Wheels gets inside the new Mazda MX-5 with the creator of the original, Bob Hall, and we talk to Mercedes design boss about the fire-breathing AMG GT sportscar that’s set to wrestle the Porsche 911.
HSV shows us around the most powerful ute it has ever built, the GTS Maloo, while we take the next Nissan Navara through Thailand before recording our fastest ever acceleration time for a four door saloon back in Oz.
Can you guess what it is? Check out the October 2014 issue of Wheels.
Jaguar’s XJR and Audi’s S8 have both recently landed in Australia, and both offer a very different take on the super limo theme.
The Jaguar offers a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 with 404kW/680Nm, fed to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. It’s also the lighter of the two cars at 1870kg.
Thanks to its all-wheel drive system, the Audi weighs in at a hefty 1990kg, and its twin-turbo V8 is also less powerful, though it still manages a formidable 382kW/650Nm.
To discover which one of these range-topping luxury performance machines is the fastest and the most entertaining for the driver, we put them head-to-head in the confines of Heathcote Raceway.
Check out the video to see the result and feel free to comment below if you think we got it wrong!
VOLVO’S XC90 is the brand’s first all-new model under its Chinese owners, Geely, and this is the first spin-off since it was revealed earlier this month.
The R-Design, which has become so popular in Australia that it is now standard on many models, takes the ‘premium’ seven-seat SUV and converts it to ‘premium sport’ – shown here with the top-spec 300kW hybrid drivetrain.
The XC90 brings not only a new platform, engines and design philosophy, but a new trim range of its own. The base car will be called the ‘Kinetic’ (a stab at ex-owner Ford’s design language, perhaps?) followed by a mid-spec Momentum (something Volvo is keen to maintain).
Then there’s the luxury angle, covered by the XC90 ‘Inspiration’ and then the chest-beating R-Design performance flagship.
For XC90, it starts with the now traditional and not-so-subtle Rebel Blue paintwork, and while the R-Design rides on a set of 20-inch alloys, this car is show with the optional 22-inch rollers.
The R-Design has its own grille, with the chrome detailing swapped for matt-silver instead, which also caps the mirrors a la Audi S and RS models, while at the back twin-pipes will let you know you’ve been nailed by the flagship XC model.
Inside, there are R-Design sports seats wrapped in cloth and perforated leather but with better bolstering than the standard XC90’s, with R-Design pedals, shift-lever and door-sills. There’s also the 12.3-inch display with an exclusive R-Design theme, while the XC90 also offers Apple CarPlay.
The XC90 R-Design will be available across the XC90 range. The version of the SUV shown here is powered by the flagship ‘Twin Engine’, which is also likely to extend to other variants further down the model line-up.
Power comes from a 236kW 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder (hence the ‘Twin’ nomenclature) petrol engine, which is one of Volvo’s new Volvo Engine Architecture (VEA) powerplants. There’s also a 60kW electric motor driving the rear wheels, with Volvo claiming a sub-7.0 second 0-100km/h time, yet with fuel use figures that rival a Prius.
MERCEDES-BENZ has released official power figures for its new C63 hot rod and they’re big. Like, really big.
The all-new C63, which is expected to officially break cover at next month’s Paris motor show, will produce 375kW and a whopping 700Nm – a jump of 2kW and 90Nm over the current, range-topping C63 507.
It’s the torque figure that’s the big news, with the C63 producing 50Nm more than the most powerful version of AMG’s new GT sports car that is powered by the same all-new M178 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.
It’s a number likely to strike fear into the heart of BMW, given its new M3/M4 twins produce ‘just’ 317kW and a measly 550Nm, and also knocks off the Lexus RC F with its 351kW and 550Nm.
Despite speculation of four-wheel drive, AMG is determined to shuffle the C63’s grunt solely through the rear wheels via an updated version of its seven-speed Speedshift gearbox, with the company talking a big game about how well the new C63 transfers its colossal power to the road.
“The new C63 will have traction like no other RWD car,” a Mercedes insider told Wheels.
Key to the new car’s boosted traction is a heavily reworked version of AMG’s traditional steel suspension set-up, which gets unique track widths and lower ride height, and firmer springs and dampers.
Time will tell if the C63’s boost in grunt is usable.
But don’t think Mercedes has forsaken fuel economy to achieve a headline-grabbing power figure. The company claims the new C63’s high performance V8 will sip just 8.2L/100km, a number that undercuts its automatic BMW M4 rival.
Like the new C-Class on which it’s based, the new C63 will be about 100kg lighter, 95mm longer and 44mm wider than the current car, while its wheelbase will grow 80mm – which can only be good for predictable, tail-happy dynamics.
It will also boast bigger brakes, while a new fully electric steering set-up will replace the old electro-hydraulic system.
And this is just the starting point for the new-generation C63. Our mouths are already watering over the inventible Black Series variant.
THIS angry-looking bastard on wheels is the Peugeot Quartz Concept that will rear its twisted, sinister head at the Paris motor show in a couple of weeks.
Its brooding bodywork and baboon-like highlights show its out for blood, packing almost 500 horsepower – but it’s still a hybrid.
While based on the more pedestrian 308 hatch’s platform, the muscular looks of the Quartz come thanks to massive 23-inch alloy wheels and a 4.5m-long body sharpened with hard edges and a trapezoidal theme.
The Quartz design was led by Matthias Hossann, who says it “embraces the lower aspects of an SUV with the upper features of a saloon; the styling reflects the function of each part”.Skinny LED headlamps pierce through the dark frontage, jutting out from below the rising bonnet line that defines the Quartz’s waist.
Tiny mirrors and gaping lipstick-wrapped intakes help the muscular posture, while the contrasting shades of mineral grey and matt black on the roof, pillars and rear strake (the “Coupe Franche separator”, officially) follow the same trend seen on the Onyx, Exalt and 308 R Concepts, but is far less blingy – more Mad Max than Grand Designs.
The Quartz finishes off its high hips with a stubby tail, with trapezoidal sharp edges continued all the way to the integrated exhaust outlets.
The way the roof spoiler melds into the roof is a particularly classy design touch, with a straked rear hatch for the angry crossover.
Stiff structural materials and bonded panels enabled the designers to ditch the B-pillar for Lambo-style scissor doors to access the cabin.
The external anger is softened inside, where the leather-clad interior has more soothing colours, animal skin covering the floor and roof linings, contrasting with basalt and a Stormtrooper-style mini steering wheel and head-up display.
It will seat four and the crisp, sharp lines are backed up by doors milled out of a single piece of composite, with marks left by the milling machine filled with red lighting. We love it.
This hard-charging crossover has a conscience, though, and it goes beyond the digitally woven textile material inside that’s made from recycled water bottles.
This thing is a hybrid – one that packs a Captain Planet-style 369kW punch – that can travel up to 50km on electric power alone.
The bee in the Quartz’s bonnet is a 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder engine that also sees service in the hard-core Peugeot RCZ-R, as well as a host of other cars including the Citroen DS3 and previous-gen Mini.
For Quartz, it gets the RCZ-R’s 199kW of grunt, the most powerful iteration of the engine, as well as a six-speed auto gearbox to drive the front wheels, but there’s also an 85kW electric motor on the front axle and another 85kW on the rear axle to make this baby all-wheel drive.
Although the car falls just shy of the magical 500bhp mark, we’re not questioning Peugeot on a few horses when it builds a concept that looks tougher than a Breaking Bad drug dealer.
As the rest of the range hits Australian showrooms, Volkswagen has released details about its upcoming Polo GTI.
Wolfsburg’s pocket rocket is a favourite here at MOTOR, winning back-to-back Bang for your Bucks titles in 2011 and 2012.
The biggest change has been the deletion of the signature 1.4-litre ‘Twin-charge’ (turbo and supercharged) four-cylinder, replaced by a more conventional 1.8-litre turbocharged four.
It produces 141kW and 320Nm, an increase of just nine kilowatts but a whopping 70Nm over the outgoing car. VW claims 0-100km/h in 6.7sec, but given we’ve beaten that in the current car, we wouldn’t be surprised if low-sixes were achievable. Top speed is an impressive 237km/h.
In even better news for MOTOR-heads, it’ll also be offered in six-speed manual guise, as well as the carryover seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Electro-mechanical steering makes its appearance for the first time, too.
As well as the mechanical upgrades, the new GTI will benefit from the new equipment available in the base Polo range, such as City Emergency Braking and Adaptive Cruise Control. Adaptive dampers are also rumoured to be making their way onto the options list.
Given VW’s aggressive pricing strategy on the base Polo range, expect the GTI to match the current car’s $29,450 ask (five-door) in DSG form with the manual undercutting that by a grand or so.
The baby hot-hatch landscape is a much more competitive marketplace than when the last car arrived, but rest assured as soon as it arrives in the second quarter of next year we’ll be organising a group test to see if the baby German can reclaim its crown.
Six-point-eight seconds. After 302km of competitive driving, that’s all that separated Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala.
After 20 stages, thousands of corners, jumps and crests, given Ogier’s average speed of 104.7km/h, had the pair started together they would have been just 192 metres apart at the end. That’s how close Rally Australia was.
WRC newcomers could be forgiven for assuming Volkswagen was the only manufacturer present, as the German juggernaught swept the podium for the first time, winning its second successive manufacturer’s title in the process.
Kris Meeke should’ve been third, but an over-the-top one-minute penalty for “excessive corner cutting” (isn’t this rallying?) allowed young Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen to cruise to the final podium placing.
Kiwi Hayden Paddon equalled his best-ever WRC placing of sixth following a rally-long battle with Citroen’s Mads Ostberg, who hit trouble on the final day and eventually crawled to the finish in 16th.
Paddon’s team-mate, Hyundai team leader Thierry Neuvile, showed plenty of speed but lost two minutes on the first day with suspension damage and never recovered. Aussie Chris Atkinson struggled in his first WRC outing since Mexico, lacking pace and being forced to clean the road on days two and three.
On their first visit to Australia, M-Sport’s Elfyn Evans and Robert Kubica were more concerned with learning the stages than challenging for top times, though Mikko Hirvonen finished a strong fifth.
The next round of the WRC takes place in France from October 3-5.
Here’s how each driver-by-driver rundown of Rally Australia 2014.
Sebastien Ogier – 1st 9.5/10
Bounced back in style following a torrid Germany. Road-sweeping wasn’t a huge factor on Day One, and Ogier capitalised to sit third after the forest stages, before blitzing the first round of super special stages to lead going into Day Two.
Made his move in the second running of the 48.92km Nambucca stage, over seven seconds faster than anyone else and a crucial 13.4sec faster than Latvala. Visibly more committed than anyone else, yet not at all ragged, Ogier appears to possess another gear that he can engage at will.
With a 50-point lead and three rounds remaining, Ogier is now virtually assured of a second successive driver’s crown.
Jari-Matti Latvala – 2nd 9.0/10
Jari-Matti is a new man these days. Gone is the self-doubt and erratic driving under pressure, replaced by a steely resolve and confidence that he can challenge Ogier on pure pace at every event.
He says he finally understands how to set the Polo up and his results since Argentina back that up, though still has a tendency to over-drive the car. If World Rally Cars had twice the horsepower, JML would be unstoppable.
Was on the back foot from the beginning after losing 7.4sec on Stage One, but pushed Ogier every metre of the way. The final three rounds (and 2015, for that matter) should be something spectacular.
Andreas Mikkelsen – 3rd 8.0/10
Solid if not spectacular from the VW number three. Only a handful of seconds behind his more experience team-mates on most stages, but is getting ever closer.
Switched into cruise mode once Meeke’s penalty was applied, though was still spectacularly committed through the Wedding Bells live TV stage on Day Three.
Kris Meeke – 4th 9.0/10
Meeke had a disastrous Rally Australia in 2013, crashing twice and putting his 2014 drive in jeopardy, but more than repaid Citroen’s faith in him with an incredible performance this year.
The DS3 is no match for the Polo in terms of pure pace – nothing is – but Meeke looks to be the only driver capable of regularly challenging the VW trio. Has always said to judge his pace post-Finland, and has more than delivered on that promise.
Will be a strong podium contender for the rest of the year and could challenge for the win on home turf at the season-closing Rally GB.
Mikko Hirvonen – 5th 7.0/10
The strongest performance for a while from Mikko, which is both praise and criticism. His pace on Day One and Three brought to mind the Mikko of old, yet as a three-time winner of Rally Australia, fifth place – almost two minutes off the lead – is hardly anything to crow about.
To be fair, his chances were destroyed on Day Two, when a poor tyre choice left his rubber in shreds. Continually batted away questions about his future during the event, but it’s not yet clear whether we’ll see Hirvonen line up in the WRC next year.
Hayden Paddon – 6th 8.5/10
A strong event for the Kiwi, though so it should be; having competed at every Rally Australia since the move to Coffs Harbour he knows the stages better than any other event and now has plenty of experience with the car.
Still not quite able to match the pace of Neuville, but his learning curve is progressing nicely. Team boss Michel Nandan says Paddon’s re-appearance next year will depend on the team running a third car, but with performances like this he could put himself in the running as the team’s number two driver.
Thierry Neuville – 7th 8.0/10
Neuville is an absolute star, driving with a speed and (more importantly) a consistency that belies his 26 years. Suspension damage slowed him on SS5, costing him two minutes, which meant he was helping sweep the road for Days Two and Three.
With both he and the i20 WRC excelling on tarmac, Neuville should be troubling the podium in France and Spain. With so much potential, it’s a shame Hyundai’s new car won’t be arriving until the second half of 2015.
Elfyn Evans – 8th 7.0/10
A tough event for the young Welshman, but he did his job and learned the stages while taking a minimum of risks. While he’s frustrated at not being able to push, the experience will hold him in good stead for next year.
Evans is a lot more familiar with the last three events of the season, and M-Sport Malcolm Wilson is expecting him to lift his pace accordingly. He’s got the consistency; does he have the ultimate pace?
Robert Kubica – 9th 7.0/10
Another driver visiting the Australian stages for the first time, Kubica continues to stun with the pace at which he can drive a World Rally Car with so little experience.
Was perhaps lucky to get away with his second day mistake that left the rear of the car with hefty damage, but in general it was a more controlled drive than we’ve seen from the former F1 star for a while.
The scary thing is, as he gains more experience, he’s only going to get faster.
Chris Atkinson – 10th 5.0/10
As soon as he’d finished Thursday’s Shakedown stage, Chris Atkinson knew he was in for a tough event. With his pre-event testing held in torrential rain, and no competitive running in the car since Mexico in early March, Atko struggled to find a good rhythm in the car.
Much was made of the fact it was his ‘home’ event, but having never competed in Coffs before, he had much less experience than other drivers in the field. Even at rally’s end he wasn’t completely comfortable in the car; the speed is still there, but he needs an opportunity to unlock it. Let’s hope this isn’t his last run in a WRCar.
Mads Ostberg – 16th 6.0/10
Not a good rally for the Norwegian. Was adamant he didn’t hit anything that caused his suspension damage on Day One, but even without the late drama, he was at a loss to explain his relative lack of pace.
With only eight points from the last four events, Ostberg needs a run of good results to close the year to make sure he remains on teams’ radars for next year.
THIS has to be the funkiest of the three ‘ultralow fuel economy’ French cars revealed this week ahead of the Paris motor show: the Citroen C4 Cactus Airflow 2L.
If you’ve been keeping up with the flow of miserly motors coming out of French car makers this week, you’ll know that the ‘2L’ refers the government’s ‘New Industrial Plan’, which aims to revive local manufacturing by producing viable vehicles achieving 2.0L/100km by 2020.
Earlier this week, we’ve seen the Renault EOLAB and the Peugeot 208 Hybrid Air 2L hatchbacks. Now, the Cactus name seems entirely appropriate for a crossover that thrives on very little.
The C4 Cactus is already one of the coolest and most liveable cars on the planet, with slim LED headlamps, blacked-out A-pillars, ‘Airbumps’ along its doors, and that contrasting polyurethane stretched over the front and rear ends.
But this latest version will beat even the most miserly of the current C4 crop (the 1.6-litre four-pot diesel and its impressive 3.4L/100km claim), with Citroen claiming a guarded ‘2.0L/100km’ for the eco-Cactus.
Citroen uses the same drivetrain as fellow PSA brand Peugeot installed in the 208 Hybrid Air 2L, which uses the PureTech 82 three-cylinder engine and PSA’s compressed-air technology. It’s a sure fit as it’s already been shown in the C3, with which the Cactus shares its platform.
Use of more carbon-fibre, aluminium and composite materials lops a further 100kg off the Cactus – which is already 200kg lighter than the regular C4 hatch – giving it a mass of 865kg.
Those Airbumps are now made of carbon-fibre, while also in the eco-kit is a new front bumper design with a triplet of air intakes, including a BMW-style ‘Air Curtain’ that directs air from the new nose to the wheels.
The wheels themselves include mobile shutters, and are narrower (155s) but taller at a massive 19 inches, while the side mirrors are smaller.
There’s new rear spoiler, while the underside of the Cactus has been streamlined to help achieve the magical 2.0L/100km figure.
Citroen says its tech is entirely production viable and that “it could therefore be possible, in the medium term, for a production vehicle such as C4 Cactus to reach this target [of 2.0L/100km]”.
A GRAND jury is to decide whether NASCAR superstar and three-time champion Tony Stewart will face charges in the tragic sprint car incident in which fellow competitor Kevin Ward Jr was killed at the Canandaigua Motorsports Park dirt track in New York State on August 9.
Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo said he made the decision to present the case to a grand jury after reviewing evidence collected by local sheriff’s investigators.
Tantillo could have decided there was insufficient evidence to support charges and then dropped the case, which has been a headline story in the United States.
Instead, the DA has announced a grand jury should determine if Stewart should face criminal charges.
Experts have said Stewart could be charged with second-degree manslaughter under New York law if prosecutors believe he “recklessly caused the death of another person”.
Negligent homicide is another possibility.
Stewart’s car struck and killed Ward during a caution period during a dirt track race. The two had clashed during the event, sending Ward’s car into the wall.
Twenty-year-old Ward then walked on to the track to remonstrate with Stewart, whose car was circulating slowly.
Witnesses said later that Stewart’s engine appeared to rev up, and the right-rear tyre hit Ward.
In a statement, Stewart said he respects the time and effort authorities have spent “investigating this tragic accident”.
“I look forward to this process being completed, and I will continue to provide my full co-operation,” he said.
In the days after Ward’s death, County Sheriff Philip Povero asked for spectators to turn over photos and videos of the crash as investigators worked to reconstruct the incident.
Explored during the investigation were the dim track lighting, how muddy it was and whether Ward’s dark race suit played a role in his death.
Other drivers have spoken of poor visibility from the cockpit with poor lighting and muddy visors, and that sprint cars are often “steered” on the throttle.
JJ Yeley, a NASCAR driver who has driven sprint cars for Stewart, told the Sporting News that the fact you can hear Stewart hit the gas in his car prior to hitting Ward should be taken into the context of how sprint cars operate.
“They have a solid rear axle, they don’t turn on a dime,” Yeley said. “You usually turn those cars with the gas. They don’t just turn as soon as you turn the wheel. It does take the throttle to do that.”
Yeley said that if Stewart had turned the wheel sharply without getting on the throttle, the car would have continued in the path it was going or would have spun.
He compared it to riding a jet ski, where throttle is needed when making a turn.
“The right-side wing panel comes down sometimes below your eye level, so you will have a blind spot. There’s a part there where you wouldn’t see someone if they jumped out and got that close to the car,” Yeley said.
Sheriff Povero spent weeks probing the incident and more than once stated that investigators did not have any evidence to support criminal intent by Stewart.
Povero said his findings to the DA included a “forensic video enhancement” from state police.
Immediately following Ward’s death, NASCAR introduced a rule that prohibits drivers from climbing out of a crashed or disabled vehicle – unless it is on fire – until safety personnel arrive.
The wraps have been pulled of the ultra-low fuel consumption Renault EOLAB just days after arch-rival Peugeot pulled the covers of its own miser, the Peugeot 208 Hybrid Air 2L.
The svelte looking Renault, based on a B-Segment platform which means it’s a similar size to the 208, boasts a fuel-economy figure of 1.0L/100km, courtesy of a hybrid drivetrain and super-lightweight construction that means it weighs only 955 kilograms. It’s powered by a 57kW/95Nm 999cc three-cylinder petrol engine mated to a clutchless three-speed transmission, as well as a 50kW/200Nm electric motor. Keeping with the ‘three’ theme, it also has three doors with an asymmetric set-up similar to the Hyundai Veloster or previous-gen Mini Clubman.
The Peugeot offers a figure of ‘less than 2.0L/100km’, according to the French maker, which has based its miser on the 1.2-litre PureTech 82 model that already boasts a fuel figure of 4.5L/100km in petrol guise.
Yet neither the EOLAB or 208 Hybrid Air 2L are a crisis of conscience: both are a responses to the French government’s New Industrial Plan presented by president Francois Hollande last year, which aims to create 450,000 jobs after a decade of decline in which 750,000 manufacturing jobs were lost.
Part of this is making vehicles with fuel figures of 2.0L/100km or less, and with genuine mass-production viability by 2020.
Renault says that with the EOLAB, “the notion of such a car being produced in large numbers within the next 10 years was dialled into the plan from the very start”. That includes all aspects, from its aluminium, magnesium and thermoplastic resin construction, the electric power unit - enabling up to 60km of range – to exterior styling that focuses on aero and includes an active spoiler and air ducts, again in order to achieve the best possible fuel economy.
While Renault has a solid EV line-up in Europe, including the Zoe hatch, wild-looking Twizy and Kangoo commercial van (that Australia Post is currently trialling), it’s “Z.E.” branded EVs have proven too expensive for Australia.
That hasn’t stopped the Renault-Nissan group bringing the Nissan Leaf Down Under, a C-segment model that’s currently the world’s best-selling EV and retails at $39,990 after an initial launch price of $51,500 in 2012.
Both the Renault EOLAB and the Peugeot 208 Hybrid Air 2L will be shown at next month’s Paris motor show with the first French ‘2.0L/100km for all’ production models appearing sometime in 2015.
