Contrary to popular opinion, it is not always sunny in Philadelphia. Today however it is; 53 degrees and perfect. I took out the V12 for some exercise and learned a couple of things.

1. The tires on this car love the heat. Even at 53, I have much better traction. There were really no traction issues until I got to a red light and floored it next to a C4S. Once the smoke cleared and the smell of rubber and clutch dissipated, everything was fine. the new McLaren offers tires similar to these as an upgrade and the car is actually faster with them so there must be something to them.

2. This beast is thirsty. I drove about 25 miles and used a quarter tank of gas. A checked the computer and it read 7.9 MPG.

3. The sports button turns the car into a mad man. AM seems to have really programmed this feature well. The car is fast and capable with out the button depressed. Once you hit it, all hell brakes loose. I downshifted, hit the button and floored it. The exhaust comes alive, the rear tires seem to squat down and the car launches forward (probably contributing to point #2).

4. Lightning silver loves the sun. At some angles its blinding. I can only imagine what it's going to be like in July. Here are some visuals

 

Car looks great & happy to see your enjoying it!

I went from a dark Silver to the Lighting Silver & can't believe how much attention the car gets compared to the older one.

Fuel economy is sounds pretty scary

 

Reminds me of the old E46 M3 w/ what we called the "back to the future" button - really changed the cars attitude ! Glad to see you are enjoying the car, still sounds like a modded TT P-car in a AM body ... just the best of all auto worlds !!!

 

Sounds like a perfect day.

 

Looks great, Jay. The P Zero Corsas are sticky but you may just need to go wider. I'm still trying to decide between going DOT-legal competition tires next, going with wider 325 rears, or both. I'm fairly certain I can go to 265 front and 325 rear on my current wheels without any fitment or rubbing issues.

 

I wish AML offered the 19" stock V12V wheel in a 20" also.

 

I had a modded 996tt and it does have that kind of performance with better sound.

 

I have already explored it. 265 in front is no problem. However, every wheel company has warned me not to go past 305 in the rear. I thought that someone had gotten custom 325's with out problems but I'm not sure. By the way, I'm thinking of this wheel from Rennen: Peter from Automotive Connoisseur Group has been very informative and patient with me.

 

Jay, It was absolutely wonderful weather today in Philly. I drove around for about 2 hours today. I live in Manayunk, but the car stays in Hockessin, in a garage, as I just got it Thursday. I have also noticed the cold tires w/ a loss in traction, but with most summer perfomance tires that is expected. (I've got Pirelli P Zeros, what are you running?)

None-the-less, I love your car, amazing! I'm so happy I am apart of the AM family though, I love your interior, I have an 08 so its a bit different.

Anyway, whats the sport button? Why is there not one in the 08?

 

Funny, I ate at Derek's in Manayunk tonight. The V12V has PZero Corsos which are almost track tires. They are rated for about 5000 miles, very soft and very sticky in temps at 50 or higher, not so good in the cold. The V12 has the sports button. It's a programming feature that maximizes the HP and torque on the 6 Liter V12. In actuality, I think it was a safety feature that AM built in to the car to make sure that owners with less experience had the option to scale the car back a bit because frankly this car can be a bit scary if your not careful, especially in the cold weather. In fact the manuel advises leaving it off at temps under 44.

 

Sweet! Did you happen to bring the V12? I took a drive up main street around 2:30PM. The exhaust probably bugged some people . I'd love to take a look at yours next time youre around. I will usually have my V8V on the weekends, as I'm out of town during the week.

 

Great Car! Just curious if there is anything your not happy with the car. Good luck!

 

No, I went late and didn't have the time I like for finding the perfect parking spot. My wife doesn't have a lot of patience for that when we're running late. I had a similar set up on my 4.3 and the exhaust note definitely turns heads.

 

I can't really think of anything. I have written before about the lack of traction. Unfortunately, the car was delivered in December just before it got cold here in the north east. The tires on this car really like heat and are slippery when it's cold. Now that we've had a warm up, it's night and day. If I have any issues, I would have liked to option of gray wheels. I like the design of the wheels but Lightning cars look great with the graphite wheels. Trust me I know how picky it sounds to complain about wheel color. Do you have any complaints about your DBS?

 

I hear ya on the wheel color....I am pretty particular too when it coes to that sort of thing. I love the looks and feel on the DBS. Its an awesome looking car. I had the double clutch sport shift in my previous 2009 Vantage and loved it. I wish the DBS had that but unfortunately its just a tiptronic. Thats why I opted for the 6-speed. I like the 6-speed but would have preferred a double-clutch sportshift. Other than that I'm pretty happy.