In this week’s automotive news you need to know: Lamborghini’s throwback Thursday causes a stir among purists, Nissan further extends the life of its long-serving Z-car, Chinese brand Chery gets a second bite at Mzansi and Toyota SA may just make “driving green” more affordable.
Countach Revival – Let sleeping dogs lie?
Nothing polarises car enthusiasts’ opinions and sets the petrolhead community abuzz quite like the unveiling of a Lamborghini. Such is the mystique of the mid-engined super- and hypercars produced by VW’s St’Agata-based vanity brand (well, it’s technically Audi-owned, ja ja) that every new model is expected to be more outrageous than the one that came before it. Sure, I’m all for improvements, but I do feel that we might all be expecting too much of the “new” Countach, which will be produced in limited numbers and is based on the Sian, which, in turn, is an Aventador with a 48-Volt supercapacitor.
Read more: Lamborghini Countach Comes Back to Life
The newcomer simply draws its inspiration from the car that appeared on millions of children’s bedroom walls; it’s not an all-new model that repurposes a famous name. Lamborghini never said it was, because, as a rule, it doesn’t re-use model names. Besides, revival cars aren’t taboo. There were revivals of the Lancia 037 and Delta Integrale, both of which allowed a defunct brand’s legendary models to live on through niche manufacturers. We didn’t throw our arms up then, did we? No, they weren’t genuine 037s or Delta Integrales, but hardcore enthusiasts who could afford them, couldn’t care less.
The original Countach was a game-changer, but this new/re-imagined one exists because Lamborghini is leveraging its 47-year-old intellectual property while simultaneously squeezing more profit out of a long-serving platform. Why? So that it can continue producing ludicrous machines for years to come. Call it a cynical repackaging exercise or flagrant nostalgia-mining; in my book, it’s just business.
New Nissan Z – ‘Z’ marks the spot
Okay, so you get 2 types of car people in this world – those who love the Nissan Z and… those who don’t. It’ll be a huge relief to performance-car aficionados – and the producers of future Fast and Furious films, I’m sure – that with the gradual decline of ICE offerings in the sportscar sector, Nissan has decided to stick to its knitting with this one; the new Z is a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6-engined coupe with a close-ratio 6-speed manual ‘box (if you must, a 9-speed automatic transmission is available too) that drives the newcomer’s rear wheels via a mechanical limited-slip diff. In short, it’s one for the purists.
Nissan decided against doing what Toyota did when it enlisted BMW’s help to develop the new Supra (in doing so, TMC saved on research and development costs of a low-volume model). Nissan’s not flush with cash – that’s no secret, so it repurposed an existing Infiniti powerplant and freshened up the platform of the previous Z (Z34, which arrived on the local market in 2009) to produce the “2023 Z” – an elemental fun car that incorporates just enough subtle styling cues of its famous sportscar progenitors… and fills a vacuum created by manufacturers pursuing greener aspirations and emission targets.
Read more: New Nissan Z officially revealed
Nissan and Toyota (GT86, Supra) seem to be the only ones making new fun cars in the modern age. These relatively uncomplicated machines keep the Japanese sportscar heritage alive and well, which we should all be thankful for. By the year 2040, when 80% of all cars on the road will be electric, I bet the Japanese will still be making fun cars, and by then, we’ll all be Z fans. Now, bring on that new Skyline!
Chery – the second coming
The great Chinese takeover is happening! This time, Chery’s back and instead of catering for the budget end of the market as before, they’re targeting the ever desirable compact crossover/SUV segment. Call it “fishing where the fish are”, but after Chery’s less than auspicious performance the first time around in Mzansi, the now fully-owned subsidiary of the Chinese powerhouse is armed with the lessons they’ve learnt, plus they have a cheat sheet provided by the ex-Haval SA employees who have joined their ranks. This is a potent blend of business experience that can only result in a serious offering.
Read more: Chery – A 2nd Bite of the SA Market
As consumer confidence in Chinese brands grows stronger (perhaps the resurgent Haval SA should send Chery SA an invoice for that), Chinese models become a bigger threat to their European, Korean and Japanese counterparts, because they no longer have to rely on too-low-to-say-no pricing as their unique selling proposition. Another masterful move is the knock-down plants Chery plans to set up on local soil in the future; it remains to be seen how these facilities will slot into the country’s broader automotive manufacturing industry, but job creation and lower landed costs create favourable headlines.
Corolla Cross – Finally, a locally-made hybrid family car
A good example of wealth disparity in South Africa is the vast difference in incomes between those who can afford new hybrids and battery-electric vehicles and those who can’t. So-called “green(er) cars” are ruinously expensive in Mzansi (as I’ve discussed before, because of a luxury-car tax levied on top of import duties and other taxes), but that may be changing soon courtesy of a nameplate that has had a major impact on SA motoring for more than 4 decades: the Toyota Corolla. It’s only fitting and almost poetic that the Corolla will make its precedence felt again, this time in the new age of green motoring.
Read more: Toyota confirms Corolla Cross engine line-up
The Corolla Cross, which will be built at Prospecton in KZN, will include at least one hybrid derivative. It’s a fillip for the motor manufacturing sector and an investment that will do its bit to facilitate South Africa’s transition from ICE to electrified vehicles. Some of those aforementioned luxury taxes won’t apply to the Hybrid, which will help from an affordability perspective. This means the Corolla Cross could be the first option for a greener commuter with mass appeal, plus it will fill a gap while tech firms find more cost-effective battery solutions and our country’s charging station infrastructure gets upgraded.
