Chris Harris brings together the Morgan Three Wheeler and Caterham Seven Supersport but not to do a head to head comparison. This video is more of a celebration of what makes the British lightweight sports car such a special experience. He says, “These cars remind us what driving, and in a sense motoring, is all about. It’s about the sensations of controlling a machine not the speed with which you cover ground, although both of these are very, very quick. But it’s also about the adventure. Wrap up warm and cover 150 early morning miles in either and you’ll be reminded why you loved cars as a kid, why your first time behind the wheel was one of your defining moments in life. These then are the essence of driving.”
I think Chris Harris may currently be the world’s favorite automotive journalist. What I mean is that many automakers enjoy giving him access to their latest and greatest cars because he always gives an honest and well articulated opinion that excites his readers and subscribers. It works out for us here at Flux Auto because we’re now entering an era of hybrid and electric supercars. McLaren just announced the P1 hybrid and Ferrari was not far behind with the LaFerrari. We already have the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive and Porsche has been working on this 918 Spyder since last year. Journalists have been getting unprecedented rides in the 918’s test mules very early on in the development process probably as a demonstration on just how much work has gone into the controls architecture that blends power from the electric motors and the V8.
This video from Chris Harris is the first that I’ve found where Porsche has allowed outside personnel to drive the cars. They also prepared better finalized technical specifications and some technology demonstrations including a new technique where they are skinning carbon fiber with aluminum. Chris also gets a few minutes to pick the brain of the lead engineer and even discuss the merits and market demand for a hybrid supercar. In the end, the 918 Spyder will sell simply because it’s a technological masterpiece of a halo car. The training of engineers on electric and hybrid performance is also necessary even if the end result is a car that performs only equally as well as current technology. That’s the only way we’ll break through to green cars that perform better than gasoline cars.
Usually when you hear that something has been “re-imagined,” you can assume it’s going to be total crap. Just take a look at Hollywood’s desperate lack of creativity over the last few years if you don’t believe me. That’s why you could be forgiven for being skeptical about Singer’s re-imagining of the Porsche 911 upon first hearing about it. They’ve basically decided to cherry pick the best features from the various cars that populate the air-cooled era of the 911 and combine them into one. If you think about it, the fact that the general shape of the car has not changed since its inception makes the 911 probably the only car where you could Frankenstein the different models and still end up with a coherent package in the end. Toss in custom carbon fiber body work, Ohlins suspension, an engine by Cosworth and top it off with maniacal attention to detail and you could say thing Singer really did pull off a legitimate re-imagining of an iconic car. Chris Harris pays the Singer workshop in LA a visit to discuss car building philosophy and to see what goes into each car. He then takes one out for a spin on California roads and at the track to see where theory meets reality. The video is long, but it’s definitely worth checking out to see what a deep passion for the 911 combined with basically an unlimited budget can birth.
Chris Harris heads to a frozen lake in Sweden to partake in what he calls “leisure oversteer” in some classic Porsche 911 rally cars. He discusses why Porsche’s signature rear engine layout is so good for rally drifts and then finishes up with a pretty in-depth discussion about the studded snow and ice tires used in the World Rally Championship.
Ford has got a serious jump start on GM and Chrysler with their EcoBoost technology. Their monster 3.5 liter twin turbo direct injection V6 outperforms the naturally aspirated V8’s in almost all areas while delivering significantly better gas mileage and longevity. It’s a no sacrifice win-win situation brought about by good engineering. Unfortunately sales to the masses don’t always follow proper logic. Ford knew they had a good engine, but they weren’t sure it would be accepted by their core customers. The EcoBoost V6 has seen good sales in the F-150, but Ford was hesitant to pair it with their halo-model Raptor. I think that’s also the reason why we have yet to see an Ecoboost Mustang (though that would be incredibly awesome). The fear was that too many people associated Ford performance with V8’s, but hopefully that will start to change.
One argument for the paradigm shift is this SDHQ built Eco-Raptor. The truck started life as an EcoBoost F-150 whose frame and body got swapped out for Raptor parts. Apparently it was cheaper to do it that way since an EcoBoost crate engine is $17,000. It seems like a lot of work, but the results speak for themselves. The DRIVE crew use a regular 6.2 liter V8 Raptor as the camera platform for this video and they got 11.6 mpg while the EcoBoost equipped truck got 16.8. That’s more than 5 mpg difference with the EcoBoost model making more power while having equivalent offroad capabilities. Like I said, it’s a win-win no compromise situation. More power with less fuel. It is possible to have fun, save money and be environmentally responsible all at the same time. You know we are fully behind these types of movements here at Flux Auto.
