Tag: Videos

  • CUPRA ATECA ABT LIMITED EDITION REVIEW

    Watch as we get behind the wheel of the Cupra Ateca Abt Limited Edition to find out whether an SUV can do it all, specifically, can it excite you enough to force you to wake up on a Sunday morning and go for a drive?

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    The Cupra Ateca isn’t an obvious car for us to drive. While fast SUVs are all becoming the rave at the moment, we’re still dubious as to whether such a car can do everything the humble estate can do. It’s been proven that the likes of the Audi RS6 and Mercedes-AMG C63 S estate are both thrilling drives, but also offer the practicality that an SUV can do.

    However, we also know that the more expensive Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio is also an exciting drive. The key difference there, though, is that the Alfa Romeo offers a predominantly RWD setup, meaning cornering can become very exciting, very quickly, especially with over 500bhp on tap. Here, though, the Cupra Ateca Abt Limited Edition comes into the ring with a small four-cylinder turbochared engine, rather than a thumping great V6 or V8 as mentioned in the cars above. It also uses the famous Haldex system, which we all know is predominantly FWD, bringing the rear into play in extreme circumstances.

    The benefit of the Cupra Ateca Abt, though, is that it’s been treated to a dealer-fitted, warranty-backed Abt ECU tune, boosting power from a good 300bhp, to a healthy 350bhp, upping the torque as well to 324ft lb. While Cupra doesn’t claim faster 0-62mph times, it does have a slightly higher top speed of 152mph. The real difference is the boost in mid-range performance, offering what one would assume is a much quicker 100-200km/h time, although we didn’t time this.

    The Cupra Ateca Limited Edition model also adds new 20-inch copper wheels, a quad exhaust that can be optioned with an Akrapovic set of pipes, like we have here, a carbon fibre lip spoiler and those gorgeous blue Alcantara bucket seats. It’s strictly a DSG affair, but that’s no bad thing in a car not designed to be for the drivers.

    So can it excite enough to be not only your commuter car but also the family bus and the exciting weekend car? Watch the video to find out… Make sure you like and subscribe to our channel!

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  • Here’s how Gordon Murray’s track-focused T50s can drive upside down

    Many automakers have claimed that their supercars produce enough downforce to drive upside down, but in a new video Engineering Explained’s Jason Fenske shows how Gordon Murray’s T50s might be the first car actually capable of pulling the stunt off.

    The T50s is the track-only version of the recently-unveiled T50 supercar. Like the road-going version, the T50s has a rear-mounted fan inspired by Murray’s Brabham BT46B “Fan Car” Formula One racer. But while the T50 has six modes for this fan, the T50s only has one—high downforce.

    In the T50s, the fan spins at a constant 7,000 rpm to continuously generate that downforce. The car gets a number of other aerodynamic add-ons as well, including a roof scoop that works as a ram-air intake for the engine, a stabilizing fin like the ones used on Le Mans prototypes, and a large rear spoiler.

    Gordon Murray T.50s

    Gordon Murray T.50s

    How does that allow the T50s to drive upside down? In order for that to happen, the downforce needs to cancel out the force of gravity, preventing the car from falling. The T50s might have enough downforce for that, and it can run at the sustained high speeds needed to continue generating that downforce, Fenske said, adding that Car and Driver estimated a top speed of 210 mph would be required.

    At 210 mph, the T50s should behave like a regular car driven at average speeds, but only as long as it’s driven at a steady speed in a straight line, Fenske said. Any braking or steering would upset the balance needed to keep the car upside down. Driving upside down would also require changes to the oil and fuel systems, which aren’t designed to work inverted, Fenske noted.

    Watch the full video for more details on the T50s and its downforce-generating abilities. In addition to more aero aids, the T50s gets a more powerful version of the T50 road car’s 3.9-liter Cosworth V-12, with 690 horsepower (or 720 hp with ram air). However, it also swaps the road car’s manual transmission for a paddle-shifted gearbox. Just 25 cars will be built, priced at $3.6 million each. Production is scheduled to start in 2023, or a year after the road car.

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  • FC TV EP16 – MODIFIED AMG GT ON AIR AIR

    Welcome to Fast Car TV! With awesome builds, new products, tech talks and which cars we’d buy to modify, think of it as the magazine…but moving and talking. In this episode, Jules from Fast Car is joined by Initial G, Fast Car magazine’s designer, to discuss the best project cars on a tight £1000 budget and ogle over a modified AMG GT on air ride! Make sure you check out Ep14 here and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel! 

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    It’s another episode of Fast Car TV and following on with the theme of budget buying, Jules and Graham discuss which cars they would buy with a £1000 budget. There are a surprsing number of choices out there for those with a £1000 budget, from the Jaguar X-Type, Lexus IS200 and Saab 93, right across to the fun Toyota Yaris T-Sport.

    Jules also talks us through the product of the week and this time it’s a little on the pricey side, but something that will add some nostalgia and coolness to any petrolhead’s home and that’s a custom gas pump. The boys saw these over in the States at SEMA 2019 and fell in love. These gas pumps have been converted to include all manner of things, from glass shelving to house model cars, to wine chillers and even a coffee machine. It’ll be sure to get your friends talking when they visit…

    The pair also discuss one of the more contentious issues in the modifying scenes, pop and bang maps (you can check out our pop and bang map guide here). On the one hand, you could argue that it’s a way of expressing ones personality in the modifying car community, which is what modifying is all about, and on the other, it’s a fabricated noise that isn’t authentic and can seem over the top. Remember, though, modifying is all about what you want, so if you want a pop and bang map on your 1.1 Fiesta, go for it!

    And finally, the pair talk about one of the cover car stars of recent months, the Mercedes-AMG GT. This car has been treated to an AMG GTR front bumper and aero parts as well as Rotiform wheels and curcially, air ride. Again, another contentious issue of whether you should put air ride on what is essentially a supercar… The owner, Andrew, is no newbie to the modifying scene haven’t been featured in the mag previously with his Liberty Walk BMW M4. You may well see his next project grace the pages of Fast Car in the future; it’s a Lamborghini Huracan!

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