酷兔英语
    当前位置:
  1. 首页
  2. 文章
  3. 娱乐英语
  4. 时尚潮人
  5. 正文

试驾2013款宾利欧陆GT V8-第1页

0 收藏 0 分享 0 赞
文章总共1页

As even the stupidest of calculators will tell you, 8 is less than 12, by 4. Therefore, all things being equal -- and with the 2013 Bentley Continental GT V8, things are almost too equal -- an eight-cylinder car is lesser than one with 12.


再



But arithmetic is subtle. Turbocharged V8s are nice engines, too, with massive power density, packaging, emissions and heat-dissipation advantages. The Conti's other engine -- based on the Volkswagen Group's aging 6.0-liter W12 (Bentley is owned by VW AG) -- is thirsty and rapidly becoming obsolete.


笨的人也知道，八要比12小四。因此，在其他条件保持均衡的情况下──对2013款宾利欧陆GT V8(Bentley Continental GT V8)而言，一切都几乎达到均衡的最高境界──八缸发动机要比12缸发动机的排量和功率小，这一点毋庸置疑。



With a Bentley-specific version of Audi's twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 under the hood (500 horsepower) and a new eight-speed automatic transmission, The C-GT gets 40% better fuel economy (15/24 miles per gallon, city/highway) than its W12-powered sister; loses about 55 pounds, and in the process becomes better balanced (49/51 weight distribution, front to rear); and goes approximately as alarmingly fast in a straight line, despite having 67 fewer horsepower (zero to 60 miles per hour is an imperceptible 0.2 second off, at 4.6 seconds, and top speed takes a 10-mph haircut, to 188 mph).


然而，算术并不代表全部。涡轮增压的V8引擎也很了不起，动力强劲澎湃，构造、排放和散热优势明显；而宾利欧陆GT使用的另一款发动机──即大众汽车集团(Volkswagen Group)成熟的6.0升W12引擎（宾利是大众汽车集团的子公司）──正在快速退出。



Credit the V8's pervasive torque (487 pound-feet from 1,700-5,000 rpm, a torque curve shaped like a staple) and the multitude of ratios in the ZF-supplied transmission, also brilliant.


在GT V8的发动机盖下，是专为宾利调校的奥迪(Audi)双涡轮4.0升V8引擎（最高马力达到500匹）和全新的八速自动变速箱。GT V8的燃油效率比搭载W12引擎的车型提高40%（在城市/高速公路的路况下每加仑汽油分别可以跑15和24英里，即百公里油耗15.7升和9.8升），发动机重量减轻约55磅（约25公斤），使得前后轴重量配比更均衡（49/51）。虽然GT V8的马力少了67匹，但直线加速度几乎与W12车型一样惊人（从静止加速到每小时60英里为4.6秒，仅慢0.2秒，极速为303公里/小时，仅低16公里/小时）。



I drove a V8-powered GT from Los Angeles to Monterey in August, and it was 2.5 tons of fun: a big, beautiful and immenselywilling grand touring car with superb adaptive air suspension; a light but communicative steering linkage (now on-demand hydraulically assisted); stupendous brakes (optional ceramic composite discs); and a sport-biased all-wheel-drive system clawing at the pavement with 21-inch tires. Fear not, Bentley reuppers, the V8 retains all of the C-GT's refinement but wreathes it in the V8's aural sfumato: a guttering of lava at low rpms, a free-revving incandescence near its 7,000-rpm redline, spinning like the bobbins of Satan's sewing machine. Oh, baby, this car sounds amazing.


GT V8具有强大的扭矩爆发力（在发动机转速1,700-5,000 rpm的区间能迸发出660牛顿米的最大扭力，呈现出一个U形的扭矩曲线）；变速箱由德国采埃孚集团(ZF)供应，各项指标也都非常出色。



And it will pass just about anything on the road. In Sport mode, the transmission will kick down up to four gears, summoning a lurch of gathering violence, squeezing you into the quilted-leather seats so hard you could get a case of waffle butt.


8月份，我驾驶GT V8一路从加州的洛杉矶开到蒙特利(Monterey)，觉得这个2.5吨重的大家伙真是乐趣无穷。GT V8外型优美，操纵自如，尤其适合长距离驾驶：空气悬挂系统能适应各种路况，方向盘轻盈且反馈积极（可选液压助力转向），刹车收放自如（可选复合陶瓷刹车片），配备运动型全时四驱系统，以及21英寸的大轮胎。不用担心，作为宾利的一款入门级超豪华轿跑，GT V8沿袭了欧陆GT全部的优雅舒适和精工细节，但以V8的独特韵味展现出来，怠速时的低鸣声如岩浆静流，而发动机接近最高功率转速7,000 rpm时的声浪高亢激昂，撒旦的缝纫机线轴在高速转动时应该就是这样的声音吧。天呐，这车子的声音太美妙了！



So, to recap: lighter, vastly more fuel efficient, at least as awesome to drive. Cheaper, too. The manufacturer's suggested retail price of the C-GT V8 ($174,000) is $17,400 less than the 12'er's. And, by the way, this is exactly how the Wolfsburg Empire is supposed to work. To address its increasingly acute fuel-economy problem, Bentley just walked across the hall and requisitioned a screaming-hot V8 out of office supplies.


GT V8是公路上的王者。在运动模式下，变速箱会从八档直降为四档，狂躁的动力积聚爆发，将你死死按在手工缝制的真皮座椅上，推背感十足。



So what objection could there be to the V8? It has to do with typology. As a type, in the modern era, Bentley equals exclusive British grand touring car with 12 cylinders. To stick a V8 in this car -- especially the twin-turbo V8 from the Audi S8, an engine that practically stinks of bratwurst -- is to significantly change the British brand's conversation with the client, ja?


总而言之，与W12车型相比，GT V8的燃油效率大大提高，驾驭感受相似，但价格降低。厂商建议GT V8的零售价为174,000美元，比12缸的W12车型便宜17,400美元。为应对日益尖锐的燃油经济性问题，宾利走出自家后院，在系统内部调用了炙手可热的V8引擎，从而皆大欢喜，这正反映出大众汽车集团协同整合的运作方式。



Ferrari had precisely the same problem when it introduced the front-engine, V8-powered California. Never mind that the 4.3-liter, 450-hp mill was a fantastic piece of machinery. Front-engine Ferraris are supposed to have 12 cylinders, cried the Ferrari faithful. Camaros have eight.


那么，还有什么理由可以拒绝V8呢？如果有的话，那只能源于主观印象。在近代，宾利可以与12缸英国豪华跑车划上等号。把V8放进宾利──尤其是一款充满德国腊肠味道的奥迪S8双涡轮V8引擎──会极大影响宾利在客户心目中的英伦风范，对不对？



When it comes to elitist hand-wringing, the Ferraristi are second to none.


法拉利公司(Ferrari)推出搭载V8前置发动机的California跑车时，也面临过同样的问题。虽然4.3升、450马力的V8引擎表现出众，但法拉利的粉丝们大声疾呼，法拉利跑车所拥有的前置发动机就应该是12缸的。雪佛兰科迈罗(Camaro)才用八缸引擎呢。



So let's confront the 12-cylinder thing for what it is: a numerical fetish. It is true that decades ago, when the legends of sports motoring were being carved -- Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar, Lamborghini -- 12-cylinder engines meant something. They combined lots of displacement with the higher reciprocating speed (rpm) made possible with a relatively short piston stroke. Bear in mind, a half-century ago, gearboxes carried, at most, five forward gears.


论起精英范儿的歇斯底里，法拉利车主自居第二，就没人敢称第一。



Forced induction, direct injection and volumetric efficiency have all helped to render big 12's irrelevant. Just look at the specific power of the two Bentley engines: the turbo 4.0-liter (125 hp/liter) vs. the naturally aspirated 6.0-liter (94.5 hp/liter). Rising fuel-economy requirements in Europe and the U.S. are also hastening 12's out to pasture.


让我们来直面12缸发动机，看看它到底有什么了不起。其实，对12缸的执着只不过是一种对数字的痴迷。几十年前，当法拉利、玛莎拉蒂(Maserati)、捷豹(Jagua)、兰博基尼(Lamborghini)等运动型跑车的传奇故事拉开帷幕时，12缸发动机确实意味着一些什么：排气量更大，以及通过较短的活塞行程来提高汽缸往复运动的速度(rpm)。要知道，半个世纪前的变速箱最多只有五个前进档。



You might be thinking that anybody who buys a Bentley or Ferrari or Lamborghini is unlikely to care about fuel economy. Yes, right, I agree. That's precisely the point of the regulations. And as for any buyers who actually prefer the bigger, more fuel-squandering engine on the grounds of status and self-aggrandizement -- because 12 is greater than eight -- well, they are thought criminals and should be shunned.


然而，发动机增压、缸内直喷、容积效率等技术进步让12缸发动机的优势逐渐削弱，看看宾利两款引擎的具体参数就能说明这一点：4.0升八缸涡轮增压发动机的功率为125马力/升，而6.0升12缸自然进气发动机的功率为94.5马力/升。欧洲和美国对燃油经济性要求的提高也加速了12缸发动机的退出。



Otherwise, not much has changed from the last C-GT I drove. The car is still beautiful, still an elegant, lithe exercise in streamlining. The V8 car is identifiable by its three-aperture lower front grille, the red 'B' badges, and the figure-8-shaped exhaust stingers. The car's interior is likewise undiminished, still richly rewarding to the touch, from the knurled aluminum shift lever to the upholstery's sprawl of daintily stitched dead cow.


你可能会想，买宾利、法拉利或兰博基尼的人不太可能关心燃油经济性。没错，我同意，但这正是节能环保规定的逻辑所在。那些想彰显地位和自我膨胀的人偏爱马力更强、油耗更高的发动机──12缸确实比八缸大──但人们会把他们视为环保罪犯，避之唯恐不及。



The V8 is more identifiable still by the sound it makes. The W12 engine produces a warm, thrumming sound, a burr -- refined, potent, but not very emotional. The V8's vocals will bring a tear to your eye, with pitched, hissing over-notes coming from the turbochargers (17-psi max boost) and a major-league, Late Model Sportsman-style warble from the tailpipes, abetted by an active exhaustsystem that opens up as the engine revs rise.


除了发动机不同外，GT V8和我以前开过的欧陆GT没什么两样，流线型的车身，依然那么美丽、优雅和灵动。汽车前脸三孔装饰护栅、红色的"B"厂徽、"八字型"双排气管，处处显现出宾利的贵族血统。同样，车内装饰也毫无缩水之处，从压纹铝合金变速杆，到优美的手工缝制真皮内饰，一切的触感都让人如此心动。



All good? No. Were I to own this car, I would probably, at some point, put a .44 through the central console. For an ultraluxury car, the Bentley has one of the slowest, least usable navigation systems extant. This thing's brains came out of a jar marked 'abnormal.' I also had a passenger-seat rake-slide switch go bad in my test car, which was fixed by the Bentley elves in the parking lot.


V8的引擎声更具辨识度。W12发动机的声音温暖而有节奏，优雅而有力量，但感情色彩不浓。V8引擎的声音则张扬出涡轮增压器（最大输出压力17 psi）的高亢呼啸、排气管的低沉震颤，在伴随发动机转速上升而主动介入的排气系统的推波助澜下，会让你突然之间热泪盈眶。



And, assuming it's technically feasible, it would be nice if Bentley were to offer the GT V8 as strictly rear-drive. Deleting the AWD drivetrain would make the car lighter still, darken its sporting blood and provide a point of differentiation from the 12-cylinder car. At the moment, I can't think of a reason to pony up the extra dough for the W12.


宾利GT V8的一切都那么尽善尽美吗？如果我是车主的话，可能会在某个时间点情绪失控，朝中控台射上一发点44口径的子弹。作为一辆超豪华汽车，GT V8拥有我见过的最慢和最不好用的导航系统，设计出这玩意儿的估计属于非人类范畴。我试驾的GT V8还出现乘客一侧车窗控制钮失灵的情况，后来宾利的维修人员在停车场帮我修好了。



So arithmetic is foiled again: 8>12. And inasmuch as some of the greatest historic Bentleys had straight-eights, -sixes and even -fours (the 4 1/2-liter supercharged 'Blower' Bentleys), the turbo eight in the new car can be regarded as a return to form. Who says numbers don't lie?


假设在技术上可行，宾利要能把GT V8设计成后轮驱动，那就更完美了。去掉全轮驱动(AWD)传动系统可以降低车身重量，弱化其跑车血统，与12缸的欧陆GT进一步区分开来。目前为止，我还想不出一个为W12发动机额外花钱的理由来。



Dan Neil

文章总共1页
Copyright © 2023 Qeto All rights reserved.
商务合作 | 联系我们 | 关于我们 | 版权声明 | 隐私条款 | 如果智培

京ICP备05059198号-1 京公网安备 11011202003401号