Highlights of the 2010 Bangkok International Motor Show
Let’s start with the best. The
Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS was just sensational, in red, and
sitting there with the gull-wing doors up. 6.3 liters of AMG
engine set so far back in the chassis to be almost mid-engined.
In fact the weight distribution is 47/53 front/rear.
The delectable AMG SLS
With an all alloy spaceframe and loads of
carbon-fiber, it only weighs 1,620 kg. With 420 kW and 650
Nm of torque, a seven speed double-clutch transaxle in the
rear, acceleration time zero to 100 km/h is 3.8 seconds, and
it carries on to a top speed of 317 km/h.
The seats suck you in so well you don’t
want to get out – and that was just sitting still on the
display stand! Mind you, as the nice man from Mercedes-Benz
said, “Please watch your head getting in and out.” The
gull-wing doors may look wonderful, but they are not all
that practical. I also defy any woman in a tight skirt to
get in or out decorously.
SLS interior
Mercedes-Benz has not slavishly produced
a ‘retro’ car, but the styling is so reminiscent of the 300
SL of 55 years ago, and yet looks totally up to the minute.
And how much to put it in your driveway? About 25 million
THB. But if that is a little too much for the back pocket,
also on the M-B stand was the SLK 200 Kompressor at a
starting price of 3,999,000 THB. Not as visually exciting as
the AMG SLS, but you can have six of them for the price of
one SLS!
A sole Audi R8 Quattro sat downstairs in
a bright red, with a small chromed badge which simply says
‘Quattro”. This one was the real deal, with the
Lamborghini-sourced 525 hp, 5.2 liter V 10. The torque curve
peaks at a tall 6500 rpm, but more than 350 lb-ft are on tap
all the way from 3500 to 7500 rpm.
Audi R8 Quattro
Audi says that the R8 V10 equipped with
its R-tronic six-speed single-clutch automated manual
transmission (a conventional six-speed manual transmission
is also available) will accelerate to 100 km/h in 3.9
seconds compared to the 4.6 seconds it takes for the
original V8 version.
Another car I put in the highlight
section is the VW Scirocco. This looks so much better than
the Golf GTI with the same 210 bhp engine. The new
authorized importers and distributor of Volkswagen vehicles
in Thailand are Thaiyanyon Co. who displayed the New Beetle
1.6 L, the Golf GT and Golf GTI, Passat CC, the Tiguan and
the new Caravelle BiTDI, but the Scirocco was the pick of
the bunch. I must admit that the title “New Beetle” is now
rather incongruous, having been around for at least a
decade.
VW Scirocco
It seems strange to put the Wuling
vehicles in with the highlights, but they deserve to be
there. When you can buy a brand new Wuling Scorpion for
275,000 THB, or put it on the drip feed for 4,125 THB a
month (about the same as your kid’s pocket money), you don’t
need to wait for a self igniting Tata Nano (three so far, I
was told by one of the Indian journalists) or wait for an
ugly Nissan March, with a Wuling you can drive away today!
What did
we learn from the Malaysian Grand Prix?
Well, firstly we learned that the team
managers of McLaren and Ferrari should be sacked for gross
incompetence. The background to Qualifying had shown that
for the previous two weeks it had rained every afternoon at
Sepang at 4 p.m. It is, after all, the monsoon season, so to
be ‘caught out’ and surprised by the weather showed that
basic homework was not done. To then have your drivers,
which included three world champions (Alonso, Button and
Hamilton) sitting in the garage praying that the monsoon
will end in five minutes shows a supreme, but misguided,
faith in the Almighty, even though it was Easter. Of course
it didn’t stop. In fact it got worse. Multi-million dollar
idiocy! Martin Whitmarsh from McLaren said, “With hindsight
it would therefore have been better if we’d sent our cars
out at the beginning of Q1.” Mr. Whitmarsh, that is the
first rule of running any race team, at any level. In
Qualifying, get a ‘banker’ lap in first and then see what
happens later.
Whilst Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) showed a
great tiger spirit to get up through the field at the start
of the race, the tiger turned into a pussycat at the end
playing follow the leader rather than really attacking. Why?
The air doesn’t get any more ‘dirty’. My personal theory is
that in the latter half of the race, the drivers get into
the easier ‘follow’ mode and hope the guy up front makes a
mistake. This makes for a dull and uninteresting visual
spectacle.
Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) can be forgiven
for what was in reality a lack-luster performance as it
turned out he had a gear selection problem right from the
start. He at least did try to pass Jenson Button (McLaren)
and was through until the engine decided it had had enough
of the racing too. Please advise how you say the Italian “Oh
cacato!” in Spanish.
Alonso’s less illustrious running mate
Felipe Massa put in a solid race and passed Jenson Button
(McLaren) very cleanly, and is now leading the driver’s
championship. He will not stay there long.
Two drivers who did fight were Petrov in
the Lada Renault and Jaime Algywotsit in the Toro Rosso.
Both of them showed that neither was impressed by the
illustrious CV’s being shown to them by the top echelon
drivers. Jaime deserved his points for 9th
place at the end and Petrov was just unlucky that he was
stopped with a gearbox problem.
The ‘all-British’ Lotus team, which
currently holds a Malaysian passport bought for it by
AirAsia’s Tony Fernandez, did not have a good race in front
of their ‘home’ crowd, despite being visited by the
Malaysian PM. Enthusiastic post-race press releases claiming
that both cars made it to the finish were fine examples of
spin doctoring. One car was circulating 20 seconds a lap off
the pace at the end. That’s about Daihatsu Mira times with
three passengers and a month’s supply of rice in the rear.
Gimme a break, Tony.
Must mention the sterling (or is that
Deutschemarks?) drive by Vettel in the Red Bull.
Unfortunately for the Webber fans, Mark’s star has passed
its ascendancy and he is now a very good number 2, ready to
take over when required. Sorry.
Another good race from Kubica (Lada
Renault) and Sutil (Team Poppadum) and first podium for Nico
Rosberg (Mercedes) even though he did not actually fight
with anybody all race long. Michael Schumacher’s nuts fell
off and he was a non-finisher.
Keep praying for rain for China next
weekend!
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked did Karl Benz work for
Gottlieb Daimler, or did Gottlieb Daimler work for Karl
Benz? Their legacy is of course the Daimler-Benz company
which builds the Mercedes cars. A bit of a trick question.
The answer was they never worked for each other. It was many
years later that the two companies amalgamated. Sorry about
that.
So to this week. Which driver has won the
German GP six times?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Natter
Nosh and Noggin
The monthly car enthusiasts meeting will
be at Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR next to the Nova Park
development. The car (and bike) enthusiasts meet on the
second Monday of the month, so this time it is Monday (April
12) at Jameson’s at 7 p.m. This is a totally informal
meeting of like-minded souls to discuss their pet motoring
(and motorcycling) loves and hates. Many interesting debates
come from these evenings. Come along and meet guys who have
a common interest in cars and bikes, and enjoy the Jameson’s
specials, washed down with a few beers.
Some Lowlights of the Bangkok
International Motor Show
It may look as if I am picking on GM each
year, for yet another large display area with a bunch of
cars thrown at it using no imagination whatsoever.
Definitely a ‘run-out’ show for GM, with Aveo and Optra
looking to be given the push any day soon, while the company
anxiously awaits the Chevrolet Cruze, which has been the
savior overseas. Colorado is about to go as well, so GM were
certainly short on new product. So what did they do? Their
PR people managed to come up with the exceptionally
contrived unveiling of a more advanced ‘Bowtie’ logo. You
will be enthralled to know that this new logo (which looks
just like the old one) consists of three elements including
Bow Tie, Advancing Diamond and Open Road, conveying
optimism, inspiration, freshness and unrestrained
creativity. Hmm. Yes! Talk about the emperor’s new clothes!
On GM’s report card: Can do better.
6,000 horses let loose
In the US, the home of oddball automotive
creations, comes this, the ultimate tractor. A 42 cylinder,
8,757 cubic inch behemoth.
6,000 horse tractor
For those who like to read
specifications, take in these numbers:
42 cylinders heptagonal-star/6 cylinder
rows
Diameter 160 mm, stroke 170 mm, capacity:
143.500 ccm (8.757 cui)
7 over head camshafts driven by shafts,
central steer time adjustment
4 valves/cylinder, 168 valves operated by
roller rocker arms one cam moves an exhaust valve and an
inlet valve
Rotational speed: up to a maximum of 2500
rpm
Torque: about 15000 Nm (approx 11063
ft/lb)
Power: about 4500 kW (approx 6034 hp)
Fuel consumption: 205 g/kWh resp or about
800 liters diesel/h
Direct injection 9-hole injector
Decentralized fuel injection pump, per
cylinder p ~ 1.000 bar
Turbo compound: 1 step axial turbine and
1 step radial blower (p ~ 2,1 bar) joined with crankshaft
via 3 parallel hydrodynamic couplings
Compressed air start system is at work
with 150 bar compressed air on 2 cylinder banks (12
cylinders)
Engine dimensions: diameter 1,600 mm,
length ~ 2,000 mm
This thing could tow the Chaophya Park Hotel all the way
down Ratchadapisek Road and across town, though it might
have to stop for refueling before crossing the bridge!
