Wheels

OPEN THE 171ST volume of Nature magazine, turn to page 737 and you’ll find an article called ‘Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid’. It’s not very long, just 870 words minus attributions and cited references, yet within those paragraphs Francis Crick and James Watson tell us how life works. It’s their discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. I write this in awe of their great leap of understanding, but also slightly dazed at the fact that Wheels magazine has been in existence longer than our understanding of the basic building blocks of life. When Athol Yeomans sent the first issue of Wheels to press in 1953, the magazine acidly reported on New Plastic ‘Sports’ Cars from U.S., including some contraption called the Chevrolet Corvette.…

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED IN THE CAR WORLD THIS MONTH 1. Never in doubt? Honda’s Civic Type R is officially the fastest FWD around the ’Ring, recently clocking a 7min44.8. 2. Hybrid shift: A patent discovered by US website The Drive shows Toyota is working on a manual transmission specifically for hybrids, with a clutch that can be controlled by the driver or the car’s computer. 3. Hit the brakes: Ongoing component shortages have forced Kia Australia to stop taking orders for its top-spec Sportage GT-Line SUV. 4. Vale, maestro: Giotto Bizzarrini, legendary engineer responsible for the Ferrari 250 GTO and original Lambo V12, died May 13 aged 96. 5. Cupra has confirmed its forthcoming electric city car will be called Raval, and could be priced around A$45K when it lobs in 2025.…

PAY UP TO POWER UP What would you rather have for a monthly subscription fee of US $60–57 channels with nothing on, or an extra 45kW available under you right foot? Yes, Mercedes in North America is offering customers of its EQE 350 electric sedan a power boost as an over the air upgrade, either for that monthly fee, or a one-off charge of US$1950. MOON MOBILITY It seems someone senior at Hyundai may have one of those folksy desk calenders with motivational quotes on them. Yes, the company really is “shooting for the stars; aiming for the moon” with the announcement that it will build a lunar rover in conjunction with companies in the Korean aerospace sector. No word on timing, but it will be at least 55 years behind the luna…

TESLA IS FLYING high, at least as far as fulfilling orders is concerned. Last year the company that re-invented the electric vehicle for the 21st century sold almost 485,000 EVs in the U.S. alone, a 41 percent increase on the number it delivered in 2021, in a market where overall vehicle sales slumped 11 percent. Tesla may have sold more EVs in the U.S. last year than the rest of the industry combined, but the names underneath it on the sales charts are interesting. Ford was the number two EV brand in America in 2022, and Chevrolet number three. Next came Kia, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Audi. Of the 23 brands that sold EVs in America last year, only two other than Tesla were pure EV start-ups – Rivian, which came in…

DUE Q2 McLAREN 750S McLaren claims 30 percent of components are new for its 720S replacement; weight is down 30kg over the outgoing car (now 1277kg dry) while chassis highlights include a more sophisticated version of the hydraulically linked suspension. Twin-turbo V8 retains a capacity of 4.0-litres, but is wicked up to 552kW and 800Nm; 0-100km/h is now 2.7sec. DUE Q4 BMW XM LABEL RED For anyone still trying to come to terms with BMW’s unashamedly confronting SUV flagship, this may not help. The Label Red, limited to 500 units globally (30 allocated to Australia) wicks up the outputs of the twin-turbo V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain to 550kW and 1000Nm, adds even more equipment, a dash of extra warpaint, and bumps the price to $344, 200 – $46K over the regular XM. DUE 2024 POLESTAR 4 Large crossover…

Keep it tight (no more than 200 words) and do include your suburb if via email: wheels@wheelsmag.com.au You can also have your say on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter (search for Wheels Australia) “It will become increasingly difficult for luxury brands to keep charging a hefty price premium for their EVs” PRICE OF PREMIUM THE ERA OF electric cars is now here, and one thing that is becoming rapidly evident is the diminishing gap regarding EV technology and features between mainstream and premium brands. In the past, premium brands have been able to claim higher levels of engine and mechanical development, design, and advanced digital features. But with the advent of EVs and the inherent engineering standardisation in EV motors and battery packs, coupled with the relative ease today of developing modern digital/electronic aids and…