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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.


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?


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


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?


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


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?


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


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.


1932 Alfa Romeo P3 Tipo B
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


Fitted to a Toyota Supra in 255/35R19 (front) and 275/35R19 (rear) sizes, Tyre Reviews’ Jonathan Benson pitched the Continental SportContact 7 against nine other rivals, which included the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and Bridgestone Potenza Sport; the latter was the UHP category winner, as well as overall champion in Asia’s Ultimate Tyre Awards’ tyre test 2022, Singapore’s first empirical and scientific tyre test.
Happenings

Continental SportContact 7 wins Tyre Reviews’ 2022 UHP tyre test

IN Toyota, Supra, Tyre review, Tyre test, Continental, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin

Come for the in-depth tyre comparison, stay for the gratuitous oversteer


Alfa Romeo is a company any petrolhead wants to love, but in recent years has not been performing its best. The rear-wheel drive Giulia saloon and Stelvio SUV, launched in 2015 and 2016 respectively, were meant to start a renaissance of sorts for the brand, but despite a warm reception from enthusiasts and the media, this limited two-car lineup was nowhere close to realising Alfa’s potential. With that in mind, CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato promised last year that the company would be launching one new model every year till 2026, and this, the Alfa Romeo Tonale, is the first of this product offensive. Tonale is a smaller brother to the Stelvio, aimed to serve the compact SUV segment. First shown as a concept in 2019 at the Geneva Motor Show, Tonale has finally taken shape in production form and we can’t wait to see it in real life when it’s expected to hit our little red dot’s shores around the fourth quarter of this year. Tonale’s dimensions are pretty compact too; at 4.53m long, 1.84m wide and 1.6m tall, Alfa Romeo says it “encompasses the uniqueness of Italian design and the original, contemporary style typical of Alfa Romeo”.
Happenings

Electrified and Tingling: Alfa Romeo Tonale Launch

IN Alfa Romeo, Tonale, Hybrid

Setting the ‘tonale’ for the future, the Alfa Romeo Tonale’s arrival in Singapore geared for Q4 2022.


Find a twisty road however, and it doesn’t take long to unearth the RS’s other talents. Whack the DCC up into sport, and the car becomes a highly effective, if slightly clinical, road devourer. The meaty yet quick steering is confidence-inspiring and makes accurate placing of the car an intuitive affair, and the body control lent by the DCC is exceptional. As with the RS245 and Mk8 GTI though, the crowning glory is the limited-slip differential, which mitigates any trace of untidy wheelspin as you power out of corners, a trait which the old GTI sometimes frustrated me with.
New

First Drive: 2022 Skoda Octavia RS

IN Skoda, Octavia, Octavia RS, Hot hatch, Sports saloon, Skoda Centre Singapore

The Skoda Octavia RS is back, and continues to offer the same incredible value and practicality. We take it out for a brief taster to see what it’s like


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


In Singapore’s market, GLB 35 occupies a pretty unique niche. The Cupra Ateca sits in the same category for space and pace but not so on price, while the Mini John Cooper Works Countryman comes close on price and performance but not so on space. Since the more mundane, practical aspects of the Mercedes-Benz GLB have already been covered in the review of the GLB 200, the focus of this article will be on the GLB 35’s raison d’être – pant-pummelling performance with suitably-aggressive looks to boot.
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Zesty and Zingy Family SUV | Mercedes-AMG GLB 35 4MATIC

IN Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, GLB, GLB-Class, GLB 35, 35 AMG, Cycle & Carriage, Cycle & Carriage Mercedes-Benz

(G)ood (L)ikeable (B)read-van.


Tucked away in a row of shophouses along Joo Chiat Road, at number 432, is the home of Mutt Motorcycles Singapore. Give the glass door a good tug sideways during opening hours - it isn't locked, just heavy.
Happenings

Mutt Motorcycles Singapore ...

IN Mutt, Motorcycles, Classic inspired, British, Custom, Licence, 2B, 2A

... where Birmingham meets Bukit Timah, and bums, boils and bicycles get bantered about.


A short animation on the page features the 500’s cherubic front end, asking if I was ‘ready for a new fun way of driving’ – as a fan of small hatchbacks, sure I was!
Happenings

Fiat is back in Singapore!

IN Fiat, 500, Fiat 500, Fiat Singapore, EuroAutomobile

After a 5-year hiatus in the local new car market, the iconic Italian brand makes a comeback.


A good starting point is the driving position. This is of course highly subjective as the driver’s size and body type makes a big difference. For this writer’s 1.8-metre frame at least, the front seats are perfectly supportive. More crucially perhaps is how the car’s most crucial touchpoints – the steering wheel, gear lever, as well as the pedals – fall readily to hand and feet. Like putting on a tailored jacket, the driver immediately feels comfortable, familiar, and ready to go. This imparts a sense of confidence to explore the limits of the car. The positioning of the steering wheel and gear lever is underscored by also being nicely weighted for feedback that feels sweet and positive.
New

Sweet spot for entry performance | Suzuki Swift Sport Hybrid

IN Suzuki, Swift, Swift Sport, Suzuki Swift, Suzuki Swift Sport, ZC33, ZC33S, Champion Motors

The entry point for performance driving begins with this supermini. Does its mild hybrid drive hinder or enhance the experience?



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