Carfreax

TOKYO MOTOR SHOW PART II

A stroll over the Tokyo Motor Show. What is served by the big three of Japan? I have a soft spot for Honda. This is the brand of the spaghetti exhausted '67 Formula One racer, the Monkey motor cycle, the groundbreaking Jazz and the Senna inspired NSX. The  asian brand can be seen as the BMW of the east, innovative and still independent. A spyder concept loaded with carbon, a foldable scooter, a mobility concept and a racy livered motor cycle. A range of heritage dressed up for today. Inspiring.

Suzuki shows a bunch of rather quirky concepts, based on tomorrows  needs and sustainability. The green car is classic, strange, organic and pixelated at the same time.A blend of efficiency and nu-tech. I have to get used to my cup of tea with a chai flavor.

Toyota. The biggest player on a global scale seems to have re-invented itself from a rather dull overall brand to a more lively identity. The Tokyo Motor Show as a reset button. Positive, colorful, playful and human. Fun to drive again, Jean Reno included. We stand in front of a concept with projected graphics on a body side, waiting for a change. After five minutes we give up, realizing this innovative idea is rather static. Reborn? Not yet.

-Matt.

TOKYO MOTOR SHOW PART I

I have never been here before, and yet I feel at home. The Tokyo Motor Show, it has always been on top of my list since I was a kid. One of the grand slams of automotive car shows and probably the most exotic in the pack. The Asian view on things. Finally a check mark after all those years. Hardly I have put this event in context before we hit the floors of the quiet compact compound. With a group of colleagues we have touched down on Japanese ground and are still lost in translation.

To get in contact we start with the oblivious. The German side of the show. The Audi corporate identity suits the location. Clean, professional and with a local touch. Love the graphics on the soccer edition Audi A1. Neat colored detailing inside of the head lamps.

Tokyo seems to be a good opportunity to take a second and more intense glance at concepts I have seen in Frankfurt before. The rounded and also edgy Smart concept feels more at home in this urban environment. Formed in a different medium, plastics can be formed so precise and crisp, inside and out. This compact car is loaded with innovative ideas. The big and blobby Mercer fits the Tokyo approach. Let's show a crazy vision of the future.

We walk the floors of the show as we hear the touching speech of the European biggest CEO, addressing the power and innovation of Japanese car culture and its role in the automotive industry. Put aside all the novelties this is also a kind of resurrection of a country after the Fukushima disaster. The team from Wolfsburg surprises with a cross over coupe, based on a new platform. It looks great in overall stance and detailing. One of my Tokyo high lights. 

Another Wolfsburg premiere is a special edition Beetle, featuring a rather rock and roll in your face theme. Volkswagen goes guitar hero with the Stratocaster. The wood inlays are fake, but hey, this is Tokyo!

-Matt.

ONE GR8 SUMMER - PART ONE

My summer of speed kicked off at the beginning of July with Goodwood, followed just a week later by Pass Masters (previously reported by Mattijs) that was my first chance to have a proper blast with my new R8.

Yes! I did say MY! R8, admittedly a company car and only for the next 6 months, but still MINE! And Dude! Was I going to use it?

I’d been planning a mega road trip to the U.K. for some time and now I had the right tool for the job!  

Leaving Münich at 6.00a.m one misty Sunday morning in August, I literally flew across Germany, often seeing speeds hovering on the edge of 300 km/h. Rapidly dispatched Holland and France I hit the Channel tunnel only 8 hours later. The fly splattered, hot and ticking R8 deserving a well earned rest on the train ride under the sea.

First pilgrimage in the U.K. was to be the Black Mountains located on the West side of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. The Black Mountain road’s are favorite test routes for the U.K’s Car Magazines and especially the A4069 which has become very popular ever since it featured on BBC’s Top Gear, with Jeremy Clarkson hammering an AMG SLK along it’s route. I quickly discovered why? Long winding roads greeted me, challenging corners, a good mix of fast and tight sections all linked by a good road surface and when you reached the hairpins you were rewarded with views to die for. You just had to beware of the pesky sheep everywhere!

I spent several hours discovering the aural delights of the R8’s responsive engine and the forgiving handling. The R8 is enormously capable, with scary amounts of grip on these tight and twisting roads, but when you lift off the tail will come around and you can drift gently through the turns in beautifully predictable slides.

I was expecting to meet lot’s of other performance cars enjoying these dream roads and conditions, but I hardly saw anybody else during my time up there, this was my playground today! My Driving Nirvana!

The roads in the valleys on the North side weren’t bad either, long straights and fast sweeping bends, many snaking their way through tunnels of over-hanging trees. As the sun began to go down and with the navigation switched off! I just followed the roads where they took me.

Next stop Brooklands and a return to Goodwood, this time not just to look, but to drive!