Month: January 2017

Porsche’s Panamera will get a brother, and it will be a production version of the Sport Turismo Concept.

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by Sebastian Toma Those of you who are Porsche fans will remember that the German automaker unveiled a concept named Panamera Sport Turismo back in 2012. Since then, the project was slightly postponed, but we have seen spyshots of the future shooting break from Porsche last year. With that in mind, people were beginning to wonder when Porsche will reveal the second body style of the Panamera range. The Brits at Car Magazine have spoken to Dr. Stefan Utsch, the director of sales and marketing for the Panamera, who has…

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Diesel & Ducati team up for new Diavel motorbike

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It’s a devil of a machine. Diesel and Ducati have collaborated for a very limited edition Diavel motorcycle. Andrea Rosso and the Ducati Design Center worked on a ‘post-apocolyptic, retro-futuristic’ design and we’re definitely getting Mad Max vibes from this collaboration, with a clear merging of past and future. It comes in a sumptuous leather palette, hand-brushed stainless steel on the tank and touches of red found on the diesel logo and the LCD dashboard. The devil is clearly in the detail, as the two brands have produced only 666…

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New 911 GT3 to get 4.0-litre flat-six and manual gearbox

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500bhp model will offer six-speed manual or seven-speed PDK by Dan Prosser  The new Porsche 911 GT3, set to be unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March, will feature a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six engine and will offer the option of a seven-speed PDK transmission or a six-speed manual. Yes, you read that right: the manual GT3 is making a return. Details of Porsche’s 2017 GT car strategy emerged at the launch of the 911 Carrera GTS in South Africa. A well-placed insider revealed Porsche’s plans for its Motorsport…

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Hennessey ends production of Venom GT

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Final Edition commemorates Hennessey’s record breaking supercar by Will Beaumont  Hennessey has announced it has ended production of its 435Km/h supercar, the Venom GT. The Texas company has celebrated its record breaking car and created a special version of the very last Venom GT. Called the Final Edition, the last car is based on the hard-top Venom and is finished in bright blue with two white stripes that stretch down the centre. The car is powered by Hennessey’s most powerful engine, a twin turbocharged 7-litre V8 that produces 1451bhp. The…

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Nissan Qashqai Review

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by Keith WR Jones The original Nissan Qashqai was a sales success in the way the iPhone was for Apple. It was one of the first cars to popularise the so-called crossover genre, blending the low-running costs of family hatchbacks with SUV looks, and becoming a commercial success in the process. Over two million have rolled off the production line since its launch in 2007. So the second-generation Nissan Qashqai had big shoes to fill, and bigger it is: wider and longer this time around, but it’s also lighter and more efficient, too. It’s a…

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Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain Review

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by Anthony ffrench-Constant Verdict Given that Mercedes’ ambition to fill every off-road niche is still a motor show reveal or two short of completion, you’d be forgiven for thinking it a mite odd that the company should suddenly peel off down the potential sales cul de sac of the off-road estate and introduce this E-Class All-Terrain. Established competition from Audi and Volvo Then again, with the E-Class already widely celebrated as a Jolly Good Thing, allied to the somewhat tardy recognition that the likes of the Audi A6 Allroad and Volvo’s V90 Cross Country have…

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Volkswagen Beetle Hatchback 2012 up Review

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 Verdict Following on from the successful Scirocco is another retro-inspired Volkswagen, the Beetle. Almost 22 million original Beetles were built, making it one of the most successful cars of all time. The next 1999 re-imagination wasn’t quite as popular, with just over one million sold, as issues like poor interior space and questionable styling cut its appeal. This latest model, which shares many parts with the Golf, aims to improve on the previous generation by offering more equipment and improved levels of practicality; including a boot that’s 44% bigger than…

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MINI Cooper S Review 2007 up R56

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 Verdict The MINI Cooper S has an historic name stretching all the way back to the early days of the small car’s history. However, there is nothing old fashioned about the latest Cooper S, offering both petrol and diesel engines with strong performance. This is allied to economy and emissions that are bang up to date, while the interior of the MINI continues to offer a unique style that has helped make it a sales hit from the moment BMW first relaunched the MINI brand in 2001. Style and substance While some may mumble…

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Audi A1 Hatchback Review 2010 up

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 Verdict A small Audi is big news in the car world. Signalling the brand’s first ever head-to-head battle with MINI – a car made by Audi’s arch enemy, BMW – the new A1 takes a very different, grown-up approach. Instead of focusing on fun, the A1 smacks of classy sophistication. There’s the usual soft-touch materials and leather dotted around the cabin along with some excellent technology on offer too. Quite frankly, nothing in its small premium class looks and feels so expensive behind the wheel even though underneath the smart-suited A1 is…

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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles accused of emissions cheating in USA

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The Department for Transport has asked for details of an American investigation into diesel emissions software; As another car maker is investigated for possible use of an emissions cheat device, we look at the potential implications for British car owners. What is the issue? The American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has accused Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) of not telling the authorities about diesel emission software “that could allow excess diesel emissions”, according to the Financial Times. A report by Reuters states that the EPA believes the software is similar to…

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BREAKING: Another Ford Kuga is ablaze in Johannesburg

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Graeme Hosken | 17 January, 2017 11:45 The company maintains that the Kuga fires were caused by a coolant system fault exacerbated by South Africa’s hot climate.  The fire comes a day after Ford SA CEO Jeffery Nemeth announced a safety recall on over 4,500 1.6l EcoBoost Ford Kugas built between 2012-2014. The company maintains that the Kuga fires were caused by a coolant system fault exacerbated by South Africa’s hot climate. Investigations have revealed that the fires were caused by overheating, which led to cylinder heads cracking and oil…

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2017 Audi Q2 Review

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There’s nothing new about pint-sized SUVs. The Nissan Juke, Renault Captur and Mini Countryman all offer cute looks, compact dimensions and a slightly raised driving position. But if you want a proper premium badge, the Audi Q2 is your smallest and cheapest option. It’s roughly the same size as a Captur, at just under 4.2 metres long, and it significantly undercuts larger premium-badged models such as the BMW X1, Mercedes GLA, and Audi’s own Q3, although for the same money you could also be looking at something much larger, like…

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2020 Porsche ‘Mission E’ electric car spy shots

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Porsche confirmed in 2015 to put into production an electric car based on its Mission E concept unveiled at that year’s Frankfurt auto show. Today we bring you the first spy shots of a test mule for the car, spotted undergoing cold-weather testing near the Arctic Circle. The test mule is using the modified body of a second-generation Panamera but there are a handful of clues that reveal the true identity. You’ll immediately notice that the test mule is somewhat taller than the Panamera. This is due to the flat…

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Samsung’s New EV Battery Will Have A Range Of 600 Kms And Can Be Fully Charged In Just 20 Minutes

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Electric cars, we all know how we South Africans resist in buying one, because of two things – infrastructure and of course range anxiety. The race to manufacture a battery with the highest range is actually on right now but there’s another battle to be won; which one will charge up the fastest. Well, Samsung wants to alleviate all these worries with the introduction of its latest battery technology. It says by that by the end of 2020, the “next generation” of Samsung’s lithium ion battery technology will be available…

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Ferrari J50 might be ‘blueprint’ for brand’s future design

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Ferrari’s [NYSE:RACE] Special Projects division has built a bespoke supercar to mark the 50th anniversary of the Italian marque’s sales in Japan. You’ll recall Ferrari did something similar in 2014 to mark 60 years of sales in the United States. The Japanese special is the J50 which Ferrari has confirmed will be built in a limited run of just 10 examples. Last week the car made its debut at the Ferrari 50 Year in Japan Anniversary Finale held at Tokyo’s New National Art Museum. The J50, which is based on…

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There’s a new mystery Ferrari and it’s packing V-12 heat

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There’s a new special Ferrari that’s getting ready to set the world abuzz with high-revving fervor. This won’t be a V-8 buzz mind you, and it probably won’t be the sort of buzz that breathes through a pair of turbochargers. This is the sort of buzz that only twelve cylinders can create, especially when they’re packaged in a vehicle that looks to be about the size and shape of the Ferrari 458 or 488 GTB. According to our friends at Motor1, the mystery Ferrari popped up on the automotive radar…

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After record 2015, McLaren doubles sales in 2016

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McLaren Automotive, the road car division of the McLaren Technology Group, is on a tear. Over the course of 2016, the company managed to double the number of cars it sold in the previous year, with the tally coming in at 3,286 cars. That compares with 1,654 cars in 2015, which was a record year. McLaren also reached the milestone of building its 10,000th, shown here alongside CEO Mike Flewitt. It’s appropriate that the 10,000th car, a Ceramic Gray 570S completed on December 15, is a member of the Sports…

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BMW M550i xDrive is the quickest 5 Series Yet!

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Launched in October 2016, the new-generation BMW 5 Series is so fresh that SA dealerships are barely getting the 530i and 540i models in the first half of 2017. Fortunately, these aren’t the only versions we’ll be able to buy in South Africa and BMW has just introduced the upcoming iterations at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show. The bad news is that the M5 isn’t here yet, but there is some good news in the 5 Series wearing the M550i xDrive badge. The second model showcased at the Cobo Center…

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Infiniti Is Ready To Rumble In The EV Sports Car Market

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Infiniti is not going to be confused as a serious mover and shaker in the premium market, at least in the way Mercedes, BMW, and Audi are treated. However, Nissan’s upscale brand did make some strong gains in 2016 when it delivered more than 230,000 vehicles for the entire year. Not only was that number up seven percent compared to its total in 2015, it also represented a new sales record for the company. So with bright and sunny days seemingly ahead for Infiniti, now appears to be a good…

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Prepare Your Checkbooks If You Want To Get The Final Production Ferrari LaFerrari

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Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne announced last September that the Italian automaker was building a 500th example of the Ferrari LaFerrari that would eventually be auctioned off to benefit the victims of the massive earthquake that devastated Central Italy. No details were given then on the when and where of the auction, but now, the information’s out. The 500th and last production Ferrari LaFerrari will auctioned off by RM Sotheby’s on December 3 during the Ferrari Finali Mondialia event at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The event is…

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