Table of contents for October 2020 in Wheels

OF COURSE it’s amazing. You knew that already. How could anything that weighs 986kg, that’s powered by a 487kW 3.9-litre atmo V12 that revs to 12,100rpm, yet retains an H-pattern manual gearbox driving the rear wheels be anything but? That the Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 also features three seats with a central driving position, intriguing fan-assisted aerodynamics and can carry a decent amount of luggage in a footprint no bigger than a Boxster is testament to the genius of the man who designed the iconic McLaren F1. “For me, car design is packaging,” says Murray. “That’s it. Twenty years in Formula 1 teaches you how to package a car.” Indeed, the T.50 is a lesson in shrink-wrapped space utilisation, the 288-litre luggage capacity being one of the first figures Murray…

But please, keep it tight (no more than 200 words) and do include your suburb if via email: wheels@wheelsmag.com.au You can also have your say on Facebook (search for Wheels Australia), Instagram or Twitter LETTER OF THE MONTH ‘I want to share with you how I would go about building the fastest race car’ GIVE THEM WINGS WE ALL DREAM sometimes; it’s an essential part of life. I’m 13, and I dream a lot about how I would go about doing something. Today I want to share with you how I would go about building the fastest race car. Firstly, the engine, a V6 hybrid. Two water-cooled e-turbos working sequentially and lots of lightweight alloys. Essentially an F1 engine, upgraded to 2.2-litres with much the same semi-automatic gearbox. Now, the…

THE TOYOTA Hilux has always bumped around in an odd netherworld between bushy suburbia and the blue-collar universe. Starting life as a simple, rugged tool for the hard-hat and Akubra brigades, along the way it’s morphed into one of the most popular passenger vehicles in Australia. That dual identity brings with it a series of compromises that the Hilux’s original designers never really planned for. This 2020 refresh of the eighth generation Hilux, which first launched in 2015, inches the needle over towards a passengers-first sentiment, presenting a more civil side without impacting its abilities on the construction site or back paddock. Niceties like a digital speedometer and Apple CarPlay, and necessities like AEB and adaptive cruise control, are all part of the mix of this upgraded Hilux, along with…

AT THE RISK of reading from the Captain Obvious handbook, it’s clear that plenty of 4x4 ute buyers do not work from same priority list as car buyers. If strong fundamentals of the driving experience, and inclusion of the latest multimedia and safety tech were 4x4 prerequisites, then the outgoing Isuzu D-Max would have never achieved the level of sales success it has. No, it’s clear that to regularly nudge the overall top 10 best sellers in the country, the D-Max had to be appealing to buyers with a different set of must-haves: a reputation for rugged unburstablity, a six-year warranty, affordable servicing schedule, and keen drive-away pricing. So where does the new third-generation set its sights? We drove the mid-spec LS-U, noting that it leaps ahead of segment rivals…

I walked green miles of jungleI walked through yellow miles of painI crossed starvation’s desertWatched dead rivers swell with rainThe song of insects filled the airNights and days of despairwhere a killer’s son says “son beware” Rollins Band, ‘Illumination’, 2000. THE DARIEN GAP, it’s safe to say, is not up there on many people’s holiday-destination bucket list. This vast, godforsaken tract of jungle, swamp and mountains located between Panama and Colombia is most noteworthy for being the only real interruption to the circa-30,000km pan-American highway network linking Alaska to the southernmost tip of South America. It’s a stronghold of wilderness where the cloying air is thick with insects and vampire bats; the swampy ground riddled with deadly snakes; dense foliage concealing aggressive wild pigs. You’ll search in vain for a…

DEEP within automotive boardrooms the world over, there’s a term that’s flung around as frequently as “Kale detox” at a Bondi cafe. It’s ‘platform rationalisation’, and chances are that the car you’re driving now conforms to its edicts in some way. For a company like Jaguar Land Rover, which currently has six models under the LR brand, and seven for the Leaping Cat, a tightly rationalised platform strategy is essential for long-term viability, as well as the flexibility needed to accommodate combustion, hybrid and EV powertrains. Here’s how it will influence the all-new Rangie, due next year. THE UNDERPINNINGS The key to all future premium models from Jaguar Land Rover is MLA, an acronym for Modular Longitudinal Architecture. MLA is complemented by MTA (T for transversely mounted engines) at the…

IF YOU TOOK the panels of a Ford Mustang road car and tried to affix them to Scott McLaughlin’s race car, they wouldn’t fit. That is a hard, unfortunate fact – one created by the current chassis which was introduced in 2013 to suit four-door Commodores and Falcons. Now, with those production cars extinct, the category needs a new skeleton to sit beneath the racers’ composite panels. There are multiple ‘ready made’ formulas the category could adopt but instead Supercars has opted for a slight tweak to its current ruleset. John Casey is the man in charge of the Gen3 rules, and he is focused on ensuring the racers look similar to a road-faring version. “I’d characterise the Gen3 cars as much more of a return to showroom dimensions,” he…

I DON’T KNOW about you, but I tend to do something fairly irrational whenever I get into a front-wheel-drive SUV. Because they have a modicum of extra ride height, I always feel compelled to drive them off road. I know, I know, this really needs to be filed under ‘Unsmart Things Done’ but there it is. The Juke is no exception. There’s a track near my house that, for a short 100-metre pitch, climbs at a genuinely unnerving gradient. It has recently been regraded with fresh gravel, so on the face of it, the Juke’s odds of climbing it looked about on par with Clive Palmer’s chances of conquering Mount Midoriyama Undeterred, I vowed to get a good run at it and just bully the Juke up, but as I…

IT’S HARD to be an innovator these days – everyone’s at it. Which makes life difficult for the all-new S-Class. Back in the good old days, the S-Class was a beacon of future thinking and genuine technological advancement. The new S-Class still lives up to this legacy but must compete with a talented host of rival impostors cutting its grass. The seventh generation of Mercedes-Benz’s luxury limo flagship (codenamed W223) does this through incremental advancements in key areas instead of wholesale change. The first is a huge augmented reality head-up display, which Mercedes says is the equivalent of having a 77-inch TV screen placed 10 metres in front of the car. The system projects info such as turn-off arrows “virtually and precisely” onto the road in front of the driver.…

A DESIGN DOCUMENT kept secret by Holden for two decades has been uncovered by Wheels, revealing initial plans for a number of tantalising VE Commodore variants. Top of the pile is a mid-size sedan that would have revived the Torana bodystyle for Holden. Among the other lost VE Commodore variants are a coupe and coupe ute, a cab-chassis ute, a shooting-brake wagon and even a seven-seater. The secret document is believed to be an exploration into the different possibilities of a versatile flex architecture strategy; a result of an early brainstorming session by Holden’s design team held around the turn of the millennium. In total, Holden’s designers envisaged the possibility for nine or more variants to be spun off the VE Commodore and its Zeta platform. Nestled amidst the different…

SO HERE IT is: one of most eagerly awaited electric cars of year. After the hors d’oeuvre of the Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid coupe, this is the main course that will properly launch the new company from Sweden into the mainstream. It’s hard not to compare the Polestar 2 to the Tesla Model 3. In price, footprint and concept, they are remarkably similar bedfellows, and this segment will soon be buzzing with all-electric rivals from Germany’s premium manufacturers. It’s a decent package, too. At 4.6m long, this soberly styled five-door fastback is roughly the same size as a 3 Series and is built on the same Geely group CMA architecture that also begat the Volvo XC40. It offers easy access to the back seats (just watch out for a large…

The inescapable question remains: is anyone really ready for the $35,000 Japanese light car? ON THE FACE of it, it seemed Gen Y had ample ‘issues’ to keep them busy sooking and moaning. There’s the financially impenetrable housing market; the rising cost of smashed avo on toast; the discomfort of skinny jeans. But now Toyota has just added another nasty thorn to that list of woes: the bold introduction of the not-so-affordable small car. Cars from this B-segment – like the Mazda 2, Suzuki Swift or previous-generation Yaris – have been go-to choices for 20-something drivers for years; a chance to get that new-car smell without the lingering stench of endless high monthly repayments. With their sub-$20,000 driveway price, a typical light car from a Japanese or Korean brand was…

Charles ‘Spen’ Spencer King began his career in 1942 as an apprentice at Rolls-Royce, quickly becoming expert with jet and gas turbine engines. In 1945 he moved to Rover at Solihull, prompted by the fact that the British automaker had been involved in the early stages of jet-engine development and had ambitions for the gas turbine in automotive applications. In ’52, King piloted the first Rover turbine car, JET1, at 243km/h, and gas turbines powered the Le Mans racing car of 1963-65. But as it became clear that there was no immediate prospect of a cost-competitive production turbine car, King moved into mainstream Rover development. He would go on to head up Rover and Triumph’s combined engineering department, and later produce concept vehicles with advanced aerodynamics and lightweight aluminium construction.…

MID-ENGINED FERRARIS require little explanation. Founder Enzo famously may not have been a fan of the layout, preferring his horses ahead of his cart, but Maranello has long since established itself as a master of the art of otherworldly yet accessible mid-engined performance. Cars like the F8 Tributo and new SF90 showcase the marque’s technological and artistic flair, while also linking its road cars to Formula 1. Elemental and pure, they’re uncomplicated in their remit and their appeal. It’s not always so straightforward with Maranello’s front-engined cars. The astonishing, V12-powered 812 Superfast is often lumped in with GTs but is, in fact, nothing of the sort, being instead a hypercar ever willing to sweep sideways on a breath of throttle and force you to re-learn everything you thought you know…

THERE IS NEAR universal agreement that Supercars will continue to be powered by a naturally aspirated V8 in the future. The debate hinges on from where those engines will be sourced. Currently, engine costs are “out of control”, with a two-car team spending upwards of $500,000 a season before factoring in development. Todd Kelly was still wiping grease off his hands from an engine rebuild when talking to Wheels. “The engines in the cars are so technical and expensive to design and build and run and maintain. And it doesn’t have any impact on the end product,” Kelly says. “You could have 15 less horsepower, have just as good racing, and save half a million dollars a year on your engine budget.” Dane also suggests that a slight reduction in…

IF CARS REALLY are a reflection of our personalities and socio-economic standing, I feel as though I’ve gone from being a portly middle-aged financial planner who likes golf and Grange, to a brash, 30-something tech whiz who’s into hip-hop, pole positions and pole dancers. That’s a snap-shot of the difference between my outgoing Lexus RX450 hybrid seven-seater, and this, the RC-F which replaces it. The two represent pretty much the polar opposites of Lexus’s local range in terms of intended function, packaging, and the rate at which they drink dinosaur juice. About the only thing they share, apart from that pervasive sense of Lexus quality, is that they are both long-serving inclusions in the brand’s line-up, and are in the latter phases of their respective lifecycles. The RC-F, packing the…

AH, THE OLD ‘instant versus delayed gratification’ debate. Until now, I’ve considered myself a delayed gratification kind of person. Give me a piece of cake, and I’ll save the icing until last. And in a motoring sense, if offered the choice between an atmo screamer or one that’s heavily turbocharged, I’d prefer the fizzy heights of a GT3 to the brawny muscle of an AMG GT. And yet… I’m now one month into Focus ST ‘ownership’ and this little blue hatchback has me questioning my stance. Everything in this fast Ford is readily accessible. The exhaust is surprisingly vocal at start-up and fills the cabin with a purposeful soundtrack at idle, the steering is crisp and meaty immediately off-centre, and the brake pedal is naturally weighted and easy to modulate…

HYUNDAI i30 SEDAN N-LINE Using the same 150kW 1.6-litre four-pot as its hatch equivalent, the three-box Hyundai i30 Sedan N-Line adds a third bodystyle to the i30 range. Offered with 18-inch alloys, CarPlay/Android Auto and an Aussie-specific suspension tune, this one will be followed by the larger Sonata N-Line, powered by the company’s new 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four. KIA STINGER The Stinger gets treated to a raft of updates intended to keep it looking fresh. The usual facelift targets – lights, grille, front and rear fascias, wheel designs and colour palette – are addressed, along with improved materials inside, and the fitment of a big 10.25-inch touchscreen. MAZDA BT-50 How good does this look? Mazda brings the style and finish, Isuzu delivers the bulletproof mechanicals. The new BT-50 gets a 3.0-litre…

IF THERE’S a gene that predisposes a person to like the original Land Rover Defender, I’m afraid I don’t have it. I appreciate that people are sentimental about these things, but really, the previous Defender was – and still is – the worst car I’d ever reviewed on a public road. The third-generation Defender – code-named L663 – thankfully comes from different stock, and is tasked with the hardest job of all; placating the cynical faithful while attracting an entirely new audience. We’ve already sampled the Defender’s bush-bashing chops (Wheels, April) so let’s concentrate on the terrain where most Aussie Defenders will spend their lives: on the tarmac. Long-wheelbase 110 and short-wheelbase 90 variants will make up the Australian mix, with two diesels and one petrol engine across four grades.…

MASERATI’S EMBLEM, the trident, is a three-pointed weapon, so it’s fitting that the MC20 you see here is the first of a trio. This beautiful mid-engined coupe, powered by a hugely powerful new Maserati-made twin-turbo V6, is the brand’s first supercar since the 2004 MC12 and is likewise destined for the racetrack as well as the road. It will be followed, predictably, by a convertible. But the final instalment, due in 2022, is something truly startling; it’s a pure electric MC20, and the EV will be quickest of them all. Project MC20 signals the opening of a new era for Maserati, one in which the brand will embrace electrification as it expands and renews its model line-up. Neither Maserati nor its parent company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, have great track records…

An easy way to keep safe on the road is purchasing quality tyres from reputable brands. MITCHELL GOLLEDGE, Managing Director at Continental Tyres, the leaders in tyre safety, shares his tips on things to consider next time you purchase new tyres. WET WEATHER As we head further into winter, it’s important that when purchasing new tyres to consider how well they react in wet braking conditions. Tests at Continental’s Contidrom Test Center in Germany have shown that on wet roads, most cars require a stopping distance of an additional 12 metres when travelling from 100km/h compared to dry conditions. When cars are fitted with budget tyres, stopping distances can increase even more – up to an additional 18 metres! It’s important to purchase tyres that can perform strongly in all…

1981, ’82 & ’87 YELLOW FEVER! Jeeps are used for the inaugural adventure/race in 1980, but the following year the organisers switch to Range Rovers for the event in Sumatra and never look back – they’re the expedition’s weapon of choice again in ’82 (in Papua New Guinea) and ’87 (in Madagascar). Amateur teams wade, float and rock-crawl to places never before seen by cars, doling out medical supplies and conducting geological surveys as they go. Upping the competitive ante even further, the teams must battle subliminal nicotine cravings on a daily basis. 1989 & 2014 BATTLING ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS Keen to build brand awareness as it re-enters the North American market in the late ’80s, Land Rover packs its updated Range Rover off on an ambitious, entirely off-road…

OF ALL THE challenges facing Supercars, this is the most complex. It boils down to a simple truth: Supercars doesn’t want to rely on manufacturer involvement but it needs manufacturers to be involved to make the category interesting and relevant. Navigating that middle ground is a murky process. Supercars has been bullish in its intention to reduce the reliance on manufacturers, but it does have a plan to entice new brands to the sport without the need to invest millions of dollars. “I think we need to be asking [OEMs] for approval to run their car on the track but not asking them for money to do so,” says Casey. “It will literally just be the approval to represent their product on track.” At face value, this makes sense. At…

THERE ARE A FEW things that I have planned for which a selection of cars would be preferable: a ute for grabbing building supplies; a wagon to shift a bunch of boxes with kids’ toys; something large and comfortable for a much-needed holiday. But we reside in inner Melbourne and right now our beloved city is under Stage Four restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. So all of those plans are just pipe dreams until the lockdown begins to ease. Our new reality sees me darting off to the local shops after work to grab supplies in the Venue before our 8pm curfew. Having had little previous time with the car, thus far it has been a pleasant surprise. Walking away from the Acid Green SUV, I’m reminded of the toxic…

FINALLY, AN SUV! Regular readers of this section may have noticed a pattern. Aside from the capable but humble Ford Mondeo, every car to feature on this page has been a two-door sports car (Alfa Romeo 4C, BMW i8, Mercedes-Benz SLK/SLC). It feels good, therefore, in this high-riding SUV-crazed world of ours, to at least start to even the ledger The problem is that this warm sense of righteousness starts to fade when you stop to consider the SUV in question. Not because today’s Pajero is especially good (it isn’t and has been thoroughly outclassed by rivals), but because the news drives a final and rather sudden nail into our hope that one day, just maybe, Mitsubishi might once again do something as mad as the Pajero Evolution (see sidebar,…