Test drive Porsche 911 Carrera 991 since 2012
BMW M3 CSL
The BMW M3 in the CSL version is not only easier, but also more powerful than Porsche 911, and it is simply doomed to success.
I feel like a broken lamb, which was well fried on both sides until golden crust. Only in the role of the grill is the roof of the BMW M3 CSL: it is made of carbon fiber and not painted. Designers used this material to win in weight. For the same reason, they abandoned the heat insulation of the ceiling. When the ambient temperature reaches 35C, the roof of the BMW M3 CSL heats up like a pan. The engineers of the M-department of the BMW concern achieved from the engine of the new CSL impressive 360 \u200b\u200bhp, but in a close motor compartment it is very hot. The partition between the motor compartment and the salon is not an obstacle for the released heat, and my legs are fried during movement. And another way to fight overweight is the absence of air conditioning!
If we assume that this is too much, then what to say about the tires? The BMW M3 CSL shod at the Michelin Pilot Sport X -Aggressive Trackstar Cupmeister Nutjob, the pattern of the tread of which is hardly called a pattern - rather, it is just an alternation of small holes and narrow grooves in the spot of contact tires with the road. On dry coating, the car on these tires sharply reacts to the steering wheel, is well controlled and behaves predictably. And on the wet road, her behavior is not so unambiguous. A special sticker on the windshield warns about the aquaplaning effect, and the instruction manual advises at a temperature of the air below 7C to change the wheels to standard for M3 19-inch. So, the general idea is clear: the BMW company made maximum efforts to turn M3 into a real sports car.
But if you want to have a sports car, why not pay attention to a purebred horse? For example, on Porsche 911 Carrera, because the price category is the same. True, Porsche is heavier: 1445 kg versus 1385 kg of M3 CSL, and the 320-horsepower Porsche engine is inferior to the BMW 40 hp. So the price of CSL is clearly not taken from the ceiling. Porsche boasts the presence of air conditioning, radio and tires designed for daily use, and BMW offers extra 40 horses and a floor of the trunk from cardboard. Yes, in the BMW CSL light materials were used, as they say, to the maximum, and the cell cardboard used for the gender of the trunk, including. Now it’s clear why BMW is not cheap. However, why Porsche 911, truly a sports car, is needed all this pseudo -year ammunition?
Our tests took place in very hot weather. We climbed on cars high in the mountains, where the sparse air reduced agility equally to both. In the triangle of Munich-Garmish-Partenkirhen, I thought it would be nice to eat a good portion of a shnitzel with potatoes and a gravy. Nevertheless, in a mountain restaurant, generously decorated with a carved tree, I preferred cold snacks, but very soon I realized that I had to read the menu more carefully: a cold pork with cheese, hard as a tree, a dishwasher dish. Those who spend the vacation here will confirm my words. Their vacation can be safely called active: crowds of tourists climb the mountains on foot or on bicycles in the midst of heat. But a cool evening, when, it would seem, the perfect time for walking comes, everywhere is empty, all vacationers have dinner in their hotels. And the silence is violated only by the ringing of bells on the neck of the cows and the sound of two thoroughbred 6-cylinder engines.
Despite the heat, sparse air and mountain roads, the BMW engine behaved impeccably: powerful, painful, easily promoting. The voice of this in -line six, well -heard in the cabin, has obvious metal notes, more pronounced than the standard M3, and its height penetrates into the salon of Porsche 911, easily overlapping the sound of his own opponent.
The maximum power of the M3 CSL engine is 360 hp Against 343 hp The usual M3. The difference was achieved by increasing the volume of the intake manifold connected to a giant air intake in the front bumper. The mass air flow sensor is also removed, since it creates additional resistance to the flow in the intake manifold. Accounting for air consumption is based on other parameters, as in Formula 1 boards. In addition, engine control settings have been changed. With an increase in revolutions, the motor constantly changes his voice, as if under the hood he is not alone, but their whole dozen. At low speeds, he pushes something under his breath, the sound changes at the average speed, and after 4,500 rpm, the motor switches to higher notes. Having added momentum, I enter the turn of 6200 rpm, I go out by 8000 rpm, when the red zone of the tachometer scale begins to flash, signaling about increased speeds, but I continue to drown the accelerator pedal.
The Porsche 911 engine is one of the most famous in the world, but in this comparison it looks more boring. Yes, it is more painful and has a more even character, but maybe that is why it does not have such pronounced features as the M3 CSL engine. And the time of acceleration Porsche is inferior to CSL. BMW claims to accelerate 0-100 km/h for 4.9 s, for one hundredth seconds faster than the 911th, and this is taking into account the outstanding adhesion of the leading wheels Porsche with the road. The BMW speed is limited by electronics at a level of 250 km/h, while Porsche is able to accelerate to 285 km/h. However, ours did not want to do this - probably because of the heat.
Porsche has a clear gearbox, but somewhat non -informative. There is no sensation of how well -lubricated gears enter into a cloth with each other. Just a lever. The CSL has a BMW SMG gearbox, which I have repeatedly criticized. Now she has become much better. The gear speed can be changed using a separate button, so the quick switching became less rude, and the calm ones are not so slow. And this is a really great achievement, given how nervous this superiractive engine can be. You can switch speeds here in two ways: using a chrome lever located in the usual place, or two oblong petals on the steering wheel. In the process of active driving, it is more convenient to use them, since the hands remain on the steering wheel all the time.
There is nothing more on the steering wheel, covered in suede so that hot palms do not slide. The standard M3 has a control buttons for the control of an audio system, cruise control and a mobile phone, and in CSL there is nothing of this - only an nameless switch that includes the so -called M Track Mode mode, which makes the DSC course stabilization system to act less actively. However, this system can be completely turned off. As for the steering, then on M3 I always had claims to him. When you calmly ride it, it is cotton, uninformative and dumped, which is why the car is perceived somehow detached. So that I really liked CSL, the steering should be better. And there is. When touched, the steering wheel is light, but not too much. With the speed of speed, the returning force on the steering wheel is insufficient, which can cause problems on irregularities on crowded British roads, while the 911st always gives a clear impression of how turned the wheels and how much more they can be turned. M3 never claimed the role of a family car. He is always ready to play. Well, let's try!
And he is perfectly tuned! Everything is tougher than on the standard M3 - springs, shock absorbers, body. When passing turns and when braking, when the wheels literally bite onto the road, there is no longitudinal buildup. Even in the coolest turns there is no roll. The standard package includes a system for stabilization of the transverse stability, therefore, when uneven, the suspension easily copes with the body fluctuations and the car obeys the slightest movement of the steering wheel. You can try to go a steep turn at high speed, but here the suspension copes with its work perfectly, and you are literally flattened in a deep bucket of seat.
Sometimes the facet of controllability is felt, but here it is worth using power to see what the tires are capable of, and they seem to stick to the road, do not whistle and do not break. The lateral load is so great that you will throw you into the open window. When the capabilities of the tires are exhausted, this is immediately felt, so there is no unexpected skid. Although even in the drift, the car is more controlled than the standard M3, and if you want to go in a turn in a controlled skid, then this can be done with brilliance. Remember, the car has enough power to burn the rubber, so the differential of increased friction from the M-Technik department is very useful: it tries to do everything so that you do not twist a wolf in a bend. The excellent geometry of the rear suspension also contributes to controllability, so you can confidently control the car in lateral sliding.
Every time I sit behind the wheel of the 911st, I am re-learned to manage it. In management, he does not look like any other car. He swings, jumps, goat, and the engine working behind the partition enchants his song.
CSL can be compared with the swimming canoe, where a large dog is sleeping next to you. In the 911th, this dog jumps right on the stern. And your task is to reassure it, not allowing the boat to rock too much. That is, you need to be calm, attentive, foresee the further relief of the road. The steering is very light, especially in the middle, because you do not have to overcome the mass of the engine, and you need to be careful, otherwise the nose can be lifted up. You need to carefully work with a gas pedal, and then the front axis slides slightly and goes inside the turn. You need to understand how to slow down before turning to use the weight of the machine as an advantage.
Of course, this generation of 911 is difficult to let in a fan, however, before starting to ride it spectacularly, you will have to practice pretty. It is necessary to conduct Porsche as he asks, and then he will show what he is capable of. He does not cope well with the wavy roads like a washing board, scrupulously transferring all the bumps to the steering wheel and in the salon, but the driver better feels the connection with the road and the merger with the car. Managing Porsche is more pleasant and natural than CSL, since it is more unambiguous and stable in protracted running turns. In steep turns, it is easier to manage and faster than CSL. At the exit from the turn, Porsche demonstrates acceleration as from the catapult, and does not wag its tail.
Despite the fact that Porsche 911 is a sports car, it is more functional than CSL. If you move the front passenger forward, then an adult can be planted behind. The trunk in front plus is still a place in front of the engine. Climate control and audio system for 57 thousand pounds. Porsche is perfect for daily use. But even in a dense stream, he behaves in a special way. This is expressed in the operation of the engine, and how clearly the clutch and brakes function, regardless of whether you are driving at the speed of a pedestrian or racing at full speed. The car impeccably performs all the driver’s commands.
Does the BMW make just as impeccably what you demand from it? This is the paradox. If you need a racing car or a car for Sunday trips, it would be the most logical to choose a model in the Lotus Elise style with a fiery engine on slicks. However, logic here is unlikely to find a place. You will have to make a lot of effort so that the engine sounds the same as CSL. And how CSL looks!
The wheels are barely placed in the wide arches, the devilish plumage of the front spoiler, the edge of the trunk covered up - in general, the CSL has an undelid, collected appearance, like a sprinter before starting. Inside, an ascetic salon, almost naked, nothing more. Neither handrails, nor adjustments of the seats for the inclination of the back, nor cruise control, no armrests, nor air conditioning. No functionality, unless you order 19-inch wheels as a free option. Air conditioning is also a free option, for 58455 pounds Mr. BMW can pamper us. Although Mr. BMW's generosity has its limits: the radio (also a free option) is only cassette, you will have to pay 100 pounds for the disk. However, this did not reflect in popularity: 500 right-wheel drive cars allocated for the UK, were sold out immediately, and when the BMW UK managed to knock out another 100 copies, they literally torn them off with their hands, while no one even bothering the test drive and the test and I was not interested in test results. (And why are we tensing then?)
Let us return to the question of whether it is possible to turn a sports coupe into a real sports car. Yes, you can, and the BMW M3 CSL undoubtedly proves this. However, the purchase of this machine should not be approached from the standpoint of functional practicality, but guided exclusively by emotions. Maybe the 911st will bring no less, or even more driving pleasure, not right away, but after you learn to understand it. It is also much more practical. But if you need acute, unforgettable sensations, choose the BMW M3 CSL. And let him excose your soul!
Paul Horrell
Source: Avtopanorama magazine
