Inside Lane
“Blast From The Past”
Issue 29
BWM 328
Hello folks and welcome to another issue of the Inside Lane magazine. This month we bring you great and bountiful gifts in form of the latest news from the automotive forefront. Aston Martin rolls out the V12 Zagato, BMW create a 328 Homage, Ferrari revive the Superamerica nameplate and much more... Also we have launched our new reviews page on the site that now offers an even easier way to view our opinions on the cars we got the keys to.
The Pikes Peak hill climb event is hotly contested by a vast array of machines. Everything from trucks to hatchbacks, concepts to custom built rally cars all fight for the fastest time over some of the most treacherous terrain. Amongst these entrants will be an unlikely candidate from the much mocked brand of Dacia. Don’t write it off however as it packs more power than Lamborghini’s new Aventador. Based upon the Dacia Duster this car is named the “No Limit” and has an incredible 838BHP crammed into its body. Dacia’s links with Nissan means that the GT-R’s 3.8 litre V6 engine is actually what is under the bonnet. The 26th of June is when this car will launch its bid to be crowned king of the hill. Don’t go thinking that a car with a spoiler this big doesn’t take itself seriously, they are here to win.
POWER
POWER
POWER!
The Monster Within... “500 BHP, more than enough to put you in your place” The German’s… Stereotypically efficient, logical and always on time. Over the past few decades building cars has become a particular strength as today people will climb over each other to get the keys to a solid piece of engineering wearing a BMW, Audi or Mercedes badge. Another word you would use to describe German cars is sensible, well that was until now as Audi smash that trait with the A1 Clubsport Quattro.
Serving as a precursor to the S1 to be revealed later this year this Concept car is nothing short of epic. It’s aggressive rally styled bodywork is more than enough to scare children aged 7 and under. The beating heart of this little upstart is a 2.5 litre five-cylinder engine that produces an almighty 496BHP. 496BHP in a car small enough to be mistaken for a shoe!!! The end result is a power to weight ratio of 356.8BHP/tonne, incredible. Torque is also of biblical proportions with 487lb-ft. Even more impressive is this cars 0-62MPH time of 3.7 seconds making it the second fastest accelerating car in Audi’s range after the R8 V10.
Lotus VS Lotus
Formula One may be the worlds largest annual spectacle trotting the globe at 200MPH but at the end of the day it is still a business. The teams must fulfill their contractual obligations from their sponsors in order to gain revenue and in turn build a car. Naturally the sport is shrouded in politics and the biggest whoha of the past year has been between Team Lotus and Group Lotus. To set the record Team Lotus, green and yellow, borrowed the name Lotus Racing last year from Group Lotus. Groups Lotus, black and gold/ responsible for Lotus road cars, then entered F1 this year and revoked the use of the name Lotus Racing as they were in the sport. Team Lotus changed their name to what it is today resulting in the vast legal battle of “who is Lotus?” Today a judge came to a conclusion… The results are in and we have a winner. After months of throwing punches it has been establish that Group Lotus who build the road cars are the undisputed owners of the name “Lotus” and are free to race in the iconic livery. No other team can call their cars “Lotus” on its own. Team Lotus have been allowed to keep their new name for use in F1 only and have also had to pay damages to Group Lotus for breach of contract. Team Lotus can not brand their new ownership of Catherham as a “Lotus” product and only Group Lotus may use the Lotus insignia. So that is the end of that? Noooo, don’t be silly! Of course Team Lotus want to appeal.
British Beauty
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BMW 328
The Mille Miglia is one of the most
this angelic carbon fibre based sculpture
prestigious races in history. The road race
that is just awe-inspiring. Taking elements
today comes in many forms but back in the
from the original car make it undoubtabley
day it was all about who got to the finish first
its modern day incarnation. The 328 is
and that meant averaging a high top speed.
powered by a 3.0 litre 6 cylinder engine and
Till this day BMW hold the record set in 1940
its wide aggressive stance dominates the
by their 328. 75 years later and the race
road beneath it.
bred machine hits the twenty-first century with a bang.
Sadly BMW has no intentions to build this car to a number any greater than one but
The is the BMW 328 Hommage and it has to
then I guess like diamonds thinks of rare
be one of the most beautiful designs on
beauty are hard to obtain.
wheels not just this decade but ever. Somehow the clash of old and new forms
Ferrari’s are a symbol of wealth and status on the road. Regardless of whether you value them as performance machines or not the bottom line is that everyone knows what the prancing horse represents. But with places such as Abu Dhabi sporting so many Italian stallions the ultra exclusive models are the ones to keep an eye on. Remember the 575 Superamerica? Well Ferrari have just unveiled the car in its new reincarnation. Based on the 599 this beauty is called the Superamerica 45 and is a one off built in-house by Ferrari. The roof, much like the 575, is one single piece that folds back or can be stored in the boot when detached. Why the 45? Well the man who commissioned the car is using it to commemorate the fact that he bought his first Ferrari 45 years ago. Other unique features include those delectable chrome/body colour rims, new side vents and revised rear quarters.
Ferrari Superamerica 45
Feeling The BUZZ Electric car incentives are popping up left, right and centre in a bid to make the world a greener place. Governments are offering to pay for a chunk of the car, dealers striking off VAT and guarantees on batteries longer than that on many components of a conventional car. The Nissan Leaf is doing particularly well with strong sales in Europe and just yesterday claimed 5 starts in the NCAP crash tests. Now we hear that Leaf owners can fill up for free in London.
Charging an electric car doesn’t cost very much at all, the Leaf can do 100 miles worth of travel for about £3. Despite this low cost if you live within 40 miles from a London charging point and you have just bought a Leaf you are entitled to one year’s worth of free charging. This deal has been struck up between Source London charging and Nissan themselves to provide further enticement for prospective electric car owners.
Topless Model...
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is by far and away one of our favorite supercars on the market today. Offering luxury and relentless power the GT with those Legendary gullwing doors naturally has a waiting list longer than Farther Christmas’ beard. The car was designed from the offset to be both coupe and convertible and so when the roadster goes on sale later this year performance will remain unhindered. Officially revealed the SLS Roadster packs the same 563BHP punch as the coupe and can get from standing to 62MPH in 3.8 seconds. Top speed sits at just under 200MPH thanks to weighing just 40KG more than the coupe. The roof can do its thing in just 11 seconds and as long as you are traveling at under 30MPH the SLS is more than happy to do it on the move. Boot space only drops by 3 litres with the roof down making the transformation from coupe to convertible a stereotypically German “efficient” affair.