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Well, just drive whatever you have, of course! That's what happened at a recent gymkhana open practice session organised by Singapore Auto Gymkhana Group (SAGG).

Motorsports

If this Honda e can race, so can you

IN Honda, E, EV, Gymkhana, Motorsport

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

With the new Unlimited range by German wheel manufacturer BBS however, that’s about to change. Under this new “one size fits all” philosophy, BBS Unlimited wheels will only be made in one bolt pattern - 5x117.5. The wheels then mount up via adapters that match the car’s bolt pattern.

Happenings

BBS unveils universal wheel that’s “suitable for all vehicles”

IN BBS, Wheels, Aftermarket, Car modding

A step change for the aftermarket?

The collective brainchild of Ken Block and BBi Autosport, the Hoonipigasus was built to be the fastest overall at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, USA, which celebrates its 100th running this year. BBi has had several class wins on Pikes Peak in various 911s and Caymans, so if anyone can pull this off, it's them.

Starting with a Porsche 964 as a base, BBi stuffed a 4.0-litre flat-six out of a 911-gen Porsche GT3R racing car behind its rear seats to make it mid-engined, then gave it two massive turbos (the biggest ones that turbo maker Garrett has ever made) and all-wheel drive. It runs on methanol, revs up to 9,600rpm, and produces 1,400hp at sea level.

Happenings

The 1400hp Porsche 911 “Hoonipigasus” is Ken Block’s latest insane ride

IN Ken Block, Porsche, Porsche 911, Hoonigan, Pikes Peak

And he’ll attempt to conquer the Pikes Peak Hillclimb in it too.

For the new 2023 Range Rover Sport, that involved driving nearly 300m up the spillway of the Karahnjukar Dam in Iceland, against a torrent of water moving at 750 tonnes/min, and up a 25-degree incline. The danger of getting it wrong? A 90m drop off the end of the spillway into the valley below.

Happenings

The 2023 Range Rover Sport splashes down with a dam impressive debut

IN Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Land Rover

The new Range Rover Sport proves its mettle by driving up the spillway of an Icelandic hydroelectric dam

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.

If you think that Audi’s SQ7 jumbo SUV is too large on pace and in size, the compact Q3 is too small, and the Q5 Sportback is just right, but needs more power, then worry no more. Meet the SQ5 Sportback, newly launched, and available for the first time on our little red dot.

Since we have already covered the Q5 Sportback in a previous review, let’s focus on what makes this top-of-the-Q5-heap variant worthy of its S badge.

Happenings

2022 AUDI SQ5 SPORTBACK 3.0 TFSI: ROARING INTO SINGAPORE

IN Audi, SQ5 Sportback, Singapore launch

Prices for this SQ5 start from $398k if you feel the need for pace AND space

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

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

Classics

Be mesmerised by priceless classics drifting on a frozen lake at ICE St Moritz

IN Concours, ICE St Moritz, Classic cars, Drifting

A gazillion times better than Disney On Ice

For me though, the Golf GTI has always been a bit of a letdown. Granted, most of my experience has only been with the Mk7 and Mk7.5, but for all the myth and legend surrounding those three letters, and the accolades heaped upon it by automotive media everywhere, most of my encounters with a GTI has left me feeling distinctly unenthused.

As an unabashed lover of fast driving, hot hatches are definitely right up my alley, but the Mk7.5 just didn't serve up enough thrills. It didn't help that it debuted in something of a renaissance period for hot hatches, with the FK8 Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai i30N, Mk4 Renault Megane RS, and even its corporate cousin the Skoda Octavia RS245, all muscling in on the GTI’s turf.

New

1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back: Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk8

IN VW, Volkswagen, Golf, Golf GTI, Hot hatch, Hatchback

Amongst hot hatches, it’s always been the VW Golf GTI that’s left BP’s resident racer, Jon, the coldest. Can the feistier new Mk8 change his mind?

In a joint statement released on 27 January, Formula One, along with Singapore GP (SGP), and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) made the announcement that F1 will return to Singapore for another seven years starting from 2022 – with a difference.

Happenings

Formula One to return to Singapore

IN Formula One, Grand Prix, F1, Singapore, 2022, Night race, Street circuit, Marina Bay

We’ll get to enjoy F1 cars tearing around our streets yet again from 2022 to 2028

Happenings

BMW Teases Us with their upcoming 2022 Model Line-up

IN BMW, 2 Series, 8 Series, M8 Competition, 3 Series, X7, X1, 7 Series, I7

Exciting times ahead!

For a rather rounded-edge SUV, those downward-sloping headlights and signature pointy Alfa Romeo grille combine to give the Stelvio Veloce a fierce face, akin to a shark stalking its prey.

Large air inlets at the bottom of the front bumper add to this fiery countenance, with the adaptive cruise control sensor housed in the right-side inlet.

A clamshell bonnet with power creases on either side rounds off the top of the front-end.

Around the side sits a solitary black ‘Veloce’ badge on the muscular front fender, reminding one that this is a pretty hot variant of Stelvio.

Letting the eyes drop downward, one can’t help but notice the recognizably-Alfaesque telephone-dial 20-inch rims. Shod with 255/45 R20 Michelin Latitude Sport 3 tyres, this combo offers nice ride pliancy combined with generous levels of grip in the beating rain.

New

Exciting la Famiglia | Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce

IN Alfa Romeo, Stelvio, Veloce, Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Stelvio Veloce, EuroAutomobile

Higher-riding handling-machine, and also a family-hauler.

So, to embrace this (unavoidable) future of electric mobility, we rocked on down to electric avenue EV Weekend. Held at The Forum in Resorts World Sentosa, the event is Singapore’s first-ever EV showcase with ten cars on display. Happening from now untill 12th December both physically and virtually, you can either pop over to RWS or visit the brands’ virtual showrooms here.

The event not only showcases the latest EVs under one roof, but also includes information corners on how you can transition from an ICE vehicle to an EV. You can also learn more about Singapore’s upcoming EV infrastructure, and the future of electric mobility in Singapore.

The road to the future is electric, and here’s what we saw when we took a stroll down it:

BMW iX

Happenings

We Rock Down to Electric Avenue

IN EV Weekend, EV, Electric Vehicles

Ok, catchy title aside, it’s actually Singapore’s first-ever EV Weekend. We check out ten hot electric vehicles, including the latest BMW iX!

With the exception of genuine mud-pluggers like Land Rovers, Jeeps, the Toyota Land Cruiser, Mercedes G-Wagen or Suzuki Jimny, what can SUVs do that other car types can’t? Just need a personal or family runabout? An equivalent-sized saloon or hatchback will be cheaper and more economical. Regularly need to lug lots of cargo around? A wagon can swallow just as much stuff while being easier to load/unload (due to being lower), and being more economical as well. And what if you have an extended brood? Well, proper MPVs will always be more spacious and comfortable than even the largest of 7 or 8-seater SUVs. Add to all that the fact that physics ensures an SUV’s extra height and weight works against it in road manners, and it’s still a wonder how, for the first time last year, they became the best-selling type of new car in Singapore.

New

Clawing its way to the top | Jaguar F-Pace 2.0 R-Dynamic

IN Jaguar, F-Pace, Jaguar F-Pace, Wearnes

Handsome looks, superb handling and an excellent new infotainment system make the facelifted Jaguar F-Pace one of the most desirable medium luxury SUVs around.