The Spanish GP is on this weekend and with the McLaren
Mercedes team buoyed up by the British GP success you can expect
fireworks. David Coulthard is out to prove that he is Hakkinen’s equal
and Herr Schumacher the elder did not like his fate at the British GP.
Join me “trackside” in front of the big screen at Delaney’s Irish
Pub.
The Saturday Night Car Show
Next weekend (May 13th) is Charley Brown’s Saturday
Night Car Show. Held at the Charley Brown’s Pub, 1361 Town in Town,
Srivara Road, in Bangkok, this is a unique event in that it is a light
hearted “Shine and Show” concourse d’elegance. There are awards
based on popular acclaim, so if you’ve got something out of the
ordinary, or super flash, or customised or just because it’s yours and
you like it, you are invited to come along and put the vehicle on display
that night.
Mazda
Prot้g้
Charley Brown’s has a DJ and food and drinks are
available. It sounds like a fun pub night with people who are also
interested in motorcars. You’ll get a commemorative dash plaque too,
just for entering!
The Srivara Road with Charley Brown’s is off Soi 39
Ramkhamhaeng Road at one end and Soi 94 Lad Prao at the other. If you take
the Lad Prao exit from the Ram Intra Expressway you’re fairly close.
Charley Brown’s phone number if you get totally lost (like I do every
time I go to Bangers) is (02) 530 3713.
Move over Cobra, here comes THE Viper!
The AC Cobra gave birth to the Shelby Cobra 427, a
vehicle that stands high in the memory of anyone who has ever seen one or
driven one. However today, the 427 has a challenger that will see it
relegated to history. The challenger to the famous snake is the Dodge
Viper. This beast was powerful enough when it was first released a few
years ago, but like the Cobra has grown meaner and faster in the last
decade.
Being used in GT racing has seen the Viper being
continually upgraded in areas such as brakes and suspension, but the
latest version released at the Detroit Motor Show is just something else
again. Called a “concept”, it is thought that this Viper will be
released around 2002.
Called the GTS/R it has a dry sumped version of the
Chrysler 8 litre (yes, EIGHT litre) V10 which produces 500 horses. Not
Japanese quarter horses either, these are real Clydesdales. This rocket
does 0-100 kph in 3.8 seconds. I think that would make it the fastest
accelerating production car in the world. It also does 320 kph by the time
you run out of revs in 6th gear!
If
that isn’t enough to put the Viper ahead of the Cobra in the “Wanna
have one” stakes, then I don’t know what you want. Having driven a
Cobra (a genuine one) and a Viper (a ’95 model) I know which one I want
in my shed. Mind you, if cost is no object, I’ll have both, thank you
very much.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week, I suggested you look at another old
photograph, taken from Nick Demet’s beautiful book on the
Spa-Francorchamps circuit. There were four drivers in the shot and any
three would do. It was taken in 1952 and showed, from the left,
Thailand’s own Prince Bira, and the three British drivers Lance Macklin,
Sir Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorn. Make no mistake about it, Prince Bira
was up there with the best of them. Hawthorn, who later became the world
champion, retired after his friend Peter Collins was killed. Hawthorn
himself was mysteriously killed on the Guildford By-pass in London driving
one of his Jaguars. For some real trivia, I actually owned one of Mike
Hawthorn’s Mk VII Jags when I was in London in 1966!
So to this week and we’ll get more recent. What was
the first Egyptian made motor car? They first came out in 1958 (well, it
is a bit more recent!) and had a thumping great 600 cc twin up front. What
was the brand? Hint: It was not the Tutenkhamen!
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first to
fax 427 596 or email [email protected]. By the way, do you like
the new look web page for Automania, complete with its own link? I sure as
hell do!
Stupid Decisions Department
Read somewhere that the European parliament has passed
a decision that car makers are responsible for recycling all the vehicles
they have ever produced. This is supposed to take effect from 2006. What
absolute drivel! If the owner has to be responsible for the car during its
lifetime, how come all of a sudden the manufacturer becomes responsible at
the end? And what happens with manufacturers that go to the wall? Who is
going to pay for all the Rovers? Will BMW? Will Ford? And what about the
Wartburgs, the Glas, the Borgwards? And if someone takes one of our
“Chevrolet” Zafira’s to die in Europe, who is going to pay for its
cremation? Opel or General Motors?
What about the cars that end their days prematurely,
being used to derail the Moscow-Munich express train, for example? Does
the insurance company ring DaimlerChrysler and say we’ve got a 240 CE
for you to pay for. The remains are under the third carriage, please
collect today.
No, this is a fine example of a real camel, the
proverbial horse designed by a committee. What is even more galling is
that these turkeys will have debated this for days or even weeks, and are
paid huge salaries to come up with unmitigated crap like this. Fair makes
me puke it does!
Prot้g้ and Laser
The new Mazda Prot้g้ and its sister under
the tin, the Ford Laser, were both at the Bangkok International Motor
Show. I must say that I remain totally underwhelmed by the styling
departments in both the camps. Mazda used to be known for some very
stylish cars, the old 323 Alpina being a very sporty and slippery shape.
However, when FoMoCo took the reins the corporate look in Mazda became
very plain (in some cases plain ugly) and bland. This pair are no
different. I’m sure that to drive them they will provide perfectly
adequate transport and will be about as exciting on the road as their
styling. (I think the story on Stupid Decisions above has made me
depressed!)
Trouser snake race team!
This is true! One of the major sponsors of a US Nascar
race team is Viagra. A race team with real “poke” I suppose. The team
for “hard” drivers! The team that will stay “upright”. Performance
that lasts longer! The name of the team? Eel River Racing. Believe. You
read it here first!
