Aston Martin Valhalla, Nissan Armada, Volvo V60
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Car
Nissan Armada
The Nissan Armada is a big family SUV from Nissan. It’s the kind of vehicle people buy when they want lots of space and a comfortable ride for everyday driving.
Car
Aston Martin Vantage
The Aston Martin Vantage is a more traditional sports car in Aston Martin’s lineup. The speaker brings it up to show how the company’s “normal” cars relate to its extreme hypercars.
Company
Adrian Hallmark
Adrian Hallmark is the person speaking for Aston Martin at the executive level. The host uses his comments to explain who’s actually buying the Valhalla.
Concept
first-time Aston Martin owners
The speaker says many Valhalla buyers are buying an Aston Martin for the first time. So the car isn’t just for hardcore fans—it’s also meant to attract new people to the brand.
Term
paddles
Shift paddles are the little buttons or levers behind the steering wheel that let you change gears. They’re often used instead of a gear stick, especially in performance cars.
Term
stick shift
A stick shift is the traditional manual gearbox where you use a gear lever (and usually a clutch) to change gears. They’re saying that in a supercar, paddles might be more enjoyable than a stick.
Term
CNC milled
CNC milling is a manufacturing process where computer-controlled machines cut metal into precise shapes. The speaker is using it to argue for premium, aerospace-like interior materials and finishes rather than generic-looking tech.
Term
curb weight
Curb weight is how much the car weighs in normal, ready-to-drive condition. It matters because heavier cars usually need more power to feel equally quick.
Concept
power-to-weight ratio
It’s a performance comparison that accounts for both power and weight. It’s useful because a lighter vehicle can feel quicker even with less horsepower.
Concept
one and a half horsepower per kilogram
This is a simple way to compare performance: how much power you get for each kilogram of weight. More power per kilogram usually means it feels quicker.
Brand
Ducati
Ducati is a famous Italian motorcycle brand that builds high-performance bikes. Here they’re talking about one of Ducati’s most expensive, track-style models.
Part
carbon fiber frame
A carbon fiber frame is the bike’s main structure made from a lightweight material. It helps the bike feel more responsive and can improve performance by reducing weight.
Concept
carbon ceramic brakes
Carbon ceramic brakes are high-performance brakes made with special materials. They’re designed to keep braking power even when you’re pushing hard, but they can cost a lot if you need new pads/rotors.
Company
Brembo
Brembo makes performance brakes. They’re known for strong stopping power, and here they’re talking about how pricey the brake discs are on this super-fast bike.
Term
Moto GP bikes
MotoGP is the premier motorcycle road-racing series, and its bikes are purpose-built for racing with extreme performance. The speaker references MotoGP top-speed records to illustrate what’s possible at race conditions.
Concept
Brad Pitt
They mention Brad Pitt as an example of a celebrity who buys these kinds of expensive bikes. It’s meant to show the bikes are also seen as status items.
Concept
TT
The TT is a famous motorcycle race on the Isle of Man. It’s known for being especially intense and risky because it runs on real roads.
Concept
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man is where the TT race happens. The roads there make the race feel very different from a normal racetrack.
Concept
World Championship
The World Championship is the big season goal in MotoGP. Riders earn points race by race, and the one with the most points at the end wins.
Brand
KTM
KTM is a motorcycle company from Austria that races in MotoGP. In MotoGP, riders can move between teams, and those rumors are treated like big news.
Concept
paddock
The paddock is the “behind-the-scenes” area at a race. Teams set up their cars there, and it’s usually where you can see crew activity and sometimes meet people from the event.
Concept
Formula 1 (F one)
Formula 1 is the highest level of race cars in the world. The speaker is saying that at some events, F1 drivers used to be easier to approach, and Austin has a similar “you can actually get around” vibe.
Term
supercharged V eight
A supercharger forces extra air into the engine. That usually makes the engine feel stronger and can create a distinctive, louder sound.
Car
Ford Expedition
The Expedition is another big Ford SUV in the same “full-size” class. The speaker brings it up to compare how heavy it feels versus the Nissan and Cadillac.
Term
heads-up display
Heads-up display is a feature that shows important info on the windshield. It helps you keep your eyes on the road, and in this story it’s one of the add-ons that can raise the price.
Term
Autobahn
The Autobahn is Germany’s highway system. They’re using it to describe how the car felt when driving fast for long stretches.
Concept
New York Auto Show
The New York Auto Show is a big event where car companies bring their newest cars and ideas to show off. People go to see what new models might be coming soon.
LIVE
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. I'm Hannah Elliott and
I'm Matt Miller.
This is Hot Pursuit.
Coming up on today's podcast, We're going to hear match report from Moto GP in Austin, Texans. KAM, And you
were texting me all weekend. Yes, Yes, seem like you
talk to a lot of people.
I did. Man, I only tell you about it. So
you're my phil outlet. I've been to you.
I'm here, I'm here. Some of them I know, some
of them I don't know. And then I'll like go
look up later and make sure I know who you're talking about.
But one of the other things that you know that I haven't been telling you is how much love I have for this Nissan Armada. And who would ever have
believed not me? Yeah, I would not have believed. It's
not even a is your current love affair. I feel like,
you know, in a world where there were no prices, I might rather have this truck than a Cadillac Escalator V.
Yes, Matt, what you got too much sun in Texas?
This is we need to dive into that because that seems insane. And yes, and we also should talk about
this Volvo B sixty that I've been driving. I have
it because they wanted to show how the software update makes the car better. But I'm kind of in love
with the car because it's so nineties.
It's an actual station wagon. Not it's a crossover or
an suv.
No, it's a oh no, it's a it's a wagon.
My positive perception may also have to do with the car that I drove before it, because that was not a great experience.
The same family, right, No, oh, I thought it was a Polestar.
No no, no, no, no, that was that was my mistake.
This is Polestar technology. But it went in the Volvo.
Got it.
It's a little confused.
So we'll talk about the Volvo. We're doing like some
pedestrian cars, right A Nissan, Yes, and Evolvo, although that's kind of you know, that's definitely aspirational luxury. But I
want to kick it off with the ultimate in luxury, and that is the million dollar supercar that you got to drive in northwestern Spain.
Yes, yeah, again, we are in Spain and you are not crazy, Matt. I had never been to San Sebastian
Bilbao area. It is so lovely, it's amazing and chill.
The food's incredible. So that was really cool. And we
did talk a little bit about the Valhalla, but this was before the embargo lifted. So now the review is out,
we can talk freely about it.
Let's let's let's explain to people who aren't familiar with Aston Martin because everybody knows, even uh, you know, my mom knows that they make the dB whatever James Bond car exactly and and you know, they have an suv and they have their vantage, but they have this like collection of cars or this this portfolio of offerings that are like million dollars, can be totally customized and are
some of them seem to be only for the track.
So what's the deal.
So this is a plug in hybrid supercar that Aston Martin actually first talked about in twenty nineteen, and it has gone through a couple iterations in terms of what engine they were going to put in it and the powertrain and all that it's currently and how it emerged and what I drove is over a thousand horse power.
It's like ten sixty four top speed of two hundred and seventeen miles per hour. A plug in hybrid vehicle
that is legal for the road and for the track, so you can do both, and I think you should do both. Actually, that's kind of the point of this piece.
And pricing starts at just over a million dollars, so it's a lot of car. I think at twin turbov
eight is the engine side of things, and then it's got three emotor in the car itself.
And this is but this is a car that you could drive on this you could buy and drive on the shop.
Yes, and yeah, that's kind of the point. That's the point,
Like it's it's really it's shocking when you consider what supercars were years ago, which were really technically challenging to drive and a struggle and very loud, hot, heavy, all of these things. This car, I'm not going to say
it's a grocery getter, but it's very easily drivable on the road and enjoyable to drive on the road, which is this is where we are now. And I think
you know, I mentioned in the piece it's kind of a supercar for normies, and I mean that in a I'm a normy. I I am not a professional race
car driver, and yet I can still have fun and drive this thing, and this is where we are now.
It's not just the Valhalla, it's it's I think it started with the Courage, sorry, with the nineteen Spider that Porsia came out with, which was also a plug in hybrid, right, also far easier to drive than the Career GT which it followed, and that just started this trend of these cars are actually easy to.
Drive, right, I mean it makes sense, right if you're selling cars to people who can shell out a million or multiple millions of dollars, they're not going to be for the most part, professional drivers either. A lot of
them I've talked to recently, some you know, rich Wall Street dudes who I've said, hey, you should come on the podcast because I noticed that you have all these supercars and they're like, yeah, but I don't even know what motors are in them, Like I just you know, I think it looks cool and I have a million dollars, right.
Yes, And that is exactly like, if we want to be very cold and calculating about it, that is the market that Aston Martin is going for with this car, because they've got the Valkyrie, which is the supreme hyper hyper hyper car.
The Valkyrie is a single seater. It's almost like an
open wheel.
Right can. Yes, And then they've got, of course, all
of their main production line.
They have D cars and D cars by the way exactly, so it's like dB twelve and DBX or Vantage vanquish those normal ones. Then Valkyrie, Valhalla and Valore those are
the yes exactly.
And Valhalla kind of fits in this this gaping hole that they identified for people who want to spend around a million dollars get around one thousand horse power, and it's certainly an investment vehicle, No pun intended, There aren't to your point, these are not necessarily enthusiasts. In fact,
Adrian Hallmark, the head of Aston Martin, told me that seventy percent of the buyers for Valhalla are first time Acid Martin owners. So this is capturing a lot of
new interest in Acid Martin, which which is what they want and why they develop the car. I just think
it's fascinating.
It's not available with a manual transmission, right is it not?
But I only say that because I know some of the lore is available with a manual transmission, and also at this price point, I feel like you could almost say, listen, guys, make me one with a manual and they'd be like, okay, it's an extra two hundred grand, you know, like they they're that customizable, right at least it seems like the hour was.
I don't think it works. No, I mean, we talk
about this all the time. It doesn't. I don't think
it's quite that simple. You can't just swap it out.
I think it takes more of an entire redesign to to conceive the car in a different way.
I see, Okay, so I the other thing is like regulations make it hard to just do worships like that, but they for sure, But at this price point you see Ferrari allowing that. Yeah, or at least at a
little bit more than this price point. But by the way,
if you're spending over a million dollars on a car, you probably could also spend two or three million dollars on a car.
Yeah. That's and obviously this is not your only highly
expensive car. If you could spend a million dollars on this,
you've probably got multiple other cars that are this this level or below. I mean, Porscher doesn't sell a million
dollar car right now. I think they probably could if
they made If they would.
Make one true or they could sell one of the cars that they list for three hundred on bat and probably hit a million if they needed to. I love
that you go back to the nine eighteen and also point out the the holy trinity of these yes cars when they started. I remember, I think someone maybe it
was top Gear, who got all three of them on track together. So the Porsha nine eighteen, Ferrari La Ferrari,
and the McLaren P one were like the original three.
That twenty thirteen was a big year, yeah, because that's when they all came out right, and I do think that that was a pivot point. They all were hybrids,
they all had you know, nine hundred ish horsepower, little more, a little less, but around that, which at the time was considered crazy gobs of gobs of power, you know, all approaching a million dollars give or take. And that
was twenty thirteen. So those were really like, wow, far
out cars. And now you know, we've got the Valhalla
doing it and everybody says, and Adrian Hallmark said this too, they could have sold more. Now this this val Hall
is not sold out yet. They don't seem especially worried
that it will sell out. They're going to make nine
hundred and ninety nine of them. Everyone says, yeah, the
market's there, that's why we're making them. There's a business
case for all of these.
I noticed in your story one thing, that one other thing that's kind of a bummer beyond the transmission. And
I guess that that can't count as a bummer because these cars, you know, I.
Don't want to shift a thousand horse power.
I don't want that class exactly. Well, you might not, Yeah,
you might prefer to do with paddles, and a lot of times paddles are more are a better fit to the driving experience than a a stick shift. But one
thing that isn't cool in my opinion, if I'm spending a million dollars, is having them take a couple of screens from like radio shack and gluing them to the dashboard.
This is my This was my biggest complaint. And they
know this. I told them the minute I got out
of the car, I said, what is going on with those screens? Because they are so small they look like
they were just thrown on in an aftermarket shop. And
apparently it was just too hard or too expensive to develop a hole interface that would have. I mean, I said,
what's up with the screens? This is a million dollar car,
and you've given us screens that are not on par with a million dollars.
Why even screens? Like why not go over to they know,
go to Modona, look at the Pegani factory. Look, dip
your head into one of those cars, and give me some like CNC milled, like the aircraft grade aluminum. Yeah, knobs,
Because for if I'm spending a million dollars, I want the car not to look aged in a couple of years, and these screens are going to if they even continue to work.
They already do. I just that they know that, and
I think it was like, you know, this car changed so much over the years as they were developing it.
And let's be honest, their target is Ferrari. They are gunning.
They want a piece of Ferrari's pie with this car, So those were like an afterthought to them. And then
it became, well, it's too expensive and you know, two time consuming or whatever else to go back through and re engineer a whole new thing. So we're just gonna
slap those on. And that's exactly what it feels like.
It feels like they just got slapped.
On, all right, So but it's but it's limited and they're not sold out yet, so.
That's correct, so you know, place your order out. I
mean it is cool because you can there's a lot of spec opportunities. You can pick your colors, obviously, and
they're gorge honestly, really pretty, really pretty. My taste is,
I think the car itself is so wild you can really afford to tone down the color speck And a lot of people seem to think because they can do a lot of crazy colors, they should I personally think if the car itself is a bit of a wild design, you can tone it down a little you know, maybe a dark green, racing green something, you know, a little bit a little bit more adult.
Yeah, that way, I liked the golf livery one, the one that is like light blue with the red orange stripe going up. So, by the way, one thousand horse
power ten sixty four I guess is the horsepower the curb weight is like sixteen fifty five in kilograms. That's
thirty six forty nine three six hundred and forty nine pounds, so it's basically one and a half kilograms per horse power.
And that's pretty good. But when we come back, I
want to talk about a vehicle that's one and a half horsepower per kilogram.
Okay, can't wait to hear.
Let's take a quick break on Hot Pursuit. This is Bloomberg.
Welcome back everyone, we're Hot Pursuit. Matt just gave a
very interesting tease here that I'm curious to know about.
There was a lot of math in Paul that. Well, well,
so Gloomy walk me through that.
So okay, the Valhalla I was looking at that you wrote a story about, and I encourage people to go to Bloomberg dot com slash Pursuits to see your story on the Aston Martin Valhalla, which is a million dollar car over a thousand horse power and about thirty six hundred pounds. But that's like sixteen one hundred kilograms. That's
one and a half kilograms per horse power. But I
thought it was interesting because I just saw a vehicle in Austin that was one and a half horse power per kilogram. So the flip of that, and it is
the new Dukati super Legerra.
So is this the one that's really expensive?
Yeah? But well it's only you know, a tenth the
price of the Valhalla. You can you can get one
for I think it's actually one sixty one hundred and sixty for the for the normal edition which has the Dukati like Moto GP livery and then if you want the trick Hilory version, the special one hundred year anniversary version, it's two hundred and twenty thousand dollars for a motorcycle.
That's the most Dukati's ever charged for motorcycle. And by
the way, the trick Lory, thee hundred year anniversary edition is sold out, is sold out in how many are they minutes? One hundred of those, and they're making five
hundred of the normal version, the only one hundred sixty thousand dollars version, that's actually a lot, and that one sold out in a couple of days. So the expensive
one sold out in like minutes or before even it was announced, and the and the only one hundred and sixty thousand dollars motorcycle sold out in a couple of days.
But it's an amazing bike. So they have made a
few super leig eras. This is the fourth one in
like the Evolution, it has a carbon fiber frame, a carbon fiber swing arm, carbon fiber fork tubes. It's the
first motorcycle, production motorcycle with carbon ceramic brakes.
Wow, I'm surprised they haven't done that.
No, they've never done that. No one has ever done
that with the production motorcycle. So I was talking to
the CMO of Brembo when I was down there for the unveiling, and he said he wouldn't tell me how much each break disc is going to cost, but he said I was in the right ballpark guessing twenty grand for each break disc discs wheel. That's right, I mean,
that's that's already that's already a quarter of the place of the whole bike. They've gotten it down to three
hundred and thirty five pounds.
Amazing, which is like a light bike.
Very light for a motorcycle. And it's especially light for
a motorcycle that has two hundred and forty seven horse power.
Wow, that's scary.
Scary scene, is that?
That's insane? That is because look, air cooled Porschees back
in the day had half that amount of horsepower. Yeah,
and that's a car. Yeah, and this bike wasted on
hundred pounds and those cars weighed what two thousand pounds.
You told that. By the way, the Valhalla has a
top speed of two seventeen. This bike has a top
speed of only about two hundred miles an hour. Even
well that's electronically controlled, yes, but I should point out the Moto GP bikes that I was watching down there in the races. Top speed recorded at a race I
think was two hundred and thirty six miles per hour.
Can you imagine going that fast?
I can't. I can't drive faster than like one.
Two thirty six.
It's very there's something that happens to your brain, I think at those speeds.
By the way, in this in this, in this like launch or reveal or whatever you want to call it. It
was Thursday before the race. I'm glad I went early
because there really weren't that many people there, I mean all the Ducatti brass obviously. And then I looked behind
me when Claudio Domenicali was doing the like incredibly passionate presentation and sure he's so good at that. I look
behind me and I see Mark Marquez and Peco Bagnaia like walking up the stairs to the second floor of the like little like RB that we were in or whatever wow, And my wife was like, be right back.
She like she like split apart from the whole that was watching the presentation and just walked upstairs, and she said there was nobody else up there. So she hung
out with Mark Marquez and Peco bag Naya and asked them all the questions that she had.
Well, that is so cool. Do you get the sense
that these bikes are purchased by people who are going to ride them, or these collectors or like racers.
So who's buike one hundred year anniversary bike? Which is
the one to have?
Yeah?
That one is purchased for the most part by collectors. Okay,
because I know this because I was talking to some of the guys who are in charge of sales, and they say, there are certain people who have to have everything that Ducotti makes. And if you and they buy
every bike that Dukotti makes, and then if they obviously they for this, the dealer has to give you a call, like if you get if you get everything that a company makes, the dealer has to call you and tell you like, hey, we're coming out with this.
They want to call you and tell.
You and they want one. And then then then there's
another class of people who buys these bikes, and that is the actual racers. So not confirmed, but I'm pretty
sure that a certain F one world champion who drives for Ferrari also ordered number forty four. Oh interesting, so
uh but yeah, the the the others, the regular super lageras you know, at one hundred and sixty thousand, I'm sure that some of those are going to be sold to people who who drive them. Some people like you know,
Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise are going to buy these bikes.
Keanu for sure. I've seen him at some Ducati launches.
Yeah and uh. And also Matt LeBlanc shout out to
show from friends. Yes, I noticed he has one of
the original super Legeras in his living room.
Oh that's really cool. That's really cool. He is a
car guy too. I've seen him at some carve its,
but like low key yeah in a way, that's cool.
That's actually very cool. Wow do you want one, Matt?
I I want one? And uh. When I was talking
with Jason Cheneck, who's the CEO of Ducatti North America, I was like, put me down for one of the lower cost units, but unfortunately my wife was staying next to me, and she said no.
Re mortgage to the house.
So I said, all right, I won't get one of these.
I'm just going to get a multi strata and maybe that'll fly.
So we also, we obviously have to talk about Moto GP.
We have to talk about your niece.
On Did you see the clip that I sent you from the sprint race? Yes, it was like an amazing
race that the past was insane, and then he celebrated by doing the wheelie and fell off and like broke his cocksix that.
Yeah, I was thinking about that this morning. It's kind
of insane that in this world where everything's supposed to be safe, we still allow people to motorcycle race.
It's true.
That is the level. Just everything about it really blows
my mind. I can't really wrap my mind around it
even still, about everything that's happening during a race and the speeds and the.
Focus, it's insane.
I mean, it is really crazy.
I mean the TT also is on another level, the fact that the TT is allowed on the Isle of Man.
I know I would love to go to that race.
I have to go. That's like bucket list.
Why can't we do a special episode from the Isle of Man?
I think we can and we should.
Kind of like how we did Lamal. We should take
this show on the road and just do fun, fun things that we want to do.
I agree, And so in fact, when we go to Miami for the F one, I was thinking, because we have a number of we have like multiple guests that we can have on we do I was thinking we should just do like a live two hour broadcast and just have them rotate in and out.
That'd be awesome, you know. And do we have the
man power woman power for this.
We do have the people power to do it, and I think do it. It makes sense, and then you know,
we could have someone distill that down to a forty five minute episode from Yes. By the way, I just
sent you a picture of me and my wife with Jorge Martin, the winner of the sprint. He also podiumed
in the race in Austin last weekend and his girlfriend there.
I'm so happy that he's come back because this is a kid who it's such an insane drama in Moto GP.
So in twenty twenty four, he had been coming up through the ranks with Dukati and he was on their satellite team Prima Pramac and he was crushing it. And
after the Ducati factory racer Peco bag Naya had won the World Championship back to back. Yes, they were vying
for the championship in twenty twenty four and Jorge Martin won, and so it's amazing a that a factory team rider, I mean a satellite team right beat the factory team for the World Championship. And then it's like also obvious
that he's going to be moved up to the factory team because he you know, he's in the junior leagues and he won, so now he gets to move up to the majors. But in twenty twenty five, Mark Marquez
made it clear that he wanted to race for the factory team, and he's like the goat, he's like the best.
So Ducati took Marquez instead of taking Jorge Martin on the factory team, and then in protest, Martin was like, all right, screw you guys, I'm leaving and going.
To another where he's appreciated.
Exactly, So he went to a Prillia. But at the
beginning of the very beginning of the season, or even preseason, he got so injured that he couldn't really race for most of the season, and the Aprilia bike is like it was like an also ran like not nearly as good as the Ducati, which was totally dominant, and he saw that he could get a ton more money from a Japanese manufacturer. So he spent all of last season
basically injured and like probably because of bad advice from managers or friends and family, trying to quit the Aprillia team that he wasn't even racing for because he thought, you know, the bike wasn't as good. And then Marco
Betzeki over last year had made the Aprillia into the best bike on the circuit, and now this year the Aprillia totally dominates. Yes right, yeah, they keep finishing one
too and better than Doukati. And so now this kid
who like has gone through so many trials and tribulations and won a world championship and then didn't get to be on the factory team and then tried to quit a Prillia because he thought their bike wasn't good enough.
Now he's back in great form and full health, and he happens to be on the best bike and his arms are huge.
Based on that photo, you sent me. Yeah, I mean
he's he's very swoll.
Yeah he is. And he's also like you know his
poor kid from the bodio, like never had anything, and he's not like one of these rich kids who grew up racing with money like he had to.
Can I ask, speaking of the top eleven places current standings right now, they're either Spanish or Italian. Yes, out
of the top eleven, it's either Spanish. What is that about?
What about those cultures makes for incredible?
I mean I think so. For one thing, it's like
the weather's so great there and they around so many tracks and they have so much training. So it's like
in pro tennis in the US, like all the pro tennis players are in Florida. Yeah, and that's because that's
where the bulletary academies of the world are. And that's
the same thing. Like Kenny Roberts I think, had a
school in Spain, and like you know, even the American riders who are good, they go there to train.
And it's just the network instruction.
Yeah. And it's also someone was asking me about it
because my wife is like a bigger Moto GP fan than I am.
Like she's she's in all of these photos with you smiling.
Yeah.
No.
And she's also you know, she's the one who when we went into the a Prili garage and we're talking with the team principal, she's the one asking the smart questions.
And when I'm at night, when I'm on bring a trailer, you know, looking for nine nine sevens, she is stalking all these Moto GP pilots and like getting the inside info.
And she's the one who knows, like you know, they're not allowed to have active arrow on the Moto GP bikes.
So what Aprilia has done is they have a piece on the bike where the rider can cover it with his forearm and when he does, it increases like force exactly.
It's like manual arrow. Smart they have it like there's
a tailpiece that directs a lot of air and if the rider scoots over in a turn and puts his butt in front of the tailpiece on either side, he can block that.
That is so cool.
And so she's she's the one who knows all this stuff.
But she's from Spain, and I just telling somebody else like Moto GP is essentially like an eternal Spain versus Italy Championship.
You know deep too, so very deep.
It's like when there are reports that Dukati was going to take Pedro Acosta from KTM and that's not been finalized, but my wife was like, that's impossible. Ducatti can't have
two Spanish writers, Mark Marquez and.
Pedro Acosta being national. Would there be a revolt?
Yeah, they have to have. Like when when Valentino Rossi
went to Dukati, everybody was like, oh, this is a match made in heaven. Turned out to be a disaster.
But yeah, so it's that's the struggle right now. You know.
Wow, So I know you saw a bunch of other people.
You saw Kayla.
I met Kayla and she's agreed to come on our podcast.
Woman who the first woman to podium after the day to one five hund We've been talking about it. But
she's also like, I mean she's very young. I think
she's only eighteen, but incredibly well spoken.
Yeah, and uh she's.
Yes, well you have to be. They all look at
Jorge Martin next to me.
I know, I know it come to your ribcage. Yeah.
But she was hanging out with Claudia Dominicali, the CEO of Ducatti the whole weekend Wow. He's totally enamored by her,
and he is, you know, massively supportive of the race efforts and used to run the race division for Ducatti.
He's been there since nineteen ninety one. DOMINICALI, that's crazy,
Claudia DOMINICALI has been at Ducati longer than my wife has been alive.
That's amazing. I love that. That's og. That is consistency.
This is what we want, consistency.
I talked to you time. I spoke with with both
Zarco and Fabrio Quartrara. So I spoke both of the
French riders, which was great.
How's their English?
It's great? Okay, very good? All right. By the way,
I saw Dex Shepherd. I begged him to come on
my podcast. He was like, h you know, I have
a lot of work with my podcast.
Was he Did you just go up to him or like what?
I just walked up to him. He was like walking
by me. Dax Shepherd and Bill Burr were walking by me,
and my wife was like, hey, there's Dax, there's Daks.
Because I don't recognize anybody out in the real world.
So she pushed me in front of him and I was And by the way, he's jacked.
He looks. I was like, wow, someone.
And I have a problem like balancing introducing myself as a serious journalist and being a fanboy.
Yeah, there's attention there, this atension, Yes.
I get. I don't know how to say like, I
work at Bloomberg Television, I do a finance show.
I'm actually a serious person.
I don't know how to say that. So instead I'm like,
I love Chips so much, you know, and you know he made a remake of Chips. And then I'm like hot,
I do this Hot Pursuit podcast.
But yeah, we have a mutual friend, Lake Belle, and I was at Lake's birthday party literally this past weekend.
Didn't tell him that, Well.
We should have because I think he and Lake are pretty close. So that's our that's our frit, that's our
close circle.
Yeah. They did a TV show shortly, I think, but
it was called Blessed this Mess. I watched every episode
and I told him, like, I watch all your stuff.
Hit and Run as one of my favorite movies. And
but I still have to talk to his people.
It'll happen.
But yeah, so Motor GP was amazing and it's so great to see in the us, because you know, we used to go to all the races in Spain and Italy and you know in Holland and Germany and France, but there it's huge. So when you go into the
paddock there, you know, there's millions of people and these guys are all swarmed and they like retreat to the media center but or their garages. But when you go
to the paddock in Austin, it's like hardly anyone's down there.
Nice. It reminds me of how when F one drivers
used to come over and like they could walk around and no one would know any different. But at least
you get access, which is great.
It's so cool.
Yeah, did you have any like good food or do anything Texan delicious food?
I was hanging out with my buddy Michael Haas and with some other journalists. I was hanging out with Pross
from Yahoo and Yeah, and Matthew Miles formerly of Cycle World now at now at Barber the Barber Museum, and I was talking to people from Moto America and from F one, you know, because everybody kind of runs in those circles and they all go and hang out there.
And Austin is so much fun, Like I obviously shopping on South Congress is perfect for me, because.
Did you get anything? I know, I didn't know. You
turn your nose up at my suggestion that you should buy some boots.
No I wanted. I want to, but I have a Again,
my wife is from Spain, so she is the most frugal partner I've ever had. So I would go to
the stores and look at these, like know, three four hundred dollars flannel shirts and she would be like nope, you know, Or walk into Dakova Ta Kova's and she just grabbed my arm and pulled me right out. I
didn't even get to look in the store, like you.
Just caught the whiff of lets you move past.
So no, I just like ice cream was as much as I was able to.
That's the splurge, all right.
So that was Moto GP. And you know, before I
got to Austin, I was driving this Nissan Armada. It's
a special edition called the Nismo, and I didn't expect to fall in love with it. When I got back, fortunately,
it was still waiting for me at the airport and I spent some some precious sea time my beloved Nissan. Yes,
it looks crazy. No, it looks horrendous, but I fell
in love. I'll tell you why when we come back.
This is hot pursuit, Matt, Welcome back.
This is a face only a mother could love. Is
possibly possibly one of the ugliest cars I have ever seen in my life.
I you know that wasn't. My reaction was wow, I
can't believe. But I grew to love it. And we're
talking about.
Paper bag over if we're talking.
About the Nissan Armada. I drove the Nismo addition and
it's one dealer. I was talking to you, putting me
like this, he said. I think it's an amazing car too,
but there's no way my wife would approve of that boy racer vehicle in our driveway. So it's like the
one I have is gray and it's got these bright red accent solid.
That's the one on there. I think it's the one
on their web page.
And it's got like diffusers, the kind of which you would see on like a souped up Camra or Civic.
You know, it's just too much and unnecessary. I have
to say they overdid it on the styling exterior and interior, by the way, but they did not overdo it on the motor tuning, the suspension tuning, the interior.
I think I'm having an allergic reaction.
The interior, like the space is so wonderful. So I
drove this car right after I had driven the Cadillac Escalade V, and in that one, I was thinking, God, if I could only have one car in the whole world, this might be it.
I thought that was your final.
Because of the supercharged V eight growl, and because of the you know, it's like almost seven hundred horse powers, so brash, it's so in your face, and plus it's so luxurious. But the thing about the Cadillac is it
just doesn't handle very well. I mean, I think six
five hundred pounds, it's pretty heavy, and yeah, it's like if you could push it around a corner, it might roll over. Like I wasn't caring because I love the
way it the way it made, the sounds that it does.
But it does other things great exactly. And also it's
so big and so spacious. But this Nissan is just
as big and spacious. It really feels like you're driving
a truck like I see it does. In the driver's seat,
I could barely see over the hood and in a good way, in a good way. But this thing handles
like an absolute dream, No, it does. It's like for
a truck, right, it's a body on frame SUV. It
weighs like five hundred pounds less than the Escalade. It's
not as light as a Ford Expedition. If you're in
this market, these are the things you're cross shopping, right.
Sure, but it has four hundred and sixty horse power, five hundred.
That's it. That's that's four hundred. Doesn't even have five
hundred horse power for this.
Thing, all right, But where else are you going to get five hundred horsepower in the body on frame suv?
Escalade?
Only the Escalade V. Nothing else has that, not the
normal Escalade, No toil or Yukon, no Expedition, no Toyota Sequoia.
Like there isn't another body on frame SUV that has this much horsepower until you step up to the one hundred and twenty thousand plus one hundred and fifty thousand now really dollar Escalade V, Like you can't get there with any other product. And this thing handles better, I
think for the space and the interior kind of luxury.
It's it's not quite there with the Escalade, but it's almost as good and it costs eighty thousand dollars fully loaded.
Okay, let me tell you something that makes me instantly suspicious.
Why am I not seeing what kind of engine it has on the website I've been all over, they don't actually say what the engine is.
It is a twin turbocharge V six. Oh bad. Like
I said, it's not a V eight, But I will tell you something. It delivers the power and has the
cut somehow, it has the V eight berbal that I want.
With that V six, it's like mildly related to the GTR B six. Okay, it's not a UK Surpose record.
This monstrosity is like a GTR.
I'm not saying it's like that, but I'm saying I really.
Think that company makes them.
Sure, I really want to buy this car. I've never
wanted to buy a Nissan before, and it's it's a relative deal compared to anything else on the market. Like
I've cross shopped everything, even if I look at like a Tahoe RST, which starts out much cheaper as soon as you put the bigger motor in it, the six point two Leader, which gets you like four hundred and twenty horse power, so almost there but not quite. You're
looking at an eighty five thousand dollars car and eighty six and then when you want to put on what they do is they they take out everything that you would want in a luxury suv and make it pay extra for it. So for the Tahoe, if you want
the rear view mirror that has a camera in it, or if you want heads up display, or if you want like their super CRUs which admittedly is fantastic technology and not even available in the Nissan, you have to pay an extra like four or five thousand dollars, So you're ending up with the NIS with the sorry with a Chevy Tahoe RST. If you want the fancy schmancy
tech stuff and the exhaust, you're looking at one hundred thousand dollars suv. And that's not even for the top
of the line Tahoe, and the Tahoe isn't even the middle of the road for what GM makes, right, it's not even the Yukon. So the Nissan is offering you
everything in with this Nismo for twenty thousand dollars less than really the nearest competition, and that's because they have no brand equity, right, Nobody wants to buy a Nissan, but it just offers you like an incredible deal. I
just see so much value for money, and I really really enjoyed driving it, and it's a fantastic place for my family to be. I would just have to cover
up the boy racer bits or rip them off.
This, I think, really gets to the heart of how deeply shallow I am, because I don't Everything you said may or may not be true, and I'm sure it is true, but I can't get past how it looks.
That's just a that stops me in.
We all have those issues, like I want to Corvette.
That's a hang up.
I want a Corvette, but I don't want my neighbors to see that I have a Corvette. You know.
Yeah, they're at the end of the day, cars are an emotional purchase, and my emotions feel very bad when I look at this, very bad.
I feel like, you know, I'm in my age. I'm
getting beyond that right because every people kind of make fun of me from my challenger and still I don't I love it so much.
Well, if the right people are making fun of you, then you know, you made the right choice. I mean,
there is that too.
But wait till I have a Nissan on Armada and Corvette Z six convertible in my name, then will.
Know you've reached your your truly authentic self. And that's
a good place to be. You know, it's not wrong.
By the way, tell me about the Volvo, the Volvo V sixty, which I can't even believe they still make and sell, because that's I feel like my mom had that car in the nineties, so I know.
Well, it feels very nineties. And this goes along with
my current obsession with all things nineties. And I know
it's like going around on the internets, but like there's a bigger push and there's a big sense of nostalgia that I think a lot of people are feeling for the nineties. And when I so the car that I
drove before this, that was the Mercedes EQS four hundred witch EQS for yes, okay, which is their big suv.
But the base model.
Yeah, it just it was it was It felt really weird.
We actually went hiking on the weekend and I drove it out there and on these twisty roads like back back back country Malibu honestly, I started to get car sick.
There's something about how the car is attached to the platform.
I obviously I don't know what's going on there, but there's weird, a weird disconnect. So my point is when
I got into the Volvo, it was like, ah, it was like a flashback, snap back to like I mean in nineteen ninety six. I in nineteen einety six, I
was like fourteen, so like driving my parents' car or like driving to school a few years later. It was awesome.
And it just felt like, oh, I'm connected to the road.
It's super sporty, it feels small. Sit low, right, you
sit really low. It's cool. And actually, I think when
people see you in a Volvo station and they assume you're a good person. I had so many people letting
me into traffic, you know, just it just felt like I was a good person when I was driving it.
And it Yes, it did have some screen It does have screens. And the whole reason why I got it
is to experiment with their new Pollstar technology that you can download to the car, which is great. It's a
it's a ninety minute download. I did it. You turn
it up, push select yes, and then the car does it by itself. It was delightful and it made me
think I've never really been a wagon bro I know, like everyone who writes for Jelopnik is.
I don't know if that's anymore.
Still exist, I'm not sure, but all of that to say this was such a delight It was. And also
the seats were super durable. It just it didn't feel
precious at all. It was really lovely.
But it's beautiful. But it's beautiful, right, I mean, I
feel like it so elegant.
Yeah, it's and I'm not going to say the specs are amazing. It's got less than three hundred horse power,
you know, it's not. It's a hybrid, which is awesome.
So I was driving it everywhere for a week, did not have to go to the gas station once, which was awesome. It the specs aren't incredible on paper, but
there's something with how they've engineered that car that is really fun and it felt analog. Yeah, to me, it
was delightful.
I think people make way too much of a big deal about horse power, and I think you you pointed out last time we were talking that with the in the age of evs, it.
Doesn't matter anymore, doesn't matter, it really does.
My first car that I ever bought with my own money was a two thousand and one Auty, a four Evaunt with a two point five TDI and it had one hundred and eighty horse power. And I remember not
thinking that number was bad, you know, and it was.
I could get over two hundred kilometers now ur on the Autobahn.
It's amazing.
As I was in.
Germany, Yeah, what year was that, I'm sorry, two.
Thousand and one, That is cool, two thousand and one, and uh it felt fast to me, I mean it was.
It was a manual transmission wagon with like a little bit of a racer boy interior. I had like a
Swede seat, you know, middle Swede seat centers. But one
hundred and eighty horsepower was enough in that car. And
I think in this this car has two hundred and fifty or something.
Yes, over sixty.
Yes, it can feel more than adequate totally because it's not a very heavy car.
Oh. And that's it shows how much we have, Like
there's been such big growth in the size of cars and just how they all. It looks and feels very
svelt in a way. It really does. It was kind
of delightful. It felt like a return to normalcy, an
end of the madness.
I like it.
Yeah, Big Fan looks super cool and I and yes, I do like people thinking I'm a good person.
I have my you are a good person.
Know comes in ghosts. But you know I liked it,
Big Fan.
All right, that's excellent. That's all we have for this week.
What do you got going on next week?
Oh?
Let me think.
Are you driving anything fun? Are you going any place cool?
No?
Hold on, are you wearing anything awesome? I like your
fur coat.
It's Easter on Sunday.
True.
No, I'm I Now. I told you before that we
were going to look at a certain car a few weeks ago. No, we did look at that car, and
now we're getting that car. So we may be going
to pick up that car, but I'm not supposed to tell you tell you what it is. Yeah, I can
tell you offline.
Different. It's a different car. You're getting the Camar and
you're gonna go look at a different car.
I wish I was getting the car. I'm not getting
the car.
Getting the car. You won't tell me about it? Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, I got it. I get it, but I'll
tell you about it offline. Yeah, so there may be
like a car pick up in there. But then tomorrow
we have off too, which I'm do you have off?
This podcast is coming out tonight, so it's coming out on a Thursday.
Yeah, so I don't you know?
We have the New York Auto Show here in New York, by the way, which are you going? Yeah, so Bloomberg
has a new weekend show. I don't know what it's called,
probably like Bloomberg Weekend, I think. Yeah.
That would be very us.
On TV and on radio. And Christina Raffini, who is
a fantastic one of the two anchors. She anchors it
with David Gera. They're both like, I love them both.
But Christina wants me to take her to the car show and show her like the coolest things there. So
I'm gonna do that, and I'm gonna try not to like mansplain too much the show.
Yeah for her SHOWY okay, good, that's great. That'll be
really exciting. Is it live?
So no? No, okay, We're gonna We're gonna record like
five hours worth of stuff and then edit it down to like four minutes. So I'm doing that, which is
pretty cool. Uh, And then other otherwise I'm just gonna
look for eggs. I'm hunting, hunting for eggs.
The girls get like an easter outfit? Is that a
thing for you?
Occasionally if like my mom or their Spanish grandmother like thinks ahead. My wife and I don't, like, we don't
really do the close thing because we have so many people around us doing it for us. But my five
year old last night told me her plan is to go to as many Easter egg hunts as possible, and she's gonna have a special basket so she can collect more candy than she ever has before, and then she's gonna hide it in the corner of her closet so she can sneak in there and eat candy when we're not around. I don't know why I told me.
You know, well, probably because you know, I don't know.
I'm on board.
You're an ally that does it. For this week's show,
remember to follow and subscribe to Hot Pursuit on apples, Spotify, and anywhere else you listen. You can also send us
your comments, email us at hot Pursuit at Bloomberg.
And check out Hannah's columns and stories on Bloomberg dot Com and on the Bloomberg Business app. Go there for
car reviews. To either place for car reviews, events and
stories you won't find anywhere else. You can find it
all at Bloomberg dot Com, slash Pursuits, slash Autos. I'm
Matt Miller.
And I'm Hannah Elliott. We'll be back in your podcast
speed again next week
About this episode
A trip from Spain’s supercar world to Austin MotoGP paddocks turns into a three-car roundup: Aston Martin’s Valhalla plug-in hybrid hypercar, Ducati’s new Superleggera V4 as a power-to-weight benchmark, and two very different “everyday” vehicles. The Valhalla is praised for being drivable despite 1,000+ hp, while a gripe lands on its small, screen-heavy dashboard. The Nissan Armada Nismo wins hearts for its surprisingly good handling and value versus rivals. The Volvo V60 is celebrated as a true 90s-feeling wagon, improved by software updates.
Original notes
Hannah reports back from her drive of Aston Martin's 1,000-hp supercar, Matt falls in love with an Armada, and it's back to the '90s in a Volvo wagon. Plus, a dispatch from Moto GP and Ducati's crazy new superbike in Austin, Texas.
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