Articles by Neil Dowling

When the smoke cleared and the white-clad models had done their work, the Japanese Kiyora concept at the Paris Motor Show emerged as a potential Mazda1. Mazda is keen for a new city-focused baby to sit below the existing Mazda2 and company insiders are hinting the Kiyora could be the start of the project. The show car is already fitted with one of Mazda's near-future engines, a 1.3-litre direct-injection petrol powerplant, and rolls on a mechanical package taken from the Mazda2. But it could also show where Mazda is going with other models, including the next replacement for the mid-sized Mazda6, and chief designer Laurens Van Den Acker says the Kiyora is a “platform for the future”. “It is everything we want in a vehicle — lightweight, fuel-efficient, low emissions, safe and stylish,” he says. “This is not a car out of which we will take bits and pieces and put them in a wagon, an SUV or a big car. This is a working model for the future.” Van Den Acker says the design can be expanded for a bigger sedan or an SUV using the same styling principles. “We have to be careful to maintain the Mazda family identity yet ensure each model has its own distinction,” he says. The Kiyora has some innovative features, the most noticeable being rear seats made only of a stretchy material strung between the C-pillars to create a hammock. The laminated nylon is comfortable and strong enough to support the passenger, yet is extremely light.

The 308-based Prologue seen at the Paris motor show will be the first into production, hitting the European market in 2010. The five-door hatch will be in Australia as a conventionally-powered diesel by mid-2009 and as an all-wheel-drive hybrid — as shown in Paris — by late 2010 or early 2011.“The Prologue will be the first of our low-emission, diesel hybrids,” says Peugeot communications director, Christian Peugeot. “Then we will widen the range.”Peugeot showed its Prologue at Paris in its all-wheel-drive layout — a design that allows a relatively simple hybrid solution by retaining a conventional front-engined, front-wheel drive and adding electric motors to drive the rear wheels.The HYmotion4 — Peugeot-speak for the AWD hybrid drive — shows how the Prologue will be offered as a traditional front-wheel drive diesel or the AWD hybrid.Peugeot displayed the Prologue hybrid along with a low-emission 407 sedan that claims just 130g/km CO2 from its 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine. This 407 goes on sale in Europe in December.Vehicles that aren't hybrids will, by 2011, get stop and start systems that automatically switch off the engine when the vehicle is stationary and restart when needed.Depending on driving conditions, this system saves 5 to 15per cent in fuel use and an equivalent reduction in emissions. 

Think safe, sensible and Swedish and you automatically think Volvo.But until recently, handling and dynamics were two words you perhaps would not expect in the modern Volvo vocabulary.The Gothenburg-based carmaker hopes the arrival of the XC60 all-wheel-drive wagon will change that.Impeccable safety standards were a given. Volvo says the XC60 is its safest vehicle ever with a host of passive and active nannies, including the new city safety automatic braking system.But the engineers want street credibility and respect, and that comes only with exacting dynamics and high levels of handling.Volvo looked to Germany for inspiration and modelled the XC60's ride, steering and handling on the BMW X3, according to head of dynamics Stefan Svensson.It is clear this Volvo is aiming high, but the company believes it can also tackle such key rivals as the Land Rover Freelander, Audi Q5, Mercedes-Benz GLK and eventually the BMW X1.XC60 project director Lars Blenwall says designers concentrated on “finding exactly the right balance between sportiness and comfort, for the chassis and for the car as a whole”.He believes the new city safety system, standard when the car arrives here in March, provides another persuasive safety argument.“It is important for us to be leaders in safety,” he says.This device uses a laser beam to automatically stop the car at speeds up to 30km/h if the system's laser detects a vehicle in front.City safety is located behind the rearview mirror and scans up to 6m ahead.If the system detects a crash risk, the brakes “pre-charge” to react faster if the driver touches the pedal. If the driver doesn't brake, collision avoidance kicks in to stop the car.Blenwall says about 30 per cent of all accidents are rear-enders and in 50 per cent of those the driver does not brake at all.Visually the XC60 shares some of its signature design traits with the rest of the XC range: strong shoulder line, rear light clusters, even a 230mm ground clearance to make it look low and sleek.Head designer Steve Mattin describes it as the “boldest crossover so far” from Volvo.“This car is charged with more emotive form and far more energy than any previous Volvo model,” he says. “The XC60 is the next step in modern Scandinavian design.”The wagon also previews Volvo's new face with arched headlights, deep contoured V-shape bonnet and a pronounced grille with an enlarged Volvo badge.The wagon is 200mm shorter than the XC70 but underneath it shares much with that model and the S80.But the car is tuned specifically to handling in a sporty manner. The dampers are 70 per cent stiffer than those in the XC70, the rollbars 10 per cent stiffer and the XC60's steering system is much stiffer and stronger. Front and rear suspension bushings are also stiffer but, according to Blenwall, maintain good noise suppression.The luggage compartment swallows 495 litres with the seatbacks up, 1455 litres with them folded. As in the V70 and XC70, the rear seat is a three-piece 40/20/40 split/fold unit.The dynamic stability and traction control system has been upgraded to include a trailer stability assist system and the roll mitigation device first fitted to the XC90. Hill descent control and Volvo's Four-C adaptive suspension are expected to be optional.In Australia there will be two models — the T6 with a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder and the D5, which shares its turbo-diesel five-cylinder engine with other Volvos.The 3.0-litre T6 engine is based on the 3.2-litre version used in the S80. It develops 210kW at 5600 revs and 400Nm from 1500 to 4800 revs. This gives a top speed of 210km/h and a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 7.5 seconds.Because of the engine's smaller bore and shorter stroke the turbo has a smaller displacement. This is compensated for by the latest twin-scroll turbocharger technology, delivering fast response low down in the rev range. Volvo claims it is on a par with twin turbocharged engines as far as power delivery goes.The five-cylinder D5 diesel develops 136kW at 4000 revs and 400Nm between 2000 and 2750 revs.It has a top speed of 200km/h and zero to 100km/h sprint time of 9.9 seconds.As with all Volvos, the XC60 is sturdily built, making extensive use of high-strength steel. The ultra-rigid body helps with the chassis set-up and suspension tuning.Weight is evenly distributed between the front and rear axles, which contributes to good balance and traction.Both the diesel and petrol engines are transverse and mated to a fourth-generation Haldex all-wheel-drive system and six-speed Geartronic sequential automatic transmissions.Volvo says the AWD system reacts quicker than previous systems.The MacPherson front suspension and multi-link rear broad track also contribute to excellent directional stability.Local pricing is yet to be confirmed but Volvo Cars Australia spokeswoman Laurissa Mirabelli hopes it will start at $60,000 or less.The XC60, like the XC70, will be available in base and LE models.Mirabelli says the company is looking at several “packs” such as a technology pack that will bundle satellite navigation, xenon headlights, blind-spot information system and Bluetooth; and a luxury pack that will include a panoramic sunroof.A normally aspirated 2.4-litre petrol engine and lower-capacity 120kW/340Nm turbodiesel model are available in Europe but these are unlikely for Australia, Mirrabelli says.The XC60 will also be available in front-wheel drive only in Europe but this is not expected to be part of the local line-up.Mirabelli says the core value of the XC range includes AWD and it is something Volvo Cars Australia is likely to maintain.However, she is quick to utter “never say never” when it comes to future models.“All things are under evaluation,” she says.DRIVINGThe XC60 is perhaps the first Volvo all-wheel-drive in recent memory that you could seriously call sporty.For a large, heavy wagon, that is saying something. Volvo has learned valuable lessons from BMW and managed to give the XC60 a distinctly sporty on-road personality.Everything from the dampers and anti-roll bars to the suspension bushes and geometry are tuned for a more involving feel.Despite using the same underpinnings as the S80 and V70 and Ford's Mondeo, the XC60 benefits from further finessing that results in a well-sorted chassis.The ride on super-smooth European roads is good. Handling is neutral and predictable and there's a sense of spriteliness in T6 guise that belies the wagon's weight.But all those safety systems and high-strength steel come at a price — paid in weight. The D5 auto tips the scales at 1842kg, making it 32kg heavier than the XC70 D5 but 187kg lighter than the XC90 D5. The petrol T6 is 1901kg.Hardly surprising then that the gruff five-cylinder diesel is a slow starter off the line, though performance feels more urgent once the diesel is rolling.The 3.0-litre six is our pick. It is smooth, quiet and accelerates rapidly to freeway speed. Throw a few twisty mountain corners at the XC60 and you'll be pleasantly surprised. There's no hint of the wallowing or steering vagueness that's felt in the XC90 or XC70.The overall driving experience is something we've not seen in a recent Volvo off-roader. It will challenge the perception that the Swedes build safe but dynamically dull cars, and we suspect quite a few XC70 buyers — and even some XC90 buyers — will prefer the XC60 purely for its dynamics.At any speed it is extremely refined, with superb seats and a quiet cabin, apart from some wind noise around the wing mirrors.Visibility is also good despite the shallow glasshouse. Volvo has managed to give the XC60 strength without resorting to thick pillars that obscure vision.Like all Volvo wagons, it has a practical boot and the 40/20/40 split seatbacks add to the car's versatility.The XC60 also ticks all the right boxes when it comes to looks. INSIDE VIEWVOLVO XC60PRICE From $60,000ENGINES 2.4-litre five-cylinder turbodiesel (D5); 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder (T6)POWER 136kW at 4000 revs (D5); 210kW at 5600 revs (T6)TORQUE 400Nm from 2000-2750 revs (D5); 400Nm from 1500-4800 revs (T6)TRANSMISSION Six-speed sequential automaticECONOMY 8.3 litres/100km (D5); 11.9 litres/100km (T6)EMISSIONS 219g/km CO2 (D6), 294g/km (T6)

Normally such a claim would be treated as the ramblings of a man who wants to keep his job, or someone clearly disenfranchised with the real world.But de'Silva is on the money here.The Audi A5 is indeed a very pretty car that appeals with soft feminine lines and perfect balance.Based on a modified Audi A4 sedan platform, the coupe seats four adults — though tall rear seat occupants will suffer restricted headroom — in leather-trimmed luxury.Only two A5 models have hit Australia though more are planned, including a more affordable four-cylinder turbo model.Because price is perceived to be the A5's biggest flaw, not because the ingredients aren't first class but because for $91,000-odd, the competition is enormous.Both models — one's a front-wheel drive as tested here and the other is an all-wheel drive version — are powered by a 3.2-litre V6 petrol engine.That's big by European standards are indicates a healthy fuel thirst. Yet that isn't the case.Even after some brisk driving the front-drive A5 rarely saw more than 10 litres/100km.Some credit goes to the efficient engine but more praise is attributed to the continuously-variable transmission.Better known as CVT, this is an automatic that has no cogs and gears and instead uses a simple belt-drive. Audi calls it Multitronic.The uncomplicated transmission claims better fuel economy figures than a conventional automatic.The downside is that off the mark it is sluggish in getting drive to the wheels.The solution is to use the transmission's “manual” mode that locks in seven preset ratios. You then drive it like a clutchless manual, changing gears with the paddle shifters on the steering wheel.There's plenty of urge in this engine and excellent chassis strength so the A5 handles superbly and ride roughened bitumen quietly and with saloon car compliance.Typically Audi, the ride is firm and positive so there's always a sense of confidence and safety.But against the typically Audi black dashboard, the A5 gets a stylish instrument cowling that extends to dip over the centre console.It looks better than the slab styling of earlier Audis and comes with more kit, including the central monitor that accesses everything from satellite navigation and TV to radio and climate control. That is, everything you ticked on the option list.The A5 gets an electronic park brake — great idea and bizarrely ignored by many rivals — to create more space on the console.The extra room has allowed the six-disc CD player unit to come out of the glovebox and onto the dashboard, making it much easier to load and unload the discs.At the same time, the glovebox now fits more than just a pair of gloves.In addition to seating for four, the boot is cavernous.The space-saver spare is a disappointment, especially because it's mounted on a bit of foam and clearly shows that a full-size spare can fit.This cheap spare also disadvantages the ability of this coupe to really run so comfortably over long distances. SpecsAUDI A5Origin: GermanyPrice: $91,900Engine: 3.2-litre, V6Power: 195kW @ 6500rpmTorque: 330Nm @ 3000-5000rpm0-100km/h: 6.6 secondsTop speed: 250km/hFuel: PremiumFuel tank: 65 litresEconomy (official): 8.7 litres/100kmEconomy (tested): 9.1 litres/100kmGreenhouse: 207g/km (Corolla: 175g/km)Transmission: CVT auto; front-driveBrakes: 4-wheel discs, ESC, ABS, EBD, brake assistTurning circle: 11.4mWheels: 17-inch alloy, 245/45R17 tyres; space-saver spareLength: 4625mmWidth: 1854mmHeight: 1372mmWheelbase: 2751mmWeight: 1495kgTowing (max): 1800kgWarranty: 3yr/unlimited km, roadside assistService: 15,000km What we like: Style, economy, performance, qualityWhat we dislike: Expensive, space-saver tyre 

It is believed the new diesel engine is based on Audi's single-turbo 3.0-litre V6, enhanced by Porsche for 225kW with an increase to 3.2 litres and two turbochargers.Porsche Cars Australia boss Michael Winkler says the company will look at all options to meet demand for diesels.“When we introduced the Cayenne, the global SUV market was 95 per cent petrol,” he says. “Three years later, in 2007, 80 per cent were six cylinder. Now, 80 per cent of the luxury SUV market are diesel. We would be stupid not to at least look at it.”Winkler acknowledges a changing world.“I was adamant there would never be a six-cylinder Cayenne. Now there is,” he says. “We are in the process of buying a company that makes some of the best diesels in the world.”Meanwhile, flagging sales mean Porsche's delicate Boxster urgently awaits its much-needed 2009 makeover.Clues to the new model, which receives marginal body panel changes, centre on the transfer of technology from the existing 911 series.These changes are expected to include LED lights at nose and tail, aerodynamic aids, new ducting for engine cooling and optional cornering and xenon lighting.“Sales are starting to slide as the car is in run-out mode,” Winkler says.There is no shortage of potential custom so the appeal in the new model will lie in extracting more performance and reducing fuel consumption and emissions.The Boxster is expected to pick up technology just released in the 911. This lightweight, more compact and responsive engine adds direct-petrol injection to maximise power and minimise fuel use.The Boxster may get a bigger capacity — 3.0-litres — for the entry model and 3.6-litres, up from 3.4, for the Boxster S. 

The sheep, hidden from view by the crest, looks up from the road at the same time the Porsche driver has a clear view of the animal from over the road's brow. Both freak out.The sheep goes one way and then back again, like Dancing With The Stars NZ-style, to the horror of the driver who's now trying to crush the brake pedal into the firewall. The only one unfussed by all this is the Porsche.In a millisecond it drops from sixth to second and, urged by the crushing weight of the driver's right foot, enables ABS, brake assist, electronic stability control and traction control.The subsequent — and alarmingly rapid — deceleration of the Porsche is matched by the sudden acceleration of the sheep out of the danger zone. Here are some of the tools provided by quality carmakers to avoid accidents and save a life or two.The PDK — it's a German acronym meaning dual-clutch transmission similar to theVW/Audi DSG — has the ability to intuitively and rapidly react to driver demands.Porsche has been working on dual-clutch transmissions since the late 1970s, though it aimed to benefit its racing campaigns and was of little interest to street cars.In the early to mid-1980s, PDK-equipped Porsche racers won on the track and the technology was then enhanced, civilised and harmonised with the 911 chassis and engine. This year, it finally sees the showroom.The seven-cog (but six gears in Sport mode) PDK replaces the Tiptronic gearbox and is an option on the 911 range at a $6600 premium to the delightful six-speed manual box.PDK's electronic monitoring means it's immediately compatible with a host of other electronic gizmos so can be made to interact with suspension, brakes, stability aids and most importantly, the engine. Brilliant.So good that it can save a sheep's life.All the eye-blink gear changes used to avoid lamb french cuts have more appealing use on the Symmons Plain race track near Launceston.The driver can attack a corner in sixth gear, stab the accelerator and the PDK snaps into second gear just in time for a power-out corner.The new transmission can be left in D for Drive or punctuated by flicks of the gear lever or steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.Or, save the $6600 and experience one of the finest gear changes of any rear-engined car.Porsche's latest 10-model 998-series of the perennial 911 — it's now 45 years old — starts at $210,300 for the manual.There are bigger messages all over the latest car. The engine, for example, is a new generation that, from next year, filters into the Boxster and GT2/GT3 models.It shares no components with its predecessor, has 40 per cent fewer parts, lighter and more compact casings, an on-demand oil pump,a semi-dry oil sump to reduce drag and low-friction materials. It weighs 6kg less, has extraordinarily high 12.5:1 compression ratio and uses direct-petrol injection.The result is more power and torque, faster acceleration, less fuel consumption and emissions that better the stringent Euro-5and US LEV-2 levels.It also has 30,000km service intervals to save up to 7 per cent in ownership costs — except in Australia. Apparently our low-grade, high-sulphur premium fuel affects sump oil quality so 15,000km service intervals are specified here.This all skips over the fact this is the most sensational 911 to pilot.Porsche test driver and ambassador Walter Rohrl recently cracked an amazing 7min 56sec lap of the Nurburgring. It's not the production-car lap record (7min 29sec for the NissanGT-R), but it's damn quick for a showroom-fresh 3.8-litre Carrera S with PDK and optional Porsche adjustable suspension.The 3.6-litre 254kW Carrera with PDK leaps to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds, averages 9.8 litres per 100km and has a modest 230g/km of CO2 emissions. In comparison, the 3.8-litre 283kW Carrera S accelerates in 4.5 seconds, drinks10.2 litres per 1000km and has 240g/km.Acceleration feels more impressive than the numbers. The 911 sits low and despite wide wheel arches, the cabin is intimate with simple, glaringly efficient instruments and switchgear. The touch screen is a bonus to people in a rush.Optional Sport Plus accentuates engine and gear shift reaction. Where the standard 911 is as keen as a butcher's knife, the option hones it to razor sharpness. Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) changes the action of the shock absorbers and has “normal” or “sport” modes activated by a dash button.But it's not intended for all circumstances. The 911s tend to display their displeasure at rutted bitumen by adopting a tip-toe dance motion. This happens at anything from80km/h to well above posted speed limits. Itcan be unnerving. Best not to grip the steering wheel but let the car find its preferred path and turn off the PASM, Sport or Sport Plus buttons. Back on smoother bitumen, these buttons engage to flatten the ride, firm the nose and tail through the sharpest corners and add razor-sharp gearbox and engine systems.The steering is delightfully well balancedand weighted, positive enough to get the nose precisely where you want even though the bonnet is invisible to the driver.Ride comfort even rates highly — except for gnarly roads when PASM Sport is engaged — making this one of the very few Euro sports cars that combine a weekend thrashing on the track with a Monday morning crawl in traffic.The same applies to the all-wheel-drive 911, the Carrera 4, though this comes with much higher levels of grip and bigger driver grins.The new drive system — from viscous coupling to an electronically controlled multi-clutch — is more positive and adaptable. Up to 100 per cent of power can go to the front wheels. One corner tells you it's a lot better.AWD gives bite, of course, but what really sharpens the teeth is the mechanical limited slip differential that has a 22 per cent lock under traction and 27 per cent in over-run.Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S Cabriolet are at either end of the AWD price list, costing $226,500 and $274,600 respectively as manuals and an extra $6600 for the PDK option.Porsche Cars Australia managing director Michael Winkler is holding three months worth of orders for the new 911. Of those, 80 per cent are for the PDK version.“Tiptronic now accounts for 50 per cent,” he says. “I expect PDK volume to settle to about 65 per cent. The Carrera 4 will do better as there's a tangible benefit in the drive system.”

This is good news. Except for the fact that it's not news. Or true.But it's just the bait needed to attract green-tinted car buyers who will “lean to green” to pacify their guilt-ridden materialistic heart.More manufacturers are making big news out of PR machines because it these engines that can swing buyers into their showrooms.A successful PR machine prides itself on successfully conning journalists into relaying precisely what they want to the public. The journalist sees it as an easy story and the reader sees it as a true story complete with an independent, unbiased writer's name on the top.It appears to be happiness all around. Pigknocker Motors does so well out of the publicity that it starts to advertise in the same newspaper. A win-win-win.But what about the reader? The chum who rushes out and with half a bank vault under his arm and 10 years to repay, plunges $45,000 on a Pigknocker de Luxe with seat warmers?He believed the win-win-win of the manufacturer, the PR outfit and the newspaper advertising department. He was thinking win-win-win-win with his ownership of the de Luxe being the fourth big win.Sadly it wasn't to be. Pigknocker had invested so much in PR that it didn't have a lot left over for after-sales support. To save on staff outgoings, the Customer Service woman with the nice voice was also the car detailer and wasn't there to answer the phone when the complaints started rolling in.And all the greenery that was promised came at a cost. No-one told our chum that the de Luxe only used premium unleaded, needed servicing every 5000km, had superb wet-weather tyres for grip but wore to the canvas in only 10,000km, had back-up batteries that needed annual changes and that the much-lauded fuel economy was achieved in a vacuum-sealed laboratory in Finland with 125/75R16 tyres and with the mirrors, bumpers, door handles, wipers and grille removed while the engine ran artificially without alternator, water pump, aircond compressor, oil pump, power-steering pump and half its required sump oil.Our chum, after a year of ownership, feels decidedly ripped off - a fact enforced by his self-opinionated neighbour with the Corolla who barely has to wash his car - but still believes he has done his bit to save the planet.But, of course, none of this is true. No company would release a car on the market that promises the earth and delivers nothing but a breath of warm oxygen.They wouldn't get away with it because car buyers today are savvy, right on the money and clicked into the new wave of technology.No-one, especially the young who know everything and the mature who used to remember, could get fooled by any PR machine dishing up twisted facts. Could they? 

Some, like the latest Rinspeed Squba, are brilliant examples of fearless technology and design. Others, like the trans-Atlantic jeep “Half-Safe”, uphold the extreme daring of man. Then there are amphibians engineered purely to overcome any obstacle — vehicles such as Ferdinand Porsche's Volkswagen Schwimmwagen lived a brief life in World War II. So harsh was the environment of war that, of the 15,000 built in two years, only about 125 survive. Its war-time lifespan was only six weeks. This example was recently spotted in a shed on the property of farmer and Maserati collector Umberto Panini, near Modena in Italy. It was tucked away along with other rare — and now extremely valuable — wartime vehicles, not far from a more glamorous museum housing the Maseratis. The Schwimmwagen, known during the war as Type 166, was an all-wheel-drive amphibian built on a shortened platform that was later used for the first production VW Beetle of 1948. It was the third amphibious vehicle design presented by Porsche in answer to the German army's call for a vehicle that could traverse mud, snow, sand and water. Volkswagen built 30 original Type 128s in 1941. The boat-shaped body was approved by the German army, but needed further development, leading to the Type 138, of which 100 were built. But Porsche was unhappy with the stability and size of these two, and so offered a shorter and narrower Type166 in late 1941. The 166 entered full-scale production at Volkswagen's factory in Wolfsburg, using parts from other VW military vehicles, notably the canvas-roofed four-seater Kubelwagen. Like the later Kubelwagen, the Schwimmwagen had the “bigger” 18.6kW 1131cc (previous models had a 985cc unit), four-cylinder, air-cooled engine. It had part-time 4WD, a crawler gear for low-speed work, four non-synchromesh forward gears and changeable gears in the rear wheels' reduction hubs. Its central oiling system was a simple one-press device activated by the driver after a water dip. In the water, the engine drove a three-blade propeller. This was hinged down by a long rod to engage a claw drive at the back of the engine. Steering was by the front wheels. Production of the Schwimmwagen stopped in 1944 because of the very high man-hours needed to build the craft and the high cost of materials. While it had an average lifespan of six weeks in action, which quickly depleted supply, those that survived were used after the war by civil services of the countries that found the vehicles. The Panini version is a complete example, including the tripod for guns, two wooden oars (for quiet mobility on water), the simple canvas seats, rare 16-inch tyres and the sand-coloured paintwork. More at www.vw166.com   Snapshot VW Schwimmwagen origin: 15,125 built in Germany in1942-44; 125 survive engine: 1.1L/4-cyl, 18.6kW top speed: 80km/h land, 10km/h water economy: 8.5L/100km transmission: 4-speed manual, non-synchromesh  

It's hard for me to believe this is real. The scenery, the language, the weather, the open raceway and especially the car. Down the straight, where the bitumen opens from a winding trail to stretch its width and give the driver some respite from intense concentration, I can glimpse the mountains. But only briefly. Every upchange in the Maserati GranTurismo also signals time for the engine to briefly draw breath, but only to pick up the next gear and pull harder towards the horizon. The end of the straight quickly comes into sight. Time for one more jab with the right fingers. Fifth. The corner is coming up fast on the left. Pull quickly on the broad, cold metal paddle on the left-side of the steering wheel and push the right foot deep within the illusionary depth of the brake pedal. Fourth gear comes up — I know that by the illuminated “4” between the gauges. The compression braking of the 4.7-litre V8 engine produces explosive barks from the exhaust. The noise, the assault of the senses as the car moves with the flow of the track and the location in northern Italy beside a wide, stone-bottomed river, are almost surreal. This is the privately owned track at Varano, 25km outside Parma, in mid-summer with the hills still bright green from the long winter. Last year, 15 Australian owners of new Maseratis travelled to Varano to do what I did: get up close and personal with one of Italy's icons. They weren't alone. Varano may be privately owned, but it is well known to the Fiat Group — Maserati, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Fiat — for testing each new model. More importantly, it is also known for customer driver training. Maserati alone sold 8000 vehicles last year and a portion of those owners, from California to Russia to China and New Zealand, came to learn to drive at the Parma track. At $5500 a person for the two-day course, it isn't cheap. Andrea Piccini heads the driving instructors. Despite his youth, he has raced at Le Mans and was an F1 test driver for Minardi. The other instructors have a similar background and have no trouble sitting beside the amateurs to involve themselves — occasionally loudly — in your driving. Later, when the computers in the pits plug into the car and extract electronic bytes that have been created from your three laps, there is another, more brutal assessment. “Neil, look here. What is this?” asks touring car racer Sandro Montani. I have no answer for something that, to me, is little more than diverging lines (blue of the ideal graph line of the instructor) and me (the more wriggled line in red ink) on a computer screen. “You are in understeer. Look! You have come into this corner at 69km/h and here, you see, the instructor is at 62km/h. So the car is going too fast to make it turn correctly and you have lost a lot of time.” I feel like a naughty schoolboy. I thought I did pretty well. “Now, go out and take it more slowly,” Sandro smiles. So I go out and slide into another Maserati, this time the luxury Quattroporte. I pull the automatic gearbox's trident-emblazoned gear lever back into its sequential mode, pull the right paddle back to ensure first gear, release the handbrake and, with the track clear, send myself out like a pardoned criminal on to a better path.  

His name is Umberto Panini and there is little hint to his personal treasure trove in the minimalistic driveway and simple builds at his dairy farm, 'Hombre', on the outskirts of Modena. Even the barn doors give no hint of the rich vein of motoring history they guard. Yet Panini has the world's biggest private collection of Maseratis in a line-up that represents a unique slideshow of an amazing company that has been through seven owners and endured the depths of bankruptcy and the highs of world championship racing. Panini, now 78, became very rich in the sticker business. Exceptionally popular since the 1960s, the stickers and cards depicting anything from football players to cartoon characters were dispensed from Panini's coin-operated machines around Italy and later, other European countries. Panini sold out in 1988 and built up his Modena farm. But in 1997 Modena's pride, Maserati, was sold to Fiat by its owners, de Tomaso, and the company's historic car collection was put up for auction in London. The outcry from Italy was so strong that it awoke private support, resulting in Panini's purchase of 22 Maserati cars. They went into his barn, adding to dozens of other cars, military vehicles, stationary racing engines, tractors and his passion, motorcycles. He even owns two immaculate Maserati motorbikes. The bulk of the collection is arranged on either side of the barn — Maseratis to the left, others to the right — with selected models in the centre. Upstairs are motorcycles and clay bucks of prospective cars. The early models attract the most attention, starting with the beautiful Maserati A6 GCS Berlinetta that was designed by Pininfarina and valued recently at about $8 million. Its grille has been copied for the latest Maserati Quattroporte. The car was the first and last Pinin-styled Maserati for more than 50 years because Ferrari held exclusive rights to the designer. The collection really starts with a 1936 6CM single-seat racer that has been perfectly restored. At centre is a Tipo 250F, the V12 version of the iconic racing Maserati that sped Juan Manuel Fangio to grand prix victory in 1954. Behind is the Stirling Moss Eldorado' 420M and then a mid-engined Tipo 63 and a Tipo 61 'Birdcage'. The Tipo 63 got the birdcage name because of 36kg space frame chassis is made of 200 steel tubes which resemble the bars of a bird cage. More modern cars include Mistrals and Boras, Ghiblis and Meraks, with rarities such as the Shah of Persia's 1958 5000GT by Touring, one of only four built and based on the 3500GT. There is a 6CM racer from 1936, a prototype Simun of 1964, a prototype Chubasco V8, a one-off turbocharged Merak and one of only 52 Quattroporte III Royale models made, this 1986 example with a fridge, air-conditioning and telephone. Panini is more impressed by his motorcycle collection — including a DKW Wankel-engined bike and a T4 250cc Maserati — but, when pressed, says he favours his 1909 Rolland-Pilan Model C which he found in terrible condition under a hedge in Bologna. It was restored over five years in time to be the carriage for the wedding of his daughter and now sits alongside a De Dion Bouton opposite the line of Maseratis. Anyone can visit the museum, but by appointment. The first step is to email hombre@hombre.it