4GS mega thread (UPDATED; preview drives, specs, more interior pics)
07-18-11, 06:46 PM
#2627
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I should have been more specific, I didn't mean Gordon Murray invented CFRP, but he was the 1st person who apply CFRP to automotive application. He did it on a F1 racer 1st back in the early 80s, then apply it to the Mclaren F1 road car in the 90s.
You just described the cost issue
They know how to make an entire car out of CFRP at a high cost, as seen by Mclaren F1/MP4-12C, Enzo and Carrera GT, they just don't know how to mass produce it to make it cheaply for a car under $200k.
Curing cancer is not a cost issue, they just don't know how to do it regardless of cost.
You just described the cost issue
They know how to make an entire car out of CFRP at a high cost, as seen by Mclaren F1/MP4-12C, Enzo and Carrera GT, they just don't know how to mass produce it to make it cheaply for a car under $200k.
Curing cancer is not a cost issue, they just don't know how to do it regardless of cost.
No, it was used in automotive applications before, it was the first production car to have a CF monocoque. Of course, racing cars had been using CF monocoques since the 80's IIRC.
Also no, the issue is not just cost. Producing CF parts is time intensive, not just labor intensive. Yes, cost is a huge issue, but even if it was not, there is still the time factor. Don't try to be smug about it.
07-18-11, 11:30 PM
#2629
while 5 series has 14, 3gs has less than 13 while 2gs had almost 15!yes, but m3 is going back soon, and i think time for suv. just too hard to imagine us in minvan. and if we have one suv, we can definitely consider sedan as replacement of the gs350
07-19-11, 04:10 AM
#2631
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That's just a rumor from MotorTrend back in 2009. Don't take it too seriously IMO. The GS-F can get forced induction that bumps the output of that 5.0L V8 to as much as 600+hp for all we know.
07-19-11, 06:12 AM
#2632
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I certainly hope so otherwise it's going to get left by all the new forced induced M5s, E63 AMGs, RS6s and XFRs of the world. I can only see handling as an advantage to the future GS-F at this point unless they can get the weight under 4000 lbs.
07-19-11, 07:18 AM
#2633
07-19-11, 01:39 PM
#2634
Yes started by the Mclaren chassis by Gordon Murray.
When something is humanly possible, it just take times and efforts to make............ultimately the final factor is cost. The problem to solve here is how to make a CF monocoque quickly and cheaply. The CF monocoque in the MP4-12C is already 10X cheaper to make then the one in the Mclaren F1 after 10 years of progress. Now they need to figure out how to make it another 10X cheaper to use it in a sub-$100k car.
Last edited by BNR34; 07-19-11 at 01:45 PM.
07-19-11, 08:22 PM
#2640
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Let's see how it looks on stock suspension and 17's
Anyway, like you, not expecting a lot but hoping to be surprised. Still hoping the hybrid will be a real step forward
