Funkiest Car Ever

Covini C6W

Remember the Pontiac Aztek? For the four years Pontiac sold this crossover SUV, reviewers complained more about the car's obtuse dimensions and bulky panels than they praised its pleasing performance and strong road composure.

Times have changed -- now many cars take after the ugly duckling more than they resemble the graceful swan, and it's becoming cooler to drive around in the most awkward-looking vehicle you can find. So it's a good thing that many of the cars with the wackiest, oddest and weirdest designs have some of the most innovative interiors and powerful engines.

We've scanned the crowd to find the funkiest cars you'll love to hate. Some of the cars will soon be discontinued, some have yet to make it to production, and others are only sold overseas. All of them, however, have enough personality to make you look twice -- and maybe arrange a test drive.

Retrograde Rides

Arguably the most recognizable car design of yesteryear, the Volkswagen New Beetle still holds on to the bulbous fenders and bug-eyed headlights that it first debuted in 1938. Experts are divided on the overall effect, but praise the VW Bug's sterling build quality and fun-to-drive personality. What the New Beetle lacks, however, is utility. If cargo capacity is high on your list, New Car Test Drive says Chrysler's PT Cruiser "combines the retro look of late '30s American iron with modern performance, efficiency and features," plus its height provides abundant cargo room and plenty of headroom. Now is a great time to get a deal on a PT Cruiser, as the Chrysler label restructures and merges with Fiat.

Another vehicle long on stowage options and throwback style is the Ford Flex. Reviewers say the Flex's quirky features are evident in both the interior and exterior design. A rear seat refrigerator is optional, as is a multi-panel vista roof that spans all three rows of the Flex's cabin. On the outside, "The ribbed doors recall classic American 'woodie' station wagons, but not in a cheesy, retro sort of way," Automobile Magazine says.

Petite, If Not Pretty

The tiny Smart Fortwo definitely made a splash when it arrived in the United States last year -- and not just because of its diminutive size. The little car's unique, almost-disproportionate styling is one of its most distinctive traits. About.com's reviewer aptly states, "It's still hard to look at it and think of it as a car. I'd look at all the vehicles parked on my street and think 'Car, car, car, Smart, car, car.'" And speaking of parking, the Fortwo's miniscule shape translates into park-anywhere capabilities. The Smart car's agreeable price and cavernous gas tank could also make you disregard its clownish shape.

If money is less of a concern, consider the BMW 1-Series -- another small car with a slightly misshapen yet eye-catching frame. Similar to the Smart Fortwo, the 1-Series is sold as a coupe or convertible -- but this quirky micro car also offers outstanding engine power and sharp handling. However, as with the Smart Fortwo, auto writers find themselves weighing the 1-Series' capabilities against its unforgettable appearance. "I love the mechanicals of this car," says the Los Angeles Times. "Well, I loved them before they got jammed into this ugly Size 8 Birkenstock."

The Cubism Movement

2009 Nissan Cube

With shag carpeting, rippling water design effects and asymmetrical windows, the Nissan Cube2010 Kia Soul is also recognized for a cushy cabin and in-your-face look. Plus, Kia's 10-year or 100,000-mile powertrain warranty could win over shoppers that are undecided on the Soul's boxy look. epitomizes funky. Likened to an "apartment on wheels" by CNET, "a washing machine" by Edmunds, and even a marshmallow in the Chattanooga Times Free Press' estimation, the Cube has more than a distinctive appearance. Reviewers also praise the car's comfortable seating and enjoy the polished continuously variable transmission found in many small Nissans. The

But both the Cube and the 2010 Soul don't offer much in terms of storage capacity. If you want both utilitarian shape and functionality, the Honda Element might be a better bet. Writers say it's not your typical SUV -- in fact Car and Driver describes the Element as a "rolling breadbox." If that's the case, the Element can hold a lot of bread. Its unusual reverse-hinged rear doors facilitate a maximum of 74.6 cubic feet of cargo and create an opening that's larger than most minivans. And the Element's height allows plenty of room for even the tallest passengers.

International Innovators

The drivers overseas embrace automobiles with strange dimensions and atypical designs more readily than we do. The Peugeot 207 is one of the most popular hatchbacks in Europe thanks to its impressive quality, turbocharged performance and its screwy but strong design cues. Top Gear says, "The 207 is nicely styled and still looks fresh, and with that in mind it's possible to convince yourself there's a bit of Parisienne chic going on here."

Our Toyota Yaris has sloping lines that resemble the Peugeot 207, but Italy's Covini C6W truly is one of a kind. That's because the sports coupe has one removable roof, two seats, two doors and six wheels. According to the manufacturer, the car's six wheels provide better braking, grip, comfort and road absorption, plus they should reduce the risk of hydroplaning or the front tires deflating. Few have had the opportunity to test this out, as the C6W isn't slated to reach limited production until the end of the year.

Future Funk

There are some new cars expected in the coming months and years that will continue to satisfy our desire for the fresh and funky. Chrysler has declared bankruptcy and announced plans to merge with Italian automaker Fiat. As part of the agreement, a handful of Fiats and Alfa Romeo hatchbacks with Euro-cool styling could soon make their way to the United States.

The Alfa Romeo MiTo, which could be available by 2010, has avant-garde looks that are frequently compared to the MINI Cooper and Volvo C30. Meanwhile, the closely related Alfa Romeo Milano, "is one very stylish hatchback," according to Consumer Guide. "Like MiTo, the Milano is an Italian stylish blend of curves and creases, announced by a rounded nose a la Alfa's exotic 8C sports cars with sweptback headlamps and a large triangular grille." The Fiat 500, Fiat Grande Punto, and Fiat Panda are slightly less luxurious, but Edmunds say the Fiat designs have "iPod-style coolness that everyone responds to."

MPG or Power? New technology will deliver both power and economy.

Car makers are being forced by legislation to cut emissions. We are now judged by other motorists on the percieved greenness of our cars. Enviromentally friendly motoring has become a media obsession. We could argue that the major cause of our pollution is not the humble motor car but rather our consumer led lifestyles, frequent flights and need for ever more power to drive the gadgets and devices we put in our homes.

We shall look briefly at trends in car production over the last few years and see what the future is likely to hold.

Over the last 20 years cars have got heavier, average power output has increased and cars are also larger. Take an average 20 year old hot hatches putting out about 150bhp being able to keep up with modern cars with 200bhp. When you look into this seeming anomoly you realise that all of the additional crash protection adds weight to the car and the average weight of a family car has increased from 1200kg to 1500kg. The final gearing is also longer with the introduction of heavier 5 and 6 speed gearboxes to reduce fuel consumption further. We also demand things like power steering and air conditioning which also add to the weight and reduce the real life power output of the engine.

In a bid to make car engines more efficient we are going to see more turbo charged vehicles, which allow relatively small engines like the 1.4 to put out similar power to a 2.0 engine. Engine management systems are also evolving and will start to control the shape of the fuel spray and we are likely to see systems that control the shape of the intake valve and aperture and many other things which are at the moment not directly controllable by the engine management computer.

Power or economy - makers are getting wise to the fact that we want both.

Luxury car makers and also performance car makers are also looking to cut the weight and size of the cars they produce. Ferrari have disclosed in a recent interview that they plan to cut weight and produce cars with a higher power to weight ratio. The power to weight ratio is an interesting measure of a car for example a 2000kg car with 1000bhp will not be as fast as a 1000kg car which has a more modest 600bhp engine.

All makers are jumping on the power/economy development train with companies like VW which have realeased an engine powered by both a supercharger and a turbocharger which they refer to as the twingcharger. Innovations like this will increase the efficiency of engines and allow makers to increase power, or improve fuel economy. Years ago Rover produced the VVC engine with very clever control of the cam and intake valves which was an economy driven development but many saw the performance possibilities and the engine has been tweaked and tuned to over 200 bhp.

SAAB also released an engine which was able to adjust its volumetric capacity to increase efficiency and BMW are producing M models with driver selectable parameters allowing you to decide how much power/torque/mpg you want from your car. We betting is that most car manufacturers will go for better fuel economy and this is fantastic from a tuners point of view as a simple remap can alter those parameters and produce a higher powered engine for track day use. In car engine management is also going to be a big thing, allowing the driver to choose between economy for the family holiday or performance when he is wanting a bit of fun in the twisty roads.

Recent developments from motorsports are finding their way into production cars. Materials such as Carbon fibre finds its way into the chassis, panels, light weight high friction brakes, low drag tyres, light weight suspension components, and more efficient engine designs. Taking all of this into account we can start to get some ideas on modifications of our cars. Weight reduction should be our aim and we will need to start asking questions like, which are the lightest tyres you do and looking at the weight of components. A big weight saving can come from adding a carbon fibre bonnet which is substantially lighter that most standard metal ones. You will hear more noise from the engine but that adds to the driver experience.

Free Guide: Quick shift gear stick upgrade kits

Being able to change gear as quickly as possible can make a big difference in time critical situations like drag racing and even track day racing. The slowest component in any car is the driver and there is little that can be done to improve that. A quick shift kit will help to give you the competitive edge by enabling faster gear changes and allowing more 'feel' by reducing play.

The gearstick is basically a lever which links to the gearbox. Underneath the gate we have essentially a pivot and the bottom of the lever is what does the work changing gear. Some quick shift shafts have a bend in them to allow extra leverage whilst keeping the gear knob in the same place.

Simple physics applies here a shorter lever above the pivot and longer one below the pivot means that gear changes are quicker. More effort is needed but no gearbox should offer enough resistance to a gear change unless something is seriously wrong with it.

When you have driven a car with a quick shift you will not want to go back to an ordinary long throw gear stick.

Many different quick shift kits are available. When choosing one you should look out for one that is adjustable. Each driver has his own preference and it is also fair to say that each gearbox is different. In some the fastest setting may cause clearance problems.

After you have fitted the quick shift kit ensure that you can engage each gear easily. Sometimes the rubber blocks behind and below the lower shaft will rub and prevent smooth changes. If this is the case adjust the quick shift and or shave away some of the rubber that is causing the fouling.

When you have driven a car with a quick shift you will notice that the amount of travel on the gear lever is substantially reduced. Up to 40% shorter distances in some cases. This effectively make the gear changes faster and gives a more slick feeling. You will really not want to go back to a standard or long throw gear lever afterwards.

Changing to a quick shifter is a relatively straightforward job. Sadly though cars are too different for us to offer general advice here. In some cars, you will need to jack up the front of the car and use axle stands to fit it properly whilst others can be done pretty much entirely from inside the car.

Most quick shift kits come with instructions but you can also consult a workshop manual for you car if you are unsure. This modification is simple and really makes the car feel more sporty, although in real life your performance is pretty much the same.

An Essential explanation of Fuel Octane ratings.

Premium or Super? Should you try one of the newer 100+ octane fuels? What about an octane boosting petrol additive? Does using a petrol with a higher RON improve performance or fuel economy? We will provide some answers and help you to decide what you should put into your tank. The old saying "you are what you eat" can also apply to what your car drinks.

Petrol is a complex mixture of over 300 different chemical compounds, mainly hydrocarbons ( compounds that contain only carbon and hydrogen). Petrol doesn't have a fixed composition but it is graded according to its performance in a test engine, which is where Research Octane Numbers come in. It's sometimes also called the Octane number or Octane rating, but beware, these terms don't always refer to RON. See table below. If you are reading an article from the USA the numbers quoted will refer to the AKI (Anti Knock Index).

RON and Engine Knock.

RON tells us nothing about the economy or power of the fuel.

The Research Octane Number or RON is a measure of how good a petrol is at resisting engine knock. To understand what this means for our engines and our choice of fuel we need to look more closely at engine knock.

Ideally, during the ignition stroke the flame initiated by the spark plug should spread evenly across the cylinder consuming all the fuel and pushing the piston down in one smooth movement. In practice the high pressure and temperature in the cylinder can cause fuel in the far reaches of the cylinder to ignite spontaneously. These ill timed explosions place uneven pressure on the piston resulting in a jerky motion rather than a smooth piston stroke. This is known as engine knock and it causes a distinctive 'pinking' noise, more seriously in the long term it damages the pistons and can lead to engine failure. The higher the compression ratio of the engine the more likely engine knock is to occur.

Traditionally petrol was graded according to its performance in a single cylinder variable compression test engine. Fuels were compared to a test mixture of iso-octane (which is good at resisting engine knock) and heptane ( which is poor at resisting engine knock). 98 RON petrol would cause engine knock at the same compression ratio as a 98% iso-octane 2% heptane mixture.

Modern RON tests use computerised apparatus and the method has been refined so fuels with a RON greater than 100 can be assessed, but the basic principle remains unchanged.

Abbreviation	Definition	Notes
RON	Research Octane Number	UK, Europe, South Africa & Australia
MON	Motor Octane Number	Motor sport applications. Measured under more severe conditions than RON (higher revs etc). Usually 8-10 units lower than the RON.
RdON	Road Octane Number	Average of RON & MON. Usually 4-5 units lower than the RON. USA, Canada
AKI	Ant Knock Index	Average of RON & MON. Usually 4-5 units lower than the RON. USA, Canada
PON	Pump Octane Number	Average of RON & MON. Usually 4-5 units lower than the RON. USA, Canada
(R + M )/2		Average of RON & MON. Usually 4-5 units lower than the RON. USA, Canada
Octane number, Octane rating or octane		Could refer to any of the above, if you can work out which country the article was written in you should be able to work it out.

With a modern engine management systems you are unlikely to hear engine knock even if your fuel isn't fully meeting your engine's octane requirements. Knock sensors in the engine detect the first signs of engine knock and takes measures to prevent it such as adjusting the engine timing. This prevents engine damage but can result in reduced performance and fuel economy. Use our easy mpg calculator to work out your fuel consumption.

So is the answer to just use the highest RON fuel available? Not necessarily. If the RON of your petrol is high enough to completely suppress engine knock then moving to a higher RON fuel will not improve performance or fuel economy. RON is not a measure of how 'powerful' a fuel is. Higher RON fuels are also more expensive. Your car manual should recommend the optimum RON fuel for your car. My Audi manual recommends 98RON, 95 RON can be used with a slight loss of power under heavy driving conditions (eg heavily loaded, high revs), the power loss is due to the engine management system adjusting to avoid engine knock. In an emergency 91 RON can be used but only at 'moderate engine speeds and a light throttle.'

Unless a higher RON petrol comes with hard evidence that it has other properties that will increase power or fuel economy then you're better off sticking to the recommended RON. The only time I would be tempted to splash out on a slightly higher than recommended RON petrol would be for a track day when the car is being driven at full throttle.

The bottom line is that RON is a measure of how effective a petrol is at resisting engine knock. It tells us nothing about power or fuel economy. Over dosing on octane will only dent your pocket.

Free Preview: Remapped sport computer tuning ECU remaps

Back in the good old days - the task of timing the ignition spark was performed by the distributor. The greater the RPM, the more the timing would advance.

This did a reasonable job but for the most effective power you would need to vary the timing to a greater degree that a fixed ratio advance curve. The electronic ignition was borne.

A complete map of variables was entered into the ignition program and preset timing would be read from a table.

Now air temperature, engine speed, engine load and even control over turbo waste gate control means that precise management of the engine ignition timing is possible and you can achieve the maximum power output throughout the rev range.

Electronic ignition allows the manufacturer to fine tune economy at popular road speeds such as 30mph, 56mph and 70mph where most cars spend a large proportion of their time. It is now possible to advance the timing if the throttle is wide open to give greater power or back off the timing when cruising at constant speed.

When a manufacturer creates a timing MAP they build into it a big margin of error

When a manufacturer creates a timing MAP they build into it a big margin of error to cope with: Adverse temperature ranges, minor faults & bad conditions. Manufacturers do not want people breaking down, suffering premature parts failure or a reputation for uneconomical cars.

Each car that leaves the production line is also unique some achieve 10bhp less and others can be 10bhp up on standard specs, depending on how well the components are machined and put together. So rather than put each car through a unique assessment and a bespoke timing map, they adopt a standard one map fits all philosophy.

It is also a fact that manufacturers use the remap to produce different power versions of the same engine and get lower insurance cover ratings and better fuel consumption. You start to see the fantastic scope for improvement, then, when you add into the mix the fact that the average Toruqecars reader will be adding better performing components to the car, you have a really strong case for a remap.

Other things that the manufacturer builds in to their map equation is the possibility of user neglect ie: infrequent servicing with items struggling like dirty plugs, bad leads, clogged air filter, partially blocked injectors etc... The list goes on.

Who should remap? Anyone who has added performance parts to the engine should consider a remap. If your car is a turbo model, there are massive power gains on offer and we strongly recommend a remap.

What are the hidden costs or drawbacks? You will need to be prepared to keep the car serviced more frequently, and, sometimes decreasing the service interval by half. When you fill up you are also restricting yourself to high quality fuel and you must be prepared to replace components that fail due to the extra work they are doing.

When an engine is tuned to produce more power, you are also creating more stress and strain, so things will start to fail such as air flow sensors. Also turbos can wear out, other major components like pistons and bearings will need care and attention and you will find that the clutch lasts a shorter time.

If you do not have a turbo there is very little to be gained by a remap alone - perhaps only a few BHP so we recommendation for non turbo cars is to modify everything else first (cams,pistons, increase compression, engine balance, air intake, exhaust, head work, bigger valves etc...) after these things have been done you can then consider a remap which will help you get the full benefit from them.

On the subject of turbos, (briefly though as we have a comprehensive article on turbos in the forced induction section), a remap will often introduce boost from lower down the rev range and because of this the turbo is running faster and hotter. In this situation you must let the turbo cool down a little before shutting off the engine, otherwise the oil will degrade and you will have an expensive turbo repair on your hands. Fitting a turbo timer will also help with this problem and keeps the engine ticking over.

Of course the amount of power you choose has a bearing on the reliability and cost of running the car. Many people go for an off the shelf remap which are on offer all over the country and typically cost around £200-£500.

This is better than the manufacturers map in that it uses tighter parameters but it is still a one size fits all job. If you are after big power gains and have changed major components like the turbo, waste gate and have done extensive engine work then a custom remap is the best option.

Switchable remaps. Things have moved on and it is now possible to have a few maps stored which you can select from. It is typical to have a valet mode to stop the boy racers at the garage thrashing your pride and joy on the "test run" to bed in the new wiper blades they have fitted. Then there is often an economy option to give very frugal fuel consumption, particularly useful when cruising on long journeys.

Then you have the 'sport' or 'power' modes which give lots of power and often require high octane fuel. We strongly recommend that you get a switchable remap - it may cost a little more at the outset but you will avoid many of the pitfalls of running a high power remap all of the time by doing this and get the best of both worlds.

Please do not confuse a remap with the little boxes you can buy for £50 which generally contain little more than a £3 resistor and often do little more than fool the car into thinking the air is cooler than it is. If it was really this easy to get more power from a car then the manufacturers would have already done that themselves.

Some cars are not easy to remap, I remember that the Rover MEMS was a case in point. The Manufacturer holds the key to the ECU and locks their Map into their firmware. Some ECU's are just plain and simply not reprogrammable so what can you do? Is there an option? Well thankfully there is and they are called piggy back ECU's.

Piggy back ecus:

They connect between your existing ECU and the engine sensor inputs and outputs. All work slightly differently and apply all or some of the following combinations.

Some will adjust the sensor readings such as air temp engine speed crank position and effectively lie to the standard ECU forcing a more aggressive timing. Some will actually perform their own calculations and take over control of some aspects of engine management like turbo waste gate control and ignition timing. Some will take the standard ECU output and modify the signals sent to change timing and learn to guess the next output a split second before it is needed using the base ECU map and just enhancing it a little.

Free Guide on Car Chip Tuning

The days of fiddling around in the engine bay with a spanner to make the car go faster are numbered.

Modern engine computers (ECU's) take over many of the controls of all aspects of engine management from timing to fuelling and more.

This actually means you get better power, a cleaner burn and more reliable engine but it does not mean the end of tuning.

See our article on remapping the ecu for more information about how the engine management maps work.Chip tuning is a term used very loosly to describe any process of remapping the cars engine

In this article we shall focus on the specific act of "Chip tuning" and not dwell too much on remaps.

The term probably stems from the early days were chips could not easily be reflashed and updated.

The only option in these cases was to replace the chip. Often these would need to be soldered and could be quite fiddly and, due to the delicate nature of chips, prone to failure.

EPROMS which were erasable and programmable chips could be removed reflashed and reinserted into the car.

Chip replacements were the only way to change a cars mapping but now with standardized diagnostic ports it is much easier.

In recent times we have seen cars equipped with on board diagnostic ports that allow a fresh map to be uploaded.

Is chip tuning something you can easily do yourself? Not really, you need to have detailed knowledge of the engine and ideally a full set of diagnostic equipment on a rolling road to allow you to make "live" adjustments to the mapping. There is certainly a lot more to it than just changing a few numbers and getting a big power gain.

With DIY chip tuning you also run the risk of a bad flash where the computer cannot be recovered and without a restoration image you will need to visit the main dealer or worse still buy a new computer.

The best form of chip tuning is where a custom map can be inserted that takes into account your cars strengths and weaknesses and any other modifications that you have had done. There are still a few companies out there offering replacement chips set to a more sporty setting.

This is not to be confused with piggy back chips or plug in boxes. These are only useful in cases where a reflash or replacement chip is not available and it would still be better to buy a whole aftermarket ECU and use this.

We are often asked if chip tuning works on all engines. Generally speaking any car will see a benefit but the larger gains are from turbocharged applications. In a NASP (Naturally Aspirated) engine power gains are around 10-20%, but in a turbo engine the power gains are typically around 40% for a petrol and 30% for a turbo diesel.

Even a car getting a relatively low power gain from a remap will actually be more lively to drive. The peak power gain figure is only a very small part of the equation. The engines response under acceleration and its torque curve are the primary reasons for getting into chip tuning.

The downsides of chip tuning are the need for more regular car maintenance and servicing. You are effectively reducing the safe margin of error the makers build in. This compensates for low quality fuel, or the wear and tear associated with longer service intervals.

Car Light Tips: Fog lights - Improve Visibility

So now it is up to you to choose whether you should install fog lights or not. In some parts of the world this is an easy decision to make because poor visibility conditions occur often and it is very useful to have fog lights. However if you live in a part of the world where this is not the case then making the decision is not so easy.

You can start by recalling how often in the past you have been seriously troubled by visibility issues when driving your car. If you have had a bad experience then it makes sense to go for fog lights. But what if you have never been affected by poor visibility? Well maybe you have just been lucky and if others in your area have been affected you should still go for fog lights. Because when you need fog lights they are very useful and they are well worth the money.

Fog lights do not cost a lot and if you are on the road a lot it is better to give yourself the performance edge that fog lights provide. They also look nice and give your car an upmarket high performance look.