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Posts tagged Wheels
Ferrari 458 Italia
Set to make its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the Ferrari 458 Italia is one of the best looking Ferrari creations to appear in quite some time. The power unit is a 4.5l V8 that should propel the car from a standstill to over 100km/h in just over 3 seconds.
Its top speed is above the 300km/h mark. To get to that top speed, a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox provides slick gearshifts.
Very nice.
The South African Beetle on its way out
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll have noticed that I’m no great fan of the Volkswagen Citi Golf. Let me explain. The Citi Golf is a Golf 1, making the model more than thirty years old. It’s indestructible, robust and well-built. What else would you expect from a German car?
But, it’s really old. Modifications and additions cannot a safer carriage make. There’s little to do about comfort, seating position and those tiny side mirrors. Well-loved, perhaps, but ultimately a cash cow for Volkswagen who still assemble the Citi using 65% or more components from the first generation Golf. My argument is thus: with 65% of components still being manufactured using 30 year old machinery, the Citi Golf should have become the real people’s car: super cheap and absolutely affordable. Instead, prices climbed as is to be expected and a new Citi Golf is not even cheaper than the cheapest, more modern car on the market. Certainly no bargain, the entry-level TenaCiti (how many more names can we come up with that include Citi) costs a whopping ZAR 82,000.
As a simple counter example, the Hyundai Atos Prime 1.1 can be bought for under ZAR 80,000. Maybe not an entirely fair apples to apples comparison, but at least that’s a modern car. Sure, it may not last and may have other issues, but is built with modern safety design principles in mind. The Citi has been showing its age for a long, long time. 2010, and it’s over.
Next year, Volkswagen will be ending production and selling the last of the Citi Golf units it has standing around. Amusingly, VW has no model in its lineup that can take the Citi‘s place, so the competition is certain to pounce on that opportunity. A lesson to be learned then, for companies milking the consumer with an outmoded piece of technology only to find they forgot to design something that could take its place when the product’s shelf life extended beyond the reasonable.
The South African Beetle will be no more: fans of the Citi may want to acquire a piece of South African motoring history for themselves, before it’s all over.
via 
Stern
Mini Invader
Matt W. Moore is a cutting-edge artist who is commissioned by many well-known companies. I’m not sure what the deal is with the Mini, but the artwork is certainly eye-catching:
TESLA Model S
By far a more enjoyable way to help the Earth along is replacing that gas guzzler with an electric vehicle. Currently, choices are severely limited, and that is not set to change any time soon. At least, 2011 should see the delivery of the stunning TESLA Model S to its first owners. The new TESLA model has been revealed and has an impressive list of specifications, plus a shape that should make Ferrari owners envious.
Incredibly, this sleek mobile seats five adult passengers and two kids and is said to have a hatch large enough to accommodate a mountain bike. The largest battery has enough juice to power the TESLA S over a distance of 450km and the quickcharge refills the battery in under an hour.
Performance is blistering, pushing the S from 0 to 90km/h in less than six seconds with a top speed of about 160km/h.
A1 Grand Prix Kyalami
3 years ago
by manfred
in Life in South Africa
Sunday’s A1 Grand Prix at Kyalami proved to be a great spectacle with plenty of action and noise. The ZAR 500 ticket price was justified in part by the excellent vantage point we had near the first two corners after the start/finish straight and by the fact that the event organization was spot on.
The few spectators attending certainly indicated that the ticket price for an event like the A1 is still too high. I was most impressed by the overall cleanliness of the venue: a constant flow of rubbish collection bags ensured that no unsightly litter piled up.
As a one-armed bandit, I was unfortunately unable to try out the 5D MkII at high-speed photography. Instead, I fell back to using the HF-10 camcorder to capture some footage.
MPH Live Motor Show 2009
This is the third time the MPH Live Motor Show has been to Johannesburg. I attended the very first performance and wasn’t all that impressed. That was a reason to skip the second show in 2008. Even Clarkson deserves another chance though, so we got some tickets to view their latest spectacle.
All things considered, this was an entertaining event. The primary reason, in my opinion, was the inclusion of the audience. In fact, this seemed to be a carbon copy of the TV show, including the Cool Wall and a video game lap of the Top Gear circuit.
McLaren SLR – the Stirling Moss edition
Stirling Moss was a legendary pilot of the silver arrow. His success at the Mille Miglia in the Mercedes-Benz 300SLR is just one victory he achieved. Movies are constantly remade. Why not cars, then? Mercedes-Benz are creating a very special edition of this
for 2009. The McLaren Stirling Moss SLR is quite a looker:
Full carbon fibre bodywork enclosing two humanoids and the 5.5l V8 motor. That should generate sufficient power to blow anyone’s hair back: a top speed of 350km/h with the needle rushing around to find the 100km/h in less than 3.5 seconds from a standstill.
There’s not enough space to pack significant luggage, but only 75 owners will have the joy of discovering that annoyance. The EUR 750000 car is on sale from June 2009.
New tyres for the new Fortuner
Toyota has already launched the facelifted Hilux model in South Africa and the updated Fortuner is to make an appearance early next year. I’ve observed the arguments regarding the current Fortuner‘s apparent instability on gravel and while towing with interest and must say that I am rather confused by what I’ve heard.
I switched from the three-pointed star a few years ago and have been absolutely thrilled with the Diesel-engined Hilux doublecab. Certainly I’ve driven it with care, but it is easy to try the car out at higher speed on a sand road and especially a long, well-tarred road. The speedo indicates 200km/h as an absolute maximum.
The car will do 180km/h without a problem. That’s clearly against current rules of the road. At that speed, any car would have a hard time evading an obstacle. The centre of gravity is very high in an unladen car that is designed to carry one tonne. It should come as no surprise then that excessive speed and lack of due care will result in a spill. The situation is similar in the Fortuner, which has been criticised as being unstable whilst towing and at high speeds on a gravel road. The chassis design is identical to that of the Hilux. It follows then that excessive speed will result in an uncontrollable car, possibly resulting in an accident.
Toyota are launching the facelifted Fortuner without any change to the suspension and undercarriage. I have to agree with their assessment that the car is stable and is influenced mainly by reckless driving. As someone who has decided to buy the current model Fortuner to take advantage of decent discounts this decision is welcomed: it indicates that there is no glaring problem with the current and future model. To appease current owners, Toyota has indicated that a different tyre with a more rigid sidewall will be made available. I have to stick to my previous point: as an owner of both a Hilux and a Fortuner I have never experienced any undue behaviour from either car.
Like with anything, a vehicle is engineered and built to operate within certain tolerances. Exceeding those tolerances will result in consequences that have not been planned for. Stick to the prescribed speed limits, ensure all tyres are inflated appropriately and be aware of what it takes to tow whatever it is you’ve attached to the car…
via Beeld
MPH Live Motor Show 2009
3 years ago
by manfred
in Life in South Africa
I skipped Clarkson‘s MPH show for 2008 as I wasn’t all that impressed with their first showing on South African soil. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, though, and plan to see their 2009 show, schedule for the end of January.
Once again, the Hamster, Clarkson and our local petrolhead Martinengo will bring all sorts of four-wheeled mayem to the Coca-Cola Dome in Northgate.
The official website doesn’t provide much information as to what we can expect to see. A static display of various vehicles, no doubt and the 90 minute show. Tickets are being sold and range in price from R200 to R300.
Johannesburg International Motor Show 2008
On the last day of JIMS I finally made it out to Nasrec to admire the current state of the automobile. For the R60 entrance fee, the show offered a tremendous amount to see. I was suitable impressed with the effort the various motor manufacturers went to to display their products. Everything on wheels was on display, from 3-wheeler motorbikes to huge trucks and buses.
What I’m not terribly impressed with is the fact that the organizers consider it necessary to charge R10 for parking. This is a national exhibition centre with heaps of parking to spare – the extra charge is extraneous and a simple ploy to make easy money. Also, I would expect to at least receive a brochure of exhibitors with my ticket purchase. R20 is easily earned by selling the show magazine, which I did not buy.
The most notable change in the petrol-head mentality of the motor industry is that the hybrid and electric have found their niche and will infiltrate the showroom floor. There was hardly a big name without some form of non-petrol-engined vehicle on their stand.
Sadly, I either missed the South African Joule or it wasn’t present at the show.
My prize for the best and worst cars go to the same manufacturer. Volkswagen‘s new Scirocco is absolutely stunning and will stand out from the current crowd of vehicles on the road.
In what almost borders on a crime against humanity, VW is still retrofitting and restyling the Citi Golf line! The safety standards and appointments of this tin can have no place on our roads in 2008.
The CitiWolf features unmistakable styling: a boxy bonnet and 90 degree bodylines. Best of all: no airbag or other passive or active safety features to speak of. Get this thing off the road!
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