issue1 | 8 july 2015 exclusive magazine for moneyweb ......and 375 kw on the s version of the new...

New local and international models showcased We Drive: BMW’s re-vamped X6 M Classic Aston Martin DB6 savoured

Issue1 | 8 July 2015 Exclusive magazine for Moneyweb subscribers

MoneywebDrive

In this issue...2

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2 AMG’s Second Coming: Purity of Purpose 10 And now, one you can pack the wife and kids

into… 12 New Models: Jeep Renegade 14 New Models: Ford Wildtrak 16 Review: BMW

X6 M 22 Review: Hyundai Veloster 24 Interview: Michele Giaramita 26 Our choice used

vehicle: Volvo’s XC60 31 The Motor Business: Buying Cars 34 Investment Classics: Aston

Martin DB6

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34

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Published byMoneyweb

Moneyweb EditorRyk van Niekerk

EditorStuart Johnston [email protected]

Advertising Lee Roelofse [email protected] 011 973 2478

Layout & DesignMarketing Support Service

Business officeFlip Wilken 237 Rigel AvenueWaterkloof Ridge0181012 460 [email protected]

A warm welcome to Moneyweb-DRIVE. This is the very first edition of this exciting new motoring magazine, brought to you as an easy-to-read e-zine twice each month, and free of charge to se-lect Moneyweb subscribers.

We’ll be focussing strongly on the cars that dreams are made of in this publication, as our cover- story of this landmark first issue so clear-ly illustrates. The Mercedes-AMG GT heralds a new chapter in the remarkable story of a tiny tuning house in a German village that rose to be the halo brand in the Mercedes-Benz model line-up.

But we won’t be neglecting cars that nevertheless represent excel-lence in other forms, apart from sheer performance or perceived status. Under the spotlight in Mon-eywebDRIVE Issue 1 is a landmark car of a different sort from the Fi-

at-Chrysler alliance – the all new Jeep Renegade, which is the first Jeep to be built outside of the USA.

And there is lots more from around-the-world-of-motoring. From Korea comes the new Hyun-dai Veloster Turbo while from the UK we sample the delights of a timeless classic.

Indeed, classic car motoring is one of the editor’s great passions, and the car to kick-off this edi-tion is not only beautiful but rep-resents an extremely worthwhile investment. Hark, the 1968 Aston Martin DB6, which you can read all about, starting on page 21.

We look forward to providing a much-awaited treat to Money-web’s readers for a long time to come. All the best in motoring.

Stuart Johnston

Welcome to MoneywebDRIVE

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Moneyweb Drive: From the Editor

The launch edition of Money-webDrive marks an exciting new Moneyweb endeavor into the lifestyle and leisure market.

From various market research studies it became evident that although the Moneyweb com-munity is captivatedby financial and investment news, there is also a need for content for when the markets are closed.

Motoring news was a clear pref-erence, and hence Moneyweb-Drive was born.

The reality is that not everyone looks at a car the same way. Many people see the car in the driveway as much more import-ant than a means of transporta-tion. For some it is a measure of success. For others it is an appre-ciation of luxury and comfort.

MoneywebDrive is aimed at in-dividuals who appreciate car making as an art.

We are extremely fortunate to have secured renowned motor-ing journalist Stuart Johnston as the MoneywebDrive editor. He penned his first road test review in 1978 (a Toyota Cressida I believe) and during the subsequent 35 years he has become one of the most respected motoring journal-ists in South Africa. He has been an associated with virtually all the leading motoring publications and television shows in the coun-try. I believe his insights will trans-late into hours of entertainment for the Moneyweb community.

We look forward to the seeds of our new motoring venture!

Ryk van Niekerk

The art of car making

MoneywebDrive: Feature

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The Mercedes-AMG GT

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Just one week from now, the most exciting Mercedes sports car since the 300 SL Gullwing of 1955 will make its debut in South Africa. The media launch is scheduled for July 13-14, 2015 and there’s no doubt about the target for the Mercedes- AMG GT. It’s a car that has been around for over 50 years called a 911, and built by PorscheAG , which resides less than 100 km up the autobahn from AMG’s Af-falterbach headquarters.

This Mercedes-AMG GT effec-tively replaces the much ac-claimed gull-wing-door SLS in the Mercedes line-up, and whereas the SLS revelled in a sense of the dramatic, the new AMG GT is all paired-down pu-rity-of-purpose – which is pretty much the line that the 911 has

been following since it debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in late 1963.

This clean new design is the sec-ond all-AMG project after the SLS, and it speaks volumes for the newly-named Mercedes-AMG division’s intent. Even the name change (dropping the Benz bit and thus avoiding cumbersome nomenclature) is a sign that, from here on in, AMG is going to be ploughing much more of its own course, and this includes getting down to the very es-sence of sporting, driver-orien-tated basics.

This “new“ AMG philosophy – making driver-orientated cars rather than dazzling with brute power figures but still leaning- over backwards towards crea-

ture comfort – is made plain when you read the spec list on this new Merc too. Weight has been reduced by an im-pressive 80 kg over the previ-ous SLS, and the nose of the car is a lot shorter, the side-on proportions more balanced. The weight distribution has also been altered; some 47% up front and 53% to the rear means it is going to be a driv-er’s car first and foremost.

This weight-saving and distri-bution of things mechanical has been achieved by fitting the smaller 4,0-litre V8 engine ahead of the driver, but mount-ed right up against the cockpit firewall. That keeps the bulkiest piece of mechanical mass as far back as possible, and that other bulky bit, the gearbox, is

located at the rear of the car. Rather than opt for an automat-ic, as is the case with the recent-ly-launched C 63 sedan (which uses the same twin-turbo V8), the GT gets a seven-speed dual clutch transmission, and presumably the shift responses should be even quicker than they are on the C 63.

The engine deserves special consideration. Although only four-litres in size – a consider-able down-size from the SLS’s 5,5-litre V8 – its twin turbo-chargers boosts max power to 340 kW on the standard model and 375 kW on the S version of the new GT. That will be good enough for a 3,8-second zero to 100 km/h sprint and a top speed of 310 km/h on the S (the stock model is just a tad slower, but

This clean new design is the second all-AMG project after the SLS, and it speaks volumes for the newly-named Mercedes-AMG division’s intent.


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not much). Incidentally, AMG still has its one-man, one-engine philosophy in place despite an enormous hike in produc-tion numbers over the past few years, where one man assem-bles an entire engine and puts his signature to it!

The quoted performance fig-ures are very much in line with the cars Mercedes-AMG is tar-geting in this segment, again indicating the switch in think-ing at AMG to much more driver-orientated cars rather than a focus on pure, grunt-ing horsepower and rock-hard suspension settings. Not that the car will sound in any way limp-wristed. The recent launch of the C 63 confirmed that, turbocharged or not, the new AMG four-litre sounds bru-tal on demand, which is one of

the things we’ve always loved about AMG V8s!

If the new AMG GT handles half as well as it looks, then Mer-cedes-AMG is going to be on to a winning thing. It is interesting to note that while the engine is hand-built at AMG in Affalterbach, the car itself is assembled at Mer-cedes-Benz’s plant in Sindelfingen. And yes, the car was in fact styled by Mercedes-Benz in house.

Merc’s styling division is head-ed up by the relatively youth-ful Gorden Wagener, a man who visited South Africa during the launch of the S-Class se-dan about 18 months ago. “The AMG GT is a sports car in its purist form,” he is on record as saying, adding that it nevertheless em-bodies the spirit of glorious Mer-cedes sports cars in the past.

One could very well pose the question of whether the 300 SL was in fact the last true-blue sports car that Mercedes has built. The wonderfully-styled 230 SL that followed in the ‘60s with its classic Pagoda-style roof was more of a sports cruiser than a sports car and the same could be said for the ensuing gener-ations of SLs, very fast though some of them have been with the encouragement of AMG deep-breathing techniques.

The minimalist SLK of the mid-90s was a sports car in essence, having a small body and, initially, modest power, but it ended up being much more of a style car, favoured by female drivers and men who placed the cut line of their trousers and t-shirts ahead of such arcana as “crisp turn in” and “lateral G-force generation”.

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The ultra-dramatic, Gordon Mur-ray designed, McLaren-inspired SLR that finally broke cover in the early 2000s was definitely a su-percar, with dramatic power and speed potential, but after it went through the Mercedes board-room mill, it weighed far too much to be considered in any way a “sports car”. In fact, the SLS, with its gullwing doors that preceded this AMG GT has been the closest Mercedes-Benz have come in years, and so, much hope is held out for this new car that it will marry all the attributes of nimbleness, appropriate pow-er and cleanliness of design that it appears to embody, on paper.

And on paper, and to those who have seen it in the flesh, it looks the business. There is a beautiful balance to the car’s proportions

and a distinct avoidance of add-ing any superfluous styling lines.

Inside, the theme is plush but snug, with plenty of air vents, dials, knobs, brushed metal, suede and carbon fibre, and a prominent infotain-ment screen, reminding us that this is indeed a modern sports car.

Price? When the car was shown at a special preview in Ger-many last year to select South African media members and Mercedes-Benz South Africa ex-ecutives, there was talk that it could well come in at below the R2-million mark. Whether that optimism will be realised remains to be seen when the AMG GT bows in front of the local media come July 13. Watch this space!

By Stuart Johnston

There is a beautiful balance to the car’s proportions and a distinct avoidance of

adding any superfluous styling lines.

Suede and brushed metal finery.

9 Top: Turbo location is within the cylinder banks.

Bottom: The dual clutch gearbox co-habits with the rear axle.


It is a fact that the new Mercedes-AMG C 63 uses essentially the same four-litre twin-turbo V8 that powers the all new sports car from AMG. In the case of the sedan, it features wet-sump lubrication, rather than a separate tank to hold the oil. On the sports car it was import-ant to get the engine as compact as possible, hence the flat-bottomed dry-sump version, which means it could be installed as low and as far back in the sports car as possible.

In the new AMG 63 sedan, which is based on the World Car of the Year-winning W205 series C-Class, the 4,0-litre V8 is tuned to produce 350 kW in “base” form and 375 kW in the S model. Torque is 650 Nm on the standard model and 700 Nm on the S, and both cars employ the seven-speed AMG MCT-7 automatic gearbox,

which has had its shifting abilities sharpened up considerably for the new flagship C-Class.

At the launch at Zwartkops Raceway a month ago the new gearbox was particu-larly impressive the way it reacted to down shifts precisely and quickly, enabling plenty of confidence when setting the car up for a corner under heavy braking. And the brakes are truly up to the job of track work too.

The new C 63 offers a variety of driving dynam-ic modes to suit the conditions and the driver’s mood. In Comfort mode the ride is now truly composed even over bad surfaces, something you couldn’t claim for the out-going model which was stiff as a board. But even in Sport mode on the track the chassis offers a degree

of benevolence that makes it easy to turn very quick lap times without feeling as if you are right on a razor’s edge.

Power delivery is fantastic, with the zero to 100 time coming up in 4,0 seconds for the S model, with the standard one not much slower. Top speed is officially limited to 250 but a “driver’s pack” can be ordered which immediately increases this to 290 km/h!

Pricing starts at R1 004 700 for the base model and R1 163 800 for the S, before you have added any of the personalising visu-al and performance-related goodies on offer. Oh, and by the way, despite the ad-dition of turbocharging on the new engine, it still sounds wonderful!

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AT OVER FIVE METRES LONG YOU CAN FIT A SPORTS CAR INSIDE.SO WE DID.

The all new MaseraTi QuaTTroporTe is More Than jusT The finesT sporTs sedan. iT blends exTraordinary beauTy wiTh The uncoMproMising perforMance of The new V8 engine. a classic granTourer wiTh ThaT unMisTakable iTalian design and engineering precision ThaT only MaseraTi can offer you. MaseraTi QuaTTroporTe range sTarTing froM r1 593 000

MASERATI QUATTROPORTE GTS.

ENGINE: V8 90° 3799 CC - MAX POWER: 530 HP AT 6500 RPM - MAX TORQUE: 710 NM AT 2550 RPM (IN OVERBOOST, OTHERWISE 650 NM AT 2000 RPM) - MAX SPEED: 307 KM/H - 0-100 KM/H ACCELERATION: 4.7 SECS - FUEL CONSUMPTION (COMBINED CYCLE): 11.8 L/100 KMCO2 EMISSIONS (COMBINED CYCLE): 274 G/KM

MASERATI JOHANNESBURGbuilding no. 3, bryansTon bouleVard, 2985 williaM nicol dr, bryansTon. Phone: +27 (0) 800060077 | E-mail: [email protected]

www.maserati.comThe data may not refer to the model represented.

DJ10601 QP MoneyWeb Drive B.indd 1 2015/06/19 12:10 PM

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Jeep’s new Renegade breaks lots of new ground for the American company which has its roots in the World War II army go-any-where conveyance.

The Renegade is the first Jeep to be built outside of the USA, coming as a logical consequence of the Fiat-Chrysler-Jeep alliance established a few years ago. This one is built in Italy.

In its underpinnings the new urban-type Jeep is essentially Fiat, or some may prefer to allude to its Alfa Romeo DNA, the 1,4-litre tur-bo petrol Multi-Air motor being essentially the mill that powers the Mito. And it’s a beauti-ful engine this, remarkably fuel-efficient and typically Fiat in its ability to revolve effortlessly

and smoothly all the way to (6 400 rpm) red-line. Rated output is a respectable 103 kW.

There’s more Euro-finery beneath the skin too. The chassis has an integrity about it that’s at once rock-solid and refined in its responses, reacting to even subtle inputs on steering wheel, brakes, throttle pedal, and enjoying a high degree of high-speed stability.

The look inside is also classy, a considered choice of high-end synthetic materials add-ing to an ambience that is intriguingly differ-ent enough to be a Jeep, but with few signs of any cost cutting on equipment, texture or panel fit. And it has a big boot too, and plen-ty of passenger room.

At the moment it is only available in two wheel drive, the single model on sale known as the Renegade 1,4T Limited. It comes with a fluid six-speed manual gearbox driving the front wheels, and the launch price in-cluded, for the first 500 models sold, all sorts of extras thrown in such as Sat-Nav and 18-inch alloy wheels.

Later this year there’s a more entry-level model planned, along with a diesel and an all-wheel-drive version known as the Trail Hawk.

Right now this urban eye-catcher sells for a steepish R375 990. But it represents a class act, even at this sort of money.

MoneywebDrive: New Models, Local

Best Jeep for the ‘burbs’?

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MoneywebDrive: FeatureMoneywebDrive: New Models

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Out there in the distance, a Wildtrak did growl. To para-phrase one of Bob Dylan’s best-known songs, All Along the Watchtower, the Princes of Indus-try are definitely “keeping the view” on Ford’s Ranger in South Africa. For the past few months, this Pretoria-built pick-up with strong American styling cues has emerged as not only the coun-try’s top-selling light commercial vehicle, but the best-selling ve-hicle overall, beating the likes of best-selling cars like VW’s Polo and Polo Vivo, and, of course, the erstwhile number one and its arch-rival in the bakkie stakes, the Toyota Hilux.

Now comes news that will shiv-er the timbers of competitors. A fortnight ago Ford has an-nounced its “ultimate version”,

the Wildtrak, an in-house custom that is due for release here in the fourth quarter of 2015, along with the rest of the re-vamped Rang-er range.

It comes with subtle grey accents on the grill surrounds, door han-dles, side vents, bed rails (these are in the load bay, by the way) fog lamps, roll bar and funky 18-inch wheels.

In other words, all the stuff owners have been doing to these much-loved bakkies anyway, but now Ford is saving you the trouble of visiting an array of custom shops and giving you what you always wanted after watching shows along the lines of Pimp my Ride!

"The accent colours on the Wildtrak help to punch out the

architecture of the fascia, and make what is already a very bold design even bolder - it's instantly recognisable on the road," says Dave Dewitt, exterior design manager for the Ranger Wildtrak. "

Even the Wildtrak's signature or-ange color has been tweaked to help it stand out from the crowd.

"We wanted to push the Wildtrak's orange further, to give it a fun, tough feeling," said De-witt. "We call it Pride Orange, not just because of our pride in the new Ranger, but also because it calls to mind a pride of lions - it conjures up the Wildtrak's poten-tial and adventurous spirit."

The Wildtrak will also be avail-able in Cool White, Black Mica,

Aluminium Metallic and Metro-politan Gray.

Inside there is lots of extra funk, and up-market items include an eight-way electrically-ad-justable driver’s seat and a large touch-screen. Ford’s pat-ented SYNC 2 system is part of the deal, enabling voice com-mands to play stored music, change radio stations, switch to navigation or adjust the climate control. The car will come with the top of the line 147 kW 3,2-litre diesel, which has played such a big role in making the Ranger a killer on the sales floor, thanks to its class-leading power outputs.

Prices will be announced at launch time, which is some three months away.

The accent colours on the Wildtrak help to punch out the architecture of the fascia, and make what is already a very bold design even bolder - it's instantly recognisable on the road...


How do you classify the BMW X6 M? I mean, is it a semi-off-roader? A sports coupe? A station wagon on steroids? All of the above?

Answering the last question in the affirmative is perhaps the one that most accurately sums up the basic concept, although in the case of the X6 M with ul-tra-low profile rubber and 20 inch or even 21-inch (option-al) diameter, ultra-wide sports alloy rims, I reckon no-one in their right mind is going to list

rock-straddling or even quick dirt-road driving as one of the sports activities they have in mind for this, the ultimate so-called Sports Activity Vehicle that BMW produces.

Instead, BMW makes note (in the launch press kit distributed last month) of the lap-time app you can download onto your smart-phone for your X6 M, so presumably track days at circuits like Zwartkops or Killarney or the newly-opened Dezi raceway in

KZN are likely to feature higher on prospective owners’ bucket lists.

What on earth would make you want to do hot laps in an SUV-sized lump weighing around 2 300 kg? Well, maybe a perusal of the engine specs would an-swer just one more in the string of questions that this odd-ball fun-wagon poses. The 4,4-litre V8 in its latest guise with a pair of twin-scroll turbochargers – one per cylinder bank – pumps out 423 kW. Do the math, and that

MoneywebDrive: Review

What on earth would make you want

to do hot laps in an SUV-sized lump

weighing around 2 300 kg?

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translates to a mere 5,4 kg that needs to be shifted by each and every kilowatt!

Small wonder then that this be-hemoth sports coupe will ac-celerate to 100 from standstill in just 4,2 seconds, not to mention achieve its electro-limited top speed of 250 km/h at the merest whiff of a straight piece of open road. And thanks to an inordi-nately sophisticated suspension system, as well as a very effec-tive multi-plate all-wheel-drive system that shifts torque very ef-fectively between the front and

rear axles, you can actually add “drifting” to that list of pleasure pursuits you plan to experience in this big bold Beemer.

It is indeed possible to get a se-rious tail-out attitude set up in the BMW X6 M, once you have dialled out the “sissy” modes on the Dynamic Performance Control system and selected “DSC OFF”. Now you are talking! Take that, ya bunch of un-couth hot-rodders!

The car is a whole lot of fun, as well as being highly sophisticat-

It is indeed possible to get a serious tail-out attitude set up in the BMW X6 M, once you have dialled out the “sissy” modes on the Dynamic Performance Control system and selected “DSC OFF”.

A 330 km/h speedo, a 7 000 rpm redline, ultra-low-profile rubber.

Yes indeed, this is a track-day machine.

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ed but I’m not so sure about the new exhaust note. BMW has fit-ted a new “cross-over” exhaust system that equalises the puls-es between the two cylinder banks. The media pack talks about it being “evocative” but I think it sounds too much like a four-cylinder motor for my tastes and I far prefer the off-beat rum-ble of a traditional V8. The solu-tion would be to get someone to make you up a non-cross-over aftermarket set of pipes. Why BMW did this is anyone’s guess. Perhaps it was a design-packag-ing solution, because nothing, but nothing sounds as evocative as a trad-V8 rumble-to-growl-to-full-throated roar. Bring that back please!

The new M6 is a fully sorted package in both a visual and dynamic sense and the massive

air-scoops in the nose section not only denote its dragster-like sprinting capability, but also the thought that the M-Division from BMW has put into managing all the cooling issues that can arise in an engine of this nature that produces what was considered the kind of power only available in thoroughbred sports-racing cars just a few years ago.

The radiator systems feature an efficient, newly developed combination of low-tempera-ture and high-temperature ra-diators, which also handles the cooling of the turbochargers, charge air and transmission oil, and maintains an optimum tem-perature, to strike that fine bal-ance between cold-start-up (so important for low emsissions fig-ures) and sustained full-throttle applications. The like of which

you could do, if you happened to have no speed restrictions such as around Munich, the home of BMW, where there are still plenty of un-restricted sec-tions of autobahn that beckon.

Here in South Africa, there are plenty of roads where it would be feasible to drive flat-out in this machine, such confidence does it inspire, but you would be risk-ing your licence, big time!

Getting back to the other reasons for this car, it not only has a chassis that can handle sustained high-speed driving, but it can carry five people and their luggage with aplomb, and its sheer bulk is more than a small part of its attraction. And then there is the elevated driving position, relaxing for those moments when you are in a more mature frame of mind.

Indeed, there are many who are of the thought pattern that cars like this, Mercedes-Benz’s just-launched (in Europe) GLE and the recently revised Range Rover Sport Supercharged, have made the traditional super limos like the 7 Series, S-Class and XJ series just a little on the redun-dant side.

Pricing for the BMW X6 M starts at R1 676 500, and that’s before you’ve added any extras. The bonus is that it has low emis-sions resulting in a tax of just over R14 000, and a rated overall fuel consumption figure of just over 11 litres/100 km, although in the real world you’ll be slurping 95 octane at the rate of 15,0 to 20 litres/100 km depending on how much you indulge yourself.

By Stuart Johnston


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BMW architectural interior just a tad ordinary for such an accomplished performance car.

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This piece on the new Veloster Turbo is being written on the back of an outstanding World Rally Championship result for Hyundai in the Rally Italia Sardegna, where the team scored second and third spots in this most exacting of motor sports. Just 18 months after Hyundai entered the WRC it has shown surprising levels of competitiveness against much more expe-rienced opposition, so, in short, the sporting DNA is very much alive in this Korean marque.

Hyundai has in the past two years made a concerted thrust to be seen as an estab-lished player in the very sophisticated Europe-an market. Apart from its motorsport efforts, it has established a performance centre at the awe-inspiring 22 km-long Nurburgring race track in Germany, where the top perfor-mance cars in the world hone their products.

With this background in mind, expectations for the newly launched (in South Africa) Ve-loster Coupe Turbo were high. And on pa-per the car looks reasonably competitive. It is the first petrol turbo engine we have seen here from Hyundai and its figures of 150 kW and 265 Nm of torque are not too shabby.

As far as transmission is concerned, you can order the Veloster Turbo with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed

dual clutch transmission, both driving the front wheels.

On the launch route the car showed a nice clean delivery of power and refined han-dling on smooth surfaces, and I was par-ticularly impressed at its spread of torque and basic composure. It’s a very smooth, sweet-revving 1,6-litre four-cylinder, known as the T-GDI, which is a somewhat confusing title standing for “turbocharged, gasoline, direct injection.” Not to be confused with a diesel then, despite the inclusion of the let-ters “g” and “d”!

But while the power figures are impressive, in practice I found the car lacking just a little in the way of punch, when measured against its opposition from the likes of VW, Audi and BMW.

Hyundai’s Veloster Turbo

On the launch route the car showed a nice clean

delivery of power and refined handling on smooth surfaces,

and I was particularly impressed at its spread of

torque and basic composure.

Time to up the Boost?

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There is no real bang in the power-band that gets your hair on your arms standing up. As for the handling, it is very good on smooth tar, but show it a bump or two or mid-cor-ner ripples and it gets very flustered, the rear wheels starting to deflect too easily.

Hyundai has lowered and stiffened the sus-pension for this Turbo version of the Veloster and fitted bigger diameter alloy wheels, but I

can’t help feeling that this car has yet to bear the fruits of its development programmes in rallying or at the ‘Ring.

I feel the stylists have also gone too con-servative on the cockpit, nice and well put together as it is. A bit more brushed metal here, perhaps some classy carbon fibre trim there and some red stitching in the uphol-stery would have made all the difference.

It looks good though, and for some, this may be enough to justify the price of R379 900 for the manual, or R399 900 for the seven-speed dual clutch.

By the way, choose the manual if you want one, in this case it’s a far more “engaging “ experience.

By Stuart Johnston

At a sneak preview of the all new Ferrari 488 GTB at Scuderia South Africa’s new head-quarters in Bryanston, privileged guests were given insights into this new 3,9-litre turbo-charged V8 machine which boasts a stun-ning output of 492 kW and 750 Nm of torque. And a 0-100 km/h time of 3,0 seconds and a top speed of 330 km/h-plus! Now available only in left-hand-drive, the r-h-d 488 will only be available here early in 2016.

The following are some of the points made by Michele Giaramita, Chief Project Engineer at Ferrari SPA, who flew to South Africa to re-veal the 488:

“In the first place, driving a Ferrari means to have amazing emotions. This means incred-ible acceleration thanks to the new engine, but power is simply not enough. When you

move the steering wheel the car has to be reactive and quick to move.

“So, new engine, new suspension and steering dynamics, aerodynamics and new electron-ic controls, because now you don’t have to be scared to approach the car, because the challenge of today is to make these cars easy to approach such power for the first time.

“For Ferrari it is most important to get the right sound. Thus we have new air ducts, new exhaust, new manifolding. The turbo is more difficult to get the right sound, we knew this from the beginning, so the turbos are located quite far from the engine to get the necessary exhaust volume for the sound, as well as special resonators in the intake manifold to achieve a very linear and harmonic sound.


Michele Giaramita,

Chief Project Engineer at Ferrari SPA,

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“Compared to the very successful 458, we have 75 kW more and the torque is 760 Nm, that means 230 Nm, almost 40 per cent more! The result from zero to 200 km/h is more than two seconds less than the 458, now 8,3 seconds. And mid-range response is as good as a much larger normally aspi-rated engine, no lag.

“Brake distance from 200 to zero is 11 me-tres less than the previous model. Total of just 115 metres, just five years ago we need-

ed 140 metres to brake to a stop from such a speed.

“The new car is based on the platform of the 458, but virtually no body panels are re-tained, only some sections of the roof. The new look is all about ducting for the new tur-bocharged installation, and to aid aerody-namics even further at high speeds.

“The front is important because it dictates how the air moves around the car. And we have

retained the radiators from the 458 but they need to cool down much more power, and this we achieved by aerodynamics. We also have approximately double more down force to improve the handling at 250 km/h than we had on the 458, which was already excellent.”

With the launch of the new car some six months away in South Africa, a predicted price is R4,2-million. On reflection, it is proba-bly a good time to buy an out-going 458, as discounts just may apply!

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Volvo’s XC60 should be on your pre-owned Radar

MoneywebDrive: Our choice used vehicle

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Low mileage used vehicles more than often boasts the best bang for your buck and our close to new Volvo XC60 T5 offered just that.

Yes, with a mere 6 000km on the clock, it was no surprise that this stylish Volvo XC60 T5 looked al-most as good as the day it left the showroom floor. Always rat-ed among the best brands re-garding safety and quality, you can also rest assured that Volvos will remain close to pristine for a long time.

Volvo has recently introduced an all new range of engines in all their models featuring their new Drive-E technology. Their

Drive-E technological advanc-es include reducing the fric-tion within their engines and a host of aerodynamic improve-ments ensuring you get maxi-mum performance accompa-nied by superior fuel economy. Therefore our Volvo XC60 em-ployed stop/start technology, further reducing fuel consump-tion especially in and around town. In fact our Volvo XC60 T5 duly impressed on this front; in urban use we saw figures well under 10-litres per 100Km and on the open road these figures dropped as low as seven-litres per 100 km.

But all this said, Volvo hasn’t neglected performance either

Their Drive-E technological advances include reducing the friction within their engines and a host of aerodynamic improvements ensuring you get maximum performance accompanied by superior fuel economy.

Model 2014 Volvo XC60 T5 Excel Geartronic

New vehicle price with options fitted R 579 950

Used price as tested R 489 950

Mileage 6 000 km

Warranty Remainder of extendable 5-year/ 100 000 km Volvo Maintenance Plan

ContactVic Campher from Tom Campher Motors on 010 595 7832 or 082 490 1473

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and with its new Drive-E tech-nology our Volvo XC60 T5 de-veloped a healthy 180kW of maximum power and 350 Nm of torque from its 2-litre 16-valve turbocharged engine. Despite the fact that the XC60 is no lightweight at 1 720 kg, per-formance proved to be much

better than expected. The 0-100 km/h dash will take you a mere 7.2-seconds, while the top speed of 210 km/h is more than adequate for a vehicle of this nature.

But it’s the way the Volvo deliv-ers this power that impressed

me the most. The engine de-livers good torque low down and combined with smooth shifts from the new advanced 8-speed Geartronic gearbox, cruising along town proved to be an effortless exercise, while the well-spaced ratios from the auto box ensured there was

always enough power on tap when I needed it. Likewise high-way cruising in the Volvo XC60 was top notch.

Unfortunately this particular Volvo XC60 comes powered by the front wheels only, which means it boasts no real off-


29 Electronic instrumentation offers three different driving-style themes. Alloys on this

car are scuff-free. Low mileage example looks showroom fresh.

30


road abilities besides the odd kerb-crawling. Good ground clearance does however still allow the XC60 to negotiate some obstacles, but only where traction won’t be an issue.

Ride quality on the road is good too and the high profile 235/65R17 Michelin tyres cer-tainly contributed to the over-all smooth and refined ride. Again the Volvo XC60 will im-press most people with its over-all refinement.

Inside the Volvo, as one would have expected the feel is very much upmarket, with Volvo’s usual solidity fused to a sense of luxurious well-being. All the materials used in the cabin are of very high quality and build quality exemplary. I especial-

ly liked the modern lay-out of the interior with the alumini-um finishes complimenting the dark grey leather upholstery very well.

From behind the wheel it was also interesting that I could choose between three different themes for the digital instrument display, Elegance, Eco and Per-formance. Furthermore the con-trols are easy to use and give you most of the information you need, without overwhelming you with data.

As far as added extras are concerned, “our” XC60 in Excel guise came fitted with the op-tional sports pack, while other additional extras included sat-ellite navigation and double glazed windows. The XC60 also

offers acres of space inside the cabin, while the boot area can easily swallow large amounts of baggage.

Safety features included an ar-ray of front, side and curtain air-bags, as well as traction control and ABS with electronic brake distribution. Its most innovative feature is “City Safety” where the car will apply the brakes automatically if it senses that you are about to collide with another vehicle at speeds up to 50 km/h.

Seeing that this good-as-new Volvo XC60 offers a saving of R 90 000 compared with the new list price, it’s without a doubt a great used car buy.

By Charl Wilken

For- Engine tractability- Economy- Quality- Space

Against- Only front wheel

drive

In short

During the past 12 months, Ipsos, the Sand-ton-based market-survey specialists, have been conducting a “customer-understand-ing” investigation regarding car-buying and customer-retention trends. The results show that rather than confronting dealerships and manufacturers about problems with their ve-hicles – perceived or real – customers tend to back off and simply switch brands when the time comes for buying a new car.

Based on the research conducted, it has been uncovered that one of the typical characteristics of the automotive retail en-vironment is a lower than average set of expectations from customers in this space, borne on the insight that customers often don’t trust or necessarily expect a very high level of service from the industry due to a number of factors. Some of these factors are real, some legacy and some imagined.

But there is an up-side to this for the industry, says Patrick Busschau, the Ipsos Automotive Business Unit Director. “Despite, or because of this low-expectation attitude it can be a little bit easier and simpler to satisfy and even delight a customer in the automotive market, than a customer in the financial ser-vices or telecoms environments for instance, because their expectations are different,” says Busschau.

MoneywebDrive: The Motor Business

SA CAR BUYERS ARE “APATHETIC, HAVE LOW EXPECTATIONS”

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MoneywebDrive: The Motor Business

Ipsos also believes that South African con-sumer traits play a part. Busschau explains by saying, “South African consumers can be a bit more apathetic, indifferent and for-giving than our counterparts in the US and Europe, but then we have a tendency to vote with our feet, which can catch retailers and businesses by surprise. When it comes to engaging with a retailer, especially about problems or complaints, there is often a sense of indifference or even helplessness, be this real or imagined. As a result, too of-ten we see customers stating that they are satisfied and committed, but when it comes to market behaviour the customer may de-cide to purchase from another brand as this is often easier than risking the stress and frus-tration of trying to resolve issues.

“This tendency to defect, coupled with a growing market and a very wide repertoire of choices, means we are seeing attitudinal brand commitment in many sectors, includ-ing automotive, dropping. Brands and retail-

ers are increasingly being expected to in-volve themselves with the customer through individualised customer engagement. For many retail businesses this is a huge chal-lenge, but this would be the differentiator: understanding how to engage more effec-tively and proactively with customers in an appropriate way that drives memorable and positive experiences”

* In the recently-announced 2015 Ipsos Com-petitive Customer Experience, the Volkswagen Group again fared best out of local car brands.

The Volkswagen Group once again fared very well in the recently announced 2015 Ipsos com-petitive customer experience (CCE) for people buying or servicing a vehicle in South Africa.

Audi took gold in the passenger car sales survey (96.1% – 97.3%) as well as gold for the servicing experience (91.7% - 93.8%), with Volkswagen taking gold for sales and silver for servicing.

The Volkswagen Group once again fared very

well in the recently announced 2015 Ipsos competitive customer

experience (CCE) for people buying or servicing a vehicle in

South Africa.

Volkswagen, along with Isuzu, took gold for sales (93.1% - 95.5%) in the light commercial vehicle segment and these two LCV brands, together with Nissan and Toyota took gold for servicing (86.5% - 91%).

Last year Audi took gold for both sales and ser-vice in the passenger car category, while Volk-swagen took gold for sales and silver for service in the PC category. (Volkswagen earned gold for both sales and service in the 2013 LCV survey).

BMW, Chevrolet, Nissan, Opel and Toyota all took silver for the passenger car sales ex-perience this time around, with Ford, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Volvo collect-ing bronze.

Chevrolet, Lexus and Nissan joined Volk-swagen in the silver category for passen-ger car servicing, with BMW, Honda, Mer-cedes-Benz and Toyota all in the bronze category.

Four brands qualified for silver in the LCV pur-chasing experience. They were: Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan and Toyota. As previously men-tioned, gold for LCV servicing was awarded to Isuzu, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen, while Ford and Chevrolet collected silver.

Mazda was excluded from the rankings from January – December 2014 due to the ongo-ing setup of the revised dealer network fol-lowing Mazda separating from Ford.

33

Audi took Gold in the Ipsos passenger car sales experience survey.

34

MoneywebDrive: Investment Classics

DB6’s long wheel-base makes it ultra-stable at speeds up to 240 km/h. (Photography by Stuart Johnston)

of Aston

35

The primary appeal of an As-ton Martin probably lies in its subtlety. The man or woman who steps out of an Aston is likely to be someone who has an affinity for the finer things in life with very little need to flaunt it. And of all the prod-ucts that issued from the facto-ry in Newport Pagnell, England during the marques golden year period of the mid-1950s to the late 1970s, one of the most subtle has to be the DB6, pro-duced between late 1965 and early 1971.

Everyone knows the DB5, thanks to the famous Goldfinger mov-ie-car that equipped James Bond with such counter-attack devices as an ejection seat for unwanted passengers and knock-off wheel spinners that

extended outwards to slash a rival’s tyres when the car-chase scene reached its zenith.

With such global adulation for the DB5, following it was always going to be a tough act and half a century later prices in England, Europe and the US still reflect this. A perfect-fettle DB5 will sell for upwards of R12-million, whereas just a few years ago DB6 were offered regularly at the R3-mil-lion mark.

But these prices in no way reflect the integrity or real-world ability of the two cars under discussion here. Or, indeed other cars made famous by movie over-exposure. Just as first-generation “hippy Kombi” split window buses are going for insane amounts of mon-ey now, a scarcity of saleable

stock has turned attention to the second-generation VW Micro-bus, in all ways except perhaps the visual, a far superior vehicle. And so the second-gen “bay window” VW buses are now start-ing to climb in value accordingly.

This has happened too, in the past two years, to the values of Aston Martin’s DB6, a car that rode bet-ter, had more space, and argu-ably enjoyed a more refined styl-ing line than the comparatively compact DB5. By extending the wheelbase, Aston made the DB6 much more usable as a re-al-world 2+2 coupe, and also im-proved the high-speed stability of the car no end. And again, to aid a car that was now extremely fast on top speed – velocities of well over 240 km/h were common place for the potent Vantage ver-

36

sion – the so-called Kamm-tail lip on the boot-lid reduced rear-end lift considerably on the DB6, mak-ing it a usable high-speed Grand Turismo unrivalled during its time.

The car featured here is one of a handful of SA-surviving DB6s, owned by Vic and Gerhard Campher, well-known as the management team of the coun-try’s foremost Volvo dealership in Auckland Park Johannesburg, es-tablished by their father, the rally ace Tom Campher.

Vic took MoneywebDRIVE’s ed-itor on a memorable early Sun-day drive to Zwartkops Raceway for a photo-shoot on one of the

coldest days in June, and the immaculately-restored car be-haved impeccably.

Its fitment of three Weber car-burettors denotes it as a Van-tage spec model, as do the inscriptions on each front fend-er. Vic explained that during the re-build of the car over a seven-year period, the broth-ers also opted to enlarge the 4,0-litre twin-cam six-cylinder engine to 4,2 litres. The perfect-ly-tuned car is now good for over 250 kW, and with an all in weight of just 1 400 kg it is suit-ably quick. Early road test times rated the 0-100 km/h sprint time in the 6,5-second bracket, and

this 1968 model feels good for that today.

As for value, the paucity of good DB5s for sale world-wide has meant that DB6 values have all but dou-bled in the past couple of years. They now sell for between R4,5-mil-lion and R6-million and prices are only expected to rise accordingly in the foreseeable future. Hav-ing experienced the brilliant four-wheel-disc braking, the pin-point accurate high-speed stability and the very neutral handling at Zwart-kops track speeds, I can only affirm that this is a car that lives up to its looks very well indeed!

By Stuart Johnston

By extending the wheelbase, Aston

made the DB6 much more usable as a real-world 2+2

coupe, and also improved the high-

speed stability of the car no end.

MoneywebDrive: Investment Classics

From left: Distinctive Borrani-style wheels, fitted to the Aston Martin DB6 as standard equipment ;Twin-cam six-cylinder Vantage engine with three Weber side-draughts; Wood-rim steering wheel dominates the cockpit, with classic Smiths dials oozing olde-world charm

Aston DB6’s prices have almost doubled in recent years!

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MoneywebDrive

So it was boy’s stuff once again. Me and my driving partner for the trip were heading south, (or was it north?) towards an airport located just outside Salzburg, and our route would wind us through mountains, forests and more mountains.

We had a deadline to make, because there was a charter flight from Salzburg to Stutt-gart to attend a walkabout through the Hugo Boss global headquarters in Metzingen, followed by the presentation of a VERY IMPORTANT new car, in company with 400 invited guests, serious players in the worlds of international business and glitzy glamour.

Thank goodness for Sat Nav, just follow the little picture on the monitor and listen to the dulcet tones of Olga, who never lost her temper with us, calmly tell-ing us to” make a u-turn if pos-sible” when we made a slight screw-up.

But now Olga was telling us to go down yet another windy green road that in real life was blocked off by a barricade and a sign telling us not to venture there. It was a Y-junction so we took the only other alternative. And old Olga, I swear there was a new terseness in her voice as she kept on directing us back to the road that was blocked off.

So, what the hell, we sneaked past the no-go barrier, drove to a point where the real ob-struction was – lots of rubble and a truck and a bull-dozer and an overhead bridge we would have to pass through and some workmen, but hay, we were in an SUV and we could make it through.

I went up to explain our situa-tion, first to the foreman: he just turned his hard-hatted head rearwards and stalked off with-out so much as acknowledging my existence. So I turned around to chat to the bull-dozer driver

and it reminded me of one of those bad Hollywood junk yard scenes where the bulldozer seems to be driverless and he’s heading straight towards you with this giant, evil metallic claw beckoning. Everyway I feinted to get out of its way, the claw seemed to follow my direction, my every nuance, and those clanking metal track wheels brought the beast ever-closer to me. Eventually, feeling extreme-ly foolish, I scrambled over the road barrier and slithered along a slippery bank back to the safe-ty of our SUV. My driving-partner stared straight ahead, his eyes bulging a little more. He said not a word.

Back in the car old Olga in the SUV was her normal un-helpful self, deviously trying to direct us back to that Bulldozer nightmare every time we tried a new alter-native route. “Shut that stupid woman up!” said my driver. But true to her species, it proved all but impossible to get her to pipe

down. At one point I expected her to say: “I told you so.”

But like true pathfinding males, brought up on Boy Scout camps, Voortrekker saamtreks and ad-venture novels, we followed our noses; finally saw sign posts to Salzburg, then Salzburg airport, and we made our flight to Stutt-gart and arrived nicely sweaty with mud-encrusted shoes for the super-cool Hugo Boss tour.

It seems there was a mud-slide in the mountains, a huge rock-fall actually, and this was why we needed to take “Alternative Route C “ as programmed in our destination menu.

Hmmmf. Yeah, we knew that, we just wanted to check out a little more scenery…

As for the car? Ah, you can read about that in the next edition of MoneywebDRIVE.

By Stuart Johnston

THE REAR END

issue1 | 8 july 2015 exclusive magazine for moneyweb ......and 375 kw on the s version of the new...

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