"Spectacular" Aston Martin up against McClaren and Ginetta at car show
Helping to banish those back-to-work blues for car enthusiasts everywhere, an incredible collection of ultra-exclusive hypercars and newly launched lightweight sportscars are set to get pulses racing for petrolheads everywhere, at the Performance Car Show between January 14 and 17.
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).
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 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.
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.
