CHINESE SUV brand Haval will launch in Australia on 1 June and wants to be the top selling SUV brand in the country.
Its slogan in its home market is “No.1 SUV brand in China”, and that will remain in its Australian marketing material, where it hope to replicate the success.
“This is our aim long-term,” said Haval chief executive Madam Wong told Wheels at the 2015 Shanghai motor show. “We were attracted to Australia because it is a one-million vehicle market, and the SUV sales make up 300,000, so it’s a very good market.”
The Haval brand is essentially the SUV arm of Great Wall Motors, and boasts the best-selling SUV in China – the Haval H6 – which easily outsold the heavyweights in its home market including the VW Tiguan, Toyota RAV4 and Nissan Qashqai. Adding to the feat is that Haval isn’t state-owned like a large number of its Chinese rivals.
Haval has based its Australian HQ in Mount Waverly, south-east of Melbourne, and will introduce four models over the next 12 months, with two models offered immediately from its 1 June launch date.
The first is the entry-level H2 priced in the low $20,000 range to take on the likes of the Mazda CX-3 and Honda HR-V. It will be powered by a 120kW 1.5-litre turbocharged direct-injection petrol engine paired with a six-speed dual-clutch transmission.
The other model available from day one will be the H9, a Nissan X-Trail-sized SUV built on a ladder chassis and equipped with all-wheel drive. It’s expected to be price in the low $50,000 range.
Following these will be the H6 Coupe, launched at Shanghai, but because it is not a coupe it’s likely to simply be badged ‘H6’ for Australia. With a choice of 2.0-litre turbo petrol and turbo-diesel engines, it will pitch against the Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai ix35 when it arrives in November.
A fourth model, the H8, is a rival to the likes of the Ford Edge and forthcoming Hyundai Tucson and will arrive in early 2016.
All models will be offered with all-wheel drive, and high-end features such as heated seats, puddle lamps and Germanic styling outside and in.
“We’re a premium SUV manufacturer,” said Haval Australia spokesman Tim Smith. “We like to think of it as affordable luxury.”
Haval will be operated and marketed separately to Great Wall in Australia. Ateco Automotive, Great Wall’s distributor in Australia, has had to tackle declining sales, poor resale values, recalls and now tension between the local importer and China HQ since the brand’s launch here in 2009.
Haval currently has around 200 cars on the ground in Australia and is developing its local dealer network independently of Great Wall. It’s expected to announce between 10 and 20 dealers at the official brand launch.
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Audi RS3 Sportback sets out to smash Mercedes-AMG’s hugely successful A45 by offering more power and quicker acceleration.
WHAT IS IT? The second generation of Audi’s range-topping RS-badged A3 Sportback, but the first destined for Australia. An unspecified ADR issue prevented sale of the old model, but its lighter, sharper and faster replacement should make amends. Contrary to usual practice, the RS version arrives early in the current A3’s lifecycle – just two and a half years after launch, compared to seven years for the previous Audi RS3 Sportback – in order to bolster Audi’s push for global sales dominance in the premium sector.
WHY WE’RE TESTING IT Audi wants its high-performance RS line-up to be strong enough to eclipse BMW’s M division and Mercedes-Benz’s AMG portfolio. And it needs a full line-up of models to do so, hence why the scalding RS3 Sportback is being launched just 18 months after its hot S3 Sportback sibling.
MAIN RIVALS Eyeball to eyeball, the Mercedes-AMG A45 hatch and, somewhat indirectly, the BMW M235i coupe. The forthcoming, updated BMW M135i hatchback will also be on the RS3’s radar, but then so should the new-gen Ford Focus RS. Only a fool would ignore the scorching Ford’s supreme reputation as a driver’s-car.
THE WHEELS VERDICT A stunning piece of work in terms of visual presence and interior presentation, backed by a charismatic turbo five with class-leading thrust. But an ill-conceived drive program merely highlighted the mediocrity of the RS3’s ride on sub-standard surfaces and the understeer bias of its chassis on a tight racetrack. Given optional magnetic dampers and a truly great piece of road, the RS3’s dynamic talent may shine brightly, but we won’t know until it launches locally in October.
PLUS: Suave, yet scorching performance; superb visuals and quality; aural character; reassuring on-road grip MINUS: Too much understeer on a track; stiff ride without magnetic dampers; jury still out on its degree of driver appeal
THE WHEELS REVIEW BEAUTIFUL people will always get away with more than the rest of us. Sparkling eyes, a great smile, an athlete’s fitness and a model’s dress sense are an unbeatable combination, especially when you add charisma to the mix. And so it proves for the Audi RS3 Sportback.
Derived from the rather bland and slightly frumpy A3 Sportback, the RS3 has truly grown into its skin, fleshed out by meatier wheel tracks, menacing air intakes and guard-filling 19-inch wheels, not to mention Audi RS’s signature oval-shaped dual exhausts.
Acoustic flaps open, cackling a deliciously amplified, hard-edged five-cylinder rasp, the RS3 sounds every inch the mega-hatch Audi wants it to be.
Under its bonnet sits a 2.5-litre turbocharged direct-injection five, straight from the old TT RS, and destined for the next one as well.
Hand-built in Audi’s engine plant in Gyor, Hungary, it has received a number of upgrades for its latest application, including less internal friction via new piston rings, a new air inlet and optimised air paths.
The result is an A45-beating 270kW from 5550-6800rpm and a truly muscular 465Nm making its back-shoving presence felt all the way from 1625rpm to the peak power point.
Audi claims between 50 and 100 percent of drive can be transferred to the RS3’s rear axle, which sounds promising for its handling balance. The quattro system’s electronically controlled, hydraulically actuated clutch pack is mounted on the rear axle to improve weight distribution, though at 59/41 front-to-rear, the 1520kg RS3 is clearly front-biased.
What the drive-split figures don’t convey is the fact that the front wheels need to be slipping before all the drive heads rearwards, and on a beautifully surfaced racetrack like Vallelunga, just outside Rome, the RS3’s ability to drift ain’t gonna happen without deliberate and expertly timed provocation.
What Vallelunga does demonstrate is the RS3’s undoubted speed, and the unyielding effectiveness of its optional ceramic brakes (expected to add $10K in Australia), which share the normal front discs’ 370mm diameter and eight-piston calipers, but lower mass from 11.9kg to 5.5kg per corner.
Driven hard around Vallelunga, even the optional 255/30R19 front tyres – is this the first modern car to wear wider fronts than rears? – are unable to dial out the RS3’s inherent understeer. Slow-in, fast-out is the name of the game as the RS3 sends drive to its 235/35R19 rear boots for terrific corner-exit thrust, but as you add speed mid-corner, it’s obvious the RS3 is dominated by its front end.
Out on the busy, narrow, poorly surfaced and low speed-limited roads that encircle Vallelunga, the RS3 demonstrates moments of brilliance. Sweet seven-tenths handling poise, the odd satisfying slide in its tail and precise, if slightly aloof, steering make for a fast, confidence-boosting hot hatch. But not necessarily an inspiring one.
None of the launch cars featured the optional magnetic dampers, which meant the standard-spec RS3s we drove in Italy were less than supple over the many potholed and broken surfaces we encountered.
Without adaptive dampers, Audi’s Drive Select system only alters the engine/gearbox, steering and engine sound. With the Individual mode set to Auto for the drivetrain, Dynamic for the steering and Dynamic for the exhaust, the RS3 is in its element, though you also need to select Sport mode in the transmission to get the exhaust’s full symphonic effect. A sports exhaust is optional in Europe, but Audi Oz is yet to decide whether to make it standard here.
What cannot be disputed is the greatness of the RS3’s interior.
With just 2.1 turns lock-to-lock and well-judged weighting in Dynamic mode, the RS3’s leather and Alcantara steering wheel is delightful, as are its red-edged seatbelts, diamond-stitched leather seats and the superb feeling of quality.
Optional fixed buckets are 7kg lighter per seat, but you’d want to be serious about your driving, and personal weight management, to go there.
So, despite being the fastest and most powerful Audi five-pot of all time, there’s something suave and gentlemanly about the RS3 Sportback. Unlike the A45, it’s quiet and well-mannered when you want it to be, and is clearly dressed for the occasion with the utmost taste.
Unfortunately, the unflattering drive loop chosen by Audi to showcase its fastest-ever hatchback has failed to properly enlighten us on the potential greatness of its quattro drive system and the comfort benefit of its optional magnetic damping.
For the sake of its fabulous engine and salivatory styling, here’s hoping a strafe up a mountain pass when it arrives in Australia in October will grant it a great big tick.
SPECS Model: Audi RS3 Sportback Engine: 2480cc 5cyl, dohc, 20v, turbo Max power: 265kW @ 5550rpm Max torque: 465Nm @ 1625-5550rpm Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch Kerb weight: 1520kg 0-100km/h: 4.3sec (claimed) Economy: 8.1L/100km Price: $80,000 (estimated) On sale: October
AN ALL-NEW Ford Taurus, a potential Ford Falcon replacement, has been revealed ahead of today’s Shanghai motor show in China.
The Taurus will be built in China specifically for the Chinese market. However, its design – overseen by Australian Todd Willing, who gave us the stunning modern-day Ford GT at January’s Detroit motor show – may well be a carbon-copy of a large sedan destined to replace the Falcon in 2016.
Wheels caught the Taurus testing in Australia late last year, with its larger-car proportions including a 2.95m wheelbase and 5.0-metre overall length evident, with the show car riding on 19-inch alloy wheels. That makes it even bigger than the current, and last, FGX Falcon, which sits on a 2838mm wheelbase with a 4949mm length.
“We wanted to create a vehicle that displays a maturity of design with balanced and harmonious proportions, tailored to the business customer in China,” said Willing, Ford’s Asia Pacific design director and exterior designer for the Ford Taurus.
The new Taurus carries Ford’s signature trapezoidal front grille, similar to the FGX Falcon’s, and elongated headlamps in step with the One Ford Kinetic design language that is now prolific across the global line-up, and also worn on the facelifted Ford Focus that will sit alongside the Taurus at the Shanghai show.
Falcon production will end once Ford’s Australian manufacturing operations close late next year, with rumours of an earlier end dismissed by new local boss, Graeme Whickman, in an interview with Wheels. Ford is still likely to replace the rear-drive Falcon, despite the recently released front-drive Ford Mondeo, an impressive all-new hatch and wagon offering, having similar interior space.
The Taurus and Falcon have led somewhat parallel lives in the last decade: both were once top-selling cars, with the Taurus dominating the US market in the mid-1990s around the same time as the Falcon’s last stint at the top Down Under. Both have since suffered significant sales declines, with the Taurus name dropped in 2006 before then-new Ford global boss, Alan Mulally, resurrected the badge in 2007. Despite this, Taurus sales in the US are still a long way off the model’s previous success, with a 28 percent sales slump in the first quarter of 2015 alone.
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F1: Lewis again… just!
THE standard of racing amped up somewhat after that pathetic excuse for a contest in China, but at the end of the under-lights Bahrain Grand Prix the bloke at the pointy end was again Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes.
This makes his record this year a slick four from four, but this result doesn’t quite tell the story of the race.
Hamilton was pushed hard by both team-mate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari’s double act of world champions. And just one more lap and the outcome may have been different as Hamilton encountered braking problems on the last few kilometres to the chequer.
Showing that Mercedes is still vulnerable, Rosberg also had braking-by-wire dramas two laps from the end, running wide and allowing hard-pushing Kimi Raikkonen to poke his Ferrari into second.
The grand prix began in lively fashion with Hamilton holding out Sebastian Vettel and Raikkonen in the usual opening lap rush, while Rosberg dropped a place to fourth.
Our man Ricciardo, from seventh, benefitted from Felipe Massa ahead being forced to start from the pitlane, but showed he’d fixed the startline yips of the last race and completed the first lap in sixth.
Rosberg smartly reclaimed third with a feisty move on Raikkonen. The fired up Rosberg then took a crack at Vettel when the Ferrari driver went wide in turn one. The first effort failed; the second didn’t and then the Mercs were doing what they often do and that’s run one-two up front.
Vettel then found himself in the gun sights of a pumped-up Raikkonen but stayed ahead until Ferrari pulled the predictable undercut early tyre stop move, which put the four-times champ back to third ahead of Rosberg. A lap later Rosberg belligerently elbowed his way back past Vettel and to a track position surprisingly close to Hamilton, who’d had a slower pit stop.
Vettel later made an unforced error and damaged his nose, putting him behind the Williams of Valtteri Bottas to the finish, but Raikkonen in the second Ferrari picked up the baton, using his tyres superbly and carving into the Mercedes pair up front.
Ricciardo’s Renault engine failed as he got to the line, meaning he will be using his fourth and final engine in Spain next month. Not ideal, Regie.
But Our Dan was pleased with his own performance: “The weekend went pretty smooth for me until the end of the race. I don’t know what happened [with the engine], but the team will have a look at it.
“The chassis is working better and through the corners we are more or less there; we’ll move onto Europe and see if we can get further up the grid and keep improving.”
Back in the order there were some entertaining battles. Bottas bested Vettel for fourth, Romain Grosjean moved his Lotus from 10th to seventh, Force India’s Sergio Perez from 11th to eighth, Red Bull’s Daniil Kyvat from 17th to ninth, and Massa claiming the final point after a spirited drive from the back.
McLaren’s misery continued when Jenson Button’s car stopped with a bang as he headed out for Q1. He was granted permission to start from the rear of the grid, but the car was withdrawn not long before the start when engineers discovered safety problems with the ERS.
Team boss Ron Dennis denied that this was the most pain he has had to endure in his Formula One career, pointing to the rawness of not qualifying for the 1983 Monaco Grand Prix.
In the lead-up to the race in Bahrain, as was the case in Shanghai and before that in Sepang, the international television was furiously using their egg-beaters to whip more life into the tired old tale of rivalry between the fighting Mercedes team-mates.
Hopefully, the focus might shift from their real or imagined feud to the new engine rules for 2017 foreshadowed by Bernie Ecclestone, who has called for 1000 horsepower… and more noise.
INDYCARS: Power’s Long Beach stalls as Dixon breaks duck
DEFENDING IndyCar champ Will Power had a weekend to forget at Long Beach, his race compromised by a frustrating qualifying and then his race effectively cruelled when a car stalled ahead of him in the pitlane entry.
But that other ‘Australian’ – Brisbane-born Ganassi driver Scott Dixon finally dispatched his Long Beach street race hoodoo with a strong win over the rival Penske squad.
Dixon’s early move to get by Juan Pablo Montoya into second was pivotal for he was then able benefit from a brief delay for then-leader Helio Castroneves during the first round of pit stops to grab the lead.
With no yellows to deal with, Dixon was thereafter never under threat, beating home Castroneves by 2.2 seconds.
The scrap for the last podium slot created most of the race’s excitement with Penske duo Montoya and Simon Pagenaud joined by Tony Kanaan and Sebastien Bourdais in a four-way run to the flag.
Sadly, Power race was ruined in the first round of stops, when Luca Filippi stalled at the pit entry. Power then stalled trying to manoeuvre around him. He rejoined but fell off the lead lap to finish 20th.
Montoya still leads the championship standings from Castroneves, Kanaan and Dixon. Past champions all.
MOTOGP: Rossi triumphs in Argentina; Marquez crashes
THE sceptics who thought Valentino Rossi’s vintage win in the opening round of the MotoGP season in Qatar an aberration should think again after the Yamaha star’s adventurous charge to victory in Argentina.
Rossi gambled on the right tyre choice to take his 84th MotoGP victory, storming from eighth on the grid to take the lead after banging bikes with Marc Marquez, the Spaniard crashing out of the race.
At the start, Rossi was immediately in the middle of the pack fighting for first corner position, then picking off Danilo Petrucci and then Aleix Espargaro to move into sixth. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Iannone, Cal Crutchlow and finally Andrea Dovizioso were then caught and passed, putting the veteran in second position behind Marquez, four seconds up the road.
But he reeled in the reigning world champ, who was struggling with grip, lining him up with just two laps remaining.
A fast exchange of positions followed through turns two, three and four, with Rossi exiting turn five in the lead.
Counter-attacking, Marquez clipped Rossi’s back wheel on the exit, crashing out of contention. Although Marquez was not thrilled with the encounter at the time, officials ruled it a ‘racing incident’ and took no further action.
“It’s a great victory,” the predictably delighted Rossi said.
“We made the right decision and started with the extra-hard tyre. When I saw Marc start with the red [softer] one, I knew that he would try to push at the beginning.
When I arrived in second, Marc had a little more than four seconds lead. I knew the race was long, so I knew he could have some difficulty. Catching him lap by lap, I could see him far away but coming closer and closer; it was a great taste!
“I overtook him in braking, but he is a rider who is all or nothing; he touched me in the corner, then he touched me again as I was accelerating, I think he made a mistake and he crashed. It’s a shame because it could have been a great fight on the last lap.
“In three races we have demonstrated we can be competitive everywhere and fight for the championship.”
After he cooled down, Marquez delivered a more considered comment: “When he passed me, well… you can see what happened in the video. I love Valentino and it is always difficult to beat him; he is my hero and I always learn something when I ride against him.”
Ducati’s Dovizioso took advantage of Marquez’s crash to claim second while Honda’s Crutchlow left it until the very last corner to pass Iannone to claim the final podium place,
Australia’s Jack Miller on the LCR Honda took the Open class victory, finishing 12th overall as he continues to get to grips with the pace and intensity of MotoGP racing.
Rossi now holds a six-point lead over Dovizioso in the standings, and has a 30-point advantage over Marquez.
INDY LIGHTS: Gearbox outs Brabham at Long Beach
MATT Brabham’s frustrating 2015 season continued at Long Beach at the weekend when he had another outing with Andretti Autosport in the hour-long Indy Lights race.
The third-gen driver retired with gearbox problems, having earlier qualified a disappointing ninth.
It was Brabham’s second start with Andretti this year, after a deal was done in the days before the weekend.
“We had a reasonably good start and managed to capitalise on some people crashing in the first corner; I managed to avoid the accident and get up to sixth, so that was good,” reported Brabham later.
“Just unfortunate we had an issue with shifting and I lost a whole bunch of gears and couldn’t continue, so my race ended only a few laps into the race.”
The race was won by Ed Jones.
Brabham’s immediate future remains problematical, despite the faith held in him by the right people.
“Matt is a good kid; always hungry for that win,” said team owner Michael Andretti. “We’d love to have the sponsorship to run him the remainder of the season, and are working hard on it. Hopefully something will come through for him.”
PRODUCTION CARS: Six-hour set for Bathurst next Easter
A NEW six-hour endurance race for production cars is set to elevate next year’s Bathurst Motor Festival at Easter to meaningful motor sport.
The not-quite-firm plan is to start the race at midday on Easter Sunday, running until a 6pm conclusion.
To be promoted and organised by the promoter of the annual Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, the race will be staged for cars built to CAMS 3E Production Car regulations.
The Six Hour will be open to entries featuring two or three drivers, while the mandatory fitment of dry-break refuelling is likely to be phased in over several years to allow cars presently operating without it to enter in the short-term.
Organisers have targeted a grid of 40 cars for the inaugural event in 2016.
Some 55 cars were entered in the two one-hour NSW Production Touring Car races at Mount Panorama this year, won by Dylan Thomas in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X.
“The competitor demand for a stand-alone production car race is high and the strong grid numbers for the NSW Production Touring Car races the last few years at the Bathurst Motor Festival are an encouraging sign,” said event director James O’Brien.
“The Bathurst Motor Festival will continue in its current format while accommodating the six-hour race on Sunday afternoon,” O’Brien said.
“We expect to run five other categories and continue the event’s purpose of giving opportunities to compete at Mount Panorama for those who otherwise wouldn’t have the chance.
“The addition of the Six Hour will only add to the weekend and give competitors another chance to compete in a major long-distance race on the mountain.”
IT TOOK an ex-world rally driver and a former world rally car pumped up to 800 horsepower to do it, but the Aussie challenge was eventually denied at the reborn Race to the Sky, run over last weekend in the Cadrona Valley in the south island of New Zealand.
Now the longest gravel road hill climb in the world after the Pikes Peak course in Colorado was fully sealed, the Race to the Sky returned after an eight-year break, driven by Australian-based, Scottish-born businessman and racer Tony Quinn.
But it was another Australian-based Scot, Alister McRae, who claimed top spot in yesterday’s final and all-important dash up the 135-turn, 14.5km road. It was an emotional result, as he was driving for Possum Bourne Motorsport in the same Impreza WRC the late Kiwi hero drove to win the race in 2001. Bourne was killed recceing the course in 2003.
McRae, younger brother of the late and legendary world rally ace Colin, overcame a clutch failure on Saturday and an engine failure in Sunday morning’s final qualifying to make the start and take the win with an 8:17.616, dropping his best-completed time by nine seconds in the process.
“If I hadn’t of done that I wouldn’t have come back down the hill because the boys did a hell of a lot of work,” the former Mitsubishi and Hyundai WRC works driver smiled afterwards.
The threat from Monster Tajima failed to materialise after the legendary eight-time Race to the Sky winner had a terrifying lose at 230km/h when the rear wing of his Toyota 86 hill climb special flew off on the fastest part of the course. He speared through a fence, down a hill and into a ditch.
Thankfully the 64-year old was uninjured: “But my heart is broken,” he told WheelsMag.com.au.
The man McRae ended up having to overcome was Australian engineer and hill climb champion Brett Haywood in his self-built Suzuki Hayabusa-powered single-seater. Haywood, from Leongatha in Victoria, had led the time through practice and qualifying but had been unable to resist McRae’s advance in the final, setting an 8:24.574.
“We gave it our best shot and I really couldn’t have done much better,” said Haywood. “We are not delusional, we knew Alister was capable of that time and we knew Monster probably could have gone sub eight minutes.”
Local crazy Ian Ffitch finished third on his super quad (powered by a 1080cc four-stroke engine) with an 8:35.273, after also making an engine change between final qualifying and the race run, while fellow Kiwis Sloan Cox, Michael Tall and Kieran Hall completed the top six.
The man Wheels crossed the ditch to follow, Steve Riley, managed to finish ninth in his 550kW SMS Holden Commodore VE ute with a 9:02.098. Two tonnes proved just too much for Riley to get up the hill at race-winning pace, but there was no doubt he wowed the enthusiastic Kiwi crowd – especially with his huge leap from the infield jump in the top 20 shootout that preceded the final.
Riley could also celebrate Haywood’s success as they are cousins and neighbours.
The final word, though, goes to Quinn, who struggled for competitiveness in his fast but fragile $400,000 Skyline-engined Ford Focus special that was built specifically for the event. But he made it clear his backing for the reborn event would continue on in 2016.
“I haven’t spoken to my bank manager yet but I will tell him that we are doing it again,” the multi-millionaire joked.
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So what’s the big deal about RS 3 Sportback?
Well, 4.3 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint for a start. In hot hatch terms, that’s 0.3 quicker than the Mercedes-AMG A45 generally considered to be the current torch-bearer. And equally swifter to the ton than the old RS 3.
Old RS 3? Where? When?
Yes. Not in Australia. Previous generation.
The old RS 3 – the first generation version – didn’t make it locally due to “ADR issues”, suspected to be due to that car having carbonfibre front guards.
Fine. But what does this new RS 3 bring to the table?
At 270kW and 465Nm, it’s the most powerful series production hot hatch the Aussie peso can buy. That’s only five kilowatts over the A45 but, as they say, a win is a win.
We’ve just driven the Euro-spec version and, crucially, Aussie buyers will get the whole gamut of standard and optional features Europe gets – unlike the S3, which is watered down, engine tune wise, for local consumption. Carbon-ceramic brakes and carbon-shelled fixed-back racing seats, to name two, will be available as an option.
It’ll also be not simply the most affordable RS model in the seven-strong RS range when it goes on sale late this year, it’ll be the most affordable. In fact, the most affordable RS ever.
How much then?
Audi Australia hasn’t confirmed an actual figure yet, but it’s being touted to be a couple of grand cheaper than the $81,900 RS Q3.
And a little better, too, we hope.
Well, yes it is. Like the RS Q3 and old-gen TT RS, it runs a 2.5-litre five-banger. Pretty much the same engine internally bar semantics such as piston rings, though there are some fiddles to the inlet and exhaust tracts. But the RS Q3 only makes 228kW and 400Nm…
Oh, and ticking the ceramic brake and race seat options will likely push the price to six figures.
So more hard-core, then? More honey-I-shrunk-the-RS 4 Avant?
Appearance wise, it’s a little tame to be honest. It’s aggressive nose- and tail-on, though style in-between hardly screams purpose. And the cabin treatment has Audi’s usual prestige richness though isn’t a big departure from, well, an S3.
It’s more understated, sonically and visually, than an A45. And the RS 4 and RS 6 Avant war wagons, it must be said. Not that it’s lacking potency in spec. There’s plenty of firepower under the skin.
What sort of hardware is that ‘mature’ look hiding then?
Massive eight-pot 365mm front brakes, for a start.
Shoehorning the five cylinder in transversely into the MQB platform was, engineers admit, tricky. It’s got a really wide (1559mm) front track, bespoke front axle architecture and pumped guards under which everything fits snuggly.
The quattro system isn’t the same one as the S3. It’s actually closer in spec to the new (MQB-underpinned) TT S and, unlike S3, can fire 100 of torque to rear axle (from a static 50:50 split), which is where the electronically controlled, hydraulically actuated multi-clutch Haldex system is located. So the rear axle is essentially a TT S lift.
100-percent rear torque? So it drifts then?
That’s what its maker is claiming. However…
We had a hard crack around Italy’s Vallelunga race circuit and found it virtually impossible to hang the tail out under power. It seems that the RS 3 will fire all torque to the rear boots but only under certain conditions. And those conditions require the front wheels to break traction first.
On surfaces of compromised grip – ice, snow, gravel, wet concrete, etc – we’re told it’ll tailslide under power like a champion. But on a dry high-friction circuit, presumably where most owners will uncork the RS 3’s inner demon, it’s simply fast, grippy and neutral.
It’s playful enough, but you have to lift off to make that rump boogie. In most corners it demands understeer minimization, keeping the nose tidy and patience on the throttle. Even with those fatter front tyres…
Fatter front what?
Oh yeah, on the Euro options list is a package that fits 255mm wide Pirellis up front and leave 235mm hoops – fitted all round as standard – up the back. It must be the only car on sale with wider fronts than rears.
And the RS 3 certainly points with confidence, and the steering is clear, crisp and precise. But it does feel like the front footprint is a compensation of sorts. After all, of its 1540kg mass, about 59 percent of it is up front.
So what’s the verdict? Good, bad or indifferent?
Good. At least for my tastes. Just because it’s likely to be fastest hatch Aussie money will soon be able to buy, it doesn’t have to be the most hard-core, brutal experience of the current hatch crop.
I imagine it’ll nicer to live with day to day than an A45 – or indeed an RS 6 Avant – which is, frankly, how most owners will use it. It’s not the type of car to tuck into the garage for sunny weekend punts.
Though to really extract its dynamic talent, you might actually be praying for rain…
4/5
Specs
Engine: 2.5-litre turbocharged 5cyl, DOHC, 20V
Power: 270kW @ 5550-6800rpm
Torque: 465Nm @ 1625-5550rpm
Weight: 1540kg
0-100km/h: 4.3sec 0-100km/h (claimed)
Top speed: 250km/h (limited) (280km/h optional)
$79,900 (estimated)
Pluses: Five-cylinder cred, it’s quick, surefooted, liveable, nicely appointed
Minuses: Not as edgy as some rivals, pricey, drifting talent too conditional
New Zealand hillclimb Race to the Sky returned last weekend for the first time in eight years.
Fittingly, the event was won by Alister McRae driving the late Possum Bourne’s heavily modified Subaru Impreza WRC.
Pre-event favourite was eight-time winner Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima, but his challenge came to an end after the engine cover tore off his one-off 560kW ‘Super 86’ at high speed and took the rear wing with it – you can see the resulting crash in the video above.
Thankfully, the Japanese legend was completely unhurt, though was quoted as saying “my car is broken, my heart is broken.”
Winner McRae was lucky to be able to race at all after an engine failure in qualifying meant the Possum Bourne Motorsport mechanics were under the pump to replace it in the alloted time.
McRae’s winning time of 8min17:06sec was 16 seconds slower than the race record, set by Tajima in 2006.
Second went to Australian Brett Hayward in a custom-built Special with New Zealander Ian Ffitch third on a quad bike.
Event organiser Tony Quinn finished third in his wild custom-built hillclimb car.
Quinn vowed the event would return next year.
Those that tend to buy high-end hypercars and supercars don’t tend to drive them especially enthusiastically.
Sure, there will be the odd acceleration squirt or punt on a twisty road, but the majority lead fairly sheltered lives. Honestly, we can’t really blame the owners; if we’d dropped the best part of a million bucks (or more) on the latest weapon, we’re not sure we’d want to risk it either!
Thankfully, not everyone is like that. Meet the Hypercar Hoon. That’s obviously not his real name, he goes by the name Powerslide Lover on his YouTube channel.
Whatever his real name, he is an absolute legend, with driving skills that more than match his incredibly large bank balance.
You can find his channel here but we’ve selected a few of his greatest moments to give you an idea of why we like this guy so much.
Number 1: drifting your LaFerrari like a Toyota AE86 – just, y’know, because you can
Number 2: Scandinavian flicking your 520kW Abt-tuned RS6 around like a WRC hero.
Number 3: Hot-lapping the Nurburgring in a 991 GT3, and setting a lap time less than 15 seconds slower than the official factory drivers.
Other videos include lapping Monza in the wet in a 458 Speciale, chasing a 918 Spyder in your LaFerrari at a wet Spa-Francorchamps, and doing a back-to-back test between a Ferrari FF, Audi RS6 and Porsche 911 Turbo in the snow. Enjoy.
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Skoda has launched its new rally challenger, based on the updated Fabia due to land in Australia shortly.
Built to R5 specification, the new Fabia replaces the Fabia S2000, which has campaigned with great success all over the world, including two International Rally titles and three consecutive European Rally titles.
R5 cars are significantly cheaper than outright World Rally Cars due to the need to use a lot of production-spec componentry, but give little away in outright pace, being around 1-1.5sec slower per kilometre.
Skoda is one of the last to launch an R5 car, and will join the likes of Citroen, Peugeot and Ford in the WRC2 support category, driven by rising Finnish star (and 2014 ERC winner) Esapekka Lappi.
The car will also be campaigned by Swedish up-and-comer Pontus Tidemand in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, which kicks off this weekend in New Zealand. Tidemand will face stiff competition from Ken Block for the outright win.
The car has been exhaustively tested around Europe, and it’s thought that being the last to show its hand, Skoda is likely to set the R5 pace, however competition is likely to be fierce.
Check out the video above to see the R5 in action.
Peugeot’s Sport arm has released images of its latest project ahead of an official unveil at the Shanghai Motor Show.
Based on the 308 and dubbed 308 R HYbrid, the black-and-blue concept features a plug-in power boost in the form of two 85kW electric motors. Each is mounted on its own axle, creating all-wheel drive capability.
The electricification augments the familiar 1.6-litre THP 270 turbocharged petrol engine. Combined, they produce 373kW, delivered via a paddle-shifted six-speed gearbox.
Peugeot pegs the 308 R HYbrid’s 0-100km/h acceleration at 4.0sec with claimed CO2 emissions of only 70g/km. Top speed is limited to 250km/h.
Four driving modes are offered. ‘Hot Lap’ releases full power and a mind-blowing 730Nm. Track delivers 300kW and 530Nm, Road cooling things further to 224kW/400Nm.
Finally, ZEV mode employs the rear electric motor with an up-front boost only when needed.
A 3kWh lithium-ion battery provides juice and is placed under the rear seats, where the regular 308’s fuel tank normally resides (a 50L tank is in the boot).
It can be charged three ways; through regenerative braking (via the massive 380mm front/290mm rear discs), the front electric unit, or by a 45min rapid charge plug-in system.
This radical drivetrain is placed in a broadened chassis, with front and rear track widths up by 80mm, riding on 235/35 R19 tyres.
The chequer-pattern grille, large bonnet louvres and twin bumper-mounted air scoops add stylistic aggression while assisting airflow, essential when cramming 730 hybrid-enhanced Newtons into a small family hatchback.
