Formula 1 - How was Sochi?

So how was Sochi? Well at least for Mercedes it probably could not have gone better, at least if you don't count one weird stop on lap one.

Again a one-two finish and secured their constructors championship. It would have been a perfect sweep if not for Valtteri Bottas stealing the fastest lap right at the end on the final lap.
That being said Hamilton lead every single lap and the race wasn't very exciting to say the least, but that's how the whole season has been so far so nothing new to report. Only Rosberg can challenge Hamilton for the championship with 16 points separating the two teammates...yay...hoping next season won't be as boring.

Now back to the Sochi course. We saw it in action and can I be the first one to say it was pretty good. I enjoyed the Olympic sights and the overall layout of the track. Enough corners and straights, I think they hit a pretty good balance. It also felt very fast and I believe the average speeds were quite high during the race. Also it doesn't seem to be like any other track, so any complaints about it feeling like track X should not be in the discussion.

Overall I think Sochi was a decent addition to the F1 calender and I hope to see it more, though in a more competitive field.

How to luxury

As we know Rolls Royce has the infinite know how to create a exceptionally posh car. But since the Phantom has become a bit of a mainstream- I'm using this word very loosely - big luxury run about, I think the brand has lost a bit of its exclusivity.

The people at Rolls Royce have noticed this and as a response revived the very exclusive model name from the 30's, the Wraith. The modern Wraith sits on the same floor as the, smaller than Phantom, Ghost. Which in part sits on a modified floor of the BMW 7-series. It's also got the same engine from the Ghost a 6.6 litre twin turbo V12. But some power has been added. A subtle 70 hp more which add up to a hypnotic 632 hp. That ladies and gentlemen is the most powerful Rolls Royce ever made. Rest assured though, this power is imperceptible as the engine makes no noticeable "wroom" and the supreme quality soaks up the wind noise.
What actually makes this car the brand saver of Rolls Royce though, is the hugely impressive design. The massive two door presence of this car is breath taking. The styling is the perfect combination of proper British luxury design and German build quality and attention to detail.

This beast of a thing is so elegant and brilliantly smooth that it captures the essence of true luxury and exclusivity. A title that, as we all can agree on, belongs in the house of Rolls Royce.

And the rear hinged doors add to the presence that this car naturally has.

That long roof line sits so well on those hips.
The two-toned version should look astounding. 

Surprising turn of events

I while back I wrote about Audis whole RS range. And it was a bit of a rant to be honest. But I've had a change of heart of one particular RS powerhouse.

The change of heart happened when I saw the Audi RS7. In short. It was impressive. The massive but sleek body had been lowered and given some extra muscle and flare. The car also sits on big 20' rims that will not go unnoticed. All of this of course is typical RS stuff. Let me explain why this is different. The A7 is the more sporty version of the A8, as the CLS is a more sporty version of the S-class. So it is obvious that the A7 would get the RS treatment. The fact that the RSQ5 could exist is just because the Audi engineers may some day have some spare time. The RS badge is meant to go on sporty cars to make them a bit more naughty.
To the specs. The RS7 has a twinturbo 4.0 litre V8 developing a neck strengthening 560 hp. And obviously it has the Quattro four-wheel drive system.

Look how the tables have turned. At first I thought that the A7 was only made to compete with the CLS. But what Audi has accidentally done is to make the sad faced A7 into an aggressive businessman's road attacker. And made the Audi S8 completely unnecessary.

I like the big quattro sign. 

Somehow Audi have managed to turn the tragic rear end into an aggressive one. 

The future is here...

...and it looks bright too. As we all know the future of cars and motoring is all about efficiency and refinement in which the car uses its energy i.e. fuel. That is why many brilliant engineering minds are working on ingenious ways to make a car as environmentally friendly as possible.

But whilst all this is happening BMW have had a vision, for all I know, from the year 2009 to make the best of what we know now. BMW is utilizing the absolute peak of technology to create a series of cars that, in my opinion, closest resembles how cars are going to be laid out in the near future.
This series is called the i-series. Why does it have to be the letter i? I'm really not a fan of that. But anyhow. The star child of the i-series is the i8. It's a car that 5 years back was only a concept called BMW Vision EfficientDynamics. The name is far from being sexy, but the name spoke for itself. The i8 is everything the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept promised, it even looks like it if not better.

The BMW i8 has two engines an electrical one with 129 hp and then a rather interesting 1,5 litre 3-cylinder turbo, putting out a quite astounding 228 hp. That is 357 hp in total, which is in the Porsche 911 range. But then again, the i8 is a sports car so we shouldn't expect anything less. And because of those amazing engines the fuel consumption is unbelievably low, only 2,1 l/100km. Not even the small frugal city cars can match that.

I think this is a revolutionary car. I know the idea of mating a normal combustion engine with an electric motor has been around for the last 15 years. But the BMW i8 shows the car enthusiasts that in the world of cars words hybrid and economical have more potential that we ever knew.

I can't believe that this car is already on sale. It looks so much like a concept.
It's brilliant.

The emissions coming out of the back are only 49 co2/km.

Not making it easy

Last post was about the Ferrari 458 Speciale. This will be about another Italian super car manufacturer who does the same thing that Ferrari but only on a whole 'nother level.

Lamborghini takes a different approach when making a car than Ferrari does. The approach is more stylish and over the top than precise and analytical. So that had to change when Audi took over Lambo. But I think they never lost the art of extravagant presentation. The common opinion is that Lamborghinis have become more boring and more, well, German. There are versions of standard Lamborghinis that seem like there were less German watchful eyes over the Italians. I'm not talking about the "one offs" like the Sesto Elemento or the Veneno. I mean the tweaked versions of standard Lambos that make them more, lets say, exclusive.

But with the Gallardo it has gone a bit far I have to admit. There are probably a dozen of "special edition" Lamborghinis.  There's the Tricolore, Balboni, Super Trofeo and many others. To me they just seem like filler episodes to a TV show when the writers are working on a new story line.
But there's one that is like the 458 Speciale i wrote about earlier, it's called the Performante. What it is is a Gallardo Superleggera but with the roof taken off and replaced with fabric. It has the same slightly tuned engine as the Superleggera, 562 hp (10 more than the standard V10).
I have long thought about what my favourite car is and the Gallardo Superleggera comes very close to my beloved R8. The Performante may be the car to take the crown away from the R8.

So Lambo is not making it easy,  no no. They have tens of different versions of the same car to confuse everyone. And one of them has even got me questioning my choices.

Those stripes are very ungerman. 

Even though the policeman isn't impressed, I am for sure!

This is the hard top Performante, better known as the Superleggera. 

In house tuning

When we hear in house tuning we usually think of AMG, SRT or Nismo. But there's one manufacturer who has a nameless in house tuning business. It's all very sneaky and mysterious. 

The company in question is Ferrari. They've been doing this sneaky car tuning since the 512 Testarossa if I'm anywhere close. But it really started with the Ferrari 360 which then later got the Challenge Stradale treatment. And now the new mainstream Ferrari, the 458 Italia, has been tuned up by the ninja wing of Ferrari. It's called the 458 Speciale.

It has as near as makes no difference 600 horsepower and weighs 90 kg less than the standard model. It also has many other numbers that are supposed to impress me and you, but i don't care about those. What I care about is that the exotic three exhaust pipe design is now a more traditional two pipe set up. But at least those silly whiskers are gone. I think it looks great! Better than the F430 Scuderia. I like the stripe too. 

So Ferrari did it again with this one. They made the best handling sports car that every filthy rich bought. But four years later they release the same car with essentially an in house tuning package. So now everyone with a standard 458 are dreading the day when a Speciale shows up at their cocktail party. 

That stripe is really the nightmare of the owner of standard 458

And yes it's going around the famous hairpin in Monaco.

I do miss the three pipe arrangement, but it does look racier like that. 

  

The SUPERmini

Audi has been quite loony lately of the confidence boost that the R8's success has brought them. They've made S this and RS that and it doesn't seem to have an end.

This car though has to be the craziest of them all, the Audi A1 Quattro. By putting a 2 litre turbo pumping out a very super 256 hp in a car the size of a desk fan is absolutely diabolical. The A1 was created so that Audi could compete with the VW Polos and Ford Fiestas but only 5000€ more expensive. It was the richer choice in the supermini wing of cars. This made me hate it almost immediately. Why create a small car that isn't in the price bracket of 80% of the potential buyers? I guess it's because Audi can do that sort of thing. 

What they also can do is stick a powerful engine in it, give it 4-wheel drive and price buyers (here at least) 80 000€ for it.  Lets keep in mind that the big brother called the S3 that has 40 more hp and costs 20 000€ less than the A1 Quattro. Luckily Audi have only made 333 A1 Quattros, because there are not many more mad people in the world that would buy such an overpriced car. 

The A1 Quattro has obviously been made because Audi had some spare parts spread around the factory, which then lead to the question; Which car could we make less sensible? 

Only exclusivity would make me buy this car, and even then, who would notice?

The detailing is quite nice though.

And yes. One of the 333 A1 quattros was found in Monaco

That massive wing is the cars way to say; Hey! I'm special!

The oddity from 'Murica

The Americans have a certain skill when it comes to manufacturing cars. They can be absolutely dreadful to drive while at the same time be charismatic and very likable. But i stumbled on an american car that i'm not so sure about.

It's the Plymouth Prowler (later known as the Chrysler Prowler) that I'm talking about. The product of Chrysler engineers that were basically given free hands to go play with bits of metal lying about the factory. And to create a car that would describe the words hot rod and sportster. The result then was a two-seater roadster with open front wheels and the V6 from a Chrysler 300M, not even a V8. With the open front wheels it did resemble a hot rod, but nothing else really. The engine too had at first 217 hp but later it was pumped up to a reasonable 252 hp. But the gearbox stayed the same, a 4-speed automatic. That's not very sportster is it? And despite all of this it is found in the civilized world as well, in Europe.

I think because of it's weirdness it did sell well enough for Chrysler to keep making it for five years (1997-2002) before they had to call quits. The Prowler has a character that appeals to a specific sort of person who doesn't care about the stupid gearbox or the awful interior. I don't and probably never will understand what goes on inside this persons head.

At least the plastic bumpers blend nicely in with the black paint.  

Those blinged up wheels cannot make this car more American. 

Making it better

In the post titled "The hottest wasp" I wrote about my favourite new hot hatch the Ford Fiesta ST. And to spice the ST up further, a company called Mountune got their hands on the 1.6 ecoboost and gave it a little more... well... boost.

Where the standard ST has 180 hp the Mountune Performance pack buffs it up to a meaty 215 hp. Add to that a sound that's described as a "rally noise from the 60's". And even the torque figure is up from 290Nm to 320Nm. These are all great things! I can not see these making the brilliant Fiesta ST any worse.
And to top it all off this Performance pack called MP215 is only around 800€ and the fitting takes only an hour. So that in my books is the most value 800€ you're aver going to spend.

It's supposed to be lower than the normal ST but i don't see it.

To tell the knowing motorists that you've made the best decision of your life.  

And this is the normal ST. It looks better than many super cars. 

The posterior is real

When a car is described as good looking or even pretty, it's the front of the car that then usually is the defining characteristic. But there is one car in my opinion where the prettiness comes from the... behind.

The rear of the Ferrari 458 Italia is so exotic and fantastically proportioned that i'd like to sleep on the rear window. I think it's the Ferrari F40 inspired tailpipes that get my attention most of all. I'm less of a fan of the convertible rear end though. It lacks the smoothness of the roof and the hips are more well defined.

The car all in all looks obviously excellent, but what gives it the look of a future Ferrari classic is the memorable round taillights combined with the operatic V8 echo.

Oh My God! It's like the best angle ever! And that roof!

It's a bit too pointy for my taste. 

Mind you, the Ferrari 458 Speciale around the Monaco hairpin ain't bad either. 

A white and black 458 is a nice change to the Rosso Corsa.

It seems unnecessary

Lately I've been hung up on manufacturers giving their car models names that really are not needed. Today it is BMW's new 4-series. Now for those who don't know, the 4-series is the new 3-series coupe. To have a different name to a car with a different body does sound smart, until you realize it is the exact same car as the 3-series. 

So what is the point in renaming a car that you're not going to change anyway? In the case of the M3 it's nice to have a different name for the coupe, the M4. But it still isn't a big challenge to call it the M3 coupe now isn't it. 

This even happened to the to 1-series as well. It's no longer the 1-series coupe it's the 2-series. It does make sense that the odd numbers (1,3,5,7-series) are saloons and the even numbers (2,4,6-series) are coupes. But let's not forget that there is a four-door version of the 6-series. 

So why did they do this? Probably because now BMW can release four-door versions of the 2- and 4-series'. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened. 

BMW M4. 426 hp from a 3.0 litre twin turbo straight 6.

From this photo you can see it's a 4-series. But what if you couldn't see the back?

And the 2-series. There probably will be an M2 somewhere in the future.

It strikes again

I'm sure you car enthusiasts are aware of the new sports car that came out last year. The seventh edition of the only sports car ever to come out of the US of A, the Chevrolet Corvette C7.

But no, that isn't its whole name. It's actually called the C7 Stingray. And in my opinion that's an issue. The original C2 Stingray is a motoring icon like the E-type Jaguar or the Mercedes-Benz SL300 Gullwing. So why would you call a car by a name that has become a legend? The reason is just to make a greater sale. Chevrolet seems to think that 6.2 litre American V8 (455 hp) isn't a good selling point anymore. And they might be right, but that still doesn't make it acceptable. 

How weird would it be if Ferrari suddenly decided to call their next grand tourer the Daytona. 

Chevrolet Corvette C7. I'm never going to refer to it as the Stingray.

Chevrolet Corvette C7. The 4 exhausts next to each other are a nice touch.

And apparently it handles quite well.  

If I write about a car that also is found in Gran Turismo, I'm going to take photos of it in action there. That way I don't have to "borrow" pictures from the internet. The game has such great graphics that you really can't see a difference anyway.

More of a fraud

The problem what I have with this car is that it's meant to be bought like a pair of Italian shoes. Not really practical, not pretty but expensive, hence it's a fashion statement. I'm talking of course of the Nissan Juke.

The mere existence of it annoys me. It's a forceful try of Nissan to make a hip car for the "young" parent. And they did this by having it star in some funky commercials with it being under water and skydiving. Now that is some great marketing right there. Granted, it does look different and combined with those funny commercials it was destined to end up being a fashion statement. It looks big as well and you sit a little higher up than in a sensible car, which appeals to people who think sun glasses should be the size of microwave ovens. And it's classed as a crossover. Please. The only thing it can cross over are some pebbles on a roadwork site.

I've actually got a family member who just bought a Juke second hand. I wasted so many hours trying to convince here that there are better cars out there and at a cheaper price. But her mind was set on a Juke so it was a lost cause. I said the VW Golf is cheaper and bigger, but no. I said the new Opel Meriva is very innovative and different like the Juke, but no. So now she drives around in a brown Juke. 

Nissan pulled off the same stunt that BMW did with the new Mini. It's fashion. You could have bought a warm fuzzy beanie when instead you came home with a fedora. It's not as warm or as simple, but at least it looks good (or so you think). 

But at least my family member says it's good to drive.

This is the Nismo tuned Juke. 197 hp is not enough to make it go away.

I'd have the Opel Meriva instead. Look how happy the kids are to see it. 

The hottest wasp

Most (probably all) of the cars i write about on here I have never driven and probably never will. But this time it will be different.
Because I've got the pleasure to drive the new Ford Fiesta ST. Technical stuff first. It's got a 1.6 litre turbo with a nice 180 hp going through the front wheels in a typical hot hatch fashion. It's got an unexpected amount of torque as well, which took me by surprise. It felt like it had a much bigger engine what it really had when you overtook someone at say 60 kph (40 mph). When it was a sporty version of a normal car I was afraid that it would be a bit difficult to get used to with the clutch and so on. But instead it was very easy and you felt immediately right at home.
Since I have no experience of other hot hatches I can't say for certain that this is the one to buy. This is a very tough market. But I have to say that all the positives I've heard/read about the Fiesta ST is completely true. It most certainly is the hottest wasp I've ever driven.

And did I mention, it looks fantastic!

It's lowered by 15 mm to enhance that eager look.

And this is the one that I drove. It was an experience indeed.

What's that whistle?

Will your friend say when he hears the new Peugeot RCZ-R approaching. The whistle comes from the massively tuned 1.6 L turbo of the R.
The tuning has been done by Peugeot Sport, which means that the new hot version of the RCZ has 270 hp. And that is just what the doctor ordered. The sporty body of the RCZ has finally got the sporty power that it deserves. I'm not saying that the 200 hp version is slow, i'm saying that it wasn't enough to put my hair on end. But now the French two-seater has the power to compete with the Scirocco R.
The RCZ-R doesn't get four-wheel drive either, which appears to be the trend with these type of cars. But at least it doesn't follow the trend of paddle-shifters (like the Scirocco R) but has a proper manual.
To sum up. We had to wait four years for the RCZ to come into production after the concept. Then it took another four years for the car to get the power to match its looks. The whistle is real.

The R is 10 mm lower than the standard RCZ

Those exhaust pipes and the back wing are the biggest giveaways for the R.

The choice became harder

For the last few years there has been a trend in the big saloon market that has baffled me. It's the introduction of the saloon-coupe. I'm not the biggest fan of the saloons with the sloped rear-end like the A7 or the CLS, because you could spend less money on a less flashier car and then use the rest of the money to buy another car for your child. I expect that the buyer would have a child since those cars are still big saloons. But anyway, this text is not for ranting on those type of cars (or people who buy them) but for the new Maserati Ghibli. 

The Maserati Ghibli is a new car from Maserati which unfortunately falls in the same category as the CLS, not because of its body shape, but because of its similar price tag. The Ghibli comes with two different engines to choose from. A 3.0 L twin turbocharged V6 which puts out 330 hp and 410 hp for the faster S model. It also has - for the first time ever in a Maserati - a V6 turbodiesel. 

Now before we go and say that the legendary Italian manufacturer has sold itself out we have to remember that, if you want Maserati to be around for much longer they have to build something for a larger market. And that means for Maserati to build a smaller car with a bigger market than the Quattroporte but still one that doesn't ruin their badge. Enter the Ghibli.

The diesel is necessary so that it could compete with the German equivalents. But I hope that the people who buy the Ghibli will opt for the twin turbo petrol. I also hope that this car will propel the passionate Italians to build more sports cars in the future.

At first I wasn't happy with the styling, but it has started to grow on me. I like it.

Will we see an estate version? It could be something they're working on right now.

Why not?

If you feel that you finally are in such a financial position that you have money to buy an upper-class family car, then why not be different. If you want to stand out in your choice of car but still be sensible. If you're bored at the sight of a German executive saloon. Then why not buy a Jaguar XF.
It has power, refinement and class. Those attributes do stand true to the Germans (E-class, A6, 5-series) as well, but they lack the excitement of the Jaguar XF. It also costs around the same sort of money as the German equivalents. The Jaguar XF is an all around great car and holds well against the tough competition, even still you don't see the XF as often. I think it is because of the reputation of bad reliability that Jaguar has gathered over the years.
It is time to change that perspective of the British manufacturer. The XF shows that Jaguar can compete with the Germans on every level. It is time for more people to say, "I own a Jaaaaag".

Jaguar XF

Jaguar XF Sportbrake. 

GT6

I've taken some pictures from my game play in the new Gran Turismo 6 game.

Audi Quattro 1982. It does not belong on the track.

The superb Ford Focus ST. I should do a some kind of review on this...

Ford GT40 powersliding in Silverstone

Nissan Skyline R34 (white) and Nismo tuned Skyline R33.

Toyota GT86 in it's favourite activity (Gran Turismo 15th anniversary colours)