Aston Martin has revealed the production-ready V12 Zagato that will appear in showrooms later in 2012. The new Aston Martin V12 Zagato becomes Aston Martin’s new range-topping car and is a modern day descendent of the original 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato.
Aston Martin will ensure the new V12 Zagato is equally special by strictly limiting production numbers and hand-building it in the same dedicated area as the outgoing One-77 supercar. The styling of the V12 Zagato, overseen by Aston Martin design director Marek Reichman, is unique. It both pays homage to the old DB4GT Zagato, but also shows a modern twist.
Key features include the trademark double bubble roof, distinctive side glass shape and a rear window that has a curved surface to continue the lines of the roof. All brightwork is finished in black and all the exposed carbonfibre outside has a symmetrical weave. The front grille is made from a unique 3D mesh, creating a standout ‘Z’ effect in tribute to the iconic Zagato ‘Z’ logo. Inside, the Seven Bridge of Weir leather has been hand-stitched with an eyecatching red weave: this detail extends even to the door panels and roof.
Based on the Vantage V12, power output of the V12 Zagato’s engine has not been revealed but it is expected to retain the standard 6.0-litre car’s 380kW output. This will help it accelerate to 100km/h in 4.2 seconds and reach a top speed of around 305km/h. How many V12 Zagato will be made? Well, rarity comes as standard: Aston Martin says just 150 will be built in total. This isn’t quite as rare as the original DB4GT Zagato, though – just 20 of those were built.
At 250km/h the big BMW is covering 67.5 metres every second. The 200 metre braking marker flashes by in my peripheral vision as the speed limiter finally softens the mighty twin turbo V8 at an indicated 267km/h.
The six-piston front calipers bite hard into the 400mm cross-drilled rotors turning 4488kJ of kinetic energy into 1.1g of braking force and around 400-degrees Celsius. Lap after lap the brakes heroically shed 70km/h before the M5 dives into the 180km/h Turn One of the Phillip Island race circuit – home of the Australian round of the MotoGP.
The hydraulic steering, set to its sharpest of three settings, faithfully points the M5’s bluff nose into the corner as the 265/35 R20 front tires find amazing …
Volkswagen has announced details of its new five-door Up! city car. The new 2012 five-door is based on the same platform as the three-door model, but offers the added benefit of easier access to the rear seats thanks to its extra doors.
VW is yet to confirm full details, but the five-door Up! is expected to come in the same three trim levels as the three-door model: Take Up!, Move Up! and High Up! It will also be offered with the same 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine.
The new model is to go on sale later this year.
Volkswagen has officially confirmed the Scirocco R sports coupe’s arrival in Australia early in 2012.The current, third generation 2+2 was launched globally in 2008, but as precicted by Wheels (June 2011 issue) this will be the first time the model has been offered for sale in Australia.
Sharing the AWD Golf R’s 2.0-litre,188kW/330Nm TSI turbo four, the FWD only Scirocco R features VW’s Extended Electronic Differential Lock (XDL) and Adaptive Chassis Control (ACC) as standard.Although Volkswagen is still cagey on price, you can expect a number in the high-$40K range as the $48,490 Golf R three door is dropped to make way for the new model.
Golf R grunt in a svelte three-door, four-seat coupe package – that’s the Scirocco R, due here late this year and priced from $47,490.
The squat, aggressive coupe shares its 188kW/330Nm 2.0-litre turbo four with Golf R, but its front-drive system with GTI, and splits them on price, at $1000 less than the three-door Golf R. The dual-clutch Scirocco R adds $2500 over the six-speed manual, taking the sticker to $49,990.
Extra kilowatts and similar kerb weight to Golf GTI – 1351kg manual; 1371kg DSG –mean Scirocco heads the hatch 0-100km/h. Volkswagen claims 6.2sec for the manual coupe and 6.0 neat for the DSG. But less traction than the slightly heavier Golf R means the Scirocco R trails it by a few tenths.
Combined cycle fuel consumption figures are 8.1 and 8.2L/100km for manual and DSG respectively.
Like Golf GTI, Scirocco uses Volkswagen’s XDL to help it apply torque through the front tyres. The system, which works in place of a mechanical LSD, is ESC-based, braking individual wheels to control wheelspin.
‘Adaptive chassis control’ – which offers continuous damping adjustment to optimise ride/handling balance – is standard, as are 19-inch alloys wrapped around a big brake package.
Six ’bags, ESC with ‘countersteering assist’, LED day running lights, bi-xenons with static curve lighting, climate control, six-disc/mp3/aux audio and tyre pressure monitoring are among the standard features. Premo sound ($1100), sat-nav ($2500) and a panoramic glass roof ($1800) are available as options.
At 250km/h the big BMW is covering 67.5 metres every second. The 200 metre braking marker flashes by in my peripheral vision as the speed limiter finally softens the mighty twin turbo V8 at an indicated 267km/h. The six-piston front calipers bite hard into the 400mm cross-drilled rotors turning 4488kJ of kinetic energy into 1.1g of braking force and around 400-degrees Celsius. Lap after lap the brakes heroically shed 70km/h before the M5 dives into the 180km/h Turn One of the Phillip Island race circuit – home of the Australian round of the MotoGP.
The hydraulic steering, set to its sharpest of three settings, faithfully points the M5’s bluff nose into the corner as the 265/35 R20 front tires find amazing turn-in grip. With the suspension in the firmest and sportiest setting, the 1945kg BMW sits remarkably flat, and feels like it’s working all four corners equally. By the apex I’m searching for the carpet again with the throttle pedal and the 412kW and 680Nm is starting to make those 295/30 rear tires squirm on the dry tarmac.
Disable both traction and stability control systems and you can paint black lines all the way through fifth gear and up to 150km/h. On the track you want total control in the slow or medium speed corners as even in the MDM setting, ESP is cutting power aggressively on corner exits. However, on the circuit’s three high speed corners there’s so much weight moving around that a little electronic safety net is no bad thing. After one fearful stab of opposite lock catches a 170km/h moment, I opt for the MDM setting for the remainder of my laps.
Curiously for a drive program conducted exclusively on a race circuit, three BMW staff make asides that the M5 isn’t really a track car. But despite the veiled concern, it’s little wonder the M5 feels at home on a fast circuit. According to Brian Watts, sales and marketing boss for the M division, the F10 M5 was, “specifically designed at the Nurburgring. We spent more time at the Ring is this car than any other in M history.” Then Watts got all coy about a specific Nordschleife lap time, suggesting it was sub-8 minutes and that perhaps I could “Google it”. The search engine claims a time of 7:55, which seems about right after 30 laps of the 4.4km Phillip Island circuit. If that number is accurate, the F10 M5 is 18 seconds faster per lap than the V10 E60 M5 and 10 seconds quicker than an E92 M3. Of BMW’s back catalogue, only the lighter and semi-slick-shod E46 M3 CSL is quicker with a 7:50 lap.
The M Drivers Package offered in some markets (but still being assessed for Australia) raises the speed limiter from 250km/h to 305km/h. But what if you could let the M5 all the way off the leash? Officially there’s no such number, but cornered later over a beer an M insider says the F10 M5’s ultimate top speed is at least 340km/h – deep into supercar country. And given the way the car head butts its Australian-market 250km/h limit in fifth gear, there’s no reason to doubt that boast.
But more than lap times and top speeds, the M5’s amazing performance can be defined by the sheer accelerative force on display from 100-200km/h. The F10 M storms through that benchmark in 8.7 seconds and shows no let up as 200km/h flashes up on the head-up display.
Unlike most turbocharged engines, the M5’s twin-turbocharged V8 doesn’t fall off a cliff as the revs scale the range; if anything it kicks harder and harder as the revs build. Peak torque is an ever-present and dominant force from 1500rpm all the way to 5750rpm, while power swells from 250kW at 3500rpm to 360kW by 5000rpm. A thousand revs later all 412kW have reported for duty and they stick around until 7000. And with 600Nm available from just 1200rpm, the M5 offers crushing performance from just off idle to redline.
Despite the muting effects of two big turbos, the 4395cc engine sounds obviously like a V8, but is more subdued than the bombastic 5.5-litre bi-turbo V8 in the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG.
The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is a willing partner around the circuit performing fast and crisp upshifts. Downshifts are rev-matched but not lightning quick; though they don’t upset the handling balance by pinching a rear wheel with a compression lock-up. Like in the previous E60 M5, only the US market will get a six-speed manual.
After 30 laps around a fast and demanding race circuit (with another 30 lap session after lunch), you’d expect a 1945kg road car to be a steaming pile of… Instead, the M5 holds up remarkable well with only a marginally spongy brake pedal to report after the second session. Not once do engine temps spike, though back in the pits you can hear the radiator fan working hard to dissipate the heat build-up. Even the M5’s big Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires cope well with regular fast lapping, feathering the front shoulders but not chewing them out completely. The rears, however, quickly suffer when asked to drift for the cameras.
BMW may be right that few people will take to the track in their F10 M5, but you can do so safe in the knowledge that it’ll cop the punishment and you’ll have a ball in one of the baddest sports sedans on the planet. And there would be few more terrifying sights at a track day than having the double kidney grille of a 1945kg M5 filling your mirrors.
Check out the April issue of Wheelsmagazine (on sale March 21) as the new BMW M5 goes up against German, British and Australian muscle car rivals.
BMW M5 – $230,000
Drivetrain front engine (north-south) rear drive
Engine 4395cc V8 (90-degree) twin turbo, dohc, 32v
Transmission 7-speed dual clutch
Power 412kW @ 6000-7000rpm
Torque 680Nm @ 1500-5750rpm
Power-to-weight 212kW/tonne
Fuel consumption 9.9L/100km (ADR combined cycle)
Weight 1945kg
0-100km/h 4.3 seconds (claimed)
British carmaker Morgan has released pictures and details of the Aero Coupe; a practical supercar that it will debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
The Aero Coupe is made entirely of aluminium and will be powered by a 4.8 litre BMW V8 that can be matched with either an automatic or six-speed manual gearbox. 270kW (or 291kW with the optional sports exhaust) and 490Nm propel the Aero Coupe from 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds with the manual transmission and 4.2 seconds with the auto, and on to a top speed of 273km/h. Claimed fuel consumption is 12.1 l/100km.
Pricing is still unconfirmed, but expect the first lot of Aero Coupes to arrive on our shores in the second half of the year.
Nissan has released details of a new small car called the Invitation, which will be placed between the smaller Micra city car and larger Juke crossover. The concept – which is more of a production car preview – will be officially unveiled next month at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Invitation features a fluid body shape with sweeping lines and sculpted front and rear wings. Nissan hopes it will be able to achieve less than 100g/km of CO2 to give high fuel efficiency. The Invitation is also set to feature Nissan’s Around View Monitor (AVM) technology which aids reverse and parallel parking.
Usually when a young guy crashes his dad’s car it’s because he’s stolen the keys and gone joyriding. However Andrew Miedecke willingly handed over the keys to his beloved V8 Ford Capri Perana to race in last week’s Targa Wrest Point road rally in Tasmania.
Unable to race due to a back injury, Miedecke entrusted son George to bring home the glory. But the splash he made was not quite the one dad was after. In the picture above you can see George plow straight into the sparkling Tassie waters.
Luckily, neither George nor his co-driver was injured. Well, from the crash anyway. We’re not sure what happened after George told his dad about the fate of the Capri.
Classic Aston Martins are things of sublime beauty – whether it’s the flowing curves of a 60s DB4 or DB5, or the rugged looks of the 1970s V8 Vantage, a very British muscle car. And now you can buy one through an official Aston Heritage dealership.
The British sportscar marque has opened an official Heritage Showroom in West London through Nicholas Mee & Co, long-standing specialists in fettling and selling iconic Astons.
There won’t be a restriction on minimum age either. Discerning Aston customers will be able to choose from early DB models, right the way through to the firm’s most recent efforts, including the Vanquish and the very latest in the DB series, the DB9.
Aston has always been cool. After all, James Bond is a fan, so we’re sure there’ll be plenty of customers with enough cash just waiting to get into a classic example – especially now they can have one with official endorsement.
