Volante - Issue 8 - April/May 2016 by Firefly Communications

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VOLANTE

F SUR TO

BIA - A S RA

PLEME N UP

APRIL 2016

TERRE A LA

A JOURNAL FOR THE GENTLEMAN DRIVER

BEST OF BRITISH

QR40

AED40

BHD4

KWD3

OMR4

ROLLS-ROYCE DAWN. BENTLEY BENTAYGA. SERIES 1 DEFENDER.

a legeNd r eturNs:

THE ALVIS CONTINUATION SERIES CARS EXAMINED

rule the Wav es:

A FIRST LOOK AT ASTON MARTIN'S NEW AM37 SPEED BOAT

a daY at the sa loN:

WE SPEND A DAY AT THE UK'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS CLASSIC CAR MEET

Cover image: Rolls-Royce Dawn shot by James Lipman

elcome to the “Best Of British” issue. It didn’t start out as such, but with exclusive first drives of two of the most hotly anticipated luxury rides of the year, a tribute to the first ever Land Rover and Alvis, the company that helped coin the phrase “supercar” back in the 1930s, firing up its factory once again, it was too good an opportunity to miss. Personally, I have just returned from an arduous 100-hour round trip to Cape Town, where I got to experience the pinnacle in droptop luxury motoring, courtesy of the Rolls-Royce Dawn, on some of the greatest driving roads the world has to offer. Meanwhile, Damien Reid has completed a two-leg test drive of the long-awaited Bentley Bentayga SUV. When it was launched as a concept, many thought it was the automotive equivalent of a platypus – as ugly as a bag of beaks and buttholes. But, as Damien discovered in Spain and the UAE, the final production version has exceeded expectations, both in curb appeal and off-road performance. The Bentayga, though, would have never even existed if wasn’t for a 68-year-old pioneer. Sketched on a Welsh beach in 1948, the Land Rover created – and led – a whole new segment for vehicles that could go anywhere and everywhere. With production of the iconic Defender now finished, Kevin Hackett pays tribute to the noble off-roader by taking the first of its kind back to V o la nt e | April 2016 |

the beach in Anglesea where it was born. Along with a look at Aston Martin’s AM37 sports boat concept and a profile of the controversial founder of Lotus, Colin Chapman, this issue pays a real tribute to the motoring legends of the sceptred isle. We do have a far more international outlook, however, in our massive 10-page news round-up of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the 2016 Qatar Motor Show and, of course, the 86th Salon International de l'Auto in Geneva. You can also join the Blue Smoke Racing Team on an epic adventure from Oslo to Monaco, as its early 1960s Saab 96 takes on the Classic Monte Carlo Rally. In fact, it’s a pretty epic issue, and great way for me to sign-off as the (British) founding editor of Volante. As this is likely to be my last full issue at the wheel, I would like to use these last few words to thank all of my contributors for helping me bring my editorial vision of a “journal for the gentleman driver” to fruition, and you, the readers, for making all of the hard work worth it. It’s been an honour and a privilege to drive you this far and I’m sure we’ll meet again further on down the road.

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Telemetry 68 | Salon PrivĂŠ

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| E x h a u s t No t e s | C o n t r ibu t o rs |

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

We encourage you to raise a glass in salute of this league of extraordinary wordsmiths, without whom, this issue of Volante would not have been possible.

Kevin Hackett Kevin has been described as “the Ray Winstone of motoring journalism,” though whether this is due to his take-no-prisoners approach to reviewing cars or his sunny disposition remains unclear. He has been obsessing over anything with four wheels since he was eight years old, when his father bought a Triumph TR6 to use as the family car. Like father, like son, he has just done exactly the same thing. A former motoring editor of The National in the UAE, he has also written for, among others, FHM (UK), The Times newspaper in London and Sur la Terre Arabia.

Dejan Jovanovic While Dejan’s Serbian/ South African demeanour can often come across blunter than a rubberheaded lump hammer, his rapier fast wit and surprising eloquence more than makes up for it. He has been turning his love of fast cars into golden prose and stunning imagery for the past 12 years, contributing both words and pictures to the likes of Crank & Piston, Jalopnik, GT Porsche and Top Gear Middle East. He once owned one of Piero Ferrari’s cars, and thus considers him to be a personal friend, even though Mr Ferrari might not necessarily agree.

Fraser Martin Since his Mum fell off the pavement, having been told by her 20-month old son that the car passing the bus stop was a Citroen, Fraser has been acknowledged amongst his peers as encyclopedic and something of a sage. He is also a self-diagnosed early-onset curmudgeon. He has been in and around the motor industry for the better part of 45 years, and is clerk for the national motor racing scene in Dubai. He has only ever written about car related subjects because it is really the only thing he knows anything about, apart from making a really good tomato chutney.

James Nicholls James is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster based in Sydney, Australia. He specialises in writing about and photographing classic cars, boats and any of the other finer things in life. As well as running the Motorclassica Auction on behalf of Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers (Australia’s oldest auction house) he was head of the car department for Bonhams & Goodman and Sotheby’s Australia. A regular contributor to high-profile magazines around the world, including Invictus, Rewind, Jetgala, Ocean, ArteNavale, he’s since added Volante to his list of literary conquests.

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Damien Reid Damien 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 helped launch the Middle East editions of Autocar and F1 Racing and is currently a contributor to radio, TV, print media and various websites across the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the US and Europe. He also does a passable impersonation of Australian cricketing legend, the late Richie Benaud.

Phill Tromans Phill has written about cars professionally for the past decade, firstly in the UK and then over a six-year period in the Middle East. Formerly part of the editorial teams at Car Middle East, Evo Middle East and Crank & Piston, he now freelances on automotive and luxury topics for magazines and newspapers around the world. He’s interviewed three different Bond girls and fought in a reenactment of the English Civil War. When he’s not writing, Phill enjoys lusting over fine watches that he can’t afford, building model cars from Lego Technic, and rollerblading. Because he can.

first gear

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chief creative officer at aston martin, marek reichman, explains his creative process.

the DESIGNER

ston Martin styling is a continuing evolution. Aston Martin is timeless, we are not driven by fashion or trends in automobile design language. We have our own unique language that will remain timeless. In terms of craftsmanship and detailing, the amount of passion that goes into these things sets us apart from anyone in the entire industry. An Aston Martin, in terms of setting itself aside from the competition uses a minimum of shut lines. We have incredible craftsmanship, and if you look at the front of our cars, there is only a bonnet shut line and a bumper shut line. The lamp is held within the fender and the grille is real metal, which is unique.

There are always challenges in design, we work very closely with the engineering team. At Aston Martin, it is very much a team affair. Everyone understands that one of our major assets is design. The engineering team is producing the product as we have designed it. There is conflict and tension, but we are all striving for the same goal. The conflicts are more about millimetres rather than tens of millimetres, and you need that creative tension between engineering and design to push the envelope forward. The process that we use is very hands-on. The Rapide, for instance, was one of the first products that I worked on, and I used to sit in board meetings sketching designs thinking what the four-door

car could be. We tend to produce a lot of sketches and only one model, so the features that appear in the 3D model have already been honed in the sketch phases. We created a scale model which, in turn, was developed into a full size model which [former Aston Martin chief executive] Dr. Bez and some of the board

“ you

need

that creative tension between engineering and design to push the envelope forward .”

members reviewed several times. The entire concept car was built in-house here at Gaydon, including all the sketches, clays and the

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prototype. Finally, when Aston Martin was taken over by the new shareholders, the decision was made to put the car into production. This all happened over a three year time frame. We make cars that turn people’s heads, but in a very positive way. The best thing for me is when I am in an Aston Martin, stuck in a traffic jam and someone winds down their window to tell me how beautiful the car is. It happened to me a couple of weeks ago in London while I was parking. A gentleman came up to me and said, “Wow, you have a very nice car.” I still get very excited and am very proud of what the team, and the company, achieves. This is an excerpt of an interview originally conducted for Sur la Terre Arabia

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fraser martin argues that the bentley mulsanne speed and his

12-year-old honda jazz may have more in common than you think

the Cognoscente

ith the possible exception of a few domestic market, long-inthe-tooth throwbacks, such as the outgoing Hindustan Ambassador, still much loved in India and based on a 1956 Morris Oxford, or the Iranian Pekyans, based on defunct Hillmans and elderly Peugeots, no one really makes a bad car anymore. Safety regulations in most markets, and certainly in the Middle East region where every motor car is an import, dictate that if your kit is not up to the mark, it really is not welcome here. So where does that leave us in trying to judge what actually makes a good car? I rather like to think of things as being fit for purpose first, so the Volvo XC70,

whilst being one of the most capable station wagons on the planet does not really work here, in a market which is flooded with much larger SUV derivatives. Is it a good car? Undoubtedly. Is it right for our region? Probably not. My personal runabout is a twelve-year old Honda Jazz. Is it a good car? Undoubtedly yes, because it has a quarter of a million kilometres on it and it still works. No other manufacturer has been able to engineer the clever seating that Honda managed in the Jazz all those years ago: the driving position is excellent, the seat still supportive and I can fold the whole lot away to transport a full size Ikea bookshelf – or stretch out and have a snooze during endurance event breaks. It is eminently fit for purpose,

“T he

only way

to tell if you are buying a really good car is to see what it does better than anything else in its class , and pretty much ignore what it looks like .”

and that makes it, despite its years, a Good Car. There are newer, crisper, nicer looking small, practical city runabouts but none available today can boast the same all round capability. At the opposite end of the spectrum, though sharing the “nice-legs, shame-aboutthe-face” looks of the Honda Jazz, is the Bentley Mulsanne Speed, a whopping

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barge that I spent a long weekend with recently. As a swift, silent, supremely comfortable Leviathan, it also epitomises a really good car in that it ticks all the boxes for a car in its class. It is a grand four-seater, it surrounds you with materials and equipment of the very finest quality, it has the torque of an arm-wrestling champion and delivers quick, as well as fast, travel in the most refined way. And yet, it is cleverly understated. The Bentley Mulsanne Speed, then, is exactly what a luxury touring car should be. Not a bigger, faster or more spacious rebadged version of something else in the range brochure, but a bold, elitist statement of success in its own right. Next to my Jazz, it might be the best car in the world!

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Buick - NAIAS 2016

Avista Concept Wows Detroit buick stuns naias with breathtaking luxury sedan concept

ne could hardly say that this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit set the automotive world alight. It started with Volkswagen apologising some more for its diesel products cheating on the emissions tests, before limping through a series of very “meh” launches from the home teams at Ford and GM. However, the latter did produce one showsaving unveil, though it wasn’t, as you might expect, from one of its powerhouse brands like Chevy or Cadillac, but perennial poor relation, Buick. Yup, the triple shield purveyor of your grandad’s car since forever pulled the covers off its gasp-inducing Avista concept. Rekindling its roots as an innovator (the 1938 Harley Earl-designed Y-Job is widely considered to be the world’s first concept car), Buick’s Avista employs 3D printing techniques in its interior construction and displays the future vision for the company’s IntelliLink infotainment system, with touchscreen controls on a widescreen instrument panel display. But more importantly, this 2+2 coupé pushes the brand’s

contemporary design ethos hard and fast into the 21st century with its uninterrupted body lines and 400-horsepower twin-turbocharged V6 powertrain driving the rear wheels. According to designers Aaron Stitch and John McDougall, with the Avista, the company wants to appeal to a new generation of affluent drivers. “Buick is very much associated with older drivers,” Stitch explained. “It’s a shrinking market and, as a brand, we wanted to show that we’re

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not just your grandad’s car anymore; that we can be exciting and dynamic.” McDougall added that “millennials are not so brand driven when it comes to cars, so if you can appeal to their sense of style and need for technology and connectivity, they don’t really care so much about the badge.” But they do care about image and looks, and the Avista has those in spades, from the deep, shimmering “dark sapphire jewel” paint job, to the swooping lines, there’s no bad angle from which to view this car. The absence of conventional B-pillars between the doors and rear side windows enhances the flowing profile. The interior is just as gorgeous, with Mist Grey leather seating, console trim and door trim, exposed carbon-fibre and aluminium accents throughout compliment the fading patterns that are inspired by waves receding at a beach’s edge. It’s nothing short of a triumph and we here at Volante hereby drop to our collective knees and, through clasped hands, beg GM to switch on the green light and put the Avista into production immediately. 

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VLF Automotive - NAIAS 2016

Force-1 Blows Life Back Into Shelved Auto Maker

Henrik fisker joins bob lutz and gilbert villareal to form vlf automotive

t’s rare that a whole new car manufacturer springs out of nowhere with a V10 supercar, but at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, a hastily cobbled together booth formed the first public appearance of both VLF Automotive and its new Force-1 V10 sports coupé. The company was originally the brainchild of GM legend, Bob Lutz, who, along with former Boeing executive, Gilbert Villareal, announced the formation of VL Automotive back in 2013 with the unveiling of the Destino concept (essentially, a Fisker Karma with a Corvette engine). However, after creating some small buzz around that year’s Detroit show, the company has largely remained dormant. At least, it has until now, and with the addition of charismatic hybrid car pioneer, Henrik Fisker, to its management roll-call, VL has been reborn as VLF Automotive, arriving in Michigan with a powerful new addition to its product line up. With this new trifecta of management and financial skills, manufacturing expertise, and design innovation, the trio

are hoping to develop a bona fide American supercar. “There are two things,” Fisker explained to Volante, “one is to be a true American luxury car maker, one that is above the $150,000 to $200,000 price point, because there really isn’t another car company in America that is up there. “The second is strategic; not to be a slave to sales and production numbers. All of our cars are going to be hand-built and, this year, we’re not going to make more than 150 cars. One hundred of the Destino and about 50 of the Force-1 V10.” According to Fisker, those 150 cars will make VLF profitable, so the company will keep its production capped for the time being and stay a very bespoke, niche player. “If the growth comes eventually, that’s fine, but it’s not something we want to push for. We’re just three guys having fun, it’s like a hobby, but we don’t want to lose

money on it,” he added. “Long term, we’ll look to change the product line quicker than maybe some others. We’ll have two or three models in production at any given time. We have a lot of good ideas and because we don’t have to go to any product or any budget committees, we can just do what

we think is fun and cool.” And the first fruit of this new collaboration is the Force-1 V10, built on a Dodge Viper platform (Fisker explained that platform sharing would be a major strategy of the brand) and featuring a re-tooled version of the Viper’s 8.4-litre V10 coupled to either a

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six-speed manual or automatic gearbox. The all carbon-fibre bodied, 1,538kg rear-wheel drive two-seater sports coupé boasts 745 horsepower, 928Nm of torque and a top speed of 218mph. At first glance the car looks great, there’s certainly a little of the Aston Martin One-77 about it, and the proportions are definitely those of the Dodge Viper, however, at closer inspection, the model on show looked as if it had been as hastily constructed as the booth upon which it stood, which we suppose given Fisker’s six-week tenure within the organisation, makes some sense. We’d like to think that production will be refined by the time production begins in Michigan’s Auburn Hills in April and the $268,500 car starts arriving at customers’ mansions in the third quarter. Walking around the car, Fisker explained, “For me an American supercar is about showing what you’ve got, not about understatement. There’s a lot of sculpture around the wheels to really show the muscle and there's the thinnest tail lamps in the world. We have a very sculptured hood and there’s a lot of aero.” There is even a roof-mounted winglike downforce spoiler that doubles up as an in-car WiFi antenna. Showing his more light-hearted side to the design, inside, there is a space in the centre of the seats to accommodate two magnums of fine Champagne. Fisker notes that this is ideal if you’re heading to a party, “why would you want your bottles of expensive wine or fine Champagne rolling around in the footwell.” Why indeed. 

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Lincoln - NAIAS 2016

Continental Shift As Lincoln Revives Flagship Sedan

news in brief

he final press conference of the two preview days was left to the unveiling of an all-new version of an American luxury icon, the 2017 Lincoln Continental. The revival of the famous moniker carries with it Lincoln’s hopes of returning to the top of the US automotive market’s luxury tree. Launched as a critically-acclaimed concept at last year’s New York Auto Show, it drew favourable comparisons with Bentley and, while parent company, Ford, didn’t hide its intentions to make the concept a reality, no-one really suspected just how close to the concept that reality would be. However, to great fanfare, there it was in all its production glory at the sprawling Lincoln

stand in Detroit’s COBO Center, looking almost identical, if not more complete. Based on a derivative of the Ford Fusion platform, this new flagship is all-wheel drive, and driven by a new 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 powerplant that is exclusive to Lincoln. It will deliver 400 horsepower which it will need to shift this hefty looking car. Two other powertrains round out the options lists, a 2.7-litre turbo V6 and a naturallyaspirated 3.7-litre V6, both of which will offer a choice of front wheel drive or AWD. All engines will be coupled to a six-speed automatic ‘box and user selectable driving modes — Normal, Sport and Comfort — adjust damper firmness, shift mapping and steering.

Design-wise, little has changed from the concept; there’s the mesh grille and the unique exterior door handles, where the chrome curves out from the Continental’s waistline to form the electronically-latched handle. The so-monikered “E-Link” door handles allow for speakers to be fitted where a traditional door latch would be, helping to deliver a better audio experience inside. Then there are the seats, with more than 50 patents and 30-way adjustments, including separately adjustable support for each of the driver’s upper legs. Add to that the heating, cooling, recline and massage functions and you have yourself a rolling day spa. Four trim levels; Premiere, Select and Reserve deliver multiple levels of opulence, while the ultimate Black Label trim offers three different themes: Chalet, Thoroughbred and Rhapsody. As well as Apple play and Android Auto connectivity, all of the top-of-the-line driver aids you’d expect in a car of this class are all present and correct: adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning with automatic braking and pedestrian detection, lanekeep assist, a 360-degree-view camera, and automated parking. Rejecting the performance-oriented focus of its class rivals from Cadillac and Lexus in favour of a “Quiet Luxury” ethos could be what sets the Continental apart from the pack, as well as on its journey back to the top of the US automotive luxury segment.

Three Makes A Company For Elio

Hyundai Unveils Genesis G90

LC 500 To Usher In New Era For Lexus

Elio Motors showed off its three-wheeled wonder-car that it hopes will not only mobilise the masses at a staggering base price of just $6,800, but will also create thousands of jobs and reduce US reliance on foreign oil. It’s also the first car to reference cow farts as a comparison tool in its marketing collateral. With two wheels up front and one in the rear, the Elio employs a front mounted fuelinjected, SOHC gas-powered, three-cylinder 0.9-litre, liquid-cooled engine married to either a 5-speed manual or automatic ‘box that will deliver 55hp with 74Nm of torque. The two-seater can go from 0-60mph in 9.6 seconds, has a top speed of over 100mph and will get 84mpg.

Detroit 2016 was certainly the show in which the focus was on the luxury sedan segment. Enter then, the new flagship for Korean automaker, Hyundai's premium luxury brand Genesis, the 2017 G90 was unveiled under the banner of “athletic elegance” and, as well as “best-in-class” refinement, features a choice of two petrol engines: a 3.3-litre direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V6 engine, developing an estimated 365 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, or the top-trim 5.0-litre direct-injected V8 engine developing an estimated 420 horsepower, both coupled to an all-new eight-speed automatic transmission.

Four years after the Lexus LF-LC concept debuted at the 2012 Detroit show, the company pulled the covers off its allnew LC 500 flagship luxury coupé. As well as the athletic exterior, the LC 500 is the first car to employ the brand’s new rearwheel drive platform, the underpinnings of which will become the blueprint for the company’s future front-engine/rearwheel drive luxury vehicles. The naturallyaspirated, 5.0-litre V8 delivers 467hp and 527Nm of torque. It will be coupled to a newly-developed 10-speed automatic transmission, which Lexus claims will produce lightening quick shift times. 

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Elibriea - 2016 Qatar Motor Show

Qatar’s First Home-Grown Supercar Takes QMS Bow ali bin ali-funded elibriea concept grabs the headlines at the sixth qatar motor show

iven the glut of regional debuts that happened at the Dubai International Motor Show in November, and the fact that the luxury segment was keeping its powder dry for the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, expectations for headline-stealing stuff was on the low side for this year’s Qatar Motor Show. So, then, it was with great surprise and no little amount of satisfaction that the show kicked off with an unexpected bang as the covers were pulled off a working concept supercar that has its roots firmly planted in Qatar itself. The flash bulbs popped wildly as a torrent of praise was heaped upon the all-new Elibriea as it was unveiled to a waiting press corps. Funded by local chaebol, Ali Bin Ali, and a considerable grant from Qatar Foundation’s Qatar National Research Fund

(QNRF), the two-door coupé concept car is the brainchild of Abdul Wahab Ziaullah, a former Texas A&M at Qatar (TAMUQ) engineering student. The Elibriea took around twoyears to assemble and employs a GM-built 525 brake horsepower V6 engine, but earlier iterations featured a custom-made block, which was cast in a Qatar foundry, while various chassis designs were discarded in the development process. While most specifications were, as you would expect from a non-street legal concept, patchy, the body is primarily hewn from carbon-fibre, it has scissor doors and it operates as “individualwheel drive.” The exterior design is somewhat polarising, it is clearly derivative of some 1980s supercars and, in our opinion, looks a little like the exaggerated

sports cars we used to doodle in our school notebooks – a little out of proportion with a lot of unnecessary vents, intakes and aero jutting out all over the place. It kind of makes Horacio Pagani’s 25th anniversary Lamborghini Countach look conservative. That, though, isn’t necessarily a bad thing as that car inspired a generation of petrolheads. Initial tests of “Qatar’s first sports car” were carried out indoors, before hitting the roads around the Industrial Area and at the Al Khor airfield, and Ziaullah claims that the car exceeded performance expectations during the process. While the car was only being shown as a demonstration of Qatar’s emerging engineering and design talent, the development and assembly of the Elibriea is a major

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step forward in technical manufacturing in Qatar, which has long expressed an interest in the automotive sector through its acquisitions of high-value shareholdings in Volkswagen and Porsche. And, now that the Elibriea has been finally given its global bow, Ziaullah and his team are looking to use the concept as launchpad for a more commercial hypercar project, the Equvallas. The fledgling manufacturer has reportedly already settled on a design and is currently working on the engineering aspects, with the car projected to be a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive coupé, with a carbon-fibre monocoque, six-speed ‘box, and an 800 to 1,000bhp, naturally-aspirated engine. According to the company’s website, pre-orders have begun already for delivery this December.

Toyota - 2016 Qatar Motor Show

Toyota Brings FT-1 Concept To QMS

he, frankly, stunning Toyota FT-1 concept is not a new thing, making its international debut at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show before being touted as a possible design projection of the 2015 Supra. That obviously never happened, and the FT-1 Concept has been seen rarely since. It was first devised by Calty Design Research in the Sony PlayStation Gran Turismo game environment. Its leap from pixel to production concept paved the way for the likes of Mitsubishi and, most recently, Bugatti, to play with their own “vision Gran Tourismos,” the latter of which bled heavily into the design of the all-new Chiron that took its Geneva bow earlier this month. However, this is a new interpretation of the FT-1 and the fact that it still inspires the same excitement now as the original did two years ago speaks greatly of its worth as design study. Making its Middle Eastern debut at the Qatar Motor Show, it stands as a testament to Akio Toyoda’s stated directive to invigorate Toyota products with energy, passion and Waku-Doki – a palpable heart-pounding sense of excitement. FT-1 stands for “Future Toyota,” and the number “1” represents the highest echelon of the company’s design capabilities. At its initial

Mitsubishi - 2016 Qatar Motor Show

Mitsubishi Debuts New Montero Sport

unveiling, the company did not give away any performance stats or mechanical specifications and with this new version, they still remain shrouded in mystery, though just by looking at it, you get the sense of the car’s obvious performance capability. The FT-1's front engine, rear wheel drive configuration, and the cockpit’s far rearward positioning within the wheelbase was conceived to improve weight distribution. The wraparound windshield and side glass openings are a distinct nod to the design of the legendary Toyota 2000GT. On the exterior, little has changed from the original concept, with inlets, ducting and vents helping to reinforce the FT-1’s track–ready nature. As far as we can tell, the retractable

rear wing that deploys and tilts forward to create additional downforce at higher speeds, remains intact. It is in the interior where many of the differences from the original are focused. The colour of the leather has changed between the first and second FT-1 vehicles. The first car was dominated by bold, masculine black with red painted edges and raw metals providing intriguing accents. In the new FT-1, the natural leather on the seat is supple with an all-natural grain, giving it an authentic appeal and the painted edges are now subtly blended brown. The intention, according to Toyota, is to bring a more sophisticated feel and authenticity through colour choice, showcasing the versatility of the FT-1 sports car concept.

eveloped to be a "stylish & comfortable off-road SUV" concept, the all-new Montero Sport made its Qatar debut at this year’s motor show. With a stylish, sporty and dynamic design, the new Montero Sport looks edgier and more aggressive than its predecessor. It adopts Mitsubishi Motors’ new "Dynamic Shield" front face design, with sharper-looking headlights, a large bumper, a mesh grill and chrome trim. As for the interior, the new model offers a premium feel with its silver-finish ornamentation and sculpted seats. In terms of performance, the offroad SUV has improved dramatically. The V6 MIVEC engine is mated to a

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new 8-speed automatic transmission, developed to provide greater performance, and the car incorporates Mitsubishi Motors’ first-ever off-road select function. The Super Select 4WDII system offers four-driving modes, from a two-wheel drive mode to a fourwheel drive low differential mode. A raft of new safety features accompany the upgraded Montero, including driver aids such as blind spot warning, collision avoidance and 360-degree monitoring systems. Qatar Automobiles Company is hoping that the Montero Sport represents an opportunity to broaden the regional appeal of the Japanese auto maker by reaching out to a wider audience in the Qatari Market. 

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this year’s geneva motor show exceeded expectations, with a feast of precious metal, with Lamborghini and bugatti setting the bar high

Lamborghini - 2016 Geneva Motor Show

Bugatti - 2016 Geneva Motor Show

Bugatti Finally Reveals Veyron Successor

lease say hello to the Bugatti Chiron: “the world’s most powerful, fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive super sports car.” Firstly, some vital statistics: 1,500 horsepower, 1,600Nm of torque between 2,000 and 6,000rpm and a top speed limited to 260mph. We’ll just wait for that to sink in. To achieve these staggering numbers, the boffins at Molsheim have re-engineered the Veyron’s continent-crushing 8.0-litre, quad-turbo W16 powerplant. Almost every component of the engine was redesigned and, to compensate for the weight increase caused by the high power output, materials such as titanium and carbon-fibre have been liberally applied. However, the most significant change within the

Lambo Celebrates Founder’s Birthday With Epic Centenario

irthday presents do not come better than this: the Lamborghini Centenario. Devised and built to celebrate the 100th birthday of iconclastic founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini, this epic car is the most powerful raging bull ever to leave the Sant’ Agata stable. Unveiling the car for the first time, outgoing Lamborghini supremo, Stephan Winkelmann stated: “it is the most fitting tribute to Ferruccio Lamborghini in his centenary year, a man who created an exceptional brand, believed that anything was possible and produced extraordinary, iconic cars.” Extraordinary it certainly is. Built on the Aventador platform, only with considerably more carbon-fibre, the company has employed the lightweight material from everything from the entire body, monocoque and chassis, to all of the aero such as the front splitter, side skirts, wheel arches and rear diffuser. All in, it weighs just 1,520kg, a full 55kg lighter than Lamborghini’s V12 flagship. That means a hell of a lot more when you realise that the Centenario puts out an additional 20 horsepower over the insane Avantador SV – 770 hp in total – from its naturally aspirated V12 powerplant. That equates to a power to

weight ratio of 1.97kg per Italian stallion. This gives the Centenario a top speed of more than 217mph. With the company’s magnificent seven–speed manual sequential ‘box the car has the ability to sprint from 0 to 60mph in 2.8 seconds and to 186mph in 23.5 seconds. The permanent all-wheel drive Centenario also adopts a whole new raft of Lamborghini tech, such as a rear-wheel steering system. At low speeds the rear tyres turn in the opposite direction of the steering angle, creating a virtual reduction of the wheelbase and improving the car’s turning agility at low speeds. When putting the hammer down, the rear tyres turn in the same direction of the steering angle which provides a (probably much-required) stabilising effect on the car. However, as well as the mind-bending performance figures of the Centenario, there are a few more important numbers to consider. The good news? Forty Centenarios will be built – 20 coupés and 20 roadsters. The bad news? They are all sold already, so you can stop rifling down the back of the sofa looking for enough loose change to pull together the $2.4m required to own one. V o la nt e | April 2016 |

engine was to the turbo chargers. The Chiron employs four all-new, higher-performance blowers that operate in two-stages. To ensure maximum acceleration from a standstill without any lag, the Chiron launches with only two turbochargers in operation. The other two come online at around 3,800 rpm. As a result, Bugatti says that the Chiron delivers an absolutely linear power curve from 2,000 rpm, as well huge amounts of torque at low engine speeds. Bugatti believes that the Chiron is “very wellpositioned” to wrest the world record crown away from its Veyron Super Sport by reaching a maximum speed “significantly above” that set by its predecessor. Only 500 Chirons will roll out of the Molsheim gates and Bugatti claims it has already filled one-third of its order book. With deliveries due to start this autumn, if the $2.6m Chiron is now on your Christmas list, you'd best be quick, they're only available while stocks last.

Photography: Max Earey, Newspress UK

especially for last year’s box-office James Bond blockbuster, Spectre, the DB11 is powered by a potent new powertrain. The in-house designed 5.2-litre twinturbocharged V12 engine will output a meaty 600 brake horsepower and 700Nm of torque, making this the most powerful production DB model ever. As you would expect, the DB11 is capable of mixing it with the competition, delivering a not-to-shabby top speed of 200mph

and a 0-62mph dash in 3.9 seconds. All that V12 goodness is coupled to an 8-speed automatic ZF transmission, while multiple driverselectable dynamic modes – GT, Sport and Sport Plus – progressively intensify the response of the engine. There is also a new electric power steering and Torque Vectoring system to instill the car with a greater sense of agility. Design-wise, the new look for the DB-series cars can be seen in the front-hinging clamshell bonnet, distinctive LED headlights and accentuated lines of the iconic Aston Martin grille. Aerodynamics play their part, too, with airflow management both over and through the bodywork. Front-end lift is reduced by the gill-like curlicue, which releases high-pressure air from inside the wheel arch via a concealed vent within the redesigned side-strake. At the back, the Aston Martin AeroBlade provides the downforce; a virtual spoiler fed by discreet air intakes located at the base of each C-pillar. Air is ducted through the bodywork, before venting as a jet of air from an aperture in the rear deck lid. We’re pretty sure that there’ll be plenty of folks queuing up to part with the $211,995 it’s going to cost to cruise the boulevards of the region in, arguably, the best-looking Aston since the DB9. Deliveries to those lucky enough to have the cash to do so will start in the fourth quarter.

It is based on the same architecture as the criticallyacclaimed Ghibli and the stalwart Quattroporte and does offer a raft of high tech that will see it make a mark in the segment. The Levante features five dynamically different driving modes which affects the height of the body position. Maserati notes that at the highest level the car will morph into the automotive equivalent of the Italian Alpine Ibex, clinging to craggy surfaces and delivering a comfortable off-road experience. When set to the minimum ground clearance, however, it enables the Levante to become a much more sportier animal. It's fitted with a 3-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol engine, with either 350hp or 430hp, or a 275hp 3-litre V6 turbo diesel. All engines are

combined with the company’s “Q4” all-wheel drive system – which can transfer torque between the axles instantaneously when required - and an 8-speed automatic gearbox. In terms of performance, the Levante S (430hp) does the 0-62mph dash in 5.2 seconds and has a top speed of 164mph. The standard Levante (350hp) accelerates from 0 to 62mph in 6.0 seconds and achieves a top speed of 155mph. The turbo diesel wheezes to 62mph from a standstill in 6.9 seconds and tops out at 142mph. 

Aston Martin - 2016 Geneva Motor Show

DB11 “Marks A New Chapter” In Aston Martin’s History

ust a week after announcing that the company is to produce the DBX Crossover it unveiled at last year’s Geneva show, the first product launched under the Aston Martin’s “Second Century” plan, the Warwickshire-based company whipped the silk off this, the pant-wettingly pretty DB11. The DB11 is to be the maker’s new flagship and will be the figurehead of its illustrious “DB” line-up. As well as a fresh new design language, hinted at in the DB10 “one-off ” created

10 Maserati - 2016 Geneva Motor Show

Maserati Levante Finally Breaks Cover

he relentless onslaught of luxury SUVs continues unabated, as the five-year gestation period of the Maserati Levante finally came to an end. Joining the ranks of other high-end marques, such as Porsche and, more recently, Bentley, that have moved away from their core product lines to launch deluxe or sporty off-roaders, Maserati’s new offering will start shipping in Europe this spring, to be followed by the rest of the world shortly afterwards. While we’re not sure that “breathtaking” is the correct word to use to describe the car’s aesthetics, it’s definitely an improvement on the concept, which was first shown at Frankfurt back in 2011 under the unfortunate moniker “Kubang.”

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

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

DeLorean DMC-12

and assembled by customers, with the only caveat being that current model year, emissions certified, clean engines must be used. For DMC, this means that it can now make use of its cache of original parts, the original factory tooling and the engineering drawings that were used to create the original DeLorean car from 1981-1983 that have been stored in the company’s warehouse in Houston since the mid-1990s. The only real difference between the original DMC-12 and this new iteration, apart from (hopefully) build quality, will be the car’s powerplant. The company is currently in negotiations with two domestic and two overseas suppliers, but it has stated that the engines under consideration are both naturally aspirated and turbocharged, four-cylinder and six-cylinder blocks, capable of producing between approximately 270 and 350hp, meaning that the new DMC-12 might finally get the performance that the original promised, but didn’t deliver. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration have until December 4th 2016 to issue any necessary regulations required to implement the new law. In the meantime, DMC claims to be moving ahead with the new car’s development, so it can be ready when the year is up. Production could reach up to 325 cars a year with pricing set somewhere between $80,000 and $100,000. So, while we still won’t have flying cars and affordable hoverboards, at least by 2017, we’ll be able to strap on our self-tying Nikes and get behind the wheel of a modern-day DeLorean DMC-12 that will actually be able to reach 88mph without falling apart. Great Scott!

DeLorean’s Back In The Near Future

es, you read that correctly, the iconic gullwing-doored, steel bodied 80s icon, the DMC-12, is about to go back into limited production. Texas-based DeLorean Motor Company, which acquired what was left of the original manufacturer 30 years ago and currently focuses on repairing and restoring all the DeLorean vehicles that are floating around the world is about to take advantage of a new US legislation governing small automotive companies, called the “Low Volume Vehicle Manufacturing Act.” Basically, it will allow small companies to produce a limited number of replica motor vehicles. While they will be subject to equipment standards for things like windscreen wipers and headlights (probably more so than the original DMC-12), they will be exempt from mass-produced vehicle safety standards such as passive restraint, roof crush, side impact, etc. Put simply, the new law treats these vehicles the same as “kit cars” purchased

Zarooq Sand Rider

Zarooq Builds Road Legal Dune Buggy emirati company, zarooq, is in the final stages of developing a new regionally-developed offroad racer.

n another win for the regionally-devised automobile segment, Emirati company Zarooq has just unveiled the Sand Racer, a street-legal off-road dune buggy that, simply put, looks awesome. The Sand Racer’s design was produced in conjunction with JJ Special, a company specialising in materials like carbon-fibre cars and was penned by none other than UAE-

based Anthony Jannarelly, the man behind the W Motors’ Lykan and Fenyr hypercars. According to Zarooq co-founder, Mohammed al Qadi, the vehicle was initially developed in order to be able to organise a single-make off-road championship and to operate a sand racing track in Dubai, but the company wanted to make the car road legal, with comforts like air conditioning and a cup holder, to be as practical as possible. He noted that the primary focus is on lowvolume production and developing sales in the UAE and the Gulf, targeting drivers who want a high performance sand racing car that is both affordable and easy to maintain. The Sand Racer’s tube chassis is fabricated from S355 high-strength steel with bulkheads crafted from aluminium. The body is hewn from non-structural fibreglass with carbon-fibre exterior and interior elements, giving the car a trim onetonne curb weight. The Sand Racer’s hooligan heart will be a midrear mounted 3.5-litre V6 of undisclosed origin, V o la nt e | April 2016 |

but is expected to deliver up to 500 horsepower, depending on specification, and will be coupled to a six-speed automatic paddle-shift gearbox. With an estimated top speed of around 125mph the Sand Racer is going to have some serious Baja-busting potential. In order to foster the development of a local sand racing championship, Zarooq Motors is initiating a “Dubai Off-Road Racing Track” to host races and corporate events in parallell with the Sand Racer undergoing homologation testing. The company hopes to present the final model to customers in the first half of this year. 

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

Ferrari GTC4 Lusso

Ferrari Rolls Out New GTC4 Lusso

news in brief

his is not a new Ferrari FF. We know it looks like one, but it’s not. This is the all-new GTC4 Lusso. Well, 90 percent new. It’s very subtle in its newness. To the naked eye, it looks very similar to the company’s outgoing four-seater, four-wheel drive FF. The shooting brake body just looks a little more aggressive with some sharper lines and a lower, sportier stance. Under the bonnet, there is a naturally aspirated 6.3-litre V12 which, at 690hp, delivers 40 more horsepower than its predecessor, as well as a higher top speed of 208mph and a quicker zero to 60mph sprint time. The GTC4 Lusso combines the FF’s unique 4RM four-wheel drive system and couples it with the same rear-wheel steering that’s found on the mighty F12. It also features the fourth generation of Ferrari’s “hero mode” Side Slip Control system. Inside, there are a few changes, too. Because, according to Ferrari, FF drivers have racked up 30 percent higher mileage over other Ferrari customers, comfort is paramount. Another first for Ferrari is the new “Dual Cockpit” architecture, designed to enhance the shared driving experience for both driver and passenger.

The driver and passenger are separated by a central divider upon which are clustered all of the comfort-oriented controls. Also, wraparound sports seats are fitted throughout. For the driver, there’s a fresh look to the steering wheel, it’s smaller due to a more efficient airbag design, which means the instrument clusters behind the wheel are now more visible. In keeping with the like of its 2015-launched stablemates, primary controls are also new and different in shape, function and positioning, compared to the FF, while the GTC4 Lusso employs a new infotainment system with a primary 10-inch touchscreen. We can’t wait to find out whether or not this means an improvement in the third-party sat-nav system that has caused us so much consternation in the past. Ferrari hasn’t given any hints on price and delivery for the new GTC4 Lusso, but we expect that customers won’t see much change from $300,000.

Morgan 3-Wheeler Goes Electric

Techrules Demos 1,240mile EV Range Extender

Alfa Extends AwardWinning Giulia Line Up

Morgan has shown the final preproduction phase model of its EV3, the all-electric version of its hugely popular three-wheeler. With a restyled exterior, which includes a cool single headlamp design, the new EV3 will go into production in the fourth quarter of this year. Morgan notes that pricing and performance will be comparable to its petrol-powered stablemate; 0-62mph in less than nine seconds and a top speed in excess of 90mph. The powertrain is a 20KWh Lithium battery with a liquid cooled 46kW motor driving the rear wheel, encased within the tubular space frame chassis. The EV3 will have a range of around 150 miles.

Techrules, a new China-based automotive research and development company, made its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show. It has developed a Turbine-Recharging Electric Vehicle (TREV) system, an all-new patentprotected series hybrid powertrain technology comprising a turbinegenerator. TREV is a range extender system that uses a micro-turbine to generate electricity that charges a battery pack, which in turn powers the motor that drives the wheels. Producing peak power of around 1,030bhp, initial projections indicate 0 - 62mph in 2.5 seconds; 217mph and a range of over 1,240 miles.

Alfa Romeo has extended the line-up of models in its Giulia range. The powertrain options comprise four new engines: a 200hp 2.0-litre turbo petrol; a 150hp 2.2-litre turbo diesel; a 180hp 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine and the range-topping 510hp 2.9-litre V6 BiTurbo petrol engine. Each one will be mated to a new eight-speed automatic transmission. The cars will be available in three trim levels - Giulia, Super and Quadrifoglio. The standard equipment can also be enhanced with a “Luxury Pack” or a “Sport Pack,” featuring leather upholstery, power seats, real wood and chrome detailing and a sports steering wheel.

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

Pagani Huayra BC

New Pagani Huayra BC Gets Geneva Debut

nowing he was going to be sandwiched between Lamborghini and Bugatti at the Geneva Motor Show, Horacio Pagani decided to drop the news that the Huayra BC would debut at the event a few days early. While the other two took most of the show’s headlines, for fans of extreme super cars, the revelation that a new Pagani was to hit the market was nothing but good news, and given that the company recently sold the last of the original, no doubt wealthy collectors were also breaking into their happy dances. Especially as the BC takes an already extreme car, to more purposeful and sportier extremes. That much is obvious from the massive rear wing, jutting front spoiler and the oversized wheels. Pagani, though, is keen to stress that the BC is not just a restyling of the Huayra, but “a product that includes innovative changes in every part of the vehicle.” It’s a car, the company says, that has a completely different personality to that of the Huayra Coupé. The Huayra BC has been inspired by its “track focused” predecessors: the Pagani Zonda R and the Zonda Cinque and, as such, Pagani claims it has created the lightest, globally homologated, Hypercar. At 1,218kg, and laying down an expected 750 horsepower from the 6-litre twin turbo AMG Mercedes-Benz V12, we’d say it’s pretty darned close to achieving that goal. Other significant improvements over its predecessor includes a 7-speed automated manual transmission developed from scratch and manufactured by Xtrac that features a new electro-hydraulic actuation system and new carbon-fibre synchronisers, designed

to increase the precision of gear engagement and further reduce gearshift times. The clutch control program has also been heavily revised, allowing greater accuracy, despite the increased torque of the engine. Additionally, a brand new electronic active differential has been introduced to the platform that adapts better to demanding driving conditions, from low grip situations, to high-performance track driving. The weight of the gearbox, including the electronic differential, is approximately 40% lower compared to that of a dual clutch transmission and the transverse layout contributes towards the compact packaging and focuses the mass towards the vehicle’s centre of gravity. There’s also a driveshaft system derived from Le Mans racing. While this is all really important and interesting, I know most of you are actually wanting to know the answer to the question: what does the BC stand for? Well, it’s named after the late Benny Caiola, an Italian born, USbased property developer. He had a huge passion for Italian sports cars and a garage that many regional collectors would envy, most importantly, though, he was Pagani’s first ever customer. Given his automotive proclivities, he would have undoubtedly been the first to drop $2.5 million on this latest masterpiece, too.

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

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

the best bits of kit for car and driver Bel & Bel Zero Scooter

ne of the major issues we have with the Segway – apart from one driving its creator off a cliff – is that it looks pretty dorky. Well, Catalonian design firm Bel & Bel have something to say about the way it should look. And here it is. The $6,500 Zero Scooter combines retro Italian cool with its Vespa good looks and seamless Segway-like functionality thanks to electronics and mechanics from Ninebot. Zero Scooter is offered either as a “conversion kit” for a standard NineBot base unit, or as a complete product. It charges fully in around four hours, and has a range of around 15 miles, which you can travel at speeds of up to 12mph. www.belybel.com editor's pick

Caterpillar S60 Smartphone

e all have that one friend (or regional VW PR executive – she knows who she is) that goes through an iPhone a month, either by dropping it, losing it, or leaving it on the roof of the car as they drive away from the petrol station. Delicate modern smartphones are not safe in the hands of these “SIM Reapers,” but rugged vehicle specialist, Caterpillar might have the answer. This is the nigh indestructible S60 Smartphone, that, while it can’t prevent loss, exceeds military specifications and will withstand drops onto concrete from up to 1.8 metres and submergence into liquids up to a depth of five metres for up to an hour – meaning the camera can be used underwater or inconvenient Friday brunch spills will just wipe off. Better still, it’s fully equipped with an Android OS, 4.7-inch Gorilla glass touchscreen, 13 megapixel main camera with dual flash, 5 megapixel front-facing camera, a thermal imaging camera and 32Gb of storage. www.catphones.com

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

editor's pick

Néit Collapsable Smart Luggage

e’ve covered a lot of bags on these pages, but this clever case earns the right to call itself smart luggage in more ways than one. For starters, it looks like it means business, with its lightweight, yet durable, polycarbonate shell and aircraft grade aluminium frame it can handle anything you can throw at it – or being thrown around by reckless baggage handlers. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though. Not only does it have a GPS tag, with a corresponding smartphone app which allows you to track your bag wherever it may be, but when it’s not in use, it can collapse to just three inches in width, meaning it won’t take up half your wardrobe when you’re not trotting the globe. It’s currently in the Kickstarter stage, with deliveries expected to start by December this year, meaning now’s a good time to get in the earlybird pricing which is nearly half the $500-plus that the case will retail for. Néit also has big plans to make the bag even smarter as the funding increases, with a weighing scale in the handle and a power bank for your mobile devices. www.tinyurl.com/jvfdqar

Classic Porsche Navigation Radio

ou finally own that classic 911 you always wanted. It sounds, drives and handles exactly as you always dreamed it would, but it’s missing... something. Some of the more modern comforts that your daily driver has in spades, perhaps? Like a music system that connects to your smart phone and sat-nav? Until now, the idea of ruining the classic look and feel – and possibly the value – of your dream Porsche by installing an anachronistic third-party system was akin to sacrilege. However, there is a perfect, Porsche-developed solution. Classic on the outside, yet ultra-modern on the inside: with its newly developed navigation radio, it combines the style of yesteryear with the benefits of modern technology. It fits perfectly into the DIN-1 and is operated by means of two knobs, six discreetly integrated buttons and a touch-sensitive 3.5-inch display. The navigation radio blends harmoniously into the dashboard of classic Porsche models from the first 911s of the 1960s to the last of the mid-1990s 993 series models. Better still, the system has interfaces for a variety of external music sources that can be controlled from the display and a smartphone can be connected via Bluetooth. Available now, it costs a cool $1,300, but for the classic Porsche owner, it’s priceless! www.porsche.com

Carl Zeiss ExoLens For iPhone

f you’re constantly stopping to take pictures of your car with your iPhone, or if Instagramming passing supercars on Dubai’s JBR or Doha’s Corniche is your thing, then you will love this. Up your picture game with these new lenses for your phone’s camera, developed by ExoLens and featuring technology from photographic supremo Carl Zeiss optics. There are three new lenses – wide-angle, telephoto and macro – which will hit the market in a matter of weeks. ExoLens says that wide-angle and telephoto lenses will offer excellent image performance with outstanding edge-to-edge contrast, while the macro lens features a zoom function – unique for accessory lenses of this type – for flexible image composition between three and twelve centimetres. The new lenses can be used on the iPhone with ExoLens’ customised mounting brackets. At launch, ExoLens with optics by Zeiss will be available for the iPhone 6 and 6s and iPhone 6 Plus and 6s Plus, with the company hoping to add compatibility with more devices in the future. www.exolens.com

Oi Bicycle Bell

e’ve covered a couple of serious bicycles on these pages in the past; seriously expensive bikes. So when you’re kitting it out to hit the road, why buy a clunky traditional bell that costs just a few bucks. It’s going to look out of place on your BMW M bike, or your Vintage Cruz E-Bike. You need something sleeker, that makes more of a statement as you signal your approach. Fortunately, Australian design firm, Knog, is working on that for you. Its elegant Oi Bell replaces the traditional domed bell with a circular solution that both looks and sounds better – or as the company puts it, “like an angel playing a glockenspiel.” There are five styles, the standard aluminium model comes in 4 finishes – brushed; brass-plated; copper-plated; and black. The top of the range model is made from titanium. There’s no word on individual pricing, but a $20 pledge to Kickstarter, get you the standard aluminium model. The company expects to start shipping in the summer. www.tinyurl.com/gr8gwax

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

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

1. motogp of qatar

When: March 26 - 29 Where: Doha, Qatar In the eight years since the MotoGP first arrived in Qatar under the auspices of the QMMF, there has been massive rise in motorcycle use in the country. It’s no coincidence. Every year, thousands flock to the Losail International Circuit to watch the likes of former World Champions and intense Yahama team rivals, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, battle it out under the floodlights. As the first fixture in the MotoGP calendar, it sets the tone for the rest of the year’s racing.

www.motoGP.com

2. bonhams’ spring motorcycle sale When: April 24 Where: Stafford, UK Staying with the two-wheeled theme, the Spring Motorcycle Sale is one of the many Bonhams auctions that takes place throughout the year, but unlike the MotoGP, the lots are not the high-tech pocket rockets you’ll see haring around Losail. Among the bikes on offer are a 1950 Vincent Black Shadow, “Thor,” the ex-Ernie Woods 1959 Norton 998cc sprinter and the last known collection of unrestored Brough Superiors from the 1930s.

www.bonhams.com

3. auto china

alendar 30

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

When: April 25 Where: Beijing, China Held biannually since 1990, the 2016 Beijing Motor Show will be the next major automotive show on the international calendar, and despite a slowing of the Chinese luxury auto market in the last two years, is still a major event for the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Bentley to unveil a special edition or two. It’s also an opportunity to see the local makers’ copycat

products that don’t quite hit the marque (pun intented). The previous event in 2014 attracted 852,000 visitors and 2,000 exhibitors from 14 countries.

www.autochinashow.org

4. historic monaco grand prix When: May 13 - 15 Where: Monte Carlo, Monaco For the past 19 years, a fortnight before the Monaco Grand Prix, the famous street circuit has rumbled to the sound of legendary historic Grand Prix cars. Organised by the Automobile Club of Monaco, it’s like travelling back in time as a Maserati 250F will battle for honours alongside a Ferrari 625, or Jodie Schecter’s Tyrell-Ford rubs all six wheels with James Hunt’s McLaren. Almost as good as the cars on the track are the ones the spectators arrive in, with plenty of automotive class on show around town.

www.monacograndprixticket.com

5. mille miglia

When: May 19 - 22 Where: Italy The Mille Miglia (1,000 Miles) has been described as the “most beautiful race in the world,” though it’s hard to tell if that’s because of the spectacular scenery on the route from Brescia to Rome and back, or if it describes the hundreds of gorgeous vintage road and race cars that take part. It could also refer to the myriad A-list celebrities that sign up to hurl precious motoring metal around Italy in homage to the famous race once competed by the likes of Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio.

International motor shows, classic car meets, auctions and motor sport events that shape the industry and fuel our petrol-driven passion are happening every day, all over the world. Now is a good time to start planning that road trip.

www.1000miglia.it/ V o la nt e | April 2016 |

the garage

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

| T he G a ra ge | Ro l l s -Royc e D aw n |

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

exclusive first drive

Cape Crusader A f t e r t r a v e l l i n g fo r

38 hours, James McCarthy w a ke s u p t o a new Dawn in the stunning surroundings o f C a p e To w n . Words: James McCarthy Pictures: James Lipman / Desmond Louw

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

hen the top brass at Rolls-Royce were choosing the location for the global launch of the much anticipated Dawn, fewer places could have epitomised everything this car is meant to represent than the beautiful South African city of Cape Town. Cape Town itself is home to one of the rarest of natural occurrences, that of a confluence of two oceans – the Atlantic and the Indian – which over the course of millennia has helped shape the abundantly beautiful unique flora and fauna that lines a dizzyingly gorgeous coastline. Like Rolls-Royce, South Africa has a long and storied history of upheaval and change, as well as being protective of its long held traditions and the production of expensive and highly coveted commodities. There is also a sense of optimism about the place; it feels young and vibrant, having learned its lessons from the past, the city and its people are constantly looking forward towards a brighter future. Whether by accident or design, the parallels between this stunning locale and the car I have travelled 38 hours to drive are easily drawn. Especially once the effortlessly suave Richard Carter, Rolls-Royce’s Director of Global Communications, takes to the stage to present the car to the assembled Middle Eastern press corps.

“The more muscular lines of the car, such as the curvy hips of its hind quarters and the soft flaring of the rear wheel arches, transcend both Wraith and Ghost II, establishing the voluptuous Dawn’s credentials as a worthy fourth bloodline in Goodwood’s pedigree stock.” “The creation of a new Rolls-Royce,” he says, against a backdrop high in the Stellenbosch winelands that would make Ansel Adams weep, “is a rare event indeed. “Maybe we’ll upgrade an existing model every two years or so, but bringing a whole new product to market does not occur often. When it does, it should be special.” Citing the lovely 1952 Silver Dawn Drophead Coupé that greeted us at the gates of the Delaire

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

Above: Rolls-Royce describes the raising and lowering of the Dawn's roof mechanism as a "silent ballet." It is possible to operate the roof at speeds of up to 30mph and it raises or retracts in near silence in just 22 seconds.

Graff Estate as the muse for the flying lady’s latest platform, and waxing lyrical about the sense of la Dolce Vita it embodied upon its release after the Second World War, Richard notes: “It was a symbol of enjoyment, with its voluptuous curves and open top optimism – war is over, let’s have some fun.” Of course, only 28 of those cars were made, of which only 17 are accounted for today. The new Dawn will not be that exclusive, but it’s not going to be built in huge volumes either, with the order book already full up for the next year and a half – a significant portion of which, one assumes, would be the younger, first time owners, at whom Rolls-Royce is aiming the Dawn. Coming in the aftermath of a global economic crisis that crippled every major market and, in the face of constant news reports of atrocities committed throughout the world’s trouble spots, it would be foolish to think that Rolls-Royce’s timing in moving away from its supernatural nomenclature and resurrecting the famous Dawn moniker was coincidence. It signals the start of an exciting few years for the Great British brand, with the opening of its new technology and logistics hub in V o la nt e | April 2016 |

â&#x20AC;&#x153;As this phenomenal machine sweeps from bend to bend, eating up the miles with fluid ease, I become completely at one with it, revelling in the rarity of such a moment.â&#x20AC;?

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

| T he G a ra ge | Ro l l s -Royc e D aw n |

Bognor Regis and work on developing the highly anticipated “effortless everywhere” luxury utility vehicle underway, it is an opportunity to attract a whole new base of customers for whom the weight of the world’s ills has not yet dampened their spirit of ecstasy, so to speak. As the evening before our drive draws to a close, the depressing news that England has just won its first Six Nations Rugby Grand Slam in 13 years begins filtering through on my social media feeds. I head to bed, telling myself that it is indeed always darkest before the Dawn. Morning arrives and the South African autumn air crackles with a sense of anticipation. I select my whip for the day, a beautiful combination of gunmetal grey, with two-tone brushed silver bonnet and vibrant orange interior, with handpainted coachline to match. With my driving partner accounted for, Bahraini enfant terrible and publisher of Arabia Motors, Moe Kayani, we are joined for our “Tour de Cap” by Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke Design big cheese, Alex Innes. With Moe on first watch behind the wheel, we climb aboard Dawn and prepare to head into the valley below. The first leg of our drive takes us down into Franschhoek, skirting the edge of the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve and the scenery is nothing short of breathtaking. The clean, brushed aluminium dashboard plays off the vibrant orange leather and luxurious canadel wood panelling in the doors to great effect. The mountain ranges and escarpments, shrouded in early morning mist, were also quite nice to look at too. All joking aside, the landscape was epic in its sheer scale, and it was obvious that the Dawn was completely at home on the immaculately surfaced sweeping country roads. It was an absolute joy to be a passenger, being able to take in the sheer natural beauty of it all, while nestled in the cosseting, heated seat. With the windows and roof down, we were simply immersed in our surroundings, as the Rolls wafted along under the vast African sky, which was painted in a deep blue and mottled with wispy white clouds. Alex had made the point in the last evening’s presentation that the Dawn was designed to be a true, four seat open-top tourer, and that the interior was designed to be a social space in which all the passengers could interact and enjoy the car. Once the windows were rolled up, it started to become obvious as to what he meant. The buffeting wind disappeared and a relatively

quiet calm descended on the whole cabin. Conversations were able to commence at a civilised level between Moe and myself in the front and Alex in the back. It got really social when we decided it was time to give the sound system a workout. My iPhone pairs and synchronises, via Bluetooth, to the entertainment system in a matter of turns, pushes and clicks of the wonderfully tactile and robustly-constructed control dial. With little fuss, my music library is at hand to provide a soundtrack to this exquisite experience. Starting off sedately, Bach’s Cello Suite No.1 in G Major reverberates around the cabin, with every scratch of bow on string singing out in high definition. Even roaring along at a steady 60mph, we could still hear Ralph Kirshbaum’s [AT A GLANCE]:

2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn Engine: 6.6-litre V12 Power / Torque: 563bhp @ 5,250rpm / 780Nm @ 1,500rpm Transmission: Eight-speed, dual clutch automatic Weight: 2,560kg Performance: Top speed 150mph (governed) / 0-60mph in 4.9 sec Price: $387,699

measured breathing as he played. The integrity of the music under the duress of open top driving is remarkable. I decide it’s time for a track that I use to test every piece of audio equipment that I shop for – the majestic Sultans of Swing, by Dire Straits. From the incredibly crisp, clean chord progression that kicks off the song, to the wonderfully subtle filler riffs that ease from the fingers of Mark Knopfler, the balance and delivery of the finely-tuned Rolls-Royce Bespoke Audio system is as epic as the scenery that we were comfortably bisecting. When the first solo kicks in, Alex and I are in full air guitar mode, V o la nt e | April 2016 |

while Moe is mouthing every note phonetically and smiles are etched deeply into the rapidly burning faces of each of us. After a quick stop for coffee at the Waterkloof Wine Estate, and an un-eventful run down the N2 motorway, we arrive at Camps Bay for lunch, after which, I get to cruise the precipitous coastal roads that line False Bay. During the lunch break, I take some time to enjoy the exterior of the Dawn. It’s not a small car, by any means, but it’s a wonderfully balanced looking machine, with perfect proportions. There is definitely a family DNA present; the elegance of the Ghost, coupled with the more aggressive nature of the Wraith. The latter is obvious in the drooping prow, while the wonderfully subtle design touch of the bonnet’s “wakeline” is lifted from the Ghost II. The Dawn, however, has a more purposeful stance, thanks to the rearward positioned cabin, the upwardly sweeping travel of the waistline and the long, slightly raked overhang at the rear. The more muscular lines of the car – emphasised against the dark metallic grey to great effect by the piercing orange coachline – such as the curvy hips of its hind quarters and the soft flaring of the rear wheel arches, transcend both Wraith and Ghost II, establishing the voluptuous Dawn’s credentials as a worthy fourth bloodline in Goodwood’s pedigree stock. When I slide behind the wheel and close the vast coach door, the Dawn shrinks around me, but maybe that’s down to the high belt line that encloses the cabin. The seat adjusts hydraulically with silky ease from the languid position adopted by all six-foot and ten inches of Moe’s frame. With a press of the start button, the mighty 6.6-litre V12 under the hood sighs awake and I pull out into the Bank Holiday Sunday traffic that clogs the road. As with any Rolls-Royce, it commands respect, and other road users happily concede position to let me in. In fact, the standard response we have enjoyed, thus far, to the sight of the Dawn on the road is one of joy and happiness. People seem genuinely pleased to see us as we cruise out of the crowded streets and onto the coast roads that will take us to dinner. The first thing that impresses me on the blind, undulating turns of Chapman’s Peak Drive is the driving dynamic of the Dawn. The steering is short, sharp and precise and, while it’s easy (or, perhaps, effortless, even) to rhythmically cruise from corner to corner by just steering with only a thumb and forefinger, the car has some heft, giving me a

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

sense of feedback as to where the front wheels are positioned, rather than simply relying on the timeless effigy of Eleanor Thornton to guide my position on the road ahead. Traversing the winding strip of tarmac which follows the line of Hout’s Bay becomes an almost zen experience, as this phenomenal machine just sweeps from bend to bend, eating up the miles with fluid ease. I become completely at one with it, revelling in the rarity of such a moment. The heads-up display floats in my line of sight, judgementally informing me that I’m stretching the boundaries of the speed allowed, but it’s very difficult to gauge with such a smooth delivery of the immense 563 brake horsepower at my disposal, as well as the seemingly endless torque, 780Nm to be exact, which is available from as low as 1,500rpm. This is aided by the consummate performance of the eight-speed, dual clutch gearbox, which I, quite literally, don’t even feel. Acceleration is smoother than a freshly oiled chinchilla listening to Kenny G, but that all changes when I get a little heavy of foot. There’s an immediate pick up from the Dawn, which seemingly rears back, albeit gently, and that growl, familiar to Wraith drivers, emanates mischievously from beneath the magic carpet. However, while it’s undeniable that I fell completely in love with this car on Chapman’s Peak Drive, by the time we reached Muizenberg, I found the car’s achilles heel: the wing mirrors are huge! They are like televisions attached to the side of the doors, rudely obscuring the view of oncoming traffic. It was manageable on the passenger side, but on the driver’s side, turning left proved to be a challenge when judging the proximity of approaching cars. Admittedly, I’m a short-arse at a distinctly average five-feet, nine inches. And, yes, I’m probably right in assuming that they aren’t much different in dimension to those attached to the Ghost, the Wraith or the Phantom. But, for whatever reason, I really noticed their encumbrance in the topless Dawn. Fortunately, there are plenty of discreet driver aids built in, that they don’t make life that hard, but one has to find a counterbalance to all of the superlatives, of which there not enough in the dictionary to really describe the Dawn, if I’m honest. It’s incredibly hard to be objective when you’re piloting a car that bears a name synonymous with perfection. The Smeg, for

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

“It was an absolute joy to be a passenger, being able to take in the sheer natural beauty of it all, while nestled in the cosseting, heated seat.”

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

instance, might be considered “the Rolls-Royce of fridges,” while the 1957 Fender Stratocaster is arguably “the Rolls-Royce of guitars.” Most people would espouse the Phantom as the “Rolls-Royce of Rolls-Royces,” but I would happily advocate on behalf of the Dawn for the title. Why? Because it really is two cars in one, despite that being part of the marketing spiel, it’s absolutely true. As a drophead, it is perfect. You can be open to the elements and still have a conversation with the folks in the back, all while taking in impossibly vast panoramas of the South African countryside. Yet, as we entered the final stage of our journey, along the monumentally fabulous Faure Marine Drive towards Rooi Els, we hit a spot of rain. That meant raising the roof for the first time – in the literal sense, of course, rather than our earlier exploits with the audio. Dropping to around 30mph, Moe activated “the silent ballet” from the passenger seat, and within 22 seconds, the beautifully engineered mechanism had cocooned us all in thick fabric. The transformation was mesmerising. Apart from the pattering of rain from an Autumn shower on the canvas above, the inside was as silent as you would expect from one of the company’s coupés. In fact, Rolls-Royce claims that it’s actually a few decibels quieter than the Wraith, which I can believe. The company attributes this to a tailored “French Seam” that negates any wind-noise over the fabric, thus ensuring a silent ride. Obviously, we turned the stereo system up to get the full concert hall vibe, eventually pulling up to our destination accompanied by AC/DC’s crunching rock anthem Shoot To Thrill. Which is exactly what this remarkable new Rolls-Royce had done, hitting me straight in the heart. I unabashedly love this car. And it brings to mind something my Grandfather once said to me: “no matter how bad things may seem now, the sun will always rise in the morning, regardless; with the arrival of dawn there’s a new opportunity to make things better.” He was right in so many ways, and with a Dawn in your garage, the promise of a great day increases exponentially. The minute you take the wheel and find the right road, all of your problems can take a beautifully crafted back seat. It is, indeed, a car for the optimist. Where better, then, to experience it than on the Cape of Good Hope.

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

| T he G a ra ge | B e n t l ey B e n t ayga |

a Diamond in the Rough damien reid discovers that bentley’s

$218,000 bentayga suv is as comfortable

in the rough stuff as it is cruising jumeirah beach road. Words: Damien Reid | Pictures: Bentley Motor Cars

first drive

omewhere in the deepest, darkest corner of my mind I like to think that we are all equal, that we share some common thread that binds us together, where we can relate to the same thing – on some scale, some how. Then I see the Bentley Bentayga and reality hits me harder than a Ronda Rousey roundhouse to the head. But it’s not the car that floors me, because I’ve driven both a Pagani Huayra and a Lada Niva, so I’ve got both ends of the spectrum covered. No, it’s one particular feature inside that leaves me slightly numb. It’s the optional Breitling timepiece in the centre console, as opposed to the regular Breitling timepiece in the centre console. How do they differ? The optional piece is a hand-crafted tourbillon that winds itself every 15 minutes and, for the sake of checking that everything works, i.e. showing off to your mates, it also has a button so you can spin it around as often as you like. The description sounds less than flattering given the build up I’ve just painted, but when you know that only one man at Breitling has the job of making these and the slacker has limited himself to just four per year, then maybe you can justify the $165,000 price. Yup, as in just fifty grand shy of the price of another Bentayga which starts at around $218,000.  V o la nt e | April 2016 |

“Suddenly, all the fuss that was made about the concept car’s freakish looks when it was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show back in 2012 all seems a bit trivial.” 44

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

| T he G a ra ge | B e n t l ey B e n t ayga |

Or maybe you can’t justify that. Personally, despite me being a fan of fine watches and holding an immense appreciation for the mechanical construction and engineering of a good timepiece, I’m in the latter camp. Being mechanical rather than electric, the tourbillon’s self-winding mechanism winds itself by spinning the clock face around three times each quarter hour. Customers can choose black ebony or mother-of-pearl for the face, but will have to live with the eight large diamonds and solid gold construction, though they can choose between white or rose gold. When it comes time to sell the Bentayga, no one expects the resale value to carry over, so Bentley offers the option to remove the tourbillon and mount it as a super-stylish desk clock – replete with the signature Bentley leather and timber veneers – on a plinth for the home or office. If this were a timepiece review, you could be impressed thinking that such a beautiful clock comes with the fastest and most powerful SUV in the world as an extra-cost option, because after all, the price difference nearly cancels the other out. However, we’re here to talk about the car that Bentley hopes will not only change the face and perception of the 96-year old marque, but also allow it to double its production from 10,000 cars this year to 20,000 by 2025. Volante is the first publication in the world to have driven the Bentayga among both the rocky hills and rivers of Spain, as well as surfing 200-metre tall sand dunes around the outskirts of Dubai. Bentayga is the company’s most important model since the 2003 launch of the Continental GT, a fact that was reinforced by the presence of the Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors, Mr Wolfgang Durheimer, joining our cozy little group the night before setting off to sample the first production cars to leave the factory. In total, 162 development mules were built which comprised 40 “simulator” cars, cleverly hidden under Audi Q7 bodies, as well as 14 hand-built prototypes, 48 pre-series cars that were carefully assembled on the production line as a means to also check the line’s efficiency and a further 60 pre-

launch cars before the final sign-off was given. So, it’s been a lengthy process that included some of those cars spending time in Africa, New Zealand, the United States, the North Pole and the Middle East, while covering several million kilometres during its 42-month gestation. Weighing in at 2,420kg, its aluminium construction saves a reputed 200kg, which gave the team more freedom to go large on the interior comforts that, aside from the tourbillon, boasts nine choices of timber veneer, 15 quilted leather hide options, deep pile carpeting and handturned, knurled aluminium air vents with their chrome-dipped, solid brass, organ-stop sliders.

Above: From the dunes of Dubai to the hills and rivers of Spain, Volante got to test the mettle of the Bentayga in some tough conditions.

While Bentley likes to reinforce the fact that Bentayga is a unique product within the VW SUV range, with a bespoke chassis and air suspension developed exclusively for it, it’s still very much a derivative of VW’s modular MLB platform, which debuted under the Audi Q7 and also underpins the VW Touareg as well as future Q5, Q3 and VW Tiguan variants. V o la nt e | April 2016 |

Initially launched with the 6-litre, twin-turbo, W12-cylinder engine, it will be followed up with V8, diesel and V6 hybrid options, but with the order books full for the 600bhp, W12 until 2017, there’s no rush to bring the other engines online just yet. The W12 engine is 90 percent new, with a revised oil system that prevents surge and suction pumps which collect oil from the turbochargers when its on extreme angles. It also features variable displacement, so that half the cylinders shut down to save fuel when coasting and the unit is 30kg lighter. Bentley claims a 0-60mph time of 4.0 seconds with a 187mph top speed, but taken off road and the real story lies within the meaty torque figures of 900Nm from just 1,350 rpm. As is becoming the norm for all-terrain vehicles, Bentayga features an eight mode drive dynamics system it calls “Charisma,” that offers settings of snow, wet grass, sand, mud, gravel, comfort, sport and a “Bentley” mode that’s a compromise to suit most situations. It also features Hill Descent Control, which takes care of keeping its rather large mass from running away on steep and slippery slopes. Each one mixes and matches various set ups between the centre diff, transmission and the 48-volt powered anti-roll system for the air suspension while adjusting parameters such as ride height, traction control, throttle sensitivity and change points on the eight-speed auto transmission. Sitting behind the leather-covered wheel, peering out over a Continental GT-like dash, the Bentley driver’s view is normally that of a treelined boulevard or a hotel valet reception in near total silence. Not seeing the world at a 40-degree angle whilst catching a four-wheel slide at walking pace by steering it down into a ravine. Nor is it, as I found out earlier this year, an endless vista of desert dunes accompanied by plumes of sand being kicked up from the wheels with a screaming engine bouncing off its 6,500rpm rev limiter. Bentayga’s ability to handle loose and slippery gradients was impressive given its size. It seemed as comfortable crawling over obstacles with a 

| T he G a ra ge | B e n t l ey B e n t ayga |

sensitive throttle, at one point, with one wheel perched high in the air, as it was when we joined the development team in the sand dunes of the UAE. Back then, when temperatures were touching 59ºC, it was consistently springing off the rev-limiter as it hurtled over skyscraper-sized dunes in the middle of nowhere. The team worked hard to ensure the ride was as smooth as possible, which is where its 48-volt anti-roll system came to the fore. Its powerful electric motors twist the rear anti-roll bar in the opposite direction to the forces it is subjected to to keep it as flat as possible. Given the size of the car and the angles we traversed, it did a remarkable job of getting over the hurdles without anything flying around the cabin or anyone needing to reach for the grab handles. However, one thing that was apparent, both in the UAE sands and in the Spanish hills, was its approach and departure angles, which are not as good as its nearest competitor, the Range Rover. With two intercooler radiators mounted in the front bumpers, it’s wise to approach steep hills with caution to avoid digging in. For those who do plan to work the Bentayga, it has a 500mm wading depth and a towing capacity of 3,500kg. These stats may seem academic given

[AT A GLANCE]:

2017 Bentley Bentayga Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbo W12 Power / Torque: 600bhp @ 5000rpm / 900Nm @ 1,350rpm Transmission: 8-speed ZF automatic Weight: 2,420kg Performance: Top speed 187mph / 0-60mph in 4.0 sec Towing Capacity: 3,500kg Price: $217,820

that most people assume that many Bentayga owners won’t be taking theirs off road, given that the average Bentley owner, according to the company, has seven other cars in his garage and 65 percent also own a Range Rover. But the Middle East is the exception, where YouTube footage of Continental Coupés and Flying Spurs are seen playing in the dunes alongside LandCruisers and G-Class Mercs, the company has to be prepared to accept that the Bentayga will be used to its maximum ability, many miles away from the shopping mall carpark. Our impression after traversing the muddy and slippery slopes of Southern Spain, as well as flying over Big Red and the Devils Plunge sand dunes in the UAE at ridiculous angles while V o la nt e | April 2016 |

holding sustained, 6000-plus rpm and kicking up giant plumes of sand on days when even the local camels sought refuge under shade, leaves me in no doubt that Bentayga will feel equally at home in the sand, or among the green hills and wadis that can be found in Oman and parts of Saudi Arabia. Suddenly, all the fuss that was made about the concept car’s freakish looks when it was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show back in 2012, which thankfully have been rectified with this production version, all seems a bit trivial. Memory tells me that Porsche didn’t win any beauty contests with its initial Cayenne either, but that didn’t stop it from being the biggest selling model in the company’s history and who was the brains behind that car? Mr Wolfgang Durheimer, the gentleman at our dinner table.

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

| T he G ara ge | A s t o n M a r t in A M 37 B o a t |

Aston Martin Quintessentially

With Mercedes Silver Arrows and Bugatti Super Yachts

in the works, it seems that automotive and marine crossovers are back in vogue. James Nicholls looks at the latest supercar company to dip its toes in the water, Aston Martin.

Words: James Nicholls Pictures: Quintessence Yachts / James Nicholls

| T he G ara ge | A s t o n M a r t in A M 37 B o a t |

ollaborations between car manufacturers and boat builders is not a new concept. After all the motor car and the motor boat do share the same common denominator of an engine. There are of course some differences between the motor in a boat and that in a car, but many car engines have been “marinised” to perform on the water. In the golden age of the three-point hydroplane in the 1950s and ‘60s, it was not that uncommon for Maserati, Lancia, Alfa Romeo or even Ferrari engines to be found in a hull out on the water. Ferruccio Lamborghini himself even had his own V12 4-litre engines installed in his personal Riva. The engines, however, did not provide enough low end torque, though, to put the 1968 Aquarama, hull number 278, up on the plane quickly enough and were soon replaced by more conventional V8 marine engines. It was not only Italian car engines that found their way into boats, the same was true of American Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz motors as used in the Riva Tritone Special Ribot III, and in England with the humble Ford 105E to be found in the Albatross, while the bigger Cortina Kent engine was integrated in the Delta. Donald Healey of Austin Healy fame actually went one stage further and formed Healey Marine which was located at the Donald Healey Motor Company headquarters in Warwick in England. The boats which were just 16 feet long and fitted with 1,500cc Austin Healey 55 engines, similar to that used in the MG Magnette. Built as sports boats and specifically for water skiing behind, they first appeared in 1956 at the London Boat Show. The Healey boats were patronised by racing driver Sir Stirling Moss who actually sank one in the Bahamas when out for the day with Louise King (who later married another F1 ace, Peter Collins). “It was in the Bahamas at the time of the Speed Week that I hit a coral reef just below the surface of the water and down she went. Like every good captain, I stayed with my sinking ship,” said Moss in typical self-deprecating fashion. Moss was not the only superstar associated with the Healey, as world water speed and land speed record holder Donald Campbell, of Bluebird fame, was involved with the Healey 707 sports boat which used the Austin Healey 3000 engine coupled with a jet drive transmission. Even Sir William Lyons of Jaguar had one, but his of course used a Jaguar engine, as did Miss Windermere IV, the four-time world record holder in its class between 1960 and 1971. In all Healey Marine built 1,200 boats (exact records were not maintained unfortunately). This is some 1,199 more than managed by BMW. The 1957 BMW 507 boat is unique, and is fitted with a very special engine from one of the most desirable sports cars of the time, the BMW 507 Roadster. This is not just another hull with a car engine shoe horned into it, but is a proper BMW boat, having been commissioned to be built by the Rambeck boatyard by BMW specifically to take the 3.2-litre aluminium block V8 engine with twin down-draft carburettors. The 507 boat even has the same steering wheel, instrument cluster and distinctive side vent grills, featuring the famous blue and white propeller logo as on the car, along with a period state-of-the-art Becker automatic station finder radio which was part of the 507’s optional extra equipment. BMW even printed a boat sales brochure, but as the company lost money on every one of the 251 cars it built using this engine, even when priced at, for the time, an astronomical

Right: Aston Martin's AM37 can be customised to it owner's specifications by the Gaydon company's "Q" bespoke team.

US$11,000, perhaps their heart was not really in it. Ferrari, too, dabbled in creating its own boats. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the Ferrari CAD team, with Riva engineers and designers, worked together to design and produce a speedboat that was perhaps the closest one could get to a racing car on water. A limited edition of just 40 boats were built, only available in Ferrari red. Unfortunately, the Riva Ferrari 32 did not feature Ferrari engines but was propelled by two petrol 400hp V8 BPM Vulcano motors providing a top speed of 62mph. So, it is hardly a new concept, but it is certainly one that is currently in vogue once again. Jaguar came up with a concept speedboat in 2013 and Bugatti, harking back to the glory days of the 1930s, has leant its name to as series of three sports yachts, measuring 42 feet (12.8 metres), 63 feet (19 metres) and 88 feet (26.8 metres) to be built by US company Palmer Johnson. Possibly though it is Aston Martin which is creating the closest synthesis between the sports car and the sports boat. After massive interest following revelations at the Monaco Yacht Show in 2015, the AM37 and AM37 S will be available in early 2016. The association between British luxury car maker Aston Martin and Quintessence Yachts is far more than a mere licensing agreement. 

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

[AT A GLANCE]:

2016 Aston Martin AM37 Engine: Twin Mercury onboard motors Power: 370hp (diesel) / 430hp (petrol) Length: 37 feet Performance: Top speed 44 knots / 50mph Price: TBC

2016 Aston Martin AM37 S Engine: Twin petrol-driven Mercury on-board motors Power: 520hp Length: 37 feet Performance: Top speed 52 knots / 60mph Price: TBC

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will not be a boat that looks like a car, nor a car that floats like a boat, but rather a new vessel that combines the best technology and practices from both the marine and automobile industries.â&#x20AC;?

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

“the AM37, which offers the perfect balance of design with engineering, performance with comfort, luxury with functionality.”

- Marek Reichman, Aston Martin CCO

Quintessence has been established to specifically build the AM37. Although a virtual start up, Quintessence already has considerable pedigree. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Quintessence Yachts’ Supervisory Board is chaired by Henk de Vries, the Director of Feadship, and the company is working with not only the Aston Martin design department, but also with naval architects Mulder Design of Amsterdam, to bring the project to fruition. Mulder Design is a name of course inextricably linked with fast, high quality super yachts and which is also currently working on a secretive 377 foot (115 m) super yacht concept. The defining Aston Martin tagline, “Power, Beauty and Soul,” is to be transformed from terra firma onto the waves. The AM37 is not just another sports boat carrying a special name, but a boat that is defined by the look, feel and integral values of Aston Martin which has been producing remarkable cars since 1913. However, it will not be a boat that looks like a car, nor a car that floats like a boat, but rather a new vessel that combines the best technology and practices

from both the marine and automobile industries. The 37-foot long AM37 will feature a deep “V” stepped hull reducing water friction and providing smoothness of ride. The hull itself will be manufactured from high-tech composites used in aerospace and aircraft, as well as off-shore racing applications. Just like its Aston Martin automotive brethren, the AM37 is designed to be fast, safe and comfortable, with luxury and technology fusing together to provide an experience that should prove rather remarkable. Elegant and speedy with sporting characteristics, the AM37 will be a grand tourer in the fashion of perhaps the car company’s most famous model, the DB5, brought very much to life, meeting today’s, and even tomorrow’s, expectations. The AM37 is set to be a leisure boat capable of 44 knots and fitted with either twin 370hp Mercury diesels or two 430hp Mercury petrol engines. The AM37 S, meanwhile, puts greater emphasis on power with with its dual 520hp Mercury petrol units, capable of providing some spectacular feats on the water at an astonishing 52 knots (around 60mph). Of course, the discerning reader will have spotted immediately that the AM is not powered by Aston Martin engines, but rather proven water based Mercuries. What a pity that it could not have gone the whole hog

Above: In the AM37, luxury and technology will fuse together to create something remarkable.

and employed the company’s epic Aston Martin 5.2-litre V12. But this is to quibble. I doubt James Bond will mind, as he scythes stylishly away from Blofeld’s henchmen, Martini in hand, at the wheel of his water-borne Aston. I have not driven an AM37 on the water yet, no-one has, but I am very excited to see and test the final result. The CEO of Quintessence Yachts is Mariella Mengozzi, who made her name at Disney and Ferrari, whilst Production Director is Ben Collett, who has a wealth of experience and expertise from the likes of Camper & Nicholsons and Discovery Yachts. Their combined skills, with the input of Aston Martin and Mulder Design, will create something very special indeed. As Marek Reichman, Chief Creative Officer at Aston Martin says, “Beauty is a universal language, and we all like to look at beautiful objects. This principle is at the core of Aston Martin and all of the products in which we are involved. And it’s the core of the AM37, which offers the perfect balance of design with engineering, performance with comfort, luxury with functionality.” It is not here yet but, but when it arrives, prepare to be shaken, and stirred, for this will be a car and boat cocktail like no other before.

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

| T he G ara ge | 194 8 L a n d Rove r S e r ie s 1 |

after 68 years, the last land rover defender rolled off the production line at solihull in the uk in january. kevin hackett spends a day with the first land rover on the welsh beach where it was born.

Landy of hope & glory Words: Kevin Hackett | Pictures: Max Earey

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

Climbing

aboard the Land Rover affectionately known as Huey after having spent a morning cosseted inside a luxurious, supercharged Range Rover V8 is nothing short of a culture shock. With no power assistance for anything, no soundproofing, no leather upholstery, no creature comforts whatsoever, this is motoring from a bygone era and nothing about it is easy. There are some rudimentary instruments in the centre of what barely passes for a dashboard, a couple of levers protruding from the bare metal floor, a measly, leatherette seat squab between my derrière and the fuel tank and that's about it. It’s slow off the mark, as you might expect from a 50hp car that was built in 1948, and it’s noisy. I can hear the transmission whine and practically every valve, every piston, every lever doing its thing. Change gear and you can feel the crunching ker-thunk as metal meets metal and the next ratio is brought into play. It’s far from ideal transport for that all-important first date and you wouldn’t want this four-wheel drive for the school run, either, but Huey positively oozes charisma. History is squeezing its way out of every one of his enormous panel gaps. HUE 166 is the world’s oldest Land Rover and I’m driving him in the place of, if not his birth, then at least his conception 69 years ago: Red Wharf Bay on the North Welsh island of Anglesey in the UK. Which happens to be about five minutes from where I used to live. For it was here, in the summer of 1947, that Maurice Wilks (then technical chief of Rover) first came up with the idea of a world-conquering vehicle to kick-start exports for the ailing Rover Car Company. After the Second World War, steel was in short supply and Rover needed it to build cars. However, the British government demanded guarantees of overseas sales to boost the country’s battered, near bankrupted economy before supplies would be forthcoming. A stopgap model – one that appealed to overseas markets – was required to boost the company’s (and the country’s) coffers and Wilks was the man with a plan. He and his brother, Spencer (Rover's then Managing Director), owned a farm on Anglesey where their families used to holiday. To get about the land they used a war-surplus American Willys Jeep, bought from a neighbour back home in Warwickshire, but they soon found weaknesses in its design as it often managed to get stuck in the muddy ground. Maurice reasoned that Rover could do better.

Above: Early advertising described the Land Rover as "the go anywhere" vehicle. Below: Elegant in its simplicity, the Series 1 was a no-frills off-roader, but it became a world-wide success story.

While some work was going on at the farmhouse, the Wilks families stayed at a tiny hamlet on Anglesey called Wern-y-Wylan, where a single-lane track takes visitors down to the vast sands of Red Wharf Bay. Maurice and Spencer walked towards the ocean, talking about the idea, and sketched a basic design for a new vehicle in the damp sand. It would offer the benefits of an agricultural tractor with on-road usability. It would be a Rover for the land. A Land Rover. The Wilks brothers bought another Jeep and fitted it with a Rover engine and gearbox. It worked. They then commissioned a prototype known as the “Centre Steer,” due to its centrally positioned steering column. This was far too complex for production, so the idea was shelved and the car dismantled. The drawing in the sand was the same basic design used for the Centre Steer, but subtle changes were brought in for the next prototype and it’s the very car you see here.

uch debate rages about Huey's provenance. Some claim he’s actually the first production car built after an initial batch of 48 prototypes, but Land Rover’s only recently retired Technical Communications Manager, Roger Crathorne, is here with me and is quite adamant. “Huey is the first of the prototypes, no doubt,” he tells me. “His chassis number is LR1 and the comprehensive records we hold tell the whole story. HUE 166 first rolled out of the factory on the 11th of March, 1948.” Crathorne joined Land Rover as an engineer in 1963 and has only just left, so if anyone should know, he should. Series production started in June 1948, with Rover still viewing the £450 model as nothing but a short-term fix. Bert Gosling was there right at the beginning, and remembered the early days with great fondness when he previously told me: “The only tools we had were those on the shop floor: hammers, saws, simple folding presses. The designs were all sketched on scraps of paper. They didn't even have measurements on them and we were told to make what we could but without press tools. We made them up as we went along and none of those first cars were identical.” Ironically, given that the Land Rover was born from a desire to secure supplies of steel, the car was (as have been all Land Rover products since) mostly made from aluminium, a metal that was bountiful in supply thanks to its use in aircraft manufacture 

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“It’s far from ideal transport for that allimportant first date and you wouldn’t want this four-wheel drive for the school run, either, but Huey positively oozes charisma.”

[AT A GLANCE]:

1948 Land Rover Series 1 Engine: 1.6-litre, in-line four-cylinder Power / Torque: 50hp @ 4,000rpm / 108Nm @ 2,000rpm Transmission: 4-speed manual, fourwheel drive Suspension: Semi-elliptic under-strung, all round Weight: 1,184kg Performance: Top Speed 56mph, 0-60mph n/a Price when new: $624 Current Value: $50,000

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| T he G ara ge | 194 8 L a n d Rove r S e r ie s 1 |

during the war. The Land Rover’s bulkhead was made from steel for strength, as was its chassis, but the rest was aluminium alloy – no doubt the reason that so many old Land Rovers survive to this day. Within a month of building the vehicles for paying customers, it was obvious Rover had a major hit on its hands and production was significantly increased from 100 vehicles a week to 500. Since then well over two million of these stopgap models have been built and sold, with an estimated 65 percent of all examples still in regular use. Incredible. The reason for its success, reckons Crathorne, is obvious: “A Land Rover, unlike any other vehicle, gives its occupants a sense of adventure. You really do feel as though you could go anywhere. It’s a classless vehicle, too,” he adds, “and is equally at home in the urban jungle or in the wilds of Africa. Land Rovers give their occupants an enormous sense of well-being.” He has a point, at least when they’re working. Unfortunately, despite their designs being intrinsically right, their quality of construction has until recent times been questionable – something that didn’t seem to hamper sales, though, it has to be said.

nother reason for Land Rover’s success is that, while the brand has diversified with a range of vehicles that range from the now deceased Defender and Freelander, to the ubiquitous Discoveries and the mighty, SUVinventing Range Rover, as well as the fashionable Evoque, none has ever been compromised when it comes to off-road ability – something that cannot be said for the company’s rivals. And here with Huey, on this sodden, beautiful ground, the sense of occasion is almost overwhelming. I arrived in the palatial luxury of a new Range Rover V8, which simply hammers home to me the point that the old timer is possibly the most important vehicle to ever turn a wheel. If you think I’m exaggerating, just consider the uses that Land Rovers have been put to over the decades. Quite apart from the original intended agricultural jobs (they can even power ploughs and hay baling machines as they’re towing them), Land Rovers have been pressed into service in the armed forces all over the world. They continue to see active duty in war zones and they're used as ambulances, fire engines, mountain rescue vehicles, trucks (some with caterpillar tracks), as well as simple, everyday cars. Their simplicity of construction has made them ideal for use in some of the planet’s most remote and inhospitable areas, with the majority of problems being fixable in situ with a little technical knowledge and a hammer. By contrast, the latest Range Rovers are

“Well over two million of these have been built and sold, with an estimated 65 percent of all examples still in regular use. Incredible.” complex beyond words. Packed to the gunnels with every refinement and luxury imaginable, they're like Bentleys you can drive through fields, rivers, over mountains – wherever you want – and it shows just how far Land Rover has been able to evolve that original idea. Without this car, without this beach and without that sketch in the sand, which vanished as soon as the tide rolled in on that pivotal day, would we have the SUVs that have become so commonplace today? Possibly, but the original Land Rover’s breadth of capabilities set a template for all that followed and the world owes it a debt of gratitude. Huey is owned and cared for by Jaguar Land Rover and, when I press Crathorne for a valuation, he remains tight-lipped. “We can't really put a price on him,” he sighs. “He’s priceless and anyway, as a company we’d never let him go. We need to look V o la nt e | April 2016 |

back on our humble origins and, as a marketing tool, Huey has been and continues to be invaluable.” With its value obviously far greater than the sum of its green-painted parts, this Land Rover has indeed become something of a celebrity and is frequently wheeled out, especially when Land Rover launches a new model. And its shape, which has become one of the most recognisable in the world, remained fundamentally unaltered in the form of the aptly named Defender. But the winds of change are blowing and soon an all-new design will be decided on and built, replacing the boxy, simple Landie, of which the final example rolled off the Solihull production line on the 29th of January, 2016. In reference to its originator, its registration plate was H166 HUE. After almost seven unbroken decades, the longest running production car in the world was no more and some members of staff on the Defender line decided to retire there and then, rather than move to other parts of the factory. Whatever model Land Rover introduces as a replacement to the Defender won’t be anywhere near as pure in its design or construction and, in some regards, that’s a shame. Because I miss simplicity enough in my life already, and Huey serves as a poignant reminder that when a basic design is right in the first place, there’s little point in changing it. So, is Huey the most important vehicle ever built? You know, I think he just might be.

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

James Nicholls explores the history of the Alvis marque as it prepares for a triumphant return to the automotive spotlight.

Words: James Nicholls

Pictures: Alvis Car Company

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| T he G ara ge | A l v is C o n t in u a t io n S e r ie s |

he Alvis story is an interesting one. True automotive engineers, the company name should be as internationally well known as Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin or Jaguar. Yet, that is not the case for this British brand with its distinctive inverted red triangle emblem. Alvis was established in 1919 by founder T. G. John, a naval architect, as a manufacturer of stationary engines and motor scooters. Geoffrey de Freville who had designed a 4-cylinder engine with aluminium pistons approached John to make his engine. The first car, designated the 10/30, quickly gained a reputation for outstanding performance and quality, which was to become the hallmark of the company and its future products. Fast, good looking vehicles were what Alvis did best and they proved themselves time and again on the racetrack. This race testing provided various innovative engineering firsts which were adopted in and adapted for Alvis road cars. In 1925 a supercharged front-wheel drive Alvis lapped the famous Brooklands circuit at 104mph. The following year Alvis designed and raced the first straight eight, front-wheel drive Grand Prix car which went around Brooklands at 121mph. Following racing success at Le Mans in 1928, Alvis developed one of the first ever front wheel drive production cars equipped with an overhead camshaft, and if the customer so desired, an optional supercharger. Alvis developed and manufactured a superb 4.3-litre 6-cylinder engine in-house which became very famous in the 1930s. The cars were technically advanced for the period and featured the world’s first all synchromesh gearbox, independent front suspension (a first for a British manufacturer) and servo assisted brakes. In 1938 an Alvis 4.3-litre, again at Brooklands, recorded a maximum speed of 119mph, a fastest average lap of 115mph and an average speed of 110mph. Not only were Alvis cars fast and well built, but in the hands of some of the finest coach builders, stunning to look at. The two-door Bertelli Sports Coupé was first exhibited at the 1935 Paris Motor Show, whilst the aerodynamic splendour of the Lancefield Concealed Hood was first seen at the 1938 London Motor Show. As The Autocar magazine wrote in August 1938, “In the scheme of things there are cars, good cars and super cars, the Alvis falling definitively into the latter category.” Forget the Ferraris or the Lamborghini Miura of the 1960s, the first supercar was an Alvis. Indeed this may very well be the first time that the oft used term “supercar” was ever coined. The Alvis had

This Page: The Lancefield Concealed Hood. Opposite; The Vanden Plas Tourer.

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A wide range of bespoke materials such as woods and leathers are available. Below: Traditional building practices contiinue, with aluminium bodywork built over an Ash frame.

everything going for it. “The general appearance suggests a real thoroughbred – this car is capable of a truly remarkable performance, but the manner in which this is achieved makes the Alvis doubly likeable,” wrote another journalist in The Motor. Then World War Two cast its dark shadow across civilisation, and this included Alvis. On November 14th 1940 under a full moon, over 400 German Luftwaffe bombers carried out an intense raid on the city of Coventry destroying 75% of all the buildings in the city, 50% of all homes and 33% of all factories, including the Alvis works which were severely damaged. Car production ceased though Alvis as part of the war effort continued to carry out aero engine production for the RAF and ran 21 ‘shadow’ factories. Towards the end of 1946 car production recommenced at Alvis. In these post war years Alvis continued to innovate. By 1950 a new chassis with

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a 3-litre 6-cylinder engine was announced and this, the TA21, with bodies by Milliners, was to be the basis of all the remaining Alvis models. There was also a drophead version by Pickford and beautiful specialist coachwork by the Swiss coach builder Graber. The relationship with Graber developed and in 1955 its designs were adopted for the TC and in 1958 the TD21, production of which was carried out by Park Ward, coach builders for RollsRoyce and Bentley. Prior to this though, the engineer Alec Issigonis, most famous as the brains behind the iconic Mini, the most innovative small vehicle of all time, had already joined Alvis in 1952 and designed a prototype 3.5-litre V8 engine. Alvis was always endeavouring to improve and push the boundaries of mechanical engineering, testimony to this the fact that the first hovercraft to make the historic crossing of the English Channel in 1959, S.R.N.1 

| T he G ara ge | A l v is C o n t in u a t io n S e r ie s |

was powered by an Alvis Leonides engine. Time though was running out for Alvis almost as quickly as the revolutions of one of its magnificent engines. In 1967, after 47 years engineering nearly 22,000 hand-built motor cars, Alvis ceased car production. But Alvis was not dead. The passenger car division with some 50,000 works drawings, blueprints and data sheets was relocated and Alvis continued to manufacture parts for existing owners. Meanwhile the production of armoured fighting vehicles established in 1936 continued until well into this century. For all intents and purposes, though, the Alvis name and the famous red triangle was moribund. That is until 2010, when the company made the decision to recommence car production and begin the redevelopment of the famous Alvis 4.3-litre engine for the modern world. In 2015, at last, Alvis is once again, “making cars

how they used to be made,” with the launch of its new range of limited edition Continuation Series models. From evidence shown by the original Alvis Company board minutes, it appears that production of 77 of the fully galvanised high-grade steel chassis sanctioned for the Alvis 4.3-litre models never took place due to the hiatus caused by the bombing of Coventry in 1940. The new cars which will be limited in number to just 77, will carry the car numbers and chassis numbers allocated at the time, hence the designation “Continuation Series.” The new cars are manufactured from the original drawings and, in essence, the 4.3-litre in-line 6-cylinder power plant is faithful to the original 1930s design. Utilising modern technology and materials, however, means that it now produces even more horsepower and is emission compliant. It manages to retain the integrity and intrinsic nature of the original, but is

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completely up-to-date for today’s world. Eighty years after the Bertelli Sports Coupé bodied Alvis 4.3-litre was launched in Paris, I see this fantastic car at the Dubai International Motor Show. It is as stunning as the day it was first seen the new cars, hand-built in the traditional manner are works of art that, once again, bring the glamour of the 1930s to the road today. Alvis is not only offering the Bertelli and Lancefield Concealed Hood in the Continuation Series, but also the very sporting looking 4.3-litre Vanden Plas Tourer capable of 0-50mph in 7.6 seconds. If one prefers the post rather than prewar look then the two-door Alvis 3-litre Park Ward drophead coupé, capable of seating five and with a top speed of 120mph is also part of the new series. All four cars, with aluminium over ash frame coachwork, are offered with a wide range of bespoke options including colour, cloth, leather and wood to suit any client’s particular tastes. The Alvis super car is dead – long live the Alvis super car!

Telemetry

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| Te l e m e t r y | S a l o n Pr ivé |

Words: Phill Tromans Pictures: Tim Brown

As befits

A Trip To The Salon Phill Tromans attends a very special garden party in the grounds of England’s Blenheim Palace – the ultra exclusive Salon Privé.

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a traditional English summer fête, the weather is… changeable. Clouds slope above the Oxfordshire countryside, glaring down at the festivities getting under way below. It’s a scene mirrored across the United Kingdom as autumn tries to muscle its way into the sun that event organisers and visitors are yearning for. But this isn’t your regular village fair; this is Salon Privé, the UK’s most prestigious car show. Forget giant exhibition halls, forget even the majesty of Goodwood’s Festival of Speed. Salon Privé is an exclusive show for the finest cars, held in the splendid shadow of Blenheim Palace, a 300-year-old country house in the village of Woodstock. It’s the ancestral home of the Duke of Marlborough, built to celebrate victory in war over the French, and Sir Winston Churchill was born here. It is, in short, a rather fancy place. Salon Privé isn’t about getting the crowds in. It’s about attracting the wealthiest and therefore most lucrative clientele, and matching them with suitable business people – makers of luxury goods, manufacturers of luxury cars and so on. How best to do this? By organising something that the wellheeled will go out of their way to see. By bringing in some of the rarest and most beautiful cars ever created, and by inviting collectors to show off their own prides and joys. The result is closer in atmosphere to Ascot horse racing or the Henley Royal Regatta than the Geneva 

| Te l e m e t r y | S a l o n Pr ivé |

Above: Salon Privé is the UK's most prestigious car meet; Below: The Concours judges examine and score the fine metal on show.

Motor Show. Attendance at the three-day event is limited for two days to just a couple of thousand (the public are allowed a look on the final day), and tickets are not cheap. But for their money, visitors get five-star treatment – grand surroundings, fresh lobster lunch, free-flowing bubbly and up-close access to some serious machines, both old and new. This is Salon Privé’s tenth show, but its first at Blenheim Palace. Previous events were smaller, held first at London’s Hurlingham Club and then at the larger Syon House. But the founders and organisers, David and Andrew Bagley, have an eye on expansion and even more grandeur, and what could be grander than the only non-royal, non-episcopal palace in Great Britain? The event is held on the palace’s vast rear lawn. The highlight of day one, when we visit, is the Concours d’Elegance – a competition to see who has the best classic car in a range of different classes. These are not your average MG Bs or ropey old Jaguars. These are some of the best classic cars money can buy, featuring the finest exotica from across the world. The Salon Privé concours has over the past decade become one of the most prestigious in the world, ranking alongside the likes of the USA’s Pebble Beach and Italy’s Villa d’Este. A class win could add considerable value and prestige to a car, so although the atmosphere is convivial, the owners want to win. The cars entered into the concours take pride of place in the centre of the lawn. Around the edges, exhibitors have set up stalls; merchants selling everything from intricately details shotguns to framed paintings of great motorsport moments. Car manufacturers are here too – not the likes of Ford or Hyundai, but Lamborghini, Pagani and McLaren have their latest wares on display, while niche firms like Tramontana and David Brown Automotive are showing off their limited-edition creations. As the gates are opened, exhibitors are hurriedly putting V o la nt e | April 2016 |

the finishing touches to their displays and guests are already perusing the vehicles on show. Some owners have gone for a wander, while others sit contentedly next to their machines, happily greeting friends and colleagues or explaining details of their cars’ histories to interested parties. The dress code is smart – there are no jeans or trainers. Gents sport blazers and chinos or suits, while the ladies are in elegant dresses. Straw hats abound. Organiser Andrew Bagley jumps on a microphone and welcomes the visitors, looking remarkably calm considering that the next three days will mark the best part of a year’s preparation, and there are numerous opportunities for things to go wrong. When you’re one of the world’s social elite, you expect perfection at all times. “With an event of this size, trying to feed 2,000 people a day with VIP hospitality, the first day is somewhat filled with trials and tribulations,” he says after his welcome address. “Hopefully what guests see is nothing and it’s all under the water, behind the scenes. As the rain holds off and visitors and competitors alike eat, drink and make merry, judging for the concours is already under way. A team of international classic car experts roams the exhibits and scrutinises the vehicles. Keeping them all in check is chief judge and former F1 driver Derek Bell. He points out that he doesn’t actually judge anything himself; rather, he guides the rest on how to approach the process. “I just arbitrate when there’s a bit of a punch-up at the end between the Italians and the French,” he says with a sly grin. “We had a bit of a moment one year between judges, and sometimes you have to

look at both sides of the stories. “At the end of the day you’re looking for a car that pleases the eye. Then you have to look at how genuine it is; how long ago the paint job was, or whether it has a track record. Some are more polished than others; you get cars where they’ve finished the paintwork two days ago just to bring them to the event, and you go ‘that isn’t quite the point of it’. The balance between restoration and originality is personal preference, but I think we all like originality. There’s nothing like a car that’s original. Inevitably after 40 years it’s had a paint job and it’s smarter than it was but it’s not done up like a Pebble Beach-winning proposition. Those are almost not real, like you mustn’t touch them. We think the car should be driven to the event.” Derek strolls off to examine more of the vehicles on show. Among them is a beautiful red 1947 Cisitalia 202SMM Nuvolari Spider, sitting alongside its convertible competitors in Class B (which is titled Wind in your Hair). The Cisitalia’s guardian is Belgian Dirk de Jager. A photographer by trade, he’s been tasked by the car’s owner, collector Jan de Reu, to prepare and enter his little Italian racing car into the concours. Salon Privé marks the first time it’s been displayed in public. Dirk explains the process of preparing for a competition of this magnitude. “Usually the process starts a year or a year in a half in advance, depending on the concours,” he says.” This one we started six months ago, when I had a call from the organiser looking for a couple of cars. I called the owner, and we picked this car. It’s one of the main rally cars in the collection so it’s not a perfect concours car, but it doesn’t need to be, in my mind. This is a race car. It should not be too new and shiny.” The Cisitalia – the prototype for the production Spyders that followed – has some serious provenance, having been driven in the legendary Mille Miglia race by the founder of the company, Piero Dusio. Its sister car was driven in the same race by Tazio Nuvolari, whose performance led to the Spyder’s name in his honour.

Dirk is cautiously optimistic about the car’s chances, thanks to its history, racing record and rarity, but he’s warily eyeing the competition. It includes a newly restored, one-off 1955 Goldmanini that scorches the grass with its side exhausts when it’s started for the judges, and a flawless 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder SWB. “There are a lot of good cars,” Dirk says. “My advantage is that this is a very rare car, and it stands out. We have racing history, and only two other cars in the class have that. But they like Ferraris here, so the short wheelbase California Spyder is a problem! It remains a game, you never know.” 

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Above: The author chats with F1 legend, Derek Bell; Below: The parade past the judging panel draws a crowd.

| Te l e m e t r y | S a l o n Pr ivé |

Above: A plethora of stunning classics and a handful of contemporary rarities all converge on Blenheim Palace for the event, while period costume adds a festival air to proceedings.

Lunchtime. Lobsters are thrown on huge open-air barbecues, and a cavalcade of waiting staff keeps the assembled visitors happy. A few celebrities appear; former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, rapper Dizzee Rascal and ex-Formula 1 driver Max Chilton all soak in the atmosphere, albeit with an eye on the looming clouds, and after their repast take seats for the results of the concours competition. The judges have been convening and deciding and arguing, and now the winning machines are driven past the gathered enthusiasts and presented

“The guests dictate how good or bad the event has gone and you can see that everyone’s got a smile on their face,” he says happily. “From a concours perspective, it’s fantastic that the XK120 Jabbake won. It’s such an iconic car. 173mph back in 1953 is insane and Norman Dewis, the guy that drove this, has some hair-raising stories. “It takes us about 10 months of pretty hard

with their awards. It’s a chance to see the wide range of classic vehicles in motion, albeit slowly, and Derek Bell commentates on what’s won what and why, throwing in anecdotes about his racing days to well-bred chuckles and ripples of applause (this really isn’t the setting for whooping and hollering). Dirk’s Cisitalia loses out to the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder that he expected would give him problems, while the best of show is a stunning and unique 1952 Jaguar XK120, built for a top-speed run in Jabbeke, Belgium and resplendent with a sci-fi-esque glass bubble over the driver’s seat for aerodynamism. Awards handed out, corks pop and winners celebrate with their trophies, friends and families. Andrew Bagley surveys the scene.

work to put this three-day event together. The build is always a bit hellish, especially with the weather, but to see it open and everyone with smiles on their faces is rewarding.” And with that, a few spots of rain begin to fall, sending the gathered enthusiasts scurrying, in an appropriately English manner, for a spot of tea and cake in a tent. They leave what is probably the most expensive car park in Europe to get rather damp. Nobody seems to mind.

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driven men

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| D r i ve n Me n | C o l in C h a pm a n |

the

Making of Genius

Nothing was handed on a platter to engineering and design virtuoso Colin Chapman, except the gift of personality, daring, innovation and ruthlessness…

Words: Dejan Jovanovic | Pictures: Getty / Corbis / Newspress Above: 1973 Lotus Elite Right: The charasmatic Colin Chapman.

“‘Adding power makes you faster on the straights, subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere,’

Colin Chapman

rand Prix racing is a small world, populated by danger, adventure, innovation, glory and sadness. It’s a world where just a couple of dozen or so men, from a pool of seven billion, dance with the reaper every other Sunday. It’s a deadly dice, and death never steps out of line – put just one foot wrong, and you’ve got your column inches of fame in the obituaries. Colin Chapman had visited many graves, and grieved for many men who went before their time. Which is ironic, since he’s the one who contributed to many an afterlife. An outrageous statement, perhaps, but that depends on who you ask. Ricardo Rodriguez, Jochen Rindt and Ronnie Peterson would likely back it, had they not died in Chapman’s obsessively light and fragile Lotus Grand Prix cars. Double Formula One world champion Graham Hill had his own protestations about piloting certain Lotus designs, and three-time champion Sir Jackie Stewart flatly refused to join the team on the grounds of safety, or the lack of it. If you want to make a million in racing, you start with 10 million, the old adage goes, but Chapman had neither the funds nor was he a major manufacturer marketing his products at race meetings on Sunday and selling them on Monday. All he had was his genius, utilising it innovatively and ruthlessly to dominate and revolutionise the world of motorsport, and indeed road cars as well. Through all his personality flaws, shady business failings or brushes with the law, Chapman’s character remains largely untainted in memory, and his legacy of daring and originality in thought epitomise the man’s mark on automotive history. The night before he died, Chapman dined, wined, and tapped to a jazz band with his wife Hazel and Lotus team manager Peter Warr. In the morning, Chapman and his right-hand man Bushell flew to Paris for an FIA meeting at Place de la Concorde. 

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They were back home in England after a bit of a hairy landing at Hethel by the evening. As soon as Chapman got home around the corner from the company estate he retired to bed, and never woke up. The principal most pioneering individual in British motorsport, as well as entrepreneurship, died of a heart attack at the age of 54. The call to the Lotus team came immediately, as Warr made the rounds giving everyone the devastating news. Faces dropped, the ‘Guv’nor’ was gone, and just about no one at Hethel said so much as a word for the rest of the day. But everyone wanted to say it; they all knew it had to be said. How was Lotus to carry on? Chapman was everything, and everywhere at Lotus, his involvement seeping into each nut and bolt of every race and road car bearing the famous green and gold badge, with Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman’s initials. Indeed, the initials always appear bigger than the name Lotus itself, signifying the substance of the founder, designer and builder of Lotus cars. Yes, Chapman was Lotus, yet the marque didn’t die with him. The day after, everyone in the team turned up at Hethel as usual, eight o’clock sharp, and just got on with the simple job of getting on. The Guv’nor was gone, but Lotus had cars to build, races to win.

Race to riches It all began with £25. Chapman borrowed a “Pony” from his fiancée to found Lotus Cars in 1952, and swell the pot into a million pound empire of engineering perfection by 1968. He got the name Lotus from a bathroom fitting.

His father kept a pub in North London during young Colin’s youth, which was quite unremarkable in terms of academic pursuits. But then came university, a civil engineering degree, a year in the air force and finally a job in the aluminium industry. “There will always be a case for a relatively small, adaptable business to fill in the gap of big car manufacturers,” he noted. “There’s always going to be a scope for a man who can offer something better… “I don’t think you have to be ruthless [in business],” he said. “But I think you have to be prepared to make some unpalatable decisions at times, because frequently your decision is between two evils, and it’s going to hurt somebody. This is a tragedy of trying to run a business, but there’s no way out.” And there were plenty of unpalatable decisions. Motor racing historian Mike Lawrence wrote that Chapman habitually abused drugs like barbiturates and amphetamines to keep his restless mind going, while his trademark moustache, piercing blue eyes, and Queen’s English added to the oodles of charm radiating from his mere presence. And you certainly need charm in business, which comes especially handy when getting away with plagiarising ideas and taking credit for other people’s engineering novelties. Conspiracy theorists fuel this fire, but even if Chapman did indeed take credit for some of his junior engineers’ innovations or other firms’ inventions, it was he who succeeded in actuating the designs and realising them. Although Britain’s car industry was second only to America’s goliaths in Detroit during the 1940s and 1950s, the products coming out of England were somewhat old-fashioned and steeped in pre-

Above: Celebrating another victory on the F1 track. Right: Winning was Chapman's focus, sometimes at the expense of all else – including safety.

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1963: Colin Chapman and "Gentleman" Jim Clark parade thier laurels around Brands Hatch. Left: The Lotus 7 has become an icon. Here Patrick Mcgoohan examines the automotive star of his TV show, The Prisoner. Right: Lotus pulled off a real coup when its Esprit was chosen as James Bond's new ride in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me.

war methods of design and manufacture. Chapman sought to instill vigour into the British motor car, with lightweight and modern models. Lotus, then, became the only new British automobile marque established after the war. The first global Lotus headquarters was a London lock-up belonging to Chapman’s soon-to-be in-laws, churning out modified Austins. Four years after dabbling with road cars he went into racing, and quickly set about occupying the front rows of most grids. As was

“Chapman sought to instill vigour into the British motor car, with lightweight and modern models. Lotus, then, became the only new British automobile marque established after the war.” to become the standard of his motorsport philosophy, the rule books were often interpreted as moth-eaten rags full of holes, ready to be exploited. His early success came from extracting more power from an engine that everyone used, and lightening everything he could. “To Colin rules were something to be challenged, circumvented,” said Lotus engineer Tony Rudd. “He spent hours reading [the rule books] just to find loopholes.” “Adding power makes you faster on the straights, subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere,” Chapman famously noted. “We actually go racing because I like it. I’ve always been involved in racing, and I also like the technical fallout from it.  V o la nt e | April 2016 |

Above: Ayrton Senna behind the wheel of the John Player Special Lotus F1 Car in 1985.

Below: The modern-day Lotus Exige and the iconic Lotus 7.

| D r i ve n Me n | C o l in C h a pm a n |

We learn tremendous amounts from racing. Our engineers from the car company take direct readouts from the racing team, in terms of suspension, handling, safety… We stretch everything to the limit in our racing cars, and we then know what sort of limit we can incorporate in our production cars.” Hence the business grew, purely in order to finance a passion. At the Earls Court Motor Show in 1957 Lotus presented three cars to the public – the Lotus 7 and Lotus Elite road cars, and the Lotus 12 race car which clearly displayed Chapman’s ambitions of Grand Prix racing. The greatest British driver at the time would go down in history for giving Lotus its debut Formula One victory at Monaco in 1960, although not for Colin Chapman as a constructor, but rather the customer Rob Walker Racing Team. “Frankly the Lotuses were beautiful to drive,” said the winner, Sir Stirling Moss, “Not easy to drive, but very quick, very light and delicate, and very delicate as far as the strength was concerned…” In fact Moss had first-hand experience of this fragility with quite a few wheels coming off his Lotus 18. The most alarming incident occurred at the fearsome 15-kilometre Spa Francorchamps road circuit in Belgium, when a front wheel decided it had had enough. At 225 kilometers per hour. Moss spun, hit a bank, and broke his back and legs. It was one of the first of many such trackside excursions for a Colin Chapman-designed car and its unlucky driver. “Any car which holds together for more than a race is too heavy,” was another chilling definition of Grand Prix racing by Chapman, as

Peter Warr and Chapman on the Lotus pit wall at the Spanish GP in 1978.

“The day after [Chapman’s death], everyone turned up at Hethel as usual and just got on with getting on. The Guv’nor was gone, but Lotus had cars to build, races to win.” was the infamous, “To add speed, add lightness.” You can’t get much lighter than a car with no wheels. Besides painstakingly counting chassis rivets and getting rid of any surplus, as well as utilising the thinnest gauge aluminium possible, Chapman brought novelty designs to seemingly every Grand Prix. One year at Rouen – after he’d already stunned the Formula One oligarchy with his enormous aerodynamic wings hung off the back of the cars, which the whole field soon copied in a typical followthe-leader move - his Lotus driver Jackie Oliver had a monumental crash and tore the car to pieces. The cause of the accident was the frail gearbox bellhousing that supported the wing, and broke, ridding the car of most of its aerodynamics-induced cornering grip. The first thing Chapman did upon Oliver’s walk back to the pits is call Graham Hill back in, his other driver, and then immediately walk over to rival Bruce McLaren to warn him of the danger – McLaren’s own car had a similar copied design and hence a similar risk. Despite how much it was about winning at all costs, Chapman’s human side showed that it sometimes, well, wasn’t. It was in 1966 that Lotus Cars found its home at Hethel, with typical Chapman creativity. In order to locate a suitable spot not too far from London and his suppliers’ bases he simply drew a circle with a 100-mile radius from London, and flew around in his plane until he found the perfect location. Yes, he now had that plane, as

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

well as a personal wealth amassing what would be over £12 million in today’s money. As the 1970s loomed it became apparent that the giants of the automotive industry would suffer in the face of the imminent oil crisis, while low-volume maker Lotus exploited its expertise of lightweight construction and smaller engines in its sports cars. It was a glorious era to be in Hethel, as supercar marques clutched at straws while Lotus won 35 Grands Prix and launched successful road-going models such as the second generation Elite, and the groundbreaking Esprit – a sports car that survived five generations into 2004. In 1977 James Bond immortalised the Esprit S1, by not only outrunning and outhandling the baddies, but also memorably shocking Bahamian beachgoers with its submarine transforming ability. Hey, this was Colin Chapman – submarining cars aren’t that far-fetched in his, or Q’s minds. Agent 007 returned in 1981’s For Your Eyes Only living large at an Italian ski resort, behind the wheel of a new turbocharged Lotus Esprit. But the good life was nearing its end, as Chapman departed only a year later, and his legacy hit upon hard times. “From 1961 to 1978 if you beat Lotus and Chapman, you’ve won,” Lotus engineer Rudd said. This was certainly true, for in 1978 Team Lotus amassed eight Grand Prix victories in a single season. But after Chapman’s death there was a changing of the guard, and Lotus slumped for four years achieving only a single Formula One race victory in 1982. For the rest of the decade, the team managed only seven more wins, six of them thanks to Brazilian master Ayrton Senna. In 1994 Team Lotus lined up on a Formula One grid one last time, leaving behind a wondrous heritage of revolutionary innovations like Chapman struts, monocoque chassis, wedge designs, ground effect, and even cars with dual chassis. Today the name Lotus once again lines up on Formula One grids, but only in mid-table competitiveness. That’s a saga in itself, not unlike the horror-survival story of post-Chapman Lotus. After the 1982 tragedy Toyota bought into the company and before there could be any fruits of that labour, General Motors took over the outfit outright. Less than a decade later, troubled marque Bugatti sat upon the Hethel throne, and then discarded Lotus to a Malaysian company to focus on its own financial problems. Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman’s initials were bigger than his company’s name on the logo for a reason – Lotus couldn’t survive without its enigmatic messiah. If his overwhelmed heart hadn’t given out due to Chapman’s frenetic pace of life, who’s to say that he wouldn’t have eventually charmed his way into a knighthood?

grand tourismo

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| G ra nd To u r i s m o | M o n t e C a r l o R a l l y |

“The Saab seemed to have its own personality, emanating grace along with copious amounts of blue smoke.”

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nikki butlin dutifully follows the captainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s orders and heads to france to follow norwegian team, blue smoke racing, on their bid for glory at the classic monte carlo rally.

Words: Nikki Butlin Pictures: Iain Crockart

t was a bitterly cold winter’s night, way up in the Norwegian arctic, where the Northern Lights dance and herds of reindeer wander in subzero temperatures. Two grown men are to be found in a sauna drinking Russian vodka. "What do you want to do before you die?" Per Simble asked his nephew Tom Fjeldstad. As the drinks flowed, talk turned to bucket list ambitions, Per knew his dream was to compete in, and win, the Historic Monte Carlo Rally. Set on the stunning Cote D’Azur in the south eastern corner of France, in the tiny principality of Monaco; a place where royalty, both constitutional and of the silver screen, rub shoulders amongst the expensive yachts found moored down by Prince Albert I Quay. The Monte Carlo Rally first started in 1911 and the Historic Rally, an off-shoot of the original, is now in its 19th year. The classic cars that enter must be of a type and model that has previously participated and pre-date 1980. Around 300 vehicles take part each year, converging on Monaco from different parts of Europe, going on to compete in different stages held over the following five days in and around the neighbouring Alps – a challenging route that involves stringent time trials and exacting night time driving. And so, for Per Simble the adventure began. Emulating his hero, Erik Carlsson, the famed Swedish rally driver who won the Monte Carlo Rally in both 1962 and '63 in his beloved two stroke engine Saab 96, the hunt was on for the perfect car. As luck would have it, a red Saab 96 Sport was available. Five thousand miles away in California, USA. Logistical and mechanical issues were to be the story of this adventure.  The Saab was shipped to Norway, but without an engine and having no gearbox. No matter; an 80-yearold local Saab specialist got to work. He himself doubted whether the car would actually make it all the way to Monaco, but reassured Per, "if it fails, it won't be down to the engine!"  After more than a couple of nail-biting test drives and some subsequent successful local

Above: The plucky Saab 96 sets off from the start line in Monaco. Right: The Monte Carlo adventure in full swing.

competition results, the much prepared for Monte Carlo Rally arrived. On Wednesday the 27th of January, Per, Tom and the following support crew, which comprised Bjorn Tore Rivrud and Berlit Johnsen, began the their long drive to Monaco.  The other 296 cars were also preparing for the off and hailed from all over the world; having the same specific and historic destination in mind, from Glasgow, Reims, Barcelona, Bad Homburg and Oslo it was very much a case of Monte Carlo or bust! Finally the moment came, Per and his team were steeled and ready to go as the engine revved at the start line in Norway. The seconds ticked by: five, four, three, two… Per planted his foot. Nothing. The car stopped and ground to a strangulated halt!

car broke down yet again. The ferry wasn’t going to wait for them so the only option was to be towed at speed behind the support van. After being flagged down by the local constabulary for dangerous driving, and about to be booked for a serious speeding offence, it was only an emergency call regarding another major traffic incident that narrowly saved the whole crew from spending time at the pleasure of Chancellor Merkel. By now the Saab had literally missed the boat and to have any hope of remaining in the race had to drive a further 930 miles through the night in a desperate bid to make it to the checkpoint in Kiel, Germany. The other teams who had successfully travelled on the ferry crossing from Oslo were stunned to see the Blue Smoke Team come racing past. The race was now well and truly afoot. By this time, I was on my way to Nice, to film and photograph the action on the orders of the team sponsor, Captain Fawcett, a gentleman's grooming company based in the UK, whose fine range of moustache waxes and exquisite beard oils were inspired by the adventures of the eponymous explorer, Captain Peabody Fawcett. His motto, “keeping a stiff upper lip regardless,” would prove appropriate, if not somewhat prophetic for the Blue Smoke Team.

“Finally the moment came, Per and his team steeled and ready to go as the engine revved at the start line. The seconds ticked by: five, four, three, two… Per planted his foot. Nothing. The car stopped and ground to a strangulated halt!” The support crew jumped into action and, together, they pushed the car across the start line. The local television crews and journalists were lapping up the story. Per was already a national treasure, having rebuilt his village after the devastation of World War II, this was simply going to add to his notoriety. The question was would the Blue Smoke Racing Team make it out of Norway, let alone the 1,200 miles to Monaco? On route to catch the ferry to Germany, the V o la nt e | April 2016 |

Arriving on site at Saint-Andre-Des-Alpes on the Saturday morning, the air was thick with mounting tension and excitement. It was a chilly minus two degrees, and the word was that our car was experiencing yet more technical difficulties on the drive through Germany.   It was a nerve-wracking time. Had our journey been a wasted one? Were we relegated to aimlessly following the other competitors around for the next few days? 

| G ra nd To u r i s m o | M o n t e C a r l o R a l l y |

Just as the clouds of despondency started to form, they were dispersed by the piercing red Saab as it rounded the corner, honking its horn as it drew into the centre of the village. It was my first glimpse of the beautiful Saab, and what a stunning sight it was.  It definitely seemed to have its own personality, emanating grace along with copious amounts of blue smoke. Per looked tired; yet another night of continuous driving was taking its toll on the whole team. But, as the good Captain would say, “if you need sleep, stay home.” No-one enters this rally with a half heart. We escorted the team into Monaco as the sun set that evening. It was a momentous occasion for Per and his crew.  The ignominy of being pushed over the start line in Oslo long forgotten as they arrived, triumphant, into Monaco – an incredible achievement in itself, and one which many of lesser constitution doubted would ever happen. However, this was only the beginning, a further 1,000 miles of arduous competition lay ahead. By Sunday morning, Blue Smoke were underway, and we drove ahead of the team to film as they began the 300 miles to Valence in the Alps. Entreveaux was our chosen location, where a stunning 16th century fortress keeps unsavoury characters out and the locals in. Luckily we were inside, positioned on a picturesque hairpin bend overlooking the charming little town that was bathed in the morning sunlight that, once again, took the edge off the freezing temperatures. The cars had set off from Monaco in number order, with Saab sporting the 303 sticker, so we were in for a long wait. As cars 10 to 100 passed us by we waved convivially to the drivers, snapping photos to pass the time. From Fiat 500s that looked like they were going to stall at any moment, to elegant Jaguars with backseat passengers and picnic baskets on the roof, there really was a motor vehicle to delight the heart of every spectator.  The next hundred cars swopped past, but still no sign of the Saab, trepidation was beginning to set in. Then, in the distance the familiar spluttering of the two-stroke engine got louder and louder. Per and Tom flashed their smiles as they screeched past us.   Next stop was Sisteron, another pretty town with a stone church that blended into the similar hues of the mountain range behind it. It was only the midway point of the day’s journey, but

“In the distance the familiar spluttering of the two-stroke engine got louder and louder. Per and Tom flashed their smiles as they screeched past us.”

Above: Keeping a Stiff Upper Lip, Regardless – the Blue Smoke Racing Team in its entirety.

the sun was already getting heavy in the sky as the clock turned past 4pm. Another timed checkpoint loomed, and the Saab only just made it with minutes to spare. I approached the car park where the Saab sat to rest for a short while, only to find the bonnet up and four men’s heads in between the engine and the windscreen. "The alternator has gone," I was told. "It may not make it to Valence and there's no time to change it." The light was fading and the clock was ticking, but the decision was made to carry on.  The team took the scheduled rally route and we skipped ahead to section five to photograph the night stages. With failing power and the Saab now running on the battery, the car would struggle on without headlights and the necessary electronic timing equipment. The route from Sisteron to Valence was not going to be kind with extreme hairpins, cliff hanging mountain climbs with dangerous precipices, dropping steeply away from the crumbly edges of the mountain roads.  V o la nt e | April 2016 |

This was seat-of-the-pants stuff! Any chance of filming was abandoned, as we were now enveloped by thick fog and, to cap it all, darkness was falling fast. Ice and snow framed the edges of the treacherous inclines and we all knew that just one mistake from our own vehicle’s driver would result in our adventure coming to an abrupt and possibly tragic end.  It was a hairy moment for our tired crew, let alone for the driver and navigator battling bravely on in their struggling Saab. We arrived at the hotel in Valence around 9pm and there was no sign of the team. Later that evening we had our very worst fears confirmed. The Blue Smoke Racing Team, Car 303, the Saab driven so brilliantly by Per Simble and navigated by Tom Fjeldstad, had been forced to retire from the race.  For them the 2016 Historic Monte Carlo Rally was over.   Thirty-nine other teams retired overall, while in the early hours of Wednesday morning, 258 more fortunate crews got to drive over the podium situated in the Formula 1 pits on the world-renowned Monaco seafront. Later that evening at the Gala dinner which closed the event, the good Captain’s team and I had the pleasure of singing “God Save the Queen” and raising a glass to the British winners, who drove their 1971 Renault Alpine to victory and a much deserved place in classic motor sport history. However, there was to be little celebration for Per and his band of Norwegian compatriots that made up the Blue Smoke Racing Team. “I’ll be back next year," Per cried, “I'm not having this on my CV!”  The Monte Carlo Rally should be in no way considered a light-hearted Sunday jaunt, but rather a gruelling endurance event that tests both man and machine to their very limits. To compete, one must, indeed, “keep a stiff upper lip,” regardless of what the race – and one’s car – might throw at you. And so, preparation for next year’s event will begin in earnest again after a short break, just enough time to recharge the batteries, fix the car and ensure that Blue Smoke Racing is able to give it the full Monte!

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

Accessorise All Areas Beach season is nearly upon us. Let Volante help you shed those winter pounds and get beach buff in time for summer.

A Hand “Down Under”

k, chaps. It’s time to address a sensitive subject, quite literally. The region’s summer heat, whether you’re exercising or just walking from the car to the office, can make things a little uncomfortable in the *ahem* trouser department. While this is as unpalatable to talk about as it is to experience, you can assuage the situation with Jack Black Dry Down Friction Powder. This miraculous talc-free powder helps keep the contents of one’s shorts smooth, dry and smelling good, while at the same time preventing unwelcome chafing, making the interminable GCC heat and humidity – and your workout – a little more bearable. www.getjackblack.com

Body Armour

here’s so many wearable wireless fitness aids and health montiors on the market it can be difficult to choose which one is right for you. When you do decide, you have to get them from different makers and then try to get them to all talk to each other, which can often be a frustrating affair. Well, US sports equipment specialist, Under Armour, may have the solution. It’s teamed up with mobile company, HTC, to produce the Under Armour Healthbox.

The kit includes the UA Band, which tracks activity, workouts, sleep and can display stats while you're exercising, the UA Heart Rate, a compact, accurate heart-rate monitor and a UA Scale, a Wi-Fi enabled weighing scale that measures weight and body fat percentage. All three devices connect seamlessly to a simple app, UA Record, that not only displays the data but provides in-depth analytics to help you achieve your fitness goals. www.underarmour.com

Worth Their Weight

ith our busy lives, it’s not always easy to make to time for the gym. After a getting home after a long, hard day at the office, and with Netflix now available in the GCC, it’s way too easy to get comfortable and stay home, rather than traipse to the nearest fitness centre, where you’ll inevitably end up waiting for some sweaty meathead to finish snapping selfies before you can use the equipment. Well, what if you had this beautifully-designed set of weights parked in the corner of your living room? Crafted from 303 non-reactive stainless steel, the Hock Design Diskus Dumbbell Set has six pairs of weights, ranging from 10kg to 20kg. When not in use they sit on an aesthetically-pleasing rack made from sustainably-grown solid walnut and re-enforced with an aluminium frame, with each weight resting on “safeglide” stainless steel rods for stability and ease of use. We’d wager you’d be more inclined to get your workout on, especially when you can binge watch the latest season of Game of Thrones at the same time. www.hockdesign.com

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Skip It ! When we were kids, playing with skipping ropes was considered to be, well, a very girly thing to do. Then Rocky happened. All of a sudden, punching cold meat carcasses and stealing our sister’s skipping rope was cool. It would have been a lot cooler, and would have nullified a lot of playground arguments, if the rope could have shown the number of consecutive jumps you’d achieved in mid-air. Which, apparently, they can these days. At least, the Tangram Smart Rope can, thanks to the 23 white LEDs embedded in the rope, which can form up to four digits as the rope swings in front of you (check out vimeo.com/119228609 to see it working). Couple that with the tactile chrome-plated, 45-degree angled handles and the device’s ability to display jump count, calories burned or the duration of your workout – while syncing the data via Bluetooth to an app on your phone – and the Smart Rope makes your sister’s tangled toy seem so last century.

www.tangramfactory.com

grooming gorgeous

heavy metal

A little grooming goes a long way, as does a well-manicured gent. Let Volante be your guide to the essential kit required for the modern man.

Nailed It!

eeping fingernails, toenails and unsightly hairs sprouting from the eyebrows, ears, nose and that mole you really need to see a doctor about in check is a necessary and regular chore. There’s nothing fun about it and the pesky buggers just keep growing back. However, here’s something that will make those hard grooming jobs a little more palatable. Try this incredibly classy Mother Of Pearl Manicure Set from gift specialist Just One Eye. Priced at $6,250, it’s reassuringly expensive and comes replete with a gorgeous soft butterscotch leather carrying case that’s

perfect for travelling. Each item contained within – from files, scissors, clippers, tweezers and trimmers – is hewn from stainless steel and embellished with mother of pearl ornamental detailing. Not only will its unabashed opulence make uncomfortable grooming more of a luxury experience, it will be a pleasure to behold when it’s displayed in your bathroom. If you’re looking for something a little more affordable, however, then the company offers an equally exquisite, but slightly less expensive, 24-karat gold kit with a soft brown leather case for just $4,250. www.justoneeye.com

It’s a fair bet that 90 percent of you use Gillette razors to keep your facial pelt in order, it is arguably the world’s most popular razor manufacturer, after all. Well, there’s good news if your weapon of choice is the Gillette Fusion, and you wish it looked just a little bit more classy in your dopp kit. The Art Of Shaving has produced these beautifully crafted razors designed to fit the current cartridges from Gillette. Wielding this hefty razor, handcrafted in polished chrome, with black lacquered accents and a micro-textured grip surface, will deliver a satisfying shaving experience, as the perfectly balanced handle is weighted to feel like a natural extension of your hand for the best possible stability and control. As well as the “manual” razor, The Art Of Shaving has also added Fusion Chrome Power and Fusion Chrome ProGlide models to its heavy metal line-up for those looking for that extra buzz.

www.theartofshaving.com

A VOLANTE TOP PICK

All That Jazz

s there any more masculine scent than the musky aroma of a cigar smoke-filled New York jazz club? Sadly, with smoking bans in place pretty much all over the US and Europe, that beguiling smell is all but gone. Fortunately, though, Maison Martin Margiela’s Replica range of men’s fragrances has come to the rescue of those craving that particular olfactory combination with its Jazz Club Cologne.

This intriguing fragrance brings together notes of musk, vanilla, tonka bean, vetiver and tobacco leaves into a masculine mix that evokes all the mystique and ambiance of a prohibition-era back alley speakeasy. Adding to the underground vibe, the packaging is inspired by classic apothecary jars, similar to those that were used by moonshiners to hawk their illicit wares, and features a cotton, typewritten label. www.maisonmargiela.com

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

A Race Against Time

In 2010, Michael Schumacher posed a seemingly simple question to his watchmaker, Audemars Piguet. Five years later, AP responded with an extraordinarily complicated answer.

It’s been

a little over two years since one of the world’s greatest F1 drivers was rendered paralysed and wheelchair-bound in the aftermath of a freak skiing accident. While his condition continues to slowly improve, seven-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher’s driving brilliance is all but lost to the world forever. While many of his one-time sponsors have, over the past two years, dwindled away, one has remained loyal to the former world beater, Audemars Piguet. The pair’s longstanding partnership has endured and recently resulted in this, the Royal Oak Concept Laptimer Michael Schumacher. According to AP, this spectacular watch has been in the offing since 2010, when Schumi approached the master craftsmen at AP to ask if they could make a watch that could measure and record consecutive lap times. Chronographs and split-second chronographs do already exist and are face-meltingly complicated and expensive, which is why watches that already have them cost the equivalent of a small country’s deficit. AP, however, went a considerable step further with its highly innovative calibre 2923 movement. There’s no easy way to explain this, so bear with us: in a traditional split-seconds chronograph, when the split-second button is pressed, one hand stops, allowing the reading of intermediate time, while the second of the hands keeps going. By again pressing the split-second button, the first hand will be re-synchronised with the second and both will continue the timing. The AP Laptimer, however, features a single chronograph driving two central hands, which can be controlled V o la nt e | April 2016 |

independently via three buttons – the first at the conventional two o’clock position to start and stop the chronograph; the second at the four o’clock position to reset the chronograph and a third button at the nine o’clock position. When you press that third button, you will stop one of the two simultaneously running hands and reset the other, essentially meaning that you can record the time of one lap, while the other one begins. Now, if you want to keep the first lap as a reference, you press the button at the four o'clock mark, which acts as a flyback – jumping the hand back to zero to start over, while leaving the first lap where it is. Or, if you press the button at the 9 o'clock position again, the stopped hand will jump to zero and start timing a new lap, while the other hand will pause for you to record your time. It’s a horrifically complicated horological operation, and requires three different column wheels, whereas a normal chronograph would just require one. Like the driver it was built for, is seems, the AP Laptimer clearly has little or no regard for the confines of things like rules, thus overachieving with a ridiculous amount of success. This game-changing movement is housed inside a 44mm forged carbon case that bears Schumacher’s “MS” moniker, a titanium bezel and case back, while the buttons that set the whole unique selling point of the watch in motion are hewn from ceramic and rose gold. Only 221 Michael Schumacher Laptimers have been produced by AP, but with a not-so-insignificant retail price of $229,500, there may be a few still knocking around. www.audemarspiguet.com

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

spring break Spring heralds better weather all over the world, but here in the GCC, it is the perfect time for boating, beaching and pre-summer holidays. Here are some essentials that you should take on spring break.

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1. Grey Dover slim-fit silk-blend blazer from Boglioli, available at Mr. Porter 2. Standard slim-fit dry selvedge denim jeans from A.P.C., available at Mr. Porter 3. Striped cotton and linen-blend T-shirt from Margaret Howell, available at Mr. Porter 4. Angra shortlength printed swim shorts by Frescobol Carioca, available at Mr. Porter 5. Patent leathertrimmed suede loafers from Berluti, available at Lyst.com 6. Monaco cottoncalico hat from Lock & Co, available at Mr. Porter 7. Globe-trotter 21" pinstripe-lined trolley case by Kingasman, available at Mr. Porter 8. Round-framed tortoiseshell acetate sunglasses from Ray-Ban, available at Ray-Ban.com 9. Checked cotton and linen-blend shirt from Incotex, available at Mr. Porter 10. Stretchcotton shorts by Balenciaga, available at Mr. Porter 11. Camouflage-print full-grain leather cardholder from Burberry, available at Mr. Porter 12. Pelham slim-fit printed cotton-poplin shirt by Orlebar Brown, available at Orlebarbrown.com 13. Riviera combedcotton polo shirt by Sunspel, available at Sunspel.com

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“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘let’s party!’” 6

– Robin Williams

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The clubhouse

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

| 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 mancave should have...

A Driver’s SeaT

aroll Shelby never made anything that wasn’t a statement; from the Cobra to the ferocious 350GT Mustang that bears his name. That’s why when it comes to statement furniture, you can’t do any better to set out your petrol-headed credentials than this Shelby-themed “Art Ball” chair from Racing Emotions. Not only does it exude jet-age cool with its iconic 1960s design, but the white racing stripe on metallic blue paint job, reminiscent of the potent sports cars that Shelby used to make, give the chair serious man-cave cool. The company also offers a choice of upholstery – either fabric or sumptuous leather. Emblazoned with the legendary constructor’s signature and his trademark cobra emblem, this $5,200 pew is a racing seat like no other. www.racing-emotionusa.com

V o la nt e | April 2016 |

Exhaust Notes

rom 0 to 62mph in 3.5 seconds. Up to 9,000 revolutions per minute. Top speed of 196mph. These are just numbers to some people – for fans of Porsche, they are notes in a symphony of the sports car: the sound of the Porsche 911 GT3. For those that like it loud, Porsche Design has developed the 911 Soundbar. Converted from the original rear silencer and twin exhaust from a 911 GT3, this audio sound system features a 2.1 virtual surround system and a subwoofer booster. Priced at $3,200, the two hundred-watt system also delivers

DTS TruSurround and Bluetooth connectivity for wireless audio transmission from your tablet or smartphone. It provides the ultimate man-cave audio experience for Die Luftkühler aficionados – outside the thrumming of a rearmounted 3.8-litre flat six at full chat, that is. It is a must-have music system for any self respecting owner of Stuttgart’s finest, because it’s not just a speaker. Like the 911 GTS from which it was salvaged, the Soundbar delivers a more powerful performance than any of the competition. www.porsche-design.com

Viva, Las Vega+

s we get older, the pull of nostalgia for one’s youth gets stronger. That’s probably why the trend towards retro gaming is gathering strength, and most definitely why Sinclair’s new handheld game console has exceeded its crowdfunding goal by 311 percent. Anyone of a certain age will remember eagerly waiting for Manic Miner or Chucky Egg to load from a battered cassette, that would inevitably stall at 98 percent and spew magnetic tape all over the coffee table. Dutifully we would eject it, use a Bic biro to re-spool it and start again, while, along with our mates, we’d get hopped up on sugary soft drinks and KFC takaway. Well, now you can once again immerse yourself in the addictive platform-levelled world of Donkey Kong, or play the role of space pirate, roaming the galaxy in a wire-frame spacecraft in Elite. Yes, the Doyen of ‘80s 8-bit gaming, Sir Clive Sinclair has resurrected his generation-defining Spectrum gaming computer as a handheld device that will offer all the retro gaming pleasure, without the need to dig out your Walkman and a biro before you play. Called the Vega+, it will be the only games console that exists with 1,000 licensed games already included for you to play on the go. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega+ to give it its full name, is being marketed by Retro Computers Ltd, the