GTP Best Car, Episode IV: Italian Nominations Open

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ASTON MARTIN VIRAGE

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490 HP, 186mph, and a stunning 0-60 in 4.5 seconds.

Why do I need to explain? Its simply an Aston Martin, and thats why its the UK's best car!
 
(Sorry if the specs are confusing, I'm trying to describe every model available in the UK.)

Jaguar XK

jaguar-xk.jpg


£65,000-£97,000, 385-550PS, 0-60 in 4.2-5.3, 23-25.2 mpg, 264-292g/km C02

This car does virtually everything. Its performance can be either quick or crazy-quick, the ride and handling is extremely capable in every way, it's spacious, modern and logical. And there's a convertible version as you can see up the top.
 
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Nuff said?

(Ariel Atom 3 300; £30k, <3s and 40mpg)
 
My Nomination: 2011 Jaguar XKR-S

0-60: 4.2s
0-100: 8.6s
Top Speed: 186mph
542 bhp
501 lbf

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2011_Jaguar_XKRS8.jpg


2011-Jaguar-XKR-S-Rear-And-Side-1920x1440.jpg
 
Let us begin the second round of nominations...


GTP Best Car IV: Germany
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* Vehicle must be of German origin
* Must be an MY2011 or MY2012 vehicle
* Post a photograph with some details, explain why you're nominating it, etc
* After a few days, we will move on to the next category



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=​

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Mercedes-Benz SLS

I will admit that the SLS probably isn't the best car that Mercedes-Benz will sell you. I will even admit that the SLS probably isn't the best Germany vehicle on-sale in general. However, that does not prevent me from nominating it as such, just because I like the thing so damn much. First things first, the car is absolutely beautiful. I don't care how much people hate the rear-end, I absolutely love every inch of sheetmetal on that car.

Let us also mention that marvelous 6.2L V8 under the hood. As the most-powerful naturally aspirated V8 on the planet, and with that absolutely ostentatious snarl that comes out of the pipes... Shocking. Match that with the 7-speed DCT gearbox and those fancy gullwing doors, and you've got the proper mix for a proper luxury supercar.
 
Here's my nomination, then:

Porsche GT3 RS 4.0

Porsche-911-GT3-RS-4-0-560x373-04a60d43ee40adf8.jpg


Power: 500HP
Torque: 460Nm
Kerb Weight: 1360kg
0-100km/h= 3.9 seconds
Top Speed: 310km/h
Price: 178'596&#8364;​

Well, how could I not nominate the GT3RS 4.0? The GT3RS has been considered as one of the best, if not the single best driver's car in recent history by many automotive journalists. It is well known for it's handling, for it's agility, basically for all the typical Porsche traits. In the GT3RS, those positive traits have been turned up to 11!
With the GT3 RS 4.0, though, Porsche cranked it all up to 12. The car's now running the four liter flat six found in the Porsche RSR, the so-called Mezger engine - and a car that's running around with a race car's enginge in the back is worth being nominated for that reasona lone.

Trying to represent Germany without nominating Porsche would be utterly futile, I think. Not only is this one of the most recent cars Porsche made, it's also one of the most exciting, the fastest and the meanest.
It's a car that can't be ignored and that, I think, has to be recognized as being one of the latest and greatest in performance cars, but most certainly the best thing to come out of Germany for the model year 2011/2012.

I'll finish my nomination with a short clip from Evo magazin:

​
 
Well, I was going to nominate the M3.. but SVX's 1M is a great shout.. and when it comes to it... I'll throw my vote behind that :)
 
Porsche Cayman R for the German category, and Lotus Evora S for British category.
 
Since someone beat me to the SLS nomination I'll go with:

2012 Merc CLS AMG:
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Somehow they made it even more beautiful than the last CLS. :drool:
 
VW Golf TDi Wagon



Golf TDi Wagon for me, it's fun, frugal (My mom's got around 4 L/100km on a couple tanks of highway driving) and a good looking (for a wagon), practical car. The wagon version has tons of cargo space, and there's always a 5 door hatchback if you aren't a wagon person.

With the wagon , you have gobs of space for whatever sort of stuff you need to carry around, the rear seats are comfortable, there's plenty of head and leg room. The 2 litre Diesel gets the car to 60mph in 8.6s, which is quick for a car that gets 50+ highway mpg. The torque and suspension makes for great fun, and the suspension also helps with fuel economy, because you can carry lots of speed through corners. Now, the Golf TDi isn't a race car, and it's certainly not going to be setting any lap records. But to infuse some fun into a boring city drive, push down on the gas (diesel) pedal, flick the DSG into tiptronic mode, and feel the punch from the turbo charger.

It might not be the fastest, but you'd be hard pressed to find a car that provides such a great combination of speed, handling, practicality, fuel economy, and fun. (well, BMW 330d perhaps but that's too expensive for the common man, and you lose some of the practicality). Oh, and it starts at 25k for the Americans, us Canucks get it for 27k or so)
 
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Since the M3 has not been officially nominated, I'll go ahead and do it:
E92, E90, E93 BMW M3
Country of origin: Germany
2011-bmw-m3-competition-package-zcp.jpg

0-60 time: Ranges from the low 4 second range for coupe and sedan to the high 4 second range or low 5 seconds for the convertible
Engine: 4.0 Liter V8 producing 414 HP
Choice of transmission between double clutch (DCT) and 6MT
Braking distance 60-0: Varying numbers from 110 feet to 105 feet
For the 2011 model year the competition package as seen above was added, which changes the wheels on the car, and has a revised EDC (Electronic Damper Control)
*The car seen above is a sedan with the post 2009 LCI model refresh.
I chose this car because it has great performance capabilities, while still being a practical car that can be used in everyday life. It has great performance and for whatever it lacks is makes up for with the harmonious sound of the V8 at 8400 RPM. It is a car than you can truly use for almost everything. You can pick your kids up from school, get some groceries, go to work, and on the weekend take it to the track. It is reasonably good as a long distance car and one of the best compared to other sports cars. It also has quite a good value for what it has to offer. So, what I am saying is that it is a very versatile car with German heritage and motorsport roots that can satisfy almost any of your needs.
Coupe picture: http://www.carenthusiast.co.uk/bmw/bmw__m3_coupe_competition_package__2010__050.jpg
Convertible picture: http://www.bmwdrives.com/gallery/BMWMcars/e93 m3/e93_m3_1.jpg
 
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Someone beat me to the 911 GT3 RS, soooooo.

PORSCHE 911 GT2 RS​

Porsche-911-GT2-RS-11.jpg

I just had to post this. 1,370kg, 3.5 seconds to 100kph, and 5% more efficient! Drive this instead of your Prius's!
 
Let's hope nobody nominates the Speedster, then.

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Can't think of anything, honestly, that would fit here... the M3 or the new M3 racecar, but no... not really... the 1M Coupe... the 4 liter GT3... hmmm... still thinking.
 
Heres my German nomination, the Gumpert Apollo.
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Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro

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5.2 litre V10, 517bhp, quattro 4WD, 1620kg weight.

One of the most refined cars on sale today, definitely. Very close to an everyday supercar, though the 4.2 V8 would probably fill that in better. Also available as a Spyder.​
 
Anybody ever considered nominating something at least halfway reasonable, attainable, realistic, practical, something more than 5% of the population can afford, etc etc? Because, let's be honest here, a mid-size diesel hatchback is a better car than an Audi R8.

Being that we're talking about German cars, none of them are reasonable priced. So I chose one of the cheapest:

2011-bmw-3-series-wagon-front-view.jpg


BMW 328i Sport Wagon. Starting at around $37,000 here in the States, it is somewhat reasonably priced. It gets decent fuel mileage. You can put people - that's plural folks - in it. You can also put their stuff in the back. Then you can go for a drive and actually have fun doing it, while you're making your somewhat reasonable payments, getting decent mileage, and carrying people and their stuff. Think about it - a fun to drive car that is actually usable. What a fantastic idea!











EDIT: Niky, you should update your Jag XF picture. It's recieved a bit of a facelift for 2012:

092012jaguarxf.jpg


Sexy beast. By far the best car coming from Britain.
 
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What about other brands that by origin aren't german, but belong to a german group? For example Seat, Skoda are non german, but they are the same VWs with different headlights.
 
Keef
Anybody ever considered nominating something at least halfway reasonable, attainable, realistic, practical, something more than 5% of the population can afford, etc etc? Because, let's be honest here, a mid-size diesel hatchback is a better car than an Audi R8.

Being that we're talking about German cars, none of them are reasonable priced. So I chose one of the cheapest:

2011-bmw-3-series-wagon-front-view.jpg


BMW 328i Sport Wagon. Starting at around $37,000 here in the States, it is somewhat reasonably priced. It gets decent fuel mileage. You can put people - that's plural folks - in it. You can also put their stuff in the back. Then you can go for a drive and actually have fun doing it, while you're making your somewhat reasonable payments, getting decent mileage, and carrying people and their stuff. Think about it - a fun to drive car that is actually usable. What a fantastic idea!
Click to expand...

This is exactly why I nominated the Golf TDi Wagon. Fills all these criteria, but starts at 25k. I think it's the Jetta SportWagon in the US.
 
Jet Badger
What about other brands that by origin aren't german, but belong to a german group? For example Seat, Skoda are non german, but they are the same VWs with different headlights.
Click to expand...

If we did the nominations like this then we would have had to skip the British section all together :sly:
 
Noob616
This is exactly why I nominated the Golf TDi Wagon. Fills all these criteria, but starts at 25k. I think it's the Jetta SportWagon in the US.
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No picture = no nomination. I didn't even notice your post, otherwise I'd have voted Golf. Excuse me for forgetting about Volkswagen - is it but a forgettable company. Probably why it's so good.
 
I was hoping that folks would think about some of the lower-end vehicles, and I definitely commend nominating both the Jetta TDI and BMW 335i Estate. Although, I feel like a lot of the "regular" German cars are being out-classed by the competition. I feel like the French, EU + Russia and American rounds are going to be filled with "normal" cars.

We'll see how things work out. We may have to do some head-to-head situations to give some of those guys a fair chance.
 
Keef
No picture = no nomination. I didn't even notice your post, otherwise I'd have voted Golf. Excuse me for forgetting about Volkswagen - is it but a forgettable company. Probably why it's so good.
Click to expand...

Picture uploaded. And you're certainly forgiven for forgetting VW. I probably wouldn't have thought of it if my mom hadn't bought one a few weeks ago.
 
^^^ Careful, zr1chris might see that and start disagreeing with you.
 

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