RPM TV Online

The M6 is normally considered BMW’s silly card in the deck, because what the car ends up being really depends on the mood of the project manager.

The previous version ended up with the same, naturally aspirated V10 as the then current BMW M5, and the result was certainly rapid, but hardly involving. But perhaps the project leader of the next-generation M6 was been cut off by an Audi R8 on the way to the conceptual meeting, because the upcoming model means business.

Instead of messing around with a simple transplant from the F10-generation M5, BMW has decided to crank up the go-faster settings of the twin-turbo V8 to stratospheric levels, squeezing 400 kW and 680 Nm of torque from the 4,4-litre mill.

This makes this M6 the most powerful BMW that you can drive off a showroom floor – and it still includes a five-year maintenance plan.

But it doesn’t end there. The project boss must have really taken that traffic altercation to heart, because the M-Division has also raided the group racing bin and conjured up some embellishments to the 6-Series body, including a roof and assorted panels made of carbon fibre, carbon-ceramic brake discs, and lightweight alloy wheels, all aimed at boosting both the power-to-weight ratio and braking potential.

Although the M6 will be BMW’s weapon of choice when it comes to sports car comparisons, it is also adamant that the M6 will offer both true driver appeal and grand touring capability. In other words, this won’t be a track day scud missile.

But if the M-Division has its way this could also change, as it is seeking permission from BMW to develop a new, ground-up car of its own.

The idea is similar to that of the Mercedes-Benz SLS, which was developed by in-house noise-and-muscle practitioners, AMG. The M-Division is hoping for a similar opportunity in the not too distant future.

Until then though, the M6 will be as fast as you can go in a production BMW while still listening to the soothing strains of a Bach sonata through 73 Harman Kardon speakers and not wondering if the suspension is made of granite.

Throughout the A1’s early conception and motor show appearances, we mused that it could be possible (and downright mind-blowing) if the Audi created a S1, and managed to slap in the 155 kW A3 2.0-litre turbocharged engine into it.

Pulling up a stepladder and leaving the groundings of reality, we thought that it would be an even better idea if, while they were busy fitting that 2,0-litre motor to the A1, they dropped in the S3’s 188 kW 2,0-litre instead, and called that car the RS1.

Sadly, we were wrong: the S1, like the runner-up on X-Factor, never made it off the drawing board, leaving the A1 1,4TFSI S-Line and its 136 kW turbocharged motor to generate the smiles. And nothing was ever mentioned about doing something useful with that aging 2,0-litre engine.

But then, late last year, Audi out of the blue announced that it would be releasing a very special edition of the A1: only 333 examples, to be exact, and available in left-hand drive only. And lo and behold, it would combine quattro all-wheel drive with the current S3’s 188 kW lump.

With stats like that, there is very little not to get excited about, and since the UK has been allocated 20 units, could it be that a few potential South African A1 quattro owners could have their dreams realized on local soil, too?

Sadly, we can only report on their disappointment, as SA will not be receiving any A1s – purely because it is illegal to market left-hand drive cars here, making this special A1 an outlaw on local tar.

But what it does introduce is an important addition to the PQ25 platform in the form of an operational and production-ready quattro all-wheel drive system. So, maybe the long-rumoured 155 kW S1 will make its appearance, after all – if the quattro drive system in the context of the A1 is feasible in right-hand drive.

For VW fans, it also conjures up the potential of another very popular small hatchback with lots of power and four-wheel traction – a car with a Polo R badge on the back, and maybe a right-hand drive Polo R...

It use to be that if you had not purchased your first sedan by 25 you were doing something wrong, and if you were pushing around some little hatch back, you obviously still worked a takeout joint. But now, you can be in your fifties plus and be as cool as liquid helium (Google this, it’s worth it!) behind the wheel of a Mini Cooper or Fiat 500.

Coupled with rocketing oil and fuel prices, C02 taxes and overcrowding in most metropolitan areas, it’s no surprise that small vehicles are taking over the global car market, relegating sedans to the opposite side of the dance floor – not cool enough to be seen with anymore.

But this does put a select few car manufactures in a very tight spot, most significantly Volvo who has always brought home the bacon by making it known that their cars are the safest thing on four wheels.

If you love your family then you better encase them in a Volvo S60, which is an extended metaphor for your love, and while this might have been successful in the past, it doesn’t really work when mini hatchbacks obtain 5 star Euro NCAP safety ratings and come equipped with driver aids and more airbags than maximum occupants.

It is quite expected then that Volvo has announced that they intend to partner up with another manufacturer of vehicles and develop a cost saving small car for the future. These types of relationships are common all over (the Audi A3, VW Golf alliance and Peugeot, Renault tour de force for example), making economic sense through the creation of one platform that can be shared amongst numerous models, and engines that can be reused in different tuning configurations.

What is interesting here, and that in itself is remarkable given that the topic of Volvo seeking a partner at face value is far from news worthy, is that Volvo already uses a modular platform for its current generation of vehicles, which means that they are looking to add a platform base for a car that is smaller than the C30, and by a significant margin if we were to hazard a guess.

The logical comparison would be a Polo-esque car, but given the amount of extra safety orientated kit that Volvo will have to put into it (let’s call it a C20 for arguments sake) to maintain their brands direction, we might be looking at a Mini competitor in a few years.

And that might be something worth getting excited over: a clean lined, Swedish styled mini hatchback with a great interior and that is not made by BMW. And maybe the option of a Polestar adaption in the future...

I have been fairly vocal about my thoughts on Mini’s new ‘if there’s a class, we’ll build it’ campaign. To our casual readers, I don’t like it.

Just because a few people wish they could have a bigger Mini, or a longer Mini with a weird door, or a bigger Mini with less doors, doesn’t mean that Mini should actually build it.

If, two weeks ago, an acquaintance had asked me what car they should buy, telling me that they didn’t have kids, wanted something small and easy to live with, but with a sporty feel, stance and smile-inducing power, I would have pointed them at the Mini Cooper S, because it fits all those parameters.

But what’s that, Mini? You’ve now built a Mini Coupé that’s smaller, lower and shorter than the Cooper? Aren’t you alienating a large segment of the population with those proportions? Oh, and you decided to add some aggression to the roof by sticking on a backwards-facing baseball cap?

In a nutshell, that is really all the Coupé is – a smaller Mini, which sounds absurd to me, because the Mini itself is far from oversized. Yes purists, the old Mini was smaller, but it also didn’t have airbags, ABS, EBD and a handful of other abbreviations that delay the inevitable meeting of me, my car and a ditch. And I think we are better for it.

The bottom line is that the Coupé really doesn’t bring anything new to the range. I cannot understand why someone would walk past the very capable Cooper S and get into the exact same car but with less room, seats and heritage.

But that was two weeks ago, and I have since had the chance to get behind the wheel of a Coupé - and to form a more informed opinion.

Is it cramped? Yes, but less than you would expect. The interior roof liner has been scalped to provide a little bit of extra headroom, but if you have been blessed with a stature exceeding six foot, you might have issues.

There are no back seats, and I do mean that in the most literal sense and not in a funny, they are so small they might as well not be there, way. The Coupé is a two-seater which is how it manages to cut back on the Cooper’s frame.

The advantage is that there is a fair bit of luggage space, and a nice amount of storage behind the front seats, but the jettisoning of the rear seats really does limit what you can do with the Coupé in practical terms.

The looks? This is personal preference, and everyone’s approach will vary, but the people I spoke to regarding the car were critical of the overall visual impact. It’s striking and unusual and did most certainly get heads turning, but it’s not as easy on the eye as the standard Mini, and will definitely alienate some.

On the inside, you might as well be sitting in a Cooper S, because the switchgear, dash, seats, gearlever and everything else that’s bolted down, is exactly the same.

And due to the Coupé making use of the exact same engine line-up, you would expect that things behind the wheel would feel pretty familiar, too. Unsurprisingly enough, they do. Again, you might as well be driving a Cooper, except that there is a slight difference between how the Coupé and the Cooper carry themselves on the road: tenacity.

Thanks to its mini-Mini proportions, the Coupé has a lower centre of gravity and a shorter wheel base, which conspire against the challenges presented by corners, S-bends and other driving hazards and make sure you keep your tyres firmly planted on the tar and not the rough.

The grip is epic, and I don’t mean finding something that you were going to buy anyway on sale epic. No, this is Perseus, son of Zeus epic, and enough to actually make me revise my hasty judgement of the Coupé.

I still don’t agree with Mini’s business model over the last two years – and I still do think that cars like the Coupé and soon to be released Paceman steal market share predominately from other Mini vehicles.

The Coupé is blast to drive, and that’s because it was created specifically for that purpose. As I mentioned, the only changes relate to the car’s size, and everything is focused on honing the Coupé’s handling through the twisty stuff.

The Coupé separates the drivers from the commuters, and rewards those passionate about their driving with a uniquely shaped, ultra-wieldy Mini. It’s like a badge that says “I love driving so much, that I sacrificed my back seats for split times” – and that is an outlook that I can support.

Audi RS3 burns rubber on RPM - plus more Dakar action

Audi launched the red-hot RS3 Sportback in Cape Town late last year, but we’ve only just managed to get our hands on an example. This week on RPM, we finally get to put this fastest production A3 through its paces.

We also take a second, behind-the-scenes look at the recent Dakar Rally Raid in South America, in which the Imperial Toyota Team shone so brightly . And we have the latest new model news from around the motoring globe.

RPM TV premieres at 20h30 on Wednesday on SuperSport 6 and SS6 Africa. It’s also repeated on MNET, SS7 and SS7 Africa on Thursday morning at 08h00. As always, there are several repeat broadcasts.

As live sport does affect the scheduling on SuperSport, please check the latest transmission schedule on the RPM TV website at www.rpmtv.co.za. You can also search for RPM under ‘Motorsport’ on the SuperSport website, or the Electronic Programme Guide accessible on Channel 100.

RPM TV is proudly sponsored by Continental Tyre.

In a  shock announcement yesterday, French vehicle manufacturer Peugeot declared that is has cancelled its Le Mans 24-Hour participation, and in fact all its endurance racing campaigns, effective immediately.

The decision comes after a year of what Peugeot claims has been difficult on the new car sales front, resulting it the company deciding to shift  its entire focus to marketing initiatives for the upcoming 208 supermini and its hybrid vehicle programme.

This is of course bad news for the 2012 Le Mans event. Peugeot has been one of only two mainstream brands competing in the legendary endurance race over the past few years, winning it in 2009, and keeping the all-conquering Audi team honest since then. This basically means that Aston Martin’s AMR-One car is the only, if unlikely, obstacle preventing Audi from declaring its R15 TDi the victor by default.

However, let's not forget that Toyota will also be running a vehicle in the top-most class this year - not that we're expecting the marque to become a winning outfit at Le Mans overnight, since it's been 13 years since the quite brilliant Toyota GT1 made it onto the Le Mans podium. Apparently 2012 will be the first phase of a gradual return, with the team expecting to be fully competitive by 2014.

Also returning to the LMP1-spec battle in 2014 will be the most successful Le Mans outfit to date, Porsche. But with a stronger focus on the lower classes (LMP2 and GT) over the last couple of years, even Zuffenhausen might need a year or two to really regain its competitive edge.

The bottom line is that the departure of Peugeot is sad news for the supporters of Le Mans; especially considering how exciting the back and forth battles between Peugeot and Audi have been.

908 HDi, you will be missed.

Toyota’s two-parts luxury, three-parts off-road SUV, the Land Cruiser, will go on sale in Europe from March.

The Land Cruiser now features a 4,5-litre V8 turbocharged diesel engine, fitted with a particulate filter and a beefier exhaust silencer, to make the big V8 compliant with Euro 5 standards , while also reducing cabin noise and vibration.

However, the lion’s share of additions and upgrades has been applied to the vehicle's ‘bundu-bashing’ characteristics, which is where a fair share of Land Cruisers actually do find themselves often enough - certainly in South Africa.

The standard items are all there, including Crawl Assist, but the Cruiser has been juiced up with the addition of a Turn Assist bolt-on, which brakes the inside wheel during cornering, allowing for an exceptionally small turning circle while travelling slower than 10 km/h.

A posse of external cameras can now be called on for help while manoeuvering through tight spots where a jagged rock or jutting branch could quickly end a gung-ho adventure. Guidelines of the vehicle's dimensions are superimpose over the image, as well as projected wheel path, to further help the driver make the right decisions.

As per previous models, the Multi-terrain Select alters throttle, brakes and driver-aids to configure the car to best suit the terrain that you are on - a system similar to Land Rover's Terrain Control, but arguably less intuitive to use.

The Land Cruiser is no stranger to luxury, so the exterior and interior have both been upgraded to reflect the level of sophistication owners have become accustomed to. LED daytime running lights and chrome outlines give the headlight clusters a fresh look, while a similar treatment has been applied to the rear lights.

Inside, a new colour TFT panel acts as the command centre of the Land Cruiser, allowing the driver to change anything from the radio station to vehicle settings. The front seats also now boast cooling as well as heating, which will surely be welcomed locally during our scorching summers.

An optional entertainment pack will also be available, which adds a pair of seat-mounted monitors for rear occupants which can be used in conjunction with formats ranging from DVD and SD card to USB-based media material and the goold old  CD. The monitors can be used independently of each other.

As mentioned, Europeans will be able to enjoy land cruising as early as March 2012, but South Africans will have to wait a little  longer than that. We imagine the wait won’t be that long though, since SA is for all intents and purposes the Land Cruiser's true home turf.

RPM TV heads south - to the Dakar Rally Raid!

Welcome back to RPM TV – and to what promises to be an action-packed motoring year!

On this week’s show, we join the action, the thrills and the spills of the 2012 Dakar Rally Raid, as the Imperial Toyota team take on the world’s best. Driving a less powerful, 2013-spec vehicle, Giniel de Villiers still managed a podium on the team’s Dakar debut – a remarkable achievement.

We also test-drive the latest, revamped version of Alfa’s emotive 159, and find that the Alfa DNA remains a strong component of this car’s overall appeal, despite its age! Finally, our  news stories cover the all-new BMW 3-Series, and the equally new Porsche Boxster.

The RPM TV premiere returns to its usual slot at 20hd30 on Wednesday on SuperSport 2 and SS2 Africa. It’s also repeated on MNET, SS2 and SS2 Africa on Thursday morning at 07h30. As always, there are several repeat broadcasts.

As live sport does affect the scheduling on SuperSport, please check the latest transmission schedule on the RPM TV website at www.rpmtv.co.za. You can also search for RPM under ‘Motorsport’ on the SuperSport website, or the Electronic Programme Guide accessible on Channel 100

RPM TV is proudly sponsored by Continental Tyre.

Porsche has unveiled an all-new 2012 version of its bread-and-butter convertible sports car, the Boxster, and for a change it seems as if the changes are substantial.

Porsche updates are notorious for their subtlety and the breakneck frequency of those updates, but this new 2012 incarnation could be breaking the mould.

Unfortunately, not too much has changed under the hood of the Boxster S, which now produces 232 kW - an inflation beating 3 kW increase. But the same cannot be said for the regular Boxster which now makes do with a smaller engine altogether. The old 2,9-litre flat-six has been dropped in favour of a 2,7-litre block, which still manages to generate power in excess of the older Boxster's output.

Sure, an additional 5 kW is not a great deal, but the smaller engine means that the engine block is lighter, making each of those additional kWs go that little bit further.

Weight is actually a cornerstone of the new Boxster, with the entire range shedding between 30 and 50 kg of excess fat, making sure that the current generation will be quicker off the mark than its now aging 2011 predecessor.

Stop/Start technology has been added and that, along with the weight loss program, has meant an overall drop of 15% in fuel consumption for the Boxster.

And while all of thir is great, it is not the most striking part of this year's Boxster, because the looks of this car have undergone a major nip and tuck. The car looks more dynamic, with stronger angles in the right places, bigger side air intakes and a completely reworked rear. All of this means that this Boxster will differentiate itself from the rest - and in exactly the way that you would want it to.

Official unveiling will be at this year's Geneva Motor Show in March, with European sales starting the following month. Local buyers will, as usual, have to wait a bit longer, but we can picture a local launch to match up with the arrival of spring.

The BMW 1-Series has barely made its way to our roads, but BMW is already looking forward and will be releasing a selection of new engines for the 5-door execu-hatch.

The power plants consist of two diesel and one petrol unit, catering for the top and bottom of the market – both segments that the current 1-Series does not score top marks in.

The 2,0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol lump will be fitted to the 125i, and although it has less capacity that the badge suggests, the 162 kW and 310 Nm of torque will be more than enough for an engaging drive.

On the oil burning side of things, a 125d will replace the existing 123d, a car that is currently not available in South Africa, and will only marginally raise power but add a good 67 Nm of torque over the existing 2,0-litre turbo-diesel. While a 0-100 km/h sprint will be disposed of in a mere 6,5-seconds fuel economy is claimed at a well balanced 4,0 l/100 km when paired with BMW’s 8-speed gearbox.

The last of the diesel engines will be the introduction of an ultra frugal 116d that will wear the EffcientDynamics badge, because while the little block delivers an uninspiring 87 kW and 260 Nm of torque, CO2 emissions and fuel economy are project at 99 g/km and 3,47 l/100 km respectively.

Unfortunately is unlikely that we will be receiving the 116d anytime soon as low C02 figures are not quite as important locally as they are in Europe, which is sad news for those who want to drive around in style, but don’t need to have a lot of power under the bonnet to feel good about it.

While Europeans will also only have to wait till March to get their hands on these engines, interested parties here will probably have their chance in the latter part of 2012.