I almost spilled my coffee yesterday sitting behind the wheel on my way into town when I spotted a car I was not even aware of, the newly-launched Range Rover Evoque Convertible! Except for the hard-core Defender and G-Wagen convertibles, Land Rover have thus the first modern SUV convertible and are a clear contestant for the title coolest convertible in 2016! 
Category: News
A short visit to supercar heaven!
Tokyo is a city of many sites and wonders, but for us petrol heads, all of these are outclassed by an attraction most normal people aren’t even aware of, namely Bingo Sports, the supercar dealership that is often referred to as maybe the best in the world.
Started 11 years ago and with two showrooms in Tokyo and Nagoya, Bingo specializes in highly exclusive new and historical supercars and is the official representative in Japan for Pagani. As the very friendly salesman told me, the company sells about as many cars each year outside of Japan as in the country and is specialized on finding supercars worldwide on client request. The current stock of about 40 cars split between Tokyo and Nagoya is one of the most exclusive selections you can find anywhere, easily beating a number of car museums! Given this it is amazing how you can just walk into the showroom and how welcome you feel – but then again, this is Tokyo.
The showroom line-up during my visit included;
The amazing Pagani Zonda Revolucion, the 800 hp ultimate version of the Zonda released in 2013 and that in 2015 set a new record time for road legal cars on the Nordschleife of an incredible 6.30 mins. Standing in front of this magnificent creation, you first notice the incredible carbon-titanium monocoque thanks to which the car weighs in at only around 1200 kgs. Walking behind it, it is then surprising to see how long the car is, at least half a meter longer than the regular Zonda standing next to it, which in comparison looks almost ordinary. Rarely has standing next to a car been so impressive.
To the right of the “normal” Zonda pictured above is a Ferrari 365BB, of which only 387 were built in 1973, and then one of the showroom’s two Ferrari 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” in Competizione finish. As if that was not enough, the following three cars are among of the most exotic historical Ferraris you can imagine: the Ferrari F40, the last of only twenty F40 LMs that were ever built and finally a 288 GT Evoluzione, a 600 hp group B race car of which only five were built between 1984 and 1986, and the car that was the F40’s predecessor.
All these, as well as Bingo’s other cars, redefine the notion of “mint” condition – they all look completely new (and to be fair, none of them have been extensively driven). As for the prices, it is as the saying was for Rolls Royce back in the days: if you need to ask, you cannot afford it. But looking is free, so if ever you are in Tokyo, whatever you do, don’t miss Bingo! More info can be found here.
The clean cars of Tokyo
This week finds me in Tokyo, a city where you can see many interesting things but dirty cars is not one of them. As a Japanese friend explained to me on my last visit, any Japanese man with self-respect washes his car when he comes home – every day.
Yesterday it rained, and a couple of hours after the rain stops, these four policemen could be seen polishing their cars by hand before the next call to duty (which, given the low level of criminality in Japan could arguably be after the next rainy day)…
TEST DRIVE: The new 911 Carrera S – ruined by the turbo engine?
On Christmas Eve (!), during a couple of hours, I test drove the brand new turbocharged Porsche 911 Carrera S, i.e. the 2nd iteration of the current 991 generation.
The main change, compared to the 1st generation 991, is the all new 3.0-liter twin-turbo engine. Adding turbos to the standard Carrera and Carrera S models is the biggest change in the history of the 911, since the controversial (at the time) introduction of water cooling in the late 90s.
How is the new turbocharged engine?
Let’s get straight to the point, does the turbocharged engine transform the car? If so, how? Does it ruin the character of the car? How does it sound? Continue reading “TEST DRIVE: The new 911 Carrera S – ruined by the turbo engine?”
What’s on in Geneva this year
The Geneva auto show, or Salon de l’Automobile as it is officially called, opened its doors on Thursday this week. As usual the exhibition is a mixture of practical & crazy, ecological & not-so, large brands & small outfits. There are no true revelations in the line-up this year, but below is a small pick of some of the sportier new cars presented. As always, best is to go see for yourself, the Salon is open until 13 March and details can be found on http://www.salon-auto.ch.
Ferrari GTC4 Lusso
Ferrari introduces the successor to its “family estate” FF, the GTC4 Lusso. The V12 has been boosted to 690 hp vs 660 in the FF and for the first time in a Ferrari introduces four-wheel steering. The bodywork has been slightly face-lifted, as have the electronics and the infotainment system.
Porsche 718 Boxster S
Porsche introduces its new entry car, the 718, replacing the old Boxster, meaning it’s bye-bye to the old charismatic 6-cylinder and hello to a new 4-cylinder turbo engine producing 350 hp and 420 Nm. The chassis has been improved, as has the assistance system PSM that now has a Sport mode – and can still be turned off…
Lamborghini Centenario
Celebrating the 100th birthday of Lamborghini’s founder Ferruccio Lamborghini, the Centenario is one of the superstars of this year’s Salon. 20 coupés and 20 convertibles will be produced, meaning 40 lucky owners will be able to enjoy 770 hp out of the sublime V12, bringing the car to 100 in 2.4 seconds.
Jaguar F-PACE – the prettiest SUV in town?
Unfortunately I was not able to make it to the F-PACE launch event in Barcelona last week. But, fortunately, the Jaguar dealer around the corner from my office has a Jaguar F-PACE in the showroom.
I must say that the F-PACE is a very beautiful car, from the outside as well as from the inside.
It is slightly bigger (5 cm) than our Porsche Macan, but still smaller than big SUV:s. Rear seat space and boot space is marginally bigger than in the Macan.
The F-PACE is a very desirable car, and with the 340hp or 380hp supercharged petrol V6 (same as in the F-TYPE) it should be rather quick. The only problem is that for that kind of money I think I’d rather upgrade to a Macan GTS…
The Thrill of…. what?
This morning I got a mail from Tesla claiming they haven’t seen me for a while and that a lot has happened since my last visit, and to illustrate that they included this video under the heading “Going to work stress-free”:
Surely like many others, my initial reaction when watching it was “wow, this is really cool!”. But then, thinking about it again, is this really where we want to go? Sitting behind the wheel with tipping the indicator being the only action required? Where is the thrill in that? Sure, you can turn off the thing and take the wheel yourself, but I fear the day solutions like this become technically possible and reliable, big brother will see to it that your days of proper driving will quickly be over.
Better therefore to enjoy it while it lasts – and to do that, Tesla provides an excellent solution with the Ludicrous Mode of the P90D – now that’s a thrill!
Aston Martin Works – as good as it gets
Over the last years the restoration of classic cars and supply of original car parts have become a small but increasingly important business for leading brands such as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and of course Aston Martin. Under the name Aston Martin Works, the specialized units provides all services connected to its classical models. The beauty and quality of the work is amazing, as illustrated under the following link. Clearly, it doesn’t come cheap – a reliable source/friend told me last week that the asking price of the beautifully restored dark blue DB6 Mk 2 that can be viewed on the site is a very respectful GBP 460.000. The same car would have yielded about a third of that value no more than 5-6 years ago…
Volvo P1800 Concept – build it please!
It was whilst looking for something else related to the legendary Volvo P1800 ES, the most beautiful Volvo ever built, that I stumbled upon these pictures of a modern P1800 Concept Car that Volvo apparently showed at the Geneva Motor Show last year, something at least I had completely missed. Unlike previous models like the 480 and C30 that were inspired by the original ES but still quite far away, this study is as anyone can see much close to the original, and it is gorgeous! For Pete’s sake Volvo, start producing it!
Ferrari 458 Speciale vs. Porsche 991 GT3
Chris Harris vs. Tiff Needell. This is brilliant!
The Nürburgring from the driver’s seat in a Boxster GTS!
We are very happy to share with you a very respectable lap around the famous Ring by one of our readers, Eric Jirhall, in a Porsche Boxster GTS. Well done Eric, and to other readers who may have similar videos they’d like to share, do please send them to us!
One day in Tesla-land
It’s been almost a year since I last visited Amsterdam and Holland, one of my favorite business destinations, and not much was different as I walked through the airport heading for the taxi line earlier this week. But then it became clear how quickly things can change. Whereas a year ago I can’t remember seeing a single Tesla, either as a taxi or in general, today it is practically the only taxi car you see. As was explained to me this is partly an airport phenomenon since the airport makes a thing of having clean taxis, but nevertheless the speed of change is impressive. Getting into the back seat of one for a 50 km journey to Utrecht gave me the opportunity to explore this further in discussion with a very talkative taxi driver, and obviously to talk about the Tesla in general with someone who had driven it on a daily basis for almost a year.
As was explained to me, a Tesla is a very good deal for Dutch taxi companies. Through various discounts they get the P85 (i.e. the larger engine but not the trimmed P85+ version) for roughly EUR 50.000, around half the official price. No taxes apply to electric taxi cars and “re-fueling” is of course free. The driver was also very happy with the car. He hadn’t experienced any problems and said the GPS / entertainment system with its giant screen is highly addictive, something I’ve experienced from personal experience. So in other words, my previous impressions were confirmed and it’s all thumbs up?
Unfortunately not completely. There is a downside which, little surprise, starts with the range. The driver tells me he does get out 360-380 kms on a full charge, very respectable and not far away from Tesla’s claim. However this is Holland, a country with strict speed limits and even stricter controls (they’ve actually come up with a new one which is very difficult to fault: they measure the time it takes you to travel between two points…), so speed rarely exceeds 100 km/h. When you start going faster, the range starts dropping fast, especially above 130 km/h.
Secondly, there is the issue of superchargers: there are currently four stations in Holland, less than in Germany but probably objectively sufficient given the size of the country. However, the subsidies that not only taxi drivers enjoy on electrical cars mean there is not only a lot of Teslas but of electric cars in general. Tesla graciously let owners of other electrical cars use the superchargers against a small fee (in all countries, not just in Holland) but they anyway remain very attractive for owners of other brands given the short charging time. And even if Teslas have priority at the stations, this quite often means that the superchargers are not free. A full charge takes 40 minutes (or 20 minutes for 80%), but obviously if there are two cars in front of you, the pit stop quickly extends to 2 hours – quite annoying on a longer trip. This problem is obviously one Tesla owners risk seeing in other countries as well, and it’s probably only a question of time before Tesla restricts the superstation usage to Tesla owners. Until then however, it is something anyone thinking about a Tesla should bear in mind.
The third and final point actually relates to the build quality. As readers of this blog know I’ve driven a Tesla twice, but when you are behind the wheel you have so much else to focus on that you don’t pay as much attention to the small things as you do when you sit in the back seat. The first thing you note is how short the seat is, and how limited the head space is. Calling a Tesla a 2+2 car is exaggerated but it is not really comfortable if you are over say 1.75m. It also feels like there is a lot of plastic around you which is not of a quality comparable to the German brands. Door panels, backside of seats and various pieces around your feet do not give a very good impression. Finally, and most disappointing of all, the noise level is high even on ultra-smooth Dutch motorways, obviously an even bigger disappointment considering this is an electrical car. The wind and road noise already around 100 km/h by far exceeds any other premium brand in the same price class.
My first passenger trip in a Tesla thus became a bit of a wake-up call. No doubt, the Tesla Model S is an impressive effort from a company no one knew five years ago, and it remains a real thrill to drive. Furthermore, depending on where you live, ownership costs are typically very attractive, making the total costs very competitive even with quite a high purchase price. If you rarely go on longer drives and have small children, go for it. If you regularly travel longer distances, you should at least be aware of the limitations in range and comfort.
F1 season start 2015 – all you need to know!
As one of the most reliable and best signs of the coming spring, the F1 season 2015 kicks off on 15 March in Melbourne, Australia. So what’s new and what’s to expect in F1 2015?
Starting on the mechanical side, none of the rather small changes for the 2015 season come even close to the radical change that took place in 2014. Unfortunately that probably means that the engine sound will tend to be the same as in 2014 as well. Chassis have also largely remained similar except for some added protection around the driver’s head following Jules Bianchi’s dreadful accident at the end of the 2014 season.
On the regulatory side, many will be pleased to note that the double points rule for the last race of the season will no longer be applied. We will also see the introduction in some yellow flag phases of something called the virtual safety car, and this year in qualifying, 5 cars will be eliminated in Q1 and Q2 respectively, leaving 10 of the total 20 cars allowed for qualifying to Q 3.
Button on McLaren and Hamilton on a very similar looking 2015 Mercedes – why change a good thing?
So what’s with the teams? That remains to be seen although pre-season testing gives reason to think that at least the start of the season will be as dominated by Mercedes as last season was. The MB driver line-up is unchanged with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, and both have done very well in testing. Behind Mercedes we will of course find the usual suspects, including Ferrari that by hiring Sebastian Vettel were behind the biggest transfer of the season (Kimi Räikkönen has kept the second seat), Red Bull with last season’s big surprise Daniel Ricciardo who will be joined by the upgraded ex-Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kwjat, and McLaren that has welcomed Fernando Alonso and kept Jenson Button. Looking at budgets it is also these teams that lead the pack, from the largest (Red Bull / EUR 425m) to the smallest (McLaren / EUR 230m).
Vettel trying out his new car, and Ricciardo doing the same in a heavily masked Red Bull
Other teams this season include the middle pack with Lotus (Grosjean/Maldonado, EUR 160m) and Williams (Massa/Bottas, EUR 150m) and the ones that at least on paper will struggle to keep up: Sauber that have hired Swedish Marcus Ericsson alongside Brazilian Felipe Nasr (EUR 85m), Toro Rosso (Verstappen/Sainz jr., EUR 80m) and Force India (Perez/Hulkenberg, EUR 75m). Oh yes, and Marussia, who against all expectations are somehow still there but have yet to present a car but say they will run with an adapted -14 car in Melbourne and present the -15 car later this season. Pozjivem uvidim, as the Russians would say (those who live will see).
From top left: Hulkenberg (Force India), Verstappen (Toro Rosso) and Marcus Ericsson on Sauber, that kindly even adapted the color of the car to him!
Will the Mercedes dominance continue in 2015? Will Sebastian Vettel adapt as well to life with Ferrari as Schumi did (albeit after a few years)? Which of the smaller teams will surprise on the upside? All those questions and many more will seek to be answered in the 2015 season starting next weekend!
Geneva Salon de l’Auto opens tomorrow!
The 85th Salon International de l’Auto starts tomorrow in Geneva (or rather doesn’t, since this classical show has now been renamed the “Geneva International Motorshow” – who came up with that idea??). As usual the show will feature a number of more or less fantastic automobiles but will equally see the premieres of a number of important models for the years to come. Those that feel most relevant to this blog include the Ferrari 488 GTB, the magnificent Porsche Cayman GT4 that Sven has already written about on this blog, the brutal Koenigsegg Agera RS and the very promising Lotus Evora 400.
For a complete overview of premieres at the Salon (sorry, Motorshow), pass by Geneva in the coming ten days or check the official website under
Porsche’s most important sports car launch since 1999: the Cayman GT4!
Rumours have been circulating for a long time but on Wednesday Porsche finally released the details, specs and photos of the new Cayman GT4. OMG is it desirable!
It has the 911 Carrera S engine producing 385 hp at 7400 rpm, but according to Porsche it is “probably more than 385 hp”. Porsche’s hp figures are always conservative for the GT cars and since the same engine is producing 400 hp in the Carrera S, you can draw your own conclusions…
Performance is astonishing, it goes from 0-100 km/h in 4.4s and it laps the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:40! (the same time as the 997 GT3 Mk2…)
The upgraded brakes consist of steel discs (380 mm) on all 4 wheels, i.e the same size as the 991 GT3, in spite of the latter being a heavier car.
The front suspension is almost identical to the 991 GT3 while the rear suspension is “new”, but it seems it is still a MacPherson-strut, although with new improved components.
The GT4 weights 1,340 kg DIN (1,415 kg EU), i.e. 90 kg less than the current 911 GT3. Compared to a standard Cayman, the GT4 is 30 mm lower.
It is only available with a manual gearbox as opposed to the 991 GT3 which is only available with PDK-gearbox.
Looking at the exterior, the GT4 has a few additions: front bumper and splitter, big rear wing and air scopes on the side to improve aerodynamics, looks, cooling and engine breathing.
In addition, there is a Clubsport package, only available together with optional bucket seats, that includes: roll cage, six-point harnesses, fire extinguisher and preparation for a body shell and battery disconnect switch. This is hardcore stuff…
Sharing many suspension components with the 911 GT3 and having the engine from the 991 Carrera S, the Cayman GT4 looks like a bargain, at a price way lower than both cars and even below the entry level 911 Carrera, which is a slower car.
Enjoy the photos and the video below!
(and read about my test drive of the Cayman GTS here)
evo Car of the Year 2014
This video is a summary of evo Magazine’s yearly Car of the Year contest. If you haven’t bought the magazine (which you should), check out this video.
The contenders in no particular order: VW Golf R, McLaren 650S, Ferrari 458 Speciale, BMW M3, Porsche Cayman GTS, Jaguar F-type R Coupe, BMW i8, Renaultsport Mégane 275 Trophy-R, Aston Martin Vanquish and Audi S1
And the winner is…
Mini John Cooper Works video
Really cool video of the new Mini John Cooper Works:
Vettel drives a Ferrari F1 car for the first time!!!
In the video, Sebastian Vettel drives a Ferrari Formula 1 car (from 2012) around the Fiorano track. He has been spending a couple of days in Maranello and in January he will start testing the 2015 car.
I while back, I had the privilege to drive at Ferrari’s private Fiorano track. Amazing… See my writings (in Swedish): here and here.
Tesla D: 4WD and up to 700 (electric) horsepower!
Tesla has presented the new D model, a new version of the Model S with 4WD and up to 700 horsepower! The top version accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.4 (!) seconds. To put this into perspective, it is the same time as a Ferrari 458…
According to Tesla, two smaller electric motors can regenerate energy more efficiently than a single big motor, thus increasing the range of the 4WD models with about 15 km compared to their 2WD counterparts.
Tesla also introduced Autopilot features; software updates will enable semi-automatic driving on highways as well as autonomous parking. The car will actually be able to drive out of a parking space and to its owner autonomously.
The future is here today.
Mr Ferrari says arrividerci
A couple of weeks ago it became clear that Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari since 1991, had lost the power battle against his boss and arch rival Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and will leave the company.
Montezemolo was hired by Enzo Ferrari as his PA in 1973, 41 years ago (!) and could well be described as the last Ferrari man of the old school and also the man that since 1991 led the company from close to bankruptcy through ist commercially most successful period in history. In his 23 years as CEO, Ferrari launched 19 new models and became F1 world champion six times under the F1 leadership of Jean Todt, Montezemolo’s most successful hire. He developed new businesses for Ferrari including personalized cars and Corse Clienti, where old racing cars were sold to (very wealthy!) clients. He was key to re-shaping Ferrari into the company it is today.
The lack of success in F1 since 2007 did however increasingly become a burden for Montezemolo and a good excuse for Marchionne to push him out. Marchionne already started the process a while ago when recruiting Marco Mattiacci as new F1 boss, who at the time claimed never having seen an F1 race and was as far from Montezemolo’s style as you can get.
Montezemolo leaves a very big pair (no doubt hand-sewn) Italian leather shoes to fill, as he himself moves on to try to achieve the same wonders with another Italian company close to bankruptcy – Alitalia. Ciao Luca, we wish you the best of luck, it seems you may need it…
