The guys trip is underway! They travel the Top of the World Highway from Chicken Alaska to the famous Dawson City Yukon in Canada. Lots of characters are found along the way as well as some history and little trouble. This trip is getting interesting!
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jeudi 13 mars 2014
Volkswagen pulling out a gap / Volkswagen creuse l’écart
With practically a quarter of the season completed already, Volkswagen Motorsport and its two drivers have amassed almost twice as many points as their rivals in their respective championships…
On Saturday evening, at a moment when he had a minute’s cushion over Jari-Matti Latvala, Sébastien Ogier pondered the question a short moment and then confirmed he would try to take maximum Power Stage bonus points in order to recover the championship lead, even if that would mean running first on the road in Portugal. “It might rain there, and the influence of ‘road sweeping’ won’t be as big as it is in Mexico.”
The Frenchman’s Power Stage victory took him three points clear of his team-mate. Mads Ostberg – who wasn’t eligible to score on the Power Stage – is third, 31 points adrift of Ogier. They are the only three drivers to have taken points on the three rounds contested to date, but the situation in their wake is somewhat scattered. Indeed, Bryan Bouffier is still provisionally sixth despite having only one finish to his name!
Meanwhile, Rally Mexico saw Volkswagen claim its fourth one-two finish in the WRC. VW Polo R WRC/Michelin drivers secured 16 fastest times from 22 and Latvala, who was first on the road on Day 1, showed his maturity by finishing in a safe second place.
Ostberg was the only person to challenge VW’s domination. Just as he did in 2013, the Norwegian even led before a small error which cost him dearly on SS12. He won five stages, while his Citroën DS3 WRC team-mate Kris Meeke won one, his third at this level. As in Australia in 2013, the Briton’s rally ended in tears when he ripped a wheel off his car on the very last stage, although this time there were mitigating circumstances.
The 2014 Rally Mexico will also be remembered for Hyundai’s first WRC podium thanks to Thierry Neuville who was only able to complete the final road section thanks to a bottle of Corona beer with which he was able to refill his leaking radiator. It was a rather fortunate top-three finish, however, since the Hyundai i20 WRC was cruelly down on power at altitude, but the Korean make was aided by the high attrition rate that was a hallmark of the week.
Although unable to challenge for the podium, Elfyn Evans (4th, Ford Fiesta RS WRC) picked up the best WRC result of his career which will boost his morale after his troubled run in Sweden. In the championship standings, he is even currently ahead of team-mate Hirvonen who took advantage of a favourable running order to figure as high as third overall before suffering an electrical problem.
After a poor start to the season, the consistent Martin Prokop was fifth in Mexico, ahead of local star Benito Guerra who was delayed by a loose steering column on SS3. Chris Atkinson’s start was even worse when he hit trouble after just 60 metres of competitive action, and it was a week to forget for Andreas Mikkelsen who used the Rally2 ruling twice on his way to 19th spot. From now on, with the exception of Germany, the Norwegian now has previous experience in the VW Polo R WRC of all the remaining rounds…
Près d’un quart de la saison a déjà été disputé. Volkswagen Motorsport et ses deux pilotes comptent près du double de points que leurs concurrents aux championnats Constructeurs et Pilotes.
Samedi soir, alors qu’il disposait d’une minute d’avance sur son équipier, Sébastien Ogier a réfléchi un bref instant puis nous a répondu qu’il irait chercher les points de la Power Stage pour reprendre les rênes du championnat, quitte à ouvrir la route au Portugal. « Il peut pleuvoir et le balayage est moindre qu’ici au Mexique. »
En remportant la Power Stage, Sébastien Ogier repart donc d’Amérique avec 3 points d’avance sur Jari-Matti Latvala. Mads Ostberg, qui n’était pas éligible pour « scorer » dans le Power Stage, est 3e à déjà 31 points d’Ogier et 28 de Latvala…Seuls ces trois pilotes ont marqué des points sur les trois 1ers rallyes disputés et, derrière, c’est pour le moins éparpillé. La preuve, Bryan Bouffier est encore 6e du classement avec un seul résultat enregistré…
Volkswagen a donc signé son 4e doublé mondial à l’occasion du Rallye du Mexique. Avec 16 meilleurs temps sur 22 spéciales, les VW Polo R WRC/Michelin ont dominé leur sujet. Victime de sa position sur la route le 1er jour, Jari-Matti Latvala a prouvé qu’il avait mûri en assurant les points (bonifiés) de la 2e place.
Seul pour contrer les VW, Mads Ostberg n’a pas démérité. Comme en 2013, le Norvégien s’est installé en tête avant de commettre une petite faute lourde de conséquences dans l’ES12. Mads a remporté 5 spéciales et son équipier Kris Meeke a signé son 1er temps scratch sur la Citroën DS3 WRC et son 3e en WRC. Comme en Australie 2013, le Britannique a hélas conclu sur une mauvaise note en arrachant une roue dans l’ultime spéciale, même si cette fois, il n’y était pas pour grand-chose.
De ce Rallye du Mexique 2014, on retiendra évidemment le 1er podium mondial de Hyundai offert par Thierry Neuville, sauvé par une marque de bière appartenant au brasseur belge InBev. Cette dernière liaison vers Leon, avec un radiateur rempli de Corona, restera longtemps parmi les anecdotes du WRC… Un podium somme toute heureux car la Hyundai i20 WRC manquait cruellement de performances en altitude, mais le fort taux de retrait (Mikkelsen 2x, Hirvonen, Ostberg, Meeke) a joué en faveur de la marque coréenne.
Face à l’expérience de Neuville, Elfyn Evans n’a pu lutter pour le podium au volant de sa Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Le Gallois (4e) signe néanmoins le meilleur résultat de sa carrière et se relance après sa déconvenue suédoise. Il devance d’ailleurs son équipier Hirvonen au championnat. Le Finlandais bénéficiait d’une bonne position sur la route et pointait à la 3e place avant un problème électrique sur sa Ford.
Après un début de saison raté, le régulier Martin Prokop a pris une belle 5e place devant le Mexicain Benito Guerra, retardé par une colonne de direction desserrée dans l’ES3. Ça avait encore plus mal démarré pour Chris Atkinson, contraint de faire un « reset » après 60 mètres de course. Rallye à oublier pour Andreas Mikkelsen (19e), qui a confondu vitesse et précipitation. A partir de maintenant, le Norvégien connaît toutes épreuves mondiales sur sa VW Polo R WRC (hormis l’Allemagne).
Ducati 1198 SP custom aka Matador Racer
Stock Ducati motorcycles are good if that’s all you have seen. Then the minute you encounter this Ducati 1198 SP custom you realize there’s something missing from your stock bike.
There is no doubt that Ducati builds good motorcycles, but I don’t think a good motorcycle is enough for a die hard Ducati fan or a motorcycle enthusiast.
A great custom motorbike just doesn’t have to look good and feel great it also has to perform. Radical Ducati from Spain has just the right recipe, their latest creation a Ducati 1198 SP custom aka “Matador Racer” de toros is ready to rock the racing tracks.
This custom bike is packed with Radical Ducati’s innovative material selection (carbon fiber RAD), sensible construction techniques and modern aesthetics. The definition of Radical lies within each of Radical Ducati’s custom crafts.
Lets take a look at the build, based around the Ducati 1198 SP. This custom bike features a RAD 02 Aluminium frame, RAD 02 Aluminium sub-frame and a RAD 02 Aluminium swing-arm. The stock Ducati 1198 SP engine modification includes ported heads, lightened flywheel, EVR anti-hooping clutch and the exhaust is a 2 in 1 Super Mario system.
At the front this Ducati 1198 SP custom features an Öhlins front fork, RAD 02 ergal triple clamps yokes, Domino quick open gas throttle and RAD 02 ergal clip-ons. The front braking unit houses a Discacciati brake and clutch radial pump and Discacciati rotors. At the rear this Ducati 1198 SP custom features an Öhlins rear shock and Discacciati rear brake kit with support, 200mm rear rotor and four-piston caliper.
Lets not forget Radical Ducati’s signature carbon fiber essentials that include RAD carbon fiber bellypan, RAD 02 carbon fiber Corsa Evo solo seat and RAD carbon fiber mudguards. There is a lot more on this Ducati 1198 SP custom then what I have just described, launch the image gallery and let the pictures tell you the story.
Just like a real life Matador this Ducati 1198 SP custom has speed, maneuverability and a lot of guts!
Visit - Radical Ducati | Like Radical Ducati on – Facebook | Photos By - Del Perro
via http://motorivista.com
Royal Enfield 500cc Classic by Rajputana Customs
India is one of the top motorcycle markets of the world, 1 in 25 Indians are on two wheels and that number is still growing. It is therefore surprising that this is the first custom motorcycle we have featured from India. Rajputana Customs Royal Enfield 500cc Classic named Assault is the feature of the day.
The Jaipur based custom shop Rajputana Custom Motorcycles is igniting the spark of the custom scene in India and has been crafting some serious bikes. There is a reason they say Incredible India, my visit to India in 2004 was one of my best holiday experiences. India is known for it’s population, vast cultural diversity, exotic food, vibrant color, organized chaos, Bollywood, and of course the extreme love of cricket! Motorcycles are also an important part of daily life in India. In the hustle and bustle of that life its hard to imagine having the chance or opportunity to build a custom bike.
We asked RCM owner Vijay to give a brief background on Rajputana Custom Motorcycles “Building bikes here at RCM has always been an eventful learning process. We are pretty much self-taught due to the fact that we weren’t lucky enough to have a generation before us to lend a helping hand or advise us correctly. We have learnt quite a bit about building custom bikes over the last few years and have only begun to scratch the surface as far as the potential for growth is concerned. There is still a whole lot left to learn and implement over the next few decades, which will only add to our aesthetic sense and functional skill in the years to come.
To sum up our build philosophy I feel we are complete ‘newbies’ in this trade who relish steep learning curves and are looking to build 10 odd old school custom bikes a year. As a team we have 4 metal fabricators, 1 machinist, 1 mechanical engineer, 1 shop foreman, a lady who handles the administration, & myself to oversee the whole lot.
Assault was built on a Royal Enfield 500cc Classic for Mr. Kumar Kundan from New Delhi. He came to us looking for a bike, which would be raw, minimal, and subtly painted. It took us 2 months to complete in which time we gave her (Assault) a new set of rims & tyres, KTM Duke front suspension, clip-on handlebars, CNC machined headlights, custom gas tank, extended rear swing-arm, customized the rear frame, rear fender, seats, & added a few details to the gas cap etc.”
This build was not all that complicated as we have previously worked on Royal Enfield 500′s with minimal frame modifications. Machining the CNC headlight and then getting it to mount the KTM fork required a little thought but it was pretty straight forward other than that.
My personal favorite on this custom Royal Enfield 500cc Classic has to be the matte paints, tyres and the bikes lines. I feel all 3 go really well together.
Going forward for the future our plan is to concentrate on the bikes and let the rest take care of itself. We are not too clued up with the business aspect of RCM at this point. We are concentrating all our time and effort on making the bikes more functionally sound and aesthetically appealing. It is a very organic process of evolution which requires a lot of my involvement and we plan on letting it expand at its own pace.
Royal Enfield 500cc Classic specifications:
Bike:
Engine:
Bars:
Exhaust:
Paint:
Frame:
Front Suspension:
Rear suspension:
Seat:
Grips:
Throttle:
Wheels:
Tires:
Fuel tank:
Oil Tank:
Engine:
Bars:
Exhaust:
Paint:
Frame:
Front Suspension:
Rear suspension:
Seat:
Grips:
Throttle:
Wheels:
Tires:
Fuel tank:
Oil Tank:
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Like them on -
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Royal Enfield 500cc Classic
Royal Enfield 500cc
Custom built in house
In house
Matte green & matte black
Extended swing-arm and a few chop/welds at the rear
KTM Duke
Stock RE 500
In House (Brown Leather hand etched design)
Stock
Stock
19×3 Front & 16×3.5 Rear
MRF 110×18 Front & Avon 5.00-16 Rear
In House (Capacity 8 Liters)
Oil is housed within the engine
Royal Enfield 500cc
Custom built in house
In house
Matte green & matte black
Extended swing-arm and a few chop/welds at the rear
KTM Duke
Stock RE 500
In House (Brown Leather hand etched design)
Stock
Stock
19×3 Front & 16×3.5 Rear
MRF 110×18 Front & Avon 5.00-16 Rear
In House (Capacity 8 Liters)
Oil is housed within the engine
via http://motorivista.com
Holographic Hammer
Sylvain Berneron works as a designer for BMW Motorrad in Munich, he started riding Motocross when he was just 8 years old and has continued to ride and race ever since. “Bikes are all I know and that’s what I live for” he says.
Recently Sylvain launched his Art page on Facebook called Holographic Hammer. Here he is to tell us all about it “Building a custom bike takes a lot of time and money, as a designer I realized that the first idea is rarely the best. Perfection comes with exploring different options and trying unusual things. All my friends ride or work in the custom motorcycle business and I was always around them to quickly Photoshop their garage builds, and make them logos.
That is the meaning of Holographic Hammer, a digital tool helping and simplifying the manual labor. I am convinced that doing a sketch before building helps to get the global proportion right and stay on track while doing it. Because you can easily get lost redoing the same part again and again until it works.
It doesn’t matter if the bike is going to be built or if it’s just about making a cool picture, I am always having fun drawing custom bikes for friends. That’s how I ended up sketching for El Solitario MC, Untitled Motorcycles, Fuel Bespoke, Icon 1000, Lucky Cat Garage and Derestricted.
If you would like to visualize your dream custom bike or simply see some cool shit? Make sure you check Holographic Hammer on Facebook and I will be very happy to sketch it up for you!” Sylvain Berneron ~ Holographic Hammer
As I am getting ready to embark on my own first custom project I think I will be taking you up on that offer Sylvain!!
Like Holographic Hammer on - Facebook
via http://motorivista.com
TOP 5 HONDA CB750S
The original Honda CB750 Four is one of the most sought-after bikes to customize. And it’s not hard to see why: classic 1970s style, peerless performance for its era, and that legendary Honda engineering.
It also means it’s getting harder to find a good, serviceable SOHC CB750 for reasonable money. Anything under $4,000 is likely to need remedial work, and a pristine 1969 example with the ‘sandcast’ engine will set you back three times that.
With CB750 Four values escalating, the stereotypical checkered-stripe-and-clip-ons CB custom is on the wane. The best builders are now putting more thought into their CB750 builds, as befits the first production motorcycle to crack the 200 kph (124 mph) barrier. So take a look at these five customs from the USA, Europe and Australia. Each one puts a unique spin on the ‘world’s first superbike.’
WRENCHMONKEES GORILLA PUNCH If there’s one bike that put the Danish masters on the map, it’s ‘Gorilla Punch’ (above and top). Four years ago, this CB750 made the custom world sit up and notice, and not just because it’s the first time whitewalls have looked good on a post-War bike. The engine gets a healthy power boost from Keihin CR29 carbs and a straight-through exhaust system, and the bodywork is all-new new. There are too many custom parts to list, from the triple trees up front to the extended swingarm out back, and a complete new brake system in between. ‘Gorilla Punch’ was put on display at at Kunst Industri Museet, the Danish Museum of Art & Design, and today it lives in Dubai. Hopefully it’s being ridden as it was intended. [Wrenchmonkees]
STEVE ‘CARPY’ CARPENTER’S CYCLONE Carpy is the world’s pre-eminent CB750 specialist, and a real character to boot. An expat Londoner living in the USA, he’s known for his jovial personality as much as his bike builds. But there’s little this guy doesn’t know about building CB750s. ‘Cyclone’ is his tour-de-force, a bike that has been stripped down to its core components and painstakingly rebuilt with a nod to the traditional ‘Ace Café’ genre of customs. [More about this bike | CB750 Café]
MOTOHANGAR 1976 CB750 Pat Jones knows how to make a bike look good, but this has got to be the most arresting of all Motohangar builds. The biggest stroke of genius was fitting a Kawasaki KZ tail, instantly giving the CB750 a rakish stance—accentuated by the edgy graphics and monochrome paint and powder. It’s an unapologetically ‘new wave’ build, complete with pod filters, pipewrap and Firestones, but we don’t care. With ample power on tap to match the brutal looks, this bike has attitude by the bucketload. [More about this bike | Motohangar]
HOUSE ROCKERS This Japanese workshop is not well-known in the West, but should be. It builds CB750s with a strong performance slant, starting with seriously hot-rodded engines. This one is sporting a forged crank, big valves, a Wiseco 836cc kit and Yoshimura-tweaked carbs. The suspension on has been upgraded too, with new Kayaba forks up front, Öhlins out back, and magnesium wheels. It might look a little high-ridin’—but this is a CB750 built for pure speed. [More about this bike | House Rockers]
EXTREME CREATIONS DICK MANN REPLICA Dick Mann was one of the all-time AMA racing greats, and there are several CB750 replicas bearing his name. This, in our opinion, is one of the best. It was built by the Australian shop Extreme Creations, and promptly delivered to the Deus studio for a shoot before it went on sale. As a transformation, it’s beyond reproach: the donor CB750 was a complete wreck, and the result is jaw-dropping. The frame was blasted back to bare metal, the bodywork is hand-formed, and beautiful details are everywhere you look—including a CNC-machined stator cover with a sandcast finish. Automotive jewelry of the highest order, with performance to match. [More images of this bike | Extreme Creations]
via BIKEEXIF
Fear Has A Name: The Caterham 620R
If you don’t fear something, anything in life, then you’re doing it wrong. It shows a lack of understanding for your surroundings, a sense of over confidence or maybe you just got too comfortable? Talk to anybody who does something that pushes boundaries or explores the outer limits of their ability and you’ll find some fear in the emotional mix. Which is no bad thing, because what fear does is heighten your senses, raise your awareness and encourage you to prepare for what you’re about to undertake. Even if you’ve never done it before.
Which I haven’t. Sure I’ve driven plenty of fast cars. I’ve driven track cars, I’ve driven Caterhams before, cars with no roof or screen even. But now sat here after the fact, I can testify that nothing you do will prepare you for the way the 620R feels, and I mean feel. Because this isn’t all about acceleration and speed, this is about connection. I swear I didn’t get in to the 620R, I put it on.
Of course that’s Suzy not me, I can’t take pictures and drive at the same time… I’m not Larry Chen after all. When we asked the good people at Caterham if we could spend some time with the 620R, they were incredibly British in posing the question if whoever was going to be driving the car had experienced anything similar before? As this is the company’s most powerful model and being late February, it might be a little damp out there. Of course we reassured them of our competence, but truth is, nothing is similar to this. I mean that. Nothing.
So how could you be ready for it? Everybody keeps saying that the 620R has a better power-to-weight ratio than the Bugatti Veyron, which as far as I’m concerned is kind of a pointless observation. This has four wheels in common with the Veyron. Such an analogy is flawed. It’s there so the masses can make some sense of just how radical the 620R is.
The Caterham shape is distinctive and synonymous with the name. That basic all-bonnet profile was first sold by Colin Chapman in 1957. That’s 57 years ago! So you could be forgiven for thinking this is just a stripped-down clubman’s car – exciting sure, but not overly fast. Which would be a massive mistake.
Partly because of this: a 2 litre Ford Duratec-based engine that’s been built up by Caterham Racing and had a supercharger bolted on the side. They chose the 2 litre engine instead of the larger capacity 2.3 litre to keep it under the bonnet line… Which means they might have actually considered the bigger motor at some point. If that’s the case, I’m beginning to wonder what kind of mentalists the Caterham engineers are? The best kind from what I’ve seen so far.
There’s not a great deal of room in the nose cone, but what there is has been filled with an alloy radiator and intercooler. The power figure is 310hp, which in today’s numbers might not sound a lot. After all, your friend’s Skyline has got 400hp, right?
Well that’s partly true but what I would add is that the magnificent engine and induction choice are just part of the process. Given how minimal the Caterham is, there’s actually a whole lot more going on here.
Based on what I’ve heard so far about the 620R, I should be wary. Add in the fact it’s late February and during my drive to the Caterham showroom, I passed through rain and sleet with a forecast threatening the same for the rest of the day. I was actually quite worried. Crashing a manufacturer’s demo car is seriously not cool.
Like I said at the start, fear is a good thing though, so as I’m shown around the controls it all goes straight in. Granted there’s not a huge amount to absorb, but this is what Caterham and the 620R are all about. Just the essential things in life; nothing fancy to dress up. This is the connection I was talking about: nothing superfluous between you and the sensation to dilute the experience.
That said, there are a couple of unnecessary items in the ‘cabin’. Can you spot them? Yup, a button for windscreen wipers and washer. At the time of writing there are two 620Rs in existence, with the first customer cars due for delivery in the Spring of 2014. The other demo car has a screen and washer. I’m guessing that these two buttons will tease me all day.
Because it’s pretty exposed in here and that’s what a car like the 620R does so well – exposes you to all the elements of the drive. The curved carbon wind deflector does a pretty good job if you keep your eye line just above it, but at the very least you need to wear glasses of some kind above 30mph. I’d brought some ski goggles with me that sit snug to my face as I made my way out on to the motorway, headed for Brands Hatch circuit where I met up with Suzy.
This is when I discovered my first friend of the day: the gear indicator. A simple telltale gauge that is worth its weight in carbon. Because if you’ve never driven with a sequential box before, then it can be hard to remember what gear you’re in. That might sound like I don’t know what I’m doing, so I’ll explain.
First up is the noise of the transmission and twin-plate clutch. You have to load the revs up to ensure that the vicious bite of the clutch doesn’t eat the engine’s power and make it stall. It’s as though the transmission is waiting and ready to snatch whatever the Duratec can give it, like a masochistic gearbox ready and loving the abuse it gets. To select first, you pull the lever back. Well, back is an exaggeration. The shift distance could probably be measured in millimetres.
Next you need to pull away and the best way to do this is to launch it. I kid you not. The feeling of aggression you get from the clutch almost questions my machismo from inside the bellhousing. ‘What? Is that it? Is that all you’ve got? How dare you try and ‘slip’ me! WUSS.’
So now you’re rolling, the box is able to take flat shifts. So you pin the throttle and grab gears, just split seconds apart (you can hit 60mph in first!). In my case, the shifts come steadily higher up the rev range as the day goes on and my confidence rises. Your brain tunes out the noise from the exhaust under your elbow as all your other senses scream ‘Hang on, we need help here!’. Your vision tunnels down and you become acutely aware of how near to an accident you’ll be if you disregard any slight loss of traction. I’m passing traffic like I’m entering warp speed.
So given all that, what gear are we in again?
I can only think that this is what it must feel like to sprint naked across the Superbowl stadium mid-game: daring, exhilarating and quite likely to get you in massive trouble while garnering respect from all around you. Proper ‘Hold my beer, watch this’ action. But the Caterham gives you all this just like a best mate would. You’re not encased in a cockpit or shielded from the world by titanium and glass, this is roar and real. This is the car equivalent of partying with the friend where nights end up in a swimming pool, in a foreign country and you don’t know how you got there. It’s a great place, but what just happened?
But don’t just take my word for it. Suzy pulls up alongside me after driving the Caterham for the first time and laughs out the words ‘This thing’s f***ing mental!’ For added impact I really feel I should help you along with how Suzy sounds when she talks – do you know what acockney is? Let’s not forget her daily driver is a track-prepared Evo. Given that there’s not a lot of her, it amuses me she had to remove a shoe to drive the 620R. Just an excuse to get more pedal feel… Probably.
Without pushing you out of a third floor window, the only other way I can convey the sensation to you is by quoting some factory supplied numbers, which incidentally I have no reason to doubt. First up is a 0-60 time of 2.8 secs… Try and count that now, actually don’t worry it will have taken you roughly 4.6 secs to read this sentence. By which time I will be in the distance somewhere, flat-shifting the sequential box, being squeezed tight by my surroundings. It’s not all about driving like a lunatic (well almost), because going back to my previous gear/memory conundrum, it’s also incredibly drivable in any gear once you’re rolling. At 50mph in sixth gear you can put your foot down and just go. Sure, if you want to drop two, three or even four gears you can, but thanks to that supercharger, the power is there at the bottom of the rev range. Impatiently waiting.
The performance figures are a direct result of the engine power and of course the minimal weight, as the 620R weighs an incredible 545kg (1200lbs). I did an internet search using that weight to see what else was out there to compare to. How does a full-grown leatherback turtle sound? Not good? What about if I said it’s just 40% of the weight of a Pagani Huarya?
What makes me smile about the Caterham is the apparant lack of anything to help you in your fight for control of all this power. There’s a certain honesty in the lack of aerodynamic aids, for example you’re looking at the Aerofoil wishbones.
Then there are these canards on either side of the nose cone – functional, probably, although to me they look like a token gesture. As though you could blame them when you write a talent cheque you can’t cash. ‘Oh I lost front-end grip. A canard, err, didn’t work’.
Because I think I’ve worked out what the Caterham is: it’s a friend who calls you out on things, that won’t let you get away with lying or pretending. The 620R is the truth. It let’s you know how good you are and when you get it right, it’s quite possibly the most connected car with a distinctly separate character I’ve ever driven. If I was faced with the horrible decision of having to choose between this and the BAC Mono, both of which are incredible cars to drive, I’d go with the Caterham because I could high five my buddy after we launch over the horizon at a frankly ridiculous pace.
So the 620R and I are friends. It’s more talented than I am but unless you play with people or things that are better than you, how do you ever expect to improve? It’s been a brief day and as the rain really starts to fall, I head back to the showroom to make sure that it’s in good shape for a weekend of test drives with potential owners. This very car was on Top Gear less than six days ago and suddenly the entire world now wants one.
Merging in with similar shapes, the raucous hooligan is almost lost, but not quite. Because I know its lairy secret, its ability to kill superbikes and even carry shopping (yes there’s luggage space). With the windscreen option fitted, the 620R could almost be considered practical and… No, wait, actually that will never happen. This is the sort of car you drive for half an hour and you need a rest. It’s tiring, demanding, noisy and in the wrong hands, potentially lethal.
And I want one. Badly.
Bryn Musselwhite
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