Lorne,
Having the misfortune of being in the "biz", I hardly ever read "buff" mags
unless trapped while waiting for my hair to be cut. American mags particularly
have a narcissistic bent and seem more interested in being "cute" than truly
informative. They are, however, exceedingly careful to avoid offending any
major advertisers.
The Kitman article in "Automobile" was basically favorable and gave the
Great Unwashed something of the impression of driving a pure traditional
sports car without having the need for a kidney belt. As this fact may also
come as a surprise to American owners of vintage Mogs, perhaps you
could post a link to both articles on your site if that is possible. Kitman DOES
persist in quoting the "Road & Track" 0 - 60 time of the 4.0 of 6.7 sec.
As you say, some slight familiarity with the car is useful. Witness the quote
of the R&T road test editor stating that this time was not representative of the
4.0's performance due to the need to shift into third at 58 mph! It must be
suspected that the "Autocar" result with a 3.9 of 5.9 sec. must have been
the result of launching in second and shifting to third at ~ 4,500 RPM
which is neither an abusive or difficult task. As the OBD II 4.0 has more
torque and far better response at low rpm than either the U.K. 3.9 or 4.6,
not to mention that it is much smoother and freer revving, someone
without a care ought to be able to achieve ~ 5.6 or 5.7 sec., (not with MY
car, however!).
Another interesting observation from the "Autocar" review of the first
long door 3.9 and 4.6 Plus 8's was the car's 30 - 80 mph time in 5th gear
which was better than a Ferrari Maranello and a useful indicator of real
world performance.
First gear is useful mainly for getting underway on a slope or for creeping
along in heavy traffic, otherwise it is unnecessary when lightly loaded. MMC
also appear to have tightened the 1st - 4th gear ratios in this latest and
slickest
version of the R-380 gearbox.
Best Wishes,
Willie
William G. Lamb, III
Land Rover Specialist
" LMG@GoMoG" wrote:
> ---
> LMG
> GoMoG at
> http://www.angelfire.com/mi/GoMoG/
>
> Hi Tony,
>
> I read the Road & Track "shoot-out" article when it came out. The +8 did not
>show very well though it seemed like their designated test driver had trouble
>learning to properly deal with the car. On a 100-0-100 you have to absolutely
>know your car. Other performance data have shown better results from +8s in
>the past and present which makes me wonder what happened.
>
> Lorne
>
> >I just bought Road & Track, September issue, which was the one I was talking
> >about - Run out and get it - It shows a head-to-head comparison between a
> >Plus 8 and the other 7 fastest cars in Britain from 0-100-0! An Aston Martin
> >did beat it though...
> >
> >Tony
> >
> >--
> >http://www.zebra.net/~ldmcjr
> >
> >ldmcjr@zebra.net
>
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