Chris Harris has chimed in to deliver his verdict on a classic Audi v BMW battle. The cars in question are the, now old-generation, RS3 and the new kid on the block, the M135i.
Let’s be honest here, you have probably already guessed at Harris’ verdict before even watching the clip, so…
We’re not sure if his thoughts on the RS3 are following the because Audi understeer, blah, blah crowd or if he’s convinced us the M135i is good enough to look beyond its deeply flawed looks.
Watch and enjoy.
Dutchman Jeroen Bleekemolen didn’t get enough of Mount Panorama at the Bathurst 12 Hour earlier this year so he decided to come back and take the Porsche RS Spyder for a spin during the Super Cheap Auto 1000 festivities.
We spent a fair amount of our time drooling over the car at the Australian International Motor Show, while at the same time Porsche released this on board footage of Bleekemolen’s exploits.
There’s no official timing for the lap, that we can find, but the estimated time is around 2 minutes 5 seconds. Fast, in other words. With enough time and resources spent setting the RS Spyder up for the 6.2km track, we’re confident it would break the two minute barrier. And with some comfort.
[Thanks to Chris for the tip]
While we were away at the motor show in Sydney one of the WRC’s worst kept secrets was confirmed. That is, Volkswagen officially announced the signing of current Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala.
The 27-year-old Finn, winner of seven WRC events, will join 28-year-old Frenchman Sébastien Ogier. During 2012 Ogier has been impressive in the Skoda Fabia S2000, while the team’s Polo R WRC continues its development. Volkswagen has done well to secure what will be one of the WRC’s strongest driver pairings in 2013.
Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito is certainly pretty happy with himself: “The fact that another top-flight driver believes in our success and is switching to our team gives each member of our team an additional motivation boost. In Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala we’ve got an excellent driver line-up for the debut of the Polo R WRC in the 2013 World Rally Championship.â€
Meanwhile, Latvala is already towing the party line: “I’m very happy to be driving the Polo R WRC in the World Rally Championship in future. The determined approach of the Volkswagen team convinced me to accept this challenge,â€
Given the ongoing rumblings, it’s no surprise to read confirmation that the Grand Prix of America has been officially postponed until 2014. Construction delays have been blamed for the decision.
For now, at least, Leo Hindery Jr, race promoter, and Bernie Ecclestone, F1 supremo, are finally signing off the same tune.
Leo Hindery Jr: “We are going to be racing at Port Imperial, unfortunately just not as soon as we hoped and expected. We promised Governor Christie, the Towns, the sport and its international fans the best possible experience, and unfortunately we need additional time to ensure that happens.â€
Bernie Ecclestone: “I remain totally committed to the Port Imperial race and its unique location and attributes, and we will continue to work closely together to realize our dream in 2014. As Leo says, we are still going to be racing at Port Imperial, now however in 2014.â€
The advanced state of the 2013 F1 calendar means that a replacement race for next year may not be found. The New Jersey race was scheduled for the weekend after the Canadian GP, another factor making a replacement race unlikely.
So, expect 19 races in 2013.
To close out our 2012 Australian International Motor Show coverage we bring you the highlights and lowlights from the rest of the manufacturers on show.
Our top three highlights:
Our top three lowlights
And a special mention to the Nissan Pulsar SSS. My first new car was an Australian built N14 SSS, it was awesome and is still better to look at than this comeback horror story. AUSmotive’s assistant on the day described it as the ugliest car he’d ever seen. I put forward the new Honda CR-V as an alternate suggestion, but he wouldn’t be swayed.
We love Porsche for many things. Chief among them is the Porsche–Australia relationship. It’s a genuinely strong one, thanks largely to Norman Hamilton who played a key role in the development of right-hand drive Porsches and began importing them here 61 years ago.
One of the legacies of that relationship is the sight of a bona fide racing legend on our shores every year. It’s all part of Porsche’s living museum where they extend the life of their machines far beyond their racing days.
This year at the 2012 Australian International Motor Show the RS Spyder takes pride of place on the Porsche stand. Designed and built to race in the LMP2 category it won the ALMS LMP2 championship three years running from 2006–08.
The #6 car on display in Sydney competed in 11 ALMS races during the 2005 and 2006 seaons. It won four of those races and never failed to finish outside of the top three in its class. It is Porsche racing royalty.
To this day it lives on, with its 3.4 litre engine forming the basis for the 4.6 litre V8 used in the 918 Spyder. We have a special feature in store for you soon, which will show the RS Spyder in full flight. For now we hope we’ve covered the RS Spyder for you in every angle.
Of course, also on show in Sydney were Porsche’s comparatively bread and butter models. For your viewing pleasure we concentrated on the 911 and Boxster models.
Bill Mott, Opel Australia Managing Director, was proud as punch standing alongside the Astra OPC at the 2012 Australian International Motor Show. And well he might have been, for he has presented Australian buyers with the cheapest 206kW money can buy. At $42,990, plus on roads, the Opel OPC is a genuine performance bargain. It’s the perfect hero car to spearhead the brand’s Australian assault.
OPC stands for Opel Performance Centre and if it’s not immediately clear to you the letters are akin to HSV for Holden, AMG for Mercedes and so on. As noted the 2.0 litre turbocharged four cylinder in the Astra OPC has an impressive 206kW on offer, complemented by an equally impressive 400Nm. And, praise the lord, all controlled by a fair dinkum manual gearbox.
With those numbers perhaps the claimed 0–100km/h time of 6.0 seconds from the front-wheel drive hot hatch is a little disappointing, but we imagine the in-gear acceleration will be a hoot.
Enhancing the Astra OPC’s appeal is its sleek and stylish body, which comes equipped with stacks of equipment. Goodies such as 19″ alloys (optional 20″ wheels featured in photos), FlexRide adaptive chassis, heated front seats in Nappa leather, Bluetooth, satellite navigation and premium audio are all thrown in for the standard asking price.
It looks fantastic in the OPC exclusive colour Arden Blue and the 20″ rims really set it off. The order book is open now and deliveries start early next year. They’ll sell plenty!
Of course, Opel has their full range on show in Sydney and we caught the Astra and Corsa for you. Check out the pics below.
Mercedes-Benz had a huge presence at the 2012 Australian International Motor Show, made even more noticeable by the absence of both Audi and BMW. It’s actually very refreshing to see how serious Mercedes takes the Australian market, when we often get treated as second best by other manufacturers.
A great example of that is the CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake ‘Edition 1’ you see above. With an extra 24kW/100Nm compared to the base-spec CLS 63 AMG, if you can call any AMG base-spec, the Edition 1 boasts the massive numbers of 410kW/800Nm. It’s limited globally and five have been allocated to Australia, all of which will be delivered a full three months ahead of regular Shooting Brake deliveries.
Further highlighting the level of faith Mercedes holds with local customers another three special AMG models were on display. Fans of open top motoring were presented with the SLK AMG 55 in designo magno cashmere white metallic paint, a fancy term for matte white. Other highlights on the SLK included carbon fibre interior and mystic blue exclusive leather upholstery.
There was also an SLS AMG Roadster, which just looks the balls from behind. It was wearing a specially created coarse silver metallic paint, which did look a little odd we have to admit. We’re mostly not fans of red interiors, but in this SLS Roadster it looked great.
If you’re like us and prefer your road cars to have a roof then you can stand and admire the C63 AMG Coupé in designo mystic blue paint. It looked hot! The look was completed with lashing of AMG’s best carbon fibre trim, a leather dashboard and trick 19″ alloy wheels. It was our pick.
The new Mercedes-Benz A Class was revealed for the first time in Australia at the 2012 Australian International Motor Show. Now a Golf-sized model and clear rival, Mercedes has ensured the A Class will put up a good fight when it is launched in March 2013, after setting some relatively competitive pricing.
Generally speaking, the A Class looks the goods. The more we see of its exterior the more we cool on our original very positive reports. But it’s still miles ahead of the BMW 1 Series (F20). The interior of the A Class is very good and has a high quality feel about it. Maybe it’s let down a little by the iPad-like infotainement screen which looks a bit of an afterthought. But for every person who dislikes it, we imagine there’ll be another who loves it.
In Australia, the A Class will launch with the following four models:
The 155kW A 250 Sport is the standout there, albeit pushing the pricing friendship a little compared to say a $40K Golf GTI.
Further details on the Australian A Class range can be seen below, along with extra pics from the Sydney motor show floor.
After falling under the spell of the new Jaguar F-type when it debuted at the Paris Motor Show we were keen to see it in Sydney. The newest Jag sportscar didn’t disappoint either. Its shape, proportions and overall look are first class.
It was nice to see some of Jaguar’s heavy hitters in attendance, namely Ian Callum, Design Director, and Phil Popham, Global Operations Director.
Those unable to get to the motor show in Sydney will have to wait until next year to get another look at the F-type when it is scheduled for its local launch.
To refresh your memory from Paris, the new F-type is available in three specs:
More pics from Sydney and general details after the break.
After casually browsing the Honda display at the 2012 Australian International Motor Show we have this message: Honda, please, go out and hire all the designers from Mazda, or even Kia. Now! Every single one of them. Then quietly move on the designers you currently have.
Because, right now, the best looking car in your model line up is the Odyssey. The rest are, frankly, a mess.
We also have one other plea. Can you ensure that the covers never come off the new CR-V ever again? It looks better that way.
Mazda Australia is enjoying a bumper 2012, and word that their new Mazda6 will be on sale down under ahead of schedule in early December can only improve their already strong results. It’ll provide a handy kickstart to 2013 sales as well.
While we’re disappointed that we weren’t granted a hands-on look inside the Mazda6 we can say that the new family-sized model looks even better in the metal than it does in the pics. None more so than the versatile wagon.
The highlight of the Mazda6 design is the junction of the A-pillar and front quarter panel. It’s a stylish execution that helps give the Mazda6 a genuine character you rarely see in modern volume models.
Mazda’s iconic MX-5 was also on show and, in its latest “new-look” iteration, you’ll be seeing it in your local dealerships next month.
For those with an insatiable appetite for SUVs you’ll be pleased to know the facelifted CX-9 is on display as well.
Australia is clearly an important market for the Japanese manufacturer. A fact highlighted by the presence of Takashi Yamanouchi, President, Chairman and CEO of Mazda Motor Corporation.
Mazda’s excellent social media team has kicked goals for its customers again by making the press conference from the Australian Internaitonal Motor Show available for all. It can be seen after the break, along with more pics and a link to Mazda’s motor show press kit.