Drive Wire: March 16, 2016
Lotus lap records, an upgraded McLaren, a new Mercedes coupe, an amazing home projector, and epic ski jumps.
Hey guys, it’s Christina Thompson and this is Drive Wire for Wednesday, March 16.
Record-setting news out of Germany, where the mad scientists at Sport Auto Magazine have taken a Lotus 311 around the Hockenheim ring faster than any other car they’ve ever tested. Now, the 311 is the most crazily hyper-evolved track machine Lotus builds, the ultimate expression of the company’s engineering talents. It runs a 460 horsepower supercharged V6, but in the best Lotus tradition, uses a lightweight composite body to achieve a phenomenal power-to-weight ratio. And that, true believers, is how you lap Hockenheim in a minute 6.2 seconds— in 46 degree weather, on street tires. Lotuses, man.
In more exotic British track-machine news, McLaren has announced two new variants of the 570S. The GT4 is so track focused it’s actually a race car, specced-out for, of course, the GT4 racing series. The race car keeps the road car’s 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8, seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, and rear-drive layout, but the engine will be detuned to meet regulations. In order to drop weight, the interior is stripped down for track use, and a competition-based aero package will be added in addition to a racing-specific suspension. Price for the GT4 is cheap, as these things go, at about $228,000. The other model, the 570S Sprint, is only a name at this point, but expect info on this track-only model soon.
On the suburban side of things, we have shots of the new Mercedes GLC coupe, and it’s not bad for a soft-roading crossover. We also know that power will come from a 240 horse 2-liter turbo four, so it’ll be capable of getting out of its own way, and yours too. We’ll be looking for it at auto shows soon, and competing with the Acura RDX and BMW X4 in showrooms soon after that.
Turning to gear, we find ourselves obsessed with lately, and JMGo’s G1 is a strong contender for living room space. Its 300-inch 1080p projection size and 4-speaker surround capability are pretty impressive, and the one-button design is handsome. Now all we have to do is find something worthy of 300 inches and we’ll be all set. Check it out at jmgo.com.
In today’s ridiculous video, James “woodsy” Woods pulling off some amazing high-flying free-skiing at Breckenridge Park. Squeezing the last few weeks of winter powder, woodsy takes to the slopes with ease and make all of our seasonal accomplishments look like a joke.
That’s it for today’s edition of Drive Wire. For more, be sure to come back to thedrive.com, and follow us @thedrive on all your favorite social media platforms.
