MZANSI RENAULT SPORT (RS) TAKES PODIUM SPOT

It seems Renault Sport is now very much a part of the South African psyche, as the country is now the third most popular spot within the Asia-Africa region to sell RS-badged cars. Japan is the biggest seller of these vehicles, followed by Australia, and then Mzansi.

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF CABRIOLET, BEETLE FOR JIMS

Volkswagen is presenting the all-new Beetle and the GolfCabriolet at JIMS next month. These two new cars will probably not light up the sales fireworks, but they certainly bring panache into the VW brand, in the same way as halo cars like the Golf R and Scirocco R.

BMW PREPARING A NEW SUV, THE X4 COUPE

Reports emanating from Europe suggest that BMW is getting ready for yet another SUV in the form of an X4 compact crossover. X4 will obviously follow the same design philosophy as the X6 in that it will be a coupe SUV, possibly with 5 and 3-door options. Its main rival would be the new Range Rover Evoque.

OVER 3000 SA-BUILT C-CLASS UNITS HEAD FOR US SOIL

On 21 September East London witnessed the loading of the largest consignment of 3 168 locally built new-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars, destined for the United States of America on the Liberty Ace vessel.  The consignment of vehicles will be off-loaded in Baltimore, Brunswick and Long Beach in the USA.

KIA CONFIRMS NEW RIO FOR MZANSI AND JIMS

After making its World Debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, the all new Kia Rio 5-door hatchback is about to make its first appearance to the South African public at this year’s Johannesburg International Motor Show. “We are very excited about this new model, and we are confident that it will be one of our best sellers”, comments Ray Levin, CEO: Kia Motors SA.

TOYOTA KARTING PRODIGIES SCORE BIG

Toyota’s young kart star Morgan McColl is on the verge achieving a lifetime ambition of racing in Europe. 

It is hard to believe that the softly spoken, almost shy, 15-year old Klerksdorp resident has been racing for almost a decade. When Toyota and long-time motor sport partners Castrol started the successful Castrol/Toyota Development programme in 2004 Morgan was one of the first drivers to be signed. 

NEW JENSEN INTERCEPTOR COMING

An all-new Jensen Interceptor will be launched next year, after CPP Global Holdings was appointed to engineer, develop and build the new car by the brands' owners, Healey Sports Cars Switzerland Ltd (HSCS).

VOLVO TO KILL V6, V8 ENGINES

Due to escalating emissions rules around the developed as well as the developing countries, Volvo Cars has decided to drop its bigger engines for smaller units over the next 10 years. In a chat with Europe’s Automotive News, the brand’s Research and Development Head said his company’s future engine bay looks compact.

MERCEDES-BENZ CLS PRICES ANNOUNCED

Mercedes-Benz launches the all-new CLS range in South Africa later this week. We have definitive pricing. The base car will be a CLS 350, followed by the CLS 500, then closed by the CLS 63 AMG with the new 5.5-litretwin turbo V8 engine. The CLS 350 starts at R793 000 without all the optional extras.

FORD KUGA FINALLY CONFIRMED FOR MZANSI DEBUT

Ford is finally bringing the Kuga crossover SUV to Mzansi, three years after it launched in Europe. Better late than never we suppose. Thing is though, there’s a facelift Kuga out there, so maybe that’s what we are getting. We’ll see when it gets unwrapped at the 2011 Johannesburg International Motor Show (JIMS 2011).

MERCEDES-BENZ WILL RULE AGAIN! - CEO

Automotive News Europe recently had a very interesting interview with Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche, in which he spells out a few of the company’s future plans regarding growth, product and global expansion. Daimler owns the three car brands Mercedes-Benz, smart and Maybach - which they might sell.

FRANKFURT 2011: SUPER SUV ETERNITI HEMERA FROM BRITAIN

Eterniti Hemera. There’s a name. While it might sound a little Mars, with a mix of Ukraine, it is in fact, British. Based in London, Eterniti Motors says its Hemera SUV will be the first luxury super SUV ever, boasting a V8 engine and massive power. Yet we couldn’t help but notice how “old” pretty much everything about the Hemera is.

FRANKFURT 2011: MZANSI-BOUND 2012 TOYOTA YARIS ANNOUNCED

Toyota is bringing the all-new Yaris hatch to the market this year, including to South Africa. It was presented to the public at the Frankfurt International Motor Show, and hopefully will also arrive at 2011 Johannesburg International Motor Show (JIMS 2011).

FRANKFURT 2011: BRABUS DROPS 800HP BOMB

Tuning specialist BRABUS is known for creating the most insatiable rubber-studded monsters on the roads. With this Mercedes-Benz CLS 63-based 4-door coupe, the company is proving it still has the right stuff. Somewhat. Why the hesitation? You’ll get to understand when you read the performance statistics.

FRANKFURT 2011: TOYOTA FT-86 II UNCANNED

Toyota and Subaru are developing a sports coupe together, that’s not a secret. The secret perhaps, is when exactly these cars will hit the road, seeing Toyota’s version, the FT-86 has been showing at several international motor shows (Tokyo, Geneva) for what seems like two decades. Regardless, the car is coming and this is the second show version.

FRANKFURT 2011: HONDA PLAYS ITS CIVIC ACE

The next Honda Civic hatch lost its covers at Frankfurt as well, looking more evolution than revolution. Some might even mistake it for a facelift, which it’s not. The front end will probably be the most talked-about bit among hatch and indeed, car enthusiasts.

FRANKFURT 2011: AUDI RENEWS A5

Audi introduced the new facelift A5 range at the 2011 Frankfurt International Motor Show. Good news for A5 fans as they can expect to be able to buy these new cars from early 2012. The range itself remains the same in terms of body styles, meaning a Coupe, Cabriolet and the Sportback.