HUSQVARNA ANNOUNCES SOUTH AFRICAN DISTRIBUTOR

Husqvarna Motorcycles, a BMW Group company, is proud to announce that CMH Marine and Leisure, a division of Combined Motor Holdings (PTY) Ltd. will be the new official importer and distributor for South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho.

MCLAREN MP4-12C GETS POWER BOOST

McLaren Automotive is apparently boosting the power output of its only supercar so far, the MP4-12C. The gullwinged rocket is powered by a 3.8-litre twin turbo motor working out a sweaty 441kW and 600Nm of torque. But wait, there’s more! Now you can get just a bit more of those kiloWatts, but only if you ask nicely.

BMW M PERFORMANCE SPRUCES UP MIGHTY M5

BMW in Europe has confirmed that its new M Performance division has been doing work on the M5. Just to be clear, there hasn’t been an improvement in power delivery, so it stays at 412kW and 680Nm of torque as standard. Changes however, are over the skin, so to speak.

CITROEN C1 FACELIFTED

Time for a fresh-up of the Citroën C1, the smallest member of this French outfit, and one that shares its very DNA with the Peugeot 107 and Toyota Aygo. So several ideas came through the kitchen and made their way into the car’s look and feel.

CHEVROLET ANNOUNCES MANCHESTER UNITED TIE-UP

Chevrolet is entering into a five-year partnership agreement with Barclays Premier League giant Manchester United to become the club’s Official Automotive Partner. In the announcement, Chevrolet is pledging that fans will be at the heart of its sponsorship with a constant focus on bringing the club supporters and football fans around the world closer to the game than ever before.

BREAKING! LOTUS CEO BAHAR SUSPENDED

DRB-Hicom, the new majority owners of Lotus Cars, has suspended Lotus CEO Dany Bahar indefinitely. A statement my DRB-Hicom says this is in order to facilitate an investigation into a complaint about Bahar’s conduct. Said complaint was issued by DRB-Hicom itself.

ERIC CLAPTON SHOWS OFF HIS SPECIAL FERRARI SP12 EC

“Would you know my name, if I saw you in heaven” crooned one Eric Clapton. The song was a dedication to his late son who died at 4 years old in 1991. Now Ferrari has dedicated something to the famous guitarist; a new SP12 EC. The car is a Ferrari through and through, except for one small difference; only Clapton owns it.

BMW ZAGATO COUPE CONCEPT UNVEILED

The BMW Zagato Coupe Concept, a new study unveiled ahead of its debut at the 2012 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Lake Como, could very well point to a future model. As the name suggests, it was jointly developed by Italian design and coach-building house Zagato.

MERCEDES-BENZ SPEARHEADS READ PROJECT

The Mercedes-Benz group of companies in South Africa (MBSA) continues to embrace the Rally to READ project, which entered its 14th year in 2012. The longevity of MBSA’s support over 11 years attests to the worth of the initiative, and goes to the heart of the MBSA philosophy of participating in community development schemes that have a sustainable impact.

GROENEWALD DOMINATES ZWARTKOPS

Team Sasol Racing’s Hennie Groenewald put in a command performance at Zwartkops Raceway to dominate the 4th round of the Bridgestone Production Car Championship and extend his championship points lead to 16 points and set a new circuit lap record as an added bonus.