All posts in “2021”

Porsche WEC entry

Later this month the 2021 WEC, World Endurance Championship, will start with a prologue at the famous Spa Francorchamps track in Belgium (26-27 April) while the first actual race for points will be the 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps on May 1, but it won’t be until the 8 Hours of Partimão in Portugal before Porsche puts three drivers behind the wheel of their impressive 911 RSR.

Porsche wants to create a perfect synergy between these six drivers (three for each car entered) ahead of the 24 Hours of Lemans which was originally intended to be held on June 13 (which is now the date for the race at Partimão) but was postponed to August 21-22, and with this driver line-up, Porsche went for a proven setup, among them, these six drivers have 59 LeMans participations under their belt.

The Porsche 911 RSR starting number 91 will see French driver Frédéric Makowiecki join Gianmaria Bruni from Italy and Richard Lietz from Austria (the latter two being the pilots for the shorter races already) in Portugal to do a test run for the major event at LeMans in August, Makowiecki has been driving at LeMans for the last three consecutive years already.

The second Porsche 911 RSR, wearing number 92, driven by Neel Jani from Switzerland and Kévin Estre from France will see Michael Christensen from Denmark joining the team, he won the GTE-Pro class at LeMans back in 2018, Neel Jani won the overall classification of the 24-hour French classic in 2016 at the wheel of the Porsche 919 Hybrid, together with Romain Dumas (France) and Marc Lieb (Germany). His five teammates have harvested eight class victories so far with the 911 RSR at the tradition-steeped endurance race at the Sarthe.

The second round of the 2021 World Endurance Championship, held in Portugal, is a perfect opportunity to do a rehearsal run with three drivers in each car. An 8-hour race on the 4,692-kilometer circuit in Portugal’s Algarve is ideal to offer each driver ample track time at the wheel of the 515 hp Porsche 911 RSR to get things finetuned for the 89th running of the long-distance classic in France in August this year.

Alpine F1 for 2021

I don’t know about you, but I rather like the Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive, I’ve seen both season 1 and season 2 and now I’m eagerly awaiting to start viewing season 3 when they release it on March 19 … and while I don’t normally watch the races when they happen, I do enjoy watching these behind the scenes series on Netflix.

So I might not be an avid F1 fan, but I’m a car guy, so I keep up with what’s happening anyway. Earlier this week I saw Mercedes releasing their new car for the 2021 season, the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance, the first car to use the ‘E PERFORMANCE’ designation. The new car will be driven by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, entering their fifth season as team-mates, a second year for the black base livery on the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team car it seems.

But today there is other breaking news, if you’ve followed the previous seasons of Formula One, you will have seen those bright yellow cars from the Renault F1 team … well, those are gone for 2021, it’s now called the Alpine F1 team, and their A521 race car comes in a blue, white, and red livery, which are both the official Alpine colors, but also the colors on the French national flag.

The A521 will use a Renault E-TECH 20B 1.6-Liter V6 engine, the car is an evolution of the R.S.20 that ran the 2020 F1 championship in the yellow Renault livery but with serious modification to the rear in line with the new aerodynamic regulations from the FIA, the new Alpine F1 will be driven by Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso.

The first-ever Alpine F1 Team car will make its on-track debut on March 3, 2021, with Esteban Ocon at a filming day at Silverstone Circuit, two weeks ahead of official pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Polestar 1 production will end this year

When the Polestar 1 was unveiled in 2017 the response was immense, and the orders started pouring in for this impressive PHEV Performance hybrid GT, first deliveries didn’t happen until 2020, but by the end of 2021 the production of this “technological tour-de-force” will be halted, so if you want to add this $155,000 to your garage you will have to secure one of the final remaining build slots as soon as possible.

The Polestar 1 might remind you of a Volvo by her looks, but Polestar is the stand-alone Performance department from Volvo, and they’ve created some really impressive cars, remember the Volvo V60 Polestar in that bespoke blue shade, a great estate to get to your destination in a hurry.

But the Polestar 1 is a car from a new breed, a high-performance Hybrid GT packing a massive 619 hp and 738 lb.-ft. of torque from the combination of two electric motors on the rear axle and a 2.0-liter, in-line four-cylinder, supercharged, and turbocharged petrol engine, an integrated starter generator at the front is another plus.

The Polestar 1 features a lightweight, carbon fiber body with a distinctive low roofline, that includes a fixed, panoramic glass roof stretching the full length, and width of the car. On the stylish interior of this 2+2 seater, you’ll find a Bowers & Wilkins sound system and intricate leather upholstery with handcrafted detailing.

The Polestar 1 still holds the record for the longest range in pure electric mode, thanks to a triple battery system, you can complete 60 miles on battery power alone, with two electric motors on the rear wheels, each with a power output of no less than 116 hp (85 kW), acceleration from 0 60 mph takes only 3.8 seconds, the quarter-mile is completed in 12.0 seconds, reaching a speed of 119.1 mph, despite the weight of 2,345 kg (5,155-pound).

The top speed of the Polestar 1 is 163 Mph, or just over 260 km/h, and thanks to the adjustable Öhlins dampers the ride on those massive 21-inch wheels (with 275/30 R21 for the front and 295/30 R21 for the rear) isn’t too bad in the end, it’s not a luxury car after all, but a performance GT, so expect a harder ride than usual from lesser models from Volvo. The 6-piston Akebono brakes behind the stylish wheels make sure all that acceleration and high-speed can be stopped in a hurry when needed.

The Polestar 1 is built in Chengdu, China (remember Polestar is part of the Geely-owned Volvo Car Group), and while you can still order this very special car today, time is running out, once production reached 1,500 units, it’s all over, and you can’t get one anymore, so it’s time to hurry up and visit Polestar Spaces across North America for a hands-on experience and test drive.

Gronos 2021 – a Mansory modified Mercedes G-Class G63

Kourosh Mansory, located in Brand, Germany, is a well-known manufacturer of exclusive cars, most of which might be designed with Far-East, or Asian customers in mind, but their workmanship is at such a level you can’t resist admiring their creations, even if they aren’t always to your exact taste.

In 2013 MANSORY revealed the Gronos, a complete vehicle conversion taking Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG and G 65 AMG and completely transforming it into a beast, called the Gronos after the god Cronos who led the twelve Titans. The interior of the original Gronos didn’t have seats anymore, MANSORY calls them thrones now, upholstered in the finest leather possible, with amazing, bespoke stitching patterns. Together with perfect carbon fiber, made in-house in MANSORY’s own autoclave.

Back in 2013 MANSORY mounted 23-inch wheels with 305/35ZR23 tires, the original V8 engine is taken apart by MANSORY and gets rebuilt, together with a custom, stainless steel exhaust system, power output was 840 hp with an electronically limited torque figure of 1,000 Nm.

But MANSORY wasn’t finished with the Gronos, they also made a ‘Black Edition’ that had a full carbon fiber body, later a Gronos Facelift was released, with a carbon fiber redesigned body, wider fenders, new front hood, new front spoiler … and still with 840 hp.

Last year MANSORY came up with two new models based on the Mercedes G-Class, the ‘Star Trooper Pickup’, which was created in collaboration with Philipp Plein, and a ‘special protection’ version that is in line with the ‘invisible armoring’ idea from MANSORY, people that can afford this kind of exclusivity need to feel safe inside their car after all.

Now it’s time to take the Gronos into 2021 with a new evolution that takes the original design and modernizes it for the current market requirements. The entire aerodynamic program from the previous Gronos has been redesigned, a new front bumper and lower spoiler, even more exclusive, wide fenders, and a new rear diffuser. Note that all MANSORY aero parts are made from carbon fiber, and they even show special ‘Forged Carbon’ details finished in high-gloss.

While the car’s exterior is finished in a stunning, dark green shade referred to as ‘British Racing Green’, the front engine cover stays unpainted to display the perfect finish of the carbon fiber it’s made of, additional cooling vents just finish the amazing look. Additional DRL, daytime running lights, complete the aggressive look of the front and let’s not forget the extra, very bright, LED added to the roof above the windshield.

The Mercedes G-Class is one of those SUV that keeps the spare tire on the outside, on a large door, on this MANSORY Gronos 2021 the cover for this spare is made from Forged Carbon naturally, what else would you expect, and it matches numerous other parts on the exterior of the 2021 edition of the Gronos.

The factory standard Mercedes G63 AMG can’t be called underpowered with a healthy 585 hp available from the turbocharged V8 engine, still, MANSORY takes it apart and modifies the ECU, adds larges turbochargers, new downpipes, and a bespoke exhaust system. After MANSORY dials in the engine, the power output is raised to an impressive 850 hp, torque goes from 850 Nm to 1,000 Nm … acceleration is now only 3.5 seconds to reach 100 km/h from standstill, and the top speed is limited to 250 km/h.

With all that power and torque, those massive 295/30R24 tires might need changing quicker than you think, but those forged YN.5 MANSORY wheels, finished in glossy black, are just a feast to admire, so who cares about four new tires on a car like this. Just be careful when exiting the rear of this Gronos 2021, the two massive, round exhaust pipes exit just ahead of the rear wheels, and they might be burning hot!

And that brings us to the interior, if you think the exterior of this Gronos 2021 looks impressive, just admire that brown leather interior, MANSORY calls it ‘Fawn Brown’. And when you think about some of the other MANSORY creations, like a yellow Lamborghini Urus with a bright yellow leather interior, or a blue Rolls Royce with … you guessed it, a blue leather interior … this Gronos 2021 actually looks rather timid.

And this shade of brown leather complements the British Racing Green exterior perfectly, and if you look closely, you’ll notice MANSORY didn’t leave anything untouched inside this Gronos 2021, a new steering wheel, naturally with visible carbon fiber, dark carbon fiber inlays all over the interior. And that bespoke stitching pattern is executed to perfection, complete with embroidered MANSORY logo on the seats and floor mats.

The carpet in the MANSORY Gronos 2021 is finished in black for a nice contrast, but they added finely made floor mats that match the leather on the seats, even the inner door panel of that large, rear door gets the MANSORY treatment, and a custom floor mat just had to be added to the luggage space … even the entire headliner is replaced with the finest ‘Fawn Brown’ leather, how’s that for attention to detail?

But now comes the bad news … and no, it isn’t the price, because customers for this kind of total conversion don’t even have to ask ‘how much’, they just sign a blank cheque. No, the really bad news is that MANSORY will only make 10 units of this Gronos 2021, and while the CO2 emissions are 312 g/km and fuel consumption is a combined 13,6 l/100km … I don’t think this will deter people from buying the MANSORY Gronos 2021 … heck, most of MANSORY’s customers have their own oil fields anyway.