29th August 2006

Javan R1 Roadster

The R1 is a hand-built roadster made by Javan Sports Cars, a specialist firm based in Cornwall. The emphasis is placed on high performance, an ultra-light chassis and high-revving Honda powerplant. And with a competitive price it could make for a popular road and track car.

Weighing only 670kg, the roadster has a power to weight ratio of 328bhp per tonne, and can sprint from 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds. The quarter-mile dash is claimed to take only 12.2 seconds.

The convertible R1 has aluminium panels and features an aircraft style honeycomb monocoque construction, which helps to keep weight down without compromising stiffness.

Performance comes from a mid-mounted 2.0-litre i-VTEC engine feeding power to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. Developing 220bhp and revving to 8,600rpm.

With a price tag of £30,139 it's competitive with low-volume sports car rivals. The R1 goes head to head with the likes of the Lotus Elise R, Caterham's CSR 200 and Ariel Atom.

A working prototype is already on the road, and the new model is destined for production with left and right-hand-drive versions planned.

29th August 2006

2007 Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited

Jeep have updated the long lived Wrangler for 2007 with some subtle changes. The Wrangler is something of an American classic so Jeep are always very cautious when making updates.

For the first time the Jeep now has a curved windscreen. Not by much mind you and it can still be hinged forward and tied down for full open air convertible motoring. Other modifications include a wider and stiffer chassis to increase shoulder room and improve performance.

The biggest news from Jeep though is the release of the Unlimited, the first four door in the Wrangler's 65 year history and the only four door convertible on the market. And being a Jeep these doors can be removed or replaced with short half doors. The Unlimited is a full 20 inches longer than the 2 door model and with the rear seats removed can be used as a useful cargo space.

9th August 2006

Telsla Roadster the electric sports car

The electric car has always been a bit of a joke. The Toyota Prius was the first mass market duel fuel car and although winning European car of the year it has not been warmly received by the public. It's not that it's a bad car, it's easy to use, reliable and performs well for it's class. The main problem is the public's perception of a electric or 'green' car.

The Tesla Roadster is a car that could change these perceptions. It looks and performs like a high end sports car and yet it returns the equivalent of 135 miles per gallon. I say equivalent because this car doesn't use petrol or diesel. It's powered by a bank of lithium-ion batteries. The kind of thing that powers your mobile phone or laptop. These sit behind the driver and power the rear wheels.

The main problems encountered previously with electric cars was power and range. The Tesla is able to run for 250 miles on one charge and can be recharged in three and a half hours. Even more impressive is the performance. 0-62mph in about 4 seconds and a 130mph top speed. The performance is greatly assisted by the torque curve of an electric motor. This means that full power is available at low revs making it very versatile. Along with a redline of 13,500 rpm this also means the need for only two gears.

As you may be able to tell, the Tesla is based on the Lotus Elise and will be built in the Lotus factory in Norfolk, England. Prices will be high initially estimated to be between $80,000 and $100,000. The profits made will be put back into developing future technology to be used in less sporting, mass market models.

Apart from economy equivalent to 135mpg the Tesla is also almost silent adding a new dimension to convertible driving.

28th August 2006

Saab 9-3 update

The Saab 9-3 Convertible has seen a minor revamp mainly concentrating on the interior. The dashboard sees new heating, ventilation and stereo controls now using rotary dials to cut down on the number of individual buttons.

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The cleaner design is finished with a matt chrome line running around the main binnacle.

There's also a new information display housed in the speedometer and steering wheel-mounted controls to operate a variety of functions.

There are three new paint colour options but no other changes to the exterior of the Saab 9-3 Convertible. Prices also remain unaltered.