Automobile

M A R C H /A P R I L 2018
#NOBORINGCARS AUTOMOBILEMAG.COM / @AUTOMOBILEMAG

→→
TESL A’S
SIZZL ING

Model 3
→→→→→ INSIDE T HE DESIGN OF T HE YEAR,
T HE BUSINESS, →
AND T HE FU TURE +
KO E N I G S EG G
SETS WORLD
S P E E D R EC O R D S
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ALL-NEW M5
M A D E B Y D A R R E N S . , C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R , A U T O M O B I L E
2 0 1 8 M U S TA N G . M A K E I T P E R S O N A L .
 Automobile
CONTENTS

MARCH/APRIL 2018
SPECIAL DESIGN ISSUE

12
Boundary
Design
Surge
By Robert Cumberford
Tesla’s first foray into true
volume production, the Model 3
34
Smasher has become a symbol of hope
for proponents of an electrified
By Zach Bowman automotive future. It has also
It started out as a “what if” become a vanguard for electric
conversation among a group of vehicle design and styling, and it
Koenigsegg owners. It turned into is our latest Design of the Year.
a grand pursuit of a world speed EVs from Honda receive concept
record on an 11-mile stretch of design honors, the Lexus LC
closed Nevada public road in one of gets some recognition, and
Christian von Koenigsegg’s Swedish Cumberford also outlines
hypermegacars—the Agera RS. his highs and lows from the
Nothing about the runs was easy, past year of automotive design.
but the results were better than
anyone imagined.

→
AUTOMOBILEMAG.COM

54Genesis Man
74
It’s Baaack!
84
New Old Mustangs
By Ronald Ahrens By Jethro Bovingdon By Mike Floyd
As the head of Genesis design, The all-new BMW M5 features Welcome to two distinct takes on
COVER: BARRY J. HOLMES

Luc Donckerwolke roams the globe elements that would normally be a Mustang that helped usher in the
in search of talent to stock his team strikes against it, specifically all- muscle-car era, created legends
with—as he maestros the efforts wheel drive and an eight-speed on the track, and enhanced visibility
of the brand’s far-flung studios. We automatic transmission mated to for a man named Shelby. We spend
KOENIGSEGG: ROBIN TRAJANO

also head to Korea to see and drive a twin-turbo V-8. But this is the a day at the track playing with a
the new G70. most dynamic M5 in years. recreation of the famed GT350R.
AUTOMOBILE (ISSN 0894-3583) March/April 2018, Vol. 32, No. 11. Published monthly, with double issues in September and March, by TEN: The Enthusiast Network, LLC., 1212 Avenue of the Americas, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10036.
Copyright © 2018 by TEN: The Enthusiast Network Magazines, LLC. All rights reserved. Periodicals Postage Paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTIONS: U.S. and U.S. Possessions $19.94 for 12 issues.
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IN YOUR CAR

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PIONEER and the Pioneer logo are registered trademarks of Pioneer Corporation. ©2017 Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.
 Automobile
CONTENTS

MARCH/APRIL 2018
MEAT AND DRINK

10
Editor’s Letter
By Mike Floyd
Jaguar Land Rover has its
eggs in multiple baskets.

28
The Asphalt Jungle
By Arthur St. Antoine
Driving the Ford GT is a revelation
and worth every bit of its price.

80
Flyin’ Miata

→
6 RF Turbo
By Nelson Ireson
Sometimes modding a car can turn it
into something it isn’t, but Flyin’ Miata
96
Variable
AUTOMOBILEMAG.COM

only makes the MX-5 RF better. Variables

30 By Nelson Ireson
The Infiniti

Noise, Vibration 94 VC-Turbo

ILLUSTRATION: TIM MARRS; MIATA: WILLIAM WALKER; ICON: RM SOTHEBY'S; SKETCHBATTLE: ROBIN TRAJANO
is a fiendishly
& Harshness complicated yet
By Jamie Kitman Auctions simple solution to
Why GM should beat the drum By Rory Jurnecka one of the internal
loudly for the Chevrolet Bolt EV. RM Sotheby’s Icons in New York combustion engine’s
closed out 2017 in grand style. core issues.

32
Letters 102
All hail the mighty station wagon. Catching
Up With …
64
Battle of the
By Todd Lassa
As the head of Jeep
design, Mark Allen
has an important but
Sketches challenging position.
By Nelson Ireson
Pros and amateurs alike enter the
ring known as the Middlecott
Sketchbattle Experiment, but
only one leaves the winner.
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 Do you hate your detector?
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g
EDITOR’S LETTER
@ a u t o m o b il e m a g
V O LU M E 3 2 , N O.11
MARCH/APRIL 2018
BASKETS OF
EGGS
T H E R E ’ S A H E C K of a lot of hand-wringing and
head-scratching going on these days in the boardrooms,
engineering pods, and product planning departments of the
world’s largest automakers. The decisions being made now
will determine their direction for the next five to 10 years or
more. But which direction?
Americans can’t seem to get enough crossovers—for now.
How much longer should makers invest in the internal
MIKE FLOYD
combustion engine? Are electric powertrains the real
answer, or will another solution emerge? Will anyone still
want to embrace performance and drive for the love of
driving anymore? How long before cars drive us?
The simple answer in the near-term is there are no simple
answers. But there are those who are positioned better than
most. Who have their eggs neatly arranged in
multiple baskets. Who appear to be nimble
enough to quickly turn once the future of the
automobile starts to come into clearer view.
Jaguar Land Rover appears to be one of those
automakers.
I recently had a chance to sit down with
JLR’s president and CEO for North America
Joe Eberhardt, who has been running things
out of New Jersey since late 2013. The com-
pany has had its share of challenges since
the two storied British brands were acquired
from Ford and consolidated by India’s Tata
in 2008. But since Eberhardt’s come on, the
news has been mostly good here in the U.S.
10 with record sales for 2015-’16.
Eberhardt has accomplished a lot during
AUTOMOBILEMAG.COM
his 30-year career spanning multiple auto-
makers, but his time at JLR has been some of the most
fun he’s had. “The fact that we are the only British luxury
volume brand I think makes us quite unique,” he said, “and
we were fortunate enough to have the product portfolio …
that allows us to record impressive sales growth.”
As is the case with any automaker with more than one
brand under a single umbrella, there is invariably platform,
engine, and component sharing. The fantastic new Range
Rover Velar I spent a week in recently shares several elements
with our Four Seasons Jaguar F-Pace, for example. But
thanks to the styling efforts of Land Rover design director
Gerry McGovern, his counterpart at Jaguar, Ian Callum,
and their teams, they’ve been able achieve a large degree
of differentiation.
“To have not one but really two of the leading designers in
the business is unheard of and almost a gift for us,” Eberhardt
said. “The whole company embraces the importance and
relevancy of design.”
Jaguar now has two Callum-designed crossovers, the
F-Pace and the soon-to-arrive compact E-Pace, but Eberhardt
is determined to stay the course with the brand’s cars,
despite the continued growth of crossovers in the market.
“We internally debate that a lot, and every time I think the
SUV share can’t go any higher, it does. We will not give up on
cars, and we will not give up on sports cars. … The F-Type is
the soul, the heart, the DNA of the brand.” (It certainly helps
that Land Rover/Range Rover is an all-SUV proposition.)
In addition to strong design, performance is another area
that JLR wholeheartedly embraces, on the road and off.
“Jaguar has a very rich and storied performance history,”
Eberhardt said. “Land Rover performance has a slightly
different definition. One is the off-road capability; that’s
why we launched SVX with the Discovery [an off-road-
themed package]. And we have the Range Rover Sport SVR,
which is proof that you can also build a performance SUV.”
Eberhardt also sees room for electric power to be a part
of the performance mix. The brand has been plugging into
go-fast electrification as a major participant in the all-
electric Formula E race series and will soon be offering its
i-Pace all-electric SUV, which will hit dealers
as well as the track this year through its
i-Pace-only eTrophy support race for the 2018
Formula E season.
Although he’s high on the i-Pace—and reac-
tion to it has been positive thus far—Eberhardt
knows JLR has to remain as diversified as
possible in the powertrain department, and
with advanced turbo-fours, diesels, and coming
plug-ins, he believes they’re well positioned.
“I don’t think anyone can bet on just one
technology and say that’s where the future
will go,” he said. “We believe we shouldn’t be
the ones who dictate what customers should
be driving or choosing. We need to fulfill what
their needs and requirements are. We believe
for the foreseeable future every powertrain has
a role to play.”
When it comes to autonomy, like other automakers JLR
has been busy testing its self-driving tech. While he sees it
as inevitable, he hopes there will be a way forward where
we will still be able to drive ourselves. “Part of our brand
experience is the joy of driving,” Eberhardt said. “I couldn’t
see myself not driving a car.”
Neither can we, Joe. Neither can we. AM
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THE
BOOK
OF
by ZACH BOWMAN photography by ROBIN TRAJANO and JADE NELSON

ACTS
12
 ETHOS

THE WORLD -RECORD -SET TING KOENIGSEGG AGERA RS SPEED RUNS

13
14
 ETHOS

 
E
E V E R Y O N E W O R R I E S A B O U T the wind. They cast
their glances out the open garage doors and into the early
morning black toward the sound as it whips its way across
the Nevada desert, a thin moon and a scattering of stars
the only light to be seen. It’s quiet inside. Christian von
Koenigsegg, owner, founder, and CEO of Koenigsegg, pries
his eyes from those dark gusts and gets back to conferring
with his driver, Niklas Lilja. The two aim to put their mark
15

on history at dawn by claiming a record that’s stood for

nearly 80 years: the fastest speed over a flying kilometer
“I’M MOST WORRIED The Agera RS
is the fastest
on a public road.
It’s easy to dismiss hypercars as elements of obscene
ABOUT THE TIRES,” production car
in the world. fantasy, machines that exist entirely in the theoretical, their
NIKLAS LILJA SAYS, Christian von
Koenigsegg, left,
capabilities relegated to spreadsheets and simulations. Rare
“BECAUSE THEY ARE and a few of
his customers
is the moment when they make that breach into reality.
THE MOST CRITICAL found out by
“It’s something we’ve been dreaming of doing for many
heading to the years,” von Koenigsegg says, “but we’ve just not found a
PART OF THE CAR. Nevada desert venue long enough to stretch our legs. We basically gave up
IT’S THE ONLY THING
near Pahrump.
two years ago.”
CONNECTING YOU That was when the Agera RS made its debut at the Geneva
Motor Show. The car borrowed heavily from the company’s
TO THE ROAD.” One:1, a track-focused model with a ludicrous 1:1 power-
to-weight ratio courtesy of an in-house twin-turbo 5.0-liter
V-8 good for 1,341 horsepower and 1,011 lb-ft of torque.
Koenigsegg only built seven examples of the One:1, all sold
by the time the car made its debut. The company wanted to
offer buyers a softer, more approachable version. The result
→

was the RS.

“It’s an everyday kind of hypermegacar,” von Koenigsegg
says.
The standard engine produces 1,160 horsepower, though
an optional package upgrades that to One:1 spec. With less
downforce and the same muscle, von Koenigsegg realized
the Agera RS was likely the fastest car the company had ever
built. It could be the fastest production vehicle in the world.
 The scene inside the garage at Spring
Mountain Motor Resort in Pahrump is
dizzying. There are only 25 Agera RS mo-
dels in the world, each with a price tag in
excess of $2 million, and four of them sit
here under fluorescent lights. These cars
are timepieces. They are detailed in ways
that would make a Ferrari 488 GTB seem
common by comparison. The wheels are
hand-laid carbon fiber, their spokes and
hub hollow to save weight. The doors hinge
upward in a ludicrous and perfect salute,
revealing wide carbon-fiber sills. It’s hard
to comprehend just how tidy these things
are until you’re standing next to one with
the roof at hip height.
Of all the cars here, only one will make the
sprint, and it isn’t some company prototype.
Agera RS 143 belongs to Mark Stidham,
and he saw it for the first time yesterday. More than
a stunt:
He’s soft-spoken and quick to smile, with Koenigsegg
white hair and a goatee to match. He’s will use data
from the
more approachable than you’d guess for high-speed
someone who’s about to gamble $2 million runs to develop
new settings
on a maybe. He says the idea to ante his car for active aero
16 began like so many other perfect notions. components.

Koenigsegg knew the car would have required too many

“It started as one of those late-night conversations:
‘You know what would be cool?’” he reveals. “That was
→
modifications to safely run on the dry lake bed.
“A rear-wheel-drive car with 345 [tire width], basic-
ally at 250 mph you spin around,” he says. “So, OK,
you can put on narrow tires, you can put weight in the
front, but that is not the car [we make].”
The solution came in the form of a stretch of
Nevada’s State Route 160. Just outside of Pahrump, the
four-lane pours out onto the plain between the Nopah
Range across the California border to the southwest

probably a year ago, and now here we are.”
Stidham makes it sound easy. It wasn’t. Those
conversations spurred a blizzard of activity from
a coalition of supporters and the strong Southern
California Koenigsegg owner contingent. Of the nine
Agera RS examples headed to the U.S., seven call the
Golden State home. First, they had to find a venue.
The Bonneville Salt Flats is a logical location, but von
and the hills around Charleston Peak to the northeast.
For 16 miles, the pavement does nothing but run dead
straight—if not perfectly flat.
Jeffrey Cheng was the first Koenigsegg owner in
California, and he has been a Spring Mountain member
for almost eight years. “It’s always been one of those
things where I thought it’d be great to take one of these
cars to top speed on this road,” he offers. “It’s always
 ETHOS

“WE PUT A LOT OF HOURS IN

TO FIND THE BEST SETUP TO
PUNCH THROUGH THE AIR. IT’S
NOT ABOUT HORSEPOWER, IT’S
NOT ABOUT WEIGHT. … IT’S
ABOUT PUSHING THROUGH
THE AIR. THAT’S THE MOST
DIFFICULT PART OF THE CAR.” 17

been in the back of my mind. … Obviously, we could try

to go bootleg it at 5:30 or 6 on a Sunday morning, but it
would be cooler if we could officially have the blessing of
the necessary parties.”
There was a mountain of paperwork and plans to submit.
Permits from a half dozen Nevada regulatory and law-
enforcement agencies including the Nevada Department
of Transportation, Bureau of Land Management, the state’s
Division of Forestry, and the Nevada Highway Patrol.
It took months of wading through meetings and letters
volleyed between attorneys, but along the way the idea
gained the support of the governor’s office. That helped,
and when it was done, Stidham, Cheng, and their friends
had legal access to 11 miles of public pavement.
Meanwhile, as the owners battled America’s unique
form of bureaucracy, von Koenigsegg and Lilja focused
on readying the car for its run. “We put a lot of hours
into simulators, tweaking everything to find the best
 ETHOS

setup to punch through the air,” Lilja says. “It’s not about
horsepower, it’s not about weight. … It’s about pushing
through the air. That’s the most difficult part of the car.”
The company kept the changes minimal, including an
optional louver on the rear lid borrowed from the One:1.
“It’s creating downforce, but we also see that we get more
clean air in the rear of the car, and we’re not filling up the
engine bay with a lot of air,” Lilja explains. “It’s something
we’ve seen driving the car over 370 kph.” There’s an optional, X
bolt-in safety cage inside, along with a different driver’s seat
that accommodates a race harness. Otherwise, the car’s the
same as the other Agera RS examples roaming the globe.
But for all the simulations, Lilja and the car face an
ocean of variables. There’s that damned wind, for one.
And the fact Route 160 runs into a bowl, gaining or losing
some 300 feet in elevation over 11 miles depending on your
direction. There’s the road surface, too. It’s not some iron-
flat test track. It’s run-of-the-mill American tarmac. When
we ask Lilja what he’s worried about, he doesn’t hesitate.
“I’m most worried about the tires,” he says, “because they
are the most critical part of the car. It’s the only thing con-
necting you to the road.”
18 He says that at top speed, the tire-pressure monitoring
sensor in each wheel experiences 30,000 g. The force causes
the 30- to 35-gram part to weigh the equivalent of 150
kilograms, or 330 pounds. “Everything,” he says, “is pushed
to the extreme.”
He’s right to worry. The Agera RS wears Michelin Pilot
Sport Cup 2 tires, 265/35R-19s up front and 345/30R-20s in
the rear. They’re off-the-shelf consumer rubber, the same ones
 FIRST THING YOU DO:
NEVER SETTLE FOR 2 ND

A L FA R O M E O U S A .C O M

©2017 FCA US LLC. All Rights Reserved. ALFA ROMEO is a registered trademark of FCA Group Marketing S.p.A., used with permission.
ETHOS

you can order online from the comfort of your desk chair.
This set has been to 250 mph a few times already, but it’s a
wide gulf from 250 to the record of 268 mph and beyond.
“Anything beyond that is brand-new territory,” Stidham
says as Lilja fires the Agera RS and rolls out of the garage.
“Man wasn’t meant to go 276 mph. We’re built to run. The
idea that we have this much influence over our environment
is kind of cool to me. That’s what drives me. What can we
do when we apply our intellect and our resources? This is
the result of that. To me, it’s a thing of beauty.”
The car sounds unlike anything you’ve heard as it moves
through the paddock and onto the Spring Mountain road
course. Lilja takes a few laps in the darkness, shaking the
thing out, dusting himself off for later. The exhaust snaps
and snarls, lighting the asphalt with brief flashes of off-
throttle fire, the sound of so much air getting sucked through
those exotic lungs echoing off the buildings behind us.
The temperature hangs in the lower 50s by the time we
make our way to Tecopa Road, the staging area for Lilja’s
run. The sun is barely up, lighting the swirled stone hills to
our northeast. There’s nothing out here, just sand and scrub
and telephone poles like gallows strung straight for miles.
20 Traffic’s been rerouted onto the northbound lane, but the
highway patrol stops drivers on both ends while Lilja makes
his attempts. Street sweepers have scoured the pavement
since daybreak, attempting to clean the surface as best they
can. Lilja and Stidham take a recon run, heading south while
the cameramen clean their lenses and check their batteries.
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ETHOS
~{INTERMISSION}~
A M E R I C A’ S N Ü R B U R G R I N G
T H E R ED, W H I T E , A N D
B LU E HE L L
by JONATHON KLEIN
GERMANY’S NÜRBURGRING HAS
for decades seen company after company
chase blistering lap times to prove its
product is the quickest in the world.
Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche,
and Koenigsegg routinely take cracks
22 at besting the renowned track and
each other. Records fall as supercars
get better and more like their racing
counterparts. Now, Spring Mountain
Motor Resort an hour outside Las
Vegas is devouring land in an attempt
to soon rival Germany’s torture test.
Built by motorsports-lovers John
Morris and Brad Rambo, the track
Koenigsegg used as its base camp
during its on-road record runs was
founded in 2004. The idea was to not
only create a place where the proprietors
could unleash their own cars without worry
but also to create a world-class facility that
→
would attract likeminded enthusiasts to its
circuit layout and beautiful backdrop.
Spring Mountain’s track measures an
impressive 6.1 miles when all of its layouts
are connected to each other. However, the
plan—already in the construction phase—
is to expand much more, incorporating
turns and designs from some of the best
SPRIN G
M OU N TA IN
MOTO R
RESORT
As beautiful
as a desert
rose to track
rats, the
Spring
Mountain
Motor Resort
has a massive
expansion in
its future.
circuits around the world and increasing
the total track distance to 14.5 miles. When
SPRING MOUNTAIN’S completed, that length will pit it squarely
against Germany’s 12.9-mile Nordschleife.
PLAN—ALREADY IN When asked why, Morris laughs and
THE CONSTRUCTION says, “Why not?” That’s a lot different than
PHASE—IS TO EXPAND, the original concept, which was to purchase
INCREASING THE a piece of land by the side of Nevada’s State
Route 160 to “build a small racetrack for
TOTAL TRACK DISTANCE ourselves and have some fun.” But that
TO 14.5 MILES. narrowly focused dream quickly evolved
into the massive expansion project Morris
and Rambo—effectively the project’s only financiers—now envision.
Upon completion, Spring Mountain will be the planet’s largest race
facility, including an off-road portion, kart track, and a straight long
enough to land a small Gulfstream aircraft. The plan also calls for
amenities to rival any track in the world. Along with growing the overall
length, development ideas for the surrounding area include a new hotel,
casino, mall, cinema, housing development to support the expanding
population, and a 24-hour Starbucks on the recently purchased 630
acres bought through Nevada’s Bureau of Land Management.
“It’s going to be really interesting watching the community grow and
see the impact of the track,” Morris says. AM
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 Watching them go off into the distance, nothing about the
car seems dramatic. It’s speed on the geological scale. When
they return, someone asks Stidham how it went. He says it
was a pretty good test run. They hit 220 mph.
The idea was for Lilja to slowly build up speed. Take a
stab at 160 mph, then 180, then keep jumping up, run after
run until he beats the record. But the man has no patience
for that. It’s like he doesn’t want to spend too much time
near that teetering edge.

“I’M RELIEVED. THIS

IS DANGEROUS STUFF,
YOU KNOW? WE’D
NEVER DRIVEN FASTER
THAN 250 ANYWHERE.
WE’RE PUSHING THE
BOUNDARIES.”

24 The wind never settles, but on his first official run Lilja The Department of Transportation permit is good for
heads uphill into the sporadic gusts and rips off an average No custom all day, and Lilja’s keen to make the most of it. Earlier
rubber for this
speed of 271.2 mph over the flying kilometer. He leaves the Agera RS. The
this year, Koenigsegg set another record, beating the
helicopters filming the event well behind. It’s stunning, Michelin Pilot Bugatti Chiron’s previous benchmark in the 0-400-0-
almost unbelievable to be there to witness the thing. When Sport Cup 2 kph test on a broken concrete WWII runway. With all
tires came
Lilja gets out of the car and removes his helmet, someone tells right off the this perfect pavement on hand, Lilja can’t help but take
him his speed. He nods. “Then I will try for 300.” shelf and fared another run at that feat. Someone asks if they should
well, even
Later, he’ll say the headwind gusts had the car drifting a after several consider changing tires. The driver eyes the fronts. “We
few meters left and right as he approached his top speed. high-speed don’t need to change the tires,” he says, “because we’re
record
The day warms up. Lilja heads for the requisite return attempts. not going that fast.”
run over the same distance, and when the car finally appears For the record, 400 kph is around 250 mph.
→

over a swell in the pavement, a crowd gathers as he opens
the door, and a tech pulls the Vbox data. There’s a snow-day
excitement. A flurry of hushed numbers whispered among
the crowd before the official word comes down. He’s averaged
284.6 mph this time for a combined speed of 277.9 mph. It
isn’t just the fastest anyone’s ever officially gone on a public
road. It’s the fastest anyone’s gone in a production car, period.
There is some drama this time. The traction-control
system overheats, and on his first run Lilja loops the car.
After a cooldown, he takes another stab at it but doesn’t
quite reach the magic 400-kph mark. On his last run, he
blasts from a standstill to 401.7 kph and back to a stop in
33.29 seconds, putting more than 8 seconds between the
Agera RS and Chiron. Von Koenigsegg is smiling.
 ETHOS

“There’s probably something left in it, but I think we’re 25

Niklas Lilja, done for the day,” he says. “I’m relieved. This is dangerous
the fastest
man on public stuff, you know? We’d never driven faster than 250 anywhere.
pavement, We’re pushing the boundaries.”
makes his
mark. Indeed. Their efforts have gained them five production-car
records: the highest top speed for a production vehicle at
277.9 mph (beating the 267.8 mph achieved seven years ago
by Bugatti’s Veyron Super Sport); the 0-400-0 kph record at
33.29 seconds; the flying kilometer on a public road at 276.9
mph; the flying mile on a public road at 276.9 mph; and the
highest speed on a public road at 284.6 mph (besting the Nazis who set the
previous record of 268 mph in 1938 with a Mercedes-Benz W125).
Maybe this is the point of these cars. To be unburdened by racing’s
regulatory bodies. To grasp at the uniquely human pursuit of going faster for
the sake of saying we’ve done so. To take the measure of ourselves not against
our competitors but against the very fabric of physics. Von Koenigsegg could
not have picked a more perfect name for his world-besting car. The Agera. In
Swedish it means “to act.” AM
 EVERY SEAT RULES.
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E THOS
T HE
BLUE OVAL vs. FERRARI:
THE REMATCH
PE RUS E THE 201 8 Ford vehicles website,
and you’ll see a range of relatively affordable,
fairly conventional wheels: Fusion sedan (“from
$22,120”), C-Max Energi SE hybrid ($27,120),
Explorer SUV ($31,990), F-250 Super Duty pickup
($32,820)—you know, normal stuff. But under the
“Performance Vehicles” link, you’ll find a low, lean
missile labeled Ford GT. Base price: $453,750.
No, someone on Ford’s web team did not
accidentally tack on a digit. The Dearborn,
Michigan, automaker really does sell a two-seat
supercar that’s more than 10 times the price of
almost everything else the company builds.
28 Way back in the fall of 2003, I had the opportunity to track test a
prototype of what would become the 2005 Ford GT street car—a stunning,
road-legal homage to the GT40 racing machines that conquered Le Mans
(and the might of Ferrari) four times in a row starting in 1966. Despite its
artful aluminum bodywork and 550-horsepower supercharged V-8, that
original GT was still something of a bargain, starting at “only” $139,995.
For its all-new version, Ford has taken the mid-engine GT formula and
cranked it straight to 11. Actually, to 15—right where Ferrari lives. I wish
I could’ve been in the Ford product-planning meeting that approved this
norms-shattering provocateur.
Big-dreams engineer: “We’re thinking a lightweight carbon monocoque
wearing scissor doors and a carbon-fiber body that looks like it was
designed at Area 51, a 647-horsepower twin-turbocharged V-6, chassis
engineering straight from the racetrack, and Ferrari-crushing performance
with a top speed of around, say, 216 miles per hour.”
Trembling bean counter: “Uh, whaddaya think all that’ll cost?”
“We figure no more than $450,000. Tops.”
Bean counter: “Please tell me this is April 1.”
Yet against all dream-diluting corporate
logic, Ford execs actually said “fine” to most
of the wild ideas bandied about for the new
GT. Ol’ Henry Ford never would’ve believed
it: “Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars?!
What’s the damn thing made of, Van Gogh
paintings?” But the GT does exist, and I finally
got to drive it—on a spectacular mountain road
and on the track. You know how when you
AS P HA LT
stand in the ocean surf all day you can still feel
the waves even hours later? Well, days after my
drive in Ford’s new g-generator, my insides are
still wobbling like a nervous Jell-O mold.
Up close, the GT is an intimidating, knife-
edged beast—a Gillette Mach 3 on wheels. The
rear buttresses look like they could suck you
in and churn you up like a jet engine. The
round outboard taillights and round central
exhausts resemble four howitzer tubes ready
to open fire on any vehicle dimwitted enough
AJ
to come within range. Under the rear glass lies
the stupendous motor, humorously wearing
EcoBoost branding. Really? What’s so “eco”
about an EPA city/highway rating of 11/18
mpg? (Will any GT buyer even care?)
I’ve driven supercars of every stripe, from
J U NGL E
Corvette ZR1s and Vipers to Lambos and
monster Ferraris. The GT feels like none of
them. The cockpit is tight and surprisingly
narrow (you’ll bump elbows with your
passenger). With helmet on, I had to bend my
6-foot self forward to fit under the roof. The
character isn’t street car, it’s race car.
Fire up the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6, and race
car is all you’ll be thinking. On the road, the
ILLUST engine machine-guns your ears under throttle
RATION and spits and crackles when you lift off. On
by the track, with a helmet on, the furor is only
TIM slightly lessened; the carbon-fiber body acts
MARRS like a giant megaphone. But, da-yum, is the
GT fast. It’s ferocious in a straight line, yes, but
more so you notice the fleetness of its chassis.
Arthur St. Antoine
The GT doesn’t like powering through turns. It
prefers to be set up straight before going back
on the juice. But get it right, and the speed is
blinding. The steering is light and direct, the
seven-speed dual-clutch shifter a brilliant
accompanist. Switch from Sport to Track mode,
and the chassis instantly drops 2 inches while
the shocks go full firm. Like I said: race car.
The new Ford GT is gorgeous, wicked,
insanely potent, and unashamedly raw. I
still can’t believe the maker of Fusions and
Tauruses actually built a car this extravagant,
this outré. But I guess history does repeat
itself. Pass the earplugs. Time to party like it’s
1966. AM
AUTOMOBILEMAG.COM
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 NOISE,
short, and it’s tall, which accounts along with a
substantial greenhouse for a spacious and airy
cabin that magnifies the hatchback practicality,
with room for big folk and a fair amount of
stuff. Overall, its interior doesn’t subtract from
but instead adds to the good cheer that dawns
anew every time you find yourself realizing
you’ll never have to hang out at a gas station
again. And there’s that range, which makes
ownership viable for more people.

VIBRATION &
The first Bolts went on sale in December
2016 in California, debuting in various other
green states before becoming available in
all 50 states later in 2017. Chevy sold 20,000
through the first 11 months of last year, with
almost 3,000 shifted in November, suggesting
an annualized rate of 36,000 Bolts a year. Not
bad for a new and still somewhat unfamiliar
technology in a just launched model.
But it could have been better. In fact, it
should’ve been better, and it could be still.

WITHER THE ELECTRIC NVH

Why? Because the Bolt is good enough to own
the affordable space, however briefly—roughly

STOVE BOLT , GM? the time between now and when other cheaper
EVs have this sort of range—at a crucial time
in the electric car genus’ development and
acceptance. Tesla has 455,000 people waiting
for Model 3s, suggesting there’s a much larger
I N C A S E YO U haven’t heard the news, the HA R S HNESS market for something like the Bolt.
electric Chevrolet Bolt—with its official 235-
mile range (or more, as I ran up 267 miles)—
is great. In fact, it makes the best case yet for BOB LUTZ SAID
Americans to own an EV, starting with double HE’D BEEN MISTAKEN
the battery range of most its antecedents. The
price—$37,495 before options and a $7,500 tax
ALL THE YEARS HE
credit—is stiffer than we’d like but a hell of a lot
SPENT CRITICIZING
cheaper than a Tesla and not beyond the means TOYOTA FOR THE
of most early-intender-type buyers. The cost is PRIUS BECAUSE ON
also likely to fall in years ahead with greater PAPER IT LOST MONEY.
volume and advances in battery manufacturing.
ILLUST
IF HE HAD VIEWED
The Bolt is not, to be clear, a Tesla Model S
30 when it comes to luxury, flat-screen fantasia, or top-end performance. RATION
THOSE LOSSES
But then it costs considerably less. And it stands up to Tesla’s popularly by AS A MARKETING
priced baby brother, the Model 3, both in the fact you can buy or lease TIM EXPENSE ... IT ALL
one today and in that it is a fully engineered machine, ready to use daily. MARRS MADE SENSE.
The Bolt offers drivers the reassuring sense they’ve not been sent out into
Jamie Kitman

the field, tasked to report back on the state of various open engineering
and manufacturing questions. It is a Chevrolet, in the proudest sense of Why Bolt now? Because this is the time
the word. when neural connections are being made in
Many are probably unaware that reliability and seamless ease of use drivers’ heads as the whole concept of electric
are true for most electric cars these days; the Volkswagen e-Golf is also cars and brands takes root. For reasons sound
excellent, for instance. Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Soul EV, even the and reasons stoned, Tesla has dominated the
Fiat 500e—they’re all perfectly swell EVs I’ve driven, and I’m probably psychographic space so far, and the market
forgetting some others. They ride and handle well, they’re quiet and quick has rewarded it in the outsized valuation
and pleasant to drive, with accommodating chassis if not ones that cry out of its shares, if not in profitable operations.
for spirited, Tokyo-drift-style flogging. Bolt is GM’s product-based chance to start
But the point is, the Bolt is all they are, plus it has more: more range, claiming the space for itself, before everyone
that is, which is key. It’s a short car, making for easy parking, but not too else arrives with their guns blazing, too. If even

AUTOMOBILEMAG.COM

half the predictions of an all-electric future prove true, the space will be
worth plenty.
How could Bolt achieve more success? First off, General Motors could
market it like it really meant it. When it wants to sell the hell out of
something—say Silverados or Equinoxes—you notice. Television and radio,
billboards, noisy dealers, and digital intrusions abound. I don’t pretend
to monitor all media scientifically, but no ads for the Bolt have crossed
my consciousness here, just outside of New York City, a likely target for
automotive greenery if ever there was one. I’ve even typed Bolt into a
search engine several times over the last few months and not even once
have I been bugged by somebody trying to sell me one.
There are very few cars whose makers lay so far back, and although I
don’t want to complain—part of me, in fact, wants to say “thank you”—
it does seem strange that GM is keeping its head down. After all, this
is a company that startled itself silly recently, if happily, when the stock
market responded to the announcement of its plan to accelerate the
electrification of its range—20 new electric vehicles by 2023—driving its
shares to a modern high. It is not much of an exaggeration to say all GM
had to do was say it would do everything it spent the last 20 years fighting,
and its shares—mired in concrete, notwithstanding some hugely profitable
years—skyrocketed. So I said it, putting up a Facebook post to this effect
when it happened. The second person to hit the thumbs-up “like” button
was GM executive vice president Mark Reuss.
So why, then, doesn’t GM get busy promoting the Bolt now? We can
imagine reasons. Too busy raking in mega shekels selling big trucks
E THOS
FOLLOW and SUVs. Doesn’t want to spend money if it
US ON doesn’t have to. Maybe the company is splitting
FB the difference, developing the technology while
& not losing too much money by selling too many
IG cars. Or perhaps GM is too obsessed with the
autonomous future, where people buy ride
services instead of cars to fawn over and polish,
and thinks it premature to worry about owning
the American electric car space now.
But if done right the Bolt can be the setup
for the ride service brand. Former GM vice
chairman and product maven Bob Lutz once
looked back and said he’d been mistaken all the
@AUTOMOBILEMAG
years he spent criticizing Toyota for selling the
Prius because on paper it lost money. If he had
viewed those losses as a marketing expense,
he came to understand, it all made sense. A
wider Bolt rollout should be seen the same way.
Use it to create some of the rosy good feelings
that make a brand relevant again and last
for generations. There’s a moment where GM
could make it the 21st-century equivalent of
Chevrolet’s reputation-building “stovebolt six”
motor (1929-1990), but it will pass. Let’s hear it
for the Electric Stove Bolt. Now. AM
31
 Write: Automobile magazine, 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, California, 90245
LETTERS
Email: letters@automobilemag.com. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.
Customer service: automobile@emailcustomerservice.com; 800-289-2886
ALWAYS
RIGHT?
I W O N D E R W H AT all the fuss is about
when asking who should die first in
an autonomous vehicle crash. I would
assume the autonomous vehicle makes
no mistakes, so it must do just three
things: 1) stay legal; 2) stay safe (no
sacrificing of the vehicle occupants); and
3) stay in its own lane (no swerving into
oncoming traffic to avoid a collision). If
another vehicle or a pedestrian is hit,
then it was probably the other person’s
fault. This is no different than what
32 happens now except that a human
driver might overturn a bus and kill
innocent people rather than simply
hitting the idiot who cut him off.
DIRK NORDLING
Elkridge, Maryland
BANGLED AGAIN
After doing everything possible to make
BMWs hideous, Chris Bangle is now
unconstrained in his bizarre visions,
and I wish you wouldn’t enable him by
giving his Redspace nonsense coverage.
Well, maybe if you planned on having an
April Fools’ Day issue. Thanks and aside
from this, keep up the good work!
DON WINTERHALTER
Biddeford, Maine
WAGON NATION
Jamie Kitman’s Volvo wagon reunion
drive story (January 2018) brought
back memories of my Volvo 122 sedan.
I enjoyed the reference to an old Volvo
fitted with aircraft lights. In fact, having
traded the Volvo for a brand-new
Datsun 510 with quad headlamps, it
was a perfect fit to use 13-volt aircraft
landing lights as high beams. The
filament looked like it was a half-inch
in diameter, and the white beam was
fantastic, about 250 watts, straight
from the 1969 J.C. Whitney catalog. I
was a reporter crisscrossing central
New Jersey each night. Kitman surely
remembers that for mods like this
it meant removing them every year
for New Jersey inspection and then
putting them back.
KENNETH TIVEN
Pawcatuck, Connecticut
I agree that station wagons are really
one of if not the most successful
all-time vehicular compromises for
achieving optimal form, fit, and
function. Where is the safety factor in
having a high center of gravity as seen
in virtually all sport utility vehicles and
crossovers? Is it really more desirable
to roll over instead of skid?
I’ve had a 15-passenger van, three
convertibles, two station wagons, and
about 10 sedans over the years with
varying degrees of appreciation. Most
were either purchased as performance
models and/or modified for such. Of
all those vehicles, my 2006 Dodge
Magnum V-8 with all-wheel drive
makes me happiest. I might never
replace it because there hasn’t been
anything to match or better it in the
marketplace in the last 10 years. My
wish is for FCA or anyone to come out
with a modernized version of the old
Dodge Magnum.
PAUL BANNISTER
Montrose, Colorado
It was with utter delight that I read
Jamie Kitman’s column and superb
article about the Volvo wagon armada.
That so many owners volunteered to
attend the event does not surprise. And
the V90 is one of the most beautiful
wagons ever made—second only,
perhaps, to the 1800 ES, which is
timelessly gorgeous.
I was especially thrilled to see a
V50 in attendance. The V50 is so rare
that to see another is a small thrill.
Of all that I’ve seen, mine is the only
one with a manual transmission.
Experiencing not one mechanical or
other problem during the entire trip
speaks well to Volvo’s reliability.
Thank you all for producing such
a fine magazine and pressing the
readership to at least think about
getting a wagon.
SCOTT ROBB
Woodbridge, Virginia
When are automobile manufacturers
going to get the hint about station
wagons? I drooled at the ones
pictured in the January issue. Look at
the percentage of wagons on the road
in Europe. Not many SUVs but gobs
of wagons.
THOMAS DAVISSON
Montgomery, Alabama
Regardless of interior volume or
center of gravity—or what Europeans
drive—an SUV’s configuration
offers a number of advantages
over its wagon relative. Cars are an
emotional purchase. People should
be free to drive what they want
without being told they should be
driving something else. And to me,
attempting to resolve #NoBoringCars
with #VolvoStationWagon is a bit of
a stretch. Not that there’s anything
wrong with that.
PAUL DAVIS
Grants Pass, Oregon
NOT ALL LOVE
Jamie Kitman just can’t seem to
control himself. Yet again we have
another not-so-thinly veiled shot at
the conservative right (“Keeping the
Faith,” January 2018). I’m proudly
conservative and a subscriber since
the very first issue of Automobile.
I have no wish to pay to read
someone’s anti-conservative screed.
I get more than enough of that for
free on TV and in the papers. Maybe
one of you can explain it to him: If
he insults subscribers, they are not
going to renew. If they don’t renew,
the magazine has less money to pay
Kitman. Maybe if he hears it from
his colleagues, he’ll get it through his
tax-hiking, government-expanding,
latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-
driving, New York Times-reading,
body-piercing, Hollywood-loving,
left-wing freak show head.
KEITH DOLAN
Brooklyn, New York
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TESL
34

MOD
 DESIGN OF THE YEAR

A
Design of the Year
Tesla Model 3
by ROBERT CUMBERFORD photog raphy by BA R RY J. H O L M E S

35

EL 3
 O U R S E L E C T I O N O F the Tesla Model 3 as
Automobile’s Design of the Year might come as a surprise, given
some of the shots the company has absorbed when it comes
to its unreal stock market valuation and founder Elon Musk’s
penchant for overpromising. Yes, the Model 3s on the road
now have been cobbled up with a lot of handwork making up
for deficient manufacturing experience and skills. But ignore
the commercial drama and the commentary from the Musk
haters and naysayers and take a good look at the car itself. It’s
neither spectacular nor shockingly innovative. It’s just a really
nice-looking, clean design that is instantly acceptable, despite
the total absence of a traditional grille or representation of the
same—as seen on the first Tesla sedans. The Model 3 is quite
evidently an electric car, and its designers made no effort to There’s nothing
over the top
disguise that fact. about the Model
For several years now I’ve said the Tesla Model S is the best 3’s interior
save its optional
sedan I’ve ever driven. That’s no longer true. It’s not that I all-glass roof,
found recent Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Rolls-Royce sedans which
dramatically
superior. Rather, I’ve done a few miles in the Model 3, which opens up
now holds the title of best four-door I’ve ever driven. Whatever the cabin.
the price point, heritage, styling, reputation, or prestige of its
rivals, the Model 3 is quieter and quicker, and it rides better
than anything else we might have considered for our Design of
the Year award. And as a plus, it’s a much handier size than the
Model S, far more practical for daily use in cities and suburbs.
For the Model 3 to succeed, Tesla must build it in large
numbers out of sheet steel, not the aluminum used for the
36 Models S and X. That’s no special trick for any of the traditional
carmakers, and although some of Tesla’s executives do have
extensive experience in the traditional “tin box” industry, it’s
all new for the factory team as a group. To build this car in
big numbers at a profit requires a lot of advanced robotic
operations that are, to date, not working as planned or as they
should. But we believe those problems will not hold them back
for a long time, as long as the company doesn’t run out of money.
 DESIGN OF THE YEAR

Musk said the cabin would be

“like a spaceship.” That has turned
out happily to be inaccurate,
at least if we compare it to the
orbital craf t we’ ve seen so far.

37
38 Ultimately, none of this has anything to do with the virtues No messy controls
here. There are
of this BMW 3 Series-sized car. It has a longer wheelbase, only two toggles
more perceived cabin volume, and a better, flatter, and more on the Model 3’s
steering wheel
comfortable ride, and it’s a lot faster than most variations of the and no traditional
German car that has been the class standard for decades. The instrument panel.
optional two-piece glass roof enhances the sense of space for up A generous, 15-inch
display dominates
to five occupants, as does the ultra-simple transverse panel in front and center.
front of the driver and passenger, punctuated by a huge screen
in the exact center of the car. But that positioning does not
mean a driver must turn his or her head to see vital driving
data; there is a head-up display on the windshield that provides
all the information you need to drive safely. A year ago when the
car was first revealed without an interior we could see, Musk
said the cabin would be “like a spaceship.” That has turned out
happily to be inaccurate, at least if we compare it to the orbital
craft we’ve seen so far. The cabin’s style and presentation is
more modern Scandinavian than Soyuz, and it’s inviting.
The front seats are comfortable, as are the two outer rear
seats, but the center one accommodates only a small person.
I sat in the outer back seat and found headroom excellent,
but I did not ride there. Given the very flat ride, even better
than the Model S, the weight of the batteries in the floor and
the car’s lack of body roll, I’m inclined to believe the Model 3
will be perceived as a kind of magic carpet for four adults, not
five. Still, that narrow person in the middle of the back seat
will benefit from the high comfort level as well. And everyone
benefits from the exceptionally agreeable interior ambience.
In semi-autonomous mode already available on all Tesla
products, the car will, if cruise control is engaged, slow to a
new speed limit by itself. It’s slightly disconcerting but quite
easy to come to terms with. The same is true of its regenerative
braking. All recent electric cars I’ve driven offer the driver
 DESIGN OF THE YEAR

→
→

SMALL CAR, BIG CAPACITY

An advantage of the Model 3’s electric drivetrain is the ability
to utilize both the front and rear of the car for storage
to the tune of 15 cubic feet of total cargo capacity.
39
 a choice, a setting in which the car will slow down at about
The

3
the same rate as a normal automatic-equipped car when you
The Model 3
lift your foot off the accelerator and another mode in which
the accelerator is almost the only pedal you need touch. You
reminds us Man
modulate the rate of retardation by the speed of lifting your of classic Behind
foot, and in well-judged situations bring the car to a halt before
touching the brake pedal to hold it in one spot. This solution is Pininfarina The
much more energy-efficient than letting the car feel more like
a conventional vehicle. Tesla has an optional “creep” function
designs of
that allows the car to move slowly if the brake pedal is released. the 1960s:
The Model 3 is not luxurious in an ostentatious, opulent
sense. It’s much like the classic Eames chair or the deceptive simple and W E TA L K E D W I T H Franz
simplicity of Apple products: Function is embodied in a von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief
minimalist manner, providing elegant simplicity rather than straight- designer, about the Model
some “plain pipe rack” aesthetic like the original Citroën 2CV 3, his third Tesla car, and
or something rococo like a Victorian silver tea set or some forward, briefly about the Tesla truck
overdone Japanese sedans with “Tokyo by night” decor. We and the new Roadster II—a
have the impression that the studied simplicity of both interior
perfectly surprise during the truck
and exterior will let this car age extremely well, that in 10 years proportioned unveiling late last year. Von
it will still look contemporary and beautifully understated, not Holzhausen, a born American
old and irrelevant. with minimal despite his Teutonic-sounding
There are a few unattractive aspects, as noted in our By name, has deep industry
Design column in October 2016. The integrated spoiler, however extraneous experience, having created the
effective it might be, does look like an add-on and somewhat Pontiac Solstice and heading
ruined the purity and relative elegance of the pumped-up
detailing. Mazda design in California
fastback profile that provides such good headroom for the rear before being headhunted by
passengers. But all told, the Model 3 reminds us of some classic Musk for Tesla. He is familiar
40
Pininfarina designs of the 1960s: simple and straightforward, with his company’s products,
perfectly proportioned with minimal extraneous detailing. It owning one of each model.
has all been done with unmistakably good taste. That’s a pretty “My kids love the Model X,
good recipe for long-term success, whether for a fancy GT car especially the falcon-wing
or a family sedan. AM doors,” he says. “They’re 5 and
3 years old and think it’s fun.”

What was the design brief

for the Model 3?
FVH: It was essentially
customer-driven. They saw
the Model S as a great car,
but there was a desire for
something 10 to 20 percent
smaller, BMW 3 Series or
Audi A4 size. We thought the
$35,000 price point would
work. We wanted five seats,
more interior space, and to
keep the fastback silhouette.

What was the timeline on

the project?
FRANZ VON HOLZHAUSEN COURTESY OF TESLA

FVH: From initial sketches

to production launch was
about two years. We made
three prototypes, two of them
operating vehicles. Once the
mission was defined, our orders
were to hurry.
 DESIGN OF THE YEAR

But you were late in terms

of the announced dates.
FVH: We’re actually pretty
close to the dates initially
announced.

What’s particularly special

about the Model 3?
FVH: To keep the fastback
profile, we eliminated the
liftgate and used a normal
trunklid. To keep a faster
profile, we moved the
structure ahead, to make
sure the [head impact
criteria] were all met. The big
backlight is something we had
experience with on the Model
X windshield.

What else did you bring

forward from the S and X?
FVH: For instance, we knew
that flush door handles were
important, but we simplified
the mechanism, so they are
not as costly. We kept good
41
aerodynamics for range as well
as to make the car sporty. Not
silliness, just clean and sporty.

The $35,000 price point

is exciting, but your own
car you let us drive is more
like $55,000.
FVH: Yes, with the premium
interior package and
15-speaker audio system,

FRANZ
19-inch wheels, and other
options, the price is higher, but
the base cars will be really nice
without any options.

When did you decide to

totally eliminate the grille
von Holzhausen and front trim?
FVH: That was a long time
coming. We made the early
cars less distinct from rivals
but slowly came to this
solution of how to keep a
premium sports feel friendlier
and happier than the luxury
S. We changed that car, too,
modifying 200 to 300 parts
when the S was restyled
without the painted “shield.” AM
DESIGN OF THE YEAR
TESLA’S
BUSINESS
MODEL: IT’S
COMPLICATED
O U R C H O I C E O F the Tesla Model
3 as Design of the Year does not mark
the first time we recognized the design
and engineering acumen of Silicon
Valley’s “disruptive” car company. Our
2012 Automobile of the Year was Tesla’s
breakout product, the Model S. In the
six years since, Tesla has grown. The only
issues holding it back from becoming a
42 mass-market automaker are its struggle
with actually manufacturing electric-
powered cars and SUVs, and slipping
demand for electric vehicles in markets
such as Hong Kong after a government tax
break or subsidy is eliminated.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears to look
at the battery-electric vehicle market only
from the supply side. Prior to selling the
first Tesla Model 3s, he said production
of the $35,000 (base price) sport sedan
would reach a rate of 5,000 per week by the
end of 2017 and quickly rise to 10,000 per
→
week later this year. Those plans called for
producing 500,000 Teslas, mostly Model
3s, in 2018. Production of consumer salable
Model 3s began last summer, and by the end
of the third quarter the company had built
just 260 and sold 222 of them (mostly to
employees and investors), Musk said during
a Wall Street analysts’ conference call. The
BY CEO famously called the Model 3’s launch “production hell.” He said a
TO D D subcontractor had “robot calibration issues” but blamed himself and his
LASSA team for signing the subcontractor. “We had to rewrite all that software—20
to 30 man years of software—in four weeks,” Musk told the analysts.
Musk amended his production targets in that call and said Tesla would
ramp up to 5,000 Model 3s per week by the end of the first quarter of
2018. By the time you read this, the goal will be on its way to being met.
Doubling that number to the ultimate goal of 10,000 per week would be
easy, Musk said, because Tesla can make the
robots “go really, really fast.” Whether Tesla
meets Musk’s late first-quarter goal or not,
it’s clear the 455,000 (net) global customers
who placed $1,000 deposits on a Model 3
will not all get their cars before 2018 ends.
A couple weeks after Musk’s conference
call, he unveiled a prototype for a semi
truck at his Hawthorne, California, facil-
ity. It arrives in 2019. A new Roadster,
also shown at the event and which looks
more like a four-seat targa top GT, comes
in 2020. Musk promised a 5.0-second
0-60-mph time and a 500-mile range,
and that’s for the truck. The Roadster will
have a 200 kWh battery pack capable of
620 miles of range, a 1.9-second 0-60-mph
time, and a top speed of more than 250
mph. The compact Model Y SUV, based
on the Model 3, is due the same year as
A SUBCONTRACTOR HAD the Roadster. “Don’t set your watch by
“ROBOT CALIBRATION this, but rough production starts in about
ISSUES. ... WE HAD TO three years,” he said of the Y in the third-
quarter earnings call.
REWRITE ALL THAT Tesla critics wonder where Musk
SOFTWARE—20 TO 30 intends to build all these cars and trucks.
MAN YEARS OF SOFTWARE If he meets his stated goal of 500,000
—IN FOUR WEEKS.” Teslas per year at the company’s Fremont,
California, facility, he will surpass New
United Motor Manufacturing’s best year,
2006, when it assembled 428,633 Toyotas
and Pontiacs. NUMMI averaged 6,000 units per week between 1984 and
2009. One possibility is Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada, though Musk has
given no indication the company will assemble cars in a plant designed to
mostly produce lithium-ion battery cells. No matter where the new models
are assembled, Tesla will have to invest hundreds of millions of dollars,
even billions, in new tooling and an expensive paint booth tall enough to
accommodate big-rig trucks.
Perhaps it doesn’t matter to a new car company that continues to lose
money ($619 million in the previous third quarter) while showing a far
more promising future than every upstart automaker since Preston Tucker.
Some observers steeped in auto-manufacturing lore believe traditional
automakers have a better shot at funding the EV revolution with the
healthy profits from conventional gas- and diesel-powered vehicles. Silicon
Valley considers that 20th century thinking. The Cult of Elon, much like the
Cult of Mac nearly a generation ago, will tell you that when climate change
becomes a clear, imminent threat to global economic forces in a few years,
Tesla will be positioned to become the world’s dominant automaker. AM
 DESIGN OF THE YEAR
LC 500
44
M O R E T H A N O N E Automobile staff
member voted for the Lexus LC500 as
our Design of the Year—it is the most
stylish production Lexus since Erwin Lui’s
seminal wet-plaster-in-a-rubber-balloon LS
400 of 1991. The concept design was de-
scribed in some detail in our June 2016
issue, but it’s well worth taking a closer
look at the production model—so close
to the concept car presented at the 2016
Detroit show that any differences don’t
greatly matter—to see why it’s not quite
Design of the Year material.
If there is one thing all good car-body
designers know, it is that proportion is
king. Just as real estate agents insist that
→
the three most important aspects of any
given property are “location, location,
location,” so “proportion” easily occupies
the first half dozen or so vital points of a
car design. Then and only then come line,
surface development, and detailing. Get
all of those matters properly organized
and properly treated, and you might well
Lexus
HONORABLE
M EN TIO N
:
have an all-time winner. Some examples: Jean Bugatti’s Type 55 roadster,
If not for the Gordon Buehrig’s Cord 810/12 sedans, Pininfarina’s (and Giovanni
Model 3’s Savonuzzi’s) Cisitalia 202 coupe, Bob Bourke’s 1953 Studebaker coupe,
existence and
a few critical Erwin Komenda’s Porsche 911, Albrecht Graf Goertz’s BMW 507, Malcolm
details, the LC Sayer’s Jaguar E-type, Bill Mitchell’s ’60s Buick Riviera, Giorgetto
500 could have
been our choice Giugiaro’s VW Golf, and Marcello Gandini’s Lamborghini Miura.
for Design of The LC, even if not in that league, truly deserves an honorable mention.
the Year.
It’s a good design. It hits the proportions aspect of greatness almost
perfectly, but it falls down a bit in matters of intersecting lines, conflicting
discrete details, and that unique and definitely not beautiful oversized
grille. Its interior brings us zero innovation, creation, or forward-looking
imagination. But it’s extremely well-executed and far more interesting
than earlier Toyota-Lexus designs.
The large air scoops ahead of the rear wheels look aggressive but feature
no heat exchangers inside, and they do not direct cooling air toward the
rear brakes or the differential. They simply reduce aerodynamic turbulence
inside the wheel wells. The 45-degree slashes up the rear fascia seem a
bit much for no purpose other than framing the license plate, and they
clearly relate to no other lines or forms on the body.
The mere fact the LC’s proportions are satisfying, and the distribution
of its volumes and the overall feel of the design please so many, is not
enough for iconic status. It does, however, give us reason to hope for even
better models yet to come. This and big boss Akio Toyoda’s commitment
to better design is highly positive. —R.C. AM
46
The simple approach of
Honda’s EV twosome really impresses
BY ROBERT CUMBERFORD
 CONCEPT OF THE YEAR

T H I S W A S A moderately good year for concept cars—from Detroit through

Geneva, Frankfurt, and Tokyo—but when all was weighed and considered
carefully, there remained only two show cars of real significance, Honda’s
Urban EV (Frankfurt) and Sports EV (Tokyo). The pair and their underlying
all-electric platform clearly have a future, which is at best only partly true
for most concepts.
At Frankfurt, I really liked the Borgward Isabella concept designed by the
protean ex-BMW creator Anders Warming, who was responsible for some
of the best concepts of the Chris Bangle era and also helmed Mini design
before joining the now Chinese-owned Borgward brand. But do I think
there’s a big future for what is a very professional design? Not really.

47
 WHENEVER THERE IS A MAJOR CHANGE IN APPROACH
TO THE WAY THINGS ARE DONE, THERE IS A TENDENCY TO
APE THE OUTGOING TECHNOLOGY’S APPEARANCE IN ORDER
TO SOFTEN PUBLIC REACTION TO THE CHANGE.

I liked the Japanese Aspark Owl electric supercar

at Frankfurt, too. It was a little messy in details but
intriguing. Do I think we’ll ever see it again? Not really.
The Nissan IMX electric concept in Tokyo was quite nice
and is intended for production three years from now (at
least its mechanical-electrical platform is), with versions
planned for Renault and Infiniti, as well. But does it show
us anything new or important in style? Not really.
Toyota’s blunt, brutal box-shaped TJ Cruiser, another
Tokyo unveiling, is almost certain to go into production
without much variation from the show concept. But it’s
very much in the line of previous Toyota “tough” trucks
and civilized utility vehicles. Is it an important look at the
industry’s future? Not really.
It’s impossible not to be impressed by the Mazda Vision
Coupe’s fluidity of both surface and line, but do we think
48 there will be a production version with smaller wheels thoughts of the early VW Golf) and in sports-car form in
and more reasonable cabin space—a rationally producible Tokyo, represent a number of positive lines of development.
variation of the concept that retains the concept’s They’re small, which we think is going to be vital in the
attractiveness? Not really. We don’t think next four or five years when petroleum prices rise as the
There are endless versions of ultra-fabulous super- bench seats are U.S. dollar ceases to be the key currency in the oil business.
coming back to
duper 80-to-240-mph sports cars that only some of the 1 family cars, but They’re more functionally design-oriented than they are
percent can buy and only a hundredth of a percent of able who knows? related to current overwrought styling trends, and they are
It could happen,
buyers would be capable of driving at anywhere close to and they look conceived as electric cars from the start. That’s important.
their performance potential. But do they mean anything to good. Rear Whenever there is a major change in approach to
hinged doors?
the future of the automobile, whether that be autonomous Maybe. It’s the way things are done, there is a tendency to ape the
or completely driver controlled? Not really. And so it goes. good for entry. outgoing technology’s appearance in order to soften public
So what does matter? The Honda duo cited above, reaction to the change. The last air-cooled Franklin cars
concepts released in Frankfurt in city-car form (evoking in the ’30s had exceedingly handsome radiator grilles, but
 CONCEPT OF THE YEAR

↓
they didn’t have radiators. The first Tesla Model S sedans There’s just a headlamps incorporated within its perimeter. Although I
little curvature
had painted simulacrum of radiator grilles (happily gone to the coupe was not completely on board with the simple design at
now). The Chrysler Airflow and Lincoln Zephyr cars roofline, and the Frankfurt show, I was amazed to see a few months
its overall
conceived as droop-snoot aerodynamic shapes had tall proportions later that of the 44 photos I took at the show, more than
are truly
hoods and artificial pointed grilles: the Chrysler after a sporty, but a quarter were of the Urban EV—telling me after the fact
year of production, the Lincoln before production began. this is really that I was more impressed than I’d thought. Many design
a city car,
Many electrified cars (VW Golf, Ford Focus, for example) whatever colleagues said it was their favorite concept in Germany, a
completely conceal their mode of propulsion, and both its overall position shared by other Automobile staffers present.
appearance
the Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf try fairly hard to look suggests And the Sports EV at Tokyo sealed the deal. This ten-
about intent.
“normal.” The Hondas do not, and we see that as a very tative new model range from Honda is the Concept of the
good thing. Honda designer Makoto Harada admits that Year. Really. AM
the long hood of the sports model “is not rational, but it
underlines the emotion, the driving pleasure one expects
of such a car.” We say he’s definitely on the right track.
Back in late 1983 Honda surprised the world with a
completely new third-generation Civic line, including
the near-sports-car CRX, a formal four-door sedan, and
the proto-CUV Shuttle wagon. It was a terrific move, and
we anticipate other models in this EV series by the time
production begins.
The aesthetics are a bit unusual, with a very flat roof
on both models with very little arc front to rear, extremely
simple surfaces, and a black panel that, yes, simulates
a grille to some extent, with the prominent round

MANY ELECTRIFIED CARS COMPLETELY CONCEAL THEIR MODE

OF PROPULSION. BOTH THE RENAULT ZOE AND NISSAN LEAF
TRY FAIRLY HARD TO LOOK “NORMAL.”

49
 Best & Worst of the Year

by
THE YEAR IN ROBERT CUMBERFORD

AUTOMOTIVE
DESIGN
E A C H Y E A R W E get a selection of wondrous new
vehicles that their proposers tell us are world-beating creations, the
fastest, the most expensive, the most economical, the most beautiful,
the most innovative, ad nauseam. And each year we see most of them are
more of the same, truly of little interest to the automotive enthusiast or
to the general public. Here are our brief takes on some of the things we
really liked or disliked during the course of the past year.

50
 BEST AND WORST OF 2017

S C I E N C E F I CT I O N
T H E T E S L A S E M I truck introduced at the end of November 2017 is
by far the best-formed single vehicle the visionary electric-propulsion
car company has announced. The truck’s cab, with its central driving
position like the 1947 Wimille prototype and the McLaren F1, really does
look like the future is finally here, and we hope it becomes reality in a
couple years. There have been quite a few futuristic-looking trucks over
time, especially some by the rigorously self-promoting designer Luigi
Colani a couple decades back, but those were all show business and
almost no practicality. BMW designer Albrecht Graf Goertz remarked
that the front overhang of Colani’s semi tractor was enough to exclude
it from city streets—it swept too much surface and intruded on other
people’s lanes. The Tesla truck, however, actually makes sense.

51

PepsiCo has
placed a
deposit
on 100
futuristic
Tesla semi
trucks, but
it will
have to
evaluate
which routes
they’re best
suited for.
 C O P Y M AC H I N E S
O N E O F T H E most annoying things about car styling
is the tendency toward mindless appropriation of (usually
nonfunctional) decorative features, whether it does anything for
the aesthetics of the car to which it is applied or not. Case in point:
the proliferation of little trapezoidal fins—sometimes pointing up,
sometimes down—stuck to the lower body sides of many sedans
and coupes. The inspiration comes from Formula 1 cars, where the
devices serve as airflow deflectors. On most road cars, let alone
SUVs, they are meaningless embellishment. Another feature that
has shown up widely this past year is the split-level roof, in which
there is a physical or color break partway up the C- or D-pillar on
sedans, wagons, and—again—SUVs. It can be a cool detail but not
when it’s applied for the nth time.

52
Velar is Range
Rover’s all-new
model, which
AUTOMOBILEMAG.COM

slots in between
Evoque and
Sport. While it’s
handsome, many
styling cues are
well worn.
→
→
 BEST AND WORST OF 2017

VISION
Unlike Jaguar’s “ V I S I O N ” H A S B E E N used in the names of a great 53
classic E-type,
the complex many models in the past year, suggesting the creators
body shaping of have a perception of the future. But when we see
the Toyota FT-AC
“Adventure
the word, we conjure an image of two airline pilots
Concept” can sitting in a cockpit with hundreds of dials, switches,
be called many
things, but
levers, and buttons, and one says to the other, “If we

F I S H S CA L E S “smooth”
certainly isn’t
didn’t have so many instruments, we wouldn’t need
instruments. We could see out.” This comes to mind
one of them.
whenever we get in a car with terrible rearward
W E ’ V E A LW AY S C H A M P I O N E D purity and
visibility, and in the past year there have been entirely
simplicity in car design. The simple shapes seen in
too many of them, from the superb Tesla Model X to
John Cobb’s land-speed record car or in the SoCal
a number of European economy hatchbacks. If we
Special, the first hot rod to achieve 200 mph, are
dislike something about the absolutely extraordinary
seductive but do not really relate to usable road cars.
performance car that is the Chevrolet Camaro, it’s
Still, smooth and simple shapes such as the Jaguar
simply that you can’t see out—not just behind but also
E-type, traditional rear-engine Porsches, or even the
to the sides and even straight ahead. AM
VW Golf—which creator Giorgetto Giugiaro insists
was a simple transformation of his De Tomaso
Mangusta GT—are agreeable and essentially timeless.
But when we see cars with surfaces so faceted and
complex that they look like they were assembled
from small pieces of flat stock in a kindergarten
class, we aren’t impressed. And there are a great
many such cars available now. Toyota/Lexus, in its
admirable desire to acquire some style, has done well
in some models, far less so in others. Simple panels
assembled in a harmonious way can be extremely
satisfying. Consider the beauty in arrangements of
scales on fish. Then imagine a drunken fool trying to
reconstruct a disassembled fish. There are cars that
look like that today.
 HEAD
OF
GENESIS
DESIGN
LUC DONCKERWOLKE ROAMS THE GLOBE TO SUPERVISE STUDIO WORK
AND LURE NEW DESIGNERS TO HIS TEAM.
BUT HE DOESN’T WANT TO BE A BOSS.

Leading Man
54

LUC
RONALD AHRENS
by
⇒
DESIGN

55
56

Luc introduces Sasha, a bearded

man, mid-30s, wearing a Metallica
T-shirt. “Sasha designed the
Bugatti Chiron.”

MAN ON A MISSION
Luc Donckerwolke’s experience
extends from commodity brands
to boutique ones. At Genesis, he
can leave his unique stamp.

R&D
T H E R & D C A M P U S outside Seoul feels much like the
Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, California. Employees of
Hyundai Motor Group’s three divisions—Hyundai, Kia, and
Genesis—bustle about on this lovely Friday morning. Over
at yonder intersection a forklift truck hoists a disguised
prototype off the pavement before proceeding to a testing
cell. On another street some people on our bus spot the
next Hyundai Veloster, a contract player in B productions,
scuttling by in camouflage wrap. Alas, the security staff put
strips of “Do Not Detach” tape over our camera lenses.
Over at the new design center, top executives are
introducing the 2019 Genesis G70, the latest sedan
from HMG’s two-year-old luxury division. Genesis head
Manfred Fitzgerald welcomes us and turns the show over
to Luc Donckerwolke, senior vice president and head of
Genesis design. Clad in black, Donckerwolke looks ready
to break into a rendition of “Folsom Prison Blues.” He was
serious to the point of graveness when introducing Sang
Yup Lee, vice president of styling and a key member of
the international cohort of Genesis designers. Lee made
a big mark in Detroit with the C6 Corvette and fifth-gen
Camaro before going to England and contributing to the
new Bentley Continental GT.
DESIGN
Donckerwolke and cool-hand Lee undrape the two G70s
on stage and take more than 200 reporters through the
high points, laying out the goals of making their 3 Series
battler “emotional, athletic, and sexy.” The G70 evinces a
vivid execution of conventional themes, but its grille and
flaring nostrils outside it are a surprise after the sober G90
and somber G80, the papa and uncle models of Genesis.
Surprising as well are the fender chevron and swoopy
roofline, an arching cat’s back. These examples of the new
car look alive in blue and red.
It’s a fine result from Donckerwolke’s dream team,
especially considering his stumbling block. “I never wanted
to be a boss,” he tells me after the presentation, speaking
with elegant traces of his native Flemish tongue. Not only
is he in charge of creating the Genesis brand DNA, but he
also seeks the right chemistry among his cast of characters.
“We see our designers more than our family,” he says, “so
it has to become a family. And we are making sure we really
enjoy working together.” He names designers who are
present or have remained in the studios. “When we work,
there’s no such thing as a hierarchy. I’m not the boss. We
are all at eye level, we are enjoying, we are contributing.”
He summons Bozhena Lalova, the Mercedes-Benz
veteran who is head of color and trim. Her theme during
the presentation was how the G70 isn’t just sporty outside,
which explains the aluminum trim. She’s wearing a caped 57
blue dress that lends a special salience to her presence.
Taking my cue from this, I ask if there was ever an idea to
use exotic materials, go a little crazy.
“This car is cool,” she says, with overwhelming gracious-
ness. “It’s young, it’s cool. That’s why we focus on the
aluminum. Of course, ‘crazy’ materials are something we
are considering and developing. And this is going to be the
future for the next G80.”
I thank Lalova, and before I take two steps, Donckerwolke
smears caviar on the toast. With our session about to end
he introduces Sasha, a bearded man, mid-30s, wearing a
Metallica T-shirt. Alexander “Sasha” Selipanov presents
his card: chief designer, Genesis Advanced Design. “Sasha
designed the Bugatti Chiron,” Donckerwolke says. Like
Lee, Selipanov is yet another product of ArtCenter College
of Design. Although he was born in Tblisi, Georgia, he
sounds American and looks moshed-out Californian.
The patently irresistible opportunity to create a new
brand drew Selipanov last December to the Genesis
advanced studio in Russelsheim, Germany. But was there
something else? What about that guy with the director’s
bullhorn? “Luc has a unique blend of car passion, creativity,
and ability to think outside the box,” Selipanov wrote later
in an email. “He is very knowledgeable, however, he is
always ready to look at things from an unconventional and
unbiased perspective. It is not just the professional side of
Luc that is inspiring. It’s also the human, social, and even
humorous sides, as well.”
After lunch on that Friday, hopes of touring the styling
studios and seeing the digital design process were dashed.
DESIGN

58 We were dragged away to Anechoic Chamber Building 2 Within established

norms, the G70 is
for a tutorial on how to create warning chimes. (Industry precise, crisp, and
secret: two guys and a keyboard.) In another test cell, well-contoured.
For Donckerwolke,
two more guys described subjecting a prototype to starting with a low
electromagnetic interference. Then we got back on the bus hoodline is key. If
the G70 evokes
and left Namyang, but not before security checked those snickers in Munich,
“Do Not Detach” strips. there will be smiles
in U.S. showrooms.
The next day, Donckerwolke flew to California. He
flies often, visiting the studios in Irvine, California, and
Russelsheim. Rare opportunities aside, his achievement in
luring young designers to Genesis and to Korea is not to
be underestimated. Seoul is neither beautiful nor ugly, cars
are everywhere yet there’s no evidence of car culture, and
Koreans aren’t exactly known for achieving a favorable
life-work balance. Nor is the task of creating more than a
generic brand to be underestimated.
Although it’s yet another well-realized vehicle, there’s
no distinctly indigenous aspect to the G70, though the
hot-rod GV80 crossover revealed last spring in New York
shows promise. Donckerwolke appears cognizant of the We await more beauty of emptiness. Meanwhile,
need to create more of a Korean identity for the brand. Donckerwolke, who is also head of design for Kia,
→

“This international team we’re gathering is also there to
make sure that we create products based on the Korean
culture in terms of feeling. We have in Korea what we
call “beauty of emptiness.” [It] is not to overload, not to
stress the driver or the user with a lot of contradicting
elements. So it’s about making an element and making a
statement and letting it be. This is why the interior is not
overpowering you.”
had taken up a different preoccupation. After his visit
to California, he flew to India in order to research
the market. And he was appalled. Cars there have
terrible proportions: narrow for mazelike streets
but tall for turbans. Upon returning to Namyang
he could rummage through the props room, find a
magician’s hat to figure out a solution, and use his
director’s bullhorn to announce it. AM
 Together
we drive.

All-New Nissan LEAF

S I M P LY A M A Z I N G
It is the driver’s responsibility to remain alert with hands on steering wheel, keeping a lookout for other vehicles
and pedestrians at all times.
 2019 Genesis G70
60
by RONALD AHRENS
AS WE EXIT our hotel in the 123-story Lotte World
Tower, four daytime running lights—the new Genesis
signature—wink at us in the early dimness, as if advising
us of the three-hour drive ahead.
Our destination: Inje Speedium, a 2.4-mile circuit in the
northeastern mountains outside the South Korean capital.
Our ride: the all-new Genesis G70 Sport, specifically a twin-
turbo 3.3-liter V-6 model with an eight-speed automatic
→
transmission and all-wheel drive. After running our hands
over the G70’s flared hood and creased sides, we climb into
the driver’s seat.
Like the body design, the G70’s interior is conventional
but well executed with quilted leather upholstery and
beautiful aluminum trim. An 8.0-inch touchscreen
dominates from its perch atop the dash. Grasping the
wheel and moving the stubby shifter into drive, we cross
T H E G E N E S I S O F A C A R E F U L LY C O N C O C T E D
SPORT-LUXURY SEDAN
Jamsil Bridge over the Han River and leave town on an
expressway. Genesis is making much ado about its Active
Sound Design creating “an aural character that reflects the
engine load and driving-mode settings.” Departing the city
in Comfort mode, we feel isolated from the sprawling Seoul
area’s teeming millions. So far this is a quiet car.
Thanks in part to the 365 horsepower generated by the
V-6, Genesis says the G70 will go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7
seconds in rear-wheel-drive configuration, though our all-
wheel-drive tester is likely a couple of ticks quicker. There
will also be a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder model
making 249 hp, and the possibility of a six-speed manual
 DRIVES

62 transmission is on many lips. A Dynamic edition is also

coming to the U.S. at model introduction with Pilot Sport
4S rubber, torque vectoring, and a limited-slip differential.
To make a bold statement, the G70 sports a large grille
of meshing diamonds. An adventurous pair of front-corner
air intakes also arrests the eye. Recognizability is a must,
and the G70 scores above the 90th percentile on this aspect.
There’s no confusing it for an Acura or a BMW. It has some
swagger, and it’s the widest car in the segment, we’re told.
Its design is distinctive and correct, with a beautiful
sweeping roofline and a touch of felinity in the front three-
quarters view. Some might snipe about the troublesome
chrome chevron on each front fender or the rear view’s
suggestion of the Chrysler 200, but the G70 looks expensive
and proclaims a broad appeal. Vice president of styling Sang
Yup Lee can’t exult in a big breakthrough, but the details are
executed with passion. The engineering is substantial, too.
“It’s a very stiff, substantial platform,” says Albert Biermann,
 2019 SPECS
Genesis ON SALE:
April 2018
G70 PRICE:
$33,000 (est)
ENGINES:
2.0L turbo DOHC 16-valve
I-4/249 hp, 260 lb-ft; 3.3-liter
twin-turbo DOHC 24-valve
V-6/365 hp @ 6,000 rpm,
376 lb-ft @ 1,300 rpm (est)
TRANSMISSION:
8-speed automatic
LAYOUT:
4-door, 5-passenger, front-
engine, RWD/AWD sedan
EPA MILEAGE:
Inje Speedium N/A
is “my little L x W x H:
Nürburgring
in Korea,” says 184.4 x 72.8 x 55.1 in
performance WHEELBASE:
boss Albert 111.6 in
Biermann.
Driving WEIGHT:
precision and N/A
ride comfort 0-60 MPH:
were his 4.7 sec (3.3T RWD)
targets.
TOP SPEED:

→
→
167 mph 63

formerly of BMW, who leads the chassis development

program. Our urge for spirited driving is kept in check,
though, thanks to an expressway jammed with people
heading to their ancestral homes to observe seongmyo,
the tradition of tidying up the graves of departed loved
ones before the Chuseok harvest festival.
While relaxing at the desired rest area at Gwangchiryeong, we try out the on it. The G70 takes off with, ahem, mellow
back seat and find entry and egress to be tortuous. A Mercedes-Benz C-Class contentment. This is not an edgy car. Sorry,
sedan seems like a limousine by comparison. It’s also a long reach to close any no crackling exhaust here. It isn’t slow by any
open door, no matter where we sit. Another of the G70s quirks: The 12-volt means—we hit 120 mph on the straight—
→

battery lurks below the cargo floor (and the extended mobility kit) in the trunk. and it carries a neutral attitude through the
This is a driver’s car that is “well harmonized,” Lee tells us. So when we finally corners, but it also rolls like a C-Class and
get to the Speedium, a wide and rolling circuit with one long straightaway and proves more prosecco than tequila.
clusters of linked Kama Sutra-like turns, we’re eager to test the electronically Ultimately, the G70 is a well-targeted
controlled suspension, 19-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires, and dual-piston consumer product, a nutritious bar of
Brembo brakes. automotive almonds, chia seeds, and flax.
Turning the rotary knob on the center console, we change the driving mode to Even lacking traces of bibimbap, it’s tasty
Sport, the fourth of five settings, and caress the paddle shifters. Then we stomp nevertheless. AM
 f
F
F
F O U N D E D B Y A British-raised Texan who
fell in love with the gritty streets and cutting-edge
design of Detroit, the Middlecott Sketchbattle
Experiment is billed as the Fight Club of Design.
But instead of a slumlord’s palace filled with lost
men making soap, the Sketchbattle is a once-underground
nexus of the future of automotive design. And it’s a party.
Walk through the door of any of the Sketchbattle’s
itinerant locations in Detroit, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles,
and you’re greeted by thumping music, a cash bar, and
Satori Circus, a Detroit-based performance artist who blurs
the line between emcee and prankster clown. Chances are
good you’ll also encounter some vintage sheetmetal to serve
as inspiration and atmosphere for the design-off to come.
The next thing you’ll notice is the boxing-style ring,
64 ropes and all. Behind it, there’s a Jumbotron with con-
testant names and countries or cities of origin, and keep-
ing with the theme, there are weights. Each designer is
called to the ring to start the battle, some engaging with
the premise enough to jog out like a prizefighter.
If it all seems a bit over the top, just wait for the main
event: a 50-foot table lined with designers, professionals

r
and students alike, vying for an oversize $2,500 check

HE MI D LEC O
and the glory—and potential job offers—that come with

D TT
RST RULE OF T T IS TH AT
T
FI EN
I
THE HBATTLE EXPERIM

OU TALK ABOUT
SKETC

Y
winning the contest. Over four hours they battle it out,
elimination bracket style, to see who has the chops to
meet the criteria for each round and wow the judges.
Sketchbattle is the creation of Brook Middlecott DING! DING! DING!
Fans and party attendees
Banham, who spent the early part of his career designing gather around the long table
shoes. But his passion lies with penning cars. He came to to watch the magic happen.
Detroit in 2010 to get his master’s degree in transportation
 DESIGN

FIGHT CLU B
OF DES IGN
photog raphy by
by NELSON IRESON

ROBIN TRA JANO and TED7

65
DESIGN

THE JUDGES FRAKNETCKHSBCATHTW

S
ARTTZNER, AACS DESIGNER
LE PAR
ERIK KMLOIM ISCHSIGNER

c
TO S DE
CAMRILD GOT PDEASRIGDNOER
R

r
c
KIA Satori Circus
FO brings his own
sideshow to the
EZ
RANTEDSLAY RAONDDNRISIGSAUN/INFINITI DESIGNER
r
event, injecting a
touch of friendly
madness into
the frenzied
sketching.

design from the College for Creative Studies. Sensing

Detroit’s vibrancy as a design center, he and his wife,
Judith, decided to stay and eventually founded their
own firm, Middlecott Design, in 2012. The Experiment,
which was originally started as a way for the Banhams to
66 promote their company, has become a full-blown thing of
its own in its roughly five years of existence.
Starting and ending with the clang of a ringside bell,
contestants are given 25 minutes to create a sketch. A
design prompt for each round defines the goal. It can vary
wildly, from sound systems to pickup trucks to wheels—just
about anything you can imagine in the field of automotive
design. The battlers get the prompts in advance to better
allow them to create new and innovative designs in the
allotted 25-minute window.
The time limit adds a great deal of pressure, and it also
presents difficulty for the judges, who are themselves highly
accomplished and recognized automotive designers. At the
2017 Los Angeles Auto Show edition of the Middlecott
A ring announcer,
Sketchbattle Experiment, the judges were Erik Klimisch, cards for each
design manager for Kia Motors and former design round’s theme,
instructor at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, his and a real ringside
bell being rung
alma mater; Randy Rodriguez, creative manager of design by Sketchbattle
and styling at Tesla (where he led the team that designed founder Brook
Middlecott
the new Tesla semi truck) and formerly project lead Banham give legs
designer for Nissan/Infiniti and freelance designer for to the Fight Club
theme.
ICON Aircraft; and Camilo Pardo, design magnate and the
man behind the second-generation Ford GT.
 “I think the biggest challenge is quickly identifying the 67
requirements and putting your idea down on paper in less
than 25 minutes,” Klimisch said. Rodriguez adds that the
key to success is “satisfying the criteria in a clever way while
doing some awesome artwork that stands out from the rest.”
Standing out from the rest can be difficult, but that’s
nothing new to the contestants, whether they’re employed
pros or aspiring students. And part of that increased level
of difficulty comes from our perpetually connected culture.
Klimisch explained, “I’m very impressed with the young
designers who are coming out of the design schools. They
seem to get better every year. When I was in design school,
we didn’t have the internet, so you basically had to develop
your skills by drawing inspiration from the other students
r

and instructors. Today you have all these great design

websites and blogs to access for reference, and you can even
see expert sketch tutorial videos on YouTube.”
But as Rodriguez points out, it’s not just about talent.
It’s hard to make a name in automotive design, even at the
Sketchbattle. “[Making a name is] very difficult as there is
much competition, and it’s not only about being talented,
as most designers are. Timing is essential as is being at the
right place at the right time.”
DESIGN
r
For at least one designer at every
Sketchbattle, the right place and time
are a given. But that’s just the jumping-
off point. You still have to impress the
judges. What does it take? According
to Rodriguez, it requires “proportion,
balance, harmony, and that special something that moves
me emotionally.” Klimisch takes a somewhat more concrete
approach, saying, “I look for a hook. Every great design sketch
has one. The rest is support. It takes a disciplined designer to
not put everything but the kitchen sink into a sketch.”
Despite the 25-minute time limit, great design is evident
in abundance. Sure, there are the odd sketches that look
out of place or amateurish, but by and large you’ll find
stunning designs executed with masterful attention to
68 detail—cars you wish existed and would love to drive.
Even with the Fight Club-meets-nightclub atmosphere,
there’s an air of reverence for the creativity and skill on
display, a sense you’re getting an inside glimpse into the
future of transportation design. There’s a good chance that
at least one of the contestants in any given Sketchbattle
will someday pen a car you’ll buy, and that’s before you
count the pros who’ve already penned several—possibly
even your own.
RODRIGUEZ SEES THE FUTURE
AS AN OPPORTUNITY RATHER THAN
A ROADBLOCK. “IT’S AN EXCITING
TIME IN AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN ...
AS NEW EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
ARE COMING INTO PLAY.”
As the anticipation built to see who would be crowned
The contestants’ champion at the end of the night, we couldn’t help but
handiwork is put
on display, above,
feel like we were watching the dying embers of a once-
after each round great fire. We had to ask: Is there a future for car design
for judging, and
for viewing by
in a world of autonomous, pay-per-use jellybeans?
the attendees. Klimisch thinks there is. “There is always a future for car
Below, Xander designers” he said. “Graduating design students have so
Wang collects
his winnings. much to offer and can really energize a studio with their
fresh ideas because they haven’t developed knowledge of
all the design restrictions that experienced designers are
bombarded with on a daily basis like engineering, package,
pedestrian, and cost requirements.” Rodriguez agrees, and
he even sees the future as an opportunity rather than a
roadblock. “It’s an exciting time in automotive design,” he
said, “as new emerging technologies are coming into play.”
Seeing the talent on display, especially from the
young and upcoming student designers, Klimisch and
Rodriguez’s optimism seems justified. Maybe there’s even
a chance that autonomy could free designers from some of
the constraints placed on today’s cars. Imagine what a car
could look like if there was no possibility it would crash.
It could be anything.
Perhaps that’s wishful thinking. Maybe we’re riding a
dinosaur to a cave man’s banquet. But from ringside at the
Middlecott Sketchbattle, it feels more like we’re riding a
phoenix to war. AM
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 BMW’S
SUPER SEDAN
RETURNS TO
FORM THANKS
IN PART TO
ALL-WHEEL
DRIVE
2018
BMW M5

74

MAGIC M
BY JETHRO BOVINGDON
DRIVES

75
 t T H E S T O R Y O F the BMW M5 is
a fascinating and iconic tale. It was born
in 1984 when the fabulous M88 3.5-liter
straight-six from the mid-engine M1
supercar was dropped into the shark-
nosed, razor-sharp E28 5 Series.
Its replacement, the E34, stayed true to
the first car’s formula, with more power
and a chassis honed to a deliciously sharp
edge. Significant changes were applied
to the third M5, the E39, specifically the
76 addition of a 5.0-liter V-8. At first, the
purists cried. Then they drove it, and those
tears of sadness turned to sobs of joy. For
the next generation BMW unleashed the
wildest M5 of them all, the E60, with its
howling 5.0-liter V-10 that revved to a WITH BIGGER How to superheat the M5 formula once again? I can
heavenly 8,250 rpm. It had its flaws, but think of a million ways, but the adoption of all-wheel
TURBOCHARGERS
it was special. drive, switching from a dual-clutch transmission to a ZF
It seemed the M crew from Munich THAN THE PREVIOUS eight-speed automatic, and focusing even more on luxury
could do no wrong with what had become M5, GREATER for $103,595 don’t make the list. In fact, those changes
BMW’s definitive super sedan. BOOST, AND BETTER suggest that BMW either doesn’t know how to recapture
But that was then. The car we’ve come FUEL-INJECTION, the old M5 magic or simply doesn’t care to do so.
to Portugal to drive has on the face of it At least that’s the narrative I was expecting to report.
abandoned every principle on which the
THE 4.4-LITER V-8 However, it pays to be open-minded, because this M5
M5 legend was founded. The all-new F90 SIMPLY CHEWS UP has rediscovered the magic. It’s more aggressive, the ride
series 2018 BMW M5 features a twin- STRAIGHTS. is busy and uncompromising, it has simply sensational
turbocharged engine. It is fitted with a fully performance, and the all-wheel-drive system is wonder-
→

automatic gearbox. And—the horror—it’s now all-wheel drive.
The missing link in this story, the outgoing F10 M5, was
heavy, slightly ponderous, and only really came alive at
unspeakable speeds. The F10 ushered in BMW’s 4.4-liter
twin-turbocharged V-8 and a greater focus on luxury. It
simply didn’t feel special enough to be an M5. Fantastically
capable, yes, but rather cold.
fully fluid and playful. And if you really must exit every
corner with a full turn of opposite lock? Just stick it in
rear-wheel-drive mode and enjoy the sort of over-the-
limit balance that has always been an M5 hallmark.
Before we explore the car further, let’s go back to the
makeup of this mighty machine. It features a revised
version of the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 that now produces
 77

SENSATIONAL
All-wheel drive and an
automatic transmission
mated to its twin-turbo V-8
haven’t ruined the new M5.
Quite the contrary.
 DRIVES
600 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque mated to the
aforementioned eight-speed automatic gearbox. Thanks in
part to the new M xDrive all-wheel-drive system, it reach-
es 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and can run from 0 to 124 mph
in 11.1 seconds. With the optional M Driver’s package, it’s
also capable of a top speed of 189 mph.
M xDrive essentially allows the M5 to drive the rear
wheels only for much of the time, the central clutch pack
only sending power forward when the rear starts to lose
grip or under sudden acceleration, when extra stability
is needed. The rear axle also features the
familiar M differential, though the four-wheel
steering system seen on the M550i xDrive
was omitted from the M5 to save weight. That
seems a strange decision because it works so
well on everything from a Porsche 911 GT3 to
an M760Li and would surely afford the M5
even greater agility.
Of course, the M5 offers a wide range of
adjustment for pretty much every aspect of
its dynamic personality. There are Comfort,
Sport, and Sport Plus settings for the dampers,
steering, and throttle mapping, plus three
modes for the gearbox, and you can run with
full DSC in the more relaxed MDM mode or
with stability control dialed out completely.
On top of that, the M xDrive has three modes:
4WD, 4WD Sport, or RWD. You can only select
the latter two modes when you disengage
DSC, but confusingly, 4WD Sport defaults to
MDM mode for the stability control, whereas
78
selecting RWD forces you to run completely
without electronic intervention. You have
been warned.
If this all sounds horribly complex, well,
that’s because it is. But the M5 has two
helpful preset buttons on the steering wheel
labeled M1 and M2. The idea is to let you
experiment with the car’s various modes and
settings until you’re happy to commit to two
preprogrammed and very personal setups.
For the launch event held near Lisbon, M1
kept the car in standard 4WD with steering,
engine mapping, and dampers in Comfort and the gearbox
in its most serene mode. M2 ramped things up to 4WD
Sport with MDM mode for the stability systems, Sport for
steering and dampers, Sport Plus for engine mapping, and
tickled the gearbox up to level two of three.
The first surprise? In docile M1, the M5 feels eager—
aggressive, even. The engine doesn’t have the pumped-up
theater of the E63 S, but it matches it for response and revs,
with even more energy at the top end. The ride is taut and
controlled, too. Over short, sharp bumps the M5 fidgets
and thumps. Up the speed, and things smooth out—but
only a little. On Portugal’s pretty decent highway system,
the M5 feels never less than firm. Turn on to smaller, more
↓↓ interesting roads, and the uncompromising feel of the
chassis translates into real agility, excellent body control,
and a feeling that this all-wheel-drive system favors the
rear wheels at all times.
I haven’t mentioned the gearbox yet because it took
a while for me to remember it wasn’t a dual-clutch unit.
Yes, it’s more well-mannered than the old M DCT ’box at
low speeds, but it’s also more decisive and punchier when
you’re exercising the twin-turbo mill.
In M2 mode the M5 hits hard and clean,
and every shift is tight and synchronized
perfectly with my requests on the steering-
wheel-mounted paddles. It doesn’t have that
2018 BMW M5 super clean and almost magical feeling of
the best dual-clutch gearboxes, but it’s pretty
SPECS close and beats rivals such as the AMG or the
Cadillac CTS-V hands down. I can’t think of an
ON SALE: automatic that feels this responsive, save for
Now the 10-speed unit in the Lexus LC 500.
PRICE:
So it takes just a few miles to be deeply
$103,595 (base)
ENGINE: impressed with the M5. In fact, impressed is
4.4L twin-turbo DOHC the wrong word. The old car was impressive.
32-valve V-8/600 hp The new M5 is fun, exciting, and pretty
@ 5,700-6,600 rpm,
553 lb-ft @ 1,800-5,700 rpm uncompromising, too. In full luxury
TRANSMISSION: mode it feels like a proper sport sedan.
8-speed automatic Dial everything up to Sport Plus, and it’s
LAYOUT: almost rabid. On these narrow, craggy
4-door, 5-passenger,
front-engine, AWD sedan roads, the M5 actually works best with
EPA MILEAGE: the dampers in Comfort, while Sport
16/23 mpg (city/hwy) Plus feels like a racetrack-only setting,
L x W x H:
195.5 x 74.9 x 58.0 in
which is handy because I’m following
WHEELBASE: brown signs marked “Autodromo.” Estoril
117.4 in is awaiting our arrival.
WEIGHT: The old F1 circuit is delightfully
4,370 lb
0-60 MPH: shabby with huge, sun-bleached grand-
3.2 sec stands that reek of faded glory, but
TOP SPEED: Estoril remains a serious test for any car,
155 mph (189 mph
→
→
let alone a 4,370-pound monster such
w/M Driver’s package)
as the 2018 M5. The M Division worked
hard to keep weight down with items
like a carbon-fiber roof, and despite the
adoption of all-wheel drive, the F90 is
actually lighter than its predecessor. However, it
never fulfills the old cliché of “shrinking around
you” on the road. It’s a big car, and it feels the part.
This much mass plus AWD should mean understeer
and plenty of it on the track, right?
Nope. The M5 wants to turn, though you have to
be careful not to be too greedy on turn-in. Once the
front tires bite, and you’re on the throttle, the big
↓↓ sedan errs toward oversteer rather than howling
push. The 4WD Sport mode really is effective, and
although the M5 doesn’t feel as deliberately rear-
biased as the E63 S, its behavior is more fluid and
 ITS CHARACTER COMES NOT FROM
THE SOUNDTRACK BUT FROM A COCKTAIL OF PRECISION
AND ORGAN-CRUSHING POWER.
natural. You tend to find at the limit some understeer on
turn-in, followed by a lovely four-wheel drifting phase
midcorner and a little flourish of oversteer on the way out.
MDM mode allows you to experience this pretty well, but
turn off all the stability systems, and the easygoing nature
of the M5 even when the tires are slipping and sliding is
addictive.
The track also allows you to enjoy the M5’s engine at
its full potential. With bigger turbochargers than the pre-
vious M5, greater boost pressure (24.5 psi versus 21.8),
and a higher pressure and more precise fuel-injection
system, the 4.4-liter V-8 simply chews up straights. The
noise feels a little artificial and is clearly augmented by
the speakers—and if you love the ball-bearings gargle and
spewing V-8 fire and brimstone of an AMG, the M5 sounds
a little tame—yet the work it does cannot be criticized.
Its character comes not from the soundtrack but from a 79
cocktail of precision and organ-crushing power.
It’s enough to test the optional carbon-ceramic brakes
to the absolute limit around Estoril. The pedal goes long
after a few laps, and the M5 starts to shimmy and dance
as the braking performance is tested, but they’re going
through an extreme and unrealistic regimen: five fast laps
with a halfhearted cool-down lap, sit in the pits for three
or four minutes soaking up all the heat as drivers swap,
and then repeat until the fuel tank is dry or the tires are
worn out. On the road, there were no issues, but such is
the performance on offer here. Given the weight being
hauled around, I suspect the carbon ceramics would be
well worth the outlay.
The M5’s By the end of the day, the F90 M5 has confounded my
cockpit has expectations. Rather than moving away from the old M5
a festival of
high-tech formula, it has used new technologies to return closer
options available to it. This is a super sedan that can be used every day
to the driver,
including the yet always feels special and doesn’t compromise outright
new M1 and M2 performance for a veneer of luxury.
performance
shortcut It’s also an M5 to the core. Breaking all the rules, I
buttons on tried one lap in RWD mode. The tires needed changing by
either side of
the steering the time I returned to the pit lane. Welcome back. We’ve
wheel. missed you. AM
 —
IA
A T
E
R
,
C
A
L
IF
O
R
N
FLYIN’
→
S
C
A MIATA’S
N
A
L

+
A L O N E I N A good sports car, endless miles
and unmarked hours ahead, the bonds of
LATEST

CREATION uh oh,
daily life start falling away. As you dance
from canyon apexes to city on-ramps to the
arrow of a modern interstate, the freedom
DOESN’T
by
of speed and the clarity of a mind not NELSON IRESON
focused but emptied make you yearn for it p hotograp hy by
never to end. JUST WILLIAM WALKER
Flyin’ Miata’s latest MX-5 masterpiece,
the RF Turbo—or Rufus, as the prototype
I recently spent several hundred miles in TUNE THE
is known around the Flyin’ Miata shop—is
a rare thing in the world of aftermarket
tuned cars: It’s not different, it’s just better.
That’s a strange thing to say and merits
MX-5 RF,
some explanation, so allow me to endeavor.
A rather limited set of extra parts takes
Mazda’s hot MX-5 RF hardtop to the max, IT MAKES
starting with a turbocharger kit from BBR
(available in both CARB and federal specs)
80 that adds roughly 70 hp and 70 lb-ft of IT BETTER
torque to the Miata’s stock rating of 155 hp
and 148 lb-ft. (Official dyno figures for the
kit are forthcoming.) Next on the upgrade
list is Flyin’ Miata’s Stage 2 suspension kit,
which includes Koni dampers, updated springs, rear bump stops, and
front and rear anti-roll bars.
The company’s “Little Big Brake” kit, 17-by-8-inch 949 Racing 6UL
wheels, rear diffuser, and its new Hush-O-Matic exhaust system round
out the package. The Hush-O-Matic allows you to task the wiper
controls to open a valve in the exhaust path for freer flow and louder
sound, though even at full blast it won’t bother the neighbors—much.
Total price is $11,000 plus installation if you don’t want to get your
hands dirty.
The result is a car that accelerates quicker, corners harder and
more precisely, and stops more reliably than any factory-issue fourth-
generation Miata, all while preserving the car’s innate balance,
tossable demeanor, and linear power delivery. Despite its much larger
performance envelope, the same love letter to pure, simple joy remains.
I picked up the car in Lancaster, California, not far from Willow
Springs Raceway, but my destination was about five hours north by
northwest: the annual Miatas at Mazda Raceway event held at historic
Laguna Seca. The route was a good one, with secondary roads taking
me through Tehachapi, Bakersfield, Buttonwillow, Coalinga, and King
City before finally arriving in Monterey. The 314-mile path ballooned
past 400 as I retraced the best stretches, unable to get enough of
Rufus’ exuberance.
 DRIVES

there’s
magic
F LY I N ’ M I ATA M X- 5 R F T U R B O
DRIVES

MIATA MADNESS
Leading a pack of hundreds
of Miatas around Laguna Seca
in a Flyin’ Miata RF Turbo is
about as Mazda as you can get.

82

+ Only one minor incident marred the car’s otherwise flawless performance,
but it can be marked down to a prototype-specific issue and an artifact of
its transport. When I picked it up, the boost controller used for tuning was
still set for the high altitude of Flyin’ Miata’s home base in Grand Junction,
Colorado. Going full throttle with too much boost meant Rufus’s 2.0-liter heart
simply couldn’t supply enough fuel, causing a severe stumble—an issue FM is
working on in an effort to further unlock the
turbo ND’s power potential. A quick twist of
the boost controller knob under the hood,
and I was back in business.
Four hundred miles strung over a full day
of driving can be hard on the body in any
vehicle, especially in a small sports car, and
all the more so for my long-legged, 6-foot-2-
inch frame. But despite the long hours and
rougher secondary highways I traveled, the
RF Turbo’s suspension soaked up the bumps
and dips so well I never once suffered the
Despite Ireson’s
height, the ND jarring feeling that often accompanies an
Miata’s stock cabin overtuned sport suspension. This is clearly
proved roomy.
Aside from the a car that’s meant to be driven every day, not
carbon-fiber heat some trailer-queen track toy.
shield and the turbo
peeking out, the By the time we made it to the hills east
engine bay looks of Monterey and the sinuous asphalt draped
very close to stock
—at first glance. across them, I was working out what I’d need
to sell to cough up the $11,000 kit price—
plus the cost of a new RF to hang it all on.
Getting out of the car only made matters
worse, the RF’s natural curves and angles
sinking naturally into the more aggressive
stance highlighted by the Soul Red paint job
and gold wheels. Lust inducing.
 Inevitably, my extended day at the wheel of the Flyin’
Miata RF Turbo had to end. Fortunately, it ended at Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca, where hundreds of Miatas of every
generation and level of modification had convened for a
long weekend of track-centric fun. There, I swapped Rufus
for a chance to take a handful of laps in a more track-
focused version of the turbo car—a soft-top MX-5 known
affectionately as Andy.
Andy had another $8,000 worth of parts bolted on in
addition to most of the $11,000 worth also affixed to Rufus.
The updates over and above the Rufus spec are focused on
reliability and robustness for track duty and include: oil,
transmission, and differential coolers; a Global MX-5 Cup-
spec transmission with beefier third and fourth gears and only made me appreciate the all-around prowess of Andy’s
new case studs; Verus Engineering brake ducts; a Hard Dog less focused but more versatile brother Rufus all the more.
rollbar; and Flyin’ Miata’s Wilwood Stage 2 Big Brake Kit Left carless at the end of a weekend of mainlining Flyin’
and Fox Stage 2 suspension kit (improved spring rates, Fox Miata goodness, I took the passenger seat of the camera
Racing shocks, and FM-specific sway bars). vehicle for the ride home—and spent the next six hours
On track, Andy felt almost exactly like Rufus did on trying to figure out where I could park another car in my
the street, despite having the advantage of Fox Racing already too-crowded driveway. AM
dampers. Although the tiniest bit tail-happy at times, Andy
was mostly docile, eager to turn in, breathtaking on the
brakes, and smooth when delivering power. Despite the
fantastic balance of the track-spec car, my time at Laguna +
83
 CLASSIC

by M I K E F L O Y D
photog raphy by J A D E N E L S O N

OF FUTURE PAS
PAST
THE

ORIGINAL

VENICE

CREW

AND

R E V O LO GY

CA R S

OFFER

DIFFERENT 85

TA K E S

ON A

SIMILAR

THEME

↓
 JM
→
→
J O H N M O R T O N B L I P S the throttle as he
manhandles the Mustang’s large, thin wooden wheel. He
sets up the car into the wide, right-hand sweeper traced by
small orange cones with the nonchalance of a man who’s
turned a car in anger hundreds of thousands of times. We
hit the apex, and he pours on the throttle, unleashing all of
the V-8’s 289 cubic inches and working over the four-speed
manual as we barrel down the short front stretch of the
Streets of Willow circuit.
Morton prefers Big Willow, the track next door to Streets at
the famed Willow Springs facility about two hours northeast
of Los Angeles. It’s easy to understand why. It’s a much faster,
longer circuit. It’s where years ago he tested a car just like
this and raced a car just like this. A Mustang built in Venice
Beach, California, near the shores of the Pacific. A GT350R
much like this one.
The new/old car Morton is hustling around Streets
86 might as well be one of the race-prepped Shelby GT350Rs

INDEPENDENT DAY
The “i” in the 98i on the side
of the Original Venice Crew’s
Mustang GT350R recreation
stands for independent
suspension
 CLASSIC

Morton and others like Jerry Titus campaigned at Willow,

Riverside, and elsewhere across the country, and men like
Peter Brock helped design and the then-17-year-old Jim
Marietta wrenched on in 1965. Built by the Original Venice
Crew (OVC), this one is close to the real thing but with 87
new independent rear suspension.
Back at the staging area, our own race ace Andy Pilgrim
is about to strap into a GT350 Mustang, built by Revology,
that looks very much like the Wimbledon White and
Guardsman Blue-striped OVC machine Morton and I are
in, only without the roll cage, race seats, and other old-
AUTHENTICITY WAS John Morton
imparts some
school high-performance flourishes. Instead, the Nappa
leather inside is sourced from the same supplier Porsche
A PRIMARY GOAL OF of his
immeasurable uses, the floor is swathed in plush wool carpet, and the
THE VENICE CREW. wisdom to
headliner is done in Alcantara. It has comfortable bucket
Automobile
THEY DECIDED editor-in-chief seats, and a navigation/infotainment system complete with
TO OFFER 36 Mike Floyd about
how the OVC
a backup camera. Pilgrim pushes the stop/start button, and
RECREATION CARS, GT350R
behaves on
its Ford Performance-prepped 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 with 435
horsepower mated to a Tremec T56 close-ratio six-speed
THE SAME NUMBER the track.
manual clears its fuel-injected throat.
THEY BUILT BACK Automotive industry veteran Tom Scarpello, who spent
IN THE DAY. the better part of two decades primarily at Ford and Nissan
 in various roles including manufacturing and The Original
Venice Crew’s
product planning, founded Revology Cars in 2014 approach to
out of Orlando, Florida, with the goal of creating a its GT350R is
one of faithful
series of Mustangs with modern conveniences while recreation. The
celebrating the past. The approach is resto-mod at only nods to the
its core, but much more than that, Scarpello’s vision modernization
are to meet new
as “Chief Revologist” has been to create a company safety rules.
that takes a world-class, assembly-line approach
to building cars he learned during his career. The
official stamp of Shelby Automobiles and Ford
makes Revology all the more legit.
When it comes to being legit, you can’t be much
more in Mustang circles than folks like Morton, “WHEN PETER
Brock, and Marietta. These are men who spent their BROCK SAYS
salad days being cajoled, cussed out, and inspired YOU SHOULD
by Carroll Shelby, building cars on a wing and a
DO SOMETHING,
prayer in Shelby American’s impossibly cramped,
10,000-square-foot shop in Venice. YOU PROBABLY
One night during a good round of bench racing, SHOULD,”
the guys started reminiscing about the three dozen
GT350Rs they built back in ’65. Corners were
carved. Brock never got a chance to sculpt the front
end how he wanted. Then there was the car with
the independent rear they never got to finish. It
was a huge success at the track, but it could have
and should have been better. What if they did it all
over again how they really wanted to do it? “What
if” became “why the hell not,” and the Original
Venice Crew was formed.
Authenticity was a primary goal of the Venice
Crew. They decided to offer 36 recreation cars, the
same number they built back in the day, using the
same 1965 K-code Mustang they built up (higher
spec 289 V-8 and front discs) as the base car.
Finding the donor cars hasn’t been easy, but so far
they’ve located a couple. OVC, which builds the
88 cars at the Shelby facility in Gardena, California,
drops in a reworked version of the 289 pushing
about 420 horses with a four-speed Borg Warner The Revology cooling, which helped lead to the use of a smaller
and OVC teams
manual as the gearbox. Prices start at $250,000, spent the day radiator. “When Peter Brock says you should do
and although that isn’t chicken feed, like Revology bench racing something, you probably should,” Marietta says,
and getting
they have the official Ford and Shelby backing and feedback about breaking into a wry smile.
a lineage that can’t be manufactured. how their cars You can get your OVC Mustang with the solid axle
were doing out
Marietta, who wasn’t even out of high school on the circuit.
or the aforementioned independent rear. Duane
when he scored that fateful job at Shelby, has Carling is the man behind the development work
become the unofficial OVC spokesman, though he’s of the car’s IRS. It’s a magnificent-looking piece of
quick to say it’s a team effort. About seven guys engineering we saw a couple of weeks before the
work on a car at any one time, and it takes about track day. As the story goes, back in ’65 the team
four months to complete one. He walks us around was almost finished developing the IRS car when
→

OVC’s 98i-coded GT350R and calls out several
details. “You see this here,” he says, pointing to the
rear fender. “These are hand-flared. They’re a little
rough, but that’s the way it was.”
He shows us the hand-welded plenums fitted
over the carb and the gas tank filler in the trunk,
and the changes to the front end and rear window
that Brock made to the fastback to aid aero and
Shelby pulled resources away to the Daytona Coupe
and GT40 projects. The suspension was put on a
shelf and forgotten about. It was eventually carted
off to longtime Ford racing partner Holman Moody
with other assets after Ford ended the Shelby
Mustang program in 1969 and later sold to a private
owner. Carling tracked down the gentleman who
had it and sent him a letter inquiring about it.
 CLASSIC

Revology takes
a daily driver
approach to
its GT350 and
tops it off with
world-class
interior details.
But its Coyote
is wild at
full howl.

“You see this here,” pointing to the rear fender. “These are hand-flared. They’re a little rough, but that’s the way it was.” 89
 “IT’S MORE START A CHAIN REACTION WITH
A SLIGHT AMOUNT OF STEERING WHEEL TURN,
AND THEN YOU SEE WHERE YOU END UP.

90
FUN STUFF!”
Miraculously, he shipped what he had out to Carling, who
used it to form the basis of the IRS on the car we’re ripping
around in at Streets.
Morton and I pull in, and it’s Pilgrim’s turn to take the
Revology GT350 out. Mustangs like this are a rare thing
for him to drive, and he hadn’t been in a car quite like it
since his days running Pontiac Trans Ams in the mid ’90s.
“On track with a solid rear-axle car, you don’t so much dial
in a turn with the steering wheel until you’re done with a
corner.” Pilgrim says. “It’s more start a chain reaction with
a slight amount of steering wheel turn, and then you see
where you end up. Fun stuff!”
→
speed. (Automatic is also available.) “The modern Mustang
GT six-speed gearbox has a traditional-style gearshift lever
and a solid industrial shift action,” he notes. “Forget the
current slick Miata and Civic shifts, this is old school.”
Revology indeed makes them to be old-school cool, but
new-school chic. Scarpello freely admits the 1966 GT350
recreation Pilgrim and I are delighting in around Streets
isn’t a purebred track car, but it more than holds its own on
the circuit after some hardcore lapping. It also has plenty
of power for its 3,225 pounds, as much power to weight as
a Ferrari F430 according to Scarpello. Starting at $189,000,
this car and the rest of the Revology Mustang lineup are

It took a minute for Pilgrim to get used to the grabby, non-
ABS brakes (being far less experienced with such brakes,
I would later lock them up coming into Turn 2), and he
would have liked a little less power in the hydraulic steering
(Revology says that’s doable), but he found the car pulls
surprisingly hard to more than 7,000 rpm and sounds great
with its Borla track exhaust, the Coyote making mighty
thawwwwwacck racket at full chat. He also dug the six-
built using as many off-the-shelf parts as possible, some of
which are (gasp!) sourced from General Motors. “The No.
1 goal is to have a car that you can drive every day with all
the amenities,” Scarpello says. “It’s like a modern car, and
it’s really cool that it looks like something it isn’t.” Scarpello
is busy stacking his team with mainstream auto industry
veterans like himself. As a low-volume manufacturer as
defined by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act
 CLASSIC

of 2015, Revology has the ability to build and sell brand-

new licensed reproduction classic Mustangs as long as the
engines are emissions certified. The company can also sell
rolling chassis replicas under existing state laws or resto
mod an original Mustang to Revology spec. At present it
takes about six months to build a car to order, but they’re
looking to get that time down as they ramp up production.
Back out on the track, Pilgrim and I take turns jumping
in and out of each car, relishing each lap. The OVC GT350R
Andy Pilgrim
proves to be anything but a fussy museum piece. Each one
hasn’t had a lot has a VIN from the donor car, so they are also certified as
of experience street legal. But given its heavy, nonpower-steering and race-
with Mustangs,
but he quickly car setup, the track is where this Mustang should gallop.
got up to speed “Driving around Streets is quite the workout,” Pilgrim
and had a blast
wheeling both admits. “I was determined to win the battle of wills with
models. this very capable, 2,780-pound animal.
“Once familiar with the handling, I started really working
the independent rear suspension, making full use of the
sticky vintage race rubber, body roll, pitch, and very willing
motor. It was at this point I really started to appreciate it.
The fun factor was off the scale.”
Exactly. To be able to uncork the GT350R’s guttural V-8
roar, work its notchy four-speed, push on its massive brakes,
feel the heat, and inhale the gas and rubber fumes, was fun
beyond measure. And Revology’s mixology of time-machine 91

looks, new model details and craftsmanship, and its fast and
fun nature out on the track proved every bit as enthralling.
When we weren’t in the cars, we gathered around the
sheetmetal campfire, swapping stories and learning about the
OVC and Revology teams. It was one of those days you never
want to end. And as I waved goodbye to Marietta and Carling
while they loaded 98i onto the trailer, the sun sunk low on the
horizon over the desert expanse of Big Willow just like it did
in 1965, when John Morton blew by at 160 mph. AM
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 A STRONG
FINISH FOR
THE 2017
COLLECTOR
CAR AUCTION
SCENE

⇒
by RORY JURNECKA

R M S O T H E B Y ’ S M O S T recent sale was among the last of the high-caliber collector

car auctions of 2017. With a “quality over quantity” focus, just 49 lots of iconic X 1952 JAGUAR C-TYPE
$5,285,000
items were up for grabs, including 29 full-scale automobiles (several children’s cars Just 53 Jaguar C-types were ever built, and
were also on offer), bottles of high-end wine and Champagne, and other mostly this example, chassis 007, is said to be not
automotive-related items. More than $45 million was brought in by the sale, with an only the first delivered to the U.S. but also
84 percent sell-through for all lots (76 percent for vehicles alone). Overall, the Big the first C-type to win a race in the U.S.,
courtesy of driver Phil Hill. The C-type was
Apple event proved a relatively strong sale that has us looking forward to the annual a serious race car in its day and could be
auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona, that kick off the 2018 calendar. considered a heavy revision of the XK120
road car with its updated straight-six
engine, tube-frame construction, and new
streamlined bodywork by Malcom Sayers.
C-types such as this put Jaguar back on
94 the map in international competition,
thanks in part to its two overall victories
at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
AUTOMOBILEMAG.COM

X 1952 CHRYSLER
D’ELEGANCE BY GHIA
$885,000
Based on a shortened Chrysler
New Yorker platform, this concept
was a joint design project between
Virgil Exner, Chrysler’s noted chief
X 2000 BMW Z8
$329,500
X 1990 LAMBORGHINI LM002
The Henrik Fisker-designed BMW Z8
has often been described as far better
to look at than to drive, but there’s
no denying that this car continues to
have a lot of appeal and—incredibly
$467,000
Before there was the Urus, there was the
LM002. Based on a stillborn military
prototype that never reached production,
the LM002 was a luxurious super SUV
before the world wrapped its mind around
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF RM SOTHEBY'S

of design at the time, and Italian
coachbuilder Ghia’s star designer
Mario Boano. The car would not
only introduce several design cues
found on later Chryslers, but the
overall similarity to the new-
for-1955 Volkswagen Karmann-
Ghia (also a Boano design) is also
impossible to miss. Expensive
and worth it—especially given its
importance as a one-off show car.
for a 17-year-old car—still looks utterly
modern today. For these reasons plus
limited production figures (a few more
than 2,500 were sold in the U.S.), most
Z8s have never dipped below their
original MSRP of around $130,000.
This example had just 15,000 miles on
the odometer and was originally owned
by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, which
likely led to the extra 25 percent or so
it fetched over typical market value.
the concept. With a V-12 engine from
the Lamborghini Countach sitting up
front and a 76-gallon fuel tank, examples
bought new in the prosperous 1980s were
soon selling for a mere fraction of their
$158,000 MSRP a decade later, though
the recent rebound in LM002 values has
been strong among a new, younger set of
buyers. This example was restored to the
tune of $325,000, putting the purchase
price in some context.
 →
→
R AC I N G S U I T A N D
H E L M E T WO R N BY
STEVE MCQUEEN
X 1959 FERRARI 250 GT LWB
CALIFORNIA SPIDER
IN “LE MANS”
COMPETIZIONE $336,000
$17,990,000 Most items connected to
Ferrari’s 250 GT California Spider has always Steve McQueen and his
been an iconic member of the Prancing automobiles continue to be
Horse family that rocketed to mainstream hot at auction. Earlier this
recognition, thanks to its appearance in the year, Gooding & Co. sold a
popular movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” This Porsche 917 that had been
is the rarer Competizione version, one of just featured in McQueen’s epic
eight produced, with a factory hot-rodded racing movie, “Le Mans,”
engine, lightweight aluminum bodywork, and for more than $14 million.
The driver’s suit, helmet,
a larger fuel tank for endurance races. With Le
and flame-retardant
Mans provenance, some would say this is the underwear McQueen wore
ultimate Cal Spider, and the new owner paid in the film brought big bucks,
a big price—$1 million more than the high though it fell short of the
estimate—for the privilege of ownership. $400,000-$500,000 estimate.

X 1973 DE TOMASO PANTERA L
$145,600
The De Tomaso Pantera was an Italian-built,
mid-engine sports car, designed in Italy by
American transplant Tom Tjaarda while at
Ghia and fitted with a good, ol’ American V-8
(a Ford “Cleveland” 351). Confused yet? What
if we told you U.S.-spec cars were sold and
serviced through Lincoln-Mercury dealerships?
Convoluted backstory aside, the Pantera was
designed as a budget-priced alternative to more
expensive European metal, and although power
was strong, the typical Italian build-quality
issues limited the car’s success. This one was
right on the money for its good condition.
CIRCUIT
PERMANENT
DE L A SARTHE
CEMENT
KILOMETER
MARKER
$12,000
This particular marker was 95
originally placed at the
4.5-kilometer mark on the 24
Hours of Le Mans circuit’s
famous Mulsanne Straight.
It might seem like a lot for
what amounts to 170 pounds
of cement, but the sale price
was less than half its estimate,
illustrating the difficulty in
assigning value to esoteric
pieces of racing history.

X 2018 BUGATTI CHIRON

$3,772,500
Said to be the first Chiron sold at auction,
this particular car was also the first example
ordered for the U.S. market. The Chiron’s
8.0-liter quad-turbocharged engine produces
nearly 1,500 horsepower and catapults the
car to an electronically limited top speed of
261 mph—the maximum its tires have been
engineered to withstand. Just 500 will be
produced at a price of around $3 million
each. Its buyer gets to be the first on their
gold-lined block to own one for a mere
$700,000 or so more than MSRP.
 ion
compress
turbo
chamber
piston
96

upper
link

multilink
crank
shaf t

harmonic
drive

control
actuator shaft
arm
 PROGRESS

bo

ne
ur

gi
En
-T

NELSON IRESON
VC
iti
fin

by
GET
In

HAS
INFINITI FREAKING
FOUND
THE
SECRET
EXCITED!
TO
EXTENDING
T H I S M I G H T B E what Tomorrowland looked like to 97
THE those lucky enough to see it when Disneyland opened in 1955.
Rooted firmly in the understandable, the things we’ve built on for
decades, but at the same time new and different in delightfully
unexpected ways. This is the future of the combustion engine, if it
has one. This is the Infiniti VC-Turbo, the world’s first production
variable-compression automotive engine.
On the other hand, this might also be what Tomorrowland
looks like today to the eyes of us tomorrow dwellers: a quaint but
flawed conceptualization of an idealized but incomplete future
that simply never materialized.
LIFE Regardless of whether it takes the industry by storm or sidles
off into a corner of automotive anorakia, for the mechanically
OF minded the VC engine’s design is a shockingly simple and elegant
solution to a complex problem but one that relies on some
THE incredibly complex engineering to achieve the production result.
You might be wondering why a variable-compression engine
INTERNAL is even desirable or necessary in the first place. The answer is
COMBUSTION simple: bandwidth. A high-compression engine can be efficient
or powerful, but it can’t really be both. A low-compression turbo
ENGINE? engine can also be very powerful, though it’s typically also rather
inefficient. But an engine that can be both—or anything in
between—can be as efficient or as powerful as the driver needs.
According to Infiniti, the 2.0-liter VC-Turbo is 27 percent more
efficient than its current, naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V-6, which
would work out to around 25/34 mpg city/highway when fitted
under the hood of a luxury crossover such as the Infiniti QX50,
and is about 25 percent better than the best of the conventionally
powered competition. Numbers like that have Infiniti making
→
→

plans to replace its existing V-6 engine lineup with the VC.
 4

highest
n
co mpressio

The difference
in piston height lowest
between
ion
compress
compression
ratios is
about 6 3
millimeters.

position for efficiency position for power

Reducing the VC-Turbo’s three-dimensional mechanical
symphony to linear language is difficult, but the simplest
explanation is this: A lever adjusts the length of the piston’s
stroke to increase or decrease the engine’s compression
ratio in response to throttle inputs. Taking in a little more
detail, a motor-actuated linkage advances or retards the
orientation of a two-point link that rides on the crank pin,
lifting or lowering the attachment point of the connecting
rod and thereby adjusting the effective throw of the piston
and hence the compression ratio, which can be adjusted
infinitely and continuously between the system’s extremes
of 8:1 and 14:1.
Despite all of this high-tech mojo, Infiniti says the new
VC-Turbo engine is slightly less expensive to manufacture
than its VQ-series 3.7-liter V-6 with variable valve-timing
technology. The VC-Turbo is also more efficient from a
friction point of view despite the additional hardware added
to control the compression ratio. How? By straightening
SPOT THE the run of the connecting rod through use of a smaller
CHANGES
It might seem diameter crankshaft, there’s less sideways force acting on
imperceptible, the piston, the cylinder walls, and the bushings connecting
but the slight
difference in all of the linkages, which translates to substantially less
the angle of
this multilink friction. There’s also no longer any need for balance shafts.
is all the VC- And because the hardware that controls the variable ratio
Turbo needs
to adjust is reciprocating rather than rotating, there’s much less
through its
entire range. slinging of oil in the crankcase. Despite the complexity, the
new VC-Turbo engine is also about 40 pounds lighter than
the VQ-series V-6.
Another fun result of the variable-compression ratio is
↓↓ that the engine’s displacement is constantly changing, too,
varying by 27 cubic centimeters from 1,970 cc to 1,997 cc,
just as the stroke increases by 1.2 mm from its minimum
 PROGRESS

understanding vc-t technology

of 88.9 mm at 14:1. That means the engine actually gets
bigger when you mat the throttle. It feels like it, too. ↓↓
Not that you actually feel anything about the VC-Turbo’s
special-sauce functionality. It’s completely transparent in
actual use, invisible except for the instrument-cluster display
that graphs the engine’s movement between compression 1.
extremes. The graph moves quickly and smoothly, jagging up When a change
or down as you press or release the throttle, the compression in compression
ratio reaching its target just before the turbo spools fully. ratio is needed,
Infiniti says the full adjustment from 8:1 to 14:1 (or vice the Harmonic
versa) takes 1.5 seconds total, but in practice you’ll more Drive turns
likely be moving from 12:1 or 13:1 to 9:1 or 10:1, meaning and moves the
the transition is completed in well under a second. And actuator arm.
because the transition is continuous, sweeping through 2.
every intermediary compression ratio along the way, the The actuator
engine is constantly moving toward the target—meaning it’s arm rotates the
getting more and more powerful as you accelerate, building control shaft.
boost and reducing the compression ratio as the port- and 3.
direct-injection fuel system races to keep up with demand. As the control
But back to the driving: At Nissan/Infiniti’s Arizona Testing shaft rotates,
Center (ATC) an hour outside Phoenix sat a prototype of the it acts upon
upcoming Infiniti QX50 outfitted as a powertrain mule—the the lower link,
car’s suspension, interior, and camouflaged exterior weren’t which changes
yet ready for evaluation, but VC-Turbo-equipped models the angle of the
won’t bear any exterior badging marking the fact anyway. multilink.
Under the hood, the VC-Turbo—code-named KR20—is 4.
derived from the current Nissan/Infiniti MR20 2.0-liter The multilink
turbo engine (the “K” stands for kahen, the Japanese word adjusts the
for “variable”). Out the windshield, the ATC’s enormous oval throw of the
and some simulated country roads. piston, thus
From a stop, matting the throttle on the VC-Turbo yields changing the
a not quite instant but still quick swing from the 14:1 compression
compression ratio of idle to the wide-open, max-boost (1.6 ratio.
bar) 8:1 ratio. As boost builds, the QX50 prototype dashes
forward. How quick? I can’t say for sure, but Infiniti claims
it’s a second quicker to 60 mph than the fastest of its close
competitive set, defined as Audi, BMW, and Lexus with
the Q5, X3, and NX, respectively. It definitely doesn’t feel
underpowered.
Acceleration on the move—from, say, 30 mph to 50 mph
—is a bit tougher to gauge when you’re the only vehicle on
the road, but even with the aging CVT transmission Infiniti
saddled the VC-Turbo prototype with, the new engine feels
peppy. And that’s without the ability to deliver full torque
in the lower gears. The transmission simply isn’t robust
enough to handle the engine’s full output of 268 hp and
288 lb-ft of torque. Infiniti is already at work fitting a
traditional automatic transmission for production, though
the CVT will also be offered.
Engaging manual mode on the paddle-shifted CVT and
taking off from 2,000 rpm in the simulated first, second, or
third “gears” yields close to the worst-case lag scenario: not
much acceleration until the engine has spun up to 3,500
rpm and then a surge of power to redline. Counterintuitively,
doing the same thing in fourth gear results in markedly
quicker acceleration, but that makes sense when you
remember the torque limiting being done by the computer
in lower gears.
The overall takeaway from a day spent speaking with 99
engineers and flogging the prototype was this: The VC-
Turbo is a very special engine, significant in a way no
other combustion engine has been in decades. But it’s also
completely normal, with no rough edges, hairy temperament,
or jagged transitions between modes or functions. It’s a fully
baked, ready-to-rock answer to a question the industry has
been asking for close to a century. It’s simply brilliant. AM

HIGHEST
COMPRESSION ↓↓ LOWEST
COMPRESSION
RATIO 14:1 RATIO 8:1
4 PISTON
HIGH LOW
UPPER LINK
MULTILINK
CRANK SHAFT
3
ACTUATOR ARM

1
CONTROL SHAFT

efficiency power
↓↓
2 HARMONIC DRIVE
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CATC How much has the four-door
HING Wrangler changed Jeep?
MA: Before the Unlimited, we
UP sold Wranglers in the spring and
WITH summer. The Unlimited became a
car for daily use, and it surprised
even us.
Sort of like going from a
sports car to family car.
MA: It’s like, “Hey, I want to get
a Wrangler. I can bring the kids
now.” The old Wranglers used
to be cross-shopped against a
speedboat. My Wrangler, I drive it
in the summer. That’s about it.
So the Unlimited allows
you to spend more time and
money on developing things
that keep the hardcore
set happy?
MA: It certainly helped. It’s gotta
have updates. Simple things, like
the door needs to shut itself.
Right? And that’s customer
feedback. “I hate the door handle.
I hate how the door shuts. Give
me creature comforts.”
Will there be blowback
from the hardcore Jeep fans
who don’t like the door to
shut itself ?
MA: I saw it happen when we
did TJ. “Oh, you put a regular
dashboard in it, and you put
102 coil springs on it. Oh, it’s ruined
forever.” And then I saw it on JK,
MARK
AUTOMOBILEMAG.COM
and it’s like, “Oh, you’ve ruined
it with four doors.” We still sell
ALLEN a Sport, and it’s very popular.
Roll-up windows, a basic radio,
JEEP DESIGN CHIEF HVAC, and the locker switches.
No matter what, it’s a cheap
by TODD LASSA convertible. Right?
Is a manual transmission a
nonstarter for the serious
off-roader? Who wants to
operate a clutch when you’re
rock crawling?
MA: If you want to start an
A S F I AT C H R Y S L E R ’ S head argument, go with that line. We
didn’t put an automatic in a Jeep
of Jeep design, some would say
until probably the ’70s. I drive a
Mark Allen has the best job in manual off-road, and I won’t drive
CATC H I N G U P W I T H / M A R K A L L E N
the world. Some would also say an automatic. I can get out of my
he has the least enviable job in Jeep in first gear and walk faster
the world because redesigning than it goes.
the iconic Jeep Wrangler is like That kind of debate keeps the
redesigning the Porsche 911. brand going, right?
How do you completely redo MA: Two doors. Four doors. Hard
an icon without angering the top. Soft top. Rubicon. Sport. All
hardcore enthusiasts who have of that. Bring it.
made the model what it is? To How much harder or easier
find out, we spoke with Allen was it to redesign the
Wrangler compared with
following the unveiling of the
other Jeep models?
all-new 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL. MA: We were wanting to get
•
our teeth into it. There were a
T H E B AC K PAG E
lot of things about it that had
been bothering me that we
were anxious to get to. If you
look down the side, the door
handles and hinges are aligned
now. The hood now goes out
straight rather than dropping.
The sections are more generous.
This car’s just more matured and
relaxed than the JK.
So you spent the first part
of the design process going
through all the far-out ideas?
MA: We probably spent the first
three to four months sketching.
... We papered the walls in here.
Mild to wild. But what we chose
was based more on authenticity
and long life. You can do
something that’s more radical
here, but it will look good for
about a year.
How radical?
MA: We had some [where]
the whole quarter was plastic.
Maybe the fender crawled
onto the hood a little bit. Even
different grille shapes and lamp
shapes, stuff like that, just to
put us right where we were. I’ve
got a lot of young designers in
the room, and I had to be the
voice of reason to come back,
even with my boss, who’s always
pushing, like he rightly should.
Do you start with the
two-door and then move
to the Unlimited?
MA: The two-door is the one
we really love to draw because
really it’s the off-road sports car.
I don’t know who gets credit for
the CJ, but it’s obvious to me
there were sketches done, there
was clay work done, because
there’s form in it. And I think
that’s when they got it right.
What didn’t you get?
MA: Rid of the metal antenna.
What’s your favorite secret
design element?
MA: No secret, the face is a
big deal. And championing
the folding windshield [and
making it easier to fold down].
Manufacturing hated it just for
painting the car and handling
that windshield. We’re keeping it.
It’s the key on the left of the 911.
It’s the motor behind the axle.
I’ll read in online forums, “I never
fold mine down.” Well, because
we made it so hard. It’s wind in
the face. It’s great for navigating
off-road. It’s just ... the same
reason I had to pull the doors Th e
off, right? En d
BUILT
FOR THIS

Performance is the result of driver and machine working

together as one. Response to a driver’s demands
becomes instant and instinctive. You no longer think
about asserting control, but instead, you feel it.

Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ is the

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system consists of a twin-turbocharged V-6 engine and
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This is the Acura NSX. And this is how we make it.

Check out the NSX at your local Acura dealer,

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