Olympic stars as cars

Unless you’ve been asleep for the last couple of weeks, you’ll probably be aware that the world’s ultimate sports competition, the Olympics, starts this Friday in Rio.

And everyone here at Fleet Alliance wishes Team GB the very best after the highly successful London 2012 campaign.

So with my joint love of cars and sport, I was thinking over the weekend that if Olympic stars were cars, what would they be?

See if you agree with my choices below and enjoy all the sporting action in Rio over the coming weeks!

Michael Jung – Porsche Macan

German horse eventer, Michael Jung, is the first to hold the Olympic, World and European championship titles at the same time – all on the same horse! I’ve likened Michael to Porsche’s smallest off-roader, the Macan.

Why? Because the Porsche Cayman off-roader is multi-talented like Michael. Offering a sporty drive with even the entry-level S capable of a sub six-second 0-60mph acceleration figure, plus agile handling on road. Yet it’s perfectly capable and happy off of it, when the going gets rough. A brilliant all-rounder

Michael Phelps- Ford Mustang 5.0 V8 GT

This American swimmer is a bit of legend, being the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 22 medals from three Olympiads.

In fact, he actually retired after the 2012 London Olympics! But the lure of further golds means Phelps is back competing in Rio and the car that’s most like Mr Phelps, is also a bit of legend – the latest 5.0-litre GT Version of the Ford Mustang.

Finally available officially in the UK, the likeliness of Phelps winning a gold medal in the pool is as certain as the predictable warble of the iconic eight-cylinder soundtrack. Okay, rivals such as the far more expensive BMW M235i might be more sorted and faster, but like watching Michael, you’ll probably enjoy driving the Ford Mustang more with an engine that is so charismatic – a gold winner any day of the week.

Mo Farah – Jaguar F-Type SVR

Brit Mo is best known for his distance running and the most decorated person in British athletic history. I’ve likened Mo to one of the best sporting grand tourers – the Jaguar F-Type.

Go for the 568bhp range-topping SVR and its 3.7 second 0-60 is somewhat quicker than Mo’s 27:30.42 10,000 m gold time. But like Mo, the Jag’s active aero will keep the F-Type tracking straight and stuck to the tarmac. And it will keep on going and going!

Usain Bolt – Nissan GT-R

The legendary Jamaican sprinter is widely regarded as the fastest man ever timed, with 100 and 200 metre world records. And this year in Rio he is going for the triple triple: three Olympics, three times the gold medal winner in three disciplines (100m, 200, and relay).

So why, in car-form, would Usain be the Nissan GT-R? Well like Mr Bolt, this car just seems to get faster as it gets older! The recently announced 2016 model year GT-R sprints to 60mph in a scarcely believeable 2.7 seconds, beating 2009 Usain’s current 100m time of just 9.79 seconds.

The GT-R isn’t all acceleration though – like Usain, the top-speed is equally unbelievable! If you want a car to burn up the tarmac – the GT-R is it.