As car enthusiasts, we often desire what we cannot have. In the US, we are attracted to JDM, or Japanese Domestic Market cars that can only be imported after the 25-Year Rule. One of the most legendary JDM cars is the Honda NSX.
The Acura NSX was available in the American market, but the Honda NSX-R was exclusive to Japan and it was truly remarkable. This version of the NSX focused on track performance and weight reduction, making it a significant part of automotive history. It showcased the incredible character and precision that were fine-tuned by racing legends like Ayrton Senna.
For car enthusiasts in the United States, the wait is finally over. The Cultivated Collector in New Canaan, Connecticut is offering a 1996 Honda NSX-R for sale, with only 11,371 miles on the odometer. This particular car is number 458 out of the limited production run of 483. It has been meticulously maintained and is in excellent condition. The car comes with plastic protection on the door sills, service records from the beginning, the manual, and all available books and keys. Owning an NSX-R would be a dream come true for any car enthusiast or JDM fanatic, especially one in such exceptional condition. If you are interested in purchasing this incredible car, you can view the listing by clicking the link below.
The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is known for its powerful engine and impressive performance. While it may not have the traditional rumble of a small-block V8, its flat-plane-crank V8 engine offers a smooth and consistent idle. However, when you step on the accelerator, you’ll experience the immediate response and high-revving capability that make the LT6 engine stand out. The Z06’s performance becomes more dramatic as the revs increase, especially above 4000rpm.
The engine delivers power in a linear and progressive manner. When driven at higher speeds and revs, it gains an extra surge of power. Although not as dramatic as a Honda VTEC kick, this characteristic is still noticeable and adds to the driving experience.
As the engine approaches its redline at 8600rpm, it unleashes a thrilling metallic sound that rivals the exhaust notes of top European sports cars. In terms of acceleration, the Z06 performs exceptionally well. With warm Cup 2 R tires and optimal grip, it can reach 60mph from a standstill in just 3.1 seconds, 100mph in 6.8 seconds, and complete a quarter-mile in 11.2 seconds. These figures surpass those of a Porsche 911 GT3 PDK but may be outperformed by turbocharged or hybrid-powered rivals like the Porsche 911 Turbo S, McLaren 720S, or Ferrari 296 GTB.
On normal roads, the Z06 offers various driving modes that can be adjusted to suit different preferences and conditions. While some testers may find the selection overwhelming, it doesn’t cause major issues. The carbon brakes provide manageable bite and progression, and the dual-clutch gearbox delivers quick and precise shifts. However, it’s the V8 engine that truly shines, with its impressive power, responsiveness, sharpness, and mechanical charm.
While the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 excels on wide and fast circuits like Silverstone or Laguna Seca, it still demonstrates impressive pace and handling precision on the tighter bends of the Millbrook Alpine Hill Route. Its stiff chassis provides excellent stability, allowing for precise turn-ins and maintaining grip even at high speeds. The dampers work effectively, distributing the load evenly on the tires, and the electronic stability aids offer confidence when accelerating out of corners.
When the stability aids are turned off, the Z06’s rear axle, equipped with 13-inch-wide tires, can be provoked into predictable oversteer. Controlling the car may require quick reflexes, but it remains manageable and predictable at its limits.
You’re in the market for a motorcycle, and your research is inconclusive. You can’t make up your mind whether you should go for the full fat large motorcycle with all the bells and whistles, or go with the lite version of the experience. Well, worry not, we’re here to confuse you some more with our advice!
As you can imagine, your buying decision will be influenced a lot by factors determined by you alone. What is your experience level with motorcycles? How much are you willing to work on your riding and wrenching skills? Does the place where you live have a lot of great riding weather, or is it unpredictable? Does it snow or rain for a lot of the year? What will you use your motorcycle for the most, commuting or touring? Do you have friends that already own a particular type and size of motorcycle? Whether a big bike or small bike is best for you is a great question and the answer is not as black and white as we’d like it to be. Both sides of the argument have their merits and drawbacks, so let us get on with why a big bike might be good for you – but a small one might just be better.
Have you ever heard the phrase “the only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys”? If you have, and you subscribe to this school of thought, then you must have the biggest, baddest motorcycle possible. A bigger motorcycle will give you more of everything – performance, comfort, admiring looks, features, distance between fill ups (if you’re the touring kind and pick the right one)… the list goes on. You’ll get cutting edge two-wheeler technology because the latest tech always debuts on the more expensive products. You’ll also get a massive range of accessories for a large motorcycle, because that is simple economics – someone who has enough to purchase a large motorcycle will have the moolah to drop on a bunch of accessories because (s)he has that much more disposable income.
9Small Bike: Cheaper Buy The Dozen
Yamaha
Sure, bigger might be better, but there also can be too much of a good thing. Look at the prices of the kings of the hill – you’re staring at the wrong end of $30,000 for a two wheeled monstrosity that we’re not sure everyone in the country can use all around the year. Oh, and that’s just the sticker price, we aren’t even talking about the options list! A large motorcycle is in some ways the opposite of what makes two wheels so much fun. Minimalism has its charm, and two wheeled fun certainly subscribes to that. You can have 100% of the fun 90% of the time with a cheaper, smaller motorcycle – so why not pick the smaller one? Or get more than one small motorcycle and cover all your bases!
8Big Bike: More Features
Zero Motorcycles
Top profile shot of Zero SR/S dash display and smartphone with Zero app.
The term ‘features’ covers a lot of ground. However, the features that big bikes offer make it easier to be a rider in varied weather conditions. For example, wind protection is better on a big bike, and some will have adjustable windscreens, or you can purchase an aftermarket one to suit yourself. Heated grips are another feature which can extend your riding season, or help you get to your destination if you’ve had some unforeseen delay on the road. If you’re someone who likes to go on long rides, you will appreciate other touches like a good audio system, inbuilt Apple CarPlay, the TFT color screens that will display navigation, so you don’t need a separate screen or to put your phone in harm’s way… the list goes on.
As of the beginning of this year, lane splitting was legal in only five states: Arizona, California, Utah, Montana, and Hawaii. That means you can filter through stopped traffic as well, given certain conditions. A big motorcycle’s weight and width make it unwieldy in these conditions, and a small bike will be much easier to slip in between cars at the lights. Even not considering lane splitting or filtering, at regular speeds and in stop/go traffic, a small motorcycle will be easier to handle, consume less fuel, and be less likely to cook your legs and other important bits in summer. The energy you save with a small bike will help you through the day, and maybe convince you to take that weekend ride as well!
You’d have to have an irrational hatred of Harleys (you know who you are) to say this isn’t a great-looking bike.
A big engine brings with it many benefits other than winning at displacement and horsepower top trumps. If your commute involves freeway use, a large engine will keep things relaxed at those speeds. A small bike will feel frantic and drain energy simply because it will need more concentration from you. Doing 80mph at 2000rpm in top gear is infinitely more relaxing than buzzing along at 8000rpm on a small capacity bike. Another oft-overlooked corollary is the fact that the chassis, brakes and tires need to match the motor’s performance, so turning and stopping at and from freeway speeds are far easier on a big bike. Large motorcycles designed for touring also have the ultimate ability to cruise: cruise control! For bonus comfort points, you can have a large motorcycle with an automatic transmission.
5Small Bike: Easy Parking
Honda
Styled image of a 2022 Honda Grom minibike motorcycle parked in a parking lot with other motorcycles.
A small motorcycle is easier to park. This is true both in a city and out in the country. You’ll feel this especially in cities, where space is always at a premium. You need almost the width of a small car to park a large motorcycle, while you can squeeze a small motorcycle into a space that could fit a couple of bicycles. The width isn’t the only problem with big motorcycles; their length means that you need more space just outside the actual parking space as well to maneuver into and out of it. Even should you want to park up for the winter, you’re going to need very little space in your garage for a small motorcycle, whereas a large one will require a space to itself.
Press photo of the 2021 Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited
A large engine doesn’t just mean a big horsepower figure; this also means a higher torque figure. Torque is more relevant for us than horsepower, because its availability or lack thereof affects us all the time. More torque across the rev range will offer better throttle response and the ability to carry a higher payload. That means a large engine will allow you to carry luggage and/or a pillion in comfort. This might not be a big deal on your daily commute, but going up a canyon road with a full load and a passenger is a very different experience if your engine can handle the extra load without breaking into a sweat. Even going down an incline becomes easier if your high-torque engine can help you regulate your speed and momentum down a slope with engine braking.
After all that we’ve said about a large engine being better for touring, if you’re planning on riding an appreciable amount on bad roads or no roads, a small motorcycle might just be the ticket. Of course, the bits on pavement will be boring and drain you, but the same momentum that makes highway cruising easy on a big bike will work against it on a dirt road. Your chances of falling also go up significantly on off-pavement sections, and if you do, lifting a small motorcycle that has fallen is infinitely preferable near the end of a tiring day of riding. Should your motorcycle break down, or even should you need to move it in the parking lot with muscle power, a small motorcycle will be much easier to push around.
2Big Bikes: Safety
BMW Motorrad
Sure, ABS is standard for motorcycles in our market, but the bigger the motorcycle, the more the features that get added on to it – including safety. Today’s top-spec motorcycles have six-axis IMUs that enable them to tailor their safety systems like ABS and traction control to the specific conditions. Kawasaki’s cornering ABS on its large motorcycles applies more braking force to the outside front disc in a corner. The Honda Fireblade decides which brake, front or rear, gets the appropriate amount of braking force. Ducati’s Multistrada V4 debuted radar-assisted adaptive cruise control last year. Honda’s Goldwing has had airbags since 2006. Europe is trying to put legislation in place that will help fallen riders send out an SOS message should they fall off their motorcycle. Damon Motorcycles will take safety to the next level with CoPilot, their AI-based safety system. None of this tech has made it to small motorcycles yet because of the costs involved.
Stranded on side of the road with broken carburetor
Stranded on side of the road with broken carburetor
“The more things there are, the more things there are to go wrong”. With all the safety and comfort that big motorcycles offer, they are complex out of necessity. That means should something break, it’s not going to be easy to fix. That holds true both in terms of cost as well as expertise required to fix the problem. Out in the boonies you might not get the expertise required to fix a large, complex motorcycle, and even in a city, you might have to wait for a while to get a replacement part if your motorcycle isn’t manufactured in the country. Even small repairs can be a pain in the, er, back. Getting a large, fully laden motorcycle onto the main stand to repair a puncture is a task in itself!
If you are having trouble with your iPhone’s settings, including the screen rotation feature, you can try resetting all of your iPhone’s settings to their defaults. This is a step before performing a factory reset. Your saved files and logins will not be affected, but you will need to set up preferences like alarms and Wi-Fi connections again. While it can be annoying, this is the best option when you can’t access your settings properly.
Open the Settings app.
Select the General settings.
Select Reset.
Select Reset All Settings.
Enter your iPhone PIN to confirm the reset.
After your iPhone reboots, all of your settings, including the screen rotation setting, should be restored to their defaults. If your iPhone is still not working properly, you can follow these same steps, but choose “Erase All Content and Settings” in the Reset menu to perform a factory reset. However, please note that this will erase all of your saved files and settings, which may not be necessary for fixing a stuck screen.
We admire manual transmissions and will definitely miss them in the electric era. However, we cannot deny that automatic gearboxes have certain advantages. And we’re not just talking about everyday comfort. In the performance segment, cars with automatic gearboxes are usually faster on tracks because of their faster gear changes. Nevertheless, a skilled and experienced driver can still perform miracles even with a stick shift. And this new video proves that.
In this video, we have a Porsche 911 GT3 from the 991.2 generation, driven by an experienced driver, lapping the Nurburgring. According to the owner of the car, the driver has completed between 300 and 400 laps at the legendary track. He admits that there is still room for improvement over a two-day event, with progress made from the first lap to the last.
Let’s start with some background about the car. The 911 GT3 from the 991.2 generation is the facelifted version of the 991.1. It brought back the option for a manual transmission. The 4.0-liter engine under the hood received many hardware upgrades, resulting in a boost in power to 493 horsepower (368 kilowatts) and 339 pound-feet (460 Newton-meters) of torque. The factory performance numbers showed that cars equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox could accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour (0-97 kilometers per hour) in 3.8 seconds. The dual-clutch automatic, on the other hand, was quicker at 3.2 seconds.
Alpine is looking to expand its presence in the coming years by securing investments from various partners. The French niche brand, known for its road cars and involvement in Formula 1, has teamed up with investors, including Maximum Effort Investments co-founded by actor Ryan Reynolds, as well as Otro Capital and RedBird Capital Partners, to support its ambitious plans.
In terms of Formula 1, Alpine has gained the support of Maximum Effort Investments, Otro Capital, and RedBird Capital Partners. Additionally, Alpine has also announced its participation in the 2024 World Endurance Championship, with the recently revealed LMDh challenger, called the A424_β, featuring a 3.4-liter, single-turbo V6 hybrid engine producing 670 horsepower.
On the road car front, Alpine has plans to launch seven new models by the end of the decade. The brand’s focus is not only on internal combustion engine vehicles but also on electric vehicles, showcasing its commitment to sustainable mobility.
While driving a sports car with a manual transmission is an unmatched experience, these configurations often have limitations when it comes to driver assist systems. Subaru has announced that it is currently working on integrating its EyeSight family of safety technologies into models equipped with manual transmissions.
In an official press release, the Japanese automaker confirms that it is adapting EyeSight to suit the driving and operating characteristics of vehicles with manual transmissions. Once the development work is complete, the system will be able to function in various conditions and provide critical assistance to the driver, similar to how EyeSight operates in vehicles with automatic transmissions.
Porsche offers the 911 in various models, but sticking to the basic Carrera with rear-wheel drive is a safe bet. Despite being the entry-level variant, it can easily outpace most cars on the Autobahn. A recent video showcases the base 911 being pushed to its limits, reaching its top speed.
Porsche has its own definition of what an entry-level version means, so even the rear-wheel-drive Carrera provides exhilarating acceleration when fully throttled. It can go from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 4.2 seconds (or 4.0 seconds with the Sport Chrono Package). At its maximum speed, it reaches 182 mph (293 km/h), although the digital speedometer in the video displays a slightly higher velocity.
The Aston Martin DB12 has made its official debut in North America, but unfortunately it is not yet available for purchase. The company will begin deliveries of the new GT car later this year. However, you can view it right now at Aston Martin’s new ultra-exclusive location in New York City called Q New York.
Q New York is not just a dealership but is in fact Aston Martin’s “ultra-luxury flagship location” for those customers who want to create their dream car using the company’s bespoke service called Q by Aston Martin. Its location on Park Avenue in Manhattan places it in the heart of New York’s luxury row, making it a perfect spot for special events, product launches, and even an overnight hotel for Aston Martin’s most distinguished customers.
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