All posts by Francis Mitterrand

1990 Porsche 911 Targa “Sotto” is Singer’s 300th car

Singer Vehicle Design has been restoring and modifying Porsche cars since 2009, and is one of the best in the field. After many restored cars, the honor of being the 300th went to the 1990 Porsche 911 Targa Sotto.

The company is focused on making unique examples in cooperation with their owner, and this car is exactly that. Resistance Blue carbon fiber body, easily removable dark roof panel, and light strips with “Porsche” lettering on the lower part of the door, are just some of the features of this car from the 964 Series that was produced between 1989 and 1994.

Inside, the buyer opted for orange leather that covers the comfortable sports seats, door panels and the lower part of the dash, mated with black floor mats. There is also a three-spoke steering wheel wrapped in black leather.

Under the hood is a naturally-aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six engine with 390 hp (291 kW) at 9,000 rpm, mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The car is equipped with a titanium sports exhaust and massive carbon-ceramic brakes hidden behind five-spoke Fuchs-style rims.

Singer has his hands full. Last year, they opened a new workshop in order to speed up the process of an increasingly large number of interested customers. The fact that those who want a classic sports car, restored and modified with modern technology, and assembled according to the highest quality standards, have to wait four years tells how many are interested.

In it’s workshop, Singer performs all operations, from painting and installation of spare and new parts to assembly and finishing works. Singer director Mazen Fawaz claims that the company can meet all customer requirements and increase the car’s value to seven figures except in situations of severe damage.

Source: Singer Vehicle Design

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2024 Lancia Ypsilon Cassina premiered

Three weeks ago, Lancia announced the premiere of the limited edition Ypsilon Cassina, which will be produced in 1906 units, and the number of units represents the year the Italian manufacturer was founded.

Lancia Ypsilon took several design elements from the Pu+Ra HPE concept, including a front fascia, Stratos-inspired taillights, front spoiler-mounted headlights and some glossy black details. It is 4.08 meters long, 1.76 meters wide and 1.44 meters high, and weighs 1,584 kilograms.

“Lancia is starting from the beginning, from what we know best. Italy is the country where this brand was born 117 years ago and to which it owes much of its success. We start with the Ypsilon, a record-breaking city car that wrote the history of the B segment in Italy,” said the director brand Luca Napolitano.

The interior of the new Ypsilon is upholstered in dark blue leather and fabric and was made in cooperation with the Cassino company. It is equipped with the multimedia system SALA (Sound Air Light Augmentation), a fully digital instrument panel integrated into a unique module together with a two 10.24-inch multimedia screens, parking assistance system, second-level autonomous driving technology, as well as wireless systems Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

When it comes to the powertrain, the Ypsilon Cassina is powered by an electric motor with 156 hp (116 kW), and thanks to a 51 kWh battery, it has a range of 403 kilometers on a single charge.

Speaking of the price, the Lancia Ypsilon Cassina costs 39,999 euros, and customers will also receive a home Easy Wallbox charger and a warranty of three years or 30,000 kilometers.

Source: Lancia

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Owners report corrosion on Tesla Cybertruck

At the end of 2023, Tesla began delivering the first examples of its Cybertruck, which premiered in 2019 and for which Tesla received over 2 million orders. However, on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum, owners are already reporting problems with corrosion that has appeared on the body, which Tesla says is made of stainless steel.

Of course, a stainless steel body will show imperfections over time, and Tesla also states in the Cybertruck user manual that steel panels are susceptible to corrosive substances when not washed regularly.

One of the owners said that the corrosion appeared a few days after he bought the car. Another said that he bought the Cybertruck on February 1st and that the corrosion appeared after 11 days and 613 kilometers driven. He also posted the photos attached in the gallery and contacted his service advisor. He was told that Tesla had a procedure in place to fix the problem, but that the facility did not have the tools on hand and had not previously performed repairs of this type.

The owners took the vehicles to a service facility where they were told that they had a procedure to fix the rust but that they did not have the tools on hand to immediately fix it.

It will be interesting to see how Tesla will solve this problem as more and more owners are reporting rust on their Cybertruck.

Source: Cybertruck Owners Club forum

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