MOTOR-CAR SPORT

FERRARI Fx1 RR  (ROAD RAPTOR) The Road Raptor is my latest (as of July 2012) experiment in car design. After the success of the Xtreme KinematiX concept I wanted to venture further into experimenting with exotic geometries blended into contemporary design curves. Design in general and particularly car design usually follows well defined trends and periodic styles, which, combined with production requirements, makes most cars of a period look pretty similar; in the '80s we had squarish modern-looking cars, in the '90s those ice cubes started to melt and get more rounded, the 2000s things got more organic. Now we have that same organic spirit with sharp cuts and lines to increase the aggressive looks, but depending on the way you use those sharp lines, that bombastic effect can last very little, so I tried to add and balance some classic elements and reinterpret some lines in a totally new way. From the beginning, I had the idea of this old Ferrari ...

                  VW PASSAT S - Revision 2 Context There is a very special place that Volks Wagen occupies in history; that of the most popular car ever, the Beetle. After that first successful model though, the company struggled to find an identity in the market. That issue was fixed with the acquisition of Audi - Auto Union in 1973, but at the price of a VW – Audi duality not only in structural, but also visual design that lasted decades. The most sold models like Polo and Golf created a character of their own, starting with the hijacked Audi 50, which became the first Polo. The Passat though, after being derived by the Audi 80 of the ‘70s, kept a striking similarity with models like Audi 80, 100 or A4/A6 through most of its existence, even after becoming a very popular car on its own.  Audi took a more aggressive and unique design approach in the past decade, with its models following the design philosophy of the RSQ proto...

                       KTM’s 2013 Factory Rally  After a last-minute appointment to replace the injured Marc Coma in KTM’s factory rally team for the2013 Dakar Rally, American Kurt Caselli impressed many with his stellar rookie performance on the South American course. Taking  two  stage wins, Caselli will join Marc Coma and Ruben Faria on KTM’s factory-backed rally team, which will go by the “Red Bull KTM Factory Racing” name. With Chilean rider Francesco ‘Chaleco’ Lopez also getting full-factory equipment, noticeably absent from KTM’s announcement is five-time Dakar Rally winner Cyril Despres, who is leaving the KTM squad “to move on and face new challenges.” Winning the most recent edition of The Dakar in a comfortable fashion with his support rider, Faria, finishing second, Despres’s probable move to another team is a huge shock to the sport, and could make KTM’s domi...

MV Agusta Sales Doubled in January & February 2013 Some good news from Italy, as MV Agusta is reporting a sales boost so far this year for the Varese brand, with January and February up 100% over the same time period in 2012. “The new year has started well for us regardless of the negative global market trend,” said MV Agusta CEO Giovanni Castiglioni. “We are very satisfied with our results to date. I’m convinced that they will tend to grow even further thanks to the arrival of the new RIVALE 800, for which we’ve already received many orders. We have good reason to look forward to 2013 with optimism.” We are more than sure that the doubling in sales has something to do with the previously low volume numbers for the brand, and the nearly 50% increase in the number of models MV Agusta is now offering motorcyclists, three of which are “low price” models: the MV Agusta F3 675, MV Agusta Brutale 675, and MV Agusta Brutale 800. With MV Agusta making gains i...

 AMA Homologates the 636cc 2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R for Supersport Class Racing AMA Pro Racing continues to show that it’s homolo-flexible when it comes to supersport regulations, as America’s premier road racing series has homologated the  2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R  and its 636cc engine displacement to compete in the supersport class (the new ZX-6R is also homologated for the Daytona Sport Bike class as well). “Kawasaki has a strong racing heritage,” said Kawasaki Racing Senior Manager Reid Nordin. “Our Ninja brand is synonymous with success on the track. When we brought back the 636cc engine we knew there would be interest in racing and we have taken the steps necessary to have the new Ninja ZX-6R on the track and out front in 2013.” The last time Kawasaki stroked-out its 599cc inline-four power plant to 636cc, the Japanese manufacturer had to offer a race-oriented 599cc Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6RR model for racing use, as the street bike would not meet the racing...

                                   2013 Triumph Speed Triple SE The  second bike  getting Hinckley’s special edition treatment, the 2013 Triumph Speed Triple SE is as you would expect: the British brand’s  venerable full-figured streetfighter machine , with revised paint and parts. Getting a distinct blue frame and swingarm, the  Triumph Speed Triple SE  also sports a “matte graphite” paint job with blue decals. Other changes include a bevy of carbon fiber parts (mudguard, side pods, tank cover panel, and inner radiator panels), along with color-matched fly screen, belly pan, and seat cowl. Triumph also saw it fit to add a clear taillight assembly, as well as new covers for the clutch, alternator, and front sprocket. With loads of other detail-finishes, you can get your first look at the 2013 Triumph Speed Triple SE on May 1st at your local Triumph dealer...

ANALOG YAMAHA SR500 Tony Prust of  Analog Motorcycles  has built his reputation with a raft of elegant, mid-capacity customs: the perfect bikes for barhopping and cruising around town. This 1979 Yamaha SR500 has more of a raw edge though, and a name to match—‘Bruto.’ It was commissioned by Mark Wator, who wanted a machine for evening and weekend rides, with a seat big enough for two. “Mark liked some of the ‘raw metal’ builds he’d seen,” says Prust. “With that in mind, he let me loose to do as I pleased—within his budget, of course!” Prust rebuilt the motor to factory specs, and hooked it up to a custom stainless exhaust system from  Dime City Cycles . The SR has also been completely rewired, with juice coming from a Ballistic Performance 4-cell EVO2 battery. The front end is now from a GSX-R—and the sportbike calipers now clamp onto aftermarket wave rotors, fed by stainless brake lines. The rear end is kept planted with Gazi Suspension Hyper Lite shocks. ...

CW EVALUATION: GALFER WAVE ROTORS Aftermarket brakes designed to perform better than new Fast. Heavy. Those words describe  Kawasaki ’s ZX-14R, and they help explain why the stock front brake rotors on our long-term 2012 model were warped like potato chips after just 8000 miles. Slight vibration while braking became heavy shudder that wasn’t going to disappear on its own. Rather than purchase another pair of OEM rotors, we ordered a set of Galfer Wave rotors. We’ve raced with Galfer products, and that experience left us with high regard for these Spanish-made pads and steel rotors. In fact, the steel used is proprietary, but it begins with 420 high-carbon stainless, which is then parallel-ground, heat-treated, laser-cut and mounted on black-anodized, machined aluminum carriers. Galfer pioneered wave-style front brake rotors with trials bikes in the 1990s. The company discovered that the unique design reduces pad temperature and dissipates mud and water better than do...

DYNAMIC ESA A look inside BMW’s semi-active suspension For a bit of insight into how Dynamic Electronic Suspension Adjustment works, I sat down with BMW’s head of chassis development, Jörg Ploss. I told him how much we enjoyed the pushbutton ESA II on the K1600GTL  long-term bike we’d had and his comment was, “Yes, but this is old!” According to Ploss, 90 percent of  BMW ’s motorcycle buyers opt for ESA, whereas only 25 percent of BMW car buyers select electronically adjustable suspension from the options sheet. Just shows how much more dedicated we two-wheelers are to seeking maximum performance. Ploss explained that a separate ECU is dedicated to Dynamic ESA, and it is fed information from various systems and sensors on the bike. The key sensors are potentiometers that measure position of the suspension front and rear, as well as the velocity at which the units are compressing or extending. While the  HP4  sportbike’s semi-active system uses a pote...

                                                                    MV AGUSTA BRUTALE 800 Breaking cover  in November 2012, the  MV Agusta Rivale 800  is the Italian brand’s newest addition to its motorbike family, and features a  new 800cc three-cylinder engine , which also powers the mid-range MV Agusta Brutale 800 . Whereas most brands debut a model at the INTERMOT or EICMA shows in the fall, and then release that models in the spring of the following year, MV Agusta has a slightly different timeline, which could make things interesting for when the Rivale actually makes it onto dealership floors. Our history lesson starts with the  MV Agusta F3 , which debuted after  a long bout of teasing  at the 2010 EICMA show. Slated to be available a year later, the MV Agusta F3 didn...