Only a few days ago we reported Maserati taking one of their late prototypes onto the race track for high-speed testing and fine-tuning, and now we find out they are taking another one of their MC20 test cars into a totally different environment … not so many high speeds this time, but a test of driveability in ice-cold conditions.
Maserati took a bright yellow MC20 with very little camouflage onto the snow-covered roads of the Valtellina and at the Ghiacciodromo Livigno (Sondrio), Italy’s most notable snow and ice circuit, for final cold-weather trials to make sure the car is ready for just about any customer later this year as the first cars become available worldwide.
Cold-weather testing is a perfect way to check how the components of the car handle extreme cold, things like the battery, suspension, and brakes might perform unexpectedly in these conditions, and you really want to make sure the heating for the driver and passenger can handle freezing outside temperatures, contrary to test runs in the desert to verify the climate control’s cooling capabilities.
It seems the Maserati MC20 handled herself very well on cold and low-grip asphalt during these trials, they have enhanced the opposing personalities of this car, born from the Brand’s racing DNA but designed for series production.
Those upward-opening doors really emphasize we are looking at a Maserati supercar, they might have required extensive engineering and add an additional cost to building the MC20, but they just look so cool it’s totally worth it.
Buying a brand new, $225,000 McLaren Artura might inflict some stress on prospective, first-time supercar owners, especially after reading the horror stories online about massive repair bills when something goes wrong with a supercar, but it seems McLaren has the perfect answer for those that are still worrying about what happens after you finally managed to afford your Artura.
When you buy a McLaren Artura from your local dealership, you’ll get a 5-year vehicle warranty, which isn’t bad at all, but considering the Artura is a hybrid, there is also a battery to contemplate … no worries, McLaren warrants the battery for 6 years, why they choose to go for an extra year over the car’s warranty is beyond me, but that’s how McLaren does it.
While rust might not be an issue as let’s say on a classic Italian Alfa Romeo from the 80s, McLaren’s Artura comes with a 10-year, unlimited mileage, body (anti-perforation) warranty, note that the car and battery warranty covers you up to 75,000 km, so you can do about 12,500 km a year for six years to enjoy the complete warranty pack on the hybrid-battery.
And there’s more … as an owner of a McLaren Artura you also receive a 3-year Service Plan with the car, covering the regular maintenance every 12 months, or 15,000 km (9,000 miles) interval. Including oil and filter changes, renewing engine and E-motor air filters, brake fluid replenishment, and full safety inspections, the only thing you as an owner have to worry about are fuel, tires, and brake pads.
In most markets where the McLaren Artura is sold, the owner can add a 5-year roadside assistance package, and to make sure the Artura will be strong on the second-hand market, later on, all of these warranties are transferable to the next owner being a McLaren Qualified car.
At the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix we will not only see the return of Aston Martin to Formula One racing with two cars, but for the first time in F1 history we will be seeing an Aston Martin as the Official Safety car and a second one as the Medical car, the first based on the Vantage while the DBX will be seen in the event of an emergency.
The Aston Martin Vantage Safety car will not be a factory standard model however, it is a custom built version with a modified chassis and improved aerodynamics, developed by the in-house team at Aston Martin’s Headquarters in Gaydon, the UK, this one-off will be driven by Bernd Mayländer (DE) who has been at the helm of the F1 safety car for over twenty years, the Aston Martin will remain on standby in the pit lane throughout the race.
In case of a problem on the track, and the safety car takes the lead, the slower speeds can cause the race cars tires to decrease in temperature, so the pace car has to able to reach high speeds quickly, this special Aston Martin Vantage has it’s power increased to 535PS from the 4.0-Liter twin-turbo V8 … she’s able to reach 60mph in only 3.5 seconds.
The Vaned grille coupled with a new front splitter creates 155.6kg of downforce at 200km/h; more than 60kg than the production Vantage produces at the same speed. Modifications to the suspension, steering and dampers have also been undertaken, with further detailed underbody bracing modifications to increase front structural stiffness. All this, together with a comprehensive aero kit and a switch to lower profile Pirelli tyres, the Aston Martin Vantage Official F1 Safety Car has all the credentials to handle a F1 circuit.
The return of two Aston Martin F1 race cars from the Cognizant Formula One Team comes with a new livery, 2021 Aston Martin Racing Green, specifically created to celebrate their return to F1 after 60 years, the front splitter is emphasized in Lime Essence, a shade we’ve already seen on the Vantage that competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
The otherwise luxurious leather seats of the Vantage have been replaced by FIA-approved racing seats, complete with six-point safety harness, a pair of displays show a live feed of the race and individual car position of the competitors, the necessary switches for the lights and siren for instance have been placed on the central console. The Aston Martin Vantage Safety car even comes with outside cameras so they can broadcast a live feed from this car on the track.
The official Medical Car for the 2021 season is based on the Aston Martin DBX, the larger SUV comes in the same livery combining Racing Green and Lime green, powered by the same 4.0-Liter twin-turbo V8 engine, in the DBX she pumps out 550PS and 700Nm which allows the DBX Medical car to reach 62mph in 4.5 seconds with a top speed of 181mph.
Whilst the interior trim is fully representative of a customer vehicle, the central rear seat has been removed, and the remaining four have been replaced with sport bucket seats, each equipped with a 6-point safety harness. These provide seating for the driver, Alan van der Merwe and Dr Ian Roberts – the FIA Formula 1® Medical Response Coordinator, as well as a Local Doctor, leaving one spare.
The development of both these Official Safety Car of Formula 1® and Official Medical Car of Formula 1® was carried out by the engineering team at Aston Martin. Both vehicles have endured significant testing, which included high-speed durability assessments and aggressive circuit driving at the Aston Martin facility at Silverstone, totting up almost 15,000km collectively. The vehicles have also been tested in a dyno climate chamber to ensure they will perform in all race conditions.
Aston Martin fans will be able to see the Aston Martin Vantage Official Safety Car of Formula 1® in action for the first time during the three-day pre-season test at Bahrain on 12-14 March, and then again during the opening round of the FIA Formula One® World Championship, at the same venue two weeks later.
In 1901 Weller Bros. was founded in London, in the UK, but we know them better as AC Cars now, and they are celebrating their 120th anniversary with a very special series of AC Cobra Superblower models, and to mark their 120 years in the business of building cars, only 12 units will be made, listed at £129,500 (US$ 180,000).
AC Cars managed to set several milestones in automotive history, back in 1921 they were the first ones to have a car manage 100 miles in one hour with a 2-liter engine, in 1950 they introduced the lightweight AC Ace that would later become the base for the legendary AC Cobra from the 60s, and now 12 cars to celebrate 12 decades of existence come with a legacy beyond the special paint and twin stripes.
Over the months, AC Cars is turning to innovative, high performance electric cars that will couple speed and power with near silence, this change is important in their history, going from the massive V8 engines to electric, these 12 commemorative Superblowers will be the last of an era, with a supercharged, 580 hp V8 engine, and they will come a the race inspired livery with the famous center of the bonnet and boot stripes which mark the glory years of its racing pedigree.
AC Cars offers the option of five colors on these Superblowers, AC Red, AC Blue, AC British Racing Green, AC Yellow all come with white stripes, while a special edition comes in a distinctive blue signature shade with orange stripes.
Alan Lubinsky: “We are near the end of an era. In time we’ll be saying a final farewell to the iconic AC Cobra. My question is: Will we ever see (and hear) its like again? My answer is – these celebration cars guarantee that the legend that is the AC Cobra will live on into the future and outlive the ICE Age. We are looking forward to selling a truly hot car in a sunny climate.”
It seems we come across several Cobra’s owned or closely related to Carroll Shelby lately, only a while ago we published an article on the only surviving 1966 SHELBY COBRA 427 SUPER SNAKE, a few weeks before that we featured Carroll Shelby’s personal 427 Cobra that just sold for $5,940,000 at an auction in January 2021, and now we find yet another milestone car: a 1965 Daytona Coupe that was commissioned by Carroll Shelby himself on an original 1960s roadster chassis.
But chassis CSX 2469 comes with a story, it didn’t start life as a Daytona Coupe … let me explain this: back in 1964 a prototype for the Cobra related Daytona Coupe was built in the United States, more precisely at the Shelby American race shop in Venice, California, on chassis CSX 2287. The first race won by a Daytona Coupe was with this very car in the GT Class at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1964, she would continue to rack up an impressive race history at Daytona, Sebring, Reims, Spa Francorchamps, Oulton Park TT, Le Mans, Tour de France, and on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
At the Bonneville Salt Flats, chassis CSX 2287 set 25 USAC/FIA world records in November 1965, after that the car was reconditioned and sold. CSX2287 was preserved and mechanically reconditioned, but not restored, to become part of the permanent collection at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, PA, USA
Five more ‘original’ Daytona Coupe were built in Modena, Italy by Carrozzeria Gransport, after a phone call from Carroll Shelby to his friend Alejandro de Tomaso if he didn’t know someone in Italy to build these Coupes, as all engineers in the US were supporting the roadster race cars after completing the first prototype. Carrozzeria Gransport would use chassis CSX 2299, CSX 2300, CSX2601, and CSX 2602. Just to get your head around some of the values of these cars, chassis CSX 2300 sold for $4,400,000 at an RM Auction back in August 2000, yes over 20 years ago, while chassis CSX 2601 did even better in 2009 when she changed hands for $7,250,000.
The final Daytona Coupe was built on chassis CSX 2286 after it was kept at the Shelby American race shop to be used as a template for the other four chassis, CSX 2286 and CSX 2287 were built side by side in 1964, the latter one would get the Daytona Coupe body installed, and CSX 2286 was used to modify the other four chassis when they came from the UK before they would be sent to Italy to receive their coupe body, Shelby wanted six cars to compete, so he sent chassis CSX 2286 as the last one to Carrozzeria Gransport.
So what’s up with chassis CSX 2469 then? On the FIA official paperwork for this car, she is listed as a 1964 G.T.Coupe that has been restored in 1997, but the original V8 engine with a capacity of 4,727cc (289ci) received a longer stroke to end up being 4,868cc (297ci) now, and an electronic MSD ignition was fitted … the sound from this engine must be amazing as they fitted a factory spec Daytona exhaust system.
Chassis CSX 2469 has a very impressive racing history as a roadster, with drivers like Phil Hill, Derek Hill, Derek Bell, John Morton, and Brian Redman, this Cobra took the win at Laguna Seca and Goodwood before Carroll Shelby commissioned McCluskey to convert this car into a Daytona Coupe in the Nineties.
This one-off is now listed for sale by Worldwide Auctioneers, by the owner who bought her from Carroll Shelby himself, this is documented by paperwork from Carroll Shelby Enterprises, the car is also listed in the Shelby Registry off course, since there is no estimate listed online it is hard to tell how much this rare Daytona Coupe recreation is worth.
Just remember she is built on a real Cobra chassis, she is owned and has been driven by Carroll Shelby himself, it is not just another replica, so while she might not reach the value of one of the five original Daytona Coupe, I’m sure this one won’t change hands for a small amount of money, this car will be in the higher, seven-figures price range.
The new Italian supercar from Maserati has been unveiled a while ago, but there have been no deliveries yet, the MC20, which is short for Maserati Corse 2020, will only go on sale later this year, and we’ve all seen the bright white press car by now, it was featured in numerous online articles and countless YouTube videos, but when Maserati took one of their pre-production prototypes onto the famous Modena track in Italy, they still covered her in a black camouflage dress.
The Maserati MC20 was taken around Fiorano, the Ferrari test track in disguise, probably to finalize tuning on things like suspension, electronic driving aids, and possibly some engine fine-tuning. The MC20 will come with a twin-turbo, twin-combustion 3.0-Liter V6 engine with a power output of 621 hp and 729 Nm of torque, the soul of the engine is the innovative pre-chamber combustion system featuring twin-spark plugs. This technology is derived from Formula 1 and is now available, for the first time, on an engine destined for the road.
An 8-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission will propel the 1,500 kg (3,306 lbs) heavy Maserati MC20 from 0 to 100 km/h in only 2.9 seconds, this Italian beauty will run out of breath by the time she reaches her top speed of 323 km/h (201 mph), which brings her clearly into supercar territory.
And the price is in supercar regions too, the MSRP for the Maserati MC20 for the United States market has been set at $210,000, and it seems they aren’t finished with the MC20 lineup yet, rumor has it they are already preparing a Barchetta version as we speak, and their roadmap even lists a fully-electric MC20 shortly, the monocoque for the MC20 was specifically developed with these three variants in mind.
If you remember, the MC20 comes with five driving modes, selected using the selector on the central console: WET, GT, SPORT, and CORSA. Each one is identified by its own color: WET green; GT blue; SPORT red; CORSA yellow; ESC OFF orange.
Driving modes are selected by turning the selector for a few seconds. For example, the car starts in the default GT mode. It only takes a movement of half a second in the direction of the mode required to switch from GT to SPORT (on the right) or WET (on the left). Or the driver can press the selector for 2 seconds to choose CORSA mode. Pressing for 5 seconds switches to ESC Off mode. The longer time is to ensure that the driver has chosen this mode intentionally and not by mistake.
Most likely the Maserati engineers are working on setting the parameters for these driving modes to perfection during these final track runs, it is also very important to get everything just right as the button in the center of the driving mode selector enables the driver to adjust the suspension. It is useful in SPORT or CORSA modes when the suspensions are extremely stiff. Pressing the Suspension button makes the suspensions more comfortable and less stiff. This is particularly useful on uneven ground since it gives the driver a sporty yet comfortable driving experience.
MC20 is the first Maserati to be painted in the futuristic new Modena plant, the new line equipped with innovative, environment-friendly technologies. A new range of colors has been invented for MC20 and will remain exclusive to this model. The range comprises six shades: Bianco Audace, Giallo Genio, Rosso Vincente, Blu Infinito, Nero Enigma, and Grigio Mistero, my guess is that the test-mule recently seen at the Fiorano track was finished in Nero Enigma.
The new Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo has just been introduced last week, but we all know there was a long path before this new model from Porsche was ready to face the world, development, simulation, prototyping, and usually several hundreds of thousands of test miles, usually in a camouflaged test mule.
But Porsche wanted to do things differently with the Taycan Cross Turismo, so they decided to hand over the keys of one of their priceless prototypes to selected journalists from various countries, this car would be taken to an intercontinental test drive over five countries during which the car would go into five different climate zones … the ultimate real-world test run.
The intention was to take this new Porsche model straight into its five most important markets, combining extreme heat and cold with various surfaces, the Taycan Cross Turismo is intended to be capable off-road too, so why not have journalists actually drive a pre-production prototype on the street, in the snow, and in the desert … because that’s what the final customer will be doing too … right?
First up was a stint in the deserts of the United States, after that the Porsche would be sent to Norway, during the winter while everything is frozen up there. The third country was the United Kingdom, where the Taycan Cross Turismo was taken onto mud and gravel that poses its own kind of challenges for a car like this. They even took the car into Amsterdam in the Netherlands, to test how this electric Porsche would handle narrow, old cobble-stone streets in real life.
And it wouldn’t be a Porsche if she didn’t perform well on the German Autobahn, where there are still stretches to be found that have no speed limit, they are getting rare in Germany too, but if you look for them, there are still really nice parts of the German highway system where you can really put your foot to the metal and go all-out … at your own risk naturally.
As the Cross Turismo is a development of the already proven Porsche Taycan sedan, the test went without any major issues, this was a late prototype, which made things a little less worrying for Mayk Wienkötter, Spokesperson Taycan & E-Mobility, they had so much confidence in their new car after it traveled five countries and apparently didn’t even get a carwash, it was this very prototype that was driven onto the stage for the live international launch event.
“To us, it made perfect sense because you always have these super shiny cars on stage at world premieres,” Wienkötter explains, “so to have a dirty and partially camouflaged car is much more eye-catching. It’s been on different continents, in different climate zones, and on different surfaces, and has collected different types of dirt and grime – all of which we wanted to preserve to tell the story of the car.”
The new Lamborghini Huracán STO has been traveling all over the world to entice people to order one … as if getting a street-legal Super Trofeo race car isn’t enough incentive, still Lamborghini marketing deemed it necessary to put the car in front of an audience anyway, and it seems to be working, as orders for this 640 hp V10 Raging Bull pile up … first deliveries are foreseen later this year.
The Super Trofeo Omologata is off course inspired by the Huracán EVO Super Trofeo developed by Lamborghini Squadra Corsa to run in their own race series, as well as the Huracán EVO GT3, the three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona and two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Automobili Lamborghini just launched ‘#Focu5on’, a monthly series that will bring us “The 5 things you do not know about…”, giving anecdotes and behind the scenes information about Lamborghinis so that both owners and enthusiasts of the ‘Raging Bull’ can learn more about, as Lamborghini states: “the more unusual and less-known enigmas of a company that is much more than just a car manufacturer of global excellence”.
The first issue of Lamborghini #Focu5on lists The 5 things you do not know about the Huracán STO:
The term Cofango derives from the fusion of two Italian words: cofano (hood) and parafango (fender), coined by Automobili Lamborghini to describe the design solution in which the hood, fenders, and front bumper are integrated into a single component. This innovative system created by Lamborghini engineers is inspired by the Lamborghini Miura and the more recent Sesto Elemento, and on the STO is made entirely of very light carbon fiber.
The key to opening the fastenings on the STO’s Cofango is unique: it was developed in-house by the R&D team and made using an innovative 3D printing technique.
There is not much that can be changed in three seconds, but the set-up of the Huracán STO is one. Three new driving modes – STO (normal driving), Trofeo (race mode), and Pioggia (raining or wet) – adapt the set-up of the car to match high-performance driving environments.
The Huracán STO allows the driver to experience a dynamic pit stop as if a team of mechanics was right there!
Lamborghini’s R&D team drove a distance equivalent to three times around the world in simulator tests before starting the Huracán STO’s road tests. State-of-the-art simulator technology allowed Lamborghini engineers to save time on quality control, lead times, and emissions by verifying that every part of the car fully complied with standards during different stages of the STO’s development, certifying, and testing.
“Do you want to build a Huracán STO 1:1?”. It will take a lot of patience because there are over 2,750 components needed to build the latest car from Sant’Agata.
The Huracán STO introduces an advanced connected telemetry system where the link between car-on-board cameras Connected Cloud Lamborghini and the App Lamborghini UNICA allows, thanks to an intuitive data analysis system and videos enriched with dedicated widgets, to transform the exclusive App dedicated to Lamborghini customers into a real track engineer. The development of this technology on the Lamborghini UNICA App required more than 25,000 lines of code.
In the past you could buy a chassis from one of the bigger names in the automotive world, and have a coachbuilder put a chassis on it, this service was available for the ultra-high-net-worth individuals back in the early 1900s when cars like Rolls Royce would come with one-off bodies for Royalty and rulers.
In those days you had names like Hooper, Park Ward, Vanden Plas, James Young, and Mulliner … which now makes sure you can order a bespoke Bentley Bentayga that suits your needs perfectly. H.J. Mulliner and Co. was a family business founded in 1897, they designed coachwork for C. S. Rolls’ personal two-seater Silver Ghost roadster, for instance, then after WWII Mulliner was one of only a handful of coachbuilders to return to traditional, bespoke coachwork, mostly using Rolls-Royce and Bentley chassis as their starting point.
From the 50s on Mulliner started using more modern materials like steel and ‘stressed-skin’ instead of the earlier wood-frame constructions, it was in fact Rolls Royce that took over Mulliner in 1959, merging it with Park Ward that was bought by RR in 1939 already … in 1961 Mulliner-Park Ward was created, in 2021 Mulliner no longer works with Rolls Royce, but it has become the ‘Personal Commissioning’ department that creates truly bespoke models on the entire Bentley range, but not in terms of custom bodywork, but more in terms of special interiors for the more discerning customer.
Just recently the Mulliner Personal Commissioning Guide added the Bentley Bentayga to their list of models, which now spans the entire Bentley model range, you can select from 27 different shades of leather or Alcantara, over 100 painted veneer options, an extended Mulliner paint palette for the body and custom wheel options to create your ultimate personalized luxury SUV.
The Personal Commissioning Guide offers a unique mix of traditional and contemporary options that will appeal to Bentley’s diverse and extraordinary clients. Depending on the customer’s personal preference, each car can take on a new aesthetic while ensuring style and performance are never compromised.
Just take a look at our previous article on ‘The Bentley Mulliner visualiser‘ for more details on how they can create a one-off Bentley just for you, by using color-matched paint taken from a sample the customer brings with him, and that’s not only for the exterior, that same paint can be applied on the veneer on the interior so it complements one of the 27 different hides and stitching options Mulliner offers.
A combination of up to three different shades can be selected for the interior, and if you really want to go wild, go for a tweed insert on the doors or ask for a bespoke color hide and stitching for the ultimate expression of personality, add to that any color for the piping, carpet binding or cross-stitching … just keep in mind this won’t come cheap, it takes one of Bentley’s craftsmen up to 44 hours to hand-stitch that impressive cross pattern.
Not a fan of smooth leather? No problem at all, as Mulliner offers the same level of craftsmanship when combining Alcantara on the seats, headrest, and door panels with smooth leather, you can even opt to have the steering wheel and gear lever finished in Alcantara, it takes the Bentley Bentayga from a luxury SUV into the more sporty SUV class.
Furthermore, those ‘puddle lights’ we find everywhere these days, when you open the door there is a light to illuminate the floor next to your car, mostly a logo or a design … Mulliner will create one just for you, showing your name, or a crest for your brand on the floor when you enter or exit your Bentayga. Still not good enough? No problem, even the doorsills can show your name or logo … or whatever you prefer, all in good taste naturally.
With Bentley’s revered craftsmanship, the new Bentayga makes a clear statement and reintroduces Cross Banding Inlays as an option for the fascia and waistrail inserts. The Cross Banding uses an Australian straight grain veneer with a boxwood inlay available on a number of veneer options, enhanced with a Bentley Mulliner overlay in either a silver or gold color.
With innovative and state-of-the-art technologies, Bentley Mulliner has utilized stone formed over 200 million years ago to create lightweight veneers just 0.1mm in thickness. Stone veneers feature a visible natural ‘open pore’ texture, a customer can select one of four different colors for their stone inlay: Autumn White, Copper, Galaxy, or Terra Red.
The heart and soul of any Bugatti model is its engine and signature power delivery. At the core of the Bugatti Veyron and Chiron1 is an evolution of groundbreaking engineering: an 8.0-liter, quad-turbocharged W16 engine that can deliver a power output well over 1,000hp. Such finely a tuned, high-tech masterpiece of a powertrain is assured of the distinctive Bugatti character and performance, but only with regular care and attention for servicing and maintenance.
Bugatti ownership is now easier than ever, with the launch of the Passeport Tranquillité service program. Now Veyron and Chiron owners can choose complete peace of mind with the new service program which includes one service per year with an official Bugatti service partner. Additional planned elements will be the premium roadside recovery service and a Bugatti-branded car care kit featuring a wide range of cleaning and detailing materials.
The Passeport Tranquillité is designed to cover vehicle life after the end of the Bugatti-provided standard warranty period. Customers can be assured that they will continue to have access to the services that will keep their Veyron and Chiron models well maintained and in peak condition. This means that Bugatti drivers can continue to enjoy the certainty of maintenance and upkeep of their unique hyper sports car, happy knowing that a team of highly qualified and dedicated technicians know how to ensure their Bugatti’s optimum performance.
Tailored plans for Veyron and Chiron owners
The Passeport Tranquillité Veyron service program can be split over a two- or four-year plan to best suit the customer and their own unique requirements. Both options include one service per year performed by officially trained Bugatti technicians, covering the requirement for the Veyron to undergo a biennial service, estimated at around 14 hours, and a service taking around 32 hours to complete in alternating years.
What is more, the Veyron customers’ plan provides the choice of ‘Active’ or ‘Collector’ plans, with the program tailored to meet the needs of their driving habits. Bugatti recognizes that the highly designed, era-defining Veyron model might now form part of a collection, rather than being driven regularly. But even hyper sports cars that record a minimal distance every year require servicing, in order to deliver that incredible Bugatti performance whenever required. The ‘Collector’ option provides high-quality service and maintenance for Veyron models that do not exceed 200km a year, a plan tailored for reduced activity, while the ‘Active’ profile caters to frequent drivers. Both options ensure Bugatti drivers can turn the key and enjoy their prized Veyron at any time.
The Passeport Tranquillité Chiron program is set for four years, designed to reflect Chiron’s specific service intervals. The Chiron plan includes a service every year, taking into account the requirement for an annual ‘Low’ service, taking up to 14 hours of workshop time, then a ‘Major’ service every four years, completed in around 72 hours by highly skilled and officially trained Bugatti technicians.
Owners of multiple Bugatti models can tailor a Passeport Tranquillité package to meet their needs.
Exclusive Bugatti service plan extras
In the unlikely event of a Veyron or Chiron having a mechanical fault, an additional future planned feature is, the customer is able to arrange for their Bugatti to be transported to an authorized Bugatti Service Partner in just one call. This service is planned to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, anywhere in the world. The premium recovery service will be exclusive to Bugatti owners and will provide onward personal travel for the customer while organizing for their Veyron or Chiron to be taken care of by a service partner.
Customers are not fixed to a specific Bugatti Service Partner for the life of the Passeport Tranquillité plan. The new service plan has launched at all official Bugatti Service Partners in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, with a planned roll-out to cover North America in the summer of 2021.
Trevor Hodgson-Phillips, Global Aftersales Business Manager at Bugatti Automobiles, said: “This exclusive new program provides our customers with a complete sense of ‘peace of mind’ when it comes to the care and maintenance of their prized Bugatti Veyron or Chiron. We are designing this plan with our customers at the forefront. We are tailoring the program with the flexibility of plans and additional valued components, such as roadside recovery, providing the customer with the certainty of service and maintenance and in doing so providing the utmost peace of mind and tranquillité.”
The Passeport Tranquillité is assigned to the Bugatti vehicle, rather than the customer, so the plan will pass onto the new driver if ever the hyper sports car is sold. This can potentially add to the value of the model while also giving the buying customer extra peace of mind that official Bugatti technicians have maintained their Veyron or Chiron. All Bugatti models joining the Passeport Tranquillité plan must first pass a thorough 85-point inspection by a Bugatti service partner.
Although the previous Veyron Loyalty Maintenance Program is no longer available for purchase, existing contracts will remain valid until the original service contract period expires or all applicable services are utilized.
Porsche is doing its part to save the wagon from becoming extinct by unveiling a long-roof version of the Taycan electric sedan. In a couple of days, the Mission E Cross Turismo concept will officially celebrate three years since its reveal. But the team from Zuffenhausen did not wait for its anniversary to unveil its production counterpart.
The 2022 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo is a true ‘all-around’ vehicle that traverses over any terrain it lands on. It has been multi-continent tested to the fullest on snow, desert sand, paved highways, cobblestone streets, muddy trails, and gravel roads. At the Taycan Cross Turismo unveiling, it came to the stage covered in dirt and elements collected from its extensive testing.
The 2022 Taycan Cross Turismo will come standard with a Performance Battery Plus which has a capacity of 93kWh. The base model comes with 375hp or 469hp when launch control is on. It will also come with 456km of range on a single charge, capable of charging up to 270kW, which can add 100km of range in just 5 minutes of charging.
The 4S variant will come with 490hp (571hp activated with launch control), and a claimed 0-60 time of 4.1-seconds while speed tops out at 149mph (240km/h).
The Turbo variant will come with 625hp (680hp activated with launch control), and a claimed 0-60 time of 3.3-seconds while speed tops out at 155mph (250km/h).
The flagship Turbo S model will come with a staggering 750hp (560kW) when launch control is activated and maintains a zero to 60 time of 2.9-seconds with a top speed of 155mph (250km/h)
All Taycan Cross Turismo models will come standard with active air-suspension, supplementing 20mm of extra ground clearance when compared to the standard Porsche Taycan. An optional offroad package will see that clearance raise to 30mm.
The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo is that of practical nature and for those that want the option to live life to the fullest. It comes with loads of cargo space (15.7cu-ft in the 4 and 4S variants) and plenty of headroom thanks to the Porsche’s body transformation.
The Taycan Cross Turismo will be available from dealers this summer and we can not wait.
How could we forget to mention Porsche’s two slick new carbon fiber e-Bikes they shared in the Livestream?
These electric-assisted bicycles come packed with the best parts you can get on a bicycle. The ‘Sport’ version will come with a Shimano EP8 motor, Shimano electric shifting, a carbon frame, a color display and will weigh in at just 48 pounds.
The ‘Cross’ variant will come with a Shimano XT mechanical drivetrain, Magura forks, Crank Bros dropper post, and a Fox Racing rear shock all fixed to its carbon fiber frame. These two bikes will be available for purchase this spring.
Ferrari has been spotted using a LaFerrari as a test mule for their latest road car to hide its new internal hardware.
The test vehicle is assumed to be next-in-line to the LaFerrari. The successor would likely be the road-going version of the World Endurance Championship’s Le Mans hypercar that Ferrari will use in 2023. In February, Ferrari gave confirmation of its intentions to participate in the WEC’s premier class in 2023. The rules will require the race team to have a similar road car version of the car participating in the race.
The LaFerrari hit the streets in limited numbers in 2013, which makes the timing (once every decade) fit Ferrari’s M.O for the release of a new limited-edition flagship model. This was also the case for cars like the Ferrari F40, F50, Enzo, and most recently, the LaFerarri.
The test mule clearly shows some differences from the LaFerrari. Covers have been removed from the front and rear to promote more airflow. Even with the distracting wrap on the car, you can see the differences in the hood, roof, rear deck, and side intakes. The exhaust on the test mule is also different from the LaFerrari’s as it sits higher on the rear of the test mule.
There has been very little said from Ferrari regarding a successor to the LaFerrari. At this point, there is no mention of the engine that will be powering the car. All we know is that the test mule is electrified in some fashion by the blue stickers on the car. Which gives hope that there may still be a Ferrari V-12 under the hood.
According to Motoauthority, former Ferrari Chairman Sergio Marchionne said it would be “nuts” to add turbochargers to a V-12 in a statement given in 2017, which rules out any chances of running forced induction on the car. The case for the LaFerrari consisted of a hybrid solution deriving from Formula 1, this could also be the case for a successor.
Ferrari may be stepping away from attaining gigantic horsepower and instead focus more on the other aspects necessary to use such power. This includes fine-tuning the aerodynamics, weight, stability, and handling of the car. This route was hinted at by Ferrari Chief Marketing Officer Enrico Galliera in 2019. A route that was also taken by Aston Martin when developing the Valkyrie hypercar.
No matter what Ferrari chooses to do with the LaFerrari successor – it will be nothing short of spectacular. Let’s hope they can come up with a more creative name this time around.
A final reveal of this assumed hypercar should take place in 2022, prior to racing in the 2023 LeMans.
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.
We have already mentioned this amazing-looking Bugatti Divo in our article ‘The Million dollar option‘, but just now Bugatti published a press release on this rather unique, bespoke build, keeping in mind only 40 Divo will be built, the last ones being delivered at this moment we’ve heard, and with a base MSRP of €5,000,000, these cars were ordered by some rather discerning customers, and that came with challenges never seen before, especially on this ‘Lady Bug’.
When the Bugatti Divo was introduced in August 2018, one customer located in the USA came up with a great idea: ‘a geometric-dynamic algorithmic fading pattern on the bodywork’. So he got in touch with Bugatti design to first decide on which shades to use … they created two special colors for this customer, ‘Customer Special Red’ (I guess they ran out of names) and ‘Graphite’, both metallic paints. But now came the hard part, designing a diamond pattern to run from the front over the sides of the Bugatti Divo.
The customer wanted to emphasize the silhouette of the Bugatti Divo with this gradient pattern, but it took the Bugatti design team over 18 months to develop and later achieve the correct look and feel on a real Divo. It’s easy to create a diamond pattern on a computer in CAD, but the problem comes when you apply that pattern onto a 3D, very round Divo body. The ‘diamonds’ get distorted, and it starts to look strange, although perfectly geometrically correct on the computer, even the slightest offset putting it onto the car ruined the look.
In the end, it would take approximately 1,600 diamond shapes, almost no two alike, to create exactly what the customer had in mind, and every single one of these had to be put in their perfect spot along the roofline, on the doors and rear fender edge in order to make sure it all looked right and created that perfect fade on the side of this unique Bugatti Divo.
At one point Jörg Grumer, Head of Color & Trim at Bugatti Design almost wanted to say: “We cannot meet the customer’s request’, however, it is our profound conviction that we should never give up and that our foremost motivation should always be to make the impossible possible for the customer.”
At Bugatti design they actually used 6-meter long film and did several trial fittings on one of their in-house test cars, only after several weeks, they managed to get it right and applied the bespoke diamond pattern onto the customer’s Bugatti Divo without any distortion or folds. After that, it took the Bugatti employees several more days to make sure every single diamond was positioned accurately, some of them were manually trimmed, some were even replaced at this stage.
After everybody was happy with the film on the car, it was time to paint … which involves not only applying the Graphite over the Customer Special Red but also meticulously removing every single diamond film, all 1,600 of them, without damaging the paint. After that, the paint gets sanded, smoothed, checked, retouched where necessary only to be re-sanded again. After applying the clearcoat another session of wet sanding and buffing goes on to create that deep, wet-look finish and gloss … it took months of hand craftsmanship to create this car.
If you’ve never heard of SWAE, don’t feel too bad, they are a new company located in the Rocky Mountains not far from Glacier National Park that just released images of their first tuning package, and it’s for the McLaren 720S, which isn’t too bad straight from the factory, but SWAE takes it to the next level, both in looks and in performance.
First, you notice there is something different about this SWAE McLaren 720, and it’s a widebody kit you are admiring, with a new front lip and intakes on the front fenders, the rear fenders are widened too, and a massive rear wing is added too. While most parts seem to be made from carbon fiber, SWAE took the 3D printing route for the struts on the rear wing, made from titanium.
Bespoke, 10-spoke SWAE wheels complete the look of this $500,000 McLaren 720S, and the best is yet to come … engine tuning that delivers over 900 hp to the rear wheels from the twin-turbocharged 4-Liter V8, keep in mind this could mean the SWAE tuned V8 comes with over 1,000 hp at the crank.
SWAE says this McLaren 720S is just a ‘proof-of-concept’ at the moment, showcasing what they can do when combining carbon fiber and 3D-printing technology to create a bespoke car for the discerning customer, chasing dreams at all costs.
This new SWAE McLaren 720S Widebody was recently unveiled in Miami, but it isn’t clear if this specific car is for sale, or was built on commission for an existing customer, or if it’s just a demonstrator for SWAE … only time will tell.
In the world of SUVs, there was a time the Range Rover Vogue or the Mercedes G-Wagon was the ultimate ‘look at me’ car, these had amazing off-road capabilities, but most of them rarely left paved roads or got a spot of mud on them, and while the G-Wagon was initially a military vehicle, the later models were high-end luxury cars that could go off-road.
In the United States of America, you had a full-size SUV like the Cadillac Escalade and the Lincoln Navigator to take these big vehicles into the luxury segment … but over the years things started to change a bit and other big names in the industry came up with their own SUV, like the Bentley Bentayga that some might not like design-wise, but it is an ultra-high-end luxury SUV with some sportiness to it, perhaps a segment lower, but also very impressive was the Porsche Cayenne and the ‘Bull in the Chinashop’ … the Lamborghini Urus.
But then came another player on the SUV scene … Rolls Royce, with their massive Cullinan, taking its place as the most exclusive factory-made, production luxury SUV, and to make it interesting for those with lots of money but still craving for a little touch of sportiness, Rolls Royce came up with their ‘Black Badge’ series. Ditching the chrome-plated Spirit of Ecstasy for a glossy black finished lady, note you could get that beautiful bonnet ornament sculpture in just about any finish, they even offered it in actual crystal with illumination for a while, but they were forced to discontinue this $4,000 option because there’s a law against illuminated hood ornaments in Europe now.
As the name suggests, a Rolls Royce Black Badge Cullinan is a breed apart from the regular Rolls Royce models, the world-famous front grill is also finished in black, as are most of the otherwise chrome trim around the windows … and no, you can actually order a Black Badge in another shade too … even white. And a Black Badge Cullinan is so ‘un-British’ it almost hurts … but it doesn’t, and I like the idea behind it, the black finish makes the car appeal to a younger crowd, and the Black Badge even comes with a harsher suspension … on a Rolls Royce mind you!
The difference between a Rolls Royce Cullinan and the Black Badge version is about $150,000, and that’s without a trip to SPOFEC in Germany to get their OVERDOSE tuning package, SPOFEC is part of the NOVITEC group by the way, just so you know you are dealing with people that have been in this business for many years.
And before we talk about the exterior of this SPOFEC OVERDOSE, let’s take a peek under that large hood. From the factory, the Rolls Royce Black Badge Cullinan comes with a 6.7-Liter twin-turbo V12 engine you hardly hear when it’s running and has a power output of 600 hp and 900 Nm of torque (the regular Cullinan has 563 hp and 850 Nm of torque for comparison). But SPOFEC offers the N-TRONIC plug-and-play auxiliary ECU, by remapping the injection and ignition and a small increase in turbo boost, the figures are now 707 hp (520 kW) and a peak torque of 1,060 Nm at 1,800 rpm.
Despite the massive size, and weight of 2.7 metric tons, the SPOFEC OVERDOSE can reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in only 4.5 seconds, the top speed is however still restricted to 250 km/h, and while we are still talking about an SUV, the SPOFEC suspension module allows a 40 mm lower ride height for added looks and a lower center of gravity.
But SPOFEC also turns the Rolls Royce Black Badge Cullinan into a ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ sorts of car … where the Rolls Royce is almost as silent as a whisper, with the SPOFEC exhaust, including actively controlled flaps, you can make this Rolls Royce sound like a sports car, there is nothing discreet about the SPOFEC OVERDOSE.
You can just imagine the marketing meeting at SPOFEC when they were discussing the OVERDOSE: “So discretion is out of the windows, let’s change the exterior too, and make it even wider” … they’ve added 10cm (4 inches) width to the front and 12cm (nearly 5 inches) to the rear fenders! This makes the OVERDOSE in total 212cm wide (83.46 inches), which also required a new set of side sills to connect those wide fenders with each other, and while they were at it, they replaced the entire front bumper with a new design, added a spoiler lip at the liftgate, and finished it off with a race-inspired rear diffuser. Precise-fit detachable parts create harmonious transitions from the fascia to the rear flares.
And with all this going on, you just can’t resist replacing the factory original wheels with these new SPOFEC SP2 forged wheels in 10×24 inch configuration, specially created in corporation with Vossen to handle the wider wheel arches, monstrous 295/30 R 24 high-performance tires cover these impressive wheels consisting of nine pairs of twin-spokes and with the wheel bolts disappearing behind a center cover.
The official SPOFEC press release on the OVERDOSE doesn’t list any prices for all these beautiful tuning options … but you know what they say: ‘if you have to ask’ …
Everyone has been awaiting the arrival of Maserati’s GranTurismo and may not have to wait much longer. A test mule has been spotted on the roads of northern Sweden.
The test mule, in this case, looks to be an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio but do not let the exterior fool you. Test mules often use the body of an existing model to test out the mechanics of a vehicle awaiting final production approval.
Taking a closer look at the test mule, it’s apparent that the Giulia has been modified to have a longer wheelbase and hood along with stretched wheel arches and added venting on the vehicle.
Maserati presented a teaser shot of the Grand Turismo last September and stated plans for its release in 2021. This took place while unveiling the Maserati MC20 supercar. The teaser shot pointed to the new GranTurismo to have a cleaner, more flowing aesthetic just like the MC20.
The new GranTurismo will likely be powered by their new 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 that is featured in the MC20. According to MotorAuthority, the GranTurismo may come with a mild-hybrid setup and potentially a fully electric model.
The GranTurismo’s official reveal is set to take place this year, sales will likely be held in 2022, and deliveries likely to take place in 2023 for the US market.
We all remember the very impressive Ford GT40 from the 1960s, winning Le Mans four consecutive years from 1966 to 1969, I guess most of us have seen the movie about the competition between Ford and Ferrari at that time, and to celebrate Ford’s centennial they created a more modern interpretation of those glorious race cars … the 2005 and 2006 Ford GT, in just two years of production they made a total of 4,038 units, making these modern-day classics rare, and expensive today, and they weren’t cheap to begin with, the MSRP was $149,995 in 2006.
The ‘new’ Ford GT came with a dry-sump 5.4-Liter V8 engine fitted with a twin-screw supercharger from Lysholm delivering 550 hp to the rear wheels only, a six-speed transmission was fitted, acceleration figures were 3.3 seconds from 0 to 60 mph with a top speed of 205 mph … this was a very fast Ford back in 2005.
If we look at listings for a 2006 Ford GT the price has doubled since new, most of them are around the $300,000 mark today, some a little cheaper, most of them near $350,000 and more … in 2006 a total of 2,011 Ford GT were made, but for that final year there was a special option available, the limited-production Heritage Paint Livery Package edition … only 343 units were sold with this specific option.
If you selected this option, your Ford GT would be finished in ‘Heritage Blue’ and feature those impressive ‘Epic Orange’ stripes, the cars also came four white roundels to which the owner could add a number of their liking. This special livery took inspiration from the GT40 that won Le Mans in both 1968 and 1969, chassis number 1075, which featured the now famous ‘Gulf Oil’ sponsorship.
And if you missed out on the Ford GT back in 2006, you now have a second chance as RM | Sotheby’s has one of these Ford GT Heritage listed for their Amelia Island auction on May 22, 2021. What makes this specific Ford GT Heritage, chassis 1FAFP90S26Y400783 even more interesting, is the fact it only has 2.7 miles on the odometer, this is basically a brand new, time capsule 2006 Ford GT Heritage, and it’s only 1 of 50 that were available in Canada.
This specific Ford GT Heritage was sold in Canada, which makes it slightly different from US market cars, all Canadian cars were sold with the optional forged wheels, the gray-painted brake calipers, and the regular stereo, Canadian customers couldn’t request the ‘stripe delete’ option, nor the McIntosh CD stereo system. On the other hand, Canadian Ford GT all came with daytime running lights, different foam in the front bumper, and a rear bumper that protrudes more than on US-spec models.
This is one of only a handful of remaining Ford GT that are still considered to be ‘new’, this specific one still has the driver’s seat, the steering wheels, and the door sills protected by the factory–original wrapping, it doesn’t get any newer than that. Naturally, all the original factory documentation is still present, as are the keys and user manuals … but also the original box of accessories that came with the car when new, including the set of roundel numbers in their original box.
At the time of writing, I found one other 2006 Ford GT Heritage listed for sale, in West Palm Beach, FL (which makes it a US-Spec car probably), a car with 978 miles, listed at $479,900. And while there isn’t an estimate listed for the RM Sotheby’s auction listing yet, I wonder if this Canadian one with even fewer miles will reach that number, or sell for an even higher amount.
We have only just learned about the Aston Martin Valhalla that was introduced back in 2019 already at the Geneva Motor Show, will be postponed to 2023, that’s a four year development, but that’s apparently not the worst for all those people that have signed up to buy one of these hypercars from the Gaydon carmaker.
Things might not be looking too bright for the bespoke built V6 hybrid engine that was developed to power the new Aston Martin Valhalla, and that showed similarities with the unit we’ve just seen in the new McLaren Arturo. This 3.0-Liter V6 engine would have been completely developed in-house by Aston Martin, a first since their 5.3-Liter V8 engine back in 1969, and with the addition of hybridization this engine would become the most powerful ever in an Aston Martin, which means it would have become more powerful than the 1,160 hp engine in the Valkyrie.
But 2020 has been a disastrous year for Aston Martin, losses quadrupled due to the COVID pandemic and dropping sales figures, and while they hope their DBX will continue to gather sales, for the Aston Martin Valhalla this meant a return to the drawing board, and a one-year postponement on deliveries of the 150 units limited production run.
Tobias Moers, Aston Martin’s current CEO, confirmed they have an agreement in place with Mercedes-Benz to supply the engine for their Valhalla, it will still be a hybrid model, as Aston Martin plans to have a 90% electric line up by 2030, but the in-house V6 engine that sounded so amazing back in March of 2020 will be shelved and in comes, probably, an AMG unit.
And here comes the catch … which engine will Aston Martin use, as Moers stated “everything is a reasonable cost situation” during an interview, so will they go with the massive V8, 4.0-Liter twin turbo hybrid that will be introduced in the upcoming AMG 73 models, rated at 800 hp or more … or will they go for the much smaller M139 four-cylinder engine that will power the new AMG C63 with hybrid addition putting down about 500 hp?
Mercedes actually owns 20 percent of Aston Martin thanks to a recent technical partnership between the two, and part of that deal included using a German sourced engine for the new Valhalla, and, to be honest, with a price tag of $3,000,000 for each of these Aston Martin Valhalla … as a customer I wouldn’t be too happy with a four-cylinder engine, even if they manage 600 or 700 hp … that’s still a far cry from the ‘more than 1,160 hp’ they mentioned before.
Some collectors insist on a factory original, un-restored car so they can admire the patina it gathered over the decades and enjoy their car ‘as is’, while others have their pride and job go through a painstakingly expensive restoration to make their classic car look exactly how it left the factory doors over half a century ago … and then you get to the Restomod crowd.
Restomods are intended for a special breed of car owners, people that love their classic cars, but don’t want to forfeit on modern commodities like big horsepower and a big disc brake setup … and Ringbrothers, the world-renowned custom car builders and parts manufacturer, caters to those exact customers with their latest latest creation.
Their new 1968 Mercury Cougar was first taken through a full ‘frame-off’ restoration, where she received a completely new floor pan and transmission tunnel. The car itself had to be in perfect shape for what Ringbrothers had in mind … installing a massive Ford Coyote 5.0-Liter, V8 engine delivering 460 hp coupled to a Ford F-150 Raptor sourced, 10-speed automatic transmission, complete with paddle-shifters.
To keep all this extra power safe, Ringbrothers added a DSE suspension, performance brakes and a stunning set of HRE Series C1 C103 Forged 3-Piece wheels wearing top of the line Michelin tires, the thunder is brought to the outside world through a a custom Flowmaster exhaust.
A classic 1968 Mercury Cougar usually needs new or redone bright-work, Ringbrothers installed a new bumper, new grille (remember these flip up to unveil the headlights, and this mechanism usually needs a lot of work during restoration) … and to really make that dark green BASF paint come out perfectly, all badges are new too.
This was the first time Ringbrothers took on the project of a Cougar, and while they would have loved to showcase their work at the SEMA Show, this unfortunately couldn’t happen at this point in time, but Mike Ring, co-owner of Ringbrothers, hopes they can have their latest masterpiece on display to the public soon.
