A biweekly roundup of automotive news, good, bad and just plain weird:
Trackhawk a Hellcat for the whole family
As I’ve noted here periodically, Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge all seemed to be staffed by burnout-crazed lunatics. If the future of the automobile is electric pods crammed with self-driving technology, then Fiat-Chrysler is intent on sending the internal combustion engine out with a giant party. This is their latest firework.
It’s called the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, and it’s basically the Hellcat formula applied to an offroad-capable SUV. Yes, the headline is a 707 horsepower supercharged V-8 under the hood, but there are other goodies like an electronic limited slip differential and an all-wheel-drive system that can vary power split front and rear. The Trackhawk also gets 295 millimetre wide tires, six-piston brake calipers, and 15.75-inch rotors.
Why? Well, it’s a little more like “why not?” FCA understands that there’s customer demand for this sort of thing, so developing a hyper-steroided Jeep just makes financial sense.
Further, there’s something delightful about a Jeep that could wipe the floor with a Porsche Cayenne Turbo or BMW X5M. Ridiculous, sure, but fun too.
DB Automotive remasters the Mini
If you’re in the market for a Mini, I’m not entirely convinced you should bother with the fish-faced modern cars. They’re just too big and complicated.
For some people, however, only the classics will do. If that’s the case, and you’re seeking perfection, then U.K.-based David Brown Automotive has the machine for you. It’s called the Project 2, and it’s claimed to be a remastered version of the original Mini.
It’s not quite a restoration. Instead, DB Automotive builds the cars from the ground up, with a new chassis and body panels. The engine is a reconditioned unit, as is the transmission, and produces a perfectly adequate 79 h.p.
Add in a reworked interior with plenty of leather and a Pioneer touchscreen infotainment, and you have the makings of the perfect Mini. Each car is claimed to take 1,000 man-hours to produce, and the price tag is significant: from $62,000 all the way up to $86,000.
When you look at something like the Singer restorations of the Porsche 911 costing a half-million or more, or Land Rover charging hundreds of thousands for a restored Series I Range Rover, you might think the world’s gone mad. A Mini that costs as much as a Mercedes? Not that surprising.
But what’s actually happening is a bit sadder. It’s a combination of people looking at modern cars and seeing weight, complexity, and a lack of human connection. But, at the same time, those same people are either too busy or too lazy to restore an original.
If you want a real, remastered Mini, then just buy an original and sort it out yourself. They’re not particularly complicated vehicles, and you might even learn a thing or two. And, if you want a car that captures the essence of the Mini Cooper, check out the Ford Fiesta ST, for good, clean, chuckable fun.
Ford invents car simulator crib
Any parent of young children will tell you that sometimes a late-night ride in a car is the only thing that’ll work to get a fussy baby to sleep. However, if you’re sleep-deprived and on your last frayed nerve, perhaps you shouldn’t be behind the wheel.
Luckily, Ford’s got you covered with a prototype crib that recreates engine sounds, motion, and passing street lamps. It’s all controlled by a smartphone app that will even let you record the sounds of your own car for playback by the crib.
Does this seem a little bit silly? Sure, in the stark sensibility of daylight. However, thanks to the ability to order things over the Internet, and the way you feel when your child just won’t stop crying, you have to think such a crib will be getting impulse purchased by the hundreds in the middle of the night.
McLaren brings 3D printing to F1
3D printing hasn’t quite revolutionized the car industry yet, but it is starting to make inroads. For instance, if you’re into classic cars, the ability to replicate fiddly and hard-to-find pieces of plastic and rubber trim is a lifesaver for any restoration project. Now, 3D printing is going racing.
McLaren’s racing team will be bringing a 3D printer along with them in the team trailer this season, allowing for on-the-fly modifications. While the F1 rulebook is pretty strict, being on the bleeding edge of motorsport means you have to seek out every advantage you can.
With their 3D printer, McLaren will be able to manufacture new parts trackside over a racing weekend. They’re thus less likely to be caught out by a parts shortage, or have a car sit idle due to a mechanical failure. They’ll also be able to create multiple iterations of cooling ducts, flaps, and wings, to help out with that old racing standby of trial-and-error.
The good news for you is that the more ubiquitous and cost-effective 3D printing becomes, the easier it’ll be for you to get parts for your car. Cracked door latch? Maybe someday you’ll just be able to download one.
Watch this space for all the week’s best and worst of automotive news, or submit your own auto oddities to [email protected].
