Search Result

In Singapore, eMotorsports has even greater significance, given our lack of any racing scene (karts and grassroots gymkhana/autcross aside). Disappointingly, manufacturer-backed eSports events are extremely thin on the ground here, with one of the few being Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Gran Turismo Cup.
Happenings

Toyota Gazoo Racing Gran Turismo Cup returns to Singapore for 2022

IN Toyota, Gazoo Racing, Supra, Yaris, GR86, Gran Turismo, Sim racing, Simulators, Esports

Catch Singapore’s fastest sim racers battle it out in the Toyota GR86, Yaris, and Supra.


We start with a name and a style that’s all too common in the modified car scene these days: Pandem/Rocket Bunny. They’re a line of wide body kits by a company called TRA Kyoto, brainchild of a certain Kei Miura. He designs, builds and sells kits for a huge variety of cars, from classics like the Nissan Fairlady Z and BMW E30, to JDM favourites like the Nissan Silvia and Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ, to modern stuff like the Toyota GR Supra and Yaris, and even the C8 Corvette!
Happenings

Retro Havoc 2022 Highlights Part 1: Hunting for Speed

Retro Havoc: Encore Edition was our first car show in over 3 years, and boy was it great to be at one again. In this 3-part series, we bring you our highlights from the show, starting with the cars th


Motorsports

Let's R4CE | New BMW M4 GT4

To continue its run of success in the internationally established GT4 category, BMW M Motorsport has released the new BMW M4 GT4.


That explains why, even in the sunset of the car’s life, the brand has just unveiled special editions of pretty much its entire model range. With no significant mechanical improvements on the horizon for the Mini family, this is a quick and simple way to keep the cars in the headlines and generate some buzz over them. Paint-and-sticker specials they may be, but that doesn’t mean you should just write them off as just a cynical marketing exercise. Mini Cooper S Pat Moss Edition
Happenings

Mini launches quartet of special editions across model lineup

IN Mini, Hatch, Cooper S, Clubman, Countryman, Special edition

Unique colour and trim specials keep interest up as we await an all-new Mini generation


Jaguar Land Rover Singapore has just launched the new fifth-generation Range Rover in Singapore, with prices starting from S$765,999. That’s a pretty punchy figure (even for a brand new luxury car) until you realise that a top-spec model could easily cost you seven figures - but more on that later.
Happenings

The new Range Rover is the ultimate luxury SUV. Here's why.

IN Land Rover, Range Rover, Luxury, SUV, Luxury SUV

The latest version of the SUV that started it all is now on sale here, starting from S$765k.


The question was not without merit. Sales of the outgoing Toyota Crown had dwindled to just 21,000 units. A far cry from the heady days where the Japanese automaker sold 200,000-plus units at the peak of the Crown era in 1990. It would take nothing short of a complete reboot to stop the decline of interest in sedans around the world.
Happenings

SHOCK: Toyota Crown sedan splits up into four-strong model lineup for 2023

IN Toyota, Crown, SUV, Luxury sedan

16th generation Toyota Crown becomes an SUV, wagon, and lifted sedan; to be sold globally starting from Autumn 2022 in Japan


But first, let me backtrack a bit. No doubt you’re here reading this because you saw the main picture and were intrigued by it. You’re probably wondering: why the heck would anyone want to bring a family MPV to a trackday, the least sporty kind of car imaginable?
Motorsports

I brought a 7-seater MPV to Sepang Circuit and didn’t die

IN Mitsubishi, Grandis, MPV, Sepang, Trackday

It’s not what you drive that matters, it’s how you drive it


Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) has announced that Singapore and Malaysia will be the latest markets to receive its ultra-hardcore Mono track monster. NB Auto, which also imports Morgan cars, has joined the global network of dealers that can now be found in 47 territories across the world. In response to questions from Burnpavement, Douglas Ng, director of NB Auto, clarified that his dealership is positioning the BAC Mono as a “trackway lifestyle car”. We are assured that more details will follow with a full media briefing once it arrives in “Q3 of 2022”. If you think a Lotus Elise or Caterham is too compromised but believe the theory that the less seats a car has, the better it is to drive, then BAC takes this philosophy to the extreme. The aptly-named Mono is the only model line from the Liverpool-based outfit, and is available in two variants. The Mono R is a limited-production extreme evolution of the car's original concept, featuring a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated Ford engine fettled by Mountune, a prominent British Ford tuning company. It revs to 8,800rpm, produces 343hp, and will blitz the 0-100km/h sprint in under 3 seconds. The updated regular Mono on the other hand, has a new engine, a 2.3-litre turbocharged Ford unit also tweaked by Mountune. It puts out 330hp and over 400Nm of torque (a third more than the older NA version), and boasts pretty much the same performance figures. Whatever the engine, the Mono is more race car than road car, with just a single seat, a spaceframe chassis, carbon panels, pushrod suspension, and a kerbweight not far north of 500kg, giving a power to weight ratio in the region of 600hp/tonne.
Happenings

Track use only: 3 reasons why the BAC Mono will not be road legal

IN BAC Mono, Singapore

The BAC Mono single-seater track car is coming to Singapore and Malaysia. Unfortunately, it won’t be seen on the road here. Here’s why...


Anyone personally familiar with this author knows that his eyes light up when the topic of estate cars aka station wagons comes up, especially when the conversation inevitably leads to performance estates. Heck, his first ever review at Burnpavement was an estate! Which then brings us on to the topic of the day... BMW's latest iteration of its bonkers M3, the G81 M3 Touring. But first, a trip down memory lane. Estates, or Touring in BMW-speak, are not unfamiliar to the M-division boys and gals. Back in the mid-1990s, they brought us the very first M car in estate guise, the E34 M5 Touring.
Happenings

BMW's M3 Just Became Much More Practical

IN BMW, M3, Competition, G81, Touring, Estate, Station wagon

Wagon lyfe yo!


With a dearth of knowledge in Singapore on EV systems in general, the students faced a bigger challenge building the R22e than usual. While the teams in charge of the chassis, aerodynamics, and suspension tuning had the benefit of their predecessor’s experience and data to guide them, those in charge of the electric powertrain found themselves thrown in the deep end. From programming the motor controller to even proper safe handling procedures for high-voltage electrical components, there were a lot of lessons learnt in the R22e’s journey, which has implications not just for NUS’s FSAE team, but eventually for the automotive sector in Singapore, particularly once the students enter the workforce.
Happenings

Say hello to Singapore's first home-grown electric race car

IN NUS, FSAE, Motorsport, EV

The NUS FSAE team’s R22e is more than just a speed machine, it’s a stepping stone to building EV know-how in Singapore’s auto sector.


The 3 will be the biggest hitter in the Polestar food chain for the foreseeable future. Where the 2 is a performance executive sedan aimed at the Tesla Model 3 and indirectly, the Audi A4/BMW 3 Series/Mercedes-Benz C-class segment, the 3 will be a large SUV about the size of a Porsche Cayenne or Volvo XC90. In terms of direct all-electric competitors, it goes up against the BMW iX, as well as the forthcoming EV version of the Range Rover Sport. No details yet on its figures, but it’ll have a dual motor drivetrain (one on each axle), and a battery pack good enough for 600km of range. In due time, it’ll be able to drive itself, introducing “autonomous highway piloting powered by the best-in-class LiDAR sensor from Luminar and centralized NVIDIA computing power”. Fancy.
Happenings

Polestar's third act is a luxury electric performance SUV.

IN Polestar, EV, SUV, Electric vehicle

Polestar unveils their new luxury electric performance SUV, due to go on sale in October 2022. We take a closer look at the Polestar 3 here.


But while the T1’s performance was otherworldly (supposedly able to pull 3Gs of downforce at 240km/h), sadly it suffered a raft of high-profile reliability issues at the worst possible moment: when the demonstrators were in the hands of the media (most memorably on Fifth Gear and Top Gear). Caparo had intended to make 25 T1s a year, but in the end only 15 were ever sold.
Happenings

Here are 3 more road cars spawned from the world of F1

When road cars are "inspired by F1", it's usually just lip service. Here are three that take the claim very seriously


Back in the '80s, during F1's original turbo era, Porsche was an engine supplier, providing McLaren Racing with a 1.5-litre twin-turbo V6. But before putting it into the race car, it had to be tested, and for that, McLaren and Porsche stuck it unmodified into a 930 Turbo test mule. This white prototype - largely unmodified save for 17-inch RUF wheels, a front bumper from the 930 Flatnose, and a taller whaletail engine cover with extra vents - was kept secret by McLaren until it surfaced in the middle of last decade.
Happenings

These 3 F1-engined road cars beat the Mercedes-AMG One to the punch

IN Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes, AMG, One, Hypercar, F1, Formula One, Porsche, 930 Turbo, McLaren, Yamaha, Ferrari, F50

The Mercedes-AMG One isn’t the only car with a Formula One powerplant. Here are a few that came before it.


Now, it's looking to make a revival of sorts of that golden era, with the Prodrive P25. That’s a reference to the number of years since the Subaru Impreza World Rally Car (the 2-door one, not the 4-door Impreza 555 Group A car) hit the stages in 1997.
Happenings

22B, or not to be? That is the question, as Prodrive previews 400hp Subaru Impreza 22B STi restomod

IN Subaru, Impreza, STI, 22B, Prodrive, WRC

The Prodrive P25 will be a modernized tribute to Subaru's '90s widebody icon


For the new 2023 Range Rover Sport, that involved driving nearly 300m up the spillway of the Karahnjukar Dam in Iceland, against a torrent of water moving at 750 tonnes/min, and up a 25-degree incline. The danger of getting it wrong? A 90m drop off the end of the spillway into the valley below.
Happenings

The 2023 Range Rover Sport splashes down with a dam impressive debut

IN Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Land Rover

The new Range Rover Sport proves its mettle by driving up the spillway of an Icelandic hydroelectric dam


The ubiquitous 3 Series has been famous worldwide as BMW's primary people-mover since 1975. Currently in it's seventh generation and codenamed G20, it's getting a mid-cycle refresh, or what BMW calls Life Cycle Impulse, or LCI. Outside The LCI G20 is set to come standard with full LED headlights, with adaptive LED headlights optionally available. The latter will feature a cornering light function, non-dazzling matrix high beam, dynamic headlight range control and variable light distribution to make driving at night that much safer for the driver as well as other road u sers. The headlights themselves will be sleeker and sharper-looking than those on the current pre-facelift G20.
Happenings

REFRESHING CORE PRINCIPLES: The BMW 3 Series gets a Life Cycle Impulse

IN BMW, 3 Series, LCI

The BMW 3 Series (or G20) gets a mid-cycle update for its upcoming international launch in July.


The VRS (or RS) has long been the brand's performance hero car. Adopting the VW family's 2.0-litre turbocharged power unit used in the Golf GTi, it was always seen as the
New

The Smart Performance Sedan | Skoda Octavia RS 2.0 TSI

As a big fan of the Skoda brand, I was a little let down by the previous-gen VRS. But the latest one has made up for it.


Today, Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have taken over as the car of choice and so unsurprisingly, the BMW X3 has become one the brand’s best-selling models. Although the 3 Series/4 Series are still the brand’s best-selling models in 2021 with 490,000 units sold, the X3/X4 range is closing in with 414,000 units finding homes last year.
New

BMW X3 xDrive30i M Sport

IN BMW, X3, XDrive30i, M Sport

Some timely updates and upgrades are set to keep one of the brand’s best-sellers at the top of its game.


The pinnacle 7 Series electric vehicle (EV), is called the i7 M70 xDrive. M70, you know, because the familiar M60 designation is now apparently considered too pleb-like to grace the bootlid of BMW's flagship sedan EV. Seven!
Happenings

7th heaven: new BMW 7 Series heads down Electric Avenue

IN BMW, 7 Series, I7, G70, Luxury

Electric drivetrains and 8k displays are just some of the highlights in the all-new flagship BMW 7 Series’ quest to be The Best Car in The World


The Lotus Emira is a 2-seat mid-engined sports car in the same vein as the Evora. Its main competitors are obviously the Porsche Cayman and Alpine A110, although peripherally the BMW M2 and Toyota Supra are there in the mix as well.
Happenings

Lotus Emira order books now open in Singapore

IN Lotus, Emira, Sports car, Launch

Last ever petrol-engined Lotus is set to close a new chapter almost as soon as it begins.



© 2015 BURNPAVEMENT