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Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible: Kissed by the sun

Who needs speed when he can drink the light white wine of the Baden region in South West Germany? The area is known for its vineyards – and also sunshine, the perfect place for a ride in a convertible. We tried the latest ‘Speed’ version of the Continental Convertible; a 2013, a good vintage.

If this Bentley were a wine, it would be a serious Bordeaux

With its mighty W12 engine and imposing looks, if this Bentley were a wine, it would be a serious Bordeaux. But as the great vintages often take their toll the day after serious sampling, it wasn’t to France that we steered the Bentley, but to Baden, in South West Germany. The sunny area famous for its crisp, light, white wines.

Accelerate like a Riva on a foaming lake

The mountain range known as the ‘Kaiserstuhl’, West of Freiburg, on the border of Alsace, rises in front of us like an island. We slip through the Rhine valley in our cashmere-coloured Bentley.  While many high-end manufacturers list a convertible in their range, Bentley’s fastest model always holds a special place in our hearts. We love the deep rumblings from the W12, which swell as the pedal is depressed. They soon rise to a torrent-like thunder and we then salute the acoustic engineers from Crewe for engineering such a sound. Driving the car is more akin to steering a powerful Riva on a foaming lake than a 625bhp/202mph supercar.

To the left, Sylvaner, to the right Grauer Burgunder – a drive through the lush grapevines

Breathing in the clear summer air, we glide through gently curving roads among the lush green vines. Numerous grape varieties can be seen on the terraces: from Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner, to Gewürztraminer, and Grauen and Weißen Burgundies. In almost every small town one can see some sort of wine cooperative. And there are also many winemakers dedicated to a certain grape. Names such as Freiherr von Gleichenstein, Dr. Heger, Professor Blankenhorn and Fritz Keller. Keller is also famous for his restaurant the ‘Schwarzer Adler’ (the ‘Black Eagle’) as well as the exclusive estate of his father, high up in the mountains. A strict policy of quality control and careful cultivation makes these wines well known far beyond the Baden region. And in the caves of Fritz Keller some exceptional vintages can be found. So, calculating that the boot of our Bentley can hold a volume of 260 litres, we decided to go on a shopping spree.

You can taste the flavour of a Bentley

The concept of sustainability, well-practiced in the Kaiserstuhl region, has a friend in the latest Bentley. After all, its consumption is improved by 15 per cent against its predecessor. And thanks to the permanent four-wheel-drive system, the most remote vineyard is within your grasp. Plus, should it rain on your journey from Achkarrer Schlossberg to Ihringer Winklerberg, you are safe in the knowledge that the triple-layer fabric hood will withstand even a monsoon.

There remains one question to answer: if some wines evoke the fine strings of Mozart, which vintage echoes the 12-cylinder basso profondo of the 2013 Continental GT Speed ​​Convertible? From our trip, we would recommend a good Bassgeige Grauburgunder from Franz Keller.

Photos: Jan Baedeker

You can configure your new Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible at bentleymotors.com. Our car was painted  Dark Cashmere, with leather in Linen and Dark Walnut trim.

Our drive in a Bentley Continental GT Speed Coupé can be read elsewhere on Classic Driver.

Goodbye, T2: Volkswagen to end Brazilian Kombi production

The Volkswagen Kombi’s goliath 56-year production run is finally up and, to celebrate the achievement, the final 600 T2s will get the special, 'Final Edition' treatment…

The Type 2 Microbus, as it’s now officially known, has been produced in Brazil since September 2, 1957, making it the longest continually produced model in automotive history.

In those 56 years – and despite the more than 1.5 million Kombis produced – it has managed to avoid the growing 'nanny laws' that have seemingly gripped the rest of the western world. But now, perhaps inevitably, the loveable Camper’s time has run out, due to new safety regulations in Brazil itself.

Before production ceases, however, Volkswagen has announced 600 ‘Last Edition’ Kombis to celebrate the end of Brazil’s most successful VW model. Features unique to the ‘Last Edition’ include a commemorative numbered plaque (and certificate of authenticity), Atlanta Blue vinyl upholstery and curtains with branded fasteners, as found on the iconic 60s and 70s models.

The retro blue and white paintwork and classic white-wall tyres all add to the sense of nostalgia, yet the MP3/USB connectivity in the cabin plunges the Kombi into the 21^st Century, not to mention livening up that weekend away.

The fact that it has lasted so long is testament to its true versatility, style and verve. If only other classics stood up to the test of time (and safety) as well as the Kombi has. We can think of several motoring delights that we're sure would fly off the forecourts, should they still be on sale today.

Photos: Volkswagen via Classic Driver

gourmandise

2013 Silverstone: Cal Crutchlow gets stung three times by a wasp

Cal Crutchlow admitted that the start at his home round wasn’t the most satisfying - for someone who is looking to be the first British rider to finish on a podium in 13 years. The Yamaha Tech3 rider concluded the second session in sixth, just behind Valentino Rossi and was less than 0.1s behind Alvaro Bautista in fourth.

Crutchlow spent the entire day trying out the two different tank and seat units that he has available, instead of working on a definite race set-up, and he also had to fight against a nasty wasp that had crawled into his leathers and stung him three times on the chest.

Firstly it was fantastic to see such a big crowd here at Silverstone today. The support from the British fans always gives you a boost and it was a special feeling to see so many here on the first day,” said Crutchlow. “It hasn’t been an easy start to my home race but I am sure we can make some big improvements. This morning wasn’t too bad and I was satisfied to be in the top three but it was a bit more a struggle in FP2. We were trying the bike with different settings and at the moment I’ve not made a decision on which is the direction to go. I need to improve in two sectors to be faster and more competitive and one area we need to work on is front-end grip because I had too much wheelie. We will have a good look at the data tonight to make sure I’m stronger tomorrow

from Twowheelsblog

Jorge Lorenzo suprised by improvement, Rossi finally enjoying Silverstone track

Leading the second free practice and shattering his own record at Silverstone, not only suprised Jorge Lorenzo, but it also gave him a huge boost of confidence that this weekend, believing he will be able to fight for the victory, because of his race pace.

His squad made a few modifications on his M1 that allowed him to brake better than in the last round in Brno, and it is very victory hungry Lorenzo who desperately wants to win the British GP and have a chance at the title.

“I started very fast because I improved almost one second and a half in the beginning; I was surprised with the improvement. At this track, when the rear tyre starts to drop it’s very difficult to keep the same pace so we have to work hard to make a constant bike that works over long distance. I’m satisfied because I think we have the possibility to fight for the victory this time,” said Lorenzo.

Valentino Rossi finished the day in fifth as he used the harder compound tire compared to his team mate. The Italian is finally enjoying the British circuit because ‘you go a lot of time at full throttle.’

“I enjoyed today a lot, this track is great. If you are able to ride at the limit and have a good feeling with the bike, it’s very funny because it’s very fast, the track is so wide you go a lot of time at full throttle. I’m quite happy with the first day, especially because in the last two years I suffered a lot here in Silverstone. We made a good step, but we still have to work to find the right setting to have a good balance form the beginning to the end of the race. I’m not so bad in braking and entry but I have some problems in other areas so we have to work. We modified the setting from Brno because in the last two races I wasn’t strong enough.”

Rossi has never been huge fan of electronics and rider aids and has often said that they make racing rather dull. He reiterated his opinion during today’s post practice press conference saying that MotoGP bikes are too perfect and the their power should be cut in order to make the racing a better spectacle.

“This year I think the races are a bit more fun compared to the last years, but not fantastic. I think our bikes are too perfect and sometimes it is too difficult to make an overtake and battle,” said Rossi. “The bikes are amazing, but to have better racing you have to change the computer on the bike and put a computer with 50-60 per cent less power. Electronics are very important for safety, that is good, but now we have a lot of electronics that are all for performance.”

“Now, after you have set the bike in acceleration to go full throttle, with the computer, it is difficult to gain something. Maybe in the future MotoGP should go back a little in the level of the bikes and the races will be more fun, with some more mistakes, because now the rhythm is very fast and constant from the beginning to the end.”

from Twowheelsblog

First-Test | KTM Freeride 250R & Freeride 350 | Offroad-Action

WSBK ; Chaz Davies edges out Tom Sykes in QP1 at Nurburgring

For a long while Tom Sykes seemed to be ruling this afternoon’s QP1 at the iconic circuit of Nurburgring, after shaving off a little more than nine tenths of second from his FP1 lap time, only the Kawasaki rider lost the top position when Chaz Davies, on a very hot last lap, edged him out by a mere 0.017s as the BMW rider showed off his skills on the circuit that gave him his first World Superbike victory last year.

It was another tight session with eleven riders packed into less than one second.

Michel Fabrizio was once again the fastest Aprilia rider as he was third and just one tenth adrift from the BMW Goldbet rider. Leon Camer had a big improvement as he jumped from seventh to fourth and three tenths from the top of the timesheets and he was followed by Jonathan Rea and Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli.

Loris Baz dropped to seventh, as he lead Leon Haslam and Eugene Laverty who were finally able to break into the top ten in 8th and 9th, while Marco Melandri closed out the top ten.

Carlos Checa crashed out at turn 8, the Dunlop Kurve, on his first lap out leaving him with no recorded lap time and the risk of not taking part in Saturday’s Superpole, while Davide Giugliano binned his Aprilia at turn 4, but at least he did it after recording the 12th best time of the day.

2013 WSBK Nurburgring QP1 results:

1. Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR 1′55.034
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′55.051
3. Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′55.142
4. Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1′55.342
5. Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) Honda CBR1000RR 1′55.434
6. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′55.609
7. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′55.648
8. Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) Honda CBR1000RR 1′55.683
9. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′55.691
10. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR 1′55.705

from Twowheelsblog

Moto GP; 2013 Silverstone: Jorge Lorenzo commands FP2

Jorge Lorenzo laid down the hammer during the second free practice at sunny Silverstone. The Yamaha rider immediately lowered Marc Marquez’ best morning time, as he shattered his own previous 2012 circuit record - and this was on his third lap out - with a stunning 2.02.734, which he was unable to improve on, but showed off a envious race pace.

The reigning world champion wasn’t the only one to lower his lap times as everyone improved almost a second in the warmer conditions and with more rubber on the track, despite all the bumps that created some problems with the suspensions.

Marc Marquez ended up second fastest as he was able to cut the gap to just 0.224s and he was followed by his team mate Dani Pedrosa was able take third, but he was on hard tires. Alvaro Bautista put his Honda into fourth and he was 0.017s faster than Valentino Rossi.

The Italian concentrated on using a hard tire as he moved from a lowly eleventh up to fourth as he did a mini long run, while Cal Crutchlow was right on his tail in sixth.

Andrea Dovizioso was seventh and he definitely improved not only his position but also his lap time. Bradley Smith put his wheels in front of Stefan Bradl and they were already more than one second adrift from the top time.

Nicky Hayden closed out the top ten he was more than 1.3 seconds from Lorenzo and four tenths from his Ducati team mate.

Bryan Staring crashed out at turn 12 with less than four minutes in the session. The Australian limped away with the help of a marshal showing off a huge hole on the rear of his leathers.

2013 MotoGP Silverstone FP2 results:

01- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – 2’02.734
02- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.224
03- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.458
04- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 0.729
05- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.746
06- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.771
07- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.924
08- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.016
09- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 1.050
10- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.355

from Twowheelsblog

KTM 250 SX DE bikenstein by Sylvain Berneron

My buddy Sylvain Berneron of Holographic Hammer just sent me a cool new DE Bikenstein he designed, based on the KTM 2013 250SX 2 stroke in a kind of cafe racer style! It would be pretty sick to go up in the austrian mountains around the Kiska studio! 

The second bike is also based on a KTM 250SX and was done for El Solitario MC.

‘75 Honda CB360T - ‘Cowboy’

Written buy guest writer Phil Guy.

By all appearances Erik Harland Ludwig of Denver, Colorado, is living a fair approximation of the Man Dream. The 26-year old lives in his shop, ‘Machine Shed’, just him, no women (not permanently, anyway), no potpourri or cotton tips, just tools and grease and auto parts. By night he manages Meadowlark, quite possibly Denver’s smoothest bar, and by day he strips back and builds up, fabricates and assembles. Motorbikes or cars, it doesn’t matter, he loves both. No big surprise then that tearing out of this vortex of gritty cool is this raffish dirt rat, affectionately known as ‘Cowboy’.

The base? A ’75 CB360T. ‘Bought stock and nowhere near running,’ says Erik. The motor was stripped and rebuilt, getting new hardened internals in the process. The carbys, too, rebuilt and re-jetted. The frame was detabbed and the sub-frame shortened, and gained a rear hoop of Erik’s making. The tank is from a ’72 Husky 400 Cross, and demanded some top tube mods for the right fit.

Like many rat builds, the provenance of some parts are known—‘I made the tail light from random rusty metal bits and shaped the lens from the stock tail light’—while others, not so much—‘I think the headlight is an old rusty fog light bucket for a car.’ And what about that seat? ‘It’s a rolled up Mexican blanket that was lying around the shop, held on by my grandfather’s old broken belt. I use the blanket when I go camping up in the mountains.’

Erik did all the work himself, even mounting the tyres. (‘A pain in the ass,’ he recalls.) Custom fabrications include the metal electronics box under the seat, the starter unit and kill switch on the bars, and a simplified wiring harness. The rear fender was taken from a ‘78 CX500, cut short and kick-up to a ducktail.

‘It’s insanely fun to ride,’ Erik says. ‘Especially in the dirt.’ We don’t question that at all—we just hope that blanket stays in place over the bumps!

Not surprisingly Erik is now getting requests for commissioned builds. It wouldn’t surprise us if he got a request or two for a life swap either.

[Photos by Sara Ford]

via PIPEBURN

Scott Redding signs two year deal with Gresini's MotoGP squad

Ahead of this weekend’s Silverstone round, and as highly expected Moto2 standings leader Scott Redding will be making the switch to the premier class next season and will be riding for the Gresini team, after signing a two-year deal with the Italian team.

The 20-year-old will be riding the new Honda production racer for Gresini and replacing Bryan Staring in the squad.

Honda’s production racer that will be tested by former two-time World champion Casey Stoner is low cost version of the RC213V, and will not have pneumatic valves or the famed seamless transmission, but will be allowed more fuel and more engines and will use the Magneti Marelli spec ECU.

“I am looking forward to the challenge of MotoGP next season. I’ll be racing alongside the best riders in the world, aboard the brand-new Honda production racer, so I know already how steep a learning curve it’s going to be. This was why it was so important to me that I made this step with an experienced team, and there are few more experienced in the MotoGP paddock than Team Go&Fun Honda Gresini,” commented Scott Redding.

“My focus for now is on winning the Moto2 World Championship for Marc van der Straten, without whose support over the past four years I wouldn’t even have been given this opportunity to move up to the premier class,” continued the British rider.

“I’m delighted to be able to work with a young talent like Scott Redding. We have signed a two-year contract together, with the clear aim of building an ambitious project that should see him develop and be taken to the pinnacle of MotoGP. Scott has already shown that he has a lot of quality and so we are proud to welcome him into our team. We cannot wait to begin working with him; his riding style is great to watch, as is his approach to racing,” said team owner Fausto Gresini.

Bruno Bollini, GO&FUN President and title sponsor of the team added, “I’m really happy that we have signed the deal with Scott Redding. We couldn’t have chosen a better rider. I’ve been following him closely over the past couple of seasons and I think he’s a great talent and represents the future of motorcycling. He is young, fast and full of energy. His riding style along with his own ‘trendy’ look mean he fits in perfectly with the GO&FUN message; energy, adrenaline, intelligence and enjoyment. I am certain that 2014 will be a fantastic season results-wise, and that Redding will be a positive addition to the success of Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini.”

from TWOWHEELSBLOG