Search Result

Today, Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have taken over as the car of choice and so unsurprisingly, the BMW X3 has become one the brand’s best-selling models. Although the 3 Series/4 Series are still the brand’s best-selling models in 2021 with 490,000 units sold, the X3/X4 range is closing in with 414,000 units finding homes last year.
New

BMW X3 xDrive30i M Sport

IN BMW, X3, XDrive30i, M Sport

Some timely updates and upgrades are set to keep one of the brand’s best-sellers at the top of its game.


We mused a couple weeks ago about exactly which variants of the Supra would get the stick, and now we have our answer. Unfortunately despite the 2.0L Supra’s B48 four-cylinder engine being sold with a manual in some of BMW’s 30i models, that won’t be repurposed for the Toyota Supra. Instead, the new manual will only be available on the 3.0L version.
Happenings

Toyota GR Supra 6MT: Full specs and details revealed

IN Toyota, Supra, Gazoo Racing, Sports cars, Coupes, #savethemanuals

The long-rumoured manual transmission Toyota Supra finally breaks cover. Question is, will it come to Singapore?


The pinnacle 7 Series electric vehicle (EV), is called the i7 M70 xDrive. M70, you know, because the familiar M60 designation is now apparently considered too pleb-like to grace the bootlid of BMW's flagship sedan EV. Seven!
Happenings

7th heaven: new BMW 7 Series heads down Electric Avenue

IN BMW, 7 Series, I7, G70, Luxury

Electric drivetrains and 8k displays are just some of the highlights in the all-new flagship BMW 7 Series’ quest to be The Best Car in The World


The Lotus Emira is a 2-seat mid-engined sports car in the same vein as the Evora. Its main competitors are obviously the Porsche Cayman and Alpine A110, although peripherally the BMW M2 and Toyota Supra are there in the mix as well.
Happenings

Lotus Emira order books now open in Singapore

IN Lotus, Emira, Sports car, Launch

Last ever petrol-engined Lotus is set to close a new chapter almost as soon as it begins.


Asian cars like the Toyota Alphard/Vellfire, Lexus LM and Hyundai Staria have largely had this potentially lucrative sector of the market to themselves thus far, but now Audi wants in on the action too. Say hello to the Audi Urbansphere.
Happenings

The Audi Urbansphere is a self-driving luxury EV MPV for designed for Asia

IN Audi, Urbansphere, Concept car, EV, Autonomous car, MPV

Audi’s new “urban mobility concept” previews a future where cars become a “well-being sphere” for relaxation, leisure or productivity


Porsche has made itself a leader in this space, but there are plenty of other car brands that can benefit from this technology. Has there been any interest from anyone else in the car industry that has reached out to you to potentially partner on this? Or is it only Porsche and the private sector at the moment? There are some talks with other car and motorcycle manufacturers who are interested in such fuel, but in the beginning we will not have the volume to support the world. In principle there is interest, and although we see ourselves as pioneers in this direction, we hope that others will follow.
Happenings

Everything you need to know about how Porsche wants to save combustion engines with eFuels

IN Efuels, Synthetic fuels, Porsche

Porsche has just invested S$100m to produce synthetic fuels in Chile, with additional plants planned for USA and Australia.


Toyota also revived the Supra to much acclaim, but although it’s the flagship of a now thriving Gazoo Racing sub-brand, one thing about it stood out compared to its lesser brethren: it was not available with a manual transmission.
Happenings

Toyota GR Supra to get manual transmission

IN Toyota, Supra, GR Supra, Gazoo Racing, Save The Manuals

Toyota goes doubles down on the #savethemanuals movement, but what does this mean for BMW?


This comes a few weeks after its mechanically-related compatriot, the Kia EV6, scooped the award for European Car of the Year 2022.
Happenings

Hyundai Ioniq 5 wins big at the World Car Awards 2022

IN Hyundai, Ioniq 5, EV, SUVs, World Car Awards

Hyundai next-gen EV scoops 3 titles including Best Car In The World; Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota win other categories.


With my curiosity seriously piqued, I headed to my two favourite B-roads at night, and this was when my eyebrows nearly joined the pole star (that’s the one in outer space, not the one from Sweden). Firstly, there is the Polestar 2’s seeming incomprehension of the concept of understeer. There were a couple of instances where I was pretty damn sure I’d overcooked my corner entry, but no, the car pretty much sailed into the bend once I lifted off the brakes - not even a moment’s hesitation waiting for the front tyres to regain their grip. Even with deliberately over-aggressive throttle application when exiting corners, the car settles into more of a four-wheel drift instead of washing out at the front end.
New

[Opinion] The Polestar 2 completely changed my mind about EVs. Here's why.

IN Polestar, 2, Polestar 2, EV, Sedan, Opinion

For BP’s diehard and handling-obsessed petrolhead, the future of cars in an EV-only world looked bleak; but the Polestar 2 might just be his guiding light


But alas that’s not to be. As we covered recently, the Subaru WRX STI is gone. Dead. Finito. Thankfully however, Toyota has taken that same rally-inspired recipe and - as celebrity chefs like to say - gone and given it its own little twist, and it is as glorious as the STI’s demise is sad. Say hello to the Toyota GR Corolla.
Happenings

The Toyota GR Corolla is the WRX STI that Subaru won’t build

IN Toyota, GR Corolla, Gazoo Racing, Corolla, Hot hatch, Manual

The latest addition to the Gazoo Racing family is the rally-inspired manual hot hatch of our dreams. But will it come to Singapore?


Say 'SQ7' and one might be inclined to think about Singapore Airlines' flight from Hong Kong to Singapore. Notwithstanding that flight SQ7 has not flown in awhile, Burnpavement is all about land-based vehicles, so let's stick with that. Audi's jumbo SUV, the Q7 just got a V8 nestled into its engine bay. Yep, the same V8 that's found in RS models, but in its penultimate state of tune here with 500hp and (possibly?) a Boeing 777-towing 770Nm of torque courtesy of 4-litres of displacement and two turbos worth of forced induction. Keep in mind, Audi's all-electric RS e-tron GT has 830Nm of torque, so for the SQ7 to come in just 60Nm shy of it is fairly impressive.
Happenings

SQ7 has landed in Singapore... Audi's SQ7, that is.

IN Audi, SQ7, V8, Twin turbo

For the first time, a V8-powered Q7 with the 'S' badge arrives on our shores. Prices start from S$500k


Where the electric dream short-circuits I’m no scientist myself , but it’s highly unlikely that all our mobility needs can be met by electricity alone. Car makers might be diving into electrified vehicles in a big way (spurred on by legislation of course), but it’s far from a catch-all solution. Flaws include its low energy density (by weight/volume), making the technology unsuitable for most heavy duty transport applications. Lorries, planes and ships would require such large battery packs that they’d be essentially useless at hauling cargo.
Happenings

Could synthetic fuels be the carbon-neutral power source we need?

IN Efuels, Synthetic fuels

“Electric power good, internal combustion bad” seems to be the popular thinking now, but electricity alone is very far from ideal. Can carbon-neutral synthetic fuels be the realistic solution the worl


Described as a British car that’s been “raised globally”, the Eletre was designed and engineered by several teams in the UK, Sweden and Germany, and will be the first Lotus built outside Britain - in a brand new factory in Wuhan, China. Don’t forget of course that Lotus is now owned by Geely, as is Volvo and its luxury EV offshoot Polestar.
Happenings

The Lotus Eletre is a 600hp, 2-tonne, all-electric inevitability.

IN Lotus, Eletre, EV, SUV

Lotus’s first ever five-door car is a Lamborghini/Aston Martin/Ferrari-rivalling hyper-SUV.


The Lexus ES250 F Sport, it would seem, is one answer: take the historically least sporty Lexus saloon - the FWD Toyota Camry-based ES - and apply a racy garnish to it. And in case you thought this was just some cynical window dressing, there’s some legitimacy to it: a couple years ago I interviewed the ES’s Chief Engineer Yasuhiro Sakakibara, who said the current-gen ES was engineered to be a sharper drive than before to cover some of the ground lost when the RWD Lexus GS was discontinued.
New

Lexus ES250 F Sport review: Purpose Undefined

IN Lexus, ES, Lexus ES, ES250, Lexus F, Sports sedans, Luxury sedans, New cars

For decades the Lexus ES has been saddled with something of an old-man image; can racier F Sport mods put the spring of youth in its step?


The new RAV4 Hybrid is an upgrade from the current RAV4 2.0L petrol version in almost every conceivable way. Its electric motor is mated to a 2.5-litre engine which generate a combined 215hp. That’s a significant leg up from the 170hp power output of the petrol model, and so is the acceleration: 8.1 seconds 0-100km/h for the Hybrid, down from 9.8 seconds for the petrol.
Happenings

Toyota RAV4 now available in Singapore with hybrid power

IN Toyota, RAV4, SUV, Hybrid, Borneo Motors

The electrified Toyota RAV4 gains power and fuel economy, but its price stays the same


When it comes to the latter, the entry version known as the i4 eDrive40, when fully-charged, is capable of a range of up to 590km. Timely, considering that Singapore drivers will be able to drive into Malaysia without restrictions again from April 1st. With such a range, the i4 should be able to be driven to Kuala Lumpur without any problems. It is also reassuring to know that Shell has a network of 180kW high-speed chargers along the North-South Expressway in Malaysia just in case the i4 or any other EV needs a quick juice-up. Powered by a 250kW (340hp) and 430Nm electric motor that drives the rear wheels, this enables this EV to accelerate to 100km/h from a standstill in 5.7 seconds.
Happenings

BMW i4 launched in Singapore

IN BMW, I4, EV, 4 Series

The first four-door EV from BMW sets the brand on a direct course with the Tesla Model 3 in its sights


And now, they’ve made a new one, though sadly, it’s also to be the last V12 Vantage Aston says they’ll make. And you can’t buy one either, because they’ve already sold every single one of the 333 cars they’re making. Still, not like you or I could ever have afforded one anyway, and the fact it’s all snapped up doesn’t detract from this being probably one of the last pure-ICE new cars we’ll ever be celebrating.
Happenings

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage marks the end of an era

IN Aston Martin, Vantage, V12, Supercar, GT

Not only is this the final time we’ll see a V12 in an Aston Vantage, it’ll sadly also be one of the last times we’ll see a car maker cram a bit engine in a small car.


The Mazda CX-60 may be a 'tame' family hauler rather than a fire-breathing rotary sports coupe, but it still piqued more than a bit of interest here at the office. That's because the platform the CX-60 rides on, which will go on to underpin a number of Mazda's larger future offerings (including the next-gen Mazda 6), has the engine mounted longitudinally, which means… … wait for it… … a rear-wheel drive mechanical layout!
Happenings

Launched with a Buzz | Mazda CX-60 PHEV SUV

IN Mazda, CX-60, SUV, Hybrid

Kodo, Ma, Kaichou, Musubu, Hacho and Kakenui for you, Takumi-san?


Punny name aside, the ID Buzz is something the market has demanded for two decades now: a charming retro-styled spiritual successor to the beloved VW Kombi (as it was known in this part of the world). With its bluff, upright stance, two-tone paint and oversized VW badge on its nose, the ID Buzz’s links to its legendary ancestor are plain to see.
Happenings

The VW ID Buzz is a reborn hippie van for the electric age

IN VW, Volkswagen, ID Buzz, EV, MPV, Van, Kombi, Type 2, Microbus, Retro

The iconic Volkswagen Type 2 Microbus returns as a modern electric MPV and commercial van


The new-gen 2022 WRX will not be getting an STI version, a shock announcement by Subaru USA has revealed. As has been the case for most of our favourite cars and nameplates being culled or unrecognisably altered in recent years, electrification is to blame.
Happenings

The Subaru WRX STI is dead

IN Subaru, Impreza, WRX, WRX STI, RIP

Fans of the legendary Boxer burble, look away now.



© 2015 BURNPAVEMENT