Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2016 i topCar

THE BENTLEY ‘ART CAR’ will be auctioned by Bonhams at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed on 24 June to raise money for the Care2Save Charitable Trust, which cares for terminally ill patients around the world. Crewe’s skilled paint and finish experts brought Blake’s vision to life, including the striking heart motif on the yellow bonnet, designed to reflect the compassionate work of the hospices the charity supports. Other highlights of the unique Bentley, which is inspired by traditional art collage more than Fab Four album sleeves, include: British racing green lower body, fuchsia pink-coloured radiator, smoked exterior brightwork, a black hood with darker sub-tone, multi-coloured leather trim in cabin and Sir Peter Blake signature on all four headrests. Sounds like one of the more unusual commissions tasked to Bentley’s…

The New York Concept represents an elegant interpretation of a luxurious performance vehicle, defined by alluring proportions and surface treatments representative of Korean culture. Inside, the cabin combines advanced technology and luxury, with contrasting electronics and high-end trim surfacing. Genesis boss Manfred Fitzgerald said: ‘The New York Concept is a progressive concept car that showcases the design quality of the brand. With its expressive volumes and refined design, the New York Concept truly embodies the “Athletic Elegance,” that characterises Genesis products and will continue to do so for future models that come from our luxury brand. Revealing the concept in New York is a fitting opportunity for Genesis .’ Is it wrong for us to love it? It sure looks promising and when it eventually goes into production it wont…

THE RECENT GENEVA motor show was a high-octane orgy of power, noise and speed, including a somewhat excessive new 420kph Bugatti. Multi-cylinder, maxi-volume soundtracks called the faithful to petrol-power prayer, via new cars from Aston, Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, Jaguar and other testosterone totems. But inside the bowels of the stands, in the sweaty interview rooms on the press days, the car bosses happily discussed the real-world future rather than their fast-car fantasies. The talk was of cars that do not pollute. About cars that drive themselves. They spoke more about ‘mobility’ than ‘driving’. As Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover’s engineering boss told me: ‘In the next five years we’ll see more changes in the auto world than in the last 30 years’. The educated guess is that fully autonomous cars…

WE’RE BARRELLING along the shoreline in Toyota’s most popular SUV, a congregation of Fortuners, eight deep with metalwork tempered by a baking sun each time we stop, and cool crisp air rushing over the bodywork as we reach speeds in excess of 100kph. This is surreal, mostly since driving on beach sand is typically an act met with extreme prejudice from local law and environmentally enlightened types. But this is Klipbokkop 4x4 Academy, and the owner of the ‘venue’, a sprawling mountain reserve (with free wi-fi and its own craft brewery) is in the lead car barking orders such as, ‘try not to drive in each other’s trails, that way the wind sweeps away the tyre tracks overnight.’ Okay then, that’s my conscience squared away, allowing me to enjoy the…

IT WAS NINA Simone who crooned half a century ago, ‘it’s a new Dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life, and I’m feeling fine”. Granted I’m in a convertible worth many millions on the best roads in the world; the new Rolls-Royce Dawn and never mind fine, I’m feeling excellent. The title of said song is in fact Feeling Good, and it started life as part of a musical, conceived by a pair of British songwriters before it crossed the Atlantic where Ms Simone popularised it over American airwaves. It has since been covered by numerous artists including the incredibly Canadian Michael Bublé – but let’s call that a low point on the song’s CV. No, I think my favourite version must be the one that’s currently getting…

THERE CAN BE no argument that the Getz and the Tucson underscored Hyundai’s successful return to the South African car selling business. Both were inoffensively styled, offered great value and were generally reliable. While Hun-day failed to properly replace the Getz, the Tucson-replacing ix35 ticked every box, bar the one marked ‘name’. Well even that’s sorted now. Say hello to the ix35-replacing Tucson, the handsome-as-heck newcomer that’s out to reshape the way we think about the slanted-H brand. Proportionally speaking Just look at it. Where the blobby bodied and big-eyed first Tucson sat too high on its wheels and the weak-chinned, purse-lipped ix35 sported odd creases like a badly ironed shirt, the stylish new Tucson is a product of far more coherent design. Reworked proportions – it’s wider, lower and…

THE ORIGINAL HOT hatch formula has been corrupted over the years. Bigger dimensions, bigger engines and higher power outputs are now the order of the day. While this is all good and well, the good ol’ pocket rocket has been lost in translation. Fortunately, the original concept appears to have been re-spawned by the most unlikely of heroes: the city car. One such machine is the Opel Adam S which delivers a refreshing ode to what made the first generation of hot hatches such a success. Sporty by nature The competition is particularly stiff among the chief players in the city car segment and, for a car to succeed, it needs to trump its rivals convincingly from a visual perspective. The Adam wins in this regard but we knew that…

TWO DAYS DRIVING the Seven-Eighteen Boxster and I’ve finally found a field that Porsche has failed to master, alchemy. Turns out they can’t make gold from ordinary metal with the impunity they once did. And let’s face it, the sound of the naturally aspirated flat-six engine in Porsche’s (981) Boxster wailing away inches behind you was pure gold. 24ct gold, rich enough to encourage upper rev range exploration and shiny enough to disguise any areas of torque deficiency. But get over it, it’s gone, replaced by a pair of blown flat fours charged with reshaping Boxster perceptions. We’re doing a steady 130kph in a Boxster S on an autoroute just outside of Lisbon, Portugal and the sonic boom is inescapable, a monosyllabic drone that has hottest Impreza with fettled exhaust…

An old-school Lambo V10 in new car? Did the memo fall into the VW Group shredder? THE ROAD’S DRY, its surface bleached with cappuccino smears of late-winter grime. Ahead, corners stretch out traffic-free, so I push the McLaren 570S’s accelerator to its stop, let the car run wide for the fastest line, the others darting behind. The sun flares through a swimming-pool sky as hungry induction plenums gobble chill air, and dual-clutch gearboxes hammer ratios like a drummer counting in a 4/4 beat. I glance in the mirror, cast an eye over the McLaren’s hard-working twin-turbo V8, see the red flash of the Ferrari 488 GTB, the piercing yellow of the Audi R8 V10 Plus, daytime running lights locked on like snipers’ lasers. The others must be sniffing victory as…

1 RENEWABLE ENERGY For future mobility to be genuinely green its energy has to be entirely clean – which means renewable sources. Trouble is, solar panels only work in daylight and wind turbines are sometimes switched off to regulate supply. To maximise efficiency, this energy needs to be stored while it’s available. 2 VEHICLE-TO-GRID Nissan reckons the perfect vehicle for this storage is the electric car. Top up its batteries at a renewable supply, then plug it in at home, not to recharge but to power the house. Older batteries can even be recycled as scalable, affordable static storage for solar arrays at home. 3 WIRELESS CHARGING Already well into development at many OEMs, wireless charging does away with plugs and leads and uses inductive technology instead – instant convenience.…

HAVE THE SWEDES cracked the perennial issue of turbo response in diesel engines? While Audi tinkers with electrically powered boosters and BMW pursues triple turbos, Volvo boffins have come up with a simple alternative: compressed air. Called ‘PowerPulse’, the patented system is fitted to Volvo’s latest D5 diesel engine and will be offered first in the new V90 estate. It’s being touted as a quickly available, cost-effective alternative to 48v e-booster systems. ‘We looked at e-boosters, but they require a 48v electrical loom, a larger alternator and an auxiliary battery, and that didn’t fit in with our new modular engine strategy,’ says Volvo development engineer Ragnar Burenius. ‘And nor do we think they are industrially mature yet.’ Even though the D5 engine features two sequential Borg-Warner turbos – a 38mm…

MONTH 4 NISSAN JUKE 1.2T ACENTA I FEEL SORRY for our bright-yellow Nissan Juke. See, Pacman as he’s been affectionately dubbed here at the office, hasn’t had a dedicated steward up to now. He’s been a bit of a bench warmer really, a handy stand-in for those occasions when there was nothing more pressing to be driven. As a result he’s usually parked alone in our garage gathering dust and looking all sorry for himself. But that wasn’t why his battery began acting up. Poor guy. I’ve kind of inherited him by virtue of my long-term BMW 335i GT going back to BMW head office so things are finally set to change for the better. More driving, more TLC and more attention are all on my agenda, just as soon…

1 Plug-in baby – Toyota’s given the new Prius Plug-in a much more distinctive appearance than its predecessor. Sharply redesigned front and rear, it’s a deliberate effort to attract tech-savvy customers keen to signify their insight (no pun intended) and eco credentials. 2 Double everything – new 8.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack means a 50km electric range, twice that of the last socket-ready version. The car also doubles up on electric torque output by using both e-motor and generator to deliver drive, a Toyota first. 3 Maximum EV – capable of 135kph without troubling the 1.8-litre Atkinson petrol (itself now at world-beating 40% thermal efficiency), the Plug-in claims a class-leading 1.4L/100km and 32g/km CO2. Full battery recharge takes 2hrs 20min on the mains. 4 Pump it up – other developments include…

Mazda MX-5 RF The launch of a folding hard-top version of the new Mazda MX-5 comes as a surprise to absolutely no-one at all. Mazda has been heavily hinting at such a model – and every iteration of the diminutive roadster has been offered with a tin top of some form at some point. But no one, we’ll wager, expected the svelte, straightforward roadster to adopt the Rube Goldberg-inspired retractable roof panel mechanism from the 911 Targa. The price to pay for all this additional complexity? A weight penalty of around 50kg compared with the standard convertible. Buyers can pick from 1.5 or 2.0-litre versions, while a fun-blunting six-speed auto option also joins the line-up. NEED TO KNOW > What it is A cut-price, front-engined Porsche 911 Targa > Engine…

Formula 1’s qualifying debacle is now history, but the build-up of events surrounding arguably the biggest fiasco to hit F1 in over a decade should never be forgotten, for crucial lessons can be drawn from an affair that simply should never have happened, yet reduced the sport to a soap opera of comedy proportions. With F1’s TV ratings slumping over 30 per cent in eight years, commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone had every reason to be desperate – but rather than accept that eyeballs will drop in direct proportion to the pay-TV deals he is cutting across the world, he decided that blame lay with the domination of Mercedes and drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who swept all before them in 2014/15. Thus the solution, the octogenarian decided, lay…

EVEN WHEN MONEY is no object, the world offers few luxury four-seater convertibles. In the wake of the discontinued Azure and Phantom drophead, the selection has narrowed to the Bentley GTC, RR Dawn, Maserati Gran Cabrio and BMW 6 Series. And now the new S-Class. Reasons why demand is dwindling include fear of air pollution and UV radiation, the sense of exposure in an increasingly hostile world, and that high speeds turn rear seats into job creation devices for hairdressers. A long trip in a convertible, four up with the roof folded, is an overt act of self-presentation at the expense of suffering back-benchers. Even when you specify your topless S-Class with Aircap, a combination of self-extending wind-deflector net on top of the windscreen and a mesh device which pops…

The result is an explosive concoction of speed, power and sound DESPITE SOUTH AFRICA’S waning economy, BMW and its M portfolio appear to be doing very, very well. A brief perusal of last year’s sales figures provides a stark antithesis to the current trend with a 40 per cent year-on-year increase in sales. This popularity has also prompted BMW SA to build its first standalone M showroom, in Pretoria. It’s the second largest of its kind after Singapore. In the midst of all this positivity BMW launched the new and hotly anticipated M2 Coupe in Franschhoek in the Cape. The M2 coupe is the baby of the BMW performance range and marks the entry point to M ownership. However don’t be put off by the ‘entry level’ tag as it’s…

‘THIS FEELS MORE like a car than mine does. Smaller too. Snug, and that dash, there’s so much more going on here than in mine, and it feels more modern. The gears are short, I like that. It’s great on the long road too, but you need to maintain these cars. This new one’s so quiet. It’s got power, comfort and it doesn’t feel like you’re looking down on the other cars. Like I said, this one’s snug, with my car there’s space for your legs to bang against bits of the cabin. It hurts. There’s a bit more space at the back of my car though. The only thing I miss on this new one is the glass opening rear hatch.’…

‘GOOD ENOUGH’. There’s never been a more passive aggressive term for mediocrity, has there? Would you be satisfied with a good enough steak? Not on your life. Would you be content with a good enough pair of jeans? How would that conversation even go? ‘Well my legs are no longer visible, so that will do, I guess.’ And hey - good enough is not good enough in the bedroom either, surely? So, speaking of sex, what constitutes a good enough hot hatch? What are the boxes it needs to tick? At one time good value was imperative but today we live in a world of half a million rand VW Golfs so you can chuck that. Even power to weight, that golden ratio of performance over obesity that defined the…

THROWING A DART at a map of the Western Cape and seeing where it lands is as good a way as any of planning a road trip, especially when you have the brand new EcoBoost Mustang at your disposal. We did just that and fate decided on the coastal village of Yzerfontein. To get there, we’ll use the West Coast district’s arrow-straight roads – a natural muscle car stomping ground – to see if the modest 2.3-litre powerplant is up to the task; then we’ll detour to some squiggly roads to test if Ford’s lighter and more agile EcoBoost is the handler it purports to be. All intellect, no effect? Let’s strap in, fire up, and go find out. Staring contest Ever since 2014’s official announcement that the Mustang was…

SUBARU IS ONE of the motoring world’s most enigmatic manufacturers, offering a relatively small range of vehicles centred upon horizontally-opposed engines and a four-wheel drivetrain. The company only really began to light up radars 20 years ago when its participation in the World Rally Championship – which began in 1980 – rose to prominence with the introduction of the Impreza in its distinctive blue-and-yellow State Express 555 livery. It scored a hat-trick of WRC manufacturer titles from 1995 to 1997, the team ‘driven’ by Colin McRae, one of the sport’s more heroic characters. And, of course, the whole set-up was immortalised by a series of PlayStation games that developed a cult following that is still revered today. So, having established a sporting pedigree, offering a GT would seem to be…

> CONTINENTAL STARTED out by rubber-skimming aircraft wings in the early 1900s. Now we have 205 000 employees in 53 countries and annual sales worth €34.5 billion. Only 28 per cent of the business relates to tyres, and much of the remainder is brake systems, chassis technology and stability control systems. > OUR BLACK Chili compound was originally developed for bicycle tyres in 2005. It’s a special polymer combined with other raw materials, and was first used on the ContiSportContact 5 in 2010. It adjusts to the surface and keys into grip, helping to force away water. Black Chili also uses small suction pads like geckos’ feet; they’re microscopic. > WE CAN tune each tyre for individual OEMs, so even though two tyres might look identical, each can be specific…

24-HOUR LEGO LE MANS RACER A real Le Mans car will set you back about a gazillion Rand. This highly detailed Lego car won’t. There’s an optional motor set too so you can pretend you’re a real mechanic and fiddle to your heart’s content – the V8 engine has moving parts! $129 (+/-R1760) www.shop.lego.com SLICE THROUGH THE GEARS SAMURAI SHIFTER Shifters come in all shapes and sizes, but none give you the feeling of winning a race and a fight like half a samurai sword! Available in 6, 8 and 10-inches and different colours. Hiiiiiyaaaaa! $64 (+/-R885) www.jonmotoring.com MEASURING STUFF JUST WENT ELECTRONIC ETAPE It was only a matter of time before technology reworked the handyman’s best friend – the measuring tape. The eTape16 digital tape measure does…

MONTH 5 RENAULT CLIO 1.2 EDC WE’VE HAD this particular Clio for five months now during which time we’ve covered nearly 6000km – enough to give an accurate indication of its thirst, usefulness and short-term durability. Fuel efficiency: Given that it covers 72km of heavily clogged freeway plus plenty of low speed stop-start urban sprawl on most days, the 1.2-litre turbocharged and dual-clutched Clio’s current average consumption of 7.4L/100km is pretty respectable. And, based on the last two tanks, which both delivered more than 600km thanks to partial use of the throttle-response-killing Eco button, I’m expecting that to drop a little more. Usefulness: At 2589mm, the Clio has the longest wheelbase in its class, beating the best-selling Polo (2470mm) by around 12cm. Neither could be classified as spatially luxurious, but,…

TRAILCAT A mutated Wrangler, stretched by 12in to accommodate the Dodge Hellcat’s 527kW V8. Rally raid suspension and 40in boots CREW CHIEF 715 A steely eyed salute to Jeep’s military history, inspired by the ’60s Kaiser M715. ‘Tactical green’ paint, aircraft control switches and Ride of the Valkyries looped on the stereo. Possibly SHORTCUT A stomach-stapled Wrangler with 26 inches cut from its length, 35in tyres and low-back leather buckets for that ’50s beach buggy vibe. Like Barbie’s ride made macho FC150 Retro done right. Original battle-scarred body from a 1960 Jeep Forward Control with 2005 Wrangler running gear beneath. Analogue compass, CB radio and vinyl seats COMANCHE A super-stretched Renegade-based pickup with a 2in lift kit, 5ft loadbed, low-range transmission and possibly the greatest paint name ever: ‘Beige Against…

RBR TECHNICAL GENIUS Adrian Newey had long spoken of a supercar to seal his legacy, Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer brokered the innovative Infiniti badging deal with RBR while with Nissan and thus knew the team’s executives, and Aston Martin’s new owners – an Italian investment fund – knew they had to be part of the conversation when such as Porsche and Ferrari were mentioned if they wish to make the brand fly. But all seemed dormant until the Australian Grand Prix, when news broke that the deal was definitely on, and that Newey and Aston Martin Creative Director Marek Reichman were ready to share some broad-brush details. ‘We always said we wouldn’t go into F1 without authenticity, and that authenticity comes in the shape of a hypercar,’ Palmer told…

IF I TOLD you they want the Levante to be the Maserati of SUVs would you get it? It was not engineered to tackle the Great Divide or the Rubicon Trail, but it will happily haul you to the door of the ski chalet or the gate of the thoroughbred corral. SUV light, so to speak, enhanced by ample performance and most equipment-related must-haves. ‘We wanted our car to be sportier than the BMW and more comfortable than the Porsche,’ says Harald Wester, the chieftain of Maserati and Alfa Romeo. ‘In volume terms, the Levante is perhaps the most significant product the brand has ever released. It is expected to account for half our sales by 2018.’ His words are ringing in my head as I drive. Does this car…

IN THE ARSENAL of daft names Kadjar isn’t the worst – that title goes to the Daihatsu Scat – but it does set up an expectation of silliness. Which, a few trippy apps notwithstanding, isn’t fair, because Renault’s mid-sized crossover is a solid proposition. The gravitas comes from the Nissan underpinnings, Kadjar borrowing its chassis and running gear from the Qashqai and X-Trail platform. Both are entrenched carriers of families and kit, much loved by South Africans for their no-nonsense solidity, comfort and space. To set Kadjar apart from the Nissan duo, Renault have imbued it with a soupçon of panache; the trending colours, full Star Wars digital display, enviro-friendly apps to monitor outside pollution levels, the list is long. Neat trick then, layering style over inherent ability. The equally…

MERCEDES-BENZ C-CLASS coupe efforts have, with the exception of the previous model, proven less than special – the compromised SportsCoupe was followed by the frankly horrible CLC, both hatches pretending to be tourers, mutton dressed as lamb. With the 2017 C-Class Coupe, Mercedes has taken a step back in time and pulled both style and elegance from the past; visually and in essence the latest Coupe references the grand GT tourers of the golden era, and it’s better for it. To that sense of style is added two parts technology and one part excitement, though the latter is less than Mercedes are hard-selling; C-Coupe is more about cool and cruising than speed and sport. That’s not to say that C-Coupe is a boulevard cruiser. All three launch variants – the…

‘THE NEW ONE looks smaller. Is it smaller? When my wife spotted our car, we took it for a test drive and were sold almost immediately. I’d come from an i20 which we loved, and was ready to upgrade. I’m glad to see the rear view camera is still here, I’m lost without it. Definitely feels like a newer car, despite seeing some familiar features. I really love my car on the long road, and this one already feels better, so smooth on the road and this turbo engine, wow. Safety is important to me so I’m glad to see it comes with daytime running lights. And that front end looks great. Yes I would upgrade.’…

THE ULTIMATE DRIVING Machine: that’s one hell of a brand promise, the bedrock of BMW’s engineering, marketing and allure since the ‘70s. But what becomes of the Ultimate Driving Machine brand when the norm is for cars to drive themselves? It’s a question that threatens BMW’s very existence. This concept car, the BMW Vision Next 100, is an attempt to tackle that dilemma. Unveiled in Munich on the day the company turned 100 years old, it is one BMW vision of the automobile some 30 years from now. And when a company with the foresight of BMW – who led the SUV proliferation, rolled out stop/start with Efficient Dynamics, embraced connectivity and e-mobility with i3 and i8, championed the premium small car with Mini – gives a glimpse of the…

SINCE ITS LAUNCH into the South African market, Infiniti’s Q50 has earned a reputation for itself with an audience that holds individuality and cutting edge technology in the highest regard. In a fiercely competitive, often hum-drum sedan market the Q50’s styling, as well as its approach to innovation, leaves no doubt as to who it is appealing to – forward thinkers who appreciate tradition, but prefer it with a twist. Designed for the exceptional Witness the Q50’s form; the heavily sculptured body reflects a refreshing originality – and excitement - even as it ticks the boxes for increased space, ergonomic integrity and corporate identity. In a nutshell it’s instantly identifiable, from the signature “double arch” grille up front with its three-dimensional, textured quality, to the distinctive LED headlights and assertive…

EVER WONDERED what Ken Block smells like? Well, Ford now offers you the opportunity to find out – all thanks to the Line Lock system that’s part of the Track App package on the Mustang GT. The theory is simple: engage Line Lock, roast rear tyres until you can no longer see. Does it work? We obviously had to find out. In the name of science. You understand. Ford’s innovation is the electronic Line Lock activation, which locks the front brakes while keeping the rears free, thus allowing them to spin. Our chosen test subject was the least racy-seeming Mustang V8 we could lay our hands on – a convertible fitted with the automatic gearbox. Sure enough, all it takes is a few prods of the steering wheel-mounted buttons and…

MONTH 9 VW TOUAREG LUXURY 3.0 V6 TDI 4MOTION R-LINE I SUSPECT THE new dog is a mix. Her name is Sam and she’s the sister of my other Staffie, Joker. But she’s different somehow. ‘Ooh, she’s a pure bred she is, better keep her safe at home before somebody steals her’, they said. Bull! She’s at least 50 per cent kangaroo, as evidenced by the manner in which she scales the ever taller fence in our backyard. She’s also at least 75 per cent reincarnated Harry Houdini for the same reason, always escaping into the greater part of the property. She’s got Joker doing it too now, the schmuck. In fact she used his Schwarzenegger-like frame and burly shoulders, sinewy like lead liquorice, to coax open the massive steel…

MONTH 11 CITROËN C4 CACTUS IT’S THE penultimate update for our long-term Cactus and like that episode each series of your favourite sitcom has where they don’t have enough to fill an entire episode so they scratch together a bunch of small snippets – so we must visit all the bright ideas that might’ve been for le Cactus over the last 11 months. In my mind the best of these was to recreate the C4 Cactus Aventure concept from the 2014 Geneva motor show (pictured top). With the Aventure concept they wanted to imbue it with some off-road cred. Bring on the roof racks, cargo box with auxiliary lights, camo-like paint scheme, aventure decals, knobbly Mud-Terrain tyres, badass black wheels and a GoPro camera so your passenger can record the…

TIMES REALLY ARE tough for the retail motor trade as total local industry new vehicle sales continue to fall. The March statistics, issued jointly by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) and Lightstone Auto, the independent provider of the South African new vehicle sales information to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the automotive industry, showed that local manufacturers and distributors sold 47631 vehicles over the six market categories, with a further 27 714 being exported. By comparison, last month the respective figures were 48 149/29 308, and for March 2015 the totals were 55 389/34 025. Mercedes-Benz (2501), Associated Motor Holdings (Hyundai, Kia, Daihatsu) together with Amalgamated Automobile Distributors (4798) as well as Great Wall Motors (111) do not disclose individual model sales…