Automotive

Range Rover Goes Icon With Its Icon

A number of high-end car companies have been in the restoration business for a while now. For example, Ferrari with their Classiche Certified program will take in old cars made in Maranello, and restore them to showroom condition. Range Rover has jumped into this game, with a factory restored 1978 three-door Range Rover Classic that will be shown in Paris at Salon Rétromobile 2017.

I guess what would make this odd is how it’s a truck company doing it this time.

Unique Fittings

Most of this factory retro stuff is preserve of people like Rolls Royce and Porsche. Mercedes-Benz, for example, goes so far as to say they have, or will make, parts for every car they have ever manufactured; back to and including their three-wheeled Patent-Motorwagen, the car that started it all.

Even more odd is the fact that third-party companies have been in the truck rehab and remanufacture game for a while now. There’s been this outfit in SoCal that goes by the name of Icon, as an example. They essentially take old Toyota Land Cruisers and remanufacturer them better than new. Really, their work is truly outstanding. The level of it makes seemingly anyone consider buying one of their trucks, until you look at the price, which is somewhere around the cost of a new Ferrari.

The Range Rover was launched in 1970, originally in two-door configuration only, up to 1981, when the first factory four-door was introduced. The first generation’s production in ended in 1996. Photo: Jaguar Land Rover.

Prestigious Programs

Whether any of this played into the corporate decision to get into the factory-resto business, Range Rover does not say. They do say the upcoming reveal in Paris of the factory-restored 1978 three-door Range Rover Classic is all part of their Reborn programme by Land Rover Classic. Yes, that’s “programme” with a superfluous m+e, and yes Reborn is a maddeningly pretentious name. But they both kind of fit the product, no?

The Range Rover Reborn program (with one “m” and no “e” you limey lobsterbacks) offers potential customers the prospect to purchase a “new” vintage Range Rover direct from the company itself. The team of experts at Land Rover Classic have drawn on decades of engineering and design experience to complete this first ride in the Range Rover Reborn agenda, a 1978 Classic Range Rover.

The 1978 Range Rover comes in Bahama Gold, which is a clever marketing way of saying sand-colored beige/tan/brown. It’s not a bad shade, and it is original, but it’s still beige/tan/brown, which is a horrid color to make work on a vehicle.

“Range Rover Reborn is another showcase of our dedicated in-house engineering expertise. It underscores our commitment to nurturing the rich heritage of Land Rover, and is a rare opportunity for customers to own a valuable and genuinely collectible automotive icon. It is a wonderful way to preserve the much sought after three-door original Range Rover from the 1970s, from period-correct color ways to interior trim and accessories,” said Tim Hannig, Director, Jaguar Land Rover Classic

Performance Specs

This beige colored box is propelled down the road and/or trail by a fully rebuilt 3528cc V8 engine. This is the same aluminum alloy V8 that Rover has used for decades, and, if I’m remembering this right, the British bought from Buick for a song back in the 1960s. My cousin Mike had a mid-60s Buick Special he got from his grandparents (Ed and Gladys) fitted with this engine, and it was a total sweetheart. Revved like the business and got great gas mileage.

Of course Buick got rid of it.

Who needs a small, efficient engine when you got things like nailhead mills pouring out of the Hamtramck plant like so many Polish sausages?

Anyway, in original (and now refurbished) Range Rover guise, this engine, fitted with a Zenith-Stromberg 175CD type carb, cranks out 132 horsepower at 5,000rpm and 186 lb-ft. of torque at 2,500 rpm. All of the power and grunt is put to the tarmac, ground, peat bog, or semi-gravel track via a 4-speed manual transmission with a lockable central differential.

Range Rover is considered a benchmark among luxury 4×4 vehicles. It remains a vehicle of choice for members of the Royal household, politicians, entertainers, and other notable figures from around the globe. During the 1970s, the Range Rover also became the first vehicle to be exhibited at the Louvre in Paris as an exemplary work of industrial design. Photo: Jaguar Land Rover.

Factory Settings

The company goes on to say the “new” 1978 Range Rovers will undergo a complete restoration to the 1970s factory specs using Land Rover Classic Parts to preserve and protect authenticity. They make no mention if the Rovers will be returned to the factory levels of build quality and reliability of the 70s, but they can’t be that sadistic, can they? If you decide you have to buy one of these new/old Range Rovers, Land Rover’s restoration team will guide you through the best options in terms of collectability, preferred chassis numbers, and unique characteristics.

Very helpful of them.

Cost? Well, completed Range Rover Reborn restorations from Land Rover Classic will start at £135,000 GBP, or around $150,000 USD. Which is, jeepers creepers, a lot of green. But what do I know? If old Range Rovers are your thing, I’m not going to argue with you.

Salon Rétromobile 2017 runs February 8th through the 12th.

Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.

1978 Three-Door Range Rover Classic Gallery

Photos & Source: Jaguar Land Rover

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2017 Audi R8 V10 Spyder: Tony Stark, Your New Car Is Ready

Audi’s R8, while not a benchmark, was a shot across the bow of a lot of other supercar makers. It offered a lot of tech, style, and performance for, relatively speaking here, not much cash. Now there’s a new R8 out there, and Audi has just shown off the drop-top Spyder variant.

I liked the original R8s. Although they did have their faults – rather heavy, bad on the top end, a tendency to understeer at the limit – they also had a lot of assets – tons of grip, fantastic acceleration, marvelous on the road presence.

The new car, whether coupe or drop top, seems to lose a bit of that on the road presence, and now looks much more like a generic supercar. Gone are the distinctive and unique side-blades – those finishing panels just aft of the doors made of either bare carbon fiber or sexy brushed aluminum – replaced with a side-blade-esque scoop.

Sigh . . . too bad you let go of your signature move, Audi.

The new grill is a tragedy. Lacking in proportion, and completely devoid of subtlety, the nose is a step backwards.

But other than that, it’s still an impressive car.

Tradition & Tactics

The Spyder (that is with a “y,” in the German tradition of naming convertibles) is essentially the same as the new R8 V10 Coupe, minus the roof. 540 horsepower and 398 lb-ft. of torque motivate the beast with great alacrity, making the new R8 Spyder faster and more powerful than its predecessor.

There’s the same lump sitting amidships as before (no, the engine, not you). This would be the naturally-aspirated 5.2-liter V10 and seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission as the R8 V10 Coupe. This would also be the same V10 plant found in (cough-cough) various and sundry Lamborghinis. Audi doesn’t like to play up the fact, but dropping the Lambo V10 into an R8 really makes the thing sing. An Italian dressed in a Hugo Boss suit, if you follow me. So Audi’s acquisition of Lamborghini flowed good things in both directions.

Lambo got better-than-abysmal quality, and Audi got a real honey of an engine.

Photo: Audi of America, Inc.

From The Top Down

The collapsible roof is made of lightweight cloth, keeping up with the growing trend of cloth replacing folding hardtops. I have a bit of a fetish for both convertibles and hardtops, so this trend strikes me as a bit retrograde, but my fetish has more to do with British cars and Pacific Northwest weather than any modern functionality. The current gen of folding soft tops seem to be fantastic.

If the day turns sunny, dropping the top is amazingly laid-back with this thing. Actuated by an electrohydraulic drive system, up to down or down to up takes you only 20 seconds. And, this is so cool, you can do it while on the roll, at speeds up to 31 mph. The roof itself weighs only 97 pounds, helping to keep the weight of the vehicle and center of gravity low (the main reasons for no folding hardtop). When you retract the top, it folds into a flat storage compartment over the engine.

Beyond the soft top, the 2017 Audi R8 Spyder is pretty much just like the coupe: light, tight, and handles right.

One of the car’s signature design elements is seen in the singleframe grille. It has a three dimensional honeycomb design and Anthracite Gray finish. Photo: Audi of America, Inc.

Sturdy Footing

Audi describes the new Spyder as having a “strong backbone” with its newly developed ASF aluminum and carbon fiber construction. Which is a jazzy way of saying this thing has the torsional rigidity of a steel I-beam and the weight of a bird bone. Like the previous R8s, the interior is all race car slick and driver focused; easy-to-operate controls and functions, including the fully digital Audi virtual cockpit that does away with traditional, mechanical gauges.

There’s no use to beating around the paddock about this: Audi makes no bones about the cross-pollination between the track and the street when it comes to the latest R8. Not only is there lots of racecourse derived stuff in the street version, the street version also forms the basis of the new R8 LMS GT3 racecar. Which Audi intends to mercilessly club its competition at places like Daytona and Le Mans and such.

Audi says the new R8 exemplifies an all-new application of the ASF lightweight chassis construction methods and uses a high percentage of carbon fiber materials. Aluminum components make up 80 percent of the chassis. Basically it’s shaped in a lattice structure that engineers then incorporate specific reinforcements into; the sills, A-posts, and windshield frame for example. This all adds up to the new Spyder being more than 50 percent stiffer than its predecessor.

All that rigidity is put to good use, thanks to the aforesaid 5.2-liter V10 engine and seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission. Yup, 540 horsepower and 398 lb-ft. of torque. Not shabby, but this car is also going up against things like the Ferrari 488 and Porsche GTS, so that’s actually a little on the low side. The V10 does rev like the business though, all the way up to an 8,700 rpm redline. This moves the R8 V10 Spyder from 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds, one tenth faster than the previous generation.

Photo: Audi of America, Inc.

Suspension & Drive Systems

The S tronic dual-clutch transmission is fully integrated with the Audi drive select system. And there is a new launch control program that delivers “a heightened level of acceleration through precise engine speed and an automated clutch release,” according to Audi.

There is a double-wishbone design for both the front and rear suspension and the weight is kept low with forged aluminum control arms. If you’d like, you could tick the option box for the dynamic steering, which gives you a variable steering ratio based on vehicle speed and the Audi drive select adjustment. The less direct steering ratio facilitates more stability the faster you go, and at lower speeds, you get increased steering response and easier maneuvering.

The new R8 Spyder rides on an updated version of Audi’s groundbreaking quattro all-wheel drive system. The majority of torque is transmitted to the rear wheels, but under certain driving conditions, the Spyder has the ability to send up to 100 percent of all available torque to the front axle. You know, conditions like heavy rain and such. The front axle has a new electronically controlled hydraulic multi-plate clutch; torque vectoring, and full quattro integration within the Audi drive select system are also utilized.

There’s a whole slew of tech goodies: Wi-Fi hotspot, LED lights all around, heated 18-way power sport seats, standard Bang & Olufsen Sound System with enough speakers and wattage to make you feel like you’re driving a Grateful Dead concert, but . . .

Now we come to the bad news: $ 175,100, MSRP.

That is the starting price for all this droptop, high tech, go fast goodness. So you’re nearly over 200-large by the time you’re out the door. But you know, if you’re a prospective 2017 Audi R8 Spyder owner, you’re probably not concerned much about stuff like cost.

Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.

Photos & Source: Audi of America, Inc.

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In Search Of Rosie: The Porsche 718 Cayman

England is not like California. In England rain is a tradition. We look to the skies and wonder what that bright orb is above our heads. Eventually we recall dim memories of something called the sun.

A couple of weeks ago, a little sun entered my life in the form of the latest version of the legendary Porsche Cayman, now designated with the number 718 in memory of a long-ago racing car. Unfortunately, the weather failed to play ball and was typically appalling.

I therefore am obliged to apologize for the dirty state of the car in some of my images.

We went searching for the origins of the famous book Cider with Rosie by the writer and poet Laurie Lee, and naturally it rained. The combination of road dirt and water soon reduced the metallic Graphite Blue paint to a dull gray. What it could not do was dampen our spirits. This car is very, very special.

What’s New

Porsche sports cars do not change, they evolve. We used to say the Cayman of old was the best driver’s car around yet the German brand seem capable of making the best even better. The version tested here is the basic 718. Change in the modern world is inevitable and downsizing is all the rage at the moment. Thus, in an effort to boost performance but reduce pollutants, the old flat-six engine has gone, replaced by the same new flat four-cylinder engines with turbocharging as is featured in the sibling 718 Boxster.

As a result, both coup and roadster have an identical engine output for the first time. The entry-level version (in the British market) starts with 296 horsepower from two liters of displacement. The faster S model delivers 346 horsepower with a displacement of 2.5 liters.

There are many other tweaks, including the styling, infotainment, and some suspension parts lifted from the GT4, but otherwise the 718 Cayman is the same as before, only different. The changes are subtle; the domed front wings, the neat Bi-Xenon light clusters, and the under-spoilers all add up to a convincing whole.

As ever with Porsche, the options that make the car this special cost extra. The basic car in the UK costs around £40,000 ($49,304) but with standard options, the tested vehicle retails at a mighty £53,605 ($66,074) although with your lighter taxation in the USA, American buyers may pay less.

Porsche 718 Cayman. Photo: DriveWrite Automotive.

Features & Options

The options on this car added approximately £14,000 ($17,256) to the base price. These are things you actually want so buyers might as well just accept this is the Porsche way, clench their buttocks and bank balances and ante up.

20-inch wheels painted gloss black: Check. Sports Chrono Package: Check. Navigation, GT steering wheel, Torque Vectoring: Check. Check. Check. The list goes on.

In fact, surprisingly, the only thing you don’t want is the Sports Exhaust System which will set you back about a grand and a half. Porsche’s of old had a sound of their own and anything that amplified that glorious auto symphony was welcome. Not any more.

Despite their best efforts, the 718 Cayman ticks over with a sort of flatulent bellow worthy of a low drinking den at closing time. It gets marginally better under performance but, let’s face it, a turbo-four is never going to reach those aural heights beloved of sports car drivers. Save your money and savor the quiet hum of German engineering at its best instead.

Interior Features

Our test car luxuriated in the presence of Sports Seats Plus (at extra cost, natch) that are part leather and part Sport-Tex cloth. Play around with the electrically adjustable seat and there it is – the perfect driving position. It is low and cossetting as it should be. The wheel is a delight to fondle and the pedals sit just right for some old-school heel and toe action if that’s your thing.

Although the PDK automatic gearboxes with flappy paddles are great (and make the car fractionally faster) it seems to me the six-speed manual gearbox is the way to go on this motor. It is crisp and notchy and even a novice driver should have no problem with finding the right ratio at the right time. Sublime.

Surround visibility isn’t great but the addition of reversing sensors eliminates potential parking pain. All the Bluetooth and infotainment options you need for great sounding tunes and the like is to hand on the 4.6-inch color screen; the navigation system is simple and effective.

If a long weekend away at a quiet romantic venue appeals, then there is no need to skimp on luggage. The space aft of the engine will take a decent sized overnight bag and the deep front well will swallow a carry-on suitcase, making the 718 a versatile companion. This is the only occasion when three won’t be a crowd.

The Oily Bits

Proper He-Man engines are in decline. Get over it. Move on and embrace our turbo-charged future. Porsche says on the combined overall cycle, this car should return 38 miles to the gallon. The trouble is, this sporting beauty is so damnably drivable that the truth is probably way below that, especially as 62 mph comes up in around five seconds. A parsimonious parson might achieve that lofty fuel figure but you won’t.

The two liter engine has an aluminum block and pistons, four valves per cylinder, and VarioCam Plus variable valve timing and lift, if these things matter to you, driving the rear wheels.

Stopping power is courtesy of 4-piston aluminum monobloc fixed calipers front and rear, with internally vented and cross-drilled discs. As I was obliged to prove at one point on the wet roads of Somerset, these well-modulated stoppers really work. I am less keen on the electrically controlled parking brake which is a touch inaccessible and takes a bit of getting used to.

Porsche 718 Cayman. Photo: Porsche Cars North America, Inc.

On The Road

Finally we reach the important part of the proceedings. We traveled to the village of Slad which is where the author Laurie Lee called home. The Slad Valley in which the village nestles forms the backdrop to Cider with Rosie. The winter weather did the scenery no favors, stripping bare the earth and trees, but it is plain to see that summer would soon transform it back into a bosky haven of rolling green, so fondly remembered by the writer.

We dined sumptuously in the ancient Woolpack Inn, a second home to the author, but it was the drive to and from that was the highlight of the day. In terms of their driving dynamics, the new 718 Cayman models follow in the tracks of the classic 718 cars, say Porsche. Thanks to their outstanding agility, the historic mid-engine sports cars won numerous races in the 1950s and 1960s, such as the Targa Florio and Le Mans.

Lateral rigidity and wheel tracking have been improved in the completely re-tuned chassis of the Porsche 718 Cayman. Springs and stabilizers have been designed to be firmer and the tuning of the shock absorbers has been revised.

The steering, which has been configured to be 10% more direct, enhances agility and, importantly, driving fun. The rear wheels, which are one-half of an inch wider than before, in combination with the redeveloped tires, result in an increased lateral force potential and hence in greater cornering stability.

Know what? It works well.

Second Thoughts

Wait! Belay that: it works brilliantly. The 718 Cayman is as wonderfully set up as ever it was. If you like cars simply for the pleasures of driving, it is as close to perfection as you can get. Inevitably, there’s a touch of turbo lag below 2000 rpm, but keep the revs higher and the torque feeds in smoothly and predictably. There’s plenty of mid-range punch and the engine is more than prepared to rev its socks off as required.

So many cars, so little time. Is this the best car I have EVER driven? I can’t say that for sure but what I can say is the Porsche 718 Cayman is one of the finest sports cars ever made. Even at the price quoted, it remains a tremendous value.

If you can, you should. I would.

Geoff Maxted is a motoring writer, photographer, and author of our Letter From The UK series. Follow his work on Twitter: @DriveWrite

Porsche 718 Cayman Gallery

Photos: DriveWrite Automotive, Porsche Cars North America, Inc.

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