Chevrolet Corvette ZR1:Yank Tank or God?

Now,as all of you should probably know by now,Chevrolet has released the most powerful Corvette ever made,prior to the release of "Godzilla",aka Nissan GT-R for the unacquainted. It has been dubbed the Corvette ZR1. Quite surprising as Chevrolet,part of the Big Three,is on the brink of bankruptcy. Now,let us take a brief review of the car itself,starting from the exterior.

EXTERIOR
Hmmm. It looks just like the Z06,save the new and fully functional bumpers,new spoiler,a carbon fibre bonnet and side air vents to channel cool air,and as to act as aerodynamic help. Overall,it looks perfectly fine,nothing to shout about but nothing to complain...until you actually nudge the rear bumper. What's this? Now this car has been fitted with plastic bumpers. And not the firm,heavy duty plastic found in supercars but just tacky,Daewoo-esque plastic that can be bought in Wal-Mart for $3. Oh dear,the future looks bleak for our American friend here...

INTERIOR
Inside the ZR1,well,it doesn't strike a chord in the interior design department! It is all to greyish and bland,typical of American cars. I see plastic everywhere and not a percentage of creativity in the interior,let alone its build quality. Thank goodness it has a stick shift,not a ridiculous AMT. The door sills creak every time I apply pressure onto it,so it is an omen of worse things to come. I say a vast array of buttons on the perimeter of the meters,neatly arranged for practicality. The seats are wrapped in leather,albeit not as comfortable to sit on. And it is grey in colour.

ENGINE
Well,it seems that Chevrolet has used an LS3 engine and modified it extensively,and finally redubbing it the LS9,producing 638 hp (476 kW) and 604 ft·lbf (819 N·m). of torque, making this the most powerful production Corvette to date.Sure the V8 is great...for straight roads. The LS9 has a sixth-generation Eaton TVS R2300 roots 4-lobe supercharger with an intercooler. The supercharger's four-lobe design offers improved efficiency over three-lobe models. Nicely done. The ZR1's intercooler is located on top of the engine,clearly shown as the bonnet of the ZR1 has a polycarbonate window that is cut directly above it. I do not understand the whole point of it because other manufacturers have done the same thing but at least shown their cars' engines,not just an intercooler with fancy engravings done possibly by two fat blokes from Kentucky.

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The ZR1 is what I call a modern car with archaic components. The reason why I said it is because I could not think of any other car in production now that still uses leaf spring suspensions. Why,I could get a Honda Civic Type R that has independent suspensions! At least it has Brembo 6 pistons and Brembo 4 pistons brakes on the front and back respectively. The brakes were initially designed for the Ferrari Enzo hypercar. It has Magnetic Selective Ride Control which offers standing start launch modifications.

DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
To the next keen buyer of the ZR1,please don't. You will suffer from the following
-osteoporosis
-eye complications
-massive headaches

Firstly,the car is in no shape at all to be driven by any man,let alone a living thing. It has extremely firm suspension,and when TCS turned off,it will spin out of control,assuming you're one of those post-grad yuppies who has less than a year of driving experience. It is definitely not for the faint hearted.

CONCLUSION
I think Chevrolet has not pulled this off. Never. If it weren't for the GT-R,there would never have been this ZR1. The car looks like a typical British Leyland car,all bits hammered on by some fat geezer. The car itself is in tatters. The only people,I think,who are willing to buy this total abomination of a car,are hardcore GM enthusiasts,or just American patriots who are pretty much stupid. The ZR1 will never be in the book of revolutionary cars. It is just too vulgar and too brash This car has not,and never will,win my heart. Not even if it were to be the last car on Earth.


-iGeek™

Nissan GT-R:the comeback king [Part 2:Performance & Conclusion]

Your mind becomes numb. You lose your senses. Everything around you seems to be blur. You scream for dear life as you face massive lateral G's while cornering. In a nutshell,that is what you'll get for driving in the 2009 Nissan GT-R.

You look at the car and you'd probably blurt out "Eh,this looks nice and comfy." Get inside the car and maybe you'd say it again. However,after pushing the fancy red ignition button and bringing the hand crafted twin turbo V6 engine to life,it's a whole new ball game. Release the handbrake and put the gear to D(+M) as this a DCT(Dual Clutch Transmission) car. Step on the accelerator and cling on to the ultra-grippy leather steering wheel. Nought to sixty in an impressive 3.9 seconds. That's as good as a Ferrari F430,only much cheaper to run. Your eyes water as the speed gets higher and higher. You brake in time just before the corner thanks to the six piston Brembo calipers and turn at full speed. Massive lateral G's hit you like a giant wave. It was so strong that a TV host nearly broke his neck while testing the car at the Fuji Speedway.

While the car oversteers for a split second,the computer brains in the car will take control of the wheels and throttle response to regain traction. Neat! But if you really want to go sideways,there is always the off button for the TCS. The overall ride is smooth yet you could feel every bump and pothole,no thanks to the stiff suspension.

The engine,the VR38DETT,is packing 480hp,a powerhouse. Imagine a car running around the Nürburgring in 7:29 minutes yet costing at least 4 times less than a Ferrari that goes slower than it.

Now the information you have all been waiting for;the figures.
Horsepowers=480
torque=434 pound feet
0-60mph=3.9sec(w/o LC)
3.4sec(w LC)
Braking distance from 60mph=104 feet.(The car is 2700 pounds yet it brakes only 1 feet longer than a far lighter Porsche 911 Turbo!)

Well,this is by far the best bang for the buck car you could ever buy. It is also an all rounder,with 4 seats,A/C,big boot space and safe with 4 airbags. Nissan has defied all odds and created the best everyday supercar. Bow down to Godzilla...

Nissan GT-R:the comeback king [Part One:overview]

It's been 7 years since the last Nissan Skyline GT-R rolled out of the production line. Then,Nissan kept teasing us with sketches of the next GT-R,which honestly,was more suspenseful than watching Star Wars movies. In 2005,the Japanese car firm unveiled their prototype version of the upcoming GT-R at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show,which was named fancifully as,uh,Nissan GT-R Proto. It looked nothing like I had hoped to see,but in a good way. It was boxy yet aerodynamic. The 350Z-style headlights with drooping carbon fibre finishes were epic. The large 20 inch alloy rims were aerodynamically designed to channel cool air onto the brakes. But what won my heart was that Nissan has remained faithful to the past generation GT-Rs and retained the trademark tail lights. Fantastic.

3 years on,the GT-R debuted at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. It turned heads,attracting fans of the marque and car enthusiasts alike. It looked similar to the GT-R Proto but took a safer design route,losing the CF* panel under the headlights. It housed a 470hp VR38DETT V6 engine,much to the dismay of traditional GT-R fans. They had hoped that Nissan continued using the RB26DETT,the main engine that powered the Nissan Skyline GT-R to multiple victories from 1990-2004. The vehicle had an aerodynamic design,so the overall shape is an acquired taste. It had adjustable suspension and quad exhausts. It also had 4 seats to complete the "Grand Tourer" badging.

Inside,the the seats are wrapped with such soft leather that you begin to forget that this is a car designed to race. Looking at the dashboard,one might probably say,"My word!" At the centre of the dashboard is a multi-function display,which can track the amount of G-Forces you make to timing your car on a Hot Lap. Many things can be done too,like adjusting your suspension,keeping track of how much pressure you put on the accelerator or brake,and having the car check the water temperature all at once. Everything in the MFD was designed by the creators of the Gran Turismo franchise. The seats and panels are all wrapped in leather. Although not as well made as a Merc,they are definitely better than the interior of a Corvette. Oh,and heated seats and a BOSE sound system come as standard for the Premium version. The Black Edition,however,has red trimmings along the seats and specially painted alloy rims. Again,the BOSE sound system comes as standard.

WELCOME TO MY BLOG.

Greetings from me,Muhammad Mutasim. Just call me iGeek from now on. Well,as you all know,this blog will only,and only,contain car reviews,gadget reviews,profile and modification sections. Oh,and not to forget great quotes made by some remarkable people.I hope this combination goes well.


So,happy new year to all my close colleagues and family members. Although we would be facing a worsening financial meltdown in the next few months,we will be treated with some fast automobiles of 2009 that will surely be satisfying.

I hope you enjoy this brand new blog and I'll update it every few days,guaranteed!

Cheers,
editor-in-chief,
Muhammad Mu'tasim(iGeek)