And it’s great for donuts
If you’ve just attacked the Ford Ranger accessories list with a pen, ensuring your particular example of New Zealand’s best-selling passenger vehicle will feature every add-on known to man, Ford USA has released a new package you won’t be able to order.
Okay, in truth the accessories are for Ford’s F-150, the domestic market mid-size pick-up truck. And unless you’re a badged officer of the law, you ain’t gonna git ta drive it, boy.
Ford’s Special Service Vehicle package is aimed exclusively at police and emergency rescue types. Maybe if Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane had had a Ford F-150 Special Service Vehicle at his disposal, those Duke boys wouldn’t have had it so easy on the back roads of Hazzard County.
The new heavy-duty pack features a high-output 240-amp alternator for all the extra on-board power needs (coffee machine etc), a removed centre console for communications equipment and washable vinyl rear bench seat and floors. Well, you don’t want your captured crims feeling too comfy now, do you?
Ford will offer the Special Service Vehicle in SuperCrew and SuperCab configurations, with 4x4 and 4x2 drivetrains paired with 5.0-litre V8 or 3.5-litre EcoBoost engines.
The Good Oil notes that interior photos also show crudely rendered arm rests and enormous cup holders; handy for stakeouts.
“Many officers need the extra space the F-150 Special Service Vehicle offers,” said Ford police marketing manager Stephen Tyler, clearly electing to ignore the comedic allusions to donuts such a statement inevitably draws.
Local police authorities will be required to add their standard equipment beyond what’s offered. So depending on individual county and state requirements, the F-150 Special Service Vehicle will need strobe bulbs, light bars, communications equipment, a siren, a PA system, computer gear and police decals to be added before it will be ready to round up perps.
So although a police department in Italy famously had a Lamborghini Gallardo at its disposal and the New South Wales police took delivery of a Lexus RC F sports coupe, the Ford F-150 Special Service Vehicle, weirdly, remains the most fit-for-purpose law enforcement fleet car of them all.
Mika Hakkinen’s kart up for auction
Mika Hakkinen’s kart will go to auction.Picture / Supplied
If you fancy owning one of former “Flying Finn” Mika Hakkinen’s race karts, you’ll need to stump up $30,000 or thereabouts, according to auction house Bonhams.
Hakkinen’s 1982 Finnkart, which he drove to racing glory, has been kept in “as raced” condition since 1983 by owner Petri Pirkola. Long before he would begin his campaigns with McLaren in Formula One in the 1990s, Hakkinen battled through the 1982 Finnish Karting Championship season in this motorised tea tray, finishing second.
He also used it to take first place in the Ronnie Peterson Memorial Championship that same year. Hakkinen won his first kart race in 1975 at the age of 8. Bonhams will auction the kart, which has a certificate of authenticity signed by Hakkinen, at its Monaco sale on May 13. A kart raced by Ayrton Senna in 1981 reached US$65,527 ($95,331) at auction last year.
Estimates for the Hakkinen kart range from $16,000 to $23,000. So it’s a pricey wee thing, especially considering it features an 85cc engine and hardly anything in the way of legroom.
Still, as far as Nordic F1 memorabilia goes, this is probably a better bet than one of Kimi Raikkonen’s dodgy custom Harley Davidsons.
We’ll copy Tesla, says Fiat boss
Fiat Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne.n Picture / Supplied
Straight-shooting Fiat Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne has traditionally appeared something of an electric vehicle sceptic, commenting to media that he’d have to be shot before he would sign-off the construction of a plug-in electric Ferrari.
He also admitted the only reason Fiat built the 500e was to comply with California’s zero-emissions vehicle mandate and that he wished people wouldn’t buy it — a tad churlish given the Fiat 500 seems like the perfect platform for a cost-effective EV.
Now, though, Marchionne has told Automotive News Europe that if Elon Musk’s Tesla Model 3 can be produced successfully for the US$30,000-ish ($43,650) the carmaker says it will cost to buy, he’ll simply copy it.
If Elon Musk “can show me that the car will be profitable at that price, I will copy the formula, add the Italian design flair and get it to market within 12 months,” Marchionne reportedly told a journalist.
But the Italian car boss added a barbed conclusion to the comment, suggesting that he doesn’t think Tesla’s price prediction will remain as stated. Tesla claims around 325,000 customers have registered to own a Model 3.
“I am not surprised by the high number of reservations, but you have then to build and deliver them to be profitable,” Marchionne told ANE. What’s Italian for “he’s dreamin’”?
Number Crunching
1991 YEAR Mika Hakkinen debuts in Formula 1
13 GRID POSITION For Hakkinen in his first F1 race
1993 YEAR Hakkinen first raced for McLaren (three races that season)
2 WORLD CHAMPS Hakkinen was F1 world champion in the 1998 and 1999 seasons