Volante Issue 1 - Feb 2015

OU... FR TY

VOLANTE

LE THA OP

THE P E OM

ROUGH TB

A JOURNAL FOR THE GENTLEMAN DRIVER

FEBRUARY 2015

THE NOBLE

ART OF SPEED BRITAIN'S BOUTIQUE SUPERCAR, DRIVEN.

100 NOT OUT:

MASERATI'S CENTENNIAL EDITION CARS ARE PUT THROUGH THEIR PACES

BLITHE SPIRIT:

THE NEW ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST SERIES II MATERIALISES IN LONDON

THE MEASTRO:

MEMORIES OF THE INEFFABLE JUAN MANUEL FANGIO

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e ag l e

Appreciate the Difference

| Ign i t i o n | Edit o r ’s Le t t e r |

Start Your Engine...

OU... FR TY

VOLANTE

01

LE THA OP

THE P E OM

ROUGH TB

A JOURNAL FOR THE GENTLEMAN DRIVER

FEBRUARY 2015

THE NOBLE

ARt of sPeeD BRITAIN'S BOUTIQUE SUPERCAR, DRIVEN.

100 Not oUt:

MASERATI'S CENTENNIAL EDITION CARS ARE PUT THROUGH THEIR PACES

bLithe sPiRit:

THE NEW ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST SERIES II MATERIALISES IN LONDON

the MeAstRo:

MEMORIES OF THE INEFFABLE JUAN MANUEL FANGIO

Cover image: Noble M600, shot by GF Williams, courtesy of Romans International. www.romansinternational.com

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S

o few things in life are as capable of producing such a visceral response in people as that of the automobile. Even the most humble, ubiquitous production line model can stoke the fires of passion. Maybe because it is a first car, representing independence and freedom from the bonds of parental reliance. Perhaps because it belongs to a best friend or a favoured relative, holding within its steel frame a lifetime of fond memories.

My uncle’s Austin Allegro Estate, for instance, was a terrible car, but I still have happy recollections of my brother and I, as children, travelling to the beach sitting in its capacious boot. While we can all feel something for our run-of-the-mill motorcar, there is something infinitely more special when one thinks of the glamorous, luxurious and sporty marques you will find within these pages.

Like the Noble M600: a rarity on the roads of Britain and practically mythical the world over, given its annual production of just 15 cars. That’s five short of what Rolls-Royce’s Goodwood plant outputs in a day, but no less love is put into building cars like the Ghost Series II, which we road test on the streets of London.

Rolls-Royce was at the vanguard of the motoring revolution, as was fabled Italian manufacturer, Maserati, which last year enjoyed its 100th anniversary. To celebrate, we get behind the wheel of “Il Tridente’s” Centennial special editions in the mountains of Oman.

Those are just the first drives. You’ll also enjoy rallying a classic Mercedes-Benz 208SL, as well as witnessing the power of the Bugatti Super Sport in the hills of Andalusia, a car that Pierre-Henry Raphanel took to a world record speed. He is featured as one of our “Driven Men” alongside the maestro himself, Juan Manuel Fangio.

You’ll also find features dedicated to epic journeys, great driving roads, fine tailoring, grooming, books and big boys toys. As it says on the cover, this is a journal for the gentleman driver; a reference point for the modern motoring man, the inaugural edition of which, I admit to being very proud of.

So indulge me, if you will, as I invite you in to sit amongst the pantheon of automotive greats that make driving dreams a reality; to a place where style, luxury and adventure all mingle with the scent of rubber and petrol, all played out against a turbo-charged soundtrack.

Welcome to the first issue of Volante.

James McCarthy, Regional Managing Editor V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

| I gn i t i o n | C o n t e n t s |

Issue 01

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first gear 20| Columnist - The Boss: Peter Boutwood, MD of Noble

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21 | Columnist - The Rake: Jeremy Hackett on buying a suit 22 | Columnist - The Racer: Mohamed Abu Issa talks Dakar 24 | News 32 | Calendar 34 | Gear The best bits of kit for car & driver 

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V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

THE NEW NISSAN PATROL CONQUER YOUR LUXURIOUS SIDE One look is good, but a double take is what we all want in life. Patrol’s premium interior and refined exterior means you are always the one that others are looking out for.

The Hero of all terrains in life Stylish New Look | Premium Interior | Advanced Technology

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/NissanME

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| I gn i t i o n | C o n t e n t s |

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the garage 38 | First Drive Noble M600

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44 | First Drive Maserati’s Centennial Models 50 | First Drive Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II

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56 | Classic Mercedes 280SL 62 | Dream Car Bugatti Veyron Super Sport grand tourismo 68 | Route Book - Borders, Bullets & Bikes: across Lebanon on a Harley 73 | Great Driving Roads - Jebel Hafeet’s mountain road in the UAE 76 | Something For The Weekend 78 | Rev Counter - MB&F, L’Epée’s stellar clock and Chopard’s Mille Miglia 82 | Fitting Room

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driven men 88 | The Maestro: Juan Manuel Fangio 93 | Pierre-Henry Raphanel The Clubhouse 98 | Automobilia: big boys’ toys 100 | Books: The best motoring reads exhaust note 103 | Contributors

V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

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98

first gear

V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

| Fi r s t G e a r | C o l u m n is t s |

Peter Boutwood, Managing Director of Noble Automotive explains the reasoning behind his “analogue” supercar.

the boss

A

s a low-volume British manufacturer of supercars, we have turned our lack of scale into a strength by striving to stand out as a tiny business from the loud crowd of thoroughbreds that dominate the supercar market.

Making just 12 cars a year gives us the exclusivity collectors yearn for, but while our bigger, more high-profile competitors use the lure of their badges and pedigree, we have had to develop our niche in other ways.

When we began work on the M600, we knew we had to offer something genuinely different to put us on the map. Not only was it to be a car that enthusiasts would love; it had to appeal to a segment outside the mainstream. Then it struck us that the tradition of the analogue supercar — something that didn’t rely on computer assistance, and put the driver first — had largely disappeared from the market.

We felt that was our opportunity. We wanted to bring the car back to the driver while still delivering a wholly modern and enticing package. We yearned to go back

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to basics but still make a supercar that would stand up to the most advanced models available. In doing so, we knew the big guys would not follow our route because this market is too small for them to chase for any great rewards, but for us it is significant.

I penned the initial drawings of the car.

In my career, which has taken me from sketching garments in the early days, to designing Formula 1 race livery, I have learnt to look at things with a craftsman’s eye. I’m not an engineer,but I am an ex-racing driver, so I know what a car should do. There’s an old saying in design that if it looks right, it probably is right; and we were spot on with the M600 right at the start.

People always look at horsepower, but power doesn’t always make a car go quicker. I think airflow is more important, and that’s why I designed our car to be incredibly slippery. More powerful cars might hit an air wall that stops them going faster, whereas ours slips through the air, and that’s the secret behind its remarkable top speed. It has gained quite a following.

My old friend Damon Hill, who I used to V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

race with in Formula 3, isn’t a huge fan of cars these days—he doesn’t drive fast or flashy cars anymore—but he loved the M600 because he’s an analogue man who appreciates a driver’s car with the tactility of a manual gear change. He’s the sort of guy who would be interested in the M600.

We would dearly love to grow our market in the Middle East, and we plan to attend a couple of motor shows there over the next year. To be frank, the car right now probably won’t appeal to most drivers in the region because it’s a manual, though we will be launching a new paddle-shift version in the middle of 2015.

Peter Boutwood was talking to Richard Whitehead.

I’ m

not an engineer ,

but

I

am an ex - racing

driver , so

I

know what

a car should do .

| Fi r s t G e a r | C o l u m n is t s |

British style icon, Jeremy Hackett, offers up some sartorial advice for buying a suit.

the rake

I

have said it many times before, but every chap should have a navy blue blazer. It doesn’t have to be a double breasted, brass-buttoned number, it just has to be some sort of blue tailored jacket.

It can be cotton, unstructured, one button, two buttons, three buttons, patch pockets, as long as it is navy blue you can dress it up or down with a pair of jeans or grey flannels. As I have said before, it is the man’s fashion equivalent of a lady’s black dress. It can take you anywhere and it’s the easiest jacket to wear.

The other thing: if you are only going to have one suit, it should probably be navy blue, and buy one good suit instead of three cheap ones.

Always remember that a decent suit starts with the shoulder. If the shoulder is right, everything else follows. It’s about getting the right silhouette. It’s the hardest part of a suit to construct; what sort of padding you use makes a great deal of difference, as does how you set the sleeve into the shoulder. It’s pretty skilled work.

Obviously, the cloth has to be decent, but it’s also about making sure you’ve got

A lways

remember that

a decent suit starts good buttons. Well, it’s all of the little details, really, like working buttons on the cuff of the jacket, that kind of thing. It’s mostly about going for something that’s not obviously a fashion statement. I’m pretty old-fashioned about suits, really. I grew up selling them in the 1970s and Savile Row taught me a lot about a good suit.

If you’re getting your suit tailor-made, add a bit of flair with turned-back cuffs. You don’t see them often because it’s difficult to do on a ready-made suit. I like it, particularly on a jacket that’s quite plain, it just stops it looking like an average, off-the-peg suit.

A double-cuff shirt is also a must, too, in my opinion. Men get so few opportunities to wear jewellery, and a nice pair of cufflinks, matched to the watch - silver cufflinks, steel bracelet - just looks great.

But, a word of warning, you can ruin a good suit by wearing it incorrectly. Always be sure to fasten the correct buttons on the jacket.

Something that really annoys me is people doing the wrong buttons up on their suits. So often, you see a chap with a three-button suit and all three buttons are V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

with the shoulder . the shoulder is

If right ,

everything else follows . done up. Either that or they have a twobutton suit and both buttons, or just the bottom one, is done up.

It just irritates me, and I see it so often on television with newscasters and politicians who should really know better.

If it’s got three buttons, either fasten the top two, or just the middle one. With a two-button jacket, you should leave the bottom one undone.

Finally, always buy good shoes. I have an expression that my father gave me, which was: “I am too poor to buy cheap shoes.” I think that is a really good line and makes an awful lot of sense.

It’s also a very good excuse for buying expensive shoes.

Jeremy Hackett is the founder of Hackett London, a men’s luxury clothing and accessories brand that currently operates 77 stores in 16 countries. He was talking to James McCarthy.

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| Fi r s t G e a r | C o l u m n is t s |

Qatar’s Quad-biking Wunderkind, Mohamed Abu Issa, on the challenges of the gruelling Dakar Rally.

the racer

B

y the time you read this, I will probably be somewhere in the Andes, half way through my second, gruelling Dakar Rally. While I was really happy with my performance last year, just missing out on a podium spot, I am far happier with the preparation I have done for this race and hopefully it will be paying off as you scan the page.

Last year was a test race, this year I have been training much harder and my nutritionist has been at my side every minute of the day, monitoring what I eat, what I drink and how much training I get in each day. I have been close to ten to 15 hours of training a week, I have lost eight kilos since last year; I’m eating a lot better.

I have been on a very strict diet plan so I’m entering this race in much better place both mentally and physically.

Obviously, the bike will play a huge part. Last year’s machine was amazing. We had one of the best machines, I think, on the Dakar. This year I will be running a more powerful engine in order to give me the extra edge that I need.

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My bike this year is a Honda TRX 700 with completely reinforced frame. I have a bespoke steering column, seat and tyres specially made by Maxis. The rear axle is strengthened and my shocks are custom-built by Reiger - they are the best suspension in the world, they have a smart system that can sense if you are in the air or if you’re on the ground, so they react differently. I think that they are the best set of shocks I’ve ever tried and I don’t think I can race Dakar without them. The cooling system of the bike is completely modified and the engine is built from scratch. I’ll be travelling with at least three bikes’ worth of spares as, between stages, provided you finish, you can replace anything but the chassis.

This year there are going to be one or two challenges I’ll face that I didn’t come up against last year. Because I’ll be pushing more than I was last year (I was nursing a broken wrist), I’ll be consuming a lot more energy and cumulative fatigue throughout the stages could be an issue. I need to really calculate where I should push and where V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

I should rest, in order for me to save as much energy as I can. Also, this year we have four Andes mountain crossings, which will take me 5,000 meters above sea level, so altitude - something that I’m not used to - is going to be problem.

I need to be well-rested the day before and not be tired when I make the ascent.

Another challenge will be the change in temperature. It’s one I faced last year and I will face again twice as much during the additional mountain crossings. For me the heat was not an issue last year.

It was an issue for other riders, but the -5°C is what hits me hardest. It’s very cold anyway, but when you’re hammering along at speeds of 130km/h, it can be painfully so.

So, as I said earlier, while you’re reading this in the comfort of your home, think of me battling windchill, altitude sickness and fatigue on the back of a quad somewhere up a mountain. But don’t worry, I’ll be enjoying every minute, just as I’ll enjoy standing on that podium at the end.

Mohamed was talking to James McCarthy

| Fi r s t G e a r | N ew s |

return of the ‘bach

Rappers delight as the ultimate in ostentatious luxury is set to ride again, this time as part of the Mecedes line-up.

D

oubtless, there were a few billionaires distraught at Daimler’s announcement way back in 2011 that the Maybach brand was being retired in 2013. The ultimate in over-the-top rear seat luxury, base prices across the range started at US344,000 for the Maybach 57 limousine and finishing at $1 million for the semi-convertible Landaulet.

However, the marque only shipped 3,000 cars between 2002 and 2012.

While the brand found favour with rappers and ostentatious music producers, being essentially an extended wheel base Mercedes S-Class packed with gimmicky tech and ridiculously expensive interior trim was not enough to enable it to compete with the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

However, the big news in November last year was that Daimler announced the revival of the Maybach marque as Mercedes-

24

Maybach, and this time the company isn’t dressing up the emperor in a new suit, stating from the off that the new S600 will be an ultra-luxury edition of the aforementioned (previously) top of the range Mercedes.

Alongside Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach will be subbrand of the “three-pointed-star” that it hopes will “provide both prestige and exclusivity” and it will be aimed at customers “for whom status is important.”

As well as handcrafted,

The new MercedesMaybach S600 will target customers “for whom status is important.” customised Robbe & Berking champagne flutes, panoramic sliding sunroof with “sky control” (glass that can be switched from clear to dark at the touch of a button), electric roller blinds,

V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

Burmester 3D surround sound system and perfumed and ionised air circulation, Merc is also claiming it will be the world’s quietest production sedan. While we will reserve judgement on that, we have no doubt it will be one of the most spacious, with its fitted-as-standrd 43.5° reclining executive seats that come with an “energising massage function,” supposedly based on hot stone massage techniques.

The Mercedes-Maybach S600, which is slated for an April release, will employ a 6.0-litre V12 bi-turbo engine that can deliver 523hp, a top speed of 155mph and a quoted five second sprint to 60mph from a standing start. That should be enough to haul those 24-carat gold spinning rims (and the two-plus ton kerb weight of the car) from A to B. Pricing for the new S600 was not forthcoming at the LA Motor Show when the car was unveiled, but as the saying goes, if you have to ask... www.mbusa.com

Lagonda Taraf Unveiled in Dubai November also saw the resurrection of another legendary automotive brand when Aston Martin CEO, Dr Andy Palmer, unveiled a new Lagonda “super saloon” in Dubai.

The Lagonda, which is being built in a strictly limited numbers,

and only for customers in the Middle East, will be known by the moniker Lagonda Taraf, a word which broadly translates from the Arabic as “opulent.”

The new saloon, which, like the Maybach, will have a 6.0-litre V12 under the bonnet, draws its inspiration from the highly sought-after 1976 William Towns-designed Lagonda, which ceased production in 1990, and will be hand-made in a dedicated building at Aston’s Warwickshire factory - the same one in which the bonkers One-77 hypercar was created.

Sales will be by invitation only, with precise pricing details remaining confidential. However, we have it on good authority that the base cost of the new luxo-barge be around $780,000 and will rise from there, depending on the bespoke accoutrements that will be specified by the customer. For instance, a 24-carat white gold Lagonda badge for the front of the car will empty the wallet to the tune of $55,000. With unprecedented levels of customisation available, Aston Martin expects its “Q” bespoke team to very busy.

While the Lagonda will only be available to Middle Eastern customers, they will not be limited to just this region, those lucky enough to get invited to buy one can purchase it for their pad in Mayfair, too, should they so wish. Wherever it ends up being parked, the first privileged owners can expect to take delivery of their Taraf by the end of the first quarter of this year.

www.astonmartin.com

Bavarez Creates 1,000bhp Jensen FF

T

he most expensive Jensen ever produced, the Jensen FF Silver Slammington, was unveiled at the 2014 UK Classic Motor Show by UK-based restoration and hotrodding company, Bavarez.

With a coated bare metal shell, a low-slung dragster stance and bulging supercharger, which, in concert with the Jensen’s Chrysler V8, promises a theoretical 1,000bhp, the company has transformed a rust-ridden barnfind into the most powerful and most expensive Jensen ever built.

Every part which could be

rescued from the neglected original matching numbers car, was saved; those which could not were replicated and manufactured by Bavarez, which took two years to turn what was left of the Jensen

into, arguably, one of the most ferocious four-wheel drive grand tourers on the planet.

The FF Silver Slamington is valued at around $630,000 and, according to the company, will need

V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

to be de-tuned to be made road legal.

As a spokesperson for the company noted, “Bavarez could make the 1,000bhp work, but even hot-rodders need to be sensible at times.” www.bavarez.co.uk 

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| Fi r s t G e a r | N ew s |

New Gallardo REX To Terrorise GT3

L

news in brief

amborghini and Reiter Engineering have been racing together in the GT3 series since 2000. In that time, the team has created some seriously sinister looking race cars. None, however, are as scary looking as this beast.

It’s called the Extenso (nicknamed R-EX) and it’s based on the outgoing Gallardo. Unlike the Gallardo FL2 GT3 it is replacing, the new one is lighter, wider and (undoubtedly) faster.

The car gets a serious

26

facelift from front to back. The aluminum side panels have been replaced with carbon fibre, the rear axle width is increased by 13cms to ensure the maximum possible car width of 205cm, increasing handling performance as a result. The massive rear wing and new front and rear splitters deliver the necessary downforce to keep this track-devouring demon on the tarmac.

The drivetrain also gets a racing reboot with new camshafts and Mahle pistons that, Reiter claims, will also reduce fuel

consumption and increase longterm reliability.

At this point, you may be asking yourself “why upgrade a Gallardo instead of the new Huracán?” Good question.

Over to company owner, Hans Reiter: “In a similar way to the aviation industry, we build on affordable evolutionary steps in car development and forgo revolutionary changes,” he explains. “Reliability and longevity have absolute priority.

“With the new R-EX our customers will not only be

attuned to future performance levels early in 2015, but will also know that they have received a proven and reliable product.”

With 100 cars built, over 200 race wins and more than 400 podium results to its name, the Bavarian tuning house clearly knows what it’s doing.

Reiter Engineering will produce ten of these terrifyinglooking Gallardo R-EX models, which gentleman drivers and semi-pro racers can get their mitts on for a mere $310,000. www.reiter-engineering.com

Atkinson sells rare McLaren F1

First Ferrari Sergio Arrives in UAE

Aston DB10 Built Just For Bond

Fancy owning an ultra rare McLaren F1?

Well Rowan Atkinson has decided it’s “the right time” to sell his 650hp daily driver.

Atkinson, a renowned petrol head, bought the car new in 1997 and since then he’s put 41,000 miles on it — an astounding figure for one of only 64 road going F1s ever made. The car cost the Mr Bean and Johnny English star about $750,000 new and, despite having to be rebuilt by McLaren at a cost of $1.3m after a pretty horrific crash, London luxury car sellers, Taylor & Crawley, reckon they can get around $12m for the car.

The first Ferrari Sergio has been delivered to its new owner, the SBH Royal Auto Gallery in the UAE, at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit, which is home to the Ferrari World theme park. Designed by Pininfarina, just six of this incredibly limited edition roadster are being built. The car was created to celebrate the spirit and core values of the historic coachbuilder in the 60th anniversary year of its collaboration with the Prancing Horse. Needless to say, Sergio was the only possible choice of name for the model, in homage to great Sergio Pininfarina, who sealed the unique, longstanding partnership with Ferrari.

Aston Martin together with EON Productions, the producers of the James Bond film franchise, unveiled Bond’s stunning new car, the Aston Martin DB10, on the 007 stage at Pinewood Studios.

James Bond will once again drive an Aston Martin in his 24th on-screen adventure, entitled Spectre, which will hit cinemas on November 6th. On this occasion, it will be a model developed specifically for the film and built in-house.

Celebrating the brand’s half century with Bond, which started with the iconic DB5, the DB10 gives a glimpse into the future design direction for Aston Martin. 

www.taylorandcrawley.com

V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

| Fi r s t G e a r | N ew s |

Brookspeed Seeks Crowd Funding For “Privateer” Bentley GT3

F

rom movies to mobile phones, even a potato salad, crowd funding is becoming a viable method of financing for businesses looking to raise essential capital, so why not motorsport racing teams?

Brookspeed Bentley Racing Club has been set up to bring the “privateer spirit” of Bentley back to Endurance racing using Brookspeed’s racing pedigree and total passion for the Bentley marque and its Continental GT3.

There is precedent, BBRC, Brabham and more recently Caterham F1 have succeeded in raising enough money to return to F1 in Abu Dhabi.

The team aims to find 500 members to share in the purchase and ownership of a Bentley GT3 racecar scheduled to campaign in the 2015 British GT Championship and selected International events. The tiered membership program offered

by Brookspeed will provide investors with a range of options, including the type of access to the inner workings of a race team and ownership privileges normally reserved for major sponsors,

F1 Teams Get Straight to Work For 2015 The chequered flag had barely been returned to the cupboard in Abu Dhabi, following the season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit, before the F1 cars were back out the next day to get a head start on 2015.

The official three-day, post-season test was a weird mix of winddown relief from jaded team personnel who were forced to hang back, combined with first day nerves, as it also gave potential new F1 drivers their big chance to impress.

While he wasn’t allowed to jump into a car, or even wear his new

28

senior team members and manufacturers.

Privateers, gentleman drivers and hobbyists pitching in to race Bentleys at internationallyacclaimed enduros? We’re pretty sure that W.O. would have approved.

For further information and details of how to get involved with Brookspeed Bentley Racing Club visit the website below. www.brookspeedbentley.com

uniform, as he was technically still employed by Red Bull Racing, fourtime world champion Sebastian Vettel took the chance to hang out with his new Ferrari buddies on pit wall, shaking hands with some of the guys who will be working with him next year as he replaces Fernando Alonso at the Scuderia.

With no drive confirmed at the time, Alonso was busily preparing himself for another big race the following weekend in Dubai, a 24-hour gokart race, and he seemed quite at ease focusing on his 13.5bhp lawnmower engine while everyone else speculated on his Formula One future.

One thing is for certain in 2015 however, and that’s the return of Honda to the sport with McLaren, and the new car made a brief debut lasting all of three laps, before stopping on track and being towed back to the garage.

The romantics of the sport will no doubt be hoping for a return to the era of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost who were the last duo to race McLaren-Hondas a quarter of a century ago.

With a provisional calendar of 21 races announced including a TBC return for Korea, teams will have their work cut out to include the extra race. However hearts were temporarily sent into a spin following rumours that Qatar may also join the F1 circus from next year, though it seemed Bernie Ecclestone – the master of divide and conquer politics – was up to his usual antics.

Most agree that two rounds in the Middle East, with the fourth round in Bahrain scheduled for April 19 and the final race at Abu Dhabi in November, is enough for the region at the moment. 

V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

Nasser Al-Attiyah Secures Second Dakar Title

N

asser Al-Attiyah dominated the 2015 Dakar Rally to secure a famous second title, leading the race from the second day.

Along with co-driver Matthieu Baumel, the pair never relinquished their grip on the lead, posting the fastest times on six stages of the gruelling South American enduro. The duo stretched their advantage over the course of the 5,600-mile, 14-day rally, to eventually win by a massive 35 minute time advantage over their closest rivals from Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz.

The final stage of the rally was shortened to just 34 kilometres from the planned 174, due to heavy rainfall damaging the roads. For Al-Attiyah and his co-pilot, it meant taking as few risks as possible and finishing the stage, before embarking on the extended road section back to Buenos Aires, where, at 3pm local time they crossed the finish to seal the memorable win.

For Baumel, it was a particularly special moment as this was not only his first Dakar win, but his 39th birthday.

Al-Attiyah’s latest success means that he joins a very exclusive club of multiple Dakar winners in the car category, populated by René Metge, Ari Vatanen, Pierre Lartigue, Jean-Louis Schlesser, Hiroshi Masuoka,

and Stéphane Peterhansel. In fact, Nasser’s dominant performance this year echoes that of Vatanen in 1990, exactly 25 years ago, when he was fastest on the first stage and never lost the lead until the end.

“From the start of the rally I always said that I wanted to make this a special present for Matthieu and now we have succeeded,” Al-Attiyah said. “This Dakar has been 100 percent perfect for us. The car, the navigation, the team and the tyres could not have been better.

“This victory means a huge amount to me.

news in brief

| Fi r s t G e a r | N ew s |

Bentley Finally Names SUV Concept If, in the last couple of years, there has been one subject that has divided the motoring community, it was Bentley’s SUV concept.

The divisive luxury 4WD caused consternation amongst the Bentley purists, drew derision from the motoring press and gained plaudits from the GCC and China, where cash deposits dropped as thick and fast as Snowstorm Juno. After some design tweaking, the polarising people carrier is likely to be unveiled at Geneva, sporting the equally divisive moniker, The Bentayga.

McLaren Special Ops Adds New Tier The duo stretched their advantage over the course of the 5,600-mile rally to claim a massive 35 minute time advantage over their closest rivals From the start my feeling was that we were completely under control, but of course I could not relax for a second as we have seen in the past that anything can happen.”

McLaren Special Operations (MSO) has announced the newly-established “MSO Defined” division. This forms the first of five tiers of personalisation and support offered

by MSO, catering for the customisation needs of all McLaren customers, and joins MSO Bespoke, specialising in one-off models; MSO Limited, producing limited-edition series production cars; MSO Heritage, focused on the maintenance and storage of historic cars; and MSO Programmes which includes the McLaren P1 GTR. “Every McLaren is unique,” explains Paul Mackenzie, Executive Director of McLaren Special Operations, “but now, with MSO Defined, we are enabling our customers to truly express themselves through their vehicles.”

Senna’s First F1 Car For Sale Cars International is offering collectors the opportunity to buy into a significant piece of Motor-racing History by owning the very car which launched Ayrton Senna’s F1 career and in which he collected his first World Championship points. The TG183B was raced by privateer F1 team Toleman during the 1983/84 F1 season. Chassis no.5 made its debut in Brazil and was the car Senna drove at Kyalami and scored his first world championship point. Now available for sale with full documentation and exceptional provenance of its unique place in F1 history, interested parties should contact Cars International on: +44 (0) 1488 71029

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New Ford GT Wows Detroit Auto Show Ford has unveiled an all-new ultra-high-performance GT, which its says is one of more than 12 new performance vehicles set to join the company’s line-up by 2020.

Slated to begin production in 2016, the GT hits the road in select global markets to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford GT race cars’ 1-2-3 podium finish at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The all-new GT supercar features rear-wheel drive, a midmounted engine and a sleek, aerodynamic, two-door coupe body shell that can be accessed by two upswinging doors.

It is propelled by what Ford claims is the most powerful EcoBoost production engine ever – a next-generation 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 powerplant capable of producing more than 600 horsepower.

The GT makes extensive use of lightweight materials, including carbon fibre and aluminium which Ford claims will not only help to deliver outstanding acceleration and handling, but will provide a proving ground for technologies and materials that will trickle down to all cars in the Ford line-up.

2015 Goodwood Dates Announced

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he Festival of Speed, which celebrates the very best from the past and present of motoring and motor sport, will be held between June 25th and 28th, 2015.

Alongside the overall theme of “Fast and Fearless: Racing on the Edge,” the Festival of Speed will also celebrate the 90th anniversary of the motor racing’s inaugural World Championship, won by Alfa Romeo, and mark 50 years since Honda’s maiden grand prix victory as the Japanese manufacturer returns to Formula 1 with McLaren in 2015.

The event will also pay tribute to the 60th anniversary of two sensational victories; Sir Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson’s triumph on the 1955 Mille Miglia and the first post-war grand prix win for an all-British line-up; Tony Brooks in a Connaught at Syracuse.

Sports car legend Derek Bell will be honoured as 2015 marks the 40th anniversary of the first of his five Le Mans 24 Hours wins, which came behind the wheel of a Mirage-Ford.

The Goodwood Revival, firmly established

as the world’s largest and most popular motor racing and vintage culture event, will take place between September 11th and 13th, ensuring neither event will clash with the Formula 1 World Championship calendar.

The Revival will pay tribute to the legendary driver, engineer and racing car constructor, V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

Bruce McLaren, with a special parade of vehicles associated with his career.

Tickets and hospitality packages for both events are on general sale, as are a limited number of tickets for the 73rd Members’ Meeting, which will be held on March 21st and 22nd, 2015. www.goodwood.com

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| Fi r s t G e a r | C a l e n da r |

1.North American International Motor Show

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When: 12 - 25 January Where: Detroit, USA Head to Detroit, Michigan and experience the next generation of transportation though innovative design at NAIAS 2015. See more than 500 vehicles on display, representing some of the world’s most important brands at the country’s largest and most influential automotive showcase.

2.Performance Car Show 2015

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When: 8 - 11 January Where: Birmingham, UK The automotive year kicks off with the leading UK exhibition dedicated to enthusiasts of sports and performance cars taking place Birmingham NEC. Visitors can meet leading tuning companies, see the latest performance road cars, speak to club members, watch precision driving displays and take part in driving experiences at the Live Action Arena.

www.performancecarshow.com

volante

alender

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3.Bonhams Grand Palais Auction When: 5 February Where: Paris, France What: With some incredible vehicles already confirmed, the first major classic car auction of 2015 is likely to set a high bar for the year to come.

Among the “one-of-akind” vehicles on offer is a Harley Davidson FLSTC 103 Heritage Softail Classic

signed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to charity.

www.bonhams.com/ auctions/22528

4.85th Geneva International Motor Show When: 5 - 15 March Where: Geneva, Switzerland Possibly the biggest and most eagerly anticipated motoring event of the year, the eyes of the motoring world will be focused on the amazing concepts, the technological innovations and the wonderful automotive curios that remain unique to this annual event.

Geneva’s motor show is widely considered to be the ultimate gauge of the health of the global automotive market as well as the place where the roadmap of the car’s future is regularly re-written.

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www.salon-auto.ch

5.5th Qatar Motor Show When: 6 - 10 February Where: Doha, Qatar The landmark fifth edition of the Qatar Motor Show promises to be bigger and better than ever, with a larger space within the Qatar National Convention Centre to fit the increasing number of both visitors and exhibitors expected. According to the organisers The show will highlight the most creative car designs and the latest technology used in the automotive industry.

International motor shows, classic car meets, auctions and motor sport events that shape the industry and fuel our petrol-driven passion are happening all over the world, all of the time. Here’s Volante’s pick of the places to be this month.

www.qatarmotorshow.gov.qa V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

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| Fi r s t G e a r | Ge a r |

the best bits of kit for car and driver

Pilot Goggles By Bentley

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ased on a design first used by pilots in the 1940's, these flying goggles feature a leather face mask, adjustable nose bridge, polished chrome frame and 3mm clear laminated glass lenses.

Ideal for a spin in your Morgan Three-Wheeler, your Bentley Blower or just watching The Battle of Britain on TV.

TAG Heuer Phantomatik Jacket

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ashioned from hard-wearing fabric, these TAG Heuer jackets are a contemporary reinterpretation of the legendary look worn by Steve McQueen in the race film Le Mans perfect for achieving that sporty and stylish super-cool image at your next track day. www.tagheuer.com

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gadget alert!

Gauge Pilot Pro

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hile classic cars may look fantastic, they often suffer from very analogue problems, such as unreliable gauges. This little device, which is built to order and fitted in conjunction with an array of sensors, allows drivers to accurately monitor critical engine outputs at a glance, as well logging trip data and delivering service reminders. It can also act as a rally computer, making it an essential bit of classic car kit. www.gaugepilot.uk ď‚„ď‚„

V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

THE ALL-NEW NISSAN X-TRAIL. THE ONE TO FOLLOW. Of course they will follow an exhilarating exterior design with dynamic LED lights.

From QAR

79,000

#theonetofollow nissan-me.com

SALEH AL HAMAD AL MANA CO. (Exclusive Agent) Main Showroom: Salwa: Tel: 4428 3333, Al Sadd Showroom: Tel: 4444 1334, Bin Omran Showroom: Tel: 4488 8618 Showroom Timings: 8:00am to 9:00pm (Sat-Thu); 4:00pm to 9:00pm (Fri).

| Fi r s t G e a r | Ge a r |

Pavoni Safari Drivers Bag

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or those spontaneous weekend adventures, you can be sure to get all your necessities into this beautiful holdall from the Italian leather mavens at Pavoni. Heavy duty fabric, cotton-lined and reinforced with beautiful “Crocodile stamped” calf leather, this stylish bag will give you years of firstclass travelling pleasure www.tagheuer.com

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Persol 714 Sunglasses

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nce you’re suited up in your TAG Heuer jacket, you need to complete the look with a pair of these chic sunnies, as favoured by the man himself. Persol has decided to celebrate the actor by relaunching his favourite 714s as a special Steve McQueen edition. www.persol.com

ideal

accessory to get just the right look astride your beautiful vintage bike

Bell Bullitt TT Motorcycle Helmet

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f you're looking for a retro look to complement that beautiful vintage bike of yours, look no further than this legendary lid. Made in recognition of Bell's 60th anniversary, its styling is inspired by the first ever Bell Star helmet, but it also throws in some modern elements to keep it up to date. www.bellhelmets.com

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the garage

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| T h e G a ra ge | N o bl e M 60 0 |

FIRST DRIVE

the noble art of speed Volante gets behind the wheel of Britain’s boutique supercar, The Noble M600 

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| T h e G a ra ge | N o bl e M 60 0 |

Words: Richard Whitehead Pictures: Noble Automotive / Orenda SuperCARS

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he explosion mattered little to the villagers of Enderby, its deafening crash washing down the tunnel of hedgerows and white-painted cottages at the side of the lane. The hunched old man in an overcoat just tugged his flat cap down tighter to save it from the jet wash; his dog didn’t even break its scamper.

Further along, the teenage girl with a pram was also oblivious: first to the unholy scream of cylinders as we approached, then to the dissipating boom amid the orange blur that passed her, her mind no doubt focused on the fish supper she would order from the chippy around the corner.

Just like the residents of far-off war zones, where each bang and boom provides the terrifying soundtrack to their days, the the villagers of Enderby in England’s east Midlands are inured to the deafening cry of the Noble M600, though its vibrations jar the foundations of their homes with regularity. It is seen, felt and heard almost daily in the hands of the test drivers and potential buyers who power it through Enderby’s picturesque and leafy lanes.

By contrast, inside what is quite possibly Britain’s fastest production car, it is impossible to temper the sheer exhilaration it provides. Even Peter Boutwood, Noble’s managing director and the man who knows this savage supercar best, cannot hide a glint of joy from his eyes as we slam an epic fifth-to-third gear change to bring our speed back down to double figures — miles per hour, that is — the one concession we make for this tiny settlement not far from Noble’s home, a small industrial unit on the outskirts of Leicester.

Are there any speed traps round here, I ask Boutwood. “No, though the

police really like us; we sometimes give them a car to take out,” he replies.

Resembling a three-way hybrid of gentleman racer, semi-sane scientist and new romantic star of the Spandau Ballet era, Boutwood has evidently given much of his own DNA to the M600’s genome. His apparent eccentricity is well matched with England’s answer to the exotica that traditionally hails from northern Italy, which he claims the M600 can beat by most metrics you choose.

He has a point. Made almost entirely from carbon-fibre and weighing in at 1,250 kg, the Noble’s ridiculously light power-to-weight ratio of 541bhp per tonne helps take it to 60mph in three seconds flat, and 200mph in just under 30 seconds. Its performance and top speed, estimated at around 225mph, stack up impressively against the Lamborghini Aventador, while blowing the Ferrari 458 Italia off the black top.

“What makes this car so special, so different from the others is the way the driver can control every element of it,” explains Boutwood. “It’s analogue.

While other cars might have all the bells and whistles of technology to, some might say, get in the way of the driving, the M600 gives you complete control. We don’t want it to do the driving for you.”

At that moment, as if by illustration, the rear end shimmies momentarily and satisfyingly through a tight left corner as the lane rounds a copse, before a tap on the gas snaps it out with stunning precision. In the spirit of analogue, Noble refuses to offer ABS, arguing that such a system would rob the brakes of feel; and with near perfect balance on all four wheels, and extraordinary manners — again, just like Boutwood — there is little need for any electronic interruption. Many owners will flip the little red switch on the centre console — a firing button taken from an RAF Tornado fighter jet — to turn off the traction control for added lolz.

Noble began life in 1999 as the manufacturer of mid-engined rear-wheel drive sports cars. By 2006 its founder, Lee Noble, a British automotive designer who had left Ascari to develop his sports car philosophy under his own name, had departed the company and Boutwood began work on the M600 as a successor to the highly lauded M400 after its production run of just 75 units.

The M600 isn’t made in much greater volume, with only 12 models built each year by a staff of 15. Boutwood hopes to see annual production increase to a massive 20 cars in the near future. Because of this tiny volume, the company has to run extremely lean.

The car is hand built and uses a 4.4-litre Yamaha-derived Volvo V8 engine with twin Garrett turbochargers equipped with variable boost. This setup will produce anything between 450 and 650bhp depending on how you feel and the position of a big red switch on the dash. 

No frills, just speed The cabin may be spartan, but the Noble is about driving, not frippery.

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| T h e G a ra ge | N o bl e M 60 0 |

As with previous Nobles, the M600 uses a mid-engined space-frame steel chassis, which Boutwood says is as strong and rigid as those of his rivals, with double wishbones at each corner and coil-over dampers for its primary suspension. The engine and entire transaxle sit massively forwards on the chassis. Its steel brakes come with six-pot callipers at the front and four at the rear, and have been designed by British braking specialist Alcon.

Britain has over recent years gone through something of a supercar renaissance, with the likes of Bentley and McLaren gaining the attention of enthusiasts around the world who would traditionally look no further than Emilia Romagna in Italy for their fix of fast.

This trend has continued through Noble, which along with the the soonto-be-reborn TVR, add a completely different and quirky dimension to what has become a beautifully sanitised quest to provide the latest technology and most sumptuous luxury at the fastest of speeds.

It is not as if the M600 is in any way shabby and lacking of creature comforts like, say, a Caterham. While there is hot and cold running leather throughout the unexpectedly capacitive cabin, the gauges and switchgear are housed in a shimmering grey sea of carbon-fibre — something viewed as basic in most cars or as an expensive extra in a Bentley. There is no GPS, and the stereo is the type you could pick up on eBay. What the company has done is concentrate on performance and driving pleasure while adding just enough in the way  at a glance of trim and features to maintain the interest of Noble M600 its well-heeled clientele.

Noble has innovated Engine: 4439cc 60-degree Volvo B8444S through operational V8 w/ twin variable boost turbochargers efficiency, not gadgets Power: Driver selectable, 450bhp and gizmos, because it 650bhp @ 7000rpm cannot call on supremely Transmission: 6-speed manual wealthy backers like Weight: 1,250kg Volkswagen Group Performance: Top speed 225mph; or McLaren Racing to 0-60 in 3.0 sec Price: $312,000 provide funds for the next great reveal.

Whether by design or by chance, Noble has chosen to boost the strengths of existing components by using its network of suppliers and tuners to turn tried and tested technology into a wholly contemporary sum of its parts.

Behind the wheel of the M600, you find you don’t miss things like flappy paddles and ABS, you don’t hanker for launch control or race settings; you just feel like you’re driving how driving was meant to be — doing it for the sheer joy of it, inside one hell of an entertainer.

In the end it is its raw, brain-mangling performance that defines the M600, and certainly not its looks. That isn’t to say the Noble is an ugly speedling by any means; rather it doesn’t nearly impose itself the way a Pagani would, nor does it attempt to recreate the visual drama of a Lamborghini. Just as a British soap star will often lack the glamour of her American counterpart, Blighty’s super cars do not tend towards the misty-eyed design language of their global competitors — the McLaren 12C is another testament to this.

It is fortuitous that the Noble is best viewed from behind, as this is the direction from which most will gaze on it. Above a bank of round tail lights and deep, curving sill, the rear clamshell opens up to a vast expanse of space.

Engineers haven’t attempted to cram an engine into a tight space here; instead the block, manifold, tubes, rods and components can stretch out over a huge area. This swathe is the secret behind the M600’s remarkable

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poise: the engine, gearbox and entire transaxle sit so far forwards in the chassis that there’s still plenty of space for another power source.

The front end, however, could best be described as tidy. While it would certainly merit a second glance, it doesn’t really fit into any category of retro, contemporary or futuristic; and it’s only when the face is taken in context with a glimpse of the flared flanks with their deep air intakes does any real aggression come through.

Though it lacks any great visual spectacle, there is one big feature on the M600 that ensures its continued desirability: the oversized crown logo on the rear and the gaudy yellow badge bearing the name of its maker on the bonnet. With just a couple of dozen models produced so far, the Noble name possesses the sort of cachet that comes with something that’s in high demand and low supply. In the Middle East, for example, there is only one M600 in the open, which was sold last year to a buyer in Bahrain.

This snob value is only heightened by its $312,000 price tag, which immediately helps it appeal to collectors keen to add a high-performance British curiosity to their vast assortments of Italian finery.

The villagers of Enderby certainly aren’t snobs but they still never seem to complain about the sweet, sweet roar of the M600 when it blasts past on a daily basis. Maybe instead they are harking back to a time when all cars, like their village and the Noble, were beautifully analogue.

Volante would like to thank Orenda Supercars for helping to source images for this feature. Orenda Supercars are the main dealer for Noble Automotive in the UK and can be contacted via the company’s website www.orendasupercars.com

V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

FIRST DRIVE

A Century, Not Out.

In celebration of Maserati’s 100th birthday, we take its specially-produced Centennial Edition cars to Oman for speedy jaunt through the Hajar Mountains.

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| T h e G a ra ge | M a s e ra t i |

Words: Lee Winter Pictures: Maserati

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or Maserati’s 100th birthday – officially titled their Centennial, but which I had rather cleverly renamed the Maser-Party – the wonderful people of Modena decided to laugh in the face of custom and tradition by supplying the gifts themselves; giving its venerating public not just one, but two new offerings. Maybe they don’t understand birthdays in Italy. Or maybe they’re just lovely.

Whatever the reason, I was in no mood to argue: special edition versions of both the GranTurismo and GranCabrio was all of the information I needed to hear. Plus, I figured there’d probably be some cake, so count me in. What followed, however, was not entirely what I was expecting.

Stumbling toward the arrivals gate, bleary eyed and semiconscious - my tiny suitcase careering from one inanimate object to another as its driver struggled to control anything beyond an upright position - my surroundings seemed to be more-or-less in order; commonplace, typical. Before too

long I was able to leave customs behind me and I began scouring the crowd, looking for somebody who looked like they were looking for me. Having never before met, this part is always a bit tricky, but suddenly and seemingly from nowhere, the pretty girl tasked with accompanying me from the airport to the hotel is at my side. My morning breath didn’t appreciate her close proximity. A few seconds later, neither did her nostrils. We departed the hustle bustle of the airport and I clambered into my designated incarnation of “luxury, sports and style” for the final leg of my journey. So far, so normal.

Sauntering through the green, tree-lined streets, past the picturesque whitewashed low-rise buildings and towards the downtown waterfront area - all of which were surrounded by majestic mountain scenery – is when my suspicions first became piqued, however. Had my plane been diverted and they hadn’t bothered to tell me? How long had I been asleep up there? And where on earth had I been diverted to? But, no, the pretty girl was there, just like she was supposed to be. This must be the right place. I batted away the ludicrous thought and turned back to the window. But as more and 

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more of the stunning landscape skipped past, I couldn’t help but wonder.

The reason for my incredulity lay, quite simply, in the fact that Oman was already offering far more beauty than I could have expected; than I could have imagined. I was therefore convinced that I was no longer in the Middle East. The Middle East is flat. I knew it. I’d seen the pictures. I’d read the books. I’d watched the relevant documentaries. I’d even lived in Qatar.

Actually, I still did live in Qatar. There is no way you could convince me that this breathtaking milieu was in any way akin to the flatlands I had left behind just one hour earlier. I hadn’t seen a hill for two years but here, they were everywhere. And mountains. Hills and mountains. You can’t suddenly sneak a bunch of mountains by me and expect me to take it in my stride. I’m from Wales; I know what a mountain is. Something was seriously amiss.

Thinking back to my earlier trudge through the airport – my legs a little heavier than usual - everything did feel like it had taken place in a dreamlike haze; like I hadn’t quite awoken from my short nap in the sky. My eyes felt like they were constantly trying to catch up with the background that seemed to be moving too fast. Even at the laborious and ridiculous-looking wedding-march pace I’d adopted, my legs were moving faster than my brain could comprehend. When halting completely, everything suddenly caught up with my consciousness; where previously it’d felt a second or two behind proceedings.

About twenty minutes into the journey, and with no letup of the hilly terrain in sight, I’d made up my mind: it was a conspiracy. An enormous Maserati machination and they were all in on it. I mean, how difficult could it be? The moment I’d stepped into Departures at Hamad International Airport I’d relinquished practically all control over the situation. My luggage: taken from me. Easily redirected. The plane: never destined for Oman in the first place. A clever ruse by the airline. My food: prepared and served by the welcoming 1st Class flight attendant. One ground-up sleeping tablet and Robert’s your mother’s brother. The road signs: temporarily covered. Where it used to say Arcadia, now plainly Muscat. We’ve all seen The Truman Show enough times to be the correct amount of paranoid.

As we reach our destination, I reluctantly bid adieu to the safe-haven of the impeccable Quattroporte that had brought me here (though I now suspected my driver was probably a robot) and cautiously approached the reception to the stunning Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Al Husn hotel. Was it a coincidence that the lyrics currently rolling around my head were: “On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair…?” I checked in (once again surrendering control over my belongings – where would they end up this time?) and joined the welcoming party of fellow journalists and Maserati representatives. I narrowed my gaze and looked suspiciously from one to the other, trying to decipher which of them was the most likely to crack under cross-examination. “Welcome to Oman” bellowed the lovely Karin Haferkorn (Maserati’s Director of Public Relations) in her thick German accent. Clearly, she was in on it too. Probably the ring-leader, if anything.

This part of the trip is reserved specifically for appetite-whetting, and they didn’t disappoint. As part of the celebration, we had been promised full access to the Maserati range in its entirety; meaning an indulgent ten cars were available in total. But as we each peered through the ornate, cathedral-style windows, everybody had their eager eyes trained firmly on the same two.

When I awoke the following morning, I was still convinced that I wasn’t in Oman, but I no longer cared. I’d opened my eyes and found myself submersed within what might possibly be the most elaborate mirage ever witnessed by man. Here, where the massive Hajar mountain range meets the azure sea and hides just enough of the stark desert without

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concealing it entirely, a dramatic backdrop is formed for this expansive, three-hotel complex.

Feeling energised, refreshed and ready for action, I headed to the lobby area where I was greeted by an emergent purr of Maserati muscle. There were Quattroportes and Ghiblis on offer, but they didn’t get the blood flowing. Not like the special edition GranTurismo and GranCabrio could.

When finally I was tossed the keys (which inexplicably weighed roughly the same as one of the 20-inch forged alloy wheels - suffice to say, the throw nearly took me out) my exhilaration went in to overdrive. I darted to the Rosso Magma GT (not an uncool name for a colour, I’ll give them that) and settled into the leather sports seat.

As expected, the loud pedal was very loud indeed. One depression pinned me to my seat and earned a stern telling off from our driving coordinator.

Rightly so, I may add, as I was still in the car park at the time. I behaved myself for the subsequent 30 seconds and then my foot almost involuntarily became uncontrollably heavy the very moment the hotel was no longer a feature in my rear-view. And then suddenly, déjà vu. My eyes were once again trying desperately to catch up with the surroundings as they struggled to fathom such speeds on these slender and sinuous roads. Thankfully, this

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time, I was wide awake. And I needed to be. The talk our way into the spectacular delineation  at a glance raw power of the 188mph special edition MC of the GranCabrio. Dusk was descending and Stradale’s 460bhp, 4.7 litre V8, coupled with the our shadows elongated, making a mockery of Maserati Centennial unforgiving course, would surely have punished our normally-proportioned human bodies: the GranTourismo MC me otherwise. This was equal part thrilling and perfect time to parade this head-turning terrifying. There was that same song again “This open-top.

Engine: 90-degree 4,691cc, 4.7-litre V8 Power / Torque: 460hp @ 7,000rpm / could be heaven or this could be Hell.” And With the previous lesson learned, we 520Nm @ 4,750 RPM yet despite this dichotomy, not to mention the behaved ourselves all the way down the exit Transmission: 6-speed ZF Autotomatic inescapably clunky gear-change, I couldn’t quite ramp, but as the saying almost goes: out of with hydraulic torque converter find the resolve to take the damn thing back. sight, out of trouble, and it wasn’t long before Weight: 1,800kg Eventually, with the 30 minutes I’d been we were experiencing the magnificent V8 growl Performance: Top speed 188mph; allotted a long-time in the past, and with my echo and bounce off the rocky corridors.

0-60 in 4.5 sec nerves now frayed beyond recognition, I To my delight, the man I’d commandeered Price: $165,000 meandered back to the hotel for yet another for this final jaunt had been a resident of reprimand. To my dismay, it briefly appeared this Arabian Peninsula for eight or so years, as though karma would be administering the punishment, as my overmeaning the lesser-known routes were ours for the taking, and even in indulgence with the Strado almost cost me the chance to experience the these sparsely populated back-roads, this fine example of automotive cabriolet. Rather auspiciously, however, a full 15 minutes after we were told design was still selfishly grabbing every morsel of attention. It houses the our access to the cars had culminated; a friend and I managed to sweetsame 460bhp, 4.7 litre engine but, as one would expect of a convertible, it  V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

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| D r i ve n Me n | Fe a t u re |

suffers in top-end speed (179mph) while it packs slightly less punch than the coupe, reaching 60mph after 4.9 seconds, versus the spritely 4.5 of the hard-top. Still, if you’ve plumped for the GranCabrio, chances are you’re not going to get too bogged down by the statistics. This car is all about the theatre, and Maserati was doing a fine job of delivering exactly that.

After the cars were returned and they’d ticked themselves cool, our attention turned to the evenings’ entertainment which we were told, rather cryptically, would take place “on or near the beach” but that no more information could be divulged: we’d all have to basically, “wait and see.” Though, we were offered one additional hint in the form of the dress-code: beach chic. Despite furious Googling, this served only to confuse me further. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone. The ridicule was reserved, rather harshly, for the one guy who’d turned up in shorts.

“Dress shorts,” granted. But shorts, nonetheless.

Several liberties were taken  at a glance when the refreshments began to flow, and with them bad decisions that I later came to Maserati Centennial regret as I wondered aimlessly Grancabrio MC through the hotel’s labyrinth of Engine: 90-degree 4,691cc, corridors. If memory serves me 4.7-litre V8 correctly, it was at some point Power / Torque: 460hp @ during my 75-minute search 7,000rpm / 520Nm @ 4,750 RPM for the non-existent room Transmission: 6-speed ZF 4789, (my actual room, it turns Autotomatic with hydraulic out, was the almost identically torque converter named 4798) that I determined Weight: 1,973kg I’d stumbled into a very literal Performance: Top speed 179mph; version of the metaphor 0-60 in 4.9 sec Price: $182,000 penned by The Eagles. Panic set in shortly after.

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The following morning and the magic of this wondrous place continued as I was compassionately spared the headache I was expecting and probably deserved (eventually locating my room and scrambling into bed may have had some part to play in this). Still, it was time to escape and as I approached the desk with my suitcase traipsing behind me, dread sat in my stomach like a lead ball. Walsh and Felder’s guitar interplay drew nearer and nearer within my inner-jukebox, while Henley’s raspy, fluid tenor grew louder and louder: “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.” This isn’t going to end well.

Within seconds however, the receptionist had handed me my passport, thanked me for my stay and allowed me to vacate without a hitch. I was right, it hadn’t ended well: I was free to depart and suddenly, I wished I wasn’t allowed to.

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| T h e G a ra ge | Ro l l s -Royc e |

Words: James McCarthy pictures: Jamie Lipman

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eauty is not just skin deep. Trust me, I know from my experiences in front of the bathroom mirror each morning. Equally, this statement can be applied to the spectacular Rolls-Royce Ghost series II: the long-awaited sequel to the marque’s “Baby Roller,” which launched in 2010.

For the naysayers, who will undoubtedly dismiss this new iteration as just a cosmetic facelift, I can equivocally say it’s foolish to judge this book by its cover. While it may look like a sedate, slowpaced tome, what you actually get, when you flip past the all-new front cover, is a rip-roaring, roller coaster of erudite brilliance and superlative composition. In fact, it’s bit of a love story.

You know the sort: boy from the wrong side of the tracks meets car, boy doesn’t really hit it off with car, car goes away and finds itself, boy bumps into car years later in sprawling metropolis, boy falls in love with car and they drive off into the sunset. It’s an age old tale, and it starts among the clouds, on an unseasonably warm September day in London...

FIRST DRIVE

Spirit of The City Managing Editor, James McCarthy, travels to London and finally falls in love with the RollsRoyce Ghost.

The morning fog hangs wearily over the British capital’s financial district. on the 68th floor of The Shard, the evervivacious Richard Carter, Global Marketing Director for Rolls-Royce, holds court at the head of a long table, around which sit the finest scribes that the Middle East, Africa and South America can muster. And me. All of us sit in rapt attention as he announces in his clipped South African timbre, “Today, ladies and gentlemen, you will experience power like no other: that of the Ghost series II.” Outside, only the tips of London’s tallest spires can be seen poking through the ethereal mist that swirls around the building’s observation deck, adding an eerie sense of theatre to the whole occasion. “Your route,” he proclaims, “will take you to the beautiful kent countryside, where you will stop for lunch before returning, through central London, to The Shard. Enjoy the day.”

I look at the venerable Richard Whitehead, my driving partner for the day, who, like me, is slightly worse for wear after a night enjoying the libatious hospitality of the world’s premiere automotive brand. Without a moment’s hesitation, I nominate him as the designated driver for the first leg at 

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| T h e G a ra ge | Ro l l s -Royc e |

the helm of Rolls-Royce’s latest luxo-barge.

At the foot of Europe’s tallest building, we inspect our steed. The aesthetic enhancements are subtle; a new front headlight design gives the Ghost II a more purposeful expression, the “waft line” sits slightly further forward to offer a visually more dynamic stance along with the re-sculpted bumpers, while a recessed “jet stream” in the aluminium bonnet forms a wake behind the ever-fleeting Spirit of Ecstasy. “Yes,” I think to myself, “it’s imposing and beautiful in a ‘that’s a nice mountain’ kind of way, but there has to be more to it than just that.”

We are to be chauffeured for the first section of the route and we climb through the infinitely cool coach doors, finding ourselves inside the familiar, cosseted surroundings of a Rolls-Royce. The cabin smells of fine leather and wood.

It is, I imagine, what a Holland & Holland rifle feels like all the time; resting snugly in the perfectly fitted recess of an exquisitely crafted gun case, though, I don’t think they have two-inch deep lambswool carpeting or picnic tables. As we cruise over Tower Bridge, I remain set in my belief that this is the purpose of a Rolls-Royce “saloon” - to be driven in glorious comfort past the grubby 99-percent. An oasis of calm in a busy metropolis. So why, then, would you choose a Ghost II over a Phantom? Price? I doubt it. no decision to purchase any Flying Lady is an economic one. Size? Then why the Extended Wheel Base edition Ghost?

I continue to ruminate on this, long after Mr. Whitehead has taken the wheel and I am ensconced in the newlydesigned front seats as he propels us towards “The Garden of England.” While the ride is, as one would expect from a Roller, “wafty,” I can still feel the car, however imperceptibly, moving at speed. That doesn’t happen in a Phantom, and my interest is piqued. Richard notes, in between extolling the merits of the oft-maligned safari suit, that being on 21-inch wheels wearing run-flat tyres is likely to have some effect on the usually impeccable ride quality but, having had my encounter with the Wraith a year ago in Vienna, I sense its presence in the new Ghost.

I’m not wrong, either. After some sleuthing during lunch, I am told that underneath the Ghost II are re-engineered front and rear suspension struts and adjusted dampers that increase the driving performance, especially when fitted in tandem with an all-new “Dynamic Package.” If I had been sitting in the back, I would have experienced the same rear-seat ride quality as before, if not better, thanks to new hydraulic rear axle bearings. Mr. Whitehead would know, as he assumes the role of a retired 1970s rock star, opting for the rear of the cabin while I take control. I wouldn’t mind so much if he didn’t insist on calling me “peasant” every time a pedestrian comes within earshot of the lowered window.

The immediately obvious evolution on the driver’s side of the car is the absence of the yacht-like steering wheel. In its place I find a thicker, more “racier” effort similar, again, to that of the Wraith, along with the same touch-pad rotary controller for the infotainment system and 10.2-inch HD 

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| T h e G a ra ge | Ro l l s -Royc e |

The Cosseted interior of the Ghost II: Amidst the scent of fine leather and rich wood, you find an oasis of calm.

screen. That’s not the only clever tech that has found its way into the Ghost II, either. This latest model benefits from the inevitable addition of Rolls-Royce’s fantastically omnipotent Satellite-Aided Transmission system, which manages the seamless eight-speed automatic gearbox by seeing the road ahead and ensuring it holds the correct gear.

Coupled with the epic - and immediate - power delivery of the vast V12 engine, throwing the Ghost II around the A-roads in the heart of the sunny English countryside, I am suddenly transported back to the Wraith, and the thrill of finally driving a Rolls-Royce that wanted to be driven.

Unlike its predecessor, you don’t feel completely detached from the road in the Ghost II, you get a hint of that twoand-a-half tonne weight every time you lean into a corner; it’s still not as tactile as its fastback brother, but it is a much more engaging driving experience than its forebear. There are still un-nerving moments with the sheer scale of the car, though. I often find myself a little too far to the left, fearing that one of the several horse boxes or rural buses that come careering around the corners towards me, are going to leave their livery down the right flank of the $340,000 car I’m piloting in the opposite direction.

In fact (and this where my reticence begins to wane), it is when we finally find ourselves back in the big city that I feel the Ghost II really come into its element. I finally get it. This 18-foot by six-and-a-half foot behemoth, which I had struggled to fully reconcile on narrow country roads, suddenly seems to shrink around me.

Driving in London is not always an easy task in a Mini Cooper, so the idea of entering the snaking, congested streets of Britain’s Capital in a car with the proportions akin to that of a Royal Navy frigate was daunting to say the least, but negotiating my way to The Shard, at rush-hour, proves

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at a glance

Rolls-Royce Ghost II Engine: 6,592cc V12 twin-turbo Power: 563bhp @ 5250rpm Transmission: 8-speed Automatic Tourque: 780Nm Weight: 2,490kg Performance: Top speed 155mph; 0-60 in 4.7 sec Price: $337,600 (approx)

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to be surprisingly easy. There is, of course, the Rolls-Royce factor; most of the road-going proletariat will, either in deference or out of respect, give way to you. Except for bus drivers. They remain a hateful, soulless bunch.

The Ghost II offers its driver a certain amount of hierarchical immunity as it serenely pushes its way through the throng with a contented ease. I don’t know if I would have had such an effortless experience behind the wheel of a Phantom, but the Ghost II is as much at home on a crowded city street as it is swanning through the new-money suburbs at speed. By the time I pull into the hotel, I have warmed to the baby Rolls. I find myself reluctant to alight from the driver’s seat, partly because Whitehead is insisting that I open his door for him, but mostly because it has made me feel like a Rolls-Royce is supposed to make one feel.

Like a million dollars. It has completely won me over and answered my earlier question of “why?”

I was always a little unconvinced by the original Rolls-Royce Ghost. It wasn’t a Phantom - a car more opulently appointed than a rapper’s private jet - and since the launch of the Wraith, not as much of a driver’s car as it could have been.

It is often the case with most great works that a sequel will rarely capture the imagination of its intended audience in the same way as its predecessor, but the Ghost II is an exception. It actually eclipses the original. I understand this second instalment much better and, as a result, the Ghost’s place in the Rolls- Royce canon.

The Phantom is to be driven in, while the Wraith just wants to be driven. The Ghost is, finally, with the series II, the perfect compromise between them both. So, like any good love story, this rewrite of the Ghost script ensures that anyone who parts with the money for one of these bespoke cars, is sure to drive happily ever after.

TheoĂ?ore Bruce

MOTORCLASSICA AUCTION

24th October 2015, Melbourne Australia 4

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1954 Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback BC30D

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1968 Lamborghini Miura P400

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1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Veloce

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1956 Porsche 356 Speedster

cars@theodorebruceauctions.com.au +61 2 8212 4100

www.theodorebruce.com.au

Star

Attraction

Motorsport success - and most certainly its enjoyment - is reliant on the symbiosis of man and machine, performing in perfect harmony. Ian Crammond and his 1968 Merc 280SL have that sort of relationship. Here he waxes lyrical on what makes his three-pointed star such a special kind of classic rally car.

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| T he G a ra ge | M e rc e de s 280 SL |

CLASSIC CAR

Words: Ian Crammond Pictures: Andrew Manston / Ian Crammond/ Robert Grounds / Tony Large / Tony North

standard car. There are no engine modifications at all.

The shock absorbers, brakes, gear ratios, final drive and wheels are all standard. We use towing air bags in the suspension to help level the car, and it does have a hefty aluminium sump-guard, but that’s it.

Scratch the surface of any rival and you’ll likely find full house engines, uprated brakes, racing clutches, all manner of low ratio gearboxes, limited slip differentials, and of course fly-off handbrakes of one kind or another for those all important handbrake turns. We have a handbrake but it’s on the wrong side of the car (Mercedes put them all on the left and didn’t convert that for rhd cars) so I can’t use it at all when wearing full harness seat belts.

“

Is it really an automatic?” Looking at the boot lid, that’s the first question people always ask about the rally car you see pictured. Not for the first time, I patiently explain that it is, then add that it is really no great disadvantage, because the auto weighs only 13kgs more than a manual box, is stronger, and is lower geared to compensate for the weight. Not only that, but it doesn’t miss gears like a human. Oh, and it’s not an automatic in the modern sense of the word, either.

That’s because back when this 1968 Mercedes Benz 280SL was made, Mercedes still did things differently.

Hydraulic coupling automatics banged in gears like a racing change – no “slush boxes” with smooth torque converters then. This automatic (the first fitted to an SL Mercedes) will spin its wheels changing into third gear on a damp surface.

You can actually drive it as you would a 1930s car with a preselector gearbox; selecting the gear you are going to want next while hard on the power, then engaging it with a flex of the right ankle when the time comes.

Arrive at a tight hairpin and the technique is: push the gearlever forward through the straight gate into two (which restricts the gears used to first or second), freewheel into the apex on the brakes, sense the car become loose at the rear, then apply full power. If done at the right moment this picks up first gear, rotates the car and sets you off up the road at an appropriate rate of knots, changing into second as you keep your foot hard down. Now select third, wait for the revs to rise in second, lift infinitesimally, and third gear will engage.

Odd, perhaps, but you get used to it. Apply the power too early in that hairpin, though, and you’ll understeer into the bushes...

The incredulity doesn’t stop there, because this is that rarest of rally cars; mechanically, a completely showroom-

“W hile

testing , mercedes

engineer rudolf uhlenhaut in an earlier model mercedes

230SL

lapped within

seconds of

F ferrari

0.2

works

3- litre 250GT berlinetta ...”

driver mike parkes in a ferrari

Which, trust me, you need to wear when this car is cornering quickly, because it does roll a little. For the same reason, and to improve safety, I replaced the standard low back seats with high backed Recaros. A fire extinguisher and a roll-over bar that was made-tomeasure by Safety Devices (each of these cars is hand made, so the roll-over bar is bespoke to the exact car – I was told when it was being made that no two 280SLs are exactly the same in dimensions) complete the safety  V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

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picture. It’s certainly comforting to know the latter is there when we run the car on a summer event without its heavy hardtop.

So what makes this a good rally car? Well, the things other people say gives a clue. Pulling up at a time control on a wet day the marshal will say to your navigator “anything good on the radio?” or “rallying in comfort today, I see.” To a point, they are right. We can hold a conversation, it’s a comfortable place to sit all day (the events I do, and most longer daylight rallies, run 9am to 6pm, roughly, with maybe a coffee and a short sandwich break at lunchtime) and the car does actually have suspension, unlike some of its rock-hard competitors. So you don’t get as tired as you do in some cars. The longer the event, the bigger the advantage this gives - perhaps it’s one reason, along with their strength, why these cars are a popular choice on marathon, continent-crushing classic car rallies.

Not only this, but it has a decent amount of power and torque, is not as heavy as you would think (just over a ton and a quarter) and handles surprisingly well. It has power steering too, and the manoeuvrability surprises many people – straight six engines make for a balanced chassis and allow a very tight turning circle.

That 2.8-litre powerplant pulls strongly above 3,000rpm and puts out about 170bhp. In a straight line, once moving above 20 mph, there is not a great deal to choose between this and a period mid-sixties Porsche 911 on acceleration, though the Porsche with its rear-biased weight distribution has a big advantage off the line and as the lighter car, is more nimble. The Mercedes, though, has far better brakes.

The result is a car that will live with most other rides on dry tarmac, yielding to more nimble rivals only on very slow, twisty tests over muddy ground. And yes, we do get some of those – these events combine a road rally based on regularity sections, where your precision as a crew is valued above sheer speed, and driving tests on private land, where speed matters.

It all adds up, I have to admit, to an unusual rally car, but after fifteen years of driving mine in competitions throughout the UK, and on occasion further afield, it is my rally car. So much so, that I’d probably now have difficulty adapting to a manual gearbox. For one thing, being a stall as I am, I would have difficulty raising my leg to reach the clutch pedal – the W113 was not a large car and taller drivers quickly notice this. Not for us the acres of space in a Mercedes saloon of the same period, such as the 300SEb with its much longer wheelbase.

So how did such a treasured classic become a rally car? It was originally a road car of course, purchased by a sponsor as a press car in which reporters might follow a classic rally I was involved with, the Classic Malts Six Day Reliability Trial, which ran in Scotland. It lay unused until I plucked up the courage to ask if I could put an old friend in the driving seat, and we did the event with me

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

at a glance

1968 W113 Mercedes-Benz 280SL Engine: M130 2778 cc straight six cylinder.

Bosch mechanical fuel injection.

Power/torque: 170bhp @ 5750 rpm / 180 lbs ft @ 4500 rpm.

Transmission Four-speed automatic Brakes: Dual circuit disc brakes all round, power assisted Steering: Recirculating ball, power assisted Suspension: Front: double wishbones, coil springs, anti roll bar Rear: Swing axle, radius arms, compensating spring, coil springs Weight: 1,360 kgs without hardtop (49kgs) Performance: Top Speed 124mph. 0-100 kph (0-62mph) 9.1 seconds.

Value today: £50£150,000 depending on condition

navigating, finishing respectably high up the order. That old friend was works Mercedes driver Tony Fowkes. Tony almost won the London-Sydney marathon rally in 1977 and went on to be a mainstay of the works Mercedes rally team in 450SLC coupes. He had not, though, driven a 280SL of this vintage before, and seeing the car put through its paces by Tony inspired me to have a go.

I had taken part in night road rallies as a navigator in the early ‘70s, before moving on to drive in sprint and hillclimb events, finishing fifth in the British Automobile Racing Club’s National Hillclimb Championship in 1980.

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Now, I decided, it was time to try and buy the Mercedes to try my hand at classic rallying as a driver.

The car became mine in time to compete on the Classic Malts in 2000, when we eventually finished just outside the top ten after a small but costly navigational error. I then won the London – Lisbon event in 2001, but such long distance events were too expensive in both money and time for me to contemplate on a regular basis, so instead I turned my attention to a national series of classic road rallies run by the respected Historic Rally Car Register (HRCR), a British club for owners of classic

rally cars. Comprising between nine and a dozen daylight road rallies annually, this series covers the length and breadth of England and Wales.

Initial forays in late 2001 were rewarded with a couple of top ten placings, but these successes were hard to replicate over the next few seasons. It was clear that I needed to settle with a leading navigator if we were to challenge the leading crews, who were rallying every month and could draw on a bank of experience (something you find in any sport, of course).

In 2005 I ran into Nigel Raeburn, a fellow Cambridge ď‚„ď‚„ V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

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| T h e G a ra ge | M e rc e de s 280 SL |

graduate who is a few years older than me, is highly respected in British rallying circles, and is a former British Rally Champion (with Will Sparrow in a works DTV Vauxhall in 1970). I had met Nigel only twice when I suggested we should tackle together an event run by Oxford University Motor Club, called the Targa Rusticana, originally a night rally, but now a round of the popular HRCR road rally series. Starting number 60, we finished second overall and very nearly won. It was clear that an effective partnership could be forged.

Over the next few seasons, Nigel and I did one or two events each year, notably winning the tough Ross Traders Classic Tour in 2009 and putting together a string of second and third place results. We regularly found ourselves among the UK’s top ten crews. In 2010, and again in 2012, I was able to do enough of the season, navigated by Nigel and the equally talented Andy Gibson, to finish in the top five drivers overall in the national Championship. This, remember, against a host of fully rally-prepared Porsche 911s, Ford Escorts and Mini

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at a glance

HRCR Clubmans Rally Championship 2015 Tour of Cheshire, March 7 North Yorkshire Classic, March 29 Ilkley Jubilee, April 12 Leukaemia, May 16 Hughes, May 31 East Anglian Classic, June 20 Ross Traders, July 18 St Wilfrids, August 9 Vale of Clwyd Classic, Sept 5 Best 6 results count

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Coopers. Nigel has since been forced by ill health to retire, but these are good memories.

Over the years the 280SL has suffered its fair share of mishaps but has recorded only two non-finishes, on both occasions caused by a bolt working loose rather than a mechanical failure. The fabled Mercedes build quality and reliability was sorely tested on the toughest Welsh event in the series in 2014, when the organisers included a particularly rough section of forest with a vicious bump right at the end. We hit it hard, as did most crews. Driving out of the forest, we encountered a Mini crew levering the fan off their radiator, after the engine had jumped forward, while all we had to content with was a dislocated horn. Being a Mercedes, though, the car has two, so it didn’t hamper our performance too much.

During this time, like all early SLs, the car has now risen in value, to the point at which I doubt I will be able to risk rallying it for much longer. We won’t be retiring her just yet, though, it’s too much fun and cars like this were made to be driven hard – even with an Automatic ‘box.

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| T h e G a ra ge | B u ga t t i |

dream car

The Second Coming Words: James McCarthy pictures: Herbert Villadelrey

M

odern sports cars fit into four distinct categories.

The “Attainable” are the likes of the Porsche Boxster or Jaguar F-type. The next step is the “Aspirational,” which include the ilk of the Ferrari 458, or the Lamborghini Huracan.

There are the “Grail” cars: the Aventadors, the F12 Berlinettas and the Mercedes AMG SLS. But then there are the “Unicorns;” the top echelon. The rarest of them all.

Within this petrol-fuelled pantheon, the hallowed halls echo to the sounds of the Koenigsegg Agera, Aston Martin’s One-77, the McLaren F1, the LaFerrari and, of course, the record-shattering Bugatti Veyron.

What is left to say about the Veyron? Well, apart from the obvious discussion about the, frankly, freakish statistics of the car, all that myself and respected former Motoring Editor at The National, Kevin Hackett, could muster went something along the lines of what would happen if it were to mate with an Aston Martin DBS. The disturbing conclusion of that conversion, however, shall forever remain unpublished.

But, even among the gods, there must be a hierarchy, and in the Veyron canon, it is the Super Sport that rules the roost. A car which, quite unbelievably, is better than its game-changing predecessor. Somehow, the boffins at Molsheim managed to make the perfect car better, stronger and very much faster.

It was not a task that Bugatti undertook lightly and, if the company is to be believed, not in response to the loss of the Veyron’s crown as the fastest and most powerful production car to US-based hobbyist car maker, Shelby Supercars’, SSC Ultimate Aero. According to the company it was, in fact, a response to customer feedback - requests from owners who wanted a more raw and less cosseted supercar experience and, when your customers are shelling out in excess of two million bucks a motor, you listen to what they have to say.

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So, the engineers set about their task with aplomb.

However, they didn’t take the oft-travelled route along with Porsche and Bentley and just start ripping out seats and stereo systems. Tackling the problem pragmatically, the re-engineering of a Veyron took on a much more holistic approach.

Firstly, weight had to be shed, and even though the car is still a hefty 1.8 tonnes, the Super Sport has slimmed down by around 200kg through the the implementation of an all-new carbon fibre monocoque and extensive use of the super-light material for the body shell.

To improve the aerodynamics of the car, the signature bulging airscoops that fed the mammoth engine have been replaced with an engine cover featuring two “NACA” airducts. While a functional necessity, they give the car its new aesthetically sleek fastback look and, coupled with a sportier double diffuser and centrally arranged exhaust system, means the Super Sport looks its best from the angle that most people will only ever see it - screaming away from them in a cloud of dust.

Similarly, the expanded and reshaped air intakes at the snout of the car deliver a more aggressive and menacing “come on if you think you are man enough” stance, suggesting to those looking at the car in a rear view mirror that they will be arriving home to find the family pet mangled into a bubbling pot on the stove if they don’t move aside and let it pass.

Under the re-designed hood, the 16-cylinder monster engine remains outwardly familiar, but inside beats a heart reinforced with four enlarged turbochargers, each one working in concert to squeeze an extra 199 horsepower (bhp) out of the redesigned engine - bringing the Super Sport’s total to 1,200 braying stallions.

All of that, however, was just speed farming. It was down to the men with the Apple Macs and white coats to create the ultimate driving machine by embarking on such nittygritty work as slightly raising the main-spring, developing stronger stabilisers and new shock absorbers, as well as remapping the various electronic control systems.

The result was a car so powerful that it destroyed the 

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

at a glance

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport Engine: 8-litre quad-turbocharged W16 Power: 1,200bhp Transmission: Dual-clutch 7-Speed DSG Sequential Tourque: 1,500Nm Weight: 1,888kg Performance: Top speed 258mph; 0-62 in 2.2 sec Price: $2.7m (approx)

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speed record for a production car in 2010, under the stewardship of Bugatti’s Pilote Officiel, Pierre-Henri Raphanel, who clocked up an average speed of no less than 431km/h at VW’s Ehra-Lessian test facility.

And, for one day, among the rolling cordovanhued hills of Andaluçia, it was to be all mine.

My ride wasn’t to be the psychotic-looking black and orange beast that catapulted itself into the record books that fateful June day, but a less ostentatious two-tone variation in clear blue lacquered carbon and aluminium.

However, even without the extreme paint job, the car still exuded an air of barely-veiled malevolence, chiding the onlooker to step inside and set the monster free. It is a car that, when seen in the metal, has a presence.

I was contemplating this as veteran supercar test driver, Loris Bicocchi, cheerfully shook me from my reverie by explaining that he had mapped out some roads that would give the car a full workout and leave me giggling like a schoolgirl, at the same time dropping the Bugatti logo-emblazoned key into my eager paw and gesturing to the driving seat.

Nothing can prepare you for the feeling you get when you first sit in the cockpit of a Bugatti Veyron and, I am glad to report that, the heady buzz created by the smell of fine leather and the sense of power you feel sat behind the wheel does not diminish the second time you do it either.

While no different in layout to the standard car, the Super Sport, offers an abundance of carbon fibre trim, crafted stitching of the Super Sport moniker in the headrests and the addition of Alcantara to the steering wheel, making the moment an even more tactile experience.

This concerto of sight, smell and touch reaches its crashing crescendo when you turn the leather-bound key and press the smooth, round and inviting “Start” button that injects life into that behemoth of an engine. The initial growl, with its rumbling bass note, is complimented by the top note harmonics of the high pitched jet-fighter whine as the W16 powerplant starts sucking in life-giving air through the massive intakes in the roof.

With this wonderfully dramatic overture playing out in the background, I pull the car away from the curb (or lack thereof, as every road in the area seemingly has a carbon fibre bodywork crunching four-inch, rough-edged step into the gravel) and onto the open Spanish country roads.

If the opening credits promise a great deal, equally, the main feature does not disappoint with the Super Sport offering a noticeably more 

| D r i ve n Me n | Fe a t u re |

Record Breaker Somehow, the boffins at Molsheim managed to make the Veyron better, stronger and very, very much faster.

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| T h e G a ra ge | B u ga t t i |

precise control of the wheels and a greater interaction between the tyres (which, incidentally, cost 42,000 Euros a set) and the all-wheel drive system. The result of which is more responsive steering and a rather epiphanic driving experience.

The ride is undoubtedly harder, but when careering into tight corners, there is no pitch or roll and very little understeer. It is like a Space Invader moving from one lane to the next and is as tight in the corners as a hipster’s trousers. And, even though you can really feel the 1.4g of lateral acceleration as you enter the corner, and the 1,500 Newton metres of tourque as you exit, at no point do you ever feel that you are not fully in control.

Driving through scenery reminiscent of a Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western, the route took in sweeping mountain vistas and, with a 1,100 metre climb up narrow roads littered with hairpin bends, the Super Sport was no mule.

With its awesome acceleration into the apex of each turn, coupled with gargantuan stopping power of the ultra responsive carbon ceramic brakes, the Bugatti stuck to the road with seemingly little effort.

Dropping down the other side of the mountains, small whitewashed Andaluçian villages were treated to lingering views of the Super Sport, as once again, the Veyron proved that it is a supercar for the everyman, coping as well with manouvrability at low-speeds, as it does at the high end of the readout. The only noticeable problem with the car, when driving slowly in built-up areas, is its propensity to attract attention.

Though unlike most supercars it attracts not jealousy and spite, but admiration and joyous recognition that people are in the presence of greatness. Every time the Veyron came to a halt, it was like a scene from The Hills Have Eyes, as hordes of onlookers would descend, out of nowhere, upon the car from all directions, camera phones in hand, to gawp and take pictures. With the air of someone clearly used to the attention, Loris would affably chat away with the admirers, while the technicians would look on with paternal pride.

Once clear of the villages, the road opened up, skirting a huge lake. The placid, glass-like surface of the water was disturbed only by ducks taking to the air to escape the bawling of the Super Sport’s engine as I finally got the opportunity to plant my foot in the carpet and experience the sheer joy that is a Bugatti in full flight.

Admittedly, I didn’t open the taps quite as much as I managed to in the Grand Sport when I drove it in Doha, but even the force of accelerating to 220km/h before braking slightly

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and swinging into a long sweeping turn at speed had me grinning like a madman.

For this is not an exercise in speed. The facemelting acceleration of the car is well-documented, and I am one of those lucky enough to have had the opportunity to experience the brutal forces at work in a Veyron doing in excess of 300km/h. No, for me it was about how the Super Sport drives; about the handling of this awesome car, and what it feels like to give it the beans into a hairpin and come out screaming with joy on the other side.

Fortunately, I got just that. And, while I am still a little hazy on the details, somehow the guys at Bugatti, who set the acme of automotive engineering five years ago very high indeed, have somehow, for one last heroic push of an eradefining supercar, managed to raise the peak higher still.

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They say that a star always burns brightest before it finally blinks out of existence and the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is the earthbound embodiment of the theory. That, in itself, is tinged with a poignant touch of sadness.

The reality is that, in this cost-defined era of eco responsibility, this is probably the last time will ever see the likes of the Bugatti Veyron. Yes, there will always be faster cars, there will always be extreme cars - crack on Hennessy - but there will never be another Veyron. A dream chased so relentlessly, with such demanding criteria; designed to be the most perfect automobile you can buy for your two million-plus Dollars and built with a love and affection rarely seen in this mass-produced, quantity-over-quality age of manufacturing.

What’s more, they didn’t just do it once and rest on their laurels, as the Super Sport will forever attest.

If anyone out there reading this owns one, or perhaps more, of these spectacular automobiles, I urge you to do is not to lock them away in garage to collect dust or to treat them as assets to accrue in value. Don’t leave it to us lucky few journalists to keep the Veyron alive for the masses through the words and pictures on a page.

The legend is in your hands; it is your duty to drive them as they were meant to be driven and let the world around you revel in the sound and sight of the world’s fastest production car bearing down in the rear-view mirror, opening the heavens as it roars past and leaving elation trailing in its wake as it speeds off, finally, into the sunset...

grand tourismo

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| G ra n d To u r i s m o | Ro u t e B o o k |

Bullets,

Borders & Bikes

Richard Whitehead takes an epic journey across Lebanon on the back of a Harley Davidson Pictures: Harley Davidson

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quickly came to terms with turning 40 last year. In the spirit of growing old gratefully, In the few short months since the Big Four-Zero bell tolled, I realise how I have come to appreciate things better now than I did when I was younger.

“I’ve spent time wielding a primeval Royal Enfield Bullet across India, but I’d never done anything to prepare myself for the weight, power and poise of a Harley.”

I crave to be myself, to have the freedom to suit myself and the means to enjoy myself, and when the realisation first hit me, it was numbing. It could have easily provoked a mild midlife crisis, but realising fortuna audaces juvat, I quickly got on a Harley-Davidson.

Shortly after the big birthday, I was sent an invitation to join HarleyDavidson and 500 of their closest Middle Eastern friends on a three-day tour of Lebanon. The trip would feature the full 2015 model range and all I had to do was turn up and enjoy the ride.

This was just the ticket for a forties newbie: a kick-ass man’s ride on amazing motorcycles through glorious countryside while eating incredible food, enjoying tremendous hospitality and making some good friends on the way. More than that, I was about to sample some real freedom — the sort of thing Easy Rider preaches.

I’m not what you would call an able biker, not on proper machines anyway. I’ve been on umpteen scooters and spent a good few thousand kilometres wielding a primeval Royal Enfield Bullet across India, but I’d never done anything to prepare myself for the weight, power and poise of a Harley.

At reveille in Beirut, and with a cohort of riders from the Gulf and the Levant assembling in a car park near to Le Grey hotel, I was feeling a little nervous. Owing to a mishap on my flight, I was not wearing the usual biker’s leather and denim; instead I was in loafers, a fleece and beige trousers. I vowed then never to take off my helmet again to reveal my true face. 

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Already the atmosphere was pulsing, the syllables of ha-bi-bi hanging the air as all the old Harley comrades met once again after absences that had spanned from many years to just the night before.

As I regarded the grizzled faces and greying beards of the Harley owners on the event, I realised I looked just like them, in a manner of speaking. I had joined Harley’s target market: professional, comfortable, middle-class forty- and fifty-somethings with a penchant for leather and extremely good hair genes.

Was I comfortable with this scenario? Were these people now my peers?

I’d never thought of myself as professional before.

My ride was to start with was the Fat Bob, my first ever Harley. A press colleague more familiar with bikes gave me a few tips: use the bike’s wild torque to ease you around tight corners, remember the gearing is quite wide.

Standing there in my brown trousers, I was more conscious of just staying on the thing.

Wobbling at first but then getting the hang of the Fat Bob’s balance, by the time we ascended Mount Lebanon, I was starting to love the bike. The Bob typifies why middle-class men plump for a Harley when they reach a certain age. For a start, it looks the part, especially in its optional “sand camo denim” matt colour scheme and with its “surly attitude,” according to Harley.

The bike’s air-cooled 103-inch engine (Harley still deals in inches — 1.7-litres in new money) picks up quickly and offers sublimely easy gearing.

It is also eminently forgiving, especially for a first-time Harley rider, but it still has the muscle, grunt and the throbbing exhaust rant one expects from any member of the HD collection.

As our bodies age, and our capacity to learn new things goes south like our navels, it is important that a new bike handles this easily while looking the part. It’s also very comfortable, even for those feeling the first flush of old age. Unlike a cramped scooter or sports bike, which you hug tight for dear life, you sit on a Fat Bob like it’s a comfy chair, with your back straight, your legs stretched forward and your weight centred on your hips. It also offers an unhindered 270-degree view of your surroundings without making you crane your neck. This is especially useful when you have to watch out for assailants, as we found later.

Lebanon has never really gained a reputation for the quality of its road surfaces, and heading northeast, it quickly began to crumble and fray.

Leading the pack at the time, my role was to find the best lines through some sheer-drop hairpins, while avoiding the crevasses disguised as potholes and the insane oncoming traffic, amid the cold chill of a mountaintop. This was sheer technical riding on a precision instrument; it could have been terrifying at times but the Fat Bob was really easy.

In all honesty, this stage of the ride was quite emotionally uncomfortable.

I felt like I was being judged by the leather fur balls behind me with every misshift marked by their disapproval, and the state and the shape of the road didn’t help. I needn’t have worried because it turned out fine in the end; it was just the next day that would prove much more embarrassing.

Now on an Ultra Glide — the Ultra Limited Low, to give it its proper name — a colossus of a motorcycle with wrap-around front, seating for two, loads of luggage room and a banging stereo that together weighs as much as an A380, it feels absolutely enormous, but at the same time it’s as nimble as a Raleigh Striker.

“When you set out to improve the most respected touring machine on earth, you don’t take shortcuts and you sure as hell don’t accept any limits,” says Harley about the bike, a statement suitably weighty for the motorcycle it describes. 

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“They’re shooting at the bikes!” As the call comes across on the two-way radio, the report from the gunpowder can be heard, cracking like a bullwhip.”

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Beginning the day on well-surfaced roads, the Glide feels exceptional and wafts as effortlessly as a Roller. With my iPhone plugged into the stereo, the tunes sound sweet and I know this is going to be a very good day.

And it was, if you define a good day as toppling your bike when it’s at a standstill as the stereo pumps out Saturday Night Fever in front of 500 judgemental bikers. It was a schoolboy error, and a bit of a brown-trouser moment for me, if I’m honest. In mitigation the road, rising quickly at the foot of more mountains, had turned into little more than a path, and I wasn’t used to a bike that weighs almost as much as a car.

Luckily, my comrades didn’t see me hitching a ride in a support truck. There was no way I was going to get the Ultra up this path, so I admitted defeat.

Getting back on after a period of chaste reflection, my new bike was the V-Rod, perhaps the most controversial motorcycle Harley has ever produced on account of its water-cooled 1.3-litre engine (as opposed to HD’s traditional air-cooled setup) and its sporty demeanour. And now I am purring.

The V-Rod’s 122 horsepower — massive by custom bike standards — is delivered very differently to other Harley-Davidson models, while its tighter gearing takes some time to get used to, but helps massively on Lebanon’s winding mountain roads. Then, while we stop for a break in the last few hundred metres of the deep south of Lebanon, we hear shots ringing out.

“Tell Marwan they’re shooting at the bikes!” As the call comes across on the two-way radio, the report from the gunpowder can be heard, cracking like a bullwhip.

In the near distance ahead of us is Israel, while we are in an area under the intense gaze of Hizbollah operatives, and where few foreigners have been allowed in recent years. Between the two sides is brown scrubland bisected by a barbed wire fence.

As the shots ring out, I am posing for a photo by the side the road, then a passing local rugby-tackles me. I have been standing on the edge of a minefield, he chides.

Luckily Marwan, the owner of Lebanon’s Harley-Davidson dealership, is well connected in this beautiful and largely lawless country. Within a couple of minutes, a white UN armoured truck approaches to bring the excitement to a close. It’s not what you know, but who you know in the Levant, and Marwan knows them all.

Riding at the head of the group, Marwan’s friends, Lebanon’s police supremo and an army colonel, lead the way, but still their towering presence doesn’t always guarantee safety. Just the days before, as we charged out of Beirut with the police outriders, one driver refused to budge, emphasising his annoyance by waving a handgun in a cop’s face.

The next day, on a road past a Syrian refugee camp, a Harley rider was shot at by a kid with a BB gun. Later on we took lunch in the heart of the lush Beka’a valley; less than 24 hours later, the area had turned into a war zone, BBC World would report afterwards, following an advance by the Al Qa’eda affiliate, the Al Nusra front, into the area. Just weeks before, Isis had made an incursion not far away.

Faced with such situations, you have to chill out and get on with things.

You just climb on your Harley, ride like the wind and get used to the madness. That is the charm of Lebanon, which takes you over immediately.

That’s also the joy of riding a big American custom bike because it leaves you to feel free and invincible.

For me, the V-Rod was a revelation. Not only had it been blessed with good looks and impeccable response, it was also perfectly shaped for my reasonably tall frame, it had phenomenal pick-up and its roar was a blend of honey and rage. The water-cooled model does it for me. I have no place for traditionalist biker sentiments.

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After three days in Lebanon on a variety of Harleys, I had come of age again. I was 40 and proud of my freedom and in awe of my new perspective on life. Harley had no small role to play in this transformation, and I guess this is why so many bankers, media types and company directors continue to join the Harley family once they are comfortable in life.

Don’t let the pictures fool you, these hirsute beasts are usually mildmannered professionals during the course of the week, then they throw on the leathers to start their weekend double lives.

I am now one of these beasts. I’m still just waiting for my leathers to arrive back home before I, too, can look the part.

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Staying Alive Harley-Davidson’s Ultra Glide is a colossus of a bike, that weighs as much as an A380, but feels as nimble as a BMX and looks spectacular.

Except when you fall off it listening to the Bee Gees...

| G ra nd To u r i s m o | Gre a t D r iv in g Ro a ds |

GPS 24° 06’ 40.29’’ N, 55° 45’ 21.91’’ E

Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road, UAE 

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Volante takes you on a twisting trip up one of the Gulf region’s most heart-palpitating parkways: Jebel Hafeet.

Words: Steve Paugh

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t spreads itself out at the precipice of a 4,000-foot high mountain range.

Stretching over 7.3 miles, the surface of its flawlessly manicured skin shifts, slinks and slices around 60 thrilling corners and hairpin turns.

This is not the world’s largest roller-coaster or its newest Olympic bobsled course. This is The Jebel Hafeet Mountain Pass, quite possibly the most exciting driving road on the face of the planet.

Expertly carved in the Jebel Hafeet mountain with all of the artistry of a rolling calligraphic verse, the serpentine shape of the road undulates in the poetic curvature of the written Arabic language. That shapely relation is not the only similarity with the Gulf ’s heritage. The mountain range, which slithers between the border of the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman, is one of the region’s most popular natural attractions thanks to its rolling peaks and valleys, bubbling streams and placid mountain lakes, gushing hot water springs and localised eco-system, which includes a blanket of rich greenery and a menagerie of wildlife.

One of the best ways to see Jebel Hafeet, however, is not to meander introspectively at an art-gallery pace, but to take it in at shutter-quick speeds, devouring its sandblasted presence in a blur of motion. Jebel Hafeet road has been described by many world-class drivers as the best driving road in existence and is regularly spotlighted in a diversity of media, such as famous automotive websites like Edmunds.com and on popular television programmes like Fifth Gear. Probably its greatest recent claim to fame was when it acted as a host for the globally celebrated show Top Gear, wherein its hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, famously skidded around its swerves in the majestic power of three Bugatti Veyrons. That’s like tracing golden writing with a diamond-tipped pencil!

While it is generally acknowledged that the road was built in 1987, how or why it was actually built is still shrouded in mystery. Allegedly costing hundreds of millions of dollars to build, it was most likely laid to give local and international speedsters an excuse to come to the UAE and test the pedal-to-the-metal mettle of their newest big boy toys. Luckily, that is exactly what the road provides: a ride that is completely unique, gapingly beautiful and, because of the uncharacteristic amount of maintenance constantly being done to the road, unbelievably smooth. The road seems to know how to keep itself interesting, merging fast-paced straights with more technically interesting twists and turns.

Fortunately, it is still not as well known as some other highways and byways, and this means that the three lanes of traffic are usually clear. Of course, that also means that there is a growing population of bikers (both motor and push-pedal), so be careful as you race full-throttle to conquer its sometimes perilous peaks.

Jebel Hafeet is one of those rare gems that you come across while exploring the region. For motoring enthusiasts in particular, it is like the Hope Diamond of freeways. As you race through the ghosts of evaporation dancing on the summer tarmac, and are whisked away to another world of motoring pleasure, we guarantee that you will agree that Jebel Hafeet is quite literally a Highway to Heaven.

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| G ra nd Tour i s m o | So m e t h in g Fo r T h e We e ke n d |

Grooming gorgeous!

A little grooming goes a long way, as does a well-manicured gent.

Let Volante guide you to the essential kit for the modern man.

Essential kit for Gentlemen

Look Sharp

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ith most of the Volante editorial team recently observing “Movember” in aid of various Prostate Cancer Charities, the numerous ways of carving one’s face-fuzz has been a trending topic of conversation. While some among us preferred the convenience of an electronic razor, there were the traditionalists that favoured a nice soapy wet shave. So it was with envious eyes we looked upon the $1,315 Mühle Edition No. 1 shaving set, which comes with a badger-hair brush and an ergonomically designed razor, all packaged in a luxurious white resin gift box. Mühle, a German shaving-products company, makes the handles of both the razor and the brush from resin-coated carbon-fibre, appealing to our macho inner James Bond. The Edition No. 1 is the company’s most prestigious piece from the top-end of its line up. Quality is guaranteed as Mühle has been the go-to supplier of handmade badger-hair brushes for the discerning gentleman since 1945. www.muehle-shaving.com

Scent To Royalty

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or 285 years, Floris of London has been creating unique and luxurious fragrances for men of stature. By appointment to the British Royalty, the family perfumer has plied its trade out of the same charming boutique since it’s inception in 1730. Floris’ spot on London’s Jermyn Street - number 89 - inspired the name of one of its most timeless and popular male offerings, Floris No.89, which was a favourite of author Ian Fleming who bestowed his love of the scent onto his most famous creation, James Bond. Of the perfume house’s more contemporary fragrances, though, our personal favourite here at Volante is the zesty Santal, which opens with crisp bergamot and lemon cut through with fresh notes of green grass and a spicy blend of black peppercorns, clove bud, green cardamom and nutmeg. The warmth of the spices merges with lavender, as the sensual woody notes of sandalwood, cedarwood, patchouli and vetiver unfold and are augmented by the oriental base notes of frankincense, musk and vanilla. It’s a striking, yet subtle fragrance and, as Floris is not yet widely available in the region, is guaranteed to garner a few admiring glances as you waft past. www.florislondon.com

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Captain Fantastic

On the subject of one’s whiskers, those of us who often sport heroic moustaches usually require some kind of pomade to keep them up to snuff. There is none finer than Captain Fawcett’s Exhibition Strength Moustache Wax. Guaranteed to help the folically fecund gent maintain a stiff upper lip regardless, this “firm hold” wax, with it’s spicy sandalwood scent, ensures that your tips will stay perky, even in the Gulf’s sweltering humidity. In fact, our managing editor swears by it during the month of “Movember,” employing this very product to preen his verdant lip rug (if you don’t believe us, check out his Instagram account www.instagram.com/ byjamesmccarthy). Just shave off a little of the wax with the top of your thumbnail, warm it up by rubbing it between thumb and forefinger and apply from root to tip. The good Captain also produces a range of other waxes and grooming oils for moustaches and beards, as well as shaving gift sets and combs to help tame your fine facial topiary.

www.captainfawcett.com

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accessorise all areas With these head turning links, you’re sure to make a bold statement of sartorial superiority every time you flash a bit of cuff.

Rock Star Links

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hen it comes to “pressing the flesh” or “rubbing elbows” at high society shindigs, women are well catered for in the flashy accessory department while many well-heeled gents can only crack one off at the wrist, often opting for a fine watch. However, in the stacked deck of precious jewellery and haute horology, Jacob & Co. is quite the card. Known for its off-kilter sartorial styles, the brand has made quite the name for itself in asserting mastery over the beauty in complication, whether in reference to a timepiece or in the multifaceted phantasmagoria of its men’s jewellery. For society chaps that prefer to show a little cuff, some of Jacob

& Co.’s most captivating pieces are its cufflinks, which, in varying collections, have taken the form of 18-carat gold skulls and semi-precious roulette tables.

Paramount to all of these, however, are the Jacob & Co. Canary Diamond Cufflinks. The opulence of these ornaments begins with an 18-carat white gold frame that is decorated with almost 11 carats of white diamonds, all surrounding a centrepiece of 21-carat canary yellow diamonds. Altogether, that makes these one-of-a-kind wrist wreaths the most expensive cufflinks in the world, with an asking price of... get this... $4.2 million a pair! www.jacobandco.com

Finger Linking Good

Expressing one’s individuality can be difficult in the Gulf, where many of your peers have the same kind of buying power as you. However, thanks to jewellery designer, James de Givenchy and his New York-based company Taffin, you can now truly express your one-off individuality through your solid 18-carat gold cufflinks. Selling for $4,500, de Givenchy will take an impression of your fingerprints, or those of a loved one, in wax and cast them into solid gold links that will be totally unique to the wearer. Equally, de Givenchy says that as they age they become more and more elegant, as the gold acquires a patina and the grooves of the print seemingly deepen, making these the ultimate statement in subtle, elegant and sentimental sartorialism.

www.taffin.com

Alfred The Great

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eeing an opportunity with birth of the horseless carriage, Alfred Dunhill made his name creating and selling accoutrements for the motoring gentleman. As the motorcar has evolved so has the offering of this quintessentially British brand. Despite a far more fashion-forward approach, Dunhill continues to deliver beautifully crafted, functional accessories, especially cufflinks. Far more reasonably priced but arguably more elegant than the other links on this page, these Wireframe Mother of Pearl cufflinks hint at Alfred’s automotive history and are captivating in their simplicity. Crafted from rhodium plated brass and featuring the company’s vintage logo, you can pair these with your business suit or more formal evening attire and feel comfortable that you are looking every inch the urbane chap you think you are. Couple them with one of Dunhill’s reassuringly pricey lighters, and you can be sure that your date will notice your attention to sartorial detail when you show a little cuff whilst leaning in to light her cigarette. www.dunhill.com

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MB&F, L’Epée in Starfleet Enterprise Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the eponymous space station in the the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the incredibly striking MB&F-designed Starfleet Machine desk clock is engineered and crafted by L’Epée 1839, Switzerland’s only remaining specialised high-end clock manufacturer.

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he Starfleet Machine is obviously influenced by science fiction, but it’s unique mechanics and movement, while stellar, are very much created right here on terra firma. The highly visible, superlatively finished in-house movement features hours and minutes, double retrograde seconds and a power reserve indicator to display the clock’s exceptional 40-day run time.

Hours and minutes are indicated on the central black dome by hand-polished hands that follow the dome’s curved contours. Behind that, a smaller rotating dome, accompanied by a revolving radar dish, provides an intuitive view of remaining energy: five bars indicates the movement is fully wound; one bar means Starfleet Machine is running low.

Below 12 o’clock on the central hourminute dome are the double retrograde seconds in the form of turret-mounted laser cannons. The cannons start in parallel and cross over one another before rapidly flying out again, an action marking off 20-second intervals. The red-tipped cannons provide eyecatching visual animation and the regulator has deliberately been placed in full view for all who see it to admire.

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One of the biggest challenges for L’Epée was respecting the movement configuration required by MB&F’s spacecraft design. L’Epée’s calibre - featuring five main spring barrels - usually equips vertically standing clocks.

The escapement platform also had to be set horizontally to be protected by the turretmounted laser cannons. Naturally, the movement operates with a precision that Starfleet would be proud of, with MB&F claiming an impressive accuracy of -2 to +2 minutes over 40 days.

The $35,000 Starfleet Machine is limited to 175 pieces (in deference to L’Epée’s 175th anniversary) and is available in “light” or “dark” editions, the latter festuring ruthenium-finished components. Whichever one you choose, we here at Volante think it’s fair to say that this spectacular timepiece will elevate any room and boldly take it to where no man-cave has been before.

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Time warp: Long before it was creating out-of-thisworld pieces like the Starfleet Machine, L’Epée clocks were reguarly breaking the sound barrier.

In 1976, when Concorde entered commercial service, L’Epée wall clocks were chosen to furnish the cabin.

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| G ra n d To u r i s m o | Rev C o u n t e r |

One in a Mille Every year since 1988, Chopard has marked its prestigious role as the official timekeeper of the legendary Mille Miglia by releasing a limited edition chronograph and 2014 proved to be a vintage year.

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journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, at least, according to the words of Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu. For some fortunate petrol heads, that 1,000-mile journey is the fabled Italian enduro, the Mille Miglia, while the step in question is the one they take getting into some exotically beautiful sports car from the golden ages, like a Ferrari 250 GTO, or a Jaguar XK120.

For Chopard, the first step was to support this legendary street race by becoming it’s official timekeeper back in 1988. Since then, the Scheufele family has participated in every 1000mile race from Brescia to Rome and back in cars of inestimable value, constructed between 1927 and 1957 (the years the gruelling, and often deadly, race actually ran competitively) and wearing the latest Chopard Mille Miglia Chronograph watches that are launched annually to accompany each la corsa pÏu bella del mondo The most beautiful race in the world.

For the 32nd outing of the classic car jamboree, The Mille Miglia Chronograph 2014 carries a more distinctly Italian flavour than any of its predecessors. With its red tachometric scale and hands, white dial and green minute circle, it flies the colours of the nation’s flag.

This watch is endowed with a strong character and pays tribute to the oldest cars taking part in the race, those dating from the 1920s and 1930s.

That is why the usual strap, made in rubber with a 1960s Dunlop racing tyre-tread motif, has been replaced by a version in overstitched Barenia calfskin, reminiscent of the bonnet

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straps on the most venerable participants in the race. The red arrow-shaped Mille Miglia logo appears on the dial as well as on the sapphire crystal case-back.

The contemporary Mille Miglia 2014 watch is thus dominated by vintage detailing. The slender cursive dial fonts are inspired by the 1920s; the lugs holding the strap are soldered rather than screwed in and it is equipped with a selfwinding chronograph movement. Radiating an undeniably masculine aura, the watch is limited to 2,014 watches in steel and 250 in rose gold.

While the Mille Miglia race is impressive to watch in terms of the beautiful vehicles taking part, victory is also awarded on the basis of very discerning criteria involving peerless precision and technical mastery. In the same way, the Mille Miglia 2014 shines as much by its outward aesthetic appeal as by its rigorous mechanical heart.

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Suits you, sir

Off-The-Peg:

Marks & Spencer

For those who are looking to up their sartorial game in 2015, but don’t know where to start looking, here are three clothiers - from bespoke to budget -that Volante recommends checking out.

Bespoke: Cad & The Dandy

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aville Row in London always was the best place to buy a bespoke suit. However, for the uninitiated the likes of Gieves & Hawkes, with its imposing tradition and royal warrants can be somewhat intimidating. Fortunately, for those of you looking for some bespoke gentleman’s tailoring, but without the haughty colonial-era stuffiness and snobbery, the quirkily-monikered Cad & The Dandy is at hand. Founded at the height of the financial crisis by two City of London bankers, James Sleater and Ian Meiers, after they were made redundant, Cad & The Dandy stamped its mark by manufacturing bespoke suits from quality Italian and English

fabrics and using traditional tailoring methods, but for considerably less than its Saville Row Counterparts. It became a beacon of City fashion for the austere times.

Since then, Cad & The Dandy has become the last word in contemporary tailoring, bringing a fresh flair to the City’s sartorial landscape with an often unique take on classic suit styles and shirt designs - even to the point of stitching a client’s favourite football shirt into the lining of his jacket! www.cadandthedandy.co.uk

The Great British high-street brand may have a shaky reputation among the fashionista youth, but the fact remains that Marks & Spencer’s suit department remains sartorially ontrend. Offering a number of options to fit every budget, they usually boast better quality contruction and materials than some of the their other, trendier, high-street rivals.

The collections to really look out for are the “Sartorial,” “Autograph” and “Savile Row Inspired.” Wile each offers elegant cuts and styles, Sartorial offers a slightly more rakish style, while Autograph provides a perfect professional look straight off the rack.

Savile Row Inspired is the top end of the range, offering a made-to-measure service and superb quality on a budget. M&S also offers a fantastic range of accessories and essentials to equip any budding city boy, boasting an enviable range of formal shirts from the likes of Jasper Conran and Jeff Banks, as well as a plethora of wellcobbled shoes to match every possible suit cut, cloth and colour

www.marksandspencer.com

Made-To-Measure: Hubris Reed

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orking on a similar principle of old-school quality with new school thinking is Hubris Reed. Founder, Braden Schlosser, started his made-to-measure tailoring company after disappointing experiences with more established tailors. So, unwilling to compromise, he set out to develop a platform where gentlemen could have a truly bespoke suiting experience from the comfort of their homes. Offering some of the best possible fabrics , Hubris Reed employs a team of skilled, passionate and fashion-forward master tailors who can not only cut a suit, but create a statement. The Bespoke Garment Concierge will walk customers through every step of the process, from measuring to customisation, fitting and adjustments, offering a completely personalised service from start to finish. With suits ranging from from $699 to $3,999, Hubris Reed is quickly becoming the go-to place for anyone new to custom clothing that’s in need of guidance, and the best bit? It can all be done sitting in your underwear with just the click of a mouse. www.hubrisreed.com

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accessory to moda The suit may “maketh the man,” but often, it’s the accessories that make the whole thing work.

Add a bit of suave to your wardrobe with some statement shirts and ties.

It’s Hip to Be Square

T

o finish off your outfit with a flourish, or to add a dashing splash of colour to an otherwise dull suit, get yourself some pocket squares. There’s no steadfast rule for choosing a pocket square, it should simply complement your shirt and tie.

Equally, there is no right or wrong way to wear it. There are loads of tutorials online to learn how to fold some of the more complex styles, but to give off a nonchalant vibe, just push it into your breast pocket from the centre of the square.

HexTie

Style Made Simple

Blaqua Menswear

Blaqua is a temple for men who appreciate good clothing design. It specialises in high-quality, colourful shirts, ties, and accessories, with a very 1960s “Mod” feel to them.

The shirts themselves are designed in-house, and Blaqua usually produces a new shirt design every few weeks.

Typically, only fifty shirts are made, across all sizes, making each of the limited editions quite unique. Sometimes, given the vivid nature of some of the creations, the company pairs its shirts with a matching or suitable tie. The designs are bold and colourful - a lot of floral prints appear - and are ideal for adding a splash of dandy style to an otherwise conservative outfit. For the more introvert among you, Blaqua does produce plain-colour shirts, too, but with signature design elements added to the underside of the collar and cuffs to add that little hint of louche. The shirts are quite pricey, but well worth it for the workmanship, quality and the sartorial statement they make.

www.blaquaonline.co.uk 

Okay, here at Volante, we’re not too sure about this one; some of us think it’s really cool, the rest are having flashbacks to lowbudget 1990’s Sci-Fi series’ like Quantum Leap. Whatever we may think, the HexTie by Enrique Alejandro Peral is making a bit of a splash on Social Media, garnering many fans of this bold new look. According to the company, the Hex has been inspired by the architecture and attitude of New York, and combines old fashioned elegance with an eclectic, outspoken design. The ties are constructed using a complex marriage of two rigid polymers joined together by a flexible fabric and is currently awaiting a design and utility patent. It is fair to say that the HexTie is definitely redefining what a dress tie should look like and, as every one is assembled by hand to create a unique experience for every HexTie owner, it will certainly ensure your iconoclastic status.

www.hextie.com

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| G ran d To u r i s m o | Fit t in g Ro o m |

if the shoe fits

E

ver wondered what the difference is between an Oxford and a Derby? Or pondered over when to wear a Brogue or Loafer? Well, we are here to demystify the world of shoes with a simple step-bystep (pardon the pun) guide to men’s footwear.

All shoes shown here are available at www.MrPorter.com

While you might not consider your shoe choice as important as your collar or tie, what shoes you wear says a lot about your style. Take it from the man himself, Mr. Christian Louboutin: “A shoe is not only a design, but it’s a part of your body

language and the way you walk,” he explains.

“The way you’re going to move is dictated by your shoes.” There are also some serious do’s and don’ts to acquaint yourself with, so gents, put your feet up and read on.

A Must Have For All Chaps

OXFORDS

Not just any old lace-up smart shoes, Oxfords are the most formal of dress shoes and characterised by their closed lacing – the lace flaps are stitched closed at the bottom. They can be plain with a toecap, or detailed with perforations known as brogueing. As a rule of thumb, the sleeker the design, the more dressy the shoe.

Do: Wear with a suit to the office, a wedding or to an afterdark soiree.

Don’t: Wear with jeans.

Style choice: John Lobb’s slick black leather Oxfords.

MONK STRAPS

Easy to spot, Monk Straps are defined by the buckled strap that replaces the shoelaces. They come with one or two straps (on occasions three) and in a variety of colours, with or without the cap-toe and wingtips. The strap can be functional or not.

Do: Wear with sharp tailoring for a striking finish.

Don’t: Mismatch your buckles. Make sure your watch and belt buckle match that of the shoe’s.

Style choice: John Lobb hand-made, two strap Monk Straps.

DERBYS

for a Cool off-duty Style

Similar to Oxfords, but less formal with an open lace, Derbys have a more rugged appeal and are more of an everyday shoe, suitable for both smart and casual. They come in various colours and styles of leather and material, brogued or not, cap-toed and wing-tipped.

Do: Wear with jeans or chinos when your style calls for smart not stuffy.

Don’t: Wear with black tie; only with less formal suits.

Style choice: Paul Smith soft brown leather Derbys.

BROGUES

Brogues are simply leather shoes with perforation details – usually an Oxford or Derby style. The more detailed the brogueing, the less formal the shoe.

Wingtips, a stitched "W" pattern on the top of the shoe, are a common brogue detail.

Do: Wear with light tailoring or chinos for a preppy finish.

Don’t: Wear with black tie.

Style choice: Tod’s brown suede Brogues.

LOAFERS

The least formal of the shoe gang, Loafers are slip-ons and often feature visible stitching around the toe similar to a moccasin. The sleeker and simpler the design and darker the colour, the more formal the shoe.

Do: Wear with jeans or cropped trousers for a cool off-duty style.

Don’t: Wear with a suit unless you go tie free.

Style choice: Gucci grey brushed leather horsebit Loafers. 

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dapper new year As you make your weary way back to the office after the holiday season, be sure to do so with dapper new look. Cashmere and Merino Wool Sweaters add a little winter chic, while a colourful pocket square adds a rakish touch.

JACKET Saint Laurent at MrPorter. com, POCKET SQUARE Richard James at MrPorter.com, TROUSERS Debenhams, SWEATER Massimo Alba at MrPorter.com, TROUSERS Burberry Prorsum at MrPorter.com, JACKET Boglioli at MrPorter.com, SHIRT Lanvin at MrPorter.com, BELT Marks & Spencer, POCKET SQUARE Etro at MrPorter.com, TROUSERS Richard James at MrPorter.com, SOCKS Paul Smith at MrPorter.com, SOCKS Falke at MrPorter.com, SHOES Berluti “Illusion” Derbys, SWEATER John Smedley at MrPorter.com.

“F ashion

is

about dressing according to what ’ s fashionable .

S tyle

is more

about being yourself .”

- O scar de R enta

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la

Driven mEn

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| D r ive n Me n | J u a n M a n u e l Fa n gio |

The Legend

Il maestro Ask the average spectator who is the greatest racing driver of all time and you’ll get a mixture of Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Stirling Moss. Ask Ayrton, Michael or Stirling the same question and they don’t hesitate for a second; Juan Manuel Fangio.

Words: Damien Reid Pictures: Getty / Corbis

I

t was 24 years this past November since I enjoyed breakfast at Jimmy Watson’s restaurant in Adelaide, Australia.

The food was great, but the reason I remember sitting at the corner table on that third day of November in 1990 had less to do with the menu and everything to do with my hosts.

To the casual observer, an elderly couple sitting opposite a teenager was an odd match, but I was there to interview a man his peers simply referred to as “il maestro.”

Forget that generations of fans idolised Juan Manuel Fangio as the greatest racing driver of all time, it was his competitors like Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins who looked up to him the most.

The well dressed, elderly man sitting opposite was none other than J.M. Fangio, a quietly spoken gent who not only survived the most dangerous era of racing, but debuted at an age when many other would have been considering retirement. He went on to win five world championships.

Fifty-four years after his last race, Fangio maintains the greatest winning percentage in Formula One history.

I remember he was well dressed, in a casual way, with a tailored blue,

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open neck shirt, white chinos and a cream sports jacket. An immaculately folded handkerchief protruded from his top pocket, matching the cravat neatly tied around his neck and tucked into the top of his shirt.

With graying, slicked back hair, the then 79-year old’s statuesque figure and broad shoulders contradicted a surprisingly humble personality that smiled frequently during our discussion. His eyes gave away a lifetime of stories without needing words, while his softly-spoken, even mousy, voice contradicted his masculine frame and the fighter pilot-style stories he regaled me with.

“In ten years of racing, 30 drivers, most of whom were my friends, were killed behind the wheel,” Fangio said.

His voice trailed off in that way many old Grand Prix drivers do when they talk of friends that will stay forever young and, in some ways, you can almost see a resentment in their eyes when you talk about the safety and financial comfort of modern day racers.

“I have very little contact with current drivers, but when I do talk to them, it is not about racing. Modern drivers can retire after winning one world championship, I won five championships and I still had to go to work.”

After retiring at the age of 47 in 1958, Fangio turned to selling cars and picked up the Argentine Mercedes concession before being appointed president of Mercedes-Benz Argentina in 1974.

One of six children, Fangio’s parents were hard working Italian 

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“I have very little contact with current drivers, but when I do talk to them, it is not about racing. Modern drivers can retire after winning one world championship, I won five championships and I still had to go to work.� _ Juan Manuel Fangio

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immigrants from the Abruzzi region who settled in Balcarce, Argentina and sent young Juan off to work as a mechanic at the age of 11 in 1923. It was in these formative years that he gained the vital skills he would use to magnificent effect decades later to nurse injured race cars across finish lines all over Europe.

Fangio’s first taste of racing came in cross-country endurance marathons piloting crude, self-prepared V8 Fords around Argentina for up to four weeks at a time. Overcoming astonishing hardships and the death of a close friend in a roll-over accident, Fangio scored many victories before moving to Europe to begin Grand Prix racing at the age of 38.

“Most of us who drove quickly were bastards,” his rival and Mercedes team mate, Stirling Moss once said. “but I can’t think of any facets of Fangio’s character which you wouldn’t like to have in your own,” he added.

Moss, who coined nickname “the maestro,” said he loved Fangio like a father.

In seven Formula One seasons, Fangio was world champion five times with four teams and a runner-up twice. In his ‘51 championship Grands Prix, he started from the front row 48 times (including 29 pole positions) and set 23 fastest race laps en route to 35 podium finishes, 24 of which were victories.

He won two championships with Mercedes-Benz and one each for Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari, though perhaps it was because he befriended his mechanics and was never shy to pick up a spanner to help out, that some times those mechanics repaid the favour in a less than scrupulous manner.

“In one of the last races of 1953 at Monza, Maserati gave me a very powerful car which was extremely fast but it was shaking badly at 7,000rpm,” he told me in his squeaky Spanish.

“I asked my mechanics to do something, but by Saturday afternoon the vibration was still there and I was concerned that it wouldn’t be fixed in time. They said ‘Fangio, go to sleep, tomorrow your car will be ready without problems.’

“The next day, the car ran beautifully and over 80 laps, dicing with Farina and Ascari in Ferraris, and my team mate Marimon, I won. Later, Marimon came over and asked how was my car because his had been shaking badly all day.

“It was then that I realised why the paint on the numbers of our cars were wet when we went to the start line.

“Can you imagine that happening today?”

If that wasn’t enough, at the season-ending Italian Grand Prix of 1956, Fangio’s Ferrari team mate, Peter Collins, had just 15 laps to complete before being crowned World Champion, but in an act of sportsmanship not fathomable in today’s commercially-driven iteration of the sport, Collins handed over his car to Fangio, who had retired earlier with mechanical troubles, and they shared the six points won for second place.

This robbed Collins of his title and gave Fangio a fourth world crown, such was the admiration Collins held for The Maestro.

Fangio’s record number of championship wins was not broken until Michael Schumacher took his sixth title in 2003.

“Fangio is on a level much higher than I see myself,” Schumacher said.

“What he did stands alone and I have such respect for what he achieved.

You can’t take a personality like Fangio and compare him with what we did.

There’s not even the slightest comparison.”

It’s no surprise that in the post-war period, Fangio’s fame had made him one of the most recognisable faces and names on the planet, and it was a point which was not lost on those who wanted to make their own headlines. 

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On February 23, 1958, Fangio was in his room at the Hotel Lincoln in Cuba preparing for his race the next day when his room was stormed by two unmasked gunmen.

Bundled into a car, Fangio was kidnapped by pro-Fidel Castro forces and taken to a nondescript house deep in the suburbs. Local police set up roadblocks and were stationed at hospitals and airports, while the other drivers were each assigned a bodyguard.

Fangio never made it to the race and, after being shuffled around to a number of houses, he remained blindfolded but was allowed to listen to the race on a radio.

“They were nice boys and treated me well,” he said as we made our way through breakfast. “It was a point they were making and they never meant any harm. It’s true that I still send them Christmas cards every year and they keep in touch with me,” he added.

Remaining blindfolded, Fangio sat with his captors and listened to their revolutionary plans, “but I didn’t offer much advice as I didn’t want to get involved in the politics.”

The captors’ motives were to force the cancellation of the race in an attempt to embarrass the regime of Fulgencio Batista. Fangio was released, unharmed, 29 hours later.

Retirement came at the end of that 1958 season, with Fangio bowing out as the defending World Champion, which he won in what he described as his finest hour: the 1957 German Grand Prix.

It was a comeback fight at the treacherous Nurburgring that many today still regard as the greatest drive in F1 history following a botched pitstop by his crew.

Driving the same, outdated Maserati 250F he raced in 1954, Fangio needed to win but lost nearly a minute – and his lead - to the Ferraris of Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins in the pits. The Old Man flung his 250F around the most daunting of tracks, smashing the circuit record with every lap and clocking times 11 seconds a lap quicker than his Ferrari rivals.

With one lap remaining, Fangio stormed into the lead and, from

being 50 seconds behind, won by just over three seconds.

“I felt like I was looking down on myself, watching the race from above, willing my way to what should have been an impossible win. It was a magic feeling,” he reminisced.

With 24 world championship Grand Prix wins from 52 starts, Fangio’s winning percentage of 42.15% remains the best in the sport’s history. At the age of 47 “The Maestro” called it a day and returned to his birthplace of Balcarce to establish his motor museum.

He explained: “It is better to keep my trophies on display there than at home, because I would have to clean them myself. In the museum there is someone who spends all his time cleaning them for me. A much better idea don’t you think?”

Juan Manual Fangio passed away on July 17, 1995, at the age of 84 in Buenos Aires and was buried in Balcarce. His pall-bearers included his younger brother Toto, Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart and compatriot racers Jose Froilan Gonzalez and Carlos Reutemann, as well as his last boss, the president of Mercedes-Benz Argentina.

Fangio and Ferrari Fangio and Enzo Ferrari never got on. In 1956, Fangio moved to the Italian squad after Ascari was killed and, despite winning his fourth title with the Scuderia, Enzo insisted it was his cars and not the driver that won the title.

Fangio was forced to use his team-mate’s car after his suffered mechanical problems in Argentina, Monaco and Italy, yet Ferrari quipped after his star driver moved to arch rival, Maserati; “Fangio did not remain loyal to any marque and used every endeavour to ensure that he would always drive the best car.”

Stirling Moss was quick to point out why Fangio won championships with Alfa Romeo, Mercedes (twice), Ferrari and Maserati: “because he was the best bloody driver!

“The cheapest method of becoming a successful Grand Prix team was to sign up Fangio.”

“The cheapest method of becoming a successful Grand Prix team was to sign up Fangio.” - Stirling Moss

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the driver

just for the record Despite the car being stripped of its title, fighting off pretenders from Shelby Supercars and Hennessy and then having its title re-instated, four-and-ahalf years on, the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport remains officially the fastest production car in the world. It’s record-breaking driver and Pilote Officiel for Bugatti, Pierre-Henri Raphanel, tells Volante just what it felt like to take the Veyron Super Sport to the top of the world. V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

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Words: James McCarthy Pictures: Bugatti Automobiles / Herbert Villadelrey

V: What was going through your mind as you lined up on the track to start the world record run?

PHR: When I started the run the first thing that popped into my head was “I could die today.” It is always a risk when working at such high speeds.

However, I had faith in the safety features and engineering of the car as well as the hours of preparation we had done. I reconciled my worries by thinking of my late Father, who was a car enthusiast and, if anything did go wrong, that I would join him again. But I came back to earth and remembered what I was supposed to be doing and focused my attention on the run and the car.

V: What were you most concerned about?

PHR: Because of my background in racing I know what it is like to lose control of a car at immense speed and, in some ways, how to deal with that.

I once lost control of a car at Le Mans at around 340km/h. A wing fell off and that car started spinning, at that speed the car needs 400 metres to stop. I was very grateful when I walked away without injury, but it plays on your mind. If the same had happened in the Bugatti at the speeds we were travelling, the car, which weighs 1.8 tonnes, would require nearly a kilometre to come to a halt. That is space we didn’t have. There isn’t always a guard rail and the track is in the middle of a German forest. This kind of exercise is difficult for a racing driver, because I know what I am doing. I imagine I am in control of the situation and that I am able to adjust important factors of the car if necessary. However when you are travelling at speeds that take you down a track at 120 metres per second, you are forced to realise that you are, in fact, just a passenger. If the car has a strange reaction, you don’t want to interfere because it can only make things worse. For instance, one millimetre on the steering can translate in two centimetres on the road, or one centimetre on steering can translate to maybe metres on the road, so even if you want to do something you can’t. It is too fast to control so, basically, you have to rely on your engineers and on your sense as a racing driver. You are entering a realm of the unknown and it is always a risk.

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V: How much of the actual run do you remember through the speed and adrenaline?

PHR: You remember points, because you do several preparation runs the day before. We did ten runs over 400km/h. You are always learning things about how the car moves and reacts to braking at such speeds. Again it comes down to millimetres. You know you have to apply certain pressure to the brakes, but pressing the pedal by a fraction too far can make the car unstable. The car is steady as a rock up to 415km/h which is the limit for the customer models, but after that, in the world record car, as you continue to accelerate it has the very real danger of changing from a car into an aeroplane. All I was thinking was will the gearbox be ok? Will the tyres be ok? And, of course, there is the adrenaline on top of that. The night before, I could not sleep because I was so stressed. When I woke up, I looked at the alarm clock and it said 4:27. I said to myself, “that is the world record 

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speed.” I went back to sleep and when I woke again, the clock said 4:44 and I thought: “There is no way! That is impossible!” The next day, on my first run I did 427 kilometers per hour. My main concern as I pulled back in to the pits was that the system had not recorded the speed and I would have to go out and do it again! Then, I could not sleep for two nights after breaking the record because of all the adrenaline still coursing through my body. It comes to a point when your body is so sapped by it, that you say to yourself “I have had enough of speed. I just want to stop now and have some quiet.”

V: Did everything go as smoothly as we have all seen on Top Gear, or were there problems? Did the car do anything you didn’t expect it to?

PHR: For the world record you have to do two straight lines in both directions. At Ehra-Lessien, nobody has been driving on the tarmac in the anti-clockwise direction, so when we tried it the day before, I am glad we did.

The tarmac was reacting differently because after years and years of going around the track in one direction, the surface has become conditioned and all of the stones are worn in that way. It is like when you shave; when you pull the blade downwards it is smooth, but when you go against the grain it is more difficult and there is more friction and roughness. The road was the same and on the first practice, after 200km/h, it was causing vibrations through the car. As the speed increased it got worse. While there was no real danger, just discomfort from the road, I was glad we discovered the issue before the actual run. It was actually much more difficult to make the first

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run, which was slower, in the wrong direction than it was to make the second run, which was faster, but in the normal direction of road use.

Also, when we were going the reverse way, we were facing a little bit of wind, which is why we couldn’t achieve the same speed as the clockwise direction. At the end of the straight I found that if I was braking later, I would be protected from the wind by the forest. So I decided that I would put my braking point later, like 300 metres, just to arrive in this area of forest cover and, protected from the wind, I would be able to get extra speed. So I did that the day before and it was working, so I repeated that the next day. However, to do that, I would have to break a little bit harder. Suddenly the car went from the centre lane to the right lane. I was not in control, I was basically just a passenger. So there I am, just looking at the forest and, because we travelling in the opposite direction around the track, there is no guard rail, so I am thinking: “If anything goes wrong here, I am going to create a new road through the trees.” Fortunately I made it and the car got the extra bit of speed we needed. I am quite proud of that.

V: What are the chances of an attempt at 480km/h (300mph)?

PHR: I am not someone who has the desire to go chasing such things over and over again until I get it right. It was an opportunity that arrives once in a lifetime.

I needed to do it. I did it once and I was happy. Bugatti will probably not try it again, that is not their style. Breaking records is obviously a challenge for any company producing products at the limits of performance, but the main thing was always to give the customer a good, reliable and easily drivable everyday car.

It just happens to be an everyday car you can break a world record in.

V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

The clubhouse

V o l a n t e | Fe br u a r y 20 1 5

| T h e C l u bh o u s e | Au t o m o bil ia |

automobilia Curios and collectibles that every deserving man-cave should have...

Le Mans Best Friend

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e like video games and gadgets as much as the next guy, but give us a Hot Wheels track and some sugar, and we’ll be keyed-up for the rest of the week! That’s why we’re so happy about this full-sized Porsche 917 replica, which has something a bit more “fun” concealed beneath its hood; namely, a faithfully-rendered, 1:32-scale, working wooden slot car track of the legendary Le Mans raceway. Priced at $125,000 and inspired in both presence and colour by the classic film Le Mans starring king of cool, Steve McQueen, the body of this beautiful beast comes complete with race-worn GT prototype tires on aluminium three-piece rims and working headlights and taillights.

The fun continues on the inside as a button opens the 917 like a treasure chest, revealing a painstakingly articulated reverence for the iconic raceway, representing everything from the Marchal sign on the three-level grandstand over pit row to the classic Dunlop tire bridge. This truly amazing labour of love will further excite your childlike sense of wonder with its detail, from realistic landscaping and working streetlights to hand-wrought aluminium Armco guardrails with weathered wooden posts. The entire package comes with 12 limited-edition slot cars meticulously designed after the models from 1970-71, including a Porsche 917, Ferrari 512 Coda Lunga, and Lola T70, each of which can be controlled by dual analogue racing controllers. Prep the fizzy drinks, Mum... we’re gonna need some energy. www.hammacher.com

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Rich Audio

There is no point having a great set of B&W Maserati speakers if you aren’t delivering face-melting audio clarity from your stereo system, which is where this exquisitely made Momentum stereo amplifier from D’Agostino comes in. While it comes highly regarded by audiophiles and industrial design critics, this is definitely a music system for the upscale man-pad. In fact, it brings a whole new meaning to “rich audio” as it costs the same amount as a 2.2-litre diesel Range Rover Evoque. Or three VW Golf GTIs, if you buy the black version. Using ultraefficient copper heat sinks with venturi cooling, 1% metal-film

resistors, 69MHz output transistors, the Momentum consumes less than one watt of power at standby. Which is good if you are struggling to pay your electricity bill after buying one. It’s distinctive power meter, with a separate indicator needle for each channel, makes the device resemble a steampunk steampunk clock. Each Momentum is hand-built and individually tested in D’Agostino’s Arizona facility, and for $43,000, you would expect it to still be delivering spectacular aural pleasure decades after the Evoque has been towed to the scrapyard.

www.dagostinoinc.com

The Sound & The Hurry

S

ometimes, the sight of sound rings just as beautifully, a strange truth exemplified when British minstrels of sound, Bowers & Wilkins teamed with Maserati to make sweet music together in stereo. The 805 Maserati Edition Speakers are, first, things of visual design beauty. Resonant in a luscious birdseye maple real wood veneer and girded within luxury black Maserati leather, each loudspeaker evokes volume even when at rest, much like the luxurious models at Maserati do speed. Supported by a base tattooed with the iconic Trident, this collaborative triumph is the latest stand-mounted model in the flagship 800 Series Diamond speaker range, which elicits a Pavlovian response in audiophiles.

Given its celebrated lineage, this exclusive edition will contain the tech necessary to make the promise of “stunningly realistic sound quality” more than just an idle boast. Armed with innovative Quad Magnet Tweeter and Dual Magnet Bass Motor Systems, a bevy of diamond tweeters, the revolutionary crispness offered by its Nautilus heart and its recognisable tweeter-on-top technology, these are some of the most arresting speakers, both in design styling and output, ever produced by Bowers & Wilkins... which is saying a lot. This may well be the shape of the sound that drives you.

Garage Rock For The Alfa Male

A

$6,000 Alfa should, more often than not, be steered well clear of.

However, this beauty from legendary luthier Guy Harrison is one that we here at Volante covet to an almost indecent degree. Harrision, who has been making hand-crafted one-off instruments for decades can boast The Stone Roses’ John Squire and Fleetwood Mac founding member, Peter Green, among his satisfied clientele. Combining select tonewoods (poplar, maple, korina and ebony), high grade aluminium, hand built Stratocaster-voiced pick ups and carbon composite, this Alfa Romeo guitar is designed to look like the iconic front grille of the eponymous marque’s cars and is finished in Alfa Giulietta red. Each one is numbered and authenticated, as only eleven will be made to mark each decade of Alfa’s history. We hope the giant Alfa Romeo badge volume control also goes up to 11... www.harrisonguitars.com

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word up...

Being well-read is the mark of a truly cultured gent, so here are a few worthwhile tomes to add to your library of automotive literature.

McLaren - The Cars 1964 - 2008

editor’s choice

Author: William Taylor Publisher: Coterie Press Ltd

T

Haynes Maserati 250F Owners’ Workshop Manual Author: Ian Wagstaff Publisher: Haynes Publishing

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n these days of the internet and mobile apps, Haynes Manuals must seem like a very archaic concept to younger generations of petrol head, however, I spent hours as a child poring over the Haynes books my father and brother owned for their respective cars, marvelling at the intricacy of the technical drawings within.

This one is no different, when you see past the knowingly ironic “Owners Workshop Manual” in the title, of course. This experienced author has produced an excellent biographical and technical work which covers the entire career span of the 250F (driven to glory, of course, by Juan Manuel Fangio) from F1 Championships to it’s days as a classic racer. A narrative history of Maserati up to the inception of the 250F in 1954 kicks off the book and there is a wealth of compelling photographs and information about the iconic Maserati racer contained within the book’s 154 pages, as well as plenty of tips on how to fix and maintain it, should you ever find yourself in the enviable position of owning one.

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he second in a series of three books detailing the history of McLaren, The Cars 1964 - 2008 is a comprehensive guide to every car from Bruce McLaren's first Austin Seven-based hotrod to the 2008 Formula One challenger, including all of the road cars, competition vehicles and one-offs in between.

Every car described, specced and lavishly photographed in this beautifully presented coffee table book. For motorsport fans, particularly, Taylor’s other book in the series, entitled The Wins and co-written with David Tremayne, enables you to truly appreciate the breadth and depth of McLaren’s footprint in motorsport. No other racing team can lay claim to successes across such a vast spectrum, including Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula A5000, Indy cars, Can-Am and at Le Mans. These books are a must for fans of Formula One and fans of the F1, alike.

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Casino Royale / Solo Author: Ian Fleming / William Boyd Publisher: Vintage Books

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ith news that the world’s most famous spy is to get an Aston all of his own for his 24th cinematic outing, it seems pertinent to remember the man who created James Bond. Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale captured the imaginations of post-war readers upon its release in 1953, and still does today. Why, you may ask, are we writing about fiction in a motoring magazine?

Well no-one wrote car chases like Fleming. He was a dyed in the wool petrolhead and covered Le Mans for The Daily Express several times, which is probably why Bond drives a four-and-a-half litre supercharged Bentley in many of his books. The Blower is used in the epic chase sequence in Royale after Vespa is kidnapped, and again in pursuit of Hugo Drax through the Kent countryside in Moonraker. After the Bentley comes to a sticky end, Bond chooses an Aston DB Mark III over a Jaguar 3.4 to follow Auric Goldfinger across France - which became the famous DB5 in the 1965 movie, and thus the partnership was born.

Solo, by William Boyd, is one of the few posthumous Bond titles to really capture the essence of Fleming, albeit without the latent sexism that litters the pre-women’s lib originals.

Set in 1969, Bond has to weigh up the pros and cons of either a buying a Jensen Interceptor or the Jensen FF, before embarking on a dangerous mission to Africa. The pace, style and characterisation of Solo is so well done, you’ll forget you’re not reading Fleming himself, and there is no greater compliment than that.

collectibles

Spirit of Ecstasy

Maserati: A Century Of History Author(s): Cancellieri / Dal Monte / De Agostini / Ramaciotti, Publisher: Giorgio Nada Editore

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he large format of this tome covering the colourful history of “Il Tridente” lends itself very well to some great photography, in lieu of some of the poorly translated prose, and there are some absolute pictorial gems nestled among the pages. The book opens, and closes, with the company’s racing pedigree and sporting prowess, from the early days of Alfieri in his Tipo26, finishing with a comprehensive run down of every great victory enjoyed by Maserati on land and sea. Oh? You didn’t know there was a Maserati racing yacht? Neither did we. So, despite being an “official” history in which there is little “meat” and a lot of stuff you can find elsewhere, there are a few little titbits to hold the reader’s interest. A Majority of the book, though, is given up to a modelby-model account of the marque’s road-going legacy. With Maserati boasting some of the most beautiful Italian road cars ever made (as well as some real goppers, too, we might add), this is where the real value of this book lays; things like the design sketches of the Bora are a joy, as are the comparisions of the different coachwork for the 1961 5000GT. For these things alone, Maserati: A Century of History is worth putting on the coffee table.

In celebration of the centenary of the Spirit of Ecstasy - the legendary motorcar figurine - Rolls-Royce engaged the photographer Rankin to re-imagine the “flying lady” in a contemporary way. Over the course of a year, Rankin captured 100 images, one for every year of the Spirit of Ecstasy's history. Taking inspiration from the original story, which is shrouded in mystery and romance, Rankin incorporated a variety of themes associated with the mascot into his stunning portraits: the beauty of age, power and confidence of femininity. The book offers a series of studies exploring different facets of the ethereal little sculpture, examining the metal, the material, the flow, and the airy elegance of that form to create a timeless and collectable coffee-table book that Rolls-Royce aficionados will love.

Che Guevara: The Motorcycle Diaries Author: Ernesto “Che” Guevara Publisher: Harper Perennial

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captured

100

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hile he became a universal symbol of rebellion in his later years, the young Ernesto “Che” Guevara, much like any other young man, lusted after adventure. In 1952, when he was a promising young medical student hailing from a privileged Argentine family, he decided to up sticks and go gambolling about the South American continent with his good friend, Alberto Granado on the back of a spluttering 1939 Norton 500cc motorcycle. This is his personal journal of that formative nine-month odyssey, which provides a wonderful insight into the man behind the myth of the enigmatic freedom fighter he was to become. Full of local colour and rich observation of the country they traverse and the characters they meet, Guevara is transformed by witnessing the social injustices of exploited mine workers, ostracised lepers and the tattered descendants of a once-great Incan civilisation. Travelling 5,000 miles by motorcycle, steamship, raft, horse, bus and hitchhiking across the Andes, Atacama Desert and the Amazon River Basin, whether you agree with his politics or not, this is an engaging and entertaining record of a truly epic journey.

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contributors “They had holes to fill on every page and jammed in any vaguely newsworthy string of words provided it did not include expletives, which they were apparently saving for their own use around the office.”

- Tom Rachman, The Imperfectionists

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ith at least half a century’s worth of writing experience between them, we can promise that these fine chaps take a little more care over their literary machinations than the protagonists of Tom Rachman’s novel. With that in mind, we encourage you to raise a glass in salute to this league of extraordinary wordsmiths, without whom, this issue of Volante would not have been possible.

Ian Crammond Ian runs a London-based creative consultancy serving the drinks industry. In his spare time, however, he is a fully paid-up petrol head, organising the Three Castles Welsh Classic Trial, which, in its twelve year history, has grown to be one of the most highly regarded major classic car rally of its kind in Europe. He doesn’t just sit on the sidelines, though. He is also a competitor, taking on some of the UK’s classic road rallies in a car that’s far too expensive to be punished in such a fashion. He is driven by his passion for old Mercedes, from his faithful 250CE to his current 280SL. Being 6’4” tall, he’s fortunate it has a detachable roof.

Steven Paugh

Damien Reid

Steven has almost a decade of experience producing movie quality facial hair and photoshopped images of Freddie Mercury riding fiery unicorns. He is also pretty well versed in delivering creative lifestyle editorial features. His diverse portfolio of experience includes roles as both a Communications Specialist for the United States government, a Sensei of the English language in Japan and more recently, as the former Senior Editor of international luxury lifestyle magazine, Sur la Terre Arabia, where he coined the term “ridiculuxe.” He has also had his work published in such venerable organs as Dana Jewels and The National. He is currently based in the icy Canadian city of Montreal, enthusiastically awaiting the birth of his first child and the opportunity to test drive the Batmobile, though not necessarily in that order.

Damien once interviewed Fangio. Nothing further really needs to be said, but it is worth noting that he began writing motorsport columns and assisting with car tests for major motoring magazines and newspapers even before he left school at the age of 15.

He was the youngest full-time motoring editor and F1 correspondent of a national broadsheet newspaper - News Corp’s, The Australian - at age 18. He has travelled the world covering motoring and motor racing at all levels, spearheading the Middle East editions of Autocar and F1 Racing magazines. He is currently a freelance contributor to radio, TV, print media and various websites across the Middle East, South East Asia, Australia, the United States and Europe.

Most importantly, though, he interviewed Fangio.

Richard Whitehead

Lee Winter

Richard is an accomplished writer and hedonist, with a penchant for waxing lyrical about cars, cigars and whiskey. He has driven most things on four wheels, a lot of things with two wheels and some that don’t even have wheels. He cut his editorial teeth at News International in London, where some of his finest work was published in The Sun under the nomme de plume “Dexter Letchalot” in his regular column, “Diedre’s Photo Casebook.” He currently resides in Malaysia and when he is not watching cricket or modelling safari suits, he plies his trade as a freelancer for numerous international magazine titles and is a regular contributor to The National.

Lee is an engineer by trade, but when he isn’t involved in building the region’s iconic structures, he likes to dip his toe into more literary waters. He regularly writes articles and features pertaining to his expertise in the construction sector for regional business titles such as TheEdge and Qatar Construction News. However, this affable Welshman and avid sports fan also has a love of luxury cars and has often been called into service to attend international and regional press launches of the likes of Porsche, Bentley and Maserati in the name of our sister title, Sur la Terre Arabia. He will now be regaling Volante’s readers with his quick-witted and poetic prose.

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A Journal for the Gentleman Driver

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A Journal for the Gentleman Driver

Director of Publications Mohamed Jaidah, m.jaidah@firefly-me.com General Manager Joe Marritt j.marritt@firefly-me.com Regional Managing Editor James McCarthy j.mccarthy@firefly-me.com Creative Director Helen Louise Carter Production Coordinator Ronald Alvin Baron International Sales Director Julia Toon, j.toon@firefly-me.com Regional Sales Area Manager, Doha: Chirine Halabi, c.halabi@firefly-me.com Area Manager, UAE: Nesreen Shalaby, n.shalaby@urjuan-me.com Sales Coordinator Masha Ivanova, m.ivanova@firefly-me.com Printing & Distribution Distribution Manager Azqa Haroon, Logistics Manager Joseph Isaac Printer Ali Bin Ali Printing Press, Doha, Qatar Publisher: Firefly Communications, PO Box 11596, Doha, Qatar.

Tel: +974 4434 0360 Fax: +974 4434 0359 info@firefly-me.com www.firefly-me.com

Š2015 Volante is published as a bi-monthly supplement to Sur la Terre Arabia by Firefly Communications in Qatar and Urjuan Media in the UAE. All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole, or in part, without the prior written permission of Firefly Communications or Urjuan Media, is prohibited. All content is believed to be factual at the time of going to print, and contributors’ views are their own derived opinions and not necessarily that of Firefly Communications, Urjuan Media or Volante. No responsibility or liability is accepted by the publishers or editorial staff for any loss occasioned to any individual or company, legally, financially or physically, as a result of any statement, fact, figure or expression of opinion or belief appearing in Volante. The publisher does not officially endorse any advertising or advertorial content for third party products. Photography and image credits, where not otherwise stated, are those of Getty Images and/or Shutterstock and/or Firefly Communications / Urjuan Media, each of which retains their individual copyrights.

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