WEDGED into the Sparco race seat of Bruce Garland’s 2009 Isuzu D-Max Dakar rally truck, the mercury sitting north of 35 degrees, my helmet drips with sweat, and the harness digs into my chest.
This is a snapshot of what it must be like to line up at the start of the Dakar rally; to be one of nearly 400 vehicles preparing to tackle 9000km of some of the toughest desert and mountain terrain on the planet.
We’re a world away from Buenos Aires and the real Dakar, but I am strapped into the same turbo-diesel rally truck that carried Garland to 11th place (and first privateer home) in last year’s Dakar. Time for some off-road mayhem.
Bruce’s larrikin voice sounds in my headset. I give him the thumbs-up and he dumps the clutch, twin rooster-tails of dirt spewing into the air as 480Nm of turbo-diesel grunt hurls the Isuzu forward.
I’m not prepared for the violence.
The Colo Park 4WD racetrack near Windsor, NSW is as rough as guts. Ruts and ridges, dips and drops, changing cambers punctuated by knee-deep holes and gum trees on both sides. All taken flat-out. It’s like being thrown into the mosh-pit at an AC/DC concert: your vision blurs and the world vibrates.
I try to take stock of this assault on the senses. Although the track is as rough as anything I’ve ever driven, the rally-honed suspension is absorbing the punishment. The long-travel dampers (using hydraulic bump-stops) soak up the hits and jumps, while the heavy-duty springs work to keep the body level. Despite the teeth-rattling impacts, the Isuzu stays on line and doesn’t feel as nervous as I had expected.
As Garland wrestles the wheel and dances the ute between trees, the subtleties of off-road racing become clearer. It’s like driving an oversized rally car; the basic principles are the same. Get on the brakes early and tip the nose in to get the truck sliding before the apex.
Once a cornering line is established, it’s all throttle steer and opposite-lock to keep things tight, letting the four-wheel-drive system distribute torque and the custom-made suspension soak up the hits. Bruce slots the front wheels into ruts, which help railroad the truck through the corner, calmly talking me through the process even though I feel like I’m stuck in a giant washing machine. The D-Max, though, feels bulletproof.
After two bone-jarring laps of the 8km course it’s my turn behind the wheel. And, yes, I’m apprehensive. Yet the first encouraging sign is that the Holinger sequential five-speed gearbox and heavy-duty clutch work brilliantly. Punching the clutch and palming the gearstick forward for downshifts or wrenching it backwards to grab another gear becomes second nature after only a few hundred metres.
The 160kW/480Nm 2999cc four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine is working hard up front, grunting and barking through the dirt. The D-Max doesn’t feel face-peeling-quick like a Porsche, or even an HSV. But maximum torque floods in from 2000rpm, so there’s a thick slug of turbo twist to ride out of corners.
“Don’t worry about trying to avoid all the big rocks and humps, just mash it and drive over them. She’ll take it all,” booms Garland’s voice in my helmet. I push harder. I’m surprised at how effective the big, cross-drilled and ventilated brakes are on dirt, but my turn-in technique needs work.
I’m a little sloppy and tentative and wash into understeer more often than not. But when it all comes together and you’re powersliding out of corners, balanced on the throttle and skimming trees, man, this is fun.
But Australia’s most successful off-road racer needs a proper introduction. I’m sitting in Garland’s neat, but sparse, office on the second floor of his sprawling, bustling workshop on the north-western outskirts of Sydney. The numerous trophies, medals and plaques on pinewood shelving are testimony to his racing success.
This is the nerve-centre. Garland Motorsports builds, prepares and maintains off-road buggies, trucks and rally cars for anyone with the money and inclination to go racing. It was here that Bruce and his team built their Isuzu Dakar truck, as well as a twin for his Swedish team-mates.
His history in motorsport is long and varied. A keen amateur rally driver throughout the 1970s, he was hired by multiple Australian Rally Champion and 1969 Bathurst winner Colin Bond to rebuild and maintain his BDA Ford Escorts in the 1979-1980 ARC season.
In 1986, the fledgling Mitsubishi Ralliart Australia signed Bruce as chief engineer for its fleet of off-road racers, several of which achieved outright and class wins in various off-road rallies over the following few years.
Bruce stepped up to the big time in 1989, jetting off to Europe to look after the Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 of rally god Ari Vatanen. Then in 1994 he formed an association with Isuzu, which was affiliated with Holden at the time, and began driving for the Holden Jackaroo/Isuzu factory team, racking up five outright wins in the Australian Safari. In 2001, Garland took the chequered flag with team-mate Peter Brock claiming second.
Bruce had his first taste of the Dakar in 1998, but his ill-prepared Isuzu VehiCROSS rally buggy self-destructed. But the seeds had been sown.
But in 2002 there were ructions in the corporate corridors of Holden and Isuzu. The two companies parted ways, effectively leaving Garland in the cold. He returned to his growing motorsport shop and in 2008 leveraged his association with Isuzu to wrangle some factory support and turn the new D-Max into a Dakar assault weapon.
In January 2009, Bruce, his co-driver Harry Suzuki and four mechanics fronted up in Buenos Aires with two trucks and eight tonnes of spare parts. Having sunk close to a million dollars into development of the D-Max, claiming eleventh place – dicing with factory teams blowing budgets approaching $80 million – was a satisfying result.
But with his new and improved-for-2010 D-Max already on the eight-week boat ride to South America, Garland begins talking me through the harsh desert terrain that claims around 70 percent of the hundreds of vehicles that start the Dakar every year. A self-confessed larrikin and possessed of a cheeky grin and disarming honesty, Bruce is an engineer/racer of the old-school; a bloke who meticulously builds and then mercilessly flogs his dirt-churning creations. He’s the antithesis of the contemporary, PR-perfect race drivers. Loose Bruce, as he’s known, can swear a blue streak and loves a beer. Yet his passion for the sport is unbridled, his knowledge deep and forged in competition. I like him immediately.
An in-depth knowledge of dune formations and the secrets of sand, reckons Garland, are crucial to conquering the Dakar. The desert winds are deceptive and treacherous, constantly swirling and altering the landscape.
“The dunes get formed by the wind. Like waves, they’ve got a hollow section at the bottom and a curved lip at the top. The sand is hard-packed in the hollow but it’s like quicksand on the other side. You can sink up to the doors in a heartbeat.”
Stories spill from his lips like oil spewing from a punctured sump. Leaning forward in his chair, he eagerly recounts his “wall of death” moment, faced in the Andes mountain range in Argentina, 2500m above sea level. “You’ve got real trouble breathing at that height; it feels like you’ve got a mother of a hangover, your brain slows down. The truck loses 30 percent power because the air’s so thin, the turbo loses power and overspins the turbine. It’s a great way to destroy turbos.”
It’s so dangerous, and competitors pass out so often, that doctors with oxygen bottles are stationed every 30km, and drivers still have to negotiate life-threatening terrain.
“We sort of fell into this giant dustbowl,” he laughs. “We’re surrounded by these towering walls of sand and struggling to breathe. It’s so steep you can’t just punch over the top, so it’s ‘wall of death’ time”.
“We drove around the inside of this bowl in a circular motion, building as much speed as possible. We did two laps to gain momentum then launched over the top at an angle and … blast-off!” he cackles with laughter. “Bloody scary, but what a buzz!”
Garland still approaches his sport and work with the wide-eyed yet mischievous enthusiasm of a kid let loose in a toy shop. He’s a ball of pent-up energy, bouncing between serious shop talk of fabricating
bash-plates from bulletproof aluminium, then laughing maniacally as he recalls his team shooting each other with fireworks on a boozy New Year’s Eve in Argentina. Even after
40 years of bush-bashing and dune-dancing, he bubbles with excitement over the Dakar.
This enthusiasm carries through his motley crew of mechanics and car builders, as do decades of experience and genuine engineering nous. His co-driver for the last 20 years has been Hiroaki (Harry) Suzuki. A Japanese ex-Honda mechanic, his English is stilted and heavily accented despite living in Oz for more than two decades, but his passion is crystal clear. “Off-road rally, like the Dakar, is the real thing. Rally, tarmac racing – everything else is soft.”
Also present on the day is one of the youngest of Garland’s gaggle: mechanic Ian Wilson. At 27, he’s endlessly ebullient and like a puppy off the leash when it comes to the Dakar.
“Two million spectators watched the first day of the Dakar in 2009. It was just awesome,” gushes Wilson. “For a service crew it’s bloody tough, though. We’ll work all night on the car, fixing whatever Bruce has broken, then drive 800km the next day to the next service point. We’re scrounging parts from rubbish dumps, sometimes having to change whole engines in a few hours. Yep, it’s one of the dumbest things you’ll ever do.” But his split-melon grin tells a different story.
As much as it’s the thrill of competition that drives Bruce and his team, it’s also clear the adventure of the Dakar itself is a powerful motivator. And the D-Max, up on a hoist in the workshop, is testimony to that adventure; beaten and battered after 10,000km of punishment in the 2009 race. It may look surprisingly stock, and the team uses as many factory parts as possible to keep costs contained, but closer inspection reveals the depth of engineering involved. The firewall has been moved back to accommodate a larger intercooler, the bonnet and front guards are carbonfibre, and all the intercooler and pipe work is custom fabricated.
Moving to the back of the truck, Bruce points to the specially-made chrome-moly tubing used to both mount and protect the rear differential. And the list goes on…
Over on the far wall of Bruce’s workshop is his “wall of pain”. Among the yellowing posters, various smashed and mangled body panels are mounted on the wall, each telling a different story. Posters of victories in the Australian Safari, a twisted front-quarter panel courtesy of a rolled Holden Jackaroo, and photos of his mates and team-mates take pride of place.
But he lingers over one particular photo of a dark-haired guy in his early 40s wearing a motocross jumper and a broad grin. Garland’s larrikin retreats and his voice softens as he recounts the death of his mate Andrew Caldacott during the ’06 Dakar.
“Andy was a bloody good bike rider and a good mate, too,” he says, staring blankly at the ground. “He was riding for the KTM factory team. He hit a lump of camel grass doing about 200km/h; never saw it coming. He was thrown off his bike and broke his neck instantly.”
As Bruce’s voice trails off, his eyes remain downcast, his lips pursed. A rare moment of sadness and silence fills the workshop. Perhaps he’s also contemplating his own mortality and the 58 lives the Dakar has claimed in its 32-year history. But the moment of melancholy passes
as quickly as it came and the glint returns to his eyes: “But we know the risks, right? That’s why it’s so exciting, because it’s so dangerous,” he says. “Why else would we do it?”
As I left Bruce that afternoon, he was quietly confident of a top 10 finish in the 2010 race. But the Dakar is a harsh mistress and on day seven a spare wheel came loose, smashing the rear-mounted radiator and ending the team’s rally.
His disappointment was palpable, but his thoughts had already turned to the 2011 rally. “I’ve got the taste now, I’ll be back.”
ISUZU D-MAX DAKAR TRUCK
Body steel/carbonfibre, 2 doors, 2 seats Drivetrain front engine (north-south), all-wheel drive Engine 2999cc in-line 4, dohc, 16v Power 160kW @ 4800rpm Torque 480Nm @ 2000rpm Transmission 5-speed sequential manual Size L/W/H 5025/1800/1860mm Wheelbase 3200mm Weight 2300kg 0-100km/h 7.0sec (estimated) Price $1,000,000 (estimated)
Have you bought our media-rich iPad edition yet? Sand man was originally published in April 2010. Next week, The Weekend Read recaps all the news from the 2014 Paris Motor Show.
Traction control, ABS or treaded slicks couldn’t help even the best GT drivers rise above the conditions that besieged Nürburgring’s Grand Prix track during Sunday’s Blancpain Endurance Series final.
Sticky fog and relentless rain challenged the 40-strong field that battled for a final grab of championship points at the six-hour Nürburgring 1000 event.
In the end, however, on a drying track, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT capitalised on pole position, with Laurens Vanthoor, Cesar Ramos and Christopher Mies taking first in the Pro category with their #1 Audi R8 LMS Ultra, ahead of the Mercedes SLS AMGs of the HTP Motorsport and Black Falcon teams.
Vanthoor, who completed the final stint in the Audi, piloted the car home largely unchallenged, as rivals in the Pro class struggled in the conditions. An early tussle between the #98 ART Grand Prix McLaren and #26 Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 penalised both with a lengthy time in the pits for repairs, while Andy Soucek lost the #99 ART Grand Prix McLaren’s rear-end late in the race trying to warm the slicks on a still-wet but drying track.
Such incidents effectively handed Vanthoor and Belgian Audi Club Team WRT the Pro driver and team championship respectively.
Further down the podium, a late assault from Stef Dusseldorp in car #85 consolidated HTP Motorsport’s lead over the third-placed Black Falcon SLS AMG, and, combined with the HTP #84 car’s 14th-place finish, awarded them second in the Pro team championship, tied with M-Sport Bentley.
Amongst HTP’s pilots, young gun Maximilian Buhk of car #85 finished highest in the drivers’ standings, tied with Cesar Ramos from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT for fourth overall.
The Black Falcon Mercedes’s third place allowed its team to take a comfortable fifth in the championship and put its three drivers, Andreas Simonsen, Abdulaziz Al Faisal and Hubert Haupt, in tied 15th place.
Impressively, new kids Bentley M-Sport managed second place in both the driver and team championships, despite its cars finishing a hammer-throw from the silverware in eighth and 12th place, thanks to car #7’s drive-through penalty and car #8 swapping ends twice: the first time after pushy contact during a safety-car restart, the second after ex-F1 driver Jerome D’Ambrosio lost a measure of grip during corner exit. Bentley’s race efforts, however, were remarkable to say the least. Five hours in, both cars were at least five places behind where they finished, but Steven Kane’s vicious assailment on a dry track in the #7 Continental during the final hour nudged Bentley into the Top Ten and onto the race’s points table.
Despite coming close to a debut overall win, after two prior victories during the year, Bentley has confirmed another season and a crack at the Nürburgring 24-hour next year.
In other categories, a fantastic push from the two-man team of Nick Catsburg and Henry Hassid, in TDS Racing’s Pro-Am #12 BMW Z4, resulted in a fourth-place race finish. But it was the Scuderia Villorba Corse team that took overall honours in both driver and team Pro-Am championships, overcoming a drive-through penalty to clinch a third-in-category race finish. Mention is owed to Alex Buncombe, whose virtuosic ability in the wet put Nissan GT Academy’s GT-R in the race lead early on, ahead of Pro cars. However, the #80 Nissan dropped down the order after a pit stop.
The Gentlemen category race was awarded, for the first time, to a non-Ferrari team, after Team Parker Racing’s Audi R8 LMS Ultra, driven by Julian Westwood and Ian Loggie, took advantage of Sport Garage Ferrari’s bad luck on track and with the car. Overall, though, AF Corse took home the Gentlemen trophy gold.
The Blancpain Endurance Series is expected to return in 2015 with the same format and schedule, the only change being that the season’s six-hour event will be held at the round at Paul Ricard, France, instead of the Nürburgring 1000 final.
Ferrari’s taken its most hardcore current model, the 458 Speciale, and done away with its roof. Released at this year’s Paris Motor Show, the 458 Speciale A – as in “aperta” or ‘open’ – is a celebration of its most successful eight-cylinder model and will be available as a limited run of 499.
Expect the same 458 Speciale experience, albeit in the open air, as the 458 Speciale A uses the coupe version’s 445kW and 540Nm 4.5-litre V8 powerplant. And while the roof’s folding capabilities have loaded 50kg to the car’s kerb figure, the 458 A is reported by Ferrari to be only a tenth slower to 100km/h and no slower around Ferrari’s private Fiorano circuit. A more impressive figure of speed, though, may be the aluminium roof’s ability to shell or unshell in just 14 seconds.
What really sets the A apart from a 458 Speciale, or Spider (a name which is abandoned this time round), is its unique colour treatment. Released in ‘unique triple-layer yellow livery’ the convertible also features an opposite arrangement of the regular Speciale’s body stripe, this time white is bordered by blue. The stripe now completely paints the rear spoiler vane and the blue matches with the rear diffuser and bumper inserts, the side skirt winglets, the brake calipers and front dam insert.
But from here it almost gets silly, at least in concept, as the blue extends to the cockpit’s carbon bits too. Ferrari developed its interior carbon bits (which are virtually everywhere in the cabin) with a dark blue hue, similar to its exterior body parts. We won’t pass judgement on whether it’ll look cool or not until we see it in the metal.
Other features include seats that will have matching yellow inserts and be finished with Alcantara. The car also features Grigio Corse finished five-spoke wheels that feature forks spaced more apart than the 458 Speciale’s, but manage to look very similar.
Release dates and pricing are not yet known, however, we’re sure it’ll be a sizeable ask for one of the last 458 models we’ll see before Ferrari releases its turbocharged successor.
So, is the world ready for the new Mustang? Or, to frame the question in slightly harsher terms, should we really care that Ford is finally making a version of its perennial sportscar that’s designed for life beyond its home shores?
The question has an obvious relevance in Australia, where we’ve had, and are now set to lose, our own brawny Blue Oval-badged rear-drivers in the shape of the soon-to-die Ford Falcon and its FPV spin-offs. Which brings the sobering realisation that, when the Falcon goes, the Mustang will be left as the only rear-driven passenger car that Ford produces anywhere in the world. It will also be the only one to be offered with a V8 engine, although most headlines are being won by the controversial decision to also install a turbocharged four-cylinder.
The times they have a-changed.
In design terms, it’s a winner – better looking than its slabby predecessor, but still undoubtedly a Mustang. It’s a similar story inside the cabin where pretty much every pony car cliche is present – from deeply cowled instruments to a row of chrome-effect toggle switches – but build quality has been dramatically improved. It still doesn’t feel on a par with the premium Germans, but you no longer run the risk of cutting your fingers on moulding pips.
But behind the extra quality, not much has changed. Unusually for a new generation car the Mustang hasn’t lost any weight – the V8 has actually put on 39kg. And at the same time Ford is launching an aluminium-bodied pickup truck in the ‘States, only the Mustang’s front wings and bonnet are made from alloy.
Ford claims the increase in weight is mostly down to the arrival of independent rear suspension. That’s right, Ford has now brought the Mustang to a level of technical sophistication that pretty much every other sportscar had reached before the mobile phone was invented.
For the most part, it works – the new chassis has dramatically improved the Mustang, which feels vastly more sophisticated than any of its predecessors. Ride quality is good, especially when digesting the sort of road surfaces that would have had previous Mustangs shaking and shuddering. And there’s a new level of precision that makes the car easy to place and hold on a line, despite its size and bulk. New electric power steering is standard, and it works well although the optional ‘Sport’ mode – which just adds weight – feels gimmicky.
But it’s hard not to feel underwhelmed by the Ecoboost. The 2.3-litre four-pot produces a commendable 231kW, but it’s been tuned to deliver best low down and in the mid range, and it feels tight and breathless if asked to go beyond the 5500rpm at which peak power arrives. It sounds anemic when pushed hard too.
The V8 – carried over effectively unchanged from the last car – is far better, even if it is in a lower 325kW state of tune than the last of the FPV GTs. It has less low-down grunt than the Ecoboost but it likes to rev and, although the soundtrack is muted by Mustang standards, there’s a nice snarl when worked hard. It’s also got the compelling-but-pointless option of a ‘burn-out’ mode that enables you to electronically line-lock the front wheels to spin up the rears. To warm it up for the drag strip, of course.
On first impressions this is definitely the best ‘standard’ Mustang yet; the big question is how well it will cope when asked to compete with some of the quality players in its segment. We look forward to finding out.
Model: Ford Mustang GT Coupe Engine: 4951cc V8 Max power: 325kW @ 6500rpm Max torque: 542Nm @ 4250rpm Transmission: 6-speed manual Kerb weight: 1682kg 0-100km/h: 4.6sec (claimed) Price:$60,000 (est.) On sale: June 2015
You want answers on bound-for-Oz 2015 Mustang? We’ve got them, fresh from tearing Southern California’s mountains a new one in both 5.0 V8 GT and 2.3 Ecoboost forms.
Is it any good? It’s fantastic. But you’ll want the bent-eight GT. And whether Australia offers it as a cost-option ($US2495 in the U.S) or fits it as standard, you want the upgraded Performance Pack, which adds the fattest 19in rubber (255mm front, 275mm rear), stiffer suspension and an exclusive, GT-only, ‘short’ 3.7:1 helical LSD.
In short, the Mustang GT delivers all promise on what a modern muscle car should be, both sonically and characteristically. It looks gorgeous, has immense presence – at least in the brightest of its broad palette of colours – and the fat growl from idle through to the 7000rpm cut-out is worth a big chunk of the yet-to-be-confirmed entry price alone. It’s a complete good-vibe machine.
You won’t want the 231kW/434Nm Ecoboost. Forget it. It’s lighter (1603kg against 1680kg), has a slightly keener turn-in, and retains all the mojo of GT except the shove and soundtrack. But the Ecoboost is a Mustang neutered. It’s missing a big chunk of soul. And do you want to forever defend why you bought a four-banger ‘muscle car’?
So GT’s your guy. How does it compare to V8 Falcon/FPV stock? It’s no comparison, for good and bad. Neither truly substitutes for the other. The mojo-laden Mustang favours form over function and you could never squeeze four adults into either fastback or convertible. Neither has any rear head, leg, foot or shoulder room to speak of (a la GT-R or 911). In fact, the mid-’60s Mustang has more interior room (we measured).
But as a driver’s tool? The Mustang is a noticeably superior device in every respect. There’s only 325kW (at 6500rpm) and 543Nm (at 4250rpm), but its sonorous naturally-aspirated character – a dying breed in today’s force-induced climate – gels superbly with the short-stacked (and slightly baulky) Getrag six-speed manual.
It’s satisfyingly punchy and toey during red-misted punts, rorty and flexible at a dull-roar cruise. It’ll spin up the rears gleefully but only when intentionally provoked, and comes with both a line-lock ‘burnout’ function and launch control if your inner Hyde warrants it.
On twisty sweeping corners, the V8 loves to rev and offers throttle linearity an Aussie 5.0L could only dream of offering.
The real highlight – the big surprise, even – is Mustang’s dynamic talents. After half a century of enduring ox cart technology, the IRS and new double-ball joint strut front-end simply propels Mustang into a loftier handling realm.
But this is a realm best considered in context. As a muscle car, the Mustang delivers beyond expectation and sets new benchmarks. It feels to leave FPV and Chrysler’s SRT gear in the dust. But as a high-performance car, though, it’s no M3. Glass half or half full? It’s down to personal taste.
But the positives are many. The Performance Pack rides slightly too firm around town, but on a twisty back road its compliance and body control is blissful, it’s balance is beautifully neutral and confidence inspiring, it’s road-holding grip is huge and it’s front-end point almost manic.
Give it a complete bootful in the mid-corner and the nose refuses to budge off its line, its tail – with that top-spec Helical LSD – shimmying with grace and composure. A mere show pony this most definitely is not. It’s a proper thoroughbred.
If there’s a markdown, it’s that the three-mode (Comfort, Normal, Sport) adjustable steering lacks proper load-up, robbing the equation of some bona-fide feel. No gripes with the frankly brilliant six-pot (front) Brembo anchors, with enormous power backed up by a proper, almost motorsport-tuned progression in take-up and accuracy.
Is it palatable for Aussie consumption? Will it ‘fit in’, so to speak? Halfway into our punt from Hollywood out through the canyons of the Angeles National Forest, the feeling is a resounding yes. It brings something new and incredibly appealing Down Under with a blend of virtues that can be substituted with current local or imported muscle car stock.
Which begs the question of pricing. No Blue Oval rep from either side of the pond will confirm dollars or spec. It’ll land second quarter next year and sell beside Falcon for a couple of years, so the guestimate is mid-to-high $50K for the GT, north of $60K for the full-house Performance Pack (with US-optional Recaro pews) and the entry Ecoboost version could likely land for $40K-something.
It’s far from flawless. There are many aspects of the packaging, materials, cabin design, features and innate quality that the Germans won’t lose sleep over. But as far as delivering old-school muscle car thunder with an extremely capable and impressive contemporary spin, Mustang GT delivers what it promises on the box. And then some.
PERFORMANCE enthusiasts patiently waiting for S-badged Audis to creep ever-lower towards their price brackets now have a champion. The S1 Sportback is officially the cheapest car in the S range, at $49,990 in base spec. Its performance, though, is anything but cheap.
Everything in the S range is expected to perform, and it was always going to take more than just a boost increase over the base Audi A1 to make the grade. Audi has turned this mild-mannered five-door into a genuinely quick road rocket, as we discovered at the national launch in Tasmania.
Our drive included some typically awesome Tasmanian roads, followed by a skirmish at Baskerville Raceway.
Similar to other cars wearing the half-step performance badge, the S1 is all-wheel-drive – no small task to convert from the front wheel drive A1 platform – and runs the superb 2.0 TFSI engine. The 0-100km/h benchmark is a 5.9 second journey according to Audi, but importantly the solid 370Nm of torque (claimed) is delivered between 1600-3000rpm, making for performance that doesn’t need an airport runway to appreciate. It’s truly accessible power that can be used to punch into a gap in traffic, or pass a Porsche on your favourite driver’s road; that is unless you can’t drive a manual.
There’s only one option to select gears and that’s with a clutch pedal – the S1 is a manual-only proposition. Enthusiasts will rejoice at this news, but there’s no doubt the lack of an auto ‘box will damage potential sales – Australians love a self-swapper.
Audi’s take is that the car stays true to the company’s heritage with its manual shift and it’s prepared to take the sales repercussions. Perhaps the final price tag target of less than 50 large also has something to do with it.
Whatever the reason, it’s a sublime gearbox: short throws and liquid precision make swapping cogs something to look forward to, with heel-toe downshifts made easier by the pedal’s spacing and sure grip. The early gears are low and while sixth cog is longer-legged, it still makes for a 2500rpm cruise at 110-odd km/h – most six speeders are idling at 2000rpm here.
You expect astounding grip from an S-spec quattro (all-wheel-drive) platform and that’s exactly what you get. The four-link rear end, one of many features separating this car from the base A1 range, makes for a firmer, tighter butt and yields direct results in terms of drive and grip. The knife-edge compromise between high-end handling and compliant ride quality has been well judged, particularly with the two-stage variable shocks.
The suspension’s tractability hasn’t been lost in the translation from Europe to Australia. The S1’s ride allows flat-stick cornering, but won’t separate your spine from your skull at every bump. Audi was obviously confident of this, as Baskerville Raceway has some serious bumps of its own, and even at accelerated pace, the balanced ride quality was within expectations of such a car. It’s no Silver Shadow, but its lack of body roll and flatter-than-the-Nullarbor cornering belies its comfort in cruise-mode touring.
The dynamic performance of this car is astounding. Run out of grip and exceed Audi’s performance-honed electronic safety net, and more than likely it’s because you’ve done something spectacularly stupid.
Other fruit on the bulging S vine include the Audi Drive Select system that switches between “Dynamic” (that adds a fruitier exhaust note, those firmer dampers and a sharper throttle response); “Efficiency” to help drivers eke out Audi’s claim of an impressive 7.0L/100km fuel use figure; and “Auto”, which makes the choice for fence-sitters.
Standard options include an idle-stop system, wheel-selective torque control and an electronic differential lock.
The Sportback is not an easy car for taller people to enter and exit –it is a small car, after all – but headroom is good once you’re in, even if the upper window frame protrudes uncomfortably close.
The flat-bottomed steering wheel’s height adjustment means getting long legs under it is simple, though the cargo bin/console does push into the clutch leg in hard cornering. Interestingly, there’s no clutch-footrest, which I missed when being molested by the cornering G-forces this car generates.
Passenger legroom in the rear is minimal – lanky teenagers are likely to whine the entire trip – but it does not pretend to be a big car. The excellent Bose sound system will cheer them up, though, even if the road noise from the Pirelli P Zeros fitted to our test car was equipped with was more intrusive than we expected it to be.
That’s a short list of minuses, though. Once you’ve felt the quattro platform scrabble its way through an uphill sweeper, the lag-free torque-monster engine doing its best to flatten the hill, they are quickly forgotten.
Besides, the cheapest S car is now here, and a whole new raft of buyers will get the chance to experience the sharper end of Audi performance.
Model: Audi S1 Sportback Engine: 1984cc in-line 4cyl, dohc, 24v, turbo Max power: 170kW @ 6000rpm Max torque: 370Nm @ 1600-3000rpm Transmission: 6-speed manual Kerb weight: 1308kg 0-100km/h: 5.8sec (claimed) Price: $49,990 On sale: now
KEVIN Ward Junior had enough marijuana in his system to impair his judgement the night he was killed in a sprint car incident with NASCAR star Tony Stewart, according to the district attorney who handled the case.
Stewart won’t face manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide charges after a grand jury investigation determined there was insufficient evidence to indict the three-time NASCAR champion.
The grand jury’s investigation took less than two weeks to reach the finding that Stewart had no case to answer in the death of fellow driver Kevin Ward Junior in a bizarre incident during a sprint car stoppage at a dirt track in New York State on the night of August 9.
Ward, who had spun after a touch from Stewart during the race, died after he exited his car and was hit in what looked like an attempt to remonstrate with the star during the subsequent stoppage at Canandaigua Motorsports Park.
Video of the incident shows 20-year-old Ward walking on to the track to gesture angrily toward Stewart’s machine. Moments later he was fatally hit by Stewart’s sprint car. Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo said grand jury has conducted interviews around two dozen witnesses including race drivers, track officials, and incident reconstructionists.
He also revealed that several videos of the fatal incident were enhanced and analysed and did not show any evidence of a crime. Importantly, Tantillo said there was evidence showing that on the night of the race Ward had enough marijuana in his system to impair his judgement.
The Ward family disagreed with the finding and issued a statement saying the matter “is not at rest”.
The family believes that Stewart, who has a history of anger management problems, was intentionally trying to intimidate Ward by accelerating and sliding his car towards him.
“The focus should be on Mr Stewart and not my son. This matter is not at rest and we will pursue all remedies in fairness to Kevin,” the family said in a statement.
New York police cannot ask someone to submit to a drug test until they are charged with a crime, Tantillo said by way of explaining why Stewart did not have to provide a blood sample and was not given any type of alcohol or drug test.
“A certified drug recognition expert had interviewed him [Stewart] on the night of the collision and determined he found no basis to observe any alcohol consumption or impairment by drugs,” Tantillo said.
Stewart is a polarising figure in American motor sport, and social media has predictably lit up with opinions split on the no-charge announcement. In a statement, Stewart said the past two months had been the “toughest and most emotional experience of my life, and it will stay with me forever”.
“I respect everything the district attorney and sheriff’s office did to thoroughly investigate this tragic accident. While the process was long and emotionally difficult, it allowed for all the facts of the accident to be identified and known,” Stewart said.
“While much of the attention has been on me, it’s important to remember a young man lost his life,” he said. “Kevin Ward Junior’s family and friends will always be in my thoughts and prayers.”
Ford has taken the hatchet to the pricing of its forthcoming FG X Falcon, with price cuts of between $1335 and a whopping $9685 across the range.
The base Falcon (the XT badge has been dropped) will retail for $35,900, but for the first time ever the XR6 will be the cheapest model in the range at just $35,590. Yep, we couldn’t believe it either, but the anomaly is due to the XR6 being available as a manual whereas the base Falcon is auto-only.
Performance fans will be happy to hear the XR6 Turbo drop $3245 to $42,990 whereas the G6E Turbo flagship has been cut by almost $10,000 to $46,550.
The news is even better for tradies and handyman types, with the Falcon ute (now a six-speed auto as standard) range kicking off from $29,390. While this is a slight increase over FG MkII, XR6 models have been heavily reduced, with the XR6 Cab Chassis now $32,140, the XR6 Styleside $32,640 and XR6 Turbo Styleside $39,910.
With previous models often heavily discounted by dealers, the adjustments mean prices more accurately reflect those being paid by consumers and also mirror Holden’s aggressive pricing strategy with the VF Commodore.
Options include Prestige Paint ($385), a full-size spare ($250), leather seats ($2200 on XR6 and XR6 Turbo) and a tow pack ($550). The EcoLPi engine is a $2500 premium on base Falcon and XR6 while the EcoBoost 2.0-litre four-cylinder is a no-cost option on Falcon and G6E.
The price cuts come despite the extra equipment offered as part of the FG X facelift. Fingers crossed it’ll be enough to entice buyers back to the Blue Oval and revive Falcon’s flagging sales.
HOW DO you make the $550,000 445kW/540Nm Ferrari 458 Speciale even more special? Rip its roof off.
Meet the Ferrari 458 Speciale A that’s just been revealed ahead of its Paris Motor show debut. The A stands for Aperta, which if you’re fluent in Italian, translates as ‘Open’, with the Speciale A sharing the same folding aluminium hardtop as the regular 458 Spider.
That means the roof can open in a mere 14 seconds but the downside is that it adds an additional 50kg to the regular 458’s kerb weight, with the A tipping the scales at 1445kg.
Despite the extra heft, engineering wizardry has ensured the A’s performance is just as sharp as its hardtop brother, meaning the same 0-100km/h sprint of 3.0sec and the same lap time at Ferrari’s personal racetrack, Fiorano.
Under its skin, the A follows the same scintillating recipe as the tin top Speciale, including that glorious 445kW/540Nm 4.5-litre atmo V8, the razor-sharp dual-clutch seven-speed transmission and plethora of cutting-edge electronics designed to make you go faster, not kill your fun at the limit.
Of course, should you be feeling brave, all of the traction control systems can be turned off to let you revel in the Speciale’s brilliant balance.
Aussie pricing is yet to be revealed, but if you want a Speciale A in your garage, best get on the blower to Ferrari now – only 499 will be sold, making it as rare as the LaFerrari.
THE LAST Ford Falcon will start at $35,900 when it goes on sale in December, with the price of the G6E Turbo almost $10K cheaper than before. It follows a similar price cut when the Holden Commodore VF was introduced in 2013.
Codenamed FGX, the new facelifted Falcon will drop the XT designation for the base model, which now comes with an 8.0-inch high-res touchscreen that brings DAB radio, Wi-Fi hot spot capability and Ford’s SYNC 2 voice control with it. Ford’s SYNC 2 also includes Emergency Assistance, which phones the emergency services in the event of an accident.
Minor bingles are less likely in the new Falcon, too, courtesy of a standard reversing camera as well as front parking sensors. The $35,900 list price for the 4.0-litre automatic in-line six is $1355 cheaper than its predecessor, with the 2.0-litre Ecoboost engine and ZF transmission combo a no-cost option.
The XR models have had between $3000 and $4400 lopped off the price, with the XR6 kicking off at $35,590, which is $500 less than the list price of a Holden Commodore SV6.The manual XR6 Turbo is now $42,990 for the manual version, a saving of $3245 compared to the outgoing FGII model, with the auto priced at $45,190. Prices for the new XR8 will be announced next month.
The biggest price cuts have been reserved for the G6E and G6E Turbo, with $40,110 for the G6E a near $6K drop, with the stunning auto-only Turbo given a whopping $9685 discount over its predecessor, now $46,550. We don’t even care that they come with rain-sensing wipers – we’ll take a $10k saving, thanks…
The Falcon Ute is also better value than ever, with prices cut for the XR models between $1380 and $3750.
