2020 Ford EscapeChris Balcerak / Driving Up against stellar competition Honda’s CR-V and the Toyota RAV4, for instance and part of a portfolio that is now almost completely car-free, its important that Fords completely redesigned Escape be a home-run. Compact crossovers are all the rage right now the CR-V, RAV4, and Escape are all among the top-10 sellers in Canada right now so a competitive Escape is absolutely key to Fords continued good fortunes. Here are a few observations are driving a top-line Escape Titanium with the 2.0-litre turbo-four and all-wheel-drive.It’s gasolineThe attribute that really stands out is how powerful the Escapes top-line engine is. Yet another of Fords 2.0-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder engines, this one is good for 250 horsepower and 275 lb.-ft. of torque. Mated to an eight-speed automatic, it should be good from a sub six-second scoot from rest to 100 km/h. More importantly, its got grunt to spare when passing semis on the highway, and its good to tow some 1,587 kilograms. The only downside is that it needs revs. Unusually, especially for a turbocharged engine, is that both horsepower and torque peak at 5,500 rpm, pointing to an engine that might be a tad weedy at low rpm. Indeed, I thought the slight fluffiness I felt at low speeds was due to lethargic transmission, but its more probably the result of this EcoBoosts aggressive tuning. Once moving, however, the Ford Escape is the beast of the compact crossover segment.It’s also sophisticatedAbsolutely everyone who got a ride in the new Escape commented on the relaxed nature of the powertrain, some commenting that it felt smoother than either the CR-V or the RAV4, while others compared it with Audis Q5. While I wholeheartedly agree with the first assertion, Im not quite as sure about the second, but it doesnt change the fact that this is the most together EcoBoost four-cylinder that Ive yet driven. The most powerful four-cylinder in its segment as well as its most sophisticated, those looking for a reason to choose the Titanium only this trim and the SEL get the 2.0L EcoBoost over its Japanese competition need look no deeper than under the hood. This is the class of the segment in both performance and exemplary NVH. With great power comes…Pretty darned frugal consumption, actually. Fords EcoBoost engines havent always delivered the fuel economy from the supposed efficiency of turbocharging smaller engines, often exceeding Transport Canadas rating by as much as 50 per cent.The new Escape is certainly an exception, averaging 9.7 L/100 kilometres of combined highway/city driving compared to its 9.1 official rating. And this is with me enjoying the fruits of Fords now more energetic turbocharger, goosing it away from lights, cruising at 125 km/h, and just generally hooning about. With a little more, err, deliberation, perhaps I might have even hit Fords official numbers, which would have been a first for me with any EcoBoost engine. Well done, Ford.The interior is much improvedWith caveats, though. First off, the Escapes cabin is roomier than its predecessor, especially in the cargo area, which now almost rivals the voluminous Honda CR-V. Its also a calm environment, the absence of tire noise and the aforementioned lack of NVH from the engine compartment contributing to the tranquility. Together with decent seats, excellent headroom and enough legroom for six-footers in the back, the new Escape is one of the few compact CUVs in which four adults can travel in comfort. The interior trim bits, long a sore spot in the Escape, have also been improved. The dashbords synthetic covering is softer (if not quite soft), the Titaniums leather up to snuff, and some of the fake wood, well, looks less fake than in the past. That said, some of the plastic in the door panels, for instance are not state-of-the-art. That might not be huge deal on the base model, but in a $44,599 Titanium, it was somewhat lacking. Whether that alone is enough for some to remove the Escape from their shopping list is doubtful, however. The previous generations plastics were atrocious and that didnt stop it from being the third best-seller in a very competitive segment.It’s pretty high techAt least in the top-of-the-line Titanium edition. Standard equipment includes Fords CoPilot360 suite of advanced driver aids, on-board WiFi, Active Park Assist, and Fords MyKey security system that allows you to set maximum speed which I inadvertently did for younger drivers. There is even a USB-C port (as well as a conventional USB version) for those that have recently upgraded phone or iPad.Of particular note is Fords latest Sync 3 infotainment system. As with all Fords tech upgrades of late, I am terribly impressed with this latest Sync, which has what must be the most improved man-machine interface of any infotainment system of the last five years. The eight-inch touchscreen remains relatively uncluttered, the menus uncomplicated, and
Origin: 5 things we learned behind the wheel of the 2020 Ford Escape
behind
‘Ford v Ferrari’ depicts a generation of car guys best left behind
A still from Ford v. Ferrari (2019)Twentieth Century Fox Ford v Ferrari, which opened Friday, November 15 starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon, follows British racing driver Ken Miles (Bale), and hot-rodder Carroll Shelby (Damon) as they build a special race car to help the Ford Motor Company beat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 and 1967.The goal was to break Enzo Ferraris stronghold on international racing that had his Scuderia Ferrari winning everything throughout the 1960s.They strike an odd-couple pair: Miles is a wiry, eccentric Brit; Shelby is a square-jawed, cowboy-hat-wearing Texan. Neither much like the corporate pressure exerted by Ford chief Lee Iacocca and his marketing goons, who themselves were humiliated by Ferraris Old World gravitas after a bungled buyout attempt. And there you have the necessary tension for a movie.Its a beautifully shot film that will be enjoyable for modern car buyers and enthusiasts alike engines rev, tires squeal, stopwatches click. But what I saw is a devastating picture of the lack of diversity that permeated the industry in the 1960s.If automakers want any hope of relevance in the next decades, as they face the most radical changes and challenges theyve experienced in 150-odd years of automotive history, they would be wise to contemplate it closely. Because Ford v Ferrari shows a generation best left dead and gone. Matt Damon and Christian Bale on the set of Twentieth Century Fox’s ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Twentieth Century Fox It’s a Man’s WorldPicture this: During all 152 minutes of the film which, for those who love vintage racing cars, will feel as good as an ice cream sundae on a summer afternoon men dominate the screen for 98 per cent of the time, by my unofficial count. They are in the executive suites at Ford and Ferrari, in the workshops and garages in Venice, on the track out at Willow Springs Raceway. (And when I say men, I mean white, straight men.)No fraction of the storyline is devoted to parsing the thoughts and feelings of any female who appears, even peripherally, on screen. Instead, Caitriona Balfe, who plays Miless wife, Mollie, is presented as the doting mother: She smiles mildly and nods her head indulgently as her husband struggles to gain traction in the race world. She clucks and scolds like a schoolmarm when Miles and Shelby come to blows on her front lawn then brings them each a soda pop. Other women waft through the film like smoke: Secretaries in wood-paneled offices handing manila folders to men in navy suits; corporate wives smiling silently, always positioned one step behind their husbands shoulder; young racing fans that serve as pretty dcor on racing podiums. To the victor go the spoils.The critique I heard most often about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood could easily apply here: This is a film celebrating those nostalgic golden days when white men ruled. Its pretty to watch if you can suspend thinking for two hours about what that world must have been like for any ambitious or creative folks who didnt fit that demographic.Behind the Shiny ExteriorThe central message of Ford v Ferrari that the answer to the question Who are you? is what really matters in life is delivered in the beginning, middle and end of the film by Shelby. The biggest problem with that is Carroll Shelby. The man who was responsible for turning the Ford Mustang into the epitome of American muscle occupies a god-like status in car culture and embodied everything the red-blooded American male of the era was supposed to hold supreme.Some of it is admirable: A former chicken farmer from Texas who pulled himself up by his own proverbial bootstraps, Shelby wore overalls when he raced and built his own cars with Ford-tough V8 engines. He beat the Europeans at their own game at Le Mans. In his later years, he established a charity that helped provide organ transplants for children.Most of it was not: Shelby was a notorious womanizer who blew through six marriages and was heading toward divorce from his seventh when he died. He spoke to everyone with language so blue it was legendary; ask any car journalist or professional driver who knew him, and theyve got plenty of descriptive words to describe the way he treated anyone within earshot. Many of those words are unprintable here.During all 152 minutes of the film, men dominate the screen for 98 per cent of the timeFor fun, he shot lions, elephants and rhinoceroses on animal hunts in Africa. He filed so many lawsuits against Ford, against local car builders, against online forums and, ironically, against the company that later would supply all of the Cobras for the film that he become more known and reported on for that in his later years than for any feats of automotive genius.In fact, after his blast of success with the AC Cobras in the 1960s and his hot-rod take on the Ford Mustang, Shelby didnt have a single real hit. Instead, there were claims he falsely represented many of the cars he
Origin: ‘Ford v Ferrari’ depicts a generation of car guys best left behind
Mr Hypercar: the man behind the Bugatti EB110
Lots of automotive engineers have worked for more than one brand, but few have a CV boasting as many highlights as Loris Bicocchi’s. The Italian has worked for Lamborghini, Pagani, Koenigsegg, KTM and Dallara. But it is his connection to two different eras at Bugatti that led to the chance to talk about his career. When modern-era Bugatti showed us the EB110-inspired Centodieci, it effectively crossed the streams; the original car was produced when Bugatti belonged to Romano Artioli, that firm going bankrupt in 1995. Bicocchi worked on that project as chief test driver and also performed the same role for the Volkswagen-era Veyron and Chiron. While showing journalists around the abandoned EB110 factory at Campogalliano, Bicocchi admits his emotions from that era are still raw. “I never cleared my desk,” he says as we stand in the echoing emptiness of the RD department. “I didn’t want to – I knew that would mean it was really over.” Bicocchi started out with Lamborghini, both he and the brand sharing the hometown of Sant’Agata Bolognese. “I was never interested in football, just cars,” he says. “I used to stand in front of the company gates waiting for cars to come out. My mother was worried because of the trucks – I was just 10 years old – but one day Bob Wallace, who was the test driver at the time, came out in an Islero S. He saw me waiting, then wound down his window and revved the engine for me. That was the day my career started.” He worked initially in Lamborghini’s warehouse, then dropped out of college when an entry-level RD role came up in 1974. Bicocchi came up through the ranks to become test driver, working on the Countach and the Diablo. But when former Lamborghini RD boss Paolo Stanzani started with Bugatti, he was quick to offer his former protégé a job. “I could not say no to something like this,” Bicocchi remembers. “A car with four turbochargers and four-wheel drive – I have always wanted new experiences.” Bugatti became his life for six years, Bicocchi working 60-hour weeks and driving tens of thousands of kilometres. He admits that the company’s collapse in 1995 was devastating: “I could see all my life here – I was like a prince inside the company. But then, poof, it was gone.” After the collapse, Bicocchi continued to work with the EB110 through the company that acquired the stock of parts, later with Jochen Dauer who put what would now be termed a continuation version into limited production. Dauer also used Bicocchi’s skills for his road-going version of the Porsche 962, which led to a gig helping look after the Sultan of Brunei’s enormous car collection: specifically his Dauer 962s, EB110s and 37 Lamborghinis. Then Bicocchi received a life-changing call from a former Lamborghini colleague, Horacio Pagani. “We were close friends and he said he wanted to make his own car.” Bicocchi joined Pagani and mechanic Remo Pizzinardi to form the tiny team behind the first Zonda. This led to a similar assignment with Koenigsegg after seeing the CC8S prototype at the Paris show in 2000: “I moved to Sweden. There were five or six mechanics, two engineers, Christian (von Koenigsegg) and me. Again it felt like starting from scratch.” Bicocchi’s skills with ultra-powerful hypercars had been noticed, with VW-era Bugatti calling him in to work on the Veyron. At his own insistence, he remained freelance. This led to the situation of Bugatti’s then-president Wolfgang Schreiber and von Koenigsegg both jokingly introducing Bicocchi to each other as ‘our test driver’. “Then they turned to me and said: ‘Loris, who do you belong to?’” he recalls. “Of course, when both were doing the high-speed testing, I was always sitting in between – I knew what the other was intending to do but I never said. You have to close one door and then open the next.” Bicocchi admits that his knowledge did play into ensuring the cars he worked on had completely distinct characters. “The secret of a test driver is not to try to change the identity of a car,” he says. “You have to make it the best it can be, to make it safe and to make it exciting – not to give it your personality. A Koenigsegg should never be like a Pagani, a Pagani cannot be a Koenigsegg.” Other projects included the KTM X-Bow and Dallara Stradale, plus some recent consultancy on the Zenvo TSR-S and its aero-vectoring rear wing. One might-have-been was working with Lotus under Dany Bahar, having been brought in during the development of what were meant to be a family of new models. That didn’t work out, but almost everything else has. “I won’t do projects that don’t appeal to me. I always think: can I help and is it interesting?” Bicocchi says, admitting that he recently turned down the chance to work on a future high-performance EV. “With hybrids, you can use electrification to make the car more dynamic,” he says, “but I am not a fan of pure electric cars. Maybe I am too old.” Not that Bicocchi has any plans to
Origin: Mr Hypercar: the man behind the Bugatti EB110
The science behind Lamborghini’s restoration program
Lamborghini LM002Handout / Lamborghini SANTAGATA BOLOGNESE, Italy The reason that a majority of the LM002s that Lamborghini ever produced the numbers vary between 300 and 328, depending on the source between 1986 and 1993 still exist is the work or the companys new Polo Storico division. More than just an in-house restoration service this particular LM002 was remade and there are 24 such large-scale restorations currently underway since 2016, Polo Storico has been the clearing house for everything classic Lamborghini.So not only will Polo Storico meticulously restore your Countach, Espada or 350 GT in fact, any Lambo up to the Diablo its the archive for all the literature surrounding the storied brand. Everything, from original engineering drawings and little known specs, not to mention original design sketches and specifications for outsourced parts, are kept in its official repository. In fact, using modern computer graphics what was once old and dog-eared has been lovingly restored old owners manuals, for instance, scanned, Photoshopped, and reprinted in all their original glory.More importantly, Polo Storico is gradually restocking long out of production parts for rare Lamborghinis. Everything from tiny little body components to entire engine blocks are being recast. And, according to Francesco Stevanin, Heritage Technical Manager, theres no limit in Lamborghinis quest for authenticity, noting that in recreating Miura cylinder heads, the factory was able to recreate the original pieces sandcast finish despite using modern modular manufacturing techniques. And, even when if original engineering drawing are unavailable, the engineers at Polo Storico can scan an existing part in 3D, remove any imperfections induced by age and then create their replacement from scratch. One of Polo Storicos less heralded functions, however, is authentication. The classic car world is full of lesser classics fraudulently rebodied as their rarer cousins. So, says Stevanin, certification of authenticity is an important part of Polo Storicos mission. And there seems to be no end to the lengths that the engineers wont go to to establish provenance bona fides, Stevanin noting that engines have even been disassembled just to ensure that the promised specialty components are present and accounted for.One of Polo Storicos most famous enterprises, for instance, was positively identifying the exact Miura P400 that starred in the original The Italian Job (it appears in the films opening sequence as it is driven, with gusto, on Switzerlands famed Gran San Bernardo pass). Partially by combing through old records, partially by contacting the driver, Enzo Moruzzi, who delivered the car to the set, Polo Storico was able to set the story straight.According to Moruzzi, There was a Miura P400 almost ready on the production line, in the right colour, left-hand drive and with white leather interior. It was aesthetically identical to the damaged one and we decided to use it for the film. The only thing worrying us was the elegant white leather seats, given that car had to get back to SantAgata in perfect condition.So, I asked for them to be taken out, replacing them with a set of black leather seats that we used for testing. The giveaway was the headrests, which on the Miura are attached to the dividing glass between the driver compartment and the engine compartment, which couldnt be replaced in time. In the film, you can see the original white headrests. Thus was Polo Storico able to positively identify chassis number 3586, currently owned by the Kaiser Collection of Vaduz, as the most famous Miura of them all, some 50 years after it had seemingly vanished without
Origin: The science behind Lamborghini’s restoration program
Fiat mechanic leaves behind literally tons of vehicles for sale
Have you ever dreamed of owning 75 Fiats? No? Does that literally sound like the definition of a nightmare to you? Well, luckily enough for you, this yard full of 75 Fiats is selling them off one by one. Relieved?Unfortunately, the cars are coming up for sale due to the death of the owner of the shop theyre parked behind.Tom Dotter of Denver, Colorado was a mechanic who specialized in Fiats; he passed away in May due to a heart attack, followed by a stroke.Thats why Dotters surviving family is holding the Great Fiat Yard Sale, which lets you show up, take a look at the collection and potentially walk (or trailer) away with a classic Fiat project.According to the Everything Fiat 124 page, the vehicles are being sold at US$250 apiece. Some have titles, some dont, some of them already have owners that are trying to be reached, like all the Lancia Scorpions drat!Most of the vehicles are 124 Spyders, but there are also a handful of 128s, as well as 131s and Bravas. Some 850 Coupes and Spyders are also peppered among the metal, along with X1/9s. Theres even a couple Yugos and Subaru XTs in there, just to keep things interesting (as if a yard full of Fiats wasnt already).It almost goes without saying, but none of these cars are in perfect shape all will require work, but for somebody whos always wanted an old Fiat, this is the time to buy. The owners would like to see every car go to a new home, whether its being restored, or raced, or even enjoyed
Origin: Fiat mechanic leaves behind literally tons of vehicles for sale
Behind the scenes at the BTCC’s mobile technical centre
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship’s tightly controlled technical regulations are a key reason it regularly produces such exciting racing – and ensuring its ultra-competitive teams play by those rules is a tough job. The BTCC has a small group of technical experts at each race to make sure that happens. This year, they’ve got a new home: the TOCA Technical Centre, a newly finished truck unit that travels to every race with all the equipment needed to run a BTCC race weekend. That includes all of the technical kit, the BTCC’s bespoke signage, event branding and even photographer Jakob Ebrey’s stepladder. Once the equipment is set up, the truck effectively becomes the technical team’s mobile command unit, where they can analyse data and samples in order to police the rules. The mammoth truck replaces two smaller vehicles and has, technical director Peter Riches says, taken the championship “to the next level”. For example, it has an in-built radio unit and mast, used to run the communications network. Previously, that unit had to be assembled on top of the tallest building at each circuit. At a cost of around £250,000, the Hopkins Motorsport-prepared unit has been fitted with state-of-the-art kit, including Getrac laptops and tablets. It means Riches, his son Sam and Phil Danbury, both BTCC technical commissioners, and their team instantly have the information they need – and the evidence that makes winning arguments with teams easier. Here’s what goes on inside it. In-car footage Every car has an on-board CCTV camera so that stewards can rule on any incidents and footage saved to memory cards is downloaded and collected here. ITV is also provided with the footage when needed. Logistics and communication A vast amount of paperwork, such as technical bulletins, is produced on race weekends and Josie is the key assistant who sorts most of it. She also performs other vital roles, such as co-ordinating the reverse grid draw for the final race. Main room Peter, Sam and Phil are based in the main office, where they can use two TVs to check timing, footage and technical data, which can be synced from any of the Getrac laptops. This is also where team bosses are summoned to explain themselves to the scrutineers. If you’re summoned here, you’re likely in trouble. Fuel analysis Carless supplies a single control fuel for the whole BTCC package. Samples are taken from cars at random and checked against a chemical ‘map’ to ensure the right fuel is being used. The system has an accuracy of 99.95%. Head injury research Emily and Lauren, students from the University of Bolton’s National Centre for Motorsport Engineering, are working on an FIA head injury research project, using acceleration data from chips in drivers’ radio earpieces. Engine data BTCC cars use on-board Cosworth electronic systems. All the data gathered, including revs, gears and overboost levels, is saved to a memory card and then downloaded by a Cosworth engineer. The system detects and highlights results that require further investigation. Spot checks During practice and qualifying, the technical team set up at the start of the pit lane and perform random spot checks – and, despite rumours, the checks genuinely are random – on cars. It’s all controlled by ‘Sam’s Tardis’, the name given to the station where Sam Riches is based. He controls the lights that signal to pitting cars whether they have to stop for checks. As cars enter the pit, a scanner detects RFID chips in their tyres, ensuring they match the sets assigned to them. Those pulled over then have their ride height checked before being weighed, with the results instantly available on Sam’s tablet. During practice, the teams are ‘advised’ of any failures and allowed to carry on, but those found to have broken the rules in qualifying have their times stripped. The tools used mix high-tech with pure ingenuity: the flat scales cost around £15,000 a set, while ride height is checked with a specially modified paint
Origin: Behind the scenes at the BTCC’s mobile technical centre
Meeting Jost Capito, the man behind Volkswagen’s R division
While some senior car company executives spend their entire career with one manufacturer, the ones who bounce around the industry tend to end up with the more interesting tales. None has packed more into their professional life than Jost Capito, today head of Volkswagen’s R GmbH performance division but with a CV that seems to be pretty much all highlights. Now a youthful 60, the German says he hopes to end his career at Volkswagen but admits that his non-linear life has been fun. The biggest adventures came early on. As a teenager Capito had been a successful endurance bike racer and – as a young graduate engineer at BMW – he and his father entered the Paris-Dakar rally in a Unimog, winning the truck class in 1985. “I learned a huge amount about teamwork,” he says, “but I had taken my whole year’s vacation. I came back and was completely destroyed, with no holiday for the rest of the year.” He had joined BMW from university driven by his passion to work at M division under legendary engine designer Paul Rosche. His first project was the four-cylinder engine for the E30 M3 – Capito did the intake and exhaust manifolds. He started to climb the corporate ladder but was wary of specialising too soon – Rosche’s nickname in German translates as ‘Camshaft Paul’ – so in 1989 he took up an offer to move to Porsche’s race department. Capito was responsible for the one-make cars and soon found buyers lobbying for road-going versions. “There was so much demand that we pushed the board until they gave us approval,” he remembers. “It was the 964 RS, the first road car from the Race division. I promised to sell 1400 cars and we ended up making 5000.” Next came a lateral move to Sauber, specifically Sauber Petronas Engineering, which was charged with moving Proton beyond its early technical alliance with Mitsubishi. Capito led development of an all-new 2.0-litre engine, and although this didn’t make production his skills at project management were noticed and he was made COO of the Sauber F1 team in 1998. He was the man who signed up a young Finn called Kimi Räikkönen. But then Ford came knocking with an offer Capito couldn’t refuse. “Martin Leach approached me, they wanted to get ST and RS launched properly, to bring them back,” he recalls. The problem was that the first Focus RS had already been mostly developed by the time Capito joined in 2001, and it was both over-budget and behind schedule. Sales weren’t good enough to warrant the cost of developing a version of the Mk2, so Capito found a way of short cutting Ford’s cautious decision making. “We did the five-cylinder Focus ST and it was successful,” he says. “But I knew if I said I wanted to do an RS it would be no. So I said I wanted to do an ST Plus, to build on what was already successful. Then when the car was developed we said ‘ST Plus isn’t much of a name – we should call it the RS!’” His role expanded to become global. The Ford F150 Raptor and Mustang Shelby GT500 were developed on his watch and he became increasingly involved with motorsport, especially the WRC. “In 2006 and 2007 we won the manufacturers’ championship, but that was with an external team,” he says, recalling M-Sport’s success. “The next step was obviously to do it with a works team, and that’s when Volkswagen approached me.” Capito led the WRC team throughout a period of dominance, taking four drivers’ and constructors’ championships in a row. “It was like a dream,” he admits. “I think the most rewarding time of my career, of all of it.” It also led onto another radical change in direction, with Capito recruited by McLaren to head the Formula 1 team in 2016. It should have been the pinnacle of his career, but he ended up leaving just three months later. “I had agreed what I was going to do with Ron (Dennis),” Capito says. “But then he was gone and it didn’t make any sense. People thought I was really close to Ron. I wasn’t, I just liked working with him and we had a good plan to get the team back to success. The other guys had a completely different opinion, and I said ‘I can only take responsibility if I can be in charge’.” Capito insists he has no hard feelings, not least as his departure brought him straight back to Volkswagen. “(CEO Herbert) Diess had said I could always come back – as soon as he heard I was leaving he asked if I wanted to help set R up.” Capito is planning a significant increase in R-branded vehicles, confirming that we can expect many of VW’s bigger models to spawn performance derivatives. He’s also happy to be involved in the push to electrification. “To be part of that transformation and see how it works from the performance side is really exciting,” he says. Capito’s enthusiasm is unforced and – from conversations with underlings and colleagues – he seems to be almost universally well regarded. He admits he regards himself as being lucky in terms of his career. “I had really great bosses, pretty much all of them. I
Origin: Meeting Jost Capito, the man behind Volkswagen’s R division
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