Indeed, that’s what was in the rations.

Most of the French army has similar hats and epaulettes.

Hey Torch, did you also know the entire thing just repeated itself? The P4 is still in service, having been only very partly replaced by the Panhard PVP and a very small number of Ford Rangers. For domestic missions they tend to rent Renault Kangoos. So that leaves the P4 to soldier on in sub-saharan Africa, and it’s…

I agree with you that the new Conti is a bit bland. The solid metal door handles are utterly brilliant, the seats are interestingly odd, but the grille and the overall shape are indeed very derivative (*cough* Bentley *cough*)

Still like the 488 a whole lot more. Like many Ferrari specially commissioned cars, this one is needlessly complicated and fussy to really get the point across that it’s different from the normal range. But difference for difference’s sake is bad. It’s BAD people!

I don’t think it’s a good strategy for a brand trying to reinvent itself to resort to retro-design. Nothing could be more backwards-thinking, frankly.

Unique doesn’t sell luxury cars. People buy Audis, Mercs and BMWs because they’re predictable, safe, discrete and boring. Lexuses, Infinitis and Jaguars pretend to offer something different but beyond a few styling quirks they’re playing it just as safe as the big players.

That exists, it’s called a Rolls-Royce. It costs in the hundreds of thousands because it’s not possible to design a car with those attributes at the price people want to pay for a Lincoln.

That’s not possible at a reasonable price point with the current safety regulations and fuel efficiency requirements. It just isn’t. Why do you think no one else does it either?

I think they were meant to come to the US as Renault-Alpines, a different version to the European one was even developed, it had pop-up headlights so it looks a lot like the A610, but it’s a GTA. Only 21 were made and they never made it to the US.

The Brera looks so good I would want one even if it was a 2CV chassis underneath.

Huge fan of the front with those giant turn signals you think are the headlights at first, but I think the rear is too curvy. With the 328's butt it would be perfect. It’s only one of the only Ferrari I much prefer in black, because it makes the turn signals stand out.

You’ve tampered with it, haven’t you?

If it makes you feel any better, the Brera was unbelievably heavy, rather slow, didn’t handle that well, and had GM engines. No one cares, of course, because it’s just so gorgeous. When times come to import them, know that the UK got a limited-run Brera S modified by Prodrive to make it handle better.

Peugeot RCZ, especially the R. Most powerful car Peugeot ever made and the closest thing to a sports car they ever produced. The original coupé was probably the best example of a true pie-in-the-sky, never-intended-for-production concept actually making to the street (unlike stuff like the Citroën C4 Cactus or Jaguar…

No. Step away from the black line, Sir. It is sacred.

You’d rather have an engine designed by GM than Ferrari?

The tracks are to the train as a road is to a car. The train can be taken off the rails and put on some other rails, just as a car can drive on several different roads. In that sense, only the train is the vehicle. The tracks are the purpose-built area reserved for its operation, but are not part of the vehicle.…

Don’t Bugattis have ridiculous running costs? Even for the super-rich, surely that ends up mattering when you have other options just as exclusive, fast, and luxurious as the Chiron?

This is starting to make sense. GM had Opel / Vauxhall on the one hand, which were kinda-upmarket-but-not-really, and on the other Holden and Buick: the first tried to incorporate entry-level Opels in a range made mostly of rebadged Chevrolets with a couple proper Holdens for image, and the second re-bodied the…