The Peugeot 208 GTi is a good car, but it’s unlikely to rate a mention on future lists of the top hatches of all time. But the baboon-butted 30th Anniversary special edition version? It just might.
The extra 6kW, 25Nm, suspension refiddle and mechanical limited slip diff do more than just add the zing the base 208 GTi so seems to need. And so at PCOTY, we had high hopes the little red and black, feral jellybean might kill some giants, along the lines of the Fiesta ST with its stunning third place finish at PCOTY 2013.
But alas, it was not to be – though it had more to do with the sheer strength of the field than it did for any major flaws of the little Peugeot.
In lap time alone the 30th Anniversary treatment is apparently worth 4.3 seconds. And, we’re glad to report, it had nothing to do with the, err, polarising paint scheme. (Whether or not it’s to your tastes, that’s the $4000 question.)
But the differences were greatest on road, where the 30th showed mongrel and tenacity the donor car just doesn’t have. The engine has some welcome extra pep, felt mostly in the upper end of the tacho (even if Peugeot Sport could have given the exhaust note some extra herbs and spices – it sounds a little appliance-y when you rev it out. And apparently has no pops or crackles to speak of).
But on road, and on track, it’s not super playful – at least, if you try to unhinge the back you’re likely to end up white as a ghost rather than happy-clapping. It’s not Fiesta-ST-fun in that sense.
And the controls take some getting used to. Peugeot Sport can’t do much about the inherent 208 layout, where you sit high, the steering wheel is mounted low, and it can be tricky to find the perfect driving position. The gearshift and pedals could feel a bit ‘meatier’, too.
But in general the 208 GTi 30th was met with relief amongst the judges. ‘This is more like it,’ grunted Morley, before muttering something about the old 205 GTi. The 30th is probably what the 208 GTi should’ve been to begin with.
THE NUMBERS 0-100km/h: 6.60sec (10th) 0-400m: 14.81sec @ 156.73km/h (10th) Lap Time: 1:42.30sec (10th)
David Morley: 9th “Closer than ever to recapturing the magic of the original Peugeot 205 GTI”
Scott Newman: 10th “Fiery Frenchie much improved over standard, but small details stop it achieving true greatness”
Tim Robson: 9th “A hot hatch zinger with hot sauce and jalapenos, but let down by inconsistent, slippery brake pedal”
Warren Luff: 10th “A great car on the limit and a lot of fun, but it tends to have that typical front-wheel understeer”
The XR8’s participation in this year’s Performance Car Of The Year had more than a whiff of the farewell tour about it. And, sadly, like many farewell tours, it quickly became clear that it might’ve been best if the fast Falcon had retired a little earlier.
It must be said that in isolation the XR8 has its moments of fun. The 5.0-litre supercharged V8 is mighty – as evidenced by 0-100km/h in 4.8sec and a 12.8sec quarter mile – with a top-end rush as powerful as anything else in the field.
Unfortunately, the rest of the package means that all too often on a twisty road driving the XR8 feels like steering a barely controlled missile. It’s at its best pointing uphill, with gravity working against it. That way the numb brakes and heavy front end have an easier time and you can help steer the car with the throttle thanks to the prodigious power on tap.
It was Luffy who summed it up best by saying while the Falcon can be driven quite quickly, you’re never really encouraged to do so as the whole process offers very little reward. The ease and progression with which the XR8 loses grip proves there’s still a good chassis underneath it, but you’re often left guessing as to what’s going on as there’s so little communication.
The main culprit is the steering; light and vague, it transmits next to nothing about what is happening at the front end, while the high seating position – yes, that again – means you feel like you’re sitting ‘on’ the car, rather than being a part of it.
All this matters little, of course, as Ford is selling as many XR8s as it can build and, to be honest, for most buyers it’s going to be exactly what they want, a spacious five-seat V8 sedan with a Ford badge on the front that goes like the clappers.
What it’s not, however, is a competitive contemporary performance car, and that’s a shame, as it would’ve been nice for this Australian icon to go out hitting a high note.
JUDGES’ RANKINGS Dylan Campbell: 11th “It’s a hot rod in that grunt, attitude and noise are what it does best. Corners? Not so much”
David Morley: 11th “Not perfect, but appeals to my belief that fun needs to be taken seriously”
Scott Newman: 11th “Plenty of power, but badly outclassed compared to the best cars of 2015”
Tim Robson: 11th “A great, tractable, fun, revvy engine, but I expected more from the chassis”
Warren Luff: 11th “Unfortunately these days, a great engine no longer makes a great car. Certainly outclassed”
Mini has confirmed the Mini Ray will return to showrooms later this year priced at less than $30,000 on the road. The company confirmed that the new entry-level model will be offered as a price leader in three- and five-door hatch models, with its driveaway pricing designed to bring new car buyers to the brand.
“It’s something we have available in the market now as the Mini One, [but] this is taking a new direction with the different mirror caps and side scuttles,” Mini Australia general manager Tony Sesto said. Sesto told WhichCar he expects most Mini Ray buyers to be new to the brand. “It’s targeting a different segment … it’s an entry-level price point for us.”
The 2016 Mini Ray would replace the Mini One (pictured above, top), which currently starts from $26,050 before on-road costs and uses a 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine. The 2016 Mini Ray will be powered by a new generation 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder; the entry-level engine introduced in the current generation F-series in 2015, and most recently in the Mini Clubman and Convertible. It was also introduced into the 2016 BMW 318i in January.
“The plan at the moment is that it’s going to be sub-$30,000 drive-away,” Sesto said. “The $25K [of the previous Mini Ray] wasn’t the driveway point … hopefully at the beginning of the second half of this year we can confirm that price, but we have a target price of sub-$30,000 drive-away.”
Offered exclusively on three- and five-door hatches, the Ray was first introduced on the previous R57 Mini in 2011 (pictured above). It was priced at $25,500 plus on-road costs, and was limited to 300 units. “When we did have the Mini Ray in the marketplace it was well accepted, hence the reason why we want to try and bring it back into the Australian market.”
The key difference between the previous iteration of the Ray and the 2016 model is that Mini is currently on a high: sales are up 16.6 percent so far in 2016, off the back of a record 2015. In contrast, the previous Ray was released when the brand was looking to turnaround a 23 percent decline in sales from 2010-11.
You can take the car out of Summernats, but you can’t take Summernats… you know how it goes.
Five cars reportedly blocked traffic on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge last Sunday to hold an impromptu hoon session, transforming the bridge’s eastbound lane into a five-lane wide playground for more than 50 cars.
But it’s the first ‘stunt’ car involved in this fiasco which caught our eye. An Instagram page known as the Bay Area Movement has released short footage of the event which reveals a Pontiac GTO leading the auto circus, shown here as a GIF clip by Autoblog.America’s Pontiac GTO from 2004-2006 was of course built in Australia and known here as a Holden Monaro.
While there’s nothing to be admired by this stunt, the car looks comfortable showing off its rear-drive V8 layout, and the aging Monaro seems to have found its niche as a smoke ‘demo’ vehicle across the Pacific ocean.
No arrests were made but California Highway Patrol is reportedly investigating the event.
Our award-winning design expert Paul Cockburn evaluates our 11 contenders.
Good
Bad
Day 1: It begins
And so, once again, the assorted wheelnuts of MOTOR inc. are gathered to determine the Performance Car Of The Year and, as ever, the interplay of science and art promises challenge. As do the twinned tasks of assessing the consequence of 4266 horses harnessed for human transport and capturing the spectacle of that for publication.
For the former endeavour Editor Dylan has assembled the finest of minds, present (himself and Ass. Ed. Scott Newman) past (ex-Ed. Tim Robson) perpetual (Morley) and professional (Adult Luff).
For the art-crop, however, he has thrown caution aside and bizarrely augmented Photographers Brunelli and Dewar with a posse of midgets to make a movie of the exercise for global release on the MOTOR website.
All of these pursuits commence this year at DECA, established in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley in 1974 and now grown into one of Australia’s premier driver education centres. Certainly it is an impressive facility, well up-market of the speed-’til-they-bleed sites of previous PCOTYs and, as the judges begin to check the cars and the circuit, I seize the moment to savour the advance of automotive design.
And at first pass – such as a showroom spiel – the field here show that copious creativity has been devoted to solving such problems as door opening, engine-starting, gear selection, handbrake release and switchgear placement.
Sadly, gimmickry’s got into the aesthetics, too, with many of the cars using the flexibility offered by moulded and plated plastics for gimmickry rather than design advance. Principal among these is the Lexus, the front of which suggests that either someone dropped the clay model or it was bring-the-kids-to-work day in the style-shop.
But there are four days ahead in which to ponder the real progress of some of the world’s most venerated marques and initial impressions suggest that few of them are hobbled by history. Splendid. I for one am happily open to the idea of New World Order.
Day 2: the climb
Each of us waking addled from the mixed benefit of having a bear as a bedroom companion, Morley and I join the group as all are offered a choice of key from the lollybox to begin the day’s journey. Emboldened by age and still warmed by memories of last year, I grab the F-Type’s key before anyone else can.
It’s a lovely driver and, naught-to-whatever times notwithstanding, has real-world overtaking thrust instant and sufficient enough to be breathtaking. The whole experience is marred only by the rear wing popping up during my discovery of this athleticism and remaining up as a sure signal of my curiosity to Mr. Plod.
Happily, either choice requires remaining seated in the car and I am pleased to help by moving mine into position on the peak as the entire fleet are arranged for the feature shot, which will doubtless look lovely on the printed page but, at ground level, looks like the most expensive car-crash in history.
Day 3: the alps
Once again we each dip into the lollybox hoping to find something that makes getting up at this hour worthwhile. As if such a key exists. To add to the grey comes the realisation that I’ve no idea what we’re doing today and neither does Morley. Clearly we need the guidance of grown-ups but when it dawns that he and I are grown-ups all hope of enlightenment fades.
There are few, if any, more lovely roads in this country and essaying them in a Car Of Distinction sounds like a splendid way to spend the day. And will prove splendidly challenging, too.
The temptation to taste each of the treasures on hand is immense; the fleet’s average output is 290kW and all but two of them are faster, way faster, than the fabled Phase III GT-HO. So savouring them responsibly as we climb, in unseasonable cold, on roads peppered with ice signs and patches of damp, is essentially the difference between having a dick and being one.
I am proud to record that, as ever, no evidence of insanity occurs until, with our destination reached, Photographer Brunelli feels compelled to portray each contender in moving car-to-car shots taken by him sitting up-and-out, exposed and apace, in the open MX-5 at 0-degrees. You do wonder how we get some of these shots don’t you…?
A lifetime spent blending exotic car ownership with genuinely satisfying daily use has taught me that excellence in both fields is equally desirable but honour compels the admission that no-one’s asked my opinion.
And so the circus goes, a collage of colour and capability as the masters of each craft ply their prowess and those of us without a newspaper wonder how best to pass the time. Which is not always easy.
Day 4: the track
On the last day I rise with spirits a-twinkle. Winton awaits, it’s a glorious day for a speed and even better to be paid for indulging in it. So how better to start such a day than by savouring its surest star? Accordingly, by using an uneven mixture of charm and raw speed, I strap myself into the 911 for the journey to the circuit. Some days are diamonds.
But as the trip unwinds so does the truth. This Porsche may well be stunning against the clock but it’s frankly disappointing on the road. The ride is crude, to put it kindly, and the noise is all-invasive. Clearly all its evolution has been circuit-based and it will have to completely dominate there to win this year.
Accordingly, an enquiring mind takes me out to the drag strip, where Messrs Morley and Newman are adjudging merit to one-hundredth of a second… a task proving just as difficult as you might imagine because of the horsepower on tap.
We’ll almost certainly both go to hell for what happens next, but Lordy it’s fun to sit in a raging car creating its own weather system and going absolutely nowhere!
So, given that my flight home requires leaving before the judge’s decision is announced, I leave this year’s PCOTY unsure of its outcome. But very sure of something even more important…
However diverse our individual parameters may be, beautiful, brutal motor cars are still being created to delight them.
Faster, lighter, more engaging limited edition Aston Martins to farewell long running Vantage ahead of replacement model with AMG-sourced V8.
IT CAN be hard to say goodbye. Clearly so for Aston Martin, which is launching a series of limited editions of the long-serving Vantage before its replacement by an all-new car next year, with a new seven-speed manual gearbox for the V12 Vantage S and a motorsport-inspired GT8 with a stratospheric price-tag.
The surprise is that Aston seems to have done all its work on just one side of the power-to-weight ratio, with the GT8 having a barely modified version of the standard Vantage’s V8 engine. The company claims a 7kW power increase to 328kW, with the weight saving having cut the claimed 0-100km/h time to 4.4 seconds – down from 4.8 seconds for the Vantage S. Both a six-speed manual and seven-speed automated shift version will be available.
All these specials are proof that the Vantage’s days are numbered; we know that it is being replaced next year by a new car that will be powered by the 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that Aston is buying from AMG. With the greatest of respect to these two, that’s the one that we’re really looking forward to seeing.
A Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible has undergone a colourful transformation at the hands of artist, Sir Peter Blake, and is going to be auctioned off in June to raise money for Care2Save Charitable Trust, a hospice charity.
Blake, who is better known for his contribution to British pop art and co-creating the cover for the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover, was commissioned by Bentley to create the one-of-a-kind Continental.
Playing on the charitable theme, Blake seems to have incorporated as many colours as possible in his design. It features a striking St James Red heart on a Continental Yellow bonnet, contrasting against the vehicle’s St Luke’s Blue body, a custom colour named after a local hospice. British Racing Green is used for the lower body work and a fuchsia pink radiator adorns the Bentley’s nose.
The vivid display is continued through the interior. The leather seats are individually treated in Cumbrian Green, Imperial Blue, Newmarket Tan and Hotspur (red), and mirrored on the steering wheel.
The centre console, dashboard and interior door panels are crafted in Piano Black, interrupted only by the bright pink gear lever.
Each seat features an embroidered signature by Blake and a special plaque on a treadplate reads: “UNIQUE DESIGN BY SIR PETER BLAKE, 1/1, BY BENTLEY MULLINER”. And as an added bonus, Blake has included a personalised playlist, which we’re hoping is opened by Sgt. Pepper and the Lonely Hearts Club Band.
“I’m proud to have been involved with transforming this beautiful car, and have enormous admiration for the people at Bentley who brought my design into being, to produce this one-off lovely car,” Blake said.
We’re pretty sure this Bentley will go in and out of style, but it’s guaranteed to raise a smile.
The car will be auctioned off at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on June 24.
Hidden beneath the test car’s familiar V40 body shape is almost certainly the all-new CMA platform, co-developed by Volvo with its Chinese parent company, Geely.
The Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) platform will form the basis of Volvo XC40, next-generation V40 hatch, a new S40 sedan, and a range of fresh Geely vehicles.
XC40 will be Volvo’s first entry into the compact SUV segment, and is likely to compete with cars like BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLA and the new Infiniti QX30 when it finally arrives in early 2018.
Volvo boss Håkan Samuelsson confirmed the plan to build a small SUV. “We want to build a broader range of ‘40’ cars,” he said. “Today we only have the hatchback, but we want more, and with the new technology that we’re working on, we will have the means to expand the line-up. Highest on my list is a small SUV, because that’s where the market is going.”
A hybrid electric powertrain has been hinted at for XC40 that would likely use Volvo’s own compact 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo engine and a small electric motor cleverly packaged with the gearbox. Volvo is developing a larger range of three- and four-cylinder engines to end dependence on its supply deal with Ford.
As for how the XC40 will look when it reaches showrooms, expect a version of Volvo’s concave front grille as seen on larger Volvo SUVs and headlights that follow the ‘Thor’s Hammer’ design seen on Volvo XC90. A production version is likely to appear at a motor show before the end of 2017 and provide a further look at Volvo’s styling direction for new-generation V40 and S40 that will follow shortly after.
The move will give Australians in Sydney or Melbourne an opportunity to drive America’s famous sports car, which has seen Ford Australia struggle with supply due to greater than expected popularity.
Ford says it delayed announcing the partnership with Hertz until it had secured significantly more Ford Mustangs for customers in 2016.
“We deferred this partnership until recently confirming 2000 more Mustangs for Australia, which helped shorten the wait for many retail customers,” said Ford Australia CEO and president Graeme Whickman. “A small number of Mustangs in the country’s biggest cities will help us reach a great number of people with Mustang’s magic – especially in a period of increased domestic travel.”
Ford said a self-conducted study of 1000 Australians had revealed more than three-quarters were planning domestic holidays rather than overseas travel.
The Mustang went on sale in January as the first version of the US muscle car to be available in factory-built right-hand drive, though it won’t be cheap to hire.
Hertz is quoting about $600 to hire a Mustang GT coupe for the weekend, with a Saturday morning pick-up and Monday a.m. return.
That’s about double the cost of hiring a Renault Megane RS265 Trophy hot-hatch, also available from the Adrenaline Collection, over the same period.
Click here to read the full review on the Ford Mustang range.
