February 9th 2009 11:27

Mini is joining the all-road fun set.

Its first all-wheel drive, which will become one of the world's smallest crossovers, looks set to go sale in Australia late in 2011.

The yet-to-be-named crossover, which is nearly production-ready, is likely to be launched at the Detroit Motor Show in January and go on sale in Europe and the United States late next year. It should arrive in Australia six to nine months after that.

It had been tipped that the wagon would be shown at the Geneva motor show in March, but Mini has reserved that spotlight to launch a JCW version of its sexy new cabrio which is coming to Australia next year.

Mini is still remaining coy about the crossover, the first Mini not to be built at its traditional home in Oxford, England. Instead it will come off the same production line as the existing BMW X3 at the Magna Steyr plant in Austria.

The X3 will soon shift to Spartanburg to make way for the crossover which will be built on an all new and larger 4.1-metre platform. It had been tipped Mini would use BMWs new X1 platform but Mini insiders say this has been discounted as not practical.

What we do know is the crossover will use a modified version of BMW's full time xDrive system which proportions drive between front and rear axles. Mini engineers have had to convert it from having a rear-wheel drive bias as in BMWs X3 and X5 to fit Mini's primarily front-wheel drive layout.

As for the name: forget Crossman, as widely reported by German media. It definitely won't be called that.

“We had issues with MAN trucks over the Clubman name so we won't go there,” says Andreas Hofmann, the head of Mini's marketing communications.

“We are still working on the name and choice of engines."

The engine range is expected to match those under the bonnet of the existing Mini line-up but Hofmann hinted a diesel was more than likely for selected markets including Australia.

Production costs will mean the crossover will come as a conventional four-door wagon which is cheaper to build, although the design of the tailgate whether a single door, two barn doors or a split lift up, drop down design still has to be signed off.

Mini has been studying several tailgates on the crossover test mule which has kept the media guessing.

"We will be making a final decision on the design within three months," Hofman says.

The crossover concept, shown at the last Paris Motor Show, had a sliding rear passenger door on one side and a conventional door on the other.

And while the third generation Mini hatch will be launched in 2012, Mini traditionalists can relax — it won’t be stretched any further to fit on the longer crossover platform.

Mini insiders say there won’t be a maxi Mini. The current hatch will not grow any more in size as it would be out of proportion on the crossover’s 4.1-metre long platform.

If you’re hanging out for a hot hatch Mini with all-wheel drive, you will be waiting for a long time.

Mini will fit a BMW-sourced xDrive system to its upcoming crossover wagon but the system won’t be fitted to any other model just yet.

A Mini all-wheel drive JCW hatch or cabriolet would be desirable as a flagship, but Mini says it would be far too expensive.

The Mercury

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Posted By: Paladin - Category: German Cars, BMW, Mini, Detroit Motor Show

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Jaguar XF

January 29th 2009 08:01

Nothing has done more for Jaguar in Australia recently than the breakthrough XF.

Sales of the British brand have jumped by eight per cent since the all- new, mid-sized XF arrived in 2008 and now it is going to get its own boost.

The kick comes from the supercharged 5-litre V8 engine in the flagship XFR which was unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show ahead of local sales in the second half of the year.

The XF is the latest Cat to get the R-car treatment and the pattern is predictable and positive: a major engine upgrade, body bits, bigger wheels and brakes, and some mild tweaking in the cabin.

The R-car work has already done the job for Jaguar's XK sports cars and the flagship XJ and the company is expecting a solid response in Australia.

"One of the problems we've had in the past is under-calling the demand for the R models. With the XK, around 65 to 70 per cent of demand is for the R," says David Blackall, the managing director of Jaguar Land Rover Australia.

"So the R cars have done well in Australia. People tend to gravitate to the best, particularly when they are paying for a Jaguar."

The starting price for an XF in Australia is now $108,350 with a V6 engine, but jumping all the way to the XFR is going to mean close to double the price. And that is likely to keep the car exclusive.

"The car is probably going to be around $200,00 and we reckon if we can do 25 it will be a good result," says Blackall.

"In Normal times I would like to sell 50, so with the market the way it is hope to do 25 to the end of the year. In any case, we want to keep it as exclusive as we can."

Blackall is also concerned to keep demand for the XF SV8, which comes with a 4.2-litre V8 at $173,170, moving along until the R-car hits.

"A lot of this is going to depend on how quickly we can get the XFR.

We've still got some SV8s, although not too many now.

"We are targeting around the middle of the year for the R."

The XFR was shown in Detroit with trendy white bodywork, which does not look nearly as tough as the jet-black colour normally used for Jaguar's hero cars.

But there was a matt-black XFR on the back of the stand which had just returned from a record run on the Bonneville salt-flats in the USA, where it was clocked at 363km/h to become the fastest car in the company's history. Of course, it had some tweaking . . .

The production XFR has 375 kiloWatts from its supercharged and direct- injection V8, as well as 624 Newton-metres of torque. If the numbers sound a little familiar, they match the output of the V10-powered BMW M5.

Power is fed to the rear end through a six-speed automatic gearbox with a new active differential, with the car's electronic controls including a 'drift' setting for a little rear-end slide.

Body changes run from the predictable front air dam and rear spoiler to the R cars' signature chrome mesh grille, with extra bonnet vents to cool the engine.

The XFR has been dropped 27 millimetres lower than the SV8 with Bilstein suspension, upgraded brakes and four exhaust tips under the tail.

Inside, the seats have more side support, there is upgraded trim and some R-car logos, as well as the acoustic laminated windscreen and upgraded satnav common to the latest XF range.

The bottom line on the go-faster XF is a car that has 23 per cent more power and 12 per cent more torque than its 4.2-litre V8 predecessor.

That means it jumps to 100km/h in just 4.7 seconds and has to be held back to a top speed of 250km/h.

But Jaguar's good news for '09 does not end with the XFR because the company is also into the countdown for its all-new luxury XJ model.

It is expected to be previewed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in October with deliveries in Australia from early in 2010.

But Blackall is not giving anything away.

"The car is on track. There will be northern hemisphere announcements at the right time," he says.

"Given the state of the world, the quicker we can get it into showrooms the better for Jaguar."

Herald Sun

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Posted By: Paladin - Category: British Cars, Jaguar, Detroit Motor Show

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Lexus HS250h Hybrid

January 15th 2009 07:10

The all-new Lexus HS250h hybrid hit motown this week with a nice surprise for Australia. It will be built with right-hand drive.

The car was only confirmed with right-drive a few hours before its world debut at the Detroit Motor Show as it was touted as Lexus' first dedicated hybrid and a new American icon.

It instantly became a top-rated target for local showrooms, where it would sit just above the IS250 starter car with a price in the $60,000 to $70,000 range.

"With that information, it now gets onto our list of cars for consideration," says Peter Evans of Lexus Australia at the show.

"There is no plan for Australia at the moment. Absolutely no plan. Until recently we thought it was only left-hand drive but it's now confirmed with right-hand drive for Japan later this year."

The first pure Lexus hybrid is more than just a petrol-electric green car.

The all-new, mid-sized luxury car is also a hybrid of Toyota hybrids that combines bits and pieces from the existing Prius and Camry with some new mechanical tweaks of its own including an exhaust-gas heat exchanger to speed warm-up and cut emissions.

It has a 2.4-litre petrol engine that is slightly more advanced than today's Prius, promising the performance of a V6 with the economy of a four.

It has a slippery body with a drag co-efficient of 0.27, slightly above the all-new Prius also unveiled in Detroit, with a list of equipment that runs from 10 airbags to a lane-departure warning system, LED tail lights and eco-plastics in the cabin. Lexus says it is 85 per cent recyclable.

The role of the HS in the USA will be to convert owners of Prius who are looking to move upscale, as well as converting some of the 65 per cent of luxury shoppers who Lexus says would have considered a hybrid if one had been available.

The HS250h - for 'hybrid sports' - is the fourth Lexus hybrid but the first with a body that is entirely new, and not a petrol-electric switch of something already in the range. Even the Lexus flagship hybrid, which arrived at the same time as the latest LS, is twinned - like the GS and RX - with a regular petrol-powered model.

"It is the entry-level hybrid in the Lexus range. It has the same role as Prius, which was the first dedicated hybrid in the Toyota range," says Evans.

"It exists as an affordable luxury hybrid sedan. It is a lot less expensive than a GS, or an LS or an RX."

He says the mechanical package - which uses the engine bay and powertrain of the Camry hybrid, underfloor of the new Prius and unique sedan body - stretches the strengths of the existing Prius.

"A couple of things are cutting edge. There is the exhaust-heat recovery system," Evans says.

"It's optimisation technology. With the Lexus hybrid system they are now at the stage of working at the margins. The improvements are one and two per cent with a range of enhancements.

"It's probably not true to say it's a mature technology, but after 10 years it's out of its infancy."

On the sales side, Evans says the HS would give Lexus a unique contender in Australia.

"There is ore room than the IS in the back. It's more suitable for a family than an IS, probably more like a Honda Accord."

And work is already underway in Australia to convert the right-drive announcement into a 2010 on-sale date.

"It has opened a small window for us," says the head of Lexus Australia, John Roca.

"We're looking at every hybrid from launch. It's something that would be nice to have . . . it's a very, very good chance.

"Hybrid sales are now 24 per cent of the volume for Lexus Australia. It started at about eight per cent, and with the introduction of new models it will get to 27 per cent in 2009."

Herald Sun

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Posted By: Paladin - Category: Japanese Cars, Hybrids, Lexus, Detroit Motor Show

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