Buckle up for a test drive and keep up to speed with the latest motoring news
Supercharged superstar?
A refined and faster version of the Lotus Elise has hit the market, but is its extra charge worth the extra charge?
For those of us who would happily forsake the cloistered comforts of the workaday saloon for the wind-in-the-hair sensation of an open-top flier of a car, look no further than Lotus. The latest temptation for the boy racer – or those who imagine they are – with money to spare has to be the all-new Elise SC, a mighty midget of a motor that gets down to basics.
In other words, it is a driver’s car. An enjoyable, if somewhat noisy, companion for those sunny days when the open road beckons. Sure, there is already a capable entry-level Elise, but the Lotus engineers didn’t stop there. They wanted to give a bit more.
And they have created an even sportier contender, some €5,600 pricier than the €39,970 asked for the starter R model.
It is hard to spot the differences on the outside: a big centre-mounted exhaust to trumpet your arrival and a bespoke rear spoiler are the main clues. It’s under the bonnet where the real changes have been made… and the action bites.
They may seem small, but to the petrol heads they’re crucial. The R’s sprint ability from standstill to 100km/h has been cut from 5.2 seconds to 4.6 in the SC.
And Lotus reckon the newcomer’s Toyota-sourced 1.8-litre, four-cylinder engine will scorch the car to 160km/h in a breathtaking 10.7 seconds.
Its feedback, with the six-speed gear box and rear-wheel drive giving the driver its all, is as exhilarating an experience as you could have.
Okay, for long-legged guys like me the cockpit is too cramped, but with the roof off, the echoes of the exhaust and the wind rush blow away all the discomforts.
Handling and grip? Absolutely superb. Safe, as well. Economy, too, is excellent.
It is a fair challenger to the Porsche Boxster, but the Elise SC is not nearly so refined as the Stuttgart star.
And I would not be too happy to have to fork out an extra €1,400 for an air-conditioning system, and the same again for the optional hard top.
Thrill freaks will discount the expensive add-ons and satisfy themselves that the compensating returns of the fun they will get is worth whatever it costs.
I’m not so sure… where’s my Mondeo?
He’s in the money
A new megabucks deal with McLaren means even more eyes and expectations will be on Lewis Hamilton in 2008
Lewis Hamilton, last year’s Formula One sensation, is set to become the highest-paid sportsman of all time.
The gifted 23-year-old signed a five-year deal with McLaren that will earn him a staggering €70m. With bonuses and personal sponsorship he will rake in another €35m.
And he will only be 28 and in his prime when the contract runs out. That will give him the chance to secure an extension at double his current deal, but he will have to be a regular winner and a world champion.
He will further be in the money with his recent relocation to tax-friendly Switzerland, having moved there after his rookie year when he missed out on the Formula One title by two points.
As he prepared for the first Grand Prix of the season in Australia – 16 March – the young record-breaker said: “It is fantastic to have signed on for McLaren until 2012.
“I have been here since 1998, and I intend to pay them back in world championships for the support they have given me.”
In the news
The iPhone moves up a gear
Techno addicts are bound to be hooked on the latest gimmick on Apple’s iPhone. Not only does it start your car, it permits you to monitor the motor’s condition all from within a
1.5km radius.
The connection is established via a long-range Bluetooth-enabled key fob that sends messages to the car. If it’s chilly outside you will be able to start the engine and turn up the climate control while you are still tucked up under the duvet.
Other neat tricks are that at the press of a button it will unlock the doors, wind down the windows, check the oil pressure and the brake fluid levels.
It will even keep an eye open for break-ins.
The electronics wizards at Delphi reckon the technology it is developing will soon be available and compatible with a whole range of smart phones as well as the Blackberry personal email device.
TEST DRIVE
Maybach 57S
Discreet, exclusive, aesthetically pleasing and with optional extras that include anti-grenade protection… no wonder the waiting list for the new Maybach 57S is six months. James Kevin Mac Goris gets in line
Agood mastery of the superlative is a useful talent should you ever find yourself in the unlikely situation of having to fill a stilted after-dinner conversation talking up the pleasures of owning a Maybach 57S. Superlative because nothing about this luxury saloon is less (604hp, 3 tons,
5.7m long), and unlikely because most of us are not among the restricted list of Maybach drivers worldwide, a brand so exclusive it doesn’t even have an owner’s club.
In fact, were you the proud owner of the brand’s best-selling model, the Maybach 57S (the ‘S’ is for Special, not Sport, and refers to the implementation of individual customers’ demands – in Maybach terms this makes it a driver’s car), you probably wouldn’t make a point of advertising it. The marque is appreciated for its values of aesthetic discretion, and this is considered to be a key advantage compared to its principal competitor, the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
“The Phantom is our main competitor in terms of price range, but luckily we have a completely different image,” says Alexandre Laporte, Maybach’s personal liaison manager in Belgium. “Maybach clients are not Rolls-Royce clients, and vice-versa.”
The Maybach 57S, like the Rolls-Royce Phantom, costs a little over €450,000, tax included – the same price as a McLaren Mercedes 500, or just under the cost of two Bentley Continental GTs – and yet it is so much more discreet than the cars listed above that you almost wouldn’t notice it were it to draw up alongside them. It wouldn’t even stand out in a VIP car park full of Ferraris or Lamborghinis – cars that can be bought for a fraction of its cost.
“Our customers require the best of all their cars,” says Laporte, “but they also want an exclusive luxury saloon that ensures discretion on a day-to-day basis. If they want to have fun at the wheel of a convertible on the weekend, they’ll use their Ferrari or their vintage Jaguar. But when they’re going to work, it’s in the Maybach.”
European industrialists get around by Maybach, as does singer Madonna. Saudi princes opt for a fleet of Maybachs for family wedding ceremonies, just like Belgium’s Prince Laurent. Each car is a bespoke assignment for the Maybach factory, with nine different body variations available to be fitted out with a myriad of owner’s specification ranging from application of the owner’s coat of arms to extra security options that guarantee safety in the event of machine-gun attack (anti-grenade and anti-RPG protection are available as an option).
Given the price, of course, selling a Maybach is no easy task, despite the lack of obvious competition. “It’s not an easy car to sell,” says Laporte. “What we offer with a Maybach is so unique, so tailor-made, that not all potential buyers end up convinced. That said, when a customer wants to buy one it can sometimes go very fast: I once had a customer who came in to the showroom and 10 minutes later he was a proud new owner.”
Be warned though; if such a fancy takes you, the waiting list for a new Maybach is some six months – reasonable considering this is the time it takes to construct your new car as per your own personal specifications. And even if you walk into the showroom at Brussels’ Place du Sablon and decide “I want that car there”, it will still take almost a week before you find yourself behind the wheel – a five-day wait that no amount of money can make shorter if you wish to buy the world’s most exclusive luxury saloon.
For info on Maybach national sales offices, see the website at www.maybachmanufaktur.com
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