Performance News - 7 September 1999

Saab Viggen

The Saab 9-3 Viggen, the most powerful and rapid Saab ever built, is now on sale in Australia. The heart of the Viggen - Swedish for "thunderbolt" and also the name of Saab's Mach 2 jet fighter - is a high-output turbocharged 2.3-litre engine developing 165kW of power at 5500 rpm and a mighty 342Nm of torque from 2500 to 4000 rpm. The front wheel drive 9-3 Viggen is distinguished from other 9-3 models by its aerodynamic body kit that cuts lift forces by 50 per cent and reduces drag by 8 per cent, enabling the 9-3 Viggen Coupe to reach an electronically-limited 250 km/h top speed.

New Neon

Chrysler has announced the Australian release of an all-new Chrysler Neon. Carrying on the cab-forward design of the previous Neon, the new car heralds a new era for the vehicle that has sold in excess of 1.5 million units throughout the world. Enhancements to suspension, handling, steering and performance have been made. Chrysler's new Neon will be priced from A$23,990 for the SE manual. For that price, customers will get the safety of both driver and passenger new-generation air bags, engine immobiliser, the convenience of increased interior space, upgraded appointments including a six speaker stereo system, power operated exterior mirrors and front windows, 16-valve 2.0-litre engine, and air-conditioning. The LE version of the new Neon adds anti-lock brakes (ABS) and traction control as well as remote keyless entry and a security alarm.

"Chrysler has put an enormous amount of work into reducing noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) in the new Neon and paid particular attention to the suspension to improve ride and handling," Chrysler Australia's Managing Director Mr Steve Shugg said. "The result is a thoroughly modern and stylish vehicle with world-class quality and styling, yet it's a vehicle that still retains its fun-to-drive attributes. The all-new Neon will provide us with a great launch-pad for next year when we will introduce more vehicles including the stunning PT Cruiser."

Rumour suggests that Chrysler will launch another 15 or so different vehicles (including commercials) in the next 12 months in Australia.

Year 2000 Aussie Touring Car Calendar

THE Australian Vee-Eight SuperCar Company (AVESCO) has announced a 13-round program for the Year 2000 Shell Series. The 2000 Shell Championship Series will kick-off with a new and unique event at Phillip Island on February 11-13. The Shell Championship will then head to West Australia on March 18-19, moving back to Adelaide for the second annual Sensational Adelaide 500 on April 7-9. There will be traditional sprint rounds at Eastern Creek in Sydney (April 29-20) and Hidden Valley Raceway in the Northern Territory (May 19-21). The new addition to the championship, the National Capital 100, will then be held on a temporary street course in Canberra on the Queens Birthday Long Weekend (June 9-11) and will incorporate a unique three-part format which will include a reverse grid in race two. Sprint races will then be held in Queensland (July 1-2) and at the Winton Raceway (July 15-16), Oran Park Raceway (July 29-30) and Calder Park Raceway (August 19-20). The second annual Queensland 500 endurance race will be held at the Queensland Raceway on September 8-10 and will be followed by the final sprint round at the Sandown International Raceway in Melbourne on October 7-8. The traditional "grand final" for the season will be the FAI 1000 at Bathurst Mt Panorama on November 16-19. Separate from the Shell Championship Series, the V8 Supercars will also race on the support programs from the Qantas Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne (March 9-12) and the Honda Indy 300 on the streets of the Gold Coast (Oct 12-15).

Alfa Ventilation

Alfa Romeo is planning to do away with conventional ventilation vents and air flow systems in its future cars with an entirely new form of ventilation which will see the dashboard, seats, floor and the roof lining 'breathing' fresh, clean air into the car. To ensure a constant flow of clean air at the right temperature for different parts of the car interior, such as cool face/warm feet or cool air for the driver and warm air for sleeping passengers, conventional systems rely on air vents with relatively high flows of air. But this type of system creates hot and cold spots and creates airflow noise, particularly at high fan speeds.

The new system under development at Alfa Romeo's research and development centre in Turin does away with vents and replaces them with new types of breathing dashboard materials, seats, roof lining and flooring materials through which air can flow. A large volume of air is able to diffuse into the cabin at a slow speed because it is entering the cabin through such a large surface area. With this system different temperatures may be set for each seat, each half of the dashboard and sections of the floor and roof lining, allowing very fine adjustment of interior climate conditions. Complimenting the new ventilation system is a new type of glass that radically reduces solar radiation and, thanks to a thin metallic film, may also be heated for fast and efficient demisting and drying of the all the windows.

Yep, the Kia Ceres is the Thieves' Pick!

Somebody stole a Kia Ceres truck in a daring 2am raid in suburban Perth. Thieves cut their way into the holding yard of a large automotive body building business, hot-wired a brand new Ceres that had been having a tray fitted, and used it to smash their way out through a reinforced steel security gate.

"It had never occurred to us that a Ceres would wind up in a ram raid," said the General Manager of Kia Motors Australia, David Hughes. "The Ceres is in short supply and people will obviously go to any lengths to get their hands on one."

The Ceres was recovered a few days later in a swamp, its ignition on, the fuel tank empty and a brick on the accelerator. Once out and topped up with diesel it drove away. WA Police are investigating and given that nothing else was stolen and the vehicle was abandoned, they believe the 2.4-litre diesel Ceres was the target of (wait for this) joy riders. The clues are as follows: the miscreants are definitely not aesthetes (a Ceres ain't exactly pretty) and they wanted a serious work truck (you don't drive a Ceres for its prestige value). They don't mind white (the only colour Ceres comes in), manual transmissions (the only transmission Ceres gets) or diesel engines (the Mazda-designed diesel is the only engine available with Ceres).

Police are keeping an especially keen watch for any criminals who had 1.2 tonnes of ill-gotten gains to move, which is the load capacity of a Ceres. Anything heavier would, of course, have been illegal...

Quickies

• Toyota has sold its three millionth vehicle in Australia. The milestone three millionth vehicle was a Camry CSi four-cylinder sedan sold by Fergusons Toyota in Sydney.

Did you enjoy this article?

Please consider supporting AutoSpeed with a small contribution. More Info...

Share this Article: 

Digg this story

Seed Newsvine

Post to Reddit

Save on del.icio.us

Email