Archive for the ‘Icon’ Category

Staying Ahead

For those of you who didn’t know, 2010′s Formula One season will see the “return” of Lotus to the grid after a 15-year absence. In all likelihood, the Lotus of 2010 will be quite different from the feisty team that started life as a car maker in t1~ late 1950s, an English outfit led by its legendary founder, Colin Chapman. In all, Lotus chalked up seven championships, 79 race wins and 107 pole positions.

In true Chapman tradition, Lotus formula race cars always tended to be unconventional. The Type 25 entered for the 1962 race was the first F1 car to have a stressed monocoque chassis. The Type 49 was the first racer whose engine also served as a structural component to the chassis. +Continue Reading

Super Fuel Sipper

Honda’s first production petrol­-hybrid, the Insight, made its appearance here 10 years ago to motoring journalists and a small bunch of earth-loving folk. It was a mini celebrity of sorts. After all, few have seen an electric-petrol car in the metal, save for those who were at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show and saw the Honda J-VX concept.

This subcompact hatchback, which measures less than 4m long and weighs a scant 838kg, was the first Honda to feature its proprietary Integrated Motor Assist system. This is basically a clever electrical motor that adds 13bhp to the 70bhp produced by the 1-litre, 3-cylinder engine, and charges a series of commercial grade D-size nickel-metal hydride batteries behind the seats. +Continue Reading