Race starts at 5:10 pm in Abu Dhabi/9:10 pm in Malaysia on Sunday
Race starts at 5:10 pm in Abu Dhabi/9:10 pm in Malaysia on Sunday
James Bond, undeniably the world’s best-known secret agent, has driven a great variety of cars in the past 57 years since he first appeared in Dr. No. Many were sportscars and thanks to Q branch, some of them had fancy accessories like rocket launchers, ejection seats, machine guns and tyre-shredders. Being an agent of the British government, Bond often drove the latest British models with Aston Martins featuring prominently in the last few adventures.
In April 2020, No Time To Die, the 25th official James Bond film (and the fifth one starring Daniel Craig as Agent 007), will premiere and as with the previous films, there will be exciting car action. Seeming to reflect trends in the market, there will be more SUVs and in fact, the New Defender from Land Rover will appear prominently on the big screen. This will be the first movie to feature the New Defender which was launched in September this year.
Other Land Rover models you will see at different points in the movie will be the Range Rover Sport SVR, Land Rover Series III and Range Rover Classic. The British 4×4 manufacturer has had a long-standing partnership with EON Productions on the Bond films which goes back to 1983 when a Range Rover Convertible appeared in Octopussy.
Land Rover’s design team worked closely with Special Effects and Action Vehicles Supervisor Chris Corbould on the specification of the Defenders in the film. Based on the Defender X model in Santorini Black, with darkened skidpans, 20-inch dark finish wheels and professional off-road tyres, they were the first Defenders to be built at Jaguar Land Rover’s new production facility in Slovakia.
Stunt coordinator Lee Morrison (shown below) and stunt driver Jess Hawkins pushed the vehicle to extremes, making maximum use of pioneering off-road tech, 900 mm wading ability and 291 mm ground clearance for No Time To Die’s spectacular car chase action.
“Designing and co-ordinating the action sequences for the Bond franchise requires a non-compromising mindset. We needed an unstoppable vehicle to help us battle against the elements, steep descents and river crossings so we chose the new Defender. I’m beyond impressed that the Defender is not only back but much, much better!” said Morrison.
Just as Lexus and Mark Levinson have had a long relationship (almost 20 years) in the area of audio systems, Bentley has collaborated with Naim for the past 10 years, in the development of the most powerful, best-in-class in-car audio systems. The latest ‘Naim for Bentley’ is said to set a global benchmark for interactive sound technology offering occupants concert hall quality sound.
Naim for Bentley delivers the world’s most advanced music systems, both inside the world’s most prestigious road cars and also for listeners at home. Bentley’s new Flying Spur has Naim’s superlative audio system seamlessly integrated into state-of-the-art British craftsmanship.
21 speakers and 2,200-watt amplification
The sound system features 21 speakers with 2,200-watt amplification and Active Bass Transducers. Eight DSP sounds modes are available and the car exhibits illuminated speaker grilles. Sound settings can be accessed via an elegant 12.3-inch HD touchscreen interface at the centre of the dashboard. Customers can configure this in a variety of ways: as a single display, split 2:1 or showing different functions at the same time. The overall designs highlights simplicity of use with a contemporary and elevated aesthetic.
Aiming to break sonic boundaries
Bentley Motors and Naim Audio are now working together to create new products for 2020 which continue to break sonic boundaries. The close confines of a car cabin capable of travelling at speeds of over 320 km/h, combined with engine, road and wind noise, provide a challenge for Naim’s engineers, quite unlike the demands of achieving best replay performance in the home or studio.
To bring true Naim sound quality into this unique space, engineers of the two companies have flatly rejected traditional approaches, in the process rewriting the rulebook of in-car audio systems. The result? New worldwide benchmarks for in-cabin sound technology and incredible depth of music quality that has to be heard to be believed.
Naim is a Queen’s Award winner for its innovation and having recently come out with a trailblazing Digital Signal Processing (DSP) system, it realised it could apply an all-new approach to the in-car implementation. The DSP system would find itself at the very heart of the Naim for Bentley audio system, enabling a degree of tuning previously not possible, ensuring optimal sound performance whatever the speed or road conditions.
Each new generation of Bentley has seen a refinement and an update from the original Naim for Bentley audio system. Beginning as a 15 speaker – 1,100-watt system in 2008, the system has evolved into a 2,200-watt amplifier feeding 21 speakers as featured in the new Flying Spur.
The Naim for Bentley system has been designed to maintain performance even when the roof of the Continental GT Convertible is down, and as Bentley evolves its hybrid car line, beginning with the Bentayga Hybrid, the even quieter engines offer a different audio environment to design for altogether.
Unique Digital Signal Processor solution
Naim has engineered a unique Digital Signal Processor (DSP) solution for the Naim for Bentley audio system. This innovative technology offers a range of modes to optimise the in-car soundstage, depending on seating position and listening preferences. It ensures ultimate audio performance is maintained whatever the speed or road conditions.
While class-leading, with an extremely powerful amplifier, the Naim for Bentley system is more than just a sound system. It has been engineered to deliver a true high-fidelity experience matched to the refinement of the Bentley experience.
Naim for Bentley’s audio system is compatible with Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, Deezer and allows customers to enjoy their own choice of music, digital radio or spoken word media such as audio books and podcasts.
Bentley Flying Spur First Edition to be auctioned for Elton John AIDS Foundation
Until about 25 years ago, many cars came with ‘tool kits’, a collection of tools which the manufacturer felt would be useful to the owner in the event of a breakdown or for those who wanted to do a bit of maintenance themselves. That was in the days when the engineering was simpler, and engine bays were still quite open.
As engines became more sophisticated with more electronics and DIY maintenance diminished, the toolkit slowly began to have a reduced number of items. Things like spark plug wrenches, pliers and spanners were no longer included and eventually, only the tools for removing the wheel to replace a flat tyre were provided. In time, these too may be gone if runflat tyres and emergency puncture repair kits are considered adequate.
So the tool kit will be just a memory for the older generation and for some models like the Jaguar E-Type, a complete original toolkit can be worth as much as £5,000 (about RM27,000). The toolkit was originally offered with Series 1 and Series 2 E-types and hasn’t been available since the final Series 2 was produced in 1971.
Now, thanks to their unique access to engineering records, Jaguar Classic’s Genuine Parts experts have reproduced the toolkit to authentic specifications. The Jaguar-branded tools come in a period-correct leatherette-covered canvas roll, and feature all items needed to carry out routine maintenance on the iconic sportscar. The reproduction toolkit is priced from £732 (about RM4,000) in the UK.
“The original E-Type toolkit has become a collector’s item due to its rarity and historic appeal. We’ve had customers across the world contact us about obtaining one, which is why we decided to manufacture the toolkits again to their original specification. It’s the perfect finishing touch for E-Type aficionados,” said Dan Pink, Director of Jaguar Classic.
There are 20 items in the Jaguar Classic E-Type Toolkit and include a valve timing gauge, grease gun, handbrake-adjusting wrench, brake bleed tin and tube, and a tyre valve key.
The toolkit is also offered as an option for E-Type Reborn restoration customers. E-Type Reborn is a complete service from Jaguar Classic, offering the unique opportunity to buy a fully restored and highly collectible E-type direct from the original manufacturer.
Every E-Type Reborn, which starts with a base vehicle sourced by Jaguar Classic’s E-Type experts, is restored according to the company’s original 1960s factory specification. Unique access to build records, original drawings, and the team’s decades of experience ensures absolute authenticity, which has resulted in E-Type Reborn restorations winning concours awards in Europe and North America in 2019. Jaguar Classic Parts are used to maximise the vehicle’s quality, longevity and collectability.
The BodyMindSoul Festival which is currently taking place all weekend long (29 November 2019 – 1 December 2019) at the Setia City Convention Centre (SCCC) in Setia Alam and Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (Nissan Malaysia) is conducting the Nissan Nurtures Nature (NNN) campaign as part of their efforts to ‘reconnect’ back with nature. (more…)
