It’s the middle of July. Scorching rays of sun don’t care whether your heat resistance resembles that of a snowflake or cactus; the heat will get to you. A short walk in the middle of the day is enough to turn you into a sweating, gasping mess. Those who retreat to the comfort of their cars sigh in relief as they throttle the A/C to the max. More experienced drivers think twice though. It’s easy to forget that our four-wheeled metal friends also suffer under the brunt force of heat. They don’t complain, flash warnings on the screen or emit unusual sounds. They don’t do any of that. Until they break down, that is. Prevention is cheaper than care. For this reason ACDelco - the premier supplier of aftermarket parts and products - brings you some quick and easy hacks to keep your car in tip top shape this summer. Coolant & AC Did you know that the hottest dessert in the United States, Death Valley, has temperatures well beyond 50 degrees Celsius? That’s enough to boil an egg on a stone. Now add a magnifying glass, like say the glass on your car, and we all know what happens…
OMG. Lamborghini are not letting up. Earlier this month, they announced a limited edition Sian roadster (sold out). And now they're putting super sports car enthusiasts on (Saturn's) Cloud nine with a special-edition Aventador SVJ. They're calling it Xago, and only 10 units will be made. Wanting more The Aventador SVJ is already pretty unique. From cutting-edge aerodynamics to a feather-light carbon-fibre chassis, you've got it all. Is an SVJ not enough? Not to mention the 770 CV naturally aspirated V12 engine that peaks at 350 km/h and will jump the speedo to 100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds. You’re hard pressed to say this one isn’t special. But if that’s not enough for you, and you already got one of 63 SVJ 63s, then the Xago will certainly whet your appetite. What's Ad Personam? These days, it’s not enough that you own a supercar. No, sir. It’s got to be your supercar. And Lamborghini are offering you just that. A blank canvas You can choose from infinite possible combinations of everything from colours to materials. Say you want the logo on the seat to be hand-stitched instead of branded: yes we can! It’s the Saville Row of the automotive…
Last week, we celebrated the return of the Bronco in style, as Ford unveiled their 2021 model to the delight of off-roaders around the globe. It’s a crawler worthy of challenging the Wrangler in the battle of Luxury SUVs (and boy did Jeep try to steal Ford's thunder by unveiling a 450 bhp V8 Wrangler Rubicon concept on the same day). One man who just couldn't get enough of it was Ford engineer, Peter Blackert. That’s right, Mr. Blackert extended the celebrations by sharing some saucy snaps of his glorious LEGO-fied replica via Instagram and Twitter. https://twitter.com/BeyondtheBrick/status/1283081478503628802?s=20 https://www.instagram.com/p/CCpzepJpmgt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link As you can see, Blackert built two versions that highlight Bronco’s highly customisable nature. One, a retro orange two-door and the other an “icy blue” four-door model. Don't hate, maybe he didn't have the official Silver-Metallic colour in his palette. It’s probably easier to do with LEGO, but the roof and doors do pop off on the actual Broncos, too. A LEGO wiz There’s your everyday LEGO collector. You know, buy a ready-to-build set, follow instructions and put the pieces together. Doesn’t mean it’s easy, some of those builds can take days to complete. And then there are LEGO wizards, like Blackert,…
If you’re a millennial, like me, this car needs no formal introduction. The Ferrari F40 hung off every young petrolhead’s bedroom wall in the 80s & 90s. Every kid dreamt of one. Every kid wanted one. Back then, this was the quintessential supercar. And it still is, to some extent, in the minds of those who grew up in a time before the interwebs. After the 250 GTO, this has to be the best-looking Ferrari ever built. Yum's the word The birth of the F40 The F40 was the successor to the 288 GTO. But there were claims of Ferrari “going soft”, that they were making ‘em too plush and luxurious, dumbing down the essence of a Ferrari. The birth of the F40 shut those critics right up. It was as raw as raw could be. The interiors were spartan. No plush leather padded dash or other luxuries and gizmos for the F40. "You're not hardcore...unless you live hardcore" Another legendary design from Pininfarina, the F40 was a strong departure from the Ferraris of the past. It was sharp, defining what a supercar should look like. The car was built out of carbon fiber, kevlar and aluminium to keep the…
It’s 7:30 in the morning. You overslept (damn that Netflix show!), and as a result you’re late for work. Tapping the rim of your steering wheel impatiently, you stare at the long line of vehicles ahead of you, inching along, and wait for that wretched green light. Bit by bit, you’re losing your patience. There’s a heavy truck in front of you, blocking your view. Then you see a lightweight car after the truck shift to the lane on the right, which seems conspicuously empty. You too shift to the right lane…and curse under your breath. The lane leads to a bus stop and disappears, converging to the lane on the left. You join the company of other opportunistic drivers that want to change back. Sucks for you, because only the fifth car in the row lets you through. “Bollocks. What a bunch of jerks,” – you think. But are they? And what you should’ve done? Put yourself in my shoes Social proof is a well-documented principle in modern psychology. It basically says we rely on collective wisdom (pfft) to make a decision. Other interpretations of social proof refer to it as the desire to belong. There are loads of…
A moment’s silence for legendary car designer, Yoshihiko Matsuo, who passed away on July 11 2020 at the ripe age of 86. When it comes to cars and design, the Jury's usually split on looks and capability. But when it comes to Matsuo's Datsun 240Z, there’s no denying the unanimity that rises to greet this iconic piece of machinery. Evergreen... Matsuo was a genius who strived for perfection, and Mikaniki are honouring him today. Hard at work Zen-like focus... It was the 60s and Europe dominated the sports car market. Lamborghini Miura, Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, that was hot stuff. It got the boys at Nissan thinking: we need an affordable sports car that can challenge these European titans. But who can pull this off? Their answer was in a 30-something-year-old master craftsman, who had a massive hand in redesigning the Bluebird 410 sedan. The lad was gifted, and it was a no brainer. Nissan appointed the young and ambitious Yoshihiko Matsuo as lead designer for the original 240Z, and the rest was history. Taking up the challenge The challenge for Matsuo and his team was to design something with production in mind. Not a blank canvas as such, but…
It was June 11, 1955. Mike Hawthorn pulled his Jaguar D-type right, in front of Lance Macklin, and started braking for pit. Macklin tried to circumvent, only for Pierre Levegh to rear end him with his Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR at high speed. This was the 1955 Le Mans disaster, and things weren’t the same after that. Not in the least for Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz. The latter retired from motor racing until 1989. The former went on to win 2 more Le Mans races in the 50s (‘56 and ‘57) before the Ford and Ferrari-dominated 60s. Oh what could have been had the Jaguar XJ13 wound up on the track in 1966 to challenge the big guns for motor sport supremacy? 1966 XJ13: Destiny's prodigal child Alas, it was not meant to be. Ghosts of the '55 Le Mans and other road car priorities (at least that's what Jag says to sleep easy) meant that the Jaguar XJ13 was the most beautiful car to never hit the track. Tragic. In the early 60s, the boys at Jag conceived an ambitious idea to create a mid-engine hot rod that could challenge Ford and Ferrari at Le Mans. But the spark fizzled, the…
Somebody call 911 for real. Porsche has some criminally sizzlin' 911 beasts lined up for 2021, putting the 'T' in Turbo, and we're all for it baybay! At this point, their 2021 911 lineup can be compared to your favourite iPhone releases. You know, the 11 Pro at the top, SE way down, and standard 11 in between. Well, at the upper end of the spectrum, with a starting price of $204,850, is its most powerful Turbo S yet, featuring a 3.8L flat-six 911 that comes with a whopping 640 ponies and gets you to 100 km/h in 2.6 friggin’ seconds. Tha's hot... At the lower end, we've got Porsche 911’s iPhone SE equivalents: the 3.0L twin turbocharged flat-six Targa 4 and Targa 4S with a starting price of around $120,000. Still hot... So what's in between? Finding the middle ground Now, remember yesterday we bemoaned Twisted’s efforts to turn a classic Land Rover Defender into a $185,000 EV? If you were thinking about getting your hands on this one, hold onto your wallets. For $185,000, you can get the cabriolet trim on this 992-generation beast, and still make 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds. Yeah, we know time is money…
It's a 3-peat for Ferrari on this list, and for good reason. They’ve really come up with some incredibly impressive one-offs. So much so, we’re going to round up our top 5 one of a kinds with this gem of a ride: the Ferrari 456 GT Venice. What a BEAUT! Ever heard of it? It was the 90s, and Prince Jefri Bolkiah of the Brunei royal family was out on one of his leisurely strolls in his multiple-acre botanical garden. You know, the kind of stroll that inspires Brunei royalty to dream up hot rods like a RHD custom F40. On this occasion, the contemplation hit the stars, which aligned to give us a magnificent five-door 5.5L V12 Ferrari that’s probably the coolest thing since sliced bread. Simply put, the 456 GT Venice is THE rarest Ferrari you’ve never heard of. Oh, it’s also a RHD. Prince Jefri gave the geniuses at Pininfarina $1.5 million to bring his creation to life, and boy did they do it in style. Lord of the Ferraris (The following should be read in Cate Blanchett’s mystical voice). It began with the forging of the Great Sports cars. Six were given to the Prince from…
No, no, no, no, no, NO! It’s happening, and we can’t believe it is. Are we actually going to give sacred classics like the Land Rover Defender an electric do-over? Seriously? WTF! Turns out we are. Twisted, an established UK-based Land Rover turner, have taken it upon themselves to commit sacrilege in the most despicable way. They’re taking the classic Land Rover Defender, fitting it with a transplanted electric powertrain, and slapping a massive $185,000 price tag on it. Now THAT'S Twisted. Now we’re all about the zero-emissions thing. Heck, we’ll give Greta Thunberg a pat on the back. But six figures for an electri-fied version of a long-standing classic that last went on sale in 1997 is just a kick in the nads. Oh, but it’s a rare opportunity to drive a classic with an updated, environmentally-friendly powertrain. NOT! If you want an EV, get a Tesla Model 3, get a Hyundai KONA, just STAY AWAY from our beloved classics! Why, oh why... Stay away from the Defender... Okay, there must be reason to this madness. We are, after all, an unbiased folk. So let’s ask the question: why would anyone fit a classic Defender with an electric motor?…