Happy Holidays From SBV8!!

And a Happy New Yea...

Read More

Watching Someone Hoon A Rolls-Royce Is Oddly Satisfying

13/12/12, 1:49, 3436 views when postedRolls-Royce is the epitome of luxury, opulence and excellence. To own a Phantom is to say either "I've made it" or "I was born into a stupendously rich family". It's the last surviving "land yacht", massive, smooth, massive, exceedingly comfortable, and also quite massive. It's supposed to glide from place to place in a stately and calm manner, only leaving tarmac to use an unnaturally-even gravel driveway, perhaps with a huge fountain to drive around before arriving at a set of stone steps leading to marble...

Read More

12 Reasons 12 Is The Best Number

OK, so it's 12/12/12 today. Unless you write out the entire year, it's the last completely repetitive date of the millennium. So let's stick with the number 12, because when it comes to engines, it's probably the greatest number of them all. Here are 12 reasons why 12 cylinders gets 12 out of 10 from me. Twelve.1 - Matra MS670 Le MansThis is perhaps my favourite engine sound, an early-mid 1970s 3.0-litre, 450bhp V12 from French company Matra (back when France was still a major force in motor racing). The MS670 it sat in won Le Mans three times...

Read More

Bugatti Makes Veyron LE, World Carries On As Normal

2012 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Bernar Venet EditionJust a quick post to say that Bugatti have just unveiled what is by my calculations the twenty-fifth limited-edition Veyron. Based on the Grand Sport Vitesse - the 1200PS convertible version - the Bernar Venet Edition features special paint (shocking!) by eponymous French artist Bernar Venet, featuring black, orange and some mathematical symbols, presumably because this car generates volcanic...

Read More

Formula One 2012 - We Have A Winner

Anyone else get the feeling Schumi farted just before this was taken?So, that was a pretty epic end to a pretty epic season finale, wasn't it? The man to beat gets tangled up with a local to make it look like the underdog would seize the title, only to come back through the grid, overcoming difficult conditions as changeable weather saw panic pit-stops and slithering sideways (as well as very nearly seeing a highly unlikely winner to the race) to...

Read More

Porsche Puts A Roof On Its Prettiest-Ever Boxster, Makes Prettiest-Ever Cayman

2013 Porsche Cayman and Cayman SIt's no secret that to make a Cayman, you simply add a roof and 10 horsepower to the Boxster. However, the stiffer chassis that results, and perhaps a few other changes we don't see, have lead to the Cayman being considered as the benchmark sports car in its class/price range (which is also true of the Boxster anyway). But since the 2009 refresh of the Mk.1, or 987 Cayman, which added a Limited-Slip Differential, people...

Read More

21 Years & 50,000 Hits - A Collection Of Thoughts

Pic unrelated.Well, it's about time I wrote something here. Considering this blog has received 50,000 hits and it is/was my 21st birthday, I'm practically required to write something by unwritten laws, some of which I have set myself. I'm told the best writing is impulsive, so with a completely random picture chosen from my HDD, let's see what results of the next half hour or so. 2:14.Well, first of all, there's the 50k views. Actually no, FIRST...

Read More

The Toyota Supra Will OFFICIALLY Return In 5 Years!

Toyota Supra Twin Turbo (Mk.IV)It's a good time to be longing for automotive comebacks. First the AE86 gets a spiritual successor, then the Honda NSX is announced to return (as a hybrid...), then Alfa Romeo-- wait a minute, didn't I already write this?Yes I did, when it was announced that the Mazda RX-7 will officially return in 2017. Well now it's happened again! Tetsuya Tada, Toyota's sports car boss, is making sure he has things to do...

Read More

Toyota's Rebellion Against Nanny State Banned By Nanny State

Watch this advert by Toyota, showing a man tired of the dreary, censored world he exists in finding a GT 86 in the back of a chandelier collector's shack. Watch him escape the monotony and live at last in the real world behind the wheel of "The Real Deal", which you should definitely buy by the way.Does it make you want to drift through traffic during a police chase on real public roads as large bollards rise from the ground at random? Does it make...

Read More

The Mazda RX-7 Will OFFICIALLY Return In 5 Years!

2002 Mazda RX-7It's a good time to be longing for automotive comebacks. First the AE86 gets a spiritual successor, then the Honda NSX is announced to return (as a hybrid...), then Alfa Romeo Duetto/Spider is confirmed to return with a Mazda MX-5 chassis and Italian styling and power, and then the Alpine brand is confirmed to be revived by Renaultsport and Caterham in the form of a small lightweight MR sports car within the next three or four...

Read More

Renaultsport + Caterham = Alpine Awesomeness

From top-left to bottom-right: Alpine's Dieppe factory, Caterham's previous joint venture, a LOUD concept and all these things together.If you haven't been brushing up on your '70s motorsport history and/or obscure French brands, and haven't played Gran Turismo 4 or 5, you can be forgiven for not knowing about Alpine. Despite being around from 1955 to 1995, they didn't really make a global impact on sports car building. Founder John Rédélé started...

Read More

Proof: A 290mph Veyron Über Sport Is Possible

Performance Power Racing Ford GT and a Jet FighterJust one post ago, I mentioned that Bugatti might be making a Veyron Super Grand MacDaddy Sport R with 1600 horsepower and 1600kg combining to make a 2-second 0-60 run and a suspected top speed of 288mph. Those performance numbers may seem far-fetched, but if you really don't believe that a car can go that fast, then I would like to point you in the direction of this Ford GT, whose 5.4-litre...

Read More

Bugatti Reportedly Developing a Veyron Super Duper Sport

An 8-litre Quad-Turbo W16 with 1001PS is so passe now, apparently.Take a legendary old moniker from the pre-war years and turn it into your halo of halo brands. When you already own Lamborghini, Bentley, Audi and Porsche, you need a brand as outrageous a Bugatti to overshadow them all, and while the Veyron isn't as elegant or as front-engined as the pre-war cars that made the name famous, the sheer opulence and level of finish and engineering stands...

Read More