But first, the snippets:
- Meanwhile in Arizona - a driverless Tesla made a fool out of a Good Samaritan who tried to stop it before realizing what was really happening.
- We didn't see this one coming either, but Porsche will be designing a spaceship in the next Star Wars movie.
- Someone high up at Toyota Global says hybrid Hiluxes and Land Cruisers are coming.
- Land Rover confirms, new Defender will get the SVR treatment.
- BMW South Africa unveil the new X5 and X6 M cars ahead of their LA launch, at the M Festival, Kyalami.
Still with Bavaria, the M340i XDrive is a total beast
I know what you want. You want those digits. Well I'm going to give it to you.
How does 275kW and 500Nm sound? Or 4.4 seconds from zero to hundred, is that ticking your box? That's in a sedan, but if you live in almost any other land, that kind of performance can also be had in a Touring model. That's a wagon for those uninitiated in BMW naming conventions.
Back to those sexy stats, shall we? The new engine is their warmest iteration of their famous inline six-cylinder yet. Measuring 3 litres and bristling with M Division's TwinPower Turbo technology - the closed deck bottom end is mated to an alloy cylinder head, with lightened rods, pistons and crank, also known as 'the sort of thing one does to a race car'.
So, it promises a revvy, boosted experience that won't be rivalled until BMW delivers unto us a full bore M3 and M4. I think we'll be okay till then. The M340i's new engine is mated to an 8 speed Steptronic Sport gearbox, with power being sent to all four wheels via a M Sport Diff. And that means a particularly vicious (AWD) launch control now lives here too.
Best take this one seriously, folks.
What’s that? You can’t wait for the M3 either? How about the Alpina B3?
Fresh out of Tokyo is this, the 345kW B3 saloon – as the BMW tuner continues to churn out their own interpretation of the hot Bimmer.
It also churns forth a healthy 700Nm – twisty. And all this mathematics makes it sprint from zero to hundred in 3.8 seconds making this car healthier than last gen’s M3 in every way. Now Alpina’s are not M cars, so miss out on the total tune, the bespoke suspension treatment and differentials – in fact they’ve been comparatively soft in the past. Not necessarily a bad thing, is it?
Did someone say, ‘the thinking man’s M3?’
Volkswagen South Africa launches the Golf 8. But in a cinema…
Tread softly, for the eighth coming of the Volkswagen Golf is among us, at last!
That's right, only three derivatives are currently destined for Mzansi - the 1 .4 TSI, 2.0 GTI and 2.0R. All come equipped with DSGs, no manuals in sight. There’s a raft of changes and upgrades such as the old car’s Dyna Audio sound system has been swapped up for Harman Kardon items while Live Cockpit is now standard across the board in a sweetly contemporary (but clearly VW) cabin.
But how about that fresh face? We like it, and think it represents the biggest design step forward since the Mk4 to Mk5.
Early predictions? It’s going to be brilliant. Everyone will buy one. The usual.
Nissan unveil their Ariya Concept
Crossover EVS are in fashion in Japan, here’s one now from Nissan, revealed at the Tokyo Motor show 2019 (of course).
"The Ariya Concept represents a strong collaboration between design and engineering," said Yasuhiro Yamauchi of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. "It is the next stage of Nissan's future design language as we embark on a new era for the company - the next stage in our evolution."
It is quite the looker, plus represents the sharp end of Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility design stick. Dramatic, clever and with bloody big 21-inch wheels.
We approve. We also love the airy and contemporary cabin – very Scandinavian by way of Nippon.
Meet the Mazda MX-30
And look, I’ve been calling Mazda Japan’s Volvo for years – do you see it now?
It’s not purely concept either – the Hiroshima firm have every intention of rolling this one out, probably as an EV. The MX-30 is their most vocal interpretation of their KODO design language and we like the looks of it very much.
A new Honda Jazz? Who asked for this?
Because we like it, or… do we?
The Carshop verdict is out on the visuals of the new B-Segment hatch from Honda. I mean, are retirees going to appreciate its two-tone paint job and new-fangled hybridised drivetrain and all that?
We’ll just have to see, if we can just locate our bifocals.
