2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV First Test: An Electric Crossover for the Rest of Us
When Chevrolet first introduced the Bolt EV, it sent shockwaves through the automotive industry as the first properly affordable mainstream electric car. More than half a decade later, Chevy has taken its award-winning hatchback (it took home the 2017 MotorTrend Car of the Year award) and spun off a second model, the stretched Bolt EUV crossover. We put the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV to the test to see if it could recapture the original's magic.
Disappointing Dynamics
At a glance the Bolt EUV doesn't look all that different from its smaller sibling, though it drives like an entirely different vehicle. It wears a similar grille and retains the Bolt EV's egglike styling. However, the 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV is 0.2 inch taller and wider and 6.3 inches longer than the regular Bolt. It's 90 pounds heavier, too.
The Bolt EUV develops 200 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque, which it sends through the front wheels. Range is 247 miles on a full charge, 12 miles less than the Bolt EV. Chevy claims the Bolt EUV can regain 95 miles of range in 30 minutes depending on how much charge is already in its 65-kWh battery, which seemed to be a realistic assertion based on our lunchtime top-off after three laps of our Car of the Year test loop.
Although the Bolt EUV's throttle mapping is good, it's easy to roast the tires at a whim, as its economy-minded rubber provides little grip off the line or even at moderate speeds if the driver dabs the accelerator too hard. We managed a 0-60-mph sprint of 6.7 seconds, which is quick but not as quick as the car feels from the driver's seat. Brake pedal tuning is excellent for an electric vehicle, as it feels completely natural and predictable. However, despite having a lot of the ingredients that make a car fun to drive, they don't come together in a cohesive way.
On our test route, we found the Bolt EUV to have substandard body control and rough suspension tuning. In fact, the rear torsion bar banged so hard over train tracks that it sounded like something broke (it didn't). "This was one of the most poorly behaved vehicles driven over these surfaces," MotorTrend technical director Frank Markus said. "Lots of harshness, lots of bottoming and topping of the suspension." It's not all bad news, however, as the Chevy's steering stood out as one of the car's best aspects; it offered good engagement and ample feedback.
On open stretches of highway and around town, the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV was a bit more pleasant due to its low-end torque and excellent battery-regeneration features. The EV offers one-pedal driving with the push of a button, allowing it to use regenerative braking. It's a remarkably intuitive system and brings the Bolt EUV down from speed with firm stopping power without jarring the vehicle's occupants. The neat regeneration paddle on the steering wheel is still present, allowing for firm but controlled deceleration that feeds electricity back into the battery. Although it's not the most entertaining car to drive on back roads, these features are as amusing as they are useful.
Creature Comforts
The interior, though an improvement over the original Bolt EV's cockpit in terms of materials and layout, still feels at least half a decade old. It also looks like it's at least half a generation older than the other electric crossovers it competes with. That's because of Chevy's pervasive use of hard plastics throughout the cabin, though our test car featured sweet-looking blue seats and door pocket inserts that made it appear a bit more premium. Ventilated seats were also a huge win, seeing as we conducted our testing under the hot desert sun.
There's plenty of space up front with 44.3 inches of legroom, and most rear passengers will have room to stretch out a bit with 39.2 inches. Although the Bolt EUV is a wagonoid crossover, its trunk space is limited with just 16.3 cubic feet of capacity behind the rear seats. That's pitiful compared to the Ford Mustang Mach-E's 29.7 cubes. Chevy makes the storage area a bit more flexible with a removable floorboard, but it helps demonstrate this vehicle is more of a spruced-up hatchback than a full-on crossover.
Is the Bolt EUV Safe?
Although the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV isn't the sleekest package, it comes equipped with an impressive suite of driver assistance features, including automatic emergency braking, forward collision alert, lane keeping assist with lane departure warning, following distance indicator, automatic high-beams, and front pedestrian braking.
GM's Super Cruise semi-autonomous system, an available feature on the Bolt EUV, came equipped on our test car. It's the first Chevy to offer this system; the package costs $2,200 and adds hands-free driving on roads included within GM's software. We've been impressed with Super Cruise before, and it continues to work exceptionally well on the Bolt EUV. The car kept its place in the lane without error so long as there were lines on either side of the vehicle, and it controlled its speed well and hustled up the hills on our test route without slowing down. Buyers shopping for a mainstream EV with a system that bests Tesla's Autopilot may want to consider purchasing the Bolt EUV with Super Cruise.
Tech Talk
Chevrolet did a great job integrating the 10.2-inch infotainment display into the center stack. The Infotainment 3 Plus with Navigation is easy to operate and quick to respond to inputs. It isn't standard; however, it comes as part of the $2,495 Sun and Sound package, which also adds a Bose seven-speaker audio system and a sunroof.
The front USB ports are difficult to access; they're wedged deep in the cellphone cubby. It's tough to dig a mobile device out of the compartment, too, leading to some awkward maneuvering in the cabin when it's time to hop out of the car. There isn't much going on in terms of tech in the back seat; passengers have access to just one USB-A and one USB-C port.
Pricing and Value
At an as-tested price of $43,685, this 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV Premier jolted us with sticker shock. That's $5,190 more than the Premier trim package and $9,690 above the EUV's $33,995 base price. Chevy is asking a lot of money for a new model that feels a lot more like a refreshed 5-year-old car, but we concede the entry-level model represents a much better deal than the example we evaluated here.
Simply put, where the Chevy Bolt once stood out as an isolated example of a well-executed and affordable EV, the EUV model lacks the polish we now expect from an electric car. During our SUV of the Year testing, the Bolt EUV had below-average range compared to the other EVs we tested, and our judges were unimpressed by its handling and ride composition. Prospective buyers might want to opt for a lesser trim level to improve the bang-for-buck ratio.
The Verdict
Chevrolet should have taken extra measures to button up this new model, a vehicle that represents the company's next step toward total electrification. The 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV would have been a spectacular car five years ago, but EVs have progressed so much that this represents a mid-segment offering at best. For many, it will deliver ample capability for daily driving, but shoppers should consider other "every-person" electric crossovers such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Volkswagen ID4, as well, for more modern approaches to mainstream EVs.
Looks good! More details?You may also like
If you visualize the lifespan of the production V-8 engine as that of a Funny Car on the quarter-mile, let's just say the driver's getting ready to pull the chute. That ticking you hear ain't your lifters; the lap timer's running down on the great eight, with the final V-8s likely thumping around under the hood of trucks and a forlorn contingent of muscle cars and rarified sports cars into the early 2030's. There will be holdouts after that, but increasingly stringent regulations will continue to push out big displacement in favor of a gently humming set of electric motors.It's written on the pitlane wall, folks. Ford announced its intentions to have 40-percent of its fleet electrified by 2030, while General Motors shoots to eliminate its portfolio of internal combustion entirely by 2035. Dodge's first battery electric car—known only as the goofily named Challenger eMuscle— allegedly arrives in 2024. Even if these automakers keep pumping out V-8-powered Mustangmaro GT-Hell500s for decades to come, the market will have geographically shrunk; California announced plans to ban sales of ICE vehicles by 2035, with similar bills in place in New York, Massachusetts, and the city of Seattle. We're not saying we're positive these proposals will come to pass, but the sentiment certainly isn't going away.Mercedes-Benz: A V-8 DynastyThat's just for the American stuff. It's worse for the overseas V-8 junkie; Jaguar Land Rover and Bentley are two V-8 purveyors among a growing number of automakers taking the all-electric pledge. As did Mercedes-Benz, with the German automaker announcing this past summer that every new vehicle architecture launched after 2025 will carry batteries only.This is quite the loss for the greater V-8 portfolio. By our count, the 2021 model year offered American buyers a stunning 24 distinct Mercedes vehicles with a V-8 under the front hood. Granted, the mass majority carry a variant of the same M176/177/178 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, but we'd rather not see that engine's prolific status culled to zilch in the coming decade.Bummer. Not only has Merc played in the V-8 game for 59 years as of 2022, but the iconic German marque is responsible for some of the greatest eight-cylinder engines in history. The 6.3-liter M100 was Merc's first, roaring to life in 1963 under the hood of Der Große Mercedes 600, serving as Europe's first post-war production V-8 following the three-pointed star's rich history of inline-eights.The M100 proved hearty and hale enough to last through 1981, replaced in-step by the pre-existing M116 and M117 V-8s that ranged from a tiny 3.5-liters up to a full 5.6-liters. Before it was snuffed, the M100 stunned the world in 6.8-liter guise, shuttling dignitaries, bankers, and celebrities in the mighty 450SEL 6.9.Development and production of the Mercedes V-8 continued unabated through the 1980s and 1990s, a flowering family tree sprouting gas-guzzlin' greats like the supercharged 5.4-liter M113 V-8 found in AMG's early-to-mid 2000s "55" series. 2006 saw the introduction of the 6.2-liter M156, AMG's first fully in-house V-8 that kicked off the incredible "63" series of AMG-ified Mercs from its debut year through 2015.Flat-Out Into Flat-PlaneMercedes gradually phased out the M113 in favor of a blend between the twin-turbo 4.7-liter M278 and the AMG-facing twin-turbo 5.5-liter M157 in the early-to-mid 2010s. Then, the new 4.0-liter twin-turbo M176/M177/M178 family streamlined it all under the roof of a singular engine family; by 2020, every V-8 Mercedes carried some variant of the four-point-oh. In most cases, output differences boiled down to programming, turbo size and configuration, and intake/exhaust; depending on what the alphanumeric scrawl read on the rear decklid, power ranges from 456 hp to a wicked 720 hp. Jumping to the Mercedes-AMG GT's M178 adds beefy hardware to handle extended thrash sessions, notably swapping wet sump for dry sump lubrication, though most of the exploding stuff under the cowl of an AMG GT is recognizable when parked next to a C 63, or even S 560—with one notable exception.Enter the M178 LS2. In direct contrast to every production Mercedes V-8 ever—yes, ever ever—the AMG GT Black Series' 4.0-liter packs a flat-plane crankshaft in place of the garden variety crossplane spinny stick. Fresh camshafts and exhaust manifolds are snapped on to make sure everything plays nice with the exotic firing order, while turbochargers are upsized for an extra 5.0 psi of boost over the crossplane AMG GT R.Black Series is Code for Badass(er)Even amongst the rarified roster of atomic Black Series (BS) weapons, the GT BS oozes brutality. The body of the GT BS swells with menace and bristles with an arsenal of wings, canards, diffusers, vents, and slats that wouldn't look out of place on the Sebring starting line. You can rarely accuse Mercedes-Benz of goofing off on the job, but the GT Black Series is so serious, so singularly focused in its task of trackday subjugation, we wouldn't be surprised to learn the development engineers slept on the shop floor, munched on coffee grounds for breakfast, and only got to work after a three-hour morning MMA training routine. Aside from the leather and Alcantara swaddling the interior, the GT BS feels like a performance car commissioned by SEAL Team Six.Much like enemies Ferrari or McLaren's boosted flat-plane screamers, the bulk of the Black Series' 720 hp and 590 lb-ft arrives fashionably late in the rev-range, with all 720 braying racehorses peaking at 6,700 rpm, just 300 rpm short of redline. That thick shmear of torque fills in the gaps, the full 590 lb-ft coming into effect between 2,000 and 6,000 rpm.The result is a V-8 soundtrack and character unlike any other Merc thumper we've ever experienced. Power is predictably ferocious, but you wouldn't necessarily know that from the outside—or inside, for those hard of hearing. In fact, be careful where you flex with your new third-million-dollar track toy, lest you're aurally shown-up by the slower, less expensive, less exclusive, and surprisingly louder AMG GT R with its trademark AMG snap, crackle, and roar.The M178 LS2 sounds like a McLaren yelling from a padded asylum cell, with the best banshee notes scrubbed into sterilized, no-nonsense whap-whaps when you jab the throttle. Europe's stringent sound regulations no-doubt play a role in the odd hush, but you'd think a 720-hp hand-built AMG flat-plane V-8 would be challenging to render street-legal, let alone tolerable to stand adjacent to while idling. Still, it's a tremendous engine, and the perfect honed titanium hand grenade to sit at the top of Merc's gas-burning weaponry cache until made obsolete by a watermelon-sized electric motor.The Future of the V-8 is SaltyIf you're less of a brand tribalist and more of a general enthusiast of the great and mighty V-8, there is a safe haven from all the plug-in and shush-up on the horizon—you've just gotta be willing to get a little wet from time to time. For the foreseeable future, gas-burnin' boats and the marinized V-8 have solid sea-legs even as the landlubbers turn zappy, and that's not something at risk of changing overnight.While the bloodlines of the automotive V-8 sprouted out like a river delta, with each iteration expressing unique character and range of application, the marinized V-8 is less about personality than it is pure, uncut power. Don't expect your flotilla of V-8 cigarette boats to return the same experiential variance of a Ferrari V-8 against Chevrolet's finest smallblock, but hey—it's nice to know the V-8 thunder will still peal long after the echoes fade on shore.We came to this realization lounging on a dock down in the Florida Keys, specifically as we watched the latest collaboration between Cigarette Racing and Mercedes-AMG gently bob in the quiet marina. The orange-and-black 41-foot Nighthawk Black Series is the 13th AMG-branded boat to emerge from this partnership, and only the latest in a long dynasty of tremendously potent showcase powerboats from Cigarette Racing.Big names, big power. This waterbound AMG-branded speed-shard packs a cluster of five supercharged outboard V-8s rated for a combined 2,250 hp. Yeah, and you thought you were hot stuff with your C 63. The power-mad waterdogs over at Mercury Racing supply this firepower; an obvious matchup, as Mercury Racing is the biggest name for powertrains in the performance watercraft industry, and a subsidiary of one of the most storied and powerful marine-focused manufacturers in the world.It's fortuitous—and obvious— that Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing would choose Florida as the debut stage for this latest mashup. Boats, big-blocks, and off-shore racing courses through the Sunshine State's sky-blue veins; Cigarette calls Opa-Locka home, while Wisconsin-based Mercury Marine holds deep, deep roots in the peninsula's waters—and not just the salty stuff.An Eight-Cylinder MeccaA short drive southeast of Orlando, a 1,440-acre enclosed lake laps placidly against its heavily wooded shores. On Google Maps, it's billed as Lake Conlin, just one of 50 named lakes in the county, but to the powerboat faithful, it's known by the outlandishly enigmatic moniker of Lake X.In 1957, Mercury founder Carl Kiekhaefer buzzed central Florida in a single-engine prop-plane, scouring the topography for a private lake on which he could conduct secret watercraft testing during the winter season away from the eyes of competitors and ears of annoyed neighbors. The 10,000-and-change acre property containing Lake X was soon purchased, and testing got underway immediately.Lake X soon became known as the off-limits mecca of powerboat development, with rumors growing into legend; up until the early 2000s, if it was fast, if it was loud, and if it was powered by Mercury Racing, it was fine-tuned at Lake X. Regardless if you prefer your feet wet or dry, this unassuming Floridian lake is a holy site in the bible of the V-8. We had to pay our respects.This roadtrip from Miami to Lake X was, in a sense, our decade-early epitaph for Benz's V-8. Our funeral procession was tiny, but meaningful; Mercedes opened the archives and tossed us the keys a 2008 CLK 63 AMG Black Series, one of the most characteristically V-8 AMGs to ever spin a tire in anger. If the flat-plane M178 LS2 is the cutting-edge, sci-fi warp-drive zenith for the Merc V-8, the CLK's 6.2-liter M156 is the heart of an old warship pulled straight from the industrial era.Obviously Old-SchoolIt's got all the mechanical hallmarks of a modern engine—dual-overhead cams, four-valves per cylinder—but out on the arrow-straight backroads lancing through central Florida, it feels like something plucked from the streets of Byzantium. In direct contrast to the clean, crisp guttural blats issued from the current crop of 4.0-liter M178 V-8s, the rear of the Mars Red coupe clattered with dirty, oily thunder. The sound is paleolithic, almost inappropriate; if a medieval peasant heard this metal-on-metal crackle emitting from the bowels of a bone-strewn cave, a raiding party would be assembled.500 hp and 465 lb-ft means it certainly has the hustle to match the roiling heavy metal soundtrack, though progress has sapped our serotonin receptors; hampered by a slow-ish shifting seven-speed automatic transmission, the CLK 63 Black Series offers about as much forward poke as a 2022 Ford Mustang GT; less, actually, as an automatic 'Stang undercuts the CLK by 0.6-seconds in the quarter-mile.But in its prime? What an athlete. In 2008, 500 hp was enough to step on the necks of the contemporaneous BMW M3, poke the eyes of the 911 Turbo, kick sand in Aston Martin's martini, and grab at the heels of the C6 Corvette Z06. The noises make you blush, but the power delivery makes you swoon; power is relatively peaky, encouraging a heavy right foot and deep, deep drinks from that wellspring of torque.Orlando-Based Bond VillainyThe chainlink gate to the Lake X facility arrived in a rush. After rumbling down a tree-lined path, a place-out-of-time greeted us; a back parking lot gives way to a cracked and uneven stretch of concrete that extends from the main structure to the water's edge. The first thing constructed at the testing facility was a channel of concrete sea-walls, sluicing straight into a covered engineering workshop built in 1969 that has the space to house a small marina's worth of boats. There's a distinct spy-thriller vibe to the complex, with large plexiglass dome portals ringing the primary building and peppering the exterior of the disused but oh-so-neat observation tower.For a site so integral to the history of the loud-and-brash marine V-8, Lake X sure is tranquil. Mercury used the lake for testing until the early 2000s, when boats were just too fast for the lake's size. "180 mph shrinks any size," laughed Ken Eckert, facilities manager and engineer. After Kiekhaefer sold the property to entrepreneur Kenneth Kirchman in 1984, the new owner established a foundation dedicated to using the lush grounds and wetlands of Lake X to educate the public on Florida's ecology and wildlife.Mercury returned in 2017, using the historic grounds as a satellite engineering and testing shop. "We can do stuff here in a day that would take five days to do on a public waterway," explained Eckert. "No wake zones, no other boaters, and no one to get in our way."It's a small, wild capsule of serenity teeming with life. As we staged photos of the bright red CLK, a flock of wild turkeys strutted through the adjacent field. A gator floated lazily by one of the seawalls, while a heron waded a few yards down the shore. Inside the workshop, an engineer stripped down a 600-hp V-12 outboard for inspection.V-8 Boats Forever? Maybe, Maybe NotMuch like an empty race track, Lake X was eerily quiet without the one-note roar of a powerboat. Luckily, I was just there on a quiet day; chatting with the folks at Cigarette Racing and Mercury Marine instilled in me the belief that the marine V-8 has a long, long life ahead of it—but not without change.There's far less regulations and oversight levied onto marine engines, and depending on the engine, most units are uncatalyzed. "Is there potential for stricter regulations going forward? Most definitely," said Eckert. "That's certainly on our radar, and as everything we do, we look to the future. If the regulations change, I am 100-percent confident we could seamlessly change with them."As of right now, widespread adoption and development of purely electric boats is unlikely, due to the aforementioned lack of legislative pressure, a nonexistent charging infrastructure, and the dramatic inefficiency of electric marine drivetrains relative to the electric car. Still, there are moves being made behind the scenes. Mercury Marine's parent company—the Brunswick Corporation—just acquired a battery company last September "to extend its leadership position in electrical systems innovation," the company said in a release. As of right now, this expansion might just be for small-scale lithium-ion battery systems for auxiliary power, but this seems like a logical first step toward serious electrification.So, no speedy-but-silent powerboats for now. But in the future? "I think you'll see electric outboards in smaller vessels to start with, and you know how it goes—you've got to start developing the technology to make strides," Eckert mused. "I'm confident that over the years, it won't be an uncommon thing to see an electric powerboat." Then, the V-8 might truly begin its final decline. Maybe.If that dreary dystopia ever arrives, perhaps we'll pull one of Cigarette Racing's AMG collaborations out of storage and go for one final blast. We know just the lake for the occasion.
lamborghini countach Full Overview"If you will it, Dude, it is no dream!" So said John Goodman's character Walter Sobchak, quoting Theodor Herzl, in the Coen Brothers' classic The Big Lebowski.The line echoed around my noggin as I drove Lamborghini Countach VIN ZA9C005A0KLA12085—the final one built—out of the Sant'Agata Bolognese factory gates. As a little boy I once saw an orange Countach parked on some gray cobblestones in Old Montreal. My father was kind enough to let me stand there, jaw on those same cobblestones, as gobsmacked as a 9-year-old human can be. Was it 10 minutes, 20, half an hour? I don't know.I do know it was long enough that the memory helps guide my thinking, my career, my life to this day. How could such a shape, let alone on a car, exist? Moreover, how could I be standing next to it? Most crucially, how would I get myself behind that steering wheel? Because suddenly, right there and then, I had a pretty good and clear notion of what I wanted to do with my life. Whatever I'd become, cars like this Arancio Livrea-colored Lamborghini would be involved.We can't go any further without recalling the 1987 Morley Safer 60 Minutes segment about the Countach.Well, technically it's about the entire Lamborghini brand, but in 1987 the company was defined wholly by the mighty wedge-shaped supercar. Sorry, Jalpa fans, but you know it's true. My father was a CBS News junkie—Walter Cronkite was God, Dan Rather was the pope, and 60 Minutes the Vatican—meaning I had the episode on videotape. I've seen the piece at least 50 times. For my money, the segment is the singular greatest piece of automotive journalism extant. If you've not seen it, please pause now, Google "60 Minutes Countach," and report back. I'll wait.Amazing, no? Great reporting and a solid 1980s overdose aside, what a magnificent machine. Three years earlier I'd seen one, and since then I'd been allowed to subscribe to the big four monthly American automotive buff books so I could go on and read all about it. But Safer's video was the first time I'd seen and heard one in action.So imagine being a lifetime Countach enthusiast and decades later driving out of the factory behind the wheel of the last one ever made. I was freaking out. Can this be real? Is life just a dream you really can will into coming true? I should probably leave out the parts about the rain, the miserable electric seats (a later Countach development) that meant even at just 5-foot-11 my head was against the roof, no power steering and at least three turns lock to lock, an 80-pound clutch pedal, the perma-fogged windshield, the lack of noticeable brakes—essentially all the usual Countach accoutrement and mishegoss. I didn't care a lick about that list of negatives, not even an iota divided by a scintilla. I smiled for four hours straight until I had to return the car, and I kept on smiling until just about three minutes ago.The Countach was 17 years old by the time 1990 arrived. The 25th Anniversary model was released two years earlier to celebrate the founding of the company, and rumor has it the Countach's successor, the Diablo, was supposed to make its debut that same year. However, for a variety of reasons—like its design being rejected by Lee Iacocca, CEO of Chrysler, which owned Lamborghini—the Diablo was delayed for two years.Although I doubt the company was aware of it at the time, it had a young superstar designer on the payroll, one Horacio Pagani. It tasked him with revising the aging supercar for one last campaign. Mechanically identical to the 5000 QV, also known as Quattrovalvole, the 449-hp 5.2-liter quad-cam 48-valve V-12 was now fed via larger, more effective, and newly straked airboxes. The rear brakes were fed with straked ducts. Did Pagani make the 25th Anniversary model look too much like a Ferrari Testarossa? Perhaps. No matter, however, as that car was the bestseller among all Countaches.I had waited a lifetime to visit Sant'Agata Bolognese. This fact surprised the people I've come to know over the years at Lamborghini. In fact, I've perhaps become too friendly, to the point the company's design boss, Mitja Borkert, once even hand-drew me an invitation to visit any time I liked. I've visited Ferrari at Maranello and toured Pagani's atelier twice, but for whatever reason I'd never made it to Lamborghini headquarters. On my most recent prototype test drive (of the new Huracán Tecnica a few months ago) with former technical boss Maurizio Regianni, I asked if it were possible to perhaps also visit the factory. "Yes, absolutely," he said. And while I was there, is there something special I'd be interested in driving?Oh, yes.Now, here's the thing: I've driven several Countaches. They're not very good cars. Sacrilege, but they just aren't. They're slower than you imagine, clumsy, ungainly, difficult to see out of, temperamental, and uncomfortable, the latter especially if it's hot outside. Yet the Countach somehow remains my favorite supercar. Just look at it. Still, I'm aware of the cars in the Lamborghini Museum at the factory: Miura, Espada, LM002, Diablo GT, Reventón, Sesto Elemento, and Veneno, just to name a few I'd be interested in driving. But Lamborghini exists today because of the Countach.Yes, of course, the Miura is very pretty, and the LM002 is the Rambo Lambo, and the Diablo is rad, and all of that. But it is the insanity of the Countach, its improbability, its outrageousness, its unlikeliness, the extremism of its design, its overt thuggishness that has attracted droves of fans to the marque. The Countach specifically, and the spirit of the Countach in general, is why Chrysler bought Lamborghini, and why VW did the same about a decade later. What's this spirit entail? Just the promise that the world would be a less interesting place if Lamborghini weren't around.So even though I had other options, it was a no-brainer to go with the last Countach. Like Safer did 35 years earlier, I'd roll through the factory gates inside of Marcello Gandini's design masterpiece. Except I'd be the one driving, not legendary Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni.Years ago, I was stuck in horrific L.A. traffic with Balboni inside a Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni Edition. We'd run out of things to say about his namesake car, so I asked him what it was like the first time he laid eyes on a Countach. "Ah, the Countach!" he said. "Impossible! Nobody believed it was a car."He explained that when the prototypes ran around Sant'Agata's vineyard areas years before, it was like seeing a spaceship because nothing on earth looked like it. "The power! The steering! The handling! The brakes …" he trailed off, then shrugged and said, "Well, not so much the brakes," while making the sign of the cross. But his smile indicated my question had taken him to a happy place.There's apparently only one road in the province of Modena, Italy, that the local manufacturers consider worth driving on, and I've now taken a Pagani, a Ferrari, and the final Countach there to "make photos." It's a beautiful country road that wends its way up a hill. It's minimally trafficked, and you can get up to some good fun; I almost crashed a Pagani Huayra there because I tried to do something stupid.I nearly stuffed the final Countach there, too, because it was pouring rain and I could not see out of it. The photographer I was transporting from location to location kept laughing at the situation's absurdity. The only way I could see out of the windshield was for him to lean forward and wipe the glass with a rag. Once he was out of the vehicle, I was hosed. Everything you've ever read about how miserable and weak the Countach's HVAC system is true, yet the defroster is even worse than the A/C.The photos, however, as you can see, are outstanding. Silver is normally a dull color for a Lamborghini, but on wet pavement with vibrant Italian greens in the background, it pops. Looking at these images now, it's easy to see how much it was worth working our way through the adverse conditions. None of it mattered, save for the part that I was driving a Lamborghini Countach around Italy. That smile I mentioned earlier was undefeatable: I even smiled when I realized I had to remove my shoes to drive it, and when it became known the Countach isn't exactly waterproof, as evidenced by my soaking-wet socks. None of it mattered.The car, despite all its quirks, is perfect. Perfectly flawed, perfectly ridiculous, perfectly alien. Yet perfect all the same. We all collectively spend so much time these days worrying about measurements—a fraction of a second here, how much power a motor makes there. I've had people tell me they won't consider buying a certain car because it doesn't have Apple CarPlay. CarPlay? The Countach doesn't have a trunk!Honestly, does every car need to be a Nürburgring all-star? Look at the soon-to-be-released 992 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Yes, it looks extreme, but everything is there for a performance reason. On the Countach? The famous rear wing on most other examples actually slows the car down. Believe it or not, despite its weaknesses and probably because of them, as well, the last Countach ever made is joy on wheels.This Countach, like all of them, is an attitude, a frame of mind, a monument to what could be and really what should be. You're just happier around it than not. Are automobiles art? Can they ever really be art? A few can, and the Countach is one of the rare ones that would bring its owner as much joy bolted to their wall as it would parked in their garage. The car is simply a rolling wow. Remember, the name comes from the word contacc, a Piedmontese interjection used when a person is shocked and astonished.Maybe you think the car and its legend are beyond overhyped after so many years. But indeed all this time later, following all the cars, supercars, and hypercars I've been around and driven in my career, there's only one that returns me to the genesis of my infatuation. Only one that takes me back to my a priori love of automobiles, to an undoubtedly simpler and happier time.Of course, the world today is filled with wonderful machines, but how many make you say, "Wow!" in the same tone of voice as the Countach? Not many, and even fewer cars remain a dream no matter how many times you find yourself fortunate enough to drive one.Looks good! More details?
ferrari 296-gtb Full OverviewYes, it's a plug-in hybrid with a turbocharged V-6 engine. But the only people who are going to hate on the 20232 Ferrari 296 GTB, who will loudly proclaim it a betrayal of all that's holy at the house of the Prancing Horse, are those who will never get the chance to drive one. Because if they did drive one, they'd know: The 296 GTB is one of the greatest mid-engine Ferrari sports cars ever built.It certainly looks the part, being beautifully proportioned and surfaced, with subtle homages to the mid-engine 250LM from the 1960s, including the voluptuous rear haunches and a vertical rear screen shrouded by flying buttresses extending from the B-pillar "bridge" that arcs over the rear of the roof. All in all, the 296 GTB is one of the most compact and athletic sports cars from Maranello in some time.As on the front-engine Roma, the 296 GTB's rear lights eschew Ferrari's traditional round format—a move that took a lot of selling from the in-house design team, says exterior designer Carlo Palazzini. The large central exhaust outlet adds visual—and aural—drama. The only active piece of aerodynamic hardware, a vertical spoiler that deploys at speed or under braking, has been ingeniously packaged to slide out from between the lights.But, but … a turbocharged six-cylinder hybrid powertrain? Seriously? That's quite a step down the charisma index from the yowling, naturally aspirated V-8s and V-12s that made Ferrari famous. But let's be clear: Although the 296 GTB might be the first six-cylinder Ferrari road car in history—the gorgeous little Dino 206s and 246s built between 1967 and 1974 don't count, says Maranello, because they were never sold as Ferraris—it doesn't sound like a six-cylinder car.And it certainly doesn't go like a six-cylinder car.About That EngineCodenamed F163, the compact twin-turbo 2.9-liter V-6 at the heart of the 296 GTB's powertrain features a wide-angle 120-degree vee, with the fast-responding counter-rotating turbochargers mounted in the vee and the intakes on the outside of the cylinder heads. The wide-angle vee not only lowers the center of gravity by reducing the height between the tops of the cylinder heads and the forged crankshaft, but it also gives the engine a symmetrical firing order.As a result, the F163 spins smoothly to the 8,500-rpm rev limiter while generating similar third-order harmonics to that of a V-12, which Ferrari engineers have amplified into the cockpit via its patented "hot-tube" system, which takes sound from the exhaust before the hot gases hit the catalytic converters. And it really does sound like a V-12. One full-throttle run is all you need to understand why Ferrari engineers took to calling the F163 the "piccolo V-12" during its development.The 296 GTB is also Ferrari's first rear-drive-only PHEV, with an electric motor/generator, dubbed the MGU-K by Ferrari in a nod to its F1 hybrid technology, sandwiched between the V-6's block and the compact new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. An evolution of the e-motor used in the SF90, the 296 GTB's MGU-K develops 165 horsepower and maximum torque of 232 lb-ft, a 20 percent improvement.The MGU-K can drive the 296 GTB up to 15 miles on pure electric power, drawing from a 7.45-kWh battery pack that stretches across the car between the cockpit and the engine. But its main job is to provide torque fill at low revs and to boost power at higher revs. On its own, the F163 makes 654 horsepower, a specific output of 219 hp per liter that is a new record for a production-car internal combustion engine. With the MGU-K lending a helping hand, the 296 GTB's powertrain punches out a mighty 818 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and 546 lb-ft of torque at 6,250 rpm.The interaction between the internal combustion engine and the MGU-K has been carefully tuned to ensure the powertrain delivers the soaring surge of acceleration, right to the redline, that is the hallmark of the finest naturally aspirated 12-cylinder Ferrari engines. The e-motor's instant-on torque output is adjusted for each gear to keep the delivery as linear as possible. "We are not using all the powertrain at the lower end yet," confirms Ferrari test and development driver Raffaele de Simone. "The car can do more."What This Ferrari Can Do NowFerrari says the 296 GTB will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in less than 2.9 seconds, and to 124 mph in 7.3 seconds on the way to a top speed of more than 205 mph. But those numbers don't even begin to describe the extraordinary strength and flexibility of its powertrain. So, chew on this: In sixth gear, the 296 GTB pulls cleanly and strongly from 1,400 rpm—about 30 mph—to … well, we don't exactly know because we ran out of road at 146 mph, the revs still rising.A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests the Ferrari had another 25 mph to go before the engine reached its 8,000-rpm power peak. That's a working speed range of more than 140 mph. In a single gear.Such flexibility means, although the eight-speed transmission's ratios are beautifully spaced, you don't have to be in precisely the right gear to get the 296 GTB to punch hard out of corners. There's torque and there's power, whenever you need it. But it's not just the powertrain that will leave you gasping. The 296 GTB's chassis is every bit as accomplished, too.The 296 GTB's 102.4-inch wheelbase is the shortest in the current Ferrari lineup, and the compact dimensions were deliberately chosen to deliver maximum agility. The new EPS system—the first used on a rear-drive Ferrari—has half the compliance of the previously used hydraulic systems, improving steering response, and learnings from the EPS-equipped SF90 have enabled Ferrari to carefully tune it to filter unwanted road shock while retaining maximum feel and feedback.Supremely FocusedHelping the rear axle support the fast-reacting front end are specially developed 305/35 ZR20 Michelin tires—Pilot Sport 4S in standard spec, or the Pilot Sport Cup 2R, which comes with the optional, track-focused Assetto Fiorano package. Whereas most recent mid-engine Ferraris have had a 30 percent aspect ratio rear tire, the taller sidewall of the 296 GTB's tires help smoothly ramp the initial load response into the rear suspension, says de Simone.It's not just geometry that makes this Ferrari feel preternaturally alert yet supremely composed, however; Maranello has delved deep into the electronic dark arts to give the chassis the dynamic range to exploit that extraordinary powertrain.Underpinning the chassis hardware is the latest version of Ferrari's superb Side Slip Control (SSC) system. Unlike most stability control systems, SSC is not interventionist but expansionist, using its vast array of sensors and actuators not to tell the driver off when they make a mistake, but to help them achieve what they're trying to do. Each iteration of SSC, which made its debut on the 458 Speciale in 2013, has been better, more seamless than the last. The 296 GTB's version helps you brake like one of Ferrari's F1 aces.The 296 GTB's 15.7-inch front and 14.2-inch rear carbon-ceramic rotors are modulated by a sophisticated brake-by-wire system and next-generation ABS that allows precise control of the braking efforts at each individual wheel; so precise, in fact, it will allow you to keep your foot hard on the brake pedal all the way into the apex of the corner while it works with all the other systems to ensure the car stays on the line you want.Think of it as a trail-braking aid. It doesn't rewrite the laws of physics, but it'll have ol' Isaac Newton scratching his head as the Ferrari barrels deep into corners with your foot hard on the brake pedal, tracking true right to the apex. It's at this point where you may have to adjust your driving style slightly to make the most of the 296 GTB: Get too ambitious with the throttle before you've begun to open the steering, and the front end will push slightly, such is the enormous traction from the rear.It's so fast, so agile, this Ferrari. And yet everything happens with such sublime control and communication, precision and predictability, it creates time for the driver to analyze and adjust its every move. Old-school purists might be wringing their hands over the fact it's a plug-in hybrid with a six-cylinder engine, but the Ferrari 296 GTB makes you feel like a driving god. It's utterly brilliant.The familiar manettino switch on the right side of the steering wheel controls the 296 GTB's dynamic systems. On the left is a touch-panel e-manettino that controls the powertrain modes.There is an eDrive mode that allows pure EV driving at speeds up to 84 mph. Performance mode ensures the V-6 is always kept running to make sure the battery is always fully charged. Qualifying mode—yes, that's what it's called—cuts the amount of time spent recharging the battery to always ensure the maximum powertrain output.Default start mode is Hybrid, in which the car rolls on pure electric power as far as possible before the engine fires up with—at least for the first time—a disconcerting bellow that lasts until the catalytic converters have warmed up. The system then mixes and matches ICE and e-power to achieve the best combination of efficiency and performance, though whenever the V-6 is running, the powertrain is ready to produce maximum power and torque on demand.The Home Stretch The transitions between e-motor and ICE are smooth and seamless. This is a Ferrari you could happily drive every day, even if you're just mooching through slow-moving traffic. The digital cockpit offers all the graphic pizzazz and high-tech connectivity you expect in a modern luxury automobile, and the "bumpy road" function, accessed by pressing the switch on the analog manettino, smooths the ride when the tarmac gets rough. The 296 GTB is available with Ferrari's seven-year maintenance package, and service intervals are set at yearly intervals or every 12,500 miles.Those who want a 296 GTB with a little more edge can order the Assetto Fiorano package, which includes Multimatic shocks optimized for track use, a revised aero setup that adds 22 pounds of downforce on the front axle, and lightweight components that reduce the car's overall weight by 33 pounds. Those seeking the ultimate weight saving can order the optional carbon-fiber wheels, which trim a further 70 (unsprung and rotational-inertia-inducing) pounds from the car.The 296 GTB is the product of a coolly confident Ferrari at the top of its game; a Ferrari that's not afraid to embrace cutting edge, even controversial, technologies to create the best-performing, best-handling, best-driving sports cars it knows how to build; a Ferrari that fully understands the potent market power of its traditions, its myths, and its legends but is at last refusing to have its cars trapped by them.The first cars are scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in the third quarter of this year, with an MSRP of $317,986.Looks good! More details?2022 FERRARI 296GTB Specifications PRICE $317,986 LAYOUT Mid-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door coupe ENGINE 2.9L/654-hp/546-lb-ft twin-turbo direct-injected V-6 plus 165-hp/232-lb-ft permanent-magnet electric motor, 818-hp/546-lb-ft (comb) TRANSMISSION 8-speed twin-clutch auto CURB WEIGHT 3,500lb (est) WHEELBASE 102.4 in L x W x H 179.7 x 77.1 x 46.7 in 0-62 MPH 2.9 sec (mfr est) EPA FUEL ECON, CITY/HWY/COMB Not yet rated EPA RANGE, COMB Not yet rated ON SALE Fall 2022 Show All
0 Comments