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 ARTEGA GT

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jamesy
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jamesy


Male Number of posts : 2769
Age : 47
Location : Not shaggin sheep anymore!!!!
Registration date : 2010-03-07

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PostSubject: ARTEGA GT   ARTEGA GT EmptySat Nov 19, 2011 1:31 pm

Comparisons are sometimes too easy to make. That's why they're such an overly used tool in many a hack's literary toolbox. The Artega GT is crying out for them though.

Take that V6 motor and DSG gearbox first. Artega did. It took it all the way from Wolfsburg (where it was being used in the VW Passat R36) and squeezed it into the back of its own aluminium monocoque chassis.

Mid-engined six-cylinder sports car with a double-clutch semi-automatic gearbox? That's comparable to a Porsche Cayman with PDK, surely? And an alu monocoque bathtub chassis using another company's engine and gearbox? You can't tell me you're not thinking Lotus Evora right now...

Henrik Fisker designed it and it's a beaut
Henrik Fisker designed it and it's a beaut
But the Evora may not like the comparison, Artega seemingly able to out-Lotus Lotus when it comes to the 'add lightness' thing and the GT weighing a whole 105kg less than the Evora. The Artega is similarly cosseting and mature inside but manages to give off a much more convincing junior supercar vibe thanks to some impressive visual muscle.

Take a look at those forged 19-inch wheels. The rears are impressively wide with 305-section tyres more normally seen on a Lamborghini or Corvette. The doors are a proper size too. And with an Alcantara-lined roof this high it's almost simple to hop in and out of the GT in a way that Lotus owners either dream of. Or maybe just laugh at.

Either way, it's a pleasure to slide into those cream leather bucket seats. Park your clutch foot up and leave it against the dead-pedal. Push the Artega-badged VW/Audi key into the same generic slot you'll see on anything from a lowly Golf to an Audi RS6. Fighter plane style multi-function LCDs wink into life either side of the beautifully sculpted speedo and rev counter. The needle denoting rpm gently changes from blue (cold) to green (warm) as I check out the myriad other controls and gadgets.

Neat touches abound throughout cabin
Neat touches abound throughout cabin
A GPS navigation rear-view mirror? Also an eight-button LCD centre console, which is tilted away from the driver in this car, absurdly. This will be sorted out for 2012 cars, incidentally. With only a single hour with the car there's no time to waste on buttons or widgets though.

The 3.6 V6 rumbles and burbles away in the manner of a much bigger engine as we dawdle out of Nürburg towards my favourite roads, the track out of bounds to us sadly. The engine note isn't intrusive, but it's definitely insistent. At just over 1,000rpm there's enough poke under the pedal to induce a chuckle. By 1,500rpm it's obvious the 305 rears are more than just a styling statement. For all the docility and smoothness of the DSG transmission there's actually a serious quantity of low-down shove behind the pedal. Jinking through the corners, holding the car against the hairpin curves, I'm enjoying myself.

Mini supercar attitude is perfectly pitched
Mini supercar attitude is perfectly pitched
A straight opens up. I resist the urge to click the paddle-shift early, instead holding the pedal down. The air behind my head vibrates. There's such presence there as we accelerate - not like a Cayman or a Lotus. More like an E39 M5 or Mustang 5.0. It's a deep and heavy rumble at peak torque, turning into a rolling howl as the needle turns yellow near 7,000rpm. Not bad for a Passat engine.

For a moment the needle itself flickers red as I plant the car deep into the rev limiter... or rather, I don't. The DSG just slips the next gear into place without any fuss. The acceleration is, literally, seamless. Having upshifts performed automatically will no doubt drive me mental on a racetrack, but I can't argue with the logic of the DSG on the street. No over-revved engines, no mis-shifts and even better fuel consumption too.

'Street' spec perfectly focused for us
'Street' spec perfectly focused for us
Because, as I've been reminded several times in the build up to being handed the keys, this Artega is 'just' a street car. I'm not to go crazy. It has the 'comfort' suspension, the luxurious interior and the 'normal' four-pot Brembo brakes and discs. But the thing steers so effortlessly over every surface, and I didn't have any trouble stopping either.

Apparently I'm not the only one trying to compare the Artega to more mainstream and established rivals. A 'sport' optioned yellow Artega (with different suspension, tyres and brakes) has recently crushed the Audi TT RS and Cayman S to the tune of over a second a lap at a Sport Auto Hockenheim group test.


ARTEGA GT Artega_gt_press01

ARTEGA GT Artega_gt_press03

ARTEGA GT Artega_gt_press04

ARTEGA GT Artega_gt_press08


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Adam86
Treasurer
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Adam86


Male Number of posts : 3248
Age : 37
Location : B'ham Petrol Station
Registration date : 2008-09-23

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PostSubject: Re: ARTEGA GT   ARTEGA GT EmptySat Nov 19, 2011 7:45 pm

That's a great looking thing!
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nellers2001
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nellers2001


Male Number of posts : 1654
Age : 39
Location : Cardiff
Registration date : 2010-03-07

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PostSubject: Re: ARTEGA GT   ARTEGA GT EmptySun Nov 20, 2011 1:47 am

Urm...yes please!
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Whiting
Can Handle Lift-Off
Can Handle Lift-Off
Whiting


Male Number of posts : 771
Age : 31
Location : Tewkesbury (now bristol)
Registration date : 2010-06-06

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PostSubject: Re: ARTEGA GT   ARTEGA GT EmptySun Nov 20, 2011 4:20 am

ARTEGA GT 734853
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PostSubject: Re: ARTEGA GT   ARTEGA GT Empty

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