A Motoring Man’s Meanderings
3rd June 2018
Antityita draws closer. My flights to Antiyita Simpo International are booked - I’m going business class with Anikiatian Airlines, much nicer than my two transfer 19 hour slog that was my journey to last year’s show. It’s great to see the folks from MotorNation and Trafikjournalen are coming too (and yes, we are definitely all going for at least one night out while we’re over there). In the mean time, my inbox has been filling up once again with a multitude of emails from a whole load of different companies. Speaking of which…
…I’m still perplexed as to what EVE are advertising with their “DARK”, “BEAST” and “PAST” teasers. Anyone who has more of a clue than I do, please get in contact ASAP.
Ferrain revealed full details of the Mistrain, with all trim levels of the car using the same 3.5l V6 engine, aside from the RaceX version which adds “Twinrbo” to the unit to whack out 415 hp. We’ll have more on the Mistrain later on at the show as I’ve managed to snag a test drive…
As for what is up with their new Coupan Concept and it’s 9 engine choices, that is another matter entirely. Why so many? Honestly? I can’t fathom it.
And then - well, I don’t really know how to follow this. If anyone can explain how any marketing executive thought the slogan “Normal hatchback for normal people” was going to be the key to selling their car, please contact me immediatley. What that slogan is trying to sell, however, is a problem more complex than the Middle East. There’s no denying it’s absolutley hideous and has as much flair as a donkey; the Ferrain Hamine is a mess of poor design, and sits on tiny red wheels with a ride height that just screams body roll.
As for how they explain the engines, well, it seems Ferrain have managed to work out that if you tune a range of engines to have roughly the same amount of power, increasing the displacement will make it more efficient, allowing you to end up with a 2.0l N/A unit that would have been underpowered in the late 80s, let alone now.
Barricada’s new mid-sized sedan has a real love for ovals, which as some critics have noted, gives it a strong 90s vibe. It may well look outdated, but that hood scoop suggests it might be a little more interesting than first impressions would have you believe.
Wentworth are promising to give us “The ol’ Razzle!!! Dazzle!!!”. Gramatical issues aside, I’m not sure about a car whose front indicators make it look like its got food stuck around its lips.
Holts have been teasing a number of vehicles, including the HX-1 mini sports car (whose grille looks overly taut), the BQX-4 (which is nicer, though still a bit stogy around the front for an SUV) and some dark shots of the new H8 followed by actual photos, revealing it to be an angular but quite classy full size sedan. I’m keen to have a closer inspection, as it seems to be one of their most promising cars yet.
The Amuna IRO-3 is being promote with the tagline “Where will the road take you next?”. With any luck, it’ll be anywhere but a production sports car that has black plastic trim around its bonnet vents that scream ‘Halfords’.
An American SUV - it’s the new Shromet Parvus!. Suitably ugly like any good crossover should be, this one has more form than some and I dare say is better looking that its smaller Appalachian cousin.
It’s sadly out classed by the very handsome Bonham Orwell, the company’s new flagship SUV. The front really does have some presence and the rear has stylish detailing that gives it a crisp, modern edge. Will it actually end up being “A crossover you actually want” in my books though? Hmmm…
TSR released two more teasers for upcoming cars, the first one definitlet looking like a mid-engine sports car and the second being some sort of crossover, though the photo is so small that it’s hard to tell. An interesting approach to the art of the teaser, I must say…
Hoorah! Zenshi/Cavallera’s Seiryu is getting an update for 2018. The seems to have been altered slightly, but with any luck, they’ll have kept the outstandingly well setup innards as is.
LMC are back at it with there six-exhaust sports cars, teasing “A classic reimagined”. Hell yeah, sign me the f*ck up.
Montes unveiled the first shots of its new X90 SUV, a very conservative but classy car that seems to be doing everything in its power not to make a fuss. They’ve managed to fit what look like 21" rims on a car and not make it look like the driver is an Atlanta drug dealer. Now that is an achievement!
Ceder’s 6th gen Friala hatchback looks to be a fairly solidly styled car, with their announcements at the show also putting emphasis on their OpenSky engines. Average car drivers of the world unite! Here’s a new compact for you to consider!
I’d love to get a whiff of whatever Birmingham Motors are smoking. The “2000” (Is this 1971?) coupe looks like a coffee machine on the front and a 90s Amercian car at the rear, save for those 6 exhausts and that very odd fuel filler cap positioning, suggesting that none of the designers working on it had any clue what their colleagues were doing. Apparently though, “this is a concept and does not represent the real car in the future”. Eh? So this isn’t what the finished thing is going to look like? Or have Birmingham mastered time travel and are hence able to see the future? I’m lost.
Now this is exciting: motorsport outlet Haapala are revealing some new race-ready chassis’ as well as their new WRC machine at this year’s show. A test drive in that would be of great interest to me…hint hint
While hardly jaw dropping, the edgy feel to the new Kyoki Xtreme give it some promise. It appears to be mid engined sports car, though the company seems adamant that a 360hp car is “the most ridiculous supercar ever been”. No, stop kidding yourselves, that’s bang on the money for rival mid-engine sports cars and not high end supercars. And what is this disclaimer they’re using? “Keep in mind that this is only a concept model.” Well as a concept for “the most ridiculous supercar ever been”, it’s seriously lacking in the ridiculous department.
Damn. Kasai know how to style a supermini. The Calibri may well be named after a font, but it’s a really smart looking machine. Hardly pretty what with that whopping great grille, but there is composure and flair to it with those careful lashings of chrome. One I will certainly be focusing on, especially given that it’s also a hybrid.
That’s all for now. The press days draw nearer, and I need to get ready to deal with the jet lag.
- Gavin Anderson
