Hello, hello friends of high-turning youth!
In the previous episode of "High-Turner: The Soul of the Steel Cannon", GTI faced the Cheaper and more powerful Chinese opponent Lynk & Co 02HB (click to review the second episode), and the strength and potential shown by GTI did not disappoint its fans, it was still the performance and price of the original. But this time, we're ready to take on a stronger opponent, AMG.
Welcome to Episode 3 of The High-Turning: Souls of steel cannons:
Tough giants
GTI won Lynk & Co, but it could only dominate the 200-horse steel cannon world. The new world has long been opened by the violence of stronger opponents. Luxury brands, which once had nothing to do with cost performance, showed their fangs when they shredded the ceiling of steel cannon performance. This is the ultimate totem of luxury performance motorhomes – the AMG.
In 2013, the A45, known as the strongest steel cannon on the surface, entered the game strongly. This car doubled the horsepower of the steel cannon: the original 400-horse hatchback officially came to us.
It seems that the current era is no longer the era when GTI is a dream, a high-R god. So, we're giving GTI a higher-level opponent to challenge. He is A45's "sibling" - AMG A35.
Even for the most beginner, the A35 is priced at a price a Lynk & Co 02 higher than gthi. Spend more money and you get: better branding, interior, tougher walking system and a horsepower output of more than 300 horses. Such a power is obviously not easy to control in the front-wheel drive form, so the A35 carries the same killer from the womb - AMG Performance specially tuned four-wheel drive.
In the face of such a strong opponent, the original GTI can hardly see the shadow of victory. This is the mark of the new era steel cannon, and it is what makes GTI desperate. So, is there really no chance at all?
Retrofits strengthen the GTI
The key culture inherited by GTI in the past 45 years is that generations of GTI fans have helped GTI improve performance with the spirit of not accepting defeat. That's right, to beat AMG, GTI has to change!
In the face of opponents with greater horsepower, the first thing we think of is naturally to make up for the shortcomings in power. We believe that if the EA888 brushes the first-order program, it will not be difficult to increase the horsepower to 260 horses. Unfortunately, because it is a new car, there is no stable program that has been successfully developed. Therefore, how to make up for the gap between GTI and A35 in the corner has become the key.
The 40,000-piece modification budget is the dignity of the GTI, and if you want to bend fast, you must ensure that the tires have enough grip, and we have made further upgrades to the gthi tires, using the latest version of the 80% track-oriented Michelin CUP2 Connect tires.
Correspondingly, in order to obtain stronger support, lower center of gravity and better inclination, while taking into account the budget, we chose a set of domestic grinding gear shock absorbers and tuned it to a driving data that is more suitable for the track.
In addition, we have upgraded the braking system, the AP Racing 6-piston caliper, paired with the hardener Endless CCRG brake pads in the initial section, hoping to increase the tail speed by drastically reducing the braking distance.
Finally, there are lightweight wheels and aluminum subframes that increase the responsiveness of the body and make it easier for the rider to control the car.
These things add up to only 1/4 of the difference in the price of their cars. We just pushed the GTI to make it better use all its strength and try to fight against a higher-level opponent.
Track challenges
The biggest difference between GTI and A35 is not the brand level. The spread of close to 20W yuan allows the A35 to get a lot more than gti. The A35 is powered by a 2.0T four-cylinder engine code-named M260, although it does not have the legendary one-man, one-machine nameplate. But as a steel cannon with three letters of AMG, its maximum horsepower still exceeded the 300-horse mark, 86 more than the original powered GTI.
AMG's specially tuned 7-speed dual-clutch transmission and four-wheel drive system, with multiple clutch mid-ranges, can switch between front-wheel drive or 50:50 four-wheel drive, meticulously delivering powerful power to the road. This set of smart four-wheel drive will also adjust the power transmission in real time according to the current body state. This is also its most powerful place: when you bend the center, you can open the oil on the big foot and bend arbitrarily.
Even AMG's most entry-level steel cannon can still step into the 5-second mark with one foot, which is more than 2 seconds faster than the GTI. Compared to the steady pace of the A35 four-wheel drive, gti needs to focus more on how to deal with the loss of power. Although the power is not large, his torque output of 350Nm is still not to be underestimated.
Since there is no limited-slip differential, the corner has become an unbridgeable hurdle. Even with the use of top-notch CUP2 tires, it is inevitable to struggle on the boundary between scratch and indomitable. Acceleration, cornering, GTI have no advantage, the only thing we can do is to find a little opportunity in the car to slow down, otherwise we can only see the back of AMG winning.
The AP5000R hit the wall-like braking force when pedaled hard, and even felt as if the whole car was about to buckle, the force was extremely terrifying. And that allows GTI to grab more time before each bend. The grinding tooth shock is firmly pressed to the ground in the bend, without a trace of superfluous action, try to cherish every bending speed. The lighter subframe is also doing its best to reduce the push head, and the balance of victory seems to have some of them starting to tilt toward the GTI.
Someone once asked: Why is it that sometimes there is a sudden silence around me?
At this moment when GTI was chasing, my heart was suddenly quiet, like the roar of the exhaust waves outside the window, stripped away from me in this time and space. From the first episode, we have been exploring, what is the spirit of GTI?
Is it a higher driving pleasure at a cost-effective ratio?
Is it not out of touch with the balance of life to give more possibilities?
Is it the spirit of not willing to give in to the strong?
Rival or comrade-in-arms? The future of fuel vehicles
GTI lost, even if we helped it to do some clever improvements, but the generation gap of technology, this improvement is far from being able to make up.
GTI's challenge is not to step on the A35, after all, from multiple dimensions such as brand, overall performance, and luxury, GTI has never been an opponent of A35. However, in the past 45 years, he has improved his GTI through confrontation again and again, and this time it has also proved that there is still a lot of potential to be tapped, and he is still the most cost-effective and driving pleasure player.
After all, the times are moving forward. Whether it is GTI, or Lynk & Co 02, AMG A35, Type-R, will eventually enter the end of the fuel vehicle. Although at this moment, they are rivals, but in the future, they will look back and understand that they were the best partners.
In the future, there will no longer be a loud and moving roar, and there will be no more flames spewing out of the exhaust, and those words that are said to young people who play with cars can only be embedded in the posters of the car, and fade into memories with the flow of years.
Pure fuel performance cars are no longer the choice of the future.
The future has its own choices.
Closing session
It may not be the time for GTI to be a god, and more formidable opponents have arrived. Do you have anything you want to talk to us about about the past and future of these steel guns? "High-Turning Men Season 1: Soul of the Steel Cannon" has ended here, what kind of high-turning disciples do you want to see in the second season? Please talk to us in the comments section!