Ram considering an SVT Raptor competitor?

Wouldn't be an aftermarket kit

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Ford should be feeling pretty good right now as Ram is reportedly considering a competitor to the F-150 SVT Raptor.

Mopar's vice president of sales and field operations told Wards Auto "My boss would really like us to try to do a little more research on the Raptor and how it does." Pat Dougherty went on to say “If we could see that the volume was significant enough that it makes sense to do it, we’ll do it."

Dougherty declined to elaborate but any production model would likely have a number of styling tweaks including a lifted suspension and larger off-road tires.

Mopar already offers a Ram Runner package - which includes a ventilated hood, modified fenders and a lift kit - but the proposed model would come straight from the factory just like the SVT Raptor.

Source: Wards Auto via Autoblog and Worldcarfans

Inception: Driving a prototype Jensen Interceptor

“You like Jensen Interceptors,” said Classic Automobiles Worldwide Ltd’s Anthony Bentley. “Well, we’ve got the very first one in our showroom, so why not come down and have a look at it?” He’s right; we do, and we spent a morning in the company of the original motor show and press car, built by Vignale in Italy. It is also the very first Interceptor registered.

In fact, chassis JM/EXP115 still carries its original number plate, ‘HEA 1D’ from 15 September 1966 and has just 84,000 believed-to-be-genuine miles on the clock. While most will know that the West Bromwich-based company commissioned Carrozzeria Touring to design the CV8 replacement’s all-metal body, it was to Vignale that Jensen turned when it needed early production capacity.
Having constructed one Interceptor prototype based on an adapted CV8 chassis, Jensen made another, this time all-new car for the model’s launch at the 1966 British Motor Show – the grey metallic 2+2 you see here. As an early car, not only was it built in Italy, but it also carries the smaller-capacity (6,276cc, or 383ci - but more highly tuned) Chrysler V8 and a three-speed TorqueFlite transmission with no ‘Park’. To start the big V8, the selector should be in ‘Neutral’.

Italianesque switchgear abounds in the smart cabin, with simple black leather seats and plain, varnished wood on the dash and the doors. Note the rotary dial for the Armstrong 'Selectaride' rear dampers, as fitted to many an Aston Martin or Bristol of the period. The Radiomobile 8-track is typical of the time and the large, wood-rimmed steering wheel helps out with the non-assisted steering.


As soon as it landed in Britain, this sensational-looking four-seater, with its characteristic ‘goldfish bowl’ rear screen, soon found its way into the hands of the road-testers. Registered in the UK as HEA 1D, Autocar timed it at 7.3 seconds from zero to 60mph, with a maximum of 133mph. It was also featured byAutosport (14 October 1966) and Motor (4 February 1967).
It was normal practice in those days to scrap such early cars. However, on the insistence of a Mr Heald, after 25,000 miles and just a little over 12 months of motoring, HEA 1D was sold to Heald for £3,100. Since then, the car’s massive history file has been regularly added to and includes the original green registration logbook, a copy of the bill of sale from Jensen Motors Ltd to its second owner, and much other factory correspondence and sundry paperwork.


Anthony Bentley would be the first to admit that the car is not in concours condition. It is, however, very ‘usable’ and did not miss a beat as we drove it from one photo location to another.
It’s highly original, as befits its status as, if not ‘Old Number One’, then certainly ‘Old Number Two’ in that rapidly appreciating world of the Jensen Interceptor.

Related Links For further information on this rare car, visit the Classic Driver Marketplace This was one of the first two Jensen Interceptors built. Other Jensens can be found in theClassic Driver Marketplace You can see all Classic Automobiles Worldwide's cars for sale in the Classic Driver Marketplace

Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Classic Driver

Why the ‘Royal Oak’? Audemars Piguet's prototype explored

Although bearing a name inspired by events that took place more than 300 years before, the story of one of the world’s most famous watches begins in 1970. At four o’clock one afternoon, the famous designer Gérald Genta received a call from Georges Golay, the Managing Director of Audemars Piguet.

“Mr Genta,” he said, “I need a steel sports watch that has never been done before: I want it to be something totally new and waterproof.” And, as if this challenge weren’t hard enough, draft sketches had to be submitted early the following day. Having completed an all-nighter at the drawing board, Genta presented what was to become the famous ‘Royal Oak’ first thing the next morning.

‘Monsieur le Directeur Général’ was impressed by the bold design of the steel watch, with its octagonal case, ‘portholes’ and visible screw heads. So impressed, in fact, that he gave Genta the green light for the project and a prototype was made in white gold (as the expensive tooling required for the far-harder-to-machine high-grade stainless steel needed time to buy and set up).

A seemingly huge (38mm) and expensive (3,750 Swiss Francs vs. a more usual 850 Swiss Francs for a quality steel timepiece) new watch was shown at the 1972 Basle watch fair: the Audemars Piguet ‘Royal Oak’.



And the unusual name?

Opinions differ, however most experts attribute it to a reference to the famous series of British warships that bore the name ‘Royal Oak’. The term refers to the tree in which King Charles II hid during his flight from Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads in the English Civil War. The first Royal Oak ship was a 76-gun launched in 1664 and burnt by the Dutch in 1667. The last was a Revenge-class battleship launched in 1914 and sunk when at anchor by a U-boat at Scapa Flow, Scotland, in 1939.

In total, eight ships of the Royal Navy have carried the name Royal Oak. Since its debut in 1972, the watch of the same name has been an international success, selling many thousands of examples in a variety of designs.

Related Links Further information about the Royal Oak can be found at www.audemarspiguet.com

Text: J. Philip Rathgen (ClassicDriver)
Photos: Audemars Piguet Archiv

Bildermeister: Your own car, picture perfect

German automobile photographic specialist Gallery Bildermeister is this year offering dedicated vehicle photo-shoots to all car owners, as part of the ‘Bildermeister Autofocus Tour 2013’ held in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

“This spring, we start our Autofocus Tour 2013,” says Gerrit Glöckner, CEO of Bildermeister GmbH & Co. KG. “This will enable us to continue the proven Bildermeister/Meilenwerk photo concept but in a greatly increased number of locations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Our professional photographers shoot private vehicles against artistic backdrops in unusual venues. The images are then digitally retouched to result in pictures of the very highest quality.”
As an example, the crisp images you see here would surely please the most artistic eye – thanks to elaborate lighting and carefully selected positions in the spacious main hall of the forthcoming Meilenwerk on the shores of Lake Zurich.

But this year, Bildermeister will also use other cities and locations where private owners can take their cars by prior arrangement. Photo-locations are often industrial backdrops where Bildermeister has previous experience of setting up professional shoots; and this year the tour starts in the forthcoming Meilenwerk building in Horgen on the banks of Lake Zurich on 23rd and 24th of March 2013. Next stop is in Meilenwerk Region Stuttgart on 6th and 7th of April 2013, followed by Meilenwerk Hamburg on 20th and 21st of April. Also scheduled this year are photo sessions in Salzburg, St. Moritz, Leipzig and Nuremberg, as well as in Cologne. In Frankfurt and Munich they will take place in May, September and October, giving car owners plenty of opportunity for exclusive indoor shoots.
A special highlight of the Bildermeister tour comes in the form of a major vehicle shoot in Berlin. “If all goes well, then we will stage this on the Havel Eiswerder Island where Meilenwerk Berlin will one day be located,” explains Gerrit Glöckner. “On that very island, close to Berlin’s city centre, we discovered a whitewashed hall with classic metal-framed windows, giving us the perfect location for sophisticated shots. The type of vehicle does not matter: whether a Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, Chevrolet Corvette, Jaguar XK120 or Porsche 911 Turbo, any car can benefit from the Bildermeister spotlight. This is due to the careful digital editing and the expertise of our photographic team.
“It is important that vehicles are positioned against a technically simple background,” continues Glöckner. “We take a series of photographs and then compose the final result digitally, so that it can seem – for example – that a Rolls-Royce is floating like a sculpture in space. Or the distinctive lines of the Chevrolet Corvette stand out with unrivalled clarity.”

This year, Bildermeister offers its automotive photo-shoots as a choice of three packages. In the basic package, the vehicle is photographed several times on a set. The customer receives all the images in the form of digital contact sheets for viewing and pre-selection. Two chosen images are then digitally retouched in terms of colour, contrast, sharpening, retouching and the final look. All edited images are provided for free use by the digital media gallery. Such a shoot takes about half an hour and costs EUR 199. In the more extensive second package, the vehicle is photographed several times on at least three sets. Bildermeister then prepares five shots of the customer’s choice. The price includes also an individual MINIpic ® worth EUR 49.90, including shipping. The total price of package two is EUR 399. The third package additionally includes interior and detail images, giving the client a full photographic vehicle documentation of professional quality. For this, the vehicle is on set for two hours, and the price is EUR 498. The price for each of the three packages includes a private, password-protected online photo ‘garage’, exclusive to the customer, allowing the owner to view the photographs online, anytime, anywhere. To register for the Bildermeister Autofocus Tour 2013 please contact Bildermeister directly.

Related Links Contact: Bildermeister GmbH & Co. KG Mr Gerrit Glöckner, CEO (www.bildermeister.com info@bildermeister.com Tel.: +49 8561 912417 Maserati Sebring seen from the Bildermeister perspective

Interview: Classic Driver
Photos: Bildermeister