Car O'Clock

This week in cars and motorsports

Coming our way soon – the good, the bad and the ugly.

2019 F1 cars are revealed this week

As ever, I’m keen to see how the latest Formula 1 cars stack up against each other this season, especially with new aero changes and some new driver combo’s in the mix. Will the Renault perform well enough to allow Ricciardo to be competitive and rise above ‘Class B’? Will the Honda engine allow Red Bull to fight it out with Mercedes Benz and Ferrari? Will the new, wider front wings improve the racing? Or, will they all be knocked off at the first corner? They look vulnerable to me although the F1 hacks have failed to mention this, surprisingly.

So far, Haas, Williams, Torro Rosso have revealed their cars and, sorry folks, they all look quite similar to me – that’s inevitable when the regulations are so restrictive I suppose. Anyway, I just discovered I’m in Melbourne when the first race is on, so I might get to see it ‘live.’ Might have to bag a Renault cap just to support Daniel on home turf. 

The Aussie Mustang Supercar breaks cover – unfortunately

Talking of new racing cars, the major Supercar teams showed us the new Mustang racer undisguised for the first time. No surprises really, they all look predictably ‘butt’ ugly as the Americans say. Still, the extra headroom afforded by that extra high roofline will help make driver changes quicker in the endurance races. Just saying…

Compare this new car with the purposeful Trans-Am Mustang driven by Moffat et al back in the 1970s and weep. Hopefully, the new one will go better than it looks. 

Geneva (SUV) Show preview

Away from motorsport, the forthcoming Geneva Show promises to reveal even more new SUV’s to the world and, after checking out the usual disguised ‘spy’ pics, I can confirm they all look exactly the same (see images below), except the new Lagonda SUV (left) which will join the ‘mine’s bigger than yours’ competition at the top end of the market.

The one new model I’m looking forward to seeing is the production version of the oh-so-cute Honda Urban EV concept. Maybe it could become the perfect runabout for Mrs Car O’Clock in a year or two. Talking of Honda, I think I could easily live with the latest Honda Civic Type R if it didn’t look like it was designed by an over-excited teenage boy.

Not everyone hates the look of it though, the excellent Henry Catchpole talks about his long-term Type R in a recent Carfection video here.

That’s it for this week!