Download audio file (zacs161.mp3)

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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Audio stream – Download audio file (zacs155.mp3)

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 

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Audio stream – Download audio file (zacs152.mp3)
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 

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Drifting, like Facebook, in eight years has taken the world by storm. This storm is blowing into South Africa very uncharacteristically from the north and east and as posters with pig ears of Ferrari F430s and Bam Magera fall off kids’ walls from the drying prestick, they are being replaced by posters of Vaughn Gittin Jr, Rhys Millen, Ken Block, and extreme sports legends like Travis Pastrana, Brian Deegan and Rob Dyrdek to name only a few.  That is why we’re joined by Jim McFarlane from XS Promotions in Episode 149. XS Promotions has long been in the lead when it has come to extreme sports promotion and event organisation not least of which is the SuperDrift series in South Africa Atomic Junkies shows which wil be taking place in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg this year.

So if you’re keen on the drift scene, want to find out what it involves, what car you should consider if you’re just starting out, or how much money you should put side for tyres, take a listen. Take a listen. Do it now.  John, Trevor and Christo have a great chat with Jim who clearly has a passion for getting your blood racing faster than an Nissan GTR through turn two at Zwartkops Raceway and in our books, that’s brilliant.

In this show we cover some news like the Ferrari Formula One team’s gifts of appreciation, a Fat Pig of a Jeep each - you can read about it by clicking here. No wonder Flippie and Fern are unimpressed.

If pictures could tell a thousand words and you see the disappointment on the Team Scuderia Ferrari’s faces then we wish we had a camera to show you what Christo looks like when he recounts the South African launch of the BMW (F10) M5, we’ve never seen him smile that much.

In other news we talk briefly about the Chevrolet Sonic Diesel — a new entrant in a segment with very few diesel offerings and the Kuga, and no, we’re not talking about older women who are after younger guys, we’re talking about the Ford.

Look we're as muscular (or fat) as our Jeeps

We have yet to test the Chevrolet Sonic but on paper the new 1.3 diesel seems to offer the best small-diesel package. Click on the picture to view the gallery.

This new M5 packs some serious heat; like bazooka to a pistol-fight heat. Click on the image for some more pictures of that car that Christo drive in Port Elizabeth.

The BMW M5 also makes great sounds, sounds that you might want to use as a ring tone, and you can find them right here if you click these slanty words…

This is Mikey from XS Promotions, Jim's business partner. They like to do this...

...forget about ZA Car Show's Sideways Saturdays Mikey and Jim do this for a living and if their passion for the sport while talking with us is anything to go by, then drifting is set to become something great in SA, just like it is around the world. Click on the image to view a XS Promotions' SuperDrift gallery on Flickr.

Doriftuuuu....

Episode 149 download 

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Sometimes working for Ferrari has its perks and sometimes it doesn’t. As one of its Formula One drivers you might expect you get to drive a road going version of the race car, a Ferrari FF, or at least something special like the Abarth 500 Tributo Ferrari 695.  Most time that is the case, but then the drivers sometimes have to pander to FIAT’s other brands, like Jeep…

Alonso: "Hey Filipe, can you see over the steering wheel, how much do you weigh these days, do you think we'll be able to clear the snow in this?"

Scuderia Ferrari Formula One drivers, Filipe Massa and Fernando Alonso are getting used to the ‘posing with a red car in the snow gig.’ Their most recent assignment  involved some really really brash, really American, and ostentatious Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s with Rosso Corsa (Ferrari-red to us simpletons) exteriors, red leather interiors, black stripes and black wheels, to give the models some racing-cred (we suspect). Or not.

Look we're as muscular as our Jeeps

These custom Jeeps have been built as a tribute to the Ferrari ambassadors, however if that’s the case the only tribute being paid is for something fat and chunky. Despite this the Grand Cherokee SRT8 has a big heart: a 6.4l HEMI V8 delivering 344kW (468 hp)  and 624 Nm. The SRT8 achieves benchmark performance of 0-100 km/h in 5 seconds and has a top speed of 257 km/h, while massive disc brakes haul it from 100-0 km/h in only 35 m. Jeep also claims this is the best handling model it has ever built – though it’s coming off a pretty low base, if we’re honest.

Despite claiming these vehicles are a tribute to the drivers, they’re really to commemorate the imminent introduction of the SRT8 into Europe, in May this year.

Additional features include:

• Instrument cluster with yellow dials to give the cabin the fake look of the GT cars produced in Maranello
• 7-slot Jeep grill in matte black with red inserts
• Race-inspired, offset black driver’s stripe with a white accent for the  front and rear bumpers, hood, the entire surface of the roof (over those matt black sunroofs, no less) and the rear spoiler.
• Carbon fiber mirror caps
• Gloss black rear light bar with red accents on the Jeep logo
• Italian flag  painted on the underside of the rear spoiler: a tribute to the Ferrari F150º Formula One car
• 20-inch black alloy wheels

Nevertheless, these features sound pretty interesting.

Filipe and Alonso having some real fun in a four-wheel-drive.

It’s good that Jeep is going this far to give its brand some racing heritage and tie into the partnership with the Fiat Group, but we’re rather disappointed with the heads at the Fiat and Ferrari for letting such a thing happen and building some pocket rockets in the past; cars like the Michael Schumacher Fiat Seicento and Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari offered far more petrolhead appeal. They brought handling and fun to the party, and the idea that Ferrari’s F1 team had a hand in developing the cars that were available in (relatively) affordable packages, so what on earth made them think a red SUV sends the same message?

"Look it's red inside, just like Lewis' MP4-12C, what does Seb drive, a Renault?"

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64kbps stream Download audio file (zacs142.mp3)

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Our friend and contributor John Beale needs a new car so Thomas Falkiner, Christo van Gemert, Trevor van de Ven, Patrick Gearing and journalism student Dean Venter put their collective heads together to show what sensible options can be thought up if you crowd source.  The team, without Mr Beale who was eating sushi without us, also review the new Honda Accord 2.4 automatic and give you the low down on the motoring news from the past week.

The rebirth of the exciting Toyota. This flat four developed in conjunction with Subaru looks as if it has all the right ingredients to steal customers from the hot-hatch market. Click on the image to see a full gallery (you will be redirected away from this page).

Machbach is dead, Merc is pulling the plug. They are not the most handsome or striking cars but Trevor van de Ven still gets a bit teary eyed knowing that he will not see another all-white Landaulet again.

Patrick and Trevor love wagons. They also love Jaaaaags, so this car should put them both in a flat love-induced coma.

The new Honda Accord sports a dramatically revised front-end even if it's only the hawk-eyed that will spot the changes. Under the skin, this car is phenomenal. Take a listen to the show to find out what we think. Click on the image to view a full gallery (you will be redirected away from this page).

Episode 142 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 142 lo-fi download (9MB)

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131 is an iconic FIAT that both Trevor and Patrick would love to have in their garages one day in Ralaye form. It also had a Spanish twin in the form of the SEAT 131. But of course it’s also the latest episode of ZA Car Show.

What a week of beautiful cars it was too. We talk about the Ferrari 458 Spider, KTM X-Bow with a hardtop kit, the Porsche 911 (991), the Mercedes-Benz A-Class AMG, Toyota FT86′s twin the Subaru BRZ, New Mercedes-Benz SLK and Hyundai Elantra. You can’t disagree with that that, or can you? Hmmm, have a listen to find out.

If you’re considering a new SUV, something like an BMW X5, then do yourself a favour and take in the review of the 2011 BMW X3 2.0d before you make your choice. We might just sway your decision.

Not quite as pretty as an Alfa 8C Spider, but still in the ZA Car Show team's top three most beautiful convertibles. For a full gallery of the Ferrari click on the image.

Very sleek, very sexy, very Porsche. What do you think of the new 911 (991). Click on the image for a full gallery of this car.

The Subaru collaboration with Toyota on this car has spawned a model for each manufacturer, the Subaru has been quite shy though. At least we know it will be called the BRZ, but click on the picture and you can see what the Toyota looks like.

"The best SLK to-date" is what a lot of motoring journalists are calling it. It's certainly the most beautiful. Click on the image for a full 50+ image gallery showcasing many of the new technologies in this car.

In the compact sedan segment we're used to boring or awkward, rarely ever beautiful, have a look at the gallery by clicking on the picture and let us know what you think, we think it's a bit OMG jaw on the floor stuff!

Episode 131 hi-fi download (19MB) 
Episode 131 lo-fi download (9.5MB)

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You’d think F1 stars, both past and present, aren’t averse to a little speed. They careen around corners at 250km/h, so what’s a paltry 130km/h in a very capable road-going super car?

Okay, it probably does make a difference if you’re not the one driving. High speed corners with you in control are one thing. The same corners with another racing madman at the wheel? Another story altogether. Then we get to the corners themselves. This isn’t an ordinary racetrack: it’s the notoriously dangerous Nürburgring.

So we can understand why David Coulthard is a teensy bit nervous in this video, where Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg is driving him around the track.

This past weekend saw the 51st running of the British Formula 1 grand prix at Silverstone – the second using the circuit’s new layout and the first since the completion of the new Silverstone Wing pit building. For those not following the sport (we do, and you should too!) the race was won by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, while the Red Bull duo of Vettel and Webber took second and third.

Sadly, for the British home crowd and those who’d like a nostalgic British victor at the British GP, the McLaren team wasn’t able to bring home an impressive result. But to make things better, this week’s selection of wallpapers is all about the “good old days” of Formula 1. Enjoy!

*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.

64kbps stream Download audio file (zacs110.mp3)
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We’re about the kick of the Grand Prix season with the opening race in Melbourne Australia on Sunday 27 March. Right about this time the ZACS team likes to go back and hear whether F1-guru Sasha Martinengo’s tips are on the mark. To listen to that episode for yourself, click here for Episode 108. In other news, the team discusses the F1 engine changes to turbo-charged four cylinder engines for 2013  (A source close to ZACS has confirmed that he’s seen one for a pretty successful team on the test-bench already). And finally after some news from abroad and the local shores, we round up the show with a review of one of the show’s most special shows to-date, the Audi R8 V10 Spyder.

In Episode 110 the team discusses:

• The start of the F1 season in Australia
• New engines for F1 2013 season: Ecclestone and Todt battle it out verbally (via F1fanatic )
• MotoGP’s start with a Stoner on a Honda and an Italian on a Duke
• Mazda’s raw MX5 street racer (via CarScoop — gallery inside)
• Mercedes-Benz’s new SLK – you can read our initial news on it here – and the new C-class coupe
• Renault has produced the 1000th RenaultSport Clio Gordini and Christo suddenly gets bad thoughts about cars again
• Lexus says yay — and so do it’s customers — to towing with its hybrid SUV, the Lexus RX450h (via Lexus)
• ZACS Review: Audi R8 v10 Spyder

Episode 110 hi-fi download (20MB)
Episode 110 lo-fi download (10MB)

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