HEY, did you see the one about the dentist and the gynaecologist? And did you see the one about “Fast and furious: I was fast, she was furious”? And the one about the naked Queensland premier, or the one painted as a Random Breast Testing bus?
Actually, there aren’t too many others we can repeat here. Which is funny, because you can drive along any major highway or into any beach car park and see some of the 1000-vehicle encyclopaedia of Wicked Campers and their off-beat (or beat-off) brand of humour.
Backpackers love these cheeky, cheap-as-chips camper vans as much as politicians and parents hate them. For the latter, the spray-painted themes of boobs, bongs and bent cartoon characters are beyond the pale, adding insult when the vans camp illegally at beaches and public parks.
For adventure-bound backpackers, though, these graffitied beaters promise partying, good vibes and effectively free accommodation, courtesy of their basic interior conversions. Phone apps have now joined the jungle-drum network to inform travellers of parks and beaches with toilets and cooking facilities, and where the arch-enemy council rangers don’t roam.
Wicked was the first of a new generation of camper vehicle, an obvious product of the decade of Grunge. With outsides covered in graffiti and an invitation to do the same inside, Wicked made cheap and dirty a selling proposition. The music, pop culture and drug-taking themes offered a new slant on road-tripping.
From its beginnings in a Brisbane garage in 1998, Wicked is now all over Australia and New Zealand, and spreading in South Africa, South America and southern Europe. Sites are being leased in Los Angeles and France.
But Wicked no longer has the market to itself. Competitor campers, ranging from lightly stickered vans to better-appointed Japanese people-movers, have steered clear of controversy and are putting a big dent in Wicked’s popularity.
Meet Wicked’s mysterious owner and you’ll quickly see why this company is so different. That’s if you can find him. John Webb, 54, could be anywhere on Earth. He’s in the habit of taking off to Santiago or Jo’burg or Los Angeles on a couple of days’ notice, which he admits irks his wife somewhat. We wanted to meet the man – and then to meet the $59-a-day Wicked van, for a road trip to backpacker Mecca (backpecca?), Byron Bay.
Webb is a private figure, but he loves Wicked publicity, and he doesn’t care that it’s usually bad. Within minutes of meeting the mechanic-made-good, it’s clear he’s unconstrained by the usual rule books. His universe is a more naïve one than that of regulation, political correctness and consumer affairs.
If Webb thinks something would be fun, he just does it. Like giving renters a free extra day if they send a nude photo of themselves with their van. Or offering a discounted rate for pot smokers.
“I’m selling an experience,” he says. “You’ve got to have a good energy. People go where they feel good. They go on a holiday, they feel good in the van. So if I have people writing inside these vans, writing crap or philosophy or whatever else, they’re giving a good feeling to other people.
“Stories are everything. People are the greatest value in life, and the stories they tell bring that value.”
Webb’s own childhood was spent in a religious cult. He now follows personal development speakers like Canadian Robin Sharma and sales coach Rod Cartledge, formerly Webb’s Sunday school teacher in the now-defunct Church of God. His conversation often swerves into the spiritual and philosophical.
Webb had started renting cars from his mechanical workshop in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, and soon noticed that travellers paid well for vans because they could sleep in them.
The graffiti idea was simply a money-saver. “Fixing dents is a pain in the arse. So instead of paying money to get the sides fixed, we’d just graffiti over it. And buying second-hand vans that had damage, they were cheaper.”
The first of Wicked’s infamous tailgate slogans came from an employee’s boyfriend. “He suggested: ‘I’m not a gynaecologist, but I’ll have a look’. He was a witty person. Lovely guy. Smokes loads of f––king weed.”
Thankfully, the Wicked fleet is getting tamer these days. To use Wicked imagery, the company copped a two-pronged pull-through in 2009 from A Current Affair and Queensland Transport, but the market inroads being made by more quality-focused rivals hasn’t escaped Webb’s attention.
Our 265,000km-old Mitsubishi Express is bedecked in AC/DC colours, with the tailgate slogan: “You shook me all night long.” I’m aware that the Express was Australia’s last remaining one-star safety vehicle when it was pulled from the market last May. For the ANCAP uninitiated, a one-star rating means you can potentially die of a paper cut just from looking at this vehicle’s brochure.
From marker-pen graffiti inside, we learn that the van was called Cindy, because – well, suffice to say that plenty of people had been through Cindy. Some had documented their journeys along most of Australia’s circumference and into the Red Centre.
Cindy’s engine is strong and willing, though its short gearing makes the cabin ridiculously noisy at 110km/h on the Pacific Highway out of Sydney. At Raymond Terrace, we pull into a pie place. The respectable motor homes and piggy-back campers identify it as a haunt of ‘grey nomads’.
I sense a schism in the brotherhood of travellers. A furrowed grey brow across a steak-and-kidney, a subtle shake of the head that doesn’t quite pass for Parkinson’s. Perhaps I’m just imagining it, but I feel that we are gypsies among gentlefolk.
We carry on towards Port Macquarie, filling up along the way. Our average, no doubt a casualty of aerodynamics, excessive revs and fully functioning air-con, is an unspectacular 11L/100km.
Port Macquarie is a modest 390-odd kilometres from Sydney, yet Wielecki and I are exhausted from the drive. My right foot is atrophied from being hinged above the throttle.
We head for Town Beach, where the public toilet block is left open and the rangers are off-duty from around 4pm to 8am. With rain earlier in the day, there are only a couple of vans in the car park, overseen by the waterfront high-rises.
I remember something Webb had said: “Everyone damages the roofs, so I started painting pictures – Marge giving Homer a blowjob, big penises and vaginas. Think about people living in high-rises in a city, how boring life is. You see something like that, instantly it puts a smile on your face.”
Webb’s new big idea is to build ‘stages’ on the roofs of some of his vans. “You turn up at the beach, it’s a hot night, how lovely to sleep on the roof? That’s about everyone sitting up there, being connected. Enjoying moments together. They can fold the sides up and they can get pissed and not fall off.”
But some might fall off. “Well, I couldn’t do the roofs if I worried about litigation. And I’d think, how much fun couldn’t people have?”
At Flynn’s Beach, we find Port Macquarie Surf School instructor Wayne Hudson packing up his boards. He sees backpackers of all nationalities parking overnight, here and at Town Beach. Few ever seem to cop the $100 per person fine.
“They lock these toilets up here [at Flynn’s Beach], but at Town Beach, you’ll get 20, 30 vans in the summer,” Wayne says. “The only thing is, they just hop out during the night and urinate. I get there at 6am to drop the trailer off and the sun’s just hit it and it’s like, woooo! But if it rains in the arvo, it’s all good.”
At the caravan park, Ian Edwards tell us plenty of backpackers ask him if it’s illegal to park at the beaches. “I always say yeah, it’s illegal, and the fine’s gonna be a lot more than 28 bucks a night,” Ian laughs. For that, they can get an unpowered site with access to the toilets and camp kitchen.
Wielecki and I swing open the tailgate to inspect our accommodation, a simple pre-fab formula of joinery with false floor panels that form the bed base, and lift off to become table tops and to expose under-bed storage. Webb designed it so that up to eight people can sit inside, facing each other. “You’re having high-value moments in life just sitting, chilling with people, drinking, talking shit. It’s about connecting. Kids have gotta be close together and all enjoying the moment.”
Wielecki and I wordlessly agree that we need separate motel rooms to enjoy the moment.
Next morning, heading north, we see a sister Wicked camper, in Magical Mystery Tour graffiti. But we see several more of Wicked’s competitor campers: the green and purple Jucy, the stickered Hippie, the orange Spaceships, the restrained Travellers Autobarns.
In Coffs Harbour, the local Coffs Coast Advocate has been lit up lately with stories about campers that park illegally on the jetty foreshore. Seems there are two kinds of law-breaker: the kindly grey nomads who spend their superannuation in town and enjoy the sophistication of showers and Thetford cassette toilets in their RVs; and the backpackers who leave mounds of detritus behind.
We have torrential rain for the last hour into Byron Bay. I accelerate past a Hippie Camper, its dweeby-looking driver grimacing as we leave him in our spray. “Yeah, we’re Wicked dudes and we drive too fast, Poindexter!” I shout.
There’s no shortage of street knowledge about where to camp illegally in Byron Bay. The town’s rangers are wise to them all, and are firm but fair in enforcing the rules. A sought-after and legal spot is the car park of the Art Factory Backpackers Lodge where, for $30, van drivers have access to the great, rambling lodge for everything bar sleeping.
Jucy rentals and privately owned vans are predominant in the car park. We later learn that Jucy has set up discount deals with lodges around the country. Their customers can stay here for $8.50, instead of $30.
The dominant nationality among the travellers is German, as they’re the ones best able to afford our strong dollar. Anna, Freddie and Vincent are sharing a long-wheelbase HiAce pop-top. With five months to travel, they opted to buy this one for $5000 in Cairns.
I recall that their choice would have met with Webb’s approval. “When I bought all new vehicles in 2002, if I’d paid the extra for HiAces, they’d be still great vehicles now,” Webb had told me. “Timing chains, f–k-all maintenance. HiAces are that good.”
Our trio had been taking advantage of their Wikicamps app. “We found a place in the middle of Brisbane where we could sleep for a few days,” Anna says. “There are parks where there are toilets and drinking water. There were people who’ve been living there for a few months, in their cars.”
Legitimate caravan parks, we were later told, are an increasingly scarce commodity, as many are being redeveloped into over-50s retirement estates.
Dutch dudes Chris and Koen are renting a Travellers Autobarn van for three weeks, at $65 per day. The two friends were celebrating having finished their Masters in Entrepreneurship and New Business Venturing. But they hadn’t stopped learning.
“A guy told us, if you get caught sleeping in your van, just tell the police that you were partying and got too drunk to go to another place. ‘Wasn’t it better to sleep in the parking lot than to drive while I was drunk, officer?’”
Parked nearby, we meet Dom, Frederik and Pascal. Incredibly, they had been travelling together already for eight months, covering the west coast in a Pajero. They’re spending the next 12 months travelling in a Texta-decorated Ford Econovan named Bobby. “When you start it up, it smokes like Bob Marley,” Dom explains, helpfully.
They ride three-abreast in the front and sleep like sardines in the back. Usually, Dom says, they just pull up where they like and wait to get chased away. “They come in the night and bang on the side: ‘Go away! No camping!’ Then they come back in 15 minutes, so you just go to another beach.”
We, meanwhile, wimped it to another motel. Waking early, we drive Cindy to the Byron beachfront. A few clouds fleck the perfect blue sky; surfers ride the lazy waves beneath us. Byron soothes with a spiritual energy. Being here, it soon ceases to matter where you came from, how you got here, or what you’re sleeping in.
BMW’S obsession with mining new and undiscovered niches on a seemingly monthly basis has resulted in the 4 Series Gran Coupe, on sale now from $70,000 for the base 420i.
The F36 Gran Coupe is not a two-door in the conventional sense, but rather a five-door liftback version of the current F30 3 Series sedan.
Its swoopier, sportier style is important, and not just because it helps produce a strikingly slippery 0.27Cd drag co-efficiency rating.
Since BMW says the 4GC is aimed directly at Audi’s successful A5 Sportback (an A4 spinoff), it wears the more exclusive 4 Series nomenclature also worn by the two-door Coupe and Convertible models.
Don’t forget, there are already two 3 Series-badged five-door models built off the same architecture – the rather dumpy and near-invisible 3 Series Gran Turismo hatch and the Touring wagon. Yes, we’re slightly bewildered, too.
Not surprisingly, the 4GC comes with a price premium – $500 more than the equivalent 420i Coupe and $9500 more than the 320i Sedan that – at first glance – the newcomer resembles.
But the 4GC seats five people (at a pinch) rather than the Coupe’s four, and comes with a standard electric tailgate.
It also has nearly $10K worth of extra features over a 320i Sedan, such as a Sport Line package (Modern and Luxury lines are also available at no extra cost) with 18-inch alloys and leather upholstery, a rear-view camera, bi-xenon headlights and an upgraded sat-nav system.
That’s on top of the regular items including idle-stop, regenerative braking, front and rear parking sensors, climate control air-con, electric front seat adjustment and full Bluetooth phone and audio streaming connectivity.
The 4GC shadows the Coupe at 4638mm long and 1825mm wide, and sits on an identical 2810mm wheelbase, but the roofline is 112mm taller to aid entry and egress.
Being a liftback, the 4GC has a practical side, with 480 litres of cargo volume, equalling the Sedan and bettering the Coupe by 35L, but falling 40L shy of the 3GT. Tipping the split-fold rear backrests down increases the load space to 1300L.
Like other 4 Series models, the 4GC offers four turbo engines, all driving the rear wheels via a ZF-supplied eight-speed automatic transmission.
Both the 420i and the 420d turbo-diesel (from $72,300) use 2.0-litre four-cylinder units.
The petrol version puts out 135kW and 270Nm for a 0-100km/h-sprint time of 7.6 seconds and consumes 6.1 litres per 100km.
The diesel delivers the same 135kW, but torque is much higher at 380Nm, cutting the 0-100km/h time by 0.1sec. The diesel also wins the economy race, returning 4.6L/100km.
Unfortunately, neither of these were available to drive at the 4GC launch in Melbourne this week, so we steered the $81,000 428i and the $109,000 435i flagship.
Expected to be the volume seller of the range, the 428i GC sticks with 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo power, but with the wick turned up to 180kW and 350Nm for a 6.0sec sprint time and 6.4L/100km consumption.
The 435i, powered by a 225kW/400Nm 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder, cuts the sprint time to 5.2sec and consumption is rated at 7.6L/100km.
We can understand why most BMW traditionalists would choose the straight-six turbo, since its engine note is as seductive as the speed, which is instantly accessible when you slot the gear lever (and Drive Mode switch) into Sport and stomp on the accelerator.
In the right conditions, the 435i GC slashes distances with astounding insouciance, backed up by fluid, precise handling, exceptional grip and an unexpectedly absorbent ride quality from the Bridgestone Potenza rubber (225/40 R19 up front and 225/35 R19 in the rear).
As with most contemporary BMWs, the (electric) steering is defined by a degree of muted feedback, but there is nothing wrong with the 4GC’s ability to be placed exactly where you need it to be mid-corner.
If you need a rousing, rapid and refined mid-size sedan-cum-liftback with a useful cargo configuration, then look no further.
However, the cheaper 428i GC – even with the $2000 M Sport wheel and tyre option – is almost as fast in the real world, if not quite as mechanically mellifluous, with a lighter and sharper edge to the way it feels and drives.
What it lacks in mid-range grunt and growl, the 55kg-lighter four-pot screamer makes up for in better agility and response through fast, tight turns, leveraging the advantages of a near 50:50 weight distribution.
Away from the laid-back Eco Pro and Comfort modes, the 428i is right up there for point-and-shoot performance.
At first, we were sceptical – and the entry-level pricing is still steep at $70K, despite the added value – but there is a cohesiveness to the way the 428i and 435i GCs drive that makes them somewhat more beguiling than expected.
If nothing else, the 4 Series Gran Coupe stands out from the sea of 3 Series sedans plying our roads.
Model: BMW F36 428i Gran Coupe
Plus: Steering; handling; performance; design Minus: Fat B-pillar is a blind-spot nightmare; exxy options
Engine: 1997cc in-line 4 cylinder, dohc, turbo Max power: 180kW @ 5000rpm Max torque: 350Nm @ 1250-4800rpm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Weight: 1530kg 0-100km/h: 6.0sec Fuel consumption: 6.4L/100km Price: $81,000 plus ORCs On sale: Now
HARLEY-DAVIDSON has shocked the two-wheeled world by unveiling its first electric motorcycle, called ‘Project LiveWire’.
But fear not yet, purists, because it remains a concept bike at this stage to gauge public reaction.
Should it get the production green light, the comparatively quiet LiveWire will represent a watershed moment in the iconic Milwaukee brand’s 111-year history, which has been conservatively built on old-school grunty V-twin engines and heavyweight cruisers.
“Project LiveWire is more like the first electric guitar – not an electric car,” Harley-Davidson senior vice president and chief marketing officer Mark-Hans Richer said.
“It’s an expression of individuality and iconic style that just happens to be electric.
“Project LiveWire is a bold statement for us as a company and a brand.”
Harley claims the electric bike offers “a visceral riding experience with tyre-shredding acceleration and an unmistakable new sound”.
“The sound is a distinct part of the thrill,” Richer said. “Think fighter jet on an aircraft carrier.
“Project LiveWire’s unique sound was designed to differentiate it from internal combustion [engines] and other electric motorcycles on the market.”
By that Richer means the likes of compatriot rival Zero, which currently offers five electric models in Australia, priced between $19,490 for the FX enduro model and $25,490 for the SR naked flagship.
While the LiveWire looks production-ready, technical details such as battery range remain slim.
The ‘demonstrator’ is understood to be powered by a three-phase induction motor delivering 55kW (74hp) and 70Nm of torque, which – if correct – is actually significantly less than the Zero SR (50kW/144Nm).
The bike features a lithium-ion battery that’s tipped to have a maximum capacity of 14kWh and a recharge time of about 3.5 hours in the US (220-volt input port), according to H-D.
With an instant hit of torque from an electric motor, however, the LiveWire will still be blindingly quick, with a 0-100km/h sprint time of about four seconds.
Select US customers will from next week be able to ride and provide feedback on the bike, with the water-testing road show expanding into Canada and Europe next year.
“Because electric vehicle technology is evolving rapidly, we are excited to learn more from riders through the Project LiveWire Experience,” Richer said.
GOOGLE will battle Apple for control of the in-car dashboard with software that will blur the lines between smartphone and vehicle.
The software, which is expected to make its debut later this month at Google’s annual developer love-in, will compete with Apple’s CarPlay revealed at this year’s Detroit motor show.
Apple’s version of the software is already rolling out via several premium and luxury brands including Volvo, Mercedes-Benz Ferrari and Jaguar, and more mainstream brands including Honda, Subaru and Hyundai.
It allows users to integrate their smartphones with their cars, controlling functions such as phone and satellite navigation via Siri, Apple’s voice-based software.
It also allows the car makers to skimp on equipment such as satellite navigation and radio systems, with the car able to piggyback off the smartphone’s mobile phone network-based internet connection to provide web-based services instead.
Google’s system is being developed as part of an alliance formed early this year between car makers, including Audi and General Motors, and video hardware specialist Nvidia to provide connectivity between smartphones running Apple iOS-rivalling Android software, which is owned by the software giant.
The alliance said it would launch its first in-car products by the end of this year.
“We’re working with our partners to enable better integration between cars and Android devices in order to create a safer, car-optimised experience,” the Open Automotive Alliance said.
“We’re also developing new Android platform features that will enable the car itself to become a connected Android device.”
BMW will this month launch its ConnectedDrive application in Australia that will provide a number of in-car services using the mobile phone network’s internet data via a chip built into the car’s electronics.
Services available to BMW owners include the ability to listen to emails and answer via voice, Google searches, and news and weather feeds.
The system will also allow BMW to monitor a car’s health, and contact an owner when a service is due or a problem is flagged.
However, the captive service will cost owners up to $1200 a year, with a minimum annual spend of $690.
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VICTORIA’S most vulnerable road users will soon have access to some of the safest and most fuel-efficient cars in Australia under sweeping changes to laws governing what P-platers can drive.
However, while the changes due in July will be welcomed by newly licensed drivers in need of small, fuel-miserly hatchbacks, the proposed changes also potentially open the door to high-end performance SUVs.
Victorian Roads Minister Terry Mulder this week announced that from July this year, rules governing what P-platers could drive would change from an effective blanket ban covering almost all turbocharged petrol-engined cars, and V8s, to a single benchmark based on a vehicle’s power-to-weight ratio.
The 130 kilowatt-per-tonne limit on vehicles built from 2010 will give P-platers access to thousands of previously banned new vehicles, ranging from a 63kW two-cylinder turbocharged Fiat 500 right up to a 179kW four-cylinder Ford Falcon.
However, it also opens the door to vehicles such as a 5.6-litre V8-engined Nissan Patrol with 298kW on tap, a 245kW twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6-engined Mercedes-Benz ML400 that is faster to 100km/h than a hot hatch, and a hybrid-engined Porsche Cayenne featuring a supercharged V6 under its bonnet.
“In the past, all eight cylinder cars and any petrol powered cars with a turbo or supercharger were banned,” Victorian Roads Minister Terry Mulder said this week announcing the change.
“These days, many manufacturers are using small or medium-sized turbocharged or supercharged engines to deliver improved fuel consumption.
“We’re changing to a simpler system where P-platers are banned from driving vehicles that have a power-to-weight ratio of more than 130 kilowatts of power per tonne.
“These are practical changes that recognise that some smaller cars have turbo as standard now, for example, while making sure P-Platers don’t drive cars that big and built for speed.
“It will not matter how many cylinders the vehicle has, what fuel type the vehicle uses, or whether the vehicle is turbo or supercharged.
“What matters is the engine size relative to the size of the car.”
The change to the way cars are approved for P-platers will also allow them to jump behind the wheel of performance vehicles such as hot hatches, which match small turbocharged engines to sports-honed chassis set-ups.
Once-banned vehicles including Volkswagen’s 132kW Polo GTI and 169kW Golf GTI Performance, the Renault Clio Renault Sport 200 Trophy, Skoda’s Octavia RS, Ford’s 134kW Fiesta ST and the 184kW Focus ST all qualify as first-time drivers’ cars.
According to the new ruling, a P-plate driver will even be able to jump behind the wheel of a twin-turbo 6.6-litre V12-engined Rolls-Royce Phantom saloon.
On the flip side, new drivers with a green tinge will get access to some of the most fuel-efficient and environmentally clean cars on the market – the likes of the 0.9-litre twin-cylinder Fiat Panda that sips just 4.2L/100km, a Porsche Panamera hybrid that, at 3.1L/100km, drinks less fuel than a Toyota Prius, and a Fiat 500 that uses only 3.9L/100km.
According to Mr Mulder, the lack of restrictions on large SUVs will help young people in regional areas to find work in areas dominated by tough off-road vehicles.
BENTLEY has celebrated its first factory-backed victory in Britain in 84 years in the only way it knows how – by building a road-going version of the car that also claims the title of the fastest-accelerating Flying B-badged car yet.
The Continental GT3-R, built to celebrate the British luxury marque’s victory at the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Silverstone earlier this year, is the fastest-accelerating Bentley, sprinting from 0-100km/h in just 3.8sec – beating a special edition of the rag-top Continental built to celebrate the car maker’s claim on the ice speed record for a production vehicle by 0.2sec.
Only 300 of the two-seat sports cars will be made, and all will feature a race-honed version of the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 tickled to produce a W12-rivalling 426kW of power – well up on the current bent-eight’s 373kW – and 700Nm of torque.
All that performance will feed to all four of the Bentley’s wheels, which will use torque vectoring for the first time to push the GT3-R around corners by forcing more drive to the outside rear wheel.
Deleting the rear seats contributes to a 100kg weight saving over the 2.3-tonne Continental GT and combines with shorter gearing on the eight-speed gearbox to bolster performance.
“Together with modified electronic stability control and a chassis tune optimised for outright cornering ability, the Continental GT3‑R is the most dynamic, responsive and involving Bentley road car ever,” the car maker said in a statement.
Bentley says the engine is fitted with precision-honed high-boost turbochargers and newly developed engine control software to liberate its 426kW at 6000rpm and 700Nm from 1700rpm.
“Recalibrated control software means that Drive and Sport modes are moved further apart, each with different characteristics and with Sport mode designed for more spirited driving,” it said.
“A soundtrack appropriate to the new levels of performance is provided by an all-new titanium exhaust, which not only provides a weight saving of 7kg but also has allowed Bentley’s acoustic engineers to give the GT3-R a unique baritone roar.”
The Continental GT3-R’s air springs and dampers use a development of the sports-tuned set-up from the Continental V8 S, and it wears lightweight forged 21-inch wheels with high-grip Pirelli tyres.
A more aggressive splitter under the front air dam and a bootlid-mounted wing – both made from lightweight carbonfibre – add to downforce, while a pair of vents cut into the bonnet help with feeding cooling air into the engine bay.
Stopping power is provided by a carbon silicon carbide braking system, with eight-piston calipers wrapped around 420mm front discs (356mm at the rear).
Inside, it is still a Bentley, although with racecar-inspired carbonfibre and leather highlights, including a pair of sports bucket seats with extra side bolstering.
If you’re sitting there counting your cash, don’t worry about colour selection. The Continental GT3-R will only come in white with British Racing Green highlights to mimic the winning racecar.
FERRARI has surprised with the announcement that its potent new turbocharged California roadster will have an Australian sticker price of $409,888 – some $50,000 less than the outgoing non-turbo model.
Ferrari expects the first California Ts to be delivered to Australian customers late this year.
The California T receives a number of changes over the six-year-old original, most notably the switch to an all-new 3.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that propels the car from 0-100km in just 3.6 seconds, four-tenths faster than before.
The new engine produces 412kW and 755Nm, a considerable step up from the 338kW/485Nm of the current 4.3-litre non-turbo V8.
It is also more economical, returning an official fuel consumption figure of 10.5L/100km compared to 13.1L/100km.
Styling changes include a Ferrari F12-inspired front end update and a new triple-finned rear diffuser with horizontal exhaust pipes that addresses criticism of the original rear end.
The California retains its folding hardtop.
Ferrari Australasia CEO Herbert Appleroth said at this week’s local launch that demand for the car will, as usual, outstrip supply, with a waiting list of about two years.
“It’s a conscious decision since Enzo Ferrari created our company; he always said to produce one car less than demand,” he said.
Significantly, the California T is the first turbocharged production Ferrari since the F40 went out of production in 1992.
Webber shines as Audi wins Le Mans, again
THE potential of a fairytale Mark Webber and Porsche victory – or at least a podium – looked a distinct possibility with less than four hours remaining of an at times chaotic 82nd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Toyota onslaught had evaporated after a solid early flourish. The car that had controlled the race for so long dropped out with 10 hours remaining.
The Japanese giant is still to win the world’s greatest sports car classic.
Then the well-drilled Audi squad, so accustomed to scoring wins at Le Mans, got the staggers.
This brought into play the slower but steady Porsche 919 Hybrid of Webber and his team mates; Brendon Hartley, the Kiwi with the unfriendly barber, and Germany’s Timo Bernhard.
With an hour and 40 minutes to the end, Webber, who was at the wheel and second overall, slowed down on the circuit but managed to get back to the pits. The Porsche was retired with terminal drivetrain problems.
It was a crushing disappointment after a gallant return to Le Mans for Webber, whose previous outing at the classic in 1999 ended before the race with bruises and an accumulation of Mercedes-Benz frequent flyer points.
“The last 22 hours or so have been incredible for the whole team,” the ex-Formula One star commented when he emerged from the stricken car.
“To get this car that far is a great achievement and we learnt a lot today. It was an honour to share the car with Timo and Brendon, who both did a phenomenal job.
“We got very close to getting a podium, but then had some noise in the engine. This wasn’t what we expected to fail as the engine has been going very well in testing. We had some issues with other parts, but they were running very well.
“There weren’t many safety cars today, which is tough on the engine, with a lot of full throttle. When you look at Audi and Toyota… no one had a smooth run. It is a really tough race to put together.
“I am a better driver here in Le Mans than I was 24 hours ago and it was a good experience.
“We will come back stronger next year – that’s, of course, the goal. But, as Toyota have shown, there are no guarantees at Le Mans; it’s a very tough race to win.”
After being outrun on pace for more than half the race, and hampered by turbo problems affecting both its cars, Audi celebrated a stunning 13th Le Mans victory.
Audi’s #2 R18 e-tron quattro driven by Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler, which had earlier lost 23 minutes while a new turbocharger was fitted, found a measure of speed and reliability to see off surviving rivals.
All three factory prototype manufacturers had times of glory in the lead, but technical issues struck each of the front-running cars and kept the outcome in doubt in a race of madly fluctuating fortunes.
The #1 Audi of Tom Kristensen, Marc Gene and Lucas di Grassi scrambled back from setbacks to take second, with the #8 Toyota of Nicolas Lapierre, Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson also rebounding from a very early crash on a rain-drenched track.
Perth businessman Stephen Wyatt, who shared an AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia with Michele Rugolo (Italy) and Sam Bird (Britain) had mixed fortunes, qualifying fastest in GT-E-Am but sidelined after just 22 laps of the race.
Aussies tackle Nurburgring 24 Hour
NEXT weekend marks another 24-hour Euro enduro, the annual grind around the 25km iconic Nurburgring course.
Among the nine Aussies entered is Mal Rose, back for his 11th consecutive crack, driving an Aston Martin N430 GT entered by the A-M Test Centre.
The vastly experienced Rose is sharing the #70 GT with Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez, test centre manager Wolfgang Schubauer and fellow Australian Peter Leemhuis.
Other prominent Australians entered include Ric Shaw and Paul Stubber in Porsches.
Last year’s race, won by Mercedes Benz for the first time, was red flagged for all of nine hours due to rain. That one should have been called the 15 Hours of Nurburging.
Ambrose eyes chance to shine in NASCAR
WHILE fascinating talk continues that Roger Penske is hunting him to return home to drive in a new team in the 2015 V8 Supercars Championship, Marcos Ambrose is enduring a NASCAR Sprint Cup season low on highlights in his Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.
His 15 starts this year have produced just two Top Five results and he sits 23rd in the standings.
At the weekend, the 37-year-old Tasmanian qualified 20th for the Quicken Loans 400 around the 2.0-mile Michigan International Speedway, finishing 25th.
Next weekend’s road course race at Sonoma, California, represents Ambrose’s best chance to notch a win and a prized ticket into the Chase for the championship.
However, his advantage in experience of road courses enjoyed when he first jumped into NASCAR has largely evaporated with so many of his rivals now well-versed in turning right as well as left.
MARK Webber says he never had a shot at winning the Le Mans 24 Hours, despite leading the race with just two hours to go.
The Aussie looked perfectly placed to snatch an unlikely victory from race heavyweights Audi and Toyota, but was cruelly robbed of an astonishing result when the engine in his Porsche 919 failed.
Victory, though, was never on the cards, with Webber telling Wheels he didn’t have the raw speed to hold off eventual race winners Audi.
“No, not at all,” said Webber, just minutes after climbing from his broken Porsche. “We knew it was going to be a slow kill towards the end there. We had a chance to lift the pace if we wanted to, but nowhere near enough to react as much as that. We were happy with the steps. That would have been a big day for us.”
But, despite the lack of silverware, a clearly gutted Webber says he’s leaving Le Mans with his head held high.
“We had a f–king great day out there today,” he said, “and I’m really proud, mate. There’s no guarantees in racing, but we walk out of here with our chins up. The man-hours that have gone in to get to that level are just astronomical and they’ve [Porsche] absolutely busted themselves and got within a sniff of a pretty special result.”
It was a tough race for Webber and his teammates, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley. After qualifying fourth, a broken front roll bar at the five-hour mark hampered the Porsche’s handling.
“We had an issue from about eight o’clock last night; we just could not get the balance,” said Webber. “Something was wrong with the front, but it would have taken us a long time to change it, so we just had to press on. We obviously lost a lot of speed there in the car, so we just kept doing quadruple stints.
“We just said, ‘Okay, let’s try and make the tyres work’; the pace wasn’t quite there, so we had to try and do something different. And it was working, but then, yeah, looks like the engine has got a bit tired in the end.”
It’s a reliability weakness Webber says Porsche will perfect next year, with the Aussie confident he’ll return stronger come 2015.
“I’m leaving here a hell of a better Le Mans racer than yesterday,” he said. “We did a few things we’ll do differently next time for sure; that’s how it is, you just learn. You can’t go and test for Le Mans anywhere else, you have to do it here and that’s why Audi have got a decent manual.
“So I’ll have a few beers with the boys tonight; I think they have to. We’re feeling very gutted and there’s a lot of good things about that because there’s no embarrassment. We’re proud.
“Porsche can leave here and know it was a pretty decent crack. That was a decent effort. We made our presence felt. Audi and Toyota knew we were there and for us to be on the steps was a friggin’ good effort.”
THINK of it as Mazda’s version of the Golf GTD, but with a less concise and informative badge.
Although XD Astina isn’t an especially snappy name, this Mazda 3 hatchback aims for sporty efficiency. Or should that be efficient sportiness? Whichever, it works.
Round Mazda’s Mine proving ground, a former racetrack in south-western Japan, the Mazda 3 XD Astina was fast and fun.
It is powered by the familiar turbocharged 2.2-litre four-cylinder SkyActiv-D engine.
The Japanese engine’s maximum outputs are 129kW and 420Nm, which stand comparison with the 135kW and 380Nm of VW’s latest turbo 2.0-litre diesel four in the current Golf VII GTD.
Driving the XD Astina around Mine was, firstly, a reminder of the importance of weight. The turbo-diesel 3 is at least 200kg lighter than any other Mazda with the engine.
The 6 and CX-5 both seem lively enough with SkyActiv-D power, but the lighter 3 really flies. Right from its quiet idle to past the tachometer’s growly 5000rpm redline is one impressively relentless surge.
But the redline is a place you don’t need to go. Traction is best found by using higher gears. Fewer of the engine’s rampaging herd of Newton-metres are wasted this way.
Two laps of an unfamiliar circuit wasn’t enough to learn enough about the car’s handling, but it seems well balanced and reasonably responsive. Torque steer doesn’t seem to be a problem, either.
The XD Astina will offer a choice of manual or automatic six-speed transmissions.
Our Mine test car was an auto, and it worked well. Shift quality was fine, and the car’s adaptive transmission control software swiftly figured out the car was being driven aggressively and altered shifting to suit.
While Mazda has offered diesel versions of the 3 in Australia in the past, the lack of an auto has always limited appeal and sales.
The new XD Astina will obviously eradicate this problem, at the same time as delivering official fuel consumption test results beginning at around 5.0L/100km.
But the car will be relatively expensive.
The Mazda 3 XD Astina hatchback – no sedan will be imported – will cost more than the similarly equipped petrol-powered SP25 Astina hatch. Around $40,000, then, which is probably a little less than Volkswagen would ask for a Golf GTD, if it sold one in Australia.
