Wheels 16 july 2015

Two car e Mégan l specia PAGE 7

CARS WANTED

July 16, 2015

Witness

WHEELS

Exotic,luxury and supercars WANTED FOR CASH must be low mileage and mint condition, email pics and brief description to ashgani@telkomsa.net

ASH EXOTICS Dealers in Superfine Exotic and Sports Cars Tel: 033 345 1971, 033 342 4717 Fax: 033 342 2900 - www.ashcarsales.co.za 534/550 Church Street, Pietermaritzburg 3201 • Ash 083 786 3377

EDITOR: ALWYN VILJOEN 082 4589 332 ADVERTISING: AVIR THULSIRAM ON 084 278 3447

One­person cars the problem Fleet operators say too many cars carrying too few people cause congestion, not slow trucks ALWYN VILJOEN BANNING trucks on roads during peak hours will not improve road safety or lessen congestion — quite the contrary.

Banning big trucks will simply see more, smaller trucks deployed to get loads delivered, which will lead to more congestion, more crashes and higher costs to the consumer.

This was the reaction of a panel of speakers during the TruckX conference held in Sandton last Thursday of pro­ posed legislation to remove trucks over eight tons from public roads during morning and afternoon peak hours.

Speaking to Wheels after the confer­ ence, Ricardo Coetzee, managing execu­ tive: Automotive, Innovation Group, said the government is on the right track to start making roads safer by attempt­ ing to lessen congestion, but the focus should be on reducing the number of cars with just person in it.

V SAMUEL MAKHATHINI, former fuel truck driver

‘Private drivers need to leave their rage at home if we are to bring down our death toll on the roads.’

He admitted that it is a complex proc­ ess that needs a holistic approach, but pointed out that other congested cities in the world have shown how it can be done, with solutions ranging from pub­ lic transport that is faster and easier than a car in traffic, to opening bus lanes to cars with four people, and changing the times people go to work and school.

MD of the Unitrans Customer Solu­ tion Development Division, Ray Singh, said as it stands, the proposed legislation would put a huge strain on existing infra­ structure, as there is already no space to

park trucks on most routes.

Singh said the proposed banning of trucks during peak hours would raise costs by 12,5% to 25%.

“This financial impact through the value chain was not thought through at all,” said Singh.

Head of Vehicle and Asset Finance Business at Standard Bank, Toni Fritz, said parking big trucks during peak hours will require more depots, more staff and more diesel or electricity to run refrigerator units.

MD of Ctrack’s Fleet Management

Division Hein Jordt, said the number of truck hijackings has increased exponen­ tially in the past few months, and adding more trucks to the roads will increase this crime statistic.

Otto Swanepoel, a truck operator who delivers abnormal loads, said his busi­ ness is already not permitted to operate on weekends, public holidays or at night, and he will have to close if he has to stop during peak hours as well.

Swanepoel took issue with the indus­ try’s blank acceptance that trucks are re­ sponsible for crashes.

“Trucks are not the guilty party caus­ ing accidents in South Africa, it is the taxi drivers, the pedestrians and car driv­ ers. We see it daily between Alberton and Pretoria,” said Swanepoel.

He invited Carte Blanche to send a camera crew with his trucks to record just how badly car drivers behave during peak­hour traffic, an invitation the pro­ ducers accepted gladly.

Samuel Makhathini, a former fuel truck driver said trucks do not congest the roads, as the smooth flow on South Africa’s busiest highway, the N3, shows.

“For 22 hours a day, there are more trucks on the N3 than cars and on aver­ age they maintain a slow but constant flow. Too often it is when a too­fast car collides with a truck that the road gets blocked.

“Private drivers need to leave their rage at home if we are to bring down our death toll on the roads,” said Makha­ thini.

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WitnessWheels MOTORING

July 16, 2015

Meet the future family car ALWYN VILJOEN continues to rave about the single most important car of the 20th century WHEN Wheels first reported on Stella, the solar­powered family car built by students in Solar Team Eindhoven (STE) from the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in October 2013, we raved about it.

When Stella became road legal in July last year, we repeated our wonder, say­ ing “the students’ main achievement was ‘making a solar­powered family sa­ loon that is ready to go on sale in the real world”.

The students last week presented their sleeker, complete solar­powered wonder to the world.

Now called Stella Lux, this solar­ powered car generates more power than it uses.

Stop. Re­read the sentence above.

Sure, it sounds like a perpetual power machine and the totals are theoretical, but on balance the Stella Lux is energy­ positive, which means it goes at least 1 000 km on a fully­charged battery pack.

The team plan to prove this by com­ peting in the Cruiser Class of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia on October 18, 2015.

Solar Team Eindhoven has set itself

Solar Team Eindhoven’s students with Stella Lux, a family car in which forms follows function to deliver a different type of streamlined design.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED the goal of developing the car of the future.

By combining the aerodynamic de­

The interior of the Stella Lux is more spartan than luxurious, but as it was designed by Millenials, it has the obligatory seven­inch display screen and a docking station for a tablet, as well as funky LED lights along the white strips that function as warning lights.

PHOTO: YOUTYUBE SCREEN GRAB

sign with lightweight materials like car­ bon and aluminium, the Eindhoven student team have once again come up with a very energy­efficient design.

Stella Lux can reach a range of 1 000 km on a sunny day in the Nether­ lands.

Excess energy can be returned to the power grip, helping to deal with societal problems relating to the use of energy.

This year the student team are once again taking part in the biennial Bridge­ stone World Solar Challenge in Austra­ lia.

The race for solar­powered cars cov­ ers a distance of 3 000 km, and goes right through the heart of the outback from Darwin to Adelaide.

The Eindhoven team compete in the Cruiser Class for family cars. Here the emphasis is on building a practical, us­ er­friendly solar­powered car, rather than on pure speed.

The team won the Cruiser Class title in 2013 with its first car, Stella. This year’s race places more emphasis on speed than in 2013, which is why they

have decided to build a new and lighter car with fewer seats, while still going for a fully­fledged family car.

“By deciding to further improve on our solar­powered four­person car, we’re once again aiming to win while at the same time proving that this ener­ gy­positive family car offers a viable fu­ ture scenario”, said Solar Team Eind­ hoven’s team manager Tom Selten.

After the World Solar Challenge the adventure doesn’t stop for the students.

After Australia there will be a tour

through the Netherlands, China and maybe the USA in collaboration with the sponsors.

“With Stella Lux we want to take the next step in bringing a solar car to the consumer.

“Therefore we want to show Lux to as many people as possible and we hope to inspire them.

“We see a future where everybody drives a solar car, where all cars produce energy instead of consuming it,” said Selten.

V TOM SELTEN Team manager, Solar Team Eindhoven

“We see a future where everybody drives a solar car, where all cars produce energy instead of consuming it.”

Thomas Schaefer, managing director of Volkswagen Group South Africa, Richard Reid, head of engine plant, Antonio Pinto, production director as well as employees from the engine plant, Rabia Coetzee, Misiwe Mzizi, Xolisa Manziya, and Zisiwe Benelwa stand next to the 650 000th EA111 engine that was produced at the Volkswagen manufacturing factory in Uitenhage.

PHOTO: QUICKPIC

Uitenhage engines power Polos in countries around the world VOLKSWAGEN’S engine plant in Uitenhage made its 650 000th EA111 engine, which are used in the Polo, on Friday.

The Polo Vivo has been the top­selling passenger model in South Africa since its launch in 2010. To date over 175 000 units have been sold in South Africa.

The production of the EA111 engines at the Uitenhage manu­ facturing factory started in 2010,

the same year the Polo Vivo and Polo, which also used the EA111 engines until June 2014, were launched in South Africa.

“Nearly 70% of the engines that we will produce in 2015 will be exported to our international manufacturing factories in Chi­ na, Malaysia, India and Mexico.

“In the past few years, we have invested in new technology and people to ensure that our engine

plant can meet the growth de­ mand and adhere to the Volks­ wagen world class quality stan­ dards. Our engine plant is now capable of producing an engine every two minutes,” said Thom­ as Schaefer, managing director of the Volkswagen Group South Africa.

Last year, the engine plant celebrated the production of two million engines overall.

Drivers with road rage required America’s Megabots (left) has challenged Japan’s Suidobashi to a giant robot duel. Each team have until June 2016 to prepare — setting the rules of engagement, including weapons fighting as well as hand­to­hand fights and preparing the robots to break these rules. The Megabot is slow but steady on tank­style tracks, with a driver and a gunner to shoot oversized paint balls hard enough to shatter car windows. The Kuratas is faster on quad wheels and has a pilot equipped with humanoid hands and arms to fight Avatar­style battles, as well as a heads­up display that keeps its guns trained on target.

Guns? Aye, they include twin Gatling BB cannons that fire 6 000 BB pellets per minute, and a fairly water cannon that randomly fires floppy missiles.

Choose your alliances at http://www.megabots.com or suidobashijuko.jp PHOTO: SUPPLIED

MOTORING WitnessWheels

July 16, 2015

3

Another blip to the end

Guess the wheels #4

TVR joins trend towards a fundamental re­think of the way cars are made ALWYN VILJOEN IT is my grimly happy hobby to mark the blips on the radar screen that spell out the end of the car trade as we know it.

Grim, because the car trade as we know it puts food on my ta­ ble.

Happy, because I predict that car design will become a lot more personal in order to sell a lot more units to our many mil­ lions of children in whatever shape or form their little hearts desire, from single, self­balan­ cing small wheels to family cars like the Stella Lux on the oppo­ site page.

With 9,5 billion people ex­ pected by 2050, of whom 70% will be living in cities, personal transport will perforce have to be small, last­mile units, as con­ gestion will force most people in or onto smaller transport devi­ ces. But the same number of people will then want to express and extend their individuality with their wheels, as we are do­ ing today. Many of these wheels will be more for show than for use — again, just like we are do­ ing today.

The latest blip on the radar screen that confirms my predic­ tions came from the British sports car maker TVR. A resuscitated TVR recently signed up for Gordon Murray’s

Les Edgar, chairperson of TVR, and Durban’s car­design legend Gordon Murray, after the announcement that Murray’s iStream design will be used to make new TVR cars.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED car­factory­in­a­container idea — itself a major blip on my radar in 2009.

Regular Wheels readers will recall that Murray had then tried to interest the world in his City Car, which he could build any­ where easily, using his registered iStream technology, which is ba­ sically the process racers use to build cars for the track.

Murray states on his website that iStream “will be the biggest

revolution in high­volume auto­ motive manufacturing since Henry Ford introduced the pro­ duction line over a century ago”.

He uses longer words to ex­ plains why iStream is a funda­ mental re­think of the way cars are designed, developed and manufactured, but it is basically a three­step process.

Step one is to weld a roll cage in the shape the customer wants.

Step two adds a drivetrain and

wheels. Step three is to bolt on the panels to finish off the cus­ tomer’s dream, and deliver.

In each step, Murray adheres religiously to Colin Chapman’s maxim: “just add lightness”.

Backdraft Racing in Aman­ zimtoti and Neil Woolridge Mo­ tors in Pietermaritzburg follow similar processes to built classic Cobra lookalikes and Dakar rac­ ing Rangers that sell for up to four million rand.

A competent team can do the work in any garage or even a 20­ foot container. This is bad news for the big car factories that build too many cars for too few buyers just to qualify for billions in tax subsidies. They will be re­ placed by smaller shops that build transport as specified by buyers, be it a cheap and reliable electric one­seater, or an old­ fashioned, petrol­burning V8 like the TVR. The news that Murray, who achieved fame for his F1­win­ ning McLaren, is designing the TVR sports cars has generated a lot of excitement.

Les Edgar, chairperson of TVR, said his management team was totally blown away by the re­ action to a new TVR with a light chassis, Cosworth V8 up front, and a manual gear box sending power to the rear. “Our phone lines and online inquiry system went into meltdown when the news was announced, and we de­ cided that we must begin to bring a structure to the inquiries and build a delivery pipeline well in advance of production.”

A deposit of £5 000 (about R97 066) secures a car, with pro­ duction having started earlier this month.

This TVR blip on my radar heralds a future in which our children’s children will know of no other way to get a dream car.

CONGRATULATIONS to Donovan Fourie from Hilton, who won the all­weather jacket that Wheels re­ ceived at Chery Tiggo’s 12 Passes Challenge.

Most Wheels readers obviously need only a glance to name any eighties car, and several of you even reminded us of the overseas variations of the Austin/Leyland/ Morris Marina — a dismal little se­ dan that reminds one just how good modern cars have become.

To make things a lot trickier for Guess the Wheels #4, we present this wheeled contraption from the 1800s. A hint that may — ahem — STEAM up the windows even more: It was designed for military use. All answers accepted for a chance to win a credit­card size memory stick. The judges look for­ ward to your most befuddled guesses and while their decision is final, correspondence may be entered into. The winner will be announced in the next edition of Wheels. E­mail your guess to alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za

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WitnessWheels MOTORING

July 16, 2015

Good news and bad news Chev’s top­seller just got to look a whole lot better, but that’s not where the specials will be ALWYN VILJOEN THERE is good news and bad news regarding the Chevrolet Cruze.

The good news is that you can expect very good specials on the current model. The bad news is that a newer Cruze launched last month and it’s bigger, but 113 kg lighter. It also comes with swoop­ ing curves that make the current Cruze look strait­laced — a bit like 50 Shades of Grey against a Grey College fifties yearbook.

This is because the design of the current Cruze goes back a bit, all the way to 2006, when GM Daewoo in South Korea played a leading role in the design and en­ gineering of the Cruze, along with GM’s German­based Opel division.

Millions like it Still, the new Cruze has big boots to fill. Since its 2008 global launch, the current iteration has sold over three million models in more than 118 markets.

In the 10 main markets for the Cruze, China’s millions have, over the years, mopped up four in 10 of all the Cruzes made, fol­ lowed by the Americans, who bought three more and also made

As the name implies, the Cruze is for cruising and it is when you drive like a man who pays for his own petrol that the proven 1,4 mill comes into its own, effort­ lessly pulling the compact sedan with all 200 Newtons from a low 1 850 rpm.

The 2016 Cruze (left) is like 50 Shades of Grey and makes the outgoing Cruze (right) look like a fifties Grey College yearbook by comparison. But as 50 Shades teaches, strait­laced hides a lot of satisfaction in unexpected places …

PHOTO: QUICKPIC it the 2014 Fleet Car of the Year.

We South Africans also did our share, buying a very respectable 27 000 Cruzes — almost one percent of all Cruze sales — de­ spite our market being minuscule in world terms.

And the old Cruze will not be making life easy for the new boy, as dealers will bend over back­ wards to flog you the last of the current model, adding all the ex­ tras that make outgoing models such relative bargains.

Handy to have Top­end models of the 2016

Cruze will have the first wireless charging Active Phone Cooling feature, with an air vent to cool the charging bin. Because cooler phones last longer, don’t you know?

But one extra that is still good to get is Chev’s MyLink CCR, with a colour touch­screen dis­ play that is this vehicle’s shining technological beacon. It is com­ patible with most smartphones and allows you to stream your music via Bluetooth. You can also access your play lists, music and much more through the easy­to­ use USB port.

I actually preferred taking calls over the car than on the smart­ phone’s crappy speaker and I real­ ly don’t see what Chev can add to the MyLink without just mak­ ing the system bulkier and slower, as has happened with iTunes.

Also handy to have are the USB charger, humidity­sensing air conditioning and cruise control.

All in the name The current Cruze 1,4 SL auto­ matic is no charger. I could not get it to do 0­100 km/h under 14 seconds.

Among modern cars, this is

glacial acceleration, but afore ye judge, there are extenuating fac­ tors. The automatic 1,4 Cruze car weighs 1 873 kg in its socks, with 60 litres of petrol add another 44 kg, while my svelte self and as­ sorted man bags take the Cruze’s “wet” weight to over two tons.

To speed up all this weight, the 1,4 turbo makes “only” 103 kW from around 5 000 rpm, which means at the start of the 0­100 km/h dash, my right foot liberated only a smidgen of a Watt to move each of my extra­ fat kilograms. Watts are not, however, what the Cruze is about.

Watch the space These 200 Newtons make for pleasing acceleration in second gears, which is what you need in city traffic, and allow the engine to only sip at cruising speeds.

Driven thus, the service inter­ vals are 12 months or 15 000 km, with a service plan of three years or 60 000 km included in the price, as is Chevrolet’s warranty and roadside assistance for five years or 120 000 km.

When Chevrolet dealers an­ nounce special deals on the now strait­laced Cruze to make space for the curvy Cruze, you could do a lot worse than have a look. For as 50 Shades teaches, strait­laced hides a lot of satisfaction in unex­ pected places.

Cruze pricing L 1,6 R230 400 LS 1,6 R247 200 LS 1,4 turbo R262 500 LS 1,4 auto R272 400 • alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za

More standard features in the 2015 Corolla

Fiat’s little big crossover

Toyota has added to the standard kit of the Corolla, with all models now getting Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) as standard. The mid­spec 1,6 Sprinter includes Toyota’s award­winning multimedia touchscreen display with reverse monitor and guidelines. All Corollas from the entry­level Esteem up also get Bluetooth functionality and steering wheel switches. Prices start at R230 500 for the 1,3 Esteem and tops out at R302 500 for the 1,8 Exclusive CVT. PHOTO: QUICKPIC

Following hot on the heals of the Jeep Renegade, which it underpins, the new Fiat 500X has arrived in SA. Initially only available with the 1,4 l Cross, a limited number of buyers can get the six­speed DDCT transmission, while the balance can change gears in the quite smooth six­speed manual transmission.

Pricing starts at R344 900 and R359 900 respectively. Weekend Witness reports AMIL UMRAW’s driving impressions of the Fiat crossover.

PHOTO: QUICKPIC

New aftermarket adds­ons promise safer driving BEN COXWORTH GERMAN engineering firm Hoffman and Krippner, in co­op­ eration with Guttersberg Con­ sulting, has announced a fatigue­ sensing steering wheel that can be added to any car to monitor a driver’s grip.

The technology is based on the fact that when people drive and are reasonably alert, they’re con­ stantly applying pressure to the wheel and/or moving their hands along it. If someone should fall asleep, have a heart attack or oth­ erwise lose consciousness, that pressure will lessen and their hands will move less.

The actual device consists of a thin strip of sensors developed

by Guttersberg Consulting that is applied to the inside rim of a manufacturer’s existing steering wheel, beneath the leather (or other) covering. That “Senso­

foil” strip is made up of thin lay­ ers of foil, that have a weak elec­ trical current running through them.

When pressure is applied and causes the layers to touch one an­ other, it creates a short circuit be­ tween those layers, much in the same way that a resistive touch­ screen works.

A microprocessor keeps track of the intensity, frequency and lo­ cation of those shorts, and uses it to establish a typical driving pattern for the user. When they deviate from it significantly, the car will then alert them to wake up and pull over.

Additionally, the system could be programmed to feature up to 10 “hot spots” on the wheel, which the driver could touch to activate features such as enter­ tainment or communications controls.

The company states its wheel

A new fatigue­sensing steering wheel from Germany works even if drivers wear gloves.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED is less sensitive to factors such as dirt, sweat and temperature changes; it works even when the driver is wearing gloves; and it detects pressure changes incre­ mentally, as opposed to all or

nothing.

Heads up!

Despite concerns that they may actually make driving less safe, heads­up displays (HUDs) could eventually be standard equip­

ment on most cars.

Alongside the HUDs offered

by Garmin, Navdy and Head­ sUP!, Canadian company Iris is now also offering a 720 p laser projection unit that mounts on the existing visor bracket, which is joined by a pair of arms to a flip­down transparent screen.

Unlike the Hudway app, which simply reflects the phone’s screen on the inside of the windshield, the Iris uses a screen that fixes to the windshield, displaying data that’s projected onto it while still allowing a view of the street be­ yond.

It also has its own visor, which can be flipped down to serve the sun­blocking function of the car’s removed visor when needed.

Using an iOS/Android app, the user’s smartphone can connect with Iris via Bluetooth.

The device can then do things like displaying incoming call info

or other messages, displaying turn­by­turn GPS­guided direc­ tions, or alerting users if they’re exceeding the speed limit in their current geographical location.

Its voice recognition system al­ so allows users to place hands­ free calls, while its gesture recog­ nition tech lets drivers accept or reject calls by swiping their fin­ gers through the air in one way or the other.

Even if not synced with a phone, Iris can still communicate with the car’s onboard computer to display the current speed, fuel consumption, and other vehicle­ related data.

The Vancouver­based design­ ers of Iris are now raising produc­ tion funds on Indiegogo.

A pledge of $299 (R3 721) will currently get you a unit, when and if they’re ready to go.

The planned retail price is $499. — Gizmag.

July 16, 2015

MOTORING WitnessWheels

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WitnessWheels MOTORING

July 16, 2015

Racing around in a Mini­Me Harrington’s low­cost cars are small and timid enough to stage a mini Grand Prix in your backyard STU ROBARTS THE Harrington Group’s half­scale cars have been around for 13 years, with the entire fleet of classic look­alikes being completely re­engineered two years ago and a new level of sophistication added to the designs.

These are not cheap toys, however, with the base race car starting at £6 995 — about R135 300.

The latest release of a two­thirds scale 1960s Lotus 25 F1 lookalike could prove to be much more than just an exquisite toy for the wealthy though.

For compared to a “grown up” race car, these pint­ size models are low cost and they could form the basis for a whole new sport with more relevance than karts. For there’s something very endearing about a half­scale car that attracts the fans, and they are small and timid enough to stage a mini Grand Prix in your own backyard.

If you need to convince the boy’s mother, tell her these wee cars make an ideal initial experience for a child to develop a first­hand relationship with iner­ tia, momentum, yaw and traction when the human learning system is at its most receptive and can be calibrated for life.

Those childhood lessons don’t just apply to going racing, because like riding a bicycle, once the skills have been imprinted on the brain at an early age, you’ll never forget what to do when your car starts to get sideways on a wet or icy public road several decades hence. Think of it as an insurance policy for your beloved “works replicas”.

They also make a very good investment. Harring­ ton’s older cars regularly fetch far more at auction than they did new. That’s mainly due to people being unaware that unlike the aforementioned full­scale ex­ otica which was only produced in limited quantities many decades ago, the Harrington Group still produ­ ces half­scale cars and has significantly upgraded the sophistication of the newer product compared to the

Talking to Nathan Redfearn leaves me in no doubt as to what they handle like.

He’s a classic car constructor and aficionado and when he discusses the drivability of the cars, the passion shines through.

PHOTO: HARRINGTON GROUP slightly older go­kart­based cars which regularly ap­ pear at auction.

The company’s founder Nathan Redfearn began building go­karts as a kid in the UK, progressing through professional classic car restoration to the manufacture of kit cars before selling out his kit car company and beginning the current enterprise, Har­ rington.

The company manufactures classic car parts, inte­ rior refurbishment kits for classic cars, plus the junior cars. Along the way, the group’s manufacturing base became located in Vietnam.

“I built my first go­kart when I was 10, with the help of the local blacksmith in rural Pembrokeshire in Wales”, said Redfearn. “From there, I started build­ ing and restoring cars and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

R385 000

2015 Fortuner 3,0 D4D 4x2 Auto, 18 000 km

R355 000

2014 Fortuner 2,5 D4D 4x2 Auto, 7 000 km

R305 000

R299 000

2014 Hilux 3,0 D4D XC 4x2 SC LEGEND 45, 12 000 km

2014 Hilux 3,0 D4D XC 4x2, 12 000 km

R199 000

R175 000

2014 Hilux 2,0 VVTi, 39 000 km

2014 Corolla 1,4D Esteen, 26 000 km

R223 000

R219 000

2015 Corolla 1,3 Prestige, 17 000 km

we could make them more affordably.”

Currently, the Harrington Group produces four models based on the new model architecture it has developed: the Cobra 289 (which looks for all the world like Shelby American’s classic 289 ci AC Co­ bra), the 250 California Spyder (which looks just like a Ferrari GT 250 California Spyder), the GB Spirit (an Aston Martin DB5 comes to mind) and the XK120 (with the gorgeous traditional lines of the Jaguar XK120).

All four of the car­based models use the same chas­ sis, with sophisticated suspension that is fully­ad­ justable independent at both ends. The cars all have a limited slip diff, vented dual pot Brembo disc brakes front and rear and aluminum wheels and 12 volt elec­ trics. A 5 kW, 120 cc four­stroke motor made by Lonc­ in or Lifan can power the about 200 kg cars to 72 km/ h.

“For those who are starting out a young child in their first car, the engines can be restricted in power at the factory, or a 70 cc motor can be installed, which is quite a bit slower,” said Redfearn.

The engine and gearbox unit sourced from Loncin/ Lifan uses a three­speed (plus reverse), semi­auto­ matic transmission with a sequential gear change and is employed by a number of manufacturers in producing quad bikes. There is even a spare wheel in the boot.

Redfearn is now concentrating on bringing one of his pet projects to life: the two­thirds­scale Lotus 25 F1 car.

“Our aim was to produce a new class of racing car,” he said.

“I wanted to create something similar to a kart in terms of size and cost, but something far more relevant to the real world than a kart which has no suspension, a solid rear axle, no diff, no gears, rudi­ mentary brakes and clutch … karts really have very little in common with a real racing car.”

Unlike karts, the F1 car is blessed with four­wheel disc brakes with four­pot calipers (with dual circuit, bias­adjustable hydraulics), fully­independent and fully adjustable suspension on each corner, limited slip differential and Harrington even developed its own cross­ply tires to enhance the sixties­style han­ dling characteristics.

Redfearn leaves me in no doubt as to what they handle like. He’s a classic car constructor and aficion­ ado and when he discusses the drivability of the cars, the passion shines through.

“Compared to a real kart, they’re heavy and under­ powered in standard form, but with the handling, suspension and brakes, they’re often much faster around a rough circuit. The road cars all drift beauti­ fully, but the HG F1 car is another level again. It’s a thoroughbred with balance and feel. It’s exactly what we set out to create.” — Gizmag.

2015 Corolla 1,3 Prestige, 12 000 km

R225 000

2015 Auris 1,6 Xi, 8 000 km

Harrington’s stainless steel retro­car bumper business began first and resulted from Redfearn’s years of experience restoring classic cars and recog­ nising the opportunities in the marketplace. “Buying bumpers for classic cars was either very expensive or impossible before we started production of our stainless steel bumpers,” he told us. “You will never see a Citroen DS with rusty bumpers or a Rolls Royce with a rusty grille because those parts were made on the original vehicles from stainless steel, so we chose to make our bumpers in stainless steel too.

“In 2002, we invested in the presses and tooling to produce stainless steel bumpers, and we now pro­ duce bumpers for over 300 classic cars plus kick plates, headlights housings, grills, and even fuel tanks, and the classic parts business has grown expo­ nentially,” he continued. “We’re now shipping more then 300 sets of bumpers every month and as the interest in classic cars grows, so does our business.”

It all started when he bought his nephew a rather expensive half­scale Mercedes. “I drove home with it in the back of the truck, constantly looking over my shoulder at it and thinking about how this and that could be improved, and by the time I got home, I knew I could do much better than the car I’d just bought.

“When I moved to Vietnam, I started restoring scooters and cars and making parts for classic cars and I then began building the scaled cars too, hop­ ing that one of the endeavors would work. Surpris­ ingly, they all worked and we’ve experienced in­ creasing success every year for the last 13 years.”

As Redfearn has found, the half­scale car market is something like the McDonalds food business in reverse. Whereas children are the invisible driv­ ers of business for the fast food chain, adults are the primary force behind buying decisions in the scale car marketplace.

In 2010, Redfearn decided to stop producing first generation models, as it had become too cost­ ly. “I can remember having a conversation with my cousin about the decision, and he was so pas­ sionate in arguing that ‘you can’t stop producing them’ because they were so beautiful and gave so much joy to children and … then luck played a role.

“No sooner had we made a decision to stop the production than the very next day one of the tech blogs in the United States, Like Cool, ran an post about our cars and other blogs started to pick the story up and it went viral,” said Redfearn.

“We were suddenly getting over 200 enquiries a day. Inside a few weeks of those stories, we had two years of confirmed orders. Obviously that changed our perspective, so we decided to com­ pletely redesign the cars so they could be what we’d always wanted them to be — much more so­ phisticated technologically — yet design them so

R196 990

2014 Auris 1,6 Xi, 33 000 km

Visit Mascor Toyota Greytown,

1 Dr Wessesl Drive, Greytown • Tel: 033 413 1593 Wendy: 072 193 7374 • Renesh: 072 283 5263 • Nelson: 076 481 3558 www.automark.co.za • Terms and Condtions apply Images for illustration purpose only

The first generation of Harrington’s half­scale cars in front of Vespa scooters help put the size of the cars into perspective.

PHOTO: HARRINGTON GROUP

MOTORING WitnessWheels

July 16, 2015

7

Mom’s taxi also does dust BRIAN BASSETT drives the Renault Duster1.5 dCi Dynamique Manual.

I HAVE wanted to drive the Ren­ ault Duster for some while now but every time Renault Pieterma­ ritzburg put one into demo, it is sold before I could get to the deal­ ership. On one occasion the deal­ ership phoned and suggested I come across immediately, as their latest demo had just arrived.

By the time I reached them it had been sold. Such is the mar­ keting power of relevance and good value. These days ever more compact urban SUVs can be seen running around SAs increasingly crowded cities taking on the school run and high­sided pave­ ments. The Duster is very much a cut above these with its capaci­ ty to go off­road with ease, as well as being a very useful city car.

Recently I beat the customers to the latest demo Duster and am grateful to Yagan Padayachee, new car sales manager at McCarthy Renault Pietermaritz­ burg, for allowing me to spend a few days with the car.

Styling The Duster looks like no other Renault and has its roots in Ren­ ault’s Romanian subsidiary, Da­ cia. However, the right­hand drive version sold into the SA market is a world car for Renault and bolted together in India.

The Duster has a macho pro­ file bolstered with oversized headlamps, square lines and a high ride height with clearance of 210 mm. The projecting wheel arches and oversize headlamps underline its chunky masculinity.

Despite the somewhat squat nature of the design the Duster has a sleek, muscular quality, which makes it stand out in any parking area, assisted by its im­ posing front grill, skid plates and satin chrome roof rails.

At the rear the large rear light pods dominate the design and the square, generously­propor­ tioned rear door opens upward and allows for easy loading.

The overall impression is rein­ forced by the five­spoke 16­inch alloys which compliment the de­ sign ethic of the vehicle.

Interior As one of the lowest­priced SUVs in the market you can’t expect the interior to be all soft leather and subdued lighting. What you get, however, is a spacious, comforta­ ble and practical interior, which is well designed and well specced.

power to get you out of trouble if needed and if driven sensibly will give you around 9 l/100 km.

The Duster is not a fast car, if you want one of those buy the 162 kW Megane GT Turbo. It is however a safe family car, which will take you to 100 km/h in 12 seconds and has a maximum speed of about 170 km/h.

I took the car onto the unfor­ giving Karkloof forest tracks on Sunday morning. For a 2x4 vehi­ cle it showed a remarkable off­ road agility and an appetite for rutted roads which would be the envy of many of its competitors.

On Saturday night, I drove to the home of friends in Balgowan and came back at about 10 pm.

The combined performance of the Duster’s double­barrel head­ lamps and fog lamps made night driving on bad roads easy.

Renault use hard grades of plastic on the interior, but this is well fitted and is likely to be around in untarnished form in 10 years or more, even after your children have kicked and pum­ melled the car’s interior during numerous holidays and after doz­ ens of school rugby matches.

The dashboard is also practical with clear large gauges in front of the driver and easy­to­use, stick­mounted controls for lights and wipers. Just behind the typi­ cal, Renault adjustable steering wheel is a control for the media and radio, while the air­condi­ tioning system is controlled from the central stack and reaches both front and rear passengers.

The major dashboard feature is the touch screen, which con­ trols the satnav system, Blue­ tooth, USB ports and satellite controls. There are also plugs for all your family’s electronic toys.

The Duster really scores when it comes to interior space. There is ample room for five adults, al­ though those in front may have to adjust their seats somewhat to enhance rear comfort. Access and egress is easy for old people

like me — so if grandpa goes along on holidays he will be able to manage easily. Windows are all electric; although I found it strange the control for operat­ ing the side mirrors was below the gear lever. The boot is an­ other pleasant surprise, offer­ ing 475 litres of storage space with the seats up and a huge 1 570 litres of space with the rear seats folded down in 60/40 fashion.

taxi and commuter. The steering is direct and sensitive, while the high ride and good all­round visi­ bility, as well as the rear park as­

sist makes for easy parking and maneuvering in traffic. The tur­ bo­charged 1,5 l, 80 kW/240 Nm diesel engine provides enough

Costs, guarantees and the opposition The Duster comes in four mod­ els. The entry level i.6 Expression sells at around R210 000. The model I drove will cost you about R250 000, while the top of the range four­wheel drive retails at about R268 000.There is also a five­year/150 000 km mechanical warranty, a three­year/45 000km service plan and a six­year anti­ corrosion warranty. Also have a look at Ford Ecosport, Daihatsu Terios and Kia Soul.

Safety and security The Duster has everything you need in the safety area. ABS with EBD, seatbelts for all, four airbags with a deactivation for the passenger airbag. There is also an Electronic Stability Pro­ gram and an Electronic Brake effort Proportioning Program linked to the ABS. The usual child­proof locks and attach­ ments for child seats to interna­ tional standards are available and the car has central locking and an on­board alarm system.

Performance and handling The Duster is a pleasure to drive in town. It is an ideal mom’s

Two­car special on halo Mégane BRIAN BASSETT THE Renault Mégane is the halo model of the Renault line­up, with its cutting­edge design and futuristic styling.

And right now, McCarthy Renault Pietermaritzburg has only two of these vehicles left and is offering very attractive deals in order to put them in your garage.

The GT turbo is Renault’s response to clients who want a high level of performance without sacrificing comfort and practicality. In the case of the coupé version, distinc­ tion is combined with cut­ ting­edge French design and the result is a vehicle, which, with its sports­specific GT bumpers and 18­inch alloy wheels, will attract attention

wherever it goes. The car is all sport and sophistication, and receives credibility from its 162 kW, 340 Nm, two­litre engine.

Zero to 100 km/h comes up in 7,5 seconds and top speed is 240 km/h — an exhilarating combination of speed and style.

The GT Turbo has not ne­ glected safety. The Mégane GT Turbo has ABS with EBD, six air bags, Isofix child­seat anchors and a long list of safety features to pro­ tect the driver and passengers should they decide to use the car’s considerable power.

The GT Turbo has an inte­ rior tailored for comfort and luxury. The two­tone leather seats are adjustable at the front, and at the back two

passengers can be accommo­ dated in comfort. The car has a multimedia system that in­ tegrates media systems with Bluetooth and satnav and is operated via a touchscreen.

A hi­tech hands­free card unlocks, starts and locks the car remotely, and the theme of hi­tech responses to the owners needs is carried throughout the vehicle.

Renault Pmb offers the Mégane GT Turbo with a complete package of extras at a very good price. If you have a trade in, discuss your needs with them. Who knows, you could find yourself driving one of the iconic Renaults of the 21st century and your family will love you for it.

• Phone Yagan Padayachee at 084 555 7456 for details.

Save R20 000 on a Duster Dynamique dCi from only R232 900 and experience the quality of a brand new Renault - for less! Visit www.renault.co.za for more, or visit your nearest dealership today as this amazing offer is valid for this month only.

*Save R20 000 on the Duster 1.5 Dynamique dCi, offer applicable on the retail price of R252 900. Retail price in accordance with July 2015 price list. Price excludes “on the road” costs. Terms and Conditions apply. Features are modelspecific and may vary. Offer is valid for this month only, while stocks last.

McCARTHY RENAULT PIETERMARITZBURG 9 Armitage Road • Tel: 033 341 7600 • www.renaultpmb.co.za

Yagan Padayachee 084 555 7456

Andries (Sbu) Hadebe 082 672 6618

Darryl Smith 078 120 6861

Hector Mkhwanazi 078 739 6392

Gerard Chetty 071 192 1609

*Terms and conditions apply. Repayments calculated on balloon of 35%, over 72 months, at 10,25% linked interest rate with )% deposit. Subject to bank approval. Excludes mandatory on-road charges and metallic paint. Vehicles depicted may differ to actual models. While stocks last. Above offers available for the month of July 2015. E&OE.

8

WitnessWheels MOTORING

PHOTO: QUICKPIC

Volkswagen goes international with Spirit of Africa VOLKSWAGEN Commercial Vehicles is taking the Spirit of Af­ rica Trophy to an international stage, by inviting teams from Australia, Namibia and Botswa­ na to compete against South Af­ rican winners in the inaugural Spirit of Amarok international competition in Botswana from September 13 to 17, 2015.

“We have taken a decision to go international with the Spirit of Africa Trophy to mark our six years of sponsorship, as well as eleven years of the competition by inviting teams from our neighbouring countries, Nami­ bia and Botswana and our sport arch­rivals Australia,” said Jaco Steenekamp, general manager: sales and marketing for Volks­ wagen Commercial Vehicles.

Steenekamp added: “Our as­ sociation with the competition

and rally legend Sarel van der Merwe has been tremendous in promoting the Amarok brand and showcasing its offroad capa­ bilities to the thousands of par­ ticipants that we have hosted since Amarok’s introduction in 2010.”

Each country will be repre­ sented by five teams, each com­ prising two people that will be showcasing their technical off­ road driving skills in the toughest 4x4 challenge in Africa.

“The international competi­ tion will be hard core and more technical to ensure that we chal­ lenge and test the 4x4 skills of the participating teams. Each of the five days of the competition will have different challenges.

The results from each day will not be communicated to the teams until at the prize giving ceremony

on the last day of the competi­ tion,” explained Sarel van der Merwe, the host of the competi­ tion. “This will make the compe­ tition more exciting and in­ triguing to the teams.”

The top five teams to represent South Africa at the 2015 Spirit of Amarok Trophy will be decided from the 20 teams that will be contesting in the local finals in August at the Kwalata Game Re­ serve in Botswana. The top 20 fi­ nalists emerged from 500 com­ peting teams at the 2015 Spirit of Africa Trophy elimination rounds in Zeerust, which took place between April and June.

“This year saw the highest number of entries that we have ever had in the 11­year history of the competition. We expect the entries to increase to over 600 teams in 2016. This is due to the

popularity of the competition and proximity of Zeerust to Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalan­ ga and Free State, making it easy for participants to travel to the competition venue,” said Van der Merwe.

During the elimination rounds, each group of the 20 teams tackle different challenges over three days. The challenges include speed tests, reverse tests and off­road technical driving to determine the best and most pre­ cise drivers in the group.

The scores from all 500 teams are ranked to determine the top 20 teams that will progress to compete in the finals of the Spirit of Africa Trophy. The format for the Spirit of Amarok Interna­ tional Final will be similar to the local finals which are held over five days. — Supplied.

SA’s Perel survives initiation by fire at Mugello

July 16, 2015

Offroad kings to battle it out in the Berg Fourth round of KZN Cross­ country racing at Underberg

The Spec 4 Bat of Daniel Brooks and navigator Gavan Gray.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED MARCUS TAYLOR

FORMER South African karter David Perel and his Italian co­ driver Mirko Zanardini emerged better than they may have expected after a tough weekend’s racing at Mugello’s fourth round Italian GT Cup meeting.

The Peresoft Obox Bonaldi Lamborghini Gallardo duo started Race 2 from pole posi­ tion and despite suffering punctures and penalties, still emerged in strong champion­ ship contention with an eighth in Race 1 and what transpired to be fourth in Race 2 in what’s proving a most competitive series.

The weekend was an inter­ esting tale for Cape Town’s Perel, who had never seen the picturesque Tuscan racetrack prior to the weekend and it proved daunting following Fri­ day’s first practice: “It’s been a frustrating day at the office,” David reported after his first taste. “Mugello is a tough track to master and 10 laps were not enough to learn all the details, but I hope some sleep will help and tomorrow we will be closer …”

Well that sleep certainly must have made a difference.

Italian GT Cup qualifying sees one driver qualify for the first heat and the other driver chasing the second race grid slot, with Zanardini doing du­ ty and putting the Lamborghi­

A pole position, punctures and penalties make the Italian GT Cup debut of South Africa’s David Perel (above right) a weekend to remember.

PHOTO: PERESOFT OBOX ni fifth on that first grid be­ fore Perel came from nowhere to take pole position for the second race “Pole position in Mugello!

“I’m so, so happy!” David ad­ mitted after his flying lap.

“Yesterday was my most diffi­ cult day of the championship so to get pole is incredible.

“It’s going to be a tough weekend as the Porsches have a bit of an advantage over us here, but our target is to end race one fourth so we can get rid our time handicap and then we can go for the win on Sunday … ” Saturday’s race proved tougher than expected howev­ er, as Perel explains: “That was a difficult one! I came out

eighth when I took the car over from Mirko at the pit­ stop and fought my way up to fourth. But I had contact when attempting to take third.

The result was a puncture so I had to pit and we dropped down the order to eighth.

This one was my fault. I should have waited for the next corner, I had much more pace. Anyway tomorrow is an­ other day, we have great pace so best I use it in race two — tomorrow I make right.”

Perel did all he could to make good, setting the fastest lap of the race before handing his Gallardo GT3 over to team­mate Zanardini in the lead at half distance. But Mirko suffered a puncture and

then a pitlane speeding penal­ ty as he stopped to swap the wheel, which led to a drive though penalty and plummet­ ed the Peresoft Obox Bonaldi Lambo down the order.

Perel and Zanardini were however not alone in suffering penalties and the Lamborghini ended up fourth in Race 2 and just 10 points off the champi­ onship lead after a fraught rollercoaster weekend of racing “Phew — fourth in Race 2 is not as bad as it initially seemed!” a relieved Perel con­ cluded. “There is now a four­ week break till the next race where we hope to make amends — so it’s onwards to Vallelunga — we can’t wait!”

— Supplied.

SATURDAY sees Underberg hosting the fourth round of the KZN Cross­country racing championship, sponsored by Tip Top milk.

With a number of the regular national car entries from previ­ ous years switching back to the regional championship, the racing at the front of the field has become very competitive this year.

Over 30 entries have been re­ ceived so far and predicting who will emerge a winner is too difficult to call.

Leading the class A champi­ onship in their Spec 4 Bat are Daniel Brooks and navigator Gavan Gray. With an excellent run of good fortune and driv­ ing, they hold a comfortable lead, but with the normal inter­ ference of the racing gods any­ thing can happen. They will have strong opposition from a large class A field, including Reg Sutton in his Zarco Magnum, Clint Gibson driving a Porter, Don Thomson also in a Zarco, and Arthur Barns, who does not enjoy coming second.

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Class B is being led by myself and Trace Pricemoor driving a JRE, both of us having a com­ fortable lead thanks more to La­ dy Luck than anything else, as bad luck laid waste to our oppo­ sition this year. Bryant Meyer in his Spec 0 Bat is very quick, especially on terrain such as will be found in the Underberg area.

Rob Spencer in his Zarco is also no slouch and has found an ex­ tra boost of speed over the past couple of events.

With two­litre engines being the restriction in class B the rac­ ing will be very close racing and a number of other crews will be challenging for the lead.

The prologue is a short 17 km section to determine starting positions, with the main race comprising three laps of a very demanding 72 km course.

Quad bikes and clubman en­ tries will do only two laps.

• Racing starts at 8 am from the Underberg Country Club.

Very good spectating posi­ tions, not least the “Spencer jumps” along the Underberg to Himeville Road will make a visit to Underberg this weekend a very entertaining one.

CV JOINT SPECIALISTS

for CV joints, ball joints, tie rod ends, wheel bearings. @WitnessKZN

339 GREYLING STREET Pmb. 033 342 9174/75