Six wheeled fantasy?

Covini C6W

The motoring world is going ga-ga again over six wheels. An Italian group called Covini Engineering has partnered with PMI SpA to finally unveil the production version of the six-wheeled Covini C6W Supercar at the Racing Professional Motor Show in Bologna.

Now this concept is far from new and has been around since JC was in short pants and played for Bethlehem United, despite what the press releases from Covini Engineering would have you believe.

According to Covini the six-wheeled Covini C6W is powered by a 4.2-liter Audi-sourced V8 delivering its 440 bhp and 346 lb-ft torque driving through a six-speed manual gearbox.

Covini says it was “inspired by the Tyrell P34 Formula One car of the seventies. The Tyrell was not the only F1 development to include the possibility of four front wheels and it was only a rule change that prevented the world’s most watched sporting event from spawning a whole new set of engineering solutions.”

According to Covini, the rationale for four front-wheels was first detailed in a landmark Ford concept car shown at the World Fair in 1963. This was not the first by a long chalk. The earliest six-wheeler dates to 1903 when Albert P. Broomell of York, Pennsylvania, a manufacturer of steam heating equipment, first designed his Pullman. Broomell figured a two-cylinder engine would be enough to push his car around through a center axle, freeing both the front and rear axles for steering duties. Something Honda took on many years later, with their four wheel steering but without the central axle. While it probably had an incredibly tight steering radius, the fact that it was underpowered and overweight was apparent from Broomell’s subsequent reconfiguration of the car with a four-cylinder engine and sans one axle. Broomell later found success with his more conventional four-wheeled Pullman, built from 1905-1917.

Charles T. Pratt of Frankfort, New York, also produced a six-wheeled car. Like Reeves, he was also an industrialist, the owner of the Pratt Chuck Works. His six-wheeler was set up to use both the forward and center axles for steering and the aft axle for propulsion, powered by an unidentified 75 hp engine. Its wheelbase - presumably measured between front and rear axles - was 168 inches.

Pratt told the press of the day that he only built it for his own use, but he did patent his invention (842,245 - Running Gear for Automobiles) in January 1907 and followed up with a second patent (888,737 - Automobile Running-Gear) in May 1908.

Now if six wheels was better, how about eight? The Octoauto actually used eight wheels - four steering up front, four out back - and was based on a 1910 Overland. Unable to attract customers in 1911, they removed one of the steering axles from the Overland to create the Sextoauto, and followed that with another six-wheeled automobile based on a Stutz chassis. The Sextoauto, with a $5,000 price tag (about $115,000 today), did not sell either.

The high price tag of these six wheelers has continued through to today with an Italian automotive web site suggesting a price in the vicinity of around US $400,000 for the 300 km/h rear-wheel-drive C6W.

Again according to Covini, the numerous benefits of four front wheels includes significantly better braking, cornering and “feel”. That’s too high a price I believe and I expect the Covini to go the way of the Sextauto too.

Octoauto 1911

All go on the Eastern Seaboard

General Motors is certainly active these days. A new press line for GM Thailand has been installed to support its production, especially for a new, world-class truck, which is going to be first produced and launched by GM Thailand for the world market. The new generation truck will be GM’s flagship model in the truck segment.

With a total investment of THB 327 million (US $10.9 million), the new press line includes four press machines, six robots (imported specially from Japan) and two conveyors, which operate at 7.7 SPM (panels-per-minute) and will produce 2,300,000 panels per year.

GM is confident that the new press line will build its best-in-class products and pave the way for General Motors to be the leader in the vehicle construction business.

Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I asked which racing driver, known for his speed and ultimate skills, drove the following cars: Bianchi, Chiribiri, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, MG, Auto Union, Cisitalia and Ferrari. He recorded more than 50 victories. Who was he? It was the legendary Mantuan Nuvolari.

So to this week. Which famous GP driver struck a bird at Indianapolis suffering head injuries which left him partially paralyzed?

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

Good luck!

New seven-seater Tesla coming

New Tesla S

Tesla has a Model S which promises power and torque and seating for seven. Most electric and hybrid vehicles struggle with the weight penalty and positioning of their batteries. General Motors’ new Volt electric car seats only four people. Nissan’s Leaf sacrifices rear headroom, incorporating part of the battery under the back passenger seat, and seats five.

However, Tesla, which has been well in front of the other electric car manufacturers, states that by combining compact laptop derived batteries with some lateral thinking, its coming Model S manages to pack more kilometers and several more people (seven) into a body only 500 millimeters longer than that of the Volt or the Leaf.

Until the S rolls out in 2012, Tesla still has just the two-seater Roadster the company says accelerates from 0-100 kilometers/hr in 3.7 seconds - faster than a Porsche 911 and most Ferraris.

This next model, the eagerly awaited Model S, already has two prototypes running. It won a Spark design award recently for the innovations planned but still not unveiled to the public with five forward-facing adults and two rear-facing child seats, and a 45 minute fast charging option.

The new Tesla S style comes from Franz von Holzhausen (ex-Mazda), who says his electric cars will be ‘‘beautiful, sexy and fun to drive’’ and the lines he has created for the Model S are completely different from the current generation of electric hybrids. ‘‘People don’t want to sacrifice anything, including style, to own an efficient car,’’ von Holzhausen says.

Despite this forward thinking, Tesla posted a US$34.9 million loss but revenue is up and Musk cites a ‘‘growth in Roadster orders’’, possibly as a result of the overhaul von Holzhausen and his team gave the three-year-old car.

One should also take Tesla very seriously. Remember that recently I reported that Toyota has entered a partnership to build an electric version of the RAV 4, while Panasonic has invested US$30 million in the company.

Some ‘rare’ cars on the Eastern Seaboard

MR2 Turbo

Ginetta G32

The first is the Ginetta G32 spotted by regular Autotrivia winner Kevin Maguire.

The second pic came from Jules Lee and is the only Toyota / Lotus MR2 Turbo in Thailand. It was parked outside Jules’ Sportarama bar in Jomtien and is for sale for 700,000 baht. It belongs to Alan who built the New Inn in Soi Kow Talo and now owns the Windmill Travel Lodge Resort in Kanchanaburi.

350 horsepower pick-up

You beaut ute

I was given the opportunity the other day to experience a racing pick-up at the local Bira Circuit, and it was certainly a different experience. This vehicle was the MazdaCity-Parker backed vehicle driven by Aussie Mike Freeman, so it would then qualify for the title of a “You beaut ute”, being the popular term for pick-ups in Australia.

Whilst it looked fairly standard from the outside, with no huge flares or sitting only 3 cm from the ground, when the wheels were removed, the first of many changes were revealed, with larger than standard discs and large callipers to match. The engine bay was filled with the turbo-charged engine and air intake system. The cabin was full of a very comprehensive roll cage, with side intrusion bars to protect the driver in the case of an accident, something which happens regularly in that class of racing!

The engine is a lot more powerful than the standard Mazda, with 350 bhp and prodigious torque. That is enough to tow City Hall down North Road to the beach! In fact, the torque ‘push’ was one of the outstanding impressions after the laps of Bira. It should also be remembered that “horsepower numbers” sell vehicles, but “torque figures” win races.

So the “You beaut ute” could accelerate like a dingo with a firecracker tied to his tail, but the next impression was even more outstanding - the brakes! The brakes on this Mazda were the next best thing to a brick wall. Unbelievably good. Pulling up in a dead straight line without locking or snatching.

But there has to be an Achilles heel. Nothing is that perfect. For the Mazda it was understeer (that’s when you go through the fence forwards - oversteer is when you go through the fence backwards, Veronica). And not just understeer, this was terminal understeer!

The end result of all this was a style of driving which was simply on and off, no feathering the throttle, full on or full off and scrabble round the corner. Savage, but fun. Thanks Mike Freeman for an interesting afternoon.

The passing of an era (and remembering an ERA)

Prince Bira and Ceril Heycock

Reader Mike Day alerted me to the fact that Ceril Heycock, the first wife of Prince Bira (of ERA fame and remembered in the Bira circuit just outside Pattaya) passed away last week aged 94. One of the last ties with the heady days of the 1930s.