Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/800760
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 19 MARCH 2017 Motoring & Boating III PUT it this way, you wouldn't like it if you were forced to cling on to the scratchy surface of a modern car boot. It might be augmented with a damp towel, or perhaps a quilt, but it won't convey the same experience as, say, leather. Or even basic upholstery. Then there's the indignity of be- ing separated from the rest of the family. Everyone else gets to sit in a quiet, comfortable, sociable cabin, all facing forward. Why does the boot-dweller have to peer through a horrible fence? And then there's the climate control. Those up front can choose their temperature, the in- tensity of the airflow and whether the air is 'conditioned' or not. In some cases, the left and right pas- sengers have different tempera- tures, while in more expensive cars each quarter of the car gets its own setting. The luggage department – perhaps the key is in the name here – gets a draught if it's lucky. Dogs are aware of all these in- justices. So, apparently, are some engineers in Nissan's Spanish facility, who've put together a pro- totype designed to make journeys more pleasant for dogs. It's based on the venerable Nis- san X-Trail, a car we quite like. You probably wouldn't notice the tweaks at first glance, especially not from the human compart- ment. Most of the adaptations in the Nissan X-Trail '4Dogs' (yes way) are only visible when you open the boot. Inside it's immediately pretty clear that this isn't your standard SUV. The boot is lined in a sort of faux buttoned leather, giving the impression of a space-age Chesterfield. This surface is hard- wearing and doesn't appear to mind being trampled by succes- sive hounds. Mounted on the bulkhead is a television screen. Whether this could be used to watch Crufts remains to be discussed with some Spanish engineers, but for the time being it solves one of the main problems listed above – separation from one's pack. The screen is connected to a camera, allowing you to see whoever's sit- ting in the driving seat (presum- ably your pack leader). In return, the driver gets to see the occupant of the boot – there's a camera back there that can display a live feed on the sat nav screen, if it is so asked. All of this is controlled using a discreet switch to the left of the steering column. It allows you to have Skype-like contact with your pet, or your owner, depending how you look at it. Less popular with canine users is the shower facility. A special dog- washing contraption is stowed in a clever drawer, meaning that muddy dogs can be rinsed off before they get everything near them wet and smelly, something that owners, rather than the pets, might find valuable. But if you're a dog and you don't fancy the prospect of going for a car ride while soaking wet, you'll be pleased to know there's help at hand in the form of a hair dryer. There's also warm air heaters in the boot, meaning you might even get to ride in a warmer environ- ment than you would in a stand- ard X-Trail, or indeed anything else on the road. You'll also find a buffet of sorts, a clever motion-activated electric bowl that serves up small portions of dry kibble, as required and a water bowl which is hard to spill. There's even a ramp to get into the boot in the first place, ef- fectively the red carpet treatment instead of an undignified leap. We took this prototype to Greenwich Park in order to find out what dogs really thought of the setup. Few of them were bothered by the ramp, but all were happy to explore the inside of the boot or, in one case, the front seat. AN updated Speedback GT was unveiled at the Geneva motor show, with stiffer suspension and minor design tweaks to the original prototype. Minor, but important considering that the finished article is all about the detail. And so the updated version has clear indicators rather than orange ones, soft-close doors and windows that close when the doors are shut. The fit and finish have been improved and work has been done on the noise insulation. Altogether there have been 237 design devel- opments. Only 11 cars have been built so far, including the first for export outside of Europe - to New Zea- land (XK platforms and running gear gets around the parts supply issues). Each Speedback GT takes 8,000 man hours (including 800 hours spent applying 21 layers of paint) and eight months to build, and is priced at a significant £594,000. Customer requests for pretty much anything will be consid- ered - the New Zealand customer asked for a bespoke picnic set and a suitably retro town and country horn for their Speedback. The company says they would look at a carbon-fibre interior should anyone ask, which they haven't. Neither has anyone yet requested a leather steering wheel, preferring a polished wooden one, which is a sign of how much people want these cars for that Sixties vibe. Still, if the Speedback GT is anything it's a good example of two worlds, or rather two very different times in which cars were built and driven, colliding. We pointed out the extraordinary single piece of wood veneer inserted in both door panels. It curves one way, then the other, but the surface is utterly smooth to the touch and looks on close inspection like it is one single shaving from the tree or burr in question. A spokesman for the company confided that they use 3D printers for the piece, which is then veneered. Try explaining that process to the Sixties. David Brown Automotive will also revise spring and damper set- tings to fulfil the customer's wishes, and will uprate the Jag XKR's 5.0-litre supercharged V8, which develops 410bhp as standard, to 600bhp for you, should you desire. Three beautiful examples fittingly in red, white and blue, (the actual paint names follow rock music themes, so we have Ruby Tuesday, Blue Moon and White Night) were on the stand at Geneva. The red one, which we've driven (not a lot of point in driving impressions here as, surprise surprise, it drives like a Jag XJR), was decked out with a tamo ash and walnut steering wheel, the pieces of wood inter- locking and beautifully veneered, satin chrome on the centre console (there is currently a choice of six looks for interior metal work - nickel or chrome in a variety of satin or polished finishes) and enamel badge made by Fattorini, a Birmingham jeweller. One of the best design quirks of the Speedback GT is its quilted leather picnic bench, which folds out from the boot floor, via a two-stage GT-style tailgate. The chromed mechanism itself is a joy to behold. Make no mistake: it's not the sort of "bench" that a Range Rover fold-down tailgate provides; this is a proper two- man seat to make onlookers gasp and smile in genuine delight that some people still take such joy in automotive craftsmanship and the lifestyle that a true British Grand tourer inspires. It might be slightly eccentric, but then this entire car is an eccentric- ity - motoring journalists will sneer and tell you that you've just paid half a million pounds for a Jaguar XKR, and if you wanted something that looked like a poor man's DB5, you should buy a DB5. But they're missing one very obvious point: customers are well aware of that when they buy this car, and yet 11 people have still stumped up the cash so far, with more expressions of interest. You're buying a handcrafted, whacky, coach built GT which looks nothing quite like anything else, and that's at the heart of the matter. Aston Martin DB5 reborn as the Speedback GT Nissan's X-Trail car 4dogs Underneath the DB5-inspired bodywork lies running gear from the Jaguar XK