What did we learn
from the Japanese GP?
Well, we learned that in Japan,
ethnocentricity rules! The Japanese TV director from Fuji TV
gave Toyota, Honda and Super Aguri more coverage than
Ferrari and Renault. In fact, did anyone actually see
Fisichella during the race? If it had a connection with
Japan, you were going to get TV time. I was waiting for them
to show us a Toyota key fob, we’d had everything else!
Alonso
With so much build-up to the race, with down in the mouth
quotes from Alonso every day, as the Spaniard had decided
that everyone in the world, and Renault in particular, were
against him, what did he feel after the Japanese GP was
over? And although the popular press say the championship is
all over bar the shouting, F1 is a very changeable sport and
anything can happen. All it needs is a first corner accident
in Brazil and Alonso could be out. And as we know, never
dismiss Michael Schumacher.
We also saw that Schumacher has mellowed. He was not found
in the bushes weeping like Hakkinen after the engine went
pop, but went around the entire team consoling them, as much
as the other way around.
Much discussion in the paddocks too about the new
‘coming-men’ in F1, such as Vettel and Kubica who will be
very strong in BMW next year. During practice, Vettel was
very quick. There is another attraction in running the
younger drivers is that they are less expensive than the big
names. That explains why Sir Frank at Williams has
persevered with young Rosberg, even though he has lagged
behind his team mate most of the year, not that Webber
covered himself with much glory in Japan.
Lewis
Hamilton
I also wonder if Alonso is now regretting his defection from
Renault to McLaren? Raikkonen has been carrying the
unreliable car all year and must be laughing every time he
thinks about Alonso taking over his seat. Mind you, it would
be very private laughter, as nobody has ever seen Kimi
smile!
We also heard at Suzuka that Lewis Hamilton, the young
British GP2 champion, could be racing for McLaren in Brazil
in place of Pedro de la Rosa. This would make some sense, as
de la Rosa has not impressed and has been far behind
Raikkonen.
The final Grand Prix for 2007 will be held in Brazil at the
Autodromo Carlos Pace on October 22, which will be screened
here at the most unsavoury hour of midnight! However, I
cannot wait for the thrilling end to a fantastic 2006
season.
Here comes the new Corolla
If you think this looks a lot like the
Toyota Yaris, then you are certainly correct. This new car
was shown at the Paris motor show and was called the Auris,
but motor industry insiders say that name will be dropped
when it comes into production, and it will be the 10th
generation Toyota Corolla.
Mercedes
A 180
The production version will be shown at the Geneva Show next
March, and if we are very lucky (I stress “very”) we could
even see this Corolla at our Bangkok International Motor
Show at the end of March - beginning of April 2007.
It was designed at Toyota’s ED2 design centre in Toulouse in
Southern France, where the Yaris was designed, which goes a
long way towards explaining the ‘family’ look. Both cars
share similar styles in the front end, silhouette and tail
treatment. Mind you, both of them have design influences
from the Mercedes Benz A180, which has been released for a
couple of years.
Those who have seen it at the Paris show say that Germanic
and even Honda Europe influences surface in the interior,
which are dominated by a high-set center console and
gear-shift, and a very VW-like central information screen.
Rumor also has it that Toyota felt it needed to come up with
something very special to counteract the massively
successful European Honda Civic. By all accounts, the Auris’
two-box shape is much bolder than the closely related
four-door sedan and wagon editions the company will build in
Asia and the US. The Japanese unveiling of the production
version of these is expected to occur next month.
Toyota will not disclose information other than length (4226
mm), width (1762 mm) and height (1530 mm) for the new
hatchback, however speculation is rife that the Auris’
four-cylinder engines and running gear are derived from the
Corolla Verso II, a five and seven seat MPV which is sold in
Europe and also built at their Turkish plant.
Toyota
Auris/Corolla
Released during 2004, Corolla Verso II has two VVT-i
variable-valve four cylinder petrol engines, in 81 kW/150 Nm
1.6 and 95 kW/170 Nm 1.8 liter formats, as well as two 2.2
liter D4D direct-injection common rail turbo-diesel units
(100 kW/310Nm and high-tune 130 kW/400 Nm).
With the incredible range of models that Toyota has
world-wide and a marketing strategy designed to get its
models out there into the marketplace as soon as possible,
this new Corolla will be another nail in the coffin of GM,
currently hanging on as number 1 in total sales – but not
for long. Toyota has already deposed Ford from the second
position.
New R8 supercar at the Paris motor show
Remember the Renault R8? This is nothing like it! This
is the Audi R8 supercar that can record zero to 100 kmh
in 4.6 seconds, and if you believe the blurb, can hit
301 kmh, given the right piece of road.
Audi
R8
The new Audi supercar was unveiled at the Paris motor show
and proves to be pretty faithful to the Le Mans quattro
concept car unveiled three years ago.
Closely related to the Lamborghini Gallardo that has been
around since 2004, the R8 is Audi’s first mid-engined exotic
and was inspired by the Le Mans-winning R8 sport car. It
should not be forgotten that Audi owns Lamborghini these
days, so the similarity in design and concept is easily
explained. Audi itself came from Auto Union, which was the
amalgamation of Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer, hence the
four rings on the Audi badge.
It has Audi’s 4.2 liter V8 engine mounted ahead of the rear
axle in a lightweight aluminum and space-frame body to keep
the weight down and the performance up.
The chassis, using forged aluminum suspension arms with
double wishbones at the front and rear, offers an optional
“Audi magnetic ride” adaptive damper system as an
alternative to the standard gas-filled shock absorbers, and
steering is by hydraulic rack-and-pinion to “provide optimum
feedback to the driver” says Audi.
Audi magnetic ride uses computer control to regulate the
shock absorber rates via magneto-rheological fluid that
reacts to an electromagnetic field to vary the viscosity.
The system offers two different modes with regular or
“highly sporty” characteristics. This is very similar to the
Bose suspension concept.
Audi
R8 rear
The R8 is fitted with 18 inch wheels as standard (it can be
ordered with 19 inch wheels) and the tyres measure 235/40 at
the front and 285/35 at the rear.
The 4.2 liter dry-sumped FSI V8 produces the same 309 kW/430
Nm outputs as the RS4 sedan and drives through either a
manual six-speed gearbox or the optional Audi R-tronic
automatic sequential-shifter.
Full-time all-wheel four-wheel drive puts the power down to
the road and the mid-engine location allows a weight
distribution of 44 percent front and 56 percent rear. The
power-weight ratio is 4.5 kg per kW.
The R8 is 1900 mm wide, 4430 mm long and 1250 mm high and
has a 2650 mm wheelbase.
As an option, the well-heeled R8 buyer can order LED
lighting. Particularly interesting are the headlights which
are “reminiscent of an open pine cone”, with reflector
shells arranged concentrically one behind the other in
conjunction with the LED projection system, and concentrate
the light from one multi-chip LED to produce the necessarily
intense driving light. Audi’s Xenon-plus lights are the
standard R8 fitting.
Inside, the R8 has all the Audi design features, including
the flat-bottomed steering wheel seen in the RS4, and
there’s the option of shapely sports seats over the regular
Alcantara-trimmed buckets.
Audi says the R8 is a good place for two passengers and
their luggage, with room even for two golf bags behind the
seats as well as a 100 litre storage area at the front.
The R8 is built on a special small-capacity production line
at Audi’s Neckarsulm plant in Germany at the rate of 15 cars
a day and orders are being taken now for delivery in Europe
in the first half of 2007.
Emmachizzit? We’d be lucky to see one here, but I’ll hazard
a guess in the 30 million baht bracket.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I mentioned Jaguar and asked why was there no Mk
IV? This produced the usual cry of “Yes there was, it came
out before the Mk V, and could be had in various engine
forms, sedan and drophead coupe.” Unfortunately, whilst
there was a Mk V, the model before it was never called the
Mk IV by the factory. It was just a Jaguar 1.5, 2.5 or 3.5.
Honest!
So to this week. Four wheel drive has been used on racing
cars over the years, I even saw the Ferguson 4WD racing with
Graham Hill at the wheel. However, this question has nothing
to do with the Ferguson. The first 4WD that was designed for
racing was constructed in 1901, but it never actually raced.
I want to know the make. Here’s a hint. The name is still
around today!
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
