A year with the E63 AMG

On December 29, 2017December 28, 2017 By ChristofferIn NewsLeave a comment

It was in late November -16 that I picked up my then 18-month old E63 AMG Station Wagon (leading to some early impressions that if you missed them, you can read here), so it’s been a bit more than a year and roughly 20.000 kms between then and now – and what a pleasure it has been! Looking back at my past car buying history, they tend to come and go at quite regular (and short!) intervals, but at least for now I haven’t a single time entertained the thought of switching – it’s just too good.

Starting at the heart of the matter, the engine is quite simply superb. Power is just everywhere, delivery is instantaneous and never-ending, and the sound still gives me goose bumps every time. It’s been rumored that most of these engines deliver more than the 558 hp on paper. I have no clue whether that is true but if someone told me there was another 100 hp under the bonnet I would believe them straight away. I’m actually thinking of getting it measured at some point.

At the same time it’s as smooth and practical as any Merc for the local shopping round, or transporting empty boxes from my wife’s shop to the recycling station. Consumption is highly reasonable; sure, it’s no Prius, but we did 1000 kms through Germany last summer at speeds that would make you lose your permit in every other part of the world, and came down with 14 litres / 100 kms. In normal driving it’ll come down to 10-11 litres which really isn’t much to complain about.

In the first post I mentioned the Speedshift gearbox as a positive surprise, and it still is. It’s so much better than MB’s regular box, up-shifting instantaneously with a thumping sound in Sport and Sport+ Mode, whilst also downshifting highly effectively and always timely. Well done AMG! The same goes for the light-footedness chassis and the perfectly weighted steering.

So what’s on the downside? Well, actually nothing at all (this is the point where I’m actively forgetting a decent amount of speeding tickets through the year…). There is also this saying that a model is never as good as just before it ceases to be produced, and I tend to believe that. Sure, the new model is out (with the same V8 Biturbo engine, and not a V6 as I had claimed, based on false rumors), and it delivers a bit more than 600 hp, but the design still needs to grow on me – and prices on the next-to-new market need to come down, so for now I see little need to change. In fact I find myself surfing around various tuning sites in my spare time, something I haven’t done in many years. A power upgrade doesn’t really feel necessary, but the suspension could be lowered a bit… And maybe that dash-controlled exhaust would be cool… and…. So as you can see, the mid-life crisis is all over, but boy is it fun!

w213 e63 — The new model is nice, but perhaps a little too discreet?

Singapore Supercars

On December 7, 2017December 7, 2017 By ChristofferIn NewsLeave a comment

On a recent business trip to Singapore, I had the pleasure to chat with the very nice sales responsible for Bugatti in South East Asia, who has this year sold six Chirons across Asian markets (ex-Japan). We met in the very pleasant showroom of the family brand Bentley, and this was the occasion to learn some interesting facts about super cars in Singapore – and to admire the current Bentley collection (sidenote: the Bentayga feels like a Q7 with more metal and leather in it but still too much plastic given the price. Given its looks, not a very wise way to spend your hard-earned money!).

Bentley showroom — A really nice office environment!

Singapore is a small, wealthy country trying hard to avoid congestion, so buying a car starts with buying the right to buy a car, basically a license entitling you to a purchase. The number of such licenses is limited and the price is set through a bid-ask process in an auction format. The latest took place during my visit and came out at around SGD 60.000 (USD 45.000), which is in other words the price of the right to buy four wheels…

Singapore authorities are not very keen on old cars either. Any car is taken out of traffic after ten years, irrespective of its condition, to be scrapped or exported. What mostly happens is that owners either directly or through dealers export the cars to surrounding markets and thus manage to get at least something for them – but it is surely not a great deal. It doesn’t get better when you know that should you wish to buy a new car again after you scrapped your old one, you’ll need to pay up again to renew your buyer’s license…

The final thing to know is far more positive: not only do Singaporeans drive on the wrong side of the road, it’s also impossible to have a left-hand drive car registered for road usage. Any supercar not built as right-hand drive (which notably includes anything by the Bugatti brand) can thus never be used in Singapore outside of a circuit – and as per the Bugatti salesman, Singaporeans don’t really like circuits. He has himself sold two Chirons that are kept in Singapore and that have never been driven. The same goes for Paganis, Ferraris, Lamborghinis etc. Should you actually be interested in driving (as apparently the local Porsche Owners’ Club is), you rent the Sepang track in Malaysia a couple of days and drive over the border.

Therefore, next time you’re thinking about a low-mileage supercar, don’t forget to check out the offer in Singapore!

Chiron backside — Not a likely site on the streets of Singapore!

Test drivers gone for a swim

On October 21, 2017October 21, 2017 By ChristofferIn Fun stuff, News2 Comments

When coming to Santa Monica beach a few days ago after a drive down from San Francisco, seeing a Volvo test squad (or rather their cars) in a parking lot was not a sight I expected! I first reacted to the new (and already fairly common) XC90, parked next to the far less common S90, then to the giant screens on the passenger seats of both cars and then obviously to the covered one in between. It didn’t take much to figure out that this is the upcoming small SUV XC40, but unfortunately the cover was really well fixated so this is all you get to see. Still haven’t figured out what kind of test you conduct on a parking in Santa Monica beach, but I guess test drivers need to go for a swim every now and then as well…

XC40

Now we know who finances Marcus Ericsson

On June 30, 2017 By ChristofferIn News1 Comment

If all F1 races were like the one in Baku last Sunday, then arguably the sport would not have lost so many followers lately, tired of the Mercedes dominance and the uneventful racing. In Azerbaijan this all changed. Vettel ran into Hamilton twice (the second time very much on purpose), Ocon pushed his “team mate” Perez into a brick wall, the safety car was out three times and everybody then came in for a red flag as there were so many car parts lying around the track that it had to be cleaned. The final podium was made up of Ricciardo, Bottas and Stroll, and anyone who put a few bucks on that before the race surely walked away a rich man!

Start-GP-Aserbaidschan-2017-Baku-fotoshowBig-572d29fe-1099163

Marcus Ericsson didn’t make it into the points this time either, but is arguably getting closer, this time finishing eleventh behind Wehrlein who thus secured a point for Sauber. The main news involving Sauber last week was however not that, but rather that team head Monisha Kaltenborn was unexpectedly sacked a couple of days before the race. As the days have gone by, the reasons have become increasingly clear, and the question on who finances Marcus Ericsson has been answered.

Sauber is since many years in dire financial straits and was once again rescued in the eleventh hour last year, this time by an obscure Swiss financial company called Longbow Finance SA, outside of Geneva. As became clear last week, Longbow is connected to a certain Rausing family, and is part of the Tetra Pak empire. Therefore, when Kaltenborn in late spring sided with German prodigy Pascal Wehrlein as the team’s designated first driver, her days became numbered. Longbow is not necessarily pushing for Ericsson to be designated first driver, but is at least insisting of both drivers being treated equally.

Clearly, the Rausing pockets are theoretically deep enough to get him a better seat than Sauber. Given he has proven his driving skills this season, maybe therefore we have a new Swedish F1 star in the making?

Marcus_Ericsson_2015_Malaysia

Carspotting Saturday in Zurich

On April 8, 2017April 8, 2017 By ChristofferIn NewsLeave a comment

Today is the first sunny, warm spring Saturday in Zurich, and as always, it was the perfect time to wake some of the nice cars hiding in the garages round here out of their winter sleep. As can be seen, some twins (or close relatives) were underway as well. It may be interesting to know that all the pictures below were taken within a distance of 100 meters…

This was the first time I saw the DB11 live and it is truly a beautiful car. It is design evolution, not a revolution, and to me it doesn’t reach the heights of the DBS, to me the most beautiful of modern Astons. But desirable? Oh yes!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

An update from Hong Kong!

On March 23, 2017 By ChristofferIn News1 Comment

The F1 season 2017 about to take off!

On February 27, 2017 By ChristofferIn NewsLeave a comment

The 2017 Formula 1 season is slowly but surely getting up to speed, with most cars having been presented last week and the first of two four-day training sessions starting today, before the season then kicks off at the end of March in Melbourne.

The biggest change to the cars is a very visible one, namely the sheer size. The front aisle is now around 2 meters wide, and cars have also grown around 20 cm in length, in both cases contributing to giving them a more muscular look. The rear aisle has grown as well, and all these factors taken together should contribute to better downforce and hereby also higher speeds, estimated to as much as 40 km/h higher cornering speed.

xpb_859550_hires-941x529 — Larger, longer – and still as dominant this year?

This obviously puts increased pressure on tires and the (only) supplier Pirelli, and the solution is not only larger but also more durable tires that will make one-stop races possible again.

On the engine front the talk is about more than 900 hp and also the decision to continue to work on engine development during the season, something that could clearly benefit the smaller teams.

Taking all this together, larger cars with more downforce, larger tires and stronger engines will surely be capable of faster lap times. To what extent they also contribute to more exciting races and less Mercedes dominance remains to be seen once the season starts in a month’s time.

Forza Alfa Romeo!

On February 11, 2017 By ChristofferIn News1 Comment

After decades of corporate maltreatment of truly epic proportions, and corresponding desperation for all of us car lovers with a faiblesse for the once so proud Italian brand, it truly warms the heart being able to write that it looks like Alfa Romeo maybe, just maybe, is on the way back. Sure, there was the 4C a few years ago, a car that as so many Alfas does the trick design-wise but was no real match for the usual suspects in the two-seat sport car class. But then last year the new Giulia followed, initially in the most powerful Quadrifoglio version, and it went on not only to do well in tests against the very best in the class, but actually to win a number of them. And when an Alfa without excuses beats a BMW M3 Competition Pack in a recent Head to Head you can see here, then it’s time to pay attention.

2017-alfa-romeo-giulia-001-1

The new Giulia is rear-wheel drive (yes!!!) and is the first Alfa to be so since the Alfa 75 was discontinued in 1992 (which at least in my book was the last great driver’s Alfa). It has a perfect 50/50 front-rear balance and, as it seems a truly great chassis with fantastic handling. The engine is a new 2.9 lire biturbo V6 with 510 hp and 600 Nm torque, said to have been derived from the Ferrari California by Ferrari engineers. How much truth there is to that we will never know, but it clearly does the job very well indeed. Design-wise it’s… nice, but to me a bit too M3-like and quite far from the prettiest Alfa there has been. So it would seem that we have an Alfa that shines more on the inside than on the outside – strange world indeed!

alfa-qv-web-2016-096_0 — Speaking of inside, the cabin does not look like a bad place to be either!

Enough said – watch the video (if you didn’t click above you can do so here) and when you do so, remember that this is a car costing around EUR 80-90.000 new, at least EUR 20.000 less than an M3 with Competition Package – la vita è bella!

Less luggage space and double the hp – the perfect family car!

On December 16, 2016December 16, 2016 By ChristofferIn News4 Comments

Our family car, the MB GL 350 also known under the nickname Helmut for a certain visual resemblance to a former German chancellor, has left our garage. He will be missed in some regards, most notably for his endless luggage space and superb long-distance comfort, but less so in others, particularly a number of larger and smaller problems of the electrical kind (the things that tend to make you nervous as the guarantee nears the end) and a turbo lag which sometimes felt as long as the Gotthard tunnel. And no, he was not really much of a thrill to drive either. I therefore took the decision a while back to cut the losses, and after the missus to my great surprise declared complete disinterest in what the replacement car would be (except for the small caveat that it should have a star on the bonnet and a decent luggage space in the back), the road ahead was all of a sudden clear as a star-lit night in the Alps.

2014_Mercedes-Benz_GL550_1073633 — Auf wiedersehen Helmut!

Some of you may remembered my post from a wonderful morning in AMG-heaven a while ago, that can otherwise be found here. I never really got over the eye-opening experience from back then when I experienced the huge difference between a regular W212 E-class and the E63 AMG, not only in power but in the whole driving experience. So when the occasion presented itself to trade in Helmut against a one-year old, 4-wheel drive E63 AMG T in what can actually be described as a fairly good deal, it felt like a no-brainer. It’s been four weeks now, and having walked around with a stupid smile on my face every since, I figured it was time to convey some initial impressions.

Obviously, these need to start with the engine. Sweet Lord what an engine… A 5.5 litre V8 with twin turbos, it develops 558 hp and a torque of 800 Nm and can only be described as taking your breadth away – every time you floor the pedal. But even if it nails you to your chair, the delivery is smooth and above all tireless, with no turbo lag and the second turbo kicking in barely noticeably at… highly illegal speeds. Man am I happy to be burning petrol again!

E 63 AMG (W212)) 2011 — …where great things happen….

They guys in Affalterbach aren’t much for acoustic discretion either, and the sound that accompanies this rapid automotive progression is as fantastic (and loud!) as a V8 can be. Driving with the windows open and the radio turned off in the middle of December all of a sudden feels fully natural. I also like tunnels a lot these days.

Next to the engine, the whole car has made enormous progress under AMG’s treatment. The chassis is responsive, the steering is precisely as heavy as it should be without the front heaviness of the regular car. The four-wheel drive setting sending 70% to the back wheels convey a lightness to the whole experience that is fare more reminiscent of a 911 than of a taxi Merc. Finally the heavily modified 7-speed gearbox going under the name Speedshift, although not quite as quick as a double-clutch, is still miles ahead of the regular box. And all this in a packaging that offers ample room for five and the largest cargo space on the market. If this is not the perfect family car, then I don’t know what is. As for the Thrill of Owning, let’s just note that the new E63 that will come to the market during next year will no longer have a V8 up front but rather a V6

Obviously the journey is only beginning and I will provide updates as I get to know the car better. Living in Switzerland where speed cameras are as frequent as holes in an Emmentaler cheese, it feels like a trip to the Autobahn will be necessary as soon as temperatures get slightly warmer (and preferably at night time…). Until then I must however find a suitable name for my new friend, but I can’t really think of a quick, agile German with an opera voice, so any suggestions are welcome!

A classic car evening with Corrado Lopresto

On November 25, 2016November 25, 2016 By ChristofferIn Classic cars, News1 Comment

Classic car enthusiasts gathered at the stables of The Classic Car Fund in Zurich last night for an evening together with Corrado Lopresto, Italy’s leading car collector and restorator and a multiple winner of the Villa d’Este and Pebble Beach competitions. He is also the only person on the car scene to have been awarded UNESCO’s World Heritage Award for his extensive work in restoring (rather than renovating) many classic automobiles through the years.

Mr. Lopresto spoke about his collection, the amazing restoration work he undertakes together with his rather large stable of mechanics/restoration 195qeccx24cosjpg workers/artists, and also as a world premiere showed a 1948 Isotta Fraschini 8C Monterosa Cabriolet Boneschi, the last car built by the little-known (at least outside of Italy) Milan auto manufacturer Isotta Fraschini, active in the first half of the 20th century, and probably destined to win many prices at automobile shows the coming years.

As always, the wonderful car stable of Flippo Pignatti’s Classic Car Fund that I interviewed a few months ago, an interview you can read here, provided the perfect setting.

The Thrill of Owning – BMW M3 E46

On November 20, 2016November 21, 2016 By ChristofferIn News, The Thrill of OwningLeave a comment

As mentioned in my post from last week, some of the cars intended for this section saw a price increase so steep before the time of writing that they disqualified themselves on the premises of being both great drives and sound investments. One of these was the wonderful BMW M3 CSL (Coupé Sport Leichtbau, a legendary name originally featured on the 70’s 3.0 CSL), a lightweight version of the E46 M3 built in 2003-2004, with more power, lots of carbon and various other weight-saving measures compared to the original car. If a year ago you could still find a low-mileage version of the CSL for around EUR 50.000, be expected to pay around double that today.

Interestingly however the “regular” M3 E46 has not seen the same price explosion and remains a very fine car – many would even call it one of the best M3’s ever. Built between 2000 and 2006 (the convertible from 2001) it features the legendary BMW 3.2-liter straight-six engine that here produces 343 hp (106 hp/l) with a tone that gets more Pavarotti-like the higher you rev it towards the 8000 rpm limiter. Still 80% of the max torque is available from 2000 rpm, and that’s actually quite good, since even if the tone towards rev limiter is increasingly intoxicating, just below the limiter the engine pistons travel at 20 m/s (yep, that’s meters per second). As the disclaimer on French alcohol advertising used to say, “à consommer avec modération”…

The E46 M3 was available both as a manual and with the second generation semi-automatic SMG box. The latter cost an extra 3.000 EUR new but does not command a premium today as it has been known over the years to be slightly problematic and prone to more or less serious breakdowns. Given BMW are quite good at building manual boxes that is a good alternative. One of the most popular after-sale improvements include reducing the gearshift travel of the manual box, making it even more dynamic and reinforcing the case for a manual even further.

In terms of looks, gone was the discretion of the predecessor, the M3 E36, which was hard to distinguish from a regular 3-series. The E46 M3 looks fat, standing on its 18″ or 19″-inch wheels under the slightly (roughly 4 cm) larger body, with the lateral air intakes and the four end pipes. To round it off, this is obviously the car that featured the Powerdome, which was not an onboard computer game but rather the slight elevation of the central part of the hood. This had absolutely no practical function at all given the engine fitted under the regular bonnet without problems, but it both sounds and looks cool, and all in all the package is highly attractive!

Both the convertible and the coupé with less than 80.000 kms can today be had for around EUR 30.000, which is nothing short of a bargain, also considering the price increase the M3 CSL has seen in the last year. As always the convertible weighs more (here around 150 kg) and is less rigid than the coupé, on the other hand it allows you to enjoy the engine tone singing out of the rear pipe better, so it’s rather the usage of the car (and the climate where you live) that should decide whether you need a roof or not. A manual will also probably be less prone to surprises than an SMG box. Ultimately however given the limited number of low-mileage, original cars available, the individual condition and service book are what really counts, as is the fact that it is an original, non-“improved” car. The powerdome is in all cases included for free!

Thrill of Owning – evaluation of recommendations so far

On November 11, 2016November 11, 2016 By ChristofferIn News, The Thrill of Owning1 Comment

It’s been awfully quiet lately under the Thrill of Owning heading, something unfortunately due to a rather hectic work schedule of yours truly. Another factor at play is however the steady rise in collector car prices over the last year, by no means a new trend and no doubt one of the side effects of a zero- to negative interest rate environment and investors’ feverish search for alternative investments. This actually has led to quite a few objects that were intended for the column rising so much in price before the time of writing that they disqualified themselves!

In light of that I felt it was time to go back and have a look at the cars presented so far. If you had purchased them (and who knows, maybe you did?), would they so far have been a good deal not only driving-wise but also investment-wise? Given we started this heading in 2015 the track record is obviously short, but summarized below is an estimate of the price evolution seen by the cars presented during 2015 as per today, i.e. in November 2016.

thrill-of-owning-price-evolution

It would not take much academic effort to completely disqualify the methodology behind the price estimations in the above table, but at least it is consistent with how prices were initially estimated. Basically I have done a rough estimate of average market prices for the presented cars in Germany, Switzerland and partially Sweden, according to the specs (for example max kms) as described in the post. Given in all cases samples are also small and the individual condition therefore critical, it should really be taken as an indication at best.

Still, it is interesting to see how some models have seen spectacular rises in a short time, none more so than the Lancia Delta Evo, whereas others such as the Porsche 996 or the BMW Z4M have had a moderate, although still positive price evolution, probably also due to them being newer cars produced in larger numbers. However, you will probably struggle to find another investment in the current period that has a comparable performance on average whilst at the same time bringing true driving pleasure!

Even if the mission of the Thrill of Owning has become harder, the column will remain and I still have a few objects up the sleeve to enlighten the darker and colder season. Stay tuned!

The Thrill of Owning… a 12-cylinder GT coupé!

On September 4, 2016 By ChristofferIn News, The Thrill of Owning1 Comment

A few months ago I wrote a short laud to the mechanical twelve-cylinder, which much like one of those friendly, vegetarian dinosaurs is heading towards rapid extinction.

Having given the matter some thought during the long and mostly sunny summer (isn’t that what summer is for?) and done some quick market research, it struck me that the damage is probably even greater; beyond not only the mechanical 12-cylinder but most probably any modern 8- or 12-cylinder engine that won’t pass modern emission standards (and that cannot be cheated with as easy as a VW diesel engine), it is a whole car segment that risks dying; that of the elegant, powerful, luxurious and highly desireable GT coupé. This is a car type that was never associated with strollers, Ikea furniture or skiboxes, but rather with leather bags for two, sunshine and magnificent drives in company of a lovely lady along the Grand Corniche in southern France. And importantly, unlike the flashy convertible, the true coupé is always be understated. If that is not a type of car worth preserving, then I don’t know what is!

Bentley-Continental-GT-V8-S-coupe — When the road is the goal…

The German magazine “Auto, Motor & Sport” a few years ago did a survey among readers on whether GT coupés fit the description in the above paragraph, or are rather meaningless, ugly and unpractical. Luckily 91% seem to love GT’s, which is some consolation. I would also think this is an interest helped by… a slightly maturing age. Sure, an Elise is a true driver’s car, but it’s also one that leaks water, kills your spine and lacks any form of practicality. Not so the GT, which will transport you in utter comfort anywhere you want, always in sublime comfort and with sufficient room for your weekend bags, and without messing up the little hair you have left. The kind of thing you start appreciating after a certain age!

The really great thing, and the reason for this post, is the fact that many of those true GT coupés with large engines have seen massive depreciation in spite of often having quite low mileage and a perfect ownership and servicing history. This is probably because those who had the money to buy them as new were, you guessed it, a bit older, and typically haven’t driven them that much. So if they were beyond your means as new, they are not any longer, in spite of not being more than 7-10 years old.

You could obviously define this segment in many different ways, but to stick to the theme of 12-cylinders and illustrate the point, I have chosen three fantastic coupés that cost somewhere around EUR 200′-250′ when they were new and have today dropped to EUR 40′-50′ with 50.000 – 100.000 kms on the clock, thus offering an extreme value for money. Whether they will depreciate further time will tell (but as we all know, when the offer is reduced, the price tends to go up…), but already at today’s prices, it is difficult to find better – and more stylish! – bang for your buck.

Bentley Continental GT: the car that made Bentley a mass brand (at least if you live in Zurich) was launched in 2004 and features the same VW W12 engine as the top version of the VW Phaeton at the time. In the Continental it develops a healthy 560 Hp and 650 Nm of torque, and has the additional benefit of being four-wheel drive. Contintentals are today in amply supply from EUR 40.000 for 1-2-owner cars.

2013_bentley_continental_gt_speed_71_1920x1080

Aston Martin DB9: launched in the same year as the Bentley, the utterly beautiful DB9 (which was co-designed by Henrik Fisker) has a 12-cylinder engine producing 457 hp, so less than the Continental, but then at 1800 kg the car also weights half a ton less. They can today be bought for around EUR 50.000, often with less than 50.000 kms on the clock.

Aston-Martin-db9-61-1024x576

Mercedes-Benz CL 600 and CL 65 AMG: the C216 CL-series was produced from 2006 to 2010, and both the 600 and the Überhammer CL 65 AMG, one of the most potent machines ever built by the guys in Affalterbach, was launched the first year and feature the same V12 engine which in the AMG version develops 612 hp, 100 hp more than the 600. At 1000 Nm, the torque of the AMG car is almost absurd, and just for the fun of it, the CL 65 does not have four-wheel drive, so that’s 500 Nm of torque per rear wheel… Still, this is a coupé on the S-class chassis, so comfort and refinement are sublime in both versions. Both the CL 600 and CL 65 AMG are a bit more difficult to find, but prices today start at around EUR 50.000, for both, again with less than 100.000 kms on the clock. If you are going to be unreasonable, why not be so all the way and go for the AMG version…

mercedes-benz-cl-65-amg-04

The enormous depreciation these and other GT’s have seen have the additional benefit of leaving you just enough money to afford running them – and especially for the CL 65 AMG, for buying a few sets of rear wheels per year… The purchase price may be comparable to a new Opel, the running costs are certainly not. But then again, grooming your image was never for free!

Electrical power and pshychology

On August 21, 2016 By ChristofferIn NewsLeave a comment

As you may have noted, the blog has been on summer leave and both Sven and myself have done a lot of driving. Sven recorded a clear win going all through Europe from Barcelona to Stockholm, for my part it was shorter but I did nevertheless cover the roughly 3.000 kms back and forth between Zurich and Sweden’s west coast.

Going north, from somewhere around Hamburg and onwards, you start noticing a large number of Teslas. Some in Germany, more in Denmark and clearly most in Sweden, although many of these are on Norwegian plates. The ones I saw all had one thing in common: none of them were enjoying the stomach-gripping torque and acceleration the Model S is capable of. In fact with one exception, they were all traveling in grandpa speed in the right lane, a number of them behind a truck or – God forbid – a caravan-towing car.

Surely this must be due to a combination of the laws of physics and human psychology. Physics to the extend that you can’t replace acceleration with distance/autonomy (only a larger battery pack will allow you to go further on a charge), and psychology insofar as when you see your remaining distance dropping quickly on the futuristic digital screen each time you use your right foot, you become careful. It doesn’t matter if you have planned your route and know that you should safely make it to the next charging station, it is human nature wanting to make sure you get there, so your speed drops. Surely you could claim that this phenomenon is temporary and that when there are as many supercharging stations as petrol stations (or at least vastly more than today) the problem will be solved, but then again charging will still take 20 minutes, something that will not change until battery technology sees a revolution.

Until then, it seems that the main reason people who enjoy driving quote when buying a Tesla, the torque and acceleration, is a bit like buying a Cayenne in southern California because it is four-wheel drive…

Tesla-Perpendicular-Parking-2 — Every Tesla driver’s nightmare…

New Porsche Panamera spotted in Weissach

On July 20, 2016July 20, 2016 By svenIn News2 Comments

Yesterday I drove past Porsche’s research facility in Weissach. I was able to spot a few of the brand new Panameras. I must say it looks much more better than the old Panamera. My photos don’t do it justice, it is actually really beautiful.

After Weissach, I went to the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen. I will post photos from the museum soon. I will keep you posted!

Brand new Bentley Bentayga shines in Zurich

On July 7, 2016 By ChristofferIn News1 Comment

This afternoon I saw the first “live” Bentley Bentayga in downtown Zurich. At prices from EUR 250.000 and upwards (with no upper limit…), the Bentayga is no doubt the world’s most exclusive, powerful (W12, 608hp) and probably also most comfortable SUV. Let’s say that whether it is also the prettiest is up for debate. The front is very… imposing, the rear has a clear resemblance to the new Mini Clubman. Sorry Bentley! But for the selected few, I’m sure it will be a ride, although not necessarily a drive, to enjoy!

Morgan Threewheeler – when less is more

On June 19, 2016June 19, 2016 By ChristofferIn Fun stuff, NewsLeave a comment

Yesterday I went to buy a second-hand lawnmower in the countryside near Zurich. Not much excitement in that you will think and indeed, neither did I, until I made it to the address, followed the seller Markus to the barn where he had stored the mower, and discovered next to it a shining black Morgan Threewheeler, one of the most original and exotic cars of these last years. Markus was obviously very happy to find a soulmate and happily spent the next hour with yours truly, talking about cars in general and Threewheelers in particular, and then to round it off took me for a short ride in this strange creation, something that was a truly unique experience!

Threewheeler 1

Morgan started producing the modern Threewheeler five years ago, in 2011. The car bears some resemblance to the original Threwheeler that was in production for more than 40 years until 1952. Hand-built around a wooden frame and weighing only 525 kgs, as the name suggests the car stands on three large and narrow wheels, and another (of many) peculiar features is that the engine, a two-cylinder Harley Davidson delivering 82 hp, is placed at the front of the car, fully exposed. 82 hp from two cylinders may not sound like much, but as I was soon to discover, in this car it is! If however you want even more power, it is apparently quite easy to trim it up towards 135 hp. Behind the engine, under the bonnet, you will find the oil tank and the battery, and behind the seats, the tank sits next to it the tiniest of luggage spaces that will accommodate a rain jacket, which is pretty good since the car has absolutely no roof and the only cover supplied is a tonneau.

Threewheeler 2 — You are looking at the full boot space in the back, next to the tank…

The seating position is extremely low and narrow, as is space around the pedals, so you’d better be friends with your passenger beforehand, and the passenger had better not be a wrestler. If you try you will easily be able to touch the ground with your outer arm, an exercise that should only be tried out from the passenger side as the exhaust pipe runs alongside the chassis on the driver’s side. The pedals can be adjusted in length, which the seats can’t, but you can only do so with tools and it is a reasonably complicated exercise. Markus has replaced the original steering wheel with a smaller one, as the original wheel does not really leave enough space for a man of average length…

Before we squeeze in next to each other, Markus pushes the start button upon which the most wonderful, blurring sound flows from the exhaust. For obvious reasons it is more reminiscent of a Harley than a car, and the Threewheeler is actually registered as a motorbike in Switzerland, although you are allowed to drive it on a car permit as well. I squeezed in on the passenger seat next to my new best friend, rubbing shoulders with him as we took off among Swiss hills.

Threewheeler interior — A beautiful, but narrow interior, with the handbrake right next to the gear lever.

The standard Threewheeler does 0-100 in 6 seconds and the last thing you will wish for (at least as a passenger) is more power, since the extremely low seating position gives a very intense impression of speed – and everything else happening around you. The sound is gorgeous, there is an extreme feeling of lightness about the whole car, which actually feels like something of a hybrid between a bike and a car, obviously due to the size of the wheels and the single rear wheel. Especially quickly driven corners are quite hairy and speaking of corners, the short hand brake sits just next to the gear change. When I ask Markus about this he says it comes from rally sport so that you can hang out the rear around corners. Apparently he has a few friends doing this on alpine roads but says he is to old for it. “But they’re also quite crazy” he adds, something I find quite easy to believe from my squeezed passenger seat.

Markus bought his Threewheeler second-hand a year ago and says build quality has been so-so. As he has discovered, his car, although being a 2013 make, consists of parts both from 2011 and 2012, and he has had some pretty bad – and costly – mechanical failures. Each car is truly individual as tuning and trimming possibilities are limitless, and some mechanical details need to be modified if you do not want the car to break down straight away. But Markus says he wouldn’t hesitate buying it again and again and again, as he has never drive anything like it, neither car nor bike – of which a few were also parked in the same barn.

Threewheeler attention — You will never go unnoticed, irrespective the level of personalizaiton…

There is nothing practical about the Threewheeler, it is a pure toy best enjoyed alone on dry roads near a mountain somewhere. It will set you back around 40.000 EUR and it may be a pretty good investment, as quantities produced are small (no reliable number can’t be found but according to Markus around 30 have been sold in Switzerland, and this is a country where there are a lot of expensive toys with little practicality…). But above all, it is a unique driving experience and most probably a buy you will never regret!

Porsche 911 4s – striving for perfection

On May 8, 2016 By ChristofferIn News, Test drivesLeave a comment

I recently had the opportunity of spending a full Sunday morning on Swiss country roads with as only companion a Porsche 911 4S from 2015, and I can definitely remember worse Sunday mornings. The truth is that I struggle more to remember better ones… There are a lot of Porsche aficionados among the readers of this blog with far greater experience of the Zuffenhausen greats than I do (first and foremost obviously my fellow blogger Sven), but to those of you not yet familiar with the latest 911 I’d thought I’d share a few impressions.

“My” car was 911 4S a silver-coloured coupé with black interior, a panoramic roof and the PDK gearbox. The power output was the usual 420 hp, bringing the car to 100 km/h in around 4 seconds. Obviously nowadays the boxer-six is turbo-charged even in the version without “turbo” in the name, and sure, the character of the engine is different to a naturally-aspirated six. If you look for it you will feel when the turbo(s) kick in, however power delivery remains very smooth and given the clear advantages in torque, now up to a max of 500 Nm, at least I fail to see any disadvantages with the new engine generation. That also has to do with the three buttons on the center console.

In Comfort mode, the 911 is the perfect long-haul companion, transporting two people and their luggage in utter comfort an sounding so civilized that you could trick quite a few people as to what it is really capable of. That all changes in Sport mode as the tone becomes much rawer, the suspension firms up and the fantastic gearbox hangs on to each gear longer. Had this been my car, this is probably the mode I would leave it in for everyday use. The last option is Sport Plus which, if Porsche had been slightly less serious and a bit more Tesla-like, could have been renamed something like AHBL, All Hell Breaks Loose. The mode certainly works best on track but let’s just say the sound is tremendous, the suspension is….firm and the gearbox hangs to each gear that together with the sound seem to tell you “come on, is that all you have”? Given the car was still on winter tires and the outside temperature was five degrees on a humid country road, it felt safest to answer that question by “yes, today it actually is”, but there is no doubt in my mind that with a set of sport or track tires and an appropriate piece of tarmac, this is a very potent car. So even sound-wise the new engine delivers a very convincing case.

Do I want one? Oh yes. Would this be my choice? Not certain. Although the four-wheel drive version is obviously more versatile, I remember a very inspiring drive a couple of years ago in a two-wheel drive car, so I would clearly want to try that out before deciding as it least as I remember it, it felt even more playful. In terms of power it would also be interesting to try the more potent turbo version (which would then again be four-wheel drive) – that is, if money was no issue. But sure, if someone threw a 911 4S on me, I would not mind. Actually not at all…

A morning in AMG heaven

On April 10, 2016December 16, 2016 By ChristofferIn News, Test drives2 Comments

For various reasons I had to go and see the Mercedes dealership yesterday where a year and a half ago I bought our family car, an MB GL 350. The dealer is also what is called an AMG Performance Center, meaning you see more AMG of all kinds than regular MB models. This time he had something up the sleeve for me. There were a couple of cars he felt I should try out. I follow his advice, and boy was I happy that I did!

I was first handed the keys to the slightly surreal creature called GL (as from this year GLS) 63 AMG. The boys from Affalterbach never put their hands on the first generation GL, but they did so with the second, starting in 2013. The GL 63 has the same 5.5 litre, double turbo V8 engine as other 63 models, which in the GL develops 557 hp. Now as a reminder, the GL is 5.12 metres long and weighs 2.6 tons, so to make this work in any practical way they have worked quite heavily on (most) other parts as well. Notably the AMG version as standard features MB’s Active Curve System, basically aiming to remove the laws of physics.

2015_Mercedes_GL63_AMG_Rear_2

Put your foot on the break and press the button and you will be greeted with a somewhat subdued but still gorgeous V8 sound of the type we don’t get to hear that often anymore. And when you put the AMG Speedshift in Drive, all hell breaks lose. The beast does 0-100 in 4.5 seconds whilst at the same time, to borrow an expression from Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman “corners like it’s on rails”. It is completely surreal how AMG have succeeded in masking the weight and the size of this machine and transform it to a completely different car. 760 Nm of torque seem to be available at whatever speed and in whatever gear, and acceleration is endless.

Coming back after a test drive including both mountain roads and motorway, I suspect my face featured more of a surprised than a smiling expression, but that was about to change. The dealer now handed me the keys to a sparkling, diamond-white E 63 AMG S Estate featuring lots of goodies, including the AMG Driver’s Package meaning the 250 km/h limitation goes out the window. The S version also means a boost of another 30 hp, so the same V8 engine now produces 585 hp and 800 Nm of torque (and tests conducted on these cars typically indicate a higher power output than that). Without being small, the car still weights more than half a ton less than the GL.

cool1-223

Where the GL exhaust sound at start-up was somewhat subdued, this is nothing but spectacular. The engine blubbers and blows in a way that will put a giant smile on anyone but the heartless and the Greens, and from that point on, that smile will never leave your face. Again, it’s what AMG succeeds at doing in masking the weight that is most impressive. I used to have the same car with a 292 hp V6 and an AMG chassis. That was a great car but it was never a sports car, rather at all times feeling extremely solid – and heavy. This is like driving a completely different car. It feels light, the steering is precise, the breaks have a solid bite and you can literally throw it around corners in a way I would maybe not have done had the dealer been sitting next to me. And then the engine… The reduced weight means a 0-100 time of around 3.5 seconds and an acceleration and torque quite simply blow your mind away, in any gear, at any speed, on any road.

Conclusion? AMG are great guys, but that we already knew. Still, the GL 63 to me is a flawed proposition. At the same time as it is amazing how you can move this thing around, its sheer size means it is not made for it. As I told the dealer, if I could choose between my car with all the AMG goodies and a diesel engine that produces maybe 100 hp more than the current one, that to me would be a better suited engine to this car than the petrol version.

The E 63 S is a completely different story. I know a new E class is on the way, that the AMG Speedshift is not as quick as for example BMW’s double clutch, and that Comand is not the best GPS system on the market. Thing is, I couldn’t care less – and neither will you, because the moment you press that button and floor the pedal, all that goes far, far away. If there was ever one, perfect car, this quite objectively has to be it. Driving pleasure like a track car combined with space for all the family and four-wheel drive to take you to the mountains on the weekends – what could you possibly want more?!? I feel negotiations are about to start….

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT Roadster; (BR 197); Paris 2012

If ever there was a God, he is sitting right below here!

Top Gear Trailer!

On March 31, 2016March 31, 2016 By svenIn NewsLeave a comment

Top Gear has just released the first trailer for the new Top Gear series, starring Chris Evans, Chris Harris, Sabine Schmitz and Matt LeBlanc, among others.

Not sure about whether it will be as good as the old Top Gear with Clarkson, Hammond and May, but I guess we need to give them the benefit of the doubt. Being a fan of Chris Harris I am somewhat hopeful.

It will premier on the BBC in May.

The Thrill of Driving

Category: News