2012 Ferrari FF Overview
All manufactures tend to have these well known formulas for their sports cars that are just as distinguishable as the brand itself. Take a V8 for instance, push the displacement out to 5.4L and drop it in a coupe and you get a Mustang. Slap on two turbos on a V6 3.8 Liter Japanese car and you get a Nissan GT-R. Supercharge a 6.2 liter V8, call it an LS9 and you get a Corvette ZR1. Squeeze 300 horsepower out of a tiny, AWD sedan with a 2.5 liter flat four cylinder engine and you get a Subaru WRX STi. But what happens when you go back to the drawing board, sketch out a fluidly designed 3-door hatch back, with vivacious curves and stunning lines, paint it – oh, let’s say – red. Then, stretch out the nose; drop in a 12 cylinder engine and squeeze in an all-wheel drive system. What do you get? With years of automotive mental algorithms going through my head, fitting the features with the engine, platform, and associated brands leads me to nothing. So who is building it? No, it’s not the new Prius, it’s the new Ferrari FF. Read the rest of this entry »
2011 Citroen C4 Review – Leading the French Automotive Revolution
Isn’t interesting how things come full circle? Take for example the latest Citroen C4, the dramatic and stylish replacement for the uninspired mid-range Xsara and ZX models. After almost a decade and a half of Peugeot ownership, and the efforts to increase market share by making conventionally-styled cars, Citroen finally realised that the brand really needed to return to the defiant, innovative spirit that characterised models such as a DS, GS and CX from the 50s, 60s and 70s.
There used to be a joke in the 80s and 90s that each new Citroen model had to have a larger double chevron badge than the earlier models because it was increasingly difficult to tell Citroens apart from Peugeots and Renaults. Well, with the C4, this is definitely not the case, even if the double chevron has become larger and incorporated on the grille; this will be the new identity for all future Citroen models. Grille apart, the C4 has bold arching lines, making it look like a stretched and more dynamic C3. From the up turned headlamps in front, to the sloping rear, the C4 looks distinctive and unique, but also well proportioned and stylish. Even while standing still, its mild cab forward stance gives it a thrusting, forward motion. There is no mistaking this new Citroen for another brand of car. Read the rest of this entry »