WhichCar By Wheels

The baddest, angriest bull from Lamborghini

IT has a 512kW V12 that revs to 8400rpm. It’ll smash 0-100km/h in 2.8sec and flash by you at a 350km/h top speed. It’ll create tears of joy and heartache, and for a lucky few the Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV will makes their hearts like they’re falling from the stratosphere. It’s lighter, more powerful and offers a more than double the downforce to be the king of Aventadors.

Joining a formidable supercar war at the Geneva motor show, where we’ve already seen the Ferrari 488 GTB, the Aston Martin Vulcan as well as the track only McLaren P1 GTR, the Aventador is a road-registered, aerodynamic power station on wheels. The Lamborghini faithful will realise the number 750 means 750bhp, which translates into 552kW – 37kW more the most potent Aventador on sale right now.

Lamborghini says that the power bump comes from optimisation of the variable valve timing and variable intake system, and while the torque figure of 690Nm is no more than the regular Aventador, there’s a flatter curve that runs all the way to 8500rpm.

That wild-looking body work may be wrestling with Aston Martin for diffuser of the year, but this Aventador delivers a whopping 170 per cent more downforce than the regular version. The rear wing can be adjusted 15 degrees, and is part of the 150% improvement, says Lamborghini.

The ‘4’ of course means all-wheel drive, giving the 6.5-litre V12 the support it needs to harness all that energy. The Haldex system is electronically controlled and has a self-locking rear diff and an electronic diff up front. Under the carbonfibre monocoque chassis sits Magneto Rheological Suspension (magnetic dampers) to keep those 20-inch front and 21-inch rear alloys, housing carbon-ceramic brakes and wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber, of course.

The focus for the SV is weight reduction, with Lamborghini claiming a 1525kg mass, 50 kg less than the regular Aventador. That’s thanks to carbonfibre body panels, including the doors, as well as carbonfibre intakes and, of course, a carbon rear wing. The exotic material is also used to shave weight inside, where there are carbonfibre sports seats and door trims as well as no cost options like removal of the entertainment system and the carpet.

The SV is also the first Lamborghini to use a new material called ‘Carbon Skin’ that consists of resin and carbonfibre, and is used for the hoodlining and other parts of the cabin. There’s also a new digital instrument cluster, just as there is on the new Audi R8 and the Lamborghini Huracan supercars, and for the SV it scores a yellow shift light.

While not confirmed for Australia, where it would cost a healthy premium above the $795K Aventador, the SV is one of the few V12 supercars left, and we’re grateful such awesome machinery exists.

It’s been a long time coming but the definitive production version of the Civic Type R looks well worth the wait.

The first-ever turbocharged Type R bowed at the Geneva motor show overnight and its maker claims to have created the most powerful and fastest front-driven model ever to be sold.

The all-new 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, which retains Honda’s time-honoured VTEC technology, produces official output figures of 231kW at 6500rpm and 400Nm at 2500rpm, though redline is indicated at 7000rpm.

While purists will bemoan the loss of Type R’s screaming naturally aspirated characteristics, turbocharging affords engine performance more aligned with the world’s output-benchmarking small capacity units.

Heroic power yields equally impressive performance claims: the new Civic Type R is said to hit 100km/h from a standstill in just 5.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of 270km/h.

It will be offered exclusively with a six-speed manual gearbox.

Of course, spirited handling and keenly focused dynamics engineering are Type R hallmarks, with the hottest new hatch on the block introducing a suspension tweak called Dual Axis Strut.

Similar to Ford’s RevoKnuckle system, the Type R’s strut-based front end benefits from additional steering knuckle designed to cut torque steer by 50 percent over the regular Civic design.

Torque regulation across the front axle is aided by a mechanical limited-slip differential.

Steering is electrically assisted but the tune is bespoke for the Type R model, while the version showcased at Geneva also has adaptive suspension dampers.

The striking bodywork has also been revised since the Civic Type R concept appeared at last year’s international motor shows, its aero addenda said to be wind tunnel honed to produce positive rear downforce and high-speed stability.

Rolling stock comes with 235/35 tyres wrapped around 19-inch wheels, while the front brake package comprises 350mm cross-drilled discs and four-piston Brembo calipers.

The interior is familiar Type R territory: fabric-trimmed race-style bucket seats, lashings of red highlights and, of course, a signature aluminium gear knob.

Word on the Geneva floor is the Japanese concern is aiming to eclipse the quickest front-driver record around the Nordschleife from the Megane RS 275 Trophy R and the hot Civic will need to better 7min 54sec in order to do so.

Closer to home, the Civic Type R is expected to go on sale some time in 2016, though exact timing at this stage is pure speculation.

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British, racy and green. Bentley reveals what could become its future two-seat sports car.

LUXURY sports has a new name: the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept. Unveiled overnight ahead of today’s official opening of the 2015 Geneva motor show, Bentley’s surprise show car that could one day take on the likes of the Mercedes-AMG GT, upcoming Aston Martin DB10, the BMW i8 and the Maserati Granturismo shakes the current 2+2 mould to point to a true two-seater sports coupe one day joining the brand alongside its first-ever SUV.

Surprisingly, too, Bentley has hinted that the future path behind Bentley’s traditionally effortless performance is hybrid, spelling a potential curtain call for its petrol- and ethanol-fuelled V8 engines and W12 engines.

The EXP 10 Speed 6 wears a similar wide front end and big-hipped rear as the larger 2+2-seat Continental, but pushes the wheels to each corner to give a powerful stance.

The Bentley mesh grille has become deeper-set, and framed on either side by large intakes joined by a slit that runs along the top of a prominent splitter.

The concept also sticks with the traditional quad-headlight cluster, although they’re slightly crushed to give a squint-eyed look.

Bentley says copper highlights used on the interior and exterior of the EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept point to what it says highlights “the performance hybrid potential of the concept’s advanced new powertrain”.

Also dispensing with tradition is the paint colour, described as an interpretation of British Racing Green.

Looking much like a Jaguar F-Type in styling, the Bentley concept features a long bonnet with a cab-rearward look with stretched C-pillars, and access handles that recess into the door skins to help with aerodynamic flow.

Inside, Bentley says the centre console “integrates digital information with tactile controls via a curved touch screen housed in an aluminium frame”.

In an act of visual theatre, a mix of analogue and digital instruments including a mechanical tachometer rise from flat on the facia to turn towards the driver once the floating “B” starter button on the gearshift lever – finished in aluminium, copper and cherry wood, is pressed.

The rear of the concept is split into two compartments that is custom-designed to take a four-piece luggage set.

Bentley is slowly moving from making traditional saloons and grand tourers to appeal to more buyers as tastes for luxury cars change worldwide.

It recently announced it will manufacture its first-ever uberluxury SUV – the Bentayga.

Production version of highly anticipated hot hatch finally revealed

THE Honda Civic Type R has finally been revealed in production guise, bearing a final power figure of 228kW. That means that the front-wheel-drive hatch’s 2.0-litre turbocharged four will have less power than the all-wheel drive Ford Focus RS, which is claimed to be ‘more than 235kW’, but that’s a moot point as the return of the Civic Type R after a five-year hiatus will ultimately be about point-to-point performance.

While it’s been on sale in Europe since 1 December 2014, Honda has only now released full details of the yet-to-be-confirmed for Australia Type R on the eve of the 2015 Geneva motor show. The exterior is not a revelation as it’s nearly identical to the gaggle of concept versions show at previous motor shows, but we’re not tired of the muscly, bold and aggressive lines that sit on 19-inch alloy wheels. The low nose, defined splitter and almost completely flat floor show that the R means business, and that rear wing is one serious parting shot.

That 2.0-litre four-cylinder is the first Type R to run forced induction, with its new turbocharger assisting low-end torque just as in other turbocharged Geneva show stars such as the Ferrari 488 GTB. The Honda makes 228kW at 6500rpm with 400Nm of torque from 2500rpm, a massive step up from the previous models 148kW at 7800rpm, and 193Nm from 5600rpm. Of course, it employs Honda’s VTEC (variable valve timing system) that allows it to rev hard all the way to 7000rpm, and a 0-100km/h claim of 5.7sec and a 270km/h V-max.

While that’s not all that fast when faced with the forthcoming Audi RS3 Sportback with its 0-100km/claim of 4.3sec and 280km/h top speed, the Type R is offered only as a six-speed manual, so there’s no blink-of-the-eye gear changes. Honda also publically declared that the super Civic is gunning for the Nürburgring front-wheel-drive record lap time set by the RenaultSport Megane 275 Trophy-R in 2014 at 7min 54.36sec. The Renault’s output is a relatively paltry 201kW, showing that in this instance it is chassis talent, not grunt, that makes the machine.

Part of the kit includes four-piston Brembo brakes up front, with 350mm drilled discs, as well as a clever “Dual Axis” front suspension set-up that Honda claims will reduce torque-steer by 50 per cent. There’s also an adaptive chassis, with an R+ mode that stiffens the dampers by 30 per cent, while sharpening the electric power steering (yes, it has it) and throttle response.

The Type-R is offered in five colours – the Championship White shown here, or Crystal Black, Polished Metal, Brilliant Sporty Blue and Milano Red.

While not yet confirmed for Australia, the Civic Type R is expected to get the go-ahead for local sales, but may not arrive until 2017 according to Honda Australia boss, Stephen Collins. When it does arrive, expect it to cost more than the previous version’s $39,990.

It’s said that the greatest artists know when to step back from their work and declare it finished. Whether it be music, or painting, or simply renovating the house, the temptation is always there to keep fiddling and refining to the point where you’re actually going backwards.

It’s a trick that Melbourne-based tuner Walkinshaw Performance, by and large, have down pat. Whereas some aftermarket outfits subscribe to the ‘more is more’ school of thought, and aren’t satisfied until every single part of the vehicle has been tweaked and tuned, Walkinshaw more often than not knows how to build on a car’s strength, improve its weaknesses and, crucially, know when it’s unlikely to improve something.

It’s an attitude that’s especially important when the base vehicle in question is HSV’s Gen-F GTS. Upon its release in mid-2013, it reset the benchmark in terms of how good an Aussie-built car could be in terms of power and chassis sophistication.

If there was a criticism to be levelled at the GTS, however, it’s that it has never quite felt the full 430kW/740Nm; at least in terms of its similarly-powered German opposition, such as the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S and BMW M5. With 0-100km/h in the mid-fours and a mid-12 quarter mile, it’s certainly no slouch, but it’s never felt quite as quick as the Euros.

Walkinshaw has attempted to rectify that with its new WP507 package, yours for $7990 supplied, fitted and tuned. Tweaks are relatively minor, amounting to a revised supercharger pulley to increase boost to 12psi from the stock nine, ceramic-coated headers, a cat-back exhaust and, of course, the obligatory ECU tune to make sure it runs as well as standard. The result is 507kW at 6200rpm and a stonking 850Nm at 4400rpm.

It feels it, too. Whereas the standard GTS is undoubtedly impressive, the WP507 is on another level. On a narrow country road, particularly if there are a few corners in the way, it feels insanely, rabidly fast, to the point that often 75 per cent throttle is more than enough.

At full noise, large numbers appear on the head-up display very quickly indeed. And full noise is an apt description, as the tuned LSX makes a lumpy racket not unlike a hard-tuned old-school small black V8.

At the strip, the WP507 reels off 0-100km/h in 4.38sec and a 12.39sec quarter mile at 189.99km/h. On a stickier surface and a cooler day (temperatures during testing were low-mid 30s) it would easily knock a couple of tenths off both times. That’s not to suggest it’s a handful, though. Its ability to use the extra power is a large part of why it feels so rapid; very few kilowatts are wasted in wheelspin.

It’s testament to the quality of the base package that it can shrug off a 77kW/110Nm increase with no sweat. The huge AP Racing brakes cope with ease and at no point does it feel wild or unruly. What is odd, though, is that Walkinshaw swear it left the suspension alone, yet the WP507 jiggled and fidgeted over small bumps far more readily than the last GTS we drove.

Likewise, the transmission is supposedly untouched, yet no GTS ever shifted this aggressively. However, while this gives it an appealing hot-rod vibe, it would be no lesser a vehicle with the standard transmission mapping.

There’s very little not to like about the WP507. The modification cost is relatively minor, it’s backed by Walkinshaw’s drivetrain warranty for peace of mind, and it gives the HSV GTS the power it’s always felt like it’s deserved. We reckon it’s a fine piece of work.

Four stars

Specs Engine: 6162cc V8, OHV, 16v, supercharger Power: 507kW @ 6200rpm Torque: 850Nm @ 4400rpm Gearbox: 6-speed manual or automatic 0-100km/h: 4.38sec (tested) 0-400m: 12.39sec @ 189.99km/h (tested) Price: $103,480 (based on automatic GTS)

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V8 SUPERCARS: Clipsal shakes up the order

UNTIL the weekend’s opening race of 2015, the Clipsal 500, there had been talk. Plenty of talk. Lots of hope. The Nissans would be faster, the new Falcon FG X better balanced, Red Bull’s dominance would be challenged.

But in front of the usual huge crowd, things started badly for everyone whose name wasn’t Jamie Whincup. The six-times champ blitzed both short qualifying sessions for Saturday’s two races.

At the other end of the grid was Marcos Ambrose, dead last in both sessions after failing to coax any speed out of his DJR-Penske Falcon FG X on fresh rubber.

Whincup was ominously quick as he stormed away to win the first race of the 2015 championship, but then a puncture in the second race left him with a huge scare as he saved it from whacking the wall, an unscheduled pit stop, and a 21st place finish.

Fabian Coulthard confirmed his swift qualifying pace was no flash in the pan, scoring a first-ever win at the Clipsal 500 for Brad Jones Racing in the second of Saturday’s 39-lappers.

It had a special poignancy for friends and family of the late Geoff Paradise, the former magazine founder and more recently public relations manager of Daimler Truck and Bus. One of its brands, Freightliner, is the main sponsor of the Coulthard BJR Commodore and Geoff helped bolt the deal together. Coulthard dedicated his win to Geoff’s memory.

The presence of Roger Penske, hot off helping guide Joey Logano’s win in the Daytona 500 one week earlier, didn’t help Ambrose to a stunning turnaround. Motor sport doesn’t work like that.

But Ambrose chipped away in both races on Saturday, improving eight places in each. Penske understands that success will not come instantly and declared it was a target for his Falcon to be in the top half of the field by the end of the year.

“We’re gonna put the tools and the people together to be competitive,” Penske said. “Our reputation is on the line, but nobody gives you wins. You’ve gotta earn them.”

Sunday brought more surprises, starting in qualifying for the 250km street brawl. Ambrose found a place in the top 10, showing he and the team had done lots of thinking and adjusting overnight. Pole went to James Courtney.

The race was a beauty, especially the duel at the pointy end over the concluding 20 laps between Courtney and a stalking, probing Shane van Gisbergen on slightly fresher rubber.

Van Gisbergen overtook Courtney on lap 60 but, because the pass wasn’t accomplished cleanly, the Kiwi elected to hand back the lead, an action known as ‘redressing’. Sometimes it’s called ‘sporting’. Either way, it removes any chance of officials acting post-race.

Van Gisbergen continued to look for opportunities, but Courtney was mistake-free on the way to the flag, winning an absorbing final race and taking the overall victory in the Clipsal 500 for the second consecutive year.

“It’s a good race having good, hard racing with someone that you respect,” Courtney said of Van Gisbergen. “He was really quick and had a really good go.”

With Garth Tander also on the podium, there are sure signs that the Holden Racing Team is finally back, and capable of threatening the Red Bull dominance.

Whincup’s race ended in controversy when on the last lap he made sold contact with Ford’s Chaz Mostert, who slammed hard into a concrete barrier.

“I am gutted,” said Mostert. “To be on the last lap of the Clipsal 500 with a good bag of points in line and to get nothing is tough.

“I am not quite sure what happened to be honest. He had a 10 car-length gap on me and as I came out of Turn 8 that was gone. He was then slow out of Turn 9 and I thought he might’ve had a problem. He blocked me, then out of (turn) nine and into the next complex I left him a bit of room just in case he recovered. I don’t know if I didn’t leave enough or if he got into me.”

Officials took no action.

Whincup went on to take fourth, ahead of regular Ford rival Mark Winterbottom.

Ambrose was 12th, and happy to have lifted his act on Sunday.

Crowd favourite Scott McLaughlin (Volvo Polestar) was glad to see the back of Adelaide. Though he qualified well on all three occasions, the races dealt him bad hands.

He was out of the first race on the roll-around lap, when his engine spat off an oil line. With the engine replaced for the second race, he lined up on the front row for race two but immediately copped a 10-second penalty for jumping the start. After serving that during his only pit stop (under yellow), he then learned that this was improper and that another 10 seconds would be added to his race time. So third place on the road became ninth in the official results.

Then on Sunday, the Kiwi was painfully distressed and dehydrated after being hauled from his hot working office after finishing 18th.

DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after round one)

1. James Courtney – 258 2. Fabian Coulthard – 241 3. Garth Tander – 237 4. Shane van Gisbergen – 222 5. Jamie Whincup – 216 6. Craig Lowndes – 208 7. Mark Winterbottom – 202 8. Rick Kelly – 177 9. Jason Bright – 161 10. Todd Kelly – 143

V8 SUPERCARS: On the box

THE fight for eyes between Ten and Fox Sports, each with their own Clipsal 500 telecasts (and presenters) using the basic V8 Supercars TV feed and commentary, will certainly fall in favour of the free-to-air channel.

But viewers will have their own ideas which was the better show. Some of the tricks, and car cameras, paid off. Some didn’t.

Valiantly switching between the two offerings, your correspondent noted that the Porsches and utes were supports on Ten while Fox went with GT cars and the whacky stadium off-road trucks.

Mark Webber sat alongside Matt White on Ten and his comments are always worthy and candid. Mark Larkham, who is also signed with Ten, was not sighted enough, but maybe because I wasn’t using the remote at the right time. Larko is one of the sport’s shining assets. Neil Crompton and Greg Rust were their usual professional, knowledgeable selves.

The new presenting team on Fox of Jessica Yates, Mark Skaife and Russell Ingall showed promise, gelling rather well, although Skaifey, disconcertingly, seemed to be talking to Jessica rather than the audience. Still, I’d be looking at her a lot, too.

The Fox coverage didn’t need the work of someone called Greg Clark, who is as funny as a burning orphanage. And sub-titles might help sometimes when Greg Murphy gets excited.

F1: Final testing

OFFICIAL pre-season testing is done and dusted; on Sunday week, Formula One teams will fighting in the opening round of the world championship, the Australian Grand Prix.

Because we’re jingoistic bordering on xenophobic, Australians are more than interested in how Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo fared in the activities.

On Sunday, Our Dan completed 72 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya and it was day not entirely without difficulties. The final day in Barcelona began positively, but just over an hour into the session, Ricciardo stopped at the end of the pit lane. After investigation, an ERS (energy recovery system) issue was diagnosed and the team spent the morning rectifying the problem.

Ricciardo returned to the track in the afternoon and completed both long and short runs, claiming the day’s fifth-fastest time.

“In terms of the pecking order, which is obviously what everyone wants to talk about, it’s hard to say where anyone is at,” Ricciardo reported. “Aside from one team, I’d say it’s pretty close after that, but we’ll see in Melbourne.

“I think there’s more to come from us. Personally, I feel really ready to race now and I think we’ll be good come Melbourne.”

But with Lotus flicking Renault engines in favour of Ferrari this year, only Red Bull and sibling team Toro Rosso remain loyal to the French supplier.

And there are concerns that Renault hasn’t managed to get much more performance from the engine to stave off the 2015 challenges from Ferrari and Williams in the anticipated Best-of-the-Rest title fight.

Dan, a nation has its fingers crossed for you…

The team Ricciardo alluded to is, of course, reigning champ Mercedes, favourite again with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to steer its fortunes.

On Sunday, the final test day, Mercedes was nowhere near the top on the timing sheets, but no-one looked remotely worried. The Mercs have speed and durability.

Ferrari has been very quick in testing, too. This may, or may not, mean much. In many years past, Ferrari would routinely finish on top in pre-season testing… and then look like a busted donkey when the championship began.

Positively, the 2015 Ferrari has been quick and reliable, and Sebastian Vettel appears more at ease with the Ferrari’s behavioural traits than he did with last year’s Red Bull. As for Kimi Raikkonen, who knows? But he was caught smiling once or twice.

With the same power packs as the reigning champion team, Williams has shown all the signs of again fighting with Red Bull Racing and maybe Ferrari over any spoils left by Mercedes. Valtteri Bottas is a world champion in waiting, and Felipe Massa will fight to the day he leaves F1.

And what is a week in modern F1 without a team or teams asking Bernie Ecclestone for survival money. Force India has the begging bowl out again after being very late getting to testing (it managed just 2.5 days), but insists it will get to Melbourne.

McLaren and Honda have a mountain to climb before they get to taste champagne again.

There is also the cloud over dual world champion Fernando Alonso after his nasty testing crash. Alonso has indicated he is “completely fine” after leaving the track and hitting a barrier during the winter test.

The McLaren driver was kept in hospital for three nights to recuperate after being briefly unconscious after the shunt. Though ruled out of the final test by the medics, he subsequently released a video message to reassure his followers about his physical condition. “As you can see, I’m completely fine,” Alonso said.

But McLaren’s Ron Dennis was less sure, saying the Spaniard’s return to the cockpit after the hospital sojourn is “unquantifiable” at this stage.

GT: Brisbane’s Talbot heads to Europe

AMBITIOUS Queenslander Liam Talbot, into just his third year of racing, is taking a tilt at a full program in Europe’s prestigious Blancpain Endurance Series in conjunction with Kessel Ferrari.

The son and heir to billionaire mining mogul Ken Talbot, who died in a light plane crash in Africa in mid-2010, will be testing this month at Paul Ricard before the serious business of the Monza Three-Hour on April 12.

The five-round Blancpain series for GT cars then moves to Silverstone (UK), Paul Ricard (France), Spa (Belgium) and Nurburgring (Germany).

Talbot will also drive in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May with the Aston Martin Test Centre team and is down to do one of the VLN rounds there.

A return crack at the Barcelona 24 Hours in September is also under discussion. Talbot drove a Lamborghini in the Spanish enduro last year.

The Talbot team will also defend its Gulf 12 Hours class victory in Abu Dhabi in December. Last year, in the final endurance race of the year, he scored a win in the Gentleman’s category in Abu Dhabi, sharing a Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 GT3 with Moto GP world champion Jorge Lorenzo, Marco Zanuttini and Jacques Duyver.

Talbot doesn’t come from a motor racing background, but was smitten by the sport after tasting a class win at the 2013 Bathurst 12 Hour, sharing a Lotus Exige.

He went on to become the 2013 Radical Australia Cup SR3 series champion and won an Australian GT race outright at Highlands Park, steering an Audi R8.

His aim is to get to Le Mans in an LMP2 prototype and we sense he’s well on the way to achieving this goal.

V8 UTES: The future beyond Commodores and Falcons

V8 SUPERCARS and Australian V8 Ute Racing have announced they will continue their lengthy partnership to include close co-operation across the next generation of the category, which will be based around dual-cab and single-cab utilities, different brands and a broader array of engines.

The evolution of the category from next year will see the racing utes abandon its reliance on current production-based Commodore and Falcon utility platform roots.

It’s a situation forced on the category by the impending end to local production of the current Ford and Holden V8 utes.

V8 Supercars and the Australian V8 Utes will work together to develop a platform that will allow multiple manufacturers to compete with an equal performance balance.

Competitors will be encouraged to race turbo-diesel engines popular among today’s production tradie machines and new manufacturers will be sought to complement Holden and Ford.

V8 Utes race exclusively at V8 Supercars events, joining the V8 Supercars Dunlop Series, Porsche Carrera Cup, Formula 4 (soon) and Australian GT Series as primary support categories.

WTCC: Citroen and Lopez ready to defend title

AFTER a four-month hiatus, the World Touring Car Championship fires into a new season next weekend in Argentina, the homeland of defending champ Jose Maria Lopez.

The champion team is eyeing another manufacturers’ title after last year amassing 17 race wins and two world titles in their very first season in the competition.

Four factory Citroen C-Elysee WTCCs will be competing driven by Lopez, Yvan Muller, Sebastien Loeb and Ma Qing Hua. A fifth car, driven by Mehdi Bennani and managed by Sebastien Loeb Racing, will be entered in a private capacity.

Though he must take comfort from his remarkable tally of 10 wins last year, Lopez faces serious opposition from within. Team-mate Yvan Muller will be seeking a fifth world title while, having finished third in the standings last season, Loeb, in his usual determined and professional way, is targeting a touring car crown to add to his nine world rally titles.

Of the other brands, Honda’s Civic WTCC will pack more punch in 2015 following a busy winter of testing and development by ex-F1 racers Tiago Monteiro and Gabriele Tarquini.

Past WTCC winner Rickard Rydell has found the lure of a return to the championship more appealing than a life spent boating in his native Sweden. He will compete in a Nika International Honda Civic.

Lada Sport has been busy turning its all-new Vesta into a race-ready goer for Brits Rob Huff and James Thompson.

Tom Coronel and Tom Chilton are an impressive pairing for ROAL Motorsport, running Chevrolet RML Cruzes, which are also the cars of choice for charismatic Italian Stefano D’Aste and French stars John Filippi, Hugo Valente and Gregoire Demoustier.

LEO Geoghegan never attracted the mass adoration accorded others in Australian motor sport because his greatest triumphs were in formula cars and sports cars, rather than the touring cars that turned so many other drivers into track legends. And televised motor sport was in its infancy.

Geoghegan, who has passed away in Sydney aged 78 after losing his battle with bone cancer, will be remembered for his classical, elegant driving style and for being a gentleman with commendable sporting instincts.

While his younger brother Ian ‘Pete’ Geoghegan, who grew to become a rather large bloke, concentrated mainly on, and enjoyed much success in, sedans (winning five Australian touring car championships), Leo spent much of his racing career in open-wheelers and sports racing cars.

He was at the peak of his considerable powers when the Australian motor sporting scene was not dominated so obviously and brutally by tin-tops. Like many of his peers in the 1960s and 70s, Geoghegan jumped comfortably between open wheels and sports cars. And, later, to touring cars.

The Tasman Series was a huge summer Down Under hit that attracted leading Formula One stars. And Geoghegan was one of the few local heroes capable of rubbing wheels with drivers of the quality of Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Stirling Moss.

Geoghegan was a big admirer of Clark and liked to tell the story of how he coerced the two-times world champion into mowing his mum’s lawn.

When the internationals came for the Tasman Series race at Warwick Farm, the Geoghegan family traditionally hosted a barbecue at their nearby home. Leo’s mum was proud of her garden and on one occasion hassled Leo to come and mow the lawn. Jim Clark arrived at Leo’s workshop after a flying lesson and asked if there was anything he could do. Leo asked if he could mow a lawn, Jim obligingly agreed and was sent off to meet Mrs Geoghegan, introducing himself as: “I’m Jim, I’m here to mow the lawn”. At the function, Mrs Geoghegan was asked if she knew the young Scot. “Oh yes,” she replied, “it’s the man who mows the lawn.”

Kevin Bartlett, a long-time adversary, says Leo was “very intense though not like Allan Moffat, but focussed”.

“Leo would stand around and talk, and tell a joke,” recalls Bartlett. “But as soon as he sat in the car, the race face would come on. He’d lick his lips.”

Bartlett said Geoghegan had the benefit of some very good, well-prepared cars, “and he drove them bloody well; he was always a formidable competitor”.

In countless races together, Bartlett and Geoghegan clashed just once, at Warwick Farm, when they shared the front row and fought over the same piece of bitumen. “Leo came off second-best and wanted to remonstrate afterwards. He calmed down quickly.

“I always knew I was in for a hard time when Leo, Spencer [Martin], Harves [John Harvey] and then later Max [Stewart] were on the grid.

“But Leo would never grab a car by the scruff. He understood it never paid to drive a Lotus at 11/10ths.”

The Geoghegan brothers were born into a racing family. Father Tom ran taxis and had a car yard and service station in Liverpool, in Sydney’s south-west.

Tom raced cars as diverse as MG TC, humpy Holden and Jowett, and the boys were soon to follow, with their father instilling in them the need to prepare and present the racecars in a smart, professional way.

Leo began racing at 17, in Tom’s black Holden 48-215, quickly impressing fans and rivals.

In a Vintage Racecar interview with Patrick Quinn, Leo recalled his excitement when he first raced at Mount Panorama: “I drove at Bathurst for the first time in 1956 in the Holden. Bathurst was marvellous, all that I expected and more. I loved it! Loved the challenge. To cut a long story short, it was a handicap race and we started at the back but managed to win the event with Bob Holden not far behind in a Peugeot.”

In 1960, he switched to a Lotus Elite and won 21 races from 25 starts, including the 1960 Australian GT Championship.

Leo’s first real racing car, a Lotus 18 Formula Junior, followed in 1961, and then a Lotus 20, which won so many races that the Geoghegans became official Lotus agents.

A new Lotus 20 a year later led to more winning, starting immediately with victory and a lap record at Warwick Farm and again at Lakeside. Other race cars followed – often Lotuses but also a Daimler and Ford Cortina – and so did the wins. Australian titles, State titles and circuit records.

He shared a black Daimler SP250 with Ian to win the 1962 Bathurst Six Hour and six years later, in a Ferrari 250LM, the brothers raced off with the Surfers Paradise Six Hour.

As well as taking out the 1970 Gold Star for the Australian Drivers Championship and back-to-back Australian F2 championships in 1973-74, Geoghegan nailed the rare distinction for an Australian of winning an international grand prix, the Japanese Grand Prix in 1969 at Fuji Speedway, driving his ex-Jim Clark Lotus 39-Repco V8.

Leo’s versatility meant that each October from 1963 to 1973 (bar 1966) he raced in the annual Bathurst 500/1000 endurance race.

Leo and Ian shared their Ford Cortina GT500 in the 1965 Armstrong 500 while wearing business suits as part of a sponsorship deal with a Sydney clothing store. It was an unusual scenario for an introvert like Leo.

Leo’s best Bathurst finish was second in 1967 driving a factory Ford XR Falcon GT, again with brother Ian. The Geoghegans were the first to greet the chequered flag, but a protest by team-mate Harry Firth resulted in the brothers being relegated to second after a re-count of the lap charts.

The confusion came about two hours after the start when their Falcon ran out of petrol after it had passed the pits. Leo, who in the car at the time, was able to drive through the back gate into the pits to be refuelled, which led the lap scorers to mistakenly credit their car with a lap it did not complete. The race was then awarded to Firth and his co-driver Fred Gibson.

To the day he died, Leo Geoghegan insisted the lap scorers had it correct the first time and that he and Ian should be in the record books as the winners of the 1967 Bathurst 500.

When Chrysler became serious about upsetting the two-make battles between Holden and Ford, Leo was hired between 1970 and 1972 as development driver in the campaign to turn the Pacer and then the Charger into serious track weapons.

Chrysler never quite toppled its rivals at Mount Panorama, although it landed a podium in 1972.

In the mid-1980s, Geoghegan made a track comeback of sorts when he raced a Mitsubishi Starion turbo in the Winton 300 and major production car events.

In more recent years Leo Geoghegan was a happy and enthusiastic keeper of the Chrysler flame in Australia, in demand as a guest speaker at car clubs until ill-health intervened.

Commenting on his death, noted motor sports photographer and historian Paul Cross said: “Leo was an absolute gentleman, a great driver, fantastic company, always willing to give of his time, and never critical of his rivals – not even Harry Firth. He will be much missed.”

LEO GEOGHEGAN:

Leo is survived by his widow Del, sister Marie-Louise, sons Steven and Shaun, and daughters Roslyn and Naomi.

ANOTHER day, another fast-paced, track-only special surfaces for the Geneva motor show. This time it’s the Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Based on the 375kW Mercedes-AMG GT S coupe that will land in Australia in July and priced from about $270,000 – that’s right in the heart of the soon-to-be-discontinued V8-engined Audi R8 territory – the GT3 is all low centre of gravity, weight balance and wide track.

Made from aluminium like the road version, the GT3 will be the only Mercedes available with AMG’s brilliant high-revving naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 engine, which the company promises won’t break the bank to keep in peak trim.

The track car will also share a transaxle gearbox – in the case of the race car, though, it’s a six-speed sequential and not a more commuter-friendly seven-speed dual-clutcher – and a double-wishbone suspension also crafted almost entirely out of aluminium.

Inside, the GT3 features a high-tensile steel roll cage to protect the driver, while to cut weight the engine cover, doors, front wing, front and rear aprons, sidewalls, side skirts, diffuser, boot lid and big rear wing are moulded out of expensive carbonfibre.

Mercedes-Benz is already talking up the GT3 as a potential podium contender.

“This layout guarantees precise cornering properties, high lateral acceleration, first-class agility, a high level of traction and low inertia when having to change direction fast,” it said.

“On the different race circuits, all of these attributes give the driver the advantages necessary to achieve top placements.”

It will have a bit of fun doing so. McLaren has revealed its track-honed P1 GTR, also destined for a Geneva debut, while Audi has pulled the wraps off a GT version of its all-new R8 that could make a local appearance in a factory-backed bid for the Bathurst 12 Hour title.

Aston Martin, meanwhile, has revealed its Vulcan, featuring serious track cred starting with a 600kW-plus 7.0-litre V12 providing the poke.

The Geneva motor show officially kicks off next week. Rumour has it there will be a few affordable road cars unveiled as well.

APPLE, the global computing, mobile and software giant, has just tweaked its trademark symbol in Australia to now cover motor vehicles.

Wheels has discovered a subtle change made to the Apple logo’s trademark description last month, slipped in as part of a tweak to its Australian intellectual property holdings, that indicate the California-based company is making a play for car showrooms.

Rumours are sweeping the internet that Apple is about to reinvent itself as a carmaker, having variously poached staff from electric car start-up Tesla, wooed workers from battery makers, and even assembled a secret 1000-strong team of design and engineering talent to work on the project.

However, it is yet to come out publicly and say that it wants to move into the potentially lucrative car-making business against software and search rival Google, which already has the jump in terms of teaching vehicles how to drive themselves.

The evidence, though, suggests it is about to.

IP Australia, which takes care of the nation’s intellectual property rights system and manages applications for patents, trademarks, designs and even plant seeds, has posted an application on its website from Apple that aims to extend the coverage of its logo to, among other things, “vehicles; apparatus for locomotion by land, air or water; electronic hardware components included in this class for use in automobiles”.

The application, which cost $1000, was lodged in March last year, but the wider reach of the Apple logo was approved by IP Australia last month after inviting anyone who objected to the application to speak up.

Apple also spent an extra $220 on January 13 updating the classes to which the trademark applied – specifically widening it to include vehicles.

The trademark application is now classed as “pending”.

The trademark also hedges bets for Apple so that, just in case it doesn’t want to make an iPhone on wheels, it can at least have a crack at developing an iPhone that can control a vehicle.

Wheels contacted Apple Australia to ask about the trademark application. We’re still waiting for a response.

HOLDEN is attempting to reconnect with millions of owners of its cars Australia-wide by offering capped price servicing extending to every vehicle it has ever sold.

In a simplified system, Holdens older than 2000 and dating back to the original 48-215 can expect to pay $299 for a service. However, if it wears a Commodore badge and pre-dates 2000, the service will cost only $199.

Holden said cars made from 2000 on were a lot more complex, and owners would have to feed their vehicle’s details into the Holden website to receive a quote for how much it should cost.

Overall, Holden said its capped price servicing program would cover 2.5 million of the roughly 13 million vehicles currently driving on Australia’s roads – that’s about one in every five.

The Holden capped price servicing program rivals that of Japanese carmaker Subaru, which last year introduced a lifetime scheme, though only covering vehicles built since 2006.

Last week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took Korean carmaker Kia to task after it bumped up prices for its capped price servicing scheme without disclosing it adequately to customers.

Under the terms of Kia’s settlement with the consumer watchdog, the carmaker will refund customers the difference between the servicing cost they were quoted when buying the vehicle and the actual price charged.