Brio? Ford hits back with a Figo

Ford Figo and Fiesta

While the popular press continues to wax lyrical about super cars that can return zero to 100 km/h in under three seconds, the real movement in the automotive world is at the other end of the spectrum. The eco-car is where all the action is.

Nissan has done very well with the March released March 2010, and at 375,000 baht it is cheap motoring. Honda have retaliated with the Brio which is due for release next year, and I would imagine will be the main attraction for the Japanese company at the Bangkok International Motor Show at the end of March 2011. There is even talk of Toyota entering the fray with its Etios.

Now comes the news that FoMoCo also have a small car in the wings, and is an Indian sourced Ford Figo (not to be confused with the Toyota Vigo, which is anything but an eco-car).

The Ford Figo was released in India this year and has been very popular. The Figo is a new subcompact automobile that went on sale on 10 March 2010 in India for U$8400. It is based on the fourth generation Ford Fiesta hatchback that was phased out in 2008. It is built only in Chennai in India, to be sold in developing countries.

The Figo is available in both petrol and diesel versions, all with five speed manual transmissions and power steering as standard.

The petrol engine is a four cylinder 1,196cc 16V DOHC, rated at 52 kW; (70 bhp) at 6250rpm with 102 Nm of torque at 4000 rpm.

The other engine is a four cylinder 1,399cc 8V SOHC Diesel engine, rated at 51 kW (68 bhp) at 4000 rpm with 160 Nm of torque at 2000 rpm.

Will we see it here? I would not be surprised if Ford has one on the stand in March, just to gage public interest if nothing else.

The Viper strikes back

Dodge Viper

Dodge has not had too many vehicles about which legends are made, but the Dodge Viper was certainly one of them. The Viper burst on the scene in 1991 amazing the world with its V10 eight liter engine and its sheer brute force. Having driven an early version, I can vouch for the fact that it had plenty of ‘go’, but brakes were still not yet an option.

The Dodge Viper first generation returned performance figures of:

0-60 mph (97 km/h): 4.6 seconds

0-100 mph (160 km/h): 9.2 seconds

Standing quarter mile: 13.1 sec @ 112 mph (180 km/h)

Top speed: 195 mph (314 km/h)

However, the poor brakes were its weak point. In a 1997 “supercar comparison” by Motor Trend, in which the Viper GTS placed at the top against cars such as the Ferrari 550, Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche 911, and Honda NSX in all performance exercises except braking. The car not only placed last, but had considerably longer stopping distances than other vehicles.

By 2010 the car was much improved with a Car and Driver magazine test coming up with:

0-60 mph (97 km/h) time of 3.5 seconds,

0-100 mph (160 km/h) time of 7.6 seconds,

Standing start quarter-mile: 11.5 seconds at 126 mph (203 km/h).

Top speed are 197 mph (317 km/h).

Car and Driver also tested the Viper’s track performance, and it was faster than the Corvette Z06, Ford GT, Nissan GTR, Porsche 911 Turbo, 911 GT3, and 911 GT2, Audi R8, and similar cars.

Officially, the Viper was dropped this year and with Chrysler being swallowed by Fiat, it was presumed that the Viper had been killed off in the boardroom. But now the Chrysler board has given the new Viper final approval and development is on schedule, to hit the market late 2012.

The new Viper “is not based on anything else,” he stressed, countering speculation that it will share underpinnings with Ferrari or the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, given the partnership between Chrysler and Italy’s Fiat SpA.

So the good news is that the Viper is not dead, but with present day controls, will it catch on like the old fire-breathing Viper? I fear the answer will be in the negative. The old Viper was ‘raw’ and exciting. I cannot imagine an electronically controlled Viper having the same attraction.

“Classic” cars

For me, a classic is a car which has had significant impact on motoring history. It is also a vehicle which has been out of production for a number of years, so that the manufacturer’s advertizing claims and slogans have been forgotten. “Safety Fast” was on all the brochures about MG cars, but when you think about it, very few were ‘fast’ and even fewer were ‘safe’.

I believe there is a tendency in countries such as Thailand to confuse ‘old’ and ‘classic’. For example, Fiat must have sold very well in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s judging by the number of battered old Fiat 1100’s that are still around. Some of these are now half a century old - but does that make them a ‘classic’? Were the Fiat 1100’s of that era special motor cars in some way or other? Were the later Fiat 1100 D Riviera’s with the finned tail lights some technological breakthrough?

The simple answer has to be a resounding “no” on all counts. They were just mass-produced utilitarian transport, the Italian equivalent of similar motor cars built by BMC, Renault or even Nissan/Datsun.

In Thailand, these older cars have also suffered from the fact that to keep going, there has been no manufacturer’s spare parts pool, and when you lift the bonnet on one of them, you will find that the original in-line four has been replaced by that from a Toyota Corolla, or even more shuddersome, the ubiquitous Isuzu diesel!

“Classic” Fiat?

Little Piquet did tell the truth!

The Piquets, father and junior, have won their libel case against Renault F1 in the ‘Crashgate’ affair. Hopefully this will be the end of a very sad situation in F1, but it is of interest to read that Renault F1 has very publicly admitted their guilt in the sordid machinations in Singapore to ensure a win for Fernando Alonso in 2008.

The press release following the Piquet’s win in the courts of law states, “On 11th September 2009, Renault F1 Team Limited (“the Team”) issued a Press Release, which was repeated on our website, in which we suggested that Nelson Piquet Junior and his father had lied by making false allegations that members of the Team and Nelson Piquet Junior caused a deliberate accident at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

“We also suggested that these lies were invented in order to blackmail the Defendant into allowing Mr Piquet Junior to drive for the Team for the remainder of the 2009 season, and he and his father were therefore guilty of a serious criminal offence.

“The Team accepts - as it did before the World Motor Sport Council (“WMSC”) of the FIA and as found by the WMSC in its decision of 21 September 2009 - that the allegations made by Nelson Piquet Junior were not false. It also accepts that Mr Piquet Junior and his father did not invent these allegations in order to blackmail the Team.

“As a result, these serious allegations contained in the Press Release were wholly untrue and unfounded, and we withdraw them unequivocally. We would like to apologize unreservedly to Mr Piquet Junior and his father for the distress and embarrassment caused as a result.

“As a mark of the sincerity of our apology and regret, we have agreed to pay them a substantial amount of damages for libel as well as their costs, and have undertaken not to repeat these allegations at any time in the future.”

So be it, but it certainly does not right the wrongs that ensued.

What you race when you have lots of money

There are some categories in motor sport which are only there to allow rich people to indulge their whims. One of these is the Ferrari Challenge series with the new Ferrari 458 Challenge track car shown at the Bologna motor show. The track car is derived from the 458 Italia supercar and will be produced in limited numbers, with a considerable premium over the road version’s $526,950 price tag.

Rich man’s toy

It is the fifth model built by Ferrari since 1993 for its one-make Challenge Cup race series held in Europe, North America, Italy and (starting next year with rounds in Japan and China) Asia-Pacific.

This Challenge is lighter than the regular Italia resulting in 0-100 km/h acceleration time of just 3.4 seconds.

As well as stripping out all non-essential components, Ferrari has reduced the thickness of all the body panels, increased the number of carbon-fibre panels and fabricated all windows from Lexan polycarbonate material instead of glass.

Another first for a Ferrari Challenge model is the adoption of the company’s F1-Trac traction control system, which makes it very interesting as traction control is (supposedly) banned in F1.

The F1-Trac system is integrated with the E-Diff and constantly monitors levels of grip “to guarantee maximum stability and acceleration both into and out of corners”.

Three user-selectable settings on the steering wheel; levels one and two offer varying levels of assistance calibrated specifically for track use, but those with considerable race experience (or sheer bravado) can turn the system off completely.

The 458 Challenge retains the road car’s 4.5 liter V8 engine, which produces 419 kW of power at 9000 rpm and a prodigious 540 Nm of torque, but modifications have been made to the gear ratios and calibration of the seven-speed dual-clutch F1 gearbox to produce a better torque spread at lower revs.

The suspension features steel ball-joints, stiffer springs, single-rate alloy dampers, center-lock 19 inch forged alloy rims, Pirelli slick tyres and a ride height lowered by 50 mm all round.

Braking is provided by Brembo CCM2 carbon-ceramic brakes integrated with the latest ABS.

And you too can race one - if you have the money!

Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I mentioned that sleeve-valve Panhards had an SS monogram on the radiator to denote “sans soupapes” (no valves). I asked who was next and came up with an SSS model? It was the Mors SSS (Sans Soupapes Silencieuse) and Peter Eades was first with the correct answer.

So to this week. Which racing driver hit a dog in practice and crashed into the river and drowned? Hint: pre-war.

For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected]

Good luck!