The global pandemic may have impacted motorsports by preventing events from being run, mainly because of valid concerns about transmission of the coronavirus. While real-world racing has been on hold, esports have quickly grown online and even the works teams of carmakers have joined in.
For Nissan, which was the first Japanese carmaker to enter the all-electric single-seater Formula E, series, its driver in the Nissan e.dams team, Oliver Rowland, recently took the team’s maiden victory in round 5 of the ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge.
Racing in what has been described as ‘the best race in the esports series so far’, Rowland (pictured above) showed strong pace from the outset, qualifying in P3 on the Berlin circuit, having had just one day’s practice along with the rest of the grid on the newly created virtual Tempelhof track.
He got away cleanly at the start, key to sim racing success, and immediately settled into an exciting battle with the lead group of three drivers. On lap 7, from third position, Rowland made an inch-perfect move into a hairpin bend to overtake two cars at once and claim the lead. He maintained the lead to the finish, fending off constant pressure from behind.
First virtual win
The stylish overtake and team’s first virtual win pay tribute to “Go Nissan Day”, celebrated each year in May. Sebastien Buemi qualified in P11 and crossed the finish line in 12th position.
The new online racing series represents Formula E, the first real-world zero emission racing series, as the height of zero emission competition in the virtual world. This aligns with Nissan’s goal of zero emissions and zero fatalities, an important pillar of Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the brand’s vision for changing how cars are driven, powered and connected into society.
The ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge raises funds for UNICEF’s global coronavirus appeal, helping keep children safe, healthy, and learning in the face of the pandemic.
It’s been almost 70 days that Malaysia has had the Movement Control Order (MCO) which has restricted movements besides other activities nationwide. In the earliest days, the conditions were very strict and while it was permitted to travel out of the home for the purpose of buying food or essential items, or seeking medical attention, only one person was allowed in the vehicle (except in emergency cases).
The concern then was about the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus and the measure was necessary to stop transmission. Roadblocks were set up to check on vehicles and many people got into trouble for not following that order. It presented some problems for some families where the wife – who usually did the shopping – might not know how to drive so husbands had to learn how to find things at supermarkets!
By the end of April, the conditions were relaxed a bit (although a 10-km limit was set for the distance of travel), and two persons were allowed in the vehicle. They had to be family members and living in the same household. This made sense since they were already staying together.
In the early weeks of the MCO, police set up roadblocks to check on vehicle occupants,
Within a short time, up to 4 persons were allowed to travel together in the vehicle and again, the condition was that they must be family members living in the same household. For taxis, however, the number of passengers was still restricted to two persons.
With things improving – as evident by declining numbers – the government began easing restrictions and even allowing businesses to resume operations. Today, it has been announced that the 4-people-per-vehicle ruling will be removed with effect from tomorrow (Wednesday May 27). Vehicles can now carry as many as permitted so those with MPVs can now take the whole family out. Yes, that condition remains – they must all be family members from the same household.
CMCO is still on
Many people don’t realize that the MCO – now Conditional Movement Control Order or CMCO – is still active. Though life seems ‘normal’, people are still required to remain at home unless they must go to work or do essential shopping. Cruising around town to ‘makan angin’ is actually not permitted and gatherings are also forbidden.
For this reason, the authorities were very firm on the conditions for the Hari Raya holiday period. Apart from prohibiting interstate travel, which meant no ‘balik kampung’ journeys. Visits were only allowed on the first day of Hari Raya and the traditional Open House was discouraged. For those who had to have it, they could only have up to 20 people in their home at any one time – and that number was dependent on the size of the home because of social distancing requirements.
Hari Raya Aidilfitri is here again but for this year, the celebrations will be somewhat different due to the continuation of the Movement Control Order (MCO). UMW Toyota Motor understands that many will be disappointed that they are unable to celebrate together with their loved ones in their hometowns.
To lift the spirits of Malaysians, the company prepared three videos, each with its own unique approach and theme, which was shared on its various social media channels.
“Drawing on Toyota’s own past experiences of difficult and challenging times, I believe that the human spirit is resilient and we will come out stronger. In the short term, things may be tough but at the end, there will be greater strength and confidence from having endured the challenges,” said Akio Takeyama, Deputy Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor.
In the first video posted, Malaysians were invited by the company to submit captures of themselves, observing Ramadan in their own way, while adhering to the MCO requirements to stay at home. These homemade videos were then strung together into a more complete film depicting real-life scenarios and experiences of Ramadan being observed under the unique circumstances.
For the Raya videos, there are two different themes. The first one shows a family coming to terms with the current situation, and accepting that it is a necessary sacrifice to make. For the second Raya video, which was shared on May 25, Toyota GAZOO Racing’s celebrity racers sing a Raya classic, “Senandung Hari Raya Untukmu”, to add sparkle to the celebratory mood, even while observing the MCO.
The first Raya video was produced by working with a real family who actually shot the scenes themselves. The father operated the camera and lighting with the family members as the talent, and their house as the main location.
Adhering to the MCO Standard Operating Procedures, production of all three videos had minimal crew present and even the director gave guidance via video calls. Social distancing was observed during filming with the exception of the family scenes since they depicted people living in the same house.
“The ultimate message of the videos is to stay strong and to continue our journey in the face of hardship. Similarly, Toyota is staying resilient by adapting to the current situation. With its e-showroom, virtual test drives, augmented reality app, and more, Toyota is making sure the public can still get its products and services while caring for the public’s safety,” said Ravindran K. President of UMW Toyota Motor.
“We realise this year’s festival will be different and while many are unable to be together, we hope that Malaysians will still be able to celebrate in a meaningful way at home. On behalf of UMW Toyota Motor, we wish all our Toyota owners, customers and business associates Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!” he said. “And to all Malaysians, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and may you find peace and happiness.”
Click here for other news and articles about Toyota.
All types of sounds can be heard around us. Even if they are not man-made (like from cars or parties), there is still the sound of the wind or the rustle of leaves. For almost total quietness, you need to go to Chile’s Atacama Desert or Ushuaia on the southern tip of Argentina where the only sounds you can hear are the flapping of penguins’ wings and the ice sheets cracking.
Total quietness is hard to achieve in urban environments and it is only inside specially-designed facilities called anechoic chambers that extreme silence is possible. In the Guinness records list, an anechoic chamber owned by Microsoft in America has sound measurements down to s -20.16 decibels. The sound made by air molecules bumping off each other measures -24 decibels.
Car manufacturers also have anechoic chambers as they need the quietness to make their vehicles quieter. The SEAT Technical Centre in Martorell, Spain has such a facility, specifically designed to measure the sounds and noises made by a car with the utmost precision and without any interference.
The ‘temple of silence’
An anechoic chamber is designed with a system called ‘Box in box’ and as the name indicates, it features several layers of concrete and steel that isolate it from the exterior. The inside has cladding material that absorbs 95% of sound waves to prevent echoes and reverberations. People who have been in such chambers say they can sometimes hear the blood flowing through their veins or the air circulating in their lungs.
It is so quiet inside an anechoic chamber that you can sometimes hear blood flowing in your veins!
From the engine or the turning wheels to the door closing, the ventilation system and when a seat reclines, noises will emanate. The list of noises made by a car is endless, and they are all analysed in the chamber.
Creating harmony in noises
“On one hand, we measure the level of unpleasantness of the noises and check that they are reduced to a minimum; on the other, we make sure that the noises we do want to hear, the ones that refer to the operation of the vehicle, are perfectly defined. Finally, we work on making them harmonious,” explained Ignacio Zabala, Head of the Acoustics department at SEAT.
Engineers and technicians pay close attention to the engine and the exhaust system, as they give a car its ‘voice’. Many of the sounds made by a car convey information – like the unmistakeable clicking of the turn signal indicators, which let us know without checking that they are blinking. But not only do the engine and exhaust noises inform us of when to shift gears or the speed of acceleration, they also give an insight into the character of a model.
“We all know what the roar of a sporty engine sounds like, and that’s why we verify that it conveys what we want it to in the anechoic chamber” said Zabala.
Hertz, decibels and psychoacoustics
Inside the room, specialists perform recordings with different highly sensitive microphones. One is binaural and features a torso with ear-level microphones to obtain representative recordings of what occupants hear. They place it in different positions to verify that each sound analysed is heard as it should be from any angle.
Several analysis tools are used and the most basic include volume or spectral distribution, to other more technical parameters such as the field of psychoacoustics, or the subjective perception of sound.
“It’s no use having a car that is fully insulated from the exterior if the ventilation system sounds too loud. That’s why it’s important to reduce noise and define sounds to achieve a harmonious balance among them,” he explained further. He added that that the goal is that the vehicle occupants feel as comfortable as possible, because ‘acoustics have a direct impact on comfort and are determining factors in the perception of vehicle quality’.
Since 1997, the European New Car Assessment Programme – better known as Euro NCAP – has conducted independent assessments of new vehicles sold in Europe for consumers’ information. The assessments include crash tests (but are not the only aspect) as well as other active systems influencing safety performance.
While several European governments, motoring, consumer and insurance organizations support the work of Euro NCAP, their star ratings – summaries of the results from assessments – are not specified in vehicle safety regulations. However, Euro NCAP has, over the years, been influential in pushing manufacturers to incorporate new and better safety systems as they have become available and affordable.
Consumers refer to the star ratings and other information in the reports to help them in deciding which model to buy. Naturally, a maximum 5-star rating is ideal but sometimes, this means a higher cost so the consumer can make an informed choice to settle for 4 stars instead. In some cases, very poor scores will affect sales as consumers understand that they will not be sufficiently protected in the event of an accident.
Every 2 years, Euro NCAP updates and toughens its testing processes, adding new requirements in order to score maximum points. This year, new tests are introduced to address some longstanding needs in occupant protection, improve post-crash protection and promote the latest advanced driver assistance technology.
A key change is the implementation of a new moving barrier to the moving car frontal crash test, replacing the regulation-based moderate offset-deformable barrier test, used by Euro NCAP for the last 23 years. This new crash test not only evaluates the protection of occupants inside the car, but also assesses how the cars’ front-end structures contribute to injuries in the collision partner.
Important innovations are the Mobile Progressive Deformable Barrier and the unique method to rate vehicle compatibility, as well as the first adoption of the world’s most advanced ‘THOR’ mid-sized male crash test dummy.
Inside the advanced THOR dummy used for recording effects on the human body during a crash.To the public, Euro NCAP’s assessments may seem to be all about crash tests but the organisation also evaluates other safety systems.
Side impacts account for the second highest frequency of death or serious injuries. The latest updates to this area of the safety assessment include adjustments to the near-side barrier test speed and mass, increasing the severity of the test. More significantly, Euro NCAP will for the first time evaluate far-side impact protection, focussing on driver protection and the potential interaction between driver and front seat passenger. With the latter test, the protection offered by new-to-market countermeasures such as centre airbags can be adequately verified.
Euro NCAP continues to test the latest generation of crash prevention and driver assistance systems. New, challenging test scenarios are added to rate AEB technology for cars and vulnerable road-users. In addition, the first step is taken to evaluate Driver Status Monitoring systems, designed to detect driver fatigue and distraction, as part of the Safety Assist assessment.
Child restraint systems and provisions for protecting children are also evaluated.Since 2013, Euro NCAP has also been assessing Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), influencing more and more manufacturers to offer the system which automatically brakes the car.
Improving your car’s safety isn’t just about more airbags or better driver assistance systems. Post-crash safety too plays a vital role in crash survival. In partnership with the International Association of Fire & Rescue Services, Euro NCAP has developed new rating rules to promote better post-crash safety. Manufacturers will be rewarded when rescue information is accurate and easily available. Euro NCAP also checks ease of extrication, electric door handles, etc. and endorses advanced eCall functions.
The organisation believes the impact of these updates, as well some other minor changes, will be significant. Therefore, consumers must be careful when directly comparing the latest results with ratings from previous years. What stays the same is that only vehicles that perform excellently in crash protection, post-crash and crash avoidance – and the ones that car buyers should look out for – will achieve the top 5-Star rating.
The success of Euro NCAP has inspired the establishment of similar organisations in other regions, including Southeast Asia where there is the ASEAN NCAP.
Until the mid-1990s, mention of ‘ESP’ would have had people thinking about Extra Sensory Perception, which is what those letters usually referred to. ESP was related to psychic abilities where some people could sense something that others could not, especially events that might happen. After 1995, though. ESP came to mean something else and interestingly, it also referred to a new innovation that could ‘sense’ something about the happen.
The modern ESP is Electronic Stability Program (also known as Electronic Stability Control, Vehicle Stability Assist or Vehicle Stability Control by some manufacturers) and it is a computerised system which can help prevent a car from skidding out of control, especially when taking a corner. Developed by Bosch and Daimler-Benz, it was first introduced almost 25 years ago in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
Since then, ESP has been keeping vehicles safely on track, especially on slippery surfaces, and Bosch accident researchers estimate that in the EU alone, the system has saved some 15,000 lives over the past 25 years. Together with the seatbelt and airbag, ESP is one of the most important life-savers in a vehicle.
“The development of ESP was a milestone on the path to our ‘vision zero’ of no more road deaths,” says the Bosch board of management member Harald Kroeger. “ESP is an outstanding example of what we mean by ‘Invented for life.”
The innovation may be 25 years old but Bosch has continuously improved it to function more effectively and respond to potential accidents more quickly. Over 250 million ESP systems have been produced and most modern cars have it. According to Bosch, 82% of all new vehicles are equipped with ESP today, with even lower-priced models getting it.
Preventing up to 80% of all skidding accidents
Especially when roads are wet and slippery, when evading unexpected obstacles such as animals on the road, and also when driving into a bend too fast, ESP gores into action automatically. It combines the functions of the ABS system and the traction control system with additional inputs to stabilize the car as it is about to go out of control. Various sensors can detect vehicle skidding movements and actively counteracts them.
Up to 80% of all potential accidents due to skidding can be prevented although it must still be kept in mind that the laws of physics still apply. There are limits where the system will not be able to help if speeds are too high, overwhelming even the grip of the tyres.
The system uses information about vehicle dynamics to detect whether the car is heading in the direction the driver is steering. If there is a discrepancy between these two factors, ESP intervenes. This may sound simple but it is in fact a complex process.
Smart sensors help compare steering angle and vehicle trajectory 25 times a second. If the two diverge, ESP reduces engine torque and brakes individual wheels. In this way, the system helps the driver prevent the vehicle from breaking away or skidding – effectively avoiding loss of control that can lead to an accident.
Breakthrough following the elk test
The story behind this innovation is a long one. It started in the 1980s with initially independent efforts by Bosch and Daimler-Benz to achieve more vehicle stability. The legendary ‘elk test’ of 1997 helped the system achieve a breakthrough: during tests for a Swedish automotive magazine, a Mercedes Benz A-class tipped over when making an abrupt evasive manoeuvre. Mercedes-Benz responded by quickly making ESP standard equipment.
The extreme instability of the A-Class (left) in what was known as the ‘elk test’ – basically a high-speed evasive manoevre – led Mercedes-Benz to install ESP in all its models.Mercedes-Benz driving courses for owners often given them the chance to experience the benefits of ESP in high-speed lane-change exercises.
Safety authorities have also recognized the benefits of ESP and made it a mandatory feature of vehicles in some parts of the world. As the volume of systems has continuously risen, the cost has dropped to make it possible to offer even in low-priced models. Data from Europe shows that if the proportion of vehicles featuring the system rises, accident numbers fall.
For the 50th anniversary of the legendary Nissan GT-R, the company commissioned ItalDesign to design a special version of the sixth generation of the model. Until now, renderings and pictures of a prototype have been shown and now we get to see the first production-ready version that is known as the GT-R50 by Italdesign.
Unveiled at the Tazio Nuvolari Circuit in Italy recently, it is the first of 50 units that will be built, each priced from €990,000 (about RM4.71 million). Nissan says most are already taken up and the first customers will start getting their cars from the end of this year.
Powering each GT-R50 by Italdesign is a NISMO-tuned 720 ps/780 Nm hand-built 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V6 (VR38DETT). The engine draws on Nissan’s extensive GT3 competition experience and knowledge.
The E-TS ATTESA all-wheel drive system delivers power to all four 21-inch wheels. The suspension has been revised with a Bilstein DampTronic system and an upgraded Brembo braking system replaces the standard on for stronger stopping power.
The exclusive design involved a number of cosmetic changes, with the roofline being lowered and a restyled rear wing and rear diffuser. There’s also a distinct and large power bulge on the bonnet.
The cabin of the GT-R50 follows that of the standard model but customers can specify personalisation. As standard, the GT-R50 comes with exclusive sports seats, dashboard and centre console of carbonfibre, and an Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel.
Some people believe that if you are struck by bird poop, it may be a sign of good luck. After all, of all the humans around you, why would you be the one to get it? For motorists, good luck or not, it’s definitely not good for the car’s paintwork.
Most of us have probably had this problem at one time or another and even when you avoid parking under trees, a blob of poop may fall from the skies as you are driving. It’s unsightly and if not washed off quickly, can cause damage.
How Ford is helping
Fortunately, Ford vehicles are tested for just this eventuality – with the help of artificial bird poop. The laboratory-developed synthetic droppings are so realistic that they can accurately reflect the differing diets – and subsequent different acidity of droppings – of most of the birdlife in Europe, where testing is done.
Applied to test panels as a spray, sample pieces are aged at 40° C, 50° C and 60° C in an oven to replicate customer use in extreme heats, pushing the paint corrosion protection to its limits.
The ‘bird poop test’ is just one of the ordeals paint samples are put through. They also spray phosphoric acid mixed with soap detergent, and synthetic pollen on panels before aging them in ovens at 60° C and 80° C for 30 minutes. The test guards against airborne particulates such as pollen and sticky tree sap.
Extreme sunshine is bad
Intense sunlight can be particularly dangerous for paint as the paint can also soften and expand. And that’s something we certainly have a lot of in Malaysia. When the paint cools, it contracts and any grime, including bird droppings, attaches itself to the surface. If left on the vehicle for some time, it can leave a permanent mark that requires specialist treatment to remove.
By fine-tuning the pigments, resins and additives that go into making a car’s shiny protective paintwork, specialists can ensure the coating Ford applies to its vehicles has the optimum make-up to resist the impact of these types of pollutants, no matter what the weather.
The science of bird poop
Bird poop is often white and black, but it’s not all poop. The white part is uric acid and is the bird equivalent to urine, formed in the urinary tract. Poop is made in the digestive system and while both can be secreted at the same time, it happens with such speed that the two don’t have time to mix.
Additional paint tests
Other tests for paint samples include being bombarded non-stop with ultraviolet (UV) light for up to 6,000 hours (250 days) in a light lab – simulating 5 years in the brightest place on earth – to evaluate outdoor weathering; getting frozen in sub-zero temperatures; being exposed to harsh winter road grime in a high humidity salt chamber and subjection to simulated fuel staining from vehicle service station over-fuelling.
How to clean bird poop
Leaving bird poop on any car is therefore never a good idea. The advice for any car owner is simply to regularly wash your vehicle with a sponge and lukewarm water containing neutral pH shampoo, and gently remove harmless looking substances from the paintwork immediately. Waxing painted surfaces once or twice a year helps ensure new paint finishes can better resist harshest attacks, while staying shiny for longer.
“With so many cars parked and not moved from their usual spots for long periods in recent times as people stay at home, it’s likely birds are leaving their mark more than usual. It’s wise to remove it before it gets too baked on. But our customers can at least take some consolation in the work we do to help keep their paint protected,” said Andre Thierig, Manager, Core Engineering Paint at Ford of Europe.
Visit www.sdacford.com.my to know more about Ford models available in Malaysia.
In Italy after the Scond World War, Alfa Romeo cars were legendary. They were faster than any other car, both on the track and on the road. They were powerful and they always won, like good over evil. It’s not surprising then that the Italian police force chose to use their cars.
From the 1950s, Alfa Romeo cars were selected as the official emergency vehicles. They were known as ‘volanti’ and citizens soon got used to seeing them speeding around. The cars used by the police were nicknamed ‘Panthers’ and those of the Carabinieri (military police) were called ‘Gazelles’, metaphors that underlined their power and agility.
The very first Panther was an Alfa Romeo 1900, built in 1952 and the first Gazelle came into use a few years later. The most famous police car of all was the Giulia Super, but the police also used many other Alfa Romeo models, from the Matta to the Alfasud, Alfa 75, Alfetta, 156 and the current Giulia in use today.
1952 Alfa Romeo 1900 was the first ‘Panther’.
Alfa Romeo and Italian lifestyle
The history of the brand’s relationship with the Italian Police Force runs parallel with the story of how Alfa Romeo itself evolved over the years. “There are many automotive makes, among which Alfa Romeo stands apart. It is a kind of affliction, the enthusiasm for a means of transport. It’s a lifestyle, a special way of conceiving a motor vehicle,” declared Orazio Satta Puliga, a passionate fan of the brand.
Appointed director of design in 1946, Satta Puglia had a hard task ahead of him. Not only did he need to rebuild everything that had been destroyed by the war, but he also had to transform an artisan company into a modern manufacturing force.
When he started, Alfa Romeo was producing every single mechanical part at its Portello plant, in line with strict criteria of exquisite craftsmanship. He rationalised the process, outsourcing the production of the secondary parts and cutting costs. Meanwhile, he began thinking about creating the new ‘mass produced’ Alfa Romeo models, to be built using the most efficient technical and organisational methodologies around.
The first ‘Panther’
Satta Puliga’s 1900, which dates from 1950, was the first left-hand drive Alfa Romeo and the first to have a self-supporting body. He abandoned the traditional 6 and 8-cylinder engines for a new 4-cylinder version with aluminium cylinder head and two camshafts with chain control.
The engine was powered by a single carburetor, offering brilliant performances and a low taxable horsepower. The 1900 delivered 80 hp; it was agile and fast, but also very easy to drive. It was designed to target a bigger market with the launch slogan:’ The family car that wins races.’
Alfa Romeo BAT-7 concept car displayed at 1954 Turin Motor Show.
The 1900 was also the first Alfa Romeo to be produced on an assembly line. The total manufacturing time needed to produce one vehicle was reduced from 240 hours to just 100, a revolution. This new approach led to an unprecedented success in terms of sales. The 1900 alone sold more than the total Alfa Romeo production of other vehicles up until that time.
Alfa Romeo continued collaborating with its coachbuilders. The Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica (BAT) concept car series was launched on 1900 mechanics, created by Bertone and designed by Franco Scaglione. The same engine as the one used in the 1900 was also adopted by the AR51. Better known as the ‘Matta’, it was a 4×4 launched to replace the post-war off-road vehicles of the Italian Armed Forces.
The Matta, produced between 1951 and 1954 for the Italian military.
The Giulietta story
While with the 1900, Alfa Romeo had embarked on the track of series production, it was with the Giulietta that it truly became a large-scale automotive factory. The man in the driving seat of this transformation was Giuseppe Luraghi. Born in Milan, he also practiced the ‘noble art’ of boxing. He had a reputation as an incredible manager, with a long experience at Pirelli under his belt.
From 1951 to 1958, he was general manager of Finmeccanica, the holding company that controlled Alfa Romeo. After a short period spent at Lanerossi, he returned in 1960 as President of Alfa Romeo, a position he would hold until 1974.
The Giulietta-ti
Upon his arrival at Alfa Romeo, Luraghi revolutionised how the production was structured, calling in designers Rudolf Hruska and Francesco Quaroni to reorganise the industrial processes. He realised that there was a huge opportunity as the brand had exceptional visibility, its sporting victories thrilled millions of people and fueled their dreams. It was time to translate this success into sales. The economic boom was just around the corner and the car was the most coveted possession. For Luraghi, owning an Alfa Romeo had to become the distinguishing mark of those who had truly made it in life.
From elite product to object of desire, the company now pointed all its design and industrial resources in this new direction. The Giulia was the product of this turning point in the history of Alfa Romeo, a car designed to boost sales but at the same time confirm the brand’s technical tradition and sporting vocation.
The Carabinieri and their fleet of Alfa Romeos.
The first Gazelle
The Giulietta was the first ‘Gazelle’ and is associated with the link between Alfa Romeo and the police forces. The first Gazelle of the Carabinieri was none other than a Giulietta, destined for the patrol service. In fact, it took up service already equipped with a radio system for communicating with the police headquarters. In the language of the Italian army, the Gazelle represented the patrol vehicle driver: fast, agile and tough. Its engine (entirely of aluminium) delivered 65 hp, able to take the car up to a maximum speed of 165 km/h.
At the 1954 Turin Motorshow in 1954, the Giulietta made its debut in coupe form. The Giulietta Sprint, designed by Bertone, was a low-lying, compact, agile car that became an ‘instant classic’. It is worth noting that the sporty version was modeled on the standard one, an unconventional and typically Alfa Romeo choice that was proposed again a few years ago by Giulia Quadrifoglio.
Giulia, the revolution
Only another revolutionary car could knock the Giulietta off the top spot. Satta Puliga knew this only too well and with his team set to work on developing a new model. The Giulia was one of the first cars in the world with a differently-shaped supporting structure. The front and rear sections were designed to be shock-absorbent (to be called ‘crumple zones’ later on) and the passenger compartment was extremely rigid, to protect its occupants, solutions that would only become compulsory much later.
The 1.6-litre twin cam engine of Giulia was an evolution of the 1.3-litre 4-cylinder one, and it stood out for its sodium-cooled exhaust valves. The design of Giulia was also revolutionary, with its low front and truncated rear inspired by aerodynamics, inspiring the launch slogan ‘Designed by the wind’. Development work carried out in the wind tunnel reduced the drag coefficient of the car to 0.34 Cd, which was impressive for that era.
The Giulia went on to feature in ‘poliziotteschi’ films made during that period – which later became cult films. In these movies where ‘cops and robbers’ clash, the Alfa Romeo often starred as both the police car and the getaway vehicle.
The Malaysian police were the first police force outside Italy to use the Alfetta in the 1970s.
Incidentally, in Malaysia too, Alfa Romeos were used by the police force which was the first to use the Alfetta 2000 sedan (assembled in Malaysia) outside Italy. There was also a fleet of Giulias used as patrol vehicles up till the late 1970s. The cars were supplied by City Motors, then the importer and distributor for Alfa Romeo.
Sir Henry Royce once said: “Small things make perfection, but perfection is no small thing.” This has clearly applied to the motorcars of the brand for decades and even when scaled down, perfection is still a must.
As daily driving pleasures have been curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some other of life’s little luxuries have come to the fore. An authentic 1:8 scale replica of a full-sized Cullinan, the first Rolls-Royce SUV, is now available. Reproduced with absolute perfection, each is more than a mere model. Every miniature Cullinan is individually and painstakingly crafted by hand, to the client’s specification, from over 1,000 individual components. This process can take up to 450 hours – over half of the time required to build a full-sized Cullinan.
The replica is then hand-painted using Rolls-Royce colour-matched paint, hand-polished to the marque’s exacting specification; the coachline is even applied using a fine brush, just as it is on the original.
Customers may choose from a palette of around 40,000 ‘standard’ colours, or replicate their own personal Bespoke finish. The fully-functioning exterior lights are operated by a Cullinan-branded remote control, while under the bonnet is a perfect likeness of the iconic 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine.
On opening the coach doors, illuminated treadplates are revealed, leading to an interior designed and executed with the materials, skill and attention to detail lavished on Cullinan itself. From the headrest embroidery and wood finishes to seat piping and stitching, these Bespoke creations allow owners to recreate their full-size vehicle with astonishing accuracy, or even envision future Cullinans to add to their collection.
Presented in a display case at almost a metre in length, the replica is set on a gloss-black base mounted on a plinth allowing it to be appreciated from all angles. The Perspex window can be removed enabling the minutiae of the doors, luggage compartment and engine bay to be viewed in detail.
“This scale replica brings a new dimension to Cullinan’s Effortless, Everywhere philosophy. Our super-luxury SUV is now as perfectly at ease in the serene surroundings of its owner’s residence as it is in the most challenging and hostile terrain on Earth.” Said Torsten Muller-Otvos, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
“It demonstrates, and reminds us as a company, that Inspiring Greatness applies at every scale. It is not just about the big things: we seek and achieve greatness in everything we do, down to the smallest item and minutest detail,” he added.
The full-sized Cullinan is priced from RM1.8 million (before including tax).
There are already scale models of the Cullinan being sold online but none would come anywhere close to the quality of this one made by Rolls-Royce. And certainly nowhere near the price which is believed to be around £14,500 (about RM74,500)!
