Flip through the rest of the pics and check out the engine.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/mercedes-bent-190-sl-2011-10-13?imageNo=0
Oh my!
- Thread starter dodgechargerfan
- Start date
Flip through the rest of the pics and check out the engine.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/mercedes-bent-190-sl-2011-10-13?imageNo=0
71ChargerRT
Well-known member
Very nice!!!
Fishy
Omnipotent Seaweasel
That deserves a "SHCWING!" Damn that is one sweet lookin' Mercedes!!!!
Oh and what pics of the engine?! All I see is a slab of ugly ass carbon fiber covering where the engine should be! :doubt: I don't see why car companies started puttin that plastic thing over the engines. When I pop the hood on a car, I wanna see the heart of the beast! Not stare directly at a slab of plastic and have to wonder what the engine underneath looks like! :dgt:
*rant over*
sorry :shifty:
Beautiful car though!
Oh and what pics of the engine?! All I see is a slab of ugly ass carbon fiber covering where the engine should be! :doubt: I don't see why car companies started puttin that plastic thing over the engines. When I pop the hood on a car, I wanna see the heart of the beast! Not stare directly at a slab of plastic and have to wonder what the engine underneath looks like! :dgt:
*rant over*
sorry :shifty:
Beautiful car though!
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69.5CUDA
Blah Blah Blah
agreed doc...its nice that they did a "tribute" to the original style...and i can respect that they had to go that big to clear crap....but the lack of rubber really just shoots it in the foot....im thinking wires with a knockoff hub would be more classy in that size...but again i think its all about the size and lack of rubber thats the real issue
68R/T
I got drunk and swallowed my teeth, now
A white car with white wheels and white hubcaps with only 1.5 inches of rubber between the fender & wheel just looks ugly, uncool, totally WRONG.
Why would anyone take a classic looking German sports car and dress it out like some kind of Harlem ghetto cruiser. :hurl:
Why would anyone take a classic looking German sports car and dress it out like some kind of Harlem ghetto cruiser. :hurl:
Stretch
Hey! There’s no easy button for a body like this!
I'm with you 100% on this!
Because someone who "Knows more" than you or me took a survey and they said this is what "we" want. It's the same reason why the auto manufactures are building todays cars and trucks with 17,18,and 20 inch tires. They will tell you it's for fuel economy, better handling and it adds room for bigger brakes. Nevermind that it looks like ass and makes the ride like shit.
68R/T
I got drunk and swallowed my teeth, now
This is the one part I can't quite fathom. Comparing mass to mass, wouldn't the weight of the wheel be more than the weight of rubber? Therefore more weight would translate to more rolling resistance and less efficiency. :huh:
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
at a given diameter of a tire, on the same vehicle weight, at correct inflation pressures, you cannot increase contact patch area. You can widen it, or you can lengthen it, but the area will remain the same.
I know... it doesn't make sense to the brain, but the physics don't lie. The contact-patch area of a top-fuel slick never changes throughout the run, and yet I know you've all seen how those tires grow and narrow at high wheel speeds.
The problem is that a wider contact patch promotes handling in cornering situations, whereas a longer contact patch helps with acceleration and braking. A lot more thought goes into selecting tire sizes for performance models than you might think. It's a delicate balance. However, truth be known, the larger the diameter, the lower the rolling resistance.
But Stretch is right... it screws with the ride, and so much more has to go into suspension design to try and correct that. Costs go up as a result--tires and wheels are relatively cheap by comparison. However, rubber is heavy. For being hollow, air-filled treaded bladders, the P255/55R-16 tires I bought for the back of the now-gone Imperial weigh nearly as much as the wheels themselves, and the wheels are 16x9 aluminum 1989 Conquest SHP units (cast aluminum). Forged aluminum is much lighter and stronger, but costs far more to produce so very few automakers use it. Kick the tires of the BMW M3 at which you're looking, and chances are you'll bend the rim.
Stretch is also right about cars being designed by popular vote (and bean counters). Focus groups and enthusiast magazines want this, want that. We had this discussion about engines and transmissions on our ride to Green Bay on Sunday for the Rams/Packers game. You cannot build an exhilirating car by committee, sorry. Perfect case in point: the Pontiac Aztek concept vehicle was pretty damned cool... but look what the committees gave us: one of the most horrifying abortions ever to darken the American freeways. However, the public reaction to the original concept was so strong, Pontiac thought "How could we not build it?!" Customers stayed away in droves. It got so bad, GM upper management forced middle management to drive them, and smile while doing so. How's that focus group working for you now, Pontiac? Never mind... you don't exist anymore.
I know... it doesn't make sense to the brain, but the physics don't lie. The contact-patch area of a top-fuel slick never changes throughout the run, and yet I know you've all seen how those tires grow and narrow at high wheel speeds.
The problem is that a wider contact patch promotes handling in cornering situations, whereas a longer contact patch helps with acceleration and braking. A lot more thought goes into selecting tire sizes for performance models than you might think. It's a delicate balance. However, truth be known, the larger the diameter, the lower the rolling resistance.
But Stretch is right... it screws with the ride, and so much more has to go into suspension design to try and correct that. Costs go up as a result--tires and wheels are relatively cheap by comparison. However, rubber is heavy. For being hollow, air-filled treaded bladders, the P255/55R-16 tires I bought for the back of the now-gone Imperial weigh nearly as much as the wheels themselves, and the wheels are 16x9 aluminum 1989 Conquest SHP units (cast aluminum). Forged aluminum is much lighter and stronger, but costs far more to produce so very few automakers use it. Kick the tires of the BMW M3 at which you're looking, and chances are you'll bend the rim.
Stretch is also right about cars being designed by popular vote (and bean counters). Focus groups and enthusiast magazines want this, want that. We had this discussion about engines and transmissions on our ride to Green Bay on Sunday for the Rams/Packers game. You cannot build an exhilirating car by committee, sorry. Perfect case in point: the Pontiac Aztek concept vehicle was pretty damned cool... but look what the committees gave us: one of the most horrifying abortions ever to darken the American freeways. However, the public reaction to the original concept was so strong, Pontiac thought "How could we not build it?!" Customers stayed away in droves. It got so bad, GM upper management forced middle management to drive them, and smile while doing so. How's that focus group working for you now, Pontiac? Never mind... you don't exist anymore.