Doctor D is that your job?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUyKRPT8kKY




Sounds great!

 

Yes, Bob, DoctorD (Steve) said this in his "well that was fun" thread:

Just to give an idea of what the ML63 was like on track, here's my shaky cameraphone movie. You will notice we were having a few 'issues' with the intrusivness of Merc's ESP system. I should have recorded the Cayenne's lap as a contrast to show you the difference with an ESP system that was fully switched off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUyKRPT8kKY
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Steve

 

That was my video. Apologies about the quality, but I was holding a GPS device in one hand and the cameraphone in the other. Oh, and before you ask... the car had its steering on the right, so I wasn't driving as well!

All the laptimes are recorded by the same two journalists, for consistency of comparison, but I was able to drive all the cars in the same commited style during the day.

p.s. thankfully my job pays rather better than a journalist's, so we have a healthy respect for each other; they get to drive more cars than me, whilst I get to own them.

 

Cool stuff, would be great if there would be a second camera showing the speedo so we can see what speeds it was achievin! Btw i used to live in Cyprus and I can drive RHD car too :p

 

Peak speed on the lap would have been around 120mph with many of the fast corners being taken at around 100mph. We will publish the full lap time in a few weeks and then I can draw some comparisons to familiar sports cars.

 

DoctorD... Very nice driving! Especially given all the obstacles (ie.. cell phone, GPS, right hand drive, etc..)

 

Well the article was published yesterday and makes very interesting reading. So have you guys seen it yet, or do you need me to post the key points of interest?

(p.s. I am not going to jeopardise my relationship with them by posting a scan of the article).

 

Since I was sitting in each of the cars when the laptimes were set, I know Jethro gave equal commitment to the task. So, both Cayenne and ML63 were quicker on track than the Lotus Elise S. Ok, once you've let that sink in let me then tell you that the Elise was running on 'R' spec tyres, whilst the ML63 was running on all-season 4x4 tyres..

Later in the day I was riding with Jethro in the Elise, whilst experiencing the surreal feeling of the ML63 closing on us around the lap. He had to give it everything it was worth just to stay ahead.

What doesn't come across so clearly from the article is that the ML63 was quicker than the Cayenne Turbo around a lap. Because the Cayenne's ESP system could be completely turned off it managed to carry more speed through the fastest corner, otherwise the ML felt quicker, sounded quicker and reached higher speeds along the straights.

Putting these lap times in perspective, both ML63 and Cayenne lapped Bedford's west circuit as quickly as the latest M5. Think about that. All of them with over 500bhp on tap, but one of them a genuine 'sports saloon' and indeed one of the fastest saloon cars in the world. Yet the SUVs lapped as quickly.

The supposedly inept 4x4 ML lapped as quickly as an SL600 or SL55. And quicker than an S65 AMG. So in other words, next to the SLK55 the ML63 is thus far the quickest AMG yet tested on the circuit.

Other scalps worthy of a mention include; new Jag XK, Nissan 350Z, Mitsubishi EVO 260, Bentley Continental GT, Golf R32, Monaro VXR, Lotus Europa. A Porsche 997 was just over 1 second quicker on a lap, likewise a Roush Mustang 420RE.

As far as outright acceleration is concerned;

0-60 (mph) - 4.7s - 4.6s (Cayenne TT - ML63)

0-100 (mph) - 11.4s - 11.0s

0-120 (mph) - 16.8s - 15.9s

That latter time by the way is faster than any M-BMW except the latest M5/M6.

1/4 mile - 13.2s - 13.1s

and finally;

0-100-0 (mph) - 16.46s - 16.62s (Cayenne TT - ML63).

Although by the time I had finished with the Cayenne its brakes were glowing red-hot and felt crap.

The conclusion from this test was that the Elise was the more natural track partner (no surprise there), but that the two uber-SUVs, especially the ML63 are genuinely fast and sporting cars in their own right and deliver the same level of performance as a 997 C2S.

 

All I have to say is

 

0-120 (mph) 15.9s

Thats very quick, whats 0 - 120 times for E55?

p.s do you think E63 would be better at that track?

 

Spectacular job -- THANKS!!!

Do you have figures for speeds at the end of the 1/4 mile runs?

 

Yes, sorry.

108mph (Cayenne TT)

109mph (ML63)

Some other factoids that I haven't mentioned;

Lap times; (circuit length 1.8 miles, punctuated by two hairpin bends)

Cayenne TT - 1:29.55
ML63 - 1:30.05
Elise S: 1:30.20

The lap time for the ML63 is slower than it should be because we were sharing the track with a corporate race experience event and the marshalls had placed cones back on the track when we came to set the ML's time. These made entry to the slowest corner too tight and lost around 3-4 tenths of a second.

When we weighed the cars, we got the following results;

Cayenne TT - 2476kg (54% front, 46% rear)
ML63 - 2313kg (56% front, 44% rear)
Elise S - 863kg (38% front, 62% rear)

The Cayenne was riding on Michelin Diamaris 20" tyres, the ML63 was riding on the Continental 4x4 tyres, and the Elise was running on R-spec soft compound Avons.

Top speeds reached around the Milbrook banked oval were;

Cayenne TT - 164.6mph (if you add around 5% more for driving on the flat then this validates the claim of 171mph)
ML63 - 159.8mph (speed limiter intervened, but there was plenty more to come)

 

Awesome thread Steve! It's heartening to see the AMG has done it again. Taken a utility hauler and turned it into a Bahn Burner that even does well on a road course.

Do you know if the EVO mag is available in the States? I'd like a copy of that edition.

 

It's available by subscription using their website, and I also remember seeing a copy in Borders when visiting Redmond, Seattle a few months ago.

It is published in about half a dozen different languages around the world, so it should be possible to find a copy. Same publisher as Maxim...

 

I found a Barnes & Noble that carry it but, I will have to travel 35 miles to get a copy. They currently have the April issue, but since you say it just was released yesterday I'm wondering if it's maybe the May issue that has the ML vs. CTT article. Can you tell me which issue it is? Thanks!

 

I am pretty sure it is the May issue (no. 104) with the Gallardo Superlegga on front. The April issue had a pic of the new V8 M3 on the cover.

 

Thanks Steve!

 

My sister (who lives in London), just brought me the copy of EVO. Will read it tonight! Cheers.