TEN CARS TO CRAVE IN 2011

Unreconstructed petrolhead JON WALL cherry-picks from the automobiles that should be appearing in local showrooms during the next 12 months

ALTHOUGH THE MOTOR industry is still digging itself out of the hole it fell into during the financial crisis, the coming year will see a bumper crop of new offerings – and surprising levels of confidence, creativity and ingenuity among global manufacturers. Few major brands will not launch new cars in 2011 and some – such as the massive Volkswagen group, including Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini – will wheel out newcomers almost monthly, and in every conceivable size and configuration, from pint-sized urban runabouts to luxury limousines, and from 4x4s to supercars.

While it’s fair to say that these days only a handful of companies make bad cars (and fortunately none of those are available in Hong Kong), clearly of the vast majority that that are worthy of consideration, some are more desirable – and also more important– than others. What follows, in strict alphabetical order, are the automobiles our eyes are likely to be on in the next 12 months and, indeed, the years to follow.

AUDI A6
In a year when VW’s aggressive upmarket subsidiary is expected to introduce at least three major new models, as well as umpteen derivations of existing ones, the new A6 should stand out in particular as it will equip Audi with a keen competitor to BMW’s 5-series and the Mercedes E-class in the key, mid-size premium saloon category. We’ve already tried the A6’s closest relative, the svelte, five-door A7 Sportback, which we found almost spookily impossible to faze and that shares the same platform, and engine and transmission options (we’d expect Hong Kong to get the 2.8- and 3-litre V6s, the latter supercharged, with eight-speed or doubleclutch seven-speed gearboxes, and front- or Quattro all-wheel drive). The A6 should also boast a similarly formidable list of optional driver aids, including adaptive cruise control, night-vision assistant, adaptive air suspension, self-parking, head-up display and even Google Earth-enabled sat-nav, though as with many Audis the driving experience could be a little more involving. The class-leading aluminium construction will shave weight from what is by any standards a pretty big car – a smidgen under five metres long, in fact – and this, along with slippery aerodynamics, should ensure better-than-average fuel economy. Add that to supple ride and an interior that could almost have been lifted from the even posher A8, and the A6 should be a very serious contender indeed – and if the 3.0 TSFI’s 300bhp isn’t sufficient, expect even more potent S6 and RS6 versions in the near future, along with Avant and Allroad wagons.

BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT
Although you’d hardly guess it from the gentle massage the stylists have applied to its graceful, curvaceous body, the 2011 Bentley Continental GT is a new car – or at least as much of a departure from its predecessor to warrant consideration as such. Thus, while the ingredients are pretty much as before – a large yet curvaceous two-door coupe body with an ample butt, a twin-turbocharged 6-litre W12 engine (which essentially means a pair of V6 engines sharing the same crankshaft) and a gorgeously luxurious interior – this latest Continental is altogether a sharper beast than its predecessor, both visually and dynamically. With a wider track, the new car appears to sit lower on the road, and the re-positioned wheels, along with tweaks to the suspension and the four-wheeldrive system (60 percent of the engine’s 570-odd horsepower is now delivered to the rear wheels), make handling of this big car tangibly more responsive and precise. That doesn’t mean it’s in quite the same league as a Benz SLS, with which it competes in terms of price, prestige and outright performance (top speed is a hair’s breadth shy of 200mph, at 318km/h), but then the Gullwing doesn’t seat four passengers, or waft them in such pampered, cosseting style.

BMW 3-SERIES
Late this year sees the launch of the latest generation of what’s arguably the most important car on the road today. For probably no other vehicle combines such dynamic excellence with practicality and affordability as the 3-series BMW. In terms of body design the current model – the E90, to use its factory designation – bears many of the over-fussy detailing beloved by former styling supremo Chris Bangle, which has sadly served to mask what is by any other standards an exceptional automobile. Happily, the soon-to appear sixth-generation 3 is expected to flaunt the less flamboyant styling cues already carried by the latest 5-series, and should therefore look much more of a piece, easier on the eye and certainly more sleek than its somewhat dumpy predecessor. Expect two- and four-door models and a convertible, as well as a station wagon and a GT (the latter, we fervently hope, being considerably more handsome than the Gran Turismo version of the 5-series, the most egregious of the Bavarian car-maker’s current stylistic own goals), with a range of four- and six-cylinder engines with and without turbochargers, the 4-litre V8 of the current M3 being replaced by a 3-litre, twin-turbo six that should produce absolutely mental quantities of horsepower.

LAMB ORGHINI GALLARDO SPYDER PERFORMA NTE
This latest incarnation of the seven-year-old Gallardo – and after all this time it’s still an intoxicating proposition – blends several ingredients found in earlier models to come up with the perfect recipe for automotive enticement. Officially known as the LP570-4, a moniker that admittedly does little to get the blood racing, it marries the light weight of the Superleggera (achieved through widespread use of carbon fibre and composites), with four-wheel-drive, the 570bhp of Lamborghini’s most highly tuned V10 engine and a stunning drop-top profile to create one of the most desirable sports convertibles ever built. Top speed is a don’t-try-this-at-home 320km/h, with the all-important zero-to-100 dash a tad under four seconds – but frankly, enclosed within the razor-sharp lines of the Spyder, you’ll look just as cool burbling along at a near snail’s pace in the interminable weekend traffic jam on the south side of the island.

LEXUS CT 200H
Inspired by its German rivals, Toyota’s luxury arm Lexus now appears intent on plugging every conceivable gap in its model line-up (as well as some gaps that may not exist at all), and its new A-class, 1-series and A1 competitor, the CT 200h, is positioned as “the world’s first full hybrid luxury compact.” As such, it borrows heavily from the Prius by mating a 1.8-litre VVT-I four-cylinder petrol engine to a pair of battery-powered electric generators that together produce around 135bhp. Although hardly an outstanding figure, in extremis it’s sufficient to propel the CT from a standstill to 100km/h in a little over 10 seconds. Admittedly that’s no better than a Prius, but where the Lexus cousin does score is on the inside, with an attractive and comprehensively equipped cabin that can be swathed in soft leather or a plush synthetic alternative – and with even sustainable bamboo adorning the dash. The constantly variable transmission offers sport as well as standard modes, the former boosting power from the electric motors as well as firming up the steering. But that, perhaps misses the point, for if production hybrids have yet to excite us in terms of performance, the reality is that the CT excels as a smooth, silent, sensibly sized, economical and comfy city cruiser – and in a crowded and traffic-clogged place such as Hong Kong, what on Earth could be wrong with that?

MASERATI GRANTURISMO MC STRADALE
Since the marque’s regeneration in the early 1990s, when it was acquired by Fiat (first incorporated under its Ferrari offshoot and now alongside the Alfa Romeo division), Maserati has produced some of the most gorgeous cars currently on the road, which is only fitting for what is surely one of the most evocative names in motoring. And when it comes to evocative names, what could possibly top “Stradale,” the handle of the latest – and to these eyes most desirable – road-going machine from the Modena-based company? Although based on the already stunning Granturismo coupe, the MC Stradale is lower, sleeker, meaner, its aggressive snout now flanked by a pair of huge mesh-faced intakes linked by a black lipspoiler (the feature is echoed in the diffuser surrounding the twin tailpipes), and with 20-inch alloys and side skirts to complete the macho persona. It’s more than 100kg lighter than the standard car, too, and with over 440bhp on tap from the 4.7-litre V8, plus a six-speed box that offers race mode in addition to sport, it’s also pretty fast – as in a top speed exceeding 300km/h and 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds. All of which adds up to a pretty sensational machine.

MCLAREN MP4-12C
If any contemporary supercar has been more eagerly awaited than the Benz SLS, then it must be McLaren’s MP4-12C, successor to the legendary F1 whose 385km/h-plus maximum speed for a while made it the fastest production car in the world. Unveiled in 2009 and scheduled for launch in the first half of this year, the 12C is the first road car to be wholly built by McLaren – the F1 had a BMW power plant, while the SLR was a joint-venture with Mercedes – and, as expected, it bristles with high-tech, Formula 1-inspired features and gizmos. Unladen, the 12C is said to weigh a mere 1.3 tonnes, so that performance, from a compact, 3.8-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 that drives through a seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox, should be electrifying, with a top speed in excess of 200mph (321km/h) and 100km/h from a standstill in a little over three seconds. Word has it that McLaren is considering fitting race-style telemetry to production cars, enabling owners to “race” against their own and others’ personal-best times, yet all indications suggest that this pretty yet somehow unassuming supercar should be so even-tempered that it will be just as happy tooling around city streets – doubtless a compelling selling point to potential buyers here.

MERCEDES-BENZ SLS AMG ROADSTER
If any car was the highlight of my driving year in 2010 it was Merc’s SLS, which for all its cutting-edge technology is a gloriously old-fashioned kind of machine. Indeed, its huge bonnet housing a massive engine, cosy but cramped cockpit fit for only two people, a small boot and outrageous performance all give an uncompromising finger to current demands for responsible and practical automobiles. The two-seat coupe’s they-don’t-make- them-like-that-any-more aura is cemented by its gull-wing doors that hark back to the rare (just 1,400 were built between 1954 and 1957) and iconic 300SL, yet it was the roadster version of the original car that had the longer production life, the last of the 1,800-odd convertibles rolling off the line in 1963. The new incarnation of the Roadster, which should reach Hong Kong later this year, cocks a similarly disdainful snoot at modern conventions and with its rag-top folded, the car’s fortunate occupants will be able to relish to the full the ear-watering growls and barks that emanate from its magnificent 6.2-litre V8 engine. Yet for all its prowess on the straights and in the corners, the SLS AMG’s amazingly compliant ride makes it a genuine boulevardier – and as word has it that an electric version may soon see the light of day, this could even be a supercar that tree-huggers can fall in love with.

PORSCHE 911
As, to paraphrase Jeremy Clarkson, the job of a Porsche body stylist must be the easiest of any in the world, don’t expect much in the way of radical change to the lines of the next generation 911, which, following its introduction late this year, should take what is arguably the greatest sports car ever make comfortably into its second half-century. (And despite its advancing age, the current 911 Turbo was the fastest and among the best-handling cars I drove last year.) Among major changes under the skin for 2012, however, will be a longer wheelbase – compensated for by shorter front and rear overhangs – that should help free up room in the cabin, and a slightly smaller, 3.4-litre standard engine that will be at least 25bhp more powerful than the existing 3.6. Unchanged in the product mix will be the familiar choice of coupe and convertible bodies, rear- and all-wheel-drive, and normally aspirated and turbo motors – and to follow there’ll doubtfully be the usual bewildering confusion of S, GT2/3 and RS variants.

TOYOTA FT-86

What, a Toyota to obsess about? Sounds unlikely, yet it wasn’t so very long ago that the preferred wheels among local boy road racers were the Japanese company’s AE86 and AE101 Corolla coupes of the 1980s and ’90s – cars that with their front-engine and rear-drive layouts, offered the perfect platforms with which to hone car-control skills. Seeking total dominance of the auto industry in the 2000s, Toyota decided that the route to universal popularity was via sensible and practical (for which read boring) motor cars, but after being soundly spanked by the global recession and fallout from a host of quality-control problems, the Japanese car giant now seems intent on rediscovering fun and even excitement. And what better car to do so with than the soon-to-belaunched FT-86 coupe, developed in cooperation with Subaru, which mates a variant of the latter’s 2-litre, flat four engine (as seen in turbo form aboard the Impreza rally cars) to a handsome, lightweight, 2+2 body? With driver aids and electronics kept to a minimum, the coupe – which was previewed at last year’s Geneva motor show – perhaps most resembles a more modern interpretation of the pure-sports-car ethos that inspired Mazda’s MX5. Although it’s squarely aimed at a younger demographic, the FT-86 looks perfectly fettled to offer serious enjoyment to just about every age group – and also offers one good reason to fall in love with the world’s biggest carmaker, just when we thought it had lost the plot entirely.