21B

Bonjour, I’m alive!

Lance McMinn — Tue, 16 May 2017 10:37:49 +0000

Damn, it’s been a while since my last post. Time has just flown and I have been swamped by the concrete jungle’s undergrowth. But there has been highlights including attending my first F1 Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia. What an event, easy access, great food, no liquor ban zones and no queues, except to get on transport at the end but hey we walked back to town. The best event I have ever attended and even the wife was pleasantly surprised with the day out in the sun to watch the rapid new F1 cars. They could be louder, as it would make them appear as quick as they are. But then again it does make it more family friendly – easier on the ears for the little petrolheads. The way they carry speed through corners is just mind bending. The season is shaping up as a classic with Vettel and Hamilton leading the charge to the championship.

The WRC has also been absolutely fantastic and the new era cars have continued to dish up the drama. Neuville looks like a genuine threat to Ogier for the championship. Meeke has the pace but mistakes have cost him dearly and his season is becoming one to forget, although there is still a long way to go. Ekstrom leads the World Rallycross championship in his Audi but the Volkswagen boys aren’t far behind with Kristoffersson winning the latest round in Belgium. This series is really growing and the platform is great entertainment. Hopefully, Loeb can turn up the wick and get back to winning ways.

That’s it for me for now and I’ll be making more effort to get race reports up, starting with the Portugal Rally this weekend. Until next time I’ll leave you with a link to Chris Harris driving the new Porsche GT3! Damn, I want one.

Harris and the La Ferrari FXX K

Lance McMinn — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 20:35:14 +0000

Dam this red stallion is mad. Chris and Neil serve up another great video for us to enjoy here. I’ll let the motion pictures do the talking and just listen to the beast!

ALPINE DREAM

Lance McMinn — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 10:42:32 +0000

The Geneva motor show 2017 turned in some stunners. Including the Pagani Hyuara Roadster that I earlier drooled upon, Ferrari 812 Superfast, Mclaren 720S, Audi RS5, RUF Yellowbird, new 911 GT3 and Peugeot Instinct Concept. But my favourite of the show is the new Alpine 110. A light, small and quick mid-engined sports car that looks gorgeous and is obtainable (88k NZD for the launch Premiere model, of which all 1955 are already sold). It is the looks of both the exterior and interior that have me excited. The aesthetics of the car have not been sacrificed for aerodynamics that make many a modern cars bodywork look gnarly. The interior also just looks right and the seats are crazy cool. They have concentrated on saving weight instead of just pumping in more horsepower to overcome gravity. You can check out a video by EVO’s Dan Prosser, who talks with Alpine’s chief engineer, David Twohig, to find out more about this wonderful new French beauty here.

Camilo Pardo Ford GT

Lance McMinn — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 02:01:16 +0000

I do love the FORD GT and especially with that ugly rear bumper removed. Still vividly remember seeing a yellow with black stripes example parked up in Santa Monica. They look awesome in the flesh. Camilo Pardo the lead designer on the Ford GT is a cool cat and a passionate GT enthusiast who in his own words “I’ve spent a lot years designing cars and it doesn’t always come full circle. It is an automotive designers goal and dream.”

Enjoy, and thanks to Petrolicious for another excellent flick. L:-]

Bruce Mclaren

Lance McMinn — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 09:33:14 +0000

Finally, a film to tell the story of our very own motorsport legend Bruce Mclaren. The first trailer for the upcoming docudrama was released today. The film comes from director Roger Donaldson who knows a thing or two about shooting flying Kiwis – with previous films Smash Palace and the Worlds fastest Indian. The project has the blessing of the family who worked with the film-makers. Sadly, widow Patty Mclaren passed away from cancer before completion of the film. There is no release date yet but I will keep you posted.

SWEDE THING

Lance McMinn — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 01:17:50 +0000

Round two of the WRC dealt up another fantastic event with plenty of spills and thrills.

Again Neuville set the pace early and looked on course for victory, yet it seems lightning does indeed strike twice. Poor Thierry clipped a barrier in the super stage to put himself out of contention. This left the door open for the surprise package of the season in the Toyota Gazoo Yaris and veteran Latvala. A superb drive in the morning loop of the final day put to rest any hope for Tanak to claim a maiden top spot on the podium. Ogier had a mixed bagged of a Rally and again had a few uncharacteristic mistakes but another podium keeps the championship retention rolling. Meeke and Citroen were again in the gutter and the Northern Irishman was as unhappy as a Frenchman being bugged for directions to the Eifel tower from a Yankee. His pal Breen though again flew under the radar and finished 5th in his first outing in the new car. Paddon admitted that early on he struggled to put the Monte mishap behind him but felt better by day two and if he hadn’t had a power steering failure might have finished higher than 7th.

The new cars continue to excite and the fans are coming out in force to enjoy them. The first gravel event is next up in Mexico and you can bet it will be another humdinger!

Horacio, Horacio, Horacio…

Lance McMinn — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 01:32:24 +0000

Horacio, Horacio, Horacio, you continue to blow my mind. The New Pagani Huayra Roadster has been revealed and… wow just look at it and try not to drool all over the place.

It is not only gorgeous but a rocket ship, able to achieve 1.8G of lateral force. Powering this extreme performance machine is the Mercedes-AMG M158 engine specifically designed for Pagani and pumping out 764 horsepower and 1000nm of torque. A new seven-speed automated manual transmission from X-Track and electronically controlled diff have been tasked with getting the might to tires from Pirelli that have been developed just for the Huyara roadster.

With the use of its carbo-titanium technology Pagani have managed to make the roadster about 80kg lighter than the Coupe, while also increasing torsional flexional rigidity – an incredible achievement by its own right, from a purely technical standpoint. It comes with two roofs – The first a removable carbon hard top with a central glass element which assumes the look of a coupe yet provides the unique feeling of a roadster. The second a fabric roof that can easily be installed manually and stored inside the roadster when not in use.

Every millimetre of this new Pagani is a work of art and released Valentine’s Day, it was a love letter to the automotive entusiast.

Only 100 will be made and sorry they are all sold.

“…Tutto doveva essere unico, cioè come una macchina ricavata da un blocco di marmo di Carrara…”
“…So everything had to come together as if it was a car carved out of a block of Carrara marble…”

“… la ricerca della bellezza come concetto fondamentale,
un’opera d’arte spensierata, intelligente ed in topless…”
“… the pursuit of beauty as a fundamental concept, an unbridled work of art, intelligence and open-air passion …”

Horacio Pagani

Fruka

Lance McMinn — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 00:35:17 +0000

I can attest to the glory of European roads myself after a family trip in 2015. Rory Reid from Top Gear has just launched the first video in a series of great drives. Check it out here and get planning for that trip to Switzerland.

QUAD TURBO

Lance McMinn — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 00:49:08 +0000

Following up on the Sabotage post is a video from David Cironi driving a Bugatti EB110. I wanted to post the Chris Harris video as well, but BBC has taken it down from YouTube. Both of my favourite video journalists couldn’t stop grinning. Listen to the turbos spool up.

SABOTAGE

Lance McMinn — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 00:36:10 +0000

Was the demise of one the most underrated supercars of all time the work of sabotage?

The Bugatti EB110 was a spectacular car, with a powertrain ahead of its time. The 3.5-litre quad turbo V12 at its peak in the SS model produced 604 hp @ 8250rpm and roared to 60mph in 3.2 seconds on its way to a top speed of 216mph.

Michael Schumacher bought one in 1994 which created huge publicity for the newly formed Bugatti. It was the dream of wealthy Italian businessman Romano Artioli to bring the revered marque back to life and he achieved this in 1991 when the EB110 was revealed to the world in front of the Grande Arche de la Défense in Paris, exactly 110 years after Ettore Bugatti’s birth.

A beautiful factory was built near Modena in Italy and the workforce assembled was passionate about the project and became a family which was torn apart when the Italian Government in 1995 declared bankruptcy due to failure to pay $125million in debt.

The world economy was troubled at the time and Artioli had just purchased Lotus from GM, which many considered too ambitious. But as this documentary portrays Romano believed that sabotage was at work. He points to sudden drops in orders, cars being tampered with and suppliers all of a sudden cutting ties. The documentary certainly makes a case for his theory and we may never know the truth, but it makes for a great story in the chapter of Bugatti and also sadness at what could have been. The factory still lays abandoned today and you can tell that past workers still hurt from its demise.

One of my favourite supercars ever.