metal housings.

It’s a kind of magical place in there. There’s a bit of mystery about it. You can’t see what’s going on, so you’re hoping that the effect is worthwhile. Give it a rev while the car is just sitting there, and you’ll be wondering what all the fuss is about. It growls and wooshes, but it doesn’t rip your eardrums out of your head. It’s almost sedate. Almost…

Push in the clutch, though, and click the stubby gear lever into first, and the whole experience starts to make sense. Without even moving, you can tell that this machine is purposeful. The clutch is incredibly heavy at first.

You can tell that the torque the twin turbo flat six makes must be monumental. And you’d be right. There are 860 Newton-metres on tap. Along with that, 515 kilowatts of power. That’s 700 horses in the old money. And all harnessed by only the rear two wheels.

We headed off to Stuttgart, where the airfield lies. We did notice a heap of police motorbikes and a few cars up the end. Germanic discussions ensued with Tobias leading the charge. Jan’s German wasn’t going to cut it.

Eventually we made our way onto the field, being in awe of how immensely huge it was. We were told that Mercedes and Audi were both testing various systems here, including a camouflaged next generation SLK. As a spy photographer, you’d make a heap of money from sitting on the edge of this runway. But there’s a gentlemen’s agreement that anywhere else is fair game, but no photos to be taken here.

For our video shoot, we were under strict instructions to make sure the cars didn’t get in the frame. But with the cars all over the place, how would we ever test these things? Tobias headed over to both of the cars being calibrated, and we were given the centre of the runway and around a kilometre of it to use. Fine by us.

We rolled out onto the centre and let the big boy rip. And gosh, were we in for a surprise. Remember that scene in Shine where David Helfgott is jumping up and down on the trampoline, naked, save a trenchcoat, but grinning from ear to ear? That’s what this is. Madness and sheer joy, all rolled into the one moment.

Up to around 3500rpm, the turbo lag allows for slow, easy driving and a relaxed attitude. But leave your boot in for a little too long, and all of a sudden, the entire car shifts genres, and you’re in a parallel universe.

The flat six starts to growl, there’s a loud whistle, then a wooshing of air, overlayed by a drivetrain whine. The air rush continues to build, like someone has unleashed the worlds most powerful vacuum cleaner next to your ears.

The pitch increases as the revs do, and as the noise builds, the car hurtles forward in a relentless shove. Your lungs and stomach are compressed as the car’s acceleration envelops you, and the TechArt keeps going until you’ve hit the limiter, at which point you whack in the next gear, and the whole experience builds again.

It’s quite a surreal feeling, because it’s nowhere near linear. There’s nothing for a second, but after that, you get everything. In second gear, we thought the feeling was very similar to the Bugatti Veyron we tested last year, such is the GTstreetRS’s brutality when winding up. In fact, it felt quicker than the Koeniggsegg CCX we tested on the same trip, probably due to the CCX’s linear response when accelerating.

While all of this is fine, if not slightly unnerving, in a straight line, in the corners, it’s downright scary. Not that it’s uncontrollable, but you always feel like you’ve got a lion on the end of an elastic dog leash – it’s only a matter of time before it snaps and bites you.

The lesson here is, unless you’ve got balls of steel and a 100-metre wide runway to play with (which lucky for us, we did), keep the stability control well and truly on. If you want to exploit its full potential, you’ll have to be a very skilled driver, or have plenty of runoff.

If you do have the room or the inclination, it’s the lowest of gears that you’ll be able to play with. Shod with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyres (or semi-slicks in layman’s terms) the grip is immense. Once warmed, the tyres bite into the tarmac with tenacious attitude, but because the engine is over the rear wheels, it can be provoked into severe understeer with steering inputs which are too quick.

You soon learn to match turn in with throttle application, and rather than throwing it into corners like a front-engined rear-wheel- or all-wheel-drive (which helps the front tyres by hanging all the engine mass over them), you press the pedal and turn in with one fluid movement. Then, you find a brilliantly balanced and devastatingly quick machine.

The other thing that gives the game away is the shift action itself. Nothing could be more perfect. There’s a slight notchy click at the end of a fluid movement to alert you to the fact that the gear has been engaged. But it’s not enough to prevent quick snaps from gate to gate. Fast or slow, you decide the level of attack when changing gears.

Finally, it turned five o’clock, and the whole runway became ours. Time for some speed runs. We couldn’t get it up to top speed, of course – that would wait for the autobahn – but it certainly got up there. We saw 280km/h on the speedo, and with the end of the runway fast approaching, it was time to call on those brilliantly effective stoppers.

Hard braking into corners is also a matter of brake first, turn in, and then get on the gas mid-corner. If you leave your braking too late and try to brake while turning in, the back end push makes the nose run wide and a messy line results. But with carbon ceramic discs, six-pot fronts and four pot rears, the deceleration is magnificently rapid, not to mention stomach-crushing. Forget any notion that carbon ceramics are either on or off, too. The GTstreetRS proves that you can be progressive, or aggressive.

That’s all well and good, but if it decides to take off like a Cessna at decent speeds, then it’s all for nought. Thankfully TechArt’s body kit isn’t for show. Realising that the top speed of this thing is around 340km/h, TechArt spent many, many hours wind tunnel testing, tweaking, and finalising the aerodynamic package you see here.

An extra 10kg of downforce on each axle over the standard GT2 at 140km/h, and steadily increases thereafter. The nose has been extended, and includes a new carbon splitter, as well as an open bonnet leading edge, which forces the air into the bumper and up over the car. Combine that with the side diffusers on the bumper and downforce is not only increased, but also directed to the right places, as well as cooling the car more efficiently.

Side skirts and a larger rear wing round out the aero-pack. But inside, the modifications also continue. Our test car came with bright yellow seatbelts, which match the yellow stitching on the recovered pews. The stitching continues throughout the interior, lifting its ambience above something more than the sodden, grey, rainy-day look of the original. TechArt badging on the steering wheel and new instrument faces complete the transformation from mental GT2 to diabolically insane GTstreetRS.

As far as a package goes, the TechArt GTstreetRS comes pretty close to being perfect. Except for the fact that you’ve got to be very wary of its sideways snap under acceleration, it’s as easy to drive as you like. The stability control takes care of that anyway, and when it does intervene, it’s never stomping on your fun, but gently encouraging you to not be such a hoon.

By the time we wrapped  up filming, the darkness descended, and it was time for a few more photos with both the cars in the centre of the runway. Jan worked his magic, and the photos you see here are the result.

The GTstreetRS was driven back to the factory along with the GTsport, and we decided to call it a day. Tobias invited us to dinner, where we feasted on the region’s famous steak, and spätzle – a kind of fried noodle which is eaten extensively in the area. After arriving back at the hotel and uploading a quick teaser video for the Full Throttle DVD, we decided to call it a night.

The next morning we had one thing on our mind. Were we going to break the ABT Supercharged R8’s autobahn record for this trip.

At 320km/h, Alborz and George certainly set the pace. We quickly got the filming on the roads out of the way, which were needed to round out the story on our video shoot.

Before I could even get near the steering wheel, Anthony ploughed through us, arms flailing and elbows blazing – there was no way anyone else was getting near that car. He had to show Alborz up.

We were directed to a certain part of the autobahn which was our best chance of hitting top speed. As we came over the crest of the overpass and looked down onto the autobahn below, Alborz and I (who were in the GTsport at the time) had a quiet laugh to ourselves.

There was absolutely no chance of getting a clear run. For some reason, it wasn’t peak hour, but traffic conspired to pour water on any chance of a top-speed run.

Didn’t stop Anthony trying. We followed, and with walkie talkie updates being fired back to us by George, and Jan and Tobias tagging along in the TechArt Magnum Cayenne (man that thing sounds insane), it was time for him to do his thing.

A clear stretch appeared for but a split second, and he was off. Four puffs of black smoke, and as hard as Alborz tried to keep up in the GTsport, being based on a Cayman and not having forced induction counted against it. We heard the air being warped as the GTstreetRS pulled into the distance.

Then we heard swearing. Lots of it. George was trying to translate it into English, but Anthony’s outburst still made it through the airwaves. He only made 290km/h. Time for run number two. 295km/h. Run number three was 298km/h, and run number four never really got off the ground.

Time was bearing down, and as quick as the cars were that we were in, they couldn’t wind back the clock. It was time to call it a day.

You never quite realise how much time it takes to spool a car up to top speed, slow it down, and turn around and come back the other way. As it turned out, we were nearing the end of our time with TechArt and the GTstreetRS. So we packed all the photography and video gear all into the back of the Cayenne and headed back to the factory.

It was time to hand back the keys and get our luggage packed. Once we’d transferred all the stuff from the Cayenne to the Focus, we all felt a bit lost. To compensate, we headed off to Kashmir’s, the best Indian Restaurant in the northern hemisphere. Over dinner the TechArt guys thanked us for coming and invited us to head back at any time. Then, we headed south again, bound for Novitec.

It was a bittersweet moment at that point. We knew we were heading onto the twin supercharged Scuderia Spyder 16M, but I’d been drawn to the GTstreetRS from the moment I first picked up a brochure on it.

With performance figures to rival the big boys, the GTstreetRS is a formidable machine. 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds is not to be sneezed at, neither is the 0-200km/h time of 9.9 seconds, yet it can still stretch its legs to 340km/h. Not only that, but it’s a track-attack special which won the Hockenheim Tuner Grand Prix this year and last year, reliably and easily.

There’s that mystique again. The GTstreetRS looks all riced up, and a bit overdone. But once you’re behind the wheel, you soon realise that the intent belies the end result. It’s more mind-blowing than you’d ever expected.

I thought that Porsches were good before but TechArt has proved that there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

Be still my beating heart…

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

I’m all for safe driving, but our maximum legal speed limit in Australia is considered dangerously slow in many sections of Germany’s high-speed autobahn system.

By Anthony Crawford

And no, I’m not trying to be funny either we have absolute proof of how dangerous these so-called safe speeds of ours can be over there.

It’s 2007, and the CarAdvice team is on its way to Australia’s first proper test drive and video of the world’s fastest car, the Bugatti Veyron.

Our rental car was a diesel powered Ford Mondeo TDCi, and we were cruising along nicely in the middle lane at a comfortable 200km/h, when we notice the car is pulling slightly to the right.

You see, we had tried the left lane, but were too slow for those cars travelling at 240km/h plus, and there were plenty of those.

The culprit was the left rear tyre, which evidently had a puncture, but the only spare was an 80km/h rated emergency wheel and tyre package, which we promptly fitted and headed towards Molsheim in France.

There was no safe way we were going to sit on the prescribed 80km/h limit on a German autobahn, even in the so-called slow right lane. Drivers behind us were already highly agitated and had started to flash lights at us, in the slow lane!

Even at 110km/h we were being harassed, as the slow lane in Germany means a minimum of 130km/h, just to be safe.

So what’s this rant of mine have to do with such an extreme brand of car as the Radical has proven to be? Everything and more if you’re addicted to speed and reside anywhere in this vast continent of ours.

If you’re not a professional race driver, but want to drive a car at speeds that will give you a quicker lap time than a V8 Supercar, buy a Radical SR3 RS and get to a racetrack as fast as you possibly can, without exceeding the legal speed limit of course.

Your looking at the world’s fastest production sports car, which recently smashed its own lap record with a mind-blowing lap time of 6min:48sec at the infamous Nurburgring Nordshleife circuit in where else, but Germany.

Gumpert had already claimed the prize with its Gumpert Apollo Sport but had dismissed the English built Radical due its heavy skew towards the track.

But just to prove the point, the SR8 Supersport was driven all the way from the Peterborough factory in England to Germany and onto the track, all quite legal of course.

And its not quite as small an operation as you may think either. Radical produces around 150 cars per year, generating annual revenues just north of $20 million.

So successful is this bespoke track car manufacturer, that there are now distributors in 16 countries including Australia, as Radical fever takes hold amongst the world’s motoring enthusiasts.

CarAdvice is planning to shoot a full blown track test of the super quick Radical SR3 RS and possibly the jet-like SR8 Supersport later this year, and was invited to Eastern Creek Raceway to sample the cars.

Powered by an upgraded version of Suzuki’s 1349cc engine from the ridiculously fast Hayabusa motorcycle, the SR3 RS will rev to 10,500rpm and hit 260km/h down the main straight at Eastern creek, no problem.

But here’s the thing, normally at these speeds coming into turn one off the straight you might tap the brakes or at least back off the throttle.

No need to do either in the 490kg Radical with a few laps under your belt, just hold the throttle down and blast through to turn two, pulling over 2.5gs.

This is a car that will make you feel like you could take on Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button in the same race, and it’s not a difficult car to drive after some tuition and a generous number of practice laps.

In true racecar form, your SR3 RS comes standard with a six-speed sequential gearbox, which is easy enough, but my pick would be the optional Pneumatic, paddle-shift system with auto-blipper.

Inside the car is mostly carbon-composite, while the seats are moulded composite with manually adjustable mounts.

Best if you climb into the Radical with the quick-release steering wheel removed, and slide your feet forward into the foot well before sitting.

The instrument panel consists of an LCD display unit with a large digital gear indicator, and that’s all you need in this car.

And when you get bored of clocking up lap times that would shame a Porsche GT3, you might want to graduate up to the wickedly quick Radical SR8 Supersport.

Think two Hayabusa engines which have been fused as one V8, and you get the picture.

With more than 283kW from the 2.6-litre engine this thing will make your eyes water, as it is considerably quicker down the straight than the SR3 RS although, cornering speeds are similar.

But if you wanted to go all out and get the best track day car money can buy and thus eliminating all known competition, the 2.8 litre SR8LM is the car for that job.

Power jumps to a colossal 343kW with overall weight remaining at a super light 650 kilograms.

Remember, this is the car, which Michael Vergers drove during Radical’s annihilation of the Nurburgring lap time on road-legal tyres.

The most popular Radical, the SR3 RS, can be yours for just on $100,000 including GST, with various options to choose from on top of that price.

If you want a close up inspection of the Radical, go to the Classic Throttle Shop in North Sydney, and speak with Sascha Henrichs.

Alternatively, there are plenty of Radical track days, where you can hire a car for a day, with excellent in-car tuition, complete with helmet-to-helmet communication, which are more than affordable.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

So here we are, back in Sydney after another comfortable business class flight – thanks Etihad – and are feeling somewhat relieved that after more than three weeks it’s touchdown on home soil.

But the relief was shortlived after we realised that we’d just landed back in the most over-lawed, under-policed country on earth. To sit at 320km/h on a public road would not just cause outrage, but also would land you in jail, create national headlines, and your car would be confiscated, crushed and handed back to you in a block. Not to mention the public flagellation and lambasting to follow.

You would be humiliated, deprived of liberty, and your reputation would quite simply be mud. Yet we were able to do it overseas – safely and legally. The lawmakers in Australia really need to pull their collective heads out of the sand and see how it really is.

The other thing that alerted us to the fact we were back in Australia was the parking ticket we got within 30 seconds of walking out of the Sydney International Airport doors. We didn’t have that problem in all of the six countries we visited.

All that aside, we’ve concluded possibly the greatest supercar trip of any Australian media organisation, and with it, some great memories. Whether it was our continual autobahn runs, taking over several airports, drifting across tarmac or hunting down a supercharged Jaguar at over 280km/h, it’s been an absolute blast.

Each of us had our own favourite car. Alborz has fallen in love with the Veritas RSIII, Anthony has chosen every car we drove. For George it was the Lamborghini LP560-4s. Jan, our resident photography guru, fell head over heels with the Koenigsegg, and for me, it was the TechArt GTstreetRS.

We’ve been in motoring heaven for the past three weeks, and despite the early starts and late finishes, the entire trip was a buzz for all involved.

So, without further ado, we like to thank the following:

Pirelli Tyres – for making sure our lungs were filled with white smoke.
Sinn Watches – for keeping us on time with our appointments.
Nitro Energy Drinks – for keeping us awake while we edited video, photos and kept everyone up to date.
Etihad Airways – for lounge access and business class flights
Ramspeed – for assistance with the logistical nightmare that was Full Throttle 2.

Stay tuned for further updates, reviews on all the cars, and on when the DVD will be released. Thanks lastly to you, our readers, for following the journey and for your support throughout the trip.

The plans for Full Throttle 3 are already in motion…

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

Before we left for Copenhagen, we had a phone call from our contact at Koenigsegg, the CCX-R that we were scheduled to drive was no longer available. So there we were, 24 hours away from our shoot, all hotels, car rentals, accommodation booked and no car to drive.

We really didn’t know what to do, but we decided to leave Milan for Sweden anyway, just in case something changed. After all, Koenigsegg was the hero car of this trip. Karl, Jan and Anthony had all been dying to spend time with the Koenigsegg and it all seemed to be falling apart.

This morning 7.30am came and Anthony’s phone started to ring, it was a loud and purposeful ring that woke me up. We both looked at the phone wondering who would call us at this time of the morning. It was an angel from Koenigsegg. Haldora Von Koenigsegg to be precise.

A Koenigsegg CCX was available, she said. Our nightmare had just been turned upside down. The Swedes had pulled out all stops and come through with a car in the last minute.

I calmly got out of my bed and sent Karl, who was in the next room, an SMS. “Wake up, Koenigsegg back in”. “Yeah, right.” Came back the reply. “No I’m serious, wake up”. Loud foot steps followed and Karl broke into our room within seconds. “Are you serious?” – “Yes, we’re go!”.

We made our way from Denmark to Sweden on a ferry and found ourselves on a runway with not just one, but two Koenigseggs (CCX and CCXR). Given there are only 71 Koenigseggs ever made in total, it was a pretty good view.

We battled rain and freezing weather and continued filming for hours. The Koenigsegg is out of this world. Our one-off CCX review car has a price tag of more than one million Euro (about A$2,000,000+tax).

The freedom of a runway mixed in with arguably the world’s fastest car was a godsend. Having driven the Bugatti Veyron before, the Koenigsegg is officially Europe’s second fastest car (but much faster around a racetrack than its German/French rival).

From the airport we headed to the factory where we spent hours dazzled by the level of detail and precision that goes into manufacturing a Koenigsegg.

The company will only sell 20 CCX variants each year and has very exciting plans for its new electric car, which we are not allowed to discuss in detail.

Tomorrow we head back into Sweden and straight on to the airfield where we will wrap up the final day of shooting for our Full Throttle trip.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

It’s about five degrees outside and having finally found reliable internet after almost a week, it’s nice to sit back and write this update.

In the past few days we’ve driven Spain’s GTA Spano, the first media outlet offered a drive, plus we drove the Veritas RSIII along the same path that James Bond took when he destroyed his Aston Martin DBS (in Quantum of Solace).

We then took two Lamborghinis to Val D’ Aosta in the Italian Alps (where the start of the original Italian Job movie was filmed).

We’ve had a big week by any standards. Having finished with Germany, we caught a plane to Spain to drive the GTA Spano on Valencia’s Moto GP Track.

Anthony has written up an article on the car as a separate piece and you can read that here.

As I mentioned before we left Australia, the car which I was most interested in was the Veritas RSIII. Now this is by no means a normal car; as I like to say, it looks like a big angry fish wrapped in a carbon fibre body. It has to be the coolest and meanest looking car on the planet.

I’ll be honest, it’s a bit of a toy but that’s why I love it so much. It doesn’t pretend to be anything other than pure, exhilarating and terrifying fun.

We were originally meant to drive the Veritas RSIII in Germany but due to a mishap the car was unavailable. Thankfully the people at Veritas went out of their way and trucked the car to us in Italy, all the way from the UK.

We left the Spano and landed in Milano,Italy, and we had to meet the Veritas team in one hour, our Navman was programmed and we headed towards the mountains.

We had all fallen in love with Germany this trip, but our three day stay in Italy was going to change all that.

We took the Veritas to Lake Garda and high up into the mountains in northern Italy. We filmed through the same tunnel and scenery where James Bond destroyed his beautiful Aston Martin DBS in the latest Bond film.

With absolutely spectacular scenery and the world’s coolest looking car, the whole Full Throttle team instantly fell in love with Italy and I fell in love with the Veritas.

No matter where we stopped, the Veritas pulled the biggest crowds, attracted the biggest smiles and almost caused at least six car crashes.

A few times during the trip Porsche drivers followed us till we pulled over so they can admire the car. The Italians love their cars and the Veritas is a car you can’t help but to love.

We finished our film high up in the mountains, enjoyed pizza to die for and headed back down in pitch black in a car that lacks any and all electronic control.

It will be a very, very long time before any of us will forget our time with the Veritas RSIII.

A 45 minute drive down the mountain and we said goodbye to the Veritas and headed to Sant’Agata to pick up the two Lamborghinis.

I have to admit, out of all the cars we were set to drive, the Lamborghinis probably interested me the least. Sure they look good and sure they are Lamborghinis but with the Veritas drive to top from the day before, I wasn’t sure if the Lambos would impress.

It’s quite annoying when you don’t get excited by Lamborghinis anymore. Thankfully that feeling lasted all of 20 seconds before I set foot inside the LP 560-4.

There really is something ultra special about Lamborghinis, they are magical pieces of machinery. Having got out of the Veritas and into the Lamborghinis felt like going from a RyanAir flight into Etihad’s business class. Heaven.

We had a plan, we wanted to go and shoot the opening scene of the original Italian Job movie high up in Val D’ Aosta in the Italian Alps (the scene with the Lamborghini Miura).

None of us thought the scenery could beat that of Lake Garda but Italy is full of surprises.

We drove higher and higher and higher until the road would go no more. The view down and towards the Alps was intoxicating. We all decided that we need to move to Italy.

We drove the Lamborghinis up and down the mountain for our shoot, kilometres and kilometres of bends and twisty road mixed in the world’s best backdrop meant none of us wanted to go home.

We all agreed that we must have died and gone to heaven because if two Lamborghinis in the Italian Alps with no one around is not heaven than we don’t know what is.

Day two ended with a photo shoot in Sant’Agata and followed by the world’s best pizzas at Maggi, one kilometre away from Lamborghini headquarters.

After three days of filming for 16 hours a day, we all made use of the best sleep we’ve had on the trip so far.

Having now arrived in Denmark, Karl directed us down the wrong street out of Copenhagen airport, which meant we drove into Sweden accidentally. No where else in the world can you take a wrong turn and end up in another country!

As I finish writing this, the team is frantically packing as we begin to head back towards Sweden to drive the Koenigsegg.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

“Full Throttle track tests the new GTA Spano in a world first drive on Spain’s Ricardo Tormo race circuit in Valencia.”

With 573kW and 920Nm, the GTA Spano is the real deal. Blisteringly quick with race-car-like handling, this may also be the best looking supercar on the planet right now; at least that’s what we think.

The car we drove is a prototype and is propelled by a monster 8.3-litre V10 engine, similar to that found in the US muscle car, the Dodge Viper.

But that’s where the comparisons stop. The GTA Spano is a mid-engine car built in Spain by GTA Motor in Valencia and bristles with high tech innovations, such as liquid crystal shading (you can vary the degree of light on the cabin) and a Windows XP operating system, which needs to boot up just like your own PC.

Domingo Ochoa, the owner of the company is one seriously passionate Spaniard, I had tears in my eyes after he described the effort that he and his team have put into this project.

We love the GTA logo too, it’s a coat of arms with a wolf on top (Ochoa meant wolf in medieval times) and a chequered flag on the lower half which fits nicely with the company’s racing heritage.

He has been constructing Formula 3 racecars for over fifteen years, so you’ll take my word for it when I tell you that this car is quick.

Try 0-100km/h in less than three seconds and a top speed of more than 350km/h and the Spano is literally super glued to the tarmac. The prototype we drove wasn’t quite tuned to full power, but I have no doubt that the production version, due for release later this year, will measure up.

I’m not sure how much has gone into this project but with only one GTA Spano in existence, you can bet this car is worth many millions of euros.  No surprise then, that the car was trucked to the Ricardo Tormo race track, along with the entire development team and diagnostics equipment for testing by the Full Throttle team.

The circuit was booked from 5pm-7pm, but we had to wait for a superbike session to wrap up before the car was wheeled out of the truck and readied for our serious track session. These guys was so quick that I’m surprised Spain doesn’t have more MotoGP riders in Pedrosa’s league.

Incidentally, this is the home of the Spanish MotoGP and apart from the high-speed main straight; this is an incredibly tight circuit.

After a quick run through by the technical guys in front of a decent and very enthusiastic crowd, I flicked the ignition switch and fired up the V10.

I pulled back the rather difficult racing style seven-speed sequential shifter and without stalling, hammered down pit lane towards the end of the straight and onto the track.

After several reasonably quick laps, you are praying for a set of quick shifting paddles which would allow you to enter and exit the corners much faster than what is possible with the manual shifter.

GTA Motor told us that the production cars will get exactly that, and with seven speeds which should be a treat.

This car has got loads of grip, the 20-inch rear wheels shod with massive Pirelli 330/35’s certainly help, but give them enough throttle through a corner and the car will try and step out, but not before you pull up to 1.3G, and that was without knowing the track.

It’s stable too, at just over 250km/h down the straight, the Spano feels solid and capable of much more before you downshift and set up for the left-hander and onto a series of snake like bends. This is where I would have liked some additional side bolster, at least in the driver’s seat.

The brakes are simply awesome, they’re courtesy of AP Racing and carbon ceramic, as you would expect.

I liked the steering though, plenty of feel from dead centre, although; my preference would be for a little more accuracy at high speed but nothing too dramatic.

The beauty of a monocoque constructed from exotic materials like carbon-fibre, Kevlar and Titanium, is huge torsional rigidity with minimal weight (the rest of the car is all carbon fibre panels). Try 1350 kg and when married to the sort of engine outputs listed above, the Spano was only ever going to be one of the fastest cars in the world, both on and off the track.

We can’t wait to drive the one of the production series of just 99 cars, which should start rolling out of the boutique factory later this year.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

The day began with a 6.30am flight to Spain preceded by a seven hour drive from Novitec headquarters – with the team running on empty, only the promise of a one-of-a-kind supercar was enough to keep our eyelids open.

With a few Nitros under our belts we were ready to encounter our first and only Spanish supercar for the trip – the GTA Spano – with our hosts rolling out the red carpet for our most incredible shoot yet.

From the outside, the unassuming GTA factory blended in seamlessly with the surrounding industrial estates, although peeking through the partially opened roller door was easily the best looking supercar of the trip.

Its owners had arranged a closed track session on the nearby Valencia MotoGP race circuit, arriving with a full race-ready mobile garage and team of engineers.

As it turns out, CarAdvice had been graced with the privilege of being the first media outlet in the world to capture the GTA Spano on video – needless to say we were flattered.

We wasted no time in taking to the track, exploiting the challenging twists and turns for our cameras with strict instructions that only particular footage was to be released prior to the production version’s official launch date.

The prototype was not without its technical faults, but as a feat of passionate engineering it was inspiring.

Watching this Viper-powered prototype spit flames in pit lane was simply epic, the Spaniards had definitely found their niche by marrying contemporary Spanish styling with brutish American muscle.

The Spano has 627kW (840bhp) and 920Nm, although we were told a supercharged version is on its way.

With a top speed of 350km/h and an expected 0-100km/h time of 2.9 seconds, you are going to be hearing a lot more from GTA in the future.

Our day in Spain ended as quickly as it began, with our Full Throttle crew soldiering on with only minutes of infrequent sleep.

Next up we head to Italy for one of our most highly anticipated Full Throttle features – two of Lamborghini’s newest models in their home town of Bologna.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

A fortnight has passed since the Full Throttle team began its whirlwind supercar tour of Europe, and our schedule is still as busy as ever.

The day began as well as one possibly could, with a short drive from our apartment-style hotel suite in Mindelheim to Novitec Rosso headquarters in Stetten where we caught our first glimpse of the brilliant yellow Novitec 430 Scuderia 16M.

The backdrop of the Novitec showroom competed against the trio of tuned Ferrari’s on the showroom floor for our attention, with wall-to-wall banners taken from the best Pirelli calendar yet – you know the one.

Of course once the starter button had been pushed on the steering wheel of the Scuderia 16M, not even a scantly clad Alessandra Ambrosio could avert our gaze.

With a twin-supercharged high-revving V8 engine, the Scuderia 16M produces a sound which would put most orchestras to shame – a simply musical burble highlighting the technological transition from race track to road.

Through the winding, tree-lined hills of Stetten, the Scuderia could have easily been mistaken for Ferrari’s latest Formula One race car, especially with the rapid fire gearshifts resetting the pitch for another tantalising rush up our spines.

Among the fields of marigolds the bright yellow Scuderia 16M was a stunning sight, although it was in the courtyard of the quaint little town we have called home for the past two nights that the true awe of the Novitec shone through.

We drew quite a crowd with the car parked in the centre of town as Jan snapped away with his camera – certainly refreshing to see even the locals were still fascinated by their home-grown Ferrari’s.

With most of the obligatory scenery shots out of the way, this leaves the derestricted autobahns for tomorrow where we can unleash the full force of the Novitec Scuderia 16M.

Tomorrow will be our last ‘working’ day in Germany before flying out to Valencia to begin the final frantic week of the Full Throttle 2 trip.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

Disappointed? Yes. Upset? You betcha. Annoyed? More than slightly. Thirteen is an unlucky number, isn’t it? Today was the day we handed back the keys to the TechArt Porsche GTsport and GTstreetRS.

But not before a few good mashings of the throttle. Yesterday saw us powersliding across a 100m wide runway, a day I don’t think we’ll forget for a long time. Today, however was a bit more sedate. 250km/h down the autobahn.

We tried for a top speed run, however you have to be very careful with traffic. Sure, the GTstreetRS might have carbon ceramic brakes which never, ever, ever fade, but other motorists are a bit more unpredictable. Erring on the side of caution, then, is also erring on the side of safety.

But what was staggering was the acceleration even at high speed. From 100-200km/h you would swear that someone has wedged a Saturn V rocket up its backside. There’s a constant stomach-compressing shove, and the sound of air being pushed through the engine, like twin TGV trains passing you on each side.

You can’t help but smile, when in third gear, you put your foot down and the horizon is delivered to your windscreen in an ethereal rush.

The GTsport also proved that its chassis was so balanced, the Nurburgring was its natural habitat. A quick run up and down a windy mountain road showed its excellent steering feel as well.

We farewelled the two dream TechArts with much sighing and groaning, did some washing and headed off to Stetton, handing back the M5, too.

Tomorrow should also be a good day. Why? Waiting for us in Stetton is a Ferrari. But not just any garden variety F430. It’s the Scuderia 16M convertible. But that’s still not good enough for Full Throttle.

Therefore, we’re off to Novitec, the world famous Ferrari tuners. The company has fitted this beast with twin superchargers. Oh yes, it’s going to be a good day.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

I really don’t know how to start this update. I am still a little shell shocked by the cars I’ve experienced today. Out of our list of cars to drive in Europe, I have to admit that the Techart tuned Porsches were not on my favourite list (Anthony has always been the Porsche fan in this company). How quickly things change.

I started the day in the Techart GTsport, based on the Porsche Cayman S. Not only has it got a bucket-load more power than the regular version, it also has a whole new aerodynamic package and a sound to die for.

We headed up to a Castle in Leonberg and our famous photographer, Jan, took some brilliant photos of the two Porsches with possibly the best scenery in town as the background.

Whilst Karl was busy filming the GTsport, I explored Techart’s hero car, the GTstreetRS (based on the Porsche GT2). Now when I say this car is fast, I am not kidding.

This rear-wheel drive monster has 700+ horsepower and 860Nm of torque. It can go 345km/h and catapults you from 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds (don’t blink or you’ll miss it). Just the thought of driving it had given me nightmares the night before.

After the castle was done, the people at Techart asked us if we want to go to a nearby airport to conclude filming. Beautiful sky, two exhilarating cars and a massive runway, the heavens were smiling on the Full Throttle team today.

As we pulled outside the entrance to the runway, about 14 police bikes entered the facility at the same time. Not exactly the ideal scenario when you’re aiming to do 300km/h runs.

Thankfully German police are a friendly bunch and they left us to our own. With George driving a Cayenne S and Karl filming out of the back, this was going to be one hell of a day.

A few hours went past and I was trying to work out how I could get a loan to buy the GTsport. Unfortunately that plan was quickly forgotten as Anthony handed over the keys to the GTstreetRS. Oh God.

Not since the Bugatti Veyron had I felt such ferocious acceleration. There is a bit of lag till about 3,500 RPM, but when the boost comes, it comes so hard that you’re going to need spinal surgery.

Second gear acceleration is so violent that the first few times you have to back off just to get used to the power.

A few high speed driving shots in the GTstreetRS and I stopped talking (rather unusual, I’m told). I had nothing left to say, I really didn’t know what to say, it’s quite simply the fastest car (bar the Veyron) I’ve ever driven.

The weirdest thing about the GTstreetRS is not the speed or the handling, but that you can actually drive it to the shops as a normal car and it will behave as such.

I’ve never been a true Porsche fan before, but Techart has converted me today.

Make sure you watch our video teaser.

I’ve worked out that by the end of this trip I’m going to need a loan for $9 million Australian dollars to buy all these cars. Donations are welcome.

Tomorrow the Full Throttle team conclude filming with Techart, we then head back to Munich to return our M5, which has been the silent highlight of this trip.

From there we head to Stetton for Novitec. There we will drive one of the fastest Ferraris in the world.

There is no wonder we’ve had 5000+ job applicants this year.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

Our last day at the Nurburgring meant one more visit before we headed to Stuttgart. We loaded up on Nurburgring merchandise, went and took our group photo at the entrance to the ‘ring, with our beloved M5, and headed to Stuttgart.

On the way we passed the Hockenheim Circuit, home of the Grand Prix, and a Concord Museum. Three hours, 500 kilometres later and we arrived in Gerlingen, Stuttgart.

Every car we’ve driven so far has been exhilarating, but the Techart tuned Porsches blew us away. Our two cars, the GTstreet.RS and the GT sport were sitting purposefully in the Techart garage waiting for tomorrow.

In less than nine hours we head for a nearby airport to experience the two Porsches at full throttle.

Expect a full update with a video teaser of the Porsches this time tomorrow.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

Day two of filming the Brabham BT92 is over. Today was a highlight of our Full Throttle adventure as we made a trip out to the Nurburgring. An eye opening experience, a must for all car lovers around the world. More on the ‘ring later.

Having handed back the keys to the Brabham BT92, I’m finding it a little hard to explain the car. People have a lot of reservations about this particular car, but having spent two days with it, it really does make sense.

This is a supercar. It goes like a supercar, it feels like a supercar and if anything, given only 10 of the BT92s will ever be built, we were driving car Number One, it’s more exclusive than any supercar I can think of.

The reaction of the crowd at the ‘ring was a good example of why this car is extremely special. Regardless of how many Porsches, Ferraris or M3s and M5s drove around, the car that got the biggest reaction was the Brabham.

The company behind Brabham and Veritas is serious about what it’s doing. Run by a professional crew, a selection of only the best in their field, the sister companies have set the bar as high as it goes and they won’t accept anything less.

Tomorrow we are heading back to the Nurburgring, just  because we can’t bear the thought of leaving Germany without one more look.

From there we head to Techart, the world’s best known Porsche tuners. We are filming  a GT Street RS and GT Street convertible. More tomorrow night.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.