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FEB 2015
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ISSUE 16 February 2015
Contents
060
mini generations
Dr i v e n
F E AT U R E S
070
102
045 ferrari enzo v laferrari 024
mercedes-benz cla
030 Audi a3 cabriolet
The Ferrari with the founder’s name and the car named after the company itself; a once in a lifetime duel
The original Mini is an icon. We round up three generations of these classics
070 great overland adventure 034 mahindra xylo
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102 vw polo gt v ktm rc 390
060 mini generations
Part three of our epic adventure takes us deep into the snowbound Russian heartland
080 40 years of tamiya
Forty years after the first Tamiya RC car hit the roads, we document its illustrious odyssey
086 toyota supra
A Toyota Supra Mk IV modified by MKraft Design spells wheelspin in third gear, in the dry
Pune city has a road that’s always an open invitation to ride or drive, and these fun machines are equally inviting
110 porsche macan v mercedes gla 45 amg v audi rs q3
Fast crossovers – who doesn’t love ’em? An exalted trinity, and a surprise winner…
118 salt of the earth
R I DDE N 126
Honda Unicorn 160
Roaming the salty stretches of the Rann of Kutch, in the Honda Amaze
132 harleydavidson breakout
128
kawasaki z250
Harley’s newest drag-styled custom cruiser, with looks to die for
138 triumph speed triple v kawasaki z1000 v bmw s 1000 r
It’s Armageddon, when these big bore super-nakeds collide in one thundering brawl
138
R E GU L A R S 010 News
The NSX revival, the Ford GT is back albeit with a new EcoBoost V6, SsangYong’s compact SUV, Tivoli, is Indiabound, the last RWD hatch from BMW, the 1 Series, and more
038 Columns
Gautam basks in Parx Super Car Show glow, Bijoy thinks Indians are getting safetyconscious, and Gaurav takes it easy, while looking ahead at the good things to come in 2015
148 MOTORSPORT
The Dakar outcomes, and getting into the driver’s seat of the towering Tata T1 Prima race truck
042 letters
The Off Road Special sparked calls for an encore, and inspired others to travel to adventurous destinations
156 Long-Term tests
One Polaris leaves only for another to take its place, the Safari Storme goes on a Christmas cross-country spree, the TVS Star City Plus and Zest excel at everyday chores
160 evo knowledge Buying a used Nissan 350Z? Here’s the lowdown, and new gaming rigs and peripherals
178 Art of Speed
There’s more to the fins on the tail of an Evo IX than meets the eye
ThrillOfDriving.com |
evo India
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Ind
i a’
Feb 28 Mar 2015 ch 1 Bi g
s
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Discover the best off-roaders in India and get behind the wheel on special test tracks as well!
28th feb - 1st march, 2015 at Amanora Town Centre, Pune
For more information: contact@evo.in
t O ff R o a
he d Gat
rin
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blood brothers by r i c h a r d m e a d e n | P H O T O G RA P H Y by d e a n S MI T H
Does the new LaFerrari deliver the ultimate flagship Ferrari experience? Or does that honour still belong to its legendary predecessor, the Enzo? In an evo exclusive, we put these two multi-crore machines head-to-head to find out
ThrillOfDriving.com |
evo India
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Watching them
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grow
Mini Cooper Generations
Once upon a time the Mini was actually mini Wo r d s by O u s e p h C h ac ko P h o t o g r a p h y by G au r av T h o m b r e & V i k r a n t Dat e
ThrillOfDriving.com |
evo India
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GLAdventure through Russia
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Into the
SNOWS Words by S i r i s h C h a n d r a n P h o t o g r a p h y by G au r av S T h o m b r e
We go deep into Russia in part 3 of our epic Stuttgart to Pune drive
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evo India
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Not a toy
by A n t o n y i n g r a m i n t ro p i c by A s t o n Pa r ro t t
For four decades Tamiya’s radio controlled car kits have offered basic lessons in vehicle construction and dynamics, as well as being rip-roaring fun for adults and kids alike. Happy birthday, Tamiya
Toyota Supra MkIV
The
wild one We drive a Toyota tha like the Toyotas yo t’s nothing u know
Wor ds by O u s e p h C h ac ko Photogr a ph
86
y by G au r av Thombr e
evo India | February 2015
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Response Feature
Words by O u s e p h C h ac ko | P h o t o g r a p h y by V i k r a n t Dat e
G o l i a t h The ML 63 AMG makes us go AhMyGod at the 2015 Valley Run
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Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG
W
What do you use an SUV for? Heading to the farm with bags, dogs and food in tow? Going on site visits for your new construction project? Picking up the kids from school? Check, check and check. But smoking the quarter mile? That has to be the silliest thing to put an SUV through, up there with demolishing Nurburgring lap times in it.
Or is it? We need answers and so we find ourselves on a drag strip, with an SUV. Okay, this isn’t your farm variety SUV. What we have is a 550bhp twin-turbocharged V8 packed under the hood of the ML 63 AMG. There’s 760Nm of torque which is sent to all four corners, to literally rip out the tarmac under those 20-inch wheels. There are four exhaust tips that make lots of angry noises. And there’s the not insignificant matter of 2.3 tonnes to hurl down the quarter mile.
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LAP OF MUTHA VW Polo GT TSI & KTM RC390
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Oneoflap Mutha
Introducing you to our favourite road, astride our favourite rides Words by S i r i s h C h a n d r a n P h o t o g r a p h y by G au r av S T h o m b r e e
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RS Q3 v GLA45 AMG v Macan S
4 x 4 PL AY 110
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by J e t h ro B ov i n g d o n P HOTOGR A P H Y by a s t o n pa r ro t t
Conventional wisdom suggests that, when it comes to handling and sheer fun, the Porsche Macan should mop the floor with its compatriots. But the circuit never lies‌
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Brand name model name
SA LT
of
the earth ...and the music played on Wo r d s by T u s h a r B u r m a n | P h o t o g r a p h y by V i k r a n t S Dat e
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I
I’ve always wanted to visit the rann. In fact, I’m headed back there by the time you read this, only this time, it will be for pleasure and exploration. We did have a little of both last month too, when Honda took us for a very long drive in the updated Honda Amaze compact sedan. We drove about 600km from Ahmedabad to the Drodo tent city in the greater Rann of Kutch, near Bhuj, getting a very good impression of the updated Amaze, in particular the new AVN system first seen in the Mobilio. My phone pinged with the press release just about the time my classic rock playlist was kicking in via Bluetooth, which was quick and easy to use in the new system. The Rann of Kutch is really quite an amazing place. Combined with the adjacent grasslands, it makes up the largest flooded grassland in this part of Asia, and contains the world’s largest salt desert. It’s about 30,000 square kilometres and would be larger if we’d had our way after the ‘65 war with Pakistan. Technically, the greater Rann of Kutch, where we were headed, is a seasonal salt marsh. The region is also rich in ecological diversity and reserves, and there’s plenty to see and visit if you have the time, including the Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Banni Grasslands Reserve, the Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve and the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, though some would say that all the wild asses in the region were to be found in Hondas this time of year. The road from Ahmedabad to Bhuj is superb, with a mix of toll expressways and well-maintained single carriageways. The tolls are minor and traffic orderly. The roads are almost entirely straight and in one direction, if you discount the various exits we missed. Even so, our car was rarely more than a few minutes behind the lead. This may sound like a dream road trip for city slickers like ourselves, but it is also supremely boring. For most of the trip, we kept the ’box in fifth and pummelled the little 1.5-litre diesel for all it was worth, within legal limits of course. It’s worth noting here that the Amaze platform is limited to 140kmph, so Gujarat’s roads are more than up to the task. The drivers weren’t, however, and we frequently swapped seats and playlists. By the time I nodded off in the back seat, another Bluetooth device was beginning a more strident playlist headlined by Metallica. If you’re looking at the pictures and wondering exactly what has changed in this updated Amaze, I can’t enlighten you. Save for the music system and invisible refinements, there are no changes. This means that the rear seat still has decent leg room and I found it quite comfortable.
Travel Amaze to Rann of Kutch
Main pic: Arid nothingness as far as the eye can see. This is the worlds largest salt desert Above: The Rann Utsav runs between December and March and has food, shopping, music, art, all manner of shows to take in, right in the middle of the desert.
ThrillOfDriving.com |
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Kawasaki Z250 Is the newest Kawasaki value for money?
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Words by A b h ay V e r m a
P h o t o g r ap h y by V i k r a n t Dat e
Kawasaki Z250
A
As in life, nakeds are always more fun than fully faired. There’s a sense of purity which reminds you how god intended things to be… er… why and where you started riding in the first place. Which is public roads and not race tracks. Nakeds offer the best of both worlds – great everyday comfort and the performance to enjoy the switchbacks too. If you want a motorcycle that is fast but won’t threaten to break your back, nakeds are what you need to look at. That’s the truth, irrespective of the segment. I remember imagining what the naked version of the Ninja 250, the first Kawasaki to go on sale in the country would be like, since back then the baby Ninja was the best option this side of a litre-class monster. That naked version is finally on sale, over half a decade and several Kawasakis later. After a slew of CBU launches across segments, Kawasaki has returned to the bottom rung of the performance ladder, the quarter-litre segment. The recently launched Z250 is its newest, smallest and most affordable bike, based as it is on the Ninja 250. So, the Z250 will do everything the Ninja 250 did, in a friendlier, more comfortable way. The big question, though, is that with the Z300, the naked version of the Ninja 300 (that has replaced the 250) going on sale internationally, does the Z250 still have any relevance? Why has Kawasaki simply not launched the Z300 here? While we believe price is a factor holding Kawasaki back here, what’s noteworthy is that at `2.99 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi the Z250 is still plenty expensive. And will the Z250 be able to hold a candle to the significantly more affordable and more powerful KTM 390 Duke, is another question. I had a blast on the Ninja 250 at the Chennai race track, thanks to its butter-smooth, high-revving parallel-twin motor. The engine makes most of its power upwards of 8000rpm. That’s a lot for a 250, but that was one of the highlights of the Ninja. Its soundtrack at high revs is really sweet too, and the good news is that the Z250 retains it. In fact, the engine retains a lot of the Ninja 250’s character, except for a slight change in its state of tune, to suit city riding better. You still need to keep the motor on the boil to make the most of its 31.5bhp, produced at a dizzy 11,000rpm. The six-speed transmission’s ratios are fairly tall too, meaning lots of gear changes to stay in the meat of the rather narrow powerband. The engine enjoys being revved hard, which I like, but it is also a lot of work and not all riders will enjoy this. Many will prefer the effortless feel from a single-cylinder motor which offers a lot more grunt at the bottom. The Z250 feels more like a larger multicylinder machine with its high revving nature, which is again likeable, but then probably that’s just me. Truth be told, the KTMs of the world have spoilt us.
Nakeds offer the best of both worlds – great everyday comfort and the performance to enjoy the switchbacks too
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Triumph Speed Triple v Kawasaki Z1000 v BMW S 1000 R
Phot
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ma y Ver A bh a y b s Wo r d br e Thom S av ur b y Ga ap h y
f ul ir delight e h t h it w ging a leg h e r a ge , t in ll w a S e . r t a n es tie Streetbik m fo r t q u o b e f u n o c d n a e nc to performa the best is bound e of o ve r t h r e 138
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