topCar July 2016

‘A flurry of revs sends the bonnet into a twisting frenzy as the turbochargers gasp and spit like a fire-breathing leviathan.’ IT’S A WRAP, my twelfth issue and with it a full year at the helm of the most exciting motoring magazine in the land. Naturally it has been an honour and a privilege bringing you a shiny new mag each month, a glossy window into the world of motoring not just in our fair land but across all the ponds to the finest locations, in the newest and most interesting things on four wheels. And indeed, four wheels remains the one common denominator in the prevailing motor car as technologies run so rampant that you couldn’t truly predict if they’d next be powered by fossil fuels, electricity, hydrogen or…

THE VERY SAME day? Somebody at Audi has a mischievous streak a mile wide. Knowing that Porsche’s downsizing crusade has caused disquiet in petrolhead quarters, they waited for the official reveal of the latest, rather muted four-pot 718 Cayman S, and then pounced. The TT RS would be a true red-blooded sports car, they said. With 295kW and a snarly five-cylinder engine. Sounds to us like a declaration of civil war, but one thing’s for sure: the folks at Audi’s performance division must have been quietly sniggering into their macchiatos. Porsche is putting a brave face on it, talking up the new forced-induction boxer fours’ extra power and torque, increased flexibility and improved on-paper economy. But the fact is that, as with the 718 Boxster, in swapping out the preceding…

01 Pre-flight checks ‘There are certain rallies where [jumping] happens more often. You know from doing your recce beforehand where there’s going to be a jump – but there are some that catch you by surprise, and they’re the ones that probably give you the biggest fright. The big thing is knowing what speed you can hit the jump at and get away with it.’ 02 Approach ‘The biggest adrenaline rush is that split-second before you take off, because it’s completely blind, you’re jumping into fresh air. You hope you’ve positioned the car correctly – because obviously the steering doesn’t work in mid-air. So once you’ve committed to it, that’s it, you have to stick to what your ambition has said you can do.’ 03 Take-off ‘You can change the…

Go hybrid, or go turbo? Stefano Domenicali, former Ferrari F1 team boss, took over at Lamborghini in March. A case of out of the frying pan and into the fire? He certainly has some big strategic issues to answer. His predecessor, Stefan Winkelmann, was wrestling with how electromobility fits with the Lambo brand, and the first step will be a plug-in hybrid version of the Urus SUV in 2019. Then what? Since the naturally aspirated V10 is now out-classed by the forced-induction 488 and adding a pair of turbochargers to this 5.2-litre unit would eclipse the free-breathing 6.5-litre V12, one solution is to have a 150kW electric motor driving the front wheels, a 50kW e-power pack integrated in the transmission propelling the rear wheels, and a wide centre tunnel filled…

IT’S HAPPENED TO me and I’m sure it’s happened to you. You’re in polite company, maybe at a braai, and someone asks why you love cars and driving. One of your defining passions is suddenly on trial. Why would you love something others see as a chore? Isn’t driving quickly immature and dangerous? Besides, won’t cars drive themselves soon? Fear not. Now, with a little time spent learning your lines beforehand, you can hit them back with some top-drawer Raj Nair: ‘There is joy in the act of controlling a machine. We take it for granted but we’re talking about minute movements of your hands and feet, movements that are translated through the steering, the brakes and hundreds of horsepower into incredible forces. It’s an amazing engineering achievement that a…

Tell us about your first car… ‘I managed to total a few hand-me-downs from my dad. But the first car I owned was a 1988 Ford Mustang. Someone stole it! I’m still looking for it: white ’88 Mustang GT with a scratch on the spoiler – let me know.’ Which achievement makes you proud? ‘The GT supercar – every engineer in the company wanted to work on that – the Focus RS and GT350R Mustang. Whenever my retirement party is, I hope those three will stand out.’ What’s the best thing you’ve ever done in a car? ‘I qualified on pole for a Formula 2000 race at Grattan raceway a long time ago. I built up a lead and decided to take it easy, so of course I spun immediately.…