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Motoring news
The hippo keeps you up to date with the latest news in the motoring industry.
All articles supplied by Wheels24. |
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New Models
Driven: V6 Porsche Panamera 4
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Porsche’s four-door Panamera V8 and Panamera Turbo sports coupe range has been expanded with the addition of an “entry-level” V6. We drive it.
Panamera V6 video
Porsche’s four-door Panamera V8 and Panamera Turbo sports coupe range has been expanded with the addition of an “entry-level” V6.
The Porsche Panamera 4 is viewed by Porsche South Africa as “the ultimate business (woman’s) express”. And it certainly makes sense. The Panamera, though designed as a four-door, is as dynamic as any other Porsche, as comfortable as a limousine and as practical as a wagon.
Some critics have reviled the car for having less aesthetic greatness than the styling masterpiece 911, but those who drive them (and production of the car recently overshot the figure forecast, so there are quite a few) probably don’t care.
The Panamera just oozes class and while it may not be classically pretty, its proportions are classically Porsche – the roofline, shoulderline and fenders can all be identified on other cars born at the brand’s Zuffenhausen home. Also, as with all Porsches, nothing on the Panamera is superfluous or gimmicky, every component has a function and purpose.
All-wheel drive
Sure, it’s a big car, but it certainly isn’t threatening or imposing. Furthermore, Panamera 4s are all-wheel drive, so you have the assurance of the extra traction this drive system affords when things get a little heated.
On the launch route stretching from Johannesburg’s northern suburbs to Mpumalanga’s White River, the 220 kW 3.6-litre V6 engine showed it is quick when needs be and perfectly docile at any other time. It has ample power without the screaming urgency of the bigger V8s launched in February, for instance. Top speed is at 259 km/h, and it’ll reach that too if you let it.
To take the hassle out of shifting through a six-speed manual ‘box on a car just short of five metres long, all local models are fitted with seven-speed PDK.
But just because this is the entry-level model, don’t think the V6 Panamera is not a dynamic masterpiece. Like the rest of the Porsche range, the default mode is Comfort, but Sport and Sport Plus buttons can be pressed to increase the sedan’s dynamism even more. It noticeably varied the PDK’s shift patterns and tightened the suspension for particularly exhilarating runs through a few of the passes along the way.
Porsche’s active suspension management (PASM) and Porsche dynamic chassis control including Porsche torque vectoring plus (PDCC and PTV Plus) are options for those requiring even more verve from their car.
Yet don’t accuse the Panamera’s creators of producing atmosphere-clogging, CO2-spewing sports cars – the V6 is claimed to deliver fuel consumption on the combined range at a rate of 9.1 l/100 km and release 213 g/km of carbon emissions into the air. However, don’t be put off by the carbon emissions tax introduced in South Africa on September 1 as pricing for all Porsche models remains unchanged as the company absorbs the tax.
Auto stop-start
Keeping emissions down on the Panamera is a host of fuel-saving devices that include stop-start function, low rolling-resistance tyres and a low drag co-efficient. The auto stop-start system’s operation is dependent on various factors though, and won’t be turned off in high temperatures, when battery charge is low or when the Sport function is in use. When the system kicks in, at a set of traffic lights, for example, the engine quietly cuts out but quickly rumbles to life again when the brake pedal is released.
Weight-saving techniques include aluminium body panels and a six-cylinder engine that is 30 kg lighter than the V8.
This car looks a little different, too, but you’d have to haul out your eagle-eye to spot the differences. The V8’s chromed side window surrounds are blacked out on the V6, oval twin tailpipes peep out from beneath the rear fender and 18-inch alloys round off the exterior package.
The Panamera’s leather-finished cabin has to be one of the best. Step inside for a particularly sumptuous experience as driver and front passenger are met by a two-column centre console that is a model of elegance with its chrome-rimmed buttons and simple appearance. Accommodation in the two rear seats is generous as well as being supremely comfortable.
Look beyond the badge to see just how much R780 000 will buy you in this segment. You get Porsche’s legendary ease of use, exquisite fit and finish and probably one of the better engineered six-cylinders around.
Decent enough for any business express, whether you wear the pants or not…
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General News
Clarkson: The Stig is a tw*t
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Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson has lashed out at Ben Collins who recently revealed himself to be the show's masked stunt driver, The Stig.
Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson has lashed out at Ben Collins who recently revealed himself to be the show's masked stunt driver, The Stig. Collins claimed that he wanted to publish a book detailing his career as The Stig.
The BBC claimed it would be a breach of contract if The Stig's identity was revealed and this resulted in the broadcaster taking legal action against Collins.
Collins argued that he had every right to publish a book as Top Gear presenters from the show. The case came to a head in court with Collins granted the right to publish his book.
Clarkson had some choice about words for Collins while speaking at a charity event in Oxfordshire, UK.
Clarkson expressed that he was clearly annoyed with Collins' decision labelling him as being "greedy".
“As you may know we’ve had a problem with The Stig. Everyone now knows his real name. It’s The Twat. Actually to give him his full name it’s The Greedy Twat."
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General News
Owner scores with Beckham’s TVR
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David Beckham once commuted to Old Trafford in a TVR Cerbera. Auctioned on eBay this weekend, this is one depreciation proof TVR.
Life just has not been the same since Russian billionaire Nikolay Smolensky purchased TVR and left it in suspended animation since 2007.
Under the late Peter Wheeler’s tutelage TVR came to make some of the most characteristic (and suicidal) performance cars the world had ever since in the late 1990s and early noughties.
Unfortunately the company’s Blackpool facility now stands dormant and the only TVRs you can buy are used ones.
Ballistic Beckham
Fortunately TVRs were quite popular with footballers and in a glaring example of the burgeoning status of e-commerce, a special David Beckham edition TVR Cerbera has been successfully auctioned on eBay.
Originally purchased back in 2000, during David Beckham’s sojourn with Manchester United, the Cerbera in question was surfaced with a special ‘Crystal Topaz’ finish on request from Victoria Beckham.
Despite earning silly money, Beckham still optioned to transfer a sound system from his Porsche into the TVR instead of commissioning a new, customized infotainment set-up.
A plaque atop the 313Kw 4.5l V8 engine is engraved with David Beckham’s name, adding to this TVR’s novelty value.
Beckham drove his nameplate Cerbera for only five years, running up 28 485km.
The next owner kept the car in stowage after purchasing it in 2005, adding a scant 160km to the odometer reading - obviously with the intent of selling it.
It was placed on eBay last month and sold for R790 000 following 62 bids when the auction sell-by date elapsed on Saturday.
Not bad going for a decade old sportscar made from plastic, which usually retails for between R200 000 and R250 000 in the pre-owned market and was uploaded to eBay with a R220 000 reserve price.
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General News
Hijackers rob, strip motorist
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A motorist was hijacked, robbed and stripped to his underwear in Pretoria on Monday, Gauteng police said.
A bakkie driver was hijacked, robbed and stripped to his underwear in Pretoria on Monday, Gauteng police said.
Two men, one armed with a knife, confronted him at the corner of Proes Street and DF Malan Drive while he was stationary at a red traffic light, Warrant Officer Louis de Bruin said.
"A man suddenly appeared at his window and reached into the vehicle."
The driver grabbed his attacker's arm and pushed it out of the bakkie but during the scuffle a second man armed with a knife got into the vehicle and told him to drive and keep quiet. The first attacker got into the rear of the bakkie.
The pair stole R5800 in cash and the driver's clothes and fled on foot, leaving the bakkie which the man drove to Hercules police station in his underpants to report the attack.
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