BMW i8 concept

 

Photo source: Auto Tribute

    

@Fan_Sthe_Tic 
      

First introduced to at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor show as the “BMW Concept Vision Dynamic”, the concept car stole the hearts of many motoring journalists. When BMW announced that the car was going to be mass produced they changed its name to the much simpler BMW i8.

The BMW i8 is mid-engine sports car just like the E26 BMW M1 that BMW made in the 80’s. But there is nothing old about this beauty. For instance the engine in the middle is more complex than that of the M1, it is a plug-in hybrid. On full on electric, the car has a range of about 32 Kilometres; not that much if you think about it, but let’s face it nobody is going to go all electric in a sports car right.

Back to the “complex” bits of the car, the i8 has two motors an electric motor that sits on the front axle of the car and a 1.5 litre turbo 3 cylinder petrol engine on the rear axle.  Most people will not be using the front engine that much, but there is a very special use for it- Drags.  It is an electric motor, which has instantaneous torque and moves off the line faster than its petrol counterparts.  Each power source drives an axle that it’s placed on, making it a 4WD.

The electric motor produces an awesome 98kW, and that 3 cylinder from the Mini cooper produces 170kW, producing a combined 268kW and thanks to the clever use of materials by the Germans making the car weigh 1490 kg.

Using both engines the electric and petrol engine that is linked to a six speed automatic transmission. The car will pull to the 100 km/h mark in 4.5 seconds, just by switching from normal transmission. S mode activates the sports powertrain, activating sports dampeners and sporty response from the steering. Hybrids are mostly quiet, but not this car. The three cylinders are electronically modified to make the exhaust produce a little bit of bass.

With the car still being a concept there’s not much to be said about the interior but yet again this is a BMW.

Merc`s A45 springs up against hot hatches

The A45 AMG is powered by the worlds most powerful 2.0litre engine which produces 265kW

@ROBERT_MABUSELA

The production of Mercedes Benze`s 2014 A45 AMG has seen it contending with only the best hot hatches in the segment, with a new engine that has started the four-cylinder era at AMG. It  has not  only proved to be a remarkable performer, but also a class leading engine, being the world’s most powerful 2.0 litre engine to date.  AMG`s first production of an AMG powered four-cylinder pot seems to be cooking some of the most impressive performance figures.

Dubbed the “King Slayer” , “RS3 Killer”  and a “Kindergarten bully” to name a few, makes one think that it could live up to its dubbings, but thus far the A45 has proved to be a King Slayer by not only keeping up with its rivals but giving them a good match up when coming to performance figures. AMG built the 2.0 litre engine that has been fitted in the A45 at their Affalterbach Head Quarters in Germany, which is responsible for its A-Class leading outputs.

The twin scrolled turbocharged A45 AMG produces 265kW at 6500rpm with a healthy dose of 450Nm of torque which is on foot from 2250-5000 rpm, this together with a 1.8bar boost pressure claims the title of the most powerful production four-cylinder engine in the world.  Outputs from the engine fitted in the A45 are greater than its closest 2.0 litter rival in Audi`s S3 and even takes it a level up in producing more than BMW`s straight six turbocharged 135i.

On paper figures seem to be clearer, with the Merc topping the bunch followed by the similar torqued M 135i, pushing 235kW and the S3`s 221kW. Viewing the sprint to 100km\h, should be a viewing pleasure from the Merc`s point of view. The S3 sprints from 0-100 km\h in 5.2sec which will see the BMW viewing it on its side mirror at 4.9sec and the A45 having the best of both in viewing the 135i on the side mirror and keeping some focus on the Audi via its rear view mirror at an estimated 4.6 seconds flat.

It will take seven gears to reach the 250km\h limited top speed via AMG`s 7 speed DTC transmission, which is matted to an all-wheel drive system. Achieving fuel efficiency at fast speeds is a capability that can be expected from the A45, which sips 6.9 litters per 100km\h while only emitting 161g over the distance. The MacPherson strut front, multi-link rear suspension fitted on the AMG can be tuned and driven in Sports or Comfort, holds all the handling dynamics together which are a strong point when coming to its performance.

The body Kit of the A45 AMG has been seen in two different styles, the normal AMG treatment that differentiates standard to AMG, which mostly comprises of 18” Alloy wheels, quad tail pipes, carbon fibre mirrors, AMG Styling kit, a twin blade grille and Turbo AMG badges on the fenders of the A 45. A second styled version if not a racier looking A45 AMG, is fitted with an optional “Edition 1” package. The package is made up of stripes, different side mirrors, a rear aerofoil, an AMG Night package, aerodynamic package and red brake calipers which cannot be missed from the different styled 19” alloys.

Inside the cabin a sporty feel fills the interior with a mixture of leather, alacantra and carbon fibre trimmings. The use of red in the interior subtly grabs ones attention into sports mode, from seatbelts, vent highlights, stitching around the speed clenching AMG styled leather seats, steering wheel and around the door panels and edges of the dashboard.

The A45 AMG is the perfect hot hatch that does not have a perfect price tag, but considering its AMG performance and quality, driving the hot hatch should make one not worry about having spent half a million without a doubt. The A45 AMG will launch in South Africa during September.

Extreme weekend at Zwartkops Raceway

Extreme drifting during the Hankook Extreme Festival, held at the Zwartkops Raceway

@ROBERT_MABUSELA

Zwartkops Raceway in conjunction with automotive tyre company Hankook, hosted the Hankook Exteme Festival at the Zwartkops on the 9^th & 10^th of August. The two day motoring filled programme set out to entertain motoring fanatics whilst also appealing to women who were out at the track by making them feel special during women’s month.

While men were in the grand stands cheering on and throwing fists in the air during the qualifying races, women had the opportunity to be pampered and treated to a champagne breakfast and neck or foot massage at the ZOC Club house. Races in the programme included the TK Imports Brunch Run and Thunderbikes, Goldwagen SuperHatch, Hankook Formulae Vee, Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters, Imperial Mitsubishi Super Saloons, SA Mechanical Seals Alfa Trofeo, Dotsure.co.za Extreme SuperCars and the Drifting Sideways Challenge.

Various off the track activities kept visitors entertained throughout both days, activities included various exhibitions, a kiddies play area, beer garden, live band performances and a Show and Shine & Sound-off competition that took place during the second day of the Festival. One of the biggest races on the days attracted over 19 exotic cars, in the Dotsure.co.za Extreme Supercars. On Friday Charl Arrangies driving a Motul Dodge Viper ACRX and Deon du Plessis in the KTM X-Bow won the supercar filled race. Arrangies returned to his winning ways in Saturday`s single race. Extreme times of up to 62 seconds were set on Zwartkops 2.4km circuit in the SuperKart races, Veron Pappas completed the circuit in a best time of 1.02 seconds.

 
Off circuit the Show and Shine and Sound-off competition brought a different kind of competitiveness, show casing some of the best custom rides that were entered into the show offs. Fantasy Rides Crew from Pretoria was well represented, showcasing two of their BMW M3 models in the Show and Shine competition. Nabeel Shamshoodeen`s Daytona Violet E36 German Spec M3 of the two, had one of the best pain jobs on the day. Other customs on his ride included customised 18” M3 rims which came out as 17`s from factory, an imported full touch screen Pioneer system and a two sub suede finish box. In the Sound-off category Nitro Crew specialist Leon Gounden, who is known to have the loudest Rookie 1 sound in Johannesburg and Durban looked to add on to his collection of trophies. Gounden`s 138 dbs music box sits on a 40mm drop, 17” LF Works, laminexed lights and his sound set up features 12” Viper Targa`s & a 5000w competition series Amp amongs other sound components.

Motorsports South Africa declared the event to be a success, which was due to a well packaged race programme. Kayalami Raceway will host the spring edition of the Extreme Festival series which will take place on the 14^th of September.