Sixteen cars, a bunch of car nuts and one helluva a week. Welcome to MOTOR’s Performance Car Cup 2011. We’ve assembled the fastest, baddest and meanest cars of the past 12 months, from screaming turbocharged four-pots, sweet sixes, atmo and turbocharged V8s and, for good measure a V10 too.
Frankfurt, Germany – 400km from BMW in Munich, 320km from Audi in Ingolstadt and 200km from Porsche and Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart.
It’s easy now to understand the relevance of the bi-annual Frankfurt Motor Show, one of the world’s largest autofests … and around ten times larger than the halls at Sydney or Melbourne.
Days away from the opening of the 2011 show, we’ve assembled a preview of the main concepts and production vehicles set to debut (plus we’ll have a full show wrap in theWheels, November issue).
Starting with slick, slinky concept cars, we have the Ford Evos (see pic), a plug-in hybrid sports car that won’t see the light of day just yet, but, according to the brand’s global design boss J Mays, gives an accurate guide to Ford’s Kinetic 2.0 design theme. It’s expected that the Jaguar C-X16 (see pic) will make production as a Boxster/Cayman-rivalling new-age E-Type.
The concept is powered by a 280kW/450Nm supercharged 3.0-litre V6 working in combination with a 70kW/235Nm electric motor, but the two-seat rear-driver is expected to score a more conventional powertrain in production guise. Peugeot and Kia will also sex-up their stands, with their respective HX1 (a long and low six-seater, hotter than an Odyssey) and Four Door Concept (swoopy like a Merc CLS, suicide doors like a Mazda RX-8, and rear-drive like both).
Themes emerged between production-car unveilings at Frankfurt, too. A four-door muscle car war will be waged between the 412kW BMW M5, and a trio of Audi S models, including the 382kW S8 and 309kW S6/S7 Sportback. At the budget-brute end of the spectrum, the philosophically-similar 347kW Chrysler 300C SRT8 will debut – watch out FPV and HSV, it’s due here next year.
Several premium brands will whip the tops off their mainstream coupes. Ferrari will show its 458 Spider; it gets an all-aluminium electric folding hard-top that, according to Maranello, weighs 25kg less than a fabric top and folds neatly aft of the mid-mounted engine in just 14 seconds. Bentley will show its roofless new-gen GT that, unlike the 458, can seat four in lush leathery luxury and gets a fabric roof. The most fuel-efficient V8 in the world will also debut, under the bonnet of the new SLK 55 AMG. Its 5.5-litre DI V8 gets start-stop and cylinder deactivation tech to notch-up a claimed 8.4L/100km.
Lid firmly attached, the Porsche 991 911 and Mini Coupe will both debut, with media first drives of each to follow the show.
Moving down to the more prosaic end of the motor-scale, the all-new Hyundai i30 and Honda Civic will be shown, Skoda’s MissionL concept will preview the next-gen Octavia, and Subaru will show a production-ready bright-orange Impreza XV – all rivals for 2012.
Half-hatch, half-MPVs will be on display in the form of Merc’s sexier second-gen B-Class, the Renault Frendzy, and the new but still oh-so-cute Fiat Panda. A proper compact SUV, the Mazda CX-5, and proper off-roader, the Land-Rover Defender concept, will also appear.
On the lightweight, downsizing front are the VW Up, Smart Forvision, BMW i3 and Audi A2 city cars, all with baby engines or snappy electric power. It won’t be long before all four cars are zipping around the streets of Europe.
Finally, a bizarre entry for Citroen (who else?) in the Tubik concept (see pic). It’s a modern-day, French take on the VW Kombi, a 4.8-metre long van powered by a 2.0-litre HDi diesel/electric (Hybrid4) drivetrain.
We’ll have Wheels reporters keeping you updated with all the latest news from (the gigantic halls of) the Frankfurt show, so stay tuned. There’s bound to be more than a few surprises. For a full wrap-up of the show, check out the Wheels, November issue, on-sale September 19.
THE Extreme Auto Expo is the biggest and best indoor show in South Australia, held each year at Adelaide Exhibition Centre.
Range Rover Evoque wins Women’s World Car of the Year 2012
Harry Styles of One Direction buys an Audi R8
Chocolate-brown Lamborghini Aventador looks tasty.
Internet superstar, and self-confessed Hoon, Ken Block brought his smash hit viral videos to life last weekend with the final round of the Gymkhana World Tour held at Melbourne’s Calder Park.
The 43-year-old American, in Australia for this weekend’s round of the World Rally Championship in Coffs Harbour, wowed more than 7500 fans with some of the most spectacular, tyre-frying driving stunt driving ever seen.
And we there, in the passenger seat of his pumped-up, four-wheel drive Ford Fiesta to witness the action first hand. It’s difficult now to pinpoint which is the bigger star, Block himself or his Fiesta.
While there’s no denying the American is extremely skilled as he spins and slides his machine around a series of barrels – narrowly missing concrete walls along the way – the car itself is just as amazing. With more power than a V8 Supercar from its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, it accelerates from 0-100km/h in an astonishing 2.0sec – faster than a Formula One car and almost twice as quick as a Bugatti Veyron (the world’s quickest production car) – and can slide sideways at ferocious speeds with blue smoke filling the cabin.
It’s intoxicating fun from the inside, and there’s little wonder why his four Gymkhana videos have amassed more than 20million hits.
Just days away from the 5th anniversary of Peter Brock’s tragic and untimely death, Holden has announced it will honour the racing legend with a new colour available on all locally-built Commodore and Cruzes, labelled ‘Perfect Blue’.
The hue is based on Peter ‘Perfect’ Brock’s famous Formula Blue HDT Group A VK SS Commodore, with metallic highlights added to the original solid blue paint chip. The result, according to Holden, is “a cleaner, brighter reinterpretation of Formula Blue using new paint and colour technologies”.
Brock spent much of his 40-year motorsport career as a Holden driver and then ambassador, and one of his last assignments was assisting with the launch of the then-new VE Commodore in 2006.
“We wanted the colour to express that unique connection Holden had with Peter, who was an incredibly talented man and a fine ambassador for Holden. Peter left a lasting impression on Holden and our company heritage so Perfect Blue is our way of celebrating his achievements,” said Holden Chief Designer, Sharon Gauci.
Perfect Blue will be available on all MY12 Commodores from this month, and Cruze hatches and sedans later this year.
In news that will make any luxury-car aficionado shed a tear – or hundreds – police in Vancouver seized 13 sports cars worth $2 million after a dangerous street race that witnesses say reached speeds of 200 kph.
The cavalcade of luxury cars faced off last Wednesday afternoon on a busy highway. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before the sirens of police cars dominated the engine roars.
“The majority of them had personalized plates as well and were souped-up, so they’re fairly distinguished,” Inspector Bryon Massie of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told the CBC.
The detained prized (and pricy) possessions included a Ferrari, three Lamborghinis, three Nissans, two Maseratis, two Mercedes, an Audi and an Aston Martin, together totalling more than $2 million.
And if that hefty price tag doesn’t strike a match of envy in you, the following information will.
The drivers were all under 21 years, and six of them were brand new drivers, still sporting British Columbia’s mandatory “N” decal denoting a novice driver who’s been learning for fewer than two years.
Guess they’ll be asking their parents to cover the impound fees and ticket costs which, luckily for them, won’t be as excessive as thought, since no actual cops caught the speeders.
“We have to really depend on third-party individuals who had called in,” RCMP Superintendant Norm Gaumont told the Vancouver Sun. Because of the current lack of evidence, the 13 drivers face a ticket of only $196, charged with “driving without due consideration for others.”
Bentley has announced it will reveal the all-new Continental GTC convertible at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show next week. The new model is to receive improvements in almost every area; most notably refinement, powertrain and, er, aesthetics.
From the outside the new GTC’s body features a more aggressive and muscular styling, as opposed to the previous gen’s more subdued look. The front wings are now without seams or welds, and twenty-inch wheels come standard, with a choice of three 21-inch wheels optional … if you’re a fan of ‘Pimp My Ride’.
Inside, cabin space has been increased with additional rear legroom – the GTC is a proper four seater – while added tech innovations included a touchscreen infotainment system, automatic seat-belt presenters and a Bentley-designed neck warmer. Acoustic glass and under-body panels aid the fabric-top with noise isolation, and 17 soft-touch leather hide colours fill out the interior.
As in the GT coupe, a more powerful 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12 engine has been fitted to the GTC, raising outputs to 423 kW and 700 Nm. A ‘quickshift’ six-speed auto transmission has also been installed for faster gear changes. Wider front and rear tracks, sharper steering and re-configured suspension are said to improve the drive, while torque bias is now 60:40, in order to address the previous GTC’s understeer-prone 50:50 set-up.
“The GTC has always been the most emotional model in the Continental range and a showcase for Bentley design. With its tailored soft top, the GTC is a pure British convertible true to those classic Bentleys of the past,” said Wolfgang Durheimer, Bentley’s Chairman and Chief Executive.
“However, the technology, performance and overall design excellence invested in this model means that we are now writing a new chapter for the Bentley convertible driver.”
European pricing for the new Continental GTC starts at €170,060. When it arrives here early next year, expect pricing to be around $25,000 more than the GT coupe, which currently retails for $405,714.
