The show (which some may know as ‘Dads Day Out’), is a recognised, supercar extravaganza for all to enjoy.

Approaching its 7^th year, The Supercar Event 2013 is already shaping up to beat last year’s ceremonious display of all things motoring.

Motoring magic aside, many believe that one fantastic reason behind the success of the event is the fact that all revenue is paid directly to The Children’s Trust charity. We can’t think of a better way to donate to charity; enjoying many of the thrilling attractions at the show AND completing a good deed whilst doing so! The money raised will help the children and families who benefit from the services provided by The Children’s Trust .

This year sees its triumphant return to Dunsfold Park in Surrey where hundreds of supercars and fabulous vehicles across the board will be dotted about but the fun doesn’t stop there! It’s all very well looking at how marvelous a car appears from the outside BUT The Supercar Event puts you INSIDE the cars as well! As part of the interactive events that are taking place at this year’s show, visitors will be given the chance to experience some amazing motor action from behind the wheel. If you fancy a ‘Ride in a Supercar’ you can! Maybe you’re up for a bit of drifting in a Caterham – go ahead, perhaps you’d like to take to sky in a helicopter? Sure! The list is endless for the interactive events, choosing what to do will be the hardest decision you make at this weekend!

To top the already jam-packed show off, Lexus LFA, Ford GT, Pagani Zonda and McLaren MP4 Spider are all confirmed cars that will be visiting this year’s show along with plenty of other attractions to make this a great day out for the whole family; sing along with the live band, join in with all the fun at the fairground or just relax whilst admiring the mass of supercars on display.

The Supercar Event will take place over Father’s Day weekend on the 15^th and 16^th June. Tickets are available now at www.thesupercarevent.com.

Follow the Supercar Event on Facebook and tweet them @thesupercarevnt

Check out the video of last year’s event.

Waxybox was born as a vision to offer the car care enthusiast a guide to the best quality products available. They have a passion for detailing and know how frustrating it can be to buy a full size retail product only for it to sit on a shelf nearly full. Sampling a product which has already been tested by detailers means its worth trying. This coupled with the mystery of the monthly contents introduces a fun factor into a complicated and until now very serious marketplace.

         

“We are delighted to be associated with Petrolhead Nirvana, the high quality hand selected products we feature are an excellent gift for any car enthusiast. Our mystery car care box will be the ideal accompaniment to the Petrolhead Nirvana drivers“. Richard at Waxybox.

For those of you who don’t know about the Twisted Performance cars, this part is for you.

For years, the Twisted team have been tuning and improving every model of diesel Land Rover: Defenders, Range Rovers, Discovery’s and Freelander vehicles. From a simple ECU remap performance upgrade or a bespoke conversion from workhorse to luxury cruiser, they can do pretty much everything. And when we say everything, we really mean it…

Taking part in this year’s Gumball 3000, they are building a Land Rover that will have nothing to fear from the Lamborghini, Ferrari and other supercars. The Gumball 3000 Twisted Defender will be a very special machine indeed: a 6.2 V8 Defender with 480 bhp / 475 lb-torque. A little monster…

This is for those who like their cars extreme but you can always bring your own ideas to them and they will (in the words of Jean-Luc Picard) “make it so”; from a farmer to a sportsman, a rock star or an accountant, they will build it around your personality and your needs.  Coffee machine, storage for climbing equipment, zombie survival… just ask.

Charlie and Jenny gave us a quick tour of the Twisted headquarters, in Thirsk. Everybody is very busy there: fitting the Corvette engine in the Gumball Defender, designing seats for a special order, getting cars ready for delivery somewhere in Europe…

Here are some examples of what can be done. And it looks pretty cool!

Which one is your favourite? I would pick the Alpine edition, with a touch of 8-bit design… (Geek? Me?) If you were to get one, what would you want in it?

You want more info? Visit the Twisted Performance website, follow them on Facebook or have a look on Twitter and Instagram: @Twisted_uk

We are happy to announce AlcoSense as a partner for 2013.

French law now requires all drivers to carry a breath testing kit in their cars. AlcoSense will be providing each vehicle on tour with a twin-pack of their NF breathalysers.

No larger than a cigarette packet, and specifically designed for use with the new French law (NF approved).

As of 1st July 2012 it is illegal to drive in France without an NF Approved breathalyser in your car. To comply with the law you must have an NF approved device, not just any breathalyser will do. AlcoSense Singles NF are one of only a couple of products worldwide to meet and exceed the NF standard.

So if you are driving to France, we highly recommend getting yourself an AlcoSense breath testing kit, available on their website or by phone: 0800 195 0088.

Website: www.alcosense.co.uk

You can also follow them on Facebook or check out their latest news on Twitter.

Well, first of all, the Ferrari F70! The announcement was made on the company’s Instagram account. This is the First time we’ve seen such a big announcement via Instagram. By the way, did you know we have an account? Follow us, it’s : @petrolhdnirvana.

Ferrari has also revealed that the F70 will be “the most powerful HyperFerrari” ever made. Described as a “hypercar“, the internally known “F150″ will feature tech borrowed from F1 cars and promises to be just as fast around the corners, while generating the same amount of downforce as a real Formula 1 car. And the hashtag they ended their message with pretty much makes it clear: #destroythecompetition. Seriously guys?

The F70‘s power will come from the 6.3-liter V-12 engine churning 800 hp. It is expected to weigh just 1,280 kg and should do 0-62 mph in just 3 seconds, with a top speed of 230 mph. Wow, can we try it?

We are also looking forward to seeing the McLaren P1. The global debut of the production-ready McLaren P1 will be at the 83rd International Motor Show in Geneva. So eager to see this one! We have already shown you some photos, videos and sound…

The McLaren P1 will have the combined force of two highly-efficient powerplants, offering the optimum mix of superb throttle response, day-to-day drivability and top speed. The substantially revised 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine and a highly effective electric motor, developed in house by McLaren, give a combined output of 916PS and a maximum torque figure of 900Nm. This sounds promising!

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars will also be there. They just published the first official image of its new model Wraith.

The graceful silhouette gives expression to a bold and thoroughly contemporary luxury motor car. Flowing lines hint at the extraordinary power and dynamic promise of the most powerful Rolls-Royce in history, yet also highlight design cues that can be traced through the model generations.

Well, the one I’m looking forward to the most would be the McLaren P1. What about you? F70 or P1? I doubt you will say Rolls Royce Wraith?

So, don’t forget: Geneva Motor Show, 7-17th March 2013, more info here.

Since then McLaren has been very busy, working on “the best driver’s car on road and track”.

And now we have the latest video, from McLaren, released today, and we like it even more and well done to McLaren on their marketing strategy because if you were excited by the static display, you are going to cream yourself when you see their video.

In McLaren’s own words:

“Leveraging five decades of the skills and knowledge we have gained at the pinnacle of motorsport and through Formula 1™ techniques and processes, the McLaren P1™ promises to raise the supercar performance bar.”

And it looks like they have. That car is stuck to the road like glue and we want to get behind the wheel. That car has been designed to be an extension of you (the driver) and we want speed, we want control and we want to have fun.

I love it. I want to be in it. I want to be part of it. Hell, it looks sexy when it moves, it slips over the road as if it was gliding on air, like it will hold you tightly and that is attractive. This video is making promises and I want to know if it can keep those promises.

Here it is, enjoy:

60 years on……

Already debuted earlier this week, at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray will be on display.

“The all-new 2014 Corvette Stingray is the most advanced and engaging Corvette in the long, prestigious legacy of this uniquely American success story,” said Chris Perry vice president of Chevrolet Marketing. “It is a car woven into the fabric of American culture and it got its start right here in the Big Apple.”

I acknowledge the ground breaking advances that Chevrolet have made in the last 60 years.

Chevrolet facts:

• The Corvette was originally championed by GM’s legendary styling director Harley Earl, who insisted there was room for an American entry in the European-dominated sports car market. It was also his idea for Corvette to have a fiberglass body.
• Corvette was named after a small and fast class of naval ships.
• The 1953 Corvette had a base price of $3,498 and offered only two options – a heater for $91 and an AM radio for $145.
• Every Corvette model has used innovative materials, from fibreglass in 1953 to advanced carbon-nano technology and carbon fibre on the 2014 Corvette Stingray.
• A V-8 engine was first available in 1955. That year, it was selected by 90 percent of customers. After that, all Corvettes featured strictly V-8 power.
• The Stingray name was first used for a prototype race car, the design of which influenced the second-generation Corvette that debuted in 1963. The 1963 Corvette Sting Ray split-window coupe has since been called one of the most beautiful and influential designs in automotive history.
• Corvette’s legacy of mainstreaming technology previously reserved for high-end luxury cars includes the introduction of fuel injection in 1957, independent rear suspension in 1963, four-wheel disc brakes in 1965, antilock brakes in 1986 and a tyre-pressure monitoring system in 1989.
• Corvette is the longest-running, continually produced sports car in the world.
• Nearly 2 million Chevrolet Corvettes have been sold since it went on sale in 1953 and in 2012, it accounted for approximately one-third of all sports car sales in America.

The older models had some nice lines and features. I have never driven one so  cannot comment on driving performance but I think the 2014 Stingray is ugly. It reminds me of watching old Sci-Fi, where they have tried to design the technology of the future but not quite got it right.  It is too angular, with too many vents and the whole thing looks toy/computer game like.  It does not compare, in my opinion to the European counterparts; sleek lines, beautiful curves, elegance.  Cars should look like they they are a sexy woman… I wouldn’t want to meet the human version of the Stingray. I imagine she would look like a cheap avatar type individual.

The lines over the bonnet and that vent are childish and the whole thing just looks… boxy and has no kinetic energy to it.  A stingray, the aquatic animal, is smooth and graceful; it glides and flies through the oceans… the car just looks heavy.

The interior is horrid, garish and is reminiscent of the cockpit of something from a movie with a low budget. Where is the bad guy with the eye patch and a snake?

Chevrolet, revisit your older models, study, absorb and try again.

Oh, and Happy Birthday.

Livvy

Today, the oldest surviving Aston Martin, a 1921 A3 prototype will be displayed alongside its newest descendant to celebrate the Centenary of the brand.

1921 A3 meets Aston Martin Vanquish

Excellence, performance and style have always been synonymous with the brand and lets not forget they are just cool: James Bond level of cool!

The company has an entire year of events to commemorate this birthday, from factory tours to a Bond themed Centenary Drive, celebrating the connection with the film franchise, taking in some of the film locations in England and Wales.

The perfect partnership

The year’s festivities will culminate in the “Centenary Concourse”, a gathering of up to 1,000 cars (the largest in the marque’s history) in central London. Each car will represent a unique chapter in 100 years of Aston Martin History, taking place on 21st July 2013.

Aston Martin are also releasing special editions of the V8 Vantage, DB9, Rapide and Vanquish, featuring; unique graduated paint finish, solid silver Aston Martin wing badges and interior cill plaques with a leather interior that previously featured in the One-77 supercar.  Oh and they also come with a box full of goodies including glass keys.  I want one… just one, pretty please?

I won’t dig into the history of Aston Martin, but I was fascinated to learn that in the first 90 years of production, the company only produced 15,000 cars, a small fraction compared to the 45,000 that have been made in the last decade.

Boys and girls alike have grown up loving the “James Bond Aston Martin”. (We will forgive the franchise’s dalliances with other brands as they have returned to our beloved DB5.) The V8, V12 and of course the DB5, the unsung sidekick of the man every little boy wanted to be and every little girl had heart flutters for, are the doorway to a whole world of petrolhead fun and appreciation.

Well, I say Happy Birthday Aston Martin and to 100 more years please.

You kept saying “naaah, don’t bother getting anything for me, having you is more than enough”? If so, you can’t complain about the wonderful Rudolph printed socks you just been given!

You know, those socks that stay in your draw until all the other ones are dirty and that you finally decide to wear in emergency..  Let’s be clear, this kind of socks ————>

YES, these ones (designated as the N*1 gift).

At Petrolhead Nirvana, we decided it is time for a change. Enough woollen jumpers, the cupboard can’t handle any more mugs neither.. Let’s give our friends and family some ideas. For Petrolhead only.

A gear stick bottle stop? Carbon fibre Ipad – Iphone case? A Lamborghini hard drive? A Bugatti coffee machine? A Porsche USB key? A funny Pistonheads T-shirt? A Go-Pro camera to film you on tour?

Or, if you have been VERY nice, you could ask for a Petrolhead Nirvana tour! Insist on the fact you can bring him/her with you, it might work better

Viking tour, USA, Alpine tour, Welsh Weekender, sure there is one for you!

But well, Christmas is gone now and we will have to deal with the Christmas socks for now. But these ideas also work for Birthdays. Oh wait.. It’s my birthday soon!! Hubby?? ………

Yes it’s there! Right on time for Christmas! The dates for the Supercar Event are now confirmed: Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th June 2013, Father’s Day week-end.