Volvo

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Thursday – Flying Dutchmen

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The 2013 World Solar Challenge ended in Adelaide today – with the fastest car completing the 3000km road trip from Darwin in just 33 hours and five minutes.

Team Nuon from Delft University in Holland was pushed all the way by reigning two-time champions Team Tokai from Japan.

Cloud and rain greeted the solar cars on the arrival into Adelaide. It was Team Tokai who came off worst when they ran out of power on the final approach. They had to pull over about 60 kilometres from the finish and take what charge they could get from the grey skies.

The 2013 event will be a bad memory for some of the other teams – not just the British entry, forced to pull out before the race even started.

The American solar champions from University of Michigan were blown sideways by winds touching 80mph heading into Coober Pedy, damaging their car and putting them out of a top five finish.

Car Couture will be back to normal tomorrow – with a week-long UK road test of the Subaru Forester…

 

 

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Wednesday – Holland v Japan

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The two top teams in the World Solar Challenge are only 20 minutes apart after travelling 1000 miles south from Darwin to Adelaide.

High winds have caused problems for some of the cars – with one lightweight vehicle being blown off the road and damaged beyond repair.

No such issues for Dutch outfit Team Nuon who currently lead the race as they set off from Coober Pedy, around 25km ahead of reigning champions Team Tokai from Japan.

Yesterday, teams had to cope with temperatures around 40C as they came through Alice Springs in the red centre of Australia. The lead cars are expected to finish on Thursday morning, Australia time.

 

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Monday – Alice Springs

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Two days and 1800km on from Darwin, the World Solar Car Challenge is about to pull in to Alice Springs, in the red centre of Australia. That’s 1800km of crazy straight roads (42 km on one stretch), lunatic drivers (thank you ‘Rooster’) and really quite bad food untouched by vegetables.

The lead cars are currently a Dutch team called Nuon, just 8km ahead of Tokai University, who are winding them in at an alarming rate of knots. So when the clock hit 5pm today and all race cars are forced to stop, the Japanese were the ones celebrating.

Tomorrow Tokai, winners of the last two events in 2009 and 2011, look certain to overtake the Dutch as the race crosses the border into Southern Australia. It’s been a fascinating battle between two ultra professional outfits, pushing the legalities of the rulebook to the max.

Falling further behind is the multi-million dollar US entry. The team, which has won few friends in Australia because of their huge back-up team and slightly aloof attitude, look likely to be eating humble pie by the time the chequered flag drops in Adelaide.

Wifi willing, more tomorrow…

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Saturday – Missing In Action

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If you made a four-wheeled bogie as a child, you might understand why the teams in this year’s World Solar Challenge are so passionate about their eco machines.

Some of them have spent two years preparing for the 3000km journey from Darwin to Adelaide, only powered by the rays of the sun. Many have also put their lives and careers on hold to ensure their team is on the start line Darwin tomorrow, as I discovered talking to them in the race HQ today.

A few came agonisingly close to making it but fell at the last hurdle. The Saudi team built and shipped their car over to Australia, only for the transport lorry to become involved in a major accident that destroyed the vehicle. No wonder they needed counselling afterwards.

It was a similar story for the British team from Cambridge University. Their slimline car was hailed as a potential winner a few months back. Then it proved unstable on the road, was involved in two accidents and is now unlikely to even finish the race.

I’m off now to buy barrels of water for the trip down to Alice Springs, 900 miles south of Darwin. We’re stopping half way at Tennant’s Creek where asking for wifi might be considered offensive. Consequently, Car Couture may be ‘missing in action’ for a few days.

Stick with us – the photos should be good if nothing else…

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Friday – Sunny Side Up

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Today I had my first opportunity to see the 40 cars entered in this Sunday’s  World Solar Challenge. It’s 35C in Darwin and there’s no shortage of sun – although it wasn’t a good session on the test track for our British team, Cambridge University Eco Racing.

Their unorthodox, slimline design was being touted as a potential contender in the 3000km race down to Adelaide, powered only by the rays of the sun. But after a crash on public roads earlier in the week, the UK’s only entry in the race rolled over during an early morning track session.

The ultra-light, teardrop-shaped car was damaged and taken away for repair. However, organisers say there are now genuine safety concerns over the stability of the vehicle.  Will it be on the start line this Sunday? We’ll have to wait and see.

Earlier I enjoyed a more stable and entertaining ride in the remarkable Stella car, built by Dutch students. Capable of carrying four people, it’s the closest you will get to a conventional car in this technology packed event.

The Dutch machine built by students from Eindhoven University of Technology, can travel 420 miles on a sunny day and creates twice as much energy as it uses!

 

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Thursday – No Lights, Action

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You know it’s going to be an interesting week when the pilot comes on the intercom to tell you that the runway lights have failed. He doesn’t wish to alarm us but it’s the first time this has happened in his 25 year flying career…

Darwin is Australia’s northern-most capital city – and that means just getting here can be a challenge. More than 60 nationalities make up the population of 100,000 and the city has been flattened twice – once by the Japanese in World War Two and then by Cyclone Tracey in 1974.

According to The Rough Guide, ‘it’s now a hip city to visit, rather than the just the end of the road for lost souls’.”

It’s also the start of the road for the 40 teams taking part in the 2013 World Solar Challenge. I arrived at the hotel in the early hours of this morning with a nicotine-addicted taxi driver. Little did he know that he was churning out more emissions that these machines will produce during the entire 3000km trip to Adelaide.

I’m here covering the race for the Sunday Times, Metro London and CAR magazine. Over the next few days I’ll be posting as much as I can on the build up to this quirky event, wi-fi and jet lag allowing….

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Thursday – Ripping Yarn

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If a car looks like a four-wheel drive then shouldn’t it be a 4×4? Does the estate version of the Peugeot 208 need to be ‘jacked up’ so high off the ground and why has a very large cat scratched inside the headlining on my 2008 test car?

These are just a few of the questions Car Couture will be seeking to answer over the next week that we drive the 2008 crossover.

Let’s start with the ‘ripped’ headlining. This is, according to Peugeot, a ‘roof wave – an exclusive roof decoration that cuts through the cloth to the metal above. I can’t help wondering if it will still be stuck firmly in place ten years down the road. Maybe it pays visual tribute to the Feline model, a trim above our Allure version…

The 4×4 issue will have to wait until I can find some dirt to play in but I rather like the raised height of the 2008. Combined with a low loading lip, it makes the car exceptionally easy to pack. Which is good because I’m off to Longleat to load up with wood for the October that lies ahead…

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Wednesday – Significantly Blue

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Jeremy Just off to London for significant birthday celebrations tomorrow. A few early cards have been dropping through the letterbox – one from a friend in Wales who I don’t see often enough.
I called for a chat and showed him the crazy blue R-S on the blog. His response? ‘I’m colourblind but even I can see that’s blue!’ Which sort of sums up the paint job!
Rain is falling in the west today and that has made the roads super slippy. I found this out on the Malmesbury bypass earlier when I gently tweaked the accelerator on the exit to a roundabout.
With 542bhp going through the back wheels, perhaps it wasn’t a surprise when the rear end suddenly took on a life of its own. It fell back into line just as fast but this sort of car demands you get some track experience before even attempting to use it to the full potential…

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Wednesday – Wet Wet Wet

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Jeremy Come camping in Wales… Even Jason Plato smirked yesterday as I left Silverstone, after telling him Jessica and I were off on a four day walking holiday in the Élan Valley. He had obviously seen the weather forecast.
We met a group of friends at the camp site and were midged to the edge of reason before retiring to sleep in the back of the Discovery. It was probably all that kept me sane in the crazy night of rain that followed.
I can’t tell you how much rain fell but it’s still falling now. at least last night I got to know the Land Rover intimately. Pop the back two rows of seats flat and you have enough room for an inflatable mattress. While the rest of the 30-strong party suffered in sodden tents, ours were pretty luxurious surroundings.
We walked for three hours today and soaked to the skin, I made an executive decision to book in to a hotel at Devil’s Bridge and empty the Discovery of wet clothes and one bedraggled dog. For a brief moment i felt like we had let the side down, as they are all camping on a bleak hillside somewhere. actually, maybe not…!
No picture today – wifi at this establishment must have been affected by the rain too.

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Wednesday – Safest Car Ever?

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Jeremy It’s our last day with the V40 – 24 hours after Volvo picked up a major safety award for the five-door hatchback. The V40 was praised for its exceptional NCAP rating and won the Auto Express Safety Award for 2013 at a ceremony in London last night.

As Car Couture has said all week, it’s hard to write about the V40 without majoring on safety. That has been confirmed with NCAP giving the car the highest ever safety rating.

Among the V40 safety features highlighted at the ceremony were Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection, Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake, Distance Alert Control, Lane Keeping Aid, Blind Spot Information System and Cross Traffic Alert.

All of these compliment the standard features fitted such as front and side airbags, side impact protection and whiplash protection system.

If you want safe, this is definitely the hatchback to buy. For the best drive however, look at a Golf, A3 or BMW 1 Series. It’s as simple as that.