Articles by Paul Gover

There is no boot, no back seat, no radio and no way you could drive one on the road.  It's closer to a ground-bound missile than a family-friendly Toyota Camry.A Top Fuel car will shoot from a standing start to 160km/h in a barely believable 0.8 seconds, subjects its driver to five times the force of gravity at take-off, can top 500km/h inside 400 metres, needs parachutes for braking, and guzzles fuel at the rate of 45 litres for those same 400 metres.The fuel itself is closer to dynamite than regular unleaded and costs around $6.50 a litre. But that's what it takes to make a genuine 8000 horsepower - 5885 kiloWatts - from a comprehensively supercharged 8.2-litre racing V8 engine that shoots three-metre flames from its exhaust pipes.The noise is genuinely deafening and the ground shakes when a pair of cars leaves the starting line together. The Top Fuel numbers make a Formula One car look slow, until you remember that it can only run in a straight line and only on a desert-try track that does not break the traction of its fat slick back tyres. Oh, and it will run dry after 400 metres.I've driven all sorts of very fast cars, from Porsche turbos to an F1 Renault, and a Top Fuel car is the only one that genuinely scares me. I've never been tempted to take the wheel.But Larry Dixon does it for a living and loves it, even though he spun through 360 degrees at more than 250km/h last weekend when an axle snapped during a run at Willowbank Raceway in Queensland."It makes everything else look like you're pushing around a wheelbarrow,'' Dixon tells me. Somehow Dixon, the second-most successful Top Fuel driver in American racing history, bounced back from the near-disaster to re-set the Australian records in his first visit to Australia.For the record, he clocked 4.543 seconds for the standing 400 metres, hitting a top speed of 534km/h.This reporter is on Twitter @paulwardgover 

Volkswagen is still on top of the world after another major Car of the Year win.The seventh-generation Golf has just cleaned up again in the World Car of the Year judging, repeating the victory a year earlier by the baby Up with success in the 2013 award.It is the fourth win for Volkswagen in the nine-year history of the WCOTY contest.The new Golf, which arrives in Australia next month, beat 42 starters and trumped three other finalists - the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Porsche Boxster/Cayman and Subaru BRZ-Toyota 86 - in voting by 66 motoring experts in 23 countries.Two members of the Carsguide crew, Joshua Dowling and Paul Gover, are judges. The WCOTY result was announced last week at the New York motor show, together with winners in three other categories.The F-Type Jaguar was voted the World Car Design of the Year winner, the Boxster-Cayman twins were declared World Performance Car of the Year and the Tesla Model S was chosen as the World Green Car for 2013.The WCOTY win for the Golf confirms the car's early favouritism for this year's Carsguide COTY judging, following an impressive preview drive in Europe. Not surprisingly, the success is being trumpeted by Volkswagen. But it is also hinting on future developments for the Golf."This car sets new benchmarks again and again, not least in terms of efficiency and environmental credentials. Soon, for instance, the Golf will also be launched as a plug-in hybrid and as a 100 per cent electric car," says Martin Winterkorn, chairman of the board of management at Volkswagen Group.WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR WINNERS2013 - Volkswagen Golf2012 - Volkswagen Up2011 - Nissan Leaf2010 - Volkswagen Polo2009 - Volkswagen Golf2008 - Mazda22007 - Lexus LS4602006 - BMW 3 Series2005 - Audi A6This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

Seven is still enough for Australia despite an eight-seater addition to the Toyota Kluger family.The eight-seater was unveiled last week at the New York motor show, with a pair of three-spot benches behind the front buckets, but Toyota Australia says it definitely won't be coming here.It says people who want eight spaces are far more likely to upsize to a LandCruiser in Australia. “We've done a lot of research on this and Australians are happy with seven seats in the Kluger,” Toyota spokesman, Mike Breen, tells Carsguide.“We have asked about eight seats but they don't want it. If they want that capacity they are much more likely to move up to a LandCruiser or a Tarago people mover.”The new Kluger is the third all-new model to wear the badge and early supplies are expected in Australia by the final quarter of this year.In line with recent moves on the RAV4 and Corolla, pricing for the Kluger is likely to be trimmed slightly from today's $39,990 starting sticker for the front-wheel drive model.Even without the extra seat, the new Kluger boasts a longer and wider body with a slightly lower roofline to make it less boxy. But the wheelbase is unchanged, which means an extra length in the cabin is likely to be minimal.Toyota has pushed hard on the safety front, adding an extra airbag to take the total to eight and also bringing blind-spot warning, a reversing safety warning and automatic high beams to the list of available equipment.The Kluger was the first full-sized SUV to have a standard rear-view camera across the range in Australia but there is no indication yet of what will be added for the new model. “It's too early to be talking about the exact specification,” says Breen.Mechanically, the new Kluger gets improved rear suspension and a six-speed automatic gearbox, although its 3.5-litre V6 engine is carried over. Apart from the eight-seater cabin, American buyers can also get a Kluger with either four-cylinder or hybrid powertrains, but there is no indication yet if they will eventually join the Australian range.This reporter is on Twitter @paulwardgover 

A fast blast from Holden Special Vehicles is expected to soon set a new horsepower high for Australia's favourite Commodore. The hot Holden shop has been working overtime to create something special to headline its VF range and is believed to have come up with a supercharged V8 engine that will trump anything from HSV in the past. The new record is still top secret but insiders say the result betters the reigning champion, the limited-edition HSV W427 that cranked out 375 kiloWatts and 640 Newton-metres from a 7.0-litre V8 back in 2008. The standard for the current E Series cars from HSV is 325 kiloWatts from the 6.2-litre LS3 Gen4 V8. HSV refuses to even discuss details of its VF-based models despite Holden's official unveiling of the family favourite and its own previews last month to dealers and small group of company insiders. "I cannot talk about future models," the managing director of HSV, Phil Harding, tells Carsguide. "My job is to sell the cars I have now." But HSV knows it has to hit hard as it moves into the VF era, as it's almost certain to be the last old-school Commodore with a thumping V8 in the nose and old-school rear-wheel drive. Harding is a stickler for detail and engineering excellence, two of the reasons why HSV - despite years of research and testing - has not done a number on the locally-made four-cylinder Cruze. He says the car cannot provide the power and handling improvements necessary to win an HSV badge. But the F Series, definitely not a plain-James VF, is looking like a new champion. “We don't have a project in our business called VF," Harding says, while again refusing to discuss the new Commodore. But others are more open. "The car looks fantastic. The body kit is much more aggressive," one of the guests at a preview tells Carsguide. "It's going to set a power record," says another. The F Series is the first HSV model to be developed since the death of the company's founder and guiding force, Tom Walkinshaw. He was one of the fans of the four-door HSV 427 and even shipped one to Britain for use as his personal car. This reporter is on Twitter @paulwardgover  

...of the upcoming Porsche 911 Targa.Don't be fooled by the cabrio-like looks as the car has a hidden retractable centre roof section and a built-in rollover bar. 

 It's much more distinctive in the bodywork and could go public before the end of the year. 

A new model is coming in 2014 and will be much more edgy than today's Freelander, as well as bigger and more refined.  

It's the mid-sized Ghibli, which soon joins the Italian lineup ahead of the arrival of the SUV called Levante. Details will be revealed soon, but the new Maserati is expected to tap Chrysler technology - through the Fiat-Chrysler partnership - including a turbocharged 3.5-litre Pentastar V6 engine.It will arrive later this year priced at less than $100,000. 

Ferrari owners will be better drivers as part of a new Italian commitment to Australia that includes shorter waiting times, better value and more motorsport. Owners will be trained through the Corsa Piloti program as Ferrari works on a closer relationship with its followers after the switch from a local importer to a full factory-owned operation. There is also talk of full-on Formula One demonstration runs and an improved and expanded dealer network downunder. “These are things that a private importer cannot do. We're here for the owners and the customers,” says Herbert Appleroth, the newly-appointed head of Ferrari Australasia. “Where we have mature markets we prefer a 1-1 relationship with our customers. We have 61 years with Ferrari in Australia and they have a deep knowledge of the brand and our motorsport DNA. In line with that, they expect a direct relationship with the factory.” The driving school is typical of the bigger commitment, since it is costly and complicated. “It's one-to-one training, with our factory trainers and in our fleet of cars. It will happen in quarter four . . . in Sydney and Melbourne,” Appleroth promises. Ferrari grew steadily with more than 1000 deliveries under the previous relationship with European Automotive Imports, a company owned by Neville Crichton, but Appleroth says he cannot commit to extra cars. “This is not a about a revolution, it's about an evolution with ongoing levels of service,” he says. “We expect some growth in the marketplace, but it's really the quality of the cars and customers. We expect single-figure growth, year-on-year.” But there is a solid commitment to cutting the wait for a new Ferrari. “We have worked on reducing the waiting list time. The market has changed and people will now not wait three or four years. Part of my role is to ensure the waiting lists don't last much more than 12 months.” On the competition side, Appleroth - who hosted a giant Fire-and-Ice party for owners during the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne - is hoping to lift things to a new level. “We're investigating bringing the Ferrari Facing Days to Australia. That's where we bring the Ferrari world, including the full fleet of F1 cars, the ex-Clienti cars like the FXX, and the Ferrari Challenge series. “We are in discussions with the Australian Grand Prix and other race categories about bringing the Ferrari Challenge to Australia. That might not be in someone else's event, but in our Ferrari racing days.” Appleroth says Ferrari owners in Australia are some of the most committed and he promises a payback from company headquarters in Maranello. “Australians spend an average of more than $50,000 a car on bespoke items. So we will be bringing a whole new level of customer engagement. It's a personal concierge. It's bringing Ferrari events to Australia that have never come before, with a focus on the motorsport DNA. It's just a whole new level.”  

Baby turbocharged engines are springing up around the world, with Fiat, BMW and Mercedes-Benz already committed to tiny three-cylinder power plants. Now Renault says it is tapping its Formula One technology for the engines it will soon be using in the Clio, Megane and other models. Grand prix racing downsizes to 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engines in 2014 with battery-electric boosting from Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems, but Renault is also working on plans to recover exhaust heat to boost power in F1 and efficiency in road cars. "There are some direct connections between Formula One and road cars. We have a more shared view of the technology we are developing," the head of Renault's F1 engine operations, Remi Taffin, tells Carsguide. He says road cars have already benefitted from the friction-reduction work in F1, especially as a fuel-economy measure, and soon it will be about transferring energy-boosting work on both electric and heat recovery systems. Current F1 cars used battery-electric boosters and there are a range of road cars that have similar technology, including the LaFerrari and McLaren P1 super cars just unveiled at the Geneva motor show. In future, though, Taffin says electric boosting will allow smaller and smaller engines to be used in cars. They will have a super-economical downsized petrol engine with a KERS boost for overtaking. On the heat-recovery side, Taffin says there is big potential to harness the exhaust energy currently lost completely. This could easily power another energy storage system compatible with turbocharged engines. For F1 in 2014, turbocharging means the engines will be downsized to 1.6-litre V6s from today's 2.4-litre naturally-aspirated V8s, yet lap times will be very similar with around 520 kiloWatts despite reducing revs from 18,000 to around 15,000. Taffin says modern turbocharging is a lot different to the 1980s performance cars that had a reputation for poor reliability and temperamental behaviour. "It's not just about getting the most fuel-efficient engine. For road cars it's also about reducing pollution," he says. "When you want to optimise the efficiency of an engine they also allow reduced capacity, as we are seeing." Taffin says as F1 moves deeper into electric boosting it will improve the efficiency of road engines. His division has already been responsible for developing the electric motors used in the baby Twizzy city runabout. "It's all about energy and heat. And making the car move. Now we try to use electric motors," he says. "It's all getting much closer to road cars. There will be a lot more transfer in the future."