Chinese upstart Haval has launched a car into one of the hottest segments on the Australian new-car markets – mid-size SUVs.
WHAT IS IT? Haval is the price-driven premium sub-brand of Chinese carmaker Great Wall, which launched itself here less than a year ago. The Haval H6 plugs a gap in between the H2 compact SUV and the larger H8 in one of the fastest-growing corners of the new-car segment – mid-size SUVs.
WHY ARE WE TESTING IT? The Haval H6 may be a new entrant to the Australian market, but it has been on sale in China since 2011 where it has become a best-selling model. In fact, this small, diminutive, conservative looking SUV is the fifth best seller in the mid-size SUV segment globally. It joins Haval’s growing SUV showroom, which includes the H2 compact, the Ford Territory rivalling H8 and the H9, a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport-sized five-seater. This, the H6, is plumped as the sportiest Haval in the range.
MAIN RIVALS Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi ASX,Hyundai Tucson, Subaru Forester, Holden Captiva, Nissan Dualis, Nissan X-Trail, Toyota RAV4
PLUS: Roomy interior, sprightly engine, likeable exterior, Euro feel to interior MINUS: Slightly choppy ride, laggy gearbox, flat and firm rear seats, electronic shortcomings
THE WHEELS REVIEW Great Wall Motors, the owner of premium spin-off Haval, has had a rough introduction to Australia. Hurt by a recall scandal involving asbestos, and working through challenging times with its former local distributor, the brand is now back in control and ready for the next chapter of its business venture.
Leading the charge is the most sporty model to join Haval’s growing range of SUVs yet; the H6. Launched in China in 2011 and now exported around the world to places including Benin (look it up, I had to), it’s a city-sized, high-riding wagon with a swept roofline and what Haval claims is the most powerful engine in its segment. This, and the fact it uses a six-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox, has prompted Haval to brand the H6 a sports model, and the most important car it has launched here.
Pushing the value for money equation is a rich equipment list that embarrasses rivals. There’s keyless entry and push-button start for the engine, a reversing camera with guides displayed via the low-mounted seven-inch colour screen, radar-based blind spot monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, dual-zone climate, 17-inch alloys and a tyre pressure monitor.
Our $34,990 LUX test car, which sits above the entry-level $31,990 Premium, sits on 19s, has a larger eight-inch screen, and includes a panoramic sunroof that doesn’t rob taller passengers of headroom. Both the driver’s and front passenger’s seats – clad in artificial leather – have electric adjust (eight-way for the driver), and a camera tucked under the left wing mirror projects an image onto the central screen.
It feels more premium, too. You wouldn’t think you were sitting on plastic, and the dash would almost be at home in an Audi. In the rear there’s plenty of legroom and an almost flat floor, although the seats are hard, low-backed and don’t offer much support.
Driving the H6 adds a little bit of weight to the idea this is the sportiest Haval yet. Yes, the 2.0-litre donk is quick off the mark and revs happily, only showing signs of wheel scrabble when sprinting off the mark to get around a corner. Left to its own devices, the Getrag-sourced wet dual-clutch gearbox will hold gears intelligently on hills, only dropping a gear on steeper runs.
There’s a button on the centre console that will switch the H6 between eco, normal and sports modes. The first two do little to change the way the Haval drives, but the sport setting does appear to remap the throttle to make it more responsive.
The steering is odd. Soft on centre, it weighs up heavily in the sports setting and self-centres with something bordering on aggression. At low speeds, though, it’s pleasant enough despite the wide turning circle.
Ride on the 19-inch Cooper tyres is a little choppy at higher speeds, but in a straight line and at lower speeds it’s comfortable. The H6 wears MacPhersons up front, and a “multi -connecting rod type independent suspension” down the rear – it looks like a split torsion beam, but no one from Haval could confirm. Around corners, the H6 defaults to a confusing blend of slow, controllable understeer at one moment, and if the corner is a bit rough, a trace of oversteer as the rear end bounces around.
Gear changes via the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters are slow. Tap the left one twice to drop a couple of gears, and you’re on the corner before the gearbox has responded. Upshifts, too, take their time, and occasionally the engine will flare angrily between changes if you’re on the throttle.
Fuel use on test, with some spirited country road driving, fell in at 11.6L/100km, showing that it can develop a thirst if you treat it like the sports car Haval believes it to be.
A constant annoyance was a trigger-happy ESC setting that will switch the indicators on whenever the Bosch system thinks the vehicle is cornering too fast. On a twisty section of Yarra Valley roads, pushing into a corner even mildly would set the hazard lights flashing. Haval Australia says it will have a word to the factory about this.
Okay, so this is the best-driving Haval yet. However, the problem is that if you strip the veneer of kit away, the Haval feels underdone compared with its rivals. A lack of sat-nav, the lack of driver aids that will hurt it in even tougher crash test ratings, and the fact it’s an as-yet unproven brand in Australia all count against it.
However, there’s a new Haval on the horizon. Great Wall promises the all-new Ford Territory-sized H7, due mid-way through next year, will lift the game for the brand. Maybe we should wait for that.
SPECS Model: Haval H6 LUX Engine: 1967cc in-line 4-cyl, dohc, 16v, turbo Max power: 145kW at 5200rpm Max torque: 315Nm at 2000rpm Transmission: 6-speed dual-clutch Kerb weight: 1715kg 0-100km/h: 9.0sec (claimed) Fuel economy: 9.8L/100km Price: $34,990 On sale: Now
First published in the January 1987 issue of Wheels magazine, Australia’s best car mag since 1953.
Plans for Dick Johnson’s SVO – Special Vehicles Operation – call for building 500 distinctive Falcons. Not V8s, but high-output sixes with the emphasis on quality and refinement.
THE THREE-SPOKE Momo steering wheel is mounted drastically off-centre and the speedo, I’m informed, doesn’t work. Under the bonnet, the alloy valve cover has been vandalised with a marker pen. Yet this cobbled-up Dick Johnson Falcon SVO is the prototype for something very significant – a sports-luxury Falcon to compete with Holden dealers, and with Peter Brock’s HDT Special Vehicles.
Sports-minded sedan steerers have been turning to the HDT for more reasons than the simple unavailability of a Ford VB. Excluding the limp-wristed S-Pack series, there hasn’t been a hot-looking, high-performing Falcon since the XE-model ESP in 1983.
Dick Johnson has felt like the captain of a football team that doesn’t have a ball. His attempts in 1984 to throw the Falcon Turbo into play were nixed by the coach, but this only made Johnson more determined. Ever since warranty worries took the boost out of that Turbo attempt, Johnson has toyed with the notion of having his own Special Vehicles Operation, like Ford’s highly successful SVO in America. The scheme would also, of course, give his Holden rival a friendly nudge in the sales race.
Peter Harden, an expatriate Aussie engineer who has worked with the Tyrrell Formula One and VDS Can-Am teams in England and the US, was enlisted to steer the Falcon SVO project along while Dick and the boys got stuck into the Green’s-Tuf Group A Mustang.
Ideas rolled around, and the five litre V8 of the American Mustang came briefly under consideration as Harden’s body designs neared completion in mid-1986. The 302 High Output engine offered roller camshaft, various durability bits, and 168 kW out of the crate.
Parts availability was one major problem with this US engine. The likelihood of having to crash-test a V8-engined XF to gain ADR approval for the projected build of 500 cars was yet another. Finally, when the cost of buying each complete engine/gearbox unit from the States nearly tipped five figures, the 302 HO engine was understandably abandoned.
The Windsor EFI V8, used in the locally assembled Ford Bronco 4wd, didn’t bear considering. With the injection system’s large plenum chamber, the Windsor just won’t fit under the Ford Falcon XF‘s lowered bonnet line.
The first place any dinky-di Queenslander looks for anything is in his ute. Dick’s crew turned its attention to the 4.1-litre, carburettor hack ute that had given the workshop many months’ reliable service (and had also starred in a magazine advertisement).
In either carburettor or fuel-injection forms, Johnson believes the 4.1-litre engine’s biggest performance problem is its inlet system. Chasing at least 150 kW for his proposed SVO engine, Johnson did some parting on the standard inlet manifold with the aid of the race workshop’s flowbench facility. That work, along with other modifications including a different cam grind, netted 147 kW on the engine dyno. Using the flowbench, the SVO crew now intends to design its own inlet and exhaust manifolds.
What is not certain just yet is the engine to which they will be bolted. Dick knows he can get the 150-160 kW he wants from a carburettor engine, albeit with a lot of fiddling to accommodate unleaded petrol.
The prototype, meantime, was fitted with a leaded EFI engine, its only modification so far being a 280-degree duration camshaft. Even with the standard injection system and top-end intact, the prototype shows a mid-to-top-range zest quite foreign to the common or garden EFI engine.
Valve timing will become a major factor in enabling the SVO-modified unleaded engines to meet emissions requirements. With the engines still undecided, there’s a bit of work yet to be done. Peter Harden says the heads will be surfaced to raise the compression ratio to about 9.5 to 1 – the perfect environment for Dick’s new sponsor’s product, Shell Ultra 96-octane ULP. Passengering white-knuckled with me in the prototype, Harden added that the car was “only a fraction of what it will be” when production starts in February.
To obtain the desired engine/transmission/diff arrangement the 500 production SVO cars will be built from basic S-Pack Falcons, ordered through dealers, before the mechanical and paint magic takes place at Johnson’s SVO workshop.
The prototype sits just a tad Iower than the production cars will – this will be set up to the ride height specs for the XE ESP model. Final suspension testing had yet to be done on the prototype; its rock-hard ride was ample evidence of that. Re-rated springs and beefier anti-roll bars will come from Lovell’s, and Johnson is a great believer in Bilstein gas dampers.
The prototype’s venturi-style wheels aren’t quite what they may seem. These fibreglass covers on 16×7 steel wheels are, however, the models from which ROH is casting exlusive SVO alloy wheels. They will be colour matched to each car, with a locking security cap. The wheels are unidirectional, as are the Bridgestone tyres.
Four-wheel discs are a direct carry-over from the standard Falcon S Pack, but could be in need of some attention if the car is going to gain more than 30 kW over Ford’s claimed engine power output. As it happened, the pedal on the prototype lost most of its feel after several runs at the same downhill corner.
With a projected price of $35,000, Dick Johnson SVO fully appreciates the quality expected. Shells will be effectively stripped, doors re-hung and the two-pack base coats and paint all applied at SVO headquarters. That striking pearlescent finish will be a feature of each of the 500 cars, irrespective of the actual colour.
Peter Harden is responsible for the Falcon SVO’s handsome styling. The prototype kit –comprising deep front spoiler, grille, side sills, rear wing and bumper extension – was made in fibreglass, but SVO is having moulds made to manufacture the components in more durable polyurethane.
The styling kit, as you see it, is virtually the genuine banana except for the rear bumper extension. “I never liked the rear underside of the Falcon, with its guts hanging out,” says Harden. “The bumper extension is about an inch too deep as it is, though, and it’ll be raised an inch on the production cars.”
Badging is kept to a minimum, the aim being to establish the Falcon SVO as being a luxury car as much as it is a sporting sedan. Johnson, obviously unable to meet the Brock Commodores head-on in V8 territory, is putting his manufacturing emphasis on quality and refinement. “The numbers aren’t as important to us as getting the cars out at the right quality – so we don’t have to look at ’em again every week.”
The strip and re-fit job will extend as far as a Webasto full electric sunroof, the quality of trimming on the prototype’s roof lining entirely in keeping with that of the deep Recaro buckets.
Roman Automotive, distributor of Recaro, is at work on some special “SVO” trimming for the seats to be used in production cars.
A special SVO instrument pack replaces the standard Ford fare, though it’s not particularly obtrusive. The analogue speedo and tacho carry through a 340 degree sweep, instead of Ford’s odd 180 degree arrangement, while the LED fuel and ancillary gauges remain.
The speedo is now a 240 km/h item – you never know your luck on the Nullarbor – but the tacho remains redlined at 4800 rpm in spite of Peter Harden’s assurance that their engines will be good for 5500 rpm.
Harden was worried that our drive in the prototype would fail to reveal the true potential of Johnson’s SVO venture, but through the Falcon’s overly stiff ride and slightly coarse engine shone the obvious fact that some irresistible force was finally being applied to the old immovable object.
The prototype skated over undulations, but steered and stuck beautifully on smooth surfaces. The steering wheel may have been slapped onto its shaft off-centre, but the Recaros set us dead-straight and kept us there. The air-conditioning was disconnected, so we just turned up the Pioneer digital stereo and opened the sunroof.
Dick Johnson, Ross Palmer, Peter Harden and the boys are going to have their work cut out to build 500 Falcon SVOs between February 1987 and the date of the Ford Falcon EA26 release early in 1988; they’re aiming at about two cars per working day. With sales currently flagging, Johnson’s image-boosting $35,000 SVO could be the Falcon everybody’s been waiting for.
The captain’s picked up the ball. In February, watch him run with it.
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Medium SUVs are the most popular in Australia of all the variously sized sports utility vehicles on sale.
They’re also the second-biggest vehicle segment overall, after small cars.
Renowned nameplates include models more than 20 years old (Toyota RAV4), more than 15 years old (Nissan X-Trail), more than 10 years old (Hyundai Tucson), as well as relatively young models less than five years old (Mazda CX-5).
They’re currently the four biggest-selling medium-sized SUVs locally, so here’s a guide to any changes planned or expected for them during the next 18 months – to help you pick the perfect timing for buying one.
HYUNDAI TUCSON
It’s only about a year since the Tucson nameplate returned to the mid-size SUV segment, replacing the relatively short-lived ix35. Therefore, even the usual mid-life-cycle is a fair while away.
Some product enhancements might materialise in the second half of 2017, though, just to help keep the Hyundai as competitive as possible in this fiercely contested segment.
MAZDA CX-5
The CX-5 has been a runaway success for Mazda since the Japanese brand swapped it for the CX-7 in 2012. It’s currently the most popular SUV in Australia and doesn’t look set to be overtaken any time soon.
The model has already had its facelift, in early 2015, so attention now moves to the second-generation CX-5 that is anticipated to arrive as early as late next year.
Dimensions are not expected to change much from the size that Mazda has described as a “sweet spot”, and the design is likely to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
Next-generation Skyactiv engines could feature Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI), which Mazda engineers have been working on to give its petrol engines the same spark-less, high-compression ignition characteristics as diesel engines.
It wouldn’t be a surprise, either, to see a higher trim grade of the next CX-5 featuring the 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder that debuted in 2016 in the seven-seater CX-9. Engineering improvements will also focus on reducing road noise.
NISSAN X-TRAIL
Nissan X-Trail has been a constant presence on Australia’s list of Most Popular SUVs since it emerged at the start of the century.
The latest-generation model went on sale in April 2014 and is expected to receive its first notable update in the first half of 2017. No details are available yet, though styling tweaks and equipment enhancements can both be anticipated as part of the round of upgrades.
TOYOTA RAV4
Another generation of the Toyota SUV that dates back to 1994 isn’t due until at least 2018.
The current version was released in 2013, had extra features added a year later, and in December 2015 the vehicle was given its mid-cycle upgrade.
The model refresh included the addition of a rear-view camera across all models, revised suspension to improve ride quality, and the introduction of available safety technology including autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, lane departure alert, active cruise control, forward collision warning, and auto high beam.
It’s all standard on the range-topping Cruiser and part of an option pack on the mid-range GXL, though don’t be surprised to see the option pack, which costs $2500, become available sometime soon on the base GX.
Peugeot makes the switch to SUV for seven-seater.
Car makers are continuing their exodus from the people-mover segment, with Peugeot unveiling a new-generation Peugeot 5008 that switches to the hugely popular SUV format.
The Peugeot 5008 follows the same move as the smaller Peugeot 3008 that earlier this year was also transformed from its less fashionable MPV predecessor.
Seven seats are still standard as a major point of differentiation, with Peugeot saying extra cabin space has been created by the 5008’s 11cm-longer body – still relatively compact at 4.64 metres long.
The front passenger seat will also fold down to accommodate items up to 3.2 metres long.
Peugeot is claiming class-leading boot space of 1060 litres for the 5008. It maxes at 1940 litres if cargo is loaded all the way up to the front seatbacks and the roof.
Convenience features either standard or optional depending on variant include multi-point massage function, panoramic glass sunroof, and hands-free tailgate that opens or closes with a kick under the rear bumper.
As with the 3008, a suite of active safety technologies will also be available. They comprise the likes of autonomous emergency braking, road sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, 360-degree camera, and blind spot and lane-keeping warning systems.
The 5008 is front-wheel drive for now, though features Advanced Grip Control that allows the driver to choose settings that vary the vehicle’s stability and traction control systems for different surfaces.
Peugeot Australia says it is currently negotiating with French HQ to bring the 5008 here for mid 2017.
The more practical version of the Audi A5 coupe has been unveiled ahead of its Australian arrival in mid 2017.
Audi’s A5 Sportback again aims to blend the practicality of the A4 sedan on which it’s based with the more athletic design of the two-door variant.
The second-generation Sportback follows the evolutionary design approach of the A4 and A5, which retains a familiar silhouette but introduces tauter body surfacing and sharper crease lines.
The length of Audi’s rival for the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe increases by 17mm. A stretched wheelbase creates an extra 24mm of rear knee space, and Audi says shoulder width widens by 11mm.
Boot capacity of 480 litres offers 15 litres more than the regular A5 coupe, with even more cargo storage – a maximum 1300 litres – possible courtesy of the rear hatch and 40/20/40 split-fold rear seats.
The interior will be familiar to anyone who has purchased the new A4 released earlier this year. That includes features such as the optional Virtual Cockpit graphic instrument display, more advanced MMI (multimedia interface) system, and yet another step-up in the vehicle’s perception of quality.
An Audi entertainment tablet for the rear seats and a 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system are among notable options.
The list of driver aids includes adaptive cruise for rush-hour traffic, assistance for swerve and avoid manoeuvres, traffic sign recognition, and a warning system to help prevent opening a door in the path of an oncoming cyclist.
A5 Sportback engines mirror those of the A4 and A5, meaning turbocharged petrols in 1.4-, 1.8- and 2.0-litre configurations plus a 2.0-litre turbo diesel.
Performance, fuel efficiency and handling will all be aided by weight reductions. Audi says the A5 Sportback is up to 85kg lighter than the outgoing model, with a lowest kerb weight of 1470kg.
The sportier Audi S5 Sportback employs the same 260kW turbocharged V6 as the S4 and S5, and matches their 0-100km/h capability of 4.7 seconds.
The Audi A5 Sportback currently starts at $67,810, fractionally cheaper than the two-door A5.
Turns out driving on snow isn’t only ridiculous fun, but educational too. Here’s what we learnt, and why you should do it.
I FINALLY drove a Ford Focus RS then other day, so naturally I now think I have the drifting skills of Ken Block. Ford’s feisty hatch is, of course, famously fitted with a “Drift Mode” setting, which through engineering brilliance, turns what is ordinarily a grippy four-wheel-drive performance car, into one you can steer by peering through the side glass – in controlled conditions, of course.
It works too, despite the abundance of YouTube videos showing over-excited owners sliding their cars into rock walls and ditches. Like this guy:
If, however, you don’t have access to a Focus RS, or you simply can’t afford one, I’ve since discovered another way to quench one’s drifting thirst: driving on ice.
This isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. Many brands run snow driving experiences, which offer the chance to spend a day in a sideways winter wonderland.
The reality, though, is somewhat more sobering. For me, at least.
This resulted in a high-octane cocktail of spinning snow tyres and broken dreams. A little bit like this:
Within the first five minutes I had spun three times. Even driving in a straight line proved difficult, so slippery was the icy ground. And don’t think AMG fitted spiked tyres to boost the grip levels either. Every car had standard winter rubber, which made it feel as though God had covered the entire snow flat with massage oil.
And it wasn’t only the cars struggling for grip. The last time AMG was here, an instructor slipped over and snapped his leg in half. Like a toothpick.
The good news is this sensation, which is how I imagine newborn giraffes must feel, doesn’t last long. Soon enough, you’ll stop sawing at the wheel and driving like your feet are the size of watermelons. Suddenly your inputs will be smooth, you’ll steer not with the wheel but with the throttle, and you’ll learn to think ahead of the car, rather than chasing its swinging tail.
AMG’s fleet of cars were a mix of rear- and all-wheel drive, so as well as car control, you also learn about weight transfer.
The VK Group A SS: If there’s a car that better represents the road cars that Brock built, well, we can’t think of it.
Other cars to bear the Brock touch might have been quicker and crazier looking, but nothing sums up the attitude of the HDT-modified vehicles like the car that has become known as the Blue Meanie.
Not only was it tough as nails, it absolutely looked the part. It stood as a serious attempt to turn a road car into a racecar (it was the homologation special after all) and it was raw and ballsy as a result.
This sounds crazy, but more than two decades after the first hit the streets, nobody really knows whether the more basic VK SS was a Brock/HDT car or not.
Certainly, Brock had a great deal of input into the thing, but while some owners swear their car had a HDT build plate (under the bonnet, not the glove box-mounted plaque), others reckon not. And anyway, when Holden dropped the SS tag for the VK range, HDT picked it up as the name for its new base-model car, so any VK with SS in its name should, by rights, be a HDT vehicle.
But one thing’s for sure: the VK Group A SS was a Brock Commodore through an through. It had all the good bits and PB was heavily involved in every aspect of the thing, including appearing in the advertising of the day. Anyone remember ‘Body by Holden. Soul by Brock’?
Does any of this matter? Probably not, because the Blue Meanie has come to represent all that was great about high-performance Commodores of that era.
Known in this form as the A9L motor, the V8 blocks destined for the Group A were painted a distinctive shade of red. But don’t rely on that as proof of authenticity, because that’s the first bodge a faker will pull.
Although the original plans called for 500 examples to be built (to satisfy touring car homologation requirements) some reckon a stuff up in ordering meant that 502 were actually built.
The other Group A additions included the deep front spoiler, bootlid spoiler, 16×7 alloy wheels and a bunch of interior changes including Scheel front seats, Momo wheel and gear-knob, and a very basic (read: lightweight) stereo with only two speakers.
There remains some controversy over whether all the Group A SSs got all those 196kW and there’s speculation in some camps that some examples were created more equal than others.
Let it off the leash and the Group A SS would wind up to about 3000rpm, and right at that point a fair chunk of hell would break loose as the 304 got up on its camshaft and exhaust.
Standard gearbox was the old M21 four-speed, but for an extra $2850 (a lot of gold in those days) you could spec the T5 five-cogger which made loads more sense. Not only did it give you some semblance of relaxed cruising, it also had a vastly nicer shift action than the old Muncie.
But what it could do was transport four or five big adults with all their gear, tow a boat or pretty much anything else you could ask of it. In short, it could still do all the things local muscle cars have become rightly famous for, yet it could also give pretty much anything else on the road at the time a glimpse (usually fleeting) of its tail-lights.
Provided you serviced the car properly (and used the right brand and grade of oil), not much would go wrong. But skip oil changes or use cheap oil and you were pretty much guaranteed to break a lobe or two (usually the rearmost pair) off the cam.
But in every other respect, the VK Group A SS was the quintessential balls-out Aussie road car of its era.
We’d also nominate the original VC as a classic example of Brock-ness (it was the first of the breed, after all), as well as maybe the VH Group 3 model with its Euro style.
That it was the work of P Brock simply gives it the aura to match its abilities.
FAST FACTS
HDT VK GROUP A Body: Four-door sedan Drive: Rear-wheel Engine: 5.0-litre 16-valve V8 Bore X stroke: 101.6/76.8mm Power: 196kW @ 5200rpm Torque: 418Nm @ 3600rpm Transmission: 4-speed manual Wheelbase: 2668mm Weight: 1340kg Weight/Power: 7.8kg/kW Suspension: MacPherson struts, A-arms, anti-roll bar (f); trailing arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar ® Brakes: Vented 281mm discs (F&R) Tyres: 225/50VR16 Price: $21,950 (new, 1985)
Old race drivers don’t retire; they just do Targa. Last year Brock completed the event in an SS Holden Ute, and got pretty used to being mobbed on the way to and from the car.
This feature first appeared in the April 2002 edition of MOTOR.
But he always made the time for an autograph or a happy snap for the mantle-piece back home, despite the time pressures of an open-road event. It’s debatable what Brock did more of – gear changing or autographing – during the 2001 Targa Tasmania.
Holden, high on the hog with the success of the Gen III VT and VX, took a look at that, factored in the absence of a Tasmanian V8 Supercar round, and saw several hundred thousand good reasons to fling a couple of Monaros Brock’s way. It doesn’t get any better for Holden fans, when Brock will be Holden’s motorsport ambassador to Tasmania, in a Brock-tweaked Monaro.
Brock describes the Monaro as an “outstanding competition vehicle” after copping the race tuning equivalent of a “haircut and shave”. In fact, the ‘haircut and shave’ project began with Brock’s clear directive to sling together a purpose-built tarmac rally screamer with factory integration up to here.
And there’s one thing that the Monaro beats the upmarket hardware on: it’s got street cred a gogo. Brock’s been driving the car on local roads around his home, and he’s lost count of the 20-somethings who follow, chase, pass (guess he lets them, huh?), stop and get out to give him the thumbs up.
Maybe that’s not quite another victory lap at Mount Panorama, but seeing Brock jumping out of his skin to duke it out with the Eye-ties, the Krauts and the Poms on the best road-course competition on Earth has gotta be the next best thing, right?
Thirty years on, V8 Supercars have become a megabuck amalgam of hi-tech and unobtainium, and the young guns are at the top. However, Brock’s still the lay-down misere, winning-est Australian race driver ever, and he’s back to doing motorsport exactly like he did when he kicked off. And, as Maxwell Smart would say, loving it.
Munro-Mumbo
Gen IIIs love a rev, but thanks to Ron Harrop’s engine tweaks and the new HM Headers exhaust bits (Targa rules prohibit actual headers), this one loves it better than most. Brock says the biggest advantage of more revs is not unsettling the car because you have to change up, then back, on your way into a bend. Holding the gear longer, even if there’s a slight horsepower penalty, is preferable.
There’s now a single exhaust pipe at the front, and he plans to drop the rear pipes over some of the special stages even though there’s no direct performance benefit. “If I can crank it up sideways in front of the crowd, have a wave with one hand and make a lot of noise in the process,” he says, “I think there will be a certain amount of pleasure in it.”
Inside edge
Peter Brock does Street Machine: There’s a blueprint here for all aftermarket Monaro-modifiers. Stripping out the interior and plastering it with aluminium sheet didn’t fit in with Brock’s factory integration theme. And when they found out it wouldn’t save significant weight (just 2-3 kg), the decision to tweak the interior trim around the Bond roll cage became a no-brainer.
Bond’s been pumping out competition roll cages since the original GTS 350 Monaros in 1969, and he’s less exxy than a lot of the competition, according to Brock. Roman Autotek coughed up the Recaro competition seats, the MOMO ‘Race’ steering wheel, matching shifter and pedal pads, and the six-point MOMO competition harnesses. The floor trim? Lightweight black carpet. Looks factory, but isn’t.
Peter Brock has won more of everything than anyone else in Australian motor racing. It’s that simple. He’s had one podium finish for every two starts over 25 years. His first Australian championship title was in 1968 (hillclimb), and since then he’s backed that with nine victories outright at Bathurst and Sandown, 57 ATCC pole positions, 37 ATCC wins, earning a total of 2657 ATCC points.
If you wanted a cornering lesson, we can’t think of a better teacher. Here it is: “I’ve always arrived into a corner faster than most. Just by a few kays. I turn in hard to wash off the speed – just rip the wheel in – and you need a wide, late entry to do that. Then I let it all settle, and feed the power in for the exit. I’m off the throttle until after the apex.”
Brock says eight-tenths everywhere is the go for an event like Targa, although plenty of blokes will proceed to scare themselves silly for several days. He’s a big fan of driving with “circumspection [because] the consequences are very important” when driving down a mountain at warp speed on a wet road with a 100-metre drop on the outside.
Brock says the Monaro has more brake capacity than a V8 Supercar. That’s due to the 18-inch wheels (V8 Supercars run 17s) together with new Harrop Engineering discs and calipers. The discs only just fit inside the factory wheels, and comprise an iron rotor with an aluminium hub cast in.
The reason? To cure ‘coning’, which is where the inside and outside faces heat up and expand at different rates because of the different metal masses on each side, turning the disc cross-section into a cone.
That’s bad. Harrop’s setup also shaves 3 kg from each corner. Six-piston calipers are at the front; four at the rear, with EBC pads that have been incorporated into the system by Harrop to leave no redundant unswept area. Clever. Mobil Mountain Magic competition brake fluid runs in its veins. ABS is retained, a task made easier by Harrop’s balancing of the factory hydraulic ratios front and rear.
Chassis tweaks
The chassis was the Great Unknown during the build. Monaros are more rigid (than SS), have different weight distribution and a different polar moment of inertia, which affects how they turn in.
The car sits 25mm lower on all corners, yet offers 25mm additional wheel travel, thanks to Eibach variable rate springs and Bilstein dampers. The car needs compliance to perform over Targa, Brock says, so spring rates are comparatively soft.
Tyres are Bridgestone RE540 245/35 street-legal race tyres. If it’s wet the team will switch to S-03 high-performance road tyres.
Point and Squirt
Brock says the car loves its new 3.9 diff (down from 3.46). Fifth and sixth are now far more accessible, he says, and first through third are a joy. A Kaaz LSD centre (used last year in the Targa ute) replaces the stock LSD, which experience has shown commits seppuku during hard competition use.
One thing he’s not sitting on the fence over, especially after seeing the power steering fluid boil more than once in the Ute last year, usually after sawing the wheel back and forth, as you do, on steep downhill passes, is tweaking the power steering. So the Mobil techies have come up with a new fluid spec; Mobil Fork Oil 15. And yes, it’s designed for forklift trucks.
He’s also developed a bolt-up power steering oil cooler kit, another plus for Commodore/Monaro owners with the odd track day in their sights.
FAST FACTS – 2002 Targa Tasmania Monaro
Body: two-door coupe Drive: rear Engine: Harrop Engineering-tweaked 5.7-litre Gen III V8 Power: An unspecified amount more than the stock jigger @ 5800 rpm Compression ratio: 10.0:1 Bore x stroke: 99 mm x 92 mm Weight: 1640 kg (stock) Weight/power: N/A Specific power: N/A Transmission: six-speed manual Final drive: 3.9:1 Suspension: Harrop-tweaked MacPherson strut front and independent rear. Eibach variable Rate springs and Bilstein dampers (f&r). Factory anti-roll bars retained Length/width/height: 4789/1841/1397 mm Wheelbase: 2788 mm Track: 1559/1577 mm Brakes: Harrop custom brake rotors (f&r); six-piston calipers (f); four-piston calipers (r), ABS Wheels: 18 x 8 inch (f&r), alloy Tyres: Bridgestone RE540 245/35 x 18 Fuel: Foam-filled standard tank for surge protection and safety List price: $56,990 plus mods
Say “Peter Brock” and several million Australians will knee-jerk respond: “Holden”.
This feature first appeared in the November 2006 edition of MOTOR
That’s how strong the glue has been. However, Brock lost his Holden Virginity many times over the years. His first road car was a 48-215 Holden (which later became nicknamed the ‘FX’), his first race car the famous Austin A30 with a 179 Holden engine.
But until he died in the replica Shelby-Chevrolet north of Perth, he raced, variously, Ford, BMW, Porsche, Chevrolet Monza GT, Birrana Formula Two, Renault R12 – even a Volvo 850. He drove the street circuit of Macau, competed in three Le Mans 24 Hours, raced at Spa in Belgium, Monza, Hockenheim in Germany, the Osterreichring in Austria, Silverstone and Donington (UK), New Caledonia and New Zealand.
He got his first overseas race in 1971 when Firth took him and one of the team’s old XU-1 Toranas to Macau. In the near-stock standard mule Brock qualified on the front now between German gun Dieter Glemser in a factory Ford Cologne Capri and local Albert Poon in an Alfa Romeo GTAM. Brock finished second to Glemser.
In those days, Brock really wanted to drive one of the big and angry Formula 5000s, but could only afford a South Australian-built Formula Two Birrana with Ford Cosworth engine. With his father Geoff on the spanners, Brock and the Birrana won nine races in four meeting, so he upgraded to a new Birrana chassis.
His best result in three more meetings was second to hotshoe Leo Geohegan at Oran Park, but without any real sponsorship, a lack of power and poor tyres, he decided to sell the car.
However, he soon got his taste of big V8 grunt. There was a lot of prizemoney sloshing around in the sports series, so Firth mated an old XU-1, stripped and beefed, with a Repco-Holden Formula 5000 engine developing 490bhp (365kW). It was christened ‘The Beast’ – an apt name, because it ran standard HQ brakes and was as predictable as a dog with rabies. But it won him six races.
When Brock was named one of the nine drivers in the 1979 Repco Round Australia trial, most shit-canners derided it as a PR stunt. They forgot that Brock did his first rally in 1972 – the Sunraysia 250 in a mate’s XU-1.
Brock exiting the venomous 179 Holden-engined roller skate that only he could tame. He sold it to skilled sports car drive Ross Bond who sold it after two months because it was so wicked.
That year, he ran in three Victorian championship rounds in a Firth-prepared Torana, and then the Dulux Rally from Brisbane to Melbourne – a rich mix of rallying, circuits and hillclimbs. Brock finished second behind Colin Bond in the other HDT car. Later in the year, he shared an old XU-1 with Colin Bond in the New Caledonia Safari.
The next year he partnered Matt Philip in a near-standard HDT Kingswood in the Sunraysia 250, finishing fourth, then in 1974 the Don Copasco with Fred Gocentas in the left seat. In 1978, as preparation for the Repco, he had Noel Richards with him in an HDT Gemini in the 2700-kilometre Ready Plan Rally in Victoria, then the Alpine International, finishing fourth again. The Repco brought a famous I-2-3 for the MHDT, Brock winning with the help of Philip and Richards.
At the end of 1974, unhappy with Firth’s iron-fisted rule, Brock broke away and formed Team Brock with Norm Gow and Bruce Hindaugh, running a Torana SUR5000 for 1975 on a shoestring budget. But before he won his second Bathurst 1000 with co-driver Brian Sampson in that car, he ran two races (Oran Park and Sandown) in a Porsche 911 owned by Melburnian Reg Mort.
In October, 1975, Brock heard of a team about to run in the nine-hour race at Kyalami in South Africa with a BMW 3.5 CSi they were willing to sell. Brock jumped on the first plane, saw the car and talked with the BMW Motorsport execs. They assured him of full support if he campaigned the car in Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia, so he bought it, along with a heap of spare parts.
However, then came a kick in the comics; the BMW brass changed its privateer policy and Brock was in the financial poo again. Melbourne Holden dealer Bill Patterson, the main sponsor of the Team Brock Torana, agreed to spend on an attack on the Le Mans 24-Hour with the car. The mechanics pulled apart the big Bimmer, lightening it considerably and re-designing the electrical system, brake system and gearbox.
Expatriate Aussie Brian ‘Yogi’ Muir, who had Le Mans experience, was co-driver. But Brock broke a driveshaft during the rolling start, and ended with brakes only working on three wheels.
Before the CSi retired after I8 hours with a blown head gasket, they set the fastest BMW lap of the race. Three weeks later, with a new 3.4- litre Australian-built engine installed, they contested the 1000km enduro race at the Osterreichring in Austria, but an oil pump fault retired it from fourth.
Two months after Le Mans he co-drove with Gerry Marshall in a works Vauxhall Magnum at the British Tourist Trophy at Silverstone, but limped home with rear brake failure. They ran the car again in the Spa 24-Hour the following year, finishing an astonishing second place outright in a downpour.
Australian Porsche distributor Alan Hamilton organised a factory-built 924 Turbo for Brock to run in the 1981 Le Mans with Bond and Jim Richards. The green-and-gold ‘Spirit Of Australia’ had fearful engine, gearbox and turbo problems during qualifying and missed the cut.
The next year brought Bob Jane’s beautiful and spectacular orange Chevrolet Monza GT for the Australian GT/Sports Sedan Championship’s nine rounds, and while Brock adored the car he couldn’t get near Alan Jones in Hamilton’s works 935 Turbo, who won all nine, with Brock finishing fifth after making only three rounds. Brock would later have a huge crash in the Monza at Adelaide International Raceway when a driveshaft broke, sending him into a wall.
Brock returned to the MHDT in 1978 under John Sheppard. Winning Bathurst in 1978·79·80 with Jim Richards, then in ’82 and ’83 (after taking over the John Harvey car) with Perkins and Harvey, and in ’84 with Perkins again (only his first-ever win, 1982, was a solo drive).
In 1984 Bob Jane T-Marts went to Le Mans as Team Australia, Brock driving with Perkins, who also prepared the ex-John Fitzpatrick Porsche 956. However, wearied by the strain of only a two-driver team, the Cowangie Kid put the car into the crash fencing at 2.00am, and retired.
Back in Australia, Brock embarked on the unpopular Energy Polarizer path that ended in February, 1987, when he and his mysterious chiropractor partner, Eric Dowker, unveiled Brock’s new HDT Director. This was the final straw for Holden, which for two years had tried to get Brock to understand that it could not warranty any cars claiming Energy Polarizer improvements.
So Brock took his Mobil sponsorship with him as a Commodore privateer, and won the 1987 Bathurst with David Parsons and Peter McLeod after taking over their racecar when his own broke.
For the 1988 touring car season, Brock switched to the BMW M3, running as a two-car team with Jim Richards. Richards finished the series fourth and Brock sixth. The next year it was Ford Sierra time for Brock, which was winning everything. Dick Johnson dominated the series again in his red Ford, with Brock finishing third.
The man they called Peter Perfect was seldom a major force in touring cars after that. He drove again with the Holden Racing Team from 1995 until he retired in 1997. But he never really threatened, especially against his young team-mate Craig Lowndes.
There was a brief flirtation in 1997 with the Volvo Racing Team in an 850 for the new two-litre Super Touring Car Championship that was superceded by the AVESCO invasion. Brock officially retired in October, 1997, but did a series of Melba returns until his last.
Driveability and economy
While the Mitsubishi ASX may be one of Mitsubishi’s bestselling models, it’s one of the oldest in this segment and its due for an update. For the most part, it drives well and gives driver confidence, but the steering can be jolty on bumpier roads and noisy tyre-road relations can become an irritation. It’s also thirstier than the Mazda CX-3.
FUEL: 7.4L/100KM
Comfort and space
The seats of the ASX are comfortable but the seats have little lateral support so you end up using your legs more for grip. This is not the car to play ‘corners’ in. On the flipside, the ASX is one of the largest small-SUVs with more rear leg and head space than many of its competitors. When it comes to comfort the ASX and CX-3 are similar, but the Mitsubishi wins in the space department with a 393L boot-space capacity.
Price and equipment
Given it’s age, it’s no surprise the ASX comes with slightly less gear than the CX-3. When you consider we’re comparing the base model ASX with the mid-spec CX-3, it seems harder to justify. The ASX car includes cruise control, reversing camera, parking sensor, leather steering wheel, touchscreen infotainment system, and alloy wheels as standard. It also features automatic climate control and digital radio, which gives it a two-up on its competitor. On the plus side, Mitsubishi offers ASX buyers a 5 year/100,000km warranty.
Click here to read the full review on the Mitsubishi ASX range.
Driveability and economy
The Mazda CX-3 has a punchy engine and good engagement. It handles corners well and offers a smooth ride. The biggest criticism of the CX-3, however, is it has some refinement issue and, like the ASX, it can also be a little bit noisy. But, the 2.0L four cylinder engine sets better economy figures.
FUEL: 6.3L/100KM
Comfort and space
The Japan-made CX-3 is one of the most comfortable of the small SUVs, particularly at this price point. It’s got good visibility, particularly from the slightly-elevated rear seats, giving back-passengers a good view of the road ahead. Boot space, on the other hand, is annoyingly small measuring in at just 264L, which is slightly bigger than its Mazda2 sibling. It’s enough to fit a couple of overnight bags, but getting the pram in can be a bit tricky and may require the backseat to be folded down. It’s certainly one of the smallest of the bunch.
Price and Equipment
The CX-3 comes stacked with gear. Like the ASX, cruise control, reversing camera, leather steering wheel, touchscreen infotainment system and allow wheels all come as standard. But then the CX-3 takes off, offering buyers brake assist, automatic start/stop, keyless entry, and satellite navigation and seatbelt reminders for all seats. As for warranty, it’s the segment popular 3 year unlimited warranty.
Click here to watch our video review on the Mazda CX-3.
VERDICT
When it comes to who wins this race, both have their obvious pros and cons. The ASX may come with a spacious interior and five year warranty; it loses out when compared to the CX-3’s equipment, economy and price.
