February 8, 2018
Witness
WHEELS
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Team KZN’s precision drivers prepare to take on SA’s best spinners in Kimberley — page 4. PHOTO: THRILLSEEKER
… NOW YOU’RE MOTORING
Type R dishes up the thrills SIBONELO MYENI drives a seriously fast Honda THE Vrrrr Pphhhaaa brigade are in for a shock as the Honda Civic Type R has its sights set firmly on ruining their day. The Civic Type R cannot be mistaken for anything but the hyper hatch from Honda with a red Honda logo (reserved only for Type R models) taking pride of place in the front. The front is dominated by two large, sculpted air intakes with mesh inserts, vertically stacked ducts on either side and a promi nent front splitter. LED head lights with LED daytime lights come standard. The side gets slats behind the flared front wheel arches, 20inch Berlina black alloys with a red styling line. Carbon fibrelook sill exten sions add to the hatchback’s lowslung stance. The rear is dominated by a rear wing with angled end plates, shark fin antenna and a racing design bumper with di rectional strakes on either side. The triple exhaust sits in the
middle of a carbon fibre look dif fuser. The driver focused interior gets red, high backed suedelike fabric sports seats with accentu ated bolsters. An adjustable, multifunction steering wheel, and an iconic Type R machined aluminium gear lever knob all pay homage to the Type R legacy. A hint to its racing heritage is in the carbonfibre inlays with red striping and sports pedals. A seveninch virtual instru ment cluster conveys all info to the driver whilst a full colour touch screen display is used for the infotainment system. Satelite navigation, eight speaker audio, dual zone climate control, USBHDMIApple CarPlay audio system come standard. The wider exterior di mension results in more interior space for five adult occupants. Luggage space is 414 litre which can be increased to 780 litre with folding rear seats. Powering the Type R is a 2.0litre fourcylinder engine
with direct injection, VTEC var iable valve timing, valve timing and turbocharging that add up to 228 kW/400 Nm. Drive is to the front wheels via a slickshifting sixspeed manual transmission with rev matching for downshifts. 0100 km/h comes up in 5,8 seconds with a 272 km/h top speed. The front suspension features a mechanical Helical limited slip differential for maximum trac tion in dynamic driving. Sport, R and Comfort driving modes allow the driver to tune the sus pension and engine at the touch of a button. Large Brembo brakes ensure stopping distances are short and consistent with ABS for maxi mum stopping stability. The retail price of R627 900 includes a comprehensive five year or 200 000 km warranty, as well as a fiveyear or 90 000 km service plan and a threeyear AA Roadside Assistance plan. Scheduled services are at 10 000 km intervals.
Jazz Sport fast, but still practical The bumper may look like it comes of a Type R on that lowered suspension, but the Jazz Sport retains its practical Magic Seat system to remain a practical, if more responsive, run about in town. PHOTO: HONDA HONDA Mzansi has launched the top of the range Jazz Sport, a model designed to offer practi cality, handling dynamics and sporty design. The design is set to appeal to buyers who want a standout, sporty design hatchback, with the Jazz Sport getting aero dynamically optimised style en hancements. The front is TypeR inspired with a sporty bumper design featuring integrated fog lamps with black surrounds, a front splitter with red pinstriping. A sleeker grille with gloss pi ano black and chrome elements sits between full LED with LED daytime lights. On the side there are gloss black exterior mirror housings, 16inch Berlina black alloy wheels and sculpted sill exten sions. The rear has also received a sporty R touch with a bold rear spoiler as well as a threestrake diffuser with an upper trim line mirroring the same red detailing as the front splitter. The Jazz Sport features the re nowned functional interior as
seen on other models meaning the Magic Seat system remains a vital feature, and is central to the Jazz’s use of space and overall versatility. The Jazz also has best in class legroom and boot space with 359 litres, which can be extended to 889 litres by folding the rear seats. The Jazz Sport adds red stitching on the seats, armrest, leather steering wheel and sport pedals. The seveninch touchscreen infotainment systems (USB, HDMI, CD, Radio, Bluetooth) is part of the upgraded 6 speaker audio system with a reversing camera. Also reminiscent of the Type R is the pushbutton start system and smart, keyless entry system. Other features on the Jazz Sport include electrically adjust ed and folding mirrors, multi function steering wheel, height adjustable drivers seat, cruise control, air conditioning mak ing the Jazz Sport a well equipped and comfortable place to be on long drives. Driving the Jazz Sport is a new
1,5litre direct injection fourcyl inder engine sending 97 kW and 155Nm to the front wheels via a CVT automatic transmission. 0100 km/h is achieved in 9,8 seconds with fuel efficiency claimed at 5,6 l/100 km. On the coastal drive, this en gine felt responsive whilst the CVT is best left to shift paddles unless you drive in the city or in traffic. The suspension has been low ered and allied to the wider tyres, result in a handling package that is more responsive without compromising comfort, while uprated braking system features rear discs instead of the drums fitted as standard to other Jazz models. The Jazz Sport retails for R310 000 inclusive of a compre hensive fiveyear or 200 000 km warranty and a fouryear or 60 000 km service plan, as well as a threeyear AA Roadside Assistance package. Services are at 15 000 km inter vals. • Catch Sibonelo Myeni live on Ukhozi FM, each Thursday from 7.45 am.
Its a racer, yes but a comfy one, with satnav, eightspeaker audio, dual zone climate control and CarPlay audio system come standard. PHOTO: HONDA
Hold the excitement about global car industry changes JEFF OSBORNE ACCORDING to a recent influential and widely publicised report from PwC, three major trends — electric cars, selfdriving vehicles and ride shar ing — will generate radical disruptive change in the global automotive industry by 2030. The authors of the research also highlight two consequent phenomena from these trends: there will be more vehicles but fewer owners and more traffic but it will flow better. This all sounds dramatic and very future for ward but I would caution against extrapolating too much from PwC’s EASCY — The Five Dimen sions of Automotive Transformation report into the next dozen years of motoring in South Africa. In fact, I suspect the authors may even be well ahead of themselves even in terms of the United States and Europe where they’re still very much at the early adoption phase of most of this stuff, and the complete reengineering of the industry, and subsequent mass adoption, will take longer than most suspect. Here the barriers to a quick uptake of electric vehicles, for instance, are obvious. We don’t trust the debt hole that is Eskom to keep the lights on, let alone to keep our cars running. Most SA vehicles do distances that European drivers could never comprehend — batteries will need to reliably deliver well over 300 km without recharge before most of us would head off down the N1 from Gauteng to the Cape. And the necessary infrastructure rollout across the nation has not yet even begun. Hybrid vehicles are a partial solution but they remain expensive and top end in our market. It’s also worth noting that second hand vehicle sales in SA are nearly double that of new vehicles each year, so yesterday’s technology will last a long time into tomorrow’s world. As for selfdriving cars, we simply will have to wait and see. There’s a hornet’s nest of regulatory
issues — including the alarming thought that se curity services around the world want driverless cars classified as potential weapons — to be re solved, even assuming that the technology is relia ble and affordable enough to roll out into mass ownership. We will have to check what emerges in key test markets abroad before even contemplating their introduction here. I give that at least 10 years. One area highlighted by PwC where we have seen a fast takeup is in ridesharing. SA was a very early market for Uber and grew here at a rate, among a very narrow band of users, that was among the fastest in the world for that company. I suspect that was due to the paucity and insecu rity of public transport in our urban areas and the generally dilapidated nature of the existing taxi services. In terms of longterm impact on vehicle owner ship, the rise of ridesharing might put a small dent in first time car buying by varsity students but I doubt there will be much more. In first world markets like Melbourne or Copen hagen or New York, it is both trendy and practical to forego vehicle ownership and source a multi plicity of alternative options. In our market, the distances even in urban com muting are prescriptive, public transport is abys mal, parking is far less at a premium, and vehicle ownership remains aspirational, especially for the upwardly mobile and expanding black middle class which, hopefully, our economy will continue to generate. I am not doubting that the PwC research au thors are right that the transformative technology that’s now available is hugely exciting in its impli cations and momentous changes are afoot in the industry. But, for the next 12 years in the real world of South African roads, I suspect its more “same old, same old” than brave new world. — Supplied. Jeff Osborne is head of automotive at Gumtree SA.
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WitnessWheels MOTORING
February 8, 2018
Polo gets a bigger jacket SA most popular passenger car is introduces new Active Info Display and goes like the first GTI SOUTH Africa’s bestselling pas senger car, the new Polo, has been completely redesigned to present more interior room, more efficient engines and pio neering driver assistance sys tems. The new exterior design of the sixth generation Polo aims to en dow the car with a sportier and more mature look. Billed as one of the world’s most advanced compact cars, with a multitude of driver assist ance systems that were previous ly reserved for the Golf and Pas sat class, the new Polo is also big ger than its predecessor in every dimension, Apart from more space for the driver and passengers, this has significantly increased boot vol ume, which increased from 280 to 350 litres. MODEL RANGE The new Polo will be available in the three trim lines: Trendline, Comfortline and Highline, and also as a special Beats version (with a 300watt Beats sound system). The Polo GTI will be launched in South Africa in the second quarter. The special edition Polo Beats features a 300watt sound sys tem, RLine package with a sporty exterior featuring Cshaped front air curtains, side sills, boot spoiler, rear diffuser and 17inch Bonneville alloys. Parallel to the standard fea tures, the trim lines feature dif ferent interior trims, colours and fabrics. One of the most striking indi vidualisation features is the in strument panel with the dash pad. New for this generation of Po lo, this dashpad is offered with different coloured trims. Two dashpad coloured trims are available; Limestone Grey Metallic on the Trendline and Comfortline and Deep Iron Me tallic on Highline. Owners of the new Polo will
especially enjoy the new genera tion Active Info Display, which makes its debut in the Polo. The combines the new Active Info Display and the new eight inch touchscreen to form a mod ern, glassencased functional unit that creates an elegant ap pearance combined with simple controls similar to a highend smartphone. The Active Info Display is available in South Africa from launch and is optional on the Comfortline and Highline mod els. SHARING A BASE MQB A0 as the basis. Like the Golf, Touran, Tiguan, Passat and Arteon, the Polo is now also based on the modular transverse matrix (MQB). Here the A0 version is adapted for particularly compact models and has a whole armada of ad vantages. A wider wheel base and longer axle length shortens the over hangs, allowing the new Polo to keep the handling promises made by the sportier appear ance, although the neutral set ting of the dampers keep focus on a safer ride. The front suspensions of the Polo feature coil spring struts and lower wishbones with a trackstabilising scrub radius and an antiroll bar. The rear running gear consists of a semiindependent twist beam suspension with an inte grated antiroll bar. Gasfilled dampers and sepa rate springs on the rear axle pro vide for optional suspension. DRIVETRAINS The smallest TSI for the new Polo, the 1,0litre threecylinder TSI, has an output of 70 kW at 5 000 rpm and torque of 175 Nm from 2,000 rpm. The turbocharged engine, which is standard for both the Polo Trendline and Comfortline, is both agile and efficient.
Impressive sales numbers • SINCE its launch in 2010, the Polo hatch has consistently been the second bestselling passenger car in South Africa, with its sibling the Polo Vivo being the bestselling. Close to 200 000 units have been sold since 2010. • In 2017 alone, the Polo was bought by 22 916 customers in South Africa. Internationally the Polo has sold more than 14 million units to date, making the Polo one of the world’s most successful compact cars.
The 1,0 TSI accelerates to 100 km/h in 10,8 seconds — quite respectable for a three cyl inder. Top speed is a claimed 187 km/h, which is as fast as the first Golf GTI. These figures apply to both the fivespeed manual gearbox version and the optional seven speed DSG version for this en gine. The high agility is coupled with low combined fuel con sumption of 4,5 l/100 km (corre sponding to 103 g/km CO2). The sevenspeed DSG has a fuel consumption of 4,7 l/100 km and emits 107g/km of CO2. The little threecylinder is also chipped to make 85 kW at 5 000 rpm and 200 Nm from 2 000 rpm. This engine will be launched with a sixspeed manual gearbox as standard and optionally with a sevenspeed DSG. The turbocharged direct injec tion engine develops its peak output at 5 000 rpm to make for a lively ride. DRIVER ASSISTANCE New features for the Polo in clude the lane change system Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Traffic Alert, semiautomated Park Assist system for exiting parking spaces, the proactive oc cupant protection system and a manoeuvre braking function. The latter automatically pro tects against minor but often ex pensive parking dents. The optional Keyless Access locking and engine starting sys tem, which is also new, can be used to unlock and start up the Polo. The radarbased sensor mod ule even detects objects at dis tances of up to 40 metres and recognises objects moving at speeds of 4 km/h or above. The new Volkswagen Polo models come standard with a threeyear or 45 000 km Service Plan, three year or 120 000 km warranty and a 12year anticor rosion warranty. Service inter vals are 15 000 km. RECOMMENDED PRICES 1.0 TSI Trendline ..........R235 900 1.0 TSI 70kW Comfortline ............................................ R264 700 1.0 TSI 70kW Comfortline DSG ............................................R280 700 1.0 TSI 85kW Highline R286 200 1.0 TSI 85kW Highline DSG ............................................R302 200
The new Polo’s Active Info Display has a eightinch touchscreen that pairs with simple controls similar to a highend smartphone. PHOTO: MOTORPRESS
Visit Visit Barons Barons Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg to to view view the the stunning stunning new new Polo Polo
The sixth generation Polo is built at the Volkswagen factory in Uitenhage, one of only three plants in the global Volkswagen production network that assembles the Polo hatch for export markets. PHOTO: VW
The wheel turned inside out ALWYN VILJOEN ARIZONABASED company Global Air Cylinder Wheels has turned the tradional wheel suspension system inside out and presented the world with the Air Suspension Wheel (ASW). Instead of spokes connecting the rim to the hub, the ASW has eccentrically mounted air cylinders. These cylinders still use compressed air to ab orb shocks and smooth the ride, but unlike a pneu matic tyre that can only be pumped or deflated, the shocks are tuneable to give the rider whatever level of tyre deflection is required, from race hard to rideon lawn mover soft. Its engineers say the level of lateral and torque flex can also be adjusted to allow the wheel to act as a torque coupler for more traction in offroad situations with lots of torque, like bulldozers. The treads of the AWS bolt directly onto the outer rim, and any design from any material is possible. Global Air Cylinder Wheels offer a range of premolded road retread options by companies such as Michelin that bolt on in sections, as well
heavyduty industrial options cast from polyure thane, urethane or steel. The company says the insideoutwheel can be scaled for giant trucks working on open pit mines to down wheelchairs. The company has not yet published firm prices for the Air Suspension Wheel, but say the initial outlay will be more than for traditional pneumatic tyres. However, the company stated ASW can last up to 13 times longer than normal mining tyres and tread replacements on a hard working dump truck will only be needed once in five years, which will cost a lot less over the lifetime of a truck. The boltoff treads can be changed with very little gear, no jack needed either, which will allow the mechanics to service the wheels during shift changes and lunch breaks to keep the vehicle work ing. During a 10year lifetime, the ASW also will not suffer punctures, blowouts or — as happens often when the giant tyres heat up to much, tyre explo sions.
The Air Suspension Wheel turns the wheel inside out, with airdampers in the place of spokes to absorb shocks. The wheel can scale up to work for giant dump trucks as well, where any type tread, from polyurethane to steel, can be mounted to the rim. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
MOTORING WitnessWheels
February 8, 2018
‘Designs that people love’ love Land Rover adds two awards to its display cabinet ALWYN VILJOEN THE Land Rover brand recently add ed two more awards to its diplay cab inet. The chief design officer for Land Rover, Gerry McGovern, was named Designer of the Year at the Festival Automobile International; and Jag uar Land Rover’s 2.0litre turbo charged fourcylinder Ingenium pet rol engine ws rated one of the 10 Best Engines for 2018. DESIGNS THAT PEOPLE LOVE The Grand Prix du Design prize rec ognised McGovern’s influence across the car industry, notably the Range Rover Evoque, the sleek sil houette of which is now the standard look for most big sport utilities. The awards are decided by a 15 strong jury from the automotive in dustry, sport, architecture, fashion, design, culture and the media. Jury members at the Hotel National des Invalides, in Paris, France, included architect Jean Michel Wilmotte, styl ist Chantal Thomas, designer Anne Asensio and Etienne Gernelle, presi dent and CEO of Le Point magazine. Rémi Depoix, president of the Fes tival Automobile International, said: “Gerry McGovern has been re cognised by the jury of the 33rd Festival Automobile International of Paris for his astonishing master piece, the Range Rover Velar, and for his whole career. “One of his remarkable achieve ments is to adapt Land Rover’s DNA, a transformation that began with the Range Rover Evoque. “The British automotive industry has been reinvented in Gerry’s vision and Land Rover is an incredible suc cess story. Congratulations to him and his team.” McGovern said it had a very re warding time to be a designer in the automotive industry and to be recog nised by a jury from a wide variety of design disciplines shows the im portance of design in people’s lives. “My team has worked tirelessly to create the most desirable vehicles that our customers will love for life — vehicles that resonate with our customers on an emotional level,” he said. TOP 10 BEST ENGINES Meanwhile, Jaguar Land Rover’s 184kW 2.0litre turbocharged four cylinder Ingenium petrol engine has been recognised as one of the 10 Best Engines for 2018 by WardsAuto. For 2018, a total of 32 new or sig nificantly improved powertrains from a number of automotive manu facturers were tested by WardsAuto’s editors in reallife, onroad driving conditions. This year’s 10 Best Engines were selected based on a range of testing criteria including, but not limited to, maximum power output, fuel econo
my, noise characteristics and new technology. The allaluminium Ingenium 2.0litre turbocharged fourcylinder petrol engine delivers performance, efficiency and refinement without compromise. Jaguar’s first compact SUV, the EPACE, is the latest model to feature the 184kW Ingenium pow ertrain; accelerating from 0100km/ h in as little as 6.6 seconds and deliv ering fuel economy of up to 7.7 litres per kilometer. Nick Rogers, executive director of product engineering, said: “To be recognised by WardsAuto for creating one of the best engines for 2018 is a real honour. “Our family of lowemission, four cylinder petrol and diesel Ingenium engines are some of the cleanest in the world, supporting our commit ment to reduce vehicle emissions and improve fuel economy. Engineered to give the best driving performance in all conditions, Inge nium engines feature advanced, fully variable valve train technology, com bined with a lowfriction turbochar ger, for enhanced responsiveness and maximum fuel efficiency.” Ingenium engine technology was first introduced in 2015 with the 2.0litre fourcylinder diesel engine. This was followed by the advanced petrol engines entering production in April 2017. Available across most of the Jaguar Land Rover lineup, the 2.0litre tur bocharged fourcylinder Ingenium petrol engine is available in 184kW and 221kW versions. In addition to the EPACE, the en gines have been well received in vehi cles from the Jaguar XE to the Jaguar FTYPE and from the Land Rover Discovery Sport to the latest Range Rover and Range Rover Sport Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicles. At the heart of the company’s low emissions strategy, the Ingenium family of engines are in production at Jaguar Land Rover’s £1billion En gine Manufacturing Centre, Wolver hampton. Since July 2017 the Ingeni um 2.0litre, fourcylinder petrol en gine has also been manufactured in the company’s Chinese engine plant for Chery Jaguar Land Rover vehicles sold in China. Designed, engineered and manu factured by Jaguar Land Rover, the engines use a lowfriction allalumin iumintensive design which provides excellent thermal properties and lightweight construction, improving efficiency and enhancing vehicle dy namics over traditional steel designs. From 2020 every new Jaguar Land Rover vehicle will have the option of electrification and we continue to in vest heavily in ultraclean petrol and diesel engines. The new plugin hybrid power train for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport will be introduced in South Africa later in 2018.
Land Rover Evoque’s sleek lines have become the most imitated design in the SUV world. PHOTO: MOTORPRESS
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LAND ROVER APPROVED PRE-OWNED FESTIVAL 7-11 FEBRUARY 2018 With R60 000* to tailor your deal from Land Rover Pietermaritzburg you can now afford the Land Rover you’ve always wanted. This offer is available for five days only, from 7-11 February, on Land Rover Approved Pre-Owned vehicles. With our stringent 165 multi-point vehicle checklist, you can rest assured that you’re in expert hands. In fact, your Land Rover will also come with a 24 month/60 000km warranty and 24 month/60 000km roadside assistance. Visit or call us to find out more. Land Rover Pietermaritzburg 9 Armitage Road, Bird Sanctuary 033 897 8860 pietermaritzburg.landrover.co.za
Chief design officer for Land Rover and the man we thank for the Evoque, Gerry McGovern, was named Designer of the Year at the Festival Automobile International. PHOTO: MOTORPRESS
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WitnessWheels MOTORING
February 8, 2018
Battle of the provinces ’18 SA’s fastest growing motorsport sees amateur provincial driver teams gather around the cones ALWYN VILJOEN THE precision drivers who make up the KZN Spin Team will on March 31 set out for Kimberley to compete against drivers from seven other provinces in the first match in the Battle of the Provin ces series. Captain of the KZN Spin Team, Kurt Volmink, said the se ries aims to take the many in formal spinning, drifting, free style and driftkhana events that are held weekly all over South Af rica to a provincial level. The amateur drivers in each province least year held trials to qualify 10 drivers plus a reserve for each team. The format of the battle pits drivers against the clock on a standardised track, with two cars sharing the floor as they slalom past cones, spin around obsta cles, hit target sensors with their wheels, parallel park at speed and finally reverse slide into “the kitchen” — basically a narrow parking bay marked out by cones. Volmink said the track is de signed to test the drivers’ skills, not their cars, and teams can use different vehicles as they see fit. To avoid human error in judg ing, sensors and lights show how close the drivers got to the cones without touching them. “Lights go on to show both the
judges and the fans if the drivers stopped perfectly, or not,” said Volmink. The six fastest drivers of each team get to the final battle of tyresmoking precision steering that always gets the big crowds who attend on their feet. The par ents who attend these daylong events told Wheels it is a perfect family outing for them, with ga zebos, gas braais and blankets turning the event into a family picnic. “This is the cheapest form of motorsport one can do, which is why it is also the fastest growing niche among drivers and fans,” said Volmink. He said the drivers are all ama teurs and no provincial colours are yet awarded. “We now compete for the pleasure of it, but we are already liaising with the Department of Sports and Recreation to formal ise this sport nationally,” Vol mink said. SCORING SYSTEM The Kitchen is a parking bay measuring 8 x 5 metres marked out by cones. A driver has to re verse slide at least seven metres deep into the bay, triggering the sensors and activating the “Per fect Light to score 20 points. Tyre bounce: Drivers have to spin in a twometre half circle as close
as possible to a tyre in the centre to activate the light sensors for another 20 points. Side to side: Drivers have to twice drift and then parallel park at high speed into a 7x3 metre park ing bay on both sides of the track, faultless parking earns the driver 40 points. Target slide: Drivers have to get the front wheel to within 60 cm from the target, at which point the lights will again show the judges the driver has just earned another 20 points. Stunts: Drivers who gained the full 100 points in the gymkhana course with time left on the clock can do stunts until the time runs out for a bonus 20 points. Drivers who make contact with the other car on the track, or any of the cones and obstacles, lose five points per contact. If the contact is hard enough to cause damage to the other car, the offending driver will be dis qualified and will forfeit all points. Drivers can call a timeout within the first 30 seconds of bat tle in the event of mechanical fail ure. The driver will then be al lowed to attempt to repair the is sue during the next three battles, after which he or she has to be back on the starting line, or lose the battle. • alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za
Spinning, drifting and freestyle fans in Msunduzi can book February 24 for an all day spinfest at Masons Mill. Kurt Volmink, treasurer of the KZN Ride and Slide Club that takes on the six other provinces in Kimberley on March 31, told Wheels that Team Rio, Skhwama Drifters, Team Alky, Team Escourt, Wenties Spinners and Showstoppers NPS are among the drivers who will compete. Entry is R50 at the gate, with music by DH FEasy. More details from 078 345 1198 or 083 550 4670. GRAPHIC: SUPPLIED
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The jury of the 33d Festival Automobile International gave the nod to Mazda’s Vision Coupe over nine concept cars. PHOTO: MAZDA
Vision Coupe ‘Most Beautiful Concept Car’ THE Mazda Vision Coupe has won “Most Beautiful Concept Car of the Year” at the 33rd Festival Automobile Interna tional. Ikuo Maeda, Mazda’s glob al design director, accepted the prize together with his team of designers, at a cere mony that was held in Paris on January 31. The jury included automo bile and motor sport experts as well as renowned architects and fashion designers. They chose the Vision Coupe, which was unveiled in October in Tokyo, over nine other models nominated for the coveted honour this year. Mazda captured the same award two years ago for its
stunning RXVision concept. As the name suggests, the Vision Coupe, like the RXVi sion, embodies Mazda’s next generation design vision. The proportions of the flowing fourdoor, with the cabin posi tioned toward the rear, are characteristic of a classic coupé design while conveying the powerful forward momen tum of a highperformance sports car. “The Vision Coupe uses re flections to express a sense of vitality, the next step for KO DO design,” said Ikuo Maeda, whose full title is managing executive officer in charge of design and brand style. “This car embodies a delicate Japa nese aesthetic, and to be rec
ognised here in the ‘City of Art’ two years after the RXVi sion was awarded the same honour is very gratifying. We want to retain our identity as a Japanese brand as we contin ue making cars with global ap peal.” The exterior’s simple “one motion” form expresses a for midable sense of speed. The interior, meanwhile, borrows a concept from traditional Japa nese architecture to create a degree of threedimensional depth conducive to a relaxed space. Finally, the name pays homage to the company’s 50 plus year tradition of elegant coupés like the Mazda Luce Rotary, also known as the Mazda R130.
On Wednesday meanwhile, the Mazda Motor Corpora tion signed the United Na tions Global Compact, there by becoming a member of the Global Compact Network Ja pan. By joining the UN Global Compact; Mazda, which prac tises corporate social respon sibility in its daytoday opera tions, will work to uphold the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact. These include pro tecting human rights, elimi nating all forms of forced la bour, undertaking environ mental initiatives and working against corruption. The UN Global Compact has more than 12 000 members in some 160 countries. — WR.
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