Table of contents for Wheels Year Book 2019 in Wheels

If the CS isn’t hardcore enough, you can go racing with its, ahem, CS Racing twin. It follows on from the M235i and M240i track versions and it’s eligible to attack categories like the VLN Endurance Championship and TC America racing series. The CS Racing uses a detuned version of the S55, with the kilowatt count dropping to between 205 and 268kW. The seven-speed DCT is used exclusively, while the aero package is significantly upgraded. The CS Racing wasn’t confirmed for Australia at the time of press, however, BMW Australia has said that it is keen to offer it.…

200K That’s the approximate number of bogus spare parts seized around the world by Porsche’s anti-counterfeit department in 2018 alone. It’s a big enough problem for the German car maker to have three full-time agents trawling online and shutting down the fakers. Rural China is the main offender, where parts are manufactured in small workshops or even backyards. ATTENUATION TO DETAIL Funny thing about silence – it has the potential to be awkward, or utterly golden. Hyundai is spruiking the latter, announcing that it’s well advanced in developing active noise-cancelling technology for its cars that promises to soon see customers cruising in serene quietude. The system is more advanced than others on the market and uses tiny microphones to ‘listen’ to tyre and wind noise, and a sound generator to…

Unplugged, BorgWarner’s new eTurbo works exactly as a conventional turbocharger does. Connect the power, however, and an electric motor located on the central driveshaft brings significant advances to an old idea. At low engine revs, the energised motor can spool the turbo up to speed almost instantly, eliminating lag. Once the engine is running at high revs, the motor takes a back seat and allows exhaust gasses to take over. In a conventional turbo, a wastegate bypasses excess exhaust to prevent overboosting. Instead, the eTurbo switches polarity to turn the motor into a generator, and the load applied to the driveshaft precisely limits its maximum speed. Regenerated power is stored in an electrical sub-system to power the anti-lag function or any other high-power electrical systems the vehicle may have. In…

Model BMW X6 M50i Engine 4395cc V8 (90°), dohc, 32v, twin-turbo Max power 390kW @ 5500-6000rpm Max torque 750Nm @ 1800-4600rpm Transmission 8-speed automatic Weight 2235kg 0-100km/h 4.3sec (claimed) Fuel consumption 10.4L/100km Price $155,900 On sale Now THE BMW X6 is a bit like thinking your friend is a fool for having a ridiculous partner. You tolerate it because you know the relationship won’t last. A few months down the track you’re proven right. However, BMW released the polarising coupe-cum-SUV in 2008 and it has remained a niche staple of its line-up ever since. Logic defied, then. Three variants are available at launch: the entry-level xDrive30d ($121,900), mid-spec xDrive40i ($124,900) and the current range-topping M50i ($155,900) tested here. The X6M Competition, complete with M5-grade mechanical gubbins, is due next year.…

Model Audi A1 40 TFSI Engine 1984cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v, turbo Max power 147kW @ 6000rp m Max torque 320Nm @ 1500-4400rpm Transmission 6-speed dual-clutch Weight 1260kg Economy 6.4L/100km 0-100km/h 6.5sec (claimed) Price $46,450 On sale Now SHAKING THE cutesy small-car exterior of its predecessor, the new Audi A1 has arrived into the premium small-hatch segment pushing tougher looking sheetmetal, an abundance of new tech and a three-strong engine line-up. While it remains the most affordable model in Audi dealerships, prices have risen compared to the old car, with the range starting at $32,350 and topping out at $46,450, compared to $28,600 to $40,400 for the cars they replace. But before you get too outraged, you do get significantly more car for the extra spend. It’s 56mm longer than before,…

THIS SHOULDN’T BE HAPPENING. Ahead of me is a Jaguar F-Type SVR convertible. It has a power-to-weight ratio of 246kW/tonne. I’m driving an electric I-Pace SUV, with a comparatively feeble power-to-weight figure of 138kW/tonne. Both are all-wheel drive, both on similar rubber, yet out of every corner, the I-Pace is monstering the sports car, gobbling up metres on it, trying to drive through its quad exhausts such that the collision warning system is a constant accompaniment. It feels as if everything you thought you knew about performance needs to be reset. If you figured an electric future was one bereft of enjoyment or entertainment for the keen driver, think again. Targa High Country 2019 will be remembered as the year the mountain bit back. The 10th anniversary running of this…

than around eight percent, but plenty of the tight turns have good sightlines, and the road, built in 1908 and still in excellent health, offers an intuitive rhythm in which to find a fast groove. Get up early, mid-week, as we have, and you’ll beat the slow-grinding lycra-ites and have the place to yourself. I’m about as artistic as Mr Squiggle with a skinful, so my first run in this American-built EV disruptor is less of an expression session; instead this car reveals itself a glinting, tempered steel blade, enabling you to slash, clean and clinical, like a near-silent ninja. Holy crap, it is fast. We’re in the top-spec Model 3 Performance, claiming outputs of 353kW and 639Nm, but the torque feels like much more. We know that twisting force…

IT’S LONG BEEN a selling point of motorsport globally that the technology you find in street cars is first tested and proven on the world’s racing circuits. Well, the reality is that cutting-edge technology in road cars has leapfrogged the racing world, with just a single fully electric global championship at a time when every manufacturer worth their salt is diving head-first into an EV future. Electrification is happening almost across the board, and categories like the British Touring Car Championship, IndyCar, IMSA, and World Rallycross Championship have some sort of hybrid or fully electric rules in the pipeline in order to catch up – even the good ol’ boys at NASCAR HQ have committed to an electrified future. At the same time, traditionalist fans are baying for the return…

A Kermit-green E30 BMW still holds the Guinness World Record for a quarter-mile time by an electric car, set in 2012 by Mate Rimac in his electrified 440kW rear-drive E30. The car covered the 400m strip in 11.85 seconds. That’s not far off a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, although the BMW was only travelling 122.23km/h when it crossed the finish line, an indication its initial acceleration was potent, its ability to maintain that enthusiasm into triple figures less so. What was initially a 323i was converted after the engine gave up during a race meeting. Unable to afford a replacement engine, Mate looked at alternatives, electric being the obvious one to him. “He was very inspired by Nikola Tesla,” says Rimac marketing manager Marta Longin on the Croatian-born inventor. In…

1. KIA STINGER Generic Kia switchgear and dated multimedia don’t diminish spacious Stinger’s racy appeal, with an excellent driving position, welcoming dash, cushy seating, and heaps of storage and gear. Choosing Sport mode squeezes driver’s seat bolsters. Shallow back glass limits already-poor rear vision, and wind noise can be intrusive. Back seat is family-fit, though cargo capacity is a smallish 406L despite liftback, extending to 1114L. Spare is a space-saver. 2. PEUGEOT 508 Lavish and loaded, 508 brings best iteration yet of Peugeot’s ‘i-Cockpit’ dash, though high-dials/low-wheel layout not to everybody’s taste. Full electronic instrumentation offers pleasing configuration choices. Touchscreen can get confusing. Pleated seating adds to ambience, front space is ample but rear headroom suffers due to fastback styling. Big tailgate reveals 487L cargo capacity, stretching to 1537L for…

MERCEDES-BENZ A250 4MATIC Price as tested: $76,790 This month: 1020km @ 8.7L/100km CAR OF THE Year, almost a year ago to the day. Stretching before me is the dirt section at Ford’s You Yangs proving ground and what’s about to follow is the biggest surprise of the event: how Merc’s box-fresh A250 4Matic performs when it gets its wheels dirty. It’s been well reported how the A-Class range went at Wheels’ COTY; a story of disappointment when it came to the then entry-level A200, and one of quick-witted fun and rorty performance in the A250. In fact, the A250’s chuckability and balance (especially on a loose surface) were enough for me to vote for the A-Class to go through to round two of COTY testing. It didn’t make it, but…

PORSCHE HAS reaffirmed plans for a hypercar to crown its line-up – and, in a bid to provide a clear link between its motorsport activities and road cars, it could use a hybrid driveline originally developed in an aborted Formula 1 engine program. However, the Aston Martin Valkyrie rival remains at a conceptual stage, with an introduction unlikely before 2023 at the earliest. High-level sources at the German car maker’s Weissach technical centre confirmed that a definitive production go-ahead for the successor to the 918 Spyder is dependent on a decision from Porsche’s board on whether to commit to a pure electric or hybrid drivetrain for the new hypercar. This is in keeping with comments made by Porsche chairman Oliver Blume earlier this year. Initial plans for the car, first…

MAZDA MX-30 LET’S START WITH those ‘suicide’ rear doors. Mazda calls them ‘freestyle’, some of you may say, “Just like those from the COTY-winning RX-8!” (Others may note, “And rather like those from the COTY-winning BMW i3...”) We’ll reserve judgement until we get the full operational experience of Mazda’s first-ever production EV, which is likely to happen in the second half of 2020. An Australian arrival date is unconfirmed but tipped for late 2021. In terms of the mechanical package, Mazda appears to have played an uncharacteristically conservative hand with the MX-30. Its single motor, driving the front axle, has outputs that are fairly unremarkable – 105kW and 264Nm – and is fed by a modest 35.5kWh battery providing a range of 209km. But that instant torque should still be…

DUE JAN PORSCHE CAYMAN GT4 With a new mid-mounted 4.0-litre atmo flat-six sending 309kW and 420Nm to the rear wheels, the second-gen Cayman GT4 is the stuff of driving dreams. It’ll scream all the way to 8000rpm, comes with a six-speed manual and has handling dynamics to die for (not literally). You’ll just need $218,400. DUE MAR VOLKSWAGEN T-CROSS VW no longer has a thorn in its side, with the niche-hitting T-Cross poised to fill out its lower SUV ranks. Set to arrive with a sticker price less than $30K, the T-Cross is close to a Golf in size, just with extra ride height. It’s powered by a 85kW/200Nm 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo. DUE FEB FORD MUSTANG Branded the Ford Mustang 2.3L High Performance, the updated turbo four ’Stang gains more…

Model Chevrolet Corvette Engine 6162cc V8 (90°), ohv, 16v Max power 369kW @ 6450rpm Max torque 637Nm @ 5150rpm Transmission 8-speed dual-clutch Weight 1630kg (estimated) 0-100km/h 2.9sec (estimated) Economy TBC Price $170,000 (estimated) On sale Late 2020 (estimated) HUNGER IS THE best sauce, so those waiting for a mid-engined Corvette have had plenty of time to build a serious appetite. Chevrolet built the first concept in the 1960s and has dropped hints about reversing the order of passengers and powertrain several times since. The previous-generation C7 got closest, having been partially developed with a motor in the middle until GM’s bankruptcy forced a rethink. We’ll have to wait a while longer. The C8 is about to go on sale in the States, but the right-hook Holden version we told you…

Model Hyundai Ioniq Electric Elite Motor AC synchronous Battery 38kWh lithium-ion Max power 100kW Max torque 295Nm Transmission Single-speed reduction gear Weight 1527kg 0-100km/h 9.9sec (claimed) Economy 12.8kWh/100km (estimated) Price $48,490 On sale Now WHEN HYUNDAI first launched its three-powertrain Ioniq range in 2018, some of us wondered if this was a bet-hedging exercise by the Aussie arm of the South Korean giant, unsure of which ‘green car’ solution would find favour here. For this MY2020 model update, the company has continued with the three-prong approach, indicating there’s genuine sales validity to a line-up that sees one core model offered as a Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid and Electric. The model line-up remains as originally established: a mid-spec (Elite) and top-spec (Premium) is available for each of the three powertrain alternatives, making…

1 JEEP GLADIATOR It’ll be swords ’n’ sandals at 20 paces next month when we drive Jeep’s hotly anticipated 4x4 ute. Yes, it’s essentially a Wrangler with a tray, which means it ’ll be Australia’s only ‘convertible’ ute, allowing buyers to remove the roof panels and even lower the screen. Expect powertrains to mimic those in the Wrangler line-up, and a loaded Launch Edition to kick things off for at least $60K. Unleash hell! 2 BMW X5 xDRIVE 45 E PHEV We’re keen to test the real-world range of BMW’s X5 plug-in hybrid next month – the company claims almost 90km from the 82kW motor, which teams with a 3.0-litre turbo six for combined system outputs of 290kW and 600Nm. With the whole shebang on stream, it’s quick – 0-100km/h…

Mostly, car companies spend millions on concepts to preview future tech and design language, gauging public reaction to ensure they’re on the right course. Other times, like with the EQ Silver Arrow (below) shown at Pebble Beach in 2018, they just want to pay homage to a glorious past and slacken the jaws of onlookers. The spectacular 5.2m-long single seater is a tribute to Mercedes’ W125 Rekordwagen, a teardrop-shaped prototype powered by a 541kW 5.6-litre V12 that was driven to a public-road record speed of 432.7km/h on a stretch of autobahn by German racer Rudolf Caracciola in 1938.…

Expect to hear more about ‘over-the-air’ upgrades as the EV revolution advances. Tesla boasts that it is constantly improving not just functionality but also performance. The company’s VP of Technology, Drew Baglino, says: “We’re continuing to learn how to optimise the motor control systems in our vehicles. Thanks to an upgrade to firmware, Model 3 customers can soon expect a five percent performance improvement, and about three percent for S and X models.”…

S5000 Australia’s newest and fastest category made its debut in the last half of 2019, ahead of its first ‘proper’ season in 2020. Early signs are positive, and the V8-powered beasts will bring wings ‘n’ slicks back to Mount Panorama in 2020, but it remains to be seen if early grid numbers can be sustained. Australia’s open-wheel history shows that category bosses will have an uphill battle on their hands. SUPER UTES Introduced in 2018 to replace the Falcon and Commodore-based V8 Utes category, SuperUtes has floundered somewhat, with fluctuating grid sizes, uninspiring and expensive diesel engines, and poor racing. Supercars has sold the category to a conglomerate of teams, which have vowed to slap naturally aspirated V8 crate motors into the engine bay. Yeehaw! That sounds more like it.…

If nothing else, the modern mid-sized sedan market is no longer mundane EVOLUTION, biologist Charles Darwin first proposed, is key to survival. Either adapt to change, or die. With hatches, SUVs and, lately, dual-cabs squeezing medium and larger sedans inextricably towards oblivion, creating yet another Camry clone nobody wants no longer cuts it. Peugeot finally gets it with the latest 508 – a front-drive mid-sizer so utterly different from its dowdy, underperforming predecessor that surely a new name is deserved. Shorter by 42mm, 53mm lower and lighter than the 2011 original nobody remembers, it breaks convention with a far sleeker silhouette, frameless doors, a tailgate and a fiercely bold interior. A switch to the company’s lightweight tech-heavy EMP2 platform enhances the makeover’s cred. Inevitably there is a price to pay…

MAZDA 3 G20 EVOLVE Price as tested: $27,690 This month: 1533km @ 6.9L/100km MY FATHER is a very talented and smart man. However, sometimes he’s a little too set in his ways. Growing up, my brother and I were told ad nauseam that if we wanted to drive on highways (and living in Wagga Wagga, we wanted to escape often), a hatchback just would not cut it. “Too small,” he’d say. “You don’t want a little buzz box.” Fast-forward a few decades and I’ve just driven more than 1000km from Melbourne to Wagga and back in my Mazda 3 long-termer – and of course, it’s a hatchback. Sorry, dad, you’re wrong. It was more than fine. Just as I always told you it would be... I didn’t get blown off…

TOP THREE FERRARI F40 When I was quite young I saw it as such an outstanding car. It blew everybody away at the time – and still does to this day – because it had so much horsepower. And, of course, it’s very much a nice collector’s car if you can find one in good condition. But then, they are also very expensive! BMW 507 I like the shape of this car. It’s such a collector’s piece given that only 252 were built. It has greater importance for me because I was part of the BMW Z8 project, which took heavy inspiration from this car. It’d be very nice to have the Alpina Z8 and the 507 side-by-side in my garage. ALPINE A110 I’ve driven and enjoyed this car so…

PLACED THAT Porsche Cayman GT4 order for a January 2020 arrival? BMW has given you a reason to hesitate on the down payment with its beastly M2 CS. The beefed-up 2 Series halo takes the M2 Competition and turns the volume up to 11. Is it worthy of having the venerable CS moniker placed on its rump? Yep, we reckon so. Think the Cayman GT4 comparison is a bit of a stretch? With M4-equalling figures of 331kW and 550Nm, the Bavarian offering, with the seven-speed DCT, will reach 100km/h in 4.0 seconds (Cayman GT4 reaches the same marker in 4.4sec). Like the Porsche, the CS is a rear-driver, and yes, it is also available with a six-speed manual. As far as farewells go, this is a big one. Not only…

IF YOU’RE A fan of fast wagons, as opposed to SUVs, and can see a time when you’ll be ready to join the EV revolution, then VW may be able to tempt you with a production version of this, the ID Space Vizzion concept unveiled at the 2019 LA motor show. This is the seventh ID concept VW has rolled out, and the company says it’s serious about production, targeting a 2022 on-sale for Europe, North America and China. The concept has a 205kW rear-mounted motor fed by an 82kWh lithium-ion battery, but VW says the wagon will likely be offered with a two-motor, AWD layout delivering a combined system output of 250kW, enough for 0-100km/h in just over 5sec. As for range, that’s expected to be aided by the…

“THEIR CONVERSATION WAS VERY DIFFERENT TO MY PLAYGROUND CONVERSATIONS” CAR ASPIRATIONS ARE CHANGING, NATURALLY I GREW UP in the 1980s and loved everything about cars of that era. Our family car was a V8 SLR Torana. My bedroom wall included a Group A Brock Commodore and Lamborghini Diablo. These cars were designed to make motoring fun and enjoyable, not simply a mode of transport. In fear that such cars are slowly becoming less available, my 67-year-old father-in-law recently purchased a GT Mustang. It makes me wonder what cars will make up your Databank in 2030? I recently overheard my 10-year-old son talking to his friend about cars. I was immediately excited that some of my father’s passion for cars had passed down to another family generation. However, their conversation was…

Model Mitsubishi ASX Exceed Engine 2360cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v Max power 123W @ 6000rpm Max torque 222Nm @ 4100rpm Transmission CVT automatic Weight 1390kg 0-100km/h 9.5sec Economy 7.9L/100km Price $35,740 (driveaway) On sale Now YOU HAVE to admire the Mitsubishi ASX. No, seriously. This enduring crossover has had its fair share of detractors since its debut 10 years ago, but it continues to shrug them off with a threefold increase in annual sales since 2011 that has secured its place as Australia’s top-selling small SUV against fresher, eminently more drivable opposition. A big reason for this has been a series of facelifts and equipment add-ons that have maintained the ASX’s showroom appeal while avoiding significant price increases. Boosting its lacklustre performance, however, hasn’t been part of the strategy. Until now.…

WHAT’S ABOUT TO happen is incredibly rare. In fact, it’s almost unheard of. And if we’re being totally honest, that’s what makes it so damn terrifying. A concept with an actual steering wheel; further evidence that the future for this car is not too distant You find Wheels deep in the heart of chaotic Tokyo, staring open-mouthed at the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQS, the futuristic EV saloon that had, only weeks before, rolled onto the stage of the Frankfurt motor show. We were in Germany for that moment, too, but our mouths then had remained firmly shut even as the EV answer to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class slinked silently onto the stage, accompanied by all the hype and fanfare typical of any major motor show reveal. It had looked special, sure, but…

OPPORTUNITIES like this one don’t come around very often – the chance to build a lithium-ion electric car battery cell from scratch, to see the inner workings of a device that usually stays closed because its contents are flammable, and to hear an expert ‘how it works’ explanation from one of the world’s foremost experts on EV batteries. There are only a couple of places in the United Kingdom where batteries are built from raw materials and one of them is the prototype manufacturing plant at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), a department of the illustrious University of Warwick. Our mentor for the day is Professor David Greenwood, a brilliant communicator of the intricate flows of electrons and lithium ions inside these anonymous-looking grey packages. So free your mind of the…

BACK IN March 1976, a story by Tony Curtis – no, not that one – appeared in Wheels. ‘In The Year 2025’ was a bit of a depressing read, to be honest. Inspired by Orwell’s 1984, the author told a tale of all private motor vehicles being banned by the overarching hand of the state by 1985. Swing and a miss there. Yet glance through the 1976 issue and some things are all too familiar. There are Corollas, Passats, 911s, Civics, LandCruisers and Lancers. A disgruntled reader wrote a letter complaining that modern cars lacked character, while a Fiat came last in a group test. A couple of months later, however, Wheels ran a report on ADR27A, the first anti-pollution regulations on Australian cars, noting that “it’s become critically important…

Both the S60 and the 508 offer petrol-electric hybrids, though only Volvo’s is currently available. From $85,990, the T8 flagship employs a supercharged 246kW/430Nm 2.0-litre, paired to a 65kW/240Nm motor. Combined outputs soar to 311kW/680Nm for 4.3s to 100km/h. 50km of pure EV driving is possible, as is 2.0L/100km average in combined mode. Expected in the EU by 2021, Peugeot’s hybrid in Sport Engineered guise, using a 1.6-litre turbo/electric motor set-up, makes 294kW/500Nm but matches the Swede’s exemplary acceleration and economy efforts due to its lightness.…

GENESIS G70 ULTIMATE SPORT Price as tested: $79,950 This month: 363km @ 10.2L/100km THE DRIVER of the white Kia Stinger pulled alongside me in the cafe car park, an expensive racing bicycle fastened to racks on his roof. I noticed his eyes drinking in the profile of the Genesis G70, admiring the luscious, tri-coat metallic Havana Red paint and stylish, black-chrome 19-inch wheels. “Nice car, mate; the V6?” he asked. I nodded. Then came the kicker: “So you bought the one in the dinner jacket, eh?” There was no malice in his quip; more just a joking observation that he knew his Stinger and my new long-term G70 were cuddling Korean cousins. But hopefully this bloke is in a minority, because if you’re a company like Hyundai, embarking on the…

SUZUKI JIMNY Price as tested: $24,490 This month: 777km @7.1L/100km Overall: 8425km @ 7.3L/100km NO-ONE LIKES a dishonest soul. The kind of mate who is all gung-ho when plans are being made, promising the world with great enthusiasm, only to flake at the 11th hour and turn into a not-so-friendly ghost. It’s a frustrating trait in some humans; one that can leave you more than a little disheartened about a friendship. Cars can do a similar thing. There are a multitude of vehicles that sell themselves on the promise of rugged, wild adventures, and the ability to take you and your family to the furthest reaches of our vast wide land. They do this with wheel-arch cladding and jacked-up suspension designed to hide the unfortunate reality that they're better suited…

IT’S A remarkable story: the child of London dentist Alfred Moss becomes smitten with cars and goes on to be a world-beating driver. No, not Stirling – though he did all right – but his sister Pat, many of whose international rally successes were achieved in an apparently unlikely vehicle, the Austin-Healey 3000. The ‘big Healey’, launched in 1959, was an evolution of the four-cylinder Austin-Healey 100/4 of 1952. Far from a purpose-designed competition car, the roadster was developed for export to the booming, post-war US market. In 1951 British engineer, rally driver and car maker Donald Healey had created the Anglo-American hybrid Nash-Healey roadster for just this purpose. But it was pricey, costing even more than Jaguar’s XK120, and Healey set new sights on the niche between the Jag…