CHEVROLET CERV II

The Chevrolet CERV II is one of those historical curiosities that, in an alternate reality, could have been as famous as the Ford GT40.

The CERV II (that stands for Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle) was the follow on from the CERV I, an open-wheeled technology testbed for Chevrolet. The CERV II was designed to be far more than just a technology testbed, the project was the brainchild of Zora Arkus-Duntov – the man known as the “Father of the Corvette”, and it was destined to be the car that took the fight to Ford and the Ferraris.

Duntov had Tom Lapine and Larry Shinoda design the car, their project brief was to design a mid-engined car capable of racing against the Ford GT40 and winning. Like the GT40, the CERV II had a space-frame monocoque chassis, a mid-mounted V8 and made extensive use of aluminium and magnesium to keep the weight as low as possible.

Interestingly, the car had a 4-wheel drive system with variable power delivery. Power would be sent to both the front and rear wheels with a rear-wheel bias at higher speeds, this allowed the four-wheel drive system to contribute greatly to acceleration and handling – making the car a genuine threat to Ford’s all conquering GT40.

Sadly, the bean-counters at Chevrolet nixed the project before it had a chance to race. Initial testing by Jim Hall, Roger Penske and Bob Clift proved beyond a doubt that the CERV II was a veritable beast on the track with a 0-62 time of 2.8 seconds and a top speed in excess of 200mph. The fact that this thing never got a fair fight with the GT40 is one of the great travesties of the 1960s, hopefully one day a billionaire with taste will make it happen. Preferably at Le Mans. In the rain.

If you already have a GT40 and you’d like to set up a racetrack duel you might be interested to know that the CERV II is coming up for auction on the 21st of November 2013. It’ll be one of the headline offerings at the Art of the Automobile auction held by RM Auctions, if you’d like to read more you can click here to view the official listing.

Photo Credits: Michael Furman ©2013 Courtesy of RM Auctions.via SILODROME

Bespoke Royal Enfield by S2 Customs

 

With a population over 1.2 billion India has to be one of the biggest motorcycle markets in Asia, yet only a handful of motorcycle manufacturers have been investing into the Indian Motorcycle market.

Times are changing because India is changing and demanding. The youth in India has had enough of the Indo Jap mixed stock bikes. It’s time for a change and that change comes from a long held desire. Recently we have featured 2 other modified Royal Enfield’s from India. Today’s feature build a Royal Enfield custom aka 535 Panj so Penti is from S2 customs, and is further evidence the custom scene in India has started flourishing.

When it comes to customizing motorcycles in India the Royal Enfield has to the first choice, Royal Enfield has been a reliable motorcycle for Indian motorcycle enthusiasts and it’s Army for decades. This Royal Enfield 535cc is a good first attempt from S2 customs.

Lets take a look at Indian metal fabrication history. You might be surprised to know that the art of metal work in India dates back 4500 years. The beautiful image of a dancing girl from Mohanjodaro bares testimony to this fact. Some of you may heard of the great Damascus sword, what you may not know is that Damascus steel was created from wootz steel, a steel developed in India around 300 BC.

Back to the feature of the day, Manmeet tells us “ Born and raised in the Doaba region of Punjab (Jalandhar), this is my first project and I teamed up with my dad. We had been discussing machines ever since I was a kid and one day we decided to start up a custom motorcycle shop.  We started the shop to beat up the metal hard enough to hear the thump out of it. We will be working on donor bikes from clients as well as our shop owned bikes.

The base for this build was a stock 2000 Royal Enfield 535cc. It took us around 2 months to complete as it was our first build. The team involved for the build was a fabricator/metal worker, a mechanic to take care of the mechanical work and I did the visualization of the bike from the fabrication to the paint job to the final renderings.

The modification work includes 72 spoke rims wrapped in Pirelli tyres. At the front this Royal Enfield custom features a one-off handlebar, Tri star headlight, pair of LED indicators and a single saddle seat. We have also added handle mounted rear view mirrors. The engine had been fitted with a performance air filter. Whilst other modifications includes a custom battery case with ignition switch.

The biggest challenge was to get the rims painted and re assembled, as these are not the regular ones which we find in the Indian market these days. For these I found an elderly retired rim specialist and convinced him to assemble the rims perfectly. My favorite part of this build are the rims off course, I also like the headlight, rear view mirrors and the engine, which looks fab after the paint job and the nickle screws”.

Images by - S2 Customs

via http://motorivista.com

The world champion, relaxing at home! / Le champion « at home » !

French rally fans get two chances to see WRC action: the Rallye de France and the Rallye Monte-Carlo. The former is based in Alsace, home of Sébastien Loeb, while much of this year’s Monte takes place near Gap, where the multiple world champion’s successor Sébastien Ogier grew up. The 2014 champ seems particularly relaxed, despite the added pressure of a home fixture.

Les fans de rallye français ont deux opportunités de voir du WRC : au Rallye de France et au Rallye Monte-Carlo. Le premier est basé en Alsace, chez Sébastien Loeb. Et cette année, le Monte-Carlo se déroule en grande partie à Gap, ville natale de Sébastien Ogier. Le Champion du monde 2014 paraissait relax aujourd’hui malgré la pression.

In Alsace, you couldn’t escape the Loebmania phenomenon. This part of France is a big population centre and the local lad’s rise to superstar status caught the locals’ imagination, even though rallying was perhaps less popular here than in many parts of France.

The situation is slightly different in the case of Sébastien Ogier who stemmed Loeb’s reign in 2013. The new champion comes from a small village (Forest-Saint-Julien) in the remote Champsaur valley, about 20km from Gap which has just over 40,000 inhabitants. It is also the capital of France’s most sparsely-populated ‘department’, Les Hautes-Alpes. It is consequently no surprise that we are not seeing the same hysteria that has been a feature of recent visits to Strasbourg (metropolitan area population: 750,000!) where police escorts were frequently organised to facilitate Loeb’s movements.

Meanwhile, sport in general – skiing and rallying in particular – has long been a way of life in the Hautes-Alpes which also produced the 2006 Dakar winner and skiing champion Luc Alphand, so the contrast between the pre- and post-Ogier periods is not as evident. “You’re talking about mountain folk,” notes Olivier, reporter for the local paper, “so there’s a natural tendency to be more reserved.”

Even so, the ‘rally day’ organised in Gap to celebrate Ogier’s world crown last November was a big hit in Gap where the VW driver performed parade laps round the town in his Polo R WRC, as well as at the municipal skating rink.

The driver himself is playing down any advantage his local knowledge might give him, but acknowledges that it’s a pleasure to be kicking off the 2014 WRC on home soil, with N°1 on the door of his car. “Starting in Gap is a special moment, of course,” he smiles. “In sporting terms, it makes no difference, though, because there are only two stages I already know. All the others are new. That said, my family and friends will be watching and I think I will have of plenty of support, so that’s nice…”

Observing the Frenchman at the service park today, he showed no signs of being under any special pressure and the team has not felt the need to shield him from the public, although a bodyguard has been arranged just in case the crowds get too much. “We’ve just tried to make sure his different PR commitments today pass off without a hitch,” said a VW spokesperson. “We had our usual press gathering this afternoon, then there was an autograph session in town this afternoon, followed by an electric kart race at the skating rink. After that, we want him to concentrate on preparing for the rally like he would for any other event…”

En Alsace, impossible d’échapper à la « Loebmania ». Cette région française très peuplée, où le rallye n’était pas particulièrement populaire jadis, s’est convertie à la discipline une fois Loeb devenu superstar.

La situation est un peu différente pour Sébastien Ogier qui a mis un terme au règne de Loeb l’an passé. Le nouveau champion a grandi à Forest-Saint-Julien, un petit village dans la vallée du Champsaur, à une vingtaine de kilomètre de Gap (40 000 habitants). Gap est la préfecture des Haute-Alpes, le département où la population est la moins dense de l’Hexagone. Il ne fallait donc pas s’attendre à voir la même hystérie qu’à Strasbourg (750 000 habitants) ces dernières années pour le Rallye de France où les organisateurs demandaient une escorte policière pour faciliter les déplacements de Loeb.

Et puis les Haute-Alpes ont déjà sorti de grands champions, de ski bien sûr, mais aussi de rallye comme Luc Alphand, vainqueur du Dakar 2006. Alors le contraste entre l’avant et l’après Ogier n’est pas aussi marqué. « Les gens ici sont des montagnards, d’un naturel plus réservé », ajoute Olivier, journaliste au quotidien local.

Malgré tout, le « Rally Day » organisé à Gap le 8 novembre dernier pour fêter le titre mondial de Sébastien Ogier fut une totale réussite. Il y avait plus de 3500 personnes à la patinoire pour applaudir Seb Ogier faire des « donuts » avec sa Volkswagen Polo R WRC, et peut-être 10 000 ou 15 000 sur le Boulevard principal.

Sébastien Ogier affirme que même chez lui, il ne connaît pas mieux les spéciales que ses adversaires, mais il avoue volontiers que c’est un plaisir de débuter 2014 ici à Gap avec le n°1 sur les portières. « C’est un moment très particulier, bien sûr. Du côté sportif, je connaissais que deux spéciales, toutes les autres sont nouvelles. Mais sur un plan affectif, c’est différent : je sais que ma famille, mes amis et mes fans seront nombreux sur les spéciales à m’encourager, c’est super. »

Au parc d’assistance de Gap, Ogier n’a montré aucun signe de pression et le team l’a laissé déambuler dans le public, même si un garde-du-corps est prévu juste au cas où. « On s’assure juste que toutes ses interviewes et obligations se passent bien », a expliqué un porte-parole VW. « On a organisé notre traditionnel point-presse cet après-midi, puis il y aura une séance d’autographes en centre-ville suivie par une course de karting électriques à la patinoire. Après cela, on veut qu’il se concentre sur son rallye et qu’il le prépare comme un autre. »

Hyundai… and a little ice racing / Le point avec Hyundai et une course sur glace

Today’s activities included a visit to Hyundai Motorsport’s brand new hospitality unit followed by a kart race on ice starring the top WRC crews.

Avant le vrai départ du Monte-Carlo demain, les activités promotionnelles nous emmenaient dans l’immense hospitalité Hyundai Motorsport, puis à la patinoire de Gap pour une course de kart électrique entre les équipages WRC.

Visitors to the service park in Gap can’t fail to notice Hyundai’s huge 900 square-metre hospitality unit which sets a new benchmark for the WRC. The local Hyundai dealership, just 200 metres away seems tiny in comparison!

“Hyundai’s board wanted a building that could host not only the team’s technical staff, but also spectators and media and VIP guests in comfort,” explained Hyundai-Shell WRT boss Michel Nandan, formerly of Peugeot and Suzuki. “Spectators can watch the mechanics at work out of the cold. We even provide coffee. We located this building in Spain and we will have it with us at all the European rounds of the championship.

“It’s just one of the thousands of things we have had to coordinate in recent months, along with buying trucks and equipment and recruiting staff. There are now more than 100 people working at our base in Alzenau, Germany. At the same time, we have been working on the car’s development, of course… There were moments when we wondered if we would have two cars ready in time for the Monte-Carlo!

“Our aim here is to reach the finish, with both cars, in order to collect as much data as possible. We will have an idea of where we stand in performance terms after the first stage, but we’ve obviously still got a lot of work to do, on the engine and differential settings, for example.”

Team manager Alain Penasse is proud of the work that has been achieved so far: “We’ve got two fast, experienced drivers and a team of very skilled mechanics and engineers who have come from the worlds of WRC, DTM and GT racing, and even from F1.”

Later in the afternoon, we went to Gap’s skating rink to watch a race on ice between the top WRC crews in electric go-karts. The competition was won by Citroën’s Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle.

Elle fait jaser depuis hier. Pensez-donc : une structure de 900 m² plantée au milieu du parc d’assistance. Du jamais vu en WRC ! A 200 mètres de là, la concession Hyundai de Gap, dirigée par un ancien rallyman, Patrice Rouit, fait minuscule…

« Le directoire de Hyundai voulait une structure où l’on pouvait accueillir les équipes techniques, les médias, les VIP et les spectateurs dans de bonnes conditions », explique Michel Nandan, patron du team Hyundai-Shell WRT. « Les spectateurs peuvent voir le travail des mécanicien, au chaud, et on leur offre même du café. Nous avons trouvé cette structure en Espagne, elle sera sur toutes les manches européennes. »

« Ca fait partie des dix mille choses que nous avons dû gérer ces derniers mois », ajoute Michel Nandan, « comme l’achat des camions, du matériel, le recrutement du personnel (nous sommes désormais plus de cent personnes à Alzenau), et surtout le développement de la voiture. »

« Parfois, on s’est demandé si on arriverait à aligner deux voitures au Rallye Monte-Carlo ! On aurait pu prendre une année supplémentaire pour développer la voiture, mais on a choisi l’option de poursuivre son développement en participant aux rallyes. »

« Notre objectif du week-end est d’être à l’arrivée, si possible avec les deux autos, pour recueillir un maximum d’infos. Au niveau des performances, on en saura plus après la première spéciale, mais c’est évident qu’il nous reste beaucoup, beaucoup de travail, sur le moteur, les réglages des différentiels par exemple », poursuit Michel qui a participé aux projets Peugeot 206 WRC, 307 WRC et Suzuki SX4 WRC.

Alain Penasse, team-manager, est fier du travail accompli : « On a deux pilotes performants et expérimentés, on s’est entouré de mécaniciens et ingénieurs très compétents, issus du WRC, du DTM, du GT et même de la F1. Nous bénéficierons des services de Météo France sur l’ensemble de la saison. Je pense qu’on a fait les choses bien en très peu de temps. »

Quelques minutes plus tard, nous étions à l’Alp’Arena de Gap pour une course amicale sur glace. En effet, pour les pilotes (et copilotes !), le programme plutôt décontracté de cette veille de départ s’est conclu par une compétition au volant de karts électriques. Les Gapençais sont venus nombreux assister à ce show qui se déroulait sur la patinoire de l’équipe gapençaise de hockey sur glace – les « Rapaces ».

Tous les équipages se sont prêtés avec plaisir à ce spectacle sympathique et certains compétiteurs ont régalé le public de quelques belles figures qui se sont achevées dans les boudins protecteurs qui délimitaient la piste. A l’issue de ces courses par équipage, le premier prix est revenu à Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle, mais les choses sérieuses débutent ce matin…