Articles by Karla Pincott

he wraps will officially come off the Audi Allroad concept on the Detroit show floor tomorrow, but the German carmaker has revealed it ahead of the show, giving us a look at styling amd tech it says w

Think your 4WD can already go anywhere? It could easily get a whole lot tougher with these 'lock'n'loaded' tank tracks that will take your ute or suv to a higher level.Designed by US-based engineering firm AD Boivin, the Track N Go system is a quick-fit system that has you simply drive up onto the treads, lock them in place, remove the loading ramps -- and off you go to conquer new rugged territory.The treads are powered by your vehicle's tyres, making the whole operation simple. And while it's not the first tank tread kit we've seen, it's the first on the market to not require a complicated mechanical conversion to get going. However, they're not cheap, priced at more than $25,000 and heavy enough to set you back quite a bit on freight as well.And although we think they'd look the biz on the little Mitsubishi Mirage city hatch currently in the Carsguide test garage, sadly the Track N Go can only be used on V8 and V6 vehicles with a full 4WD two-stage (low and high) transfer case, leaf spring suspension and diff lock on the rear axle. So that means the test Holden Barina is out of the running as well.Watch the turn your car into a tank video on our desktop site.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Need to split a bit of kindling – or perhaps a whole forest of the toughest hardwood? Here’s the gadget to get the job done in record time: the Holden V8-powered chainsaw. The V8 ripsnorter was designed and built by Whitlands Engineering, who -- being based in the high country of northeast Victoria where they burn through tonnes of wood -– are unsurprisingly Australia’s leading makers of firewood processing machinery. While the products in their Superaxe, Logsaw and Aussie Chopper ranges use quite decent means of power,  when they wanted to create the kind of chainsaw that would have forests tremble at the mere sight of it, they turned to the Holden 4.2-litre V8 last seen in the Holden WB Ute in 1985. The idea was sparked after Whitlands saw something similar in New Zealand, but decided it hadn’t been done as masterfully – or muscularly – as it might have been. So they headed back to their high country skunkworks and started tinkering. You can see the result in the video, but it wasn’t without challenges, the chief one being how to redirect the engine’s output to a right-angled drive to power a chainsaw. For those of you already excited – as we were – about getting your hands on one, there’s bad news. It’s been built purely as a marketing tool, and is already chewing up that role with gusto. Whitlands have been the main attraction giving demonstrations at field days, and have had inquiries to do the same from around Australia and also overseas. The National Geographic network has been in touch about sending a film crew, and the V8 Chainsaw will be the star turn at the big Australia Day woodchop in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens.   Watch the desktop version of the Holden V8 chainsaw Aussie muscle axe video here.    This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

The baby of the AMG-tuned Mercedes-Benz SUV line-up will bow at Detroit motor show this week, but the German brand is already giving us a first look at the production version on the road in official video.Facing off against the coming Porsche Macan and Audi RSQ3, the GLA45 has added AMG wizardry to the GLA-Class crossover, with a lower-riding body on stiffer suspension -- with an even more hardcore ride as an optional extra.It gets an angry-looking aerodynamic bodykit, 19-inch or optional 20-inch wheels with AMG-badged brake calipers, and the chance to dress things up further with more carbon-fibre. The interior also gets the sporty treatment with huggy seats and chunky wheel with F1-style paddle shifters.Under the clamshell bonnet is the same handbuilt 256kW/450Nm 2.0-litre with twin-scroll turbocharged engine found in the A45 AMG and CLA45 AMG -- getting you to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds and on to a peak speed of 250km/h -- with a seven-speed DSG driving the front wheels for everyday use and all four as needed in a 50:50 torque split. The ESP is switchable to Sport or Off, and has torque-vectoring to apply imperceptible braking on the rear inside wheel to aid cornering.The GLA45 AMG will hit showrooms in other markets after mid-2014, but arrival here hasn't yet been confirmed -- although with a growing buyer appetite for luxury crossovers, you can bet the local HG are already working on the business case spreadsheets.

With the softroader segments booming around the world, there's probably no car that's not being weighed up as too unlikely a model to get the treatment. Volkswagen's Beetle has some history in that field as the underpinnings for decades of 'dune buggies' -- with even the military building some as desert patrol and fast attack vehicle for the SAS, US Navy Seals and other troops.VW is again trumpeting that heritage in the name of the Beetle Dune concept that will be unveiled at Detroit motor show, with a 5cm higher ground clearance and a ski rack suggesting it's getting set to tackle the slopes. An earlier Dune concept appeared at the LA show in 2000, but VW admits it was "not very realistic (and) the 2014 Dune Concept is a lot more feasible ... potential for a new production version of the sportiest Beetle".However it's not getting the benefit of all-wheel drive, and instead is based on the limited-edition R-Line Beetle sold overseas with a 157kW turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed dual-clutch transmission driving the front wheels with the benefit of an electronic diff lock system to add traction, and a strut-type front and multilink rear suspension.

The wraps will fully come off the Kia GT Stinger at next week's Detroit motor show, but the Korean carmaker is doing a slow tease in the meantime.

The images fill in more of the gaps after the alleged engine details escaped via a debut invitation late in December.The sporty looks have been dialled up with the back-facing bonnet and front fender vents seen in the previous RC F teaser image joined by aggressively-styled bumpers and side skirts, a large spindle grille, trapezoidal quad exhaust system and carbon-fibre roof aimed at trimming the weight down below the exiting IS-F's 1700kg.There are three choices of 10-spoke 19-inch forged alloy  wheels -- the top spec being hand-polished. It's possible carbon-fibre may be underneath the show livery on other parts as well, while we're expecting to also hear about suspension upgrades for the new car, while Motor Authority suggests there will also be some performance enhancements adapted from the Lexus LFA supercar.Lexus has confirmed these include an active rear wing that deploys at speeds over 80km/h and retracts when you wind back down to 40km/h. The interior features more carbon-fibre with metal accents, chunky steering wheel,  leather sport seats with an F embossed on headrests and large-screened infotainment system.As a successor to the IS-F sedan, the RC-F carries the performance baton for Lexus, and the leaked engine details suggest that baton will be carried by an updated version of the IS F's 5.0-litre V8. Lexus has confirmed today that the power will be "well above" 330kW and we've suggested earlier that it could deliver 343kW (a lift of 32kW) and eight-speed automatic.It's not known yet whether torque will also rise above the exiting car's 505Nm, but it's been tipped it could get around another 40Nm. We're yet to get the performance details, but Lexus would be keen to shave even a little off the the IS F's 4.9 seconds for the 0-100kmh sprint and perhaps raise the top speed of 274km/h.

Subaru plans to take the wraps off the new WRX STI on January 14 at the Detroit motor show, but it's just been given an early unwrapping with images from just about every angle leaking onto the internet.Posted by a Mexican website, the photo set has the WRX STI in its WRC hero blue livery and shows the visual differences that set it apart from the standard WRX -- the signature STI cue being the massive rear wing.It also gets the gold-toned STI wheels -- behind which we expect will be upgraded brakes -- and more aggressive bodykit treatment, likely to be matched by a similarly firmer-dealing suspension set-up and vehicle dynamics technology.We'll have to wait until the show (or another leak) to find out what's under that World Rally Blue bonnet. But chances are it will either be a revised version of the carryover  turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder -- with outputs squeezed above the current 221kW of power and 407Nm of torque -- mated to a six-speed manual transmission, or a higher-tuned version of the new WRX's 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder.That possible four was seen in the Levorg concept at Tokyo show in November with outputs of 221kW and 400Nm, a rise of 21kW and 50Nm over the 2014 WRX revealed at LA show the same month and test-driven in December.As we've previously reported, the sedan body you're seeing here is the only one we'll get for the WRX and STI, with Subaru deciding to discontinue hatch versions as the buyer market dwindled against the sedan variants.

Design maestro Theophilus Chin  has produced his impression of what we'll see with the next Mazda2 when it arrives most likely late next year after a motor show unveiling.Chin has focused on the front of the vehicle, and shows how the fresher Mazda family face will sit on the popular city car -- which topped the light class in Australia's 2013 sales with 15,167, edging ahead of the 2012 winner Toyota Yaris on 14,437.Mazda hasn't revealed many hints about what we'll get in the next 2, although it's logical to expect a continuing focus on Skyactiv fuel economy technology spreading across the stable to the baby.That prospect offers the promise of even better efficiency than from the current model's 76kW/135Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder, which delivers 6.4L/100km in five-speed manual gearbox form and 6.8L/100km with the four-speed automatic transmission. 

The Volvo Concept XC Coupe is headed for a global unveiling at the Detroit motor show next week, but early photos and details give a good idea of what to expect from it -- and from the next XC90 and other Volvo crossovers.The Concept XC Coupe -- like the Concept Coupe at Frankfurt -- is built on Volvo's new scalable platform, which in this latest form underpins a sleek, low-slung body with three doors, but only four seats. However you can expect that number to grow by the time the XC90 hits the showroom after a debut at Paris show in September.Volvo chief designer Thomas Ingenlath has created a streamlined design echoing that of the Concept Coupe, but bumped up the ride height and given it touch-looking crossover touches -- some of which won't appear outside the show stand.However the production model could retain some of the concept styling also seen in the earlier teaser sketches and images, hopefully including the muscular side sills, hanmerhead LED section splitting the headlights, exaggeration of the signature Volvo hook tail-light, and vertical floating grille.The 21-inch orange-accented wheels and similarly luridly coloured front and rear skid plates are unlikely to survive, although they're starting to seem less eye-gouging than at first sight.Expect the XC90 in production form to have a full arsenal of the latest Volvo safety tech, including pedestrian-detecting automatic braking and collision-avoiding 'convoy' system that lets you autonomously follow the car in front.We'll have to wait until closer to Detroit to find out what's under the XC Concept Coupe's clamshell bonnet, but it's likely to echo the Concept Coupe's hybrid set-up with a turbocharged and supercharged (for high and low rev response) 1.4-litre engine mated with an electric motor, together producing a total of 300kW of power and 600Nm of torque.However while a hybrid variant is a possibility for the production XC90, the range will also carry something closer to the current engine choices of a 179kW/320Nm 3.2-litre petrol unit -- although possibly downsized -- and a 147kW/420Nm 2.4-litre diesel.And the platform and styling behind the show crossover won't stop at spawning just the XC90, with a replacement due for the smaller XC60 within the next two years, and Volvo already having indicated the desirability of a little XC40 to woo buyers in the booming baby crossover segment.