Performance News - 9 January 2001

Jaguar F-Type Roadster is Go!

The Jaguar F-Type roadster has been given the production go-ahead. The all-new, compact Jaguar roadster becomes the fifth model in the company's expanding product range and marks Jaguar's return to the true sports car market, which it helped to create in the 1950s and 1960s.

Announcing the decision at the Los Angeles International auto show, Jaguar's Chairman, Dr Wolfgang Reitzle, said,

"Due to the unprecedented growth and intensity of new product development at Jaguar today, it will take us around three years to deliver the F-Type roadster program to market. While F-Type will embody all the passion and excitement of past Jaguar roadsters such as XK120 and E-Type, it clearly signals a fresh direction for Jaguar sports cars in the future." The smaller, more affordable F-Type roadster complements the XK Series range of sports cars and will extend Jaguar's product portfolio to five distinct model ranges - three saloons and two sports car models.

MR2 Body Kit & Hardtop

Toyota has released a stylish body kit for the MR2 Spyder. The body kit, available as a Toyota Genuine Accessory, consists of a front spoiler, side skirts, rear skirt, and rear wing. The front spoiler and skirts are made of tough, durable and impact resistant polypropylene. The rear wing is made from tough engineering plastic and includes an LED stoplight. The Sportivo body kit was designed and developed concurrently with the MR2 Spyder by Toyota engineers in Japan. The body kit's parts match inbuilt mounting points on the car to ensure a perfect fit. It comes with a Toyota Genuine Accessories three year, 100,000 kilometre warranty when fitted at the time of new vehicle purchase.

Toyota has released two other key accessories for its new sports car. A removable hardtop has been designed to provide additional security, as well as protection from sun, wind and rain. It can be fitted quickly using multiple built-in attachment points, and incorporates an electric connection for the built-in rear window demister. The hardtop is available as either colour keyed or in black to blend tastefully with the car's styling. Polycarbonate covers to protect the MR2 Spyder's headlights from stone chips, scratches and expensive damage are also available, as well as tailored carpet floor mats to protect the original upholstery. A set of four custom-made mudflaps helps keep the vehicle clean in wet weather by reducing spray.

Toyota Concept

An innovative Toyota concept car will make its Australian debut at the upcoming Brisbane Motor Show (February 9-18). The Toyota NCSV features styling which combines design elements of a three-door hatchback and a sportscar. The car features an aggressive nose, sleek profile, and truncated tail which, according to its designer, were inspired by fighter aircraft. The concept vehicle was designed by Toyota's EPOC European design studio to appeal to young urban customers. "Our research indicated that the 25 to 35 year-old target market wants an affordable sporty-looking car, but isn't happy with the inflexibility of a two seater," said chief designer George Saradakis. The NCSV therefore features four seats, and the rear seats can fold or slide forward to create cargo space up to 1.5 metres in length.

New Holden Engine Plant

Holden will establish a new V6 engine plant in Victoria. With a base investment of $400 million growing to $700 million by mid decade, the Holden engine plant and supporting infrastructure adds to the over $400 million Holden is already committed to investing in capacity expansion, tooling and related manufacturing infrastructure in South Australia over the next five years. The all-aluminium high technology V6 engine that is to be built in the new engine plant will power future generations of Holden Commodores. The engines will also be exported in high volume to a variety of world markets and respected automotive brands. Export revenues will amount to $450 million per annum during the life of the new plant and will deliver the opportunity for Holden and our supplier family to grow with our new export customers. The new V6 engines will spearhead Holden's ongoing vehicle export drive to a growing number of global markets.

Hi-Po X5

BMW has confirmed an even more performance-orientated version of its X5 Sports Activity Vehicle. The X5 HP, a new high-performance version of the Sports Activity Vehicle X5, will debut in Detroit at the North American International Automotive Show in January. The X5 with a top engine producing 213kW at 4.4 litres will in future be available as a high- performance variant developing 255 kW. The new V8 power unit displacing 4.6 litres and being exclusively reserved for the X5 HP delivers up to 480Nm of torque. The four-wheel-drive vehicle reaches more than 100 km/h from standstill in approximately 6.5 seconds and has a top speed of more than 230 km/h. No decision on whether the X5 HP will be offered in Australia has been made.

Quickies

• Subaru Australia will sponsor the Rally of Canberra for the next three years.

• Holden has confirmed that its much-anticipated new sports coupe is to bear the famous Monaro nameplate. For introduction in late 2001, the stylish two-door Monaro is based on the same platform as today's Holden Commodore.

• Suzuki has officially announced its largest model ever, due to go on sale in 2001. Aimed at the big-selling and highly-competitive American SUV market, the new Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7 is an extended wheelbase version of the popular V6-engined five-door four-wheel-drive. The new XL-7 utilises its increased interior space by offering a third row of seating - a split/folding arrangement to increase the passenger/cargo options. Engine capacity has increased to 2.7 litres and internally the XL-7 boasts many new luxury appointments.

• Honda has given the green light for extra colour in its sports car range in the New Year. Honda's high-revving S2000 will be available in an additional colour, Indy Yellow, from January 1. The S2000's racing-style cockpit also gains an eight CD stacker mounted in the centre console. A wind-deflector - mounted between the seats - becomes a standard feature. More colour also has been added to the Integra Type R. All Racing Yellow Type Rs will be fitted with yellow Recaro seats, while Night Hawk Black and Championship White Integra Type Rs will feature red Recaro seats.

• Maserati finished 2000 as the fastest growing car company in Australia with an amazing increase of 150%. 55 Maserati's were delivered compared to 22 for 1999. This also represents an all-time sales record for Maserati in Australia.

• Alfa Romeo is planning to boost production of its hot new Alfa 147 following demand for the new car outstripping even the Italian carmaker's greatest expectations. At the launch of the 147 in October, which is set to arrive in Australia in the middle of 2001, ambitious plans were announced for 147 production to be nearly double that of its predecessor, with a target of 90,000 to 100,000 units in 2001. But now even that is looking conservative and Alfa Romeo has given the go ahead for production for 2001 to be raised to 120,000. And in Australia, Alfa Romeo opened a new dealership in Sydney on 2 January 2001, marking the first metropolitan expansion of its dealer group in Australia since the Italian marque's Australian relaunch three years ago.

• Holden has introduced a uniquely equipped special edition of the Commodore. Called the Commodore Lumina, it offers $3,500 worth of comfort, convenience and individual styling features. The sporty, special edition Commodore Lumina sedans and wagons are based on the new VX Commodore Executive V6 automatic. In addition to the Executive's comprehensive standard features listing - which includes ABS (anti-lock braking), CD player and steering wheel sound controls - Lumina comes complete with a range of 'extras' that give it added value and individual appeal. Externally, sedans are distinguished by a rear decklid spoiler with integrated stop lamp and big 16-inch 6-spoke alloy wheels, while the wagons feature a roof rack and 16-inch double 9-spoke alloy wheels. Both have wide 225/55 V-rated tyres, a chrome exhaust extension, body-coloured side mouldings and Lumina badging.

• Honda will rent its new human-like robot ASIMO, Honda Motor Co. President Mr Hiroyuki Yoshino announced at the company's year-end press conference. He said Honda would add voice recognition technology to ASIMO before it begins accepting applications from interested parties in Japan from April 1 2001. The program will be the first step in Honda's commercial plans for the robot technology and is expected to pave the way for a social environment where robots can easily interact with people.

• The Volkswagen Golf was the best-selling car in Europe for 2000, with the Renault Megane Number 2. In the US, the Toyota Camry was the best-selling passenger car - for the fourth year in a row. And another highlight for Toyota - Lexus has passed Mercedes-Benz to become the top-selling luxury car brand in the US.

• Mitsubishi Motors has just re-introduced the same value pack to its new NM Pajero that made the former Pajero Escape exceedingly popular. Based on the mid-range GLX model, the GLX Plus has over $3,700 of extra value at no additional cost. The added items are those most eagerly sought by consumers, and include body-coloured fender flares and bumpers, 6-CD in-dash stacker, spare wheel cover, sports roof rack, heavy duty square hitch load equalising tow bar and alloy wheels.

• Oldsmobile owners and their lawyers in the US have started what promises to be a wave of lawsuits seeking compensation from General Motors for its decision to terminate the venerable Oldsmobile brand.

• DaimlerChrysler is to embark on a groundbreaking trial of fuel cell powered public transportation in which Australia will participate. DaimlerChrysler is conducting an extended field trial, NEFLEET (New Electric Fleet), involving 33 of its fuel cell powered Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses. The fleet is being equipped with the latest fuel cell technology and will be tested in 11 cities for a period of two years, commencing late in 2002. Each of the selected cities will purchase three of the award winning buses to take part in the trial, which has been endorsed by the United Nations Environment Program and the United Nations Industrial Development Program. "I am pleased to say that Perth, Western Australia, is one of those cities to participate in the NEFLEET trial, which we believe will help to revolutionise drive technology. Importantly, for Australia, Perth is the only city outside Europe to have been selected," said Ken Matthews, Managing Director, Commercial Vehicles Division, DaimlerChrysler Australia/Pacific Pty. Ltd.

• Adelaide's "race of a thousand years" really earned its name recently with spectacular action on the difficult Victoria Park street circuit. Ultimately a dominant victory was secured by the Audi R8 'crocodile' car which turned the final of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in front of about 150,000 spectators into a real highlight of the season. After a turbulent 5:45 hours, Rinaldo Capello and Allan McNish won with a margin of 21 laps. The "sister" Audi R8 of Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro achieved sixth place in the Le Mans Prototype category despite a major crash, followed by a quick recovery from the team.

• A closely guarded secret can finally be revealed - the answer to the 64,000 dollar question of the 2000 season - where will Craig Lowndes drive in 2001? Many of the pundits have had Craig going to Ford and, despite a last-minute flurry of rumours concerning the setting up of a new team by Peter Brock, the early backers of the Ford move have now been proved right. The big part of the whole equation, the question of just which Ford team he might drive for has been an even bigger question. Ford Australia has announced not only that they had signed Lowndes as a Ford contracted driver for the next five years, but that they had also signed a deal with one of Australia's top team managers, Fred Gibson. Gibson Motorsport will field one car for the 2001 season, and will work towards introducing a second car to the team for 2002 and beyond.