Articles by Paul Gover

PEOPLE who say you cannot teach an old dog new tricks have not spent any time with the Ferrari 458 Italia. It's a car that absolutely forces you to think again. And again.The latest Ferrari frontrunner is a supercar with a capital S, yet also refined and luxurious and easy - yes, easy - to drive. It's so easy and so good that it has changed this old dog from a Porsche lover into a major-league Ferrari fan.You know the question about cars for lottery wins? Well, until this week my answer was always the same - the fastest Porsche in the business, probably a 911 GT2 RS. Not now.The only real challenger to the 458, if there is one, is the all-new McLaren MP4-12C that's coming to Australia later this year.VALUEWhat can you say about a car that costs a minimum - yes, minimum - of $526,950 and competes for attention with big boy toys like boats and holiday houses and not much else unless you're talking about helicopters and private planes? The 458 Italia is massively costly, even in the rare air at the top end of the sports car business.There are other go-fast two-seaters that cost more, including the ridiculously expensive Bugatti Veyron that cannot come to Australia - no right-side steering despite a $1.2 million showroom sticker - but few that deliver the same sort of bang- for-your-buck return. The Ferrari is genuinely hand built at Maranello in Italy using huge lashing s of the most exotic and costly materials, dominated by aluminium and carbon fibre, and the Australian specification includes carbon-ceramic brakes and even an SUV-style rear-view camera.The final finishing also means choices in everything from seat sizes to leather treatments and all the rest. The 458 is stupidly costly compared to a Hyundai i20 that can also deliver you to the shops and work without fuss or trouble, or even a jet-quick, track-focussed Nissan GT-R. But when I hear that 458 customers typically spend $180,000 on extras, any value discussion evaporates. With this car, if you can then you do.TECHNOLOGYLots of rubbish is sprouted about F1 technology in road cars, but the 458 has heaps. There are active aero parts that change shape at speed, a V8 engine with 419 kiloWatts and 540 Newton-metres of torque from just 4.5 litres, an F1-style seven-speed paddle-shift gearbox, a competition- focussed differential and magnetically-adjusted race-style suspensi on. Even the steering wheel is high-tech - and the home for the wiper and turn-signal switches - with F1-style lights to signal the need for an upchange.DESIGNThe 458 is gorgeous. Simple as that. The Pininfarina design house has created a shape that is both elegant and effective, and the cabin is both driver-focussed and luxurious. Older Ferraris were awful inside and required all sorts of contortions to drive, while some of the recent efforts - the Enzo and even the new FF - challenged conventional ideas on beauty. Not the 458. It's both a looker and a worker.SAFETYHow do you really know when even the cashed-up Euro NCAP organisation cannot buy a 458 for its independent crash testing? Not that Ferrari would sell a car to have it destroyed ... On the crash-avoidance scale it rates incredibly highly, thanks to great brakes, superb steering and massive cornering grip, and what other driver is going to want to get tangled in the drama, paperwork and insurance claims of a crash?DRIVINGI don't drive the Ferrari all that far, or all that fast, but it's not necessary. In less than six hours on familiar roads in and around Sydney the 458 wins me over completely. The first 500 metres proves the Italians have tamed the beast inside the 458 but left it on a short leash for the times .. well, you know.It will trickle happily in traffic, has surprisingly supple suspension - at least, using the 'bumpy road' setting that's totally appropriate for these patchy and potholed streets - and is equipped with comfy seats, great aircon and a wonderful soundtrack from its blaring exhaust.I lash out a couple of times to sample the claimed 3.4-second sprint to 100km/h, but not the 325km/h - that's 202 miles-an-hour - top speed, and also hussle through some corners and give the brakes a bit of a punish. But the 458 is never remotely troubled and switches straight back from F1 fast to Hyundai humble in a flash.I admit there are some moments in the Harbour Tunnel, with the cruise control locked below the legal limit, that I tickle the seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox just to hear the wonderful music the car makes. I am also absorbed by the luxury, enjoy the technology and feel of the wheel, and feel flat-out scared as I edge through a two-small parking garage.There is no sign of the 'small man' signals I expect, but perhaps that's because the car is yellow and not look-at-me Ferrari red. The 458 reminds me so much of my best mate, Mark. He's one of those blokes who is wonderfully mannered, relaxed, refined, smart and great company, but quite capable of making the difference - in your favour - if things really turn nasty. In the Italia you can be cruising happily at 60km/h in stop-start traffic knowing - hoping?- that if the road ahead unravelled into a grand prix track the car would be just as good. No, it would be far, far, far better and better than even the most talented non-race drivers. The 458 is a car you can love. And I do.VERDICTAn utterly brilliant drive and a landmark car. The only reason it doesn't get a perfect score - yet - is its price and an upcoming run in a McLaren MP4-12C. Then we'll know ...FERRARI 458 ITALIAPrice: from $526,950Safety: Not tested by NCAPEngine: 4.5-litre, V8 petrol, 419kW/540NmBody: two-door coupeWeight: 1485kgTransmission: seven-speed dual-clutch manual, rear-wheel driveThirst: 13.3L/100km, CO2 307g/km"Would you? Of course you would."

It's the people-powered change from cars to SUVs at BMW. The German brand re-wrote its rules, and changed the game for other prestige brands up to and including Porsche, when it introduced the X5 and now - with four X models in the range and more to come - it's forecasting a switch to SUV power in the not-too-distant future. "I could see a time when SUVs account for 50 per cent of BMW sales. But we're talking a five-year horizon," admits the new managing director of BMW Group Australia, Phil Horton. He says runaway demand for the X5 and the latest X3, as well as the success of the controversial X6 coupe, is driving extra development in the SUV class. "We've got a couple of things in the winds that we're not talking about. For BMW, in the far pipeline, there is more," he says. He refuses to confirm anything smaller than today's X1, although there is solid speculation in Europe that SUVs will be developed in the 1 Series family and also in BMW's electric-powered i range. "There is no identified X model that will sit below X1 in the next five years," says, neatly sidestepping the question by putting a tight timeframe on the move. Horton also denies that the X-power change at BMW is diluting the company's key selling point, its driver-focussed enjoyment. "The X5 is the perfect encapsulation of the Ultimate Driving Machine. We're building them to be the best driving machines in the class," he says. While BMW is developing more on the X front, the company is also considering a name change for its coupes and convertibles. Instead of staying with the 1-3-5-7 series it has used in the past, Horton admits there could be future models that use the even numbers pioneered on the Z4 roadster. "The company is actively considering a nomenclature change,"he says. "It's all to do with the Chinese. They like the number four, apparently. "There are not a lot of numbers left for the proliferation of models that are likely to appear. There is active consideration of using the even numbers that we currently use. That would be two and four."

This says as much about the man as anything he achieved on the racetrack. Senna's motorsport achievements were massive, from a record number of pole positions to three world titles, but his life had a far greater impact than just a big string of victories at the top of world motorsport. He changed the way many people looked at Formula One through his intelligence, skill, commitment and humility - and, it must be said, his poisonous rivalry with Alain Prost during their time together in the McLaren team. Now a new generation is about to learn about Senna, and older fans will get a refresher, through a documentary movie about the great man. 'Senna' is a remarkable film about a remarkable man and is already winning awards and giant kudos around the world for the crew who put it together. It's not a second-rate piece of Hollywood smaltz - like too many other motorsport movies - but a moving tribute put together with fantastic footage including behind-the-scenes F1 stuff and home movies provided by the Senna family. There is no voice-over and most of the story is told in Senna's own - sometimes funny, sometimes profane, sometimes worrying - words. It's a documentary with pace and a message, although anyone who knows the Senna story knows it cannot finish well. The story still ends the same way, with Senna's death while leading the San Marino Grand Prix in Italy in 1994, but that does not detract at all from the story and the message. There will be tears in theatres, but the movie is also a celebration and that's what won so much support from the Senna family and grand prix ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone. What emerges is a tribute to the life of a genuinely inspiring man who crammed a lot into too few years, dominating in Formula One - not always in a nice way - but also doing all he could for the people of his home country. Senna the movie is a must this year and opens nationally on July 11.

Big wheels and enlarged air intakes in the nose point to a go-faster version of the Audi A7 Sportback. The German coupe has been doing well around the world and Audi is nearly ready with the S7 to sit above the regular A7 and below the V10-powered RS7. Carparazzi is speculating on either a supercharged 3.0-litre V6 or a 4.2-litre V8 for the S7.

When Opel opens in Australia next year, on its own and not as part of the GM Holden family, it will need some impact cars to draw customers.The Astra is a long-term favourite and there will be several models, most likely including the CC shown here in Carparazzi scoop pictures.The new Cabrio is undergoing its first tests in Germany and is set for summer 2012 in Europe, so could easily be coming to Australia sometime late next year or early in 2013.

The classy Passat CC is planned for a mid-life update on the Volkswagen stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.The key change is the new family look at the nose, and this Carparazzi pictures points to new wheels, re-shaped lights and an updated interior as well.

... when the Australian International Motor Show opens in Melbourne on July 1. At least four plug-in battery cars will be at the show, with Mitsubishi headlining its baby $49,000 iMiEV again, Nissan going public in Australia with its Leaf, and Renault racing to airfreight its new Fluence Z.E. from France for its first public appearance since a down under sales confirmation. But it's Volvo which is adding the impact - literally - with its C30 Electric. The car for the show is the survivor of the first public crash test involving a production-ready battery-powered car. It was hit with a 40-per cent offset-frontal impact at 64km/h, one of the toughest crashes anywhere in the world, to highlight the work done by Volvo to protect its safety-first reputation as the world moves towards electric cars. Volvo says there was no deformation of the battery pack, no severing of crucial cables and computers, and no leakage of battery fluids during or after the impact. "Our tests show it is vital to separate the batteries from the electric car's crumple zones to make it as safe as a conventional car," says the president of Volvo Cars, Stefan Jacoby. The results of the crash test were no surprise at Volvo, which has already moved on from the single-frontal test with development of its C30 Electric. "The test produced exactly the results we expected. The C30 Electric offers the very same high safety level as a C30 with a combustion engine. The front deformed and distributed the crash energy as we expected. Both the batteries and the cables that are part of the electric system remained entirely intact after the collision," says Jan Ivarsson, senior safety manager at Volvo in Sweden. While the crash-survivor C30 Electric stars for Volvo at the show, the company also has its V60 plug-in hybrid for display and is also previewing a new go-faster car to put some variety into its display. The newcomer is the S60 T6 R Design, which is coming to Australian showrooms in limited numbers from August. Volvo Australia is still finalising details, including the price, but promises a car that's been tweaked by its Polestar motorsport partner to produce 242 kiloWatts and 470 Newton-metres of torque, enough to slash the sedan's sprint to 100km/h to around 5.8 seconds. It also has unique wheels, some new trim pieces, and a high-performance Heico exhaust.

... that already includes Mitsubishi, Nissan, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Renault is taking a shortcut by converting its four-door Fluence sedan, already on sale in Australia with a petrol engine, to electric power and expects to add extra models as they become available from France. But there is a big twist - Fluence Z.E. buyers will only pay Renault for the car and will then sign a contract with the Better Place organisation for their battery and energy supplies. Renault promises the car will cost much the same as a petrol version of the Fluence, which would mean less than $30,000, but no-one is talking yet about the other costs or the exact rollout of the charging points and battery-swap locations that Better Place said will eliminate the 'range anxiety' that hangs over the future of electric cars. "Our vision is clear. The overall cost of ownership must be equivalent to an internal-combustion car," said Justin Hocevar, managing director of Renault Australia. "Sales of the Fluence Z.E. will begin before the end of 2012." The Renault move comes less than a week after Mitsubishi set the price of its very basic iMiEV plug-in car at $48,800 and following the commitment by its global Nissan-Renault alliance partner, Nissan of Japan, to a dedicated electric car called the Leaf. The Nissan, too, is expected in Australian showrooms next year. Renault and Better Place are short on any real detail beyond the basics of the Fluence E.V. and a commitment to a national rollout of charging infrastructure that will start soon in Canberra. "I'm very confident that the vast majority of electric car drivers will be able to drive wherever they want and whenever they want," says Evan Thornley of Better Place. He said that long-term supply deals for renewable energy, starting in Canberra, mean that electric car drivers will have more certainty on their long-term running costs than drivers of petrol-powered cars that face the uncertainties of oil company pricing.

That's when a tougher new emissions standard, known as Euro 5, comes into effect. The first Euro 5-compliant cars are already in showrooms but the Federal government has now confirmed a seven-year phase-in program for all vehicles - cars, utes and four-wheel drives including those built in Australia - from November 2013. It is claimed the cleaner generation of upcoming vehicles will provide a big bonus with only minimal impact on showroom stickers, while saving more than $1.5 billion on health spending for smog-related illness over the next 20 years. "The savings in terms of our environment, the health of our kids, is much greater than that minimal increase in cost," says the Minister for Transport, Anthony Albanese. He also believes there will be no impact on the local makers, who are all facing major model updates soon - including a four-cylinder engine for the Ford Falcon - with extra investment required between 2015 and 2020 for future model extensions. Euro 5 gets its name because it is part of an ongoing series of emissions standards developed for the European Union since 1993. Euro 6 is already under development and a timetable is being developed for Australia, following its planned introduction in Europe from 2014. The new standards will apply a 50 per cent cut to the emis sion of hydrocarbons, a 70 per cent cut to oxides of nitrogen and a 90 per cent reduction on particulate matter. "This is a balanced and realistic outcome, ensuring that Australian vehicle emissions will be aligned with leading international standards," says the chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Andrew McKellar. "At the same time, the planned phase-in of these regulations recognises the practical impact on existing investments and the model development cycle." Meanwhile, new cars on Australian roads continue to get greener, according to new figures on carbon dioxide emissions from the National Transport Commission. They show a 15 per cent fall in CO2 emissions from new motor vehicles over the past eight years. All cars in showrooms must now display a sticker with their CO2 emissions for ever kilometre driven, helping shoppers to make the greenest choice.

Block, who makes his living from outrageous skids, slides, jumps, burnouts and wheelies, believes he is a positive role model because he is taking wild driving off the streets. Block is famous around the world thanks to his series of Motorkhana videos which have become a youtube phenomenon and is headed for Australia later this year, where he will demonstrate his talent at Calder Park in Melbourne on September 3. "I firmly believe that if you're doing something that could be dangerous to other people that's a conern that needs to be policed. It's not only your own life you're endangering, it's threatening innocent people," Block tells Carsguide exclusively from the USA. "I do not ever do anything on the regular streets. I never tell kids to practice in a parking lot or on the public road. Anyone who does what I do should always take the right precautions." Block made millions of dollars as the co-founder of the DC Shoes company in American, then turned to rallying before cranking out his viral videos. He is now up to the third in the Gymkhana series, driving a Monster Ford Fiesta with more than 500 kiloWatts in a series of special stunts that are filmed and uploaded to the internet. He's also driving in the World Rally Championship in a Fiesta and will compete in Rally Australia in Coffs Harbour straight after his appearance at Calder Park. "I'm a professional at what I do. I want to inspire kids to be rally drivers or drifters or whatever like to be," Block says. Block's car cost more than $300,000 and is reserved for his Monster stunt shows and the videos. It's being flown to Australia for his one- off event at Calder, which will include all the energy drink company's other motorsport representatives in Australia led by two-time V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup. "It's actually quite amazing to drive. It's an amazing amount of power. With four-wheel drive it's incredibly agile," Block says. "I'm a lucky bastard that I drive amazing cars like that. This one is built just for the stuff I do." Final details of the event are still being finalised, including plans for a very limited number of passenger rides with Block. "One of the great things about the Gymkhana World Tour down in Australia is that it's free to the public, so everyone can come. I hope everybody that wants to see it can make it out because it's going to be amazing," he says.