Stuntman is probably the single most qualified Rennlister to actually know. I won't tell you how I know, but I know he does.

 

Ok. Well at least the Juicy Fruit sour apple gum I bought at the same time wasn't a waste.

 

I agree - the car feels entirely illegal on the street lol, I still can't believe Ford sells this to the public. I expect this from a more specialized brand with a price tag of $150k starting.

OT: I sat in the new Ford Focus RS this week - not impressed, smells and feels super cheap (and i'm not an interior snob) - seating position was awful felt like I was sitting in a high chair or something. Wouldn't buy it off ergonomics alone.

 

LoL!
CJ you grow up around a lot of asians?

 

Not really and it's actually quite bad. The biggest issue (and fundamental flaw) with Lightning Lap is that they use multiple drivers of greatly varying levels of experience to test different cars and comparing the results.

Would you agree with the conclusion that a V6 Camaro is faster than your GT3 because a comparison was performed with a pro in the Camaro and an inexperienced driver in the GT3? That's pretty much what LL does and why their results should be thrown in the trash.

Basically a handful of Car & Driver journalists go to the track and who gets to drive what is based off of seniority and experience. They really only have 1 decent driver and he gets to drive the best cars, but when each person is responsible for 5-6 cars, you get a split of driver talent between competitive cars which can result in cars of equal pace being seconds apart when in reality they may be within tenths (or even the faster car being misrepresented as slower because it doesn't work with that journalist's driving style). Anyone who avidly tracks their car can see some pretty big flaws in the structure of their test:


On top of that, VIR has been repaved twice in the past few years and widened once, so no fault to C&D, but it's just bad timing that the track they chose changed so much, and really makes for historic times less relevant.

Anyone who tracks their cars knows that over a course of a day, lap times can vary by second(s) from early in the morning to the heat of the day. Doing a comparison over multiple days introduces a ton of variables unless you are trying to do all of your lap times in the ideal morning temperatures -which C&D likely doesn't.

I don't mind reading the subjective reviews of a given car by journalists, but to me, when I look at objective performance measurements, I think as many things as possible should be held constant and want to know which car is objectively faster. I don't want to see a drag racer doing 0-60 & 1/4 mile times in a Z06 being compared to someone who can barely drive stick in a Viper any more than I want to look at lap times of two different amateur drivers. I find MotorTrend's use of a pro (Randy) to compare cars as far more credible.

0.02

He just wants to be cool like the Asians.

 

Asians (many of them) are cool in my book...

Have you even driven it? Hard? That's where the FoRS shines... don't ask me how I know.

But I'll give my four cents worth... to me, it's actually more fun to toss it into turns and on & off ramps than the 350 is on the streets. Plus sitting position is fine for me... I'm 5'10" and those stock US-market Recaros are good enough as well on & off the track. It's a Focus for 36k.... I don't expect an M2 like interior. Plus it's not like the GT350 has an interior worthy of a 60k car neither. Don't expect Blue Label for Bud Light price.

 

And the verdict is...?

Harsh, but true. Still good entertainment.

Is this like a Bo Knows kind of thing?

 

I thought the exterior of the Focus RS looked great and i've read good things, but when I sat in that car I felt like a rental company handed me the keys to everyone's last choice - seriously I couldn't stand it, the smell alone had me gagging - it could of been a Dodge Avenger in there. I'm sure it's a blast, and I love what they are doing but I felt way high off the ground and oddly positioned.

The GT350 and the Boss 302 are the only cars in recent production from Ford that I would pay good money to own.

BTW it was no Bud Light price here - with the ADM the Focus RS was closing in on 50k.

 

Must have been 1:51?
I was doing 2:11 in my MX5 cup

 

50k is stupid silly for someone to actually be gullible (and bending over) for that...

 

File this under "have your cake and eat it too". You can order rear seats for the 350R so you can have a track beast and drive the kids to school.

if only Porsche could do that....

 

2017 all GT350 start with the Track Pack, no more Base and Tech package, base price is now the same as 2016 Track Pack. Rumor says GT350R will be around 500 units.

Peter

 

Ok, thanks. So no more Tech pack? Its track or R, right?

 

Yes, sorry. 1:51.

I think I saw your Blue RS. at Heinlein Racing last week.

thanks.

 

That is correct.