And there I was, thinking I might have to buy a replacement:
Despite what I said about it before, this would have done nicely.
Showing posts with label sports cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports cars. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Automobilis Repari!
Following on from the last post, the Ricardipus-mobile is now fixed. It's like magic: throw a wad of cash at it, and hey presto! it becomes repaired even while you're not there to see it happen.
And there I was, thinking I might have to buy a replacement:
Despite what I said about it before, this would have done nicely.
And there I was, thinking I might have to buy a replacement:
Despite what I said about it before, this would have done nicely.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
12 hours on Saturday
Question: Is it possible, being a member of a family of four, each with busy schedules, as well as being piled under a variety of different work assignments, to watch or otherwise pay attention to almost all of a 12-hour car race on television on a weekend?
A: Apparently yes, but it requires the use of multiple technologies.
And so the 57th running of the American Le Mans Series Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is over, having occupied most of Saturday's daylight hours and a good chunk of the night as well. And yes, by employing a complicated dance involving running up and down the stairs, laptop in hand for the live scoring and timing updates, and switching to internet radio feed when necessary (like, for example, when Speed TV inexplicably saw fit to go away from coverage for a couple of hours of NASCAR qualifying in the middle), I actually managed to stay in touch with almost all of the race.
Which, as it turned out, was epic. The new LMP1 class Acura prototypes were fast, but had a number of reliability issues resulting in them falling out of contention, whereas one class down in LMP2, last year's Lowe's Fernandez Acura ARX-01b was reliable, steady and fast, finishing first in its class and beating the pants off a couple of also-unreliable Mazda/Lola coupes fielded by Dyson Racing, who have switched from the Porsches they ran last year.
But the real drama was up in LMP1, a battle royal between the new Audi R15 and updated Peugeot 908 turbo-diesel monsters, with the veteran Audi crew of Dindo Capello, Allan McNish and "Mr. Le Mans" Tom Kristensen eventually prevailing.
And, as in previous years, down in the GT2 class there was another battle shaping up, with the slightly updated red Ferrari F430 eventually walking away from the Porsche teams, and the five-year-old Panoz Esperante fending off a late Porsche challenge to grab third in class.
It's the first time I've watched this race around what is essentially part of an airport in Florida, and it was hugely entertaining - very high cornering speeds, horrendously bumpy track, and most importantly, a good, solidly-contested event with no dirty business at all (although one of the Flying Lizard Porsches might disagree, having been slightly punted by the Panoz with an hour or so left to race). Congratulations also to the Robertson Racing Ford GT in its attractive new red-and-gray livery, which qualified a very respectable fifth in GT2, finally finishing in seventh after being collected in a collision partway through the race. A much better result than last year at Mosport, where the car unfortunately spent most of the time relaxing with its feet up.
And so, where does this leave me? Well, I did manage to get some work done on the laptop during all of this, and didn't totally abandon my family. Now Sunday's here, I've still got lots to do, the weather's a bit chilly for yard work, and because I wasn't in Florida yesterday I don't have a raftload of photos from the race to edit, like I did from the race in late August last year.
Next up: St. Petersburg, on April the fourth. I'm already planning my viewing strategy.
A: Apparently yes, but it requires the use of multiple technologies.
And so the 57th running of the American Le Mans Series Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is over, having occupied most of Saturday's daylight hours and a good chunk of the night as well. And yes, by employing a complicated dance involving running up and down the stairs, laptop in hand for the live scoring and timing updates, and switching to internet radio feed when necessary (like, for example, when Speed TV inexplicably saw fit to go away from coverage for a couple of hours of NASCAR qualifying in the middle), I actually managed to stay in touch with almost all of the race.
Which, as it turned out, was epic. The new LMP1 class Acura prototypes were fast, but had a number of reliability issues resulting in them falling out of contention, whereas one class down in LMP2, last year's Lowe's Fernandez Acura ARX-01b was reliable, steady and fast, finishing first in its class and beating the pants off a couple of also-unreliable Mazda/Lola coupes fielded by Dyson Racing, who have switched from the Porsches they ran last year.
But the real drama was up in LMP1, a battle royal between the new Audi R15 and updated Peugeot 908 turbo-diesel monsters, with the veteran Audi crew of Dindo Capello, Allan McNish and "Mr. Le Mans" Tom Kristensen eventually prevailing.
And, as in previous years, down in the GT2 class there was another battle shaping up, with the slightly updated red Ferrari F430 eventually walking away from the Porsche teams, and the five-year-old Panoz Esperante fending off a late Porsche challenge to grab third in class.
It's the first time I've watched this race around what is essentially part of an airport in Florida, and it was hugely entertaining - very high cornering speeds, horrendously bumpy track, and most importantly, a good, solidly-contested event with no dirty business at all (although one of the Flying Lizard Porsches might disagree, having been slightly punted by the Panoz with an hour or so left to race). Congratulations also to the Robertson Racing Ford GT in its attractive new red-and-gray livery, which qualified a very respectable fifth in GT2, finally finishing in seventh after being collected in a collision partway through the race. A much better result than last year at Mosport, where the car unfortunately spent most of the time relaxing with its feet up.
And so, where does this leave me? Well, I did manage to get some work done on the laptop during all of this, and didn't totally abandon my family. Now Sunday's here, I've still got lots to do, the weather's a bit chilly for yard work, and because I wasn't in Florida yesterday I don't have a raftload of photos from the race to edit, like I did from the race in late August last year.
Next up: St. Petersburg, on April the fourth. I'm already planning my viewing strategy.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
We now return you to your regularly-scheduled, non-automobile-related, programming.
I've been a bit absent recently... busy, among other things, editing around a hundred or so shots from the Canadian International Autoshow, which I attended for the first time ever (believe it or not) about a week ago. I'll avoid deluging you with all of them, but in my usual style I'll hand out a few arbitrary and tongue-in-cheek awards.
Nicest presentation
The Lamborghini display. They had their cars up on a low podium, eliminating the need for silly barriers and ropes that get in the way of photography. Here's an LP 640 roadster, staring you down. The white LP 560 roadster at the top of the post was right next to it.
Biggest surprise
A Ferrari 288 GTO, lurking in the exhibitor booths. Ridiculously fast and very rare. My photos of it aren't terribly good, unfortunately. Twin-turbo V8 goodness, from 1984.
Friendliest owner
The guy at the paintball emporium's booth, who let me under the ropes to photograph his Ferrari 360 Spider. Maybe he was feeling relaxed since a Playboy Bunny was doing all the heavy lifting, talking to prospective clients. There she is in the background, at the strange intersection of exotic sportscars, fantasy warfare, and adult entertainment.
Most photogenic
Not the aforementioned bunny, but this Mercedes-McLaren SLR Roadster 722 S. It might also win for "most unwieldy name", although the Ferrari F430 16M Scuderia Spider gives it a run for its money there. Unreasonably pointy and very expensive, with silly doors.
Nicest rims
The Maybach. Just love that logo and the overall shiny goodness of these.
Prettiest Corvette in the historic Corvette display
Hard to choose, but I have to go with this 1953 C1 convertible. Just love those red rims and whitewall tires.
Best use of a hexagonal design element
The Honda FC ("fuel cell") Sport concept car. Extra points for environmental friendliness, but a penalty for not actually having the powerplant installed.
And finally (for now, anyway):
Nicest car that I actually sat in
Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG Roadster. I'm not usually a big fan of Merc roadsters, but I think I could just about deal with owning this one.
There you go. Lots more to see in this Flickr set, if, as Mr. Bennett says in Pride and Prejudice, you can bear to.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Daddy's girl.
"I like that horsey."
"Which horsey, honey?"
"The one on that shield."
I swear I didn't put her up to this.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
On the road again
No, not another trip down Highway 401, solo in the car, nor to the sunny southern states. This isn't an epic road trip in the manner of Dawn, either - it's just the morning commute. I'm on the road again because we're into the school year, and Mrs. Ricardipus is back in classes.
So, with drop-off duties for the Junior Ricardipi messing up my morning train schedule, I've elected to drive all the way downtown to work, a couple of days each week. Which, although environmentally unfriendly, is actually kind of a pleasure. Good music on the stereo, and the opportunity to explore the city as I negotiate its twists and turns, looking for the best saw-off between speed, scenery and calm traffic. It's even almost cost-effective, since staff parking where I work is only marginally more expensive than the train ticket, and less expensive than the trip should I decide to use the subway in even one direction to or from the train station to the office. What about the cost of gas, you say? Let's just ignore that for now.
Naturally, such a drive affords opportunities for on-the-fly photography of local buildings:
Don't try this at full speed, folks.
The downside, of course, is that I am afforded every opportunity of being distracted by things parked at the side of the road, like this:
You know, I've never seen a 328 GTS before.
and this:
A bit less high-performance, but very pretty.
Not to mention the local Lotus and Aston Martin dealerships. It's surprising how easy it is to modify my route to pass by them.
Ah well, dangers abound everywhere. If I wasn't driving, I'd be walking to the station most days, and I'll confess I was late for a train because I had to stop and take photos of this pretty little Datsun:
A 260Z. Pretty in blue.
And the Ford GT, well that was a different story entirely - I made the train, but did have to run a bit.
Photoshoppery has occurred.
Sad case, me. But there you go. Driving to and from work, a couple of times a week, keeping my eyes peeled, shooting digital from the hip.
So, with drop-off duties for the Junior Ricardipi messing up my morning train schedule, I've elected to drive all the way downtown to work, a couple of days each week. Which, although environmentally unfriendly, is actually kind of a pleasure. Good music on the stereo, and the opportunity to explore the city as I negotiate its twists and turns, looking for the best saw-off between speed, scenery and calm traffic. It's even almost cost-effective, since staff parking where I work is only marginally more expensive than the train ticket, and less expensive than the trip should I decide to use the subway in even one direction to or from the train station to the office. What about the cost of gas, you say? Let's just ignore that for now.
Naturally, such a drive affords opportunities for on-the-fly photography of local buildings:
Don't try this at full speed, folks.
The downside, of course, is that I am afforded every opportunity of being distracted by things parked at the side of the road, like this:
You know, I've never seen a 328 GTS before.
and this:
A bit less high-performance, but very pretty.
Not to mention the local Lotus and Aston Martin dealerships. It's surprising how easy it is to modify my route to pass by them.
Ah well, dangers abound everywhere. If I wasn't driving, I'd be walking to the station most days, and I'll confess I was late for a train because I had to stop and take photos of this pretty little Datsun:
A 260Z. Pretty in blue.
And the Ford GT, well that was a different story entirely - I made the train, but did have to run a bit.
Photoshoppery has occurred.
Sad case, me. But there you go. Driving to and from work, a couple of times a week, keeping my eyes peeled, shooting digital from the hip.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
An opinion nobody asked for
Despite rpg's efforts to distract me by asking me to post about muppet-ish behaviour at another place we both frequent, here is yet another post about cars. Because there hasn't been one for, oh, five posts or so.
Which cars? Jaguars? Faster-than-light prototypes? The now-available, oh-so-spiffy battery-operated Tesla Roadster?
Nope. This post is about, now hold your breath, it's a shocker, I'm telling you, you really won't believe it...
Ferraris.
[cue sound effects of mass exodus of disgusted readers]
Ok, ok, it's my marque of choice I know, and I spend far too much time yakking about them, but I really couldn't hold this in. Because after a year or so of speculation, disinformation, and the occasional faked Photo-chop picture, the venerable Scuderia has finally announced its plan for the next Prancing Horse (or should that be, 460 horses?). In true Ferrari style, they've resurrected a hallowed nameplate: the California, reminiscent of the beautiful 250 GT California Spyder of old. Hey, it worked with the Testarossa and the Mondial, so why not?
So, quivering in anticipation, I read the exuberant press release, looked at the typical airbrushed-beyond-belief factory "photos" (of a car that has not yet, as far as I can tell from my limited attempts to find out, been built) and generally spent some time thinking about it instead of doing more useful things. And the result is that I find myself... unimpressed. Someone, somewhere else, opined that when Ferrari releases a new model, we expect to be blown away by its styling and looks. This one looks like a Honda S2000 spliced onto a BMW Z4 roadster, and given a glossy Rosso Corso paint job. Not that either of those cars are particularly bad, but they just aren't Ferraris.
The California is a front-engined (ok, "mid-" front-engined) V8 sportscar, with a folding hardtop roof. The location of the V8 engine is a first for Ferrari, which is not nearly as exciting as you might think since they've been making V8 cars since the early 70's, and front-engined autos since the company's earliest days. The folding roof is a first too, catching Ferrari up to such high-performance heavyweights as, oh, say Pontiac. All this hype is really just another way of saying that it's the first such vehicle to emanate from Maranello simply because they haven't bothered to build one before.
My main gripes, however, are these: first, it basically seems like a front-engined F430. Which I confess is not an original observation, as just about everyone who cares seems to have come to the same conclusion. What makes the F430 great is that it's an absolute demon, a Formula 1-inspired bottle rocket of a car, with Launch Control, paddle shifters, big cheerful air ducts and a gorgeous Pininfarina styling job. No matter that they stole the mirrors from the Testarossa, the tail-lights from the Enzo, the teardrop-shaped cheek vents from Phil Hill's race car, and the overall body plan from the 360 Modena - it's still a mean, lean, lovely machine. A latter-day Enzo for the quarter-million-dollar-a-vehicle set.
Why we need a front-engined version of this, which gains a trunk but almost certainly sacrifices a whole lot of handling, is anybody's guess. The earlier rumours hinted at a "baby Ferrari", a return to the Dino, which I think would have been much more fun. A cheap and cheery little Ferrari, almost in reach of someone who might otherwise buy, say, a Porsche Boxster. Instead, we get a high-tech Corvette that will doubtless cost as much as an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, which, truth be told, is probably its main competition.
Shame really. The world really doesn't need another Corvette, or any number of other front-engined V8 berlinettas I could name. What we need from Ferrari is another monster, something verging on the edge of ridiculous, without stepping over the line into Lamborghini or Pagani territory. Maybe not an Enzo, or the turbo-charged, crazed rocket ship that was the F40, but how about something really eye-popping, really fast, or really different from the rest of the pack? While I'm sure the California will contain excellent technology, a tremendous assortment of bells and whistles, and those trademark hand-stitched leather seats, I can't help but feel just a little, teeny bit let down.
Ah well. Ferrari doesn't exist to make people like me happy, and I imagine that they'll sell an absolute pile of these things. Coming soon, to a highway near you.
Which cars? Jaguars? Faster-than-light prototypes? The now-available, oh-so-spiffy battery-operated Tesla Roadster?
Nope. This post is about, now hold your breath, it's a shocker, I'm telling you, you really won't believe it...
Ferraris.
[cue sound effects of mass exodus of disgusted readers]
Ok, ok, it's my marque of choice I know, and I spend far too much time yakking about them, but I really couldn't hold this in. Because after a year or so of speculation, disinformation, and the occasional faked Photo-chop picture, the venerable Scuderia has finally announced its plan for the next Prancing Horse (or should that be, 460 horses?). In true Ferrari style, they've resurrected a hallowed nameplate: the California, reminiscent of the beautiful 250 GT California Spyder of old. Hey, it worked with the Testarossa and the Mondial, so why not?
So, quivering in anticipation, I read the exuberant press release, looked at the typical airbrushed-beyond-belief factory "photos" (of a car that has not yet, as far as I can tell from my limited attempts to find out, been built) and generally spent some time thinking about it instead of doing more useful things. And the result is that I find myself... unimpressed. Someone, somewhere else, opined that when Ferrari releases a new model, we expect to be blown away by its styling and looks. This one looks like a Honda S2000 spliced onto a BMW Z4 roadster, and given a glossy Rosso Corso paint job. Not that either of those cars are particularly bad, but they just aren't Ferraris.
The California is a front-engined (ok, "mid-" front-engined) V8 sportscar, with a folding hardtop roof. The location of the V8 engine is a first for Ferrari, which is not nearly as exciting as you might think since they've been making V8 cars since the early 70's, and front-engined autos since the company's earliest days. The folding roof is a first too, catching Ferrari up to such high-performance heavyweights as, oh, say Pontiac. All this hype is really just another way of saying that it's the first such vehicle to emanate from Maranello simply because they haven't bothered to build one before.
My main gripes, however, are these: first, it basically seems like a front-engined F430. Which I confess is not an original observation, as just about everyone who cares seems to have come to the same conclusion. What makes the F430 great is that it's an absolute demon, a Formula 1-inspired bottle rocket of a car, with Launch Control, paddle shifters, big cheerful air ducts and a gorgeous Pininfarina styling job. No matter that they stole the mirrors from the Testarossa, the tail-lights from the Enzo, the teardrop-shaped cheek vents from Phil Hill's race car, and the overall body plan from the 360 Modena - it's still a mean, lean, lovely machine. A latter-day Enzo for the quarter-million-dollar-a-vehicle set.
Why we need a front-engined version of this, which gains a trunk but almost certainly sacrifices a whole lot of handling, is anybody's guess. The earlier rumours hinted at a "baby Ferrari", a return to the Dino, which I think would have been much more fun. A cheap and cheery little Ferrari, almost in reach of someone who might otherwise buy, say, a Porsche Boxster. Instead, we get a high-tech Corvette that will doubtless cost as much as an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, which, truth be told, is probably its main competition.
Shame really. The world really doesn't need another Corvette, or any number of other front-engined V8 berlinettas I could name. What we need from Ferrari is another monster, something verging on the edge of ridiculous, without stepping over the line into Lamborghini or Pagani territory. Maybe not an Enzo, or the turbo-charged, crazed rocket ship that was the F40, but how about something really eye-popping, really fast, or really different from the rest of the pack? While I'm sure the California will contain excellent technology, a tremendous assortment of bells and whistles, and those trademark hand-stitched leather seats, I can't help but feel just a little, teeny bit let down.
Ah well. Ferrari doesn't exist to make people like me happy, and I imagine that they'll sell an absolute pile of these things. Coming soon, to a highway near you.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Yet another post about cars.
Regular readers of this blog (and you know who you are, all two of you) will know that I often rattle on about sports cars, usually of the expensive, red and Italian variety. And with spring apparently just around the corner, despite the dire warnings of Canada's leading weather guru, the watch is on for all those prancing horses to leave their stables and start prowling around the highways and byways of the Greater Toronto Area.* So far, the best I can report is a silver convertible BMW 650i, seen today not a hundred yards from my home, its top resolutely up against the cold. And the usual selection of Porsche 911 variants, which people seem to insist on driving year-round in these parts.
But this post is about something much more important in the world of high-performance, luxury cars, or at least in the world of companies that used to make them. I'm talking about Jaguar. Dear old Jag, which has apparently been bought by the Indian car maker Tata Motors. The same company that will happily sell you, your neighbour, and several million other people in your immediate vicinity a car for $2,500 US, if their press hype is to be believed.
Now, I'm not sure that the sale of such a storied franchise as Jaguar to Tata is necessarily a bad thing, despite the dubious ethics around the idea of replacing as many rickshaws, bicycles, and ox-carts as possible worldwide with low-cost automobiles. Imagine Beijing, or Bombay, or Manila, with twenty or thirty thousand additional vehicles on the street. Or Toronto, for that matter. But maybe this purchase will be good for dear old Jag. After all, the once-proud marque has been languishing in the arms of the Ford Motor Company since 1989, and while I initially thought the introduction of the low-cost X-type was a brilliant ploy catering to the entry-level luxury car market, most buyers seem to have pretty quickly decided that competing offerings from Acura, Lexus and BMW were more attractive. Ford's styling of the S-type, which looks like a smoothed-out Lincoln, and the tediously boring Camaro knock-off that is the XK, probably didn't help. And Ford's penchant for bolting superchargers onto just about everything, from the Mustang to the mighty GT, just seems silly when applied to the Jaguar XJ Super V8. Why they can't get back to basics and build a nice, high-performance, normally aspirated Jaguar supercar, I don't know. Although, truth be told, they had the chance much, much earlier with the V12 XJ220 concept, and backed away then too, replacing it with a silly, silly six-cylinder twin-turbocharged powerplant instead, housed in a chassis roughly the size of Gibraltar.
So where does this leave Jaguar, once the envy of the sports car world with their tremendous, sexy, E-type? Even though Ford did get back to classic styling cues with the XJ series, will Tata once again make a glorious, luxury saloon car that British aristocracy would love to own? Will there ever again be a wonderful GT sports car like the lovely, classy XJS? Let's hope so. I'd love to see a few driving around these parts, next time spring rolls around.
*I apologize for the atrociously mixed metaphor - prowling horses and all that. Ah well.
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