Sudden Eclipse of the Press ReleaseWe've written so much about Mitsubishi's imminent reinvention of its Eclipse that we feel like the car has been in production for four years and is ready for replacement. In reality, the new Eclipse only showed its production face to the world at January's Detroit Auto Show. Thank goodness, the long, hard trek is done.
There are virtually no surprises left for Mitsubishi to spring on us with the 2006 Eclipse. As we've reported exhaustively, this newest sunblocker is based on the same Project America platform as the Galant sedan and Endeavor SUV. So it's conventional in most ways, with the unibody containing a rerun of the Galant's MacPherson strut front and multilink rear suspension. However, the Eclipse's wheelbase has shrunk from the Galant's 108.3 inches down to 101.4 inches.
The fourth-generation Eclipse drivetrains are carryovers from the Galant. Base GS models get the iron-block, aluminum SOHC head, 16-valve, MIVEC-equipped 2.4-liter four making 165 hp, while the GT gets the iron-block, aluminum SOHC head, 24-valve MIVEC-equipped 3.8-liter V6 making 260 hp. That makes the GT the most powerful stock Eclipse Mitsu has sold in the United States, although it's tough to think of the big 3.8 as sporting stock.
Both engines are available lashed to a five-speed manual transmission. The four-cylinder's optional automatic has four forward gears and the V6's has five. Once again it's a front-drive-only machine, as all-wheel drive is now just a curiosity stuck in the Eclipse's past.
Of course, styling is a subjective evaluation, but it looks great to us. There are a lot of interesting angles on the car, and details like the low-mounted driving lights pop out impressively.
The newest Eclipse should be in showrooms by the summer with prices starting at less than $20K.
Suby Suby Doo S203Despite plaintive pleas left on the cell phone of Subaru's PR flacks, we don't have photos of Subaru's latest beast, the S203. So instead we ripped these off the company's Japanese Web site (www.subaru-sti.co.jp) and that seems to be good enough.
From where the name S203 derives is up for speculation (though, of course, it succeeds the S202), but it has nothing to do with this car's 320-hp output. That extra oomph beyond the regular STi is from a larger turbo and titanium exhaust system that force the 2.0-liter flat four to inhale harder and exhale more easily. It should be good enough to push zero-to-60-mph times deep into the 4-second range and maybe even put the quarter-mile time into the 12s.
Cosmetically, the S203 gets its own carbon-fiber front lip spoiler, a fully adjustable rear wing and new BBS wheels. In the cockpit there are new thin-shelled Recaro sport seats and a redecorated instrument panel.
As this is written the S203 is strictly for JDM consumption. But imagine it built around the 2.5-liter engine we get in the STi over here and suddenly 400 hp doesn't seem that far away. Maybe if we're really good kids and Santa is in a particularly chipper mood, we could see something like that here before the end of the year.
Don't fault us for wishful thinking.
Return of the M6The very first of BMW's M-cars was the 1979 M1 sports car, and the first regular production car modified into an M-car was the 6 Series coupe that became the M6. It was in production between 1983 and 1989 and only 5,855 were built. But the M6 is finally coming back.
Based on the new 6 Series coupe, the new M6 is the guts and substance of the new M5 weaseled in under the sheet metal of the two-door. And since that includes a 507-hp V10 and sequential seven-speed transmission, the M6 promises to be one of the quickest cars on Earth. And the price should make the M6 (think six figures) the most expensive car BMW sells.
Other changes include a speed-sensing limited-slip rear differential, a revised stability control system and monster 19-inch wheels inside 255/40ZR-19 front and 285/35ZR-19 rear tires. The brakes could stop Pluto from orbiting the sun and feature massive cross-drilled discs and four-piston calipers at every corner. All the suspension tuning has been done with M-spec orthodoxy.
Is this car a compact? Hell no. It weighs 3,762 pounds despite a true carbon-fiber roof panel. But it sure covers the sport side of our magazine's title. So hopefully we'll get to drive it when it comes over here this year. Then we can look forward to the M6 CSL that's bound to appear by 2007.
Thunderhill's SurprisingAcura's TL has great seats, a fantastic stereo and looks good parked in the junior space at the executive garage. But is it suited to be a racecar? Apparently, it is.
An Acura TL prepared by Team Honda Research (basically a bunch of guys who work at Honda, many of whom were on the team that designed the TL and race on their own time using stuff they find laying around their Ohio shop) finished first in their class at December's 25 Hours of Thunderhill, which is sanctioned by the National Auto Sport Association (NASA).
Run at Thunderhill Park Raceway in Willows, Calif., the 25 Hours bills itself as the King of the Enduros and in 2004 attracted 59 entries. The TL was prepared to NASA's specifications for the Honda Challenge series and completely dominated the class competition, completing 650 laps of the three-mile road course to finish 49 laps ahead of the second-place car in the class and third overall.
That's a big win, achieved despite the fact that they made an 11-minute pit stop to fix damage from a nighttime shunt with another car. In fact, they were only a lap behind the second-place Porsche 911 and 31 laps behind the overall winner, a Porsche 911 RSR.
With little financial support from Honda, the TL's most impressive attribute was the quality of its preparation and presentation. Other competitors were even calling the car beautiful.
As with most of the cars in the 25 Hours, the TL was essentially stock. A cold-air intake, custom exhaust headers, lightweight Comptech flywheel, Comptech clutch, H&R coil-overs, a Progress adjustable rear sway bar and SPC camber ball joints and links were the most substantial changes.
For rolling stock the team used Toyota RA-1s around Enkei wheels. The engine, braking system and transaxle were all untouched. Removal of most of the interior dropped the TL's weight by 675 pounds to just 2,797 pounds, despite the fitment of a roll cage and A-Spec body kit and rear spoiler.
Go ahead, rip the interior out of mom's TL. It's time to go racing.