Bang Saen round-the-houses this weekend
The Bang Saen street races are on this
weekend and promises to be one of the most exciting motor
racing events you will see this year. It is a circuit which
offers the driver almost no run-off areas and one mistake
usually means hitting a wall. Many different categories are
racing, from Porsche GT3’s, through various sedan car
classes and even pick-ups.
There are spectator stands all around the circuit, and the
‘Toyota’ corner is one of the better viewing spots, or down
near the pits.
Plenty of food stalls and always plenty of action. Friday,
and Sunday are usually the best days for spectators. Bang
Saen is an easy 40 minute drive along Sukhumvit Road from
Pattaya and the car parks are well signposted once you get
there.
Eastern Seaboard plant
to build Mazda2 sedan, as well as hatchback
There is much interest being shown by the new
Mazda2 which is being built at the AutoAlliance Thailand
(AAT) plant in the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate
(ESIE). This will be followed by its sibling, the Ford
Fiesta.
Mazda2
sedan variant
The new AAT passenger car plant is expected to produce about
50,000 Mazda2s a year for ASEAN markets and wider export.
The new plant represents a total initial investment of more
than $US500 million and was built on the same site as the
existing pick-up plant at the ESIE.
The new passenger car plant’s production capacity is 100,000
units per year. Combined with the annual output from the
pick-up plant, AAT’s production capacity, including complete
knock down (CKD) units, will expand to 275,000 units from
its existing annual production of 175,000 units. Its future
is assured.
The export market for Thai-made vehicles is very strong,
especially to Australia as the Free Trade Agreement between
Australia and Thailand means Mazda’s light car will have a
five percent tariff advantage over some competitors.
Mazda Australia has confirmed it will import a Mazda2 sedan
alongside its Mazda2 hatch when its switches production of
its popular light car from Japan to the new factory in
Thailand from mid 2010.
Once primarily the source for one-tonne pick-ups for
Australia, Thailand is increasingly making its mark in light
car production. Honda Australia imports the Honda Jazz hatch
and City sedan twins from Thailand, while Ford Australia has
confirmed it will source the currently German-built Fiesta
in both hatch and sedan forms from the same AAT plant as the
Mazda2 from mid next year. Nissan also will build its Micra
replacement in Thailand, while the replacement for the
Toyota Yaris is also expected from Thailand.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week, to try and bamboozle the Googlers,
I printed the following photo and asked what car it
was.. It was not an MGA as everyone presumed, but was an
MG EX 182 which ran at the Le Mans 24 Hour. It was a
fore-runner of the MGA.
So to this week. What is this car?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first
correct answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Old Quiz Car
New quiz car
A new BMW Six - but
it’s a bike!
BMW released stunning images this week of a
new concept motorcycle that nobody saw coming, featuring
the resurgence of an engine configuration we all thought
was long-dead. In recent years Triumph has stamped
itself as the master of modern triples, and now BMW has
made a clear statement of intent that it’s bringing the
inline six back to the bike world. The Concept 6
showcases a brand-new 1600 cc engine that is 10 cm
narrower than any previous production six, and produces
truly prodigious power and torque throughout the rev
range. And it’s housed in a cafe racer body that has to
go down as the sexiest motorcycle design BMW have ever
produced. Sensational stuff.
BMW
6
The new BMW transverse straight-six will further expand the
K-Series in the foreseeable future. The first model to be
introduced will be an innovative and luxurious BMW touring
machine.
The Concept 6 engine - 1600 cc of pure, 6-cylinder grunt.
The Concept 6 design team was determined not to let the
engine grow sideways, like the Honda CBX of a few years ago
- and it looks like they’ve done a good job keeping it
acceptably narrow. Each cylinder is still slightly
oversquare (its bore is slightly larger than its stroke),
which will help it spin up and develop horsepower at higher
revs, but the stroke is relatively long compared to the
ratios used in BMW’s inline fours, keeping those cylinder
bores as narrow as possible while retaining the ability to
rev.
There is very little space in between cylinders, and the
alternator and other electrics have been relocated from the
side of the engine back behind the crankshaft in the spot
above the transmission.
With a capacity of 1600 cc, and all the extra exhaust
headers and gear required by an inline six, it is still
going to be a very heavy powerplant, but BMW have used a
trick from their K-series sports bikes to neutralize the
negative effects from the center of gravity the engine could
have on the bike’s handling. With the engine tilted forward
by 55 degrees, the main bulk of the cylinder bank is kept
low, pushing the centre of gravity down and forward, which
should help keep the bike’s handling.
Peak output will reportedly be similar to the K1300 series
engines - somewhere around 170 horsepower - but the big six
has a massive 130 Nm of torque from just 2000 rpm. For
reference, the Suzuki GSX1400 peaks at about 125 Nm at
around 4700rpm.
The BMW Concept 6 Cafe Racer is the variant the enthusiasts
are hoping will be produced. Without displaying acres of
header chrome a la the Honda CBX it remains an understated
bike, but the overall styling is sensational, particularly
in the way the tank integrates with the miniature front
fairing. Even the tail-light is beautiful - extending
directly from the rider’s rump.
The front suspension is a Duolever system like on a K1300R,
and the rear swingarm doubles as a shaft-drive and the
torque reaction is nullified by its Paralever ‘ankle.’ The
primary cue that the bike is a six-cylinder comes from the
three flared exhaust chambers that exit low and wide just
behind the rider’s feet - a muscular look that is echoed in
the chunky intake ducts peeking out beneath the tank.
The Concept 6 sweeps aside the rest of the BMW range in
terms of exciting design - and even tops the fantastic
Lo-Rider concept for pure visual thrill. In typical BMW
style, it looks more like a finished bike than a concept -
and the kind of bike only BMW could build. Maybe, if we all
wish hard enough...
Button and Hamilton at
McLaren-Mercedes
As reported widely, Jenson Button has turned his
back on BrawnGP, the team that gave him the car to win the
2009 championship. The words “kick” and “in the teeth” come
to mind here, but the spin doctors associated with Button
assure us that all that Jenson was doing was to get a good
financial contract for the next three years. After all, he
was making eight million dollars with Honda in 2008, when
his salary fell to the meager pittance of only three million
dollars in 2009. The poor dear.
All that this proves is what a bunch of overpaid prima
donnas F1 drivers have become (and just how stupid were
Honda). None of them are worth salaries in the millions of
dollars, and I was glad to see that Raikkonen priced himself
out of the market with demands for over 20 million.
Mind you, footballers, tennis players, golfers, netball
players, rounders players (known in America as “baseball”)
are similarly grossly overpaid.
The first outing in 2010 for F1 is in Bahrain March 14
(Grand Prix at 7 p.m. Thai time) and we shall see then just
how good Mr. Button really is, and also whether the Cosworth
engine can deliver the horsepower and whether all these new
teams actually arrive on the grid.
As always, we live in interesting times!
Ride like Rossi around
Bira
Graham Knight has kept me informed as to his
HighSideTours dates for 2010. These are serious (but with a
lot of laughs) training for motorcycle riders wishing to
bring their skills up to competition level.
HighSideTours
coming off L-Plates
Here are the proposed event dates for 2010. By ‘proposed’
Graham says that he is still flexible and can still change
them at customers request. So if you and a few mates were
planning on coming and the current dates do not quite match
just email Graham (newsletter@ highsidetours.com or info
@highsidetours.com) and he can change them if they have not
already been booked by another group and the track is
available. First come first served!
January 18/19/20
February 16/17/18
March 15/16/17
April 5/6/7
May 17/18/19
June 21/22/23
July 19/20/21
August 16/17/18
September 20/21/22
October 12/13/14
November 22/23/24
December 20/21/22
