FERRARI MAGIC 348ts, 355 F1, F430, 458 Italia & 599 GTB, together for the first time in India + Driving an F40 in the Alps
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ANNIVERSARY OFFBEAT SPECIAL
FILM-MAKER SANJAY GUPTA ON HIS BIKES | WORLD'S BEST DRIVING ROADS MULSANNE MEETS 1935 3½ LITRE | LE MANS WINNING R18 DRIVEN INDIA EXCLUSIVE: KTM RC 390 RIDDEN FREE: OFF-ROAD SUPPLEMENT Vol 2 #01 | OCT 2014 | ` 125
ISSUE 13 OCTOBER 2014
CONTENTS
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BENTLEY MULSANNE & 1935 3½-LITRE
“As you might expect, the range-topping Mulsanne accommodates every imaginable luxury”
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SPECIAL
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ISSUE 13 OCTOBER 2014
Features
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Regulars 010
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NEWS
FERRARI GENERATIONS
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JLR special - Jaguar XE and Land Rover Discovery Sport unveiled, JLR SVO future plans, interview with JLR special operations MD John Edwards, wraps are off the Mercedes AMG GT
F40 TO THE ALPS
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We paint the town red with Ferrari’s V8 mid-engine icons, the 348, 355, 430, 458 and V12 599
From Switzerland to the UK in a F40, via three alpine passes
COLUMNS
102 SANJAY GUPTA Take 1 with the cool-quipping, quickthinking maker of zingy action films
Driven
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MARUTI SUZUKI CIAZ
AUDI Q5 GOES ROCK CLIMBING
MERCEDES-BENZ GLA
Pioneering rock scaler Apoorva guides two pals into Himalayan thin air, step by dizzy step
118 EVO ISLAND A 350km blitz across the best driving roads on planet Earth
126 BENTLEY MULSANNE & 1935 3½-LITRE A British classic with French coachwork and epic, agesencompassing history
158 KTM RC 390 We are the first to ride the hotly anticipated fully-faired KTM in India. You will want one!
144 REMEMBERING KARI Vicky Chandhok remembers his friend and storied gentleman racer, S Karivardhan
150 EVO ITC CAR Our idea of a possible replacement for the venerable Esteem in touring car racing
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Gautam gets a taste of competitive racing at Silverstone, Bijoy sheds light on nuances of automotive journalism, Bob recounts his encounters with wild life during car journeys, Gaurav believes that riding improves driving skills, Harley India boss Anoop Prakash underlines the ethos of the brand and the unique bond between biker and bike
070 LETTERS
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NEW MAHINDRA SCORPIO
Our Thrill Of Driving video draws an enthusiastic response. The KTM RC390 & 200 launches spread cheer
NEW POLO GT
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SKODA YETI 4X4
All the dope from round 4 of the National Racing Championship as it draws to a close, not to mention the first electric single-seater car race the formula E
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MOTORSPORT
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I20 V POLO V PUNTO EVO
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Ridden
LONG-TERM TESTS
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An ode to the SUVs in our fleet, including the Lexus LX 470 and Rangie to the Mitsubishi Outlander twins and the Pajero. And the offbeat Mahindra Super Thar and the Polaris S RZR 800
SUZUKI GIXXER
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HERO KARIZMA ZMR
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190 EVO KNOWLEDGE
HERO XTREME
A Mitsubishi Evo X is a great buy - if you can find one. the Pajero works just fine on Indizel biodiesel; and the lowdown on the latest games and gaming peripherals
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TVS SCOOTY ZEST
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SPECIAL OFF ROAD BOOKLET
Through mud, water, over rocks, in hot, wet and cold weather - thrills galore
226 ART OF SPEED
The mystery behind Lotus Espirit’s pop-out headlights
160 KONKAN ESCAPE Along the Konkan coast in a Hyundai i20 Elite
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REDRIOT Ferrari’s V8 mid-engine masterpieces – 348, 355, 430 and 458 – meet the V12 599 in a riot of red
WO R D S b y S i r i s h C h a n dr a n & H e n ry C at c h p o l e PH O T O G R APHY b y g au r av s t h o m b r e Loc at i o n: Pr e s t i g e G o l f s h i r e , B e n g a l u ru T e c h n i c a l Pa rt n e rs: R ac e t e c h I n d i a
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Ferrari 348ts, 355F1 Spider, F430, 458 Italia & 599 GTB Fiorano
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It’s the holy of holies. Classic metal H-pattern plate screwed on the transmission tunnel, a rod of polished steel, arcing ever so slightly, a perfectly polished ball of steel topping the ensemble, cold to the touch at 5 in the morning. The Ferrari gated shifter is the stuff of legend, a reminder of the days when you rowed your own gears and blipped the throttle for yourself. When getting a dog leg first might elicit a grunt. When genuine skill was required for an optimum second to third shift. When you waited for fluids to warm up before setting off. But first to start the 348. Insert the immobiliser chip, which looks strangely like a modern thumb drive, then the key into the ignition slot and twist. The V8 behind my ear coughs into life, settling into a rhythmic and strangely quiet idle. A few blips of the throttle, wait for the gauges to report good oil pressure, good water temperature, and good oil temperature, anticipation building up of finally working the Ferrari gated shifter. All the way to the left and down for the dog leg first, let the clutch out (as progressive as any modern car), and we roll. Gently up the revs, depress clutch, go for second. Another grunt. Whatever
they might say, until it is properly warmed up, this gearbox isn’t going to win awards for slickness. Gently does it as we take third, then back up to second. Legend has it that the H-pattern first came about to guide more-moneythan-sense Ferrari owners to the right way through the box. Some stories put it down as a plot to slow down shift times to compensate for crap Italian gearbox oils of the day. Whatever. I’m in no hurry today. This is a special day. I’m in a 348 reeking of that heady aroma of old leather, oil and petrol. Dawn has yet to break, pop up headlamps are … well … popped up. Momo wheel, devoid of airbags, devoid of power steering wriggles in my palms. The leather driver’s seat, smoothed and polished through years of use, seems to be only available in a reclined position and the top of the steering wheel is tilted away from you too. And my left palm has a ball of steel that I’m never going to let go of. Properly warmed up now, the V8 just behind my ears purrs out low warm tones of a factory tuned exhaust. It isn’t shouty and overpowering, just perfect. We build revs but can still carry on a normal conversation. And if you concentrate, you can even hear the transmission telling you what revs the engine is pulling.
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F40 in the Alps
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WORDS by h e n ry c at c h p o l e PH O T O G R APHY by d e a n S M I TH
On days like these When the Secret Supercar Owner asked us to deliver his F40 from Switzerland to the UK, we planned the route very carefully indeed. First requirement: at least three alpine passes
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I’m sad when the journey ends
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WORDS by T u s h a r B u r m a n P H O T O G R A P H Y by G au r av S T h o m br e
On camera and behind it, perennial ‘musafir’ Sanjay Gupta is pulling no punches
Petrolheads
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on the rocks Words by A p o o rva P r a s a d / T h e O u t d o o r J o u r n a l P h o t o g r a p h y by K a i l a s h K a lya n i a n d Z u b i n At r e
Hanging by a thin rope hundreds of metres above the ground... the rush of rock climbing
Adventure
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I placed a number 3 cam1, my old Clog2 pinkslinged unit, and it was a perfect fit. I clipped in a long sling and made a bomber3 3-piece belay4 station, and tugged on the rope three times, to let Zubin and Kailash know they could start climbing. I yelled, “Climb on!” for good measure, but they sure as heck couldn’t hear me from beyond the corner and over the wind. So I hoped the yanks would suffice, and then kept them tight on belay, my muscle memory taking over. Now that my lead was over for this pitch, my brain could afford to relax. So I looked up and out at the horizon. In front of me were incredible rocky peaks, fingers of stone and ice reaching up for the sky. A slender thread of whitewater strung the base of the valley below. Also perfectly visible, perhaps a thousand feet below, were the walls of the PWD guesthouse compound where we had managed to finagle an electricity-less room for the night. Our Audi Q5 was parked inside, packed to the gills with climbing and camping gear. I breathed in fresh, clean, cold Himalayan air. Life couldn’t be more perfect. After about half an hour, Zubin’s helmeted head appeared on the slabby rock face twenty metres below me. He was moving slower than I expected. So the climbing wasn’t as easy as I thought! We were two pitches5 above the deck6 now, about 80 metres from our starting point on the steep, grassy scree7 slope below. At least another pitch lay above, possibly two. I had no clue, because no one had climbed this rock face before. Unlike in the US or Europe, here there was no guidebook, no information, no prepared belay or rappel8 anchors. We were doing a first ascent. A first ascent! It was unbelievable that rock this good hadn’t been climbed. In the rest of the world, nearly all good quality rock faces have been climbed, developed, documented and popularised. Hordes of weekend warriors throng the lines. Here, the rock was a gift that kept on giving. Every hold was solid, every move perfect. Every scary step up on a tenuous hold led upwards to a perfect, solid jug. The friction was incomparable, the quality of the granite, superb. Multi-coloured lichen smeared the crystalline face. I felt at peace, I felt at home. Yes, there was always that fear. What was above. What was the way out? Would we end on a sharp summit or a small ridge with an easy descent?
Q5 goes rock climbing Apoorva Prasad leading the first ascent of Two and a Half Yogis. Apoorva set out on the first pitch of this excellent granite rock face in Chotta Dhara, as Kailash belays. The PWD rest house is visible in the valley below
The Long Way Around I was only three years old when I first felt the rush of air on my face on the open road. I was nestled in between my father and the gas tank October 2014 |
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evo island by h e n ry c at c h p o l e i l l u s t r at i o n by k at h e r i n e b a x t e r
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The evo team pools its dreams to create a 350km loop of the best driving roads from across the globe
Ultraroad
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AS YOU EMERGE BLINKING FROM THE Evro tunnel (nice wide carriages), the sight that greets you confirms that the travel agent wasn’t merely spouting Carlsberg hyperbole when they said this would be the greatest driving holiday ever. On this varied (very varied...) island of automotive dreams lies everything you could need, including 350 kilometres of the best roads recreated from around the world. You’re free to drive the main loop in whichever direction you like (special left-hand-drive and one-way weekends are run throughout the year), but for our introductory tour we’re heading clockwise. Accelerating down the famous Lime Avenue you’ve got a lot to concentrate on in the first two kilometres. Soon after the second corner, Goodwood House in the UK flashes past on your left-hand side and if you manage not to go straight on at Molecomb or clip the flint wall then you’ll find yourself rushing across the finish line straight into the hairpin at Saint-Estève, Provence, France. This marks the start of Mont Ventoux where the contrast between the steep but fast section through the dense trees with the barren white heights above Chalet Reynard is dramatic. But not quite as dramatic as the sight of the vast open nothingness that is the Rann of Kutch. Here you put sunscreen to every exposed body part, bury pedal into firewall, make sure to steer clear of the marshy salt patches and set a personal land speed record. Just as the Pakistan border looms into view to brake, flick left and hold half a turn of opposite lock as the majestic Pikes Peak looms into view, rising on up into the clouds. You are now into the lower reaches of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the USA with the proper half-tarmac, half-gravel version of the iconic 20km. For the full Ari Vatanen experience, we suggest driving it in early
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EXPERIENCES TO TICK Drive some of the most scenic routes in the world in locations as exotic as the garden route in South Africa (10 days), Southern Alps in New Zealand (10 days), or the great coastal drive in distant Fiji (7 days). With the steering wheel on the right side, as in India, all you need is a valid Indian driving licence - we will take care of logistics, flights, visa assistance, insurance, lodging and boarding. Also enjoy curated activities like sky diving, heli-skiing, snorkelling, wine tasting, pub hopping and more
GE
IMA CO U RT ES YN Z TO U RIS
ea m o Bec
ly l a r pro ! k e clic
in on
r e v dri
efore
They say it is the most fun you can have with your clothes on! Along with Team Slideways Industries, the 2012 Indian National Rally Team Champions, we offer you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in the highest level of motorsport. Select the event and we will take care of training for you and your co-driver, a top-of-the-line Slideways Rally Polo, tyres, race fuel, service, transport, logistics, documentation, licenses, even equipment. We will film your experience and also take care of your friends and family. You arrive, slip on your gloves, and become a rally driver!
Announcing the
M
Self-e x the wo plore r ld like ne ver b
OFF YOUR BUCKET LIST! A scintillating coastal cum mountain drive in Maharashtra (5 days), a tryst with the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan (5 days) and a heritage circuit in Karnataka (5 days) await you as we journey out on fixed dates from Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore with a group of like- minded driving enthusiasts. All you need to do is fill up your tank and follow our route plan as you undertake a thrilling journey into the heart of India. Side activities include barbecues, folk dances, star gazing, bird watching, hot air ballooning, visits to coastal forts, strawberry fields, heritage walks and more
Meet like
-minded
Thrill See
: y l l a r a Chase ge a new-a
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& explore the sceni c roads of I ndia
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Watch rally cars being driven flat out by the best drivers in the country, flying off crests and fully sideways on the most challenging rally tracks in the country – while you’re comfortably ensconced in our exclusive hospitality areas. It’s a curated rally experience for the entire family that begins at your doorstep: you will be accompanied by an expert to explain the goings on, take you to the best viewing spots, tour the service park, get you into rally machines, dine with the country’s best drivers and ensure the entire family is covered in the dust trail of rally cars
for a detailed itinerary with costs and inclusions CALL: +91-98200 07365 or visit www.thrillofdriving.com/experiences
Bentley 3½ & Mulsanne
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European Union
Words by T usha r bu r man P hoto g r aph y by g au r av S T homb r e
A classic British motorcar with coachwork by a little-known French concern. A modern version now owned by a German auto giant. A story to tell your grandkids
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This is a story best told in documentary film form. There's enough history here to fill one for sure. Nevertheless, we're going to take a crack at it in print and try to do it justice. Paris, 1934. Bentley shows one of its 3.5-litre models at the motor salon. This would be one of the earliest of a successful line of 'Derby' Bentleys that would make a name for themselves and the manufacturer. While we don't have access to photos of the particular car from the time, we do know that it originally wore a 4-door saloon coachwork by Binders, one of the famous British coachbuilders of the time, with a beige and green body. Soon after the motor show, the chassis was sold to Frenchman N S Embericos, who subsequently rebodied it into the form you see on these pages. The coachbuilder badge says Antem, which is one of the less known of the Derby Bentley body constructors. Some trivia here: we are told that by nature of these cars being coachbuilt, they're rare and this particular French body is only one of two in
existence as per registries of Derby Bentleys on the Internet. The other is somewhere in California. While it's not the famous streamlined Embiricos Bentley, the story was tantalising as it unfolded. Eventually, it was sold to a Briton at which point the car spent some years in London. In 1942, it was shipped from Southampton to Calcutta aboard a troop ship, bound for the estate of the Maharaja of Talcher. The Maharaja’s estate eventually sold it to a family in Hyderabad. Considering the rarity and value of a coachbuilt Bentley of the time, it is likely that the buyer was among the extended family of the Nizam of the time. By any measure, such a storied history would be enough, but this 80-year-old car has more to tell. Ultimately, this Bentley 3½ found its way to Indore and in a lot owned by Sah & Sanghi, available for sale. This is where its present owner, Jagdish Thackersey, came to acquire it in 1971. One tends to think of vintage car owners as a certain vintage themselves so it came as a surprise to us that Thackersey was in his early twenties when he acquired it. At an age when most young men would October 2014 |
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POLES WO R D S b y R i c h a rd M e a d e n P h o t o g r a p h y b y A n dy M org a n
Audi won all three of the major 24-hour races this summer. Now we get to drive the two cars that between them swept the board: the R18 e-tron and the R8 LMS Ultra
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audi r18 e-tron & r8 lms ultra
A PA R T ?
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Remembering Kari
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Soul Kari...
Nineteen years after his untimely demise, we reflect on the life of a man who changed the face of Indian motorsport Words by V icky C handh o k P h o t o graphy by C H A N D H O K A rchives & S c o rp news
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Kari remains an enigma, even today. His passion for cars, motorcycles and anything propelled by an engine is rarely be seen in another individual. From the initial days of building a Yezdi Road King-engined single-seater, which was essentially a go-kart with suspension, the FISSME (the iconic Formula Maruti), to the McDowell 1000, the Datsun special or even the Formula 2000 cars, his dedication and attention to detail in the construction of racing machines inspired awe. And it was not just cars; he started a very innovative project of building microlight aircraft with Rotax engines to export to France and sell to adventure units, and the Indian army – back in the ’80s! The race track in Coimbatore that bears his name was actually the runway for his microlights. Kari was born into the illustrious Lakshmi Mills family, where he took on the responsibility of managing director, but his heart was always in motorsport. G Kuppuswamy Naidu founded the mills in 1910 which were an integral part of the textile city of Coimbatore. Naidu’s oldest son, G K Devarajulu, was Kari’s favourite uncle, G K Sundaram was Kari’s father and G K Rajagopal was Kari’s younger uncle and father of R Gopinath, a very familiar face in racing and rallying. It was a racing family, and it’s little known that even GKS used to race. There are pictures of him, long-haired, on motorcycles in Santa Barbara, where he did a part of his education. I was not surprised when his family pulled the plug on biking. Kari started marking his mark in the late ’70s under the umbrella of P&B (Pathy and Brother) and Super Speeds (which was formed with B Viji), taking on the preparation of tin-top racing cars conforming to A1A (modified with Indian components) and A2 (imported components permitted) classes, which included the Padminis, Marutis (800 and Gypsy), Sipani Dolphins and Ambassadors. His no nonsense approach, focussing totally on the task on hand, included grinding and modifying October 2014 |
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Advertorial
KONKAN CRUISE T
“TAKE THE i20 TO THE beach,” suggests the Ed. “The seaside in the rains is a bucketload of fun.” I need no further enticement nor convincing. I’m always game for an off-thebeaten-track detour and a drive to the west coast in pouring rain seems like the perfect off-beat getaway. Out with the map and I scour the coastline for the most attractive prospects. I see a little wiggle of tarmac between Diveghar and Srivardhan that plays hide and seek with the Arabian Sea. That’s where we are going. And if the beach turns out to be a no show, we’ll have a scenic drive by the seaside for consolation. The new Hyundai i20 Elite is our getaway car. From the driver’s seat this car feels way different than its predecessor. Bigger, roomier and loaded with features, the interior feels great. I have owned the previous i20 and liked its design but the new edition has taken styling up quite a big notch. The Alfa inspired rear looks especially stunning. Konkan, here we come. My comrade-in-arms Vikrant and I, we make an early start, at dawn,
WORDS by B E N J A M I N G R AC I A S P H O T O G R A P H Y by V I K R A N T DAT E
We cruise along the Konkan coast, discover a secluded beach and gorge on zingy Malvani cuisine and zipping along the uninhabited roads, we set course for Diveghar. The ANS Navigator phone app guides us to Tamhini Ghat via Mulshi. Traffic is sparse on the road to Mulshi, and with the long sweeping bends, I’m getting into the swing of things from the driver’s perch. The little car takes in the occasional rough patch without ruffle. We’re going at a fair click to make quick time and the Hyundai seems ever so willing. Post the momentary lag there is a reassuring flow of torque, ensuring brisk progress. The slick gearbox with its short throws is a joy to use and offers the right incentive to surf the wave of October 2014 |
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KTM RC 390
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WORDS by T U S H A R B U R M A N P H O T O G R A P H Y by S AC H I N K AWA N K A R
NOW, WE’RE REALLY READY TO RACE A light, fast, cheap supersport. This is the dream
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IF YOU WERE TO TAKE an aerial video of the Mutha ghat leading up to Lavasa on weekends, you’d see tiny specks rapidly traversing the many curves and corners that start around Mulshi dam and seemingly go on forever. Occasionally, you’d see flashes of orange when the KTM 390 Dukes lay on their sides to carve up those corners. Seriously, it’s like a significant percentage of Bajaj-KTM’s production capacity ends up in those hills come Saturday. Today was a Tuesday, though, and we had the entire ghat to ourselves in the early morning. Perfect visibility, perfect weather, perfect bike for the terrain: the brand spanking new 2014 KTM RC 390. If you were one of the many who complained that the 390 Duke, while a great performer, was just too similar to the 200, then the RC should interest you. Despite the bikes being alike under the skin, they look entirely different. And as we found out during the course of the day, they ride quite differently as well. This is no bolt-on plastic job, however; the RC very flamboyantly shows off Kiska’s design chops, perhaps even more so than the Duke, which is in itself a pretty edgy visual.
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TESTS | EVENTS | ICONS | EXPERIENCES | GEAR
THE HIGHEST
ROAD ON EARTH SUPPLEMENT WITH evo INDIA OCT 2014 ISSUE
...& it is not Khardung La
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PLUS RAINFOREST CHALLENGE | MONASTERY ESCAPE | GOENKA’S LAND ROVERS
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Mana Pass
A Thar and a bike to the highest motorable pass on Earth
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Rainforest Challenge
One of the ten toughest motorsport events on Earth comes to India P 256
Building an RFC winner
Exactly what goes into a Rainforest Challenge winning vehicle?
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A love for Landies
An Alladin’s cave full of them... P 270
Monastery Escape
A spiritual trip to the Himalayas in a Mahindra
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BORDERING WORDS by O U S E P H C H AC KO P H O T O G R A P H Y by V I K R A N T DAT E
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Border challenge
INSANITY A Thar and a bike too far. We head to the highest motorable pass on earth and no, it’s not Khardung La
Border Challenge
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Rainforest Challenge
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Rumble in the jungle WO R D S by O U S E P H C H AC KO P H O T O G R A P H Y by V I K R A N T DAT E
We spent five days at the wildest off-road event ever to be held in India. Here’s how to survive the test of endurance
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Goenka’s Land Rovers
Petrolheads
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MISTER
RO VER
LO VER WORDS by O U S E P H C H AC KO P H O T O G R A P H Y by G AU R AV S T H O M B R E
A man whose love for Land Rover knows no bounds. We meet five of his ‘Defenders’
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Viveck Goenka is a very busy man. It’s taken me three weeks to track him down – three weeks for a quick photo shoot and a chat with the Managing Director of 'The Indian Express'. I went to ask him about his passion for Land Rovers but he’s so into what he loves, it’s impossible not to talk to him about all things automotive. This man is a collector, not in the normal sense as you will see, but one who owns an Alladin’s cave of unusual cars. Difficult to meet, easy to talk to. Here’s what came of that 20-minute chat. “When I was 8 years old, the only cars around were Fiats and Ambassadors. Most of us used to have mechanics coming over and repairing our cars, be it a ‘normal’ re-boring of an engine or accident repair, it used to happen in the backyard. Being the only child, I had nothing else to do, so I used to hang around the mechanics and the drivers and my love for cars started that way. When they were reworking my mother’s Fiat, I quietly stripped the carburettor at night, cleaned it and put it back. That was the first time I got my hands dirty with an automobile. When I was 10, I stripped an engine but couldn’t put it back together. It’s only when I started working on my own, I got my first imported car – a 1971 Datsun. I re-built it myself and did two South India trips in that car. Then, the Land Rover bug bit. A friend in Bombay had a Range Rover way back in 1985 and I drove it and loved the way it felt. I had to have one, found one within my budget at the Delhi State Trading Corporation and it’s still with me. I’ve put in twin battery systems, twin winches, a roll cage, all the safety equipment and under chassis protection and once I got bitten by the Rover bug, I had to have a Land Rover. The 1982 silver blue Defender is the first one I bought. It had been crashed badly, so we stripped it down, built it and ran it for many years with the non-turbo engine. I recently found a low-mileage turbo engine and transmission and that’s what’s in it now. I’m proud to say that all the cars I have today run and they run well. There’s no compromise and we try very hard to keep them fighting fit. My interest is not having an exhibition or a museum piece – I have to have cars I can use. I buy Indian Fiats even today and I have almost 25 of them. Most need restoration but it’s just something that I love to have. My collection doesn’t have to be valuable or be exhibition worthy although I’m lucky to have a few of those cars as well. I kept looking for Range Rover and Land Rover scrap and whatever I came across, I October 2014 |
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Mahindra Monastry Escape
ESCAPING MONOTONY WORDS by A N I RU D D H A R A N G N E K A R P H O T O G R A P H Y by A N I R B A N M A N DA L
If there’s a better way to beat monotony than the Mahindra Adventure Monastery Escape, we are yet to hear of it
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