There are certain things that countries are famous for. The Americans, for example, we all know like big things. Big people, big burgers, and big cars. The Germans, we have long since realised, are smart, sensible, but are all completely without humour. It seems almost every country has at least one thing we can recognise as being unique. So what about us Brits? What have we got? Some would say we are a nation of stabbing-victims and old age pensioners, but I disagree. We have quite possibly the most unique icon of them all. We have, the sports car.
Even in the glory days of yesteryear we still had the proper sports cars, and they were made by big companies with lots of workers and impressive names; names like Marcos, Morgan, and Austin-Heeley. Across our country lanes and rural roads they drove, small, lightweight cars that only ever had two seats. Cars that symbolised all that is good and British. It seemed that they would never grow old, that for evermore, Britain’s would trek the world in Dolomite Sprints and AC Cobras. But instead, people started having children by the barrelful, and soon realised that two seats really wasn’t enough. So the car-making industry responded, making models bigger, fatter, and more expensive. Then for a decade or two the sports car disappeared altogether, people just weren’t interested in them anymore. Now however, the pride of Britain is back, people are once again starting to realise and enjoy that love that is felt all over the world, for the traditional British sports car. And to celebrate this, we’ve made a new one. It’s called the Caterham 7 CSR, and it is staggering.
Under the bonnet of the CSR rests a 2.3 litre Cosworth Duratec engine, producing 200bhp. That may not seem like much, but you have to remember this car weighs about as much as air, a mere 575kg. This then results in a shocking top speed of 140mph, and a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds. That’s faster than most supercars. So what would you say is the price of all this power? Nope, I’m afraid you’re quite wrong. It’s just £32,000. So what this means is that you can buy a lightweight, fast, British built car, for less than most middle of the range saloons. So you can enjoy the thrill that only comes with a Caterham. The thrill of being just inches from the road, the thrill of no roof, no safety. It’s not that Caterham don’t care about your safety. But where the safety aspects would interfere with the sheer joy of driving, they just haven’t bothered. And that’s what I love about Caterhams, they are built purely and simply for those who enjoy driving. The engine is for lack of a better word, perfect. The steering is well balanced, and the chassis is solid as a rock. The CSR then is really a very special car, and not because it’s the fastest or because it has good legroom. No, the CSR is special, because it was made by a very special company. In the three decades that Caterham has been making the seven, they’ve had mistakes, like any company. But now, they are presenting us with the epitome of performance and handling. They have learnt from their mistakes in the past, applied their knowledge and built a car that is absolutely fantastic. In short, they’ve done their homework.
So if you have a choice then as to what your next car will be, I offer you this simple advice. Throw practicality out the window, throw price into the garden. And drown all sense in the nearest pond. Go out and get yourself a Caterham, and be reminded what it feels like to be truly alive. Because I guarantee, when you’re just inches off the road, on the perfect day, you don’t need 140mph, trust me, 70 is enough. Caterham have made the CSR as good as a car can be. So that means then, that when the day is just right, and the roads are empty, it’ll be ready and willing, to take you for what is quite possibly, the ride of your life.
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Monday, 25 August 2008
Clash Of The Titans
It takes a very special breed of person to like American muscle cars. Not everybody can like them. Most will say that, being American, it will not only eat you out of house and wallet, but that it will also never turn a corner. The Americans have never quite grasped the idea that not everybody lives on Route 66, and that occasionally we need to use that big wheel thing in the cabin. But to the Muscle car lover, none of this matters. I know, I am one. For years I have yearned and dreamt of owning a 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback, the very same model that Steve McQueen drove in Bullit, around the narrow streets of San Francisco. To truly love American cars from this era, you have to say no to practicality, you have to say no to comfort, and just go with the only thing that matters anywhere in the US. Raw power.
And if there is one car that sums all of this up, that truly defines what it is to be an American made, born and bred powerhouse. It is the Chevrolet Camaro. Now before you think I’m talking about the one from the 60’s, the one that wouldn’t turn and wasn’t that fun to drive, just think for a second, if they made a new one. What if they went back to the drawing board, and updated the design for the modern era. It would still have the raw power in the engine, but it would be comfortable, and stylish. Imagine, what kind of a monster that car would be. Well, the wait is over, because they’ve done it. Say hello then, to the new Camaro.
Under the bonnet of the new model rests a ferocious six litre V8 engine, which, when combined with a six-speed manual gearbox, manages to produce a staggering 400hp. Now the most important part of this new model is the handling, which was the main problem with the old one. The new Mustang, when it was launched back in 2005, had a live rear axle. Unfortunately however, Ford didn’t quite get it right, because that axel turned out to be to cornering, what Jade Goody is to synchronised swimming. But with the Camaro, Chevrolet have given it independent suspension, meaning that in terms of handling, the bigger, bulkier Camaro will out corner the Mustang every time. So whilst the Mustang may have power advantage, being equipped with a 500hp V8, it would still lose to the Camaro in anything other than a straight drag race. You can tell that Chevrolet have really thought about this car. Hence why its has taken this long to develop. They didn’t see that Ford had redone the Mustang and gone in all guns blazing. They stood back, learnt from Fords mistakes, and actually thought about what they were doing. It really is a case of tortoise and the hare. The hare, being Ford, redid the Mustang and then thought that their work was over, but in truth, what they needed to do was slow down and watch the car in each stage of production. The Camaro tortoise has already won the race because it is a better made, better handling car.
It is true that the muscle car world is always going to be dominated by a few select names. Mustang, Hemi, Plymouth, Chevelle. But I think the new Camaro will definitely be added to that list when it is launched in the early part of 2009. There is even talk of a convertible version. Now after reading about its power, just imagine how cool that car will be. It will redefine style; it will definitely redefine your wallet. Deep down, I have a great respect for the Camaro, it is a rock of engineering magnificence and Chevrolet should be proud of what they have achieved. But the simple truth is I will always love the Mustang. I don’t care that it has the aerodynamic properties of a brick or that cornering is a total nightmare. The sheer thought of the open road, the setting sun, and that 1968 Fastback is enough to bring a tear to my eye.
But as a final thought, we must remember this. Such dreams have a nasty habit of never making it to the world of reality. A good Mustang will set you back around £30,000, and when you have the option of that, or the option of this new Camaro, which has a price tag of around £10,000 less, then I think we all know which one I’d buy. Like I said at the beginning, it takes a very special breed of person to like American muscle cars. There are many more models of car out there that will deliver more horsepower and that will corner more effectively. There are a lot more ways of going this fast and feeling that much power. But, and this is a promise, there are very few ways, of having as much fun in the process.
And if there is one car that sums all of this up, that truly defines what it is to be an American made, born and bred powerhouse. It is the Chevrolet Camaro. Now before you think I’m talking about the one from the 60’s, the one that wouldn’t turn and wasn’t that fun to drive, just think for a second, if they made a new one. What if they went back to the drawing board, and updated the design for the modern era. It would still have the raw power in the engine, but it would be comfortable, and stylish. Imagine, what kind of a monster that car would be. Well, the wait is over, because they’ve done it. Say hello then, to the new Camaro.
Under the bonnet of the new model rests a ferocious six litre V8 engine, which, when combined with a six-speed manual gearbox, manages to produce a staggering 400hp. Now the most important part of this new model is the handling, which was the main problem with the old one. The new Mustang, when it was launched back in 2005, had a live rear axle. Unfortunately however, Ford didn’t quite get it right, because that axel turned out to be to cornering, what Jade Goody is to synchronised swimming. But with the Camaro, Chevrolet have given it independent suspension, meaning that in terms of handling, the bigger, bulkier Camaro will out corner the Mustang every time. So whilst the Mustang may have power advantage, being equipped with a 500hp V8, it would still lose to the Camaro in anything other than a straight drag race. You can tell that Chevrolet have really thought about this car. Hence why its has taken this long to develop. They didn’t see that Ford had redone the Mustang and gone in all guns blazing. They stood back, learnt from Fords mistakes, and actually thought about what they were doing. It really is a case of tortoise and the hare. The hare, being Ford, redid the Mustang and then thought that their work was over, but in truth, what they needed to do was slow down and watch the car in each stage of production. The Camaro tortoise has already won the race because it is a better made, better handling car.
It is true that the muscle car world is always going to be dominated by a few select names. Mustang, Hemi, Plymouth, Chevelle. But I think the new Camaro will definitely be added to that list when it is launched in the early part of 2009. There is even talk of a convertible version. Now after reading about its power, just imagine how cool that car will be. It will redefine style; it will definitely redefine your wallet. Deep down, I have a great respect for the Camaro, it is a rock of engineering magnificence and Chevrolet should be proud of what they have achieved. But the simple truth is I will always love the Mustang. I don’t care that it has the aerodynamic properties of a brick or that cornering is a total nightmare. The sheer thought of the open road, the setting sun, and that 1968 Fastback is enough to bring a tear to my eye.
But as a final thought, we must remember this. Such dreams have a nasty habit of never making it to the world of reality. A good Mustang will set you back around £30,000, and when you have the option of that, or the option of this new Camaro, which has a price tag of around £10,000 less, then I think we all know which one I’d buy. Like I said at the beginning, it takes a very special breed of person to like American muscle cars. There are many more models of car out there that will deliver more horsepower and that will corner more effectively. There are a lot more ways of going this fast and feeling that much power. But, and this is a promise, there are very few ways, of having as much fun in the process.
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
New Kid On The Block
Every time we open a newspaper or a magazine these days we are offered a “glimpse into the future”, by way of whatever must have gadget is adorning the page. It could be a new super ultra-slim sat nav or even a watch that heats your wrist in cold weather. But every time I see one of these, I know that it’ll be at least ten or fifteen years before they become common place. The same applies with cars. The remastered Honda Civic with its triangular exhausts and loudmouth looks was viewed with fear when it was launched a few years ago, and now look. They’re more common than adverts featuring Jamie Oliver. It is unlikely then, that unless a car is truly innovative, truly remarkable, that we’ll be seeing it around any time soon. Luckily, I’ve found just such a car, and it’s called the X-bow.
This is the first attempt by motorcycle designer KTM to move into the four wheeled domain; and what we must understand here is that this is something that is normally very hard to do. You see, the top rungs of the supercar industry ladder are dominated by just a few select companies, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Audi, you get the idea. And it is absurdly difficult for a new boy to barge its way in from the bottom. Pagani only managed it because they had the Zonda, a car that is purely insane. So will KTM manage it? Will the X-bow be accepted and welcomed into the spotlight, or will it be left at the side of the road and neglected? Well, let’s take a look.
Underneath the X-bow’s all carbon fibre body lurks a 240hp Audi engine, that somehow manages to churn out 310 newton-metres of torque. In a car that weighs a tad under 800 kilos, the resulting force is enough to give this monster a 0-60mph time of 3.9 seconds. Now that’s a lot faster than many of the existing supercars on the market. It’s not just fast, for a car, its fast full stop. But the thing that really gets me about this car, really makes me want one, is the attention to detail. You see, as is so often the case with these hardcore race versions of supercars (taking the Porsche 911 GT3 and the Lamborghini Gallardo Superlagerra as examples), many of the added extras, such as air conditioning, are left in. That means added weight, and added weight means poor performance. The boys down at KTM have simply not bothered to fit any of this to the X-bow. This car not only doesn’t have air con, it also doesn’t have a stereo, a windscreen, or even a roof. Instead you are left outside, with the elements. And thats what makes this car great, makes it truly unique. KTM haven’t just designed a race version of an already fast cat. From the moment it was designed and thought up it was built from the ground up, as a racer. This is why the wind break is just a few inches tall; this is why there is no boot, and no roof. What KTM has achieved is a born and bred racer, and a good one at that.
Now for the truly staggering part. What would you say is the price for this racing pedigree performer? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? Nope, actually this race-ready supercar costs just 36,000 pounds. Now that is certainly a lot less than many other supercars. So to answer the original question then. Have KTM made it? Have they secured their way into the supercar hall of fame? Well, yes, I think so. What they have made here is something absolutely remarkable. A rough-and ready racer for less than most middle of the range saloons. That is worth bragging about, that is worth talking about, and if this blog is anything to go by, it’s worth writing about as well.
This is the first attempt by motorcycle designer KTM to move into the four wheeled domain; and what we must understand here is that this is something that is normally very hard to do. You see, the top rungs of the supercar industry ladder are dominated by just a few select companies, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Audi, you get the idea. And it is absurdly difficult for a new boy to barge its way in from the bottom. Pagani only managed it because they had the Zonda, a car that is purely insane. So will KTM manage it? Will the X-bow be accepted and welcomed into the spotlight, or will it be left at the side of the road and neglected? Well, let’s take a look.
Underneath the X-bow’s all carbon fibre body lurks a 240hp Audi engine, that somehow manages to churn out 310 newton-metres of torque. In a car that weighs a tad under 800 kilos, the resulting force is enough to give this monster a 0-60mph time of 3.9 seconds. Now that’s a lot faster than many of the existing supercars on the market. It’s not just fast, for a car, its fast full stop. But the thing that really gets me about this car, really makes me want one, is the attention to detail. You see, as is so often the case with these hardcore race versions of supercars (taking the Porsche 911 GT3 and the Lamborghini Gallardo Superlagerra as examples), many of the added extras, such as air conditioning, are left in. That means added weight, and added weight means poor performance. The boys down at KTM have simply not bothered to fit any of this to the X-bow. This car not only doesn’t have air con, it also doesn’t have a stereo, a windscreen, or even a roof. Instead you are left outside, with the elements. And thats what makes this car great, makes it truly unique. KTM haven’t just designed a race version of an already fast cat. From the moment it was designed and thought up it was built from the ground up, as a racer. This is why the wind break is just a few inches tall; this is why there is no boot, and no roof. What KTM has achieved is a born and bred racer, and a good one at that.
Now for the truly staggering part. What would you say is the price for this racing pedigree performer? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? Nope, actually this race-ready supercar costs just 36,000 pounds. Now that is certainly a lot less than many other supercars. So to answer the original question then. Have KTM made it? Have they secured their way into the supercar hall of fame? Well, yes, I think so. What they have made here is something absolutely remarkable. A rough-and ready racer for less than most middle of the range saloons. That is worth bragging about, that is worth talking about, and if this blog is anything to go by, it’s worth writing about as well.
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