Citroën DS3 by Orla Kiely

Through countless limited editions, derivatives and collaborations the (BMW) Mini has been unashamedly bastardised to within an inch of its life. So hackneyed and omnipresent has the once leftfield Mini become that it is now on the verge of falling from grace as the hipsters' default mode of transport.

However, should the Mini topple from its lofty perch atop the oh-so-trendy supermini pile, there is a chic young Gallic pretender waiting in the wings to assume the Mini's throne - the Citroen DS3. With youth on its side, and a trendsetting design that blazes a trail into the future rather than paying homage to the past, the DS3's star is tracing a rapid upward trajectory. Even as Citroen head off down the same treacherous path as Mini and attempt to bolster the DS3's cult status with a deluge of limited editions and collaborations, the DS3's sheen remains untarnished. DS3 Black, DS3 White, DS3 Racing; with the introduction if each successive variant the DS3 becomes ever more alluring, and its canonisation as a true design icon draws that little bit nearer.

With the launch of Citroen's new collection of Orla Kiely-designed special editions however, the DS3 has perhaps reached the apogee of cool. Add bold, brightly-hued leaf and acorn motifs to the roof of any other vehicle, and you would automatically render it unsaleable to all bar the most famished of squirrels. It is therefore a testament to the design integrity and innate coolness of the DS3 that it carries off such idiosyncratic visual flourishes with aplomb. In addition to a choice of four vibrant roof designs, showcasing the Irish designer's signature stem and acorn patterns, the Orla Kiely collection cars also feature her distinctive emblem on the rear windows and exterior badges, while the interior reveals Orla Kiely embossed multi-coloured headrests and stem or acorn print carpet mats. The eye-popping carnival of colour and pattern is further supplemented by coloured wing mirrors, white or black 17-inch alloy wheels and a choice of four exterior paint tones. The overall effect can only be described as visually arresting and wholly unique. 

Only time will tell if the DS3 can usurp the Mini as the king of the hatchback brat pack, but as the Orla Kiely collection attests its credentials remain in near perfect order. With both the DS3 and the Mini Countryman set to compete in this year's revised format WRC, the battle seems set to intensify. 

LAND ROVER DEFENDER 90 X-TECH

In the sleepy, bucolic hamlets of Northern England they border on the ubiquitous: hoary unkempt Land Rover Defender 90s, the lustre of their earthy green paintwork obscured by a healthy spattering of farmyard detritus, every panel riddled with blemishes from tussles with over-enthusiastic livestock.  With its rugged demeanour, all-terrain prowess and simple mechanicals, the Land Rover Defender is the de facto vehicle of choice for rural practitioners of both crop and animal husbandry alike.

But what of the urban agriculturalist? What is the city-dwelling farmer, who perhaps dabbles in a spot of recreational drug dealing, to do? Fortunately Land Rover have the vehicular answer in the shape of the Defender X-Tech Limited Edition. The X-Tech takes the rustic charms of the standard Defender 90 Hard Top Commercial and gives them a contemporary urban makeover, embellishing the old agrarian favourite with decorative flourishes normally found on its more ostentatious Range Rover siblings. Gone are the down-to-earth steel wheels, replaced instead by unique 16-inch Saw Tooth alloys finished in a menacing gloss black. To expunge all remaining vestiges of the countryside from the X-Tech, the Defender's iconic form is finished in Zermatt Silver, with contrasting Santorini Black enhancing the cosmopolitan feel on the roof and wheel arches.

While the X-Tech may seek to cast aside its utilitarian roots in favour of a more metrosexual identity, the presence of a 2.4-litre common rail diesel under the bonnet and its sizeable 360Nm of torque, suggest that this limited edition remains a dependable workhorse at heart - in essence a true, and very desirable, Defender.

Carkichi’s (Somewhat Belated) 2010 Automotive Year in Review

 Porsche 918 Spyder - Geneva 2010 - The Concept Car of 2010?


Following the “Apocolypse Now” style proclamations of doom and gloom that sullied the years of ‘08 and ‘09 for many in the automotive industry, 2010 has represented something of a great leap forward for automotive kind - a leap forward perhaps even tinged with a hint of optimism.

Derelict Fisher Body Plant (Buick/Cadillac), Detroit (Photo: Sean Hemmerle)


Down and out, and with the death knoll seemingly sounding for Detroit’s Big Three in 2009, 2010 has seen emphatic comebacks from the brink for the Big Two, Ford and GM, at the very least. Both these motor industry leviathans have leveraged revitalised, timely and improved quality product lines to take advantage of the post-depression upturn in new vehicle demand, and, in so doing, are forecast to return ten-digit profits for 2010. It remains to be seen whether Chrysler can recover in quite so prodigious a manner as GM, after the two companies declared bankruptcy, scurrying cap in hand for multi-billion dollar bailouts from the Federal coffers. However, a raft of new and improved product in the pipeline augurs well for the rehabilitation of Chrysler in 2011, under the management of Sergio Marchionne and Fiat S.p.A.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento @ VW Group Evening Paris 2010


The renewed sense of optimism was also clearly evident in 2010’s concept car output. After the motor industry’s collective loss of confidence in 2009 manifested itself in lightly embellished future production cars parading as “concepts” and the austerity enforced hibernation of anything remotely unorthodox, 2010 saw extravagant glamour restored to the global Auto Salon stage. Enthralling, often fantastical and always desirable, exotic concepts were omnipresent in 2010. This frenetic orgy of flamboyant concepts came to a notable crescendo at Paris in the autumn, with the debut of Lamborghini’s flyweight 999kg Sesto Elemento with its exposed mechanicals and exquisite use of carbon fibre and composites, Lotus’ concept car ejaculation in the form of the five Es - Elise, Esprit, Elan, Elite and Eterne (all admittedly looking like subtle variations on a single theme) and Audi’s evocative paean to the 30 year old Ur-Quattro, the Quattro concept. Elsewhere concepts such as Porsche’s 94mpg 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid and Jaguar’s C-X75 range extended electric vehicle paired exotic desirability and the lure of high performance with environmental credentials.- the Porsche by mating three electric motors producing a total of 218bhp with a 500bhp RS Spyder derived V8; the Jaguar by combining a 195bhp motor at each wheel with two 94bhp gas micro-turbines, which can be used either to extend the 68 mile EV range by replenishing the car’s batteries or to provide supplementary power directly to the motors for Vmax runs.

Jaguar C-X75 Range Extended EV - Paris 2010


The most seismic shift in 2010’s automotive landscape however came in the realm of the Electric Vehicle. 2010 will undoubtedly come to represent the most significant watershed in the wide scale acceptance and popularisation of private electric vehicles since the failure of GM’s EV1 project, for it was in the last month of 2010 that both Nissan and Chevrolet finally made the first two truly mass-produced and family-oriented electric cars available to the general public, and both at price points tantalisingly close to verging on the affordable. While the universal adoption of electricity as the automobile’s tipple of choice is still some way off, and while both members of the EV forward guard, the Leaf and Volt, each have their own particular compromised crosses to bear, the electric car’s ascendance is set only to continue in 2011 as more manufacturers jump on the EV band wagon and governments continue their EV subsidies in the face of spending cuts elsewhere.

Nissan's Leaf - European Car of the Year 2011


Optimism, the Big Detroit 3, Outlandish concepts and EVs. These are the themes that have come to dominate the wider automotive world in 2010, but what of the the themes and vehicles that have come to define Carkichi’s insignificantly small slice of the automotive pie over the course of the last year? Carkichi’s automotive worldview has also seen a number of tumultuous changes in 2010, as previously held notions of vehicular good taste were rent asunder and new and exciting automotive fetishes established in their place. A selection of the themes and vehicles that influenced Carkichi's 2010 will be covered in a series of forthcoming posts.

SURFIN' UK

I'm not a surfer, but this Morris Minor Traveller, complete with boards and fantastic fog/headlights, could have me persuaded to submit to a sound beating at the hands of Poseidon.

Images courtesy of www.heritageresearch.co.uk

CARKICHI'S DREAM GARAGE - PART 1

    1993 Honda CRX Del Sol SiR
Total Lottery Spend to Date: ¥230,000

So, the Honda CRX Del Sol. You may be forgiven for thinking that this is not the most auspicious of starts to a feature that claims to go by the title “Dream Garage”. Nor perhaps is this the best vehicle with which to establish myself as a self-proclaimed arbiter of automotive taste. However, were the planets to align in such a way as to bequeath me with a sizeable lottery win, I would like to think that my reaction would be a little more considered than to simply head for my nearest purveyor of Italian, Bavarian, or Great British exotica to select the newest and most expensive offerings from their shelves. While my spending spree would doubtless involve trips to the auctions of Bonhams and Coys, and may even take in the occasional Porsche or Ferrari dealership, the majority of my time would be spent in the motor trade’s less salubrious establishments, passing on my new found wealth to dubious stereotypes clad in sheepskin coats in exchange for overlooked and oft maligned metal from the annals of automotive history. My ultimate goal would be to craft a collection so eclectic it would utterly confound the classic car commentators of the day, were it to be unearthed from beneath the years of accumulated dust at some point in the distant future.

It is with this goal in mind that this unmolested silver example of the CRX Del Sol has been selected as the first entry in the Carkichi dream garage. While the Mazda MX-5 and other Japanese machinery of a similar vintage - including the Del Sol’s older brethren, the first and second generation CRXs - have already cemented their positions as classic driver’s cars, the third generation CRX is often seen as something of a superficial poseur in this company, lacking the full credentials required to attain classic status. A quick Google Image search for “CRX Del Sol” reveals what is perhaps the primary reason for the diminutive Honda’s perceived lack of credibility. It would appear from the resulting images that more gaudy hate crimes against tasteful modification have been perpetrated against the Del Sol than any other vehicle on the road, with owners having an alarming proclivity for fitting scissor-style doors and vaudeville appendages both fore and aft. With an abundance of bad taste and ostentatious showmanship seemingly de rigueur in Del Sol driving circles, it is little wonder that the car remains neglected by more retiring members of the automotive community. Yet, even without the best efforts of the tasteless tuning brigade, the CRX manages to back itself into a cul-de-sac with its deceptive styling. At first glance, the lines of this little targa seem to promise that the holy grail of powertrain configurations lies within, for the Del Sol looks to all intents and purposes as though it sports a mid-engined rear-wheel-drive layout. The reality of the Civic-derived front-engined front-wheel-drive powertrain therefore comes of something of a shock to those purists who insist on rear-wheel-drive in their sports cars.



Look beyond the questionable accomplishments of the modifiers and the less than ideal FF layout however, and there is much to recommend this perfectly proportioned targa. For a start there is the effervescent and characterful 1.6-litre VTEC B16A engine, which, in this the top of the range SiR model, produced 170ps at 7800rpm, tipping the Del Sol over the magic 100bhp per litre milestone. Then there is the Del Sol’s party piece, the Trans Top automated roof stowage system. While the standard manual targa top and its promise of open top motoring may prove enough of a lure for some, the coveted Trans top system fitted to this car adds a further layer of drama to the wind-in-the-hair experience. Pull up at the lights, activate the Trans Top system, and wait for the crowd to gather as a structure reminiscent of a Stannah stairlift emerges from the rear of the Del Sol, extends its mechanical arms and snuggly stows the targa top in the rear luggage compartment. Admittedly, the Trans Top may sacrifice luggage space and add an additional 50kg to the Del Sol’s 1090kg kerb weight, but the engineering spectacle is surely worth the extra ballast? Finally, proving that the pleasing lines of the CRX Del Sol can be tastefully enhanced, this particular example is finished with a rare and fetching set of period Mugen NR-10 wheels, paying faithful homage to classic Campagnolo wheels of the 60s. To my mind these wheels alone go a long way towards justifying the 230,000 Yen asking price.

NISSAN LEAF AERO STYLE CONCEPT

While the introduction of the Nissan Leaf perhaps represents a tipping point in the wide-scale adoption of the electric car, for car enthusiasts the world over it could be seen as the harbinger of something far more lamentable - the disappearance of enjoyment from the motoring experience. Specifically, the demise of the winning internal combustion engine / manual gearbox combination and the associated aural stimulation and tactility it brings.

However, with this, the Nissan Leaf Aero Style Concept, Nissan are attempting to sweeten the electric car pill with a hint of dynamic aggression. Although the Leaf's 90kW AC motor remains as standard, the rakish stylistic additions begin to hint at the wider range of design directions which could be pursued as a result of an electric drivetrain's more flexible packing. This is most noticeable up front, where the absence of an ungainly alloy lump with a prodigious appetite for air liberates the front end of gaping oxygen hungry orifices and hunkers the whole front end preciptously downwards with sporting intent.

The Leaf Aero Style Concept makes its debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon on the 14th January 2011, and promises to place modified EVs alongside appropriately suited and booted Priuses (Prii, Priora?) on my list of automotive guilty pleasures.