AutoX April 2012

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Finest Selection of Small, Luxury, Classic, Sports Cars and SUVs2

JAGUAR XKR CONVERTIBLE & XKR-S

TURNS

2012 GENEVA MOTOR SHOW

Ferrari F12 BerlinettaConfederate X132 Hellcat

LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR JASTON MARTIN ZAGATOBENTLEY EXP 9FAND MANY MORE...

ONE ROAD TRIP

AND MANY MORE...

HYUNDAI SONATA

DRIVEN

THEPRANCINGMENACE

42 | autox.in | april 2012

TEXT JARED SOLOMON

april 2012 | autox.in | 43

THE CAT FROM HELLK

nown by many

as ‘the Bentley

of Motorcycles,’

Confederate Motors

are the makers

of handcrafted

heirloom motorcycles, and in the

recent past they came out with the

third generation of their f lagship

motorbike known as the Hellcat.

The Hellcat X132 is not the kind of

bike you would expect to see on a

daily basis, these specially designed

and handcrafted motorbikes are a

workmanship of classic brutal bike

design. Named after the legendary

F6F Hellcat fighter plane of WWII,

the X132 Hellcat is the result of

an uncompromised design and

manufacturing approach. The

centerpiece of this approach is

the Hellcat’s billet aluminum case.

Instead of the usual casting method,

the Hellcat’s case is machined from

two blocks of billet 6061 aircraft

grade aluminum, which makes it

lighter and tougher. These bikes

are of superior high quality and the

company designs and crafts each

Confederate motorcycle to be a

multi-generational heirloom product,

which requires each component,


TEXT JARED SOLOMON

STARDOMANOTHER SHOT AT


TEXT ISHAN RAGHAVA IMAGES KAPIL VASHIST


design manual. Characterized by its large

and bold face, the Sonata – with its large

chrome grille and headlights, assertive side

character lines, and bright LED taillights

joined together by a chrome strip – has a

presence that the older generations of the

car lacked.

This generation, however, has presence

in oodles with its modern design language

being particularly eye catching. It doesn’t

look like any previous Hyundai design,

save for the very well accepted Fluidic

Verna. In fact, it would be apt to say that

while its competitors like the Superb and

Accord have more of a mute, understated

presence, the Sonata overshadows them

with pure presence and eye-catching

looks. On the other hand, from some

angles, the car appears to be trying too

hard – and it’s possible that the design

may not age particularly gracefully.

Out on the road, the Sonata displays

its true nature of being a car designed to

be driven-in, rather than for enthusiastic

driving. The modern direct injection 2.4

litre GDI petrol engine has a wide power

band, and, given its dual variable valve

timing & variable intake system, pulls

cleanly from low revs and has remarkably

good mid-range grunt. The engine,

despite being from the latest generation of

Hyundai engines, still feels a little coarse

in the upper reaches of its rev band, but

otherwise provides good power and more

than adequate acceleration for everyday

driving. The disappointment comes in

the form of the conventional 6-speed

automatic gearbox which, unlike the

double clutch gearboxes fast becoming

the norm, shifts slowly, is lethargic in its

responses, and seems to sap some power

from the engines 198bhp – which means

that the car never really feels as quick as

it should. The manual box should help

matters from a performance perspective,

but, unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance

to sample one on this occasion.

From a driving perspective, the Sonata

leans towards absolute comfort as far as

the suspension and the steering setup is

concerned. The electric power steering

feels lifeless and disconnected from the

wheels, and there isn’t much feedback

on offer to encourage spirited driving.

Similarly, the suspension is soft and there’s

masses of body roll, which will not enthuse

a keen driver. But, for the sahib riding in

the back, it’s a blessing in disguise – as the

car smoothes out most bad surfaces and

provides excellent comfort.


From an equipment and luxury point

of view, the Sonata comes very well

equipped as one would expect from

Hyundai. Standard equipment includes

6 airbags, ABS, TCS, ESP, Brake Assist,

Dual zone air-conditioning with rear vents,

electrically adjustable front seats with

memory, 17-inch alloys, and LED taillights,

amongst a myriad of other features. One

of highlights, though, were the seats – all

of which are cooled and ventilated, which

is an absolute boon for our weather

conditions, as you have cold air blowing

into vital areas even on the hottest of

summer days! The centre console design

has also moved on a generation from

Sonata’s of old, and offers much better

quality – with the layout design too being

completely modern.

What the Sonata excels at is being

an excellent chauffeur-driven car, which

is comfortable, efficient, and is a nice

place to spend time in. With Hyundai’s

acclaimed service support and general

product quality (not to mention reliability),

this is car that will be painless to own and

use everyday – especially with Hyundai

offering a class-leading warranty of 4 years

or 100,000 kilometers.

The challenges for the Sonata,

though, lie with three essential issues –

one, the competition, which is already



TEXT ASHISH JHA IMAGES KAPIL VASHIST

in anything that got our hearts beating

excitedly – and that’s when Avinash

popped in with the big one via a text

message – “why don’t we go to Balawali?”

I hadn’t even heard of Balawali, leave

alone having visited it. Google was equally

clueless about it as well, and threw some

random, irrelevant data as I worked my

fingers on the laptop’s keys. Anyway, the

beauty of places that are unknown is

that they offer a pure and natural state of

existence, and are alive with many gifts

of nature. Balawali isn’t much different.

There’s a sheer abundance of green

wherever you look, and the locals are

completely at ease with their lives.

I see a lean, tiny silhouette in the

distance, just as the sound of horsepower

wakes up this sleepy town. As we ride

closer to our abode for the next two days,

the silhouette begins to display a slight

gleam on dark skin. A simple white dhoti and kurta is all that seemed bright about

this humble old man whose weak frame

was supported by the laathi he used.

We – the four bikers – ride right up to

him, and I stop. I take my helmet off and

there’s a bright, welcoming grin on the old

man’s face. We don’t exchange words,

only smiles. A proper traditional salutation

– Namaste – makes this man touch my

head with his trembling hands to bless

me and there’s a rush of warmth that

I feel easing every paining muscle and

joint in my body. It was as if time stood

still for those few moments. I raised my

head, smiled again and rode away gently

– feeling the cool air meandering though

my hair. Just a few yards ahead was the

house that we’d be staying in, and my

mates were waiting for me, wearing an

expression of surprise, as if asking me –

who was that man? I had never seen him

before this day, yet his smile made me

feel as though I was one of their own.

The 200 kilometer ride from Delhi to

Balawali hadn’t made us dreadfully tired,

so we decided to go and check out the

place – but not until we finished filling up

our stomachs with some sumptuous food

that awaited us inside. Pritha, Avinash’s

wife, and Reva, Pritha’s cousin, had

also come along in their Pajero. They’re

working on a (much needed) project of

embedding traffic sense into people. Their

first challenge is ensuring people use the

horn as infrequently as they can. On the

way, they took video captures of regular

motorists – some of them confessed to

honking incessantly, while some simply

said they’re traffic law worshipers who

had never honked. Bloody liars!

Before lunch, Pritha and Reva told

us that the whole of Balawali was, in

essence, established by their great-

grandfather – Late Pandit Vishnudatt

Ji. He was a genius who refused a

government job to work towards, and

realize, his dreams. The glass factory

that he established now lies in ruins, but

its remains tell a massive tale of the once

bustling industrial unit that it’d been, and

also of Pandit Ji’s forward thinking.

Reva recalled her early days with great

enthusiasm, and pointed to the courtyard

where there used to be many family

gatherings and celebrations. She insisted

that we visit the age-old railway barrage

and also the sandbanks of the river Ganga.

But, before all that, Avinash forced us into

the main hall that contained the sitting and

dining areas. As we entered, I didn’t quite

get the excitement, but then he simply

asked us to turn around. What we saw

made us use a certain f-word with different

modulations – there was a massive Gharial adorning the wall of the hall.

Now, I admire the whole Crocodilia

family for their sheer abilities, but seeing

one so close is a completely surreal

experience. Its eyes were a mix of evil

green and grey, and it seemed to be

staring straight down at me – waiting for

the right moment to rip me apart. This

particular Gharial was shot long before

the species were declared critically

endangered – so it’s actually surprising to

see how well preserved it was, even after

all these years. I couldn’t quite eat well

after seeing it, so we headed out – to the

Ganga, and then the industrial ruins.

The Ganga that millions, very religiously,

dip themselves into at Hairdwar is not the

Ganga that I experienced at Balawali. It

wore a natural pale green colour, which

is a far cry from the dirty brown that the

Ganga is reduced to in more commercial

(read holy) places. The gentle sound

of the current, married to the warm

saffron-and-yellow tone of the setting

sun was the perfect setting – four bikes,

their four riders, mesmerizing white

sand and the flowing holy waters of the

Ganga. It was just perfect.

The next day we went to the

factory ruins, which harked back to its

magnificent days of glory. As multiple

feet moved from one shed to the other,

there was a faint visual being formed in

my head – as if I was there, in the middle

of it, with the machines running and the

smell of oil and chemicals enveloping the

whole compound. I had gone back into

time, and didn’t want to come back. But

then, it was time to leave.

With a sense of satisfaction, we started

back – five companions, five friends and

their respective steeds. As for the steeds

themselves – all our motorcycles were

equal in their own right. They’d each

done everything that these bikes weren’t

designed to do, and they did it pretty

damn well. This wasn’t supposed to be a

product review, but it was planned as an

experience and the bikes were central to

it. It wouldn’t have been possible without

the bikes, and it would surely not have

been as much fun. The Suzuki Intruder

and Bandit were silken smooth, the laid

back character of the Intruder 800 was

loved by one-and-all, and it was surely the

most comfy bike of the group – obviously,

owing to its cruiser genes – while the

Bandit was an effortless sports naked

that was just as much at home on the

open, flowing road, as it was on the odd

beaten track. The two Hondas – we’ve

had a massive romance with them ever

since they were launched. The VFR is

a massive bundle of power, and yet is

perfectly comfortable for those long

journeys, while the surprise of the pack

was the CB1000R, which was as agile as

a rabbit and the most nimble to handle.

With the VFR and the Intruder at

the opposite end of the motorcycle

touring spectrum, with the two nakeds

(CB1000R and the Bandit) slotting

themselves neatly in between – we

couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Or could we? On that thought, I sign off

– with a smile still on my face.


TURNS

TEXT & IMAGES DHRUV BEHL


I’m filled with a strange sense

of déjà-vu as I pilot this Jaguar

XKR convertible on some

stunning mountain roads

along the West Coast of the

US. You see, in 2008, shortly

after Jaguar was taken over by Tata

Motors, I drove the very same car on

the very same roads, and came away

reasonably confident that Tata had

made the right choice in acquiring the

legendary British marque.

Of course, then another global

recession hit, and Tata saw Jaguar

Land Rover sales plummet. But, they

didn’t flinch and continued to invest

very heavily in product development

and R&D. And boy does it show –

because this car is more refined,

more powerful, and more enjoyable

than it was just a few years ago. In

2008, it had a 4.2 litre supercharged

V8 that made 420 horsepower, which

has now grown to 5.0 litres and 503

horsepower. But that’s the least of it,

there’s also a noticeable jump in cabin

quality, and what’s truly impressive is

the newfound all-round ability of this

all-aluminium chassis.

Don’t get me wrong, a few years

ago the XKR was an impressive car,

but now it’ll simply blow you away on

a twisting mountain road – and this

stretch of tarmac not only fits that

description, but also happens to be

my favourite. The route that we’ve

selected to put these cars through

their paces (many times over) is a 35

kilometer mountain section that starts

in Woodside, California – just west of

Palo Alto in the heart of the Silicon

Valley. In fact, it was in a garage in

Palo Alto that Bill Hewlett and Dave

Packard built HP’s first product in

1939 – so this is really the birth place

of the Valley. Now, of course, not too

far away, you have the brand new

headquarters of Facebook, which are

built to resemble a University campus

(Harvard I presume)!

But back to the road, which starts in

Woodside, as California Highway 84,

and snakes its way up the mountain


a chassis to match, a ride that’s

usable every day, and a luxury

car interior – what more could

you possibly ask for? The most

incredible thing, though, is the

fact that what you have here is a

supercar that you can effectively

use every day. You simply will

not tire of either the pace or the

comfort, and that’s saying a lot!

The only issue I had with the

XKR-S was the steering. Yes, it

points the car exactly where you

want. And, like any good sports

car, the XKR-S just seems to

sense where you want it to go

– so you never have to muscle

it. And yes, the stiffer springs,

retuned dampers, extra aluminium

components in the steering and

suspension, 20-inch lightweight

forged alloys, and aluminium brake

callipers all do their job of sticking

the car to the tarmac. And yes

again, the chassis communicates

exactly how much grip you do have,

but you just get the sense that

the steering could be a little more

talkative as well. You don’t expect

the kind of discourse that you

would get from a Porsche Boxster

Cayman R (which I also happened

to sample briefly at the same time)

for instance, but a little more feel

through the steering would be nice

all the same.

However, I’m pulling at strings

here – I mean here’s a car that

allows its (ham fisted) driver to

attempt a powerslide coming out

of a 15mph hairpin with a drop on

one side and a cliff face on the

other. And thanks to the Jag, it was

attempted successfully on more

than one occasion at that. This

really is one of the best cars that

I’ve ever driven – it’s a supercar,

muscle car, GT car, sports car,

and luxury car all rolled into one.

What an effort, and what execution

– it really says something for the

abilities of Jaguar engineers.

The R-S nomenclature means

absolutely everything in this case.

Personally, I think it stands for

‘Really Special.’

AutoX April 2012

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