Lamborghini shatters half-year
Motoring

Lamborghini shatters half-year sales record

Lamborghini this week confirmed that its audited sales numbers for the first half of 2018 have far surpassed expectations. The renowned Italian supercar brand, which curiously evolved from the eponymous tractor company back in 1963, sold 2 327 cars to its customers in the first six months of this year. That number, remarkably, represents greater production […]

Clever carbon-fibre for sensat
Motoring

Clever carbon-fibre for sensational new BMW M2 concept

BMW has confirmed this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (FOS) will see it revealing a new M2 concept. Founded in 1996 the FOS has effectively replaced the British motor show as an event where manufacturers and collectors gather to celebrate the old and show the new. Brands with an impressive performance motoring heritage make a […]

Bentayga V8 diesel breaks new
Motoring

Bentayga V8 diesel breaks new ground for Bentley in SA

If you are the calibre of person capable of buying a Bentley, it stands to reason that you probably also own a game farm or some exotic mountain hideaway on the Lesotho border. For British aristocrats Bentley has always been an easy sell, because estate living in the U.K. implies an easily passable driveway. South […]

Most ‘patriotic’ Mini yet laun
Motoring

Most ‘patriotic’ Mini yet launches locally

The brand of choice for successful designers and events coordinators has revealed its latest product portfolio updates for South Africa. An upgraded Mini range, 18 derivates strong, debuts in Mzansi this week and attempts to be more ‘British’ than ever. Most noticeable on these new Minis are their redesigned lights, front and rear, with the […]

Porsche conquers the Green Hel
Motoring

Porsche conquers the Green Hell with a lap like no other

Hope often sources from misfortunate and Porsche’s motorsport engineers have spent most of this year proving that logic to be true. After the brand’s enormously successful 919 racing cars were forced into retirement due to corporate rationalisation, some of the motorsport team’s senior staff commiserated over a round of beers – and hatched an inspired […]

First impressions from the glo
Motoring

First impressions from the global launch of Mercedes-Benz’s X350d

The X-Class bakkie range has been Mercedes-Benz’s most keenly anticipated product debut in years. For sceptics it has also presented an opportunity to criticise the spate of joint-venture engineering projects proliferating within the global automotive industry. In principle the Stuttgart bakkie shares a great many components with Nissan’s Navara, including all the four-cylinder diesel engines, […]

Fifth-generation Micra is much
Motoring

Fifth-generation Micra is much more than a rental

Nissan might be best known for its bakkies, SUVs and GT-Rs but the Japanese brand has not forgotten its passenger car portfolio. Keen to reassert itself in the compact car market locally, Nissan’s sales strategy in this regard revolves around its fifth-generation Micra. Mechanically it is a twin of the current Renault Clio, with some […]

BMW introduces i8 Roadster to
Motoring

BMW introduces i8 Roadster to SA

Global markets and the media are obsessed with Tesla, the electric car company founded by former Pretoria Boys High matriculant, Elon Musk. Overpromising and underdelivering have become a feature of Tesla’s customer relations and in South Africa the only true electric vehicle brand with any credibility is BMW. The Bavarian automotive specialist has just released […]

New GTI cheaper and quicker
Motoring

New GTI cheaper and quicker

VW’s Golf GTi is a hot hatch institution. Since establishing the genre back in 1976, Golf GTi has evolved into what can arguably be classed as the most accomplished performance car also capable of deputising as a family vehicle. Unfortunately, the automotive world which birthed GTi has changed – a lot. The reality is that […]

New X5 not shy off-road
Motoring

New X5 not shy off-road

The latest version of BMW’s original X-car has been revealed. Now in its fourth-generation, the latest X5 has grown longer by 36mm and incorporated a raft of technical upgrades. Although the styling changes are evolutionarily in nature, not altering the distinctive X5 shape much, BMW’s engineers have invested handsomely to deliver an impressive range of […]

VW crosses over with new Vivo
Motoring

VW crosses over with new Vivo Maxx

VW South Africa has added a new Maxx derivative to its most popular product line. The Polo Vivo, which is South Africa’s best-selling passenger car, now features something with crossover styling bits and some gravel travel credibility for slightly more adventurous buyers keen on exploring the country’s more isolated destinations. This new Maxx derivative adds […]

Hilux updated with Dakar editi
Motoring

Hilux updated with Dakar edition

When the vehicle in question is Toyota’s Hilux, even the most innocuous of product updates are significant news. For decades Toyota’s 1-tonne bakkie has been the crucial logistics gearing of South Africa’s economy, transporting goods and enabling services in the agricultural, mining, construction and small business spheres. The eight-generation Hilux has continued the legacy of […]

The African M3: BMW’s iconic 3
Motoring

The African M3: BMW’s iconic 333i

There is perhaps no other car which BMW South Africa has ever marketed that has quite the cachet and following of its numerologist’s favourite: the 333i. A true African M3. Produced in very limited numbers from 1985 to 1987, at BMW’s Rosslyn facility on the outskirts of Tshwane, 333i remains the prototypical South African E30 […]

Meet the ten-speed Lexus LS500
Motoring

Meet the ten-speed Lexus LS500

Limousines are sophisticated and luxurious, absolutely the most comfortable way to travel on four wheels. Unfortunately, they can also be very expensive to maintain in the long term. Unless you are driving a Lexus. Toyota’s luxury division did the impossible in the 1990s by carving itself significant market share in the American market – which […]

Opel crossing over with Grandl
Motoring

Opel crossing over with Grandland X

After being revealed at the Frankfurt auto show in September last year, Opel has finally released the Grandland X locally. For Opel the last year and a bit has been a traumatic and tumultuous time, both internationally and locally. The German marque was acquired by France’s PSA group last year, and shortly afterwards its South […]

MU-X is Isuzu’s Fortuner rival
Motoring

MU-X is Isuzu’s Fortuner rival

Isuzu is reinterring the South African SUV market. The Japanese brand, which inherited the General Motors production facility in Port Elizabeth after Chevrolet quit the local market last year, has finally introduced its MU-X seven-seater SUV locally. The local market for bakkie-based SUVs remains tremendously strong. Toyota’s achieved rampant success with its Fortuner (based on […]

Mercedes introduces SA’s most
Motoring

Mercedes introduces SA’s most expensive bakkie

South Africa is one the world’s most competitive bakkie markets. Nearly a third of all new vehicles sold locally are bakkies. From double-cabs which repurpose as family vehicles to game lodge guest transport and crucial small business logistics solutions, South Africans are serious about their bakkies. Little surprise that esteemed luxury car brand, Mercedes, has […]

iX3 is a battery powered BMW S
Motoring

iX3 is a battery powered BMW SUV

BMW has shown yet again why many investors consider it to be the true electric car company of the future. The legacy car maker has revealed its new iX3 concept, which boasts greater range than any other battery powered BMW to date.

Mercedes G-Class modernised
Motoring

Mercedes G-Class modernised

Only a months in and it’s already been a big year for Mercedes-Benz’s iconic SUV, the G-Class, or Geländewagen – if you are a traditionalist. A comprehensive redesign, the first on in decades, was revealed in January and now they’ve shown the crazy AMG version too.

New M5 still goes sideways
Motoring

New M5 still goes sideways

BMW has always catered for the enthusiastic driver burdened by responsibility. If you appreciate the finer elements of automotive engineering, and enjoy exploiting the performance potential of your car, yet need room for four passengers, BMW has you covered with its new M5. The sixth-generation of a car which has forged BMW’s reputation as a […]