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  • MIKE SPINELLI: Hey, it's Road Testament, I'm Mike Spinelli.

  • This is Leo Parente here with me today.

  • And we are not stopping.

  • We are doing this live, so I don't care what anybody says.

  • LEO PARENTE: Let me buckle in before we go.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Buckle in.

  • You never know what's going to happen here.

  • On Road Testament today, we're talking Geneva Auto Show,

  • where Chris Harris is.

  • Yes, you love Chris Harris.

  • Chris is at the auto show with a camera.

  • And he's doing some stuff.

  • We're going to see that in a little bit.

  • LEO PARENTE: I've ran all the comments.

  • So--

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Yes.

  • What comments?

  • That everybody loves Chris Harris?

  • LEO PARENTE: No, everyone loves commenting about Chris

  • Harris stuff.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Yeah.

  • Because Chris is awesome.

  • Yes.

  • And you can comment there @drive on Twitter, just so

  • you'll know.

  • We say it every show, but whatever.

  • I mean, just in case you didn't know that, there it is.

  • LEO PARENTE: Blood's pretty much coming out of my ears, I

  • don't know about you guys.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Exactly.

  • LEO PARENTE: Repeat after me, @drive.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: After the Geneva Auto Show stuff, we're

  • going to be talking about sports cars, mid-engine sports

  • cars, and a possible sports car renaissance

  • happening very shortly.

  • LEO PARENTE: I like that.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Cool.

  • So The Geneva Auto Show, what's happening there.

  • And this is happening there.

  • LEO PARENTE: It begs the question "why?" But go ahead,

  • what is that?

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Right.

  • Those Mulsanne-like headlights probably tip you

  • off that it's a Bentley.

  • It's the new Bentley EXP9F SUV.

  • LEO PARENTE: And the F stands for-- not what you think I'm

  • going to say-- what does it stand for?

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Falcon.

  • LEO PARENTE: Falcon.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Falcon.

  • You said Falcon?

  • LEO PARENTE: I said Falcon.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: I don't have a Boston

  • accent, so I say Falcon.

  • LEO PARENTE: Why is it that?

  • Why is it Falcon?

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Well, I'm guessing because in the Middle

  • East falconry is something that people do there.

  • And a giant market for this will be the Middle East.

  • LEO PARENTE: There you go.

  • So this is not a car for America.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: I'm sure Americans will buy it.

  • By the way, this is just a prototype for now.

  • We will see something in production.

  • LEO PARENTE: Yeah, [INAUDIBLE] concept.

  • But--

  • MIKE SPINELLI: You know it's gonna, yeah.

  • LEO PARENTE: OK.

  • What has it got for an engine, do you know?

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Well, they're talking about either the W12

  • or the new V8 that they're doing, or "wee-8," as they say

  • in Germany.

  • LEO PARENTE: OK.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: But you notice the little interesting

  • turbine-like intakes or are those running lights?

  • I actually don't know.

  • LEO PARENTE: We have no idea.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Because this just came out this morning.

  • Hit the Internet last night I think.

  • But honestly I--

  • LEO PARENTE: What's your point here?

  • MIKE SPINELLI: I don't really have a point.

  • I really want to hear what you guys have to say about a

  • Bentley SUV.

  • I know that hating on SUVs is kind of a cool thing.

  • LEO PARENTE: It seems Volkswagen group is just bent

  • on doing SUVs.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Yes.

  • LEO PARENTE: With the Volkswagen stuff, the Porsche

  • stuff, Audi, now this thing.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Right.

  • LEO PARENTE: I kind of get it.

  • But--

  • MIKE SPINELLI: China, Russia, and the Middle East, big, big,

  • big luxury SUV markets.

  • So emerging markets, a lot of stuff happening.

  • LEO PARENTE: I actually read something about some high net

  • worth guy talking about how when he needs to carry stuff

  • around the neighborhood, park the sports car

  • and drive this stuff.

  • So it may not be for us.

  • But I guess it's for someone.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Right.

  • And I think it's going to be way up there.

  • LEO PARENTE: Does it look like a Bentley to you?

  • MIKE SPINELLI: It looks like a Bentley, sort of, to me.

  • LEO PARENTE: So it fits the family.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: It fits the family.

  • I mean, this is gonna be a real high-end SUV, I think.

  • I think this is really going to be maybe the most high-end

  • SUV out there when this is done.

  • LEO PARENTE: OK.

  • I'm gonna get the Chinese comments.

  • Because I understand the Chinese love chrome and bling

  • in the cars.

  • And this thing is full of bling.

  • Did you see the tailpipes and the turbo inlets?

  • Oh, my God.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: It's pretty flashy.

  • LEO PARENTE: This is home for dinner.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: All right.

  • Next thing from Geneva, the Aventador J.

  • LEO PARENTE: So apparently this is the "let's not be

  • practical" show.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Well, it's an Aventador.

  • You know, the Geneva show is really all about design and

  • making a statement, being very continental and racy.

  • And here is what Lamborghini did with that.

  • It's basically an Ariel Atom with a 700-horsepower engine.

  • And this sort of carbon fiber meets fiberglass--

  • LEO PARENTE: So catch me up.

  • Is this a one-off or are they gonna sell this?

  • MIKE SPINELLI: It's a one-off.

  • And as a matter of fact, it was just sold.

  • $2.8 million this one-off went for.

  • And Lamborghini's not saying who bought it.

  • But somebody did.

  • This guy.

  • LEO PARENTE: Look at that.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Boba Fett.

  • LEO PARENTE: So the point of this was--

  • wow, OK.

  • It's a festival of carbon.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: The point is two things.

  • Right, carbon.

  • So they have this thing called carbon skin on it.

  • It's like carbon fiber.

  • It's an epoxy resin over a weaved carbon skin.

  • LEO PARENTE: Because Lamborghini did some big

  • technical investment in new carbon technology for

  • automotives.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Exactly.

  • So this saves a little bit of weight, obviously.

  • I mean, of course, taking the rest of the

  • body off saves weight.

  • But it's about saving weight.

  • LEO PARENTE: By the way, I think this is the first road

  • car with the swan-neck race car wing attachment.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Ah.

  • So aside from all that, it's also an

  • homage to the 1970 Jota.

  • LEO PARENTE: See, that's why I like Mike Spinelli.

  • Because there's a Google assignment to go connect the

  • dots of that old-school Lamborghini and this

  • new-school--

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Well, yeah.

  • It was a version of the Miura, I believe.

  • LEO PARENTE: Ooh.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Yeah.

  • LEO PARENTE: Cool.

  • MIKE SPINELLI: Anyway.

  • So now, Chris Harris from Geneva.

  • Let's see what Chris has to say.

  • Chris, what's up?

  • CHRIS HARRIS: So this is the new Jaguar XF Sportbrake.

  • I think it's a great-looking car, isn't it?

  • How long have we waited for a Jaguar XF that has got an