RE: PH 2017 - Reasons to be cheerful
Monday 2nd January 2017
So, the end of year reviews are in, Christmas is done and we're all looking forward to a brand new year. What's on the horizon PH-wise? Our festive panel pick out some of their most keenly awaited cars and bikes here - we'll look forward to bringing you more on these as and when the moment comes!
Alpine's return
To be fair those ordering a new Alpine here in the UK won't get them until 2018 at the earliest so I'm perhaps a year early here. But another player in the 'real world' sports car realm focusing less on outright power and more on handling and feedback has to be a good thing. Especially one underpinned with such a rich heritage as Alpine. OK, the car's overtly retro styling is playing it a bit obvious and I'll as gutted if there's no manual option as they will be relieved in Hethel. But a compact, mid-engined and rear-wheel drive sports car built with all the handling expertise that went into the Dieppe-built Renault Sport hot hatches? That has to be a reason to be cheerful! (Dan Trent)
The British sports car business
There are lots of likely highlights for 2017, and I'm going to cheat by saying "what's coming from the British sports car industry" because I'm having difficulty narrowing it down. We'll finally be seeing the production version of the McLaren 'P14' - the replacement for the 650S - which we're promised will be a far more radical step forward than anything else McLaren has done short of the P1. We'll also be meeting the new Aston Vantage, and discovering how AMG's 4.0-litre V8 fares under the bonnet of a British sports car. But 2017 should also give us sight of both the new TVR and an understanding of the how the company will operate and assure its future. It's fair to say that there are more questions than answers at the moment - that seems to be TVR's strategy. But it's fair to say the basics of a Gordon Murray designed structure, tuned Mustang V8 and the possibility of carbon construction are all reasons to be cheerful. Here's hoping there's a Trevor on next year's list of highlights. (Mike Duff)
The Sunday Service calendar
2017 is going to be a memorable year because we've got an incredible line up of Sunday Services and events in store for you. We're more organised than ever before with almost the entire year mapped out already. We've got some new Sunday Service locations with some really exciting hosts. If you're not already a regular at our events you're really missing out - after all they're completely free so what have you got to lose? Keep you eyes peeled on our Sunday Service forum for a 2017 calendar and details of how you can get yourself signed up soon. (James Drake)
The return of the sports bike
Last year there were two dark clouds on the biking horizon - Euro4 and Brexit. One has proved manageable, the other is a bit of a disaster. Euro4 threatened to rob bikes of power due to tighter emission laws, but this hasn't been the case and instead we are seeing a load of new, even more powerful, models that only have slightly ugly exhaust pipes. Brexit, however, is a disaster and on average bike prices are set to rise by between 10-15 per cent in 2017 as the pound's value has crashed. The good news for 2017 is that PCP plans, and higher residual values, have almost negated this increase and so if you buy on PCP the monthly costs will be virtually unchanged. The fact sports bikes are back in fashion for 2017 is also a reason to smile as the new GSX-R1000, Fireblade, ZX-10RR and Norton V4 are all set to do battle while the YZF-R6 makes a very welcome return. It's just a shame the CBR600RR, ZX-6R and Daytona 675 have all been officially killed off... (Jon Urry)
WRC 2017
Yep, I'm calling it. I think next year's World Rally Championship is going to be fantastic. The team that has dominated for so long is out, the world champ is racing for a new squad, Toyota is back and everybody is working with new technology. More than that, it's new technology that makes the cars faster and more dramatic. Watch testing vids like this one and tell me you wouldn't want to see that in person. Sure, the new cars are hardly pretty, but can you honestly say that a Metro 6R4 or a Delta S4 is a beautiful racing car? They looked like that for a reason, and that reason was to go really bloody fast across whatever terrain they were faced with. Now it looks like these 2017 cars are being built with the same idea in mind - bring it on! (Matt Bird)
NIO EP9
2016 has been marred with scandal, none bigger than VW's 'dieselgate'. With people pre-occupied with emissions I was lucky enough to meet the late Martin Leach, CEO of NextEV, in 2016, who spoke of "active dialogue" between the Formula E team, technology engineers and supercar department. Four months later, NextEV unveiled its new NIO brand and also the EP9 - the world's fastest EV. One Megawatt of power propels the car near silently to 124mph in 7.1 seconds and a charging time of 45 minutes means the future is fast and fairly quiet, surely meaning more track days will be made available. I can't wait to see what comes next from them. (Nikolai Attard)
PH 2017 - Reasons to be cheerful
Happy new year - here are some reasons it should well turn out to be so!
To be fair those ordering a new Alpine here in the UK won't get them until 2018 at the earliest so I'm perhaps a year early here. But another player in the 'real world' sports car realm focusing less on outright power and more on handling and feedback has to be a good thing. Especially one underpinned with such a rich heritage as Alpine. OK, the car's overtly retro styling is playing it a bit obvious and I'll as gutted if there's no manual option as they will be relieved in Hethel. But a compact, mid-engined and rear-wheel drive sports car built with all the handling expertise that went into the Dieppe-built Renault Sport hot hatches? That has to be a reason to be cheerful! (Dan Trent)
There are lots of likely highlights for 2017, and I'm going to cheat by saying "what's coming from the British sports car industry" because I'm having difficulty narrowing it down. We'll finally be seeing the production version of the McLaren 'P14' - the replacement for the 650S - which we're promised will be a far more radical step forward than anything else McLaren has done short of the P1. We'll also be meeting the new Aston Vantage, and discovering how AMG's 4.0-litre V8 fares under the bonnet of a British sports car. But 2017 should also give us sight of both the new TVR and an understanding of the how the company will operate and assure its future. It's fair to say that there are more questions than answers at the moment - that seems to be TVR's strategy. But it's fair to say the basics of a Gordon Murray designed structure, tuned Mustang V8 and the possibility of carbon construction are all reasons to be cheerful. Here's hoping there's a Trevor on next year's list of highlights. (Mike Duff)
2017 is going to be a memorable year because we've got an incredible line up of Sunday Services and events in store for you. We're more organised than ever before with almost the entire year mapped out already. We've got some new Sunday Service locations with some really exciting hosts. If you're not already a regular at our events you're really missing out - after all they're completely free so what have you got to lose? Keep you eyes peeled on our Sunday Service forum for a 2017 calendar and details of how you can get yourself signed up soon. (James Drake)
Last year there were two dark clouds on the biking horizon - Euro4 and Brexit. One has proved manageable, the other is a bit of a disaster. Euro4 threatened to rob bikes of power due to tighter emission laws, but this hasn't been the case and instead we are seeing a load of new, even more powerful, models that only have slightly ugly exhaust pipes. Brexit, however, is a disaster and on average bike prices are set to rise by between 10-15 per cent in 2017 as the pound's value has crashed. The good news for 2017 is that PCP plans, and higher residual values, have almost negated this increase and so if you buy on PCP the monthly costs will be virtually unchanged. The fact sports bikes are back in fashion for 2017 is also a reason to smile as the new GSX-R1000, Fireblade, ZX-10RR and Norton V4 are all set to do battle while the YZF-R6 makes a very welcome return. It's just a shame the CBR600RR, ZX-6R and Daytona 675 have all been officially killed off... (Jon Urry)
Yep, I'm calling it. I think next year's World Rally Championship is going to be fantastic. The team that has dominated for so long is out, the world champ is racing for a new squad, Toyota is back and everybody is working with new technology. More than that, it's new technology that makes the cars faster and more dramatic. Watch testing vids like this one and tell me you wouldn't want to see that in person. Sure, the new cars are hardly pretty, but can you honestly say that a Metro 6R4 or a Delta S4 is a beautiful racing car? They looked like that for a reason, and that reason was to go really bloody fast across whatever terrain they were faced with. Now it looks like these 2017 cars are being built with the same idea in mind - bring it on! (Matt Bird)
2016 has been marred with scandal, none bigger than VW's 'dieselgate'. With people pre-occupied with emissions I was lucky enough to meet the late Martin Leach, CEO of NextEV, in 2016, who spoke of "active dialogue" between the Formula E team, technology engineers and supercar department. Four months later, NextEV unveiled its new NIO brand and also the EP9 - the world's fastest EV. One Megawatt of power propels the car near silently to 124mph in 7.1 seconds and a charging time of 45 minutes means the future is fast and fairly quiet, surely meaning more track days will be made available. I can't wait to see what comes next from them. (Nikolai Attard)
[Sources: stephwrc via YouTube]
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