ACTION
WHEELS
MOTOR MERCH Added extras from the options list
Scrambler Sunglasses
Dune Bug: new bodywork adds street-cred
Ducati and Italia Independent have released a set of Scrambler-themed sunglasses. Black with a rubberised surface and mirrored coppercoloured lenses, they mimic shades of the bike’s frame. The Scrambler logo sits above the left temple. scramblerducati.com
BEACH BEETLE
Volkswagen resurrects the sunny ’60s It’s rare to see a concept car that’s obvious stand-candy and also a genuine production forerunner. Volkswagen’s Beetle Dune was just such a beast when it first appeared at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2014 – and now the real version is hitting the road. Note road, not beach. It was, perhaps, an inevitable progression: the original Beetle spawned the Baja Bug kit cars of the 1960s, so of course the modern Beetle, which exists as an exercise in retro chic, was going to go down that route. The Beetle Dune tips the hat to California’s golden age without any intention of getting its feet dirty. Like
the rest of its order, the Beetle Dune is front-wheel drive only – so not really the thing for deep sand. What you do get is something that’s going to look great in its natural habitat, tooling around a cityscape or parked up outside Starbucks. Available as hatchback or cabriolet, Dune sits 10mm higher than a standard Beetle and has a slightly wider track, but the stand-out elements are in the bodywork: a new grille, side strips, graphics, and a large spoiler. Inside there are sport seats, leather upholstery and the option of a Fender sound system. It definitely looks the part. vw.com
Mopar bookends Mopar and the Stefani & Co Metalworks are producing custom bookends. Crafted from powder-coated steel with the logo in waxed natural steel, they’re not cheap, but they might just be the thing to prop up those vintage manuals. wearmopar.com
BEST OF BOTH
A family car that comes with super powers Audi’s RS line-up has long been a favourite of those who want a supercar and a family runabout, but only have a single garage in which to put them. The latest ‘Performance’ models of the RS6 Avant and RS7 reduce the amount of mental compromise that requires, retaining five seats and plenty of space for buggies and luggage, but pumping up the power output to even more OTT levels. The Performance models are uprated by 45hp, dragging around 600hp out of a 4.0-litre V8 bi-turbo petrol engine. They cover 0-100kph in 3.7 seconds, go on to top speeds of 300kph and have an overboost function that can increase torque by 50Nm up to an impressive 750Nm. Those are supercar stats – though not many supercars can fit in quite so much heavy shopping. audi.com
THE RED BULLETIN
Amalgam models McLaren recently completed its 375th and final P1, but the supercar will live on in scale-model form. For the serious model buyer, Amalgam offer a 1:8 model, precise to 0.1mm. And, of course, it has optional extras. finemodelcars.com
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