Motoring March 2019 by The Malta Independent

IN THIS ISSUE: THE NEW DIAVEL 1260 RECEIVES THE PRESTIGIOUS "RED DOT DESIGN AWARD 2019" FOR ITS UNMISTAKEABLE STYLE | CITROEN C3 AIRCROSS WINS BEST SMALL SUV IN THE 2019 BUSINESS MOTORING AWARDS | 300PS AND QUATTRO DRIVE GIVE RISE TO THE NEW AUDI SQ2 | MITSUBISHI MOTORS UNVEILS L200 ‘ABSOLUTE’ SHOW SPECIAL | NEARLY HALF A MILLION BRICKS LATER, THE FIRST FULL-SCALE LEGO MCLAREN SENNA

The Malta Independent on Sunday. March 2019

DISCOVER THE RENAULT EASYLIFE CROSSOVER RANGE

THE NEW DIAVEL 1260 RECEIVES THE PRESTIGIOUS “RED DOT DESIGN AWARD 2019” FOR ITS UNMISTAKEABLE STYLE • Ducati wins the “Red Dot: Best of the Best” award, the highest recognition assigned annually by this international contest • A third win for Ducati, following the successes of the 1199 Panigale in 2013 and the XDiavel S in 2016: a confirmation of the company’s design excellence with the new Diavel 1260 • The awards ceremony will take place on 8 July 2019 in Essen, Germany at the Aalto Theatre

orgo Panigale (Bologna, Italy), 25 March 2019 – The new Diavel 1260 has won one of the most prestigious international awards for design, the “Red Dot Award: Best of the Best” in the Product Design category. Each year since 1955, the “Red Dot Design Award“ has been assigned to the most original

and worthy entries in terms of design and innovation. After evaluating over 5,500 products, a highly qualified jury made up of 40 international famous experts has assigned the new Diavel 1260 with the prestigious title “Red Dot Award 2019: Best of the Best”.

This is the third winner for the Bologna-based company, following the previous awards won by two such iconic motorcycles as the 1199 Panigale in 2013 and the XDiavel S in 2016, showing how a Ducati bike can be an icon of style, innovation and performance.

Powerful and muscular, the new Diavel 1260 combines the performance of a maxi-naked with the ergonomics of a muscle cruiser. Its sophisticated design reinterprets the Diavel style in a contemporary key, and integrates a Testastretta DVT 1262 engine with 159 hp, the

bike’s real pulsing heart. “It’s never easy to win such important and sought-after recognition as the Red Dot Award. Succeeding for the third time thanks to another iconic bike like the Diavel 1260 is a tribute to the creativity and innovation of Ducati, which fills us with pride,” commented Andrea Ferraresi, Ducati Style Centre Manager. “Even though we are aware that our motorcycles are exciting, refined and good-looking, it is always gratifying and stimulating for those who work in the field of design and style to receive such important recognition. A huge number of entries from major protagonists of design throughout the world competed for the award. Now we look forward to the same level of enthusiasm from our fans; the bikes are in fact already available through Ducati dealers.” The climax for this award is at the Red Dot Award gala ceremony, which will take place on 8 July at the Aalto Theatre in Essen, Germany, with an audience of 1200 invitees made up of the most notable representatives of international design. The 2019 Red Dot Design Awards ceremony is part of a busy calendar – the coming months are in fact full of events dedicated to design and to the new Diavel 1260.

MAZDA CX-30 COMPACT CROSSOVER SUV DEBUTS AT THE GENEVA INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW • A new core model in the Mazda line up, the Mazda CX-30 made its world premiere. • After the all-new Mazda3, the Mazda CX-30 is the second model of Mazda’s new-generation line up. • The CX-30 will go on sale in the UK later this year.

azda Motor Corporation made the world premiere of the second model in its new-generation line-up, the Mazda CX-30 compact crossover SUV. As a new core model, the CX-30 will be rolled out to global markets, with sales starting in the UK later this year. The CX-30 was on display to the public at the Geneva International Motor Show from March 7th to 17th.* The CX-30 is a new compact crossover that combines the bold proportions of an SUV with elegant styling that embodies Mazda’s Kodo design language. The development team hoped to create a car that would enrich customers’ by helping them and their loved ones make new and stimulating discoveries within their daily lives. Relaxed and user-friendly packaging and a cabin that comfortably seats four adults mean customers can easily enjoy trips to any destination with family and friends. Moreover, the CX-30 was designed to be easy to drive. The increased height over a passenger car provides excellent visibility and makes getting in and out a breeze, while the body size makes it easy to manoeuvre on any road and in any parking space. Basic performance attributes such as accelerating, turning and braking have been dramatically enhanced. Mazda’s Skyactiv-Vehicle Architecture enables people

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to make the most of their natural sense of balance and latest Skyactiv engines, including Skyactiv-X, allow responsive control of vehicle speed in any driving situation. “We designed the CX-30 to be an essential partner in the customer’s life,” said Akira Marumoto, Mazda’s Representative Director, President and CEO. Adding, “it will be made at key global plants so we can deliver Mazda’s renowned driving pleasure and matured Kodo design to customers all over the world. Moving forward, our new products and technologies will ensure customers continue to see the value in owning a Mazda car. We aim to be recognised as a brand that forms the strongest of bonds with each customer.”

CITROËN C3 AIRCROSS

WINS BEST SMALL SUV IN THE 2019 BUSINESS MOTORING AWARDS

itroën C3 Aircross has been honoured in the 2019 Business Motoring Awards, impressing the judges with its practicality and scope for personalisation. C3 Aircross was one of three Citroën winners during the evening, with New Berlingo Van and Berlingo Electric van collecting trophies in The Business Van Awards. Citroën’s C3 Aircross compact SUV was amongst the award winners at The Business Motoring Awards, staged last night at the Seven Dials Club in Covent Garden, London.

Crowned Best Small SUV, Citroën C3 Aircross PureTech 82 manual Flair came out top in one of the most hotly-contested sectors in the UK car market. “What made the Citroën C3 Aircross stand out in the eyes of the judges is practicality as well as plenty of scope for personalisation to add to its already distinctive looks”, commented Business Motoring’s Managing Editor Chris Wright, “Business customers have access to Citroën’s online service booking and service plans, access to SMR and Menu pricing”. “Citroën can provide a range

of finance packages designed to meet the needs of SME customers”, he continued. Flair specification has proved a winner, with more than half the customers for C3 Aircross

choosing the top specification. Customers can also choose from a wide variety of colour options, along with the availability of 12 safety and driving aids, plus a choice of low-emission

PureTech petrol and BlueHDi diesel engines to suit all needs. For more information about C3 Aircross Compact SUV, visit www.citroen.co.uk

NEARLY HALF A MILLION BRICKS LATER, THE FIRST FULL-SCALE LEGO McLAREN SENNA • Ultimate 1:1 scale LEGO version of the McLaren Ultimate Series road car unveiled • Astonishing feat of LEGO model-making endurance: nine real McLaren Sennas could have been hand-assembled in time it took to make • First interactive McLaren LEGO model in which you can sit behind the wheel and start the ‘engine’ • Incorporates seat, steering wheel and pedals from production McLaren Senna

unique, full-scale LEGO McLaren Senna has been created in secret by shifts of specialist assemblers working around the clock.Taking nearly 5,000 hours to assemble, it comprises almost half a million separate components. Unusually for a McLaren, the LEGO Senna is something of a heavyweight, tipping the scales at 1700kg - 500kg more than the McLaren Senna that sold out as soon as it was announced in 2017. Built to click with fans the world over, this surprise new Senna is the

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Including design and development, a total of 4,935 hours went into creating the model, involving no fewer than 42 men and women from the LEGO build team. The McLaren Senna is the first LEGO McLaren to incorporate interior parts from a real car, underlining its authenticity. Inside the extreme, driver-focused cabin are the lightweight carbon-fibre driving seat, steering wheel and pedals from the real Senna. Actual McLaren badges are fitted and the wheels and Pirelli tyres are exactly as specified on the real car.The dihedral doors are made from LEGO bricks and are removable to allow people easy access to the cabin. most realistic and ambitious McLaren ever made by LEGO. Pieced together from one metric tonne’s worth of LEGO elements, you may not be able to drive off in it but enthusiasts young and old can climb aboard, sit behind the wheel, push the start button in the roof and even hear a simulation of the 208mph car roaring into life. As well as this they can operate the working lights and infotainment system on the model. Fans of the famous brick, as well as fans of the McLaren Senna, will be able to see it soon at one of a programme of events across the world. The astonishing life-size re-creation of the most track-focused road McLaren is the latest in the model partnership between McLaren Automotive and the

LEGO Group, the iconic Danish toy manufacturer. Generally, the LEGO Speed Champions range of McLaren kits using the famous bricks is available in more manageable sizes for

younger hands to put together. But as McLaren and LEGO showed with the McLaren 720S model in 2017, a 1:1 scale McLaren built entirely of LEGO bricks makes for a uniquely immersive, interactive and, above all, fun experience. Now the brick-built Senna moves the model-car game on in ways befitting an Ultimate Series McLaren.The statistics behind it are mind-boggling: in total, 467,854 individual LEGO elements were used in its construction, which is almost 200,000 more bricks than were used to construct the 720S model of two years ago. Working shifts around the clock, teams of up to 10 model-makers needed 2,725 hours to click together all the pieces for the LEGO McLaren Senna, nine times longer than it takes to produce each painstakingly handassembled real Senna (300 hours).

Rendering the ultimate form-follows-function McLaren in plastic bricks with such accuracy required months of design and development work, involving both McLaren and the LEGO team. The car’s brick-work is finished to replicate Victory Grey with contrasting orange highlights, just like the 15cm-long, 219-piece, McLaren Senna LEGO Speed Champions edition that went on sale earlier this year in toyshops, priced at £12.99. For young McLaren owners of the toy model, seeing its fullsize LEGO equivalent promises to be a magical double-take moment. McLaren and LEGO fans of all ages will be able to get up close to the first LEGO McLaren you can experience from the inside at a variety of events throughout 2019, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Sussex, UK, in early July.

300PS AND QUATTRO DRIVE GIVE RISE TO THE NEW AUDI SQ2 Fastest ever Audi Q2 receives the signature ‘S’ recipe of thrilling performance capability subtly conveyed by discreet styling enhancement • Available to order in the UK now, priced from £36,800 OTR, with first deliveries this month • 300PS, 400Nm of torque from 2,000rpm, 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds and a 155mph top speed • Suspension lowered by 20mm, 18-inch Sspecific wheels and styling, increased specification and quad tailpipes • Optional Interior and Exterior styling pack underscore the performance potential

he same capacity for blistering pace and unshakeable cornering confidence that has characterised Audi compact class performance hatchbacks bearing the ‘S’ logo for nigh on two decades can now also be savoured in the Q2 SUV. The new SQ2 brings 300PS, quattro drive and a sub-five-second sprint time to bear in the lead-in Audi SUV range, and is now available to order in the UK priced from £36,800 OTR. As is customary for an Audi ‘S’ performance variant, the exterior of the new SQ2 has been subtly but effectively uprated for

further visual impact. Within the newly sculpted front bumper, a splitter runs almost the entire width of the car and is flanked by two dominating air inlets. The singleframe radiator grille incorporates eight upright double bars divided by horizontal struts and an SQ2 logo, while the side profile is enhanced by the C-pillar blade finished in matt titanium grey. At the rear, a silver diffuser is moulded around the S-specific dual branch tailpipes on each corner. The roof edge spoiler also features a special contour. Completing the bespoke look are of course the aluminiumeffect door mirror housings, which are a defining design characteristic of Audi S models. ‘Vspoke’ design 18-inch alloy

wheels shod with the 235/40 size tyres are fitted as standard, and the 340mm front brakes have black calipers with S logos. These can optionally be finished in red. Separately, gloss white 19-inch alloys in a ‘5-doublespoke’design and with a diamond cut finish are available, as are 19-inch ‘5-arm’ Audi Sport wheels in gloss anthracite black. Further customisation for those who desire an individual look is available via the SQ2 Exterior Pack. This adds a black styling pack - which extends to the radiator grille surround, tailpipes, C-pillar blade, door mirror housings and rear diffuser, as well as a larger rear spoiler and 19-inch ‘5-V twin spoke’ alloy wheels in contrasting grey with a diamond cut fin-

ish. In addition to the standard interior specification that already includes dual-zone climate control, an extended leather pack, a 3.5” colour Driver’s Information System (DIS) and a flat-bottomed S multi-function steering wheel, a distinctive Interior Pack can also be chosen. It includes black and red front sports seats in Fine Nappa leather upholstery with contrasting stitching as an alternative to the standard leather/Alcantara, an LED interior lighting pack, front floor mats with an SQ2 logo and red air vents. As well as the aforementioned SQ2-specific packs, drivers can also choose to enhance their ownership experience with other cost effective option bun-

dles including the Technology Pack and the Comfort and Sound Pack. The former features MMI Navigation Plus with MMI Touch, the Audi Virtual Cockpit, Audi Phone Box wireless handset charging and Audi Connect Infotainment Services, and the latter a Bang & Olufsen surround sound system, heated front seats and front and rear parking sensors. Performance fit for the flagship model Delivering a constant 300PS and 400Nm between 2,000rpm and 5,200rpm, the turbocharged 2.0litre unit propelling the SQ2 itself only weighs around 150kg, benefitting not just the total weight of the Audi SQ2, but also the axle load distribution. It is matched to a seven-speed S tronic, ensuring acceleration to 62mph in just 4.8 seconds and a governed 155mph top speed. As with every Audi S model, quattro all-wheel drive is standard in the SQ2, combining high traction through continuous torque distribution between the axles via the hydraulically actuated multi-plate clutch. If the front wheels lose grip, up to 100 percent of the force is transferred to the rear within just a few milliseconds. During fast driving, the quattro drive works closely together with the wheel-selective torque control, which smooths out the handling with tiny braking interventions at the inner wheels under reduced load.

MITSUBISHI MOTORS UNVEILS L200 “ABSOLUTE” SHOW SPECIAL

itsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has today unveiled the Mitsubishi L200 Absolute show truck at the 2019 Bangkok International Motor Show. The design of this one-off Series 6 Mitsubishi L200 personifies the rugged, tough, and uncompromising nature of MMC’s flagship pickup. The Mitsubishi L200 Absolute embodies the “Absolutely Beyond Tough” off-roading nature of Mitsubishi’s new pickup truck with special protective body cladding, prominent front and rear skid plates with red accents, redesigned rear tailgate and a bespoke lighting system. Underpinning the L200 Absolute is a wider track to accommo-

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date heavy duty off-road wheels and tyres, while the upgraded suspension not only raises the body by 50 mm for improved ground clearance but also provides more suspension travel. This bold and ambitious concept is expected to resonate strongly with pickup owners everywhere, highlighting the proven mechanical durability and go-anywhere capabilities of the Mitsubishi L200 with its expressive styling and rugged attitude. More images of the Mitsubishi L200 Absolute can be found on our media website www.mitsubishi-media.co.uk For more details about future models and concept cars from Mitsubishi Motors please visit https://www.mitsubishicars.co.uk/innovation/concept-cars/

Your next Renault Crossover will be… WITH THREE CLASS-LEADING MODELS TO CHOOSE FROM, THERE IS A RENAULT CROSSOVER TO SUIT EVERY LIFESTYLE AND BUDGET.

Renault Captur Your urban adventure starts now. It’s an urban explorer par excellence: refined, reliable and ready for anything. The Renault Captur, starting from € 16,200, comes with a wide range of customisable features, as well as a tough, two-toned body, full-LED Pure Vision lights and a fixed-glass panoramic roof – bringing you closer to the action than ever before. Remain connected and entertained throughout the entire drive thanks to Renault’s optional R-Link Multimedia system, that boasts; navigation, 3D-sound, Bluetooth connectivity and many more practical features to ease your journey. Renault Captur offers a range of safety and convenience features such as front and side airbags, Hill Start Assist, Hands Free Parking, Blind Spot Warning, and Emergency Brake Assist. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

The Captur features a flexible boot, being that the rear seats are completely collapsible with the option of a 60:40 split. Fully collapsed, the Captur boasts 1,235 litres of boot space, which makes transporting of long or bulky items a breeze.

All-New Renault Kadjar Sporting a refreshed aggressive front grille, strong silhouette and sculpted lights, the All- New Kadjar is designed for you. Starting from € 24,450, the Kadjar now features four variants to choose from, being the:- Play, Iconic, S Edition or the optimum GT Line. The All-New Kadjar is an SUV that’ll turn any trip into an adventure, whether on road or off. Expect Bluetooth connectivity, a 7” screen with smartphone integration, rear parking sensors, Hill

Renault Koleos

Start Assist and much more as standard on even the entry level trim, Play. Looking into other trims, one can enhance their daily journeys with the beloved Bose® audio system, Easy Park Assist, and the latest R-LINK 2 multimedia system. The engines powering the All-New Kadjar are advanced, reliable and have improved fuel consumption. Fitted with the Stop & Start system with regenerative braking, they include a host of technologies that elevate them to exemplary levels of performance and consumption, all without sacrificing your driving pleasure.

Renault Koleos Renault Captur

The Renault Koleos, starting from € 38,800, is a bold step forward in automotive design and technology.

Drive a true SUV that offers you all the advantages of a premium saloon. Enjoy its heated front seats and its genuine living space. For the driver, the 8.7” instrument display is amongst the largest in its class. The screen itself is a dynamic TFT. With more depth and colour than a regular screen, driver information is delivered with brilliant clarity, no matter the time of day. The Renault Koleos is a genuine 4WD vehicle which offers a range of driving options so you can confidently traverse a variety of surfaces and driving conditions thanks to the Renault ALL MODE 4x4-i Technology. The ‘quick-folding’ rear seats fold down easily to create one colossal luggage area. Even better, it’s storage that’s easily accessible with a low loading sill that makes it easier to pack cumbersome items inside. Discover more via www.autosales.com.mt

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