SEBASTIAN VETTEL probably didn’t pay too much attention to the gangly kid with the toothy smile and the nest of curly hair when he attended the Formula BMW World Final in Valencia, Spain, back in 2006.
Vettel, then a rising star and mere months away from making his F1 debut with BMW, probably wouldn’t have noticed the then 16-year-old Aussie amongst a field of around 40 young racers trying to make a name for themselves in the junior ranks. If he had, the future triple world champ would have had an early glimpse at his future teammate.
Daniel Ricciardo cuts an unassuming figure in the F1 paddock. But underneath that warm smile, that mop of unruly hair, stands a man who is arguably one of the quickest drivers in the world. And don’t be fooled by the perma-grin; Ricciardo is a serious player in a serious sport. And next year, he takes over the mantle as Vettel’s teammate at the dominant Red Bull Racing.
It’s a role that has been served well by Australia’s outgoing Formula One hero, Mark Webber. But just as Vettel’s star has risen over the past four seasons, so too has Webber’s motivation taken a gentle downward slide into ‘life-after-F1’. That’s understandable. For 12 seasons, Webber has been a shining light for Aussie F1 fans. His ‘no bullshit’ approach has polarised fans, but love or hate him, you always knew where you stood.
Now that role falls on the 24-year-old shoulders of Ricciardo. It’s a passing of the baton, of sorts, the young up-and-coming Aussie replacing F1’s oldest driver. But don’t think that Ricciardo will slot comfortably into the ‘not bad for a number two’ role that has become Webber’s default position in the team.
Ricciardo’s promotion to the Red Bull ‘A Team’ brings with it a weight of expectation. As the most sought-after seat in F1, Ricciardo has seen off the challenges of Kimi Raikkonen and, if rumours are to be believed, Ferrari ace Fernando Alonso. It’s the kind of success that carries a burden. Yet Ricciardo is unbowed by the challenge that lies ahead. He knows what the team expects. And he knows having Vettel as a teammate is far from the easiest job in the world.
“I know that Seb is going to be my toughest challenge yet,” Ricciardo says, “but I am really looking forward to that challenge. I am not going to go in there with the mentality that I am absolutely going to wipe this kid off the face of the Earth, because realistically, that’s not going to happen. I have a lot of work to do, and I have got to have a lot of respect for him. But definitely I want to give him a really good challenge, and hopefully I can be the guy to beat him.”
It’s a tall order. Since bursting on to the F1 scene in 2007, Vettel has never been beaten by a teammate over the course of a season. And since 2010, despite the best efforts of the best drivers in the world, no one has had his measure. It’s a glaring statistic.
Webber has been a pillar of sorts for Ricciardo since the youngster made his F1 debut in 2011. The elder statesman of F1, acutely aware of how tough it is for an Australian to break into the sport, let alone in a competitive environment, has offered advice, not on how to drive the car – Ricciardo is more than capable – but on how to deal with the F1 limelight. He’s also schooled the young gun in the inner workings of the Red Bull Racing team.
“I’ve spoken to [Webber] a bit already,” admits Ricciardo. “Obviously he can give me some advice on what it is like and all the extra attention I will face and a few people whom I will be working with, just to try and fast-track the learning process with a few engineers and so on.”
But he remains cautious about taking on too much from Webber, whose fractious relationship with teammate Vettel has been headline fodder since, well, ever since the German reached F1.
“In terms of me personally,” says Ricciardo, “I want to discover it for myself. Mark has been really good to me since I’ve been in F1, but I don’t want to rely on him to really help me get to the next step – in a respectful way, of course – I am just trying to discover it and do it to an extent by myself.”
The Ricciardo/Vettel dynamic will be an interesting narrative to 2014. Vettel’s dominance over Webber on the track has spilled over into the garage, where the German holds an undeniable status within the team.
Vettel has already fired the first warning shot, shrouded in humour. He will do everything in his power to ensure the status quo is maintained. “I’ll have another Australian trying to make my life difficult,” he quipped to the media on the weekend of Ricciardo’s confirmation as his teammate. “I don’t want to marry him, so I don’t have to be best friends with him, but I think we’ll get on with each other.”
It’s a telling jibe, revealing that while not exactly rattled by Ricciardo’s impending arrival, Vettel has started the mind games.
There remains one telling difference between Ricciardo and Webber at Red Bull. Webber was already an established star when he joined the team in 2007. He was not, is not, a product of the Red Bull junior driver development program. Vettel is, and as a result has enjoyed, to say the least, the patronage of the team’s gruff motorsport adviser, Dr Helmut Marko. Webber was afforded no such favouritism.
Ricciardo, on the other hand, is also a product of the Red Bull Junior team, hand-picked at the end of 2007 by Marko. It’s Marko who has guided the younger Aussie’s career, just as he has Vettel’s. It’s Marko who placed Ricciardo at the Hispania Racing Team for his F1 debut mid-way through 2011, and subsequently Toro Rosso in 2012. It’s Marko who had a large say in Ricciardo’s replacement at Red Bull Racing.
Ricciardo is, in short, a product of Marko’s, as is Vettel. That presents an interesting point of difference. Webber is, always has been, his own man and that has led, at times, to a frosty relationship with Marko, highlighted at Silverstone and Turkey in 2010. Webber used the bad blood to his advantage, maintaining an inner rage that fuelled his ambition on the track.
And Marko, for his part, makes no secret of his plans for Ricciardo. “He has to put pressure on Sebastian by mid-season in 2014 at the latest; he has to be a real team player…”
That’s a veiled jibe at Webber who, while outwardly presenting a united front for Red Bull has, at times spoken out against a hierarchy that, on the surface, favoured his German teammate.
It’s a suggestion denied by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who offered a succinct, “Both drivers, as has always been the case, will get identical opportunity and equipment. Inevitably there’ll be a natural pecking order and that will be determined by the driver that’s in front on the track.”
On paper, that should be Vettel. But don’t underestimate his new-for-2014 Aussie teammate. Asked if he is afraid of Vettel, Ricciardo offered a definitive and final, “No!”
Ricciardo’s reputation has been built on outright pace. Much like Webber before him, who regularly qualified his slow and unwieldy Jaguar in a place it had no right to be, Ricciardo has time and again qualified his Toro Rosso – sister car to Red Bull in name, but not performance – inside the top-10, well beyond the efforts of his teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne.
Any doubts that Ricciardo was fast enough for Red Bull were quickly erased when the young Aussie got behind the wheel of this year’s dominant Red Bull RB9 at F1’s mid-season test in July at Silverstone.
Under enormous pressure, knowing his day in the car was an audition for his future, Ricciardo was immediately on the pace. But what impressed Red Bull’s engineers more was his consistency over long runs. While team data was not made public, Ricciardo was, according to insider gossip, as quick as Vettel on similar fuel loads and on similarly worn tyres when the German took over testing duties the following day.
That, right there, was the clincher. Put down your glasses. Dan’s the man for Red Bull.
Just when you thought this Nürburgring lap time malarkey couldn’t get any sillier, Range Rover goes and announces its new Sport SVR super-SUV has lapped the Nordschleife in 8min 14sec.
It’s a pretty stunning time which, unsurprisingly, sets a new benchmark for ‘off-roaders’. Except, it’s not an off-roader, is it? JLR’s chassis guru, Mike Cross, says the SVR has “exceptional on-road performance”, which is great, but you know what else has exceptional on-road performance? A car.
The work required to give the RR Sport SVR “exceptional on-road performance” – i.e. making it lower, stiffer and sharper – rob it of some of the abilities that make it such an exceptional all-’rounder, which is surely why people buy an SUV in the first place.
Let me put it this way: the SVR’s time is a little bit slower than that of the last generation of Renault Sport Megane, so JLR has managed to spend a not-insignificant amount of time and money making a 405kW SUV almost as fast as a hot hatch with half the power.
In one respect, that’s an admirable engineering feat, but JLR boasting that the SVR is faster around the ’Ring than all the other off-roaders makes about as much sense as an Olympic weightlifter bragging that he’s a faster sprinter than all the other weightlifters. That’s great, but it’s not the game we’re playing…
Now, we’re not knocking the Nürburgring. We don’t doubt that its unique and challenging layout makes it the ideal venue for speeding up the dynamic development of a new model, but enough with the lap-time willy waving.
The ‘Ring is a race circuit (sorry, ‘one-way unrestricted toll road’), therefore the more you adapt any model towards circuit performance, the better it will do. A GT3 car will lap the Nordschleife in around 6min45sec, but driving one of those down a typical suburban street would be about as enjoyable as skinny dipping in a Melbourne winter.
What matters in a road car is compliance, confidence and, above all, fun. Car companies, please, by all means lap the ’Ring to your hearts’ content, but leave the stopwatches at home.
The angry rasp filling the cabin offers a strong clue that this isn’t your typical Hyundai.
Mind you, if you hadn’t noticed by now that this Veloster Turbo is something out of the ordinary, you’re probably not fit to be driving a car in the first place.
The driver’s seat is a hip-hugging bucket, which you’re squeezed into by a five-point harness. In front of you is a deeply dished suede steering wheel, while a complex FIA-spec roll cage fills the space behind. The Veloster Race Concept has been created by Hyundai Australia to test how far its quirky coupe-cum-hatch can be pushed, and MOTOR is lucky enough to be one of the first behind the wheel.
The car was completed in late-2012 but it’s taken almost 18 months for it to turn a wheel in anger. Beyond the obvious motorsport stuff, which makes it eligible for anything up to Asia-Pacific Rally Championship level, the car is relatively stock, by race car standards at least.
A retuned ECU and high-flow exhaust system lift the 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder to around 190kW/320Nm, a hefty increase over the standard car’s 150kW/265Nm. A Cusco 1-way limited-slip diff helps put the power to the ground, as do the sticky Pirelli P Zero Trofeo semi slicks.
Keeping those tyres in contact with the tarmac is a set of DMS four-way adjustable shocks while large Alcon brakes – 355mm rotors with four-pot calipers up front, 300mm units with two-pot calipers at the rear – sit behind 18 x 8.0-inch Team Dynamics wheels.
Given so much of the car is standard, getting off the mark is free of any typical race-car histrionics. The seat is set further back than ideal but time is tight so it’ll just have to do. Joining the circuit reveals steering that is lighter than standard and an engine that is definitely more urgent than the road car.
The first lap is exploratory to allow the tyres to come up to temperature but despite being warned by Hyundai WRC driver Chris Atkinson, the non-power assisted brakes still cause a moment of mild panic when pressing the middle pedal with normal pressure produces a loud squealing from the race-specs pads but not much in the way of retardation.
This Veloster on steroids has had little attention in terms of suspension setup, but it feels safe and secure straight out of the box, much like the standard car. Grip levels on these tyres are obviously a lot higher, and the LSD finds great drive out of corners. Its aggressive take-up would be a step too far in a road car, but works well here.
Once accustomed to the pressure required, the brakes provide excellent feel and plenty of stopping power, too. The engine is probably more effective if short-shifted around the 6000rpm mark, but stretch to 6500rpm and you’re rewarded with an addictive ‘CRACK’ on upshifts.
Throughout the day suspension tweaks are trialled to help mobilise the rear and get the car to turn in better, as it’s easy to over-drive the car and lose time through understeer. Much more time is needed to arrive at the ideal balance, and there’s also a shudder under heavy braking that needs to be sorted, but that’s all part of the development process.
Future plans for the car are yet to be finalised, but don’t be surprised to see the Veloster Race Concept at a tarmac rally or two in 2015.
Specs Engine 1591cc inline-4, DOHC, 16v, turbocharger Power 190kW* Torque 320Nm* Weight 1265kg* 0-100km/h 6.0sec* Top Speed 230km/h* Price N/A *all figures estimates
FROM the moment you clap eyes on the new BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, it’s clear this isn’t your average BMW.
A stumpy, sloping bonnet, people mover-esque silhouette, and styling details that look as though traditional cues (the twin kidney grilles and Hofmeister kink, for example) have been crunched into a very un-BMW shape.
In many ways, that defines BMW’s compact game changer.
The 2AT (for want of a snappier name) breaks with decades of tradition and sneering at competitors to send drive solely to the front wheels.
It does away with that 50-50 weight balance BMW has spruiked as being perfect for a brand all about “dynamism”, “sheer driving pleasure” and “the ultimate driving machine”.
A decade ago, the 2AT would have been about as BMW as an Audi, and even now it promises to have some of the brand faithful on the rev limiter.
If it’s any consolation, traditional BMW owners aren’t the target market. BMW sees the 2AT as having a high conquest rate and tempting buyers who have been looking at other spacious hatchbacks, predominantly the Mercedes-Benz B-Class.
Perhaps fittingly, my first 20 minutes or so with the 2 Active Tourer were when it was stationary, checking out all this new-found front-drive space and seeing if it really is as practical as the boffins say.
It’s a fine machine, with good fit and finish, robust but stylish trim materials and plenty of BMW touches; a centre stack tilted towards the driver, touch-sensitive programmable buttons and orange illumination that adds to the unmistakable cabin ambience.
It’s practical, too. Even adults will have ample head and leg room in the rear, and the 40/20/40 seatback and sliding seat base promise to swallow any box, pram or 2.4m-long broom handle you can throw at it. Plus there’s under-floor storage in the boot (where the spare tyre would normally sit) and an electric tailgate that can be optioned with a wave-your-foot gesture control system.
For a car that’s just 4342mm long, it could conceivably do the job of a small or medium SUV or even a mid-sized sedan or wagon, though there’s not as much boot space.
On the road, the 2AT is equally un-BMW.
Our drive in the Austrian Alps was welcomed with a generous dousing of rain that quickly challenged the optional 18-inch Pirelli P-Zeros. Tasked with tight hairpins and the dual task of feeding 330Nm to the bitumen and pointing the car, there was soon plenty of little flashing lights on the dash as the stability control stood to attention.
With between 57 and 59 per cent of the car’s weight over its nose (depending on the model), the Active Tourer is also prone to understeer, something accentuated as those grip levels are reached and exceeded.
Throw in electromechanical steering that can feel unweighted as you’re feeding on the power and it’s a long way from the hunkered-down, have-some-fun feel of traditional (rear-drive) BMWs.
That said, the 2AT is a confident, capable hatchback and is among the more athletic front-drivers going.
There’s no steering kickback and the grip levels are, ultimately, high.
There’s mild body-roll, but it’s well managed and the Active Tourer never feels as high as it looks (the seating position is 29mm higher than the BMW X1 SUV).
The steering is precise, though it can feel overly light when accelerating out of a bend, and the sizeable dual A-pillars can have you darting to see around them.
Our test roads were predominantly smooth, but the occasional bump or dip was dealt with efficiently and with a level of ride comfort more sensible BMW drivers will no doubt appreciate. There was some occasional unwanted tyre roar, though, something accentuated by water spray.
We didn’t get to try the 1.5-litre triple borrowed from sister brand Mini, but the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel builds its torque quickly and revs cleanly. However, we only tested it with the six-speed manual that won’t be offered in Australia.
The 2.0-litre turbo-petrol in the 225i is a feistier piece of kit, albeit one that can keep those electronics busier out of tight corners. With 170kW and a free-revving nature, it’s backed up with 350Nm of torque that makes for effortless acceleration, and is teamed with a smart eight-speed auto.
It adds up to a sensible, practical, good driving car. But it lacks the fizz and dynamic flair we’ve come to expect of a BMW.
BMW’s first front-wheel-drive model – the 2 Series Active Tourer – will be priced from $44,400 plus ORCs.
The price tag represents a $1900 premium over the smaller 1 Series hatchback with the same engine and less equipment.
The BMW 2AT is also $3500 more expensive than the entry-level version of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, the car against which it most obviously competes.
But whereas the 1 Series uses a traditional rear-wheel-drive layout, the 2 Series Active Tourer is the first BMW to break that mould, following the lead set by the likes of the B-Class and driving the front wheels.
It uses a stretched version of the UKL platform developed for the latest Mini hatch, along with a unique-to-BMW multi-link rear suspension.
At 4342mm long, the 2AT is just 18mm longer than the 1 Series hatchback that remains true to BMW’s rear-drive tradition.
While BMW is boasting of a short 848mm front overhang for the 2AT, it’s still 83mm – or 11 percent – more than the 1 Series. Crucially, the overhang is closer to front-drive rivals such as Audi, which BMW has long derided for having an inferior drivetrain layout.
But it is interior space and functionality where the Active Tourer makes up big points. Rear headroom is more than accommodating for tall adults, while leg room is akin to some mid-size cars.
The rear seats also slide to trade-off between luggage space and legroom, while there’s a 40/20/40 split-fold function.
BMW has also thrown plenty of gear at the Active Tourer, including a reversing camera, electric tailgate, front and rear parking sensors, alloy wheels, cruise control, Bluetooth, climate control air-conditioning and a trio of electronic driver aids – lane-departure warning, forward collision warning and “light city brake”, which is designed to autonomously brake moderately (but not at full emergency levels) in traffic.
There are also six airbags (dual front, front-side and side curtain).
Arriving in November, the 2 Series Active Tourer will initially be offered with three engine options.
The 218i AT kicks the range off at $44,400 and brings a 100kW/220Nm 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine while the 218d AT is $47,800 and gets a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel.
The flagship is the 225i AT, which costs $54,900 and gets more equipment, including LED headlights, adjustable dampers, leather trim and 18-inch wheels.
Towards the middle of 2015 there will also be a 220i, with a more powerful version of the 1.5-litre three-cylinder.
Model: 218i Active Tourer Engine: 1499cc 3-cylinder turbo Max power: 100kW @ 4500-6000rpm Max torque: 220Nm at 1250-4300rpm Transmission: 6-speed manual or 6-speed auto Kerb weight: 1320kg 0-100km/h: 9.3sec (manual), 9.6sec (auto) (claimed) Price: From $44,400 On sale: November 2014
Model: 218d Active Tourer Engine: 1995cc 4-cylinder turbo diesel Max power: 110kW @ 4000rpm Max torque: 330Nm at 1750-2250rpm Transmission: 6-speed manual or 8-speed auto Kerb weight: 1375kg 0-100km/h: 9.9sec (manual and auto) (claimed) Price: From $47,800 On sale: November 2014
Model: 225i Active Tourer Engine: 1998cc 4-cylinder turbo Max power: 170kW @ 4750-6000rpm Max torque: 350Nm @ 1250rpm Transmission: 8-speed auto Kerb weight: 1430kg 0-100km/h: 6.8sec (claimed) Price: $54,900 On sale: November 2014
Is anyone else falling asleep? Weeks ago Toyota snagged the most boring record ever at the ’Ring. Now, Land Rover’s Range Rover Sport SVR has set the lap record for the fastest production SUV around the 20.8km circuit.
We were starting to reach for the No-Doz, until we saw the Range Rover Sport SVR’s lap time of 8min 14sec. That’s quick for a car based on a 2.3-tonne monolith. Seriously, check out what it’s beaten.
The best Holden managed with the VF Commodore SS-V Redline ute was 8min 19.5sec. Something svelte as a 987-series Cayman S needs 8min 17sec and the fastest front-wheel drive car up until 2011, the Renault Sport Mégane (R26.R), took 8min 16.9sec – all slower than the Rangie.
However, the SVR’s certainly got the right weaponry. Because it corners about as fast as a Panzer tank, the SVR packs the colossal 404kW 5.0-litre supercharged V8 from the Jaguar F-Type Coupe R. This helps it overcome parachute-like aerodynamic drag on the Nordschleife’s long straights.
Land Rover claims it as a ‘production’ SUV record because the SVR, planned to go on sale in 2015, is based on a ‘production example’. And while ’Ring records may be getting a bit out of hand, who knows, maybe we’ll see a slew of even-more steroidal sprog-haulers emerging from rival brands vying for the crown, like a Porsche Cayenne GT2, or a Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG Black. And they’ll certainly be more interesting than a lap time.
It’s been a tough few years for Chris Atkinson. In 2008 he was making serious waves in the World Rally Championship, regularly matching or beating world champion teammate Petter Solberg in a Subaru team finally showing signs of resurgence after a catastrophic 2006 and 2007.
But then came the Global Financial Crisis. Subaru pulled out of the WRC weeks prior to the start of the 2009 season, leaving Atkinson high and dry. Unable to secure a top seat, the Aussie turned his attention to the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. A year with Proton in 2010 was marred by car failures, but second in 2011 and a title win in 2012 in a Skoda Fabia S2000, as well as sporadic appearances in the WRC, have showed Atkinson has lost little of his speed.
Now a member of Hyundai’s World Rally squad, the 34-year-old Gold Coast resident is set to make his second WRC appearance at this year’s Rally Australia, which will take place around Coffs Harbour from September 11-14. We sat down with Atkinson for a lengthy chat about his past, his future, and all things rallying.
In 2008 you were finally reaching the top echelon of your sport when the carpet was suddenly pulled out from under you. How did you deal with Subaru pulling out of the WRC at such short notice?
“It’s a strange one, because it happened right before Christmas – we were almost ready to go. We’d heard rumours about what was going on; there were a few rumours floating around that maybe [Subaru would] take it in house, but when they told us the news – we got called down to Nice airport because Petter and I were living in Monaco – it was obviously quite a shock.
“I’m not sure it sunk in for quite a while what an impact it actually had on my career, but I took it at the time trying to be positive; there were obviously a lot worse things going on for a lot more people so it wasn’t the end of the world.
“I tried to move on as much as I could with the career, but at that time you had two manufacturers pull out, there were no seats available and I still stuck with the ambition for a while of being in the WRC until I had to readjust and bring my target back down just to get racing again.”
How close were you to getting back to a seat in 2009?
“It was a similar situation to Petter, you had to find the sponsorship or the money to do it. We did [Rally Ireland], we got a a big sponsor on board and we were talking to a few companies.
“It was going to be hard because the manufacturers didn’t have the money at the time and so you’ve pretty much got to try and fund a privateer year to keep it going and hope for a new manufacturer or a seat the following year.
“But when it happens in December you’re not going to get a seat for the next year so you try and make the most of it. But trying to find a sponsor at the start of the GFC wasn’t easy either.”
You’ve done a few WRC events since, how hard are those one-off drives, balancing showing your speed with getting a good result?
“You can kid yourself a little bit and say ‘yeh I can hop in a different car and go flat out and I’ll be fine’ but it doesn’t always work that way. In F1, in anything, you see people switch cars and they struggle, let alone in rallying, which is one of the most sensitive sports in terms of confidence and feeling with the car. If that’s not there you can’t get that last bit.
“I found that there was a point there where I didn’t really race for a year and then I turned up in a World Rally Car and I was still able to do times 0.2 or 0.3sec a kilometre off the pace, but it’s that last little bit that’s hard to get back.
“When you go from doing a lot of rallies before in the WRC, 2005-06-07-08, flat out testing, 16 races a year, you’re in the groove, you start to know the stages well, the car, and even if the car’s not perfect you learn to deal with it. Then you have a year out and a big gap throws a spanner in the works; you’ve still got some ability, but it’s the detail stuff.”
Is that partially down to the flat-out nature of the WRC now? Surely 10 or 20 years ago, with longer, more varied rallies, there was more of an opportunity to make an impact?
“Yeh for sure. I think the new cars.. You could get away [with] more in the old World Rally Cars because you had the horsepower and the torque there; the new World Rally Cars are more restricted so if you do have a lift and a bit of a hesitation you lose a lot more time.”
Do you feel that you’re a better driver than you’ve ever been?
“I think that I’m more consistent and the fact that I’ve hopped between a lot of different cars and can still hop in and do a top five in a World Championship round is not bad, but like I said that last bit – I’d actually say I was faster in ’07 than in ’08 in terms of absolute pace – that speed stage-in, stage-out is slightly off because you’re not in the car, you’re not racing constantly. I’m sure it’ll come back but you probably need a full season – it won’t take the whole season but a full season to have a big attack the next year and really be at front-running pace.”
How have the cars changed over your time in the WRC? You started in very high-tech cars with active diffs, paddle gearshift etc. and now the cars are a bit more simple.
“You’ve lost in some areas, which is a shame as I quite liked the technology side of it. The active diffs were really cool, it’s a shame they went away from them, but there’s some clever stuff going on.”
Did it make the cars easier to drive or was it just a different challenge?
“It’s just different. You had to think about it a lot, you had to adjust the car mid-stage, you could have up to six options on the diffs, so you could control the front diff, the active slip, the centre diff, the rear diff, you could choose which ones you had – you were constantly adjusting the car.”
Active Slip? Like traction control?
“Yeh whenever you get past a certain amount of slip it will come in. But you want it fairly free to carry speed through the changes of direction etc. but if you get big wheelspin in a slow corner and want to catch that wheel, you could control the percentage that you wanted that slip, how aggressive you wanted to catch it so it was quite cool.
“[You could have] probably 20 different parameters but the main one would be basically the amount of pre-load on the diffs. I think they’re heading back to the paddle-shifts now. The first time I went back to changing gears again I actually wore a hole in my hand because it was in a Super 2000 car and you had to change gears so much; my hands had gotten soft from the paddle-shift over the years (laughs).”
There’s potentially a big shift in the WRC regulations coming in 2017; as both a driver and a fan, what direction would you like to see the WRC go in?
“I read the article the other day that said the cars are looking all quite similar and I don’t disagree with that. You look back at the ’90s and even early-2000s you had things from the big Subaru to the little Peugeot and they were fighting each other and it was quite interesting; one car would suit a certain stage and another car would suit different conditions and it really opened up the championship a little bit.
“All the cars at the moment are, technology-wise, quite similar and the big challenge is in terms of controlling it and not letting someone have a huge advantage. I’m for a bit of difference and also a bit of difference in the rallies; some endurance events, some shorter sprint events to mix it up and make it a bit more interesting.
“It doesn’t have to be like Formula 1, it doesn’t have to be circuit racing, you can make it more exciting. You only have to look at events like the Tour de France where it moves around and follows different routes and different towns and the crowd comes along with that, rather than just going to the one spot and expecting everyone to come to you.”
Is cost part of that? That’s why there was a push to centralised service in the first place.
“Yeh I think cost and logistics plays a big part in it, but the big teams have big budgets. For sure it’d be a bit harder for some of the privateer teams.”
What would your ideal rally car be?
“That’s a good question (long pause). I think those early World Rally Cars, that sort of style is quite cool, they were awesome bits of kit. Not that they aren’t now, they’re still amazing cars to drive, they’re faster than ever, the developments in suspension and diff technology is incredible, the jumps you can hit flat in sixth gear blows your mind.
“But I think we should be pushing the technology side, using things like the technology to develop massive amounts of torque. Torque is awesome in a rally car, some of the stuff you’re seeing in F1 could definitely be used in rallying down the track.
“I just don’t like a boring structure, I think it should be constantly evolving and challenging technology and that’s going to create interest in the sport from another angle, not just the racing angle.”
You’ve driven most of the current generation World Rally Cars, how do they differ?
“I wouldn’t say they’re hugely different to drive. A lot of the feeling comes from obviously the size of the chassis and the aero packages, whether they’re nervous in the high-speed stuff or not, the differentials are packaged quite similar.
“There are differences, the Ford moves around quite a lot, the Hyundai’s quite reactive but also quite stable in the fast and the Citroen is somewhere in between. A lot of it comes down to the geometry and how that’s set up. You see the angles and the wheel travel on the Ford which makes the car move a lot but works in some conditions and then the Hyundai with a more traditional setup and the Citroen, there are a couple of different directions.
“You could say the Ford and Volkswagen have gone one way, maybe the Volkswagen’s a little bit closer, and the Citroen and Hyundai are slightly the other way in terms of the style and the Mini, which is not used really now, is somewhere along the more traditional geometry style. Then a lot of it comes down to the driver feeling after that; confidence, whether you like the car moving or not; some drivers hate that diving and rolling.”
You can see that even in the different styles of [ fellow Hyundai drivers]Thierry Neuville and Juho Hanninen.
“Yeh, Juho’s with the Finnish style and Thierry, coming from a tarmac background, is obviously a bit neater, but he’s still aggressive. You look at the way Ogier drives now, he’s very, very aggressive, really committed before the corner.”
Do you prefer a neater style or just throw it into the corner and carry speed?
“No, I’d say I’m more on the neat, understeering style, which is actually a bit more risky on some of the high-speed stuff but can payoff for speed.”
Can anyone beat Sebastien Ogier?
“It comes back to a bit of a Loeb situation. It’s the whole package, you can see he’s comfortable with that car – Jari-Matti’s not as comfortable. Jari-Matti was seen as the fastest guy and then all of a sudden he’s hopped in what is one of the best cars at the moment and he’s not able to take it to Ogier, so it does show that certain cars suit different driving styles and different drivers. Jari could make the Ford work really well; I think he’s getting there with the Volkswagen but it’s taking time.
“Someone will come along and beat Ogier for sure, but it’s a hard job at the moment. I think Loeb was super consistent and obviously amazing on tarmac but I think he was always beatable on gravel if you had a good day and Ogier came along and did that. It’s funny to have people dominate so much in rallying at the moment and maybe that comes a little bit back to the rules and maybe we need to look at that.”
What about some of the younger drivers? Many of them have the speed but the crash count is enormous, what was your approach when you first started?
“I think World Rally Cars, even though they’re only one or two seconds a kay faster [than an S2000 car), it’s all happening that much quicker and the tolerances come down that much more and if you’re not fast, you’re out. Ogier was the same, he was crashing as he was learning.
“It’s very rare that you get a chance, like some people have got, that you have a year or two to drive at a slower speed and build up, quite often you get one or two chances and if you don’t make the most of that opportunity and show something you’re out.
“I took the approach back then that as long as I was fast – and my attitude was always I wanted to be the fastest – then I’m more likely to keep my seat. Whereas if I turn up and I’m slow, you’re guaranteed to be out. Obviously it would be perfect to turn up and be fast and not crash, but it’s not as easy as that.”
Who have your toughest competitors been?
“All those guys that have won world championships were always massively competitive and the biggest thing was they were consistently there stage after stage. If you weren’t on it for a stage you were left behind. During that time it really taught you to just be committed constantly; if I was third on the road, you can see the lines and see what’s going on.
“One year in Finland we were a comfortable third so not going crazy but still pushing and Gronholm and Loeb were pushing for a win and they were fighting a few seconds apart. You see their lines going into bushes and off the road but fast, not wasting time, but just using every millimetre and more. You get to the end of the stage and think ‘I had a fair crack’ and they were just going mental. And no-one, unless you were in that car, had an idea of how fast those guys were actually going.”
Are there Australian guys you’ve competed against that could’ve made it on the world level?
“I always had the theory that when I went to the world championship, although I was winning in Australia, I was probably still a second a kay away from the fast guys in the WRC. I think speed-wise Simon Evans was fast; the biggest thing is whether people can adapt to a World Rally Car.
“You can have the fastest Group N guy in the world, he hops in a World Rally Car and he’s nowhere, he’s barely any faster. I think it’s the ability to absorb information. It’s a small step, say a second a kay over a Super 2000 car or two-three seconds a kay over a Group N car, but everything’s just happening that much quicker and you have to react that much quicker. Your mental decision making has to be that much more decisive. Everything just multiplies and you really have to drive the cars, you have to be on top of them.
“I think when I drove the front-wheel drive Suzuki Ignis S1600 in 2003, that taught me a lot about getting the most out of a car, where a Group N car doesn’t really teach you that. It was quite difficult but quite an important thing for me, when I switched between the S1600 and the Group N car in 2004, I’d have to adapt my driving style each time, because I’d over-drive the Group N car and you’d have to bring it back a bit, then you’d under-drive the Suzuki and have to pick it up again. It taught me quite a bit and I took both of those skills into a World Rally Car and went up still another level.”
Can you still be Australia’s first World Rally Champion?
“I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, but you need the support and the opportunity.”
Is it frustrating to have the talent and not have the support from your home country?
“Rallying is not a massive sport here, but to be honest it’s the same in a lot of countries. There are a lot of guys with a lot of talent that never made it in Europe as well so I’m not going to use the Australian thing as an excuse.
“I’m quite proud that I was one of the few Australians to get over to Europe and get some good results in rallying; of course I wanted to win the World Championship and win rallies and there’s still that chance. I’m 34, I’m as fit as ever, if I want there’s still probably another six, seven, eight years in it and really, when I first started in the World Championship, that was eight years ago so I’ve got that time again if the opportunity is there.
“Without the opportunity it’s impossible, and like I said you probably need a good year to build that solid foundation of speed everywhere an then the following year you can be in contention and fighting. But for me to come in in the first year, similar to what happened with Meeke this year, he had some rallies, showed some good speed but still to turn up at Monte Carlo again, Sweden again and be on the money with those boys.”
Perhaps most people don’t realise how good the guys at the front are, to push that hard with that precision for a whole rally.
“And they’ve been doing it… I don’t know how long Ogier has been doing the World Championship now, say six or seven years, someone like Latvala, 10 years nearly, to build the foundation. And you do learn the roads a bit.
“As much you rely on the pacenotes, you do learn to know where you can push a little bit harder and where you can take the risk or a cut and that adds up over a rally. Since 2008, since I was full time there, you lose some of that. If you go to a rally for the first time and expect to be on the pace with the front boys, the only way you’re going to do that is with massive risk. And I’ve done it before, you can do it, but it doesn’t matter who you are, you see even when Loeb came back in France, he took some time out and he had to take risks to try and keep up.
“It’s a cruel sport in terms of that. In circuit racing, I’m not going to say it’s easier, but if you’ve got some experience you can probably turn up and still be pretty close. In rallying that confidence in the car and on the pacenotes is critical.”
What are your goals ahead of Rally Australia? What’s a realistic target?
“I think the top five is probably realistic. It’s not going to be easy but we should have a good road position if it doesn’t rain on the first day and if we can make the most of that then it could work out ok. To say a podium is a bit unrealistic but obviously I’m going to try as hard as possible from the start.
“The first year I did Rally Australia in Perth in a World Rally Car I was leading the event, so it’s not to say it’s not possible; I was probably a bit younger and a bit crazier then, I was flat-out from the start. But although I haven’t done the stages before, you get a good feeling for Australian roads.”
Have you had much time in the car this year in terms of testing?
“No, the idea for testing was for the new car which is still being developed. At the moment the testing has basically been pre-event so I haven’t done a lot this year. Keen to get involved more in the new car for next year.”
That’s the big question: what are your prospects next year?
“At the moment I don’t know. Obviously I’d love to continue with Hyundai and get more events. Realistically to be up there and fighting and obviously I’d love to be back for Rally Australia next year and have a good crack at that. It’s always the second year that you’re more likely to be at the front and the car, by then, [will have had] a good two years of development and we should we able to fight or wins.”
I DIDN’T know what to expect as I rounded the corner of the Bauer Media car park with a set of unfamiliar keys in my hand, charged by Wheels editor Glenn Butler to spend a few days driving the Kia Soul.
The only Korean ‘Soul’ I’d previously been familiar with was spelt differently and contained nine million people, so who knew what I was likely to find?
It’s fair to say the vehicle that awaited me took me by surprise; its arbitrarily boxy frame, petite size and candy apple colouring prompted a giggle followed by the immediate conclusion I’d been duped.
As the editor of fellow Bauer Media title Camper Trailer Australia I am accustomed to driving meaty, utilitarian 4WDs, so as I climbed into a car that bore an uncanny resemblance to a spearmint Tic Tac – its Acid Green paint scheme is itself a $620 option – I was forced to consider the impact on my identity.
Recalling how ruthlessly I’d ridiculed fellow road users cruising along in similar toy cars — such as the Nissan Cube grey import special— it dawned on me I had somehow become the mocked. Had there been a glint in Butler’s eye as he handed over the key? I couldn’t recall. Regardless, I turned on the ignition switch and headed for home.
Kia’s second-generation Soul was introduced to Australia earlier this year, crunched down from three models to a single “Si” grade priced from $23,990 as part of its market makeover. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard kit, with a six-speed auto adding $2000 to the bill.
Its sharp pricing pitches Soul directly against rivals that include the slow-selling and even more box-like $27,490 Toyota Rukus, Peugeot’s $21,990 Gallic-cool but severely underpowered 2008, Nissan’s stand-alone Gen Y hunter, the $21,990 Juke, and Skoda’s well-sorted, value driven Yeti priced from $23,490.
As part of its generational leap, the slightly larger Soul is now powered exclusively by a 113kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing a modest 191kW of torque. By comparison, the Soul’s competitors run engines as small as 1.2 litres – with the help of a turbocharger – and with as few as three cylinders.
As I weaved through Melbourne’s peak hour I began to settle into the Soul, adjusting to the sensitive but somewhat clunky acceleration of the six-speed automatic transmission and the surprisingly heavy steering given the vehicle’s compact size.
Vision was reasonable in all directions, with the driving position quite high, while all those square glass panels offered an adequate, if not mildly embarrassing, window to the world.
That boxy physique gives the Soul’s interior a spacious feel across the back seat, although it’s all quite compact up front. The cockpit is defined by circular motifs, with a functionless, 12-inch vinyl-shaped indent in the centre of the dash teamed with prominent circular speakers either side giving the Soul an aesthetic not unlike a portable DJ booth.
To that end I hooked up the Bluetooth phone connection, chose something suitably bubble gum from my Spotify collection, and cranked it.
Not a bad sound quality, and as I bounced along mindlessly it occurred to me I had adopted the persona of a bubbly 22-year-old, such as the type who might be inclined to own a car of this nature. Don’t tell anyone, but it was almost fun.
THREE-CYLINDER engines will become increasingly important for BMW as it looks to reduce emissions and fuel use.
The German prestige brand says it will start rolling out the 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo engine, first used in the Mini, across other models, including possibly the 1-Series, X1, X3 and top-selling 3-Series.
At the same time, though, BMW says it will continue to produce V8s and V12s to satisfy Middle East- and US-led demand for high-performance engines.
Speaking at the launch of the new 2 Series Active Tourer in Austria – the first BMW to be fitted with a three-cylinder engine – BMW product communications manager Kai Lichte said the three-cylinder would become more prevalent on upcoming models.
“If you see the output of the engine and compare it with our existing portfolio you can see where it makes sense [to use the three-cylinder],” said Lichte.
With 100kW and 220Nm, the 1.5-litre triple cylinder matches the output of the 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo currently used in some BMWs, including the 116i and 316i.
There’s also a 1.2-litre version of the three-cylinder that puts out a more modest 75kW and 180Nm, although that’s less likely to find its way into BMWs sold in Australia.
Without confirming it, Lichte hinted the three-cylinder would likely soon be fitted to an updated version of the 3-Series, providing a new entry-level version of BMW’s top selling vehicle.
He said the strategy to introduce more fuel-efficient engines was to better meet customer expectations, as well as help meet future regulations.
“The more small cars we sell the more big cars we are allowed to sell, at least in Europe,” said Lichte, referring to regulations that encourage car makers to sell more fuel-miserly vehicles.
BMW is considering continuing with a sportier rear-wheel-drive architecture for its next generation 2-Series Coupe.
The positive reception to the recently arrived 2-Series Coupe has forced an internal debate about whether to shelve all-but-confirmed plans to switch to a more affordable and space-efficient front-wheel-drive platform for the next all-new 2 Series, due in about 2018.
The discussion comes as BMW is gearing up to spread its new front-wheel-drive architecture into more models across the range. That will include the next X1 SUV and, almost certainly, the next-generation 1 Series.
Despite sneering at rivals for choosing front-wheel-drive in the past – BMW has long referred to front-drive as being inferior and with negative handling traits, including a tendency to understeer and poor steering feel – the brand is now embracing the layout that brings packaging, cost and fuel economy benefits.
BMW admits rear-drive is a more dynamic driving experience but the benefits of front-wheel-drive can no longer be ignored.
In November BMW will start selling its first front-wheel-drive car, the 2 Series Active Tourer, which utilises a version of the UKL architecture developed in conjunction with Mini.
Speaking at the launch of the new Active Tourer in Austria overnight, product communications manager Kai Lichte said cars that pulled rather than pushed would become increasingly important for the brand.
“Definitely for the next X1 … it would make sense also for the next 1 Series because from our customer surveys we know that 1 Series customers, most of them, are not mainly focused on driving dynamics,” he said.
BMW engineers said 12 models could potentially be built off the UKL platform (and another 10 Mini variants), although they stressed decisions had not been made on some – including the next 2 Series.
Lichte said BMW would follow arch rival Mercedes-Benz by fitting four-wheel-drive systems to high-performance variants, including any M models.
“It’s a matter of physics. A car with more than 300 horsepower (220kW) to the front wheels … it wouldn’t make sense. You couldn’t bring the power to the road.”
But Lichte said that the 2 Series could stick with a rear-drive layout.
“It might be different for the 2 Series Coupe because these customers are more related to driving dynamics,” said Lichte. “For us there is no need to make the decision right now … there are some more months before we have to decide whether [the next generation] 2 Series is on the front-drive architecture or rear-drive.
“We thought very deeply into front-wheel drive and now the discussion, it starts again, but it wasn’t decided before.”
Lichte said there was a debate raging about which layout would best suit the sportier nature of the 2 Series Coupe and Convertible.
“The discussion is going on. For cost, for example, it would make sense to have it on a front-wheel-drive platform, for driving dynamics it would make sense to have it on a rear-wheel-drive platform.”
Sticking to a well-worn script, BMW executives regularly reinforced that the 3 Series and bigger BMWs – including the 5 Series – would never make the switch to a front-drive configuration.
