SATURDAY, 30 MAY, 2015
Fast utes rooted in tractors ALWYN VILJOEN explains Lamborghini’s hankering for muddy fields — it’s all VW Group’s fault THE latest news in the world of super cars shows that you can take the designer out of the tractor factory, but you can never quite wash off all the mud. It is a littleknown fact, but the coats worn by Ferruccio Lamborghini and Fer dinand Porsche both sport muddy stains from when they both made tractors. Porsche made three prototype trac tors in 1934, but then went on to very fast cars like the 1939 MercedesBenz type 80 land speed car. Lamborghini never stopped building tractors, but added supercars when he discovered Enzo Ferrari used the same clutches as he did in his Lambo tractors, and Ferrari refused to make it better. Since then, both the Lambo and Por sche companies have shocked their fans; Lambo by selling out to the Huns and Porsche by giving us the Cayenne — an AWD Porsche in the shape of a hatch back on a highriding chassis. “Gute Gott, are they mad?” asked Porsche fans, but sales of the Cayenne and its little boet the Macan to soccer moms around the world have since shown that VW’s car marketers are quite astute. For each motor head wants differ ent, and VW is happy to supply. With Lamborghini part and parcel of this nichefilling strategy, it was always only a matter of time before the Italian supercar builder would also announce its SUV, which came in 2012 in the form of the Urus concept. CEO Stephan Winkelmann said at a
Top: the ‘Rambo Lambo’ was the first offroad Lamborghini and dates back to the eighties, when the company tried, and failed, to sell a military vehicle to the Italian army. Left: Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show, where he unveiled the Urus concept. The Chinese said they liked it then and there, but red tape meant the VW Groupowned Italian supercar builder will only start selling a very similar ute from 2016. PHOTOS: FILE press conference in Rome on Wednesday that Lamborghini is now ready to start building the Lambo ute, with sales scheduled to start sometime in 2018. Winkelmann reminded that it is not the first 4x4 Lambo — that honour goes to the 1982 “Rambo Lambo” born from a failed attempt to land a government tender with a Hummertype vehicle. Winkelmann explained that Lambo’s
ute project got a bit bogged down by red tape as they waited on unions and the Italian government for their buy in. The Italian government has now bought into the idea and then some, with tax breaks and other incentives worth over €80 million. (And you should know tax breaks are where the car manu facturers actually make their profits.) The unions are making happy noises
— for now — as Lamborghini will hire about 500 new employees and invest significantly in expanding its facilities. Pundits expect the 2016 Lambo ute will look a lot like the Urus concept. Under the smooth metal flanks it will, however, have VW’s MLB Evo platform, which already underpins the Audi Q7 and soon also the Bentley’s Bentayga and the next generations of the Porsche Cay
England’s best old car show moves to Scotland ALWYN VILJOEN THE 2015 Concours of Elegance in the UK takes place in early September at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland. The first Concours of Elegance was held in 2012, showcasing the world’s fin est cars at Windsor Castle to celebrate the queen of England’s diamond jubilee. Since then, it has moved to St James’s Palace and Hampton Court Palace, be fore this year heading to Edinburgh. Only the highest calibre of cars are in vited to the Concours of Elegance, with the world’s rarest cars invited by the Concours steering committee. The annual Concours of Elegance raises a significant amount of money for charity. The full list of cars invited to this year’s Concours can be viewed at www.concoursofelegance.co.uk This is the 1939 Delahaye Type 165 Figoni et Falaschi, which was first displayed at the 1939 World Fair in New York. Only six of these 12 cylinder Type 165 models were built and this particular example, with its Figoni et Falaschi bodywork, is arguably the most eyecatching. Its streamline curves and elegant detailing ensure it looks modern, despite 76 years passing since it was first designed.
The 1905 Star represents one of the earliest models on display, and was originally designed to represent Britain at the Gordon Bennett Cup — a race contested by nations at the beginning of the 20th century. With its 10litre engine and a top speed of more than 100 mph, it’s an impressive feat of engineering. PHOTOS: NEWSPRESS
enne and VW Touareg. Time will tell whether the Lambo ute will find as much favour as the Cayenne did. The focus market is in the Middle East and China, where the billionaires will soon be spoilt for choice with the (br)ute offerings from Aston Martin DBX and the Maserati Levante. • alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za
• Optional - Two-year/unlimited km warranty • 80-point mechanical check • Terms and conditions apply. E & OE • Ownership guaranteed • 7-day exchange plan • Mileage certified • Full service history PRICE MILEAGE COLOUR Polo Vivo 2013 Polo Vivo GP 1,4 Trendline 3 000 km Red R142 900 2014 Polo Vivo 1,6 GT 42 000 km White R139 900 2014 Polo Vivo Sedan 1,4 Trendline 35 000 km Silver R129 900 2014 Polo Vivo 1,4 Trendline 5-Door 27 000 km Silver R132 900 2014 Viv 1,4 Blueline Sedan 11 000 km Silver R129 900 2015 Polo GP 1,6 Comfortline 5-Door 1 000 km White R159 900 2015 Polo Vivo Maxx 1,6 6 500 km Silver R159 900 2015 Polo Vivo 1,4 Trendline 5-Door 8 000 km Beige R139 900 Polo 2011 Polo 1,6 Comfortline 62 000 km Red R149 900 2013 Polo 1,4 Trendline 5-Door 25 000 km White R152 900 2013 Polo 1,4 Comfortline 58 000 km Red R169 000 2014 Polo Sedan 1,6 Comfortline 21 000 km White R184 900 2014 Polo GTi DSG 132 Kw 2 000 km Silver R269 900 2014 Polo 1,4 Trendline 5-Door 24 000 km Silver R149 900 2015 Polo 1,2 TSi Highline 3 000 km Red R239 000 2015 Polo 1,2 TSi Trendline 1 500 km White R185 900 2015 Polo GP 1,2 Comfortline 3 000 km Blue R199 900 Golf 2010 Golf GTi 2,0 TSi DSG 65 000 km White R275 000 2012 Golf 6 1,4 TSi Comfortline 60 000 km Silver R184 900 2013 Golf 7 1,4 TSi Comfortline 61 000 km Silver R229 000 2014 Golf 7 GTI 2,0 TSI 38 000 km White R359 900 2015 Golf 7 1,4 TSi Comfortline DSG 6 000 km Silver R295 000 Amarok 2015 Amarok Double Cab Automatic132kW 2 500 km Grey R449 000 Other VW 2011 Jetta 1,4 TSi Comfortline 88 000 km Blue R149 000 2011 Touran 1,4 TSi Highline 75 000 km White R199 900 2012 Jetta 2,0 TDi 81 000 km White R199 900 2014 Passat 1,8 TSi Comfortline DSG 15 000 km White R279 900 2015 Touareg 3,0 TDi BlueMotion Tiptronic 13 800 km Grey R699 000 2015 Volkswagen CC 1,8 TSi DSG 13 800 km Grey R374 900 2015 VW Up 3 500 km Black R119 900 2015 Move up! 1,0 2 000 km Silver R145 900 Other 2013 Audi A5 2,0 FSi Quattro STronic 2013 Ford Figo 14 Ambiente 2015 Nissan NP2005
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