New motorway and walks App

If you have ever wondered how you can find great pub food, places for your children to play, somewhere nice to walk your dog and perhaps park your campervan, all within 5 miles of a motorway exit, then help is at hand with a new App relased by Veloce. 

Lezli and David Rees have trekked over a thousand miles creating walks and tracking down traditional inns for drivers, families and dogs to enjoy on their journey. The new App helps anyone who drives on the motorways of England, Scotland and Wales and features walks within 5 miles of motorway exits.  

Each section in the App features a 30 to 45 minute walk – together with a slideshow of views along the walk, and a selected pub or café along the way. Activities for children are included, from bouncy castles to nature trails. There’s also a map of the area, together with latitude and longitude coordinates for your Sat Nav.

All of the walks are also suitable for dogs, and those with assistance dogs will find details of accessible paths and disabled facilities – for example, RADAR, a key that is made available to registered disabled people which enables them to access locked disabled WCs and facilities. All of the pubs also welcome well-behaved canines.

The App costs £2.99 and here are some of the highlights.

• Voiceover introduction from the author

• All walks within 5 miles of motorway exits

• Pub/café on each walk (or at least a picnic table)

• Each walk created, tried and tested by David, Lezli and Jem

• Safe and legal parking places

• Clear route instructions from and back to the motorway

• Online updates on www.drivingwithdogs.co.uk

• Many walks near kids’ activities

• Buggy and wheelchair easy access walks, ideal for assistance dog owners

• Each walk is 30-45 minutes – healthy breaks that improve driver concentration 

• Latitude and longitude coordinates, plus postcodes

• Map of every area

• Details of RADAR facilities

• Phone number, email address and website detection enabled for immediate access

The App is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 4.1 or later.

The Story of Sprite Caravans

Veloce has released the details of a new book, “The Story of Sprite Caravans“, which has been written by Andrew Jenkinson, an author who has been following the UK caravan industry since 1969. The Sprite was introduced in the early 1950s and became a great success, not only in the UK but also as a worldwide brand.

The new book charts the history of the Sprite and explains why it was one of the most successful caravans and features factory shots of the Sprite being produced in the 1950s and 1960s, with rare archive photos of US Sprites as well. This is the first book dedicated to one caravan brand and it is available direct from Veloce or at all good bookshops. The price is £14.99 or $29.95.

Alfa Giulietta with TCT

Alfa Romeo has now added their ALFA TCT semi-automated transmission to the Alfa Giulietta hatchback range. ALFA TCT is now available with either the 1.4 TB MultiAir 170 bhp petrol engine or the 2.0 JTDm-2 170bhp diesel engine.

The ALFA TCT transmission enables the 1.4 TB MultiAir 170bhp Giulietta to reach 0-62mph in just 7.7 seconds, a top speed of 135mph, yet still offers you 54.3 combined mpg and CO2 emissions of just 121g/km which is pretty impressive for a petrol engine car.

The 2.0 JTDm-2 170bhp diesel numbers are 7.9 seconds for the 0-62mph time, 62.8 combined mpg and CO2 emissions of 119g/km. Both cars will go on on sale in Lusso or Veloce trim levels and Alfa Giulietta contract hire prices on these new models are on the site now.

Cobra Replicas - The Essential Buyer Guide

If you ever thought that a buying a Cobra was just a dream then you could of course opt for a replica and a new book from Veloce has just been released. Cobra Replicas – The Essential Buyer’s Guide is written by Iain Ayre who has written two previous guides to British Cobra replicas and also writes for Kit-Car magazine (UK) Kit Car Builder (USA).

The new book costs £9.99 ($19.95) and is packed full of details around buying a Cobra replica, where to buy one, what to look out for, analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the car, upgrades available and details of club backup and other support organisations.

Peugeot 205 GTI

Veloce has launched the Peugeot 205 GTI- The Essential Buyer’s Guide, which is the 53rd book in the series covering classic, sports cars and motorbikes, plus there is a new 205 GTI App as well. The new book  is written by 205 GTI enthusiast and owner, Jon Blackburn, and covers the 205 GTI & CTI Cabriolet plus special editions such as the Miami Blue and Sorrento Green.

It has over 205-specific photos and points out potential mechanical defects, weak spots and rust traps but also highlights the car’s good points too, as well as model variations. The book also gives sound advice on how much to spend, what is worth restoring and what is not and further information can be found at the Veloce website. The book costs £9.99 and the App £2.39.

Standard Motor Company

A new book has been released by Veloce Publishing, called The Book of the Standard Motor Company and is a definitive history of one of Britain’s most important automotive marques, Ferguson tractors and military aero engines. Written by Graham Robson, the story starts in 1903 with the original Standard prototype and ends in Britain in 1963 (and India in 1983) when the brand was discontinued.

Standard was one of the largest British car-makers and was for many years, the largest employer in Coventry. Rescued from oblivion in 1945 by Triumph, this new book is packed over 260 colour and black and white pictures and covers Standard’s contribution to Britain’s WW2 efforts, the personalities involved, the financials, the journey after Leyland took over Triumph in 1961, to name just a few features.

The hardback costs £35 and is available from all good bookshops or direct from www.veloce.co.uk

MiTo now with ALFA TCT transmission

The great looking, compact, sporty, Alfa MiTo will the first Alfa Romeo model in the UK to come with their all-new ALFA TCT automatic transmission with dry twin clutch. This new ALFA TCT transmission is available with the 1.4 TB MultiAir 135bhp petrol engine (with Start&Stop), with outstanding performance on offer.

ALFA TCT transmission

This new model gives you 38.7 mpg over the urban cycle, 128g/km of CO2 emissions and a 0-62mph time of just 8.2 seconds, which is better than the same engine with the manual gearbox ( 38.2mpg, 129g/km CO2 and 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds). The new car will be on offer in Lusso or Veloce trims only.

The ALFA TCT transmission was developed Fiat Powertrain Technologies and consists of two gearboxes working in parallel, each with its own clutch, which allows the selection and engagement of the the subsequent gear while the previous one is still engaged.

The result of this is a sporty and seamless gearchange, far superior to normal conventional automatic transmissions with a torque converter. Alfa Romeo MiTo contract hire is on this model is on the site now.

Alfa Romeo MiTo MultiAir

Alfa Romeo has now added their innovative MultiAir technology to the MiTo range, the world’s sportiest compact car. The new Euro 5-ready 1.4-litre MultiAir engine is being offered in two turbocharged forms for the UK.

The 135bhp unit powers the Lusso and Veloce models while the range topping Cloverleaf gets the 170bhp unit which reaches 0-62mph in only 7.5 seconds, yet still offers you a remarkable combined mpg of 47.1.

In addition to MultiAir the MiTo range also showcases other innovative technologies like active suspension on the Cloverleaf and the emission reducing Start&Stop system across the range, plus Alfa Romeo DNA. This latter system offers the driver the ability, via a three-mode electronic system, to communicate with the engine, brakes, steering and transmission, to change the responses of the car to different road conditions. Alfa Romeo car leasing prices for these new models will be loaded as soon as possible.

Ferrari 312P & 312PB

The famed Italian firm designed and built a superb range of 3.0-litre cars to contest the various versions of the World Sportscar Championship between 1969-1973.

Featuring the Ferrari 312P and 312PB, a new book by Peter Collins and Ed McDonough has now been published detailing these 3.0-litre prototypes and providing a complete history for this period. Packed full of pictures and facts and figures, the paperback book is available at all good bookshops or it can be ordered online @ www.velocebooks.com The cost is £15.99.

Ford Capri

When the Ford Capri was launched it was revolutionary and offered even a modest buyer an exotic car at an affordable price. The Capri is also starting to rise in value now as its status grows in the classic car market.

If you are thinking of buying a Capri (sorry Ford car leasing on this on this one is not available!) then have a look at the Ford Capri 1969 to 1987 – The Essential Buyer’s Guide, which has been just been published.

There are loads of photographs showing different parts of the car and also a jargon-free text to help you understand about all the body and mechanical parts. The 64-page paperback by Mark Paxton, is available at all bookshops at £9.99 or you can buy online at Veloce Publishing.