Inside the August issue of Wheels we blast BMW’s new twin-turbo bruisers – the M3 and M4.
We also travel to Le Mans with Mark Webber, mega-test 10 SUVs, farewell Robbo and much more.
Get the enhanced, digital version of the mag on iTunes by clicking here, or sort yourself out with a subscription via Magshop.
Meet the car BMW once said it would never build. The new 2-Series Active Tourer marks the first front-wheel drive effort from the Bavarian brand, if you ignore the fact it’s been building MINIs for well over a decade now.
Speaking of, the new Active Tourer shares its platform with the latest-gen MINI, and the base 218i also shares the base Cooper’s 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine with 100kW/220Nm. There will also be a diesel-powered 218d, but this being MOTOR we’ll focus attention on the range’s sportiest offering, the 225i.
Under the bonnet is a 170kW/350Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder, which is potent enough haul 1430kg of hatch-cum-people-mover to 100km/h in 6.6sec, matching the claimed time of the Mercedes-Benz A250 Sport. And that’s really the car the 2-Series Active Tourer must aim to beat.
It may look more like a B-Class in size and shape, but BMW is making plenty of noise about how the Active Tourer upholds the brand’s reputation for dynamic excellence, with a Nürburgring lap time of “less than nine minutes”. Being based on the MINI platform is a step in the right direction, but we might have to await the arrival of the M Sport package for an Active Tourer with an athletic edge.
The 2-Series Active Tourer will go on sale in late-2014, priced from just under $45,000.
PERFORMANCE diesel is no longer an oxymoron. Hasn’t been for some time, in fact, if you’ve been paying attention to Audi’s Le Mans dominance over the last eight years using turbo-diesel power, or its succession of feisty SUV range-toppers with compression-ignition grunters, led by the ludicrous Q7 V12 TDI with 1000Nm.
But here’s one that makes genuine performance sense – the RS5 TDI.
Yep, you read that correctly. Audi is toying with the idea of supplementing its existing 4.2-litre petrol-powered RS5 V8 with a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 version.
While that might sound as exciting as discovering a box set of The Big Bang Theory under your Christmas tree, the RS5 TDI’s claimed 0-100km/h time of around 4.0sec means it can easily hold its own alongside the arch-rival BMW M4 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG.
So exactly how does a 3.0-litre TDI V6 coupe manage to accelerate so bloody quickly? All-wheel drive helps, of course, but the RS5’s prototype donk is no ordinary turbo-diesel.
It features the latest generation of Audi’s familiar 2967cc V6 TDI, boasting reduced internal friction, separate cooling for the head and block, and a drop in overall weight.
But what sets the RS5’s version apart is an electrically driven compressor that operates from idle – effectively making it a triple turbo – and eradicates the off-the-line lag inherent in high-boost turbocharged diesels.
For roughly the first three seconds of full-bore standing-start acceleration, as well as over a wide operating range of part-throttle cruising at less than 3800rpm, the electrically driven compressor plumps the RS5’s bottom end to deliver what Audi calls “emotional character”.
It’s made possible by a lithium-ion battery that drives the compressor and is charged through both trailing-throttle coasting and regenerative braking.
And having a separate power source means that the RS5 TDI’s climate control can run at full blast on hot days, even with idle-stop in play.
So how much grunt? Try 283kW at 4200rpm and a massive 750Nm from 1250-2000rpm, which is right up there with the 4.2-litre TDI V8 in the A8 limo.
Yet the RS5 TDI weighs about 1750kg – almost 300kg less than the A8 – with the lithium-ion battery system and all its plumbing adding just 20kg.
Chuck the RS5 TDI into Drive Sport, wind her up on the brake (sitting just under 2000rpm), then let rip and she launches off the line as hard as an RS6 Avant.
We did several drags to prove it, though by the time the TDI eight-speed automatic hits third gear, the twin-turbo petrol V8 is in its stride and starts to pull away.
Still, it’s a brilliant job, with zero turbo lag and an utterly seamless transition from the electric compressor to the opening of a bypass valve that hands the baton to a small exhaust-driven turbocharger, then cedes into a bigger turbo for unrelenting punch right to the engine’s 5600rpm up-shift point.
Breathless this diesel most certainly is not.
It sounds intriguing, too, with a rumbly, thundery swelling of noise that is neither V6 nor V8 in character. It’s a strong, muscular sound that suits the muscle car-ish RS5 perfectly. Honestly, who knew?
Even on a tight circuit like Sturup Raceway near Malmo in Sweden, the RS5’s quick turn-in, neat balance and superb power-down (with a subtly rear-biased flavour) all remain, despite the diesel’s increased weight in the RS5’s nose.
So while this RS5 TDI quattro concept isn’t a reality just yet, we wouldn’t be half way round the world driving one if it was a bum steer.
Instead, this characterful coupe not only raises the bar for the quality of its turbo-diesel performance, its sets a whole new standard for how it goes about it.
Just don’t expect to see one in showrooms until at least 2015, or possibly even later.
But we can be sure about two things – there’s an RS-badged TDI coupe in Audi’s future, and all its Le Mans know-how and success hasn’t gone to waste.
Model: Audi RS5 TDI coupe concept Engine: 2967cc V6 (90°), dohc, 24v, twin-turbo diesel Max power: 283kW @ 4200rpm Max torque: 750Nm @ 1250-2000rpm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Kerb weight: 1750kg (estimated) 0-100km/h: 4.0sec (claimed) Price: n/a On sale: Possibly 2015
Ford has offered the best look yet at its forthcoming XR8 in a teaser video released on its YouTube channel today.
While images teasing the new Falcon’s head and tail-light design have appeared in recent weeks, the video conveys plenty of information about how Ford’s last locally-built V8 muscle car will look. Cosmetic changes are largely confined to the front and rear, with the new Falcon’s nose featuring Ford’s corporate trapedzoidal grille and squarer, more angular headlights than the current FG units.
At the rear, new tail-lights that carry over into the bootlid offer a more premium look, enhanced by a chrome strip that joins the two tail-lights. The stop lamp has been relocated from the rear window to the rear wing, with the spoiler itself aping the smaller, more subtle version used on the FPV GS, rather than that of the GT.
A side profile shows a different bonnet scoop to the FG-series cars, the scoop stretching all the way back to the windscreen like a modern-day interpretation of the Holden Torana A9X’s ‘reverse scoop’. Wheels are 19 inches in diameter and the car appears to wear the premium brake package that appeared on the FPV GT P and GT F.
Little is currently known about the XR8’s mechanical specification, other than it will be powered by Ford’s locally-produced 5.0-litre supercharged V8. Power outputs could range from the 315kW/545Nm of the previous GS to the 351kW/570Nm of the GT F, though we’d speculate that Ford will be keen to throw everything it can at its last local hero car before the arrival of the Mustang in late-2015.
The new XR8 is currently expected to be revealed in September ahead of a November launch.
RALLY fans often wonder how Scandinavian legends Tommi Makinen, Markku Alen, Marcus Gronholm and Juha Kankkunen would fare in today’s sophisticated hi-tech World Rally Cars.
This fascinating question will be answered in Helsinki this Saturday when, in a special precursor to Rally Finland, the four old-time heroes go head to head with modern stars Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala (both VW), Mads Ostberg (Citroen), Mikko Hirvonen (M-Sport Ford), Thierry Neuville and Juho Hanninen (both Hyundai).
The race-off will take place on a specially constructed sprint circuit on the waterfront in Helsinki.
The circuit for the “Helsinki Battle” is just 1.65 kilometres in length, but littered with challenges. Short full-throttle sections alternate with technically demanding corners and cobblestones, jumps created specifically for the event and a spectacular 360-degree turnabout.
After a warm-up, the rally legends and today’s stars will take to the track individually for qualifying. The best of the present-day drivers and the top rally legend will qualify for the final, which, like qualifying, will be held over two laps, with each driver having two attempts.
More info available here: http://www.nestekampanjat.fi/helsinkibattle/
LEGO has released a brick-built version of the Flying Brick. Yes, the Mini has been immortalised by the Danish toy maker as a follow-up to the VW Kombi that proved a huge hit with fans around the world.
Available solely in classic British Racing Green with white roof, mirrors and stripes, the Mini measures 14 x 25 x 11cm (width/length/height), however the incredible detail packed into the model means the set numbers an incredible 1007 pieces.
Underneath the opening bonnet lies a 1.3-litre four-pot, the interior (accessible through opening doors or the detachable roof) features a walnut dash and chequered tan seats, and it wouldn’t be a classic British car without a picnic basket and blanket in the boot. There’s even a spare wheel hidden under the boot floor.
Such detail doesn’t come cheap, with the mini Mini expected to retail for $150 when it becomes available on August 1. Still, at least once you’ve built this Mini, it’s unlikely ever to come apart, which is more than can be said for some of the full-size versions. Check out the video for an in-depth look.
THE new Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate looks to be more bad news for Audi and BMW.
With the sedan from Stuttgart already being praised by Wheels as a car that makes the A4 and 3 Series four-doors appear inadequate, the new Estate is a wagon to give the Avant and Touring an inferiority complex.
The Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate isn’t quite the car that the W205 sedan is. Mercedes engineers admit the wagon lacks the four-door’s stiffness, but quickly add that it is better than the previous generation W204 sedan.
The Estate’s shape is also inherently less aerodynamic. But the new model’s class-leading 0.27 co-efficient of drag more than offsets the increase in frontal area from the C-Class’s growth. The new Estate is slightly more slippery than its predecessor when total drag is compared.
Mercedes also set out to make a cleverer, more flexible wagon inside.
The new Estate features a three-piece 40/20/40 split-fold rear seat instead of the old car’s two-piece 60/40 arrangement.
Luggage capacity increases very slightly; by 10 litres overall to 1510L, and by five litres to 490L under the cover behind the rear seats.
As for the rest of the Estate, it’s pure C-Class class.
The interior is a lovely blend of beauty and user-friendliness, with an instrument panel that is breathtakingly gorgeous, especially in high-grade cars with leather trim.
Though the car is crammed with technology, the human-machine interface is easy and mostly intuitive.
Refinement, especially the very low levels of wind noise, is hugely impressive, comfort is great, handling exceptional, and the drivetrains work well.
C-Class wagon will reach Australia in October, two months after the sedan launches.
Mercedes-Benz Australia has announced Estate prices will be only $2500 more than equivalent sedans.
The Estate launch drivetrain line-up duplicates the sedan’s, except there will be no hybrid offered.
The $63,400 C200 and $71,400 C250 both have turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol-burning fours, with maximums of 135kW/300Nm and 155kW/350Nm respectively.
The $64,900 C200 BlueTec Estate has a 1.6-litre turbo diesel producing 100kW/300Nm and topping the price list is the $72,900 C250 BlueTec Estate with 2.1-litre turbo diesel delivering 150kW/500Nm.
All engines are teamed with Mercedes’ seven-speed automatic.
As with the sedan, the C-Class wagon’s body is almost 50 percent aluminium and about 100kg lighter than the outgoing model.
The Estate’s fuel consumption is up to 20 percent lower.
On every front, the new C-Class Estate makes advances. It’s a car sure to win customers for Mercedes, and very likely to defeat its existing competitors in comparisons to come.
Sign up here to receive the latest round-up of Wheels news, reviews and video highlights straight to your inbox each week.
Does the name Harold Scruby mean anything to you? Scruby is the Chairman and CEO of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, and a man who seems happy to set himself up as the arch-enemy of the enthusiast.
He is notorious for being the first one on the phone should a car company release an advertisement that shows even a hint of a driver enjoying themselves behind the wheel.
Remember Holden’s ‘Thunder’ ad, featuring a ute doing circle work in a paddock? You can thank Scruby for its disappearance, among many others. Thankfully, it appears there is no Spanish equivalent of Harold Scruby.
While Australia’s motor vehicle advertising standards are stricter than the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket, Spain appears to have adopted a more liberal approach, judging by these two recent efforts from Subaru Espana.
The first has been around a while and involves a mad early-morning dash to get some milk in a BRZ. Its follow-up, released last week, follows a similar premise, with our handy wheelman needing WRC levels of commitment to pick up the bread before his girlfriend makes the trip from the bedroom to the kitchen.
Ok, so they’re slightly cheesy and the ‘Gymkhana’ antics are a long way short of Ken Block’s best, but for these to come from a global manufacturer is, by local standards, astounding. Enjoy.
What the FRIC, it’s Mercedes again
GOING into the German Grand Prix there was some – admittedly tiny – hope that, with the leading teams forced to scrap FRIC suspension systems deemed potentially illegal by the FIA, the Mercedes’ Silver Arrows-dominated 2014 season might be tossed towards the unpredictability we crave as race fans.
FRIC – Front to Rear Inter-Connected Suspension – has been around in various forms for a long time in Formula One, linking the front and rear suspension of the car with the target of keeping all four corners of the car at a constant ride height under braking, acceleration and during cornering. In essence: superior all-round stability and mechanical grip, with the benefit of easier tyre wear.
A further benefit of FRIC is that cars can be run very low and with very consistent aerodynamics. The suspension can also be stiffer without compromising the overall driver comfort.
In F1 circles there was a feeling, supported by race wins, that Mercedes had created the best of the modern FRIC systems.
In practice at Hockenheim, those earlier hopes that Mercedes might suffer from the hasty suspension revisions were quickly dashed when the Silver Arrows were fastest.
Still, Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull was closer than usual. Until Saturday.
Qualifying quickly dashed the Red Bull optimism. Championship leader Nico Rosberg took pole unchallenged after his brash team-mate Lewis Hamilton suffered an unusual brake failure and crashed out, leaving him 16th in the order.
The Merc-powered Williams of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were second and third on the grid, the McLaren-Merc of Kevin Magnussen fourth, and Ricciardo fifth, ahead of reigning world champ Sebastian Vettel for the seventh time in 10 races this season.
In other words, except for the aberration of Hamilton’s qualifying crash, it was business as usual…
But the race was literally turned on its head moments after the start of the race when Felipe Massa’s Williams flipped after a clip from Magnussen, which also hurt Ricciardo’s race after the West Aussie was forced to take avoidance, dropping to 15th. Wrong place at the wrong time.
“I was on the outside and the collision happened; I had to avoid it,” Ricciardo said later. “From then on I just got on to the radio and said let’s make an amazing recovery and make ourselves proud today. And I think we did that. We fought hard and we didn’t leave anything on the table.”
As Rosberg skipped off into the distance, Ricciardo fought tenaciously back into the points, holding out the equally aggressive Hamilton until the Red Bull pitted for his first tyre tops. A technical issue requiring an in-cockpit re-set was another unwanted distraction for Ricciardo.
A stunning torrid-yet-fair scrap for fifth between Alonso and Ricciardo was a highlight of the latter part of the race, with the Spaniard squeaking in by the small margin of 0.08sec after many changes of position.
“These are the moments and battles that I personally thrive off and enjoy,” enthused Ricciardo. ”Fernando is known to be a tough racer and I thought, who better to have a good fight with. I was on the Primes and he was on fresher Options and I gave it the best fight I could and, well, nearly!”
Alonso was quick to heap praise on the Aussie.
“He’s driving fantastically and today he was battling very smart – always taking the slipstream off me after I pass him and braking very late, attacking very late and never missing a corner.
“He was very, very smart, very respectful with the rules and it was a great fight.”
At the front, it was so easy for all-the-way winner Rosberg, who extended his lead in the championship.
Hamilton, who made contact with three cars during the GP, was thwarted by the poised Bottas in his efforts to nail another Mercedes one-two while Vettel fought hard for his fourth.
Rich kudos for the top six, five of whom drove their hearts out chasing a bloke who had his Merc on cruise control. The loss of FRIC didn’t matter a fig. That was Merc’s ninth win from 10 races.
Power podium at Toronto Indycars
QUEENSLAND’S championship contender Will Power managed a podium in a mad weather-affected race two of the Indycar Series double-header on the streets of Toronto at the weekend, but a modest result (ninth) in the first race means he has slipped back further from series leader Helio Castroneves.
In race one, France’s Sebastien Bourdais (KVSH Chev) converted his first pole for seven years into his first victory in seven years, ahead of Castroneves (Penske Chev).
England’s Mike Conway (Ed Carpenter Chev), always a threat on street courses, prevailed among some varying tyres strategies in the wet/dry second race to grab his second win of the year from Tony Kanaan (Ganassi Chev) and Power (Penske Chev).
Sydney’s Ryan Briscoe, driving a Ganassi Chev, finished 12th and 11th in the two races.
Surprisingly, one-time powerhouse Ganassi Racing is yet to win this year. Kiwi Scott Dixon’s success last October at Houston was the most recent for the team, which has 94 Indycar victories.
Atko wins in China, but Pedder and Evans frustrated in foreign outings
KEEPING his hand in while he awaits a return to the World Rally Championship with Hyundai, Chris Atkinson has scored a handy victory in the three-day Zhangye Rally, a round of the Chinese Rally Championship held in the north of the world’s most populous nation.
Australian rally championship goer Scott Pedder also competed in China, driving a 2WD Golf, but had a troubled weekend.
Pedder took 2WD honours on the opening day despite early fuel dramas.
But day two was over almost as soon as it began: “Going into the very first corner of the first stage I had no brakes at all, and the car went off the road,” reported Pedder. He got going again but fired off soon afterwards.
Fellow Aussie rally star Eli Evans also spent a weekend away from the local scene, competing at Rally Estonia, used by many leading drivers as a warm-up for Rally Finland.
He also had a troubled opening day, overshooting on the fourth stage and collecting a length of barrier under his Honda Civic Type R.
“Apart from the time we lost, we also got a penalty for going through the fence,” said Evans.
“After service we won the next stage but then on the sixth stage, a tightening corner over a crest, I just got it wrong and smacked the bank with the front of the car. It was a pretty hard whack and we damaged the radiator.
“The roads are amazing, extremely fast; you can see why drivers contest this rally in preparation for Rally Finland. I reckon the average speed is probably about 120-130km/h and very challenging, with lots of crests. The roads are wide so I have to keep reminding myself to stay in fifth and sixth gears instead of going down a gear for corners like I would in Australia.”
Evans finished day one in sixth after the penalty was applied, and 27th outright.
The second day began with some fast times before Evans misjudged a fast jump over a crest and cracked the radiator on a heavy landing.
“It is disappointing, but at the same time I was happy with how the rest of the weekend was going. I’m disappointed because I wasn’t able to execute what I came here to do. We showed we have the speed and the car performed really well.”
Gilbert shows speed
AUSSIE Mitch Gilbert qualified an impressive sixth in a hot field of 28 young tearaways contesting the GP3 championship supporting the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.
But the Trident team driver’s reward from two races was an unsatisfactory 14th and a technical-related non-finish.
“My first race was tough,” said Gilbert, who suffered massive tyre degradation. “I’m learning loads, though.”
AUSTRALIAN-market versions of the new C63 will all be equipped with the more powerful version of the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 being developed by AMG.
The engine, codenamed M178, will be capable of delivering up to 375kW at 6250rpm, according to an official teaser video on the forthcoming AMG GT sports car released last month.
At the recent launch of the C-Class Estate, a Mercedes-Benz engineer revealed that the M178 will be produced with two power outputs.
The more powerful, presumably to be labelled ‘S’ in line with current Mercedes-AMG practice, will have an extra 25kW, he said. So expect the full 375kW, and 650Nm torque maximum that goes with it, when the new C63 launches in Australia next year.
Even though Mercedes’ new W205 C-Class family is engineered to combine right-hand drive and all-wheel drive, unlike the previous W204, the new C63 will be produced only in rear-drive form.
The high-power version of the downsized M178 twin-turbo V8 is capable of delivering a fraction more power and a chunk more torque than the hot version of the atmo 6.2-litre V8 in the current C63. In ‘507’ (for its output in horsepower) form, this engine punches out 373kW and 610Nm.
With the new W205 C-Class shedding considerable weight – around 100kg – it’s clear the new C63 will be even quicker than the car it replaces.
The dry-sump twin-turbo M178 engine will also power the much anticipated AMG GT, the smaller and more affordable sports car that will take the place of the SLS.
The engine adopts a layout similar to that chosen by both Audi and BMW for their large twin-turbo V8s, with turbos located inside the engine’s vee.
While the new C63 will use AMG’s familiar seven-speed automatic at launch, it will likely gain an extra two ratios halfway through its production life.
Mercedes-Benz engineers have confirmed the company’s new nine-speed automatic, introduced recently in the E350 BlueTec with V6 turbo-diesel, will in time find its way into all models from C-Class up.
