Bentley lookalikes 2: This time it's personal

They're even similar colours - no Photoshopping required

I have a(n electric) dream

.... or 'Do enthusiast's dream of electric cars?'

I'm really not sure hybrids are the answer, but in the short term at least it looks like they will be a reality, with Peugeot, Chevrolet, Nissan joining Toyota & Honda in offering mass market models of such. At the upper end of the scale we have Mercedes, Porsche and Lotus announcing 500bhp+ hybrids. At first I thought this was the engineers proving they had a sense of humour, now I just think they're being gits - producing something that is in fact more excessive that what it replaces but that's OK, because it's a hybrid.

I used to disagree with hybrids on principle: better to optimise existing drivetrain than lug around another for part time use, etc. However technological improvements – batteries especially – makes them a far more practical proposition. Out in the country, an efficient diesel is still best, something not likely to change anytime soon; but in an urban context, with a busy school run / commute (i.e., most of us) they make increasing sense. Unfortunately they still don't set the petrolhead's heart a-flutter, so I've been thinking about a manifesto for a hybrid that satisfies eurocrats and petrolhead alike.

Firstly – and this is non negotiable – it must be a parallel hybrid, preferably with electric drive at the front axle and internal combustion at the back. Electric only range shouldn't be more (or for that matter, less) than 30 miles; doesn't sound like much, but that's precisely the point - it is in fact enough to complete 80% of all journeys and obviously keeping the EV range down reduces the batteries needed and therefore weight.

There would of course be a full electric mode, topping out at 30mph for use on the daily grind and urban use generally; i.e. when driving is a chore. However, like the yellow pages, the electric motors are not just there for the nasty things in life; in other modes the drivetrain should be optimised for performance / enjoyment. With maximum torque on tap from the first revolution, electric motors are ideal for not only boosting acceleration performance but, by potentially reducing load on IC engine, improving efficiency at the same time: win-win. Could be a mean B-road point and squirt machine...

In fact this could mean a more 'relevant' performance envelope overall; my pet theory is that although 200mph was a milestone, the plethora of cars with a frankly irrelevant (yes, even on the autobahns) top speed is a by-product of delivering impressive acceleration. In the real world, the latter is more important / relevant / fun than the former. Although the official figures for the Nissan Leaf aren't that impressive, an independently tested pre-production example recorded a 0-60 of 7 secs and top speed of 95mph, which is nearly there: 5-6 secs and ~120mph would be ideal.

(This sort of touches on another point: is it heresy for someone who professes to be an enthusiast to confess that he thinks too much modern performance machinery is too fast? It's getting so that they're not just more fun at extra-legal speeds, they're only fun at extra-legal speeds.)

Which brings us to the final issue: control. There should be a 'manual' mode – which of course would be an illusion whereby the drivetrain simulates that behaviour (like the 'gears' on CVT equipped MGFs): acceleration and braking would be sharpened, engine (or more likely regenerative simulating it) braking boosted, etc. Taken to it's ultimate conclusion, with a drive by wire infrastructure in place, one might be able to mimic specific vehicles and such settings could be downloaded like ringtones.

How likely is this to happen? No idea, but the point is that change is inevitable, especially whilst the car remains legislators favourite whipping boy, so resistance is not a valid response; so why not try to take advantage of the potential benefits and shape the outcome more favourably?

To the casual onlooker, Shelby Super Cars (SSC) initially appeared to be no more than the latest in a long line of cottage (garage?) supercar ventures, and apparently exhibited a number of attributes typical of them: self made millionaire boss who reckons he can take on the established players? Check. Outrageous, er.., I mean optimistic claims, usually related to sales, power output, or in this case, top speed? Check. Finished article (if it gets that far...) has the faint whiff of homebuilt special / kitcar? Check.

Jerod Shelby (no relation) made his money in medical equipment, which made parallels with Arash (whose fortune was made in pharmaceuticals) almost irresistible. However, whilst the world's still waiting for the AF-10, not only have a number of SSC Ultimate Aero's been sold, in 2007 he did set a new record for world's fastest production car: 256mph (on a public road no less...)

This last is testament to the quality of engineering that had gone into the car, largely executed by Shelby himself. Unfortunately for him - and the credibility of SSC - the standard of engineering is not matched by that of the interior and exterior design.

I don't condone plagiarism, but mimicry a key part of the learning process, and it's clear that the Lamborghini Diablo was a key influence on the Ultimate Aero. It's also the reason why it displays another attribute common in low volume cars – it looks a little bit dated. Commonly operating in isolation, the design is more likely to be informed by production items contemporary during the design process, so by the time it actually reaches market it's a little dated. Designers working in the mainstream industry are not only more aware of, and contributing to, to emerging trends their job description by definition means they're designing for 12, 24 sometimes more months into the future.

Aesthetic considerations tend to get short shrift from engineers (indeed, Mr Shelby has admitted that looks weren't a priority first time around). Here again, Shelby differs from many who've gone before him by not only identifying and acknowledging this weakness, but getting professional help in...

...In the shape of Jason Castriota. Doubtless a perfectly nice chap, but to be honest I find a lot of his stuff overrated. He's designer of record for the Pininfarina P4/5, Bertone Mantide, neo Maserati Birdcage and Rolls-Royce Hyperion. I would honestly rather have the donor / namesake in all cases, really – especially in the Mantides'.

But the new SSC concept?..... in a word: WOW

This is what the future used to look like and of the moment - at the same time: part Angel Interceptor, part post-apocalytic, manga Lambo - shown off to perfection in white with the black glasshouse. At a stroke, the Reventon and Sesto Elemento seem to be trying just a little too hard which, as anyone knows, just isn't cool.

It's also one those few occasions where the importance of exterior design can be examined. Though it will have a new chassis, the wheelbase and basic dimensions will be carried over, as well as the transmission, suspension, brakes, engine block – even the doors; but the difference is night and day.

As well as owing a particular debt to the Diablo, the original obeyed a number of the supercar design clichés rules that Castriota has dispensed with. Whilst Lotus & Ferrari show that there's mileage yet in the bullseye taillight, unless they're bespoke or used in interesting way, they scream 'kitcar' (in a pejorative sense). Along with round taillights, flying buttresses have become a sportscar staple. Similarly, the original was liberally peppered with inlets and vents, many of whose purpose could only be guessed at, all of these needs have been met with a streamlined (in all senses) set of dramatic features. The glasshouse is an evolution of that seen on the P4/5 (is it just me or are there echoes of a '72 Riviera there too?) 

 

In fact, it's only the oily bits that now sound distinctly old hat. The SSC concept looks every inch the 21^st century hypercar; now if they just copy the CX-75's drivetrain it'd go like one too...

Alfa Romeo Spider

First post for a while, thought I'd ease into things by starting with an old piece about the Alfa Spider, based on notes made just after it's launch at Geneva in 2006.
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I would like to think of myself as a reasonably moderate, progressive individual; but there are things about which I remain resolutely unreconstructed. Such as convertibles, I just don't see the point. At all.

They're machines for being seen in, not driving: why would someone pay a premium for something that's heavier yet flimsier (comprising both performance and handling), less practical and – as a general rule – uglier?  Also, speaking as a heterosexual male, you also tend to look like a bit of a ponce (and now over forty, even more so), although I gleefully note that the more tanned & chiselled you are, the more ridiculous you look (there is a god). To my mind Dale Winton is the archetypal convertible driver; which is fine if he's your role model....

The open top driving experience itself is overrated: who wants to be buffeted and windchilled, really? Judging by the number of devices devoted to addressing such issues on contemporary convertibles (screens, air scarves, etc), not even the owners of such vehicles.

In my book the only acceptable convertible is one that started out as a bare bones, stripped out, focussed driving machine, such as a racing car, where being roofless is a byproduct of pursuing minimal cross-sectional area (& therefore drag) and the 'convertible' aspect consists of little more than a hole let into the upper surface as a grudging concession to basic ergonomics.

As well as being a better vehicle dynamically, the coupé sister is generally the looker too. Did anyone appreciate how huge the TT's arse was until the roof chopped off? The sweeping roofline was the perfect counterpoint to this. The frankly odd looking (chinless & dumpy) Z4 has been transformed by the addition of a roof (now all they need to do is fix that elongated yet chinless snout). Even the rare-as-hen's-teeth MX-5 Coupé is prettier than the original. The Cayman?.... OK, may be it's the exception that proves the rule.

But then I saw the new Alfa Spider. Wow. Here's something worth bending the rules for. The Brera never quite did it for me; in particular it's always seemed a little beetle-browed, bordering on the Neanderthal. I realised that the roofline and chunky C-pillar were the culprits but failed to anticipate just how much of a difference removing them would make; incredible.

At a stroke, something squat and lugubrious is rendered lithe and pert. On the Brera, the rear fender line is carried through from the beltline and, along with the shoulder line, tailgate shutline, and rear screen, converge on the rear badging; neat, but it does make it look like a hatchback rather than a coupe. On the Spider, the form in the rear fender and deck is well judged without being too much, no doubt helped by making the headrest fairings part of the interior by dint of colour coding. We assume the lip spoiler to be functional, but so well integrated is it that it'd be admissable on purely aesthetic grounds.

Were I to own one, I would move somewhere where the quality of both the neighbourhood and climate allowed me to leave it parked with the top down, and such that I approached it from the rear (too much information?...)

lagonda

tditd

Finally, a dab of oppo

Finally. Someone in the motoring press has realised that driving enjoyment is about how fun you go, not just how fast. In the November Evo, Chris Harris, quite rightly, questions the faster = better performance car culture. As with processor speed and hard drive space in the world of computers, bhp & 0-60 were only ever an arbitrary indicator of which car goodest (sic), and have become ever more irrelevant in recent years.

He points out that faster has become useless on the public highway – correct; that a lot of the high tech wizardry that festoons the modern performance car aids speed, but reduces enjoyment – agreed; and that we need to redefine what constitutes a performance car and what it's market is – no argument here.

Where I disagree is that he lays the responsibility for the current state of affairs solely at the feet of the marketeers (abetted by the engineers). I can't help but feel that someone's missing here: the motoring press, specifically the 'dab of oppo', 8 minute 'Ring time, 'enthusiast' car journos who at the very least have been cheerleaders to this whole process, pushing back the frontiers of epic hyperbole in their efforts to heap praise on the latest product of this culture.

I used to be a fan, and grew up reading Clarkson in the original Performance Car, subsisted on Autocar, Motor etc. But inevitably we grew apart, I can even recall when I first realised this: some years ago one of the mags, in a test of a 911 RS GT2 or somesuch, had a pull quote to the effect of '150mph feels like 50mph' in a tone of breathy excitement, as if this were a Good Thing. Which it might well be, on the racetrack, or engaged in some life-saving, continent crossing profession that precludes flying (struggling to think what that might be, but whoever you are – Porsche's got your back.) To me, that just sounded like you had to go three times as fast to have the same amount of fun, which didn't sound very much like progress at all.

Many of today's cars have so much power and so grip that to enjoy them on public roads means driving like a colossal... idiot. A corollary of this arms race is that most of the core driving functions can no longer be safely left to dim-witted organic bit plonked behind the wheel without electronic intervention. Quite right too; the current M5 famously has 507bhp – and that seems normal, relatively. But let's really think about that for a moment. Now further imagine it without belt and braces traction & stability control: at which point the idea of a mass produced, 507bhp, 2WD(!) saloon becomes ludicrous. In a parallel universe one can imagine such devices being banned after a series of high profile tragedies.

My other problem is that this culture is not confined to performance cars. A few years ago the standard Autocar road test was revised to include an 'On The Limit' section, complete with pictures. This might relevant in tests of explicitly sporty or performance cars but, say, the Perodua Myvi? Probably less so.... (and I can probably guess anyway: epic understeer before falling over?) In just about any modern car, the stability control kicks in before the fun does. In a mates' diesel A3 doing a well over a tonne was far too easy – and boring (thankfully I was in Germany at the time so no licence harm done.) The damping on my parents Volvo V50 is pretty good, so much so that it almost compensates for the lurches, bangs & crashes caused by the rock hard ride – because apparently these days, even Volvo estates must be 'sporty'.

New Ford Ka

looks like Ford realised the new Ka isn't up to snuff