I am sure that many of you have seen the News items that Ted has posted
recently about Automotive Solutions' first car, the appropriately named
"One". Personally, I really like the look of this car and, as am
thinking about trading in my 968 Club Sport for something a bit quicker, the AS
One looks like it really could be one of the cars that fit the bill.
One of Ted's articles mentioned that AS were going to be displaying the car
at the Autosport Show, so I just had to go. I got to the show bright and early
and headed straight for the it. I have to say that Ted's photos don't do it
justice - it looks much better in the flesh!
I spent about forty-five minutes looking at the car and talking with AS's MD
Felix Feuerbach, a most knowledgeable and entertaining chap - his English is
vastly better than my German. Felix told me that they were doing some tyre
testing at Bruntingthorpe the following week, and he invited me up for a drive.
Fast forward a week to Friday: I arrive at Bruntingthorpe's main gate at
11:30 and Felix is there to greet me. I follow his little rental car over to the
warehouse that is their temporary workshop. They are hoping to setup a more
permanent workshop here sometime in the near future, but I was glad that they
hadn't managed to yet…
This warehouse is also used as the workshop for all of the cars used by
Bruntingthorpe's Big Thunder corporate entertainment days. It's a PistonHeader's
dream come true. Laid out before me are a couple of Ferrari's (a 355 and a 348),
an Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, a couple of older M5s, some new Mini Coopers and a
few Legend racers. Nestling in the middle of all this finery is the AS One, and
it doesn't look at all out of place.
I get chatting with Felix, and I find out that their tyre testing is complete
and they have settled on some very interesting looking Dunlops. I didn't see the
exact spec, but they looked like bigger versions of the ones that I have seen on
many a "Caterfield" at track days.
After Jeremy had attached their video camera to the car, he takes it over to
the track, while Felix and I follow in the hire car. First stop is the control
tower where I meet my driver for the day. Nigel Greensall is a very experienced
racer and is AS's test and development driver, and I believe will be running the
UK end of the operation, once production is in full swing.
We got suited and helmeted up and Nigel took the drivers seat to show me
round the track at a "medium" pace. Blimey! If that was medium, I
can't wait for large! This car is quick! It's my first visit to Bruntingthorpe
and I use the laps to see where Nigel is braking, turning and clipping.
Fortunately, we have an intercom so he can tell me more about what he's doing
and about the car itself.
The thing that interests me most is the paddle gear shift for the motorbike
sequential gearbox. When it's fully developed it will allow full-throttle
upshifts without using the clutch. Nigel says that it's very easy to use, and
should come naturally fairly quickly.
I'm
not sure, as we return to the pits. The last thing I want to do is change down
rather than up at 9000rpm and end up leaving bits of gearbox strewn all over the
runway! Still, we swap seats, and adrenalin takes over from apprehension. Left
paddle to select first, little bit of revs, and we're away. Actually, it was
quite a lot of revs the first couple of times, as the throttle is very
sensitive, but when you're used to a lazy old V8, a bike engine revs so so
quickly.
Once on the move the car responds immediately to all inputs; I've never felt
so much part of a car before. Out on to the circuit, dip the clutch, pull the
right hand paddle - before you can blink second has been engaged. I give it a
bit more right foot and the thing takes off like it's been kicked up the
backside. Through the corners it grips extremely well; the handling is fairly
neutral, similar in some respects to my 968.
Through the bottom corner, brake over the white line into the Esses and down
into third. The pace you can maintain through the corners is astonishing and I'm
very glad of the 4-point harness. Short change up into fourth (well, short
change for a bike engine, around 7000rpm), then floor it as you go through the
medium right onto the runway. Nine thousand revs comes all too quickly in sixth,
which equates to about 130mph; at that speed the wind is trying to rip your
helmet off - next time I must do it up a bit tighter.
Brake
at 200m to go, and the car feels as though it's hit a brick wall. You could
probably leave it at lot later, but this isn't my car and there are a lot of
solid looking Fiestas parked at the end of the runway. Roll it gently into the
penultimate corner, down into third, hugging the white line on the outside.
Watch out for the surface change coming onto the pit straight, I was told, but
even that doesn't upset the AS One.
Repeat, until grinning inanely!
After a couple of sessions with me at the wheel Nigel takes over the helm and
shows me how it should be done. It was probably a good thing that the intercom
mike fell out of my helmet; I'm sure that I used some choice swear words during
the next couple of laps, although the most descriptive (and cleanest) was
"awesome!"
Felix later tells me that this car has a gearbox more suited to the
Sachsenring, a much tighter circuit. The production car's gearbox is likely to
be geared so that 9000rpm in sixth will equate to 155mph, although each customer
can specify what type of box they want. And that's not the only customisable
part; each new owner will get a day at Bruntingthorpe with Nigel to help them
set up the suspension to suit their own driving style.
So, did I like it? Yes, I think that's obvious. Will I be buying one? Quite
possibly. 50,000 Euros is a lot of money, but I personally think the AS One is
worth it. Yes, for the same price, you could get a fully specced up Radical
Tracksport, which would be considerably quicker, but I don't think that you'd
want to drive it to and from the track. The AS One will still be one of the
quickest cars at any trackday. Yes, I think I've convinced myself: I want one.
Library pictures courtesy of www.automotivesolutions.de
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