The 3 Series Throne (BMW 330i vs Infiniti G35, Legacy B4, Volvo S60)

[niky]

Waiting for GT5. Then switching.

I had three articles on the backburner when I stopped. Didn't have the time to do the epic amounts of photoshop and editing needed to keep it up.

Here's a sample of what was not finished:


From the Infineon section of this particular shoot-out:

Saleen S281

Around the 180 degree bend before the start-finish straight, in preparation for the first of many flying laps, I goosed the throttle of the Saleen. As the rear end came around, I thought to myself: “Finally, a motor that actually works this chassis.”

The Saleen Mustang GT comes with a bespoke body-kit, a supercharger rated at 400hp, a stiffer suspension and Saleen’s own LSD. Bigger brakes, wheels and sticky tires are optional. Thorn didn’t feel like upgrading to Saleen’s twenty inch hoops as he lives on the rocky side of town, and sees a dozen potholes or more on his way to work. Instead, he’s got a set of understatedly handsome 19” chrome wheels. Before we could point out the irony of this choice, he just gave us “the look”… Oh-kay… the price of all these upgrades is a total value dangerously close to Corvette territory and almost three hundred pounds of extra pork over the stock Mustang.

Back on track, the car is moving well. It’s stiff and planted (just like the stock car) and well sorted… mostly. Despite the LSD, the tires are having a hard time corralling all those horses*, and I’m still not getting turns as tightly as in the Cobra. The car still feels heavier, strangely, despite the similarities in weight. The Cobra is just that bit more chuckable in tight corners, due to its shorter wheelbase and more aggressive tires. But the Saleen just pounds the older car down the straights, and its high-speed stability is never in question. It turns in the fastest time of the day, too… but with the most power and an upgraded suspension, any less would have been a disappointment.

*Thorn later reported that his car dynos at 390 hp… which puts the Saleen’s crank pony-count at around 430. Wild.

I was going to remove the fins from the picture to make it look more like the real Saleen, but I liked them, so they stayed for this pic, though I have a more authentic version.

Here's the optimal photo edit for the article bullshot:

(yes, that is a Saleen badge, shrunk to fit on the front quarter panel...)

The car is built up with upgrades to match the actual Saleen S281, including anti-roll bars... based on specs given in a Mustang magazine article, and the bodykit was copied from the same article. I had fun doing it. Shame I never finished the photowork for this article, as the article itself is done.