Wheels

FOR THE LONGEST time, it was the default response. Corner a shiny suited car company MD at a motorshow to ask when their new piece of whiz-bang technology would actually make production (invariably it’d be a new electric vehicle, or a ‘next-gen’ auto

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 ha

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

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 f

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

I’M WITH TWO grandes dames of Citroen: The first is company CEO Linda Jackson whom I plan to interview while driving the second, a divine ’74 D Spécial. Unfortunately, the latter suffers from a minor starter motor issue and fails to fire. The crew an

Model Subaru Impreza WRX 22B-STi Version Engine 2212cc flat-4, dohc, turbo, 16v Max power 206kW @ 6000rpm Max torque 360Nm @ 3200rpm Transmission 5-speed manual Weight 1270kg 0-100km/h 4.7sec (claimed) Economy 13.6L/100km Price $125,000 (1998

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 mo

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

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 adm

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

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 SHA

For the mid-$60K price point, the Kona Highlander EV comes packed with features to justify its high price. Key safety gear includes AEB, cruise control with city stop and go, blindspot warning, lane-keeping assist, rear-view camera and parking sensor

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 driv

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. You find Wheels deep in the heart of chaotic Tokyo, staring open-mouthed at the Mercedes-Benz Visi

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 ex

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 t

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 o

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 wor

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 remain

WHY IS PORSCHE pouring millions of dollars into a relatively unknown car maker in Croatia? It’s a question that recently drew us to the industrial outskirts of Zagreb, the capital of a nation best known for spotty dogs, medieval HBO blockbusters and

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

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 nobod

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 Gene

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

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

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

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 ach