A collaboration between Ford and Fifteen52Tuning gives us the awesome looking and no doubt powerful Ken Block car of tomorrow. Keep an eye on the site for the inevitable viral video of Block drifting around inanimate objects.
Browsing Tag
motoring
The Golf 7 arrives in SA NEW CAR
God! More talked about than a Malema press conference, this thing. But I am glad that it’s finally arrived and available in SA.
Granted they haven’t done much with the look of it. But as I always say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”! If you must know, the proportions of the new Golf have actually completely changed. The front wheels have moved 43 millimetres further forward and the front overhang is therefore shorter, while the bonnet looks longer. More confident and “up for it” than ever before, but no one is going to mistake it for a Hyundai.
Aside from sticking with what works, changing anything radical on a South African icon that’s more important to us than whining about potholes and braaing on a Sunday, and VW could have had a real threat of riots on their hands.
In the engine bay, there are a few new surprises. These include new petrol and diesel models including a 1.2 TSI with 77 kW at the entry end and a 1.4 TSI with 103 kW and 2.0 TDI with 110 kW replacing the 1.4 TSI with 118 kW and 2.0 TDI with 103 kW respectively.
Latch those engines onto a 100kg weight saving and the consumption numbers impress considerably. The combined fuel consumption of the 1.4 TSI engine is: 5.3 l/100 km whilst the 2.0 TDI has a combined fuel consumption of 4.5 l/100km.
Remember too that you’re buying a VW, and that means not only will you be driving this car 10 years from now, you’ll also have no idea what the inside of a workshop rent-a-car looks like. And neither will your grandkids.
Now let’s take in the glory of the new Golf 7!
Citroen and Peugeot intro compressed-air hybrid vehicle NEW CAR
We’ve already seen this sort of tech in one of Tata huge urban people movers, but Citroen have announced that they plan to put Compressed-air hybrids in to production and on the road in 2016.
It works similarly in essence to current hybrids on the road, but instead of a huge, heavy battery being used to accompany an Internal Combustion Engine, Citroen will be throwing in a compressed air storage that will throw in some extra power. This new tech means 2-litres of fuel for every 100kms.
The hybrid air system works off a hydraulic motor-pump assembly and also adapts to different driving styles: full gasoline for cruising, combined power for full power acceleration and hill climbing and full air power which is ZEV and includes Brake regeneration technology.
Below is one of the best explainer videos I’ve ever watched:
New performance models from Audi: an RS4 Avante, an S Q5 and an RS7 NEW CARS
2013 is proving to be the year of “why buy a supercar when you can have one of these”? Hot sedans are coming out quicker than a confused 16-year-old at a Lady GaGa concert.
Few cars have been announced in the last few months that I’d more like to get my hands on the the freshly announced Audi RS7. Let’s check the boxes:
Looks – Up there with the best
Drive – Nothing on the road is more nimble or capable than a weight-cut, Quattro driven Audi with a 7 behind it
Power – It’s got a twin-turbocharged, 4.0-litre V8 engine that produces 409kw. That’s Ferrari territory
The engine is the same one you’ll find in the bulky but comically quick S8 I drove late last year, and mated to that slim body, Quattro and the Audi gearbox it’ll accelerate to 100km/h in less than 3 seconds.
Cool add-ons? Cylinder cut-off technology which turns off 4 cylinders during light driving, touch the throttle and they return in force.
And switchable flaps in the exhaust system, operated by a button or under heavy acceleration, make the engine sound even fuller.
And then there’s the SQ5, something we don’t see on SA earth just yet, but perhaps someday.
Audi have just announced their supercharged 3.0-liter V6 version in Detroit, and it affords you 262kw, which is a lot for a small boat.
Still don’t see the sense in these sorts of MPVs, but it does help a bit considering it can top speed at 250km/h.
And lastly, the RS4 Avante. Same vibe pretty much as the RS7, even the same engine, but you get the added joy of tricking hot-jocks at the light into thinking you’re lifting the kids to soccer practice when actually you’re packing a V8 with 400+kw under the engine. Like being a hitman with a well hidden gun.
Audi Swarm lighting concept. Enlightening NEW TECH
Once again Audi are out attempting and succeeding in pushing the limits of lighting on and in of cars. Their new “Swarm lighting” concept has been revealed to the world, and it’s best described as an anime artists interpretation of what an Audi would look like if it appeared in the next Kill Bill film.
The Swarm lighting concept essentially turns the entire bum of the car in to one huge OLED display that is alive and fluid, almost constantly.
In the video below, some German guy with no idea about being in front of a camera explains that the new concept affords Audi new possibilities for design and safety in their new cars. Because of the dynamism of the display, the driver can give different information to the following car. For example, a new take on turning signals as well as letting the car behind know what the direction of the road coming up is.
This is a classic example of a technology we didn’t know we needed (or wanted) until we saw it.
Corvette Stingray not unveiled…unleashed NEW CAR
Meet Chevy’s ‘most powerful standard model ever’, the 2014 Stingray.
Stats?
334kw
6.2-litre V8 engine
0-100 in less than 4 seconds
11km/L, the most fuel efficinet Corvette ever
Enough talking. Let’s just enjoy it!
New Lexus IS revealed NEW CAR
The new Lexus IS has been revealed to the world, just before the Detroit Motor Show coming soon and the good news is it’s another new car that has delivered on its promise to look like the concept it’s been based on. Compare it to the LF-CC and see:
It’ll arrive in SA later this year, but for the moment we have these awesome pics to perve over.
Note the spindle front grille arrangement that has become a hallmark of all new Lexus models. They’re after an impression of power, elegance and a stronger brand identity.
Fashion designer Jeremy Scott designs smart fortwo electric drive NEW CAR
This is what happens to the world when you let lawyers practice medicine and tea ladies clean teeth. It all goes wrong.
Internationally renowned fashion designer Jeremy Scott who is known for his wings has partnered with Mercede Benz to design a fortwo electric car. And the back wings light up to form “avant-garde rear lights”. This ladies and gentlemen is the sexy nurse outfit of the car world. But there’s a fat, ugly chick wearing it.
“We were totally enthusiastic about the first sketches that Jeremy presented to us”, said Dr. Annette Winkler, Head of smart. But I know this really just means that the sketches came in too late and they really just wanted to announce the car in time for the LA Motor Show.
The smart forjeremy is based on the current production version of the smart fortwo electric drive. It’s got a 55 kW electric motor, accelerates from 0 – 60 km/h in 4.8 seconds, and you get a range of 145kms.
Mercedes Benz ‘ener-G-force’ fuel cell SUV concept. Flippin wow! NEW CAR
Mercedes Benz have responded to the 2012 Los Angeles Design Challenge to create the “highway patrol car of 2025” with this completely desirable off-roader based on the iconic G Class.
The ‘ener-G-force’ fuel cell SUV concept is an idea of the future of environmentally friendly off-road vehicles that ambulances and policemen might be using.
Bleeding awesome, I say!
So here’s how it works (at least in theory). Obviously it’s a zero emission vehicle which stores recycled water on the roof in tanks. This water is then transferred to the ‘hydro-tech converter’ which converts the natural resources in to usable hydrogen for the fuel cells.
The energy is stored in batteries stored in the side skirts of the car, that or replaceable batteries. These change color as the charge decreases, letting the driver know it’s time for a change.
Drive 500 miles on the four wheel hub motors driving each wheel. The car also has a “Terra Scanner” on the rood which permanently scans the surroundings and is thus able to adjust suspension parameters for maximum traction on the respective surfaces.
Audi A3 2013 NEW CAR REVIEW
One of the most serious contenders in the luxury hatch segment is out with a new model, ladies and gents, it’s the new Audi A3.
Right off the bat, two things to mention. Firstly, you are completely spoilt for choice. There is a choice of 6 derivatives for you to spend your cash on, everything from a measly 1.2-litre manual, all the way up to a 2-litre, 135kw Quattro.
From my side, I wouldn’t bother spending the extra cash on the 1.8-Quattro. The 1.4-litre, 90kw manual is actually more fun, and just as responsive. Of course you will need to forego Quattro, but it’s worth the saving which you can put in to extras like Auto Parking at R9 200.
The second thing to mention is the change in styling that the new A3 has. Car makers toss around the word “uncluttered” every time they launch a new car, but seldom is it noticeable. On the interior of the new A3 though, it is.
Firstly they’ve cut the radio/CD player completely out of the dashboard and put it in the glovebox or cubby-hole for the real Saffas. You’ll also find your SD card slot in there, but not your USB and connector cables???? Still can’t fathom why they’ve stuck the latter in the middle console, but there you are.
Further reduction comes in the form of an electric handbrake, and a slide-away screen. The temp and other controls come in the form of “piano keys” on the dashboard. Mercifully they didn’t liken them to aeroplane switches like Mini or BMW would have done.
Aside from the new dashboard layout, which I fully expect to see in future models, there is one other noticeable feature of the new A3 that is worth paying attention to.
The A3 rides like champagne washing down wedding cake. It’s smooth, balanced and predictable, and it’s all thanks to Audi’s new MQB platform, a shared setup that will be seen in use from the A3 all the way up to the TT. Now it might be expected in bigger cars like the A4, but the A3 benefits from this technology immensely, a technology which also means an 80kg reduction in weight.
Available immediately!
Get it: www.audi.co.za
For:
Audi A3 1.2T FSI manual S: R267 000 (available in February 2013)
Audi A3 1.4T FSI manual S: R274 500
Audi A3 1.4T FSI S tronic S: R291 500
Audi A3 1.6 TDI S tronic S: R302 500
Audi A3 1.8T FSI manual SE: R305 000
Audi A3 1.8T FSI S tronic SE: R322 000
Audi A3 1.8T FSI quattro® S tronic: R351 500
