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ZA Car Show 161: The Topless Edition

christo — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:17:00 +0000

Christo, Patrick and Thomas Falkiner, our resident roadster drivers take on a journey this week covering the 60th anniversary of the disk brake. They also cover more interesting debatable topics like Jaguar’s appearance at the Mille Miglia, the recent Formula 1 race and the passing of the legendary Carroll Shelby.

BMW has been on a product assault announcing the the BMW 3-series Touring…

…BMW 1-series 2 door, can we call it a coupe?

And the BMW M135i…

…rounding up with the MINI John Cooper Works GP.

Get it all here:
Episode 161 download

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ZA Car Show 160: Hellooooo!

christo — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:08:35 +0000

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Handling, handling, handling, that’s the news for this week’s episode of ZA Car Show. Nissan has confirmed that the Juke R will make limited production despite costing more than four times the price of a GT-R.

Jaguar meanwhile is hoping that its XJ Supersport displays the agility of a cat in its new role as a ‘ring taxi.

Toyota’s awaited, for South Africa anyway, 86 has been voted Dynamic Car of the Year.

Christo van Gemert represented ZA Car Show on the Blacktop Rally. 3500kms from Johannesburg to Cape Town and their chariot for the journey was a BMW M3 Convertible. He shares his experience and tells us why you have to enter it next year.

Finally we wrap it up with a review of the Citroen DS4 THP 200 and why you should not buy it, you should rather buy the diesel.

Specifications and pricing can be found here

Episode 160 download

You can subscribe to the ZA Car show RSS feed by clicking here. or subscribe on iTunes and have it downloaded automatically each week. You can click here to do so.

ZA Car Show 159: An Alfa a day

trevor — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:18:57 +0000

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Ugly, ridiculous, pretty and pointless; well now that we have described the ZACS team we can talk about some cars.
This week we cover some launch news from the Beijing Auto Show in China where Lamborghini shocked, MINI wowed and a couple of high-end manufacturers tried to outdo each other with sheer luxury (which will no doubt be knocked-off by some Chinese auto manufacturers).

What do you think, hot or not? The jury is amongst the ZA Car Show crew…

Somehow we got talking about this Prius, why, we’re still no sure…

Kia has launched a car that will compete with the luxury brands and offer faaaaaaaar better value but if we’re honest, it will just compete against the Hyundai Sonata despite what other journalists might believe.

Finally, we review the Toyota FJ Cruiser. A brilliant off-roader, but what price are you prepared to pay for this ability?
Episode 159 download

You can subscribe to the ZA Car show RSS feed by clicking here. or subscribe on iTunes and have it downloaded automatically each week. You can click here to do so.

ZA Car 158: Blacktop and BMW

jtbeale — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:44:24 +0000

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Easter weekend was a good break, but now we’re back for episode 158 with 1 man down (Trevor vd Ven is away on holiday in a Peugeot) and 2 men up (Guy Kilfoil GM of Corporate Communications at BMW SA and Clen Cook, founding man of the BlackTopRally).

In the news

The Mercedes Benz S 250 CDI wins the coveted (read nobody in South Africa is phased by) World Green car of the year 2012. The new S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY – has an output of 150 kW and achieves a fuel consumption of only 5.7 litres per 100 kilometres (NEDC), corresponding to CO₂ emissions of 149 grams per kilometre. Unfortunately the S 250 CDI isn’t available in South Africa. Greenies weep.

Something Greenies also weep about is the launch of the SLK 55 AMG, which won’t win any “green” medals any time soon. What it will do is make beautiful noise from a 5.5liter naturally aspirated V8, and travel to 100km/h in 4.6seconds. Pricing? R975 000 without options. Ouch. We’d rather have a Porsche Boxter S

What most South Africans would rather have is the Toyota Hilux…this is no surprise. What is a surprise is that Toyota has announced that it has produced 5million Hilux’s globally. We thought it would be more?

Speaking of more – the Renault Fluence has received a spec change. With a new Authentique model adding more value to the range.

Fiat has also extended the 500 range by adding the Fiat 500 Matt Black. It’s the second special edition after the by Diesel (the clothing brand). Adding a matt black paint job (surprise!) as well as some very nifty black rims To the first 50 buyers, you stand in line to receive a Tom Tom navigation system fitted as standard. *Runs to dealer*

Clen Cook discussed the imminent launch of the second iteration of the BlacktopRally, staring 29 April – 4 May. www.blacktoprally.co.za

Whilst Guy Kilfoil chats to us about the vehicles BMW has so generously committed to certain teams for the BlackTopRally, and some interesting discussions around BMW’s Efficient Dynamics technology. Also, he just talks cars with us, which is cool, because he’s cool like that

Episode 158 download

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ZA Car Show 157: Thank you

trevor — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 05:48:26 +0000

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Thank you! Thank you for your support if you attended the inaugural ZA Car Show Petrolhead Quiz and thank you if you were one of the very generous sponsors of a prize – BMW, Suzuki, Nissan, Lexus and Autostyle. By all accounts the evening was a great success and we look forward to hosting another one again.

This week BMW unveiled the first shots of its i8 Spyder, a car every bit as stylish and agressive as an Audi R8, but with the consumption of a VW Polo Bluemotion.

Also emerging from the New York Motor Show is Infinity’s er… Emerg-E which is confirmed for production while it has also confirmed an Infinity Performance Line al-la AMG or M-Performance. Is this the sign of things to come because Infinity is launching in SA soon?

Christo and Tom Falkiner from The Sunday Times were at the local launch of the new hipster kid on the block, the MINI Roadster. Good or bad, you’ll have to take a listen to find out of the premium MINI charges for the roadster with less spec than the conventional convertible is worth it? Click here for a link to the MINI Roadster Microsite Click on the image below to view a full gallery of 90 images.

Christo also got to spend a couple of hours with the latest Nissan GTR. Having just acquired one of his hero cars, the GTR is another so we find out if he was disappointed or impressed.

Finally we review the MINI Cooper S Countryman. Definitely polarising. Which side do you sit on?

Episode 157 download

You can subscribe to the ZA Car show RSS feed by clicking here. or subscribe on iTunes and have it downloaded automatically each week. You can click here to do so.

ZA Car Show 156: Pre-quiz

trevor — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:07:24 +0000

We’re trying some new things on ZA Car Show and one fo these is brevity. Take a listen to the compact episode 156 of ZA Car Show and let us know if you like it. As always we are open to feedback, suggestions on subjects for Wallpaper Wednesdays, tips on some crazy cars for sale, and any other things you would to share with us. Click on these black words to submit your feedback, we’d appreciate hearing from you.

The SL 65 AMG generates a full 630 PS (463 kW / 621 hp) from its 6.0-litre V12 biturbo engine that is mated to AMG’s Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic transmission system. This enables it to accelerate from 0-100kph (0-62mph) in just 4 seconds before hitting an electronically limited top speed of 250kph (155mph).

463kW; 1000Nm; 0-100km/h in under 4s; these are the figures for the recently announced Mercedes Benz SL65. While it’t not a new engine, it does get some technical updates. It’s quite a looker.

New B-class

Meriva

GTC

Review:

VW Tiguan

ZA Car Show 155: esse esse

trevor — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 02:40:35 +0000

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We’re 12 weeks into 2012 and at least 155 weeks into ZA Car Show. There is some exciting news to come in a few weeks, but until then, if you live in Johannesburg, South Africa and have still not signed up to take part in the ZA Car Show Petrolhead Quiz on 27 March, then you should do so now by clicking on these black-coloured words. The evening promises to be fun-filled and there are some nice prizes in store (hopefully for everyone). You have a 1 in 20 chance of winning something and in anyone’s book those are good odds.

John Beale, Christo van Gemert, Patrick Gearing and Trevor van de Ven debate the merits of owning a little Italian scorpion; discuss the launch of BMW’s new 3-Series; get Trevor excited about a hyper-efficient diesel VW and Christo continues to rub in the fact that he’s going to Le Mans this year.

You can also find out about Tracker in the UK that is going social to find stolen vehicles and decide whether you agree with the choice for the SA Guild of Motoring Journalist’s Car of The Year for 2012.

100km on less than 1 litre of petrol is what the VW XL1 concept promises. It has been caught testing so the concept is very likely to become a reality.

If the camera angles look funny, it is probably because this is a very unconventional racecar prototype called the Deltawing. It’s will race at LeMans this year without classification but is expected to match the times and speeds of LMP1 and LMP2 machines. It is powered by a 1.6 turbo producing 224kW.

Here’s what it looks like.

The Nissan Deltawing looks more ‘Bonneville Salt Flats racer’ than Audi’s R18 which it will compete against. Audi has already clocked up its first win in its new R18 at Sebring.

BMW has launched the 3-series in South Africa. Christo attended the launch and shares his initial driving impressions. Click on the image to view a complete gallery of images (you will be redirected away from this website).

Finally, we review the Abarth 500 Esse Esse, a surprising little machine that constantly dials up the smiles. Click on the image to see a gallery.

Episode 155 download

You can subscribe to the ZA Car show RSS feed by clicking here. or subscribe on iTunes and have it downloaded automatically each week. You can click here to do so.

ZA Car Show 154: The pick of the bunch

trevor — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:02:11 +0000

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Christo, John, Patrick and Trevor explore their best (and worst) cars from the 84th Geneva Motor Show in Episode 154. Christo also sheds a tear at the announcement that Lotus has stopped development on its projects after the disinvestment of it Malaysian funders. Finally, we wrap up the show with a review of the endearing Audi RS5, but the verdict might surprise you. Go on have a listen and let us know what you think by clicking here

You’ve seen some of the more than 150 new model reveals at the Geneva Motor Show, what was your favourite?

Was it the Lamborghini Aventador J?

Perhaps it was the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta? Do you want to see a full gallery, click on the image.

This little beauty was also unveiled in its production form. What a looker. Click on the image to view a gallery.

To wrap it up, we review the non-facelifted 2012 Audi Rs5

Episode 154 download

ZA Car Show 153: Let’s Chatz about cars

trevor — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 04:36:09 +0000

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We’re joined this week by Derik and Bradley Scorer from Arnold Chatz Cars. At ZA Car Show we’ve come to meet a great deal of people, but we’ve seldom met with guys who are as passionate about cars as Derik and Bradley. It’s easy to see why Arnold Chatz Cars, an independent Fiat and Alfa Romeo dealership in Johannesburg, was the first choice for establishing an Abarth performance centre when the brand was launched in South Africa. They share some light on what we might be able to expect from Abarth (like the Punto Scorpione that has Trevor weak at the knees) and some special editions that Abarth would like South Africans to have. It was the Arnold Chatz Cars ‘cash for clunkers’ programme that got us speaking to Arnold Chatz Cars in the first place as it’s a one-of-a-kind offer, especially in the lower end of the market.

By now you might have heard of the new Audi LeMans racers, the R18 E-tron quattro and R18 Ultra – the world’s first hybrid diesel racecar and the lightest Audi racecar respectively. It’s a rare moment when aesthetics and function marry so beautifully which is made even more impressive when it is on a racecar.

Jaguar has taken the time to pull the covers off of another incredibly beautiful model for lovers of estate cars with the Jaguar XF Sportbrake. Click on the image to view a full gallery.

And from the sublime to the ridiculous is Aston Martin’s Q customization programme. See some of the lunacy in the picture below that features its trunk-top rack for storing your bags. Click on the image to see a fully gallery of the strange customization options.

Land Rover also broke two records this week: it built the 1millionth Land Rover Discovery, a car we thoroughly enjoyed; and in South Africa it managed to collect over 1000 Land Rovers in a convoy breaking the previous Guinness Book of World Records record of 300-odd cars. Well done to all that participated.

Finally, Renault has rationalised its Clio range once more, making it cheaper and offering loads of customisation options. Are the changes enough to ensure a survival for this nearly-dead horse? We explore the options.

Episode 153 download

ZA Car Show 152: Top Gear Test Track

trevor — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:07:20 +0000

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We like to think of our friend Thomas Falkiner (@WheelDealBlog) as a celebrity. At first it was just the playboy lifestyle of his with a Porche 944 in the garage and a Mustang fastback for the track that had us convinced he’s worthy of a petrol head hall-of-fame entry. But he’s just returned from the Top Gear test track, also known as the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, UK, where he drove the McLaren MP4-12C and how many of you can claim to know someone who has done such a thing? Tom then, is our star in an unreasonably priced car. Is McLaren on your all-time lust list? Well, you can find out more about it from Tom on this episode, in the mean time, here’s a video from of Thomas’ experience. He’s quicker than a Kia C’eed, but is he as quick as the other celebs, watch to find out.

These ‘leaked reveals’ whether by accident or intentional, ahead of international motor shows, are getting a little tiresome, but they do offer us great content sometimes as we found this week with the first pictures of the Range Rover Evoque Converitble, good or bad idea we’d like to know what you think? We don’t have a problem telling you what we think.

Click on the image to see a gallery of this car. If you're streaming the show, right click and select "Open in new window/tab"

This is the best view. Don't go around the front, it's very much an acquired taste.

We obviously picked the picture that shows off its least flattering angle, just to keep the rerpoting real here. We didn't get to drive it so me might as well judge it on its looks.

We won't be getting Imprezas anymore, but we will get this, the raised body, Impreza crossover at an eye-watering R329 000. The previous version sold out and didn't look as good so despite the price, this might just fly.

This week we review the 2012 VW Jetta. The model we had on test was the 118kW 1.4 TSI Comfortline, but we decide rather whether there is a better VW Jetta for the price.

At ZA Car Show we don't just drive a Jetta and tell what it's like, we drive the old one to tell you whether it is that much better than the old one so you know whether you need to change your car now, or not. How's that for service?

Episode 152 download