Motoring: C-X75 has licence to thrill

LET’S get the New Year off with a bang shall we?

Helping to banish those back-to-work blues for car enthusiasts everywhere is the Performance Car Show, which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham between January 14 and 17.

An incredible collection of ultra-exclusive hypercars and newly launched lightweight sportscars are set to grace the exhibition centre’s vast halls and set the pulses racing for petrolheads everywhere.

First up – and hot on the heels of its electrifying debut in the latest James Bond blockbuster, Spectre – is the Jaguar C-X75.

Visitors to the show will be able to get close up and personal with not one, but two of the C-X75s, driven on screen by villain Hinx (played by Dave Bautista). The first is entertaining crowds in the Live Action Arena, while the second car is on static display at the Williams F1 motorhome as part of Williams Advanced Engineering’s presence at this year’s show.

Next up we have the spectacular Aston Martin Vulcan. This track-only supercar – which comes with an eye-watering price tag of £1.8m – is one of the most intense creations ever to emerge from the Gaydon firm’s factory.

Thirdly comes the McLaren P1 GTR, which impossible as it might sound is even more expensive than the Vulcan, coming in at a wallet-busting £2m. In return for that outlay, the driver can command a colossal 1000PS (986bhp) thanks to its cutting edge hybrid V8 powertrain.

The car, guaranteed to make Jensen Button want to trade in his current race car, is the most powerful McLaren ever made.

In a double whammy for McLaren fans, visitors to Sportscarhire’s stand (19332 in Hall 19) will be able to see the brand new McLaren 570S up close. It is expected to be a huge draw for supercar fans at the show and Midlands-based Sportscarhire is the first hire company in the country to have a McLaren 570S on its fleet.

The mid-engined 562bhp 570S is the latest model from McLaren, and is capable of sprinting from 0-60mph in just 3.1sec while 0-100mph is dispatched in 6.3sec.

Packing 493bhp and capable of lapping the Nürburgring in an astonishing 7.27.88 seconds, the BMW M4 GTS is another extreme limited edition track day car making an appearance at the show.

The show will also see the public debut of the Zenos E10 R, a road-legal British track car delivering 500bhp/tonne. Following the introduction of the E10 and E10 S, the E10 R represents the brand’s quickest, most exhilarating and most focused car to date.

Also getting its global launch at the show is the new British mid-engined sports car, the Avatar. At 700kg the Avatar is lighter than a Lotus Elise, and the base model boasts 250hp from its 2.0-litre Ford Ecoboost engine, giving it a power-to-weight ratio of 333bhp per tonne.

There’s also an uprated 350bhp option powered by the impressive 2.3-litre version of the Ecoboost engine that will feature in the new Focus RS.
 
BAC’s 2016 Model Year Mono, featuring an all-new 2.5-litre Mountune four-cylinder engine producing 305bhp will also be on display. The 2016 Mono also includes a drive-by-wire throttle as well as a bespoke driver fitment culminating in a custom steering wheel and seat tailor-made for the owner.

Packing a powerful punch is the Abarth 695 Biposto. The 695 carries just about every available Abarth tuning feature – including a dog-ring gearbox.

The covers will also be coming off the all-new Ginetta G57. The prototype racing car is receiving its full public debut.  Visitors to Ginetta’s stand will be among the first people outside of the manufacturer’s headquarters to see the all-new G57 in all its glory.

Also appearing is the Metro 6R4 – one of more than 60 rare and collectable road and racing cars going under the hammer with auction house Coys. This particular model is one of the lowest mileage examples of its kind, having covered just 3,100 miles since it was built in 1985. Its pristine condition is down to the fact that, unusually, it has never been raced or rallied, as it was the original Rothmans show car.

The Radical RSX Spyder, powered by a 3.5-litre Ford V6 EcoBoost Turbo engine and fitted with carbon bodywork, is also expected to be a big attraction when it is officially revealed on the morning of Thursday January 14.

David Brown eyes Middle East for Speedback success

COVENTRY’S David Brown Automotive would also be one of the show-stealers, should it be attending – which it isn’t, sadly.

The company, based at the University of Warwick Science Park’s Business Innovation Centre in Binley, has its eyes on a bigger prize and has opted instead to launch its jaw-dropping Speedback GT to the Middle Eastern market at the Dubai International Motorshow.

The vehicle, which was designed in Binley and is built in Warwickshire, retails at a cool £594,000 including VAT.

Even at that figure the company said it had received a lot of positive interest from Middle Eastern buyers.

Michelle Gay, David Brown Automotive’s Brand & Business Development Manager, said: “We had great feedback in Dubai. It was a five-day show with over 105,000 visitors and they loved Speedback GT.”

Bentley coach-builder rolls out stone veneers

COMPLETING this week’s luxurious feel, Bentley Motors’ bespoke coach-building division, Mulliner, is introducing the next level of modern British automotive luxury – stone veneers.

This innovative interior finish utilises state-of-the-art stone veneer technology to make a luxurious, contemporary feature of a natural product formed over 200 million years.

The slate and quartzite stone is sustainably sourced from hand-selected quarries in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, India. The sections of stone are split from larger pieces and cured using glass fibre and a bespoke resin. Finally, they are shaped and hand finished by Bentley’s world-renowned Mulliner coachbuilding team at the company’s headquarters in Crewe.

The stone surfaces of the veneers are just 0.1 mm thick, making them both extremely light and translucent, allowing the elegant grain and pattern in the stone to be visible to the interior occupants.

Geoff Dowding, Director of Mulliner Operations, said: “Bentley is the established expert in the handcrafting of wood and leather, and now we are exploring new, fine and rare materials to offer even more bespoke tailoring and choice to our customers. Stone veneers are another first for Bentley – but only the beginning of what we plan to do with this luxurious and unique material.”

Mulliner is now offering Stone Veneers in a natural finish, in four different colours on Continental and Flying Spur: Galaxy, Autumn White, Terra Red and Copper. As with any bespoke feature, customers that are interested in Stone Veneers can get in touch with Mulliner’s bespoke team who will work with each individual to discuss their unique requirements.