AUTO MANIA: by Dr. Iain Corness [email protected]

Do we need 300 km/h vehicles on our roads?

Audi RS7.

When I was but a young pup driving my 15 year old MG TC, there was much adverse publicity about young drivers and fast sports cars. And the TC was indeed very fast, able to get close to 120 km/h on a good day with a strong tail wind and downhill. I protested any suggestion that speed limits should be imposed on sports cars.
Now fast-forward to today and Audi has released the new RS7 Sportback which has a top speed of 305 km/h, and I find myself being unable to support the concept of cars that can deliver that sort of top speed.
There is nothing ‘wrong’ with the speed - I have done 300 km/h in a Formula 5000 Lola, but that was on a race track, and not on public roads. I am sorry, I just cannot justify that level of performance in the hands of street drivers, no matter how much money they have spent to buy their RS7.
Audi, of course, is not alone here with the recently unveiled BMW M6 GranCoupe and an upgraded Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG also capable of blistering performance.
The RS7 has a twin-turbocharged 4.0 liter V8 running a maximum 1.2 bar of boost pressure to produce 412 kW at 5700 rpm and 750 Nm of torque between 1750 and 5500 rpm.
The new BMW M6 GranCoupe’s twin-turbocharged 4.4 liter V8 also produces 412 kW but “only” 680 Nm of torque.
The CLS63 AMG will get the twin-turbocharged 5.5 liter V8 engine as that unveiled in the facelifted E63 AMG, with 430 kW and 800 Nm in the S-model package.
Translating all that into performance figures, the Audi delivers 0-100 km/h acceleration in 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 305 km/h with the dynamic plus package. (Very “plus”!)
BMW claims the rear-wheel drive M6 GranCoupe is capable of running 0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds, while Mercedes-Benz sources suggest the upgraded rear-wheel-drive CLS63 AMG will boast a 0-100 km/h time as a mind-boggling 3.6 seconds with the optional S-model package.
The power output of the RS7 is such that Audi’s seven-speed dual clutch gearbox cannot handle the torque produced by its engine, so the RS7 Sportback gets the standard eight speed automatic transmission. It operates in combination with the latest evolution of Audi’s Quattro four-wheel-drive system, offering the choice between D (drive), S (sport) and M (manual) modes.
The RS7 Sportback gets a heavily reworked version of the standard A7 Sportback’s chassis with widened track front and rear and air suspension, plus an optional steel sprung suspension in combination with dynamic ride control as part of a package known as sport suspension plus - a move that is reflected on the new RS6 Avant. Further chassis options include a so-called Drive Select program that brings a more direct steering ratio.
However, you will not see many of these supercars on our roads in Thailand, the extremely high prices of these vehicles restrict the ownership to those with seven figure bank accounts (that lets me out), but I predict that any owner who tries to record the 305 km/h top speed on our freeways will be endangering both himself and other road users.
More than 200 km/h is nonsensical in today’s traffic.

VW also battling with the Japanese giant

Topless VW.

Volkswagen AG has already made public its ambition to be the number 1 automaker by 2018, and was even hopeful that it might take over the number 1 spot in 2012 with total sales of 9.07 million vehicles. However, Toyota returned 9.7 million vehicles to remain the global leader, despite safety recalls and many other problems for the Japanese leader.
What has to be remembered is that VW covers 12 brands these days (including Porsche) so has opportunities on different fronts and Toyota has had local problems related to the tsunami and boycotts of its models in China with the disputed ownership of some islands between Japan and China. These problems will settle during this year.
With sales in Europe still not looking up, I would expect VW sales to plateau, while Toyota will increase during 2013. We will see in December.

Will Proton’s market share fall behind Toyota?

Proton Inspira.

Once upon a time, as all the fairy tales begin, Proton was top of the tree in Malaysia, with a market share around 80 percent. All that has changed.
Leader for the past six years has been Perodua, with Proton down in December 2012 to just 17.7 percent, and Toyota now a close third at 17.1 percent share of passenger vehicle sales in the country.
“Perodua (Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd) is the runway market leader while Proton over the last few years has been a strong second. Now Toyota is closing in on Proton’s position,” an unnamed executive told the financial daily, The Edge in Malaysia.
Industry executives told the financial daily that Proton’s sales fell by over 11 percent to 140,000 units from 158,000 units a year earlier, missing the company’s target of 200,000 units by a wide margin.
Proton was established by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1983 and Dr Mahathir had made it patriotic to buy a Proton, but the company has seen its sales slump in the last decade due to increasing liberalization of the Malaysian market.
Originally, Protons were Mitsubishi rebadged models, which provided a solid foundation for the fledgling automaker but also limited its ability to innovate.
It later succeeded in developing its own vehicle platforms independent of the Japanese carmaker but has since gone back to the practice of rebadging with the Inspira, which is based on the Mitsubishi Lancer.
Following the recent relaxation of vehicle imports and local assembly rules saw buyers abandon the local manufacturer for the increasingly abundant range of foreign makes.
According to The Edge, Proton’s lack of new models bar one for 2013 will also put it under added pressure this year, given the growingly competitive market. With both Indonesia and Thailand ramping up production, Proton is definitely in danger.

Who will pick up our youngsters?

Sandy Stuvik in Bangkok.

The scuttlebutt and rumors still center around the idea of Thailand having a Formula 1 race next year or the year after. The government has said it is ready to cover 60 percent of the fee (which goes to Bernie), with Red Bull and Singha to pick up the 40 percent between them. But the fee is nothing compared to preparing the circuit, crash barriers and lighting, as Bernie said it must be a night race, like Singapore.
Even if this did come to fruition, will it help motor racing in Thailand? The answer is no, unless we give some thought and effort into helping young talent, such as happens in other countries. We do have some Thai drivers competing in the top level of local motor sport in the GT3 class, with Lamborghinis and Ferraris, but these self-funded young men are also doing nothing to foster young Thai talent, and when they get tired of this motor racing lark, will move onto something else.
I read a most interesting report that two years ago Ferrari selected an 11 year old Canadian karter Lance Stroll to join their driver academy. The program, which was set up at the end of 2009, was devised by the Italian team to find and support talented young drivers from around the world, with the eventual aim of helping them into Formula One racing.
Montreal-born Stroll is still racing in karts, and very successfully. With Ferrari behind him, he is looking at a good future.
Another youngster who got picked up very early in his motorsport career was Lewis Hamilton. With McLaren backing him (and paying much of the bills) Hamilton burst upon the F1 scene, frightening Alonso who thought that this rookie team mate was just an upstart, with Alonso being eventually beaten by the youngster. Hamilton missed the world championship in his rookie year by one point, and then went on to claim it on his second season.
How did all this happen? At the age of ten, Hamilton approached McLaren team principal Ron Dennis at the Autosport Awards ceremony in December 1995 and told him, “I want to race for you one day... I want to race for McLaren.” Less than three years later, he was signed by McLaren and Mercedes-Benz to their Young Driver Support Program.
After winning the British Formula Renault, Formula Three Euroseries, and GP2 championships on his way up the racing career ladder, he became a McLaren F1 driver for 2007, making his Formula 1 debut 12 years after his initial encounter with Dennis. Despite all this, Hamilton has now defected to Mercedes for the next three years! (I won’t comment on how this happened.)
Across the paddock, Lotus Team Principal Eric Boullier explained their position, “With the current testing restrictions, the challenge facing young drivers aiming to reach F1 is tougher than ever. We therefore feel it is our responsibility to support them as much as possible by developing their skills both on and off the racetrack. It’s about helping them mature as individuals and racing drivers with the ultimate goal of getting them ready to make the step up to F1 in the future.”
In Thailand there is a young Thai/Norwegian, Sandy Nicholas Stuvik, now 17 years of age and rapidly becoming too old if he cannot get sufficient help soon. Like Lance Stroll, he has been a winner in karts and was a stand-out championship winner in Formula Renault Asia, but the costs, even in these lower formulae are very high. He is a proven winner and now needs someone to pick him up. He does have sponsorships, but not to the degree needed in today’s racing world in Europe, which is where he needs to be. Ferrari already have their youngster. Lotus have theirs. Who will take on this young talent? I sincerely hope Thailand will look after its own. Go to www.sandystuvik.com and meet this talented young lad.

Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I stated that a manufacturing firm in Europe sold 1,500 ‘voiturettes’ in 15 months, and hundreds of tricycles and engines. I asked which firm, and what year? The answer was De Dion Bouton in 1900/01.
So to this week. What did the Honda S600 and the 1913 Le Mans Mercedes have in common? (And I mean engineering design, not wheels and brake pedals!)
For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected].