IS THIS the best-looking mainstream wagon of 2015? Kia keeps producing better and better-looking cars and the new Kia Sportspace concept shows it’s not sitting still. It’s much more seductive than the Subaru Outback, more aggressive than the Mazda 6 wagon and makes the Skoda Octavia wagon look conservative.
Based on the forthcoming Optima – that’s the same architecture that’s been used for the new Hyundai Sonata and Tucson, and will also be the basis for the new Kia Sportage – the Sportspace previews the look of the new model due here in 2016.
Created by Kia’s European design studio, which is based in Frankfurt, Germany, the Sportspace is the work of Kia’s European head of design, Gregory Guillaume. Typical of both Kia president and designer Peter Schreyer and Guillaume’s style, the Sportspace has well-balanced proportions and an athletic stance. It leads with the signature ‘tiger-nose’ Kia front grille, but its muscular shoulders and rising, coupe-like side window line is like nothing we’ve seen on a Kia wagon before.
And despite being designed for space, Kia says it’s a four-seater, indicating that the brushed-aluminium look centre console in that bold cabin intersects the rear seat, too. The key here is the company’s description of the luggage area as ‘reasonable’.
“We set out to design a car that is a totally new breed of grand tourer – one for active people who need reasonable cargo space on the weekend, but don’t want to compromise moving around in style, comfort and with an element of sportiness,” says Guillaume.
The current Kia Optima has been on sale here since 2010 and is powered by a 2.4-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder. It shares the engine and underpinnings with the previous generation Hyundai Sonata, and is expected to use the same carryover 2.4-litre as the new Sonata, launched last week. Also joining the range will be the grunty 180kW/350m 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder that arrived with the latest Hyundai.
The Kia Sportspace will be unveiled at the 2015 Geneva motor show.
ROLLS-ROYCE will build an SUV. The company today confirmed that it will deliver an SUV to market currently being developed under the codename ‘Cullinan’ after the largest diamond ever found.
While not using the label ‘SUV’, a company statement confirmed the introduction of a high-bodied model’. It will not only be the first SUV Roller, but also the first to offer four-wheel drive. “Many of our discerning customers have urged us to develop this new car,” said the company statement, “and we have listened.”
The yet-to-be-named SUV will be produced using a new aluminium architecture, and while it’s been tipped to share its underpinnings with the forthcoming US-built BMW X7 SUV, Rolls-Royce insists that it is not a derivative of a BMW product. Still, that doesn’t mean it won’t share the basic foundations with a BMW, which would therefore spread the cost base across a higher volume model.
Power is expected to come from a V12 (of course) that would need to measure up against the forthcoming Bentley Bentayga and potential Mercedes-Maybach SUV. That means a healthy 450kW and 1000Nm is on the cards as a likely necessity for those ‘discerning customers’ who demanded the high-rise Roller.
The Rolls-Royce SUV is expected to add around 3000 sales on top of the company’s record haul of 4000 in 2014, and will require a larger workforce as it expands its facilities for the new model.
The Rolls-Royce SUV is expected to reach showrooms in 2018 or early 2019.
THE SECOND generation Skoda Superb to be sold in Australia has been unveiled in the Czech Republic ahead of its position as the show star for Skoda’s 2015 Geneva Motor Show stand.
The largest Skoda on sale, the new Superb is the biggest model to use Volkswagen Group’s flexible MQB architecture, which has proven a dynamic benchmark as the backbone of the current VW Golf, Audi A3 and Skoda Octavia. Visually, it apes the bold, edgy (and bright green) Vision C Concept that was shown at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show and has dropped its two-stage bootlid for a proper hatchback.
Skoda has confirmed that the Superb will sit on an 80mm longer wheelbase than before, which means it’s a whopping 2841mm. That’s 155mm longer than Octavia, 221mm more than Golf and compares to Holden Commodore’s 2914mm – it’s that big. At the same time, front overhang is 61mm shorter than before, a plus for handling.
Those dimensions provide an expanse of rear passenger space, with 157mm rear legroom, while it will also be more accommodation up front. There’s a boot so large you’ll have to apply for citizenship – it’s 625 litres. That gives the Superb a larger cargo area than Commodore, Toyota Camry and Mazda 6.
The Australian engine line-up is yet to be confirmed, with European markets given a choice of five engines, but it’s expected that the Oz market will continue with the 125kW diesel and 118 TSI powerplants currently offered in the Superb range. As with other MQB cars, a significant weight saving is expected and therefore measureable improvement in the Superb’s already admirable fuel economy, officially 5.5L/100km for the diesel.
Four out of five of the engines offered in Europe are offered with a Haldex all-wheel drive system, yet Skoda Australia has not confirmed whether the local line-up will include all-wheel drive, despite its availability on the current car. The wagon – which offers a Ford Kuga-style foot-waving auto opening system – is also yet to be confirmed for Down Under.
Dynamic chassis control will be offered for the first time on a Superb, while the XDS+ electronic differential lock is standard on all European models.
Safety gear? There’s loads of it. Euro models have Automatic Emergency Braking, as well as radar cruise control, blind spot indicators and seven airbags. It would be surprising of the Superb didn’t receive a five-star Euro NCAP rating.
The 2015 Skoda Superb is expected to start from around $29,000 when it arrives in Australia by the end of the year.
The passing of Geoff Paradise has sparked a flood of tributes to a man who lived his dreams and allowed motoring enthusiasts of all ilk to share theirs.
Paradise created a number of influential magazines, including Street Machine, Fast Fours & Rotaries, Performance Street Car, Coach and Bus, Australian Drag Racer and Transport and Trucking Today.
Wheels sends its condolences to Geoff’s family and, along with the large number of people his work has touched, remember this great man with both fondness and admiration.
Geoff, we’ll miss you, mate.
Read Street Machine’s tribute to Geoff here
BEFORE we tell you what this is, we’ll give you a moment simply to look at it. Gorgeous, isn’t it?
And no, it’s not a pie-in-the-sky concept drawn by a 12-year-old on his laptop: it’s an official Ferrari concept.
The Italian brand surprised everyone this morning by releasing this ‘Ferrari F1 concept’, which shows how a Ferrari racer might look if it was designed not just for aerodynamics, but to look beautiful too.
Here’s how Ferrari describes it:
“Would it be possible to come up with an F1 car which not only is technologically advanced, but also captivating to the eye and aggressive-looking? And could this be made without having to overturn the current technical rules? At Ferrari, we believe so. Let us introduce you to the ‘concept design’ that was conceived by our design studio (Centro Stile Ferrari) together with the Scuderia’s aero department.
“Our challenge was to create something that was—to put it short—better looking,” the statement concludes. “We value your comments on that.”
So technically it is a pie-in-the-sky concept, just one officially condoned by Ferrari. But is Ferrari correct? Should F1 cars be more beautiful? Leave your comments below. Our answer is a firm YES.
These are the first official pictures of the new Hyundai Tucson that arrives in Australia in the second half of 2015. A rival to the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4 SUVs, the Tucson replaces the ever-green iX35 as Hyundai uses names instead of numbers for its global products. It also brings a new driveline, more space as it steps up a segment, and is rumoured to offer both Apple and Android connectivity.
The muscular design of the Tucson is headed by a three-bar chrome grille and elongated headlamps as a clear marker that it’s a member of the Hyundai stable, and uses some of the design cues shown on the new Hyundai Sonata which uses the same platform. They include the pinched waistline that sits above the doorhandles, where previously it intersected them, while there’s a swoopier roofline than the iX35’s which reminds us of the recently launched, much smaller Honda HR-V. Saying that, the Tucson is step up from the ix35 in terms of size, according to Hyundai.
The interior design doesn’t exactly break new ground, merely following on from Hyundai models with a simple layout and basic features, such as the plain white-on-black instruments. That said, fit and finish should be solid. The biggest news inside is that the Tucson will offer both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, according to a Hyundai insider. This means that every model will be sat-nav capable via an app, and use either Google Voice or Apple’s Siri for text messaging and voice activated functions.
The Australian Tucson line-up will be offered here with carryover versions of the 2.0-litre entry level petrol engine in front-wheel drive models, as well as the 2.0-litre diesel all-wheel drive version. Replacing the iX35’s 2.4-litre petrol engine will be the 1.6-litre inline four-cylinder used in the Hyundai Veloster and Kia Proceed GT sports models. It will be mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive.
Sadly, despite sharing the same platform, Hyundai Australia has ruled out the dual-clutch transmission for the Australian market Sonata, even if such versions are offered in left-hand drive markets.
The ix35 was the best-selling Hyundai after the i30 hatch range in 2014, and was the third most popular SUV behind the Mazda CX-5 and the Toyota RAV4. Helping it achieve this was sourcing models from factories in Korea and the Czech Republic, and that’s set to continue with the new Tucson.
Also following Hyundai tradition will be a unique suspension tune for Australia’s rough roads. Testing will commence next week on a spring and damper set-up to ensure that Aussies fall in love with the new Hyundai. Further specification is yet to be confirmed, but a rear-view camera will be standard on all Tucsons sold in Oz.
The 2015 Hyundai Tucson will be unveiled at the 2015 Geneva motor show and is expected to start at $28,000 when it arrives in Australia late this year.
A STUFF-UP from the European branch of luxury brand Lexus has given a tantalising first glimpse at the LF-SA concept that will take centre stage at next month’s Geneva motor show.
The single image, showing the outline of the front of the vehicle as well as a distinctive set of Nike Swoosh-style daytime running lights, was tagged as the LF-SA on Twitter shortly before the post was deleted – but not before sharp-eyed viewers grabbed a copy.
Featuring a prominent spindle grille that marked a sharp shift in Lexus’s once conservative design philosophy, the LF-SA is believed to slot into Toyota’s luxury sub-brand beneath the Corolla-based CT200h hybrid, creating a new entry point for the brand.
That also hints that Lexus will base the LF-SA on the city-friendly Yaris hatch, and feature petrol-electric hybrid technology that could lower fuel use to around 3.8 litres per 100 kilometres.
The Geneva motor show officially kicks off on March 3.
Welcome to MOTOR’s 60 Greatest Performance Cars of all time.
The list first appeared in our June 2014 issue as part of our 60th Anniversary celebrations. What better way to celebrate 60 years of testing performance cars than to name the best we’ve ever driven?
Now, given the last was compiled almost 12 months ago there are some obvious cars missing. At the time, we hadn’t driven the incredible LaFerrari or the sublime 458 Speciale, and we hadn’t yet sampled the excellent 991 GT3.
Bar a few recent models, however, it’s a list that’s unlikely to significantly change, now or into the future, as these 60 cars represent the pinnacle of performance motoring. That said, if we’ve missed your favourite, please let us know in the comments below. Enjoy.
30. Hennessey Venom GT
How could the world’s fastest car not make our top 60? Many scoffed (including us, if we’re honest) when pictures and details of the Venom GT first broke four years ago, but US tuner John Hennessey has more than backed up his boast, the car recently clocking over 435km/h. Even more eye-opening is the fact, by all accounts, the Venom’s ride, handling and steering are just as impressive as its acceleration.
29. Mazda MX-5
From the fastest car on the list to possibly the slowest. But if any car is able to punch above its weight, ti’s the MX-5. Any and all are a pleasure to drive, but we’ve gone with the non-power assisted, 1.6-litre original. You won’t get anywhere quickly but, hey, the journey is the reward, man. Peace.
28. BMW 3.0 CSL
Germany’s A9X Torana, the 3.0CSL was a homologation special built to dominate the European Touring Car Championship; which it did convincingly, the winged ‘Batmobiles’ winning five years straight from 1975-’79. Think of it as BMW’s first M-car and you’ll understand its significance.
27. Honda Integra Type R
Anyone who thinks front-drive is boring needs to steer a Type R. Okay, so Honda’s hardcore Integra only really made sense when you were thrashing the beejeezus out of it, but boy did it reward you in spades when you made the effort, with every single element finely honed and full of feel.
26. Ford GT
If you’re going to re-interpret arguably the greatest car you’ve ever built, you’d better make sure you get it right. Thankfully Ford did, producing an intoxicating blend of good ol’ brute force (that 410kW/675Nm supercharged V8) and surprising sophistication. Is it better than the equivalent Ferrari? Irrelevant. It is its own wonderful thing.
25. Porsche Cayman R
If corners are your thing, you’ll find no better partner than the Porsche Cayman R. To be honest, the current Cayman S is just as sweet, but it’s hard not to be seduced by the hardcore focus of the previous-gen Cayman R. If only it had the engine from a 911 GT3, it’d be a lot higher up.
24. Honda NSX-R
The NSX’s 14-year lifespan gave Honda’s engineers plenty of time to hone it to the nth degree, and their efforts culminated in the second-gen NSX-R in 2002. Its headline numbers are nothing special, but a Nurburgring lap time of 7min56sec (same as a 996 GT3) provides some hint as to its ability.
23. Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2
This or the Audi R8 V10 Plus? Given the two cars’ similarities there was only room for one, and in the end the Italian got the nod. Why? Well, as awesome as the R8 is, we all agreed that if the keys to both were laid before us, it’d be the Lambo that would be barking into life, the combination of over 400kW, rear-wheel drive and an open-gated six-speed manual impossible to resist.
22. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX
Yes, it has the interior ambience of a tupperware container and all the design flair of an Adidas tracksuit, but no other car can extract grip from a surface like an Evo. No matter how ambitious the entry speed or outrageous the oversteer angle, the Evo’s clever electronic diffs always provide hope that the situation can be saved, making the driver look a hero in the process.
21. Porsche Carrera GT
The product of a stillborn Le Mans program, at launch the Carrera GT’s tricky handling famously made even Walter Röhrl sweat. Now, thanks to a decade’s worth of advancement in tyre technology, the Carrera GT is rightly regarded as one of Stuttgart’s greatest creations, with a fearsome V10 howl that would have you hunting tunnels all night long.
FORD has taken its next step in the long process of quitting manufacturing, announcing it will move what’s left of its post-manufacturing Australian operations from Broadmeadows on the outskirts of Melbourne to a new site in inner-city Richmond.
The “reconfiguration” of the Broadmeadows site, which Ford has used as its corporate headquarters since moving there from Geelong in 1961, will relocate 200 of the carmaker’s “employees, contractors and other support staff from the marketing, sales and service team” to the new location by the middle of this year.
The move will happen a year and a half before Ford is scheduled to switch off more than 50 years of Australian manufacturing in October next year and become a full-line importer.
The Broadmeadows office space will be refurbished and turned over to the company’s engineering division, which will remain at the site. The engineering centre will become one of only two Ford development centres outside the US that can design and develop an all-new vehicle from the ground up, but not manufacture it.
Ford said its research and testing operations in Geelong and Lara would “continue uninterrupted”.
Ford Australia currently has about 3000 employees spread between its Geelong-based six-cylinder engine casting facility, the Broadmeadows manufacturing and development base, and the Lara-based You Yangs proving ground and engineering centre.
Once manufacturing ends, the carmaker will cut its headcount to about 1500 workers.
Ford said moving its sales team to the inner-city location would allow it to “capitalise on the area’s vibrancy and related employee satisfaction benefits”.
“The location also provides better access to more consumers and key business partners such as its advertising agency located in Richmond,” it said.
FORD Australia is recalling almost 18,000 locally made Falcon sedans and utes, and Territory SUVs to fix a potentially dangerous fault with the vehicles’ ignition barrels.
The fault, which has the potential to stall the engine and in turn switch off activation of safety gear such as airbags and anti-lock brakes, has also prompted a warning for drivers to stop adjusting the steering wheel’s position for fear that it will add to the risk of sparking the fault.
“On some vehicles there is potential for the ignition switch electrical connector to disengage,” Ford’s statement to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which oversees the safety recall of vehicles, says.
“If the connector disengages while driving, the engine will stall, electrical functions will be lost, and the vehicle will be unable to be restarted,”it says. “This poses a potential accident hazard to the driver and other road users.”
Ford says the fault was detected in vehicles coming off the carmaker’s Broadmeadows line between November 12, 2013 and October 13 last year. It therefore applies to almost a year’s worth of the last batch of FG MkII Falcons and SY Territory SUVs before production switched to the final FGX Falcon range and SZ Territory vehicles that will carry the carmaker through to the end of manufacturing in 2016.
Ford says it will write to all the owners of affected vehicles, where it is expected the connectors will be inspected and replaced at no cost.
“Until the safety recall service is completed it is recommended that the steering column “tilt” or “reach” positions are not adjusted as this may reduce the engagement of the electrical connector,” it says.
Ford’s is the 15th vehicle recall in the last 30 days to flag owners of potential safety-related problems in a number of different marques including Holden, Toyota, Audi, Chrysler and Nissan over the last 30 days, according to the Federal Government’s tracking website for dodgy products.
The list of carmakers dragging vehicles back into workshops includes last year’s recalls gold medallist, the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Decade-old versions of the US carmaker’s current bestseller were found to be in need of a fix after it was discovered that front airbags and seatbelt pretensioners that are only supposed to fire in a crash were instead activating randomly.
