Monday, November 24, 2008

TURBOCHARGED COMMENTS

Here's what the people who were there at the time of the story from Alpine and Renault are saying about the new Veloce book, Alpine & Renault – The Development of the Revolutionary Turbo F1 Car: 1968 to 1979 by Roy P. Smith.

Very Very Good
AAA....Alpine ex engineers organisation.

Excellent
Gerard Larrousse ex boss of Renault Sport and Renault F1 team

Very very good, high quality
Michel Tetu Chassis designer and Aerodynamics expert

Good quality book,bravo
Bernard Asset Top French F1 photographer (# 1 in France)

Superb
Thierry Villain engineer at the time

Brilliant
Renault UK

Perfection
Francois Guiter, Sponsor of Renault F1, boss of Elf Publicity 1967- 1989

well done, congratulations
Pierre Dupasquier, boss of Michelin Racing, tyre supplier 1967-1983

Superb
Jacques Chienisse, Alpine team boss, 1966-1976

Fantastic, accurate, great
Bernard Dudot Designer and creator of the Turbo Charged F1 Engine

Superb
Mauro Bianchi Ex driver of the ill fated A350 Grand Prix car 1968

Looks great
Jean Louis Moncet Writer of the last work in French on the Turbo cars

Very Good
Jean Pierre Boudy Engineer in charge of development of the Engines

Brilliant
Francois Xavier Delfosse Team testing manager, and race team manager '67 to 70

Click here for more info about the book

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

NEXT GENERATION PORSCHE BOXSTER UNVEILED AT LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW

Through 60 years of automotive evolution so much has changed. Yet every Porsche Boxster is built on these first principles. Sports performance, lightweight construction, agility and pure driving pleasure. The technology Porsche use may have developed, but the company’s ability to produce a two-seat, mid-engined sports car unlike any other on the road remains.

This week, Porsche is presenting the second generation of the mid-engined Boxster roadster at the Los Angeles Motor Show (November 21 – 30). The highlight of the new generation is the new flat-six ‘boxer’ engines, developed with new technical features from the ground up, providing not only more power, but also significantly greater fuel efficiency.

Porsche Boxster by Brian Long.
The full story of Porsche's affordable roadster from prototype stage to the present day. Complete with factory-sourced photographs and details of all home and export market models.
click here for more info.

VOLKSWAGEN AWARDED CAR AD OF THE YEAR BY AUTOCAR



The recent ‘Polo Confidence’ advertising campaign for the Volkswagen Polo – also known as ‘Singing Dog’ – has been honoured at this year’s Autocar Awards, being named Car Ad of the Year 2008. This award is voted for by the readers of Autocar on-line.



The ‘Polo Confidence’ advert features a Jack Russell dog which is shown to be nervous and timid in everyday situations, yet, while in the Polo, ‘sings’ happily and confidently along to the soundtrack of ‘I’m a man’ by the Spencer Davis Group. The advertisement has so far registered over one million hits on the internet video site YouTube, while 36 fan groups were set up on social networking site FaceBook. The soundtrack, which was not re-released, also peaked at number six on the UK Rock Top 100 on iTunes.

The controversial video is memorable and funny thanks to its star of the show 'the singing dog'. Veloce also has its own dog, Immie, who may not be a celebrity herself, but with that neckerchief on I'm sure you'll agree she looks the part!

SMART2VENICE ITALIAN JOB

A smart owner has masterminded his own fundraising mission to Italy making over £5,500 for charity.
Nathan Kift, who was accompanied by his step-brother Craig Jackson, drove his 2003 smart fortwo pulse coupĂ© over 2,100 miles to Venice and back in aid of Gloucester Royal Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU).
The duo were inspired to take on the seven-day driving marathon after Nathan’s son spent time in the care of the SCBU.
The smart fortwo was said to have performed superbly, especially when it came to fuel economy and crossing the Alps.

Find out more about smart cars in the Veloce book the little book of smart by Paul Jackson.
A fascinating tale, told succinctly and in an entertaining style, and complemented by full colour photography throughout. Click here for more info.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

GERMAN REVIEW OF MONTREAL BOOK



A 5 steering-wheel rating in the November issue of Oldtimer Markt which says that all Montreal drivers should erect an equestrian statue to Bruce in front of their garages in honour of this excellent book, and at least baptise their sons with the middle name "Bruce"!

Monday, November 17, 2008

PORSCHE DRIVING EXPERIENCE CENTRE SILVERSTONE

Last week Porsche officially opened its Driving Experience Centre adjacent to the famous Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in Northamptonshire. The world-class centre allows every customer of a new Porsche in the UK and Ireland to receive expert tuition in their driving skills as well as the performance capabilities of their car as part of their purchase experience.

The Porsche Driving Experience Centre aims to build on these principles of driving safety and driving enjoyment by providing a formal, yet fun, environment for both Porsche owners and enthusiasts to have the opportunity to understand the engine performance and chassis dynamics attributes which differentiate a Porsche from its rivals.

The centre offers a variety of track configurations and surface conditions on which the potential of all Porsche road cars can be studied, together with, uniquely, the human performance level of drivers themselves. The Porsche Driving Experience Centre houses reception and display areas, a restaurant, cinema and the innovative Human Performance department. This leading edge sports laboratory is run by proven specialists and is accessible to both Porsche customers and racing drivers. Ordinarily, this type of facility would only be accessible to elite athletes. One-to-one instruction spans fitness assessments and guidance in techniques aimed at improving stamina, co-ordination and reaction times for drivers of all levels.

The building features distinctive Porsche architectural cues on the outside but, like the Porsche road cars themselves, employs the latest technology to significantly lower its energy demands, and hence its environmental impact. Visitors can see the entire Porsche facility from a roof top platform offering panoramic views.



New Porsche books from Veloce!



Porsche Racing Cars – 1953 to 1975 by Brian Long.

Today, one cannot escape the fact that the words 'Porsche' and 'racing' go hand in hand. This book follows Porsche's year-by-year progress in top flight racing, and looks in detail at the pure competition cars that brought the German marque such immense success on the tracks and worldwide acclaim. This particular volume starts with story of the giant killing 550 Spyders of 1953 vintage, and takes the reader through a series of racing models, including the glorious 917, up to 1975 via contemporary photography and words from an acknowledged Porsche authority. A second volume covers the years 1976 onwards. The book includes detailed year by year coverage of Porsche's top class racing exploits in words and 300 excellent photos.



Porsche 964, 993 & 996 Data Plate Code Breaker by Adrian Streather.

This book provides a comprehensive list of all the build specification codes used by Porsche AG for the Porsche 911 series, from model years 1989 to 2005. VIN, model type, country, exterior paint colour, interior colour combinations, material codes, and standard, special and Porsche Exclusiv options for the 964, 993 and 996 series are provided in detail. Option codes for other Porsche models built between 1978 and 2005 are also included, if known to the author.

BABY BENEDICT

Congratulations to Hetty with new baby boy Benedict - pictured here at 11 days old. Hetty is one of Veloce's hardworking accountants - we wish her well on her maternity leave and look forward to her return.