New Digital Car

Jumat, 04 Juli 2014

Wow 60s Batmobile sells for £2.6m

There was a gentler time in Batman's fictional history; a time when he was a friendly, podgy, ham-fisted investigator more concerned with disco dancing than Gotham's apocalypse. Oh, and he didn't drive a modified tank either.
It was of course, the Batman of the 1960s. And this past weekend, one of television's - and popular culture's - most sacred automotive cows was sacrificed by its creator and owner to a very lucky (and wealthy) collector.
Ladies and gentlemen, the very first, original 1960s Batmobile - the Batmobile used in the iconic telly series - has sold at auction for an astonishing £2.6 million ($4.2m).
A gentleman named Rick Champagne who lives in Arizona, purchased the vehicle over the weekend at the Barrett Jackson auction, after some spirited bidding. "It was a dream come true," he noted.
It's easily the most famous television car in history, starting out life as a Lincoln Futura concept car from 1955. Car customiser George Barris bought the concept from Ford for just $1, and following a meeting with Batman telly producer William Dozier, was given a budget of $15,000 and 15 days to come up with the ‘Batmobile'.

Suffice to say, he did pretty good. More mature readers of TopGear.com may remember the car came with such awesome gadgetry including the Batcomputer, smoke screen, emergency Bat turn lever, a Batphone, Detect-a-scope, and of course, that rear rocket thruster.
There was also a 6.4-litre (390 cubic inch) Ford V8 with an auto gearbox underneath, though we suspect the power output was a little shy of the 400bhp Chevy V8 used for the most recent Dark Knight's ride, the Tumbler.

"The car had to be a star on its own," Barris noted before the auction. That much is clear.
What's also clear, is the enduring awesomeness of the Ferrari 250 GT. Because elsewhere in auction-land this past weekend, a pair of GTs - SWB and LWB - sold at separate auctions for over $8m each.
A 1958 250 GT LWB California Spider sold for a whopping $8.25m (£5.2m), offered up by Gooding & Company, while a few miles away, RM Auctions sold a red 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione for $8.14m (£5.1m), a world record for this type of 250.
Oh, and to top it all off, the first 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray - which only got its world premiere last week in Detroit - sold at Barrett Jackson's auction for $1.1m (£692k).
Have a click through the pics and tell us below - which is your favourite Batmobile? Don't forget, we've had a hotride in the Tumbler from The Dark Knight Rises...

Jumat, 27 Juni 2014

News car with First drive: the Ferrari California T

So er, why?
Well, when you drive it, things become clear. For a start, lag is inconsequential at anywhere above 2500rpm. When you go peacefully in the upper gears, the things works like a normal turbo engine. You just surf along relaxedly on a wave of torque. And save gallons of fuel. But when you drop gears and drive with a bit of passion, you have to concentrate, use the right gear, and use the throttle with determination. Then you get that lovely feeling of more and more urge coming as the needle passes each notch on the rev-counter's circumference.
Still, sounds like a bit of an artificial game
Well yes, but driving is artificial innit? It's called character. If you want instant, silent, level torque, go drive an electric car. The other thing is, with torque limited in the lower gears, it's much easier to meter out the effort at the rear wheels. Anyone who's driven an AMG SL will be very familiar with the blinking of the traction light. Or the eye-widening jolt of sudden oversteer if you switch it out. In the Cali T, things are easier to control. But still, if you travel to 7500rpm, its blisteringly rapid. Ferrari says it'll do 0-62 in 3.6 seconds, and 0-125 in 11.2. Which from where I sit is both entirely believable and very much not hanging about.
And the sound?
Well the variety of sound effects isn't as wide as Ferrari's NA V8's, but it has a fruity and musical quality. And the fact it's quieter isn't at all a bad thing in what's supposed to be an everyday GT car. It does a bit of a cackle on gearshifts in sport mode. But in the end I wanted more vocals when I was really going for it.
This is a Ferrari. If I wondered before about the turbo engine, I was never worried about the chassis
Indeed. It's got amazing traction, heaps of grip and wonderful composure. But for a car that'll be driven as a GT, I think the steering is either a bit too quick (likely), or not progressively weighted (less likely). Whatever, I found myself taking too many corners in a series of bites not a smooth arc. And I spoke to others who found the same. Nor is there anything like the delicious steering feedback of the other Ferraris. Actually the best thing about the chassis is the amazing ride. Despite all that control, the way the car absorbs both big road-turbulence and little pineapple-textured roughness is a revelation, and a real asset for a GT.

Looks better too...
Yup. Every panel is new except the roof and glazing. The sides are maybe still a little overdone, but the designers have done a great job on the tail, killing that old tall pinched look and drawing it down to the road.
And inside?
Big change: a new satnav/ents system at very long last. TBH it has glitches, but they say it's still in beta. Also, they're due to add Apple CarPlay soon. In other interior news, you'll note a fresh dash and seats, looking good and working well, plus some slightly dodgy plastics (probably included as standard so as to nudge you into upgrading to expensive optional carbonfibre decor). Very nice aromatic leather. Low turbulence with the roof off. Half decent boot even roof down.
The boring numbers?
Price is £154,490, CO2 is 250g/km. The former number much like the old California, the latter some 49g/km better. And it's not like no-one bought the old Cali; it was one of the best-selling Ferraris ever, even though it attracted a bit of derision from hardcore fans.
OK, if the old one was sneered at, is this one the real Ferrari deal?
Hmmm. Well I felt like I was driving a Ferrari with very thick gloves on and earplugs in. It feels rather remote for a Ferrari, even if it's more engaging than an SL. Maranello's marketers would no doubt argue that this muted character is appropriate for their everyday car. But the FF is for everyday, and that's a wonderful sensory experience.

California T. T for...?
Turbo. But you knew that, because the idea of turbos on a Ferrari engine is such a revolution that there's been an avalanche of advance hype and uninformed opinion. How would a Ferrari be if it had to do without sky-high revs, scalpel-sharp throttle response and an unmuffled scream?

So what's your opinion, informed as it now is by a drive?
That a turbo engine is just about right for a car like the California, a fast suave effortless GT.
Any old turbo engine?
Nope. Ferrari has done some clever stuff. And it does meet the aims above: little lag, nice noise, and torque that rises with revs.

How they do that?
It's an all-new 3,855cc V8 of a stonking 560bhp, power that's enough to see off that pesky AMG SL63. The engine is nothing to do with the Maserati Quattroporte's unit by the way. It's extremely compact, and tucks its turbos low down on the outboard side of each bank. They use normal anti-lag techniques: they're small, they are twin-scroll units, and the engine itself is direct injection with variable cam timing.
To make sure the thing sounds right, it has a pair of insanely complex (read: expensive) exhaust manifolds that look like a nest of vipers. This keeps each tract the same length, and from that issues sweet harmonics.
And as for the torque business, well the engine is capable of 557lb ft in seventh gear, over a range of 2500-5500rpm. But in first, second and third, the torque is limited at low revs to about 410lb ft, and then rises towards a peak at 6000 - just like a normally aspirated engine. (The curves for fourth, fifth and sixth are progressively more like the one for seventh). This sounded a bit silly to me at first - why limit the performance of an engine with a rampant horse on the red-painted heads?

Jumat, 20 Juni 2014

News Car We Can chat with Ferrari CEO Felisa

Ferrari's engineers really do bleed rosso corsa, and when you've got something like the 458's 4.5-litre V8 on your CV, you can hardly blame them for being antsy about forced induction. With its complex exhaust manifold, equal length tracts, and variable torque management, they couldn't have tried harder to create a new turbo unit that summons up all the blood and thunder of a ‘normal' free-revving Ferrari engine.
Does it work? Absolutely. The noise isn't quite as compelling, the 7500rpm scream is more muted, and the rush, whistle and hiss of the turbo sounds odd at first issuing from a Ferrari. The steering is too fast for me personally, but the rest of the car is supremely well-balanced, the ride quality is almost spookily good (latest gen magnetic dampers), and the ceramic brakes are the best I've ever tried. It is a brilliant achievement.

When I tell Felisa it's the most ‘polished' Ferrari I've ever driven, his brow crumples. ‘But it is still a Ferrari,' he replies, rhetorically. ‘I don't know this word "polished"...'
Oh God. Back pedal or push on? ‘Er, yes. Amazingly smooth. For a Ferrari. Especially the way it rides.' I'm not sure Felisa really wants to discuss his new car's ride quality. ‘And the engine?'
We agree that the turbo lends itself to the California's more cultured GT character. Replicating the 458's other-worldy harmonic range with forced induction will be more of a challenge, I offer, assuming Ferrari's next mid-engined V8 will, too, be turbocharged. Felisa smiles broadly, confidently. ‘We are working on it. You will see.'
What they are categorically not working on, though, is filling the void that has opened up below the £154,490 that this allegedly ‘entry-level' Ferrari now costs. (Twenty years ago, the F355 was £84,000. Inflation, eh?)
Unlike, say, Porsche, Ferrari has zero interest in chasing volume, and protects its exclusivity at all costs. This is a car company that manages to be highly profitable selling fewer than 7000 cars per year.
So, no matter how much you and I might like the idea, there will be no new Dino. The FF is the closest Ferrari will get to an SUV, despite the bounty that surely awaits there. If you want a truly entry-level Ferrari, buy a used 360 Modena.
In the background, there's the unmistakeable whir of chopper blades. Helicopter for Mr Felisa, taxi for Top Gear...

It's a three-hour drive from Maranello to Bagnaia, in Tuscany. But if you're the CEO of Ferrari, there's always the helicopter. It's a mere 30 minutes that way.

Few top company bosses would bother gracing a new product launch - in this case the California T - with their presence, much less take the time to talk to half a dozen journalists one by one.
But Amedeo Felisa, the engineer at the heart of Ferrari's recent renaissance, really is hands-on, and he also really wants to know what Top Gear thinks of his car. I've been in several Felisa Ferrari debriefs, and it's odd having the tables turned.
Cash-rich and riding a remarkable product wave (we'll leave Formula One out of this, for the time being), you'd think Ferrari would be bursting at the seams with superhuman confidence. Turns out they're human, like the rest of us.
Just as 2008's California was a slightly nervy step into virgin territory, 2014's reboot is significant not for its more approachable character and folding roof but for its all-new, more emissions-friendly downsized turbocharged engine. This is a very big deal indeed.

Jumat, 13 Juni 2014

News Wallpapers: F12 vs Aventador vs Vanquish Wow Amazings

Read the story here and then decorate your desktop with the finest V12s from Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin by scrolling through the pics above, clicking the size that takes your fancy and add it to your computery devices background.

With this in mind, we felt obliged to organise a gentle road trip in celebration of the finest V12 supercars currently on sale: the Ferrari F12, Lamborghini Aventador and Aston Martin Vanquish. So we headed to Scotland for a 36-cylinder shoot-out that may or may not've depleted the Highlands of its petrol. Tough day in the office, we know.

It's a fact. The end of the naturally aspirated V12 supercar will soon be upon us. With lawmakers' grip on engine emissions tightening by the day, it won't be long before the pure beauty of big, high compression, high horsepower V12s will be a thing of the past. Boo