The Circle of Supercar Life: A Birth (Praga) & a Death (Brabham)

The Circle of Supercar Life: A Birth (Praga) & a Death (Brabham)

While the new year is still young, in the supercar world there has already been a birth and a death notice.  The Praga Bohema has entered production and Brabham Automotive has been laid to rest. Neither of these developments is a major surprise, Praga has been making consistent progress on the Bohema’s develop for quite some time and Brabham Automotive never seemed to get much traction.

Praga

Background

Praga has been making good, consistent progress on delivering its first hypercar, the Praga Bohema.  Praga is a Czech brand that dates back to 1907.  Under Communism it was forced into truck manufacturing, and then later reconstructed in the late 1990s as a commercial vehicle and motorcycle manufacturer.  In 2012 Praga re-entered the car business with the single-seat carbon Praga R1 race car.  The $250k R1 is now on its 5thgeneration and is available in the US via a dealer in Atlanta.  Following an ownership change in 2015, a prototype road version of the R1 race car was developed, the Praga R1R.  Based on the positive reception to the Praga R1R, Praga decided to get into the hypercar business and started development of the much larger Praga Bohema.  The Bohema is based on an all new carbon fiber tub and will be powered by a Litchfield modified Nissan 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-6 producing 700 bhp.  Dry weight is 2164 lbs which makes a few of its competitors look quite tubby.  The production run is limited to 89 units over a four year period and is currently priced at €1.36 million each.

Production Start Up

Per Praga’s recent announcement, production of customer Bohema’s has just begun.  From what I understand, Praga’s goal is to build up to 10 cars this year.  Deliveries will be a mix of both public and private depending on the customers’ preference.  Pending final EU homologation approval, initial deliveries in 2024 will be in the EU with the US (under pending Show & Display approval) & UAE likely following later in the year.  If Praga has just started the builds, my guess is we will see the first Bohema on the road in Europe in May/June.  In addition, I would not at all be surprised to see a Bohema at Monterey car week in August as this would generate an enormous amount of publicity for the brand. 

 

I’ve heard that the 2024 build slots are all taken but there are slots still available for 2025-2027 production, although a number of specific chassis numbers have already been reserved.  While early deliveries will lean towards the UK/Europe and UAE, the later production will tilt towards the US and Asian markets.  Of the 89 cars, it’s expected that 24 cars will go to UK/Europe; 26 to The Americas; 24 to Asia/Pacific and 15 to Middle East/Africa. 

 

The interest in the Bohema is quite impressive considering that to date, no-one outside UK, UAE, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Germany has even seen the car.  A few prospective customers did drive a pre-production prototype Bohema on the road in Germany last summer in +30C heat and came away impressed.  There have also been a select number of press drives (Top Gear, EVO, Robb Report, Car Magazine) in the pre-production prototypes that took place in early 2023.  Car Magazine called the Bohema ”brilliant”. The common theme in the press reviews is praise for the Bohema’s huge amounts of grip, stability, and grunt.

 

I believe Praga is planning another set of road and track test drive for prospective customers in the now “production spec” Bohemas in the late spring/early summer.  I would expect that once these are completed a number of the remaining build slots will be spoken for. 

 

If all goes well with the production start up and Praga is able to fill its order book for 2025 onwards, I would not be surprised to see a limited edition “track only” speciallycreated for the last several cars at the very end of the Bohema production run. 

 

I give a ton of credit to Praga for allowing both the press and customer test drives in 2023, I am sure it has helped them sell cars.  It also shows a huge amount of confidence in what they are doing.  To date Praga has both delivered against promises and been very open about their challenges. I continue to be impressed with Praga’s approach and look forward to seeing (and perhaps even test driving) a Bohema soon.

Brabham Automotive

On January 11th, David Brabham announced the end of the agreement between the Brabham Group and Fusion Capital, which operated Brabham Automotive, builders of the Brabham BT62 & BT63.  The Brabham BT62 was a mid-engine track-day car introduced in 2018. The BT62 had a planned production run of 70 cars at a retail price of around US$1.4 million. In 2021 a detuned evolution of the BT62 was announced as the BT63 to meet GT2 regulations.  A road legal conversion, the BT62-R, was also offered in the UK. How many BT62s & BT63s were actually produced is not publicly known but likely far less than the original target of 70. 

Launching with a track-day only car was always going to be a tough sell.  Doing so at a US$1.4 million price point without a carbon fiber tub and using a modified Ford V8 delivering only 691 bhp certainly didn’t make it any easier.  At this price point today, a CF tub and 700+ bhp is simply table stakes. While the Brabham name is certainly F1 royalty, it’s more like the current French variety rather than the English version.  The reality is a car carrying the Brabham name hasn’t raced in F1 since 1992.  While the Brabham name certainly has awareness, it just isn’t current.  It might have benefited the endeavor if Brabham Automotive had first started with a works racing program and then after a year or two, leveraged its success on the track, to then build a road car. 

Conclusion

The supercar business is an incredibly tough one to succeed in. For every Koenigsegg or Pagani that lives to see its 21st birthday, there are scores more such as Mosler, Cizeta, Ascari, Spyker, and now Brabham that die tragically in infancy.  It would appear that Praga has been doing all the right things and has a fighting chance to make it adolescence.

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Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG) 004 Update

Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG) 004 Update

On the morning of January 9, 2024, Scuderia Glickenhaus CEO Jesse Glickenhaus drove a SCG 004CS from Connecticut to Montreal.  Jesse left Connecticut at 3:30AM in the morning and drove the 330 miles straight through to the PMG labs outside of Montreal. Doing this in the middle of winter, in a prototype, is a great demonstration of confidence in the car SCG is building.  The 004CS was dropped off at PMG for its final set of non-destructive Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Tests. This is a huge milestone in the SCG 004’s development as it signals that they are just about ready to begin production of the first customer (Founders) cars.

Background

 

Following a similar philosophy to Ferrari in the early days, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus is a racing team that both designs and builds their own race cars.  SCG then adapts these race cars for the road and sells them to customers to help fund its racing activities.  In only its 2nd try, in June 2022, the SCG 007 finished on the podium at Le Mans. In 2023, in a much larger and more highly competitive Hypercar class, the SCG 007 came in 6th & 7th (ahead of both Peugeot and Porsche).  To say this is an impressive achievement is a huge understatement.  In late 2023, Glickenhaus announced they would not be returning to the World Endurance Championship/Le Mans in 2024.  The decision was based on the fact that having established their racing credentials, it no longer made sense for SCG to compete in WEC as the priority for the company was now shifting to focus on making road-going vehicles, including the 004 sportscar based on its Nurburgring 24 Hours racer.

Development Update

In terms of the SCG 004, they have developed two versions for the road, the base 004S (004S Test Drive Report) and the more track oriented 004CS.  The SCG 004 has now passed all the most challenging US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards required including front, rear, side, and roof crush tests, as well as fuel roll over tests. It is is the first modern car to pass some of these mandated FMVSS crash tests such as the side movable deformable barrier test without airbags, which speaks volumes in terms of the design, engineering, and quality of the carbon fiber tub.  The SCG 004S will be the first 3 seater, central driving position, fully homologated, supercar sold in the US market.

With SCG’s focus now on building the SCG 004 road cars, there has been a plethora of activity in the last several months.  SCG is now working with Roush in Detroit for this validation program, leveraging Roush’s experience running validation for major manufacturers. There are now three prototypes undergoing various validation tests including a recently completed track durability test in Texas along with heat & fuel testing in Arizona.  An SCG 004S is also undergoing road load data testing in Michigan where it has been spotted numerous times running about on special data collection hubs.  Once the load data collection process is complete, this prototype will go on the shake rig where it will be subjected to 100k miles of driving forces. SCG is taking lessons learned during this validation to further improve the engineering. During a 24 hour hot wind tunnel test SCG ran the car through repeated wide open throttle (WOT) events, as well as city driving cycles with ambient temperatures ranging from 100-110 degrees F. SCG is using the data and lessons from this test to improve the cooling in the engine bay, and will conduct two additional wind tunnel tests in February and March to confirm the increased cooling solves these worst case scenario driving condition concerns. During the Arizona hot weather refueling there were certain conditions and gas stations where the fuel tank did not want to fill at full speed. SCG is working with Roush on modifications to the fuel system lines and internal tank to solve this problem. After 6 weeks of engineering improvements, SCG and Roush will re-test the fuel tank design to make sure it is safer and fills better than the current design. Other recent developments include upgrades to the interior with a focus on delivering “old school” elegance.  SCG switched from a high quality Italian leather supplier to the Italian supplier for most of the world’s most elegant luxurious cars.

As SCG finishes up the remaining FMVSS testing (ie windshield wiper testing, windshield defrosting), it is going through the process of answering the question, “When are we ready to begin production for customer vehicles.” The process of answering this question will be the subject of an upcoming next Question & Answer session with the Glickenhaus Team.

Once SCG answers this question, it will be moving into production for the Founders cars, with an eye to continue additional production of the SCG 004s in 2025. 

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Hotel Bennett, Charleston: Unparalleled Luxury?

Hotel Bennett, Charleston: Unparalleled Luxury?

By Mrs. SSO

 

I have always wanted to go to Charleston; the advertisements in travel magazines painted it’s charm and romance so beautifully.  Earlier this year, my brother-in-law was part of a group invited to Boeing Headquarters where they were given a tour of the Factory and were wined and dined; they were escorted on private tours of the City, they had early access to the new African American Museum and were lodged at the Hotel Bennett. He raved about the trip so we all decided we would take a 4 day trip to Charleston together.

We had basically decided to stay at the Hotel Bennett, but as usual, I needed to do a little research of my own.  According to their website, Hotel Bennett is the south’s grandest luxury hotel … which perfectly blends unparalleled luxury with an unmatched setting in the country’s most beloved city. Forbes described “the hotel’s design and interior finishes to evoke European grandeur with extravagant use of marble, limestone, copper and tile but it’s the local touches that impart a unique dose of Carolina Lowcountry soul.”  Travel + Leisure labelled “The lounges are some of the most beautiful in the city” and pronounced the room as “genteel and bright yet serene with its palate of dove gray and pale blue”. So far, so good. The deciding point was that the Hotel Bennett was part of the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts Program. 

The Hotel’s descriptions, video’s and photo’s depict the Bennett well.  The Press Coverage in broad terms is accurate. So why am I not wowed?  I think it is a few things:

  1. Price – Wow Equation
    1. At nearly $800/night, I expected something more.  I have stayed at many hotels in the US which were equally as nice but at half this price or less. There was just nothing really special to justify the price.  I heard the King’s Club was a private oasis that elevates your Hotel Bennett experience.  But that was another $225/night. Perhaps that should just be included in the rate. But $800 is nearly the price of a room at one of the AMAN Resorts which has a huge WOW factor.
    2.  
  2. It’s All Relative
    1. In re-visiting my research. The reference is The South / The City. And it is true…….to an extent.  Relative to other Hotels  in Charleston, the Hotel Bennett is the ‘grandest’, the ‘most luxurious’ … as for the full “South” hard to say.
    2.  
    1. Hotel Bennett’s prices are on par with those of the great hotels in London, Paris, & Rome. On a $ for $ basis, $800 buys an unbelievable experience in Asia or in Europe. In fact, we normally paid less than $500/night and we were wowed. In my opinion, a great Hotel is not only defined by the room and the restaurants; those are a given, an expectation. It is rather the experience there:  maybe it’s a spectacular pool, the culture, the historic background, the little extras, special details of the breakfast or dinner, the attentive staff and the people that make the memory, create the value and make it inspiring to write about.
  1. In My Opinion, Just Uninspiring
  2.  
    1. Breakfast sounded better on the menu than it looked on the plate and it tasted mediocre.
    2.  
    3. The Rooftop Pool was super small with a very limited number of lounges (unless you wanted to pay $200 – $300 to rent a cabana)
    4.  
    5. The Entrance and Lobby did not leave a great first impression of the Hotel. They were large and felt empty and cold, not inviting.

 

The Hotel Bennett with its central location off of Marion Square is a good base for exploring.  It was nice just expensive for what it is.  If you are planning a visit to Charleston, and money is no object, then the Bennett is worth considering.

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Aston Martin: Time for a New CEO (Again)?

Aston Martin: Time for a New CEO (Again)?

I wasn’t planning on writing another article on Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) until they released their full 2023 results in February.  However, according to a couple of well informed contacts, it is rumored that Lawrence Stroll might just be looking for a new CEO for Aston Martin Lagonda…….again.  As Stroll’s index finger only points outwards, I guess this should not be a major surprise after all the issues with the DB12 start up and having to call down the 2023 Guidance back in November of last year.

 

Last time we went around on this merry go round was in early 2022.  It started out in early January with an Autocar article on the then Aston Martin CEO, Tobias Moers’ future at Aston Martin being in doubt.  At the time Stroll denied he was looking to replace Moers in a statement to the Financial Times Aston Martin chair denies he is looking for a new chief executive.  Stroll’s denial back then rang pretty hallow when shortly after the FT article came out,  Bloomberg Aston Martin Approaches Ford Executive identified the individual Stroll had approached about replacing Moers and indicated several discussions had already taken place.  Certainly, in this case, where there was smoke, there was fire, and by early May 2022, Moers was out and former Ferrari CEO, Amedeo Felisa, had replaced him. 

Looking back, the current rumored situation certainly is par for the course for Stroll since he took over as Executive Chairman at AML.  Poor Tobias Moers was left twisting in the wind for months and his first CEO, Andy Palmer, found out he had been fired when a reporter from the Financial Times called him up and ask for a comment. 

 

AML is really in no better shape today than it was when Felisa took over 2 years ago.  Looking at a few key numbers through the last available reporting period vs. same period 2 years ago:

 

 

 

Q1-Q3 2021

Q1-Q3 2023

Cars Wholesale

4,250

4,398

Revenue

£ 736 mil.

£1,040 mil.

EBITDA

£72 mil.

£131 mil.

Loss before Tax

-£198 mil.

-£260 mil.

Free Cash Flow

-£39 mil.

-£297 mil.

Net Debt

£808 mil.

£750 mil.

Cash on Hand

£495 mil.

£544 mil.

 

AML is selling a few more cars at a higher ASP (average selling price) than they were a couple of years back and losing a lot more money doing so.  The rise in revenue & ASP has more to do with the Valkyrie than anything else, and for this AML should thank the long-departed Andy Palmer.  Net debt is down slightly and cash on hand is up a bit which does look good on paper.  However, this doesn’t take into account the £964 mil. of capital that been raised in the last 2 years that’s almost all gone. However, to be fair to Felisa, blaming him for AMLs current issues is akin to blaming Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival for the fall of Singapore. While Felisa might be the CEO, he does report to an Executive Chairman, making him more of a COO than a CEO.

Potential Successors

Last time Stroll went down this path, he had a ready-made solution sitting right in his Boardroom in Amedeo Felisa.  Felisa had been the CEO of Ferrari from 2008-2016 so he was a highly credible option who already was involved with Aston Martin.  Today no such option exists on AML’s Board of Directors.  The last person who could have been considered, Antony Sheriff (former Managing Director of McLaren Automotive), left the Aston Martin BoD last April to become Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Rimac Group and at Bugatti-Rimac.  Stroll therefore has been forced to look outside the AML organization.  At this point, it’s a very tough role to fill, given both the history and what the future may hold (see: The Grinch). 

 

Stroll’s pool of CEO candidates fall into what I believe are three groups.  The first group is former Automotive CEOs/MDs looking for a new job (example: recent SSO Award Winner Thierry Bollore). The first group is less appealing to Stroll as all would come with baggage but would certainly be less expensive to hire than either of the other two groups.  The second group is recently retired Senior Executives who might just be interested in one last payday (example: recently retired Rolls Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös). This second group, from which Felisa came from, is an easier sell as one last big payday and a nice severance after a couple of years could be appealing.  The third and final group is current top talent at major automotive companies just below the CEO level.  That last group, of which Moers could be considered to have been a member of when he was hired, is going to be a very hard sell for Stroll given both AML’s history of revolving CEOs and its current financial situation.  These types of executives tend to plan a long game and are looking for both stability and a high chance of success.  To put it in F1 driver terms, Romain Grosjean would be in the first group, Fernando Alonso in the second, and Lando Norris in the third.

Implications

While I don’t think anyone at Aston Martin shed a tear as the door was closing behind Moers, if Felisa is out after about two years, it has potentially serious leadership implications for key areas of Aston Martin’s operations. While not many senior executives followed Moers from Mercedes AMG to Aston Martin, Felisa has surrounded himself with former Ferrari colleagues.  In fact, Aston Martin now has former Ferrari executives controlling all the key operating positions including sales, marketing, technology, procurement, and manufacturing.   At a glance, the Aston Martin executive organization chart today (AML Leadership Team) looks like it is more likely to belong to a Modena area organization than one based in Gaydon.  If all these former Ferrari executives followed Felisa out the door, it could have serious implications on Aston Martin’s operations.  At a very minimum, it’s going to cost Stroll quite a bit to get them to stay as a large amount of management turmoil is the last thing Stroll needs as AML embarks on the 1st half 2024 “fulsome refinancing exercise”.

Summary

When I first heard that Stroll might be back in the market for a CEO again, I wasn’t the least bit surprised.  However, sacking Felisa now does seem like a high risk move given the impending “fulsome refinancing exercise” they are about to kick off.  My guess is it gets pushed to the 2nd half of the year after the fresh cash is in the bank.  However, this doesn’t prevent Stroll from having a successor already lined up and available to start as soon as it’s convenient.  I doubt Felisa will be sad to go, the last two years can not have been much fun.  The only question is does his team then follow him out the door.

Note: I do not, and have never, owned any AML shares.

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