LOTUS DESIGN CALENDAR 2009

The latest Lotus Design limited edition calendar is now available and hints at a design language of the future. The calendar has 15 pages of development sketches, scale model photographs and digital visualisations from the Design teams’ most recent projects and has exclusive images and renderings of the brand new Lotus Evora.
The high quality, large format calendar (42cm x 42cm) is designed so that the individual pages can be removed and framed and a limited print run ensures that this 2009 calendar is a rare and collectable item.

LAMBORGHINI MIURA BIBLE NOW IN STOCK!

Very pleased to announce the much anticipated Veloce book the Lamborghini Miura Bible by Joe Sackey is now in print.
The ONLY book on the Lamborghini Miura to be published in the past twenty six years – and enthusiasts agree it is long overdue. Written by a world-renowned authority on the subject, featuring, among other things, a never-before-published factory chassis production register, technical illustrations, studio-supplied images and exclusive interviews with the designers of the car: this is essential reading for any Lamborghini fan.

and what better way to celebrate the release of this book than to enjoy the opening sequence from the cult movie The Italian Job from 1969 with Matt Munro singing "On Days Like These" as a Lamborghini Miura glides through the Alps. Unfortunately, it can't be said that 'No Miuras were harmed during the making of the film' and the squeamish may want to look away at the end of this clip!
The Miura used in the Italian Job may have been ill-fated but the new Veloce book provides a must have companion at a much more affordable price than the real thing!

click here for more info about the book

DANIEL PEIRCE BLOG

Dan Peirce - Author of the Veloce book The Fine Art of the Motorcycle Engine – The Story of the Up-N-Smoke Engine Project has his own blog. Be sure to check it out at www.cycleworldnetwork.com

By tradition, the motorcycle is a naked beast, differing from other vehicles by the fact that its mechanical structure is also part of its aesthetic appearance. In The Fine Art of the Motorcycle Engine, photographer Daniel Peirce examines the graphic nature of historic engines with stunning and dramatic photography. Since the beginning of the motorbike, engine designers knew they had to design power plants that performed well and looked good. Peirce presents 64 stunning pictures from his popular UP-N-SMOKE Engine Project. In addition to his engine photography, the book also includes the story of the project and the years it took to take it from an inspired idea to a tangible reality.
click here for more info about the book, or why not download a screensaver with 15 images taken from the book.

TURBOCHARGED COMMENTS

Here's what the people who were there at the time of the story from Alpine and Renault are saying about the new Veloce book, Alpine & Renault – The Development of the Revolutionary Turbo F1 Car: 1968 to 1979 by Roy P. Smith.

Very Very Good
AAA....Alpine ex engineers organisation.

Excellent
Gerard Larrousse ex boss of Renault Sport and Renault F1 team

Very very good, high quality
Michel Tetu Chassis designer and Aerodynamics expert

Good quality book,bravo
Bernard Asset Top French F1 photographer (# 1 in France)

Superb
Thierry Villain engineer at the time

Brilliant
Renault UK

Perfection
Francois Guiter, Sponsor of Renault F1, boss of Elf Publicity 1967- 1989

well done, congratulations
Pierre Dupasquier, boss of Michelin Racing, tyre supplier 1967-1983

Superb
Jacques Chienisse, Alpine team boss, 1966-1976

Fantastic, accurate, great
Bernard Dudot Designer and creator of the Turbo Charged F1 Engine

Superb
Mauro Bianchi Ex driver of the ill fated A350 Grand Prix car 1968

Looks great
Jean Louis Moncet Writer of the last work in French on the Turbo cars

Very Good
Jean Pierre Boudy Engineer in charge of development of the Engines

Brilliant
Francois Xavier Delfosse Team testing manager, and race team manager '67 to 70

Click here for more info about the book

NEXT GENERATION PORSCHE BOXSTER UNVEILED AT LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW

Through 60 years of automotive evolution so much has changed. Yet every Porsche Boxster is built on these first principles. Sports performance, lightweight construction, agility and pure driving pleasure. The technology Porsche use may have developed, but the company’s ability to produce a two-seat, mid-engined sports car unlike any other on the road remains.

This week, Porsche is presenting the second generation of the mid-engined Boxster roadster at the Los Angeles Motor Show (November 21 – 30). The highlight of the new generation is the new flat-six ‘boxer’ engines, developed with new technical features from the ground up, providing not only more power, but also significantly greater fuel efficiency.

Porsche Boxster by Brian Long.
The full story of Porsche's affordable roadster from prototype stage to the present day. Complete with factory-sourced photographs and details of all home and export market models.
click here for more info.

VOLKSWAGEN AWARDED CAR AD OF THE YEAR BY AUTOCAR

The recent ‘Polo Confidence’ advertising campaign for the Volkswagen Polo – also known as ‘Singing Dog’ – has been honoured at this year’s Autocar Awards, being named Car Ad of the Year 2008. This award is voted for by the readers of Autocar on-line.

The ‘Polo Confidence’ advert features a Jack Russell dog which is shown to be nervous and timid in everyday situations, yet, while in the Polo, ‘sings’ happily and confidently along to the soundtrack of ‘I’m a man’ by the Spencer Davis Group. The advertisement has so far registered over one million hits on the internet video site YouTube, while 36 fan groups were set up on social networking site FaceBook. The soundtrack, which was not re-released, also peaked at number six on the UK Rock Top 100 on iTunes.
The controversial video is memorable and funny thanks to its star of the show 'the singing dog'. Veloce also has its own dog, Immie, who may not be a celebrity herself, but with that neckerchief on I'm sure you'll agree she looks the part!

SMART2VENICE ITALIAN JOB

A smart owner has masterminded his own fundraising mission to Italy making over £5,500 for charity.
Nathan Kift, who was accompanied by his step-brother Craig Jackson, drove his 2003 smart fortwo pulse coupé over 2,100 miles to Venice and back in aid of Gloucester Royal Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU).
The duo were inspired to take on the seven-day driving marathon after Nathan’s son spent time in the care of the SCBU.
The smart fortwo was said to have performed superbly, especially when it came to fuel economy and crossing the Alps.

Find out more about smart cars in the Veloce book the little book of smart by Paul Jackson.
A fascinating tale, told succinctly and in an entertaining style, and complemented by full colour photography throughout. Click here for more info.

GERMAN REVIEW OF MONTREAL BOOK

A 5 steering-wheel rating in the November issue of Oldtimer Markt which says that all Montreal drivers should erect an equestrian statue to Bruce in front of their garages in honour of this excellent book, and at least baptise their sons with the middle name "Bruce"!

PORSCHE DRIVING EXPERIENCE CENTRE SILVERSTONE

Last week Porsche officially opened its Driving Experience Centre adjacent to the famous Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in Northamptonshire. The world-class centre allows every customer of a new Porsche in the UK and Ireland to receive expert tuition in their driving skills as well as the performance capabilities of their car as part of their purchase experience.
The Porsche Driving Experience Centre aims to build on these principles of driving safety and driving enjoyment by providing a formal, yet fun, environment for both Porsche owners and enthusiasts to have the opportunity to understand the engine performance and chassis dynamics attributes which differentiate a Porsche from its rivals.
The centre offers a variety of track configurations and surface conditions on which the potential of all Porsche road cars can be studied, together with, uniquely, the human performance level of drivers themselves. The Porsche Driving Experience Centre houses reception and display areas, a restaurant, cinema and the innovative Human Performance department. This leading edge sports laboratory is run by proven specialists and is accessible to both Porsche customers and racing drivers. Ordinarily, this type of facility would only be accessible to elite athletes. One-to-one instruction spans fitness assessments and guidance in techniques aimed at improving stamina, co-ordination and reaction times for drivers of all levels.
The building features distinctive Porsche architectural cues on the outside but, like the Porsche road cars themselves, employs the latest technology to significantly lower its energy demands, and hence its environmental impact. Visitors can see the entire Porsche facility from a roof top platform offering panoramic views.

New Porsche books from Veloce!

Porsche Racing Cars – 1953 to 1975 by Brian Long.
Today, one cannot escape the fact that the words 'Porsche' and 'racing' go hand in hand. This book follows Porsche's year-by-year progress in top flight racing, and looks in detail at the pure competition cars that brought the German marque such immense success on the tracks and worldwide acclaim. This particular volume starts with story of the giant killing 550 Spyders of 1953 vintage, and takes the reader through a series of racing models, including the glorious 917, up to 1975 via contemporary photography and words from an acknowledged Porsche authority. A second volume covers the years 1976 onwards. The book includes detailed year by year coverage of Porsche's top class racing exploits in words and 300 excellent photos.

Porsche 964, 993 & 996 Data Plate Code Breaker by Adrian Streather.
This book provides a comprehensive list of all the build specification codes used by Porsche AG for the Porsche 911 series, from model years 1989 to 2005. VIN, model type, country, exterior paint colour, interior colour combinations, material codes, and standard, special and Porsche Exclusiv options for the 964, 993 and 996 series are provided in detail. Option codes for other Porsche models built between 1978 and 2005 are also included, if known to the author.

BABY BENEDICT

Congratulations to Hetty with new baby boy Benedict - pictured here at 11 days old. Hetty is one of Veloce's hardworking accountants - we wish her well on her maternity leave and look forward to her return.

NISSAN GT-R - CAR OF THE YEAR AT JAPAN‘S MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AWARD

The NISSAN GT-R supercar has won the Most Advanced Technology Award, one of the highly coveted awards of Car of the Year Japan 2008-2009. The final selection was made from November 10-11 at Oiso, Kanagawa prefecture. The jury described the NISSAN GT-R “as a supercar that delivers powerful performance and clean emission, featuring an advanced new body structure combining carbon, aluminium and steel, in addition to its impressive dual-clutch transmission and the world’s first independent transaxle 4WD”.

NISSAN GT-R has been a global success since its launch on December 6, 2007 in Japan and July 7, 2008 in North America. The NISSAN GT-R will be arriving in Europe next spring.

Also, next year will see the release of the exciting forthcoming book from Veloce Nissan GT-R Supercar: Born to race by Dennis Gorodji.
This book contains rare pictures, schemas and graphs detailing the many unique qualities of the Nissan GT-R, a car that revolutionised modern sports car dynamics. Analysis of the motorsport history of the GT-R provides an original view of development of the models, and comparison of them with other sports and racing cars. It features an original and critical analysis of the new GT-R R35, and the R35 Spec V, which will be launched in the beginning of 2009, is also represented in the book. With over 400 colour photographs, this is essential reading for sports car fans.
click here to find out more about this forthcoming book

FORZA MINARDI! BY SIMON VIGAR - INTERVIEW ON BBC 5 LIVE

If you want to know what it's like to negotiate with Enzo Ferrari, chase Ron Dennis with a hammer, score points when everyone knows you shouldn't, and bring a Grand Prix promoter to his knees, read this book! In an increasingly grey, corporate paddock, where people were scared of their own shadows, Minardi harked back to a better time. Minardi, Stoddart, Ecclestone, Walker, Martini, Nannini, Campos, Fittipaldi, Mansell, Badoer, Fisichella, Gene, Alonso, Webber, Yoong, Wilson, Bruni and Albers are among the contributors, and that's before we get to fascinating insights from engineers and mechanics. This is the one and only inside account, with exclusive, comprehensive interviews with bosses, drivers and engineers. 145 unique photos complete this revelationary tale.
click here for more info about the book

GREY SKIES AHEAD

Drivers of grey cars are more likely to need roadside assistance than any other coloured vehicle, according to research by digital motoring magazine, imotormag.co.uk



With more blue cars on Britain’s roads than any other colour - over 7 million registered - they are nearly 15% less likely to call out a breakdown vehicle than their grey-hued counterparts. The research showed that green was the second most likely coloured vehicle to call for roadside assistance and Red was the least most likely.

Mat Watson, editor of imotormag.co.uk, said: “The results are genuinely surprising. One theory is that many hire and company car fleets choose grey vehicles as the colour looks newer for longer, with dents and scratches less noticeable. These vehicles are often exposed to very high mileage, so perhaps their chance of needing assistance is greater. Then again, grey cars could just be cursed!”

LA CARRERA PANAMERICANA BOOK REVIEW

New review of La Carrera Panamericana – “The World’s Greatest Road Race!” by By John Tipler.


Check lacarrera2007.blogspot.com for an ongoing look at the people, places and machines of the worlds most demanding open road race. The blog also features some fantastic video documentary which is well worth a look.

Click here for more info about this brand new book.

PROJECT SPLITWHEEL

World First - New Caterham To Be Created Online by the public.

A chance to be part of automotive history, people can join ‘Project Splitwheel' at www.splitwheel.com. From here, members from all over the globe are able to submit ideas and concepts for every single aspect of the new Caterham and discuss and debate them with other users, before ultimately voting on what makes it to the final vehicle.

The Splitwheel.com website will use a combination of articles, blogs, forum discussion, a Wikipedia-style user-edited knowledge base and a comprehensive voting system to turn user input into a workable vehicle design. Along with acting as a liaison with Caterham's engineering team, Project Splitwheel will also provide guidance and input from automotive industry experts as required.

Starting from a blank sheet of paper and with very few restrictions in place, the result should be an exciting and truly unique performance vehicle.

On the subject of designing cars, there is an exciting book on the way from Veloce. Next year will see the release of How to illustrate and design Concept Cars by Adrian Dewey.
The automobile seems to be as popular now as it ever was. Posters of cars still adorn many a child’s bedroom wall, and school exercise books are full of doodles of cars. This book takes those notebook sketches and teaches you how to develop them into the car designs you see in magazines.

Using simple to follow step-by-step drawings it guides you from pencil sketch to marker rendering, from doodle to highly visual computer generated artwork.

Adrian Dewey has worked on designs as diverse as small sports cars to double decker buses, modified motors to concept Formula 1 cars, using various techniques and styles. In this book, he uses his knowledge of the different styles to guide the reader in creating great artwork and designs of their own. The book shows in detail how to use different materials and how to get the most out of each one, whether it be a great pencil sketch or a photo realistic vector illustration.
Why not join the new group on Facebook to discuss car design, concepts and techniques!

click here for more info about the book. click here to visit the facebook group. click here to visit Adrian's auto-concept site.

WE'VE SEEN PANDAS, NOW WE HAVE.....BAMGOO

An electric car with a body made out of bamboo.


Researchers at Kyoto University have made this car from bamboo because of its light weight and toughness. Named BamGoo, the electric car only weighs 60Kg, which is lighter than most drivers and the battery will run for 30 miles.

WELL DONE LEWIS!

Fantastic news that a British driver has won the Formula 1 World Championship. Its been a long wait since Damon Hill last took the title in 1996!
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