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The weekend of 28 and 29 January 2012 was black. South Africa lost two talented motorsports men in unrelated incidents, to the families of Curt Alchin and Wim Pretorius, ZA Car gives its condolences.

Despite the news items, ZA Car Show isn’t sponsored by BMW or MINI, it just appears that they have the most to talk about at the moment. On that front, MINI officially announced the MINI Roadster — a convertible based on a hard top that was based on a convertible, the MINI Coupe — and it also alludes to JCW becoming a stand alone sub-brand like the recently announced BMW M-Performance range. We discuss.

The silver slats in the kidney grills give the car a 'cleaner' appearance if that makes sense? Either way, it emits less toxins, produces V8-like power and consumes fuel like a diesel. For more images (around 70 in total) click on the image to be redirected to our gallery. To view in a new tab (if you're streaming the show at the moment) right click and select 'open in new tab/window.

Christo is going to LeMans this year, that is the commitment to motoring that we have here at ZA Car Show,  and no he’s not getting sent there by a manufacturer so to the South African motoring journalists who read this, you don’t need to hound manufacturers to find out why you never got invited. He, however, was sad to see the departure of Peugeot from the LM1 class which would have left it a one-horse race. It’s also good to see that Toyota is regaining its motorsport ‘mojo’ with the announcement of the Toyota’s LM1 racer, the TS030. It will be a 3.4l V8 Hybrid. This is important becuase we cover another perfomance hybrid in the form of the BMW 5-series Active Hybrid. It’s no tree hugging hybrid like the Prius, but rather a performance hybrid that delivers diesel car-like consumption, very low emissions, and performance equal that of a V8. It doesn’t look like ‘hairy arm pit’ hippie car either, which is what tends to be the perception with the term hybrid.

Toyota will return to Le Mans with the LM1 contender, the Toyota TS030. Click on the image to be redirected to the gallery.

In other news Audi’s extremely beautiful A5 has had a nip here and tuck there and come off looking even better. It’s like taking giving Naomi Campbell or George Clooney (see we keep it relevant for everyone here) a slight make over — the blank canvas is already good so it can only get better, right?

Handsome, very handsome. It's the facelifted A5 and it is finally in SA. Click on the image to view the gallery.

Finally we wrap up the show with the ZA Car Show road test. This week it’s the Audi A6 3.0t, which is actually supercharged not turbo’d. Good car, bad car? We’re torn a little bit between good and boring, but you’ll have to listen to the show to find out why. Enjoy.

We cannot fault its looks nor the way it is built, but in creating something that is so competent Audi has removed any sort of soul, granted the words 'soul' and 'Audi' are rarely used in the same sentence in any event.

Episode 148 hi-fi download (22MB) 

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Two’s company and this week, our second show of 2012 it’s Trevor van de Ven and Christo van Gemert that keep you company while chatting about cars, some good and some bad. There’s a slew of new BMW engines destined for the BMW 1-Series (international markets only at this stage), which get’s our Captain Consumption aflutter with excitement, were still not quite sure why. BMW has also announced that it will be launching an M Performance series which will be more dedicated than simply adding an M-Sports pack to your Beemer, while being not quite as hardcore as BMW’s M cars. Why, well you’ll have to listen, won’t you? Christo van Gasoline reports back from the Abarth 500 launch that he attended recently and the two round off the show with a review of the Audi TT-RS and Mitsubusi’s Titanic Triton.

We dont have a picture of the engines so an image of the new M-Sport pack for the 1-Series will have to do. Can you spot the add-ons?

You think we included a picture of Dr. Friedrich Nitschke, the President of BMW M Gmbh, because of that magnificent moustache? You'd be wrong, there is a car behind him, which is the only indication that we have at the moment of what the new M Performance cars will look like and the M550d X-Drive looks deceptively like full-blown M5 unless there's some sloppy PR going on here.

There's a sting in the tail of this little car. Click on the image to view a comprehensive gallery. You will be redirected, so right click the image and select "Open in new tab/window"

The one we had looked identical to this, red is certainly the best colour for this beast that out accelerates just about everything on the road. Hear what we think on the podcast. For a gallery, click on the image but be aware that you will be redirected away from this page. To stay here, right click on the image and select "Open in new Tab/Window"

There's nothing new here, it's a Mitsubishi Triton. We review it...

Episode 146 hi-fi download (22MB) 

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Welcome to 2012 and welcome to the first show the year for the ZA Car Show team. There are a number of big things in store for you this year as we’ve embarked on a couple of changes to the ZA Car Show product offering. Stay tuned to find out more in the coming weeks. In the mean time we kick off the year with John Beale, The Times’ Thomas Falkiner and ZACS’ Trevor van de Ven. Much like your return to work, this year has kicked off with a bang in the form of the North American International Auto Show. Tom also gives us a run down on his upcoming trip to the Yas Marina GP circuit in the UAE with Porche for the launch of the Porsche 991.  And with the start of varsity, there are a ton of new drivers on the roads. We explore what reasonably priced cars — under R140 000 — you should consider if you are planning to buy a car for your recently-left-school child. Reviewed this week are the BMW 116i Urban and controversial Nissan Juke 1.6 Tekna.

As always click on the images to go to a full gallery of that car. You will be redirected away from this page if you do so, however, so to carry on listening and still view the albums right click on the image and select ‘open in new tab’ or ‘open in new window,’ and enjoy. 

This car is one of the most beautiful mid-sized sedans. It will never sell as much as the BMW 3-series, Audi A4 or Mercedes-Benz C-Class and it remains a mystery as to why. In global markets though, this car will be a game changer for the Ford brand, we think. Let's hope that we are proved right with this.

The last time the Americans and Italians mixed this closely it took the FBI many years to find the root of the problems (and they're still looking). Let's hope the same symptoms do no befall a very good looking car which is based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

We review the Nissan Juke 1.6 Tekna in this show. It's a car that polarizes opinions, sells well and remains pretty unique in its segment. Is nissan too bold, or would you buy this car. Take a listen to find out more.

Sport and Urban, good or strange looking, you decide. We review the 116i Urban that looked identical to the blue car and walk away very impressed, find out why.

Episode 145 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 145 lo-fi download (9MB)

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It’s the last show from the team for the year and what better way to wrap it up than with the ZA Car Show Car of the Year awards? Whether you’re looking for a hatchback, sedan, fun car, practical car or want to find out what each of the team picked as their overall car of the year for 2011, then go on take a listen, the results will surprise you, that much we are sure of.

The third and fourth doors are deceptively hidden in this image. Click on the image to see a full gallery and decide whether you like this new BMW or not (you will be redirected to another page -- right click and select 'open in new tab' to avoid this.)

The smart fortwo pickup expected to be unveiled in the US early in the new year. Our Trevor van de Ven is really excited about this. He really is strange.

The ZA Car Show Car of the Year features a Lexus, Honda, Citroen, BMW, to name only a few. Take a listen to find out what each member of the team chooses for their favourite cars of 2011.

Episode 144 hi-fi download (18MB) 
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Too many dials, gauges and buttons can be distracting. The new Ford Focus and Renault Megane both suffer from this – buttons, button everywhere!. Sometimes… simplicity is the best. And that’s the theme for this week’s selection of wallpapers. Something plain and elegant, where the objects of our automotive desire are the main focus.

*All photos are property of their respective copyright holders. If you see a photo that is yours, please get in touch and we can credit you, or remove it from this posting.

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Arrr, we be hittin ya wit a whole lot ‘a aRRRRRRRRRR cars this turn ‘o tha week, most importantly mateys, arrrr the reviews of the Porsche Cayman (like the pirate islands) R by o’er favourite deckhand from ye Sunday Times, Tom Tom Falkiner an’  also the lane lubbin’ Volkswagen Scirocco R.

Christ’o Nobeard gets excited abou’ all manner ‘o Toyboaters an’ what they be doin’ in Dak to the arrrr. The team ‘o salty dogs also talk about the new Toyboater Yaaaar-is an’ the vulgar display [of pow'aar] that BMW X5M and X6M owners can display with thar new Individual package.

Already a display of bad taste, the BMW has now opened its Individual styling options pack to X5 and X6 M buyers.

Roundin’ it up Shipmate Tom Tom updates ye all on the new Mercedes Benz C63 and new E63 5.5 Bi-turbo engined wee-beastie. Just ta keep ‘em greenie meanines happy tankard Trevor, gets all excited abo’t a 1-litre engine for a Ford Focus.

No longer a hunking lump of 6.3 litres of V8 in this one anymore, it now features a 5.5l V8 Bi-Turbo. Good for 700Nm and 410Kw. Click on the image to view a full gallery.

A very masculine and handsome car this new C63 is, but is it still just a quarter mile king? Take a listen to find out. Click on the image to see a full gallery of the C63 range.

For the price of the 1.3 3-door you could get into a MINI One and still have change. What would you prefer? Click on the image to see a full gallery of the new Toyota Yaris

Thomas Falkiner reviews the Porsche Cayman R. We are secretly jealous, but when you hear his enthusiasm in the reivew we can't be jealous of him for long.

Episode 141 hi-fi download (18MB) 
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Alright peeps we’ll kick the week in the teeth with brand new Jeep to make Otto Diesel proud. Stepping out from the crowd is most certainly allowed in the new Peugeot 508 while you’ll not be late in the great Nissan that the GTR badge ate. We round this bad rhyme up with a review of the new BMW (640i) and give a shout out to the dudes at Su-bar-u. Yup it’s true, you might find that the Outback Diesel and Forester Diesel might just be the cars for you.

Bad rhyming aside, we must abide to bring you some great pictures and fun, so go ahead, take a listen to what craziness you might have been missin’

Quite a handsome little tyke

Trevor van de Ven is weak at the knees just looking at this picture. The chances of it being released in South Africa are slim, though, but for a full gallery of the very pretty sedan, click on the image. It will redirect this page to another website, so consider right clicking on the image and selecting 'open in new tab.'

It's not handsome, but it's not exactly pretty either. The 640i has the 3.0 Twinpower Turbo engine too which leaves the team with some mixed opinions. Take a listen to find out why.

Episode 140 hi-fi download (18MB) 
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We’re joined this week by our friend from TimesLIVE and Sunday Times motoring, Thomas Falkiner. Together he, John Beale and Trevor van de Ven go back to the future with the DeLorean EV; talk about the local launch of the BMW 1-Series (F20); South African launch of the Nissan Juke and Tom gives us the low-down on the brand new BMW ///M5 (F10) having been one of the select few to drive it in Spain earlier this month.

Finally, if you’ve always considered buying something outside of the mainstream models and have not been able to bring yourself to do so, you should probably take a listen to our review on the Volvo V60 and S60 T6 R-Design that the crazy three got to drive. Go on, take a listen, download the file to listen later, or better yet, subscribe on our iTunes page to get the new episode automatically each week.

Never mind going back, this IS the future. One of the coolest cars of our time has been reengineered to run on pure electric power. Click on the image to go to a full gallery of the DeLorean EV, including a picture of the Flux Capcitor, er, sort of.

Want some more information on this car? Click here.

Sport and Urban, good or strange looking, you decide. Click on the gallery to see a gallery or listen to the podcast to hear what the team thinks.

Looking for more information on this car? Click here.

Want the spec sheet in PDF? Click here. (3.6Mb)

Pricing you will find if you click here.

Weird photo? It's of the new M5's engine and rightfully so, this is the star of the show. Click on the image to see what the metal that wraps around this powerplant is all about.

Looking for more information on this car? Click here or here for the international website.

Care to download the brochure? Click here.

It's love or hate and there is an abundance of both in episode 138 of the podcast for the Nissan Juke. Click on the image to see a full comprehensive gallery of this car.

Looking for more info? Click here.

Other specs including the price can be found here.

There is no mistaking this car. It is pretty and agressive at the same time and if you want to hear about its performance, then take a listen to the podcast. For a full gallery of pictures, click on this image.

For more information on this car, click here.

Episode 138 hi-fi download (18MB) 
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This week the team of Christo van Gemert, Trevor van de Ven, John Beale and Patrick Gearing (who is now on Twitter) is back in full force and so is the news that every BMW fan has been waiting for, the announcement of the new BMW 3-Series.

Take a look at the various galleries of these cars by clicking on the images below and if you’re eagle eyed, you will even see the first pictures of BMW’s 3-Series M-Sport which we’ve managed to sneak into the gallery without many people noticing yet. But, BMW is not the be all and end all as you’ll find out in our review of the 2011 Lexus IS-F, the quintessential gentleman’s sledgehammer in a Handy Manny toolbox. We also review a green car, quite literally, in the form of the Volvo C30 D2 and the review might just surprise you.

Agressive, bold, purposeful, what do you think of the new BMW 3-Series unveiled on 14 October? Click on the picture to se a comprehensive 82 image gallery of the various trim lines and vehicles including the ActiveHybrid.

The Toyota that will contest races in the LMP1 series next year including a return to LeMans, this time running hybrid technology.

This is a digital rendering straight out of Forza Motorsport 4 of Christo van Gemert's very own car, a Renault Twingo RS. Can you believe that games have come this far. Click on the image to see some more renderings from the game that Christo has been taking for us. Stand back and be amazed.

The gentleman's super performance saloon. You might not have considered it, but this car can hold it's own amongst the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG but for all the other reasons, reasons that the other two long forgot were actually the key attractors to those specific models. Hail the new king of Q-car-dom. Click on the image to see a gallery of images.

Green motoring at its finest in more ways than one. Oft-overlooked take a listen to the review to hear why this is such is a cool car.

Episode 137 hi-fi download 
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In ZACS 134, John, Patrick and Christo discuss the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show - each picking their personal highlights from the many awesome vehicle on display.

Christo backs Germany and picks three not quite road-legal cars; Patrick chooses three Italians; and John tips his hat to three English arrivals. To make sure all bases are covered, our intrepid trio also selected some “pity cars” – vehicles that are noteworthy, but didn’t quite fall into their “we want one now” criteria.

The Lambo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale. Click here for a gallery.

The Landy DC100 concept - a possible Defender replacement. Click for gallery.

The Ferrari-engined Maserati Kubang is a Jeep underneath. Click for a gallery!

After all that mega-horsepower excitement, they try cool down by reviewing the Volkswagen Passat. The consensus is that it’s not a bad car. But also not one you’ll remember having driven or owned. Listen to the show for all the details.

Episode 133 hi-fi download (20MB) 
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