Auto Union at half the price

This unique racecar was built by the order of Adolf Hitler before the World War 2. He offered 500,000 Marks in 1933 to build the fastest and most powerful racecar ever, to show the whole world that Germany is the most advanced country. Auto Union was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers (Horch, Audi, DKW and Wanderer), established in 1932. The company has evolved into present day Audi, as an subsidiary of Volkswagen Group.
The Auto Union D Type won several Grand Prix races, but after the war most of the cars were destroyed or lost. In the 1980's an American D Type fan, Paul Karassik, found the only 2 remaining car in the Soviet Union. One of these is the 1938 pre-model, and the other is the 1939 improved model. The 1939 model was auctioned in Paris on 2007 for €11.5 million. Now, the car will be put under hammer at Bonhams & Butterfields sale at Quail Lodge in California on August 14 and is expected to raise €6milion.

Alone with the beast

Ms M went back to Monte Carlo so I'm left alone in London with a TVR Tuscan on my hands. What better choice of restaurant to go to than Galileo's, on Haymarket st, across the Royal Theatre Haymarket. Tuscan car, tuscan food right?!
I parked at Leicester Square Masterpark witch is 2 mins away. I don't know much about tuscan cuisine. I know about Caccuccio witch is a rich soup made from a tomato and fish base. The secret is to use many different types of fish, pureed bones and all directly into the base of the soup. They don't had any in the menu so I went for the carpaccio and grilled lamb. And of course the usual suspects, pecorino cheese and pastry everything floated in olive oil and herbs. By the time I was finished it was 10pm and I was to tired do something else so I went to bed to see more news about Susan Boyle on tv. Come on people! do we really need to know every move of that poor creature?!

John Lenon grandmother

Small enough to explore easily on foot, but big enough to be wonderfully cosmopolitan. Walk around the traffic free heart of Chester city centre and it is impossible not to fall under the spell of a city buzzing with real, vibrant 21st century life.
I arrived in Chester at 1pm and grab a late lunch at The Bear and Billet. The restaurant is housed in one of Chester's more beautiful buildings and, after more than 200 years in business, this pub seems to have the basics down pretty well. I had a quite decent salad and a pepper steak sandwich with chips and a pint of Guiness for around 7 british pounds. And I found out this: "Enthusiasts of obscure Beatles information may be interested to know that John Lennon's grandmother, Annie Jane Milward, was born in the Bear and Billet in 1873"

I phoned the owner of the Tuscan and he came to take me from city center to his home to show me the beauty. At 4pm I was comfortably seated in a 380hp sport car speeding back to London.

And if at the end of the day you'll get to drive all the way back to London a TVR Tuscan life is really wonderful.

Now, the car...

Too raw for some, scary for others due to the temperamental reputation or by the troubles the company is going through. Bought by Abramovitch's 24 years friend, Nicolay Smolensky in 2004, TVR is now, after several attempts to change ownership again, going as slow as melases in january.

Still the car I drove to London was anything but slow. It's... loud. It's a raging bull this car. You feel the power of the 6 inline engine straight to your lungs. The sering is heavy and the brakes feel like your actualy put your foot on the pavement to slow down. At slow pace it's manageable but as I pick up speed I get scared senceless. I actualy don't know exactly how fast it is because for 300Km Chester to London I had only one thought: "Phone mother. Say I love you one last time".

Another job (almost) well done

Last weekend I saw ms M in London and manage to finalize the list for their move to UK in September. The initial budget was €200.000 but I think we can go well below that. With this kind of job I have a rule of thumb that say the purchase price should be around 60% of budget. The rest is for repairs, cosmetics, papers, taxes, insurance, transport and the rest. So we had €120.000 to buy our 5 cars.
And the winers are:

Car	year				price
Land Rover Defender	2001				18.000
Land Rover Discovery	2008				40.000
Jaguar XJS	1991				8.900
TVR Tuscan	2000				19.000
Mini Clubman	new				23.000
	total				108.000

We are well under budget witch is not bad since the XJS will probably need a lot of (well deserved) attention. Those wonderful cars were designed to be "the quietest, most comfortable and luxurious high performance car on the market” according to the press release from 1975.
Meant to be the replacement for the legendary E-type, XJS was not so much a sport car but a grand tourer. The car’s shape was created by Malcolm Sayer (also responsible for the E-type), who worked closely with company founder Sir William Lyons. The V12 engine catered for an exclusive market. Direct competition were the Mercedes 450SLC, Maseratti Indy, Lamborghiny Espada, Ferrari 365GTB or Aston DB6, ranging respectively from 20% to 90% more expensive.
Maintenance on the V12 is more costly than on a 6 cylinder car, not only because there are twice as many plugs, wires, injectors, etc... but because with such a big engine access is limited; this is the price to pay for the V12 badge.
Rust is a problem and can be very costly to fix.
With any luck and some €15.000 for a complete overhaul, I'll be able to deliver to my dear M's a glamorous V12 cabrio.
I love the others to but XJS and the Tuscan are clearly the jewels of the collection. The Defender is for hunting, the Clubman is a perfect city dweller with plenty of room in the back for Lassie (yeah, I know, such an "original" name for a collie) and the Discovery for everything else.
The Tuscan I didn't saw yet. I'm to go in Chester near Liverpool to see it.

How to became a supercar manufacturer in 3 easy steps

I was searching some new car for one of those clients that say "yes it has all these features I'll never use and the wiper blades are made of solid gold, witch is fine because in my country never rains, buy it's still not expensive enough". All I could come up with are the same old Lambo's for american pop idols or middle eastern AMG's so heavy with diamonds that can barely make it to 150Km/h. I then turn my attention to the niche manufacturers, the ones children decorate walls with. That's how I came up with this guide that can turn anyone into a supercar manufacturer in less than 3 weeks and under €3000:

STEP1 Buy or borrow a computer
Any computer will do, even a laptop. You can find on the net, open source professional 3D software but if you're to lazy to learn Blender there are people that just use paintbrush. Half the pictures on teenagers walls are just that: pictures. They are as close to entering the production as I am to wining the marathon. All you need to do is draw some huge wheels and some doors that open in a more complicated fashion than a Nijinsky performance at Ballets Russe. Add some gargantuan wings and cover everything with carbon fiber texture. You now have a "concept car". You will proceed to find a name. Since the more famous ones like Bugatti or Ascari, are already taken and/or protected you can try an obscure garage dead for 30 or so years like Veritas or Voisin. Or be bold and put your name on the car however unpronounceable may that be. If Koenigseggrtssggmlgrstt can do it why can't you?! (investment - 0 - €200)

STEP2 Media buzzThis is the expensive part. Now, endowed with a name and a pretty picture for your supercar, set up an internet site (any teenager can help you for under €200) and call a press conference to announce the price and production date. The price should be no less than €1.500.000 and the technical specifications should be as evasive as possible but contain something like "23 cylinders with 7.3 valves/cylinder and over 2000HP from a Helium Engine". It helps if around the date of the press conference you crash a rental Ferrari while driving drunk with 2 naked strippers around Monaco.
For the press conference itself find a derelict farm in France and declare it's the birthplace of the famous tram driver or blacksmith your car is named after. Buy some sparkling wine (€3 at supermarket) some chips and biscuits. Borrow tableware from a wedding firm and a few bottles of Moët & Chandon or Veuve Clicquot for display. Attention, if someone's trying to give you Billecart-Salmon or Bruno Paillard because they're better don't take it. They are better bur your gussets won't recognize the names. Dress sharp (outskirts of Milano - €20) and preferably show up with the stripper that wares cast collar so you can tell again the story of you famous crash (investment: 400 - €1000).

STEP3 International investmentWith any luck, after your press conference you or your stripper well be invited at some ukrainian demigod villa that might also place an order for your supercar. With the down payment you'll rent a garage and buy a second hand Mitsubishi Eclipse (€350) and some fibreglass body-kits to build your car. If you manage to get more than €50.000 in downpaiments you can even commission a special body from a studio that has leftover designs in storage. With a second hand american V8 engine and drive-train (€200) you now have a "rolling prototype" to be paraded around autoshows. Depending on your budget you can go to the big events like Geneva or Paris or just to the lucrative ones like Kiev and Kuwait. Look sharp (see Step2). This is where you'll meet your fortune, your international investor, your true god. He will most probably be of slavic, vedric or islamic descent. He will buy your company for a few milions (the semi-defunct TVR went for 15mil pounds to Abramovich's friend Nicolay Smolenski). He can also keep you in charge for a nice salary (Victor Muller founder of Spyker cars takes 240000 from it's Lithuanian investors).