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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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The fine folks at Autocar took an Audi R8 V10 and the UK-only Honda Civic Type-R Mugen (the big, bad 177kW version) around some mountain passes. At speed. While the R8 is a fine piece of kit, we think the Civic is the more special car in this case.

So, to help settle the debate we’re inviting you to vote in our poll, or just sound off in the comments on which of these cars would be your choice. Fight!

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Is the performance car dead? We wave goodbye to the iconic Civic Type R because its 2-litre four-pot puts out too many carbons. It seems rather ridiculous, but coming from a manufacturer that has positioned itself as the leading ‘green’ auto supplier, it was bound to happen.

That said, some people throw caution to the wind and flip the bird to such trivial regulations. Some people are like successful businessman Michael Stoschek, and his son Maximilian, who commissioned the Lancia Stratos from Pininfarina. The new Stratos is based on the guts of a Ferrari F430 while the bodywork is crafted completely from carbon fiber providing an awesome power to weight ratio and weight distribution.

Despite how much it sounds like a TV actress, the Morgan EvaGT is a four seater from British sportscar builder, Morgan. It uses a turbo inline V6 from BMW and has some pretty healthy credentials to help it reach 100km/h in 4.5 seconds. It’s still a plasticine model, but will likely be in the coming year and it will be very, very expensive.

Criticised for looking too old, now it looks too modern. Will Morgan ever get it right?

Did Audi go X-R8[ed] with its new Spyder? In SA we only get the V10, which is probably better.  Does it look as good as its hard-topped brother?

We'll take it, even in this chocolate-box brown.

Launch Drive: Christo van Gemert joined a bunch of other journalists who go on car launches, drink lots of alcohol and eat for a living to experience the Honda CRZ – a new hybrid from Honda and the first in the first for the brand in SA. Is is a R300 000 car?

ZACS Test: FIAT 500C. A write-up on this magnificent little convertible coming soon.

Episode 88 hi-fi download (29MB)
Episode 88 lo-fi download (16MB)

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Yah no, it’s nice when you have some model names that make for a cute headline.

We'll take it, even in this chocolate-box brown.

Anyway, so Audi’s “fastest ever droptop” has finally landed in South Africa, some months after making its debut as Tony Stark’s ride in the action-packed blockbuster, Iron Man 2. Elsewhere it’s available with the V8 engine, but we’ll only be getting the V10 version – the same 517hp (386kW) motor seen in the faster coupé.

At R2 104 000 the Spyder (in manual form) is only R154 000 dearer than its tin-top brother. Sure, it’s the price of a Fiat 500 more expensive, but it’s about a billion times sexier and everybody in Camps Bay knows you can’t put a price on pose-cred. Now you can go from shaded to sunbaked in 19 seconds, thank to the retractible fabric  top, and it can be operated at speeds of up to 50km/h – way faster than you’ll ever be going on the main drag.

Those two oval pipes are all the sound system you need.

For the gadget-heads, it’s packed full of toys. The mega asking price includes Bluetooth prep, satnav, Nappa leather heated seats and a bitchin’ Bang & Olufsen audio system. But you won’t need that. Ever. Because there’s a V10 engine behind you and the roof folds down. Audi should just credit Spyder buyers like R20 000, or whatever the speaker system costs, and let that money be used for paying fines they get while speeding through the Hugenot tunnel.

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The news is picking up, and so are car sales. Patrick, Trevor 1, Trevor 2 and Christo explore what the uptrend will bring, together with new models from Ford, Hyundai and Volkswagen. The team also reviews the new Volvo C30 1.6 – a car that is not popular in South Africa because “it has the wrong badge”.

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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Show notes and links after the jump.

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