CAR

The sun shone brighter on the day the first-generation Toyota 86 was revealed. As an attainable 2+2 rear-wheel-drive sportscar, it soon became a success. Appealing to regular drivers and enthusiasts – including track-day goers, modifiers and hillclimbers alike – the 86 offered an engaging and usable platform at a reasonable price. Thankfully, the new model featured in this issue, the rebranded GR86, is following the same recipe while addressing some of its previous shortcomings, thanks to a new engine of larger displacement and, importantly, more torque. At the same time, Toyota has unleashed a car we thought we’d never see again, a Supra with a six-speed manual transmission, codenamed A91-MT. This model and the GR86 are the types of vehicles we find exciting in the current automotive environment and soon…

It has been a long wait, but the Three-pointed Star’s 352 km/h hypercar is finally production ready. When Lewis Hamilton shared the stage with Mercedes-Benz chief Dr Dieter Zetsche at the unveiling of Project One, he was only a three-time Formula 1 champion. That’s right, it’s taken the best part of five years for Mercedes-AMG’s engineers to turn the company’s “F1 racecar for the road” dream into what 275 lucky owners can now assume is a properly sorted road-legal reality. Better make it 273 lucky owners… Lewis Hamilton has two. From its downforce-generating Le Mans prototype-style bodywork and Formula 1-derived 1,6-litre turbocharged hybrid V6 petrol engine to its active aerodynamics and pushrod suspension, the production version – now simply badged One – is a carbon copy of the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show…

Whether it’s over politics, mandated vaccinations, or the precise moment free speech becomes hate speech, the conversations we’re having can be pretty divisive. Yet there’s one thing just about all of us agree on: the price of petrol is way too high. Rounded off to the nearest rand, the average inland price of 95 Unleaded rose from R15 to R20/litre in 2021, an already hard-to-swallow 33% jump. Unfortunately, this upward trend has only gathered momentum this year, rising 20% from R20 to R24 in the first six months alone, with all indications pointing to a R30/litre Christmas present. Even more galling is that without a major reduction in demand, fuel prices might stay this high for months, even years. But just why is the petrol price so high? Higher oil prices are everyone’s…

From gawky rear-drive opening act (E84) and prettier, predominantly front-wheel-drive second take (F48) to this street-smart, on-trend newcomer, the X1 just keeps stepping up its game. The third generation, model code U11, is certainly the most stylish yet, with familiar, but chunkier proportions and, thanks to the effectively pumped wheelarches, a more planted stance. That last point comes across even more emphatically on the optional 20-inch rims. Conservative for a new-era BMW, it does without cascading layered lighting units or a cartoon-sized front grille and is much the better for it. Despite a bluff nose, BMW rates the drag coefficient at an eely 0,26. You only get crossover numbers that low by being clever with the details. Also well considered is the consistent style applied to either end. Crease lines…

Like a string of Instagram Reels you just can’t help but respond to with repeated fire emojis, Peugeot’s recent offerings keep turning up the design heat. The 208, 2008 and face-lifted 3008, plus the (sadly unavailable) 508 and all-new 308 have won the brand’s design team worldwide acclaim. While the man who first lit the Blitz, Gilles Vidal, has since moved on, the startling 408 confirms Peugeot’s design furnace is still red hot. All the marque’s latest cues are present here, including the seamless procedurally modelled grille, bold new badge, light-signature fangs, triple-claw rear lights and expressively creased surfaces. Long, wide and not too tall despite a handy ride height, the 408 is not short on stance, particularly when rolling on the optional 20-inch rims. Being a 4,69 m C-segment fastback with…

It seems almost inconceivable that BMW waited until the sixth generation of M3-badged coupés and saloons before offering an estate-bodied version. It’s not as if there was no precedent for high-performance wagons. Audi’s RS Avants and Mercedes-Benz’s AMG Estates have kept each other awake at night for years. Heck, even BMW has given us two generations of M5 Touring models along the way. Whatever the reasons for the delay, we’re glad this ultimate 3 Series holdall finally exists, even if BMW SA’s press release was at pains to say it was not confirmed for local introduction. Until the situation changes (perhaps after sufficient pestering?), we can only imagine what it’s like to live with a 375 kW black-roofed 3 Series and more than 1 500 litres of rear-seats-folded luggage space behind…