Frankly Frankl - April Update Land Rover Velar - Frankly Frankl-life, luck, love and automobiles

 

I have known the Jaguar and Land over folks for a very very long time. In 1968 I was part of the CAR magazine team which founder Sir Williams Lyons with a Car of the Year award for the Jaguar XJ6.

In those days Car of the Year meant a great deal, these days every single publication or internet has its own award rendering it meaningless.

The company has been through some really bad times under the British Leyland ownership. Mercifully they have been rescued by Indian automotive company TATA and I am delighted to say that they are turning the corner. Range Rover n particular have become a status symbol and the company is very cleverly capitalizing on it. They’ve decided to forget about huge numbers concentrating on profits instead.

I have had a chance to test the Defender-running under the Land Rover label and the Velar plus the 125 thou wonder the first PHEV offered by the company California.
The local dealer Tom Price lives 700 yards from me. I know because I cycle past his place every day. He has a huge operation. To give you an idea his family dealership sells among other things Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, Ford, Lincoln,McLaren, Aston Martin, Ford, Mercedes and Toyota. Oops, I forgot Cadillac and Lotus. So with all these cars at his  disposal what does he drive? A Range Rover. Says it all. The only time I’ve seen him drive anything else was an Aston Martin DBX707 which was astonishing and which he was kind enough to test for a week.

I saw him last week as he was emerging from his RR and mentioned that I have been to the dealership to consult some expert. Wonderful product said Tom, if you talk to the factory tell us to send us more, we can sell everything we can get. Having driven not just the Defender but the Velar and the PHEV as well I can fully understand. The build quality is now quite exceptional. I did not hear a single rattle in any of the three. The one which faces the toughest test was the Velar. Slightly smaller than the RR I had doubts abut getting three sets of skis, boots and the usual paraphernalia up to Northstar. All this plus three passengers. The 400 hundred horsepower V6 coped admirably. It was not all fun and games as the blizzard was closing in and we were anxious to get away. Not a minute too soon. It was already snowing on Interstate 80 and the road was becoming treacherous. With my demon  driver  daughter Annabelle-formerly of Motor Trend fame- we got down the hill partly by luck and partly by judgement. It was a miracle

That we’ve managed to avoid an imbecile rocketing past us only to do a 360 yards from us. To give you an idea how bad conditions were we followed a huge truck for about 25 miles, it was the only safe way to travel.

The Velar was supremely comfortable all the home and was equally  at home in Stanford where we were visiting a professor. He kicked some tires and was most impressed. Monterey was a bit off a challenge with there howling winds but that too was well within the Velar’s capabilities. One disappointment-the fuel consumption. I am known for being careful, dare I say parsimonious when it comes to fuel economy bt much as I tried 22 mpg seemed to it.The price from 62 thousand up is pretty reasonable, clearly the biget engine is the one to go for. It is amusing that my good friends at Car and Driver are still showing their auto British bias by listing it 16th among its competitors, laughable. Of course if you have 22 year old testers with 10 years experience that is what you get.

MInd you, even C&D had problems picking faults with the 125 thou PHEV RR. It is so good, so beautiful and so desirable that much as they hated to admit it-this particular RR is a class act. It is also a case machine because following Ferrari’s example they now have an atelier. For the uninitiated it is luxurious room with all mod cons offering consultants on how to spend thousands more. The most lucrative and popular extra is off course bullet proofing which costs a fortune but rich folks love it.

Most buyers will settle for something in the 150 thou region but there are version that go past the 200 thou mark.

If I were in the market the Velar would be my choice. Prices are holding up well for the 3 liter engine version  which is the sensible choice.

It is really refreshing to write good things about RR, for many years all I’v ever heard were complaints about the electrics and rust. Mercifully those are in the past.

 

Frankly Frankl - April Update Mazda CX 50 - Frankly Frankl-life, luck, love and automobiles

 

The 2024 Mazda CX-50 has been a most pleasant surprise. Little thing that many testers don’t notice. Let me give you an example. On the screen in front  of you there are two lines pointing ahead. If you move over the white lines on the road one of them gets darker to give you a civilized warning that you should move back into your lane. No lurching on the steering wheel which in some cars can be pretty scary, no. Just a grown- up warning for grown-up people. Ditto the warning bells which on several rival brands verge on the hysterical. Clearly the in house and vastly overpaid lawyers
Are hacking a field data the expense of the customers.

It is also remarkable value for money. Having been testing for something like 45 years I could tell that the CX-50 is a triumph of the engineers over the money men. Many years ago when my partner and I ran CAR magazine in Britain

We often offended manufacturers if we thought that some of cars were rubbish. Totally predictably they canceled their advertising. That as we all know kills all germs, but like Domestos. What happened next? We got calls from the engineers who said thank you CAR, we’ve been telling the bosses that using an inferior suspension part or oil seal might save a few pounds in the short run but will come back like boomerang in warranty claims.

Some companies listened, we gave them deservedly better reviews and shock horror they started advertising again.

The CX-50 is fun. Clearly more fun with the 256 hp turbocharged four than with the basic 187 but than you would expect that. Certainly ,if you have a family and enjoy skiing you do not want to follow the trucks in the inside lane all way to Northstar then pay a bit more and get the bigger engine.
The 50 looks good and in the finest Miata tradition handles well. At the end of the day the trick is simple-let the designers and engineers get on with their jobs and you will have a winner on your hand. I would be happy to recommend the CX-50 to any of my friends.

There are 8 versions to choose from and I would definitely skip the ones with the smaller engines. Once you are with the 256 the choice really is up to you. Should you go to extremes and order the Turbo Premium Plus you are looking at 44 thousand dollars. Go to the dealer,kick some tires. Very often they have something on the lot they would like to move so if you are in luck the version they are offering could be be more than you’ve budgeted for but if they are anxious to shift it, go for it.
On the road you should get 28.5 miles per gallon provided you don’t drive it with too much enthusiasm.

The infotainment is less complicated than several others and the sound quality is good.
If I needed a car would be the CX-50 without hesitation. It is that good .

Frankly Frankl - April Update - Frankly Frankl-life, luck, love and automobiles

My good friend Randy Steyer just sent me a note concerning the latest “record” from Coast to Coast. Some total dickhead thought it would be clever to take advantage of the corona virus epidemic and dash to the Portofino Inn in under 27 hours. Big wow. Brock and Dan would have done it in 25 but being decent human beings would never have contemplated doing it whilst thousand were dying along the route. Bravo imbeciles! 

 

Another old friend and veteran cross country driver Alex Roy  agrees. This is no time for idiotic shenanigans. Had they  been delivering  badly needed masks to LA or to Amarillo it still would have been foolhardy but the way they did it was reprehensible and not in the true spirit of Cannonball.

 

 

 

Did  John Hitchins and I race  in a Ford Transit imported from Britain for the occaison  back  in 1979-the last one organized by Brock and his lovely wife-Lady Pam? Of course. Especially when we were driving past Three Mile Island. Yes, the one which was having a partial meltdown at the time.

 

 

There was a certain romance to driving with just a CB radio to help us and even the truly quick cars didn’t have all the fancy stuff that you can buy in the local Staples store today.

 

 

 

These guys were lucky, in fact all Cannonballers have been lucky to escape a monumental crash to date. Clearly I can’t stop anyone from having a go but I have a horrible feeling that as the times come down the chances of a big crash are rapidly increasing. A lot of newspapers  would like nothing more, in fact they’ve been waiting ever since 1971 for the headline : Cannonball racers in fiery crash. Guys-give it a rest. Let’s not besmirch  Brock’s memory. Thank you.

 

 

Moving on to the sad state of F1 racing or Indy racing or the Kentucky Derby or Wimbledon for matter nobody could have predicted a pandemic .

 

 

 

So I am afraid those of us who-hopefully-will come out of it unscathed it is a matter of  waiting.

The organizers of Wimbledon have been particularly lucky as they didn't have any sponsorship

deals apart from Rolex.

 

Liberty Media are not so lucky as they-understandably-signed deals for the whole season.

Not just with the big sponsors such as Heineken but with the TV stations as well. My spies tell me that moves are afoot to start the season behind closed doors in July/August. That would make sense,  checking temperatures of say 500 people is easy, 100 thousand would be a very different proposition. And also. For the time being can you see fans jostling for Hamilton’s autograph? Neither can I.

 

My prediction is that the first race will either be Silverstone where it all started back in 1950 in the presence of King George VI  or maybe Hungary in early August. There is talk of having one or two (!) races in Austria which Red Bull-who own the circuit certainly would not be too upset about. As most FORZA readers live in the United States their chances of seeing the US GP in Austin are pretty good as the race is not until 25th October. Handshakes and hugs? I doubt it.

Finally a few words about my Ferrari California which still exists but in someone else’s hands.

Five years ago it was a great idea and I enjoyed  the car nearly as much as my 328GTS back in the UK which I had for 17 years. Never missed a beat, not even on the track at Fiorano. The California didn’t miss a beat either, cruising up to Lake Tahoe will always be memorable. The annoying bits were things like windows getting stuck hallfway up. Or the peeling leather under the windscreen. “Oh, it must be from the Sun!” No. It was a bad design. The guy who fixed it goes to Hawaii twice a year  on holiday as these happen with monotonous regularity. As for the dealership-Ferrari of SF what can I say? Like all marriages it started well, the divorce which followed five years later was acrimonious.

 

 

 

Luckily my son Nicholas has a 355 in LA which runs like a dream so I can have my Ferrari fix there or at the factory. In fact I was due to drive the F8 Tributo after the Monaco Grand Prix.

 

Just like the Olympics and Wimbledon..there is always next year!

Frankly Frankl - October Update - Frankly Frankl-life, luck, love and automobiles

Apologies for the delay but things have been somewhat hectic of late. FORZA is doing well while the podcast is going crazy.  We now have listeners in 29 countries and the number is growing with every race, forza-mag.com.  All the ones we have done since Australia are available. I thing you'll enjoy them. Definitely no pulling any punches.

As for the racing, well we all know that the team should have won several more races but just think back a year or two when they were miles behind Mercedes. Two Ferraris on the front row?! Wonderful to see.

This brings to the subject of broody, moody Lewis Hamilton.  He may be on his way to his 6th title but he has been sounding off lately not unlike the 16 year old Swedish environmentalist girl Greta Thunberg. Having just returned from Sweden I can confirm that while nobody took away her youth, she did make some valuable points.  Seems to me that Lewis' message is not dissimilar and because of his fame his thoughts carry a great deal of weight. Apparently Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has no objection to Lewis having a go in the new E series, one thing is for sure-they would love to have him permanently.

It would certainly be F1's loss, as it is the sport is seriously short of exciting drivers. The young ones such as Russell and the others are terrified to put a foot wrong or say the wrong thing. The grown-ups such as Kimi (happy 40th you much loved Finn!) or Vettel are clearly thinking of retirement so right now Lewis and golden boy Leclerc are the only talking points. Charles-known as Charlot to his adoring fans in the Principality can't have enough of him and every time he wins he can pop onto his scooter to meet Number one fan-Prince Albert. I don't know about you but when he won at Spa and again in Monza I loved listening to the Italian and Monegasque anthems-such a nice change to what we've been hearing ad infinitum with Mercedes. May we have many more.

Now something different: a book review.  A new and dynamic publishing company by the name of EVRO just cam out with legendary scribe Pete Lyons' latest offering:  1970-75 formula One Greats-Lotus 72.  In a word-brilliant. I was very active in Formula One in those days going from race to race with colleagues such as Pete. His heroes were very much my heroes. Jochen Rindt introduced me to is manager, a certain Bernie Ecclestone. Ronnie Peterson and his lovely wife Barbo used to stay with us in London. There is a picture in my book of Emerson's wife Maria Helena carrying my little son Nicholas around in her arms.

Colin Chapman, Jackie Stewart who wrote the forward to my book. Cevert, that wonderful Frenchman we lost 40 years ago at the Glen, Geoffrey Kent who was boss of John Player cigarettes and the only rival to Marlboro, ace snapper and best man at my wedding- David Phipps, I lived and loved every page.

For me page 231 was where I shed a tear, a full colour page of Ronnie and Barbro together, clearly much in love looking at the winner's trophy at the Glen on 7th October 1973.

I urge you to buy this book, great drivers, great photos, excellent journalism.

On a personal note my much loved 2012 Ferrari California is for sale. According to FORZA's editor it is as good as new with 22 thousand miles on the clock. All service records from Ferrari of San Francisco. eMail me and I will tell you all about it. Warranty until March 2020. $99 Thousand dollars. andrewfrankl@me.com. The ferrari comes with a signed and dedicated copy of my book as well as a life time free subscription to FORZA!

 

Frankly Frankl - Europe Monaco - Maranello Update - Frankly Frankl-life, luck, love and automobiles

A second place in Monaco for Vettel, hero worship for Leclerc in Monaco, can’t say life has not been hectic. In fact Charlot-as the locals called him- has been very good for business, all No 16 T shirts have been sold-there were lots of happy sellers in Monaco over the weekend .

A weekend which had everything from gloom over my old friend Niki to silliness with Mrs Kardashian parading up and down the pitlane. If you had chance to listen to FORZA’s podcast you will have heard two points of view -I thought 

It was very exciting, Editor Jenkins saw it otherwise.The way a more mature Verstappen was chasing 5 times champion Hamilton all there way was fascinating. No doubt in my mind that he and Leclerc will be racing each other for many years to come. 

The annual reception at the Palace was great as always with Prince Albert in tremendous form. The traditional MYYacht group party was very well attended with several astronauts present. Those people are fascinating and their new project about space travel are very exciting indeed.

But there was more excitement ahead. First the journey under impossible conditions from Monaco to Opera Due-a very special small hotel near the factory. My daughter Annabelle did as superb job in the pouring rain. All credit to her  and to the excellent-truly excellent- Maserati Levante. This Italian SUV is a worthy rival to Lambo’s URUS and to Porsche’s Cayenne. Never missed a beat. 

There was more excitement to follow as Ferrari have invited me not just to drive a Pista but also to the World Premiere of their new SF90 Stradale. This is their very first 1000 (!!!) horsepower car and just to sit in it was a very special experience. As we all had to hand in all cameras bearing in mind the embargo you will have to trust me. The steering wheel itself is a work of art. Loved the manettino  is now featuring colors with blue at one end and red at the other.

Having just arrived from Monaco and having spent some time with the team it was mesmerizing to see Set Vettel and Charles Leclerc blazing round Fiorano in this truly stunning looking car smiling, laughing  and cracking jokes.

Easy when you are F1 drivers.. The 90 degree  V8 turbo-voted engine of the year for the last 4 years- delivers 780 cv the rest  coming from three electric motors straight from Formula One.

The SF Stradale is the first Ferrari to be equipped with 4WD, a step necessary  to allow the driver to put all the power on the road. If he has the courage..0-100 km/h in 2.5 seconds is not fore the faint hearted and reaching 200 km/h in 6.7 seconds is truly mind-blowing.

Reading between the lines I think that in a way the Stradale in a test bed for the first ever Ferrari SUV which is very much in the works. Just think about it-AWD, hybrid, lots of horsepower-hello first ever SUV. Quite soon I think.

I have asked on FORZA’s behalf about delivery in the United States, apparently next year.

There is of course tons more but I wanted to share it with you as soon as possible and without breaking the embargo.

Enjoy. Andrew Frankl, Grand Prix Editor- FORZA. Fiorano, Italy.

Frankly Frankl - The New Ferrari SF90 Stradale - Frankly Frankl-life, luck, love and automobiles

Thats right Ferrari just introduced their new SF90 Stradale.

The model's SF90 tag, confirmed by a trademark site, is shared with the current Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 car and celebrates 90 years since the formation of the racing division in 1929. Stradale is Italian for 'road going'.

The new supercar will pack a mid-mounted 3.9-litre V8, mated to three electric motors for a combined power output of 973bhp. It will serve as a rival to McLaren's forthcoming new hybrid supercar, which was recently spotted carrying out preliminary tests ahead of its launch next year. 

SF90 is reported to use an electric motor on each front wheel a la Honda NSX/Porsche 918 Spyder to provide all-wheel drive acceleration (a 0-100km/h time of 2.0sec has been rumoured) but with the internal combustion engine driving the rear wheels only.

The SF90 will also be the first model to be built on Ferrari’s new flexible sports car architecture, which allows a number of different drivetrain configurations to be installed, including crucial space for a hybrid drive system.

On another note my revised and updated book-Frankly Frankl- life, love, luck and automobiles is selling well with just a few copies left. `If you would like a copy please send me an e mail to andrewfrankl@me.com .

FORZA’s GP editor

Andrew Frankl

Frankly Frankl - it will be a cracking season! - Frankly Frankl-life, luck, love and automobiles

Like most of you I am counting the days to 2019’s first race in Melbourne. Lots of new cars, lots of new faces. Some of them will look like schoolboys and let’s face it that is what they were until recently . Amazing, especially if you  realize that Louis Chiron started the Monaco GP in 1955 when he was nearly 56 years old!

Yes folks, times have changed . These days these kids are more or less bred for racing. Go-karts, simulators, video games. By the time they get to Melbourne they will know all the corners by heart. In the not so olden days Jim Clark or Graham Hill would walk the circuit . They would also drive stick shifts instead of pulling leavers. The steering wheel was just that and not a myriad of buttons and switches.

Still, even though the engines don’t sound like the V12s, V10s or V8s when the lights go out in a few weeks time it will still be fast and furious.

The new owners are having a real go. In Bernie’s days everything was very strictly controlled, the paddock had massive minders whose vocabulary consisted of one word: NO!

Now the whole ambiance is far more relaxed, a welcome change. I think Liberty Media were hoping to move faster with at least 25 races in 2019 but they’ve discovered that the teams, essentially the circus was not prepared to move so fast. I can understand it. If you watch the physical work as well as the huge concentration during the race you can understand it. One tiny mistake-and there have been several-can lose your driver the race. One slow tire change and there goes the victory to someone else. And when it is over the mechanics have to pack absolutely everything in record time. Yes, the boxes are precisely labeled but someone still has to dismantle everything and get all the equipment on the way to the next race, sometimes a few days away. The so-called double headers are an absolute nightmare. Mexican GP on October 27 and the US GP is just one week later in Austin.

So if your driver has a big crash-think Alonso in Spa, the car has to be  for rebuilt for Monza which  is the following weekend.   

So full credit to all the teams for getting it right every single time in 2018. Well done to Liberty for starting the races 10 minutes after the hour, they guessed, correctly that TVs-like mine- have to be warmed up from their slumber.

There is a very sad anniversary coming up in a few days-Michael Schumacher’s awful skiing accident in Meribel. I’ve skied there many times and so have tens of thousands of people, it is not a difficult piste. Michael was an excellent skier and the fittest sportsman I’ve ever met. A truly million to one accident which essentially robbed us of a great driver, father and philanthropist who gave millions to charity anonymously. If my good friend Jon McEvoy’s recent article is correct Michael was actually watching a race  on television with his mentor and FIA President Jean Todt. I just hope he will be well enough to  enjoy seeing  his son Mick on the F1 grid in 2020.

Now on to domestic matters. Some of you may know that a few weeks ago I became a grandfather for the very first time. The enclosed picture says it all.

I saw the family in Florida where I also had a chance to catch up with David Hobbs. Known him for a long time, his book-co-written by my very old mate Andrew Marriott is excellent.

My revised and updated book-Frankly Frankl- life, love, luck and automobiles is selling well. FORZA subscribers have been kind enough to buy it and with the 55 dollars all sent notes, observations, anecdotes. The print run is limited-499 copies just like Ferraris used to be until recently. The talk and book signing in Miami was a big success as was Doug Dolton’s local auto emporium full of fascinating cars. And- you will like this-I sold 20 copies at Rustic Bakery one Saturday afternoon. Great crowd, a 488, an F12-the locals loved it!

`If you would like a copy please send me an e mail to andrewfrankl@me.com .

So until March happy motoring.

All the best for the holidays from

FORZA’s GP editor

Andrew Frankl