The motoring world hasn’t had so many new vehicles being announced in such a short period of time before. Today, in our news segment, we’ll be taking a first look on some cars and motorcycles that are announced recently that you’ve already probably heard of, but let’s dig deeper. I can safely guarantee that you’d be happy to hear about all of these announced cars, because none of them are EV’s but old-school driving machines! Same goes to the motorcycles, let’s commence our news post.
Bugatti Mistral
Bugatti waves their big W16 engines a goodbye with their final sendoff, the Mistral, which is named after the cold and strong wind that blow in Southern France. Bugatti was the only contemporary brand to use the W16 engines in their production models for the last few years, so the Mistral marks the death of the W16 and thus, the end of an era. That’s why, Bugatti righteously wanted to make their final W16-powered monster really special. Rimac, who owns Bugatti, stated that the next models of the brand will all be hybrids, so this is the final old-school Bugatti experience that only 99 people will enjoy, as they are already sold out. Hell, I just hope they won’t just put it in a room to never use forever, you know what sort of people do that, yeah?
The news of the Mistral is still very fresh right out of the oven, so Bugatti is silent about its performance figures like the 0 to 60 or top speed, though we can take a wild guess based on the past models, so it might accelerate from 0 to 60 in around 2.5 seconds to a top speed of around 430 km/h (267 mph) since the Mistral uses the same engine as the record-breaker Chiron Super Sport, which was capable of doing over 300 mph. The styling of the Mistral is inspired by the classic 1934 Bugatti Type 57 Roadster Grand Raid, but you can also see the design cues from the exclusive La Voiture Noire and Divo. It features a massive twin exhaust under a massive diffuser and an LED taillight made around air vents that push the air in and out. Bugatti is adamant that this new cabrio won’t have any drawbacks from being an open-top, and knowing their accomplishments, we surely count on their word.
The Mistral costs $5 million and its deliveries to customers will start in 2024.
Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster
Aston Martin recently announced an open-top version of their final V12-powered weapon, the new V12 Vantage. Like Mistral, the new V12 Vantage signs the end of an era for Aston Martin, as it’ll be the last V12 by the renowned British brand. This new roadster shares most of its parts with the coupé counterpart; it features the same carbon-fibre bumpers and lightweight bodywork and it’s powered by the same 5.2L twin-turbo V12 lifted from the DBS Superleggera. The intense weight loss program and the edgy bumpers result in a 476 lbs of total downforce, and the 21-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires are stopped by Aston Martin’s carbon ceramic brakes. Aston Martin is also generous enough to offer you the ”less for more” optional extras such as the set of carbon-shelled buckets that cut 7.5 kg from the kerb weight for a little cost.
The twin-turbo V12 of the new Roadster produces 690 hp and 555 lb-ft of torque, which allows the car to accelerate from 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds according to Aston Martin, and its hefty top speed of 322 km/h (200 mph) makes its big powertrain a justice. Though, if you want one, I’m saddened to announce that all of the 249 units made are sold out already, but hopefully we’ll see both of these two V12 beasts in video games soon enough. Like most brands, Aston Martin will continue with developing hybrid powertrains with smaller displacement in the future, and plans on switching to EV’s continue. I just don’t get how many brands can fall for the EV fad, it’s genuinely saddening, but it’s what it is. What do you think about EV’s, though? Let us know in the comments section!
McLaren Solus GT
McLaren just unveiled their new limited edition track car named Solus GT which comes with a futuristic design inspired by 2017 Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo and big numbers of its performance. We shall start with its aero-obsessed bodywork, The Solus GT features a big wing that looks similar to another McLaren track car, the Senna GTR, and its gigantic front splitter helps the rest of the car’s body to achieve remarkable downforce figures of 1200 ton (2,645lb). The drag is also minimized by the enclosed from wheel pods that house 18-inch aluminium wheels, with LMP1-grade tires. The massive roof scoop on the roof further advance the airflow throughout the car. More features include a forward-sliding canopy instead of a conventional door, a single-seat cockpit with F1-style steering wheel and gauges. The huge frameless window allows the driver have a huge 180 degrees of field of view, just what you exactly need in a race track.
The bodywork is made up of custom carbon monocoque excluding the carbon-fiber parts such as the bumpers and splitters. This diet paid off handsomely as the Solus GT only weighs 1000 kg exactly (2205 lbs). However, the piece de resistance of the new Solus GT is its powertrain. McLaren let their hair down on this occassion and put a 5.2-liter V10 in it without any electric assistance, making Solus GT an old-school aerodynamic track monster. This V10 produces a massive sum of 828 hp which, combined with feather-like weight, allows it to go from 0 to 60 in just 2.5 seconds. McLaren states that the purpose of the Solus GT is to be the master of all corners rather than straight-line performance, so the top speed of over 200mph is still impressive for a car that aims to beat the mighty corner master Senna GTR. First deliveries of the car will begin next year, and all of the units are already sold out. The Solus GT is a masterpiece that goes to the past one more time and brings it back in the wildest way possible. Salutes to McLaren.
That’s it from our car news section, we have two news from motorbike world that might interest you.
BMW’s new racing series for their new F900R
BMW UK announced the start of a new racing series with F900R racing bikes, which is an affordable option for motorbike enthusiasts who want to have a racing experience with no more than £11,000. The F900R’s feature F850GS-derived 895cc parallel-twin producing 140 HP. All of the racing bikes are equipped with Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC and Diablo Rain tyres and K-Tech suspension to provide equal performance in every competitor. “We wanted to offer up-and-coming riders the opportunity to race at a national level with greater exposure, in a one-make series where rider talent rather than budget dictates how competitive you are,” BMW UK’s Head of Marketing and PR Scott Grimsdall said. “The F900R provides a perfect platform of power and agility for riders looking to make their mark on a bigger stage, and the new series can become a stepping-stone to Superstock or Superbike racing.”
Those who are interested in joining the competitions can grab their race kits from BMW dealerships or the approved partner Fortis racing, who would be present in the races all the time with spare tires. “A much repeated question is when can we offer an un-faired ‘naked’ bike class on our racing platform? History reminds us of simple, accessible race classes that provide great competition and action. Combined with the prestige of the BMW brand, the F900R Cup deserves to be a success.” BSB Series Director Stuart Higgs added.
Triumph collabs with Bajaj for a new sub-500cc motorbike
Triumph collaborates with the Indian brand Bajaj for a new series of production bikes. The design is mostly based on Triumph’s design language and But Triumph’s Chief Product Officer, Steve Sargent, has confirmed to MCN that: “The Bajaj tie-up is about middleweight capacity bikes. So, we would say middleweights probably start at 250 and go up to maybe 650. So, bikes in that kind of capacity range is what we’re working on.” Which means that the new bikes will be sub-500cc as smaller displacements are much more likely to sell in global markets.
It features a big exhaust and LED lights mated to a glossy black bodywork which is driven by two alloy rims and sporty-looking MRF (110/70 R17 front and 150/60 R17 rear) tyres that make the new model look vintage yet modern simultaneously. Even though it’s known to be a sub-500cc production model, the price isn’t likely to be too cheap, although neither brands unveiled any details about the performance or pricing yet, so we’ll be on a lookout for any news soon. Keep your eyes peeled on Petroleum Motoring website for more news!
