Vision Gran Turismo: Mazda LM55

Since really nothing is happening in the car world at the moment, apart from the new 5-series being revealed. Let us revisit the world of Gran Turismo 6 and its Vision project. A project that lost its wings quite abruptly around a year ago.

Mazda LM55 in some sort of GT6 green

Anyhow, here's Mazda's contribution to the Vision Gran Turismo project the LM55. It's quite an unusual VGT concept since it is more of an homage to an earlier Mazda. You guessed it, the Le Mans winning 787B. All the other concepts so far have been legitimate new models which illustrate the future design direction of the manufacturer in question. And with that the manufacturers have tried to design road-going track-monsters such as the BMW and Mitsubishi concepts. Which incidentally today look like the BMW M2 and the Mitsubishi GT-PHEV concept revealed this year at the Paris motor show.

Hunting down the next Audi, Toyota and Porsche

The Mazda LM55 is a straight up Le Mans racer, which is immediately apparent by its appearance. For a body sculpted by wind tunnel and maths it looks quite elegant and striking. To the styling Mazda has adopted the Kodo philosophy which they also use in their road cars. I like Mazda's overall road car design, if they could bring it to the racetracks I'd be in the grandstands sporting a Mazda cap that's for sure. Great styling cues which also have an engineering purpose are the hollow wheel arches. You can see the suspension arm moving while going along at 340 kph on the - not so smooth - Mulsanne straight, which is a nice touch. 

Smooth purposeful lines

It is not my favourite VGT car to drive in the game. It understeers a lot, the rotary engine noise is way better on the 787B and I find the gearing a bit odd. I thought that the gearing for endurance racers should be long but on the eight speed LM55 it's stressful. An eight speed box is too much, around Circuit de la Sarthe for instance you don't really need a lower gear than third. Maybe because of that the car is very twitchy under breaking as well. Bear in mind I drive with a normal controller, which may contribute to my bad driving.

I would really like to see Mazda return to the front of prototype racing. And if it would look this good they will certainly have a fan headquarters camping outside the Dunlop curve.

Lamborghini Espada: Gandini art part 2

Since I have nothing to report from the Paris Motor Show (I wasn't there), let me present another Italian 70's sports/super car to you. Designed by the same person as the car from the previous post.

Lamborghini Espada in Rosso

The Lamborghini Espada was the most sold Lambo before the Countach. When you think most sold car remember which manufacturer we're talking about. They made and sold an overwhelming 1,217 Espadas during its ten years in production (1968-1978). This was huge for Lamborghini since they only sold a couple of hundred cars per model at that time. And for you classic car buyers, this also means that there are many Espadas out for sale today at quite a reasonable price - for a classic Lamborghini at least.

The 928 next to it looked like and SUV

As revealed in the title it was designed by one of Bertones greatest designer Marcello Gandini. The styling is sleek and... well, long. The long lines at the sides and the bonnet emphasize the length of this four-seater. Espada is Spanish and means sword. This charactarizes the cars sharp look. I just wonder if the name was invented after it was designed or the other way around. The cars other dimensions are as extreme as its length. It's under 1.2 meters high and close to 1.9 meters wide. Lamborghini had come a long way from the tractor dimensions. Some Gandini styling details are the NACA ducts on the bonnet, which I believe are functional. They better be, for the good of the engine lying beneath. 

NACA ducts give some depth to the king-size - large bonnet

The wheels are copied from the Miura

This vast car needs a powerful engine to hurl it forward. Luckily Lamborghini only makes engines with more than a few cylinders. The Espada has a version of Lambo's 3.9 litre V12 also seen in the Miura. Power output changed over the years from an initial 330 horsepower to 350 in the series II. Weirdly, for the series III the power was reduced to 325 HP. There were also ugly US-spec bumpers added to the series III which made it less desirable. That meant the series II sold the most and is the most wanted Espada today. 

The fuel filler is behind the plastic ducts

What comes to Italian supercars this may not be the most striking but it has an enormous amount of road presence. It is usable too with a large boot and two very usable backseats. Jay Leno talks about his Espada being his only car for some time. This is obviously possible only in a country where fuel prices are so low that it's almost viewed as a human right.

Alfa Romeo Montreal: Italian art

As a car enthusiast, petrolhead, gearhead, and the rest of it, you think you know every car in the world. There is literally no more space in your brain for another interesting piece four-wheeled piece of design. Then while you're scrolling the internet, as you do at any time of day, you're confronted by a shape that you do not recognize but most definitely should.

Alfa Romeo Montreal in metallic gold.

Thankfully I was alone while feeling deep embarrassment of not knowing about the
Alfa Romeo Montreal. An Italian sports car created at the pinnacle of Italian exotica, the 70's and I didn't know what it was. The triangular grill design, though, gave away the cars manufacturer. I was immediately struck by the Montreal's elegant beauty. The classic proportions of a long bonnet and a sloping rear end have indeed stood the test of time.

Lovely subtle buldges on the bonnet

The most unique part of the Montreal is its front end. The grill-like contraptions on top of the headlights actually fold under the headlights when they are turned on. Does it make them pop-down headlights? On top of the bonnet there is an air duct which, weirdly, is blocked off and non-functional. That means the car has a useful piece of engineering used only for design purposes.
How Italian is that!

Seek out a video how the headlights work, it's amazing

Moving further towards the rear and the slots that look like vents you'll notice the shape of the door window. It has a familiar curved shape seen in the Lancia Stratos and Lamborghini Miura. Which is not by accident since the Montreal is designed by the same man as the Stratos and Miura, Signore Marcello Gandini. The six vents he put on the car work as vents for the cabin. But they are mostly a design feature and very successful one at that.

Look at the size of that steering wheel!

 Propelling this stylistic car forward is an Alfa bred 2.6 V8 closely related to the smaller capacity V8 used in Alfa Romeo's race cars at the time. It produces 200 horsepower and sends them all naturally to the rear wheels. The car was made from 1970-77 with only around 3900 produced. Alfa struggled to sell it since it went up against cars like the Porsche 911 but was more expensive.


So a car with an interesting engine, beautiful design, built by a charismatic manufacturer during a time when many iconic cars were built. This I think is why it has retracted into the shadow during the years, well, from ignorant me at least. Now though it's time to bring it to the light. I'm so bored by the Porsche 911.

A vintage bodyshape invigorated by many interesting details