What did we learn from Singapore?
A sterling drive from Fernando Alonso
from lights to flag in his rejuvenated Ferrari. On a
difficult circuit which demands 100 percent concentration at
all times, he was in charge of the situation and Vettel’s
Red Bull was never going to wrest the lead from the
Spaniard. Alonso also set the fastest lap. Total domination
and dedication - however, his tactic off the line at the
start was reprehensible in my view. This extreme swerving
off the line and pushing your competitor to the wall is
dangerous, unsporting and not true “racing”. But then, when
did ‘sportsmanship’ come into it these days?
Now let’s deal with the Hamilton
(McLaren) and Webber (Red Bull) incident. At the risk of
bringing a postman’s bag full of hate mail on myself,
Hamilton’s move was never going to work. Bully boy tactics
only work when the other party gives in and gives away the
corner. At that level, against a gritty driver such as
Webber, Hamilton made a great mistake in judgment - and paid
the price.
The secret is now out - the two Mercedes
cars are not of the same specification. Rosberg’s car has a
special paint which cannot be seen by television cameras,
hence the fact that you never see him for the entire race
despite finishing fifth, whilst Schumacher’s car has a
secret electronic magnetic paint which attracts TV cameras,
so you get to see every time he sneezes, despite his
finishing 13th.
Passing at street circuits is always
difficult, but both Webber and Kubica (Renault) showed that
it could be done, but without them the race was another high
speed procession. However, the sycophantic press continues
to heap praise on the Singapore event as if it were the
epitome of grand prix racing. It isn’t. It is boring, no
matter who sings at the post race rock concert. If you don’t
believe me, believe what Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) had
to say. “I am satisfied that I finished the race, but to be
honest, it was possibly the most boring race of my career.”
Massa (remember him, drives a Ferrari)
again showed that he is definitely Number 2 material. Sorry
Felipe, but that’s the truth. Rumors abound that he will go
to Sauber next year and Kubica will go to Ferrari. That
won’t happen, as Ferrari don’t need two number 1’s.
Interesting to look at the fastest race
laps. Quickest was Alonso, followed by Vettel and Kubica.
But after them came Michael Schumacher in fourth, with
Rosberg much further down. Schumacher still has the speed it
would seem, but is it his stamina or race craft that is the
problem?
Christians thrown to the lions again? On
his ‘comeback’ drive for Hispania at the lion state
Singapore, Christian Klien got up as far as 18th
before his car expired on lap 32. There was no truth in the
rumor that his car was a special long wheelbase model to be
able to get his entire name down the side of the car - they
just used smaller letters.
A word about “Drive Through” penalties
given after the race is over. Both Sutil (Force India) and
Hulkenberg (Williams) were given 20 second additional time
penalties for discretions which happened on the opening lap
in lieu of a drive through. Now, the race took two hours and
the stewards couldn’t make their decision in that time?
Nonsense at best, total incompetence at worst. Especially
since first laps are always a jostle and shove. With neither
driver going to win the championship anyway, did it really
matter? That decision should have taken two minutes and not
two hours!
Roll on Japan on October 10 at Suzuka, a
driver’s circuit.
Mitsuoka
expanding
News is through that Mitsuoka, the
manufacturer of the Orochi, the world’s second ugliest motor
car (I am working on the presumption that somebody somewhere
must have made an uglier one), is to build new models in
Thailand. Heaven help us! The Orochi makes a Ssanyong look
like it was styled by Aston Martin. For once, words fail me!
The OMG
Orochi
The previously seen Mitsuoka Galue, which
are Nissan Teana’s with new fronts to look like Rolls-Royce
or Jaguar, and the “sporty” Orochi will be joined by a
creation called the Himiko Roadster, which has an MX5 as the
‘donor’ car if I am not mistaken, and another thing called
the Viewt, another Jaguar knock-off, based on the Nissan
Micra.
Himiko
Roadster
These “retro” models will be built in the
Yontrakit assembly plant in Lat Krabang, and Mitsuoka
estimate that 90 percent of the output will be for SE Asia
and the Middle East.
Prices are around 3.5 million THB and
they expect to sell 280 vehicles. I wonder if they know what
an optimist is?
Autotrivia
Quiz
Last week I asked what Italian GT car,
built by a motorcycle manufacturer commencing in 1962, had
the following engines: Chev V8 (up to 7.4 litres in 1970),
Ford V8 (5.7 litres in 1973) and ceased production in 1974?
It was the Iso Grifo, from the company that had built
everything from refrigerators to Isetta bubble cars and then
the Iso performance GT’s. It suffered from poor management,
rather than poor design.
So to this week. A famous F1 designer
built a sports car which had 15 forward gears and five
reverse. Who was the designer? And what was the name of the
car?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first
correct answer to email [email protected]. Good luck!
An even
more powerful Porsche - as if it were needed!
Porsche has unveiled its new, and more
powerful version of the 911 Carrera at the Paris show.
The new car, called the Carrera GTS is
also more expensive than the current Carrera S. It has the
wide body from the AWD Carreras, but is only RWD. The 3.8
litre flat six-cylinder boxer engine develops 300 kW, 17 kW
more than the Carrera S and comes with the Porsche 6-speed
transmission, giving it slightly better acceleration with
the zero-100 km/h in 4.2 seconds, making it 01 seconds
faster than the S Carrera.
Porsche state that the extra power comes
from a specially tuned intake manifold that also delivers
peak torque lower in the rev range than the Carrera S.
Porsche has also tweaked the Carrera’s exhaust system.
There are some styling cues, such as
black wheels (19") and a black-tipped front spoiler, but do
we need this? The “standard” S does zero to 100 km/h in 4.3.
You would really have to be a speed snob to order a Carrera
GTS, but there are people out there who will!
Zircotecs
coloured ceramic coating for exclusive Atom V8
Ariel Atom
V8 an F1 for the road
News comes from the UK that Ariel’s new
Atom V8 supercar is the first OEM application of Zircotec’s
Performance ColoursTM ceramic exhaust
coating, which offers both a highly aesthetic and effective
thermal barrier.
Specified by Ariel to ensure the exposed
and visible exhaust system maintains its beauty, the
plasma-sprayed coating also prevents heat transfer generated
by the 500 bhp, three litre V8 engine.
“Zircotec coatings are trusted in high
performance applications at the highest levels of motorsport
offering surface temperature reductions of over 30 percent,”
says Zircotec’s sales director Peter Whyman. “Our
lightweight coating offers a high performance, durable and
professional finish that is entirely appropriate for the
Atom V8, a car fitted with many race specification
components and described by Ariel as a race car with number
plates.”
Ariel is the first vehicle manufacturer
to specify one of Zircotec’s coloured ceramics. The Atom
V8’s exposed powder coated chassis, coloured gold for the
limited run of just 25 cars, provided an opportunity to use
a coating that would complement the chassis’ finish. Unlike
many ‘high temperature’ paint finishes, Zircotec’s coatings
offer a long-lasting and zero maintenance solution that has
been tested to OEM lifetime standards.
In line with the bespoke manufacturing of
the Atom V8, each exhaust is hand sprayed using a plasma
torch running at over 12,000ฐC at Zircotec’s new Abingdon
factory. After a proprietary nickel-based bond coat, molten
ceramic is applied on the carefully prepared system to a
thickness of just under 350 microns.
Zircotec coatings are being increasingly
used by high performance road and race car manufacturers as
a solution to effectively manage heat. In 2010, over 70
percent of the F1 grid is using Zircotec coatings to offer
durability and performance benefits.
You can find out more about Zircotec at
www.zircotec.com.
New BMW 6
Series coupe in Paris
BMW is giving the world a sneak preview
of the forthcoming BMW 6 Series by exhibiting the coupe
version at the Paris motor show which starts tomorrow (Oct
2).
The new 6 Series Coupe, which is due on
sale globally by mid-2011 will be joined by a convertible
version before the end of next year.
New BMW 6
Series
This new 6 Series Coupe has returned to
more traditional BMW styling, getting away from the unlovely
and unloved Bangle-inspired design.
New BMW design chief Adrian van Hooydonk,
who designed the stunning 1999 Z9 Gran Turismo concept that
eventually became the current 6 Series, has been reported as
saying the Paris show car is almost identical to the
production car that will be released next year.
The show 6 Series Coupe has all the
electronic bells and whistles and high-tech gadgetry
including adaptive all-LED headlights, which appear for the
first time on a BMW.
The LED rings incorporate daytime running
lights, and the full-LED headlights are said to produce “a
strikingly bright white light that makes for particularly
intensive and precise illumination of the road.”
BMW says the all-new 6 Series interior
features a cockpit-style driving position and an all-new
centre console dominated by a free-standing 10.2-inch iDrive
control display. You have to hand it to BMW, no matter how
much it is hated, they have continued with the iDrive
concept. “You vill learn to love it,” seems to be the
rationale.
The new 6 Series should have a range of
engine options, with most from the 5 Series. These will
include the twin-turbo 4.4 litre V8 from the upcoming M5 to
power a replacement for the V10-powered M6, which is no
longer in production.
