Edgewater Daytona C part 2
by @ldub0775 and @happyfireballman
September 17, 1977, early afternoon, Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung [exhibition] No.47, Frankfurt am Main, Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
“‘That good’? Well, it looks like a high-end exotic, with matching stratospheric performance and price tag - both up front and ongoing. From what I’ve gathered, such cars are useless for anything but showing off, tedious to drive, and miserable to own and live with. I’m glad you had fun all the same… though from your expression, that’s a bit of an understatement… but how is that we’ve gone from sensible sedans to… this?”
"I still remember how it felt to first own a car, the Kaffee, and the paradigm-shifting sense of freedom it gave. I remember quite clearly when we got the Lancier, opening up a whole other realm of driving. The cars we’ve encountered the last few days have been an order of magnitude above that. But this… this is something else.
The looks are breathtaking and the performance enough to induce cardiac arrest… but physical effects aside, it’s what the car adds up to mentally that makes it so powerful.
The first impression it gave, just looking at it… was intimidating. It looks like serious business, and a casual glance at the specs certainly reinforces that. But when the drive began, the ease of operating it, the refinement, the docility, the drivability (51.5, tied with the Cerberus for the median score)… was unnerving. The prospect of four hundred nine horsepower in something weighing barely over one ton… is scary. Discovering that this fearsome power is for me to control, and actually controllable, usable… was terrifying. But the fact that this deity of a car has its mundane, mere mortal side present, accounted-for, and sorted out to the point of being a legitimate daily driver… it takes my entire automotive worldview and stands it on its head. It’s shattering."
“So it wasn’t just any one thing, but that it all works together?”
“Exactly. And I should point out that many of those ‘one things’, taken alone, rank at the very top as well. Considering the whole picture, many of the parts are the best there are, and the whole is even greater than their sum.”
Ursula had taken the time Magda was out driving to study the spec sheet. "The numbers back that up. It ranks first in almost all straight-line metrics, sportiness (and by a lot; 52.7, followed by the Zephorus at 43.7), sum of sportiness and comfort, grip at all speeds, braking distance, and power to weight. It’s second behind the Cerberus on outright power, behind the KHI Stellia on performance per consumption, and third behind the Cerberus and Swanson on performance per service costs.
That last figure is quite remarkable considering it has by far the highest service costs here - 2409.60, followed by the Zephorus’ 1827.00 and then the Howler’s 1518.10. This is definitely an exotic layout - a transverse mid-rear mounting for the M4300i-12, which is a beautifully designed gem of an engine, but not one for beginners. High-tech - all-alloy DOHC-4, all forged internals, twin manifold port injection - high-quality, high-performance yet highly refined, and high-maintenance.
We’ve seen some weird international engine and engineering mysteries: American cars from Italy and Germany, French from Australia… and now this. Though Edgewater appears to be American, this is a poster child of a German car, especially the engine: complicated, expensive, a complete pain in the ass to work on, and very fussy about being maintained just so… but maintained properly, it’s actually above-average reliable (9th/19), while breaking performance records and still being somewhat reasonable to use for errands.
At the same time as the Daytona is so effective at getting itself somewhere, it doesn’t forget about what it’s transporting. For a supercar with a screaming V12 right behind you, it’s surprisingly quiet - 35.1 adjusted, tied with the Authie et Dallier, a touch louder than your Lancier (34), and quieter than the Novalina with its paleolithic powertrain (37.9) or the Planar with its inappropriate intake (42.1). Smoothness is an unsurprising 83.3. Overall comfort is near the bottom of the pack, but still higher than your Lancier…"
“…Which is satisfactory; as I understood at the beginning, even a downgrade could be ok if compensated elsewhere. Which it does in spades.”
“Passengers aside, the drawings detailed a frunk that is relatively huge for a supercar, rivaling a mid-sized sedan and no less convenient. Magda, can you confirm?”
“Yes, before I even drove it, that was probably the first feature I noticed that told me this wasn’t just a useless toy or ornament. It’s not very deep, but enough for a single layer of full suitcases, which it’s long and wide enough to fit several of. It’s not optimized for routine ass & trash missions, and we won’t be picking up large household appliances like we’ve done in the Lancier, but it should have no trouble getting groceries. Very very quickly.”
"And it’d be reasonable to use, as far as economy - 13.4L (17.6mpgUS) combined, 11.2L (20.9) at 110 (65). The highway figure is the median of all the cars here. The combined one slightly above average, 8th out of 19. Thermal efficiency at 18.12% is mediocre as such, but for a V12 spinning to 8300 and cammed for it… it’s some kind of feat.
The totality of these rankings represents quite accurately what you describe as a deity with its mortal side intact. The design spearheads with its inherent strengths extremely well, but doesn’t neglect its flanks."
Magda sipped the last bit of her Doppelbock, stood up, and simply stared for a moment, before pronouncing, "Some dishes rely on the quality of ingredients; others, on the skill of the cook. Some are tastier, some more filling, some healthier. Some are several of these at once. Uncommonly, most of the above. But rare is the one that is all of the above, and well-presented at that.
Actually, the presentation of this dish alone is almost worth signing up for; as design goes, I declare the Daytona no less than a masterpiece."
She hiccuped with some force. "The beer has, ironically, sobered me up regarding the experience I just had, and I feel more at ease naming its flaws as well. The worst is probably the rear side visibility. Though it’s a bit better than the Cascina and Zephorus, and the mirrors are amply sized, well-placed, and aspherical on both sides, it still takes more concentration to check blind spots, so in some situations driving it might be a bit tedious.
Then there’s the ground clearance. They had the sense to make the fiberglass lower body panels easily replaceable, as the staff showed me, but the very need for this says it all. Our country has mostly excellent roads, so this isn’t a hindrance to everyday use, but trips to that chalet we’ve rented a few times… are going to need something else."
And then… öm… that unnerving feeling returns, as I realize that’s really about it. It’s not just a supercar; it’s a good car too."
Ursula read from the stats. “It does have the second lowest safety score of anything here - 42.9, ahead of the KHI Stellia but somewhat short of the median 49.4.”
“Not great, but hardly a deathtrap. And of course, there’s the bleeding obvious - two seats. Trips with Stefan’s parents would be in the Hörch, which I mind but they don’t. But you know what? Those questions I ask of a coupe - ‘are you so amazing to drive and/or to look at that I’d be willing not to drive you sometimes? Are you so high quality that it makes up for reduced quantity of how often I can enjoy you?’… get an honest Yes.”
“Surely you’re not so impulsive as to have already made the decision to drop 44200 on the fulfillment of Anke’s teasing - a firebreathing Midlifecrisismobile?”
“The Daytona isn’t the cure for a crisis, dear, it started one. No, I’ve not decided what to get. But I have decided what not to get; there is only one other car that, while quite different, is a worthy opponent for the Daytona. As for the rest…”
Design concept: A+
Design execution: M is for Masterpiece.
Engineering concept: A
Engineering execution: A-. Minor brake fade and suspension imbalance, a stat point or two left on the finetuning table, neither of which put much of a dent in the superlative result.
Verdict: Finals.
Cerberus 7.3 V12
7th of 19: Cerberus 7.3 V12 by @xsneakyxsimx
“As a concept, of all the choices, this one nails a perfect bullseye for what I had in mind - a big, imposing, comfortable rocket barge. It looks the part and delivers just as more than advertised. Visual design isn’t the strongest, and sportiness takes a bigger hit than I’d’ve liked, though its biggest downside is the smell of cheese with every full throttle opening.”
“Cheese aside, there’s some properly solid engineering in places (engine and footwork overall), while others fall a bit short (small wheels, ridiculous flywheel). Nevertheless, its first-place rankings in power (by a lot; 501hp, followed by the Daytona with 409) and top speed (also by a lot; 327kph, followed by the Swanson with 300) earn it the title of Most Insane Highway Bomber.”
“Their marketing slogan was something like ‘let loose the dogs of war’, but I’d suggest a certain German phrase instead. On ships, forward speed is traditionally at five levels: in English, ‘ahead slow’, ‘ahead one third’, ‘ahead standard’, ‘ahead full’, and ‘ahead flank.’ The German equivalent of the last one, at least as used on some submarines, is ‘Wahnsinnige Fahrt voraus’, literally translating as ‘Insane speed ahead.’ I think it fits perfectly.”
Primus Imperator 520GTS-ie
6th of 19: Primus Imperator 520GTS-ie by @Happyhungryhippo
“Visually excellent inside and out, and realistic. A competent, strong value proposition, let down by very low sportiness (7.3 vs. the incumbent’s 29.3), mixed engineering quality, and simply being outperformed even for the price.”
“A Sport version would be quite formidable. I’ll have my staff get in touch with their headquarters, see if they’d like Norðwagen’s engineers to consult with or outsource that to.”
“Between this and the next one was little more than a coin toss, as they’re very different cars performing the same mission. The Primus is by far the more livable, but the Zerphorus is that much better to drive yet still comfortable. I really had to think long and hard about how to weigh its downsides, and there’s certainly room for reasonable disagreement with the conclusion.”
Zephorus Stelvio V8
5th of 19: Zephorus Stelvio V8 by @Riley
"As dynamic qualities go, it’s second only to the Daytona, in some cases exceeding it - overall braking, responsiveness, and comfort… if you ignore the windows. It also trumps the Edgewater in Prestige, environmental resistance, and safety.
I’m impressed that both supercars here are so well-balanced as machines go. Both improve on the Lancier’s comfort while demolishing nearly everyone else for sportiness. Both are super cars. But the Daytona is more so, and has fewer less-than-super details; I can’t ignore those windows or that B-pillar."
Waldersee Kurfürst GL70
4th of 19: Waldersee Kurfürst GL70 by @Texaslav
“I suspect that the parent company’s meddling is holding Waldersee back. The engineering skill is plain to see, but the coprolite the Amis give them to work with can only be polished so much. I’d really like to see what they can do with a proper, modern powertrain. It’s let down mostly by low sportiness (15.9), also by a thirsty and not especially smooth engine. Even so, the Kurfürst is a true Prince of the Autobahn.”
Cascina Dicentra
3rd of 19: Cascina Dicentra by @Tsundere-kun
“A left-field contender as charming and eyepleasing as it is well-rounded and an excellent value. Third in sportiness among non-cheese cars (fourth if you include the Walf), practical, and did I mention how lovely it is to look at, both outside and - more importantly for its occupants - inside? Despite suboptimal damper settings, it’s brilliant to drive, probably the best car here for more relaxed weekend cruising. Its Autobahn credentials are there too, just outperformed.”
