Articles by James Cleary

Who hasn't dreamed about ignoring the speed limits and going nuts on a twisty driver's road. We've done it in Hyundai's performance-focused i30 Fastback N, while the police watched on with grudging approval.

It's one of the greatest racing cars of all time, and to celebrate its 50th birthday Porsche is staging a special exhibition '50 Years of the Porsche 917 - Colours of Speed' at its Stuttgart museum from May 14 - September 15, 2019.

Alfa Romeo has produced its Stelvio SUV, because that's how it goes in 2019. But the Italian maker is hard-wired for driving fun and the Quadrifoglio version turns up the wick on speed and dynamics. It's brilliant but far from perfect.

Formula One world champion Jenson Button has returned to Bathurst’s Mount Panorama circuit to set what Honda Australia is claiming as a “benchmark” lap time for a road-going front-wheel drive production car.

Hyundai Australia has confirmed an all-wheel drive version of the i30N hot hatch is a live product evaluation program, with engineering prototypes currently in development and testing.

Mercedes-Benz has revealed a new, third-generation version of its luxurious seven-seat SUV flagship, the GLS at this year’s New York motor show.

MG Motor has confirmed its first zero-emissions vehicle, the EZS SUV, will be launched in Australia, with local on-sale scheduled for 2020.

Toyota has chosen the New York motor show to reveal an all-new fourth-generation version of its full-size, seven-seat Kluger SUV.The new Kluger (badged Highlander in the USA) is longer (+60mm) than the model it replaces, and sports a more aggressive, angular look in line with Toyota’s more adventurous design philosophy.Extra body length contributes to increased interior space with Toyota claiming an additional 30mm of slide capacity for the second row of seats.The latest Toyota to be underpinned by the brand’s TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) platform, the new Kluger retains the outgoing model’s 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine with a choice of front- or all-wheel drive models.Although local on-sale timing is yet to be confirmed, Toyota Australia says the new Kluger will feature a full suite of ‘Active Sense’ driver-assistance tech including a pre-collision system (with pedestrian detection), all-speed active cruise, lane trace assist, lane departure alert (with steering assist), auto high-beam (with road sign assist), and a reversing camera.Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert will be available depending on model grade.Along with its Prado stablemate, the Kluger helps Toyota dominate the Australian large SUV segment, the model passing 170,000 sales since its launch here in 2003, including a record 14,743 registrations in 2018.Current Kluger pricing ranges from $44,850 for the GX 4x2 to $69,246 for the top-spec Grande 4x4.

Shown in concept form at last year’s Paris motor show, Porsche has revealed the production version of its farewell to the 991-series 911, the Speedster.Powered by a 374kW naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six borrowed from the current 911 GT3 and GT3 RS, the Speedster is available with a six-speed ‘GT Sport’ manual transmission only and is claimed to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.8sec.Developed by the Porsche Motorsport department on a chassis derived from the 911 GT3, just 1948 examples will be built in recognition of the year Porsche first received its operating licence.Like previous Porsche Speedsters, this latest version features a low-cut windscreen and side glass with a lightweight, manually-operated fabric top.Other light-weighting measures include the use of carbon-fibre for the (front) boot lid, front guards and signature ‘streamliners’ smoothing airflow over the rear (carbon) decklid.Standard ‘Porsche Composite’ brakes are 50 per cent lighter than the standard cast-iron rotor system, air-conditioning is deleted (but can be added as a no-cost option), and the six-speed gearbox is 4.1kg than the seven-speed found in other 911 Carrera models (and 18kg lighter than a ‘PDK’ dual-clutch auto). Overall weight is 1465kg.According to Porsche Cars Australia, local pricing and launch timing will be confirmed in May. For reference, the 997-series Speedster of 2010 weighed in at $519,800, plus on-road costs.

Mini has revealed an updated version of its five-seat Clubman wagon with a range of exterior and interior design changes, additional standard features and new digital connectivity tech.A fresh front-end design is centred on a new grille with optional LED headlights (featuring a high-beam matrix function) and new LED fog lights either side.Additional body colours include ‘Piano Black’, tail-lights are LED (Union Jack design optional) and updated alloy wheel designs in 16- through to 19-inch diameter are offered.A sports suspension lowers the car by 10mm, a fully adaptive suspension is optionally available alongside the sports set-up, extra leather trims and interior elements have been incorporated, the ‘Mini Connected’ system has new functions added and the ‘Original Mini Accessories’ range has been extended.As well as Piano Black, ‘Indian Summer Red metallic’, ‘British Racing Green metallic’ and ‘Mini Yours Enigmatic Black metallic’ have been added to the exterior colour palette.A range of available interior treatments includes illumination of the door bezels, cockpit trim and centre console elements.Although Australian pricing and spec is yet to be finalised, Mini has launched the new Clubman globally in eight model variants powered by a range of three- and four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, with a choice of six-speed manual gearbox or seven-speed dual-clutch auto transmission.The eight model (global) Clubman range starts with the Mini One, stepping through the Cooper, Cooper S, Cooper S All4, One D, One SD and SD All4.BMW Australia says the new model is scheduled to arrive in the fourth quarter of this year, with the local line-up likely to mirror the outgaing range, "Cooper and Cooper S initially, with the new JCW arriving after that, likely early into the new year."That means no diesels, with current model pricing a guide prior to the newcomer's arrival - $37,900 for the 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol Cooper, $45,900 for the Cooper S, through to $56,900 for the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol JCW All4.