Girl on Cars

Laura's car, lucky number 7

(Credit: Laura Burstein)

The Porsche Camp4 racetrack is perched more than 9,000 feet above sea level. So if the sight of the new Porsche 911 Carrera S to which I was assigned didn't take my breath away, the elevation certainly did. But armed with water, aspirin, and special acupressure wristbands to prevent motion sickness, I was ready to start my engine.

The one-day program was divided into four specific exercises: The skid pad, an obstacle-avoidance course, a slalom course, and the full track. The skid pad was a large circle cut into the snow. The goal wasn't to just drive around it, but rather, to drift around it sideways.

Laura and instructor Claude

(Credit: Jonathan Elfalan, courtesy of Road & Track)

My instructor, Claude, did a couple of example laps before it was my turn. He made it look so easy. The trick is to turn the wheel and accelerate quickly to make the back of the car come out, then to counter-steer to make the car correct. To keep the car moving around the circle, it's a delicate dance of acceleration, lift, and slight but precise steering input. At first it felt unusual to try to drift the car, because many of the techniques go against what we learn in driver's ed. But after a while, the concept clicked, and I really got a feel for how the car responded in the snow.

An instructor gets sideways in the snow

(Credit: Reagan Morgan)

The obstacle-avoidance course consisted of a straight, followed by a sharp swerve to the left (as if going around a car or other object at the last second). This one was slightly easier to master, although none of us went very fast. By the end of our runs, most of us were drifting out of the way, rather than steering around.

The slalom course put together the techniques we'd learned in the previous two exercises. It was fun to drift the car from side-to-side around the cones.

Laura on the track

(Credit: Jonathan Elfalan, courtesy of Road & Track)

The grand finale was driving the full track. It was an exhilarating combination of uphill straights, sharp turns, and lots of elevation changes. Admittedly, some of us lost control a time or two and plowed into the high snow banks (I crashed twice, including once going into the pit lane. I claim the latter was my homage to Lewis Hamilton, a la his pit stop in Shanghai last season). Fortunately, snow is forgiving, unlike concrete.

If I were able, I'd have taken the five-day course. During the one-day program, I felt like I never fully grasped the concepts of what we were trying to learn until the exercise was over. More driving time would have definitely helped. But at the end of the day, all of us felt like we'd learned something new - and we had a lot of fun in the process.

Click here for some basic winter driving tips, straight from the Porsche Camp4 Colorado curriculum.

(Credit: Reagan Morgan)

Here are some winter driving tips straight from the Porsche Camp4 Colorado curriculum:

• Cars respond more slowly on slippery surfaces. Always wait a moment after steering, braking, or accelerating to see how the car behaves before giving it more input.
• Visibility is greatly reduced in bad weather. Make sure you can see clearly, and turn on your headlights.
• Brake carefully and accelerate more gently.
• Get the car pointed where you want to go before getting on the gas.
• Be aware of reduced grip.
• Take corners at lower speeds.
• Brake sooner and longer than on dry surfaces.
• Apex later.
• Look for fresh snow - it provides more grip.
• Avoid icy ruts.
• Check tire pressures monthly - tire pressure can change by 1 psi for every 10 degree F change in temperature (use manufacturer-recommended pressure).

And perhaps the most important tip taught in every driving school, whether it's in the snow or on the pavement:

• Look farther ahead. So many of us keep our eyes glued to the back of the car in front of us. The car goes where you look, so get those eyes up and anticipate your next move!

(Credit: Jonathan Elfalan, courtesy of Road & Track)

When the weather turns cold, scores of well-to-do winter sports enthusiasts flock to the high slopes of Vail valley in Colorado for world-class skiing and snowboarding. But about 20 miles west of Vail Village, high upon a privately owned mountain, sits a secret winter wonderland: a racetrack made of snow and ice.

The twisty road course, built on top of a golf course, is the training ground for Camp4 Colorado, a winter driving school hosted by the Porsche Travel Club, an offshoot of the Porsche Sport Driving School. Here, with professional instruction, participants drive the Porsche 911 Carrera 4, the Carrera 4S, and the Cayenne SUV, in a variety of exercises designed to familiarize drivers with how the cars respond in low-traction conditions.

When I was invited to participate in the program, I was both excited and hesitant; this California girl has hardly ever seen snow, let alone driven in it.

Camp4 offers both a one-day program and a five-day program. The longer school is a combination of driving instruction and recreational activities (with only two-and-a-half days of actual driving time). Our media program was a tad modified--we did one full day of driving, with some additional organized activities afterward.

Some of the Porsche instructors

(Credit: Laura Burstein)

The Colorado school is based on Porsche's Camp4 program in Finland, a winter-driving program in its eighth year that takes place at the Arctic Driving Center, a test facility long used by car manufacturers for covert cold-weather testing. But whereas the Finnish program takes place on a permanent circuit, the Colorado course had to be created from scratch:

While the weather was still fair, a team of designers mapped out the track circuit, careful to avoid obstacles such as sand traps. When winter hit, the builders used a "snow cat" tractor to pack snow into the grass over a period of a couple of weeks to create a base layer. Then, a water truck was used to run about 75,000 gallons of reconstituted water over the track, one section at a time, to create a layer of ice. Finally, fresh snow was dragged over the ice to create a powdery finish. That's no small feat.

Another thing that impressed me about Camp4 was the quality of the driving instructors. Most, if not all, had professional racing experience--including rally, open-wheel, drifting, and Nascar (though I won't hold the latter against them).

Our day began with a classroom session, where we learned about vehicle dynamics such as weight transfer, cornering, and traction, and how applying steering, throttle, and brakes in different combinations could control (or fail to control) a car in a slippery situation.

After class, it was time to head up the mountain to the track.

Continue reading Porsche's winter fantasy camp, part 2 >>>

SSC Ultimate Aero

(Credit: SSC)

Shelby SuperCars' (SSC) Ultimate Aero was officially named the Fastest Production Car today by the Guinness Book of World Records. It's the first American-made car to hold the title since the Ford GT40 in 1967.

The 71-year-old driver of the Ultimate Aero, Chuck Bigelow, reached an average top speed of 256.19 miles per hour on two passes--one in each direction--on a two-lane road in rural Washington state. It broke the current official record held by the Koenigsegg CCR by 15.09 miles per hour, and the Bugatti Veyron's unofficial speed by 3.63 miles per hour. And although the Ultimate Aero broke the record, the SSC folks said the car has the potential to go even faster. Langley Full Scale Wind Tunnel testing calculates the vehicle to be aerodynamically stable at speeds of up to 273 miles per hour.

In order for a Guinness hopeful to contend in the "production car" category, the car must use pump gas and conform to all DOT/EPA regulations, including those for emissions and safety.

The Ultimate Aero uses a proprietary, twin-turbo V8 that produces 1183 bhp and 1094 foot-pounds of torque, with a drag coefficient of .357. The car is fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires, which, according to SSC testers, show little signs of wear at speeds from 200 to 257 miles per hour on public roads.

SSC is also hoping the Ultimate Aero will set the Guinness World Record for the production car with the most horespower.

2008 Cadillac CTS

(Credit: General Motors)

The word "performance" seems to be thrown around a lot in the automotive world these days. With increasing expansion and competition within the luxury sport sedan category, manufacturers are eager to drop statistics about horsepower, torque, zero-to-60 speeds, and other numbers to woo (and maybe even slightly intimidate) potential buyers. But specifications alone can't convey the true spirit of a car; as Aristotle said, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. So it makes sense that the ideal road test subjects the car to a wide range of variables: twisty turns of varying camber, long straightaways, elevation changes, stop-and-go traffic, and many other factors.

But finding the opportunity for such a test can be tough, even for automotive journalists. While we always look for the chance to go fast, brake hard, and put a car through the ringer as much as we can, there is only so much testing we can safely and legally do on public roads. And that's why, during a recent press event for the all-new 2008 Cadillac CTS, I was pleased to find that not only did Cadillac provide the opportunity to drive a variety of terrain at length, but offered the chance to test a performance car the way it should truly be tested: on the race track. And not just any track, but Laguna Seca, arguably one of the best tracks in the country.

The drive begins

Our two-day road trip began in San Jose, Calif. The group, which consisted of several journalists and a handful of Cadillac execs and communications folks, paired off into a line of waiting Cadillac CTSs for the drive down to Carmel Valley. My car, which I shared with another freelance writer, had a 3.6 liter direct injection V6 engine, all-wheel drive, and the middle version of the CTS' three suspension options (known as FE2, although when asked, Cadillac reps couldn't remember what the FE stood for). Our route was carefully planned out for us ahead of time, but since I was the "local," I only half paid attention to the directions. The navigation system proved helpful; it loaded directions quickly, had a user-friendly interface, and was easy to read. And although we took a different path, we soon arrived at Laguna Seca with the rest of the group.

Interior and navigation

After a detailed discussion about various powertrain, suspension, and tire options, they turned us loose on the track. Two instructors from Laguna's Skip Barber racing school were on hand to conduct the session, one of whom graciously sat in the passenger seat to help me with my technique as I took my laps in the "track ready" CTS with rear-wheel drive, a six-speed automatic transmission, and the performance-oriented FE3 suspension. Although I was skeptical about an automatic transmission holding up on the track, I found that the gears changed surprisingly quickly, shifted at higher revs to provide ample power, and held on through the turns. The brakes also bit nicely before turn-in, and the tires were plenty sticky for a passenger car. Granted, this version of the car wasn't going to win any World Challenge races, but for a stock production car, it was full of pleasant surprises.

Later that night, we dined al fresco and traded stories about our experience at Laguna. Jim Taylor, general manager of Cadillac, explained that when his team was planning the CTS media drive, it wasn't easy to convince the powers that be to take the cars to Laguna Seca. But he got their attention when he spoke in terms they could understand: He told them that driving Laguna Seca was to a car enthusiast what playing Pebble Beach was to an avid golfer. Apparently that did the trick.

Lots of windy road

The next day, we spent nearly six hours and 180 miles on some of the most narrow, windy and deserted roads in central California. I had the pleasure of driving the first leg with Eric Clough, Cadillac interior designer. We discussed the interior design process in general, as well as some finer points, like why the sunroof cover was thin and translucent instead of rigid and opaque (answer: head room). We took blind corners and off-camber turns with ease, and were able brake quickly for chickens and families of quail who were crossing the road. (One of those chickens wasn't so lucky a few cars later, however.)

Later on, my driving partner was Kevin Smith, manager of Cadillac communications. We talked at length about Cadillac's presence in the Speed World Challenge series. Kevin explained that Cadillac deliberately chose to race production cars, as opposed to sponsoring, say, an open-wheel team, in order to translate what they do on the track as closely as possible into their customer cars.

Not only is the CTS deeply rooted in motorsport, but it's the first Cadillac model tested on the famed Nurburgring, considered by many to be the most technically demanding track in the world. European car manufacturers have long tested their vehicles on "the Ring," and now a new generation of American automakers is realizing the prestige and importance associated with this benchmark. John Zinser, vehicle line director for the rear-wheel platform at General Motors, says the extensive testing at the Nurburgring wasn't designed just to impress U.S. customers, it was to help convince potential buyers around the world that Cadillac is on par with other performance brands. In his words, the company's goal is to get the CTS on people's lists.

Testing at the Nurburgring

(Credit: General Motors)

As our tour ended back in Silicon Valley, I'd developed a newfound respect for the latest version of the CTS. Cadillac seems to have hit the mark on a car that's luxurious to drive, yet can still stick the corkscrew up there with its European peers.

For more on the 2008 Cadillac CTS, see CNET's First Look.

Sir Stirling Moss at the Concours d'Elegance

(Credit: Nathan Lang)

Formula 1 has long been considered the pinnacle of automotive and motorsport technology. Many advancements on road cars, including paddle shifters, traction control and improved tire technology, have come out of the development of these engineering marvels.

Sir Stirling Moss, who drove in 66 Grand Prix races between 1955 and 1961, was an honorary judge at this year's Concours d'Elegance at Pebble Beach. While he was carefully studying the lines and mechanics of this year's competitors, we had a chance to ask Moss, now 77, a few questions about his role in racing and how today's cars have changed.

For one, the sheer number of races in a season was far greater when Sir Moss was racing. In the 1955 season, there were 7 races that counted toward the world championship title, and 16 non-championship races. In Moss' final year, there were 8 championship and 36 non-championship races. Today, F1 drivers only have to compete in 17 races per season.

"Back then we had many more races a year," Moss said. "And we still had time to chase pretty girls."

Current Formula 1 cars are some of the fastest in the world. The 2.4 liter, naturally-aspirated V8 engines are mandated to rev at 19,000 rpm (although they're capable of more) and can reach speeds of nearly 220 miles per hour. But being on the forefront of technology doesn't come cheap. Today's teams spend between $57 million and nearly $420 million on the sport annually.

So what does Moss think of these contemporary carbon-fiber speed demons?

"I think they're just staggering," Sir Moss said. "In the old days, you'd just buckle yourself in. It's quite different now."