Autobahn Alpine A310

Mid-week trip to Koln on b’iness. Highlight of an otherwise unremarkable 2 days was last-night’s autobahn thrash in the boss’s 1981 Renault Alpine A310.

Hidden in the depths of a labyrinthine underground car-park….

I haven’t seen one of these for a while, it’s still an amazingly aggressive little beastie and its form manages to look almost contemporary; only the scrappy detailing and generous cutlines let the side down….though that’s a bit unfair – the driver’s door was open in this shot

Though weedy by today’s standards (150hp from the PRV V6), it weighs a bantam-weight 980kg, so feels pretty quick up to 100mph or so.

This shot shows either; a- How miniscule this car is, or b- how fat a Mondeo is…..or possibly both, but I couldn’t comment on that.

French Glam in underground Germany…

NYCD

It lives! kinda..

A mixed bag – and a big apology for being remiss in keeping up the blog. All i can say is i’ve been struggling for time.

Firstly, just about finished my entry to the first-ever CarDesignNews design competition. To be honest, I’m disappointed not to have spent more time on the Alias model. I ended up rushing it and it shows…! Managed to get some renders done, but seeing as the main deal about the comp was the model I think i blew my chances :0 Still, really enjoyed the brief, and I might redo the car properly sometime. I think it has potential, well i would wouldn’t I…

Just back from a whistle-stop weekend in Manhattan. Did a Sunday am walk across the Brooklyn bridge and explored Williamsburg – great place, loads of crazy little clothes stores and the odd gallery. Met up with (almost didn’t) old pal Chris who took us to Big-Daddy’s diner for a top-shelf burger+shake combo; outstanding! Cheers fella.

A few NY piccies;

Jeff Koons on the Met roof;

Mad-Max on 5th Ave

Williamsburgh Ice-cream Sundae

Central_park casualty

Quite scary: think this is called Dadda-Japanese mythical super-hero…whatever, it gives me the fear..

To Infiniti and beyond.

An SUV described as ‘inspired by sports car design’ is usually an invitation see something hideous. And no, I didn’t mention the Cayenne…

The redesigned Inifiniti FX has broken cover and to be honest, I’m blown away. If this isn’t the best-looking SUV out there I’d like to know what is. The profile of the FX has always been rakish, almost dangerously sleek, but the new car mixes beautiful proportions with sensuous surfacing. This is the version coming to Europe this year. I think Range-Rover and Porsche dealers might be breaking into a sweaty rash sometime soon.
“2009 INFINITI FX50 — SUV INSPIRED BY SPORTS CAR DESIGN — All-New, iconic Infiniti FX50 Offers Power, Refinement, Safety and Exhilaration —

Already a strong contender in the United States and other global markets, the Infiniti FX performance luxury crossover SUV takes on Western Europe with an all-new, second-generation design featuring a newly developed 5.0-liter V8, 7-speed automatic transmission, enhanced exterior styling, advanced interior design and innovative technology and safety equipment.”

No apologies for the plentiful pics – I love this car.

Scirocco revisited.

Just reading some comments about the Scirocco on a few other sites. Seems this car’s grille and light graphics are a bone of contention. According to one poster on a UK car-magazine site, the reason for the drastic concept-production change is:

‘If I may remind you, the ScIROCco concept was shown while Wolfgang Bernhard was still in charge of VW and Murat Günak was the brand’s head of design. When Martin Winterkorn took over from Pischetsrieder and Bernhard he asked Audi head of design Walter de’ Silva to come along; every model that was in the pipeline at that point was reviewed by Winterkorn and de’ Silva, which spared us a hideous Phaeton facelift, but left the gravest traces on the Scirocco, whose design was deemed not ‘classy’ enough by the new management. Therefore we now have a car that’s lacking its main showpiece, namely its gaping front grille (as seen on the concept) and is therefore a clash of two different styles. And I stand by my word that it’s hard to tell what brand the car is from the outside without referring to the badge attached.’

….Probably impossible to prove, but it indeed would be a shame if politics had obscured an interesting concept from evolving into an equally interesting production car..

SUB3wheeler

SUB G1
An ultra dynamic motorcycle
concept, combining motorcycle
engine technology, in a single
seat driving experience.

“A truly visceral thrill “

    

I saw the development story of this in Autocar magazine feature a couple of years ago, lusted after it, thought it would never see the light of day and forgot about it.

But now it looks like this beast is up and running! CHECK! An inspiration to any Automotive designers who want to do their own thing, the SUB company comprises three guys who cater for clients who want “individual specialised vehicles”. Personally, I love the impression that the body has been carved from a chunk of Aluminium. It’s a simple shape, uncluttered with mudguards, complex suspension, or extravagant styling. The colours enforce the “no-messing” attitude, with an almost military combination of flat-black, machined silver, and Gulf orange.

From their press-release: “Each individual brought a complementary skill set to the project. Smart is a designer, and fabricator whose resume includes work on the Aston Martin Vantage concept and the ultra-light weight Ariel Atom sports car. Brett’s background of Industrial design and his ten-year involvement in film and automotive concept vehicle construction lends the project his expertise in fabrication and program management. Mynott, a digital modeller, has an extensive background in automotive, product design and engineering and has worked on the construction of 6 concept and race vehicles within the last 4 years. The combination produced the expertise in design, modelling and build required for the project, the overlapping skills creating an effective team.”

from Serious Wheels