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But first, let me backtrack a bit. No doubt you’re here reading this because you saw the main picture and were intrigued by it. You’re probably wondering: why the heck would anyone want to bring a family MPV to a trackday, the least sporty kind of car imaginable?
Motorsports

I brought a 7-seater MPV to Sepang Circuit and didn’t die

IN Mitsubishi, Grandis, MPV, Sepang, Trackday

It’s not what you drive that matters, it’s how you drive it


With a dearth of knowledge in Singapore on EV systems in general, the students faced a bigger challenge building the R22e than usual. While the teams in charge of the chassis, aerodynamics, and suspension tuning had the benefit of their predecessor’s experience and data to guide them, those in charge of the electric powertrain found themselves thrown in the deep end. From programming the motor controller to even proper safe handling procedures for high-voltage electrical components, there were a lot of lessons learnt in the R22e’s journey, which has implications not just for NUS’s FSAE team, but eventually for the automotive sector in Singapore, particularly once the students enter the workforce.
Happenings

Say hello to Singapore's first home-grown electric race car

IN NUS, FSAE, Motorsport, EV

The NUS FSAE team’s R22e is more than just a speed machine, it’s a stepping stone to building EV know-how in Singapore’s auto sector.


What other body style gives you both car-like driving dynamics and all the practicality a car owner could possibly need? None. Nada. Only a wagon can.
New

Perfection | Skoda Octavia Combi RS 2.0 TSI

I start all my wagon reviews by saying this: “If you’ve been reading Burnpavement articles for some time now, you’d know that I’m a wagon fan.”


The SUV in question is the Škoda Kodiaq vRS. The latter suffix is the Czech carmaker’s performance sub-brand, not unlike BMW’s M division or Mercedes-AMG. Perhaps, Škoda parent company Volkswagen’s GTI range might be closer to the concept of vRS. Speaking of which, vRS apparently stands for “victory Rally Sport” and the other fun fact is that the vee in vRS is actually supposed to be silent! So it’s simply referred to as, ‘RS’. In fact, in Škoda’s official communications, the the v is omitted altogether. It seems that not only is the ‘v’ silent, it’s invisible, too.
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Bear market: Skoda Kodiaq vRS review

IN Skoda, Kodiaq, RS, VRS, SUV, Performance SUV

Skoda’s renown vRS performance line expands to its flagship SUV


It’s an SUV that’s slightly larger than its first model here, the Model 3 saloon. As you can tell from the pictures, their styling is essentially identical, because the two share the majority of their components: as much as 75% according to electrek.co.
Happenings

Tesla Model Y now on sale in Singapore

IN Tesla, Model Y, EV, SUVs

Order books have opened for Tesla’s compact SUV


But while the T1’s performance was otherworldly (supposedly able to pull 3Gs of downforce at 240km/h), sadly it suffered a raft of high-profile reliability issues at the worst possible moment: when the demonstrators were in the hands of the media (most memorably on Fifth Gear and Top Gear). Caparo had intended to make 25 T1s a year, but in the end only 15 were ever sold.
Happenings

Here are 3 more road cars spawned from the world of F1

When road cars are "inspired by F1", it's usually just lip service. Here are three that take the claim very seriously


Back in the '80s, during F1's original turbo era, Porsche was an engine supplier, providing McLaren Racing with a 1.5-litre twin-turbo V6. But before putting it into the race car, it had to be tested, and for that, McLaren and Porsche stuck it unmodified into a 930 Turbo test mule. This white prototype - largely unmodified save for 17-inch RUF wheels, a front bumper from the 930 Flatnose, and a taller whaletail engine cover with extra vents - was kept secret by McLaren until it surfaced in the middle of last decade.
Happenings

These 3 F1-engined road cars beat the Mercedes-AMG One to the punch

IN Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes, AMG, One, Hypercar, F1, Formula One, Porsche, 930 Turbo, McLaren, Yamaha, Ferrari, F50

The Mercedes-AMG One isn’t the only car with a Formula One powerplant. Here are a few that came before it.


Billed by Bridgestone as a semi-slick tyre and its first-ever dedicated tyre for trackdays, it’s nonetheless homologated for road use. But as you can see from the photos, it has an extremely aggressive tread pattern which you probably wouldn’t want to get caught with in the rain.
Happenings

Bridgestone heats up trackdays with new Potenza Race tyre

IN Bridgestone, Potenza Race, Tyres

Bridgestone’s new Potenza Sport has already proven faster than main rivals in independent testing; Potenza Race to go even quicker


The VRS (or RS) has long been the brand's performance hero car. Adopting the VW family's 2.0-litre turbocharged power unit used in the Golf GTi, it was always seen as the
New

The Smart Performance Sedan | Skoda Octavia RS 2.0 TSI

As a big fan of the Skoda brand, I was a little let down by the previous-gen VRS. But the latest one has made up for it.


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


Car manufacturers usually update their models midway through their lifecycle. BMW calls this refresh
Happenings

2023 BMW X7: Getting a Life Cycle Impulse

IN BMW, BMW X7, LCI

BMW X7, the brand's flagship SAV, receives new styling updates and will be launched internationally in August.


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?


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?


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?



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