Innehållsförteckning för January 2019 från CAR

As much as the CAR team is enthusiastic to drive every new vehicle launched in our market, when the January issue comes round, sensibility is traded for giddy excitement as we unleash the year’s best performance cars on some of the greatest routes in a country teeming with sensational mountain passes and heady (often deliciously deserted) country roads. This year, we returned to our home province of the Western Cape and our familiar stomping ground: Clarence Drive to Hemel-en-Aarde and onwards through the interior to Gydo Pass before indulging in giggle-inducing drag races on an airfield outside Saldanha. As is custom, our line-up was eclectic, spanning anything from a little supercharged Japanese hot hatch to a British aristocrat, with a sprinkling of German and Asian muscle cars sandwiched in between.…

WITH the 911 and Cayman parked in the pit garage – Porsche South Africa’s insurance does not cover track use – the cars lined up and Deon was ready for a full day of testing. Although the Porsches’ lack of participation here would not hurt them in final voting (Shootout contenders are road vehicles and therefore they are judged on their ability to work in real-world conditions), the team couldn’t help but wonder what times the two Zuffenhausen cars would have posted had they taken part, especially in such perfect, mild weather conditions. The Yaris GRMN was first to head out to do Toyota proud. The little hatch might have been the slowest car but overall was an impressive 1,4 seconds quicker than the current Volkswagen Polo GTI. Deon’s finding:…

THERE are high expectations of the 8 Series, not only thanks to its purposeful looks and BMW’s rich heritage of producing large coupés, but also because a lot has changed since the first 8 Series (E31) of 1989. The competitive onslaught has intensified from the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Aston Martin, and customers’ demands with it. Cars have to be many things to many people; segment lines once clear are now blurred, making it difficult for a brand to distinguish itself and tick the right boxes. Market shenanigans aside, BMW’s own claim of the 8 being a true sportscar (trapped in a two-plus-two GT body) adds a further complication. Is this pluralism something on which the new 8 can deliver? Will the market respond positively to it? Which boxes…

THE problem with sporty drop-tops is that no one really needs one. They’re a want; a hedonistic purchase forgoing the luxury of rear seats in favour of the need to brush your hair every time you pop down to the shops. This focus has seen the market for these pocket-sized pleasers decline steadily over the last decade. Which leaves manufacturers with two options: either withdraw to focus attentions on building SUVs; or make people really want your car. Like Porsche keeps doing with its accomplished Boxster. Now, while BMW is adamant it did not use the Boxster as the benchmark for the new Z4, in a declining market, the battle is for market share and this means taking on the Boxster at its own game. So, has the BMW Z4…

T was those crowd-pleasing butterfly doors that blew us away when the first BMW i8 arrived at the CAR offices for testing four years ago. Sure, we were impressed by the hybrid powertrain and aerodynamic design but it was the doors that set the scene wherever the i8 arrived. Heads would turn and smartphones would record just as a door was unlatched and hiked to the heavens. Now, with the introduction of this Roadster, to coincide with a mild facelift to the tin-top, too, the i8 stands out even more. The spec of this i8 Roadster test unit is certainly not suited to the shy and retiring. Sporting optional 20-inch Jet Black alloy wheels and lathered in E-Copper metallic paint with Frozen Grey highlights, it looks decidedly alien in traffic…

FORD KUGA 1,5 ECOBOOST TREND FWD 6AT IT takes time and effort for a celebrity to regain the trust of the public after a scandal. So kudos to Ford for pushing the Kuga back into the limelight by entrusting it to CAR for a yearlong test. This specific model is a top-spec 1,5 EcoBoost front-wheel-drive derivative finished in Deep Impact Blue, here accented with optional 18-inch wheels at R5 460. This Kuga certainly looks the part; the still-fresh facelift appears contemporary and upmarket. It is clear why many urban-based families opt for midsize SUVs for everyday transport. The Kuga strikes the perfect compromise between compact size and generous interior space to accommodate kids and their paraphernalia. Right from inception of this test, the Ford excelled at its initial role of…

I’m a firm believer in a daily driver fulfilling multiple roles. Towing a trailer with a Panamera? Why not. Using an MX-5 to buy plants at a nursery? Sure. Utilising a 3008 to move house? Entirely doable. The midsize Peugeot that’s smaller in stature to what you may think recently helped me cart a jumble of personal effects to my new place. A number of pictures, a pair of kitchen stools, a safe and boxes of wine neatly fitted into the cargo bay. The next day, it swallowed nine overstuffed black bags of clothes and bedding on their way to a charity shop. It’s a marvel of packaging, measuring less than 4,5 metres long yet offering a family-sized boot and oodles of rear legroom. It’s also more refined than a…

THE 1990s were great times for car enthusiasts. VW, Opel, Honda and more all had interesting and often exciting models on offer. And Fiat decided to join the fray with the Uno Turbo. The version of Uno South Africa received was the Mk2, the variant first produced in 1985. Built at the Nissan factory in Rosslyn, this was a car destined to become an icon. PACKAGING To improve rigidity and reduce mass (we weighed one at just 690 kg), only the two-door bodyshell was used for the Turbo. Flared wheelarch trim and red striping were added to bolster the boy-racer looks. Back then, there was no ABS, airbags or power steering, but electric windows were standard. The drivetrain was beefed up and the gearbox had a slick action. Shorter, stiffer…

McLAREN SPEEDTAIL Price: $2,24 million (±R36 million) Engine: 4,0-litre, V8, twinturbo-petrol + electric motor Power: 772 kW 0-300 km/h: 12,8 sec Top speed: 403 km/h Kerb weight (dry): 1 430 kg LONG before the Bugatti Veyron held sway as the fastest production car in the world, it was the McLaren F1 which pretty much personified performance-car hyperbole. Now, the Woking firm has heralded a return to high-speed motoring supremacy with the striking Speedtail. An unofficial homage to the FIA GT Championship homologation special, the Speedtail looks set to put McLaren back on the high-speed performance map. ALL-OUT AERODYNAMICS While it is monumentally powerful, the Speedtail relies as much on drag-cheating tech as it does on brute force to slice through the air to its 403 km/h top speed, including: •…

# 1 JAGUAR ICE DRIVE R53 765 Journey to Sweden to drift Jaguar’s supercharged cars on snow over an exhilarating four days. jaguar.co.za # 2 AMG TRACK EXPERIENCE R4 250 Want to feel the thrill of AMG’s turbocharged V8 on track? This is the experience you’re looking for. amgdrivingacademy.co.za # 3 BMW M INTRODUCTION R4 500 Give this full-day programme a go if you’re eager to extract the most from your M car. bmwdrivingexperience.co.za # 4 SUPERCAR DRIVING EXPERIENCE R6 269 Featuring performance cars from the late 2000s, this package includes a Porsche 997 GT3, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 and more. experiencedays.co.za # 5 VOLKSWAGEN PERFORMANCE DRIVING R3 230 The GTI is considered the king of hot hatches, so experiencing it on the limit is a must. vw.co.za # 6 PABLO…

These are the best sportscars that were launched last year. The Civic has rightfully earned its place in Shootout 2019 but it won’t be the only hatchback in this year’s running. The hilariously entertaining Yaris GRMN isn’t in contention for the ultimate title of Performance Car of the Year – to earn that trophy, a vehicle must be on sale – but its addition here will keep the more serious machinery honest 01 Aston Martin Vantage V8 Price: R2 900 000 Engine: 4,0-litre, V8, twinturbo-petrol Power: 375 kW Torque: 685 N.m 02 Audi RS5 Coupé Quattro S tronic Price: R1 297 000 Engine: 2,9-litre, V6, twinturbo-petrol Power: 331 kW Torque: 600 N.m 03 BMW M2 Competition M-DCT Price: R1 026 506 Engine: 3,0-litre, 6-cyl, twinturbo-petrol Power: 302 kW Torque: 550…

THE DRIVER: Opinionated, highly skilled and always eager to drift through a corner or two following a flying lap, Deon Joubert’s CV is as impressive as it’s varied. On this year’s Shootout, Deon passed the 150 mark for track tests done for CAR. THE TRACK: Killarney needs no intro. The first event was held in 1947 and today it hosts international events such as the World Rally Cross Championship. It features five corners, a tricky kink and two main straights. If there’s a circuit Deon calls home, it’s this one. THE SPEED KING To add some perspective to these track times, 2018 Western Province Super Masters Champion Rob Cragg of Mad Macs in Somerset West kindly brought his Kawasaki ZX-10R to Killarney. Rob smashed a 1:17,10, clocking 261 km/h on…

The controlled conditions at Saldanha Airfield, the venue of the annual Saldanha Drags meeting, give CAR the opportunity to conduct 1 000-metre, full-bore acceleration runs. The graph on the right depicts the speed of four vehicles over the standing kilometre. For the initial part of the run, traction is key and rear-wheel drive – and especially four-wheel drive – vehicles have a distinct advantage over FWD competitors. Also note the clear steps in vehicle speeds of the Yaris and Type R with manual transmissions versus the smooth graphs of the much faster shifts on the cars featuring automatic transmissions. As the speed rises, aerodynamic drag increases with the square of vehicle speed, and available power, frontal area and drag coefficient become the dominating factors. There is no catching the BMW…

TURNING up at a racetrack to flog the living daylights out of a 566 kW supercar constitutes a magnificent day at the office, but it also triggers a mild degree of trepidation. Particularly as we’ve just been informed the newly laid tarmac at Estoril Circuit in Portugal offers little in the way of grip. As yet, there’s no rubber laid down on the track and residual oil from the fresh asphalt has seeped to the surface under the hot sun. But, what the heck, this is no ordinary supercar. This is Lamborghini’s brand-new Aventador SVJ (Super Veloce Jota). Super veloce is Italian for “super fast”, while jota is Spanish for the letter J, which is a reference to Appendix J, the FIA rulebook governing the preparation of road-based racecars. Lamborghini…

BEING the quiet sort who prefers flying under the radar to causing a ruckus, I was particularly pleased to take custody of a seemingly unsung hero of the hatchback fold, the Mazda2. Mention B-segment cars and the likes of the VW Polo, Ford Fiesta and Hyundai i20 will be jostling at the forefront of your attention, comfortably ahead of the Mazda2, and this shouldn’t be the case. Even so, our long-termer’s Meteor Grey Mica metallic paintwork does lend it something of a “stealth hatch” look, but it’s still a taut, sporty little thing, rolling on a fetching set of dual-tone 16-inch alloys. The cabin’s dark colour scheme makes it feel snug but, even with a brace of broader-shouldered folk up front, there’s enough width to the interior to ensure little…

ACKERMANN STEERING GEOMETRY When a vehicle rounds a bend, the inside wheels follow a different radius to the outside ones. The impact on the front wheels is that the steering angle on the inside wheel needs to be greater than the outside wheel to prevent sideways tyre slip on either or both wheels. This geometric relation is called the Ackermann Steering Geometry, patented in England in 1818 by Rudolph Ackermann for horse-drawn carriages. However, the idea was originally invented by German Georg Lankensperger in 1817. The precise geometry is achieved by steering linkages at the correct angle. This principle is still applied to all modern vehicles.…

Know how much you can spend on a car but haven’t made up your mind which one to buy? Each month, we recommend two sensible options, plus a left-field choice. SENSIBLE Mazda MX-5 2,0 0-100 km/h: 8,15 sec Top speed: 224 km/h Power: 118 kW Torque: 188 N.m CO2 : n/a Fuel cons: 10,08 L/100 km Plugging the gap left by British sportscars in the 1980s, Mazda had this particular market segment nicely sewn up when it launched the first-generation MX-5. As sales grew, so did the engine size, but the perky little roadster retained its front-engine/rear-wheel-drive layout. With R200 000 to spend, you can find examples younger than 10 years old and, since these are often weekend toys, you should be able to find a good third-generation one with…

ATOS ASPIRATIONS With the imminent launch of the new Hyundai Atos, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. In 2006, my mother purchased her first car: a brand-new, blue Atos. What an awesome little vehicle it turned out to be; small in stature but with a big heart. Our Atos took us to Durban and Mozambique, where it bravely overcame Maputo’s harsh roads. It was reliable, economical and robust. They are sought after in the second-hand market; much like the VW Citi Golf and Toyota Tazz. The Atos was also the car I learnt to drive in and in which I proudly took my girlfriend on a date. Sadly, our Atos was written off in 2012 due to an unforgiving hailstorm. My mother, impressed with Hyundai’s service, then bought an i10.…

THREE’S COMPANY Echoing the F1’s cabin layout, the Speedtail’s driver is centrally seated with two no-doubt-terrified passengers slightly mounted back to either side. In addition to an array of TFT screens for performance and information displays (and side views), ceiling-mounted gear selectors and electro-chromatic glass roof panels are among the highlights. JUST THE BEGINNING The Speedtail is the first step in McLaren’s £1,2 billion Track25 business plan. • Eighteen new models and derivatives by 2025. • All McLaren sports and supercars to be 100% hybrid by 2025. • New Ultimate Series car. • Research into “augmented” driving experience and fast-charging technology. • Production to reach 6 000 mid-engined cars per annum.…

The South American market always seems to get the coolest small bakkies (Volkswagen Saveiro, anyone?) and, if the new Volkswagen Tarok Concept is anything to go by, it looks as though we’ll be envying our Brazilian counterparts even more STYLING STAYS Volkswagen claims the production version of the Tarok will scarcely differ from what you see here, although the heavily digitised dash and panoramic sunroof are unlikely to make their way to the end product. FUEL FOR THOUGHT The Tarok concept is powered by a 1,4-litre turbopetrol developing 110 kW. As is often the case in the South American market, this unit can run on pure ethanol or a petrol-ethanol mix. At launch, the Tarok will feature a 2,0-litre turbodiesel with 110 kW on tap. TRANSFORMING TAIL The Tarok’s versatile…

MERCEDES-BENZ TYPE 6/25 HP PHAETON SUPERCHARGING is popular because the tech reliably provides power gains. A charger’s mechanical whine and pleasing responsiveness pretty much guarantee driving thrills, especially if used on a performance car. Iconic movie cars such as the Ford Falcon XB GT from Mad Max, the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T of The Fast and the Furious franchise and the 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 star of Gone in 60 Seconds all have the supercharger in common. This forced-induction technology dates back to 1860, when brothers Philander and Francis Roots of the Roots Blower Company patented the design for a forced-air distributor which could be used in blast furnaces. In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler received the German patent for supercharging an internal-combustion engine. In 1921, the Berlin Motor Show was…

THE annual draft process undertaken by the US’ National Football League (NFL) introduces the brightest young talents of the college football scene to the so-called big league. While eligibility clauses dictate which players make the shortlist, the final selection process and those players who are drafted by the biggest teams hinge on how each of these youngsters acquits themselves in front of the decision makers. Considering the calibre of machinery scheduled for an early-morning departure on day one of this year’s Performance Shootout, our draft process to find the one “youngster” worthy of joining the big league proved nearly as intense as the Shootout itself; each candidate put forward a worthy case for inclusion. And, as was quickly evident with The Joker in this year’s mix, the Toyota Yaris GRMN…

DAY1 Sunday, 28 October 350 km: Cape Town to Montagu THE Honda’s arrival at the viewing point which forms the gateway to Clarence Drive – the wonderfully sinuous ribbon of tarmac footing the coastline along the Hottentots Holland – is met with a somewhat mixed reception. It may have seen off some tough opposition to afford its place in this year’s Shootout but as body-kitted, scaffold-winged and studded with vents as the Type R is, it still appears to slink meekly into its allotted gap in the line of more expensive performance cars, under the judging glare of their LED headlamps. You’d be forgiven for thinking the Type R’s inclusion is tantamount to wading into a gunfight with a butter knife but there’s almost a sense of unease to the…

WE all know that guy. He’s just a little fitter, trimmer, faster and better looking than the rest of us. You may think him an ex-pro were it not for the fact he’s a self-made businessman who has both managed to make his fortune in commerce and become an impressively skilled runner/paddler/cyclist. None of muscled, weight-room devotees, the GTS is the corporate boardroom’s toned athlete. This particular Panamera – available in both hatchback and Sport Turismo body shapes – has benefited from a training programme which has sharpened the model’s well-documented athletic abilities. Bridging the gap between the 324 kW S and the brawny 404 kW Turbo, the GTS offers powerful performance from its 338 kW twin-turbo V8, along with the promise of nimble handling thanks to a specifically…

CLICK-click-click-click – the sound of the Schroth six-point harness clicking in place. There are only a few cars in the market which offer this option. You know when you pull the straps tight over your chest and legs that you are about to experience something quite exceptional. Pottering through mid-morning traffic in a 991.2 911 GT3 RS is a chore but, when the first mountain pass looms, it takes just a few corners to realise the capability of this special Porsche. In second gear, with 5 000 r/min showing on the rev counter, I plant the throttle. The RS bounds forward (the response not unlike a vehicle with AWD) as the rev needle flits past 8 000 r/min. As the pointer hits 9 000 r/min, I pull the small carbon-fibre…

I recently had to load a fridge/ freezer, gas stove and a 13 kg top-loader washing machine onto the back of the Mahindra and all these bulky items fitted in one go. Apart from the gas stove, these then had to be transported to the farm which is more than two hours from Cape Town. Because I had to load 500 kg of horse feed as well, I decided to add the old Venter trailer to help out. When towing a trailer (a caravan is a whole different story), I drive quite a bit slower so as not to push up the fuel consumption too much and, impressively, the load had very little impact on the Pik Up’s drinking habits. At 8,80 L/100 km, its fuel usage is impressive. As…

THE rubber fitted to your 4x4 can make or break your vehicle’s performance on- and off-road. However, have you ever given thought to the extensive research and development that goes into producing that tyre? We visited the Continental Tyre SA factory in Port Elizabeth (home of General Tire; GT) to learn how a 4x4 tyre is designed and constructed. 1 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT A tyre comprises more than 10 individual components and the decision regarding the types of materials, rubber compounds and construction methods is its own science. Computer simulation work has become paramount to the process because actual testing with prototype tyres is costly and time-consuming. Initial tests are conducted under controlled conditions in a laboratory (we covered this in the article Tech behind tyres in the August 2017…