My biggest takeaway from the 2012 Mondial de l’Automobile is that the Brits rocked the house. Yes, sure, the French and the Germans showed some cars but they hardly raised your blood pressure. Porsche brought a big station wagon (the Sport Tourismo Concept), Audi showed a small station wagon (the A3 Sportback), BMW presented a small hatchback (the Active Tourer PHEV Concenpt), Volkswagen presented the new seventh generation Golf that looks like the sixth generation Golf and Mercedes-Benz offered up a wheels-off digital sculpture of the new S-Class along with this very odd quote from their design chief Gordon Wagener, “We’re not reinventing the wheel here. The next S-Class will refer to previous versions, because we don’t want our existing cars to look old-fashioned and be worthless.” Of course, Mercedes did show a glow-in-the-center-of-a-black hole electric SLS Gullwing, but a drive a day-glo yellow prototype version two years ago. As for the French, the Renault Clio was pretty good. Down in little Italy, Lamborghini slapped some new exterior bits on the Gallardo (again) and Ferrari brought a frame.
But it was the British that really uncorked the car show Champagne, and I’m not just talking about the lovely glass of bubbly that Rolls-Royce was kind enough to share with me in honor of their art deco cars. Created to honor the 1925 Paris Exposition (aka the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes), the show is supposedly where the phrase art deco was born. While the three cars weren’t new models (a Ghost, a Phantom and a Drophead Coupe), the workmanship and attention to detail were extraordinary. I wish you all could have seen the stunning powder blue Drophead Coupe, as it was breathtaking. Seems as if Rolls’s Bespoke group is really coming into their own under new design boss Giles Taylor. Interestingly, I was informed that Rolls-Royce has managed to sell 35 examples (and I should note, all 35 examples) of the Phantom Coupe Aviator it debuted at Pebble Beach’s Quail Motorsports Gathering just last month.
Speaking of big, British luxury cars, Bentley debuted a car they should have been building for the last several decades, the Continental GT3 Concept Racer. If you missed it, the quite excellent looking Continental GT3 is based off the new 205 mph, 616 horsepower Continental Speed but with a “Miata” taken out of it. I should say with the weight equivalent of a Mazda Miata removed from it. Bentley’s director of Motorsport Brian Gush told me that the finalized version of the rear-wheel drive GT3 will weigh “Less than 1300 kilos.” In plain (‘Merican) English, that’s about 2800 pounds. To give you an idea of the scale of the liposuction Gush and his team have to pull off, the last Continental GT we tested weighed 5059 pounds. And that’s the (relatively) light V-8 version. The GT3 will most likely have the twin-turbo W12, for packaging reasons. Where’d the weight go? Well, ripping out all the AWD hardware is a big step, as is getting rid the copious amounts of handcrafted leather and wood. Additionally, the flared fenders are all carbon fiber. The Continental GT3 will be able to race in any 2014 GT3 race.
This car makes so damn much sense because Bentley’s history basically goes like this: W.O. Bentley made some engines with four valves per cylinder in 1919 and stuck then into very sturdy frames. Some rich guys noticed his cars were reliable enough to win races. One of these rich guys (Captain Wolfe Barnato) bought the company, slapped on some superchargers and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three years in a row. Next, Bentley was about to go belly up in he wake of the Great Depression but Rolls-Royce bought them in 1930 and for 70 years not much happened until Volkswagen bought W.O.’s company in 1998. In other words, almost Bentley’s entire heritage is racing. They absolutely simply must be racing a car on a track that looks like a car a customer can buy. It’s that simple. Plus, again, this GT3 is just glorious looking. I wish I could take credit for the line, but as my colleague Mike Febbo said, “If only it had a blower sticking out the front.”
I felt a little bit of a British let down when it came to the new Range Rover sitting in a reflecting pool on the Land Rover stand. Why? Well, I’m sorry but the thing looks like a Ford Explorer. Here’s the interesting part: no one at Land Rover will say so on the record, but behind the scenes they are miffed that Ford “appropriated” the new, much lighter thanks to lots of aluminum Range Rover’s headlights and stuck ‘em on the Explorer. OK, fine, but I still don’t stink the new Range Rover looks nearly as chiseled and handsome as the one it’s replacing. Sorry. It’s a bit of a surprise really, as the Evoque is so well penned. Anyhow, Ford has now paid Jaguar/Land Rover back in for the latter’s theft of the 1996 Ford Taurus’s grille for use on the current XK. All’s fair in love and the biz.
Speaking of Jaguar, how about that F-Type? Hello my lovely! According to every car designer I’ve ever spoken with, it’s a once in a career opportunity to style a front-engine, rear-wheel drive production sports car. I should add, an opportunity that very few get. Depending on exactly how you count ‘em (the Aston Martin DB9 was maybe his, maybe Henrik Fisker’s), Ian Callum’s previously done four, and the new F-Type is his fifth. Discounting the historically disputed (and historically great looking) Aston, the new Jag’s his best yet. It’s just really, really good looking. In particular, I love the gentle curve of the “boot” – very reminiscent of a BMW Z8. With a name like F-Type this car is very much intended to be taken as the successor to the bite-your-fist good looking E-type. Of course, the E-type may just be the very best looking car of all time, especially the hard top. So… I’m reserving judgment until they show us the F-type Coupe. Which, I’m 90% certain, they will.
I also really like the breadth of the engines – 340 hp supercharged V-6, 380 hp supercharged V-6 and a big boy 495 pony supercharged V-8. Hot tip: you can tell what engine is in the F-Type by looking at the tailpipes. Two centered pipes in the middle means V-6, four pipes indicates a V-8. Ah, but which V-6 are you looking at? The more potent V-6 will have an S badge, front and rear.
But the big Brit, and judging by the fact that I couldn’t even see it being revealed because of how many cameras, cell phones and iPads were being held up in front of me, is McLaren’s new supercar, the P1. I’ve already written a bunch of my thoughts down about the P1, but please trust me, you’ve got to see it in the carbon fiber, orange-sparkle paint flesh before you pass judgment. It is absolutely wild, in a very avant-garde, very British, TVR sort of way. Viva la Britannia!
But it was the British that really uncorked the car show Champagne, and I’m not just talking about the lovely glass of bubbly that Rolls-Royce was kind enough to share with me in honor of their art deco cars. Created to honor the 1925 Paris Exposition (aka the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes), the show is supposedly where the phrase art deco was born. While the three cars weren’t new models (a Ghost, a Phantom and a Drophead Coupe), the workmanship and attention to detail were extraordinary. I wish you all could have seen the stunning powder blue Drophead Coupe, as it was breathtaking. Seems as if Rolls’s Bespoke group is really coming into their own under new design boss Giles Taylor. Interestingly, I was informed that Rolls-Royce has managed to sell 35 examples (and I should note, all 35 examples) of the Phantom Coupe Aviator it debuted at Pebble Beach’s Quail Motorsports Gathering just last month.
Speaking of big, British luxury cars, Bentley debuted a car they should have been building for the last several decades, the Continental GT3 Concept Racer. If you missed it, the quite excellent looking Continental GT3 is based off the new 205 mph, 616 horsepower Continental Speed but with a “Miata” taken out of it. I should say with the weight equivalent of a Mazda Miata removed from it. Bentley’s director of Motorsport Brian Gush told me that the finalized version of the rear-wheel drive GT3 will weigh “Less than 1300 kilos.” In plain (‘Merican) English, that’s about 2800 pounds. To give you an idea of the scale of the liposuction Gush and his team have to pull off, the last Continental GT we tested weighed 5059 pounds. And that’s the (relatively) light V-8 version. The GT3 will most likely have the twin-turbo W12, for packaging reasons. Where’d the weight go? Well, ripping out all the AWD hardware is a big step, as is getting rid the copious amounts of handcrafted leather and wood. Additionally, the flared fenders are all carbon fiber. The Continental GT3 will be able to race in any 2014 GT3 race.This car makes so damn much sense because Bentley’s history basically goes like this: W.O. Bentley made some engines with four valves per cylinder in 1919 and stuck then into very sturdy frames. Some rich guys noticed his cars were reliable enough to win races. One of these rich guys (Captain Wolfe Barnato) bought the company, slapped on some superchargers and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three years in a row. Next, Bentley was about to go belly up in he wake of the Great Depression but Rolls-Royce bought them in 1930 and for 70 years not much happened until Volkswagen bought W.O.’s company in 1998. In other words, almost Bentley’s entire heritage is racing. They absolutely simply must be racing a car on a track that looks like a car a customer can buy. It’s that simple. Plus, again, this GT3 is just glorious looking. I wish I could take credit for the line, but as my colleague Mike Febbo said, “If only it had a blower sticking out the front.”
I felt a little bit of a British let down when it came to the new Range Rover sitting in a reflecting pool on the Land Rover stand. Why? Well, I’m sorry but the thing looks like a Ford Explorer. Here’s the interesting part: no one at Land Rover will say so on the record, but behind the scenes they are miffed that Ford “appropriated” the new, much lighter thanks to lots of aluminum Range Rover’s headlights and stuck ‘em on the Explorer. OK, fine, but I still don’t stink the new Range Rover looks nearly as chiseled and handsome as the one it’s replacing. Sorry. It’s a bit of a surprise really, as the Evoque is so well penned. Anyhow, Ford has now paid Jaguar/Land Rover back in for the latter’s theft of the 1996 Ford Taurus’s grille for use on the current XK. All’s fair in love and the biz.Speaking of Jaguar, how about that F-Type? Hello my lovely! According to every car designer I’ve ever spoken with, it’s a once in a career opportunity to style a front-engine, rear-wheel drive production sports car. I should add, an opportunity that very few get. Depending on exactly how you count ‘em (the Aston Martin DB9 was maybe his, maybe Henrik Fisker’s), Ian Callum’s previously done four, and the new F-Type is his fifth. Discounting the historically disputed (and historically great looking) Aston, the new Jag’s his best yet. It’s just really, really good looking. In particular, I love the gentle curve of the “boot” – very reminiscent of a BMW Z8. With a name like F-Type this car is very much intended to be taken as the successor to the bite-your-fist good looking E-type. Of course, the E-type may just be the very best looking car of all time, especially the hard top. So… I’m reserving judgment until they show us the F-type Coupe. Which, I’m 90% certain, they will.I also really like the breadth of the engines – 340 hp supercharged V-6, 380 hp supercharged V-6 and a big boy 495 pony supercharged V-8. Hot tip: you can tell what engine is in the F-Type by looking at the tailpipes. Two centered pipes in the middle means V-6, four pipes indicates a V-8. Ah, but which V-6 are you looking at? The more potent V-6 will have an S badge, front and rear.
But the big Brit, and judging by the fact that I couldn’t even see it being revealed because of how many cameras, cell phones and iPads were being held up in front of me, is McLaren’s new supercar, the P1. I’ve already written a bunch of my thoughts down about the P1, but please trust me, you’ve got to see it in the carbon fiber, orange-sparkle paint flesh before you pass judgment. It is absolutely wild, in a very avant-garde, very British, TVR sort of way. Viva la Britannia!
Source : blogs[dot]motortrend[dot]com
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