\


22 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, May 10th, 2001 JL _ GUIDE TO ■ r T 1


Vauxhi buyers]


by Andy Enright — :------ ; - "■ ■


N ew Ferrari provides a route to motoring bliss


by-Andy Enright


ersary, I asked Sergio Pininfarina to present


a


a design for a front- engined, 12-cylinder Ferrari roadster that would capture the spir­ it of the classic road


races of the past. “Sergio proposed this


550; a car that combines the coupe’s powerful design with a refined interpretation of ‘barche- tta’ styling cues - this is a car destined exclusively


for open use. “The result surpassed


expectations, so we decided to name it after the coach- builder in his honour, the 550 Barchetta Pininfari­


na.”


So said Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo at


the unveiling of the 550 Barchetta Pininfarina, neatly encapsulating the why, where and what of this magnificent car. Still, it does make one


wonder quite how Pininfa­ rina felt after it had sub­ mitted the designs for the Ferrari 360 Spider. One can almost imagine


Senor di Montezemolo inspecting the clay design model, hand on chin, flop­ py hair covering the hawk


eyes. “ It’s good, but it’s not


' i


great. We were toying with the idea of calling it the 360 Pininfarina, but as you’ve merely met rather than exceeded our expecta­ tions, I think 360 Spider


will do.” It probably did not hap­


pen like this, but its good to


know that such excess is not only tolerated at Maranello, but positively encouraged. The ability to hit 60


m.p.h. in 4.4 seconds is a far more significant mea­ sure. Far from being a road tester’s irrelevance, the sprint to 60 m.p.h. is vitally important in a car like the Barchetta Pininfarina. While it may spend most


of its life burbling about on tickover, acting as the ulti­ mate platform to check out who is checking you out, the ability to plant the right foot and leave thick slicks of gooey Pirelli on the Queen’s highway should signal to any observer that when it comes to putting your


money where your ortho- dontically flawless mouth is, this 550 can seriously up


the ante. With only 448 examples


to be built at a sobering £172,358, the Barchetta Pininfarina is just pipped by 456 GTA as the most expensive Ferrari currently


available. It is, by some margin,


however, the most focused.


With only a handful set to reach these shores, the Bar­ chetta Pininfarina will be at its best when cruising on A1A Beachfront Avenue in the Miami Deco District or barrelling along US High­ way 1 from Malibu to


Monterey. With only a makeshift


manual soft top, this is one Ferrari that does not do rain at all convincingly.. The schizophrenic rigours


of the British climate make such a car a genuine luxury, best left in a dehumidified garage for that merely moist week in late August that constitutes the British


summer. Nevertheless, if you can


picture your favourite sun­ drenched roads — classics


■ such as those around Lozere in the south of France or those wrapping themselves around Graza-


lema in south-west Spain — then the 550 Barchetta Maranello is a near-perfect companion, quick enough to devour straights yet nimble enough to tiptoe above rocky precipices. Factor in sufficient


refinement to prevent that glazed 1,000-yard stare effect that those climbing from a ticking Ferrari 360 exhibit and you have sam­ pled motoring nirvana.


TO mark Pininfarina’s


70th Anniv­


Proton out o impress


with the Imperian by Andy Enright


F you are after a Vectra- sizcd car, £ 12,000 is not


___. the best place to start looking. At least £1,200 shy of the cheapest Vectra and £2,500 short of Mondco money, your expectations need to be managed slightly. Whereas before the


choice was between South Korea and second-hand, a new option now exists. Malaysia’s Proton offers a model that can compete head on with the better offerings in the budget fam­ ily saloon sector. It is called the Impian,;


and although the name trips uneasily off the tongue, you had better get used to it. We are going to see a few of these on our roads in the not too distant future. Aside from the name, the


most significant aspect of the Impian is that it is the first Proton model devel­ oped in-house, not being reliant on some other manu­ facturer’s body shape or floorpan. Think about it. The Pro­ ton Salria and Wira models


were rebadged as Mit­ subishi Colt and Lancer


models. The Impian certainly will


not feature in any Mit­ subishi brochures, but its engine has, being a revised version of the tried and tested l.G-litre unit seen in many other Proton variants. Therefore the Impian can only be seen as a halfway house to motoring sclf-suf-


: ficicncy for Malaysia. / This is something of a shame, as the engine is to all extents and purposes the weakest part o f the entire Impian package. It dislikes being revved hard, 5,000 r.p.m. being a point above which few sane folk will care to venture, and even below that the overall impression is one o f a phlegmatic sloth. That said, it is relatively


refined when ambling along and probably quite adequate for the Impian’s target mar­ ket, itself consisting on a clientele more interested in


features than feedback and for whom reliability is of greater importance than


road ability. A Renault-supplied 1.8-


litrc unit is also on the hori­ zon, and this should provide a bit more zip, all o f which the Impian could easily accommodate. Despite what we have


said about the target mar­ ket, the Proton has a sur­ prising trick up its sleeve. Whisper it if you will, but the Impian is impishly good


fun to drive. The first thing you will


notice is how well the sus­ pension suppresses the usual bump and thump of the average British road


surface. Up the speed a little more


and the story remains the same. The Proton still feels supple at speeds which the engine is quite unhappy with, the body control admirable, utterly bereft o f the soggy front under


damping or high speed float that would afreet a VW Bora


driven at similar velocities,


impressive siuff. While being workmanlike


and ergonomically sound, from a design perspective the South-East Asians have never quite hit the bullscyc. Certainly the Impian is not going to appeal to those with an eye for a classy cabin. Unless you are suffering


from some seriously dis­ turbed sleeping habits, the Proton Impian probably will not make your dreams come true, but it is a welcome newcomer into a hard-


fought arena. Few new cars these days


are far better than expected. The Impian is - and it is not wholly due to lowly expecta­


tions. I f you were thinking of a


new South Korean family saloon, or even a nearly-ncw Mondeo or Vectra, you owe it to yourself to give the Impian a go.


W O O D EN L A D D E R 9' 6". e le v e n rung . £ 1 0 . Te l : 0 1 2 8 2 6 1 2 3 8 8 .


B R ID E SM A ID DRESS H ya ­ c in th b lu e , full


sw e e th e a r t n e ck l in e , sh o r t s le e v e s , f it te d b o d ic e full sk ir ts , m a tch in g d o r o th y b a g s and h ea d d r e s s , s ize 1 2 an d 1 4 . b a rg a in , all fo r £ 3 0 . T e l . 0 1 2 8 2 7 0 3 6 8 0 .


leng th,


B R O T H E R E L E C T R O N IC t y p e w r i t e r , e x c e l l e n t c o n d i t io n . £ 2 5 . La rg e e le c - . tr ie t y p ew r i t e r v e ry g o o d L c o n d i t io n . £ 1 5 . C om p u te r I m o n i t o r s c r e e n , g o o d P w o rk in g o r d e r , £ 2 5 . T e l . I 0 1 2 8 2 8 3 8 1 8 6 .


B A B Y BATH TO P and tail I an d 2 b a b y t ow e l s , b la ck , b a g o f b o y s c lo th e s . 0 -1 2 1 m on th s , t o p nam e s , g o o d l c o n d i t io n , b a b y b o u n c e r . ! all £ 2 5 , all g o o d c o n d i t io n . ! T e l . 0 7 7 7 6 1 2 5 3 5 0 .


I


BO Y S C LO TH E S a g e d 12 t o l 18 m on th s , in c lu d in g 6P


ou t f it s , a n o ra k , ja ck e t . 6L p a ir s p y jam a s and o t h e r ! a s s o r t e d item s . ,al1 g o o d ! m a k e s . £ 2 5 . T e l . 0 1 2 8 2| 4 2 5 9 1 3 .


F R A N K E G A S HOB 5 8 X 5 0 l cms. b u i l t in D o u b le ov en| and g r i l l N e f f . 5 9 x 8 9 cm s .I b o th in d a rk b r ow n . £50| fo r b o th . Can b e s e e r i w o r k i n g .T e l . 0 1 2 8 2 |


'5** A. • . ...V i


Ford’s racing Ka for the road


Iv- " ,<


journalist’s piffle - that a £7,000 Ford Ka could be transformed into the sort of driver’s car that will have you dreaming up excuses to get behind the wheel of it. The Ford Racing Ka


G


experience does, however, come at a hefty price, as many of the car’s parts are custom designed for this special edition, which is aimed as a stepping stone for aspiring rally drivers. For the full package you


will pay £5,500 on top of the £7,000 for the stan­ dard Ford Ka, but the list of modifications is exten­


sive. It is only when you com­


W


pare the 80 b.h.p. Racing Ka to'the Citroen Saxo VTS that you begin to I appreciate quite what a


A l specialist piece of kit the


little Ford is. Besides, for those that


do not fancy going the whole hog, Ford is offering a menu-based pricing sys­ tem, allowing you to upgrade your Ka with just those parts you feel able to afford. Five areas have been


specifically addressed. The exterior gets a full body kit, comprising flared wheel arches, a tailgate


spoiler and 15in. alloy wheels plus low-profile


tyres. Far from being just


some additional plastic bolted to the sills of your ■


Ka, the body conversion is major surgery. The flared bodywork is wider,


.


designed by Ford Racing at Boreham, and gives the previously cutesy Ka a bit


.more attitude. The multispoke Ford


facing alloys are spaced to fill the arches and the over- ' all impression is, unsur-


RANTED, it may -sound like the worst


__J sort of motoring by Andy Enright


prisingly, of a scaled down Ford Racing Puma - itself


no bad thing. The suspension has


come in for some fettling, with uprated Eibach springs and dampers and the car rides 30mm lower, enhancing the aggressive


look. Likewise, the gearbox


has undergone a makeover, the throw being shortened, giving a similarly quick, snickety operation, much like the Racing Puma. You will enjoy flicking


through the gears for the sheer fun of it, your feet tapping at the dinky ped­ als as you prod the alu­ minium ball between the


. You will need to make good use of that gearbox, as the engine, despite hav­ ing its power boosted from 60 b.h.p. to 80 b.h.p,. still is not the last word in sophis­


ratios.


tication. That is probably just as


well, given that the little Ford will be used and abused by beginner rally drivers. Due to revised gearing, the top speed still hovers close to 100 m.p.h., • although the sprint to 60 m.p.h. falls to around 11 seconds. Judged purely on the


basis of go/stop/steer, the Racing Ka is a mixed bag, the engine lacking outright


urge and the brakes also feeling somewhat under­ whelming, although Ford is working on a kit to boost


the power. ’ The steer side of it, as


you will have gathered, is nigh on perfect If Ford dealers can get


potential customers into the cars, however, the deal will be as good as done. Now if only we could


have one with the Puma s 1.7-litre engine...


' MASSIVE CHOICE OF USED CARS AVAILABLE FI?0M £2495 - £30000 HORNERS ACCRINGTON ROAD, BURNLEY- TEL: 01282 411222/830888


OPEN 7 DAYS • MON-FRI H O R N E R S M O T O R G R O U P


__ ___ t .. Tn. . . c a t & SUN T il 5 .3 0 pi B U R Y


T il 7 pm * SAT B U R N L E Y


Slt/Part Exchange £ 2 4 3 1 , Amount o f Finance £3 5 6 4 , 3 6 Monthly


TYPICAL EXAMPLE: FIAT SEICENTO. Cash Price £5 9 9 5 , S l^ iu ^ a an^Secoptenco Fee o f £ 9 9 and an Option to Purchase Foe o f £ 5 5 . A i g e i i r o ^ o H S b ^


Visit our W e b s i t e a t : w in n n r .h o r n e r sm o to r g r p u p .c o .u f a : roqu,rod)- wrltton quotatlonB avaiiabi° ° nrequest- i §m t ^ § S g


& SUN T il 5 .3 0 pm | E C C L B S • M A N C H E S T E R


3°5^'crodl?available to anyone APR * , y f ; I -f


pHsJSfi-’ > ■ •


sto-TAfjk#' 7* f«J


^ " V


■ v'


¥ a 4 2 2 9 6 1 .


G IA N T M O U N T A IN biktL 2 6 in s w h e e ls , a l lo y r lm s l b ra k e s , b a r s , s e a t p o s t ! q u ick r e le a s e w h e e ls , S n i f m a n o g e a r s a n d b ra k e s . 2 il s p e e d . £ 7 0 o .n .o . T e l ] 0 7 7 1 3 0 6 9 7 9 3 .


M U L T I M E D I A w o r t s ta t io n , s l id in g k e y b o a rd sh e l f d e sk , s h e l f p a p e r an<L p r in t e r sh e lv e s , f it s t o w e l c om p u t e r , s t o r e s 7 8 c d t l g o o d c o n d i t io n , £ 2 0 . T e l l 0 1 2 8 2 4 5 8 6 7 3 .


PINE R O C K IN G ch a ir p a ir !


t e d r e d , £ 1 5 o .n .o . F i t t e l v a la n c e sh e e ts , k in g size!


1 5 0 x 2 0 0 cm s, c o t t o n , s t i l l in p a ck a g e £21 f o r 4 o .n .o . T e l . 012 8| 7 7 1 8 3 3 .


SH A R P W O R D p r o c e s s o r * ! l in e d isp la y , b u i l t - in s p e l c h e c k e r .


0 1 2 8 2 4 2 0 7 4 8 .


S I L E N T N IG H T w o o l m ah o g an y ca b in e t , c om p r ! s e s cu p b o a rd w ith she| and t o p d raw e r , c o s t £ 16|


( I n d e x C a t ) , g o o P c o n d i t io n . £ 3 0 . T e l . 0 1 2E 4 5 8 6 7 3 .


W A R D R O B E t e a k a n l


o'1 - 1 .^{j


l V I, \L A — # 5 « s jlVfU#


c r e am . 2 d o o r s and m ir r o j £ 3 0 o .n .o . T e a k and c r ea| 5 ch e s t d r aw e r s £ 4 0 . F lo c l


s t a n d i n g s p o t l i g h t i r ch r om e and w h ite £ o . i c 0 1 2 8 2 4 3 4 6 4 3 .


M A N C H E S T E R U N IT E !


b o y s b ik e , w o u ld su it b o j a g e d 9 t o 12 m on th ! e x c e l l e n t c o n d i t i o n . 1| g e a r s , £ 6 5 o .v .n .o . T<i 0 1 2 8 2 4 5 8 6 7 3 .


A P R IC O T P.C. £ 5 0 o .n | in c lu d in g 1 5 " m o n i t o f k e y b o a r d , m o u s e art


s p e a k e r s , n e e d s s l ‘ 9J a t t e n t io n to d isk d r iv e . T<1


0 1 2 8 2 4 5 3 0 6 0 . I B EDSTE AD g o ld m e ta l, fil


o v e r 4' x 6' b e d . p o r c e u l b e d k n o b s w i t h f l o r l d e s ig n , e x c e l le n t c o n d i t i l £ 5 0 . T e l . 0 1 2 8 2 86 0 3|


,-«n.iSs>i(itfFiSe’Kwo;T!,r wraHOBA i


’ M it i faw Uwarnae t r a«QT V « > . ^raSdfeMV/at.T,ac e h * 5 5 ° i _ £ 2 L


. . . P . r q "** e v e .


B R O T H E R W O R D pr| c e s s o r w ith c l ip a r t , h a r t l u s e d as n ew . in k je t pr in t* i d e a l


f o r s t u d e n t .T |


0 1 2 8 2 7 7 4 7 6 5 . £ 1 0 0 . T| 0 1 2 8 2 7 7 4 7 6 5 .


I BROTHERkni t t ingmachl


K H 8 3 6 , n o r ib b e r . £.| M o n d e o la d d e r ra ck w ]


lo ck s . £ 2 5 . T h re e r a c i b ik e s n e e d in g a t ten t ion ! e a ch . T e l : 0 1 2 8 2 7 2 2 4 7 J


C A R P E T p in k . g re y , c r e l a n d b r ow n f lo r a l , 2 p i c l 4 f t . 4 in x 3 ft 6 in. o t i p ie c e 5 f t 6 in x 2 ft 4J w i th u n d e r fe l t £ 1 0 b o T e l . 0 1 2 8 2 4 3 4 8 4 5 .


C A S S A T O m u lti c o lo u l p ram w ith m a tch in g !■ b r o d e r l e a n g la i s e c<l t o e s . £ 7 0 o .n .o . E x ce l ) ! c o n d i t i o n . T e l . 0 1 2|


4 3 0 9 5 9 .


D E H UM ID IF IE R 1 2 5 v l a d ju s ta b le c o n t r o ls , e x l le n t w o rk in g c o n d i t j £ 5 0 . H e d g e tr im m e r w a l i s ta n d . £ 1 0 T e l . Oil 4 3 8 2 0 9 .


ELECTROLUX Co n t |


v a cu um , b u i l t in t o o ls . B la ck le a th e r p an ts siz| £ 3 5 . T in t e d gla s s g j l i g h t s h a d e s . £1 T e l .0 1 2 8 2 8 5 2 5 7 5 .


FE N D E R G EM INI 2 a c l t i c g u i t a r s , e x c e l l i


c o n d i t io n . £ 8 0 n o o f ! M e g a d e th ru s te d p i j D V D £ 1 0 . T e l . OF 7 0 6 2 8 5 .


G O L F CLUB f o r sa le . l| b l a c k c a t t i t a n d r i v e d 0V4 d e g r e e le ft , u la r g ra p h ite sh a ft L T e l . 0 1 2 8 2 4 2 0 0 9 4 . <1 4 0 6 6 4 0 4 .


H O M E


e q u ipm e n t , s ix d em l l o n e f iv e g a l lon b i f f i l t e r , c o r k e r , h y d r o r e t c . £ 2 0 . T e l . O l j


6 1 7 5 4 8 . B R E W l l t h e s a u r u s !


a d d r e s s b o o k , a u t om a t ! b a ck u p , sp a r e r ib b o n , dm l c o v e r and m a n u a l .£ 9 0 . i e j


■A


there is a market for topless funsters in this wet and windy land, but the mainstream manufacturers have tended to serve us some distinctly sloppy sec­


R


onds. Vauxhall aims to change


all that with the £18,995 Astra Convertible 2.2. The engine is becoming


familiar fare to anybody who is au fait with the Griffin’s latest wares. Fitted to the Astra,


Astra Coupe, Zafira, Vec­ tra, VX220 and Omega the 2.2-litre,16-valve unit is smooth, torquey and flexible, although not the most vocal or charismatic power plant of its type. Nevertheless, Vauxhall


ocketing roadster sales have shown that


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