Latest news with #Recaro
Skift
24-05-2025
- Business
- Skift
Tetris at 35,000 Feet: Airlines Reshape Business Class to Fit More Seats
The focus was once on complete commonality across fleets. Now, more airlines seem willing to add cost and complexity to squeeze in more business class seats. Business class remains where most full-service carriers make most of their money. As a result, airlines have long sought to maximize revenue by offering a product that keeps their most lucrative (and often most informed) customers from moving to a rival with a better seat. On twin-aisle widebody aircraft, direct aisle access for every passenger is critical for any serious international airline choosing new seats. Airlines are now in the position where a seatmaker's ability to squeeze an extra two seats compared with their nearest competitor is a dealmaker — or dealbreaker. The challenge for seatmakers starts with aircraft shape: Each widebody has slightly different dimensions. While the cabin floor appears fairly rectangular in 2D, curved sidewalls and fuselage tapering turn it into a complex 3D puzzle. To make the most of these 3D shapes, seatmakers are doubling down on their focus to optimize seats for specific aircraft cabins. Constraints such as the position of the seat track supports, the point at which the fuselage tapers at the front of the cabin, and the position of lavatories and galleys must all be considered. The most immediately visible of these is the customized version of Recaro's R7 seat for the Airbus A330. Its core market focuses on retrofitted A330ceo aircraft and new-build A330neos. Here, Recaro is bumping out the curve of the window-adjacent seat and footwell significantly. The company is also straightening what was a lightly angled stagger to better optimize the A330's narrower fuselage. Recaro presented this optimized design at last month's Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. Credit: John Walton Optimization, But at a Cost Less visible but no less impressive is Thompson Aero Seating's updated A350 and 787 version of its Vantage XL seat, the original version of which is seen at Australian flag carrier Qantas and many other operators. Rather confusingly, it is called the Vantage XL+, a name it previously used for the doored suite version of the XL product. First Look Inside Qantas' New 'Xtra Long Range' Plane Qantas is the latest big-name airline to switch from Boeing to Airbus for its next generation of planes. Despite huge retraining and operational complexities, the carrier is betting that the short-term pain will pay off handsomely. Read More Here, the Vantage XL product was previously optimized for the narrower A330, and with the new version Thompson is adapting the center section with a larger footwell and more knee space. This is enabled by the extra inches it has to work with on the wider A350 and 787 fuselages. There is, of course, a cost to all of this optimization: both literal in terms of seat development, but also in terms of a reduction in parts commonality. There is also an increase in production, certification, maintenance, and parts supply chain costs. But it seems that, for a growing number of airlines and their seatmakers, the result is worth it. Read more of John Walton's passenger experience insights for Skift here. What am I looking at? The performance of airline sector stocks within the ST200. The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets including network carriers, low-cost carriers, and other related companies. The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number. See more airlines sector financial performance. Read the full methodology behind the Skift Travel 200.
Auto Car
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Car
Mazda MX-5 review: the bestselling
The ND MX-5 is positively geriatric in the context of model cycles. Nevertheless, the no-nonsense interior still feels fresh. It was a huge leap compared with the NC generation, but if you're unaccustomed to MX-5s, it's likely that the cabin's incredibly compact dimensions will need to sink in before you can meaningfully survey the details. The MX-5 has always been resolutely bijou, and the ND is no different. Broader adults will find themselves in frequent contact with the centre console, door trim and the sides of the skinny footwell, while taller drivers will want for a few centimetres more leg room. Despite a 20mm lower hip point compared with the NC, you sit a little higher than would seem optimal and head room with the top up is relatively limited. Moreover, there is a bulge in the floorpan that denies you the option of folding your clutch leg away on motorways (a malaise of right-hand-drive cars only). Reach adjustment for the steering wheel was added in 2018. If you plan to do long distances in your MX-5, seek out a version with the Recaro seats, because they are significantly more comfortable than the standard items, and offer more lateral support too. These factors can combine to make it tricky to get comfortable – tricky enough, in fact, for some people to be put off the prospect entirely, although others will proclaim this the most comfortable MX-5 yet. More fool the critics, though, because in an age that tends towards profligacy, the MX-5's cockpit-sized simplicity – once reconciled with – makes for a charming environment. The dashboard architecture is similar to that of the Mazda 2, which is a good thing because the same natty design features and chunky, tactile switchgear work equally well here in the roadster. You'll have to look hard to find soft-touch materials, but that somehow feels appropriate for a no-nonsense sports car. Nowhere is the MX-5's simplicity better encapsulated than in the manually operated roof. Made 3kg lighter than in the NC and requiring 30lb ft less effort to close, the hood can be operated easily with one hand, even when moving. There's one spring-loaded clip to unfasten on the header rail, then a click somewhere in the housing behind you to confirm that it's safely stowed. It takes four or five seconds and, like pretty much everything else about the MX-5, puts everything larger, heavier and motor-driven to shame. The roof's tiny size means that the car continues to offer a modest-sized but usable boot. It's too small for golf clubs but is just big enough for two weekend-away bags. Which seems to us exactly as it should be. Multimedia system Over its many years on sale, the MX-5 has gone through a number of infotainment iterations, but the good news is that all of them are quite pleasant to use because they were clearly modelled on the classic BMW iDrive. Cars up to 2023 used an older interface, but one which still had logical menus and could be navigated using both the touchscreen and the rotary controller in the centre console. Entry-level models used to miss out on the centre screen, but from 2023, all MX-5s have the 7.0in touchscreen. In 2018, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were added, the former with wireless functionality. They do come with a Mazda-typical quirk. The touchscreen stops working on the move and you have to use the rotary controller. The latter works great for the native interface, but using it to navigate CarPlay is rather awkward, as that was clearly designed for a touchscreen In 2024, the screen was upgraded to a 8.8in screen with much more modern-looking graphics. Thankfully, that didn't come at a cost of usability – all the menus remain very logical, and the built-in navigation is actually quite good. The standard stereo isn't anything special, but it's just about brawny enough to be heard over the road and wind noise. The Bose system that used to be available on certain trims put up a better fight, but as this is quite a noisy car on the motorway, it's always a bit of a losing battle. Page 2 The cabin space of the new 2 is unlikely to make a dent on your first impression, especially now that rivals have grown wider and thus become more practical. Instead, how the interior looks is of far more interest than its basic proportions. Here is a supermini cabin that avoids the pitfalls of tacky styling or unnecessary clutter, delivering in their place a real sense of imagination and savvy attention to detail. This emanates most obviously from the dashboard, a slab of space-conscious architecture. None of its hallmarks – unbroken horizontal lines, nicely corralled switchgear, periscoped instrument cluster – are novel, but their integration is rarely so well handled. It comes as no surprise to learn that the car's designer, the same man who penned the exterior, originally trained in interior design. The input device for the multimedia system could do with being a little further forward for optimum usability, but that's about the limit of our ergonomic complaints. You sit marginally too high, although well within the segment's norm, and 20mm of additional elbow room helps to prevent the front of the cabin from feeling full to the brim when two adults are on board. In the back, the 2 isn't the most spacious supermini: taller passengers will certainly feel uncomfortable after a while. It's no Fiat 500, you understand, but it's in a different league from the Seat Ibiza, for instance. The boot is decent, with a capacity of 280 litres, if hindered a little by its miserly aperture width. Multimedia system The infotainment touchscreen looks neat where it's perched on the dashboard and, better still, you won't have to actually touch it once you're driving thanks to a rotary input device and a selection of physical shortcut buttons. It has a touchscreen, but it deactivates on the move. Some testers found this worked well for them, while others found navigating Apple CarPlay with the rotary controller rather cumbersome. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto didn't exist yet when the Mazda 2 was first launched, but both were added after a few years. The former works wirelessly, the latter requires a cable. Mazda's default interface feels a little dated in 2023, but is easy enough to understand. Page 3
Auto Car
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Car
Track nights, drifting and lots of screenwash: 2000 miles in an MX-5
Close Culmination is one of those words that can be used in subtly different ways. We will ignore its archaic use (the reaching of the meridian by a celestial body) and delve straight into its two most popular meanings today. One definition is the highest point of something, especially as attained after a long time. The other is the point at which something ends, having developed until it reaches this point. Subtle differences, then. It can mean best, it can mean last and it can mean a mixture of the two, as in the example we're considering here. Next year, this version of the Mazda MX-5 (the 'ND' for Mazda aficionados) will have been on sale for a decade. Ten whole years for one model. During its lifetime, it has gone through subtle changes and upgrades before culminating in this Homura-spec car. It's basically all the bells and whistles, and what I think on paper is the best model. Up front, it gets the 181bhp 2.0-litre engine. Round the back is the simple, lightweight canvas roof – not the heavy and complex metal one you get on the MX-5 RF. It also has 17in BBS wheels, Recaro seats, a Bose sound system (with speakers in the headrests), Bilstein dampers, a limited-slip differential, Brembo brake calipers and a track mode. That's the first meaning of culmination well and truly done. The second alludes to it being the last. Which looks like the case, at least in the pure form we know and love the MX-5. Mazda's next sports car is set to be a 370bhp hybrid, equipped with a rotary engine that generates power for the electric motors driving the wheels. Back in 2023, Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro said: 'We love the MX-5 and the world loves the MX-5. We are determined in the age of electrification to keep the joy of driving which the MX-5 represents alive.' 'Represents' is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Mazda's next sports car will not be awfully like an MX-5 to me. And it will most likely not wear the MX-5 badge. Anyway, enough semantics. The reason I have this MX-5 is to see if I can conceivably run one through winter as my only car. The hardier among you might consider me to be a soft southerner after reading that sentence. But a few colleagues (admittedly soft southerners themselves) have told me they wouldn't fancy running something so small, impractical and rear-wheel drive during the winter months. What do I have planned? On these pages, you will read tales of track driving at night, a few comparison tests with pretty abstract rivals and, importantly, the rather less glamorous nitty-gritty of daily use. Initial thoughts? I'm not a fan of the optional matt grey paint. When Audi started doing matte paint way back in 2013, it was clever in a kind of ironic way. 'Look at me, spending all this money to make it look like I've got primer.' But since then the concept has grown tired. Winter is doing the car a huge favour so far. It 's constantly caked in mud, which hides the paint well. I love filthy cars and will fill these pages in the coming months with the dirtiest MX-5 you may ever see. Other notes? This car is small. Really small. Shorter than the Mk1 MX-5 even. The first few times I parallel-parked it on my street, I actually had to try again, such was my brain's inability to measure quite how petite it was. The boot is pretty deep and useful for a car of this size, but the interior space is virtually non-existent. I recently took it to see my parents and my wife had to stash a lot of our cargo (presents, bags etc) in the front with her. I think she took it remarkably well. So far I've been on only a few other trips in the MX-5, most of them on the motorway. And I've been truly dumbfounded by how at home it has felt there. An easy 40-plus MPG in the fast lane for one thing. Sixth gear is pretty long and it 's only really pulling around 3000rpm. This is especially important to me, as my last long-termer, an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, averaged 23.5mpg. It's the comfort that has surprised me most, though. It really is a pleasant place to be. When you read Bilstein dampers on the spec sheet, you think lowered and racy. But there's a proper amount of squidge I wasn't expecting, especially on such thin rubber. It's not a quiet car at speed, mind you. With the Bose stereo cranked up to a volume where you can actually hear it, your passenger is fully drowned out. Is this the culmination of 36 years of MX-5 production? If it comes anywhere close, I'm in for a treat – even during the depths of winter. Update 2 I was invited along by Mazda to the world's first 'night-time track day' in Anglesey. Yep, North Wales, in the winter. At night. The drop-top Mazda was perfect for the task; I couldn't think of anything better to do it in. It waltzed me effortlessly from London to Wales in comfort and with surprisingly good 40mpg-plus fuel economy. And then on track it was an absolute peach, flattering my driving and generally just being extremely good fun, communicative and everything you'd want in a track-day car that you also intend to drive home. Read the full feature here Update 3 Before I knew it, another invite arrived. This time it was from the electro-modders at Electrogenic, wanting to know if I'd like to drive their new battery-powered Electrogenic Mk1 MX-5. Yes, please. And it was great: proper fun, with big, laugh-inducing skids, and all wrapped up in the unmistakable first-gen shell. Read the full feature here Update 4 In the office I tend to sit next to our staff writer Charlie Martin and behind Classic & Sports Car's associate editor, Lizzie Pope. Since getting my long-term MX-5 they have both bought NDs. Coincidence? Absolutely not. I should be on commission. In this line of work we're blessed with driving some of the best cars around. This section of the mag is full of interesting metal week in, week out – and the MX-5 is no exception. I've had a great selection of long-termers in this job. But the MX-5's mixture of low-speed fun and dependable reliability has made it my favourite. It's a car that makes the everyday more enjoyable. Some things about my MX-5 I loved immediately. The seating position and the weighting of the manual gearbox and pedals, for me, are the best in the business. There were other aspects that I grew to love. I thought the steering was a touch light at first, but after a few weeks, and with the benefit of driving a couple of palate cleanser regular cars in between, I realised that light doesn't have to mean uncommunicative. It just means easy. Cons are harder to find. I'm not nitpicking here when I write that the infotainment short-circuits my millennial brain: it doesn't allow me to use the touchscreen while the car is moving (there's a rotary controller for that). By the time the neurons in my brain (eventually) engage and the neurotransmitters trigger thoughts about not touching the screen, my greasy little digits are already prodding away. I have been conditioned by 20 years of touchscreen phones, and I suspect many others have. Admittedly I probably am nitpicking, though, when I complain that the windscreen washer bottle is a touch small at 1.2 litres. Not ideal for hacking around in winter. Finally, we'll get round to the question we posed at the start: how easy is it to run a convertible as your only car in the depths of a British winter? Easy. For me. And I'd go as far as saying it would be easy for most childless readers who don't regularly need to transport anything particularly large. Bonus question: is this the spec to go for? At the office, we regularly talk specs. And, as you might imagine, we often disagree. A few of us think all electric cars should basically be the least powerful spec possible; others say we're missing out on all the huge torque. Some of us insist there's still room for diesel; others remind us that modern petrol hybrids can offer basically the same economy. But for the MX-5 top-rung Homura spec just makes sense. Recaro seats? Spot on. Even comfy on long journeys. Track mode? Simple, easy to use, flatters your driving and you can make use of it all the time. BBS wheels? Amazing – nothing else to note. Yes, it's £35k – which sounds a lot for an MX-5. But a Mini Cooper convertible is £28,000, or £30k-plus if you actually want anything inside it. A Honda Civic Type R is £50k. At the beginning of this test, I posited that the latest ND was the culmination of 36 years of MX-5 expertise. And it is. The next generation of Mazda sports car is promised to keep the atmospheric engine/rear-drive formula. But even so, I don't envy the engineers tasked with besting this ND. Mazda MX-5 Homura specification Mileage: At start 6086 At end 8028 Prices: List price new £34,835 Price as tested £35,435 Options: Aero grey paint £600 Fuel consumption and range: Claimed economy 41.5mpg Fuel tank 45 litres Test average 39.1mpg Test best 42.5mpg Test worst 25.8mpg Real-world range 387 miles Tech highlights: 0-62mph 6.5sec Top speed 136mph Engine 4 cyls in line, 1998cc, petrol Max power 181bhp Max torque 151lb ft Transmission 6-spd manual, RWD Boot capacity 130 litres Service and running costs: Service costs None Other costs None Fuel costs £306.63 Running costs inc fuel £318.61 Cost per mile 16 pence Faults None
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Trio of Iconic Ford Mustangs Headed to Big Boy Toy Auction
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector Three Ford Mustangs spanning more than five decades of American muscle car evolution are set to hit the auction block, including a Vietnam veteran's original-owner 1969 fastback, a fully restored 1970 M-code Mustang, and a factory-sealed 2020 Shelby GT500. The standout among the trio is a 1969 Ford Mustang Fastback (VIN: 9F02R139371) equipped with the legendary 428-cubic-inch Cobra Jet V8 and a four-speed manual transmission. According to the seller, the car was purchased new in May 1969, just one month after returning from Vietnam. With fewer than 200 miles logged since its engine was rebuilt, the vehicle remains largely original and is accompanied by a Marti Report and its stock wheels. The odometer reads just 11,979 miles. Joining it is a 1970 Ford Mustang (VIN: 0T01M146864) that underwent a frame-off restoration. The M-code car is powered by a 351-cubic-inch V8 mated to a wide-ratio four-speed manual gearbox and a 3.00 Traction-Lok rear end. Finished in Wimbledon White, the Mustang is loaded with options including air conditioning, tilt steering column, color-keyed racing mirrors, and a Shaker hood. The car also features Competition Suspension and Magnum 500 wheels, with documentation supported by a Marti Report. The third Mustang is a modern classic—a 2020 Shelby GT500 (VIN: 1FA6P8SJ2L5503990) with only 11 miles on the odometer. Still wrapped in factory plastics and stored in a climate-controlled facility, this untouched example features a supercharged V8, Carbon Fiber Track Pack ($18K option), and hand-painted racing stripes ($10K option). Other highlights include Recaro leather seats, Brembo brakes, and a 12-inch digital display with the Technology Package. The ANNUAL SPRING BIG BOY TOY AUCTION takes place indoors on May 2nd and 3rd at the resort in French Lick Indiana. To consign, please contact Josh Settles at josh.s@ There will be 500+ lots for sale including classic cars and automobilia. Many vehicles are selling at NO RESERVE. Register to bid today! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Forbes
20-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Subaru's Greatest Ever Road Car Is The STI S210
The S210 is the brand's best handling car yet. The STI S210 could well be the last pure turbocharged, boxer-engined, gasoline powered sports sedan made by Subaru before the model is hybridized. The S210 is based on the WRX S4 sedan but employs upgrades and bespoke parts that elevate this car from ballsy to ballistic. But like all super high achievers, there are conditions—it will be limited to just 500 units, it has no 6-speed manual option, and all are destined for Japanese buyers only. For the present at least. And it also just happens to be one of the most expensive Subarus ever, setting buyers back some ¥8.6 million or around US$60,000. The most expensive was the WRX STI S209 launched in 2019, of which 209 units were sold in the US for $63,995 when new. One sold in October 2023 for $68,500. The S210 gets a massive rear wing. The S210 styling is more subtle than you'd expect with accentuated front bumper brake ducts, blacked out wheel arches, BBS wheels, red STI accents and a massive rear wing which generates downforce above 100 mph. The STI is powered by a 2.4-litre turbocharged boxer engine pumping out 296 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque. This time however, the high priced STI comes with a twist—no 6-speed manual option. Yee gads! That's a brave move from STI. This time the car is only offered with a continuously variable transmission which is a gearbox not that popular outside of Japan, especially on high performance models. According to Subaru, the reasoning for going all in for the CVT is to make the S210 a more refined, more mature, more track capable machine. And speaking of track compatibility, this car takes the base S4 sedan and throws the entire STI parts bin at the S210, a bin filled with race-tuned parts from the company's long competition and storied multiple category victories in Germany's famed Nurburgring 24-hour race. For greater cornering rigidity the S210 gets an STI front flexible draw tower bar and stiffeners, rear stabilizer bushes, bespoke ECU and transmission control unit, 6-piston Brembo brakes with drilled rotors and bespoke pads, an STI performance muffler and exhaust pipe, 19-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, ZF electronically-controlled dampers and coil springs, and bespoke drive mode select. The cockpit employs Recaro sports seats. Inside it gets leather 8-way Recaro bucket seats that provide great leg and back support in corners, a bespoke S210 designed dash with red accents, seatbelts and STI badging and stitching, aluminum pedals and a red start/stop switch. It's not as luxurious as say an M3, but the materials used and the styling certainly elevates the cockpit to something approaching the BMW. As we mentioned above the S210 is based on the the STI S4 sedan. So you'd expect the new STI model to feel like a tweaked S4. Not so. At a brief S210 prototype test drive at Izu's Cycle Sport Center south of Tokyo recently, it became blatantly obvious that the new model is totally different. In fact it feels borderless now—it does not feel like a Japanese car. It feels a lot closer to a BMW M3 or an AMG C43 in terms of ride quality and cornering ability. But the S210's equivalent $60,000 is a lot cheaper than the M3's $77,000 or the C43's $67,000. Even though the test drive was held in semi-wet conditions, the S210 launched into corners and negotiated them better and with far greater stability than an M3 or C43 could. Indeed, STI claims the car has 296 hp, but when floored, the S210 feels like it has at least 320 hp or more as acceleration is impressive. The car's combination of superior 4-wheel traction thanks to its rally and race-proven AWD system and Michelin grip, improved twist and bend rigidity and massive Brembo brakes that wipe off speed instantly, the S210 tempts you to push harder in each corner. Critics may question the car's throttle response given its CVT-only offering. But thanks to a tuned ECU, tweaked transmission control unit and new sports exhaust system, turbo lag is basically non-existent, and throttle response is quick as the turbo spools up briskly. And the normally sluggish CVT has been tuned to deliver quicker changes that don't leave the driver wanting for more. The only question is how many hardcore Subaru fans are willing to fork over ¥8.6 million or around $60,000. With the current dollar-yen exchange rate that amount may not sound that much, but in real terms, an ¥8.6 million car feels more like an $80,000 to American buyers in terms of value. Who knows if they aren't able to sell them quickly in Japan, then they might offer the remaining stock to right-hard-drive countries like the UK or Australia.
