AGENDAtop storiEs 18 our green karting gp 22 bmw’s showstopper 26 maserati’s suv revealed

the month’s biggest stories from the world of cars

Future cars // motorsport // gadgets // people // car culture // opinion //

FF For vEry FAst

v12 grows from 5748cc to 6262cc and gains direct injection from california v8 (above). power climbs from 533bhp to 651bhp, dropping the 0-62mph time by three tenths to 3.7sec and making this the first four-seat ferrari to top 200mph. a hybrid ferrari is still three years away.

FlAvio MANzoNi

ferrari’s new design boss joined last year from vw, replacing donato coco, who moved to lotus. he’s credited with the up and bluesport concepts, the current golf and polo.

thE busiNEss

END

ff’s dashboard is a blend of california and 599 plus the steering-wheel-mounted indicators and light switches from the 458. a triple-hooded binnacle houses rev counter and twin digital displays. fun optional tweak is a digital display above the glovebox showing road speed and engine revs to passengers. might not want to tick that box if your wife’s a nervous passenger.

thE First Four-whEEl DrivE FErrAri

longitudinal four-wheel drive uses a second prop running from the ’box to the front axle – but the ferrari has a rear transaxle for optimum weight distribution (53% here). so, the ff’s front wheels take power directly from the front of the engine. it’s nominally 100% rear-drive, but can shift 30% to the front. ‘we tried other 4wd cars but they just understeered. ferraris are about oversteer, not understeer,’ says felisa. ferrari’s solution weighs half as much as rivals’.

15

CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK i march 2011

Ferrari’s 4x4:

The audacityof it!it’s just us, the most shocking ferrari yet and the men who made it. alone in a room. here’s what happened

t h e b i g s t o r y

Chris Chilton

assistanteditor

A FErrAri For Four

wheelbase stretch yields an extra 20mm of legroom, but the biggest gain is in headroom. even six-footers can fit in the ff, and there’s a rear-seat entertainment package to while away long journeys. other key change is a stunningly soft natural leather option with a very visible and tactile grain. ‘the old leather was like plastic,’ manzoni admits with a grimace.

A prActicAl FErrAri

luggage bay is a useful 450 litres, incredibly 31 litres bigger than a saab 9-3 sportwagon’s. and just like a proper estate’s, the rear seats fold flat, nearly doubling space to 800 litres. just imagine the look on those scenic drivers’ faces when you pull up at the local rubbish tip in this bad boy and unload a mangy old mattress.

why FErrAri’s builDiNG A shootiNG brAkE

to us, the ff looks like a clear attempt to design a car for the emerging markets in china and russia, where newly-monied businessmen are more interested in luxury than conventional supercars. ‘not necessarily,’ argues ferrari ceo amedeo felisa. ‘this is a car for the whole world. the average age of our customers in china is 30, and the 458 is our best-selling car there.’

even so, these are the markets that are growing, and fast. ferrari sold 300 cars in china last year, up 50% on 2009, and plans to launch in india this year. they hope the ff will sell around 1000 units a year globally, up from the 700-or-so annual figure for the 612. ‘with this car and the california, the brand stretch is complete,’ felisa says. what, no dino? apparently not. we’ll just have to settle for another enzo instead.

pEElING bACK thE curtains at the Planet hotel acrossthe road from the iconic gates and eastern-bloc architectureof the Ferrari factory in maranello, I see thick flakes of snowspiralling gently earthwards. I check left and right, even upfor a hollywood snow machine, but no, it’s real. how the

Ferrari top brass waiting forme across the road must berubbing their hands.

We’ve been invited for aone-to-one unveiling of thenew Ferrari FF, the £220,000651bhp GT that will replacethe 612 Scaglietti. The FFbadge (oddly the same asJensen’s conceptually similarall-wheel drive Interceptorof 1966) stands for four seatsand four-wheel drive. It’s thefirst Ferrari ever to task thefront wheels with dutiesbesides steering the car.

The FF is inside the atelierroom, a small studio near thefront office, to which Ferrariinvites special customers.Paint swatches abound, hidesof different hues hang liketowels from hooks. and there,on a turntable in the middleof the room, cloaked in a silkyred sheet, is the car.

Even covered, it’simmediately obvious thatthe FF has the squared-offestate back the spy shotssuggested. With me isFerrari’s chief executiveofficer, amedeo Felisa,product marketing manNicola Boari, and new designdirector Flavio manzoni,formerly creative design headat Volkswagen, and the manwho designed the FF in4

CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK I march 2011

AGENDA

We slug it out on UK’s firstcarbon-neutral go-kart trackcan car’s unlegendary racIng pedIgree overcome the eerIe sIlence to trIumph In a battery-powered Indoor shootout?

18

m o t o r s p o r t

ANAtomy of A silENt Go-kArt

h o w i t w o r k s

whIlE f1 is stilldragging its heels on

the green tech issue, there’sone form of motorsport that’sembraced it: karting.TeamSport, Europe’s largestoperator of go-kart tracks,and owner of nine circuits inthe UK, has just opened a newindoor site near London’sTower Bridge running notpetrol, but electric go karts,and invited us to have a go.

If you’ve driven a petrolkart before, the lack of noise,smell and vibrations of these£6000 eco machines is eerie.

They’re no milkfloats: topspeed is around 40mph andall that instant torque meansa different driving style isneeded. You can’t just jumpback on the power exitingthe tighter corners or you’llwheelspin power away.

We have a couple of briefpractice sessions where,swapping between karts, it’sclear that they differ markedlyin grip and power. But thecircuit is brilliant. Thestraights aren’t long but thetwo-tier element is the makingof it. Taking the fast, fallingleft-hander at speed demandsprecision and commitment.

Speedy designer alex startsthe race in pole, followed bymotorsport editor Tomclarkson, tech ed Jesse,Pulman, me, Phil, Tim, Gregand Sarah. I barge in front ofPulman at the first corner,and pass Jesse (in an obviouslyslow kart) on the start-finishstraight, then get into a greatscrap with alex and Tom.‘No-contact,’ we’re told at the

briefing, but rubbin’ is racin’as far as I’m concerned, andI muscle past Tom into secondplace and spend the nextminutes glued to alex’s tail.

Further back Tim and Philare squabbling away andpoor old Greg, hobbled byan even slower kart thanJesse (and by lack of talentand a few stone of ballast– ed), is languishing at theback. meanwhile I fail todefend the inside line at onecorner and clarkson nipspast me, the three of usscrapping like dogs until thekilljoy red lights come onindicating someone’s hadan off.

Pulman has managed toflick the kill switch on his kart,and is stranded. By the timethe marshals have restartedhim, our time is up. alex hasretained his lead but Tom hasset the fastest lap, a blistering54sec. Good clean fun, butover so fast. We’re nowscraping together £40 perhead for our next trip.

‘No contact,’ we’re told at the briefing, but rubbin’ is racin’ as far as i’m concerned, and i muscle past tom

Chris Chilton

assistant editor

Tom, Alex & Chris had the best karts ;)

manufacturer BIZ Kartssourced specialist expertise inLi-Ion technology to design theelectric motor, battery pack andpower controller. Brushlessmotors used in electric cars aretoo expensive and complex, sothe karts are powered by a single,brushed motor. max torque of21lb ft is available from 0rpm.at 150kg the karts weigh onlyabout 20kg more than theequivalent 200cc petrol machine,and could run for 45min, but toprolong battery life, are run ineight-minute driving sessions.

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Future cars // motorsport // gadgets // people // car culture // opINIoN // 19

cAGiNEss, olD cArs, brEAkDowNs…let’s hope the new f1 season Is more excItIng than the bIg test In valencIa. by tom clarkson

formula one’s

polished veneer was

nowhere to be seen in valencia.

the first test session of the year

was the sport at its crudest:

mechanics burning the midnight

oil; engineers left baffled by the

idiosyncrasies of their new cars;

drivers exploring the limits of the

new regulations.

fernando alonso summed

it up best when he gave this

assessment of his rivals: ‘the

red bull is the same colour as

last year, the renault is not. what

else can you say?’ more than that,

fernando. more than that.

with three different tyre

compounds available from pirelli

and fuel levels ranging between

10 and 150 litres, the pace of the

cars was difficult to read, but

there were plenty of observations

to be made.

red bull’s new rb7 was quick

and reliable straight out of the

box. the car was finished at 5am

on the opening day and world

champ seb vettel placed it at the

top of the timesheets with his first

flying lap. the team are not into

showboating, so this will have sent

a shudder through their rivals.

ferrari’s f150 is less sculpted

around the rear than the rb7,

mainly due to its more traditional

push-rod suspension, but it too

was quick and had bulletproof

reliability. alonso completed more

than 200 laps in two days – more

than any other car.

these two cars made the

biggest impression, but what of

the others? mercedes’ wr02

looks pretty, but it was blighted

by reliability problems – mostly

in relation to Kers. they’ll

overcome the teething problems,

but the loss of track time has hurt

their preparations.

mclaren ran at this first test

with last year’s car. lap times

were irrelevant, even though

they’d tried to adapt the mp4-25

to this year’s regs, so the only

conclusions to be drawn were

in regard to Jenson and lewis.

both seemed on great form; they

looked fit, were witty in interviews

and were clearly relishing the

start of the new season.

renault (sorry, lotus renault

gp) won the prize for innovation,

having come up with a novel

means of using exhaust gases to

increase performance. Instead

of exiting at the rear of the car,

the exhausts on the r31 extend

forward and exit low down at the

front of the sidepods. this speeds

up airflow under the car and gets

the front wing working better. ‘It

seems to be working well,’ said

robert Kubica. ‘but I don’t want to

say too much at this stage.’

other tech bosses were

indifferent about the concept,

but we have to assume the gains

are big because there were

many problems to be overcome.

packaging, heat dissipation and

passing the fIa’s severe side

impact protection tests are all

compromised by this layout.

elsewhere, the williams fw33

is a neat looking car. Its rear

end is tiny, the result of it using

the smallest gearbox in the

team’s history and pull-rod rear

suspension. team lotus’s t128 is a

looker as well, but power steering

problems spoiled its week.

at this stage? It’s red bull or

ferrari…

Alonso refused to confirm or deny that his car is, in fact, red

f o r m u l a o n e

Renault exhaust. Ban it!

motor

‘Pancake’-style, brushed electric motor is derived from electric racing bikes and drives the rear axle directly by a toothed belt. Doesn’t need lubricating.

battery

Battery packs are tucked away in pods on each side of the kart with the driver in the centre for even weight distribution. Three-phase fast chargers are used.

control

Power controller manages the flow of power to the battery taking its signal from the fast pedal. Together with the motor, it gives some regenerative braking.

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, La

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DOWNSIZING IS a relative term.To me it means Fiat’s trick 875cctwo-pot, Ford’s Ecoboost 1.0-litretriple, VW’s turbo- and supercharged 1.4. To the madmen at AMG it meansditching their naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 for... a 5.5-litre V8. A 5.5-litre V8 boosted by twin turbos.With the new engine slotted intothe CLS (Mercedes’ sleeker, sharper‘four-door coupe’ version of theE-class) it’s a pre-emptive strikeagainst this autumn’s BMW M5.

The (economy) figures arestunning. Thanks to direct-injection,lightweight parts and stop/start techthis big bent eight records 28.5mpgand 231g/km. Okay, so sub-30mpgisn’t going to save the planet, but

the old CLS63 could only manage 19.5mpg and 345g/km, meaning 46%and 33% improvements. Still notconvinced? Then how about the factthat a Ford Kuga 2.5T is as thirsty,and a Range Rover Sport TDV6dirtier, than this supersaloon.

Opt for the £6495 AMGPerformance Pack – boosting powerby 32bhp and torque by 74lb ftthanks to an increase in boostpressure from 1.0 to 1.3bar – andyou’ll still get 28.5mpg and 231g/km.

The CLS63 performs outside thelaboratory, too. Around San Diegoit shutdown at every traffic light.Unlike any other stop/start systemmated to an auto ’box I’ve everencountered before, you don’t have

to keep it in D with your foot on thebrake either: you can slot P, put thehandbrake on, and smugly grin ateveryone around you. And at theend of the day, when we cruised backfrom our blast in Anza-BorregoDesert State Park, the CLS63returned 37.6mpg at an average of65mph. My jaw’s still on the floor.

The 518bhp standard output isthe same as E63 AMG buyers enjoy,but the peak has been pegged backso a) S63 and CL63 buyers still havebragging rights, and b) existing E63owners don’t feel short-changed,now or when the hottest E adoptsthe same engine later this year.

Ignore what’s on paper though:maximum bhp might be produced

at 5250rpm rather than the 6.2’s6800rpm but, up against the E63’s464lb ft at 5200rpm, the new engineoffers a gut-churning 516lb ft from1750rpm all the way through untilthere’s 5k on the rev counter.Downsides? The new M157 engineweighs 20kg more than the old M156 6.2-litre, and it’s a bit taller. That’s it.

Of course, the new engine still drives the rear wheels, and the linkbetween it and the back axle is thecompany’s seven-speed MCT auto.At dinner the night before, AMGboss Ola Källenius practically beggedus to use its Race Start function, sophotographer Mark Fagelson andI pull over on a short but well-sightedstraight. The rotary controller forthe transmission is twisted toManual, a quick press of the ESPbutton selects Sport, then its ontothe brakes, twist the gearbox dialonce more to RS, flick the rightpaddle to confirm that you do indeedwant to shag the transmission’sinternals, build the power, sidestepthe left pedal, and hold on.

mercedes-benz cLs63 amg hhhhh

Price I £80,605 engine I 5461cc 32v V8 twin turbo, 518bhp @ 5250rpm, 516lb ft @ 1750-5000rpm TransMissiOn I Seven-speed auto, rwd

PerfOrMance I 4.4sec 0-62mph, 155mph (limited), 28.5mpg, 231g/km weighT/Made frOM I 1870kg/steel On sale I June 2011

Lavishly equipped, fiendishly fast, the CLS63 AMG is the ultimateperformance saloon bar none, says Ben Pulman

CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK I MARCH 2011

44 FIRSt DRIvES i MERCEDES-BENZ CLS63 AMG

Electronics juggle engine outputsagainst the grip of 285-sectionContinentals, then the CLS goes,squirming a little, traction controllight flashing, up-shifting for you,and beginning to get into its stride.Fagelson’s busy trying to video thewhole process and I only get glimpsesof the rev counter climbing to itsredline, then dropping as we changegear, then climbing again, and allthe while the speedo’s needle keepsarcing round. We pass 90, 100 – stillno let-up – 110, 120 – the digitalspeedo still isn’t counting inconsecutive figures – 130, 134, 137– suddenly the crest at the end ofstraight is approaching very fast–139mph. BRAKE!

Caterhams might be quicker to60mph, but I love that feeling ofrelentless urge, that 1870kg can beso easily shrugged off, and theknowledge that pinning the throttleat 100mph-plus will induce moreacceleration than most cars serveup below the national limit. Simplestuff, but it makes you smile. Against

the 6.2? It’s faster, but it feels slowerbecause there’s no ferocious top-endcrescendo, just a huge, digger-sizeddollop of torque at almost any rpm.

No, it doesn’t sound quite as goodas the 6.2 in full redline war crymode, but any fears that forcedinduction would silence the engine911 Turbo-style are unfounded. Itbarks like the SLS supercar onstart-up, burbles and rumbles whenyou give it a little gas, and growlsa sophisticated tune towards the revlimit. How did AMG do it? Withlots of hard graft, say the engineers,and apparently there’s no reasonwhy all turbocharged engines can’tsound this way...

Weight savings and someAffalterbach magic make sure itcorners too. The engorged frontwings (which hide a 24mm widerfront track), bootlid, parcel shelfand newly creased bonnet are allmade from aluminium, as are thedoors, which are 24kg lighter thantheir steel equivalents. In thestandard settings the ride is4

45

Even tastier – and 40% lighter - rims are optional

Launch control helps fling you to 62mph in 4.4sec

Only royal corgis get more creature comforts

MARCH 2011 I CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK

Jenson Button rolls firmly onto thethrottle and, just as the 12C starts to descendthe slope leading from pits to track, the McLaren’stwin blowers ignite. The power delivery is muchmore measured than the all-or-nothing kick ofa Porsche GT2 RS but, even so, it’s a shock whenit arrives with barely more than 2000rpm on thedial, the wave of torque pounding me into thepassenger seatback like Marty McFly plugginghis guitar into Doc Brown’s jumbo amp. I thoughtthis was a Ferrari 458 rival? In terms of thrustit feels more like a Veyron.

I’ve circulated enough tracks in the companyof racing drivers on product launches to knowwhen they’re going through the motions, fulfillingthe tedious requirements of their contracts andno more. But two corners in, it’s obvious thatthe 2009 F1 champ is loving every minute behind

the wheel of this very late pre-production 12C.The 2.95-mile Autódromo Internaçional doAlgarve in Portugal is superb, a proper rollercoaster circuit featuring more ups and downsthan a motocross track and several pairs of cornersthat look very similar as you approach, but turnout to be very different on the exit, a matter mademore complicated by the fact that several areunsighted. Very Nordschleife.

Jenson’s speed doesn’t surprise me, but otherthings do. He doesn’t left-foot brake for instance,leaving the left of his McLaren-spec Reebokson the dead pedal. And he’s far more aggressivethan I’d expected given his reputation as one ofF1’s smoothest wheelmen, although some of thatmust be down to the fact that the tyres aresnatching at the patchy track that’s greasy inplaces and dryish in others.

About the only thing likely to leave you feelinga more inadequate driver than being taken rounda circuit by an F1 champ in a new supercar beforeyou drive it, is being taken round afterwards.But I’ve waited four years for this launch, eversince CAR sneaked some spy shots of the originalstyling model out of a supplier. What makes thiscar so exciting is that we have absolutely no frameof reference for it. Go to the launch of the latestGolf and you’ve a fair idea that it’s going to feelpretty much like the last one, only perhaps 15%better. But McLaren hasn’t built a car to its owndesign since the F1 of 1994. No-one outside ofWoking’s glass cathedral knows what to expectof this car when it comes to steering feel, ridecomfort and body control.

And with so much technology at play, there areso many questions to ask. Will the throttle 4

70 Cover story i DRIVING THe NeW McLAReN

CArMAGAZIne.Co.uK I MARCH 2011

MARCH 2011 I CArMAGAZIne.Co.uK

No-one outsideWoking’s glasscathedral knowswhat to expectof this car

71

Just 30 of the world’s journalists were invited, three of them from CAR

74 INSIDER i VW AND PORSCHE FIGHT

CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK I DECEMEBER 2009CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK I MARCH 2011

74 COvER StORy i DRIVING THE NEW MclAREN

‘get most supercars on a track

and you’ve got to be so patient with the

front end,’ says Jenson Button as he

tips the 12C’s nose into a tight left so

late that a squeally mess of understeer

is the only possible outcome.

It never materialises. ‘But this is

totally different.’

The man should know. He’s driven

and owned plenty of road-going

supercars, including a Bugatti Veyron,

and has plenty to say about the

McLaren’s superiority. ‘I have a real

problem with road cars. When I hit

the brakes the ABS kicks in and you

can feel the pedal shaking and moving

away from you. With this car the ABS

is there, which is good because the

everyday user really needs it. But

you’ve got real feeling with the brake,

you know that if you’ve gone a bit

heavy on them you can then modulate

the amount of pressure. The throttle

response is good too; better than I

thought it was going to be.’

But isn’t this all a bit busman’s

holiday? It’s not like he’s going to be

queuing up for an evening slot at

Bedford Autodrome after work. ‘No,

I’m mostly going to be driving on the

road,’ the 2009 F1 world driver’s champ

confirms, before suddenly becoming

animated on the subject of ride comfort.

‘Have you done the driving route

up the back alleys yet? It’s incredible.

Instead of dodging the potholes you

find yourself aiming at them to see

what it can take.’

But before he can do that in his own

12C, Jenson still has to hammer out

a financial deal with Ron Dennis, who

is adamant Button must pay for his

ride. ‘Then all I’ve got to do is decide

whether I want ceramic brakes or not.’

‘ I HAVe A ReAL pRoBLeM WITH RoAD CARS…’

Jenson Button on the 12c

MARCH 2011 I CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK

75

‘The throttle response is good too; better than Ithought it was going to be’

go onlIne Towww.CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK

TO SEE IN-CAR FOOTAGE AS jENSON BuTTON lAPS THE

12C WITH CHRIS CHIlTON

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CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK I MARCH 2011

Just think how cool traffic jams will look in future

At least, that’s what VW claims. XL1 has a one-litre engine, weighsjust 795kg and emits 24g/km CO2. Looks pretty cool, too. Best of all, it

will go into limited production in 2013. We have the first drive Words: Georg Kacher I Photography: John Wycherley & Ingo Barenschee

DRIvInG vW’s 313MpG futuRE i GREEN CAR 93

MARCH 2011 I CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK

3 1 3 m p g ? 3 1 3 m p g ?

3 1 3 m p g ?3 1 3 m p g ?

3 1 3 m p g ?

98 INSIDE INDuStry i goodyear’s r&d lab

CArMAGAZINE.CO.uK I march 2011

march 2011 I CArMAGAZINE.CO.uK

99

In 2012 every new tyre will carry aconsumer-friendly rating. Greatfor us, bad for the industry? We goinside Goodyear Dunlop to find out

quiet! tyre revolution in progress

Words: Jethro bovingdon I Photography: mark Fagelson

ArNIE AND ME

Words: chris chilton I Photography: Greg Pajo

We might not have taken up VW’stough challenge to cross the US for$100 in a Golf Bluemotion. But thenthey told us Governor Schwarzeneggerwould be in LA to meet us…

CarMaGaZIne.CO.uK I marcH 2011

105 across america for $100 i adventure 105

marcH 2011 I CarMaGaZIne.CO.uK

This month we have mostly been hitting… kerbs. Well, only in the Renault Wind, BMW M3(twice) and the Jaguar XJ. Hopefully our new Mini Countryman will remain as pristine as ourSkoda Yeti, to which we (very reluctantly) bid farewell. Plus: Jethro goes racing in a Nissan 370Z

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may grow on me in time but there are

too many touches that ape the current

Mini for the sake of forced familiarity.

The dead front angle is the only one

that works for me, with a big aggressive

snout and huge, angular headlights.

The colour doesn’t help either: to get

our Countryman as quickly as possible

we plumped for a pre-ordered press

car, hence the dull and dreary £385

Royal Grey paintwork. And the rest

of the exterior is strangely lacking

customisation, bar white indicator lenses

(£70), bi-xenon lights (£590) and electric

mirrors (£215). A white roof or white

wheels? Nope, just body colour for the

former and standard silver for the latter.

If the exterior leaves me a little cold,

the interior more than makes up for it.

The £6500 of options on top of a £19,875

price I £19,875 as testeD I £26,430 miles this month I 1120 total miles I 2035 oUr mpg I 41.0 official mpg I 57.6 costs I None fUel this month I £151.50

Ups I Finding the interior still has that Mini magicDowns I The exterior is a bit monstrous

120 OUR CARs i mini countryman, infiniti g37s coupe

CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK I march 2011

OUR CARS

the mini coUntryman is, it’s

fair to say, an odd-looking motor car. I

recall viewing early photos of this new

Golf-sized Mini with shock and disbelief.

As a past Mini owner I have an affection

for the marque, but this is being tested

as time goes by. The multitude of variants

spawned, from a pram-roofed convertible

to a pointless ugly estate, are in danger

of diluting the much-loved British brand.

The new car is more than a mere

variant however. It’s a whole new

package: wider, higher, longer, with five

doors, a biggish boot and the option of

four-wheel drive. This is the car that

BMW wants you to buy when you have

outgrown your regular Mini. I should

be the target market for this car – mid

thirties, stylish (really? – ed), baby, dog,

etc – and have replaced our much-loved

Golf GTI with the Countryman.

First impressions are mixed. The looks

n e w a r r i v a l

go online to

E x C l U s I v E

b l o g

www.CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK

to read what the whole car team thinks of our

long-term cars

Mini Countryman by Mark Fagelsonbase price has mostly been lavished on

the obligatory £2490 Chili pack, which

includes an improved stereo, climate

control, more mood lighting, an onboard

computer, a multi-functional wheel, plus

bigger 17in alloys, fog lights and lots more

besides.

The Chili pack also adds part-leather

sports seats, but we’ve gone a step

further and upgraded them to full leather

– for £675. Then there’s sat-nav (£995),

voice control (£250), a cargo net for the

boot (a preposterous £145) and a first

aid kit and warning triangle for fifty-five

quid. Finally there’s a heated front

screen and heated seats, £345 and £250

respectively, but with the recent snow

and ever-present frost I’m already getting

good value out of them.

I’m still weighing up whether to read

with impeccable timing, Infiniti

UK whisked away my G37 Coupe to fit

it with Pirelli winter tyres. The results

are quite incredible. The standard Pirelli

rubber coped pretty well given the

wayward combination of 317bhp, wintery

roads and rear-wheel drive, but even on

damp blacktop the traction and stability

controls were constantly on high alert,

flickering even when passing traffic on

wet motorways.

The winter tyres feel much grippier

– they cling on much harder than

I expected even in tight corners,

understeer has been all but banished

and braking distances shortened. Okay,

this winter’s been harsh, but if you can

stomach the initial outlay, I reckon a set

of winter tyres is a sound investment.

The Infiniti’s 3.7-litre V6 engine is now

feeling a lot looser and revvier. It’s a

seriously brawny lump, delivering a

powerful, both-barrels kick that makes

short work of slower traffic and reels

in empty miles with a deep-lunged ease.

It sounds superb, too. Start it up on a

cold morning and it sounds all guttural

and grunty and, once warmed through,

it soars round to the redline with a

serrated howl that’s hugely addictive.

Which might explain why it’s downing

a gallon of unleaded every 24.8 miles.

Expensive. Now that Infiniti and Daimler

have forged an engineering alliance, I

can’t help wondering how long we’ll have

to wait before Merc’s superb 265bhp V6

CDI ends up in the Coupe’s engine bay.

Searing mid-range punchy, top-drawer

refinement and 40mpg? Yes please…

Infiniti G37S Coupe by Ben WhitworthUps I Winter tyres, grunty performance, soundtrack Downs I Dipsomania, the long wait for diesel power

price I £40,545 as testeD I £41,595 miles this month I 2805 total miles I 6264 oUr mpg I 24.8 official mpg I 26.7 costs I None fUel this month I

Not much to look at,

very nice on the inside

SNAPSHOT

Call that a boot? What a let down! It’s not flat or

square enough, but at least the rear seats slide

forward to create more room

Parked behind a Cooper S, just like I used to

own. Similar, but oh so very different. How

much less ‘mini’ can a Mini get?

Countryman arrives! Big and new and shiny.

Baby Biba looks on and wonders if her pram

will fit. With that boot I’m wondering too

Bye bye GTI. A sad farewell to the imperious

Golf, which proved to be fast, fun family

transport. Big shoes to fill…

Infiniti G37Coupe p121

BMW M3p124

Mazda CX-7p126

Nissan 370Zp123

Megane RS250p126

Skoda Yetip122

Jaguar XJp125

Mini Countrymanp120

Nissan Cubep127

Alfa RomeoGTV p124

Mercedes E63Estate p127

Renault Windp123

Audi A8p125

1 4 c a r s o n t h e f l e e t . e d i t e d b y b e n p u l m a n

march 2011 I CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK

the owners manual or just mess around

in traffic with the Countryman’s multitude

of toys. My wife was impressed by a

choice of six colours for the interior

mood lighting, while I have managed to

get the hands-free Bluetooth phone gizmo

working and can even make the radio

come on by simply pressing a button and

saying ‘radio’.

Cabin space is great and the rear seats

slide back and forth, making five adults

in this Mini a viable proposition. But I’m

a photographer and my car boot is a

place of work on any photoshoot. I like my

boots large and flat and unfortunately the

Countryman seems to disappoint on both

counts. More on that, and whether this

four-wheel drive diesel Mini can match

the driving excitement of its smaller

siblings, in the coming months.

Looks harmless. Is, in fact, grunty

Cabin is a real delight. Cream leather looks

great and it’s packed with toys and clever tech,

some of which I can actually work

You can’t see his expression, but

trust us it’s smug