Haute Carture

HAUTE CARTUREThe ultimate in driving culture

baby landiefamily of four with the mini4x4

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HAUTE CARTURE MAGAZINE

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ISSUE #ONE> TRACK

ISSUE #ONE> CULTURE

HAUTE CARTURE MAGAZINEISSUE 01

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RANGE ROVER EVOQUE

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essentially evoque’d


Above: Range Rover’sanswer to the stylishcrossover market, With design input fromvictoria beckham.

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RANGE ROVER EVOQUE

‘The 2.2-litre diesel is the same as in the Freelander, and in a

raft of Ford, Peugeot and Citroën models’


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OTHER BABBY SUVS

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NISSAN JUKE

SUBARU FORESTER

HONDA CR-V

AUDI Q3

BMW X3

washington’sfinestNot often you see an R56 this kitted out...

by darryl stevens | Photography cullen cheung


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R56 MINI COOPER S


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News flash! The 2007 MINI looks like the 2006 MINI. As there wasn’t anything particularly wrong with the “old” mod-

el, BMW’s decision to leave things well enough alone shows welcome restraint. Well, almost. BMW’s added two extra inches to the new MINI– and we all know how meaningful two extra inches can be for guys (legroom!). But you’d be hard pressed to see any exterior ef-fects– good or bad. So is it still all systems go for MINI’s V2 rocket, or does the new model (codenamed R56) prove that more is less?

Truth to tell, I was feeling a bit blah about my MINI road test. But the moment The Man handed me the key to a 2007 MINI Cooper S, I perked up. The ignition device is now a circular pad with a stubby base; my first inclination was to open a channel to Starfleet and ask Scotty to beam me up. Once inside, I was instructed to stash the pad and press the button. Keyless ig-nition in a car the size of a 7-Series escape pod? Who’d a thunk it?

And who knew the Bavarians had a sense of humor? More charitably, the MINI’s interior looks like it was created by a grove of unsuper-

vised Apple Computer designers. (It’s only a matter of time before the MINI’s key includes an iPod.) The fuel gauge is now a circular ring of digital lights on the speedometer pod, with a “range to empty” display on the information section of the tachometer pod, in script famil-iar to BMW owners (if not MS Word users).

Drivers are confronted by a wide range of or-ganic looking toggles and indentures, operat-ing all manner of controls. Who cares how it all works? And who cares that not all the ma-terials are above average? Most are, and when you encounter the odd flimsy piece, the clever design more than compensates. Even the casu-al visitor instantly appreciates that fact that the BMW’s British box is a no-holds-barred style statement, not an Audi.

To that end, buyers can personalize their MINI Cooper S in a trillion ways, right down to checkered flag side mirror caps ($130) and a “Let’s Motor” license plate holder ($35). What’s more, the MINI is the only car you can custom-ize without completely destroying its resale val-ue. My favorite new interior color is the Tuscan beige; I love the look but could live without the

pretentious name.

The biggest change from old MINI to new: a Peugeot-sourced, BMW-fettled, 1.6-liter turbo four. The new engine’s a more powerful lump than the old supercharged Brazilian mill (172 horsepower and 177 pound feet of torque vs. 168/162). As a result, the zero to 60 time is slightly quicker (6.7 versus 7.2 seconds) with better fuel economy (29/36).

While the new MINI has a wider (i.e. more useful) power band and will now cruise at tri-ple digits without threatening to rattle itself to pieces, it doesn’t feel quite as eager out of the blocks as the old car. There’s a nasty lag between depressing the go pedal and the onset of accel-eration. It feels… dumbed down. Until, that is, you press the Sport button.

In many sports cars, activating the Sport but-ton creates little more than a psychological effect. In the new MINI, it’s undeniably trans-formative. In an instant, both the MINI Coo-per’s electric steering system and its fly-by-wire throttle tighten up. HC

top: Massive discsto help slow this beast Left: Versatileas well as stupidlyfast Above: Freewaycrusing at its bestright: Spots to helpsee in the dark. Holdon tight

‘81 austin mini 1000

they don’t make‘em like this

anymore1981 was a long long time ago...


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by darryl stevens | Photography darryl stevens


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“The inside of the car has two massive bucket seats to cater for my height, al-though potentially hindering the ability of a normal sized person getting in the back.”

The Mini is, to most petrol heads, the most British car there is, and has been since its

birth in 1959. Sir Alec Issigonis’ brainchild was designed to be a small, cheap, spacious family car for the masses, capable of the school run, the family holiday to Blackpool, and everything else in between. Under many different guises from the likes of BMC, to Austin, Morris, and then finally Rover, production of the Mini end-ed in 2001, where it would then make way for it’s new counterpart, the BMW MINI. As good as the new MINI is, it just does not seem as cheeky, eye-catching and, fundamentally, Brit-ish as the old Mini. This is why I own an old Mini, and have added my own subtle ‘touch’ to it.

The first thing you will probably think when you see me go to unlock my car is ‘how on earth does he fit in that?” Being six foot five, I ful-ly understand this quandary, but do not judge a book by its cover. The inside of the car has two massive bucket seats to cater for my height, although potentially hindering the ability of a normal sized person getting in the back. So if you don’t fit, you can walk, unless you pre-book the passenger seat before hand.

Aesthetically, the car is exactly how my 10-year old mind had pictured. Primarily, it’s red. It’s

my favourite colour; I would not place down the money unless it was a red Mini. The black wheels compliment the red giving the car a mean demeanor compared to other Minis, which sets it apart and takes away from the in-nocent, ‘clown-car’ effect Minis often have on others. With wide wheel arches, a twin tip ex-haust and bumpers from that of an old Cooper S – which won the Monte Carlo rally 3 times – sets the car off as a real road racer. Unfor-tunately though, ‘looks like’ does not tend to mean ‘drives like’.

The one litre metro engine is not exactly quick. To be honest, it would probably be faster to cut holes in the foot wells and run the car along like Fred Flintstone. Initially, first and second gear has some poke off the line, but their ratio is far too small to get any real speed out of them, thus making third and fourth slow and lacking torque. The general theme of this engine is that if it so much as even approaches a slight incline in the road, you are required to drop many gears to make it up without causing a train of traffic. As such, this wears out the gearbox fast if not maintained, which is costly and trou-blesome to the untrained DIY mechanic. The gearbox in my car is about as arthritic as an 80-year olds hip, meaning constant crunching from the worn syncros. However, a successful

downshift without a wallet-tensing ‘crunch’ is very rewarding as a driver.

You will have noticed earlier that I only count-ed up to fourth gear. That is because the car only has four of them. In today’s world of five, six, even seven geared cars, only having four can mean for some scary motorway driving, to the point where I haven’t even dared go past a B-road during my entire ownership of the car; it’s just too scary. Any speed past 45 results in the puny engine screaming at high revs, just begging for a gear that isn’t there, making na-tional speed limit of 70 a mere pipe-dream. The arctic lorries in the first lane would be overtak-ing you, not the other way around. Once you’ve deafened yourself from the noise, you have to accept the fact that the steering wheel is shak-ing due to the fact the front wheels are small-er than your head and you get every single bit of feedback from the road through the pedals, as they’re wobbling away too. But the scariest thing by a mile is the absence of an airbag. A 50 mile per-hour crash would probably end up in either a hospital bed or a coffin. People often question why I stay away from motorways…

However, where the car fails in safety and top end speed, it more than makes up for in terms of handling. Minis are often always praised for

“The fact that the whole driving experience is ‘all up to you’ is what in my mind makes this car so

much fun to drive.”


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their go-kart-esk handling and my car is no different. With its slightly wider track due to wider aftermarket alloys and distinct lack of body roll due to the stiffer shocks and lowered rear end, you will tend to find that you can turn the steering wheel at most speeds and actually exit the corner facing the right way round. The confidence the car gives you in turns makes you want to keep driving, and gives you a real sense of satisfaction when you reach your des-tination. The brakes are less phenomenal with a drum all-round set up, but when factored in the weight and speed of the car, they are perfectly up to the job, and I find the feel from drums are far more engaging than disks on modern cars due to the fact there is no help from a computer

somewhere; it’s all up to you.

The fact that the whole driving experience is ‘all up to you’ is what in my mind makes this car so much fun to drive. It may not be fast, and certainly not safe, but arriving at your destina-tion with the knowledge of all of these flaws in the back of your mind, mixed with the plusses such as its appearance and its go-kart feel, and a pulse, makes me want to keep hold of this car as long as I can, as I know a modern car will simply never be as much fun. hc


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“However, where the car fails in safety and top

end speed, it more than makes up for

in terms of handling.”

‘81 austin mini 1000

It’s a bug’s life...volkswagen beetles are probably the coolest car on the planet. why?

For many car fans, the 1200 was the defin-itive Beetle. It’s the most numerous, and arguably the most familar because of it.

The main improvements - aside from the more powerful engine was the vast improvement in visibility thanks to larger front and rear win-dows.

This generation of Beetle car was constant-ly updated in detail until 1968 to become the

1300 when it was thoroughly revised again. New headlamps and thicker bumpers were fitted, and uprated safety kit appeared inside. Mechanical changes included – at last – 12-volt electrics and dual-circuit brakes, plus a fuel tank that didn’t have to be filled by via the ug-gage compartment.

specification

top speed................................... 72 mphpower......................................... 40 bhptorque........................................ 65 lb ftweight........................................ 740 kgtransmission............................. 4 speed0-60............................................ 32.0 secs


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‘70s Volkswagen Beetle

The german icon having stood the test of time still sits pretty up with the best

Originally known as Käfer (Kefer), which is the German word for Beetle, the people’s car (in German, Volkswagen) brings on a lot of mem-ories. Being the most comfortable than most European small cars and the most-produced of a unique design, the VW Beetle has become the echo of each generation’s outlook on life.Being a car fanatic, although without a driving license, Adolf Hitler conceived the idea for the Beetle while imprisoned in 1924 in the context of solving Germany’s unemployment problem. The government would build autobahns for motor vehicles and the need for a mass-pro-duced car - the people’s car - that the aver-age man could afford to buy, was imperative. In 1933, when the Nazi Party came to power, works on the special roads begun immediately.

No other car seized the historic opportunity of the early 1940s as the Beetle. And no other inventor managed to create a car for the peo-ple, comfortable, affordable and reliable for everyday use as Ferdinand Porsche. The “Bug” came into the picture along with the Volkswa-gen Group having a maximum speed of 62 mph, achieving 42 miles per gallon, having an

In the 1970s, the standard Beetle production continued, yet a small variation called the Su-per Beetle was launched in the market offering MacPherson strut front suspension. From 1971 to 1976, several changes took place, mainly in the design and the fuel injection system.

More than significant engineering changes, cosmetic changes and new paint options were the innovations introduced in the 1976 mod-el. In particular, the 1976 Beetle was launched with dual port 1600cc engine, metallic paint, full carpets and a rear window defogger. In addition, the new model came with improved seats and adjustment, two speed fresh-air fan, front disc brakes, blinkers in the front bum-pers, trim chrome plated, elephant’s foot tail lights and rubber inserts in the bumper bars.

The end of an era for the made in Germany Beetle production came in January 1978. The “Bug” continued to be produced in Puebla, Mexico until 1985. hc

air-cooled engine, being able to transport two adults and three children and having a market price of less than $200. The economic miracle of West Germany found great support in the driving force of the Beetle.

More than a car, the Beetle reflected the chang-ing trends and styles. Symbolizing stability, self-discipline and lust for life, the Beetle soon became a hot seller in the US and a benchmark for American compact cars such as Chevy Cor-vair. In addition, in the international poll for the world’s most influential car of the 20th cen-tury, the Beetle was ranked fourth.

“More than a car, the Beetle reflected the

changing trends and styles.”


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