Sunday, July 30, 2006

East African Motorshow

This weekend, The East African Motorshow will take place. Its touted not as a competition but a celebration of the culture of modifying vehicles to create a personal touch. In light of this I would like to pay homage to the pioneers in the field of vehicle modification

Back in the day, luxury car makers such as Rolls-Royce used to build a cars chassis and engine only, specially appointed coachbuilders built the body of the car,kinda like what happens with Matatus today, GMEA sells the Canter chassis then coachbuilders like Dodi, Sembi etc build the Matatus body to the specifications required

One such company, Pininfarina, was founded by Battista “Pinin” Farina on May 22nd 1930 in Turin. The company was designed to build special car bodies for individual customers or in small production runs. They are responsible for most of the designs of Ferraris, Alfa Romeos and the 406 coupe among others

By the way, theres a 406 Coupe in Kenya owned by some chap who works at Marshalls

Since I'm talking about personalization, let me talk abut the man before I deal with the Car



New York property magnate Peter S Kalikow is the chairman of the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (the western hemisphere's largest public transport provider, covering New York's buses, rail network and subway system),

He has amassed one of the world's finest collections of Ferraris. With badges like 330 America, 250 GT California Spider and 410 Superamerica, they're obscure, mostly from the Fifties and Sixties, and are worth tens of millions of dollars.

Now this seems like a man who has everything but NO!!! apparently Kalikow lacked a Ferrari built to his exact and very specialist requirements. To this end, he sought the involvement of Pininfarina, the result, The Ferrari 612 Kappa

First of all, the car is based on a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. This roughly £170,297 coupe has a 5.8 Litre V12 Engine with an output of 540HP which enables it move from a complete standstill to 100 Km/h in 4.2 seconds, a time slightly shorter than it will take you to read this paragraph. The car will then move on to its top speed of 320 Km/h (199mph) at the behest of its owner

This process is aided by the 6 speed manual transmission with F1 stlye paddle shifts on either side if the steering wheel

For rather obvious reasons, Kalikow did not feel the need to modify the engine

The body however has been reworked,its been done in such a fashion that you only begin to see the changes by staring at an adjacent standard car. In truth, only one panel remains unaltered - the rear bumper.


To reflect just how obsessive those modifications are, lets start with the front grille: now handcrafted from polished aluminium, recessed further back than the standard car's and with smaller vent holes. This sets the tone - a huge effort for a minimalist result.


Scaglietti



Kappa



Look across to the boot. Here you'll find a badge made up of crossed Ferrari and Pininfarina flags as on Fifties Ferraris, rather than a prancing horse.



Returning to the front of the car, the chrome-backed headlamps are a reminder of Ferraris of the same era, as is the deep scoop set into the bonnet.




"With this you'll find something nostalgic," says Paolo Garella, Pininfarina's Special Projects Manager. "We polished the very edge of it to reveal the aluminium beneath. The effect is known as a 'colpo di luce', or a ray of light."

Entry to the car is through personalized door handles.




These feature the owner's initials, psk, in the trademark Pininfarina font. These were not specified, but were added as a present by Pininfarina. If this is not enough to identify the car's initiator, there is a plaque in the door sill that explains the details even more clearly




Translated: Pininfarina Coachbuilders Special for Peter Kalikow, 2006


The car's most complex modification, and one of the hardest to pick out, resides at the rear. Thin buttresses now run down either side of the back windows, flowing towards the bootlid and providing a more hunched-forward, muscular stance.

The rear lights and their housings are altered, too, taken from an F430 and closer to those in early design sketches for the Scaglietti, but absent in the production car.




Kalikow was taken with the leather used in a 456 GT in his collection, officially unavailable from Ferrari since the early 90s, but unearthed to trim the interior of the car at his request. The extending seat bases and the pneumatically adjustable seat edges are unique features, as are three extra knurled aluminium switches that have appeared on the centre console.




The first switch swaps between a pianissimo 'town' horn and a fortissimo 'country' horn, a further retro Ferrari touch.

The second opens and closes blinds beneath the new, twin glass roof panels.




The third acts on liquid crystal elements set within the glass roof to give a variable degree of tinting. The glass' transparency can be changed from completely clear to pitch black.

The roof also houses a solar panel running up its centre,between the glass panels, which drives fans built below the parcel shelf to vent hot air out of the car when its parked in direct sunlight.

UPDATE
I recently discovered that The VW Group have been using this technology for some time now and a "solar sunroof" which even in very low sunlight, produces electricity to power the ventilator inside the vehicle using light-sensitive elements under the glass sunroof panel is available as an option on everything from an Audi A8 to a Skoda Superb

For all the discretion of Kalikow's Ferrari, a couple of CMB Prezzo type flossing stunts have sneaked in.



His signature appears on a dashboard plaque ,below the radio and there's the small matter of the car's name.

This is no longer a 612 Scaglietti, it's a 612 Kappa - Kappa being the letter in the Greek alphabet equivalent to a K; a K being the first letter on the licence plate of each of the cars in Kalikow's collection.

As mentioned before, the engine remained unaltered ,this explains why Ferrari was quick to sanction the car's existence. "Also, Mr Kalikow is a personal friend of Piero Ferrari" Garella points out. Ferrari also agreed not to copy any of the unique cues of the Kappa for future models.

As to the small matter of the, surely incredible, cost involved in the 612 Kappa's creation? "If you have to ask," Garella says, "you dont need to know"


Construction


SOURCES:
Basically pilfered from :-
-An article by Peter Grunert for www.topgear.com
-The images are from www.ultimatecarpage.com and www.topgear.com
NB:The Quote by Paolo Garella in the last paragraph is entirely a figment of my imagination
The actual exerpt from his interview with Peter Grunert was:
As to the small matter of the, surely incredible, cost involved in the 612 Kappa's creation? "You may ask," Garella says, "but this we can never disclose."

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Land Rover Freelander 2




The all-new Land Rover Freelander 2 redefines the compact premium 4x4 class. New from the ground up, Freelander 2 delivers outstanding on-road performance as well as the class-leading off-road ability of a true Land Rover. A dynamic design, purposeful stance, smart and spacious interior, and an abundance of advanced technologies complete the package.

The original Freelander (launched in 1997) is seen by many as having created a whole new class of vehicle: the compact premium 4x4. It was the top-selling 4x4 in Europe for five years and remained the UK’s best-selling 4x4 from launch until the end of 2005. The all-new Freelander 2 is improved in every way: better performance, more economical, more refined, higher quality and substantially roomier. It is more capable both off-road and on-road, with transformed handling, ride and comfort.

Freelander 2 is Land Rover’s fourth all-new vehicle in just over four years, and follows the new Range Rover (2002), Discovery 3 (2004) and Range Rover Sport (2005). Their highly successful introductions contributed to record Land Rover sales worldwide in 2005. Technical highlights of the Freelander 2 include two brand-new engines: a 3.2-litre straight-six petrol and a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel. Both feature advanced technologies to deliver outstanding combinations of performance and economy.




The 233 PS (171 kW) i6 petrol engine provides a top speed of 124 mph (200 km/h) and 0-60 mph acceleration in 8.4 seconds (0-100 km/h in 8.9 seconds). Combined fuel economy is 25.2 mpg (11.2 litres/100 km). The engine is matched to a new six-speed automatic transmission, with Land Rover’s CommandShift offering manual sequential gear changes when required. There is also a driver-selectable sport mode, for livelier performance.

Straight-six engine configurations are ideal for delivering engine smoothness, and the very compact new unit in Freelander 2 is small enough to mount transversely, a first in the compact 4x4 sector and one of the vehicle’s many innovations. The benefits of transverse fitment include improved interior package and safety performance.

The diesel engine chosen for Freelander 2 is an all-new 2.2-litre four-cylinder. The 160 PS (118 kW) unit delivers peak torque of 400 Nm (295 lb ft), with over 200 Nm (148 lb ft) of torque from 1000 rpm all the way to 4500 rpm. The engine is easy and responsive to drive, as well as highly refined and economical, with a combined average fuel consumption of 37.7 mpg (7.5 l/100 km). An optional catalysed Diesel Particulate Filter (cDPF) is also available for even cleaner performance. Two transmissions are offered: a new six-speed manual gearbox and the same six-speed automatic used on the petrol engine (diesel auto available from spring 2007).

The interior package of Freelander 2 is a major improvement over the outgoing vehicle. Although only 50 mm longer, the Freelander 2 has more generous head, shoulder and legroom, in both the front and rear. Large glass areas emphasise the spacious feel and complement the elevated ‘command driving’ position – a Land Rover hallmark – and ‘stadium seating’, where rear passengers sit slightly higher than front occupants, for a clearer view of the world outside. Boot space is also among the best in class and 38 per cent larger than that of the outgoing Freelander (with rear seats up – 755 litres vs 546 litres).






The exterior and interior design of Freelander 2 is completely fresh, integrating the company’s unique design language with a form that is instantly recognisable as the latest Land Rover. The body is a five-door monocoque structure, with a high level of torsional rigidity which benefits refinement, comfort and handling on-road as well as ensuring the vehicle is fit for serious off-roading. The suspension is fully independent and uses the most modern stability control systems, including Roll Stability Control (RSC), a new and sophisticated technology that helps mitigate the risk of roll-over.

The Freelander 2 is packed with new technologies to improve both on-road and off-road performance, many new to the class. Land Rover’s unique Terrain Response is standard on all but the entry-level model, to make off-roading easier. Other interesting technologies include a new full-time intelligent 4x4 system for superior traction and better on-road fuel economy, and the patented Gradient Release Control, which improves driver confidence and control when releasing the brakes on steep and slippery slopes.

Other features and options rare in this class include: keyless starter button, bi-xenon headlamps, adaptive front lighting, rain-sensing wipers and park distance control (front and rear). A two-part panoramic sunroof increases the cabin’s airiness: air-conditioning is standard on all models and a full colour touch-screen DVD satellite navigation system is also available. The choice of top-level audio systems includes DAB digital radio and 12-speaker Dolby Prologic IIx Surround Sound with fibre-optic interconnects. An auxiliary audio connection (for iPods and MP3 players) is standard on all vehicles

SOURCE: www.ultimatecarpage.com