I know, just earlier today I was raving about the merits of a green supercar running on ethanol saving the world from the wrath of angry penguins upset about melting icecaps ... but come on, a new Bentley can't be missed, especially this one!
The Brooklands, based on the Arnage, sports the same old 6.75L V8 (introduced in 1325), pumped up to 530hp and 1020 torques. 1020 torques is what egyptians used to raise all three major pyramids over the course of a hundred years, it's that much. How they enabled this dinosaur to put out so much power and abiding by the emissions laws is beyond me.
I am genuinely excited about the Brooklands because it's not some rebadged Volks like the Continental GT, GTC and Flying Spur (cringe if you will). Oh, don't get me wrong, they aren't bad cars, I just like seeing the pedigree and heritage in a car, and the last W12 Continentals didn't have the classic interior design or old world smell a Bentley should have. Sure, they sold by the million, I still don't like them much. Sitting in the car is such a unique experience, believe it or not. In an Arnage, the door sill is so low and seat so high, you can't help but sit gracefully, you can almost hear the working class applaud as you remove your top hat and light a cigar. In the Continental GTC, you just sit in as if it were a random car.
I have no doubts the Brooklands will be even more unique than the Arnage can be ... one just needs to read the press release, scattered with beautiful words such as hand-assembled, traditional coach-building techniques, peerless craftsmanship ... I can't help but appreciate that in a Bentley, where loud innovation and complex engineering just isn't appropriate, it needs to be hidden under a metal skin skillfully and patiently formed by talented craftsmen. And the Brooklands sure seems to be a traditional Bentley.
I hope this work of art will be displayed at the New York Auto Show ...
- Julien
I don't know how many more letters Koenigsegg will keep on adding to their different model names, but one can't deny their last CCXR, unveiled in Geneva is a very interesting twist, an ethanol powered 1000hp+ engine. Crazy swedes.
Oh before we get started, did I mention the CCXR's stage name? You know, Ferrari calls its 599GTB the "Fiorano" (please, say that with an italian accent and gesticulating wildly), Chrysler calls its SRT-10 the "Viper" (use a deep grumpy voice, complemented with an evil muuuhahahahahaha) ... and Koenigsegg calls the CCXR ... get this ... "Flower Power". Completely ridiculous, just like a lion wearing a clown's red nose is ridiculous. You know it devoured the clown minutes earlier. This being said, the Koenigsegg is cuter, as flowers go in one end, and puppies come out the exhaust, how nice is that?
I like this environmentally responsible trend, using renewable bio-fuels, they have close to zero publicity yet are a technically valid solution. Just ask Brazil, 80% of the new cars sold are Ethanol ready. Sure, you have to grow a lot of crops, but as previously mentioned, the only emissions are puppies. Golden retriever puppies. I already hear the nay-sayers "but ethanol has 33% less energy than conventional gasoline and makes your mileage go down 30%!" ... I say think of the puppies ... no emissions and renewable, who cares how much you need of it. Well, yes, your wallet is bothered.
This brings a good point in terms of performance, though. Koenigsegg achieved 1018hp(!) on a 1/3 less energetic power source. Don't come up saying "well, they could've gotten 1350hp if it ran on gas", as it's not that simple. Pure ethanol (E100) or the usual E85 actually has a higher octane rating (I would've loved to know the CCXR's compression ratio ... must be through the roof!) and runs cooler than oil-derived gasoline! Best of all, previous CCRs and CCXs can be retrofitted with ethanol ready components. The mileage will probably go from 8mpg (?) to -500mpg, but Koenigsegg definitely took a step towards the future with this, as I'm sure many other manufacturers will step up to the plate. Ethanol sure looks like a far better alternative than 100% electric like Venturi's Fetish or Tesla.
It may go unnoticed, as it's a fair bit smaller than the supercharged V8, but Koenigsegg's iPod integration is great. No more head unit, all controls go through the iPod (yes, the radio somehow plugs into the iPod). Hop in, plus your iPod and you're all set.
They definitely leaped in front of the competition in terms of innovations, 2007 sounds like Koenigsegg's year thus far!
-Julien
I am genuinely excited about the Brooklands because it's not some rebadged Volks like the Continental GT, GTC and Flying Spur (cringe if you will). Oh, don't get me wrong, they aren't bad cars, I just like seeing the pedigree and heritage in a car, and the last W12 Continentals didn't have the classic interior design or old world smell a Bentley should have. Sure, they sold by the million, I still don't like them much. Sitting in the car is such a unique experience, believe it or not. In an Arnage, the door sill is so low and seat so high, you can't help but sit gracefully, you can almost hear the working class applaud as you remove your top hat and light a cigar. In the Continental GTC, you just sit in as if it were a random car.
I have no doubts the Brooklands will be even more unique than the Arnage can be ... one just needs to read the press release, scattered with beautiful words such as hand-assembled, traditional coach-building techniques, peerless craftsmanship ... I can't help but appreciate that in a Bentley, where loud innovation and complex engineering just isn't appropriate, it needs to be hidden under a metal skin skillfully and patiently formed by talented craftsmen. And the Brooklands sure seems to be a traditional Bentley.
