ROLLS-ROYCE CULLINAN: DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH!

Posted on January 15, 2019 by MartynL

The all-new, ultra-luxe Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV will take you off the beaten path in real style, blogs Road Test Editor Howard Walker. Eleanor is leading the way. Head forward, gossamer wings outstretched, that iconic Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament providing the perfect sight-line as we claw our way up Snow King Mountain. Considering her surroundings, maybe Ms. Eleanor should have traded the flowing gossamer for a Patagonia puffy jacket and a pair of Merrell hiking boots! This is surreal. ...

BRABHAM BT62: THE ROAD TO LE MANS!

Posted on January 10, 2019January 10, 2019 by MartynL

Brabham Automotive has confirmed that they will return to international sports car racing and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Adelaide-based automotive manufacturer, which last year launched the record-breaking BT62 track car, is announcing its return to Le Mans. It has committed to a factory racing team and a multi-year motorsport program with development work already under way. The team’s target is the 24 Hours of Le Mans and World Endurance Championship season in 2021/22, where it intends to en...

MARK II – CHEVY’S MYSTERIOUS 427!

Posted on January 4, 2019 by MartynL

The real 427 Mystery Motor, unlike the Z11, was not available in a car or to the public. You had to have serious NASCAR cred to get one of the 20 built. In the 1960s, Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen always seemed to be one step ahead of GM Chairman Fred Donner’s missives disallowing factory involvement in racing. While running Pontiac, Knudsen had supported the Super-Duty Group that, after he left, managed to get 421 Catalina Lightweights to drag racers before the axe fell. In 1961 he moved on to Chevro...

DUECE COUPE: OLD SCHOOL; NEW SCHOOL!

Posted on December 22, 2018December 23, 2018 by MartynL

Ronnie Staples’ flamed classic ’32 Ford has gone through a number of engine-transmission combos over the years, but it’s all sorted out now and ready for serious cruising thanks to a modern five-speed. Ronnie Staples is a serious carguy with a very large garage filled with Pro Touring customs and hot rods that he drives as well as shows. His collecting mantra is simple: NO TRAILER QUEENS! Some are designed and engineered to “bring back the good old days”, while others feature state-of-the-art b...

‘19 VW Golf R: R IS FOR RAPID!

Posted on December 17, 2018 by MartynL

‘Reserved in appearance, practical in shape, and so much fun to drive – for a price’, blogs Dan Scanlan. The term “hot hatch” was born when Volkswagen put a hotter engine and more aggressive rubber and suspension in its front-wheel-drive Rabbit econobox hatchback back in 1974. Since then, many have done hot hatches – three- or five-door compacts with turbocharged Fours, a few wings and things and stickier rubber. And in a few cases, even more powerful versions have been done. Which brings us to...

RM SOTHEBY’S & THE PETERSEN: KUSTOM KULTURE & PRECIOUS METAL!

Posted on December 13, 2018December 16, 2018 by MartynL

A trip to one of the most eclectic auctions this year – RM Sotheby’s at the Petersen Museum – and coming face-to-face with the iconic ‘Rat Fink’, relieves Jim Palam’s decades-old car guy guilt. Here’s his photo-report. It was weighing me down, this Car Guy guilt I’ve been lugging around since I moved to California in 1976. How was it that in all these years I had never visited the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles? I really didn’t have an excuse, so when I received an invitation from RM...

‘18 MCLAREN 570S SPIDER: FAST & FURIOUS!

Posted on December 9, 2018 by MartynL

McLaren's magical open-top 570S Spider simply redefines the term 'sportscar', blogs Road Test Editor Howard Walker We're cruising for caffeine. Carmel, south of San Fran, down Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur. God's driving road. Thirty-odd miles of serpentine twists and turns. Frothy Pacific to the right, towering rock faces to the left. We'll be ready for that cappuccino on the deck at Nepenthe. This should be a tourist sightseeing meander. Speedo stuck at 30, ready to dive into every scen...

NISSAN GT-R50: GODZILLA ITALIAN-STYLE!

Posted on December 7, 2018 by MartynL

Nissan has confirmed the production design of the Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign – the ultimate expression of the GT-R – and has opened the order books for the 50-vehicle limited run. The GT-R50’s exterior is virtually unchanged from the prototype first shown in July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England. Pricing of the NISMO-tuned 720PS GT-R by Italdesign will start at approximately $1.2 million before taxes and options. Nissan collaborated with Turin, Italy-based Italdesign to create t...

‘19 MERCEDES-AMG GT C ROADSTER: CRUISING ON ISLAND TIME!

Posted on December 5, 2018 by MartynL

This $157,000 rocketship is the perfect drop-top to drive to the slice of Florida paradise that's Boca Grande, blogs Road Test Editor Howard Walker. When you have a stupendous sportscar for the weekend, like the 550-horsepower Mercedes AMG GTC Roadster I'm driving, you need a great destination to cruise to. Sebring or Palm Beach Raceway come to mind. But if you prefer not to wear a helmet or burn rubber for your weekend drive, there's this tiny sliver of paradise, seven miles long, maybe half a...

MIKE COOK: LOSS OF A LEGEND!

Posted on November 29, 2018 by MartynL

Mike Cook had spent a lifetime immersed in the British automotive industry as a PR and advertising executive, in the hobby as a racer, and later in his retirement as an archivist for Jaguar Land Rover. He passed away this week. When I was a magazine editor in the 1960s and 1970s, I often interfaced with Mike Cook and regularly saw him at International Motor Press Association (IMPA) lunches and events. While my passion was Corvettes and high-performance American cars with big V8 engines, Mike ha...