The Autophile and the physicist...

So, the auto lover, looking for his dream car drops by his neighbor, a physicist and says, “Can you help me? I'm looking for the perfect car. One that has infinite acceleration and top speed, stops on a dime, has perfect weight balance, and weighs virtually nothing. Where can I find such a thing?”. The physicist pauses, tamps his pipe, looks back at his friend and says, “Well first, assume a spherical car...”.

This story proves that: physicists should stay away from comedy; that there remains an enormous gulf between science and engineering; and that neither of our protagonists have ever experienced an Ultima GTR.

I am certain of the last point because, having now driven in an Ultima (http://www.ultimasports.co.uk/), I can unequivocally state that the Ultima accelerates, stops and changes direction better than any car I have ever experienced. At 2,200 pounds, 500+ horsepower, mid-engine induced weight distribution, and bespoke suspension, brakes and steering, the Ultima makes F-cars, Lambo's, Corvette's, Ford GT's and anything else German, Italian, American or British seem like economy cars without back seats.

Oh, and did I mention that it's anything but spherical? In fact, it's absolutely and stunningly gorgeous.



Just one thing. You have to finish the car yourself. How much finishing and how long it will take is a function of your interests, your option list, and the size of your wallet. Ted Marlow, president of Ultima LTD,showed my son and I around his tightly packed factory in Hinkley, U.K. - about two hours outside of London. A patient, enthusiastic and knowledgeable fellow, Ted spent two hours with us, explaining the history of the Ultima, how bespoke (we call them 'custom' here in the good old USA) parts have been designed and manufactured to ensure the highest quality performance, reliability and cost-optimization of the car, and how the philosophy of the build experience is designed as a hobby to be relished rather than a painful step on the way to completion of a world class automobile.

Oh, and did I mention that it's absolutely and stunningly gorgeous?



Ultima rolling chassis' are designed to be mated to a Porsche G50 or Getrag transmission and powered by V8's of varying tunes from Chevrolet U.S. Ultima partners with engine tuner American Speed (http://www.amerspeed.com/scgi-bin/showultimaengines.cgi). The demonstrator had a 400 horsepower carbureted classic. The Chevrolet motors have been chosen for their low cost, high power, parts availability, durability and relative high levels of sophistication. I was quite surprised when Ted informed me that connecting rods in the LS7 engine (available in 566, 650, 725 and 800 horsepower) were made of titanium. The American Speed engines are pre-configured to mate with specified transmissions and 'drop-in' to the Ultima cars.

Returning to the physicist reference, an Ultima GTR with an American Speed LS7 650 horsepower engine has a power to weight ratio unlike any other production sports car. Coupled with a supple, street-capable chassis that nonetheless is highly performant on the race track leads to some remarkable numbers (http://www.ultimasports.co.uk/company/newsflash.html).

Then there's that remarkably beautiful design thing.



And of course, on the road, this is the most frequent view of the car by others:



So, two issues remain. Ultima makes two cars. The GTR is their closed top coupe designed car reminiscent of a classic LeMans racer. Remarkably civilized with a purposeful race-oriented interior, it clearly is the better all-around design for street and track. The Can Am is the cabriolet version of the same car. Same chassis, drivetrain, build experience but with conventional and track-oriented windshield designs and a removable soft top. Both are equivalently capable automobiles. But, as a resident of the Bay Area of California, the soft-top capital of planet earth, my eyes wander to the latter.

So, Ginger?



Or Mary Ann?



The second item of course is whether I'm going to take the plunge. I must admit that after seeing the car and speaking with Ted I'm more impressed than ever. I still haven't made the final call, but I must admit that the garage remodel has begun. :)

It started with a bike ride... (Part 1)

In my life experience, the zenith of all things automotive revolves around the Ford GT. With references both historic and personal in nature, it's a story that, so far, has a very happy ending.

Rewind to the mid-60's when the unholiest of corporate mergers - The Ford Motor Company and Ferrari – was under consideration. As the story goes, Ford was surreptitiously approached by a Ferrari representative to initiate consideration of an acquisition. Enzo Ferrari (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzo_Ferrari) was not happy with the distraction of building and selling street-going sports cars to support his passion for racing. His hope was that in a post acquisition Ford+Ferrari world, he could focus all of his time, energy and additional funds on the purity of racing.

While Ford was investing a great deal of time and money crawling through Ferrari's people, financial and operational processes and increasingly growing excited about the prospects of such a marriage, Ferrari and Enzo was becoming more taciturn when considering what life would be like living and working in such a big American company. At some point, Enzo silently turned the tables and instructed his people to learn all they could of Ford's intellectual property and then once satisfied, he unceremoniously and surprisingly pulled the plug on the acquisition. This so incensed 'Hank the Deuce' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford_II) that he decreed that Ford would supplant Ferrari in their own endurance racing bastion of success – the 24 hours of LeMans.

The car would be called the Ford GT 40. with the '40' representing the overall height, in inches, of the car. Much of the work was carried out in the U.K., with many parts coming from across Europe and so it would be inaccurate to claim that car was a purely U.S. endeavor. It took a bit of debugging, with mechanical problems dogging the cars entry in 1964 and 1965, to get to the winners circle. But the resultant design placed first in the LeMans race in 1966-1969. Four consecutive years of Ferrari watching from behind. An astonishing fulfillment of an aggressive and audacious goal. (There's numerous books that describe this aspect of Ford's history. One is: http://www.biggerbooks.com/bk_detail.aspx?isbn=9781844253050) Here's a photo of the first winning car:

Overwhelmingly beautiful. The perfect sports/racing car:


Always a car geek, shortly after the race (there were no satellite feeds at the time) I had the chance to watch segments of it on ABC's Wide World of Sports. What caught my eye was the incredible design of the GT40. The first mid-engined car I recall seeing, aerodynamic, curvy and low to the ground, it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. I watched intently on my black and white television hoping to see a few close-ups of this remarkable machine.

Fast forward a year or two: As a young kid growing up in New York city, I spent a lot of time on my bicycle. Rounding a corner near my brick row house, parked on the street before my very eyes was one of the very few street-registered Ford GT's. There it was in the mechanical flesh. White with blue center stripe it was even more spectacular up close than on television. I spent the better part of an hour circling the car on foot ogling every little detail – the Halibrand mag wheels, the raw open rear engine compartment with the seven liter V8 under the rear glass, the bank of toggle switches framing a wide set of gauges with the speedometer on the far right. I traveled nearly every day to visit the GT40. Parked in the same position, never meeting it's owner, I would check on it as part of every ride. Then one day it was gone. Never to be seen again but indelibly etched in my mind as the design against which all other cars would be compared. And to this day, no other car, absolutely nothing could measure up. Quietly, in the back of my mind, the dream of owning a street-worthy Ford GT40 began to turn over.

Fast forward again: Reading my monthly home delivery of Car and Driver, Ford CEO Bill Ford rolled out the Ford GT concept at the 2002 North American International Auto Show in Detroit commemorating their 100th anniversary. Shortly after the rollout, Ford announced their intent to build 4,000 of these recreations. With a small design team led by the young and brilliant Camilo Pardo (http://www.mazdausamedia.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=23971 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDT1VLN-qYc) the team worked quickly to convert a show car to a deliverable for the 2005 model year.

Here's how Ford described their forthcoming supercar:

'The Ford GT delivers 550 horsepower and a certified 205-mph top track speed rating, with styling inspired by the historic racecars and a comfortable and contemporary interior, all for a base price (MSRP) of under $150,000. An ultra high-performance two-seat sports car, the Ford GT is built on an aluminum spaceframe chassis with super-plastic-formed aluminum body panels and an aluminum-over-carbon engine cover. A mid-mounted supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 delivers 500 pound-feet of torque. Power flows to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transaxle. Independent suspension, large Brembo brakes and Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires on 18-inch front and 19-inch rear wheels all are standard equipment.'

Perhaps more beautiful than the original. Thank you Camilo.


Later learning that Ford had lost ownership of the GT40 brand, and accepting that the recreation was in fact 44 inches tall, the production version would be called the Ford GT. I remember the house, room, piece of furniture and position I was in when I set my eyes on the new old GT. The decision, right there, was to resume my old plan – I have to get one. But seeing the pricing, I rationalized it with the amendment of the standard term 'some day'. The hope was to wait for production to get going and in 5 years or so, perhaps the price would drop to an affordable level.

Well, it didn't quite work out that way. Somewhere during the second year of the model run, Ford announced that they were going to stand by their word and halt production of approximately 4,000 cars, at the end of 2006. And six months or so after that last production date, my weekly Ebay check showed an early trend that triggered alarm. The historic nature, limited availability and unique design of the car was beginning to drive the collector market to drive the pre-owned pricing higher than list prices. My plan of waiting for the prices to fall was never going to happen. If I was was to own one, there was no other time than the present. Discussed quickly with my very understanding wife, I found one for sale at a Lambo dealer with 214 miles on it. I was quite focused on buying an as-new model with as much warranty remaining, and a minimum chance of 'overuse' in the hands of an avid sports car owner. There was no negotiation on price, but a protracted wait period while a cracked windshield in an otherwise perfect car was dealt with. In October of 2006, build #899, a 2005 model with all options and of course white with a blue stripe, was tucked comfortably in to my garage.

Dream realized:


More to come...

Verde

No mas! No mas!

If you've ever attended one of those Sunday brunch gatherings at an upper crust hotel, you know the drill. Stand up from your chair and before taking your first plateful, a quick lap around the banquet tables. In short order your eyes and brain are supersaturated with the view - food of every description. Infinite scale and infinite choice. Starving when you arrived, the feeling of overfilled sets in before your first plate is cleaned. Leaving sooner than you ever thought you would, the sense of guilt for not tasting one of everything lingers for days.

I had that same feeling at the recent Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance (http://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/) . Perhaps the most elegant and encompassing annual auto event in the U.S., neither my calendar nor my wallet permitted me to attend the final day and auction, so a few of my buddies and I headed down there the Friday of Concours week.

I'll offer up a few retrospective entries but first choice has to be the Italian Concourso held at the Monterey Airport. Set to be all Italian all the time, it included breeds and brands from many nations. But the centerpiece, the banquet table so to speak, was Ferrari. Dozens. No, hundreds. F-cars as far as the naked eye could see. All colors, all years, all styles, all models. Lane after lane, row after row, some brand new, some rare classics. It took at least two hours to take a full lap of the setting.

It was both spectacular and overfilling. Never in my life did I think I'd be over-satiated with F-cars. On average, Ferrari builds the most beautiful and exciting automobiles in the world – and have done so for many many years. But frankly, I could go another few weeks without seeing even one. Who knew that even supercars are better in smaller doses?

To wit:

That messy Ferrari buildup:


OK, no matter how full, you have to sample the caviar:


They've always had the touch:


Always:


One of my favorites. Absolutely timeless...


A snoutful of V12 from a 599:


My wife's fav. The Dino:


A Superamerica. More carbon fibre than an F22:


A passing phase. But still beautiful:


Verde