Free andRoad road magazine Freetrack Track and Magazine
And: MG RACING ALONSO’S NEW CAR And much more..
The Subaru Legacy Arrives...
2
CONTENTS : MARCH 2010
6 12 14
INDUSTRY NEWS MG RACING - XPART SUPPORT SUBARU LEGACY ARRIVES FIRST DRIVE
2
TARMAG
24 27
SAAB - PRODUCTION RESUMES MUST HAVES
30 32 38
PICTURE OF THE MONTH NEW CAR FOR ALONSO RADEK GOES KNOCKERS!
THE TEAM @ WWW.TARMAG.CO.UK
Managing Editor - Mark Morris - Mark@tarmag.co.uk Assistant Editor - Garry Bertram - Gary@tarmag.co.uk Advertising - David Daniels - David@tarmag.co.uk General Enquiries : TarMag - 199a Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS4 2BN
© 2009 TarMag
Free track and road magazine
Extra care is taken when compiling the contents of this online publication but the staff, contributors cannot be held responsible for any mistakes or errors. TarMag isn’t responsible for any issues arising from any dealings with any advertisers within the publication.
3
THIS MONTH
5
Each month our days get even busier with more news fea tures, car s to review, track days and even working holi days! This month we have been ultra busy which you will f ind out about in next month’s is sue which does include a trip to see a lovely Bugatti Veyron and a visit to Project Kahn Head quar ter s to check out their work! This month Radek went Knocker s at Knockhill for a track day which he enjoyed so he told me! Some say he uses his camera to take pictures, and that he once took a picture of himself, all we know is he is Radek! We catch up with Fern ando Alonso to check out his latest toy the brand new Ma serati Grancabrio, lucky for some eh! Thanks for all the emails last month, we are always looking for new vehi cles to feature, track days and gadgets for our must haves so keep in touch : david@tarmag.co.uk – Enjoy!
5
TARMAG
INDUSTRY NEWS
6
KRIS MEEKE & PAUL NAGLE TAKE A FINE WIN IN BRAZIL
Peugeot UK’s IRC Champions Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle secured maximum points towards their title defence last weekend when they cruised to victory in Brazil’s Rally Internacional de Curitiba, round two of this year’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge. They brought their Peugeot 207 S2000 home ahead of the Skoda Fabias of Guy Wilks and Juho Hänninen, after two days hard competition on the ultra-quick forest stages. Meeke’s winning margin was 46.7 seconds, and the win - his second successive victory in Brazil - makes him the leading IRC rally winner of all time. Afterwards, Meeke and Nagle began the post-event party by blasting their rally car around the Curitiba Autodrome circuit.
6
TARMAG
Co-driver Paul Nagle said Kris drove like a true champion: “Simply incredible. I had not seen Kris drive like this since we won our titles at Sanremo last year. He was in a completely different class to the rest, and the team was fantastic. We need to thank Kronos Racing and Peugeot UK for giving us such a great car like the Peugeot 207. It didn’t miss a beat all weekend.” Local support was impressive too, with fans out on the stages cheering on the Peugeot UK team. Kris now moves into third place in the Drivers’ Championship, but there’s little time to celebrate - the action moves south in ten days time to Argentina and the rally resort of Carlos Paz for Round three of the IRC; Rally Argentina.
CATCHING SOME Z’S ON THE CHEAP … A 370Z FOR £370 PER MONTH Fans of Nissan’s thrilling 370Z can sleep easy in the knowledge that they can now take advantage of great value finance rates to take the strain out of affording one of the most exciting performance cars of 2010. What’s more, any existing Z driver looking to upgrade to the latest 370Z Roadster will now benefit from Nissan’s advanced Connect Premium audio and navigation system absolutely free. Recognising the long term appeal of both the Coupe and Roadster models, all 370Z models have the same predicted residual values. While drop-tops traditionally depreciate harder than their coupe equivalents, the strength in depth of Nissan’s Roadster means its residuals are justand as strong Coupe’s. That means a 71% RV figure after 12 months/10,000 miles a 46%as RVthe after 36 months/30,000 miles. It’s these impressive depreciation figures that are the key to the low cost finance now available. With a price to match its badge, the mighty Z is offered in both Coupe and Roadster forms for only £370 per month using Preferences, Nissan’s personal contract purchase plan. That means all the thrills of a high performance car can be enjoyed by drivers who previously thought the 370Z pace was out of reach. A highly competitive rate of 5.9 per cent APR is the key to the tempting monthly cost. Buyers can choose between a 24 or 36 month plan with only a 20 per cent deposit. What’s more, go for the two year deal and Nissan will make a £500 contribution towards your deposit! At the end of the term, drivers have the option to change their Z for another brand new Nissan, pay an optional final payment and keep the car, or give it back. What could be simpler? 7
SMART FORTWO EDITION URBANSTYLE
The smart fortwo edition urbanstyle adds a whole new dimension to the iconic model’s reputation for being ‘big in the city’.
Based on the 2010 passion model, the aggressively-styled edition urbanstyle will be limited to a UK production run of 230 coupé models – 160 units featuring the 71bhp (mhd)engine and 70 with the turbocharged 84bhp unit. A cabriolet version is available as a special order only. With exclusive dark grey matt finish paintwork, which also extends to the attractive 6-spoke, 15” alloy wheels, and a tridion safety cell in gleaming black, the edition urbanstyle cuts a dash in the most fashionable of places. The contemporary and sporty feel of the 8
TARMAG
edition urbanstyle is also reflected in its stylish interior. Heated, nappa leather black seats with yellow double stitching and striking reflective stripes set the scene, while the 3-spoke steering wheel and gear shift knob are also finished in supple nappa leather. Door trims, knee pad and the instrument panel benefit from a leather-look finish and eye-catching matt silver details and yellow accents complete the interior’s ambience. “smart has always been a trendsetter and the contemporary look and advanced specification of the edition urbanstyle reinforces the perception that the brand is very much a modern design statement.” The smart fortwo edition urbanstyle costs from £11,495 on the road.
A WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS – WITH A DIFFERENCE!
Gowrings Mobility, the UK’s leading manufacturer and supplier of wheelchair accessible vehicles, has launched its latest conversion, the Vauxhall Movano. Joining the popular Renault Master to the accessible minibus market, this conversion is also designed and built with the needs of the wheelchair passengers as priority, with other ambulant passengers fitting in around them. Lo-call 0845 608 8020.
‘MY10 MUM’ FOR MOTHER’S DAY!
More and more mums are sporting their perfect personalised registration, the DVLA has revealed.
DVLA Personalised Registrations has sold around 1,500 prefix and new style “MUM” registrations, a clear indication a private number plate makes the perfect Mother’s Day gift.
With a colossal 32 million personalised registrations sitting in the dvlaregistrations.direct. gov.uk vault, there will be one to suit all tastes and budgets. High on the list has to be the “MY MUMs”, registrations comprising the letters MY followed by a suitable “year” and the letters MUM. 9
Toyota’s RAV4 gets a fresh new look for 2010, with a redesign that blends contemporary urban style with the durability for which Europe’s original recreational compact SUV is renowned. A new flowing bonnet design helps to emphasise RAV4’s wide track and dynamic appearance, qualities that are further expressed in a new fullwidth front bumper. Further chrome detailing around the foglamps and bonnet moulding add an extra dash of premium appeal. Inside the cabin the high quality finish is complemented by new leather and Alcantara upholstery. In the UK the 2010 RAV4 will carry forward its Toyota Optimal Drive powertrains, with 2.0-litre Valvematic petrol and 2.2 D-4D and D-CAT diesel engines, with six-speed manual, Mutridrive S (Toyota’s advanced continuously variable transmission) and six-speed automatic transmissions. CO2 emissions start from just 150 g/km. Further details about the UK model range will be announced nearer the on-sale date.
TOYOTA INTRODUCES THE 2010 RAV4 10 TARMAG
12 FEATURE : MG RACING MG racing ace Paul Luti and student team Lunar Racing are preparing for a competitive season’s racing af ter a winter of fine tuning and rigorous modifications The MG racing community is set for an exciting star t to the season as MG TF race driver Paul Luti and student race team Lunar Racing put the finishing touches to their cars. Luti will be racing in the MG Trophy Championship and will also make an appearance in his popular ZT 520 at MGLive! at Silverstone in June, while Lunar Racing plan to compete in the Peter Best Insurance and the Britcar Production championships. With par ts suppor t from MG Rover par ts specialist XPar t, the teams are all set for a good season’s racing. Af ter a productive winter development period, Paul Luti and his team, Dreadnought Racing, have shaved an impressive 20k g from the total weight of his MG TF LE500, and have also fitted a sophisticated new data logging system to the car, which allows them to fine tune to each circuit by measuring ever ything from steering angle to the movement 12 TARMAG
of each suspension damper. Lunar Racing is upgrading the engine of its Britcar ZS entr y to produce at least 260 bhp, and is also developing a new inlet manifold and throttle system to suppor t the upgrade. “Last year was a development year for the new TF in racing terms, as it was the first time the car had competed on track,” comments Paul Luti, Dreadnought Racing. “ We’ve worked hard on the car’s set-up over the winter and are now at the same weight as the front running cars, which can’t be underestimated in such a closely fought championship. We aim to win even more races this year and will be pushing hard to win the overall championship.” Lunar Racing’s first race of the season will be in the Britcar series 13th March at Brands Hatch, while the MG Car Club championships kick of f on 11th April, also at Brands Hatch. For fur ther information, visit www.racethemg. com and www.lunarracing.com.
XP
PART SUPPORTED MG RACE TEAMS GEAR UP FOR 2010 SEASON
13
14 FEATURE : SUBARU LEGACY ARRIVES!
14 TARMAG
Its got the Looks and the power!
Meet The 2010 Subaru Leg a c y To u r e r. W h e n w e g o t the call from Subaru we we r e l i ke o kay, a n to u r e r c a r, f a i r e n o u g h . B u t w h e n it arrived it was no ordin a r y t o u r e r. Fr o m f a r a w ay y o u c o u l d h e a r a r o a r, t h e n all of a sudden HID lights could be spotted coming along the road and then a beastly front end followed by great looking 18” alloy wheels and a styled long to u r e r b o d y.
But it’s a diesel? Nowadays, diesel engines are far from uncommon but the Subaru Boxer diesel towers above thanks to its natural balance, torque, low vibration and inherent smoothness, all thanks to its uncommon design and engineering. The engine is very smooth and is very economical reaching 4 4.1mpg com bined. The 150PS 2.0Litre engine isn’t to be snarled
a t . T h e L e g a c y To u r e r d o e s give the impression that i t ’ s a b i g h e av y c a r, b u t i t most cer tainly doesn’t perform like one! Inside the Legacy you will find a luxury & style include dual-zone automatic climate control with rear heater ducts, multi-adjustable front & rear seats and a richly finished air of refinement throughout. The Driving controls are all logically positioned with standard satellite switches for audio and cruise control situated on the steering wheel and dual zone climate controls residing on the centre console. All buttons are easy to reach and operate. Af ter all, nothing should distract you from such a pleasurable drive which the Legacy per forms on each and ever y time! Models with the new Linear tronic transmission deliver seamless gear
15
changing (with steering wheel paddles for manual control) per fectly in tune to the engines status at any one time resulting in better per formance, instant response and fuel e c o n o my. We had the NavPlus model which means refinement moves up another gear thanks to a 6-speaker premium sound system with in-dash DVD/CD p l ay e r, M P 3 a n d W M A c a pability and speed sensitive audio adjustment. The sound system performs well on various kinds of music from local radio stations to latest chart cd’s. All models feature Bluetooth connectivity and MP3 auxiliary input with navigation system models also featuring a built in reversing camera and a visual input jack for other devices. The reversing camera does help as the Legacy is rather long!
16 TARMAG
Navigation comes to the big screen cour tesy of an extra large (8 inch) and high resolution VGA touch s c r e e n fo r f a s t e r, m o r e accurate guidance with voice recognition in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian or Spanish. And, when you’ve finished yo u r j o u r n ey, a n d t h e c a r is parked, the DVD player features video as well as audio playback capabili t y. Cargo-handling is uncomm o n l y e a s y. Fro m t h e shopping bag hooks down to the 60/40 split folding and reclining seats and under-floor storage, the new Legacy also boasts a removable & retractable cargo cover to keep luggage out of view and away from sunlight. The 2010 Subaru Legacy To u r e r i s n ’ t a n I m p r e z a , but it handles along the same lines and is definitely wor th looking at. For more details contact your local dealership : www.subaru.co.uk
17
If you want a Tourer then this is definetly its in class leader! The Subaru
18 TARMAG
u Legacy!
19
20 TARMAG
21
24 FEATURE : SAAB RESUMES PRODUCTION
SAAB RESUMES CAR PRODUCTION The production lines at Saab Automobile’s state-of-the-ar t Trollhättan plant began rolling again today, heralding a new era for the Swedish premium car maker as an independent company. To mark the occasion, Saab Automobile CEO Jan Åke Jonsson, Spyker Cars CEO Victor Muller and Trollhättan Plant Director Gunnar Brunius took up positions on the line alongside assembly workers as the first batch of cars was built. 24 TARMAG
Production at the Trollhättan plant was originally halted for seven weeks. Now, following the purchase of Saab Automobile AB by Spyker Cars NV, the first cars to be built by Saab as an independent company will soon be delivered to customers. First on the line today was an allnew Saab 9-5 saloon, destined to join a test fleet prior to the model’s of ficial launch later this year. Fur ther down the line was a
Saab Conver tible, now also being produced in Trollhättan as par t of the concentration of Saab operations in Sweden. With the introduction of the new 9-5 Spor tWagon next year, a total of five model lines will be produced at the plant. “We have a highly flexible, worldclass facility here at Trollhättan,” said Plant Director Gunnar Brunius. “Our ability to build so many dif ferent models in one location improves plant utilization and will
deliver valuable ef ficiency gains. With these state-of-the-ar t facilities and a dedicated workforce, we are in excellent shape.” Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker Cars said: “Ever yone at Saab has worked extremely hard to reach this important point. Today production restar ted with a new 9-5 first down the line – a fitting symbol that a new era has begun.”
25
27
THIS MONTHS MUST HAVES Smartwitness Pen with Hidden CCTV The ultimate body worn Spy Camera. Ideal for filming covertly in all types of situations, from Store Detectives, Meeting Recordings, Cheating Spouses etc... the possibilities are endless. The camera is battery powered and has built in rechargable batteries so there is no need to buy batteries! As well as having a high quality hidden camera inside, the pen also has a high quality microphone and a digital vide recorder, and it still works like a normal pen, simply amazing. PRE ORDER - EXPANSYS.COM
Sony Portable Projector The VPL-EX7 projector has been designed to be both simple to use and to deliver high picture quality and brightness. This model incorporates Sony’s innovative BrightEra technology which produces higher brightness, colour accuracy and increased reliability. It has a Colour Light Output of 2000 lumens and a contrast of 500:1. This level of brightness coupled with excellent picture quality in XGA (1024 x 768) resolution, allows users to deliver bright and colourful presentations in a variety of lighting conditions. - EXPANSYS.COM
27 TARMAG
Waterless Car Wash & Wax Imagine if you had one product, two cloths, and it left your car with a show room shine finish, but the best part, it will only take 10-15 minutes and you won’t be soaking wet afterwards. It’s a Hand applied Wash and Wax solution called PermaClear Pro ‘DRY’ Clean – Waterless Car Wash & Wax system which is then wiped of with a micro-fibre towel, and then use the 2nd micro-fibre towel to buff to a show room shine finish. It really works. If the area is heavily soiled with dirt, road grime, tar, bird droppings, its advised you spray a little more formula on the area, leave for 30 seconds, then wipe, and new clean towel and buff to show room shine finish…. It’s really that easy! £9.99 - www.thewash.biz
28 TARMAG
Before and After Pictures of Waterless Car Wash & Wax
Before
After
29
30
30 TARMAG
PICTURE OF THE MONTH
Free track and road magazine 31
32
32 TARMAG
A NICE NEW MASERATI
MASERATI GRANCABRIO FOR FERNANDO ALONSO The two-times Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, driver of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, has “unveiled” in Fiorano the Maserati GranCabrio that he has selected
The Spanish driver has chosen for his GranCabrio elegant fixtures, opting for a darker shade for the exterior in combination with two-tone upholster y for the i n t e r i o r. H e c h o s e G r i g i o Granito (granite grey) for t h e b o d y, w h i l e t h e i n te r i o r features a combination of Pearl Beige and Bordeaux l e a t h e r, m a t c h i n g a s o f t top in the same Bordeaux shade. The GranCabrio represents the very essence of Maserati in terms of open-top cars. It is a Maserati in the truest sense thanks to its unmistakable Pininfarina design. Every detail is a pure expression of Italian craftsmanship of the highest level and thanks to its 4 . 7 l V 8 d e l i v e r i n g 4 4 0 H P,
coupled with a 6-speed ZF automatic transmission, it delivers real driving pleasure and top per formance in its class. Fernando Alonso was particularly impressed with the roominess of fered by the GranCabrio, per fect for four adult passengers. The GranCabrio is in fact the first four-seater conver tible in the history of Maserati. The Maserati GranCabrio is now on sale throughout Europe, via the Maserati Dealer Network. The first right hand drive examples will reach the UK showrooms in April at a price of £ 9 5 , 510 . For fur ther information on prices and options, to locate the nearest dealership or to book a test drive, customers can contact the Maserati Info Centre on 0800 06 4 6 4 68 or visit www. maserati.com.
33
34
34 TARMAG
35
38
FEATURE : RADEK HAS LO R a d ek Rep o r t i n g h er e! T i m e to s t a r t t h e 2 010 S ea s o n O n 0 6 . 0 2 . 2 010 t h er e wa s t h e ver y f i r s t of f i c i a l t ra c k day i n K n oc k y ( K n o c k h i l l R a c i n g C i rc ui t ) … i t wa s c ol d , fo g g y a n d wet b ut h ey I c a n c o p e, I ’ m R a de k ! … w h o woul d c om p l a i n a b out t h e wea t h e r e h ? I t s S c ot l a n d! A l t h oug h i t wa s t h e f i r s t t i m e m a c h i n es rol l ed out o f g a r a g es t h er e wa s a c oup l e of s er i ous wea p on s r ep res en ted by s om e awes om e evos , sc oob s , r x - 7 , n i s s a n 3 5 0 z , a Ferr a ri even m a de a n a p p ea r a n c e … et c , et c … en j oy t h e p i c s a n d t i l l t h e n ex t t i m e! Keep a n eye out for m e! I w i l l b e o n t h e h un t for your top c a r s a t C ra i l a n d K n o c kh i l l over t h e n ex t few week s s o m a ke s ure t h ey a re on top For m ! A n d I w i l l c om e a l o n g S n a p p i n g a t your c a r ! T h ey even f i n a l l y g ave m e a Ta rM a g h o od y, on l y took t h e m 6 m on t h s !
38 TARMAG
OST HIS KNOCKERS AGAIN!
S C I P BY
K E D A R 39
40
40 TARMAG
41
42
42 TARMAG
43
44 TARMAG
45
THE TEAM @ WWW.TARMAG.CO.UK
Managing Editor - Mark Morris - Mark@tarmag.co.uk Assistant Editor - Garry Bertram - Gary@tarmag.co.uk Advertising - David Daniels - David@tarmag.co.uk General Enquiries : TarMag - 199a Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS4 2BN
Free roadMagazine magazine Freetrack Track and and Road Š 2009 TarMag Extra care is taken when compiling the contents of this online publication but the staff, contributors cannot be held responsible for any mistakes or errors. TarMag isn’t responsible for any issues arising from any dealings with any advertisers within the publication.