The Hulk scores convincingly in EnZed
By John Weinthal
A1GP’s first superstar, Nico Hulkenberg of Germany, more
than matched his outstanding results in monsoon conditions
in Malaysia and Indonesia late last year with his mastery in
the dry at New Zealand’s Lake Taupo circuit last weekend.
No
chance of a cat nap during A1GP
Hulkenberg started on pole, set the fastest lap time and won
both the Sprint and Feature races.
Team France rookie Loic Duval was second in both races with
home team hero and Indonesian double winner Jonny Reid third
in front of a weekend crowd of more than 80,000.
Williams F1 test driver and A1GP rookie Narain Karthikeyan
notched India’s first A1GP points ever finishing 10th in the
Sprint and 7th in the Feature races on the spectacularly
scenic but tight and slippery circuit.
After seven of the season’s 11 rounds Hulkenberg has
extended Team Germany’s lead to 65 points from France on 46,
New Zealand 43, Great Britain 36, Mexico 34 and Malaysia 34.
GB, Mexico and Malaysia failed to score points at Lake
Taupo.
This Sunday (February 4) A1GP moves to Sydney (Australia)
Eastern Creek raceway.
Rag-top Roller
Given the wave of new concepts at the
Detroit motor show, Rolls-Royce’s new Phantom drophead coupe
was almost overwhelmed but its statuesque presence still
managed to make a big impact.
R-R
Drophead
With prices starting at $US407,000 the convertible is now on
sale in Europe, using the Phantom platform as its base.
However, the convertible uses 1300 new parts especially
developed for the convertible and is the first convertible
to be offered by Rolls-Royce since 2002, the last being the
Corniche.
The convertible will be hand built alongside the Phantom at
Rolls-Royce’s manufacturing plant at Goodwood on the south
coast of England.
The two-door, four-seater uses the lightweight rigidity of
an all-aluminium spaceframe, and R-R claim it marries modern
technology to a sleek, streamlined convertible body.
Factory blurb describes it as having the exterior lines echo
the timeless styling of the great Rolls-Royce cars: a long
bonnet, large-diameter wheels, short front and long rear
overhangs and the quintessential dynamic line descending
along its flanks. (Personally I think it looks like an ugly
housebrick at the front.)
Rolls-Royce chief designer, Ian Cameron, said the
convertible uses a brushed steel bonnet and A-pillar and
teak decking for the rear hood cover. The brushed steel is
machine finished to give a uniform grain before undergoing
extensive hand polishing to achieve a perfect sheen. At the
rear, the teak decking is treated with a carefully blended
mix of oils to preserve a natural finish and a long lasting
luster, which gives Jeeves something to do in winter.
Front opening coach doors add considerably to the ease of
access to the rear seat, as well as to the overall
aesthetics, they say. (RR brings back the old ‘suicide
doors’! Wow!)
Claimed to be unique to Rolls-Royce, the doors dramatically
transform the convertible’s looks, giving a side profile
reminiscent of classic sports cars of the 1960s says the
factory. (Oh yeah?) Crucially, they also aid the overall
stiffness of the body as the rear hinged doors allow for an
uninterrupted A-pillar.
Careful engineering of the folding soft-top roof means that
it stows in a relatively small space resulting in a luggage
compartment that remains unaffected regardless of whether
the roof is up or down.
The fabric hood is the largest of any modern convertible car
and it is acoustically insulated against the elements and
outside noise. Five layers of material ensure that the cabin
remains a serene space, even at speed. Lined with cashmere
it has been tailored to stow in a relatively small space.
The convertible’s advanced aluminium chassis is lightweight
and exceptionally strong, it impacts positively on ride
comfort, handling and safety. Hand made, it requires more
than 140 m of welding in each chassis.
Power is supplied by the same 6.75 liter naturally aspirated
V12 engine found in the Phantom saloon, giving brisk
performance and a 0-100 km/h time of 5.7 seconds.
Rolls-Royce chairman and chief executive, Ian Robertson,
said the convertible would attract new buyers to the marque.
Well that’s what the factory would like you to believe. Any
new buyers will have to make sure they have deep pockets
first!
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I mentioned that in February 1950, the Jaguar XK
120 won its first overseas race. I asked where was it held?
The correct answer was Cuba! It was driven by Alfonso Gomez
Mena (who hardly became a household name). An XK 120 did
race at Palm Springs in the US in January 1950 in the hands
of Leslie Johnson, but did not win. By the way, that XK
engine powered Jaguar cars and sports cars for over 35
years!
So to this week. Clyde Cassady in the US built a very
special pick-up. What was it?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Around the world by ’78 Troopie
Around 10 years ago, a couple of slightly
off-the-wall British lads, Phillip Smith (AKA Red) and Matt
Bennett (one is Welsh, but it is still part of the British
Isles at last count) decided after an evening’s carousing
that they should have a go at driving round the world. Like
most drunken dreams it did not amount to much at that time,
or rather the next morning.
Matt
and Red and Lara.
However, after a crossing of northern Africa in 2004, the
looney pair decided if they could do that, why not do the
world? And why not.
Being good British lads, “there will always be an England”
and all that nostalgia, they chose that last bastion of
British automobilia to carry their dreams, a Land-Rover!
That dream turned out to be a nightmare. After a disastrous
trip to Iceland in it, they realized that the Brits might
have won the war, but they had certainly lost the peace
since then. Shipping the recalcitrant beast back home, it
was replaced by a Toyota Troop Carrier, called Lara. Since
it was to take them to the tombs of Egypt, and looked a
little dog-eared, the name is probably a contraction of Lara
Crufts! (You have to be an English dog lover to work that
one out.)
Troopie was raised to give another two inches of ground
clearance, a turbo and intercooler fitted, a 270 liter fuel
tank and a water pump for warm showers (so the tale that
Poms don’t wash is not correct).
On January 28 2006, the intrepid couple of mates, with
enough changes of underpants for all emergencies set off on
the great adventure, driving through Europe and down into
Africa, doing their own sort of Paris-Dakar trip through the
desert, where some local people thought they were running
late for the next checkpoint. Several weeks late.
In Africa they also found a couple of snags, and not of the
English sausage variety. The country of Chad was in civil
war and this meant a change of route. I quote from Red’s
log: “We could not really go to the south as there was still
civil unrest and large outbreaks of bird flu in Nigeria. It
would also be difficult to go back, as our route through
Burkina Faso was considered dangerous, as an Italian was
shot dead whilst being car jacked. This left us with three
possibilities. Make our way to the coast, and ship out of
Ghana. Drive all the way back to Spain and then drive
through Europe. Neither of these was very appealing as they
felt like cheating. The third and final option was to drive
south to north across the Sahara desert and Algeria, and
then turn right and go through Tunisia and Libya into
Egypt.”
They made Egypt after several more adventures but then all
thoughts of driving through the Middle East looked more than
slightly suicidal. It was at this point they decided to ship
Lara to India as a much safer alternative. This they did and
then off through Nepal into China and SE Asia, currently
passing through Thailand where I caught up with them.
Having now been on the road (or sand) for the past 12
months, I wondered if this had soured their relationship.
After all, being cooped up in a Toyota Troopie tin box and
each other’s sweaty socks could put a strain on anyone.
Seems like they are still great mates, with Red saying, “We
know each other so well we read each other’s moods. We
haven’t had an actual argument.” The friendship also stood
the test of losing Lara, while attempting to ship it to
Mumbai. Again from Red’s log, “I am actually very surprised
they (the Indian shipping agents) managed to get it (the
truck) to Mumbai at all. At one point Matt and I did go
through the discussion of what we were going to do when we
finally found out where in the world the truck had ended up.
It was also during these darker moments that we both had
thoughts of giving up on the trip altogether, not a bad
option as it would have meant that we would have been home
for Christmas. However, looking back now at some of the
things we have done since, we are both agreed that hanging
on in there was by far the better choice.”
Usually world adventurers have a huge number of sponsors,
but for the two likely lads, the most important has probably
been Hema maps, who made it possible for them to have some
sort of vague inkling where they were going, and a company
called DRB Power Transmissions. “That’s me Dad,” said Matt.
I did wonder if they had considered the possibility of ill
health or injury on the trip, and they had. They were in
possession of a small box of tablets that their local GP had
given them in England, and they also had the telephone
number of a trauma surgeon in Holland, who was no doubt
hanging out by the phone, ready to drive his BMW into the
central Sahara. Ah yes, when we were 29, we were all 10 foot
tall and bullet-proof as well!
By the time you read this, Matt and Red and Lara should be
lurching down through Malaysia on their way to Australia,
where they will have cameras at the ready to get the once in
a lifetime shots of the hoop snake which puts its tail in
its mouth and rolls down hills, and the Brolga, the bird
that flies backwards to keep the sand out of its eyes. If
they had been going somewhere other than Australia, I think
I would have gone with them.
Best of luck Matt and Red, and if you go to their website
www.mattandredsadventure.com you can follow their adventures
as well.
Catching the
camel train
