The Crittenden Automotive Library

The Official Start To The New Year

The Official Start To The New Year

Geoff Maxted
DriveWrite
December 27, 2013

Now that you have stuffed yourself full and lain sprawled, replete, on the sofa like a beached walrus, traditionally it is time to start thinking about New Year resolutions and doing something about that surplus avoirdupois. One good form of exercise is walking and DriveWrite can think of nowhere better for that sort of health inducing activity than Birmingham’s NEC. I don’t for a moment suggest you should actually walk to the venue but once there you can spend many happy hours strolling about and taking in the sights; and what sights they will be.

The new Aston Martin Vanquish will be on show as will the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, Jaguar XKRS GT, McLaren 12C Sprint and the Telsa Model S. They will all converge on the NEC to headline the supercar presence at the Performance Car Show on 9-12 January 2014.

Boasting almost 3,000bhp between them, the cars will take the spotlight on the stand of automotive magazine Autocar, which will celebrate and review these top road-going models.

Representing British performance, the new Aston Martin Vanquish will take pride of place on the stand. Costing just a snip short of £200,000, it features a 5.9-litre V12 engine that packs 565bhp under its carbon fibre body. With a top speed of 183mph, it can launch from standing to 62mph in 4.1 seconds.

One of its closest rivals, the 211mph Ferrari F12 Berlinetta will also be on show. Featuring a 6.3-litre V12 engine, this ‘Prancing Horse’ produces 731bhp at 8,250rpm to charge from 0-60mph in exactly three seconds and will pass 100mph in a rapid 6.5 seconds. With looks that pay homage to the front-engined models of the 1960s, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta will get any car enthusiast’s throttle revving.

The pair will sit alongside the Jaguar XKRS GT, which celebrates 25 years of Jaguar’s R brand (DriveWrite drove the regular XKR-S here). Its limited top speed of 186mph is achieved by a supercharged 5.0-litre V8, which sends the power through a six-speed automatic gearbox. With an output of 542bhp, the exquisite model powers from 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds.

The Performance Car Show will also provide a rare opportunity to see the McLaren 12C GT Sprint, limited to just 20 units. Taking inspiration from its successful racing counterpart, the £195,000 model has a 3.8-litre twin-turbo engine that produces 616bhp. It’s not just performance that McLaren has taken from the race car; the 12C GT Sprint also features an FIA-approved roll cage, carbon ceramic brakes, composite racing seat and six-point harness with HANS device attachment to ensure complete road-going safety.

Alongside the petrol-powered vehicles, the electric Tesla Model S will be showcased. Underneath its conventional yet stylish exterior, the Tesla Model S features an aluminium and steel monocoque and comes with a variety of battery options to deliver varied power. Even the standard 60kWh battery edition provides 0-60mph acceleration of 5.9 seconds and a 208-mile range, while the 85kWh battery reduces the acceleration time to 5.4 seconds. However, the 85kWh Performance Pack features a higher capacity drive inverter, allowing a 4.2 second 0-60mph time and delivers an impressive 416bhp.

In addition to the supercars, a host of other manufacturers will feature their latest offerings. Both Vauxhall and Abarth will present UK first showings, with the Vauxhall VXR8 GTS (and oh how we want to drive this) and the Abarth 595 50th Anniversary Edition unveiled to the public. Caterham will showcase its AeroSeven Concept while Porsche will reveal the all-new Porsche Type 991 911 GT3 Cup as well as the latest road-going version of the 911 GT3. It’s the official start to the automotive New Year. Enjoy.