Drive World Legendary Pack
Delmiro Fain
30 Years Later:
During the long civil war we were unable to travel to Southern Sudan. When the borders reopened in 2005, we were amongst the first to return. Despite the devastation of the war, Dinka cattle camps were still vital to their lives and the Dinka spirit had managed to survive.
In four weeks of traveling over several thousand miles, we saw only four girls wearing traditional bodices. Dinka beadwork had been lost, discarded or sold during the war.
Dry Season Cattle Camp
For four months of the year during the dry season, the Dinka take their cattle to graze in the swamplands of the River Nile. There, they live with their animals, grazing their cattle during the day and sleeping beside them at night. We were transported into a world of harmony and connectedness, an inseparable bonding between nature, animal, and man that we had never experienced before.
Young boys tether the cattle around the fires which fill the camp with smoke that helps keep mosquitoes at bay. Children sleep around the fire cuddled close to the calves and dogs; the animals are part of their family. The dung that fuels the fires at night is reduced to ash by morning which the children rub over their bodies to further protect the skin. We are touched by the closeness of animals and man.
Being a Child
For Dinka children the dry season cattle camp is the most enjoyable time of the year. Their days are filled with creative games as well as responsibilities for the wellbeing of the herds. The close bond with their cattle begins at an early age. Each day begins with the milking of the cows and ends with the tender grooming of animals as the sun goes down.
Family Bonds
Four children eager to be photographed leaped onto one of the herders. His immense height of 7 feet made it possible to bear their weight and carry them, and his sweet nature tolerated the load. Dinka parents have a special bond with their children. They teach them responsibility at an early age and believe in encouraging rather than reprimanding them.
The Curve of the Cattle Horn
To identify his cattle, a herder trains their horns into unique shapes by cutting them so that they grow in the desired directions. He follows his cattle throughout the day, emulating the shape of their horns with his arms revealing his close bond with his animal. The Dinka have many words and gestures to describe the poetic curves of the horns.
The Namesake Ox
A Dinka herdsman proudly stands beside his favorite bull. Given to him to mark his coming of age, the beast is known as a namesake ox, because its owner is named after it. The herdsman identifies with the bull, emulating it to the point where he believes that he and the animal are one.
Every morning hundreds of animals are taken out to graze. White bulls are the Dinka's favorite color. There are many variations in color with a myriad of tiny distinctions. The Dinka spend hours discussing their bull markings with the detail in which we would describe a fine work of art.
The Cattle Camp at Sunset
Every evening we were struck by the beauty of the cattle camp, the layers of smoke at sunset and the striking silhouettes of herders and cattle with their lyre shaped horns.
A Dinka man is known not only for the deeds he has done in life but also for the beauty of the bull that walks beside him. The animal accompanies him everywhere and while courting a girl he sings songs not only extolling her beauty but the virtues of his magnificent beast.
Courtship in the Cattle Camp
The dry season cattle camp provides a time and place for young people to meet in freedom. Sexual matters are discussed openly, but behavior is quite innocent.
Traditionally Dinka men marry at 30 years old and girls between 17 and 20 years old. Pregnancy out of wedlock is absolutely taboo and damages a girl's prospects of finding a good husband. In the cattle camp Dinka boys and girls often find a partner for life.
Spirit Healers and Holy Shrines
The Dinka consult spiritual healers in order to drive out disease, bring rain and bless the seeds of harvest. At the homestead of a spirit healer, holy shrines where sacrifices are made are marked with branches holding sacred objects planted in the ground, or by symbolic cattle horns carved from the trunks of trees. Cattle provide everything for the Dinka and are believed to be their link to God.
Fishing Frenzy
Although dedicated pastoralists, Dinka men fish at the height of the dry season to supplement their diet of milk and seasonal grains. Groups of fisherman wade waist deep in the river repeatedly thrusting their long barbed spears through the weeds concealing the fish. It is too murky to see their prey and sometimes they are shocked to find a python or monitor lizard at the end of their spears.
Village Life
During the rainy season from April to October, when the rivers flood and the grasslands become marsh, the Dinka move back to their permanent settlements on the high wooded ground. Here, crops are cultivated in well-drained sandy soil while the cattle are kept in nearby camps.
The Dinka build their homes in a number of different styles and are renowned for the thatching of their two storey conical houses with living quarters on the ground floor and granaries above to store their crops of sorghum, millet and groundnuts.
At the end of the harvest, celebrations of dance and drumming take place. Evocative courtship dances emphasize the long limbs and agile bodies of the healthy young men and women.
Audi has been driving quattro technology forward for 35 years. With more than eight million models produced with quattro technology, Audi is the most successful premium manufacturer of vehicles with permanent all-wheel drive worldwide. With the Audi lunar quattro perhaps soon also on the moon. With quattro, Audi has achieved a milestone in automotive history - no other manufacturer had a high-speed, lightweight four-wheel drive for large series to offer in 1980.
The technology made its debut in 1980 at the Geneva Motor Show in the so-called original-quattro. In 1986, Audi replaced the manually lockable first-generation centre differential with the Torsen differential, which could variably distribute the drive torques. The epicyclic gear with asymmetrical-dynamic basic distribution of forces followed in 2005. To this day, the self-locking centre differentials at Audi are continuously being further developed and are regarded as the benchmark for traction and driving dynamics with, at the same time, very low weight.
Driving an iconic classic car often feels like a never meet your heroes moment. When I found myself behind the wheel of a DeTomaso Pantera - a car my dad spent half of his life trying to convince me it was the best performance car in the world! - it ended up feeling like I was locked inside a coffin to which someone had strapped a Ford 351 small block stuck on full throttle. It wasn't all that fun.
The thing is, while the sight of automotive nostalgia usually brings up great memories and positive emotions, the machine itself is generally old and not exactly sophisticated. Even the best supercar from the 1980s cannot match the 40 years of mechanical engineering that came between it and, say, a 2024 Honda Civic. Old cars don't necessarily suck because they were bad products during their heyday, but rather because new cars are so good now, that they've turned us all into spoiled brats.
The 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, a car I had the privilege of driving during my time in Germany, was a vehicle that surprised me in that regard. While definitely not boring to look at, I expected the Gullwing to drive like an old ox cart. Except, it didn't. It ended up being one of the most entertaining drives I experienced this year.
I'm a lucky guy. This is actually the second time I have driven a 300SL. Less than a year ago, the entire Mercedes-Benz Classic team threw me the keys to the roadster while I was attending the famed Concours d'Elegance classic car event in Pebble Beach. Getting back into this legend therefore felt like reconciling with an old friend.
It also allowed me to reconfirm elements that I had appreciated about my first drive. But while the Gullwing appears to be the more sophisticated one of the 300SL lineup due to its sexy coupe shape and uniquely shaped doors, it's actually less technologically advanced than the roadster, which was not only sold longer and in larger quantities than the Gullwing, but was also fitted with rear disc brakes, a revised rear axle and slightly more horsepower and torque.
But none of the above overshadows what the Gullwing represented for Mercedes-Benz, and the entire Super Leicht lineage for that matter. Heavily inspired and based off of the W194 race car, the 300SL marked Mercedes-Benz's first serious attempt at building a high-end sports car targeted at affluent performance enthusiasts, particularly in the post-war American market.
It was, at the time, a technological masterpiece, a light-weight performance coupe wearing aluminum body panels, equipped with four-wheel independent suspension and powered by the first mass-production engine to be equipped with fuel injection. The 300SL was also the fastest production car of its time, with a top speed of 263 kilometers per hour (163 mph) when equipped with the 1:3.25 final gear ratio. Remember, this was during the 1950s.
TORONTO, April 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, one of the world's leading luxury hospitality companies, today unveils Beyond by Four Seasons, An Exclusive Driving Journey Through Tuscany, a week-long curated drive experience designed to showcase the best of the Italian countryside by luxury car. From September 24 to 30, 2022, the brand's first-of-its-kind journey from behind the wheel explores captivating landscapes, special access to must-see sites, and remarkable culinary offerings, with Four Seasons Hotel Firenze as a home base.
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