Colin-on-Cars: Turin unshrouded

Members of the public will finally be allowed to see the historic collection of cars and other historical artefcts that form part of The Heritage Hub – the combine history of Fiat, Lancia and Abarth.

Made possible by the collaboration between the Stellantis Heritage department, the Municipality of Turin and the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile (the Italian national motor museum), access is via Gate 31 to the Mirafiori industrial complex – located at Via Plava 80, Turin.

The space will host two guided tours per day, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, each lasting around two hours. The site will be open on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with tickets available online from the MAUTO website.

Brands

The Stellantis Group Heritage Hub is an exhibition space covering about 15 000 m2, ‘home’ of the historical collection of automotive brands from Turin: Abarth, Fiat and Lancia.

To highlight the link between the city and the motor vehicle industry, the former Officina 81 at Mirafiori was selected as its site. Open since 1968, it was an active centre of production for over 30 years, focusing on mechanical components. The space has undergone a meticulous restoration to safeguard its industrial spirit, maintaining the raw concrete floor and the original colour scheme of its time.

The middle of the exhibition space features 64 classic cars, split into eight themed areas:

- Records and Races, protagonists that triumphed on the main circuits;

- Concepts and Customisations, very rare cars, and extraordinary one-offs;

- Archistars, models that revolutionised the architecture of the car, while respecting the principles of productivity and functionality;

- Eco and Sustainable, bringing together cars that stood out for their environmental credentials;

- Small and Safe, models that combined safety and limited dimensions;

- Style Marks, cars that made design history;

- Epic Journeys, vehicles that featured in unforgettable journeys;

- The Rally Era, the milestones of the golden age of road and dirt racing.

The remainder of the collection is displayed within the two long sides of the building, divided by brand, and set out in chronological order. As well as Fiat and Lancia cars, selected models from the Alfa Romeo, Autobianchi and Jeep brands are also on display.

Vintage

There is no shortage of special features, shown by 16 vintage Fiat cars belonging to the Carabinieri police force. From the 600 Multipla to the Panda, via 1100 and Campagnola models, the Carabinieri selection covers a time span of almost half a century, highlighting the deep roots of a collaboration that remains active to this day.

The exhibition space at the entrance to the pavilion, hosts a permanent display on the history of Mirafiori from 1939 to date.  As confirmation of its multifunctionality, the space also includes an area designed for workshops and another for conferences, with capacity for up to 200 people.

Meeting

The ‘engines area’ is an ideal setting for a meeting space, hosting two long benches featuring a selection of over 30 of the most important engines, designed and manufactured by the Group's Italian brands.

True milestones in the history of Italian engines such as the four-cylinder from the ‘100 series’ – which debuted in 1955 in the Fiat 600 and was then used, in its various evolutions, for around 50 years – contrast with pilot projects for electric motors, turbines and even steam engines.

https://bit.ly/3UFoqPZ

Colin-on-Cars: Turin unshrouded

Members of the public will finally be allowed to see the historic collection of cars and other historical artefacts that form part of The Heritage Hub – the combine history of Fiat, Lancia and Abarth.

Made possible by the collaboration between the Stellantis Heritage department, the Municipality of Turin and the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile (the Italian national motor museum), access is via Gate 31 to the Mirafiori industrial complex – located at Via Plava 80, Turin.

The space will host two guided tours per day, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, each lasting around two hours. The site will be open on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with tickets available online from the MAUTO website.

Brands

The Stellantis Group Heritage Hub is an exhibition space covering about 15 000 m2, ‘home’ of the historical collection of automotive brands from Turin: Abarth, Fiat and Lancia.

To highlight the link between the city and the motor vehicle industry, the former Officina 81 at Mirafiori was selected as its site. Open since 1968, it was an active centre of production for over 30 years, focusing on mechanical components. The space has undergone a meticulous restoration to safeguard its industrial spirit, maintaining the raw concrete floor and the original colour scheme of its time.

The middle of the exhibition space features 64 classic cars, split into eight themed areas:

- Records and Races, protagonists that triumphed on the main circuits;

- Concepts and Customisations, very rare cars, and extraordinary one-offs;

- Archistars, models that revolutionised the architecture of the car, while respecting the principles of productivity and functionality;

- Eco and Sustainable, bringing together cars that stood out for their environmental credentials;

- Small and Safe, models that combined safety and limited dimensions;

- Style Marks, cars that made design history;

- Epic Journeys, vehicles that featured in unforgettable journeys;

- The Rally Era, the milestones of the golden age of road and dirt racing.

The remainder of the collection is displayed within the two long sides of the building, divided by brand, and set out in chronological order. As well as Fiat and Lancia cars, selected models from the Alfa Romeo, Autobianchi and Jeep brands are also on display.

Vintage

There is no shortage of special features, shown by 16 vintage Fiat cars belonging to the Carabinieri police force. From the 600 Multipla to the Panda, via 1100 and Campagnola models, the Carabinieri selection covers a time span of almost half a century, highlighting the deep roots of a collaboration that remains active to this day.

The exhibition space at the entrance to the pavilion, hosts a permanent display on the history of Mirafiori from 1939 to date.  As confirmation of its multifunctionality, the space also includes an area designed for workshops and another for conferences, with capacity for up to 200 people.

Meeting

The ‘engines area’ is an ideal setting for a meeting space, hosting two long benches featuring a selection of over 30 of the most important engines, designed and manufactured by the Group's Italian brands.

True milestones in the history of Italian engines such as the four-cylinder from the ‘100 series’ – which debuted in 1955 in the Fiat 600 and was then used, in its various evolutions, for around 50 years – contrast with pilot projects for electric motors, turbines and even steam engines.

https://bit.ly/3UFoqPZ

Colin-on-Cars - Team Sa does well in service competition

Sometimes it is not necessary to come first in a competition to be a winner – and that is what Team South Africa is bringing back from the recent Volvo Trucks global service market competition, Vista, where it finished in eighteenth place.

The winning team at the final in Volvo Trucks’ hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden was team Kiired Insenerid from Estonia followed by teams from Denmark and Sweden.

Global

More than 16 000 technicians in some 4 500 teams from Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses’ global dealer network, participated in this year’s Vista championship – a global event that was first run back in 1957.

Team South Africa, which was made up of four service specialists and technicians from Volvo Trucks Cape Town, came in a respectable 18th position out of the 43 teams that participated in the world final. 

Improve

“Our mechanics play a key role in contributing to our customer’s success by keeping their trucks on the road, and Vista is a great way for them to improve their workshop skills. I’m very impressed by the technical knowledge of the teams this year and the speed with which they solved the challenges presented to them,” commented Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks.

The main objectives of the Vista competition are to encourage competence development and to build team spirit and pride. Highly skilled and motivated technicians enable Volvo Trucks workshops to carry out fault diagnosis and fix trucks’ problems ‘right first time’, promptly and to high-quality standards.

These skills are key in helping customers achieve maximum uptime for their trucks. In the end, this leads to improved customer service.

In the finals held in Gothenburg, 43 teams of technicians and service market staff competed for two days to complete six stations, on topics including CAN Link fault-tracing, I-Shift and bodywork.

Electric

Two stations were VR stations with a focus on electric vehicles, one assignment consisted of installing an electric motor on a truck. The numbers of electric trucks and buses are now quickly growing and safely working with electric motors is an important skill for technicians in practically every workshop around the world.

Waldemar Christensen, MD of Volvo Trucks South Africa, said although the SA team did not walk away from the competition with top honours, they learned invaluable lessons were learnt that will benefit local customers.

“Vista is not only important for Volvo Trucks’ aftermarket personnel, but also of great importance for the entire company. It is a way of showing how much we all value the hard work carried out at our workshops all over the world, and that we invest in what our customers appreciate most – world-class service,” says Christensen.

*Vista stands for Volvo International Service Training Awards. It started in 1957 and was originally a competition for Volvo technicians in Sweden. 20 years later, by 1977 it had reached out across all continents, attracting authorized Volvo dealers from all over the world. Today Vista is a biennial event and the biggest competition for service market personnel in the world.

https://bit.ly/3RIKLKy

Colin-on-Cars - Lemons have legs

Budget bangers return to Red Star Raceway, Delmas in October for the second running of the MF Autobody 24 Hours of iLamuna – an endurance race for cars costing less than R50 000.

The race, supported by Insurisk insurance, fuelled by Siyanda Petroleum and driven by Tyremart and Divanti tyres will run on October 29 and 30, 2022.

Competitors can either spend around R25 000 on a crusty old car and then throw what remains at kitting it out for the track or simply spend it all on something more showroom than scrapheap and hope it manages to hold together for 24 hours of mechanical torture.

However, the full field of 71 clunkers must be safe for racing and mandatory safety equipment such as a roll-cage, racing seat, five-point harness and fire extinguisher in not included in the price cap.

Teams are encouraged to theme their entry and there are bonus laps up for grabs for those who present cars with the cleverest of liveries and odd aesthetic add-ons.

For example, last year’s race saw an old VW Golf dressed in yellow and blue like the Flying Squad of yesteryear chasing a legit single-cab tow truck around the track for hours on end.

Meanwhile, another car had a giant rocket strapped to the roof complete with a stuffed Wile E Coyote along for the ride and a crashed Audi TT competed with a trailer ratchet strap holding the bonnet down.

As with last year’s event, a spot on the starting grid is only guaranteed once teams have paid the R25 000 (excluding VAT) entry fee. While this may seem steep it does include a set of Davanti control tyres (four per team) sponsored by Tyremart Menlyn, plus 200 litres of fuel per team courtesy Siyanda Petroleum.

The MF Autobody 24 Hours of iLamuna opens for official timed practice on Friday 28 October (including a night session to get drivers’ eyes tuned in for the darkness) with the race scheduled to begin with a genuine Le Mans-style standing start on the afternoon of Saturday 29 October.

https://bit.ly/3qs1sho

Colin-on-Cars - Lemons have legs

Budget bangers return to Red Star Raceway, Delmas in October for the second running of the MF Autobody 24 Hours of iLamuna – an endurance3 race for cars costing less than R50 000.

The race, supported by Insurisk insurance, fuelled by Siyanda Petroleum and driven by Tyremart and Divanti tyres will run on October 29 and 30, 2022.

Competitors can either spend around R25 000 on a crusty old car and then throw what remains at kitting it out for the track or simply spend it all on something more showroom than scrapheap and hope it manages to hold together for 24 hours of mechanical torture.

However, the full field of 71 clunkers must be safe for racing and mandatory safety equipment such as a roll-cage, racing seat, five-point harness and fire extinguisher in not included in the price cap.

Teams are encouraged to theme their entry and there are bonus laps up for grabs for those who present cars with the cleverest of liveries and odd aesthetic add-ons.

For example, last year’s race saw an old VW Golf dressed in yellow and blue like the Flying Squad of yesteryear chasing a legit single-cab tow truck around the track for hours on end.

Meanwhile, another car had a giant rocket strapped to the roof complete with a stuffed Wile E Coyote along for the ride and a crashed Audi TT competed with a trailer ratchet strap holding the bonnet down.

As with last year’s event, a spot on the starting grid is only guaranteed once teams have paid the R25 000 (excluding VAT) entry fee. While this may seem steep it does include a set of Davanti control tyres (four per team) sponsored by Tyremart Menlyn, plus 200 litres of fuel per team courtesy Siyanda Petroleum.

The MF Autobody 24 Hours of iLamuna opens for official timed practice on Friday 28 October (including a night session to get drivers’ eyes tuned in for the darkness) with the race scheduled to begin with a genuine Le Mans-style standing start on the afternoon of Saturday 29 October.

https://bit.ly/3qs1sho

Colin-on-Cars - New graduates from VWSA training programme

Massive investment since it was launched in 2011, has seen a number of candidates processed through Volkswagen South Africa’s Dealer Principal Apprentice Programme (DPAP).

The programme offers candidates personalised mentoring and coaching, which is structured to provide broader training exposure, using a blended learning model. It is uniquely designed and developed for Volkswagen and focuses on principles of leadership and management within the automotive industry.

Transformation

“Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has invested more than R1-billion in transformation programmes in the past 10 years. The DPAP promotes economic inclusion and diversification of the dealer network as well as fostering a true spirit of transformation and black economic empowerment,” says Nonkqubela Maliza, VWSA Corporate and Government Affairs Director.

The fourth wave of the programme took 10 candidates through a development journey that covered subjects such as retail business, finance, leadership and general management. The programme is developed by Optima Training, a global specialist in development and management learning programmes.

Promoted

Of the total 33 candidates who have graduated from the DPAP programme in the past decade, 17 have been promoted into Dealer Principal positions whilst others have been promoted to Group Financial Director and management roles.

VWSA has invested in transformation and B-BBEE programmes through its Business Support Centre in Kariega, Automotive Industry Transformation Fund, the VWSA B-BBEE Initiatives Trust, Ntinga Project and the DPAP.

“The goal of our initiatives is to make a lasting and valuable impact in the transformation of the South African automotive industry.

Furthermore, VWSA has also provided meaningful work opportunities to more than 2 000 unemployed youth through the Youth Employment Service (YES), an investment of R128-million,” concluded Maliza.

https://bit.ly/3QPZTER

Colin-on-Cars - See Africa in style

With tourism steadily returning to normal, Mercedes-Benz Buses has launched a new Coach Chassis that comes packaged with an all-inclusive Service and Maintenance Contract package and in-house tailor-made finance solutions through Daimler Truck Financial Services (DTFS).

The new 0500 RSD 2442 Coach Chassis is specifically designed for Sothern Africa conditions and allows operators a wide spectrum of choice in tailoring the bodies to suit their specific needs.

Jason Brunninger, General Manager Mercedes-Benz Buses says: “I am elated as we officially present our new 0500 RSD 2442 Coach Chassis, which ticks all the boxes in the coach segment.

“The introduction of this model marks an important milestone in the continued expansion of our product range, and further strengthen our commitment in the bus and coach industry across the region.

Future

“I am excited to say that the future of our industry has never been this bright and as Mercedes-Benz Buses, we remain committed in keeping Africa moving – proving mobility solutions that not only add value to our customer’s businesses but to our country’s economic growth as well”.

The new 0500 RSD 2442 Coach Chassis comes standard with a 6-cylinder, OM 457 engine coupled with a new automatic gearbox that ensures maximum efficiency, reliability, and durability.

Safety in the new Coach Chassis includes systems such as the electronic brake system (EBS), electronic stability control (ESP) and anti-lock braking system.

Saving

Also standard is the ASR-anti slip regulation which limits wheel spin in wet and gravel conditions. This provides huge savings on tyres and maintenance costs.

Furthermore, comfort and ease of operation are at the core in the new Coach Chassis with better driver ergonomics – offering automatic transmission, adjustable steering column, cruise control and air suspension with level control.

The new cluster provides the drivers’ area with a completely new interface for information and communication, making it easier to view and manage different functions, creating less distraction.

https://bit.ly/3AUOQ7e

Colin-on-Cars - Hung(a)ry for a Porsche 912

Often touted by Porsche fans as being the most perfectly balanced of its era, the 912 has a stellar reputation for outstanding handling and drive from the 4-cylinder engine.

Something of a collector’s item, a Budapest-based automaker called KAMM Manufaktur, is creating a ‘restomod’ dedicated to creating the perfect interpretation of the legendary 912 sports car.

Founded by Miklós Kázmér in Budapest, Hungary, KAMM focuses solely on the 912 sports car produced between 1965-1969. The 912 may not be an obvious choice for a restomod, but its slim, simple lines, outstanding handling and iconic 4-cyliner engine makes the 912 the perfect choice for a KAMM creation.

Electronics

The KAMM 912c is a modern take on the 60s sports car icon but, in an age where electronics take over many of the driver inputs, the KAMM 912c offers something different in the world of restomods in that it maintains the charm of a 1960s racer, with sensitive updates, instead of trying to completely modernise the 912 driving experience.

Taking an original 912, KAMM engineers restore every donor car to perfection, providing the perfect basis for a bespoke creation. Steel is replaced with carbon, seamlessly blended without trace, ensuring flawless fit and finish.

KAMM engineers enhance the chassis, brakes suspension, wheels and tyres and replace all original elements with brand new, factory parts including lights, fixings, and rubbers.

Track

Whilst the KAMM 912c is perfectly at home on the race track, the car has also been designed to be used regularly as a road car. KAMM developed the 912c to appeal to drivers seeking an updated classic racer experience with a truly analogue feel. Rear seats can remain, audio options are suggested, luggage areas are carefully trimmed, and air-conditioning has been added for cabin comfort on road and track.

KAMM founder Miklós Kázmér says, “The KAMM 912c has been years in the making, and I am proud to share my vision of the perfect 912 to the world. Budapest has a surprisingly well-developed car culture born out of a desire for individuality. During the socialistic era, drivers had to be creative, home-tuning whatever cars they could get hold of into race machines.

“This love of car culture, and a burning desire to make whatever was available as fast and as beautiful as possible, spawned a talented and dedicated Budapest car scene. In the 90s things changed as borders opened and Hungarians gained access to western cars and Hungarian car enthusiasts evolved. KAMM is a proud son of Budapest car culture, striving to turn original classic cars into fast, reliable, and perfected versions of themselves, all whilst keeping the analogue driving experience intact.”

https://bit.ly/3qlgnKb