Latest news with #Howse
IOL News
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Lanzante 95-59 supercar debuts at Goodwood: lighter than a hot hatch, but with 635kW
Lanzante has created its own supercar, the 95-59. Image: Supplied UK engineering firm Lanzante stepped into the spotlight in 1995 when it was tasked by McLaren to prepare the F1 supercar to compete at the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. That car went on to win the endurance race. The company has now created its own supercar, the Lanzante 95-59. It debuts 30 years after that famous win in France. The name 95-59 explains the story of where this latest Lanzante project started out: 95 was the year Lanzante claimed its victory at Le Mans, and 59 was the race number of the winning car. Fittingly, just 59 examples will be produced. The price for each is quoted as £1,020,000, that's about R25m at today's exchange rate. The Lanzante 95-59 is based around an all-new carbon-fibre monocoque. The passenger cell was designed to accommodate three occupants, with the driver placed in the middle of the cabin, just like the famous McLaren F1. The Lanzante 95-59 was designed unashamedly around the driver. Image: Supplied The same treatment has been applied to the F1's spiritual successor, the GMA T.50, as well as the McLaren Speedtail. The company says every decision has been made with the driver as the main focus. As a result of the widespread adoption of lightweight materials, Lanzante is targeting a mass of under 1,300 kg, less than your typical hot hatch. The Lanzante 95-59 is powered by a twin-turbocharged V8. The 4.0-litre unit (which we guess comes from McLaren) is quoted as producing in excess of 635kW (850 hp). A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission sends 880Nm of torque to the rear axle. Although no performance claims have been made, we'll just assume that the latest member of the supercar club is going to be suitably rapid. The man responsible for the 95-59's design is Paul Howse, the same chap who penned the McLaren P1. '95-59 has a very natural balance to it By its very design, with the driver as the focal point, it works as a piece of design, with symmetry and very natural forms,' explains Howse. 'The design is a continuing development of my design theory, based on the efficiencies of organic shapes, and we have worked hard to deliver something that pushes the boundaries.' The show car, as seen here and debuted, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed is finished in the same shade of grey as the race-winner. "95-59 is the result of everything I personally and we, as a business, have learned and experienced over three decades since winning Le Mans," Dean Lanzante enthused. "Crossing the finish line at Le Mans was actually the start of this journey to where Lanzante is now, and we are always looking to push boundaries and perceptions. The original brief of 'Project 95-59' was to create something accessible and useable, for drivers. "Three seats, luggage space, enhanced range; something drivers could, and wanted, to use. We wanted to deliver the same enjoyment and passion of buying and owning a classic car but in a contemporary way. Full focus on what the driver needs and wants, with a blend of modern technologies but pared back to maintain driver focus," Lanzante concluded. Story courtesy of Double Apex
Wales Online
14-06-2025
- Wales Online
Cocaine dealer kept his stash hidden in child's car seat
Cocaine dealer kept his stash hidden in child's car seat Andrew Howse initially 'threw his partner under the bus' when he was pulled over by police Andrew Howse (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police ) A cocaine dealer kept his stash of deals hidden in a child's car seat, a court has heard. When Andrew Howse was pulled over by police he initially "threw his partner under the bus" by telling police the car was hers and he knew nothing about the drugs. Swansea Crown Court heard that two weeks before being caught with the drugs, Howse had been handed a suspended prison sentence for a firearms offence. Alycia Carpanini, prosecuting, told the court that on April 23 this year police received intelligence that a VW Tiguan vehicle was involved in drug supply. She said the VW was located heading westwards on the Loughor bridge and officers intercepted and stopped it. The court heard police searched the car and found 13 snap-bags of cocaine worth up to £650 hidden under padding on a child seat. When the defendant was searched he was found to have £1,130 in cash in his wallet. An examination of Howse's phones found messages relating to the supply of drugs. The prosecutor said at interview the defendant gave officers a prepared statement in which he denied any knowledge of the drugs and said the car belonged to his partner and he rarely used it. He said the money in the wallet was from the sale of his own car some two days earlier. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter Article continues below Andrew Howse, of Bassett Terrace, Pwll, Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has a previous conviction for possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear from March this year. The court heard he was given a suspended sentence for that matter on April 8, some 15 days before he was found with drugs. James Hartson, for Howse, said the defendant had written a letter to the court in which he expressed his "deep shame and remorse" for what he had done, and said other letters and references before the court described him as a good father and partner and as a helpful neighbour. He said the defendant had reached the age of 35 without troubling the courts, and he said Howse's children would "feel his absence very, very keenly" though the defendant understood that was his own doing. Judge Paul Thomas KC said just 15 days after being given a chance with a "merciful" suspended sentence the defendant had been found with Class A drugs. He said everyone who involves themselves in dealing such substances know they face a significant custodial sentence if caught, and he noted Howes' first instinct when arrested had been to "throw his partner under the bus" and disclaim any knowledge of the cocaine. The judge said he had read references testifying to the defendant being a good father and partner, but he told Howse: "You really should have thought about your family and the impact on them when you took the decision to deal Class A drugs." With a one-quarter discount for his guilty plea Howse was sentenced to three years in prison. The judge activated the full 12 months of the previously imposed suspended firearm sentence to run consecutively with the drug sentence making a total sentence of four years in prison. Article continues below The defendant will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
IOL News
03-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Witness in Zandile Gumede trial prefers waste pile over irregular expenditure
Former mayor of eThekwini, Zandile Gumede, with her supporters outside the Durban High Court. Image: Nomonde Zondi In the R320 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender fraud case involving former eThekwini municipality mayor Zandile Gumede, a State witness has told the Durban High Court that she would prefer not to have a pile of rubbish picked up than to deal with irregular expenses for not following due process. The witness, who cannot be named as per court order, is currently being cross-examined by advocate Jimmy Howse SC, who is counsel for Sandile Ngcobo, a fifth accused who was a deputy head of supply chain management (SCM) in eThekwini. Gumede, Ngcobo, and 20 others are facing numerous charges, including money laundering, racketeering, fraud, corruption, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Municipal Systems Act relating to the tender. The witness told the court that waste collection is not an emergency, but a critical service. The court has heard that the Durban Solid Waste Unit had sought authority in December 2017 to get experienced service providers to collect waste from January 2018. This is because the contract of service providers was going to expire on December 31, 2017. In November 2017, the unit advertised a tender for waste collection, but they claimed that they received a lot of submissions and needed extra time to go through all of the proposals.. The witness during this time worked at the tenders and contracts unit. Part of her job included issuing letters of award to those who had won tenders. She said that after the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC) gave the DSW the go-ahead to get service providers and approved the quotations, that decision needed to be reviewed by the Executive Acquisitions Committee (EAC), which was established by former city manager Sipho Nzuza to advice him. The BAC-approved quotations are subject to compliance checks, and then letters of appointment will be issued to the service providers. Howse asked her if it made sense that the EAC had to consider this on January 29, 2018, when the service providers should start collecting waste on January 1, 2018. The witness said that had she been instructed to do otherwise, she would have. "I was following due processes," she said. Howse asked her if she had approached any of her supervisors to tell them that there were not going to be waste management services in January, considering the email that was sent by a DSW contract administrator stating that this was an emergency. She said no and added that this was not the only contract she was dealing with. Additionally, Howse asked her if the SCM policy had any distinction between critical and emergency. She said it was her view that this was not an emergency and she continued to refer to SCM policies. She said the DSW Unit had a sole mandate to ensure contracts for waste management and illegal dumping. 'Failure to have those contracts does not result in an emergency. That is a failure to properly plan. In my view, Mr Howse, this was not an emergency,' she said. On December 28, 2018, the witness said Ngcobo had asked her to prepare the letters of award for the contractors, who were going to collect waste in January 2018. Howse said this was after his client received a call from the city manager enquiring about the letters of award.
