That is the bold claim made by Hyundai at the end of this television commercial. The SUV in question is the Hyundai ix35, which was first revealed to the world, without camouflage, right here on AUSmotive.
The exclusive image was captured in Sydney during some sort of filming, although it’s difficult to recognise any of Australia’s largest city in the footage above.
Lexus wants to chase the premium compact market and fight it out with Audi, BMW, Volkswagen and others. To do just that they will be launching the Lexus LF-Ch concept.
The teaser image released shows an aggressive, if fussy, rear end and it will be interesting to see how the car looks when full details and images are released next week. The car will make its public debut at Frankfurt a week later.
The Ch nomenclature indicates Compact Hybrid and it is understood the LF-Ch will be based on the Prius platform. Assuming the world’s finances don’t fall apart again, expect a production release in around two-three years from now.
In other news, the Lexus IS-F will now be available with a limited slip diff. More info on this and other Lexus news after the break.
The NSW round of the Australian Tarmac Challenge starts at Eastern Creek tomorrow morning. Formerly known as the Dutton Rally, the ATC is a fun way to experience motorsport. Relatively speaking the costs are low and pretty much any road legal car is able to enter.
The Challenge runs over three days and each driver will test themselves against the clock in a variety of events, such as laps around Eastern Creek, 400m and 1000m drags, skid pan activities, hill climbs and more. Activities start in Sydney and end up in Tweed Heads. Along the way the cars will also form part of the support cast for Repco Rally Australia, which also takes place this weekend.
Ian Cudmore from aftermarket tuner rennenhaus has the two things required for the event; 1. an eligible car, in the form of his Mk5 Volkswagen Golf R32 and, 2. the required enthusiasm to take the event on. You can see pics of his car above and below and you’d have to agree his R32 certainly looks the goods.
Ian also took part in Motor magazine’s “Hot Tuner” challenge last month and you will be able to read all about that in the next issue of Motor, due on newsstands around the middle of September.
If you’d like to find out more on how Ian can help you customise your Audi, BMW, Honda, MINI or, of course, Volkswagen then take a peek at the rennenhaus website. To keep up to date with his progress in the ATC you can follow him on twitter.
AUSmotive made its twitter debut today. Make sure you check it out for the latest AUSmotive and AUSringers updates, plus random motoring musings – www.twitter.com/AUSmotive
According to tinternet reports Volkswagen could scrap the Porsche Cayenne model line at the end of its model cycle. More noteworthy, however, is the suggestion that the recently launched four-door Panamera could also meet the same fate. That would mean around seven more years of big Porsche luxo-barges roaming the streets.
Apparently Volkswagen reckon there are plenty of other companies catering to these market segments and Porsche should just leave well enough alone. Quite what the demise of the platform sharing Cayenne might mean for Volkswagen’s own Touareg model is unclear.
It is understood that VW chairman Ferdinand Piech was always against taking Porsche into unchartered waters and now that Volkswagen has more of a say and, bitter boardroom rival Wendelin Wiedeking is no longer in the frame, Piech is keen to take Porsche back into sportscar only mode.
Also of note are suggestions that Porsche will create a successor to the mighty Carrera GT and, once again, share a sportscar line with Volkswagen.
[Source: AutoObserver]
You may remember the earlier news that saw the worldwide BMW Z4 ‘art of driving’ television commercial pulled from Australian screens. I stated at the time that, as a sign of protest against this ludicrous decision, AUSmotive will be running the above footage, which is featured in the commercial, on the first day of every month for the rest of the year.
The fact that regulations are in place that deem this ad inappropriate is a sad indictment on the state of the road safety debate in this country. The fact that some members of society are unable separate entertainment from reality is equally disturbing. That they are given a voice is mind boggling.
Clearly, the title of this article is tongue in cheek and is designed to highlight the level of paranoia that exists in wowsers when presented with the notion that driving can be fun.
A reminder, too, that you can watch the ad in full on the BMW Australia website. Even better, check out BMW’s Expression of Joy Z4 microsite.
You’ve seen the video, read the press release, now check out the image gallery. Forty images are presented here, all accessible in wallpaper sized 2000px super image format by simply clicking on the individual pictures.
BMW is all excited about this crazy looking coupe, sedan, sportscar, electric powered, diesel, ActiveHybrid thingy. Otherwise known as the Vision EfficientDynamics, the car is a portal to BMW’s goal towards a sustainable and efficient future.
In the clip above you will see and hear a bunch of BMW Execs wax lyrical about their new creation.
Some of the numbers are noteworthy, for example, 0-100km/h in under 5 seconds, fuel consumption under 4l/100km and 262kW/800Nm.
However, others are less so, zero emissions drive with all electric power has a feeble range of 50km. Under hybrid power the CO2 emissions from the diesel engine look okay at first, but really, for a car that is a leader for what is to follow, you might expect a better figure than 99g/km.
One thing the car does well, though, is look sensational. It’s hard to judge if it has any semblance of reality to it, so just enjoy it as a concept car and if, in 30 years time, all cars look like this, then all the merrier!
There’s a press release below and a full wallpaper-friendly image gallery will be has been added.
AUSmotive pays its respects to Australian motorsport great Frank Gardner OAM who passed away on Saturday. Gardner was active in the motor racing industry for more than half of his life. He was 78.
A successful racer and team manager, Gardner was also passionate about road safety. A sample of this is given in the clip above after the jump. Filmed in 1973, Gardner talks about keeping respect for his 550bhp Chevrolet Camaro on the Oulton Park circuit in England.
His book Drive to Survive was published in 1980 and is still available today.
Gardner drove in Formula One during the mid 1960s, started Le Mans 14 times and won overseas titles in open wheeler and tin top categories. After returning home the driving success continued with the Australian Sports Sedan Championship in 1975.
He was also well known for his team management prowess, most notably guiding Tony Longhurst and Tomas Mezera to a Bathurst 1000 victory in 1988. He also oversaw Australian Touring Car Championships with Jim Richards in 1985 and 1987. Gardner’s most recent success was to direct Paul Morris to the 1995 Australian Super Touring Championship.
Geoff Brabham, who drove for Gardner in the 1990s, said, “He was one of the legends because he was very successful overseas and to me that stands people apart from those who only succeed locally.
“He had a big influence with Ford at Le Mans and his managing skills were legendary. He was pretty tough but one of those guys that if you met him head on and argued it out he respected you.”
More about Gardner’s legacy can be read at Wheels.
The bloke in the white terry towelling hat has passed on. May he rest in peace.
[Source: Courier-Mail]
UPDATE 31 August: A brief tribute to Frank Gardner, originally broadcast on One HD last night, has been added above.
According to a report at BimmerFile the dual clutch transmission (DCT) offered by BMW may be discontinued due to poor take up. The cost to sales ratio makes the case for DCT difficult to support. ZF Friedrichshafen AG, manufacturer of Porsche’s PDK gearbox, predicts a long term market support for their dual clutch tranny is not sustainable.
Personally, I find it hard to see that BMW would drop their DCT after such a short run. But, I guess, if the market isn’t buying it, then there’s no point fighting a losing battle.
Read the full article at BimmerFile.com.
Here’s a brief clip from BMW-web.tv featuring American driver Tommy Milner behind the wheel of a BMW M3 GTR. Oh yeah, it’s also a plug for the next Need for speed game which is due for release in September.
Skoda Australia has raided the parts bin and created a one-off track-focused Octavia RS-P. In this case P stands for Project and that is a perfect description for this car.
Fitted with semi-slick tyres, fully adjustable suspension, including front and rear strut braces, there is method to this factory backed madness. Further enhancing the car’s performance prowess are seriously uprated four pot brakes up front and a three inch stainless exhaust with custom cold air intake. All the underskin enhancements have been set off beautifully with gloss black 18″ alloys.
At this stage the ECU has been left untouched, but the 2.0 litre turbo should be good for a few more kilowatts thanks to the exhuast mod. A Skoda Australia rep says plans do exist for upping the car’s boost, which should take power to at least 190kW and torque up to around 350Nm.
There are no plans to sell the RS-P to the public just yet, but what do you think? Do you reckon Skoda could sell a few tweaked RS-P’s to the Australian market?
For brief drive reports check out The Motor Report and Car Advice. More pics below.