AUDI has confirmed the starting price for its forthcoming Q2 small SUV and it has a ‘4’ in front. Yep, this high-design, premium SUV range opens the show at $41,400 for the Audi Q2 1.4TFSI front-driver, with the all-wheel-drive Q2 2.0TDI quattro expected to cost “under 50” when its pricing is confirmed closer to the local launch next February.
Thing is, those prices appear dangerously close to another small SUV in Audi’s showrooms – the five-year-old Q3. The list price for a base Q3 front-driver, featuring the same 110kW/250Nm 1.4-litre turbo-petrol four as the base Q2, is $42,900, or just $1800 more.
Admittedly, the Q3 has a six-speed gearbox rather than the new-generation seven-speeder fitted to the Q2, and it doesn’t get sat-nav as standard, but that’s a slim price difference for two cars that don’t differ greatly in size.
The Q3’s wheelbase is just 2mm longer than a front-drive Q2’s (with torsion-beam rear axle) or 8mm longer than a Q2 quattro’s (with a similar multi-link IRS arrangement to the Q3). But the Q3’s body is significantly longer (4388mm v 4191mm), as well as 37mm wider, 82mm taller, and around 125kg heavier. The Q3 also has a larger 460-1365 litre boot (compared with 405-1050L).
Audi Australia is adamant that the “edgy” Q2 and “classic” Q3 will complement each other. According to Audi corporate communications general manager Anna Burgdorf, “the Q3 remains a very valid model, and so we don’t see the Q2 as a replacement; we see it as an addition. And yes, granted they have relatively close pricing, but they’re essentially different.
“The Q3 buyer is very loyal. They love that really beautiful, rounded and shapely design of their car. And what the Q2 offers, it’s edgier – more modern, more contemporary, edgier design, really packed with technology, so it’s going to attract a slightly different buyer.
“Having said that, there will be some Q3 owners, when they want to change their car, they’ll want a Q2 and that’s absolutely fine for us, as long as we’re keeping customers within the Audi family, and as long as we’re growing.
“I guess the same question has been raised with the launch of each new Q model, but what we’ve seen is that the market has increased to accept the addition of new models, so we’ve never had a concern in the past about introducing a new Q model because we’ve just found that there are more buyers.
“So we don’t see [the Q2] as a replacement; we see it as sitting close, but in a slightly different target market.”
Should we expect the next-generation Q3 to grow larger in order to differentiate itself from the Q2? “I can’t comment on future generations of the Q3”, said Burgdorf, “but I think you’ll see them moving away from each other a little, in terms of one vehicle appealing to a slightly younger, modern, edgier person and the Q3 is going to appeal in a different way and to a different buyer… A Q3 is a more upright SUV; a Q2 is, I guess, in a way a little closer to an Allroad.”
First published in the March 2003 issue of Wheels magazine, Australia’s best car mag since 1953.
Ford has fallen short of the Falcon GT legend since the early ’70s. Now, at last, there’s a car tough enough to try it on.
Flash back: 1967. Warwick Farm short circuit sliding the horny new XR Falcon GT through comers specially moistened for this first day out in the muscular bronzed Aussie (no other colour is yet available).
Teamed with Dunlop Aquajet tyres (waggishly known as Aquaplanes), the guttural GT roars and slides around the circuit, beginning a legend that will haunt Ford in following decades by setting standards that prove too difficult to replicate, let alone beat.
Amid all the XR GTs bar-lifting thunder and thrust, the clutch stands out. Talk about heavy. Like dribbling a bag of cement across a paddock, it makes calf muscles ache with exertion.
Even so, the GTs ropey rumble, backslapping acceleration, and breathtaking speed provide the perfect panacea.
Hugely more sophisticated than the original, the new model achieves a level of refinement undreamed of in 1967. But refinement is fine for Fairlanes; GTs need grunt. Gobs of it.
The engine is a very different proposition to 1967’s V8. With two camshafts per head instead of one in the block, and twice as many valves, not to mention fuel injection and 5408cc capacity against a four-barrel carby and 4735cc. FPVs Boss hoss delivers 290kW where the XR made 168kW.
The Boss doesn’t rev a whole lot higher, though. The GT’s tacho doesn’t have a redline for proof, but an electronic spoilsport pulls rank on the clot of 6000rpm, cruelling a special sound that’s been building since idle.
The 1825kg FPV GT is much paunchier than its relatively sylph-like 1422kg XR namesake, but brawnier torque and an extra gear help explain how the 1967 performance marks get blown away in a swirl of tyre smoke.
Here, on a stinking-hot afternoon, hitting 30-something in the shade and chewing on dense bushfire smoke, we’re disappointed when the FPV GT rips through the 400m sprint in only mid-14s. Part of the problem is that second gear is just a shade short, calling for an upshift at 95km/h or so, just on the safe side of the rev limiter. Same again in third; needing fourth just before 160km/h and the 400-metre mark. We persist, hoping to shave the times, only to find them lengthening as under-bonnet temperatures increase.
After a cooling respite come the speed runs. As expected, the limiter shoots dead the first four gears if the engine’s left on full song too long. But in fifth, with the heat and all, the GTs dash is done, just teasingly short of the electronically applied 250km/h limit.
Incidentally, where the working man’s Falcon utes still use a one-piece tailshaft and are held to 180 kays max, a two-piece prop shaft endows the latest hi-po load-luggers (XR6 Turbo, XR8, and FPV Pursuit) with true 230km/h-plus potential. Fast freight, mate.
Early next morning it’s more than 10 degrees cooler, and Calder Raceway hosts another batch of acceleration runs. It’s soon obvious that this is more like it, With 0-100 kays in six seconds neat and the 400m boogie in 14.2 seconds. On this basis, a sub-14 is within reach, given cool conditions, the driver alone on board, and maybe more kays on the clock than this (preproduction) car’s 2200 clicks.
Docile and elastically tractable when you tread lightly, the engine pulls hard and sounds sensationally mean when you sink the slipper. Given just the right throttle balance between too much wheelspin and not quite enough, the Boss 290 simply bites and bolts, delivering oodles of oomph without taking or giving offence.
Nicely weighted, the clutch absorbs repeated tough calls without wilting.
Although acceleration hunters may quibble about the gear ratios being slightly lower than ideal for optimal performance, the big five-speeder’s gearchange is on the pace. It’s not the world’s slickest shift, perhaps, but it’s whippet-quick and sunrise-sure, even when really wrenched from slot to slot.
And it has synchromesh on reverse, too. Hard pedalling works up a sizeable thirst, particularly in this instance.
With a double dose of performance testing, besides enough photo-session circle work to make a dervish dizzy, it isn’t surprising that we chewed through premium petrol at the rate of 19L/100km. Ambling at a steady 100 clicks, however, the GTs digital display typically registers an entirely reasonable 10-something litres per hundred.
Ably supported by ABS and electronic brake force distribution EBD), the GTs standard high-performance brakes offer plenty of pedal feel. Even when trod brutally hard and often, the brakes’ Hand of God stopping power keeps the faith.
The husky drivetrain and mighty stoppers are all well and good, but it’s in chassis dynamics that FPVs car conclusively cements its claim to the GT/Gran Turismo appellation. It’s a chassis that rewards on rough roads as well as on smooth – through twists and turns as much as on straights.
The steering has the same basic specification as regular BA Falcons, but, with the wheel’s weighting increase from light to medium, the feel is better suited to performance driving. Nothing’s lost between your wrists and the road.
You steer, the GT points.
For a car of this size, mass, and sporting intent, the GTs ride-handling combo is truly outstanding. The way the supple suspension soaks up bumps, doesn’t fidget over ruts or ripples, and isn’t distracted by heaves or undulations makes a mockery of the notion that sports suspension must be reactively stiff and the ride necessarily lumpy.
In this case, the pay-off is not only a relatively comfortable ride, regardless of the road, but also truly confident roadholding and cooperative handling.
Tossed into turns, the GT enters the spirit with virtually viceless behaviour. Rolling moderately, it settles securely and presents nicely balanced attitudes that can be adjusted at will with the wheel and/or loud pedal. Tum too deep or hard and the understeer builds to a judder, easily relieved by quickly winding off some lock and taking a less greedy bite, while adding more power-assisted rear steer.
The tail responds to heavy-footed encouragement, of course, but there are always clear and early warnings of impending slides, and they happen so benignly as to afford every chance for correction.
Besides being highly talented, it’s a chassis that establishes a rewarding rapport with the driver, and you can’t ask for more than that.
The bottom line is that while you may be swayed by the GTs slightly conservative, yet nonetheless seriously commanding, appearance, and while the purposefully uprated interior is easy to live with (gimmicky Start button excepted, perhaps), the GTs secret is in the way it goes, sounds, steers, stops, rides, and handles.
A class act in every sense, the GT plays its part for real. And raises the bar once again. It’s in the genes, y’see.
All the goodness – and pace – of the 488 GTB in a drop-top body makes the 488 Spider the most potent convertible Ferrari to date.
WHAT IS IT? The convertible version of Ferrari’s top seller, the 488 GTB. It utilises the folding hard-top first seen in the 458 Spider but blends it with the sexier body and more potent twin-turbo V8 from the 488 GTB.
WHY WE’RE TESTING IT The 488 Spider has just arrived in Australia, giving sports car lovers an open-top alternative to Ferrari’s most popular model.
MAIN RIVALS Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet, Lamborghini Huracan Spyder, McLaren 650S Spider
THE WHEELS VERDICT Properly fast convertible thanks to a superb turbocharged V8, which delivers a supreme surge throughout the rev range. The straight line pace is matched with brilliant roadholding to create one of the world’s truly fantastic driver’s cars. Throw in the clever folding hard-top roof and it makes for a superb drop-top with all of the ability of the coupe. But if you haven’t popped in your order, get ready to join a two-year queue.
PLUS: Phenomenal turbo V8; superb cornering grip and balance; one-touch folding roof
MINUS: Join the queue; exhaust sound muted for a Ferrari; crazy options prices
Key to the Spider’s appeal is the promise of a hurricane in your hair while still being able to blast to 100km/h in 3.0 seconds – exactly the same time as the 488 GTB that’s held the V8 Ferrari high ground for almost a year. That’s despite an extra 50kg-odd courtesy of the folding roof mechanism and bracing to maintain body rigidity.
The roof, a carryover of the “Retractable Hard Top” of the 458 Spider, is the highlight of the 488 Spider. Press a button and the cover for the rollover hoops rises, allowing the two-piece roof to fold away to soon be concealed once the rear panel lowers back to its original location. The whole operation takes 14 seconds and can be done at up to 45km/h.
The challenge with the Spider is keeping it below that speed. The 3.9-litre V8 hammers out 760Nm from 3000rpm, but at any engine speed there’s a rush of torque threatening to build pace potently at any dab of the throttle. It’s a beautifully flexible engine virtually devoid of turbo lag, making it fast at any speed in almost any gear.
Spin the engine close to its 8000rpm redline – at which point it’s punching out 492kW – and acceleration is brutal. The Spider is one seriously quick drop-top.
There’s the occasional inelegant low speed clunk from the twin-clutch seven-speed auto, but it’s otherwise a model of slick, well-timed shifts that adds to the extraordinary acceleration.
Roof up and there’s little to distinguish the Spider from the Coupe. However, the small rear window retracts to allow more snorting and burbling from the V8 that sits just aft of occupants.
If there’s one criticism, it’s that the force-fed V8 is a tad too polite, lacking the high rev shriek that’s characterised Ferraris for decades.
Sans roof the Spider lets a satisfying bluster into the compact cabin (there’s less legroom on the passenger’s side, so make sure your companion is happy not to stretch out). Windows up reduces the blast, while that rear window extends an inch or so to act as a mediocre wind deflector.
The suspension is firm but doesn’t jar, and the 20-inch Pirelli P Zeros on our car ensure it points superbly, the Spider hunkering down brilliantly in flowing bends. Select the “bumpy road” shock absorber mode and that firmness melts into more satisfying compliance, also lessening the very mild scuttle shake (body rigidity is generally brilliant).
Rear vision isn’t great, which makes the decision to pop the reversing camera on the options list a strange one. Then again, when buyers are clambering over themselves to hand over the best part of $600K there’s no burning incentive to load the thing with fruit.
That said, it’s far from baron. Standard kit includes smart key entry with the push button start on the steering wheel (it’s one of 14 buttons on the carbon fibre wheel), carbon ceramic brakes and dual-zone air-con.
Dig deeper and the Spider has traits that could classify as quibbles on lesser cars; the ventilation fan is noisy if you crank it up; the audio system sounds tinny and can only be controlled by the driver; road noise is prevalent on coarse bitumen surfaces.
But they’re easily overlooked the second you squeeze the throttle or aim at a corner. The 488 is a sublime driver’s car – and one that is properly quick. Little wonder there’s a queue.
THE Hyundai N Concept RN30 has been teased via a single official image ahead of its showstopping unveiling in Paris next Thursday.
And while the racecar-inspired RN30 concept’s outrageous flared and vented bodywork likely won’t make their way onto any of Hyundai’s future production models, indications are it will at least point towards some of the upcoming i30 N hot hatch’s styling cues.
Based on the just-revealed PD-generation i30 five-door hatch, the RN30 concept tacks on super-wide wheel arch extensions, fits wheels big enough to fill them, and adds a deep front splitter and a plethora of heat-extraction vents.
LED-ringed foglamps occupy each lower corner of the front bumper, and the headlamps feature a distinctive quad-unit LED arrangement that adds a substantial dose of visual aggression to the front of Hyundai’s grocery-getter.
Other race car touches include plexiglass side windows and a bonnet vent to help keep the RN30’s (presumably turbocharged) engine cool.
The product of the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre, Hyundai’s High Performance Vehicle Division and Hyundai Motorsport (that campaigned an i30 N development mule at this year’s Nurburgring 24-hour enduro, below), the RN30 is, for now, merely a design study.
But, with the i30 N production car due to make its debut in the first half of next year, the RN30 could point towards what that model may look like. Subtract the scoops, splitters, rolling stock and plexi windows, and what remains should resemble what will enter showrooms next year.
While Hyundai’s Nurburgring i30 N prototype was based on the current-gen three-door hatchback that’s available in Europe, Hyundai design boss Peter Schreyer told
Other details are yet to be confirmed, but a 2.0 litre turbocharged motor with a scramble boost function and roughly 200kW is the likely powerplant. Power will go to the front wheels, putting it in direct competition with the Volkswagen Golf GTI, Ford Focus ST and Peugeot 308 GTi. A six-speed manual or dual-clutch auto will handle cog-swapping duty.
An electronically controlled mechanical limited slip differential will bring torque vectoring to tame wheelspin and improve traction in corners, while multi-mode adaptive dampers are also likely for Hyundai’s first proper hot hatch.
ALFA Romeo will debut an all-wheel-drive version of its Giulia saloon, at next week’s Paris Motor Show, which bridges the performance gap between the standard model and the Nurburgring-busting 370kW Quadrifoglio.
The Giulia Veloce, due Down Under in early 2017, will come with two engine options – a 2.0-litre, four cylinder turbocharged petrol unit that delivers 203kW, 400Nm at 2250 rpm and a torquey 2.2-litre, inline-four-cylinder turbo diesel that pushes out 155kW 450Nm at 5350 rpm.
The latter is the first Alfa Romeo diesel engine to be built entirely out of aluminium.
Both engines are mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox and Alfa’s new Q4 AWD system. The Q4 behaves like a standard rear-wheel-drive car in normal conditions but can transfer up to 60 percent of the engine’s power to the front wheels should things get a little slippery.
The Giulia Veloce will also differ from the standard model in the looks department with bespoke bumpers and gloss-black door trim and optional five-hole 19in allow rims and Xenon headlights to provide a sportier look to match its superior performance.
The muscular aesthetics are carried on inside with new black leather sport seats, a sports steering wheel and aluminium inserts on the dashboard, central tunnel, door panels.
It’s unlikely the AWD version will be produced in right hand drive, but Wheels understands a rear-wheel-drive Veloce will be making its way to our shores with the rest of the all-new 2017 Giulia range in February. It’s still unclear if this will include the diesel engine.
Local pricing and specifications are yet to be confirmed.
MERCEDES-Benz has thrown a pair of designer-brand gumboots at its all-new E-Class wagon as it attempts to woo luxury buyers who like the looks of an SUV, but don’t necessarily want the extra bulk of one.
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain is a new spin on the German carmaker’s mid-size luxury car, bound for a reveal at next week’s Paris Motor Show, as it prepares a model to sway buyers looking at either an Audi A6 Allroad, or queueing up to buy a Volvo V90 Cross Country after it launches next year.
The higher-riding, all-wheel-drive E-Class – it sits about the height of a 20-cent coin taller than the regular E-Class estate – uses a few traditional off-road cues, including larger wheels with taller sidewalls on the tyres and a black plastics along the wheel wells and lower sills that elevate the car visually.
It also uses the same Three-Point Star grille as Mercedes-Benz’s growing family of SUVs rather than the one used on the road-bound E-Class, and lifts the same switchable off-road function underpinnings as used by the GLE-Class SUV range.
Rather than scream of an active outdoor life, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain features an urban-focused interior, although there’s different floor mats and stainless steel scuff plates in high-use areas for those days it sees dirt beneath its tyres.
Underneath, it has air suspension that allows the car to rise high enough to clear large puddles, and lower to almost kiss the kerb – all at the press of a button.
Diesels are de rigueur in the SUV segment, and the E-Class All-Terrain turns down the same track. When it arrives in Australia sometime next year the high-riding E-Class will use a 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine producing 143kW and 400Nm, enough under-bonnet poke to allow it to behave more like a passenger car than an SUV.
If you’re prepared to wait a bit longer, a more powerful six-cylinder engine is being prepared for the All-Terrain, with more details on that engine due later.
If you can’t wait, Audi sells its mid-size station wagon-based A6 Allroad quattro featuring a more powerful diesel V6 under its bonnet from $111,510. And if you can wait, Volvo will have its Nordic-tall V90 Cross Country joining showrooms, providing a tantalising alternative
If that sort of outlay kills the escapist dream, don’t fret. The Skoda Octavia Scout, based on the Octavia wagon, delivers the same outdoorsy message but with a $32,990 starting price. Likewise, the ruggedly styled Volkswagen Passat Alltrack offers a bit more sophistication for a $49,290 outlay.
IF YOU’RE thinking of buying a Mazda MX-5 2.0 GT, best pay attention – the Abarth 124 Spider, which has more grunt, more equipment and sharper dynamics, costs roughly the same money.
Fiat today confirmed the Abarth will start at $41,990, with sharp introductory pricing meaning you could buy the turbocharged two-seater for $43,500 driveaway, in six-speed manual spec.
That’s thousands less than early speculation had suggested for the Mazda-built Abarth – but also thousands more than the most affordable MX-5s, including the 1.5-litre base model ($31,990) and the entry-level 2.0-litre ($34,490). The most expensive MX-5 starts at $39,550 for the 2.0-litre GT with a six-speed manual.
However Fiat is hoping the temptation of a more powerful turbocharged engine and greater standard specification will lure buyers to its new performance flagship.
There’s also firmer suspension with Bilstein dampers, larger four-pot Brembo brakes and a standard limited-slip differential, all of which combine to make the Abarth feel racier and more focused.
The Abarth also has more standard equipment than the Mazda, including a reversing camera, which isn’t available on any MX-5.
Fiat will also offer the first 100 Abarths sold in Australia with a commemorative Launch Edition pack at no extra cost. These models gain contrasting bumpers, mirror caps and tow-hook covers, plus a numbered plaque in the cabin.
Where the Abarth loses ground to the Mazda is weight. Its slightly larger dimensions (which boosts boot space by 10 litres), means the manual version hits the scales at 1060kg, which is 27kg more than the equivalent 2.0 MX-5.
And the entry-level MX-5 1.5-litre Roadster, which is a full $10,000 cheaper than the Abarth, weighs even less at 1009kg.
IN A mechanical spec-for-spec stoush, the Audi Q2 1.4TFSI is a clear victor over its Q3 older brother. Perhaps not to the extent implied by its lighter weight and smaller frontal area but you can’t dispute 0-100km/h in 8.5sec (0.4 faster than Q3), a top speed of 212km/h (versus 204 for the Q3), and a combined fuel number of 5.2L/100km (5.8 for the Q3).
The entry-level Q2 1.4TFSI is also quicker and more fuel-efficient than its mainstream rivals in the small-SUV category, the most premium of which is the $35,290 Mazda CX-3 Akari AWD (0-100km/h in 8.9sec; 6.7L/100km).
Audi Australia doesn’t necessarily see flagship Mazda CX-3, Nissan Qashqai and Honda HR-V models as rivals for a base Q2, but then “there isn’t really a direct competitor from our two German rivals for a car like the Q2” either. According to Audi Australia communications manager Anna Burgdorf, “something like the Mini Countryman is probably closest” to being Q2’s equal, a head-to-head that’s bound to hot up next year when a new-generation Countryman launches.
As is the case Europe, Audi Australia is set to offer its new Q2 in a special “Edition #1” guise, continuing the current trend towards ‘launch editions’. While the Edition #1’s (yes, the hashtag is intentional) local spec is yet to be confirmed, expect it to closely follow the look of the European version (pictured).
An exclusive Quantum Grey paint colour with Manhattan Grey lower body section, S-line exterior package, a black C-pillar blade with Audi’s four-ringed logo, and black exterior mirrors combines with a titanium black styling package to really toughen the Q2’s striking style. Five-arm 19-inch anthracite black wheels and LED lights at both ends (with ‘dynamic’ rear indicators) complete the Edition #1’s haute-couture appearance.
Inside, the Euro-spec Edition #1 gets sports seats (with fabric/leather trim in black and amaretto), a sports steering wheel, titanium grey headlining, ambient lighting, a leather package and illuminated aluminium door sills.
But there’s more to come on the SUV front from Audi. Set to make its debut alongside the crucial new-generation Audi Q5 at the Paris show on September 29 is a slap-and-tickle for the Q3, to maintain interest in Audi’s oldest SUV.
Centred solely around visual changes to “more sharply differentiate the design and sport trim lines, as well as the S-line exterior package”, the tweaked Q3 also heralds the arrival of a special-edition S-line Competition model.
New bumpers, grille inserts, funky trim and smart alloys all do their best to keep the up-spec Q3 models looking fit and fresh in line with their all-new SUV stablemates.
While a facelifted Q3 range went on sale in Australia in June 2015, and a 270kW RSQ3 Performance will launch here next month, Audi says this update is “not confirmed yet but it’s definitely something we’re evaluating”, according to product communications manager Shaun Cleary.
If these high-grade model updates do make it to our Q3, expect an on-sale in the second half of 2017.
Alfa Romeo will debut a new addition to its Giulia range at the Paris Motor Show next week, with the Giulia Veloce adding a slightly sportier flavour to garden-variety variants of its all-new midsize sedan and bridging the gap between them and the high-performance Giulia Quadrifoglio.
In Europe, the Giulia Veloce will be available with a 206kW/400Nm 2.0-litre petrol turbo or a 155kW/470Nm 2.2 litre turbodiesel, both taking drive to all four wheels via a standard eight-speed automatic.
Other upgrades include a rear diffuser pinched from the high-performance Giulia QV, four-piston fixed front brake calipers, five-spoke 19-inch alloys, leather-clad sports seats and a smattering of aluminium trim across the interior.
While Fiat-Chrysler Australia has yet to confirm full specifications for the local Giulia range, WhichCar understands the Veloce grade will be part of the family when the Giulia launches here in the first quarter of 2017.
However, there will be some differences. The Giulia’s Q4 all-wheel drive system – which sends 100 percent of drive to the rear wheels until traction loss is detected – is not compatible with a right-hand drive firewall and thus unavailable for our market. Aussie Veloces will be rear-drive only.
And while Euro-spec models will feature equipment like dual-zone climate control, a 6.5-inch infotainment system, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, pedestrian recognition and lane departure warning, it’s not clear whether Australian-delivered Giulia Veloces will be similarly-specced.
As for powertrains, it’s not yet clear whether the grunty Veloce diesel will be available here – while Alfa Romeo Australia will have a diesel-drinking model in the Giulia lineup, it will likely be the lower-output 132kW/450Nm unit.
The 206kW petrol motor, however, is a likely starter for Australia.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce will make its first public appearance at Paris at the start of October before going on sale in Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Local specifications and pricing will likely be released early next year.
It is the prettier replacement for the FF and the new Ferrari GTC4 Lusso T now drops other ‘f’ aspects – minus four cylinders and four-wheel-drive – to create a new turbo V8 model.
Four seats remain in the three-door shooting brake coupe, however, but the GTC4 Lusso T swaps the naturally aspirated 6.3-litre V12 for the 3.9-litre turbocharged V8 that debuted in the California T and more recently the 488 GTB.
As with those more affordable models the family-friendly Ferrari sends drive to the rear wheels only via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.
The GTC4 Lusso is currently $578,888 with the V12, so expect the gap with its rear-drive, but two-seat sibling above to close when the GTC4 Lusso T arrives in Australia in November following its global public debut at next week’s Paris motor show.
The GTC4 Lusso T should benefit dynamically, and according to Fazz, increased rear-weight distribution (54 versus 53 per cent) gels with “specifically calibrated” rear-wheel steering (which debuted in F12 tdf and then GTC4 Lusso) and Side Slip Control (SSC3) settings.
Maranello may be a passionate crew – but they’re also extremely business savvy these days.
