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Track Meet

It’s a car lover’s dream at Road America

By Cliff Leppke

Each spring, the Midwest Automotive Media Association invites automotive journalists to its Spring Collection at Road America near Elkhart Lake. It’s a car lover’s dream. You sample the latest automotive products, rub elbows with manufacturer representatives and engage in a variety of motorsports activities.

This unfolds at one of America’s best motorsports facilities tucked in Wisconsin’s scenic kettle moraine—a short distance north of Milwaukee. The two-day event commences at the pit or paddock area, where a vast array of cars and light trucks are lined alphabetically from A (Acura) to V (Volkswagen). With so many cars, so much competition and so little time, tasting every automotive confection is impossible. Nonetheless, someone must try. I did. Oh, the agony!

The odor de jour: essence of hot brakes and scorched rubber. Oh, how I love the smell of brake dust in morning. And now, dear reader, I must share that misery with you. Because the track was wet, I chose all-wheel-drive cars from the “A” section—Audi. However, these weren’t ordinary luxury sedans. Instead, Audi tempted me with its S6— a V-10 powered, mid-size luxury sedan that lets loose Wagnerian emotion. A 435-hp Lamborghini-like engine explains that part. It scats from zero to 60 in less than six seconds. You guide it with light but precise steering. Another track-ready Audi is the RS4—a beefed up $70,000 compact sports sedan. It zestfully tames curved, crowned or wet asphalt. A late arrival, which Audi’s press fleet specialist Sarah Toycen made sure I drove, was Audi’s new TT—a sleek, hatchback coupe that performs sports car duties well. I instantly bonded with this top-of-the-line V6, Quattro model. It’s a lot hoot on track or autocross circuits.

Audi didn’t let me miss its latest assault on wallets and roadways—the mid-engine, 420-hp V8 super-car called the R8. You’ve seen this car on the covers of nearly every glossy automobile magazine. It is a fascinating low-slung, mid-engine exotic. Mike Galati, Audi’s racking pro, drove the $100,000-plus R8, demonstrating its sudden acceleration (zero to 60 in four seconds) and astonishing cornering grip. Due to the vehicle’s mid-engine layout, rev-happy engine and all-wheel-drive, you attack the corners hard! It really digs in with a pit-bull-like snarl.

There must be a reason Porsche is gobbling up VW stock. The R8 may be better than a Porsche. Now the difficult to move to letter B. The only Buicks were for show. Thus, I “reluctantly” tested the Bentley Continental GT. If you are of the bespoke class and want something lovely to set your eyes on and would rather send Charles-the-chauffeur to fetch your kids while you entertain yourself on Wisconsin’s back roads, it’s difficult to find a more beguiling partner than the Bentley. Of course, it is sumptuously finished inside and out. Controls resembling organ stops, with knurled, jewel-like surfaces, abound. This car’s turbocharged W-12 engine—it’s like two narrow V6 engines mated—moves one forward with dignified thrust. The chassis is firm, neither soft nor mushy, and provides a nice sense of controlled isolation. The car also reads your mind. Press moderately on the throttle and smooth, elegant progress is yours. Step a little farther and the transmission and exhaust systems change their moods. The engine revs gleefully toward redline as the exhaust, now diverted for more rush and less hush, emits a sonic ode to joy.

Surely one could stop at this B but there’s more. BMW offered its top-of-the-line 760LI. A large German luxury sedan with a complicated stubby shift lever and fussy controls. This BMW also indicates a trend in luxury cars toward multiple steering column stalks that operate steering wheel positioning, cruise, lane-change and various shift modes—far too much decoration on the tree. The BMW Z4, a fixed top sports coupe, and the new 335i coupe proved entertaining. The latter was especially playful carving through Road America’s many turns.

Dodge’s Viper SRT10 came with Duck, Road America’s track pro, who rode shotgun. He helped me charm this powerful but awkward-to-drive sports car. With the correct combination of throttle, brakes and steering one can drift through corners with race-car speed—which, of course, is why someone might want such a ride. The speedometer hissed to about 135 mph on the Moraine Sweep, which I did twice, just to be sure. Brake very hard before entering turn five, downshift (if you can, the manual transmission will block what it considers the wrong pick) and charge up the hill toward turn six. Hug the inside of the Carousel while firmly applying throttle. The normally cumbersome street machine gracefully hangs out its tail—sweeeeettttt!!!!

Duck applauded my feathered clutch operation, chastised me for my hand-over-hand steering (passing the wheel through one’s hands is preferred these days) and gently persuaded me to back off steering arc in corners and apply more throttle—OH, BABY!!! The sensation was like riding a saucer.

Ford’s 500-hp Mustang GT: sidelined due a driving mishap. Boo!

I scrambled for the off-road-use Hummer H3 but took the left front saddles of Land Rover’s Range Rover HSE and LR2—both proved very capable off road. The Range Rover’s hill decent control and dash-mounted wheel placement pictograph worked very well. Jeep’s Grand Cherokee diesel motored through the most difficult terrain with surprisingly tight turning; its engine chugged away with little effort. This model’s hill-descent feature allows a noticeable slide before engaging.

Other off-roaders included the Suzuki Grand Vitara, which slipped climbing steep rocks in its four-wheel-low lock. A modified (faster) approach speed helped this stump jumper get the job done.

BMW’s X5 proved it has off-road prowess (although why one moves the shift lever forward to engage reverse is odd and while I’m complaining why must one put the BMW’s key in a slot and then push a separate start button?). The only stick-shift model, the Subaru Forester XT, did its assigned course with a minimum of clutch slipping. It’s probably the most thrifty of these off-road capable SUVs.

Hyundai’s Tiburon, a sporty coupe, is a tad nicer overall than earlier models. Its racer looks cannot hide its ordinary compact sedan underpinnings.

Moving to M, Mazda’s powerful Speed 3 is a blast with great reflexes and raw mechanical interface. The obvious competitor, the new four-door VW GTI, is also quite good with ample torque, good road manners and a luxurious interior. Adding two doors doesn’t dilute the GTI’s good manners. An outrageous R GTI, a 300-400-hp race-bred GTI with jackhammer-like takeoff and little ground clearance, received much attention. Evolving from the R concept series of 2005, the R GTI is a street concept that VW has made race ready for exhibitions such as this. See the photo of VW’s public relations guru Keith Price alongside the R GTI. I wedged myself into this Golf’s racing seats. Helga scolded, “strap on the harness.” I did. My “fast” wants an upgrade.

Mercedes’ SLK 350 roadster requires more steering effort than some other rides but proved that looking good doesn’t preclude aggressive driving methods. The GL 600, Mercedes’ $150,000 luxo coupe, pampers you in a suede fog, the body wiggled on back roads. This is the penalty of V-12 leadership.

The “larger” 2007 Mini Cooper S didn’t feel as crisp through the autocross as last year’s smaller model. It has great cornering grip, but many of us felt the car tended to kick its tail up turning hard braking. I found the controls silly. Many resembled cheap, plastic promotional clock-watch-calculators that end up at Goodwill.

Mitsubishi’s Lancer, revamped for 2007, is more refined than the old one—a good thing.

Nissan’s powerful 350Z is a fine sports coupe that does most things well. It feels a bit cheap and rough at the edges after you’ve just driven a BMW.

Pontiac’s Solstice GXP resolves one problem inherent in last year’s model—a coarse, indolent engine. The GXP’s additional grunt comes from a 260-hp turbocharged mill.

Suzuki’s stick-shift SX4 lets one get more out of its 143-hp engine in the autocross than the four-speed automatic version.

Volvo’s C70 convertible-hardtop looks good and has a thoughtfully designed interior but wasn’t track material due to its flabby suspension, body quiver and lazy 218-hp engine. VW’s similar Eos with its 250-hp V6, in contrast, had plenty of muscle but like the C70 didn’t cotton to Road America’s twists.

That takes you through much of this year’s lineup.

GM’s hybrid transit bus ferried us to our automotive-event sites. Its electric motors, battery pack and 8.9-liter diesel engine offer a propulsion system that GM claims offers 50 percent faster acceleration and up to 90 faster reduction of certain emissions when compared with conventional diesel-powered buses

A sassy red 1965 Corvette known as the Swiss Racer Corvette, built for export and now back in the U.S. supplied by ProTeam Corvette Collection in Ohio, was another surprise ride..