Sosh SpinKingz host “Legends Only” event

Speed & Sound spinners and other spin kings entertain the crowd at Soshnaguve Spinning Palace, Block F. Photos by Robert Mabusela

Bruce Mbingeleli

The Soshanguve Spinning Kingz (SSK) hosted a Spin City event in celebrating the legends of spin at Soshanguve Spinning Palace (SSP) in Soshanguve Block F over the weekend.

The event featured an amazing line-up of local spinners and drifters as well as The General and The Sheriff, spinners from neighbouring countries.

The SSP was packed with petrol-heads who came out in their numbers to witness one of the most epic spinning events ever hosted in Soshanguve.

This event was held to celebrate the motoring tradition and spinners from Gauteng, Rustenburg and Botswana headed to Soshanguve to support the event.

Soshanguve Spinning crew, IZR, and Tshepang “Isla Bonita” Mkonza, a member of SSK, kept the crowd captivated with their brilliant performances.

Botswana spinner The General, a friend of SSK, came to celebrate and also enjoyed the event.

“I feel like a superior person, because Soshanguve is where it all began. This is the place where we perfected our stunts. I make sure that I perfect all my moves and make them as extreme as possible,” The General said.

SSK crew member Lebo “Lebojwa” was not intimidated by the wet road surface and although it was tricky, he managed to do burnouts. 

The event was a day of excitement for both the spectators and the spinners.

“The Spinning Kingz crew along with all the other spinners and drifters were legendary today,” Lebojwa said.

Model citizen meets Tesla Model X Concept

 Bruce Mbingeleli

The Tesla Model X is a full-sized battery electric crossover Sport Utility Vehicle Concept (SUV) in development by Tesla Motors. Plans for the production are to kick-off by the end of 2013 and deliveries to commence in 2014 in the States, don’t know when it will land to our shores, but I’m hoping to see its appearance at the Johannesburg International Show (JIMS) in October of this year.

The prototype was unveiled at the Tesla's design studios in Los Angeles on February 9 2012 and shown at the Geneva Auto Show in March of that same year. The Model X is being developed from the full-sized sedan platform of the Tesla Model, and will be produced along-side it at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California. The Model S on which it is based is a four-door sedan, which was the first to be introduced at the 2009 Frankfurt Motorshow as a prototype and began retail delivers in the US in June 2012.

The Model X weighs about 10% more than the Models S and shares about 60% of its content. Tesla Model X expected to be offered with a choice of two lithium ion battery packs, rated at 60 and 85kW-h and expect the performance model to be able to move from 0-100 in around 4.4 seconds.  The Model S is rear-wheel drive; the Model X will also be available in all-wheel-drive versions. The AWD versions of the Model X will use two motors, one for the front and the other for the rear wheels, unlike conventional AWD system which only have one source of power.

Viper GTS-R the Snake is back

Introducing the new Viper GTS-R

Bruce Mbingeleli

The long awaited GTS-R is back with a bang this year, a factory-backed Viper will race on the world stage again. Based on the all-new 2013 Viper, the Viper GTS-R remerges in 2012. The competition-spec 2013 Viper will compete this year as part of two-car team in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the same series that Viper dominated in 2000.

The new GTS-R is built for three things: speed, reliability and durability. The GTS-R is all about winning endurance races such as the Petit Le Mans, a 10-hour race at Road Atlanta in Georgia and the 24-hour of Le Mans in France. It’s also built to run shorter races in the ALMS, generally two hours in duration. The GTS-R will run in the GT class against Ferrari, Porsche, BMW and Corvette amongst others.

#loveofmotoring...

India’s Electric Car gets set for Solar Powered Reva E20

Bruce Mbingeleli

Indian car manufacturer Mahindra last week announced its “futuristic energy” Mahindra e20 electric car which made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, it seems like they took tips from the more energetic Nissan leaf. The company’s first electric car has undergone extensive testing and validating, it has been certified as a roadworthy in India, and will go into production in the near future.

According to Mahindra, the “e” in the name stands for energy of the sun, the “2” signifies the connected technologies in the car and the “o” represents oxygen this implies one thing about the car, it will bring a whole new meaning to its cars which we call zero-emission and hoping it will be South Africa’s first electric car when the company introduces it here. The e20 has one exhaust outlet and, therefore it does not emit C02 or other harmful greenhouse gases.

Mahindra mentioned this: “The name represents its policy towards a cleaner environment.  The e20 is driven by special lithium-ion batteries, which can be charged at regular plug points. It provides a range of 100km, which Mahindra says it’s perfect for city commuting”. Pricing is not yet been confirmed, but I’m pretty sure that our elderly will be delectable to have such as car as a New Year’s present. 

Mabitsi @ SoshSpinPalace

Jeep’s Compass Altitude has an attitude

Bruce Mbingeleli

Jeep has just launched a limited Edition-run (199 units) of its small Compass SUV called the Altitude edition.

The altitude name stems from a competition that was run following the launch of the Jeep Grand Cherokee concept vehicle at the Houston Motor Show early in 2012. The altitude features a-black-on-black exterior, it gets gloss black finishes on its roof rails, back bumper step and front grille and rides in a pimped look of 18” alloys wheels which also come in black.

Optional exterior colour choices include bright silver, black, tungsten metallic and bright white. The Altitude features power heated exterior mirrors and heated seats, continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls. The Compass Altitude will retail for R295 490 for the five-speed manual transmission and R302 490 for the CVT.

Porsche’s 918 Hybrid ready for the road

Bruce Mbingeleli

There are only three words to describe this car, “Oh my word” what have the German’s done this time around? Most people would feel the same way I’m feeling right now; shocked, amazed and having that weird look on your face. This car has a unique appeal.

The Porsche 918 Spyder was unveiled in September 19^th at  its present form; Porsche’s upcoming hybrid supercar looks more like something out of Doctor Brown’s imagination than the flashy concept that stunned the crowds at the 2010 Geneva auto show.

The 918 Spyder is a mid-engined two-seater sports car designed by Micheal Mauer.  According to the brochure, this car is powered by a 4.6-liter V8 engine, which is a development of the engine used in the RS Spyder Le Mans Prototype racing car. The engine delivers 430kW and a maximum of 500Nm of torque. This supplemented by two electric motors delivering an additional 180 kW. One 85 kW electric motor drives the rear wheels in parallel with the engine and also serves as the main generator. The spyder’s engine delivers power to the rear axle via a 7-speed gearbox coupled to Porsche’s own PDK double-clutch system.

The front serves a mere 95 kW of electric motor directly drives the front axle; an electric clutch decouples the motor when not in use, the total system delivers 614 kW and 780Nm of torque we talking serious power right here. Its performance figures of 0-100km/h in just 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 325 km/h, but Minister of Transport Mr Benedict Martins will mind to keep the speed at a governed rate of 250km/h. Its energy storage system is a 6kW/h liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery positioned behind the passenger cell. With an additional to plugging in to recharge, the batteries are also charged by regenerative braking and by excess output from the engine when the car is coasting. CO2 emissions are 70g/km and fuel consumption is 3 L/100km.

The 918 spyder offers four different running models: E-Drive allows the car to run under battery power alone, using the rear electric motor, giving a range of 40 km; the car can reach 160km/h in this mode according to the brochure.  The three hybrid modes (Hybrid, Sport and Race) use both engines and electric motors to provide the desired levels of economy and performance. In Race mode a push-to-pass button is available to deliver additional electric power. The chassis is a carbon-fibre reinforced plastic monocoque. Magnesium and aluminium are extensively used in the construction of the car which helps the 918 Spyder’s weight down to 1,700 kilograms.

The 918 Spyder will be produced in a limited series and it will be developed in Weissach and assembled in Zuffenhausen. Porsche intends to manufacture 918 units as a 2014 model year starting on September 18 2013 and deliveries are scheduled to begin in December 2013.