NIP/ TUCK FOR BMW X6 IN FACELIFT OPERATION

BMW first released the X6 in 2008 and has since sold a reported 150 000 units of the thing. That’s apparently more than what they expected to sell of the coupe SUV. No one is complaining of course. Now it’s time for a facelift, as it normally is every three and a half years. Expectedly the X6 facelift will hit our dealerships during the third quarter.

TOYOTA UNVEILS LE MANS CHALLENGER

Toyota Racing yesterday announced more details of its forthcoming FIA World Endurance Championship participation, including an intention to race two cars in specific races.

SUPER BMW M PERFORMANCE CARS REVEALED

Following its announcement of a new sub-brand called BMW M Performance, the company has now detailed exactly what kind of engine technology these cars will feature. M Performance will officially be launched at the 2012 Geneva International Motor Show in March, and these models will be there. But South Africa is not getting all of them.

MERCEDES-BENZ TRAINING SCARCE-SKILLS TECHNICIANS

The scarcity of appropriately skilled technicians in the automotive sector has spurred Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) to extend their involvement in the training of technicians by initiating a technical learnership at the St Anthony’s Education Centre in Boksburg.

GM SET TO KILL "ARE WE THERE YET" QUESTION

Got backseat boredom? DVD players and Game Boys are so five years ago, but a new concept in rear seat entertainment technology that uses the windows themselves could replace squirminess and snoozing with interactive scribbling, sweeping and pinching.

ON THE ROAD: JAGUAR XKR COUPE

Another Fast Jaguar In The House?

Most certainly. XKR is actually one of the fastest cars IN4RIDE has ever tested, boasting a 0 – 100km/h time of just 4.5 seconds at high altitude. The bassy supercharged V8 liberates enough thrust to propel that thing so quickly into triple figures that you can completely miss the moment. So solid and self-assured is the British Indian pussy that you will be mighty tempted to keep foot flat on the floor, way past the legal speed limit.

HYUNDAI CONTROVERSIALLY LAUNCHES H1 MULTICAB

If you are black, especially young and black, look away now or click on another story. This one’s not for you. It’s about the launch of the new Hyundai H1 Multicab, a vehicle that is aimed at white, married men over the age of 40 who are looking at an alternative to the usual double cab bakkie (pickup). And I’m not making this up; Hyundai South Africa told us straight in the face that if you don’t fit the above description you are not their primary target market.

GINIEL, TOYOTA SA, DAKAR: HISTORY MADE!

Toyota made history at the 2012 Dakar Rally in South America when three Toyota Hilux pickups built and developed in South Africa by Toyota Motorsport finished third, sixth and 11th in an 8 000-kilometre 15-day marathon that saw the original 161 starters in the car category reduced to 79 at the finish.

GEELY PARTNERS WITH THE FRENCH

Geely has announced a strategic partnership with Faurecia France, a global Fortune 500 company and the sixth largest automotive parts supplier in the world, to form a joint venture manufacturing automotive exhaust systems.
 

AUDI R8 GT SPYDER COMES TO MZANSI

Following on the sold-out success of the Audi R8 GT Coupé, Audi South Africa is now introducing the Audi R8 GT Spyder on special order. Like the Coupé, the open-top version of the high-performance sports car is capped at 333 units scheduled for production 2012. Each car sports an individual number on the gear lever knob.