Is there room for really expensive track machines in South Africa? Apparently so, otherwise KTM would not have launched the X-Bow here. Episode 85 also covers the new Chev Spark Heavy, Ford Figo and face-lifted BMW 3-series, in both coupe and convertible form. Also on the cards is the very frugal Fiat 500 TwinAir, and the not so frugal Ford Focus RS – both of which will be coming to our shores.

pic courtesy of Wikipedia

Episode 85 hi-fi download (32MB)
Episode 85 lo-fi download (16MB)

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Show notes and links after the jump.

KTM, the motorcycle manufacturer, will be flogging is X-Bow track day special for just under a million bucks. Will it sell? At least one has, already.

A new hypercar from Mercedes-Benz in the form of the SLS (to replace its SLR) lights up Kyalami, in what must have been a very exclusive launch for every man and his dog except ZA Car Show. Boo, we say.

This thing really flies. Apparently.

Ford re-enters the cheap and cheerful entry-level car space, after the demise of the Ka, with the Figo, a Polo Vivo / Fiat Punto / Renault Sandero competitor.

Chevrolet’s refreshed Spark Lite gets the urban offroader treatment a-la Rover Streetwise and VW Crosspolo, while the new Spark looks certain to throw the gauntlet to the Fiat Punto and Hyundai i20, after its awesome launch in Cape Town.

BMW’s face-lifted 3-series coupe/convertible; need we say more, apart from spot the difference?

Good news for us, bad news for Fiat (since it can’t seem to sell a glass of water to a dehydrated man in the desert): Fiat’s 500 TwinAir  will be in SA in 2011

Clever little two cylinder

Pic courtesy of AutoExpress – click to read more about the car.

Something that wont have a problem shifting the fifty units destined for SA: Ford’s 224kW/440Nm Focus RS. We want one in white.

Another spot the difference: Toyota’s New Corolla.

Only 17 more episodes to go until we hit the magic 100 mark! We think its safe to say that podcasts are finally catching on in South Africa, and if you’re like Trevor van de Ven, who uses public transport these days, what better way to make time go by faster on this bus and train rides?

Christo van Gemert joined BMW for its annual Innovations Day at its Munich headquarters. Yes, in Germany. He gives us the inside scoop on BMW’s planned electric car – known as the MegaCity Vehicle – as well as the other advanced technologies ze Germans are working on. We also say good bye to some iconic cars and welcome some new one – who said the patrol engine is dead?

Awesome little car except it doesn't sound like a Ducati

Episode 83 hi-fi download (29MB)
Episode 83 lo-fi download (16MB)

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Show notes and links after the jump.

The brand we love to hate here in SA, Fiat, launches its 500 Twinair: a 900cc two-cylinder turbo engine. Will we see it in South Africa? It’s unlikely, but the technology is fabulous and makes the TwinAir one of the most efficient cars on the road today, bar those electric goodies. [via: AutoExpress]

Clever little car; clever little engine

We’ve seen this shape before from Alfa Romeo, with its 156 and 159 Sportwagons. Now Volvo presents its V60 Sports Wagon: a bit more sports but too little wagon [via: Volvo]

Sexy. Trevor van de Ven is in love - Swedish and a wagon!

Bugatti Veyron SuperSport sets a new world record for production cars – 430-odd km/h. Madness. [via Bugatti and TopSpeed]

Mercedes launches a face lift to its CL model complete with LED daytime running lights [via Motor Trend]

BMW M5 production ended. We bid a legend goodbye.

Christo attended the BMW Innovations Day in Munich. Listen to the podcast to get the lowdown on all of the new tech from BMW. Join the ZA Car Facebook fan page, for a gallery of pics from the BMW museum!

Episode 82 is packed with fun, featuring cars both fast and slow. With speed and lap records were being broken, it provided a bit of solace for those of us who thought that the era of big engines and crazy horsepower is nearly dead. Happily, it’s quite far from that.

Mercedes Benz SA: If you're listening, we want one of these...

Instead, we see Mercedes Benz’s C63 DR520, and the Mercedes-powered Pagani Zonda which broke smashed the Nurburgring lap record. The team also takes a look at (probably) the slowest cars to ever tackle the task, measuring the time in months rather than minutes. Trevor van de Ven reviews the Polo Vivo and comes away with some fresh, new views on the budget hatch segment. Listen to the show to find out more.

Episode 82 hi-fi download (29MB)
Episode 82 lo-fi download (16MB)

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Show notes and links after the jump.

The standard C63 AMG has 450 horsepower, so nobody was accusing it of being slow. Not content with having the most powerful sedan in its class, the Mercedes Specialist Products Division, headquartered at the Brooklands race track in England, has released the new limited-production DR 520, complete with matte paintwork [via Autoblog]

Wagon please!

Pagani’s Zonda R smashes the ‘Ring record recently set by the Ferrari 599XX; not by miliseconds, but by 11 full seconds. Do you think Ferrari will take this lying down? Probably not…[via Evo]

So fast even the picture blurred

Slowest Ring cars

Audi A7 spied [via World Car Fans]

ZACS Test Drive: 2010 Polo Vivo 1.4 5-door

Plain... yet perfect.

Familiar, in a few ways.

Click here for prices and options or here for a worthy competitor

Just in case you thought the R8 was for poseurs, Autoblog shows us the GT

Volvos definitely ARE sexy these days

Episode 74 hi-fi download (28MB)
Episode 74 lo-fi download (16MB)

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Join the ZA Car Show fan group on Facebook, here.

Show notes and links after the jump.

The Audi R8 GT throws down its soft leather driving gloves in favour of a gauntlet. [Via Autoblog]

Nissan should be quivering with the new VW Amarok on the horizon; it will be revealed at an agricultural show, the NAMPO Harvest Day soon. Farmers, get out your cheque books…

Fiat Punto 1.2 – Budget gets sexy too

Probably the best 'cheap' car on sale in South Africa today...

The Ranger Wildtrak brings added style and exclusivity to the already popular line-up of Ford Ranger models.

New Cars: Hyundai IX35 – flip it and this is what you might see. Certainly is a sexi car.

Sex! or Sexi - you decide.

Driven: Volvo C30 1.6

Click here for specs

…and here for more pics

Slowly getting back into the groove, after a short absence from the internet airwaves, the three-strong ZACS team congregates once again to bring you the latest motoring news and history. The new and the old, all in one podcast. Where else can you get quality programming like this?

Before we start with this week’s show notes, let us first CONGRATULATE our fine co-host, Trevor van de Ven, on becoming a dad. Again. His son joined the family last week and Trevor has used this as an excuse for not featuring the latest episode of your favourite motoring podcast.

In his absence, we’ve discussed things as exciting as the new Mercedes Benz E-class estate and as dreary as the Lexus LFA, which will be making its debut as a production race car in the 24-hours of Nürburgring endurance race.

Lexus LFA at the 'Ring

Also featured in episode 69 are a duo of Japanese sports cars, in the cars of the episode’s year (1969), the actual Car of the Year winner, and Fiat’s new additions to the 500 model range.

Episode 69 hi-fi download (21MB)
Episode 69 lo-fi download (11MB)

Oh and HEY! Why haven’t you mailed us? Or started following us on Twitter? Remember – ZACS loves you. Without our loyal listeners, and their feedback, we’d be nothing. Tell your friends, ask us questions, share the podcast, go hog wild.
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More links, pics and words after the jump!

Fiat has added the 500 Cabriolet and 500 Sport MTA to its stable. After reviewing pricing on the 500 range (an entry-level 500 can be had for just under R136 000, rather than the R150 000 it was before) the Italian auto maker has added two exciting, fully-packed 500s to the model lineup. The Sport MTA has an automatically-actuated manual transmission, while the Cabrio has an electrically operated fabric roof that can be used at speeds of up to 60km/h. Pricing for both new models is competitive at R197 600.

Hyundai has launched the i30 – it’s competitor for the segment dominated by the VW Golf. Available with either a 1.6-litre or 2.0-litre engine, the i30 has fresh, but conservative, styling. Ride is comfortable, highway cruising is relaxed and spec levels are surprisingly good – USB connectivity for iPods, airbags and safety features galore. Pricing starts at R189 900 for the i30 1.6 and R229 900 for the i30 2.0.

At the Wesbank South African Car of the Year banquet, mid March, the 2009 Car of the Year was unveiled. To much fanfare, but little surprise, the Volkswagen Golf Mk6 1.4TSI took home the honours. One lucky winner also got to take the Golf home for a whole year, complete with petrol and insurance bills covered. While some would have liked the Alfa Romeo MiTo to have won, the Volkswagen is definitely a worthy titleholder. Interestingly, it’s also the first time in the model’s 35-year history that it has been awarded the honour (in South Africa).

For those who want a little more E-class for their money, Mercedes Benz has launched the E-class estate. Available with most of the engines as offered in the sedan (save for the hot, V8-equipped E63 AMG), the new wagon doesn’t really leave us wanting more. Perhaps a bit too refined and luxurious to be a Q-car, like the Audi RS4 Avant, BMW M5 Touring, Honda Accord Tourer and Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon. Pricing starts at R507 000 for the E200 CGI and ranges all the way to R833 000 for the E500.

A lucky group of students at the University of Cologne were given a Ford Focus RS, by Ford, to prepare for racing. The race? Well, 24 hours of the Nürburgring. Let’s hope they actually do go race it, instead of hooning around the parking lot at Cologne McDonalds.

Honda has released some interesting figures for its CR-Z sporty hybrid hatch. Apparently 10 000 orders have been placed, thus far, for the spiritual successor to the CR-X. Of those, 50% are customers new to the brand, and 4 000 units have been ordered with a manual transmission – which really confuses our hybrid advisor, Patrick Gearing.

It’s all about Formula 1 this week, with a smattering of news from the local scene. The team is joined by South African F1 Guru Sasha Martinengo, Absolute F1, Top Gear Live MPH presenter and 5FM DJ (@F1sasha – for the Twitter fans). He joins the team for the second time to discuss cars, the absurdity of the BMW 5-Series GT, a very old Ferrari and, of course, the 2010 Formula 1 Season.

@F1sasha joins the @zacarshow team for a second time. Much fun and laughter ensues.

BMW 5-Series Grand Turismo launched in SA this week.

Not the worst they could have done, not the best either.

After great feedback from last week, we’re going to continue offering a lo-fi version of the show, to save on bandwidth. This week’s show is quite long – 1h14mins, but well worth the megabytes.
Episode 67 hi-fi download (34MB)
Episode 67 lo-fi download (16.5MB)

Remember, we WANT your feedback. Send us your questions, requests, complaints and spy photos to info [at] zacarshow [dot] co [dot] za.
Or follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacarshow, where we break news, post updates and share info.

News and show notes after the jump!

Hummer brand is shut down as the deal with the Chinese suitor falls through [via Autoblog]

SAAB and Spyker seal up their agreement and things get rolling. Small hatch is rumored to be the first for the pair [via: Automotive Business Review]

Renault dealers love their brand, and CAR magazine loves Renault too. The French carmaker has won a brand of the award.

Toyota will have some of its rarest models on show at the Franschhoek Motor Museum this weekend – including a 2000GT, Sport 800 and Conquest 4×4.

Fiat has repackaged the Panda lineup. A facelifted version of the million-plus selling Panda 1.2 Dynamic is now joined by a model with an MTA (manual transmission automated) gearbox, while the 1.1-litre and Panda 4×4 have fallen away. Some more changes coming in March, for this brand…

A facelift for the baby Italian.

And an automatic (with manual shift) as new kit.

SA Launch: BMW 5-Series GT – the car that no one thought they needed until now – Click here for a link to the price and spec sheet (PDF file)

Like individual opening windows in MPVs that are a novelty more than anything, we wonder if this boot will be the same?

BMW always does interiors well. The GT is no exception; who cares what it looks like on the outside when it looks like this on the inside?

2010 Formula 1 Season Overview with Sasha Martinengo

The cars that defined 1967, a couple of Italians, a German and an Aussie – what an eclectic mix.

Patrick has a point...listen to find out

Links, pictures and more after the jump.

Direct file download (26MB)

Driven: BMW Z4

Driven: Hyundai H1

Driven: Audi S4

The ZA Car Show – Cars of the year

The final version of this is actually one of the prettiest Mercs in recent times

More show notes and additional news after the jump.

Direct file download (31.5MB)

Abarth 695 TributoFerrari

A normal 500 is a bit effeminate

... But we don't think that sexuality can be questioned in this 695 Ferrari Tributo

McLaren Supercar[via Wheels24]

Moving back to custom supercars, McLaren has severed ties with Merc to deliver this...

Mercedes-Benz SLS – First thought to be electric, it still has a stonking huge AMG V8 and lots of power. Good. [Via: Carblog]

Alfa Romeo MiTo Quadrifoglio [via Pistonheads]

Driven: Golf  VI GTI

Spot the difference

It has the same outputs but at the heart of the car, VW's new 2.0 turbo powerplant

Driven: MINI JCW

This a feisty little terrier, also very impractical

Jeep kindly gave ZACS a Jeep J8 for a bit of a comparative test…with a Suzuki Jimny, we’re still trying to work out of we are surprised about the Jimny or the Jeep  both of which equally thrilled when thrown into ridiculous off-road situations.

Jeep J8 and some of its siblings.

For more show notes, pictures of the Suzuki and Jeep excursion and other interesting news  clickerize ‘more’ under this post.

Direct file download (31.6MB)

• Under new VW ownership Porsche plans to kill off non-core models like the Panamera and Cayenne to focus on sports cars [via World Car Fans]
• Porsche then promptly announces the 911 Sport Classic – a model which harks backs to the early 70′s Porsche Carrera RS [via Carscoop]

Arguably better looking than the original

• Fiat Punto Evo: as its name implies it is the next generation Punto with a little more obvious FIAT 500 DNA and FIAT’s Multiair engine [via Eurocarblog]

Still good looking, but many people prefer the original

• Volvo C70 undergoes a bit of a controversial nip and tuck [via Autoblog]

The Volvo corporate styling comes to the C70

• Lexus models also go under the knife and get minor spec changes[via: World Car Fans]
• BMW Vision Concept,  a truly fast hybrid car from BMW with proper hybrid credentials [via: Wired.com]

Remember the orange BMW M1 "Concept"? This bares more than a striking resemblance

• Audi A5 Cabriolet, not yet officially launched in SA, but ZACS breaks the news [Audi A5 Microsite]
• FIAT’s budget saloon car the Linea is officially launched to local press, ZACS drives it

It's good looking, more stylised than the Ford Ikon. Poor choice of engine Christo says though.

• The Nissan Murano’s shows its ugly face in South Africa

Looks like it fell out of a dow and got smacked by the ugly samurai...

The Qashqai DNA runs strong in this one

• Google starts mapping SA, more importantly in Toyota Prius Hybrids

Poles sticking out of Prius roofs became a problem...

• Driven: Suzuki Jimny and non-civilian Jeep J8

Looking a little our of place amongst the Jeeps...

The little Jimny that thought it could...could

Who needs a Jeep for this stuff...

Unless, of course, it's a Jeep J8.

The 3-point seatbelt turn 50, saves many lives.

The space wheel shows what is used on the moon, but will it be the tyre of the future on earth?

Show notes, cool pictures and links to news after the jump…

Direct file download (27.2MB)

Good Year Spring Tyre [via Designboom]

3 point safety belt turns 50 [via Volvo Safety Microsite]

BMW X6 and 7-series ActiveHybrid

ActiveHybrid system mated to a clunking huge engine

Good to see BMW's taken the step, but others seem to do hybrid technology better

• Speculation Audi A5 pricing
• FIAT Strada 1.4
• Toyota Prius

Driven: Golf 6 TSI

This 90kw/200Nm engine powers....

...this car, and it does so brilliantly!

Driven: Opel Corsa Sport 1.6

The little devil car

Long term update: FIAT Grande Punto 1.4 T-Jet