Articles by Paul Pottinger

BMW's new flagship will be a four-door coupe take on the 6 Series, which, BMW spokesman Pier Scott says, "might scrape in under $300,000". Based on the 7 Series platform,  the newcomer would usurp the staid limo as the Bavarian brand's flagship. "The 7 Series is the statesman of the model lineup, but in terms of elegance and desirability, that will be the four door 6 Series," Scott says. "It's a logical move because the 6 Series range as it stands is a massive two door." Though it gains two doors, the new 6, which makes its international debut in May, shares the turbo-charged eight and six cylinder engines of the coupe and convertible. But the 6's top dog status might be measured in a matter of a few years if the M Division gets the go ahead to make an official successor to the original and now iconic M1 of the late seventies. M Division boss Frederik Nitschke has stated his willingness to make a supercar that would at least give BMW something to throw against Audi's R8. "There is a lot of enthusiasm within the M Division for that to happen," Scott says. "It is a matter of determining the business case for it." Although the i8 electric car might be pointer to the visuals, an M1 would be a clean sheet design.

IT'S all very well coining your own equivalent to the fabled M and AMG performance badges of the German marques. Laudable even. And it's more than possible that the Lexus "F" line will come to be written in the same sentence as these.Certainly it's deserved. Still, that'll be then and this is now, and I can't help wondering whether the consonant "Q" isn't more apt - as in that old buffer's term for performance cars whose blazing light is hidden beneath a mild exterior.Visually it's almost as innocuous as your common or garden IS250. Indeed, to a very certain point, the revised and upgraded IS-F drives in the excessively polite manner of Toyota's luxury marque. And then ...VALUEIn this context - as a rival to BMW's M3 and Merc's C63 - we can begin to talk of a bargain.As is the case with even the humblest $56K IS, the F is priced considerably to the south of the nearest equivalent German and stuffed with standard spec, not least of which is a reverberating Mark Levinson stereo and a brilliantly intuitive touchscreen through which to operate all systems from satnav to aircon.TECHNOLOGYThis is a one-vehicle expo of drivetrain tech, sophisticated but sans the needless complications of the M3's myriad drive modes. You won't soon tire of the thrumming 5.0-litre V8. Fettled with dual VVT-i, dual injection (port and direct) and a dual-intake air system, it achieves 311kW at 6600rpm and 505Nm at 5200rpm, dispatching the 0-100km/h dash in 4.8 seconds.If ever you've wondered at the point of certain DSG-style transmissions, to say nothing of their (dys)function, the Lexus's eight-speeder clinches it in favour of the torque converter. Barely perceptible changes in Drive are sharpened when sport mode is activated.A meaningful manual mode - as in one that holds gear selections on redline - is accessed by flipping the gearstick sideways and going to it with the shapely paddle shifters, which also provide temporary manual overide in Drive.Let's hear it for the mechanical Torsen limited-slip differential that last year replaced the electronic device. This one actively redistributes torque instead of stifling power.Previously the IS-F's ride has been a boon to the dental and osteopathic professions. The suspension's been revised in a manner that acknowledges real-world conditions, and makes for a ride that's much more than tolerable even on Australia's third-world roads. Oh, it's still as firm as it must be but it's forgiving with it.DESIGNWe take a back seat to but a few when it comes to praise of the IS series, which is wise in the F model, because there's but two pews back there. No loss this -- the centre position is token. But for that, and what a colleague calls the "Ginza boy" carbon-fibre accents, this could be a much lesser IS with optional bling.Bespoke bits run to unsubtle quad exhausts and lovely smoky 19-inch alloys. The seven-year-old design means there's not a lot of room, forward or aft. The bloody sun roof leaves next to no space between a tall driver's skull and the ceiling. And why is there a driver's grab handle if not to bruise the right side of his fine, shiny cranium?SAFETYConsider the safety acronyms, active and passive, present and correct and the five-star crash safety rating a given. More pertinently, given there's 1700kg of 270km/h-capable sports sedan to stop, are massive Brembo brakes, six-piston calipers up front acting on 360mm x 30mm ventilated discs, and twin-piston calipers aft doing their thing on 345mm x 28mm ventilated discs.DRIVINGAnd, as we were saying, then ... But before just that, this year's IS-F is as amiable a commuting companion as could be wished for in a performance car. The pleasantly persistent engine growl is most unLexus-like and most welcome.You can live with it every day without arousing the inner beast. Indeed, the first time you introduce the throttle to the floor, there's a throat clearing pause, and then the fluorescent blue needle reaches 4000rpm, the engine roars, your passenger shouts "s---!", and you're leaning on the brakes at the end of the road  where you spend the next 10 minutes digging an iPhone out from under the seat whence its flown.With Sport engaged and the open road before you, this exercise is a bit more linear. Gears are held longer, the exhaust report is crisper and throttle response is livelier. The Lexus engages our favourite hillclimb of 15-25km/h indicated corners as though developed specifically for this stretch, sitting flat and true. The stability control cuts in deftly and aptly at such extremes as your humble servant is prepared to chart on public roads.VERDICTIt's quiet and capable then roaringly rapid, like a respectable salaryman given to 'roid rages. It's hard to find logical reasons not to want this Lexus.LEXUS IS-FPrice: $126,800Warranty: 4 years/100,000kmResale: 56 per centService interval: 12 months/15,000kmSafety: 6 airbags, ABS, EBD, BA, TC. Crash rating 5 starsEngine: 5.0-litre V8; 300kW/505NmBody: 4-seat sedanDimensions: 4580mm(L), 1800mm(W); 1425mm(H)Weight: 1700kgTransmission: 8-speed auto, rear-wheel driveEconomy: 11.4L/100kmAlso considerAUDI S5Price: $138,900Engine: 4.2-litre V8; 260kW/44NmTrans: 6-speed auto: AWDBody: Two door coupeThirst: 10.8L/100km"Looks good, feels good, but limited. A German muscle car"BMW M3Price: $149,000Engine: 4.0-litre V8; 309kW/400NmTrans: 7-speed automated manual: RWDBody: sedanThirst: 11.9L/100km"The most capable here but about to look old hat"MERCEDES-BENZ C63 AMGPrice: $150,980Engine: 6.2-litre V8; 336kW/600NmTrans: 7-spped auto: RWDBody: sedanThirst: 13.5L/100km"Wagnerian noise. Pass anything except a petrol station"

Except they're not. Depends whose talking: GM Holden boss Mike Devereaux or GM Holden PR. Anyway, logic and precedent dictates that the likely lighter and mildly more fuel efficient take of the VE will soon be begin to appear in contrived, opportunistic pap-snaps. You know, the ones taken by members of the public who  may or may not know someone at Holden. Meanwhile, here's Carsguide's take on the 2013 Commodore as contrived by our artist Stuart Gordon. It's essentially a VE  endered in the latest GM design language as spoken by the Malibu mid-sizer. So Stuey calls it the Malidore. With all the stink about future design moving off shore, Holden could do a lot worse than ask him.

You'd call it one of the cars of the year, except that it's based on an SUV and carries the name of the original luxury offroader. You hesitate to say "crossover" because that's inevitably applied to lesser devices that try to be all things and succeed in being none.By contrast, the keenly awaited Evoque (250 have been pre-sold it and it should about double sales on this venerable brand) is almost unfeasibly multi-talented. It's about as car-like as you could wish while retaining the offroad ability to almost match the Land Rover Freelander from which it's derived.Already said to be responsible for one rear-ender on the public road -- the driver ruefully admitted to perving on the Evoque in the next lane rather than watching the car to his front -- it looks and feels fairly fabulous: a car to lure both luxury SUV lovers and those of us who wouldn't otherwise want to be found decomposing in an SUV. So, yeah, it is kind of a crossover vehicle.Are we talking inherent or perceived value here? From the former perspective, the signature Prestige coupe -- in motor show reveal white with black sun roof -- surges from its list ask of $75,895 to just shy of $100,000K with a few careless strokes of the pen on the options list. The Dynamic SD4 five door we later drove was a mere $94,284 options added from a base of $73,375. So both approach double the entry level 4WD Pure manual from $53,995. A sub $50K front wheel drive comes later.Yet when it comes to the Evoque, perception is -- if not all -- then of more relevance than most. At all spec levels, with three or five doors, adequate 18-inch alloys or jitteringly phat 20s, it looks (sorry) evocative.The degree of personalization and combination of options is long enough to fill these columns. Two worth ticking are the contrasting colour roof ($900) which especially sets off a dark colored Evoque, and the Adaptive Dynamics pack ($5900) which uses Magnaride dampers to firm up the suspension to fine effect for when the bends tighten.A paper-eating plethora of this too, though the engineering achievement can be measured as much by what's not there -- namely the 100kg by which the Evoque is lighter on the scales than the Freelander.The smallest and lightest Range Rover to date (at barely 4.4m it's hardly bigger than a Mazda3-sized hatch), it sits 27mm lower than the Freelander yet has 12mm more ground clearance. Resonant Meridian audio is an option, but most models come with automatic terrain settings, making the crossing of creeks and sands all but prat-proof.Four-cylinder engines go to the heart of the Evoque's inner urban and environmental friendliness, and seldom has the choice between turbodiesel or turbopetrol been more difficult. Lesser models get a hardly poor man's oiler good for 100kW/ 380Nm. Move up a spec level and diesels gain 40 more kilowatts and 20 more units of torque.The petrol choice, though, is not only worthy of mention, it happens to be the rather talented turbo unit familiar from Volvo's S60 T5 and Ford's much underrated Mondeo. In upgunned form it will also attempt to rejuvenate the Falcon, but to return to the feasible ...Teamed here with a six-speed Aisin automatic (there a six-speed manual available, but really ...) it makes for a pleasant headache in the decision-making stakes. On road it's closer than the raw figures suggest, the 95RON-dependent petrol engine putting out 177kW/340Nm to return 8.7L/100km in combined driving. The top-dog diesel gets 7.6 on the same cycle.Gerry McGovern's triumph over the engineering pragmatists who would have reduced his 2008 LRX concept vision to a superannuated Toyota Rukus, is one to celebrate down the ages. One of the few indelible and likely classic designs of the century to date, its distinctive swooping roofline and rising beltline cost little in terms of practicality."You've got to engineer it in way that enables us to create a new and exciting shape," McGovern insisted. "This is for someone who wants the inherent qualities of an SUV but one smaller scale."Judge for yourself, but know that the rear passengers of the three have as much room as those in the five, it's simply a matter of egress. Oddly, neither will have rear seat vents. This, the plastic Jaguar paddle shifter and the Volvo Teknik pack rear panel on the Dynamic model strike the only false notes. Otherwise it’s pure Ranger Rover -- and that means luscious, lustrous interior panelling. Choosing your own combination of upholstery and trim would be as pleasantly a time-consuming task as can be had with a catalogue.As to fit and finish over the longer term, Land Rover seems to have learned from the epidemic of issues that plagued the first generation Freelander, which even the blindly patriotic British auto press could not fail to pan. Surveys indicate improvements in all aspects.The Freelander is a five-star crasher, as this will surely be. The formidable array of active safety measure, including permanent and constantly varying all-wheel-drive, should ensure that if vast array of airbags is detonated, it won't be via your driving.Petrol or diesel? Diesel or petrol. Tough one. The Ford-derived gasoline unit is a fizzy number that somehow seems more alive here than in the Mondeo that recently occupied Carsguide's garage. Its torque is accessed at a diesel-like low 2000rpm, but it will of course rev some 1500rpm higher. That flexibility is abetted by a more immediate response -- there's barely a hint of the diesel's slight but discernible lag and virtually no untoward noise at all.And yet ... The full grunt diesel's rolling response is enough to win it for me, a linear surge that more clinically disposes of overtaking tasks. And, greater fuel economy and cheaper futile aside, there's hardly an aural indication of what's beneath the bonnet, so thorough is the noise suppression in both vehicles.Resist the urge toward big wheels unless you're prepared to pay the extra six grand for the full outfit of adaptive dynamics. Activate the swirly road button -- our second car had it, the first one didn't -- and this becomes a very different dynamic proposition, more composed and faster through twisty bits, bearing comparison with some of the more capable mid-sized cars.An entertaining turn at a civilized but not undemanding offroad course showed the Evoque to be massively more capable in this regard than any of European rivals. Alright, this might be largely superfluous for the likely owners, but it's terribly reassuring. I mean you won't meet any conditions beyond you on the run between home and the long queue of upmarket SUVs that twice daily clog the streets around every private school. Perhaps more to the point, you won't look out of place. Quite the opposite in fact.So capable, so composed is the Evoque, that almost it's too easy to overlook its excellence. That rare thing, a desirable and entirely functional object that until the rest of the world catches up, has to be seen as being in a class of its own. Get into one before it becomes the most common prestige car on the road.

...the latter form of alternative fuel by as much as 150 to one. Sales figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show that last month private buyers bought 1428 turbo diesel powered cars and 3149 SUVs to only 197 petrol-electric hybrid cars and 19 SUVs. While conventional petrol powered cars remain our vehicles of choice, the fuel efficiency and grunt of turbo diesels is seeking these vehicles in ever more driveways. While hybrid car sales have actually increased on September 2010, in the growth SUV sector they fell by almost 26 per cent."Not long ago diesel was the preserve of the commercial sector, but there's an increasing range of diesel fuelled cars available across all vehicle types,"FCAI chief executive Ian Chalmers said. "The market has changed quite significantly with cars like the new Holden Cruze. Ten years ago a car like this simply wouldn't have been offered as a diesel."While there are fewer than 10 hybrid models available, diesel choices have expanded into the hundreds. "The hybrid market is evolving very, very quickly but buyers still can't quite process the transition to this very different form of motoring," Mr Chalmers said.Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Automotive Currency Report has found more motorists seriously considering buying a diesel (46.8 per cent) than hybrid (45.9 per cent).Intentions to buy hybrid had been as high as 60 per cent in September 2008, but have since decreased, while diesel intentions have risen from 32.1 per cent in June 2006.Roy Morgan Research industry communications Director Norman Morris said about 19 per cent of private new vehicles sold in Australia this year being powered by diesel engines and less than 1 per cent being hybrid.The report found those considering buying diesel are more likely to be male, live in country areas, have a higher-than-normal average household income and be considered "big spenders".They are more inclined to need a car that can pull a load, regard themselves as a bit of a car enthusiast, go away on weekends and prefer holidays where they can see nature or be in a natural setting," Mr Morris said."With added space, flexibility, torque and economical performance, it is not surprising then to see that those diesel considerers who are in the market for a new car are more likely to be considering a compact or medium SUV."                             Sept      Sept 2010     2011 to dateDiesel cars         1,428           1,831              14,985Hybrid cars           197              139                1,696Diesel SUVs       3,149           2,815              27,845Hybrid SUVs           19                32                   253

Funny buggers, us Strayans. Love to go on about what larrikin individualists we are, then we all run out and buy Mazda3s. Try going five minutes in a big city without seeing one. You can't.Which is just one reason why Citroen's second generation C4 is a tough sell: A point of difference in this most generic of segments should be welcome, but we seem not that keen on difference especially when different doesn't necessarily means better.This equation is exceptional on the face of it, less so on closer examination with $22,990 to get into the entry C4 Attraction.This buys either a five-speed manual or four-speed auto to drive an atmo 1.6-litre petrol engine. Pretty basic jigger - rear seat passengers have to wind up their windows and even in top spec there's no rear air-con vents.From $26,990 the Seduction (yes, I'm afraid so ...) adds the choice of a BMW/PSA sourced-1.6 turbo petrol or one of two diesels, and items like foglights with cornering  functions, cruise control with memory and Bluetooth. The diesel gets the robotised manual EGS transmission with stop/start.The Exclusive level brings blind spot warning, folding mirrors and auto wipers and lights.The tech highlight is the e-HDI "micro-hybrid" engine, which stores electricity and sends it back into the engine. Teamed with a new gen' stop/start system, driven via the EGS and running Michelin Energy Saver tyres, Citroen claim emissions of 109g/km Co2 and fuel use better than 4L/100km.Love to tell you how it goes, but only manuals (which almost no-one will buy) were available to test this week. In addition to that old world 4-speed auto in the stripper, all models persist with torsion beam rear suspension.Where the previous C4 was, and remains, one of the least generic five doors on the road (one which made many think about the double chevron brand for the first time), its successor is going to be altogether harder to find in a carpark - even with $1000 "Rouge Babylon" paint. Vive la indifference, you'd have to say.You get the distinct feeling Citroen's keeping its design powder dry for the next year's model rollout, featuring the coupe-like DS4, DS5 and the C4 Aircross compact SUV. On paper, at least, these have the flair we'd hoped for here.Though 380L cargo space is class-leading, passenger space is not, considerably less than a Golf or  yes - a Mazda3. Up front, though, the top spec Exclusive is a bit of a treat; a driver-oriented cockpit with intuitive and readily manipulated controls, including the cruise on a wheel that no longer revolves around a fixed hub. You can fiddle with the dash display's light colouring and intensity.Blind spot warning system comes on the Exclusive, which is a stand out in class. Rear side airbags are optional on the Attraction, which is pretty ordinary. The C4 rates five stars in European crash testing.You won't get anywhere fast in the Exclusive HDi, but you will get a long way. An introductory drive that was alternatively vigourous then traffic bound saw us use little more than 6L/100km. At highway cruising speed, we'd have made Melbourne from Sydney on what was left.Indeed, cruising is the HDi's remit; a soft sprung, rolly, (very) tall-geared device that's noisier at freeway speed than you'd like, though that's mainly from the wind. The diesel itself is not only fairly refined, but a doughty, capable unit that we're keen to see teamed with the self-shifter. Meanwhile, here's another French conversion to right-hand-drive that sets the clutch pedal maddeningly irritatingly high.It's in the driving that the C4 succeeds in standing apart. You can carp at its lack of "sporty" dynamics, but - like the bigger, luxuriantly riding C5 range - that's not what it's here for.A point of difference among the inevitable choices, we'll need to see how it rolls with an auto for a market relevant conclusion.

Sermon on the MountCometh October and verily did the pilgrims converge upon the sacred Mount where on was preached the sermon of the bent eights. Congregate did the disciples of the Blue Oval and Red Lion sects at this holy place; there to cast empty drink vessels at the unbelievers and to light pyres of sacrificial chariots. And at day's end, when one tribe's champion had smote mightily the other, the believers and philistines all did trail away in a long mournful procession across the western plain ...SO MIGHT read some scrap of scroll unearthed by a future archaeologist recounting the annual secular rite that is the Bathurst 1000. This weekend's edition might be one of the last to feature only the the clans of Ford and Holden, as the end of the two-make contest is nigh. The need for new blood is widely recognised - not least by incoming V8 Supercars commissioner Mark Skaife, even in the form of marques from distant lands that your flat-earth Aussie V8 believer can scarcely envisage.That though, like the day of reckoning, is a prospect best not dwelt upon. Today's our day for making a pilgrimage to the Mount in two of the best V8s from the Holden and Ford stables. In sales terms, the fight between the Cruze and the Focus shapes as far more meaningful, but the muscle cars chosen for our excursion show this perpetual heavyweight title fight is far from decided.Ford Performance Vehicles is represented by its GT-P, essentially a life support system for the stunning new supercharged all-alloy Boss 5.0-litre V8. The fruit of an estimated $40 million investment, it obliges by returning 335kW at 5750rpm and a gut-punching 570Nm from 2200-5500rpm.That overwhelming (literally as it turns out) off-the-line performance is underwritten by superb Brembo brakes. Visually - despite its sober, deeply dark blue paint, silver accents and grey stripes - it's as subtle as a copping a half-full can of VB  on the scone, with a vast spoiler rising from the rear deck and a mountainous protruding bulge on the bonnet.The visual cues of Holden Special Vehicle's Clubsport R8 Black Edition emphasise that, although this is a close competitor, the respective cars are about as different as two similar things can be. Ours is luminous white with matt-black accents, even the HSV badges, suggesting nothing so much as a Star Wars stormtrooper helmet. (Lord of the Fully Sith, anyone?) On its V8, FPV has downsized and used forced induction while the Clubbie is all about capacity and natural aspiration in the form of that resonant 6.2-litre V8. For all its size, its output is less than the FPV's - 317kW at 6000rpm and 550Nm at a higher 4600rpm.The ClubSport's brakes are equally impressive for their progression through the pedal and the assertive bite. There's also an HSV-bespoke limited-slip differential to keep it in shape. With this and the wider rubber around the 19-inch alloys at the rear, the electronic safety measures are less frequently aroused.Escaping Sydney's ever-expanding sprawl, our 16-cylinder procession abandons the (not so) Great Western Highway, cutting across country via Hampton, Oberon and O'Connell to Bathurst, soaking up the spring rain, sleet, hail and single-digit temperature with which the NSW central west is apt to bushwhack the unwary.The FPV soon reveals its twitchy, manic manner. This is the one you'd reckon on winning any traffic light derby, or would be if acceleration off the line and out of corners didn't need a sensitive foot. Punch it too hard in any conditions, especially wet ones, and a superb engine - one you'd be happy to find in a top-end Jaguar - is too much for the chassis to handle and the stability program to rein in.Initial discomfort isn't helped by the most awkward driving position since the old Alfa Romeos. As ever in Falcons, you're perched as though on an orange crate and anyone taller than 185cm has the wheel in his or her lap.But ... Suck all this up, breathe out and what a weapon you wield. You might undercook your corner entry speed, yet if you pick your moment you'll power out with supreme authority accompanied by the charger's whine. For all the modernity of what's under the bonnet, the character of this package feels more like an older-school muscle car, one that requires your best to get its best.The Clubsport, by contrast, is more, well clubbable, as in a club to which you have to be elected. More linear than the FPV in almost all respects - acceleration, steering and handling - it fills the grand touring remit with luxuriant ease, barely touching 2000rpm at the legal limit in sixth gear.A manual gear shifter (which initially brings to mind a piece of gym equipment in its action) feels almost buttery after exposure to the tight-gate rigidity of the FPV's stick.The HSV's seats are not nearly so supportive as the Ford's big, ribbed sports pews but they are more comfortable over distance, while enhancing the impression that the Clubbie shrinks around the driver as you push through the curves. And it's an interior that at least approximates the spend - hardly lush, it is recognisably that of a luxury car with a standard features list that's as full as its rival's is spartan. And, at 80 big ones, the FPV's innards are too like that of a Falcon of half that price.The current HSV series is the one that most convincingly answer that age-old question, "Is it worth the extra spend over an SS?" with an emphatic "bloody oath". It also speaks to the man of means who wants to celebrate his success, not with the obvious German device, but a bulging bicep of Australiana that he (or, yes, possibly she) can drive comfortably every day.None of this is to write off the GT-P. It's an engine in search of a more deservingly contemporary and capable car, yet it provides a rousing contrast, something perhaps for the driver who retains more fire in his expanding belly. What you prefer not to imagine is some ambitious and ability-shy youth getting hold of a well-worn example a decade from now.And as we end our sermon from freezing, darkening Skyline at Mount Panorama days before the great race, both cars prove that Blue Oval/Red Lion rivalry is as alive on the road as on the track.HSV R8 CLUBSPORT BLACK EDITION4.5/5 starsPrice: $71,990Warranty: 3 years/100,000kmResale: 58 per centSafety: 5 starsEngine: 6.2-litre V8, 317kW/550NmBody: 4-door sedanWeight: 1812kgTransmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel driveThirst: 13.5L/100km (98 RON)"A grand tourer par excellence; the everyday muscle car"FPV GT-P4/5 starsPrice: $81,540Warranty: 3 years/100,00kmResale: 76 per centSafety: five starEngine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8, 335kW/575NmBody: 4-door sedanWeight: 1800kg (est)Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel driveThirst: 13.7L/100km (PULP)"Fast and just a bit infuriating"

A responsible publication would at this point post a warning to the sensitive that this article contains superlatives and references to indecent levels of decadence. There's nothing about Bentley's  upgraded topless grand tourer to encourage economy with language, anymore than driving this land yacht with a speedboat's attitude is about economy and restraint.VALUESorry, what was the question again?"Value" isn't a word one uses in proximity to one of these. It's a bit like offering a Russian oil billionaire (a species, who along with China's new money elite, comprise a big chunk of Bentley buyers) domestic sparkling wine rather than champagne.You can still get a very decent apartment in some Australian capitals for less than the approximately $530,000 asking price of the folding roof Bentley. I've lived in smaller rooms than the GTC's interior and stayed in no hotel so lushly upholstered.There's nothing quite like it this is side of a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe and for that you're looking at more than double the ask for the Bentley. The rivals listed below are chosen as much for their ability to go topless as for any real comparability.TECHNOLOGYThe unique Crewe-built twin turbo 6.0-litre W12 has been around for some seven years, just that it's now capable of accepting E85 fuel and, more to the point, is even more muscular putting out 423kW and a mountain crushing 700Nm. Few petrol engines exceed this power, and only one turbo diesel - cousin Audi's top draw A8 - exceeds its torque.Married to the QuickShift six speed auto from the Continental Supersports, it is a formidable drivetrain that, with the uncannily Audi derived rear biased all-wheel-drive system, gets the GTC's 2.5 tonne displacement from zero to 100km/h in an unfeasibly fast 4.5 seconds en route to claimed maximum 314km/h.There's the usual talk at convertible launches about enhanced body stiffness. More tangibly you have a four mode Continuous Damping Control. The front track is 41mm wider, the rear 48.Massive midlife upgrades and sweeping generational changes are left to lesser lights, but such other tech upgrades as have been made are significant, such as the 30 GB hard drive that includes a Google Earth derived sat-nav that's as familiarly usable as it is sophisticated.Even Bentley isn't immune to the legislatively driven engine downsizing, so a bespoke of the new 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 (made for Audi's S6 and S7) is en route though there's no certainty as to when that'll reach our part of the planet. It's felt that what  "you V8 loving Australians" as we we called will gravitate toward it.DESIGNTweaks and embellishments don't exactly abound and you'd want a connoisseur's eye to see them at first glance. Me? I had to read the handout to be sure.Bespoke LED daytime running lights flank an apparently more upright grille with a rear profile in the "double horseshoe" manner of the flagship Mulsanne. There's a choice of 20 and 21-inch alloys from five spokes to 10, all enough to make you want to park meters from the kerb.Mainly and sensibly it's a case of honing a few creases and addition a bit more lustre. As ever the GTC looks indecently attractive with the lid folded down, less so with it up. In any either configuration it's a muscularly handsome beast with one of the most distinctive front ends in the world. When this grille fills your rear vision mirror the temptation is to gawk rather than get out of the way.Within ... Well, it's as though an Edwardian gentlemen's club has been fashioned in the shape of an auto interior. Even the dash is finished in soft-touch leather or which there are 17 shades to complement the seven handcrafted hard veneers. But those wands could have come out of the Volkswagen Group communal parts bin.Bentley has matched Benz with neck warmers for going topless on a cold day. Those being chauffeured in the back also get a bit more leg room. No vulgar, weight adding metal lid for the GTC. It's a tailored multi-layered fabric job that folds down in 25 seconds.SAFETYThe day a safety agency can afford to crash one of these to assess its star worthiness is the day we all start swilling schooners of Veuve Cliquot and smashing the empty vessels in the fireplace. It's just not going to happen.Nor is there any need for this particular excess - festooned airbags, all conceivable safety measures and battleship build quality, the Bentley is bullet, and very possibly bomb, proof.DRIVINGTorque of this sort is not cheap but it is so readily attained - all 700Nm from as low as 1700rpm - a tidal wave on which  the Bentley's small truck tonnage is borne along if not effortlessly then certainly without expending too much effort.Its remit is consuming klicks at a loping cruising pace, it's just that the GTC can do it at 200km/h while barely tickling 3000rpm. At Australian freeway speeds it seems barely to be moving.While the likely client will also own  something honed and sharp for point and shoot driving, this coach acquits itself honourably if modes and transmission are set to the sportiest. In any circumstances comfort mode is a bit acquatic and a constant reminder that, though this incarnation is lighter than the one previous, it remains a lardy beast.That this baggage isn't excessive says it all for the W12 which hauls with immense authority in drive or sport. Maximum power occurs just before the 6200 rpm redline, but this is in no sense about histrionics in terms of revs or even aural feedback.The exhaust blast is best heard from week back rather than within and even with the top down conversations are carried without raised voices.VERDICTVisually an exercise in conspicuous consumption, to drive an exercise in leisure. Never mind your mortgage, live in one of these.Bentley Continental GTCPrice: about $419,749Engine: 6.0-litre W12; 423kW/700NmTrans: 6-speed auto; AWDSafety: UntestedWeight: 2485kgThirst: 16L/100km; 384g/km Co2"Living large; in fact you'd live in it"

Bentley's chief executive Wolfgang Duerheimer told Carsguide this week that he is "writing the business case and I hope to bring it to the (Volkswagen) Group board this financial year". Duerheimer has driven the case for Bentley's SUV, which would sit well above the current crop of luxury soft- roaders, possibly to the north of $350,000. The 12-year veteran of Porsche was research and development chief there for a decade, a time during which the Cayenne came to fruition, revitalizing the brand's fortunes. "The SUV will be," Duerheimer told Carsguide at the launch of the renewed Continental GTC in Croatia. "I have been working on this project for eight months. The longer I dive into this the more confident I get thrash this is the right decision. There is no SUV in the Bentley segment, there is nothing above the ($250,000) Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. "A car which contains the quality, luxury and craftsmanship that Bentley stand for does not exist. A slice of a big cake is possible for us." The German points to Porsche for proof. "When we proposed the Cayenne the dealers said we were crazy. Our clients said 'we drive sports cars, we don't need an SUV'. Even the media told us we were crazy. "We have sold 50,000 units of the SUV without hurting the sports car business." While nothing approaching that volume is mooted, Duerheimer suggests an SUV will push Bentley toward 20,000 annual sales of all models. While he says a version of the Continental GT coupe with a bespoke version of Audi's new twin turbo V8 will become e marque's entry car, the SUV would at least in part be derived from much humbler models. VW's Touareg, Audi's Q7 and the Cayenne have such commonality they are assembled on the same Slovakian production line. "We will not do everything from scratch," Duerheimer concedes. "We are in the lucky situation where Bentley can access all the technology in the group. "I have design models. Our assessment shows we have a completely new approach to SUVs in the group."

Until December 31, the new T4 starts from $49,950 driveaway with a five year's warranty, free scheduled servicing and roadside assist. Running a 1.6-litre direct injection turbo charged four-cylinder engine  good for 132kW/240Nm and 7.4L/100km  the T4 is significant in starting under the $50,000 mark while paired with a compelling warranty/service package. Peugeot and Renault has recently joined the Korean brands and Mitsubishi with the five year warranties, but the Volvo move is unmatched in the executive car segment. This turbo petrol four is joined by a new diesel, the D3, from $54,990. "Both the D3 and T4 represent excellent value for money as the new entry level vehicles into the S60 and V60 range especially the T4, coming in under $50,000 for a luxury sedan," Volvo Car Australia's Managing Director Matt Braid says. "Sales of both the S60 and the V60 are strong for newcomers in the competitive luxury market and the T4 and D3 will further cement the S60 and V60 as genuine contenders in their respective classes." The T4 becomes the S60/V60 entrant, under the 2.0-litre T5. Standard kit T4 and D3 models includes power driver's seat, rain sensing wipers, rear parking sensors, 17-inch alloys, City Safety, Bluetooth audio streaming and a 7-inch screen. The broader 2012 range is revised with a Teknik pack adding power passenger seat, headlight cleaners, sat-nav, blind spot alert, active headlights and chrome detailing. The T5 R-Design S60 and V60 further gain 18-inch Ixion alloy wheels. All T6 S60 and V60 models get Volvo Guard Alarm system, keyless-start, personal car communicator, blind sport warning and front parking sensors. Volvo S60 sedan T4: $49,990 T4 Teknik: $53,990 D3: $54,990 D3 Teknik: $59,490 Volvo V60 wagon T4: $51,990 T4 Teknik: $56,990 D3: $57,990 D3 Teknik: $62,490