Table of contents for September 2018 in Wheels

Holden needs a leader willing to blue with Detroit, to argue for better product, and to galvanise the dealers But right now, the 64-year-old is fronting the press, our recorders thrust towards his chin, the dance of hard questions, honest answers and deflected responses about to begin. You’d forgive him for feeling apprehensive. Overwhelmed. Afraid, even. After all, there’s no escaping the reality of the situation he’s willingly walked into, or the magnitude of the (impossible?) task ahead of him. As disastrous years go, Holden’s has been a doozy. In March it recorded its worst monthly sales figure since the company’s inception in 1948, a stinging result only made worse by its July number, which at 3927, was even lower. Falls from grace don’t get much more spectacular. Holden’s market…

Mercedes-Benz lifted the silk off the EQ Silver Arrow Concept at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance late last month. The electric, single-seat design study is a futuristic homage to the record-breaking W125 high-speed car of 1937. Penned by Merc’s chief designer Gorden Wagener, the 5.3m-long EV outputs 550kW with an 80kWh battery for a range of 400km. A panoramic screen projects 3D images for the driver, and on-board AI enables virtual races against historic Silver Arrows cars. Oh, and those rear tyres are a massive 26-inches.…

“You are totally underestimating the relevance of minivans” Sergio Marchionne’s waspish response to a question suggesting that FCA would eventually become almost entirely focused on trucks and SUVs IT’S BUT a fraction of a second; a moment that most will have missed. Spool back to 2015 and FCA’s charismatic CEO Sergio Marchionne is delivering his usual tub-thumping speech at the Detroit show. He’s bullish about the economy and FCA’s positioning on electrification, but as he makes each proclamation of future success, you see his eyes flick to the front row of seats, almost as if he’s deferring or seeking confirmation. Follow those almost involuntary eye movements and the man he’s directing them to is a pale, jetlagged Brit in an open-necked shirt who looks as if he needs to stand…

1 Revitalise FCA’s marketing plan for China and Europe Marchionne’s focus on feeding brands with the most potential has left FCA behind the curve in hotbed markets 2 Retain executives who didn’t land the CEO role Building consensus with the other candidates for the job, CFO Richard Palmer and Alfredo Altavilla, the COO of FCA’s Europe, Middle East and Africa region will be key to continuity 3 Bite the bullet on Fiat’s Italian production Tough political decisions need to be made not only on Fiat’s prospects of continuing to build cars in Italy, but also on the viability of the Chrysler and Dodge brands 4 Shift an established organisational focus away from eliminating debt FCA needs an orderly product plan that delivers on time rather than cancelling product lines at…

Porsche proven Honeywell convincingly proved it innovation under the engine cover of porsche's 919 racer. Not only does the petrol V4 produce up to 530 from just two litres, the prototype racer demolished the competition at the 2017 24 hours of Le Mans, and later went on to obliterate the outright lap record at the hallowed Nurburgring. The new time stands at a min blowing 5:19.545, toppling a previous rd that had stood for 35 years. What is it? A significant evolution of the decades-old turbocharger principle. In the quest to banish performance- and efficiency-sapping lag, Honeywell has re-engineered a design that has remained essentially unchanged since the 1920s. The DualBoost turbo was part of the technology package that made its debut on Porsche’s 919 Hybrid and Evo. How does…

BMW’s cautious electrification strategy is based around the development of a modular component set, with battery packs and motor units set to be used in multiple applications. Key to it is an impressively compact new ‘Heat’ unit which combines an electric motor, control electronics and a reduction gearbox into a single casing, providing power outputs from 100kW to more than 300kW. Pure EVs will have one or two of these, while hybrids will use one to power one axle while a conventional combustion engine turns the other.…

The cabin of the latest C63 S has also come in for a makeover. The multifunction steering wheel with swipeable ‘touch control’ buttons is the most notable change, but the S also gets an all-digital main dial pack, complemented by a 12.3-inch central display. There’s also the inbuilt data logger and some delicious AMG sports seats with optional climate and air bolstering settings. We’ll have to wait for the full Aussie specs but given local buyers’ insistence on full-fat specifications, it’s unlikely that customers here are going to feel short-changed.…

Attractive styling; ride and handling; capable 2.0-litre petrol Rear seat space sorely lacking; boot space trails segment rivals 01 SOLID FOUNDATIONS Underpinning a 60 percent more rigid body is Toyota’s fresh TNGA platform, which brings multi-link rather than torsion beam rear suspension. It’s good stuff: both the C-HR and new-gen Prius are built on TNGA bones, and they’re both tidy handlers. The Corolla is no different. 02 BOOTY CALL Lift the hatch and prepare to be disappointed. The bulk of the range only offers a 217L cargo bay, which is way off the small hatch pace. Even Toyota’s Yaris light hatch has more room. The ZR Hybrid is the only one to escape this with a 333L bay as an inflator kit replaces the spare wheel. 03 GEARHEAD All Corollas…

Three suspension setups are offered for A200, including two with a torsion beam rear-end introduced to save weight, space and cost. The base car has Comfort springs, while Lowered coils shave 15mm off the ride height in an AMG Line exterior package ($1990). Their passive damper tune does a good job of controlling body movement, though there’s some fussiness on patchy bitumen. Adaptive dampers and an independent rear end are part of a $3190 AMG Exclusive option pack. It gives the A200 more bandwidth, and the desirable rear suspension layout assists the front-end with a little more turn-in eagerness.…

Ditching MMI’s intuitive rotary dial and forcing serial buyers to accept a new interface is bold. The touchscreen needs more of the driver’s attention, even with its haptic feedback and audible clicks. The improved voice and handwriting recognition should make the transition easier. In spec terms, A8’s sharp pricing undercuts immediate rivals by around $20K, even with the requisite Premium Plus option package ($11,000) for 20s, extended leather, privacy glass, digital TV, seat ventilation and massage, and more.…

UNLIKE the Carlton United Brewery, which tried to water down VB to 4.6 percent in the hope no-one would notice, Hyundai knows not to mess with a good recipe. That’s why the 2019 Tucson update is nominal at best. A light exterior scrub-up brings the family ‘cascading’ grille along with a head and taillight redesign, while a new ‘floating’ touchscreen headlines an interior makeover with smartphone mirroring. The most 03 significant changes however, lie under the Tucson’s pleasant skin starting with a suspension revision completed in the name of comfort. Coarse surfaces still allow a little roar into the cabin but the likeable road manner remains even when thrown over nasty surfaces. A new eight-speed auto arrives for diesel-powered versions and decidedly trounces the previous six-cog ’box which is still…

Ford’s ST-Line (not to be confused with an ST model) effectively rreplaces Focus Sport in Australia. Along with the changes detailed above, ST-Line adds twin chrome exhaust tips exiting from a model-specific rear bumper insert, side skirts, and a different spoiler on the trailing edge of the roof. Inside, changes include a flat-bottom wheel with red stitching and metal-capped pedals. Over Trend, ST-Line adds wireless phone charging and dual-zone climate control that responds to voice activation.…

It might have burst back into the public psyche in 2005 with this car’s predecessor, but the Vantage moniker has a rich history in Aston Martin folklore. First applied in 1951 on the DB2 to distinguish a high-performance derivative with a ‘Vantage engine’, the first standalone Vantage was the short-lived, 4.0-litre six-pot model of 1972. Gradually positioned as AM’s flagship with ever beefier V8s, the Vantage introduced Aston’s all-new 6.0-litre V12 in 2000 with the DB7. The Vantage is now Aston Martin’s most popular model.…

Uwe Kuessner (left) told Stahl, “I’ve taken millions of pictures, before and since the Phase III, but even today I still get people saying to me: ‘Hey – you’re the guy who took that photo.’” Nichols, meanwhile, declared, “That test still stands among the best two days of my life. In fact, on the wall of my office I have only three framed photographs of cars I’ve driven; one is of me driving a D-Type, another is in a Porsche 959; and the other is Uwe’s picture of me at the wheel of the GT-HO.”…

1 Hybrid theory Willys or Ford? The vehicles were almost identical, and wartime necessitated interchanging of parts, so most today are a hybrid of the two. 2 Mixed grille Among the rarest of WW2 Jeeps are 1500-odd Willys ‘slatties’ from 1941; the welded prison-bar slat-grille was costlier than Ford’s stamping. 3 Dumped trucks Various examples of the Jeeps usedin M*A*S*H weresimply abandoned on location, Malibu Creek State Park, when filming ended in 1983. 4 Copy, right? Russia’s GAZ built the Jeep-like GAZ 64 in 1941 and the similar 67 in 1943; there really is ‘no reason to believe’ they copied. 5 Father figured Karl Probst (right), aka ‘father of the Jeep’, refuted the title; the ideas in fact came from Bantam execs Harold Crist, Chet Hemphling and Ralph Turner.…

One of the great unknowns at the time of Buttner’s appointment was how much patience General Motors has for a foreign outpost with five percent market share. “One of my first questions of GM was “What’s your commitment to Holden?’ said Buttner. “Frankly, I was buoyed by the response.” Seems GM was telling the truth. Three weeks after my meeting with Buttner, Holden announced it will become a development hub for GM’s autonomous and electric vehicles. The deal will see the creation of 150 new jobs (taking Holden’s design and engineering workforce to 500) and boost R&D expenditure to $120m, with the recently upgraded Lang Lang proving ground to play a key role.…

1975 E21 The original and purest. Sophisticated successor to the 02 cars, inheriting the rear-drive layout but introducing silky six-pot powerplants that delighted keen drivers. 1991 E36 The E36 was the sales success that proved that a premium alternative to the mid-range sedan could be both aspirational yet cost-effective due to strong residuals. 1998 E46 A technological step-change from the E36, the E46 ushered in the fantastic M3 CSL, paddle shift transmissions and some excellent performance diesels.…

Dutch tyre manufacturer Vredestein is releasing new treads in rare sizes suited to ‘modern classic’ cars of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. Dubbed the Sprint+, the initial specification caters for owners of the Audi Ur-Quattro in an oddball 215/50R15 size. The Sprint+ retains a retro look but is made using contemporary production methods and technology. The company says it will have about ten sizes for various cars by mid-2019. Former F1 driver and Le Mans-winner Jochen Mass assisted with development.…

Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, are being sued by investors who accuse them of inventing a scheme to “completely decimate” the company’s many short sellers: investors who are betting on a decline in Tesla share prices. On 8th August, Musk tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share and that funding had been secured. Shares rallied on this news, yet no funding plan has been revealed. It’s against SEC rules for a company to issue a materially false statement that misleads investors.…

Volvo’s standalone go-fast division, Polestar, has engineered a software tweak that vectors more torque to the rear wheels of all-wheel drive 2019-model year S90, V90, XC90, S60, V60, XC60 and XC40 models. It’s available with all non-hybridised vehicles, and can be fitted by dealers. While it’s not about to turn your XC60 D4 into a tyre-frying Hoonigan, the software marks but one option in the Polestar Engineered Optimisation Accessory box of tricks. This also offers sharper throttle responses, revised gearshift mapping and, yes, more power.…

Marchionne was a man unafraid of change, and his erudite wit and gruff candour made him a rarity Balocco, coincidentally, was also the place I first encountered the executive I came to think of as Sweater Man. That was back in 2010, at the international launch of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. No-one there that day could ignore the black Ferrari Enzo loudly lapping Balocco’s handling track during the lunch break. The driver was Marchionne, but we didn’t know that until he climbed out of the supercar. Wearing, of course, a black sweater. Chances like this are too good for any journalist to ignore. Myself and another Australian got to him first, and, if I remember rightly, to some quotable quotes on what was happening with the replacement for the Alfa…

Audi RS5 $156.600 Just as slick as the Merc, a few grand cheaper and with quattro traction to give it a lead off the line, but the 2.9-litre V6 RS5 lacks the aural fireworks of the C63’s cracking 4.0-litre V8. AMG now levels with Audi’s interior polish at least. Nissan GT-R Premium $189,000 Even quicker and wieldier than the powerhouse AMG coupe, but the cabin still feels Cash Converters to the AMG’s Claridge’s. It’s starting to look a bit dated too, the R35 GT-R shape now 11 years old.…

The first toe in the water for Audi’s E-Tron sub-brand was an R8-esque concept at the Frankfurt motor show in 2009 After numerous EV studies bearing the E-Tron badge, this SUV due in late 2018 will be the first fully electric Audi to make production Audi will add a second EV to its line-up in 2019 called the E-Tron Sportback, using the same basic platform as the E-Tron above A compact EV is due in 2020, likely an A3-sized car similar to the existing PHEV pictured. It will share architecture with the VW ID hatch Audi’s first electric performance car, the E-Tron GT, will land in 2020. It is expected to use the same platform as the Porsche Taycan…

Myriad Vantage variants are in the pipeline. First up is one with a seven-speed manual gearbox, though it’s still more than a year away. A soft-top Volante version is also a shoo-in, as are harder versions with a greater performance focus. We know there’s plenty of headroom left in the 4.0-litre V8 (it churns out 450kW/850Nm in the AMG E63 S) and tantalisingly, Aston says its 5.2-litre V12 does fit though “there are no plans at this stage.” No plans either for a six-cylinder version using Merc’s all-new M256 in-line six, which is a shame. A cheaper six-pot with a manual ’box would be a lovely thing.…

As you might expect, this is a question paleontologists argue over in bars whenever they get together. Professor Zorigt Badmkhatanhad says the accepted wisdom comes down to two theories – an asteroid impact wiping out a large area and sending clouds of dust around the planet, which block out the sun. Or a period of wild volcanic activity, for which he believes there’s a lack of supporting evidence. Like all dino-scientists, however, Zorigt has his own theories. “We’re pretty sure the meteor struck in the Northern Hemisphere, in the Americas, but then what kills all the dinosaurs in Asia? Because that’s a long way away from the impact and the worst of the effects,” he says. “It’s just a theory, but what if the dust cloud was big enough to…

IT’S EARLY on a Saturday morning in Coventry, England, the spiritual home of British sports car maker Jaguar. Spring sunshine bathes the verdant English countryside in a golden hue as our entourage pulls into the car park of a large industrial complex. The modern but otherwise unremarkable architecture could be the shop front of any mid-size engineering firm, but step through the glass doors and the first thing to greet you in the large, open-plan foyer is the sleek, low silhouette of a XJR-9 TWR Silk Cut Racing Jaguar. Not far away is the equally distinctive shape of a Jaguar XJ220 supercar, in royal blue, flanked by an immaculate, meticulously restored E-Type roadster. On a turntable in the centre of the room and holding pride of place is a severely…

Man versus machine On February 10 in Philadelphia, USA, the IBM supercomputer called Deep Blue becomes the first machine to win a chess game against a reigning world champion, defeating Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov. Barrels; no laughs Eight decaying bodies are found in barrels in a disused bank vault north of Adelaide, marking the beginning of the Snowtown murders case, Australia’s worst-ever serial killings. The body count rose to 11; three men were later convicted. Gold dusting In the men’s 1500m freestyle event at the Atlanta Olympics, Aussie Kieren Perkins is the slowest of the eight to qualify for the final. He goes on to stun the world by winning gold in a career-defining performance.…

BMW’s 302kW/550Nm M2 Competition is set to arrive in Australian dealers in October. The $104,900 coupe gets a slightly detuned version of the current M3’s S55 twin-turbo lump and is offered with a choice of a manual or DCT transmission. A budget $99,900 Pure version is set to follow in early 2019. The Pure does without the Harman Kardon stereo, electrically adjustable sports seats, adaptive LED headlights and rides on 19-inch wheels. The Competition models replace the regular M2 variant in BMW’s line-up going forward.…

“I feel he sees Max growing in speed and strength and he doesn’t want to play a support role, for want of better words.” – Christian Horner EXPECT a queue for yellow merchandise at Albert Park next year following the shock decision by Australian F1 superstar Daniel Ricciardo to leave Red Bull Racing and join the Renault Sport F1 outfit in 2019. But his new team admits it could be 2020 at the earliest before he’s winning races again. The announcement came as a genuine surprise, with Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner and fellow team driver Max Verstappen telling media outlets in the weeks prior that Ricciardo staying on was a sure thing. Ricciardo himself gave the same impression. Instead the Honey Badger has signed a two-year deal with…

Alfa badly needs US traction to make good on the investment in the Giorgio platform Strong performer but needs to find its voice in a crowded Chinese marketplace Strong prospects due to marque being positioned as FCA’s EV centre of excellence One of the shining lights in FCA’s portfolio. High margins, strong product mix Crunch time is coming for this storied brand which currently only builds Pacifica MPVs Success of RAM set to squeeze Durango out of market. Will be on shaky ground then Italian plants set to be retooled for Maserati and Jeep crossovers. Needs firm handling A clear divestment opportunity, the Italian market Ypsilon the only product sold…

Mazda has joined the likes of Holden and Ford in offering Australian customers a five-year/ unlimited kilometre, transferable warranty on its retail vehicles. Of Australia’s top-10 selling brands, Toyota, Nissan and Volkswagen are the sole holdouts on a traditional three-year deal. “The new warranty will give customers another reason to choose Mazda, bolstering confidence in our already solid reputation for quality, hard-wearing cars” says Mazda Australia boss Vinesh Bhindi. Toyota insists it still has no plans for a warranty extension.…

We’ve seen the prototypes for Chevrolet’s mid-engined Corvette C8, now we’ve spied a trio of intriguing patents. The first filing is for active side skirts that raise and lower depending on vehicle speed. There’s also an application for a pair of active spoilers, one on the boot lid and the other on the trailing edge of the roof, with the last patent being applied for active air ducts below the front grille and via a roof scoop. We’ll have to wait to see how much, if any, of this tech appears on the production car, due next year.…

Like an uncertain punter at the races, BMW is going to hedge its bets when it comes to electrification There have been plenty of innovations in terms of tech and safety, but the fundamentals shared by almost all modern cars are decades old: monocoque construction, strut suspension, disc brakes and, of course, Ol’ Smokey itself – the internal combustion engine. But now a genuine revolution is approaching. Electric cars don’t just use a different means of propulsion – one that needs to be engineered at massive cost – but they also require major changes to the way cars are designed and built. Changes that are causing some very senior heads to be scratched very hard. The stakes are enormous. At a recent event in Germany, Oliver Zipse, BMW’s board member…

V8 charisma; benign handling balance; clever control systems; ride Still hardly the acme of discretion; fuel thirst; weight; options pricing 01 LOG ON AMG Track Pace system records over 80 vehicle-specific sets of data (e.g. speed, acceleration) ten times per second. Circuits such as the Nürburgring or Spa are pre-stored but it’s also possible to record your own track layouts. 02 MOUNT UP The C63 S gets dynamic engine mounts as standard which improve NVH in their soft mode while giving better steering response and an addictive pointiness to the coupe’s front-end in their stiffer setting. 03 PARADIGM SHIFT MCT-9G ’box features a multiple downshift function that can rapidly downshift four gears and a double-declutching function in the Sport and Sport+ drive programs that smooths cog swapping to almost twin-clutch…

Interior glamour and tech; gearbox; functional improvements Loud cabin; hard, flat seats; dash squeaks in vehicles tested 01 DOUBLE WIDE Widescreen display is the cabin centrepiece, made up of two separate panels. Central one is Merc’s first ever touchscreen 02 FREER IN THE REAR Roofline boost of 7mm and bigger rear doors markedly improve visibility and access. Longer wheelbase adds rear seat room 03 DAS BOOT A-Class boot is 29L bigger, but more significant is the wider hatch opening, which makes it easier to load and unload…

Ride quality; interior elegance; long-haul effortlessness; agility Falls short of Level 3 autonomous billing; relatively conservative styling 01 BUSINESS; CLASS Four-seat Exclusive pack ($25,190) for L variants includes more screens, massage seats, tables, heated armrests and footrest, extended console, etc. 02 BRIGHT IDEAS Optional laser headlights project 600m ahead; more than double the range of normal high beams. They’re bundled with animated OLED taillights and cost $13,200. 03 LESS EASILY SPOOKED A first-of-its-kind laser scanner can ‘see’ the contours of objects further ahead than radar and triggers less abrupt interventions from A8’s safety systems.…

Refinement and comfort; gutsy performance; safety equipment Brake pedal feel; last-gen infotainment interface is a shame 01 Tray measures 1215mm between the wheel arches – wide enough to fit a standard pallet. Payload is 1107kg; towing capacity is 3500kg. 02 Engineering improvements for the V6 version include additional crossmembers for the ladder frame and structural body reinforcements. 03 There are four 12v outlets (two front, one rear, another in the tray) and a 360-degree camera that’s useful for parking and when off-road.…

Infiniti is hoping to have QX50s in its Australian showrooms by the middle of next year. Spokesman Tony Mee said it was too early to talk about exact pricing but we can “expect it to be competitive” against its direct rivals. I’m guessing that translates to ‘cheaper than the Germans’. “The QX50 represents a big opportunity for the brand to continue to establish a strong footprint in Australia, thanks to the growing popularity of medium SUVs in the premium market,” he added. “The new VC engine will be a key selling point when it arrives in showrooms. Infiniti has a rich history of introducing world-first technologies to market – and the variable compression engine is another example of its technological capabilities.”…

SEPTEMBER, 1959: on his first day at school, Ian Callum presented the teacher with a drawing of a car and told him, “I want to be a car designer.” The teacher wasn’t impressed, either with his sketch or the ambition. Yet, somehow the young boy understood his mother’s Hoover 216 vacuum cleaner was the result of design. If this horrible, now classic, plastic device was designed, Callum realised that cars were also created by people. He had to be one of them. He drew his first car when he was three. “When I was about seven, my grandfather gave me two books – Moray [Ian’s younger brother, who is now global design boss at Ford] still has them – by Frank Wootton, an artist. One was How to Draw Cars…

Singer 911 Not a factory ‘Continuation’ but surely the best, most desirable reincarnations of air-cooled 911s on the planet. BYO barrow-loads of cash. Aston Martin DB4 GT A run of 25 cars built as continuations of the 75 homologation specials produced from 1959-’63. Priced at just over US$2m. Shelby Cobra Limited run of 50 made by Superformance under official licence. Available with fibreglass body (US$150K) or aluminium for US$250 K. Jaguar D-Type The third model to be built by Jaguar Classic. Just 25 will be hand crafted, bringing total production up to the 100 units originally planned for in 1955.…

THE REAL PHOTOGRAPH WAS FIRST HIGHLIGHTED IN THAT SPORTS CAR WORLD YARN, THOUGH IT’S SINCE APPEARED ON T-SHIRTS, AND BEEN RIPPED OFF BY NUMEROUS WEBSITES The shot, taken over driver Mel Nichols’ left shoulder, first appeared with the tacho needle at 6700rpm and the speedo re-touched to just shy of 100mph (160km/h), as if the Falcon was in third gear. Nichols’ ‘Biggest Stick’ story, published in the October 1971 issue of Wheels, played it straight down the line, and didn’t mention the top speed achieved. It was only four years later, when Nichols’ published a story-behind-the-photograph piece titled ‘HO Down the Hume’ in the October 1975 edition of Wheels’ sister magazine, Sports Car World, that readers learned the truth. Upon seeing the original photograph, speedo just above 140mph (225km/h), Wheels’…

WRIT LARGE on any list of motoring mightabeens is the name of the Bantam BRC 40, a 1940 product of American Bantam (previously American Austin). Roughed out by the small Pennsylvania car maker’s plant manager Harold Crist in consultation with the client, and properly penned by Detroit freelance designer Karl Probst, the BRC 40 was done in a hurry: the client’s commission had allowed just 49 days from concept to prototype delivery. But under foster parents Willys-Overland and the Ford Motor Company, the BRC 40 would create a legend and indeed, another car company: Jeep. The client was the US Army and the urgent market force was World War 2. In mid-1940, the US War Department issued a requirement for a quarter-ton, 4WD reconnaissance vehicle and invited 135 US industrial…