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.
It might seem obtuse of me to begin this new column on car restoration with a well-targeted shot across the bow – but nonetheless, I’m taking aim and firing.
The day started like any other. Wake up, coffee made and onto the laptop to take care of those pesky emails that roll in while we sleep. However, it quickly changed, as the imposing and rather large Rolls-Royce Cullinan whisked me across to Goodwood in chauffeur-driven fashion for a first look at the new Ghost. It’s been a long time in the making, and with the pressure of following Rolls-Royce’s most successful model ever – the original Ghost – there are big shoes to fill. On initial impression, the design is more subtle than before, yet still distinctly a Rolls-Royce. The large pantheon grill dominating the front of the car,…
The first generation of Bentley’s Bentayga didn’t do much for me at first. I think my issue was that, as a partner cog in the VAG machine, they should have learnt from Porsche’s mistakes with the straight-up-ugly original Cayenne. Then I had coffee. More specifically, I was sat on a Kensington street sipping my morning cortado, and there sat a Bentayga. Black with the large Mulliner five spoke alloy wheels (thankfully in silver).
As Twisted arrives at the ‘home of the brave’ this year, Peter J Robinson sits down with Tom Maxwell, CEO of Twisted North America to talk about the NA-V8 line-up and what it means to be bringing an icon to ‘Murica.
The DBS is a car whose name leads you into the detail of its performance, intent and form. DBS were three letters first seen in 1967 in the William Towns designed original, created to replace the, by now, rather portly DB6.
The types of car finance will vary depending on the car value, the lender and the model you’re wanting to finance. It’s therefore important to familiarise yourself with the different options available before deciding on the finance choice for you.
I can’t quite remember when the phrase ‘things used to be better’ became a fixture in my thinking. I’m 38 but feel more and more like an octogenarian when faced by the world we live in today.
Deck the halls: it was 1978 and gravel-voiced, slide-guitar-wielder Chris Rea was driving home for Christmas. Except he wasn’t. Rea had lost his license for hitting the sauce in perfectly rock-star fashion.
We arrived at the Morgan factory to find the hallowed grounds shrouded in thick Autumnal fog, the modest structures that form the iconic Malvern Wells site appearing from the misty abyss like anchored galleons.
Join us as we interview some of the worlds most prolific collectors from infancy to the collections zenith. This time we sit down with Alex Clark, founder of Bitstew to talk about his burgeoning Ferrari collection whilst he hunts down a new addition to his collection, The Ferrari Monza SP1.
As the sun rose on Saturday the 7th of September after an up and down year in the classic car world I was interested to see what the turnout and appetite would be for prestigious events such as the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace. For the uninitiated; these events consist of horribly wealthy older gentlemen with Panama hats and considerably younger partners. There appears to be an unspoken and unofficial competition each year for depth of tan, size of wristwatch and age gap betwixt partners. I quietly judged this year’s winner to be an American fellow in his eighties who was a deeply nurtured shade of mahogany whilst…
It has been proclaimed in many instances throughout history that when two worlds collide, a star is born. Whilst the physicist in me knows that this statement is not scientifically accurate, there couldn’t be a more suitable description for a project of this nature coming to fruition – enter the Jack Barclay and Huntsman Bentley Bentayga. Jack Barclay shouldn’t require an introduction. The iconic dealership in Mayfair can even afford to drop the automotive brand name without ever worrying about ambiguity. Regardless, their showroom designs continue to evolve as they constantly seek to improve the patron experience; such is the commitment to customer service from the oldest Bentley showroom on…
It had been almost a decade since I strapped into a Ferrari for anything other than a brisk weekend jaunt. In reverse order, The Ferrari 488 Pista in San Francisco, the F12 Berlinetta and GTC4Lusso in Vancouver, and the 2012 California 30 in the Loire Valley. Considering the amount of time and craftsmanship that goes into fettling a Ferrari to life, 48 hours seems like an affront to the great and the good in Maranello. Not wanting to appear obtuse, I boarded the earliest train from Cheltenham bound for the ‘Welsh Riviera’ to seek out the Ferrari Portofino. Ideally to ‘take her a prize’.
In a world of multi-billion pound, purpose-built motorsport complexes, bejewelled with high-end boutiques and luxury accommodation; Croft is a decidedly more down-to-earth, quintessentially Yorkshire-type affair. There’s no dedicated in-house driver development facilities or state-of-the-art media suites, but there’s always a cracking cup of tea on-hand, and all the folk are dead nice. Situated near Darlington, Croft is a circuit that’s particularly close to my heart.