Articles by Paul Gover

The zero-emission plug-in car will be developed in Melbourne by a new consortium called EV Engineering Limited and is partly funded by a $3.5 million grant from the Federal government's Green Car Innovation Fund. It intends to build a concept prototype and then construct a total of seven fully-electric Commodores to prove that the car has a viable production future. The project does not directly involve GM Holden, although it is providing engineering back-up and access to its Lang Lang proving ground. EV Engineering is a consortium that combines many of Australia's leading automotive suppliers, Air International, Bosch, Continental and Futuris and is headed by Rob McEniry, the former head of Mitsubishi Motors Australia. "This collaboration is evidence that the local manufacturing and automotive industries have recognised the important role these vehicles will play in their future,”says McEniry. "This initiative will strengthen the local capabilities and give Australia the opportunity to lead the world in the development of large, powerful, zero-emissions vehicles, and ensure we remain globally competitive in this sustainable, high growth market.” EV Engineering has set a 15-month schedule for the project and also intends that the batteries in the electric Commodore will only be charged using renewable energy using standard electric vehicle plug-in and battery switching infrastructure. Holden has no plans of its own for a battery-powered Commodore, although it built a hybrid ECOmmodore in 2000 and intends to eventually have a hybrid version of the car. Its first hybrid will be the range-extended Volt, which recently went on sale in the USA as a Chevrolet and will also be sold in the UK and Europe as the Ampera. "We're supporting it, but we're not a member of the consortium. We're giving in-kind engineering support,” says Holden spokesperson, Emily Perry. "Broadly, it's an exciting idea and it's good for us to be able to support it. But it's not a vehicle we'll be putting into production. Still, the findings will be interesting to us.” The project will be run from Futuris premises in Melbourne, ironically close to Holden's headquarters at Fishermans Bend.

It's the Suzuki Swift Sport, which is about to be previewed in Europe and should be in Australian showrooms in the early months of 2012. The Sport is not a huge change from the regular all-new Swift that has just been launched but promises more punch from an upgraded engine. Full details will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in just over a week. The only difference for Australia sales is that the Swift Sport will continue as a five-door hatch, where Europe gets a three-door body. "We'll have it as a five door. We would like the three-door, but it's still only made in Hungary at the moment," says Tony Devers, general manager of Suzuki Australia. "It's very aggressive and pretty nice. It will be more powerful than the current Swift Sport and, with the more-rigid new chassis, should be a ripper handler." Devers says the Swift is a crucial car for Suzuki and that explains its early confirmation for the motor show. "We definitely intend to have it on our stand. And we'll get it in showrooms early next year," he says. The new Swift is the last in a run of all-new models from Suzuki that began with the first Euro-focussed Swift more than five years ago and continued with the Grand Vitara and Kizashi. Suzuki faces a new-model drought for at least 18 months, and until it can cement the details of a new technical tie-up with Volkswagen Group. Devers says work is underway on Japan on potential engine sharing programs but he has no details. "There is work underway between Volkswagen and Suzuki. What it is, it's too early to say." Instead, he is focussed on a successful launch for the new Swift. "We'll sell 2000 more swifts a year with the new one, and the first few weeks are on track," he says. "We did 1200 of the old model in January, and we're about 250 cars ahead of that with more than a week to go to the end of February.

The Lamborghini Aventador will fight for top billing at the Geneva Motor Show next week against the Ferrari FF and a wild bunch of other concept cars.But the Carparazzi crew has already tracked the successor to the V12-powered Murcielago to northern Scandinavia, where the car is undergoing the usual cold-weather test work.The new Lamborghini has traded its previous stealth fighter-style, flat black camouflage for a swirly black-and-white pattern isn't much of an improvement.However, the shape of the LP700-4 is now obvious and it seems to get Reventon-inspired lines, particularly at the front end, with the stealthy trapezoidal shapes and crease lines. The Aventador - if the name is the right one for showrooms - will be equipped with an upgraded 6.5-litre V12 engine putting out 515 kiloWatts and 690 Newton-metres of torque to be fed through a Graziano seven-speed automatic, with a single clutch and dual sychronizers.Top speed is expected to be 350km/h with a 0-100km/h sprint time of 2.9 seconds.

Robbie Farr, a racer who began his sprintcar career as 'The Wild Child', has finally lifted the biggest prize in Australian speedway racing. Farr is the new World Series champion after a nail-biting finish in Perth last weekend saw him edge out David Murcott and American 'Racing' Jason Johnson. "It's a 20-year apprenticeship to get here to win this championship. I'm absolutely stoked," says Farr. Murcott was unable to challenge at the Perth Motorplex and came up short in the C-main race, giving Farr an eventual margin of 234 points after trailing by only two into the grand final. "I have been sweating bullets for the last couple of weeks. It's in the record books, they can't take it off us," Farr says. The other top-10 finishers in the 2010-2012 World Series were Steven Lines, Ian Madsen, Max Dumesny, Trevor Green, James McFadden, Danny Reidy and this year's Australian champion Brooke Tatnell.

Honda killed the second-generation NSX with its F1-inspired V10 engine before it could hit the road but is now considering a new plan after scoring a string of successes in Japanese GT racing. After consolidating its green technology with the Insight, Civic Hybrid, CR-Z and Jazz Hybrid, Honda believes the is right for a serious re-evaluation of its sports car program. The head of Honda, Takanobu Ito, says the company is "rekindling" the spirit of motorsport and has commenced evaluation of a new car - for sports driving enthusiasts and motorsport - that will meet the expectations of a public wanting greener technology.  The result is likely to be smaller and lighter, and have a smaller and greener powerplant, but still generate a decent amount of power. Ito hints that Honda could put a small number of cars, based on the latest V8-powered NSX racer, into production but does not say when. But Honda is known to be on two other cars, one a medium-sized sports cars with a V6-hybrid, strongly rumoured to debut as an Acura for the USA, and the other a compact lightweight four-cylinder hybrid coupe.

The Vision ConnectedDrive concept is not that far away from the sort of size and shape that would make a tasty new Z2. It's dressed up in all sorts of technical trickery for the Geneva Motor Show at the start of next month, including coloured light strips that highlight different systems, but the shape is the sort of thing that would sit comfortably in BMW showrooms around the world. And no-one should forget that BMW Group says it does not build dream machines these days, only future cars that point to production. The ConnectedDrive concept is the latest in a series of Vision concepts and BMW concedes that moves by other companies, most notably Audi, could be drawing it down the Z2 road as expands its small-car lineup below the current 1-Series. "This car is far from being confirmed for production. It is very much a concept car," says Piers Scott, spokesman for BMW Australia. "But our competitors are going into that segment. It might be the case that we will see the response to that." He refuses to be drawn any further, but says there are strong design elements in the car's shape and the flowing sides that point to BMW's future. "The main thing to extract is the layering. We've already seen it happening in the interior of the X3." Beyond that, it's simple: "It's very much about the technology," says Scott. The light fighter is intended to show the car's various connections - to the driver, vehicle and the surrounding environment. The cabin has three layers - comfort, infotainment and safety - with a corresponding light installation. Safety is - no surprise, red - with blue for infotainment and green for the various connections to the outside world, using a pair of aerials where the mirrors would normally live. There is a huge number of sensors in the car, from front and rear traffic cameras to connections to other cars and active roadside safety systems. But BMW has still had some fun with the roadster, bringing back the drop-down doors first seen in the limited-edition Z1 convertible. There is also an advanced 3-D head-up display and a programmable instrument cluster to provide the driver with additional information, optically emphasised to a greater or lesser degree. BMW has not forgotten the passenger, who gets a separate system and display to  evaluate information, music or navigation details that can be passed across to the driver.

Young Brock was skidding around the family property at the wheel of a home-built special at a time when most of his school mates would probably have been learning to ride their first bicycle. Todd and Rick Kelly, two of the current V8 Supercars stars, both learned to drive before they were eight years-old on a family properly at Mildura. Motorcycles came first, when the Kelly kids were less than five, followed by a range of farm machinery including tractors. It's a similar story for most top-level racecar drivers and not just because their sport of choice often includes a go-kart or motocross bike. They learn to drive early because it's a passion and because they have a talent for the multi-tasking challenge of taming a car - then driving well. This early start gives them an obvious advantage, but every racer tells us it also helps them on the road. But how can that be true, when racing is all about speed and skill and daring, racing rivals in the same direction in a battle to the chequered flag? The advantage comes from learning the mechanics of driving before they hit the road, and it works for other people. A pre-license start means you're not learning the basics of driving - gear changes, turn signals, mirrors, braking ... and the dreaded clutch - at the same time as coping with traffic and road rules and nasty weather a darkness. Knowing how to manipulate a vehicle gives a novice the chance to concentrate fully on roadcraft - the sort of stuff that veterans take for granted, like anticipating traffic lights, or just 'knowing' what the car in front is about to do - without worrying about holding the wheel or shifting gears. It also means the fear factor is much, more lower. This comes to mind this week after a survey that says some Australians want the minimum driving age raised, perhaps - according to South Australians - to 21. As usual, there are all sorts of experts in both camps, some arguing for a younger start and more training, others suggesting that an older start and more maturity is the right answer. Except there is no right answer - until Australian governments get truly serious about driver eduction. So what's the best answer? In a Gover world, children would learn to drive at 12. They would spend their early years at the wheel of a cheapie junker car practising somewhere totally safe and carefree, like a paddock. This early experience would include basic maintenance, understanding of the costs of motoring - starting with earning money for fuel - and the consequences of a crash. Just before license time, they would have intensive coaching from experts in a range of fields, from drivers - perhaps even racers - and police, as well as solid book learning on the road rules. Plus a visit to a crash scene, to see the major consequences of a minor mistake. Then a top-quality safe driving course, the purchase of a low-powered first car, and strict supervision of where, when and how any driving is done. Then more training for the next 20 years or more, with regular safe-  driving refreshers and updates in every new car through the garage. So far it seems to have worked fairly well - for me.

MARCOS Ambrose has finished 13th fastest out of 48 for today's (FRIDAY) Daytona 500 qualifying in his first session with his new Richard Petty Motorsports team. The Ford driver will now compete in two 240km NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying races which will set the grid for the Daytona 500 on Monday morning, Australian time. "It's just a real thrill for me and it's just good to get one in the books," the Australian said after pre-qualifying at the weekend. Dale Earnhardt Jnr was the quickest qualifier and will line up alongside teammate Jeff Gordon on the front row. FORD has scooped the podium in the opening round of the World Rally Championship in Sweden at the weekend. Fin Mikko Hirvonen again claimed victory in the only all-snow event on the WRC calendar. The Ford Fiesta driver repeated his 2010 Rally of Sweden win, just 6.5 seconds ahead of Ford drivers Norwegian Mads Ostberg and Fin Jari-Matti. The next round will be held in Mexico on March 6. AUSTRALIA'S all-female rally team has flown to the UK for their debut in the WRC. Sydneysider, Molly Taylor, won her drive in the Pirelli Star Driver Shootout last year. She will compete, with co-driver Rebecca Smart of the Sunshine Coast, in the six-round FIA World Rally Championship Academy. The six-round series will be run at WRC events and is aimed at developing young drivers. TWO-time World Supercross Champion Chad Reed salvaged a top-six result in Houston at the weekend after a 10-rider pile-up on the opening lap of the main race. The Australian was in last position and had to pass 14 riders. His sixth position dropped him to fourth in the standings after five rounds. The 17-rounds series moves to San Diego this weekend.

This time it is Hyundai, which has the World Car of the Year winner as the benchmark for its upcoming replacement for the compact i30.The i30 is expected to be run out at a motor show later this year ahead of sales in 2012, based on an intensive European test program that has attracted the lenses of the Carparazzi photographic team.They have caught the new i30 in northern Scandinavia and, despite heavy camouflage, everything points to a much more refined version of the current car. The second-generation i30 is likely to be slightly bigger overall, with more space inside, and with a body shape that is far more youthful than the current car.The test car shows sleeker lines that will move it comfortably alongside the i45, with low-profile lights - including LED daytime running lamps - and LED tail lamps moved to a new location.Mechanically, the car will get tweaked versions of Hyundai's latest Gamma motors, as well as an improved diesel, with the potential for the direct-injection petrol motor just previewed in the Veloster coupe.

The Captur will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1 and already the French company is talking about its potential impact. It follows Renault's great looking two-seater DeZir coupe concept and was created under the direction of new design chief, Laurens van den Acker."I'm quite sure the Captur is being used to test design cues for future production models. It's not exactly like what we'll see but it gives a very good taste," says Justin Hocevar, managing director of Renault Australia. "This is part of a concept vehicle stratgegy that kicked off with DeZir.Laurens Van Den acker is communicating the future design direction and this is the next instalment. We're exploring all avenues to grow." The Captur is said by Renault to preview a future road car. "Captur is a fun and sporty crossover, ideal for a young couple about to discover the world," says van den Acker.It is powered by a twin-turbo diesel engine for plenty of punch with low CO2 emissions of just 99 grams/kilometre. Renault says it has a 0-100km/h sprint time of 8.0 seconds thanks to an engine with 180 kiloWatts and 380 Newton-metres from just 1.6 litres.It is also fitted with a locking mechanical differential, to boost its front-wheel drive traction in slippery conditions, and a forward looking camera at the top of the windscreen - called Visio-system - to provide the sort of driver-assistance functions already available at Volvo, Benz and other brands.Hocevar says he is looking forward to the arrival of the next-generation Renault models as he continues work to rebuild the brand's support in Australia. The Megane got price cuts and a new hero car last year and he says the results are starting to show among shoppers. "We've still got a long way to go with rebuilding the brand in Australia, but our enquiry has increased to record levels," he says."It's under the halo of the RS250, which is a hero car that has really helped put the brand back on the map. I think we've done a very good job of positioning these cars at the appropriate levels. We're sitting against premium Japanese compact cars as an entry to the European market."