In what’s quickly becoming a crowded segment, Mercedes-Benz has joined the baby SUV party with this – it’s all-new GLA.
Officially unveiled before its world debut at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the GLA will be pitched against rivals like the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and the Range Rover Evoque.
Based on the A-Class platform, the GLA will likely be sold in both front-wheel and four-wheel-drive guises with a range of turbocharged petrol and diesel engines.
The base GLA200 will use either a 115kW/250Nm 1.6-litre petrol or 100kW/300Nm 1.8-litre diesel, while the range-topping GLA45 AMG will boast the same 265kW 2.0-litre petrol as the performance-focused A45 AMG hot-hatch and CLA45 AMG four-door coupe.
Expected to hit Aussie roads in the second quarter of 2014, GLA prices should start at around $45,000 with early predictions tipping it to be one of Mercedes’ best-selling models.
BMW’s new halo driver’s coupe – the M4 – has been unveiled in near-production-ready trim.
The Bavarian company unveiled this M4 concept at the annual Pebble Beach Concours overnight, giving us the best look yet at the replacement to the iconic M3 coupe.
No power figures were confirmed, but it’s understood the M4 will drop the existing M3’s naturally aspirated V8 for a more powerful, turbocharged inline six expected to churn out 336kW.
Expect more details to be unveiled at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, but until then, check out the images and tell us what you think.
Mazda has just ripped the covers off this – the new Mazda 3 sedan.
Revealed months after its hugely popular hatch sibling, Mazda expects the sedan to account for 50 percent of all 3 sales.
Identical to the hatch in everything bar the styling of its rear, the new sedan will arrive Down Under in early 2014 with pricing yet to be confirmed.
While no dollar figures were mentioned, Mazda did reveal both the sedan and hatch would be priced similarly, meaning the decision between the two siblings will be based solely on styling.
Like the hatch, the sedan gets Mazda’s new ‘Kodo’ design language which includes a reworked front-end featuring a new five-point grill.
Drivetrain options are identical, with Mazda offering the choice of a 114kW/200Nm 2.0-litre or 138kW/250Nm 2.5-litre petrol engine mated to a conventional six-speed manual or automatic. A 129kW/420Nm 2.2-litre diesel is also planned.
Inside the Mazda 3 boats a premium-feel cabin, with high-end models featuring a head-up-display and 7-inch central multimedia screen.
Zoom Zoom fans rejoice, Mazda is planning a new ‘halo’ performance car to be introduced after 2016.
With the rotary-powered RX-8 out of production and the Japanese brand revealing today it has no plans to offer a hot MPS version of its new 3, Mazda’s range is worryingly short of a hardcore performance variant.
But speaking exclusively to Wheels at the reveal of the new 3 sedan, Mazda MD Martin Benders revealed there are plans within the company to build a new ‘halo sports car’.
“Look I agree it’s important for Mazda to have a performance model”, he said. “And head office is very aware of that as well. So everyone is on board to build one, it’s just a matter of what it will be and when it will be.”
Benders wouldn’t be drawn on any details, but did reveal the model could feature all-wheel-drive or a performance-tuned engine.
“I’ve heard all sorts of things so I don’t know which one they’ll go with,” he said. “But the beauty of us having a range of new platforms and engines means we can mix and match what we want to build a new halo model. So whether that means all-wheel-drive or something else we’ll have to wait and see.”
The one thing Benders could confirm, however, is the halo model is unlikely to be a rotary.
“The rotary isn’t stone cold dead, but to make it a normal engine again requires quite a lot of investment and that’s expensive,” he said. “It’d need a whole new engine line, it can’t go on our existing infrastructure. So I suspect it’s unlikely to reappear, which is sad but economic and environmental realities, which dictate we have to us less fuel, show a harsh reality.”
But while news of a halo car sounds promising, don’t expect to see it anytime soon. Benders revealed the company plans to overhaul its current range before any new performance model hits showrooms.
“The investment we’ve made recently into new platforms and SkyActiv technology needs to show a return before we can do anything,” he said. “So we need to get all of the base elements of the business sorted first then we’ll look into it.
“So we’re fixing up everything they’ve got now, turning over all our existing models – including MX-5 – to the new models and then we’d look to round out the range with a halo sports car. But that won be until after 2016.”
Ford’s Everest Concept SUV has been unveiled to world here in Australia. The international debut for the Everest Concept took place at a major Ford event held at Fox Studios in Sydney yesterday. Led by Ford Australia CEO Bob Graziano with Ford Global president Alan Mulally also in attendance the ‘Go Further’ event was designed to show Ford’s commitment to Australia.
With more than 800 people in attendance including dealers and press the announcement also showcased Ford’s upcoming and new vehicles including the Fiesta ST, Mondeo, Ecosport baby SUV and the Transit. Falcon was also mentioned briefly and a quick teaser clip was shown giving away little about the look apart from showing the new Ford family trapezoidal grille and sleeker headlights.
The grand finale of the event though was the world premiere of the Everest SUV which as Mullaly proclaimed: “Was designed right here in Australia.” As reported also yesterday, a right-hand drive Mustang has been confirmed for Australia which will fill the performance car gap left open when production of the Falcon ends in 2016.
For endurance swimmers it’s the English Channel, for sailors; a solo round the world voyage. For trekkies it’s the Kokoda Track and for mountaineers; Everest. Each discipline has its own apogee for those who understand their time on earth is but a brief shaft of light between two eternal walls of darkness. And have the desire to achieve the ultimate victory in their chosen pursuit. For cross-country moto riders this is the Dakar; two gruelling weeks traversing some of the most inhospitable territory on the planet.
As a 16 year old representing Australia in the 1998 International Six Day Trial, the Dakar was not on Grabbo’s radar so he turned to flat track, supermotard and enduro; culminating in outright victory in the 2002 Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE). At the time Glenn Hoffman Racing was the team to beat in cross-country racing and Grabbo scored back-to-back wins in the Condo 750 – the first on a Honda XR650 the second on a new wave Honda CRF450X.
When the Safari was rebirthed in Western Australia in 2007 it was Grabbo who took a hard fought win, adding to his victories in the Australian Off Road Championship, Hattah, Condo and Finke. He made it back-to-back wins the following year earning the title ‘King of the Desert’ and KTM’s Team Manager Brad Williscroft was quick to sign up the 26 year old star to be immediately rewarded with KTM’s first Finke win since 2003.
Fast forward through further wins at Finke, the Safari, Hattah, Ebeneezer and the Gascoyne Dash; there was little Grabbo hadn’t won and then, contesting the 2012 Condo 750, he suffered the fate every cross-country racer dreads – hitting a kangaroo with his bike tapped out in top (Grabbo’s not the roo’s). The resulting spinal injuries took time to heal but six months later Grabbo was match fit and focussed on the ultimate challenge – Dakar. A test session in the Rally of Morocco was curtailed due to food poisoning but backed by the HSE mining group and with the support of KTM Australia Grabbo headed to South America.
“Now looking back on Dakar there were several days I could have pushed harder” he explained “then I suffered GPS and rear brake problems. But we just wanted to finish so we could put into practice what we learnt.” Despite this, Grabbo cracked 15th outright and was second rookie to finish. Immediately a top ten was on his hit list, though he stops short of predicting a podium. For now anyway.
Post Dakar, his 2013 campaign kicked off with a repeat win in the Quit Forest Rally on a new KTM 450SXF; the same machine he’ll ride in the Aussie Four Day Enduro. A set back at Finke last month didn’t prevent Grabbo from runaway wins in both legs of the first round of the rich West Aussie Desert Tri-Series the following weekend on a Kato 500EXC. With a $20,000 bonus should a rider take out all three events, Grabbo will be earning a lot of frequent flyer points over the next few months. Come October, he’ll swap the 450SXF/500EXC combo for the heavy duty KTM 450 Rallye Replica to take on the OiLibya Rally in Morocco as a prelude to the 2014 Dakar. “All the machines put out much the same power” explains Ben “though with all the navigation electronics, tools, emergency water supply and massive fuel load, riding the Rallye is like having two of me aboard. My set up is much the same but the Rallye is built to handle ten or more hours in the saddle every day for two weeks. And carrying all that weight the bike won’t let you get away with things you might survive on the SXF or the EXC.”
Come Dakar 2014, Grabbo will align more closely with the official KTM combine who are out to consolidate their dominance; now under threat from current champion Cyril Despres who has defected to Yamaha and a resurgent Honda HRC. And despite his low key approach Grabbo is Australia’s best chance of a top result since Andy Caldecott’s tragic death back in 2006.
Forget trains that travel at 500km/h – the boss of Tesla, Elon Musk, reckons he can build a train that will hit…1300km/h.
Sounds farfetched right? Wait until you hear the rest of his plan.
Called the Hyperloop, Musk’s idea is to build an all-new, high-speed transport system that will connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in just half an hour.
And while it might look like a train, Musk says it’s something else altogether.
Tripped to cost $6.57 billion to build, the proposed Hyperloop will run on a tube system, not rails, and propel itself on a cushion of air caused by extremely low air pressure – essentially a vacuum.
But while its science is complicated, the biggest question surrounding the Hyperloop is who will build it?
Musk says he could himself, theorising his team could complete a prototype within two years and that tickets would cost just $22 per trip.
But while he’s convinced he could do it, Musk says he won’t. He’s too busy making electric cars apparently…
For now the plans for the Hyperloop are on the open market which means anyone can improve or change them.
All you’ll need is $6.57 billion to build it.
Yeehah! As first broken by Wheels magazine three weeks ago, Ford Australia’s has today confirmed its iconic pony car – the Ford Mustang – is coming to Australia.
Seen above in our exclusive rendering, the all-new 2015 Mustang will replace the Falcon as Ford’s halo performance vehicle and will headline Ford’s ambitious plan to introduce 11 new ‘global vehicles’ in Australia by 2017.
Ford Australia president Bob Graziano said:” in 2017 we will completely refresh the entire line-up.”
The announcement came at Ford’s ‘Go Further’ event in Sydney today, which also saw the brand tease the look of the next, and final, Ford Falcon.
Little of the new Falcon’s shape was revealed, but it’s understood the next model will include a new, muscular front end and new alloy-wheels.
Technical details are scant, but Ford’s new family car is expected to feature better fuel economy and sharper acceleration courtesy of revised aerodynamics and a lighter ‘high-tech’ six-speed automatic gearbox.
Ford also used the event to showcase new and upcoming models including the new hot-hatch Fiesta ST, Ecosport baby SUV, Modeo and Transit.
Fresh after naming his daughter North, Kayne West has shocked the world again – this time with his car choice.
The pop-star has reportedly just spent over $2 million on a pair of custom, bomb-proof SUVs – vehicles made famous for having options like ‘fake whale penis leather’ and ‘jewel encrusted snake ornaments’.
Made by Latvia’s Dartz Motorz Company, US website Jalopnik reports West has bought two of the brand’s infamous ‘Prombrom’ models which can withstand attacks from landmines and rocket-propelled grenades.
The high-performance armoured cars are based on the Mercedes-Benz G-Class and usually retail for around US$400,000.
But such was West’s desire to customise his SUVs, Jalopnik says he paid ‘about $1 million each’.
Ouch.
The Illinois home made famous in the 1980s blockbuster Ferris Buller’s Day Off is up for sale for $1.5 million USD.
Owned by Bueller’s best friend, Cameron, in the film, the house was forever written into the history books when Cameron reversed his father’s Ferrari through the garage window and into the ravine below.
Built in 1953 by architect A. James Speyer, this is the third time in four years the four-bedroom home has been put up for sale.
Owned by the Rose family since its construction, it was first listed at $2.3 million in 2009, before dropping to $1.8 million in 2010 and then finally $1.65 in 2011.
The iconic glass-walled garage, or ‘auto pavilion’ as described in the listing, was added in the 1970s to house the owner’s exotic car collection.
It’s not the first piece of Bueller memorabilia to be offered for sale, with the film’s infamous Ferrari 250 GT Spyder also going under the hammer.
