Wiesmann GT MF4 his LOUD in Hamburg
Merry Old England is a fabulous place to visit, a world of thatched cottages and historic pubs, cobbled streets and warm beer But while we want the look and feel of traditional England, if there was no central heating, so feces flowed in the streets and visible bacteria in our danced pint glass, we would be here as an old world charm shot goes so far, but we like our comforts of the modern world.
So it is with cars, for some of us at least I would love a classic English sports car but do not want to live with failure, rust, rattles, brake failure, and metal folding noise like paper three strikes -ton SUV I am not difficult like that, but I could live with the Wiesmann MF4-s that is because it's classic car that's built today, right now is the roadster built around Swinging Sixties a monocoque aluminum and a powertrain BMW M3 DCT by the Germans.
We were stunned by their range in MF5 head that housed the BMW V10 near nuclear While PR man Frank Schutz told us our asses in Dulmen, as the smaller 414-hp roadster V8 might just be their best car but was not lying.
The entire range has visual coherence of Aston Martin, that is to say only a car buff could tell them apart from the MF4-S average is smaller and lacks the aerodynamic flips and vents that gave Wiesmann far as the modern hypercar under the skin, so it looks like a real step back in time and it is just beautiful.
There are delicious details at every turn and Curvy round, perfectly managed between old and new collisions, perfectly punctuated by LED lights curved rear end loaders through the sides to the old style grille on the nose.
Color, gray with a blush of pink running through its heart, won t for everyone, and the color-coded wheels, dark pink top and dark red inside take perhaps too far, but the choices colors and combinations of leather and Alcantara is almost endless and sewn together by grizzled old ladies on the floor of the Wiesmann factory in the former they're not here robots Sá This paradise of the craftsman.
The interior is also a step back in time of the draw-cord storage space, simple tap-polished steel door, and dials the old school built in an oriented conductive center console There none of real indication that it is a low-volume manufacturer is, it's no quirks and leather is placed perfectly, but look closely at the cockpit and the charm of the old world doesn t feel quite right there new mouths plastic, padded Alcantara seats, a modern stereo, and an LCD screen behind the wheel.
Then there are the plastic paddle shifters behind the wheel, two pedals perfectly milled below, and when I turn the key and press the start button, the modern world explodes around me and settled in threatening deep roar of a BMW V8 mated to a free flowing, dripping fuel exhaust that gives the best engineers of the BMW Bavaria resonance Messerschmitt s go to sleep dreaming of a sudden gas sent birds scattering of trees nearby, and is the factory gates with a tally ho and toodle pip Wiesmann the adventure is about to begin and when it does, it happens without a single horrible jolt.
There was no doubt the V10 BMW M5 on one charge lasts He Sá fantastic engine, but the SMG seven-speed that came with it seemed only built for the race track This heavy transmission is within the range topping Wiesmann MF5 supercar until BMW can forget altogether, and while it feels less jerky in the car lighter sport, it is still a scourge on the driving experience.
Nor-BMW shiny new dual clutch system might take longer to come to market as VW's, but it was worth the wait, and it is now a sports car, you can just slot in drive and enjoy a calm pace with seamless gearchanges cream DCT seven-speed Wiesmann knows a thing or two about ride quality, too.
Looking through the side it just doesn t sense, because the MF4 is small, tense and aggressive, and Michelin Pilot Sport wrap around the BBS 18-inch wheels as rubberbands.
Yet Wiesmann cruises down Main Street with grace and total ease despite wind noise get a little reckless beyond 100 mph, he Sá wonderful world of comfort and joy that's partly down to these superb seats, which cosset and support equal measure, but it is also down to a sublime chassis configuration built around a monocoque Lotus style that combines the ability to cruise with just epic performance.
Because it is, when all is said and done, the M3 power in a much lighter package, and is alive on the quieter roads near Dulmen The Wiesmann weighs 2,890 pounds full liquids, 30 percent less than the M3, so this thing is like a rocketship Start throttle and Michelins chirp I click on the second report, and third Wiesmann says it hits 62 mph in 4 four seconds, but it feels faster, and the car stops not hammering on the road, with a click of the right finger, all the way to 200 mph as the M3, it needs and it revs is not a lot of torque to play with, but when the engine powers 8500 rpm which is not a major problem.
And it handles like a M3 weighs a third less it can be thrown into the turns, and for a sports car 60s would just hit a tree and fire catching, Wiesmann has all the advantages of the control system BMW's traction and glides gracefully to the other side, it is here that the V8 shows its individual strength, too; with less weight on the front end that we feel sharper V10, sharper in the nose, which is what makes it the best in the range.
It is monumentally expensive This car costs 200,000 Lamborghini and Ferrari money, but with the heady mixture of English charm and brutal precision of German engineering, the Wiesmann is an offset alternative for those who dream of a classic car, but do not want treat fecal fluids that come along.
Provision Wiesmann MF4-s longitudinal front engine, rear wheel drive.
Weismann MF4 S 4, hindsight.