Articles by Paul Gover

...cut over the current model through the use of aluminium and lightweight steels.Quality is also up in the cabin and the basic look shows the family link to the face-lifted A5 and the all-new A6.

...is fully revealed at Frankfurt come the latest pictures of its coming sidekick, a totally reworked A-Class.The upright and boxy A is buried in favour of a smooth looking five-door hatch that’s part of an all-new range of compacts that will eventually wear the three-pointed star on a coupe, roadster and mini MPV.

...the Santa Fe gets a total SUV makeover.It is caught by Carparazzi during testing in the US in the hot-weather zone - near Santa Fe, as it happens.

Those 13 seconds are the difference in lap time around the Nurburgring between the upcoming 991-series 911 and the car about to head into the history books. The upcoming Porsche Carrera S with a PDK gearbox and sports suspension has lapped the famed German course in seven minutes 40 seconds, already at the same pace as the GT3 and Turbo from the outgoing 997 series. The 911 program director, August Achleitner, says the stopwatch provides the proof of the improvements in only the third all-new 911 design since the car was created in 1963. The car gets everything from a 10-centimetre longer wheelbase to seven- speed manual and PDK double-clutch gearboxes, electrically-assisted power steering, more-powerful engine and a slippery new body with a drag co-efficient of just 0.29. But he focusses on two major changes for the car that will reach Australia early in 2012, one that is down to major noise-supression work and the other that comes from the optional active rollbar system in the 991. "First, it's the wide range in comfort and the operating range of the car," says Achleitner. "Then, one button and this car changes so dramatically from a modern comfortable car to almost a racing car." He says Porsche focussed heavily on weight reduction for the new 911, achieving a 35-48 kilogram cut despite a stiffer bodyshell and extra equipment that adds around 80 kilograms. One key was comparing Porsche parts to the lightweight motorcycle components used by Ducati. "We laid out all the parts and discussed them. We even compared them to motorcycle parts to see why they are so light and we are so heavy,"  Achleitner says.

A worldwide push to put the E-Type back on the road is triggering a re-think at Jaguar. People power is forcing a fresh look at the name that will be used when - not if - the British brand's C-X16 sports car concept is put into full-scale production.Brand bosses at the British company originally rejected any notion of re-using the name from the sixties original for its Frankfurt motor show star but now admit they had not expected such a strong positive reaction to the C-X16 and its connection to the E-Type."I was admantly against E-Type. I'm now having second thoughts," says Adrian Hallmark, global brand director for Jaguar Cars. "We actually don't want to risk it. But we're being told 'Why don't you call it E-Type?', and it's fantastic."Just as people power forced Holden to renew the Monaro nameplate after originally rejecting it in favour of Commodore Coupe at the Sydney Motor Show in 1998, Jaguar admits it might be forced to bow to public pressure."Should I go against public opinion and not call it the E-Type?," asks Hallmark. "To suddenly bring it back out with a hackneyed old name because we couldn't think of anything else would just be seen as cynical. We'll find a great name for it."But the man who designed the C-X16, lifetime Jaguar man Ian Callum, is not in favour. "Personally, I wouldn't like to call it an E-Tpe. The E-Type is so iconic," Callum says.Hallmark says the name is only a minor consideration as Jaguar builds a workable business case for the C-X16, which could be in full-scale production in less than two years. The Frankfurt show car already satisfies almost all legislative and crash requirements, apart from undersized door mirrors. "From my perspective, the most important thing for this car is getting the positioning right and getting it clearly understood in the marketplace," he says. "Whatever we call it, if we get the rest of the formula right the name will not make a material difference to the performance of the car in the marketplace."Still, Jaguar admits it has already rejected both C-X16 and XE - which would fit with its current XF, XJ and XK range - for the car. And that leaves the way clear for  a return of the E-Type badge. "We're not saying it, but everyone is saying it is the spiritual successor. We're open to persuasion," says Hallmark.TELL US - AND JAGUAR - WHAT YOU THINK. Should the C-X16 be called E-Type?

The Euro Civic streams in with a black front fascia, setting off sharply-angled headlights and strong molding around the lower fascia. We’re not so sure about the pondslime green that Honda has used as its hero colour for the car in the first images. But it’s a testament to the standard of design that the car can look this good in that bilious colour. According to the press statement, the body sculpting was intended to “keep the sporty and advanced elements of the car's character but … communicate the new model's more dynamic feel. Sources of inspiration included a 'blended wing body' aeroplane in which the fuselage and wings blend into a single body for superior aerodynamic performance.” That aerodynamic effort has been to target lower fuel economy and emissions – an area that is tightening quickly in Europe with accelerating regulation. The new Civic will be offered as a five-door hatchback and will go on sale in the UK next year. The bold new hatch will sit alongside the conservative sedan when Honda totally renews its Civic line-up in Australia. The five-door Civic is unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show with the promise of improved cabin quality and better driving dynamics, a move that could work well for a car that will sit in showrooms beside the US-focussed sedan revealed earlier this year at the New York motor show. Honda ran a two-month teaser campaign before finally showing the Civic on the opening day in Frankfurt. The end result is a car with more promise and more punch, although it will be impossible to really rate the British-built hatch until it lands in Australia. It is already confirmed in a strategy which will combine the British hatch with the sedan that is now built in Thailand.

It's a concept car that breaks the mold for the off-road icon, as well as the name of the signature yellow paintwork - called Nervous Buzz - on the DC100 Sport.

There have been a range of NSX rumours and plans in recent years but now the go-ahead message is coming from the very top. Honda president and CEO Takanobu Ito, speaking the night before the Frankfurt motor show, confirms a firm project for a new supercar from the Japanese brand. “I spent part of my early career at Honda developing the NSX. I really enjoyed that experience, and learned much, so it is my wish that Honda engineers have  the experience of developing a sports car like the NSX in future," Ito says "Within Honda, our engineers are already looking at developing such a car.” There is no timing yet, but Ito says he worked on the original NSX and hopes to have a 21st century car in showrooms with the focus on efficiency and lightweight construction. “Our recent efforts have been focused on fuel efficiency, and that perhaps gives the impression Honda is behind with pushing the brand image of sportiness, but let me assure you that is not the case,” says Ito. “We will address that impression with our new generations of cars.” Ironically, the latest update of the Civic shows Honda is worried about holding the showroom pricetag in the USA, although that could change when the five-door hatch is unveiled in Frankfurt. But Ito seems to be a man with a plan. “You can’t depend on a high power output to call a car sporty anymore,” he said. “The original NSX was  about high power but also good driving performance, and today power-to-weight is what we have to focus on. The NSX was known for its aluminium body, so when we develop our new sports car we don’t want to copy Ferrari for power, but to also chase efficiency as well.”

The queue starts here and now. The Jaguar E-Type is back in the form of the Jaguar C-X16and comes with the promise of a showroom sticker that will undercut the Porsche 911, as well as performance to top an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Officially it's just a concept car, but the C-X16 revealed last night in Germany is much more than just a piece of motor show frippery. It as real as any car that is destined for production and even more tasty than it looks in pictures and video. Best of all, it finally delivers on every promise made by Jaguar Cars since the company escaped from Ford. The XF has provided the heart  - and the cash - but the new sports car is the soul. "This is Jaguar at its purest. It is emotional and exciting," says Ian Callum, the design chief at Jaguar. "This is a Jaguar. But re-interpreted in a very modern way." Callum has done some very good cars in the past, from the original Volvo C70 to the Aston Martin DB7, but this rates among his very best work. He knew when he started that the C-X16 had to be better than good, and a landmark car for a company with a sports car history that stretches back to the SS and includes the C-Type, D-Type and XK series. He also knew that it was never going to stop as a show car. Jaguar executives are still denying a serious production plan, but they're as convincing as a dentist who says "This won't hurt a bit". Two years is a good guess at the showroom timing for the car, and even Jaguar's brand director Adrian Hallmark says the target price in Europe is equivalent to about $80,000-$105,000. However before you start saving, remember that's without the usual Aussie taxes and tariffs being applied, so expect to pay a lot more than that -- and possibly even closer to $200,000. He also says the car will crack 100km/h in less than four seconds, has a top speed held back to 300km/h, uses race-style 'push to pass' technology and will match the emissions of a hot hatch at around 165grams/kilometre. "We knew we couldn't go on much longer without a true sports car at the heart of our range," says Hallmark, speaking at the Jaguar press preview the night before the opening of the Frankfurt show. "This concept takes the Jaguar sporting mantra and makes it thoroughly new. This is our vision."

The Holden hero known as Peter Perfect is being commemorated in a new hero colour for the company's top selling Commodore. Perfect Blue is a fresh take on a colour used by Brock in the 1980s when his HDT Special Vehicles operation was at the peak of its powers and he was still a regular winner at Mount Panorama. It was sprayed on the HDT SS Commodore in 1984 and has been reworked for 2011 with metallic highlights as part of a limited-run colour program that began with a bright gold called Tiger. "We've been doing hero colours, particularly on sports models, for a number of years. They're obviously attractive to customers that want something different, something a bit more extroverted," Holden's colour expert Sharon Gauci says. "We designed Perfect Blue around Peter Brock's colour. We went back to the archives and this was perfect." Brock was killed on September 8, 2006 when he lost control of his car during a road rally nearly Perth in Western Australia. But the Holden salute is not the only tribute as HDT Special Vehicles, a Queensland company owned by one of Brock's close friends, Peter Champion, also announced yesterday that it is building a VE Commodore with a 'plus pack' inspired by Brock's work in the 1980s. HDT is already building small numbers of current-model Commodores tweaked with retro styling that recalls Brock's work on the VC and VH Commodores, and now there is a hint that it will even include a born- again Energy Polariser as part of the upgrade.