ASH CAR SALES
June 25, 2015
GETTINGT DIZZY A DEZZI PAGE 8
Dealers in Superfine Exotic and Sports Cars Tel: 033 345 1971, 033 342 4717 Fax: 033 342 2900 - www.ashcarsales.co.za
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Mascor sells John Deere best Greytownbased Mascor credits its quality staff, services for bagging third dealer award in a row JOHN Deere South Africa has an nounced Mascor as its top dealer, while the Kokstad branch is also branch of the year in the Mascor group. Mascor CEO Bill Comins said this was the third year running that the Greytownbased company was awarded the Dealer of the Year title. He told Wheels the group’s area stretches from Kokstad on the KZN bor der with the Eastern Cape; to Malelane in Mpumalanga. Comins credited the quality staff, coupled with Mascor’s ability to finance the latest technology with the necessary parts for its knowledgeable farmers, for helping the group to be dealer of the year three years in a row. Mascor director of sales and market ing Francois Marais said just owning a John Deere saved farmers days in main tenance and repair time, compared to other tractors.
V FRANCOIS MARAIS, Mascor director of sales and marketing
“Using JDLink, out technicians can monitor a tractor on the field and we can tell a farmer keep an eye on idle machine time, or get our driver trainer in.” Marais said Mascor invests millions of rand each year to ensure there is an uptodate and qualified technician near every 50 selfpropelled units. In the very rare cases where the diagnostic system show a service issue not yet recorded on John Deere’s extensive database, the technician can access an engineer at head office within 20 minutes on a 24/7 basis through JDLink. This global intra net system logs technical data and cus tomer recommendations for all John Deere technicians to use.
“Using JDLink, our technicians can monitor a tractor on the field and we can tell a farmer keep an eye on idle ma chine time, or get our driver trainer in, or even implement guidance systems us ing our geosatellite positioning base stations. Marais said the mechanics’ ongoing training includes refresher courses every three years, as the technicians’ certifi cate automatically expires to ensure the staff on the ground are as up to date as the equipment being sold.
ROBOT TRACTORS Such constant training is vital to stay abreast of constant modernisation in farming, where Precision Farming has become the buzz word, with smart ploughs equipped to send signals to self steering tractors to ensure planting and spraying happens with 20 mm accura cies. Precisely turning a tractor to make a new furrow without any overlap of old tracks in KZN’s typically big fields saves at least 10% just in diesel and fertiliser
and then also renders bigger harvests, which is why more farmers across South Africa are opting to rent John Deere’s towers that relay satellite signals using the company’s Star Fire system. This system uses a constellation of GPS satellites to calculate the positions of each receiver mounted on towed units in a district real time, and then instructs planters to precisely place each seed, or sprayers to open a nozzle over exactly the right area. Dealer principal of Kokstad John Dee re, Gary Wells admits being the top branch of the top John Deere dealer in SA makes him the best in the business. He has just finished installing a tower near the town to spread precision farm ing into the Eastern Cape. Wells was optimistic about the R2 bil lion which rural development minister Guile Nkwinti recently announced in his budget speech in May to start agriparks.
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WitnessWheels MOTORING
June 25, 2015
There’s money in thar them movie props: The Nautilus car driven by Sean Connery in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen will go under the hammer for over R3 million. PHOTO: NEWSPRESS
6wheeled Nautilus car from adventure film to go under the hammer CAPTAIN Nemo’s sixwheeled Nautilus car from Sean Connery’s adventure movie The League of Extraordinary Gen tlemen will be sold by international auc tioneers Coys at their Blenheim Palace auction on July 11. Designed by production designer and art director Carol Spier and one of only two made, this fully functional and com plete vehicle was used throughout the film and features heavily on the promo tional posters. Its twin was rigged with
scaffolding for filming the actor’s close ups. Chris Routledge, managing partner of Coys, said: “We have a long tradition of selling film, television and celebrity cars, and having such a cool car from such a cool film is really exciting. We are offer ing an unrepeatable opportunity to ac quire one of the cars that actually ap peared in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and which will undoubtedly increase in value in years to come.”
The vehicle started life as a Land Rover fire tender, adapted via a steel frame with the addition of a Rover V8 engine. The chassis is covered in an intricate ivory coloured fibreglass shell and features a wealth of elaborate embellishments in an aged gold effect on both the exterior and interior. Inspiration for the decoration was taken from the Hindu god Ganesha and assorted flora and fauna. The interior is trimmed with faux leather and even fea
tures the original Land Rover dials. The wheels each measure 72 cm and hidden within the arches are hydraulics to adjust the ride height. The car retains most of its original functionality and shows signs of wear and evidence of run ning repairs from onset use. In spite of this wear, the car is in running condition. For the last few years, the car has been part of a large collection of movie props and costumes at Prop Store’s UK facility. The lowest estimate for its price tag is
£18 000 (R3,4 million). Stephen Lane, founder of Prop Store, said: “I bought the Nautilus from the film company after The League of Ex traordinary Gentlemen came out be cause I loved the car, loved the design and felt it was one of the most emotive vehicles I have ever seen, a true design icon. I have taken it to Essen, driven it at the Lord Mayor’s Show and now feel its time to let somebody else own it and enjoy it.” — Newspress.
Sharing a common dream Citroën to make and distribute Bolloré Bluesummer electric cars for young drivers to share ALWYN VILJOEN WHEELS recently reported how Chev rolet is testing carsharing habits at a university in China as the world’s car makers adapt to the next generation of buyers in the northern hemisphere who would rather share a ride than own a car. Now PSA Peugeot Citroën has an nounced it will make and distribute Bol loré Bluesummer electric cars for young drivers to share. The companies issued a statement that their strategic cooperation agree ment “reflects the two group’s shared commitment to sustainable mobility” and is also aligned with their “common goal of becoming a leading player in the carsharing market”. The statement predicts car sharing will account for a significant portion of the new mobility economy, alongside public transport solutions. The electric vehicle that will be dis
tributed by PSA Peugeot Citroën is the Bluesummer, a fourseat cabriolet de signed by Bolloré, with an urban driv ing range of 200 kilometres. The Bluesummer will be assembled at PSA Peugeot Citroën’s plant in Rennes from Sep The Bluesummer is a fourseat cabriolet designed by Bolloré and built by Citroën as the companies enter the strange new world of car sharing. PHOTO: SUPPLIED.
tember, with installed capacity of 15 vehi cles per day for a maximum of 3 500 ve hicles per year.
The two groups will initially put the car up for sharing in Europe and later via the creation of a joint venture de signed to deploy carsharing solutions worldwide. Bolloré has several electric ve hicles — the Bluecar, Blue summer, Bluebus and Bluetram — ready for future vehicle sharing schemes. It also oper ates an electric ve hicle car sharing network in several cities in France and abroad, via dedicated sub sidiaries. PSA Peugeot Cit
roën has set up various carsharing opera tions since 2013, with an offer designed for businesses in France and, via its Cit roën brand, in Germany (Multicity Ber lin). In addition, the Peugeot brand launched a shortterm rental offer in 2009 — Mu by Peugeot. Carlos Tavares, chairperson of the Managing Board of PSA Peugeot Citro ën commented: “The agreement signed between our two companies reflects the vision that Vincent Bolloré and I share of clean, sustainable mobility solutions that enable us to provide our customers with the freedom to get around, which we consider a fundamental right in to day’s society.” Vincent Bolloré, chairperson and CEO of Bolloré, said: “We are very proud of this partnership founded on in dustry, innovation and environmental stewardship. “It’s a step forward in the develop ment of massmarket electric vehicles.”
MOTORING WitnessWheels
June 25, 2015
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The Subaru Outback is not an SUV trying to handle like a car, but a station wagon that offers a car’s agility with an SUV’s space. PHOTO: QUICKPIC
For the tough sophisticate BRIAN BASSETT makes like Jack and Jill, but it was not a bucket he took to the top of a hill CAR writers like nothing better than un planned road trips and at Wheels we have done a few. I like to think my youthful jaunt along the Ibiza coastline in an opentop twoseater will take some top ping, but Wheels editor Alwyn Viljoen assures me a road trip in a Subaru Out back through Namibia will do that. It seems all Subaru drivers develop this fierce brand loyalty, but talking to farmer friends who drive them, this seems especially true among those who drive the Outback. As this is, after all, a station wagon on a raised body, I was very curious as to what could spark such loyalty, and was therefore grateful to Howard Christie, dealer principal of Subaru Pietermaritzburg at Camps Drift, for allowing me to spend several days with the Outback. STYLING Station wagons have gone out of fashion in lieu of the SUV and some manufactur ers have abandoned the long station wagon shape entirely. Not so Subaru, which soldiered on and now sells over four times more sta tion wagons than it does sedans. With a wide range of models from the rally proven WRX, the BRZ, as well as the For ester, XV hatch and Outback options, the buyer profile across the range could not be more diverse. The lines of Outback manage to com bine a sleek look with rugged purpose fulness. Its latest model gained slightly in width and length but still offers
ground clearance of 213 mm. Liberal use of cladding protects the front and the sides while sweptback headlight modules and fog lights on the frontend provide a slightly aggressive stance for the vehicle. Subaru have resisted the temptation to follow fashion and create a coupe line at the rear, resulting in more space for your stuff. The car has small quarter win dows just ahead of the colourcoded side mirrors, which are mounted on pedestals to minimise blind spots. At the rear a sensible light cluster on either side of the tailgate frames the rear end. The electric tailgate is itself easy to operate and the flat loading platform makes loading simple. INTERIOR The build quality of the interior, like that of the exterior, is excellent and the leath er seats fit big adults. They are electrical ly operated and can store different driv ers’ settings. At the back Subaru resisted the temp tation to cram in a third row of seats for halfsized humans, with the result that head and leg room are very good. Controls are straightforward, but note the centre console is voice activated and supported by a seveninch touch screen to manage standard luxuries like handling the 12speaker Harmon Kar don sound system. There are also plugs and interfaces for all your IT toys. The steering column adjusts until it fits all shapes while the flappy paddles on the steering column will please the
The exact moment Wheels editor Alwyn Viljoen discovered God created Namibia for the Subaru Outback. PHOTO: JAY GROAT sportier driver. The Outback is not a small car and I found the reversing cam era particularly useful. The boot offers 512 litres of space with the seats in place and 1 801 litres with the rear seats lowered. SAFETY AND SECURITY The Outback has fivestar European and Japanese safety ratings. The frame is spe cially reinforced to protect the passenger cabin, which provides spectacular all round visibility and this combined with the riding position, somewhat higher
than a car but not quite as high as a an SUV, creates a safe place to be when in traffic. Symmetrical AllWheel Drive is cen tral to the surefooted mountain goat persona of this vehicle. Then there is Ac tive Torque Vectoring, which reduces under steer during cornering by braking inside the front wheel and Hill Descent Assist, which makes driving safer for the offroaders among us. Braking has also been enhanced on the new model. Ac cess is keyless and there is a builtin alarm.
PERFORMANCE AND HANDLING The Outback 2.5iS Premium has a four cylinder, horizontally opposed Boxer en gine delivering 129 kW and 235 Nm via its tiptronic gearbox. The 100 km/h dash comes up in about 10,5 seconds and top speed is around 185 km/h. Fuel consumption is around 9 l/100 km, but if you drive the car off road this will increase. The Outback evolved from the Legacy sedan and where most SUVs struggle to present carlike handling, this has it in spades. Traction on all four wheels makes it as assured on gravel as it is on tarmac. In my five days with the car I drove over a variety of road surfaces including a slow enjoyable ascent of a hill on a farm in the Ladysmith area from the summit of which I had the most spectacular views over the Nambiti Game Reserve. At all times the car performed brilliantly and in a week I grew attached to it. PRICE, GUARANTEES AND THE OPPOSITION There are three models in the Outback lineup. The 2.5iS premium retails for about R480 000, the 2 l D Premium for R530 000 and the 3,6 l Rs Premium for R530 000. The package includes a 100 000 km manufacturer’s guarantee and a threeyear, 75 000 km mainte nance plan for the petrol vehicles and a similar 60 000 km maintenance plan for the diesels. There is not really any direct competition for the Outback, but also have a look at the Audi A4 Allroad and the Volvo XC70.
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WitnessWheels MOTORING
June 25, 2015
uMgungundlovu Taxi Council aims to ‘bring back hope’ to pupils uMGUNGUNDLOVU Regional Taxi Council held a schools’ out reach last week at Pietermaritz burg City Hall to donate school uniforms to needy pupils from different schools. The uMgungundlovu region
bought 527 full school uniforms and business partners added an other 550 sets. Regional chairperson Bheki Sokhela said at the event all 40 associations in Pietermaritzburg had contributed to donate the
uniforms, and the council had al so paid for a pupil who needed a blood transfusion. “We are doing this to bring back hope and confidence to you learners so that you may feel like the learners that come from
wealthy homes. “Please study hard so that you may be able to change the situa tion in your homes,” Sohhela ex horted the pupils. He said the council hoped to donate many more school uni
forms and also wanted to become involved in stopping youth from becoming addicted to drugs. Msunduzi Mayor Chris Ndlela thanked the taxi owners and driv ers for going the extra mile assist ing the pupils without expecting
anything in return. He noted it was not the first time for uMgungundlovu Re gional Taxi Council to reach out to the community and called on schools to support their taxi driv ers. — Witness Reporter.
The best car is a van Even I, the Van Man, could accelerate the big van from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 12 seconds ALWYN VILJOEN PRETORIA — Nicolette Lam brechts, vicepresident for Mer cedesBenz Vans, can be forgiven for describing the new VClass the best possible first impression a business can make. Before handing over the luxu rious vans to media representa tives for a first test drive, Lam brects said this was no van like the Viano, but the newest, largest member of the passenger car family from MercedesBenz, in corporating all the luxurious fea tures of the CClass. As a dyedinthewool Van Man who loved the power and space in the biggest Mercedes Benz Sprinter panelvan then on sale in South Africa, I rather hoped she was wrong. I like to tell people who ask what is the best bakkie to go buy a van, any van, as it encloses the load against weather and thieves, offers a low floor to facilitate loading and drinks less fuel than any bakkie. If Lambrechts was right about her van being like a car, I may have to adjust my an swer. It certainly is big Inside the VClass van there is room for up to eight people and I expected to see more of the same luxuries I know from the Vi ano. The luxurious interior of the VClass, however, adds a whole lot more highclass appeal, com fort. It even parks itself. There are three equipment lines: VClass Standard, VClass BlueTEC and VClass BlueTEC Avantgarde, plus an Exterior Sports package and an Interior Design package available for each of the three lines, as well as a host of optional extras. The keyhole sits on the left of the steering column, and the au tomatic gear lever is on the right, where other vehicles have a indi cator stalk. You don’t use these much, as stateoftheart radar, camera and ultrasound sensors help you park and cruise in the VClass. Should the winds blow strong on your passage, there is Cross wind Assist that will stabilise the big van — sorry, car — with little nips on the brakes while Atten tion Assist will warn to “wake you” if you are drowsy. And don’t think all this is on the usual expensive optional ex
The VClass is the new car for all occasions, be it the team start session before the MTB race or a 0100 dash in less than 10 seconds. PHOTOS: QUIKCPIC tras list. Active Parking Assist, which makes parking of the new MPV as easy and convenient as parking a compact car, is stan dard. Also standard is the Audio 20 USB with freestanding seven inch central display and a multi function steering wheel with a dozen buttons. (Yep, 12 of them.) Ditto the steering wheel shift paddles in the case of automatic transmission, side air bags, elec tric parking brake and active ar rest for the rear sliding door. What are optional features are the 360° camera and adaptive cruise control that assist you to stay in your lane, check the blind spots as well as an intelligent LED light system that automatically dims and brightens the lights. The seat are placed in Merc’s proven quickrelease rail system, which requires very little effort to
position any seats or benches in a number of different ways. They can all be removed as well to cre ate a loading area tailored to spe cific needs at any time. For easy loading and unload ing, the VClass features another first in this segment in the shape
of the separately opening rear windscreen attached to the up per tailgate frame. Under the nose The VClass comes to the start ing line with the stateoftheart 2,2litre fourcylinder turbodie sel engine with twostage turbo
charging, which has already proven highly successful and which has now been further en hanced specifically for the MPV. It is available in three power out put levels: • The V 200 CDI develops 100 kW of power and a maxi mum torque of 330 Nm. • The V 220 CDI generates 120 kW of power and 380 Nm. With fuel consumption of just 5,7 litres per 100 kilometres and CO2 emissions of 149 grams per kilometre, the V 220 CDI occu pies a leading position in its seg ment. • The topoftheline V 250 Blu eTEC engine makes 140 kW and 440 Nm, and is as powerful and agile as the previous 3litre V6 turbodiesel engine. In the accel eration phases, an additional 10 kW and 40 Nm are available (“overtorque”) to makes
150 kW and maximum torque of a full 480 Nm. This means even I, the Van Man, could accelerate the big van from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 12 seconds. Merc claims a more impressive 9,1 seconds, but that would be with a boy racer behind the wheel. The conclusion then, Miss Lambrechts is right. This VClass is a car. A big one. And now it is also the answer I will give when people ask me what is the best car to buy. It’s a van. The VClass Van. Prices V 200 CDI Standard R695 981 V 220 CDI Standard R726 875 V 250 BlueTEC R782 416 V 220 CDI AVANTGARDE R949 175 V 250 BlueTEC AVANTGARDE R984 196 A sixyear or 100 000 km mainte nance contract is included.
Tips for Muslim drivers to stay safe on the road during Ramadaan THE Emirates Driving Institute and the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) provide Mus lim drivers with tips to ensure they stay safe on the road during the holy month of Ramadaan. IAM head of driving standards Peter Rodger said drivers who are
fasting should mainly try to avoid disrupting their daily routine too much, as this can affect your be haviour behind the wheel. “Maintain a daily schedule; eat your meals and stay hydrated when you are supposed to, exer cise regularly and sleep well.”
He advised drivers not to set out after a heavy breakfast. “If you can, avoid setting out early in the morning or late in the evening as you’re less likely to be naturally alert. The same applies for when you have just eaten a heavy meal; you will only end up
feeling lethargic. Be extra alert when driving just before sunset or on the way to have Iftar re freshments which break the day’s fast — at this time of the day your blood sugar levels will be at their lowest so take it easy. “Do not speed or drive errati
cally in the hope of arriving home at sunset for Iftar — it’s better to be safe than sorry.” He advised people to share a long drive wherever possible, as this significantly reduces the chances of you feeling tired. The main safety issues faced by
longdistance drivers who are fasting is that low glucose levels impair their reactions behind the wheel. “Do allow for this if you’re fasting. Look after yourself and you can continue your journeys as normal,” said Rodger. — Newspress.
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WitnessWheels MOTORING
June 25, 2015
Dezzi Raceway has recently been extended and now boasts timing equipment for quartermile drag runs. PHOTO: KZN DRAG RACING
Getting dizzy at Dezzi Dezzi Raceway at Port Shepstone is all set to host its first dragracing event on Saturday MICHELLE LEWIS PORT SHEPSTONE — The Dezzi Raceway at Port Shepstone will host its first dragracing event on Saturday. The event is organised by KZN Drag Racing and sanctioned by Motorsport SA. More than 85 competitors from KZN as well as 15 national recordbreaking vehicles are expected to flash by under the camera boom that was recently installed over the straight at Dezzi Raceway, making this the only permanent dragracing facility in KZN. Drag legend Mano Khan will open the event with the first race on the widened strip. He’s credited with racing the first streetlegal car to a 10second quarter — more than 10 years earlier and a feat drivers today, with all their modern tech nology, battle to match. To put this achievement into perspective, a Nis san GTR last week managed the first sub10 second quarter mile by a street legal at Mtubatuba, clocking in a 9,8second run in that event. At the practice sessions to test the equipment for the track, Wheels met up with Khan, who said he aims to bring that 30yearold Escort back to the track on Saturday. Pietermaritzburgbased commentator at the
Des Govenden warms up the tyres on his white 1984 Toyota Supra while Mano Khan lines up Pat Reddy in his maroon 1973 Ford Escort during a test of the new drag strip at Dezzi Raceway. PHOTO: SUPPLIED event Desmond Govenden of DY Tuning, said tun ing shops were the main beneficiaries of drag racing events, as they show the public what top mechanics could get out of any engine not only to race, but
to ensure lower consumption during the daily com mute. KZN Motorsport representative Darren Lewis said Dezzi Raceway provided drag racers with a ven
ue at the south coast sea level that was safe and familyorientated. Wheels editor Alwyn Viljoen said none of the oth er venues used for drag racing in KZN can match Dezzi’s for safety and comfort. The oneday event will be run under MSA Street Drag Racing rules in the “Headsup Racing” for mat. The event will also showcase a collection of sub10 sec vehicles, among them Czank Racing rail cars and Quentin Boylan’s recordbreaking Honda. Track owner Des Gutzeit said: “Many of these exhibition cars have never been seen in KZN. It will be a real spectacle for the crowd and we’re expecting the biggest turnout yet at the raceway.” Motorsport SA chairperson of drifting, drags and spinning, Wally Pappas, added: “Illegal dragracing has been a challenge for the community for years. We welcome regular events such this that help to grow the sport by giving drivers professional facili ties and wellrun events to enjoy and to use to im prove their racing.” The gates open from 7.30 am and tickets are R80 for adults, while under12s enter free. Grandstand tickets are R150 for adults. • Drivers interested to join the Dezzi Raceway and Drag Club can email fay@dezzi.co.za • More details at kzndragracing.co.za
There’s an app to drive Range Rover by remote control in tight spots JAGUAR Land Rover has revealed some of the pro totype technologies that its UKbased research team are developing to deliver autonomous driving in the future. A Remote Control Range Rover Sport research vehicle demonstrates how a driver could drive the vehicle from outside the car via their smartphone. The smartphone app includes control of steering, accelerator and brakes as well as changing from high and low range. This would allow the driver to walk alongside the car, at a maximum speed of around 6 km/h, to manoeuvre their car out of challenging situations safely, or even to negotiate difficult off road terrain. The driver could use the smartphone to reverse the car out of a parking space if someone has parked too close for them to open the door, or allow the driver to become their own offroad spotter, to guide the car over offroad obstacles from outside
the vehicle. By walking alongside the car, the driver could continually check ramp, approach and departure angles and allow precise positioning of the vehicle when rock crawling. It could also be an invaluable aid when the vehicle is fording a stream or travers ing sections made slippery by mud or snow. The remote control function will only operate if the user is within 10 metres of the car and if the smart key can be detected. The system will stop the vehicle if the driver moves out of range or gets too close. MULTIPOINT TURN CAR Jaguar Land Rover’s “MultiPoint Turn” Range Rover Sport is capable of autonomously manoeu vring through 180° to turn the car in the road and point the car in the opposite direction. This autono mous vehicle could extricate itself from the most difficult situations, such as a deadend roads or con gested car parks, as well as performing many driv
ers’ least favourite manoeuvre — the threepoint turn in a busy street or car park. The system uses sensors to assess available space and to avoid pedestrians, vehicles and other objects. The system takes over gear selection, steering, brak ing and acceleration to make as many forward and backwards movements as necessary to achieve the manoeuvre. The research team are working on a system to scan the environment around the car and inform the driver whether it is safe to perform the turning manoeuvre. The driver then confirms the manoeu vre and the car would move forward until its path is blocked. It then selects reverse and uses the steer ing, throttle and brakes to do the same again. It repeats this as many times as required until it is facing in the opposite direction. Dr Wolfgang Epple, director of research and technology, Jaguar Land Rover, said:“Getting a car
out of a tricky parking manoeuvre can be a stressful experience for any driver. A Remote Control car, or a vehicle that can autonomously turn in the road, demonstrates how we could use these new technol ogies to reduce the tedious parts of driving and im prove road safety. “Research into technologies like these won’t only help us deliver an autonomous car. They will help make real driving safer and more enjoyable. The same sensors and systems that will help an autono mous car make the right decisions, will assist the driver and enhance the experience to help prevent accidents. Autonomous car technologies will not take away the fun of driving.” Jaguar Land Rover’s vision is to offer a choice of an engaged or autonomous drive. This means the car will be able to drive itself if the driver choos es, or offer systems that can be adjusted for a more engaging and involved drive. — Newspress.
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MOTORING WitnessWheels
June 25, 2015
11
SA’s battleready rides Two SA authors have presented a littleknown and fascinating story of SA’s panzer vehicles ALWYN VILJOEN MANY of the mineresistant and am bushprotected (MRAP) vehicles around the world have South African roots. Two South African authors have now for the first time presented this little known and fascinating story of South Africa’s panzer vehicles in a wellre searched coffeetable book, titled Sur viving the Ride. Steve Camp and Helmoed Heitman coauthored the 250page book, which has over 400 colour photos and lists over 200 different vehicles and their var iants that were South African designed and manufactured. Camp was a lieutenantcolonel in the South African Army Reserves and had firsthand experience on how these vehi cles saved lives during the Border War. Helmoed Heitman is an internationally respected military writer. Camp assured Wheels the book was not just good only for mechanics. “We didn’t want a boring technical book. Each page is beautifully designed with a good balance of text and photos, mak ing it very easy on the eye.” He said the pictorial history of South Africanmanufactured vehicles is cer tainly a fascinating one that very few people know much about and South Af rica is still a world leader in this technol ogy, with several companies exporting vehicles around the world from Benoni and Midrand. South African engineers are also headhunted to work in the U.S. to develop MRAPs for specific climes. Protecting soldiers against pipe bombs and AK47 rounds is a very lucra tive business. The Pentagon alone has to date spent $50 billion (R606 billion) purchasing some 28 000 of these vehi cles — which have saved an estimated 70 000 lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. Camp said many of the vehicles shown in Surviving the Ride were oneoff prototype designs that were carefully re
The mothballed electric Rooikat tank, without its turret, is one of the many prototype army vehicles presented in Surviving the Ride. PHOTO: ALWYN VILJOEN
V STEVE CAMP
The cover of Surviving the Ride, which sells for R495. PHOTO: SUPPLIED searched and evaluated under opera tional conditions by South Africa scien tists and engineers, but for various rea sons never went into production. He and Heitman traced the develop ment of today’s modern MRAPs from the panzers the South African Army was routinely using 40 years ago in the Bor der War. The ferocity of the border war soon led to the SA Defence Force becoming the first army to deploy entire combat groups into battle zones equipped with only mineprotected vehicles, including
their ambulances and supply trucks. While those personnel carriers and patrol vehicles look primitive and un gainly by today’s standards, they formed the basis on which South Africa became the leader in this field. Camp told Wheels further develop ment soon saw mineprotected vehicles become effective combat vehicles, rather than just protected transport, with the Casspir being the chief example. They saved countless soldiers and po licemen from death or serious injury, and the basic concepts now live on in the var
ious MRAP types in service today. The valuable lessons learned by the South Af ricans with their early designs of these combatproven vehicles has made the country one of the global leaders in the design of MRAPs, which are locally man ufactured and exported around the world. The book also covers rarities like the electric Rooikat first reported in Wheels in 2013; and what has been described on these pages as the world’s best SUV — the RG32M, a fast, agile and virtually in destructible armourplated SUV and
eDucatos part of Amsterdam’s bid for zero emissions THE city of Amsterdam plans to only allow vehicles that emit no toxic exhaust gases in the next 10 years. Already the frontrunner in electric transport in Europe, Amsterdam’s city planners want all transport — including public transport and taxis — to have zero emissions by 2025. To this end the courier company TNT has deployed seven new Fiat Ducato 3,5 ton electric delivery vehicles for its operations in and around Amsterdam and Rotterdam, in the emobility Freight Electric Vehicles in Urban Europe project (Frevue). The project seeks to demonstrate to industry, consumers and policy makers how electric vehicles can meet the grow ing need for sustainable urban logistics. TNT’s new eDucato vehicles pur chased from BD Auto replace the stan dard diesel vehicles previously operating in Rotterdam and Amsterdam and will enable the company to save 24 000 li tres of diesel and 76 tons of CO2 equiva lent emissions each year. They provide a range of 200 km and the same pay load capacities of a diesel van. Erik Uljee, managing director, TNT Benelux, said: “The partnership with Frevue is part of TNT’s corporate re sponsibility agenda and meets the objec tive of our Outlook strategy to increase efficiency and productivity. To support zero emission transport in city centres, the authorities extend certain privileges
Courier company TNT has deployed seven new Fiat Ducato electric delivery vehicles in and around Amsterdam. PHOTO: TNT to TNT such as exemptions from park ing bans and access to closed areas out side loading and unloading times. With the three vehicles in Rotterdam and four in Amsterdam, TNT’s electric fleet in the Netherlands is nine in total.” Pex Langenberg, vice mayor of the city
of Rotterdam, said: “It is the ambition of the city of Rotterdam to have a zero emission freight transport in the inner city by 2020. This is formalised in the Green Deal Zero Emission. We welcome the new electric freight vehicles as they will help to make the air in the city centre
cleaner and decrease noise.” The city of Amsterdam welcomed the emissionfree TNT trucks in line with its plans to step up improvements in sustainability as outlined in the Sustain ability Agenda Amsterdam (www.am sterdam.nl/duurzaam). — WR.
“We didn’t want a boring technical book. Each page is beautifully designed with a good balance of text and photos, making it very easy on the eye.” double cab built in Benoni using South African ingenuity and sold to several ar mies in the northern hemisphere. Surviving the Ride is published by 30 Degrees South and sells for R495.
GM, NISSAN TO RECYCLE ECAR BATTERIES GENERAL Motors and Nissan, who between them have the most elec tric car sales, announced how they will recycle the lithiumion batter ies that store power for the Volt and Leaf. When the battery packs in cars can only store 70% of their origi nal ampere hours, they are consid ered old and replaced. But 70% storage capacity is still perfectly good for domestic use. Nissan said it has sold 178 000 Leaf cars since December 2010. To redeploy the battery packs from these cars, Nissan last week an nounced a international joint project with Green Charge Net works, the largest provider of com mercial energy storage in the U.S. Their aim is to resell, install and manage the used energy storage units, using the cheaper price of a used unit of a new battery pack in mainly the U.S., Japan and Europe. General Motors is already using five old packs to store power at its new Enterprise Data Centre at its Milford Proving Ground in Michi gan. The battery packs are trickle fed by a combination two 2kilo watt wind turbines and a new 74 kW solar array to give 100 mega watthours of energy a year. — WR.
12
Boost for Toyota team
WitnessWheels MOTORING
June 25, 2015
End to the deadlock 1000 Desert Race likely to be a turning point in the overall title chases
Gugulethu Zulu and Hilton Auffrey left the pits in their Polo S2000 to engage in a threeway fight with Toyota and Ford for the third spot. PHOTO: QUICKPIC LEEROY Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee kept things on the boil in their Castrol Team Toyota Yaris S2000 today to win the BelaBela Motor Rally in Limpopo province in convincing style — boost ing their championship hopes in the process. The defending national rally champions’ confi dent performance saw them winning seven of the 10 dusty and sometimes sandy stages over the twoday event in and around the town in the Wa terberg region, finishing the rally in a total time of two hours five minutes 6,9 seconds. At the overnight stop the Toyota pair were 19,9 seconds ahead of current championship leaders Mark Cronjé and Robin Houghton (Ford Perform ance Fiesta) and they stretched their lead even fur ther to in by 28,8 seconds on the second day. Cronjé and Houghton had their sights set on snatching their fourth win in a row, but an unfortu nate encounter with a fence two kilometres into the first stage saw their newly facelifted S2000 Ford Fiesta losing some of its bodywork, and a bit of time in the process. “We hit a jump and flew further than expected,” Cronjé said. “Although we landed well there wasn’t time to brake for the sharp right hander and we had the choice of hitting a tree or going through the fence. The car just picked up some cosmetic damage and we lost about 10 sec, so it wasn’t serious.” Cronjé and Houghton had a quiet second day, seemingly content to drive sensibly and take no risks to secure second place and keep their sub stantial championship lead intact. After a great performance on day one, which elevated them to third position, the Volkswagen Sasolracing pair of Hergen Fekken and Pierre Ar ries (VW Polo) put in another storming drive to win stage 6 and close the gap on Cronjé/Hought on. However, two stages later disaster struck when a wheel on their Polo was destroyed when they hit an embankment, forcing them to retire. With their demise the NAD Ford Fiesta crew of Japie van Niekerk/Gerhard Snyman became in volved in a major contest for third position with Gugu Zulu and Hilton Auffray (Volkswagen Sasol racing Polo), and Giniel de Villiers/Carolyn Swan in the second Castrol Team Toyota Yaris. With less than 30 seconds separating them, the three teams went for it hammer and tong, De Villi ers ending up the joint winner (together with VW Sasolracing driver Henk Lategan) of stage 8, and all the while chipping away at Van Niekerk’s advan tage. In the end the NAD Fiesta pair just managed to hold on, getting to third place with just 3,6 sec onds ahead of Zulu/Auffray. De Villiers/Swan brought up fifth 9,2 seconds later. VW’s youngest driver Henk Lategan/Barry White (Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo) had a day to forget, losing more than a minute with two punctures, and eventually ended up sixth. “We had high hopes for this rally after the Se cunda event,” said Lategan. “A front wheel puncture in stage one and strug gling with the loose sand was a real problem. I think in my enthusiasm to get into the rhythm of the rally I might have been overdriving the car a bit, making it even more difficult for me. “A second puncture, in stage seven, cost us about three minutes but in the final loop we tried a new setup and the times improved considerably,” said Lategan. The next round of the 2015 South African rally championship, the Volkswagen Rally, will take place on July 17 and 18 in the Port Elizabeth region of the Eastern Cape.
THE stakes will be high for Special Vehicle category teams locked in stalemate situations at the top of the overall and class championships for tomorrow’s start of Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race. The iconic event is the halfway mark in the season, and could be a turning point in the overall and Class A and Class P title chases. As matters stand, all three championships are deadlocked and, as the song goes, something’s got to give. Former champions Evan Hutchis on and Danie Stassen (Motorite BAT Viper) and Lance Trethewey/Geoff Minnitt (LTE BAT Venom), are locked together at the top of the over all and Class A championships. Both crews have scored a win and a second and find themselves 20 points clear of Brett Parker and co driver VZ van Zyl — who won the Desert Race with Greg Daus way back in 2002 — in the Sizanani Plastics Jimco. The Desert Race places a premium on reliability, and this is a commodity that has been in short supply among the Class A and Class P teams so far this season. Based on results on the RFS Endur ance and Sugarbelt 450, the Hutchis on/Stassen and Trethewey/Minnitt combinations look to be the class horses in the field, and the danger for Parker/Van Zyl and the crews behind them is that the championship could turn into a twohorse race. Thirdplaced Jimmy Zahos and Zaheer Bodhanya (Cobalt Racing Stryker) are 35 points behind the two leaders, with fourthplaced John
Brett Parker and codriver VZ van Zyl — who won the Desert Race with Greg Daus way back in 2002 — in the Sizanani Plastics Jimco. PHOTO: KEINO DAVIE Thomson/Maurice Zermatten (Zar co Magnum) a further three points adrift. Also tense for factory teams Tomorrow’s qualifying race will be run over two laps of about 250 km — with a compulsory 20minute stop after the first loop — and will start at 8.30 am. It will be a tense weekend for the
factory squads and former champions Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst, in the second Ford Per formance Ranger, will also be looking to claw their way back into serious title contention. The two factory squads have so far dominated, filling the first four places in the championship and providing all the podium finishers on the RFS
Endurance and Sugarbelt 450. Race headquarters, the start/finish and the designated service point will again be located at the Jwaneng Sports Club and adjoining show ground facility. Public access to these areas will be controlled, but there is free entry into spectator viewing points along the route. — SA Rally.
Hyundai team drive their way back to the podium HIGH WYCOMBE — Following a few respectable but not inspiring top 10 placings in the World Rally Cham pionships, Hyundai Motorsport have returned to the podium with second and third place in the recent Sardinia leg of the rally. The result gives the team 19 manu facturer points and improves their position in the Championship. Hayden Paddon (#20 Hyundai i20 WRC) claimed his fourth stage win of the weekend in the morning open ing stage and went on to secure a well deserved second place overall. The Kiwi, alongside codriver John Kennard, led the rally from the start of Friday’s action and only relin quished that lead on Saturday after noon’s loop. On the oneyear anniversary of his debut with the team in Sardinia, it is Paddon’s first ever WRC podium, and Hyundai Motorsport’s sixth in total. Thierry Neuville (#7 Hyundai i20 WRC) had a troubled start to the rally when, on Friday, he experienced me chanical complications but he fought
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Thierry Neuville and navigator Nicolas Gilsoul (inset) drove their #7 Hyundai i20 WRC hard to recover from mechanical issues and secure a third place in Sardinia. PHOTO: NEWSPRESS hard in the face of difficulty. Third place is the perfect reward for his efforts, which included a stage win on Saturday afternoon’s SS16. The result is the Belgian’s second po dium of the season after finishing runnerup in Sweden in February, and his fifth in total for the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team with his codriver
Nicolas Gilsoul. It is the second time that Hyundai Motorsport have had two drivers on the podium after the team’s 12 at Rallye Deutschland last year. For Dani Sordo and his codriver Marc Marti, the weekend was one of frustration. The Spanish duo showed excellent pace on the opening day but
were hampered from the outset with a 10second penalty for a start line infringement during Thursday even ing’s Super Special. A strong Friday ended with a technical problem, and even on Saturday — under Rally 2— he endured more drama, forcing him to start Sunday also under Rally 2 reg ulations. — NewspressWR.
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