Catch on e v i l s u
July 14, 2016
Witness
WHEELS
4 FM 0 1 L A T I CAP ays d r u t a S 910 am
CARS WANTED
Contact Ash 083 786 3377 • Tel: 033 342 4717 / 033 345 1971 Email: ashgani@telkomsa.net •www.ashcarsales.co.za 534 / 550 Church Street, Pietermaritzburg
EDITOR: ALWYN VILJOEN 082 4589 332 ADVERTISING: AVIR THULSIRAM ON 084 278 3447
: E D I S N I
A quarter million rands do not leave a lot of change for this designer bike. — PAGE 6
The new R8, the fasted production Audi yet — and yours for a shade under R3 million. — PAGE 4
Modern luggage: you can ride on it, have it follow you or let it charge your phone. — PAGE 2 China’s Hanergy promises to cruise for 80km on six hours of sun light captured through its solar panels. — PAGE 3
No more moustache type fairings for GP bikes from next year. — PAGE 8
Pre-owned
The July Demo Clearance Sale. Demonstrably better driving…
Would you like to experience sheer driving pleasure in the driving seat of an Audi? Take advantage of a limited offer on our demo fleet in our July Demo Clearance Sale, exclusive to Audi Centre Pietermaritzburg. Visit us today to test drive your favourite Audi, and see why we’re synonymous with “advancement through technology”. The July Demo Clearance Sale. Terms and conditions apply. Quoted prices exclude dealer delivery fee and include VAT. Offer only available while stocks last. Offer ends 31 July 2016.
Only while stocks last, terms and conditions apply. Year
Vehicle Description
Colour
Mileage
Retail Price
2016
Audi A3 1.4T FSI Sportback
White
1 000
R 396 200
Special Price R 368 000
2016
Audi A3 1.4T FSI Sportback
White
1 000
R 398 250
R 378 500
2016
Audi A3 1.4T FSI Sportback
Monsoon Grey
1 000
R 431 100
R 410 700
2016
Audi A3 1.8T FSI Sedan S tronic
Floret Silver
1 000
R 477 750
R 460 600
2016
Audi A3 1.4T FSI 3 door
White
1 000
R 434 500
R 387 600
2016
Audi A3 1.4T FSI Sedan
White
1 000
R 450 530
R 438 000
2016
Audi A3 1.4T FSI 3 door
Floret Silver
1 000
R 407 750
R 395 500
2015
Audi Q7 3.0 TDI quattro
Karat
17 000
R 1 335 128
R 934 999
2016
Audi A8 3.0 TDI quattro
Grey
5 000
R 1 288 000
R 824 999
2016
Audi A5 2.0 TDI Sportback
Floret Silver
6 000
R 664 260
R 537 999
Audi Centre Pietermaritzburg Nathi Mncube • Sharon Mpulo • Darryl Chetty • New Vehicle Sales Manager: Prunella Naidoo Mandla Mkhize • Mark van Rijsbergen • Anwar Charfaray • Pre-owned Manager: Riaz Mahomed
BP Advertising
9 Armitage Road, Pietermaritzburg, 3201. Tel: 033 397 8800. www.audipietermaritzburg.co.za
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WitnessWheels MOTORING
Still no sign of demerit system
July 14, 2016
The next big development is mirrorless cars
A digital camera and mirror sytem developed by Bosch to replace side mirrors on trucks will also start featuring on cars. PHOTO: AUTONEWS.COM
FOUR companies are leading the race towards the next big devel opment in vehicles — mirrorless cars. Japanese rivals Ichikoh Indus tries and the Murakami Corpora tion, as well as Germany’s Bosch and America’s Tesla, are chasing the dream of digital reflections. Bosch spokesperson Barbara Zelenay told Automotive News that Bosch already has a system in place for commercial trucks that displays the rear view on the cabin’s Apillars. “The technology is not the is sue,” Zelenay said. “It’s up to the legislation. We don’t make mir rors, but we could make the re placement for mirrors.” This is after the United Na
tions’ World Forum for Harmo nisation of Vehicle Regulations approved the use of cameras that meet certain specifications in place of mirrors late last year. While excellent to remove blind spots on long trucks, cur rent camera systems are not yet as good as the human eye in poor ly lit conditions. But for Ichikoh, a company that already has the knowhow of making mirrors, to switch gradually to this technolo gy is an advantage. Ichikoh CEO Ali Ordoobadi is confident technology will catch up and overtake the eye’s abili ties. “The trend is that mirrors are declining and cameras will be increasing. We have to adapt to this,” Ordoobadi said. — WR.
Delay ‘doing more harm than good’ AFTER years of pilot projects, the Administrative Adjudica tion of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) was expected to be im plemented from April 1 this year. However, the implementa tion of this system has again been delayed, a delay that is do ing more harm than good, the Automobile Association (AA) said. Originally, the system was to be implemented in 2011, but this was delayed indefinitely. A new implementation date of April 2012 was suggested but again this was delayed. In 2015, Deputy Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga announced that Aarto would be implemented in April 2016, but this date has also slipped past quietly. “Since 1998, a lot of time, ef fort and money has gone into developing and implementing Aarto. Despite this, we still don’t have a workable system, which is lamentable,” the AA said. A key objective for the imple mentation of Aarto is to effect behavioural change among drivers in order to curb the growing number of deaths on our roads. According to the Road Traf fic Management Corporation (RTMC), about 13 000 people died on the country’s roads last year alone. “We believe that ac tion needs to be taken sooner, rather than later, to deal with this crisis,” the AA said. The AA has supported many of the proposals relating to Aar to since they were first mooted in 1998, through the establish ment of the Road Traffic In fringement Agency (RTIA), which was created specifically to roll out and administer Aar to. Apart from creating the RTIA, the legislation on Aarto also: • established the concept of an “infringement” as a traffic vio lation which can be dealt with administratively (such as speeding or talking on your cellphone while driving), as op posed to an “offence”, which re mains a criminal offence (such as drunk driving, which is indis tinguishable from any other criminal offence, and which re quires a court appearance); and • provided for the implementa tion of a points demerit system which punishes repeated viola tions by suspending or cancel ling a motorist’s driving li cence. According to the RTIA, the system will mean drivers accu
mulate points for infringe ments they commit. Every person starts with zero points, and the maximum per missible number of points is 12. A person is allowed to drive un til he or she has 12 points. Every point exceeding 12 points results in a threemonth suspension of the licence. One point is reduced every three months if no further contra ventions occur. A licence is can celled when it has been sus pended for the third time. Aarto has been piloted in Tshwane since 2008, and Jo hannesburg since 2009, but the points demerit system has not been implemented. This will not happen until Aarto is im plemented nationally. However, the delays are cause for great concern, and will ultimately lead to the per petuation of road offences which Aarto is designed to ad dress. Among the reasons for these delays are issues relating to the delivery of infringement notices. While this still needs to be resolved, the act does allow for infringement notices to be de livered via registered post and as such can be implemented at any time. In its 2014/2015 annual re port, the RTIA said that certain aspects of the Aarto Act are un dergoing a parliamentary proc ess but that the Department of Transport envisaged these to be complete by the end of the fourth quarter of the 2015/2016 financial year. This has not hap pened. The AA said: “We believe the time has come for hard deci sions on the future of Aarto to be made. Our concern is that almost two decades after it was first proposed, no significant steps forward have been taken towards final implementation of the demerit system. We therefore call on the Depart ment of Transport to give South Africans a firm and con crete date for the implementa tion of Aarto, and to stick to it. Their credibility, and that of the system as a whole, is now at stake. “As much as we want to see the RTIA, and the Aarto system succeed and go ahead, this state of inactivity on Aarto’s imple mentation is serving no pur pose. “We therefore urge the De partment of Transport to take significant steps to ensure the system is implemented, or con cede to the public that it proba bly will never materialise.” — Supplied.
All performance Audi models carry an RS badge on the boot. PHOTO: QUICKPIC
Audi Sport opens stores for the discerning DURBAN and Pinetown are the only cities in KZN to host the newly launched Audi Sport sub brand, where Audiphiles can find all the brand’s highper formance vehicles, motorsport endeavours and race clothing. Audi last week opened 13 dealers to service Audi Sport customers, with eight in Gaut eng, two in the Western Cape
and one in Port Elizabeth. Each Audi Sport dealer will have a dedicated sales area within their dealership with trained Audi Sport specialists catering to the Audi Sport cus tomer’s purchasing and servic ing experience. “Audi South Af rica is proud to introduce the Audi Sport brand to South Afri ca,” said Paul Sansom, head of
Audi South Africa. “We know that South African consumers have a particular appreciation for highperformance vehicles, hence we have embarked on this strategy to formalise a dedicat ed Audi Sport dealer network with trained staff to cater for this discerning customer.” Audi confirmed that next year will see four more Audi
Sport models joining the cur rent lineup, namely the new Audi RS 3 range, Audi TT RS, Audi RSS Coupe and the Audi R8 Spyder. The Audi Group, with its brands Audi, Ducati and Lam borghini, is one of the most suc cessful manufacturers of auto mobiles and motorcycles in the premium segment. — WR.
Now luggage can follow you or give you a ride ALWYN VILJOEN IT seems that rideon suitcases are all the rage among designers. Following hot on the heels of the ride on trike by dadand daughter team Jianmin and Sumi Wang in the U.S., Tehranbased tech company Olive Robotics has now created what it calls the only suitcase in the world able to fol low its owner autonomously, even in crowded airports. The suitcase won first place in the Service Robotics section of the 2016 Automatica Startup World Competition held in Mu nich last month. Olive Robotics CEO Hamid Anbari said on the company’s website that the luggage is self balancing on two wheels and can carry its owner — with weight limits in pace. To ensure the suitcase does not lose track of its owner, Anbari
said his colleagues have devel oped a totally new algorithm for human tracking. “We can successfully follow the certain target even in occlu sions or target lost situations. “We don’t use any classifica tion methods directly so we don’t need any training data be fore the robot is in operation and the robot can perform the follow task autonomously exactly after the first skeleton is tracked by the skeleton tracker,” Anbari said. The Iranian entrepreneurs are also not blind to the danger of theft. The Olive suitcase comes with realtime protection and a dis tance alarm that will alert you if you leave it behind, using wire less connection and or Bluetooth communication. The suitcase can send its loca tion using GPS and 3G/4G tech nology from anywhere in the
A computergenerated image of the latest addition to the world of smart suitcases. PHOTO: OLIVE ROBOTICS world. Users can also lock or unlock the case using an app on a smart watch or phone. The smart luggage comes with
a 10 000 mAh battery with a plug to charge phones and other devices. A builtin scale ensures the bag is not overweight.
July 14, 2016
MOTORING WitnessWheels
3
The sunlight car club is growing More and more motor companies are turning to solar power
Four winners in ‘Wheels’ Congratulations to Wheels reader Debbie Davies, who won breakfast with Sharks captain Tendai ‘The Beast’ Mtawarira, hosted by Key Group Pietermaritzburg and Fidelity Group. ‘My year was made,’ said Davies after meeting the gentle giant. She also thanked Key Group for the collector’s item of a 3D laser etch of the city hall inside a transparent paperweight. • Another reader in for a treat is Merilyn Naidoo, who won the latest CD by Heather Waters, Castles and Towers. Tune in to our sister show on Capital 104 on Saturdays from 9 am to 10 am to hear more songs from this roadtrip compilation. • Kumuran Pather’s persistence also paid off when his name emerged from the draw to get a lasercut model of a 4x4 with his choice of names on the bonnet. • Meanwhile, Dyl Welton can start memorising the turns on the Roy Hesketh track after he won a free entry, worth R400, for him and three friends to join us at a rare track day on the historic venue, where Welton and many others will be able to see what their cars can do. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
One of three Hanergy solar cars unveiled in Beijing last week, which can reportedly go 80 km on a day’s solar charge. PHOTO: CARNEWSCHINA
The Stella Lux is a solarpowered family saloon that is already road legal in the Netherlands and proven in races across Australia. PHOTO: KENNISLINK.NL
ALWYN VILJOEN
the biennial Bridgestone Solar Power Challenge in Australia in October last year. Both Hanergy and the young engineers at Eindhoven predict that the cost of thinfilm solar panels could fall, with Hanergy starting costs dropping by more than 90% when solarpowered cars are produced in large vol umes. The Beijingbased company last year announced deals to out fit recreational vehicles, tour bus es and catering trucks in China with solar cells that will help run some individual systems.
IT is not only the students at the Eindhoven University of Tech nology in the Netherlands who see a future in cars running on sunlight. From China, Bloomberg re ports Hanergy Holding Group last week introduced four cars powered by solar panels. The company said in a state ment in Beijing that the cars, which can be charged in daylight while being driven, also contain lithium batteries, making it pos sible to charge them in stations
when the sun is blocked or on longdistance trips. Under ideal conditions, Han ergy’s solarpowered cars can travel about 80 kilometres on a five to sixhour charge in the sun, it said. Power comes from thinfilm solar cells affixed to the bodies. The car’s cells use technology from Alta Devices Inc., which Hanergy bought in 2014, accord ing to Hanergy Holding. By comparison, the Dutch so lar car Stella Lux raced 1 500 km on a single charge, driving at an average speed of 80 km/h, during
Hanergy Holding is the Bei jingbased parent of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Ltd., the Chinese solar equipment maker whose shares were suspended more than a year ago after a 47% plunge in one day. The unit’s plan to provide prototypes of its solar cars last year was delayed after trading was suspended in May 2015. The company signed a frame work agreement with Beiqi Fo ton Motor Company to develop cleanenergy buses with Haner gy’s thinfilm cells, according to the statement.
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WitnessWheels MOTORING
July 14, 2016
Elite coupe cruiser
BRIAN BASSETT experiences taste and discernment in a coupe
The Audi R8 range sells from R2,63 million, with the 449 kW for the R8 V10 now Audi’s fastest production car. PHOTO: QUICKPIC
R8 — fastest production Audi built yet AUDI has launched its most powerful and fastest produc tion Audi yet built in the new R8. Two engines are available — a 397 kW for the R8 V10 and a 449 kW for the R8 V10 plus. Their maximum engine torque — 540 Nm and 560 Nm respectively — is available at 6 500 rpm for both engines. Compared to the previous model, power has increased considerably, and the respon siveness of the highrevving (up to 8 700 rpm), naturally aspi rated 5,2litre engine is now even more spontaneous. Like a race car engine, the V10 engine has dry sump lubrica tion. Its characteristic sound is
now even fuller, with an option al sports exhaust system also available for order. Audi likes to boast they make super cars for everyday com muting, and the R8 is no excep tion. Efficiency has vastly im proved over the previous model by up to 13% (33 g/km CO2). The new V10 engine was given effective efficiency technolo gies such as the COD (cylinder on demand) system, which shuts off one row of cylinders under low load conditions. An other is dual injection, which in jects the fuel into the combus tion chambers and induction manifold according to demand. But put in on a track and Audi
says its the new Audi R8 “is right among the leaders in terms of its driving perform ance”. The V10 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3,5 sec onds, and it accelerates to a top speed of 320 km/h. For the V10 plus, the fastest production Audi ever, the figures are 3,2 seconds and 330 km/h, and it takes just 9,9 seconds to sprint from 0 to 200 km/h. Don’t try that on any of KZN’s potholed roads, or you will have to make use of the five year or 100 000 km Audi Free way Plan which comes standard. Audi R8 prices: V10 quattro S tronic — R 2,63 million V10 Plus quattro S tronic — R2,97 million.
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SIR Stirling Moss, the great rac ing driver, once asked the ques tion “Why do people buy coupes?” He felt they are restricted to two doors, which are usually wide to facilitate rear seat access, and so exit is difficult in parking lots. They have somewhat limit ed rear seat space and accessing that space is sometimes diffi cult. He then went on to answer his own question by saying, “Coupes are amongst the world’s best looking cars and a tribute to their owner’s taste and discernment.” Enter the BMW 420d Coupe. In 2013 BMW discovered the joy of even numbers and dis played the 420 Coupe at the De troit Motor Show. We were told that it would re place the 3Series Coupe and it was likely that there would be any further models in the range. BMW however, could not resist competing with the Audi A5 Coupe Hatch and a fourdoor 4Series Grand Coupe fol lowed soon after. We are grate ful to Anthony Ellis, dealer principal at SMG Pietermaritz burg for allowing us a few days with the vehicle. Styling This is a really good looking car which turns heads as you drive by. At the front it is typically BMW, with a large, double kid ney grill and swept back head lamps on either side, all under lined by a dark air intake flanked by two fog lamps. The ribbed bonnet flows into a raked windscreen, which guides the eye to a sloping roof. Our car came with a fitted sun roof, an optional extra but nice to have. The steeply sloping rear window and tailgate combine with wraparound tail lights to present a sleek profile. The effect of this coupe is svelte, sensual and glamorous
and sophisticated, while the sloping roof still allows for the accommodation of two tall adults in the rear seat. The design is complimented by serious rubber on its 19inch light alloy wheels and in any parking lot it is, in the words of Stirling Moss, “a tribute to the owner’s taste and discernment”. Interior The interior of our car was fin ished in soft touch plastics and black leather. It is much like the 3series in terior, comfortable, solid and a very pleasant place to be. The control ergonomics are excel lent. The instruments are clear and easy to read while driving. The main instrument cluster has four analogue displays, speed ometer, rev counter, fuel gauge, temperature, as well as digital computer functions. The idrive
The BMW 420d Msport looks extra svelte. PHOTO: BMW and its rotary selector are placed centrally and are easy to operate. The rear seats offer a surpris ing amount of space and can take two adults in comfort over long distances. For a large man like me it is still a bit of a scramble to get in and out but, once in you are well supported and do not feel in the least claustrophobic even though the rear windows do not open. Boot space is generous at 445 litres. The car we drove had front and rear parking sensors, which are these days essential. Safety and security The 420d has a range of safety features, including ABS with
EBD, an occupant cell, the BMW restraint system, adaptive head lights, as well as driver and front passenger airbags and side bags integrated into the front seat backrests for the rear passengers. The car also has keyless entry and an alarm system. Performance The 420d has BMW’s fourcylin der, Twin Power Turbo diesel en gine, which features Common Rail direct injection and variable turbine geometry. The engine puts out 135 kW of power and 400 Nm of torque. The eightspeed auto gearbox in our car changed swiftly and smartly; and is an obviously so phisticated system. 0100 km/h comes up in around 7,5 seconds and, if you are in suicide mode, top speed is claimed at 240 km/h. Fuel consumption is difficult to predict in a fast car but, if you are over 50 and driving sensibly you should achieve around 5 l/100 km. The 4series Coupe is wider and 45kg lighter than the 3Series it replaced and also has a lower centre of gravity. Combined with a sharpened steering and the adaptive drive system, the car handles superbly on good roads and bad. Sport mode makes a real difference to per formance. And throttle response is crisp and power delivery im pressive. It corners well at speed and lives up to its fast image. Costs and competition There are 28 models in the 4Se ries lineup. The 420d comes in at around R570 000 new, but don’t forget the demos and yearolds, or even twoyearolds. The car comes with a fiveyear or 100 000 km extendable maintenance plan, which covers everything but tyr es, while BMW’s roadside assist ance plan is excellent. It’s a buyer’s market at present so also look at Audi A5/SS/RSS, Mercedes C class coupe, Lexus RC and even the Ford Mustang.
‘Mazuzu’ bakkie is coming your way ALWYN VILJOEN
VALID OFFER UP TO LY 31 JU 2016
164 Ohrtmann Road, Willowton, Pietermaritzburg 3201
Contact Numbers: Office: 033 387 6420 • Jevon: 060 630 1225 • Nishaad : 079 334 2408
MAZDA and Isuzu have an nounced a basic agreement to base the next Mazda BT50 bak kie on the Isuzu DMax. The companies did not an nounce when the cooperation will start, but as the Isuzu plants will have to be changed to build the Mazda bakkies, pundits in the auto trade predict it will take two years before the first “Mazu zu” comes off the assembly lines. The same pundits predict the bakkie may not be built in Port Elizabeth, but rather in Thai land. In a short statement, the com panies said the collaboration will allow Isuzu to enhance its prod uct competitiveness and Mazda to strengthen its product lineup and maintain ownbrand market coverage. The bakkies will be going on sale worldwide except in North America, where the Yanks prefer giant utes to our puny bakkies. This is not the first such col
Mazda and Isuzu will again collaborate like they did when Mazda sold this Isuzu truck as the Titan in 2002, but this time it will be a MazdaIsuzu bakkie. PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA laboration between the two gi ant Japanese groups. For a dec ade from 2002, Mazda sold a re branded Isuzu truck as the Titan in the mid and Far East. And with bakkies all looking alike these days, it will not be the last we see of such badgeengi neered chassis sharing either. The Nissan Navara will form the underpinning of both a Merc as
well as a Renault oneton bakkie, while Fiat launched its Mitsub ishi Tritonbased Fullback in South Africa this month. Meanwhile, Mazda reported that the BT50 now accounts for around six percent of total sales year to date, with the Mazda CX5 and the Mazda3, Mazda’s biggest sellers, with 55% of the sales volume combined, while the popular Mazda2 and newly introduced Mazda CX3 take up just under 40% of the sales vol ume combined. “The market conditions un der which we started 2016 have altered and as we head into the second half of the year, we’ll con tinue to work with our dealer business partners with the aim to maintain momentum and capture our potential share of what the market delivers,” said Mazda SA’s head of sales Craig Roberts in a statement. Mazda Southern Africa dis tributes through 50 dealers and will open another two dealer ships by the end of this year.
MOTORING WitnessWheels
July 14, 2016
5
‘Proud day for Mahindra SA’ PMB, Pinetown dealerships recognised for helping Mahindra reach 30 000 unit sales in SA THE Mahindra dealerships in Pietermaritzburg and Pine town were recognised for help ing the company reach 30 000 unit sales in South Africa, which Mahindra said underscores the brand’s growing customer base in a market that’s more compet itive than ever. “It’s a proud day for Mahindra SA in particular, and for the Ma hindra brand in general,” said Sanjoy Gupta, CEO of Mahindra SA since 2015 (and not to be con fused with the infamous Sanjay Gupta). “When we first commenced business in SA some 12 years ago, this milestone seemed a very long way off. Reaching 30 000 sales isn’t just the sweet reward for the hard work of the entire Mahindra SA, but also a vindica tion of our parent company’s confidence and belief in SA, and the African continent.” Gupta added that the compa ny’s success was further empha sised by its ongoing growth, de spite the negative sales trend in the industry. “Against the backdrop of the industry’s 6,7% decline, the growth of four percent achieved by Mahindra is significant. It not only emphasises the growing de mand for valueformoney vehi cles, but also the growing trust of SA vehicle buyers in the Ma hindra brand.”
network, whose enthusiasm and servicedriven approach has played a vital role in establishing the Mahindra brand and its prod ucts locally.”
The XUV500, as recommen ded in Wheels, is impressing more people. PHOTO: QUICKPIC
A fully fledged subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra in India, Mahindra SA’s beginnings were modest, but the company’s growth has been exponential.
Today, the Mahindra product lineup consists of nine model ranges spanning a variety of sec tors — from workhorse pickups to luxury SUVs.
Saluting SA’s locomotion revolution SA’S NATIONAL and official SA Festival of Motoring will also celebrate the 120th anniversary of the arrival of the first car in South Africa. This year marks the 120th an niversary of the arrival of the first car in South Africa and this ep ochmaking event will be cele brated as one of the high points at the South African Festival of Motoring, which takes place at Kyalami from August 31 to Sep tember 4. Although the first car, a Benz Velo “horseless carriage” that had been imported by a local businessman, John Percy Hess, arrived in South Africa at the end of 1896, it did not run under its own power until January 4 of the following year. This was due to the fact that there was a delay of a month in the arrival of the benzene fuel for the engine. The first public demonstra tion of the Benz Velo took place at the Berea Park sports ground in Pretoria in front of Paul Kru ger, the president of the Trans vaal Republic. The publicity blurb urging Pretorians to attend this “red letter day” event proclaimed that “the motor car, like the bicy cle, has come to stay and will be the craze of the century”. Hess went on to become the sole agent for the Benz brand in South Africa. The car was subse quently driven in Johannesburg as part of his initiative to pro mote “a revolution in locomo tion”. It is hard to imagine the world before the arrival of the motor car with all the benefits it offers to individual and group mobili ty. The pace of development was amazing once it had been ac cepted by the public and it was
The first car in South Africa was a Benz Velo “horseless carriage”, shown at Berea Park in Pretoria 120 years ago. PHOTO: QUICKPIC no longer compulsory for cars to be preceded by a man with a red flag as was the case in the pio neering days. Throughout two World Wars development of motorised transport continued apace and now we are looking towards a fu ture when these cars and trucks will drive themselves in the real world, not in the fantasy world of science fiction. South Africa was fairly quickly out of the starting blocks into the world of motorised trans port once the initial foundations had been laid by Hess. The first Ford to arrive in SA, a 1903 Model A, was, in fact the first Ford to be sold outside North America. Cars became more readily available in SA with the arrival of the massproduced Ford Model T and about 1 000 cars a year were going on to local roads by 1910. The next step was local assembly and this began in 1924 when Ford opened a plant
in a disused wool shed in Port Elizabeth. This early startup was soon followed by the erection of a fa cility to assemble General Mo tors products and since then a host of assembly plants have come and gone over the years. Even now there are several inter national companies evaluating proposals to set up manufactur ing plants in this country. The country’s love affair with the motor car has led to a prolif eration of brands and models that is way out of kilter with the size of the population and the lack of real potential for huge growth in sales. There are currently more than 2 600 model derivatives in the passenger car and light commer cial vehicle sectors, which means South Africans are among those people in the world most spoilt for choice when looking to buy a new vehicle. — Supplied.
“Our products have delivered on their promise of exceptional value for money and reliability over the past 12 years, and we continue to grow our extremely
loyal and enthusiastic customer base,” Gupta commented. “However, we could not have achieved that growth without the commitment of our dealer
Top dealers Mahindra recently rewarded its top dealers at a glittering gala event, during which Mahindra SA’s top performing dealers in three categories — large, medium and small dealerships — were an nounced. In the category for medium sized dealerships, gold went to Mahindra Pietermaritzburg, fol lowed by Mahindra Vaal with sil ver, and Mahindra Rustenburg on bronze. Mahindra Pinetown took top honours in the large dealer sec tion, followed by Mahindra Po lokwane on silver, and Mahindra Bloemfontein’s bronze. Mahindra Bloemfontein was crowned Dealer of the Year, while Mahindra Vaal was named the winner in the medium category. Mahindra Heidelberg took top spot in the Small Dealer of the Year awards. The Mahindra network cur rently comprises more than 60 dealers offering sales, service and spare parts across all nine South African provinces, as well as the SADC region. — Wheels Reporter.
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WitnessWheels MOTORING BIKING
July 14, 2016
UCI warning to tech frauds Cyclists tempted to cheat with hidden motors ‘highly likely to be caught’ with new scanning tool THE world governing body of cy clying races has warned competi tors that it now has the scanning tools to very easily detect any bike with a hidden motor. Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) president Brian Cookson said in a statement the UCI had in the past two years spent a con siderable sum to find a method of testing bikes for technological fraud which is flexible, reliable, effective, fast and easy to deploy. “We have consulted experts from a wide variety of profession al backgrounds — universities, mechanical, electronic and soft ware engineers, physicists — and worked with the best technology available. “Our ability to reliably test so many bikes has transformed our work in this area and we will con tinue to test widely in all our dis ciplines to ensure that anyone tempted to cheat in this way
knows they are highly likely to be caught.” Since first deploying its new scanning method to test for tech nological fraud in January, UCI has tested several thousand bikes at many races in different disci plines and in different gender and age categories. All bikes can also be checked at the start and end of a race with magnetic wave scanning tech nology deployed by the UCI since the start of 2016. The new scanning method us es a tablet, case, adapter and cus tommade software which ena ble an operator to test a complete bike, wheels, frame, groupset and other components in less than a minute. The software utilised was created in partnership with a company of specialist develop ers and electrical engineers. If the scan picks up anything unusual, the bike or component is then
While an electric motor hidden in a bike frame shows up clearly in this thermal image, the world cycling body says magnetic fieldbased scanning is even more effective. PHOTO: ROADCC dismantled for inspection. The scanner creates a magnet
ic field which allows detection of any motor, magnet or solid ob
ject such as a battery that could be concealed in a bike frame or components. Recent examples at stage races are approximately 500 tests at the Tour de Suisse and over 2 000 at the Giro d’Italia. Cooperation from teams, rid ers and organisers has been excel lent and the UCI staff and techni cal commissaires deployed to carry out these tests have met with no resistance. It is clear that all stakeholders in cycling have a common inter est to demonstrate that this sort of cheating has no place in the sport. For the Tour de France, the UCI will have resources in place to conduct between 3 000 and 4 000 tests. An effective testing protocol is one which is unpredictable so the UCI confirms that it will deploy additional methods of detection
at the Tour to both assess their performance and to ensure a var ied testing protocol. UCI scanners, as well as being deployed across the UCI calen dar, are now available to UCI’s member National Federations, supported by training from spe cialist staff. Many federations have placed orders and some have already be gun deploying it at national level races. UCI president Brian Cookson said: “Since the beginning of the year, we are sending a clear mes sage which is that there is literally nowhere to hide for anyone fool ish enough to attempt to cheat in this way. “A modified bike is extremely easy to detect with our scanners and we will continue to deploy them extensively throughout the Tour and the rest of the season.” — Wheels Reporter.
Classically styled ebike — with rust
The varnished rust costs extra on the old school La Specialita Ruggine, which currently pledges for about R60 000 on Kickstarter, with shipping. PHOTO: SUPPLIED CC WEISS THERE are interesting electric bikes popping up nearly every day, but arguably the most in teresting this month is the Ital iandesigned, Swissbuilt ebike from Velocipede Fogliaverde. Their designers took the idea of a classically styled ebike even further, featuring a low profile design dressed up with leather, wood and even rust. “Velocipede Fogliaverde” (Italian for “green leaf veloci pede”) founder Peter Grün blatt explains on Kickstarter he sort of stumbled into the ebike business with a journey that started about two years ago. In looking for a stylish, classy city bike to ride with his daugh ter, Grünblatt was unim pressed by the bikes available. He turned to a quartercen turyold racing bike he found in his inlaws’ basement, stripped the old bike down and sunk money into building it back up to his own spec. After getting all kinds of positive feedback, Grünblatt decided to pursue a commercial version, complete with electric assist. He teamed with an Italian designer and Swiss mechanic to make the bike a reality. The 65 cm frame now packs batteries that drive a 250 W Zehus Bike+ rear hub motor that is good for 25 km/h. Kinetic energy is recovered during
braking and on descents, elimi nating battery drain and the need to plug in. Recharging the 160 Wh lithiumion battery takes two hours. Instead of a builtin comput er, VF relies on the Zehus app to connect the rider with the electric drive. The iOS/Android app provides mode selection, trip data and a locking func tion, with the app relying on a Bluetooth connection with the Bike+. Other design elements include the spring leather sad dle, leather handlebars, wood platformed pedals and bamboo fenders. The basic setup weighs 15 kg, which VF suggests makes it “probably the lightest ebikes on the market”. VF offers two styles of bikes, and both models feature the same build and accessories, the difference being in the styling — the Piacevole Corsa base model comes in a variety of twolayer, pearleffect colour options, while the La Specialita Ruggine skips the paint and wears actual rust. VF explains that the frame undergoes a con trolled rusting process before getting sealed with a transpar ent coating that suspends the rusting in a superficial state, giving each bike a oneofa kind rusty look without any ac tual frame degradation. The Piacevole Corsa starts at about R47 680, and the Ruggi ne at R58 100, sans shipping.
A quarterofamillion rand will not leave a lot of change for this designer bike by Ecce cycles. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
This one is priced to match its looks BEN COXWORTH
Beasts roam Canada Canada’s population is ageing, but that is not to say the pensioners are tottering around on Zimmer frames. Instead, Torontobased Daymak has launched the Boomer Beast, an AWD trike described as ‘the first true onroad/offroad mobility scooter in the marketplace’. Three models are available, with prices ranging from $2 999 for the Standard version to $4 999 (about R72 760) for the Ultimate, which features a builtin 12watt solar panel that helps tricklecharge the vehicle’s 2 580Wh Panasonic lithium battery. PHOTO: DAYMAK
WHICH bike that stood out at LikeBike Monte Carlo, an inter national luxury bike show that’s currently in its second year? Well, it helps if it looks like it rolled straight out of a Flash Gor don comic — and Ecce Cycles’ Opus certainly does. The Opus was created by Bel gian architectdesigner Pierre Lallemand, and was developed in partnership with Belgium’s Ri pley Bikes. Although a woodenframed model is on the way, it’s currently being offered in two carbon fibre versions — the Opus Cruise and Opus Sport. Both models feature a leather Brooks saddle and handlebar grips, along with a Gates Carbon belt drive, an 11speed Shimano Alfine rear hub transmission, and
a nice retrolooking headlight. There’s no word on weight. The Cruise is a little more “rustic”looking for lack of a bet ter word, featuring accents in natural brown leather and chrome. While the Sport is equipped similarly to the Cruise — albeit with lower handlebars — its colour scheme is pure stealthy black. If you like what you see, you can place a preorder through ec cecycles.com/home, with ship ping expected to begin at the end of September. Should you wish to hold out for the wooden Opus, it ought to be ready by the begin ning of next year. Be aware, though — a compa ny rep tells us that prices start at €9 500 (R159 251) for the two carbon models, while the wood will start at €15 000 (R241 284). — Gizmag.
EXPLORE MOTORING WitnessWheels
July 14, 2016
Before driving to Zim Goods taken at the border range from water to hair extensions THE Automobile Association (AA) has warned South African travellers to Zimbabwe to exercise caution when using the Beitbridge border crossing. This comes after protests at the border prompted by the implemen tation of strict import regulations by Harare. The Association noted: “We are following news reports of develop ments, which appear at times to be heated. We are also aware that the Department of International Rela tions and Cooperation (Dirco) is in talks with the Zimbabwean govern ment about the situation. Given these two factors, we urge anyone travelling to Zimbabwe through Beit bridge to avail themselves of the situ ation first before attempting to cross there.” The regulations imposed by Zimb abwe restrict the importation of cer tain goods into the country unless a licence that details why these prod ucts are being taken into Zimbabwe is obtained first. The regulations, which came into effect on July 2016, are outlined in an amendment to the Statutory In strument 64 of 2016 (Control of Goods), and published in the Zimb abwean Government Gazette on June 18.
This notice prohibits the importa tion of a number of items such coffee creamers, camphor cream, baked beans, potato crisps, peanut butter, flavoured milks, canned fruits and vegetables, shoe polish, hair exten sins, wheelbarrows, doors, and win dows. Even bottled water and retread tyres are prohibited without a licence — which raises all kinds of questions on the Zimsandals made from old tyres. The AA adds: “It is our under standing that any items on the re stricted list, even in small quantities, will not be allowed through the bor der post. “For this reason we urge all travel lers to check the list thoroughly be fore they leave to ensure they do not carry any of these items with them.” The association also advised any one travelling to Zimbabwe through Beitbridge to ensure that all the nec essary documentation they may re quire is complete and up to date. — WR.
The jet car in which the Bloodhound Supersonic Car team will attempt to set a new land speed record at Hakskeenpan in October next year. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Bloodhound get funds for Hakskeenpan THE Bloodhound Supersonic Car team announced they will go to the Hakskeenpan in Oc tober next year to attempt to set a new world land speed record. The recent signing of major deals means the Bloodhound Project now has sufficient funding pledged to complete the car and start the count
down to highspeed testing at the Hakskeen Pan, Northern Cape, late next year. The identity of the new partner(s) will be revealed in due course. Project director Richard Noble said in a statement: “This is probably the biggest moment in the project’s histo ry. Before we could only see fi
nancially a few months ahead but now we can put our foot down and really go for it! “We have come through this difficult stage wiser, lean er and fitter. Bloodhound is now in race preparation, which means the pace and the pressure will ramp up but so too will the sense of satisfac tion as we head towards our
car breaking the sound barrier for the first time, with the world watching!” Meanwhile organisers of the Kalahari Speed Week await clearance from the Northern Cape provincial government for the annual race at Hakskeenpan in Sep tember. — WR.
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• Keep up to date with the situation by contacting the Zimbabwean Revenue Authority (ZRA) Beitbridge Border Post on 028 622 529 or 028 622 259 or call the Zimbabwean Consulate in Johannesburg on 011 615 5879. The Wombat Warriors from Australia on their way to winning the Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Challenge. PHOTO: NEWS PRESS
Ozzies top in model 4x4s WHITLEY, UK — Teams from Aus tralia took first and second place in the Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Glob al Education Challenge, an innova tive initiative that has helped the company reach more than three mil lion young people since 1999. A total of 15 awards were present ed, rewarding the hard work and high engineering standards achieved. A team from Dubbo College in Australia achieved second place and Portuguese students secured third place in the final. Teams from South Africa, Slovakia, Malaysia, UK, Por tugal, Czech Republic and USA also collected awards for their achieve ments in key elements of the judging process, with Team Rhino, from
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Maritzburg College and Edenglen High School in Johannesburg re ceived the Judges Special Award. The teams spent 36 months de signing, building and testing minia ture remotecontrolled 4x4 vehicles to complete challenging offroad tracks in regional and national finals. They were judged on all elements of their projects from engineering and marketing to design and trav elled from countries all over the world including the USA, South Afri ca and Brazil to compete. The challenge introduces students to engineering and helps them to build skills, experiences, friendships and memories which will stay with them throughout their lives. — WR.
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WitnessWheels MOTORING RACING
July 14, 2016
Charged up for ePrix battle Jaguar eyes Formula E to mark its return to motorsport after an absence of over a decade TEN teams will race in the third season of the FIA Formula E Championship, which starts on the streets of Hong Kong’s cen tral business district on Octo ber 9 and finishes in New York in July next year. Two teams are new to the world’s first fully electric single seater series — Jaguar and Fara day Future. A third new name in the line up, Chinese Techeetah, is a name change after the China Media Capital (CMC) took over Team Aguri’s entry. CMC is a public equity and venture capital firm based in Shanghai. Jaguar chose Formula E to mark its return to motorsport after an absence of over a decade, Faraday Future is an advanced mobility company with head quarters in Silicon Valley and Southern California. Faraday Future announced a longterm alliance with the American auto racing team Drag on Racing, becoming the core technical partner and title spon sor of the team. The partnership will develop and test electric car technology to improve overall drivetrain performance to use in Faraday Future’s production ve hicle from next year. The 2016/17 FIA Formula E Championship calendar features 14 races, to be staged in 12 of the world’s leading cities, with dou
The explosive start to the Formula E Championship in Malaysia last year. PHOTO: SUPPLIED bleheaders in Montreal and New York. In addition to the ePrix, there will be a special event, the FIA
Electric Mobility Forum, which will take place in Las Vegas next year on January 7, coinciding with the start of the Dakar.
— Wheels Reporter. The 10 teams entered are: – ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport – Andretti Formula E
– Faraday Future Dragon Racing – DS Virgin Racing – Jaguar Racing – Mahindra Racing
– NextEV NIO – Renault e.Dams – Techeetah – Venturi Formula E.
Young karters’ first official race meet STUART JOHNSTON THE first official race meeting for the new Micro Max and Mini Max karting classes will be held at the Vereeniging Kart Circuit on Sunday. The Mini MaxMicro Max Grand Prix race meeting will be open only to drivers using the Ro tax 125 cc engine used in classes for older youngsters, but with radically reduced power outputs to suit the younger age groups. The Micro Max engines pro
duce 6 kW, while the Mini Max engines are limited to 11 kW. The staging of the Mini Max Micro Max Grand Prix follows on the fourth round of the SA Ro tax Max Challenge National Karting Series, which is being held at the Vereeniging Kart Cir cuit on Saturday. This has ena bled many youngsters contesting the current national champion ship classes for Maxterino and Mini Rok classes to stay on an ex tra day to contest the grand prix. Strong entry lists have been re
ceived for both classes, with over a dozen young drivers scheduled to contest each divi sion. The incentive to do well is huge, as winners of each of the classes receive either an air tick et to the Rotax Grand Finals in Palermo, Italy, in October, or a voucher worth R10 000 to buy karting goodies at EMR Kart ing. For more information, go to www.kart.co.za, or call Jennifer Verheul at 082 294 7485.
Ducati takes MotoGP wing ban personally MOTORBIKES will look a little less streamlined from next year after the Grand Prix Commis sion recently unanimously agreed to ban aerodynamic wings in the MotoGP class from 2017. The actual regulation will rep licate those for the Moto3 and Moto2 classes where the use of
wings is already prohibited. Wings that comply with cur rent technical regulations may continue to be used for the re mainder of the 2016 season. The commission explained the ban, stating the protruding carbon fibre wings are seen as a potential danger for the riders in case of an accident. The Yamaha M1 of wheel popping Jorge Lorenzo sports handlebar moustache wings in an effort to keep the rubber on the floor, but from next year they have to be trimmed. PHOTO: YAMAHA
Ducati GM Corse Gigi Dall’Igna said in an interview with Italian Gpone.com he felt other teams wanted to penalise Ducati under the “the rather ri diculous excuse of safety”. “We believe that the wings make the bike safer, not the op posite, because they keep the front wheel attached to the ground and improve direction ality. There have been accidents in the past and the riders in volved have never been injured. “Safety has been used as an excuse by those wanting to pe nalise us. I’m sure that next year we’ll nevertheless have a com petitive bike, even without winglets.” — Witness Reporter.
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