AUDI S3 - R GOLF WITH BETTER BREEDING? by Paul Gover

If you’re looking for the best in a Volkswagen Golf, take a look at the Audi S3. It won’t be cheap, because an Audi badge and cabin comes with a premium, but there are plenty of people who are prepared to pay an extra $8000 to get a Golf R with all the Audi herbs and spices.

 

Audi manages to inject a serving of ’special’ into a car which is still one of the very best in the compact class, even as the Golf 8 is on short-final for a landing in Australia.

The S3 has recently received a value boost with close to $9000 of extra gear, from its 19-inch alloys to sports seats with Nappa leather, a wireless phone-charger pad in the centre console, a Bang & Olufsen sound system and LED headlights.

 

But the key difference between an S3 and a Golf R is the body.

 

While Volkswagen gets through its Golf game with a conventional five-door hatchback, the S3 can come as a Sportback, a sedan or a cabriolet.

My styling favourite is the Sportback, which has a distinctive look in a sea of me-too shapes as well as a roomy boot and a roofline that gives a little more head space in the back seat. It’s not as spacious as a wagon, but the bigger boxy tail is a practical design.

 

The S3 is a brisk little beastie, not as aggressive as the RS3 that sits at the top of the A3 family, but more than quick enough for all conditions. It can really sprint with 213 kiloWatts and all-wheel drive, and is a rewarding and responsive drive in twisty terrain.

 

Some people find the DSG gearbox a little unrefined, and reluctant to take a manual down-change at times, but I find it generally good, and it has great economy with quiet and composed touring.

 

The suspension can be firm on a bumpy road, but leave the driving mode set in ‘comfort’ and there is nothing to cause any discomfort. Actually, I only once tripped it up to Sport and that was to have some fun with the farty exhaust note, and uncork all of the performance on a remote country road.

Driving the S3 is enjoyable for almost all the time, although I’m not a fan of Audi’s intrusive driver-assistance systems.

My first job in the car is to wind down the settings, and completely disable the lane-assistance that is far, far too keen to take control of the steering if it thinks you’re doing something wrong.

 

Usually, I am not. And there is no need to be fighting a car because you touch a white line on the inside of a corner.

 

The S3 has a great sound package, the lights are good - but not as sharp as some of the newer ‘active’ LED systems - and the brakes are strong.

 

It’s a car which gradually wins me over, despite the price and knowing that it’s really a Golf R in a party frock, albeit a high couture car that costs AUD$64,200!

Audi buyers are more likely to be cross-shopping a BMW or a Benz and, for that reason, it’s a car you'll enjoy, and should be added to the shopping list for a comparison test drive.

 

Paul Gover

POSTSCRIPT: In my time as a motoring journalist, and corporate executive with the VW Group I have driven a large number of Audi's, and it remains one of my favourite brands.

However, I'm making a big call today, when I completely endorse all of Paul's opinions about the S3. Never mind the topline RS3, I believe the S3 is the best Audi I've driven in years!

Sure, it's expensive, but in terms of the combination of performance, ride, handling and comfort + equipment levels, this car has great breeding coursing through its veins. It is a great package, compact, chuckable, comfortable and sporty.

You get a lot for your money, and the driving experience will keep you coming back for more. It's the MOST cost-effective sports sedan available in Australia, so just as Paul stated - "Put it on the shopping list".

John Crawford

FROM A BOX IN THE ATTIC by John Crawford

 My good friend in the UK who sent me the photo of 'Poggio Bartoli', the former Medici hunting lodge near Vecchio, has recently been 'tidying up' in his attic, and in an old cardboard box of memorabilia came across, in his words 'a scruffy bit of paper', whose value today I think could even top the sale price of his former vacation home in Tuscany.

He told me proudly: "I collected all these at Cheshunt, and the 1965 Racing Car Show at Olympia."

"I haven’t done the sums accurately but I think there are about 10 World Championship wins, over 100 Grand Prix wins, and maybe 6 Indie wins all on that one piece of scruffy paper."

John Crawford

MUGELLO MAKES WAY FOR F1 - by John Crawford

This coming weekend F1 fans will be focussing on a circuit more famous for exciting Moto GP races. The Mugello valley was originally settled by a Ligurian tribe known as the Magelli, hence the name. Then came the Etruscans, and subsequently the Romans, who conquered and colonized Mugello (pronounced 'Moo-Jello)  in the 4th century BC.

 

Mugello is a brand-new race venue for F1, with the sport having only been to the track for testing – most recently for a group test in 2012. I think it looks a fabulous circuit, challenging, undulating and from this aerial view, very fast corners.

This means the teams are heading into the weekend with limited data, making ‘driver in the loop simulation’ all the more important, with scanning and mapping helping to create a realistic representation of the circuit.

 

However, put aside the high-tech support for today’s F1 drivers for a moment, and think back to the era of Moss, Gurney, Clark and Hill. When those guys went to a new circuit for the first time, they just got out on the track and used their skill and race experience to know how to drive it. However, I will admit today’s cars are much faster and the higher cornering speeds do call for as much technical input as possible.

 

Mugello will be an extreme high-speed challenge, with initial findings suggesting grip-limited cornering speeds to be higher than both Austria and Britain, and the lowest cornering speed around 120km/h. The track is expected to have the high-speed cornering characteristics of Spa and Monza, without the sensitivity to drag. Being a lower efficiency circuit, drivers will be able to rely on high downforce setups to get the best out of their cars.

Mugello will put pressure on the teams to learn quickly as they evaluate data during the practice sessions and correlation to pre-event work will be a key focus. It’s a race on and off the track!

Scuderia Ferrari acquired the Mugello circuit in 1988 for testing its F1 technology, as an adjunct to what it learns at Fiorano. Ferrari also uses it to host meetings of the Scuderia Ferrari Club, which means the Tifosi will be out in force this weekend.

John Crawford

HOW TO 'HUNT' DOWN A FORTUNE by John Crawford

 An additional yarn from my friend who owned the villa near Mugello.

"Just below our house was a Medici ‘Casa di Cacchio’ or Hunting Lodge called ‘Poggio Bartoli’. A local contractor spent someone else’s fortune completely restoring it - using original 16th Century building and painting materials."

It was turned into a luxury B&B with gourmet dinners by arrangement with a local 5-Star restaurant. As my friend points out, the 'Surrey Set' who used to rent expensive villas in 'Chiantishire' kept the B&B and the restaurant in business - which could prove difficult to sustain in these days of Coronavirus.

John Crawford

'DEV' - OUR MAN IN LONDON by John Crawford

‘Dev’ Dvoretsky was ‘a character’; a ‘wag’, but in good old Aussie lingo, he was ‘a larrikin’.

 

In late 1976 the CEO of MODERN MAGAZINES, Arnold Quick, called me into his office and threw a pile of Dev’s expense account reports across the desk, saying: “Have you seen these?”

 

I thumbed through the pile, and said: “Yes, I recognise the ones related to MODERN MOTOR, the others belong to the other publications."

Modern Magazines had a total of nine other publications, which all used contributions from Dev.

 

Quick said: “It’s not good enough. He’s robbing us! I know you’re going on a press trip to the UK, so I am giving you an instruction to go to our London office in Ebury Street and fire him!”

 

I was aghast. “Magazines are all about content Arnold. Do you realise how well-connected Dev is? Especially in the European automotive scene, let alone all the other magazines that depend on him. I certainly can’t do without him.”

Quick replied: “I don’t care. These expenses are outrageous. When you’re in London, meet him, explain the background and fire him. Here’s his letter of dismissal.”

 

I might add, Arnold Quick was the failed CEO of a magazine group in the UK which went bankrupt, and he took offense at me pointing out that everything in the UK cost more, and with the currency conversion, Dev’s services were always going to be expensive – compared to Australia.

 

“Never mind, just do it!”

 

I flew into London in late September, Dev picked me up at Heathrow and after settling me into the guest room at his house in Sunningdale, he whisked me off to lunch with ‘a few of his mates’ at Simpsons on The Strand (a VERY expensive restaurant).

A ‘few’ turned out to be 20, made up of members of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and several high-powered PR men from a number of car companies.

After a sumptuous lunch, followed by cognacs we departed to the Modern Magazines’ offices in Ebury Street, opposite Victoria Station. Later I had to sign off the lunch tab on Dev's expense report, so I was well aware of his costs.

The intention of ‘the lunch’ was to show how well-connected Dev was in the motor industry – something I didn’t need to be reminded of.

We had a nice chat, I commented on the strength of his relationships, enjoyed tea and cakes, and then we returned to his home, with his Letter of Dismissal disposed of in a trash can outside the offices.

When I returned to Australia, Arnold Quick wanted to know how Dev took his firing, so I told him: “I didn’t fire him, he’s too valuable. Whilst I was in London I called all the other Editors back in Sydney, who knew nothing about your plan to fire him, and they were similarly as upset as I was at the prospect of losing such a valuable resource.”

 

Quick stomped around the office, swearing and shouting at me that I would be the next to go, and called in the company secretary to draw up my severance cheque. At that point, the company secretary pointed out that in the previous 12 months under my editorship, advertising revenue in MODERN MOTOR had close to doubled! So, I survived being fired too.

 

However, having sung Dev’s praises as a valuable resource there were some downsides. First, Dev was a dreadful journalist, who couldn’t put a coherent story together to save his life.

He usually had all the facts, but his copy (which was spewed out of a telex machine every morning, and usually about 12 feet long!), needed very severe sub-editing. What he WAS good at, was BS and story-telling!

 

It was also normal for the key nugget of every story to be buried in the last paragraph of the story. He didn’t have the skill to spot the headline, and to begin the story with that!

 

Then there were the reports from London that he had trashed a road test car; or had suffered an accident on a press event in Europe. I searched in vain for evidence of this, but my old copies of MODERN MOTOR didn’t come anywhere near highlighting his most serious offence, which I am able to now reproduce, thanks to the Jensen car company museum archives.

 

I should add at this point, that another of Dev’s saving graces was that he had so successfully wheedled his way into the very inner workings of the car industry in Britain and Europe, that in 1969 he had been overwhelmingly voted by his peers to become the President of the Guild of Motoring Writers – in those days, a much respected organisation in the automotive industry in Europe.

 

But, back to Jensen, and here’s the tale from the museum archives:

Dev and wife Angela before setting off for the 'test drive'.

It's worth pointing out that Dev didn't actually do any real damage to the Jensen, apart from some much-needed paint repairs. However, Jensen Motors clearly wanted to be rid of the car, and did 'a deal' with one of its dealers to acquire the car, prior to the launch of the latest model.

Originally the FF sold for just over 5500 British pounds, but as you'll see from the copy of the resale invoice from Jensen Motors to the dealer this car sold for a considerable discount.

Despite his colourful life, 'Dev' was a wonderful, jovial man who charmed everyone he met - he certainly charmed me - and despite his lack of writing skills, he provided MODERN MOTOR with enough 'scoop' stories and photos to ensure his longevity in London - until he retired to his birth city of Perth, Western Australia.

My life was richer for knowing him.

JOHN CRAWFORD

WHEN F1 WAS THE PINNACLE by John Crawford

When I was appointed Editor of MODERN MOTOR magazine, I decided we would ignore parochial motor sport coverage, and just concentrate on Formula One. The truth was I didn’t have enough budget to cover all the Australian racing series’.

 

However, the magazine was fortunate to have as its European Editor, Harold ‘Dev’ Dvoretsky, who had gilt-edged credentials to attend all the formulae races.

 

‘Dev’ was so well-known and such a prominent reporter, that he could access all of the GP drivers and teams. His work was greatly-respected, as he reported with integrity and transparency.

 

When I arrived at the Monaco GP in 1976, I was treated like royalty, thanks to respect for Dev from the FIA. I was afforded incredible access to both the circuit and the teams.

Monaco 1976 - The Start; The Crowd; James Hunt passing Automobile Club de Monaco

I continued to treat Formula One with the respect I thought it deserved, as the ‘pinnacle’ of motor sport.

Which goes some way to explain why I remain an F1 ‘tragic’. However, I am taking on board a lot of criticism of how the Formula has arrived at its current status. It is over-regulated, and subject to rules and regulation simply aimed at curbing exploitation of the basic regulations.

 

However, at the root of it all remains, ‘racing’, and I must ‘doff me hat’ to Lewis Hamilton as a tenacious ‘racer’.

My dear friend, the late Sir Stirling Moss, told me many times of his respect for Lewis as a ‘racer at heart’ and was in awe of his achievements.

Coming from such a highly-respected member of the pantheon of ‘ultimate racers’; that is indeed a compliment from one of the ’Gods’ of F1.

 

Today, it seems like F1 is ruled by technology and tyres, but at the sharp end, it is still the courage, and the skill of the drivers which wins races. Despite the overarching dependence on computers and technology I still admire the drivers who risk all to win.

John Crawford

MUGELLO - MIXING SPEED AND COCKTAILS by John Crawford

My post about touring northern Italy prompted a response from a good friend in Britain (a fellow F1 tragic), who owned a fabulous vacation home near Vicchio, north-east of Firenze.

Their home was just 15km from the Circuito Mugello and he remembers two things – first, the screaming of both F1 cars and motorbikes lapping the circuit, and second, a great story about Scuderia Ferrari entering the world of hoteliers.

In 1988, when the F1 teams were allowed unrestricted testing, Ferrari acquired the Mugello circuit, because it was longer than its own Fiorano test track, and provided a sufficient variety of corners and terrain to better test its F1 technology

Local legend has it that Michael Schumacher hated test sessions at the Mugello circuit, because there was a lack of accommodation facilities which measured up to his high standards. So, Ferrari acquired a rundown property, which it re-developed and re-opened, calling it the Parkhotel Ripaverde.

Today the hotel now opens its doors to members of Ferrari clubs worldwide, and is still used by the Scuderia, when occasionally using the circuit for F1 shakedowns.

Here's a rare photo of Michael Schumacher testing an AutoDelta WTCC Alfa Romeo 156 at Mugello.

After Ferrari’s giant fail at Monza last weekend, the Italian tifosi still celebrated when the Alpha Turi Honda team (formerly Toro Rosso),  was victorious against formidable competitors.

 

Despite F1’s problems, socially and environmentally, we can be sure it will fill the hearts of the tifosi – and that’s a good thing – passion should always override practicality.

John Crawford