Time Off » Hot Wheels: Low-level Flying

Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG
June 1, 2010
The noises are savage, visceral, sure to incense people who don’t really like
There's likely no finer V8 engine in car showrooms today than the 6.2-liter monster that propels the AMG version of Mercedes' newest E-class. The rising snarls and staccato twitches of the tach will curl the hairs on the back of your neck. It can drop-kick your rump down the highway with a savagery that the four-door body barely hints at.
Classic opportunities
December 1, 2009
ON A PROMO FOR DISCOVERY HD THEATER'S Chasing Classic Cars, host Wayne Carini tells viewers, "I chase cars," his wry expression suggesting he has heard the one about the dog that chases cars but can't figure out why when it catches one. Unlike the dog, Carini has a shrewd nose for which cars to chase and knows exactly what to do with one when he runs it to ground.
Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport
October 1, 2009
"Do you realize more people have been to outer space," sputtered my friend Dave, "than have driven that car?" Of all of the reactions I got when word leaked out I'd be testing the brand-new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, his was my favorite. Dave's observation was closer to the truth than he realized.
Aston Martin DBS
September 1, 2009
With 50 percent more instruments in the bandstand, the Aston’s noise is as di
Your smileage may differ, but in the eyes and ears of this beholder, no car packs quite the visual and sonic punch of the Aston Martin DBS. From its wide crouch, broad haunches and wraparound tail lights to the subtle flares, flows, channels and curves downwind from its hallmark pinched-corner grille, the DBS is a riveting spectacle from any angle.
BMW 750Li
June 1, 2009
An eye in the windscreen monitors the position of the lane markings or blackt
One piece of eggshell can spoil the enjoyment of a whole omelet, and that's how it was with my evaluation of the all-new BMW 750Li. While the car I tested had only 3,000 miles on the odometer, they had been accrued at the hands, and perhaps the leaden pedal feet, of the press corps in the American West.
Lotus Exige S 240
April 1, 2009
The S 240 is exactly what a Lotus has always been: a four-cylinder bare-bones
Returning a seriously good car to its lender at the conclusion of an evaluation brings a mixture of relief that it has survived a week on New York metro-area roads unscathed and regret that the loan is up. The Lotus Exige S 240 is the first loaner I've returned with more relief than regret, and that's a reflection on its preferred habitat rather than a verdict on the machine.
Cadillac CTS-V
February 1, 2009
The CTS-V doesn’t quite achieve the fit and finish of a BMW or Mercedes, but
The first CTS-V, introduced in 2004 with 400 hp, was a fun car. Most memorably, it was available only with manual transmission-not a notably smooth-shifting box, but a first for Cadillac since World War II and a signal that the company was serious about wooing performance-car buyers.
Bentley Continental GT
December 1, 2008
Beyond 3000 rpm, the GT roars like a bear that took a large-caliber bullet to
The best thing that could have happened to Rolls-Royce and Bentley did happen about a decade ago, when Vickers offloaded these once-revered but faded brands to BMW and VW, respectively. Now a Roller is a Roller again, a shamelessly magnificent execution of automotive opulence and serenity.
Supercharged Range Rover
October 1, 2008
The Range Rover can tackle a broad menu of tasks, from swift highway hauling
To a car driver deprived of his view of the road ahead, an SUV hogging the left lane is hardly a welcome sight. The longer it sits there, the more deeply the car driver ponders its often wasteful bulk, its appetite for gasoline and how brilliant it would be to confine these bloated conveyances to their own clogged stream over there on the far right. Who could possibly love an SUV?
Porsche 911 Turbo
August 1, 2008
In the car’s tail sits a 480-hp liquid-cooled 3.6-liter flat six embodying mo
Aircraft and car builders over the years have mined the alphabet and assayed certain letters as precious metal-GT, R, S, X and Z come to mind-but one five-letter word still stands alone as the medal for power in a pint-size package. Turbo.

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Quote/Unquote

“You want to make sure with a race in which you'll be flying home with other drivers that you don't crash into them. It's happened before, and it can make for a little bit of a tense situation.”

-Racecar driver Helio Castroneves