Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i TopGear Malaysia

Oh dear. This is the Byton M-Byte, a fully electric SUV from a Chinese start-up that’s full of tech (AI, 5G) and will be available before the year is out. It also has a 48in screen stretching from A-pillar to A-pillar. But that’s not all… it has a seven-inch touchscreen in the steering wheel. Placed just above the airbag, this display doesn’t rotate with inputs – it remains orientated correctly the whole time, just like in an old Citroen C4. So, in the past few months, the Chinese have managed to land on the far side on the Moon and make a tablet on wheels. Where do they go from here?…

Elon Musk’s plans for world domination stepped up a notch recently as The Boring Company unveiled its first underground test tunnel in Los Angeles. Musk’s aim is to reduce congestion in built-up areas by allowing cars to pelt through a giant network of tunnels at around 150mph. The original plan was to build ‘electric skates’ that would carry parked vehicles. However, we now know that retractable ‘tracking wheels’ will come down from all four corners of a car and run along the sides of the tunnel instead. To travel in the tunnels will require an electric car with the ability to drive autonomously at 241 kph, thus creating business for Tesla in the process. Clever Elon. These side-facing wheels will act like horizontal stabilisers, keeping the Tesla from hitting the…

Aston Martin Vantage RM1.61 million (base) WE SAY: PLENTY OF NEW GERMAN BITS HERE, BUT HAS THE VANTAGE LOST ITS BRITISH CHARM? ABSOLUTELY NOT “What? It has a Mercedes V8 engine?” exclaimed a few surprised and confused folks when we answered their queries as to what powers this yellow-hued, quintessentially British sports coupe featured here. This, of course, is the all-new Aston Martin Vantage and, having sampled it with a spirited drive up to Kuala Kubu Bharu and back with our colleagues from TopGear Malaysia Chinese Edition just before the recent festive holidays, there’s much to say about Aston’s new baby. But before we get into it, here’s a quick history lesson. Since its reintroduction in 2005, the Vantage stood as the Aston Martin’s most driver-focused offering. Simply put, if…

Audi A1 vs Mini Cooper £22,350 /£20,710 WE SAY: SMALL CARS, TEENY ENGINES, POSH BADGES, BIG PRICE TAGS The Audi A1 isn’t just late to the party – it’s not even bothered with a costume. The first A1 T arrived a yawning nine years after the reborn Mini basically invented the small, cool, posh car for the 21st century. Now it’s back, and the sequel has almost dabbled with the Mini’s sacred territory – retro. Look! Those three (fake) intakes under the bonnet – straight from the Sport Quattro. The A1 is that guy who turns up to a fancy-dress party still wearing his crumpled suit from the office, and tells everyone he’s come as James Bond. In S line trim (bigger fake intakes, sportier seats, 17in wheels) it looks…

Jeep Trackhawk vs Range Rover Sport SVR £89,999 vs £101,145 WE SAY: SUPERCHARGED SUVS AHOY. WHICH MONSTER PLANET SPINNER WINS? You won’t believe what the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk does when you engage launch mode. I couldn’t. It was bloody hilarious. Afterwards. Fairly shocking during it, if I’m honest. So you come to a halt, apply as much pressure as possible to the brake pedal (my left leg maxed out at 108bar), wallop the throttle and note that you are already moving forwards. Yep, the Trackhawk is that eager for the off. Or, to put it another way, 400mm Brembo stoppers aren’t man enough to prevent 707bhp of supercharged V8 getting going. You release the brakes. The rear wheels spin, the nose heaves into the air, there’s a furious bellowing…

Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone is finally here. And it’s ready to silence its critics. The all-new Samsung Galaxy S10 series enters the local market with two choices -- the S10 and S10+. Both the S10 and S10+ versions comes with Samsung’s range-topping 8nm Exynos 9820 octa-core processor and the firm’s gorgeous new Quad HD+ Curved Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O displays that are HDR10+ certified as well. Separating both devices are their different memory specs and, of course, size. With the Galaxy S10+, Samsung has brimmed it with a massive curved screen up front that measures 6.4 inches diagonally whilst the Galaxy S10 offering gets a slightly smaller – but by no means lesser – 6.1 -inch panel instead. The latter also gets a memory spec that’s far from shabby as it…

05 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA S Yep, you’re correct – it doesn’t look much different from the last one. Which itself was quite clearly related to the one before it and, now you come to mention it, wasn’t dissimilar to the one before that. There were a couple before that one which bore an uncanny resemblance to the new 2019 992’s lozenge silhouette too, because, and this might come as a shock, if you take a rear-engined coupe, give it a pair of small rear seats and a low bonnet line, you’ll end up with something that looks like a 911 pretty much every time. Many people don’t like this styling outcome. “It looks like the last one,” they froth around internet forums. “It’s an arse-faced Nazi s** tbox,” they say…

13 VOLKSWAGEN ID TG RENDER The Beetle and Golf… Volkswagen has been defined by these two massive hits. Now the company says this new electric car will be just as important. If things go to plan, the ID will reinvent Volkswagen itself. The ID is electric now, it’ll be autonomous later, and there will be dozens of cars on this one platform – a total of a million a year being churned out by 2025. Yet even a step this big sounds like foot-dragging. This VW will be a decade behind the first Nissan Leaf. For most of that time, VW reckoned there wasn’t enough infrastructure to make electric cars a truly mainstream thing. So there wouldn’t be profit to justify investing in a specialist EV rather than the half-arse…

Uh-oh. Chris Harris is broken. Mouth agape and head in hands, he’s temporarily paralysed from what I can only describe as – don’t quote me, I’m not a doctor – Optic Nerve Overload. I can’t blame him. We’re in a large, anonymous warehouse on a large, anonymous industrial estate somewhere in Switzerland. Inside this large, anonymous warehouse sits the greatest collection of left-field, usable performance cars from the past 40 years. Possibly the greatest collection of cars in the history of ever. It’s a real hotchpotch of horsepower – rows and rows of rare-groove nostalgia sitting in perfect herringbones. Just look at them: the biggest hits from Alpina and AMG, a flood of Bentleys and Rolls-Royces. Renault R5 Turbos, iconic manual Ferraris and mint Range Rovers. Then there’s stuff e…

J Months after it was previewed in the KualaLumpur International Motor Show, the Mitsubishi Triton has finally gone on sale officially in Malaysia. The new Triton is powered by a 2. 4-litre MIVEC turbodiesel making 181 PS and 430Nm, managed either by a six-speed manual or a six-speed auto with Sport Mode. The biggest change is up front, where the Dynamic Shield design is now applied. The revised face also features bi-LED headlights (Adventure X only) a nd LED daytime running lights (DRL), with the taillights being LED as well. Entry models run on 1 6-inch wheels while the Premium bumps it up to 1 7 inches. The range-topping Adventure X, on the other hand, goes all the way up to 18. The Adventure X also gets the new Super…

J Naza Premira, brand custodian of Vespain Malaysia, launched the Notte versions of the Vespa Sprint and Vespa GTS scooters recently. Notte means night in Italian. Fittingly, both the Sprint Notte and GTS Notte are finished in a special matte black paintjob with matching black wheels and accents. The bikes beneath the all-black suits remain the same, with the Sprint being powered by an air-cooled 1 55cc single-cylinder engine while the GTS remains one of Vespa’s feistiest offerings thanks to its 278cc mill which churns out 21 bhp and 22Nm of torque. The Vespa Sprint Notte is priced at RM1 7,700 and is limited to just 52 units nationwide. The GTS Notte is even more exclusive with just 19 units in Malaysia sold at RM29,000 apiece.…

What: Aston Martin Vantage and DB11 Where: Kuala Kubu Bharu British supercar duo snubs our request for a group photo What: Volvo 940 S Where: Bakewell, UK The main reason Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray turned down Ghostbusters 2019 What: a boat Where: Dungeness, UK If Dungeness is the UK’s only desert, what is a boat doing there? Answers on a postcard Who: Chris Harris Where: Geneva, Switzerland Good to see Chris found appropriate clothes in his wardrobe for the Eighties shoot What: snacks Where: Autobahn, Germany Delicious reformed meat product followed by immense sugar rush. Standard TG lunch, then What: what indeed Where: Rachel, NV, USA Evidence, if that were actually necessary, that America is a very strange place indeed… What: the great wall of china Where: TG Towers,…

Seat Tarraco Xcellence £30,410 WE SAY: IT’S A ROOMY, GOOD-LOOKING SEVEN-SEATER, AND THE POSHEST SEAT EVER The Tarraco completes Seat’s threesome of SUVs, joining the little Arona and midsize Ateca. And it’s a biggie, built to rival the likes of the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Skoda Kodiaq, which of course is also the Tarraco’s not-so-distant cousin. But it’s not just a range-topper in terms of size. It also gets upmarket materials, higher specs and more equipment than its showroom subordinates. Its silhouette is very similar to the Kodiaq’s – unsurprising given the shared architecture. Seat reckons the Tarraco is the sportiest SUV in its segment, which is overselling things a bit. But while it’s hardly a hot hatch, it’s not a hippo either. It’s mildly engaging around corners; surefooted…

Audi R8 £128,000 (est.) WE SAY: THE SUPERCAR FOR NON-SUPERHERO DRIVERS GETS A MILD REFRESH The most everyday of the everyday supercars. Might not sound like a vote of confidence, but it is. Because alongside the sound ergonomics, 95th percentile cabin, reliability and build quality you have a screaming 8,700rpm V10. Unusual juxtaposition: Audi, doyen of the aspirational, being one of the last bastions of natural aspiration. Now with more power. As you can tell by the edgier nose, the R8 has been facelifted. Still a two-model range, but with the Plus now renamed Performance. That’s received a boost from 604 to 612bhp, while the entry level is up from 533 t o 562bhp. The rear-drive-only RWS? That’s gone. Elsewhere, the promise is a sharpened driving experience, achieved by stiffening…

Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Coupe £356,000 WE SAY: THE THIRD LAMBO TO WEAR THE JOTA BADGE HAS SO MUCH TO LIVE UP TO. THANK GOODNESS THE JOB’S A GOOD ’UN “The Aventador SVJ is the most extreme version, featuring the most powerful V12 Lamborghini has ever created.” And there were we thinking the Aventador SV was on the outer margins of extreme. Let’s start with the name. SV, Super Veloce, we’re familiar with, but J-for-Jota? That has only ever graced two cars previously: the Miura P400 Jota and the Diablo SE30 Jota. It refers to section J of the FIA homologation rule book that Lamborghini pored over when trying to take the legendary Miura racing. So, in case you hadn’t guessed, SVJ means faster and even more track-focused. Faster first. The…

Red Army Watches (RAW) has specially curated a selection of timepieces made especially for women ahead of International Women’s Day 2019 on March 9. “Modern women are more career and success oriented, granting themselves more independence and financial freedom,” said Julianna Chai, Managing Director of Red Army Watches (RAW) Malaysia. “They make decent salaries and can buy their own timepieces instead of looking at men to buy it for them.” Commemorate the celebration with these six timepieces that are now available at all Red Army Watches boutiques nationwide. 1. Sevenfriday P1B/02 This immaculate piece from Sevenfriday’s P-series perfectly pairs a set of soft calf skin leather straps with a sturdy case is inspired by the industrial essence of cotton-spinning machinery. This intricate beauty also boasts a five-layer multi-level stainless steel…

For most Malaysian die-hard Liverpool FC fans, the chance to watch their team live in action probably comes once in a lifetime. That dream came true recently for four lucky grand prize winners thanks to Stamford Tyres (M) Sdn Bhd, distributors of the Falken Tyres brand in Malaysia. The four lucky winners were Mr Lim Kong Ping, Ms Loh Poh Tin, Mr Alvin Seah Peng Ngee, and Mr Jimmy Bong Soon Meng. They were selected at random by Stamford Tyres (M) Sdn Bhd from a pool of entries submitted during a special Falken Tyres campaign held from March to August 2018. Opened to all Malaysians who purchased brand new Falken Tyres through authorised retailers, the campaign was also aligned with the leading tyre brand’s status as the official partner to…

19 ASTON MARTIN VALKYRIE When I met Adrian Newey to discuss the Valkyrie back in summer 2017, something he said lodged in my brain like a fish hook: that the 1 2-into-one exhaust system, rather than two six-into-ones, “makes it sound like it’s revving twice as high as it actually is.” For an engine we now know red-lines at 11,100rpm, that’s quite a claim. Probably why I’m standing in a dingy corridor somewhere in the Cosworth factory (the acoustic sweet spot, I’m told) w ith my ear pressed against a cold steel door, and mildly fearful of what’s about to be awoken on the dyno the other side. What occurs is a sound every bit as pure and piercing as we’d prayed for. A sound impossible not to compare to…

It is, let’s be honest, a dark time of year for telly. Masterchef: The Professionals has finished. Strictly’s done until next autumn. It’s nearly a whole year until the next Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas special. But fear not, because TopGear TV is back to make your Sunday nights up to 14 per cent more bearable! Series 26 (or possibly Series 3, or Series 4, depending which calendar you’re using) brings five all-new one-hour episodes, which see Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid – with a little help from The Stig and Sabine Schmitz – set out to tackle the big motoring problems of our age. Y’know, serious consumer stuff. Discovering the best family estate car with the help of some Norwegian wingsuiters. Building a new mountain with the help…

British supercar outfit McLaren has a brand new home in Malaysia. The maker of the legendary F1 is now based in Glenmarie, Shah Alam. And one of its first orders of business in its new HQ was to hold a local preview of the McLaren 600LT. A member of Woking’s Sport Series range of cars, the 600LT takes the fight to the likes of the Porsche 91 1 G T2 RS and Ferrari 488 Pista with a 2. 9-second century sprint and 328kph top speed. These figures are realised by McLaren’s 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8, which delivers 592bhp and 620Nm to the rear wheels of the 600LT via a seven-speed ‘Speed Shift’ gearbox. Among the other go-fast bits packaged into the 600LT are adaptive dampers, an open differential with brake steer,…

J Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) saw a 35 percent increase of cars delivered in 2018 with a total of 1, 384 units (1, 021 units in 2017). The key factor in growth momentum started from 2015 after the launch of the XC90 T8 Twin Engine SUV and introduction of the VRE (Volvo Retail Experience) to give customers an improved experience in the showroom. Also a contributing factor is the initiation of VSA (Volvo Service Agreement), which gives Volvo owners a comprehensive service package that covers replacement of most wear-and-tear parts as well as the option to choose between a three-and five-year service plans. This helped double the Volvo’s Customer Experience Management (CEM) s cores from 2017. In 2018, customers saw the start of Volvo Car Leasing as well as the…

Honda Malaysia recently released the Jazz Mugen and BR-V Special Edition. Essentially dressed up versions of the Japanese carmaker’s hatchback and compact MPV, both models have their production limited to just 300 units each. The BR-V Special Edition is dressed up with a new tailgate spoiler, running board and side step garnish. Inside, it gets a new 6.8-inch infotainment screen while everything else about the utilitarian seven-seater remains mostly untouched. The ‘Passion Red Pearl’ paintjob, which is offered alongside ‘White Orchid Pearl’, is new to the BR-V, though. Meanwhile, the Jazz Mugen differentiates itself from your run-of-the-mill Jazz with a sportier front grille, an aggressive front ‘Aero’ bumper which houses LED fog lights and a tailgate garnish. Also part of the Mugen package are a pair of side skirts and…

Are you familiar with that “Not sure if…” meme featuring the main character from Futurama? Good if you do because that’s what I had in mind prior to driving the Ford Ranger Raptor, half-wondering if the truck’s existence is nothing more than using the Raptor name to increase Ranger sales, or if it’s actually a proper machine to live up to its reputation. But one just needs to go through the Ranger Raptor’s spec sheet to see that it means business, and no other detail puckers your lip more than the truck’s •.‡ -inch Fox racing shocks. This is heavy duty stuff here, and even the local Ford guys say that it was chosen not for its off-road capabilities, but rather for the Raptor to feel at home at speed…

On-demand flying taxis that will cost no more than folding yourself into a grubby Prius are creeping closer to reality. This is the Nexus, from Bell Helicopter, shown as an actual model at the CES show in Las Vegas in January. Capable of carrying a pilot and four passengers (plus their kebabs) it uses eight articulated eight-foot fans to take off vertically, and can fly 241 km between charges at up to 241kph. Uber is working with several manufacturers on eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft, and plans to launch in 2023. Who wants first go?…

BMW X3 xDrive30i RM313,800 WE SAY: THIRD-GEN X3 BRINGS LUXURY LINE BACK TO LOCAL LINE-UP, BUT IS THAT WHAT MALAYSIANS WANT? BMW sold 12,008 cars in Malaysia last year. Predictably, the 3-Series was the biggest contributor with 3,363 units sold. But if you break the numbers down by variants, the single most successful model for the Bavarian carmaker last year was the X5 xDrive40e – its 2,900-unit total beating the 330e by over 750 cars in the sales charts. At just RM390k a pop thanks to local hybrid incentives, the X5’s runaway success wasn’t entirely unexpected. Plug-in hybrid models accounted for more than half of BMW Malaysia’s total sales after all. But where does shift leave new models packing traditional petrol mills like the X3 xDrive30i? Without any electrification o…

Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet RM1,405,888 WE SAY: TWO DOORS AND A SOFT TOP DON’T QUITE MAKE AN S-CLASS. IT’S SOMETHING A LOT RICHER What would you buy with a million dollars? A house and a car are probably the most common answers. If a mysterious donor deposited that much into your bank account, you can probably get both with cash to spare before the taxmen come knocking. But not if the car in question is a Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet. At RM1,405,888 a pop, the most visually extravagant member of the W222 S-Class family is also an incredibly expensive oxymoron. Because for all of the reverence given to cars brandishing AMG logos today, you barely get any for the stratospheric price tag of the S560 Cabriolet. However, you do get Swarovski crystals…

Swiss watch Manufacture Girrard-Perregaux made its presence felt during the recent Miami Watches & Wonders 2019, unveiling perhaps one of its most stunning offerings to date called the Quasar. Based on the “Earth to Sky” theme, this complication model is named after the most brilliant of astronomical entities, the quasar. Thus illuminated, this tourbillon with its contemporary spirit enters the light spectrum with a case entirely made of transparent sapphire crystal. While GP has been making its signature three-bridged movement for well over a century now, the Quasar takes things up a few notches. For starters, GP have opted to render the movement in matte black titanium and wrapping in a solid sapphire case design. The latter marks a totally new creative approach undertaken by GP. In fact, the case,…

01 TOYOTA SUPRA “IT’S LOW, WIDE AND SHORT – IT’S A TWO-SEATER ON AN ABBREVIATED WHEELBASE TO FOSTER AGILITY” Finally. You can now at last drink in the looks of the Supra. Or, to use its official full name for the first, and possibly last, time: the Toyota GR Supra. Huzzah: the real production Supra. Was ever a car more teased and trailed, hinted and hyped? Now this really is the one, due to arrive on roads near you… albeit, sigh, not until late summer. Stare, why don’t you, as it flares its nostrils, narrows its eyes, puffs out its chest, pulls in its stomach and flexes its shoulders? It seems to know darned well how closely it’s being watched, and strikes an on-point paparazzi pose. It’s low, wide and…

07 ASTON MARTIN VANQUISH ZAGATOS Beauty and madness, Aston Martin calls it. It’s a brilliant juxtaposition, but they’re not the only ones that can push that envelope. As all four members of the latest Aston Zagato family are gently decanted, the sky above us simultaneously darkens and seems to get bigger. There’s a bleakness exacerbated by the presence of two monolithic nuclear power stations. This is Dungeness, a spit of land jutting out of the Kent coast, a shingle desert, but a place that’s fiercely protected by its inhabitants and beloved of anyone who can see beyond the conventionally beautiful. The same could be said of Zagato. In 2019, this most defiantly original of Italian carrozzeria will celebrate its centenary. Ugo Zagato applied aerospace techniques to car manufacture; he worked…

“It was a flying saucer, silver and it was sitting hovering over a telephone pole. If my brother was alive today he would tell you the same story. I totally believe it. You really think this is all that exists? You’re very shallow-minded.” After barely an hour on the Extraterrestrial Highway we’re hearing, unequivocally, that otherworldly beings are out here too. It’s just hard to take it seriously when Pam, the lady telling us her story, is doing so from behind a grotesque alien mask. “We were playing hide and go seek in my grandma’s back yard, and however long it takes a 10-year-old to count to 100… that’s how long I saw it. There were four white globes in a diamond shape, and they all shot off n sequence.…

If you think in terms of ‘either/or’ and ‘black/white’, you’re unlikely to be the sort of clientele Rolls-Royce is targeting with the Cullinan. Such cars are additions to the garage ensemble – part of the 50 shades of grey – and never compromises. After all, there’s no reason why you can’t own a Dawn, Wraith, Phantom and Cullinan at the same time, in addition to the merry menagerie of exotics, assortment of grocery/school errand cars and collectible classic cars. It’s not about looking for that unicorn Swiss Army Knife of cars to fulfill all your needs, but instead, having an assortment of cars to suit your different needs… Such is the rarefied segment of owners the Cullinan operates in that there’s no concern about trifles like fuel consumption, emissions, ’Ring…

The Porsche 718 Cayman SportDesign is Sime Darby Auto Performance’s latest exciting plaything. It’s essentially a special spec for the 718 Cayman limited to just 1 5 units, five for each colour it’s offered in: Racing Yellow, Guards Red and Carrera White Metallic. Changes are largely cosmetic, with added sportiness coming from a front spoiler, redesigned rear apron and black accents for the door handles and tailpipes. The SportDesign package also bumps the 18-inch standard wheels up to 20 inches, with buyers given the choice between Carrera S or Carrera Sport Wheel designs, both finished in high gloss black. The LED headlights come with Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus (PDLS+), while subtle carbon fibre elements complete the 718 Cayman SportDesign look. Inside, you get the carbon decorative and black leather…

National carmaker Proton has released official pictures of the upcoming Iriz and Persona facelifts. These are the first of Proton’s existing models to be redesigned as per the brand’s updated design since Geely became a major shareholder in 2017. Like the X70, the first Proton model to be based off a Geely offering, the Iriz and Persona now sport new front grilles with the ‘Infinite Weave’ motif. Each model gets a unique grille, but Proton has standardised the headlights for the Iriz and Persona to good visual and economic effect. Inside, the gear knob is an obvious Geely contribution while the touchscreen infotainment system is also updated with the help of ECARX to support voice commands. This could be similar to the GKUI system on-board the X70.…

J Fans of the Ford F-150 Raptor rejoice. Hamawangsa Automobile TTDI recently took the covers off something called the Sutton CS3500 Monster Truck. Essentially, this is a Ford F-150 Raptor that’s been fully re-engineered by UK firm Clive Sutton for right-hand drive markets like Malaysia. Interestingly, this conversion is installed locally in Gurun, Kedah, as part of a technical partnership between Hamawangsa and Clive Sutton. However, the CS3500 Monster Truck isn’t merely an American pickup with a relocated steering wheel. Given that the Ford F-150 Raptor base truck was never developed in RHD form, there are plenty of things that had to be re-engineered, re-fabricated, and re-produced, some right down to the chassis level too. Notable hardware changes executed by Sutton Bespoke include the steering rack, dashboard and even the…

The M3 has matured in a fascinating manner over its 33-year life, growing from a pugnacious little four-cylinder coupe into a turbocharged fire-breathing saloon. It’s spawned many iterations along the way, folding hard-top convertibles and two-seat track-day specialists among them. The car you see here, though, is the only one to use eight cylinders. Sold between 2007 and 2013, the E90 series of M3 used a highly strung V8 engine and came with three different body styles and your choice of two gearboxes. You can now buy one for less than £15,000, considerably cheaper than even the meekest 1-Series costs new. The four-door here loses the carbon roof that brings a ton of geeky cool to the coupe, but there’s something deeply satisfying about such a sensible shape clothing a…