Wheels_30June 2016

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June 30, 2016

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Witness

WHEELS

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16 JUNE

Cars Wanted!! best priCes in toWn! top priCes paid

Visit our website to view over 300 CARS in stock.

Contact Ash 083 786 3377 • Tel: 033 342 4717 / 033 345 1971 www.ashcarsales.co.za

EDITOR: ALWYN VILJOEN 082 4589 332 ADVERTISING: AVIR THULSIRAM ON 084 278 3447 After two did­not­ finishes, Dave Perel klapped it like only a bloke from Cape Town can last week.

Page 8

The life of folk­rock musician Heather Waters is like one long roadtrip, so she knows about combis.

Page 4

A fourth self­driving toaster seen in another city, this time in Europe.

Page 6

Basic 4x4 camping, Fuso style.

Page 5

Pre-owned

The Audi A3 Sedan. New design.

Breathtakingly fascinating.

Visit Audi Centre Pietermaritzburg today for incredible offers on a range of Audi Pre-owned models.

Only while stocks last, terms and conditions apply.

Dynamic contours. Taut, muscular areas. Coupé-like lightness. The Audi A3 Saloon sheds a whole new light on the term “Sedan”. Sporty through and through. Elegant and confident. Ready to discover the world anew.

Choose one to suit your needs Model

Vehicle Price

Interest Monthly No. of Linked/ Instalments Instalments Rate Variable

Deposit

GFV

Total Cost Incl. Fees and Vat

Ref

Year

Vehicle Description

Colour

Mileage

Special Price

11410

2015

Audi A4 2.0T FSI Design S tronic

White

6 000

R489 995

11431

2015

Audi A4 1.8T S 88kW

White

28 000

R299 995

11435

2012

Audi A4 1.8T SE multitronic

Silver

76 867

R219 995

11446

2015

Audi Q7 3.0 TDI V6 quattro

Beige

7 500

R939 995

11453

2015

Audi S3 S tronic 3 Door

Blue

18 000

R509 995

11461

2015

Audi A3 Sportback 1.2T FSI

Silver

7 000

R299 995

11466

2014

Audi A3 2.0 TDI SE S tronic

White

49 000

R329 995

11471

2016

Audi A6 1.8T FSI S tronic

White

10 000

R499 995

11472

2016

Audi A1 Sportback 1.0T FSI

White

2 000

R299 995

11474

2016

Audi A4 2.0T FSI S tronic

Red

9 000

R429 995

A3 1.4T FSI SE Manual

R403 500

R5 299

48

8.95%

10.30% (R41 560.50)

53.91% (R217 526.85)

R471 879

11486

2015

Audi A6 1.8T FSI S tronic

White

26 500

R539 995

A3 1.4T FSI SE S tronic

R420 500

R5 399

48

9.04%

10.62% (R44 657.10)

55.38% (R232 872.90)

R492 025

11488

2015

Audi A4 2.0 TDI SE multitronic

White

17 800

R359 995

A3 1.8T FSI SE Manual

Audi A4 1.8T SE

Grey

50 538

R219 995

R5 499

48

9.05%

55.38% (R234 257.40)

2014

R423 000

10.02% (R42 384.60)

11489 R498 209

11490

2015

Audi A3 Sedan 1.4T FSI SE 9

Blue

19 657

R339 995

A3 1.8T FSI SE S tronic

R440 000

R5 699

48

9.11%

10.33% (R45 452.00)

55.38% (R243 672.00)

R517 224

11491

2015

Audi A3 Sedan 1.4T FSI SE 9

Silver

15 953

R339 995

A3 1.8T FSI quattro S tronic

R484 500

R6 599

48

9.24%

10% (R48 450.00)

52.36% (R253 684.20)

R570 428

11493

2013

Audi A4 1.8T FSI 125kW

Silver

60 379

R215 995

11494

2015

Audi A3 Sportback 1.4T FSI

Blue

36 400

R299 995

A3 2.0TDI SE zS tronic

R459 500

R5 999

48

9.19%

10.07% (R46 271.65)

55.38% (R254 471.10)

R542 423

11495

2014

Audi Q5 2.0 TDI Q S tronic

White

80 156

R399 995

11496

2010

Audi S4 Q 245kW S tronic

Silver

19 490

R239 995

11497

2013

Audi A3 1.4T FSI 90kW

Silver

97 130

R199 995

11498

2014

Audi S3 206kW S tronic

Blue

13 748

R499 995

11500

2012

Audi A5 Sportback 2.0

White

121 000

R259 995

11501

2014

Audi A3 1.2T FSI 77kW

Red

50 000

R259 995

11503

2014

Audi Q3 2.0 TDI 130kW

Silver

57 851

R379 995

Linked to FNB prime rate, currently 10.75%. Rate is dependent on customer credit scoring. Interest rate is used for illustrative purposes only. Instalment calculated on standard specification, excludes optional extras but includes initiation and monthly administration fee of R57. **Total retail price as above at a Guaranteed Future Value on 20 000kms p.a. over 48 months. Subject to bank approval. Information subject to change without prior notification. All Finance offers are subject to credit approval from Volkswagen Financial Services. Offers only available through Volkswagen Financial Services South Africa Proprietary Limited trading as Volkswagen Financial Services, an Authorised Financial Services and Credit Provider. NCRCP6635. Terms and Conditions apply. All the above is subject to price increase and valid while stocks last.

Audi Centre Pietermaritzburg Nathi Mncube • Sharon Mpulo • Darryl Chetty • New Vehicle Sales Manager: Prunella Naidoo Mandla Mkhize • Mark van Rijsbergen • Anwar Charfaray • Pre-owned Manager: Riaz Mahomed

BP Advertising

9 Armitage Road, Pietermaritzburg, 3201. Tel: 033 397 8800. www.audipietermaritzburg.co.za

2

WitnessWheels INDUSTRY MOTORING

June 30, 2016

How will our kids get around in 2050?

ALWYN VILJOEN

Researchers at three universities say they have found a way to recycle into fuel and wax the millions of discarded plastic containers currently littering the oceans.

PHOTO: BLOG.CONSERVATION.ORG

Fuel from plastic waste Cross­alkane metathesis holds promise to recycle soft plastic RESEARCHERS from the Uni­ versity of California, Irvine, and the Shanghai Institute of Organ­ ic Chemistry (SIOC) in China announced they have developed a new way of recycling millions of tons of plastic garbage into liq­ uid fuel.

The team’s findings were pub­ lished recently in Science Advan­ ces. “Synthetic plastics are a fun­ damental part of modern life, but our use of them in large volume has created serious environmen­ tal problems,” said UCI chemist Zhibin Guan.

“Our goal through this re­ search was to address the issue of plastic pollution as well as achieving a beneficial outcome of creating a new source of liquid fuel.”

Guan and Zheng Huang, his collaborator at SIOC, together with their colleagues have fig­ ured out how to break down the strong bonds of polyethylene, the most common commercially

available form of plastic. Com­ pared to other methods currently used to recycle plastic bags and bottles, which include caustic chemicals and high heat ovens, the new technique is both chemi­ cally gentle and energy effective.

The technique uses specific types of hydrocarbon molecules — called alkanes — to degrade plastics in a process known as cross­alkane metathesis.

Ironically, the substances needed for this new greener method of reducing plastic waste are byproducts from oil refining, making the fossil fuel sector a steady supplier of its clean­up chemicals.

Guan said the U.S.­China joint team are still working on a few issues to make it more efficient.

That includes increasing the cat­ alyst activity and lifetime, de­ creasing the cost, and developing catalytic processes to turn other plastic trash into treasure.

— Wheels Reporter.

NAVIGANT Research released a white paper that outlines the long­term evolution of car own­ ership based on an assessment of four key trends — vehicle con­ nectivity, vehicle autonomy, on­ demand mobility, and vehicle electrification — as well as fac­ tors such as the progress of ur­ banisation.

“Because the time frame of 2025­2050 is so far in the future, it is not practical to offer global market forecasts for annual sales.

“Rather, the paper considers how the transformation of indi­ vidual mobility will affect the overall vehicle market, as well as vehicle manufacturers and other key stakeholders involved in au­ tomotive industry technology development,” the report states.

Substantial upheavals The long and short of the report is summarised by a chapter headlined “Decline of the Per­ sonal Vehicle”.

The researchers warn car sell­ ers worldwide will face “a sub­ stantial upheaval between now and 2050”. Automoted buses trundling set routes in cities and electric skateboard charging in the boots of Audis are just the tip of the iceberg looming on the horizon of all the giant roll­on­ roll­off ships exporting cars all over the world to markets that cannot afford them.

Instead of browsing the web for a used bargain, our children will hail a shared ride or auto­ mated bus on their implanted communication device.

For as one prescient engineer­ ing student asked Wheels during

Airvinci has released computer generated images of a personal drone that could skip over daily traffic jams. Who still wants to own one of the cars below? PHOTO: AIRVINCI a visit to UKZN, “why own a de­ preciating asset that wastes 80% of the energy you put into the tank? That’s like burning R8 of every R10 you put into your car, man!”

With such wisdom even from the snot noses, Navigant’s white paper can confidently state that technological developments in the automotive industry are leading to a new generation of vehicles that are capable of tak­ ing over much (and ultimately all) of the driving responsibility.

At the same time, electric drive technology is becoming more efficient and affordable.

Moreover, city governments from Los Angeles to Paris to New Delhi are pushing for cars

without gas, and the long­term trend of people moving to live in ever­growing urban areas is forcing cities to regulate private car usage.

Connected we fly Layered over all of this, say Navi­ gant, is the macro trend of 24/7 connectivity.

“The development of car­ sharing and ride­hailing servi­ ces is at the core of a trend to­ ward mobility on demand and away from individual vehicle ownership. This is not some­ thing that will happen over­ night, but it is where the combi­ nation of factors described above is driving the growth of the global vehicle market.

“In the future, the business model of vehicle OEMs deliver­ ing products to individual con­ sumers will gradually decline in popularity as mobility services expand,” Navigant’s white paper predicts.

In other words, our children will not want to own cars, but ride share instead. But there is a glimmer of hope for all petrol­ heads reading Wheels coverage of events like Cars in the Park.

For while there will for sure be many little robot toasters busing people about (as we show on page 6) and even a few personal drones for the very rich, there will also be Uber­style taxis. And someone will have drive them.

V NAVIGANT WHITE PAPER

‘The development of carsharing and ride­hailing services is at the core of a trend toward mobility on­demand and away from individual vehicle ownership’ MERCEDES­BENZ AND TRANSNET SEE RECORD EXPORTS IN APRIL WHILE the future of individual vehicle ownership has been all but buried by researchers (see above report) Mercedes­Benz South Africa and Transnet partnership reported record exports of the C­Class from the factory and port in East London.

Recent reports have con­ firmed that Transnet and Mercedes­Benz South Africa (MBSA) recorded the highest units being handled in East

London in April, with over 10 000 new vehicles exported.

This bodes well for the economy of the region and for the partnership of MBSA, Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) and Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA).

MBSA’s CEO and executive director of Manufacturing, Ar­ no van der Merwe, said the total number of Mercedes­ Benz W205 C­Class vehicles exported via the East London

over the last three months amounted to 25 860. “In April we were the highest ex­ porter of new vehicles in South Africa when we record­ ed a total of 10 674 exports, which is a huge achievement and a record for MBSA, the East London Port and the Eastern Cape as a province.

“Karl Socikwa, Chief Execu­ tive of Transnet Port Termi­ nals, said by exporting such a volume of cars, the partners

had contributed immensely in the sustenance of jobs and in turning the tide against the current economic slump,” The parties The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa said new vehicle exports dur­ ing April had registered a sub­ stantial improvement rising by 9 254 vehicles or 39,2% from 23 602 vehicles exported in April last year to 32 856 ex­ ports in April 2016. — WR.

Unique, one­off designer bumpers printed in 3D with durable plastic IN the last three years, 3D print­ ing has expanded from prototyp­ ing to factory tooling to short run production, with the expectation that it would be used also for mass customisation of consumer products.

Based in Ikeda, Osaka, Japan, Daihatsu has partnered with 3D printing solutions company Stratasys, Kota Nezu from indus­ trial design company Znug De­ sign and 3D creator Sun Junjie to turn the vision into reality.

The designers 3D print with ASA thermoplastic, which is very durable, UV resistant and aes­

thetic, to create 15 “Effect Skins” — intricate geometric and organ­ ic patterns in 10 different colours.

Customers can adjust the pa­ rameters of the designs them­ selves, exponentially increasing the numbers of options and al­ lowing “one­off” customisation for each consumer.

The skins may be ordered for front and rear bumpers and fend­ ers.

“What would have taken two to three months to develop can now be produced in two weeks,” says Osamu Fujishita, general manager, Corporate Planning

Department, Brand DNA Office, Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. The traditional manufactur­ ing method of reducing costs is mass production of identical parts to take advantage of econo­ mies of scale. But this Effect Skins project illustrates the pow­ er of 3D printing when it comes to creating on­demand product parts with high customisability and rich design properties.

“This project would not have been possible with traditional manufacturing or tooling meth­ ods,” explains Kota Nezu, Znug Design.

“We believe on­demand pro­ duction [with 3D printing] offers definite benefits to supply chain efficiencies,” adds Osamu Fujis­ hita. “And it allows easy access for customers.”

The Effect Skin project is be­ ing tested in 2016 in select mar­ kets with plans for commerciali­ sation in early 2017.

— Wheels Reporter.

Drivers will be able to design their own geometric and organic patterns for the Effect Skins, like this one.

PHOTO: STRATASYS

MOTORING WitnessWheels

June 30, 2016

3

Toyota deploys new child dummies TOYOTA has expanded its family of virtual crash­test dummies by adding three new models to replicate the physi­ cal characteristics of children aged 10, six and three.

The software, known as Total Human Model for Safe­ ty (Thums), maps and simu­ lates the injuries sustained by human bodies in vehicle crashes.

Developed by Toyota and its academic research part­ ners in the USA, the new soft­ ware models will be offered for sale to others from later this year.

Thums can forecast the ex­ tent of likely injuries through­ out the human body, provid­ ing a valuable tool in the de­ velopment of passenger protection devices, such as airbags, and the design of saf­ er vehicles.

The new child models are designed to represent the av­ erage physiques of children at different ages: 94 cm tall at three years, 118 cm at six and 138 cm at age 10. As with the models already available — large and average­build males and a small female — they will each be offered in two ver­ sions: a passenger and a pe­ destrian.

The software has under­ gone constant improvements and refinements since Thums Version 1 was launched in 2000. For Version 2, which was released in 2003, faces and bone structure were add­ ed to the models.

Version 3, launched in 2008, added a brain simula­ tion and in 2010, Version 4 was upgraded with detailed modelling of the brain and the addition of internal organs, pinpointing their placement and interaction within the body.

In 2015, Version 5 added simulated musculature, al­ lowing the models to assume the same bracing positions that a human might just be­ fore an impact.

The new child models have been created through joint re­ search between Wayne State University, the University of Michigan and the Collabora­ tive Safety Research Centre at the Toyota Technical Centre in Michigan.

Thums is used for a wide variety of purposes by car makers, parts manufacturers, and universities, both in Ja­ pan and overseas.

It contributes to research on safety technologies not just at Toyota, but also by or­ ganisations all over the world.

For example, in motorsport, it is being used for the devel­ opment of safer seat designs for Nascar racing cars in North America.

With the ultimate goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and injuries, Toyota will use Thums to analyse the injuries sustained by passengers and pedestrians during collisions with and between vehicles, and to further research and improve safety technologies of all kinds.

— Supplied.

Self­driving Faraday strangely gorgeous Normally, yet another test for a self­driving vehicle on the public roads of California does not make the news anymore, but when the proposed vehicle mixes past and future designs in as strangely a gorgeous package as this, Wheels readers and all those who ever wanted a Batmobile, will take notice. Faraday Future plans to start building and selling electric vehicles next year in the United States, but has not disclosed further details regarding its newly awarded self­driving program. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has confirmed that Faraday had been approved to test self­driving vehicles on public roads. To date, 13 other companies have received such approval, from Audi to Freightliner to a Silicon Valley start­up called Zoox.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Car cover not optional SA’s has highest accident risk, yet our roads have 7 in 10 cars uninsured BRIAN BASSETT THIS article was prompted by a recent press release by the South African Automobile Association (AA) on the alarming fact that some 70% of South African mo­ torists are uninsured.

With about 11,4 million li­ censed vehicles in the country, many in poor and unroadworthy condition, the accident risk is one of the highest in the world and yet drivers continue to ig­ nore the need to be properly in­ sured. Most people resent pay­ ing car insurance, which they per­ ceive as offering no immediate direct benefit. In recent months three experts have been inter­ viewed on the Inqola Motor Show on Capital Radio 104fm each Sat­ urday morning from 9 am to 10 am.

These are: Keith Sampson, an experienced claims adjuster, Ge­ off Clarke, owner of a brokerage handling a considerable amount of car insurance, and Moosa Al­ lee, owner of one of the largest brokerages in the city.

The views expressed in this ar­ ticle are a consensus of the views of these three experts.

Congestion and collision With growing congestion on our roads and parking lots, as well as

our deteriorating road infra­ structure it’s not any longer if you have an accident, but when.

Many drivers consider them­ selves careful and accident im­ mune and, presuming our roads were driven only by careful, cour­ teous motorists, this might be the case. However, South African motorists are well known for their complete disregard of the rules of the road, turning our roads into nightmares of death and destruction and killing both the innocent and the guilty.

The amazing fact is that, after India and China, South Africa has the third­highest road acci­ dent rate in the world.

Legal requirement Car insurance is the most impor­ tant insurance you will ever buy and you should not be allowed on the road without it.

Comprehensive cover for your car is expensive, as it covers both your car and others involved in an accident.

There are however other ways of insuring yourself. Perhaps the best known is the balance of third party insurance, where you cover the interests of others but not your own. It can be linked to the insurance of your home and will cost you as little as R60 a month, or on its own about R80 a month.

There was general agreement among our experts that, as in many other countries, no car should be licensed without at least being covered by this type of insurance and fines should be made applicable to those driving without this cover.

Buying car insurance These days the media overflows with advertising for cheap insur­ ance or insurance which provides cash back after five years without a claim.

You can buy online and receive volumes of legally binding insur­ ance conditions, which almost 90% of policyholders never read. With the result that you ac­ tually know little about what is covered and under what condi­ tions your claim will be paid.

The message from our experts is clear, do not focus on premi­ ums — focus on quality.

Not all insurances are the same and you will only know whether your insurance fits your needs when you lodge a claim.

Also, buy car insurance through a properly­accredited broker, it costs no more and the broker will not only be able to ad­ vise you on how best and most inexpensively to cover your needs, but will also handle you claim when it is lodged.

Excesses and bonuses An excess is a first amount you agree to pay your insurer in the event of a claim, these days it amounts to between R3 500 and R5 000. It reassures your insurer that you will only claim for major collisions and so has an effect on your premium. A no­claim bonus on the other hand is a discount on your premium allowed you by your insurer for not claiming, and this bonus could, over time, de­ crease your premium by up to 50%.

The good news is that you can insure both your excess and no­ claim bonus for only a few rands a month.

Post­collision information Immediately after an accident you need to collect as much infor­ mation as possible on others in­ volved.

Names, addresses, ID num­ bers, driving licence details and passenger details. Interview wit­ nesses and get their details at the scene.

Take photographs with your mobile. It is wise to carry a small plastic wallet in your car with pen, paper and chalk to mark the crash scene. Don’t be rushed by other drivers who want to pass the accident.

You then need to go to the nearest police station to report the accident and obtain a case number, which is crucial to your claim. If police are already on site so much the better. If there are injuries you will need to know what these are and where the in­ jured have been hospitalised.

Write­offs and vehicle values After an accident your insurers will value your vehicle and if re­ pair costs are higher than a cer­ tain percentage of its value, they will write it off and pay out a per­ centage of that value, as hap­ pened after the great hailstorm in Pietermaritzburg in March 2015.

If the damage is cosmetic you might like to buy the car back from your insurer, if that is al­ lowed in terms of your policy.

It is possible to insure for re­ placement value but costs are very high.

Argument for car insurance Some say the cost of car insur­ ance is high. We believe that the costs of non­insurance are much higher. An accident that is wholly or partly your fault could wipe out you and your family finan­ cially. We know times are hard, but motorists need to cover themselves adequately.

Veteran motocross champs appeal for a sponsor THE largest team of South Af­ rican top Veteran Motocross riders are set to tackle the In­ ternational USA World Veteran race in California in November, 55­year­old Tony Riddell ex GP rider and multiple Motocross

national champion has put to­ gether the most colourful team of professional South African riders ever to race together as a team.

These South African national, Springboks and world champi­

ons, all respective heroes in their day, are still well known in championship circles.

The race in November is the largest World Vets event yet with riders from over 36 coun­ tries taking part. Organisers in

the past have registered 50 000 spectators for the weekend of racing. The team are headed by Tony Riddell, who is appealing for funds on top of what the riders are pay­ ing. Riddell says R500 000 gets

an exclusive team deal, or smaller brands can be accom­ modated for a 20% stake in the team. Interested support­ ers, partners and sponsors can e­mail tonyriddell4@gmail.com or call 079 442 1651. — WR.

4

WitnessWheels MOTORING

June 30, 2016

Why roadies like a Caravelle After a 6 000 km music tour across SA, Heather Waters calls the latest combi a room on wheels ALWYN VILJOEN AWARD­WINNING folk­rock artist Heather Waters is again on a nationwide tour, but this round is not done in the group’s faithful 1975 Volkswagen Kombi.

Instead, Volkswagen is cele­ brating Heather Waters’ Music with a new Caravelle.

Wheels met up with Waters and her percussionist Briers Coetzee along with their roadies while they performed in Pieter­ maritzburg, and after praising their new album Castles & Tow­ ers, asked pointed questions on how the sixth­generation Cara­ velle fared on the Pick Daisies tour from Knysna to Mozam­ bique, via KZN to Pretoria and hence to the Free State and back to George.

They told Wheels the fuel con­ sumption was one of the best things about the new engine.

“With the boot fully loaded with the five crew members’ equipment and gear and a trailer packed with sound gear, we aver­ aged 9,6 l/100 km over the four weeks we have been on the road so far. That is over 10 km per litre despite our heavy load!”

Roadtripping is something of

Used to their iconic 1975 combi, the members of the Heather Waters folk­rock group are impressed by the creature comforts delivered by clever design in the new VW Caravelle they have been roadtripping in. Seen here are (from left) Heather Waters, Briers Coetzee and Simon Emmerich, with André Oosthuizen unwilling to even step outside the combi for a photo.

PHOTO: HEATHERWATERSMUSIC.COM a lifestyle for Waters, since the beginning of her career she has not stood still — Waters has per­ formed her folk­ rock guitar tunes in villages, towns and cities from Cape Town to Corsica. There­

fore, when she speaks on the comforts of a vehicle, it is with the kind of authority that comes with many thousands of kilome­ tres.

And in pointing out the VW’s

clever design that seems to cater for her every need, from charging a laptop to warming her butt, she stressed she was not just singing the new kombi’s praises because VW is sponsoring it.

intelligence,” said Waters.

“Features that we really en­ joyed while driving were the rain­ sensing windscreen wipers, the very smart braking system, the seven gears with tiptronic and all that torque!

“We are used to crawling up hills at 40 km/h in my 1975 kombi loaded with gear and crew; in the sixth generation we just put on cruise control and it motors up the hills with no effort at all!

“As a passenger, the features that have made our 2016 tour stand out are the heated seats, the very comfortable backseats Win with and the easily accessible stor­ Wheels age space under the seats.

We have a CD of “For long distance road­ Castles & Towers to give to tripping, this has been like a reader who can tell us the travelling in a hotel room average consumption the across the country.

Heather Waters crew got on “I have been able to their 6 000 km Pick Daisies maintain my online work tour. For a chance to win, by using the plug points at e­mail your answer to the back and keeping my de­ alwyn.viljoen@ vices charged, all the seats witness.co.za swivel, so I can move them in a way that I can work or sleep very comfortably!

“We have travelled just over “The aircon/heater for the 6 000 km and each journey we back of the Caravelle can be con­ take, we discover and are more trolled from the back, which I al­ aware of this vehicle’s incredible so found very convenient.”

Swiss army knife car gets longer or shorter for TV adverts UNTIL now, car adverts were made using real cars, a process of­ ten hampered by car availability, model revisions, limited access to locations and footage that can quickly become irrelevant.

In collaboration with JemFX, Performance Filmworks and Kes­ low, production company The Mill has created The Mill Black­ bird which sets out to transform the way automotive advertising is made — it’s a car rig that can be shot at any time, in any location, without the need to rely on a physical car. The Mill Blackbird is able to quickly transform its chassis to match the exact length and width of almost any car.

For enthusiasts, the most ex­ citing thing about the Blackbird is its electric motor, “which can be programmed to imitate accel­ eration curves and gearing shifts of almost any car, past present and future”. At Wheels, we predict this programmable trait of elec­ tric motors will quickly catch on to give electric car buyers a school taxi during the week and a track racer on weekends.

The adjustable suspension can

The world’s first fully adjustable car rig is the real wheels behind the computer­generated imagery of many an American car ad.

PHOTO: THE MILL also alters ride height, rigidity and dampening to replicate typi­ cal driving characteristics.

Two years in development, The Mill Blackbird was hand­built by the world’s top technicians from JemFX in the very same hanger that the Blackbird SR­71 super­ sonic jet was once manufactured

— the car rig’s name is a nod to this legacy of stealth design.

The Mill Blackbird is able to capture quality footage and data due to its camera array and tailor­ made stabilisation unit, engi­ neered in collaboration with Per­ formance Filmworks’ legendary, multi award­winning technician,

Lev Yevstratov.

A combination of high dynam­ ic range imagery and 3D laser scanning generates a virtual ver­ sion of the environment, produc­ ing 100% realistic CG render­ ings. The Mill has taken this a step further, developing a bespoke Blackbird augmented reality app

that allows you to see the intend­ ed vehicle in CG, tracked live over the rig on location.

Whether for automotive ad­ vertising content or visualising the latest advances in car design, The Mill Blackbird inspires and expands creative opportunities, offering a truly flexible produc­ tion tool without sacrificing any quality or direction.

Alistair Thompson, interna­ tional executive vice president of The Mill, comments: “We can unequivocally say that The Mill Blackbird is a tool to solve real problems for the advertising in­ dustry. It is no vanity project.

“It was the genuine needs of our advertising clients that made the Blackbird happen and their constant support and input has shaped its design and made it the game changing innovation that it has become. We hope it will con­ tinue to provide inspiration for the whole industry and most im­ portantly, in turn, our clients will create ways of using it that we have not even comprehended yet.

This is what excites us the most.”

— Supplied.

V ALISTAIR THOMPSON VP at The Mill

‘The

Blackbird can imitate acceleration curves and gearing shifts of almost any car, past present and future’

Transnet shows first made­in­SA locomotive for clients in Africa ALWYN VILJOEN TRANSNET Engineering planned to unveil its first locally manufactured diesel­powered locomotive at the Africa Rail Conference and Exhibition in the Sandton Convention Centre.

While many bemoan the rust­ ing railway tracks all over South Africa, the fact remains that the Transnet Engineering’s Loco­ motive Business is fully able to take on work from other African countries.

This decision currently refur­ bishes, converts, upgrades or re­ manufactures over 400 locomo­ tives annually to ISO 9001 quali­

ty standards at its factories in Durban, Bloemfontein and Pre­ toria. It also maintains over 2 500 of the locomotives in South Africa’s fleet to provide its customers with a source of relia­ ble and available tractive effort.

General overhauls and Minor Overhaul Programmes (MOPs) of DC­type locomotives are un­ dertaken in Pretoria at Transnet Engineering’s Koedoespoort works.

Should a locomotive be se­ verely damaged in some way, a to­ tal rebuild of diesel electric loco­ motives is undertaken at Trans­ net Engineering’s plant in Bloemfontein and the rebuild of

electric DC locomotives is done in their Koedoespoort plant with the rebuild of the electric AC lo­ comotives in their Durban­based plant.

Meanwhile, Bombardier Transportation showed its suc­ cessful Gautrain and Traxx Afri­ ca Locomotive projects, integrat­ ed solutions and Rail Control and service and maintenance so­ lutions. The company, which also supplied the Gautrain, is in the last year of a three­year project by a consortium of companies under the Bombardier Africa Al­ liance to modernise signalling along over 200 km of track in eThekwini to speed up the com­

mute of some 70 000 passen­ gers. By year end, the consortium anticipate it will have replaced Durban’s 40­year­old signalling technology with new systems that will allow trains to run 150 seconds apart.

Bombardier is also a leader in electric transport both on rail and roads, and will also soon be opening its first Propulsion and Controls manufacturing facility in Johannesburg.

Railways control systems are being upgraded in eThekwini to allow trains to run mere minutes apart.

PHOTO: IAN CARBUTT

OFFROAD MOTORING WitnessWheels

June 30, 2016

5

Bigger isn’t always better

Industrial designer Mark Schoening is the designer and builder behind Base4x4.

The flip­out side panel is available optionally, offering an expanded cabin sleeping area.

PHOTOS: ALAN LEMIRE­ GIZMAG

While the rooftop pops up with electric motors, getting into the Base4x4 requires a ladder, or bit of a stretch.

Base4x4 makes camping affordable ALWYN VILJOEN PROVING that not all Yanks de­ mand bigger, more luxurious and of course thirstier vehicles, Base4x4 creator Mark Schoening is building a Base 4x4 Expedition Vehicle on the chassis of a Fuso.

Schoening explains the mission of his Base4x4 expedition vehicles is to be minimal. This encourages users to finish their camper trucks to their own taste and ensure affordability.

But being American, basic does not mean roughing it in a roof top tent. Electric motors expand the fi­ breglass pop­top to raise Cordura canvas walls around a two­person sleeping area, with an optional side tent if more sleeping space is re­ quired.

Even without the side tent, the Base4x4 sleeps up to five people, ide­ ally mom and dad with three chil­

dren.

Standard equipment includes 80­ litre tanks for fresh and grey water, a chemical toilet and outdoor show­ er, and an electrical system with bat­ tery and 2 000 W inverter and a sink.

Schoening showed the Fuso truck he equipped at the Overland Expo in Flagstaff, Arizona, in May and was surprised by the interest shown in his van, which is positively spartan when compared to the average American recreational vehicle.

He said the most interesting take­ away from the show was how people did not see his Base4x4 as a competi­ tor to vehicles competing in price or size, but “more as a mini/practical al­ ternative to the giant Sahara­roam­ ing monsters”.

Schoening said prices for the van must still be confirmed, but hopes to keep the base price around $95 000, or around R1,4 million.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

REDEFINES THE ‘S’ IN SUV

Pajero Legend II adds extras MITSUBISHI SA is bringing legend­ ary value back to the market with the introduction of the Pajero Legend II in both the long­ and short­wheel base variants. These limited special edition models will be available at dealers from the end of June.

For the Legend II, Mitsubishi has again added a host of extras to the Pajero without significantly increas­ ing the retail price. This time round, however, the Legend II can be or­ dered with a range of additional ex­ tras that are sourced, subsidised and fitted by Mitsubishi South Africa.

Braam Faul, marketing manager of Mitsubishi South Africa said the range of off­road accessories, worth some R50 000 of additional value, is sourced from the well­known Aus­ tralian overland specialists, Opposite Lock, and from Front Runner South Africa, while cosmetic accessories are sourced from Mitsubishi’s own parts catalogue.

The Pajero Legend II LWB is based

on the top­spec Exceed derivative.

Customers get up to an additional R50 000 worth of extras as part of the purchase price of the lwb.

This includes a heavy­duty protec­ tion plate fitted below the engine and another below the gearbox assembly as well as heavy­duty rock sliders. It is also fitted with Yokohama Geolan­ der dual­purpose tyres with a 265/60 R18 profile.

The range of additional accesso­ ries caters for specialist off­roaders and includes 41 mm big bore front and rear heavy­duty shock absorbers from Tough Dog, a slim line roof rack from Front Runner and high­impact discharge spotlights from the adven­ ture specialists, Light Force.

Faul said to top it all, the Pajero has five­year maintenance plan en­ sured total cost of ownership is very low compared to its competitors in the luxury SUV category.

The lwb retails for R759 900 and the LWB for R659 900.

The Pajero Legend II is now sold with lots of standard extras on both the long­ and short­wheel base variants.

PHOTO: QUICKPIC

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These payments are indication only and may change depending on date of first payment etc. Changes in the prime rate, currently 10.50%, will cause changes to this schedule unless calculated on a ‘Fixed Rate’ basis. Customer responsible for Balloon Payment when and if applicable. Subject to normal credit approval as per JLR FS credit criteria. Retail prices subject to change without notice. Advertised monthly payment includes initiation fee of R1197.00 and R68.40 monthly service fee. Terms and conditions apply and while stocks last. Land Rover Financial Services, a product of WesBank.

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6

WitnessWheels MOTORING

June 30, 2016

Fiat takes on the big boys Fiat has stolen the march on Mitsubishi by launching the new Triton in an Italian suit in Midrand. ALWYN VILJOEN drove it.

FOLLOWING the world reveal at the “2015 Dubai International Motor Show”, the newest addi­ tion to the award­winning Fiat Professional range was revealed at a specialised event held 100 metres below ground level at Samrand quarry in Midrand.

Fiat currently offers the broad­ est range of light to medium commercial vehicles from one brand in South Africa, from the Ducato panelvan to the Fiorino “florist van”, but the addition of the Fullback is Fiat’s first bite at the bakkie market.

A distinctive style Using the Triton drivetrain, the Fullback adds sporty propor­ tions with its forward extending cab and a reduced front over­ hang.

The interiors reflect the func­ tionality of a work vehicle as well as the comfort and elegance of a high range SUV, with cladding that competes with that of the Ford Ranger.

Two engine options are availa­ ble on the double cab, a 2,5­litre diesel with a power output from 100 kW to 131 kW, whilst the sin­ gle cab comes standard with a 2,4­litre petrol engine that deliv­ ers 97 kW. The petrol engine is provided with a five­speed manual gear­ box, the diesel engine offer is aligned to the best competition and can be combined, according to each market’s offer, with a manual gearbox or automatic transmission, both with five speeds. At the time of launch, the diesel engine will be available

PHOTO: PHOTO: SUPPLIED SUPPLIED with a manual transmission.

Transmissions and suspensions Fullback is available in a 4x2 ver­ sion (rear­wheel drive) in the sin­ gle and double cab , as well as in a 4x4 version (all­wheel drive)in the double cab; the latter will cer­ tainly be the one most appreciat­ ed by those who, for work rea­ sons, need to reach areas that are far away from asphalted roads or drive down tough off­road trails.

With part time 4x4 manual selec­ tion and rear differential lockers (E­locker), the Fullback is capa­ ble of getting you through the toughest terrain.

Three trim levels The Fullback range comes stan­ dard with the following: 2WD High rider, power windows,

manual air conditioning, central power locking, 16” steel wheels, cloth seats, ABS with EBD and the rear load bin is rubberised.

The Double Cab 2.5 Diesel (100 kW) 4x2 LX comes stan­ dard with E­locker rear axle, leather trim, cruise control, pow­ er windows front and rear, manu­ al air conditioner, driver and pas­ senger airbags, ABS with EBD, central locking, keyless entry (re­ mote), audio controls on steer­ ing wheel, 17” alloy wheels, tow bar and rubberised.

The flagship Double Cab 2.5 Diesel (131 kW) 4x4 SX comes standard with part time 4WD, E­locker rear axle, 17” alloy wheels, Bi Xenon headlights, leather trim, cruise control, Blue­ tooth and USB, automatic air

conditioner, rear view camera, driver and passenger airbags, ABS with EBD, keyless entry (re­ mote), audio controls on steer­ ing, tow bar and rubberised rear load bin.

The Fullback will be available in Metallic Silver, Titanium Grey, Brown, Pearl White (only 4x4 Double cab), Black Mica, Solid Red and Solid White.

Dimensions and load capacity Built for facing even the most challenging missions, Fullback boats a large load capacity and a very high degree of strength, which is mostly due to its ladder frame chassis. In detail, all Full­ back versions have a maximum height of 1 780 mm, widths of up to 1 815 mm and a wheelbase of 3 000 mm. The total length va­

ries depending on the configura­ tion: it reaches 5 220 mm with the single cab and 5 345 mm with the double cab. The length of the load compartment also varies — 2 265 mm for the single cab ver­ sion and 1 520 mm for the double cab version. Its capacity is more than one ton and its towable weight is up to three tons.

Mopar designed accessories Mopar — the FCA reference brand for services, customer care, original spare parts and accesso­ ries — has created a dedicated line of accessories to enhance the sporty, stylistic and functional features of the new Fiat Profes­ sional Fullback. Among these, the main elements worth noting are those dedicated to the rear load compartment, designed to satisfy both the work and leisure needs of new customers.

These include front nudge bar, side steps, load body sports bar and rear bumper. These locally produced components will be available as a set or individually depending on the customer’s re­ quirements and all are available in polished stainless steel or black powder coated stainless steel.

Manufactured by Artav, the Fullback cosmetic accessories can be ordered with the vehicle or fitted as an after­market acces­ sory by the Fiat Professional dealerships. Furthermore, the tow bar, designed in collabora­ tion with Bosal, as well as roof bars from Thule, make it possible for customers to take full advan­ tage of the vehicle during their free time with different solutions

for transporting all sorts of ob­ jects, such as roof boxes, wind­ surfing gear, kayaks, and bicycles.

The Fullback range is complet­ ed by various accessories that are a perfect fit with the technical and stylistic features of the mod­ el: the kick plate customised with the name of the vehicle, the side chrome­plated mouldings that protect the doors, chrome mirror covers, rear parking sensors, rub­ ber or fabric protective mats, un­ derbody protection, fog lights with DRL function and valve cov­ ering caps sporting with the ve­ hicle logo.

Whilst most of these accesso­ ries will be available at launch, several imported items will be­ come available in the coming months.

South African dealer launch The Fiat Professional Fullback dealer launch will take place from tomorrow where the public will have an opportunity to test drive the complete range at dealer­ ships around the country.

Pricing and warranty The Fiat Professional Fullback is available in three model deriva­ tives — the single cab 2.4 Petrol 97 kW 4x2 STD Trim starting at R232 900 including VAT, the double cab 2.5 diesel 100 kW 4x2 LX Trim at R402 900 including VAT whilst the double cab 2.5 Diesel 131 kW 4x4 SX Trim is available from R468 900 includ­ ing VAT. The Fiat professional Fullback range comes standard with a three­year/100 000 km vehicle warranty and a five­ year/100 000 km service plan.

Swiss to start testing autonomous buses ALWYN VILJOEN NOT content with having the fastest students on Earth, (see page 8), Switzerland announced it will also start testing autono­ mous buses.

This brings to four the number of toaster­shaped robot trans­ porters being tested around the world, with the 3D printed Olli from Local Motors in Washing­ ton DC, (which we reported on last week), taking the most novel approach.

Then there is the sealed­in EZ10 in California and the open­ topped Navia making the most of the breeze in humid Singapore.

Made in your town The latest robot bus is called the Englanf and can carry about 11 passengers in comfort. The buses will not only make traffic better, but bring the Wheels prediction of locally­made transport a step closer.

Local Motors CEO John Rog­ ers recently told Agence France­ Presse the technology for these buses is ready and the likes of Olli can start driving itself on public roads as soon as local laws allow it.

Rogers said Local Motors en­ visages hundreds of micro­facto­ ries where Ollis are 3D­printed around the world to fit local needs.

The Swiss bus is assembled us­

ing more conventional nuts and bolts, and initially only two buses will steer themselves through the town.

This pilot project, which is part of the Mobility Lab Sion Val­ ais initiative, is an opportunity for EPFL researchers to test and improve their traffic and fleet­ management algorithms.

The smart vehicles will be run

by PostBus, Switzerland’s lead­ ing public bus operator.

They will carry up to 11 passen­ gers at a time, at a maximum speed of 20 kilometres per hour.

Remote monitoring Like the giant autonomous trucks that have been operating for years in Rio Tinto’s mines in Australia, a remote operator monitors and controls the vehi­ cle using a software program de­ veloped by the EPFL startup BestMile.

All the pilot Englanf trips will be for mahala.

The Swiss Federal Roads Of­ fice and the Valais Roads Service carefully analysed both technical and legal considerations before green­lighting the tests. But the electric vehicles had to be brought up to spec first. This in­ cluded installing air condition­ ing, a second battery, an access ramp for people with reduced mobility and a windshield wiper for the front window.

The researchers from EPFL’s

Future city traffic will be made safer and less congested by autonomous buses like the Englanf Swiss bus (top left), the Navia in Singapore (bottom left); the Olli that talks back in the U.S (top right) and the EZ10 in California.

PHOTOS: SUPPLIED Urban Transport Systems Labo­ ratory said in a statement their challenge was to develop a fleet­ management system that could handle the many situations that autonomous vehicles could en­ counter.

The vehicles must also be able to communicate with each other and with others on the road so that they can adjust their speed as necessary and respect the right­of­way.

The two­year project is sup­

ported by the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI). It will include a reliable system for managing the specific needs of passengers, such as on­ demand service, booking a ride in advance and offering flexible

routes. The algorithms will have to be able to manage these tasks in real time, without sacrificing safety or cost efficiency. Once ready, the algorithms will be in­ corporated in the central fleet­ management system.

MOTORING WitnessWheels

June 30, 2016

7

First eHighway in Sweden Trucks connect to overhead catenary wires and are diesel­electric to avoid range anxiety SIEMENS and Scania have re­ turned to the tramway system to meet Sweden’s commitment to having a transport sector that does not use fossil fuels by 2030.

The companies’ modern tram­ way is called an eHighway and the basics work just like the pantro­ graph­powered trams of yore, as well as the modern municipal buses in China or giant diesel­ electric hybrid trucks in Sishen open­pit mine.

But Siemens’ pantographs can connect and disconnect from the Scania trucks at speeds of up to 90 km per hour.

While connected to the over­ head catenary wires, the trucks are only using their powerful electric motors, enabling them to travel efficiently and with zero lo­ cal emissions.

Scania has avoided range anxi­ ety by making the trucks diesel­ electric hybrids, so that each

Big Mack with a side order of turbo

The first Mack to use a turbine that charges batteries that in turn power an all­electric drivetrain.

PHOTO: MACK TRUCKS that don’t guzzle diesel were all the rage at the WasteExpo 2016 recently held in Las Vegas, and fore­ most among these green trucks were the electric Mack refuse removal trucks.

Designed as an alternative driveline, the Wrightspeed Route give the big Mack a side order of turbo to extend the range of the electric vehicle powertrain as far as the driver can get.

The Wrightspeed Route powertrain uses electricity to deliver 100% of the vehicle’s propulsion. The system fea­ tures an advanced plug­in ca­ pable battery pack that ena­ bles a purely electric range of up to 38 kilometres. When the battery charge is depleted, an 80 kW, fuel agnostic Ful­ crum Turbine Generator, which can operate on natural gas or diesel fuel, recharges the batteries, enabling Route­ equipped vehicles to have un­ limited range with refueling.

Additional recharging comes from the Route’s 730 kW regenerative braking system, which generates elec­ tricity as the vehicle comes to a stop. Electricity from the battery pack powers four geared traction drive electric motors, enabling the Route powertrain to power vehicles up to 33 tons on grades as steep as 40%. With full torque available from zero rpm, the Route driving expe­ rience is comparable to die­ sel­powered trucks. — WR.

Imagine if the 10 000 trucks that use the N3 each day could be powered by electric motors up the steeper sections to maintain speed and avoid the bottlenecks caused by underpowered slow rigs, as Scania is testing in Sweden.

PHOTO: SCANIA CV AB truck can go off the eHighway and run on diesel, thus maintain­ ing the flexibility of conventional

trucks.

Sweden’s minister for infra­ structure, Anna Johansson, and

minister of energy, Ibrahim Bay­ lan, inaugurated the first eHigh­ way system on a public road.

The pilot catenary system will run until 2018 over a two­kilome­ tre stretch of the E16 highway north of Stockholm.

“The Siemens eHighway is twice as efficient as conventional internal­combustion engines.

The Siemens innovation supplies trucks with power from an over­ head contact line. This means that not only is energy consump­ tion cut by half, but local air pol­ lution is reduced too,” said Ro­ land Edel, chief engineer at the Siemens Mobility Division.

Transport accounts for more than one third of Sweden’s CO2 emissions, with almost half of that coming from freight trans­ port. As part of its climate pro­ tection strategy, Sweden has committed to having a fossil­fuel independent transport sector by

2030. Due to the expected growth in freight transport, road freight is set to grow even as rail capacity is increased. A solution to decarbonised road freight is therefore necessary. During the two­year trial, Sweden’s Trans­ port Administration Trafikver­ ket and Gävleborg County want to create a knowledge base on whether the Siemens eHighway system is suitable for future long­ term commercial use and further deployment.

“By far the greatest part of the goods transported in Sweden go on the road, but only a limited part of the goods can be moved to other traffic types. That is why we must free the trucks from their dependence on fossil fuels, so that they can be of use also in the future.

“Electric roads offer this pos­ sibility and are an excellent com­ plement to the transport sys­

tem”, said Anders Berndtsson, chief strategist at the Swedish Transport Administration.

The eHighway technology fea­ tures an open configuration. As a result, battery or natural gas so­ lutions, for example, can be im­ plemented as an alternative to the diesel hybrid drive system used in Sweden. This allows the system to be adapted to the spe­ cific application.

Siemens is now developing an­ other eHighway demonstration project in California. The project is being undertaken in collabora­ tion with vehicle manufacturer Volvo on behalf of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Tests will be conducted throughout 2017 to see how dif­ ferent truck configurations inter­ act with the eHighway infra­ structure in the vicinity of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in the U.S.

Kelrn is the latest to take the wellness road with MBSA

Drivers and staff at Kelrn Vervoer are the latest fleet to join Mercedes­Benz South Africa (MBSA) and its partner organisation Corridor Empowerment Project, to ensure safer roads through healthy truckers.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED IN the drive to promote healthier truck drivers and safer roads, Mercedes­Benz South Africa (MBSA) and its partner organi­ sation Corridor Empowerment Project (CEP) continue to sup­ port fleet owners in truck­driver health and wellness education.

The latest fleet owner to incor­ porate the CEP project into its inhouse wellness programme is

Kelrn Vervoer.

Kelrn Vervoer’s commitment to the health of its employees is substantial. Kenne de Kock, CEO of Kelrn, said: “At Kelrn, we are aware of the value of good drivers as well as employees in good health. We care about the health and wellbeing of our personnel and are grateful to be a part of the fleet owner workplace well­

ness programme with MBSA. This has proved to us that MBSA is one of the few manufacturers that not only cares about busi­ ness but also truly cares about the wellbeing of its customers and stakeholders, especially that of long­distance truck drivers.”

To date, four MBSA fleet own­ er workplace wellness pro­ grammes, with Kelrn Vervoer be­

ing the fifth, have been success­ fully implemented at Aspen Logistics, United Bulk, Bakers Transport and City Couriers, and continue to be supported.

The fleet owners participating in the wellness programmes re­ ceive regular updated health in­ formation to share with employ­ ees, bi­annual consultations on the refinement of their pro­

grammes, health skills training workshops, and support with wellness/HIV workplace policy development. The programme provides fleet owners with the opportunity to develop and im­ plement a customised workplace wellness programme.

See www.truckingwellness. co.za — Supplied.

California dreaming of no diesel ALWYN VILJOEN CHINESE all­electric bus and truck builder BYD will receive $9 million from a group of local governments who are investing in 27 electric trucks to replace diesel­powered heavy­duty trac­ tors used in rail yards and large­ scale freight distribution centres.

The grant is part of a larger statewide investment in low­car­ bon transportation projects that are pivotal to meeting Califor­ nia’s ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, im­ prove air quality and reduce pe­ troleum dependency by acceler­ ating the development and de­ ployment of advanced vehicle technologies.

As the self­proclaimed “Offi­ cial Sponsor of Mother Nature”, with a proven track record of thousands of vehicles already op­ erating around the world, BYD is the ideal partner to help North America’s cities deliver on the aim to replace existing diesel

trucks.

BYD will test its truck for a two­year period, using 23 bat­ tery­electric “yard goats”, trucks that are used to move heavy freight containers short distan­ ces within freight yards, ware­ houses, distribution centres and port terminals; and four medi­ um­duty trucks at two of its in­ termodal rail yards in the cities of San Bernardino and Com­ merce.

Both truck types will be de­ signed and manufactured by BYD in Lancaster, California.

Apart from shunting yards, BYD is also developing trucks for a range of vocational markets, in­ cluding refuse trucks, drayage trucks, concrete mixers and yard trucks, which will significantly reduce emissions and improve public health.

“BYD’s class eight heavy­duty yard truck and class five medium­ duty service truck technology will prove that vehicle electrifica­ tion is a solution that can be ap­

plied today to a variety of needs — not just passenger vehicles,” said Stella Li, president of BYD Motors.

“BYD is proud to collaborate on this project and showcase our best­in­market electric battery technology. By deploying these trucks in 24/7 operations, this project will prove that truck elec­ trification can be adopted at any major freight location and scaled for any facility and business need in the U.S.” While most car makers use lithium, nickel, manganese, co­ balt, oxide (NMC) type batteries for their high­energy density de­ spite its instability, BYD uses lith­ ium, iron, phosphate batteries in its vehicles.

The range is roughly half, but these batteries are very stable.

Knowing the large bank of bat­ teries under the bus floor will not get hot and start fires is more im­ portant than range.

BYD said its lithium, iron, phosphate battery offers three

The BYD T9 all­electric medium hauler truck will soon go on test in California, where local governments want clear skies with no diesel fumes.

PHOTO: BYD advantages on competing tech­ nologies: • it lasts longer, keeping 70% charge after 10 000 cycles, com­ pared to other lithium ion batter­ ies that rapidly degrade after 2 000 cycles or five or six years of regular use; • they are extremely safe as the

chemical reaction is not exother­ mic (no heat is released) and no oxygen is released; and • they are environmentally friendly as the primary compo­ nents are iron, which is the most common element on Earth by mass, and phosphate, which is naturally occurring.

8

WitnessWheels MOTORING RACING

June 30, 2016

Brilliant showing

by Perel

Dave Perel puts on his race face.

PHOTO: TWITTER DAVID Perel put the difficult start to his Blancpain GT En­ durance Series career behind him with a brilliant showing in his two stints at the 1 000 km of Paul Ricard on the weekend, and even if fourth in class was scant re­ ward for his performance, the Capetonian and his gentle­ man­driver team­mates American Stephen Earle and Belgian Bernard Delhez, were delighted to finally score championship points with fourth in the AM class.

Perel, however, delivered a headline performance as he drove to his second­class pole position on the trot at the cir­ cuit overlooking the French Riviera, before leading throughout his first beat and then recovering from sixth to hand the PereSoft Kessel Fer­ rari 458 over to his team­mate on a handy class lead after his second stint of the six­hour race.

His team­mates hit trouble after that, but they kept it to­ gether to see Delehez bring it home fourth in class at the midnight finish.

“It was a tough end to our weekend,” Perel said.

“We finished fourth in class after my team­mates had a difficult final two hours, but I am really proud of my stints. I was very happy with my weekend and delighted to put it on pole in class.”

Perel then had the privilege to start the race for the first time and enjoyed a competi­ tive first stint, during which he set the fastest AM lap of the race by almost a second.

“I started 13th and got into the top 20 — we were 19th when I handed the car over to Stephen,” David said.

“My pace was tiptop and we were in a handy class lead.”

The situation had, howev­ er, changed considerably by the time Perel took over the wheel again at the three­hour mark, with the Ferrari back in sixth, but David delivered a stunning hour’s work to climb back into the class lead as night fell. “I was holding thumbs that my team­mates could keep it together.”

The trio came close to the top­three dream, but an extra stop to attend to rear body damage during Earle’s fourth stint dropped the Ferrari down the order, although a steady run from there was enough for a fourth in class and 28th overall.

Perel said: “Now the focus is on our test at Spa in 10 days time before the big one. I’m really looking forward to my first Spa 24­hour at the end of the month.”

— Supplied.

Fast, faster and now… Grimsel quick While KZN’s drag racing fraternity are debating who has the quickest quarter mile at Mtuba, a few engineering students in Switzerland went and gave the world a new adjective to indicate something has just moved very, very fast indeed. They did it in the Grimsel — effectively an electric golf cart with a souped­up battery pack, dropped suspension and enough down force wings to make even a cousin from Phoenix happy. So how fast does Grimsel go from 0 to 100km? Try 1,513 seconds — wink, and you will miss it. This new world record slashes about a quarter of a second off the previous record time of 1,779 seconds, which was set last year by the University of Stuttgart’s engineering students. The 168 kg Grimsel car reached the speed in less than 30 metres, with clever traction control provided by four wheel hub motors that made 149 kW and 1 700 (sic) Nm. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Class T kidney shaker Toyota hard­pressed by Ford and Nissan to keep title in Botswana desert race COLIN MILEMAN PIETERMARITZBURG’S Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Per­ formance team of Chris Visser and Ward Huxtable gave their Class T championship title aspi­ rations a significant boost this weekend by claiming second place in the Toyota Botswana 1000 Desert Race — round three of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship.

Acknowledged as one of the toughest and roughest desert ra­ ces in recent memory, the pun­ ishing 979 km marathon route was spread over three action­ packed days of racing and cer­ tainly took its toll on the compet­ itors and vehicles alike, with only 15 of the original 42 starters crossing the finishing line.

Heading into this year’s event, based in the diamond mining town of Jwaneng around 180 km from Gaborone, Visser and co­ driver Huxtable had the benefit of leading the Class T champion­ ship following their victory last time out at the Vredefort Super Sprint, along with the third­ placed finish at the Vryburg sea­ son­opener.

To make up for the tough con­ ditions, drivers in the Saturday and Sunday races get double points, and tough it certainly was, with the experienced Visser and Huxtable and team­mates Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer in the second NWM Ford Performance Ranger suffering from flipping over to snap a driveshaft to broken brake lines and the usual punctures, all on Friday and Saturday.

With nearly 400 km of racing

Chris Visser and Ward Huxtable on their way to claiming second place in the kidney­shaking Toyota Botswana 1000 Desert Race held last weekend. PHOTO: QUICKPIC still to go on Sunday, the Desert Race always has a twist, and so it turned out as the running order at the sharp end of the field changed repeatedly — with a large number of competitors dropping out during the day with mechanical woes.

In the third T­Class home, the Red­Lined Nissan Navara of Luke Botha and Andre Vermeulen, Botha described the day’s route as a “kidney shaker” but the Nis­ san Navara crew came home with around 80 seconds to spare on Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer, in the second NWM/Ford Performance Ranger, who made a good recovery after rolling the Ford in the qualifying race for heat one.

Visser and Huxtable had their fair share of drama, picking up a puncture 65 km into the first 196 km loop, with the soft sand

making the wheel­changing ex­ ercise a fraught and lengthy affair that cost them around nine min­ utes. Unfortunately, they picked up another puncture towards the end of the stint after trying to pass a slower competitor, once again losing precious time.

Woolridge and Dreyer were going well in the first loop until they also broke a driveshaft, leav­ ing them with rear wheel­drive for half the lap. The Ranger was repaired during the pit stop and they completed the remaining loop without any problems to earn a solid fourth place behind Luke Botha and Andre Vermeu­ len (Nissan Navara).

Neil Woolridge (Team Principal) “This was a very tough weekend, and by all accounts is the rough­ est Desert Race we’ve had. It’s largely because this region is so

dry at the moment, but also due to the fact that we used exactly the same route as last year, just run the other way round. It’s ex­ tremely rough out there, and is more like a motocross track than a cross country route. You can see the drivers and navigators are exhausted after three very hard and physical days of racing. The cars also took a lot of strain, but to see both Ford Rangers make it to the end is fantastic.

“We obviously wanted the win, but second place is good. It’s all about the championship at the end of the year, and these points have strengthened our lead.

“Although Gareth rolled in the prologue, he did exceptionally well to fight his way up to fourth place after a really mature drive over the past two days.

“Overall it was a good result

for the team, as this was a very important race with double points up for grabs.”

Chris Visser (T8): “It wasn’t an easy weekend, and we had a couple of issues yester­ day with the driveshafts, and to­ day with the punctures.

“The soft sand made it ex­ tremely difficult to change the tyres, as the vehicle kept on slip­ ping off the jack. We also left the jacking plate behind after chang­ ing the first tyre, and we lost a lot of time trying to stabilise the jack the second time.

“It could have been a different result and I was really hoping for a second win in a row, but I think we did well to finish second, and it’s good for the championship and for the team.”

Gareth Woolridge (T7): “It was a very long and hard race.

The track was extremely rough, and probably caused a lot more damage to the cars than I think is necessary for a race weekend, and that’s for everybody.

“We clearly didn’t do our­ selves any favours with the inci­ dent during qualifying, but for the rest we had a good weekend, and it’s a decent overall result for the team.”

The next race is the Winterton 450 sprint race in KwaZulu­Na­ tal, on July 29 and 30.

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