Do you know what a Kei car is? Well, for those who don’t, it is a particularly clever solution to a big problem in Japan. Congestion in the land of the rising sun is a real issue and so larger cars are taxed and regulated quite strictly due to the amount of space they take up. Enter the Kie car. These pint sized vehicles must be less than 1.49 metres wide and 3.4 metres long as well as have an engine with 660cc or below. This innovative solution results in some fantastic engineering involving turbos, to ensure these machine have enough power, and the latest tech to appeal to buyers. The Honda S660 Concept is one funky pocket sized sports car.
One famous Kie car that made it to the UK was the Daihatsu Copen, something that we are told is set to make a return soon. Honda’s new concept car is just that for now, a concept, but it does look like a rather enticing package. Full details on the car will not be released until the Tokyo motor show but it is clear to see from these images that the up and coming NSX has influenced the clean design of the S660.
The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is one of the greatest machines money can buy. With 730BHP on tap from a beating heart of 12 cylinders, it’s quick. 0-62MPH in just 3.1 seconds sort of quick. This super GT is faster around the prancing horses test track than both a 599 GTO and an Enzo. Awesome doesn’t even begin to describe the cars capabilities!
Recently an F12 was given to fellow Chris Harris to produce a piece for Drive’s YouTube channel. The result is some stunning cinematography and, rather predictably, five sets of destroyed tyres.
Ferrari, a performance icon thats logo is the worlds most globally recognised. Machines wearing the prancing horse represent the prestige and history of a brand that started life in Grand Prix racing and have claimed more victories than any other team. When buying a Ferrari for the road you purchase a piece of that glory, that almost inexplicable Italian charm that gets enthusiasts excited, passersby interested and children the highlight of their day. Driving your Ferrari in a urban environment is something of a public service, but not this Ferrari 599 GTB. No this one can stay under vail of shame.
Photographed by a friend of mine whilst in Kensington, this Ferrari 599 has had its respect stripped from it an in its place lays a skin of what appears to be suede! You know, the material you might make some rather rain sensitive shoes out of or maybe a sofa. Who in their right mind does this to such an excellent V12 GT car? The 599 is arguably one of the best supercars ever made so what did it do to deserve the mockery of everyone who sees it?
You know how bad pet owners are banned from owning animals? Would it be possible to ban the owner of this car from buying an automobile ever again?
Charles Darwin is most famous for his scientific work on evolution. In his book “On the Origin of Species” he states “I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.” Many engineering solutions look to nature for inspiration and there is one car in particular that exemplifies the notion of evolution and natural selection. The Porsche 911.
The 911 to many is the ultimate car. Its cult followers will tell you of how they use theirs every day thanks to its practicality, for a sports car, and its sheer enjoyment to drive. Critics have often exclaimed how one 911 to the next has hardly changed, and yes to some degree they are right, but this is evolution. Look through the cars history and you can literally see 50 years of engineers selecting and improving every aspect of the machine to the point where today the car is very near faultless.
Making its debut at the 1963 Frankfurt motor show the Porsche 901 was unveiled to the world with its controversial rear engine layout. Powered by a flat-six it had the worlds media a buzz. When production started in 1964 Peugeot protested the 901 name as although the Porsche sports car got that name from its internal project number, Peugeot held exclusive rights in France to model names with three numbers with a zero in the middle. Porsche quickly changed the name to 911 with only 82 cars being built as 901.
Throughout its generations that followed its sloping shape became more defined and the car even better engineered. The balance and poise of the 911 became a particular characteristic thanks to the weight of the engine in the rear. It had cemented itself as “a true drivers car” and one that enthusiasts loved. Moves from air cooled to water cooled engines made them even more reliable and with further refinements it soon got the reputation of being one of the most bullet proof sports cars on the market.
With new models badged as Turbo, Carrera, RS and the much sort after Targa the 911 was a huge success in the showroom. Porsche’s desire to compete in motorsport has never been quenched as throughout its history the company has competed in everything from rally to Le Mans. The Porsche 911 is in fact the worlds most successful racing car of all-time.
Something the 911 has never lost is that real connection between man and machine. They are communicative when driven hard and provide such an excellent platform for drivers of all talents to learn how to extract the maximum performance. The howl of that unique engine, the quick change of direction and a precision that is found in very few cars all make up the key elements as to why this car is so good.
In modern-day there are more variants of the 911 than there are flavours of ice cream. You can have convertibles, all-wheel-drive, Turbo, GT, you name it. Over the past 50 years the 911 has evolved nut by nut, bolt by bolt. It is this, almost tedious, natural selection over five decades that makes this car what it is today.
It is the road car rivalry of the decade… Faster, more advanced and even more competitive. The planets have alined for us to bear witness to this titanic battle between two of the greatest cars ever made in the same year. The McLaren has placed its cards firmly on the table and to be honest, Ferrari are going to have their work cut out against their longterm Formula One foes.
McLaren’s P1 is powered by a 3.8 litre twin-turbo V8 that produces 903BHP. LaFerrari gets a 47BHP advantage from its 950BHP V12 engine. When it comes to weight the Ferrari scores well again being about 100KG lighter thanks to the way they have packaged their hybrid system. Although McLaren’s KERS may weigh more, it is expected to produce more torque that that of the prancing horse’s because of the way it is built into the engine and gearbox. McLaren announced their official performance figures for the P1 the other day whereas Ferrari have been purposefully vague in some areas. The 0-62MPH sprint for the Brit takes just 2.8 seconds, for the Italian it is a mysterious “less than 3 seconds.” The Ferrari does 0-124MPH in “less than 7 seconds” and the McLaren will do it officially in 6.8 seconds. The one figure Ferrari is blowing its trumpet about is LaFerrari’s 0-186MPH time of 15.5 seconds as it undercuts the P1 that does it in 16.5 seconds. Top speed according to the red car is “unimportant” and so will no be quoted, but McLaren have told us that their car will do an electronically limited top speed of 217MPH.
There are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to LaFerrari, quite possibly to allow engineers some extra tinkering time before the outcome is set in stone. However, there is speculation that the McLaren P1 has completed a lap of the Nürburgring in a blistering 6 minutes 47 seconds, something that Ferrari will find tough to beat considering that the P1 produces the same level of downforce as a baby elephant being sat on its roof.
It was at the 1973 Frankfurt Motor Show that BMW stepped into the ring with it’s impeccable BMW 2002 Turbo. This was the first production car to be fitted with a turbocharger and produced a fairly impressive 170bhp. Little did we know that this was the beginning of a new era of German performance coupes and saloons that would bear the blue and white logo we’ve all so fondly grown to revere. After the 2002 came the E21 3-series to keep the brand fresh and sticking to their passion for making driver oriented cars. In 1981 they introduced a fresher 3-series, the E30. Along with the E30, BMW brought out a motorsport focused version of the basic model called the M3 equipped with a high-revving 4-cylinder 2.5L engine generating 235bhp. A few years later brought along the E36, a car that truly defined motoring in the 1990s. The inline-4 engine had 2 more cylinders strapped on and the power at it’s final upgrade in 1995 was hiked to 316bhp.
It was in 2001 that we first saw the true madness of BMW’s M-division come to light with the introduction of the utterly ground-breaking E46 M3. The smooth and timeless lines combined with an aggressive stance on the road ensured that this was the sort of machine that you can’t keep your eyes off. A growling 3.2L inline-6 generating 338bhp that hit 62mph in a shade over 5 seconds and would keep going until it hit 192mph, that is if you were brave enough to take the limiter off. Available with a choice of a 6-speed manual or a silky smooth Getrag Drivelogic SMGII 6-speed semi automatic gearbox, this was a true drivers car. Available as a coupe or convertible and in an array of stylish and eye-catching colours this was a car to be seen in as much as any Ferrari or Porsche of the time.
But is it really one of the best cars ever made? The competition between these German coupes and saloons was fierce with Audi pulling out all the stops on it’s excellent RS4 and Mercedes doing much the same in the lair of AMG. Some complained that this E46 was too tame compared to the E36 and E30. While other manufacturers were looking towards economy with the use of turbochargers and superchargers bolted onto smaller displacement engines, BMW still relied on gas guzzling naturally aspirated lumps. Well our question was answered in 2004 with the addition of three letters ‘CSL’ standing for Coupé Sport Leichtbau and while only generating 17bhp more than the standard model, this limited series run of 1,400 cars is still regarded as one of the best production cars of all time. The CSL stripped everything that was deemed frivolous in the basic M3 (Sat nav, electric seats, etc) and dropped the total curb weight by 110kg. The whole aesthetic was flipped on its head as BMW looked towards it’s F1 team for aerodynamic inspiration. Unique CSL body pieces were crafted from carbon fibre and glass reinforced plastics were used where possible. Even the standard rear window was replaced by one with even thinner glass to remove weight. It wasn’t just about reducing the basic weight though; by making the roof out of carbon fibre they achieved a 7kg weight loss but also managed to lower the centre of gravity of the whole car and reduce the flex in the body.
Sufficed to say, all this work with aerodynamics, engine modifications and weight reduction, as well as a total overhaul of the suspension system, created a beast both on the road and the track. But it was also a thing of beauty, BMW had managed to take an originally stunning car and make it an art-piece. These days we see a lot of manufacturers make cars go faster by removing everything possible, such to the point where the car stops being a car at all. It becomes a toy, used only when the owner can be bothered to take it to a track. What was achieved by BMW was exactly what they had hoped to achieve with the introduction of the 3-series almost 3 decades before when the E21 was released A car that’s oriented for the driver. The M3, and the M3 CSL bridged the gap between track-monster and commuter. It’s no surprise that the CSL is a rare sight these days, you’d find it difficult to get change out of £20,000 for even a high mileage and lower spec CS, while the CSL will fetch anywhere up to the price of a brand new M3 in today’s market. The M3 CSL began something of a revolution and certainly had a part to play in the design of German performance cars from then on.
You are going to want to turn up your speakers for this one! The Aston Martin V12 Vantage S is the fastest full production car the British company has ever built. With its beautifully authoritarian stance aggressively snarling at passersby, the 565BHP V12 coupe can crack 0-62MPH in under four seconds and go onto a top speed of 205MPH. This car is something of a swan song for the ageing Vantage which is set to be replace in the near future. A true embodiment of power, beauty and soul…
Check out the video below to see this British bulldog in action.
Some of todays cars feel so far removed from their actual driving experience. With their power steering and fly by wire technologies, not to mention a wide range of electronic nannies, more and more of them do seem to be loosing touch with their roots. One machine that has never is the Caterham Seven. Granted that is mainly due to it not changing for decades, but the point still stands. Now there is a new model that is even more grassroots.
More back to basics than a Caterham Seven? Yep, and it is called the 160. It will cost you a very reasonable £14,995 if you are willing to build it yourself or £17,995 from the factory. The idea of this car is that it’s the purest form of driving. Just you, four wheels and an engine. That said engine is a 660cc three cylinder turbocharged unit from Suzuki that outputs a petit 80BHP and 79lb ft of torque. Doesn’t sound much does it? However, factor in that this bare bones car has a power-to-weight ratio of 160BHP per tonne and you will easily see where this flyweight gets its 0-60MPPH time of 6.5 seconds.
In 1964 an American icon was born, a machine that would become synonymous with the USA. Stars and stripes, syrup and bacon, route 66 and the Ford Mustang! This pony car is an icon of performance that every blue collared working man can afford. It is literally the American dream on wheels…
Its introduction part way through 1964 started a craze that saw the Mustang become the companies most successful model since the Ford Model A. Sales forecasts from within the blue oval predicted around 100,000 units to be sold in the first year, however, this number was blown out of the water within three months and just 18 short months since its introduction a million Mustangs were on the road.
The Mustang had won its place in the hearts of its home nation and through 5 generations, the 6th is on its way, this car also became a global superstar. Thanks to its racing career and famous partnering with a certain Carroll Shelby, these stallions got leaner and meaner with now legendary names such as BOSS and GT500 being carved into the pages of history. The car also had its fair share of movie outings, most notably as the hero of Bullet in a gripping chase scene through San Francisco.
There is just something about the romance of an American muscle car that sets us petrol heads alight.
The name McLaren is legendary. Provocative thoughts of Formula One victories, legendary drivers and some of the worlds most advanced technology all go into making the woking based icon the performance symbol that it is. In terms of road cars the F1 set the bar extremely high and the 12C, though not the F1’s spiritual successor, maintained that level of expectation. McLaren’s new P1 supercar is the F1’s natural replacement, but to become the king of all things four wheeled and fast it has to impress. Official figures have now been released.
The time for rough estimates and speculation has now passed. McLaren have delivered the worlds first example of the their new P1 flagship and along with it official specifications. Powered by a 3.8 litre twin-turbo V8 engine coupled with an advanced Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) the total power produced is 903BHP. 0-62MPH is blitzed in a staggering 2.8 seconds! 0-124MPH comes and goes in 6.8 seconds, 0-186MPH in 6.5 seconds. I think it is safe to say that those are some biblical numbers, but the need for speed doesn’t stop there. A quarter mile can be completed in 9.8 seconds reaching 152MPH. The P1’s top speed? Electronically limited to 217MPH. This cars stopping power is equally impressive with it being capable of stopping dead from 62MPH in just 30.2 metres, that is less than a third of the recognised stopping distance. Fuel economy has also been posted at 34MPG combined.