CLUB! km IN A 24-YEAR-OLD BMW TOUGH LOVE: HOW TO FIX. Top-speed edition. THE SECRET LIFE OF CAR PARTS Save yourself thousands right now

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1 TOUGH LOVE: HOW TO FIX SOUTH AFRICAN MOTORSPORT km IN A 24-YEAR-OLD BMW WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!? issue 33 CLUB! Top-speed edition THE SECRET LIFE OF CAR PARTS Save yourself thousands right now

2 TM Mobil 1 is more than one oil. It has many components that transform at the molecular level, giving your car engine both high and low temperature protection between oil changes. That s your engine evolved. Learn more at centlube.co.za/automotive-lubricants 2017 ExxonMobil. All trademarks used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks ofexxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.

3 COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY IMAGES; RETOUCHING: KARIN LIVNI THIS PAGE: ROB TILL, COURTESY IMAGES REGULARS 4 ED S LETTER 6 BENEFITS 9 PRIZES 10 NEWCOMERS WINNERS 74 GADGETS AND GEAR ON YOUR MARQUES 58 DREAM MACHINES THE LAST HIPPY STANDING A look at VWs electric Kombi MAN CAVE EYE CANDY More than your average chill spot Old school cool Looking back at the classic BMW M5 EXTRA, EXTRA 70 DRIVING FORCE Motoring-inspired style CO NT EN TS ON THE COVER CODE OF THE CURVE BMW M5 tears up the rule book CODE OF THE HAMMER We take the Merc AMG E63 S to the wire WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Road-tripping km in a 24-year old BMW ARE YOU FASTER THAN A BUGATTI? Modified cars race for glory TOUGH LOVE How to fix South African motorsport THE WORD'S OUT Discover the secret life of car parts ISSUE 33 3

4 ED S LETTER Greetings. Pull up a stool and let me tell you about two of the most memorable drives of my career. When you ve dedicated yourself to a life in motoring journalism, there are bound to be many important drives; drives that are turning points, drives that leave you a changed man. Purely coincidentally, two of these just happened to occur at the home of South African motorsport, Kyalami. I guess you could say good things always happen at Kyalami. The first was my one and only encounter with the exquisite Ferrari 458 Italia. Leading up to the event, owing to a last-minute insurance snafu, it appeared we weren t going to drive the cars after all, only experience the cars from the passenger seat as Ferrari Pilottas blasted us around the circuit. Great fun for them, no doubt. Then, voila! On the day, we arrived and we could drive all of a sudden. I don t know if God took insurance out for us or what, but I feel so privileged to have had that opportunity, because that s the day I experienced motoring perfection. The sound, the handling, the speed. I cried a little behind my sunglasses as I pulled that 458 into the pit lane, I ll never forget it. Just like I won t forget another drive around the (then) 4.2 km expanse of high-altitude asphalt, this time at the wheel of the brutal Nissan GT-R Track Pack a very different animal. A former colleague of mine, Aaron, had secretly been taking lap times of all the journos the whole day as we hot-footed round the track a big no-no of course in the eyes of the organisers, but how else were you going to benchmark performance, and know if you were improving your lap times? Anyhow, being the old, shorter circuit, the quick times were hovering around the two-minute-and-some-change mark. Aaron said to me, You ll break into the 1:59s, I can feel it. No pressure, but oh yes, I do love a challenge! It was the last session of the day and I had the sage advice of the country s top driving instructor, Jakes Venter, still pinging around my head from any earlier session: Don t over-drive the car, this isn t a Golf, stop driving it like one. Let the car do the work! I focused all my attention into WINNING LETTER Oh my word! I just couldn t get enough of Motor s last issue. The cover alone had me trying to hold back my screams of excitement. That Honda is truly what dreams are made of. On a more realistic note though, I m very happy that I read the piece on ways to defeat smash-and-grabs and to keep your car clean in a waterless way. Both articles were really helpful, practical reads for issues that we face every day. I look forward to the next dreamy and informative issue. A C Koff Send your thoughts on Motor to: TFGMotor@hsm.co.za and you could win a R500 TFG Gift Card! one ruthless lap, perfect braking, progressive throttle application and steering input like the track was sheet ice nothing to create unnecessary loss of traction. Back in the pit lane, Aaron came running over, animatedly telling me how the stopwatch was on 1:52 when I cleared the final left hander onto pit straight before the line. He couldn t believe it, he said. Dude, what was my time when I crossed the start/finish line!? I asked. 1:59 dead! he exclaimed. Utter euphoria! There you have it. What would ve been a great drive in a Nissan GT-R at Kyalami was elevated to something beyond that in the knowledge we d set Godzilla against the clock and it had attained its goal. And that s why we do what we do at Motor. Driving cars is one thing, but evaluating them against their closest rivals and against the clock is where the real knowledge comes from. That s all ahead in this top-end issue of Motor. BMW M5, once again at Kyalami, versus its nemesis, the AMG E 63 S. Be sure to scan the handy QR codes on each story to take a hot lap around the circuit with us and fully understand the Code of Law. Then we have eight of the fastest modified cars in the world going for 300 km/h plus at the Papenburg meet in Germany. Strap in and enjoy the issue. Ray Leathern PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB TILL ALL LETTERS ARE EDITED FOR CLARITY, SPELLING AND GRAMMAR 4 ISSUE 33

5 THE ALL-NEW FROM R Redefine the look of success in the striking new Hyundai Elantra, where world-class comfort and advanced performance meet. An advanced rear park assist system and an impressive impact-sensing door unlocking system adds to a state-of-the-art driving experience. Standard with infotainment (including SatNav), leather seats and cruise control, you ll soon find out why the new Elantra is one of the best sedans in the world. Terms and conditions apply.