2013 The year of Ultracar??

Ill start by clarifying what I mean when I say Ultracar. For cars are categorised by their performance, to begin we have cars, then supercars and the most ridiculous category so far has been hypercars (really fast supercars) such as the Bugatti Veyron, Pagani Huyara or Koenigsegg Agera. An ultracar would therefore be then next stage of lunacy (though I admit it doesnt sound quite as exciting as it should given the cars it describes). In terms of power and acceleration, the gains to be had are reducing, particularly thanks to the yardstick set by the Veyron and also the increasing importance placed on efficiency. So it is likely that performance in straight lines is nearing, if not already at, its peak for conventionally powered cars. One area where developments continue to be made thanks to innovation and technology is the handling of cars and this is where strides will be most noticeably made in the future. So what can we look forward to? 2013 will see the launch of two very special machines indeed that as far as I'm concerned, could well redefine the order of performance for cars.

http://www.mclarenautomotive.com/uk/default.aspx

The exterior of the McLaren P1 was unveiled in Paris last year and the car has been in development since then. It is rumoured to be fully released at this years Geneva Motor show. Knowing McLaren, this car will handle like nothing we've seen before, performance rumours suggest downforce generated up to 600kg and a power-to-weight ratio of 600bhp/tonne, greater than the mighty Veyron, which means it will be ridiculously fast.

http://images.cdn.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/imagecache/article_image_480/ferarri-enzo-2.jpg

Then of course there is the decadal limited release from Ferrari, this one codenamed the F150. Not too much is known about the F150, Ferrari are keeping tight lipped as you would expect. Power is likely to come from a variant of their beautiful V12 supplemented by a hybrid KERS system, all told resulting in around 850bhp. That really is fantasy levels of power and with 10 years of development and innovation since the Enzo, it will be right at home when things get twisty.

Was it fate that these two incredible machines were launched in the same year or pure coincidence? Who knows, I for one cannot wait to see just what they bring.

Beauty really is on the inside...

The Aston Martin Vanquish

I'm not how you would describe as 'Vain'. I do however, fully appreciate aesthetics of my surroundings.
This has led me to have a large interest in Photography, and to travel the world looking for great sources of inspiration for that perfect shot, whether it be Stately Homes in The Peak District, The Burj Al Arab in Dubai, or an Aston Martin parked at a 3/4 angle on a rainy day in a Northamptonshire Country Park.
Many of my friends and colleagues I know are almost quivering with anticipation every time a new Photo pops up on twitter (@tr_howard) or joins an album on Facebook. - That's aimed at you James!

For I am not vain. I am a perfectionist!
Many tourists, or photographers take their 8GB memory cards, and their £500 SLR camera's and they take a whole memory cards worth of pictures during one shoot, to then single out the 'perfect' shots when they get to a computer.
I can't do that. I have to have a memory card full of perfect pictures. This generally results in me smashing the battery life as I constantly check backwards and forwards through the pictures as I take them. Do I see this as a problem?
Not at all! Bring a spare battery! - Problem Solved!

My point to all this, is that your surroundings are what you live your life around. Some people are lucky enough to have Million pound houses, whilst others are lucky enough to have access to a large garden, and the beautiful open sky. Their surroundings are opulent, and a mesmerising place to spend time.
This is how cars should be. You don't sit on the outside of a car whilst you drive it. Sure, I, like most, stare wide eyed and open mouthed when an impressive supercar rocks up to the traffic lights, but what's the point in having a nice car, when the interior looks like it was fashioned by a blind tramp with leprosy!



I am referring to cars such as the Ascari KZ1, and the Mercedes SL65 AMG-Black.
Both of these machines hold themselves as supermodels from the outside. The Ascari, with flowing curves and angular eyes, and the SL Black with cartoonly flared arches and a menacing gunmetal paint spec.




It isn't however, until you step inside, that you realise how mundane and boring these cars are. The Ascari is more basic than a push bike, and sure, the 6Litre Twin-Turbo V12 of the Merc is an epic engine, and would fire you to 100mph in no time, but all the while you'd be looking at the same interior as its far cheaper sister, the SL350.
The trim sheet must read -Black/Black/Black.

This is no place to be sat whilst you're lapping up the enjoyment of the £100k + car you've just purchased. There is no trouser tenting in sight!
It's the Italians that have got it right, and by the Italians, I mean the Real  Italians.
The likes of Pagani, and Ferrari. Lamborghini and Bugatti have got amazing cars, please don't get me wrong, but they've borrowed the switchgear from their boring German parents - The VW Group. For me Lambo's are nearly there, because if I'm honest, I've a bit of a soft spot for Audi. They are the more interesting of the Big German three (Merc, BMW), but when compared to the likes of the Pagani Zonda, they are just on a different planet! The minute you step into one, you're filled with the kind of lust you had for that beautiful girl in the Bus Park you had a crush on in High School. You're 1st love. Now imagine that feeling every day when you step into a car you know can do 200mph, but can do it in pure style.

It's ok to be a perfectionist, but the risk I'd run in being a car designer, it it would be perfect. Too perfect - like the Mercedes SL-Black. So perfect in it's spec that it's become exactly that. A spec. Nothing more than some numbers on a piece of paper, and some perfect panel gaps in between the central console. So perfect, it has no soul. Sometimes, the heart just needs to rule the head, much in the same way those nutters at Pagani design cars......with pure Italian Heart.

The State of the States

OK. Diesel or Petrol?
Whichever, but shouldn’t we be using less?

Let’s get this out of the way: I am guilty as charged - For my belief is 'Bigger is Better'.
For my entire driving history, I have always gone for cars with heroically large engine capacities and ridiculously low combined mpg, however, on my recent trip to the States, I have become obsessed with pointing out cars with ludicrously overpowered engines, and insanely pointless Horsepower figures.
I have finally grown up!

I remember my 1st car. Given to me for my 18th birthday, a shiny-ish 1994 1.8 Volvo 440si.
For an 18 year old, a 1.8 was a dangerously large engine capacity to be in charge of! It wasn't especially powerful, but compared to the standard 'boy racer' 1.2's it was a Bugatti Veyron.
And so here begins the issue....

The car was cast out of solid pig iron and cement. It must have weighed twice that of the Earth's moons, and as a consequence a 1.2 just wouldn't have sufficed. Volvo being Volvo, had safety proofed the car so much so, that it required a big engine. They joint-developed a unit with Renault, and inserted an equally heavy 1.8 into the car. Now we're talking Sumo Weight!
Now I clearly remember looking at the (at the time cutting edge) trip computer, and reading a reported 22mpg, which I recall being 'above average'.
As I'm sure you'll agree, for a 1.8, that's pretty poor.




Volvo 440 1.8Si

From the cement laden 440, my car choices kept on getting heavier, and consequently more powerful, strumming throughout the Volvo product line up, until I finally broke the habit and have opted for the new 'lightweight' aluminium framed 2.0TDI Audi to be delivered next week. A great decision, for my wallet, and my conscience, knowing that I am doing my bit to support the planet in some fashion.This however, cannot be said of our friends just an 8 hour flight away...


They don't believe in the words 'Frugal' and 'Low Emissions' over the Atlantic.
Every car I saw, and i mean EVERY car I saw, was a Petrol....sorry, Gas powered behemoth.
Not once did I spot a supermini, or an eco-car, let alone a diesel!
To start with, it was a case of playing the 'Eyewitness guide to Supercars'. 9/10 cars was V8 or V12 powered. Astons, Ferraris, Lambo's, and then the classic American muscle's, Vipers, Chargers and Mustangs.....Breathtaking viewing.
But these cars were all doing 2-3mph maximum through the insanely crowded streets of NYC. Idling for 5 minuted at a time, with no gas stations in central Manhattan. It became apparent, that it was a pointless purchase. What's the point in having 600bhp on tap, when you can use a maximum 10bhp during your trip. Madness!?!

This was summed up by a big burly American man, exiting Bvlgari on 5th Avenue, squeezing himself into an SLS, and firing up the engine. After several revs to the red line, traffic all around, he floored the car, and found himself hurtling towards a fire truck. Plumes of tyre smoke, a spine-chilling sound of crumpled metal, and the wing mirror of a $250k German Supercar pinging down West 56th Street. I think the single word that left my mouth was "Tool."
That kind of car is just not feasible in anything other than the open, where you can enjoy it!

This too is the problem with all American cars. Too big for anywhere other than America. Too powerful for cities inside of America, and if I'm being honest, plain ugly anywhere!
Large overhangs front and rear, bench seats at the back, beefy V8's with no consideration for the planet, and idiots that buy them!
Every YellowCab has a V8, every other car is an SUV. There was a time where I wanted the biggest, and therefore best car. I now realise how much of a plank I must have looked buying a 2.5T 300bhp car in a recession. Like everyone I've seen driving their big tanks in New York.
I can see why Euro spec cars are so popular over the Atlantic, but my belief is that until they sort their act out, start designing some decent cars of their own, that handle around corners, not just in a straight line, work out an equivalent of EfficientDynamics to give something back to Mother Nature, and ban them from inner city Manhattan, then they should, by law, be forbidden to grace the streets of America.

Men are from Mars...

For a woman, the more successful you become, the more practical your car can be. More leg room for the children so they don’t kick the back of your seat, a bigger boot for all the shopping bags which may even close automatically (if you’re feeling particularly lazy), automatic headlights so you don’t have to remember to turn them on or off, reversing sensors because, well let’s face it, women can’t park, inbuilt GPS for when your husband won’t ask for directions and all the safety contraptions in the world.

For a man, the story is quite different. For most men, everything is about size; the size of their ego, their ‘meat and veg’, salary, house, wife’s breasts, ‘chicktionary’ (as the Prince of Bel Air calls it) and of course and most importantly their engine. How big, how fast, how many bhp…

The month my partner had to spend driving around town in my family’s old 1.2ltr, purple, P reg. Fiesta ‘Ghia’, I truly believe, was the most emasculating month of his life. It was physically possible to see his pride and confidence drain away from him each time he got into that car. He was convinced that everyone was mocking him and discussing just how much of a failure he must be to have to use such a degrading mode of transport.

As the previous proprietor of the vehicle, I found it to be fairly efficient (at the time), nippy, easy to park and quite practical with ample boot space.

However, from his point of view, the car was the devil who had stripped him of his manhood and every achievement he’d even gained in his life. I could never put my finger on what repulsed him so much, the colour, the size or a weird little squeeling noise it made when you tried to drive over 50mph.

Needless to say, he would loudly proclaim his reasons for using it instead of a ‘proper’ car to any of his friends and indeed most strangers too. He rarely speaks of the car now, as he cruises about in a far more acceptable Audi A3. I fear he has repressed the memory and may need some serious counselling later in life.  

But don’t get too cocky lads; there is a point at which your engine size becomes a negative not a positive. See a grown man in a purple 1996 Fiesta and you may think he is an unachiever. But see a man in a flashy red Ferrari F430 and the immediate assumption is overcompensation.

As most men would agree that their car is an extension of their being and a study showed that 98% of men questioned, would favour the loss of an arm or leg rather than their male appendage I ask,

Which is worse?

Article by Annie Buckle

The greatest thing I've ever bought.

As with most first cars mine came more out of necessity than choice. Elton was his name, a sharp suggestion from my sister relating to the letters on his numberplate EJO. A fine machine he was too, a 1.6 16v first car was not to be sniffed at and with optional panther black metallic paint he was an exquisite example of an R-registered Ford Escort. Ownership was generally a positive experience, though we had a few chequered moments, some were Elton's fault, for example brake failure, others were not, like the clearly demented soul who liked the look of the 16v badge adorning Elton's rump. Ultimately Elton was an excellent servant and £800 for three years service represented great value, however he is not the greatest thing I've ever bought. No, that honour goes to my second car, which was a choice.

 © James Hughes 2013

May 2008 saw the dawning of a new era, Elton was on his last legs and I was looking for something faster and more fun. The Clio doesn't have a name, I simply refer to it as 'the best thing I've ever bought'. £2500 she cost with around 80,000 miles on the clock, though the part exchange of Elton brought that down a few bob. Living with it since then has been a joy, there have been a few parts needing replacement, namely the exhaust and springs, but other than that its  been solid as a rock. Driven calmly it'll average 40mpg, with the potential to have a lot of fun whenever you like. It is versatile enough to cart my mountain bike around or hold 4 men full of all you can eat meat buffet. As I write this now my car has done over 130,000 miles and aside from a small blowing in the exhaust feels as crisp as the day I picked her up. I have a lot of great memories of this wonderful machine, but top of the pile was the day Jonny and I plodded up to Silverstone to see the first circuit run track day on the brand new Grand Prix circuit. My dad is a safety marshal so after watching some cars go round we went to see him for a chat. We joked about the possibility of me taking the car round and apparently thinking I wouldn't dad suggested I head over to the organisers and see if I could sign on for half a day. It was one of those great moments when it was handy to know the right people, what seemed like only half an hour (and £200 (which was a lot of my money..)) later Jonny and I were opening pit garage 9a and taking everything out of the car we possibly could.

 © James Hughes 2013

The pile of stuff we removed is just visible to the left of the garage. We had done no more preparation for a trackday than that, literally we emptied it. The tyres, brakes and oil were all just as they had been since the last service 8 months earlier. So out we went for five 4 lap runs in total, which let me tell you was exhausting, on the first open trackday on the new circuit layout. My car was probably the slowest of the vehicles there but still in its element. I really went for it and to this day have not had a bigger rush, that absolutely fantastic car just lapped it up and kept going, no brake fade, no oil leaks nothing. I couldn't believe how much grip it had, always having a little bit more to spare, how solid the brakes were and how happy to keep on revving that fantastic engine was. For hours after I got home I was buzzing, its an experience I hope I remember forever. Driving back to my uni residence at the time, the front tyres were balling up and disintegrating after the numerous heat cycles they'd been through so I replaced them fairly soon, but did so with a smile not for a second regretting the punishment they'd taken.

Cars form part of out lives, and take on personalities, often that we project onto them, but we do that with most people too. My Clio has character by the truckload, its an exceptional car dealing with every challenge I've thrown its way and still taking me home in style on minimal petrol. If it were a person I think I'd hate it because its perfect, very happily indeed though, its not a person, its my car, and I bloody love it.

What's your magic number?

Just the other night, I was out with a good friend and as per usual, we were indulging in very typical deep and meaningful male type conversations. One of which, of course, always ends up being a discussion on our “magic numbers”, otherwise known as the number of women we had been with to date. Each time this topic arises in our group, I’m always slightly shocked when the other guys reveal their new figure which is usually substantially more than the last time the topic was covered and it gets me wondering… what actually drives a lot of these young guys to move from girl to girl in meaningless encounters, never really taking the time to start a real relationship with just one woman?  

But then it strikes me that I’m actually just as guilty of exactly the same thing they are.

My first love was at the tender age of 17. I gave her my full undivided attention for a grand total of 4 weeks before the relationship ended in total wreck. I was hurt by the experience and so naturally, the next few that came along, came and went quite quickly. I avoiding getting too attached at the fear that things would just end badly again. In fact, this attitude led to me reaching a number of around 17 in the same period of time that most people would be closer to 1 or 2. In my case however, the story has a slight twist, as my magic number relates not to the woman I have been with, but to the cars I have owned!

The first love I refer to was in reality, an Emerald green MK6 Ford Escort with low mileage and immaculate bodywork. I had literally thrown all my hard earned savings at her and even treating her to a fancy set of wheels, as well as polishing her to the point of obsession. Unfortunately though, it really did end in a wreck when I managed to place her quite abruptly through a hedge at around 60mph before ending up on the roof only a few hundred yards away from making it home in one piece. Luckily I wasn’t hurt physically in the crash, nor was anyone else, but my pride was heavily damaged and I was gutted.

From that point on, I found it hard to become as attached to one car, which has led me to change my cars far more regularly than I need.  I find that I now get more enjoyment shopping around for the latest attractive alternatives than I get out of the one sitting on my driveway. Deep down I’m sure the reason is that I’m scared of becoming too fond of one in particular, just to wind up seeing it crumpled and turned to scrap again. I can’t complain about how things have panned out due to my attitude though, as I’ve managed to build up an impressive list of fantastic cars I’ve owned  including Peugeot 205’s, BMW 3 series, drift spec’d Nissan 200sx’s, and an Audi TT, to mention just a few… each of which have provided hours and hours of motoring enjoyment.

So now I look back to the original conversation I have with my friends and think, maybe these guys don’t mean to act the way they do, maybe they’ve just been hurt by their first loves too and this is their way of dealing with it? Maybe a nightclub is to them, is like me shopping for a new car, even though I know I probably won’t keep it for very long? Who knows! 

Audi's 'one design fits all' policy..

Its a daunting thing the first blog post, the point where one must pick a topic which is topical, edgy and interesting to kick things off well. So what will the inaugural offering from TooMuchTorque relate to??

http://www.audi.com.au/etc/medialib/ngw/au/misc_2.Par.0002.Image.jpg/audi_range_nextgen.jpg

Well the title is something of a spoiler, the status of Audi has risen over recent years to put it on a par with BMW and Mercedes among Germany's motoring hierarchy. While the brand has always been associated with decent solid cars, it used to lag behind its main competitors in terms of vision and cutting edge in the vehicles it delivered. Over the last ten or so years, more Audis have appeared on the road, the main protagonist being the A4, a family car which has slowly clawed back ground for Audi on the BMW 3 series and Mercedes C-Class. The success over the last 6/7 years culminated in 2011 being the companies most successful year to date and has coincided with a branching into previously (for Audi) uncharted territory. Audi now compete in the small hatchback sector with the A1, the large SUV sector with the Q7 and even the supercar sector with the R8. Such prowess across the board is very impressive indeed, but for me seems to have come at a cost. Now I assume resource isn't an issue for the Audi design team, yet it seems reluctant to offer anything visually different for pretty much its entire range. Aside from the body shapes most Audi's from the A1 to the A8, and the Q3 to the Q7 (presumably Audi have yet to develop the even numbers in the q-range but will get there eventually?) now look far too similar for a company with such prowess in the global market. Are they concerned that by deviating even slightly from their uni-face cars that people will no longer recognise the brand and lose precious exposure? Have they done too much with their range by producing every number from 1-8, with 3 SUVs thrown in for good measure?

As a kid my love for cars bordered on obsession, as I poured over the pages of my Car and Top Gear magazines I took in everything, stats, specifications, options the lot. I could name pretty much every car I saw. I'm not as clued up as I used to be, but I generally have a decent idea of what I'm looking at, unless its the uni-Audi (or perhaps more appropriately the udi). I'm told by those who care for such things that the L.E.D clusters are good indicators of which model you're looking at, but unless you take the time to learn and distinguish them ultimately they all look the same. So is this a sign of things to come in the automotive industry? Huge ranges of almost identical cars which perform very slightly different functions to suit the nuances of their owners. Is Audi being too ambitious with fingers in too many pies? Time will certainly tell, but lets hope it brings some more variety to Audis of the future..