Flamboyance GT

                          Before the first XF came Jaguar had a reputation for building cars which were a fusion of old school "classiness" and modern technology. But there was this one car which was different. This one specifically had that "something" about it. I'm talking about the XK8 built between 1996 and 2006. This one was just stunningly beautiful. Let's speak the truth here. The design has aged beautifully like fine wine from the fields of Tuscany. I do definitely see some Aston Martin inspiration here. That's because both the XK8 and the popular and successful DB7 were based on an old F-Type design they had, just "lying around". This is amusing because all of these machines which were based on the F-Type ended up so much more sensual to behold than the F-Type itself launched in 2013. But as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and this is just my personal opinion. Before I get carried away, let ...

A key to the left of the steering wheel is turned. Six cylinders roar to life, yet smooth as butter thanks to the flat configuration. But here, there is one historical difference. All 911s before had flat sixes which were kept from going pop, with air. But then came the 996 which did so with water instead. This single reason made some purists hate it because of uncontrolled sentiment. But why did they hate it so much though? Go ahead and read the first sentence. Well, true automotive enthusiasts would understand that at a certain point, air can only cool an engine so much. There was simply too much power here to be cooled by just air. Also while it is true that a water cooled system is heavier and bulkier, cooling components in the front improve weight distribution, in turn improving the car's handling. Now, is it really bulky? They managed to fit the entire thing into a rather small car with a small rear (No pun intended). Enter the new "fried egg" headlamps. Sur...

BMW is the company that has a reputation for building rather excellent track toys as well as comfortable expresses with practicality and economy in mind. All of that sounds great, but the cars never seem to have a unique feel to them. You know what I mean, they never were truly exotic, apart from a few classics. All that changed when the 8 series was unveiled in the 1990s. Let's discuss design. There is something so right about it. It is very exotic and pure while still managing to look very, very BMW. The lines are smooth and clean. The popup headlamps, specifically on this one are a marvel to behold in terms of aesthetics. The interior can be described as extremely function oriented crossed with cracking luxury for its time. BMW offered 2 flavours for us to savour what was under that long hood. A thumping 4 litre V8 and a silky smooth 5 litre V12. There was also an uprated 4.4 litre V8 and a performance oriented 5.6 litre V12 in the 850 CSI. Honestly speaking, both the V8...