The EXTREME X series is the ‘Dakar Rally for electric vehicles’ but the small number of SUV EVs taking part are very special models, developed for the purpose of the unique competition. They are not what would be available from showrooms, just as F1 cars are not sold to the public.
Volkswagen, however, has shown that even production EVs can take the very rough conditions of off-road racing with a specially prepared Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV having completed the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA) Mexican 1000 race recently.
Standard electric powertrain
The ID.4 was driven by professional racer and Volkswagen brand ambassador, Tanner Foust, and Rhys Millen Racing partially modified a rear-wheel-drive version of the E-SUV model. However, it used a standard powertrain with an 82-kWh battery pack. The radiator was raised several centimetres to improve approach angles and cooling capacity, and additional skid plates of thick steel were added to the undercarriage.
To cope with the demanding conditions and terrain, the suspension was also modified with more travel and ground clearance. Rally-style coil-over struts were fitted to all four wheels along with tubular lower control arms in the front and boxed lower rear links.
Inside the cabin was a roll cage for safety, racing seats and supplemental screens for key data like battery temperature, crucial information to know with the high desert temperatures and constant high speeds.
Biofuel-powered generator for recharging
The ID.4 was one of the 64 vehicles that finished the entirety of the NORRA 1000, out of 90 cars and trucks entered. Stages measured between 53 kms and up to 270 kms over the 1.600-km route. The ID.4 was able to recharge mostly using a portable biofuel-powered generator connected to a 50 kW flat charger. In a couple of instances where the ID.4 was scheduled to be transited to the next stage but the charger was not available, the team towed it behind a chase vehicle for a short distance, using the regenerative braking to add range.
Despite the brutal nature of the Baja wilderness, the only damage suffered by the e-SUV was some cosmetic injury to the rear bumper. All of the vehicle’s key power, battery and control systems performed as expected. The ID.4 was raced mostly in ‘B’ level battery regeneration mode with the standard traction control turned on.
“This was an exciting test of ID.4 technology because no other production-based EV had ever entered this event, let alone completed it,” said Scott Keogh, President & CEO of Volkswagen of America.
The ID.4 is the second model in Volkswagen’s all-electric ID range. First deliveries in Europe started at the end of 2020 and it is also being sold in North America and China. Last month, it was announced as the 2021 World Car of the Year.
Romain Grojean’s escape from the burning wreck of his Haas F1 car at the Bahrain Grand Prix last November captured worldwide attention. It was amazing that he came out of the inferno, suffering only severe burns to his hands. The safety measures to protect drivers had worked even though the way the car broke up shocked everyone.
Despite his valiant efforts to recover, Romain was not allowed to drive in the final two races of the season – a season that would be his last in F1, which he entered in 2009. During his career, the 35-year old drive had 179 starts and stood on the podium 10 times.
He was inside and inferno when his car caught fire but miraculously, Romain escaped with only severe burns on his hands.
The F1 world shared his sadness at not having a chance to have a last drive that was not remembered as the one of the dramatic accident. But Toto Wolff, boss of the Mercedes-AMG team, made a commitment to Romain that his crash would not be the closing story of his time in F1. He offered the driver a chance to drive one last time – and it would be in Lewis Hamilton’s World-Championship-winning racing car.
Preparing for drive at Paul Ricard
Romain has already been to the Mercedes-AMG F1 team’s base in England to undergo a seat fit and has spent time in the simulator in preparation for a specially-organised drive at the Frenchman’s home track, the Paul Ricard Circuit, on June 29. He will also take part in a series of demo laps ahead of the French Grand Prix which will be on June 27.
“I am so excited to jump back in an F1 car! It will be a special opportunity for me and to drive a World Championship-winning Mercedes will be a unique experience. I’m very grateful to Mercedes F1 and to Toto for the opportunity. The first I heard about the chance to drive a Mercedes was in my hospital bed in Bahrain when Toto was speaking to the media and made the invitation. Reading that news cheered me up a lot!” said Romain.
Last December, Toto Wolff made a commitment to Romain to let him have a drive in a F1 car so that his memory of his last drive would be a good one, and not of the accident.
A commitment from Toto
Toto said that the idea first came when it looked like Romain would be ending his active career in Formula 1. “We didn’t want his accident to be his last moment in an F1 car, and we are very happy to support Romain with this special opportunity,” he said.
“I have known Romain since his days in Formula 3 when he won the Championship. He enjoyed a long and successful F1 career and we wanted to make sure that his final memories would be at the wheel of a championship-winning car,” Toto said. “Romain’s accident reminds us of the dangers these guys face each time they climb into the cockpit but it’s also a testament to the incredible steps this sport has taken to improve safety over the years. I know the F1 community will celebrate seeing Romain back on track.”
While he leaves F1, Romain is not stopping racing altogether. He will compete in the IndyCar series for Dale Coyne Racing with RWR.
Not content with just winning, Audi Sport customer racing has launched a small series of its race cars.
Audi R8 LMS GT2 Tactical green
This took place shortly after the company’s first two major victories with the Audi R8 LMS GT2 at Monza.
Audi R8 LMS GT2 Kyalami green
This six characterful colours transform the most powerful model of the R8 LMS into unique individual collectors items.
Audi R8 LMS GT2 Vegas yellow
The colours also have unique names: Kyalami Green, Misano Red, Nogaro Blue, Sebring Black, Tactical Green, Vegas Yellow.
Audi R8 LMS GT2 Misano red
These unique colours for the R8 LMS GT2 marks the first time in the 13 year history of Audi Sport customer racing where such a colour concept is made available to Audi customers.
These cars in such a unique colour are a one-off and guarantees pure individuality and will never be available again.
Audi R8 LMS GT2 Nogaro blue
The cars retain the ‘made-in-Hungary’ 640hp V10 that also powers the production R8 while the chassis is the same aluminium-CFRP composite that lays the foundation for the racing R8.
Audi R8 LMS GT2 Sebring black
The ready to race Audi R8 LMS GT2 is available at 349,000 Euros (plus VAT).
How do you judge a car in just three or four days?
There really isn’t much you can say about it other than the way it drives, how the interior feels, and the overall efficiency.
That is the issue with motoring journalism in Malaysia.
So the best way to properly understand a car is to look into a forum where other owners share their experience.
Or to drive a somewhat high mileage car that has been properly used and abused by other members of the Malaysian motoring fraternity.
Which is what I did when Volkswagen Malaysia handed me a car with a little over 10,000km on the odo.
There is no doubt that the Volkswagen Arteon is one the best looking car of its segment.
It created waves when it was first introduced to the world, and it still turns heads today.
At about RM220,000, it seems a better buy than the established competition; the BMW 3-Series, the Mercedes C-Class and the Audi A4.
It is a lot bigger than the competition and a lot more spacious.
And surprisingly offers more creature comforts, though it does not offer as much safety tech as the other Germans.
And that is what makes it fall short of being utterly perfect.
But then again, the Arteon also has held up surprisingly well after 10,000km in the hands of motoring journos.
Of course the cars are fully refurbished before being passed from one journo to another, but there are things that simply cannot be done so quickly.
Such as seat bolstering, faded plastics, buttons that become undone and surfaces that are easily scratched such as the door sills.
I found none of that in this Arteon.
What I did find though is that in the 5-6 days that I had the car, the entertainment system failed on me, once!
This was when I wanted to switch from the Apple CarPlay, to which I was connected to wirelessly, to a regular radio station.
I had Google Maps running (not a fan of Waze) and perhaps the onboard processor had too much.
The system then wouldn’t respond for a couple of minutes, and then it went blank for another couple of minutes.
Shortly after it restarted and was fine for the rest of my drive time.
Just tech being tech, I guess.
But other than that though, I have nothing but praises.
I loved the spaciousness of the Arteon.
For the first time ever, I did not need to move the front passenger seat forwards to accommodate my kid’s rear facing car seat.
The 563 litre booth accommodated everything you need to manage a child over a weekend, plus groceries, plus the wife’s bags, and then some.
Just for reference, the booth is slightly smaller than that of the Passat, but yet is bigger than the 4-Series and the Audi A5 Sportback.
The entertainment system, despite that one issue I experienced with it, was impressive with a 700W 12-speaker DynAudio sound system.
Metallica’s S&M album never sounded so good in a mid-segment passenger car.
The wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity is truly god sent, and something Mercedes-Benz and BMW should take a card from.
However, I do feel the engine does not do justice to the car’s good looks.
The 2.0-litre engine produces just 187hp and 320Nm of torque.
But for those with a need for speed, there is the Arteon R that produce over 300hp.
But it has never been officially offered in Malaysia save for that one time Volkswagen showcased a demo car to gauge public interest.
That didn’t go too well since it would have costed over RM300,000.
But the one great thing that the standard Arteon does incredibly well is fuel efficiency.
I did about 550km during my drive and still had about a quarter tank left when it came time to return the car.
Volkswagen also claims that the Arteon needs just 6.3 litres of fuel to travel 100km on the combined cycle.
And this technically means that in an ideal scenario, the Arteon can travel 1000km with its 66-litre tank. This does depend on how heavy your right foot is though.
Despite its frugal nature, the Arteon also offers the usual array of Drive Modes that make the car sharper or comfortable, all at the touch of a button.
This either stiffens or softens the suspension, adjusts the steering wheel and the accelerator according to the selected drive mode as well.
This did lead to a more interesting drive in Sport mode as the car generally felt more eager.
Even after 10,000km of being driven by people determined to bring out the worst in the car, yours truly included, the Arteon has been steadfast.
The interior is always the first place that wear and tear sets in, and is not easy nor cheap to restore, and despite that the interior of this Arteon has held well.
The powertrain too has proven to the naysayers that Volkswagen has left its old engine and gearbox issues firmly in the past.
And for if you regularly maintain it with care, then there shouldn’t be any issues.
If you do buy brand new, the entire ownership experience is made better with a five-year warranty and a three-year free maintenance program.
Also, it is also worth noting that the new 2021 Volkswagen Arteon is due to be launched in Malaysia real soon.
This means prices of the current Arteon will drop, making it an incredibly good buy in the used car market.
If you can look past the lack of power and appreciate the overall design and the efficiency of the car, then the Arteon would be well worth considering.
Especially when compared to the old guards from Germany.
The Volkswagen Arteon is priced at RM221,065.28 excluding insurance.
Doing shopping online was already gaining popularity among Malaysians before the COVID-19 pandemic started. It offered convenience and an easier way to check out more choices, plus having the goods delivered right to your doorstep.
When the pandemic started and physical contact was discouraged to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, online shopping was already established and with the push by banks to get people to use electronic transactions, e-commerce boomed.
Even car companies started to use online channels as one of their marketing tools, expanding from just having websites that provided information to actually selling as well. Of course, this may not fully replace the personal experience of visiting a showroom, touching the vehicles and sitting in them and, of course, going for a test-drive.
What the online selling approach can do is to start the buying process without the customer having to travel to a showroom and take the process some way along before any physical contact may be necessary. In fact, some companies even offer test-drives if required by sending over the vehicle to the home or office.
Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn. Bhd. (ETCM) is among the companies that sees online shopping as the way to offer its customers a convenient and secure new Nissan vehicle purchasing experience. They can now do so at the Nissan Flagship Store on the Lazada e-commerce platform.
“We are excited to expand our Nissan models on Lazada, making it readily available to everyone who prefers the convenience of shopping at their fingertips. In this challenging time of COVID-19 pandemic, digitalisation has been fast-tracked and we are confident that this move is another way for the brand to enhance its services and at the same time offer great deals when purchasing a new Nissan on a digital application,” said Christopher Tan, ETCM Sales & Marketing Director.
The full range of Nissan models distributed by ETCM in Malaysia can be found at the Nissan Flagship store, including the latest Navara pick-up truck. ETCM may from time to time have special promotions exclusively for those who book online, saving money or getting extras with their purchase.
In conjunction with the opening of the Nissan Flagship Store, the first 55 customers who book the new Almera 1.0L Turbo, Navara, X-Trail or Serena S-Hybrid will receive a free Nescafe Coffee Machine worth RM 598. The booking fee starts from as low as RM250.
Other promotions available include an Urban accessories package (worth up to RM5,500) with the Almera Turbo and Flexi Financing from RM540 monthly. There’s also a Special Civil Servants Promotion for the model (VL variant) with a starting price from RM71,906.
The X-Trail comes with the IMPUL or Aero Edition accessories package worth up to RM5,600, while the Serena S-Hybrid comes with free maintenance service for the first 3 years of ownership, with parts and labour costs included.
Booking online is as easy as making other online purchases. You just select the model you want to purchase and add it to your cart (which would be a pretty big one!). You can choose a method of making payment for the booking fee and submit your details. A representative of ETCM will then contact you and provide assistance through the rest of the process.
Click here to visit the Nissan Flagship Store or you can also visit www.nissan.com.my for information on Nissan vehicles and services from ETCM in Malaysia.
