EXCLUSIVE! INDIAN SCOUT
#14 | Nov 2014 | ` 125
Why we love the new king of cool
HURACĂ N!
Baby Lamborghini whips up a hurricane
439kmph!
1341bhp koenigsegg one:1 tested
T'BIRD LT
Astride Triumph's massive 1700cc continent crusher
GLA 45 AMG
Brutal engine turns baby SUV into a ballistic beast
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LAMBORGHINI HURACÁN
DR I V E N
F E AT U R E S 052 MERCEDES-BENZ GLA 45 AMG
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FIAT AVVENTURA v TOYOTA ETIOS CROSS
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MARUTI SUZUKI ALTO K10
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The smallest AMG-engined SUV is a hoot to drive, but is it better than the CLA 45 AMG?
058 KOENIGSEGG ONE:1
091 OFFBEAT DRIVING DESTINATIONS
Christian von Koenigsegg called it the world’s first ‘megacar’. It’s the fastest road car evo has ever tested
034 AUDI A3 PETROL
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VW VENTO v SKODA RAPID
Bob Rupani takes us off the beaten path to some unusual destinations
070 LAMBORGHINI HURACÁN
The Gallardo replacement is here. Has the Huracan traded its edginess at the altar of ultimate performance?
107 FOOD TRAIL 078 THE SUMMIT DRIVE We go with Mahindra Adventure on a once-in-a-lifetime drive through Nepal and Tibet to the 5,200m Everest base camp
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Scouring the back lanes of Mumbai and Pune to ease the seafood cravings of a hard-toplease foodie
ISSUE 14 NOVEMBER 2014
CONTENTS
R E GU L A R S
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112 SCORPIO v SAFARI STORME v DUSTER AWD Just how good is the new Scorpio. We pit it against the Duster AWD and Safari Storme
121 RAID DE HIMALAYA The coming-of-age rite of passage, aka the Raid
132 HYDERABAD BENTLEYS
Own one Bentley, you want one more, and one more...
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R I DDE N 152
INDIAN SCOUT
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TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD LT 157
010 NEWS
050 LETTERS
042 COLUMNS
164 LONG-TERM TESTS
Showcasing cars from the Paris Motor Show. Tramontana’s XTR coming to India (evo exclusive), selfdriven rentals, and more
Gautam dwells on what ails Indian motorsport, Bijoy laments the disorganised used car trade in India, Bob wishes for better organised car rallies, and Gaurav talks of the intense rivalries and stormy relationships in motorsport
162 MOTORSPORT
The final rounds of the one make series, MRF national racing championship and the 4th round of JK go-karting
Readers shower us with wishes and greetings on our first anniversary
We bid the Octy and Polaris ATV adieu. The Honda City arrives
168 EVO KNOWLEDGE The joys and anguish of owning a Bentley, an action cam on the top of the world and the latest games and peripherals
186 ART OF SPEED
The dihedral synchro-helix actuation doors that are a Koenigsegg signature
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Test location: Pune, Maharashtra
Fiat Avventura v Toyota Etios Cross 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
Which one of these cross dressers is cooler? 24
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T hi s month p30
Maruti suzuki alto k10
India’s favourite hatchback gets better, and is more fun now
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volkswagen vento v skoda rapid We try and choose our favourite twin
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audi a3 40tfsi
Same great package as the diesel, now with a zingy motor
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indian scout
p149
triumph thunderbird lt
The new cool cruiser in town? We think so
Great Britain's version of a sofa on two wheels
T HE T EST T E A M The Koenigsegg One:1 is the fastest road car in the world. The evo road-test team recall how fast they’ve ever been in a ground bound vehicle:
SIRISH CHANDRAN
Editor “French Autoroute, a Passat vRS pace car and me in a Veyron. It was still accelerating at 310kmph before I chickened out.”
ROHAN PAWAR
Publisher “On the autobahn, in an E63 AMG. Drove agonisingly close to the 250kmph restrictor.”
OUSEPH CHACKo
Assistant editor “297kmph in a Jaguar XKR-S on an old airfield at Gaydon, UK. The quest for the next 3kmph is on”
tushar burman
Managing Editor - Online “I stopped looking at the speedo of the SLS AMG after 250. It was at the BIC, but I was running out of track!”
T
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert pops to my mind when faced with these cars. It might be ridiculously unfair equating these cars with that 1994 Hollywood flick about two drag queens on a road trip but, in essence, aren’t these hatchbacks preening to be what they aren’t? Neither offers any form of all-wheel drive traction and, given that their vital statistics are the same as the Fiat Punto and the Toyota
Etios Liva (you don’t get any extra space or practicality), no one is really going to mistake them for anything but hatchbacks on steroids. So, I assume the Fiat Avventura and the Toyota Etios Cross are cars that are aimed at people who want something different, something that stands out and, are willing to pay a bit more for that cool. In that light, these two make some sense. Finding out which one is cooler is today’s job. Cool is something the Avventura pulls off effortlessly. Based on the already good-
ABHAY VERMA
Asst managing editor “Not a car, but the Ducati 848 EVO, down the 1.2km back straight at the BIC. 282kmph before I had to brake really hard!”
Byram Godrej
Technical editor “Around an empty racetrack in Thailand, in a race-prepared Evo IX. On-board telemetry recorded 240kmph.”
ANIRUDDHA RANGNEKAR
Consulting editor “Clinging on to the wheel for dear life as the speedo swept past 220kmph down the back straight at BIC in an SLS AMG.”
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Mercedes-Benz GLA 45 AMG
witch craft Barely a month after the GLA 200 CDI, we sample the barking mad GLA 45 AMG
Wo r d s by s i r i s h c h a n d r a n | P h o t o g r a p h y by g au r av s t h o m b r e
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by j e t h ro b ov i n g d o n P HOTOGR A P H Y by d e a n S M ITH
The 1341bhp Koenigsegg One:1 is the most powerful production car we’ve ever driven, but can it really rival the current crop of hypercars from Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren? Hold on (very) tight as we find out
on one! R aw n u m b e r s n e v e r t e l l t h e full story, but on the flight out to Copenhagen they don’t half whet the appetite. I’m flicking through some recent evo features about that breed we now call ‘hypercars’. In the last few months we’ve driven most of these machines, and despite their familiarity the numbers they generate still provoke a proper cartoon-style double-take: Porsche’s 918 Spyder boasts 944lb ft; the LaFerrari delivers 950bhp at 9000rpm; the McLaren P1 generates 600kg of downforce at 160mph; the dear old Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (remember that?) is capable of 267.8mph. These figures are amusing, unlikely, alarming and fascinating. Yet after our short hop to Copenhagen, a trip over the magnificent Öresund bridge in a slightly less magnificent Citroën C4 Picasso and a good night’s sleep, we’ll get a taste of something that goes beyond the hypercar. It goes by the name One:1. Christian von Koenigsegg calls it the one-to-one, others the one-one, but it rises above the ‘competition’ to such an extent that perhaps it should change its name to simply The One. Lighter than a P1, more powerful than a Veyron Super Sport, torquier than a 918 Spyder, more focused than a LaFerrari… this is something else entirely. Koenigsegg calls it ‘the world’s
R
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Koenigsegg one:1
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Lamborghini Huracรกn
Hurricane The Gallardo was the best-selling Lamborghini ever. Meet its replacement, the Huracรกn Words by S I R I S H C H A N DR A N P h o t o g r aph y by g au r av S Th o m b r e
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THE ROOF OF We head out with the Mahindra Adventure to Nepal and Tibet for the trip of a lifetime
WORDS by o u s e p h c h ac ko PH O T O G R APH Y by o u s e p h c h ac ko & p r i ya n k a ko i j a m
Adventure
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THE WORLD T
‘The longer I climb the less important the goal seems to me, the more indifferent I become to myself. My attention has diminished, my memory weakened. My mental fatigue is now greater than the bodily. It is so pleasant to sit down and do nothing – and therefore dangerous. Death through exhaustion is like death through freezing – a pleasant one.’ Reinhold Messner | Mountaineering legend From the 17,060 feet Base Camp, the north face of the mountain looks formidable and yet, peaceful. The skies are clear and with fresh snowfall, Mount Everest’s sharp features are clearly etched against the deep blue sky. From where I am, jaw hung open in awe, it’s hard to
imagine this is the mountain that has claimed over 130 lives since the British first scaled it in 1921. From where I am, it’s hard to fathom the insurmountable obstacles and hazards the human mind and body have to overcome to attain that little white tip of its peak. Even at the relatively low altitude of the north face base camp, everyone on the Mahindra Adventure Summit drive including me, are struggling to suck in oxygen from the rarefied air. My fingers and toes have long lost sensation and my ears are burning from the subzero wind roaring down the Rongbuk glacier. How the human body copes with the punishment that the 29,028 feet block of jagged rock and ice thrust high up into the jet stream hands out is simply beyond me. Mount Qomolangma, Mount Everest, Sagarmatha – one and the same – an unpredictable demi-god that demands unequivocal respect.
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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
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IMA CO U RT E SY NZ TOU RIS
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Announcing the
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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
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for a detailed itinerary with costs and inclusions CALL: +91-98200 07365 or visit www.thrillofdriving.com/experiences
Offbeat destinations
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Driving Holidays
Words by B o b Ru pa n i
Ph o t o g r a p hy by B o b Ru pa n i , D i n e s h Sh u k l a & H K Si n g h
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India is truly a place of infinite variety where no two sights or experiences are alike and it’s my belief, that a ‘Driving Holiday’ is the best way to see our incredible country. A road trip holds a promise of adventure. Just around the next bend, over the next hill, past the next town is another discovery. Every path leads you to something different and just as you start thinking that you know India intimately, it springs a new surprise. A driving holiday not only allows you to see things seldom seen by ordinary tourists, but it also gives you the freedom to travel as and when you wish. You don’t have go through the tedious exercise of making reservations and booking tickets. You can say goodbye to schedules and you have the freedom to stop when you want and where you want. When the scenery is too spectacular to drive by, or when the desire to lie back and relax overcomes you, all you need to do is switch off the ignition. If you really want to discover off-beat destinations in India, then there is nothing like getting into a car and driving to places like:
Destination
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wILL
NOTHING eLSE DO? We know the new Scorpio is a big improvement on the old one. But just how good is it? Can the Duster or the Safari take it on? Words by O U S E P H C H AC KO P h o t o g r aph y by g au r av S Th o m b r e
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Mahindra Scorpio v Tata Safari Storme v Renault Duster
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My usual wise guy, attack with abandon attitude was out the window. Lined up just outside Shimla, I got the sneaking suspicion that I had brought a nail-clipper to an intercontinental ballistic missile fight. The line-up was mostly a who’s who of the best available rally raid machines in the country hopped up on beefed up rally suspensions, winches,snorkels and gravel rally tyres. In the midst of these purpose-built machines, our Maruti Suzuki SX4 looked a little bit, well, inadequate. We weren’t competing in the flat-out Xtreme but in the more gentle Adventure, specifically the stock category, where my navigator’s computational skills would play a bigger role than my driving abilities. The next six days would be my rite of passage; all I had to do was cross the finish line alive, and maybe I’d come through with a few extra hairs on my chest. At this point I had no idea what lay ahead, and that it would be the last time I would see the boy who sat trembling in his four point harness, even if it was through my own rear-view mirror.
D AY 1 Changing the clutch and setting up our equipment had taken us into the wee-hours of the night. Having realised that heading to our hotel room would be pointless, we found respite on a sofa at the Rally HQ reception in Shimla. Half an hour later, still groggy,
we were ushered out by a rather confused clerk. The cars were ready to leave parc ferme. Grogginess – much like the devil – can be shaken out of you, especially if your life depends on it. The day’s stages saw us traverse the jungles between Shimla and Manali. Narrow, rocky roads on the face of the hills with steep drops had me wide awake in no time, and we hoped to make it into Manali by nightfall. Running on time had been easy for the first half of the rally. With the last control behind us, we thought it would be an easy run to the hotel. However, the mountains had one last trick to turn. First rite: Montana del Diablo - respect the mountains The Devil Mountain, as it has been christened by Raid survivors, is a 30-odd kilometre run down the mountain scattered with jagged rocks. Being rookies, and a media team to boot, we were one of the last competitors to be flagged off on day one, and what lay before us sent a judder down my spine. The trail was scattered with the entrails of the cars that had passed before us, pools of motor oil spotted the dusty road like a scene from a horror movie. Making matters worse, we were already two minutes behind the scheduled running time. Summoning every ounce of courage and energy I had left after a 12-hour drive, I pushed my right foot to the floor for the last charge. Navigating through the dust storm left behind by the Land Cruiser in front of us gave us insight into where and why the mountainside was littered with mechanical gore. The 25 minutes of driving on eggshells seemed to take hours. We had survived. The treacherous Baldean pass had claimed three cars that day.
RAID R Ede mptio n The world’s highest rally raid arena, the Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya is about a lot more than just the trophy Words by D I PAYA N D U T TA | P h o t o g r ap h y by G r av ity
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Above: Winner of the Raid de Himalaya 2014 X-treme category, Amartej Bhuwal and team-mate . Left: Bikers are the true heroes of the Raid
D AY 2 From 48 to 6 Still riding the wave of accomplishment from the previous evening, we started from Manali with renewed vigour. Not only did we have a chance of completing the Raid, but having moved up to sixth in the overall rankings (and first in our class!) we were looking at finishing competitively. Take that you, whoever had given us competition number 48. We had the finish in our sights, but the Raid had just begun. The route for the day was through Rohtang, turning off at Gramphoo towards Kaza. Aside from the terrain ripping away at our sump guard, the main obstacles of the day were water crossings. Slippery boulders hidden below the surface of the turbulent streams and steep banks on either end meant that one wrong move could very easily put you in a sticky – er – slippery situation. Second rite: ice rivulet challenge - keep calm and rally the masses For years, competitors have dreaded the three ‘nalas’ that spot the second day of Raid: Brandy, Whiskey and Pagal. Before you ask, yes, I did enquire about the names and no one seems to know why they got their names, except for Pagal, of course. Pagal, as the name would suggest, is crazy in every imaginable way. Jagged rocks that shred anything they touch, hidden depth changes and steep banks littered with loose, wet gravel and mud. Often, all together.
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We had gotten through the other ‘nalas’ quite effortlessly. With just Pagal nala left to cover, we thought we were on a roll. Thought, of course, being the operative word. Just as we were trudging out of the nala, a boulder on which our right wheel rested, decided papa wanted to be a rolling stone and took off to the right. I probably looked all steely faced at the time, but I tell you now: rolling backwards into any rivulet should not feature on your bucket list. Stuck. Passenger-side wheel lodged firmly between two rocks. For the first time since the start, we figured our rally had ended. Little did we know, it wouldn’t be the last. Never-give-up attitude in place, I decided on a well-known approach. Step 1: Remove navigator and any other weight from the car. Step 2: Put the car in first gear and floor it (Note: Shouting “POWWEEERR” has been known to add a few horses, in a manner of speaking) I realised quickly that this process would be counter-productive. A few truck drivers, who were being entertained by my predicament, suggested that the car be physically picked up and removed from the ditch. Before I knew it, they walked into the icy rivulet and helped physically lift the car out. The SX4 weighs close to 1.5 tons and even five people lifting it out in the rarified air is no mean task. Once removed from the precarious puddle, we managed to scramble back into time. We reached Kaza keeping our pace, reducing the stress on the car to as little as possible. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
Thrice charmed Evidently, once you go Bentley, you don’t go back Words by Tushar burman P h o t o g r a p h y by Vikrant Date
Petrolheads
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Profile
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It isn’t every day that you meet a Bentley collector, particularly one with three current models on the road. Naturally, it fell to the evo India crew to find and document this person of prodigious purse and persona. Meet P P Reddy, founder and Executive Chairman of Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd, a company that has made a name in state and central government infrastructure projects. “We have 4000 employees, of whom 3000 are engineers,” clarified Reddy with obvious pride. He’s come a long way for a man of humble origins and education, now running a $1bn family-run organisation. Reddy’s first Bentley was the Mulsanne which, while being the most expensive, is the least customised. Being semi-retired (his extended family manages the corporation day-to-day), Reddy enjoys travelling, golf and the finer things in life. On one of his trips to the Crewe factory of Bentley Motors, he saw the then-new Mulsanne being built, and was immediately besotted. Upon his return to India, he contacted the dealers and insisted that a Mulsanne be delivered at a particular date, to coincide with the inauguration of his new residence. Bentley did the best they could under the circumstances, and the dark blue Mulsanne you see on these pages is the result. In the timeline specified, no bespoke work was possible, but Reddy got what he wanted over the next 18 months. What followed was unprecedented in Bentley India’s history (as far as anyone knows). P P Reddy followed the Mulsanne with an order for a Flying Spur and a Continental GT, both of which were customised to his requirements. The Flying Spur is often used by his family and the interior was specified in a particular shade of gold. As is evident, red and crimson are the preferred colours in the Reddy family, and his GT is also in those hues. Reddy isn’t bashful about his taste and it’s impossible to argue with the simplicity of his reasoning. “I’m semi-retired, I enjoy these cars, so I drive them!” We can’t think of any better reason. And these aren’t trailer-queens either. The Continental GT is Reddy’s daily-driver and he isn’t soft on the go pedal either. Sitting in the passenger seat while we traversed Hyderabad on our way to the Reddy farmhouse, I had a chance to gauge what drives the fierce brand loyalty that is obvious with P P Reddy. It doesn’t take
Above: The Reddy residence is the appropriately-named ‘Diamond House’ and despite its sprawl, barely accommodates three Bentleys in the driveway
I drove Ferraris and Lamborghinis, but I don’t like them. Too cramped, hard to get in and out of
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Test location: Gurgaon, Haryana
Indian Scout Indian Motorcycles has resurrected its legendary Scout. Does it live up to its hallowed legacy? Words by A B H AY V e r m a P h o t o g r aphy by V i k r a n t Dat e
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Indian Scout
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TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD LT
Brand name model name Test location: Gurgaon, Haryana
Triumph’s true-blue cruiser, the Thunderbird LT is here. Does it tick the right boxes? Words by A B H AY V E R M A P h o t o g r aphy by D E L H I AU TO M OT I V E P H OTOWOR K S
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S
Say cruiser motorcycle and the quintessentially American Harley-Davidson comes to mind. Its dominance is so complete that H-D is synonymous with cruiser motorcycles, you could say. But there certainly are other cruiser motorcycle makers of distinction, of which British bike maker Triumph is certainly one. The manufacturer has quite a legacy when it comes to making some interesting motorcycles, cruisers included. Triumph India recently launched its Thunderbird LT (read Light Touring) cruiser that bears an authentic mile-muncher cred, and I was eager to put that cred to the test. Style-wise, a cruiser motorcycle means acres of chrome, leather panniers, extra large windscreen and seats that are built for comfort. As the images on these pages show, Triumph has designed the Thunderbird LT just so. There’s chrome splashed on the engine and bodywork, a kingsized detachable screen, a seat that’ll give a sofa a run for the money and wire-spoked wheels shod with white-walled tyres, the works. The norm in the cruiser world is a huge, air-cooled V-twin motor, but the Thunderbird LT breaks it with the world’s largest parallel-twin engine, displacing 1700cc, which it also shares with the Thunderbird Storm. Contrary to what most might assume, there’s enough to
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The Thunderbird LT sports all the lashings of cruiser style
Above: The three-part headlight is reminiscent of Harleys
Camera: Nikon D800. Focal length: 29.0mm. Exposure: 1/160 sec at f/8 (ISO 100)
Art of speed
Koenigsegg doors by DAV I D V I V I A N
C
Christian von Koenigsegg was never going to be your average sort of chap. Aged five, he knew that, one day, he would build the world’s fastest car. And with the One:1 – a 1340bhp evolution of the already ludicrously rapid Agera R, resulting in a car that can accelerate to 320kmph in around 20 seconds – it’s a fair bet that he has. At least for the time being. That the inspiration for this Bugatti-toppling ambition came from a Norwegian movie about a bicycle repairman (who, with his friends, cobbled together a racing car that blew the wheels off the big-brand competition) should be equally unsurprising. CvK’s Swedish car business has been a fusion of inspiration and innovation from the beginning. Original ideas simply tumble out of the man. He’s had a go at storing music on microchips and, way before it was adopted as an industry standard, invented a click-together way of joining floor panels without adhesive or nails. More than a clear thinker, von Koenigsegg has clever bones. But he soon decided that instead of chasing after the perfect business idea, he would follow his heart and build his dream car. His mission was to create the perfect car with no compromises, no limits, and no fear of failure. So, in 1994, at the age of just 22, Christian von Koenigsegg launched the Koenigsegg car company and set about creating what he believed to be the ultimate car, one
Next month in
for which no technical solution was deemed too difficult. Undoubtedly the most celebrated manifestation of this mantra has been the signature feature of every Koenigsegg from the very first CC8S in 2002, namely the wonderfully overwrought-sounding ‘dihedral synchro-helix actuation system’ that opens the doors. Now it’s probably true that any super-, hyper- or indeed, in the case of the One:1, ‘megacar’ that wants to adhere to a truly ‘exotic’ blueprint has to have doors that ascend skywards rather than opening outwards. Lamborghini has made more cars with ‘scissor doors’ than just about anyone else and the LaFerrari and McLaren P1 just wouldn’t be the same without them. Simply having doors that floated upwards on gas struts wasn’t theatrical enough for CvK, though, and, more importantly, he felt that conventional scissor doors were both impractical (sailing way above the roofline of the car) and could make climbing in somewhat awkward. What he wanted was ‘minimal swing’ together with a more spacious opening. Typically thinking outside the box, he came up with a very special hinge system that incorporated a geared rotational pivot that operated simultaneously with a parallel arm in an outward arc. When unlatched, the doors smoothly rotated outwards through 90 degrees, clearing the sides of the car and offering a generous aperture while looking neat, compact and desperately cool. L
Thar vs Rage N Lamborghini Huracán N Offbeat driving destinations
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