Ciao Ferrari

RECYCLE

Forget about fancy stuff... this is what matters.

More pencil stuff...

Pencil sketches

Cockpit cut views of the interior

Organic Supercars

Nowadays a Ferrari can average 21.5 MPG and distress birds with less than 300g of CO2 / km . This is great in theory , but the legitimate question is is that really necessary?

Let’s put it this way : you are a middle aged millionaire looking for new sensations , you die your hair on a monthly basis and you are bored of going to the golf course in your S Klasse Merc . This means that you are looking for a super-car , preferably orange with red brake calipers , to make you feel younger. Would you care about the mileage ?.. Nope.

People who buy super-cars should theoretically afford to satisfy the car’s petroholic needs. You don’t buy a Ferrari because it has a better fuel consumption than a Polo , you buy it because you are a real petrolhead , because you would rather go for a hill climb than for a date with Kate Moss…( the only reason I gave this example is because I’m pretty sure I will never date Kate Moss and I’m jealous ).

Anyway, the point is nobody really cares about the mileage of a super-car , unless they have really bad dreams about the recession …or they are greenheads . Today eco is cool, a Prius would definitely compensate for a small…house and a hybrid Lexus would surely make you look like a responsible businessman . But why would a super-car be environmentally friendly ? It’s like putting sugar on Indian food to make it less spicy…it’s pointless . The percentage of super-cars is also fairly small compared to the percentage of buses , planes , factories , old bangers and so on. Most people get into their exotic rides just a few times a year and this does no harm to the environment what so ever. Actually , we get more pollution from Golfs than we get from super-cars , so why make engineers think about saving the planet when we shall let them think about technical perfection , performance and art. We didn’t burn Degas’ Nudes , just because they weren’t portraits of monks , instead we considered them really good art. It’s the same with cars…you can’t blame a Veyron of not being a Smart .

Man is capable of doing great things and man proved that cars can be art . We had the Bugatti Royale , the Gullwing Merc , the Ferrari 250 GTO , the DB4 , the Miura , Stratos , E-type ,F40, Speedster and so on . Building a great car is definitely art and we should let the artists do their jobs and the public enjoy their work . We do not want a MP4-12C Mclaren, we want the real deal , we want the F1 . Art is about not having to deal with constraints like yet another CO2 government policy or ecologists’ protest .

When I look at the latest range of super-cars like the Aventador , 458 , 12C even the SLS I just don’t get over excited . I’m 19 and I’d rather have a DB4 Zagatto than a DBS . And that’s because new cars lack passion and soul . Even the names are just random mixtures of codes and numbers. My drilling machine has a nicer name than the new Ferrari or Mclaren . What happened to the Diablo , Daytona or Lagonda ? There’s no teenage boy nowadays that would stick a poster of a new Lambo on his walls , because he’ll surely prefer a poster of Snoop Dogg instead. And I can’t blame them .

The New Aston Martin Zagato

It’s supposed to be a tribute brought to the 50^th anniversary of the old DB 4 Zagato , one of the most beautiful and exclusive cars ever made .Only 25 Zagatos were built in the 60s and that means that 50 years later they turned into some of the greatest auction stars , with prices going up from one million pounds . The new one is pretty similar to the oldie in two ways : looks and price .

All car enthusiasts are aware of the racing Zagato , presented earlier this year and let’s be honest…it looks absolutely fantastic . The good thing is that the road going version will look exactly the same. The bad thing is that it will also cost a lot. 300 000 pounds for an exotic , limited edition Vantage is a bit too much…way too much . But then , we are talking Astons, which are not really renowned for offering good value for money ( they sell a Toyota IQ for thirty grand…). That’s why there’s no point in comparing this car to the equivalent cheaper and probably better Ferrari . It should be instead compared to a painting or to the statue of a naked Renessaince lady , because what Aston Martin try to do with the Zagato is not just a car , but some sort of art…and art should be expensive in order to be attractive .

But is this relevant in these diesel powered recession times? Probably not, but that’s exactly the main characteristic of art: the crazy lack of utility and common sense . Plus , only 150 will be made and they’ll probably sell them anyway .

TECHNICAL DATA

* 6.0 litre V12 ( 510 bhp / 420 lb torque )

* hand built aluminum and carbon fibre body

* independent wishbone suspension with adaptive dampers

* aluminium chassis

Seeking Motoring Perfection - The Citroen DS

The modern car has begun with the Citroen DS. It was, back in 1955 when it was launched, the first mass production car to get front power disc brakes…It also had independent suspension , power steering , fuel injection , semi-automatic gearbox , a hydropneumatic suspension that allowed it to magically modify its ground clearance and headlamps that would follow the corners .

It was an immense technical achievement and in its first day of display at the Paris Motor Show , more than 12 000 were ordered . It’s no wonder that in its 20 years of production one and a half million people bought a new one, turning it into one of the most successful car models ever made . It was this very car that turned Citroen into a big name, not only because it was so innovative but mostly because it actually worked . The hydraulic suspension meant that it was comfortable, a good characteristic when cruising down the post World War II roads. It also handled well for a car of that time and the range of engines could provide enough power to make any ride enjoyable . The roof was made out of fiberglass to facilitate weight transfer and the different wheel size meant that the quite large executive saloon wouldn’t understeer.

And then there’s the look… Flaminio Bertoni , the Italian sculptor designed it and passed the sketches to Andre Lefebvre , who was an aeronautical engineer . The result was a beautifully shaped yet aerodynamic body, in a time when most people would consider aerodynamics a form of heresy. Everybody loved the curvy shape that perfectly embodied stile and practicality and , as a result , a large number of film directors included it in their productions .

The DS quickly turned into a symbol , a symbol that was to define Citroen’s personality. After the DS , a buyer would expect every Citroen to be innovative , beautiful , sexy , standing at the limit between common sense and madness . Did the French manufacturer ever rise to the DS standards? Probably not…