Articles by Danny Kwan

Lexus premieres UX Concept SUV in Paris

The Civic Type R prototype shows what the hot hatch will look like when it arrives next year.

Ferrari claims that the GTC4 Lusso T is the first four-seat Ferrari to be powered by a turbocharged V8 engine, and will be sold alongside the standard GTC4 Lusso. The power unit in question is the same 3.9-litre turbocharged V8 mill that is used in the 488 GTB. In the GTC4 Lusso T however, the engine has been tuned to produce 449kW and 760Nm of torque. It might be 58kW short of the GTC4 Lusso’s naturally-aspirated 6.3-litre V12’s peak power, but it packs a whole 127Nm more between 3,000 and 5,250rpm. With the new engine however, the GTC4 Lusso T doesn’t come with the V12 GTC4 Lusso’s trick 4RM-S four-wheel drive system. Instead it sends all 449kW to its rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. That being said, the GTC4 Lusso T still retains the big brother’s four-wheel steering system, though it is paired to Ferrari’s third-generation Side Slip Control, rather than the latter’s fourth-generation system. Losing the four-wheel drive system on the other hand means that it doesn’t have to pack the 4RM’s extra gearbox in front of the engine. Couple that to the smaller engine still in its nose, and Ferrari says that the GTC4 Lusso T is 50kg lighter at 1740kg dry, while its weight bias has shifted a notch rearward to a 46:54 front/rear weight distribution.With two less driven wheels and less weight to haul, the GTC Lusso T is able to hit 100km/h from standstill in 3.5 seconds, and surge all the way to a top speed of 320km/h. By comparison the 507kW/697Nm V12 in the GTC4 Lusso does it in 0.1 seconds faster and achieves a top speed of 335km/h.  All said and done, Ferrari is promising that their latest addition to the model line-up is more suited for day-to-day driving with a modular torque delivery and delivers better range between fills.Traditionally Ferrari has always rolled out more powerful and hardcore variants of their existing models, but the GTC4 Lusso T is the first example of Ferrari producing a ‘lesser’ variant since the 1980 208 GTB. The 208 GTB, and later the 208 GTB Turbo, sported a smaller 2-litre V8 engine as compared to its 308 GTB counterparts, which was done to circumnavigate Italian taxation on engines bigger than 2-litres. Considering Ferrari’s recent move to adopt turbocharging on their models in order to duck under emission tariffs, the circumstances behind the GTC4 Lusso T’s introduction are remarkably similar.    The Ferrari GTC4 Lusso T will be making its debut in Australia in November where it will be part of a roadshow event, whereas customers can expect the first delivery of customer cars to be in the third quarter of next year. 

Honda beats their own speed record set by a V10-powered Formula One car with a streamliner car powered by an engine from the S660 roadster.

Mini spices up the Clubman with JCW-spec for Paris, Australian introduction expected for first half of 2017.

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Raised V90 wagon set for Australian debut in the first half of 2017.

Fourth-generation Renault Megane goes on sale with prices starting at $22,490.

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Third-generation SLK update brings new SLC name and much sharper pricing for Australia.