Electric History: Hispano-Suiza Carmen Boulogne.

One of the oldest names in automotive and aviation circles, Hispano-Suiza, has launched a second vehicle in its 21st century rebirth. In 2019 the company unveiled the Carmen, a re-interpretation of a classic design from the 1930s called the Dubonnet Xenia. The Carmen Boulogne is a sportier evolution of that iconic vehicle. It is a fully electric vehicle and exclusivity will be stratospheric. Just five will be produced.

Dubonnet Xenia 1930s

The company’s lineage can be traced back over 120 years. Emilio de la Cuadra, a Spanish artillery captain, had been working on electric cars in Barcelona in 1898. During a visit to Paris, he met and subsequently employed Marc Birkigt, a Swiss born engineer. The pair collaborated and swiftly produced two gasoline powered engines which were released in 1900. Some financial hiccups saw a restructuring in 1902 and 1903, with a new owner and name change to Fábrica Hispano-Suiza de Automóviles (Spanish-Swiss Automobile Factory) which went bankrupt in 1903.

La-Cuadra automobile

José María Castro Fernández was the owner and in 1904 the company underwent yet another rebuild, this time more successfully and known as La Hispano-Suiza Fábrica de Automóviles. Damian Mateu, a Spanish entrepreneur, would partner with Birkigt to formalise the rebirth, and his granddaughter, Carmen, is the inspiration for the naming of the company’s 21st century vehicles. Come WW1 and aircraft engines would be produced under the watchful eyes of Birkigt. 1919 and they returned to automotive manufacturing and grew from there.

The Boulogne name dates back to 1921, when Hispano Suiza made a racing version of its high-performance H6 Coupé and entered it in the George Boillot Cup, an endurance race lasting more than 3.5 hours around the French city of Boulogne. Three consecutive victories with André Dubonnet (1921), Paul Bablot (1922), and Léonce Garnier (1923) driving the mighty Hispano Suiza H6, would be the results.

The Hispano Suiza Carmen Boulogne pays tribute to these historic motorsport victories with this fully electrically powered version packing 1,100hp/820 kW and a maximum velocity of 180mph/290kmh. The sprint to 100kmh (62mph) will take just 2.6 seconds. Four permanent-magnet synchronous engines, two on each rear wheel, will power the carbon fiber roof, body, and subframed Carmen Boulogne. The design, engineering, and production of the Carmen Boulogne is a result of a collaboration between Hispano-Suiza and a company specializing in the development of electric motors and motorsports, QEV Technologies.

Formula-E, a race series and a working test-bed for battery powered vehicles, has contributed to the development of the 1,180ft-lb/1,600Nm engines, and lithium-ion polymer batteries. These have a capacity of 80kWh (and can be upgraded later, says the company, with a 105kWh pack in development), and can see the Carmen Boulogne to a range of up to 250 miles/400 kilometres.

2021 Hispano-Suiza Carmen Boulogne

They are an in-house designed and produced T-shaped unit, including a complete temperature control system (including three radiators) to ensure that the cells can operate optimally. It has a fast-charging capacity of more than 80 kW DC, requiring only 30 minutes to charge to 30-80% capacity via a CCS2 fast charger. It also has CHAdeMO and GB/T charging options. Torque-vectoring is employed to ensure the Carmen Boulogne is kept straight under acceleration.

That 4.7 meter long carbon fiber body will be protected by coats of clear varnish, allowing those outside to see the strength of the material, and the emphasis on light-weight sportiness. It will also dramatically emphasise the slippery design, with a drag co-efficient of just 0.32cD. The distinctive semi-circular headlights of the Carmen will be kept, and flanked by a new copper coloured grille, with highlights of the same hue found inside.

2021 Hispano-Suiza Carmen Boulogne cabin

The five buyers can customise the Carmen Boulogne to their own bespoke tastes, thanks to Hispano-Suiza’s “Unique Tailormade” in-house department. Suede or Alcantara will be the interior trim choices as a starting point.

Pricing for the Hispano-Suiza Carmen Boulogne starts from 1.65 million euros plus local taxes (approx USD1,942,000), and its manufacturing process, handmade with the utmost precision, requires approximately twelve months.

The five units of the Carmen Boulogne hypercar join the 14 units of the Carmen to reach a total of 19 units in production, with the first unit ready to be delivered in 2022.

2021 Hispano-Suiza Carmen Boulogne tail

Holden History To Go On Tour.

With Holden soon to be all but a part of history as a brand, one final roll of the dice sees a tour of some of the company’s heritage collection vehicles to visit car museums around Australia.
The Managing Director for GM Australia and New Zealand, Marc Ebolo, said over 80 vehicles and 30 engines will be available: “There has been considerable speculation with regards to what was going to happen to these iconic pieces of automotive heritage, and I’m pleased to reveal we are displaying our vehicle collection in Australia. We have never thought about sending it overseas. The vehicles which make up this multi-million dollar collection have been loaned to a variety of museums and will go on display in the very near future. This will be the first time the entire collection of Holden production and concept vehicles has been released simultaneously for public viewing.”

The last half-decade has seen a select group of Holden enthusiasts made up of largely retired souls in Victoria and South Australia cataloguing the collection, working to preserve the historic aspect of the cars and mechanicals, memorabilia, plus print and photo materiel. Some of the items are close to one hundred years old and have been treated with courtesy and respect in order to help tell the story of Holden.The display will start with the saddlery origins in the late 1800s, through to the 48-215 and beyond. “GM is sincerely grateful for the work our Holden Heritage Group of retiree volunteers has done to sort, digitise and safely store many thousands of items relating to Holden’s rich manufacturing and iconic brand history.” said Mr Ebolo. “We are planning to launch a Holden Heritage Collection website next year which will provide enthusiasts with information about the collection, as well as details of where to view the vehicles.”
Assistance was sought from the National Museum of Australia, interested groups and museums, plus the Commonwealth Office for the Arts and the History Trust of South Australia, and Museums Victoria. The idea was to map out a plan best suited to the preservation of the items and how to make it as accessible as possible to visitors and enthusiasts.

The current schedule has the History Trust of SA’s National Motor Museum in Birdwood, South Australia, the state in which Holden began as a saddlery in 1859, as the first location to make the display available. A short list of some of the vehicles includes the Holden Number 1 as unveiled by the then Prime Minister Ben Chifley in 1948, along with the beautiful concept car, “Hurricane” in 1969, and the one millionth Holden, an EJ.

The planning process was comprehensive, with an Advisory Committee formed specifically for the project. The chairman is the Director of the National Museum, Dr Mathew Trinca AM, and the committee was formally announced by the Federal Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Paul Fletcher MP.

“We more than anybody recognise how important this collection is to Australia and particularly to the people who have worked at Holden and owned Holden cars. We greatly appreciate Minister Fletcher’s interest in the Holden collection and the work and valuable advice of Dr Mathew Trinca, the National, Victorian and South Australian museums and interest groups and the Commonwealth Office for the Arts, on how to best preserve our heritage collection in Australia. We hope that with the opening of state borders and as Australians go on holidays, they will visit the various museums where these wonderful Holden cars will be displayed.” said Mr Ebolo.

2020 Toyota LC76 LandCruiser GXL: Private Fleet Car Review.

This Car Review Is About: A genuine living dinosaur. Toyota’s LC76 LandCruiser is as basic as they come in a modern world. It’s a square and blocky exterior, features old-school drivetrain tech when it comes to off-road driving, and the interior is a real throw back. We loved it.How Much Does It Cost?: This is the part where a nip of a good 12yo single malt comes in handy. $77,116 drive-away. That’s a fair bit of coin for a vehicle that has not a lot, yet, for some, offers plenty.

Under The Bonnet Is: A very grunty 4.5L V8 fed by diesel. The big thing is paired with a five speed manual transmission, internally operated lever for 4WD low range, and front locking wheel hubs. Yes, you read that right. Peak power is 151kW and peak torque is 430Nm at a lazy 1,200rpm to 3,200rpm, just under the 3,400rpm where peak power lies. Economy is quoted as 10.7L/100km from the combined cycle, and would be better with a six speeder as at highway speeds it’s cruisy but just on the cusp of feeling breathless. Just. The real feeling of running out of steam really kicks in at around 3,000rpm, not that there is much time spent here anyway. That economy figure is not unreasonable in being achieved as we averaged 11.0L/100km. Kerb weight is a hefty 2,265kg. The fuel tank size depends on the model of the LC chosen, ranging from 130L to 180L.

On The Outside It’s: What’s called a two-box design. Big box for the cabin, a smaller one for the engine compartment. It makes for an easy design, and allows for simple interior packaging. The rear doors are a 40/60 split, with the smaller opening first, and a separate lever for the bigger. These open to a substantial cargo space. Front wheels are, as mentioned, lockable via a centre-hub mounted dial. Nowhere to be found is an electronic system to do however there is a button inside for locking the rear diff. In front is a BIG bumper, almost something that own its own could smash an iceberg. Our review vehicle had a large snorkel intake fitted as well, and audible was the intake and breathing on gear change as the actual intake is just above and in front of the drivers head. A massive intercooler gets fresh air via something rarely seen on a car nowadays: an intake scoop.The glasshouse is huge, with plenty of airiness courtesy of the big windows. the front passenger windows look out at wing mirrors that are also old school. No internal operating mechanism, either powered or via a lever, for adjustment. Underneath is a set of big rubber from Dunlop. The Grandtrek tyres are proper off-road capable in tread pattern and the 265/70 grippers wrap 16 inch alloys.Overall dimensions make for a big machine. Length is 4,910, height is 1,940mm, and width is 1,870mm. Dimensions are big underneath too, with 2,730mm for the wheelbase, 1,555mm front track and a narrower 1,430mm for the rear.

On The Inside It’s: As sparse and as bare as you can get in a modern car. We say modern car as this one has a build date of March, 2020, belying the look and feel of the 1980s. There are no steering wheel controls. Aircon is operated via slide levers, and separate ones for fresh or recirculate, cold to hot, and direction. A pair of dials operate the fan speeds. There is a proper cigarette lighter and ashtrays in the rear doors…A basic looking radio head unit provides AM, FM, and digital tunes via a CD player, There is a nod towards modernity thanks to a USB port. A hark back to the past is found with a rocker switch to raise or lower the electric powered aerial.Seat material and plastics are a blue grey hue everywhere and the dash itself is a solid, square, blocky design mimicking the exterior. The cargo section is huge, with a guesstimate (as Toyota doesn’t quote any) at well over 600L and that’s before the folding of the heavy second row seats. These are lever operated both for lift and fold, no electronics here.From the driver’s seat, the view is of a gear selector that is around three feet in length. That’s somewhat exaggerated but not by a lot. To the right is the range (as in high and low range) selector, and to the left, a solitary cupholder…

On The Road It’s: Less nimble than a sinking Titanic, as slow to get going as a sloth on a cold day, and feels as heavy as carrying an elephant. But somehow it overcomes any negative to form, in our very humble opinion, a huge positive.

It’s actually fun to drive.

In a way, those perceived negatives are why. For starters, it’s a manual, a rarity, and a manual that requires experience with how one works. The selector is long, and synchronising the shifts is fairly important as the cogs are a bit agricultural in meshing. The shift is on the heavy side, and it’s a lonnnnnnnng throw between the five forward gears and engaging Reverse takes some patience and muscle.The turning circle is bigger than the orbit of Venus around the sun, the steering is something like five turns left and right from centre, and it’s heavy. It means a driver has to plan, get involved, be part of the driving process. The thought process to engage a gear whilst swinging hard on a weighty steering, judging the not-so-talkative brakes, whilst considering the mass of the big thing, brings a proper sense of what it is to DRIVE a car to the soul.

Highway cruising showcases the fact a six speed would be a better option here. Although final gearing has highway speeds somewhere around 2,000rpm or so, a sixth gear could drop that to 1,500rpm, add a bit more economy, and add just a little more drivability.

What About Safety?: Simple. There is, apart from the front, curtain, and driver’s kneebag, and electronic basics like traction control and HillStart Assist, sweet F.A. And no, this is not a bad thing. by being as basic as it is, it forces a driver to far more engaged in the driving that merely piloting a car, waiting for the beeps and tones as the car goes over roadside whitelines, judging the steering and manual mirrors to check for vehicles before changing lanes, and understanding the limitations in order to be a safer driver.

What About Warranty And Service?: Five years, and seven years for the engine IF the car is serviced at a Toyota dealership. Conditions apply. Capped price servicing applies via a VIN identification.

At The End Of The Drive. As lumbering and specification-bare the LC76 is, it remains on sale for a select market. People that understand it. Toyota isn’t in the business of ditching models that sell to a hardcore audience and know both its abilities and its limitations instinctively. As a driver’s car, it is. It embodies what driving is all about. That’s why we loved it.

Robert Opron and the Simca Fulgur: Better Than Nostradamus?

The question as to where all the flying cars are now that we’re in 2020 has become a bit of a cliché.  It’s been a bit of a cliché ever since we hit the new millennium. This is a reference to the way that popular culture envisioned what family cars would look like in the 21^st century.

However, at least one car designer had ideas that were a bit more down to earth – literally.  The year was 1958 and the designer was Robert Opron. This designer had accepted a challenge to produce a concept car for the 1959 Geneva Motor Show for his parent company Simca. Never heard of Simca? This was a French company owned by Fiat that rivalled Citroen for the title of “France’s answer to the VW Beetle”. I owned one back in my student days – possibly a Simca 1300; it had a front engine like a normal car rather than a rear engine and it’s probably worth a mint now, so I’m rather regretting selling it. Its only quirk was a flaw in the speedo: after it hit 50 mph, the needle went back down even when I accelerated.

Anyway, enough memories of student cars and back to Robert Opron.  Opron later took his genius to Citroën, then Renault, then Alfa Romeo. He has been recognised as one of the top 25 designers of the 20^th century, although he wasn’t the chap responsible for the very distinctive Citroen 2CV. The Renault Alpine was his, though, as were a number of 1980s Renaults.

Opron had come across a challenge issued by the Journal de Tintin.  Yes, that’s Tintin as in the intrepid red-haired reporter who has a dog called Snowy and a best friend called Captain Haddock.  The challenge was to design a “typical” car for the 1980s or for the year 2000. The challenge included a list of specifications that had to be included in the design, including the following:

• fuelled by a nuclear-powered battery or a hydrogen fuel cell with a range of 5000 km
• running on two wheels, balanced gyroscopically, at speeds over 150 km/h,
• voice controlled
• radar guidance for navigation and for detecting hazards
• top speed of over 300 km/h
• automatic braking if it detected a hazard
• headlights that adjust automatically with speed

Although Opron didn’t produce a full working prototype, he did show a shell of the concept at the 1959 motor show and the full details of the concept car, known as the Simca Fulgur, were published in the Journal de Tintin (this suggests that it would have appeared alongside The Red Sea Sharks and/or Tintin in Tibet – just in case you were curious, like I was).

The Simca Fulgur – which takes its name from the Latin word meaning “lightning” – looked like the classic Jetsons flying car, except it didn’t fly. It captured the public imagination somewhat and became the basis for what people thought futuristic cars would look like. Or what UFOs would look like – take your pick.

Anyway, from the perspective of late October in 2020, 61 years later, it’s amusing to take a look at the cars of today and see how close we’ve actually come to getting some of these features. How well did the Fulgur predict what we’d have on our roads?

• Voice control: Yes, we’ve got this, although it’s not quite a case of telling the car your destination and letting it get there (they’re working on that). But you can use voice control on quite a few things, including the navigation system.
• Top speed of over 300 km/h: Yes, but most cars that are capable of this have their speeds limited for safety purposes.
• Autonomous braking and hazard detection: Yes. However, human input is still needed.
• Automatically adjusting headlights: Yes, although they adjust for the ambient light levels rather than how fast you’re going.
• Electric motor with hydrogen fuel cell technology: Yes, although the range isn’t anywhere near what was predicted. We’d all love a range of 5000 km in an EV (electric vehicle) or HFCV (hydrogen fuel cell vehicle).
• Electrical motor with nuclear power: Are you kidding me? Since Chernobyl and Fukushima, nuclear power isn’t quite the sexy answer to our energy problems that it was back in the 1950s.
• Balancing on two wheels with gyroscopic stabilisers at speeds over 150 km/h: No. Just no. If you want that sort of thing, get a motorbike, not a family saloon.

All in all, not too bad a job of predicting the future, Monsieur Opron – you did a better job than your compatriot Nostradamus.