One Liners:
- Niki Lauda is recovering well from his recent lung transplant operation. Good.
- Opel teases its new design language with the GT X concept. Looks alright.
- Porsche releases new info on its Taycan electric supercar; 0-100kph in 3.5 seconds and a range of 500km.
- Hyundai claims their new Le Fil Rouge Concept will be sexier than an Alfa. Well, obviously they’d say that.
- Uber drives are unhappy with the company’s high (25%) commission in the face of rising fuel prices.
Stand up and take a bow, the prolific Mercedes-Benz C-Class
That is correct, 100,000 units are built in East London, South Africa for right hand drive markets worldwide. This includes the W205 as well as all AMG derivatives, and will include the upcoming W206. And to celebrate, the beloved compact saloon gets itself a mid-life update. Even more notably, the production center recently received a R10bn injection set to also boost and bolster the South African economy.
New Ford Ecosport launched in SA
Ford’s compact crossover was launched with resounding success. Naturally a successor was on the cards, and this is it – the 2018 Ecosport, launched 5 years after the original. Now to be clear, it is more of a facelift than an all-new model, but it is a resounding one.
No longer a squad of six, the Ecosport now is available in just five flavours. The Trend model with the turbocharged 3-cylinder, 1.0T Ecoboost with automatic transmission stood out as the one to get, now with a perky 92kW and 170Nm at its disposal. Gone is the naturally aspirated (and frankly underpowered) 1.5 litre petrol engine of before, but also in the range is the old car’s 1.5 litre TDCI diesel good for 74kW and 205Nm.
Hop aboard and the interior is refreshing, closer to the new Fiesta than ever before, a great complement to that new exterior. We’ll need time at the wheel before we can make any kind of call on the driving experience but evidence suggests it won’t disappoint.
Ford EcoSport 1.0T Trend Automatic Specs:
| Price | R300,700.00 |
| Engine | 1.0-litre, in-line three cylinder, turbocharged petrol |
| Transmission | 6-speed automatic |
| Power | 92kW |
| Torque | 170Nm |
Fuel Consumption
| 6.3 l/100km |
| CO2 | 143 g/km |
Maintenance Plan
| 4-year/60 000 km service plan (with 15 000 km intervals) |
BMW M5 Competition is here!
The BMW M5 Competition will sell for R2,062 million, comes with a 5-year/100,000km maintenance plan and will be a supercar-baiting hyper limousine. And we still very much want one.
It is in effect, an even more-warmed over version of a performance saloon that we presume was the very definition of LIT. The tyres certainly were, and we no longer necessarily just refer to the rear Pirelli P Zero rubbers, as BMW now produces all-wheel-drive monsters to battle the similarly afflicted likes from AMG and Audi. Despite offering a two-wheel drive mode.
The Competition makes a good 19kW more than the regular M5, can pounce from a standstill to 100kph in 3.3 seconds and will head-butt the horizon just north of 300kph. Just for laughs, zero to 200kph allegedly comes up in 10.8 seconds. That’s what two bar, 460kW and 750Nm gets you and your two-tonne barge.
Danny Ricciardo poached by Renault. Cheers Red Bull!
And no, it’s not because the brand with wings was forcing him to drink bubbly from a shoe. Rather, after four years, five seasons and seven races won, Danny had to answer the call from France. The smiling one had this to say; “The Renault switch one of the toughest decisions I've ever made.” Still, it’s “cheers, but not before an epic USA road trip”, their relationship immortalised here in this video:
What’s this, you didn’t know Toyota were in a relationship with Isuzu?
No stress, they’ve just cut those ties in any case. In 2006 the two entered a capital tie-up to develop small engines for passenger cars. Now, despite posting a profit, Toyota is selling off its 6% stake in Isuzu.
In a joint statement they had this to say; “As the automotive industry faces sweeping, once-in-a-century changes, Isuzu and Toyota intend to accelerate their efforts to improve competitiveness in the commercial and passenger vehicle markets, respectively." Divorces are hard.
