A one-off Bentley Continental Azure styled around the heritage R-Type Continental Fastback, celebrating its 70th anniversary and adorned with the plate, JAS 949. Bentley is a formidable force nowadays, breaking into 2023 with perhaps what is their strongest-ever lineup.
Much like many who frequent the Louvre, I came to view some art. Automotive art, to be specific. This year’s RM Sotheby’s Paris auction was held at the Les Salles de Carrousel, just mere feet below the glass pyramids of the iconic Parisian gallery. RM Sotheby’s had plenty of classic and contemporary pieces for me to drool over, but I had my eye on something one of a kind: The one-of-one Bugatti Chiron Profilée.
The first Range Rover prototype broke cover in 1969, code-named: Velar. Its appeal was instant, combining permanent 4-wheel drive, a split tailgate and elegant modern design. Whilst I would have preferred to have owned the original three-door Range, the four-door iteration released in 1981 boasted all the nostalgia I craved.
“Look at that subtle colouring. The tasteful thickness.” The inspiration for the Rolls-Royce ateliers? That of haute couture from the likes of John Varvatos, Alexander McQueen, Yohji Yamamoto and Ann Demeulemeester. Ultimately, the darker aesthetic establishes a strong presence without detracting from the car’s silhouette.
Launched in May, the Range Rover Sport enters its third iteration. With it comes a sense that it has always been there. It fits. I mean, for many of the younger generation, it actually has always been there.
Finished in a hue not dissimilar to Audi’s Nardo Grey, the Ferox-T cuts a mean silhouette. Inside, one is introduced to the Italian side of this curious combo, but an interior that is certainly one that could be classed as luxury. Through the use of high-grade materials and the liberal application of them; the cabin feels as special inside as the outside does rugged.
I will always remember the first glimpse I had of Lake Como. I was coming from Milan and just remember seeing a glint of sunshine bounce off the Lake as I approached. I was fixated on this mammoth lake that consisted of some of the clearest water I had ever seen, cosseted in between the Italian hills.
Let’s be reasonable; JLR have sold 1.2 million of the things since the launch in 1989. They’re vastly popular, account for a huge slice of the 4×4 pie globally, and will drive over almost anything and anyone.
We all know that the motorcycling community is a tight-knit group. Endless hours tinkering in the garage, ordering new parts online and chatting with our mates about the quirky little things we’re currently doing to show our passion for the freedom of riding a motorbike. It’s what bonds us all together.
Fresh from four days in Scotland driving the simply astonishing Ferrari F8 Spider, there are times in one’s life where you have to sit back, take some time, and genuinely let an experience wash over you. You need to take it in. Revel in it. The smells, the sights, the sheer visceral nature of it.
The grandfather of the segment is the Land Rover Range Rover. Not the Range Rover Sport, not the Velar, not even the Discovery. The full fat, bonnet at shoulder height, wafting armchair that is the Range Rover.
There’s something of a ruckus going on in classic car circles at the moment. There’s a growing breed of restorers who, rather than returning vehicles to their former glory, are daring to try to improve them and add modernity of design and technology.
As spring arrives in the UK, it marks six months since we started to plan the fettling of our Discovery 3 into a daily workhorse. The winter months were beginning to thaw and other than the cold, stark realisation that some of the six glow plugs might need replacing, all was well.
As far as statements of intent go, it doesn’t get any grander or more opulent than the Boat Tail. Having been sent the pre reveal press literature, I have spent an almost alarming time since, perusing over every detail, over every curve, every fixture, every decision taken, every whim that was answered.
There is sometimes a theme in automotive tests, where, for want of entertainment, a concept is created, one that rarely showcases any usable information on the car in question. ‘We hooked a caravan to the Urus and entered the Harewood Hillclimb’. I mean, what in the hell is that telling the intended purchaser? Unless it’s an Airstream, and the hill climb is actually the Tete de Chien, it’s normally well wide of the mark.
The story goes, after an all-conquering 1988/89 F1 season for McLaren the solitary blot on an impeccable record that was the loss to Ferrari in Italy frustrated the Technical Director, Gordon Murray, into action. At the airport on the way home, Murray pitched a plan to make a road car to the boss, Ron Dennis.
Whether the grid of challengers will be able to break Hamilton and Mercedes dominance, only time will tell. One thing is for sure, that simply hearing the name, Aston Martin, in commentary; one can’t help but think Formula 1 could be heading back to its former glory.
I scanned the horizon of the Finnish race circuit but Charlie was possibly doing a few laps in the 500hp V8 110. “Let me see if I can find him Tony”. “Cool man”. This was the first of a handful of semi awkward exchanges I would have with Tony Hawk that week as we crossed from Finland into Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Austria and Monaco.
Phil Hanson, Asian Le Mans Series Champion in 2016, youngest overall Le Mans 24 Hour racer in 2017, débuted at Daytona in 2018. I’m not sure what Hanson achieved in 2019, presumably turning water into wine. But in 2020, in a year so tumultuous that governments fell, Hanson has taken the holy grail of motorsport. A win at Le Mans in the LMP2 series. What’s next, stigmata?
It’s been six years since we last drove a McLaren away from the MTS in Woking. It was a 650S with pearl white metallic elite paintwork and carbon black alcantara interior. That’s light years for McLaren. It’s the time difference equivalent of the Neptunes and Miles Davis.