Cars, Boats, Motorcycles, RVs, SUVs, Trucks & Crossovers | Merenyola.com

Among the compact sports cars, the BMW Z4, Porsche Cayman and Porsche Boxster stand out. But which is you? And why did BMW and Porsche wait so long before making the coupes? There is no Boxster coupe, but the Cayman is almost the same thing – but uprated.

It might seem odd that the two German companies, well-known for high-performance and sporty cars, waited to announce their coupes at the same time. The answer lies in why they introduced the roadsters in the first place.

Porsche wanted a new, smaller model to increase its market coverage. Not everyone likes the 911, and not everyone wants a coupe. So it made sense to opt for the mid-engine layout – the 911 is rear-engined – and the better balance that gives in designing the Boxster. At the same time, the addition of an open-top roadster would also increase sales. And both tricks worked.

But what about BMW? Well, BMW wanted to build cars in the USA, and did not want to build the same cars it built in Germany as that would increase costs. So it decided to build a roadster for the US market, although it would be marketed elsewhere.
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A completely new model, the Audi S5 is the top of the 5 Series, a brand new range which is filled out with the A5 models. All look very similar, and provide good performance in a neat package. Stiff competition for the BMW 3 series coupe, but can it compete with the BMW 650i, Jaguar XK or Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG? Possibly.

In any event, the Audi S5 is a sleek looking coupe, with a front end reminiscent of the R8, and a semi-fastback roof line, and just discernible swept lines up and over the front and rear wheels. It is a smart looking car, and one that will blend in well at the country club. Like almost all Audi designs, the S5 and A5 are smart, balanced designs with some neat features, but there is nothing shocking, nothing very exciting about the shape.

V-8 power, 354 bhp

But what about performance? Well, Audi has picked its V-8 to give enough power to see off many competitors, although this is not the most powerful version of this superb engine. For the S5 it is rated at 354 bhp at 7,000 rpm, with 325 lb ft (440 Nm) torque at 3,500 rpm, against the 420 bhp of the RS4.

So it is not as fast as it might be, but still packs plenty of oomph, taking the S5 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds, which is true supercar territory, while top speed is limited to 155 mph. This really puts it up with some heavy metal, although it is nowhere as quick as the Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG, which has 480 bhp on tap from a massive 6.2 liter engine.
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