The 14.5km, 135-turn course was every bit as difficult as Pikes Peak, and attracted big names such as Possum Bourne, Rod Millen and Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima, an eight-time winner of the event.
Now Tony Quinn and his team at Highlands Motorsport Park have resurrected the event for 2015, which lays claim to being the longest gravel hillclimb in the world now Pikes Peak has been paved.
Tajima returned to New Zealand for the announcement to confirm he will return in an attempt to become a 10-time winner of the event. His 2007 victory came at the wheel of the 750kW Suzuki XL7, an evolution of his famous Escudo Pikes Peak Racer.
The 2015 Highlands Race to the Sky will place from April 15-19 in the Cardrona Valley not far from Wanaka on New Zealand’s South Island.
To get an idea of just how challenging the course is, check out the onboard footage from 2001 winner Possum Bourne’s 450kW unrestricted Subaru Impreza World Rally Car.
It’s the first instalment of our new column Weekend Watch, where each Friday afternoon we’ll upload the best onboard video we’ve from the world of motoring that week.
ROLLS-Royce is preparing to rip the lid off the cheapest car in its range, the two-door Wraith.
A development mule for a Wraith convertible – which the uber-luxury British marque describes as a “drophead tourer” – was caught by one of our photographers wafting around German parent company BMW’s headquarters.
Due in mid-2016, the open-top Wraith – the sixth model in the growing Rolls-Royce family – appears to use the same seven-layered cloth roof as its larger Phantom sibling, judging by a lack of joins that would signal a move to a folding metal roof.
Like the regular Wraith coupe, the drophead will share much of its rear-drive underpinnings with the equivalent BMW 6 Series, although with Rolls’ usual twin-turbocharged 6.6-litre V12 under the long bonnet.
According to Rolls-Royce, the new model is “currently undergoing a rigorous process of prototype testing as it enters its next stage of development”.
HOLDEN has fitted its Trax with a turbocharged engine, giving much-needed under-bonnet muscle to the city-friendly soft-roader.
However, it is an auto-only affair limited to the range-topping LTZ, meaning that the price of entry to a (somewhat) quieter, smoother, more economical and punchier Trax will set you back at least $29,990 before on-road costs.
Dubbed the 1.4 iTi engine, it represents a $1500 premium over the default 1.8-litre naturally aspirated Ecotec lump that has served General Motors in one form or another since 1982.
Additionally, prices have edged up $500 to start from $23,990 for the base LS 1.8 five-speed manual, with the LTZ 1.8 auto now coming in from $27,490.
Built in South Korea along with the rest of the TJ-series Trax, the new 1.4-litre engine is closely related to the one found in the locally made Cruze, and RS versions of the Barina (which lends its basic architecture to the Trax). Like the Cruze and Barina RS, the 1.4 drives the front wheels only via a six-speed automatic transmission.
In this application, the 1.4 iTi delivers 103kW of power at 4900rpm and 200Nm of torque from 1850rpm to almost 5000rpm for a far more consistent shove compared with the naturally aspirated 103kW/175Nm 1.8, according to Holden.
The latter is true, with a noticeably stronger forward surge available, especially at speed or during overtaking manoeuvres. Furthermore, ambling along, the drivetrain is palpably more peaceful with the fresh drivetrain.
However, while the sprint from a standstill to 100km/h takes about 10 seconds flat and beats the 1.8-litre engine’s time by as much as 1.4secs, initial acceleration remains a tad languid, requiring a determined right foot.
A chief culprit here is probably the LTZ’s hefty 1421kg kerb weight. By comparison, the flawed-but-fun 88kW/160Nm Peugeot 2008 Active 1.6-litre is more than 300kg lighter.
While we did not drive far or long enough to gain real-world fuel use figures (95 RON premium unleaded is the recommended brew, by the way, with combined fuel use officially rated at 6.9L/100km), the persistent throttle mashing may smash the newcomer’s on-paper nine percent fuel economy benefit over its larger 1.8-litre sibling.
But other issues abound – namely some mechanical noise and harshness around the 4000rpm mark. As this also blights the larger engine (to a greater degree), we’re concluding that the Trax itself may suffer from inherent noise, vibration and harshness maladies.
Another downer: the 1.8’s awkward thumb-activated “Active Select” manual mode toggle on the side of the gear-shift lever has also migrated to the 1.4 iTi.
Meanwhile, almost everything else remains the same.
The electric steering feels crisp yet weighty enough at urban speeds, but put your foot down a little through twisty turns and the helm starts to feel artificial. Exacerbating this is a top-heavy handling attitude, resulting in an inordinate amount of body movement. The Trax doesn’t feel as tied down as we’d like.
While it’s probably correct to assume that the mostly single youngster/empty nester demographic the Trax is aimed at is unlikely to be compelled to stretch the compact SUV with such spirit or zeal, the accompanying hard ride and lack of sufficient wheel travel over larger bumps will surely prove tiresome in the long run.
For this reason alone we wonder whether the 205/70 R16 alloy wheel package on the LS would provide a more pliable solution than the LTZ’s chunky 215/55 R18 rubber.
Holden says it has about 25 people working on 1.8 and 1.4 iTi powertrain and chassis tuning duties for more than 20 other markets worldwide, resulting in softer suspension mounts for both the MacPherson struts up front and torsion beam rear end to help quell road-noise ingress. We never noticed, so it must work.
Other local mods include retuned dampers that better subscribe to the brand’s local dynamic DNA, and recalibrated electric power steering that is said to better engage the driver while boosting confidence.
We wonder how the Chevrolet Trax must have been prior to Holden’s handling of it.
Finally, at $30K before driveaway pricing is added, the LTZ faces stiff rivalry from Nissan’s sweet new Qashqai – though the rest of the compact SUV set remains a of grab bag of patchy underachievers.
On the flipside, the range topper does add a sunroof, driver’s side armrest, rain-sensing wipers and new-look alloys, helping to sweeten the $1.5K cost penalty that the 1.4 iTi attracts. But is it enough?
To sum up, while we welcome the improved driveability that the downsized turbo powerplant brings, it’s not the silver bullet to the Trax’s ills that we’d hoped for.
Model: Holden Trax LTZ 1.4 iTi Engine: 1364cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v, turbo Max power: 103kW @ 4900rpm Max torque: 200Nm @ 1850-4900rpm Transmission: 6-speed auto Kerb weight: 1421kg 0-100km/h: 10.0sec (US version claim) Price: $29,990 On sale: Now
Click here to read the full range review of the Holden Trax
FORD’S last-ever locally built Falcon range will be known as the FG X, the car maker has revealed.
The final model designation that will carry the Falcon name to the end of manufacturing in late 2016 was the result of “significant” feedback from enthusiasts, as well as the senior product development and marketing teams, Ford said.
The company said the X in the final model code has been a significant piece of the Falcon’s story, “having been used for both the original Falcon XK model in 1960 and through four generations of Falcons from the 1960s through to the 1990s, including some of the more popular Falcon models like the XR, XW, XY, XA, XB, XD and XF”.
“The ‘FG’ series prefix carries over for the refreshed Falcon range, acknowledging the strong heritage of the long-running Fairmont and Ghia nameplates that have featured on previous prestige Falcon models,” it said.
Although most of the updates to the final Falcon are cosmetic, the car maker was believed to have rejected using a “Mark III” badge similar to that used for the final update to the BF Falcon that preceded the generational change to the FG early on in the naming process.
When it goes on sale late this year, the FG X Falcon range will reintroduce the XR8 badge in a version of the sedan using a the Ford Performance Vehicles-developed supercharged 5.0-litre V8, and believed to produce about 335kW of power.
While the Falcon will wear a unique model designation, Ford said the final locally made SZ Territory would wear a “Series II” badge after receiving minor cosmetic updates as part of a late-life refresh of the high-riding SUV.
Ford said it would reveal pricing, features and specifications of the Falcon and Territory range closer to the refreshed models’ launches later this year.
Meanwhile, Ford has released new images of the rear of the six-cylinder XR6 and high-end G6 E models.
Of note, while the XR6 retains its sporty-looking oval chrome exhaust tip, the G6 E dumps its oval chrome tip for a plain-looking exhaust system tucked into the rear diffuser.
JAGUAR has revealed the modern-day form of six historic Jaguar race cars that currently exist only as numbers written in a book more than 50 years ago.
The six chassis numbers were to be part of a production run of 18 aluminium-shelled Lightweight E-Type racecars that were built to compete in Le Mans and Sebring endurance events in the early 1960s.
They struggled to compete against the dominant Ferrari, Shelby Cobra amd Porsche racers of the time, and only 12 were ever built. However, they performed well in private hands, and now Jaguar wants to complete the order by hand-building the remaining six cars, and turning them over to keen collectors with an interest in historic race cars.
The “new” E-Type will remain as a hand-fettled aluminium body stretched over a tubular steel spaceframe, with a period-accurate 3.8-litre triple Weber-equipped dry sump straight-six under the bonnet producing 253.5kW of power and 380Nm of torque.
As before, drive is sent to a limited-slip differential mounted between the rear wheels via a four-speed all-synchro close-ratio single clutch gearbox. As before, the Lightweight E-Type rides on double-wishbone suspension up front, with the driveshaft serving as the upper link for the independent rear wishbones.
It sits on period-correct 15-inch magnesium alloy wheels that are seven inches wide on the front and eight on the rear, and clad with Dunlop racing rubber. As before, the car will be fitted with 311mm front discs up front and standard E-Type brakes down the rear, with no servo assist.
At 4453mm long, the modern-day E-Type racer is about the same length as a BMW X1, while its weight touches 1000kg, making it about 112kg lighter than the steel-bodied production coupe.
The new car was designed from a millimetre-perfect digital scan of one side of a Lightweight E-Type open-seater bodyshell, which was then mirrored to provide the complete car.
Rather than sell the car, Jaguar has hinted that customers will be “invited” to buy it.
Jaguar says the Lightweight E-Type will be built to Federation Internationale de l’Automobile standards for historical racers, meaning the cars will be able to compete against their peers on the track.
All six cars will have their spaceframe built at Jaguar’s Whitley plant before they are shipped to the Gaydon facility for painting, and then transported to the recently formed Jaguar Heritage division at Browns Lane where the powertrain, suspension, brakes, steering, electronics, instrument panel and soft trim will be fitted.
Jaguar has mentioned nothing about price, but early predictions are the handful of customers are unlikely to see much change from $2 million – about what you’d pay for one of the original cars.
Being an F1 driver is a tough gig. There’s the never-ending training, the constant travel, not to mention the intense pressure of performing week-in, week-out at an elite level.
But judging by this list of 2014 driver salaries, they’re amply compensated for their troubles. Well, at least some of them are. The list is compiled annually by Business Book GP, and reveals which teams are getting value and which are getting mightily ripped off.
As he has done for the last five years, sitting atop the list is Fernando Alonso. Interestingly, his $32m* paypacket is $3m more than last year, but $11.5m less than he pocketed annually from 2010-2012.
That’s a lot of money, but it must be said Ferds is delivering much better value than teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who is paid the same wage but currently has 27 points to Alonso’s 115. Still, the move to Ferrari netted the Finn a $27.5m pay rise over his last year at Lotus.
Joining the two Ferrari drivers at the top of the table is Sebastian Vettel, his fourth consecutive world title delivering a $14.5m pay rise over 2013. Next up is Lewis Hamilton on $29m, who is paid a hefty $12m more than championship-leading teammate Nico Rosberg.
If points were awarded for out-performing your pay grade, both Williams’ Valtteri Bottas ($1.5m), Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo ($1m) and Toro Rosso’s Daniel Kyvat ($360,000) would be leading the championship by miles.
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari A$32m = Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari A$32m = Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing A$32m 4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes A$29m 5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes A$23m 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes A$17m 7. Felipe Massa Williams A$6m = Nico Hulkenberg Force India F1 A$6m 9. Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Team A$4.5m = Pastor Maldonado Lotus F1 Team A$4.5m = Sergio Perez Force India F1 A$4.5m 12. Adrian Sutil Sauber A$3m 13. Kevin Magnuseen McLaren-Mercedes A$1.5m = Valtteri Bottas Williams A$1.5m 15. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing A$1m = Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso A$1m 17. Jules Bianchi Marussia A$700,000 18. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber A$600,000 19. Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso A$360,000 20. Max Chilton Marussia A$300,000 21. Marcus Ericsson Caterham F1 A$200,000 = Kamui Kobayshi Caterham F1 A$200,000
*All figures converted from Euro using current exchange rates
The triple-digit electronic speed display in front of me now begins with a ‘3’. Looking through the TS040 Hybrid’s sliver of a windscreen, the dotted line in the centre of the road melds into a constant white ribbon, the trees and armco a greenish-silver blur in my peripheral vision.
A lap of Le Mans is 13.63km long, but I’m well over halfway and it’s been clean so far.
Flash past the spot where Peter Dumbreck took flight in 1999 in a Mercedes-Benz CLR and ease the car right over the crest that follows. Brake hard for the fast right-hander approaching Indianapolis, hundreds of kilograms of downforce pressing the car into the road.
Down two gears, fly through the right-hander then stamp on the brakes again for the tight left. Two clicks of the left-hand paddle on the back of the steering wheel are each answered with a smooth flare of revs as the gearbox seamlessly drops from fourth to third to second.
Ease back on the power, feel the rear squirm as 1000bhp of combined petrol and electrical energy is transferred and rocket towards the slowest corner on the track, the sharp, first-gear right-hander called Arnage.
It should be a formality, but too much pressure on the brakes locks the rears and fires the TS040 head-first through the armco and into the pine trees beyond. Through my headphones, the heavily-accented voice of my French engineer says “Ok, I’ll reset you now.”
Welcome to the ultimate driving simulator. Thankfully, attacking the fearsome Le Mans circuit in the virtual world prevents me from now owing Toyota several millions of dollars for destroying one of its TS040 Hybrid prototypes.
The simulator, situated at the headquarters of Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) in Cologne, Germany, was originally developed for its Formula 1 program. It consists of an F1 monocoque, cut off at the front and rear, suspended by six hydraulic rams in front of a giant screen that wraps around your entire field of vision.
Construction was completed in 2007, but it took a full year of fine-tuning to ensure the sim was accurate enough to be a worthwhile development tool. Every track on the F1 calendar was laser-mapped to an accuracy of 10cm and a photographer accompanied the team to every race during 2008, walking the track and taking photos every few steps to capture any visual cues a driver might use.
“We found a lot of the visual cues are things like trees, or hot dog stands, things a driver remembers,” says TMG’s marketing and communications manager, Alistair Moffitt. “If on the simulator [they aren’t] there it’s quite disturbing to them.”
Following Toyota’s withdrawal from F1 in 2009, the subsequent announcement of its World Endurance Championship (WEC) required the car model and tracks be updated. The simulator is used before every race to establish a baseline set-up, and post-race to further refine the software.
“After each race, we get the drivers in and say “ok, you’ve just driven the car in reality on this track, now drive the simulator – where is it lacking?” It’s also proved invaluable in allowing the drivers to practice the fuel-saving techniques vital for this year’s efficiency-based WEC regulations.
About the only thing it doesn’t replicate is tyre degradation; it is possible, but the sheer volume of data and complexity of the models required make it unfeasible.
Not all the drivers are a fan of virtual testing. Alexander Wurz does only what he needs to, but Toyota’s younger hot-shots – Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson – feel there are advantages to be gained in the digital realm.
To provide a reference point, we’re shown a recording from when Nakajima was last in the simulator. As you’d expect, the lap looks extremely fast, the ‘car’ dancing around through third- and fourth-gear corners, but it looks more or less like an onboard replay from Gran Turismo.
Squeezing into the carbon monocoque, though, dispels any notion that this will be anything like a conventional driving sim. Being slim and not too tall (180cm), I fit reasonably easily, but it’s certainly not what you’d call spacious.
Imagine you’re halfway through a sit-up and you’re pretty close to visualising the driving position. There is no padding, so my tailbone is digging hard into the floor – I sheepishly ask for a cushion.
Digital readouts – speed, rpm, gear number – flash into life as the steering wheel slides onto its splines. A precise copy of that fitted to the actual race car, on its face are buttons for radio, drinks bottle, neutral, and eight rotary dials that adjust max engine rpm, the level of energy recovery, brake balance and three separate traction control systems. Unsurprisingly, they’re not to be touched.
On the back of the wheel are four paddles; the top-most ones are conventional gearshift paddles, while in the race car the bottom ones flash the high-beam lights, crucial in getting slower traffic out of the way as quickly as possible.
However, as there is no room in an F1 cockpit for a third pedal, in the sim the lower-left paddle operates the hand clutch, which turns out to be about as easy to operate as the SuperHadron Collider.
Even with the luxury of being able to bounce off the rev limiter without fear of frying the clutch, getting the TS040 moving proves virtually impossible, the slightest wrong move with clutch or throttle triggering the anti-stall program and leaving you crawling along impotently at about 5km/h. Thankfully, more by luck than anything, it finally bites and we’re underway.
Despite knowing which way the track goes and an engineer talking me through the lap, initial progress is embarrassingly erratic, as the controls feel horribly unfamiliar at first. The throttle moves freely but the ultra-quick steering is heavy and the brake pedal is rock hard; it feels like you’re simply pushing against the monocoque.
Too little brake pressure and you spear into a gravel trap; too much and you lock-up and spear into a wall. Frustrating doesn’t begin to cover it, and with only 15 minutes to play with, I’m desperate to do at least one full lap.
Slowly but surely it starts to come together. With familiarity, the controls that initially felt so cumbersome begin to make a lot of sense, as every tiny adjustment with the brakes, throttle and steering is responded to instantly. It may only be a computer simulation, but there’s still a real sense of achievement in getting into a rhythm and stringing a few corners together.
It’s on a completely different level to even hardcore driving sims like iRacing, probably because there is several million dollars’ worth of hydraulic rig underneath you replicating the car’s movements.
About the only thing missing is the g-force, which is just as well given some of the accidents that have occurred today. According to Moffitt, Red Bull Racing’s simulator does replicate g-force, and apparently Jean-Eric Vergne was knocked unconscious when one of his virtual accidents became disturbingly real.
The end result of two clean laps was a 3:43.8, a bit over 20 seconds slower than the race drivers. Of course, the pros can do those lap times while evaluating the latest parts and tweaking the car set-up.
And then go out and drive the lap time for real to within a few tenths of a second. Aspiring racers can spend a day in the simulator for E4000 which, having had an all-too-brief taste, doesn’t sound all that crazy. Can I have a go in the real one now, please?
HYUNDAI has released images of the all-new i20 ahead of its Paris motor show debut in early October, but the Korean company’s Polo rival may be too expensive for Australia.
The current i20 launched here in 2010 is brought in from low-cost India, but the new version will be manufactured in Turkey, adding considerably to the cost of landing the vehicle here.
A complete visual breakaway from the existing model, the IB-series hatchback follows its predecessor in being developed at Hyundai’s German design and engineering centre in Russelsheim near Frankfurt.
As a result, improvements in space, technology, quality and driveability are promised, to match the more contemporary styling featuring the brand’s signature hexagonal grille treatment, a ‘floating’ roofline C-pillar effect and boomerang-shaped tail-lights.
Hyundai Australia is working out how it can import the sleek supermini at a competitive price.
“We’re studying it,” Hyundai Australia PR chief Bill Thomas told Wheels. “It’s too early to comment.”
The company may instead look at a cheaper version of the current Accent fitted with a 74kW 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine that could fill the impending void in the $15,000 end of the light-car market when the current i20 Active 1.4 is discontinued next year.
Sourced from South Korea, like its highly successful Getz predecessor was in the 2000s, the current Accent 1.6 Active kicks off from $16,990, putting it in the ‘premium’ end of the Australian light-car class against the Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2, Suzuki Swift, Renault Clio and Volkswagen Polo.
If Hyundai Australia elects to switch the Accent and i20 in terms of pricing and positioning, it will mirror the impending situation in the medium segment, where the 2015 Sonata will take on the Toyota Camry while the smaller Euro-engineered i40 sedan and wagon will continue as the company’s premium rival to the Mazda 6 and Ford Mondeo.
Helping the new i20’s aspirations as an upmarket supermini is what Hyundai describes as an “all-new platform” that is 45mm longer, resulting in claimed best-in-class legroom and cargo capacity.
Hyundai says the IB-series will offer a panoramic sunroof, rear-view camera and LED lighting.
“The key aims of the new model are to open Hyundai to an even wider audience; further develop perceptions of the brand; and confirm Hyundai’s position as a truly European automaker,” the company said in a press statement.Click here to read the full range review of the Hyundai i20
THREE-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart struck and killed rival driver Kevin Ward Jr with his sprintcar moments after an on-track incident in a minor dirt-track race in New York State.
Police said Stewart was co-operating, but that the investigation into the fatality was not of a criminal nature.
Ward was killed after walking onto the track to confront Stewart in the $1500-to-win race at the Canandaigua Motorsports Park half-mile track.
A YouTube video of the Saturday night incident showed Stewart – a driver who has never walked away from grass roots dirt racing – in a track duel with Ward. Their two sprint cars made contact, propelling Ward’s machine hard into a fence.
Ward jumped from his wreck, walking onto the track to confront Stewart, who was still circulating under the yellow. When Ward pointed angrily at Stewart, the superstar’s car revved and the rear wheels broke traction, and the right rear caught Ward and flung him through the air.
The horrified crowd watched as track workers rushed to help Ward, who was prone and motionless on the track.
On Sunday, Ontario County (New York) Sheriff Philip C. Povero confirmed Ward was declared dead on his arrival at a local hospital.
Povero said that both Stewart and track officials were “co-operating fully” with investigators.
Stewart is a fiery, passionate racer with a history of aggro at race venues, including in Australia.
In 2011, while racing at Sydney’s Parramatta Speedway, he angrily threw a helmet at track co-promoter and competitor Brett Morris. Police later took away the American, who was held in a cell until allowed to leave in the early hours.
Stewart was due to race in a Sprint Cup round at Watkins Glen this morning but wisely withdrew.
A Stewart-Haas Racing spokesperson issued the following statement: “A tragic accident took place last night during a sprint car race in which Tony Stewart was participating. Tony was unhurt, but a fellow competitor lost his life. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. We’re still attempting to sort through all the details and we appreciate your understanding during this difficult time.”
THE damage inflicted on Jack Monkhouse’s Nissan Silvia in a huge shunt – and one of the highest impacts in recent rallying history – is probably not going to buff out.
In fact the Silvia is a pile of expensive scrap metal after a lucky escape by Monkhouse and co-driver Darren Masters in a high-speed moment during Rally South Australia.
The scary crash came when the Silvia, motoring swiftly in sixth gear, jumped over a crest and clipped a rock on landing. Monkhouse said the Silvia hit the rock, jumped in the air and landed on its side before slamming into a tree, still cranked at a huge angle.
“The passenger’s headlight is actually up six foot in the tree,” he reported.
The Silvia rolled and spun and cannoned backwards into a stout gum tree at a “massive rate of knots”. Fuel was everywhere, and the Silvia caught fire and burned to the ground.
“It’s a bit of a disappointing end, but very thankful that we’re both perfectly fine,” said Monkhouse, who miraculously emerged with only a stiff neck and a slight burn to his ankle, while co-driver Masters suffered a headache after a suspected minor concussion.
Monkhouse praised the integrity of the car’s Bond Roll Bars cage and Velo seats.
“The impact into the tree… we basically went from 170km/h to zero in about 10 metres. The car went in backwards and that’s probably the weakest point of the car. It’s just sheet metal; there’s no engine to stop anything. I reckon we shortened the car by about two metres, and yet the strength of the car meant we could still open the doors as soon as it came to a stop.”
The frustrating bit for Monkhouse was that he wasn’t in the rally to win, but just to enjoy it.
“The idea was to do a couple of rallies in the Silvia and then sell it for a house deposit. So that’s not going to happen now. It’s just a monetary thing; a car’s a car.”
Photo (main) courtesy of Ryan Schembri
