Motoring in 2013: A year of benchmarks and bold roll-outs

The Lamborghini Egoista. Courtesy of Automobili Lamborghini.

Aston Martin and McLaren turned 100 and 50 respectively this year, but neither rested on their laurels. Rather, they joined an all-out, industry-wide effort to outclass the competition, Kevin Hackett writes

Five years ago it appeared to many that the car industry would not be able to survive the onslaught of a global financial crisis. Stock remained unsold, buyers uncommitted and budgets, working hours and staff numbers were mercilessly slashed to keep the manufacturers afloat. Yet the one thing that could not be stopped was research and development.

What we have seen this year, in terms of new product, is the result of those incredibly tough times (it can take four or five years for a new car to come to market) and, with the benefit of hindsight, we can see that the jolt of unthinkable financial hardship has been incredibly beneficial – at least when it comes to innovation and actually making things better than they ever were before. Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention and many carmakers, particularly those based Stateside, had become set in their ways, complacent and lazy. Not any more. To survive they needed to sort out their act and 2013 has proven to be a bumper year in terms of new models being better in practically every respect.

To look back on the year that is now drawing to a close and choose a handful of highlights is actually pretty difficult. And while the global car market is still on its knees in some parts of the world (Europe is still very much in the doldrums and Australia is hurting badly these days), here in the GCC things have recovered much more quickly and manufacturers have been quick to seize on this. What this has meant is involvement on an unprecedented scale when it comes to accessing new products. It also means my 18-month-old passport is in danger of running out of pages to stamp, as the globe has been well and truly trotted.

January kicked things off with the Detroit Motor Show, where a number of cars that have traditionally been strong sellers in the Middle East were unveiled in their fresh, redesigned and reengineered states. And now about 10 months later, we’ve started to see these cars trickle onto our shores. The all-new Corvette Stingray, for instance, I saw for the first time just last week on the streets of Dubai Marina. Away from the spotlights of an exhibition hall and placed in its more natural habitat, the new ’Vette’s design really starts to come together – it’s a gorgeous looking thing and, at first glance, I could have sworn it was a Ferrari. For an example of improving a product in the face of calamity, you need look no further.

The same goes for the new Dodge Viper and a whole slew of other Ford, Chrysler and GM models – they are so good now it’s almost as though the past 40 years haven’t happened. Now these cars, derided for decades by those fussy European types for not handling properly and being built with all the care and attention of an airport baggage handler, are competing on a world stage and I, for one, could not be happier. If only this new-found optimism could rub off, even slightly, on the destitute city of Detroit. It broke my heart seeing that place.

While the American carmakers have been busy reinventing themselves, the Europeans have not exactly been asleep. Jaguar Land Rover, a company that looked like it was about to sink without a trace when the recession savagely struck, has also come up with new models that change their respective games entirely: the new Range Rover Sport and the Jaguar F-Type.

Both cars show British design and engineering at its very best. As a celebration of history, Jaguar has managed to turn the F-Type into something we thought would never materialise: a thoroughly modern and exciting interpretation of a long gone classic, the iconic E-Type. And even though it shares much of its componentry and power trains with other company output, its style marks it out as an instant classic. Jaguar, of course, has history aplenty but its past models have tended to be little more than updates on tried, tested and ultimately tired designs, resulting in ranges of cars that appealed to retired dentists and almost nobody else. This new, visceral sports car in one swoop makes all of those redundant and, when the closed-roof coupe is launched early next year, that transformation will be complete.

But, more than anything, 2013 will be remembered as the year of celebrations and anniversaries. Aston Martin turned 100 and McLaren, Lamborghini and the Porsche 911 all celebrated their half-century in business. Aston Martin and Lamborghini have looked death in the eye more times than anyone can remember over the years and the 911 was supposed to have been killed off by its maker in the late 1970s. But they’re still here, stronger than ever before with bands of incredibly loyal followers the world over, which is cause for celebration in itself. And let’s not forget McLaren, a company that has achieved a staggering feat by taking on the establishment and beating it into submission with its first-ever production road car, the MP4-12C (not withstanding the low-production F1), and this year’s crowning glory, the mighty P1.

Personal highlights? I cannot go without mentioning two events and they relate to what I mention above. One was joining in the Lamborghini celebrations in Italy, where I was privileged to tour the countryside with 300 of the history’s most outrageous cars before seeing the jaw-dropping, one-off Egoista presented as a world’s first. Nobody saw that coming and it was a perfect end to a perfect few days. The detractors moaned that it was ugly, impractical and just plain stupid. And yes, it was all of those things, but it showed the world that Lamborghini stands proud as unique, willing to defy conventions with shock and awe tactics. It was, the company said, a birthday present to itself and, while future designs are likely to be far more restrained than this beast, it grabbed the headlines from the almost-as-shocking Veneno. And that was no mean feat.

Aston Martin, as you might expect, showed more decorum and chose to celebrate its fascinating history with a garden party hosted in London’s Kensington Gardens. There was no action as such, just a perfectly British acknowledgement of a century in business, with a line-up of examples of every surviving model since day one. While the Lambo shindig was all fireworks and rock stars, Aston Martin quietly got on with it. Cream teas, blazers, hats and plenty of red trousers, it was quite in keeping with a brand that epitomises restraint and elegance. And as for its own birthday present to itself, the CC100 Speedster concept car proved that there’s plenty more yet to come.

But what car stood out as being the finest of 2013? That’s a tough call because the quality on offer has been of an unprecedentedly high standard. Lamborghini’s blistering Aventador Roadster, the aforementioned F-Type, the new 911 Turbo, Alfa Romeo’s gorgeous 4C, the class-leading Mazda 6, the deeply desirable and hugely capable Range Rover Sport, the Golf GTI, Ford’s Focus ST, Mercedes-Benz’s groundbreaking new S-class, and the ethereal, majestic Rolls-Royce Wraith were all in with a shout at being my personal car of the year. But when I think back over the dozens of new models I’ve experienced these past 12 months, only one makes the grade as the finest driver’s car, and that’s Porsche’s Cayman S.

I wrote my Cayman review just minutes after climbing out of one at a racing circuit in Portugal and I stand by every single thing I said. It is the most involving, perfectly poised and chuckable thing on four wheels. That it also looks the part is simply the icing on the cake and I’d have one over a 911 any day of the week.

2014 predictions

Somehow, we all know that 2014 will be just as rewarding when it comes to new metal. So what can we expect?

Lamborghini Huracán

The Gallardo was a decade old when it was killed a few weeks ago but it didn’t feel or look it. Its utterly stunning replacement will, however, knock it out of the park when we get to drive it in April. With 610hp, a carbon composite structure and looks to die for, it will be another massive hit for its maker.

Land Rover LR2

It looks decidedly aged when compared with the Evoque and other new Range Rovers, but the current LR2’s replacement will be unveiled in 2014. If the company has sorted out its historic reliability woes and made it more visually appealing inside and out, there’s no reason the model won’t make a much bigger impact in our region.

Jaguar F-Type Coupe

It’s already being hailed as the most focused Jaguar road car ever, and with more power and even sharper looks than its convertible sibling, this could be the model that finally sways traditional Porsche 911 owners from Stuttgart in the direction of Coventry.

Porsche Macan

The “baby Cayenne” is named after the Malaysian word for tiger and was unveiled just a few weeks ago. It utilises a heavily modified Audi Q5 platform and will come with three engine options – two six-cylinder petrols, including a twin-turbo, and a diesel. Four-cylinders are rumoured to be on the way, too, but this is one crossover that’s packed to the gunnels with new technology.

BMW i8

Deliveries should start in the summer and this hybrid supercar can rightly claim to look like nothing else out there. It seats four, hits 100kph from rest in just 4.4 seconds, offers fuel economy in the region of 2.5 litres every 100kms and emissions that measure 59g/km. BMW also claims perfect weight distribution and an incredibly low centre of gravity, meaning this is one hybrid that could actually be an exciting steer.

Ford Mustang

One of the UAE’s most popular cars is being replaced in 2014 and that has plenty of fans frothing at the mouth. When it was officially unveiled in December, initial reactions were mixed but most now concede that the new one does its illustrious forebears no disservice after all. It’s sharper in every respect and this should help it break into the European market – something none of us thought likely until a short time ago. Expect the next Camaro to take its gloves off, though – this will be quite a fight.

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