October 18, 2014

Salon Prive 2014

Posted by morewheelspin under concourse d'elegance, ferrari, jaguar, mclaren, motorsport, sportscars, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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I first attended Salon Prive last year and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Held in the beautiful grounds of the Duke of Northumberland’s London home, Syon House in West London,  the event is billed as an upscale concourse d’elegance and motoring lifestyle show. Running from Wednesday to Friday it is targeted at the well-heeled corporate hospitality market and the price of a daily ticket (including Lobster lunch..) reflects that. I attended last year on an afternoon ticket only which I was able to buy at a discount due to membership of a motoring club. At less than half the cost of a full day ticket it was good value for money as whilst I only had four hours at the show this turned out to be more than enough time to see what there was and the price included a good quality free afternoon tea and an unlimited bar! So this year I again opted for an afternoon ticket only and was not disappointed.

Being a top end event a number of prestige manufactures were present showing their latest cars including Ferrari and Lamborghini. Two La Ferraris were on show, one in red and the other, belonging to Jay Kay, in a lurid shade of green. There was also a stunning one off Ferrai F12 open top roadster. Ferrari would not reveal who the car was built for but it certainly seems to me that they made a better job of it than they did on the bespoke Ferrari 458 they built for Eric Clapton last year.

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Jay Kay’s lurid green La Ferrari. The interior is that colour too..

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Gorgeous bespoke Ferrari F12 Open Top Roadster for an anonymous client

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Contrast with Eric Clapton’s bespoke Ferrari 458 – actually less good looking than the standard car. Photo taken at St James Concours of Elegance 2013.

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The F12 looks stunning from all angles. I love the retro themed bubbles behind each seat.

Below are some other notable cars from the event.

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The concours included a whole class of D Type Jaguars (celebrating their 60th anniversary). One of them won overall and many made an appearance at Goodwood a week later for a spectacular all D Type race.

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Unusual Zagato Rover 2000. The only one and very striking.

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Senor Pagani attended the event which showcased his cars. Here he is admiring a very yellow Jaguar XJ220.

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Fantastic Art Deco front end of a Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A

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More interesting coachbuilding, this time Superleggera’s take on a future Mini roadster. A very nice design indeed.

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Another of Jay Kay’s cars, beautiful modern coach built body on a Bentley R Type chassis. Yours for £500k. He was trying to flog this car at Essen (see below). No takers yet which is a shame. Its stunning looking.

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Red La Ferrari. I think the McLaren P1 looks better.

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This is Jaguar designer Ian Callum’s take on the Mark 2 Jag. I’m afraid it did nothing for me. I do not see the point of taking an old car and making it modern.

 

October 18, 2014

London Motoring Week

Posted by morewheelspin under brighton speed trials, concourse d'elegance, Goodwood Motor Circuit, Hill climb, motorsport | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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Monterey Motoring Week in California is famous for its array of top quality international motoring events, all packed into one week in August. Centred on the world-famous Pebble Beach Concourse D’Elegance there are numerous other shows, both formal and informal, together with classic and vintage racing at Laguna Seca. Apart from the lucky few able to travel to California in August, European motoring enthusiasts have not been able to experience anything similar. All that now looks to be changing with what seems to be the emergence of a “London Motoring Week” each September. In fact it is more of a “South East Motoring Week” as it encompasses events across London, Sussex, Surrey and further afield.

The undoubted highlight of London Motoring Week is the incomparable Goodwood Revival Meeting. This has been running every September since 1998. So successful and dominant is it that now other events are beginning to cluster around it. The week before the Revival sees the Salon Prive concourse and motoring lifestyle show at Syon House in London, closely followed by the Hampton Court Concourse of Elegance, The Beaulieu International Autojumble, The Brighton Speed Trials and the increasingly popular Shere Hillclimb in Surrey.

With so many fabulous events crammed into a very short space of time, motoring enthusiasts can find that difficult decisions need to be made as to which events to attend. This year I was lucky enough to attend the Revival, Salon Prive , Hampton Court and the Shere Hillclimb. I unfortunately had to turn down a place at the Brighton Speed Trials due the clash with Hampton Court and Shere.  A great shame is this year’s Speed Trials was the first to be held since the event was reinstated following a successful campaign to stop the Green dominated Brighton City Council banning it.  Reports on all the events I attended will be added shortly.

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La Ferrari and Bespoke F12 Ferrari at Salon Prive 2014

 

July 26, 2014

A visit to Aston Martin

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Earlier this week I had the chance to visit Aston Martin at Gaydon and to drive a couple of their cars. I have never been a particular fan of the marque. Their poor reputation for reliability, snooty sales staff and dynamic equality with my XKR have meant I have never been tempted to “upgrade” from Jaguar.

When Aston Martin moved to Gaydon 10 years ago and they made a real effort to reshape their image as a modern car company. The style of their factory communicates that. It combines striking modern architecture with clean spaces and an aura of efficiency.

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Not your average car factory..

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A beautiful fast British icon .. and a little AM V8 strangely wrapped in chrome

Aston Martin make much of the fact that their cars are handbuilt. Certainly during a tour of the factory we didn’t see much automation on the assembly lines. In fact it seems that they make only about 10 cars per day. The people showing me around were charming and certainly dispelled my concerns over snobbishness. It was also noticeable that the staff working at the factory seemed proud to be there,  which is surely a good sign.  That pride in their work may explain why reliability, whilst still not up to the standards of their competitors, is much improved.

Following the tour of the factory I was able to drive a V8 Vantage and DB9 Volante. Both were good cars. The V8 felt surprisingly spacious inside but is certainly beginning to show its age. The new DB9 felt a notch up in terms of quality and the normally aspirated V12 made a fantastic sound. Dynamically both were a bit twitchy when pushing on, certainly more so than my similarly powered Jaguar XKR.  I suspect that was more down to my style of driving rather than to any shortcomings in the car.  If I owned either car I would just need to drive in a different style.

Whilst I doubt the V8 is better than a 911 it is hard to think of a GT in production which is better than the DB9 and racier sister, the Vanquish.  Now my XKR is four years old I am looking for a new GT but sadly my budget does not stretch to a DB9…

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So good it can walk on water? Gravity defying V8 Vantage

Inside the factory Aston Martin maintain a small heritage collection. As well as Bond cars they have some of their rarer cars on display, including a DB7 Zagato Volante. I think Zagato lost their way in the 70s and that is reflected in their more recent work. Compare their efforts on the DB7 with their efforts on the DB4 (see my post below relating to Techno Classica Essen).

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Bond’s Vanquish and DBS. Given how awful the gearbox was in the Vanquish I am surprised that in the great ice chase scene in Die Another Day the villain Chang in his XKR didn’t get the better of 007..

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A rather ugly concept car..

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The rear of a DB7 Zagato at the neighbouring Gaydon Motor Heritage Centre. Not as attractive as Ian Callum’s original design but better than the America Roadster below.

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DB7 Zagato Volante American Roadster. Oh dear.

 

July 26, 2014

Rain stops play..

Posted by morewheelspin under Hill climb, MG, motorsport, Sprint | Tags: , , |
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The last two events in my racing season have proven rather soggy affairs. The Abingdon Car-nival is a great event raising money for local and military charities. Uniquely, over the course of one day, competitors get to drive two different sprint courses on the perimeter track of the old Abingdon Air Force Base. Unfortunately it rained very heavily for most of the day. This reduced both track times and enjoyment.

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Ready for the off at Abingdon in the driving rain behind a very loud Mustang

Shelsley Walsh in Worcestershire is the oldest motorsport venue in the world. Cars have been racing up the hill since 1905. This heritage and the beautiful country surroundings make it one of my favourite events. Sadly it rained heavily again all day. Unlike with many sprint courses there is very little run off at Shelsley and therefore it pays to be cautious when it is wet. It was my first time taking the Beast up the hill so I was extra careful. She’s a big car for a narrow twisty Hill! Whilst my time was okay it was still nowhere near as fast as times that I have managed previously in my little MGF.

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A very wet paddock at Shelsley. I was the only car out of 150 to not get a pit shelter. Then again I needed it less than the vintage MGs seen behind.

 

July 6, 2014

Silverstone Grand Prix 2014 (4)

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, lewis hamilton, Lotus, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, red bull, royal automobile club, silverstone, vettel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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The British Grand Prix was another thrilling race in what has turned out to be a classic season. Although it might lack the glamour of Monaco or the first rate facilities of Abu Dhabi and the other new circuits, Silverstone more than makes up for such deficiencies with the passion of the 120,000 fans who make the pilgrimage to Northamptonshire every year. All the British drivers, including Max Chilton labouring at the back of the pack, received loud applause every time they went past the packed grandstands. And foreign drivers received sporting applause when their conduct merited it. In the end the fans got what they wanted, a British victory. Although the mechanical failure which robbed Rosberg finish handed the race to Hamilton, I think the fans would have preferred to have seen him take the lead following an overtaking manoeuvre. Instead, for thrilling overtaking and racing the fans had to look to Alonso and Vettel who battled it out wheel to wheel for many laps. Bottas also drove magnificently, finishing second having started 16th. Ultimately though it is Hamilton who will be happiest with today’s result as it now leaves him just four points behind Rosberg in the race for the championship.

Below, Hamilton crosses the line and takes the chequered flag for only his second British Grand Prix victory.

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Below, the top three on the podium face the ecstatic British fans. Bottas received his second place trophy from the legendary John Surtees who was celebrating the 50th anniversary of his world championship with Ferrari. Incidentally, as noted below (“Dinner with Emerson Fittipaldi”), the famous British Grand Prix Gold cup was at Silverstone to be presented to the winner. However all Lewis got was a horrible plasticky trophy based on sponsor Santander’s logo. He had the good taste to show his disgust and ask “Where is the gold cup? ” Where indeed?

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July 6, 2014

Silverstone Grand Prix 2014 (3)

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, lewis hamilton, Lotus, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, red bull, silverstone, vettel | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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Gripping start. Poor by Vettel, great for the McLarens and Lewis. Raikkonen loses it and collects Massa. Both unhurt but out of the race. Real shame for Massa who was starting his 200th GP. Poor start for the Lotus’ too. Race will start again soon under safety car. Below Lewis on formation lap.

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Below, Sutil’s Sauber followed by the Williams’ of Massa and Bottas.

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July 6, 2014

Silverstone Grand Prix 2014 (2)

Posted by morewheelspin under formula 1, lewis hamilton, Lotus, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, red bull, silverstone, vettel
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Drivers parade!

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July 6, 2014

Silverstone Grand Prix 2014

Posted by morewheelspin under formula 1, Lotus, mclaren, motorsport, silverstone | Tags: , , , , , |
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After a gripping qualifying session in the rain yesterday the sun is shining at Silverstone for the 50th British Grand Prix held at this famous old Northamptonshire circuit. To celebrate that anniversary some of the stars from the past were out demonstrating some lovely old cars.

Below, Damon Hill driving his father Graham’s Lotus 49.

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Below, Adrian Newey driving the UTP March followed by Emerson Fittipaldi in his McLaren M23. Behind him is the McLaren of James Hunt.

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July 5, 2014

Dinner with Emerson Fittipaldi

Posted by morewheelspin under formula 1, Lotus, mclaren, motorsport, royal automobile club, silverstone, sportscars | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Last week I and some other RAC members had the rare privilege of having dinner with two time Formula One World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. Although now in his 60s he looked incredibly fit although he has long since lost his former trademark muttonchops. It proved to be a great evening as Emerson turned out to be a thoroughly charming and patient man. Down-to-earth, he took time to answer all our questions even though he had probably heard them all many many times before. He entertained us with incredible stories about his career, both in Formula One and in IndyCar. It’s astonishing to think that he started racing in the same year that Jack Brabham retired and only finished racing in 1997 when he was well into his late 40s. Over a varied career he not only won the world championship twice but also the Indianapolis 500, also twice. He also won the British Grand Prix twice and will be driving his Silverstone winning McLaren M23 tomorrow before the British Grand Prix.

What was particular striking about Emerson was that he clearly has a real interest in the history of motor racing. For the dinner the Club could not, unfortunately, decorate the table with the British Grand Prix trophy as it had already been sent to Silverstone. Instead the beautiful Tourist Trophy took pride of place. Emerson took a real interest in the trophy, looking carefully at the names of the illustrious drivers who had won it in the past. I think he regretted the fact that his name was not on it! However he explained he never really took to sportscar racing and never did Le Mans as a close friend of his father whom he had looked up to as a child was killed there in the fifties.

Of course, like many other British men my age, the thing I particulary remember about Emerson Fittipaldi is the Corgi toy Lotus 72 JPS. I think every boy at school had one at the time of Emerson’s first world championship in 1972. I took my own along to the dinner and Emerson very kindly agreed to sign the box. It will be treasured even more now!

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Emerson Fittipaldi with the Tourist Trophy

 

July 5, 2014

Racing MG3

Posted by morewheelspin under MG, motorsport, silverstone | Tags: , , , |
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A couple of weeks ago I went to Silverstone for the annual MG Car Club meeting. In between the races, a couple of demonstration laps by a rather special MG 3 caught peoples’ attention. The MG 3 has been out for about a year now and is selling relatively well given the current low profile of the company. It’s won plaudits from the critics for its fine handling and bargain price ( fully loaded its about £10,000). However, for the enthusiastic driver it has lacked one crucial ingredient-poke. In China the car is now available with a turbocharger but that option is not available as yet in the UK. The car paraded at Silverstone was a one-off race car. It’d been assembled by a skunk group at MG in Longbridge with money from the marketing team in China. They clearly wanted something sporty to show the press back home. The boys at Longbridge certainly did a fine job. The car was prepared and driven at Silverstone by MG’s engineering workshop manager. I had a good chat with him. He hoped that interest in the car might lead MG to prepare similar cars for a race series (like the old MGF Trophy) and also kits for owners to modify their own cars. Sounds appealing to me!

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MG3 Racing – stripped out interior with full cage and racing seats. Yes those are slicks. Not sure about that spoiler though apparently vital for added downforce.

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Standard 1.5 engine with trick innards and head and huge turbo charger. It apparently puts out a healthy 220 bhp!

 

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The car rides on shocks especially sourced from Penske in the US. The forged wheels are off the shelf but the brakes which look like old MGF Trophy items are in fact entirely bespoke.

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The car looks great fun – hopefully we will see a production version.

 

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