Articles by Stephen Ottley

Hyundai is taking aim at European hatches with its new i30. The five-door hatch goes on sale in October, and Hyundai Australia chiefs are desperate for it to challenge the best Europe and Japan has to offer in the increasingly competitive class.To that end the company has designed the car in its European studio to make sure it can compete with the Volkswagen Golf and Mazda 3.In order to give the car better appeal, the long-serving Elantra name has been dropped for the hatch in favour of the European brand name of "i30".The company has paid the price for not offering a hatchback version of its Elantra model, leaving it with a crucial hole to fill.Hyundai sales are down 8 per cent this year, but the South Korean maker believes the introduction of the i30 will give it the boost it needs if it is to meet its target of 50,000 new car sales.“We are expecting a lot from the i30,” Hyundai Australia chief Steve Yeo says.“The importance of the i30 is enormous. Since the launch of the new Elantra, we have not been able to offer such a model. The hatch had been the most popular choice by far in the previous car,” he says.Hyundai Australia has been highly involved with the car's development, ensuring the i30 is suited to the local conditions after the current Elantra sedan was criticised by the Australian media.“Hyundai Australia had engineers in Korea, and then the cars came to Australia for final tuning under Australian conditions,” Yeo says.The same hard work has gone into the design and build quality, so Yeo is promising big.“It was designed by the European studio and is far better than the previous model. Quality-wise and also material-wise, it is far better than the competitive model in the market. So you can expect a lot from the i30,” Yeo says.The car's European design is obvious with its short front and rear overhangs. It uses the same wheelbase as the Elantra sedan, but is 260mm shorter overall.Power is expected to come from a 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre petrol engine and an unspecified turbodiesel.The fully independent suspension comes from the Elantra sedan.Hyundai Australia has also decided to stick with diesels, despite producing hybrid vehicles in its native South Korea. The company has announced it will begin producing an LPG Hybrid Elantra for its home market in 2009. But Hyundai Australia CEO Steve Yeo warns not to expect it here soon.Yeo says the company is concentrating on marketing its diesel range, which includes the Santa Fe and i30 hatch.“It's for the future,” he says of hybrids. “For the time being we have a diesel strategy. Probably at the time of our i30 we can also give an idea of how to utilise our diesel strategy, including the i30.”Hyundai Australia chiefs also admitted the company is working on fuel-cell technology as a long-term alternative to petrol engines. 

Caterham is an English company that has been building the iconic Clubman 7 since it bought the rights to do so from Lotus in 1973. Caterham Cars Australia is headed by Chris van Wyk and has started taking local orders on the lightweight road rockets.Although there have been Caterham kit cars in Australia for many years, this venture is the first time the brand has been represented officially as a manufacturer.“It's lovely to finally represent the brand here, and in it's 50th year,” van Wyk says.As a result of strict ADR criteria, the company is offering one model - the SVR 200. It is powered by a Cosworth-tuned 2.3 litre four-cylinder DOCH 16-valve Ford Duratec engine producing 147kW. That may not sound like much, but with the car weighing 575kg the company claims the SVR 200 will go from 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds.The car is equipped with a six-speed gearbox, limited slip diff, De Dion rear suspension and adjustable Eibach/Bilstein springs and shocks.“It is the purest sports car money can buy,” van Wyk says. “In most cars you hop in and travel to where you need to go, with this you really strap it on to your body. All of a sudden you have an engine and four wheels. You become part of the car.”The only thing not small or lightweight about the car is the price. The SVR 200 will start at $107,700 for the base model.“As this thing has top-quality components in it, we need to charge this price for it,” van Wyk says. Traditional Clubman customers looking to spend $40,000 on a kit car aren't what he is after.Instead, the SVR 200 is aimed at people who want a high-performance car they can use at track days and tarmac rallies such as Targa Tasmania or Duttons events. Van Wyk sees the car's rivals as European sports cars, not Clubmans and kit cars. He says one of the car's key strengths is its low running costs compared to European rivals.“This thing you can go and play all day and the tyres are fine, the brakes are fine,” he says.”If you have an accident it isn't too expensive to fix.”With expectations centred on the track, customers will be able to order their Sevens with racing parts direct from the factory.Rollcages, fire suppressors, a racing dash and ignition cut-out switches are options. However, there is one comparison the Caterham won't escape: Elfin.Although the Elfin began life based on the popular Seven platform, it has since evolved into a Holden V8-powered monster. With the Elfin Clubman starting at $84,990, van Wyk is eager to start taking orders on a cheaper Caterham later this year. He is finalising details to add the SVR 1600 to the Australia range with a price around $80,000.In the meantime, van Wyk is keeping his expectations in check.“We'll have a low sales volume, but how low I'm not sure,” he says.People interested in driving a Caterham this year had better act quickly.With each car made to order, van Wyk says that if a customer orders now it should be delivered just in time for Christmas.