A biweekly roundup of automotive news, good, bad and just plain weird:
The beast of Turin roars again
Corvette? Hellcat? An offshore racing boat? Never mind all those puny engines - if you want a big motor, Fiat's got you covered.
Witness the freshly restored Fiat S76, better known as the Beast of Turin. More than a century ago, it set a speed record of more than 225 kilometres per hour, thanks to its mighty engine. How big are we talking? 28.5 litres.
That's more than 14 Honda Civic's worth of displacement to crank out 300 horsepower (not bad for the time), in a car that's nearly as tall as a man. No wonder they called it the Beast - only one of the two prototypes is still in existence, and has painstakingly been restored over several years. Started on video for the first time, a whole documentary is coming soon. I'm excited to see it, and also slightly terrified.
Falling gas prices predicted
The plummeting price of oil and OPEC's decision to keep production rates constant are being hailed as harbingers of lower prices at the pump, Bloomberg reports. Speaking with several analysts, the business news site indicated that the cost per gallon of fuel might drop lower than two dollars in the United States. Already, prices are hovering around $2.20 in some areas.
Now, the thing to do immediately is sell your fuel efficient car and buy the largest SUV you can afford. Canyonero, your time has come once again. Hyah, Canyonero! Hyah! Wait, that's a terrible idea - but it won't stop many consumers, at least south of the border. Downward swings in pricing seem to spur demand any time fuel drops, but it'll likely climb back up again, so Canadians, keep buying those Honda Civics you love so much.
France declares war on diesel
"In France, we have long favoured the diesel engine," said French Prime Minister Manuel Valls in a speech last month. "This was a mistake, and we will progressively undo that, intelligently and pragmatically."
Zut, as they say, alors! But isn't Europe all about the pint-sized car with a grumbly diesel engine of microscopic displacement? Seems like every European manufacturer provides a diesel option in nearly everything other than outand-out sportscars. BMW even makes a range of Mbranded diesels.
However, while diesel cars are good on C02 emissions and overall efficiency, older models produce particulate matter, and it appears that France would prefer its drivers go mostly electric. Tax-based strategies will be set up to both punish diesel owners as well as entice them into trading in on an electric vehicle.
Well that's going to go well. Something like 80 per cent of French vehicles are diesel-powered, and further taxation is going to enrage them - you might as well try to ban berets and stripey T-shirts. Plans haven't yet taken effect, but when they do, perhaps expect Monsieur Valls to be guillotined within the first week.
Ford Performance readies for Detroit
With the last of this year's auto shows out of the way, manufacturers are looking to make a big noise in 2015. Judging from the rumours leaking out about Ford's plans for Detroit in January, the Blue Oval is going to kick off the year in style.
First, there's the rumoured GT-350R, an even harder-core race version of the just-released Shelby GT-350. Not too much of a surprise, this'll likely ape the same aerodynamic and other enhancements the old Boss 302 Laguna Seca edition had.
Also on the way, and potentially a huge scoop, is a return of the Ford GT. With Nissan poised to join Toyota, Audi, and Porsche in high-level LeMans racing, Ford seems to be readying itself to field an entry in the GTE class, and there'll be a road-going version as well.
Lastly, we'll also likely see the Focus RS debuting in Detroit. With Europe now getting the new Mustang, Ford's going to bring over the hottest hatchback it sells, and the rumours are it's going to be all-wheel drive. Headto-head against the Golf R? That'd make for quite the comparison test. I'd certainly volunteer.
Watch this space for all the best and worst of automotive news, or submit your own auto oddities to mcaleer. [email protected]. Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendan_mcaleer.
