OPINION
Hear this morning Sydney wants to poach the grand prix off Melbourne when Victoria’s current contract with Bernie expires in 2020?
It’s a crock, for three reasons.
First, this is not new. In 2008, I was a reporter at MOTOR’s sister mag Auto Action and interviewed then-Premier Morris Iemma. He said – surprise, surprise – he would try to get a Sydney Grand Prix off the ground.
Iemma told Auto Action Sydney could hold a night race at Eastern Creek. Imagine how that would’ve gone down with F1’s glitterati if the wind was blowing the wrong way that day. Anyone who’s ever been to Eastern Creek will know what I mean.
Seven years later, has a Sydney Grand Prix transpired? Of course not. It was political claptrap.
Which brings us to reason number two: there’s a state election in NSW in just a few weeks and, despite being ahead in the polls as I write this, Premier Mike Baird and the Coalition will still be shaken by the devastating defeats in the recent Victorian and Queensland state elections.
Premier Baird declaring Sydney’s bid for an F1 race – the day before the Melbourne Grand Prix weekend – borders dangerously close to a brownie-point-grab with voters.
Reason number three there won’t be a Sydney Grand Prix: logistics. A street race around Sydney’s CBD, shutting down the Harbour Bridge and the city’s north, would plunge the nation’s biggest city into chaos.
Don’t get me wrong, it would be unbelievably cool to see grand prix cars race across the Harbour Bridge, through a tight and twisty street circuit including the Cahill Expressway corkscrew on-ramp. It would be effing awesome, actually.
But like the folks who moved next to Luna Park and complained about the noisy rollercoaster that had been there decades, I suspect most Sydneysiders would greet a grand prix with their typical apathy rather than enthusiasm.
As a Sydneysider myself, and knowing my brethren well, I suspect more people would complain about the race and resent the inconvenience it could cause them, rather than embracing it as Adelaide did.
Melbourne deserves to keep the grand prix because while Victorians don’t get behind the race quite as madly as the South Aussies did, Albert Park is a great track supported by good public transport with plenty of space for punters to roam around.
It’s a stone’s throw from the Melbourne CBD, too, without causing apocalyptic traffic disruptions the sort you’d get from a Sydney CBD street race.
Keep the grand prix in Melbourne, I say. Not that there’s any real risk of it leaving.
BMW’S upcoming Mini Cabrio Mk3 will again include a JCW high-performance flagship when it arrives Down Under sometime next year.
Snapped undergoing a final cold-weather shakedown prior to a probable Frankfurt IAA (September) or Los Angeles Auto Show (November) global debut, the F57-series ragtop will join an expanding range of new-gen John Cooper Works variants, which kicked off this week with the $47,400 F56 three-door Hatch version.
Starting from 2016, expect to see the more aggressive JCW signature styling cues on go-faster iterations of the F55 five-door Hatch, F54 Clubman six-door wagon and – most intriguingly – the F58/9 hardtop/roadster twins touted for a 2018 debut.
The latter will be BMW’s second tilt at creating a Mazda MX-5 crusher after the failed outgoing R58/9 Coupe and Roadster two-seaters, and will most likely lean heavily on the controversial Mini Superleggera Vision Concept that stole last year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este event in Italy.
All will be based on the UKL front-wheel-drive platform underpinning upwards of a dozen new and future Mini and BMW-badged models (including the recently released 2 Series Active and Grand Tourers), though whether the JCW variants leverage the 2.0-litre direct-injection four-cylinder TwinPower turbo tearaway is unknown.
In the new F56 JCW, it delivers 170kW of power and 320Nm of torque (up from the preceding 1.6-litre Prince unit’s 155kW and 260Nm), for a 0-100km/h sprint-time of 6.3 seconds (down 0.3s) – or just 6.1s if you opt for the $49,950 six-speed torque-converter auto. Furthermore, the newcomer needs 5.6 seconds to skip from 80-120km/h, on the way to a 246 km/h v-max.
Conversely, the latest JCW Hatch is greener than ever, improving the average combined fuel consumption figure by three percent for the manual version (to 6.7L/100km) and 20 percent for the auto (5.7L/100km).
The new F57 JCW Cabrio may not be quite this energetic, however, as a weight difference of about 110kg existed between the previous Hatch and its ragtop sibling due to the extensive re-strengthening engineering necessary to compensate for the missing turret. Hence the freezing-weather testing seen here.
We’re also hoping the $3000 price cut that also came with the JCW Hatch translates to the Cabrio version, which currently begins at a hefty $58,500.
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FORMULA One cars could one day fly across Sydney Harbour Bridge if a bold, $180 million vote-winning bid to steal the Australian Grand Prix from Melbourne ever gains traction.
New South Wales Premier Mike Baird is expected to propose a Sydney Grand Prix in a bid to woo voters, including sounding out plans for an audacious layout that includes crossing the city’s famous bridge.
With a New South Wales state election scheduled for 28 March, the NSW premier is expected to announce the bid if he is re-elected later this month. If successful, it would secure the event for the harbour city for at least three years.
The layout would be a street circuit, potentially using the Harbour Bridge, Cahill Expressway and surrounds, with the government closing the CBD for the event. Australia’s Mark Webber drove his Williams FW27 F1 car over the bridge in 2007 as a publicity stunt for the Australian Grand Prix, in support of the Melbourne event – not as a precursor to a bid for the event to change locations.
Despite the proposal, Victorian Premier Denis Napthine announced late last year that Melbourne had secured the Grand Prix until 2020. This is despite ongoing opposition to the use of the Albert Park venue, as well as the increasing costs of hosting the event.
The ABC reported that the event cost taxpayers $55.97 million in 2014, with Victorian Major Events Minister Louise Asher saying the event still brought “significant economic and tourism benefits” to Melbourne.
The timing of the announcement is fortuitous for Baird, as the chair of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Ron Walker, will retire after this weekend’s race with a successor yet to be named.
It also follows proposals by London Mayor, Boris Johnson, to host a Grand Prix using London’s iconic skyline, including around Westminster and Big Ben, with public support from current world champion and Brit, Lewis Hamilton.
Australia has been in the enviable position of hosting a Formula One Grand Prix every year since 1985, when the event was held in Adelaide. The Melbourne Grand Prix has been held since 1996, when Albert Park became the venue, and was also where the first Australian Grand Prix was held in 1953.
SYDNEY is plotting to steal the grand prix off Melbourne.
From 2021, F1 cars could race across the Harbour Bridge under a $180m plan to stage the first Sydney Grand Prix.
With the Aussie Grand Prix up for grabs from 2020 – when Melbourne’s current contract expires – The Daily Telegraph reports NSW Premier Mike Baird will put together a bid team to pinch the race from Victoria.
While a proposed circuit is still a long way off, Sydney could set up a Monaco-style street circuit with the cars racing across the Harbour Bridge and through the city’s north, creating a 5km circuit, or about the same length as Albert Park.
The Telegraph speculates chicanes would need to be used on the Harbour Bridge, otherwise its uneven surface would cause the cars to lift.
To minimise CBD chaos the Friday of the Sydney Grand Prix would be declared a public holiday.
EDITORIAL: Three reasons it’s unlikely we’ll see a Sydney Grand Prix
Baird, who is facing a state election later this month, said the bid team would star Rod McGeoch, the man who successfully led Sydney’s 2000 Olympics tilt.
Baird would also recruit former News Corp CEO John Hartigan, now chairman of Destination NSW, with the bid team reporting to government on the viability of the race as soon as the end of this year.
“I want the Formula One to come to Sydney, because no other city in the world could provide a more spectacular backdrop for this event,” Premier Baird is quoted by The Telegraph.
“We know this event is watched by up to 30 million people around the world, and securing the Grand Prix would put our already successful events strategy in pole position.
“But we need to get all the facts, before we move to bid stage. Rod McGeoch and John Hartigan are the right people to make this happen.”
The event would cost NSW taxpayers up to $180m.
If Sydney’s bid to steal the grand prix off Melbourne is successful it will, of course, be the second time an Australian city has stolen the grand prix, with Adelaide still bitter from losing its 10-year-old F1 race to Melbourne in 1996.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
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Two versions of AMG’s highly anticipated GT S sportscar will be available when the range is launched in Oz in July.
Australia will forego the regular GT offered in overseas market, instead kicking off the two-model range with the high-spec GT S version at $295,000.
Also on offer at the initial launch phase will be an Edition 1 version of the GT S which, at $314,900, presents the same mechanical package but adds a number of enhancements such as a more aggressive aero package, a carbonfibre roof, blackout Exterior Night stylisms, specific 10-spoke rims and a race-inspired interior design treatment.
Both versions feature the same hand-built 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that produces 375kW at 6250rpm and 650Nm between 1750 and 5000rpm.
Performance claims for the Aussie-spec GT S is 3.8sec for the 0-100km/h sprint and a top speed of 310km/h.
Aim squarely as a 911 competitor, the GT S will go on sale for roughly the same money as Porsche’s PDK-equipped GTS 4 and hardcore GT3.
It likely that a more price-savvy ‘base’ AMG GT will join the line-up some time after the car’s initial launch in Australia.
You can find our exclusive overseas comparison test of the GT S and 911 GTS here.
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One of the hottest tickets in Melbourne in the lead-up to the Australian Grand Prix is a Mercedes-Benz track session. Wheels was there.
I’VE never driven the Australian Grand Prix circuit in anger. That said, I have wasted many hours behind the steering wheel of a homemade racing buck as I’ve become a virtual Mark Webber, Daniel Ricciardo and, ugh, even a Sebastian Vettel.
An invitation, then, to drive the real-life circuit in Mercedes-Benz’s everyman performance-car hero, the C63 AMG Edition 507, isn’t one to pass up lightly.
Benz’s annual festival of speed for selected customers and invited guests is one of the hottest tickets on the calendar. About 40 AMG-badged cars spend the best part of a week having the rings driven off them by a procession of talented, and somewhat less talented, drivers.
This is the 507’s swan-song. On the other side of the track wall, its replacement sits, waiting for a June launch alongside the Mercedes-AMG GT at Australia’s traditional home of horsepower, Bathurst.
The Mercedes-AMG C63 S – the official name of the 507’s replacement – also marks a turning point for the German luxury carmaker’s go-fast division, which will switch from the 507’s 373kW/610Nm 6.2-litre normally aspirated V8 to a 375kW/700Nm 4.0-litre twin-turbo version.
Mercedes-Benz has limited time on the track, so after a driver briefing that can best be summed up as “please don’t lunch our car, because it will hurt”, it’s into a helmet and behind the wheel, instructor Matt jumping into the passenger seat beside me.
We’re starting up the back of the track on the short straight between turns 11 and 12, a stretch where the Formula One karts would ordinarily be clipping along at somewhere around 220km/h.
It’s a chance to roll on the throttle of the 507, accelerating swiftly as turn 13 approaches.
Mercedes-Benz has made my job easier, setting up double cones to mark the braking and turn-in points, and singles on the apex of each turn. All I need to do is stomp on the brakes, turn in as I sight the right-angled corner’s exit, clip the apex and power back on.
Under everyday braking conditions, the tyres normally warm up to about 35-40 degrees Celsius. Hammered on the track, they’re expected to jump to about 75 degrees.
Likewise, if I’m pushing hard, the front brakes will be hitting 400 degrees, well up on their usual operating temperature of 160 degrees, and the rears to 180-200 degrees, well up on their usual 80-100.
Turn 14 is a lazy right, and I button off early and hit the brakes, rolling the last little bit to the corner as I’ve washed off too much speed. Once again, it’s a case of stay wide, turn in, clip the apex and roll on the throttle to push the C63 out to the ripple strips.
Turn 15 is a doozy. Wearing a helmet and with Matt in the passenger seat, sighting through the acutely-angled left-hander is difficult. Speed isn’t really a factor here as you’re quite slow, relatively speaking, out of the lower-speed corner before it.
I turn in a fraction too late, and miss the apex by a few metres. Immediately, though, Matt is telling me to get on the throttle, setting up for entry into the right-hander of turn 16 onto the main straight.
It’s an easy one, reducing to half throttle as you round it and squeezing on to drift the C63, breathing deeply now as the revs build, wide to the ripple strip.
It’s not really time for a mental break, as the Benz’s nose is still elevated, the quad exhaust pipes bawling like a bull and the seven-speed auto punching through the gears as the speed slowly builds past 200, the steering still needing ever-so-small inputs as you keep to the left side of the track.
A pair of cones on the side of the track look way too early to act as a braking marker for the sharp turn one, but they’re not.
Matt is suddenly politely encouraging me to brake harder, and the C63’s rear end starts to wriggle and squirm around the front wheels, the nose pitching even more to the tarmac as I press harder. We pull up with a little margin to spare and we roll around, drifting out to turn two with the throttle confidently buried into the firewall.
It’s a long run to turn three, but no time to relax as you set the car up for the entry into the sharp right-hander. I’m braking later this time to save on lifting off before the turn-in point, and it works, the C63 punches through the apex confidently. But instead of using the tyres’ grip to carry the momentum through, I’m too early on the throttle, the back end wriggling and pitching as the traction control struggles to lay the engine’s power onto the track and the unloaded inside wheel tries to spin.
Turns six and seven come up quickly. Swing to the right of the track, stab the brakes, pick the turn-in point of turn six, wrestle the wheel, throttle on as the C63 tracks to the left side of the circuit, another stab of the brakes, turn in, throttle on, and that’s turn seven away. I’ve sewn the two corners together like a seamstress, and I’m grinning like an idiot underneath my helmet.
Turn eight is long and lazy by comparison, and you can use the throttle to steer the heft of the C63 out of the corner. I’m up to speed on braking, so to speak, waiting until I’m almost level with the braking marker before stomping the pedal for the sharp right-hander that’s turn nine. Once again, you can punch on the throttle just past the apex and let the C63 drift out to the right side of the track.
That’s it, the end of the lap. Approaching turn nine, we button off as we pass through the speed gate set up by Mercedes-Benz to safely swap drivers in and out of the cars.
I get two more laps in the C63, each time improving with later braking and smoother acceleration out of the corners, but stringing together turns three and four confidently continued to elude me.
I have no idea of my lap times, cornering speeds and so on, and I really only glanced at the speedo once, down the main straight – it was about 215km/h – as the big, free-breathing 6.2-litre V8 punched the 507 through the air.
It’s a fitting swansong for the outgoing C63 Edition 507. Its on-track confidence – and the sound it makes – were enough to eventually kill off the boggo C63 as customers walked past it for the louder, brawnier version.
We also have it to thank for the fact that when its replacement arrives in a few months, we will get the up-specced ‘S’ version exclusively.
THE latest addition to Mercedes-Benz’s small car range steps up in practicality in the form of the CLA Shooting Brake. The wagon version of the CLA brings more boot space and a new rear design, creating the fifth body style off the front-drive architecture.
WHAT IS IT? A wagon version of Mercedes-Benz’s smallest sedan, the CLA. It provides an alternative to the C-Class wagon for less money and is the fifth body style off the front-drive architecture that also underpins the A-, B- GLA- and CLA-Classes.
WHY WE’RE TESTING IT We got an early drive in Germany months ahead of the car going on sale in Australia, where Mercedes says the CLA Shooting Brake could be its best selling wagon.
MAIN RIVALS There are no direct rivals to the baby Shooting Brake but the BMW 1-Series, Audi A3/S3 and Volkswagen Golf come closest in terms of the buyers they’re chasing and what they’re trying to achieve.
THE WHEELS VERDICT Think of it more as an overgrown A-Class than the latest breakthrough in family transport. Still light-on for space but more practicality for what is a great driving alternative to a compact luxury SUV.
PLUS: Load space more useful than sedan; feisty turbo four; classy cabin MINUS: Rear leg room; storage space; transmission occasionally caught out
THE WHEELS REVIEW TAKE a tape measure to Mercedes-Benz’s latest small car and there’s not a millimetre to separate it from the sedan it’s based on; same 2699mm wheelbase (also shared with the A- and GLA-Classes), same 1777mm width and same 4630mm length (unique bumpers for the AMG models add 61mm).
Yet the sales pitch with the CLA Shooting Brake is all about space.
The wagon rump liberates 25 litres of luggage space (for 495 in total) and, more importantly, a larger mouth to better swallow prams or pushbikes.
Australian variants will come with an electronic tailgate and an additional bracket that allows the 60/40-split rear pews to be propped unnaturally upright as a crude compromise for another 100 litres of boot space – at the expense of comfort.
Cargo mode aside, people in the back are better taken care of with an extra 40mm of head room. There are also rear air vents and the same leather-laced quality ambience.
But it’s still a long way off limousine standards. The door aperture is compact and leg room tight, especially if those up front are stretching out.
There’s a familiar family of 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbos, from a basic petrol and diesel to the more energetic C250 Sport.
The Sport’s 155kW makes for punchy acceleration. In its Comfort mode the seven-speed auto can be lethargic in its downshifts, while the sharper Sport mode sometimes hangs on to gears too long, underutilising the 350Nm. Overall, though, performance is adequate, while the chassis tilts towards comfort but still musters engaging turn-in and a planted feel.
The CLA45 AMG ramps up the volume, literally; the flatulence-like flutter on full-throttle upshifts (it’s also a muted part of the C250’s theatre) is a fitting accompaniment as you rush towards the 6300rpm shift point. It’s not as addictive as AMG’s V8 bark, but there’s something satisfyingly purposeful about its melody.
Performance is fiery enough, too, although despite 450Nm to squeeze you into the hard-hugging seats it’s the 265kW that makes its presence most apparent.
Snow melt across German mountain roads and winter tyres limited our dynamic assessment, but the agility and aptitude we know of the sedan shines through in the wagon. Approaching the limit it works the 19-inch fronts harder, but stab the throttle on exit and it brings the rears more prominently into play.
It’s a brisk way to cover ground in a car that feels more hot hatch than warm wagon.
Therein lies the dilemma with the Shooting Brake.
Those wanting a wagon for genuine load-swallowing ability will likely fork out the extra $5-10K for the roomier C-Class. But if you’re looking for a hatch with a bit more space, the CLA Shooting Brake mounts a convincing case.
SPECS Model CLA45 AMG Shooting Brake Engine 1991cc 4cyl dohc turbo Max power 265kW @ 6000rpm Max torque 450Nm @ 2250-5000rpm Transmission 7-speed auto Kerb weight 1540kg 0-100km/h 4.7 seconds (claimed) Price $89,900 On sale July
THE fifth body style in Mercedes-Benz’s growing small car line-up could go on to become the best-selling wagon in Stuttgart’s portfolio.
Not that the CLA load lugger is a wagon, of course; Benz has enlisted the cryptic Shooting Brake moniker for the tailgated version of its smallest sedan.
Mercedes says the new CLA wagon should sell about 1000 cars annually, which is similar to the numbers expected of the larger, more expensive C-Class Estate.
However the CLA Shooting Brake’s sales forecasts are still about one-third the numbers of popular luxury SUV rivals from BMW and Audi. As Mercedes doesn’t have a competing mid-sized SUV in Australia, the Shooting Brake will need to scalp a few sales from SUVs like the BMW X1 and Audi Q3.
Priced from $52,400 the CLA Shooting Brake commands a $1500 premium over the regular CLA, which itself commands a premium over the A-Class hatch with which it shares a platform and engines (the CLA also scored a circa-$1500 price rise late in 2014).
It gets an automatic tailgate as well as the unique body that liberates 40mm extra rear head room.
The engine line-up for the Shooting Brake consists of a quartet of four-cylinder turbos.
Kicking the range off is a CLA200, with a 1.6-litre turbo (115kW/250Nm) driving the front wheels. It’s followed by the cheapest and only diesel-powered model, the $52,900 CLA200 CDI with its 2.1-litre engine (100kW/300Nm), also front-wheel drive. Standard gear includes 18-inch alloys, sat-nav, rain-sensing wipers, ambient lighting inside, reversing camera and fake leather trim.
Then there’s the the CLA250 Sport, which is tipped to be the volume seller. This delivers the 4Matic four-wheel drive system and a 155kW/350Nm 2.0-litre petrol engine for $66,400. This adds the AMG styling kit, real leather, electric front seats, smart key entry and various red Sport trim elements, including around the air vents, some stitching and the seatbelts.
At the top of the CLA tree is the fiery 45 AMG with its class leading 265kW/450Nm 2.0-litre turbo delivering V8-bashing performance. Acceleration to 100km/h is claimed at 4.7 seconds, just 0.1 second shy of the sedan, due to an additional 30kg.
Your $89,900 spend nets you 19-inch alloys and brings digital radio, the Comand control system and a panoramic sunroof.
GIEDO van der Garde has fought off an appeal from Sauber to block his Australian Formula One Grand Prix start, but he is likely to still have a fight on his hands.
The Dutchman today had more weight given to his bid to drive for the Swiss team after the Victorian Appeals Court upheld a Supreme Court decision that his contract was still valid, despite Sauber making moves to replace him.
In the latest move, van der Garde is believed to be asking the Australian courts to stump up an enforceable undertaking that will compel Sauber to honour the appeals court’s decision.
“There is no practical way we can allow, facilitate Mr van der Garde in this new C34-Ferrari which he has not previously raced,” Sauber lawyer Rodney Garratt told the three Supreme Court justices overseeing the case.
“The last time he did any competitive driving was in November 2013,” he said.
The Sauber car, officially the C34-Ferrari has improved its performance in slow corners compared with last year, cut its weight and improved braking stability.
Exactly which of Sauber’s three contracted drivers – van der Garde, Swede Marcus Ericsson and surprise recruit Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr – will take to the track tomorrow when the first official practice session kicks off at 12.30 tomorrow remains up in the air.
DON’T count on McLaren-Honda winning this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, the three-time winner of the season opener that will also carry the weight of the team’s efforts on his shoulders says.
Jenson Button spoke exclusively to Wheels today, revealing difficulties facing the new team, powered by Honda engines for the first time since 1992, including a crash in pre-season testing for new team-mate, Fernando Alonso, which has sidelined the Spaniard for this weekend’s event.
“I did say in testing that a hundred laps for us is like a thousand, really, in terms of experience and how much we learn compared to our competitors,” Button said.
“So every lap we achieve this weekend, it’s a lot of useful information: how the car is working, the power unit on this type of track. I’m just excited to get out there and see what we have really as we’re a little bit unsure of the pecking order in Formula One at the moment.”
The Brit says that he has no chance of adding a fourth victory to his Melbourne tally this Sunday, and that’s “truthful” as opposed to tempering expectations.
“The difference is everybody else has one year’s experience … We’re one year behind. So it’s always going to be difficult to compete at the first race with the guys who’ve been driving around lap after lap in winter testing, and have been able to develop their car more than we have in winter testing.”
Button was at the Australian reveal of the Honda NSX supercar due in showrooms in 2016. The Australian Grand Prix takes place this Sunday, 15 March, with first practice commencing tomorrow.
