All posts by Francis Mitterrand

News

Ford’s future in the European market is not good

The European market is increasingly becoming the main market for major car manufacturers, but it seems that one of them is slowly losing the battle with the competition. According to experts, the shutdown of Focus next year, one of the two remaining essential models, could put Ford’s future in serious trouble and an even lower position on the European market, where it currently records a drop in sales of 17.5 percent.

For years, driven by bad estimates from market analysts, Ford has been trying to become a fully electric brand, but without success. Guided by the European Union’s decision on the new Euro 7, Ford, unlike most others, too quickly decided to stop the production of some models (Galaxy, S-Maxa, Mondeo, C-Max and Fiesta). However, since the European Union decided to delay the entry into force of the new Euro 7, a large number of manufacturers were forced to change their strategy, but Ford did it too soon.

Next year, Focus will go into the past, and that is what worries experts the most. Of the conventional vehicles, in which the market currently has great interest, only Kuga and Puma remain. This is not enough for a large manufacturer, such as Ford, to stand up to increasingly strong competition. Thus, for the next year, the offer will include only a few models with an internal combustion engine (Puma, Kuga, Bronco, Mustang and Tourneo) and the new EcoSport version, while the electric offer will include the Mustang Mach-E and Explorer Electric, and from 2025, electric Puma and Capri versions. When it comes to plug-in hybrids, apart from the Kuga PHEV, which manages to keep up with the competition, Ford has no other model on offer.

Many believe that Ford should consider postponing the withdrawal of the Focus model, at least for some time, until the American company finds a better solution and stabilizes its position on the European market.

Auctions

Ultra rare 1984 Porsche 911 SC/RS for sale

For the 1984 World Rally Championship season, Porsche produced a car that many fans of the German brand had never heard of, the Porsche 911 SC/RS. Porsche produced only 21 examples of this lightweight rally car, of which 20 were used in races, while one example is in the Porsche Museum. One example, 1984 Porsche 911 SC/RS is for sale.

This Porsche 911 SC/RS is powered by a 3.0-liter flat-six engine paired with a Type 915/71 five-speed manual transaxle with a designated fluid cooler, a limited-slip differential with 40% lockup, and an RSR-style clutch , which sends power to the rear wheels.

The car is finished in white and is in excellent condition. It is equipped with a whale-tail rear spoiler, a front chin spoiler beneath a front valance with dual air ducts, quad hood-mounted rally lights under a body-color cover, a driver-side mirror, a roof-mounted antenna, cross-drilled and ventilated disc brakes with four-piston calipers all around, dual master cylinders with adjustable bias, torsion bar suspension with adjustable lift points, Bilstein adjustable shock absorbers with auxiliary coil springs, and an aluminum skid plate fitted to the underbody. Rothmans Rallye de France decals were applied to each door in February 2024. It is mounted on a set of 16″ Fuchs alloy wheels wrapped in 205/55 front and 225/50 rear Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season tires.

The interior of the car was stripped, which included removing the rear seats, glovebox door and clock. Racing seats upholstered in black fabric, Sabelt four-point harnesses, Matter roll cage with removable door bars, black carpeting of thinner depth than the standard 911, roll-up windows, a Realistic CB radio, and a Jaeger rally computer were installed, while is an Eberspacher fuel-operated heater located in the front compartment underneath an aluminum cover. In front of the driver are a three-spoke steering wheel and a six-digit odometer showing 5,158 km.

The car comes with an inspection report from Jürgen Barth, a Porsche Classic Technical Certificate, a copy of its factory data card, its previous Swiss registration document, a technical manual, 1984 Tour de Corse route books, and a Montana title.

The auction ends on May 25 and the highest bid at the time of writing was $460,000 USD.

Source: Bring a Trailer

Gallery:

Ultra rare 1984 Porsche 911 SC/RS for sale
News

Ferrari 488 Pista in the river

At the 2018 Geneva Motor Show Ferrari introduced a car that was influenced by the 488 GTE and 488 Challenge race variants, the Ferrari 488 Pista. It is an expensive car, and one recently, in the Swiss region of Garstattlast, ended up in a river after an accident.

Photos taken at the scene of the accident show that almost the entire car was under water except for the front part. The accident occurred when the driver of the Ferrari 488 Pista lost control of the vehicle and hit a car traveling in the same direction from Zweisimmen to Boltigen. Fortunately, the driver was able to get out of the car unharmed and wait for the police and firefighters to arrive. Pulling the car out was made difficult by the strong river current, but they still managed to pull the car out of the river and onto the shore using a long ladder and a crane.

According to local media, this section of the road is quite dangerous and accidents are frequent. Apparently, drivers do not consider that when the water evaporates from the river, a layer of moisture is created on the road, so the road becomes slippery and often, due to carelessness, drivers lose control of the vehicle.

The Ferrari 488 Pista is powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.9-liter V8 engine with 710 hp (530 kW) and 568 lb-ft (770 Nm) of torque. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a seven-speed F1 dual-clutch automatic transmission and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential. It reaches 62 mph in 2.85 seconds, 124 mph (200 km/h) in 7.6 seconds with a top speed of 211 mph (340 km/h).

Source: Berner Zeitung via X